Having been told in a letter about their daughter's third marriage, neither William nor Grace was surprised when Elizabeth introduced Nathan as her husband. What he was surprised about was the fact that his daughter was married again so soon after divorcing her second husband. Not that he had thought much of Lucas Bouchard, even before this had happened. Despite his charm, William had noticed when they had visited Hamilton that Lucas did not consider himself Jack's father. The man had given little attention to the boy. Though Lucas had come off charming that charm had seemed fake to William.

Despite that, William had not thought the man capable of physical abuse. However, though vague, Elizabeth had told them that it had been physical abuse that had led to her divorce. Even without details, William had seen red upon reading that. If Lucas Bouchard had not already been in jail, William would have made sure that was where the man ended up.

As for her quick remarriage, Elizabeth had given even fewer details. Feeling guilty about not protecting his daughter from Bouchard, William was determined to look into this new arrangement. His wife had insisted on coming along when he had told her he was driving to Hope Valley to check out the situation for himself. If someone else was trying to take advantage of his little girl, William planned to make sure that man would be sorry for even thinking about making the attempt. He had failed Elizabeth once. He would not fail her a second time.

However, at first glance nothing seemed amiss. Elizabeth and her new husband seemed comfortable with each other as the strode across the yard toward him. William could see the silent plea in his daughter's eyes as she introduced them to be kind to the man she was introducing them to. As for Nathan, the man held his gaze and firmly shook his hand. The fact that the man was a Mountie told William the man had integrity even if he wasn't sure how he felt about Elizabeth being with another Mountie.

"Where are the children?" Grace asked, looking around.

"Ally took Jack to pick berries. They should be back soon. Would you and Father like to go inside to get something to drink?"Elizabeth invited.

"Why don't you and your mother go inside and talk, Elizabeth? I think I would like to have a chat with Nathan alone."

William noticed the nervous look on Elizabeth's face as she looked from him to her husband. Nathan simply gave her a subtle nod.

"All right," Elizabeth acquiesced, leading her mother into the house.

"Could I show you around a little while we talk, sir?" Nathan suggested.

William nodded. He could tell the tour would not take long but it would give them something to do rather than stare at each other. Nathan headed toward what was clearly the barn first.

"I guess you are wondering at the circumstances that led to me marrying Elizabeth right after her divorce," Nathan said as they walked across the yard.

William smiled at Nathan's directness. He liked that about the man.

"I am," William replied. Choosing to be just as direct he added, "I want to make sure you are not taking advantage of my daughter when she is emotionally vulnerable."

"Having a daughter myself, I can understand and respect that, sir," Nathan replied. "I also want to assure you that I have the upmost respect for your daughter and I will treat her that way."

"Why did the two of you get married?" William asked.

If he were honest, William would have expected Nathan to try to dodge the question. To his surprise, his new son-in-law did not try to change the topic though he did not answer the question right away.

"What has Elizabeth told you?" Nathan asked.

"Elizabeth wrote to us and told us that Lucas had been abusive toward her and Jack. She said that she would tell us the details at a later time but that she wanted us to know that thanks to people who cared about her that they were both safe. She said that part of the sentencing included a divorce settlement and a future restraining order. As for marrying you, she simply said she didn't think she could support herself and Jack alone and that you had offered to marry her and support them. So perhaps my question should be, why did you marry my daughter, Nathan?"

They had reached the barn. Seeing him, Newton had let out a whinny. Nathan walked over to the horse. They both knew the offer of a tour had simply been an excuse to not stand facing each other and having this conversation. Even as he rubbed Newton's neck, Nath looked over at William. He held the man's gaze as he answered the man's question.

"I love your daughter," Nathan told him. "I have since I started falling for her shortly after moving here. I couldn't stop loving her any more than I could stop myself for falling for her in the first place. I could not stand by and watch her suffer without offering her my support and friendship."

"So, this was not a marriage based on love?"

"Not in the traditional sense," Nathan replied. "I love and respect your daughter. I will be there in whatever manner she needs me to be."

"And if you grow tired of being married to a woman who doesn't return your love are you going to go looking for fulfillment elsewhere?"

Again, William watched Nathan, knowing that the man's reaction would tell him just as much as his answer would. Even before asking it, he knew it was a tough question. He knew that Nathan could easily take offense to it. Perhaps he even should take offense to it

"I vowed to take Elizabeth as my wife through better and through worse, in sickness and in health. I will uphold that vow."

"And what if she decided she was not happy? What if she fell in love with someone else?"

William saw the pain in the man's eyes at the thought. That told William exactly what he needed to know. This man truly did love his daughter.

"I would let her go," Nathan told him."I want nothing more than for Elizabeth to be happy again."

William nodded. "Either you simply know the right words to say or you truly do love my daughter. Given your profession, I am inclined to believe it is the latter," he told him. "While I have my reservations about Elizabeth marrying another Mountie, I do have a respect for the men who choose to wear the uniform. I appreciate you answering my questions and not dodging them. I do wish my daughter had not gone through what brought her to this point. I am hoping she confesses to her mother exactly what that was, but I do appreciate the fact that you respect Elizabeth enough that you answered my questions while respecting her right to reveal the details of the situation as she sees fit."

Nathan did not respond right away. William watched as the man clearly worked through some surprise of his own.

"Thank you, I think," Nathan finally said.

William chuckled. He had to admit talking with Nathan was kind of refreshing compared to the fake business types he usually spoke with. Even Sir Lionel tended to put on a show more often than not.

Reaching out, William clapped Nathan on a shoulder. "I hope, you and Elizabeth end up having a happy marriage, no matter how that looks. At least I know she is with a man who will love, respect, and support her. That puts my heart at ease."

"It might also relieve you to know that come September, I will no longer be with the Mounties. I decided that I needed to be more a part of my daughter's life now that she is older. Now, with Elizabeth and Jack a part of my life, I am more certain it is the right decision."

"It is a bit of a relief," William admitted, thinking of how devastated his daughter had been when Jack had died. "Have you figured out what you are going to do?"

"I have always enjoyed working with wood," Nathan replied. "I have a feeling at the beginning I will be doing a lot of furniture but I hope that with time I might be able to do more plaques and carvings which are where my true passion is."

William was intrigued. He also wanted to offer help, though he knew he could not do so before knowing if Nathan had any talent in the field he wanted to enter. William had worked too hard on his reputation in the business world to risk it on a whim.

"Do you have any pieces of your work that you could show me?" William asked, knowing that simply offering money would not be well received. However, William hoped that if his help was business related, Nathan would not take offense to it.

Nathan nodded. "I have a chair in the work shop that is almost done," Nathan told him, motioning for William to follow him.

As they stepped out of the barn, Ally and Jack walked into the yard from on of the paths through the woods. Spotting Nathan, Jack handed his sister his basket of berries and hurried across the yard.

"Nathan!" the boy called happily.

As William watched Nathan kneel down and greet his grandson with open arms, he was even more certain that at least his daughter and grandson were in a good situation. Elizabeth and Jack would be well taken care of. His grandson would have a good father figure in his life. With any luck, William hoped that Elizabeth would recognize what her son already saw - that Nathan was a man worthy of her love.

Sitting at the diningroom table, Elizabeth's clasped her hands together so hard that they were hurting. Though she had not been able to put her story onto paper for her parents, now that they were here, she knew her mother had deserved the truth. Elizabeth had done just that. She had poured out all that had happen - Lucas' abusive behavior, losing the baby, the events leading to Lucas' arrest and even her suicide attempt. Never had she felt so ashamed, but Elizabeth knew her parents needed to know. They needed to know that Nathan was an honorable, kind and generous man who had saved her from the darkness. They needed to know that if there was any blame that it was on her and her only.

"Oh, Elizabeth," Grace said as Elizabeth stopped speaking. Reaching out, she rested a hand on her daughter's arm. "No wonder you couldn't go into details on paper. That must have been so hard on you. I wish your father and I had come sooner."

"It is not your fault," Elizabeth told her. "You could not have known."

"How are you doing now?"

Elizabeth looked up at her mother. For once in her life, she saw no judgement in her mother's eyes, only compassion. That realization made Elizabeth feel better than any other words or actions could have.

"Thanks to Nathan's strength and compassion, I am healing," Elizabeth told her mother.

"So, Nathan is treating you with respect?" Grace asked, the question spoke without condemnation. She was not accusing, simply confirming. "He is not taking advantage of the situation""

Elizabeth felt some heat rise in her cheeks at what her mother was implying. "My marriage to Nathan is based on friendship. We are not even currently sharing a room," she admitted.

"Are you satisfied with that Elizabeth? Is that all you want from this marriage?"

"I have already hurt Nathan and Ally so much already," Elizabeth confessed. "Part of me thinks that it is best if we keep to that arrangement. He already gave up so much for me. I don't want to hurt him further."

"But you want more?" Grace asked.

Elizabeth sighed. She thought of her earlier thought of wanting to share a bedroom with Nathan. She was not ready to be completely intimate but she would not deny that she longed to feel Nathan's strong arms around her more often. She longed for him to hold her like he did that morning in the schoolhouse or the night she had contemplated taking her life.

"I want to be held but I am afraid of anything more. Those moments that should have been intimate with Lucas were nothing but painful. I do not want to experience that pain again. What right do I have to ask Nathan to let me feel the comfort of his arms but not be willing to give him anything in return?"

Grace slid her chair closer to her daughter, and wrapped her in a hug. Elizabeth relished the maternal embrace. It felt soothing.

"I am so sorry you were hurt, Elizabeth," Grace told her. "However, you deserve to feel you are loved. It is also possible to give back without needing to be intimate. You long for just the feeling of your husband's arms around you. Perhaps the act of allowing your husband to hold you could be a reward in itself. Only Nathan could decide that, but if you do not seek him out, neither of you will ever know. It could be that those moments give you the courage to allow things to go further."

"Nathan has already gone through so much and I have already hurt him," Elizabeth confessed. "I don't want to hurt him any more than I already have," she said, knowing she was repeating herself but feeling that she needed to emphasize that point.

"Maybe you are not ready to call it love dear, but it sounds to me that you care about Nathan more than you want to admit," Grace told her daughter. "I know he must love you and my grandson, if his love has endured all this time. Just be honest with him. Yes, the truth can hurt at times, but it is the kind of hurt that is healing and sometimes freeing."

"I'll think about what you said, Mother," Elizabeth replied, her head leaning against her mother as Grace continued to hold her close.

"Good," Grace said, her years of raising her three girls telling her that guidance was about planting a seed and seeing what took root from it.

Mother and daughter sat like that for a time. When the front door opened, Elizabeth immediately pulled away and reached up to wipe her tears. Grace let her go as an excited voice called out.

"Beth, I got the berries! Can we make the pie now?"

Ally came through the doorway into the dinning room where Elizabeth and Grace were sitting. Spotting Grace at he table, Ally immediately stopped and remembered her manners.

"I am sorry for interrupting, ma'am," Ally said to the stranger in her home.

"There is no apology needed for youthful exuberance," Grace replied. "I am Grace Thatcher, Elizabeth's mother. You must be Ally."

"Yes ma'am," Ally replied politely. "It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Thatcher."

Grace smiled and glanced at her daughter. "You are right. Nathan did a fine job raising her on his own."

Ally beamed at the praise giving to both her and her Dad.

Elizabeth nodded and asked. "Where is Jack?"

"When we spotted Dad outside, Jack gave me his basket and ran to him," Ally said, holding up the smaller of the two baskets she held. "Is the man outside with Dad your father than, Beth?"

"He is," Elizabeth confirmed.

"Will they be joining us for dinner, then?" Ally asked, her gazed going from Elizabeth to Grace.

Elizabeth looked at her mother, realizing she had no idea what her parent's plan were.

"We would love to join you if it won't be an inconvenience to you," Grace told her daughter. "We realize our arrival is a bit of a surprise, but we were hoping to stay a day or two in the area before starting the drive home. Does this town have a place for people to stay?"

"Right now, just the bed and breakfast. However, people are very hospitable here," Elizabeth said getting to her feet. "Let me call a few people and get you a place to stay. I wish I could put you up, but right now there just isn't room."

"It is quite all right dear," Grace told her. "It is our fault for springing this visit on you. I guess we just didn't want you to tell us not come."

"I know that feeling," Ally commented, causing both women to laugh.

"Ally, why don't you go into the kitchen and wash the berries. I will help you bake the pie just as soon as I find a place for my parents to stay."

"Yes, Beth," Ally said demurely.

"May I come with you?" Grace asked the girl.

"If you would like, Mrs. Thatcher," Ally said, trying to sound casual but the grin giving away how she really felt about the woman showing interest in her.

"Mrs. Thatcher sounds way too formal in this setting," Elizabeth heard her mother tell Ally, as they went to the kitchen. "How would you feel about calling me Grandma Grace?"

Elizabeth didn't hear Ally's reply but remembering her joy of meeting her grandfather, she had a feeling the girl would not be turning the offer down. Going to the phone, Elizabeth asked to be connected to Rosemary. Part of her hated asking her friends for another favor after all they had done but her parents did need a place to stay.