Nathan walked into Elizabeth's classroom Tuesday afternoon at exactly 5:30. He took in her more casual look of dark jeans, a green floral blouse, and a tan moto jacket. She was also wearing the gold wedge heels that she had worn on their date Saturday night. Nathan walked straight over to Elizabeth's desk as Allie spotted her uncle and did the same.

"Hi Nathan! How are you?" asked Elizabeth as she watched Nathan approach.

"I'm fine and you?" he asked as he gave Elizabeth a quick kiss on the cheek. He then put his arm around Allie.

Elizabeth's breath caught before she answered. "Just fine, thanks. I'm just waiting for Lee to stop by as I have a couple things to talk to him about regarding our show."

As if on cue, Lee walked into the classroom greeting Elizabeth's remaining students and their parents as they walked out.

"Hi everyone! I don't want to interrupt. This will just take a few minutes." said Lee as he approached Elizabeth's desk.

Nathan shook Lee's hand as Lee ruffled Allie's hair.

"Elizabeth, I spoke with the Marketing Communications department and they are ready to meet with you this week or next to discuss artwork for the show materials. Just email Kevin and he can schedule a meeting for the 2 of us with them. You and I also need to talk about tickets and when they need to go on sale."

"Sounds good Lee! I'll email Kevin tomorrow morning about the Creative meeting and will also email you about a ticket sales date."

"Ok perfect! I'm going to head home because Rosie is home early tonight."

"Give her my love, Lee."

"Please tell her we said hello as well," added Nathan.

"Of course! Elizabeth, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye everyone!"

Elizabeth quickly packed her tote bag and grabbed her purse. On days when Nathan came inside to get Allie, it had become routine for him and Allie to walk out with Elizabeth. Today was no exception. The threesome made small talk about the class and plans for the upcoming show. When they got to the parking lot, they walked down the now familiar aisle to their cars. Since Nathan now knew Elizabeth's car, he always made an effort to park next to it or nearby so they could maximize their time together after class. When they got to their cars, Elizabeth opened her door and threw her bags across the seat. She then turned around to say good-bye to Nathan and Allie. Nathan spoke up.

"Allie and I were wondering if you and Little Jack would like to join us at AdventureWorld on Saturday? It's supposed to be a beautiful, warm day and we won't have many of those left this year."

Elizabeth smiled and opened her mouth to say yes and then stopped herself. Her smile turned to a frown and she said, "I'm so sorry Nathan but we'll have to take a raincheck. We already have plans on Saturday."

Nathan hoped he was hiding his disappointment well. "No problem. Maybe we can go next week."

"That would probably work better for us. I do need to get going. Laura has plans tonight and I don't want to be late."

"Of course. Have a good night, Elizabeth." Nathan said with a weak smile.

"Thanks. You both have a great night as well. See you Thursday." Elizabeth quickly got inside her car, waved to Nathan and Allie, and drove off. Neither of them could see the tears streaming down her face as she quickly drove away from them.

After she drove away, Nathan and Allie got in their car and drove home. Nathan knew that there was something wrong with Elizabeth but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. He knew she had been about to accept his invitation to the amusement park but her plans were holding her back. Not that he needed to know every detail of her life but the way she had responded made him feel as if she was purposely keeping her plans from him. Maybe she would share those details with him in time.

Nathan quickly changed gears and started chatting with Allie about the adoption discussion he'd had with his lawyer the day before. It turns out he had to schedule an appointment with him the following Monday so they could discuss the details in person. Nathan was glad there was a clear path to becoming Allie's father, something he should have done a long time ago. And now it also was something wonderful to look forward to.

Elizabeth arrived home quickly and paid Laura. She made her favorite Asian chicken salad for herself and made some extra chicken strips along with peas and french fries for Little Jack. Elizabeth also nibbled on some of the fries. She hoped that she hadn't been too short with Nathan earlier but she didn't want to tell him about the real reason she was busy on Saturday. It was the anniversary of Jack's death and she didn't know what type of mental state she'd be in. It was certainly not something she was ready to share with a man who could potentially become a new love in her life. But she did feel bad about the way she had left things with Nathan so she grabbed her phone.

Hi Nathan,

I'm sorry if I seemed a bit short earlier. It had nothing to do with you. I just have something to take care of on Saturday that's uncomfortable to discuss right now. Hope you can understand. I look forward to joining you both at the amusement park next week.

E

A few minutes later, Elizabeth received a response from Nathan.

Thanks for the text. I just hope you're ok. Know that I'm always here if you need anything.

N

Elizabeth liked his text with the heart emoji and put her phone down to spend the evening with her adorable little boy.

Saturday came quickly and turned out to be a beautiful day as Nathan had predicted. Temperatures were in the low 70s with a slight breeze. So Elizabeth put jeans on both herself and Little Jack and each of them wore a long sleeve shirt. She threw a couple of light jackets in the car as well and they headed off to the cemetery after lunch and Little Jack's morning nap. It was a 20 minute drive from Hope Valley. Elizabeth was feeling surprisingly peaceful so far.

Once they arrived at the cemetery, Elizabeth drove over to Jack's gravesite and parked nearby. She took out the blanket she had brought as well as a bouquet of flowers she'd purchased at the supermarket the day before. She spread out the blanket in front of the grave and got Little Jack settled with a couple of toy cars. She placed the bouquet in front of the grave and then sat next to Little Jack facing the grave.

Elizabeth hugged her knees and sat in silent reflection for a while and was comforted by the sounds of her son babbling as he played. She finally spoke out loud, her voice cracking almost instantly.

"Hello my love. Little Jack and I are both here. Hopefully you already know that. Jack, he's getting so big and talking up a storm now. I would give anything for you to have met your son. He's the greatest possible gift you could have left me, a permanent symbol of our love."

Elizabeth was now crying and Little Jack noticed. "Mama sad?" he asked. Elizabeth pulled him into her lap and he promptly leaned back against her chest. Elizabeth rested her chin on his sweet blonde hair.

"I'm ok Baby," Elizabeth said as she continued to cry.

"See Jack, he gets that from you. Our son is just as protective of me as you were. I can't believe it's been 2 years already. I really have been moving on but some days are harder than others. And I wasn't going to let today go by without seeing you. Grief is a very unpredictable thing. But I've finally started teaching again and that brings me so much joy. I've got my groove back. I'm teaching History of Broadway to the college kids and I have my community theater class again for the kiddos. We are starting to plan our show in December already. Next semester I'll pick up a few more clases. That's why it's been hard for me to come see you lately so I'm sorry.

I should tell you that I've met someone. He's a wonderful man named Nathan Grant and we met just over a month ago. I know that's not long but we have a really deep connection already. He also grew up with Lee so he's friends with Lee and Rosie as well. Small world. Nathan is a detective too but out here on the Island. He has custody of his 10 year old niece Allie who is also wonderful. We all get along quite well. I'm sorry if that offends you in any way. It does not lessen how I feel about you Jack. You'll always be my first love and have a special place in my heart. Our son will always know that you are his father and I will make sure he knows everything there is to know about you.

But I'm slowly learning that my heart has room for more than one love. So, I think it's expanding to start to include Nathan and Allie in addition to you and our son.

Jack, these feelings I have for Nathan are very real but, I don't want to offend your memory either. I know it has only been 2 years since you left us and that's not a lot of time really. Am I doing the right thing in seeing Nathan now? I wish you could give me a sign. This has been one of the hardest choices I've had to make."

"Nat'an Nat'an!" screamed Little Jack.

Elizabeth realized that her son had been listening to her so he had said Nathan's name because he heard her say it. She continued to cry as she held her son close.

"I miss you so much Jack. Why did you have to leave me?"

She felt Little Jack's head move briefly at the mention of his name. Then he just snuggled back against his mother. He somehow knew she needed comforting. Elizabeth just continued to cry while holding Little Jack. She eventually looked at her watch and realized it had been over an hour since they'd arrived. She felt a bit helpless at the moment and wasn't sure if she was strong enough to drive home. Elizabeth remembered that the Coulters were spending the afternoon at the movie theater seeing the new Pixar movie so she didn't want to disturb them.

Without even thinking, Elizabeth pulled her phone out of her bag and dialed Nathan's number. It rang a couple times before Elizabeth realized where she was and hung up. Less than a minute later, Nathan called her back. She tried to compose herself and answered.

"Hi Nathan"

"Elizabeth, what's wrong?! Are you ok? Why did you hang up?" Nathan asked with concern in his voice.

Elizabeth was amazed that Nathan could read her so easily after knowing her for only such a short time. She felt the tears about to start again so she hesitated before answering him.

"Are you at home? Would you like me to come over?"

"No, I'm not home. I'm at Buxton Cemetery." Elizabeth started crying again. "I'm sorry to bother you, Nathan. I thought I was strong enough to do this on my own and clearly I'm not. Lee and Rosie are at the movies otherwise I would have called them."

"I take it you're visiting Jack's grave?"

"Yes" she sniffled.

"Ok you're clearly not in any condition to drive home so please don't try. I'll be out there as soon as I can, probably 20-30 minutes. Can you text me the plot location?"

"Yes, right after we hang up. Thank you Nathan."

"Of course Sweetheart. I'll see you soon."

Elizabeth hung up and texted Nathan the details of where she was exactly. She then realized what he had just called her. A sense of peace and comfort came over her.

"Is this your way of telling me you approve of me moving on with Nathan, Jack? I hope so because I did not plan to call him at all. It just happened without a second thought. I'll always love and miss you, Jack."

25 minutes later, Elizabeth watched as Gabe and Nathan pulled up behind her car. Nathan got out and waved to Gabe. Elizabeth also waved to him from where she was. Gabe quickly drove off to give his friends some privacy. Little Jack had fallen asleep so Elizabeth had placed him in his carseat while she stood outside the car waiting for Nathan.

Upon seeing Elizabeth's tear streaked face, Nathan couldn't help himself so he quickly walked over to her and enveloped her in a tight hug. He lightly rubbed her back as he kissed her forehead. No words needed. Elizabeth was done crying but she felt emotionally and physically drained. They stood like that for about 10 minutes. Elizabeth finally looked up at Nathan.

"Thank you for coming. Today is the 2 year anniversary. I thought I could handle it alone with my son but clearly I could not. And I'm sorry to have disrupted your day and Gabe's." Elizabeth said as she snuggled back into Nathan's arms. He simply held her again.

"Elizabeth, you're not alone anymore. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to call me. You don't have to keep things like this from me."

"I know that now. I'm so sorry, Nathan."

"It's ok. I understand why you didn't tell me but know that you can tell me anything, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Jack is always going to be a part of you and Little Jack's lives so please feel free to talk about him with me. And as for Gabe and I, it turns out we had to work today as we traded Saturdays with 2 other detectives. We were just finishing up when you called so you had perfect timing. We dropped my car off at your house on the way here. And Allie is spending the night with my parents."

Elizabeth gave Nathan a sad but thankful smile. "I don't know how I got so lucky to have found you Nathan but I'm so grateful."

Nathan gave Elizabeth the crooked smile that she had already grown to love. "The feeling is mutual, my sweet Elizabeth. Do you need some more time at the grave? I can stay here in case Little Jack wakes up."

"Actually I could use a few more minutes but, I promise I won't be long."

"Take as long as you need. We'll be fine."

Elizabeth handed her keys to Nathan and quickly walked back over to Jack's grave. This time she just stood in front of it.

"Jack, it's me again. Nathan is here now and he's going to drive us home. But you probably know that already because I get the feeling that you sent him here today. If this was you, thank you. You'll always be one of the great loves of my life, Jack. And you'll forever be in my heart. I think I'm finally ready to move on and find out if another great love is in store for me. I'll never not worry about Nathan just as I never stopped worrying about you but, Nathan seems to have a very different approach to his work than you did so I'm going to try to work through my fears with him. You and I were always at odds about that, weren't we? You just had to have that adrenaline rush all the time but I know that's what made you happy and seeing you happy made me happy."

Elizabeth smiled as she looked over the grave one more time. This time she didn't cry. But she kissed the palm of her hand and then rubbed it on the top of the grave.

"Rest well my love. We will come back and see you soon."

With that, Elizabeth walked back over to the car. She was pleasantly surprised to see Nathan already comfortably situated in her driver's seat. She couldn't help but smile as he reached across the front seat to open the passenger door for her. Elizabeth got in and shut the door. She then smiled at Nathan and took his right hand and lifted it to her lips and kissed it.

"Thank you again Nathan. You have no idea what an incredible gift you've given me today. How about joining Jack and I for dinner when we get back? Maybe we can order takeout and then watch a movie after he goes to sleep?"

Nathan simply nodded and they got lost in each other's eyes for a few minutes and then he asked: "Are you ready, Elizabeth?"

"Yes Nathan, I'm ready." she replied.

With that, Nathan started the car and drove the 3 of them home to Elizabeth's house.