disclaimer: I do not own the characters from When Calls the Heart. They belong to Janette Oke & Hallmark Channel.
A family Grant one-shot! Enjoy the story :)
Two weeks. Two very long weeks since Nathan Grant has been separated from his family in Hope Valley. In the past, Constable Nathan Grant has intentionally requested to stay away from long distance assignments in the Mountie force for his family.
His argument to his superiors was simple; his family came first and the Mounties came second. The viewpoint itself was respected among his superiors but the values were not compatible to the lifestyle of a Mountie. So his superiors compromised with him in order to keep a respected and skillful Mountie in the force. Nathan would be sent to long distance assignments only when they desperately needed him to go and in the meantime he would serve in Hope Valley.
Which in this particular assignment they did need him to go. This specific assignment led him to Cape Fullerton where his tracking skills were needed to capture two dangerous criminals spotted in that territory. The capture itself took longer than he anticipated or wanted, but after fourteen long days, the criminals finally found their place behind bars. Nathan was beyond relieved with the capture and completion of his assignment but even more relieved to be headed home to his family.
And that's what led the Grant family and Bill Avery to the train station on a cloudy Saturday afternoon.
"Do you see him?" Allie Grant excitedly asked her mother as she scanned the crowd of people coming from the train. Her hands fidgeted at her sides as she patiently waited to see a glimpse of a red serge appear in the busy moving crowd.
"Not yet. Stay close to me Allie. I don't want to lose you in this busy crowd" Elizabeth instructed her daughter as she scanned the crowd herself. She kept an arm wrapped around her daughter waiting patiently for her husband to come into view. Elizabeth was anxious to finally have her husband home after two very long weeks without him. His absence always left her feeling worried for his safety. Seeing him safe and unharmed would soothe her nerves instantly. Plus she couldn't keep the newest addition of news to herself much longer.
"It will be good to have him home" Bill spoke to Elizabeth as he put one hand on her shoulder. Little Jack took up his other arm as the young boy decided to have his godfather hold him. Which ultimately gave the young boy a higher view point to catch a glimpse of his father.
Elizabeth could only nod in reply as she lifted her free hand over Bill's that laid on her shoulder and anxiously waited for her husband's presence.
Through the thinning of the crowd, a red serge appeared among the midst of the many moving people.
"Nathan!"
"Dad!"
Elizabeth and Allie's voices raised among the crowd at the same time. Before either of them could lung forward, the man in serge turned around revealing his once hidden identity.
Elizabeth froze as her arms fell to her sides. Her body instantly stiffen as the hairs on top of her arms went straight up. A image of a Mountie riding towards her in the dark flashed into the front of her mind. Fear started to creep it's way inside her as her breath caught.
Please. Not again.
"That's not dad" Allie stated in defeat. The young girl redirected her focus back on scanning the huge crowd and wondering where her father could be. But no more passengers came flooding out of the train.
The two adults stood frozen by the train station dock as the unknown Mountie walked towards their direction. Bill's hand fell from Elizabeth's shoulder as his thoughts instantly went to the worse possible scenario. His heartbeat increased at even the tiniest possibly of another friend taken away. A friend who was more like a son to him then a colleague.
"Mom?" Allie quietly said turning her head to the side where her mother stood pale and frozen to her place beside her. Allie detected uncertainty and fear in her mother's facial features. It puzzled the young girl on why her father hasn't come off the train yet. And the current Mountie approaching them didn't help the young girl's uneasiness fade either.
Elizabeth's breath caught as her heart started to drop with every step the unknown Mountie made towards them. Tears started to fill in her eyes as her heartbeat increased rapidly with time feeling like it had come to a complete halt on her world. She couldn't lose Nathan. Not him. Not when they were finally happy and building the life they both dreamed of together. Glimpses of Nathan sprang to the front of her mind. Nathan's smile, his bright blue eyes, his contagious laughter filling every room he enters.
"Ma'am" the Mountie respectfully spoke as he touched three fingers to his stetson hat and proceeded to walk past the four.
Both Elizabeth and Bill instantly released a big sigh as the Mountie faded past them. It wasn't what they thought. Their attention immediately became diverted by Allie's shout.
"Dad!" Allie excitedly cried out with relief as she spotted her father walking directly towards them after previously jumping off the train. A wide smile spread across the young girl's face as happiness filled her heart. Without another thought, Allie took off running towards her father.
The shout instantly caught Nathan's attention. A smile covered his face as he noticed his daughter racing right towards him with a reflecting look of happiness upon her own face. Dropping his luggage on the ground beside him, Nathan held out his arms and waited for his daughter to collide inside of them. Within a past of another moment, Allie crashed into the safety of her father's arms as she tightened her hold around his neck.
Returning his daughter's strong hold, Nathan leaned over to land a kiss on the side of her head. "I've missed you so much, Allie girl"
"I've missed you too, Dad"
Nathan's attention quickly became diverted when Bill came into view with an excited little Jack wanting to get down from the older man's hold. "Daddy" the young boy announced as he clapped his tiny hands together and reached for his father.
Nathan set his daughter down on solid ground and released one arm from her to receive his son. Little Jack instantly clung to his father's neck once handed over and buried himself closer to him.
"I've missed you buddy" Nathan spoke as he held tightly to both of his children and kissed the side of Jack's head.
"Good to have you back" Bill commented as he watched the reunion of a father and his children in front of him. He reached out and offered a hand to Nathan to shake.
"It's good to be back. Thanks Bill" Nathan replied returning the handshake offered to him. His last words holding more weight. For he wasn't just thanking Bill for bringing his family there, but for watching out for his family while he was away.
His field of vision quickly switched from his mentor to his wife who came walking slowly towards him. Nathan's smile widen, if that was even possible, at the sight of her. He thought she was the prettiest sight he had seen in weeks.
Elizabeth's smile mirrored her husband's as tears filled her hazel eyes once again.
Nathan gently kissed the top of his children's heads once more before handing little Jack over to his sister. Wasting no time Nathan quickly crashed into his wife as his arms instinctively folded around her. His face immediately buried itself into her brown wavy curls as he breathed out her name.
"Elizabeth"
"Nathan" Elizabeth softly replied back with a whisper. She wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and closed her eyes. This was what she has been dreaming of since the moment he left. Tears trailed down her rosy cheeks as she took a deep breath out.
"I've missed you so much" Nathan whispered close to her ear as he held her tighter to himself. He kept one hand gently on her head as the other remained wrapped around her back.
"I've missed you more" Elizabeth breathed out in relief as she leaned back to look into his bright blue eyes. The same blue eyes she had longed to look into for the last two weeks.
"Allie. Jack. Who wants to help carry your dad's bag to the car?" Bill called out to the two kids watching their parents. He knew the couple would want a moment to themselves, so he willingly came up with an idea to distract their children. They could thank him later.
"I do" Jack willed himself down from Allie's arms before jumping up and down. He then raced back towards his godfather to help carry his father's bag.
Allie followed behind her excited little brother with a smile of her own directed at her parents. Although she would normally make a comment about her parents being mushy in front of her, today she didn't. Because today she was glad to finally see that spark return to her mother's eyes. The same spark that only came about when her father was around.
Nathan closed the distance between them as his lips covered Elizabeth's. His hands found the sides of her face as he leaned back to look into her eyes. "You are so beautiful" Nathan lightly chuckled with a joy he hadn't felt since he left town. He gently wiped tears away from her cheeks with his thumbs as he commented, "I hope those are happy tears"
Elizabeth gave a silent nod of her head and a soft chuckle before embracing him once more.
Sensing the urgency that he saw in her eyes, he leaned back, "Hey I'm okay. I'm right here" He could tell something was bothering her and waited patiently for her to explain.
She should have known. This was Nathan. He could instantly tell if something was wrong or has been bothering her. Taking a deep breath in, she started to explain, "We seen another Mountie in red serge before you came out of the train. He walked towards our direction and…." Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment while trying to keep her emotions in check. A tear slowly fell as she started again. "I thought he was here to tell me something I didn't want to hear" Elizabeth finished with a wobbly smile as her head shook from side to side. Losing the battle of keeping more tears in, she let the rest fall as her head rested on his chest.
"Henderson" Nathan uttered under his breath with irritation as he continued, "I specifically told him to walk out with me. But then I got held up by the train conductor." Pushing a hair away from his wife's face and pressing a kiss on top of her head, Nathan took a deep breath out. "I'm sorry sweetheart"
"You're here now. I'm okay" Elizabeth mumbled against his chest. She lifted her right hand over his heart to reassure herself that he truly was alive and in front of her.
Two weeks was too long to be apart.
"Shall we go find Bill and the kids? I am ready to go home" Nathan leaned back searching his wife's eyes. He took the hand that she held on his heart to his lips.
"And have a home cooked meal?" Elizabeth teasingly asked him as she knew how Nathan craved her cooking when away on assignments. Many times after coming home from assignments Nathan would sit by the fire at night with her explaining what he missed most while away. While the first answers were always her and the kids, the third remained sealed with her homemade cooking.
"You read my mind" Nathan gave her a wink as he kept one arm wrapped around his wife while leading them towards Lee's car which he noticed remained parked by the station.
Thunder sounded in the distance as dark clouds crowded above their location.
Nathan looked up at the darkened clouds in reaction to the sound and increased their pace towards the car. Catching his children's eyes in the automobile already, Nathan's smile grew tenfold. He was eager to hear everything that happened while he was away. And to hold them close again.
"Nathan?"
"Hmm?" Nathan absentmindedly replied as his focus remained on getting them to cover that the car provided before it down poured on them.
Elizabeth abruptly stopped him with a hand on his chest. She couldn't wait any longer to tell him. Taking a second to gain the confidence she needed, she began, "I need to tell you something. I've wanted to tell you every since I found out but I didn't want to tell you over the phone or in a telegraph. It's too important for that"
"What's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happened to you or the kids while I was gone?" Nathan's eyebrows creased with worry over the way his wife phrased her words. The questions he voiced out loud gave him reason to wonder and worry over what possible news she could inform him of. His thoughts of getting them to cover before the rain fell vanished instantly. His focus now remained solely on his wife and what she needed to tell him.
"Nathan" Elizabeth chuckled with his overload of questions as she grabbed one of his hands in both of hers. She gently directed their conjoined hands to her stomach and gazed into his bright blue eyes watching for his reaction. "We're going to have a baby"
Nathan froze as his eyes immediately went wide with the reaction to the six words spoken out loud by his wife. This was not what he expected her to say in that very moment.
Without another warning, the clouds above them released their pent up raindrops creating a perfect summer shower.
His hands began to shake as they found their place holding her face. Rain soaking their clothes, he focused on asking her one thing, "You're pregnant?"
Elizabeth nodded her head in affirmation with a huge smile on her face as she watched it all start to finally sink in for him.
The next thing she knew she was being lifted into the air and twirled around in a circle.
"We're going to have a baby"
Nathan's joyful shout echoed throughout the air as rain continued to come pouring down. Nathan's smile widen ever larger, if that was even possible, at seeing Allie and Jack come running towards them. Allie beelined it towards her mother while Jack ran with wide arms open to his father.
"You are going to be a big brother Jack"
Nathan proudly exclaims as he throws the boy high in the air and watches the laugher instantly come from him. Catching the boy from his temporary flight, Nathan swings him around in his arms.
Allie hugs her mother tightly before leaning back with a wide smile up at her mother, "I knew it"
Elizabeth chuckles at her daughter's reaction and holds the girl close to her again. This is the reaction she dreamed of getting from her family.
The family of four celebrated with one another by dancing and laughing in the rain together. They all became oblivious to the world around them for their overwhelming happiness filled their hearts to the brim.
Abruptly catching Elizabeth's hand, Nathan stopped his wife from dancing and pulled her to his side. They both stood together watching with pure happiness over their children dancing cheerfully in the rain.
The next thing Elizabeth knew Nathan's lips came crashing onto hers. Savoring the beautiful moment, Nathan leans back from her and rests his forehead against hers. "We're gonna have a baby" he whispers with tears pouring down his face and a smile ever present. He takes a deep breath to let the news truly wash over him and places a hand over Elizabeth's mid section.
Elizabeth reacts by placing her own hands over his one on her stomach and whispers five simple yet meaningful words to him. "I love you Nathan Grant"
"I love you both so much" Nathan softly replies as he pulls her closer to him and hides his face in her shoulder. Raising his head from her shoulder, his mouth slowly curves up into a smile before a contagious laugh escapes through his lips.
"We're gonna have a baby"
And although two weeks felt like a long time to be apart from the people he loves, Nathan truly believed that it was all worth enduring for this kind of homecoming.