It was just after 5am Wednesday by the time Nathan and Gabe finished processing Claire Foster. Both detectives were beyond exhausted from the past few days of almost non-stop searching for Chloe Wesley. There was only so much coffee that could keep them awake at this point.
After executing the search warrant at Claire's rented home, officers had found a prescribed bottle of lithium along with other evidence of bipolar disorder. The forensic psychiatrist on call had been called in to evaluate the findings and had suggested that Claire had taken Chloe during a manic episode. Claire was also having a manic episode when Nathan and Gabe arrived. She would need further tests to determine if her lithium was the right dosage for her current condition.
This was followed by a lot of discussion between the detectives, the Assistant District Attorney, Claire's lawyer, and the forensic psychiatrist. The group decided that it would be best for Claire to plead Not Guilty during her arraignment later in the morning. A follow up hearing would then allow her lawyer to present evidence of Claire's unbalanced medication causing her behavior. All involved hoped that Claire would get the treatment she needed to function normally again and then eventually be able to maintain supervised visits with Chloe. Claire's job at the cable network was putting her on an unpaid leave of absence while she dealt with her legal and health issues.
Nathan and Gabe finally walked out to the parking lot together as the dawn was slowly starting to break.
"Well, I'm glad this case had a happy ending. At least for the child." said Gabe.
"Me too. I would be beside myself if that were Allie. I don't even want to think about it."
"I know Nathan. All I could think of the entire time was Spencer and how lucky I am that he was home safe and sound with Lillian."
"I'm glad we were able to witness such a happy reunion between Craig, Anne, and Chloe. She is one well loved little girl and I hope this doesn't cause her any nightmares or added strife going forward."
The detectives had reached their respective vehicles.
"Even though the sunrise is imminent, I bid you a good night my friend." said Gabe as he patted Nathan on the back.
Nathan chuckled. "Same to you Gabe. Great work partner!"
Gabe and Nathan quickly got in their respective vehicles and Nathan watched as Gabe drove away. He realized that it was a school day for Allie so rather than go home and sleep for an hour and then pick her up at Elizabeth's, he decided to head straight to Elizabeth's house even though it was early. He would pick up Allie, enjoy an early breakfast together, and then drive her to school before finally getting some much needed sleep. It was a perfect plan or so he thought. After the stress of the past few days, Nathan missed his little girl and just wanted to see her and hug her. He hated that he had to work during Allie's school holiday two days prior.
Elizabeth was woken up by a ringing sound and she couldn't figure out why her Snooze Button wasn't working. She then realized that it was her cell phone ringing. Seeing Nathan's number and the early hour, she took a deep breath and then answered.
"Good morning love." a very tired voice said to her.
"Hi Nathan. Is everything ok?"
"Yes, I'm outside on the front porch. I figured I'd come get Allie now before I fall asleep."
"I'll be right down, Nathan."
A few minutes later, Elizabeth opened the front door and gasped at Nathan.
"That bad?" Nathan asked.
Elizabeth pulled him inside and shut the door. Then she immediately pulled Nathan into a hug.
"I was so worried about you and I'm so happy that you came home safely to me. But you look a little worse for wear, no offense." Elizabeth looked up at him with a mischievous grin.
Nathan gave her his crooked smile. Neither made any move to release the hug. Nathan then ran a hand along his cheek and realized his face was full of stubble.
"I guess my appearance matches how I feel," he said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry to wake you but I figured I'd come get Allie now even though she's going to be unhappy with me for waking her so early. It just seemed easier to get her now rather than go home and risk sleeping through her school dropoff time."
"Nathan, I told you to call me anytime. Please don't apologize. I'm glad you came straight here. But my love, you're not going anywhere alone or with Allie. You look like you're about to collapse from exhaustion and I don't want you driving again until you've rested a bit. This house has plenty of room. Why don't we set you up in the den across from my office? You'll have your own bathroom too so the kids won't disturb you when they wake up. I'll take Allie to school today. I was already planning to anyway."
"Lizbeth…"
Elizabeth put her finger over Nathan's lips to shush him.
"Nathan, please don't argue with me. I want to make sure you're safe."
He kissed her finger and with tears in his eyes, he nodded back at Elizabeth.
"I'll just go out to the car and get my duffel bag."
"And I'll wait right here."
Nathan quickly went out to his car and came back inside with his duffel bag. When he came back inside, Elizabeth handed him a metal gun box. He nodded and proceeded to store his gun inside it. Elizabeth securely closed it and placed it on the top shelf of her front closet.
"For some reason, I could never part with Jack's gun box. I figured it would come in handy at some point and I'm glad it has." Elizabeth said with a smile.
"I'd like to see Allie really quickly even if I'm not waking her."
Elizabeth nodded and took his hand leading him upstairs to the guest room where Allie was sleeping. Nathan looked at his niece sleeping peacefully and bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"I love you Allie." he whispered and then adjusted the covers that she had pushed off herself overnight. Elizabeth watched the scene unfold from the doorway. Once Nathan was content that Allie was ok and comfortable, he walked back over to Elizabeth and allowed her to lead him downstairs to the den.
Elizabeth's comfortable den consisted of a large sectional couch with pull out sofa and reclining chair. There was also a large wall unit that doubled as a bookcase and tv mount. A large flatscreen tv was the centerpiece of the unit with a blu-ray player and digital cable box underneath on the shelf. The rest of the shelves were filled with books, blu-rays, and framed photos. A colorful chest in the corner of the room held some of Jack's toys. It was easy for Nathan to picture mother and son spending time in this room watching tv together while playing or reading.
"The couch has a pullout sofa. I'll just go upstairs and grab some sheets and towels for you from the linen closet and I'll be right back. I forgot to grab them when we were up there. Please make yourself comfortable." Elizabeth gave Nathan a quick kiss on the lips and quickly ran out of the room.
When Elizabeth came back downstairs with the sheets and towels a few minutes later, she smiled at the sight. Nathan must have sat down while he was waiting for her to return and he was now fast asleep leaning back against the couch. Elizabeth also noticed that Nathan had changed into a white HVPD t-shirt and pair of knee length grey mesh shorts. After quickly deciding not to wake Nathan in order to pull out the sofa bed, she placed the pillow at one end of the sectional and gently maneuvered Nathan's body so that he was fully lying down with his head on the pillow. He didn't budge at all indicating how tired he must have been. Elizabeth covered Nathan with a light blanket and leaned down to kiss his forehead, similar to how he had kissed Allie a short while ago. She watched him sleep for a few minutes.
"I love you Nathan. Get some sleep my love." she whispered into his ear before leaving the den and closing the double doors behind her. Elizabeth realized that it was now just after 6am so she had about an hour to go back to sleep for a bit before Allie needed to get up and get ready for school. So she did just that.
Several hours later, Nathan slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling in the room. He turned his head and looked at Elizabeth's wall unit, recognition dawning on him. He remembered changing his clothes quickly while Elizabeth had gone upstairs to grab linens for him. He could now see said linens sitting on the recliner portion of the sectional. He had decided to wait for Elizabeth before pulling out the sofa bed so he just sat down on the couch to wait. Now he was waking up. Nathan felt the comfortable pillow under his head and warm blanket over his body and realized what must have happened. Being a light sleeper, he was surprised that Elizabeth had been able to move his body without waking him up. He smiled at the thought.
Nathan was still tired but not nearly as exhausted as he had been earlier. Resting had taken the edge off. Nathan was thankful that the house was so quiet. He debated whether to close his eyes and sleep a bit more or get up and start the day. His full bladder helped decide for him. A few minutes later, Nathan padded into the kitchen in search of his loved ones and a cup of coffee. He had grabbed his cell phone on the way and knew that it was just after 10:30am. His eyes immediately went to the coffeemaker on the counter where he saw a large mug next to an open greeting card. Nathan picked up the card and smiled as he read.
My Dearest Nathan,
Good morning! If you're reading this, you've woken up before I've returned from the Coulters. I took Jack over there so that the house would stay quiet for you to sleep. I dropped Allie off at school this morning but not before she came in and gave you a kiss. You were still fast asleep when she left.
The coffee is warm so help yourself. There are also fresh blueberry muffins under the cake tray on the center island. Or help yourself to some cereal from the pantry if you prefer. There are bananas and fresh fruit in the fruit bowl. Enjoy and we will see you soon.
Love,
E
Nathan poured himself a cup of coffee and placed a muffin and banana on a plate. He then sat at the table to enjoy his breakfast while he got caught up on work emails and texts from his phone. About ten minutes later, his face lit up as Elizabeth entered through the patio door. She was holding a sleeping Jack while little Abby Coulter walked next to her. Elizabeth smiled at Nathan as soon as she saw him.
"Hi! You're already up! I wasn't sure how long you'd sleep."
"I'm up. Thank you for the sweet card and for leaving breakfast out for me."
Elizabeth and Nathan got lost in one another's eyes.
"Auntie Beth?"
"Yes Abby-girl?"
"How long is Jack going to sleep?"
Elizabeth and Nathan both laughed before she answered the little girl.
"He usually sleeps for about an hour in the mornings. He fell asleep a little early today though so he should wake up sooner than usual. How about I put him in his crib and then we can play a little?"
Abby nodded and hugged Elizabeth's leg.
"I see you've acquired extra children." Nathan said with a smile.
"I told you I owed Lee and Rosie some babysitting. This is Rosie's last week without a Wednesday matinee and Lee is still on break with me today so I figured I'd give them a few hours to themselves." Elizabeth said as she ran her hand through Abby's hair.
"Can I help?"
"Sure! I'm going to go upstairs and put Jack down. Abby sweetheart, will you stay down here and sit with Nathan? I'll be right back."
Nathan held his arms out and smiled at Abby. The little girl looked from him to Elizabeth and back to him. She then walked over to Nathan and he scooped her up into his lap and promptly started entertaining her with funny faces. Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder what it would look like if Nathan were holding their own little girl but she quickly stopped herself and went upstairs to get Jack settled. She came back downstairs ten minutes later to find Nathan and Abby in the living room. Abby was still on Nathan's lap but this time they were on the couch and Nathan was reading one of Jack's books using different voices for the characters.
Elizabeth just watched and smiled for a few minutes and then sat down next to Nathan. She immediately took one of his hands into hers. Nathan finished the book and the adults noticed that Abby's eyes were drooping as she leaned back against Nathan's chest.
"Detective, you are a natural with children."
Nathan blushed and smiled. Elizabeth smiled back and gently lifted the now sleeping little girl into her arms. She quickly carried Abby to the kitchen and put her in Jack's playpen. She then rejoined Nathan on the couch, taking his hand once again.
"Nathan, did you ever want children of your own besides Allie?"
"I did. I wasn't sure it would ever happen for me once I took on Allie though." he replied as he looked down sadly. Elizabeth knew he was thinking about what had happened with his ex-girlfriend. She squeezed his hand in silent support.
"But now I feel like that dream may not be far from reality one day." Nathan said as he gave Elizabeth a small smile. "How about you? Did you want more children after Little Jack?"
"Oh yes! I've always wanted a large family and Jack was open to it. When he died, I also thought that dream may have died with him but now I have renewed hope that the dream is still attainable." Elizabeth smiled and squeezed Nathan's hand again.
"So Nathan, how was the case? I know you found Chloe but how did it go? I was so worried about you."
"We got really lucky this time, Elizabeth. Thank goodness we figured out the culprit quickly and we were able to freeze her passport and bank accounts. We were fortunate that Claire didn't get past Hope Valley. And thankfully she was unarmed."
"Did you wear a vest?"
"Yes. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you beforehand. But we do wear them most of the time."
"I'm glad. I'm still going to worry about you but that puts my mind much more at ease."
"You know I'm not used to being fussed over like I was earlier. Thank you for caring for me and making sure I didn't put myself and Allie in an unsafe situation."
Nathan leaned in to Elizabeth and pressed his lips against hers. They only stopped when they needed air.
"I love you and Allie and it's my pleasure to care for both of you."
"Thank you again. And I love you and Jack and I hope you know the sentiment is mutual."
This time Elizabeth leaned in and initiated the kiss. This one was longer and a bit more passionate than the first. Again they stopped when they needed air.
"I hope that the Wesley family can one day experience as much happiness as we are right now. Chloe was so happy to be reunited with her parents and vice versa but Claire Foster has a long and uncertain road ahead of her. No doubt that will impact that sweet family."
"Why don't we say an extra prayer for them before we each go to sleep tonight?" asked Elizabeth.
"I would love that, Sweetheart. Claire has court dates and psychiatric evaluations ahead of her. It seems like her lithium dosage was not working properly so it was causing the mania."
"Rosie and I had a friend in college who dealt with that too. Thankfully, she was very good about making sure her dosage was accurate so she constantly had it rechecked and adjusted if needed. But I hope Claire is able to move on with her life and one day resume a relationship with Chloe. I'm guessing part of the reason she pulled away in the past was because she was scared."
"I'll have to attend at least one court date to testify so hopefully, we can get some updates on her progress as well as on the Wesleys. But enough of that. I don't have to go to the station today. What do you say I hang out here and help the babysitter until Allie needs to be picked up from school?"
Elizabeth smiled. "A babysitter can never have too much help."
Nathan chuckled. I'm going to take a quick shower and change and then I'm all yours for the day, Professor."
"Just the day, huh? Hopefully, we can expand upon that soon, Detective."
Nathan gave her his signature crooked smile and leaned in for another long kiss. Elizabeth then watched happily as Nathan headed towards the den area to take his shower.