AN: So here is my Christmas gift to all my readers! Hope you all enjoy it. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and Merry December 25th to all who don't celebrate or celebrate another holiday!


Standing a few steps behind his sisters, Brian blinked away the tears forming in his eyes as he listened to Bridget and Ivy tell their mother about everything they had done this week. The two small bouquets of flowers they had picked out, lay at the bottom of the cross, bright against the white snow. It wasn't until Ivy started crying that Brian stepped forward. Kneeling down, he turned his baby sister toward him and hugged her close.

"I miss her," Ivy said, her words muffled against Brian's coat.

"I know you do," Brian said. "We all do but as long as you remember her, she will always be a part of your life," he told Ivy, even as Bridget turned from the cross and joined the hug.

"And we still have each other, Ivy," Bridget told her little sister.

"But Brian will leave Hope Valley," Ivy said. "I don't want to leave Hope Valley. I don't want to leave Mama behind."

"I told you, Ivy, we need to do whatever Brian wants us to do. He's in charge now," Bridget told her sister.

As he heard his sister's words, Brian knew he was going to have a conversation that he hadn't wanted to have on Christmas. However, this was a perfect opening and he had no clue how to comfort Bridget and Ivy and avoid the topic.

"No, it's okay," Brian assured them, still holding them both close. "I want to know how you two feel about everything that is going on. I may be the one who has to make the decision but that decision affects you too. The truth is, I don't know what the right choice is in this situation. I want what is best for you two, but I don't think I'm the one that can provide that. I don't know the first thing about raising a child, let alone two little girls."

"We're sorry to be a burden," Bridget told her brother.

Brian shook his head, looking at her. "You two are not a burden. I love you both. I always will, no matter what. However, seeing you here in Hope Valley and the places you have found in this town, I wonder if taking you with me wouldn't be a disservice to you both. My job will take me away at times and I don't know when another posting might mean another move. You've already experienced more turmoil in your life then children your age should."

"Would it be possible for us to stay with the Coulter's?" Ivy asked, her voice hesitant.

"I'm not sure. There are conversations I'd need to have with Judge Avery and Mr. And Mrs. Coulter but is that something you would want to do?"

"You would still be a part of our lives, right? Even if you're not around all the time?"

"I will always be a part of your life," Brian assured them, thinking of Nathan's words from the night before. He knew the older man was right. "Wherever I am, if you needed me, I would be there if you asked. Just like I promised you, when I joined the Mounties."

"I like Mrs. Rosie and Mr. Lee," Ivy said. "I like Mrs. Thornton too."

"I started making friends here already," Bridget admitted. "I don't want to leave them and being close to mama's grave is like staying close to her."

"Let me see what I can work out," Brian told his sisters, his eyes blurring with tears again as he held both of them close to him. He knew his sisters were crying as well, and he was sure there would be more tears in the near future. All he could do, was comfort them the best he could.

Brian wasn't sure how long they were there, hugging one another in their grief. As his own vision cleared though, his eyes fell on his mother's name was the cross.

~Your girls will always be well cared for, Mom, ~ Brian promised silently. ~I'll make sure of that.~

"Brian?"

"Yes, Bridget," Brian said, looking from the cross to his little sister who was wiping tears away with her mittens.

"Can we sing Mama's song to her before we go back to the Coulter's?" Bridget asked.

"Of course we can," Brian told her. Looking from Bridget down to Ivy, who still had her cheek pressed against his coat he asked, "are you going to join us, Ivy?"

The little girl nodded, reaching up to wipe tears away.

As Bridget took a step back, Brian picked Ivy up as he got to his feet. Holding Ivy in one arm, he put the other arm around Bridget as the faced their mother's grave. Standing together, the three siblings began singing "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" as a light snow began to fall.

Though others would probably think the notion silly, Brian thought those snowflakes were their mother's way of showing appreciation for the song from up above them.


"It's about time you won one of our Christmas day competitions," Ally said as she and Nathan headed from the river to their home. Though Ally had caught two fish, the one fish that Nathan had caught was bigger than both of them.

"Though it feels nice to win, you want to know what I like best about this outing?" Nathan told her.

"What?" Ally asked, looking up at her father.

"Getting to spend time with you," he told her, bringing a smile to her face.

"Yeah, spending time with you is kind of special too," Ally said. She got quiet and her smile faded.

Nathan noticed. Moving the string of fish he was holding to the same hand his pole was in, Nathan reached out and put a hand around her.

"What is it, Ally?"

"I know having siblings is going to mean sharing you and I'm okay with that," Ally said. "However, would it be selfish to want to keep this outing on Christmas day just for the two of us?"

Nathan didn't answer right away. He couldn't because he felt a lump form in his throat. He knew that getting use to it not being just he and Ally would be a major change for her. He also knew that it would be important that he make time for just the two of them to spend together. If this was one tradition that she wanted to hold onto, then Nathan knew he could make it happen. He also knew that Elizabeth would understand.

"No, I don't think that would be selfish," Nathan told her, when the lump in his throat finally cleared. "This has been an important tradition for us, and though things are going to change, we can hold on to a few things. So, the Christmas day fishing trip will always be just you and me for as long as you want," he assured her.

"Good," Ally said. "I'm looking forward to teaching Little Jack to fish," she admitted. "However, this trip is special."

"That it is," Nathan told her.

The two finished their walk home in silence. Reaching the house, Ally put away the fishing poles and gear while Nathan stored the fish for their dinner the next day, taking advantage of the cold weather. The two of them then got cleaned up and changed to head to Elizabeth's for dinner. Ally beamed with pride when she saw that Nathan had put on the green plaid shirt that she had made for him for Christmas. Though Mrs. Weise had done most of the work with the button holes, the rest of the work was hers, albeit with a lot of guidance from Opal's mother.

Ally had put on the new outfit the Coulters had given her, though the girl had no doubt it had been Mrs. Coulter who had chosen it. The outfit consisted of a light grey blouse, with some lace on collar, and dark-green pants jumper, with ruffles on the shoulder straps. Ally had to admit she liked the extra frills while still having pants. There were some activities that a dress just wasn't practical for. Her hair was pulled back with the butterfly clip that Gabe had sent to her.

"I put the dishes with our contribution to dinner and my present for Mrs. Thornton in the box. I'll carry the gift for Little Jack," Ally said, nodding to the wooden box on the table with a wrapped package next to it. "Do you have your gift for Mrs. Thornton?"

Nathan held up the small, wrapped box he held. He had tied a red ribbon around it and tied it in a bow on the top. "Is the bow too much?"

Ally laughed. "Not at all," she told him.

Nathan placed his gift in the wooden box and the two of them bundled up against the cold. With Ally carrying Jack's present, the two set off down the path to Elizabeth's house.

"Do you think this time next year we'll all be living under one roof?" Ally asked.

"Where did that question come from?"

Ally shrugged. "I was just wondering. I mean, don't get me wrong, I liked that it was just you and me for the first part of the day, but being in two houses does make things more complicated."

"I don't know for sure, Ally," Nathan said. "Elizabeth and I have just been focusing on the holiday's right now. We haven't had a chance to talk about much else. However, we celebrate next year, we'll make it work though. Just like we did this year."

Ally nodded, willing to leave it at that for now.

Before long, Nathan was knocking on Elizabeth's door. The door was opened quickly, and Elizabeth motioned them in out of the cold.

"I don't remember seeing this before," Elizabeth said, picking up the end of the scarf that Nathan wore.

"That would be because this scarf was a gift from Opal," Nathan told her, as he placed the box down on the settee so he could remove the scarf, hat and gloves. The scarf was this stripes of alternating black and grey with black fringe at either end.

"Awwww," Elizabeth said. "That is so sweet."

Ally had placed the package she carried under the tree and was removing her own coat, hat and gloves. Elizabeth took the coat from her and hung it up.

"That outfit looks lovely on you, Ally," Elizabeth said, Rosemary having shown it to her.

"Thank-you," Ally replied, blushing a little at the compliment.

Little Jack toddled over and reached for Ally's hand. "Ally, play ball?" the toddler asked, holding the plush ball that Bill had given him that morning.

"Of course, Jack," Ally replied, letting the boy lead her to an open spot on the floor. Both kids sat on the floor facing each other, Jack almost immediately rolling the ball in Ally's general direction.

Nathan paused in hanging up his coat to watch the two children. Despite Ally's earlier desire to keep their Christmas fishing trip just the two of them, Nathan didn't think she would have much of a problem sharing him with Jack or any other kids that came along, which was a relief to him.

"She's going to make a wonderful big sister," Elizabeth commented.

"I'm relieved really," Nathan admitted, looking away from the children and finished hanging his coat up on a hook. "She's been an only child for so long, part of me wasn't sure how she would react to losing that distinction."

"For the most part, I don't think you have to worry," Elizabeth replied. "I do think we need to make sure she's able to have her own room. Granted, I grew up sharing a room, first with Margaret and then with Julie, and I loved it. However, if another girl does come along, there is going to be enough of an age gap that making Ally share a room wouldn't be a good idea."

Having hung up his coat, Nathan came up behind Elizabeth, wrapping his arms around her. "So that means you do want more kids?" he asked.

Elizabeth smiled. "Yes," she admitted. "I've always wanted a big family," she said. "Besides, as much as I love Ally and Little Jack, I'd like at least one child that comes from our love for each other," she replied, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. It was probably the most intimate thing she had ever said to Nathan.

"You won't get an argument from me," Nathan told her, leaning down to place a kiss on her temple.

"When are we going to open the rest of the gifts?" Ally asked, looking up after rolling the ball toward Jack.

Elizabeth smiled, remembering how tempting wrapped gifts had been when she was a child.

"Let me get the dishes you and your father brought warming up and we'll open gifts before sitting down to eat," Elizabeth said.

"Okay," Ally replied going back to her game.

Nathan released his hold on Elizabeth and moved to retrieve the box he had brought along. As they headed for the kitchen Elizabeth noticed the shirt he was wearing.

"A new shirt as well, I see," Elizabeth commented.

"This was a gift from my wonderful daughter," Nathan replied.

"Mrs. Weise helped me make it. She did the buttonholes but she just talked me through the rest of it."

"You're turning into quite the little seamstress, Ally," Elizabeth commented. "And I wouldn't be able to do button holes either. At least not ones that lined up right."

"I'm enjoying sewing," Ally replied. "Though I refuse to give up fishing even if Anna thinks it's disgusting."

Elizabeth smiled. "There is no reason you can't enjoy both," she assured the girl.

Elizabeth and Nathan worked together in the kitchen, getting the final dishes of their meal warming up. Elizabeth checked her ham quickly before she and Nathan joined the kids in front of the Christmas tree.

Elizabeth handed Ally her gift first. The girl adored the beaver charm that she found inside it. Elizabeth then helped Jack open the gift from Nathan and Ally. As Elizabeth opened the box, she found a collection of hand carved wooden blocks. Pulling one out, she found a C, painted blue, on one face of the cube.

"You made these?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at Nathan.

Nathan nodded. "I carved them and Ally painted them. I thought they might help him learn his letters," he said, nodding at Little Jack.

"They're beautiful," Elizabeth said, as Little Jack reached in and pulled out two blocks. He wiggled down from Elizabeth's lap and sat on the floor, immediately trying to stack one block on top of the other. "You both did a wonderful job. Thank-you," she said.

Placing the box on the floor next to her son, she gave first Ally and then Nathan a hug.

"Open my gift to you next," Ally said, handing Elizabeth the small package.

"Okay," Elizabeth said. Removing the gift wrapping she found the three handkerchiefs. She picked up the first one and looked at the embroidered letters - ETTG.

"I thought that since you and Dad were engaged, it was okay to add the G for Grant," Ally ventured. "You don't mind do you?"

"Not in the least," Elizabeth assured her, touched at the gift. As she looked at the other two, she came across the third one with a flower and the word 'Mama' embroidered on it. She felt her eyes fill up with tears, knowing that this last one had been finished quite recently. Letting the handkerchiefs fall in her lap, Elizabeth reached out for the girl again.

"Thank-you for the beautiful gift, Ally," she told the girl.

"You're welcome," Ally replied, hugging Elizabeth back.

Nathan opened his gift from Elizabeth next. Opening the picnic basket he pulled out first the fishing gear and then the blanket. "This stuff will get a lot of use," Nathan said. "Did you make the blanket?"

"Yes, with help from Mrs. Weise myself. If it starts falling apart at the seams, I'll have someone put it together better," Elizabeth told him.

Nathan chuckled. "I'm sure it'll hold up just fine," he told her. "And hopefully when the warmer weather comes, you and Jack might join us on one of our fishing trips," Nathan suggested.

"Yeah, it'll be fun teaching Little Jack to fish," Ally said.

"I could be talked into that, although I'm not touching a fish," Elizabeth stated.

Nathan laughed. "You won't have to," he promised her. "And now there is one more gift to be opened," he said, handing her his gift to her.

Taking the small box, Elizabeth unwrapped it. Ally came to stand beside Nathan, knowing what her father had gotten her teacher. Opening the box inside, Elizabeth found a gold locket sitting on a bit of cotton.

"Open it," Nathan instructed.

Elizabeth picked the locket up, laying the box aside. As she pried the two sides apart, her vision blurred when she saw the picture inside it.

"How?" she asked, not able to finish the question.

It didn't matter. Nathan knew exactly what she was asking.

"I asked Rosemary to get the picture for me," Nathan told her. "I know Jack will always be a part of you, as it should be. This way, he'll always be close to your heart."

"Rosemary," Elizabeth murmured, handing the locket to Nathan as she got to her feet.

"Elizabeth?" Nathan asked, a look of confusion on his face. "I didn't mean to upset you. I thought you would appreciate the locket."

"I do," Elizabeth told him, as she headed for her desk. "It was very thoughtful. It's just that when you mentioned Rosemary, I remembered that she left a note with me when she stopped by earlier. She said it was her gift for me but I had to wait until I opened your gift to open it."

Finding the envelope, Elizabeth returned to the settee. Sitting next to Nathan again, she opened the envelope. Inside, she found a small, circular picture of Nathan, and a piece of paper. Unfolding the paper, she read out loud.

Dear Elizabeth,

I know Nathan is too modest to add a picture of himself, but I want you to be able to keep both men who managed to capture your heart close to your heart. Here is the second picture for your locket.

Merry Christmas my friend,

Rosemary

"That was sweet of her," Nathan commented, as Elizabeth handed him the picture from the envelope. He put it in the locket, not at all surprise that it was a perfect fit given how long Rosemary had the locket. He then reached out and fastened the locket around Elizabeth's neck.

Elizabeth reached up and placed her hand over the locket. "It's the perfect, gift. Thank-you Nathan."

"You're welcome," Nathan replied leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers.

"I have a feeling we're going to have to get use to seeing a lot of that, Jack," Ally said, looking down at the little boy.

Jack looked up from his blocks. "Na'tan kiss Mama," he said, causing Nathan and Elizabeth to break their kiss as they laughed, along with Ally.