Jack loved his birthday train set.

Allie and Jessie were now on the floor with him next to the Christmas tree after having helped him set up the tracks and place the cars. Allie was explaining how the engine goes first and showed him how to hook each of the cars together.

Jack had taken to the idea immediately, and was now using his blocks and horses to set up elaborate farms around the tracks. Riding the train to and from Airdrie had obviously made quite an impression on him.

Elizabeth smiled at Nathan as they stood and watched, their arms linked. "Well, I'd say that present was a big hit," she said, looking up at him.

Nathan laughed. "I think we need a bigger living room." It was becoming clear that the path to the front door would soon disappear under tracks and farmlands. And Allie and Jessie were enjoying it as much as Jack.

"You know, we have that long sunroom," Elizabeth said. "We just need another stove to keep the far end warm..."

Nathan looked at her, his eyes narrowed. "Which means breaking through the roof with another chimney. Renovations? Already?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Life is a process of constant change, my love. Keep up, or get left behind."

Nathan whispered, "I was kind of hoping to hold that space out for extra bedrooms."

Elizabeth's mouth opened wide, "Can we please get these two born before we start talking about more? I'm really looking forward to being able to see my feet for a while!"

Laughing, Nathan looked down. "They're very pretty feet."

There was a burst of laughter from the harvest table where Julie, Lucas, Stella and Archie were sitting having last bites of a second piece of cake. A large portion of the leftovers had been forced on the Grant household by Rosemary as she'd said, "Don't you dare leave all that here! I have a New Year's Eve dress to get into, and that cake is not the way to do it!"

What had caused the laughing was a story that Lucas was telling, and Julie was adding to, about a practical joke they'd played for weeks on Gustav, who took his cooking very seriously. "So every time Gustav would move it back, we had Landon put the paprika into the icebox..." Another burst of laughter.

Allie stood up from the trains and went over to the table. "Aunt Julie, can you come with me to the tree?" Then she took Elizabeth's hand, "Mom?"

Everyone went quiet, and Allie said, "Last Christmas, before we were a family, and when Mom was Mrs. Thornton..." she looked at Elizabeth and smiled, "...you told me one of your Christmas traditions when you and Aunt Julie were growing up."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, trying to remember.

Allie continued, "You said that when you were little girls, your parents would hide a brand new Christmas ornament somewhere on the tree and then you had to find it."

Julie's eyes went wide and she clapped. "I remember that game! There were times we almost knocked the tree down trying to see which one was new!"

Allie grinned. "Well..." she turned toward the tree with her eyebrows raised.

Elizabeth and Julie smiled and looked at each other with a challenge in their eyes, and everyone in the room could see the competitive little girls they had once been. Julie frowned and looked at Allie, "But wait, how can I know which one is new? We knew our ornaments so well as children..."

Allie nodded. "Oh, you'll know." She looked at Nathan and he grinned back at her. "Just think about how this Christmas is different from last year. Ready?"

Julie and Elizabeth both looked as if they were about to start a footrace. They were laughing, each daring the other as they had when they were children.

"Go!"

Even Jack stopped playing with his trains at the sight of his mother and his aunt laughing and running like children around the tree. They started at the front, and this was clearly a very precise process they'd followed for years, up and down, around, looking at each one, deciding and moving on.

Finally, with much laughter from the spectators, Julie and Elizabeth ended up at the back of the tree, low and up against the windows. At the same time, they put their hands on a wooden ornament of a family.

Burned very precisely into the wood was the name The Grants, and the silhouette of each tiny outlined person had a name, Dad, Mom, Allie, Jack, Grandpa.

"Got it!" Elizabeth and Julie yelled out at the exact same moment. They laughed and hugged each other, remembering so many Christmases together. And then they sought out Allie, who was delighted with how successful the game had been.

"I love you, Allie," Elizabeth said, hugging her. "This was so sweet of you to remember."

Julie did the same. "The best little niece ever!"

Elizabeth still held the wooden ornament in her hand, and she held it up. She looked at Nathan with her eyebrows raised. "Somehow, I have a feeling you were part of this, too," she said, still out of breath.

Nathan smiled and put his arm around Allie. "It was a joint project," he said, kissing Allie on the head. He looked at her. "We had fun, didn't we?"

Stella had been watching and laughing as the competition went on, and now she walked over to Elizabeth. She raised her voice so everyone could hear. "Well, since everyone's attention is here, I have a little announcement to make." She put her arm out for Jessie to stand next to her.

"We're staying," she said simply. "I know this isn't a big surprise. There are just too many reasons, and it feels right."

Julie immediately hugged her and said, "Welcome to Hope Valley!" Then she winked and said, "And to Le Bistro."

Stella grinned. "Wow. A move and a job." She made a face. "Now, where do we live?"

Hugging her even more tightly, Julie said, "That's easy. Rosemary and Lee's place is still available, and since Gowen Petroleum manages the row houses, your new landlord would be..."

"Me," Lucas said, walking over to Stella. He put out his hand formally and said, "It's yours if you want it."

Stella smiled and shook his hand. "I want it."

Julie squealed in delight. "And we're next door neighbors!"

So much had happened so fast that Elizabeth's head was spinning a little. But in such a good way. She walked over to Nathan and put her arm around him.

He gazed down at her, his eyes soft. "I've never known anyone with a heart as big as yours, Elizabeth." Nathan held her tightly. "You're just gathering your little chicks around you, aren't you?" he whispered, grinning.

She smiled up at him happily. "I must admit our family is growing." She looked down, laughing. "And not only in the traditional way."

She was silent for a moment, looking at the happy scene in front of her. Then she sighed and said, "We need to get ready for the candlelight service at the church in about an hour." She arched her back, pressing her hand where an ache was beginning. "But I wouldn't mind resting a little."

Nathan smiled. "I know just the place." He looked over at Julie, Lucas and Stella. "Do you mind watching Jack for a bit, and taking over hosting duties?" He inclined his head toward the sunroom. "We're going to sit down for a while."

Lucas smiled. "No problem whatsoever. You go ahead."

Once they were alone on the swing, Elizabeth cuddled down into Nathan's chest. "You said earlier that you had something to tell me?"

He stroked her hair and spoke very softly. "I've been thinking that with all the preparations for Jack's birthday, there was someone we were forgetting. Someone who had more to do with his birthday than perhaps even little Jack."

Elizabeth sat up and looked at him. "Well, it was somewhat of a group effort. Abigail and Rosemary of course, and then Carson, and Lee and Bill..."

Nathan put his finger up to her mouth. His eyes were very soft on her. "Elizabeth. Why do you always forget to think of yourself?"

She was very quiet, and not just because his finger was still warm on her lips. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "I guess I was there too," she said sheepishly.

Nathan smiled. "I guess you were." He quickly touched his lips to hers. "So, I wanted to make you a promise that for the rest of our lives, this day will not only be Jack's birthday. I will also remember that you're the one who brought him into the world."

Elizabeth knew it was late, and she knew she was generally emotional these days, but the feeling that went through her was more than that. As the tears filled her eyes, she realized that this kind of deep appreciation from another person didn't just happen every day.

Nathan smiled. "But I didn't mean to make you cry," he said quickly. He kissed each cheek, tasting the salt of her tears there. "It was supposed to make you happy."

Laughing softly, Elizabeth said, "I am happy. That's why I'm crying."

Nathan shook his head and pulled her tightly into an embrace. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to figure this crying thing out. When it's happy and when it's sad." He kissed her hair gently. "So, when we're eighty or so, ask me if I ever did, okay?"

Elizabeth nodded against his shoulder. "I'll try to remember that," she said. "But don't count on it." Pulling away and looking him in the eyes, she said, smiling, "Especially when I'm pregnant. With twins."

Nathan took the sleeve of his shirt and tenderly wiped the rest of her tears away. When he'd finished, Elizabeth put her hand on his face and said, "Thank you. The reason I was crying is that what you said was so kind and no one has ever said that to me before." She took a deep breath and exhaled. Placing her hands on her stomach, she said, "It's such an indescribable blessing. But yes, it's also hard. I don't even know how to explain how my body is changing, and believe me, you don't want to know all of it!"

Nathan smiled. "I can't even imagine. And I hope you know you can tell me anything, or ask for my help, or just complain if you want to. Whenever you want to."

Elizabeth sighed and ran her fingers through his hair tenderly. "Where did I find you?"

Nathan gave her his crooked smile. "In the Mountie office, sitting at my desk, not knowing how my life was about to change."

She snuggled back down into his chest, "Mine, too," she said softly.

They sat that way for a long time. Elizabeth could hear Nathan's heart beating steadily and surely under her ear. She held tight to him, feeling how good and solid he was. Every time she had her arms around him she felt this way. From that very first time.

Elizabeth thought about that day often, especially when she held Nathan like this. She'd been so afraid that she would never have a chance to hold him, so when she found herself there, she never wanted to let go. And now, even today, that feeling could come back to her in a flash of memory, so easily.

She still couldn't describe the intensity of the comfort she felt with her heart against his, of knowing things were forever changed, that she was no longer alone in navigating life, and the simple, uncomplicated feeling of ease against his warm chest in the cold street that day.

They may have had some rocky times, but they'd never really looked back from that moment. And as she held Nathan now, married, in their own house with Allie and Jack and Archie, their lives finally sealed together by God and their deep and enduring love for each other, the gratitude Elizabeth felt was overwhelming.

Her eyes filled again, but she was so silent that Nathan didn't notice until he felt the warmth of her tears make their way through his shirt to his skin. He held her head and looked down, trying to find her eyes. She sniffled, and said, "It's okay. Happy tears."

Nathan exhaled. "What are you thinking about?" he asked softly. "That made you happy?"

"That day in the street. You said your life changed when I first walked into your office, and mine did too. But that day..." She looked up at him, her eyes full. "...that day, everything changed."

"I know," he said softly. He sighed, pulling her closer. "It felt so good to have you in my arms, finally." He felt her laugh softly, and he said, "And not just for the obvious reasons. Yes, you felt unbelievably good, and I'd imagined it so many times... but there was something much more than that."

Nodding on his chest, Elizabeth said, "Yes. It was like... being home."

Nathan looked quickly down at her. "Yes," he said. "I haven't been able to put that into words, but that's exactly what it was. Like the times I've had to go out of town and I catch sight of the water tower, and then the house, and then... you. Home."

Smiling, Elizabeth said against his chest, "How long did we stand there?"

She felt his chest rise and fall in a chuckle. "I have no idea." He kissed the top of her head. "A month?"

She laughed. "I kind of lost track of time, too."

Nathan took a deep breath. "I've thought about that a lot. I was hurting so badly about Murdock, and if you had come up and asked me if you could hug me, I would have said no. I didn't feel like I could let anything inside that bubble that was all that was holding me together."

Elizabeth sat up and looked at him. "And yet, you walked right toward me."

Nathan frowned. "I knew... I knew somehow that you thought it was me in that wagon. And I didn't want you to worry. So I was coming to tell you that I was okay."

Now Elizabeth was very curious. She sat up further so that she could face Nathan. "And what was your expectation about how I would react when I saw you?"

Nathan shrugged. "Relief? The natural relief of a friend who worried they might have lost a good friend."

"A hug?" she asked. "Would you have expected that?"

Thinking, Nathan said, "Maybe. Yes." Then he looked at Elizabeth with a crooked smile. "But not that kind of hug. That was more like a... a romantic assault."

Elizabeth laughed out loud. "Oh, that's a good way to phrase it," she said. "Actually, it was me thinking I'd lost you forever and suddenly knowing the size of the hole you left." She shook her head, remembering. "When I saw your red serge...and then looked up to see it was you..." Sighing, she sat back. "I never intended to fall this deeply in love again, Nathan. I was purposely holding back my heart from you. What is it you say?" She said, looking up at him.

He smiled tenderly. "What you love, you can lose."

"Yes," she said, nodding.

Nathan put his finger under her chin. "And here we are, both of us, with everything in the world to lose." He leaned over and kissed her. "So how is it that I'm happier and more peaceful than I've ever been?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Don't ask me! I'm as mystified as you are." She smiled at him and moved a curl from his forehead.

"But let's not stop, okay?" She said, leaning up to kiss him.

He didn't need to answer her.