The Wallace ranch - Cort had insisted it continue to be known by that name since he had his own adjoining spread with his Circle C insignia burned into the wood over the barn doors - was relatively quiet, although there was an air of expectant waiting hovering over the house. There were more horses than usual tied up out front and a hushed atmosphere.

Cort came into the kitchen carrying fresh water from the well and set the two buckets down by the kitchen sink as quietly as he could. Even with this extra care, he woke the brunette woman seated at the table with her head resting on folded hands. "What time is it?" Beth Brighton wondered aloud.

"About nine thirty," Cort answered softly. He shook the tea kettle, added some water to it and set it on to boil. "I'll make us some fresh tea. Should I see if Joe wants some, or Chrissie?" When Beth nodded, too busy stretching limbs cramped from several hours of sleeping sitting up in a kitchen chair, Cort tiptoed to the bedroom door and gave a soft knock. When Joe Brighton, Beth's husband, opened the door a crack, he whispered that some tea would go down fine for himself and for Chris. At Cort's unspoken question, Joe merely smiled and indicated that everything was going fine.

"Don't worry, he says," Cort scoffed to Beth when he was back in the large kitchen. He poured water into the tea pot, dangled the tea infuser into it and put the lid on the pot. "As if that would stop me fretting," he added. Seeing Beth's grin, he scowled, "What?"

Beth shook her head, remembering a month before when she had been in her sister's position and how Joe - even though he was a trained physician - had worried over her own delivery. "Nothing - it's normal for you to worry. Ask Joe about his state of mind when he delivered Marianne last month."

Cort's frown turned into a grin as he nodded, "I'll do that - didn't come off too well, eh?"

"He was a wreck," Beth admitted. "He finally realized he wasn't at all objective about it and got another doctor to assist him. That made it a lot better for Joe - he had to be professional with an older, more experienced doctor there to see his behavior."

"Well, yours seemed to go fine," Cort said, looking at the plump, rosy pink baby girl sleeping in the cradle near Beth's chair. "Marianne - she looks real healthy to me."

"Oh, she is," Beth agreed, bending down to lift the baby out of the cradle for a short cuddle. "I'd best check her diaper and then feed her," she said, and walked out of the kitchen to go to the bedroom she shared with her husband to tend the baby. Cort could hear the tiny girl cooing and then suckling noisily as she latched onto her mother's breast. His cheeks heated and he felt somehow too clumsy, too big and definitely too male to intrude even by listening, so he walked out onto the big porch and sat on the top step with his tea.

Beth found him there half an hour later. "Cort? Joe says you should come in now," she told him, then practically had to leap back out of his way as he bounded into the kitchen and flung open the door to the bedroom. Laughing, she closed the kitchen door behind him and began setting out the fixings for a celebratory noon meal. "Aunt Beth," she said aloud, and began humming as she worked.

Cort, meanwhile, was meeting his baby for the first time. "It's a boy," Dr. Brighton announced, and handed the blanket-wrapped bundle to his father. "A big, healthy one, too. You should be very proud."

Cort stared down at the red-faced infant in his arms, then up at his wife's smiling face, and back down at the small boy, who was staring back at him as if undecided how to react to this large person holding him. Deciding he wasn't sure about all this, he screwed up his face and let out a yell that startled his father into almost dropping him. "Here," Cort said anxiously passing the baby to Chris, "You'd better do this - I'm likely to drop him on the floor."

"Oh, you would not," Chris informed him, then contented herself with studying everything about the marvelous new person who had come into their lives. Joe tiptoed out while Cort settled gingerly on the edge of the bed and joined his wife in examining the baby. "Isn't he perfect?" Chris asked Cort, smiling at him with glowing eyes.

Cort looked at the rather lumpy features and red face, the reddish-blond hair standing up in clumps almost like the crest of a rooster, and cleared his throat, "Er, yes, I'm sure he's perfect." If you say so, he thought. Maybe he would be better looking when he was grown a little. "He's, uh, kinda red in the face, isn't he?"

Chris burst out laughing and assured Cort that the color was temporary, and that the baby's features would smooth out in a day or so and he would, truly, be perfect. "He'll be as handsome as his father," she told him.

Startled, Cort glanced into the mirror on Chris's dressing table. "Handsome? You think I'm, uh, handsome?" It wasn't something he'd ever thought of in connection with himself. He thought he had passable looks, and let it go at that, usually.

"Of course you are, silly!" Chris held the baby to her bosom, parted the neck of her white batiste nightdress and offered him her nipple. When he latched on greedily, she winced, but gamely continued letting the baby nurse. She knew in a few days her nipples would be less sensitive and it wouldn't hurt then, so she would just bear up and enjoy the closeness in the meantime, putting the discomfort out of her mind. "He's strong - like you," she told Cort.

Cort grinned, felt his face redden again, and shook his head at himself. "Ahem, erm, so uh, what are we going to name him?" Truly, he had forgotten all the names they had talked about during Chris's pregnancy. Everything seemed to have flown right out of his head. "Hiram - was that one name?"

"I should say not - Hiram - the very idea!" Chris scoffed. "We talked about my father's name, remember?"

Cort nodded, relieved, "Oh - right - yes - so he's going to be James?"

"James David Cortland," Chris answered firmly. She looked down at their son with love, "Welcome to the world, Jamie David."

Cort moved to sit beside his wife, draping an arm around her to look down at their son with her. "Yeah - welcome to the world, little boy. We love you a lot already."

"Indeed we do," Chris agreed. She leaned back so she rested more closely against Cort's body, "Life is perfect."

And it was.

The End