A fresh snow had fallen Friday into Saturday, but the morning greeted them with a bright blue sky. The hunt for trees was turning into quite an excursion. Along with Lee and Rosemary, Bill and Abigail had chosen to tag along to find two trees for the café - one in the diningroom area and a smaller one back in the parlor area. Bill stated that he did not need a tree for his apartment and that his office already had enough Christmas decorations. Lee was providing two wagons to get the five trees back to the correct houses.

The group met at the café, Nathan walking Avery and Allie into town to meet up with the others. Though Holly had started out with the group from the Coulters home, the little girl had started fussing about the cold during the walk. Deciding that the fussing would only get worse as the day wore on, both Rosemary and Lillian had headed back to the Coulter's row house. They had promised the tree hunters there would be hot soup and biscuits waiting for them when they got back. Giving the group that was going out, that was going to be a big undertaking. Along with Bill, Abigail, and Cody, Jack had also invited the traveling group along. Though Lillian and Holly were not staying behind, that still added six people to the group. Jack was thankful to have Bill, Lee and Gabriel there to help with cutting, transporting and putting the trees up.

With Lee and Jack each holding the reigns of one of the wagons, the group set off for a spot to enter the woods for their tree excursion. Behind him, Jack could hear Allie happily engaging in conversation, with both Gabriel and Avery.

"Uncle Gabriel helped bring down all the boxes that haven't been unpacked yet. If he had listened to you, Miss Avery, we would have known which ones the Christmas decorations were in."

"Yes, sometimes men have a hard time listening when their pride gets in the way. We just have to be patient with them, Allie," Avery told the girl.

"Uncle Nathan promised to have the decorations waiting for us when we get back," Allie said. "I just need to find the perfect tree to put them on."

"Got any idea what kind of tree you want?" Gabriel asked the girl.

"A tall but fat one," Allie said without hesitation. "Though I may have to pick one shorter than what I would really like or we may not have the decorations to cover it."

Jack chuckled. "Pick the tree you like, Allie. Between the decorations we already had and the ones Elizabeth's mother and my mother sent to us this year, we will have extra."

"Then I guess we need a big tree for your house as well, Uncle Jack!"

"That we do, Allie," Jack agreed, even as strains of a Christmas carol came drifting back to him from Lee's wagon ahead of him. Seemed Grace had gotten the children in her wagon singing. "Who wants to see if we can sing louder than them?" Jack suggested, as they had Christian and Vincent in the wagon as well.

All three children excitedly agreed to the suggestion and Jack started them off in a lively rendition of "Jingle Bells."

Nathan was thankful that for once, what he was looking for were not in the last box to be opened. In fact, he had only looked through five other boxes before he started to come across the Christmas decorations. Though he did not move them far from the group of boxes Gabriel had created bringing down the boxes that had not been unpacked after the move here, he did separate them. Even that small distance proved harder than he anticipated and he sank onto the settee to rest for a bit.

After he rested for ten minutes, Nathan donned his coat. Even though Rosemary had planned to check in on Elizabeth and let her know she and Lillian were staying behind with Holly, Nathan still planned on checking in with her. He had promised Jack he would be near by if Elizabeth needed anything while he was out looking for the perfect Christmas trees.

Soon, Nathan was walking down the snowy path in front of the row houses. The fresh snow had not had a chance to be cleared or packed down yet, and Nathan had to be careful of his footing. The short trek proved tiring, letting Nathan know that not trekking about in snowy woods had been the right choice.

Reaching the Thornton row house, Nathan knocked on the door.

"Coming," Elizabeth called out from inside.

Nathan waited patiently for her to reach the door. When Elizabeth opened the door though, Nathan immediately noticed a strained expression on the woman's pale face.

"Are you feeling all right, Elizabeth?" Nathan asked, his instincts on high alert and any weariness of his own forgotten.

"I think so," Elizabeth replied, stepping aside to let Nathan into the house. Though he did step inside, allowing her to close the front door, he made no immediate move to remove his outer garments. "I have felt tired and have felt a some mild contractions. Carson said that might happen," she explained.

"Are they regular?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't think so," she said, wincing as one took a hold of her. She had one hand on the small of her back and one on her swollen belly.

Nathan pulled out his stop watch and noted the time. "How long has this been going on?" he asked, not yet guiding her to a seat. He was trying to determine if having her sit on the settee was feasible or if she needed to be in bed. Her due date was not until mid January but Nathan knew those estimates were not always correct. Even if they were, the baby could still come early, especially with Elizabeth's level of activity.

"Well, that I really noticed them, not long after Jack and Avery left this morning. I woke up early this morning through and couldn't get back to sleep because I just felt uncomfortable."

"Was Jack aware?" Nathan asked, assuming the answer was going to be no. He didn't think his friend would go out tree hunting with his wife showing signs of early labor.

Elizabeth shook his head. "I didn't want to disrupt anyone's plans."

Nathan nodded, not surprised by the answer. "Well, I think you may be showing signs of labor, Elizabeth."

"The baby isn't due yet," Elizabeth protested.

Nathan gave a wry smile. "Babies do not always listen to their doctors. Or it could be that the estimate was off. Child birth is not an exact science."

Nathan noticed that worry had found its way into Elizabeth's expression. Reaching out, he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything will be fine, Elizabeth."

"Easy for you to say," the woman muttered.

Nathan didn't let it bother him. He would never repeat the names he had been called while helping deliver babies in the past.

"First, let's get you upstairs to your bed so you are as comfortable as possible," Nathan began, letting his hand slide from her shoulder to the back of her arm. Gently he started leading her to the stairs while he continued talking calmly. "I will go get Rosemary to come be with you and then go into town for Carson."

"Don't you dare go bothering Jack? I do not want to disrupt getting the trees," Elizabeth replied as the two slowly started up the steps.

"As I do not know exactly where they went on their tree hunt excursion, I am glad you feel that way. Chances would be home before I could find him anyway," Nathan said.

Elizabeth inhaled deeply, one hand holding the railing, the other on her abdomen as she paused in her ascent. The reaction told Nathan there was another contraction. Pausing beside her, he noted the time on his pocket watch which he still held along with the cane.

When the contraction had passed, Nathan gently urged her forward.

They had taken a few more steps when Elizabeth spoke again. "Maybe I should have told Jack how I was feeling. I don't want him to miss his child's birth," she lamented.

"He may still get back in time, Elizabeth," Nathan soothed. "Labor can sometimes take a long time and your contractions are not too strong or close together. Also, your water has broken?"

"What is that?"

"You will know it when it happens," Nathan assured her, not about to try explaining things any more than he needed too. He escorted her to her bedroom, helping her lie down. With a promise to send Rosemary over to help her get more comfortable, Nathan left her to go get Rosemary and then Carson.

Jack was breathing heavily as he sawed the trunk of the tree Mary Louise had chosen for the Coulter home. It was the first of the five that had been picked out, though Jack could hear the voices of the other nearby as the search continued for them. Only Lee was nearby helping him with this tree.

"Make sure it gets marked so the trees don't get mixed up," Allie called from one direction.

Jack chuckled though he let Lee reply.

"I have my yellow ribbon," Lee called back to the girl. Allie had insisted on different colored ribbons for each tree after they had been cut down. "I will tie it on as soon as your Uncle Jack is done cutting it down."

"Great!" Allie said. "And then I found the tree for Uncle Jack's house!"

Jack paused in his action and looked up at Lee. "That's great, Sweetheart," Jack called back to her. "We'll be there shortly."

"Avery and I are waiting!" Allie called back.

"You want the saw for the next tree?" Jack asked Lee.

The lumber entrepreneur smiled at his friend. "Sure, I can do that. Especially if our fearless Mountie is getting tired."

"Sawing down a tree is harder than chasing after a bad guy," Jack quipped, even as he went back to the task.

Lee laughed, even as he heard Cody yell out, "found one," off in the opposite direction Allie's call had come from.

"At least Bill or Gabriel will be cutting that one," Jack said, earning another chuckle from Lee.

Nathan hurried back toward the row house as fast as he could. Elizabeth was not going to be happy to hear that Carson had gone to Buxton to pick up supplies. Though Ned was going to send a wire to Buxton to let their doctor know of the situation it would still be some time before Carson could get back to Hope Valley. Which meant that with Faith in Hamilton visiting family, delivering this baby would fall on him. Not that Nathan was worried. He had delivered babies before. Even his injured leg would not interfere with his ability to deliver this one.

Elizabeth might feel differently about him delivering her baby, though there was still a chance Jack would get home before that and be able to help bring his child into the world.

It was just a matter of letting the process take place in its own timing - and convincing Elizabeth that he knew what he was doing when it came to delivering this child.

Reaching the Thornton home, Nathan heard Elizabeth yell from outside. The contractions had clearly gotten stronger. Stepping inside, the house Rosemary soon appeared on the steps. Not coming all the way down, she leaned her head over the railing.

"Where is Carson?"

"Buxton," Nathan replied.

"Buxton! He can't be in Buxton! He needs to be here for Elizabeth!" Rosemary exclaimed, sounding more dramatic than the situation called for.

"Well, he is in Buxton," Nathan said calmly. "Ned is wiring Buxton to try getting him a message, but even then it will be hours before Carson gets back," he as he removed his outer garments.

"And if the baby doesn't want to wait hours?" Rosemary asked, now standing at the foot of the steps, one hand on her hip.

"Then I deliver the baby," Nathan informed her, making his way toward her. "Has the water broke?"

"Yes," Rosemary said. "You were right when you said we would know when that happened. The contractions are getting closer as well."

Nathan nodded, acknowledging the information. He held out his bag with his first aid supplies in it. "Can you take this upstairs for me, please?" he asked noting that there was already some water on the stove heating. "You have towels in her room?" he asked, as Rosemary took the bag from him.

"Yes," Rosemary replied.

"Good. I will be right up," Nathan said, heading for the kitchen area so that he could scrub up thoroughly before heading upstairs.

After washing his hands and arms, Nathan headed upstairs. As soon as he walked into the room, he knew that Rosemary had already broken the news to Elizabeth.

"You are not delivering this baby," Elizabeth told him

Remaining calm, Nathan stood just inside the doorway. "Do you know of someone else nearby that has the training to do? If you do, I will be happy to go get them."

"Well no," Elizabeth managed to get out before a contraction gripped her, a sound of pain emitting from her. As the contraction passed, Nathan heard her mutter something about 'know-it-all Mounties' that he chose to ignore.

"Then right now, I am who you got."

"Have you even delivered a baby?"

"I have delivered five, including Allie. If my sister and I could get through the embarrassment of the little brother delivering his sister's child, then I think you and I can manage it as well."

Elizabeth opened her mouth, kept it open for a few seconds and then shut it.

"Now, may I check and see how far along you are?" Nathan asked.

"Like I have a choice," Elizabeth muttered, crossing her arms.

"You really don't right now," Nathan said reaching for a nearby chair and moving it to the foot of the bed.

Jack had never been so relieved to see the café come into sight. The plan was to unload the two trees for the café before taking the other three out to the row houses. The outing, though fun, had left him feeling exhausted. However, all of the children had fun as did the adults, though Jack was sure Bill would try to deny it.

Bringing the wagon to a stop in front of the café, Jack had not even had time to climb from the wagon before Ned approached them.

"I take it you haven't been home yet, Jack?" the mercantile owner asked him.

"No. Why?" Jack asked, a bit of worry creeping in.

"Elizabeth went in to labor. Nathan was in town looking for Carson, but the doctor went to Buxton. I wired him, but haven't gotten a reply. Nathan went back out to your house but he wanted me to send you home if I saw you first."

Jack climbed down from the wagon and looked to Bill and Lee who had joined him.

"Go," Lee told him. "We'll get these two trees set up and then come hear the news."

That was all the encouragement Jack needed. Leaving the others, Jack started running toward the town house, any thought of exhaustion eliminated by the adrenaline coursing through his body.

Reaching his home, he burst through the door just as Nathan stepped off the last step. The two men's gazes met. It was Nathan who spoke first.

"Congratulations, Dad," Nathan said with a grin. "You have a son. Mama and baby are doing fine."

"A son," Jack breathed in awe at the idea as he pushed the door shut behind him. Just then, a baby's cry drifted down to him.

"Go see him and Elizabeth," Nathan said, nodding up the stairs he had just come down. "I need a cup of coffee," he said, heading toward the kitchen.

Jack bounded up the steps two at time, pausing only when he got the doorway of the room he shared with Elizabeth. There in the bed, was his very exhausted wife, nursing their baby boy. Elizabeth's face radiated with joy.

"He's early," Jack commented, immediately cringing at the obvious statement which was enough to alert Elizabeth and Rosemary to his presence. Both women looked in his direction.

"I guess little Jarrick didn't want to miss this Christmas," Elizabeth said. "I want to talk to you about his middle name though," she added.

Jack nodded as he stepped into the room. They had decided that a son would be a junior but his ego wouldn't be hurt if Elizabeth had another idea. "All right," Jack said, having an inkling of where this conversation was going to go."

"Let me give you two some time alone," Rosemary said, standing up from the chair. She nodded to a basin on the nearby dresser. "I put some fresh water in there so you could wash your hands when you came home," she told Jack. "The towel is fresh too, though I won't promise how warm it is."

"Thank you, Rosemary," Jack said, stripping his outer garments as she headed for the door.

Jack washed his hands thoroughly and then moved back to the bed. Instead of using the chair Rosemary had vacated, he sat on the edge of the bed facing Elizabeth. The infant had finished nursing.

"Here let me burp him," Jack said reaching for his son.

Elizabeth handed him a cloth to cover his shoulder and then handed over their son.

"Hey there, Jarrick," Jack told the little boy, as he shifted him to his shoulder. "I am your, Daddy."

After looking at the boy's face a few moments, Jack rested Jarrick against his shoulder and patted his back gently. "So, you decided you don't like my middle name for our son," Jack commented, looking at Elizabeth.

"Not exactly," his wife replied, still smiling. "However, despite me not wanting him at first, Nathan was a very calming presence through the whole ordeal, despite me calling him a few names."

Jack chuckled. "I've been called a few names by women in labor myself," he said, amused even though Elizabeth's cheek had the pink hue of embarrassment on them. "The moment this little one was in his hands he probably forgot all about them."

"I hope so," Elizabeth said. "Just the same, I thought if you were not set on our son being a junior that we could name him Jarrick Nathan Thornton."

Jack nodded as he lowered Jarrick, who had let out a little burp, from his shoulder. "What do you think, Jarrick?" he asked his son. "Do you like the middle name, Nathan?"

The infant blinked his eyes a few times before leaving them close. Being born was a tough job and now that his tummy was full, Jarrick was ready to sleep.

"Well he isn't protesting," Jack said, looking from his son to his wife. "I think Nathan is the perfect middle name for him. Do you want to tell Nathan or should I?"

Elizabeth yawned. "Maybe you should. I think I want to take a nap myself."

Jack leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Elizabeth's lips. "You deserve some sleep," he told her.

Placing Jarrick in the cradle next to the bed, Jack then helped Elizabeth get comfortable in the bed.

"Did Allie find us the perfect tree?" Elizabeth asked, as Jack tucked the covers around her shoulders.

"She did. I am sure once they are done at the café, ours will be the next to get delivered so they can all check in on you and the baby," Jack replied.

"Can we wait to decorate it?" Elizabeth asked him. "Even if I don't feel up to decorating, I would like to be downstairs."

"We have a week until Christmas," Jack replied. "Just rest now," he told her, kissing Elizabeth's forehead as he stood up.

Walking to the doorway, Jack paused and looked back. Elizabeth had already fallen asleep, and she and Jarrick made a beautiful sight to see. He watched his wife and son sleep for a few minutes and then headed downstairs.

On the first floor, Jack found Nathan sitting at the table sipping from a mug of coffee.

"Rosemary went over to see how Lillian was making out with the soup and biscuits," Nathan told him.

Jack nodded in acknowledgment of the information. "How are you feeling?"

"Relived that Elizabeth didn't come with us and go into labor in the woods," Nathan commented.

"Me too," Jack admitted. "Even more though, I am grateful that you stayed behind and were here to bring my son into the world. I hope this proves that you can still make a difference with that uniform, despite the leg injury. If you did not have the training to bring Jarrick Nathan Thornton into the world, then this might not be such a joyous occasion."

A bit of red crept into Nathan's cheeks at the words. "Just doing . . . a wait a second. Did I hear you right? Did you and Elizabeth name your son after me?"

"Well, technically he is named after the both of us," Jack replied. "But yes, Elizabeth wanted him to have your name as a middle name out of gratitude and perhaps an apology. She said she called you a few names."

Nathan chuckled. "Nothing I haven't been called before. I think I would have been more worried if she hadn't called me a few names."

"I know what you mean," Jack said, moving to retrieve a mug to pour himself a cup of coffee. When the others got here, he would help bring in the tree but for now, he was going to get a mug of coffee and go watch his wife and son sleep.