Thank you for all of your reviews and comments! I'm glad you're enjoying the ride. =)

I learned that Opal does have a last name: it's Weiss. Still have no idea what her mom's name is, though, so I gave her one.

Gabe is in this one, too. I've watched his scenes with Nathan but I've never actually sat down to watch When Hope Calls, so if you have and Gabe seems out of character in this in anyway, do me a favor and roll with it okay? I liked what I saw of him and Nathan and their interactions, and I just really wanted Nathan to have a friend. Cool? Cool.

And please, show, for the love of all that is good, please give us our happy blended family back.

There was something to be said for the tenacity of teenagers.

Allie had managed to evade Elizabeth for the whole first week that she'd been home. Elizabeth had been headed to the café with little Jack when the stagecoach had arrived and brought Allie with it. Sarah and Opal had been waiting under the gazebo with an entourage of the other kids - Emily, Anna, and Robert - and the children's joy at being reunited had been visible (and audible) to all. Allie hadn't been away long, but watching her step off the stagecoach had given Elizabeth a new appreciation for how quickly she was growing, and how tall she was now. It had made Elizabeth wish in the moment to know what Colleen had looked like, and what Nathan's mother looked like. Archie Grant was not a tall man, but it was clear that Allie had gotten her height and long legs from someone in the family.

Allie's face when Elizabeth had greeted her was bittersweet. For a heartbeat, Allie had smiled at her with all of the unguarded warmth that Elizabeth had become used to - but the next moment a shadow had stolen across her features, and her smile became more subdued.

"Welcome back, Allie!"

Allie's answering, "Thank you, Mrs. Thornton," had been heart crushing in its formality.

Elizabeth had wanted to say more - to ask her about her journey, and her time in Calgary, and just talk to her again - but Sarah had smiled at her and excused them all, and the gaggle of children, now teenagers, had moved away down the street.

No matter where Elizabeth looked in the following week, or how often she went into town, she did not see Allie again. She had caught a glimpse of the girl leaving the mercantile once, but Elizabeth's attention had wandered for just a minute to an argument in front of the saloon, and when she looked back Allie was nowhere in sight.

The fight had been just another reminder that Nathan's absence was taking a toll on Bill. Between his duties as judge, running the café, and filling in as the interim law in town, he was being run ragged. Gowen's son, Christopher, had already caused something of a stir with his thinly veiled dislike of Lucas, but he was also causing some tension for Rosemary and Lee due to his not-so-secret interest in Rachel.

So, between trying to be there for Lee and Rosemary whilst also trying to do what she could for Bill, the first week of Allie's return passed without Elizabeth being able to get a moment with her.

The second week, however, Elizabeth had made a plan. When Laura had arrived to care for little Jack, Elizabeth had gone straight to Opal's house. Sarah had informed her that Allie was out with the girls and wasn't expected back until dinner time. Elizabeth had always liked Sarah; she took the opportunity to explain a little of her plan to Sarah, and why she was making such an effort to get some time with Allie.

Elizabeth didn't mention why things between her and Allie had degraded recently. She doubted that she needed to - one of the truths of living in a small town was that everyone knew everything, and things like courting and love matches could never go unnoticed. The situation between Elizabeth, Lucas, and Nathan had never been as private as she might have wished. But Sarah was a graceful, compassionate woman and had only alluded to understanding why things might be rocky between Elizabeth and Allie.

"It's hard to be a child in the middle of adult decisions," Sarah had said.

Elizabeth had sighed. "It's hard to be an adult in the middle of adult decisions."

And Sarah had let loose a knowing laugh, and Elizabeth had outlined her plan and let the other woman know that she would have Allie home in time for dinner, and that had been that.

The next day, Elizabeth left her house when Laura arrived and went straight to the café.

"Elizabeth," Bill said in greeting.

"Elizabeth!" Clara echoed in a brighter tone. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you." When Clara had retrieved the coffee pot and returned to the front of the café, Elizabeth continued. "Actually, Bill, I was hoping that you'd let me borrow Hero for the day."

"You want to borrow my horse? Why?"

"Hopefully because Allie and I will be going for a ride today."

Bill didn't make her wait long. "Of course. A ride would be good for her."

Elizabeth's heart fluttered. "Why? Did something happen? Have you heard from Nathan?"

"One question at a time," Bill chided her gently. He was stirring something that smelled like stew. "I haven't heard anything. Every time I see her Allie just looks lonely. I'm sure it's because she misses Nathan."

"Well, that's understandable." Elizabeth didn't know how much time Nathan and Allie had been made to spend apart because of his job as a Mountie. It was a question that she'd never thought to ask. This was certainly the longest they'd gone without seeing each other since Elizabeth had known them. It wasn't uncommon for Nathan to be pulled here and there every so often - a few days in Buxton, or Union Hills, or just out in the world somewhere - but those times had always been short. He'd be gone for two or three days, and then he'd be home again. They were approaching the end of their third week without Nathan now.

"So, you don't mind if we borrow Hero?"

"No problem. You know which saddle is his?"

"I do. Thank you, Bill."

From there, Elizabeth went straight to the livery to retrieve Sergeant and Hero. Though she knew it would be empty, she couldn't resist glancing at Newton's stall. Still empty. As if he'd magically appeared without her noticing.

She made quick work of saddling both horses and loading their saddle bags. She had packed a light lunch for her and Allie, because even if it went worse than she expected Elizabeth was determined to spend some time with the young woman. Determined, and hopeful, and she had learned many years ago that was a powerful combination.

Elizabeth ponied Hero all the way to Sarah and Opal's. It was mid-morning by now, but Sarah had assured Elizabeth yesterday that she would keep Allie back if the children tried to go anywhere. Still, Elizabeth couldn't shake the mild apprehension that tightened her chest as she dismounted and stepped up to knock on Sarah's door. No matter how difficult Allie made this, Elizabeth was going to repair the cracks in their relationship. No matter what had happened between her and Nathan, or what would happen in the future, her relationship with Allie existed and was important all on its own.

"Hi, Mrs. Thornton," Opal said with a grin when she opened the door.

"Hello, Opal. Is Allie here?"

In response, Opal nodded and simultaneously called for the other girl. "Allie!"

In the moments before Allie appeared, Sarah gave her a smile and a wave from the kitchen that Elizabeth returned.

Allie's surprise was evident when she stepped into view and found Elizabeth at the door. That surprise morphed quickly into concern. "Mrs. Thornton? Is my dad okay?"

The words caught Elizabeth off guard. She had been there for Allie's adoption ceremony, but she'd had little interaction with Nathan and Allie after that, so had not been aware that Allie had started referring to him as something other than her uncle. It both was and wasn't a surprise. Nathan had always been her father - the only father she'd ever known, as Elizabeth herself had pointed out - but hearing Allie call him her father made it more official than even the adoption had.

"I'm sure he's fine, Allie, but I haven't heard anything. Actually, I'm here because I was hoping you would go for a ride with me."

Allie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She was standing at the door now and glanced around Elizabeth to where the horses were standing quietly. "A ride? Why?"

Elizabeth swallowed against the small jolt of sadness that Allie's question caused. "Because I'd like to spend time with you."

Elizabeth had spent years with the children of Hope Valley. For some of them, like Robert and Opal, she had watched them grow and change into the young adults that would continue to carry Hope Valley into the future. Even for the children like Allie, however, Elizabeth had still spent considerable amounts of time as a focal point of their young lives. Elizabeth loved her children, and she truly did consider them all hers to some extent.

But Allie was different. Allie and Elizabeth were closer than Elizabeth had ever been to her other children. In many ways, whether Elizabeth had intended for it to happen or not, Allie had become like a daughter to her.

So, the way that Allie looked at her now was painful. Allie was afraid to say yes, but she wanted to go; her uncertainty pulled what should have been a smile, and might have been, into something closer to a grimace.

"You would? Just me, without my dad?"

Honestly, Elizabeth wanted to cry.

"I would like to spend time with just you, Allie. Would that be okay?"

Allie thought about it for a minute. "I'd need to ask."

"I already have. Mrs. Weiss and I have agreed that I will have you back by dinner."

"Okay." Allie still sounded hesitant, but Elizabeth took it as a good sign that she hadn't outright refused.

When Allie had said goodbye to Opal and her mom, Elizabeth led them over to the horses. Bill had mentioned that Nathan had been teaching Allie to ride on Hero before they left, so they were used to one another. Hero was also a well trained mount with years of experience as a Mountie's horse, so that helped.

"Do you need help getting in the saddle?" Elizabeth offered. She had tried to adjust the stirrups for Allie as best she could, but she'd just have to wait and see if they needed to be done again.

Allie shook her head. "That part I can do."

Sure enough, Allie was able to pull herself into the saddle after only two attempts. Elizabeth had almost guessed the length of the stirrups correctly, but they needed to be raised a notch. Elizabeth stepped to one side of the saddle and tapped Allie's boot gently to indicate that she should pull her leg back and away from the stirrup so that Elizabeth could fix it.

"I missed horses," Allie said.

"Your mother doesn't ride?"

Allie shook her head. She'd taken to wearing her hair with a braided crown and leaving the rest down. It made her seem older, Elizabeth thought.

"Not anymore. Grandma lives in Calgary now."

"I've never been to Calgary," Elizabeth said conversationally. She had finished with the first stirrup and grabbed the toe of Allie's boot to slide her foot into the stirrup. "How's that?"

"Good."

Elizabeth moved to the other side. "Did you like the city?"

"No. I told my dad I wouldn't. Cities make me feel ..."

When Allie had trailed off Elizabeth glanced away from the other stirrup and up at Allie's face. She didn't seem like she knew how to finish the sentence. "Nervous?" Elizabeth supplied. Allie shook her head, and she tried again. "Out of place?"

Allie thought for a minute. "Yeah, I guess. Everyone there just seems to care about stupid things, like dresses and dancing. There are buildings and cars everywhere, and no one says anything to each other."

Elizabeth thought about that. She hadn't lived in Hamilton for years now, but she remembered enough of her time there to understand what Allie meant. City life was very different from their lives here on the frontier. Elizabeth had grown up in a life just like the one Allie described: with a rich family in a big house full of serving staff, and a mother who insisted that ladies never wore the same dress twice to a dance, and an older sister who had told everyone from a young age that she would marry a wealthy man with a title. And Viola had done just that, and Elizabeth had chosen to get on a stagecoach and head west.

She didn't regret a single moment of it. Elizabeth had enjoyed her life in Hamilton, but there was nothing like her life here in Hope Valley. What she did made a difference here; she could hardly step a foot out her door without seeing someone that knew her.

"I understand what you mean," Elizabeth said. She slid Allie's other foot into the stirrup and then stepped over to Sergeant.

"You do?" Allie asked.

"I do." Elizabeth swung herself up into Sergeant's saddle and turned them away from the town. She'd figured they could take a nice road through the woods, and then stop for lunch at the dock by the pond. "When I first arrived in Hope Valley, I couldn't ride a horse either. I was more familiar with a ballroom than I was a kitchen. In fact, my first night here I burned down the teacherage."

Beside Elizabeth, Allie laughed. It was an actual, from the stomach laugh that pulled an answering grin from Elizabeth. "What?" Allie demanded. "You burnt down an actual building?"

"I did."

"How?"

So, Elizabeth told Allie about her first days in Hope Valley, back when it was still Coal Valley and no one knew who Elizabeth Thatcher was. She told her about the snake that had been let loose in her classroom, and how she hadn't had a classroom at all at first and had taught out of the saloon. Elizabeth even told her a few stories about Jack - about how handsome and infuriating he'd been.

"Infuriating?" Allie asked.

"It means annoying, or to make someone extremely angry."

Allie thought for a moment. "Then, Robert is infuriating."

And it was Elizabeth's turn to laugh. "Why do you say that?"

It was Allie's turn to tell Elizabeth about how she like-liked Robert, who like-liked Anna even though Allie had thought at first that he like-liked her. Elizabeth listened with patience and hidden mirth. She remembered what it had felt like to have her first crush on a boy. She'd hated it, of course, and the situation had been not unlike Allie's. Elizabeth had liked Tomas Mirwell, a boy two years older than her from a well to do family that had barely known Elizabeth existed.

"My dad says that when we truly care about someone we just want them to be happy, even if that happiness doesn't include us. Do you think that's true, Mrs. Thornton?"

Elizabeth inhaled deeply. She thought she could guess what Allie and Nathan had been discussing when her uncle - no, her dad, had told her that. It knocked the wind out of her, in a way, but also told her what a good parent Nathan was. What a good man he was.

"I do," Elizabeth agreed.

Quietly, Allie said, "But that doesn't make it feel any better, does it?"

Elizabeth pulled gently on Sergeant's reins to bring him to a halt. Hero stopped automatically next to his compatriot, and Elizabeth leaned over to put a reassuring hand on Allie's arm.

"No, it doesn't," Elizabeth agreed. "Sometimes caring about people is hard, and scary, but it's always worth it, Allie. One day, you'll meet someone who cares about you as much as you care about them. I promise."

"Maybe," Allie said skeptically. "But I don't think I want to fall in love."

Elizabeth chuckled. Allie was quickly approaching puberty, and she remembered how difficult that transition had been, too. "Why do you say that?"

"Never mind." Allie looked uncomfortable, as if she'd just said something that she wasn't supposed to say.

"Allie? You can tell me. I know things have been ... difficult, lately, but you know that you can tell me anything, right?"

Once, not so long ago, Allie would have told Elizabeth anything and everything without so much as a second thought. Now, the young woman looked as if she'd been caught between two wrong decisions.

"When you were mad at my dad, before we left, he said that you were hurting, and we should be kind. I don't think he'd want me to say something now that might be unkind. Even if it's true."

Elizabeth had to wait several moments for the sudden ache in her heart to subside before she could answer. "That was very thoughtful of your dad, Allie, and thoughtful of you now. But I meant what I said: you can tell me anything, even if it's hurtful."

Allie considered that. Then, with a new reserve that told Elizabeth that it would take time to fully repair their relationship, the young woman replied, "My dad fell in love and all it's ever done is make him sad. If that's what being in love does, then I don't think I want it."

Elizabeth had encouraged Allie to tell her what she'd been thinking, but hearing her say it hit Elizabeth like a physical blow. They had resumed walking the horses some time ago, but now Elizabeth had to look away from Allie so that she could blink back the tears that sprang to her eyes. The sudden shift of her weight brought Sergeant to an instinctive halt.

"Mrs. Thornton?" Allie asked worriedly.

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't find her voice. Allie had had a front row seat to Elizabeth and Nathan's relationship, such as it was, and such as it had been, but Elizabeth knew that it would be like watching a silent movie. She could see what was happening but wouldn't understand it unless someone explained it to her, or gave her some insights that Elizabeth doubted anyone had given her. And that wasn't a mistake on Nathan's part. Even if he had tried to explain it, there were things that Allie simply wouldn't be able to understand at thirteen years old. She was too young to grasp the depth and scope of Elizabeth's fear and heartbreak, or the emotional burden that Nathan had toiled under for the last few years. The nuance was lost on Allie. She had only seen two people who appeared to care about each other one moment, and then been unable to be in the same room with each other the next.

"... knew I shouldn't have said anything," Allie was saying.

Elizabeth was finally able to clear her throat. She managed a smile and turned to look at the young woman next to her. "It's okay, Allie. Thank you for telling me. And I understand why you might feel that way. But I want you to know that love isn't always like that, Allie. Sometimes it makes you sadder than you've ever been, but it can also make you happier than you could have ever imagined."

"It can?" Allie asked dubiously.

Elizabeth managed a smile. "It can."

And, Elizabeth hoped, soon Nathan would come home and maybe, together, they could change Allie's mind.

"Stagecoach would have been faster."

Nathan sighed and cast a sidelong glare at the man next to him. "Really?"

"What? Just making conversation." But the smirk on Gabe's face undercut his tone of feigned innocence. "You are the one making us walk all the way there, after all, and you haven't answered any of my questions -."

"Ask different questions, then."

"Fine. Why couldn't we take the stagecoach?"

Nathan stopped dead in his tracks in irritation. The suddenness of it made him tense his muscles, and that brought with it a wave of pain that had him clenching his jaw. The humor in Gabe's face melted into a look of concern, but Nathan waved him off before he could approach.

"I'm fine."

Gabe wiggled a finger at himself. "Sure. I've been shot before, remember? It's not fun."

"Never said it was," Nathan grumbled. Truthfully, the three cracked ribs were giving him more trouble than the bullet wound in his arm. That had been mostly a graze, but now that it hurt him to do so, he was forced to realize how important his ribs were to movement. That was why he had opted not to take the stagecoach home. All of the jostling would have been agony, even if they would have reached Hope Valley sooner. "You didn't have to come with me, you know."

"What, and miss the chance of seeing this town you won't shut up about? Besides, I want to meet your daughter. And the school teacher you won't tell me about."

Nathan blew out a breath and started walking again. Newton walked sedately behind him, his saddle and saddlebags loaded down with all of Nathan's belongings. Gabe had opted to walk as well, though he'd sustained little more than a black eye and some bruises and easily could have ridden.

"I told you about her."

Gabe shot him an unimpressed look. "You told me what I could read in a newspaper article. 'Elizabeth Thornton, widow of the late Jack Thornton and teacher of Hope Valley.' That tells me nothing."

"What else is there?" Nathan didn't particularly want to have this conversation, but at least if he was talking he wasn't thinking about how tired he was or wondering how much longer they had before they reached Hope Valley. They'd been walking for days.

"You tell me," Gabe retorted on a short laugh. "You called her Elizabeth, so you must have some kind of relationship with her outside of the schoolhouse."

"We're ... friends. Or, we were. It's complicated." On second thought, Nathan would rather focus on anything except this conversation.

Gabe took pity on him. He had told Nathan a little bit about Lillian here and there, but he had an easier time of it because Nathan had actually met Lillian. Nathan had been to Brookfield, but Gabe had never been to Hope Valley and had no frame of reference for the people that Nathan talked about. Also, Nathan had a hunch that something about his expression or the way he'd talked about Elizabeth the two or three times he'd mentioned her had given away more than he'd intended.

"Do they know?" Gabe asked after they'd been walking some time. "Your daughter and ... everyone else? Do they know what happened?"

Nathan cleared his throat. "Not unless they saw it in the newspaper." Nathan had thought about sending a wire to Allie, who would be with Opal and her mother now, to let her know what to expect when he finally arrived home. A wire had felt too impersonal, though, and Nathan knew how his daughter struggled with her fear of abandonment. She would not react well to knowing that he was injured, and Nathan had chosen not to tell her ahead of time. He wanted to be there to reassure her.

But there was another reason Nathan had not sent a wire: he didn't doubt that the information would have gotten back to Elizabeth one way or another, and he didn't want to do that to her either. Whatever their relationship was, and no matter how complicated, he knew that Elizabeth cared about him. She would react as poorly to the news of his injuries as Allie would. Better not to tell them ahead of time and let them bear the weight of their worry for however long it took him to get home. They would find out when he was there in front of them, so that he could reassure them that everything was fine.

The only variable was the newspaper story that had been released proclaiming the capture of the leading members of the Olsen gang. One of the men had managed to evade Nathan and his comrades, but the wire from Mountie headquarters had assured Nathan that another detail would be sent after him. With one Olsen brother dead and the other in custody - and considering that the four of them had sustained varying degrees of injuries - headquarters had declared their job well done and given them leave to go home.

Hastings and Dupre had been lucky. Nathan had lost consciousness in the middle of the street - a combination of shock, a mild concussion, and blood loss, the doctor had informed him later - but the commotion had drawn the townspeople out of their homes. Nathan had woken up in the small infirmary that reminded him so much of Carson's a full sixteen hours after passing out to find Hastings, Dupre, and Gabe crammed into makeshift beds like his. Everyone had survived, though Gabe had told him that Hastings had nearly kicked the bucket twice after the iron was removed from his leg, and Dupre had still been unconscious from blood loss when Nathan woke.

Nathan and Gabe had been more fortunate. Gabe had a black eye and several bruises, but had avoided any further injury. Nathan had a few bruises of his own, but it was mostly his cracked ribs and the bullet that had hit his arm that gave him the most trouble. The ribs would mend on their own, and the good doctor had sewn up his arm and told him to take it easy for a few weeks, and that was that.

But the injury to his ribs meant that Nathan couldn't ride, or bend over, or lift things ... the ribs were the real annoyance.

Nathan had left the moment he'd been told he could. He was tired, and he missed Allie and El ... well, he was just ready to be home. He'd been surprised when Gabe had informed him in no uncertain terms that he'd be accompanying him to Hope Valley and staying a few days before continuing home to Brookfield. Now, Nathan was glad that Gabe was with him. This would have been a very different journey home if he'd been alone.

"Come on," Gabe said when Nathan's breathing had started to sound ragged even to his own ears. "Time for a break."

"It's only a few more miles."

Gabe ignored him. "There's a tree stump over here that you can sit on. I'll get your canteen."

Nathan wanted to keep going, but he knew that Gabe was right. It'd been a long time since he'd walked so many miles, and that compounded with all of his other aches had made the last few days difficult. They were so close now that he thought he could almost see the water tower that welcomed everyone to Hope Valley through the trees. Which probably meant that now was a perfect time for a rest, because Nathan knew that he probably looked like a tired, haggard mess. He didn't want to compound Allie's shock at his less than stellar physical condition with heavy steps and labored breathing.

Gabe brought Nathan his canteen. Nathan forced himself to stick to many small sips rather than the one long draught he wanted to take. It made him feel better knowing that he was so close to home. He'd missed Allie and hoped she was okay, and wondered what she was getting up to in Hope Valley. Was she on her best behavior for Mrs. Weiss? Had she enjoyed Calgary at all?

"We should make it to town in time for dinner," Nathan said. He hadn't been very talkative, but he knew that Gabe's teasing had been good natured. That, and an attempt to keep his mind off of the pain that he kept pretending not to feel. "The café will still be open. And you'll get to meet Bill, he's the judge I was telling you about."

"A hot meal sounds divine right now."

"That, and a bath," Nathan agreed.

Gabe sighed. "I take it back. That sounds divine." After they'd passed a few minutes in silence, Gabe turned a bright smile on Nathan. "You know what?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"This time you got shot, and no one got blown up."

It was so unexpected that Nathan started to laugh, but the pain in his ribs turned it into more of a wheezing cough. "Didn't I tell you our relationship was starting to feel unhealthy?"

"Didn't I tell you that saving each other was our thing?"

Nathan huffed out the best laugh he could manage and shook his head. Truthfully, he'd been lucky to have Gabe with him on this assignment. Hastings and Dupre had helped, and Nathan wouldn't hesitate to serve with either of them again, but Gabe had a point. In all of their time working together, Gabe had proven himself to be an exceptional Mountie and young man. He was steady under pressure, reliable, and a quick thinker - all traits that Nathan was glad to have had in his corner now, and every time prior.

"So," Nathan started, "About Lillian ..."

"Don't you dare, Grant. If I can't ask you about your schoolteacher, you can't ask me about Lillian."

Nathan pushed on anyway. "I was just going to say that you should stop wasting time. Tell her how you feel. Nothing will change if you don't."

The humor had left Gabe's expression. He set his gaze on the trees, on the sky, on his boots - everywhere but on Nathan. "Oh? Know that for a fact, do you?"

Maybe it was because he was tired, and his body ached in too many places to track; or maybe it was because Gabe had proven himself to be a friend and not just another brother in arms, and they had already weathered more shootouts, chases, and dynamite explosions together than Nathan would have preferred. Whatever the reason, Nathan finally found himself opening up to someone.

"I do," Nathan said quietly.

Gabe's head snapped up with an almost audible sound. Nathan waited, but he didn't ask any questions. After a moment, Gabe just nodded somberly. "I'm sorry, Nathan."

Nathan tried to shrug and then grunted when the motion jostled his ribs. "It is what it is. And I still have Allie. You're gonna love her."

"She sounds great. Maybe we can go fishing while I'm in town. Well, you'll just have to sit and watch us, but still."

Nathan nodded and smiled as he glanced at his boots and then up at the sky. They needed to start moving again. Gabe mimicked his motions and seemed to know what Nathan was thinking, because he held out a hand for Nathan's canteen and then stood to take it over to Newton. They hadn't unpacked anything else, so Gabe retrieved their horses' reins and led them both over to Nathan. Impatient - and headstrong - Nathan had already managed to struggle to his feet. He took Newton's reins from Gabe's outstretched hand, and then they fell into step as they headed once more in the direction of Hope Valley.

"What if I tell her how I feel and she doesn't feel the same?" Gabe asked after some time.

Bill's words came to mind, and Nathan found himself repeating them. "It might be painful but it's an answer, and even if it's not the one you want it's still worth knowing."

"You know, I don't know why anyone ever thinks you're quiet. You never shut up."

Nathan shot such a dirty look at Gabe that the other man let out a sharp bark of laughter that carried through the trees.

In almost direct opposition to Gabe's ribbing, the closer they get to Hope Valley the quieter that Nathan grew. They were on the main lane into town now, and the sun was setting behind the saloon. Nathan could finally hear the town as well as see it: the jingle of the bell over the mercantile door; the rumble of a running car engine; the soft hint of voices of people talking in the street. For the first time in all of his years as a Mountie, Nathan truly had the sense that he was coming home.

Ironic, seeing as how just a year or two ago he'd welcomed the chance to take a posting elsewhere. He'd eventually turned it down, but the idea of leaving had been attractive to him for a moment. If he'd removed him and Allie from Hope Valley, then he could have removed himself from Elizabeth Thornton's life. They could have left things on good terms, without the hurt that had come later. She would never have learned about Jack, or left Nathan's heart in the middle of a dusty lane.

Despite those things, Nathan couldn't deny that this was the first time he'd had that sense of coming home in longer than he could remember. Allie was here ... and Elizabeth was here. No matter how things stood with them now, he wanted to be where she was. He wanted to know that he might see her on Main street, or standing on the schoolhouse steps, or even in the saloon. He wanted to be wherever Elizabeth Thornton was - even if she wanted nothing to do with him.

People had started to notice the two Mounties walking into town. Heads turned in their direction as they approached the fueling station, and then voices began to call out as they reached the mercantile steps.

"Constable Grant?" Someone called.

"Something tells me you're about to have quite the homecoming," Gabe muttered as another voice called out Nathan's name, and then another.

Nathan nodded and smiled at the people that had begun to approach, but his eyes were everywhere else as he looked for the one face he couldn't wait to see (and another face that he wouldn't admit to hoping to see).

Enough people were calling out to him now that faces began to appear in doorways, and then he saw her. Allie stepped out of the livery, of all places, and even from here Nathan could appreciate how tall she was getting. He saw the moment she recognized him: the smile that split her face was so wide and excited that Nathan felt himself smiling in response. To his surprise, Elizabeth stepped out of the livery as well, and right into the space next to Allie.

But Allie yelled, "Dad!" at the top of her lungs and launched into a run, and Nathan didn't have much time.

"Gabe," he said in warning.

Gabe was as quick on the uptake as ever, though, and he stepped smoothly in front of Nathan just before Allie could launch herself at him. "Hi," he said brightly. "You must be Allie."

Allie looked at Gabe in annoyance and consternation, and then she looked at Nathan. Even in the failing light of twilight she was close enough to really take him in now, and the smile transformed immediately into fear.

"What happened?" Allie demanded loudly. "You're hurt!"

Now that he was no longer afraid that Allie would tackle Nathan in her excitement, Gabe stepped to the side and quietly took Newton's reins from Nathan.

"I'm sure it looks worse than it is," Nathan said gently. His eyes darted away from Allie to find that Elizabeth was just behind her. The look on her face was almost harder to bear than the one on Allie's, because Nathan knew that she would not accept whatever white lies Nathan might have offered.

"Nathan," Elizabeth breathed in a tone of quiet horror.

"Can't I hug you?" Allie asked, and she looked from Nathan to Gabe for confirmation. "That's why you stopped me, wasn't it? So I wouldn't hug him?"

Allie was on the verge of tears. Behind her, Elizabeth's face was almost as white as a sheet. Nathan took a quick step toward them both and tried to raise his arms at the same time, and it had the unfortunate effect of jostling both his injured ribs and his injured arm. Nathan inhaled sharply and then tried to hide the pain.

Allie started to cry.

"I'm okay, I promise," Nathan assured her. "You can hug me, just be gentle. In fact, I'd really like a hug. What do you say?"

When Allie stepped into the circle of Nathan's arms, he loosed a deep breath and dropped his cheek against the top of her head. He'd missed his daughter more than he'd let himself think about, and that was only compounded by the knowledge of all that had happened in his time away - none of which he would tell her.

"Nathan," a familiar voice greeted warmly.

Nathan opened his eyes to see Carson standing before him. The crowd of people that had formed to welcome him home had dispersed a little in the face of his obvious exhaustion. Carson had come to stand next to Elizabeth, and Nathan knew what he wanted. Nathan nodded in greeting.

Then, he released Allie and held her back by the shoulders to look her in the face. He shucked her lightly on the chin with one hooked finger. "Will you show Gabe where to put the horses? He'll need help unsaddling them."

"But," Allie started to argue.

"I'll be right there," Nathan interrupted. "Go on."

He waited until Allie and Gabe were out of earshot to turn his attention to Carson and Elizabeth. He wanted so badly to hold out a hand to her and pull her into his side as if he had been coming home to her as well, but he tamped down on the urge.

Ever the doctor, Carson had been sizing Nathan up since the moment he'd arrived. "Ribs?"

Nathan hesitated. Other than the one time she'd said his name, Elizabeth had stood quietly in the background while Nathan reunited with and reassured Allie. Her face was drawn in a way that told Nathan that his condition upset her, and he didn't want to upset her any more.

"Nathan," Elizabeth said again, and this time he heard the note of warning.

"Cracked," Nathan finally answered. "Three of them."

Carson nodded as if the answer was exactly what he'd expected. And, Nathan surmised, it probably was. He motioned to Nathan's arm. "I'll want you to come in so I can check that, but I don't see any blood on the bandage, so I think we can wait until tomorrow. Come by in the morning and I'll do an exam." Carson had started to walk away when he stopped and said over his shoulder, "It's good to have you home, Nathan."

"Good to be home," Nathan replied.

And then it was just him and Elizabeth in the middle of a quickly darkening street.

"Elizabeth." It came out gentler than he'd intended. That wouldn't do. If they had any hope of being friends, Nathan had to master the art of pretending that was all he wanted. He tried again. "It really does look worse than it is."

Elizabeth nodded once, but her lips were pressed into a thin line. "You look exhausted, Nathan. Did you walk all the way here?"

And Nathan was exhausted, and a weight that he hadn't realized he was carrying had lifted the moment he'd seen with his own eyes that Allie and Elizabeth were safe. But he had walked more than thirty miles in the last three days, and he was in pain (no matter how he tried to hide it), and all of the effort that he'd put into not thinking about Elizabeth over the last several weeks had been rendered useless the moment he'd seen her again.

"Yes." Just one word, but his voice came out low and scratchy and just a little too close to something Nathan didn't want to think about.

"Grant!" Gabe called from outside the livery. "Get a move on, old man, you promised me a hot meal!"

Nathan sighed heavily and leveled what he was about to start calling his patented "Gabe Glare" at the other man.

"You can get outta my town now, Kinslow."

Elizabeth smiled. It was a small thing, but sincere, and Nathan smiled for seeing it. He was trying to figure out how to tell her goodnight when he wanted to do anything but, and then she surprised him.

"Think you can make it a little further?"

"For a hot meal? Absolutely."

But Nathan had been standing still just long enough for his tired muscles to seize, and the first few steps he took were awful. All at once the rest of the evening stretched out before him and Nathan felt like he couldn't stay on his feet for another minute. He was hungry, but he just didn't think there was any way he could make it to the café for dinner, and then all the way home.

Nathan made a sound - he wasn't sure what kind of sound it was, honestly - and then a breath later Elizabeth's voice rang out clear as a bell as she called for Carson and Faith.

Allie and Gabe seemed to materialize out of thin air right in front of Nathan.

"Dad?" Allie's voice was shaking.

Gabe had braced himself carefully against Nathan's side and draped one of Nathan's long arms around his shoulders. "Easy," Gabe coaxed him.

Elizabeth had taken up a spot against his other side, and for a minute Nathan couldn't make heads or tails of the world.

Carson had returned. "Let's get him to the infirmary," Carson said to Elizabeth and Gabe.

"Don't you dare pass out, Grant," Gabe threatened. "You've already been caught sleeping on the job once."

"Did you walk all the way here?" Carson asked of Gabe.

"Thirty miles," Gabe confirmed.

"Someone didn't want to take the stagecoach," Nathan added.

The look Gabe gave him made him start to laugh, which turned in to coughing, and then Nathan had the bad luck of passing out cold.

Again.