Chalk Dust to Eternity

by baseballchick1330

This is an AU story & my take on what should have happened with Elizabeth & Jack. Many of the original events of the series will be included, as well as some that I create. Some of the events will be omitted and others will be changed to fit my story. The timeline of the events have also changed to fit what I wanted to tell. This part 2 and picks up where part 1 left off.

303. Chapter 303

Chapter 303 – Carson and Faith Share

Carson and Abigail feed and change the twins. Faith finished cleaning up the office. When she was done Abigail laid Amber back in the crate that had the water bottles. She got up to leave. When she was at the door, when she turned.

"Thank you both." Abigail said. "I know it was asking a lot of you Carson, so a special thank you. Please think about what we talked about. I know that we have a few long days ahead of us to get the Thornton's settled, but thank you. Bridget and Mary will be at the cafe if you need anything. Make sure Jack eats something. He had a tendency to forget to take care of himself."

"You are welcome." Carson said. "I will on both counts. Please get some sleep, we will talk later. Don't forget what I said."

Abigail didn't say anything else, but just turned and left. When she closed the door, Carson turned to Faith.

"Thank you." Carson said.

"For what." Faith said. "You did the work."

"For believing in me." Carson said. "I had lost faith in myself and was so focused on my grief and pain that I didn't think I could help anyone."

"I knew that you had the training." Faith said. "I needed help and you were there. I just demanded that you step up. I should have warned you I can be a little bossy. I grew up the oldest of five with all brothers."

"It is okay." Carson said. "I needed the kick in the butt. I am sure that you were a huge help to your mother with four boys."

"My mother died giving birth to my youngest brother." Faith said.

"And you have avoided labor and delivery since." Carson said, suddenly understanding the emotional outburst earlier. "No wonder you were upset."

"I did a rotation in nursing school." Faith said. "But then I went to work on the surgical ward or recovery ward. This was the first birth that I have been a part of since nursing school. I didn't even help Mary Graves with her delivery. Abigail, Robin and Cat helped her. I was around if they needed it, but everything was fine. I checked on Mary and the baby later."

"I am sorry." Carson said. "I would never have had you do that if I had known."

"It is okay." Faith said. "I did what needed to be done. It is part of the training, right."

"Still, I am sorry." Carson said. "If I stay, we are going to have to work together. I don't want there to be hard feelings."

"If?" Faith asked.

"I haven't fully decided." Carson said. "I thought I had closed that chapter of my life. Also even though I was cleared by the medical board in wrong doing in Amber's death. But her family, especially one of her sisters, has made my life hard. I tried to practice for a bit after Amber's death and while they were investigating. But she would tell people that I murdered her sister and suddenly I didn't have any patients and people would look at me differently."

"So, if I have pieced this together." Faith said. "Amber was your wife and your last patient who died."

"Yes." Carson said. "She had a brain tumor and surgery was her only hope. She died on the operating table as I stood there, unable to do anything."

"Brain surgery." Faith said. "Pretty risky under the best of conditions. I am sure that you did everything that you could to save her. I have never been married, but I know that grief can do things to people. It changed me when my mom died. It changed my father and brothers. All in different ways, but nonetheless we were all changed. I guess, I should say sorry also. I didn't realize."

"It is okay." Carson said. "You had no way of knowing. You are right, I had the skills and knowledge and you needed the help. I think we make a pretty good team."

"I think so, too." Faith said. "Please consider staying."

"It's four thirty in the morning." Carson said. "Do you want to get a little more sleep? I think I should stay here in case Elizabeth or the twins have difficulty."

"I don't think I could sleep." Faith said. "Mind if I go make some breakfast for us. I will bring it back down and we can eat."

"Sounds good." Carson said. "I will keep an eye on everyone. I am going to go back to reading one of the medical texts you have here."

"Mountie headquarters sent those for Jack." Faith said. "He had requested a doctor or nurse and they sent him some medical texts. I ended up here for the spring disaster by chance. I just happen to stay. They offered me a job and I had nothing to go back to in Union City, so I stayed."

"Well." Carson said. "It is one I haven't read. So best to brush up."

"See you in a bit." Faith said. "Anything you want in particular?"

"Like I told Frank." Carson said. "Not picky."

Faith was back about twenty minutes later with two plates of eggs, bacon and toast.

"I hope you like scrambled eggs." Faith said.

"This looks very good, thank you." Carson said.

"Would you like to pray?" Faith asked.

"I can try." Carson said. "I think I may be a little out of practice."

"Just speak from your heart." Faith said.

They both bowed their heads and Carson took a deep breath before speaking.

"Heavenly Father." Carson prayed. "Thank you for this food that you have provided for us. Thank you for seeing us through the night. Please watch over the Thorntons and all of Hope Valley. Also thank you for bringing Faith into my life. Amen."

"Amen." Faith said. "That was beautiful."

"Yesterday was the first time I had prayed since Amber's death." Carson said. "I prayed just before little Amber was born that I would know what to do."

"Well." Faith said. "You don't seem too out of practice."

They didn't say anything else, but ate in a comfortable silence. When they were done, Faith stood up, check on the twins.

"I am going to run the dishes up and quickly wash everything up." Faith said.

"Take your time." Carson said. "It is still early. Besides, I think we officially still have the infirmary closed unless it is an emergency. I don't want a lot of people around the twins just yet, especially Amber. They are pretty fragile."

"I agree." Faith said. "Maybe we can get the Thorntons back home later today and reopen tomorrow. You know we are going to have to explain things to people."

"One thing at a time." Carson said.

Faith went out the back door and up the stairs to her apartment. Light was starting to break the horizon and Carson knew that they were going to have another long day, but he also hoped for a less eventful one. Even though Faith had just checked on the twins, he felt the need to do so as well. He picked up his stethoscope from his bag. He also pulled out the white coat that his mother had made for him with his name – Carson A Shepard, MD embroidered on it. He unwrapped it and shook it out before putting it on. It felt good to be wearing it again. He knew that his mother and grandmother would be happy that he had gone back to medicine. He just knew that it was his grandmother's hand that guided him while he was delivering the twins. Carson walked over to where the twins were lying. He carefully unwrapped Amber first and listened to her heart and lungs.

"Morning Amber." Carson said softly. "Look at you stretching this morning. Better out here where your brother isn't crushing you all the time. Just wait, he will try again. You are just going to have to get bigger and stronger than him."

Her heart and lungs sounded good. He then wrapped her back up and made sure she was warm. He then turned his attention to her brother.

"Hey little guy." Carson said softly as he unwrapped him. "I know you don't have a name yet. But I am sure your mommy will give you a good one. She was just so tired from having you. We are going to let her rest for a bit. I just want to see how you are doing."

Carson listened to his heart and lungs. He thought that he was grunting a little, so he picked him up and his breathing seemed to be better. Maybe he just needed to be upright for a bit. Carson brought him up to his shoulder and covered him with a blanket. He then went to check on Elizabeth. When he walked in, Carson couldn't help but smile. Elizabeth had curled into Jack and they were sharing the bed. Both were sound asleep, so he felt bad waking them. He really needed to check Elizabeth's breathing. He sat on the edge of the bed and Jack opened his eyes.

"Everything okay?" Jack asked quietly.

"I was just going to check Elizabeth's breathing." Carson said.

"Strong and steady." Jack said. "It evened out right after I wrapped my arms around her and she snuggled into me."

"Okay." Carson said. "I will let you have some more time. Then I am going to have to listen. Besides, this little guy here needs a name."

"Is he alright?" Jack asked.

"He will be." Carson said. "He was having a little trouble laying flat, but the moment that I put him up to my shoulder he seemed fine."

"Ma says I was the same way." Jack said. "They finally figured out a way to put me at an incline until I was about one."

"Well good to know." Carson said. "We may have to figure something out for this little guy. We will just have to see. Ether can have weird effects on infants and children. It is really not recommended for a child this small. But we had no choice, we had to deliver him."

"I will trust you." Jack said. "I am sure that I can talk to my Ma when she gets here and we can figure out what they did for me. Also I am allergic to ether. Learned that at the academy."

"Is she coming?" Carson asked. "Your mother."

"I am sure as soon as I send a wire, she will be on her way." Jack said. "First grandchildren and all."

"Where does she live?" Carson asked.

"Aberdeen, Saskatchewan." Jack said. "She can ride here in several days. I plan on sending out a wire as soon as Ned is open."

"Well it is barely five am." Carson said. "I will wake you later. But maybe this guy should have a name first."

"Good idea." Jack said. "I will call if there is change with Elizabeth."

"Okay." Carson said. "I will be back in about an hour or so."

Carson went back to the other room. Faith was sitting at the desk looking over some charts.

"Need help with anything?" Carson asked.

"I was just updating Elizabeth's notes." Faith said. "I figured while I was at it, I would start with one or those two, even though the little guy doesn't have a name yet. How was Elizabeth?"

"Breathing is better." Carson said. "Jack said it evened right out when he pulled her close. I said I would give them another hour and I want to try and wake her."

"Yeah, he has that effect on her." Faith said. "Even though I haven't been here that long, I can see that they have a strong bond. When Jack was injured this past spring, it was Elizabeth who sat with him day and night. I think it was her strength that pulled him back. After he was injured in a flash flood, it was Elizabeth that led the rescue to find him. It was only a few days later that she found out that she was pregnant. Like I said, there is something about those two. I have heard bits and pieces of their love story and apparently it is one for the ages. You know that they only knew each other about six months when Jack proposed and they were married six weeks later."

"Yeah, Jack said something." Carson said. "Granted he didn't go into detail, but he did let me know that they were still technically newlyweds when I reminded him that he is going to have to give Elizabeth time to heal. He said that you thought she got pregnant on the wedding night just before Christmas."

"I could be wrong." Faith said. "But from the information that she was able to give me, that would be my best guess. She was sick when they were in Hamilton in January and then had a stomach bug that she couldn't shake in March."

"Jack said that." Carson said. "Did you think that she was pregnant back in March?"

"I considered it." Faith said. "But she sounded so sure that she wasn't and it was so similar to what a number of the kids from school had, so I just went with it. It was actually Abigail and Jack's mom that figured it out before anyone. It was when Jack was still touch and go. Jack's mom, Charlotte, was worried because Elizabeth wasn't eating and had been sick to her stomach a number of times. They asked me to check on her. Jack insisted and that was when Elizabeth told us that she thought she was pregnant. I listened and felt pretty sure that she was. I could just barely make out a heartbeat. I didn't tell them that, but just that Elizabeth was expecting. I also think hearing about the baby gave Jack something to latch on to and focus on to get better."

"When was that?" Carson asked. "Also I can imagine how excited Jack was just seeing him with the little ones."

"Let me look." Faith said, flipping through some notes. "My note is from April twelfth. It would have been that weekend. Jack was injured on that Friday and with all the injuries it took a couple of days for me to catch up on the notes. So I am thinking that I saw Elizabeth on Sunday."

"So if you heard a heartbeat." Carson said. "She had to be at least ten weeks along. So that is about right. I would agree. Elizabeth got pregnant around Christmas, but before the New Year for sure."

"So the twins are not all that early." Faith said.

"I would say three or four weeks." Carson said. "I have seen smaller, but they didn't survive."

"I was going to ask you about that." Faith said.

"My mother and grandmother." Carson said. "As far as the obstetrics. My grandfather was a surgeon who started as a general practitioner."

"Oh, wow." Faith said.

"Both my mother and grandmother were classically trained midwives." Carson said. "Grandmother studied in Europe and sent my mother there to train when she was sixteen. At eighteen when I had been accepted to medical school, they insisted that I go with them on calls whenever I was home. They wanted to make sure that I had the skills that were needed. Neither was impressed with some of the doctors that they had run into when it came to women and infants. They wanted me to do better and they felt that it was important that I learn things that they had learned over the years from trial and error. They hoped that I wouldn't lose patients like they had if I learned from what happened."

"I would have to agree." Faith said. "Some of the older doctors that I worked with in nursing school could learn a thing or two about women. They may know the anatomy but they could learn a thing or two about women in real life."

Carson couldn't help but laugh. He knew what she was talking about.

"Wait." Faith said. "You were accepted to medical school at eighteen! When did you graduate the upper grades, because I know that you need at least two years of university classes before you can apply to medical school unless you already have a degree. So I could apply since I have nurse's training."

"I finished school when I was just past fourteen." Carson said shyly. "My grandparents knew a few of the professors and got me admitted to university at fifteen. I had already read most of the first year material by the time school had started and I had gone through every book that my mother and grandparents had."

"Do you mind me asking where you went to medical school?" Faith asked.

Carson just looked down.

"Queen's University School of Medicine in Kingston." He said, quietly.

Faith's eyes just about popped out of her head. She knew that was the most prestigious medical school in all of Canada. It was in the top five in North America.

"And you were going to walk away, wow." Faith said, shaking her head.

"Please don't make a big deal out of this." Carson said. "I graduated medical school, finished my training as a surgeon and went to Cape Fullerton to work. Amber followed me there and we told people we were already married otherwise we would have been breaking the rules. We were actually married just a few months later in a private ceremony. We had been dating since I was sixteen and she was fourteen. Honestly, other than my mother you probably know more about me than anyone else right now."

"Well I am honored." Faith said. "I promise I won't say anything. I get wanting to keep your past from everyone. Jack is the only one that knows a little bit about my past and that is because he had to step in and help me shortly after I arrived."

"Mind me asking what happened." Carson asked. "Only fair since you know about my past."

"Fair is fair." Faith said. "I had been working in Hamilton. That was where I first met Jack when his brother was injured and he came to sort things out. That was my last week in Hamilton. I had gotten engaged. I thought Adam was a great guy. Anyway, he gotten a job in Union City which was about eight hours by stagecoach from here. It is also the closest hospital. Lee Coulter was injured and Jack wired for a doctor to be sent. At the time they were short, about three doctors, but there were plenty of nurses. Since I had advanced training in trauma and it was Hope Valley and I knew Jack was here, I volunteered. When I got here, I tended to Lee and realized that Jack was trying to set up the infirmary. Since I wasn't getting a lot of shifts at the hospital and Adam was traveling a lot, I wired Union City and asked if I could stay and help set up the infirmary. They agreed as I was needed more here.

Anyway, Adam came home early and found out I was here. He was furious. He came here and demanded that I go back to Union City with him. I said I had been sent here and that I was needed. He was also upset I made him get a room at the saloon and not let him stay with me upstairs. Granted we shared a two bedroom apartment in Union City, this was different. People here knew I wasn't married and I didn't feel it was right that we share a one bedroom. Adam gave me an ultimatum – what did I want more to be his wife or a nurse because I couldn't have both. Well you can see what I chose. Adam went back to Union City, packed my stuff and put it in storage and moved back to Hamilton to work for his father again. I was offered a full-time job here and took it since there was nothing for me in Union City and I really didn't want to go back to Hamilton. I had my stuff from Union City sent here."

"You said Jack stepped in." Carson said. "What happened?"

"Adam and I were having supper at the cafe." Faith said. "So were Jack and Elizabeth. Adam was angry and I ran out. Jack came after me because he was concerned. When he grabbed my arm, I turned around and almost flattened him thinking it was Adam. Jack brought me to his office and we talked. He made sure that I got up to my apartment safely. Jack had wanted me to stay somewhere else and even offered to stay at the jail just in case. Adam left the next morning without so much as a good-bye. He didn't even talk to me that morning."

"Did you tell Jack Adam was hurting you?" Carson asked.

"No she didn't." Jack said from the doorway. "But I kind of figured it out from the beginning. The way that he talked to her and looked at me from the moment that he got off the stagecoach. When she got defensive when I grabbed her arm, well that was all the proof that I needed. Adam didn't say good-bye because I think Bill scared the living daylights out of him."

"What did Bill do?" Faith asked.

"I don't know the finer points." Jack said. "But the gist of it was that next morning after you had run from the cafe – Bill was waiting for Adam at the bottom of the stairs back there. He basically told him if he didn't leave you alone and leave Hope Valley, Bill was going to make sure that he paid dearly. Knowing Bill, he could be quite imposing if he wanted to be. One doesn't make Sr Inspector in the Mounties without learning to put fear into others when needed."

"I saw Adam that morning." Faith said. "He was angrier than I had ever seen him. He turned and looked at me across the boardwalk. I thought he was going to come over and do something. I was thinking if I screamed would anyone come to see what was going on."

"You should have, because Bill was next door all morning." Jack said. "I would have liked to see him cross Bill. Not many people do that and come out intacted. Bill has zero tolerance for spoiled rich brats who want to bully others. He had even less tolerance for a man who thinks it is okay to hit a woman."

"Well." Carson said. "I am glad that you are okay."

"Me too." Jack said. "I am also glad that you decided to stay, otherwise I think that Bill would have had half the Union City regiment camped outside your apartment."

Carson just laughed and Faith shook her head.

"Knowing what I know about Bill." Carson said. "Probably, true"

Jack quietly laughed and nodded his head while he looked at the twins sleeping. Amber in the crate, the little guy in Carson's arms. Jack was so happy at that moment. He had no idea that he could love someone as much as he loved the two little ones.