Jack quietly climbed out of bed and pulled on his britches. Stepping across the cold floor in his bare feet he placed a stick of wood in the stove and put the kettle on to boil.
Returning to the bedroom, he began his search for the missing sock.

"Where in tarnation did that blasted thing go?" he whispered to himself as he crawled halfway under the bed.

"Why don't you just get a clean pair from the bureau?" his wife replied.

Looking up over the side of the bed, Jack apologized. "Uh, sorry, did I wake ya?"

Pulling on her dressing robe, Mabel grumbled, "No, I have to go to the privy anyway."

"Marie says ya ain't supposed ta use the outhouse in yer condition, it ain't healthy." Jack argued as he continued searching through the bureau for his socks. "I'll get the chamber pot."

"It's full....again.....Jack! Look at the mess you've made! Your socks are in the top drawer!"

Ignoring his wife's mood, the marshal slipped the socks on his feet and carried the pot to the back door, tossing it's contents outside.

"Jack! That's disgusting!" Mabel protested.

"Now jis calm down woman, the rain'll wash it away."

Placing the chamber pot back in the bedroom, he closed the door to allow Mabel her privacy, and proceeded to make breakfast.
He was tired. Mabel hadn't been sleeping well, and her tossing and turning was disrupting his sleep. Jack had been getting breakfast and doing the washing up each morning before doing his rounds. The day before he had washed the laundry.... while Mabel supervised. He had no idea there was a law that said britches had to be hung upside down to dry.

The bedroom door opened and a very large Mrs. Craddock made her way to the table, with one hand on the small of her back she waddled across the room like a duck.

"How ya feelin'?"her husband asked.

"My back aches, my feet are swollen, I'm fat as a cow and I feel like throwing up. Does that answer your question marshal?" she snapped.

Jack finished his eggs in silence and placed the dishes in the sink. Mabel didn't touch her food.

"Ya gotta eat."

"I can't.....leave me alone."

"Marie says..."

"If I hear that name one more time I'm going to scream.... Marie says this, Marie says that....I don't care what Marie says."

Mabel layed down on the settee by the window, Jack placed a pillow under her legs, covered her with a blanket, kissed her forehead, and went off to do his rounds.
As soon as the door closed behind him Mabel started to cry.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Morning Jack", the corporal greeted him on his arrival. Clive was busy writing out a report on the gun runners they had arrested the night before. "How is Mabel this morning?"

"Same as yesterday....cranky. I wager she's gettin' tired 'a waitin' on this baby."

Bennett looked up from his report with sympathetic eyes. He knew Jack was going through a rough time at home. "How much longer?" he asked.

"Marie says more 'n a month yet."
Craddock sat at his desk with a fresh cup of coffee. Before long Clive's concentration was interrupted by the sound of the marshal's snoring.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A knock on the door woke Mabel from her nap.
It was Emma O'Brian. Dr. Dumont had introduced the women a few months back and they had become fast friends.
Emma was older than Mabel by about 10 years and was expecting her third child. It was her experience at having babies that had forged the bond between them, she took Mabel under her wing, and when she got scared Emma knew how to ease her fear.
They compared aches and pains, and laughed at the silliest things. Emma's baby was due before Mabel's and it seemed unfair to the younger woman that her friend seemed to be handling her condition with such ease.
After their usual chatter and some of Emma's homemade cookies, the conversation turned more serious.

"Emma, I think Jack hates me." Mabel said.

"Why would you think that?" the woman chuckled.

"I'm fat, and nasty. He tries so hard to be helpful, but all he does is get on my nerves." Mabel said through her tears.

"Having babies will do that," Emma reassured her. "It's worse for you because you feel so miserable and sick all the time. It's normal to take your frustration out on the person you're closest to. Unfortunately for Jack, it's him!" she laughed.

As far as Mabel was concerned the worse part of carrying a baby was not the swollen feet or the sore back. It was the chaos that went on inside her head. One minute she felt happy and excited, the next minute she was yelling at Jack, then she was crying, over what? she didn't know, and before long she would be laughing at something that wasn't even funny.

"Poor Jack, I bet he regrets marrying me. I'm worse than Joanna Radway. In fact, I bet he wishes he had married her instead of me." she paused for a moment before continuing.
" I can't tolerate Marie. Jack thinks she's God and I'm supposed to do whatever she says. What does she know about how I feel? She's never had a baby."

"Marie is the doctor, and whether we like it or not...we should listen to her advice." Emma replied. "For instance.. take me, Dr. Dumont told me to stop eating oatmeal cookies because I was gaining too much weight," Emma smiled, as she took another bite of the molasses cookie in her hand.
Mabel laughed. "And as for Jack marrying Joanna Radway, she's hateful enough now, imagine what she'd be like if she were pregnant! Poor Jack indeed!"

Mabel felt in good cheer by the time she said good bye to her friend. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Unless I'm busy doing something else" Emma smiled and patted her big belly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Marshal ! Marshal Craddock!" Wendell burst into the detachment. "The saloon has just been robbed!"

Jack sprang to his feet and wiped his sleepy eyes, looking towards the mountie's desk, he yawned "Where's Bennett, he was here a minute ago?"

"The corporal left to deliver the mail two hours ago."

"What! I ain't bin sleepin' that long!" Craddock reached for the rifle on the wall behind his desk. Loading the weapon and filling his pocket with shells he hurried out the door towards the livery. Wendell MacWherter followed behind, almost running to keep up. "How many where there Wendell? Zack and Diane all right?"

"Uhm, three I think. They headed towards Buffalo Creek...Zack and Diane are a bit shook up...."

"When Bennett gets back you tell 'im where I am."

The banker nodded. As the marshal road out of town MacWherter headed back to the saloon with a worried look on his face.

- - - - - -- - - - -

Mabel was bored.
She decided to get dressed and walk to the detachment to see if Clive had an interesting book she could borrow. Marie said she shouldn't walk far, but a short walk was good for her.
'Marie says' Mabel fumed to herself. Reaching for her hairbrush on the bureau, her eye caught the sight of a silver bracelet. Her mother's bracelet, the one she had worn on the day she married Jack. That seemed so long ago now. What a day it had been, so much fuss and confusion. Slipping it on her wrist she was suddenly aware of the time.
It was mid afternoon and she found it strange that Jack hadn't been home to check on her as he had every afternoon for the past few weeks. Up until now it always annoyed her, funny how today she missed it. Maybe he was sick of her, not that she blamed him. Mabel was sick of herself. She was a miserable old cow and she knew it. 'poor Jack' she thought to herself as she closed the door of the cabin and made her way to the detachment.
She met Sally Duffield on the boardwalk and stopped to chat.

"Did you hear the news?" Sally asked. "The saloon was robbed this morning. Your husband has gone after the scoundrel's who done it."

"Did Clive go with him?" Mabel asked, concerned for Jack's safety.

"No......well, I'm not sure really. He may have."

"Sally?"

"All right. Corporal Bennett was off delivering the mail when it happened. But he may have met up with the marshal on the trail because he hasn't returned yet."

Mabel bid Sally a good afternoon and headed back to the cabin.
At 5 'o'clock she was startled by a knock on the door. Marie cheerfully stepped inside carrying a pot of beef stew, Sally was with her, she supplied the biscuits. The two women talked continually while setting the table. They discussed the weather, the new dress Zack had bought for Diane from one of those mail order catalogues, and the fact that the price of flour was expected to go up.

Mabel listened to their rambling and understood their intention. She suddenly felt very guilty about her harsh attitude towards Marie that morning. She knew her friends were worried about the lawmen...and how Mabel was coping with the worry as well. Putting on a brave face, she sat at the table and ate a full meal for the first time in days.

"I'm so glad you both came over tonight, it's kind of lonely here without Jack." Mabel saw the concerned look the two women exchanged.

"Well...it's no fun eating alone. Is it Marie?" Sally said cheerfully.

"Absolutely not." the doctor agreed.

"You don't think he's coming back do you?" Mabel blurted out. "You think he's dead and you want to be here when Clive comes to give me the news."

Sally and Marie were speechless. They stared from one to the other, then back to Mabel.

"I have been so horrible to him, he probably wishes he was dead anyway." she cried.

Marie placed her arm around Mabel's shoulder. "Now Mabel, you must get control of yourself. A woman in your condition mustn't get upset."

As suddenly as the outburst had happened, it was gone. Mabel hated this feeling....it was how most women behaved..all worrysome and feminine. Jack had been away for days chasing down criminals in the past, of course she worried some, but she knew he'd be back. "I'll be fine, really. I'll just be happy when this baby is born and my life can get back to normal."

The truth was, she was worried sick about Jack...more worried than she had ever been before.