A knock sounded on Elizabeth's door. For a split second, fear overtook her. She had asked Nathan to let her know when he was done at the saloon, no matter how late it was. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was just before midnight. It shouldn't have taken him this long to report back. Dread curled inside, but she took a deep breath, choosing to believe the best. She walked to the door and opened it, then let out a cry of relief when she saw Nathan standing there. Launching herself into his arms, she held on tight, suddenly realizing just how afraid she'd been that something could have happened to him at the saloon.

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer, and she could feel him take a shuddering breath. Instinctively, she knew something had happened. She also knew he might not want to talk about it yet, so she just held him. Within a few minutes, Nathan pulled back but kept one arm around her. Without a word, they walked to the settee and sat. Nathan kept his arm around Elizabeth, and in his eyes she could see rolling emotions. Finally, he spoke.

"Allie is ours, Elizabeth. There are no longer any obstacles standing in the way of us adopting her."

Elizabeth's mouth fell open. "Really? How?" Had Matthias signed over his rights to Allie?

Nathan's hold on Elizabeth tightened. "Matthias is dead."

Elizabeth sat up straight, staring at Nathan with wide eyes. "What?" She studied him, trying to figure out the look on his face. "What happened?"

"He was shot after he cheated during a poker game," Nathan said. His voice carried no emotion. "Bill arrested the man who killed him. This will probably be the shortest and easiest trial of Bill's judgeship."

Elizabeth put a hand on Nathan's cheek, turning him to face her. She looked deeply into his eyes. "Nathan, what's wrong?"

He sighed. "What does it say about me that I'm not upset by his death? He was my brother-in-law, and all I feel is relief, Elizabeth. I feel worse about feeling nothing over Matthias's death than I do about the fact that he was killed. I'm glad we get to keep Allie and that this nightmare is over."

Elizabeth ran a hand through Nathan's hair, a gesture meant to be comforting. She'd never dared to do it before, but she found she liked it. Nathan closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. "Does this make me a bad person, Elizabeth?" he asked, voice raw.

Elizabeth continued running her fingers through his hair. "You're not a bad person, Nathan," she said softly. "You're human."

He closed the small gap between them and kissed her, seeking comfort in her touch. It was unlike any of their kisses in the past; instead of passion or tenderness, Elizabeth got the sense that Nathan just needed her in this moment, to know that someone cared and was there for him. So she gently kissed him back, pulling him to her and holding him close. After several long moments he pulled back, burying his face in her neck. Elizabeth closed her eyes, resting her head against his, breathing in the faint scent of pine that she had come to associate with him.

"I love you so much, Elizabeth," Nathan said against her neck, his breath tickling her slightly. He drew back and framed her face in his hands. "What would I do without you?"

She smiled at him, looking deeply into his eyes. "I love you too, Nathan. I'm so glad you've become a part of my life."

He settled back against the settee, a small smile finally appearing on his face. "And I'm glad you're in mine." He breathed in deeply, then exhaled slowly. "How was Allie tonight?"

"She was a little worried," Elizabeth admitted. "She was so scared her father was going to take her away, but she played with little Jack and I think that helped get her mind off her troubles. She's sleeping in the guest room, though since it's the room that's going to be hers soon, she's calling it her room already." She looked at Nathan. "Are you sure you don't mind moving in here until our house is built?"

"Not at all," Nathan said. He was quiet for a moment, just gazing at her. "You heard what Bill said today, right? Even if Matthias hadn't been killed, getting married this soon wouldn't have changed anything. Do you still want to get married on Saturday, or do you want to have a Christmas wedding like we originally planned?"

Elizabeth wanted to get married already. She knew without a doubt that she wanted to start living life with Nathan together with Allie and Jack. But was that what he wanted? She took a breath and decided to leave the decision up to him. "What do you want, Nathan?" She suspected he would want to have the wedding in December.

She was wrong.

Nathan took her hand and looked at her, his blue eyes locked onto hers. "I want to marry you, Elizabeth. I want to be married to you as soon as possible. Maybe we had to move up the wedding out of what seemed to be necessity, but now it can be because it's our choice. I want nothing more than to be your husband, and to become so on Saturday." His eyes suddenly turned vulnerable. "But only if that's what you want."

Tears pricked Elizabeth's eyes. "That's what I want," she whispered, overcome with emotion.

Nathan's eyes lit with joy, and he smiled fully for the first time that evening. Leaning forward, he kissed her again. This time, it was a kiss of passion. When he pulled back, Elizabeth was completely breathless. Nathan breathed in deeply, trying to catch his own breath.

"I should probably go," he said quietly, tucking a curl of her hair behind her ear.

Elizabeth simply nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

They stood and went to the door. As Nathan opened it, he turned and grinned at Elizabeth. "Two more days."

She smiled back, excitement building in her heart. "Two more days."

Nathan stood in Bill's office, watching as his friend drew up the legal documents that would officially make Allie his and Elizabeth's daughter. He felt a joy inside that he hadn't known was possible. Allie had always been like a daughter to him, but now she would be so legally. Despite the circumstances of the last twelve hours, Nathan couldn't deny he felt peaceful and happy. A part of him was still bothered that he felt nothing over Matthias's death, but Elizabeth had helped him to see that he had to let it go. He was doing his best to do so.

"Done," Bill said, sitting back in his chair. "I've already signed it. As soon as you and Elizabeth sign it, Alllie will officially be adopted."

"Thanks, Bill," Nathan said, a big smile on his face. "Elizabeth and I decided we would sign it at the wedding. It just feels right that we all become an official family at the same time."

"And when is the wedding?" Bill asked, brow raised. "Is it going to be at Christmas now?"

Nathan shook his head. "No. We decided we didn't want to wait." His smile softened. "We're getting married tomorrow." He hesitated, wondering how Bill would respond to his next question. "On that subject, Bill, I was wondering something."

"What's that?" Bill asked, stacking some papers on his desk.

"Will you be my second groomsman?"

Bill blinked, looking up with surprise in his eyes. "Me?" He leaned back again, and Nathan could see a smile forming. "You want me to stand up with you?"

Nathan nodded. "You've been a good friend to me. I'd be honored if you would be in the wedding party."

"I would love to," Bill said, emotion making his voice gruff. He stood and held out his hand, which Nathan shook firmly. "And for the record, Nathan? I'm glad you and Elizabeth aren't waiting until December. If ever there were two people meant to be together, it's you and Elizabeth. Allie and Jack are lucky to be getting such wonderful people as parents."

Nathan blinked back a sudden threat of tears. "Thank you, Bill," he said. "Coming from you, that means a lot."

"You've always had my support, Nathan," Bill said with a side smile. "I was rooting for you the whole time."

Nathan laughed. "I think I started picking up on that when you decided you were going to chop wood with me and started talking code in baseball terms."

Bill shrugged. "What can I say? Code is fun. Baseball code is even better."

"And you knew I needed that over plain talk at the time," Nathan said. "Did I ever thank you for that?"

"Maybe a time or two," Bill said with a chuckle. "Now, I have some things I need to get done, especially since there's a wedding tomorrow."

"Hint taken," Nathan said, laughing as he picked up the adoption papers. "I'll see you later."

As he walked down the street, he heard someone call his name. He turned to see Gabe heading toward him. He waited as his friend caught up. Gabe clapped him on the back. But before he could say anything, Florence came into view. "Oh! Nathan!" she said, hurrying up to the two Mounties. When she reached them, she had to pause to catch her breath.

"How can I help you, Florence?" Nathan asked, hiding a smile.

Florence looked up at him with wide eyes. "Is there still going to be a wedding tomorrow?" she asked. "Everyone knows what happened to Allie's father last night, so now there's no rush for you to get married."

"That's true," Nathan admitted. "But Elizabeth and I decided to go ahead with the wedding. We both want to get married tomorrow."

"Well, that answers my question," Gabe commented.

"Oh my!" Florence said. Nathan could see her mind turning. "We need everyone in town to know! Everyone has been asking whether the wedding will go on. I need to go spread the word!" She paused, glancing at Nathan. "If that's okay with you, of course."

Nathan gave her a genuine smile. "Please do, Florence. Elizabeth and I would appreciate that very much."

Florence gave a satisfied nod and hurried off, calling out to those she met on the street that the wedding would go on as planned.

Gabe laughed in amazement. "That woman is going to have the whole town knowing about your wedding within the hour."

"That's the idea," Nathan said, chuckling. "If you want something known in Hope Valley, Florence Blakeley is the one to tell, and she'll let everyone else know."

The two men started walking down the street, and Gabe glanced at Nathan. "So, as your best man, I feel like I should be doing something more to help with this wedding. What do you need from me?"

Nathan shrugged. "I'm not sure, to be honest. Everyone in this town has worked so hard to make this wedding happen, and any time Elizabeth or I have tried to help, we get shooed away. So why don't you ask Florence or Rosemary when you next see them? I'm sure they would have a whole list."

Gabe laughed. "I'll bet they would."

Nathan nodded toward the schoolhouse, where a bustle of activity was happening as people started setting up for the wedding. "Why don't you and I go get that arbor in place? I don't think anyone would object to that."

With a nod, Gabe smiled. "Let's do it."

Elizabeth was trying to teach a lesson on history for the final hour of class, but her students were restless. They kept looking out the windows, watching as the townspeople set up for tomorrow's outdoor wedding. Finally, Elizabeth stopped talking, waiting to see how long it would be before her students noticed.

One by one they looked back at her, confusion on their faces. "Is something wrong, Mrs. Thornton?" Anna asked, brow furrowed.

Elizabeth smiled. "No, nothing's wrong, Anna. But I've noticed no one seems to be interested in history this afternoon."

"Sorry, Mrs. Thornton," Robert chimed in, looking contrite. "It's not the lesson. We're just so excited for your wedding!"

"And we want to do something to help," Opal said, looking at Elizabeth with pleading eyes. "Instead of history, can we make decorations?"

"Please?" the rest of the class said in unison, giving Elizabeth giant puppy eyes.

She laughed, putting down the history book she had been lecturing on. "Alright, if that's what you want."

There was a chorus of cheers, and the students started pushing desks together to create workspaces. They got out boxes of materials and began to create their decorations. Emily and Allie briefly left to see what Rosemary had on hand to make wedding decor with, and they returned with Rosemary and Hickam, all of whom were carrying boxes laden with materials. Another chorus of cheers went up from the students as they excitedly dug into the boxes.

Rosemary smiled, linking arms with Elizabeth. "See how much you are loved?" she asked, watching the children. "They just want to be involved with your wedding in any way they can." She looked out the window, where the arbor and chairs were all set up and ready to go. "And the townspeople have come together to make this wedding happen."

"I know," Eilzabeth said, still feeling awed by the love of their community. "Hope Valley truly is a one of a kind place." She pulled Rosemary a little closer, hugging her to her side. "Have I told you how much I appreciate all the work you're putting in to make this wedding happen?"

Rosemary smiled, waving a hand. "It's my pleasure, Elizabeth." A small boy made his way up the steps and into the schoolhouse, and Elizabeth recognized Fred. His personality had bloomed while he was in Hope Valley, and his face lit up in a grin when he spotted Rosemary. He walked right up to her, taking her hand. "Mr. Coulter says he needs you for something," he said, pulling on her hand. "Come on!"

Laughing, Rosemary followed, looking back at Elizabeth. "Duty calls!"

Elizabeth smiled as she watched Rosemary walk out of the school hand-in-hand with Fred. She knew without a doubt that Fred would choose to stay. Even Lillian had been amazed at how quickly young Fred had attached himself to Lee and Rosemary. The three of them were a family in the making, and Elizabeth was thrilled for her friends.

Less than a minute after Rosemary had left with Fred, Lee came bounding into the school, looking around with a slight frown. "Hey, Elizabeth," he said. "Have you seen Rosie?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Fred just came to get her, telling her you wanted to see her."

Lee chuckled. "I should have known. He said he was going to go find her." He turned to leave, but Elizabeth put a hand on his arm.

"Lee, I have something to ask you," she said.

He turned, looking at her expectantly. Elizabeth suddenly found herself feeling a little shy, wondering if Lee would be open to her request. She pressed her lips together, then said, "Will you walk me down the aisle tomorrow?"

Lee blinked as his mouth fell open. Elizabeth could see the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "Really?" he asked, his voice a little raspy. "You want me to do that?"

Elizabeth nodded. "You've always been such a good friend to me, and you're like the older brother I never had. I would love it if you gave me away at my wedding."

Lee enveloped her in a hug, then pulled back with a happy smile. "It would be my honor, Elizabeth."

"Thank you," she said, a little laugh escaping her.

Lee grinned. "Anything for you." He rubbed his hands together. "Now, I need to go find my wife. See you later."

"See you later," Elizabeth echoed. She turned her attention back to her students, who were happily engaged in their work. Walking around, she watched as they made their beautiful decorations. Their creativity amazed her, and she was touched that they wanted to do this for her and Nathan.

A flash of red caught her eye, and she smiled as Nathan came walking into the classroom. He looked around, greeting the student, who beamed up at him and showed off their newly made decorations. Elizabeth could see true admiration in Nathan's eyes, and he complimented each student on his or her work before finding Elizabeth. He slid his arm around her, and they both stood watching the kids.

"They're amazing," Nathan said, sounding awed. "It's so sweet that they wanted to help out with the wedding."

Elizabeth nodded. "They are wonderful children." She smiled. "This whole town is wonderful."

"We're blessed," Nathan said quietly, pressing a kiss to her temple. He grinned down at her. "I came to walk you home from school, but it looks like you might be here for a while."

Elizabeth nodded with a smile. "They were so excited to make decorations, I figure going a little past our normal ending time wouldn't hurt."

"I'll leave you to it then," he said. For a moment, their eyes locked, and both of them felt the joy of knowing that they would soon unite their lives together for good. "Tomorrow," he said, so much feeling expressed in one word.

Elizabeth felt a light blush tinge her cheeks, but she smiled back and said softly, "Tomorrow."