A/N: There's a lot of snow here, so I can quite vividly imagine the circumstances in this story. Hope you're all safe and sound! Enjoy this chapter. I think you will...

Chapter 18

The sun was up, which at this time of the year meant that she had slept late. It was becoming something of a habit, Nancy thought frustrated. Not that she was an early riser per se, she did not like to waste her time either by staying in bed for half of the day. Ok, so it wasn't quite that late yet, but she was fairly sure she could expect her father and Clint to be knocking on the door any time now.

Her mind went over what all had happened the past few days, most notably last night, and the once again interrupted talk with Clint. Today was a new day however, and she was determined that today she'd have that uninterrupted talk with the man with whom she'd fallen in love.

As she got out of bed, she realized with satisfaction that she felt much better than she'd been feeling over the past couple of days. Quickly she got dressed, wondering whether Tippy was up already. Walking into the living room, she found Tippy just disentangling herself from the blanket. Soon both women were dressed and about to set things up at the table for breakfast.

"I think Dad and Clint will have had breakfast already, them being early risers," Nancy said, when Tippy asked for how many people she should set the table. "If they haven't, it's easy enough to set an extra two plates," she added. Tippy nodded, just as there was a knock on the door. "I've got the feeling that's them," Tippy said as Nancy headed over to the door. Nancy grinned. "I'll be surprised if it's someone else," she said.

Indeed, the moment she opened the door, she was enveloped in a bear hug, a resounding kiss on both her cheeks, and a "Merry Christmas!", all from one man: "Dad!" Nancy exclaimed in surprise. Then she smiled, and returned the hug and the greeting. Paul grinned and moved on to wish Tippy a Merry Christmas too, leaving Clint at the door.

"Hey Nancy," Clint said gently – almost shyly.

"Hey!" Nancy responded cheerfully, glad to see him, feeling her heart jump up in joy. Nancy moved in for a hug, and was pleasantly surprised when in addition to his strong arms embracing her, he also gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas," Clint said softly as their eyes met.

Immediately, Nancy felt that jolt going through her. She loved this man. With a start, she realized that what she'd deduced last night, she now read in his eyes. It took her breath away. She didn't know how long they'd been gazing at each other, when slowly she heard the voices of her father and Tippy seep into her awareness again. Clint blinked, and dragged his eyes away, towards the receptionist and the other man, as if seeing them for the first time. Then he brought his gaze back to Nancy, and said, "Last night, you said there were two things you wanted to talk about… we never got to the second part, and… well, I've got something I'd like to… discuss too…" He paused for a moment, as if to gauge her mood. "How about we move on up to the roof?"

Nancy couldn't believe her ears. She'd been planning to talk to him sometime today, but hadn't expected the opportunity to come almost right after he'd walked in. She nodded firmly. "Yes, that's a good idea."

"Ok, how about you get your coat, and I'll quickly say hi to Tippy," Clint suggested. Again, Nancy nodded. The roof may be a good place to talk privately, but at this time of the year, it wasn't the warmest place to be. Perhaps she should also put on an extra sweater. As they left the apartment, both Clint and Nancy were oblivious to the grins on the faces of Tippy and Paul. Within minutes, they walked up towards the roof, Clint having picked up his own coat too.

As they got there, Nancy regarded Clint, wondering what had gotten into him. He seemed to be a bit nervous, but Nancy wasn't sure why. Sure, she was a little anxious about what she was about to tell him too, but… well, they'd always been very comfortable with each other, even if there had been an extra sort of tension the past few days.

She was also wondering about what exactly Clint wanted to talk about. Could it be that they were thinking of the same thing…? The conversation with Tippy resurfaced again. Would she dare to hope that Clint not only felt the same about her as she felt about him, but would admit to it today, the same day she wanted to tell him? No, she was daydreaming.

Meanwhile Clint had dug up a blanket from the large wooden chest that stood on the roof in case anyone came up here unprepared. Nate and he had spent multiple evenings on this very same roof, talking about all sorts of things, and more often than not the evenings had lasted longer than intended.

He grasped Nancy's hand, sending a wonderful tingly feeling up her arm.

"Nancy?" She brought her gaze up from their hands to his eyes. "You ok?" Clint asked, a little concerned. Maybe bringing her up here in the cold had been a bad idea. But he hadn't wanted to go to his apartment. He needed them to be on neutral ground.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Nancy said, shaking off the mental daze.

"Not too cold? Here." He wrapped the blanket around her, and guided her to sit down. Immediately Nancy regretted the loss of contact. "Can't have you catching a cold on top of your flu," he said, a small smile on his face, as he sat down next to her. Nancy chuckled nervously. "Doctor Crane would love that; not only would he try and sue you for malpractice, he'd also have gotten rid of me for a few extra days."

Clint laughed. "Now, Nancy, Oliver isn't that bad." He held up a finger to keep Nancy from interrupting. "He'd send you a 'get well' card, along with a couple of job offers in California, I'm sure," Clint added with a sparkle in his eyes. Nancy laughed. "Now that I can see happening."

They caught each other's eyes, and for a few moments, everything else seemed to fade away, the thoughts of doctor Oliver Crane the first to disappear.

"Nancy," Clint said quietly. Nancy felt her breath catch. "I… I know there was something else you wanted to discuss last night?"

"It's ok, you can go first," Nancy said. "It's obviously something important, or you wouldn't have brought me up here."

Clint nodded. "I…" He hesitated, not sure how to continue. Nancy grasped his hand, and squeezed it supportively. Looking at the woman next to him, gazing at him expectantly, bolstered his confidence, and he felt a sense of peace come over him.

"Nancy, I haven't quite figured out how to say this exactly, but please bear with me. Nancy nodded. "You know, Nancy… for years, I felt like something was missing. At first I put it down to the fact that I was missing my real parents, despite the good care Dottie and Doc Johanson gave me. Both have been such great parents to me – I could, still can, share almost everything with them. From the moment you and I met, I liked you, felt I could trust you, and we became friends." Nancy smiled. "I trust you Nancy, with everything. I don't know how it happened, but… well, for the past few days, I've noticed just how much I've come to depend on you. I took a good look at both you and me, and… when I see you, I see a compassionate nurse, and a gentle, caring, witty, and beautiful woman, both inside and outside… and then I realized: Nancy Nichol, I'm in love with you."

Nancy sat there, mouth hanging open. Seeing Clint's eyes hovering on hers, she suddenly smiled. "Ok, that sign came through loud and clear."

At Clint's confused look, Nancy quickly explained. "Last night, I was wondering about what had seemingly changed between us the past few days. I knew what I myself had been feeling, but I wasn't sure about your feelings… for me. Tippy said I shouldn't have any doubt about that, but I did. So I asked God for a sign, last night, when I prayed. I'd say this was a pretty straight-forward sign, don't you think?"

Clint started to get a hopeful feeling. Nancy's eyes sparkled as she continued.

"You see, Clint Cassidy, I've also recently come to the realization that I'm in love with this country doctor, who just happens to be my best friend."

"Really?" Clint asked. "Absolutely," Nancy said, once again squeezing his hand.

"So… we've both been in love with each other, and only realized it during the past few days?"

Nancy grinned. "Yup."

Clint gently pushed a strand of Nancy's hair behind her ear. Their eyes locked, and slowly they closed the distance between them, and shared a gentle kiss.

Nancy's eyes stayed closed even when the kiss had ended, and their foreheads leaned against each other. When she opened her eyes, she looked straight into Clint's, which were overflowing with love and affection. "I love you, Nancy," Clint said softly but firmly.

Nancy's eyes lit up even further, if possible. "I love you too, Clint."

They sat like that for a few seconds. Suddenly Clint seemed to remember something, and he looked at Nancy with a question in his eyes. "So what was the other thing you wanted to discuss last night?"

Nancy laughed. "Exactly this."

Clint shook his head. "We're quite a pair, aren't we? I'd wanted to tell you a couple of times yesterday, but we kept being interrupted."

Nancy laughed. "Yeah, I was so frustrated every time someone interrupted us just when we seemed to be getting close."

With a chuckle, Clint remembered the look on her face last night, when she'd been about to open the door for her father and Tippy. "Have I ever mentioned you look cute when you're frustrated?"

Nancy blushed, and tried to come back with a witty reply, but somehow her mind was too busy still catching up to the fact that… Clint Cassidy loved her!

"As much as I'd love to stay up here… I do think we should be going back inside," Clint said reluctantly. Nancy nodded, just as reluctantly. "Ready?" Clint asked. Nancy shook her head, and initiated another kiss which lasted longer than the first one. After they'd separated again, their faces still close together, Nancy looked up in Clint's eyes, and breathed, "Now I'm ready."

Clint shook his head, and said, "You make me wish you weren't ready yet."

Nancy smiled, but eventually they both moved. The sun that had been shining, was slowly being hidden behind dark clouds. It was one thing to be sitting outside in the sun, it was quite another to be sitting outside with either rain or snow falling down. Nancy folded the blanket back up, and Clint put it back where it belonged, before they headed back inside.

"What should we say to Dad and Tippy?" Nancy suddenly asked as they descended the stairs. Clint shrugged. "How 'bout we play it by ear?"

"Works for me," Nancy agreed, opening the door… finding an empty room. They shared a look. "Paul? Tippy?" Clint called, but no one answered.

"Clint, they're gone. Tippy wrote a note, saying Dad got his car started again, and he's dropping her off home. Oh, and he'll pick her up again for tonight," Nancy said, reading the note that was left at the table.

"Ok." Clint took a look at his watch. "Well, I think we should almost be leaving for Wendell's. We promised we'd be by this morning."

"Not so fast, Cowboy. I haven't had breakfast yet because you dragged me off before I could. And I'm actually feeling like having breakfast today."

"That won't do," Clint said, shaking his head. "It's good that you feel like having breakfast again. Now sit down, and allow me to rectify my grave mistake."

Nancy chuckled, while she sat down at the table. "I thought you said I shouldn't get used to it?"

"That was both cooking and doing dishes," Clint argued, quickly fixing something to eat for Nancy. They enjoyed the breakfast and being together, safe in the knowledge they loved each other.

TBC