Hi Hearties,
Thank you so much for continuing to read my fic! My goal is to complete this fic before Season 5 starts. I don't think it will happen by Christmas so I'm aiming for February :) A lot of this chapter came out of left field, which is my favourite way to write as I end up surprising myself along the way. I hope you enjoy reading, as always I have lots of romantic J&E stuff in here for you.
Christmas can't come soon enough though!
Thanks again for reading and I would love it if you left a review :)
Jack carried the suitcases into the row house as Elizabeth followed closely behind. They had just returned home from their weekend away in Buxton, for the Mountie Ball.
Jack placed the suitcases on the bottom of the steps before removing his coat and heading back over towards the front door. He hung his coat on one of the pegs on the wall and then stopped and looked over at Elizabeth.
"What was that?" He asked listening.
Elizabeth stopped what she was doing and listened.
"It's a baby!" Elizabeth exclaimed excitedly. She noticed the puzzled look on Jack's face. "Rosemary must have had the baby!"
Elizabeth rushed back to the front door, she passed Jack and headed out onto the porch. She went over to to Lee and Rosemary's and waited on their porch until Jack caught up with her.
"Should we be barging in on them now?"
"Barging in? You do know whose house this is, don't you?" Elizabeth said somewhat jokingly. "You're the one who suggested we need to start locking the front door so Rosemary would stop walking in unannounced."
"You're right."
"I'm sure they'd both want us here." Elizabeth suggested, and Jack nodded in agreement.
Elizabeth eagerly knocked on the door and a moment later it opened. They were greeted by Lee who ushered them straight into the house.
"It's good to see the Thornton's have returned. Rosemary has been eager to see you Elizabeth."
"I can imagine why, we did hear a little noise from over at our house." Elizabeth said with a smile.
"I'll let Rosemary share the news with you. She's upstairs in the babies room if you'd like to go find her." Lee said.
"I'll come see the baby soon." Jack said, and Elizabeth made her own way up the stairs.
"Rosemary." Elizabeth quietly called out, she didn't want to surprise Rosemary or wake a sleeping baby.
"Elizabeth?" Come in." Rosemary called out.
Elizabeth followed Rosemary's voice and walked into a bedroom that was clearly decorated for a baby.
"Oh Rosemary." Elizabeth said as she noticed Rosemary holding her baby.
"This is Johnathan Leland Coulter." Rosemary said walking over to Elizabeth's side and showing her the baby.
"Oh, he's gorgeous." Elizabeth gushed as she looked down at the baby in Rosemary's arms. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you when he arrived."
"It's alright, I understand." Rosemary replied as she looked from Elizabeth and then back down to her baby and she gave him a smile.
"I'm not sure I would have been much help anyway, you know childbirth isn't my expertise."
"Well as you know, it's not mine either, but somehow I managed to bring this little boy into the world."
"You look like you know what you're doing already." Elizabeth said giving her a smile as she noticed how receptive and nurturing Rosemary appeared to be with her son.
"I'm trying, and Abigail was right. Now that he's here I can't imagine wanting anything more than being a Mother to this little baby."
"I'm so pleased, and although I'm not quite a Mother yet myself, I do have enough faith in you that I knew Abigail was going to be right." Elizabeth said giving her a smile.
"Thank you, you're a good friend Elizabeth." Rosemary told her. "Would you like to hold him?"
"I'd love to."
Rosemary handed her son over to Elizabeth who carefully took him in her arms.
"Oh, aren't you a gorgeous boy." Elizabeth said looking down at Johnathan and giving him a smile. "And this room is amazing Rosemary. I can't believe what you've done with it." Elizabeth said gazing around the room at all the wooden furnishings and baby items.
"Ned Yost started wondering what was going on with all the items that were arriving at the Mercantile. I did go a slightly over-board, but we will have more room once we move into the new house."
"Well I think it looks wonderful as it is. It will be nice to get into a larger place though; Jack and I think we should be moving out of our row house before the baby is due."
"Oh, I hope it's not too soon." Rosemary said before she looked down at Johnathan. "We like having Auntie Elizabeth close by don't we."
Elizabeth smiled upon hearing Rosemary's words.
"We'll never be far away, and I'm always up for baby sitting duties, even when we're not neighbours."
Rosemary gave Elizabeth a smile.
"How about we go downstairs and find the men?" Rosemary suggested.
Elizabeth and Rosemary headed downstairs and found Lee and Jack sitting on the settee. The men got up from the settee, so Elizabeth and Rosemary could take a seat.
Jack smiled seeing baby Johnathan in Elizabeth's arms, and Elizabeth took note.
"So, won't be long now and you'll have one of these yourself." Lee said giving Jack a nudge. "Johnathan here will have a little friend."
"He will." Jack replied with a smile.
"So how was the Mountie Ball?" Rosemary asked looking over at Elizabeth.
"Well it was, interesting…" Elizabeth said looking up at Jack as she gently rocked Johnathan in her arms.
"Interesting?" Rosemary asked confused.
"It's a long story."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Rosemary pointed out, she was even more interested now. "Maybe you men could go for a walk while Elizabeth and I chat. Jack would you like to take Johnathan?"
"Oh, I don't know Rosie…" Jack started.
"You'll need the practice." Rosemary suggested.
Elizabeth stood up and placed Johnathan into Jack's arms and she looked up him. She noticed him gazing down at the baby and she smiled.
She backed away from Jack and sat back down on the settee next to Rosemary.
"You look like you don't need so much practice after all." Rosemary pointed out.
Jack and Elizabeth shared a smile between each other.
"Well us men will make ourselves scarce, so you women can chat." Lee said, and he and Jack headed off out to the front porch with Johnathan.
"So how was the Ball? It must have been wonderful!" Rosemary exclaimed.
"It was, but we did have a little mishap."
"Oh dear, what happened? Didn't the dress fit?" Rosemary asked.
"No, it wasn't that." Elizabeth stated somewhat alarmed as she was taken aback by Rosemary's suggestion. Elizabeth knew from past dealings that Rosemary had insinuated her specific attributes in regard to fitting her into a ball gown. She took a deep breath and decided to ignore Rosemary's comment and moved on. "Well I had a few interested suitors and it didn't end well."
"Oh my, did Jack get jealous?" Rosemary asked jumping to conclusions.
"Well not quite. It was more like he was being very protective, and he certainly had reason to."
"Oh dear." Rosemary exclaimed.
"Another Mountie would not accept my refusal to dance, and things got a little out of hand."
"That must have been terrible Elizabeth. I hope that you and Jack dealt with him."
"I tried but it ended badly, then Jack intervened, and the Mountie ended up with Jack's fist in his face." Elizabeth said wincing at the thought of the fight.
"Oh my! Well it sounds like he must have deserved it if Jack took things that far."
"The other Mountie was unable to be reasoned with and things certainly did get out of hand."
"Well I'm glad Jack was there to look out for you." Rosemary informed her, and Elizabeth gave her a small smile.
"Enough about us though, tell me all about you and Johnathan while I was away."
"Well it was quite a surprise as I wasn't expecting him for another two weeks. I started to get quite uncomfortable while at Abigail's. It was probably good timing as Abigail was right there and she ushered me back home and she helped me with the delivery here."
"I'm so pleased Abigail was there for you, I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you out."
"No need to apologise, you weren't to know."
Jack and Lee walked back into the house with Johnathan who was now crying.
"I think he's hungry." Rosemary said getting up from the settee and heading over to Lee and taking Johnathan from him.
"Well we'll let you feed him. We need to get back home anyway, we've only just walked in the door." Elizabeth informed Rosemary. "He's darling Rosemary." She said gently running a finger over Johnathan's hand before looking back up at her friend. The two women shared a smile, they all said their goodbyes and Jack followed Elizabeth out the front door of the Coulter's home.
"Rosemary seems to have settled quite smoothly into Motherhood." Elizabeth said as she walked into their house.
"She has, and I know you will too once our baby arrives." Jack said as he stood behind Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her. "You looked good holding a baby." He said placing a kiss on her cheek.
"You looked like a natural yourself." She said turning her head to look at him and giving him a smile.
Later that evening
"What are you making for supper?" Jack asked as he walked up behind Elizabeth who was standing at the stove. He looked over her shoulder to see what she was doing and then placed a kiss on the side of her neck.
"Pot roast." She said as she turned around to face him and gave him a smile.
"It smells good."
"Not as good as you." Elizabeth replied as she noticed his familiar aftershave, and she wrapped her arms around him.
He raised an eyebrow hearing her words and leaned in closer and kissed her.
"I just took a bath." He said as he pulled away from the kiss.
He ran his hands down her sides and then placed his hands on her stomach.
Elizabeth noticed an unknowing look in his face as their eyes met each other.
"What?" She asked.
"You're starting to get a little tummy." He said as he ran his hands over her stomach.
"I am?" She asked as she placed her hands down on her stomach.
"You didn't notice your clothes were a little tighter?"
"Not really, but it seems that's something you always take note of." She said thinking back to one of their first meetings when Jack had made a similar observation.
Jack grinned as he had the same thought.
"I think it's cute." He said smiling.
"Cute?"
"Your little tummy."
"I'm going to be huge soon." Elizabeth exclaimed.
"You're meant to, you're growing our baby in there, and you'll always be beautiful." Jack said, and he leaned in and kissed his wife.
Elizabeth placed her hands on his chest as he pulled her in closer and their kisses became more passionate.
"The pot roast will burn." She said pushing lightly on his chest and she broke away from his kisses.
"Well I'll let you get back to your cooking then."
Elizabeth took hold of Jack's hand just as he went to walk off. He turned back around to face her as he felt the hold she had on his hand.
"Those kisses were very convincing, don't forget about them." She told him.
"I never forget your kisses." He said earnestly.
"I mean, we'll continue them later, ok."
Jack grinned knowing exactly what she meant, and he quickly kissed her on the cheek before leaving her side.
The next day
Elizabeth woke up and saw the sunlight streaming in through the window beneath the blinds. She noticed the empty presence in the bed as Jack had already gotten up. They both had work today, but she knew it wouldn't be too late in the morning as Jack would have woken her.
Elizabeth sat up in the bed as she heard a noise coming from outside. She got out of the bed and walked over to the window. She pulled back the blinds and looked out the window and saw Jack chopping wood out in the backyard. She watched him for a moment and felt her cheeks start to warm.
Elizabeth decided she'd go downstairs. She pulled the curtains back in place and grabbed Jack's shirt she found hanging on the end of the bed. She slipped it on herself and did up a couple of the buttons and went downstairs.
She opened the backdoor and stood in the doorway and watched him again as he repeatedly swung the axe down onto the wood. After a few moments he stopped and looked up, he met her gaze and she knew she'd been caught watching him. She noticed him grin at her and he placed down his axe.
His eyes then travelled down from her face and he noticed what she was wearing.
"What are you wearing?" Jack asked as he noticed her in his shirt.
"I could ask you the same thing. Or ask what you're not wearing." She stated as she saw him in just his trousers and singlet. She also noticed his suspenders that were hooked onto his waistband were hanging loosely down his legs.
He walked towards her and pulled his suspenders up over his shoulders.
"I like you in my shirt." He said just above a whisper, before placing a kiss on her lips. He felt the smile on her lips as his brushed against hers.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes as he brushed a tendril of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
"You look pretty attractive yourself." She said taking hold of his suspenders and pulling him in closer for another kiss.
"Only attractive?" He asked pulling away from the kiss. "I admitted to thinking you were attractive when we were courting."
"If I told you what I really thought, I think we'd be late for work." She said giving him a grin.
Jack leaned in and kissed her again as he took hold of his shirt that she was wearing, and pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she felt his hands go under the shirt she was wearing and rest on the small of her back. They got lost in each other for a few moments before breaking away from the kiss.
"I think I should go get dressed." Elizabeth said, her voice sounding ragged.
Jack nodded in agreement as he wasn't yet ready to speak.
They removed their hands from each other and Jack followed Elizabeth into the house.
A little later that morning.
"Here let me take those." Jack said as he took the books out of Elizabeth's hands as they walked to the school house.
"Thank you."
"Are you free to have lunch with me today? I can stop by the school during lunch time."
"I'd love that." She replied.
They reached the bottom of the steps of the Church and they stopped and turned towards each other.
"So, I have to do my rounds."
"Yes, and the children will be here soon."
Both their statements were to remind themselves just as much as each other.
"So, I should go." Jack said stating the obvious but not wanting to leave.
He looked around to make sure no one was in sight before he leaned in and kissed Elizabeth on the lips. He pulled away and she gave him a smile.
"I'll see you for lunch." Jack said, and she nodded in agreement.
Jack walked off but looked back over his shoulder momentarily as he watched her ascend the steps of the Church. He then continued on his way.
"Jack!" She called out and he quickly turned around to face her once again. He saw her standing at the top of the steps looking down at him. "I'll miss you." She called out.
"I'll miss you too, sweetheart."
She blew him a kiss and he pretend to catch it and place it on his cheek which made her smile.
She headed into the Church and Jack watched her go, he smiled to himself before turning around and making his way into town.
Elizabeth sat at her desk as the children worked on their projects. It was their second annual Kindness Week and she'd gotten them to write down some plans for the week ahead. She got up from her desk and walked around the room to observe their work.
"Now remember, the best forms are kindness are the spontaneous ones. I don't want you purposely doing kind things only on the basis of self-gratification or to keep me happy." She reminded them.
"You're all doing such a great job here, but now we need to move onto Math." She suggested, and she heard several moans throughout the classroom.
"Don't worry, I have something I think you'll enjoy today."
Most of the children's eyes brightened and Elizabeth delved into what they were going to participate in.
"Any questions?" Elizabeth asked after she'd finished explaining. Her eyes scanned the room and she noticed Opal raise her hand.
"Yes Opal?"
"Has Mountie Jack been feeding you lots now he's your husband?" Opal asked.
"No Opal, I think Constable Thornton has put a baby in her tummy." Emily bluntly informed her.
Elizabeth's jaw dropped but she quickly closed it before any of the children noticed.
"Shhh Emily, I don't think Mrs Thornton knows us kids know she's having a baby." Anna informed her.
"You all know?" Elizabeth asked sounding disappointed.
The children all nodded.
"I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you myself." Elizabeth said apologetically, feeling a bit hurt she didn't get to share the news with them herself.
"Well it was kinda obvious Mrs Thornton." Robert bluntly blurted out.
"Oh." Elizabeth said as she placed her hands on her stomach.
"You've also been acting kinda… different lately." Emily pointed out.
The backdoors opened and all the children's heads swung to the back door.
Elizabeth looked up to the back door herself and noticed Jack standing there. He was looking as smart as always in his red serge. She wasn't sure if she'd been 'saved by the bell' or whether his presence in the school house was going to stir up the children's questioning and discussion even further.
Jack noticed all the eyes on him and a few smiles from the children, and realized he'd walked in on something. He looked up at Elizabeth and gave her a questioning look.
He realised no one was going to speak so he started to himself.
"Its not lunch time yet?" Jack asked to try break the silence.
All the children's eyes darted back to Elizabeth. She noted the children's eager faces, obviously hopeful for their lunch break
"You can all go to lunch." She informed them, and they rushed out of their seats.
Most of them hurried out past Jack and he stood at the double doors still somewhat confused.
"Did something just go on here that I'm missing?" He asked as Elizabeth came up to his side.
"We were discussing how you put a baby in Mrs Thornton's tummy." Opal exclaimed with a big smile on her face. She then continued out the double doors of the Church and headed outside.
Jack had a shocked look on his face and he looked from Opal and back up to Elizabeth and she shrugged.
"You're teaching them THAT?" Jack asked.
"That?"
"You know…the birds and the bee's."
"Oh, no." Elizabeth exclaimed surprised, she only now realized how Jack came to that conclusion. "They did however discover that we're having a baby." Elizabeth said starting to sound disappointed.
"You have been somewhat emotional at times the past couple weeks." He reminded her.
He noticed her eyes grow wide.
"But it hasn't been that bad." He honestly stated trying to console her.
He wrapped his arm around her and guided her out the doors and they sat down on the steps and watched the children.
He noticed how quiet she was and he handed her the sandwiches he'd brought with him.
"Elizabeth, you honestly haven't been that emotional, I'm sure there's other reasons the children must have found out."
"They noticed my stomach?" She asked wondering if she was more noticeable than she thought.
"No, I meant they likely just heard the word around town."
"I know, I'm just disappointed because I wanted to tell them myself."
"I understand. I know how much you care about your students Elizabeth." He said taking her hand.
Elizabeth sighed and took out her sandwich. Her and Jack sat in silence as they ate while watching the children play.
"So, you have a busy school week?" Jack asked trying to change the subject and get them talking again.
"We're having our second annual Kindness Week."
"Well it sounds like it could be a promising week then."
Opal then made her way up the steps and stood in front of Jack and Elizabeth.
"Miss Thatch… uh Mrs Thornton."
"Yes Opal?"
"You seem a little sad today, I'd like you to have Brownie."
"That's sweet of you Opal, and very kind." Elizabeth exclaimed as she smiled at Opal.
Opal held out Brownie and Elizabeth took him from her little hands.
"I'll give him back to you at the end of the day."
"I want you to keep him, he's not just for you. I want Mountie Jack's and your baby to have Brownie." Opal said looking from Jack and back to Elizabeth.
"Oh Opal, are you sure?"
"Uh huh, I'm getting older now and I won't need him. I will miss Brownie but you're the bestest teacher in the world Mrs Thornton, and one day I'm going to be a teacher just like you. I want Brownie to look after you and once you're better I want your baby to have him."
"Oh Opal." Elizabeth exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Opal and gave her a hug. "I am honoured that you'd give me Brownie. One day when our baby is old enough he or she is going to love him just as much as you do, I'm sure.
Opal grinned and looked up at Jack and Elizabeth.
"I hope he makes you feel better too." Opal said reminding Elizabeth.
"I'm sure he will, but you know what Opal, you've made me feel better already."
Opal smiled at Elizabeth and then over at Jack. Jack gave the little girl a wink and she grinned before heading back down the stairs to play again.
"I'm proud of you." Jack said as he looked over at Elizabeth.
"Me? Why me?"
"I'm proud of Opal too but you're the one who inspires these children every day." Jack says as he looks out at all the children playing on the lawn before he returns his eyes to Elizabeth's. "She wants to be a teacher like you Elizabeth. Before you came to this town these children couldn't have even dreamed of achieving something like that. You always find the good in them, and they see the good in you. You're an inspiration to all of them."
Jack took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"You give me too much credit."
"I really don't Elizabeth. These children have changed since you first arrived here, and they love you for it."
Jack leaned over and placed a kiss on Elizabeth's cheek, hoping none of the children noticed.
He looked out over at the grass and saw a few of the girls looking at him and giggling.
He turned his attention back to Elizabeth again, she had noticed the small audience they'd obtained as she shook her head but smiled at the same time so he knew she wasn't too worried.
"These children have changed Jack, and I know they love me, but they do deserve some of the credit themselves."
"They do, which is why I'm proud of Opal. But these children couldn't have achieved and dreamed like they do without you."
"Thank you Jack."
"What for?"
"For always seeing the best in me."
"You are the best, the best teacher and the best wife in the world." Jack replied.
Elizabeth gave him a small smile as she leant into his side. His words humbled her and she thought over what he had to say.
"I love you." She told him as they both looked out at the children.
"I love you too."