Opening his eyes, Gabriel glanced around the unfamiliar room, the memories of the evening before quickly coming back to him and bringing a smile to his face. He and Lillian had finally said their vows. Coming home from the Northern Territory to find her helping her sister take care of orphans had been a surprise but it had not taken him long to see just how much her heart was in it. Helping her fulfill her passion had become a passion of his own. The opening in Brookfield, where the house that Lillian's adoptive parents had left to her stood empty, had seemed to be a sign to him that this was how things were supposed to be.

Gabriel's gaze fell on his beautiful bride. Lillian stood at the window, his bathrobe wrapped around her protecting her against the cool air. Her red curls were free, cascading over her shoulders as she gazed out the window. Climbing out from under the warm quilt, Gabriel moved first to stoke the fire and put another log onto it. The cabin was a nice little getaway place for him and Lillian. Henry choice in furniture was in well taste and comfortable. Molly and Florence had done a lovely job cleaning it, washing the bed linens, and stocking the pantry for their short stay.

With the fire gaining strength, Gabriel padded to the window. The sound of even his soft footsteps caught Lillian's attention. She glanced over her shoulder at him.

"All you have been doing for us on this trip I was kind of hoping you would sleep in this morning," Lillian told him, the look in her eyes expressing to Gabriel her concern for him.

"I am fine," Gabriel assured her coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. He rested his head against hers as she relaxed back into him. "It is nice to know that I can hold you like this now and I don't have to worry about who catches us," he told her softly.

Lillian laughed, reaching up a hand to rub it against his cheek, rough with stubble. "I like the sound of that," she told him. Her smile faded though as she looked toward the window. "I do hope the snow doesn't cause further delays and at the same time, I don't want anyone out trying to rescue our wagon in the snow."

Gabriel looked out the window. A very light snow was falling. He doubted most people would even bat an eye at the snow as they went about their business today.

"We can't control the weather, Lillian," Gabriel reminded her softly, trying to soothe away the worries that she could do nothing about. It had become a frequent activity when it came to his fiancé. Gabriel paused briefly in his thought. No, she was his wife, for now and forever. "Jack and the others will not take unnecessarily risks and they will help us get on our way as soon as they can."

"What if we get stranded here for Christmas?"

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Gabriel asked her, not mentioning that he could think of a lot of worse spots than Hope Valley to get stranded. "After what they did for us last night, do you think our new friends would leave us out of their celebrations? Here or in Brookfield, we will do everything we can to give those kids a Merry Christmas. We already have their gifts," he reminded her.

Granted, it wasn't much. They had gotten each child they had started this journey with a new outfit, a book, and a peppermint stick. The gifts were in one of the bags they had with him. To those had been added a stuffed cat for Holly, the little girl enjoying cats and kittens.

"I just wanted us all to be settled, but you're right," Lillian said. "We have the gifts and new friends willing to share their homes and food with us. Things will be all right."

"Exactly," Gabriel said, relieved that Lillian's latest worrying spell had abated. Leaving one hand still resting on her stomach, Gabriel reached out with his other hand to draw the curtains closed. "Now as inviting as new snow is for a walk, I can think of another activity I would like to do with my wife right now, if she is willing."

Lillian giggled and turned to face him. She rested both hands on his shoulders as she gazed up into his eyes. "Are you trying to add yet another child to the mix?" she asked him, a smile on her lips.

"I recall someone telling me when I brought a certain runaway back to her that there was always room for another child," Gabriel reminded her.

"I did say that, didn't I?" Lillian replied.

"You did," Gabriel replied. "Granted, you are entitled to changing your mind though it is a little late to change your mind about me," he joked.

Lillian slid her hands across his shoulders, up his neck and into the hair on the back of his head. The motion sent tingling sensations across Gabriel's skin where her fingers had been. The sound of pleasure that bubbled up was muffled as Lillian moved closer to him, her lips finding his. The passion that was in the kiss did not match with Lillian's usual demure demeanor, though Gabriel thought that perhaps he shouldn't be surprised considering her red hair. Any further thoughts of jokes left him as did his breath as he returned the kiss, his hands pressing against her back to hold her against him.

It was Lillian that broke the kiss. Gabriel drew in a deep breath as he fought the lightheaded feeling to keep them both on their feet.

"I would never change my mind about you," Lillian assured him.

Still trying to catch his breath, Gabriel didn't respond. He did however back up toward the bed, Lillian's hands now in his own instead of in his hair. Feeling the bed behind him, Gabriel listened to his protesting knees and sat down, Lillian standing in front of him between his legs. He gazed up at her, captivated by her beauty.

"How did I get so lucky to have you in my life, Lillian?" Gabriel said in a voice choked with emotion.

Pulling her hands from his grasp, Lillian slipped he arms out of Gabriel's bathrobe and let it pool at her feet. She then placed her hands on either side of his face, gazing down into his eyes. Gabriel's heart pounded in his chest and his breath hitched.

"I think I am the lucky one," Lillian told him softly, before leaning down to press her lips against his again.

Giving into the sensations, Gabriel accepted the fact that he was simply putty in his wife's hands.

Though Nathan had misgivings about keeping an eye on the two boys without Gabriel as back up, he had soon found he had little to fear. Still excited about having other children in the house with her, Allie not caring that they were boys and not girls, his niece was full of chatter. Nathan was reminded of Colleen. His sister had always been a social butterfly. In fact, getting Allie to settle down that night had been harder than getting the boys settled even without a familiar adult present.

Breakfast went smoothly as well. Allie was the first one up and was soon down in the kitchen with her uncle as usual. While Nathan slipped an egg casserole into the oven, Allie moved her step stool closer to the counter and began slicing the bread carefully as was their routine. Fearing that she was more likely to get hurt trying to help without proper training, Nathan had taught her how to safely use knives and the toasting frame to toast the bread. Even at her age, Allie was as good as baking bread as he was and Nathan was happy to have her presence in the kitchen. Allie was putting the first slice of bread in the frame to hold over the stove burner to toast when Nathan heard the boys starting to stir.

Finished with the eggs, Nathan placed them in a bowl in a spot where they could stay warm, but not burn. "I am going to go make sure Vincent and Christian don't need anything," Nathan said, still unsure about how the boys might react to waking up in an unfamiliar place again.

"All right," Allie replied easily.

With cane in hand, Nathan made his way to the steps. He was about to start up them when Christian called back.

"We're fine, Mr. Grant. You don't need to come up. We'll be down shortly."

"All right," Nathan called back. Still, he stayed at the foot of the stairs, listening, while keeping an eye on his niece in the kitchen.

True to their word, the boys were soon coming down the steps. After they greeted their hosts good morning, Christian and Vincent asked what they could do to help. Nathan had the start setting the table while he fried up some sausage. The four of them then sat down to a breakfast of eggs, toast, and sausage. The boys seemed surprised by three choices of jam for the toast and had to try all three. Nathan could only smile when Allie started with the experimentation of mixing the jams.

After breakfast, Nathan walked the boys to the Coulters to join Grace and then walked Allie to school.

"Can you get me out of school to meet Avery's train?" Allie asked as they approached the schoolhouse.

Though she looked up at him with pleading eyes, Nathan wasn't about to be swayed from his "no," of the night before. School was almost done until after the holidays and it was where Allie belonged this afternoon. Besides, Nathan wanted a little bit of time alone with Avery. Though he was thrilled that his fiancé and niece had taken to each other, it did make finding time to be alone with Avery difficult at time.

"No," Nathan told her, Allie's smile quickly turning to a frown. "I am sure that Avery will be willing to come with me to pick up at school though. You will survive waiting a few more hours to see her. If Avery is feeling up to it after her trip, perhaps the three of us could have supper at the café tonight?" Nathan suggested.

Allie's smile came back. "That sounds like fun," she told him. "Can Avery come with us to find our tree Saturday?"

"You may certainly ask her to join us," Nathan told her.

Allie frowned again. "What is it, sweetheart?" Nathan asked her.

"What about Christian and Vincent?"

"Well, I think Miss Bennet will keep the boys through supper tonight, so you Avery and I can have some time together. As for Saturday, the boys might enjoy helping you find the perfect tree if you are willing to include them."

Allie nodded. "The more the merrier when it comes to tree hunting," she declared. "Will they have a tree of their own when they get to the orphanage in Brookfield?"

"I am sure your Uncle Gabriel will make sure the orphanage has a tree," Nathan assured her.

"Good," Allie replied. "It is hard enough to miss people on Christmas. No tree might just be too much," she declared.

"You make a good point," Nathan told her, placing a hand on her shoulder as they approached the schoolhouse. The fact that Allie could empathize with the children in Gabriel, Lillian and Grace's care showed Nathan how compassionate his niece was despite her age.

They came to a stop near the schoolhouse steps as Cody appeared in the doorway with the cowbell to ring for the start of school. The children had been enjoying taking turns being the one to ring the bell while giving Elizabeth more time off of her feet during the school day.

"Uncle Nathan, since Avery will become Aunt Avery when the two of you get married, does that mean Miss Walsh is now my aunt?" Allie asked as the other children headed for the schoolhouse at the sound of the bell.

"Well, technically it is Mrs. Kinslow, not Miss Walsh, now. As for her being your aunt, like your Uncle Jack and Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Gabe is not related by blood, so I would ask Mrs. Kinslow if she is okay with you calling her your aunt."

Allie nodded. "I will," she said, before throwing her arms around her uncle's waist. "Have a good day, Uncle Nathan," she told him.

"You too, Allie," Nathan told her, her wish from the wishing tree coming to mind. How sweet it would be to hear her call him Dad when they said good-bye in the morning. His concern now was how Avery would fit into the mix. Would Allie want to call Avery mom? Would Avery be open to it? It was something that Nathan knew he would need to bring up with his fiancé.

Nathan waited until Allie disappeared into the school house before turning and heading for town. Reaching the Mounted Police office, Nathan was relieved that Jack had gotten in first that morning. Since the cold weather had moved in, his leg had started aching more than it had in awhile. Concern had already sent him seeking Carson's opinion. After a thorough examination, Carson said there seemed to be no new injury and that the increase pain was simply due to the colder weather. The doctor's recommendation was to sit near a fire when the pain started or even use a hot water bottle. Carson had also shown him how to warm damp towels and wrap the leg. While it had helped when Carson had did it, repeating the process on his own had proven difficult, the towels having cooled quite a bit by the time he managed to get them wrapped around his leg, and he had only attempted it once. Entering the office, Nathan dragged a chair near the stove and sat down, his left leg closest to the stove.

Jack looked up from the paper he was reading at the desk. "The leg bothering you again?"

"After every walk in the cold," Nathan said. "It seems worse today though. It woke me up early this morning. I went downstairs to warm up the water bottle and didn't feel like going back upstairs. I ended up on the settee the rest of the night."

"That couldn't have been all that comfortable," Jack commented.

"It gave me relief from the pain," Nathan said. "Sometimes I wish I could just huddle by a fire and let everyone wait on me."

Jack snorted. "You wouldn't last two days letting people wait on you," Jack told him. "I heard from the hospital staff how hard it was to keep you from doing things you shouldn't have been doing."

Nathan sighed. Jack had a point.

"I have a feeling you might get a little more lounging time with Avery here," Jack commented. "She will know when you are in pain and she will fuss over you, just like Elizabeth does me, even eight months pregnant."

"I am worried about Saturday though, Jack. I don't want to rush Allie in finding her tree but I also know I won't be able to stay out there long, searching for her perfect tree. I do not want to disappoint her."

"Well, I finally talked Elizabeth into staying home and letting me bring the tree to her. Why don't you let Avery and I, take Allie out looking for her tree and we'll tell Allie you are staying behind in case her Aunt Elizabeth needs your help with anything?" Jack suggested. "The Coulters, Bill and Abigail were going to go out with me. We can all make sure Allie has so much fun on the tree hunt that she will barely miss you and then you will be able to actually help them decorate the tree instead of lounging on the settee in pain while Allie and Avery decorate the tree."

Nathan wanted to protest. He wanted to say that he was perfectly capable of getting his own tree, putting it up and decorating it. The truth was though, he didn't think he was. At least not all in one day and Nathan knew a tree standing in their home with no decorations even for one night would drive Allie bonkers. Decorating it would be all she would focus on until the task was complete.

"Thank you, Jack," Nathan said instead, knowing that Elizabeth would claim she was perfectly capable of staying home alone why Jack and the others were out getting a Christmas tree. "I will talk to Allie this evening and see if I can sell it to her as well as you sold it to me."

Jack smiled as he got to his feet. "I am not selling anything, my friend," he commented as he headed to retrieve his hat from the hooks by the door. "I am simply looking out for a neighbor. It is what this town does."

Jack put his hat on and then turned to face Nathan. From the devilish grin that was on the other Mountie's face, Jack knew he was not going to like what came out of Jack's mouth next.

"You already have the warm, cozy job of the two of us, but if you would like, I can round up a few men and move your desk close to the stove."

"Don't push it, Thornton," Nathan replied. "Go do your rounds."

Laughing, Jack lifted two fingers to the brim of his hat and nodded before stepping out of the office, leaving Nathan to finish warming up by the stove.

Nathan stood on the train platform with the other people awaiting the train's arrival. He had asked Henry to drive him out to Hope Valley's train station. He was thankful the man had agreed to do so but was equally as thankful that Henry had said he would wait in the car. No, this reunion would not be private, but he figured most of the others in the train station would be busy with their own business, where as Henry would have been watching him.

The train was of course heard before seen, but soon enough it was pulling into the station. Nathan felt his heart beat faster. Though he knew Avery had to go on this search, it didn't mean he had not missed her. She had not given a lot of information in her letters, but Nathan hoped that she had found what she had gone in search of - even if that meant another trip away. Avery needed to either find her answers or decide on her own that she had explored all avenues. Until she did, Nathan knew that a part of her would always be wondering 'what if'.

As people started to disembark, Nathan found himself scanning the train for Avery. He hoped she would be one of the first people off, as his anticipation to seeing her was growing. He felt like he had as a child on Christmas Eve trying to fall asleep so Santa would come. Having Avery here was really the only present he needed this year.

And then he spotted her dark green cloak trimmed with black fur as she stepped from the fourth train car. Though her blonde hair was pinned up and under a hat that matched the cloak, in his mind, Nathan saw it cascading down around her shoulders in soft waves, shimmering in the sunlight like her halo. As he started in her direction, he watched her take the conductor's hand as he helped her down the steps. She had the single floral carpet bag she had taken with her. On the platform, Avery took a few steps forward to clear the way for those behind her, and then scan the platform herself. The moment their eyes met, despite the distance, Avery's face lit up with a smile. The cane might have slowed him down, but Nathan did not break his stride, uneven as it was, as he continued toward her. Once she had spotted him, Avery covered much more ground that he and soon she had dropped her bag at their feet and was in his arms. Leaning on his cane, Nathan wrapped his other arm around Avery's waist as he held her close.

"I have missed you and Allie," Avery told him, resting her head against his chest, her head just barely missing reaching his shoulder.

Tilting his head, Nathan rest his cheek on her hat. "I have missed you too, Avery," he told her.

For a few moments, they stood like that, just enjoying being in one another's arms. The people flowing around them paid little attention to the couple, not that Nathan or Avery would have noticed as their surroundings had faded away at the moment.

When Avery finally pulled back, Nathan kept his arm around her waist as he looked down in her blue-grey eyes. Whatever he had been about to say got lost as he tried to figure out where he had been seeing those eyes of late.

"Nathan?"Avery asked, looking up at him quizzically. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, it is just I feel like I have been seeing your eyes somewhere while you've been gone."

"Hopefully, you haven't been staring into some other woman's eyes?"

"No! Of course not!" Nathan said quickly, ready to defend himself when he realized that Avery had a tiny smirk on her face.

"I know you have more integrity than that, Nathan," Avery assured him. "Though I might be a bit worried about your mental health why I was gone if you were seeing my eyes other places," she added with a wink.

Nathan smiled. "While I did miss you, I was not seeing your eyes everywhere I went," he told her.

Avery stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. Finally letting her go, Nathan gave her a smile as he briefly touched her nose with one finger. "Stop giving your fiance a hard time," he told her, lightly.

"All right," Avery replied.

"What did you find out in Pine Springs?" Nathan asked her.

"I will tell you, but perhaps you could help me get settled at the Thornton's place first? That is if you can spare some time, Constable."

"Hope Valley isn't exactly a busy town. I think they could do without their lame constable manning the office," Nathan replied.

Avery reached up and placed a gloved hand on Nathan's cheek as she looked up into his eyes. "Just because you cannot do all you use to be able to do physically, does not change your worth, Nathan Grant. Your honesty, loyalty, and compassion are the most valuable things about you and none of that has changed."

Nathan blinked away the tears that threatened him at the words. It was Avery's love that had kept him from feeling sorry for himself while recovering in the hospital. He had a feeling things would have turned out much differently if she had not been at his side.

"You are right," Nathan told her. "However, my physical limitations are going to require you to make a choice. I can carry your bag or offer you my arm. Which will it be?"

"Your arm please, Constable," Avery told him, reaching down to pick up her bag. "I want there to be no doubt whose girl I am," she added, slipping her arm through his.

Side by side, Nathan and Avery walked through the train station and to the vehicle in which Henry was waiting to drive them out to the Thornton home. As they walked, Avery asked about Allie, which Nathan happily filled her in on his niece, including Allie's plans for Christmas.

"If I can convince Allie, would you be terribly upset if I skipped the actual tree hunt, and you went with her. Jack will take care of cutting down the tree Allie chooses and getting it to the house," Nathan inquired as they approached Henry's car. Even while waiting for Avery's answer, Nathan was aware of Henry getting out of the car as they approached.

"Of course not," Avery replied. "I am actually happy to see you be sensible," she told him. "As much as I know you would like to do this with Allie, walking around in the snow, in the woods, with that cane is probably not a bright idea."

"Let's hope Allie can see it that way," Nathan replied, as they reached where Henry was waiting beside his car. "Avery Scharp, may I introduce you to Henry Gowen. Henry has kindly consented to drive us out to the Thornton's home. Henry, meet Avery," Nathan said introducing the two.

"I am charmed to finally meet you, Miss Scharp," Henry said, reaching for the hand he offered her. "Your young man has said quite a few good things about you. Given how economical he is with words, I would say you are his top subject of conversation."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gowen. Feel free to call me Avery," she replied as she let go of his hand. "I am hoping to get to know more of the people of Hope Valley over the holidays. I didn't get to meet many people when I helped Nathan and Allie get settled."

"I am sure you will find everyone quite friendly," Henry assured her. "Let me take your bag," he said, reaching for it.

Avery surrendered the bag. While Henry stowed it, Nathan opened the back passenger side door for her. Avery climbed in and Nathan shut the door. Moving to sit in the front passenger seat, Nathan was surprised to find Henry had opened his car door for him.

"I am only trying to make a good first impression," Henry told him softly as he climbed in. "Don't get use to it."

Nathan smiled. "Understood," he replied just as quietly as he settled in the front seat. If Henry could act the part of a chauffeur, then Nathan knew Avery was going to be welcomed to Hope Valley with open arms.