A/N Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! I haven't been so motivated to write but I have been devouring through everyone else's fics.

Just a short recap from the last chapter since it's been over two weeks now since I updated. It was Mother's Day, Jack got Bill to cover for him, so he could have the day off to spend with Elizabeth and his daughters. Elizabeth's pregnant again and none of her clothes are fitting so Jack talked Rosemary into bringing over a heap of dresses from the store for Elizabeth to choose from as she needs a dress to wear as Jack has plans to take her out for the night. We left off with them traveling into town where they were going to drop their daughter's off at the Coulter's before spending their evening together.

Chapter 53

Jack and Elizabeth dropped their daughter's off at the Coulter's and then went to head into town. Elizabeth went to get back in the wagon but as she was about to climb up she felt Jack's hand grasp onto her upper arm. She turned and gave her husband a quizzical look, and he took her hand and guided her away from the wagon.

"I thought we could take a walk into town." He said, while letting go of her arm and finding her hand.

Elizabeth smiled as she felt Jack's fingers slip through her own as they started to walk the short distance into town.

After entering the café, Jack helped Elizabeth remove her coat before they seated themselves down at one of the tables.

"How are my favourite couple? I was starting to wonder if you'd make it here tonight." Abigail said as she greeted Jack and Elizabeth with a smile, while holding her usual pot of coffee in her hand.

Before either could reply, Elizabeth made a dash for the kitchen and headed out the side door.

"The coffee." Jack pointed out to Abigail as he quickly stood and hurried after Elizabeth. He knew exactly what was wrong and was certain Abigail would work out the problem too.

Jack caught up with Elizabeth outside the kitchen door and he placed his hand on her back, trying to be supportive while waiting for his wife to recuperate and catch her breath.

"Are you ok?" He asked with concern.

Elizabeth nodded as she turned to face Jack, now looking like she had more colour in her face than she had only moments ago.

"It seems none of your children are keen on coffee." She told him with a smile.

"My children?" He asked as he watched how she teasingly chided him, which was a common occurance when she had displeasing pregnancy symptoms.

"Well I certainly know they're yours." She replied giving him a smile. "Let's go inside, I'm feeling much better now."

Jack gave her a kiss on the cheek before opening the kitchen door and allowing Elizabeth to enter before he followed her in.

"I'm so sorry Elizabeth. I wasn't thinking." Abigail apologised as she saw her friends enter the kitchen.

"It's fine Abigail. You're in here all day serving coffee, I can't expect you to remember my coffee aversions during pregnancy." Elizabeth said trying to dismiss Abigail's apology.

"You're not just any customer Elizabeth, you're my best friend. I certainly should have remembered and been more mindful."

"It's a harmless mistake Abigail. I'm fine." Elizabeth said, giving Abigail a smile while giving her forearm a gentle squeeze to reassure her.

"Well I certainly won't be forgetting again." Abigail insisted, while still feeling terrible over the fact that she had unintentionally been the one to instigate Elizabeth's feeling of nausea. "Why don't the two of you take a seat and I'll have your picnic basket ready in a moment."

Jack guided Elizabeth into the dining room once more and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Are the two of you up to something?" Elizabeth asked as she allowed Jack to lead her back towards the table they had been sitting at previously.

"Maybe…"

"I thought we were having dinner here."

"Well we could have, but that's not the plan." He said as a smile played out on his lips.

"You have a plan?"

"Don't I usually for things like this."

"You're right, I shouldn't be so surprised." Elizabeth told him with a smile.

"Here you go." Abigail said, placing a picnic basket on the table in front of Jack while giving him a wink which didn't go unnoticed by Elizabeth.

"Thank you, Abigail." Jack said

Elizabeth looked from Jack to Abigail and back to Jack again, in hopes to discover any clues as to what they were up to.

"You two go have a nice evening." Abigail said, giving the couple a smile before she made her way back into the kitchen.

"What are you two up to?" Elizabeth asked Jack, eager to find out what the evenings plans were.

"You'll see. Abigail just helped a little with my planning tonight."

"Are we going on a picnic?" She asked, hoping she could coax some information out of him.

"Sort of." Jack replied as he took the picnic basket with one hand and Elizabeth's hand with his other and they made their way out of the café.

"Sort of?" We either are, or we aren't."

"You'll see."

"Are we having a picnic on the row boat?" She asked.

"You only took me out on a picnic on the row boat the other week. I wasn't going to steal your idea and do it again. Plus, I don't think I could outdo that date, after all, that was the night you told me we are having another baby."

Elizabeth smiled, remembering how happy Jack had been when she told him they were expecting their third child.

"Are you taking me to the livery? We're having a snack in the stables?" She asked, eager to guess what he was up to, and Jack smiled as he noticed her excitement.

"We did that just after Abby was born, and the only reason I took you there was because it was the only place to have a picnic in the middle of winter with a newborn."

Elizabeth sighed, and Jack noticed her mind ticking over as she thought.

"I give up Jack. I don't know."

"Good, I don't want you to know yet."

Jack lead her out of town and towards the row houses and Elizabeth gave him a questioning look.

"We're picking up the girls already?" She asked.

"No, we're not."

As they neared the row houses, Elizabeth headed towards the Coulter's. Jack tugged on her arm and pulled her closer to his side as he directed her towards Faith's home, which was their first home, their old row house.

"We're going to Faith's?" Elizabeth queried.

"We are, although Faith doesn't live here anymore remember, her and Carson got married last week and they decided to live at his place."

"You're taking me to my old row house?" Elizabeth asked with a smile on her face.

"Our row house." He corrected her. "We did live here together for nine months remember."

"How could I forget, Tilly our little honeymoon baby was born the week before we were due to move out." Elizabeth remembered as they walked up the porch steps and stopped at the front door.

"Don't remind me." Jack said, remembering how disappointed he felt that he hadn't had their house ready in time for when their first child was born.

Elizabeth positioned herself in front of Jack so he was forced to face her, and she took hold of both of his hands.

"Jack…" She pleaded, wanting him to pay attention, and he looked at her. "None of that mattered to me, you know that."

"I know." He agreed, but he still didn't feel good about the situation.

"I love this little row house, and I love that we spent our first year of marriage here. It was familiar and homey, and exactly what we needed. Moving somewhere new and foreign while navigating the newness of being married may not have been the best option anyway. I loved the time I lived here with you and I wouldn't have wanted it to be anywhere else."

"I guess I do know you loved it here. It's why I brought you here tonight."

"Exactly. Please don't be disappointed Jack, you've always done an amazing job at providing for our family. Even if it meant the four, almost five of us, were still living in this little row house, I wouldn't have minded one bit. But I must say, I am proud of you for building us a house, just as proud as I was when you built the Church for the community, and me and the children of this town."

"How did I end up with the most beautiful, intelligent and perfect wife?" Jack said, placing his hand on her cheek before proceeding to lean in and gently kiss his wife.

"Because you're perfect for me Jack. You're handsome, intelligent and…"

"Maybe we should go inside, then you can continue the compliments." He said with a grin.

He'd noticed their hands roaming over each other's bodies and thought it best to move things inside within the privacy of the row house, rather than stay out on the front porch.

Jack opened the front door of the house and upon walking inside, Elizabeth noticed the house was relatively desolate with minimal furniture. It was warm, clean and cosy however, and she was excited to be there again.

The stove had obviously been turned on hours earlier to warm the little house, and a blanket and cushions had been laid out on the floor where her settee used to sit. The blanket was surrounded by a display of mason jars that were filled with lit tea candles.

Elizabeth smiled over at Jack as he lead her towards the blanket where he placed the picnic basket down before looking back at her.

"What made you think to come back here?" Elizabeth asked as they sat down on the blanket.

"Well it's Mother's Day." He started. "This is where you first made me your Shepherd's Pie."

Elizabeth laughed upon recalling their memory from so many years ago.

"And I don't just mean the Shepherd's Pie that you cooked. I always knew you'd make a wonderful Mother, after all I used to see you with the children at school almost every week day, but when you made a home here I could see you even more as a Mother than just a teacher. I saw how you set up this house for yourself and you turned it into a home, you cooked dinner for me and I could see our future together. I could see so clearly the type of wife and Mother you would be. Also, it was here where you did quite literally first become a Mother, as this is where our first child was born. I just thought it would be the perfect place to celebrate the evening after spending the day with our girls."

"It is perfect Jack, and so are you." She said leaning over, finding his lips, and kissing him.

They both shifted towards each other while neither allowing to be parted from each other's kisses.

"Maybe we should eat first?" Jack suggested as he pulled away. "I know how hungry you get when pregnant, and since it's Mother's Day I better take care of the most wonderful Mother I could have imagined for my children."

Elizabeth averted her eyes upon hearing his compliment before smiling and then returning her eyes to him.

"It's true Elizabeth, I mean every word of it." He said, giving her a brief kiss on the lips.

"I think the same of you as a Father Jack. I couldn't have imagined a better man for our children."

"Good, but in case you had any doubts, I made us Shepherd's Pie for dinner." Jack said as he started pulling items out of the picnic basket. "I thought it was high time I should make my Shepherd's Pie for you. Everything else in here however is Abigail's."

"Jack you didn't need to do that. You know I already have no doubts about how wonderful a Father you are." She said, now sounding more serious.

"I know." He said with a smile. "But I thought you'd appreciate the sentiment, and don't worry, it doesn't have lard in it like Ma's."

"I do appreciate it Jack, and I didn't even consider the thought that it would have lard in it." She said, now laughing.

Jack smiled. He appreciated hearing her laughter as he dished their dinner out onto plates and handed one to Elizabeth. She thanked him, and they sat in companionable silence for a while as they ate.

"It's really good." Elizabeth said, breaking the silence as she complimented his Shepherd's Pie.

"You say that like you were initially unsure."

"I'm always unsure of your cooking Jack, ever since that first morning of our marriage when you cooked us breakfast."

"I guess I can't blame you. It's a good thing you learnt to cook before we got married, otherwise we'd both starve."

"I'm not sure about that. The both of us managed to survive during our early days here in Hope Valley."

"I think that was thanks to Abigail." Jack reminded her. "Thank goodness she opened the café. I was getting sick of chilli beans and corn bread, that was until you moved into the row house. Then you had me over for dinner almost every night."

"True." She said with a smile as she placed her empty plate down to her side as she had finished eating.

"I guess I've always managed, sometimes I don't know how Tom and I survived on Ma's cooking."

"Well it's a good thing I learnt a few lessons off Abigail because I'm really glad I can cook for you. I know I was never very efficient at a lot of things when I first came here but I hope I've learnt to become a good wife and Mother."

"Hey..." Jack said, putting aside his own plate and taking both her hands and looking into her eyes. "What are you saying? You're an amazing wife and Mother Elizabeth, don't you ever doubt that." Jack said, concern apparent in his voice as he worried how these thoughts had even entered her mind. "I know you grew up with a different lifestyle, and your Mother was never the example of what a woman on the frontier needs to be, but none of that matters, and you haven't let it stop you from becoming the amazing woman you've grown to be. I saw how strong and determined you were when you first arrived in Coal Valley, but you've also grown so much since you came here. It's been wonderful to watch you grow and transform Elizabeth. I realised a long time ago now, before we were engaged even, that I could count on you as much as you could count on me, and I'm so proud of you Bella."

Jack noticed the tears from his wife's eyes start to fall down her cheeks. He brought his thumb up to her cheek and wiped away the few stray tears before placing his lips on her other cheek. He kissed away her salty warm tears as he felt her arms wrap around his neck. Jack pulled back and rest his forehead on her own as he looked down at her.

"I love you Elizabeth Thornton." He whispered.

Elizabeth sensed that her whole body felt his love upon hearing his words, and her tears started to flow once more.

She knew she had no reason to doubt herself as a Mother or wife, and she could see how far she'd come. In plenty of ways, she was an independent woman even before she first came to Coal Valley. Occasionally though small doubts crept in, they never lasted long in her mind, and especially didn't when Jack talked her out of them Like now.

"I love you Jack Thornton." She told him through her tears.

Jack wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up onto his lap. The sudden closeness and warmth of his body helped her settle and her cries subsided.

She placed her hand on his jaw and looked at him. Her lips travelling from his eyes, to his lips, and then back up to his eyes again before they both closed the distance between them as their lips met.

Jack lay her down on the blanket amongst the pillows and he lay down at her side. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear and trailed kisses across her cheek and then down her neck. His sweet words were something she heard frequently but after their recent conversation he felt that she needed to hear them even more. He was slow and attentive with her even when he heard her familiar little sighs that usually encouraged him to move forward more quickly. However tonight he wanted to show her as much as possible how much he loved her.

"Jack." She whispered. "I know you love me." She said, struggling to speak due to her laboured breathing. She noticed how he was trying to speak to her through his deliberately slow and attentive touches but the intensity of them was leaving a strong desire for more. "Jack, I need you."

Jack looked down at her and he understood exactly what she meant.

"I need you too Bella." He said, and he no longer held back from making love to his wife.

A/N Thank you for reading. Please let me know if you're enjoying this story or if you have any suggestions or feedback. I love hearing from you all :)