Hamilton…
Jack and Elizabeth stepped off the train in Hamilton. You could definitely tell it was the holiday season by the amount of Christmas trees, wreaths, tinsel, and other decorations that adored the train station. The couple found the driver for them not far from where the train was. Elizabeth smiled at the driver, "Nice to see you again Robert."
"It's nice to see you too Elizabeth, Constable," he said, "I am assuming Mrs. Thornton and Mr. Thornton will be here soon?"
"Yes, Mother and Tom should be arriving around the same time," said Jack.
Not long afterwards, Mary and Tom Thornton arrived, "My brother!" shouted Tom happily.
"Good to see you Tom," said Jack.
"How are you sweetie?" asked Mary embracing her son.
"I'm doing well," said Jack, "Things have been pretty hectic back home but overall we've been adjusting well."
"Well I'm sure you're both thinking about the big adjustment in the near future," said Mary smiling at Elizabeth, her twenty week bump now very noticeable.
"Most definitely," chuckled Elizabeth apprehensively.
"Hey you'll be a great mama to my little nephew," said Tom.
"Tom, we don't even know what the baby is," said Elizabeth.
"Uncle's intuition," smirked Tom.
"Well apparently you and your brother have the same intuition," said Elizabeth walking with the rest of the group towards the car. When everyone arrived at the Thatcher house, Kate was there to greet everyone.
"Hi there Lizzie," she said hugging her daughter.
"Hi Mom," said Elizabeth.
"Nice to see you Constable," she said embracing Jack as well.
"Merry Christmas Eve Kate," said Jack, "Mom, Tom, I'd like to introduce you to my mother-in-law, Kate Thatcher, Kate, this is my mother, Mary Thornton, and my brother, tom Thornton."
"It's a pleasure Mrs. Thatcher," said Tom shaking her hand.
"The pleasure is mine Tom," said Kate, "Well Julie is upstairs and Lionel and Viola will be here any minute so shall we?"
The Thorntons all followed Kate inside where William was calling out to Julie, "Julie, your sister and your brother-in-law are here!" he shouted.
"I'll be down in a minute Daddy!" she shouted.
"Nice to see everyone," said William, "You both must be Mary and Tom Thornton. William Thatcher."
"Yes sir, it's a pleasure to meet you," said Mary shaking his hand.
"And I think I'm missing something in Coal Valley. The food must bet better than I thought," William smiled rubbing Elizabeth's swelling belly.
"Daddy," she scolded lightly.
"Just joking Lizzie," he said.
Julie came down the stairs and saw Elizabeth and Jack, "Elizabeth you look beautiful!" she shouted happily embracing her.
"Easy for you to say," said Elizabeth.
"Have you felt the baby kick yet?" asked Julie excitedly.
Elizabeth and Jack looked at each other and then turned back to the families, shaking their heads.
"You'll feel it soon sweetheart," said Kate rubbing her daughter's shoulder.
Julie looked over and her eyes landed on Tom, "Well the Thornton certainly have a good gene pool," she thought, "Hi I'm Julie thatcher," she said extending her hand towards Tom.
"Tom Thornton," he said smiling and shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you Tom," Julie smiled.
There was another knock at the door and William went to answer, "Hello darling," said William hugging Viola.
"Hello Father," said Viola.
"Sir," said Lionel.
"So the wedding is in three days? How are you both feeling?" asked Jack.
Viola tried to hide her anxiety and forced a smile, "Great," she said.
"Well that's good," said Jack oblivious to Viola's true feelings.
"Dinner is on the table," said Kate escorting everyone to the dining room.
Everyone sat down for dinner and Julie asked Viola, "Are you excited for the wedding?"
Viola put down her champagne glass and forced another smile, "We're super excited," she said, "We finally get to be husband and wife."
"I can only imagine you feel the same way Elizabeth felt right before she married Jack," said Julie, "The romance, the wedding bells…"
"Julie we have plenty of time to talk about the wedding," said William.
"So how is everything going Lizzie?" asked Kate.
"Well, the doctor said he or she is right on target. Most of the early symptoms are gone and Jack and I are both really excited," said Elizabeth. After dinner, William, Kate, and Mary went to the parlor, and Julie and Tom went off alone somewhere before anyone else could notice, leaving Elizabeth, Jack, Lionel, and Viola alone.
"Well I'm going to go with your parents and Mary Darling," said Lionel kissing Viola on the cheek and then disappearing into the parlor.
"I'm going to see where in the world my brother and your sister went. Love you honey," said Jack kissing Elizabeth.
"Love you too sweetheart," said Elizabeth.
Viola and Elizabeth sat there awkwardly before Viola spoke, "Elizabeth, can we talk? Alone?"
Elizabeth was a little shocked. She had never been that close with Viola and never really got into the sisterly talk when they were growing up, "Of course, my room or yours."
"Mine I guess because you and Jack are in the same room and I don't want him interrupting," said Viola. Elizabeth followed Viola into her bedroom and Viola shut the door. Elizabeth sat down in the chair, breathing deeply, grateful to be off of her feet, "You okay?" asked Viola concerned.
"Yeah just heavy," said Elizabeth, "And the sad part is I'm only getting bigger from here. What did you want to talk about?"
Viola took a deep breath, "I don't think I should marry Lionel."
Elizabeth stuttered for a few moments, contemplating what to say next, "Why not?"
Viola sat down on her bed, "I. I don't know if I love him. I think I'm only marrying him to make Daddy happy."
"Viola, you courted Lionel for two years before you both got engaged. I courted Jack for six months," said Elizabeth.
"But Lionel and I don't have what you and Jack have. I see the way he looks at you. he really loves you. and I know he's going to love that baby," said Viola nodding towards Elizabeth's bump.
Elizabeth looked down and stroked her bump lovingly, thinking about the little life inside her, "Viola. All the thoughts going through your head, about whether you truly love Lionel and whether you can see spending the rest of your life with him, I had all of those same thoughts the days before my wedding."
Viola looked shocked, "But. But you seemed so excited."
"I did the same thing you did. I put on a show. But deep down, I wondered whether Jack was really the man for me. And then on my wedding day, when Daddy walked me down the aisle and I saw Jack standing at the altar, everything just faded. As we vowed to spend the rest of our lives together, I knew I had made the right decision," said Elizabeth, "I've seen the way you look at Lionel. You both love each other. And you're both perfect for each other."
Viola nodded, tears streaming down her face, "It's just a big step."
"I know," said Elizabeth taking Viola's hand, "But I believe you will have marriage even more beautiful than your wedding."
"I want to have marriage as beautiful as yours and Jack's," sad Viola.
"And I'm sure you and Lionel will make that happen," said Elizabeth. The sister saw there for a few moments before Elizabeth suddenly put her hand on her abdomen, "Ow," she groaned softly.
"What's wrong? Do you need a doctor?" asked Viola.
Elizabeth looked up and smiled, "The baby's kicking," Elizabeth whispered.
"Really?" asked Viola.
Elizabeth nodded happily and motioned for Viola to come over to her. Elizabeth took Viola's hand and put it on the spot where the baby was kicking, "Wow that's amazing. I wonder if Lionel and I will eventually have little ones? How does it feel?"
"It feels weird. And amazing," Elizabeth sighed in awe, "This is me. And Jack. This is us. We created a beautiful life together, and he or she is going to be a combination of me and the man I love. I love you Pumpkin," Elizabeth thought, "Aw man, the next time the baby starts kicking when Jack's around, I'm going to have to tell him it's the first time or else he's going to be so disappointed he missed it."
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," said Viola.