I'm so sorry for the long delay's everyone. Unfortunately for all of us, I have to put college first, even if that means putting this story on hold. I will not abandon it until it is finished though, I promise. This story means so much to me, as do all of you and your reviews. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. It gives me added inspiration to write faster. Thank you!

"Margaret?" Neil whispered, leaning down and kissing her forehead to rouse her from her nap. "Margaret, darling, wake up."

She moaned. "Neil…I'm sleeping."

"You've been sleeping for two hours. Why don't you get up?"

"Because I like sleeping," She explained, pulling the blanket up over her head.

Neil grinned as he stood up, looking down at her with his hands on his hips. This would never work. He was going to have to try more drastic measures. Reaching down, his hands found her sides and he began to tickle her. She squirmed instantly.

"Neil!" She laughed, her head appearing once more as she swatted at his hands. "Neil, stop!"

His laughter melded with her's as he continued to tickle her. She was getting desperate and she rolled away from him, crawling out of bed on the other side. Breathlessly she smoothed back her hair, staring at him sheepishly from the other side of the bed.

"That was cruel."

"You left me with little choice," Neil smiled.

She smiled softly. "What do you want, anyways?"

"I was thinking about taking a walk back to our place. We need to start planning for our new cabin."

"You can't build until the snowy season is over," She reminded him.

"I know. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't start talking about it. We have a baby coming. Once we can start building, we'll have to move quickly so that we can move in before the baby comes."

She nodded. "That makes sense, I suppose."

"I don't want to build it the same way it already was," He explained. "I want to plan it together. I want your opinion on it."

Margaret smiled, moving toward him and wrapping her arms around his waist. She smiled up at him. "That means a lot to me, Neil. Thank you."

He leaned down to kiss her. "Freshen up and then we'll go. Make sure you put on extra stockings."

"I will," She nodded, moving toward the dresser as Neil left her alone once more. With help from Christy, Alice and Fairlight, she and Neil had been able to find enough clothing items in the charity boxes to resupply most of their needs. She would likely start borrowing some of Christy's maternity clothes from earlier in her pregnancy soon.

It was still early afternoon, but Margaret knew they wouldn't be able to spend much time at their place today. Tonight, they would have their final dinner with Christy's parents and David's mother, who were all leaving tomorrow. They had stayed over a month already, and now that the holidays and wedding were past, needed to return to their lives. All of them wished they could stay for the birth of Christy's baby in February, but it simply was not possible. While it had been fun to have everyone there, Margaret knew that buttons and limitations were starting to get pushed. Christy's mother swarmed and hovered over her at every moment, David's mother did the same to him, and Ruby Mae and Fairlight were being worn down preparing food for so many people, and Alice had refrained from travelling to Raven Gap in order to act as peace keeper in a household with so many different personalities. They all needed some sort of normalcy to return.

Margaret couldn't wait for them to have their own home again. She was enjoying Christy, David and Alice's company, but she was beginning to feel as if they were imposing. Neil was still making his rounds, and when he returned at random hours of the night, Alice always got up to prepare some coffee for him despite his protests. David and Neil butted heads over things with growing frequency, and Christy was growing tired of having her doctor constantly there to watch over her too. Margaret smiled at this thought. If only Christy knew what it was like to be married to the doctor. Then she would simply swallow her complaints.

On the other hand, it was nice having all of their resources pooled together. It was also helpful that Margaret was there to fill in for Christy at the school. When classes had resumed after the holidays, both women had agreed, after the persuasion of their husbands, to each teach half a day. It had helped reduce the stress on both women, and Neil and David had been satisfied with the outcome. Once Christy gave birth, Alice had agreed to take Christy's shift.

Their main predicament currently, was deciding what was to be done after Margaret had her baby as well. Christy and Margaret would both no longer be allowed to teach school. They were already breaking rules as married women teaching in the school, but there had been no other options. They all were praying that Dan would return to Cutter Gap with his fiancé to take over in the school until other arrangements could be made with Dr. Ferrand.

Margaret sighed. There were so many things that were going to change this year, and she wasn't completely positive that she was ready for all of it. Now that the thought of becoming a mother was becoming more of a reality with each passing day, she was growing nervous at the prospect. Neil assured her that it was normal, and that he shared some of her concerns, as did every person when they first became parents. She hoped he was right, but from what she could see, Christy didn't seem to have any of the same concerns. Then again, she only voiced her's to Neil when they were behind closed doors, and it was possible that David and Christy were the same way. Regardless, it was happening, and she desperately needed to get used to the idea.

She continued to mull over these things as she and Neil walked hand-in-hand toward their land.

"You're quiet," Neil noticed. She simply nodded. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. Just thinking, I suppose."

Neil looked down at her, releasing her hand and wrapping his arm around her instead. He pulled her toward him, leaning down and pressing his lips to the top of her head as they continued to walk.

"I love you," He told her softly. "I don't think I say it to you often enough."

She looked up at him with a small smile. "Neil, you say it all the time."

"Well, then maybe you get so used to hearing me say it that you don't really hear it anymore. So I'm telling you now, with emphasis, that I really truly do love you."

"I love you too, Neil. So much."

He continued to hold her as they finished the last leg of their walk. They soon came across the clearing, both of them growing still and silent as they saw the pile of black ash and wood. Silence hung in the air for quite a while as they both mulled over it all. At last Margaret spoke.

"When they first rode up and told us the cabin was burning down, my heart stopped, Neil. I was so afraid that it was a sign that we were making a mistake. That we weren't supposed to be trying this again. We'd had that horrific argument the day before, and I… Neil I was so afraid. But I also knew I was pregnant, and I couldn't imagine that God would give us a baby if we weren't supposed to be together. So I decided it meant something else."

Neil looked down at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I decided that this was the final sign to let go of everything that we were before, and just be who we are now. It's a chance to really start over, in every way. And, now, standing here and seeing it all with you, I know that it's true. This is our new beginning, Neil."

Neil smiled, turning her toward him so he could look at her straight in the eyes. "Here's to second chances."

"No, Neil. Here's to us," She told him.

He kissed her then, in a rush of promise and renewal, and suddenly they both felt that they were back to the beginning.