The next morning, Kendra was able to come home. Nathan had worked with Dr. Yost and put her on a low dose of Prozac to level out her anxiety and help with her emotions.

Nathan headed up to the hospital to get Elizabeth and Kendra, stopping to get a couple doughnuts and some coffee for him and Elizabeth. He drove up just as they were coming out of the doors. He hopped out, picked up Kendra and hugged her.

"You scared me, Ken. Try not to do that again, okay?"

She giggled and hugged him back. "Okay, Dr. Nate. I'll try."

"Thank you. There are some treats in the truck for you."

"Okay." He put her down, opened the door for her and helped her get in.

"Oh, doughnuts!"

"Do I get a hug too?" Elizabeth asked, still standing back.

"Absolutely." He wrapped her in his arms and held her for a long moment. "How are you, Elizabeth?"

"Tired but happy to see you."

"Well, I have a pot of soup at home, courtesy of my mother, for you and the kids."

"Your mom?"

"Yeah. She wanted to make you something."

"That's very nice of her. I'd like to thank her before they go back home."

"I'll let her know to come see you."

As they drove, Elizabeth held her coffee in her hands and closed her eyes. She hadn't slept the night before. With nurses coming in to check on Kendra every hour or two, it just wasn't possible.

"Elizabeth?" Nathan whispered, touching her hand.

"Huh?"

"We are home."

She opened her eyes. She must have fallen asleep. "Aunt Beth? Can I go play?"

"I think maybe you should rest, Kendra."

"Please? I just want to play in the sand. I won't run around or anything."

Elizabeth looked at Nathan, as if asking his thoughts. "Maybe for a little bit? She seems good."

"Okay, Ken. I'll come check on you in a while."

"Thanks!"

"She seems like a different kid," Elizabeth told him.

"She is different. I think she's gotten a lot off her chest in the last couple days."

"I'm still worried," Elizabeth admitted.

"Mothers worry. Even when their children are thirty five years old," he said with a chuckle.

"Is that how old you are, Nathan?"

"Yeah."

"Interesting," she said, opening her door.

"Wait, isn't this where you tell me how old you are?" he asked, getting out of the driver's side.

"Nope."

"I think that when people are dating, they are supposed to know things like that."

"Are we dating?" she asked as they strolled over to the backyard. "I mean, I don't remember a date. Did I just forget?"

"Technicalities. In my opinion, our playing scrabble for six weeks straight should count for something."

"I guess you're right. I know that those six weeks meant so much to me." She stepped forward, slipping her arms around him. "You mean so much to me."

He looked down into her beautiful blue eyes and knew he was in love, deep, without a doubt. He didn't want to spill those beans until they at least had their first kiss though.

"Momma!" JJ yelled, running towards them. Elizabeth, of course, let go of him, leaving him feeling empty. "You're home!"

"Yes, baby. I am." She squeezed him tight and kissed both cheeks. "I love you!"

"I love you too! I've been having so much fun with Graham and Gavin."

"That's great."

"Can we go to the zoo today?"

"Not today. Next weekend though…you and me."

"Okay." He kissed her and she put him down. He ran off leaving them alone again.

"So…" Nate said, stepping close again.

"So, I really need to check on Julian and Evie. Can we talk later?"

"Can we check on them together? I'm here, Beth. You don't need to do things alone anymore."

"Beth, huh?"

"Yeah. Can I call you that?" He dropped his lips to her temple and then her cheek.

"Please."

She forced herself to let go. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah." He realized she hadn't let him in like he had suggested. They definitely needed to get back to where they were before.

Later that afternoon, she and the kids sat down in the living room for a family meeting.

"Momma? Are you gonna marry Dr. Nate?" JJ asked.

"Not now, no. We are just getting to know each other."

"I think you should marry him."

"Thank you, JJ. I'm glad you approve. Okay, now everyone, I think we should have family meetings like this whenever we have important or scary things going on in our lives."

"Like when I got sick?" Kendra asked, leaning her head against Evie's shoulder.

"Yes, sweetie. Like that. And I realized that because I miss your mom too, I haven't been as good an Aunt or a mom as I should have been."

"That's okay, Aunt Beth," Evie told her. "We understand."

"I appreciate that but I'm going to try harder to be there for you guys. But it works both ways. I need to know if something is bothering you or you don't feel good. Or if you are mad or sad. If you have bad dreams, you can tell me. Always. You can tell me anything."

"I still miss Mom," Julian admitted. Elizabeth nodded, waiting for him to continue. "But…I am not so sad anymore. Mr. Shepherd said that it's normal and so did Dr. Nate."

"They are right. But it's also different for everyone."

"I miss her too," Evie said. "Like when we used to talk before bed at night. I miss the way we used to sit together on the couch under a blanket and I could tell her anything. She wouldn't get mad or make me feel bad for what I wanted to talk about. She was the best."

"She was," Elizabeth agreed, wiping her eyes. "I miss talking to her too."

Evie smiled. "Dr. Nate said that I should keep a journal of memories."

"Me too," Julian told them.

"Me too," Kendra said. "I was too sad though. I didn't want to do anything."

"So, after we take a nap in a few minutes, why don't we all go buy journals? I would buy one for me too. Do you want to try, Kendra?"

"Yeah. And can we go get egg rolls?"

"Chinese food? Absolutely."

"Aunt Beth?" Kendra said.

"Yeah?"

"Um, school starts soon, doesn't it?"

"Yeah it does."

"I need a new backpack."

"Me too," Julian told her. "And new pants. Mine are too short."

"And I need new shoes," Evie told her.

"Alright then. We can go tomorrow afternoon, after I get home from work. We will get you guys everything you need."

"Thank you," they all said in unison.

"You are welcome."

Instead of napping, Elizabeth took a look at her finances. Four children that needed new school stuff was expensive. She hoped that the articles she submitted the previous week would cover it but since she needed the money now, she moved some money from her savings account.

It was Jack's life insurance money. He had purchased the policy before she had even married him, knowing his job was dangerous. He wanted to care for whatever family he had in the future. Now, she was grateful for his foresight and the money. It was coming in handy now and would when it was time to buy a new house somewhere too. When Jack died, she bought a policy for herself too and now she was glad for that, knowing four people would need it if she passed away herself.

"Aunt Beth?" Evie said, sitting down at the table.

"Hi, sweetie."

"I have some money…that I can use for my shoes."

"I will buy them, Evie. You can save your money."

"But, I know that you have four kids to buy stuff for now. I don't want you to have to spend so much on us."

Elizabeth closed her laptop and touched Evie's hand. "Sweetheart, you don't need to worry about that. I have enough to take care of you."

"Mom used to worry about money all the time. She didn't know that I knew but she left her bank statements out on the table and I saw. She was having a hard time." Elizabeth knew that too. They had had many conversations about it.

"We will be just fine. You save your money for something fun."

"Okay."

"I appreciate you offering though."

Evie stayed sitting there so Elizabeth looked at her closely. "Something on your mind?"

"No. I just…Can I just stay here with you?"

"Well, why don't we sit on the deck and talk?"

"Okay."

Nathan watched from his house as Elizabeth and Evie sat on the deck with glasses of something that looked refreshing.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah, Mom."

"You love her, don't you?"

"Yeah. I love all of them."

"I'm happy for you."

"Even though you don't agree with it?"

He turned toward her and tried not to show his frustration.

"Honestly, son. Does it matter what I think?"

"Of course it does. If we don't have both family's support, things won't work. She's done that before and she said it was really hard."

"You have my blessing."

He raised his eyebrows. "Why's that? What changed?"

"I got to know Evie a bit but…Allie told me that you love them, she could tell. And she told me that if I didn't support you, she didn't think she would visit me anymore. Because they feel like her family now."

"Allie said that?"

"Yes and she was quite serious. I then realized that I don't want to lose anyone and just because your lives may be difficult to some extent and just because you are walking into an already made family, doesn't mean you don't deserve to be loved and be happy."

"Elizabeth wants to say goodbye to you before you and Dad leave."

"Maybe I will go see her now then."

"Mom? I love you. Thank you for your blessing. It means everything."

"I love you more, Nathan." She kissed his cheek and walked over towards Elizabeth.

Elizabeth waved as Mrs. Grant walked over from Nathan's house. "Hi, it's good to see you, Mrs. Grant."

"You can call me, Ruth, dear."

"Okay, thank you, Ruth, for the soup. It means a lot."

"You are most welcome."

"Nathan told me once that you make the best soup. I'm anxious to try some."

"I hope you like it. How is Kendra doing?"

She walked out just then and climbed up on Elizabeth's lap, closing her eyes. "I'm good," she said with a yawn.

Elizabeth smiled and held her close. "Love you, Ken."

"Love you too, Aunt Beth. Can we get egg rolls soon?"

"Sure, hon. As soon as Julian and JJ get up from their naps."

"That sounds yummy," Ruth told her. "I'm glad you are doing better, Kendra. Enjoy your egg rolls."

"Thank you, again, Ruth."

"I hope to see more of you soon. You and Nathan."

"I'm sure that can be arranged. Maybe next time you come, we can all have dinner."

"I look forward to it."

Late that night, Elizabeth sat on the deck with two glasses of wine, hoping Nathan would come. She wasn't disappointed.

"Hey, Beth," he whispered, not wanting to scare her. She looked deep in thought.

"Hey."

"That glass of wine for someone special?"

"Yeah. You."

"I was hoping so."

He took the chair next to hers and moved it closer, picking up the glass of wine and taking a sip.

"So, I had a nice talk with my Mom."

"So did I."

"She gave us her blessing."

"Yeah. I got that feeling from her too. Just so you know, I suggested that all of us have dinner together next time they come."

"So you, me, all five of our kids and my parents? Sounds loud," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but…I mean, that's our life, isn't it?"

"I hope so." He put his wine glass down and took her hand, twisting their fingers together. "I feel like it's taken a long time for us to get here, Beth. Like a lifetime."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Are you ready? Like one hundred percent?"

She leaned toward him and touched his cheek, rough from the daily growth of his beard. He leaned toward her, his heart speeding up, knowing the thing he'd been wanting for a few months now was finally happening.

"Beth?"

"Shh…kiss me."

"If you insist." He grinned that crooked, sexy grin she loved so much and then finally caressed her lips with his own. Yeah. This was their life. It was good.