Chapter Thirty

"Make it stop!"

Jack had his hands over his ears, glaring at his mother and baby brother before stomping out of the room. Elizabeth had been reading a story to her older son when the baby awoke. Likely hungry and obviously in need of a new diaper, Thatcher had begun screaming at the top of his lungs. Jack, frustrated to have his special time with his mother interrupted once again, reacted by throwing the book on the floor and hurrying from the room.

Elizabeth cast a worried glance between the squalling infant and the retreating treads on the stairs. Both of her boys needed her attention right now, and neither of them could be put off.

"I'll take this one," Allie offered helpfully, leaving her own book on the settee and reaching to pick up the baby. "You stink, little guy," she told Thatcher matter-of-factly as she carried him over to the corner that they had set up for changing. The baby, distracted by his sister's teasing voice, stopped wailing, though a few more tears escaped to run down his cheeks. "You sure make a lot of noise for someone so little, you know that right?"

While Allie tried to tease and tickle Thatcher into a better mood, Elizabeth hurried up the stairs after Jack. Pausing outside his bedroom, she peeked in, watching her little boy bury his head under his pillow. Stepping inside and quietly closing the door behind her, Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed. When she placed her hand on Jack's back, he rolled away, scrunching his legs underneath him while keeping his head under the pillow. Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from chuckling at his little bottom now sticking up in the air, leaning instead to run her hand gently up and down his rigid back. After a moment, Jack flopped back down onto his belly, lifting the corner of the pillow just high enough to peer out.

"Why does he have to cry like that all the time?" he whined.

His question wasn't new, and it was something Elizabeth and Nathan had asked themselves countless times, particularly in the middle of the night. Thatcher was like every other baby—cute and snuggly one minute and a shrieking nightmare the next. That's why they're so cute Nathan had joked. So you can't help but forgive them for the harder moments. And at least this time she had someone to share those moments with. Compared to facing them alone like she had when Jack was a baby, that part of being a new parent was far easier. The difficulty now was finding a balance between meeting their newborn's needs while still keeping up with his older siblings'. It seemed to be an unending battle.

Sighing, Elizabeth continued rubbing Jack's back as she explained. "That's the only way he knows how to tell us there's something wrong. He can't do anything for himself yet, and crying is how he lets us know he needs our help."

"But it was supposed to be MY turn!" the little boy huffed indignantly, still pouting. "You fed Thatcher. You fixed the button on Aunt Julie's blouse. You helped Allie with her homework. Then we didn't even get to finish my story before he needed help again. It's not fair!"

Elizabeth reached out, gently tugging Jack out from under his pillow and snuggling him in her lap. "You're right," she admitted. "It's not fair. Thatcher does need more of everyone's attention, which means we can't give that consideration to you. I'm sorry."

"You make me and Allie take turns and share," Jack continued to pout. "Why doesn't Thatcher have to?

Elizabeth shook her head. "Because he's too young," she explained patiently. "You and Allie are old enough to know how to share and take turns, even if you don't always want to. Thatcher is just a baby." When he looked like he was getting ready to argue some more, she spoke again. "You know how sometimes you get sad when Allie is allowed to go out and do things with her friends and you can't?"

Jack sniffed, his lip jutting out even further. "Like last week, when Allie got to go to hiking but I couldn't?"

His mother nodded, hugging him close again. "And do you remember why Dad and I wouldn't let you go?"

"You said it was because I was too little… that I wouldn't be able to keep up with Allie and her friends. And because even though Robert and Opal and Emily and Harper all like me, this was her time with them." His words rang true, but his tone implied a fair amount of scorn and disbelief.

"That's right," Elizabeth replied. "Someday, Thatcher's going to have to watch you go out to play or go off on some great adventure while he has to stay home. Because you're the big brother and he'll have to wait his turn."

Jack heaved a deep sigh. "How long do I have to wait until I get to be the big brother?"

Elizabeth hugged him tighter. "You already are, sweetheart," she assured him. "You get to play outside with Allie and Dad. You get to eat cookies with Aunt Julie. And soon, you'll get to go to school! Baby Thatcher can't do any of those things yet."

Jack finally looked up at her. "So…. Thatcher is waiting his turn for some stuff… he just doesn't know it yet. But because he's little, we have to let him have his way most of the time?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "I wouldn't say most of the time, but he does need more help you do." She ran her fingers over Jack's round cheeks and kissed his forehead. "My little boy is getting so big and grown up. You don't need me as often as Baby Thatcher does."

"I'll always need you, Mama," Jack declared, wrapping his arms around her neck in a squeezing hug.

Allie got Thatcher changed and started pacing the floor with him. She paused periodically to point out shiny or colorful objects, watching as he focused intently on them momentarily before he started to wiggle and whine again. She placed kisses on his head, nuzzling the downy reddish-brown tufts of hair, and blew gently on his face, causing him to start and move his gaze to her. "You definitely have Dad's stare, you know that, kid?"

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

Allie turned, trying not to jostle the baby, to see her dad standing in the doorway. Beaming, she walked towards him. "Well, I think it's a good thing," she replied. "His hair looks Aunt Julie's, and his eyes are getting lighter blue like Mom's."

"He's got your ears though," Nathan pointed out. "They look exactly like yours did when you were this little."

"He and Jack seem to have the same temper," Allie added resignedly after a moment.

Nathan sighed. "Did Jack have another tantrum?"

She nodded. "He and Mom were reading a story when Thatcher woke up. Jack got upset and ran upstairs. She went after him while I got Stinky here changed. I'm trying to distract him, but we're going to need her to come down soon or we're all going to have our eardrums tested again."

"Here, let me take him," Nathan said, lowering himself into a chair so he could keep his arm propped up while he held Thatcher. "Why don't you go check on Elizabeth and Jack? Hopefully he's calmed down enough that he'll let you finish his story or want to go outside to play."

Allie carefully placed the baby on her father's lap but remained where she was standing as they heard Elizabeth and Jack coming down the stairs.

"Hi, Dad!" Jack exclaimed, grinning happily as he skipped into the room. "Mama and I saw you from my window. Can you play with me now so she can take care of Baby Thatcher?"

Nathan smiled, allowing Elizabeth to take the infant. "I would love that. What should we do?"

"Hmm…." Jack pondered aloud, his look of deep concentration causing his parents and sister to laugh quietly. The boy's eyes brightened suddenly. "Can you finish reading me my story? And then can we ride Sargant?"

Nathan reached down to pick up the book Jack had tossed aside earlier. "We can definitely finish the story, but we'll have to just visit Newton and Sarg. Dr. Carter says I'm not allowed to ride yet."

"But she didn't tell me I can't ride," Jack countered smugly.

Nathan chuckled as Jack scrambled eagerly into his lap. "That's true, she didn't. But until she says it's okay for me lift things like big, strong little boys, I'm afraid we're both going to have to settle for giving the horses treats and back rubs." Jack pouted with disappointment but didn't argue.

"It's been a few days since I was out to the barn, Elizabeth chimed in. "I'll bet Sargant is probably ready for a good brushing, don't you think?"

"But I can't reach without Dad's help?" Jack replied mournfully.

"I'll help you up," Allie promised. "We can move that big shipping container that Nana Grace sent all our packages in over to Sarg's stall so you can stand on that."

Jack's eyes lit with joy, and he nodded enthusiastically. "Can we go see the horses now?" he pleaded. "Maybe when we're done, Thatcher will let me have a turn to sit with Mama again and she can read the rest of my book with me!"

---

Nathan looked up from the report on the desk in front of his as Bill stomped through the door, the brisk fall breeze following him in. After another two weeks at home, Faith had allowed Nathan to return to restricted duty, so he had resumed the clerical part of his Mountie work while Bill continued doing rounds and breaking up the occasional fight at the saloon.

"Anything new and exciting I should know about?" Nathan asked as Bill helped himself to a cup of coffee and sank into the chair on the other side of the desk, his hands clasped around the warming mug.

"Nothing I can't handle," Bill replied, though he sounded a little tired. "Once a Mountie, always a Mountie."

"They can send someone to cover until I'm cleared for full duty," Nathan reminded him, earning a glare from the older man.

"I said I can handle it. No point in having someone else come out here when you're going to be right as rain in a couple more weeks."

Nathan was silent, debating whether to taunt his friend. "Don't want another unnecessary arrest case on your docket, huh?"

Bill scowled at him, but Nathan merely laughed.

"Any of those happen to be updates on the Fort Mudd investigation?" the older man asked, nodding towards the pile of paper on the desk between them.

Nathan shook his head. "Nothing yet, though I doubt they're going to tell me anything until it's all over."

"Which it really should be by now," Bill grumbled. He waited a moment before asking, "And how do you want it to turn out?"

Nathan leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the desk while he contemplated the question. "I honestly don't know. I don't want to be responsible for anyone losing their job, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have concerns," he admitted. "I worry that Hawke and Fiddler will turn out to be just like Andrew Hargraves- cruel, petty, vindictive, and condescending. Men like that give the uniform a bad name. On the other hand, I think Kelley and Branson could really excel under different circumstances. They just need to learn when it's okay to stand up for themselves. Like I said in my statement at the inquiry, some people are stronger leaders than others, and that's just how it is. I think, given the chance, Kelley and Branson would do just fine once they are on their own. Neither of them is looking to make their service into a competition. They want to do their jobs, to the best of their abilities, and will be content with that."

"Sounds like someone else I know."

Nathan shrugged but didn't reply.

"You think the four of them will all get the same consequences then?" Bill continued to query.

"I can't see how Collins and O'Reilly could spare some of them but punish the others. Branson and Kelley admitted to their mistakes. Fiddler and Hawke tried to pass the blame off on the others and onto me. The fact remains that they were all negligent, but for all we know, the investigator could decide that I should be held responsible."

Bill shook his head. "That's not going to happen. Even if the investigator is foolish enough to suggest it, Collins and O'Reilly aren't going to hold you to blame for what happened. You were the injured party, not the perpetrator."

"Well, we'll have to wait and see."

Bill looked down at the pile of papers that hadn't diminished much since he'd left on rounds, then at the man on the other side of the desk. "So why are you holed up here instead of heading home, anyway? You've got a beautiful wife, amazing kids, and a precious new baby waiting for you."

Nathan heaved a deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "I was basically forced out of my house this morning by Julie, Fiona, and Rosemary," he explained. "Apparently, today is supposed to be a 'Ladies Day'. They, along with Florence, Molly, Cat, and Ellen, corralled Elizabeth and Allie at the house for what they claimed would be a few hours of rest and relaxation- hair, face, nails, and all…that kind of thing. I'm guessing Opal and Emily will probably be there as well." He paused, shaking his head. "I'm not so sure how relaxing it will be with Thatcher there raising a ruckus; he's been pretty fussy the last few nights. And heaven only knows how Jack is going to feel about everyone being there."

Bill sat up, his face breaking out into a grin. "How 'bout I go rescue Jack from all the ladies?" he suggested. "We can have a 'Boys Day'. Go for a ride, get some ice cream, maybe try some fishing…".

"You'd better not elaborate that much while you're at the house, or Allie might decide she'd rather go with you and Jack," Nathan pointed out seriously. "I honestly don't know if she was excited for Julie and Rosemary's idea, or if she was just going along with it to make things easier on Elizabeth."

Bill chuckled as he started out the door. He paused just outside, turning back around to ask, "Should we stop and get you before we go for ice cream?"

"Of course!" Nathan pretended to be offended at the idea that he be left out.

Both Boys' and Ladies' Days were successful. Elizabeth managed to get her hair trimmed while everyone else tried to keep Thatcher entertained. Allie consented to letting Fiona show her a couple of new hair styles she could recreate herself for school, church, or social events. And Jack, who had only grudgingly come out of his room after Mrs. Montgomery offered him some freshly baked cookies, was thrilled to get to leave with his godfather. Everything nearly fell apart, however, when Bill brought him home. The little boy, excited about an afternoon with someone paying attention only to him and exuberant over the two fish he'd managed to catch, ran inside waving them. Julie, who had just walked into the kitchen with the leftover tea and cookies, screamed in terror when Jack presented his treasures to her.

"What's wrong, Aunt Julie?" Allie hurried in behind her. "Wow! Great job, Jack!" she exclaimed, stooping down to examine her brother's fish more closely.

"How…. You… You actually touch those things?!" Julie gasped.

"Of course," Allie replied, taking the fish and placing them on the counter before joining Jack at the sink to wash their hands. "Fishing's great!"

"But… how?" Julie asked, bewildered. "You just… sit there… on the ground… and wait for them to… jump on the hook?"

"Noo…." Jack answered, giggling. "We put worms on the hooks! When the fish eats the worm, it gets stuck on the hook!"

"But why… why did you bring them inside? Doesn't someone have to get them ready to cook?"

Allie nodded. "Yeah, that's usually Dad's job, but I know how, and he's still having trouble with his arm. These aren't that big. I'll take them outside and get them gutted and cleaned."

Julie beat a hasty retreat from the kitchen, only returning once Elizabeth had assured her that all the fillets were safely in the pan being fried and that the rest had been properly disposed of.

"I did warn you that if you spent any time with Allie and Nathan that there would be fish, didn't I?" Bill teased. After helping Allie with Jack's fish, he had stayed to clean his own catch and then joined Elizabeth in the kitchen to help prepare supper.

Julie huffed. "You did. I just thought you meant we'd be eating them regularly, not… all that."

Jack, his cheeks covered in crumbs, grinned at her with his brightest smile. "Do you want to come with us next time?"

Everyone tried to contain their mirth as Julie struggled briefly to find the right words.

"I… will have to think about it," she finally replied.

Jack beamed, clearly proud of himself.

"You can share my fishing pole, even though you're big. We can take turns."