Chapter 323 – Church with the Girls

Sunday morning got a little busy as the girls didn't want to leave, since Elizabeth was staying home with the twins.

"Beth, honey." Elizabeth said. "If I was able to take the twins to church I would go. They are too small to be around that many people. Dr Carson wants to keep them safe and that means keeping them home for a bit. I want you to go to church with Daddy. There are so many people excited to meet you. You might even meet some of the kids that you will be going to school with. Can you do this for me please?"

Little Beth looked at Elizabeth and despite the pout on her face, she nodded. Kate took Little Beth's hand and picked up Sarah.

"They will be okay." Kate said.

"I know." Elizabeth said. "I just feel bad. If they are uncomfortable, you can sit in the back and then politely excuse yourself afterwards, but try to let Jack introduce them to people."

Kate nodded. Jack and Albert each drove one of the cars in to take the group to church. Elizabeth Rose volunteered to stay back with Elizabeth and the twins. She said she was tired so it was fine and to pass along her apologies. Jack felt bad about leaving Elizabeth, but she promised that it was okay and one of them needed to go. She wanted to, but there was no way that they could take the twins. Jack understood. He just wasn't sure that he could hold his temper if Florence started in on him. There was a part of Jack that was glad that Wynn and Dee were there, because that might deter Florence just a bit.

… … … …

After everyone left, Aunt Elizabeth cleaned up from breakfast while Elizabeth tried to feed the twins again. She had really wanted to go to church, but she knew that there was no way that she could sit there and that it would be disastrous to take the twins. She understood why Carson was wanting to limit contact with them until they were a bit bigger. If she were honest, she was actually afraid to take the twins anywhere.

As Aunt Elizabeth turned around, she saw the look on her niece's face as she looked at little Amber in her arms. She felt for her niece. She knew what it was like to have a newborn and her own were never that small.

"It won't always be like this." Aunt Elizabeth said.

"What?" Elizabeth said, looking up.

"I said it won't always be like this." Aunt Elizabeth said. "You know keeping them home is for the best right now with how small they are."

"I know." Elizabeth said. "But it doesn't make it any easier. I am worried about the girls, I wanted to be there to introduce them to people."

"Jack can handle that." Aunt Elizabeth said. "The girls love him and he had a whole group of people there to help him. Wynn, Dee and Patty know plenty of the residents and it will help that Frank, Abigail and Rune have already met the girls."

"I know." Elizabeth said. "But there is also the missing church part. I know that there is a lot going on in town. I had wanted to be there to support Frank, Abigail and Carson. Today is really going to be the first day that Carson is really going to be interacting with the townspeople. We missed church last weekend because of just having the twins. Faith said that Carson has been hiding and won't officially be in the infirmary until tomorrow. He was at the cafe for a few days to help Abigail, but stayed in the kitchen and wouldn't talk to anyone."

"Oh." Aunt Elizabeth said. "I look forward to meeting the man. Wynn and Jack speak highly of him. I mean I understand from my understanding you wouldn't be here and neither would the twins if he had been here."

"I know." Elizabeth said. "Which is why I wanted to be there to support him. From what Jack has said, he left medicine because his wife died on his operating table while Carson was trying to save her. Then his sister-in-law has caused trouble saying that Carson murdered her when he was clearer of any wrongdoing by the medical board. Amber had a brain tumor and understood that surgery was her only hope despite the risks."

"Oh, I am so sorry." Aunt Elizabeth said. "I can see why you would want to support him, but you still can by praying for him."

"I have been praying for him." Elizabeth said. "But I wish I could be there to stand with him. I know that I am alive and have my children because of him. I am also afraid that Florence or one of them is going to push Jack too far. He was pretty hot when he heard that Florence had been running her mouth off again and was saying some pretty horrific things about not only Carson but us."

"Wynn and Dee will keep him in check." Aunt Elizabeth said. "Also, I doubt that Patty is going to allow anyone to talk bad about you guys or the people that you find important."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Can you keep an eye on the twins?" Elizabeth asked. "I am tired and want to lay down again."

"I can do that." Aunt Elizabeth said. "I was going to sit and read. If you don't want to get up, I can give them bottles."

"We will see." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth got up, gave her aunt a kiss and then took Amber to lay her in the bassinet in the living room. Andrew was soundly sleeping propped up in his own bassinet. Elizabeth gave him a kiss and then went to her room. She wasn't as much tired as she was upset and didn't want to cry in front of her aunt again. She was afraid for her friends. She knew that Florence had a sharp tongue and there were people who listened to her. As much as Elizabeth knew that Frank and Abigail could stand up for themselves, she didn't want Florence to be able to plant the seeds of doubt in people's minds about Carson. Elizabeth wanted Carson to stay and have a community that supported him if his sister-in-law tried to cause trouble again.

… … … …

When Jack and the group got to church, he took Little Beth's hand and had her walk in with him while he carried Sarah. Wynn and Dee walked in right behind them, while Patty, Kate and Albert followed. Albert chose to stay in the back while Patty and Kate were going to sit with the ladies. Jack led them to where he usually sat with Abigail and Cody. Abigail greeted everyone and introduced Cody to the girls. Frank saw from where he was standing by the piano. He smiled as he saw Jack. He also understood why Elizabeth didn't come with.

What Jack didn't really notice, but Wynn, Dee and Patty immediately picked up on where the looks that they drew as Jack walked in alone and with two little girls. They knew that there would be lots of questions, but they knew that Jack would be able to help him. They still felt bad, but knew that Jack was strong. They knew that they had to stand with Jack, but at the same time they didn't know what they could say. Wynn realized that they should have talked about it before, but he wasn't thinking.

Dee tapped his father's arm and then leaned over.

"Just relax." Dee whispered. "We will deal. Albert is in the back. We are both arms. There is no danger."

Wynn just nodded and tried to school his features. He knew why Dee had said what he did but at the same time, that wasn't what he was thinking, but must have let it show on his face and Dee couldn't tell the difference in the moment. Wynn looked over and smiled as Little Beth had insisted on sitting Abigail's lap and the look on Abigail's face was priceless. He knew that she was a wonderful mother and couldn't wait for them to have their baby. He then thought about his own wife and the old pain started to creep in. Little did Wynn know that his world was going to be flipped upside down in a matter of days.

Frank called everyone to gather as Cat played the opening song. Cat played Blessed Be the Tie that Binds, Wynn had a hard time focusing on the song as his thoughts swirled. His heart was heavy with sadness and longing. He wanted more children and he didn't want to disappoint his wife, but at the same time he knew that the chances of them adopting a child was slim, but at the same time he wanted to hold out hope. He wished there was more that he could do, but he knew that their age and his job were major factors against them.

Wynn wasn't the only one lost in their thoughts. As Abigail stood there with her hand on Little Beth's shoulder, she was also lost in thoughts of having a little girl. She was starting to get excited, but wanted to be cautious at the same time. She didn't want to get her hopes up, only to have her heart ripped out again. She didn't think that she could handle that. She also felt it would rip her and Frank apart like it had Mary and Christopher. She looked over and saw Mary and Dewitt with baby Matilda. She could see the happiness in their faces, but a closer look and you would see the bit of sadness in their eyes. Abigail closed her eyes and tried to focus. As she was listening to the end of the song, she heard clear as day someone say – trust and believe.

Abigail immediately looked around, but it didn't appear that anyone was looking at her or that would have even said that. Abigail dismissed it and again tried to focus on her husband. She shook her head and when Jack noticed, Abigail mouthed 'later'. Jack nodded, but wondered what had caused Abigail to be surprised. He knew that she and Frank had been surprised with their news, so he wondered what had just happened to have a similar look of surprise on Abigail's face. Jack dismissed it and went back to listening to Frank as he said an opening prayer.

Frank took the opportunity to preach on unity and acceptance. He cited three Bible verses, Galatians 3:28 – There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. John 13:35 – By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 1 Peter 3:8-9 – Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. Frank had wanted to call people out for the way that they were treating others, especially those new to the community, but decided to just talk about unity and acceptance instead. He wanted a united community and not one that was divided because some people bad mouth others.

Frank held his tongue and tried to preach a positive message. He also was happy about the news that he and Abigail had received. He wanted to share it, but he understood why Abigail wanted to wait. He couldn't wait to shout his news and he would wait for Abigail. Once Frank was done preaching, he took a seat for a few moments to let people have some quiet to think about what he said. After a few moments, Frank stood up again. He took a deep breath and went back to stand in front of the people gathered. He made a few announcements about upcoming things, including Lee and Rosemary's wedding the following Saturday, so the schoolhouse will be off limits to the public from Friday after school until the wedding. After the announcements, Frank announced the final song of Abide with Me.

The people started singing the song, Jack reached up and wiped a tear that had slipped from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help it, the song had always affected him since it had been sung at his father's funeral. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and picked up when they started the second verse. Dee put his hand on Jack's back as they sang to offer him some support. He wasn't sure what was going on, but at the same time, Jack had tried to be there for him the day before.

Once the song had finished people started to file out. Jack and his group sat down and took a seat for a moment. Abigail stayed with them, while Cody went to talk to his friends. Carson immediately came over to Jack's group.

"How are you doing?" Carson asked.

"Okay." Jack said. "Not my first time going without much sleep. But with additional adults in the house, it helps."

Jack took a moment to introduce Wynn, Dee, Kate and Patty. Carson nodded and shook hands with each of them. The only one that Carson really hadn't met was Kate, but he was grateful that Jack took the time to introduce everyone since he was unsure of Patty's name and while he knew who Wynn and Dee were, he was glad to hear their names again.

"Nice to see you again, Sir." Carson said.

"I said you didn't need to call me sir." Wynn said. "You are not one of my Mounties."

"Of course." Carson said.

"I hope that you feel comfortable enough to call me Wynn." He said. "Especially since I am indebted to you for saving my niece and her children."

"Glad I was there." Carson said.

Carson then turned to look at Jack again.

"So who are these two little cuties?" Carson asked.

"Carson." Jack said. "Please meet my daughters Beth and Sarah."

Jack then took Beth's hand.

"Beth, honey." Jack said. "I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Dr Carson Shepherd. He was there when your brother and sister were born."

Beth smiled shyly at him, but stayed by Jack's side. Sarah clung to Jack's shirt.

"Do you like your brother and sister?" Carson asked, squatting down to Beth's level.

"They are small." Beth said, softly.

"I know." Carson said. "But they will start to grow and get bigger soon. I can't wait to get to know you better. I will see you later."

Beth waved bye. Jack tried to get Sarah to wave to Carson, but she just wouldn't.

"It is okay." Carson said. "It can be overwhelming meeting so many people. When I come out this week, if they are there, I might do a quick exam just so I have something to go off of if there are problems down the line."

"Sounds good." Jack said. "I will send a wire and check about getting medical records sent. I will let you go. I am sure that you have many people who want to talk to you as well."

"I should have them in my messenger bag." Wynn said. "I will get those to you this week, if not they will be there when you come out. We will not keep you as Jack said there were people you probably wanted to talk to."

"I am sure that you do as well." Carson said. "But I just wanted to say hi and see how you were doing. I will see later and I will come out to the house this week. I am thinking maybe Wednesday."

"Sounds good." Jack said. "Let me know."

"I will." Carson said.

Carson nodded to everyone before he left. After Carson left, Jack looked at Abigail.

"How are you doing?" Jack asked.

"I am okay." Abigail said. "Been busy. Sorry I haven't been out to check on you."

"Don't worry about it." Jack said. "We all understand. We are still trying for a routine, but things are going better. Elizabeth is getting a little more sleep as we are letting her sleep for four or five hours at a time and giving the twins a bottle in between."

"Good." Abigail said. "Please let me know if there is anything that you need."

"I will." Jack said. "Aunt Elizabeth has been helping at the school and has plans to continue to do as much until the new teacher she has coming gets settled in. Then I am sure if she is not needed at the house, she will come help you. I am sure Patty will come help as well. We kind of took the weekend to let everyone settle and then I think we were going to look at creating a schedule of who was going to help with the twins, so other things can get done."

"Tell her that I am grateful for her help and to stop at the cafe when she has a chance." Abigail said. "That sounds good, but just remember that the babies will not adhere to a schedule and trying to force them will only hurt everyone. I get feeding them every two hours, but that will change as well."

"I will." Jack said. "And I know. But I need something."

"Just remember to be flexible." Abigail said.

Jack just nodded.