The next afternoon, Nathan carefully prepped some chicken cutlets and ribeye steaks for the grill. He added dry seasoning to the meat and then worked on making his signature barbeque sauce recipe. Nathan always liked to make the sauce as late as possible so that it was fresh. The potato salad and coleslaw that he had made earlier in the day were now chilling in the refrigerator. Nearby, a bowl full of corn on the cob sat waiting to be basted with barbeque sauce. He hummed to himself as he moved effortlessly around his kitchen. Allie eventually joined him

"Hi Sweetie. Did you finish your homework?"

"All done Uncle Nathan! Are you excited for Miss Elizabeth and Jack to join us tonight?"

"Of course! How do you feel, Allie? I know we spent all day with them yesterday so this is kind of soon to see them again."

"It's ok Uncle Nathan. Yesterday was a lot of fun. It almost felt like…" Allie took a deep breath and then looked down at the floor.

Nathan immediately put down the spoon he was using to stir the sauce and put an arm around Allie's shoulders. He then walked her over to the kitchen table and sat down and pulled her into his lap. Allie instinctively put her arm around Nathan's shoulders.

"It almost felt like what, Allie?"

Allie took another deep breath and looked into Nathan's eyes. "I know we've talked about this already and the importance of taking things slow but it almost felt like we were a family. And it felt really nice. I kind of didn't want the day to end so I'm glad that we get to see Miss Elizabeth and Jack again today. Tuesday in class suddenly feels like a long ways away."

Nathan smiled at Allie and pulled her into a hug. When he pulled back, he said: "I know exactly what you mean and I feel the same way, Allie. Your feelings are very important to me so please always be open and honest with me. Elizabeth and Jack have become very important to me in a very short amount of time but I would never do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. And as I said last time we talked about this, I do expect that Elizabeth will want to take things slow so we need to be prepared for that."

"I understand, Uncle Nathan."

"Good! So please no family talk around her or anyone else. Let's keep our hopes and dreams between us right now. Everything will work out as it's meant to be in due time."

Allie gave Nathan a pensive look and then spoke again. "Would you like to become a family with Miss Elizabeth and Jack?"

Nathan gave Allie his crooked smile. "We've only known each other for about six weeks now but I'll be honest, it feels like I've known Elizabeth my entire life. But again, she's been through a lot and we need to respect that and give her the space she needs to move forward."

"I understand, Uncle Nathan. I've just never seen you as happy as you are when you're around Miss Elizabeth or when you're talking about her and it's nice to see."

Allie hugged her uncle and then rested her head on his shoulder. Nathan simply rubbed Allie's back.

"Don't you know how happy you make me, Allie? You're all I need sweet girl. I'd like to see where things lead with Miss Elizabeth but that will never change how I feel about you. Now come on, let's finish getting ready for our guests!"

"Ok Uncle Nathan," Allie sighed and stood up.

The Grants spent the next half hour making a large garden salad with vinaigrette as well as finishing Nathan's barbeque sauce. The doorbell rang a few minutes later and Nathan opened it to find Elizabeth with her hands full while Little Jack stood next to her. Upon seeing Nathan, the little boy immediately lifted his arms.

"Hi Nat'an up!"

Nathan immediately picked up Little Jack and made a funny face at him. Both Elizabeth and Little Jack laughed. Nathan then reached over and gave Elizabeth a quick hello kiss before grabbing one of the plastic containers she was carrying.

"Come on in you two! Welcome!" Nathan said as he ushered Elizabeth inside and shut the door behind her.

Elizabeth looked around the main floor of Nathan's split level home. It had a large living room adjacent to a dining room. Both the entryway and the dining room were connected to the kitchen. A small staircase led up to the second level where Elizabeth could easily see three bedrooms with a bathroom in the middle. An office area was set up in the open space at the top of the stairs. She also took note of all of the family photos adorning the walls and made a mental note to ask Nathan about them later.

As Nathan led her into the kitchen, Elizabeth noticed another staircase leading downstairs.

"How about a quick tour after we put this stuff down?" asked Nathan

"That sounds lovely. Hi Allie!"

"Hi Miss Elizabeth! Hi Jack!"

"Hi A'wee"

"Nathan, that container in your hand is full of brownies. And this tin right here is full of chocolate chip cookies. All freshly baked."

"Elizabeth, you didn't have to do that!"

"I wanted to do it. Baking brings me great joy. It was no problem really. And you and Allie can enjoy any leftovers this week."

Elizabeth put down her purse and Jack's diaper bag on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Al, why don't you start basting everything while I show Elizabeth and Jack around?"

"Sure thing, Uncle Nathan!"

Still holding Jack, Nathan motioned to Elizabeth to follow him. First they went upstairs where Nathan showed Elizabeth Allie's bedroom, the guest bedroom, and his master bedroom. Elizabeth noticed another bathroom connected to Nathan's bedroom. They then went down to the lower level which contained a very large family room with a connecting bathroom. Nathan put Jack down so he could toddle around. One side had a sectional couch facing a large flatscreen tv. The adjacent bookshelf contained a collection of blu-rays. Nathan explained that the couch also doubled a pullout sofa bed which his parents used when sleeping over. They preferred the extra space versus staying upstairs near Nathan and Allie.

The rest of the room was filled with bookcases and various items that appeared to be in storage. Everything was neatly stacked or on shelves. A small laundry room was adjacent to the bathroom.

"This used to be Allie's playroom when she was younger. We've moved her remaining toys up to her room. But this space comes in handy when she wants to have sleepovers or movie nights."

"I'll bet. Your home is lovely Nathan."

Nathan gave her a crooked smile. "Thanks! I know it's not as large as yours but we find it very comfortable. I was fortunate to have found it right before I became Allie's guardian so it was almost serendipitous."

"Size doesn't matter, Nathan. Home is home. I think it's perfect and the house suits you and Allie very well. I've learned quite a bit about you both from this short tour."

Elizabeth quickly checked on Jack to see he had climbed up onto the couch. She couldn't help herself so she moved in closer to Nathan and leaned her head up as he leaned his down. They pressed their lips together and lingered until they each needed to take a breath. Elizabeth wondered if she'd ever get to a point when she didn't feel butterflies in her stomach when she was around Nathan. The feeling was mutual for Nathan. The whirlwind relationship was scary yet wonderful at the same.

Both had their thoughts interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Nathan scooped up Jack again and led the three of them back upstairs. Allie had just let Gabe, Lillian and Spencer into the house. After some quick greetings and reassurance to Elizabeth, Nathan and Gabe took Allie and the boys outside to heat up the grill and play ball in the backyard. Elizabeth and Lillian were left alone in the kitchen to gather up the utensils and plates.

"Elizabeth, I'm so glad that we finally have a chance to spend some time together. I know things have been a bit crazy for us both with the start of the school year."

"I'm glad too, Lillian. So how did you and Gabe meet?"

Lillian smiled. "My sister Grace runs a non-profit that helps match older foster kids with their foster parents. Our parents were killed when we were 8 and 6 respectively so we ended up in foster care for a short while. A foster family finally wanted to adopt me and not Grace and we had a similar organization advocate for us to stay together. That foster family didn't end up taking me but another couple soon came along and took both of us. They eventually adopted us too and raised us so that's our mom and dad. Our younger brother Sam was born a couple years after we were adopted."

Elizabeth had tears in her eyes as she placed utensils into a basket for the table. "I'm so sorry Lillian. You and your sister have been through a lot."

Lillian nodded and continued. "Grace and I always wanted to give back to the foster community and she always had more business sense than I did. So she ended up working for the non-profit right out of college and then worked her way up the ranks until she became Executive Director. She has always been a go-getter so she is spectacular at what she does. Anyway, I had always wanted to be a teacher so that's what I became but I've always supported Grace's fundraising efforts when I can. I met Gabe at one of her galas about five years ago. He had been invited because he and Nathan had brought a couple of kids to Grace who needed a foster family. The government wasn't finding suitable matches so they asked Grace to help."

Elizabeth smiled. "That sounds very much like Nathan and Gabe."

Lillian smiled back. "Indeed it does. Allie was sick that night so Gabe ended up coming to the gala alone. I do think Grace was also trying to set us up but it all happened rather quickly and naturally anyhow. We ended up married six months later. We had a couple years to ourselves before Spencer came along which ended up being a blessing in disguise. We loved having the time but then it helped when…"

Elizabeth watched as Lillian stopped suddenly and wiped her eyes. She placed a hand on Lillian's arm. "When what Lillian?"

Lillian took a deep breath. "Here, let's sit down for a few minutes." Lillian led them over to Nathan's kitchen table and once they were both seated, she continued.

"About a year into our marriage, Gabe was shot while breaking up a drug ring out a bit further East. He and Nathan had been asked to help consult on a case because of how widespread the drug operation was becoming on the Island. One of the ringleaders popped up out of nowhere and ambushed Gabe. Thankfully, it was only one bullet to the abdomen and it narrowly missed Gabe's organs. And they arrested the culprit immediately. He has been sentenced to life in prison.

Nathan and Chief Avery managed to get Gabe to the hospital quickly. He was already in surgery by the time I arrived. I had to give consent over the phone. Both Nathan and Chief Avery stayed with me until well into the night when Gabe finally woke up. Grace was also there with me. Anyway, it took Gabe about four months to fully recover. Most of that time was over Summer break so I didn't have to miss a lot of school to take care of him. His parents and sisters also helped out when they could. Once Gabe was fully recovered, we found out I was pregnant with Spencer. It was such a pleasant surprise."

Both women were now crying. Elizabeth also had her hand resting on Lillian's forearm lending silent support.

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry if that triggered unpleasant memories for you. Nathan had told us about Jack. I had debated whether to tell you about Gabe's injury."

Elizabeth quickly wiped her tears away before responding. "Lillian, I'm so glad you did tell me! Your story gives me so much hope that not every law enforcement love story has a sad ending. And your precious little boy is a perfect example of sunshine after the rain. Please don't ever feel like you have to keep things like this from me. I know how close you are to Nathan and I want to get to know you better."

"As do we, Elizabeth. Nathan and Allie have become family to us so we want to know you better too. If it's not too forward, I can tell you that we have not seen Nathan this happy in quite some time now. He's always putting Allie and others ahead of himself so we are happy to see him focused on his own happiness for once. I hope my story wasn't too offputting. We love Nathan and don't want to see him get hurt again."

"That's pretty bold, Lillian." Elizabeth said with a smile.

"It is. This was slightly before my time but when Colleen died and Nathan had to take in Allie, he had been pretty serious about someone at the time. She wasn't sympathetic at all to his newfound fatherhood so she broke up with him. Gabe said that Nathan was devastated for quite some time between the break-up and Colleen's death. When I first met Nathan, he was still in that devastated state. I've probably said too much already. It's Nathan's story to tell. But we just don't want to see him hurt like that again. He deserves all the happiness in the world. And from what I've learned about your story so far, so do you, Elizabeth. I hope that you and Nathan can find that happiness together."

"Lillian, I'd really like to find future happiness with Nathan. I feel like we are off to a good start. If I may ask you a question, how do you handle Gabe going out on dangerous cases all the time after what happened to him?"

"When I married Gabe, I knew exactly what his job entailed so that helped. I'm grateful that he doesn't work in the city as the cases out here tend to be more lax. And Nathan and Gabe are very well trained and truly have each other's backs. They also work with very experienced co-workers, many of whom also have families. And Chief Avery is a very meticulous planner. Since Gabe was shot, they are actually mandated to wear vests now on certain types of dangerous cases. So that gives me peace of mind. Obviously, Gabe getting shot was a shock to all of us but, we've learned from it and I'm thankful that he's fine now.

Gabe and Nathan both love their kids more than anything and they'd never take unnecessary risks. Hopefully, Nathan has already told you that too but it really is true. Family comes first for both of them. I'm not saying that I don't worry but I pray a lot and I trust the guys and their experience."

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. Lillian smiled back. "I hope that puts your mind at ease somewhat. I know it can't be easy for you right now given what happened with Jack. But, I'm always here to talk if you need someone to talk to."

"Thank you Lillian! I'm truly grateful that we got to have this talk."

"So am I, Elizabeth. And I hope it's the first of many. You're never alone in this."

The women smiled at each other once more as they heard the distinct sound of the patio door sliding open. A few seconds later, Elizabeth felt strong yet gentle hands squeezing her shoulders. She reached up with both hands and placed her hands over Nathan's.

"Are you lovely ladies ok? I just came in to grab the food for the grill." asked Nathan.

Elizabeth smiled at Lillian while squeezing Nathan's hands. "Yes Nathan, we are fine. Now how can we help?"

Nathan chuckled and asked the ladies to bring out the plates, utensils and salads. He already had a beverage bar set up outside near the table with a cooler full of ice nearby.

Elizabeth and Lillian brought out everything while chatting some more. Jack was kicking a ball around with Gabe and Spencer while Allie was curled up in a lounge chair reading a Judy Blume book. Elizabeth smiled as she watched Lillian walk over to Gabe and the boys and pull her husband into a passionate kiss. No doubt Lillian was thinking about how grateful she was.

Nathan was over by the grill so Elizabeth went over to him. She silently placed her hand on Nathan's back while she watched him flip the chicken and steaks on the grill. Nathan glanced over at her with his crooked smile and Elizabeth quickly leaned in and gave him a kiss.

"I'd grill more often if I knew that was the reward."

Elizabeth laughed. "Sweetheart, you don't have to grill to get me to kiss you. I'd gladly do it anytime, anywhere."

"Noted," said Nathan.