Elizabeth threaded a white ribbon through Faith's hair, weaving it into the braid she was expertly working on. She wrapped the long braid into a crown, pinning it in place, then strategically placed pearly flowers into her crown with bobby pins. Finally finished, she stepped back and smiled. "Faith, you look lovely."
Faith smiled back, her face a mixture of excitement and nervousness. "This is really happening," she said softly. "Carson and I are getting married."
"Yes, you are," Elizabeth said, curling a few strands of Faith's hair to frame her face. "How are you feeling?"
Faith bit her lip. "Honestly?"
Elizabeth raised a brow. "Yes, honestly."
Faith exhaled. "I'm thrilled to be marrying him. I love Carson more than words can say, and the fact that he is willing to marry me sooner than our planned wedding date just makes me love him more. But...I'm so nervous, Elizabeth. About tonight." She blushed, and Elizabeth caught her meaning.
"Faith, if you're not ready for that, you know Carson won't push it, right?"
Faith nodded. "He's already told me as much. The thing is, I want to give myself to him completely," she admitted. "But I'm so afraid I'll flash back to what happened two months ago and freak out on him." She groaned. "That would be so awful!"
Elizabeth put a hand on Faith's shoulder. "The difference this time," she said quietly, "is that Carson loves you dearly. He would never hurt you. Just trust him, Faith. If you're not ready, he will respect that. But if you are, he will show you what love is meant to be. And I get the sense that a lot of healing will come from his love for you."
Tears shone in Faith's eyes. "You really think so?" she asked, hope filling her face.
Elizabeth nodded. "I do. Don't worry too much about what could be. Focus on the wedding ceremony, and then later you can focus on your wedding night." She hugged Faith tightly. "I think you're going to be okay, my friend."
Rosemary swept into the room, veil in hand. "Got it!" she said breathlessly. "I can't believe we left this at the house!"
Elizabeth laughed. "Good thing the house was only five minutes away!" she teased.
Rosemary giggled. "The beauty of a small town." She pinned the veil in place and grinned at Faith. "You make a beautiful bride, Faith!" she exclaimed. "Carson is going to be in total awe."
Faith placed her hands over her still-flat stomach. "I'm starting to get butterflies!" she said. "And it's not like we have a bunch of people watching us either."
"Butterflies are totally normal," Rosemary assured her. "It happened to me before my wedding, and it happened to Elizabeth before hers. You're about to promise to love and cherish another person until death do you part. That's a huge commitment. Nerves are part of the experience."
"If you say so," Faith said, letting out a long breath. Rosemary and Elizabeth simultaneously engulfed Faith in a hug. "It's all going to be okay, Faith," Rosemary said.
Elizabeth nodded. "This should be one of the happiest days of your life."
Faith smiled, her eyes sparkling. "It is," she said softly. "I get to marry the love of my life and celebrate it with the people I love the most." She threw her arms around them, hugging them back. "Thank you for being here for me."
"You know we wouldn't miss this," Elizabeth said, tears misting her eyes.
Rosemary pulled back, clasping their hands in hers. "Time to get this show on the road," she said with a smile.
The ceremony was simple but beautiful. Elizabeth watched Carson's face as Faith walked down the aisle on Nathan's arm, and she knew that no one could ever love her friend more than he did. She wiped away a tear, thankful that Faith and Carson had found each other, and that they were strong enough to weather the storms of life together.
After the ceremony, everyone gathered at the Shepherd's home for dinner and games. "This seems familiar," Elizabeth said with a grin as they sat around the table eating a delicious dinner of kalua pork and cabbage. "It's been a while since we've had one of our dinner and game nights."
"Too long," Faith agreed. Her eyes were shining in a way they hadn't in months as she looked at her new husband. "I'm just glad we're all able to be together tonight. This is the perfect celebration, in my opinion."
"What, no fancy reception?" Lee said in a teasing tone.
Faith laughed and shook her head. "I'd take this over having to talk to a whole bunch of people at a reception any day!" She looked around the table. "Here with my closest friends and my husband..." she looked shyly at Carson with a smile. "There's truly nowhere else I'd rather be."
"Here, here!" Nathan said, raising a glass of sparkling cider. They had gone with the cider since Faith couldn't drink alcohol, and Elizabeth didn't think a single person in the room missed the champagne. There was so much love and happiness in the room, it was palpable. She smiled as she watched Carson lean over to kiss his wife, and based on Faith's response, Elizabeth had a feeling her two friends were going to be just fine tonight when the rest of them left.
A couple days later, Faith and Carson flew to Paris for their honeymoon as they had originally planned. Nathan drove them to the airport, though he hadn't spoken much. Carson and Faith were so completely lost in each other and in the glow of their married love that they hardly heard a word Nathan had said. He smiled to himself and let them soak in being with each other. When he bid them farewell at the airport, they both smiled and waved, then walked arm in arm to the terminal, still lost in their own little world.
From the airport, Nathan drove to the police department. It was his first day back on the job, and as he walked in the doors, he was greeted with clapping and cheering from his coworkers. Even Bill came out of his office and was grinning from ear to ear. "Welcome back, Grant," Bill said, slapping him on the shoulder. "It's about time you got back."
"Thanks, Chief," Nathan replied. "I owe you so much."
"Nonsense," Bill said, shaking his head. "You've saved my life on numerous occasions; I was simply returning the favor. That's what we do here." He gave Nathan a half grin. "I am under strict orders not to let you do anything but work from your desk," he said. "Coulter is taking care of the active detective work until you can resume your duties."
"Actually, Chief," Nathan said. "I have a request about that."
Bill waved him into his office. "Have a seat, and tell me what that request might be."
Nathan complied. "I want Lee to be a permanent detective," he said. "He's worked harder than anyone else on this force, and he's basically my partner already. I think it's time we made it official. And he could use the pay raise that comes with the promotion, especially since his family is growing."
Bill ran a hand over his face, thinking it through. Finally, he nodded. "That's a good idea, Grant. In fact, I've been wondering myself if it was time for this department to have two detectives. You just confirmed it for me." His mouth turned up in a half smile. "I'll let you break the news to Coulter, and then you tell him to come see me about the details of his new positions."
Nathan stood, holding out his hand to Bill. "Thank you," he said. "I think this is the right decision."
Bill shook his hand, nodding. "I think you're right."
Nathan walked over to Lee's desk, waiting for his friend to notice him standing there. Lee was intently typing out a report on his computer, and it took him a minute to realize Nathan was standing right next to him. He raised his brows, leaning back in his chair. "How long have you been standing there?"
Nathan chuckled. "A while. You were very focused there, Lee."
Lee grunted. "Lots of work to do. This detective stuff is a lot more busy work than I was anticipating. Now that you're here, I'll just hand the reins back over to you."
"Not so fast," Nathan said. "Remember how I told you I would ask Bill to make you an actual detective?"
Lee sat up straight, his eyes fixed on Nathan. "Yes…"
Nathan grinned. "Bill approved the request. You're officially promoted. And he wants to see you in his office to talk about the terms of your promotion."
Lee's mouth hung open. "He actually approved it?"
Nathan nodded, his smile firmly fixed in place. "He sure did. So go on! He's waiting to see you."
Lee smiled widely. "Thanks, Nathan!" he said, squeezing his shoulder. "You are the best friend ever." He laughed. "I suppose we're now officially partners."
Nathan dipped his head in acknowledgement. "That we are."
A couple more weeks passed. It was now eight weeks since Nathan had been shot, and Elizabeth was thankful each day that he had survived. The two of them walked the beach every night, and she noticed that Nathan seemed to get stronger with each passing day. Since Carson had just returned from his honeymoon, Dr. Yost had examined Nathan. He pronounced his belief that it would only be two more weeks until Nathan had healed enough to get back to normal activities, but he wanted Nathan to be cleared by Carson first. Elizabeth scheduled his appointment for May 14th, hopeful that he would finally be healed internally.
She made her way to the cafe after work, hoping to kill some time before going home. Nathan wouldn't be off work for another hour, and they were going to go for their usual evening walk before dinner.
Faith was behind the counter when Elizabeth entered the cafe, and she gave a little squeal of joy to see her friend. "Faith! You're back!"
With a wide grin, Faith came around the counter and enveloped Elizabeth in a hug. "We got back last night," she said. "Oh, Elizabeth, Paris is the most wonderful city! Carson and I had an amazing time there." She sighed happily. "I didn't want to leave."
"I'm glad!" Elizabeth said, smiling at her friend. "Did you get to see all the places you wanted to while there?"
Faith blushed prettily. "For the most part. Though we stayed in our hotel room a lot more than I thought we would…"
Elizabeth laughed. "Did you now? I take it you had no problems being intimate with your husband then?"
Faith smiled. "You were right, Elizabeth. His love has been very healing. Somehow, I feel whole again. Does that make sense?"
Elizabeth smiled, pulling Faith back into a hug. "It does, Faith. And that makes me so happy for you."
"Thank you," Faith said, her eyes sparkling with joy. She looked like the woman she'd been before she was attacked, and Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. Faith was back. Truly, completely back.
"So, what can I get for you?" Faith asked, walking back behind the counter. "I made some croissants this morning. Carson and I took a baking class in Paris, and they gave us this amazing recipe to bring back with us."
"That sounds delicious," Elizabeth said. "I'll take two to go, please."
Faith smiled, placing them in a bag. "Are you planning on sharing with Nathan?"
"I sure am," Elizabeth said. "It sounds like the perfect treat after our walk."
"Here you go," Faith said. Elizabeth handed her a ten as always and winked. "You know what to do with the change."
Faith shook her head with a laugh. "See you later, Elizabeth. Tell Nathan hi for me."
"Will do," Elizabeth said over her shoulder, waving goodbye. "See you tomorrow."
A little over an hour later, Nathan and Elizabeth were walking the beach arm in arm. Nathan's gait was steady and his breathing deep and even. Elizabeth pulled him a little closer, loving their time together. "Does your stomach still twinge when you breathe deeply?" she asked, looking up at him.
He took a couple of deep breaths without wincing. "Not really," he said. "There's a very slight discomfort, but I'm obviously healing internally. And that makes me happy." He smiled at her. "Carson told me I could start lifting twenty pounds now, and I've been doing several weight lifting exercises each morning after you go to work. It's been exhilarating just lifting that small amount of weight."
Elizabeth chuckled. "That makes my five pound weights seem like nothing," she said.
Nathan laughed. "Are you turning this into a contest?"
"Not at all, my dear," she said with a wink. "You can keep your twenty pound weights. I rather like the results I get with five and ten pounds."
The waves rolled around their feet as they walked, and Elizabeth closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the water against her skin. "This is heavenly," she sighed.
"It is," Nathan agreed. "There's nothing like a walk on the beach as the sun is setting. We should continue doing this even after I'm totally healed."
"I'd like that," Elizabeth said. They stopped and looked out over the water. Nathan wrapped his arms around Elizabeth, pulling her close. Elizabeth closed her eyes again, loving how it felt to be tucked against him after more than two months of not being held. She had missed this feeling, the feeling of being in Nathan's arms and held close. She slid her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.
She lost track of how long they stood there wrapped in each other's arms. Neither wanted to let go, but eventually Nathan pulled back slightly. "It's getting dark, sweetheart," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "We should be getting back home."
"Just another minute," Elizabeth murmured, burrowing close to him once more. "I've missed this so much."
"So have I," he replied, burying his face in her hair. A minute later, they pulled apart. Nathan took her hand, and they started walking back to their house.
"Why don't we sit on the porch swing for a bit?" Nathan suggested. "It's nice and cool out here, and we can just be together for a while."
"Good idea," Elizabeth said. "I'll be right back, though." She quickly got the croissants from the kitchen and brought them out. Sitting on the swing, she handed one to Nathan. "Faith's latest creation," she said.
Nathan eyed the chocolate drizzle on the pastry before taking a big bite. "Oh!" he said, eyes widening. "This is delicious!"
Elizabeth bit into her croissant, the flavors bursting over her tongue. "Mmm," she said. "Faith outdid herself with these!"
"That she did," Nathan agreed. "These are amazing. Tell Faith they should be a permanent menu addition."
As they finished their snack, Elizabeth leaned against Nathan's shoulder. They swung gently back and forth for several minutes before she spoke. "The simple things in life really are the best," she said quietly. "I can't think of anything better than just being here with you." She smiled. "Anne Shirley said it best to Gilbert Blythe. 'I don't want sunbursts or marble halls. I just want you.'"
Nathan kissed her cheek. "All I want is you, sweetheart. I love you."
"I love you, too."
