"And I love you Missus Pike, that sounds sortta odd, only Missus Pike I ever knew was my ma, rest her soul. This here was a right pleasant evenin', fine folks, all of them." He paused a moment. "Yep, been a long day at that. A good 'un, but long." He glanced at the staircase, treacherous at best, be that as it may, he scooped her up, all that material, and began the climb.

"Might not be the way you thought it'd be, but that's a threshold ahead."

Emeline gasped as he picked her up, then scrambled to gather the excess material of her train so that he didn't trip on it and end everything before it started!

"As long as we're agreed I'm not your mother!" she laughed, relaxing in his arms as she placed a kiss on his cheek. "We'll do this again, you know, but I'm glad we didn't have to wait until the house was finished."

There was still work to be done at the ranch, a few weeks, maybe a month, and then the house would be ready, and she was excited to see the finished result.

"I don't want to see it again until it's done," she commented, her head resting on his shoulder, "I want to be surprised." It was going to be something, to see it with real walls and paint, maybe a picket fence and some flowers...and inside...with curtains and some furniture...

As he made his way up the stairs without bashing her head into the wall or her legs into the banister, or dropping her altogether he smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "Oh, don't worry you won't see it again until it's finished." he promised.

Once to the landing at the head of the staircase he set her down holding her by the waist, "Ya, know, I might just have ta give up this lawman career. There'll be a plenty ta do on the spread with the herd that's comin', not ta mention yer horses an' all the other critters." He kissed her softly, though a more passionate kiss would follow soon enough. "Things 'er about to change, Em." With that he swept her up gain, opened the door of her apartment and carried her across the threshold.

Once inside he did not put her down, but kissed her with passion and meaning, for this was his wife, his future, and the beginning of their lives together.

Ya, know, I might just have ta give up this lawman career. There'll be a plenty ta do on the spread with the herd that's comin', not ta mention yer horses an' all the other critters."

Before she could reply to that, he kissed her, which was nice, and kept her from having to agree and admit that it frightened her that he was a deputy.  Yes, just about everything came with a risk, but there was no sense in seeking extra trouble!

"Things 'er about to change, Em."

"I know..."  He cut her off as he scooped her into his arms again, eliciting another giggling gasp.  Her arms wrapped around his neck and she rested her head on his shoulder, savoring these first moments of what she knew was going to be a long and happy time together.

She still had her arms around his neck when he set her on her feet, and she pressed against him as she kicked the door shut then kissed him again, this time with no holding back and no reservations.

"So," she murmured with a teasing grin, "how good are you at undressing a lady without tearing the dress that took her five months to sew?"

"Ain't fer tearin' nothing off, an' I 'spose we're about to find out how good I am at sech things as that. Just hope I ain't all thumbs when it come ta thet corset." But that was not how it went. Barnabas was no expert, not by a long shot at removing a woman's clothing, not one with all of the underpinnings he had to remove.

In his younger days there had been a couple, but a prairie dress was much simpler to remove than the wedding dress he now faced. But as he worked, the layers fell away, the dress itself he carefully folded with a 'Save this for our daughters ta wear.,' as he laid it carefully aside. And then layer by layer it fell away until all that was left was to remove his own attire and climb in bed with her, as he knew he would for years to come.

"So, that weren't all that hard now, was it?"

"You did a fine job, Mr. Pike." He'd taken such care, but then, she had found that the methodical process had her tingling with anticipation, and as she was not new to intimate relations, she was unabashed about being in front of him, nor shy of snuggling beneath the covers as she watched him undress almost as carefully as he'd undressed her, and she had to wonder if he was teasing her.

"Come to bed, husband." She giggled nervously, but she loved his man with all her being, and he was all she needed. "I want to make babies!"

Sunlight filtering through the place where the curtains met startled Emeline awake, and at first she tensed to jump out of bed and hustle downstairs -- if it was light already, she was late!

But then she realized that Barnabas was there next to her -- that he always would be there next to her -- and that there was no need to get out of bed until she really wanted to. And right now, all she wanted was to cuddle against her husband and bask in the feeling of being next to someone who made her so happy and whom she wanted to make happy as well.

Snuggling closer, nibbled on his chin, then rested her head on his chest, where she could hear his heart beating just for her.

A groggy Barnabas Pike turned toward her, with one eye partially open, and all but blinded by the daylight. "Are you some sortta camable gnawin' on my chin? Ya never told we 'bout that if ya are. Good Lord! The day's half gone already!"

This was a man often up with the sun or before, laying in bed with his brand new wife all snuggled up Then a heavy sigh escaped his lips, as he scratched his head. "Don't 'spose you plan on gettin' outta this bed anytime soon, do ya?" And with that he rolled toward her, moving his free over her. "Well then, guess ya jest fall victim to me." and he tickled her.