I was determined to get this last chapter out before the finale this Sunday. Season 8 has been quite the exercise in patience for not just Nathan, but us Elizabeth x Nathan shippers as well. I don't want to have to wait months for season 9, but I can't say that I'm sad to know that this whole triangle business will finally be resolved in a few short days. I can't wait to see Nathan and Elizabeth exploring their future together next year!

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, and enjoyed this story. I have another idea brewing for these characters, and I hope you'll enjoy that work as much as you did this one.

Elizabeth had had a rough start to her day. Jack was grumpy - had woken up grumpy - and couldn't decide on what he wanted: food, attention, to be left alone, cuddles ... Elizabeth had tried everything, and whatever did work didn't work for long. Her son had never been particularly prone to throwing a fit, but today seemed to be an exception. Jack had woken them both early, so by the time someone knocked on Elizabeth's door she'd already lost several hours of her Saturday morning to a grumpy toddler and was feeling rather frazzled.

When she opened the door to find a smiling Nathan and Allie on her doorstep, she tried to smile but knew that it lacked her usual lightness.

"Hi," Elizabeth said with a tired sigh.

Nathan opened his mouth to reply when Jack let out a piercing, irate cry from inside the house. Elizabeth screwed up her mouth in a grimace and closed her eyes briefly.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I have no idea. He's been like this all morning."

She stepped aside to let them into her house. Nathan ushered Allie in first and then followed her, and Elizabeth was closing the door when the sound of something being thrown rang out behind her.

"Jack," she chided firmly as she turned around.

Nathan crossed the room to where Jack was standing in the middle of the kitchen - he'd thrown a wooden block at the wall - and swept him easily into his arms. The boy squirmed for a minute; Nathan held him steadily and inclined his head so that he could look into the little boy's face.

"Hey," he said gently. "What's this about, kiddo?"

Jack paused in his fit throwing; then, with quick hands, he swung an arm out to strike at Nathan's face. Horrified by her son's behavior, Elizabeth opened her mouth to discipline him, but Nathan had caught the little fist before it actually connected with his face.

"Jack, we don't hit. You know that's not okay. Don't you?" Nathan kept his voice steady and patient as he watched the child.

Finally, Jack nodded once despite his sour expression. With Jack's comparatively tiny hand still held in his larger one, Nathan glanced at Allie and Elizabeth. Allie had taken a seat on the couch, but Elizabeth was still standing near the door. She looked tired, and frustrated, and desperately in need of a break. Jack had clearly been giving her a hard time.

"Aren't you two supposed to be going for a ride?" Nathan asked Elizabeth with a smile.

Elizabeth blew out a breath. "Nathan, you see how Jack is being. I can't leave him here with you like this."

"Of course you can," Nathan answered immediately. "We'll be fine. Now go, and enjoy your ride."

"But ..." Elizabeth started.

Jack had stopped squirming in Nathan's arms. Nathan released his hand with a pointed look at the child that clearly warned him not to try hitting him again, and then Nathan approached Elizabeth and put his free hand on her waist so that he could give her a quick, reassuring kiss.

"We'll be fine," Nathan reiterated. "And you have Mother's Day plans."

Elizabeth's face transformed in surprise. "I forgot today was Mother's Day!"

"We didn't," Allie piped up from her seat.

Elizabeth smiled. Nathan had hinted earlier in the week that Allie had something special planned for Elizabeth for the holiday, but Jack had been in such an awful mood all day that she hadn't even realized what day it was. When she looked at Nathan again, still a little unsure, he chuckled and tipped his head at the door.

"Go."

"Thank you."

Allie rose from the couch with an excited grin and as she moved past her dad he murmured, "Don't rush home. Have fun, kiddo."

When the girls had gone and it was just Nathan and Jack, he moved them to the couch and propped Jack up on one knee so that they were face to face. "What's wrong, little man?"

Jack had become quite talkative in the last few months, but Nathan didn't expect an answer. Emotions were hard for children to figure out and explain, especially toddlers who were often experiencing them for the first time. Nathan had not had Allie in her toddler years; still, he remembered conversations with and letters from his sister telling him about the challenges that came with raising a small human. When Nathan had finally taken over Allie's care, she had struggled with some emotional and attachment issues. The losses she'd suffered had caused her to clam up or strike out almost exclusively. There had been little in between. Though she'd been six and old enough to carry on a conversation, she had lacked the knowledge or self-awareness to explain what she was feeling. That had been a hard year for her and Nathan.

Jack was not six, however. Nathan didn't expect him to be able to explain what was going on in his little body, but it was clear that he was feeling some type of way.

"That's okay," Nathan assured the child. "It's okay not to know. How about we do something else?"

For awhile, Nathan simply sat on the floor with Jack and tried to engage his mind and attention in different activities. They played with some of Jack's toys; when Jack started getting frustrated and was ready to throw another toy, Nathan redirected his attention to something else. When Jack became upset because he tried to hit Nathan again and Nathan firmly reminded him that hitting was not okay, the toddler stomped over to the corner on the other side of the room and turned his back on Nathan with audible irritation. Nathan left the child to decompress on his own for a little while and set to cleaning and clearing away the mess that Jack had made earlier that morning. Elizabeth had cleared the table of their breakfast, but Jack had been so fussy that she hadn't had a chance to do the dishes. Nathan kept an eye on Jack as he washed and dried the dishes, and picked up the trail of toys that had been strewn all over the floor, and folded the blanket that Jack had pulled off of the settee in a fit.

When Jack's attitude took a turn for the worse again, Nathan decided to take him out into the yard so that he could throw and kick whatever he wanted.

Meanwhile, Allie had surprised Elizabeth with a picnic in one of the meadows near the schoolhouse. It was far enough away to be peaceful, but they could still see the schoolhouse shining in the afternoon light like a beacon. The sun glinted off the bell that Joseph and the other men of the town had hung from the steeple.

Allie had packed everything she could think of: a blanket to sit on, the food, beverages for both of them, and even a small batch of cookies that her dad had helped her make. She'd even made Elizabeth a sweet card with a pop-out of Elizabeth with little Jack, Nathan, and Allie. She'd colored the words "Happy Mother's Day!" with all of Elizabeth's favorite colors. Elizabeth had shed a few tears and hugged Allie tightly.

It would be disingenuous to say that it was like nothing from the prior year had happened. Elizabeth had worked hard to repair her relationship with Allie in the months after she had come home from Calgary, and to restore the trust that had been fractured in the wake of Elizabeth and Nathan's struggles. Their relationship was stronger now, and it had changed in the months since Elizabeth and Nathan had begun courting. But it had not done so without a lot of effort: honest discussions and youthful questions, and some more fear, and more misunderstandings. Allie was just entering her teenage years and that presented challenges on its own. To be entering those years of change and uncertainty while also navigating the change of truly having a mother figure for the first time in her life meant that some days they struggled, but Elizabeth made sure that through it all Allie knew (and felt) she was loved, and safe, and valued.

One of the traditions that Elizabeth had made sure they kept was their shared horseback ride. They couldn't do it every weekend, but Elizabeth made sure that they spent some time together in the saddle at least once or twice a month. Allie had developed into a competent horsewoman and continued to improve; her present last Christmas had been a horse of her own which Allie had promptly named Huck (after Huck Finn, she had assured Elizabeth). Sometimes, Nathan would ride with them and the three of them could be seen every so often tearing up the trails around Hope Valley, but more often than not it was just Allie and Elizabeth riding out.

Nathan had confessed not long ago that he could join them more often than he did, but chose not to. Elizabeth had suspected that was case for some time, though, and Nathan had laughed when her expression told him that this wasn't new information.

Still, Elizabeth appreciated Nathan's thoughtfulness. Just like she appreciated everything he'd done for her today. He'd hardly spared a moment of bewilderment when they'd shown up to Jack's temper tantrum - he'd just walked in and given Elizabeth the break she'd desperately needed. Just having another adult there to help would have been enough, but then he'd insisted that she get out of the house, and Elizabeth was so grateful for that simple act of kindness.

Elizabeth had been a single parent for three years, yet she felt less and less like one as the months passed. In fact, she hadn't felt like a single anything since she and Nathan had crossed that line into a real relationship. He was always there for her: as a parent, as a suitor, as a friend.

Feeling a surge of love and gratefulness, Elizabeth reached over the blanket and pulled Allie into a hug.

"Thank you, Allie. This is perfect."

"Thank you," Allie answered quietly. "For loving me, even when I'm being difficult."

Elizabeth chuckled and released the young woman. "We're all difficult at times. That doesn't make us any less worthy of love. In fact, the times when we're the most difficult are usually when we need love the most."

"Dad says the same thing."

"I bet he does."

Elizabeth had loved every moment of her picnic with Allie, but she was overwhelmed with a sudden, strong desire to be near Nathan right then. Nathan, and Jack, and Allie; it was Mother's Day, after all, and all she wanted now was to be with her family.

They made their way back to the livery to unsaddle and stable the horses, and then walked back to Elizabeth's house. They saw and said hello to a few people as they went, and well wishes for the holiday were exchanged, but Elizabeth did not let the interactions waylay them for long.

When they were finally climbing the porch stairs again Elizabeth didn't hear anything: no screams, no fits, nothing. Curious, Elizabeth opened the front door ...

... and felt her mouth fall open. She had not left her house a mess, exactly, but it had certainly been in disarray. Not anymore: the toys had been picked up, the dishes were drying next to the sink, everything had been straightened and put back in its place, and there was a small bouquet of wildflowers on the table that had not been there before.

Nathan and Jack were nowhere to be seen, however.

"Dad?" Allie called as she stepped into the house.

There was no answer. Elizabeth headed for the kitchen and caught sight of something incongruous through the window: a flash of a throw blanket hanging on the clothes line. She hadn't left any laundry to dry, so she opened the back door and stepped out into the yard to investigate. It was indeed a blanket that Nathan had draped over the clothesline and then over what looked to be a particularly long tree branch that he'd jabbed into the ground. The result was a makeshift tent of sorts, and underneath the shade that it provided Nathan was laying on his back in the grass with a sleeping Jack stretched across his chest.

Elizabeth didn't know if she had ever been more in love with Nathan Grant than she was at that moment.

She approached quietly. After a moment of indecision, Elizabeth lowered herself to the grass near Nathan's shoulder. The breeze had dislodged that front lock of his hair that always wanted to fall forward onto his forehead, and Elizabeth smoothed it back with gentle fingers. His hair was soft so she did it again to enjoy the way it slid through her fingers.

"Keep that up and I'll start snoring," Nathan told her quietly.

Elizabeth smiled even though his eyes were closed. "Do you snore?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"On whether or not you believe Gabe."

Elizabeth laughed softly. Nathan opened his eyes and peered up at her, and for a time they just sat like that: Elizabeth coming a hand through his hair as Jack slept on his chest and they watched each other with that silent understanding that passed between the tenderest of lovers.

"Thank you, Nathan."

"For what?"

Elizabeth thought about her reply for a moment, and her conversation with Allie earlier. "For the house. For never giving up on us ... on this. For loving me when I'm difficult, and when I need it most. For so many things, but mostly just for being who you are. I love you, Nathan."

He reached up to gently grasp her wrist and pull her hand away from his hair so that he could press a kiss to the back of her hand. "I love you, too." Then, after a small pause and with a slightly sheepish smile, Nathan continued. "I had it all planned out, but ..."

"Yes," Elizabeth said immediately.

Nathan stared at her. "I didn't even finish my sentence. How do you know what I was going to say?"

With a playful grin, Elizabeth backtracked and said, "Sorry, you were saying?"

But Nathan was grinning too, and when he reached into his pocket Elizabeth knew what he was retrieving before she could see it. "This isn't how I planned to ask," he told her, "but will you marry me, Elizabeth?"

"Yes," she said again.

She had to lean down to kiss him, and her hair fell over her shoulder and tickled the side of his neck, and it was perfect.

"I know it's not conventional," Nathan started, "I would have gotten down on one knee, but I'm kind of preoccupied at the moment."

"This is better," Elizabeth assured him. "I don't want anything else. Just you, and me, and our family - just like this."

When Nathan slipped the ring onto her finger he interlaced their fingers and drew her hand toward him to press a kiss over her knuckles. He'd once professed several years ago that he preferred simple things, but she had learned quickly that he while he wasn't one for showy displays he was unendingly earnest and sentimental. She had meant what she'd said: it wasn't conventional, but his proposal had been perfect.

"I don't want a long engagement," Elizabeth told him. "Is that okay?"

Nathan chuckled. "I would marry you tomorrow, Elizabeth. In Bill's office, in the street, I don't care. I'll marry you whenever and wherever you want."

Elizabeth believed him, and she took his words to heart. Two weeks later, when Evie Grant, Archie Grant, and her sister Julie had made the trip into town, Elizabeth and Nathan were married in a beautifully simple ceremony. Their friends and family were there, and Allie helped Jack perform his duties as ring bearer, and the love and joy that surrounded their family was incandescent and overwhelming.

"And now," Joseph Canfield announced to everyone in attendance, "I hope you'll all join me in wishing joy to the new Mr. and Mrs. Grant."

As Elizabeth and Nathan made their way out of the church to shouts of congratulations she turned and stared up at her new husband's face. She thought once more of those two innocuous words: before and after. Not so long ago they had felt like a curse - like a line that divided her life into what should have been and what wasn't.

Now, though, she could see what she had allowed herself to forget: that there was beauty and joy on both sides of the line.

Nathan turned and found her watching him. Like it always did, the rest of the world slipped away as they stared at each other, a million thoughts and emotions shared between them without a single word. Then, Nathan leaned over and kissed her sweetly.

Before and after.

After had never been more beautiful.