Dylan sat in the hunting cabin, waiting for darkness. At midnight, he grabbed his gun, got on his horse, and rode as close to town as possible without running the risk of being spotted. Then tethered his horse to a tree with all his belongings in the saddle bag. He hadn't had a place to call home in years, so he lived out of his saddle bag. The man thought of the life he had with Colleen and Allie. He hadn't been ready for marriage or a family when they eloped. Maybe Nathan was right. He was better off out of their lives now that Colleen was gone. Dylan hadn't wanted to be left with the responsibility of a child after she had died. He hadn't really wanted to care for his daughter even when his wife was alive.

Reaching the edge of the town, he stood in the shadows and watched to make sure no one was around. Satisfied, he began his carefully mapped journey leading him to the back door of the bank.

Nathan had been on his shift, guarding the main street; when he sensed movement near the bank. Using the secret code of flashing the light in the office to alert everyone else, he sprung his plan into action. Jesse and Bill moved stealthily through the night to hide by the front of the bank. Carson and Lucas surrounded the other sides to prevent the criminal from escaping. The other men were ready to back them up if necessary. Nathan had the difficult job of going to the back of the building to corner the intruder completely.

Dylan was a pro at picking locks now. He was able to get the back door open quickly. Quietly sneaking into the building, he located the safe. Not making the same foolish mistake as the other men, he kept the gun in his holster instead of putting it down on the table. He got the safe open and grabbed stacks and stacks of bills. With his hands full of money, he contemplated the easiest way to leave. Finally deciding to just make a run for it, he turned to go back out the door he came in through.

Instead of seeing his exit, he was now face-to-face with his brother-in-law's gun. "Nathan," he stumbled before realizing he was caught red-handed. Wanting more than ever to get as far away from this town as possible, he tried to back towards the other door in the room.

"Money and gun on the floor, hands up," Nathan commanded in full mountie mode, recovering from the surprise of seeing his late sister's husband for the first time in years.

Dylan switched tactics and began trying to sweet-talk him out of this. "You wouldn't want Allie to have her father in prison. She wouldn't be able to see me." He was aware of Colleen and Nathan's childhood with their father in prison and hoped this would make the mountie uneasy and more cooperative.

"I said to drop your weapon and the money and put your hands in the air."

Knowing Nathan wasn't going to help him out, he went to his last resort. He pretended to rearrange the money but was taking his gun into his hand, falling perfectly into Nathan's trap. Attempting to assault an officer and the theft would put him away for a long time. As long as the rest of the plan went correctly.

"Now look who has the power. I've always wanted to see your lifeless body laying on the ground." Dylan pointed the gun right back at the other man's gun. What he wasn't aware of, were the other four guns aimed at his back.

Nathan just glared at Dylan. Bill snuck up behind the criminal, digging his own gun into the back of his neck.

A look of defeat washed over his face as he dropped his weapon to the ground. He knew that once again, his brother-in-law had outsmarted him.

"You know, I've always wanted to be the one to put cuffs on you. It just took a few more years than it should've," Nathan said, pulling the handcuffs out of his holster and securing them. "You are under arrest for the attempted assault of a peace officer and theft, to begin with."

He and Bill grabbed each of Dylan's arms to lead him to the jail. Walking out onto the street, they were met with applause. Nathan was proud to be able to arrest this man finally. Back before Colleen died, he had desperately wanted to lock him up in prison. He wasn't able to do so at the time, but cuffing him then had felt like a final victory for his sister.

After thanking all of the men for their help, they walked into the jail. Kurt Lawson had been the one to watch the other prisoners while they were busy making the arrest. As soon as the three men saw their leader in handcuffs, their whole demeanor changed. The man they had been relying on to get them out was now in the same predicament.

"Kurt, would you mind watching them for a few more minutes?" Bill asked once the four men were settled.

"Of course. Take however much time you need."

Bill and Nathan went back out into the cold night. They addressed the men who were still hanging around talking amongst themselves.

"Thank you all for your help tonight. All four men are locked up because of your help. We could still use help guarding the jail until the transfer wagon comes soon, so if you are willing, please let us know. For now, go home and get some sleep, and thank you again," Nathan concluded his speech. He was truly grateful for the community of Hope Valley. Not a lot of other towns would have people willing to spend their night on the lookout for a criminal.

The crowd slowly dissipated after several men approached them with a willingness to help once they got some sleep. Alone, Bill started to question Nathan about how he knew their newest prisoner.

"He was my brother-in-law," Nathan admitted. He trusted Bill with this knowledge, knowing the judge would keep it to himself.

"But you only had one sister," he said surprised. "And she was Allie's mother which means…" he started to put the pieces together.

Nathan sighed, he had hoped he wouldn't have to deal with this. "Yep. The man who just tried to kill me is Allie's biological father."

"Well, that's good then," Bill replied, his facial expressions turning from disgust to happiness.

"What do you mean good?"

"I looked into you adopting Allie, and it would have been complicated without her father's whereabouts. Now that he'll be in prison for the foreseeable future, it will be much easier for you to adopt her," he explained.

A look of pure joy came across Nathan's face. "I hadn't realized that yet. Allie will be thrilled that the adoption is more likely possible."

Bill changed the topic to a more serious matter. "Are you going to tell her about this?"

He had been dreading having to have this conversation with Allie. "I think she's old enough. She deserves to know the truth. I have to tell Elizabeth at some point anyway."

Bill nodded in agreement. "I think that's a wise decision. If you don't tell her yourself, someone else will."

Nathan had taken his five-hour shift from one o'clock to six in the morning. When he was relieved by Bill, he went home to get some much-needed sleep. Mountie Headquarters had called before he left to congratulate him on a successful arrest and inform him that a transfer wagon and additional mounties would arrive the next day. Bill would cover until one, then Nathan would take over until six when Kurt Lawson would take over. Nathan would relieve him at midnight, meaning Allie would be at Elizabeth's house again tonight. Thinking of her, he remembered the impending conversation he would have to have with her. In desperate need of sleep, he put those thoughts aside and climbed into bed.

Two hours later, Elizabeth was awoken by the sun coming through the shades. Popping out of bed, she looked at her clock and saw that it was already eight o'clock. She never got to sleep in this late. Jack was an early bird and always had her up at the crack of dawn.

Rushing to put on her robe so she could check on her son, she found his crib empty. Before she could panic further, she heard soft voices downstairs. Elizabeth quietly walked down the stairs. She saw her son in Allie's arms as she helped him mix up pancake batter.

Looking up at the sound of a creaking step, she greeted her teacher, "Good morning, Elizabeth. I heard Jack calling earlier this morning so I thought we would come down and make pancakes for breakfast."

"Thank you, Allie. For taking care of Jack and making breakfast. I didn't know you were such a good cook!"

Allie laughed, "Well with Dad's job I've had to learn how to make meals for myself. He doesn't have the typical working hours. Baking is a different story as you learned yesterday with the cookies. My last attempt at making a cake was a complete disaster."

"I'm sure it wasn't as bad as the cakes I made when I first came here. With Abigail's help, I've gotten decent at cooking and baking and I even enjoy it now. Maybe we can make a cake together later."

"I'd love to," Allie said excitedly.

"Why don't you and Jack go sit at the table and I can finish these pancakes."

By eleven, when Nathan awoke, he felt well rested. He got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen to make himself a very late breakfast before walking over to Elizabeth's rowhouse. The longer he put off this conversation, the harder it would be. Bill was right. He didn't want them to hear what he had to tell them from anyone else.

Allie was the one to open the door, and she flung herself into his arms. "Hi, Dad. Elizabeth and I are just waiting for our cake to cool before we frost it."

"You're making a cake? That sounds fun," Nathan commented, now standing inside the house. It was warmer in the daylight, but winter was definitely approaching.

"Nat'an!" Jack screeched from across the room when he heard his voice. Running to meet Nathan, he clung to his leg.

"Hi, Little Man. Did you help make the cake?"

The little boy nodded as Nathan pried him off of his leg to hold him against his side.

"You're here," Elizabeth said happily, coming down the stairs.

She pressed a quick kiss to his lips before speaking again, "Did you get much sleep?"

"I got a few hours. Mounties will be here to transfer the prisoners tomorrow, but I'll have to take another shift tonight if you don't mind watching Allie again."

"Of course not. We've had fun," she replied, smiling at the young girl.

Nathan was smiling at them, but his mind was busy running all of the possible ways to bring up the needed conversation.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Allie questioned, noticing him staring blankly at the wall behind them.

"Everything's fine, Allie. I just have some things I need to talk to you about."

"Jack and I can go for a walk if you two need to talk," Elizabeth suggested.

Nathan cut her off, "No, I think you should be a part of this conversation."

Gathering his strength, he moved to sit in the middle of the settee. He placed Jack on the ground in front of him so he could play with his toys while the three of them talked. Elizabeth sat to his left and Allie to his right. Taking each of their hands, he began, "First, I want both of you to relax. What I have to talk to you about isn't good, but no one's in danger, and everything will be okay. Remember that."

Taking a deep breath he explained what happened the night before, "the man held me at gunpoint just as I had expected, and Bill was there to help me capture him. We arrested him and all four of them are sitting in the jail cells as we speak."

"I'm glad you're safe," Allie said, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I wasn't injured at all," he replied. "But that isn't what I have to talk to you about. Allie, that man is your father."

The whole room went silent at that information. "What?" Allie asked in surprise. Of everything she was expecting in this conversation, that was not it.

"He was the leader of a gang. When those three men who took Abigail weren't able to get the money, he got desperate and tried to break in and get it himself."

"I'm glad you took me, Dad. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if he had raised me."

"You know raising you wasn't something I resented doing, I wanted to do it. I've always loved you, and I love being your father regardless of who your biological father is."

Allie held onto him tightly, "I love you too, Dad."

"I think you're old enough for me to tell you about what happened when your mother was still alive," he said quietly.

Her head shot up to look at him, "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Allie, first I want you to know that your mother loved you very much. She would have done anything for you."

Allie tensed up, scared of what he was going to say next.

"I would like to believe that at least a part of your father loved you. You need to know that his relationship with you had nothing to do with you, and all to do with him. He was an alcoholic. And a gambler. I was surprised when Colleen eloped with him, given our bad relationship with our own father. She told me she saw something in him and at first, she was happy. She was so happy when she had you."

Nathan paused to squeeze Allie's hand. "A year after you were born, I noticed a few bruises on Colleen's arms. She brushed them off as her being clumsy and running into things." Elizabeth and Allie both gasped in disbelief and looked at Nathan for him to continue.

"I confronted her after she had her second black eye the following month. She claimed he was drunk and hadn't meant to hurt her. That continued for a year or so. I tried so hard to get her to let me help her. It took all of my strength not to punch Dylan in the face every time I saw him. Maybe I should have done more. Maybe I should have forced her to leave him." he trailed off, his eyes welling with tears from the memories.

Elizabeth, who had been silent so far, took his head in her hand and turned it so she was looking him in the eyes. "You did everything you could. There was nothing else you could have done. It wasn't your fault."

"Thank you," he responded, kissing her forehead before continuing. "By the time you were three, she had consistent bruises all over her. My mother and I talked at length about how to help her, but she refused any solutions we offered her. It was hard. I was at her house with her when she realized she was pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Allie said in dismay.

"Yes. It was during her pregnancy that things got the worst. When Dylan found out he was furious. They didn't have the money to support another baby, and he blamed her for getting pregnant. I went to every doctor's appointment with her instead of him. She was always at our mom's house during those months. I would play with you all the time," he lovingly looked at Allie next to him. "That was my favorite part of the day. I was a new mountie at the time and coming home to you greeting me was the best."

"What happened to the baby?" Allie questioned.

Nathan sighed, "I'm getting there. In the last few months of her pregnancy, things took a turn for the worst. He noticed her gaining independence and he didn't like it. He forced her to stay at their house during the day and wouldn't let me near her. One day when she was about 7 months along, she snuck out to our house. Dylan was at a bar and she didn't think he'd be home for a while. We were eating dinner when he came into the house, very drunk. When she tried to calm him down he slapped her across the face. Somehow you got in the middle, and he pushed you so forcefully that your head hit the ground. Your grandmother grabbed you from the floor and locked the two of you in her room so he couldn't reach you." His voice broke. He could remember this day like it was yesterday. When he replayed the memory of Allie flying across the room, her head hitting the floor, her arms wrapped tightly around her tiny body to protect herself while she cried in pain, his heart broke into a million pieces.

Allie crawled into his lap, crying into his shoulder as he squeezed her tightly. Elizabeth wrapped her arm around both of them, trying to comfort them. Nathan had never told her any of this story. From Allie's reaction, it seemed like he hadn't told anyone this. After all of their tears stopped, he began to speak again, "I had to physically hold him away from Colleen while he was saying the nastiest things to us. I was finally able to force him outside and close the door behind us so she would be spared from having to hear the rest of what happened. "He started punching me and I had no choice but to fight him back in self-defense. I was trying not to injure him because he was drunk and my brother-in-law, and that would be frowned upon if I were to have him charged with assault. I regretted that because he was able to knock me to the ground and I still have scars on my back from where he kicked me. I was able to regain power and get him away from the house. That was the last time I saw him before yesterday."

"Nat'an," Jack said, patting his leg. "Why cwying?"

"Because I'm thinking about something sad," Nathan responded, picking up the boy and putting him in between him and Elizabeth as Allie was still sitting with him.

With Jack settled, Nathan explained further, "The next month, Colleen went into labor. We got the doctor to the house, but Colleen had gotten very sick. The baby was a month early and she was stillborn. Your mother still named her though. Alexandra Eleanor Grant. She gave her our last name so she wouldn't have any connection to her father. And Eleanor is for your grandmother. Alexandra was for me. She used the female version of my middle name, Alexander. I promised her I would take care of you and keep you away from Dylan. She died in my arms the next day."

All three of them were crying by now. While he didn't know what happened, Jack could sense the room's tone and stayed quiet.

They sat on the settee hugging each other and crying for a while. When they had cried all the tears they could, Nathan told Allie he would answer any questions she had at any time. Nathan had to go back to the jail at one, and it was already twelve. They got up to make lunch, and he promised to be home by six to eat dinner and taste their cake. They continued on as normal, but their minds were distracted. Nathan was reliving his memories, and Elizabeth and Allie were thinking about what he had revealed. Eating their lunch at the table, Allie was lost in thought. While she had been there physically, she couldn't remember the night her biological dad left at all. She felt even more grateful to have Nathan as her dad than before. Elizabeth was looking at the girl she already thought of as a daughter, and thinking about the terrible situation she was in as a baby. She couldn't imagine being in the place Colleen had been in. And then she drew her attention to Nathan. Nathan had been in a hard place too. Not being able to help his sister and instead, having to watch her suffer twice. With both her abusive marriage and the illness that took her life. A tear slid down her face imagining the difficulties two of the people she loved most had gone through.

"Mama," Jack murmured from her lap, reaching up to touch her tear-streaked face.

Elizabeth hugged him tightly, not wanting to let her baby go. "I love you, my sweet boy," she whispered.

"Wuv Mama," he replied before wriggling out of her grasp and going over to Allie.

Tugging on her leg, he said, "Wuv Allie."

Ending on Nathan, he requested to be held before wrapping his arms around the man's neck and declaring, "I wuv Nat'an too."