A/N: Extra long chapter today! And the previous chapter was already longer than average. Hope you like it! And once again, if I'm uploading too fast, just let me know.

Chapter 14

Tippy reappeared from Nancy's bedroom, having grabbed a quick shower to warm up from getting all wet in the snowball fight. Clint had done the same in his apartment, but had promised to return again, since he'd be taking Tippy home.

Paul and Nancy had been sitting in the living room, talking about all kinds of things. Unconsciously, Nancy kept looking towards the door, her mind filled with thoughts of a certain doctor. She really wanted to talk to him, yet dreaded it at the same time.

"Nancy?" Paul asked for the second time, gaining his daughter's attention again. He and Tippy shared a look, and Tippy grinned broadly.

"Hmmm?"

"I said I'll be going home now."

"Oh, already?"

Paul raised an eyebrow and Nancy looked at the clock. As soon as she realized what time it was, she blushed. Just then Clint reappeared.

"Well Tippy, I'm ready if you are."

Tippy nodded and rose. "I can take a cab too. You don't have to drive just for me…" She had watched her two friends the whole evening, and knew that something had somehow changed. They needed to talk, the sooner the better.

"It's no trouble at all," Clint waved away the objection.

"I could drop you off," Paul interrupted. Towards Clint he added, "That way you don't have to de-ice your car, and I'm driving home anyway. It's no problem to take a small detour." Tippy immediately agreed. "That would be great!" She picked up her bag, and gave both Nancy and Clint a hug. "Thank you both for the wonderful evening, and I'll see you two tomorrow. Bye now."

Paul gave his daughter a kiss, and gave Clint a slap on the shoulder, and then both Tippy and Paul were gone. With a slightly bewildered look, Clint looked at Nancy. "What just happened?"

Nancy laughed. "I think my dad and Tippy just ganged up on you."

At the sight of Nancy laughing, an amused look spread on Clint's face. "Looks that way." For a moment they held each other's eyes. Then Clint shrugged, and looked around. "Well, I suppose I should be heading back to my apartment then," he said.

"Don't you want something to drink before you leave?" Nancy asked, almost pleaded. Clint took in her appearance, wondering if the doctor in him would think it wise, whereas the man in love was overjoyed at the idea of spending more time with Nancy.

"Well, if you're not too tired…?"

"I'm not too tired," Nancy said, indicating for Clint to take a seat.

"Really? You look a bit tired – which," he added, seeing Nancy about to interrupt, "is not surprising, after a day like this, especially when you're not in tip-top shape."

He was standing close now. "You're not running a fever again, are you?" Clint asked concerned.

"No, I'm not," Nancy denied. "I was a little tired, but not so much anymore, and you are the last person who could make me tired by just being here. Besides, I wanted to ask you something."

"Ok," Clint conceded, happy he could enjoy Nancy's company without feeling guilty for keeping her from resting. "The minute you're feeling tired though, you're off to bed, understood?" he added with a warning smile.

"Got it," Nancy agreed, having achieved victory. "Now sit down while I get us something to drink." She gave Clint a small push towards the couch, where he sat down chuckling. "I'm going, I'm going."

Soon they were both sitting on the couch, sipping their mugs of hot chocolate. For a couple of minutes, they just enjoyed each other's presence, until Clint broke the silence.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Nancy hesitated. "Two things actually."

Clint waited. Nancy wasn't sure how to bring up The topic, so went with the other, less personal one, first. "Did you notice a… change in my dad tonight? I mean, after the service?"

Clint regarded her for a moment, thinking back. "Yeah. It looked like he'd had a good talk with the Man upstairs." Nancy nodded.

"It never really occurred to me until tonight that this was the first time in ages that I've seen my father cry." She paused for a moment, memories and emotions warring for attention. Clint gently grasped her hand, and she found comfort and strength in that small act. "I mean, I don't think I've ever seen him cry. Not until tonight. Not even when my mom left us. Not even when my mom died…"

The statement brought such an unexpected flood of emotion that for a few minutes Nancy felt unable to continue. Clint drew her in for a hug, and Nancy readily accepted the comfort offered by his arms.

"Nancy," he said quietly after a while. "You know that some people just don't like to show their emotions, especially pain or sadness… and especially men," he added with a self-depreciating smile. "It's quite possible that your father did cry, in private. That's not what's bothering you though, is it?"

Nancy pulled back a little. "I guess not… I mean, I know all this, and I'm fine with that… most of the time. I'm just… I don't know…"

Clint waited again. "I suppose it just hit me that this is the first time I've seen my father pray with such passion," Nancy said softly after a while. Clint nodded in understanding. "My parents gave me a Christian upbringing. Even after my mom left, my father continued to teach me about the importance of having Jesus in your life, as your personal Saviour. I have the feeling that somewhere along the line, while I was growing in my personal relationship with Christ, that my dad had been slowly growing apart from Him… I never noticed. Tonight when I saw Dad pray, cry and laugh at the same time, I think he found his way back. And I never realized he was lost." The last sentence was no more than a whisper, but it carried all the guilt she felt at not having realized that her father had needed finding his way back to Christ.

Clint continued holding her close. "Nancy. You've been living on your own for years now. You don't see your dad every day anymore. You can't be sure that he was really lost. If it's true though, then, like you said, he's the one who's played a vital role in your own journey to Jesus. You had no reason to suspect any of it. Prayer is a personal thing. It should be. So, don't feel guilty for not having noticed if you're father had lost sight of Our Father. What's important to realize is this: that he's found Jesus again. Nancy, once you've given God your heart, given Him control over your life, He's not letting go of you. There are times when we still try to do things our own way, but He'll draw us back eventually."

Nancy gave Clint a watery smile, and put her head back on his shoulder. "Thanks, Clint. You always know just what to say."

Clint kept silent, just keeping his hand on her shoulder. After a while, Nancy had been able to sort things out with respect to her father, and she started to realize how close she and Clint were. Nothing strange there, they had comforted each other before. It just turned her thoughts in the direction of the second subject she wanted to discuss with him, which was exactly that: their closeness.

"Clint?" she started, lifting up her head once again. Although she was reluctant to get out of the comforting embrace, she wanted to be able to see his eyes when she talked about what she wanted to talk about. She looked up into his steady gaze, and drew strength from it. "About that second thing… the past few days made me realize something."

Just then there was a knock on the door, which was totally unexpected for both Nancy and Clint, who had been completely focused on each other. Willing whoever it was away, Nancy nonetheless realized that the moment had passed, and with a frustrated sigh, she rose to open the door.

Despite being rather frustrated himself, Clint couldn't help but be slightly amused at Nancy's agitation. He quietly suspected it wasn't just frustration speaking, but also exhaustion, so he hoped whoever it was, would be quick in leaving again so he could try and get Nancy to go to sleep. Seeing Nancy ready her sharp tongue to tear into whoever was brave enough to interrupt her, he quipped, "Easy, Zorro, they may not have brought their swords."

Nancy burst out laughing at the unexpected joke, and sent Clint a dazzling smile. "I've got a spare…" she said with a wink, causing Clint to grin. Then Nancy turned back around to open the door.

Neither could be more surprised to see Tippy and Paul standing sheepishly on the other side of the door. As it turned out, Paul's truck had given out before they had well and truly left, the few cabs that had driven past had been taken, and it was too far to walk home for both of them. Besides, the snow had started falling down harder and harder, and was now nearing storm-proportions.

They quickly decided that Paul would sleep in Clint's apartment and that Tippy would stay with Nancy. Nancy and Clint's eyes met, and Clint promised with his eyes that they would talk tomorrow.

Tippy had watched the exchange between Nancy and Clint. She may be oblivious to some things, but she was a sensitive woman, and right now, she felt a frustration, just under the surface. She had so hoped the two of them would talk when Paul and she had left them earlier. Then again, maybe they had, and that's why they were frustrated…?

For a few moments, while Nancy was getting some blankets and some pyjamas for Tippy, the Westbury-clinic-receptionist pondered whether or not to interfere, and then decided she had stood by the sidelines for long enough. Right now, the country doctor was out of reach, but Nancy was all hers.

She had drawn out her battle plans by the time Nancy returned – being married to an Army Major rubbed off on you after a while – but the wind was taken out of her sails almost as soon as her friend entered the room again.

Nancy looked tired, and Tippy was reminded that it wasn't for no reason that she had been home for almost three days now. Nancy handed her the sheets. "Here you go."

Tippy took them. "Thank you, also for letting me stay."

Nancy gave her a tired, yet genuine smile. "It's fine. It's what friends are for."

Tippy returned the smile, then asked, "Nancy, are you ok?"

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you look so tired… and sad," Tippy added softly. At first Nancy wanted to deny it, but when she looked into the concerned eyes of her friend, she found she couldn't.

"Oh, nothing important really," she sighed, and sank down on the couch. Tippy followed, putting the blankets on the chair. There, she waited for Nancy to continue. She didn't have to wait long. "It's just that… well…I'm in love with Clint," Nancy finally blurted out. Tippy was slightly taken aback by the admission; not because of the admission itself, for that was something she had known for a while, no, it was because of the suddenness with which her friend admitted it.

"That's not exactly a problem is it?" Tippy asked with a smile. "I can think of worse people to fall in love with…"

It didn't elicit the smile she had hoped, but at least it got Nancy to continue.

"No, it's not a problem. It's just that I seem to have trouble telling him! On the one hand, I've only truly admitted it to myself for a few days – it was yesterday in fact – when on the other hand, I know I've been in love with Clint for years, and I want to let him know. Especially after…"

She trailed off. "After?" Tippy prompted.

"After the looks he's been given me tonight, I'd almost think he… might also feel something towards me."

Tippy raised her eyebrows. "That's an understatement!" she blurted out. At Nancy's surprised look, she continued. "That man is head over heels in love with you. And like you, has been for ages."

"You think?" Nancy asked hesitantly.

"I'm sure," Tippy confirmed. "The moment you walk into the room, his attention is on you, his face lights up. When you went out with Richard Black, there was a reason why nobody believed his instincts with respect to Richard. We were all very aware that he was in love with you then, and we wrote it down to jealousy that he was not Richard's best friend. Of course we later found out he was right, but I still believe it wasn't just because he'd had a…a…a funny feeling about him."

Nancy cringed inwardly at the reminder of Richard. That hadn't been one of her best moments. And that lunch when she had implied that Clint was just a dumb man from the country side… she could still hear her own voice as she had spoken those words. "So the country boy is telling me how to deal with smooth city-slickers. What's wrong with this picture?" She'd felt insulted, and her temper had gotten the best of her. At least they had talked it out, and he had forgiven her. Taking a step back, she tried to look at Clint through the eyes of their co-workers. Yes, she now remembered all the disappointed looks she'd seen in his eyes whenever she mentioned Richard, but which she had subconsciously chosen to ignore back then.

Ok, so perhaps Tippy did have a point. After all, hadn't Nellie also told her that Clint was doing more for her than he'd do for just any patient. And for Clint Cassidy, that was saying something indeed. Nancy remembered thinking about Clint almost continuously the past few days, missing him when he wasn't there, and revelling in his presence when he was. So she hadn't just been imagining those looks Clint had given her. She had put it down to her admittance to being in love with him; that she had been searching for clues that there was even just a slight chance that he was feeling something similar for her.

Her heart jumped with joy as she realised that there was more than just a slight chance… The talk she had had this afternoon with Clint, when he had told her about his father. She had sensed then that he was confiding in her. If her intuition was right, he had never told that particular story before… to anyone. More and more moments flashed before her eyes. Yes, she found that Tippy might just be right. She just needed to hear Clint say the words, but so far – his actions spoke louder than his words, and those actions were telling her, Clint thought of her as more than just a friend.

More than ever she wanted to talk to him, but it was now in the middle of the night. With a grin, she realised it wouldn't be the first time she'd come talk to him in the middle of the night about something, but she couldn't do that this time. For one thing, her father was also sleeping in that apartment, and for another, Tippy was still sitting on the couch next to her.

Speaking of whom… She looked at the other woman. "Thank you, Tippy. You're right."

Tippy smiled in satisfaction. She'd seen the emotions and thoughts fly over Nancy's face, and knew that her two friends would be having a very serious talk soon. And she'd personally make sure no one would interrupt them again!

They said goodnight, and while Tippy made herself comfortable on the couch, Nancy went to her own bed – Tippy had firmly declined the usage of Nancy's bed, saying Nancy needed it more. Once in the solitude of her bedroom, Nancy thought of everything that had happened today, and prayed.

TBC