Hey, my beautiful heartie family! I know it's been a long time. I have no excuse other than school haha. I got inspired over the weekend with the plot twist in the recent episode and Thanksgiving weekend and all. So here is a quick one-shot for you of our favourite teacher-mountie duo (and our little Grant family).

Hope you enjoy it! :)

Elizabeth gently closed the large schoolhouse doors behind her as she finished her last-minute cleaning. Allie and little Jack had headed home already. Standing at the top of the stairs, Elizabeth took a deep breath and looked out at the view from the schoolhouse. Nothing beats the feeling of going home after a successful teaching day - the weather is so beautiful too. Elizabeth's heart filled with gratitude as she looked down at the field filled with flowers, chirping birds and tall green grass. A gentle rustle and bustle could be heard in the background coming from the town as people finished up their day.

Elizabeth walked down the steps with a basket of grading in one arm and craft supplies in the other and headed towards the rowhouse.

As she reached the door she could hear the blissful sound of kids giggling from the other side of her door. Taking a deep satisfied breath she reached for the knob and opened the door. The sight of a warm house and little Jack and Allie playing a game of hide-and-seek tag greeted her as she laid her baskets on the table.

"Hope you didn't have too much fun without me" Elizabeth joked as she washed her hands at the kitchen sink.

"I'm the hider!" Jack exclaimed excitedly.

"I promise I won't lose him this time" Allie added joshingly.

"Did you finish your homework?" Elizabeth asked

"I helped Jack finish his and started mine…" Allie replied. "Oh right! Dad was here earlier and said he would be out later than usual and to not wait for him with dinner." she continued.

"Oh… okay." Elizabeth sighed, a little disappointment noted on her breath.

Nathan had been busy with a recent case out of town and often came home late these days.

Later, Elizabeth finished dinner and put the dishes away as Jack tugged at her apron.

"What's up, buddy? I'm almost done clearing the table… How about you grab that cup over there?" Elizabeth said, attempting to get him off of her so she could finish up. Allie had gone upstairs to finish her homework for the day. Elizabeth dried her hands and picked Jack up with a huff. She didn't have time to wash the dishes but told herself she would get to it later.

"Let's get ready for bed buddy," she said with a smile. Although tired, she was always happy to spend time with the kids. Glancing up at the clock, she thought, Where is Nathan so late? He must have had to go out of town. She then headed upstairs, with a little Jack hanging from her hip.

Allie was just leaving her room and headed to go get her pyjamas. Elizabeth helped Jack pick his pyjamas today.

"Allie," Elizabeth called out. "Yea!" Allie echoed from the other room. "What time did your dad say he would be home?" Elizabeth continued. "He didn't say," Allie responded.

Elizabeth pouted, pulled out the kid's toothbrushes and went to the washbasin. Little Jack still needed help brushing his teeth, but he was getting better.

"You need to brush all the way to the back," Elizabeth gently reminded with a smile.

Just then she heard the front door shut. "Dad!" Jack immediately tossed his toothbrush and ran toward the stairs.

"Hi, my man! Trying to escape from mom I see," Nathan greeted enthusiastically. Elizabeth had managed to grab the tail end of Jack's top just before he made it to the top of the stairs.

"Sorry I'm home late again, I was hoping I would catch the kids before bed," Nathan said with a knowing look on his face.

"It's okay, we were just brushing our teeth," Elizabeth responded understandingly.

"I'll change, and wash up I just wanted to say 'hi' first," Nathan continued.

"Sounds good," Elizabeth responded.

After putting the kids to bed, Elizabeth headed downstairs to do the dishes. As she walked down she could hear Nathan clamouring downstairs. Walking up behind him Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind, resting her head on his back.

"I see you beat me to it... thank you," Elizabeth said with a smile. Nathan smiled "Of course," and continued to dry the remaining dishes with a clingy Elizabeth on his back. Once finished, Nathan looked down and grabbed Elizabeth's hands from his waist, giving them a gentle kiss before turning around.

"How was your day?" he said quietly, tucking a piece of Elizabeth's hair behind her ear.

"It was good, I have some grading to do tonight though. How was yours? Why were you out so late again?" Elizabeth responded quickly.

Nathan smiled at her quick questions, he knew they were coming. "I just had to help Bill finish wrapping up the case in Rock Creek. Nothing serious just tedious paperwork that needed to be done..." he responded, "Good news is I won't have to be out so late anymore now that it's finally over with," he continued.

"I'm glad," Elizabeth responded as she drew him into a hug. Nathan just smiled and rested his chin on the top of her head while gently running his hand up and down her back.

"I have to finish some grading, are you staying up?" Elizabeth asked. She grabbed her basket of papers and headed to the satee, placing the basket on the coffee table.

"I'll stay up for a bit and keep you company," Nathan responded. He knew she wouldn't ask him to, but she wanted to spend some quality time with him, and he honestly wanted to spend time with her too. They had been missing each other all week due to work.

"I'd like that," Elizabeth smiled. Nathan sat down beside her on the satee and wrapped his hand around her free arm resting his chin on her shoulder.

He watched over her shoulder as she diligently circled, underlined and wrote feedback in fine-line blue pen.

"Would you like me to get you a tea or something?" Nathan asked after a few minutes of silence.

"No, it's okay," Elizabeth responded, "Thank you though," she patted his hand with her other hand.

Elizabeth had been grading for a while and was nearing the end of her stack. She felt Nathan's grip relax on her arm and his breathing had slowed. She put down her pen and looked over at him asleep on her shoulder. She ran her free hand over his hair. He opened his eyes and sat up running his hands through his hair.

"Sorry," he said, slightly embarrassed, "I guess I'm more tired than I thought,"

"Nothing to be sorry about," Elizabeth said, as she squeezed his hand, "I'm just glad you are home,"

Nathan leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "How much do you have left?" he nodded over towards the coffee table.

"I just have a couple more... you can head upstairs, I'll join you in a minute," she said with a gentle smile.

Nathan ruffled her hair playfully, stood up and gave her a kiss on the top of the head before walking over to the kitchen. "I'll wait for you," he replied while pouring a couple of glasses of water.

Elizabeth smiled and smoothed her hair before getting back to her last bit of marking.

Thank you for keeping my family safe and giving me so many blessings. I have so much to be thankful for. She silently prayed in her head as she finished marking the last page.