"Well hello there, grandma." I took a seat in the pew beside Abigail.

She grinned. "Good morning, Thorntons."

Jack slid in beside me, Teddy snuggled in his arms. "How is your little grandbaby?"

"She's good. She had a few apnea episodes in the first twenty-four hours, so they had to keep her at the hospital for an extra day, but she's fine now. They're all healthy and home."

"Oh, goodness. I bet that was scary. How are Clara and Jesse doing?"

"They're good. Clara was a little overwhelmed for a few days there, but that's understandable, given everything. I think they're finally getting settled into the whole parenthood thing, and Becky's been over there helping out a lot since she's been off school. That's where she's at this morning."

"So she's enjoying being an aunt?"

"She's loving it." She pulled out her phone and held it up to show us photos of the baby. "She's been sending me pictures all morning."

"What about you, Cody? How do you like being an uncle?"

"It's alright, I guess." He shrugged. "Ally's cute, but all she does is sleep."

Jack chuckled. "Don't worry. They get much more entertaining with time." He glanced down at Teddy, who had fallen asleep in his lap. "Sometimes," he corrected with a laugh.

I nudged him with my shoulder. "Well, at least we know he took your little pre-church 'be quiet' talk to heart this week."

...

After we finished eating lunch, Jack, Lee, and Carson took Cody and Teddy outside to play. Abigail and Faith were at one end of the table, entertaining Alina and trying to make some plans for the meal at Faith and Carson's wedding.

"Hey, Rosemary." I pulled out a chair beside her and took a seat. "I just realized I was so occupied with getting Teddy back the other night that I forgot to ask how you're feeling."

She put a hand on her stomach and smiled. "I'm feeling great, so much better than I was at first."

"That's great."

"And how are you?" She took my hand in hers, a sincere expression on her face.

I gave a little smile. "I'm okay. Getting away with Jack was very much needed. It was good for us."

"Good." She let out a little gasp, then laughed. "Sorry, he's kicking me. He's so much more active than Alina was."

"Does she know she's getting a brother?"

She rolled her eyes. "We keep telling her it's a boy, but she's still adamant that it's a girl."

"Speaking of little Miss." I held out my arms when Alina toddled up to us, and she happily clambered into my lap.

"Auntie Bet." She snuggled into me.

"Hi, sweetheart." I kissed the top of her head. "Your mom was just telling me about your baby brother."

"No bruder. Sissy."

I chuckled. "Well, your mom and dad both told me it's a brother. Don't you like playing with Teddy?"

She nodded emphatically.

"Well see, that's what it'll be like to have a brother. And you know what else, Alina? You're the oldest, so you get to be the boss of your brother."

"No bruder."

"Hopefully she'll change her mind when he actually comes." Rosemary laughed. "Hey, Alina, can you show Auntie Beth where the baby is right now?"

She pointed her little finger toward Rosemary's belly. "Baby."

"That's right! Good job, honey." She reached over and ruffled Alina's hair.

Alina turned back toward me and placed her chubby hands on my stomach. "Baby?"

My heart dropped. "No, sweetheart. There's not a baby in there right now."

Rosemary mouthed 'sorry,' and I shook my head. It wasn't her fault that Alina asked that question.

"No baby?"

"Nope. No baby."

"Here, honey." Rosemary reached for Alina. "That's enough questions for Auntie Beth."

She climbed into her mom's lap and started rubbing her belly, mumbling 'baby' over and over.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

"No, it's fine. I promise." I sighed. "It still hurts, but I can finally talk about it without crying. Like I said before, getting away with Jack was really good for us; it helped us heal. We're not quite ready to try again just yet, but it feels like we can finally move forward in our lives."

"Well, good. And you know I'm always here for you if you need anything."

I nodded. "I know. Thank you for that, Rosemary."

"What are friends for?" She smiled.

...

I buckled Teddy into his car seat. "What do you say, Teddy Bear? Are you excited to go meet Ally?"

He grinned at me and kicked his legs. "Mamamama."

I chuckled. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

A few minutes later, we pulled up at the Flynn house. Jack sent a text to Jesse to let him know that we were there; we didn't want to ring the doorbell and wake the baby should she happen to be asleep.

Jesse answered the door. "Hey, guys. Come on in." He motioned for us to enter the house. "I think Clara is just finishing up changing the baby's diaper, so you came at the perfect time."

Clara was just laying the baby back down when we entered the room. "Hi, guys."

"Hi, Clara." I carefully hugged her. "How are you?"

"Exhausted, still a little sore, but overall, pretty good."

"Yeah, who knew a baby could be so exhausting?" Jesse chuckled and winked at her.

"All I have to say is, thank goodness for Becky. I'm pretty sure I'd be a zombie if she hadn't been here to help out all week. You actually just missed her. She was here this morning, but she went home a few minutes ago."

I walked over to where the baby was lying. "May I?"

"Of course."

I carefully lifted her from the bassinet. "She's beautiful."

Clara smiled. "Thank you."

"Look at those big blue eyes." The baby stretched and yawned, blinking sleepily. "Hi there, Ally. I'm your Auntie Beth. It's nice to meet you."

Jack reached over and touched her cheek. "She's so tiny."

"After being there when Teddy was born, I was a little worried she'd be big. I don't know if you've noticed, but Jesse is not a small man." Clara chuckled.

Jesse rolled his eyes. "I promise you, I was a normal-sized baby."

"Yeah, Jack didn't tell me he was eight and a half pounds at birth until I was eight months along with Teddy, and then he tried to reassure me that our baby wouldn't be that big." I turned toward him and raised my eyebrows.

"Hey," he put his hands up, "for all I knew, he was just going to be an average-sized baby. The doctor never gave us any indication that he'd be nine and a half pounds."

Clara shook her head. "I still don't know how you did that, Elizabeth."

"Truthfully, I don't know how I did it, either."

"Mamamama." Teddy twisted in Jack's arms, reaching for me.

"Looks like someone is a little jealous."

"Here." I passed Ally back to Clara and took Teddy from Jack. I kissed his forehead. "Are you happy now?"

He leaned his cheek against my chest. "Mamamama."

"We should probably get him home for his nap, Elizabeth." Jack put his hand on the small of my back.

"Oh, we should. I lost track of time." I reached over and touched Clara's arm. "Thank you for letting us come meet Ally."

"Of course. Thank you for dropping by."

...

A few weeks later, I was in my classroom, walking between the desks while my students wrote in their journals. I noticed one student with her head down and her arms across her stomach.

I knelt down beside her desk. "Katie, are you feeling okay?"

The little girl lifted her head and shook it. "My tummy hurts."

"Why don't we get you to the nurse, sweetheart?"

She lowered her head back to her desk and nodded.

Noticing how pale she looked, I called in the teaching assistant from the classroom next door to walk with her to the office, just in case she couldn't make it all the way on her own.

Just a few minutes after she left, I got a call from the front office stating that she was being sent home for the day and that her things needed to be sent up to the office for her.

With Katie having gone home, I was down four students, all to illness. I prayed that I wouldn't fall ill, too.

At the end of the day, I was clearing papers off the desks when there was a knock at the door.

"Elizabeth, do you have a moment?"

I turned to see the school nurse standing in the doorway of my classroom. "Yes, of course. Come in." I waved her in.

"I just wanted to let you know that Katie has the stomach flu. She's the fourth student of yours to come down with it. The janitors have been made aware, but you might want to do some extra cleaning in your room for the next few days."

"Okay. Thank you for letting me know."

"You have a baby at home, right?"

I nodded, unable to stop the smile from spreading across my face as Teddy's little grin flashed through my mind. "My son, yes."

"I would suggest you sterilize his toys and bottles and things to make sure he doesn't catch it since you've obviously been exposed. It can be worse in little ones."

"I will. Thank you."

...

Jack stepped into the kitchen. "Are you…sterilizing everything?"

I looked up from the pot of boiling water filled with Teddy's pacifiers. "Yes. The stomach flu is going around at school, and I just want to make sure Teddy doesn't get it. Three kids in my class were out with it today, and one had to go home in the middle of the day."

"Well, that's not good. You're okay, though, right?"

I nodded. "I'm fine, so far. A few of the other teachers have been out with it this week. I'm just washing my hands as often as possible and hoping for the best."

He kissed my cheek. "I'm going to change and then I'll come help you finish up in here. What do you think about ordering Chinese for dinner?"

"Yes, please."

...

Two days later, I woke to an upset stomach, and I spent the morning in the bathroom.

"Beth?" Jack called out from our room.

"In here." My voice was rough, weak.

He peeked into the bathroom, where I was curled up against the wall. "Are you okay?"

"No." I lifted my head from my knees. "It turns out I caught the stomach flu."

"Do you need me to stay home with you?" He knelt beside me, placing his hand on my back.

"No." I shook my head. "We don't both need to miss work."

"Okay." He kissed my temple. "You feel warm."

"That's because I have a fever."

"Do you want me to take Teddy next door before I go to work?"

"Yes, please. The bag should already be packed and in his room. He hasn't eaten yet, so you'll need to tell Rosemary to give him a bottle."

"Are you okay in here, or do you want help getting back in bed?"

"Bed, please." I shivered, chills running down my body.

He took my hands and pulled me up, letting me lean against him as we walked toward our bed.

"Call me if you need anything, okay? I can come home early." He pulled the quilt up to my shoulders. "I'm sorry you don't feel well."

"I'll be fine."

"I'll go get you some water before I go. We need to make sure you stay hydrated."

"Thank you, Jack."

I dozed off almost immediately after he left the room, briefly waking when he returned with a glass of water and a sleeve of crackers.

He pressed his lips to my forehead. "I love you."

...

I spent most of the day in bed, watching Netflix on my laptop when I wasn't asleep or in the bathroom.

By the time Jack returned from work, I had been able to keep a few crackers down, and I was beginning to feel a bit better, though I was still weak.

Despite having worked all day, Jack tended to me and Teddy both for the rest of the afternoon and evening, and by nightfall, I was feeling well enough to sit up and hold our son.

I shifted in the bed until I was leaning against the headboard, and Jack lowered Teddy into my arms.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to feed him while you're sick? I can give him a bottle."

"I called Faith earlier to ask about it, and she said it's fine. It won't get him sick. Besides, I always feel better when I'm feeding him."

Teddy settled against my chest, his little fingers gripping the hem of my shirt. I rubbed his back gently as he ate.

"I also had her run my symptoms by Carson, and he said it definitely sounds like stomach flu. He says I just need to keep hydrated, and it should pass within another day or two."

"Good." He slipped his arm around my shoulders. "I don't like when you're sick."

I laughed softly. "I don't like when I'm sick, either."

He squeezed my shoulder gently. "I know this probably isn't the best time to bring this up, but I'm ready now. For another baby."

"I'm still not there yet, Jack."

He kissed my temple. "That's fine. I didn't expect you to be ready yet. I'm not going to pressure you. I just want you to know that I'm ready whenever you are, whether that's tomorrow or five years from now."

"I can't imagine wanting to wait five years, but thank you, Jack."

He glanced down at our son, brushing the hair from his face, before looking up at me again. "I love you, Elizabeth."

"I love you, Jack."