Elizabeth Thornton drove her eight year old son, Seth to his father's apartment in Denver for his weekend with him.

She hated those weekends when she was alone. She felt like nothing was right until Seth was asleep in his bedroom next to hers or playing with his legos in the living room or eating his fruit loops at the bar in the kitchen. But it was the terms of their shared custody arrangement. Jack had Seth two weekends a month and either Thanksgiving or Christmas and for a month during the summer.

She rubbed her swollen tummy, feeling tiny kicks from the babe within. She couldn't hide it anymore. She needed to tell Jack today. They had lost their minds one night, five months before and poof, she was about to be a single mother of two. Definitely not how she thought her life would turn out.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Are we almost there?"

"Yep. Almost."

"Is Nanna gonna be there?"

"Well, she lives there too so I imagine she will be."

"Good." Charlotte Thornton lived in Jack's large apartment in downtown Denver ever since her husband died the year before and Jack and Elizabeth's divorce was finalized. She said it was just until she found a house of her own but so far, she seemed content. Plus, she got to see Seth when he visited.

Elizabeth found a spot on the street only about a block from Gowan Towers. "Okay, bud, grab your bag and Champ and we will head up." Seth grabbed his stuffed black dog and his backpack and took her hand.

They walked to Gowan Towers and she pushed the buzzer for apartment H27.

A moment later, a second buzzer sounded and the door unlocked letting them inside. Elizabeth let Seth push the up button on the elevator and then the number 8.

"Up we go," she said with a smile. He smiled up at her, his dimples that matched his father's in full view.

As the floors passed by, her nerves assaulted her. Telling her ex-husband that she was pregnant seemed worse than scary but it was time.

Seth knocked on the apartment door. A moment later, Charlotte answered.

"Well, if isn't Seth!" she said, squatting to accept his hug.

"Hi, Nanna!"

"Hi, there. I've missed you."

"I missed you too!" He ran into the apartment leaving Elizabeth and Charlotte.

"Hi, Elizabeth."

"Charlotte. How are you?"

"Right as rain. Come in. Jack will be out in a moment. He's just taking a quick shower."

"Okay. Um, Charlotte, would you mind keeping Seth busy for a bit while I talk to Jack?"

"Sure thing," she told her, handing her a cup of coffee.

She took it, but didn't drink it. Only one cup a day and she had hers in the early morning.

Jack walked out in a pair of dark jeans that fit him perfectly and a gray Henley. Her face heated. She had never gotten over him. Not by a long shot.

Charlotte slipped out of the room.

"Beth."

"Jack. You going somewhere?"

"No, Faith is coming over." He grabbed a cup of coffee himself and added cream and a spoonful of sugar.

"That nurse from the hospital?"

"That's right," he mentioned. Elizabeth stood, giving him a view of her tummy. His eyes got bigger and then went back to normal. "Seems you have something going on yourself. Charlie's?"

"No! Of course not. She's yours."

"She...mine?" he said, choking on his coffee. "Not possible."

"Did you forget about that night I stayed? Five months ago?"

"I thought you were on the pill."

"You didn't ask but I stopped taking it when you moved out."

"I can't believe this! Why did you keep this a secret?"

"Because I didn't know how to tell you. I don't want to fight, Jack. That's all we've done for years it seems." He couldn't deny they'd had a rough time, but not telling him about the baby she was carrying...inexcusable.

The doorbell rang. "Its Faith. I'll see you Sunday when I bring Seth home."

"You don't have anything else to say?"

"You have had five months to come to terms with this. I've had five minutes, Beth."

The doorbell rang again. Jack opened the door and gave the beautiful blonde a hug. Then he stared at Elizabeth, asking her to leave silently.

She shook her head and walked out the door.

Jack shut the door and gave Faith a smile. "Was that…"

"My ex-wife," he confirmed. "She was just dropping off Seth for the weekend."

"She was pregnant."

"Yeah," he told her.

"Yours?"

"Apparently."

"But you've been divorced for a year."

"Faith, this doesn't change anything. You and I…"

"Um no. You and I can't be together. You're having a baby with your ex-wife, Jack."

"It wasn't planned. She just told me, Faith. It happened before you and I started seeing each other."

"You're not over her, Jack."

"Of course I am." But he wasn't. He knew it.

"She's what...five, six months? I'm sorry, Jack. This is way too much drama for me."

Jack watched yet another woman walk out of his life. At least he hadn't been in love with this one.

"Daddy? Is Miss Faith here?" Seth got along with Faith very well.

"Hi, bud. No, she isn't here. It's just you, me, and Nanna." Jack knelt to his son's level. "How does pizza sound?"

"With ham and pineapple?"

"Of course."

"And cheesy bread?"

"Lots and lots."

"Awesome!"

When Elizabeth arrived home to the house she and Seth shared with Julie, she headed straight in to take a hot shower and put on her stretchy pants and Jack's old Bronc's T-shirt.

Julie was sitting on Elizabeth's bed when she emerged from the shower. "Good grief! You scared me to death, Julie!"

"Sorry. How did it go?"

"What?" she asked, stalling.

"Jack. Telling him about "little miss" in there?"

"First he asked if it was Charlie's."

"Idiot."

"Thank you and then he basically told me he needed time and let his girlfriend in."

"Girlfriend?"

"Faith. A nurse from the hospital."

"Didn't take him long to move on."

"I guess not." Elizabeth wandered to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of salt and vinegar chips and a pint of chocolate chunk ice cream. She needed comfort food. She grabbed a spoon and headed to her big, soft recliner and put her feet up.

"90210?" Julie asked.

"Absolutely. I need a soap opera to take my mind off my hopeless situation."

"You're not hopeless. You know I'm here and Mom and Dad and Vi. We will help whenever we can."

"I know." She put a chip on top of the spoonful of ice cream and took a bite. After swallowing, she continued. "I just never thought I'd be a single mother. I thought Jack was my partner. Forever, you know?"

"I know. You guys were young though. And with med school and his residency...you never communicated."

"Not to mention him accusing me of having an affair with Charlie."

"Yeah. There was that."

"It was the last straw, Julie. It wasn't good for Seth. It wasn't good for me or Jack. We couldn't make it work."

"But you still love him."

"I always will."

"No, I mean, you're not over him."

"Sure I am," she said, stuffing a chip in her mouth, savoring the salty vinegar flavor. Heaven.

"You are wearing his Denver Broncos t-shirt."

"So?"

"You're carrying his baby."

"Yes, well, that wasn't supposed to happen. We got carried away."

"You wear his ring on a necklace around your neck."

"Yeah," she said, touching it. "He looked so good today. Dark jeans that hugged him….good grief, I'm so hopeless."

"You're human."

Jack's apartment

"You're human, son," Charlotte told him.

"I'm an idiot! A daughter, Ma. We are going to have a daughter."

"I've always wanted another girl in the family."

"Not helping."

"Sorry. I love my grandbabies. Between Tommy's four kids and your two, I'll have six! I couldn't be happier."

"I don't know what I'm going to do."

"You will do the right thing, Jack. Your father and I raised two upright, responsible men who know how to treat women."

"If Dad were here right now, he'd say, 'Well, seems you got yourself into a pickle, now didn't you?' "

"Actually, he would tell you that he knows you are just as in love with that woman as you were the day you married her."

"Funny, Ma."

"I'm not joking."

"Ma, you're wrong!"

"No, I'm not and I think she still loves you too."

"How do you figure?"

"Because, Jack, neither of you would be in this situation with a baby on the way if you weren't. You don't go around sleeping with women. You are faithful to one."

"I said vows, Ma. I definitely didn't take those lightly. We just got lost. With med school and my residency. We stopped talking."

"So talk to her now. Find each other again. Hearts open wide this time."

He didn't even know where to start. It was a long way back.

Sunday evening

Elizabeth opened the door when she saw Seth walking up the sidewalk. "Hi, honey!"

"Hi, Mommy!" He hugged her hips and then walked past her. She looked at Jack who stood on the bottom step, looking uncomfortable but full of things he wanted to say.

"Do you want to come in?"

"Yeah. I brought you something," he said, handing her a bag from the grocery store.

"Yum! Watermelon. I love watermelon. Thanks."

"I remembered when you were carrying Seth, you ate it all the time."

"Yeah. It's so good." He followed her to the kitchen and sat at the bar. "What's on your mind, Jack?" she asked, dishing out the red, juicy fruit into a bowl.

"We should talk about our situation."

"I agree."

"What are your plans, Beth?"

"Regarding what?"

"The baby? I mean...are you going to stay here?"

"In my home? Yes, I'm staying here. Where else would I go?"

"The city?"

"Denver? No, I can't afford Denver. Especially with two kids. I pay half the rent here with Julie. We are just getting by with your child support and my royalties from my books."

"How is writing going?" he asked.

"Good. I'm writing my manuscript for book 3 in the Mounties of the North series."

"That's good, Beth. I'm proud of you for working on your dream and making it happen."

"Wow, thanks. I didn't know you felt any certain way about it."

"I should have told you. I apologize. I should have told you a lot of things."

"Our situation is both our faults, Jack."

"Yeah. I know."

She walked to the fridge and took an ultrasound photo off and brought it to him. "I thought you might want this. It's from a few weeks ago when I found out she was a girl."

He looked at the fuzzy black picture, taking in the arms and legs and head of his daughter. "Thank you." He stood and ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess I should be going. I'm working at ten."

"PM?"

"Yeah. Ten to ten."

"Long hours."

"Yeah." He looked at her and took a step closer, almost as if he wanted to touch her but then he stepped back. "See you, Beth."

"See you."

He walked to the door and she followed. "Beth, if you need anything...please ask."

"We will be fine."

"I know, but please."

"Alright." They both knew she probably wouldn't.

The tension between them was thick. Gravity seemed to be pulling them towards one another regardless of how hard they resisted. It was almost painful.

"See ya." Jack said as he turned to leave.

She whispered a bye as she watched him step into his car and drive away. How could her heart and soul ache so much for a man that hurt her?

No, he'd never abused her, or cheated on her. They grew apart, and somewhere along the line he stopped trusting her. That cut deep, too deep.

A block away, Jack sat silently in his car. His hand trembled as he stared teary eyed at his daughter's ultrasound.

His mind drifted back to that night five months before. Elizabeth had dropped Seth off just before dinner. The little boy begged her to stay. Jack didn't want to disappoint his son, or make it seem like he and Elizabeth were enemies, so he invited her to stay for dinner and the Lego movie. Seth's favorite.

After he was asleep, Elizabeth went to leave. Jack walked her to the door but instead of letting her leave, he found himself saying whatever he had to to keep the conversation going. They were good that night. Smiling and laughing, not fighting. He missed her, not that he would admit it to anyone.

They'd been divorced almost four months. The hurt and pain still there, but Jack internally knew he had been wrong. This beautiful woman had loved him. She never would have cheated. And yet he had accused her of such a betrayal, repeatedly.

He never apologized for it. The way he'd seen it, his surgical residency had been kicking his butt. His mind wasn't as sharp when it came to home matters. What was he supposed to think when he found out his wife had been spending time with her childhood friend? She'd said she'd told him about it well beforehand but he couldn't remember. Too late now, he'd thought. Or was it?

He sighed, then wiped away tears he hadn't realized he'd cried.

"I miss you, Beth. So much."