A/N: Thank you for the feedback. So, I will work on LAJ soon...promise! But this chapter was aching to be written, so here you go!

Chapter 15:

Adelaide put her soiled apron in the laundry basin and then began to wash her hands. The surgery had lasted longer than both Edward and her had anticipated, but thankfully had a successful outcome.

"How are you feeling, Adelaide?" Edward asked as he dried his hands.

"Tired" she said, "I need to go home and relieve my mother. I don't know if mother can successfully give him his bottle. He is being finicky with it"

"Thank you for your help" Edward said, handing her the towel, "I couldn't have done it without you"

She nodded, "At least I am useful somewhere"

"Nothing from Doctor MacNeill?"

"It's been three weeks since David returned. He's not coming, Edward" she said, quietly, "I think my marriage is over"

"How do you feel about it?"

"Tired. Defeated"

"Adelaide" Edward reached out to squeeze her hand, "If Doctor MacNeill decides to divorce you, I will happily marry you"

She stilled, "Ed, you need to marry someone better than a widow and a divorcee" she said, frankly.

"Simon wouldn't want you left alone"

"Simon wouldn't want his best friend to marry out of obligation" she said, bluntly, "and especially when that woman is in love with someone else" She put her hand on his arm, "You are too kind to offer, Ed, and really I think I adore you even more for it, but I will be fine"

"The baby..."

"I'll raise the baby with Simon on my own"

"That's very progressive of you"

"It is indeed" she smiled, "Simon left me comfortable, Edward. I'll be fine"

"You do know that all you have to do is tell Doctor MacNeill you are carrying his child and I'm sure that will get him to Asheville in the blink of an eye"

"I don't want him if it is out of obligation. I want him to come for me because he loves me and our family, not because I am carrying his child"

"Can't it be both?"

"I honestly don't know" she patted his arm, "I have to go. I'll talk to you in the morning"

Edward leaned over to kiss her cheek, fondly, "Have a good night sleep, Addie"

"Goodnight Ed"

Adelaide gave him one last look before reaching for her bag and headed out the door for home.

From the moment she stepped into the door, she sensed something was different. Her heart raced in her chest as she heard Neil's Scottish brogue talking to the baby and Simon giggling and cooing in response to Neil's voice. She closed the heavy door behind her, leaning against it taking deep breaths. With trembling hands she placed her key in the dish on the hall table and untangled her bag from her arm and placed it on the hook. She patted her small bump, wondering how she could hide its notice from his watchful eyes, before she could tell him the truth.

"Neil" Adelaide stepped into the sitting room. Her heart twisted in pain at the sight of her husband bouncing Simon on his knee. "What are you doing here? Where's Mother?"

Neil stood with the lad. "I sent your mother home"

He came over to stand in front of her and she instinctively turned away from him, knowing that he would notice her growing stomach. "I need to go get Simon's bottle for him" she walked towards the door, but Neil quickly intervened.

He reached for her arm, turning her back around. "Why aren't you nursing the wee one?"

"Neil, I need to tell you..." she took a breath. She couldn't hide the panic from her face and he stepped back to study her.

His eyes moved to her stomach, the bump was tiny, but at four months along, noticeable. "Adelaide" he couldn't moderate his tone. It came out harshly, almost as a curse. "How could you not saying anything woman?"

"I need to feed Simon" Adelaide said, flustered. "I need to heat it up and..." she took a breath. "It has been three weeks since the letter I sent. I thought...I thought you weren't coming. So, I...I am not ready...let me go get the bottle. He's going to start crying soon...my outing took longer than expected and..."

"Stop it" Neil held up his hand, "You aren't going to make me feel sorry for you for this, Adelaide. I didn't believe such deception was possible from you"

"You didn't call for weeks, Neil. You made me leave our home. You said you regretted marrying me. You aren't completely defenseless in this" she told him, her temper sparking, "Now, I need to get my son's bottle. He needs to be fed. Excuse me"

He studied her, intently. "Go on and come right back"

"Thank you so much for your permission, Doctor MacNeill" she bit back and without another word, she turned around and ran into the kitchen. She began to heat Simon's bottle and while she was waiting, she leaned over her counters and couldn't keep the tears. These past few months of distance had been so hard. And now that he was here and he knew the truth, she didn't know how they could move past this. It felt hopeless, though at the same time, all she wanted to do was launch herself in his arms and curl against his chest. It had been so long and missed him. The tears fell that she wiped away with the back of her hand. She washed her hands in the kitchen sink and reached for her towel.

She managed to compose herself by the time the bottle was finished and took it to Neil, face drawn and pale.

"Here" Neil patted the seat next to him. She sat next to him and Neil took the bottle out of her trembling hands. "I'll feed the lad. Did you test it already?"

"Of course, I did. Do you know how feed him it?"

"Aye, lass" he retorted, his temper sparking, "do ye know how to use the telephone?"

Her breath was sharp, "Do you?"

"I sent David for you when the epidemic was over but you refused to come with him" Neil's voice was low as he shifted the baby up. "He gave me your cryptic letter. Now I understand so much better what that was all about. How long have you known about this?" he reached over to tap on her stomach.

"Do the particulars matter?"

"You better believe they do" Neil grunted, "how long, Adelaide?"

She shrugged. "You are a doctor. You figure it out"

"Are you trying to incite me on purpose, woman?" he practically growled at her.

Simon began to fuss at his tone and Adelaide sighed, "Hand me my son, Neil"

"Stop calling him that, Adelaide" Neil snapped at her, "he's mine too"

"Really, where were you these past few months? You didn't even call to check on the baby!"

Neil jiggled him up, "I thought about him often. I love the boy"

Adelaide's tone softened, "Of course you do" She watched Simon as he fought against feeding from the bottle, "The bottle makes him gassy"

"Is your milk gone?" Neil asked, putting the bottle aside on the coffee table. He leaned Simon forward and expertly began to pat his back. "He's miserable"

"It's not" She shook her head, "I thought it would...when...before...but I usually can feed him morning and right before bed...sometimes more... Ed...Doctor Shaw... thinks I should stop, hence the bottle now, but I can't bear to stop completely"

Neil grunted, but reached for the bottle again, trying to feed it to him again. Simon turned redder and began to wail earnestly.

"Nurse the boy" Neil said.

She took Simon from him and adjusted her shirt. He began to feed with vigor and Adelaide was relieved.

"There we are" Neil reached over and rubbed his head, tenderly while she nursed. It reminded her of days after they were first married. Neil would sit on the couch next to her and talk with her while she nursed, often rubbing Simon's head comfortingly. She loved those quiet times together.

They were quiet for a few minutes, watching Simon feed, before Neil said, "When the Cove woman have babies back to back like this, they don't stop completely. Sometimes they will nurse the siblings together"

"I know" She nodded, "But it is simply not done here, Neil"

"I understand that" Neil said, dropping his hand, "but he is still such a wee un...of course he wants his mama"

"I suppose" She rubbed her finger across Simon's cheek.

"Adelaide" Neil's voice was even, "I want an answer to my question now"

She turned towards him on the couch, still nursing the babe, "I figured it out the day you told me to leave"

"You should have said something then"

"I wasn't inclined to say anything when you forced me from our home"

"You have been away for almost three months, lass. Surely it crossed your mind to communicate with me that I was going to be a father. A call...a letter...it was a deliberate decision to keep it from me"

"Yes, I have been gone for almost three months" Adelaide said. "And I barely heard a word from you. David called Christy every day...or every other day. Do you realize how it made me feel about our marriage?"

"I was busy trying to save lives" Neil said, defensively.

"I see" she looked at him, evenly, "I could have helped you with that"

"Not with that" Neil pointed to her belly. "You think this would have made me inclined to let you stay?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea"

"Do you understand how deadly typhoid is?" he asked her, incredulously, "we were lucky that we only lost 5 lives...it could have been so much worse, it should have been so much worse"

"I know how deadly typhoid is, Neil" she said quietly, "and I should have been working beside you, supporting the people of the Cove"

"Were you sick with the babe?"

She paused, "What do you mean?"

"Were you sick with the babe?" he asked. "It's a simple question"

"What is this? An interrogation?"

"Adelaide, I deserve answers"

"Does it matter?"

"Aye, it actually does" he said, "Apparently, I missed a lot and I'm trying to catch up"

"Yes, I was actually" she said grimly.

"How sick?"

"I was sick, Neil"

"How sick?"

"Ask my doctor, Neil, if you want to know the particulars"

He let out a long breath, "You are determined to make this hard, aren't you?"

Tears spilled out.

"How sick were you?" he asked again.

"Very ill, but only for two weeks"

"How can you say I was not right to send you away?" he asked, heatedly, "how would you have helped me?"

"But we didn't know at the time that I would have gotten so sick"

"Lass" Neil let out his breath, trying to reign in his temper, "you were very sick with the lad. History tells us that this is how your pregnancies progress"

"I should have been given a choice"

"It's not how this works" he said, "I make the decisions for our family"

"And how can I go back to the Cove and face my friends knowing that I wasn't there for them?"

"Blame me"

"Oh, believe me, I do" Adelaide snapped. She held the baby up.

Neil looked around, "Why are you staying here, anyway?"

"This is still my home, Neil" she said. "Why wouldn't I stay here? It's actually been a comfort to be here"

"Are you trying to wound me on purpose?" his voice was low. "Not telling me about the babe- it's unforgivable. It's something she would do to me- not you. I never thought you would be this heartless."

She was stricken. "Neil, I..." her lip trembled.

The clock struck five, startling both of them.

Adelaide sniffed hard, "I need to start with supper. I didn't know, so..."

"Make it simple, lassie" he responded. "I'll play with the wee one for you- keep him out of your hair"

She nodded absently, handing Simon to his Papa and made a hasty retreat.

"Eat more vegetables" Neil told her as he heaped carrots on her plate. "You are growing my babe inside of you"

She swallowed hard, "How do you think that happened?"

"I suppose we miscalculated things"

"I guess a doctor and a nurse can't be expected to get things right all the time" Adelaide said, with a small smile.

"I can't say I'm unhappy"

She took a sip of water, "Me either"

"Where were you this afternoon anyway? Your mother was tightlipped about it"

She put down here fork. "I was helping Ed with a surgery" she paused, "Actually since I recovered from my morning sickness and I can hide my pregnancy fairly well under my apron, I've been helping with surgeries and patient visits at Simon's old practice"

Neil frowned, "He allowed you to do this knowing your condition"

"Yes" Adelaide said, quietly, "apparently, I misjudged Edward"

A flicker of hurt- fleeting, but present none the less, "Do you wish you had done things differently, lass?"

She swallowed hard, "No..." she said slowly, "No I don't think so"

"But you have thought about it"

She didn't respond and he knew.

"Would you have been happy as Edward's wife?" he pressed.

She bit her lip and stared at her plate of food. Finally she looked up, "Edward is a friend, Neil. You are my husband. I'm pregnant with your child. I care for you"

"Do you care for me?" he asked, pointedly.

"Of course I do" she took another sip of water. Her heart raced again and her hands felt clammy- she wiping them on her napkin. She knew what he wanted to hear, but things were so unsettled between them. Her sharing her heart with him when he said that her actions before were unforgivable to her seemed like a recipe for a broken heart.

He stared at her for a few moments, her avoiding his gaze. Finally he sighed, "Keep eating, Adelaide"

She pushed aside her plate, "I'm full"

"You hardly ate anything" he said, frowning in disapproval, juggling Simon in his arms.

"I know" she said, "but I feel queasy. Let me take the baby so you can eat" She reached over to take the baby, bouncing him slightly in her lap.

"Is that normal for you?" he asked, his tone even.

"No" she said, slowly, "not for the past two weeks"

"Are you anxious?" he asked, quietly.

"Yes" she refused look at him, "Do you want more food, Neil?"

He shook his head, finishing his plate and pushing it aside. She stood with Simon. "I'm going to put the baby to bed and then do the dishes. Make yourself at home"

He allowed her to leave, burying his head in his hands at the table for a good while, before getting up and clearing the table for her.

Adelaide came back into the kitchen, startled to see Neil beginning the dishes.

"You don't have to do that"

"I know, but you are shattered, and if we do it together, it will make the job quicker. Washing or drying lass?"

"I'll wash" she said, stepping beside him at the sink. She began to wash and rinse the dishes before handing each to Neil.

"Do you remember the first time we ever washed dishes together?"

"Yes" Adelaide said, "at this very sink. Mother would have been mortified I had my guest doing dishes"

"I didn't mind" Neil said, easily, "and like tonight, you looked exhausted. I was glad to help you"

"I don't think I knew what exhaustion was back then" Adelaide mused. "not truly...not like now"

"Is Simon not sleeping through yet?" Neil asked, placing the dry dish back in the cabinet.

Adelaide laughed, "Not hardly"

"How many times is he up?"

"Two usually, sometimes three" she said, handing him another plate, "but he usually goes to sleep right after nursing"

"He is comforting feeding" Neil told her.

"I know" she shrugged, "but honestly, I let him cry for a little bit, but I can't stand just to let him wail for hours on end. I don't think that is healthy"

"What did you do when you were sick?" Neil asked. "If you were sick like before, you wouldn't have been able to care for him properly"

"Ed's nurse and my friend, Stella stayed with me. Edward checked in often...staying late to help with the baby too. We managed just fine"

"Adelaide"

"Yes?" she began to wash her water glass.

"Why would you stay here when your parents could have helped so much better?"

The glass she was washing slipped from her hand. She tried to catch it again, but only managed to have half of it break against her hand. "Oh" she winced, crying. "I'm such an idiot"

He quickly dried his hand on the towel and reached for her wrist to pull her hand towards him, "Let's see what you did"

"I'm so clumsy" she grunted.

"Only when you are nervous and I'd wager my question must have made you very nervous" Neil said.

"Completely" she admitted, her face flushing red.

"Then this is partly my fault, lass" Neil said, his voice kind, "we need tweezers and maybe a stitch"

"I'm sure it is fine" she said, wincing again as blood began to pool around the glass.

"Are you going to be stubborn about this on top of everything else?" he asked her, his eyes on her.

She took a few breaths, "No" she let out a long breath.

"I brought my doctor's bag just in case"

"Then I suppose that was fortunate planning on your part" Adelaide said, "will the lighting be sufficient enough at the table here?"

Neil nodded. "Sit and I'll be back"

Adelaide sat at the table, cradling her hand with the other. She truly felt like an idiot and things were so tense between them, this was the last thing she wanted to happen.

Neil came back into the room, washed his hands and reached for a fresh towel. He laid it out on the table, along with the tweezers and his bag.

He sat down next to her, his knees bumping with hers. "Let me see your hand"

She let go of it and he pulled it towards the towel.

"I like it far better when I'm the one pulling glass out of your hand" she said, quietly.

Neil chuckled, appreciatively at the memory, "I'm sure, lassie" he reached for the tweezers, "I'll be as gentle as I can"

He began to pull the tiny shards out of her hand, her wincing each time, "Sorry, lass" he said, "What made you so uncomfortable about the question?"

"It was a loaded question, Neil" she said.

"I know" he murmured, "your reaction did surprise me though"

"I know you are angry I moved in here"

"I sent you to Asheville because I knew your parents would help you with the baby and I wouldn't have to worry after you"

"I don't need either you or my parents to take care of me"

"It's not a matter of need, Adelaide" Neil put the piece of glass on the towel, "it's about support during a difficult time and not being alone"

She swallowed hard, "I feel more comfortable with leaning on you, than my parents"

Neil paused from his work, "Did my not calling put you in a difficult situation with your parents?"

"Mother began talking about us getting a divorce and how we don't do that in our family"

He inhaled sharply, before steadying his hand to remove another piece, "Do you think I want to end our marriage?"

"I have no idea what you are thinking, Neil"

"I have no idea what you are thinking either, Adelaide" he placed the piece on the glass before removing another. "But I have a pretty good idea of what you were thinking moving in here"

"It's not what you think" she insisted.

"Isn't it?"

"No"

He poured antiseptic over her cut, her grunting in pain. Then he pulled her hand closer to him so he could carefully examine the cut, trying to measure the width to see if she needed a stitch or two. He squeezed the gash together, frowning.

"I think this could use about three stitches here" Neil pointed to her hand.

"Three stitches hardly seem worth the effort" Adelaide murmured. "Staunch the blood flow and it will be fine"

"You'll have a huge scar"

She shrugged.

He paused, still holding her hand in his, "Sometimes the easier things are not necessarily the best things in the long run, wife"

"Are we talking about my hand or our marriage?"

"Maybe both" Neil mused.

"I hate to be an imposition for you"

He looked over at her, his eyes meeting hers, "I have never thought that of you"

Tears pooled in her eyes. "How can we fix this?"

"Our marriage?" Neil's eyes searched her eyes, "one stitch at a time, Adelaide"

She thought for a few moments and then nodded. "Go ahead, Neil"

He stitched her hand in silence.

"We should go to sleep" Neil said as he threw the trash away. "We'll talk in the morning"

Adelaide shifted, uncomfortably. "Okay"

"What's wrong?" he looked over his shoulder as she followed him into the living room to retrieve his overnight bag.

"Are we...sleeping in the same room?"

He froze and then turned to her, "Is that objectionable to you?"

"I didn't know if you would want to" she explained, quickly.

"You are my wife, Adelaide" Neil said.

"Okay" she said slowly, biting her lip.

"Lead the way" Neil said, gesturing her forward.

Adelaide clearly looked uncomfortable as they stepped into her bedroom. Neil put his bag down on the settee and looked around. Memories of Simon still filled the room.

"Have you been staying in here?"

"It's my bedroom" She backed up, hitting against the door, "Let's go stay in the guest room"

"Why?" he struggled to keep his voice even.

She licked her dry lips, "I don't know"

"Yes, you do" Neil insisted, "and I do too. Just admit it"

"Very well" Adelaide let out her breath, "if you must know, I'm completely uncomfortable spending the night with another man in this room"

"Even when the man is now your husband?" Neil asked, "clearly the memories of Simon didn't bother you before I came"

"What was I supposed to do?" She asked, sweeping over to her dressing table. She knocked down the picture of her and Simon on their wedding day, "I can do this"

She swept over to the closet and gripped some of Simon's shirts that had been left behind, "I can do this" she pulled them off the hanger, carrying them in her arms, them overflowing out of them.

"Stop that" Neil took them from her, his eyes narrowing.

"Then what do you want from me?" she cried. "I'm sorry it makes me uncomfortable. I'm sorry you are angry that I returned to Simon's memories when I felt our marriage was shattered. I just wanted to feel secure again...like myself. Confident and happy...and the memories have been hard, they have been devastating, especially returning with his child that he will never know. But when I cry myself to sleep at night, in the bed I so happily shared with Simon, it is not over Simon, Neil MacNeill. It's over you"

He cleared his throat, "Adelaide"

"I feel like in combination- you and I have destroyed our marriage" she placed Simon's shirts in a pile on the dresser. "And it will never be the same again. You said as much"

His shoulders squared, "I am angry at you, Adelaide. Any man in my situation would be."

"Well, that's great, Neil, because I'm angry at you!"

Neil stared at her, "Let's go to bed. You can get over the fact that you also shared this bed with Simon. If it makes you feel better, at the moment, I have no intention of touching you"

"Good" Adelaide swallowed hard.

"We will talk in the morning when we have both had time to simmer down. The way we are going, we'll blow up at each other in no time"

"That seems wise" Adelaide went over to where her nightgown was hanging up, carried it in the bathroom and shut the door behind her, it clicking loudly.

Neil grunted loudly, running his hand through his curls before undressing for bed.

Adelaide couldn't sleep, tormented by her thoughts and the fact Neil was snoring beside her. A twinge in her pelvis came and went again. It had been going on for the past hour, but slowly intensifying. Adelaide bit her lip, holding her stomach, trying not to think the worse. She must be just anxious and it was causing her to take normal growing pains and make it into something bad.

All the sudden, she felt the cramps intensify significantly and she groaned in pain, sliding out of the bed to head to the bathroom. But as she turned on the lamp, she saw the trail of blood.

"Oh God no" she whispered, her lip trembling.

She took another breath and moved quickly to shake Neil awake. "What is it?" his voice was groggy.

"I think I'm losing the baby" she choked as she began to cry.

At her words and the undeniable distress in her voice, he quickly sat up and turned on the light. As his eyes adjusted he looked to where she pointed.

"Oh God" Neil reached for her. "Okay, sweetheart, don't cry"

"I kept this from you and now I'm going to lose the baby" she said. "this is all my fault!"

His look was unreadable. And in that moment, Adelaide felt in her heart that if she lost the baby, she lost Neil too. She wondered how they would ever survive this.

A/N2: sorry for the cliffhanger!