"You ready for this?" Elizabeth asked, placing two giant bowls of popcorn on the coffee table.

Nathan eyed the bowls dubiously. "Flavored popcorn?" he asked, skepticism written all over his face. "What's wrong with good, old fashioned, buttered popcorn?"

Sitting next to him, Elizabeth nudged him playfully in the ribs. "Nothing. But this is a fun way to expand your horizons. How are you ever going to know if you like something if you never try it? You need to branch out, Nathan!" She grabbed a handful of the popcorn and started eating it. "I promise you'll like it."

Nathan sniffed the air. "Those are two different flavors, aren't they?"

Smiling sweetly, Elizabeth nodded. "I made them myself. One is savory, one is sweet. You get to guess what the flavors are."

"Alright," Nathan said in resignation. "I suppose I can try something new." He could see Elizabeth grinning as he reached for the first bowl. "Looks like this one has a lot of spices involved."

"Good observation," Elizabeth said. "Now see if you can tell me what the overall flavor is supposed to be."

Nathan cautiously put the popcorn in his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise as he chewed. "This tastes like pizza!" he exclaimed after swallowing.

Elizabeth beamed. "Very good! Isn't it delicious?" She grabbed another handful. "I found this recipe after browsing different variations on popcorn because I was getting tired of the same old recipe. This one caught my eye, and I just knew it would be a winner!"

Chuckling, Nathan acknowledged the truth. "You were right, this is amazing." He reached for some more. "I should really quit being skeptical of your creations. They're always delicious."

"Wait until you try the other one!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "It's my favorite."

"Oh yeah?" Nathan asked, finishing his second handful of pizza popcorn. He took a sip of water, then reached into the second bowl. "You said this one is sweet?"

"Yup," Elizabeth said, nodding. She watched him expectantly as he tasted the sweet popcorn.

Nathan smiled, then laughed. "I should have known. This is white chocolate, just like your favorite mocha."

Elizabeth grinned. "Wonderful, isn't it?"

Nathan nodded. "You were right again, this is tasty as well." He shook his head. "How do you do it? You have such a knack for flavor combinations."

"I just find good recipes," Elizabeth said with a wave of her hand. "I can't come up with them myself. Tried that once, and let's just say it did not turn out well."

"Oh?" Nathan asked, raising one brow. "Care to elaborate?"

"I was twenty-two and really getting into baking. Following recipes was something that came naturally, but I'd seen a cooking show where the baker improvised her ingredients and came up with the most beautiful and delicious looking goodies. So I wanted to try it too." Elizabeth grimaced. "Since it was fall at the time, I thought I'd try making cranberry orange muffins. Let's just say it was a mess and they tasted pretty awful. From then on, I decided since there are perfectly good recipes out there already, I would just follow them for the best results."

"Well, no one can follow a recipe quite like you," Nathan told her. "You always make the best treats."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said. Nathan could see a little color fill her cheeks at his compliment, and he smiled to himself. She was cute when she blushed. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, prompting her blush to deepen as she smiled at him.

"So, what are we watching tonight?" Nathan asked, settling back into his spot. Elizabeth had invited him over for her annual Halloween tradition of popcorn and a movie.

Elizabeth grinned, pointing the remote at the TV. "I watch this every year on this night," she said. The screen lit up, and Nathan's brows rose again.

"White Christmas?" he asked. "You watch a Christmas movie on Halloween?"

"Sure do," Elizabeth said, chuckling. "It's been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Halloween always kicked off Christmas movie season. And it was always White Christmas."

Nathan put his arm around Elizabeth, drawing her close. "I love learning new things about you."

She smiled up at him. "And we have the rest of our lives to keep learning new things about each other."

"I can't wait to spend my life with you," he replied softly, leaning down to kiss her. When he pulled away, they simply stared into each other's eyes for a minute before Elizabeth gently patted his cheek and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I hope you don't mind watching White Christmas on Halloween every year," she said cheekily. Nathan could feel her smiling against his shoulder.

He pulled her closer and grinned. "I don't mind at all, sweetheart. Not at all."


"I'm sorry, when is the wedding?" Rosemary asked, her voice louder than it should be indoors. "I could have sworn you just said December 20th!"

Elizabeth poked her head out of the dressing room, giving her friend a look. "That's because I did say December 20th. Nathan called Fr. Frank, and it turns out the church and the church hall are free that day. So we booked it for our wedding."

"That's less than two months away!" Rosemary exclaimed, a note of panic in her voice. "Elizabeth, how are we supposed to plan the wedding of your dreams in less than two months?"

Elizabeth could hear Faith laughing. "Rosemary, you know Elizabeth has always wanted a simple wedding. She probably already knew pretty much what she wanted. It's just a matter of getting it all together."

"Exactly," Elizabeth called, buttoning the many tiny pearl buttons on her current dress. "Nathan and I have ironed out most of the details already. It's basically just the little things that need attention now. We were on the same page about everything. You'll both be happy to know that I chose royal blue as the color for the bridesmaid dresses."

She could hear Rosemary sputtering and Faith talking her down. Elizabeth tried not to laugh. Rosemary had a take charge mentality when it came to weddings, and she thought all weddings should be grand events. She hadn't ever really believed that Elizabeth really wanted a small, intimate wedding and reception. But small and intimate was exactly what Elizabeth wanted. And she intended for it to stay that way.

"Alright, I'm coming out," she said, drawing back the curtain and coming into view of Faith and Rosemary. "What do you think?"

Both her friends blinked at her. "Umm...maybe not that one," Faith said, looking at the dress with her head tilted. Rosemary wrinkled her nose.

"What? It looked so pretty on the stand," Elizabeth said, walking over to the three-way mirror. She looked at her reflection and raised her brows. "Oh."

"Yeah," Rosemary said, smiling. "It was pretty on the stand, but I don't think mermaid style is quite your thing. Maybe try the sheath dress next?"

The three friends had browsed through many dresses and Elizabeth had ultimately chosen four to try on. She did as Rosemary suggested, trying on the sheath gown next, but got similar results as the mermaid style gown. After the sheath she tried on the ballgown style dress, and both Rosemary and Faith smiled when they saw her.

"Much better!" Rosemary exclaimed as Elizabeth peered at her reflection in the mirror. The elegant dress had beautiful lacy detail and small pearl beading, making Elizabeth feel a little bit like a princess. She ran her hands over the fabric with a soft smile. "This is a beautiful dress," she murmured. Turned to and fro, she studied her reflection. "And it fits really well."

"It's a gorgeous dress, Elizabeth," Faith said. She raised a brow. "Is this the one?"

Elizabeth tilted her head and pursed her lips. "I'm not sure. I love it, but I don't know that it's the one for me. It's almost too fancy."

Faith nodded. "Does it remind you of socialite life in New York?"

"It does," Elizabeth said with a slight grimace. "And this wedding is going to be elegant but simple. I want my dress to reflect that. To reflect more of me as I am now, not who I was then."

"Alright, then let's see dress number four," Rosemary said. "And if you don't like that one, we'll look some more to see if we can find something else you like."

Elizabeth could hear her friends talking as she tried on the fourth dress, an empire style gown with delicate lace sleeves and tiny pearl beads decorating the bodice. The white fabric flowed down from the waistline and ended right below Elizabeth's ankles. She took a deep breath, hoping this one looked good. Clothes shopping had never been her favorite activity. She pulled the curtain aside once more and stepped out.

Rosemary and Faith gasped in unison. "Oh, Elizabeth!" Rosemary breathed. "You are stunning!"

Faith had tears in her eyes. "It's perfect, Elizabeth! It's so you."

Elizabeth turned to look in the mirror, and her breath caught in her throat. She gave a little gasp, a hand going to her throat. "This is the dress!" She laughed. "I told Nathan I would know the dress when I saw it. And I know. This is the one."

Her friends surrounded her in an impromptu group hug. She smiled through happy tears. "You two are the best friends in the world. I'm so glad you're here with me, helping me get ready to marry a wonderful man."

"We're happy for you, Elizabeth," Faith said. "And this is going to be the perfect wedding."

"Yes, but can we talk about maybe making it a little fancier?" Rosemary asked, an impish look in her eyes.

Elizabeth laughed. "You know I love you, Rosemary, but no. I don't want fancy. Nathan and I are simple people, and we're happy with a simple wedding."

"How did your parents react when you told them about the wedding?" Faith asked as the three friends made their way to the couch and plopped down together all at once.

"Welllll..." Elizabeth said, drawing out the word. "They might not know I'm getting married."

"What?!" Rosemary stared at Elizabeth. "How do your parents not know yet?"

Elizabeth squirmed a little. Faith stared at her, mount agape. "You haven't even told them about Nathan, have you?"

Straightening her shoulders, Elizabeth sat up a little straighter. "They made it perfectly clear when I got engaged to Jack that they wanted nothing to do with the wedding. They thought someone in the military wasn't good enough for their daughter, although they had no problem disinheriting me when I became a nurse and moved here. Why should I believe they would think any better of Nathan? He's in law enforcement. That wouldn't be good enough for the mighty New York society Thatchers."

Faith put an arm around Elizabeth. "You'll never know if you don't tell them," she said gently. "When was the last time you talked to your parents?"

A tear slipped from Elizabeth's eye. "Five years ago," she said, her voice barely audible. "I called to tell them Jack had died." She stopped, unable to continue. The pain of their response still smote her heart.

Rosemary frowned. "What did they say?" She looked confused, as did Faith. Elizabeth had never had the heart to repeat her father's words before. She sniffed, holding on to the hand Rosemary offered.

"My dad said that's what happens when you fall in love with a military man." Her friends gasped. Elizabeth nodded, then continued. "And then my mother said the next time I fell in love, I should make sure to choose someone with a 'sensible' profession who wouldn't 'go and get himself killed.' Those were her exact words." She wiped a tear away. "I haven't talked to them since."

"Oh, Elizabeth! How did I not know you weren't speaking to your parents?" Faith asked, looking a little bewildered.

"It's not something I talk about," Elizabeth said with a shrug. "My family basically cut me out of their lives when I left, and we didn't talk much anyways. So I see no point in letting them know about Nathan and the wedding. They wouldn't come, and they wouldn't approve."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," Rosemary said, pulling Elizabeth into a hug. When she let her go, she looked at Elizabeth. "We are going to make this wedding exactly what you want it to be. No interference whatsoever."

Elizabeth smiled, knowing how much that meant coming from Rosemary. "You're sure, Rosie?"

Her friend nodded emphatically. "Yes, I'm sure. This is your wedding, and you deserve to have it be everything you want it to be. Now," she said, taking charge in a practical manner, "why don't you change back into your clothes and we'll get this dress to the checkout." She smiled. "While you do that, Faith and I will go look around for some royal blue bridesmaid dresses."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said, more grateful than ever for her two amazing friends. "You're the best. Both of you."

"We know," Rosemary said with a wink. She stood. "Come on, Faith, let's go see what we can find."


Nathan sat a little apart from Steve and Colleen in the large parlor of the rehab center. He always gave them space on their visits to the center, present only as moral support for Colleen. His sister was getting stronger with each visit, and the last time they'd come, she hadn't cried on the way home. Her optimism was growing day by day, but she kept herself grounded in the reality that Steve wasn't likely to regain his memory completely, if at all.

He studied them, noting the way Colleen had a hand on Steve's arm and how Steve was smiling tenderly at her. Nathan wondered if his brother-in-law knew more than his brain was capable of expressing. It gave Nathan a thread of hope.

"Have I told you that I have a daughter?" Colleen asked Steve brightly.

Steve shook his head. "No, you haven't. Do you know, I always thought I would have a daughter one day." He smiled. "Do you have a picture?"

Colleen nodded and rummaged in her purse. "Let me see...here it is!" she said, pulling Allie's picture from her wallet. She handed it to Steve. "Thats…"

"Allie," Steve whispered, staring at the picture.

Colleen turned white. Nathan stood, jaw dropping. "Steve...William...you recognize Allie?"

Steve looked up at Nathan, his eyes wide. "I know her. I don't know how, but I know this little girl. Allie," he repeated, his eyes locking on the picture, recognition glimmering fainting in their depths.