A/N I know I said I just had an epilogue left, but this has taken on a life of its own, so I'm splitting it in two. Please enjoy Epilogue: Part 1!

...

Almost one year later, Spring 1915

...

Elizabeth met Jack's eyes across the room, her heart clenching at the sight of him holding Catie. The toddler reached up to grab his chin, making him laugh.

Abigail sidled up to her, nudging her gently. "He's so good with her."

"He is," Elizabeth agreed, smiling sadly. She ached to see him with their own baby, but after nearly a year of marriage without any hints of a pregnancy, it seemed that they wouldn't be adding to their family any time soon. She was trying to come to terms with it, but it still hurt.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Abigail asked, lowering her voice. "Whatever it is that's troubling you?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

Abigail had an inkling of what was going on, but she didn't press Elizabeth on it. Instead, she decided to distract her. "Your anniversary is coming up," she observed. "Do you and Jack have any plans to celebrate?"

"We're going for a picnic dinner in the same place where he proposed."

"Oh, that's sweet. Do you need me to make up some food for you two?"

"Thank you for the offer. I'll talk to him and see what he was thinking."

"Mama!" William ran over and tugged on her skirt. "Can Allie and Emma and me go outside and play with Gilbert?"

"I suppose, but stay close, and only for a few minutes. You three need to get to bed soon."

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded before hurrying off to find his sisters.

"It's wonderful how well those three get along," Abigail noted as they watched the three children scurry out the door.

Elizabeth smiled. "It is. I imagine there will come a day when there are more disagreements between them, but for now, we're enjoying how close they are."

"What sort of trouble are those three getting into?" Jack asked as he neared the ladies, sliding his arm around Elizabeth's waist.

"They just wanted to play with Gilbert for a few minutes before bedtime."

"I guess we shouldn't let Rosemary know they weren't excited enough about the party to stay until the end," he joked.

"Oh, before I forget to ask, Abigail was wondering if we needed her to make up the food for our anniversary picnic."

"That would be helpful. Thank you, Abigail."

She smiled. "It's my pleasure. Anything for you two."

"Well," Jack tightened his arm around Elizabeth, "shall we go enjoy a cookie or two before we need to go put those children to bed?"

...

"They're all asleep," Jack announced as he entered the bedroom. "William was curled up on the floor in the girls' room." He chuckled. They had moved into a larger house a month earlier, and the children still hadn't adapted to having separate rooms, often finding their way into each other's rooms at some point during the night. "I'm so glad they still get along so well."

"Mhmm."

Jack slipped under the covers, propping himself up on his side to face Elizabeth. "Is everything okay, sweetheart? It seemed like something was bothering you earlier when we were at Catie's party, and you're awfully quiet now."

"It's nothing," she repeated the words she had said to Abigail.

"No, it's not. Something is bothering you. Maybe I can help. Or maybe it will help just talking about it."

"Seeing you with Catie today, it reminded me of how much I want to see you with our baby." She sighed, fidgeting with her fingers. "But Jack, I don't know if I can give you a baby."

"What makes you say that?"

"We've been married for nearly a year now, and nothing, not even a moment where I thought maybe. With William and the baby I lost, it happened quickly. I just…" She blinked away the tears that started to fill her eyes. "I can't help but wonder if he hurt me badly enough that I can't have any more children."

"If you're really worried about it, we can go see Faith."

"But what if she says I can't? You're such a good father, Jack. I want you to experience it all from the beginning."

"Elizabeth," he put a hand on her arm, "I didn't marry you so you could give me children. We have three beautiful children already, and I don't feel like I've missed out by not raising them since infancy."

"But—"

He put a finger to her lips. "But nothing. We could have ten more children or no more children, and it wouldn't change how much I love you. Besides, for all we know, it could be my fault that we haven't had a baby."

"Jack…" A tear escaped from the corner of her eye, sliding down her cheek.

"Sweetheart." He wiped away the tear, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you. No matter what."

"I don't deserve you, Jack Thornton."

"Shh." He kissed her again, pulling her into his arms. "You deserve the world, Elizabeth, and so much more. All I want is your happiness. And if having another baby will make you happy, we'll figure out how to make that happen. Why don't you go see Faith tomorrow, and we can go from there?"

She leaned against his chest, letting the beating of his heart soothe her. "Will you be there with me?"

"If that's what you want." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I'll be by your side the whole time."

...

"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?" William asked Allie as he continued picking the flowers around them.

"Not if we do it quick and get back before Miss O'Connell rings the bell," she assured him.

"Why is mama so sad, Allie?" Emma handed her a few flowers to add to their bouquet.

She shrugged. "I don't know. But I think these flowers will make her feel better. Come on!"

Allie glanced around, making sure nobody was paying attention as the three of them scampered away from the schoolhouse and toward town. As they turned the corner, Allie suddenly stopped, throwing out her arm to keep her brother and sister from moving any further.

"What is it?" Emma whispered loudly.

"Shh," Allie instructed. "It's mom and dad."

"Why are they going to the infirmary?" William wondered aloud. "Is mama sick?"

Allie shrugged. "Maybe that's why she's so sad."

Tears welled up in Emma's eyes. "I don't want mama to be sick."

"Now what do we do?" William asked, looking to Allie for instruction.

"I guess we could leave the flowers with Mrs. Coulter. She can make sure mom gets them." She made her way to the dress shop, William and Emma following close behind.

Rosemary looked surprised to see the children come through the door. "Allie, Emma, William. What are you three doing here?"

"We have flowers for our mom," William explained.

"Well, she's not here right now, but I can make sure she gets them as soon as she's back."

"Thank you, Mrs. Coulter." Allie handed her the bouquet. "We should get back to school before lunch is over."

"Have a good rest of your day. And don't worry, I'll make sure your mom gets these flowers. I'm sure she'll love them."

...

Elizabeth forced a smile, thanking Faith before she stepped out of the building to give them a moment.

"I'm sorry we didn't get any real answers, sweetheart." Jack put a comforting hand on her shoulder, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "But you heard what Faith said. We can go see that specialist in Union City to find out if there really is a problem. Or there could be nothing wrong, and it's just not our time to grow our family yet. Just look at Lee and Rosemary. They were married for almost four years by the time Catie was born. Maybe we just need to be patient."

She sighed. "I suppose you're right."

He pulled her into his arms. "I love you, Elizabeth."

Settling against his chest, she breathed deeply, relishing the steady beat of his heart against her cheek. "I love you." After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "Do you need to get back to work?"

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I have a few things outside of town I need to check on, but I can stay with you a little while longer."

"No. You should get back." She took a step back, giving him a small smile. "I'll be okay."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure." Standing on her toes, she pressed her lips to his. "I'll see you after work."

"Maybe I'll pick up some dessert at Abigail's. Anything in particular sound good to you?"

"Mm…how about a blackberry pie?"

He licked his lips. "My favorite."

...

Jack slowly maneuvered his horse through the trees, heading toward what sounded like a baby crying, or perhaps a wounded animal. Seeing a small cabin in the distance, he dismounted, walking alongside the horse through the rest of the way.

The crying grew louder as he approached, and he could now tell for certain that it was a baby. No other sounds came from the dwelling.

"Hello?" He called out cautiously, placing a hand on his weapon as he neared the door—just in case. He had been to the cabin on his rounds before, and it had always been empty. There was no telling who—or what—was inside now.

There was no response to his greeting, just the wailing of the infant. He peered into the nearest window, gasping at what he saw.

He tried the door, finding it locked. He braced himself before throwing his weight into the door, smashing it open.

A young woman was lying on the ground, a small pool of blood beneath her head. A cursory check indicated that nothing was broken, and that the blood was coming from a small laceration just below her hairline. Her eyelids fluttered as he pressed a handkerchief to the cut.

"Shh, shh. You're okay. I've got you. I'm here to help"

He glanced around the small room, trying to figure out what to do. The young woman obviously needed medical attention as soon as possible, but he had no way to bring help to her, and he couldn't leave the baby alone.

"M…Mi…Mm…Mia," she breathed.

"Mia? Is Mia your baby?"

She nodded slowly, gasping at the pain caused by the movement.

"I'll go check on her, and then I'm going to take the two of you into town so our nurse can make sure you're okay." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before crossing the room to where the baby was lying in her crib, still whimpering. "Hi, Mia," he said quietly. "We're going to get some help for you and your mom, okay?"

He found a blanket and tied it snugly around himself, fashioning a sort of sling with which to carry the baby. Once assured the little one was secure, he returned his attention to her mother.

She was awake now, but her gaze was unfocused.

"My horse is just outside. I'm going to help you out there, okay?"

It took longer than he hoped, but eventually, they were headed toward town, the young woman sitting ahead of him on the saddle. The blow to her head was clearly affecting her, as she continued to go in and out of consciousness as they rode.

They finally reached town, and he brought the horse to a halt outside of the infirmary, calling for Faith. She rushed out of the building, quickly asking a passerby to help Jack bring the young woman into the infirmary.

"Her name is Celia, and the baby is Mia. That's all the information I was able to get from her. She keeps going in and out, and seems pretty disoriented," Jack explained as they carefully brought her down from the horse. "I'm not sure how long she had been down."

"Jack?" Elizabeth hurried over, having heard the commotion from the dress shop. "What's going on?"

"Here." He handed the baby to her. "Follow me."

Moments later, the two of them stood by the bed while Faith was examining Celia.

"You've never seen her before?" Elizabeth asked.

"No." Jack shook his head. "That cabin has been empty every other time I've been out there. I have no idea why she was there. How is she, Faith?"

"This cut isn't very deep, so I can go ahead and stitch it up, but the fact that she's going in and out of consciousness has me worried. There could be bleeding in the brain, or other damage. She needs to be seen at the hospital in Union City."

"I'll see if we can borrow Lee's car to transport her."

"Someone will need to take care of the baby, too." Faith glanced at the infant, who had fallen asleep in Elizabeth's arms.

"We can take her," Elizabeth blurted, not even bothering to discuss it with Jack. "We'll watch her until Celia is better."

"Sweetheart?" Jack met her eyes, eyebrows raised. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." She looked down at the sleeping baby, a smile playing on her lips. "We can keep her safe until she can go back to her mother."

...

"Before we go inside, I need to talk to you three about something." Jack took a seat on the steps, inviting the children to sit with him.

Emma climbed into his lap. "Are we in trouble?"

"No. Why would you think you were in trouble?"

"Because we left school at lunch," William admitted.

"It was all my idea, dad," Allie explained, willing to take the fall for her siblings. "We wanted to bring flowers to mom because she's been sad."

"That's very sweet of you all, and as long as you were just skipping lunch and not class, you aren't in trouble for that. It's something else that I want to talk to you about."

Emma leaned into him. "Is mama sick? Is that why she's sad?"

"We saw you and mom going to the infirmary," Allie clarified. "Is she sick, like my first mom was before she died?"

"No, no. She's just fine. I just wanted to let you know that we have a little baby staying with us for a while. Her name is Mia. Her mom got hurt and had to go to the hospital in Union City."

William furrowed his brow. "Where's her dad?"

Jack shrugged. "We don't know. And we don't know how long her mom will be in the hospital. So right now, we're all she has. Do any of you have any more questions before you go meet her?"

The three children shook their heads, satisfied with the information they had already been given. Jack stood, keeping Emma in his arms as he led the way into the house.

Elizabeth was just coming down the stairs, the baby in her arms and Gilbert on her heels. "Well, hello. I have someone here to meet you all."

...

"This certainly isn't what I imagined when I thought about our first anniversary." Jack chuckled, looking over at the baby sleeping soundly on the blanket beside Elizabeth. "But she certainly has been a blessing to us."

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "It's going to be difficult when it's time for her to go back with Celia."

Mia had only been with them for about a week, but it felt like she had been part of their family forever. Allie and William adored her, always wanting to hold her or help give her her bottles. Emma was slower to warm to the idea of having a baby in the house, but she seemed to be coming around to it. Jack, as expected, was wonderful with her, taking care of her as if she was his own. In fact, Elizabeth found herself forgetting quite often that the baby was not theirs to keep.

"This has all gotten me thinking, though," Elizabeth continued, "maybe we should discuss adopting."

"Adopting?" he repeated. "But I thought you really wanted to carry our baby."

"I still want that, but I have to face the reality that that may not happen for us. And seeing you with Mia, and with our children, it's reminded me that it won't matter if a baby is yours by blood or not. You'll love them the same." She reached over and took his hand. "I'm not saying we definitely should adopt, but it's a possibility I think we should talk about once Mia goes back with Celia."

He gently squeezed her fingers, his lips turning up into a smile. "Okay."

"Now, shall we have some of this chocolate cake Abigail was nice enough to pack for us?" She placed the plate between them, handing him a fork. "We really need to think of something to do to thank her for this meal, and for watching the children for us."

He took a bite. "Mm, we can think of something later. Right now, I can't think about anything except how delicious this cake is."

She chuckled, cutting off a bite with her own fork. "Maybe next time, I should request two slices, then."

...

"Mama?" William wandered into the kitchen. "Does Mia really have to leave?"

Elizabeth sighed, placing a plate of crackers on the table. "Yes, Willie. The doctor in Union City said her mom is better now. Daddy is picking her up right now, and then he'll bring her here to get Mia."

He took a seat and reached for a cracker. "Well, can we get our own baby, then?"

Elizabeth sat across from him. "You want a baby?"

"Uh huh." He nodded.

"We all talked about it," Allie added as she and Emma entered the room, taking seats beside their brother. "We like having a baby here. But can we get a baby brother? Because Willie just has me and Emma, and he needs a brother this time."

Elizabeth chuckled softly. "Well, I can't make any promises, but dad and I have been talking about maybe bringing a baby into our family."

The children looked at each other, smiles growing on their faces. "Yay!" they cheered.

"It's not an easy thing, though," Elizabeth explained. "It takes time to bring a baby into a family. And there's a chance we might not be able to have another baby in our family."

"Why not?" Emma furrowed her brow as she thought. "You can 'dopt one, like you 'dopted me."

"Or daddy can put a baby in your belly," Allie suggested.

Her eyes widened. "Where did you hear that?"

"That's what Robert said his mom and dad told him when he got a baby sister. His dad helped put the baby in his mom's belly."

"So daddy can put a baby in your belly."

"Daddy can do what?" Jack asked as he stepped through the front door.

"Oh, the children were just telling me they want a baby, so they were suggesting some ways we could make that happen."

"You know, Celia is waiting, so I should probably go up and get Mia for her."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes playfully, shaking her head. "I'll help you get her things. Children, why don't you take Gilbert outside? We'll be sure to let you say goodbye before she goes."

A few moments later, Elizabeth and Jack found themselves upstairs, folding little baby clothes.

"It's going to be strange not having Mia around anymore, but maybe I can ask Celia if she'd allow us to bring the children to visit sometimes."

"That would be nice." She sniffled, clutching a tiny dress to her chest.

"Sweetheart." Jack stepped toward her, pulling her into his arms. "We'll figure out how to have a baby of our own, I promise." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I never told you this before, but after I got shot, I had this dream. It was like a glimpse into our future. I saw you and the children, but there was another one. Our son."

"Our son?" she repeated, looking up to meet his eyes.

He nodded, reaching up to cup her cheek. "Our little boy. He has your eyes. I believe he'll come to us when the time is right."

"But Jack, that was just a dream." She shook her head. "Your body had been through a trauma. It sounds like a beautiful dream, but that's all it was."

"Elizabeth. I don't want you to lose hope."

She shrugged. "I'm just trying to be realistic, Jack. It seems unlikely that we'll have a baby of our own. I think we should just talk to somebody about adopting."

"If that's what you want." He kissed the top of her head. "I just want you to be happy."

She gave him a sad smile, sliding her arms around him. "You make me very happy, Jack. I'm just sad about this right now, but I'll be okay. Now," she took a step back, wiping her eyes, "let's get Mia back to her mom."

...

"Oh, this is pretty." Elizabeth ran her fingers over the bolt of fabric she had just unloaded, a simple calico print of pink and purple flowers. "Maybe I could make some new dresses for the girls. And speaking of the girls…" She glanced at the clock. "I hope it's okay, but I promised I would take the children to the café after school to celebrate the start of summer."

"Go." Rosemary gave her a smile. "It's been a slow day. Catie and I will be fine here. You have fun."

"Thank you. We'll see you for dinner, right?"

Rosemary nodded. "Six o'clock. We'll be there."

Elizabeth breathed in the warm air as she stepped out of the dress shop, enjoying the sun on her face as she walked toward the school.

"Mama!" Emma ran up, throwing her arms around her mother's legs. "You're here!"

"I told you I would be here. We're going to go to the café for a treat, remember?"

"Hi, mama." William joined them, Allie right behind him. "Can I get a piece of pie?"

She chuckled. "We'll see what Miss Abigail has today."

"This is so good," William enthused a short while later as he inhaled his peach pie.

"I'm glad you like it," Abigail commented. "Are you sure you don't want anything, Elizabeth?"

"I'm sure. My stomach's just a bit upset this afternoon. I think I might be getting that bug that Rosemary and Catie had."

"Oh, dear. Would you like me to keep an eye on the children so you can go see Faith?"

She shook her head. "Thank you, but I'm fine."

"I don't want you to be sick," Allie murmured, her voice filled with concern.

"I'll be okay, Allie-girl. If I'm not feeling better by tomorrow, I'll go see Nurse Faith, okay?"

"Well, well, well," Jack's voice sounded from the doorway of the café. "If it isn't all of my favorite people."

"Dad!" Emma shouted.

Jack's heart warmed. He would never tire of that title. "How was the last day of school?" He asked as he pulled a chair up to the table and took a seat.

"Good. Miss O'Connell let us have an extra long recess!"

"Well, that sounds like a perfect last day of school. What do you suppose we can do with our first day of summer break tomorrow?"

"Um…" William put a finger to his chin as he thought. "We could go fishing!"

"And have a picnic!" Emma added.

"A picnic and fishing. I think we can make that happen. What do you think, Allie?"

"What about mom?" She looked at Elizabeth. "If you're sick, you can't come with us."

"You're sick?" Jack questioned. He knew she had been feeling a bit run down, but she hadn't mentioned any symptoms in a few days. "I thought you were getting over that."

She shrugged. "I'm fine. I told Allie that I'll go see Faith tomorrow if I'm not feeling any better."

"It's already been a few weeks of this, Elizabeth. I'm sure it's nothing serious, but I think you should go see her today. I'll stay here with the children while you go."

"Jack…"

"Please?" He took her hand. "I think it would give all of us peace of mind."

She sighed, finally relenting. "Fine. But I really think it's just a little bug." She stood. "Okay, I'll be back soon."

...

Jack jumped up when Faith stepped into the café. "Faith?"

"Just the person I'm looking for. Elizabeth wants to speak with you. She's waiting in the infirmary. I'll keep an eye on the children."

"Nurse Faith," William tugged on her coat. "Is mama okay?"

"She's fine. She just wants to talk to your dad for a minute." Looking back at Jack. "She'll explain everything."

Jack hurried to the infirmary, finding Elizabeth sitting on the bed inside. He filled with worry when he noticed her tears. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Faith said you were okay."

She shook her head. "She's right. There's nothing wrong. These are happy tears."

"Happy tears?"

"We're having a baby, Jack."

He froze. "Really?"

"Yes, really." She nodded. "She said it's still early, but she's pretty positive we have a baby on the way. I'm about two or three months along, so I'm due around Christmastime."

He closed the distance between them, lifting her into the air and spinning her around before setting her back down. "A baby."

"Our baby." She pulled his hands to her stomach.

His smile widened. "I told you he would come to us when the time was right."