A/N Thanks for all your kind comments! I hope you're ready for some more sweetness in this chapter :)

...

"Welcome to the third annual Thornton family end of summer camping trip." Jack stood beside the tent, arms outstretched.

I chuckled. "I think we need to come up with a shorter name for it." I drew my hands to my stomach as the baby started to move around. "Can you believe how much has changed over the past few years? Two years ago, it was just you and me and the dogs—and we were still a month away from getting married."

Jack scooped Teddy up when he toddled over to him. "And last year, this little guy was just a squirmy little baby."

"Now look at us. We have a toddler and another squirmy little baby on the way."

"I wonder what next year's camping trip will look like." He kissed my temple. "Maybe another squirmy little baby on the way?"

"Um, you're getting a little overeager there, babe. How about we wait until this one comes before we decide if we want another one?" I cradled my belly. "I'm hoping that next year's camping trip is just you, me, Teddy, baby girl, and the dogs."

"We might need to invest in a bigger tent at the rate our family is growing."

"But this one is so cozy." I slipped my arms around his waist and kissed his cheek. "It forces us to snuggle up."

"I don't need anything forcing me to snuggle with you." He smirked. "But while I appreciate its coziness, I'm not so sure our children will like it."

"I think it's probably fine while they're still tiny." I sighed contentedly, a smile spreading across my face. "I still can't believe we're going to have children, plural." I grasped Teddy's hand. "Can you believe it, Teddy Bear? You aren't going to be the only baby in our house."

"Are you ready to have a baby sister, little man?"

Teddy shook his head. "No no no."

I laughed, spreading my fingers across my stomach. "Good thing he has a few more months to get ready."

"Yeah, good thing." He kissed me softly. "Now, what should we do first? Fishing? Hiking?"

"I was thinking something more along the lines of having a snack and then taking a little nap."

"Those aren't really camping activities." He pretended to pout.

"They are for those of us who are currently growing a human."

"Touché. Well, I'm a little amped up, so I guess Teddy and I can take the dogs for a walk. You can stay here and relax." He touched my stomach and smiled. "Or should I say you two can stay here and relax?"

I kissed Teddy's cheek. "You listen to daddy, okay? I love you, Teddy Bear."

"Mama love."

I smiled and touched his cheek before standing on my toes to kiss Jack. "Be careful. Don't go tripping over roots or anything."

"I won't."

"And you better bring our son back in one piece."

"We'll be fine. Won't we, little man?" He tickled Teddy, eliciting a big belly laugh.

"Okay, you two go have your father-son time." I covered my mouth as I yawned. "Baby girl and I need our nap."

"Have fun." He winked and kissed me one more time before taking the dogs and Teddy toward the trail into the trees.

I settled into the sleeping bag, exhaustion immediately overtaking me.

What felt like just minutes later, I was being nudged awake.

"Mama." Teddy pressed his little hands against my face. "Mama up."

I blinked sleepily. "Hey, Teddy Bear."

"Sorry I let him wake you. He kept asking for you, and he was starting to get frustrated with me saying he had to wait."

"It's fine." I stretched my arms, then sat up slowly. "How was your walk?"

"Good, except little man here has decided he thinks it's funny to try to eat dirt."

I wrapped my arms around Teddy when he crawled into my lap. "Oh dear. Please tell me you didn't let him actually eat any."

"Of course not. I carried him the rest of the way after that happened." He took a seat on the sleeping bag beside me. "How was your nap?"

"Wonderful. Thank you for taking Teddy so I could have some quiet. I think baby girl has been doing a lot of growing lately, because I've been exhausted."

He leaned over and kissed me. "I'm happy to help however I can."

...

"Morning, babe." I stretched up to kiss him deeply. "Happy birthday."

"Mm, thank you." He smiled and rested his hand on my cheek.

Teddy sighed in his sleep and wedged himself even tighter between us.

"Is that comfortable?" Jack laughed softly, nodding at Teddy's little feet pressing against my ribs.

I shook my head and smiled. "Not really, but I like having both of our babies right here. Even when they both have their feet in my ribs." I reached out and pushed Teddy's hair back from his forehead.

"Little peach, too?"

"Mhmm. She wedged herself up there early this morning and woke me up with her kicking."

"Have I mentioned lately how grateful I am to you for carrying our babies?"

"I think you've mentioned it once or twice." I smirked.

His face grew serious. "I mean it, Beth. I know it's not easy."

"It's not," I agreed. "But I'm so lucky to be able to carry them safely, and it's all worth it."

"You're amazing, Elizabeth Thornton." He touched his nose to mine. "I have no idea what I did in my life to deserve you."

"I love you."

He kissed me softly. "I love you more."

"So, birthday boy, what do you want to do today?"

"Maybe some fishing later, but right now, all I want to do is just stay right here with my three favorite people." He slipped his arms around me, pulling me as close as he could with Teddy and my belly between us.

"That's a good plan." I smiled and leaned against his shoulder, dozing off as his fingers traced patterns across my back.

...

Jack cast his line before taking a seat beside me on the grassy shoreline. Teddy climbed into his lap and reached for the pole.

"Careful, Teddy." He gently moved Teddy's hands away from the pole. "We have to hold this steady and just wait. You can help me reel it in if we catch anything." He glanced over at me. "We have a backup for dinner if we don't catch any fish, right?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Of course. I couldn't risk baby girl missing a meal."

"You know, you could help try to catch something." He raised his eyebrows and pointed at my fishing pole, which was laying in the grass beside me.

"Maybe in a bit. I'm enjoying the view right now." I grinned at him. "Gosh, I love you both so much. My boys."

Teddy was staring up at him. "Dada."

Jack kissed the top of his head. "You know, these are the kinds of things I dreamed about when we first started talking about having kids. Sitting out by the lake, fishing with my boy."

"Will you teach baby girl to fish, too?"

"Of course. I'll teach all of our babies how to fish and how to ride a horse and how to rock an apron." He smirked.

"That reminds me that your present is in the car."

"So you got me another apron?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. You'll have to wait and see."

...

"Dance with me?" Jack held out his hand.

"Always."

He held me as close as he could as we swayed in the firelight. "I love this. Dancing with my two girls." He leaned his forehead against mine. "This is the best way to end my birthday."

"Good." I kissed him softly. "Hey, I think I have a name for baby girl."

"You mean you narrowed it down from the list of a thousand names?" He smirked.

"Ha ha. It's actually one you suggested, or a variation of it, I guess."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"I will, on one condition."

"What's that?"

"If you like it, and we decide it's her name, we keep it just between us for now."

"I can agree to that."

I brushed my lips against his ear, whispering the name to him.

He stopped swaying, looking past me as he thought about it. "Hm…"

"What do you think?"

He met my gaze again. "It's perfect. I love it."

"So, that's her name?"

"That's her name," he confirmed, then he started us turning in slow circles again. "Although, I still think little Elizabeth would've been a good name."

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Incorrigible."

"What? She would be Elizabeth the Second, like the Queen! How perfect would that be?"

I shook my head. "Babe, you'd better stop right now before I change my mind about Elizabeth being her middle name."

"Fine." He smiled and kissed my nose. "Love you."

"I love you, too, birthday boy."

...

I turned to glance into the back of the car. Teddy was sound asleep in his car seat. The dogs were both curled up; Rip was snoring softly, and Bronte had one ear cocked, her eyes on Teddy.

"Everyone still doing okay back there?" Jack looked over at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes." I reached for my phone when it buzzed.

"Who's that?"

I finished sending my response. "Lee. Apparently, Rosemary went into labor early this morning."

"Man, one day sooner and their little guy could've shared my birthday."

"This is better, though. Your birthday should be all about you. Not all about you and their baby." I reached across the center console and took his hand, squeezing it gently. "Because you know Rosemary is going to make a huge deal out of his birthday every year."

"Oh, shoot, we're supposed to watch Alina for them, aren't we?"

"Yes. It's fine, though. He just said they haven't left for the hospital yet, and we should make it back home before they head out."

Within half an hour, we found ourselves back in Hope Valley, standing on our porch with Rosemary and Lee.

"Okay, here's her bag." She handed it to Jack. "There are a few days' worth of clothes in there and plenty of diapers. There's a spare key to the house in the inside pocket just in case we're gone longer than we expect and you need to get more of her things."

"Rosie, we need to go." Lee tugged on her arm. "We don't want you giving birth in the car, do we?"

Ignoring him, she turned back to me. "Oh, she doesn't like blueberries, but she'll eat just about anything else."

"Rosemary, we'll be fine here." I shifted Alina to my other shoulder. "Right, girlie?"

Alina nodded.

"Say bye to your mama and daddy."

"Bye, mama. Bye, daddy."

Lee and Rosemary bid her goodbye, finally heading to their car after Rosemary had another contraction.

Jack put a hand on my back as we walked into the house. "Well, what should we do now?"

"Maybe have a snack and watch a movie?"

"Sound of Music?"

"Obviously."

He smiled and shook his head. "I'll get Teddy and set it all up."

...

Rosemary's labor was short. By the time the movie was over, baby boy Coulter had been born. Once we got the okay from Lee to come visit, we loaded the kids into the car and headed for the hospital, dropping Teddy off with Abigail on the way.

Alina reached for Lee the moment we entered the room.

Rosemary smiled, shifting the little baby in her arms. He was the spitting image of Lee, with a head full of dark hair and a serious expression etched on his tiny face.

"Say hello to Matthias Gray Coulter."

"He's beautiful, Rosie."

"I know you're dying to hold him." She held him out. "Go ahead."

I gave her a grateful smile and lifted the baby from her arms.

"Hello, Matthias." I ran a finger across his soft cheek. "I'm your Auntie Beth. This is your Uncle Jack."

"We live right next door, so if you ever need a break from your parents, you can come over." Jack winked at Rosemary, who just rolled her eyes.

"We have a little boy who's just over a year older than you, and we're going to have a little girl in a few months, so you already have some playmates. And speaking of playmates, I think your big sister is eager to meet you." I returned little Matthias to Rosemary's arms.

"Bring her here, Lee." Rosemary held out one arm, tucking Alina against her side when Lee lowered her to the bed. "Hi there, honey. This is your brother, Matthias."

Alina shook her head. "No bruder."

Lee chuckled. "Sorry, sweets. He's ours."

"We'll go to the waiting room, give you guys some family time. Just let us know when you're ready for us to take Alina home."

"And congrats." Jack clapped Lee on the back.

"Thank you both."

...

A week later, Rosemary and Lee were back home with little Matthias, and they were getting settled in as a family of four.

Meanwhile, I was spending my days chasing after Teddy, getting things ready to go back to work, and preparing the house for the new baby.

Jack came home from work and found me sitting in the middle of our bed, sorting through the clothes Teddy had outgrown for things we could keep for our daughter.

"Dada!" Teddy dropped his bear and reached toward Jack.

He ruffled his hair. "Hi, little man. I missed you today." He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. "I missed you, too."

"How was work?"

"Good. We've finally made some progress on the case we're working on."

"That's good." I continued folding onesies and stacking them beside me.

"How's our little peach doing today?"

"She's good." I stopped folding and rested my hands on my stomach. "She's got tons of energy. I don't think she's stopped moving since I woke up this morning."

His eyes lit up. "Do you think I'll be able to feel her now?"

"Let's see." I grabbed his hand and placed it on my stomach where the baby was kicking.

His lips curled up into a smile at a particularly strong kick. "I felt that." He leaned down and kissed my belly. "Hi, Em. I love you."

"I have a feeling she's going to be a daddy's girl."

"What makes you think that?"

I put my hand on his. "When you talk to her like that, she stops moving for a second. It's like she's really trying to listen to you."

"Really?"

"Mhmm. I noticed her doing it a couple times before, but it's just been recently that I realized she does it every time you talk to her."

"That's amazing." He leaned back down. "So, I should talk about interesting things since you're listening to me, eh? Hm… How about I tell you all about how amazing your mama is?"

"Jack…"

"Hush." He put one hand on either side of my stomach. "Anyway, about your mama. I met her two and a half years ago when I moved in next door to her. I knew she was special the very first time I saw her. Then she baked me some cookies, and man, I knew I was a goner right then and there. She's a wonderful baker; just wait until you try her gooey butter cake. And she's the very best mom. Just ask your brother." He smiled at Teddy. "Your mama is so patient and kind, and she gives the best hugs. You're going to love her so much. I love her so much."

I pulled him up by the shoulder and pressed my lips to his. "I love you so much."