"Does that hurt?" Carson asked, looking up at Nathan.

Nathan shook his head. "Nope."

Nathan was up on the examining table in the Infirmary. He had the right pantleg of his jodhpurs rolled up above his knee and the cast that had been in place for nearly nine weeks was gone. Carson had cut it off in order to make sure Nathan's bone had healed properly. He was fully prepared to put another cast on if it wasn't.

Elizabeth stood to one side and Faith was on the other.

Carson nodded, "Well, I'm impressed. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it. But," he said emphatically, "When you ride, you need to be more careful than you have been with the cast. I don't think you want to break this bone again and start all over."

Nathan exhaled. "I definitely do not want to do that."

Carson said, "And you'll want to walk. Some of those muscles have lost their strength while you were in the cast. You'll need to build them up again. But no running for a week or so."

Smiling, Nathan said, "Who's supposed to run after the bad guys?"

Carson raised his eyebrows. "You walk to Bill Avery's office and tell him to swear in some deputies, and we will run after the bad guys. Hopefully, none will roll into town this week."

Nathan laughed. "Thanks, Carson. I'll take it easy. Anyway, I have many hours of reports to file with Headquarters regarding your former Acting Constable. I'm sure he's already called them lodging a complaint against me, so I'll need to defend myself..."

Before he even finished his sentence, Faith, Elizabeth and Carson overlapped firmly, "We'll explain it to them!" and "Not alone, you won't," and "We want to lodge a complaint against him!"

Laughing again, Nathan said. "Thank you. This Constable feels very supported by the town of Hope Valley."

He reached out and took Elizabeth's hand, squeezing it tightly. He smiled silently at her, and she could read it in his eyes. This town just keeps amazing me.

Carson was wrapping a thick cloth around Nathan's knee and just below. "This is a compression bandage. It has rubber in it and will protect your knee from twisting. It's not like the cast. You can still do some damage if you do too much." Carson finished up and said, "Okay, let's see how it feels."

Nathan swiveled around, put his feet on the floor, and stood up. He was still wearing his tall riding boot on his left foot and now his right foot was bare.

Frowning, Nathan said, "We have a problem."

They all looked at him, concerned.

"My other boot is up in my house," Nathan said. "I probably shouldn't hop all the way home."

Carson said, "No, you shouldn't." He put his foot up against Nathan's booted foot on the floor. "Mine would be too small," he said, shaking his head.

Elizabeth said, "No problem. I'll just go up and get it."

"Do you mind?" Nathan asked, taking her hand again. "It's a long way to walk."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth smiled up at him, "Not at all." She was already getting her basket. "It's a beautiful night."

Nathan smiled and said, "Thank you," and then he leaned a little closer and whispered, "Angel. You're saving me again."

Elizabeth laughed and blushed a lovely shade of pink. By way of recovery, as she often did, she used her teacher voice. "And where is your boot?"

Nathan smiled, seeing the color come into her face. He said, softly, "It's just inside the front door. My other sock is inside it."

She had missed him so much. Without thinking, Elizabeth just leaned up and quickly kissed him. As they often did, they had both somewhat forgotten that they weren't the only ones in the room.

Not only were Faith and Carson in the room; they had watched the entire interchange while smiling ear-to-ear.

Elizabeth and Nathan looked over at the same time and saw Carson and Faith grinning at them. "What?" Nathan said, smiling.

Carson said, "Oh, nothing. Just that you remind us of..."

Both he and Faith said at the same time, "Us."

Nathan looked out of the door and made sure Elizabeth was on her way up to the row houses. He turned to Carson and said, "We should have about twenty minutes. There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Faith said, "Would you like me to go? I can run to the..."

"No," Nathan said. "I would appreciate it if you would stay. And I know that anything I tell you is confidential, correct?"

They both nodded. Carson said, "Absolutely. What is it, Nathan?"

"I'm going to give you the short version, and we can talk about it more later when we have time. It's just that I need to speak with Elizabeth about this and I feel I want more information before I do." Nathan took a deep breath. "My sister died at twenty-six as a result of infection and blood loss. She had given birth to a breech baby, who died less than an hour after he was born."

Frowning, Carson said, "Nathan, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," he said, pushing down the familiar pain of remembering. He needed to get through this. It's not a story he had told often in the time since it had happened. "I delivered the baby. And I was alone with my sister, with Allie in the other room at four years old, until the doctor could get there late the next day. Sarah, my sister, died two days after the birth."

A tiny gasp escaped Faith's lips, and Carson laid his hand on Nathan's shoulder. He exhaled and said, "I can't imagine how horrible that was for you."

Nathan took a deep breath. "The baby was big. I couldn't turn him. I couldn't stop the bleeding."

Carson looked closely at Nathan. "Those types of deliveries require special care even in hospitals, Nathan. You did everything you could."

Nathan looked up, haunted. "What if that's Elizabeth, Carson? I can't," Nathan shook his head. "I can't lose her."

Carson nodded, understanding the full scope of Nathan's question now. He sat down on a stool, and so did Faith. Nathan was sitting on the edge of the examination table.

Carson said, "You said you wanted information, and we don't have much time. Do you want to ask questions?"

Nathan sat up straighter. "Yes. How many babies have you seen born?"

Thinking, Carson said, "Sixteen? Yes." Nathan looked at Faith. She said, "Oh, I probably assisted on sixty or seventy, in the hospital in Hamilton."

Nathan asked, "How many lived?" Carson said, "Fifteen. All but one. Sometimes they're just not strong enough." Nathan released a breath and looked at Faith. She said, sadly, "All but three. But they were too early and very complicated."

Nathan thought for a moment, then he said, "Sarah was my twin. Is there an increased chance that Elizabeth would conceive twins?"

Carson nodded. "You and Sarah were fraternal twins, so, yes, there is strong evidence that Elizabeth would be more likely to conceive twins. But it's still a low percentage overall."

Nathan looked at both of them. "I want a child, children, of our own, very badly. And, frankly, I'm terrified."

"Of course you are," Carson said softly. Faith nodded, "It's natural for you to feel that way, Nathan."

"Okay," Carson said. "We don't have much time, so I'll be quick. A breech delivery is always a little complicated, but there are new procedures for turning the baby, for caesarian section deliveries, ether is being used to minimize injury to mother and child. Even in the last few years, great strides have been made."

Carson leaned forward. "You weren't in a hospital, or even an infirmary like this one." He spoke softly because he was afraid this might be hard for Nathan to hear. "I can't be certain, but it's likely that if Sarah had been here, with antiseptics, blood transfusions... she and the baby might have lived."

Nathan said softly, "Our ranch is forty minutes by wagon to the town, and there's no medical facility in Airdrie. It would be the train from there, and..."

Faith said softly, "Exactly. You were too far away. It just happens sometimes."

Nathan looked up at them, his eyes clear. "So you're telling me that if we're here in Hope Valley, Elizabeth would be safe?"

Carson sighed. "I never say anything one hundred percent, Nathan, but yes, even a breech birth, or the birth of twins would be something we could handle well right here. And if we have some notice, there's always the hospital in Hamilton for something more complicated."

Now Nathan took a very deep breath. He looked at each of them and said, "Thank you. I feel I can have that talk with Elizabeth now."

Faith asked, "And she knows about Sarah?"

Nathan smiled. "She knows all of it. We talked about it a while ago, before our engagement." He paused. "We need to talk about it again."

"Talk about what again?" Elizabeth's voice came from just around the door. She was holding Nathan's boot.

Nathan smiled and said, "Our... wedding date. We need to decide when."

Elizabeth said, "I thought it was going to be June 23rd?" She frowned, "Oh, we haven't talked about that. Did you get my letter suggesting that day?"

Nathan smiled. "Yes, I did. And I have an interesting piece of information about that."

"What?" Elizabeth said.

"June 23rd is my mother's birthday." Nathan looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know that! It's another sign!" Elizabeth said quickly.

Nathan laughed. "Somehow I thought you might see it that way."

Carson fitted Nathan's sock and boot on his foot carefully and had him walk around the Infirmary a little.

Nathan nodded, smiling. "It feels good. It feels really good to be out of that cast."

Carson raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Constable Nathan Grant. You are officially cleared to resume your duties in Hope Valley."

Nathan grinned. "I assume I can get that in writing to send to Headquarters?"

Carson nodded. "Absolutely."

"I wonder where Acting Constable Covington is right now?" Nathan said with a sly smile.

Faith laughed. "Hopefully, packing his bags."

Elizabeth threaded her arm through Nathan's. "The stage doesn't leave until tomorrow afternoon. You'll have time to deal with that in the morning, won't you?" She looked up at him, "Maybe for now, we should try out that leg with a short walk?" She looked at Carson, her eyebrows raised.

Nodding, Carson said, "Doctor's orders. But a short one. No further than the church and back. Work up to it."

Nathan put his hand out. "Thank you, Carson, for everything."

Carson shook Nathan's outstretched hand. "We're glad to have you back, Nathan. And not just as our Constable." Faith hugged him and said, "Welcome home."

There was a moon out now and clear skies. Nathan and Elizabeth took Carson up on his suggestion and walked slowly out to the schoolhouse, because they knew they would be alone on the road. They filled in the details from their letters, and Elizabeth practically repeated what she had said in the three letters Nathan hadn't received yet.

"It was hard for me not to write to you in the last few days," he said. I'd gotten so used to writing you every night before I went to sleep."

Elizabeth smiled up at him. "Looks like someone may need to start a journal," she said playfully.

"Maybe," Nathan said. "Though I don't know if it would be quite as compelling or inspiring as being away from you." He sighed deeply. "I didn't like it much, Elizabeth. Being away from you."

Hugging his arm, Elizabeth said, "I didn't either. I would hold your letters as long as I could, because once I'd read them two or three times, I knew I'd be done until the next day."

Nathan laughed softly. "I did the same thing." He put his arm around her and pulled her close as they walked. "I really am starting to understand the whole letter thing a little better, with the Brownings? It's not like conversation, wonderful as that is," he said, kissing her head softly. "Not that we interrupt each other, but we do have a healthy give-and-take in conversation. When we write, we can finish whole sweeping concepts without stopping. It revealed to me again how very much I love you, and your letters told me again who you are, what you stand for, how you move through the world with kindness. Does that make sense?"

Elizabeth stopped walking and turned to look at him. "I didn't know, when we first met, how sweetly poetic your soul is, Nathan. I had an idea this was all in there," she leaned up and kissed him, meaning it to be quick, but now they were alone on the darkened path to the church with only a moon for company.

Nathan wrapped the full length of his long arms around her and pulled her tightly to him. This was the first time they'd really been alone since he'd ridden up and seen her on the dock this afternoon. The weeks of missing each other took hold of them, and they both fell into the kiss completely.

Elizabeth knew that this walk to school would never be quite the same for her again; that she wouldn't be able to be on this path without remembering this. She was so entirely his, and knew again without a doubt that she wanted everything with Nathan; marriage, a home, to wake up together every day for the rest of their lives, to raise children.

But right now, she could hardly breathe. She knew Nathan was feeling the same way, because they did what they had talked about in their letters. She laid her head on his chest and they held each other closely, feeling the other's heartbeat racing and then calm as their breath slowed, and they simply stood together with no clear sense of where one ended and where the other began.

Finally, Nathan could wait no longer, and he said, softly, into her hair, "How do you feel about having more children?"

Elizabeth was glad they were still holding each other and he couldn't see her face, because she was certain she was blushing a little as she spoke. "I want very much to have a child of our own. Yours and mine."

She felt Nathan laugh softly. "Just one?"

Elizabeth smiled. "A houseful, if you want."

Nathan pulled away and looked at her face in the moonlight. He was fully aware that Elizabeth had moved beyond the deep fears she'd had about him being a Mountie. Now he could move beyond his fears of her having children. Jack and Sarah were gone, and they were tragic losses; but history wasn't always destined to repeat itself.

Nathan and Elizabeth were in their own brand new world. They got to write the future differently from the past. He suddenly felt more free than he had since those horrible days.

Instead of heading toward the church, Nathan turned and looked back at the town and the row houses in the distance. He said, "You think if we hurry, we can see Allie and Jack before they go to bed?" He could think of nothing he wanted to do more.

Elizabeth smiled and kissed him quickly. Her answer was to turn with him and start the slow walk up to Rosemary's. To see their children.