Chapter 200 – In a Heartbeat

After a busy afternoon and a busy week, most people were looking forward to the weekend. The men who were working in Rock Creek were going to be there until Sunday afternoon. People were looking forward to relaxing in the saloon. Yes, the men who had come in to work, were going to be working all weekend as planned. People also knew that most businesses would be open on Saturday, so they had to work, but again, most people were still looking forward to having a nice weekend.

Most of the Mounties were hoping for a relaxing weekend. They knew that they were going to have to work, but they hoped that there would still be some time to relax. They were hoping that with no prisoners, since most didn't know about Higgins, they were hoping that Delaney, Jacobs and Bill would allow them some time to relax. The cadets, especially, were looking forward to the weekend off, since that was what they had been used to at the academy and even when they had been assigned to the towns. The cadets weren't used to working as much as they had been since they came to Hope Valley. Little did they know that once they graduated and were assigned to towns, they would be working long hours more often than not – most of them time alone.

Supper was busy at both the cafe and the saloon. Charlotte, Patty and Elizabeth Rose were busy helping Abigail at the cafe, since Ann had gone home for the day. She had been putting in long hours helping Abigail, so with her husband home, Abigail insisted that Ann take the weekend off. Dee and Andrew jumped in and helped at the cafe as they spent time over there. David was spending time over at the saloon. He was interested in a game of cards some of the men were talking about.

So it was that everyone left Jack and Elizabeth alone on Friday night to do what they wanted. They had guards, but they were outside. Elizabeth had heated up some leftovers and brought them up to their room on a tray. They had a nice quiet supper in their room like they might have had if they had gone on a honeymoon. After Elizabeth set the tray aside, she looked at Jack.

"How are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked.

"Overall." Jack said. "Much better. I know that I still need to take it easy. There are times that my ribs still hurt if I move wrong."

"So your breathing is better." Elizabeth said.

"Mostly." Jack said. "I mean, I still have times where it is difficult to breathe, but compared to last week, it is much better."

"Good." Elizabeth said. "I want you to get better."

Jack pulled Elizabeth closer to him and put his hand on her growing baby bump.

"It may not be what I want." Jack said. "But I can see that for the short term, I need to take it easy. You and this little one are too important to me."

"I am glad that you see that." Elizabeth said. "I have been so worried about you, especially when I realized that I was expecting. I want our children to know you, personally and not just be a name to them."

"So you think it is more than one." Jack teased.

"That is not what I said and you know it." Elizabeth said.

Jack just laughed. He wasn't going to tell Elizabeth that he had been having several dreams of her having twins. As Jack and Elizabeth snuggled against each other, Elizabeth started dancing her fingers across Jack's lower abdomen. Jack was playing with her hair. At one point, Elizabeth looked up at Jack.

"Are you ready for another round after this afternoon?" Elizabeth asked.

"I want you more now than I ever have." Jack said.

Jack and Elizabeth once again expressed their love to one another. Elizabeth hadn't been sure that Jack would be up to after their afternoon time together, but Jack proved her wrong and they came together three more times before they both collapsed back into the bed exhausted, but completely happy. Neither remembered that Dee and Jacobs would be out to give Jack a round of treatment.

Jack was startled awake when he heard voices out in the hallway. He quickly pulled the sheet up over Elizabeth and had barely pulled his underwear on when there was a knock at the door.

"Jack." Jacobs said. "Are you alright?"

"I will be out in a minute." Jack said.

Jack quickly pulled on pajama pants, making sure Elizabeth was covered before grabbing the supper tray when he slipped from the room.

"Sorry." Jack said. "We fell asleep after we had supper in bed."

Jacobs just gave Jack a quick smirk and nodded.

"Let's head down and get this done." Jacobs said. "So you can go back to sleep."

Jack ducked his head a bit as he felt color rise on his cheeks. The duo went downstairs where Dee had the hot water ready. Jack immediately sat down and started his steam treatment. He asked about the afternoon and more about Higgins. Dee and Jacobs told them what they could while Jack did the steam treatment. They were both glad that Elizabeth had opened up to him about what happened.

After the steam treatment, Jacobs quickly did the cupping treatment on Jack's back. He coughed up a lot of mucus, but wasn't sick to his stomach like he had been before. Jacobs was pleased with Jack's recovery. Once Jack had a moment to rest, Jacobs and Dee undid the bandages on his torso. Jacobs listened to Jack's lungs before covering him with Vicks and rewrapping him.

"You are definitely sounding much better." Jacobs said. "I would like to continue twice daily treatments throughout the weekend. Then we will make a new plan on Monday. Continue using the steam other times of the day and continue to rest."

"Yes, Sir." Jack said. "Elizabeth and I have talked about my need to get well for our future."

"Good." Jacobs said. "I get how hard it is to sit back, but it is needed right now. Others have things in hand and your only job is to get better. Maybe next week, we can talk about you coming into the office a couple hours a day."

"I would like that." Jack said. "But I don't know how Elizabeth will feel about it."

"I will talk to her personally when we get to that point." Jacobs said.

Jack nodded. After giving Jack a few more minutes, Jacobs helped him upstairs and told him that he would see him around seven thirty in the morning. Jack nodded and slipped back into his room. Jack waited at the door until he heard Jacobs turn and head back down the hallway. When Jack turned, he saw Elizabeth watching him.

"How are you feeling right now?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sore at the moment." Jack said. "But breathing better."

"Good." Elizabeth said. "Come lay with me, I miss your warmth."

Jack smiled and moved over to the bed and crawled in with Elizabeth. It took a few minutes to get comfortable, but it wasn't long and they were both back asleep.

Saturday morning dawned dark and overcast with the threat of rain. The lumberjacks and men who came to work were up by six am so as to get as much work in before the rain came. They knew it would come as they could hear the distant thunder echo off the mountains. Abigail had been up since five and opened the cafe early when she saw the lumberjacks and men moving around. It wasn't long and McGinty had the cadets getting ready to go for a run. When he saw the cafe open early, he left Edwards, Peters and Kane to help. Abigail was grateful for the help since Ann had the weekend off.

After leaving the three cadets, McGinty went to wake Jacobs and in the process, Wynn and Elizabeth Rose were awakened as well. Patty ended up getting up as well. The ladies decided to head to the cafe to help. Wynn said he was going to lay down for another hour. Everyone agreed that was fine. Jacobs and McGinty left to get the cadets on a run. As they stopped at the jail, Constables Bennett and Gill were just heading to the house to send the two guards back. After Bennett and Gill headed out, Captain Cook and Constable Lane came in.

"As soon as we have breakfast." Captain Cook said. "I would like to get going. We will take gear and if it starts raining, we will stay in Buxton. I will send a wire if that happens."

"Good plan." Bill said. "I will also give you locations where you can seek shelter if you get caught in the rain on the way back."

"Thank you." Cook said. "Let's get moving, we have a long day ahead of us."

"You go eat and do what you need." Jacobs said. "I will be taking the cadets on a run. Three of them are at the cafe, but they will need to run later."

"I will see to that." McGinty said.

"Very well." Jacobs said. "Let's go. See you two when you get back."

The group exchanged salutes. Jacobs and McGinty left to take the cadets on a run. Cook and Lane headed to get a hot breakfast before they got ready to leave. The cafe was busy, but they were able to get people in and out in a short time frame. It helped when Patty and Elizabeth Rose showed up. Charlotte came in about twenty minutes after them, she had been up in her tent. She heard the Mounties and cadets moving around so she got up and headed over to the cafe. She had plans to head over and have a sit down talk with her son and daughter-in-law. It had been long enough and since the weather was overcast, it was a perfect day to be inside so they could talk.

By the time that the cadets had finished their run, cleaned up and sat down at the cafe, it was busy in and around town. Seeing the rain coming, many people came in early to get things done and be back home before the rain. Elizabeth Rose was glad that she had spoken to Charlie Thompson and he said he would hold two pork roasts for her. She had planned on picking them up before heading to Elizabeth's house. She had already picked up carrots, potatoes and beans. She wasn't sure if they would need anything else, but someone could always come back into town.

Wynn, David and Andrew came in for breakfast close to seven thirty. Since the cafe was mostly empty, they sat together near the kitchen. As they enjoyed their breakfast, Elizabeth Rose sat with them for a bit so they could make a plan for the day. It was decided that David and Andrew were free to do what they wanted. Andrew said that he was going to go over papers and he would be able to talk to Jack and Elizabeth in the afternoon. David said as long as the rain held off, he wanted to explore a little of the area. Wynn told him was always welcome at the cafe or if he had other things to do, he could ask Abigail to let him into the office. David nodded, taking note that it didn't sound like Wynn was going to be working at the office if he could help it. David didn't blame it on him, it sounded like they had been through a lot from the little that Andrew had been able to tell him on the way out. They had learned more from McGinty and Williams as they got closer to Hope Valley, so David didn't blame Wynn for wanting some family time.

Jack woke up with a start on Saturday morning. He rolled on to his back and looked at the window. He saw that the sun was trying to make an appearance, but he also saw the dark clouds and threat of rain. He looked at the clock and saw that it was a little after six in the morning. He knew that he probably wasn't going to get back to sleep. Jack carefully sat up and looked over at Elizabeth. He loved watching her sleep. Her hair was pulled back in a braid, but several curls had escaped. Jack watched as she laid on her side, hugging the pillow under head. He listened to her soft breathing. After a few moments, Jack lifted the covers and looked at the nightgown that was pulled tight across her middle.

A smile crossed Jack's face as he stared at her growing baby bump. He couldn't wait until he could feel the baby move. He knew it was real, but there was still a part of him that was worried. He knew that child birth was still dangerous for women. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Elizabeth. He also knew that Faith would do everything possible to make sure that Elizabeth and the baby were fine. After another moment, Jack put his large hand across Elizabeth's middle. It didn't cover her as much as it had a few months ago and that brought another smile to Jack's face. He closed his eyes and said a prayer for Elizabeth and the baby. He asked for guidance and protection for all of them.

Jack knew that they would have a busy summer and many changes in the fall with the birth of the baby and the coming of the Russell girls. They would also have new staff that they would have to get used to. Not even to mention the changes that would be happening in town. The mill would be expanding over the summer. Miners would be showing up by the fall. A spurline for the railroad will be laid from the mill toward Buxton. Jack was also sure that the increase in people will bring other businesses. Jack said another prayer for the whole of Hope Valley. He knew that they needed to grow, but he hoped that they would be able to manage it so that crime didn't increase.

Jack was still caressing Elizabeth's growing baby bump when he looked down and saw that she was looking at him.

"Sorry did I wake you?" Jack asked, sheepishly.

"A little." Elizabeth said. "But don't feel bad. I don't mind waking up to my husband's touch."

Jack smiled and leaned down for a kiss.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Jack asked.

"Not bad." Elizabeth said. "But then again, I haven't moved yet."

"This little one still giving you stomach trouble?" Jack asked.

"Sometimes." Elizabeth said. "It has definitely gotten better."

Jack smiled at Elizabeth, then leaned down, moving his hand, and kissed her belly.

"Hey there little one." Jack said to Elizabeth's belly. "You need to be good for Mommy. She has been sick enough. We have things that we need to do, so you need to be good."

Jack heard Elizabeth gasp. Immediately concerned, he moved so he could look into her eyes.

"What?" Jack asked. "What happened? Everything alright?"

"I think I felt the baby move when you were talking to him or her." Elizabeth said. "It was a soft flutter, but different from anything I ever felt before."

Jack smiled. He placed his hands on either side of Elizabeth's belly and leaned in as close as he could get and still move his lips.

"Hey little one." Jack said. "Are you telling Mommy that you are there? I love you. I know that we have several months before we meet you, but I already loved you so much. You are such a gift to your Mommy and me. I can't wait to hold you in my arms."

Jack looked up at Elizabeth and her face was covered with a huge smile.

"I definitely felt flutters that time." Elizabeth said.

Jack moved and grabbed the second stethoscope that he had Dee order. He immediately placed the earpieces in and placed the bell on Elizabeth's stomach. He moved it around and just under her ribs at the top of her baby bump, Elizabeth saw a smile come across Jack's face.

"Take the earpieces." Jack said, as he held the bell in place.

Elizabeth took the ear pieces and placed them in her ears.

"Can you hear it?" Jack asked.

"Barely, but yes." Elizabeth said. "It is so fast."

Jack took the stethoscope back and placed it on the nightstand.

"That was how Faith said we would know." Jack said. "The baby's heart rate would be much faster than yours."

"That was so cool." Elizabeth said.

"I can't wait to tell everyone." Jack said.