There were times these days when Nathan and Elizabeth stayed up later than they should, just so they could sit in the sunroom swing and talk about their day. But it could only happen when all humans and animals were fed, kitchen cleaned, wood chopped, everyone asleep, and the house buttoned up.

Then they would meet each other there. If Elizabeth got there first while Nathan was reading Jack his final story, or if Nathan was first to sit in the swing while Elizabeth prepared the dough for the next day's bread, they could pull a book from their library and read in front of the stove until the other arrived.

This time was precious to them; their moments to be alone together. It was where they would sit and process what had happened during the day and plan what tomorrow would bring.

Tonight was special because they both felt the true anticipation of the holidays. They had a beautifully decorated tree in the living room, which was impossible to forget because its aroma filled the house. They could see in the distance that Rosemary had decked her windows with pine boughs and lights that sparkled invitingly against the snow.

Tonight, Elizabeth had brought her notepad because they needed to begin making arrangements for their Christmas guests.

"Stella and Jessie are coming in on the train day after tomorrow. Archie will meet them, and Allie wanted to go too, which I think is very sweet," Elizabeth said.

Nathan nodded. "That train comes from Edmonton, and it goes through Airdrie. What if I talk to Mom and Charlie and maybe they can come in on the same train? They could spend some time getting to know each other." Nathan asked.

"That would be wonderful," Elizabeth said. "Have you talked to your mom about Stella and Jessie?"

"Just quickly in a letter, but I'll tell her about Dad and Donnie so there aren't any surprises." Nathan held her closer. "One of the great things about Mom being with Charlie is that she really does seem to have moved on from the hurt Dad caused her."

Elizabeth smiled up at him, though she remained silent.

Nathan laughed softly and kissed her forehead. "Yeah, she's not the only one."

Elizabeth leaned into him. "I loved listening to you and Archie talk today. Seeing how far you've both come since those first difficult days when Archie came here. All it took was a little movement from him, then from you..."

Nathan looked at her, "And a nudge from you." He brushed her hair back from her face. "I was being so stubborn, and all you asked was for me to believe in the possibility that he might be innocent. That changed everything."

Elizabeth looked up at him. She thought of her own parents, and her cheeks suddenly burned. How stubborn have I been, she thought. How often have I turned my back on their point of view, so sure that mine was right?

Nathan frowned. "What is it? What are you thinking about?" he asked her, using his thumb to gently smooth the lines from her forehead.

"I was thinking about my parents."

Nathan stayed quiet while Elizabeth looked out at the snow and worked on clarifying her feelings.

"I'm realizing that I was so anxious to leave life in Hamilton that I've somehow had to make it wrong; something I could push away from." She finally looked at him. "Hamilton doesn't have to be bad in my eyes so Hope Valley can be good. Just because it's not my life anymore doesn't mean it's a shallow life. And that's how I've thought of it."

She looked back at the snow. "I haven't worked at letting them in," she finally said, softly. "Into this blessed life you and I live together."

Suddenly she turned to him. "Going to Hamilton is an opportunity. We need to take Jack with us. They've never seen him, Nathan. And that's my fault. How can I deprive our son of another pair of grandparents?"

Nathan looked tenderly at her. "We'll take Jack if that's what you want, but you can't shoulder all the blame for this, angel. We invited your parents to our wedding, it was their choice not to come. If they decided to come to Hope Valley, you would welcome them with love and open arms, as you do with everyone. This works both ways."

"I know," Elizabeth said, nodding, "But someone has to take the first step. And I have to stop judging them, somehow assuming that their lifestyle is less meaningful to them than mine is to me."

"You're being pretty hard on yourself," Nathan said softly. He kissed her forehead and pulled her close. "But I appreciate what you're saying, and I'll make a real effort too. It's going to be a lot for them to take in. Not just us, but Lucas and Julie." He looked down at Elizabeth and smiled. "I'm not sure a Mountie and a saloon owner would be their ideal choices for sons-in-law."

Elizabeth smiled and then shook her head. "Definitely not. More likely, businessmen and oil barons. Or, what Viola did, choosing a member of the peerage like Sir Lionel." She turned and leaned back against him again. "But now that I'm a mother, I know that what I want for Jack is for him to be happy, to feel fulfilled in the life he chooses." She looked at Nathan. "On some level, our parents must feel that way about Julie and me."

"I'm sure they do," Nathan said. "And about me being a Mountie? I don't want you to worry about that. I have pretty thick skin about my job. Whether they think of it as an honorable profession or not."

Elizabeth smiled. "It's funny, isn't it? People's perceptions? Mother and Father basically think of Mounties as civil servants, along the lines of street cleaners or..." She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, "Schoolteachers."

Nathan hugged her tightly, "Another very noble profession."

Elizabeth continued. "And then there are so many who look up to you and wish they could wear the red serge, people who experience a wave of patriotism whenever a regiment passes by, and feel safe when a Mountie rides through their town protecting it."

Nathan was silent for a moment. "Do you think they worry for you? You said you went to Hamilton for a few weeks right after Jack died. They saw your grief, Elizabeth. How can they not at least consider that you might have to go through that again?"

Elizabeth pulled away and looked directly into his eyes. As she expected, they were very blue in the lamplight. This was an important conversation, and one that they didn't have very often, because there were no real answers to the questions it posed.

"I know they worry for me," she said softly. Her mind was so in tune with Nathan's, that she wasn't surprised to know that they'd both gone back in time to the same day, the very same memory.

Those days were moving further and further away, but Nathan could still call the feelings up at any time. The confusion, how much he loved her, how afraid he was to acknowledge it to himself, much less say it out loud, and at the same time desperately wanting to tell her what she meant to him.

And then, suddenly, at his lowest ebb, there she was, in his arms.

It wasn't at all the way he'd imagined it. He'd thought it would perhaps be out by the pond, or at her front door. Maybe in the schoolhouse as she was closing up. No, this was right in the middle of the street, with everyone watching.

He'd lost a young Mountie, and there was nothing worse than that. He'd tried so hard to defuse the situation and was so close to accomplishing it, but Murdock had impulsively reached for the extra rifle they kept behind the buckboards, and he'd paid the ultimate price for it.

Bill would tell Nathan later that it wasn't his fault. He would talk about his bravery and his negotiating skills. He would say that these things happen and it was a rookie mistake on Murdock's part. On some level, Nathan knew that was all true, but it was still on his watch, and losing a brother on your watch was inconceivable.

So as he'd led Bear into town, Nathan wasn't thinking about Elizabeth or anything else. He was empty, his eyes vacant, and though he was craving some sense of comfort, he couldn't comprehend what that might look like. He was thinking about the young man in the red serge in the wagon, and hearing Carson say, "He's gone."

But then he'd seen Elizabeth standing near the wagon, and he knew that she'd heard the same thing. There were people blocking her view of the inside, and because Nathan was so connected to her, he felt what she was feeling absolutely.

Elizabeth thought it might be him in that wagon.

So through his numbness, he made his way to the only place he wanted to be. He needed to ease her pain, and maybe that would ease his own somehow. He meant to walk up and put his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was here. Not okay by any means, but at least not in that wagon. He was alive.

Before he could do that, she turned. Life can be so terrible and so wonderful in the same moment, he thought. Because he saw it immediately in her eyes. It wasn't just her fear for the loss of another Mountie, it was her fear of losing him. And he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he mattered to her, too.

There was no time to process it, because she started to run and she didn't stop until she was in his arms, wonderfully surprising, perfectly fitting against his chest, knocking him slightly backwards with a show of such raw gratitude that was as tangible as a shock wave through his heart. They had danced around each other so often and so carefully, and now, here they were, both of them, stripped of any pretense, decorum, or even an awareness of the dozens of people standing around watching.

And it was everyone watching. They'd all come running when Bill had rounded the corner. And now that there was nothing more to be done for Murdock, the crowd had turned their focus to the other man in the red serge, the one standing in the middle of the street. And also the schoolteacher who was now clinging to him as if for dear life.

Perhaps to Lucas, who was also watching, it might have looked like Elizabeth was simply glad that her friend Nathan was alive. But as she kept her arms around him tightly, and as the tears began to form in both of their eyes, it became harder to ignore the real feelings on display. They weren't letting go. They stood melded together as one long moment ran into another, Elizabeth's face pressing against his red serge and Nathan's chin resting lightly on the softness of her hair.

In fact, it was so long, that some people lost interest and moved on, or crowded around the wagon, or began to talk in small groups. Lucas, however, stood stock still after buttoning his coat, wanting to turn away but unable to. Wondering how long it would go on, and seeing his hopes fading further with every second.

Nathan and Elizabeth weren't seeing Lucas, or anyone for that matter. They simply knew that this was the only place they could find comfort. In each other's arms. And there was no where they would rather be.

"That day," Nathan said softly now in the sunroom swing, gazing at Elizabeth. "When we lost Murdock?" He knew from her eyes that she was remembering the same thing.

Elizabeth would never forget that day. After wavering back and forth, unsure if she was ready to open her heart completely again, it had been pried suddenly open without her consent. She'd heard Carson say, "He's gone," and although it would be natural to think that she was experiencing déjà vu, she knew this had nothing to do with Jack.

Nathan wasn't Jack; they couldn't be more different. Saying they were the same simply because they wore the same uniform was like saying she was the same as Rosemary when she wore her dress to Union City. In this moment, hearing Carson's voice, she suddenly felt the fathomless loss of Nathan, and with him all the possibilities she wanted so dearly to explore, the conversations, the confusing feelings she needed to sort out. She wanted to touch him, to know what it would feel like to hold him, to kiss him. All that, lost in a split second.

All she could see of him in the wagon were his shoes and the slightest hint of his red serge. Her imagination painfully provided the rest, lying there. But it was just his body, wasn't it? The person she knew was gone. Did it hurt him? Did he think of me? Where is he now? How do I go on without him?

Why hadn't she just said yes? Because she thought she had time. And when he'd asked, she'd been shocked into speechlessness. She'd heard him stutter so many times that when he finally formed a full sentence, when it became real, as Rosemary had said, Elizabeth was afraid. Playacting at romantic dinners with Lucas was one thing, but with Nathan, it would have been the beginning of her future. Hers and little Jack's and Allie's and Nathan's. Real.

She could still hear his voice. "Would you like to get dinner with me? When I get back?" When you get back...

She didn't know why she turned away from the wagon. She could say it was because she heard footsteps on the gravel, but it was more than that. Some part of her knew that if her heart was still intact, and it was, Nathan couldn't be gone.

And there he was. Looking broken, walking toward her with a face so open, so lost, that there was nothing else she could do.

She chose.

And even if she'd known then what would come after, the mistakes and apologies, the push and pull, the time that stretched out before they finally spoke the words and made this commitment to each other, this marriage, this house, this life – she would gladly choose again in exactly the same way. No matter how long it took, this was the life they were meant to live. Together.

The sunroom swing was circling slowly. Without knowing it, they had turned into the same heartfelt embrace they'd shared that day. Fitting perfectly in blessed gratitude.

Elizabeth leaned up and kissed Nathan gently. "I chose you, Nathan. And given the chance again, I would choose you. Again and again and again. Forever."