Hi Hearties,
I hope this chapter passes the time for you while we all patiently wait for the wedding. I think this might in fact be my favourite chapter, which is somewhat coincidental cause I'm pretty sure our favourite episode is also going to be on tonight.
Thank you also to Kristyn for all the help with this chapter, and for editing for me :)
Happy reading :)
Elizabeth placed Abby down into her crib for another nap and heard a knock on the front door.
"Looks like your nap will have to wait Tilly." She whispered to her older daughter who had followed her into the bedroom.
Elizabeth sighed as Tilly ran off down stairs, knowing that the possibility of a nap was now unlikely.
Elizabeth found Tilly waiting patiently at the front door and joined her. She opened the door and was shocked to find her Mother-in-law standing on the front porch.
"Lizzy, it's good to see you!" Charlotte said, pulling Elizabeth in for a hug.
"Mum, you're here already."
"I am, I hope that's alright?"
"Of course it is, we just weren't expecting you till next week." Elizabeth said while ushering her into the house.
"And look how big you've gotten little Miss." Charlotte said, looking down at Tilly who was hiding behind her Mother's skirt. "You haven't seen me for a long time, you probably don't remember me huh."
Tilly shook her head and held on tightly to Elizabeth's skirt.
"This is your Grandma Thornton, she's Daddy's Mum." Elizabeth told Tilly as she pulled her up into her arms.
Tilly gave Charlotte a shy smile and then hid her face in Elizabeth's chest.
"There's those Thornton dimples." Charlotte said, noticing the dimples in Tilly's cheeks. "Though she's certainly the spitting image of you Lizzy."
"Yes, Jack reminds me of that often."
"So, when will that boy of mine be home?"
"Hopefully soon, he had an early start this morning."
"And where is my newest Granddaughter?" Charlotte asked. She hadn't met Abby yet and was eager to do so.
"She's just gone down for a nap, which is also where Miss Tilly here should be." Elizabeth said, looking down at Tilly who was resting her head on Elizabeth's chest while rubbing her eye out of tiredness.
"Well don't let me get in the way, I'm here to help. Maybe I could get dinner started for you?" Charlotte offered.
"Oh, well, I couldn't let you do that Mum. You're our guest." Elizabeth said, hesitant to allow Charlotte to cook.
"It's no problem at all Lizzy."
"Oh well, at least bring your things in first. I'll go put Tilly down for a nap and then I'll come help you in the kitchen."
Fifteen minutes later Elizabeth returned to the kitchen to find Charlotte busy rummaging in the cupboards.
"I wasn't sure which room was for your guests, so I just placed my things in the room at the end of the hall."
"Any of the spare rooms are fine to use."
"You have a lot of rooms." Charlotte pointed out.
"We do. That was Jack's idea."
"That does not surprise me." Charlotte said, giving Elizabeth a grin.
Elizabeth blushed and looked away while directing her attention towards Charlotte's cooking.
"So what are you cooking?" Elizabeth asked.
"Shepherds Pie, you know it's one of Jack's favourites."
"I do know that, it's just that…" Elizabeth stopped what she was about to say as she watched Charlotte douse the mince with pepper.
Rather than trying to interfere with Charlotte's cooking she decided to take another approach. "Tilly won't eat food with all that pepper." She said wincing as she noticed Charlotte continue to add more pepper.
"It will be fine. If she doesn't like it, I'll find something else for her."
Elizabeth sighed.
Jack then entered through the front door and noticed Elizabeth and his Mother in the kitchen.
"Ma, what are you doing here?" Jack asked surprised.
"Is that a way to greet your Mother?" She asked.
"Already starting with the questions?" Jack asked after placing a kiss on Elizabeth's cheek before heading over to his Mother and giving her a hug.
"And you're not?" She said, realising he was doing the same.
"You're right, it's good to see you Ma. I'm glad you're here."
"That's better." She said, as she went to straighten out his cowlick.
"Ma!" Jack said backing away and Elizabeth tried to stifle her laughter.
"Why don't you go rest, Lizzy told us you had an early start."
"I'd rather hear what you ladies have been up to this afternoon." Jack suggested.
"I haven't been here long." Charlotte pointed out.
"And you're already in the kitchen?" Jack asked, partially worried.
"Are you sassing me already son?"
"No, its just that… Tilly isn't going to eat that with all the pepper in it."
"That's exactly what Lizzy just told me."
"Well I think she was right..." Jack said while wrapping an arm around Elizabeth.
"I'll find something for Tilly then. You both go sit down and rest, especially now while the girls are napping. I can handle supper."
"Alright Ma." Jack replied, and he and Elizabeth made their way out of the kitchen.
The following morning
Elizabeth woke to the patter of tiny feet running into their bedroom. She opened her eyes and saw Tilly standing by the side of their bed, looking directly at her.
"Hi sweet pea, why are you up so early?" Elizabeth said, noticing the sun was barely up.
"Gamma noisy."
"Oh, well you want to come sleep with us?" Elizabeth asked, hoping Tilly would hop into their bed and fall back to sleep.
Elizabeth held up the blanket and Tilly climbed into the bed and snuggled into her Mother's side. Just as Elizabeth closed her eyes again she heard a cry from Abby who was in the cradle by the side of the bed.
"Sorry Tilly, looks like we'll be starting the day." She said giving her eldest daughter a kiss on the cheek.
Elizabeth got out of the bed and picked up Abby from out of her cradle. She looked over at Jack who was still softly snoring.
"Come on, lets go find Grandma. We'll let Daddy sleep."
Elizabeth headed downstairs with her daughters and they found Charlotte in the kitchen doing her laundry.
"We have a laundry room out back." Elizabeth pointed out.
"Here is fine. I'm glad to see you girls are all early risers. I'm guessing my son isn't?"
"He definitely isn't, but we're not normally either."
"Well it's always good to start early." Charlotte said, her voice sounding cheery as she didn't realise it was her early morning that had been the cause of Elizabeth and the girls to wake out of their slumber.
"I'm going to nurse Abby, so I will leave you to it." Elizabeth said, and she made her way into the parlour.
Elizabeth sat on the settee and nursed Abby while watching Tilly play quietly with her blocks near the front window of the house. Elizabeth's eyes opened and closed as she still felt dozy but was soon disturbed out of her sleepy state when Jack sat down beside her.
"Hi." He whispered, as he leant over and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Hi." She said, his greeting making her smile.
"You look tired, were you up early?"
"Have you forgotten your Mother is an early riser?"
"Oh yes. Sorry, I didn't even hear her."
"Tilly certainly did."
"Well I think we have bigger problems now, she's in the kitchen again." Jack pointed out.
Elizabeth sighed.
"Maybe I could hide the lard? At least it would help a little." Elizabeth suggested, her eyes looking brighter, and he grinned.
"I'm not sure that will solve all our problems. She's only here for a week, it will be fine."
"I know, and I love having her here. It's just a little more difficult now with the girls."
"She's here to help, maybe let her know how you'd like her to help?" Jack suggested.
"I'll try."
"Elizabeth…"
"Hmm?" She asked while meeting his gaze.
"I love you." He said, and he noticed a smile form on her lips.
"I love you too Jack." She said and then leaned in and kissed her husband.
They then quickly pulled apart as they realised Charlotte had entered the room.
"Sorry." Charlotte apologised.
"It's fine." Elizabeth said, and Jack grinned as he noticed her blushing.
She noticed his grin and she gave him a playful nudge with her elbow before handing their sleeping baby over to him while she straightened up her nightgown.
"I've made oatmeal if you're hungry, and there's no pepper or lard so I think you all might be happy." Charlotte said knowingly as she gave them a smile before making her way back into the kitchen.
"Thanks Ma." Jack called out as he stood up and then took Elizabeth's hand and pulled her up from the settee.
"Tilly, breakfast is ready." Elizabeth informed her daughter.
"Did Gamma cook?" Tilly said standing up and looking up at her parents.
"Yes, she's made oatmeal."
"No hungy."
"You can at least try it." Elizabeth said, realising her two-year-old had learnt fast about her Grandmother's lack of cooking skills.
Tilly pouted and then followed her parents into the kitchen.
"It's a good thing you learnt to cook before we had kids."
"So you don't think my cooking is as bad as your Mother's?"
"Of course not. Plus Ma is a terrible cook, you really only had to learn how to stop burning things."
"That's good to know." She said giving him a smile and they made their way into the kitchen.
Three days later
It was Sunday afternoon and Jack was working on making a swing for Tilly under the big Oak tree out behind the house. Charlotte had taken Tilly for a walk and Elizabeth had decided to spend some time outside with the baby.
She headed out to the Oak tree and lay a blanket down for Abby to lay on. After placing her daughter down on the blanket, she lay down next to her. Elizabeth watched Abby kick her legs in excitement as she watched the movement of the leaves on the tree above them. Elizabeth placed a kiss on her daughter's chubby pink cheek, and Abby smiled.
"Look at you smiley girl." Elizabeth pointed out as she delighted in the recent milestone her daughter had developed.
Elizabeth rest on her elbow and looked over at Jack as he continued working on the swing.
"You look tired." He said, noticing his wife watching him.
"I am tired."
"I'm not surprised, you have a newborn that wakes throughout the night and wants to be nursed." He said while putting down what he was doing and went over and sat down next to his wife and daughter who were still lying down on the blanket.
"And your Mother waking us at 4am every morning."
"You know she doesn't mean to." He said while brushing back a strand of her hair that the wind had blown out of place.
"I know she doesn't, but that's not the point." Elizabeth said, sitting up as she started to get frustrated.
"Elizabeth…" He said, his voice calm on pronouncing her name. He knew this usually settled her, but this time it did so only momentarily.
"Jack…" She started. "Tilly isn't eating, none of us are getting enough sleep except for you because you don't hear a thing at 4am, and my whole daytime routine with the girls has been thrown out the window."
"I didn't realise you felt this way. If you don't like my Mother being here, maybe I should ask her to stay at the Saloon."
"Jack are you even listening to me? I never said I want her to leave."
"Of course I'm listening, but if that's not what you want then I have no idea what the problem is."
"All I want is for you to understand."
"What is it you want me to understand then? Once I've worked it out I'd really like to know what I can do?"
"I don't want you to do anything, I just want you to acknowledge my difficulties."
"I admit I've been a little oblivious to all of this, and I'm sorry you're feeling this way."
"You're sorry I'm feeling this way?"
"Yes, I am." Jack said honestly.
"So you think the problem is with how I feel?"
"No that's not what I'm saying, but I am very confused about what you're thinking and feeling right now."
"I think I need to go clear my head." Elizabeth said, standing up. "Scooter rarely gets ridden, I'm going to take her for a ride."
"Elizabeth please talk to me." Jack pleaded.
"Just give me half an hour alright?"
Jack sighed.
"If that's what you want." Jack said, feeling defeated.
"It is." She said, her voice breaking a little as she spoke. She hated to leave him, but she felt helpless as Jack wasn't understanding what she had to say.
"Elizabeth don't go, not like this." He said, noticing the tears in her eyes. His own heart felt heavy and the last thing he wanted was for her to walk away.
"I need to Jack." She said, feeling pained that it had come to the point where she felt she needed to process everything before she came back to him. In most cases they usually came together to sort things out.
Jack nodded.
"You'll watch Abby?" She asked, her voice sounding a little calmer, but he knew nothing had changed.
"Of course I will."
Elizabeth then headed off to the barn and Jack watched her as she walked away.
Jack lay down on the blanket and looked down at his eight-week-old daughter.
"You sure are as pretty as your Mummy and big sister, you know that?" Jack said just as Abby started to cry.
"Now that shouldn't make you cry." He said picking her up and she started to settle.
"Oh you just wanted to be held? Well Daddy can give you cuddles." He said continuing to talk with her as he looked down at her in his arms.
"I'm glad I can make you happy so easily. I don't think I've made Mummy very happy just now. She'll be back soon though." Jack continued as Abby grasped onto one of his fingers and stuck it in her mouth.
"I hope you're not hungry little Miss because I can't help you there. You know, Mummy's only been gone for ten minutes and I miss her already."
Abby started to cry again.
"You miss her too? I don't blame you, she is a very good Mummy." Jack continued, hoping his voice would calm her. "I hope I haven't disappointed Mummy too much. You think she'll forgive me?" Jack asked, and he noticed Abby start to quieten down as she looked up at him. "Of course you think she will. She's the world to you and you only think of her as perfect. She is pretty perfect though, and I don't doubt her love for me so I know she'll forgive me. It just pains me to think that I hurt her." He said placing a kiss on Abby's forehead.
"It seems that I need to rethink all this business with Grandma. Having her stay has been hard on Mummy and you girls huh? Mummy thinks I don't understand, and you know what, she was right because I didn't as I've been oblivious to her concerns. I know she's not just thinking of herself either, but of you and Tilly too."
"Mummy needs to be happy, so you girls can be happy too right? And I'm really devoted to making Mummy and you girls happy, so I will fix this." Jack paused as he continued to process his thoughts. "Maybe it's a good thing that she went for a ride. Now I've had time to think, I can understand a little better. Hopefully Grandma will understand too, and then everything will be easier for all you girls. But don't you worry your pretty little head, I'll work this out."
An hour and a half later
Jack started to pace throughout the house as he held his crying daughter. He heard the front door open and he rushed to the front of the house to find his Mother and Tilly entering.
"What's wrong with Abby?" Charlotte asked, wondering why her granddaughter was crying so loudly.
"She's hungry, and Elizabeth hasn't come home." He said, concern apparent in his voice.
"Where's Lizzie? Surely she wouldn't stay out when she knows Abby needs her."
"No she wouldn't, that's why I'm worried. Can you stay here with the girls while I go out and look for her?"
"Of course."
Jack placed Abby in his Mother's arms, kissed his daughter's goodbye, and then hurried out to the barn. He saddled up Sergeant, grabbed a lantern and headed off.
He hadn't gotten far when he discovered Scooter roaming through the paddock.
"Elizabeth!" He called, starting to get even more worried after discovering her horse.
"You go home girl." He said to Taylor and he continued on with his search for Elizabeth.
The sun had started to set now, and he lit his lantern before continuing. Just when he was considering heading into town to put together a search team, he heard a faint voice.
"Elizabeth?" He called out. After not hearing a reply he hollered to Sergeant to move on towards the sound.
"Jack!"
"Elizabeth?" Jack called, while encouraging his horse to gallop as he heard his wife's familiar voice.
"Jack!" She called out and was relieved when she realised he had found her.
Jack quickly jumped off his horse and hurried over to Elizabeth's side.
"Elizabeth thank goodness you're ok. Are you hurt? What happened?" Jack said, his mind racing a mile a minute as he held the lantern up to try and inspect her for any injuries.
"My skirt got caught in the stirrups and I somehow fell. I've hurt my knee."
"Let me see?" He said, and he carefully pulled back her skirt to inspect her knees. "I can definitely tell which knee you've injured this time." He said noticing a dislocation and swelling on her knee.
They both chuckled momentarily, recalling a distant memory. Their happiness was disturbed however when Elizabeth winced in pain which had been further aggravated by her laughter.
"You've dislocated your knee cap, I'm sorry to tell you but its going to be a painful trip home."
"Can you put it back into place?" Elizabeth asked hopefully.
"I could try but I'd rather let Carson look over it and have a go."
"Oh." She said, sounding disappointed. She was trying her best to hide the pain from Jack although she knew he'd already have an idea she was in quite a surmountable amount of pain.
"Don't worry, I'll carry you home. Are you hurt anywhere else?" He said having one last look over her before deciding to leave.
"I don't think so."
He noticed a small scratch on the side of her forehead and he gently ran his finger over it.
"What is it?" She asked, looking up at him while wondering what he was inspecting.
"It's just a little scratch." He said, placing a kiss on her forehead and she smiled. "You've been crying?" He said, now noticing in the light of the lantern that her eyes were red and teary. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. It upsets me to know you've been sitting out here in pain waiting for me."
"While my knee is extremely painful, it's not why I was crying." She admitted.
"Oh, so it was because of me?" He said, realising she must have been upset from their argument earlier on.
"I had time to think."
"So did I, but right now, I need to get you home."
Jack scooped her up into his arms and she grimaced from the pain in her knee.
"Sorry." He said.
"It's not your fault." She replied, knowing he need not be apologising."I know I'll be fine now I'm with you."
Jack gave her a kiss on the cheek and then started to head towards home.
"What about Sergeant?" She asked.
"He'll make his way home." Jack said knowingly.
"Well if your certain."
"I am certain, but even if I wasn't, there's not a chance I'd leave you here."
"I never should have left Jack."
"We can talk about this later."
"I want to talk, I need the distraction right now."
"It's that painful?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.
She nodded and held onto him a little tighter.
"Other than the fact you hurt yourself, I actually think it was a good idea that you went for a ride. I needed some time to process all this myself"
"You did?"
"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't take into consideration how my Mother is making things difficult for you and the girls."
Elizabeth smiled.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Because that's all I wanted Jack."
"Wanted what?"
"For you to acknowledge that I was finding it difficult."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"I wish I'd realised sooner." He admitted.
She placed a kiss on his cheek.
"Right now I'm just glad you worked it out."
"I'll talk to Ma, she's likely eager to stay out at the Saloon anyway."
"Jack I do like having your Mother around, and she shouldn't have to stay at the Saloon, she is family."
"Yes, but you and the girls are my family too and you're my main concern. I'll at least talk to her alright?"
"Ok but go easy on her."
"Maybe if I ask her to stay clear of the kitchen and head out of the house when she's up at 4am, would that help?"
"That would be perfect."
Jack gave her a small smile and he continued on their way home.
"You know you're likely going to have to stay off this leg for at least six weeks."
"I was worried about that."
"Well don't worry. Bill can take on more of my duties and I'll take care of you. One good thing about Ma being around is that she can help out with the girls during the day."
"Jack, I don't want you having to take time off work just to look after me."
"I won't just be looking after you. I'll be taking care of my wife who needs me."
Elizabeth sighed, realising she wasn't going to have much choice, after all, she knew she would need the help, and she was appreciative of Jack's intentions.
"Thank you Jack." She said sweetly, resolving to the idea of him taking care of her. While she liked to be independent, she did also appreciate Jack's care and attentiveness.
Eventually Jack and Elizabeth made it home. He opened the front door and continued to carry her into the house.
"Oh my goodness Lizzie." Charlotte said, noticing her son carrying her into the house and realised something must be wrong. "What's happened?"
Jack carried Elizabeth into the parlour and Charlotte followed them with Abby who was bawling in her arms.
"Jack thinks I've dislocated my knee."
"She has dislocated her knee." Jack said as he carefully placed her down onto the settee before raising her leg carefully with a cushion.
"Oh Abby, you must be hungry." Elizabeth said, recognising her daughter's cries were exhausted sobs.
Elizabeth felt grieved in knowing that her daughter must have been distraught for some time now, and she held out her arms for Charlotte to hand the baby over.
"You're ok to feed her?" Charlotte asked.
"I'll be fine." Elizabeth said as Charlotte placed the baby in her arms.
"Ma can you go into town and find Carson? I need him to take a look at Elizabeth's knee and put it back into place."
"Can't you do that yourself?" Charlotte asked surprised, knowing that Jack had some medical training.
"I could try, but I'm not going to take any risks. I'd rather Elizabeth have the best of care."
"Alright, I'll head into town now. Also, Tilly was exhausted and fell asleep before I could get her to bed. She's in her crib now though."
"Thanks Ma."
"She was a little worried neither of you were here and she asked for your blankie. I hope that's ok?" Charlotte said with a smirk.
"It's fine Ma." Jack said blushing while Elizabeth stifled her laughter. "Now please go get Carson." He said ushering her out of the parlour.
Once his Mother was clearly out of the house, Jack returned to Elizabeth's side.
"You're ok?"
"I'm fine." She said, as she looked from Jack and then back down to Abby who was now nursing.
"I'm going to go get some ice from the ice box. I'll be right back."
"I'm not going anywhere." She said giving him a smile.
Half an hour later Elizabeth was dozing on the settee with Abby asleep in her arms. Jack had raised her leg and gently sat a cold compress on her knee to help with the swelling. She was disturbed from her sleep and she noticed Jack quietly sitting at the end of the settee. She then noticed Charlotte and Carson entering the parlour.
"Stay where you are Elizabeth, you're fine right there." Carson said as he noticed her trying to sit up as they entered the room.
"Let me take Abby." Jack said taking their sleeping daughter from her.
"We have a dislocation do we?" Carson asked.
"Yes, I came off the horse." Elizabeth admitted while feeling embarrassed.
"Don't worry, we've all done it. If you don't mind, I'll just take a look?" Carson asked.
Elizabeth nodded, and he carefully removed the cold compress on her leg, so he could inspect the injury.
"You've definitely dislocated it. Jack I'm surprised you didn't have a go at putting it back into place." He said looking from Elizabeth's knee and back up at Jack.
"I could have, but I'd rather minimalize the risk of it being done wrong, that's why I decided it best to wait for you."
"Well I'm thankful you have such trust in me." Carson said. "I'm not so sure Elizabeth would consider trusting me more than you however."
"In this case I trust you both. If Jack thinks you're the best man for the job, then I'm happy with that Carson." Elizabeth admitted.
Just then they heard Tilly starting to cry from the nursery upstairs.
"I'll go tend to her." Charlotte offered.
"Could you also put Abby into bed." Jack asked as he handed his sleeping daughter over to Charlotte.
"Of course." She said, and she headed upstairs to tend to the children.
"Now Elizabeth I'm just going to take this cushion out from under your knee and straighten your leg out a little further before putting it back into place alright?" Carson informed her.
"Alright."
Jack knelt down by the side of the settee next to her and took hold of her hand. Carson then straightened her leg out on the settee and she grimaced in pain.
"You're a tough woman Elizabeth Thornton. I've seen a couple of knee dislocations in my time and my other patients haven't handled it as well as you."
Jack realising he was proud of her gave her a brief kiss on the cheek.
"Me putting this back into place however is going to cause a lot more pain, so I'm going to administer Nitrous Oxide. It will help you relax a little alright?"
Elizabeth nodded. She was now feeling a little anxious so was therefore somewhat relieved at the idea of being able to relax.
Carson administered the nitrous oxide and Elizabeth started to relax a little as she continued to hold onto Jacks hand.
"You alright?" Carson asked her, and she nodded.
"Ok, are you ready?" Carson asked after a few minutes.
"As ready as I'll ever be." She said as she grasped Jack's hand tighter.
Carson took hold of her knee and Elizabeth grimaced from the pain but then realised it was over in a matter of seconds.
"That's it?" She asked, thankful it was over.
"That's it." Carson replied.
Jack sighed with relief, realising everything had gone to plan.
"You'll need to rest this leg as much as possible for the next six to eight weeks and won't be able to walk on it at all for a while." Carson told her. "Jack, you'll probably get a bit of a workout, you'll need to be carrying her around everywhere for at least a few days."
"That's not a problem. I've already thought about having Bill take over some of my work so I can stay home."
Elizabeth started to relax even more and didn't even put up a fight about the idea of Jack having to carry her about and tending to her every need.
"Alright then. For now I'll just wait around a little longer to make sure there's no ill side effects to the nitrous oxide. Although you may literally get a little ill, but other than that you should be fine Elizabeth."
"Thank you so much Carson. I don't know what we'd do without you." Elizabeth said, starting to sound extremely relaxed.
"Well I think Jack here could have handled it, but I'm happy to help."
"I do have the most wonderful husband in the world don't I." Elizabeth said as she held onto Jack's hand tightly and brought his arm up to her chest.
Jack and Carson shared an understanding look, recognising the effects of the nitrous oxide starting to take effect.
"I love you Jack, even if you didn't understand me earlier today. Do you still love me?" She said, now looking over at Jack.
"Of course I love you Bella."
Carson shifted in his seat as he knew he was invading on a private moment. There wasn't much he could do however as he had to keep an eye on Elizabeth.
"I love it when you call me Bella. Even when we hardly knew each-other and you called me Bella, do you remember Jack?" She asked dreamily as she recalled the first time he called her Bella.
"Of course I remember." Jack replied, feeling a little embarrassed as he knew Carson was right next to them.
"Carson, did you know I have the most romantic husband in the world?"
"Well I think most of Hope Valley has a hunch that Jack likes to present you with grand gestures."
"He does doesn't he."
Carson nodded.
"He knows I love candles, I wonder where he gets all those candles. Jack?" She asked, now looking over at her husband. "Where do you get all those candles?"
"Don't worry about that now, you need to sleep." Jack told her.
"I don't want to sleep, I'm so happy, you make me so happy Jack."
"I think it's the gas that's making you happy tonight."
"Maybe, but you make me happy every night."
Carson raised an eyebrow and looked over at Jack who was now furiously blushing.
"Jack, you always make me happy, are you happy too?"
"You make me very happy Elizabeth." He told her before he brought her hand up to his lips.
"I'm glad." She said sighing. "Will you give me a real kiss?"
"I will, later." He said, not wanting to kiss her in front of Carson, and she pouted.
"I think I'll leave you two to it. It sounds like you have lots to talk about… But please get some sleep Elizabeth."
"I will, if Jack let's me." She told him as she yawned, and she closed her eyes.
"Okay, well that's definitely my cue to leave." Carson said and both men stood up. "And Jack, don't worry, I've heard much worse from patients. It was actually quite sweet to witness this between the two of you tonight."
Jack nodded, not sure what to say. He certainly wasn't used to having others have such an insight into his and Elizabeth's relationship.
"Jack, you are one a blessed man." Carson said as he made his way out to the front door.
"Don't I know it."
"Good night Jack, let me know if you need anything else."
"I will, thank you for coming out here."
The two men shook hands and after Carson left the house, Jack closed the door behind him.
Jack then headed back into the parlour and sat down beside the settee next to Elizabeth.
"Where did Carson go?" She asked.
"He left since he finished fixing your knee. I think you might have scared him off."
"Why? What did I do?" She asked sincerely.
"He got a little embarrassed, as I was at times."
"I embarrassed you and Carson? Normally you're the one embarrassing me."
"True, that's because you're such a lady."
"Is that a good thing?" She asked worried.
"It's a very good thing, it's one of the reasons I love you."
"You're so sweet Jack." Elizabeth said with a yawn.
"I should get you to bed."
"Isn't your Mother here?"
"Yes, she is."
"She might hear us Jack."
Jack smiled as he realised what she was thinking. "That's not what I meant Bella."
"You didn't mean what?" She asked, now confused.
"I'm taking you to bed to sleep."
"I don't want to sleep Jack. I just want to be with you." She said as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck.
"I don't think that's a good idea right now."
"Why not? I thought you always thought it was a good idea." She asked while pulling him closer so she could kiss him.
"It usually is, but you're injured and out of sorts from the medication."
Elizabeth pouted, and he pulled her up into her arms and took her upstairs and into the bedroom.
"I love you Jack." She casually stated as he sat her on the bed and started helping her remove her clothing.
"I love you too sweetheart." He said as he placed her nightgown over her head.
"Why are you dressing me?"
"Because you need to sleep."
"Oh." She said, sounding disappointed. "But I don't want to."
"I know you don't." He said trying to hide his grin as he finished dressing her and then helping her under the blankets.
"I was so sad without you this afternoon; can you at least stay with me until I go to sleep?"
"Of course I can, I missed you this afternoon too." He said, laying down on the bed next to her.
"You know you once told me that the best thing about arguing is making up." She said, recalling their time spent out at the mine about five years ago.
"You're coherent enough to remember that right now?" He asked with a laugh.
"I always remember everything about you Jack."
"That's good to know."
"So can we make up?" She pleaded with him.
"I thought we already had."
"You know what I mean."
"I do know what you mean but I'm not sure it's a good idea. How about we just make up the same way we did that day out at the mine?"
"No more talking then?"
"No more talking." He said, and he shuffled closer to her side before kissing her.
She responded to his kisses while running her hands through his hair.
"I'm sleepy Jack." She said pulling away.
"I know you are sweetheart."
"I love you." Elizabeth softly told him in her drowsy state.
"I love you too."
She pulled him closer again and kissed him. A moment later he pulled away as he felt her start to relax and he realised she had fallen asleep. He placed a kiss on her cheek, pulled the blankets up to her shoulders and turned out the lantern before heading out of the bedroom.
Upon heading down the stairs he found his Mother sitting in the kitchen.
"How is she?" Charlotte asked with concern for her daughter-in-law.
"She's just a little sore and drowsy, but she'll be fine."
"That's good."
"Ma." Jack said as he sat down at the table next to his Mother.
"Yes?"
"We need to talk." He said, his tone sounding more serious now.
"This sounds serious."
"It somewhat is."
"Oh." Charlotte said surprised as she sat back in her chair. "Is this about why Elizabeth wasn't here this afternoon?"
"How did you know?"
"Mother's intuition. I guess I felt that something was going on between the two of you that I hadn't noticed before."
"It was."
"If it's because of me then I'm happy to stay at the Saloon."
"Elizabeth doesn't want that, and nor do I Ma."
"Then what is it?"
"Can you just let the kitchen be Elizabeth's domain? She's tried so hard and come so far with her cooking, and she knows what Tilly will eat."
"I understand. I know you and Tom were never that keen on my cooking."
"No we weren't." Jack admitted.
"But there's something else isn't there?" She said, knowing this issue wasn't just about her cooking.
"No it's not. Elizabeth's finding it really difficult to manage the girls with all these 4am wake ups."
"Say no more, I'll go take a walk when I wake up first thing."
"Thanks Ma."
"You're sure you both want me here though? I'm still happy to stay at the Saloon."
"We both want you here, and the girls love having you here too. Please stay."
"Alright." She said as she picked up a cloth and went to wipe the side of Jack's face.
"Ma!" Jack complained.
"You have lipstick on your face son."
Jack reluctantly relented and let his Mother wipe his face.
"I'm glad to see you made up." She replied with a smile on her face as she put the cloth back down on the table.
"I am too." Jack said with a grin on his face.
The following day
Elizabeth sat somewhat stuck at her desk unable to move. As requested, Jack had happily carried her there where he left her to read and write while the girls had their morning nap.
She read through her old journals, hoping they would distract her from the pain in her knee which Jack had elevated on a stool under her desk.
"Jack look at this." She said, recalling something she'd written the first year she had arrived in Coal Valley.
Jack being extremely attentive due to her injury, hurried to her side.
"I found something I wrote about us a long time ago and it still applies." She said handing him her journal and pointing to the section she was referring to.
"Why are relationships between men and women sometimes so confusing? Our actions, Our Words. It's like we're all speaking in foreign tongues and we can't understand each other." He read out loud. "It certainly felt like that yesterday."
"It did, and I'm glad we now understand each other and got through it." She said while thinking over her words.
"I am too." He said placing a kiss on top of her head.
They then heard Abby cry from upstairs.
"I'll go get her."
"Well it's not like I can." Elizabeth said feeling dejected.
"You need to rest, you'll be back to your usual self soon enough."
"I know." She said.
Just then they heard the familiar calling of their toddler from her crib in the nursery.
"Mummmyyy, Dadddyyy."
"Now they're both awake. I'll be right back." Jack informed her as he hurried off to attend to their daughters.
Not long later Jack returned to Elizabeth.
"We're in the parlour, you want to join us?" He asked.
"That would be great, I'm getting a little sore sitting here."
Jack lifted his wife and carried her into the parlour before placing her down onto the settee. He noticed her wince as he carefully raised her leg.
"I'm sorry." He said apologising as he placed a blanket over her.
"I'm fine." She said, knowing the pain couldn't be helped.
"You rest, I'll keep the girls busy."
Jack sat down on the floor over by the girls and Elizabeth watched them play as she relaxed on the settee.
Every so often Jack looked over at his wife and he noticed her looking extremely sleepy.
Tilly had started to run around and make a noise and he realised it was keeping her awake.
"How about a story sweet pea?" He suggested.
"Yes!" She exclaimed, and she stopped running around and plonked herself down on Jack's knee and waited for the story to begin.
Abby squealed excitedly as she lay on the mat on the floor by Jack's side.
"Sshh, Mummy's trying to sleep." He said to Abby, hoping she'd settle down now her older sister had started to.
"I'm going to tell you the story about how I first bought the land where we live now." Jack started, and Tilly's eyes grew wide.
"I knew a long time ago that I wanted to marry Mummy, and one day I decided it was long due that I should start to plan ahead for that time."
"You kiss?"
"Well I guess kissing was part of moving towards making her my wife."
Elizabeth ears perked up and a smile crept up on her face as she listened in on Tilly and Jack's story.
"But this time my plan was to buy this land so I could build her a house."
"Mummy loves kisses."
"She does." Jack laughed as he recognised Tilly's focus on the story, and realised she wasn't taking in a lot of what he said.
"One day I met the man who was going to sell me the land at work."
"Jail?"
"Yes, at the jail."
"Mummy knew I was up to something. She was being very sneaky, looking through windows, trying to work out what I was up to."
Elizabeth tried to stifle her laughter but was too late as Jack heard her. He looked over at her before returning his attention back to Tilly.
"You have a very sneaky Mummy, you know that?" He said, loud enough to make sure Elizabeth could hear him.
"Mummy seaky." Tilly said as she giggled.
"Yes she is. So, I bought the land and then one day I took her horse riding and showed her our land here."
"Mummy happy?"
"Yes she was very happy."
"She told me lots of things she wanted, like a featherbed."
"A featherbed for your blankie." Elizabeth said correcting him.
"I thought you were meant to be sleeping." Jack said looking over at her and giving her a grin.
"Your story is very interesting, it was keeping me awake."
Jack rolled his eyes at her and she smiled. He then decided to return to his story.
"I was going to build a house with three or four bedrooms, though the more I thought about having a family with Mummy, the more I thought we might need more bedrooms."
Jack looked over at Elizabeth as he heard her giggling from the settee. He gave her a wink and she gave him a smile before he returned his attention back to his daughters.
"So, I decided to build enough room for lots of babies. One for you, one for Abby, and two others for any future brothers or sisters you may have."
"Lots of babies?" Elizabeth called out, interrupting his story once more.
"Well I think we'll have at least a couple more don't you think?"
"Yeah at least a couple." Elizabeth said agreeing.
"I'm glad we're on the same page." He said giving her a smile before he continued his story once more. "I told Mummy I was going to build a house and I think it made her pretty happy because eventually she gave me the most amazing kiss."
"Mummy loves kisses." Tilly said repeating what she'd said earlier.
"Mummy does love Daddy's kisses." Jack said, and he heard both Elizabeth and Tilly giggle. "She liked my kisses so much that she didn't even realise it had started to rain."
"As I recall you didn't realise it had started to rain either." Elizabeth pointed out.
"Mummy is right, I didn't. She is very good at distracting me after all." Jack said as he pulled Abby into his arms as he noticed her starting to become unsettled. "In saying that, I think we need to stop distracting Mummy as she needs to sleep."
"Poor Mummy, big owie."
"Yes Mummy does have a big owie on her knee." He said standing and Tilly followed him as he made his way over to Elizabeth.
"We'll let you get some sleep now." He said while adjusting the blanket over her.
"Thank you Jack." She said, a sweet smile playing out on her lips as he placed a kiss on her cheek.
Tilly then copied him and kissed her Mother on the cheek.
"Thank you Tilly." She said, smiling at her daughter.
Jack then ushered Tilly out of the parlour before looking back over his shoulder at Elizabeth, and a small smile played out on his lips as he saw she was already asleep.
I hope you really enjoyed this chapter as I had so much fun writing it, and most of all have fun watching the wedding tonight. I know I can't wait!