Yep, yet another one. I just can't help myself.

Thank you all again, so much for your encouragement and support. I love reading your reviews, and I wish I had the words to tell you how much they mean to me.

Need

Nathan was fuelled by an innate sense of duty and responsibility that had made his choice of profession an easy one. He enjoyed being able to help his community, but also in some small way he hoped he continued to make the world a better place.

For many years now, he had balanced this with a need to prioritise his family. Understanding his profession was not necessarily conducive to stable family life, he and Allie had made their own way, and he'd felt things were moving along well enough, until everything changed when he'd arrived in Fort Clay.

In looking back with the power of reflection, he sometimes felt a certain pre-determination to the sequence of events. He would always believe his decision in chasing the rustlers was the right one in the moment, and with the resultant arrests he hadn't expected the severity of the disciplinary action which then led to Jack's appointment on that fateful mission, and Nathan's arrival in Hope Valley.

Even though it was his innate sense of duty that had led him there, it wasn't until after he actually met Elizabeth and started living within the community itself that he felt like he could stay. Allie was happy, making friends and really enjoying having a sense of permanence, then he'd felt himself settling in as well.

The day Elizabeth introduced herself to him would be forever burned in his memory. Finally, the reason for his attendance in Hope Valley stood before him, and even though he knew it couldn't have been easy for her to meet him, she had taken the time to put him at ease. From the beginning she had proven herself to be there for both him and Allie, a strong pillar of support and great sense of comfort to help them without hesitation. She was also forthright with him, making it clear she had Allie's best interests at heart and taking him to task when needed. Nathan had come to rely on her and sought out her counsel, appreciating her words of encouragement and support.

His attraction towards her continued to grow, and as it flourished, so had the guilt he'd felt regarding Fort Clay and Jack's death. Nathan knew he was much more reserved now than he was then, and he recognized in holding information back from her, he was never going to be able to open up completely. He also knew, without doubt, that he had no intention of causing Elizabeth any more hurt than she'd already experienced, and if that meant he had to carry the burden without ever sharing it to save her pain, he would do so willingly.

From the beginning, Nathan saw Elizabeth's hesitation in opening her heart again. He tried to let her know how much he valued her, without putting pressure on her, and was always so delighted when she sought him out or chose to spend time with him and Allie. Whilst it was difficult to see her also spending time with Lucas, some of his rivals actions gave him hope that he may have been just as insecure in her feelings for him as well.

The offer of an inspector position in Union City was the first time Nathan realised that his feelings for Elizabeth were more intense than anything he'd ever experienced. He already knew he cared, however it was not until he considered moving away that he realised he didn't just want to stay. As soon as he'd accepted the position he'd wanted for so long, rather than excitement and a desire to share the news, a sincere feeling of dread draped over him. Like a dense fog, it had obscured his thoughts and restricted his ability to see clearly. In them finding out, Elizabeth's words and Allie's clear wish to stay made it easy for him to acknowledge they needed to, and both appeared thrilled once they knew.

Their relationship had certainly had its ups and downs, but through it all his certainty that he loved her, that he was in love with her, never wavered. He did try to balance his need to be with her, with her need to reconcile her own feelings, and at times she even seemed to be encouraging him, until he was almost shot.

Her response to his arrival in town alive and well was both a blessing and a dismay for him. He was overwhelmed when she ran to him, and simultaneously sorry to have caused her distress as he never wanted to hurt her. Unfortunately, though his feelings never wavered, she retreated back into her shell after the incident, and he strongly felt it had to do with residual grief over Jack's death and fear of it happening again, to him.

Nathan's knew his declaration on the roadside needed to be said. There had been so many false starts and misunderstandings littering their past that it was necessary for her to know where he stood. However, in some ways he wished he had not blurted everything out the way he did. Nathan wasn't sure if it was his intensity that day, her own fear and residual grief, or a combination that had sent her running to Lucas. He just knew it was hard for him to watch them together, and was causing Allie a great deal of pain as well.

Avoiding her was pointless, they seemed to run into each other anyway. He tried to be strong yet polite, however sometimes his true feelings shone through before he could stop them. When Allie planned the adoption ceremony, it started a sequence of events that again, felt to Nathan, like they were pre-determined.

He hadn't realised how much holding back the information about Fort Clay had been affecting not only him, but Elizabeth as well, until the day she confronted him in the street. In finally telling her, Nathan was scared by her reaction that she wouldn't be able to forgive him. Approaching him to clarify in the Mountie office, allowing him to explain without running from him, and then informing him she didn't blame him for Jack's death had appeared to give Elizabeth closure. What Nathan hadn't realised was how much he'd needed Elizabeth to know, and that her closure had also given him peace.

Since that night, he'd been unable to hide the involuntary changes in his responses to her, and he was bolstered by her response to him as well. He knew she was still with Lucas, but ultimately Nathan needed to believe that true love would win out in the end.

It just had to.