Elizabeth woke up a few hours later to something patting her on her cheek. She opened her eyes to see Callie starting at her. When the kitten saw Elizabeth was awake, she meowed loudly. Elizabeth groaned; she didn't want to get up but Callie wanted her breakfast and she knew if she didn't go feed the cat, she and Jack wouldn't have any peace. She wanted desperately to spend some romantic time with her husband now that he was home. Elizabeth carefully removed Jack's arm from around her so she wouldn't disturb his sleep. Callie got all excited now that she saw Elizabeth getting up.
"Be quiet, Callie." She whispered. "We don't want to wake Jack up." She put her feet on the floor just as she felt his hand touch her shoulder. She turned to look at him and smiled. "I'm sorry, Honey. It's way past when I usually feed Callie and she is getting antsy. I tried to get her to be quiet so you wouldn't wake up."
"That's alright, Sweetheart. I was only lightly sleeping anyway. Too excited to be back with you again. How about we both go downstairs and while you feed the cat, I can start some breakfast for us?"
"That sounds wonderful. Just don't make any eggs. I can't stomach the smell of eggs right now. I have a few in the house for baking because I can tolerate them that way but not to eat for breakfast."
"Good to know but I was thinking about making pancakes. I missed having them while I was gone."
"Ooo, pancakes! Sounds delicious."
The happy couple made their way downstairs with the hungry cat leading the way. Jack got to work making the pancake batter while Elizabeth put chicken on a plate for Callie and placed a bowl of water next to her. Then she set the table and started water for tea. "Jack? Do you want tea or coffee this morning?"
"I'll have some tea. You go sit at the table and I will bring you a cup when the water is hot."
"Ok, Jack. I just want to get myself a piece of toast before I sit down."
"Toast? Now? Can't you wait until the pancakes are ready?"
"I can't because I am feeling a bit nauseous this morning. The toast will help get rid of the nausea and then I can devour the delicious pancakes you are making. I am also going to have some mint tea with breakfast which will also help."
Jack smiled at her comment about breakfast but was a little worried about her being sick to her stomach. This was his first day on the job as expectant father and he wasn't sure what was normal and what wasn't. Seeing as she wasn't upset or worried herself, he decided she must be ok. He went back to making the pancake batter but decided he would keep an extra close eye on her.
Once breakfast had been served and they were both eating, he decided to bring up something he had been thinking about on his ride home. "Sweetheart, I did a lot of thinking when I was coming home and I wanted to know what you think about an idea I have."
Elizabeth noticed Jack had a mischievous look on his face. "What is it, Honey?"
"How would you like to go on a belated honeymoon with me? Headquarters gave me a few weeks off in appreciation for going north. I thought why not take a trip with you, especially since in a few months we will have a little one joining our family."
Elizabeth's face lit up when she heard Jack's idea. She had a location in mind too but wanted to hear what his ideas were. "What a wonderful idea, Jack! I would love to go on a honeymoon with you."
Jack smiled. "Great! Do you have a place in mind where you would like to go? I will take you wherever you want."
"I do, actually." She got up from the table and went to her desk. She returned to the table with a letter in her hand. "This letter is from my Aunt Elizabeth. She and her husband live up in the North, further up from where you were. Do you remember me telling you about her?
"Of course I do. We hadn't been courting very long and I asked you what made you want to be a teacher. You mentioned that you admired your Aunt for going west to teach and that was one of your reasons. I remember being surprised that you both have the same name and became teachers."
"Well, there was something I didn't tell you about her because we had just started courting. I was afraid it might chase you away from me."
"You never could have done that. I was in love with you from the first moment I saw you. Even though I acted like I couldn't stand you." He smiled at her that dimpled grin making her weak in the knees even though she was sitting. "What is it that you didn't tell me?"
"Well to start with, she had a similar situation with the superintendent of schools when she was waiting for an assignment with a similar outcome as me when she refused his advances. She was sent to a town much smaller than Hope Valley."
"My goodness, Elizabeth. What is it with these men that the school board hires?"
"I don't know. Anyway while she was there she found herself attracted to a man she thought was the father of one of her students. She hated herself for it because she thought he was married to the child's mother. Then he began showing interest in her. She was so confused until she found out the truth."
"Don't keep me in suspense, Sweetheart. What happened and how does it relate to you?"
She smiled, knowing how surprised he would be when she told him everything. "Uncle Wynn was in town to help his brother's wife with the family. His brother had been injured in an accident so Wynn took a leave of absence from his job to help his family. Once my Aunt Elizabeth knew the truth they started courting and eventually married, earlier than intended because his job was taking him up north. Do you want to guess what his job is?" She smiled at him, then moved her gaze from his handsome face towards the hat he had left on the counter when he got home last night.
Jack followed her gaze to the hat, then looked back at her, his eyes widening in surprise. "Really? He's a Mountie?"
"Yes he is! I'm basically living the same life as Aunt Elizabeth, except that she was never able to get pregnant. They did adopt two children though."
"I can't believe this." Jack replied, shocked at this new information. "You both married Mounties." He stood up from the table and reached for her hand, then they walked to the sofa to sit down while they continued their talk. "You said he was assigned to go the northern territories. Where did he end up getting stationed?"
"Lots of places. I am not even sure of the town names. You could ask him yourself though if you agree to where I would like to go on vacation. And don't worry. We would not be going up to see them. It's too long a trip and you just got back from being north yourself."
"So where would we be going where I could meet your aunt and her Mountie husband?"
"Calgary. Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Wynn are going there to visit my Uncle John. He's my father and Aunt Elizabeth's older brother."
"More Thatcher siblings?"
Elizabeth giggled. "My father has a lot of siblings, scattered about Canada. Aunt Elizabeth is the one I haven't seen in a long time. That was why she sent the letter. She asked if I would want to travel to Calgary to spend a few days with her. I was going to send her a telegram today telling her no. I was afraid that if I did, you would come home and be upset that I wasn't here."
"I probably would have been at first but I would also understand once I knew the reason." He took her hand and brought it to her lips. "I would love to take you to Calgary and meet your family. Just one thing….." He was stopped by her lips covering his.
"I have no problem staying in a hotel, Honey. It is our honeymoon. I want to see my family but I also want time spent with you."
"Then it's settled. I can't wait to go. Time spent alone with you and meeting your Aunt and Uncles. I can't wait to talk to your Uncle Wynn."
"Aunt Elizabeth said he is looking forward to meeting you someday too. Maybe Aunt Elizabeth and I will go shopping one day and leave our handsome Mounties to share job experiences. I do have to get some new clothes soon. Some of my things are just beginning to feel a little tight."
"I can come with you shopping if you want. You shouldn't have to carry all the bags."
"That's sweet of you, Jack but I can manage. I don't plan on buying too much now and most stores will deliver what I buy back to the hotel. I want you to spend time with Uncle Wynn. Unless he doesn't mind going shopping with us and you two can chat while Aunt Elizabeth and I shop."
"We will leave it up them. Now, do you know of a hotel we can stay in while we are there?"
"I do, but it's expensive. We stayed there when I was ten while we were visiting Uncle John. I'm not sure how you feel about staying there. We can send a telegram inquiring about other hotels and what their rates are."
"That won't be necessary, Sweetheart. It's our honeymoon; we should splurge a little. Besides, I got a bonus for my work and I was already planning on using some of it towards a little trip for us."
"Jack, are you sure? We could find a place that is less expensive and save the money for things for our home. I don't mind."
"I know you don't but you deserve to have a nice vacation. We both do. My mind is made up." He leaned over to kiss her. "Now what is the name of the hotel? We should send a telegram within the next day or two to make sure they have a room for us and I am sure you want to send telegrams to your family."
"It's called the Alberta Inn and Suites. I'm so excited, Jack. You're finally home with me, we are going to go on a trip together and spend some time alone, while also visiting members of my family I haven't seen in a long time." She hugged Jack, then kissed him. "I wanted to stay home with you today and just be together but I just realized I don't have much in the house to eat. We should probably go to the mercantile to do some shopping and send out the telegrams."
"I supposed you're right. I wanted to delay anyone seeing me so I could spend time with you but we do have things that need to get done."
"Not to mention if I don't leave the house today, people are going to wonder where I am and begin to worry. We could have people coming to the door at any time now." She stood up from the sofa a little too fast and waivered on her feet.
"Elizabeth!" Jack wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her. "Are you ok?" He looked at her with worried eyes.
"I'm fine, Jack. Sometimes getting up too fast will make me dizzy. It's normal." He stilled looked at her with concern. "Jack, I'm ok. Pregnant women have these spells all the time. You have nothing to worry about."
"Elizabeth, I am going to worry about you until the day I die." He put his hand on her abdomen. "You and this baby are my life. I am going to take care of you and pamper you for the remainder of this pregnancy. I love you both so much." He brushed a tear from his eye as he leaned down to kiss her.
Elizabeth was crying too and their tears mixed together while they kissed. "Thank you, Jack. Thank you for loving me and this baby, thank you for taking care of us and thank you for always protecting us."
"Always, Elizabeth. Always." He embraced her then and they held each other for several minutes. "We should probably go get dressed and go take care of our errands, but I'd like to go to our land first."
Elizabeth knew what he wanted to do and nodded her head in agreement. They walked upstairs to change and soon they were headed out the door and walking towards the land.
"Jack? How soon do you think you can have the house finished? Not that I am trying to rush you to get started but I am just thinking about moving in when I am due to have our baby."
"I don't feel rushed, Sweetheart." He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "I have been thinking the same thing. I could have the house done in six months if I really work at it, get people to help me and we have a mild winter with no snow, but I don't want to do that. Like you said, the baby is due then and I don't want you to have to worry about setting up our new house when you could go into labor at any minute. I would love to just stay in the row house until after the baby is born and you have time to recover."
"I agree, Jack. As excited as I am to move into a house you will build for our family, it will be better to wait." She stopped for a moment and wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him. When they parted, Jack pulled her arm in the crook of his elbow and they began walking again. "Jack, I have something else I want to ask you."
"What is it, Sweetheart? You can ask me anything."
"Do you think you could make some of our furniture for the new house? More specifically I am thinking about furniture for the baby."
Now it was Jack's turn to stop walking so they could face each other and talk. "Sweetheart, you know me too well. I meant for this to be a surprise for you but I was already planning on making a cradle and other things for the baby. I sketched some ideas on my way home."
"Oh, Jack! That's so sweet. It can still be a surprise for me though. I promise you that I won't nag you to let me see how your progress is. Then when you're ready, you can show me." She stood on her toes to kiss him.
"It's a deal." They smiled at each other then continued to their land where their future home would be built. Once they arrived on their property, Elizabeth led him to where she had Rip buried. Jack kneeled down on the grass and ran his hand up and down the tombstone. "Hi, old friend. I want you to know that you will always have a place in my heart and I will never forget you. I hope you are having fun up there chasing rabbits." He paused as he started to cry.
Elizabeth kneeled down to hug him. He turned towards her and buried his head in her hair. She rubbed his back and cried with him. After a few minutes, he pulled away from her and she wiped the tears from his cheeks as he did the same for her. He stood up, then gently helped her to her to her feet. "Thank you, Sweetheart for everything you do for me." He leaned down to kiss her, then turned back to Rip's grave and sadly looked at it one last time. "Thank you boy, for sending Callie to our door step. While she will never replace you, she has her own special place in our hearts, different from yours." He took Elizabeth's hand in his and held on to it tightly. "Let's go get our errands done. You need to rest and all this walking isn't helping you. I should have gotten a buggy for us."
"Jack, I'm fine. Really. Carson said since I am already used to taking long walks, its fine to continue them now that I am having a baby. He said exercise is good for me. He did say to listen to my body and if I get tired, I should rest. I promise you that if I feel tired after we get to town, I will tell you. We can always sit in the café for a while so I can rest. Or we could rent the buggy for the ride back. We may need it depending on what we buy at the mercantile and I'm sure Abigail will have food for us to take home."
"I know you will tell me if you feel anything is wrong or if you're tired. I agree, let's get the buggy for our ride home." He stopped walking and pulled her into his embrace and kissed her. They were brought back to the real world when they heard hooves running towards them. They parted and saw Bill coming their way.
"Jack! So good to see you home." He said as he dismounted his horse. "You got home faster than I thought you would." He walked over to the happy couple with his hand outstretched.
Jack took his hand. "Hi, Bill. What do you mean I got home faster than you thought?"
"About a week ago I got a telegram from headquarters asking me if I would be willing to continue Mountie duties for you because they gave you some extra vacation time they wanted you to take right away. I immediately wired back that I had no problem staying on. I figured you must have left that same day."
"No, I left a few days earlier than that. I had to get home to Elizabeth. I got home early this morning." He looked at her and she knew the question he had on his mind. She nodded her head yes. He put his arm around her and held her tight. "I received a letter from her with some very happy news in it."
Bill watched their faces as Jack was talking. He turned towards Elizabeth. "I knew it. You're pregnant."
Jack looked surprised that Bill knew. "How did you find out, Bill?"
"I didn't, Jack. I had my suspicions. I remembered how Nora was when she was expecting and Elizabeth had some of the same symptoms. I didn't say anything because I knew Elizabeth would tell me when the time was right. I imagine Abigail knows."
"Yes she does, Bill. I needed her advice when I realized what I was feeling could be morning sickness. She, Faith and Carson are the only people that know. I hope you aren't upset that I didn't tell you."
Bill took her hand and squeezed it. "Of course not, Elizabeth. You wanted to tell Jack first. I completely understand that."
"Thank you."
"So what are you two doing up and about today? I would think you would want to stay home and spend some time together."
Elizabeth blushed. She wasn't used to being a married woman yet and the idea that other people knew what they were doing behind closed doors embarrassed her, even though she knew it shouldn't. "That was the idea, but I don't have much food in the house and we wanted to send some telegrams out. We are going to use Jack's vacation time as a belated honeymoon."
"Wonderful idea. With the baby coming, it will be nice to have this alone time together before the pregnancy progresses and you find traveling to be difficult."
"Exactly our thinking." Jack said.
"Don't let me keep you. I still have rounds to do. Stop by before you leave on your trip."
"I will." The men shook hands, then Jack and Elizabeth continued their way to town. They talked about how much they missed each other while Jack was away and how wonderful it would be to spend some time together. Soon they were walking into town when they heard a scream. Only one person could scream that way and they turned in that direction. Sure enough, Rosemary was running towards them.
"Jack Thornton! When did you get back to town and why didn't you come by to see me?" She chastised while she put her arms around him.
"I'm sorry Rosemary, but I thought I should see my wife first. After all we haven't seen each other in a long time."
"I forgive you because that is an excellent reason not to come by to see me. When did you get home?
Jack looked at Elizabeth and they both rolled their eyes. This was so typical of Rosemary, "I got home early this morning. We came into town to get some groceries and send out some telegrams. It was nice running into you but we have to get the errands done so we can return home. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all, Jack. You only had that one night together after the wedding. I know you must want to have some much needed alone time together." Elizabeth blushed upon hearing that.
"Yes, we would. Tell Lee I said hello and that I will stop by to see him in a few days."
"I will, Jack." With that she was off.
Elizabeth shook her head at Rosemary's retreating form. "I bet she is looking for someone to tell that you are back home. We should go get our errands done as quickly as we can."
"Good idea." They started their trek down to the mercantile but were stopped a few more times by some of their friends. They spotted Abigail as they were approaching the café and walked over to talk to her. "Abigail!" Jack called out to her.
She turned and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Jack. 'Oh my goodness! Jack, you're home!" She ran off the porch to give him a hug. "Welcome home! When did you get back?"
"Early this morning. I got Elizabeth's letter about the baby a couple of days before I was actually supposed to leave. I talked to my superior officer and he said I could leave that day. I rode as much and as fast as I could to get home to her."
"Well I am certainly glad you are back, safe and sound. Are you out and about to get supplies?"
Jack looked at her, surprised. "How did you know?"
"Jack, I was a newlywed once myself. Noah and I kept to ourselves for a long time after we were first married. Since you had to leave the day after you married Elizabeth, I figured the only thing that could bring you out of the house was food. I made pot roast today. I can pack some up for you along with some other food if you want to get home before the whole town sees you."
"Thank you, Abigail but we still have to go to the mercantile. We have to send out some telegrams and buy some staples to have in the house.
'Of course but I will still pack up the dinners for you. This way you can spend time together and not have to worry about cooking."
"Thank you, Abigail. You're the best." Elizabeth gave her a quick hug. "We are planning to go on a honeymoon which is why we are sending out a telegram. We need to make a reservation at one of the hotels in Calgary."
"Oh, I'm so glad you are planning to take a trip together now. You deserve it especially with the baby arriving in a few months." Just then she noticed some customers entering the café. "I have to go but I will have your food ready when you done at the mercantile."
"Thank you again, Abigail. You're the best." They both hugged her and continued on their way to the mercantile.
An hour later, they finally made it home. They left word with Mr. Yost that they would be back in town tomorrow and would check in about the telegrams. They loaded up the buggy with their supplies and the basket of food from Abigail and went home without seeing too many other friends in town. Jack insisted on putting away everything and suggested Elizabeth go upstairs to get some rest. She agreed, provided he would come up and join after he was done.
She laid down on the bed for a few minutes but wasn't tired. She got up and decided to give Jack a little surprise, a welcome home present to be exact. She went to her dresser and pulled on a nightgown she had bought with just this purpose in mind. It was midnight blue with thin straps, a lacy bodice that fell to just above her knees. When she first tried it on, she had only been a few weeks pregnant so it had been a little more low cut than she would have liked but with the changes in her body, she felt more comfortable in it. She knew Jack would love it. She went into the bathroom and brushed out her long, dark hair and dabbed some of the floral perfume Jack loved behind her ears and on her wrist. She was taking one last look at herself in the mirror when she heard Jack come in the bedroom.
"Elizabeth? Where are you? Are you ok?" He turned towards the bathroom when he heard the door open. The sight before him left him breathless, unable to talk, think or move. All he wanted to do with take her in his arms and kiss her senseless. "Wow!" He managed to whisper, then got his feet to work. As he pulled her into his arms, he breathed in her perfume and he was lost. He kissed her, so passionately that it left them both breathing heavily once they parted. He picked her up and carried her to bed, laying her gently on the mattress. He leaned down to kiss her as she started unbuttoning his shirt. Unable to stay away from her any longer, he ripped his shirt off his body then quickly finished undressing. He climbed into bed with her and they began having the honeymoon they wanted to have just a few short months ago.