AN: So originally this was suppose to be the office scene with Bill and Nathan and then move on to what is now chapter 8. When this got to be 2,600 words on its own I decided it needed to be its own chapter. This is shorter than the other chapters but it is forward progression. Enjoy!
Allie bounced up and down as Nathan buttoned her winter coat. His niece had been full of energy today, and the sugar at school probably had not helped. Though, to be fair, having won the gingerbread house contest was adding to the high spirits. Allie and Opal had been giving a sketch pad and colored pencils, donated by Ned at the mercantile. The second, and third place teams had gotten gifts donated by Abigail's Café and Coulter Lumber while Tom at the saloon had provided participation ribbons for the other teams. After the ribbons were passed out, the children presented Mrs. Thornton with a card letting her know how much they would miss her during the second half of the year.
For the kids, it was the perfect last school day before the holiday break but Nathan had a feeling he wasn't the only parental figure dealing with a child still seemingly on a sugar high.
With the coat buttoned, Allie reached for her hat and mittens to don them, giving Nathan a chance to speak quietly to Avery.
"Are you sure you are up for this?" Nathan asked quietly. Instead of staying with Opal for the afternoon like Allie had been doing if Nathan had to work when she was not in school, the girl had asked to be able to give Avery a tour of Hope Valley. Despite having seen quite a bit of the town already, Avery had agreed.
Looking up at him, Avery smiled. "It will be fun. Allie will burn off some energy and I get to see Hope Valley through the eyes of a nine-year-old," she replied, still speaking quietly in an attempt not to be overheard by the nearby child.
"A very excited nine-year-old, who had too much sugar this morning," Nathan countered.
"All kids have days like this. I may wait to mention what Abigail and I talked about this morning. That may be too much," Avery told him quietly.
Nathan nodded. Avery had mentioned to Abigail she was a teacher last night. Abigail had been excited for the news, casting an accusing glance at Nathan, to which he had told her that he had not wanted to speak for his fiancé. Bill's muttered, "smart man" had earned him a glance from Abigail, though she quickly went on about the teaching position. She had told Avery she needed to get the council's approval but asked her to stop by her office at then the next morning. Avery said she had walked in to find Abigail and Lee, head of the town council, there officially offering the substitute position for the second half of the school year. Wanting to be the one to tell Elizabeth, Avery had hung back under the pretense of helping to clean up while Nathan took Allie home after school let out for the break.
"Besides, this will give me practice for our next child," Avery said. "You do want more children, don't you?"
Somehow, Nathan both blushed and grew paler at the question. "I never thought about it," he admitted.
"Well I have," Avery assured him. "As much as I love, Allie, I do want more children if that is God's will."
Nathan was saved from having to come up with a reply by Allie.
"Can you give Avery a kiss so we can leave, Uncle Nathan?" the precocious nine-year-old asked.
Nathan's pink cheeks got darker as Avery laughed. Standing on tiptoes, she gave her surprised fiancé a quick kiss good-bye.
"We'll see you later, Nathan," Avery told him, as she pulled the hood of her cloak up with her gloved hands.
"The two of you be careful," Nathan said, finding his tongue after the surprising comments from both Avery and Allie.
"You two, Uncle Nathan," Allie replied, having claimed one of Avery's hands and already heading for the front door. As the two disappeared outside, Nathan heard Allie talking about showing Avery her favorite place to fish.
Nathan shook his head. As much of a joy as it was to see Allie become more of an individual as she got older, the task of raising her had also become harder as she got older. His own physical limitations as of late seemed to only add to the difficulty. Was he up to raising a second child, Nathan found himself questioning, as the door closed behind the two of them?
The answer came almost immediately. If that was what Avery wanted, then it was what he wanted as well. Surely raising more children with a wife at his side could prove no more difficult than raising Ally alone thus far.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Nathan turned to retrieve his campaign hat from the hook it hung on. With a final glance around the house to make sure everything was in order before reaching for the door knob and leaving the house.
Nathan made his way to Bill's office. Giving yesterday's revelation and Bill's acceptance of Avery as his daughter, there was something that Nathan had to ask the older man. Reaching the office of the judge, Nathan opened the door but did not go in as he came face to face with Lillian, Grace and the Coulters who had been about to leave.
"Good day, ladies," Nathan said, nodding to Lillian and Grace as he stepped aside, holding the door for them, as they stepped out of the office. Given both hands were occupied, his left with the door and the right with a cane, he refrained from removing the hat. He simply did not have enough hands.
"Thank you, Constable Grant," Lillian said as she and her sister left the office.
Though Lee and Rosemary were behind the sisters, the couple paused in front of Nathan. Huge smiles lit up both of their faces.
"We're going to adopt Holly," Rosemary told him happily.
Nathan smiled at the news. That little girl couldn't have gotten a better second set of parents. "Congratulations," he said, moving to hold the door with his elbow and transferring the cane to his left hand so he could shake hands with Lee. "I bet you feel like Christmas came early."
"Oh it did," Lee replied.
With the news shared, the Coulters exchanged a few more words with Nathan and then went on their way. Moving the cane back to his right hand, Nathan entered the office.
"Seems as if I am a popular man today," Bill quipped, motioning to the chairs situated in front of his desk. There were currently four. "Take your pick."
Nathan smiled as he made his way toward the desk.
"Jack spoke to me about you adopting Allie," Bill commented as Nathan settled in the chair that would put him almost directly across from the judge. "I can't work magic and have it official before Christmas, but we can get the paperwork sent in and we'll figure out something temporary for Allie to hang onto. Letting a single man adopt isn't done much. Normally, I would not be in much favor of allowing it to happen myself, but I am not unreasonable. You are already her guardian and you are family. It is something that Allie clearly wants and besides, you are engaged."
"I appreciate your help with adopting Allie. I didn't realize it was important to her, but I love her like a daughter already. Though that was not the reason, I came to see you actually."
"Oh?" Bill replied.
"The reason I came is because of the last subject you mention. My engagement to Avery," Nathan told him.
Nathan saw Bill sit up straighter but the judge's expression did not change as he waited patiently for the Mountie to continue.
"Obviously, I can't change the fact that I have already asked her and when I did, I knew nothing about a father to ask permission of. However, now that Avery had found you and you two are embracing the relationship, there is something I would like to ask you," Nathan told him. He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "Bill, do I have your blessing to marry your daughter? It would mean a lot to the both of us to know you approve of the union."
Bill smiled, as he reached his right hand across the table. "The fact that you asked just reinforces my opinion of your character, Nathan. I will be happy to call you, son, whenever the two of you decide to get married."
Nathan grasped the extended hand. "I appreciate that. As for a date, we have narrowed it down to this summer. We'll concentrate more on our plans for that after Christmas."
"One celebration at a time is probably a good way to handle things," Bill said as they released hands. Both men leaned back in their chairs. "So, have you and Avery discussed how Allie will fit into your marriage."
"We have. Avery was all set to be Aunt Avery to her, but in light of Allie's wish, she is open to being mom if that is something Allie wants. We are going to let Allie choose how she wants to think of Avery, as she was closer to her mother than she was her father."
"A very wise course of action," Bill said.
"So, are you ready to become a grandpa?" Nathan asked, a half smile coming to his face.
Bill's face took on a shocked expression. "Grandpa?" he managed to get out.
"Allie has always wanted more family. I think she is going to want to claim you as well after the wedding. Not to mention any other children that might come along."
"I suddenly feel old," Bill muttered.
Nathan chuckled.
"But yes," Bill said, a smile coming to his face. "If Allie wants to claim me as grandpa, I would be amendable to that."
"I should probably get back to the office."
Bill nodded as he glanced at papers strewn across his desk. "I should have this chaos of papers sorted out by Monday afternoon. You can stop by then to sign the papers and I will get them sent in. I will ask Jack about creating some kind of certificate to give to Allie on Christmas to stand in until it becomes official."
"Thank you, Bill."
"Well, this is my job now, but you're welcome," Bill said, gruffly.
Nathan chuckled. Clearly, Bill had shown enough sentiment for now. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Bill."
"You too," Bill told him, his attention going to the papers on his desk as Nathan walked out of the office.
Outside, Nathan found Jack, Gabriel and Carson standing at the foot of the steps leading to the office he just came out of. The first two were holding the reigns of their horses, Sargent and Apollo. Nathan pulled the office door shut behind him as he continued to survey the three silently.
"What is this about?" Nathan finally asked, when no one volunteered anything.
"I was hoping to have company on rounds this afternoon," Jack commented casually.
"You can ride Apollo," Gabriel added. "The poor horse is going stir crazy in his stall."
"Why don't you just take him out for a ride then?" Nathan asked.
"Lillian and Grace wanted my help with the kids," Gabriel said, quickly. Quickly enough that while Nathan had no doubt that is where Gabriel would be, the two women could get along just fine without him.
"I am not sure I am even able to ride with this leg," Nathan countered half-heartedly. It wasn't exactly what Carson had told him and he had a feeling a flimsy excuse like that was exactly why the doctor was present.
"While, you probably will not be able to do posting with that leg, there is no reason while you cannot enjoy riding a horse with a walk. Your tolerance with the faster gaits is something you are going to have to figure out for yourself," Carson said. "That leg is healed enough strength wise at this point, though like you've been told, there will always probably be some pain involved with it. Mounting might be difficult at first but you will figure out how to compensate for the injury."
"And you have two Mounties to help you today if you need it," Gabriel piped in.
"I would not recommend you going out on rounds alone but it might be good for you to get out of the office," Carson added.
"Though if being on a horse again seems too overwhelming, I can understand that," Jack ventured.
Nathan shook his head. "I know the horse was not trying to hurt me. He was hurt and panicked. It was an accident. Given my limitations though, I am not sure having me on rounds is in worthwhile."
Jack snorted. "You know rounds are usually a lot of riding, looking, small chat and not much else. Especially in an area like Hope Valley."
Nathan looked at his boots. His friend was right.
"Having company will be a nice change," Jack finished.
"Riding again is just another step in your recovery," Carson told him.
Nathan knew they all had good points and he had missed riding. The idea of mounting the horse did intimidate him. Like Carson said, it would be a different process with the injured leg and it had been months since he was in the saddle. However, he would not get a better trained horse than one that was trained by the force.
"All right," Nathan said. "I think I am going to need help getting up there at first though."
"You got it," Jack said, tying Sargent's reigns to the stair railing.
Nathan came down the steps. With Gabriel holding Apollo, Carson and Jack both stood by to assist him in mounting the horse. Reaching for Nathan's cane, Carson had him try alone on his own at first to see how it went. Though Nathan did not get enough lift to get up on the horse, he was surprised at how natural the motion felt after all this time. For the second attempt, Jack gave him a leg up, With Carson spotting near by. Though it was far from graceful, Nathan soon found himself in the saddle. Apollo glanced back as if to see what the commotion was.
"I am just a little rusty boy," Nathan told the horse soothingly, rubbing the Apollo's neck with one hand.
"You feeling all right up there?" Carson asked.
Sitting tall in the saddle, Nathan looked around. He had forgotten what this vantage point looked liked. As he looked at the ground, the idea of dismounting suddenly seemed intimidating but for now he did feel comfortable in the saddle.
"I do," Nathan said. "Getting off might be a different matter."
Carson smiled. "You'll have Jack riding with you and when you get back into town, he can get me if you feel you need more than just his help," the doctor told him. He slid the cane into the empty rifle holster on the saddle. "Not what it was designed for, but it serves a purpose," he commented, getting chuckles from the three Mounties. Growing serious he looked up at Nathan. "Enjoy yourself but listen to your body," the doctor cautioned. "If your body starts protesting the activity come back."
"I already planned an abbreviated route for this outing," Jack interjected as he mounted Sargent. In the saddle, he moved Sargent alongside Nathan and Apollo. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I can be," Nathan told him.
With a nod, Jack motioned Sargent forward. A beat later, Nathan had Apollo walking alongside them, his grip on the reigns a little tighter than normal but if any of the others noticed, nothing was said.