AN: Another chapter for you!

Jack felt miserable, the pain in his shoulder was biting, and harsh- and all that he could think about was Elizabeth. The way that she looked at him the first time he saw her; how she jumped into his arms every time there was a tiny pest. Their first kiss; when they said that they loved each other; her smile when he proposed; their wedding day- their wedding night! The feeling of absolute joy when she told him about the baby, wiping away the fear he felt about her fainting spells. Her face when he had left...Yes, the pain in his arm was bad, but it was insignificant, compared to the feeling that seeing that face had brought.. He felt like he was fading, he knew that he'd lost more blood than he should have, but he refused to give over to the darkness yet. He had to get home to his Elizabeth at once. He had to feel her in his arms again, he had to hold the baby that she was carrying. Their baby. He just had to hold on.

…..

Elizabeth did everything she could not to cry. She stared at their wedding photograph, wanting him back. If it was even possible, she was still getting bigger; granted, it had slowed down considerably; she couldn't help but think that Jack should have been there to see it, to feel the strongest kicks yet. She'd received updates from Rosemary in the week since she had left, saying that he'd had surgery, that he had barely woken for more than three or four minutes at a time...but he was alive, and he was awake, even for a few moments, and that gave her hope...enough hope to cling to for now.

She made sure to eat, to take care of herself well enough that the baby's health wouldn't be affected. Abigail and Cody came to her often, sitting with her, having supper with her. Cassandra was always present, always taking care of her, and Elizabeth appreciated it greatly. But no amount of visitors or company could keep her from feeling Jack's absence even more acutely than usual, especially when she laid in bed at night alone. She'd taken one of Jack's checkered shirts from the dresser, and wore it over her nightgown when she fell asleep. She let herself be enveloped in Jack's scent, and leaning against his pillow, she could almost imagine that he was there in bed with her. But when she woke alone, it was just a sharp reminder that she was alone, and Jack was wounded, and her baby would be coming at any time. But she continued on, getting out of bed every morning, dressing, and well, wait. Wait for news about Jack, wait for the baby to come, just wait.

…

"Take your time healing, please, but, come home to me, Jack. Please, please, come home to me. Come home to us, Jack. We're having a baby! And soon, sooner than we might think. I've had twinges, telling me that a baby is coming sooner than later…" Jack could tell that the words were Elizabeth's- but there was something off about the voice...it was familiar, yes, but it wasn't right. He fought to open his eyes, eventually succeeding.

"Rosemary?" He asked, his voice raspy.

"Jack?!" She cried, grinning and taking his hand, making him wince. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didnt mean to hurt you- I'm just so excited to see your eyes! And to hear your voice!"

"What- where- what?" Jack mumbled, and Rosemary held a glass of water to his lips.

"I know, you must be confused Jack, but you've been hurt-"

"Shot." Jack corrected.

"Shot." Rosemary nodded, saying the word as if it was a bitter curse word. "Yes, I'm afraid so; in the shoulder, very badly, but the doctor seemed to think you were stable enough, after he'd removed the bullet- afraid your collarbone is broken; that's why you'll be having trouble moving the arm there."

"Elizabeth-"

"Wanted to come more than anything, Jack." Rosemary said. "I've read you this letter several dozen times, hoping that it would wake you up- or at least hoping you could hear it! I've been in contact with her, telegrams every day, I assure you!" She extended the letter to him, and he took it with his right hand- yes, he certainly would have trouble moving his left arm at all for some time. Holding it near to his face he could nearly smell her perfume on the paper.

"How is she? The baby?" Jack asked.

"She's doing as well as she can be just now. You should see how her stomach has grown! You will see, I'm sure, when we get to get you home! She's worried about you, of course, but she's being so, so strong. You'd be very proud of her!" Rosemary said. "There's no baby yet; Abigail says she's stubbornly waiting for you." Jack nodded, and let out a long sigh. "She wanted to come, she really did, and we had a heck of a time convincing her that she had to stay home, because of the baby. She sent me, since we've known each other so long. Lee was here for the first two days, but he had to get back to manage things at the mill."

"How long have I been out for?"

"Well, technically, a week." Rosemary said, playing absently with her fingers. "You woke up a few times here and there, but never for more than a few minutes, and then, you never recognized me, or said anything coherent...Mostly you'd ramble some sort of orders, or call for Elizabeth...I was worried sick about you, Jack. And I can only imagine how Elizabeth is feeling back home!"

"Home…" Jack sighed. "When can I go home?"

"Oh! I was supposed to fetch the doctor when you woke up! I was just so excited to see you awake! You just hold tight for one second here Jack, Don't you dare fall asleep on me and make me look like a madwoman!" She cried before jumping out of her chair and almost running from his bedside.

"I wouldn't dream of it Rosie." He chuckled, though he knew she couldn't hear. He gritted his teeth when he discovered that laughing was, perhaps, not the most comfortable thing to do with his shoulder injury. He slumped back into his pillow, and thought of one thing...well, two. Elizabeth, and the baby. Elizabeth, and the baby, He had to get home to Elizabeth and the baby.

…

"You've been staring at that since this morning." Abigail said, turning from the stove and handing her a plate of mashed potatoes. In Elizabeth's hand was Rosemary's latest telegram, saying that Jack was awake, at last, and that the doctors are very optimistic now.

"I have to; I feel like if I take my eyes off of it, even for a second, it's going to vanish, and I'm going to wake up alone in my bed, worrying." Elizabeth explained, keeping it in her hand even as she grabbed a spoon to eat her potatoes. "I'm still worried; but this...it means everything to me."

"I know." Abigail grinned as she plated a portion of roast chicken, veggies, and potatoes, and quickly carried them out of the curtained divide to one of her waiting customers. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at the telegram...He was awake, he was talking, he was alright! Abigail came sweeping back in, and went back to the stove.

"You know, the morning when Jack got shot, I woke up because I felt a very sharp pain in my shoulder. I had no way of knowing that he'd been shot, or that it had been in the shoulder, but I still...Do you think I'm crazy?" Elizabeth trailed off. Abigail shook her head.

"No. I think you're very in love with your husband...and sometimes, bonds of love can run so deep, that you can sense each other's distress, even across great spaces." Abigail said. "I was like that with Noah. We always teased each other about it, saying we were an old, married couple before our time. Before I even saw the smoke from the mine, I couldn't breathe- it was like there was a huge weight on my chest, and then suddenly, I couldn't feel anything anymore. No one had to tell me that Noah had been in the tunnel. I knew."

"Abigail, I'm-"

"I know. But there's no reason to be. We can't change anything in the past. I loved Noah very much, and I know that he loved me. He was the love of my life, and I feel him, and Peter too, watching over me, loving me, guiding me. I may not have gotten as much time as I would have liked with them, and I still struggle to understand why God took them both away from me; but I'm grateful to have known more love in the years I did have than many people know in a whole lifetime." Abigail said, leaving Elizabeth with tears in her eyes. "And I don't doubt for a minute that you could feel Jack's pain; you two are more in love than any couple I've ever seen...maybe even more than me and Noah." With that, she took another plate, and disappeared through the curtain.

….

Jack could hardly believe it when he was on his way home. He had to take the stage, which was a whole lot slower than riding his horse, but with his arm, he couldn't have managed to go that fast even if he was feeling up to it...though, truth be told, he would have ridden day and night through rain or snow to reach Elizabeth. His arm was in a sling, wrapped up tight, as it would have to be for several months to come; he could ignore the aching for the most part though. He was single mindedly focused on reaching Elizabeth and their baby, which, according to the telegram that Rosemary had received that morning before he was discharged from the hospital, had not yet been born. But it was November 30, and that really did mean that the baby could come at any second.

…

Elizabeth could no longer manage the stairs without great struggle. She noticed that every time she took a step, she could hear a faint clicking sound coming from her hips. She hadn't had any "practice pains" in several days, and she knew that it was the calm before the storm. The baby was restless, somersaulting around day in and day out. Sometimes, Elizabeth just sat and watched the subtle movement of her belly from side to side as it did so...even now that she had had about nine months to get used to the idea, she still almost couldn't believe that she and Jack had made a new life that was growing inside of her- that was nearly ready to come out of her!

Elizabeth had seen to it that everything was in place for the baby. Clothes and toys, and books, and cloth diapers, every essential that her child could require; except for their father. She was waiting anxiously for his return, gazing out the window at every opportunity. She knew that he would arrive soon; and what she wanted more than anything was to have him under their roof when the child came. She wanted to be able to look upon him, whole, perhaps a bit broken still, but living, breathing. She would hold him, just as near as she could with her distended stomach, and she would be loath to ever let him go.

…

The wheel of the stage had broken, and there was not another due until the next day, but that would not do for Jack. He borrowed a horse, and went to ride.

"Jack! You can't just go riding off- think of your arm!" Rosemary said, stopping him.

"We're less than a day's ride from Hope Valley, Rosie, if you think I'm not getting to Elizabeth until tomorrow night, then you clearly don't know much about me!" Jack laughed. It was somewhat difficult to man the horse with one arm, but it would take much more than that to keep him from his Elizabeth now.

"Now wait just one moment here, Jack!" Rosemary said, stomping her foot. "If you're going to ride off, you're not going alone. I'll get a horse, and we'll ride together."

"Rosemary-"

"Don't speak to me in such a tone! You know I'm a perfectly capable horsewoman; I've beaten you in a race on more than one occasion!" Rosemary insisted. "I'll only be a minute." Jack knew better than to argue with her. He kept his gaze fixed on the horizon, towards home, and Elizabeth, and soon, his child.

…..

"This is the best batch you've ever made!" Elizabeth grinned, taking a mouthful of an apple cinnamon muffin.

"I tried adding sugar to the tops before baking them." Abigail explained.

"I thought they were sweeter." Elizabeth smiled. "Goodness, I could eat a dozen of these..or two dozen of them!" She bit her lip when Abigail turned around, and let out a breath as she felt another one of those twinges. She'd been feeling them all morning, but it was nothing too bad. Nothing she hadn't been able to talk through.

"Then it's a good thing I brought the entire batch with me!" Abigail grinned. "Where's Cassandra?"

"Finishing up with a bit of school work; Oh, that reminds me, I was going to get a book of poems for her from the library." Elizabeth said, pushing herself out of the chair.

"I can get it!" Abigail insisted.

"Abigail, I'm not an invalid!" Elizabeth laughed. She ran her hands over her stomach as she carefully crossed the hall, opening the door to the library- Jack had always called it "her" library, since most of the books in it were hers. She gazed lovingly at the painting on the wall- his proposal. Everything in the room was testament to just how much Jack loved her, to his promise to always make her happy. Her fingers gently traced over the spines of Jack's books, occupying one shelf. Absently, she knocked one loose, and without thinking, bent to pick it up. "Oh!" She gasped. The pain was not entirely unfamiliar to her; she'd had many of those practice pains in the weeks leading up to now- but this pain was something different; it was sharper, harsher, more real. She bit down on her lip, and tried to bear the pain. "Hoo. Hoo. Alright. Alright, everything is fine!" The pain went on longer than the others, and she found herself gasping sharply, and clutching the wood of the shelf. "Abigail? Cassandra?" She called as the pain abated. She heard two sets of footsteps coming towards the library.

"Elizabeth?" They both called out. They'd been watching her as if she were a bomb about to explode for weeks; and now she felt like the fuse had been lit. Abigail opened the door, and took it Elizabeth leaning heavily against the shelf.

"I've been having twinges all morning, and now I think...it's something more." Elizabeth said, holding onto the book she'd picked up off of the floor. "It hurts, a lot more, and they haven't gone away...they're getting stronger."

"Well, that sounds like it." Abigail said, taking her hand. "We need to get you upstairs...Do you think you can make it?" Elizabeth nodded slowly. "This is why Jack should've put a bedroom on the ground floor."

"Well, when he was designing the house with Adam, I don't think he thought through this exact scenario." Elizabeth chuckled as they made their way up the stairs slowly. "Jack- oh, Abigail, do you think he'll make it."

"I...well, we can hope so." Abigail said warily, but she really wasn't so certain.

"Hope...is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul…" Elizabeth sighed as they moved up the last of the steps. "And sings the tune without the words...and…" She felt another pain start, and gritted her teeth.

"Sweetest in the gale is heard, and sore must be the storm that could abash that little bird, that kept so many warm." Cassandra said, and stroked hand over her forehead. Elizabeth smiled in spite of the pain, and let out a shaking breath.

"Oh good, you remembered...I'm glad my lessons made an impression on...someone." She said, and she waited for the pain to pass. "I'm alright." She finally nodded, and they progressed to the bedroom.

"Here, let's get you a little bit more comfortable." Abigail said. In no time flat they had Elizabeth dressed in a soft nightgown, and she was sitting on the edge of the bed, breathing in and out heavily. "Cassandra, I think Elizabeth and I will be alright alone for a couple of minutes here; would you run into town real quick, and fetch Mrs. Sullivan, and Mrs. Montgomery. If you happen to see Cody or Clara, tell them that I'll be spending the rest of the day at the Thornton's house. We've got a baby on coming." Abigail said, giving Elizabeth a reassuring smile.

Elizabeth tried to return it, but she was sure that it appeared as more of a grimace. She wanted Jack so badly she had a physical ache in her heart that matched the physical ache that was rocking her body...and oh, she was in pain; but it wasn't unbearable yet. She'd had worse. A broken bone when she fell from a tree as a child- that had been the worst physical pain she'd ever known- but then, she was sure that this pain was only going to get worse. "Oh Jack…" She whispered, stroking her stomach. "Wherever you are, please, please hurry home to us."

AN: Ooooh! Jack's on his way home, battered and bruised, but not broken….well, except his collar bone, But hey, time heals all wounds, and Jack's pretty tough! The main point is that Jack's on his way! And so is baby Thornton! The question is, who's going to get there first? I'll try to update as soon as possible! You readers are the best, and your reviews give me smiles!