At his appointment two weeks later, Nathan bounced his leg up and down as Carson examined the ultrasounds of his organs and his x-rays. "Well?" he asked, unable to take the suspense any longer. "Am I healed?"

"Patience, Nathan," Carson said, "Do I need to take these into another room?"

"No," Nathan said, sighing. "I can wait."

Carson chuckled. "Good. I'll just be another minute or two."

Trying to be patient, Nathan read every poster on Carson's wall before glancing back at his friend, who was still studying Nathan's results. Taking deep breaths, Nathan reread all the posters before Carson turned to him with a smile.

"It looks like everything is healing nicely," he said. "I still don't want you doing super strenuous activities like hiking or surfing, but you should be able to return to normal physical activity again."

Nathan felt relief flood him. "That's great!" He tilted his head. "Can I run? You know, in case I have to be chasing bad guys on the job…"

Carson chuckled. "I'd rather you didn't run for another month or so, but if you have to you can. Just don't go running around for fun, okay?"

Nathan saluted. "Yes, Doc!" he said with mock seriousness. "Does that mean no hiking for another month?"

Carson nodded. "It does. Again, it wouldn't be the end of the world if you did, but I'd prefer if you stayed away from that for just a little bit longer."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Nathan said. "I'm just glad I can resume normal duties again, especially at work. Being behind a desk has been fine, but way more boring than being out and about in the community." He hopped off the examination table. "So I'm cleared to return to work in full capacity?"

"Yep," Carson said. "I assume you're going to need a doctor's note to prove that to Bill?"

"Yes, please," Nathan said. "If it were up to Bill, I'd stay behind that desk another week just to be safe. But I'm done with safe. I've been playing it safe for ten weeks! I'm ready for normal."

Carson chuckled as he filled out a doctor's note. "I can't say I blame you, Nathan. All things considered, you've been very patient with this whole process."

Nathan grinned wryly. "I'm sure Elizabeth might have something to say about that, but let's pretend you're right and I've had the patience of a saint."

That made Carson laugh. "I'll bet Elizabeth has several stories she could tell."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that," Nathan said, laughing. "Actually, can I go see her?"

Carson nodded. "Go right ahead. You know the way, right?"

"Yes," Nathan said. He clapped Carson on the shoulder. "Thank you for everything, my friend."

"You're welcome," Carson said. "I'm happy that you're healed, Nathan. These results look real good."

"Music to my ears," Nathan said, opening the door. "I'll see you later, Carson." He made his way to the NICU and stopped outside the window. Elizabeth was holding a tiny baby in her arms, rocking him back and forth. He could tell from the movement of her lips that she was singing softly to the baby. After a minute, she carefully placed him in an incubator, her hand resting briefly on the small child before she turned her attention to the next one. She glanced up, seeing him standing there, and a wide smile spread across her face. She said something to one of her coworkers, then came out of the room to give him a big hug.

"Hello, sweetheart," she said, resting her head against his chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I just had my appointment with Carson," he replied, smiling against her hair. "So I thought I'd come up and say hello to my lovely wife."

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Your appointment! How did it go?"

Nathan smiled, tracing a line down her cheek. "Very well. I've officially been cleared for normal physical activity again. The only thing Carson doesn't want me doing is hiking or other strenuous activity like that. But other than that, I'm good to go." He grinned at her. "You know what that means."

A slow smile made its way over Elizabeth's face. "I most certainly do." She laughed softly. "You know what's funny? I've been charting my cycle for months, and I happen to know that right now is my fertile time." She kissed his jaw, then winked. "We could very well start our journey to parenthood tonight."

A thrill went through Nathan at the thought of seeing Elizabeth carrying their child. Suddenly, there was nothing he wanted more. "Well then, I guess we have plans this evening."

Elizabeth giggled. "I guess we do."


Elizabeth was sitting on the porch swing when Nathan got home that evening. He'd gone to the police station after his appointment, telling Elizabeth he would be home by six. He was right on time.

He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, then settled next to her on the swing. "Something smells amazing," he said, pulling her close.

She smiled up at him. "I made crockpot pineapple chicken this morning," she said. "It's just about ready. Are you hungry?"

"I sure am," he replied. "But can we just sit for a few more minutes? I love swinging out here with you."

Elizabeth snuggled closer to him. "Of course, sweetheart." They rocked back and forth quietly, taking in the beauty of the evening. After a while, they stood in a mutual agreement to start dinner. Elizabeth spooned the pineapple chicken over rice, and they said a blessing over the food before digging in.

"This is pure comfort food," Nathan said, smiling at Elizabeth. "One of my favorite meals."

Elizabeth smiled back. "I love crockpot dishes," she said. "It took me all of five minutes to throw this together before leaving for work. The pot does all the work for me. Win-win!"

Nathan chuckled, sipping on some wine. "That is a plus," he said, love shining in his eyes as he looked at her.

Elizabeth felt butterflies spiraling in her stomach as they finished dinner. It had been so long since they'd been able to show physical love to each other, and she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms. Ignoring the dishes, she went to him and sat on his lap, sliding her arms around his neck and pressing close. Nathan responded quickly, his arms pulling her closer while his mouth sought hers with a hunger that mirrored her own. He kissed her for a long time, delving deeper and deeper until Elizabeth lost all track of time. She clung to her husband, a fire building inside. Nathan's lips moved down to her neck, pressing tender kisses there. Elizabeth tilted her head back, giving him better access to her throat. When he paused briefly to breathe, she reached up to rain a trail of kisses across his jawline. He groaned, sweeping one arm across her back and the other under her legs, lifting her into his arms and carrying her to their room. He placed her gently against the pillows on the bed before joining her, pulling her firmly into his arms once more. Their kisses became more urgent, the fire continuing to build until it could no longer be contained. Pure ecstasy swept over Elizabeth, joy at being able to be united to her husband again after ten long weeks apart.

After a while, they lay in each other's arms, tired but happy. "I've missed this," Elizabeth whispered against Nathan's chest.

"Me too," Nathan said, pressing a kiss to her cheek before smiling at her tenderly. "But do you know what I've realized in the last couple of months?"

"What did you realize?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

Nathan curled a strand of her hair around his finger as he answered. "Even though we haven't been able to love each other physically, I've fallen more deeply in love with you because of the soul love we've shared, if that makes sense. We've had some rough moments in the past months, most of which was my fault," he admitted with a chuckle. "But you never wavered, Elizabeth. You loved me when I was being unlovable, and you cared for me without complaint." He blinked back tears, cupping her cheek in his hand. "On our wedding day, I didn't think I could possibly love you more. But my heart keeps expanding, and you are the one expanding it. My love for you has grown so much, and I want you to know how much I appreciate the millions of ways you've shown me love in these past ten weeks. In a sense, I'm glad I was so badly hurt, because it showed me a side to you I wouldn't have seen otherwise, and it allowed me to fall in love with you even more."

A tear fell from Elizabeth's eyes, falling on Nathan's chest. He tenderly wiped her cheek. "I didn't mean to make you cry, sweetheart."

Elizabeth shook her head, propping herself up on an elbow as her hand rested on his chest. "It's okay, Nathan," she said, letting the tears come. "I've fallen more in love with you through this time too. I'm glad we experienced a trial like this. It's made us stronger and it's brought us closer together."

Nathan gently leaned her back into the pillows, bending down to kiss the tears from her cheeks one by one before tenderly kissing her lips. He settled into the pillows next to her, resting a hand on her stomach. Neither one of them intended to fall asleep so early in the evening, but at almost the same time they drifted off, content and secure in each other's arms.


Nathan woke the next morning to birds chirping, the sun shining through the window, and his wife snuggled next to him. He watched her while she slept and smiled, loving the way her lips formed a gentle "O" while she was sleeping. He glanced at the clock and raised his brows; it was only half an hour before he had to be at work.

Sliding quietly out of bed so as not to disturb Elizabeth, Nathan quickly went through his morning routine. He ate a simple breakfast while coffee brewed, then poured some of the coffee into a travel mug, keeping the rest warm for Elizabeth when she woke up. He returned to their room to brush his teeth, then went back to the bed. Elizabeth was still sleeping peacefully, and Nathan bent to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I love you, sweetheart," he whispered.

Elizabeth's lips curled into a sweet smile in her sleep, and Nathan's heart ached with a tenderness for her. He reluctantly left the room, grabbing his coffee and briefcase, then drove the short distance to the police station.

Lee eyed the clock as Nathan walked in. "Cutting it a little close, aren't you?"

"What?" Nathan said. "I'm two minutes early."

Lee chuckled. "Yes, but you're usually five to ten minutes early."

Nathan smiled, not about to elaborate on the reason he was "late" today. "I slept in," he said simply.

Lee gave him a knowing look, but dropped the subject. "I have good news," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "We'll be neighbors again shortly. The house is just about finished, and they said Rosie and I would be able to move in this weekend."

"Lee, that's great!" Nathan exclaimed. "Congratulations! I'll bet your whole family is excited to be moving back home soon."

"That's an understatement," Lee said with a laugh. "I know it's going to be an adjustment period for us, because it'll be similar to our previous home but still different. Jesse and Clara have been inside with me a few times, and they've both caught on to all the differences in this new house. They like it, but it will still take some getting used to." He shook his head. "All I can say is I'm happy our homeowners insurance covered the whole thing, even the small expansion. We were fortunate in that. And soon we get to go home." He smiled. "Everything is coming together."

Nathan grinned. "We'll be more than happy to have you and your family next door again. We've missed our game nights."

Lee chuckled. "There's been a whole lot going on for all of us that has conspired against our game nights for months. Besides Carson and Faith's wedding celebration, we hadn't had one since February. It's now May." He shook his head. "It's more than time that we get back to those." He thought for a few moments, then nodded firmly. "Tell you what. Since we're moving in this weekend, and since I know you and Elizabeth will be helping, why don't we have our next game night on the Tuesday after we move in? We'll order pizzas and just hang out playing games. Sound good?"

Nathan nodded. "Absolutely. I can't wait!"