Author's Note: Special thanks to Eoin for the idea of this challenge and stretching us to go beyond the "familiar"! A special shout out to Donna and Christina for taking the time and care of walking me through this story and believing in me to see through!
Chapter One - A Dinner Between Friends
As Nathan walked away from the infirmary and headed towards the Mountie office to go find out where Henry was, Faith watched him until he disappeared inside the building. She sighed, turned to Molly, and asked, "So, what did you need to speak to me about Molly?" Molly, who had observed her friend Faith longingly watch the tall Mountie walk away, looked away from the office herself and back at Faith. Molly responded "Oh that…I was just trying to be helpful. I know how it can be, being around someone, when you have feelings for them. I just thought that I'd offer a hand, that's all." Faith thought about what her friend said, once more looking in the direction of the Mountie office herself, quietly sighed and nodded her head in understanding.
For the next few weeks, Faith kept her distance. She didn't avoid Nathan, but she didn't go out of her way to see him. Mainly, she pretty much kept to herself at either the infirmary or her apartment above it, keeping her social interactions at a bare minimum. Although, she did have Fiona over occasionally, her friend would grab something at the cafe for them both before heading over.
Knowing herself and how hard it was to move on from Carson, Faith knew that she needed to give herself time and space to simply get over this crush that she had developed for Nathan. She kept telling herself that she needed to get over the feelings that she had because Nathan was her patient. "Besides, this way, by me staying away, it gives Mei and Nathan the opportunity to develop the relationship that was starting to develop before she left" Faith thought, trying to convince herself. She had even kept her interactions with Mei to a minimum, knowing that Mei was very intuitive about matters. The way she looked at it, even though she cared for both Mei and Nathan dearly as friends, it was simply easier to not watch what she thought would be a blossoming friendship between the two of them until she got through these feelings that she had for Nathan.
For the most part, Faith felt that she had been doing a fairly good job moving on from her interest from Nathan too. He wasn't on her mind so much anymore it seemed.
One late afternoon, Faith sat her desk working on updating patient files from that day when her stomach started growling with a fierce intensity. Faith looked down at her wristwatch that her family had gone in on together for her completion at the work at the University of Chicago the year prior and she was shocked to find out that two hours had passed since Molly had left that afternoon. "Well, I guess it's time to get some dinner." Faith sighed and quickly put the files away.
As she was locking up the infirmary for the evening, Faith decided that she was tired of being cooped up alone in her apartment. So, she made her way to the cafe for some dinner. Faith was walking down the boardwalk and as she came to the end, she heard an odd sound that got her attention. She stopped in her tracks and listened intently. "Psst", she heard it again and slowly turned around. There, standing glued to the wall, stood Nathan with a wide playful grin on his face. Faith smiled in return and walked back to where Nathan was pressed up against the blue wall. "Nathan Grant! What in the world are you doing here?!" Faith asked as her eyes sparkled with amusement.
Nathan chuckled as he stood up straight from his spot against the wall and replied, "I hadn't seen you for awhile and when I saw you come out of the infirmary, I thought that I'd have a little fun." Faith crossed her arms and simply laughed as she looked up at the tall Mountie that stood before her. The butterflies started to swarm within her stomach so much so that she placed her hands over it, hoping that she could settle them down with her touch. Yet, as she looked back up at Nathan as he continued to smile down at her with his crooked grin and bright blue eyes twinkling, she was lost again. "Breathe Faith, breathe." she told herself as she felt lost in his pools of blue.
"Where are you headed currently?" Nathan asked Faith. In response, Faith smiled as she pointed towards the cafe and replied, "I was heading towards the cafe to get some dinner. Opening and heating up another can of beans just does not sound so appetizing tonight. Even that takes too much energy to cook for how tired I am. Knowing me and the way I cook, I would find some way to mess up even those up this evening." She chuckled at her last comment and Nathan, seeing the way her blue eyes sparkled as she laughed and hearing her genuine hearty chuckle, joined right along with her. Once the chuckling faded, Nathan thought to himself for a moment, then looked back at the pretty blonde doctor and asked, "Would you like some company this evening?"
Faith smiled and responded, "Sure but don't you have dinner plans with Allie?" Nathan quickly shook his head and said, "No, she went over to the Weiss' house for dinner. I just thought that it would be a great opportunity for us to catch up." Faith nodded and gestured for them to start walking towards the cafe. The two chitchatted as they walked the short distance over towards the cafe.
When they got there, Nathan opened the door for Faith. She smiled up at him and graciously thanked him as she walked past him. Once inside, Anna came over to the pair and escorted them to a quiet corner table. Once she took their drink orders and left, the two of them looked at one another and smiled.
"So, how are your headaches?" Faith asked as Anna brought her tea and Nathan's coffee. He took a long swig from his coffee cup, set it down, looked at the young doctor and said, "Better, but Faith, we are having dinner. We're not in the infirmary. You're off the clock. Relax and let's just simply catch up, what do you say?" Faith smiled, nodded picked up her teacup and held it up saying, "Sounds good to me." Nathan smiled and said, "So, tell me about your cooking. You mentioned earlier that with your cooking you would find some way to even mess up cooking beans. What did you mean by that?"
Faith chuckled and responded, "Ha! I am surprised that you haven't heard about it, knowing the kind of Mountie that you are. I may have a talent in medicine but when it comes to cooking, I can't cook a lick." She took a sip of her tea and once again chuckled at what she had just shared. Nathan smiled and before he could say anything in return, she set her teacup down, put her hand to her chin and added, "There was that one time that Elizabeth helped me make a shepherd's pie and we were supposed to try to make some other meals together like spaghetti, but as you know, life gets busy, and it didn't happen. So usually, it's either a can of beans or food from the café or the saloon for me."
Nathan nodded his head, chuckling himself and responded, "You know if it was just me still, the way that I was before Allie came into my life, I'd probably be the same way. I wasn't much more talented than you in those days. Yet, caring for Allie, you could say pushed me out of my comfort zone and opened my skills slightly more. I can fry a fish well and make up a hearty batch of pancakes – these, I would say, are my current strengths." Faith nodded her head as she listened to Nathan share, enjoying how there was always a twinkle in his eye when he spoke of Allie. Nathan smiled brightly and shared, "One thing that is great is that my parents taught Allie some new recipes when she spent the summer with them. I have to say even though she is still new to the experience of cooking, Allie is becoming quite a good cook."
The two sat there just chatting about cooking, some of their favorite homemade meals and their favorites from the café and saloon and Allie's attempts at learning to cook.
Faith felt relaxed as they visited and realized just how easy it was to talk to Nathan even about everyday, ordinary life. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't feel the time pass by or the people around them who were watching their interactions during their meal. It wasn't until Anna came up to the table to clear the dishes and ask if they wanted any dessert that they even took in their surroundings. Most of the dinner crowd had left and only a few other patrons remained. They order two pieces of Minnie's pie of the day and a refill on their beverages.
Once they got their dessert, Nathan brought up the gooey butter cake and how much he had enjoyed it when Joseph had first made it for the café. Faith shared that she had never gotten an opportunity to try that. "What?! You never tried it? Why not?" Nathan anxiously inquired. Faith thought about it for a moment and answered, "I think that they were out when I finally had the opportunity to make it over here that day. Every time since then, by the time I get here, they are usually out of it when Joseph makes it. It is disappointing too because Fiona raves about it so much. It's funny because as often as she brings dinner over from the café to my place, she's never brought that. My bet is, she eats it all up before she gets to my place." She winked at Nathan and laughed as she did. Nathan joined in and commented in return, "Yeah, I could see her doing that too. That first day when Joseph made it, she took my piece right from my hands and started nibbling on it like it was hers. She blamed it on being nervous, but I'm not so sure." He winked back at her and the two burst out laughing in between their bites of pie.
Anna came over to let them know that the café was closing and that she needed to settle their bills. Shocked that they had stayed so long, they looked at one another and then back at Anna, apologizing for staying so late. Nathan offered to get Faith's bill, but she shook her head and held up her hand to politely decline. "Well, could I walk you back home at least?", Nathan offered as he helped her on with her coat noticing the scent of honeysuckle. Faith turned around, smiled, and responded, "Sure, I would like that, Nathan. Thank you."
The two slowly walked back towards the apartment above the infirmary continuing to chat about things. When the pair stopped outside of Faith's door, she turned and looked up at Nathan. He was looking down at her, smiling with a curious look in his eyes that Faith couldn't quite figure out. They just stood for a moment with their eyes locked on one another until Faith broke eye contact and reached into her satchel in search of her key. Once she found it, she pulled it from her bag, held it up with a smile and said, "Thank you for joining me this evening for dinner Nathan! It was wonderful catching up with you."
Still looking intently at her, Nathan had a thoughtful look on his face. After a moment, Nathan cleared his throat and looked at the pretty young doctor once more and asked, "Listen Faith… do you think that you would like to join me again for lunch tomorrow?"
Surprised by the question, Faith stood there for a moment, saying nothing. Then she took a deep breath, smiled, and responded, "That sounds lovely Nathan! Thank you for the offer!"
She turned around and fumbled with the key and the lock. Faith couldn't be more thankful for more of the distraction while Nathan stood there.
When the latch became undone, Faith turned to Nathan and said her goodbyes. Once inside, she leaned against the closed door. She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she knew that she needed to take it easy and not read too much into anything. She had to be careful with her own heart. Faith closed her eyes and said a little prayer. Once she finished, Faith walked up the steps of her apartment.
Nathan stood outside on the boardwalk of the infirmary for a while after Faith had left, deep in thought. He had been excited to see her coming down the boardwalk earlier. And then, during their conversation there, he felt led to invite himself to join her for dinner. It had been enjoyable spending time with her. When they stood at the door, he had a sudden urge to invite her to lunch the next day. He wasn't quite sure where all of this was coming from, but he decided to go with his instincts this time through. He remembered all too well what happened when he didn't do anything when he had something to say. He still attributed Elizabeth and Lucas developing their relationship because he sat on things too long with Elizabeth.
"I went from too little, too late to too much, too late." Nathan said to himself under his breath. He let out a heavy sigh, shook his head as he looked at the apartment door of the infirmary in front of him. All he knew was he missed the beautiful doctor more than he had realized when he had seen her today and simply wanted to spend as much time as he possibly could. Whatever that meant in this situation could be figured out another time. He smiled to himself and then started on his way back to his rowhouse.
When Nathan walked in the door, Allie was sitting stretched out on the couch with a blanket over her legs and an open book in her lap. She crossed her arms, giving him an annoyed look and said, "Where were you until this late hour? You got off work hours ago or did you stay late in the office again like you tend to do when I go to Opal's? You didn't leave a note which makes me assume that you haven't even been home until now."
Nathan simply smirked and went straight to the coat rack to hang his campaign hat and serge. He sat on the chair nearby to remove his boots as well. Once he was more comfortable, he made his way over to the couch and moved his daughter's legs to sit down. Allie watched her father, waiting for him to answer and when he didn't after he sat down, she impatiently put out her arms, palms up and excitedly asked, "Well?!"
"That's a deep subject." Nathan responded with a big grin on his face as Allie once more crossed her arms in front of her and rolled her eyes at her father. He chuckled at her, patted her knee, then sat back on the couch and closed his eyes. "Are you going to tell me why you were out so late on a school night Dad? Really, this isn't like you. Well, it's not like you not to tell me." she said looking over at her father waiting for some hint of what he had done that evening.
As if he could feel her eyes penetrating his very soul, Nathan opened his eyes and glanced over as his teenage daughter. He shook his head and chuckled, then spoke, "Allie I simply had dinner in town at the café and then walked back home. That's it." Allie scowled at her father, feeling like there was something that he was leaving out of the conversation.
"Dad, you are always home before I get home from Opal's when I have dinner over there. Why aren't you tonight? I just find that odd." she asked suspiciously. Nathan reached out, patted his daughter's knee again and answered, "Allie, I lost track of time while I was at the café, that's all. Hey, we should head to bed soon; it's a school night." With that, he stood up and stretched his tall body before moving towards the stairs. Allie just shook her head as she stood and folded the blanket, placing it onto the back of the couch. She marked her spot in her book and set it onto the end table next to the couch. Allie suspected there was something more but could see that she was getting nowhere this evening with her father. Maybe tomorrow he'd share, she thought to herself.
Allie met Nathan at the stairs, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she climbed up to go to bed and Nathan followed behind her.
Nathan laid down in bed and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't like not sharing with Allie but when it came to his interactions with women, he wanted to be careful. Allie wanted a mother so bad; he had seen that with the whole thing with Elizabeth. She was always so drawn to any woman that he had any type of friendship with, remembering how she had been with Mei over the past year. Thankfully though, after he had explained things about his friendship with Mei, Allie understood that situation a little more. Yet, Nathan was concerned that anything out of the normal with Faith could get Allie's hopes up too soon. He wasn't even sure what this was with Faith, but he wanted to explore it a little more before he tried to communicate about it with his daughter. He knew that it would have to be soon though because Allie was already sensing that something was different with Nathan. He sighed and rolled over onto his side. As he closed his eyes, he imagined a petite blonde doctor with golden tendrils around her face and bright blue and a smile that could light up a room. He was looking forward to lunch with her tomorrow. Nathan smiled and fell fast asleep.