A/N Apologies for how long this chapter took! I had a bit of writer's block on this story, but I finally got past it. Hope you enjoy!

...

I turned over when Jack came into the bedroom.

"I have to get going, Beth."

"Work?"

"Yes, but remember I'm just working a half shift today, though, so I'll be home for lunch." He kissed my forehead.

"Anything in particular you want for lunch?"

"Not really."

"Okay." I leaned up to meet his lips. "I'll see you later."

"Oh, I think little man will be up soon. It sounded like he was moving around in there."

"Thanks, babe. I love you. Stay safe."

"I will." He kissed me again. "I love you, Beth."

I rolled out of bed as soon as I heard the door close downstairs and meandered down the hall to the nursery. Teddy was stirring, just as Jack had said.

He was beginning to fuss, and I noticed that his nose was dripping.

I lifted him to my shoulder. "Good morning, Teddy Bear. Are you feeling a little under the weather today?"

I put my hand on his forehead, and he didn't feel warm, so I figured he probably just had a cold. I grabbed a burp cloth and wiped his nose.

"Let's go clear out your nose and then have some breakfast."

After relieving his stuffy nose as best as I could, I settled on the sofa downstairs to feed him.

"Goodness, you've gotten so big, Teddy Bear." He reached up and gripped the edge of my shirt as he ate. "Although I guess you've always been pretty big, thanks to your daddy's genes. I hope your siblings aren't all as big as you."

As I watched him eat, I thought about what it would be like to have another baby. Jack had stopped mentioning having another one after he suggested it on our anniversary a few weeks prior, and I knew that it would be up to me to bring it up again when I was ready.

I still felt like we weren't ready, though. Teddy was still so young. Having a toddler and a newborn would be a lot of work and a lot of crying, not to mention a lot of diapers and less sleep. It would make more sense to wait until Teddy was more independent before we brought another baby into our family.

But there would be so many good things, too. Getting to feel a baby moving inside me again, getting to experience all the milestones and firsts again. Plus, I had to admit that Jack and I did make a very cute baby, and it wouldn't hurt to have another sweet little face to kiss.

"What do you think, Teddy? Do you want a little brother or sister? Or do you want to stay an only child for a little while longer? You would be over a year old before the baby came, so you'll probably be walking and talking a little by then, and you should be on a better sleeping schedule." He watched me intently while I spoke, his fingers resting against my skin. "Your aunt Vi and I are only about a year apart, and we had so much fun together when we were growing up. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing for you to have a sibling so close in age. Do you think your daddy and I could handle another one of you?"

...

I leaned Teddy against my legs, covering his little body with a washcloth. "What do you think about being in the big bathtub, Teddy Bear?" I brushed my finger across his cheek, and he smiled, giving me a little coo. "Sometimes baths help me feel better when I'm feeling sick, so maybe this will help you feel better. Besides, a little extra snuggle time is never a bad thing."

I sang to him quietly while I bathed him. Eventually, he began dozing, and I shifted him to my chest. I skimmed my fingers across his soft skin until he was nearly asleep.

We must have been in there for longer than I thought, because I heard the front door open, and Jack called out my name.

"Upstairs." I made no move to get out of the tub, still cradling Teddy against my chest.

"Elizabeth?"

"We're in the bathroom."

He appeared in the doorway a few seconds later. "What's going on in here?"

"I think he has a cold, so I thought maybe a bath would help."

"Did it?"

"I think so." I touched his cheek, and he started to squirm. "He was almost asleep, so it at least relaxed him."

"Well, I might be feeling a bit under the weather today. Maybe you could take a bath with me later." He winked.

"Maybe." I smirked. "Can you take him?"

He draped a towel over his shoulder and lifted Teddy off of me.

"Poor guy." He leaned him against his chest and rubbed his back. "I'm sorry you don't feel well, little man." He held out one hand to help me from the tub. "You're sure it's just a cold?"

I nodded and wrapped a towel around myself. "Pretty sure. He's mostly just stuffed up and fussy. He doesn't have a fever, and he ate fine this morning, so I'm not worried. I just know how uncomfortable it is when I'm congested, so I imagine that's how he's feeling."

"Being congested is the worst. And poor little man is too young to understand why he's feeling this way."

"Exactly. I feel bad for him, so I basically haven't put him down all morning."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"If you could get him dressed, that would help."

"On it." He kissed my cheek and took Teddy to the nursery.

I finished drying off before I slipped into a sundress and a pair of sandals.

Jack stopped in the doorway of our bedroom, gently bouncing Teddy in his arms. "Going somewhere?"

I took Teddy from him so he could change out of his uniform. "I packed up some sandwiches for us and a bottle for Teddy, and I thought we could go to the park with the dogs and have a picnic lunch."

"That sounds perfect."

...

Jack hooked the dogs' leashes to a stake beside the blanket I had laid out, and we all settled down on the ground.

I started unpacking the bag of food. "The sandwiches are roast beef. I'd like to say I did that intentionally because I know that's your favorite, but really it's because that's all we had."

He grinned as I handed one of the sandwiches to him. "I'll pretend you had choices and you chose this for me."

Bronte lay down beside him, eagerly watching him and hoping for some crumbs to come her way. Rip, meanwhile, had sauntered a few feet from us and rolled onto his side, not caring about anything going on around him.

Jack chuckled. "We probably could've left Rip at home and he wouldn't have even noticed we were all gone."

I smiled. "I would've felt bad leaving him, though. He may be lazy and indifferent, but he's part of the family."

Teddy cooed.

"See, Teddy agrees." I freed him from the wrap and sat him in my lap. "You love the doggies, don't you, Teddy Bear?"

He squealed and reached for Jack.

"Hang on, little man." Jack set his sandwich on a napkin and took our son from me.

I rifled through the diaper bag and pulled out a wipe. "For his nose." I held it out to Jack.

I sighed contentedly as I watched them interact, thankful that I had found a man who was a wonderful husband and father. It solidified the decision that I had made earlier in the day.

Jack glanced up and met my eyes. "What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about how lucky Teddy and I are to have you."

He nudged my leg with his foot. "We're lucky to have you." He stopped me before I could roll my eyes. "I'm serious, Elizabeth. I couldn't ask for a better person to be my wife and the mother of my child. You're perfect for us."

I felt my cheeks flush. I had been with Jack for over a year and a half, and he could still make me blush at the drop of a hat.

He grinned at me, flashing his dimples. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you blush?"

At that, I felt my cheeks heat even more. "I'm glad you think that since I blush at everything."

Teddy grunted, bringing our attention back to him. He kicked his legs against the blanket and brought his fist to his mouth. Before Jack could ask me, I had the bottle in front of him.

"You sure you don't want to feed him?"

I nodded. "I do way more feedings than you do. I brought the bottle so you could feed him this time."

He settled Teddy in his arm, and he happily took the bottle, his chubby little fingers trying to wrap around it.

"It won't be long before he'll be able to feed himself."

I groaned. "Don't remind me. In my mind, he's going to stay little forever."

"I wish that was how it worked, too." He looked back down at our son, who was staring at Jack's fingers on the bottle while he filled his belly. "This picnic was a good idea, Beth."

"I just want us all to have good memories together."

"And that's why you're perfect for us."

...

"He's fast asleep." Jack dropped his bathrobe and stepped into the tub, sitting behind me with his legs on either side of me. "He seemed to be less congested than he was earlier today."

"That's good." I rested my hands on his knees. "He and I had a little conversation this morning."

"Mm, really?" Jack slipped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. "About what?"

"Halloween."

"What about Halloween? Costumes and candy and stuff?"

"No." I took a deep breath. "I decided that you and I can start trying for another baby around Halloween. The likelihood of getting pregnant will go up once Teddy isn't nursing as much, and he should be on some solid foods by then."

"So we could be expecting another baby by Thanksgiving?"

"In theory, yes. It may not happen as quickly this time, though."

"Yes, getting pregnant in the first week of our marriage was very quick. But who knows? We obviously can't plan how quickly it'll happen."

I laughed softly. "Touché. Our last baby plans didn't really go as expected."

"You don't regret that we didn't have more time just the two of us?"

"No. I believe that Teddy was supposed to come to us exactly when he did."

He kissed the top of my head, and I could feel him smile against my hair. "I can't wait to see you pregnant again. You're always beautiful, but goodness, when you're carrying my baby…" He splayed his fingers across my bare stomach. "It's even better than seeing you in that blue dress."

"Wow, that's saying a lot. You love me in that blue dress." I laced my fingers through his.

"I love you in anything," he leaned in, his breath tickling my ear, "or nothing, like right now." His hands found my hips, somehow pulling me even closer.

"Jack Thornton!" I reached back to smack his arm lightly, splashing water on the floor in the process. "You'd better behave."

He laughed and tightened his arms around me. "And what if I don't?" He kissed the soft skin behind my ear.

"I don't know. I'll make you sleep on the couch. Isn't that what wives are supposed to do to punish their husbands?"

"I think that would be a punishment for you, too." He continued kissing down my neck and across my shoulder. "You've told me on multiple occasions that you don't sleep well without me."

"You got me there."

His fingers ghosted up my arms, and I shivered. "Are you sure you want to wait until Halloween to start trying?"

I nodded. "Yes. But that doesn't mean we can't have some fun in the meantime." I turned to kiss his cheek.

He brought his lips to my mouth. "I'm all for having fun."

...

I woke with my head tucked against Jack's shoulder. He held my left hand in his, rubbing the rings with his thumb.

"Good morning, Beth." He lifted my hand to his lips, kissing my fingers softly.

"Mm." I scooted forward to kiss him. "Good morning. How long have you been up?"

"Not long." He brushed a strand of hair from my face and smiled. "It's been over a year, but sometimes I still can't believe that you're actually my wife. I keep thinking that one of these days I'll wake up and realize it's all been an elaborate dream."

"Do I need to pinch you to prove you're not dreaming?"

He laughed and shook his head, rubbing his nose against my cheek. "Don't you dare."

"Well, I promise you aren't dreaming. This is real." I pressed my lips to his.

When I pulled back, his eyes were closed, and his lips were turned up in a smile. "Sure feels like a dream." He placed his hand on my cheek, lightly, lovingly. "You know, your talk of Halloween last night got me thinking that we need to start narrowing down options for little man's first Halloween costume."

I laughed. "Okay, so now we're changing the subject."

"Sorry, it just popped into my head. I was thinking a hockey player would be cute."

"No sir. My son is not going to wear a Canucks jersey. William Thatcher wouldn't allow it. Honestly, I'm surprised he let me marry a Canucks fan."

"It's probably because nobody can resist the Thornton charm." He winked. "Also, I never said it would be a Canucks uniform."

"So, a Blues jersey, then?"

"I didn't say that, either." He chuckled. "On second thought, maybe a hockey player isn't a good idea. We don't want to start any arguments between us or our families."

"Wasn't your dad a Mountie? I think that would make a pretty cute costume."

"Oh my goodness, yes, with the little hat. That's perfect. He'll be the cutest little Mountie there's ever been."

"Cutest Mountie," I kissed him softly, "with the cutest dad." I locked my eyes with his, brushing my thumb across the stubble on his cheek.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm trying to imagine what you'd look like in a Mountie hat. I think you could pull it off."

"I have my dad's somewhere. My mom gave it to me after he died."

I gasped. "How could you keep that from me? Where is it? I want to see you wear it."

He laughed. "I think it's in the closet in the guest room. I don't think I ever unpacked the box it's in."

"Go get it!"

"I will after church. We're going to be late if we don't start getting ready soon."

I stuck out my bottom lip, pretending to pout. "Please? It'll take two minutes."

"Fine. But you have to get out some clothes for me while I look for it."

I grinned and gave him a quick kiss. "You're the best, Jack Thornton."

He hopped out of bed and headed down the hall to the guest room. I could hear him rummaging around in the closet while I pulled out some clothes for us.

He returned a couple of minutes later, the hat already perched on his head.

I ran my fingers along the brim. "It's a shame we don't have Mounties in Oklahoma. You look very handsome in that hat, babe. It especially goes well with your pajamas."

"Except it gets in my way when I want to kiss you."

"That is a serious drawback." I lifted the hat from his head and pressed my lips to his. "Okay, I'll let you get ready for church now. But I might want you to put that on again later. And maybe you can wear it the next time we go riding."

He chuckled. "I'm starting to regret telling you that I had this."

"You love me."

He wrapped his arms around me. "I do love you. A whole lot. Even when you're begging me to wear a Mountie hat."

"It's your fault for looking so good in it." I winked and kissed him again. "I love you."