A/N: This story takes place a few months after the S10 finale. It's my imagining what could happen and it definitely falls somewhere in between what probably will happen and what I wish would happen. I'd say, it might be a bit far from what I wish would happen, but I'm just trying to be a little realistic. I'll save those wishes for after S11. I've drawn on the S11 poster and the one S11 pic that's been shared from the QOH - which many of us imagine might be when Elizabeth reveals her new look - to develop my story. Also, this is more like two chapters, but I don't trust myself to not delete half of this trying to move it to a new doc.

Chapter 1

After finally having a great nights sleep in his own bed, Nathan opened his eyes and stretched. He was loathe to get up, but coffee and breakfast was necessary. He knew that Allie had already left, as she was scheduled to watch Little Jack at the cafe with Angela today. He wasn't clear on why Elizabeth needed a sitter, but Allie was thrilled about it.

Once he was dressed, Nathan headed down to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Allie had made him some biscuits - all he had to do was fry up some eggs. At the bottom of the steps, he noticed something on the floor just inside the front door. An envelope with his name on it and he recognized that handwriting.

Elizabeth. He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that this was going to require some sustenance. With great restraint, he set the envelope down on the table and went about making coffee & breakfast.

Once he'd eaten, he refilled his mug and reached for the envelope. Hesitating for just a moment, he broke the seal and pulled out a letter - two sheets of stationery, and caught a whiff of lavender and vanilla. Next thing he knew, he'd buried his nose in the pages. Jerking them away - he laughed at himself, relieved that he was alone!

He picked up his coffee and moved to the sitting room to settle in his chair. Taking a deep breath, he unfolded the letter...

My Dearest Nathan,

You are probably wondering why I'm writing you a letter when you just live down the road from me. It would make more sense to just say what I need to say in person. But, the thing is, we seem to see one another often, but not for very long and rarely with any degree of privacy.

So, rather than waiting, I had some things that I wanted to tell you that I need to make certain that you know.

I'm not sure if you're aware, but I've been meeting with Minnie since last fall and she's been helping me to work through some deep seated issues that have I have developed since Jack's death. I realized, right before breaking off my engagement, that my avoidance in dealing with these things had caused me to hurt so many people. Rosemary, Lucas, Henry, Bill, and most of all, you and Allie.

You see, Nathan...

Wow! This is even hard for me to do on paper, because I'm afraid of what you're going to say and if I even have any right.

Nathan, years ago, you asked me what was in my heart. I doubt that I would have even been able to identify it back then. By the time I could, I was paralyzed by fear. You see, I broke into a million pieces when Jack died and I was terrified of putting my heart at risk of being broken like that ever again.

Everything I've done for the past three or so years has been out of self preservation or fear. I refused to put my heart at risk of being broken like that again. Last fall, it all finally caught up with me.

I can tell you now what is in my heart, or rather who is there and has been all along. It's YOU, Nathan. As I said, I may have absolutely no right to say this, but we are friends and I will not, CANNOT, keep this from you anymore.

I would like to ask you to come to my home this afternoon so that we can have a face to face conversation. I have hopes, but no expectations of you. I do not want to lose your friendship over this. I don't want to say anything more without letting you speak.

I will see you at the council meeting that's been called for this afternoon and you can let me know if you're available. Oh, and there will be banana bread...

Yours always,

Elizabeth

The pages fell into Nathan's lap, his heart felt caught in his throat. He'd begun to wonder, but hadn't even dared to hope. Closing his eyes, he took some deep, even breaths to try to calm his racing heart.

He knew how he felt, as those feelings - while tidily locked away - had always been there. He'd resigned himself to being a 'treasured friend' and had fully expected to do what he could to avoid going to her wedding...and then she'd broken things off with Lucas.

He'd been so intensely busy since the election with Lucas being from Hope Valley, the Pinkertons and the water issue as well as Prohibition and bootlegging. Now, maybe, he could see that it was some sort of blessing in disguise. Elizabeth had certainly been busy while he'd been otherwise occupied.

Blowing out a breath, he glanced at the clock. He had just enough time to stop in at the office to finish his last report and maybe grab lunch with Bill before the meeting just after the noon rush.

He went to the secretary and pulled out a piece of paper and an envelope. He wrote just five words:

Dearest Elizabeth,

Yes.

Always, Nathan

After tucking it in an envelope, and putting her name on the front, he headed down the lane towards town. He'd planned to leave it under her front door as she had his...but when he got close, he saw Rosemary scurrying from Elizabeth's home into her hers, a minute later she came back out to rush back to Elizabeth's. By that time, he was upon her.

Rosemary saw him and froze, a frown marring her brow. "Nathan Grant, WHAT are you doing here?" she demanded. He noticed her slip her hand behind her back. Definitely up to something.

"Uh, heading into the office? Then the council meeting." he saw her relax a bit. Oh yeah, she was caught in the act of something. He'd leave her to it, whatever it was.

As she was about to re-enter Elizabeth's house, he held up the envelope. "Would you please pass this on to Elizabeth for me? It's important." he added the last word to ensure that it made it directly into Elizabeth's hands.

At that, a sparkle entered Rosemary's eyes. Calculating, definitely calculating. Made him squirm a bit, though he'd never let her see it. With her free hand she reached out and actually snatched the envelope from him. "Of course, Nathan!" she trilled and immediately turned and headed up Elizabeth's porch steps. "See you this afternoon..." she sang, and with one last toothy smile, she slammed the door.

"Well, that was strange." he muttered on a laugh as he headed for town. He decided he'd take a few minutes and visit with Newton because horses just weren't weird.

xxxxxxxxx

Rosemary had just breezed out to gather Goldie and head into town and Elizabeth finally had a moment to herself. Fiona had left awhile ago and promised to be back soon to collect her.

Before she took one last look at herself, she picked up the envelope from Nathan that she'd refused to open in front of prying eyes. Her heart skipped a few beats as she opened it.

One sheet. Five words. Infinite possibilites...

Dearest Elizabeth,

Yes.

Always, Nathan

She put a hand over her heart with a sigh. She knew it wasn't anything definitive, but he hadn't refused to come and have this talk with her. Minnie had promised to keep Allie and Jack occupied if Nathan agreed. She said they would keep them all evening, if necessary.

After gently running her fingers over Nathan's writing, she tucked the note back into the envelope and put it into her journal.

Then she took a deep breath and turned to approach the full length mirror, closing her eyes quickly to compose herself. On the exhale, she slowly opened them. She took in the bobbed locks and then the lovely soft pink top and shortened skirt, right down to the burgundy low heeled shoes. Her heart was racing. She'd actually done it!

The change inside of her had been a continuous thing since last fall when she'd called off her wedding and Lucas had become Governor. Once things had begun to settle down - well as much as they could settle down, considering that having the new Governor a Hope Valley resident created much more work for many in town - she'd started to process her feelings. Not so much about the broken engagement, as she'd had a peace about that decision right away. No, there were those deeply buried feelings for Nathan and the paralyzing fear that had put them there that she'd been working through.

During these months, though Nathan had been incredibly busy, they seemed to be drawn, continuously - as if by a magnet - to the same places at the same time. It had gotten to the point that the two would simply chuckle and one would joke about the other 'following them'. It did give them plenty of chances to simply talk, well - that and the amount of time that Allie and Jack had been spending together. Allie had even begun to ask to stay with the Thorntons when her father was gone and if she didn't ask, Little Jack did. But none of these things had given them a real chance to clear any air between them. No privacy.

She started at a brisk knock on her door. That would be Fiona. She called out to her friend to come in. Today was the day that she'd make her 'reveal'. She wanted her outside to reflect her new inside. Fiona was here to drive her over to the Queen of Hearts where there was an 'emergency town council meeting' to discuss the Governor's next visit. She now knew that Nathan would certainly be there, though Rosemary had sworn to track him down and drag him there otherwise.

Fiona rushed inside and stopped, clapping her hands together in delight. "Oh, Elizabeth! You really do look fabulous!" she said while circling her and tweaking her hair; checking the hem of the skirt.

Stepping back, Fiona declared, "You're ready, well your look is ready. Now, are you ready? Because everyone is at the saloon and it's time to go. You are going to make a splash! And, Elizabeth, Nathan would love your look if you were wearing a feed sack, and you know it!"

Elizabeth had never even mentioned her feelings for Nathan to Fiona, but her perceptive friend obviously missed nothing. Fiona held out her arm, a questioning look on her lovely face. Elizabeth took a deep breath and nodded. "It's now or never. Besides, this hair would take a year or more to grow back out - and I can't hide out here forever. Let's do this!"

Fiona stopped and held up one finger, then opened the front door a bit, looking both ways, nodded and held up her arm again. The two women rushed out to Henry's car and on to Elizabeth's future.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Nathan stood by Bill, along with Rosemary, Goldie in her pram, Mike, Minnie and Florence, while Lee was seated in a sitting area at the Queen of Hearts. They were assured that at least Fiona and Elizabeth were still expected.

He glanced over and noticed, once again, Rosemary looking at him oddly. There was that gleam in her eyes. He quickly averted his gaze. She was most definitely up to something. This had to be the third or fourth time he'd seen it. It was almost a knowing look and it didn't make a lick of sense.

He tried to focus on something Bill was saying when the front door opened. He had no idea what happened after that because there was Elizabeth, and whoa! She was a vision. He took her in, starting with her hair, which was bobbed, softly curling and, well, her skirt was shortened. He tried to not let his gaze linger, but...her ankles! And, most of all, she seemed to be glowing from the inside out and her beautiful eyes were trained directly on him.

Instantly, he was reminded of the day he'd seen her in the hideous wedding dress. Only she could make that travesty of silk and taffeta look like Cinderella's ballgown. But there was absolutely nothing hideous about this look - quite the opposite. Quite frankly, he was rendered speechless.

Florence and Minnie quickly converged on Elizabeth. Nathan glanced at Bill - who merely smirked at him, so he obviously knew about this and Rosemary was wearing a similar look. The woman may have been an actress, but she'd certainly never be able stand up to questioning.

Elizabeth allowed herself to get swept up in Minnie and Florence's excitement, though she couldn't imagine that Florence never had an inkling. The woman rarely missed anything going on in her town. Minnie was simply thrilled to finally see the outward transformation.

Her eyes searched out and landed on Nathan - who, as it happened, was still staring at her. She was relieved to see his half smile and a twinkle in his eyes. He really was looking at her like he had the day he'd found her in that meringue puff of a wedding gown. Like he'd never seen anyone so beautiful. It made her heart begin to race even more. She smiled back at him.

Somehow the two of them managed to get through the meeting - which was really not an emergency and mostly routine. They discussed Lucas's upcoming visit and also the renaming of the 'saloon' to The Hope Springs Inn & Restaurant. With prohibition - having a saloon was not legal. The 'emergency' status of the meeting had been concocted to make sure that Nathan made it to Elizabeth's reveal.

Afterwards, Fiona marched right up to Nathan, hand on her hip, and stared him straight down. Eyebrow raised, she said, "Well? What are you going to do now? Don't mess this one up, Grant." then she marched away. Nathan simply chuckled, shaking his head. Fiona was nothing if not direct.

Across the room, Bill stood with Elizabeth. He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Um, you really do look lovely." Clearing his throat yet again, he decided to go out on a limb. With a hand on her shoulder he said, "Elizabeth, you and Nathan have been dancing around one another long enough. Maybe you should make the first move. You may need to with him this time around. It's time you two started dancing together." He squeezed her shoulder and walked away, complaining about allergies as he swiped his eyes.

Mouth open, Elizabeth stared after him as he stopped to talk to Mike and Lee. Bill rarely handed out advice, especially on matters of the heart. Trying to get a hold of her racing heart, she considered what he'd said. She didn't think that he even knew that this is exactly what she'd planned to do if Nathan were receptive. That is, unless Nathan told him about her letter and knowing him, she strongly doubted it.

The room had begun to clear out. Mike was heading back to the kitchen to discuss the dinner service with Gustav and the staff...which left only herself and Nathan. Standing about 10 feet apart. He smiled and slowly started walking towards her, hands in his pockets, until he stood right in front of her.

"Amazing, Lizbeth. You look truly amazing." he said softly. Again, with Nathan, she felt seen. He had a way of doing that like no one else in her life had ever done.

Elizabeth gave him a small smile and whispered her thanks, then worked up some nerve to continue "Are you ready to head to my house now?"

He pretended to consider this, then with feigned innocence, "Will there really be banana bread?"

Oh, two could play at this game! She widened her eyes and covered her mouth...as if she'd forgotten all about it. They both laughed. Because he knew she was bluffing.

"Of course there will be." she grinned.

He put his arm out and tucked hers through it. "Well, then, let us take a walk."

Her heart skipped as they made contact. It had honestly not happened in quite some time, the physical contact. It was always the same. She no longer planned to deny, bury it or write it off or hide from it. Nathan affected her, deeply.