Viola and Victoria went back to London as expected the Monday night after Thanksgiving. The plan was to pack up, settle things legally with Lionel, and for Victoria to finish her preschool semester. Then they'd officially move to New York right after the new year. That gave Viola about six weeks to get things in order. Now that they were rebuilding their relationship, Elizabeth and Julie kept in regular touch with Viola via video chat and were able to offer moral support.

Elizabeth was just hanging up from a call with Viola when her phone rang again immediately. It was the first Saturday in December and also the Saturday before her community theater class would have their big show. Ticket sales had been going well and Lee was happy that the theater program at the university would be getting some new funds. Elizabeth was surprised to see that the call was from Lee.

"Hi Lee! You know you could have just walked over."

"I'm actually at the office catching up on some paperwork and I had a thought."

"Yes?"

"Well, the administration is pleased with ticket sales thus far. Kudos to you for putting together a wonderful program. But, we have some remaining tickets left to sell this week and I wonder if you might consider…"

"No Lee, absolutely not. I can't."

"I haven't even asked yet!

"You were going to ask me to sing!"

"You know me that well, huh?"

Elizabeth finally chuckled. "College was a long time ago, Lee."

"So it was. Ok, I won't pressure you but you still have quite the fanbase from your Broadway days. Even Mitch was alluding to that the night of Rosie's opening. I just figured singing a song or two at your own show might be more comfortable for you than a full solo show. But consider the topic closed."

"Thanks Lee,"

"On another note, I need to confirm your ticket count. Is Viola coming?"

"I wish but she has decided to stay in London until after the holidays."

"That's right. I had forgotten. That makes total sense so she can get her affairs in order and Victoria can spend the holidays with both parents."

"Vi's intention too. Now let me think for a minute on those tickets. I need tickets for Nathan, Carole, Archie, Mother, and Father. Though Father is also making a donation to the Theater Arts program as well. And everyone else is buying their own tickets so Carson, Faith, Joe, Maggie, Gabe, Lillian, Julie, and Charles. I know Rosemary is taking the day off and will be your guest. And Laura is all set to watch Little Jack and Abby. Lillian's brother Sam and his girlfriend Lucy will be watching Spencer."

"Elizabeth, we have quite the crew among us."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way, Lee."

"That we do. Ok, I'm going to finish up and head home to my little girl since Rosie is at the theater."

"Ok Lee, I'll talk to you later."

After hanging up, Elizabeth set about cleaning the kitchen and paying some bills while Little Jack took a nap. She reflected about how different things were now than they were back in August when her community theater class had first started up. Elizabeth thought about Nathan and how quickly they had gone from a parent/teacher relationship to friends to falling in love over the past four months. As she thought about how far her life had come in such a short amount of time, Elizabeth realized a lot of that had been due to her overcoming her own fears and now she knew exactly what she needed to do next in order to move forward.

The following Friday afternoon, Elizabeth led her class through one final dress rehearsal before the show on Saturday. She was so pleased with the progress of her students over the course of the semester that she had recently talked Lee into allowing her to offer a second part to the community theater class in the Spring semester. This class would focus more on the audition process and also would culminate in another semester ending show. Allie had already convinced Nathan to sign her up once again. Maggie Shepherd was also interested. Both Elizabeth and Lee were pleased with how the community theater class was going overall and hoped to use it to expand the Theatre Arts program at Hope Valley University. Elizabeth already suspected that Lee had other plans for her beyond simply teaching classes each semester.

After running through the final group number one last time, Elizabeth gave her class a pep talk and told them to arrive in full costume ninety minutes prior to curtain the next afternoon. As soon as she dismissed them, she felt strong but familiar arms circling her waist from behind. Elizabeth smiled and put her hands over Nathan's arms.

"Hello Professor. I hope I'm not too late for class," Nathan whispered in her ear and then kissed the side of her neck.

Elizabeth felt a comforting shiver run down her spine.

"Detective, I'll remind you that this is a public space and we are not alone. If you don't behave yourself, I may have to give you detention."

"Isn't that for high schoolers?"

"This is my classroom at the moment so I make the rules."

"I see."

"Would you like to leave said classroom and maybe get dinner with Allie and I?"

Elizabeth pretended to think about it. "I think that can be arranged after I finish up a few things here. I told Laura I'd be home late just in case things here weren't running smoothly. Have a seat, Detective."

Nathan slowly spun Elizabeth around in his arms and gave her a crooked smile. "As you wish, Professor, but please don't take too long. I'm not sure how long I can wait to kiss you."

Elizabeth was about to reply when Allie interrupted them.

"Uncle Nathan, I'm so glad you're here! The show is amazing and I can't wait for you to see it."

Nathan immediately went into Dad mode and let go of Elizabeth. He hugged Allie and gave her a kiss on the head and then walked over to the orchestra seats and sat down. Allie joined him and continued to talk about the show as Elizabeth went about packing her bag. She excused herself briefly to speak with Lee and his assistant Kevin since they had attended the rehearsal earlier. Elizabeth wanted to make sure there was nothing to do tomorrow except show up and perform. Once Lee assured her that everything was set, Elizabeth rejoined Nathan and Allie and the threesome headed over to the Hope Valley Diner to have breakfast for dinner.

Elizabeth arrived at the Performing Arts Center about three hours before showtime the next day. The show was still scheduled for two in the afternoon so Elizabeth brought a light lunch with her so she could eat it in her office. After making sure that the printed programs were in place for the ushers, Elizabeth went back to her office to put the finishing touches on her speech. The plan was for her to introduce the purpose of the show at the beginning and Lee would also say a few words as Executive Director of the Performing Arts Center. She would also give a more detailed speech and fundraising plea at the end as well as introduce each student so they could take an individual bow.

A nine-piece orchestra plus conductor was being supplied by one of the music classes and Elizabeth was very grateful that her students would be able to perform to live instrumental music. Between family and friends of all her students as well as patrons and members of the Performing Arts Center, Elizabeth's class had sold two-hundred fifty tickets. The show was a sell-out at the smallest theater at the Performing Arts Center.

Elizabeth was about to eat her salad when there was a knock at her office door.

"Come in!"

"Hi Beth"

Elizabeth dropped her fork into the salad bowl and stood up. "Vi? What are you doing here? How?"

Viola had made her way to Elizabeth by this time and engulfed her in a hug.

"I wasn't sure if I could pull it off but once I knew for sure, I decided to surprise you. I know how hard you've been working on this show all semester and I wanted to show you that I can be there for you when you need me. Plus the show was all you and Allie could talk about at Thanksgiving dinner so how could I miss it?"

"Oh Vi," Elizabeth cried as she pulled her sister into another hug.

"Now now little sister, you're going to ruin your makeup and that's not very befitting of a Thatcher woman," Viola said with a gleam in her eye.

The two sisters chuckled.

"But Vi, how?"

"I may have had some help," Viola said with a smile. She walked over to Elizabeth's office door and motioned for someone to enter.

Elizabeth was stunned for a second time when a smiling Nathan stepped into the office.

"I take it you're surprised, Professor?"

"Detective, that's an understatement. But how? We were just together last night."

"I actually arrived while you were at dinner. Father arranged for a car service to pick me up and take me to the Hope Valley Hotel. And then your wonderful boyfriend here picked me up this morning and drove me here. He also made sure I had a ticket to the show."

Nathan smiled as he noticed Elizabeth's raised eyebrow. "I may have arranged that with Lee."

Elizabeth tilted her head up to quickly kiss Nathan. "This was a wonderful surprise, sweetheart. Thank you. Vi, how long are you here?"

"Unfortunately, this is going to be a quick trip. I came in last night and am leaving tomorrow night. Victoria is with Lionel and his parents."

"You'll stay with Jack and I tonight?"

"I was going to stay at the hotel but Nathan figured you'd ask me that so I checked out before coming over here. My bag is in Nathan's car." Viola said as she squeezed Elizabeth's hands.

Elizabeth pulled her sister into a hug again.

"Beth, let me help you with your makeup. I feel bad that I made you cry. Then I'll give you some time alone with Nathan."

"Ok Vi. Sweetheart, why don't you take a seat while we finish up my makeup?"

Nathan smiled and nodded and sat in a corner of Elizabeth's office that housed a small round table with three chairs. He busied himself checking Twitter and Instagram. Fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth was pleased with her makeup and Viola went off to the theater to wait for the rest of the family. Nathan pulled Elizabeth into a hug.

"I know you're busy and have some pre-show things to do but I just wanted to wish you luck today."

"Thank you my love. And thank you for bringing Viola to me. It's such a gift having her back in my life regularly again and having her here tonight is just so special to me."

Nathan smiled. "It's my pleasure. I love seeing you so happy and I know that rebuilding your relationship with your sister brings you great joy. I also know that you've been working hard on this show so the more people that get to see your hard work, the merrier."

Elizabeth leaned up and gave Nathan a deep kiss that left them both completely breathless.

"I love you, Nathan Grant. You and our children are my greatest joy. I can't believe how different today is from that first class back in August."

Nathan spoke in a low, husky voice as he leaned his forehead against Elizabeth's. "I love you more than words can describe, Elizabeth. You are the love of my life."

After one more lengthy kiss, Elizabeth chased Nathan out of her office so she could finish preparing for the show without him being a distraction.

Elizabeth headed over to the backstage portion of the theater a short while later where she greeted her students as they entered through the stage door. She spent a few minutes with Carole and Archie when they came to drop Allie off and then pointed them in the direction of the front of the theater. Elizabeth gave her class one final pep talk and then had them get into their places to start the show with the opening group number.

The show went off without a hitch. After the opening song, each student act was flawless. Elizabeth was thankful that the audience was so engaged and they repeatedly encouraged the students with applause and standing ovations. After the closing group number, Lee came out to thank Elizabeth and her class and also to talk about the Theater Arts program and how important the funds from the show were to supporting it. At the end of his speech, Lee introduced Elizabeth as former Broadway star and now Professor, Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton. Elizabeth walked out to center stage and hugged Lee before stepping up to the microphone. She was surrounded by her students on both sides.

"Thank you everyone for coming today. As Lee said, we appreciate your support of our program and hope to see you at a future show. You can find Spring calendars in the lobby available for pick up after the show. I will also be continuing this Community Theater class in the Spring semester with a second part so I hope to see all of your children continue with me. We've had a fun semester together."

"On a more personal note, I lost my late husband just over two years ago now. I took a short break from teaching after he died so that I could focus on our young son. This has been my first semester back and it has been such a joy to work with all of your children and watch them cultivate their own talent. I hope you're all as proud of these children as I am. This class has also been a gift to me personally as it brought me two of the most important people in my life, Nathan and Allie Grant."

"Earlier this week, my boss and good friend Lee Coulter called me and asked if I would sing today. I immediately said that I can't. After further pondering, I thought about all of these wonderful and talented children standing around me and I realized that if they were all brave enough to get on stage and perform, then so am I. As you may know, I performed on Broadway and National Tours for several years before settling here at Hope Valley University as a Professor. Even though I am extremely out of practice, I'd like to finish off our show today by singing one of the songs I had the privilege of singing on Broadway."

"This song is dedicated to the most selfless man I know, Nathan Grant. He has given me so much joy in such a short period of time. I hope you all enjoy the song."

Elizabeth proceeded to sing a perfect rendition of You Matter to Me from the musical Waitress. Down in the second row of the Orchestra section, Nathan had never heard Elizabeth's singing voice before and bit his lip to keep the tears in his eyes from overflowing. Carole reached over to her son and squeezed his hand. Nathan could only continue to watch in awe of how Elizabeth had quickly become the woman he planned to marry.