They were almost there. Only a few more hours until they were back where they belonged, Hope Valley. It had been almost eight months since they had first left for Jack's assignment. Not knowing exactly how long Jack would be away, Elizabeth made the decision to go on this journey with him. Little did they know at the time that they would be bringing an extra Thornton back home with them. The Thornton's had been at Jack's new posting for almost a month when Elizabeth discovered that she was expecting their first child. Excited at first, Elizabeth began making clothing and blankets for the baby while Jack built a cradle. Then reality sank in. How long would they be at this assignment of Jack's? Would they have to have the baby here? Hope Valley was hours away. Their family, their support system was hours away.

Then, two days ago, Jack was given permission to return home. Unsure about what to do, he spoke to Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, can I speak to you about something?" Jack asked with a worried tone.

"Of course, what's the matter?" Elizabeth could tell something was bothering him.

"So, I have good news and bad news."

"Go on, I'm listening." Confusion covered Elizabeth's face.

"Well the good news is that we were released to go back to Hope Valley."

"Jack, that's wonderful! We've been waiting months to finally hear that!" Elizabeth ran over to him and pulled him in tight. Jack's body was tense. She could tell that something wasn't right.

Elizabeth pulled back. "But there's something else. What's the bad news, Jack?"

Jack gracefully swept a piece of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Well, the baby is due in less than two weeks and I don't think we should be traveling in your condition."

Elizabeth did not hesitate. " Jack Thornton, I am not having this baby here if I can help it. I've prayed and prayed through this entire assignment that we would somehow make it back home before the baby came. This is our chance. We aren't wasting any time debating over this when we could be back in Hope Valley way before this child decides to make it's debut."

Jack began, "But what if…"

Elizabeth cut him off. "Jack, we're going home. Don't you want our loved ones to be there when the baby comes?"

Jack looked down at his wife, so full of joy and excitement to be returning home. How could he ever say no to her? "Absolutely. But I also want a healthy wife and child and I can't guarantee that out on the road." Tears began to form in Jack's eyes. He was torn. He wanted more than anything to jump on their wagon at once to return to Hope Valley so that they could be with their friends and family again. He also wanted to make Elizabeth happy. But then what about the baby? The little one was expected any time now. Could he risk the possibility of his wife going into labor on the road so that they could be back in Hope Valley once again?

Elizabeth gently reached up and touched Jack's face, her thumb caressing his cheek as one single tear rolled down to meet her hand. She wiped it from his face and then leaned her forehead against his. She whispered as she held back her own tears. "Jack, I trust you. You have always taken care of us and you always will. Whatever we face out on that road, whether it be looters or labor, we will face it together. Please…..take us home?"

And that was all it took. Now here they were, two days later, only hours from their final destination. Elizabeth couldn't wait to get home to see Abigail and even have some of her delicious blueberry scones. She had missed their evening talks over tea and meals at the cafe. And she couldn't wait to hear what motherly advice Abigail had been dying to tell her since the Thornton's had sent home a telegram of their news of Elizabeth's pregnancy. She had to admit, she even missed Rosie a little, but only just a little. And of course she was ready to see good ole Rip! Elizabeth was beaming with excitement. Not much longer now, she thought to herself.

Jack, sitting beside her driving the wagon, was just as excited as his wife. He couldn't wait to return back to his normal, quiet post in Hope Valley. He thought back to the time when he was aching for a bigger, busier city life, to get out of "boring" Hope Valley. "Boring" sounded pretty good to him right now. The past several months had been full of endless robberies, saloon fights, kidnappings, and gangs. He had even delivered two babies while on duty. The town he had been assigned to had been anything but "boring." But now his duty was over and they were finally returning home. After eight long months, they would finally be able to see everyone: Abigail, Frank, Bill, Charlotte, Lee, Rosemary, and even Rip and the rest of the townspeople. A smile spread across Jack's face. Not much longer now, he thought.

And that's when it hit. The snow was already falling to the ground as the wind began to pick up. The wind got faster and faster and the snow began to swirl around them. Before they knew it they could barely see ten feet ahead of them. Jack urged the horses to trudge on, their legs barreling through the snow that was steadily building up inch by inch. The wagon carried a little further before the wheels would no longer maneuver through the several feet of snow and the horses began to tire. Jack jumped down and tried leading the horses a few paces more. It was no use. The wagon was stuck.

Jack tried to remain calm. Where did this snow storm come from? He couldn't let his wife and child freeze to death. What was he supposed to do now? He had no other choice. He yelled back toward Elizabeth, the wind drowning him out.

"We have to unhook the horses and ride them back the rest of the way. We'll have to leave the wagon here."

Elizabeth's eyed widened. She yelled back at him, "Jack, we can't…"

Jack cut her off. "I know, I know. You don't want to leave all of our things behind, but we have to. We have no other…"

"No! Jack!" Elizabeth was now hunched over in the seat of the wagon. Jack moved around the horses to her side, noting that she was obviously upset.

"Elizabeth, I know you don't want to leave our things behind, especially the baby's things, but we have to get out of this…"

Elizabeth quickly yanked on Jack's arm to get his attention.

"Jack…I think my water just broke."