After a long time sitting together, occasionally talking about the future, but mostly just enjoying each other's company they realized they had to check on their children. Hand in hand they made their way through town and to Elizabeth's row house. When they opened the door they saw Little Jack happily sitting in Allie's lap while she read him a book. Elizabeth squeezed Nathan's hand tighter, tears coming into her eyes as they absorbed this image of family.

Allie looked up from the book spotting them standing in the doorway. " Little Jack called out, climbing off of Allie's lap to make his way over to the adults. "Up please," with Nathan's right hand still firmly clasping Elizabeth's he lifted Jack up with his other hand and pressed him against his hip. Allie joined them, sensing the new joy in her uncle and schoolteacher.

Elizabeth looked at Nathan in question and he smiled back approvingly. "Allie," she started. "Would you like to join Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Coulter, and me on a girl's trip to Benson Hills next weekend?"

"Really? You'd want me to come?" Allie asked with a huge smile on her face.

"Of course Allie. We're going to have so much fun!" She told the girl excitedly.

"Thank you, I can't wait!" Allie hugged her teacher and jumped around thrilled to be included in the trip.

"Me go too?" Little Jack asked curiously.

"Not this time sweetie. I'll have to ask Laura if she can watch you."

"I'll watch him Elizabeth," Nathan offered. "It's the least I can do since you're taking Allie with you. And besides, I love spending time with this little guy." Nathan turned his attention to the child in his arms, and gently tickled him as he dissolved into delighted giggles. Allie joined in and soon they were all laughing uncontrollably.

"I think it's time we go home to start preparing dinner, Allie." Nathan suggested when the laughing subdued.

"Okay," the young girl agreed reluctantly. "Can Jack show me his new toy first?"

"Absolutely, all of his toys are up in his room." Elizabeth told her from her spot on the settee.

Once Allie had safely carried Little Jack up the stairs Nathan turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "I'm glad the children get along so well," he said, taking a seat next to her.

"Me too, Allie is so sweet with Jack and he loves being with her."

"You know I think that's the first time I've heard you refer to Little Jack as Jack."

Elizabeth let out a small laugh. "It probably was, but he'll be two soon. I can't call him Little Jack for the rest of his life."

Nathan nodded, recognizing that she had put a lot of thought into that statement. "I love you Elizabeth, and I love Jack too."

"I love you and Allie with all my heart." She slowly leaned towards him, closing her eyes as their lips met. Just like the kiss they had shared earlier, there was a deep passion that lay beneath the surface. However this kiss was brief, as they soon heard a child's delighted yelp.

"I knew it!" Allie called out as she and Jack came down the stairs. Once Jack was settled on the floor with a toy she squeezed between Nathan and Elizabeth on the settee. "So are you courting?"

Nathan looked over at Elizabeth quizzically. They had forgotten to talk about that. "Yes," Elizabeth told her.

Allie couldn't contain her excitement any longer. "Does this mean that if you get married Jack and I will be siblings, and you'll adopt me so that I have a mom and a dad, and we'll finally be a real family?" She hadn't meant to say the last part but in her happiness it had slipped out.

"Allie," Nathan began cautiously. "Is that something you want? To have a mom and a dad again?" The girl nodded her head. She told her uncle almost everything but she had kept her desire for a family to herself. "Why didn't you tell me?" Nathan hadn't known how desperately Allie wanted a family.

"I didn't really know just how much I wanted a family until recently, but when I did I didn't think it was possible. I always see my friends with their families and when we started to spend time with Mrs. Thornton and Little Jack I realized I wanted us to be a family." Allie snuggled closer to Nathan, feeling better after sharing her feelings with her uncle. Nathan ran his fingers through her hair holding her tight.

Elizabeth hadn't known how badly Allie wanted them to be a family. While she wanted to tell the girl that they would absolutely be a family one day like she hoped, she couldn't guarantee that. "Sweetie," she addressed Allie resting a hand on hers. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I love you and I will always be here for you."

With that Allie turned towards Elizabeth and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I love you too Mrs. Thornton." Jack rose from his spot on the floor and climbed into Nathan's lap.

"I wuv you,'' Little Jack told all of them.

"We love you too, Jack." Nathan told the little boy, speaking for all of them.

After Allie and Jack were settled on the floor playing with Jack's new toys Elizabeth and Nathan returned to the settee. "Nathan, why don't you and Allie stay for dinner? I'm making Shepherd's Pie and there will be plenty to feed the four of us."

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked. He didn't want to impose on Elizabeth.

"Absolutely," she responded. While she loved her one on one time with Jack, it could get lonely not having anyone else around.

"Thank you Elizabeth, but can I at least help make dinner?"

"I'd greatly appreciate the help."

Elizabeth and Nathan were completely in sync while preparing dinner. She was a little surprised by how well Nathan could cook. "Abigail showed me how to make this when I came here. It was one of the first recipes I ever learned," Elizabeth told him.

"Me too. My mother had taught me the basics of cooking when I was younger, but when I took Allie in I had to cook all the time."

"Your mom taught you how to cook? Growing up I never even stepped foot in the kitchen. Only the servants were allowed in there. The food just magically appeared on the table everyday."

"The servants? I know that your family is wealthy but you never talk about your childhood." Nathan said.

"I know. I always feel uncomfortable talking about my life before Hope Valley. The truth is that I grew up in a mansion in Hamilton. Our family was practically royalty, everyone in the city knew who we were. My two sisters and I were raised by a governess and barely spent any time with our parents. When I got older my parents wanted me to marry a wealthy businessman and take my place in society. Instead I came out west to teach and met Jack. He went back east with me about five years ago and my parents did not treat him well. Things got so bad we almost split up. When I returned here, an old friend who thought he was more tracked me down and proposed to me right before Jack came in to do the same. Of course I turned Charles down but Jack held off on proposing until right before he left for the Northern Territories a few years later. My father came out for the wedding and was on the road to making amends. Right after Jack and I were married he was assigned to teach new recruits at Fort Clay. Instead of going on our original honeymoon to Chicago I travelled with Jack to his new assignment. I said goodbye to him at the gates and never saw him again. I haven't seen my family since I visited them after Jack's death. They haven't met their grandson." Now tears were rolling down Elizabeth's cheeks and she looked down at the dough for the Shepherd's Pie she had stopped kneading. Nathan came up behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her to face him.

"Thank you for sharing that with me. I want you to feel comfortable talking about your memories of Jack with me. He'll always be Little Jack's father and while I hope that Little Jack will think of me as a father one day too it's important for him to hear stories about Jack. I have a deep respect for Jack and I wish I could have met him."

"Thank you Nathan. I know he would have liked you."

Nathan gave Elizabeth a small smile and gently wiped the tears off of her face. "I love you Lizbeth," he whispered to her.

"I love you too," Elizabeth returned.

"Allie, could you help me set the table? Dinner is almost ready," Elizabeth asked her.

"Of course Mrs. Thornton," the young girl said as she jumped up.

While they were setting the table, Nathan went over to help Jack clean up his toys. "Can you put your blocks back in the corner?" Nathan asked sweetly.

"Natan help?" The little boy asked.

"Of course Jack." Once all of his toys were put away Jack started to cry. "What's the matter?" Nathan said, pulling the child into his arms.

"Where's Dog?" He asked through tears.

"Did Dog get put away with your other toys?" Nathan asked as Jack nodded his head. "Oh no! Let's go see if we can find him."

Nathan carried Jack back over to his toys and started digging through them. "Is this Dog, Jack?" He held the stuffed animal in front of the toddler.

"Dog!" Jack yelled excitedly. "T'ank you Natan."

Little to Nathan's knowledge Elizabeth had been watching this exchange since she rushed over after hearing Jack crying. She was amazed that instead of panicking, Nathan listened to Jack and helped him find his lost toy. Nathan's interactions with her son made her love him even more. She was so grateful that he and Allie were a part of their lives. Walking up behind Nathan she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," she told him quietly.

"For what?" He asked, turning around to face her.

"For loving me and my son." Elizabeth said looking into his eyes.

"Forever," he added as he leaned down to claim her lips.

"Dinner is getting cold." Allie called from across the room.

Elizabeth and Nathan separated quickly, blushing, and they went over to where Allie was waiting for them by the table. Nathan popped Jack into his high chair and took a seat between him and Elizabeth. Allie sat down on the other side of Jack and Elizabeth started to serve dinner. "I hope you like it," she said. "I'll admit the first few times I made it I wasn't a very good cook." She laughed.

"Well I think it tastes great Mrs. Thornton." Allie complimented her teacher.

"Thank you Allie!" She replied, smiling at her student.

"Yum!" Jack said, copying Allie and taking a bite of his dinner. Elizabeth was surprised. Jack never ate dinner without prompting.

Elizabeth wanted to savor every moment of this evening. She had a feeling that this would become a regular occurrence, and she couldn't be happier with that. Especially after having so many dinners alone with just Jack for company. While she was grateful to have her son, she never got to experience a family dinner with him and her late husband. She felt Nathan's hand squeezing hers underneath the table, which snapped her out of her thoughts. Nathan always seemed to be able to sense exactly what she needed. They ate the rest of the meal with Nathan's left hand reaching over to grasp hers so that they could both eat with their dominant hands.

When they had all finished eating Nathan offered to do the dishes for Elizabeth so that she could get Jack cleaned up.

"If you wash, I'll dry," Allie offered after clearing the table. "Let's try to finish before Mrs. Thornton comes back down with Jack."

"The race is on," Nathan laughed and started to wash the dishes. Over the years Nathan and Allie had perfected their routine of cleaning the dinner dishes. While it took them longer than normal because they weren't as familiar with Elizabeth's kitchen as they were their own, they were still finished before Elizabeth and Jack returned. Nathan used the extra time to engage Allie in a conversation about her upcoming birthday. Her birthday was still a month away, but it took time to have birthday presents shipped to Hope Valley, especially the present he had in mind. It wasn't long before Elizabeth came down the stairs with Jack on her hip and found Nathan and Allie sitting on the settee.

Allie excitedly told her teacher, "we won the race!"

"What race?" she asked, as she set Jack down on his feet.

"We finished the dishes before you came back downstairs," Allie informed her.

"I hope you weren't waiting too long. Someone decided he wanted to put his pajamas on early today, didn't you Jack," she said looking down at her son.

"Pajamas," Jack happily repeated.

"You said a new word," Elizabeth was thrilled that her son was speaking so much.

"That's one of the perks of having a mother who is a teacher and a writer," Nathan joked.

Before Elizabeth could respond Jack walked over to Nathan and asked, "Nat'an read me book?"

"Did he just say your name?" Elizabeth asked wide eyed.

"Nat'an!" Jack loudly confirmed.

Realizing the lack of formality Elizabeth started to apologize but he cut her off. "I don't mind Elizabeth, really. As long as you're okay with it, it doesn't bother me. Besides, I like the way he pronounces my name without the 'h'," he assured her.

Taking the book his mother had been reading to him earlier off the coffee table he handed it to Nathan and then proceeded to climb up in his lap.

"I read Peter Rabbit to Allie all the time when she was your age." Nathan told the little boy in his lap.

"I remember reading this book with you," Allie said, looking up from her spot on the settee snuggled up next to her uncle.

"This is the copy I had as a child," Elizabeth came over to join them on the settee. "My parents sent it to me after I had Jack."

"

"I think we should probably head home," Nathan said after he noticed Jack rubbing his eyes for the second time. "Thank you so much for dinner."

"Thank you Mrs. Thornton," Allie added.

"You're welcome, I had a lovely time. We'll see you tomorrow at church?" Elizabeth confirmed.

"Of course. Good night Elizabeth, good night Jack," he said, handing the half asleep boy to his mother.

"Night Nat'an, wuv you," he told them.

"I love you too Jack," Nathan said, kissing the top of his head. "I love you Elizabeth," he added, and kissed her cheek.

Elizabeth smiled, she would never tire from hearing that. "I love you too," she whispered back.

With a final wave Nathan and Allie turned and walked back towards their own home.