Chapter 16

September 3rd, 1985

David gently supported Hannah in his arms as she knelt in the yard and retched pitifully. It was the fourth morning in a row that she had gotten sick after eating breakfast. Leaning back against his chest for support, she smiled weakly and said, "I must have the flu…"

"I don't think it's the flu, baby," David told her with a gentle smile on his lips.

"What else could it be?"

"Honey, I think you might be going to have a baby."

"A baby?" Hannah exclaimed in a surprised voice. "How could I be having a baby?"

David frowned as he considered how to explain the facts of life to his innocent lover. "Honey, you haven't had your monthly since we started sleeping together. Have you?"

"No…" Hannah said after thinking about his question for a few minutes. She wasn't totally innocent. She knew where babies came from. She just never thought about it in the context of her new relationship with David. Turning in his arms, she looked deeply into those dark blue eyes. "A baby?" she whispered in awe "For true?"

"For true." David told her with a wide grin and a deep, loving kiss. The idea of becoming a father, of starting a family with Hannah, made him happy. In his heart he knew that he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. This was where he belonged now more than ever.

"We're going to have a baby!" Hannah said with a happy laugh and a toss of her long red hair. She threw her arms around David's neck and hugged him fiercely. "When do you think?"

Doing some quick calculations in his head, David said "I'd say sometime in the spring. Probably April." He glanced back at the tiny cabin thoughtfully and said, "I'll need to build another room…"

"There's no hurry," Hannah told him smugly "Our baby can sleep with us for a while."

She looked at the man she loved with a shy smile. "Are you happy? About the baby I mean?"

"Of course I am," He reassured her with an loving embrace. "But I'm a little worried about what we'll do when it gets close to your time…"

"There's no reason to worry. Granny Annie lives just over the ridge and she's the best midwife in these parts." Hannah told him with a smile. "She delivered me and half the other babies in these mountains."

"Good," David said in a relieved voice with a crooked smile. "I'd hate to have to figure out how to do it on my own,"

"I think mama kept all my baby things. I'll have to look," Hannah said already making plans for the new addition to her life.

"You need to start taking it easy around here," David told her firmly as he took her hand and guided Hannah to her feet. They walked towards the cabin hand in hand. "I can take over the outside chores."

David pulled the door closed behind them as the happy couple contemplated the future they planned together.

November 10th, 1985

The sun was setting casting a halo of colors over the water. Hannah, already three months pregnant with their child, was dressed in a long flowing white dress that clung to her body seductively. Her long auburn hair hung loose around her shoulders and her eyes sparkled with love. Holding hands, Hannah and David looked deeply into each other's eyes as they recited their vows before God.

"I, Hannah Dobbs, swear to love you, David, for the rest of my life and beyond. In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, I am now and will be forever yours. God has brought us together to share this life and the life that I carry inside of me. A life born of love, a part of you and a part of me that will live on even after we are gone. I pledge myself to you, now and forever more."

'I, David, swear to love you, Hannah, for the rest of my life and beyond. In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, I am now and will be forever yours. My life I owe to you and so much more. I pledge my love to you and to our child now and forever more."

They sealed their union with a tender kiss and then David slipped the simple gold band that had belonged to Hannah's mother on her hand. They were man and wife in their hearts and in the eyes of God, even if their union was not legally sanctioned by the state of California. Since he didn't remember his own name, David had decided to take Hannah's last name to use when needed. They had returned to the cabin and celebrated their union far into the night.