As she had so many times before, Elizabeth lay awake next to her partner after being intimate. Unlike those times with Lucas though, she felt happy, content, and still loved as she rested in the shelter of her partner's arm that was wrapped around her. Her head rested on Nathan's shoulder. Yes, he may have fallen asleep but that had only been after they had talked quietly about so many things.

Moving a hand to her abdomen, Elizabeth thought about the new life she believed to be there. She knew it would be a while yet before she could really feel the baby but placing her hand there made her feel closer to the unborn child somehow. She couldn't believe the difference she felt over this pregnancy compared to her other two. With little Jack, she had been grateful to have a piece of Jack growing inside of her, but that pregnancy had been tainted with grief and fear. With her second pregnancy, she had felt dread. She had known the situation she was in was not good for the child to come into. She had been scared to even let Lucas know about the pregnancy. As Nathan had commented - that said a lot. This time, there had been no grief or fear. She was simply elated to have a child that was the testament to the love that she had finally let herself find with Nathan. A love that had been there for her, all this time.

What would it be like to go through this pregnancy with a loving husband?

Though she didn't have the answer now, Elizabeth knew she was about to find out. Even before he had known about the pregnancy, Nathan had been doting on her because of the morning sickness. She knew that wasn't going to change.

Other than their parents, she and Nathan had decided to keep the pregnancy between them until Faith confirmed it. Once that happened, then they would break the news to the children first before telling their friends and other family. If Nathan's enthusiasm at the news was any indication, Elizabeth had a feeling most of Hope Valley would know within a day of Faith confirming that she was pregnant.

As she lay there, listening to her husband's breathing, Elizabeth found herself asking forgiveness for her feelings about the baby she had loss. Forgiveness for not finding the strength to leave Lucas on her own when he started showing his true colors. She knew that if she had chosen to leave Rosemary, and Lee, or Bill would have taken her and Jack in. If it had been after he had returned to Hope Valley, Nathan would have been there despite what she had put him through. Not only was that who he was, but she knew now that Nathan had never stopped loving her - even when she had stopped loving herself. It was that love that had led him to offer to marry her that day she could see only darkness. A love that Nathan had continued to show her every day since.

The child is with me.

Elizabeth wasn't sure if she had really heard the words or not. Perhaps it was simply her own conscious trying to ease its own torment but as a peace washed over her, Elizabeth knew they were an answer to her prayer. A promise that the child who had never seen the light of this world, had a home with their heavenly father.

Perhaps it was even Jack who was holding that child in his arms.

Turning on her side, Elizabeth reached an arm across her husband's stomach as she snuggled against him. Even in his sleep, Nathan adjusted his hold on her.

With peace granted from above and security from the man she loved, Elizabeth finally drifted off to sleep.

When she awoke, Elizabeth found herself alone. The cool mattress beside her told her that Nathan had been up for a while. Looking around, she saw no sign of her husband, nor did she hear him. Before she could start to panic though, her eyes fell on a single peach colored rose on the small table next to the bed. Underneath it, was a sheet of hotel stationary with writing on it.

Pushing herself up in the bed, Elizabeth reached for the rose and the paper. Lifting the rose to her nose, she inhaled its sweet fragrance, before turning her attention to the note.

Dearest Beth,

The one thing I do like about the city is the ease of getting a flower for my beautiful wife. Did you know there is a small floral shop in the hotel lobby? I noticed it eating with your family yesterday.

If you are reading this before I get back, I simply went downstairs to enjoy a cup of coffee without upsetting your stomach. I will return afterwards and hopefully you will be feeling up to breakfast.

Love,

Nathan

Elizabeth again smelled the pretty rose. It was special in its simplicity. A show of love, without trying to be flashy. That was who Nathan was, and Elizabeth was finding that she liked that.

Slipping from the bed, Elizabeth got ready for the day. Her stomach did feel a bit queasy, but nothing like during the trip out east. Perhaps the movement of the train had made the morning sickness worse.

Elizabeth was sitting at the vanity pinning up her hair when Nathan returned to the room. The rose sat on the back corner of the vanity, in a vase she had called down to the desk for. A maid had shown up at her door mere minutes after making the request.

"Good morning," Elizabeth greeted him.

"Good morning," Nathan returned, closing the door behind him and walking in her direction. "At least you have color in your cheeks this morning unlike during the train trip."

"The morning sickness isn't as bad either."

"Happy to hear that," Nathan replied. Having reached her, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. "I asked the waitress to have peppermint tea waiting for you, just the same," he told her softly as he hovered close.

Elizabeth lifted a hand and placed it against his cheek. "Thank you," she replied, knowing the words were inadequate but no having any others at hand.

"Are you ready to go down?" Nathan asked, straightening up.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied, getting to her feet.

Nathan offered her his arm, and she slipped her hand into it. Arm in arm, the two made their way down to the dining room. As they approached, the maitre de greeted them and escorted them to a corner table away from the other guests already seated.

"I do hope that this is far enough from any smells that may disturb your breakfast this morning, Mrs. Grant," the maitre de said as he held one of the chairs for her.

"I am sure it will be fine. Thank you for your accommodation," she replied, the heat in her cheeks telling her that she was blushing as she sat down.

"You are most welcome," the man replied. "Your waitress will be with you shortly," he added and then was gone.

As Nathan had asked, a cup of peppermint tea was sitting in front of her. Elizabeth added a bit of sugar, stirred it, and then lifted the cup. Instead of taking a sip of the tea, she simply inhaled it, enjoying the fragrance. Though she had always liked peppermint, she had developed a more intense fondness for it while pregnant with Jack.

"I can't believe you asked them to sit us away from the chance of coffee smells," Elizabeth said, looking across the table at her husband.

Nathan shrugged. "It was either that or eating in our room," he said casually. "I might like the idea of being seen with my pretty wife."

Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush further at the compliment. Luckily, she was saved from having to reply by the arrival of their waitress. While Nathan ordered a breakfast consisting of an omelet, ham, home fries and a corn muffin, Elizabeth kept things simpler ordering toast, a blueberry scone, and some fresh fruit. As the food seemed to settle well on her stomach, she found herself taking bites of things from her husband's plate. Nathan's reaction was to simply push his plate closer to her.

Sitting at the Thatcher's table for breakfast, Archie did what he had done the night before - rested his hands in his lap as he waited for William or Grace to start their meal first. Only then did he start mimicking them, not wanting them to think he had bad table manners. Oh, he knew the basics like elbows off the table and don't chew with your mouth open, but the sheer number of cutleries at each place was overwhelming.

As for the conversation, Archie was content to allow the others to do the talking, simply answering questions that were directed specifically to him. Otherwise, his grandchildren seemed quite content to provide information about Hope Valley. Ally was especially talkative, going on about the stuff she had seen around the Thatcher mansion. William and Grace were happy to satisfy the girl's curiosity, as much taken with Ally as they were Jack. Archie was happy for his granddaughter, knowing how she had thirsted for family when he had first met her. Not that he blamed Nathan for that. His son was simply trying to protect Ally from the hurts he had suffered as a child.

"I got us tickets to the matinee of 'A Christmas Carol' at the theater, Ally," Grace told her granddaughter. "I do hope it is something you will enjoy."

"The theater! 'A Christmas Carol!'" Ally exclaimed. "Dad took me to the theater in Calgary a couple of times and I loved it! I can't wait to compare that experience with this one!"

"Wonderful," Grace said. "The two of us will have a splendid time. That dark-blue dress I saw you unpack yesterday would be perfect for the occasion and I can lend you my string of pearls to wear with it. I bought you a pair of gloves for Christmas, but I will give them to you early. A lady must have white gloves at the theater, and I doubt you have had many occasions to worry about gloves."

"The only time I wear gloves is during the winter and weeding the garden," Ally replied, garnering soft laughter from the adults.

"Well, neither of those will do for the theater," Grace replied lightly.

"What about me?" Jack asked, clearly feeling left out.

"Well, Jack, I thought you might like to spend the day with your two grandfathers. If your Grandpa Archie is okay with it, I was going to take you both to lunch at the country club and then we could go down to the port and we could explore a few of my shipping boats that are docked there."

Jack's face brightened. "Oh, can we, Grandpa Archie!" the boy asked, his face expectant.

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Archie replied, knowing that he couldn't disappoint his grandson, even though he would be perfectly content to stay at the Thatcher mansion. He had no doubt he would feel out of place not only at lunch but at the ships as well.

"Then it is settled. The ladies can have their outing and us gentlemen will have ours," William said. "We can share about our experiences at supper this evening." He paused, looking around the table. "What has you troubled, young lady?" he asked, noticing a slight frown on Ally's face.

"I think seeing the ships would be interesting myself," Ally admitted. "Not that I don't want to go to the theater with you Grandma," she added quickly.

"Well, I know for a fact that Elizabeth enjoys roaming around the shipping vessels herself. She had since she was Jack's age," William said. "I am sure we can arrange another visit to the docks before you go home."

"Grandpa can show me around and then I can show you around Ally," Jack said.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," William said, reaching out to muss the boy's hair. "Will that work for you, Ally?"

"Yes," Ally replied, a smile on her face again.

Feeling a bit uneasy, Archie ate his breakfast quietly. He still wasn't sure being here was the right choice but at the same time, he had finally wanted to spend a Christmas with family. Surely he could manage a meal at the country club without embarrassing any of them too much.

After spending the day showing Nathan around Hamilton with Harold as chauffeur, they returned to the Royal Cannaught. They still had an hour until they planned on having supper in the dining room before leaving for the theater.

"Could we call my parent's house and try talking to the kids?" Elizabeth asked her husband, as they walked up to the room after confirming with Harold the time to leave for the theater.

"Of course," Nathan replied. "I am not going to keep you from talking to our kids if the opportunity is there. Honestly, as much as I have enjoyed having you to myself, I wouldn't mind hearing their voices as well."

"Good," Elizabeth replied, feeling relieved. She realized the response was silly. She had seen Nathan with Ally for years now. She should have known he would be open to checking in with her and Jack.

Returning to their room, Elizabeth placed the call. She and Nathan huddled close together so they could both hear the children on the other end of the wire. It seemed as though the theater tickets were not the only surprise Grace had planned. Ally was all excited about her experience at the theater with her grandmother. Finding out that her parents were going to see the same play that night, Ally didn't talk much about the performance itself. She did however describe the theater in detail ending with, "just wait until you see it, Dad."

After Ally, Jack talked about his afternoon with his two Grandpas. "The ship even took a brief trip. The captain let Grandpa Archie wear his hat and steer the boat!" Jack informed him.

"Grandpa William says he will take us back if you are up for it before we head back to Hope Valley," Ally replied. "I really would like to see those ships."

"I am sure we can find time to take a trip between Christmas and our return to Hope Valley."

Both children gave excited exclamations over the line before Nathan and Elizabeth said good-bye to them. Before hanging up though, Nathan asked Ally to put Archie on the line for him. Elizabeth stepped away a little to give Nathan a bit of privacy with his father. Retreating to the bed, she perched on the end of it.

"So, how is Archie doing?" Elizabeth asked when Nathan hung up the phone.

"Feeling out of place, but he says your parents have been very hospitable hosts. Apparently, your father even asked for the private dining room for the three of them at the Country Club. Dad says he was grateful because otherwise he probably would have felt like everyone was watching him. He also got to meet several of your father's business partners there."

"I am glad my parents are including him in plans with the children, though I do hope they don't spoil them too much."

Nathan chuckled. "Grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandchildren," he told her. "Besides, as we get to spend a few special days doing things together, it makes me feel better to know that the children are not simply sitting around your parents' house missing us."

"You're right as usual," Elizabeth conceded. "I hope they have fun tomorrow with Julie at the art class she runs for children."

"I am sure they will. Dad says he is going just in case Jack loses interest and needs a little extra supervision. Between you and me, he just doesn't want to be alone with your parents."

Elizabeth laughed. "As Jack can be a handful, I am glad there will be an extra set of hands. Julie will probably need them." She paused, looking over at the clock. "We should probably start getting ready."

"I already can't wait to come home and get out of that tuxedo," Nathan said lightly.

Elizabeth changed into her gown first, Nathan deftly helping her with the buttons in the back. While she did her hair and makeup, Nathan changed into the tuxedo. When he came out, the bow tie was simply draped around the collar, it's ends dangling free.

"I know I spent a lot of time on horses, but I never thought I would have a tail like one," Nathan joked, as Elizabeth rose from the bench she sat on.

"Well, don't tell Newton I said so, but the tails look better on you than him," Elizabeth told her husband, stopping in front of him. She placed a quick kiss on his lips before reaching up for the two ends of the bow tie. In no time, she expertly had it tied, purposely leaving it a little looser than normal.

"You look beautiful, Beth," Nathan told her, his voice thick with emotion.

"Thank you," Elizabeth told him.

Turning, she took one last look in the mirror to make sure everything was in place. Satisfied, she turned back to Nathan who offered her his arm.

"Oh, I forgot how much fun the theater is," Elizabeth said, her face radiant from enjoyment as Nathan escorted her out of the theater. They easily spotted Harold, waiting near the car at the curb. "You did enjoy it, didn't you?"

"I could do without the attire, but the play itself was enjoyable," Nathan told her as he led her toward the waiting car. "Perhaps we can catch a show in Union City at some point though," Nathan told her, more than willing to endure the attire for the sake of his wife.

Seeing them approach, Harold opened the back door. He greeted them politely as Nathan helped Elizabeth into the backseat before climbing in himself. As Harold shut the door, Elizabeth reached over and undid the bow tie and the top button of his shirt before Nathan got a chance to.

"Is that better?" Elizabeth asked sweetly. Looking in her direction, he could see the merriment dancing in her eyes.

"Much better," Nathan told her. "Thank you, my dear."

"You're welcome," she told him before pressing a kiss to his lips as Harold climbed behind the driver's seat.

"Are we going straight to the hotel, sir?" the chauffeur asked, discreetly not looking back at the couple in the back seat.

"Yes, please, Harold," Nathan replied.

"I'll help you the rest of the way out of the tuxedo there, Mr. Grant," Elizabeth said quietly beside him as she looped an arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder.

A little surprised by the comment, Nathan simply pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He didn't mind seeing the more assertive side of his wife. It reflected the healing she had managed and showed the love she truly did have for him.

Besides, he admitted to himself, helping her out of the gown would be a nice way to end the day.