As promised, here is part two! I got a blast of inspiration this morning, so it's out sooner than I expected. I hope it's good and I'm not just overexcited haha.
I hope it gives #TeamNathan some comfort. I tried my best :)
P.S. If you got two update notifications I apologize. It didn't upload properly the first time and I had to do it again. My bad.
The door opened, Nathan felt like his heart was in his throat. A very pretty young woman looked up at him in surprise. Her piercing blue eyes looked so familiar. Her hair was out, with part of it draped over her shoulders. She was wearing a blue dress with white lace trim around the ends of the sleeves and her collar.
"Consta..." she began but stopped before even finishing the word, "Oh my goodness! Nathan! Hi!" she said with surprise and excitement in her voice.
Nathan looked at her blankly for a few seconds. He blinked rapidly. Did she know him? Well... that much was obvious. Then he must know her. If she knows you of course you know her you idiot, he thought to himself. He could not remember where he recognized her from to save his life. And why did she keep reminding him of Colleen?
"Hi," Nathan finally managed to say "Hannah?" he added, "Hannah Green?"
"Yes..." She noticed from Nathan's puzzled expression that he didn't quite know who she was. "You probably remember me as Hannah Prescott." She said, pointing at a wedding ring on her left ring finger.
Like a stack of bricks, the memories came flooding back to Nathan. "Oh my goodness! Yes, of course, I remember you, and your sister Amelia correct?" Nathan asked, completely forgetting his professional demeanour.
When Nathan and Colleen were in high school, they lived a few doors down from the Prescott family. Colleen was best friends with Hannah's older sister Amelia. Now I know why she reminded me of Colleen, Nathan thought, she was the little girl that would tag along next to Nathan, Colleen and Amelia all the time when they hung out.
"Yes, that's right," With a gentle smile on her face, Hannah looked into Nathan's surprised eyes in anticipation.
"So.. you are married. Congratulations!" Nathan said in a cheerful tone, stating the obvious. He tried his best to fill the awkward silence, but wasn't very successful. In all honesty, he was a little overwhelmed. He had practiced a few lines in his head, but all that vanished the minute he saw her face to face.
Hannah laughed and looked down at the ground, then back at Nathan. "I see you still don't talk much," she observed teasingly.
Nathan just looked down at the ground in front of him and smiled.
"What brings you to Hope Valley?" He asked kindly. He still couldn't get over how pretty she was and how much she had grown up. The last time he saw her, she was the annoying little sister that followed him and the older girls around everywhere.
"Well... I was just passing through on my way to San Francisco, where James, my husband, got a job. Then I remembered your mother saying something about you being stationed here. So, I decided to stay a couple of days to see if I could find you." She said pleasantly.
"Straight to the point as usual I see," Nathan remarked with raised brows. He definitely remembered her now. Her mannerisms hadn't changed much, she moved and talked a lot like Colleen and Amelia used to. Her childish spunk had matured, but her honesty and matter-of-factness still showed through. That's something Nathan always liked about the Prescott's. You always knew where you stood with them, they didn't beat around the bush much.
"How is your sister?" He asked cordially.
"She is doing well. She is married now and has a little boy and a girl." She responded with a smile.
"That's great!" He began, "I won't bother you any longer I just thought I recognized you so I decided to say 'Hi'" Nathan said in his usual professional manner.
"Well... Why don't we have dinner later today? Then we can catch up a little more." Hannah suggested. She smiled and watched as Nathan contemplated.
"Sure, that sounds nice," Nathan responded.
"Wonderful!" she beamed as she clasped her small hands together in front of her chest.
Nathan tried to suppress a smile but failed miserably.
The door to her room closed. Nathan was left standing in the dreary hallway. After processing what just happened, Nathan walked across the hallway and down the stairs. There were a few more people in the saloon than when he came in this morning. Looking over, he noticed Lucas was now standing in his usual place behind the bar. Reaching the end of the stairs, Nathan walked towards the door and nodded to Lucas before going back to his office. Lucas followed Nathan's tall red silhouette with his eyes until Nathan left the saloon.
Nathan opened the door to his rowhouse. An excited Allie was finishing her homework at the kitchen table.
"Dad! You are home early!" Allie exclaimed, in excitement, and slight confusion.
"Yes, I am going out to dinner with a friend tonight," Nathan started, "Are you still planning on sleeping over at Emily's place?" He asked as he hung his campaign hat on a hook by the door.
"Yes, I am. I was just getting a blanket and some snacks from here and finishing my homework before heading out." Allie responded, watching her father. "I'm glad I don't have to leave you alone tonight." Allie said maturely, "I was worried you would be lonely," She added.
Nathan laughed and pulled her in for a hug. "I appreciate your concern, but I will be fine. Don't worry." He said with a smile, looking into his daughters' eyes.
He was so proud of her. She had grown up so much and was getting more and more beautiful. He dreaded the day he would inevitably have to let her go. But for now, his heart just filled with joy every time he saw her and heard her happily exclaim the word "Dad" whenever he walked in the door.
"I gotta go.." Allie let go and ran for her bag and blanket. "Have fun at your dinner!" she exclaimed, running out the door, leaving it open behind her.
Nathan was about to tell her to close it behind her, but this time he let it slide and instead leaned against the doorframe. He watched as his daughter excitedly ran down the chain of rowhouses with a cloud of dust forming behind her. The sun was slowly setting. Nathan kept his eye on Allie until she disappeared into one of the rowhouses on the far end. He walked back inside, closing the door behind him. Nathan went upstairs to his room, and changed out of his serge into something less official for dinner. Buttoning his shirt, he looked up into the mirror. He tried to smile, but he felt like it sucked all the energy out of him. What if I would have just forced myself not to fall in love with her? Nathan thought, I didn't want to hurt Elizabeth. I do still love her. I didn't want to hurt Allie or Lucas or anyone. I am a terrible person. Nathan quickly stopped himself right there. He knew if he continued to think, he would just come up with a whole bunch of nonsense that wasn't true. He also wanted to be in good spirits for dinner.
Walking over to the front door, he grabbed his dark brown overcoat from one of the hooks by the door and stepped outside. He looked down the line of rowhouses in the direction where Allie had gone. The street was quiet. Making his way down the gravel street towards the town, he looked down at the ground, glancing up every few seconds. To keep his mind from spiralling into depressing self-doubt, he tried to distract himself by observing everything around him. To his left was an empty grassy field sprinkled with what was leftover from the summer wildflowers. The edges of the road were trimmed with dust-covered dandelions and wild violets. Nathan felt bad for them in a way. The flowers on the edge of the road just took a beating every time a car or buggy drove by. He felt a little bit like that. He desperately wanted to take a bucket of water and just rinse them off, to make them look and feel better. Are you seriously feeling sorry for a flower right now? Nathan thought to himself. He just felt so silly, like everything he ever thought or did was just dumb.
"Hi, Nathan!" A cheerful voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up. Hannah was just a few feet away. She walked towards him with a cheerful spring in her step.
"Hi! I thought I was coming to pick you up?" Nathan said.
"Yes you were, but I decided to go for a walk around town before dinner. The sunset was so beautiful and I thought maybe I could run into you on the way." She said with a gentle smile.
Nathan offered Hannah his arm. They walked over to the cafe. She was wearing the same blue dress she had on earlier with a light cream-coloured overcoat. The front pieces of her hair were tied back, much like they were the first time he saw her. Except, for this time with a blue ribbon. Her long hair draped over her shoulders and a light scent of rosewater perfume followed her. Opening the door for Hannah, she walked into the cafe as Nathan followed. Nathan's eyes scanned the inside of the building. It was a little busier than he had hoped. As he glanced over to the right, a slight pang pierced his heart at the sight of Elizabeth and Lucas having dinner together. He would be lying if he said it didn't hurt. He accepted his fate and had no hard feelings, but his heart was still wounded. Elizabeth and Lucas noticed Nathan walk in with the girl. Both of them smiled in his direction as Lucas lifted his hand in a wave. Nathan forced the most pleasant smile he could possibly muster under the circumstances, nodded, and then looked down at the ground before looking back at Hannah. Hannah noted his expression.
"It looks a little busy in here. Why don't we get a table on the patio? The night air is so lovely this time of year." Hannah suggested cheerfully. She could tell Nathan was a little uncomfortable.
"Um, sure, that sounds nice," Nathan responded, relaxing his shoulders.
Nathan pulled a chair out for Hannah. He then sat across from her at a small round table on the patio. Hannah slipped off her overcoat and hung it on the back of her chair. She wrapped a brown shawl around her shoulders. Nathan took a deep breath and smiled at her. He looked into her big blue eyes as she did the same.
"Oh, how is Allie?" Hannah broke the silence.
"She is doing very well," Nathan responded, "I adopted her a little while ago," He added.
"Really! Oh I am so happy for you two!" She chimed with a genuine smile.
"She is doing well in school, and she has made friends. She is at a sleepover as we speak." Nathan said, taking a sip of water.
"You must be so proud of her," Hannah said.
"Yes, I am," Nathan said proudly. "When did you get married?" He asked, keeping the conversation going.
"Just over a couple of years ago," Hannah replied with a smile.
"What does he do?" Nathan inquired.
"He is a lawyer. I met him when... " She responded.
"Let me guess..." Nathan interrupted, "He got you out of some sort of trouble, and then you two fell in love," He said teasingly.
Hannah laughed, "That's not too far-fetched, but not quite. I met him at one of Amelia's gatherings." She said.
"Ahh," Nathan responded. "Do you remember the time when you said you would marry a Mountie? Then you tried to prove your point by hiding in the woods, and waiting for the mounties to come find you." Nathan reminisced.
Hannah laughed, remembering the fun times they had together as children. "How could I forget. I was quite disappointed when my sister found me, and not a handsome mountie." She said with a laugh. "I got a good scolding after that escapade." She added. A genuine smile couldn't help but escape from Nathan's lips as he listened to Hannah tell the story.
The food they ordered had arrived, and by this time, they were finishing with dinner. Lucas and Elizabeth walked out of the cafe, laughing together. They headed towards the rowhouses. Nathan tried his best not to look up. The door was behind him, so they didn't see him anyway. Or so he hoped. Hannah glanced over at Elizabeth, who smiled at her. Hannah smiled back and then looked across the table at Nathan, who was maneuvering the leftovers on his plate with his fork.
"What's the deal with you and Elizabeth?" Hannah asked, out of the blue.
Nathan looked up at her in confusion.
"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. I'm just curious. As I'm sure, you know by now." She continued.
"What makes you think anything is going on?" Nathan said, trying to maintain a calm demeanour.
Hannah laughed, "Nathan. You are a terrible liar. Besides, I know you. Woman's intuition doesn't hurt either." She said, trying to suppress a smile.
"Wait a minute. How did you know that was Elizabeth?" Nathan asked, perplexed.
Hannah moved a few leftovers around on her plate. Still looking down, she bit her lip. "Florence..." she managed to say in a hesitant voice.
Nathan did his best not to laugh. "That explains it." He said, amused.
"I stopped by the mercantile yesterday before heading to my room. While I was there, I talked to Florence. I told her some things, she told me some things, and I just pieced the rest together." She rambled.
"Oh I bet," Nathan said teasingly, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed.
He lifted an eyebrow and looked Hannah in the eye. He tried his best not to smile, but her innocence, honesty and curious smile won him over. He laughed, then took a sip of his water.
"It's a bit of a long story," Nathan said.
"I have time," Hannah answered, mirroring Nathan. She leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms in front of her, and looked Nathan in the eye.
Nathan surrendered in defeat, sighed, and continued, "Well. Elizabeth and I had a confusing relationship. I fell in love with her. She didn't discourage me, so I thought maybe I had a chance. To make a long story short. After a long while of thinking she maybe felt the same way, she told me she was not in love with me and is now with Mr. Bouchard." Nathan finished.
"I'm sorry, Nathan," Hannah said simply.
"I have no hard feelings against Elizabeth or Lucas. It's nobody's fault but my own. I shouldn't have let my personal feelings get in the way of my duty." Nathan clarified.
Hannah brought her eyebrows together and sent Nathan a glare. Nathan lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Hannah stood up from her chair. Nathan quickly wrote a cheque and placed it on the table, then followed Hannah along the boardwalk.
"Nathan... " She began, "You can't blame yourself, or anyone else for falling in love. Being a Mountie doesn't make you any less human than the next man. Sometimes things happen, or they just aren't meant to be. I believe everything happens for a reason." She continued.
She leaned against the railing on the boardwalk and looked up at the stars. Nathan rested his arms on the railing beside her.
"Do you mind if I ask why she said she wasn't in love with you?" Hannah inquired cautiously.
Nathan hesitated a bit, but he knew Hannah wouldn't give up until she got the answers she wanted. And if he was honest, it was nice to have someone to talk to. Someone who knew him well. "Her previous husband was also a mountie..." Nathan began, "He died on duty. She said she kept looking for her husband in me..." Nathan trailed off. He looked down at the street and swallowed hard.
"From what I can gather. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was just an unfortunate situation..." Hannah processed, "I'm not downplaying your feelings or anything. What you are feeling is completely valid..." she added quickly.
"I don't blame Elizabeth." Nathan defended, looking up at Hannah with pain in his eyes.
"You wouldn't. And I wasn't insinuating that you did..." She said
"I know you weren't..." Nathan responded, trying his best to ease the tension he was feeling.
"You just take the blame off of other people and put it all on yourself until it weighs you down," Hannah said quickly with an expressionless look on her face.
Nathan shot her a look. Hannah didn't seem phased.
"I apologize if that was harsh..." Hannah continued, "I just know you take things to heart. You are naturally a protector. You try to spare other people by putting the blame and responsibility on yourself and bottling it in... You took in a child that wasn't your own, and you love her with all your heart. You became a Mountie to try and make up for the mistakes your father made. And to try and ease the burden off of your family and other people. You feel deeply and care deeply about people. That is what makes you the amazing man that you are. It's what makes you good at your job. It is what makes you an empathetic human being. You have a pure heart." Hannah paused, "And if she didn't see that, then she didn't deserve you," She looked over at Nathan.
He was looking at her attentively, listening in surprise.
She continued, "Sometimes, God has a better plan for us. What we thought was our destiny was maybe a learning opportunity. Or an opportunity to make connections with people or help someone... I'm not saying you weren't in love with Elizabeth. Not at all. I'm also not denying that Elizabeth had some feelings for you as well. She would be crazy not to. I had a huge crush on you when I was twelve." Hannah paused, trying to lighten the mood.
Nathan looked down and blushed with tears in his eyes, suppressing a smile.
"You are a talented, smart, kind, loving, heroic, strong, and determined man. All of those things are amazing qualities to possess. Not to mention you have a great sense of humour when people give you a chance." Hannah smiled at Nathan. Nathan looked up and managed a small smile.
"One day, an amazing woman will come along, and she will be just as in love with you as you are with her. She will not feel the need to compare you with anyone. Because to her, you will be absolutely perfect. When she looks at you, she will see the sun, moon and stars. Not someone's replacement. Don't give up just because things didn't happen the way you had hoped. There is someone like that out there for you... I know it..." She paused, "God would not let a lovely gentleman like you be alone forever. You deserve someone who will love you and Allie more than anything else in this world... When you love someone, you love them with your whole heart... which is why it hurts so much when someone breaks it... You deserve that same love back."
Nathan looked up from the ground to Hannah.
Hannah leaned closer, gently, she began, "I know you are heartbroken..." Nathan tried to keep from blinking, so the tears that were brimming over would not fall.
A small tear escaped from his eye. He quickly looked away from Hannah out into the empty street.
"Again, I am not denying the love you have or had for Elizabeth. And I don't mean to put words in your mouth or thoughts in your head. Or Elizabeth's for that matter. The way I see it; It's like a puzzle piece. Elizabeth's puzzle piece closely resembled what you were looking for, and your puzzle piece closely resembled what she was looking for. But they weren't the exact match. Because she was looking at your piece backwards... That doesn't mean that there isn't anyone out there who is willing to flip your piece and look at it the right way." Hannah explained. "Just because you are a man and a Mountie doesn't mean that you aren't human, or have no emotion. Never blame yourself for loving someone too much." she paused again, studying Nathan's profile.
"This may come as a shock to you Nathan, but there are a lot of people in this town who care about you... I care about you." She looked Nathan in the eye. The tears in his eyes enhanced his childlike blue eyes. Hannah blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall.
"People tend to forget that deep down... adults are just children with a little more life experience," Hannah said, looking up at the stars. "Don't give up on love Nathan. There is someone out there for you," Hannah paused, "Do you know how I know that?" She asked. Nathan looked down at the floor again and then back up at Hannah.
"I know because that unconditional love is what I feel for my husband. Despite his imperfections, he is perfect for me, because he has a gap that I can fill, and in return, I have a gap that he can fill. Our puzzle pieces fit together... there are more puzzle pieces in the sea," she said with a smile. Nathan laughed at her last comment.
"That sounded way better in my head," She continued with a laugh. Nathan couldn't help but laugh himself.
"Thank you," he said with a deep shaky voice.
"I know it's what Colleen would have said. But since she is not here, you are stuck with my bad 'puzzle pun' version." Hannah said with an empathetic smile.
She wrapped one arm around Nathan's shoulders and gave him a squeeze. Nathan took a deep breath. Hannah leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Nathan straightened up and looked at her in surprise.
"I know Colleen would have done that too. Besides, it looked like you could use one... Don't worry my husband won't mind." She said with a smile.
Nathan looked down in an attempt to hide his boyish grin. He helped Hannah with her coat, and walked her to her room.
Reaching the door, Nathan said, "Thanks again... your words mean more than you know," Nathan said thankfully.
"Anytime." She said, rubbing her hand up and down along his arm.
"I don't know what caused you to come through Hope Valley. But, I will forever be grateful that you did." Nathan said gently.
"The Lord works in mysterious ways... Promise me that you will come to visit James and me in San Francisco some time," Hannah asked.
"Allie and I would love to," Nathan replied with a smile. He watched her until she disappeared behind the door.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan left the empty saloon. It was past midnight, and he had to get up early to do his rounds the next morning. Walking back through the town, Nathan grabbed a bucket of water from the livery and headed home. He walked back along the street towards his rowhouse. Taking the bucket of water, he gently rinsed the wild violets on the side of the road in front of his house. He felt like a weight had been lifted off of his heart.
Wow... that was a bit longer then I expected. The words just wouldn't stop flowing (I guess I just took my frustration out on comforting Nathan haha). Sorry about that lol. I hope it was a satisfying ending and it made you feel better :) Nathan really is one of my most favourite characters. His more introverted personality really has so much depth and feeling in my opinion. Ahhh I just love him and want to see him happy :)