Chapter 43 – Elizabeth's Illness (long)

Before Jack had a chance to talk to more people about his concerns about the wet weather, it started raining again. Jack knew that the more it rained, the worse things would be. He needed to keep his concerns to himself or just share with Bill or Abigail. Jack also felt comfortable talking to Lee, but he still didn't tell him everything, even though he was his best friend. Jack didn't want him to accidentally say something to Rosemary. He didn't want the public to be overly worried, but with each hour that it rained the river was going to rise. Jack got his things together and headed to the mercantile to send a couple of wires. He also picked up the mail and checked for any messages. While he was there, he picked up a couple things. He then headed to the cafe and picked up some supper from Abigail. They talked quietly about the rain and each shared their concerns. Jack promised that either him or Bill would ride out and check the river daily from that point on. He let Abigail know that the river still had room to rise before it got into a danger zone, but that the biggest thing would be if debris got into the river and created a log jam of sorts. Abigail agreed and also thought that it was a good idea to keep a close eye on it. Abigail was concerned, but she also knew that Jack was doing everything that he could to keep people safe.

Jack got back home and didn't see or hear Elizabeth. He put the soup on the stove and headed upstairs. He found Elizabeth exactly where she had been earlier. He gently woke her. It took her a little bit to realize where she was and what time it was. She felt bad that she had slept, but Jack let her know that it was okay. He also let her know that he had picked up supper and that it was on the stove downstairs, if she wanted to come down and eat. She thought that sounded good, so Jack helped her stand up and they headed downstairs. Jack got things ready to eat while Elizabeth sat at the table. She asked him about his day and he told her about the river. He knew that he couldn't hide it from her and also because it would affect her. Jack knew that Elizabeth was worried about the rain and the wet weather that they had been having.

They talked about other things while they sat and ate a nice supper from Abigail. Elizabeth was glad that Jack had picked something up, because she wasn't up to cooking. She really wasn't that hungry, but she also knew that if she didn't eat, that Jack would be even more concerned. After supper, Elizabeth went and sat at her writing desk to go through the mail while Jack cleaned up. Elizabeth was a little disappointed that there wasn't something from her mother. There was a short note from Julie, but it didn't really say anything about anything which was weird for Julie. Elizabeth wondered if something had happened with Julie because she always talked about who was doing what. Elizabeth also realized that their father had probably restricted Julie's movements and was requiring an approved escort to go places. Elizabeth had loved that about Julie that she could always count on Julie to let her know who was seeing who and where they had been. With no real news about anyone, Elizabeth wondered what had happened. She decided to write a letter back to Julie and ask some questions.

Elizabeth also hadn't heard from her mother in some time, so she also wrote a short note to her. She knew that her mother was in a hard place. She wanted to support Elizabeth, but also didn't want to lose her husband. Elizabeth's mother, Grace, could financially stand on her own, but she had gone from her father to her husband and had never lived by herself. Elizabeth knew that could be hard for her mother if she was forced to live on her own. Elizabeth didn't think that her father would kick her mother out, but she also knew that he could make life hard. Elizabeth worried about her family, but there wasn't much she could do. She loved Jack and wasn't going to give him up and her family had made their own choice about that.

By the time that Jack was done cleaning up after supper, Elizabeth had written the note to her sister and started the one to her mother. Jack could see that she was writing, so he grabbed his sketchbook and sat on the couch. When Elizabeth was done and had both letters ready to post, she went and sat on the couch with Jack. She was still really tired, but she wanted to spend some time with Jack. She felt bad that she didn't feel good. She also knew that Jack was worried. She hadn't sat by Jack long when she leaned over and rested her head on Jack's shoulder. Jack set his sketchbook aside and turned his attention to Elizabeth.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked.

"I am tired." Elizabeth said. "My head also hurts. I don't know what is going on, but I just don't feel good. I don't think that I have had a fever, so I don't think that I have what the kids have had, but I just don't feel good."

"Is this like before?" Jack asked.

"Sort of." Elizabeth said. "As far as being tired."

"What was it before?" Jack asked. "You never really told me."

"Since I was about eleven or twelve." Elizabeth said. "I would get these periods where I was tired and all I wanted to do was sleep. They were usually surrounding some stressful event – either physical or mental. Father insisted that I be seen by doctors. Mother took me to several doctors over the years. We even traveled to Ottawa once to see some doctor up there. They never really found anything. It was suggested that I wasn't getting enough to eat or the right things to eat. One doctor suggested that it had something to do with my monthly cycle, but he wasn't all that sure. There was never really an answer and trust me I saw plenty of doctors. Mother tried every remedy that she could find and nothing seemed to help. The last doctor I saw said it might just be something that I have to deal with from time to time. He also suggested that I know my limits and avoid overly stressful situations."

"Yet, you moved to a frontier town." Jack said.

"It is what it is." Elizabeth said. "I wasn't going to let whatever stop me from living my life. Since I was never given a definitive answer, I made the decision to live my life and let what happened happen. I think that was part of the reason that Father especially never wanted me to do anything. He treated me like I was going to break for the longest time. I finally complained enough that Mother got him to back off some."

"Thank you for telling me." Jack said. "Please take it easy. If we need to travel to see a doctor I will do that, but I am going to trust you to know your body."

"Thank you." Elizabeth said.

"If you want, you should head up." Jack said. "I can finish up down here."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I am sorry, that you have to do more."

Jack put his hand on Elizabeth's face to stop her, but also to hold her.

"It is okay." Jack said. "I just want you to feel better. Maybe you should see Faith tomorrow if you don't feel better. I don't mind. We are in this together."

"I will think about it." Elizabeth said.

Jack leaned over and kissed Elizabeth on the forehead. She then got up and headed upstairs to bed. It was still early, so Jack stayed downstairs for a bit. He knew that she needed her rest and he would be up there soon. Jack made a mental note that he was going to talk to Faith again. He was even more concerned about Elizabeth after what he had seen that evening and then what she had told him. Jack knew that there were medical advancements every day and maybe there was something new that had been learned to help Elizabeth. He knew that he was going to talk to Faith and see what she thought. About an hour after Elizabeth had gone up to bed, Jack banked the fire and headed up himself. He changed and climbed into bed. He pulled Elizabeth close and fell asleep.

Early the next morning before the sun was up, Elizabeth woke up sick to her stomach. She tried to get up from the bed before she got sick, but because Jack had his arms wrapped around her, she wasn't able to fully get out of the bed before she got sick. Her being sick and trying to get out of Jack's arms, woke him up. He helped Elizabeth change her clothes and then he cleaned up their bed and floor. He went and got a bucket to keep by the bed in case she was sick again. Once the bedroom was cleaned up and Elizabeth was settled back under the covers, Jack headed downstairs and made her some dry toast and tea. He put it on a tray and brought it upstairs. He had also rinsed her clothes and the sheet. He had them in a basket ready to take over to Mrs Miller. He didn't know what was wrong, but he wasn't going to give her a chance to say anything. He planned on heading into town when it was light and sent Faith out to check on her. After she had her toast and tea, Elizabeth fell back asleep and Jack got ready for the day.

Jack took the tray downstairs. He made himself some breakfast and then left Elizabeth a note that he was heading into town. Before he did that, he took the laundry to Mrs Miller and explained what happened. She assured him that it was no problem and she would take care of it. She also let him know that if he needed anything else to just let her know. Jack stopped back at the house to grab his things and saw that Elizabeth had two letters ready to post, so he took those with him. He headed to the jail. He wanted to check in with Bill before he headed out. He also wanted to send Faith to the house before he left. Jack talked to Bill and Bill let him know that he would ride out and check the river. Bill said that Jack should stick around close to town in case Elizabeth needed him. Jack agreed, letting Bill know that he was going to take care of a few things in town and then head back home and he would be there if needed. Jack stopped at the mercantile, posted the letters and let Ned know that he would be heading back to the house if anyone needed him. Jack found Faith and she agreed to stop by. Before Jack headed home, he stopped at the cafe to let Abigail know that Elizabeth was sick and that he was headed back to the house. She sent food with and let Jack know that she would send Cody out with supper. Jack thanked her and headed to the house.

When Jack got home, he went to check on Elizabeth and she was still sleeping, but he saw that she had been sick again. So he switched the buckets, emptied it and put it back upstairs in case it was needed. Jack decided to let Elizabeth sleep as much as she wanted or until Faith came, whatever was first. Jack had been home about an hour when Faith stopped by. Jack showed her the note that he had made of what Elizabeth had told him about her past illness. He also told Faith about the morning. She didn't say anything, but made note of everything that Jack had said. She wasn't sure that she would have anything new to offer. Faith knew that she needed to check on Elizabeth, if for nothing else, then to assure Jack that she would be fine. She saw the worry in his eyes, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Elizabeth was still upstairs, so Jack showed Faith to the bedroom. He woke Elizabeth up and let her know that Faith was there. Elizabeth didn't want to see anyone, but Jack insisted that Faith check her out because she had been sick a couple of times. Elizabeth relented and Jack left Faith to check out Elizabeth.

Jack headed back downstairs to wait. He didn't know what was wrong, but he hoped that it wasn't anything serious. It didn't take Faith long to examine Elizabeth. She made sure that she was comfortable again before heading down to talk to Jack. When Faith got downstairs, Jack offered her some coffee. Jack poured two cups and they sat at the table. Faith let Jack know that she didn't think that it was anything serious and that Elizabeth should be fine in a day or so. Faith reminded Jack to push the fluids and not to worry about the food. If she was hungry, she would eat and keep the food bland until her stomach settles down.

"So you don't think it has anything to do with what Elizabeth told me about her past?" Jack asked.

"It may." Faith said. "Elizabeth was pretty out of it, but based on what you told me and my physical exam I think it is a simple cold. It may be related to her monthly cycle, but I don't know. Elizabeth told me that she wasn't currently on her monthly, but that doesn't mean it hasn't affected the way that she is feeling. There is still so much that we don't know about the human body. Speaking as a woman, there are times of the month that I feel off, even if I don't have my monthly. I am telling you this, because as a Mountie, I know that you have a better understanding of the human body."

"Thank you for talking to me." Jack said. "I guess that there is still a lot that I need to learn about women."

Faith smiled.

"Always." Faith teased.

Jack agreed that he would be around and that if Elizabeth wasn't feeling better that he would send for her again. Faith felt better leaving knowing that Jack planned to be around and that he knew what he was doing. Faith did suggest that they either find someone to take class on Monday or call school off, because Elizabeth probably wouldn't feel up to doing anything. Jack let Faith know that he would talk to Cat or Florence about school on Monday. Jack knew that Elizabeth wouldn't be happy about it, but he would deal with that later. Faith left feeling she had done everything that she could.

Jack looked around at what needed to be done. Normally Elizabeth did their personal laundry on Saturdays. Jack went and started the water for the laundry. He then brought in more wood while the water was heating. Once he had everything hanging up downstairs, he dumped the water outside. There wasn't really anything else to do, so Jack grabbed a book and sat on the couch to read. Finally, Jack got hungry and decided to go check on Elizabeth before he made the sandwiches that Abigail had sent. Elizabeth was still sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. He decided to keep the water warm to make tea if she wanted later. He went downstairs and made two sandwiches for himself. He poured himself some coffee and sat down to eat. He was glad that he was able to be at home with Elizabeth, even if she was sleeping. At least he was there if she needed anything.

Jack was worried about Elizabeth, but also knew that rest was the best thing for her. He just hoped that it was nothing serious. Jack knew that he was going to have a serious talk with Elizabeth about her health when she was feeling better. He was glad that Elizabeth had told him about the times while she was growing up, but there was something that didn't make sense to him. There had to be something that people were missing. Jack once again made notes and then he wrote out some questions that he felt needed to be addressed. Jack again questioned if being on the frontier without easy access to a doctor was the best for Elizabeth. He also knew that he was going to have to write to Wynn and Elizabeth to see if they would be able to shed any more light on what Elizabeth had faced in the past. He wondered if Elizabeth was telling him everything. It wasn't that Jack didn't trust Elizabeth, but he felt that there was something was missing and it was his Mountie training and natural curiosity that he wanted to know what was going on.

After Jack ate, he pulled the clothes off the inside line and folded them. He left them in a pile on the table. He decided that he would take them up later, because he wanted Elizabeth to get her rest. It wasn't long after Jack had folded the laundry, he heard Elizabeth call him. He put his book down and headed upstairs. When Jack got to the doorway, he could see that she had been sick again. He asked if she needed anything and she asked for some tea. He let her know that he would be back in a few minutes. Jack headed downstairs and made Elizabeth some more tea and toast. He hated seeing her sick, but knew that it would pass. He just hoped that she would start to feel better soon. He had felt better when Faith let him know that Elizabeth was okay, but Jack couldn't shake the fear that gripped his heart. Part of it was that he didn't like seeing Elizabeth upset or sick, but then Jack realized that there was something more. Between when Elizabeth had been sick that fall and then fainting in Hamilton. Jack was seriously concerned about her health and would she be okay out here away from a doctor. He wondered if he was being selfish, wanting Elizabeth when she could have left. Jack shook the thought from his head. They had agreed that they wanted a life together, but Jack was wondering if Elizabeth was truly suited for a life on the frontier. At least he knew that he wouldn't be moved by the Mounties and that helped.

Jack brought Elizabeth the tea and toast. He helped her sit up, then sat with her while she tried to eat something. Jack asked more about how she felt and reminded her that she needed to take it easy and that Faith felt that it would pass in a day or two. Elizabeth admitted that she didn't remember Faith coming. Jack let her know that was okay. He also asked if there was anything else that she wanted. Elizabeth let Jack know that she just wanted to sleep. Elizabeth was able to eat both slices of toast and had a cup of tea. Jack left the glass of water on the nightstand and headed back downstairs. He cleaned up the tray and then headed back to the couch to read some more. He felt bad that there wasn't more that he could do for Elizabeth and really hoped that Faith was right and Elizabeth would feel better in a day or two.

Jack's reading was interrupted by the knock at the door. He quickly answered it, so it didn't wake Elizabeth. He saw Bill standing there. Bill just wanted to let Jack know that the river hadn't seemed to rise any more from the rain that they had the previous afternoon/evening. Jack was grateful for that. Bill asked Jack if there was anything else that he needed. Jack let him know that things were okay. He let Bill know that hopefully Elizabeth would feel better in a day or so. Bill said he hoped so and that he would keep an eye on things. Jack thanked Bill for stopping by and letting him know about the river. Jack said that he would be at services on Sunday, but was going to keep Elizabeth home. Jack then asked Bill if he could stop by the Montgomerys and have Cat come over. Bill agreed that he could do that. Bill left Jack and headed over to see Cat. Bill hadn't been gone long when Cat knocked on the door. She agreed to take the class on Monday and as long as Elizabeth needed. Jack let her know that he would talk to Elizabeth when she was up and get some lesson plans for her that evening or at services the next day. Cat let Jack know that she would be fine whenever he got the lesson plans to her. She also let Jack know that she would help in any way that she could and all he had to do was ask.

After Cat left, Jack went back to his book. It wasn't long and Elizabeth ventured downstairs. She still wasn't feeling great. She still had a headache and her stomach was still questionable, but she wanted to get up and move for a little bit. Jack didn't hear her come down the stairs, but he noticed her when she sat down on the couch next to him. Jack immediately asked Elizabeth how she felt. She let him know that she still had a headache, but she didn't want to stay in bed any longer.

"Want something to eat?" Jack asked.

"Not right now." Elizabeth said. "I don't think I could stomach anything at the moment."

"Don't be mad." Jack said. "But I asked Cat to take the class on Monday. Even if you are starting to feel better, I think that taking the extra day would be good. She just needs the lesson plans and Cat also said that she would cover as long as needed."

"Okay." Elizabeth said. " I don't feel well enough to argue with you right now. The lesson plans should be in my basket that I brought home from school yesterday."

"Okay." Jack said. "I will make sure that she gets them later. I just want you to feel better soon. I don't like seeing you sick. I wish that there was more that I could do to make you feel better."

"You could hold me." Elizabeth said. "I don't feel good, but I don't think that I can sleep any more right now."

"Come here." Jack said, opening his arms to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth scooted closer to Jack. He covered them with a blanket and then wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and held her close. It felt good to hold Elizabeth close, but Jack couldn't stop the worry that there was something more going on. He tried to just focus his energy on Elizabeth, but in his mind he couldn't stop the questions of what if. Elizabeth closed her eyes and leaned back into Jack. Elizabeth loved how she felt when she was in Jack's arms. There was a sense of safety when she was in Jack's arms. Even when she didn't feel good, it was good to be in Jack's arms. She didn't want to get Jack sick, but then again she didn't know what she had and she wanted to be close to Jack. Jack didn't care that she was sick, he wanted to hold her. He wanted to be close to his wife. He wanted to comfort her when she didn't feel good. He didn't care if he got sick, but there was a part of him that wasn't worried because she didn't have a fever. Jack was going over things in his head trying to recall information from his medical training at the academy. He was running through all the things that he thought Elizabeth could have, but nothing really fit. Finally, Jack convinced himself that it was simple cold and it would just take a few days to feel better.

Elizabeth had settled against Jack, so he grabbed his book and read some of it to Elizabeth. They sat on the couch for some time before Jack could hear Elizabeth's stomach. She didn't ask for something to eat, really she didn't want to move. Jack carefully slipped out from behind Elizabeth and went to the kitchen to heat her up some soup. He figured that would be the best for her stomach. As he heated up some soup, he put some sliced bread on the tray before heading back to the couch. Elizabeth was still curled up under the blanket while Jack made her something to eat. When Jack came back, he sat down with the tray and waited for Elizabeth to move toward him. He held the tray while she slowly tried to eat. She was able to get most of the soup down and two pieces of bread. Jack was glad that she had eaten something. He left the tea on the table near the couch when he went to clean up the dishes. He had eaten the last piece of bread he had sliced.

Jack was glad that she had eaten, but was still worried about her. She looked pale to him. When Jack had been trying to figure out what was wrong with Elizabeth, he wondered if she was pregnant, but he wasn't sure. He thought about what he knew and he didn't know when she had had her last cycle. That wasn't true, he knew that she had had it when they had been in Hamilton, but other than that, he wasn't sure. With everything else going on, he knew that he could have easily missed it. It was something that he wanted to talk to Elizabeth about. It wasn't that he she had to tell him, but he wanted to know more so he could plan accordingly. He wondered if asking her about that was something that she would share with him. Jack just wanted to know everything about Elizabeth and if there was something that he could do to make it easier on her then he wanted to be able to do it. Jack was also aware that for Elizabeth, it might be hard for her to share something like that with him, even if he was her husband. Jack knew from his cousins that it was something that even women and girls had trouble sharing between them.

When Jack was done picking things up in the kitchen, he went back to the couch and sat behind Elizabeth so she could snuggle back into him. Elizabeth was glad that Jack was there to take care of her. She was glad that her stomach had calmed down enough so she could eat. With a full stomach and the warm blanket, she leaned into Jack and closed her eyes. She listened to him read some more from the book that he was reading. She knew the book and didn't mind picking it up part way through. Elizabeth was thinking about what could be wrong with her as she listened to Jack. A fleeting thought crossed her mind that she might be pregnant, but she dismissed it because she didn't feel pregnant. Jack's soothing voice soon had Elizabeth struggling to stay awake. She didn't want to fall back asleep, but her body was wanting to rest so she finally gave in. It didn't take long and Jack noticed the difference in Elizabeth's breathing. He kept reading until he was sure that she was sound asleep. He waited until he felt her body completely relax against his before he made the decision to move her.

Jack finished the chapter he was reading before he set the book aside. He knew that Elizabeth was sound asleep, but he didn't want to take a chance in waking her, so he carefully slipped out from behind her and laid her down on the couch. He then went upstairs and made sure that the bed was ready before he went back downstairs. Jack carefully picked Elizabeth up off the couch and she immediately snuggled close to him and made it easier for him to carry her. He carried her up to their bed and laid her down. He covered her and made sure that she was still sound asleep. He then headed back downstairs to take care of things. He found the lesson plans and pulled on his boots and coat to run them over to Cat. When he returned to the house, he found the basket from Abigail. After supper, he washed the dishes and made sure that there was water in both buckets and the fires were banked before he headed upstairs. He changed and crawled into bed with his wife. Despite being asleep, she knew that Jack was in bed with her and snuggled close. He wrapped his arms around her and relaxed. It didn't take long for Jack to fall asleep himself.

Sunday morning Elizabeth woke with an upset stomach again, but laid there for a few minutes and the feeling passed. She sat up without waking Jack and sipped some of the water that was sitting on the nightstand. At that moment again, Elizabeth wondered if she was pregnant. She knew that she would have to think about it. She started thinking about her cycle, but she didn't remember having it since they came back from Hamilton. She wasn't concerned because she had gone months without her cycle before when she was growing up, but not that she was sick. Well, it had Elizabeth rethinking if she could be pregnant. She knew that would have to talk to Abigail and maybe see Faith again. Elizabeth wondered if she should share with Jack what she was thinking, but then decided that she didn't want to say anything until she was sure. She knew that he wanted to be a father and the last thing that she wanted was for him to get his hopes up only for it not to be true. She knew that she should say something to him, but she also knew that Jack would just worry more about her if he thought she was pregnant.

Elizabeth knew that Jack had enough going on with the weather and Lee being injured that she didn't need to add to his worry. She knew that Lee was recovering and he was back at work, but that didn't mean that Jack wasn't still worried about his best friend. Elizabeth then wrapped a robe around herself and headed downstairs. She put on some water to make some tea and then grabbed a couple slices of bread. When the water was ready for the tea, she sat at the table with her cup. She was able to eat some bread and have some tea before Jack got up. She still didn't feel good. She was tired and just wanted to sleep, so just headed back upstairs. Jack wasn't awake when Elizabeth crawled back into bed, but was up before she fell back asleep. When Jack stirred, Elizabeth turned to face him. She let him know that she was feeling a little better, but was still tired and just wanted to sleep. He let her know that he would bring her up something to eat and she let him know that wasn't needed. Elizabeth let Jack know that she had been downstairs and had some bread and tea. Jack let her know that he was going to get ready for services and then head out. Elizabeth reminded him to thank Cat and also let the parents know that she was going to be out.

It didn't take long and Elizabeth was sleeping before Jack was dressed and ready to leave. With how tired Elizabeth was, Jack was starting to worry about Elizabeth again. He had felt better the night before because she had eaten, but he didn't know why she was so exhausted. Jack was worried that there was something seriously wrong with Elizabeth and he didn't know what he was going to do if there was something really wrong with her. He decided that he would head into town and have something at the cafe. He wanted to be able to talk to Abigail anyway. Jack was worried about Elizabeth and wanted to talk to Abigail about what could be wrong. It wasn't that Jack didn't trust Faith, but Jack wondered if it wasn't as much physical as it was maybe emotional. He was also aware that Faith didn't know the history of everything that had happened with Elizabeth and that was another reason that he wanted to talk to Abigail. Not only was Abigail older and had seen more things, but she had been there through things with Elizabeth and knew more of the history. Jack also knew that Elizabeth had talked to Abigail about things when she had been sick the previous fall. He knew that Elizabeth was struggling not hearing from her family. He knew that she had gotten a short note from Julie, but that it seemed to upset her more than it was a comfort. Jack wondered how much that Elizabeth could handle when it came to her family shutting her out. Jack knew how close they had been and worried that their absence hurt more than she was saying.