Chapter 9 – Returning to Hope Valley
When the group got to the house, Sarah led Carol to sit in the kitchen while she finished up lunch. The entire time, Sarah talked to Carol about things. She was trying to make Carol feel comfortable. Sarah knew that Nathan had things to take care of and she wanted to get to know Carol away from Nathan. She had found that sometimes women relaxed a bit more if their husband wasn't there. Sarah knew that Nathan was loving and couldn't love Carol anymore if tried, but it was still the home of his commanding officer and he might not be able to relax. If he couldn't relax and open up, Sarah knew that there was no way that Carol would be able to do it. It was experience that had taught her that.
"I know that you are facing many changes right now." Sarah said. "I might not have had twins, but I have had four children. I was pregnant with the oldest in the midst of what ended up being two moves and Patrick being gone for four months of the pregnancy."
"That must have been hard." Carol said.
"It was." Sarah said. "We were in North Burlington and were supposed to come to Hope Valley. Patrick had escorted Julie Thatcher out to visit her sister and was going to set things up while I finished arranging the move. Things happened, Patrick and Jack Thornton captured the Tolliver gang and escorted them to trial. Jack then went back to Hope Valley and we took the posting in Cape Fullerton. So I had to change everything and move to Cape Fullerton at seven months pregnant. I knew no one in Cape Fullerton and those first months were difficult."
Patrick had come in while Sara had been talking, but he waited to sit down and when he did, he gave Carol plenty of space. He wasn't sure how comfortable she was and he didn't want to crowd her.
"I guess I am lucky to have such wonderful friends in Hope Valley even if I haven't been there long." Carol said.
"It is a wonderful community." Sarah said. "But also have a bigger community there to help you. There are several Mountie wives in the area, so if you need we are there for you."
"Thank you." Carol said. "It doesn't always feel like that. I have tried with Elizabeth Thornton, but it is like she is jealous of me."
Patrick moved over closer to Carol and patted her hand. He could see that Carol needed strength at the moment and since Nathan was taking care of business, he would help Carol. Patrick was one of those commanding officers who felt it was just as important to take care of the wife and children of the Mounties in his command. If the families were taken care of, it gave his Mounties one less thing to worry about and would be more able to focus on the job. Patrick and Sarah had had many conversations about her focusing on helping the wives and children, but he didn't mind stepping in when needed.
"Elizabeth grew up a Thatcher in Hamilton." Patrick said. "She is used to having things her way. I am not excusing her behavior by saying she had been through a lot, but I hear your frustration. If she is not upholding the Mountie values, I will speak to her husband. She needs to be welcoming and supportive, like other wives were to her."
"Please don't make trouble." Carol said. "Nathan and Jack have spoken and are trying. We still have to deal with her as she is Allie's teacher."
"Then I will let it be for now." Patrick said. "But please let me know if I need to step in."
"I will." Carol said.
"Just know that we are here for you." Patrick said. "I know Nathan mentioned something about you potentially being hospitalized in the new year until the babies are born. I want to let you know that Sarah and I will be there to help you and Nathan any way we can."
"Thank you." Carol said. "I am worried about Allie during that time."
"We will figure it out." Sarah said. "Maybe something can be arranged and she can come up here and do school work. I can supervise that."
"I will also be speaking to Nathan and letting him know that I will not accept no for an answer." Patrick said. "You guys can stay here and Allie is more than welcome to join you. I will also be having Nathan working at headquarters and a special project while you are hospitalized. It was something I was going to assign to him in the new year anyway."
"Thank you for everything." Carol said. "This is overwhelming. I didn't have a lot of support from my family growing up. So this is just so overwhelming to me."
"I saw how your father was after the wedding." Patrick said. "Just know that there are many, many people who care about you and support you."
"Thank you." Carol said, wiping away tears.
Sarah came around and asked to give Carol a hug. The two women were still in that embrace when Nathan walked into the room.
"Everything okay?" Nathan asked cautiously.
"Yes." Carol said. "I was just overwhelmed."
Nathan walked over to Carol and she went into his arms.
"I am sorry about all of this, Sir." Nathan said.
"Don't worry about it." Patrick said. "And please relax. While we are at the house and away from other Mounties, please call me Patrick."
"Umm." Nathan said, swallowing hard. "I will try."
"That is all I am asking." Patrick said. "How about we all take a seat and I will explain what I have already told Carol."
They sat down and Sarah put the sandwiches, salad and veggies on the table. Once they prayed and started passing the food, Patrick explained about Nathan staying with them when they have to come back and Carol has to be in the hospital. Nathan tried to protest, but neither Patrick nor Sarah would hear it. Nathan humbly agreed. He also expressed he was concerned about Allie and how she was going to take the news. Sarah encouraged them to be honest with her and let her have whatever feelings she has. They also explained how with their children they set the ground rules, no matter what you are always respectful, even if upset and no matter what you can always be honest; you might have consequences for actions, but they would always be worse if you weren't honest.
"I have something similar with Allie." Nathan said. "I am more worried about her feeling left out or pushed aside."
"Make a point of doing things with her alone." Patrick said. "If I remember correctly, she loves fishing so try to continue the fishing trips with her."
"I will." Nathan said.
"What did the Commissioner want?" Patrick asked. "If you don't mind sharing."
"It is okay." Nathan said. "You are going to need to know anyway, he just wanted to tell me first. Apparently, Dylan is trying to make trouble. He was released from prison and is in Hamilton. He is trying to argue that he was coerced into signing the papers allowing me to adopt Allie. He doesn't want Carol adopting her and he also wants contact with Allie, possibly her staying with him during summers and breaks."
"What?" Carol said.
"Calm down." Nathan said. "Don't get upset."
"I agree." Patrick said. "There is no judge that will agree to uproot a child that has been with a stable adult for ten years."
"That is what the Commissioner said." Nathan said. "He wanted me to be aware. He also said he would personally have a conversation with Dylan and if he so much as upset Allie, he would be back in prison. It sounded like part of his release was conditional on working, staying out of trouble, not drinking and also staying away from me, Allie and Hope Valley. The Commissioner wanted me to be aware and told me that if he shows up that I have the right to arrest him. He was going to alert the railroad so they would be aware of him if he tried to travel."
"I think that we need to let the Mounties in the region be aware." Patrick said. "That way if he chooses to travel other than the railroad and they come into contact with him, they will be aware."
"I agree." Nathan said. "Allie is aware who Dylan is, but she wants nothing to do with him. Bill spoke to her before he pushed the adoption through. She also knows to tell me if he tries to contact her. There was a letter right after he went to prison this last time, but I intercepted it. I told her about it and she threw it in the fireplace without opening it."
"How will this affect the adoption?" Sarah asked.
"The Commissioner didn't think it would." Nathan said. "He did say that a child welfare officer might come talk to Allie to see if the adoption is something that she wants or did we push it. Either way, it is not going to change that Allie calls you Mum and that you have that role in her life."
"Okay." Carol said.
They talked some more about babies and the upcoming holiday season. Patrick left to go back to the office and Nathan helped Sarah clean up while Carol rested in the comfortable armchair. When it was time, Sarah took them to the train station. She helped get Carol settled in the train car while Nathan checked on the car. Before Sarah left she reminded Nathan that he only needed to reach out and help would be there. Nathan knew Sarah was talking about coming and staying with Carol if needed. Nathan thanked her and then joined his wife.
…..
Nathan and Carol had an uneventful ride to Hope Valley and despite Nathan being in uniform, no one bothered him. Nathan did take the time to properly introduce Carol to some of the stewards he knew since had traveled that route regularly.
Upon seeing Carol and knowing she had been rushed to Union City the day before made sure the couple had everything they needed, even if it was only something to drink. Nathan thanked the gentleman and tipped them when they arrived in Hope Valley.
Neither Nathan nor Carol were surprised to see Bill and Jack standing there when the train pulled in. Nathan gave Carol a quick kiss before standing to gather their items. One of the senior stewards was quickly there, offering to help. Nathan asked about the car and had been assured it would be given prior when unloading, but they could wait inside the station and Colton would pull it around. Nathan again thanked the man and let them know that would be the plan.
As the couple disembarked the train. Bill stepped forward and took the bags from Nathan.
"I have Lee's car out front." Jack said.
"Thank you." Nathan said. "But mine will be unloaded shortly. Then I need to get Carol home to rest."
"We will talk tomorrow?" Jack asked.
"Yes." Nathan said.
"Bill?" Jack said.
"I will come back with Nathan and Carol." Bill said. "Then I can finish the supper that Allie and I started."
"Sounds good." Carol said.
Jack nodded to the trio and left. The others headed into the station to wait for Nathan's car to be unloaded. Bill had a ton of questions and though he knew that Jack was going to need to know some of it, he wasn't sure how much that Nathan was going to share to start with, especially with the situation with Elizabeth. Bill had looked Carol over and she looked okay, maybe a little pale, so Bill wondered what was wrong. The last thing that Bill wanted to happen was Nathan to lose the love of his life. After everything that happened, Bill didn't think that Nathan and Allie could survive the loss of Carol. Honestly, it was the last thing that Bill wanted to think about. He had grown to love Carol like a daughter as well. She meant a lot to him, not only because he made two of Bill's favorite people happy, but because she was a wonderful person in her own right.
It didn't take long for Nathan's car to be unloaded and ready for them. Nathan carefully helped Carol to the car and got her settled before climbing in the driver's seat. Bill was still looking at the car and Nathan had to beep the horn.
"You can look later." Nathan said. "I want to get home to Allie."
"Coming." Bill said.
"Bill, I am going to tell you this." Nathan said, as he pulled away from the station. "But this is not to be repeated. We are not even going to share this with Allie at this point."
"Okay." Bill said.
He looked over and saw the seriousness on Nathan's face and wondered how bad it was.
"Carol is pregnant." Nathan said.
"That isn't bad." Bill said.
"That is the good news." Nathan said. "They are pretty sure that it is twins and possible triplets. The problem is that Carol and all the babies are at risk. She is going to be on bed rest most of the time until the babies arrive. She can do light activity, but even that is limited. She is going to have to go on full bed rest after Christmas and maybe in the hospital in Union City starting some time in January until the babies are born. Carson was completely honest with us and told us that if the babies come before Valentine's day, there is very little chance that they will survive. Every day past Valentine's day and closer to March we get, the better for all of them. He also explained that the delivery will be risky and many things could go wrong, so Carol needs to give birth in the hospital."
"Oh." Bill said.
"We are just going to tell people that I am not handling the pregnancy well." Carol said. "It will get out about the twins, but at this point, we are not saying anything about the triplets because they can't be sure. The doctor explained that she was very confident in saying it was twins, but thought she heard a third heartbeat, but wasn't sure. She said it can be hard to tell, especially if they are moving and they were."
"But otherwise you are doing okay?" Bill asked.
"Still trying to wrap our heads around how our life is going to change." Carol said. "But Carson said I was healthy and young. He didn't see any reason that I would have problems, other than what can be expected with multiple babies. He also said that it is going to be important for me to follow their orders."
"I agree." Nathan said. "Carson was honest with us. He also told us that the other doctor had to cover her bases and cover all the risks and scary things, but he didn't think we needed to focus on those. He also spoke to a friend back in Baltimore who had delivered several sets of twins and even a set of triplets. He was sending Carson a bunch of information and we can call anytime with questions."
"Carson is back?" Bill asked.
"Yes." Nathan said. "It was always his intent to come back to Canada and be a doctor here. He signed on to the hospital in Union City because they were looking for a good surgeon and with his extra training, they knew that he would be an asset to the hospital. Union City is becoming a go-to hospital in the region. A few years ago, people would have had to travel to Calgary or beyond for care that they can now provide."
"I am glad that he is back, then." Bill said. "Does Faith know?"
"I think so." Nathan said. "He didn't specifically ask and I did say anything. We are dealing with a Dr Wilson who has had special training in dealing with women and babies. She is the one that called Faith. So unless Faith says something, keep that bit of information about Carson to yourself."
"I will." Bill said. "What about the house?"
"I will have to figure that out." Nathan said. "Right now, there are more important things I need to take care of."
"I agree." Carol said. "If we have to hire a crew to finish the house, so be it. I have plenty of money in my trust fund."
"I didn't think your car would be here for another couple of weeks." Bill said.
"It won't be." Nathan said. "We got this one instead. He will just sell that one off the lot. He understood the need for the car right now. Carol can't be walking to and from town. She needs to limit her walking and we need to be able to get her back and forth."
"Understood." Bill said.
They talked about a few more things before Nathan pulled up in front of his house. He hadn't noticed the looks that he got when he had gone through town. Bill was wondering how Elizabeth was going to react. If she was jealous before, it was only going to get worse.
The minute that Nathan pulled up, Allie was out the door and stopped dead in her tracks looking at the car. Nathan got out.
"I thought the car was blue." Allie said.
"I will explain later." Nathan said. "Please take the bags in while I help your Mum."
"Mum is here?" Allie asked.
Nathan helped Carol out and she was immediately embraced by Allie.
"I was so scared." Allie cried.
"It is okay, Allie-girl." Carol cooed. "I will explain, but I need to get in the house and sit. I also hear that you and Bill made supper. I am hungry."
Allie let go of her mom, gave her dad a quick hug and then grabbed the bags.
Nathan helped Carol in and got her settled at the table with her feet up on another chair. He then took the bags upstairs while Bill and Allie finished up supper. Once they were all seated and a prayer had been said, Nathan and Carol explained to Allie that Carol was pregnant, but that she wasn't handling the pregnancy well and that she was going to need extra care. They would explain about the hospital and twins later, but for now Allie had enough information. Allie for her part was overjoyed and wanted to immediately go tell her friends. Nathan reminded her that she needed to finish her supper and could tell them at school the next day. Reluctantly, Allie agreed.
Nathan didn't want to upset Allie, but he also needed to talk to her about Dylan, but waited until closer than they had finished eating. Allie had been a ball of energy and questions throughout the meal. Nathan knew that she would be happy, but some of the questions threw both Nathan and Carol for a loop. They didn't have answers to all of her questions, but they said they would see about whatever it was or that they didn't know. Nathan felt it was important to be honest with Allie, but he also didn't want to cause her to worry unnecessarily.