Alrighty then--I am sorry it is taking me sooo long to update this story but I have been super busy! This is another dance chapter but we are going to assume that it is a few months down the road, just too kind of get us all up to speed (even me). Emily has been seeing Thomas and Ethan has just been alone, even though Eliza wants something to spark really bad. So this chapter starts in February around Valentines Day, both places are having Valentines Day parties and that is where this chapter starts. You are also going to get a few parental opinions in this chapter because I love El and Liv so much I think we need to let them speak on this whole matter as well as John and Casey. Again thanks for all the reviews. Oh and if you want to review and haven't been able to you may no do so as I disabled the signed reviews for this story.

Valentines Day

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

Ethan was again playing with the same group of guys for a Valentines Day dance that the town had to celebrate the holiday of love. Ethan was a little sick of it all. His brothers and sister had made Valentines and taken them to school and Ethan had kind of laughed to himself when he saw the one that Caleb had taken in to town to Laura Trimble. Caleb was six years old and he had more of a gal than his sixteen year old brother did. He had also noticed that the letters from Emily were less and less frequent. He wondered if she was ok but he couldn't find out if she didn't return his writings. All he could do was wonder and wait. He saw Eliza Connelly come in the door, alone. He wondered why she didn't try to find someone to come to these events with her. She always looked so lost and alone. Ethan felt bad for her but he knew that he was in love with Emily and there was just no getting around it.

John and Casey and Elliot and Olivia all met in a somewhat secluded corner to discuss their children. "I'm worried about Elliot." Olivia said.

"So am I. I am also worried about Emily." John said giving his wife a stern look that said, keep your mouth shut, you may be ruining your daughter's happiness.

"What are we going to do?" Elliot asked. "I mean I have thought about sending Ethan to Philadelphia but I don't think that is the answer to this problem."

"Well I think we should let Emily come home, right Casey?" John said.

"She has already told Mary Anne that she will not come home until that girl that she met on the train has her baby in May." Casey told the other three people standing with her.

"Well May is certainly closer than next November." Elliot said. "Have her come home; I don't think Ethan will make it much longer. He is just so depressed."

"Well what happens if she has met someone else in Philadelphia?" Casey questioned. She knew about Thomas but had never mentioned him to John.

"Has she, dear wife?" John asked, stressing the word dear.

"Well she has met a young man but I don't think it's serious." Casey admitted. "Mary Anne says he visits often and calls most every Sunday."

"Oh goodness." Olivia said. "What are we going to do? I know that Emily loves Ethan as much as he loves her but Ethan is so closed about his emotions. I think it will be better for them both if she is hear so that they can see if anything develops or if it just a comfortable situation for them both."

"Oh goodness what have I done?" Casey asked. She looked at Ethan setting with the other musicians. She hoped that Emily's relationship with Thomas was not as serious as it may have sounded in her sister's letters.

"You have been trying to rule our daughter's life. You can not make up for the things that you didn't have when we were first married. I have told you that I am sorry that your life was not what you wanted it to be then but I think that I have more than made up for it." John said to his wife, sternly.

"Well I'll write Mary Anne and Emily and tell her that she should come home after Louise has her baby and can travel." Casey said.

"Thank you." Olivia said.

"Yes thank you." Elliot said.

The two couples split up and Elliot and Olivia both felt better. They weren't going to say anything until they knew for sure that Emily was coming home. They didn't want to get Ethan's hopes up only to have them come crashing down on him because Emily changed her mind or her relationship with Thomas became more serious than they thought it was.

Only time would tell.

Emily was dressing to go to a Valentines Day party with Thomas. Last Sunday when he had come over he had asked her if she would like to go and since Louise wasn't up to doing much of anything she said yes. She had actually been spending a lot of time with Thomas but she still thought of Ethan often. Since Christmas time they hadn't spent much time writing back and forth or she should say that she didn't spend much time writing to Ethan. She still received letters from him on a regular basis. He had thanked her profusely for the pocket watch that she had given him for Christmas. She was glad that he had liked it so much. He had also told her that he was working with his father to establish himself a place of his own so that he could begin building a house of his own. He said that he would like to get out of his parents house, because as much as he loved his siblings he was getting driven crazy by them.

Louise came in, her front heavy with her pregnancy. "Oh Em, you look so pretty."

"Thank you Lou. Just think in a short while you'll have a little baby to love, we both will." Emily said. "And you will be the one that is going out to dances and parties."

Louise looked down at her middle, "I don't think I'll ever be pretty again. Not that I was so much before but this is terrible." She was seven months into her pregnancy and really beginning to feel it. "What are you doing going out with Thomas again?"

"I like Thomas and I enjoy his company." Emily said.

"Yes but have you been writing Ethan lately?"

Emily cast her eyes down, "No."

Louise felt the fire come into her green eyes, "Emily! How dare you forget about him? He is waiting for you in Rock Springs to come home. You need to go home to him."

"How Lou? I made a promise to my mother, to my aunt and my aunt that I would stay here to help my aunt, to learn the things that I need to learn to be a proper lady."

"Emily Munch!" Louise said, "You are a proper lady! How dare you think that you are not? A proper lady would help someone in need. You did that, you helped me! You are still helping me!"

Emily broke down then and began to cry. "Oh Lou. What about my responsibility to my aunt and my mother?"

Louise looked at her friend, "Emily, what does your hear want?"

"To go home to Ethan and see-see how he feels and t-tell him how I feel." Emily said still sobbing.

"Then do it." Louise said. "In two months, so in April sometime and I am thinking it will be early April, I will be having my baby, and then as soon as I can travel we are going to pack up and we are going to go back to Rock Springs."

Emily hugged her friend hard, "Ok. I'll think about it ok? Thomas would like to travel with us. It's his dream to see the west and I think we should allow him that luxury."

Louise didn't say anything about that comment. She just left the room and allowed her friend to finish getting ready. Emily wiped her eyes and finished getting ready.

Louise went back to her own room and rubbed her belly lovingly. "Little one I hope I never push you into a situation that you don't want to be in. I feel so bad for Emily." She sat with her knitting and continued to work on the baby blanket that she was making for her child. Emily and Mary Anne had done so much for her child that she felt bad but she really didn't have the resources to do anything. She also used these times to think about Alfred. He had wanted to get married so badly and she had kept pushing him away because her parents hadn't wanted her to marry a farmer. She had loved Alfred and then he had died. Then the incident with the stranger had occurred and she had been left alone, because her family pushed her away. She felt bad that her child would never meet his or her grandparents or her uncle and aunt. She knew her brother had told her parents that they were crazy for sending her away that what had happened hadn't been her fault but her father had just back handed him and sent him sprawling to the floor. Louise had felt bad for him so she had left and a few days later she had met Emily on the train to Philadelphia. Louise looked out the window and sighed. She had never intended to make it to Philadelphia but she was glad that she had come here and made such a good friend of Emily and her aunt and Miss Emma.

Emily was ready when Thomas arrived and she allowed him to escort her to his carriage. He had a driver so they were allowed to talk on the way to party. "So how are things going today Emily?" he asked. He had seen the look in her eyes when he had come to door. He was quickly falling for her but he wasn't sure that she was having the same feelings for him.

"Fine, Thomas. How are you today?"

"I'm fine." Emily replied looking out the window.

"You don't seem fine." Thomas said. "What's bothering you?"

Emily smiled at him then, to hide how she was really feeling. "Nothing. I'm very excited about this outing tonight."

Thomas relaxed and leaned back, "That's good. It should be a nice evening."

"Yes it should." Emily said, continuing to look out the window. The weather lately had been very mild and the snow was gone. It almost looked like spring was coming. Emily wondered what the weather in Rock Springs was like.

Ethan was playing with the boys, a nice slow song, and he was again admiring the way the couples moved and swayed. His parents had brought the younger children with them tonight and even his two little brothers were out there dancing or trying to dance like the older people on the dance floor. He smiled as he watched Caleb and Will trying to act so grown up.

When they decided to take a break, Ethan was over by the punch bowl when Eliza came up. "Hi Ethan." She greeted.

"Hello Eliza." Ethan greeted back. "Are you having a nice time tonight?"

Eliza looked at the floor before looking at Ethan, "Somewhat. Ethan why have you never asked me to come to one of these dances with you?"

Ethan didn't know how to answer her, remain polite, and let her down easy all at the same time. So he decided to lay it all out for her, "Eliza, look" he said taking her arm and leading her away from the crowd, "I really like you. I do but I don't like you that way. I like you as a friend. Do you understand me?"

Eliza looked near tears when Ethan finished but she furiously shook her head. "I'm sorry Ethan, I d-didn't realize."

"I know, and it's ok. I want to be your friend Eliza. I will be your friend. I just can't ever be more." Ethan said. He took his thumb and wiped the tears from under her eyes. "Now don't cry. Go back in there and have a good time, ok."

"Ok Ethan. Say, Ethan, why do you have to be so nice to me?"

"Because I like you Eliza. You're a nice girl but I'm not the fella for you. You'll find him, just be patient."

"Like you've been Ethan?" Eliza asked.

Ethan let a breath out. "What do you mean Eliza?" he asked. He knew what she was talking about. She was talking about Emily; he just wished he wasn't so transparent.

"You, you've been waiting for Emily Munch for a long time." Eliza said. Then she walked away from him.

Ethan finished his punch and decided that he had taken care of the Eliza problem. He looked outside. It had been warmer out than it had been for the past few months. Really since November, when Emily had left. Maybe it wouldn't get warmer until she returned. Ethan thought about that, wow then they were in for a long cold spell. He smiled to himself and drained his punch. Time to play again.

Later that night he smiled again as he saw Eliza talking and chatting with a young man. He was glad that he had finally given Eliza the push that she had needed to give up on him and find someone her own age and that could care about her.

When Ethan and the others finished playing for the night he loaded his guitar into their buggy and then went back in and picked up a sleeping Katie from their pile of jackets. She had her thumb in her mouth, something that she should have given up now that she was four years old as she kept reminding everyone. He kissed her cheek and turned when his father came up. "You're a natural with the little ones son."

"No, I'm just a natural with Miss Katie here."

"I know that too. Tomorrow I want to talk to you about starting your own place."

"Ok Pa." Ethan said. He and his father were supposed to have had this conversation after the New Year but they hadn't. They had kept putting it off and putting it off.

Ethan climbed into the back of the buggy, still holding onto Katie. The boys climbed in next to him and almost instantly fell asleep. Their mother gushed the whole way home about what a wonderful time it had been and how much fun she had had. Ethan watched his parents kiss and hoped that when he married it would be like what they had.

Emily went with Thomas and only stayed half the night before she begged off saying her head hurt. Thomas has his driver take them back to her aunt's house where he saw her to the door. "Thank you for a wonderful time tonight Emily. I'm sorry that your head started to hurt."

"Oh I think it was just the cigar smoke. I'm fine now. Thank you." Emily said and turned toward the door to go in.

Thomas caught her arm and leaned his head down. "Come on now Emily. We've known each other long enough now for a good night kiss."

Emily turned her head and his lips landed on her cheek, instead of their intended target and she dashed into the house.

Her aunt was there, "Hello dear."

"Hello auntie. How was your evening?"

"Fine dear, how was yours?"

"It was alright. I think I'm going up to my room now Auntie. Goodnight."

"Oh goodnight dear." Mary Anne said.

Emily fled to her room and sat down to write to Ethan. He seemed to be her life line and she hadn't been doing very well keeping close to him. She read his latest letter and sat down to write her own. It ended up going on to be quite long, two pages and she knew that should make up for all the letters that she had missed. She hoped.

Ok so what do you thinks so far? This is chapter 10 and they are still "dancing" around each other. I am sure you all hate Thomas now but don't worry I have plans for that lad! Ha! I also have plans for Eliza, Oliver and Louise. So please please please keep reading and reviewing. Your reviews make me so happy!