"I learned something interesting at work today…" Jack took Salem from Elizabeth and sat on the sofa.

"Is it that Viola is pregnant?"

"Man, and here I thought I knew something you didn't know."

She smirked. "You really think that Luke would break the news to you before Vi tells me? That's so cute." She reached over and pinched his cheek. "By the way, Julie's pregnant, too. They're both due in September, two weeks apart."

"Well now we need to have another baby, so you can all be pregnant together," he teased.

"Ha ha. I'm still a couple of weeks away from being cleared to even do the things required to make a baby, so that'll be a no from me."

"I know." He kissed her cheek. "I'm with you on wanting to wait a bit. But maybe we can revisit this conversation in a year or so, when Salem is a little less dependent on us."

She smiled. "Okay. After all, we do need to give Harrison a brother eventually."

"True." He leaned back, settling Salem against his chest. "So…Valentine's Day is coming up."

"Mhmm."

"Do you think you'll feel up to leaving Salem for a couple of hours so we can go out?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I know I need to leave her eventually, since I'll go back to work in a month." She shrugged. "The thought of leaving her makes me want to cry."

"We don't have to go out, then. I can see if mom can watch Harrison for the evening, and we can order in. That way we can still have a nice evening together, but we'll still have Salem with us."

"Is it hard for you to leave her to go to work?"

"It's hard for me to leave all of you. It's hard knowing I'm not here to help you with her while I'm at work, knowing you're dealing with all the crying and feedings and diaper changes by yourself."

"It's not too bad. She's a good baby."

He shifted Salem in his arms. "Still."

"You make up for it when you come home." She leaned against him. "I'm very grateful for you, Jack Thornton."

He touched his lips to the top of her head. "I'm grateful for you, too."

...

"Hi, mommy!" Harrison's face lit up when she entered his classroom. "You have Salem!"

She placed her hand on the baby's back as she slept peacefully in the carrier strapped to her chest. "I told you I would bring her with me." She took a seat in the chair that had been placed beside his desk. "Did you make this box?"

He nodded, pushing the small box toward her. "Miss Reynolds let me decorate it all by myself." He pointed out all of the stickers and pictures he had plastered on the sides of the box, clearly very proud of his handiwork.

"I love it, bud."

"Well, look who's here." Rosemary approached them, a smile on her face.

"You were right, James!" Harrison exclaimed, turning toward his friend. "Your mommy came, too!"

James grinned. "Hi, mommy. Look at my Valentine's box! Me and Harrison made ours matching!"

"I love that." She took a seat, situating six-month-old Michael in her lap.

"Hey, Harrison." Elizabeth put a hand on his back. "Can you believe Salem will be as big as Michael is in just about five months?"

He glanced back and forth between the two babies for a moment. "She's gotta grow a lot!"

Elizabeth chuckled. "That's true. She has a lot of growing to do. So do you, young man." She poked him in the stomach, and he giggled.

"I gotta pass out my Valentines now," he told her.

"Me too." James stood and followed him, a stack of little cards in his hand.

"So how are things going in the Thornton household?" Rosemary asked after the children walked away.

"Good. I think we're finally figuring out how to be a family of four."

"Going from one kid to two is definitely an adjustment," she agreed. "Are you going back to work soon?"

"In a couple of weeks." She nodded. "When Salem is eight weeks old."

"Well, if you and Jack are ever in a bind and need someone to pick Harrison up, I would be happy to, since I'll already be here to pick up James."

"Thank you. I'll definitely keep that in mind."

"How old is she now?" Rosemary nodded toward Salem.

"Just over six weeks." She glanced down at the baby, smiling when she twitched in her sleep. "I can't believe how quickly time has passed. It really feels like she was just born yesterday."

"Just wait. Time seems to move even faster the older they get."

"Oh, I know," Elizabeth stated. "Harrison was still about a month away from turning four when Jack and I started dating, and now he's just a few months from turning six."

"They'll be graduating before we know it." Rosemary looked over at the boys, who were giggling as they slipped Valentines into their classmates' boxes. "These two, also." She acknowledged the two babies.

"I wonder if they'll be best friends like Harrison and James."

Rosemary smiled. "Who knows?"

...

Elizabeth leaned her head against Jack's chest as they swayed to the music playing quietly from Jack's phone. Their empty dishes still sat on the coffee table, where a candle was burning low.

"This is nice," Jack whispered, "just the two of us."

"Almost just the two of us," Elizabeth corrected him.

"Well, Salem's in the other room, so technically it's just the two of us if we're talking about who's in here."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Jack Thornton."

He smiled, leaning down to kiss her softly. "Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart."

"Thank you for letting us stay in tonight."

"Anything for you and Salem." He kissed her again.

"Speaking of Salem, I think it's about time for her to eat again."

"Why don't I go get her, and you can pick a movie for us to watch? We still have about two hours before my mom is supposed to bring Harrison home."

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek, then got comfortable on the sofa while he retrieved their daughter from the nursery. She flipped through a few movie options, giggling when she found one and pressed play.

"Is that Whitney Houston?" Jack asked when he returned to the living room, passing the baby to her.

"Yes." She situated Salem in her arms, settling her in to nurse. "I figured Salem is never too young to see the best version of Cinderella."

He sat beside her, furrowing his brow. "I've never seen this one."

"My sisters and I hardly ever watched the original animated version. This one was always our favorite. Now, shh."

"Why is she floating?"

"She's the fairy godmother. Also this movie is from the 90s. We don't question it. Now hush."

Jack chuckled, resting his arm along the sofa behind Elizabeth.

"Is that George Costanza?" He asked a few minutes later.

She shot him a look and paused the movie. "Yes. And Whoopi Goldberg and Victor Garber and Bernadette Peters."

"Who?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why did I even marry you?" she joked. Glancing down at Salem, she said, "sweet girl, remind me never to watch a movie with your daddy again."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You still love me."

"I'd love you a little more if you would stop interrupting the movie."

"Okay, my lips are sealed. I promise." He pretended to zip his lips and lock them, throwing the imaginary key to the side.

When the credits started to roll, he shifted slightly. Salem was asleep in his arms, and Elizabeth was leaning against his shoulder.

"Am I allowed to talk now?" he whispered. She didn't respond. He smiled. "Elizabeth," he said a little louder. "Sweetheart, wake up."

"Hm?" She nuzzled deeper into him. "Is the movie over?"

"Yes. I need to go put Salem in the bassinet."

"She's asleep?"

"Sound asleep. Has been for a while now." He kissed her temple. "Unfortunately, I need you to move so I can do that."

She lifted her head from his shoulder. "I think I'm going to go to bed, too."

"Of course. You get some sleep." He stood, shifting Salem into one arm so he could help Elizabeth up. "I can wait up for mom to bring Harrison home."

...

Mid-March

Elizabeth slipped her phone back into her pocket after checking it for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"Everything okay?" Clara asked. "You haven't checked your phone this much since your first week back."

"Yeah, everything's fine. It's just that Jack is home sick, and Harrison is spending the day with his grandparents, because they came into town yesterday."

"So why are you here?"

"Do you forget that it's Spring Break, so we're extra busy? Not to mention the fact that I just had two months of maternity leave. Besides, Charlotte is at the house to help with Salem, so Jack doesn't get her sick." She sighed. "I can't be taking off work every time things are a little hectic at home, or else I would never be here. Now," she grabbed a bucket of food from the counter. "I'm going to feed the meerkats. Harrison has been asking for new pictures of them."

"Well, if you decide you need to head home early, let me know. I can handle things today."

Elizabeth smiled and shook her head. "You've done too much for me already. Thank you, Clara. I'll see you at lunchtime."

A few minutes later, Elizabeth was laughing as she watched the meerkats chasing each other around, playing while they searched for their food.

"Mommy!" a familiar little voice called out from the other side of the glass.

She turned to see an exuberant Harrison waving at her, David and Elaine standing behind him. She smiled and put a finger up, indicating she would be right out. She made her way out of the exhibit and joined them.

"Hi, mommy!" Harrison wrapped his arms around her.

"Hi, bud." She leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "What are you doing here?"

"Grandma and Grandpa said we could go anywhere I wanted today. I said I wanted to see the meerkats."

She chuckled. "Of course you did."

"It's perfect timing that you're working over here right now," David observed.

"It really is. I almost went to the otters, but decided to come over here first." She gently squeezed Harrison's shoulder. "I was going to get some new pictures of them for this guy."

"Why don't we get a picture of the two of you right now?" Elaine suggested. "I'm sure Jack would love to see it."

"Yeah!" Harrison exclaimed. "Maybe it'll make him feel better."

"I'm sure it will." Elizabeth crouched down, putting her arm around her son as Elaine snapped a couple photos of them.

"Grandma? Can we go to the gift shop and get a present for Salem?"

"Why don't you ask your mom if it's okay?"

"Mommy?" He looked up at her with his big brown eyes. "Can we?"

"Go ahead." She ruffled his hair.

"Yay!" he cheered. "I wanna watch the meerkats some more first, though." He hurried over to the window, peering through the glass as the meerkats continued to enjoy their meal.

"So you're having a good day with him?"

"We are," Elaine answered. "I'm glad we were able to come."

"Me too. He's been so anxious to introduce you two to Salem. I know he was thrilled to show her off yesterday."

"I can see why. She's such a doll." Elaine smiled, putting a hand on Elizabeth's back. "I know she isn't technically our granddaughter, but David and I both think of her as family. You, too."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as too much family. I would be glad for Salem to have you two as honorary grandparents."

"Good." She sighed contentedly. "Well, we should let you get back to work."

"Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you this evening, I hope?"

"We'd love to stop by, as long as it isn't too much with Jack being sick and all."

"You're always welcome at our house, Elaine." Elizabeth hugged her before turning her attention back to Harrison. "Hey, bud. I have to go back to work, but I'll see you when I get home."

"Okay, mommy." He ran away from the meerkats to hug her tightly.

"You have fun with grandma and grandpa. I love you."

"Love you."

...

"There's your mama." Charlotte bounced Salem gently when Elizabeth came through the front door.

"Hello, Salem." Elizabeth immediately reached for the baby, who gave her a gummy smile in greeting. She kissed her cheek. "Oh, I love you, sweet girl. Did you have fun with nana today? How was she?" She shifted the baby in her arms and looked over at her mother-in-law.

"She was wonderful. She took a few naps, ate every last drop from her bottles, and we even played outside for a little while—in the shade, of course. We can't have her getting a sunburn."

"That sounds like a great day," Elizabeth cooed. "And how's your daddy doing? Not getting you sick, I hope."

"I've made him stay in his room all day. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Charlotte. I don't know what we would do without you."

She smiled. "I'm happy to help."

"Do you mind taking Salem for a minute while I go change and check on Jack?"

"Do I mind?" She laughed and eagerly took the baby back. "I'm never going to turn down the chance to snuggle my grandbaby."

"I'll be right back, sweet girl." She touched Salem's cheek before turning down the hallway.

"Ma?" Jack rolled over when he heard the bedroom door open.

"No, it's me." She stepped over to the bed and reached over to push the hair from his forehead. "How are you feeling? Still have a fever, I'm pretty sure."

"I'm feeling better than I did this morning." He sighed, squinting as he looked up at her. "Hopefully I'll be back to normal tomorrow."

"Well, don't push yourself. Between your mom, my parents, and Olive's parents, we have lots of people to help with the kids and Simba while you're down and I'm at work." She kissed his forehead. "Do you need anything?"

"Can you help me up? I need to use the bathroom."

She took his hands, carefully helping him sit and then stand. "Anything else?"

"Another glass of water, please."

"On it."

He smiled, brushing his lips across her cheek. "I love you, Beth."

...

"Daddy, look." Harrison grinned as he held his baby sister. "Grandma and grandpa let me pick out a present for Salem, so now she has her own meerkat."

Salem squealed as Harrison held a little stuffed meerkat in front of her.

"Looks like she loves it, bud. Good choice."

"And guess what, daddy."

"What?" Jack sank down into the chair, trying to stifle the groan that threatened to escape his mouth.

"Mommy said that maybe tomorrow, I can go ride Blue."

"Is that so?" He glanced up at Elizabeth, who had taken a seat on the arm of the chair.

"Aaron and Willa are spending the day over there," she explained, "and I already talked to David and Elaine. They said they wouldn't mind sharing Harrison with my parents tomorrow." She took his hand. "I also told your mom she's welcome to take Salem over there if she's comfortable with that."

Jack smiled. "I'm so glad our kids have so many people around who care about them."

"They certainly aren't lacking in love, that's for sure."