"May I have this dance, Mrs. Grant?" Nathan asked, holding out his hand to Elizabeth.

She felt a thrill run through her at hearing her new name. "You certainly may, Constable Grant," she said, placing her hand in his. Nathan led her to the dance floor, taking her in his arms and dancing with her slowly.

Elizabeth placed her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the music. She saw all their friends, either dancing around them or chatting in groups throughout the room. The saloon itself looked like a spring wonderland. Lucas, Fiona, and the townspeople had done a beautiful job with the decorating. She let out a sigh, feeling as happy as could be. "We are so blessed," she said softly, looking up into Nathan's eyes.

He smiled down at her, his eyes tender. "We are." Leaning down, he kissed her in full view of their friends. He pulled away slowly and smiled at her once more. Almost unconsciously, his hand went to his neck, adjusting his tie slightly.

Elizabeth giggled. "Still not used to the tie."

Smiling sheepishly, Nathan shook his head. "I doubt I'll ever get used to it."

Running her hands over his suit jacket, a sudden thought occurred to Elizabeth. She tilted her head. "You wore a suit, not your serge." There was an unspoken question in her words that Nathan picked up on immediately.

"And you're wondering why," he stated. Elizabeth simply nodded. Nathan gave her his crooked smile, then looked over to the side, where Allie was teaching Jack to dance. Looking back into Elizabeth's eyes, Nathan said, "I love being a Mountie. It's a part of who I am and I can't imagine doing anything else. But in the end, it's just my job. I wear that red serge almost every day, and I didn't want to wear it to our wedding because it felt like something ordinary in a sense. I'm not saying it is ordinary, but I felt that wearing this suit would say that I put you first. Before the job, before the Mounties. You and Allie and Jack are my first priority. Always. You can count on that."

Elizabeth stared at him for a minute, mouth agape. Tears sprang to her eyes at his declaration. She knew he would put his family first, but to hear him say it out loud made her heart full to bursting. She pulled his head down and kissed him, lingering for several long moments.

"Are you two going to do that all day?" Allie asked, wrinkling her nose as she whirled around them with Jack. "That's about the hundredth time you've kissed today."

Nathan laughed. "While I wouldn't mind kissing your mother that many times in one day, I'd say that's a slight exaggeration, Allie girl," he said, reaching out to chuck her gently under the chin.

Elizabeth's heart swelled again at the words your mother. Allie must have noticed too, because she sighed happily. "I have a mom again," she said with a grin. "And a dad. This day couldn't get any better!"

"Daddy?" Jack asked, looking up at Nathan.

Elizabeth heard Nathan's breath catch in his throat as he looked down at the little boy who would now have him as a father. Jack had his hand on Nathan's pant leg and was looking up at him with wide blue eyes. "Up!" Jack said, holding up his arms.

Nathan reached down and picked Jack up, holding him close. Elizabeth could see her new husband fighting tears. "What's my name, Jack?" he asked.

"Daddy!" Jack exclaimed, sounding more confident this time as he rested his hands on Nathan's shoulders.

"How?" Nathan said to no one in particular. Elizabeth could see he was very affected by the title Jack had bestowed on him. She was fighting happy tears too, thrilled that her son wanted to call Nathan "daddy."

Allie smiled sheepishly. "I might have been practicing calling you that this morning with Jack. I guess he decided he wants to use it too." She looked between Nathan and Elizabeth. "That's okay, right? If we both call you mom and dad?"

Nathan looked at Elizabeth, his eyes seeking her permission before answering. She nodded, smiling at him. Nathan drew in a deep breath, hugging Jack even closer. "Yes, Allie, you can both call us that."

Elizabeth put one arm around Nathan, resting her hand on his back, and the other hand on little Jack's back. Nathan drew Allie into their circle, and they stood there for a few minutes as a family unit until Jack began to squirm. "Down!" he insisted. "Dance wit' A'wee!"

Nathan kissed Jack's forehead and then set him on his feet. Jack immediately grasped Allie's hands, and she started spinning him around the dance floor again. Nathan took Elizabeth in his arms once again, and she put a hand on his face. "That was precious, Nathan. I'm so glad Jack wants to call you 'Daddy'."

He looked at her for a long moment, his arms tightening around her. "Are you sure you're okay with that, Elizabeth?"

She nodded, completely sure. "I was hoping that one day he would be willing to call you that," she said softly. "You're the only father he's ever going to know." She chuckled. "I just didn't think he was going to decide to do so all on his own."

Nathan looked slightly awed. "I'm honored," he said, shaking his head. "It means a lot to me that both Allie and Jack want to call me Dad." He smiled at her. "And of course, I'm thrilled that Allie is so happy about calling you Mom."

"Me too," Elizabeth said, feeling a rush of love for her new daughter. "It feels like this has been building for a long time."

"It has," Nathan agreed. Before he could say anything else, Rosemary and Lee danced up next to them.

"I know you two lovebirds just got married, but don't you want to mingle with your guests?" Rosemary asked, brows raised.

Elizabeth laughed. "We spent the first half of the reception mingling, Rosemary!" She looked around. "But I'm sure we'll say goodnight to everyone before leaving. It's getting late." Most of the guests had stayed through dinner and festivities, and now it was mainly their core group of friends who remained. Lee and Rosemary. Bill. Jesse and Clara. Lucas and Fiona. Kevin, Hickam, and Henry. Carson and Faith. Molly, Ned, and Florence. Gabe and Lillian. A few others were still milling around, but the evening was slowly coming to an end.

Rosemary smiled. "You'd better say goodnight before you leave!" Her eyes softened. "And we'll be happy to take over watching Allie and Jack once you two decide to go home." She laughed. "Allie has been so excited about having a sleepover at our house, she's gotten little Jack excited too, although he doesn't understand the concept of a sleepover."

"Thank you so much for watching the kids for us tonight," Elizabeth said, thankful that they had volunteered for that.

"It's our pleasure," Lee said, smiling at them. "Though I'm sure Rosie and Allie will be up all night talking."

Rosemary elbowed her husband in the ribs, making him laugh. "We most certainly will not!" she exclaimed. Then she winked at Elizabeth. "Just most of the night." She pulled herself out of Lee's arms and linked her arm with Elizabeth's. "If you gentlemen will excuse us for a moment." She led Elizabeth over to a table where most of their female friends were sitting, laughing and chatting. "Ladies, I thought I would bring Elizabeth over for a few minutes." She grinned. "Time for some girl bonding, Elizabeth. You'll have Nathan all to yourself in a little bit, but now it's girl talk time."

Elizabeth laughed, conceding to the whirlwind that was her best friend. She leaned her elbows on the table, eyeing Rosemary. "So, how has your week with Fred been?"

Rosemary sighed as four sets of eyes turned her way, waiting for an answer. "It's been magical," she said dreamily. "We are head over heels in love with that little boy." She looked across the room at Fred, who was bouncing between Nathan and Lee talking a mile a minute.

"I see he has already inherited your love of talking," Faith said with a straight face as the other three women broke out in laughter. Rosemary raised a brow, then joined in the laughter.

Clara put a hand on Rosemary's shoulder. "You're going to make an excellent mother, Rosemary. Fred is a lucky little boy."

"And he'll have a wonderful welcome from the other children in town," Fiona said. "He'll have family and friends from the very start."

Rosemary wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Oh, you girls are going to make me cry!" she exclaimed. "Thank you for your support." She dabbed her eye once more then turned to Elizabeth. "Now, Elizabeth, how would you say today went?"

Elizabeth laughed in surprise. "Is there any doubt how it went? Today was magical."

Clara smiled. "So you don't regret having the wedding now instead of at Christmas?"

"Oh no!" Elizabeth said, shaking her head vehemently. "This was perfect. The circumstances might not have been ideal, but it means I got to marry Nathan today, so I bless the circumstances." She wrinkled her nose. "I can't imagine having to wait over seven more months to have gotten married. Things worked out perfectly."

She felt hands on her shoulder, and looked up to see Nathan smiling down at her. "It's getting late," he said. "Are you ready to go?"

Nodding, she stood. Her friends stood as well, and she was suddenly surrounded by them, all hugging her and wishing them well. As they made their way to the door, they were stopped by the remaining friends in the saloon, all with words of love and support. Bill was the last one to hug Elizabeth goodnight. "You have a good man, Elizabeth," he said in her ear. "I am so proud of you." He smiled. "And I'm happy you found love again." He held a hand out to Nathan, which Nathan shook firmly. "Be good to her, Nathan."

"I will," Nathan replied, his words a promise. Allie and Jack came up to get their hug and kiss, then ran back to play with Fred. Nathan and Elizabeth gave a final wave to everyone, then stepped out into the cool night. The spring air was glorious, and they walked hand in hand toward their rowhouse.

Elizabeth sighed in contentment, leaning into Nathan. "Today was perfect."

He smiled. "It was. Everything was beautiful. But the best part is, we're finally married." He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a kiss there. Before long, they were at their rowhouse. As they climbed the steps, Nathan opened the door, then smiled and hoisted Elizabeth into his arms, carrying her over the threshold. She giggled, holding on tightly around his neck until he placed her on her feet, shutting the door behind them.

"Finally," Elizabeth said, wrapping her arms around his waist and snuggling into him. "I have you all to myself."

Nathan chuckled, kissing her head. "Finally," he echoed. He looked at her with a fire smouldering in his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. Since they were completely alone, Nathan took his time with the kiss, and soon Elizabeth felt breathless and weak at the knees. She wasn't sure she would still be able to stand if Nathan hadn't been holding her so close. As he pulled away slowly, Elizabeth's eyes remained closed, letting herself feel the emotions washing over her like waves. When she did open her eyes, she had to suppress a laugh.

Nathan was trying to hold her and loosen his tie at the same time, with little success. "This infernal thing isn't letting me breathe," he said.

Elizabeth chuckled softly. "I think that might be more than the tie, sweetheart." She reached up and loosened it for him, pulling it off and tossing it on the settee. "Better?"

"Much," Nathan said as he unfastened two of the buttons on his shirt. With a sigh of relief, he smiled. "So much better." He leaned his forehead against hers, and she could see the smile on his face. "Now I can kiss you without feeling like I'm choking."

Elizabeth laughed, and Nathan caught her laugh in another kiss. This time it was long and slow and deep, igniting passion in both of them. Nathan had never kissed her like that before, and Elizabeth let herself drown in the feelings that coursed through her. She held onto him tightly, thankful that he was in her life, thankful that they had found each other, thankful that they were finally husband and wife.

But most of all, thankful for the love that they shared.