Author's Note:

Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review or comment on my story; I hope I have responded to all of you, and I apologise if I have missed anyone.

Quinn woke Monday morning, rested despite not getting very much sleep the night before. She had lain awake, reliving the day spent with Nathan and Allie. If she was honest, she had spent a lot more time remembering the kiss than remembering gutting the fish.

Quinn's face was hot as she thought about how quickly she had surrendered to the kiss with Nathan; undoubtedly, that wasn't proper behaviour. Hopefully, no one had seen them. Quinn wanted to talk to Nathan about what happened, and Nathan needed to talk to Allie; she hoped to spend more time with them but understood Nathan's reluctance.

Quinn laughed, wondering if Allie had been able to tell by his face what had happened. Anyone looking at her today was likely to know immediately; she had to try and wipe the silly grin from her face before facing Bill.

Quinn knew she would love working with Bill; she already enjoyed spending time with him, knowing he was nowhere near as grumpy as he pretended. Having done similar work with Sam, she hoped she could add value to Bill and make his job easier. Thinking of Bill, she quickly leapt out of bed, not wanting to be late on her first day.

After getting ready for the day, Quinn ran lightly down the stairs, keen to get to the office. "Good morning, Minnie," she called out as she jumped off the last step, heading toward the door.

"Good morning to you, Quinn," she said, smiling widely at the excited young woman in front of her. "Excited for your first day, I see, but you need to slow down for a minute; I have a message for you from Bill."

Quinn paused mid-stride, spinning back toward Minnie. "Oh, what did he say? Does he need me to do something for him on the way to work?"

Minnie smiled while reaching into her pocket, "He had three things for you," she said indulgently, "number one, he asked me to give you a key to the office," she said, placing it in Quinn's hand. "Secondly, he said there is no rush, slow down and have some breakfast before you go to work". Minnie handed her a paper bag saying, "and number three, he said you would ignore number two and to make you breakfast to go."

Laughing, Quinn said, "oh dear, how did he know? Thank you so much, Minnie, I appreciate it, and I will see you soon".

"Oh, you will, Quinn; Bill asked me to prepare lunch for you both, to be collected at 12.30," she said laughing. "I will see you then."

Quinn clutched her breakfast to her chest and ran out the door, "see you then, Minnie, have a great day."

Nathan sat across from Bill in his office, scowling at him. "What do you mean he had Quinn's name on the paperwork in his briefcase. What did it say?"

Bill scowled back at him, "That's what I am telling you; I don't know; I only caught a glimpse of her name but nothing else. He was very tight-lipped about why he was in town; I didn't get anything out of him. I did hear him ask Lucas for a room for three days which tells me whatever he is doing; he doesn't plan to stay long."

"When are you going to tell Quinn?" Nathan asked, his stomach giving a slight lurch just saying her name, and he made sure to keep his face neutral.

"Tell Quinn what?" he heard her voice say from behind him and looked at Bill, who raised his eyebrows at him as if to say, look what you've done now. Nathan realised too late Bill hadn't planned on telling Quinn anything.

"That I don't want you bringing flowers into work, they give me hay fever," Bill said gruffly.

Nathan looked at Quinn; her brow furrowed in confusion at Bill's statement. Smiling, Nathan said to Bill, "Really, Bill, you have flowers on all the tables at the cafe without a problem. I think they look nice."

"Nice? well, in that case, you can take them to the Mountie office and have them on your desk." He grumbled, "Speaking of the Mountie office, don't you have work to do there instead of disturbing me?"

"Yes, Bill, I do; I might see you later," he said, glancing at Bill. Nathan knew Bill would find him to discuss this further when Quinn couldn't overhear them. He didn't want Quinn to know about this yet. Nathan didn't want to keep secrets from Quinn, but technically there wasn't much to tell her either. He decided to leave it for now.

Nathan stood, walking toward Quinn, smiling at her. Knowing Bill couldn't see his face, he winked, causing her to blush. Nathan instantly regretted it; the flush on her cheeks reminded him of last night's kiss and her face afterwards; his hand twitched, wanting to reach out to her. Clearing his throat, he said, "I hope you have a good first day, Quinn. I wish you luck working with Bill. Don't let him scare you off."

Quinn nodded at him as he walked past her, hoping her face did not show her feelings; Nathan, as always, made her heart race. "Is there anything you need from me first thing Bill, or should I go and get settled in?"

Bill barely raised his head from the papers on his desk, saying, "settle in first; I will call when I need you."

Quinn walked out of his office toward her desk, noticing Nathan waiting for her; she smiled brightly. "Good morning, Constable. Are you responsible for Bill's mood today?"

Nathan grinned and said, "Oh, I can't take the credit for that; Bill is always grumpy first thing in the morning. You wait until you see him before his morning coffee." Lowering his voice, he leaned in and whispered, "Good Morning."

Quinn looked at him, equally as softly she said, "Good morning", her voice husky. Looking at him leaning against her desk, she finally noticed the vase of wildflowers. "Would you know how these flowers got on my desk, Constable?" she asked him, bending down to breathe in their fragrance.

Reaching out to take her hand, he said, I couldn't sleep, so I did my rounds early; I knew I needed to pick them for you as soon as I saw them. I didn't expect Bill to be here so early, and I am sorry he blamed you for bringing them."

Quinn touched his cheek lightly, "I will gladly take the blame, thank you, they are beautiful, and I will think of you every time I look at them."

Releasing her hand, Nathan said in a low voice, "then I will bring you flowers as often as I can."

"Was Allie okay when you got home last night?" Quinn queried?

Nathan chuckled, remembering Allie's reaction when he had gotten home. She had taken one look at his face and did a little happy dance. "Allie was fine, and I was right; she took one look at my face and knew something had happened; of course, I didn't go into the details", he assured her. Growing serious, he said, "we did talk about it before she went to bed, and I explained to her that I wanted to spend more time with you, that I thought you could be someone special to us." Nathan sighed, "she likes you, Quinn, but she is scared, and I don't blame her; I got it so wrong when I allowed Elizabeth to be so involved in her life."

"It's okay, Nathan, I understand." Quinn smiled. "Let Allie and I take it slow until you and I are ...Uhm." Quinn stopped, unable to think of an appropriate word without looking like she was presuming too much. It was one date and one kiss; maybe she did need to slow down.

"Oh no," Nathan teased, "lost for words, I thought it was only me that happened to." Her husky laugh floated over him, causing his heart to jump; he loved the sound of her laughter. As she swatted his arm, he laughed with her, a little louder than intended; he heard Bill call out from his office, "are you still here, Constable?"

"I better go before he comes out here and chases me off," he said. "Can I walk you home this afternoon?" he asked quickly.

Shaking her head, Quinn replied, "Nathan, you know I can see my home from here; it's just down the road."

Leaning into her, he whispered, "I know", and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. Smiling the crooked smile she loved so much, he collected his hat from her desk and said, "see you this afternoon."

Elizabeth walked briskly into town after saying goodbye to her son. After having dinner with Lucas at the Saloon last night, she decided to leave her basket of school supplies there rather than carrying them home with her. Elizabeth felt a pang of guilt that she hadn't seen Little Jack before he went to bed, having gone to the Saloon straight from School; shrugging it off, she decided to send Laura home early and spend the whole afternoon and evening with her son.

Entering the Saloon, she saw Lucas dealing with a customer at the bar. Something about the person looked familiar, and as she took several steps toward them, the man turned his head; shocked, she wondered what he was doing in Hope Valley. "Mr Lydell, is that you? What brings you to Hope Valley?" Elizabeth asked, "did my father send you here?"

Both men turned at the sound of her voice. Mr Lydell frowned at the question about his reasons for the visit to town; quickly recovering, he said, "Miss Thatcher, what a pleasure to see you. Oh dear, I am sorry, Mrs Thornton." he corrected himself. "I am here in town for your father, yes, but as I am sure you can understand, I do need to maintain his confidentiality in all matters." He addressed Lucas, looking away from Elizabeth, saying, "Thank you for recommending the cafe for breakfast. I will return to make arrangements to retrieve my vehicle."

Lucas watched him leave the Saloon, his eyes narrowed, "Mr Lydell works for your father Elizabeth?" he questioned, frowning at her. "Surely, he wouldn't send him to Hope Valley in secret if his matter was to do with you; undoubtedly, he knew you would recognise him?"

Without responding, Elizabeth said, "I will use the telephone in your office Lucas; I will ask father directly what Mr Lydell is doing in Hope Valley," she said, striding away, not waiting for permission.

"Father, I would very much like an answer," she said into the telephone, her voice sharp. "Why is Mr Lydell in Hope Valley?" Elizabeth was frustrated with her father; he had confirmed sending his Lawyer but refused to tell her why, although he did say it wasn't to do with her or Lucas.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Elizabeth, but I am not going to share the details of this business transaction with you. I need to go; I will have your mother contact you soon." Elizabeth shook her head as her father disconnected the call, holding the receiver for a few seconds before hanging it up.

Collecting her basket, she walked out of the office into the Saloon, shaking her head, letting Lucas know she had no luck with her father. "I need to go, so I am not late for School, Lucas," she said, continuing her walk to the door.

"What time will I see you this evening Elizabeth?" he asked.

Elizabeth paused and turned to him, "you won't see me here tonight, Lucas; I need to spend some time with my son. You are welcome, as always, to join us at my home." Waiting for him to respond, she knew his answer would be a no; it always was when it came to spending time with her and Jack. Elizabeth had hoped Lucas would be more comfortable around Little Jack by now, although she wasn't sure how that would happen when he spent no time with him.

Lucas started to reply but was halted by Elizabeth saying, "It's fine Lucas, I know the answer what your answer will be. Have a good day." Lucas knew she was annoyed, so he felt relieved she had let him off so lightly; he should spend time with Elizabeth and her son but wasn't comfortable around small children. As Jack got older and could express himself, Lucas would be more relaxed, he hoped.

Quinn hurried to the cafe at lunchtime to collect lunch for herself and Bill, keen to get back to work; although she looked around for a splash of red, hoping to see Nathan, she was disappointed not seeing him anywhere. As she collected lunch from Minnie, thanking her, she heard her name spoken. Looking around, Quinn couldn't tell who had said it, her eyes scanning the patrons of Abigail's to identify the speaker.

Quinn recognised most faces, even though she had been in town for a short period. Her eyes landed on a gentleman sitting alone at a table; she watched him, listening as he spoke to his server. This time it was clear that he was the one who had said her name; she heard him ask, "yes, Quinn Standing, can you direct me to where I can find her?"

Quinn slipped through the curtain into the kitchen without anyone noticing; it was her home after all. After what had happened to her following her father's death, she was cautious around strangers. Quinn would feel better if she had someone with her when the man found her, and he would; someone would eventually tell him where she worked and lived. Quinn decided to ask Bill for his help; he already knew her history, so she wouldn't have to explain it all again.

Quinn arrived back at the Judge's office where she had left Bill, bursting into his office, finding it empty. That's strange, she thought, he was here when I left, where could he have gone? Nathan, she knew, would be the best person to ask, but she hesitated.

Quinn walked outside, looking around, noticing Newton tied up in front of the Mountie office; she hadn't even seen him in her haste to get back. Quinn swallowed; she didn't want to go to the Mountie office; that was where the jail was, and she still dreamed of the sound of the cell door closing behind her.

She sighed, deciding her desire to find Bill outweighed her fear of the Mountie office; she started walking toward it. She couldn't believe she was so hesitant to go to the place where Nathan spent so much time; she would probably need to talk to him about that, and soon.

Taking a deep breath, Quinn peered through the window of the Mountie Office, trying to see if Nathan, but more importantly, Bill, was inside. Quinn leapt into the air as a voice whispered behind her, "looking for me?"

Nathan instantly regretted sneaking up on Quinn; he could see by the look on her face that he had frightened her. He reached for her, stopping, shocked as she backed away from him. "Quinn, what is it?" he said urgently, searching her face for the cause of her distress.

Bill opened the door to the Mountie office, took one look at Nathan, frozen in place, staring at Quinn, a concerned look on his face, and noticed Quinn's face white with fear. "What is going on here? What happened, Nathan?" he said, looking between the two of them.

Quinn shook her head, "it wasn't Nathan Bill, it's me; I was looking for you...I." stumbling over her words, she stopped. Quinn looked apologetically at Nathan. "I am sorry, but I need to go," she said, hurrying back to the Judge's office, leaving Bill and Nathan speechless.

Nathan could hear a ringing sound, but it didn't penetrate his thoughts; he was overwhelmed by what had happened; he needed to go to her. He started to follow her when he heard Bill ask roughly, "where do you think you're going? Answer the phone!" Nathan spun toward Bill, drawing himself up to his full height; tense with anger, through gritted teeth, he said, "I need to go after her."

Bill looked at him, eyes narrowed, voice harsh, and said, "I don't know what happened, but you need to stop and answer that phone; I will go after Quinn." Before Nathan could say a word, Bill swept out of the Mountie office, going after Quinn.