When Elizabeth and Nathan arrived back home, Julie and Lucas were just bringing Jack in from their day together, and they'd clearly had a wonderful time.

"You should have seen the snowman we built!" Julie said, laughing as she and Lucas sat with Nathan, Elizabeth, and Jack at the harvest table. They were all enjoying cups of the hot chocolate Jack had been promised for being such a good boy.

Julie was laughing. "Lucas brought a top hat, a monocle and scarf to dress him, and do you remember that Latin tutor we had? Mr. Belvedere? I swear to you that the snowman looked exactly like him! Right down to the carrot nose!"

Lucas had his arm through Julie's, and Elizabeth had noticed that the two of them were never very far apart these days. Over tea last week, Julie said that they hadn't progressed to the I love you stage, but that it didn't feel far off.

When Elizabeth asked Julie if she loved Lucas, Julie had nodded, her cheeks coloring in an uncharacteristic way. At least it was what she thought love must be, because she'd never felt this way before. Julie knew she had a long road convincing her sister that she was serious after having told Elizabeth that she loved Tom Thornton, and more absurdly, Nate Tolliver. Those flirtations were primarily because they were handsome, and she was also driven by a desire to horrify her parents with the bad boys she had chosen.

This was completely different. It was based on common interests, shared dreams and a mutual attraction that was undeniable. It was taking all of Julie's restraint to wait until he professed his love first.

Elizabeth looked across the table at her sister and felt a wave of affection. Julie had grown up a lot, and was light years from the frivolous girl who had arrived on horseback six years ago for a visit to Hope Valley. Elizabeth wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

Lucas had better make her happy, Elizabeth thought. Because if he's not serious, he's clearly leading her on. Elizabeth had gone through times of not trusting Lucas, though she'd always felt that his heart was in the right place. But God help the man who toyed with her little sister's heart.

"Thank you so much for today," Elizabeth said, directly to Lucas. She had no doubts about Julie, but she'd wondered all day how Lucas was doing during an entire morning and afternoon with a two-year-old. It was their longest period of time together yet.

"Jack is a terrific boy," Lucas said softly, looking at both Elizabeth and Nathan. "He's bright and funny; just a delight to be with." Lucas turned, and for a long moment, he looked at Julie. Elizabeth raised her eyebrows slightly at Nathan. That was a look they both recognized. The look that says you can see your future in another person's eyes. Elizabeth's big sister antenna lowered slightly.

Nathan smiled. "It's a good thing you enjoyed it." He put his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and said, "We may be in need of some help once we have three little ones running around."

"Oh, yes!" Julie was suddenly all business. "So, what's the timing for Hamilton? I was talking with Mother and she said they needed to make plans." Julie made a face at Elizabeth and did a perfect imitation of her mother. "The social schedule looms, darling. We have invitations to answer."

Lucas watched Julie and said, "I must admit, this trip is sounding ever more terrifying." He looked over at Nathan for help.

Laughing, Nathan put up his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me. I've never met the Thatchers."

Nodding, Lucas said, "That's right. They didn't come to the wedding." Lucas raised an eyebrow. "So, we can watch each other's backs, correct?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "You mean... like a team?"

Lucas looked back at him and smiled. "That would be something new," he said.

The two men looked at each other for a moment and then grinned. Once they'd stopped competing, they'd found they liked each other quite a lot, and they seemed to enjoy laughing over the time when it hadn't been quite so cordial. Nathan's apology at the wedding had paved the way for them to find out where they had common ground.

Of course, they were very different in some ways. Lucas had endeared himself to the community by grand gestures, and for Nathan it had been accomplished by quiet steadiness. Lucas was charming and eloquent, and Nathan only said what needed to be said. Lucas put up with horses as a sometimes required form of travel, and for Nathan, being on the back of a horse was as natural and as necessary as breathing.

But they both loved reading books and quiet conversation among good friends, and each had a desire to make the world into a better place than it was before they arrived in it. Nathan loved working artistically with wood, and though few knew it, Lucas had a full herb garden in which he puttered, for the saloon and now Le Bistro, for the savory and aromatic herbs that went into Gustav's recipes. But the thing that had joined them here today at the Grant's harvest table was that each of them loved a Thatcher girl. Very much.

Julie looked at Elizabeth. "Mother and Father already think you're a lost cause, but you know they're going to try very hard to get me to move back. And they will say move back home, but they can't understand that this is my home now."

Julie turned and looked at Lucas, who smiled and lifted her hand to his lips. She said sadly, "I want you to come, but I don't want to be selfish. They really can be ruthless, you know."

"It's because they love you," Lucas said softly. "I can be ruthless too." He didn't finish his statement with for the same reason, but it was clearly implied. The meaning of what he'd just said wasn't lost on anyone, least of all Julie, who actually sighed audibly.

Elizabeth leaned down to catch Julie's eye, but it wasn't easy prying them from Lucas' face. "So, the schedule? The thing that started this conversation?"

Julie took a deep breath. "Yes! The schedule. When are we going to Hamilton, and when are we coming back? I need to be sure the bistro is covered during that time, and I would think we need to consider making travel arrangements. I don't think I want to spend three days on a train in anything less than a sleeping cabin and they do go fast."

Elizabeth simply stared at her. "Julie. You remember why we're going, right? And you know that babies don't always arrive on a schedule?"

Julie frowned. "But you must have some idea," she said.

Elizabeth laughed. "Yes. They'll be born sometime in 1918."

Julie tilted her head and said, "Now you're just teasing me!"

Reaching out and taking her hand, Elizabeth said, "Yes, a little." She looked at Nathan. "We just saw Carson the other day, and he's guessing sometime in the first two weeks in March. He's said we should plan on traveling to Hamilton in the last week of February."

Nathan said, "Carson is going with us. He said Faith can watch the Infirmary while he's gone."

Julie said, "Good! That gives us a starting point at least."

Jack had been very good and quiet through all this conversation, and now he finished his hot chocolate with a loud slurp. Elizabeth turned to him and said, "Jack!" At which point, of course, Nathan had to lean down and slurp his hot chocolate, sending Jack into giggles.

Elizabeth exhaled and said to Julie and Lucas, "I tell you, it's like having two children at the table sometimes."

Nathan grinned at her and nodded happily in agreement. "It is." He picked Jack up and kissed Elizabeth's cheek. Then he looked at Lucas and Julie and said, "Well, if you'll excuse us, the children are going to go play. I've hardly seen this little man all day."

He put Jack on his shoulders and went over to the fire to add another couple of pieces of wood to it. Then he got down on the floor on his stomach and started making a barn with Jack's building blocks.

Lucas pulled out his watch and opened it. "We should get back for the first dinner guests at the bistro," he said to Julie. He looked at Elizabeth. "No rest for the wicked," he said, smiling at her.

Elizabeth nodded. "It seems like it's going well. Rosemary was just saying today that she and Lee have been there three times and have just loved it."

Julie stood up and went to get her coat. "That's always a pleasure to hear." She wrapped her scarf around her neck. "We're about three-quarters reserved through Christmas, which is amazing. To make a profit we need about sixty percent, so I think I'm already lining Mr. Bouchard's pockets nicely for his investment." She looked up at Lucas, who was buttoning his own coat.

Lucas laughed. "And skeptical me, thinking that we would probably operate at a small loss for the first year."

Elizabeth stood looking at Julie. Her sister, the businesswoman, talking about percentages and profits and operating costs. The girl that most of Hamilton thought would marry suitably and become a beacon of the city's social scene. Instead, here she was in Hope Valley, co-owner of a restaurant and well on her way to complete independence. Elizabeth couldn't be more proud.

Julie and Lucas went over to the living room where Jack and Nathan were on the floor. Julie picked Jack up and snuggled his neck, "Night night, my favorite nephew," she said, kissing his soft cheek.

By way of reward, Jack looked her right in the eye and said, "Nite nite."

"Thanks again," Nathan said, shaking hands with Lucas from his spot on the floor. "It meant a lot to Rosemary and Lee that we could go with them."

Lucas nodded. "Just very glad it turned out so well," he said, ruffling Jack's hair. Julie gave Nathan a kiss on the cheek, and then they both hugged Elizabeth at the door and began their walk back to the restaurant.

A half hour later, Nathan and Elizabeth were able to return to the spot they'd enjoyed only for a few moments first thing this morning. And instead of calling it the porch swing, it had become the sunroom swing.

The only disadvantage to the location of the swing was the fact that Nathan and Elizabeth couldn't watch the sunset from there. Or so they thought at first. As with many disadvantages, there was an unexpected gift attached.

Instead of squinting into the ball of fire as it dipped below the horizon beyond the pond, they were watching as the setting sun painted the stands of tall trees behind the house, and seeing the way it reflected off of the Coulters' windows in the distance.

The majestic sugar pines just beyond the back fencing were changing to a lighter hue of deep green, with a tinge of orange, yellow and pink, as Elizabeth and Nathan gazed out from the swing. Jack was lying down next to Nathan, and after his day-long picnic and an energetic session of snowman-building with a chaser of hot chocolate, he was already sound asleep with the motion of the swing.

Nathan laughed softly. "You were watching Lucas very carefully earlier. But not in a good way." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "As a person trained in the investigative arts, I would describe you as... as we say in the Mountie business... sizing him up."

Elizabeth frowned. "Julie's getting very serious about him. I just want to know if he feels the same way about her. I don't want her getting hurt."

Nathan sighed and shook his head. "I'm so glad we're far past that point. It's such a dance, isn't it? I had no experience, and I remember wondering who says I love you first, and once you decide it's true, when do you do it, and how..."

Smiling, Elizabeth said, "I seem to recall that I made it very easy for you. You were going away and I didn't want you to leave without telling you."

Nathan stroked her face. "And I recall saying that I'd already said it thousands of times in my head, so it felt good to say it out loud." This time, he really kissed her. It was their first real moment alone since early this morning, and with Jack sound asleep next to him on the swing, Nathan was going to take advantage of it.

Elizabeth felt slightly light-headed, lost in the kiss as the swing moved back and forth gently. It felt like it had been a long day and she finally felt relaxed...

The back door slammed and Archie and Allie came in, laughing. "I think I won, Grandpa. Those two fish are as close to equal length as they can get. Mine is fatter, though!"

Archie said, "Ha! Didn't think we were measuring around the middle, just how long they are. No fair changing the rules in the middle of the game, missy!"

"Mom? Dad?" Allie called out from the hallway.

"Shhhhh," Elizabeth whispered, "Jack's asleep."

Allie poked her head in the sunroom. "What are you two doing sitting here in the dark?"

Nathan looked back at her and whispered, "It wasn't dark when we sat down. We watched the sunset. And it got dark."

Allied raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't notice," she said, flipping on the floor lamp. She grinned at them in the swing and said softly, "Well, at least now I'll always know where I can find you." Turning to head out to the hallway, she said, "Gotta go clean some fish for dinner."

"Good girl," Elizabeth said. "Thank you."

Nathan turned to her and said softly, "I remember her so well at this age, when Sarah would visit the ranch." He was idly stroking Jack's back and looking down at him on the swing. "It happens so fast." He reached his hand out and placed it on Elizabeth's stomach. "I don't want to miss any of this."

"You're not going to. Bill will cover for you and you've let Headquarters know the timeline." She reached up and touched his face. "You'll be there for it all."

Nathan laughed softly. "Which simultaneously thrills and terrifies me."

Elizabeth smiled at him in the soft lamplight. "Nathan. You deserve a joyful birth experience with your own children. We're going to have that together. And hopefully it will help to heal some bad memories for you."

He leaned his head back on the swing and looked at her. "Tell me you're already seeing this, and I'll believe it."

Running her fingers through the hair at his neck, she said, "I am seeing it. Believe it."

"Okay," he whispered. He kissed her cheek and said "After today, I think I'll believe anything."

"It was beautiful, wasn't it? A perfect lesson in letting go. Rosemary and Lee were ready to give up Violet in order to do the right thing. And then, by doing the right thing, they got to keep Violet."

Nathan looked over at the soft lights shining through the living room windows across the way. "I wonder what they're doing right now?" he asked softly.

"I imagine they're counting their blessings," Elizabeth said, leaning over to kiss her handsome husband. "Just as I am."

Right now, Lee and Rosemary were in their bedroom with Violet between them on the soft down comforter that covered their big bed. They'd changed from their traveling clothes to more comfortable things, and they were lying on either side of their little girl, simply watching her.

Violet was in the process of bending into a shape that allowed her to suck on her toes, and though they tried a few times to discourage it, Violet wasn't having it. Finally, they decided to praise her for her flexibility and laugh with her about how silly it was.

"Mommy wishes she could do that, Violet," Lee said softly.

Rosemary laughed softly, "Believe me, so does Daddy," she whispered, stopping for some kisses on her way back to her place on her own pillow.

Lee reached over and took Rosemary's hand between them. "You were magnificent today, Rosie," he said to her, his eyes sparkling in the lamplight. "Lead from love, and love will find you. I remember my mother saying that to me. That's what you did today."

Rosemary smiled softly at him. "I didn't have a choice." She looked down at Violet. "This one... was guiding me. And God."

Lee smiled, "Clearly they were working together." He bent and kissed Rosemary. "How do you feel knowing that tonight, finally, Frances and Harold are sleeping in warm beds and not feeling hungry?"

Rosemary thought for a moment. "I feel like things are in place, that all is right with the world." She leaned down and put her head next to Violet's, and the little girl snuggled in next to her.

Rosemary got up on her elbows and looked into Violet's face. She could see Frances there now. The brilliant eyes and wise stare. And something in the way her mouth turned down a little when she smiled. Rosemary liked knowing that those features belonged to the sweet girl she'd met today.

She leaned down and kissed Violet very slowly and gently on the cheek, keeping her promise.

"This is from Frances. She loves you very much, Violet.