Hi Hearties,

Another chapter for you already! I've had lots of free time this weekend so I will even have chapter 20 up in the next few days.

I hope you enjoy this, I'd love a review from you also if you have time :)

Chapter 19

The weather warmed, the days got longer, and Summer had arrived in Hope Valley.

Elizabeth sat at her school desk and looked up at the children. They were all tired and restless from the warm heat of the day. It was certainly stuffy in the school room and she felt they needed a break.

"You can all have recess." She informed them, and children clamoured out of their seats and headed outside.

"Mrs Thornton, can you come play jump rope with us?" Opal asked.

"I'm sorry Opal, my babies grown too much for me to be able to do that right now. You go play with the bigger girls alright?" Elizabeth informed her, and Opal ran off outside.

Elizabeth was seven months pregnant now and the summer heat was getting to her.

She slowly made her way outside and sat on the steps of the Church as she watched the children play.

After twenty minutes she rang her cow bell and ushered the children back into the classroom. They all took their seats, but she noticed a few of them were missing.

"Where are Emily, Philip and Opal?"

"I saw them out by the pond." Anna pointed out.

Without a word Elizabeth rushed out of the school house and all the children followed her.

She hurried down the steps and looked across to the pond and could see the row boat out in the middle of the pond with children inside.

"Cody, Robert, go find Constable Thornton and tell him to come out here right away."

Cody and Robert ran off towards town as Elizabeth hurried over to the side of the pond. All the children gathered around her as they watched Emily, Philip and Opal out in the row boat.

Emily was clearly trying to use the oars but wasn't having much success.

"Just stay still!" Elizabeth called out, but she wasn't sure if the children could hear what she was saying.

She saw the three children wave, so she suspected they must have heard something.

Soon enough Cody and Robert returned with Jack.

"Emily, Philip and Opal are stuck out in the row boat." Elizabeth told Jack as he got close enough to hear.

"I'll swim out and get them." Jack said as he pulled off his serge and Elizabeth took it from him.

He then removed his boots and jumped into the water and swam out to the row boat.

He somehow managed to climb into the row boat without it tipping and he rowed the children back to shore.

Jack climbed out of the boat and then carefully helped the children out, and Emily and Opal ran over to Elizabeth's side.

"What in the world were the three of you doing out in the row boat? You know you're not allowed by the pond during school hours." Elizabeth exclaimed.

Jack stood dripping wet by the side of the shore. Philip stood by Jack's side just as all three of the children started crying. Elizabeth got down on her knees and the girls clamoured onto her lap and buried their faces into each of her shoulders. Jack took hold of Philips hand and gave it a squeeze. He thought to pick him up but he was much too wet.

"We just wanted to go out in the row boat like you and Mountie Jack." Opal told her.

Elizabeth looked up at Jack and they exchanged a look.

"It's been a long day, I think we should go find your parents." Elizabeth suggested as she wrapped her arms around the girls.

"Mrs Thornton please don't tell our parents." Emily exclaimed.

"You're not in trouble, but we do need to tell your parents."

The girls and Philip nodded.

"Thank you for coming out Jack." She said giving him a smile.

"Of course, it's what I'm here for right?"

"I would have gone out myself but in my condition, I don't think I would have fared too well." She said as she placed her hands on her stomach.

"I'm glad you got the boys to come and get me."

He leaned over and carefully tried not to wet her as he gave her a kiss on the cheek

"I'll go home and get changed and then come into town and help you with the children."

"That would be great." She said giving him a smile.

Elizabeth then guided all the children into town to try send as many of them as she could back to their parents, while Jack headed back to the row house to change.

Later that afternoon

Elizabeth and Jack had gotten all the children back to their parents and headed up the steps and into Abigail's Café.

"I heard you two have had an eventful day." Abigail said greeting them with a smile.

"We certainly have." Elizabeth replied.

"Mountie Jack saved the day did he?" Abigail said knowingly with a smile on her face.

"Something like that. At least it was a good day for a swim." Jack said.

"If you'd like to take a seat I'll get back to you soon." Abigail informed them as she gave Elizabeth's arm a gentle squeeze before she headed off into the kitchen.

Jack and Elizabeth found a vacant table and Jack held out a chair for Elizabeth to take a seat before he sat down himself.

"Elizabeth, I have something to tell you."

"You do?" She asked with concern in her voice.

"Sorry, it's good news." He said noticing the worried look on her face as he reached for her hand across the table. "It's the house, it will be ready to move in by next week."

"That's wonderful news Jack!" She said getting up and going over to his side. He stood up and they embraced before Elizabeth kissed him on the lips like there was nobody else in the room. They had a few surprised onlookers but neither Jack nor Elizabeth noticed. They pulled out of the kiss but held their embrace and looked at each other.

Abigail noticed the two of them and waited until Jack and Elizabeth broke their gaze from each other before interrupting. "What's the news? It looks like the two of you are happy about something." She asked.

"Jack's just told me the new house will be ready next week."

"That's wonderful. You've done an amazing job on that house Jack, I'm very impressed." Abigail informed him.

"I did have some help."

"Maybe so, but I know how hard you've been working out there, just like you did with the Church."

Jack nodded feeling humbled upon hearing Abigail's words.

"You have been Jack, and I'm so proud of you." Elizabeth said as she looked at him and gave his hand a squeeze.

"So, can I get you both a drink? I have fresh lemonade in the kitchen."

"Sounds wonderful." Elizabeth replied as she sat down at the table once more.

"Alright, I'll be back soon." Abigail said as she headed off once more.

Late in the afternoon the following week

Jack and Elizabeth had an early supper at the Coulter's and then returned to their own row house along with Lee.

Jack and Lee hauled the last of the boxes out of Jack and Elizabeth's row house and placed them into the wagon.

Jack then walked back inside the empty row house where he found Elizabeth cleaning up the last few things.

"I'm going to miss this place." She said as she stopped what she was doing and stood by Jack's side. "It's where I lived with Abigail when I first moved to Hope Valley and then it was the first place I could really call my own home, other than Hamilton."

"I'll miss this little place too. We've shared so many memories here, but we have a lifetime of memories to make at our new place." Jack reminded her.

"You're right. I shouldn't be so sentimental."

"It's ok to be sentimental." He said wrapping an arm around her and placing a kiss on her temple.

"I am looking forward to seeing the new house all set up."

"Good, because I'm sure you're going to love it. Although, Lee told me Rosemary has been giving him and Hickam orders on where everything should go. You may want to move things around when you see it."

"I'm sure it will be fine for now." She said reassuring him.

"I did tell Rosie not to reorganize the babies room though."

"Reorganize?" Elizabeth questioned.

"You'll see when we get there." Jack said giving her a grin.

Elizabeth smiled, and Jack took her hand.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked looking around the house before his eyes returned to Elizabeth's.

"Almost."

Elizabeth let go of Jack's hand and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She paused and then leaned in and kissed him. He returned the kiss before they eventually pulled away and Jack rested his forehead on Elizabeth's. They stayed like that for a few moments until they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat across the room. They both turned their heads and saw Rosemary standing in the front door way.

Elizabeth noticed Rosemary had a sad look on her face.

"Rosemary, is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked with concern in her voice as she walked over to her friends side.

"Oh Elizabeth, I'm just going to miss the both of you." She exclaimed with tears in her eyes and Elizabeth embraced her.

"We're not going far, we'll still likely see you every day." Elizabeth said as she pulled out of the embrace and looked at Rosemary.

"I know, but it won't quite be the same." Rosemary said still upset.

Elizabeth looked at her sadly and then tried her best to give he a smile.

"Once Lee is finished with your house you'll even be a little closer to us again." Jack reminded her.

Rosemary then wrapped her arms around both Jack and Elizabeth.

"Rosie?" Lee said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Rosemary stepped back and stood by Lee's side as he held Johnathan in his arms.

"So, you're going now?" Rosemary asked.

"We are." Elizabeth said solemnly.

Lee and Rosemary stood aside, and Jack and Elizabeth exited the row house.

Elizabeth looked down at Johnathan and she ran her fingers across his little hand, it was her way of saying goodbye to him. He kicked his chubby legs and wiggled in Lee's arms and she gave him a smile.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Elizabeth said looking up at Lee and Rosemary, and Rosemary quietly nodded.

Jack took Elizabeth's hand and they walked down the porch steps before he helped her onto the wagon. He then got in himself and took the horses reigns. They said their final goodbyes and Jack sanctioned Sargent to move on.

Lee wrapped an arm around Rosemary as they watched Jack and Elizabeth ride off towards their new home.

The sun was setting now. They were quickly losing light as Jack pulled up at the front of their new home. They sat for a moment and looked over at the house and took in the enormity of the moment. Elizabeth looked over at Jack and grinned in excitement.

"So, you ready to see it?" He asked as he climbed off the wagon.

"I've been ready for years."

"Years? We've only been married eight months." Jack said as he looked up at her sitting in the wagon.

"Well, I've kind of been waiting since the moment you told me you bought this land." She admitted, and he took her hand and helped her down from the wagon.

"I have too." He said smiling.

He wrapped an arm around her as they walked towards the house, and they stopped as they reached the bottom of the porch steps.

"It looks big." Elizabeth said as she looked up at the house.

"Well it's big compared to the row house, but not big in comparison to Hamilton." Jack reminded her.

"It's bigger than I thought it would be." Elizabeth told him.

"You haven't seen what it looks like inside yet."

"I know it will be perfect."

He looked over at her and smiled.

"Come on." He said as he took her up the steps and opened the front door.

She walked inside and stopped as she looked around. All their furniture had been put in place and it looked wonderful.

Elizabeth looked through the kitchen and then into the parlour. She saw their open fire place up against the far wall and the settee from the row house. She saw Jack's painting of their new house up on the wall near the fire place and the photos and drawings of her and Jack on the mantlepiece above the fire.

"It's a little empty in here but I thought you'd like to pick out some furniture sometime. Your Father said he could arrange to have some things shipped from Hamilton if there's anything there you wanted. Either from your bedroom or we could go shopping there sometime."

Elizabeth gave Jack a quiet smile and continued to walk through the house. They walked to the back of the house and into the indoor bathroom.

"So? Are you liking it?" Jack asked, hoping she would say something.

"Oh." Elizabeth said, she realised she had been too busy taking everything in to talk. "It's wonderful Jack. I love it." She said holding firmly onto his arm, and she gave it a squeeze.

"Let me take you upstairs." He said, and he guided her towards the stairwell and they made their way up the steps.

She noticed several of Jack's painting on the wall leading up the stairway and she smiled.

"This is the study, I thought you'd like to do you're writing in here."

Elizabeth looked around, and noticed two large dark wooden bookcases along the backwall that were already filled with her books. In the corner she saw a new desk with her typewriter sitting atop, as well as her book that Jack had published for her. In the other corner was her old desk which held Jack's sketch pad and paints.

"I thought I could use this room myself sometimes too." He said noticing Elizabeth look over at the desk. It might be nice to work in here together sometimes."

"I like that idea." She said giving him a smile.

He then guided her down the hallway.

"This is the spare room, it's pretty bare right now but I'm sure in time we'll fill it." Jack said before leading her to the next room. "And this is our room."

Elizabeth entered the room and noticed their bed already set up. She also noticed the very large wooden wardrobe against the wall that Jack had said he'd build her.

She entered the bedroom and looked around before looking inside the wardrobe.

"I love it Jack. You really made this?"

Jack nodded, pleased that she liked the wardrobe, especially after all the issues it had caused when he'd initially mentioned the idea to her.

Elizabeth returned to his side and held onto his arm again.

"I have one more room to show you." Jack said as he guided her back out into the hall and opened the door to a room next door to theirs.

Elizabeth stepped inside and looked around.

"Jack…" She whispered, but couldn't continue as she was speechless.

She looked around the soft green painted walls of the room and noticed a large painted mural of a forest, full of trees and woodland animals on the far wall. She didn't have to ask him whether he had painted it, she knew it was his handiwork.

"This is beautiful." Elizabeth said in awe. She threw her arms around Jack and kissed him. She pulled away and he noticed the happy tears in her eyes and he wiped them away and smiled.

She then continued to look around the room and noticed a white crib against the wall. On the other wall she saw the white bookcase Jack had made for the baby, and realised it matched the crib perfectly. The bookcase now contained a few children's books on the shelves and she smiled upon seeing them.

"Where did you get this crib?" She asked as walked over to the crib and ran her hands over the wood.

"When we were in Hamilton, while you were out shopping with Julie."

"It's gorgeous Jack."

She looked in the crib and saw Brownie sitting there and she laughed.

"I love it here, and I love you." She said turning around to face Jack.

"I love you." He said as Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him.

"I couldn't have imagined a more beautiful home. Thank you for building it for us."

Jack leaned in and placed his lips on Elizabeth's. He rested his hands on her hips and pulled her closer as she placed one hand on his chest and the other ran up into his hair.

Jack was surprised as Elizabeth quickly pulled out of the kiss and grabbed his hand. She placed his hand on her stomach and looked back up into his eyes.

She saw his eyes brighten and noticed the dimples in his cheeks as she felt the baby kick and knew he had too.

"I think he or she is really going to like it here." She told Jack as her hand covered his as he continued to rest it on her stomach.

"I think she is, but because she knows her Mummy is happy." Jack told her, and Elizabeth smiled.

"She?" Elizabeth asked, and Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe. When I decorated this room I could imagine a little girl with your auburn hair and bright blue eyes, I'm sure she'll look as beautiful as her Mummy." Jack said as he placed his hand on Elizabeth cheek.

"It could be a boy, with your brown hair and dimples, and he'd grow up to be just as handsome as his Father." Elizabeth suggested.

"Possibly, but I just have an inkling this one might be a little girl." He said continuing to hold his hand on her stomach. He felt the baby kick again and they both smiled at each other.

"You must be exhausted after today, especially with this little one kicking around in there on and off all day." Jack said taking Elizabeth's hand.

"A little." She replied, and they walked out of the babies' bedroom.

"How about I go unload the last of the things in the wagon and you get ready for bed?" Jack suggested.

"That sounds wonderful Jack."

Elizabeth changed into her nightgown and went through a few of the boxes in the spare room while she waited for Jack to finish unloading the wagon.

"What are you looking for?" Jack asked as he entered the room.

Elizabeth pulled something out of a box and quickly hid it behind her back.

"What do you have?" He asked noticing she was hiding something.

"It's nothing." She said trying not to laugh. She hurried past Jack's side and went into their bedroom.

"Show me?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth stood at the end of their bed and took her hands from behind her back and held out a small blue blanket. Jack's jaw dropped as he recognized his blankie.

"Where did you get that?" He asked as he tried to take it out of her hands. She was too fast though and she quickly hid it behind her back again.

"Your Mother gave it to me when she came to visit last week. She thought I might like it." Elizabeth said giggling.

"Why would you want my blankie?"

"I don't know, I think it's kind of cute." She told him with a grin on her face.

"But you don't need my blankie." He said his voice softening as he slowly walked up to her.

"But you do?" She asked him.

"I certainly don't need it anymore."

"And why's that?" She asked coyly.

"Because I got a feather bed."

"For your blankie?" Elizabeth asked laughing.

"No, not for my blankie." Jack said more seriously.

"You didn't?!" Elizabeth exclaimed thinking that Jack may have bought a feather bed.

"I did." Jack informed her, and she turned around to look at the bed.

"You got us a feather bed?" Elizabeth asked excitedly as she sat down on the bed to check. "You really got us a feather bed!" She exclaimed, and as she was distracted Jack pulled the blankie from her hands. "Hey!"

"I don't need this." He told her as he sat down next to her and placed the blankie aside.

"You don't?" She asked, her voice softening now.

"No, because I have you in my feather bed." He said as he lay back on the bed and he pulled her down with him.