AN: Hello! I've had a busy past few months, but I've been working on writing this story. I can't promise how long it will be, aside from the next fifteen or so chapters I have written already. If people are still interested in the story, I will try to continue writing it! I think my writing has greatly improved over the past year, so look forward to longer and better chapters.

I'm going to post the next few chapters of my extended season seven, and then I've decided to skip right to the wedding to keep this story more interesting. There have been so many other stories of Nathan and Elizabeth's courtship that have gone in a similar direction. There might be some flashbacks to the months I skipped in the upcoming chapters giving you the information needed to understand where my version of season eight picks up.

Please leave a review or go to my Instagram (wcthpassion) if you want to share any feedback!

The leaves had recently fallen and the path around the pond was covered in red, orange, and yellow. Cody and Allie walked through the leaves sharing memories of when they first came to Hope Valley.

"I snuck around the side of the school and took their firewood," he admitted. "One day I wasn't quick enough and Mrs. Thornton caught me. She invited me in but I just ran off without the wood. I knew it wasn't right to steal things but my sister was sick and told me that if they found us we would be sent back to an orphanage. Mrs. Thornton, Mountie Jack, and Mom lured me into the cafe with food and I told them everything. We went to get Becky who had gotten much worse. I'm glad they were there so we could call a doctor and she eventually got better. I stayed with Mom and she signed the adoption papers making her officially our mother soon after,"

"I'm glad that she adopted you and your sister. . When I first came here I skipped school and when Elizabeth helped Uncle Nathan find me I didn't know she was the school teacher. I made up a lie about her smelling like chalk and being bossy," Allie told her new friend.

Cody laughed, "at least you didn't steal from her."

"At least you didn't insult her right to her face," she joked back.

"Do you remember when we had to share this office?" Bill asked, sitting across from Nathan.

"Except I had to sit on that side of the desk," he laughed. "What did you want to talk to me about, Bill?"

"Have you found anything else out about the fire?" he asked.

"Yes, I talked to Lucas and he admitted to being the one to light the candles. He apologized and is planning to apologize to Opal and her family as well as pay for the damages. He wasn't aware of what happened after he left," Nathan explained.

"Classic Lucas," he grumbled.

Nathan skipped over Bill's comment. "Anyway, I told him that as long as Opal's parents don't want to press charges I would write it up as an accident. I certainly don't think he did it on purpose. It was just a careless mistake."

"You're a much better person than I am. I would have locked him up in a jail cell, and arrested him for arson," Bill said, only half-joking.

Nathan chuckled, "well, that wouldn't have solved anything. Besides, he didn't purposefully burn down a building and it didn't even do much damage. Thankfully, aside from Opal's minor injuries, no one else got hurt."

"Did you talk to Lucas about anything else?" Bill dug for information.

"He told me that he has been thinking about his relationship with Elizabeth and came to the conclusion that they weren't right together."

"Good. I never thought I'd agree with Lucas but he's right. I could never see a future for Lucas and Elizabeth. After I saw the four of you together today I couldn't be more certain that her future is with you. It's obvious that you love them."

"I do."

"I'm happy for you. For all of you."

Abigail, Elizabeth, and Jack got settled in the back of the cafe, quickly falling back into their old routine.

"I've missed this," Elizabeth said. "I remember coming here every day after school to chat with you."

"I'm so glad to be back. I've missed everyone and everything in Hope Valley. I know Cody did too, but he tried to hide it given the circumstances with my mother. I'm so grateful for him. I can't imagine my life without him."

"I'm excited to have him back in school with me; I know the other children are too. I'm sure he will fall right back into sync with the rest of the class," Elizabeth commented.

"I hope so. He didn't like his school out east and he didn't have many friends." Abigail felt guilty that she tore her son away from this town and all of his friends. She had been so busy caring for her mother that Cody had sometimes become a second priority. Abigail was relieved when her mother recovered and she and Cody returned home. She was expecting a telegram from her mother telling her which train to expect her on any day now. Abigail and Cody were excited to introduce her to all of their friends.

"He'll be fine, Abigail," Elizabeth reassured her friend. "Thank you for the advice you gave me yesterday. You were right. It wasn't choosing between Nathan and Lucas that I was struggling with, it was dealing with my grief over Jack," she rubbed the indent on her finger from where her ring had rested for years. "Now that I have, I feel so much lighter. I have my best friend back, Nathan and I are courting, and we're joining our families. I couldn't be any happier."

"It makes me happy to see you this radiant. I know Jack approves and is smiling down on you." Elizabeth nodded and looked to where her son had fallen asleep on her lap.

"I never thought I would be this happy again after Jack died. Then I found out about Little Jack and I was so grateful to still have a piece of his father with me. Now I have Nathan and Allie too and I can't imagine not having them in my life."

"Rosie, where do you want this?" Lee called from across the saloon. She had coerced him into helping her set up the welcome home party but he wasn't the only one. The saloon was full of people excited to welcome Abigail and Cody back to town. Many people had volunteered to bring a dish and now some of the townsfolk had gathered to put up decorations. Lee had been tasked with hanging the banner some of the children had helped make.

"Right up there so that it's the first thing they see when they walk through the door," Rosemary pointed.

"Hickam, can you help me attach the other end?" Lee asked. They each grabbed an end and held it up for Rosemary to critique before securing it in place.

"Can you move it up a little bit Lee?" Rosemary directed. "Down a little, no that doesn't look right. Hickam can you bring your side down a little more." After a few more adjustments she declared it perfect and left to help Clara bring in the cake.

"The cake looks beautiful Clara," Rosemary complimented. "Abigail is going to love it."

"Thank you, Rosemary," Clara responded. The layer cake was half chocolate and half vanilla and covered with a creamy vanilla frosting. On the top Clara had written "Welcome Home Abigail and Cody!" The rest of the cake was carefully decorated with piped ruffles and flowers. "Do you need help with anything else?" she offered.

"I think we're almost ready for the party. Maybe you can help me display the rest of the food?" Rosemary asked.

After finishing his report Nathan walked back to Abigail's cafe. His conversation with Bill had surprised him. While he had gotten closer over their time working together he hadn't known just how supportive he was. He was also a little shocked by his clear distaste for Lucas. Nathan knew that Bill was like a father to Elizabeth, so his approval meant a lot to him.

Allie and Cody walked up behind him and interrupted his thoughts.

"Hi, Uncle Nathan," Allie greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Allie. Cody," Nathan said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw people scurrying into the saloon. Wanting to keep the secret Nathan opened the door of the cafe and got Cody inside before he noticed anything unusual. The three of them walked behind the curtain and found Elizabeth and Abigail talking quietly on the settee with Jack just starting to wake up from his nap on Elizabeth's lap. The women turned when they heard footsteps and smiled to see that the rest of the group had returned. When Jack saw Nathan he immediately crawled out of Elizabeth's lap and ran over to him.

"Want Na'tan," he cried. Nathan lifted him up and made a funny face at the toddler causing him to giggle.

Elizabeth beamed seeing Nathan with her son. "Abigail, would you and Cody like to join us at the saloon? Lucas is having a family night so a lot of the kids from school will be there," she explained knowing that the normal atmosphere there wasn't very family-friendly.

"Can we Mom?" Cody asked. While he had been able to see some of his closest friends there were many kids who he hadn't been able to see yet.

"Of course Cody, I'd love to catch up with some friends too," Abigail agreed.

After putting on their coats the six of them walked over to the saloon. Nathan opened the door and everyone called out "surprise". Abigail was moved that most of the town had gathered in the saloon to celebrate their homecoming. They walked inside and were immediately swept up in hugs and greetings. Cody found his school friends and Abigail caught up with some of hers. After giving them a few minutes to mingle, Rosemary stood up on a chair to get the crowded room quiet so that Abigail could speak.

"Thank you everyone for coming. It means so much to me and Cody that all of you gathered here to celebrate our return to Hope Valley. We have missed all of you and are glad to be home. As you all know I left to take care of my mother, and I am happy to say that she is doing much better and will be moving here soon. I will also be returning to my role as mayor in the upcoming week. Thank you, Judge Avery, Constable Grant, and Henry Gowen for filling in for me while I was away. Thank you to Rosemary Coulter for arranging this party today and to everyone else who helped. We appreciate all of you and are so happy to be back!"

"We are so glad you and Cody are back," Rosemary said. "There's plenty of food for everyone, so please help yourselves!"

Elizabeth spotted Lucas standing alone by the bar and she raised her eyebrows and tilted her head towards him silently asking Nathan if he wanted to go over and talk to him. Nathan nodded and the couple slowly walked toward Lucas. They wanted to prove to the town that while Elizabeth and Nathan were courting there were no hard feelings. They didn't want anyone to be mad at Lucas because of them. Using the saloon for the party and then publicly talking to Lucas was a good start to mending their relationship.

"Thank you for lending the saloon for the party tonight," Elizabeth said.

"I was happy to do it. Are you enjoying yourselves?" Lucas replied.

"We are, thank you," Nathan said politely.

"Nathan, I wanted to thank you again for our conversation this morning. I have already apologized to Opal's family and talked to Lee about rebuilding the library. I truly feel bad about what happened yesterday," Lucas informed him.

"I'm sure Opal's family appreciated that and everyone will be happy to be able to use the library again. I submitted my report to Mountie Headquarters about the accidental fire in the town library. No one will be held responsible for the fire," Nathan told his former rival.

"Thank you," Lucas replied.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening," he smiled and walked away with Elizabeth.

Once they were out of earshot Elizabeth brought up her conversation with Allie. "Allie told me that Lucas was the one who caused the fire yesterday, is that true?"

"Partially. That's where I went this morning; I had to get his side of the story before I made any decisions. He didn't know that Opal had gotten stuck in the burning building. Now that he's apologized, has plans to rebuild the library, and no one got seriously hurt I didn't think it was necessary to throw him in jail.

"He didn't know about you running into the fire to rescue them?" Elizabeth questioned.

"No. At first, he blamed them for the cause of the fire, but he became very concerned when I told him Opal wound up in the infirmary," Nathan answered.

Elizabeth was shocked. "Blaming the children. That's ridiculous! I'm glad you got him to see the truth."

Not wanting to accept credit for the situation Nathan used his classic line: "Just doing my job."

"Are you ready to head home?" Nathan leaned over and asked Elizabeth. Jack was starting to doze off in his arms and he wanted to get Allie to bed soon.

Elizabeth nodded. The saloon was starting to empty and it was getting late. She turned to Abigail, "Do you want us to walk you home?"

"If it's not too much trouble. I should probably get Cody to bed. After all, it is a school night," she said, happy to be falling back into their old routines.

"I'll go find the kids," Nathan offered. He found Allie sitting away from the group with Opal and walked over to her. He could tell that something was bothering her and filed that away to talk to her about when they got home. With Allie in tow, they went over to find Cody. He said goodbye to all of his friends and the three of them made their way back to Elizabeth. They put on the coats that they had left on one of the chairs and after thanking Rosemary again stepped into the cold night. Jack, who had been woken to put his coat on, had fallen right back asleep in Nathan's arms. Elizabeth was holding his other hand with Allie and Cody walking slightly behind them and Henry and Abigail following.

"Goodnight Henry," Abigail said as they reached the cafe. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight Abigail, I'll see you tomorrow," he waved goodbye to everyone else as he turned and walked the short distance to his house.

"Bye Cody, I'll see you at school tomorrow," Allie told him and waved goodbye.

Allie took Elizabeth's other hand in hers and the four of them walked back to the rowhouses.

They walked up the steps to Elizabeth's house when Nathan asked, "Can I walk you to school in the morning?"

"Of course," Elizabeth replied with a smile. "Normally I leave around 7:20 but I don't technically have to be there until a few minutes before 8:00 if you would rather go later."

"7:20 is fine, I have to go on my rounds pretty early anyway," Nathan told her.

"I'll see you in the morning then," she said happily.

Nathan returned the smile, "Goodnight Elizabeth, I love you."

"I love you too, goodnight," Elizabeth replied. "Goodnight Allie, I'll see you at school tomorrow," she said, reaching over to hug her.

"Goodnight Elizabeth," Allie said, using the new name for her teacher. Nathan kissed the top of Jack's head and handed the sleeping boy over to his mother. With a final goodbye, Nathan and Allie walked down the rest of the rowhouses to theirs. As soon as they left Elizabeth's house Allie's face tensed and now Nathan was sure that something had upset her.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked the minute the door shut behind them.

"Nothing," Allie said, trying to hide her emotions.

"Allie, I can tell that something is wrong. Please tell me what's bothering you, maybe I can help," he told her as they walked over to the settee.

"Okay," she started, "I was really happy earlier when Aunt Rosemary, Uncle Lee, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Abigail said I could call them that. But I was thinking about it later and while I'm glad that they're part of our family you have been there for me for my whole life. Why would I call you the same thing as Lee and Bill?"

"I'm sorry, Allie." Nathan apologized. "I should have known that would upset you."

"No, calling them my uncles didn't upset me. It was calling you my uncle that bothered me." she bit her bottom lip and Nathan could tell that she still hadn't told him the full story.

"What else is bothering you?" he asked.

"Just something the other kids said at the party," she admitted.

"What did they say?" he pressed.

"They told me that because you aren't my real father you can't love me as much as a real father could," she said breaking into tears.

"Oh Allie," Nathan wrapped her into a hug. "You know that isn't true, right?"

"Yes, I know that you love me way more than my birth father ever did and it doesn't matter if you're my real father or not," she said through tears.

After she calmed down a little bit she admitted that there was still one more thing on her mind: "Cody was telling me about how Abigail adopted him and now he calls her mom. I know that this is different but do you think that you could ever adopt me?" she asked softly.

"I know I would love to adopt you and become your official father, but I don't know if it's possible. Would you like me to talk to Uncle Bill about it?"

"Yes please," she said.

"Even if I can't officially adopt you, I would be honored if you wanted to call me Dad," he whispered, trying to control his emotions.

"Really?" she asked. Nathan nodded his head and she threw her arms around him. "This is the best day ever! I love you, Dad."

"I love you too Allie, and I love being your Dad."