Elizabeth woke and lay still beside her husband, enjoying the feel of Nathan's arm draped over her stomach, her back against his warm chest. They had gone to bed on uncertain terms last night, Nathan was quiet, and she was struggling to keep her secret plans from him. Part of her couldn't wait for him to wake so she could surprise him by wishing him a happy birthday; the other part wanted to snuggle against him all day.
Elizabeth knew he had been suspicious of her impromptu visit to Rosemary the night before. She avoided making eye contact while cooking dinner but could feel him watching her, trying to understand what was happening. He hadn't believed her explanation of remembering something she needed to tell Julie, which was her fault. She didn't like to lie, especially to him; the words had felt awkward on her tongue as she said them.
He would understand when he woke, and they told him the plans for his birthday and the days away from Coal Valley. Rosemary and Julie had been so supportive when she had dashed to their home the night before. Rosemary was delighted to teach lessons and had promised to send Telegrams to Gabriel Kinslow and Ronnie Stewart. Julie offered to speak to Bill about covering Nathan and Ned for supplies to travel with.
Elizabeth knew with Rosemary and Julie arranging their visit to Brookfield; everything would be smooth sailing. All she had to do was convince Nathan to have dinner at the Cafe. Once he knew the word was out it was his birthday, he would try and avoid any fuss or bother.
She smiled as she felt Nathan stirring behind her, content to lie still until he woke fully. Elizabeth felt his arm tighten on her waist as he tried to pull her closer than she already was.
"Good morning," Nathan murmured against her ear.
Nathan's warm breath sent shivers through Elizabeth, especially when combined with his voice, still husky from sleep.
"Good morning," she whispered, reaching up to place her hand on his cheek. She stroked his face lightly, feeling the roughness of the stubble on his usually clean-shaven skin. Rolling over, she lay on her side, smiling at him; she loved how relaxed Nathan was when he first woke up.
"Happy Birthday, Nathan," she said softly, grinning when his eyes went wide and his hand, resting on her hip, tightened briefly.
"How did you know?" Nathan said, bemused, "I hadn't even thought of it." Nathan didn't pay much attention to his birthday; his family never fussed about these things growing up. In years gone past, he had only remembered when he received a gift from his mother, which he realised he hadn't received this year. At least now, Elizabeth's strange behaviour over the last few days began to make sense; she had been hiding something from him.
"A package arrived for you from your mother, and Colleen told us what she thought it was." Elizabeth bit her lip before asking, "I hope you don't mind we kept it from you; it was for you, after all."
"I don't mind," Nathan said, kissing her forehead. "Is my birthday the reason for your last-minute visit to Rosemary and Julie?"
"Yes," Elizabeth said, a teasing smile on her face, "but I am not ready to give you any details about that yet."
As Nathan started to persuade her to tell him, his words were interrupted by his sister's voice outside their room.
"Allie, No!" Colleen exclaimed, "It's too early to wake them up."
Elizabeth giggled as Nathan groaned.
"So much for a relaxing morning in bed," he grumbled good-naturedly. "It's okay, Colleen, we're awake," he called. He knew some might consider it wrong for her to join them, but they were both respectfully clothed, and it wasn't the first time Allie had crawled into bed with them. If she woke in the night, they encouraged her to disturb them instead of heading downstairs alone in the dark to her mother.
Seconds after he called out, the door burst open, and his Niece launched herself toward the two of them, landing on the bed between them. Nathan looked up to see Colleen leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, as she watched her daughter's enthusiastic birthday greeting.
"Happy Birthday, Nathan," Colleen said, laughing as she shook her head. "How about I head back down and start the coffee? You can drink it while you open your presents."
"That sounds perfect; thank you," he agreed. He wasn't used to being fussed over, but he wouldn't refuse an offer for coffee. As he waited, he carefully opened the card Allie had proudly held out to him.
The three snuggled under the covers as Nathan admired Allie's card. His praise was genuine; she had done a fantastic job drawing him and Elizabeth. Elizabeth praised Allie again for her work and told her of her plans to frame it.
"What other plans do you have, Elizabeth? I'm sure Allie would like to know," Nathan asked hopefully.
"I'm sure Allie would like to know, but it's a surprise, and everyone will have to wait," Elizabeth replied, screwing her nose up at him.
The morning went quickly; Nathan unwrapped his presents from his Mother and Colleen, delighted with their gifts. His Mother had knitted him a woollen jumper in a deep cornflower blue which would bring out the colour in his eyes. Elizabeth gave him her original gift, pleased it would go so well with the new jumper. Colleen gave Nathan a canvas bag, handy to use when outdoors, and he didn't have Newton and his saddle bags.
Rosemary and Julie came over after breakfast, bringing an envelope they handed to Elizabeth. Nathan raised his eyebrows and glanced at Julie, hoping for an explanation.
"Oh, no, Nathan," Julie exclaimed, "I'm not telling you what's inside the envelope. It's a surprise."
"You just need to be patient, Nathan," Rosemary said brightly, her statement causing everyone to laugh. Rosemary hated being left out of a surprise, and in Nathan's shoes, the suspense would kill her.
"You can have it later; I want to wait for the right moment," Elizabeth said, kissing his cheek.
Nathan grumbled good-naturedly. Elizabeth's eye's had lit up when Julie handed the envelope to her, and Rosemary's broad smile was a giveaway. It was something special.
By late afternoon, Nathan felt thoroughly spoiled despite not having received the envelope from Elizabeth. He admitted he was intrigued and delighted she had gone to so much trouble for him. Elizabeth told him they were having dinner at the Cafe and wanted him to wear his new shirt. Nathan shrugged; he didn't think about what he wore; as long as something was clean, he wore it.
Nathan was sitting downstairs, loading items into his new bag. He was still hoping to go for a ride with Elizabeth the following day and planned to take it with him. He heard Elizabeth call his name and looked over to see her standing at the top of the stairs, holding the envelope. Dropping the bag, and leaping up from his seat, he took the stairs two at a time, reaching her in seconds.
"You seem keen to find out what I called you for," she teased, waving the envelope around.
"Are you finally going to tell me the final surprise," Nathan asked, waggling his eyebrows.
"What makes you think this is the last surprise?"
"There's more!" he asked, alarmed. He wasn't sure how many more surprises he could take.
"There is, but I think you will like this one the best of all your presents, at least I hope you will," Elizabeth said, smiling shyly. "Come with me," she asked, turning, and walking to their bedroom.
As Elizabeth closed the door behind Nathan, she drew in a shaky breath. She had deliberately teased him through the day, and now the moment was here to reveal her plans, she wondered if he would be impressed or disappointed. She hoped Nathan would like this surprise.
"I know you have received presents from many people today, and I know you liked them all," Elizabeth said. "This gift is one I didn't order from a catalogue or the Mercantile. This is from my heart, and I hope you will be happy with it," she said, handing the envelope to him.
"Finally," Nathan joked as he took it from her. Despite his desire to rip it open, he paused when he saw her nervousness. "Whatever is inside this, Elizabeth," he said, holding it up, "I already love it because it is from you."
Nathan watched as Elizabeth nodded, her smile returning at last. He took her hand and led her to the bed, pulling her beside him. Turning the envelope over in his hand, he took a deep breath and tore it open dramatically, earning a laugh from his wife.
Nathan felt a lump form in his throat as he read the note from his wife. It wasn't a letter as he had guessed or an I.O.U for another gift. It was an itinerary. His mouth dropped open as he read the plan for their upcoming trip to Brookfield. Elizabeth had arranged everything from borrowing a wagon from the livery to accommodation, for Bill to take over his duties and for Julie to stay with Colleen. It was amazing. They would have five full days together, with no work or other distractions from each other.
"Say something," Elizabeth asked when he remained silent much longer than she expected him to.
"I'm not sure what to say," Nathan exclaimed, hugging her. "I was hoping to spend one day alone with you, and now, five!" Nathan couldn't wait until they could leave the following day; all he wanted was to start their trip.
Elizabeth hugged Nathan back, happy he was pleased with her gift.
"I can't believe you organised all this in a few days without me noticing," he exclaimed. "So much for my investigative skills."
Elizabeth laughed, "don't trouble yourself too much about that; Julie and Rosemary did all the organising after I told them my idea. You took one look at my face and knew I was hiding something."
"Thank you for this, Elizabeth. It's perfect," Nathan whispered. "How I am ever going to match this for your birthday."
"Well, before you start planning that, there is still another surprise," Elizabeth said, giggling at the face he pulled.
"It won't be as good as this one," he muttered, earning him a reproachful look.
"I planned a surprise party for you at the Cafe tonight," Elizabeth said. "We are expecting quite a few people to be there to celebrate your birthday with you so I can't cancel."
Nathan groaned, not hating the idea of seeing their friends but hating the idea of being the centre of attention. He much preferred to be on the sidelines than in the spotlight.
"I know, I don't know why I thought you would like it, but everyone is so excited to help you celebrate, and Abigail baked a cake..." Elizabeth rushed on to say.
"Did you say cake?" Nathan asked, smiling to let her know it was okay.
Nathan sat back, enjoying the last bite of his chocolate cake and sighed. It had been delicious, as the meal had been. Everything Elizabeth had chosen and Abigail cooked had been perfect. If she had asked him, he would have said no to a big party, but now he was there, he was enjoying himself. Nothing could spoil his mood with the trip away with Elizabeth to look forward to, not even everyone singing happy birthday to him before he blew out the candles.
He could see Julie sitting in the corner with Faith, whispering and gesturing as she showed her a piece of paper, he guessed it was a letter. Had she heard something? Was something wrong with Colleen, something they were concealing from him? He looked around for Elizabeth, wondering if she knew what was happening. When he couldn't see her, he decided to go straight to the source, Julie Thatcher.
"Nathan," Ned Yost called, "I have to say, I was baffled about the order you placed, along with Abigail's order." Ned chuckled, "But now I know this was a surprise party. It makes sense."
"I'm sorry, Ned, you're right; I had no idea what Elizabeth had planned," Nathan said, clapping him on the back. "I still need the order, though; we are riding to Brookfield tomorrow, and the food will come in handy for the trip."
"Of course, I have it put away for you," Ned confirmed. As he spoke to Nathan, he could see he was distracted and looked over his shoulder to see what had caught his attention. When he saw Nathan staring at Julie, he said, "She's probably telling Faith about the Doctor who's coming to Town.
"Doctor?" Nathan questioned, his attention snapping back to Ned.
"Oh, dear, I've said too much; I should have kept that to myself." Ned shook his head and started to back away. "You need to ask Julie to tell you about it."
"I'll do that, Ned. Thank you," Nathan said as he headed toward his sister-in-law.
Julie saw Nathan coming and knew there was no time to put the letter away, she knew she was caught, and there would be no stopping him until he knew everything.
"Before you ask, Nathan, this was all my idea. Faith didn't know anything about it. Neither does Elizabeth."
"Anything about what?" Nathan asked suspiciously.
"I simply do not believe there is nothing to be done for Colleen," Julie stated firmly, her chin rising defiantly. "I am determined to leave no stone unturned, to contact every Doctor I can to find someone with a new treatment."
"And have you had any luck?" he questioned as his eyes flicked to Faith, seeing her brow was wrinkled in concern.
"I have found someone willing to travel to Coal Valley to examine Colleen," Julie explained. "He is willing to review cases where others have said nothing is to be done."
"What does Colleen think about this, Julie?" Nathan asked, wondering why his sister hadn't said anything to him.
"I haven't mentioned this to her, I didn't want to get her hopes up, but now he is willing to come to Town; I will explain everything."
"What if she isn't interested in seeing him or hearing of his treatments?" Faith asked. Looking at Nathan with a frown, she said, "his treatments are unusual."
"Harmful?" Nathan asked urgently.
"No," Faith said hurriedly, "I should have said they are not traditional, but they aren't dangerous. The danger is in getting Colleen and everyone else's hopes up."
"I understand that Faith, and if Colleen declines, I will tell the Doctor not to come. He's waiting to hear from me before he travels here." Julie looked offended and said, "I am not going to do anything to upset Coleen. I only want to help."
"I know that Julie, and we all appreciate it," Nathan said kindly. Julie was right, just knowing there might be a chance for his sister had raised his hopes.
"So am I forgiven for the party?" Elizabeth asked as they got ready for bed, although she was sure she knew the answer.
"There was nothing to forgive; I appreciate you wanting to make a fuss of me, even if that isn't always what I choose for myself," Nathan said, wrapping his arms around her. "Besides, every time I felt overwhelmed, I reminded myself we have days and days of being alone together, starting tomorrow."
Elizabeth grinned; it really was the best present she could have given both of them. "I should point out; we are alone now," Elizabeth said, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Allie is fast asleep, and so is Colleen, who is all the way downstairs."
"And we are both wide awake," Nathan commented, smiling as he walked her backward toward the bed.
"Wide awake," Elizabeth agreed as her thighs hit the bed, and she tumbled onto the mattress. "I wonder what we can do with all this energy?"
"I'm sure we can think of something," he said, laughing as he crawled onto the bed, his body hovering over his wife. He stared down at Elizabeth, lying on their bed, her dark hair spilling around her face, her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling with laughter. He hadn't known it was possible to fall in love with someone more and more each day, but he did.
"Thank you for making today so special," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her. "But I need you to know every single day we are together is special to me."
"Me too," Elizabeth said. "I'm also looking forward to our time away. It's nice being able to visit Gabriel, and knowing you have someone you care about close by."
"Someone special is close by," he said, deliberately misunderstanding. Leaning down, he kissed her gently, inviting her to deepen their kiss. He felt Elizabeth's arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her, and he forgot everything but being there with her.
"Bye Uncle Nathan, Bye Aunt Elizabeth," Allie called out as they drove out of Town in the Wagon. She stood next to her mother and Julie as they also waved goodbye. She smiled up at her mother, who had tousled her hair as they stood side by side.
"So, Julie, when will you tell me whatever you have been hiding from me?" Colleen asked mildly, a smile on her face as she turned to Julie.
Julie's mouth dropped open, "how did you know?" she demanded.
Colleen laughed, "Julie, you are usually an open book; and you have been avoiding me. I saw you in a huddle with Faith last night, and every time I approached you, you stopped talking abruptly."
"Oh," Julie muttered, "and here I thought I was being so clever," she laughed. "It isn't that I was hiding anything from you; I just haven't had anything to tell you."
"Until now?" Colleen asked hesitantly.
"Until now," Julie said with a smile. "Let's go inside and make a cup of tea, and I will tell you everything."
Julie wrapped her arm around Colleen's shoulder as she held Allie's hand with the other, leading them inside.
As the two women sat together while Allie played in the sitting room, Julie explained about reaching out to doctors on her behalf. Julie showed her the letter from Dr Pearce, excited about his willingness to come to Coal Valley and examine Colleen.
"I will only reach out to him and ask him to come if you agree, Colleen. I don't want to do anything to upset you," Julie exclaimed. "I just wanted to help, and I will understand if you don't want to see him."
"Can I have some time? Time to read the letter and think about it?" Colleen asked quietly. "I don't want to...get anyone's hopes up."
"Take as much time as you need," Julie said, squeezing her hand. "Dr Pearce and I are not going anywhere."
