Hi Hearties,

Sorry it took me longer to get this chapter up then I thought! I hope it ends up being worth the wait for you.

I didn't think I'd ever even try write something like I have in this chapter (I won't say why as I won't give away spoilers ;) ) but I think it's turned out better than I thought it would (I had incredibly low expectations of myself being able to write it though) I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think :)

Elizabeth stirred as she slowly started to wake. She opened her eyes and knew it was still early in the morning. She hadn't been sleeping well now she was in the late stages of her pregnancy. She glanced over at the clock on the bedside table and saw it was just before five. She looked over at Jack who was fast asleep. His arm was stretched out towards her, but his hand didn't quite reach her. She knew he was a deep sleeper, so she moved across the bed and slid herself under his arm and snuggled into his chest. She felt the rise and fall of his chest, and his warm breath in her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but just as she started to doze off she felt the baby start to kick again. Elizabeth moved to try and get herself comfortable and closed her eyes once more.

"Can't sleep again?" She heard Jack ask as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

She opened her eyes and moved so she could look up at him.

"Yes, but I haven't been awake long."

"Are you uncomfortable?" Jack asked as he shifted on the bed.

"I'm fine, the new bed is so comfortable." She said.

She did appreciate the new feather bed Jack had bought for their new house.

"I'm glad you think so. I know you've been saying how uncomfortable you have been feeling lately." Jack said as he brushed the tendrils of hair that were starting to fall across her eyes. The movement of her hair tickled her face and she scrunched up her nose. Jack noticed, and he smiled.

"I was dozing but this baby of ours is keeping me awake now."

Jack pulled back the blanket, placed a hand on Elizabeth's stomach and placed his head next to her stomach.

"Baby." Jack started. "I know you're getting bigger in there and that you're almost ready to come out and meet us, but you need to get some sleep, your Mummy needs her sleep." Elizabeth grinned in amusement as she listened to Jack.

They then both felt the baby kicking and Elizabeth laughed.

"I don't think he's listening to you." She told Jack, but he continued talking to the baby.

"You're going to be very busy when you're out here in the world. You're Mummy will likely be singing, reading, playing and giving you lots of cuddles all day long, and you will be very tired. Then when I'm home, I'm going to give you lots of cuddles and show you so many things out here in the world that you're yet to learn about, so you should get some rest now."

Jack ran his hand over Elizabeth's stomach but neither of them felt anything.

"Maybe you spoke too soon." Jack said to Elizabeth.

"Maybe." She said smiling at him. "I'm not tired anymore though."

"Well we could just talk." Jack said as he lay back on the bed next to Elizabeth. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer before placing a kiss on her lips.

"Or, we could not talk at all." She suggested as she pulled away from the kiss.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her and she leaned into him and her lips found his again.

The following week during the Church Service

Jack and Elizabeth sat in the Church pew as everyone listened to Pastor Frank preaching his sermon. The Church was warm and stuffy from the hot summers day and many of the children were restless as they sat in their pews with their parents.

"Jack, I'm not feeling so good." Elizabeth said quietly in the middle of the service.

"You want to go home?" He asked, and she nodded her head.

They slipped out of the pew and Jack took her hand as they headed down the aisle and out of the Church. He held onto her arm as they made their way down the steps and she stopped at the bottom.

"I think you should go get Abigail, and maybe Faith. She suggested.

"I'm sorry." Jack apologized. "I didn't realise you were feeling that unwell."

"I think I'm in labour."

"What?" He asked shocked.

"I think I'm having the baby."

"Now?" He exclaimed.

"Yes now, please hurry!"

"Alright." He said, and he rushed back into the Church and went to find Abigail and Faith.

Elizabeth held onto the step railings and waited for him to return.

After a few moments Abigail and Rosemary came clamouring out of the Church and headed down to Elizabeth's side.

"Alright Elizabeth, let's get you to my place." Abigail informed her.

Jack held onto Elizabeth's arm and Abigail took the other and they all slowly walked into town and headed to the Café.

They entered the Café and Elizabeth stopped in the middle of the dining room.

"I want to have the baby at home." She exclaimed.

"Sweetie, it's too far to get to the house." Jack said calmly, but she ignored him.

"Go get the wagon Jack, I'm going home!" Elizabeth said a little too insistently as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Elizabeth…" Jack started, he was unsure of what to say and he looked over at Abigail.

"How are you feeling Elizabeth. Have you had any contractions yet?" Abigail asked.

"I'm not sure, I don't think so…" She said.

"Well I don't think you have, otherwise you'd know." Abigail said to Elizabeth before she looked over at Jack. "Jack, she likely does have time to get home…"

Abigail left her statement open to allow Jack to decide whether getting the wagon to take Elizabeth home was the right thing to do.

Jack looked over at Elizabeth and he saw her eyes pleading with him. He kissed her on the cheek and then rushed out the Café door.

"Where's he gone?" Rosemary asked.

"He better have gone to get that wagon, if he hasn't he'll have me to answer to." Abigail said, her voice sounding firm.

Abigail helped Elizabeth sit down in one of the nearby chairs just as Elizabeth started crying.

Elizabeth had been certain that Jack had gone to get the wagon but was now having doubts.

"Oh Elizabeth, I'm sure he'll be back soon. You know how men can be in these situations, he probably wasn't thinking when he hurried off without saying anything." Abigail said trying to console Elizabeth as she wrapped an arm around her.

Fifteen minutes later Jack came running in the door.

"Ok, lets go!" He said, and he rushed over to Elizabeth's side. He took her arm and helped her stand.

"I wasn't sure whether you were coming back!" She said tears streaming down her cheeks as she stood up and held onto Jack's arm.

"What? Why would you think that?" He asked surprised.

"You took off without saying anything."

"I'm so sorry sweetie, I was in such a rush I wasn't thinking. I'm really sorry." He said with concern in his voice as he apologised.

Jack placed kisses on her tear stained cheeks as his offer of apology. He noticed her cries settle and he then guided her out of the Café before helping her into the back of the wagon. He placed a blanket over her lap and Abigail and Rosemary got in the back with her.

Jack stopped for a moment and looked at Elizabeth sitting in the back of the wagon.

"She'll be alright." Abigail said as she noticed the look of concern on Jack's face.

He nodded at Abigail and then hurried up to the front of the wagon. He took hold of the reigns and then sanctioned the horse to head off.

Twenty minutes later at Jack and Elizabeth's house

Jack helped Elizabeth up the stairs and into the bedroom as Abigail and Rosemary followed close behind.

Once Elizabeth was in the room, Rosemary ushered Jack back down the stairs.

"Rosie, what are you doing?" He asked as she started pushing him along.

"You can't stay here Jack! This is women's business."

"I'm worried about my wife."

"She'll be fine. Now go wait with Lee outside. If there's any news, we'll let you know."

Jack stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at Rosemary. She waved her arms for him to move on and he reluctantly turned and headed out of the house.

He found Lee sitting out on the verandah and he sat down next to him.

"Rosie kick you out?" Lee asked.

"Yeah."

"I could hear her from out here."

"I'm not surprised." Jack said smiling, he knew they both had a common understanding of what Rosemary could be like.

"You want to be up there?" Lee asked.

"Some part of me does." Jack said as he leant back in his chair.

"I can understand that." Lee said thinking back to when Rosemary was in labour.

Jack looked over the view of the mountains and valleys from the verandah and tried to distract himself from what was going on inside.

Jack then noticed Faith make her way up to the house.

"How is she?" Faith asked as she made her way up the verandah steps.

"Okay, I think. Rosemary won't let me in the house." Jack exclaimed with worry clearly present in his voice.

"I'm sure she's fine. Try not to worry, many women go through this remember."

Jack nodded and ran his hands through his hair as Faith's words didn't sound very helpful to him.

"I'm sorry, I know you're worried about her Jack. I'll keep you informed about what's going on alright?" Faith said apologising, hoping her words were more consoling this time.

"Thank you. I'm glad you're here."

"I'm sure Abigail is more than capable but I thought I'd check in, just in case." Faith told him.

"Thank you." Jack replied, and Faith made her way into the house.

A few hours later, Jack and Lee were still sitting on the verandah. They watched the sunset over the mountains and the sky started to darken.

"Looks like I'll be out here for the night." Jack said.

"You're welcome to come to our place." Lee offered.

"I couldn't leave."

"I thought that would be the case, but I thought I'd offer anyway."

"Thank you. You can take off whenever you're ready." Jack said, realising it was getting late.

"I'd like to stay but I do need to go pick up Johnathan, I've left him with Dottie. I will be back though."

"Thank you for staying, I do appreciate it."

Lee nodded at Jack and got up from his seat and left.

Just after Lee left Abigail headed out of the front door and came out onto the verandah. Jack jumped to his feet, eager to hear of any news.

"How is she? Is she alright?" He asked, concern apparent in his voice.

"She's doing as well as can be expected. I suspect we still have at least a few more hours to go though."

Jack sighed, he felt slightly relieved, but he still felt worried about her.

Jack and Elizabeth's bedroom.

Elizabeth lay back in the bed as she tried to get some rest before another contraction hit her.

"I'll go get you some more water." Faith said noticing Elizabeth's glass and water pitcher were empty. "I'll be back soon."

Elizabeth nodded, and Faith headed out of the room.

"I don't know how you did this Rosemary." Elizabeth told her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to support you when you went through this."

"What are you talking about Elizabeth, you are doing this, you're a stronger woman than you think you are, and you're a stronger woman than you were when you first arrived in Hope Valley."

Elizabeth was thankful for Rosemary's encouragement even though it was laced with Rosemary's past thoughts of her.

Elizabeth started to have another contraction and Rosemary held onto her hand.

"I can't do this Rosemary!" She cried as she held on to her hand for dear life.

"Elizabeth Thornton, I know for a fact that you can."

Elizabeth momentarily gave her a puzzled look of disbelief as she struggled through the contraction.

"You came from high class society to live on the frontier, you've changed the children's lives in this town and you won Jack Thornton's heart." Rosemary told her. "That wasn't something I could do." She joked.

Elizabeth laughed at Rosemary's last comment as she leaned back on the bed and relaxed as her contraction ended.

"You can try amuse me Rosemary, but right now in the moment, giving birth seems so much bigger than all that."

"And it is. You're having a baby, Jack's baby." Rosemary reminded her.

"I am." Elizabeth said processing the thought a little deeper. "But Jack's not here… I know it's not proper, but shouldn't he be here?" She asked sincerely as she longed for Jack to be with her.

"I'm not so sure it's a man place." Rosemary said, not entirely sure what the answer was herself.

"I can't do this Rosemary." Elizabeth cried as she started to have another contraction.

"You can! Once this is all over and this baby is born it will be the last thing on your mind. You just need to get through this."

"I can't though, I need Jack here." She cried.

"Elizabeth Thornton, you cannot have your husband here!"

"Who says so?" She yelled with difficulty as the contraction continued.

"I say so!"

"And you made the rules?" Elizabeth asked knowing the answer as she continued to argue with Rosemary. Her contraction ended, and she lay back on the bed again.

"Well, no…"

"Well then you're not going to stop me!" Elizabeth said standing up.

"Elizabeth! Where are you going?"

"To get Jack!"

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me!" Elizabeth said as she headed for the door.

"Wait, wait, wait." Rosemary said as she gently took hold of Elizabeth's arm. "I'll get Jack for you."

"You will?" Elizabeth asked warily.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"I promise, now just go rest before you have another contraction and I'll go find him." Rosemary said, and she rushed out the door and headed downstairs to find Jack.

Rosemary hurried downstairs and found Jack and Abigail out on the verandah.

"She wants to see you." Rosemary said looking over at Jack.

Jack looked from Rosemary and then back to Abigail. Abigail gave him and nod and a smile and he got to his feet and ran into the house.

Jack hurried into the bedroom where he saw Elizabeth laying on the bed as Faith was pouring her a glass of water.

"Jack." Elizabeth exclaimed, and he went and sat down next to her on the bed.

Faith was surprised to see Jack and she put the glass down on the bedside table.

"I'll leave you two alone." She said giving them a smile and she left the room.

"How are you? Are you alright?" Jack had a million questions for her and he didn't know where to start.

"I can't do this Jack." Elizabeth said as tears started to run down her cheeks.

"Of course you can." He said as he ran his hand through her hair and kissed the tears on her cheeks. "You are the strongest woman I have ever know, and I am your husband, I believe in you and I know you can do this."

"This is different Jack, it's not like anything I've ever done before."

"You're right it's not, but you can do this sweetie." He said as he continued to try encouraging her.

Elizabeth looked at Jack and smiled through her tears and nodded.

She then started to have another contraction and Jack wrapped his arm around her for support as she started to sit up. Tears welled up in Jack's eyes as he saw her in pain.

Abigail and Faith then slipped into the room, they stood by the bed as they all waited for the contraction to be over.

"It seems it won't be long now." Abigail said as she noticed Elizabeth was over her contraction.

"I think I need to walk." Elizabeth said as the contraction ended.

"Now?" Jack asked surprised.

"It's fine, just as long as you don't go far." Abigail informed him.

"I don't think I need to be here." Faith said to Abigail. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." Faith suggested, thinking to give them their privacy and the less people around the better.

Faith headed downstairs as Jack helped Elizabeth and they made their way out of the bedroom and walked up and down the hall. After heading up and down a few times Elizabeth stopped outside the babies' room.

"You want to go in?" Jack asked her, and she nodded.

They walked into the babies' room and they stood silently for a moment as Elizabeth looked around the room.

"This room won't seem so empty soon, but my heart is already so full. I love you and this baby so much." Jack told her as he leaned over and placed a kiss on her temple.

"I love you too, and our baby so much." She told him.

Jack noticed her wince in pain and concern was evident in his facial expression.

"I think I should take you back to our room."

Elizabeth nodded as the overwhelming pain left her speechless and Jack lead her back to their room.

She lay back on the bed and Jack sat down next to her and took her hand.

Abigail watched the two of them and smiled to herself. She had helped deliver many babies over the years, but this was the first one where she had seen the husband present. She knew most men knew nothing of childbirth and wouldn't dare be present while their wives were in labour. She knew Jack and Elizabeth were different though, she knew she had never seen two people more in love than they were, and therefore she wasn't surprised that Jack was here in this moment.

Half an hour later

"Elizabeth." Abigail said trying to get Elizabeth's attention. Elizabeth looked up at her. "Your baby is almost here, just one more push." Abigail informed her.

"I don't think I can." She cried as she closed her eyes.

"Elizabeth." Jack said trying to get her attention as he sat on the bed next to her. Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked over at him. "I know you can do this."

"I don't think I can."

"Do this for us, for our baby, because I know you can." He whispered into her ear as he gently leaned his head on the side of hers.

She nodded, and he sat up and reached out for her hand again.

Elizabeth felt strengthened by Jack's belief in her and she bear down with all she could muster.

The noisy cry of a baby filled the room and Elizabeth lay back in the bed relieved.

Abigail picked up the baby and smiled through her tears.

"You have a little girl." Abigail said as tears ran down her cheeks as she placed the baby in Elizabeth's arms.

Elizabeth held the baby at her chest and took note of her small form and little pink face.

"We have a girl." She said smiling through her tears as she looked up at Jack.

Saying it out loud made it seem more real.

Abigail slipped out of the room to give them some privacy and she headed downstairs.

Jack smiled at Elizabeth and she noticed the tears welling up in his eyes.

He brought his hand over and gently took hold of his daughters' small hand. The babies' fingers grasped onto one of his and he smiled as he looked down at her.

"She's beautiful." Jack said as he looked back up at Elizabeth and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"She is, she's perfect."

"She is, and so are you. I'm so proud of you." He said and gently kissed Elizabeth on the lips.

Elizabeth smiled up at him and then back down at their daughter. She ran a hand over the babies' soft wisps of dark hair and noticed how soft she felt.

"You want to hold her?" She asked looking over at Jack and he nodded.

Elizabeth placed a kiss on top of the babies head before she handed her over to Jack.

"She's so tiny." He said as he noticed how light and small she felt in his arms.

Elizabeth noticed the tears falling from Jack's eyes and she wrapped an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder as she looked down at the baby.

Their daughter scrunched up her tiny pink face and yawned.

"She's so cute." He said noticing.

Elizabeth noticed also, and her heart melted, firstly at their daughters' actions and then at Jack as she watched him hold their baby.

Jack and Elizabeth noticed their daughter open her tiny eyes as she looked up and tried to focus on them.

"We're your Mummy and Daddy." Jack told her, and Elizabeth smiled.

Just then Abigail, Rosemary and Faith entered the room.

They stood at the end of the bed and Jack and Elizabeth gave the three of them a smile.

"So, have you given her a name?" Abigail asked.

"This is Matilda." Elizabeth told her friends.

"Matilda Elizabeth Thornton." Jack said smiling.

"That's beautiful." Abigail said as she came around to the side of the bed to have a closer look at the baby.

"She's gorgeous." Said Faith.

"She is, and I'm sorry I wasn't here for the birth, I was off nursing Johnathan." Rosemary said apologising.

"That's fine Rosemary, you were such a help when you were here, thank you." Elizabeth told her.

Just then Matilda started to cry and Jack gently rocked her to try get her to settle.

"What's wrong Tilly? Do you want your Mummy?" He asked her. He gave her a gentle kiss on the head before placing her back into Elizabeth's arms.

"She may be hungry, you may want to have a try at nursing yourself." Abigail suggested. "We'll go give you some privacy, we just wanted to make sure you were both ok."

"We're more than ok. Thank you Abigail." Elizabeth said as she gave her a smile.

"Just call out if you need anything." Abigail let them know and Elizabeth gave her a smile and nodded.

The three women walked out of the room and left Jack and Elizabeth alone with their baby again.

Elizabeth held Matilda to her chest and tried to nurse her. The babies' cries stopped, and the room was silent once more.

"I must have done something right." Elizabeth said feeling a little unsure, but also feeling impressed to naturally do this with her daughter.

Jack shrugged before wrapping an arm around Elizabeth. He realised he had less of a clue than Elizabeth did, and he gave her a smile.

"I'm glad you let me name her Elizabeth, she does look like you." Jack said looking over the babies' features and noticed a few of Elizabeth's similarities.

"I'm not so sure just yet." Elizabeth said looking down at the baby as she leaned into Jack's side a little.

"You're amazing." He said as he watched in awe as Elizabeth nursed their daughter. He placed a kiss on Elizabeth's cheek and she smiled.

They both looked down at their daughter in silence as she went back to sleep.