"You really aren't going to give us any hints on your present, Bill?" Elizabeth dried her hands as she put the last breakfast dish away. Bill had offered to help wash dishes as Nathan had immediately been roped into playing "choo choo" with Jack. Ally was back to having her nose in her Queen Victoria book, occasionally looking up to smile at Jack's train sounds.
"No, I'm not, Elizabeth," Bill turned to face Elizabeth. He reached for Elizabeth's hand, the one that now bore Nathan's ring. "I did not get a chance to say this last night, but Jack would be so happy for you, Elizabeth. Both you and Little Jack."
Elizabeth glanced over at the pictures of Jack that still lived in her living room. She gave a wistful smile. "He would have, wouldn't he?"
"All I have to do is look at you," Bill spoke concisely, knowing each of his words would find their way into Elizabeth's heart, mind, and soul. "All I have to do is look at you looking at him." Bill made a motion towards Nathan. Nathan was sprawled on the floor, laying on his stomach with Little Jack mimicking his every move. The two were busy building a wooden track around the Christmas tree. "That man loves you and loves that little boy. And while it took you a little while to leap, you have leapt without looking back. That would make Jack thrilled."
Elizabeth hugged Bill. "Thank you Bill. Coming from you, those words mean so much."
Bill cleared his throat. "Alright, now go get your coat."
"My coat?" Elizabeth looked at Bill skeptically.
"My surprise involves the great outdoors." Bill walked over to Elizabeth's coat stand where his own coat hung. "You ready?"
"What in the world does Bill have up his sleeve?" Rosemary stood outside on the Coulter's front porch, glancing over to Lee.
"I don't have the foggiest idea," Lee shrugged his shoulders. "All I know was yesterday he told me that he had a great Christmas surprise for the kids and to be ready after breakfast."
"Papa!" Spencer leaped into Lee's arms. "This Christmas keeps getting better and better. I mean, fun toys to unwrap and yummy biscuits and gravy for breakfast! And then we get to give Ally and Little Jack their presents tonight."
"Thank you for my beautiful coat, Mama!" Lottie hugged Rosemary tightly. "It's so warm and so beautiful. I really love the green color too."
Rosemary smiled. "You are so welcome my precious girl."
"Mama," Millie pointed down the street, "is that Mr. Henry?"
Sure enough, Henry Gowen was walking down the street towards the Coulter house. Millie rushed down to meet him and give him the biggest hug. Henry held such a special spot in Millie's heart and thankfully, it was not a cause of concern or jealousy for Lee. Truly, he was thankful to Henry. Henry had brought Millie's voice back to her; he had helped Millie deal with her grief. Something told Lee that Millie had helped Henry as well.
"Merry Christmas Henry!" Elizabeth waved from her own row house porch. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, you understand."
"Bill and I planned this surprise together," Henry said, giving a nod to Bill. "I wanted to do something special for the children."
"You two worked together on something," Lee questioned incredulously. "Will Christmas miracles never cease?"
"Believe it or not, I don't hate the guy," Bill walked down the stairs. "Henry and I both discovered something that we think the children will love and Christmas is the time for coming together. Obviously. This Christmas we have already had a Christmas proposal and a Christmas adoption…"
"Christmas proposal?" Henry interrupted.
"Nathan proposed a few nights ago." Elizabeth did not even try to hide the smile that lit up her face. Almost instinctively, Elizabeth felt Nathan's presence and he kissed the top of her head.
"Congratulations you two," Henry shook Nathan's hands. "You deserve every happiness Elizabeth. Truly."
"Thank you, Henry!"
"Where did Bill go?" Rosemary searched up and down the road. In the midst of all the conversation, Bill had apparently disappeared. This was seriously shaping into a Christmas surprise.
"There he is!" Ally pointed in the direction of town and the stables. "He seems to be driving a wagon!"
Bill was indeed driving a wagon, a wagon that had been decorated with evergreen garland and bows on each side. Little bits of hay were spilling out onto the road. Clearly wherever they would be headed would be done in comfort.
"Alright everyone!" Bill brought the wagon to a stop. "I have blankets. I have hot chocolate. Climb in!"
Millie, Lottie, and Spencer immediately piled up into the wagon. Ally was a little slower as she was determined to help her future little brother. Once in the hay, Little Jack broke into another smile, raising a cheer and launching hay into the air. Henry sat up front with Bill and the two exchanged a conspiratorial glance. Lee and Rosemary, Nathan and Elizabeth, followed into the bed of the wagon.
Nathan wrapped Elizabeth in his arms and nestled into the hay. Whatever Bill and Henry had planned would pale in comparison to having Elizabeth by his side, to the wonder in Jack's eyes, to the glow in Ally's cheeks. The happiness evident on all those in the wagon bed.
"Mr. Bill! Mr. Henry!" Millie pointed out towards something in the distance. "Mama! Papa!"
"Millie, dear, what is it?" Rosemary, still new to the parenting game, was learning the difference between shouts of fear and shouts of excitement.
"Over there!" Millie continued to point, her face getting more and more excited with each moment. "Those are reindeer!"
"Reindeer?!" All of the other children looked over in the direction Millie was pointing.
Off in the distance, in the snow covered clearing, were multiple reindeer.
"Reindeer!" Little Jack shouted. "Rudolph!"
"No Rudolph, silly," Ally tousled Little Jack's winter cap. She caught herself before revealing anything about Santa Clause. "I don't see a red nose. He's probably back in the North Pole resting after a long night of delivering presents."
"But reindeer are still cool!" Millie grinned. "Is this the surprise? Seeing reindeer?"
"Actually," Bill turned around to face the children. "How about feeding the reindeer?" Bill motioned towards two sacks that had been tucked in the corner. "You will find a bag of oats and a bag of carrots. Henry and I came across these reindeer the other day and after checking last night, and saw they were still here, we thought it would be a nice excursion."
"Are they safe?" Rosemary questioned.
"We fed them last night," Henry assured the group. "They are very safe. But they don't like any sudden movements. So everyone will have to be nice and calm."
The wagon came to a stop a short distance away. Lottie and Ally were some of the first over the side. Lee jumped down and reached up to help Rosemary down then encouraged Spencer into his arms. "Can you carry me Papa? It's nice to have a Papa that can carry me again."
Lee did his best to not get choked up. "Of course you can my boy. Just let me help get Little Jack." Lee always wanted to make sure he kept a presence in Jack's life.
Nathan helped Elizabeth down but refused to let her out of his arms. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Thornton. I'm afraid you have to pay the toll to pass."
"Oh really," Elizabeth gave a wink. "I didn't see anyone else have to pay this toss."
Nathan gave one of his famous crooked smiles. "Well, that is because this toll is something only you can pay."
"Would it be this?" Elizabeth stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips to Nathan. While Nathan would have settled for a small peck, Elizabeth did more than that. Time seemed to stand still as the two kissed deeply. Finally, Nathan came up for air.
"That more than covers the toll fee," Nathan blushed. He caught Lee still standing by the wagon holding Little Jack. "Sorry to have held you up."
Lee winked at Nathan as he handed Little Jack over to Elizabeth. "No need to apologize."
"No Mama!" Little Jack shook his head and gestured towards Nathan. "Natan!"
Jack wormed his way towards Nathan. "I think you have a fan."
"Here's the thing," Nathan held Elizabeth's hand as they walked towards the reindeer. "I'm a fan of his too. I told you last night how much I love this little boy."
"Natan wuv me!" Jack smiled up at Nathan.
"Yes, buddy, I do," Nathan clutched him tighter.
"Dad!" Ally came running, albeit slowly, to Nathan and Elizabeth. "The reindeer are so tame. They let me pet them! And one ate oats out of Millie's hand!"
The families and friends stayed out there for hours. Each child either fed oats or carrots to the reindeer. Henry, having borrowed a camera from Carson, took pictures of the day's festivities and Bill revealed he had made canteens of hot soup to go along with the hot chocolate. It truly was a beautiful Christmas afternoon.
The ride back to Hope Valley was infinitely more quiet than the starting trip. Each child was asleep on a parent's shoulder or in a lap. Couples savored the moments, the silence, and no one felt the need to say anything.
Bill pulled the wagon to a stop in front of the row houses. "We're back," he whispered.
Bill and Henry stayed up in the wagon as Rosemary and Lee, Nathan and Elizabeth extricated themselves so as to unload the children.
"Oh Elizabeth," Bill smiled. "I do hate to bail on dinner tonight. But Clara did ask me if I would have dinner with her and Jesse. I really did not want to say no."
"That is totally fine, Bill!" Elizabeth gave Bill a parting hug. "Between last night and this afternoon, you have given so much to us. You have more people who love you besides us."
"We wuv Unca Bill," Little Jack said sleepily from Elizabeth's arms.
"Besides," Rosemary smiled. "I think we might adapt dinner plans and just do dessert and presents all together later. Something tells me the children will be out for hours." She glanced towards Lee who held Millie on one side and Spencer on the other.
"Henry," Elizabeth approached Henry Gowen and also gave him a hug. "Thank you for your role in today. We have come a long way you and I, haven't we?"
All Henry could do was nod. Where Elizabeth was concerned, Henry had to admit that he hadn't always loved the teacher. There was a time he had wanted her fired and gone from Hope Valley. But every time circumstances went against him, with mining revelations or the struggles in the oil business, Elizabeth had shown love. As a result, he wanted to do his best to show love in return. If someone asked him, Henry would admit that it wasn't that hard.
"Elizabeth?" Rosemary questioned. "Dessert at our house later?"
"Sounds good," Elizabeth smiled."
"Allie fell right to sleep," Elizabeth said as she quietly walked back down the stairs. "So did Jack."
Nathan smiled from the couch. "Come here."
Elizabeth smiled as Nathan reached down and grabbed the blanket that had fallen from the couch. He drabbed it over both their laps and put his arm around Elizabeth. "Today has been a wonderful day."
"The last several days have," Elizabeth leaned her head onto Nathan's chest. She could hear his heart beating. "I am very, very happy."
"There is nowhere else I would rather be," Nathan repeated a line Elizabeth remembered well. She thought back to Nathan's first Christmas in Hope Valley.
"Me either," Elizabeth admitted. "It took us so long to get to this point and now, I don't want to spend any unnecessary time. It's time for a new chapter and I am ready."
"So," Nathan shifted so he could face Elizabeth, "do you want to have a conversation about a wedding date? I mean, I would marry you tonight."
"And I would you," Elizabeth laughed. "But I do feel like we owe it to our friends to be there, to give everyone a little more notice."
"What about Valentine's Day?" Nathan thought. "Then I would be guaranteed to never miss an anniversary. Not that I ever would being married to you my dearest, loveliest, Elizabeth." He kissed Elizabeth's temple.
"Valentine's Day." Elizabeth thought for a moment. "I think we could do a wedding in about seven weeks." She turned so she was face to face with Nathan. "We just picked a wedding date!"
Nathan smiled broadly. He rested his forehead on Elizabeth's. His hands cupped Elizabeth's face and brought his lips to hers. He kissed her gently and as Elizabeth leaned into him, the kiss deepened. Neither pulled away. Nathan felt Elizabeth's chest flush with his; they wanted each other equally.
"You can't kiss me like that," Nathan said. "That's not fair."
"It's not fair to me either," Elizabeth blushed, catching her breath. "You kiss quite well you know."
Nathan chuckled loudly. "I'm glad you approve and once we are married, I will show you every day how good of a kisser I am."
"I can live with that," Elizabeth sighed. "You are way more romantic than I ever gave you credit for."
"I just needed to be unleashed," Nathan smiled. "You have unleashed this side of me, Lizabeth. Honestly, Elizabeth, I am ever so glad you did."
