Gift in hand, Nathan made his way down the line of houses, his boots leaving new footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Not long ago, he would have been excited to have a reason to show up on Elizabeth's doorstep. Right now, though his heart was beating faster, it was not from excitement but from nerves. Since his apology for his harsh words after Ally's accident, he felt like he had been regaining his footing with Elizabeth. Lucas' admission last night that they had indeed stopped courting had given him hope that perhaps he and Elizabeth could be friends after all despite any reminders of her late husband that he might evoke. Though he still loved her, Elizabeth had made it clear she did not share those feelings. Breaking up with Lucas was not an invitation to swoop in. He would respect her feelings and the last thing he wanted to do right now was say the wrong thing while she was possibly recovering from that break up.

Besides, it was not only his heart he had to consider. He had allowed Ally's heart to get broken in all this once before. Nathan refused to make that mistake a second time.

However, Elizabeth had invited him to stop by. It would be rude not to.

Despite entertaining the idea of just heading home, Nathan kept his steps moving in the direction of Elizabeth's house. Eventually, he reached her steps. Taking a deep breath, Nathan held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. He had not been this nervous since he had avoided the parent/teacher conference at the end of the school year.

Walking up the steps, the gift in one hand, Nathan knocked on the door with the other.

Nathan looked around nervously as he waited for the door to be answered. What if she did not answer?

Eventually though, the door did open and there stood Elizabeth. She had on a dark green, velvety dress. White lace lined the sleeves and the collar. Her hair was pulled up and silver snowflakes dangled from her ears.

She looked lovely, but Nathan did not voice the words. He was afraid that any indication of that kind of sentiment might cause Elizabeth to run from him again.

"I was starting to think you might stand me up," Elizabeth said lightly.

Nathan felt the heat rise in his cheeks despite the snowflakes and cold air. "Not on purpose, but your offer of the birthday cake did slip my mind for a bit."

Elizabeth smiled as she stepped aside. "That is quite all right. You have had a lot on your mind lately. Come on in out of the cold," she invited.

Nathan did so, though he went only far enough to allow Elizabeth to close the door behind them.

Before either adult could say anything, Jack came hurrying toward Nathan. In his rush, he lost his footing and fell on his bottom. Undaunted, the three-year-old got to his feet and continued toward the Mountie.

"Nathan, come see," Jack said, grabbing a handful of Nathan's jodphur's in his little hand and giving a gentle tug.

"What do you want to show me, Jack?" Nathan asked, slowly following the little boy.

Jack took him over to the table that held the pictures. There in front of Jack Sr.'s photograph was the Mountie and horse that Nathan had carved for him.

Pointing at them, Jack said, "Thank you," before looking up at Nathan.

Nathan knelt down and put an arm around Little Jack pulling the little boy close. "You are welcome, Jack. I am glad you liked your Mountie."

"Daddy with me?" Jack asked looking up at Nathan as he leaned back against Nathan.

"Yes, Jack," Nathan replied. "Your Daddy is a part of you even though you did not know him. He will always be in your heart," Nathan said, pointing to the boy's chest. "Your mother, Uncle Bill, Uncle Lee and Aunt Rosie will tell you stories of your Daddy as you grow up so you will know the good, kind man that he was."

Jack nodded solemnly though Nathan wondered how much of his little speech the boy had really comprehended.

"I brought a gift for your mama," Nathan told the boy, holding the gift out to him. "Would you give it to her for me?"

Jack smiled and nodded. Taking the gift, he walked away from Nathan to Elizabeth. Nathan got to his feet as Jack held the gift out to Elizabeth.

"Mama, from Nathan," Jack told her.

"Thank you, Jack," Elizabeth said, taking the gift. Holding onto her skirts, the boy leaned against her. "Should I open it now?" she asked, looking to Nathan.

Nathan nodded.

Elizabeth unwrapped the gift. Inside was a wooden picture frame on which Nathan had carved flowers, and an Emerson quote. The flowers had been colorfully decorated.

"The Earth laughs in flowers," Elizabeth said, reading the quote out loud. "That is a beautiful sentiment."

Nathan smiled. "Ally stained and painted it. She wanted to give you a Christmas gift to show you our appreciation for the time you have spent with her these last few weeks."

"It was my pleasure," Elizabeth replied.

"Merry Christmas, Elizabeth," Nathan told her.

"Merry Christmas," Elizabeth echoed.

Walking slowly over to her desk, Jack still holding onto her skirt, Elizabeth placed the frame there. "I am not sure what picture I will put in it yet," she told him, looking over to him. "Until I do, I can enjoy the frame itself while I sit at my desk. Let me get the slices of cake we set aside for you and Ally," she added.

Reaching down, she gently removed Jack's hands from her skirt. The boy wandered over to the building logs spread out on a blanket on the floor as Elizabeth moved toward the kitchen area.

Moving over to the blanket, Nathan squatted down nearby. "What are you building, Jack?"

"A schoolhouse," Jack answered. "Like Daddy built for Mama."

Nathan smiled. He had asked Bill about how the school had gotten its name. He thought it was touching that the children of the town had dedicated the school to Constable Thornton who had donated reward money and his time to make sure it got built.

"I am sure it will be just as good as the one your Daddy built," Nathan told him.

The toddler nodded as he continued to build.

Nathan watched him for a few moments. He finally got to his feet when he heard Elizabeth approaching.

"There you go," Elizabeth said, handing the covered plate to him.

"Thank you," Nathan told her. "I will make sure you get the plate back."

"There is no hurry," Elizabeth assured him.

Nathan nodded. "I should be getting back. Carson was cooking dinner for us when I left."

"I need to feed Jack before I meet the children at the café for the concert. Remember, we are stopping by to visit Ally before heading to the schoolhouse."

"I won't forget," Nathan assured her. He said good-bye to her and Jack before letting himself out the front door, relieved and disappointed at the same time that he was leaving.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on?" Ally asked as she took her coat from Nathan.

"It is a surprise," Nathan told her.

"Would this be the surprise Robert and Cody said they had for me?" Ally asked, as she put on her coat.

"It involves your classmates, yes," Nathan told her, reaching for his own coat. Though he planned on him and Ally staying in the doorway of their home, it was still going to be cold. "That is all I am going to stay."

"Fine," Ally said, with a pretend pout that did not fool Nathan for a moment. In fact, it made him feel good because it was proof that despite all she had been through recently, she was doing okay emotionally.

Nathan carefully helped Ally with her hat, being careful with the bandages still wrapped around her head. He then helped Ally transfer to the wheelchair as a knock sounded on the door.

"Would that be the surprise?" Ally asked.

"Most likely," Nathan replied. He reached for an afghan which he placed over Ally's lap.

"I think you are being too fussy," Ally told him up at him.

"A father's prerogative," Nathan told her.

Nathan ignored the eye roll as he pushed the wheelchair toward the front door. Opening the door, he maneuvered the wheelchair into the opening. On the road in front of their home, was the school choir.

"Merry Christmas, Ally," the children and Elizabeth called out upon seeing her.

Though not part of the choir as he had graduated, Robert was with the group as well. The boy stood at his former teacher's side. He held a wrapped package in his hands.

"Merry Christmas," Ally echoed, the joy lighting up her face. The expression on her face was all that Nathan needed to lift his spirits.

"Your classmates wanted to stop by and sing a couple of songs just for you before the concert, Ally," Elizabeth said. "Then afterwards, they have a gift for you that everyone contributed to."

Elizabeth moved so that she could direct the kids while singing. The kids sang two of the songs they would be singing in front of everyone shortly. Ally and Nathan clapped to show their appreciation after both songs. Robert then stepped forward, with a little speech on behalf of his former classmates. He came up the steps and handed Ally the gift that he held.

With the gift sitting in her lap, Ally unwrapped it. Inside she found an assortment of scarfs and headbands.

"These are pretty," Ally said holding up a dark blue scarf with Sunflowers on it.

"You will look pretty in them," Robert commented quietly, though Nathan heard the comment as well as Ally.

Nathan saw a blush rise in Ally's cheeks. His girl was growing up. As unready for this part of her childhood as he felt, Nathan knew there was no stopping it. He also knew that Robert was a good kid and he was thankful for that.

Ally looked up at her gathered classmates. "Thank you, everybody. I appreciate the gift, even if I have no clue how to actually put these to use and I don't think Dad is going to be able to help me."

Nathan reached down and picked up a dark green scarf. Folding it in a triangle he reached over the back of the chair and held it in front of Ally's nose and mouth.

"You wear them like this, don't you?" Nathan asked lightly, earning him chuckles from Elizabeth and the children and an exasperated "Dad" from Ally.

Nathan let the scarf fall into Ally's lap. "All kidding aside, I am sure Miss Miller will be able to show you how to put them to good use," he told Ally. "I have already talked to her about coming and helping us figure out how to make your hair look presentable while it is growing out."

"That is a relief," Ally said. "I was actually dreading the bandages coming off. At least right now they hide everything."

"What your hair looks like will not matter, Ally," Cody said. "We are just all looking forward to having you back in class."

The other kids echoed the sentiment.

"Dr. Shepherd says that if things keep progressing as they have been I should be able to return after the holiday break," Ally told them. "Though I am going to be so far behind."

"We'll get you caught up, Ally. Don't worry about that right now," Elizabeth told her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton," Ally replied. She then looked at her classmates. "Good luck tonight and have fun."

"I wish you were singing with us," Opal said.

"Hopefully next concert," Ally replied.

Elizabeth went about gathering the children together to get them to the schoolhouse. While she was doing that, Robert leaned down and kissed Ally's cheek. Nathan bit his bottom lip so he did not say anything to embarrass either child. Nathan knew without a doubt that it was time to have a particular conversation with Ally that normally a mother would have with their daughter. He wondered if perhaps Faith or Abigail would be willing to have that conversation with Ally. He had a feeling that it would be less embarrassing for both Ally and for himself.

Faith slipped her arms into the coat that Carson held for her. Around her, others that had been at the school Christmas Eve concert were donning their coats as well. It had been a beautiful concert. Pastor Joseph's Christmas Eve message had been beautiful as well.

"Thank you," Faith told Carson as he let go of the coat. She reached for the buttons and started fastening them as Carson retrieved his own coat.

"I plan on stopping by and checking on Ally before heading home," Carson said as he rejoined her. He started fastening his own buttons. "Nathan is insisting that he will be fine alone tonight and tomorrow. He wants everyone to enjoy their own Christmas."

"Bill is still having dinner with them tomorrow, isn't he?" Faith asked.

"Yes," Carson replied. "Which I think Nathan is more grateful for than he cares to admit. I think he is having a hard time with Christmas this year, though he is trying for Ally's sake. Checking on Ally tonight is not the only reason I want to stop by. I am hoping to talk Nathan into getting out of the house for an hour or so this evening to take a little time for himself. Whether he goes to the Café to join the others for refreshments, to the Queen of Hearts or just takes a walk, I don't care. But he needs some time out of the house, where he is not working or worrying about Ally. Especially after what happened last night. I can walk you home first if you would like?"

Faith shook her head. "I will come with you," she told Carson. "I do not think I am ready to say goodnight to my fiancé yet. Besides, you may need help convincing Nathan to leave Ally."

"I wasn't looking forward to saying goodnight to you quite yet either," Carson said, holding out his arm to her.

Arm in arm, Carson and Faith left the schoolhouse after saying good-bye to several others. Soon though, they were walking alone toward the row of houses, though the dark shapes of others walking home or into town could be seen.

"Was there a specific reason you wanted to check on Ally?" Faith asked now that there were not quite so many people surrounding them. Though Faith knew other members of the community were concerned about the girl, Ally was still a patient. She knew she needed to try to keep things private and direct people to ask Nathan the questions about her condition.

"Ally woke up from her nap this afternoon saying that a tingling in her legs woke her up. Though there is still reflexive movement from pain, there has been no voluntary movement and the tingling is the only sensation she is feeling. I am hopeful the tingling sensation is a further sign of improvement and just wanted to check in again. Especially as unless summoned I am going to stay away tomorrow and let Nathan and Ally celebrate as normal of a Christmas as they can manage."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if she got feeling and movement back in her legs on Christmas?" Faith commented.

"I definitely would not mind being called from whatever celebrations going on for that news," Carson admitted, though he was afraid to put it into words as Faith had. He had been careful these last couple of weeks not to give false hope while maintaining there was still a chance for use of Ally's legs to come back. It was a delicate line to walk, and though he had been starting to acknowledge to himself that they were getting further from the window where it could happen he had still been telling Ally there was a chance. The last thing he wanted was for the girl to just give up.

"So are you still cooking dinner at my place tomorrow?" Faith asked, sensing it was time to change the subject.

"Well, if we let you cook Christmas dinner we would be having cold sandwiches," Carson teased.

Faith laughed. "I am proud of my sandwich making ability," she stated. "Besides, I have seen your apartment. For someone who is so particular about the cleanliness of his infirmary your house keeping abilities are woefully lacking."

Carson chuckled. He could not argue about Faith's observation. His apartment did tend to get cluttered and certain cleaning tasks got pushed off until later.

"Then when we get married, I will do the cooking and dishes and you can keep house," Carson told her.

"I can live with that arrangement," Faith said. "Speaking of getting married, when are we going to talk about a date?"

"We can talk about it right now if you want," Carson said. "When were you thinking?"

Faith hesitated. She just got Carson back, the last thing she wanted to do was to pressure him into a quick wedding if he was not thinking along those lines. Then again, Carson had not been the one that had wanted to try hiding their relationship from everyone at the start. That had all been on her.

"I was thinking the last Saturday in January," Faith ventured.

"As in about a month away?" Carson asked.

"Too soon?"

"Not if you are sure you can have the wedding that you want with that little time to plan," Carson told her. "I know I may have given you mixed signals these last few months but I do love you, Faith. I had bought that ring before the fellowship in Baltimore came along. I then decided not to ask you with as confused as I was about everything. I did not want that ring to be the reason either one of us made a choice in that situation."

"That makes sense," Faith conceded.

"So, if you want to get married at the end of next month, I think we had better get planning."

Faith beamed. She was happy that Carson was onboard with things moving quickly.

"I really do not need fancy. A small ceremony with our closest friends and a dinner party afterwards would make me happy."

"Ceremony in the church?" Carson inquired.

"What did you want?" Faith asked.

It wasn't that she did not believe in God but she sometimes struggled with how God and science like medicine fit together. If she was forced to choose one over the other to trust in, she would go with science every time. However, she had to admit that there were some things, especially of late, that science did not explain.

"I think I would like to have Pastor Joseph marry us," Carson replied.

"I am agreeable to that. I'll need to talk to Rosemary to see if she can make a wedding dress on such notice. It may sound silly, but the one thing I definitely want is a pretty, white dress to get married in."

"That is not silly at all," Carson said as the reached the Grants' home. "Talk to Rosemary. See how long she needs to make you the dress you want and we will go from there."

"Really?" Faith asked, as they stopped at the foot of the steps to the Grant home.

"Really," Carson told her. "The important thing is marrying you and the sooner that is, the happier I will be," he told her, leaning in and giving Faith a quick kiss.

"A white dress, our closest friends and dinner," Faith stated, as the broke away. "Sounds like a beautiful celebration to me. I will have to tell my family the date as soon as we settle on it for sure, though I doubt my Dad will feel like traveling," she commented. Though her Dad had recovered from his heart attack enough to enjoy daily life, he still tired easily and seldom left home these days. "Perhaps I could get Nathan to walk me down the aisle if Dad can't make it. I don't know how I would have managed to get through the months you were away in Baltimore without his support."

"I am glad you had someone to lean on, Faith," Carson told him.

"We leaned on each other," Faith amended. "And just when we needed you, you showed up."

"The miracle of God's timing," Carson murmured, before giving her another quick kiss.

Preliminary wedding plans made, Carson went up the steps and knocked on the door. He was about to knock a second time when Nathan finally opened the door.

"I meant what I said," Nathan stated, looking from Carson to Faith. "I want you two to enjoy the holiday. If something comes up, I will find you."

Faith had stepped up beside Carson.

"I just wanted to check in on Ally one last time," Carson told him.

"We also thought it would be good for you to take a little time to yourself this evening, Nathan," Faith added. "Take a walk or maybe you would like some quiet time to pray at the church. People are gathering at both the saloon and the café if you would like to stop in. Carson and I will spend some time with Ally. We have all day tomorrow to enjoy our own celebrations."

Nathan shook his head. "I should stay here with, Ally. She is still feeling the tingling sensation in her legs and feet. We have been having a Christmas Carol sing along with my guitar to try to distract her."

"If you don't mind me using your guitar, Faith and I can continue the sing along with Ally after I examine her."

"You could ask Ally if she would mind you going out for a bit if it would make you feel better," Faith suggested.

Nathan laughed. "I already know her answer," he said. "She told me she would be fine here alone if I wanted to go to the concert by myself earlier."

Faith smiled. "A little time to yourself will do you wonders, Nathan. You need to take care of yourself so you can take care of Ally."

Nathan sighed. "I know when I am outnumbered," he told them, stepping aside so they could come in. "Ally is upstairs in her room," Nathan told them.

Carson and Faith removed their winter garments and hung them up before following Nathan upstairs.