Chapter 143- Nature's Power

*Well here we are friends (another one of BetterThanWCTHSeason8WritersJK rambling author notes- sorry) and Part 1 of the finale… I hope to have Part 2 ready to post on Sunday morning.

When we discussed this story on Sunday Night Serge in April, you know that everything I've created so far in 'So This Is Love', was dreamed up a few nights after the S8 finale when I couldn't sleep with the question running through my mind of who deserved the type of love Nathan and Allie Grant were willing and capable of giving.

That's when I created Charlotte. A mix of strength and weakness. Of despair and hope. I wanted to show that every single person is worthy of love. No matter how broken they may feel, they have the opportunity to find friends, family, and faith that are there to build them into the best versions of themselves. Deep, abiding love made richer and more complete by triumphing over adversity together.

I know there has been some questions about if this is the story's "SERIES" finale or "SEASON" finale. And honestly, right now, I'm unable to answer that.

Within each of my "seasons", I've tried to create complete story arcs. The ending of this season's story arc- the last scene of the next chapter- was where I planned to leave this story of Nathan and Charlotte. But as I mentioned on SNS, when you deep dive into these characters and their storylines, like I have tried to do over the past year, their life goes further. You start to imagine, weave, craft and create what their love and lives looks like as it continues past "the end".

I've come to love it deeply. This community of readers, this almost alternative universe of WCTH, and maybe more so, the characters and storyline I will admit- I'm dang proud to have created, mostly because I never knew this was something I could somewhat do ,or maybe more so, something people would want to read.

Over the past year, I've tried to juggle this story in between my work and other life pursuits. No matter where my travels took me, I kept my vow of at least posting once a week, to keep moving this story forward and keep your interest as a reader.

That's why I've made the very difficult decision that after Sunday, I plan to take a step away from FanFic. I need to see if this story is still a passion of mine, or if I just feel the need to continue writing, to check off a box of weekly updates. I plan to come back at some point, either with an Epilogue to tie up any loose ends that the next chapter does not finish, or with my next Christmas special leading into a Season 12 of 'So This Is Love'. I just don't know right now what that time frame looks like. It may be a week, a month, all summer, or a year down the line as I take a moment to reflect on what this story really means to me.

But as much as I like to think 'So This Is Love' is just my creation, it isn't. It's as much yours (you faithful, lovely readers/reviewers/friends) as it is mine. Your love and support of not only the Grant family, but also me, has been what has kept me plunking along on my keyboard, late into the night and in various hotel rooms throughout the country, for over a year now. I don't know if I will ever be able to fully express my gratitude for the love (and critique) you have so generously bestowed upon me.

And because of that fact, I will also ask you this- Is Nathan and Charlotte's story something you even want to see continued or has it run its course?

I know most stories, whether tv, movies, or books, put the ending at the couple getting together and/or maybe even the wedding. This whole of S11 has shown married life past that point. But I need to know if that is something that you are still interested in seeing developed, or just tie it up in a pretty Epilogue bow and call it a happily ever after?

Feel free to let me know in the reviews, private message or on social media.

Now that I've rambled on… let's get to the important part. Finding out where in the world Allie ran away to…

"She's gone to Warren. It was one of the first places I thought we should run to. Allie will be thinking the same. It's remote and she feels safe with Tremblay."

"Who's Tremblay?" Dylan asked.

"A friend of ours." Nathan answered. "He's a Mountie stationed up North."

"Up North? It's most likely already snowing in some areas up there. Is she crazy?"

Nathan gave Dylan a warning glance. "Why don't you make yourself useful? Ride back into town and tell Bill about Allie. Charlotte and I will pack up some gear and meet you in his office as soon as possible."

Dylan hesitated a moment, seemingly unsure if he was willing to follow Nathan's orders. In the end, realizing the seriousness and urgency of the situation not only with Allie being missing, but also the storm, he decided to go along with his brother-in-law's plan and set off for town.

She had used her money, saved from working at the Codys' store, to purchase two passes at the ticket counter in Edmonton. Telling the agent her mother was right over there- just out of sight- and had sent Allie to buy the tickets so she could tend to Allie's baby brother. She felt horrible for lying, but she hoped in this case, God would forgive her.

She boarded the northbound train in plenty of time. Her eyes never left the platform, scanning for any sign of Dylan or the authorities who would come to ruin her plan of escape. She let out a sigh of relief as the train sputtered and whistled to life, pulling away before she could be discovered.

Once the train left the station, Allie moved about. Walking through the coach cars, never staying in one place very long to draw attention to herself. If someone asked where her family was, she would just point forward or backward and say they were in one of the other cars, but this spot allowed her a better view of the passing landscape.

Leaving the city, Allie watched the farm fields give way to the vast wilderness the further they traveled. She watched the train wind along and cross the Athabasca River that flowed out into the plains from her precious mountains she had grown to love and miss fiercely. Would she ever see them again?

Allie used her time on the train to study the old Mountie maps that she had tucked into the back pages of her RCMP manual from Warren. She examined them in anticipation of what route she would take to get to Cadotte Lake.

From the map, she knew that the town of Peace River was located along the eastern banks of the homonymous river at its confluence with the Smoky River, Heart River, and Pat's Creek. By her estimate it would take her about two and a half days of hiking at a solid pace with good conditions to get to Cadotte Lake. She wouldn't be climbing mountains, but judging by the terrain on the map, she would have quite the hike into the higher hills and bluffs that surrounded Peace River.

The most direct route to Cadotte Lake seemed to be through the pass between Grouard Hill and Kauffman Hill along Pat's Creek to the northeast. Her only concern being this direction seemed to cover more low-lying marshy ground that may be harder for her to find dry shelter at night. If she walked north out of town, she would follow along the banks of the Peace. The terrain would be more rugged and challenging, but her options for shelter and food sources seemed better. She decided she would scout both routes in the morning before starting on her journey.

As the day passed, and the train moved west from the shores of Lesser Slave Lake, back towards the north, the sky was getting darker and the rains heavier. What had started out as a pitter patter of sprinkles that slowly streamed across the width of the carriage windows, was coming down in torrential sheets as the train crossed through more prairie and farmlands nearing Peace River.

Allie walked to the end of the aisle with her bag of supplies and was nearly hit by the door when it swung open before the conductor. He looked at her with a startled expression and then got on with his job, which was at that point to call out in a booming voice, "Peace River!- Peace River!" He passed through the car and into the next, still calling.

A bustle of activity followed in his wake as people gathered their belongings, said good-byes to new acquaintances, donned jackets or slickers, and put on hats that had been laid aside.

The engine blew a long, low whistle as the clickity-clack of the wheels began to slow and the train crossed the bridge coming into town over the swelling Heart River. Allie could see they were now traveling past some buildings, mostly made of wood, that lined a few muddy streets.

The train jerked to a stop and Allie quickly worked her way to the door. She opened it and jumped down from the back steps onto the platform, before the train conductor even had time to put some wooden blocks in place for the other ladies disembarking from the cars.

She tried to keep calm even though her heart had pounded with fear that she'd be caught as she'd moved stealthily through the darkened alleys away from the train station. Trying to avoid being seen or drawing any suspicious attention to herself. She had known this part of her plan held some of the most risk.

Thankfully it didn't take her long to find shelter- of sorts. Behind an empty store, on a side street north of the depot, there was a shed in the tiny backyard, where barrels and broken bits of furnishings and garden tools were piled in haphazard fashion. It didn't appear to have been used for some time, so Allie pushed through the dust and cobwebs and managed to scrape together enough space to stretch out for a night's sleep on a mat made of discarded newspapers she found in a box in the corner.

The walk through the streets had been miserable. Her boots sunk into the mud. The wind kept whipping and tearing at her coat and hood. With each step she could feel patches of wet spots growing bigger and bigger. The rainwater was cold, and the increasing wind had made it colder. At least in the shed, she would stay dry for the night. She wished she could start a fire, but thankfully she wasn't too soaked through. She removed her coat and laid it across the back of an old broken chair to dry and wrapped herself in her blanket that had for the most part stayed dry in her bag on the walk from the train station.

As Allie sat down to eat one of the sandwiches she had packed, men's voices cut through the sounds of the storm outside.

"Sir, I don't think she could have been on the train."

"He was certain this was the direction she would come."

"Sir. A young girl would not be out here on a night like tonight. She can't make it by herself in the North. Most grown men can't."

"You're probably right. Let's go back. We can try again in the morning when the storm lets up. If she's here, in the daylight and the mud, she should be easy to track and find."

Nathan and Charlotte packed up two knapsacks of supplies before driving down the mountain as fast as they could in the blinding rain. By the time they arrived, Bill's office was bursting at the seams with family and friends wanting to know how they could help locate Allie. Bill had already placed a call to Gabe. He would leave Brookfield immediately and take over running things from Hope Valley. Kinslow would coordinate search efforts into the mountains around town just in case they were wrong in their assumptions that Allie had gone North to Warren.

The next call was placed to Travis McKenzie, the Mountie Nathan knew was posted in Peace River, the closest town to Cadotte Lake with a train that came from Edmonton. With the storm, Florence was having a hard time getting a connection placed through to the RCMP office in Peace River. After a few failed attempts she was able to get Nathan patched in. Nathan explained the situation to McKenzie who immediately left with one of his officers to wait on the evening train from Edmonton.

About an hour later, McKenzie called back. The train from Edmonton had come in early. By the time McKenzie and the other Mountie arrived at the depot, it had already departed onto Grimshaw. They asked the station attendee if he had seen a young woman get off the Edmonton train. Because of the rain coming down as it was when the engine pulled in, he had not gone outside, but confirmed no young woman had come through the depot that night. No other passengers that disembarked the train in Peace River were still on the platform for McKenzie to question- to see if they had ridden with a young woman fitting Allie's description on their ride North. The Mounties had searched some of the surrounding area, but with the storm, they were unable to find anything. McKenzie promised Nathan they would start the search again with first light.

With the lack of information they had, Nathan, Bill, and Charlotte tried to formulate a plan. First thing in the morning, Dylan, Bill, Lee, Nathan, and Charlotte would catch the early train back to Edmonton. In Edmonton, Lee would go with Dylan to his apartment where they would meet up with Constable Rogers to try to find any clue that may help them locate Allie. Bill, Nathan, and Charlotte would continue North, taking the evening train out of the city, that with a little luck and no major delays, would allow them to arrive in Peace River by the next morning. Two full days after Allie had disappeared.

For the second time that summer, Nathan, and Charlotte stayed the night on the jail cot in town, but no matter how hard they tried. Sleep would not come. Their minds, and hearts, were with Allie.

Where was she? Was she scared? Was she safe?

Well before dawn, Allie packed up her things and wrapped the jacket tightly about herself, stepping out into the misty morning. The rain was still coming down, but not as heavily as it had through the night. The nearby river was almost hidden by the fog that clung to it. Water from the trees dripped on the soggy ground beneath. Every step she took was in water, but at least today the wind was not blowing.

After avoiding being discovered the night before by the men who were obviously searching for her, she felt the need to get out of town as soon as possible. Even though the conditions were not ideal, she knew the men were right. Once they had light, they would be able to track her easier. She needed a head start and the hope that there was enough rain still coming down to cover her boot prints.

She couldn't take the time to inspect the start of both routes to Cadotte Lake, like she had planned to the day before on the train. Instead, through the night, she had determined given the current weather and circumstances, which direction she would need to go. Praying it was the right choice.

The past day had been a blur to Nathan. With a delay at a small town coming into Edmonton, he, Charlotte, and Bill had almost missed their connecting train north to Peace River. The engine was beginning to pull out of the station as they were throwing their gear and themselves into the cars.

They had found some seats in the back of the train. Bill on one side of the aisle, Charlotte, and himself, on their other. Nathan tried to concentrate on the small settlements through which they passed, but soon it became too dark outside to distinguish where they were.

He knew he needed to rest while they could, so he eased himself into the cushiony seat and stretched out his long legs, but neither his body nor his mind would cooperate.

Sensing his turmoil, Charlotte reached for his hand, and he clung to her. Feeling the tenseness in him, she began to stroke his fingers, talking softly as she did so.

"It's been a long day, why don't you try and get some rest."

His whirling thoughts went over a few things he had possibly overlooked or forgotten about. Worrying that one slip up. One mistake- could cost him his daughter's life.

"She's okay, Nathan. I can feel it. Call it a mother's intuition."

"I wish I could have some of that right now."

"You have something just as valuable. A father's intuition. I think it's just being buried beneath a Mountie's instincts right now. Which I would say isn't a bad thing to have with us either, Sarge." Charlotte said, still rubbing a finger softly up and down the back of his hand. "I'll admit, it's scary not knowing where she is, but I'd be more concerned if she hadn't gone on the survival drill with you this spring or memorized Tremblay's old Mountie manual forwards and backwards. Allie's got a good head on her shoulders. She takes after you in that way."

He managed a little smile. "And she's strong. She takes after you in that way." He reached over and lifted her chin, tipping her face slightly so he could look into her eyes. "I think I need some of your inner strength too. To face what's ahead for us in the North."

"Whatever you need of me. It's already yours, Sarge. No questions asked." Her eyes lingered on his. Showing him her love in their grey depths for a long moment before kissing him. Charlotte leaned against him, curling into his side, with her head resting against his shoulder.

It didn't take long before he heard soft breathing coming from his wife and realized that she had been successful at drifting off to sleep. Nathan was glad for her. He knew she was just as tired as he was, if not more so. He hoped she would rest well and tried to sit very still so as not to disturb her.

With every mile of the whirling train wheels, Nathan felt himself getting closer again to Allie. He prayed to God that they were right. That they would find her, and she would be safe.

That she would come home to them.

God seemed to settle his anxious heart and between the gentle sway of the train car and his wife by his side, Nathan finally let his mind's worries ease and sleep take hold.

It had been late in the afternoon when Allie rounded a corner of the trail she had been following and there before her was an answer to her prayers. An abandoned trappers cabin. As she cautiously walked towards it, she remembered something Warren had written in one of his letters from the North.

It's customary. Trappers always leave their cabins available for others to use. Hospitality in the North is as much a part of life as eating and sleeping. They might not have much, but whatever they have is yours. It could mean the difference between life and death.

Allie hoped that wasn't the case, but she had to admit. The day had been a difficult journey. The climb up the bluff, away from the town of Peace River was a difficult one. The rain had made every surface slick and difficult to traverse, making her trek slow and cumbersome. What she had thought would be just a few days hike to Cadotte Lake, was looking like a longer, more difficult task with the current weather. She was soaked through and a place to shelter and build a fire for the night was exactly what she needed to regenerate not only physically, but mentally too.

There was a good supply of dry wood in one corner of the small cabin, and Allie soon had a fire going and her wet clothes and things laid out to dry. She warmed a can of beans she had packed and ate it with dried biscuits. What she wouldn't do for a pot of her mom's beef and barley stew at that moment.

Allie pulled the cot she found in the cabin in front of the fire and settled down before it, wrapping herself in a worn blanket. With a full belly and warmth from the flames she quickly gave over to the exhaustion that captured her body.

She awoke the next morning to a cold, but dry room. The fire had gone out sometime during the night and instead of building it back up, Allie decided to get an early start to try and make up some of the time and miles she had lost the day before. It was grey and cold outside, but at least for the first time since arriving in the North, the rain was not coming down. Allie brought out her compass and maps, oriented herself and started again on the path she had been following the day before.

Only about an hour had passed when Allie noticed the clouds had gathered more darkly overhead. It had cooled off noticeably and the winds picked up again.

She carried on further as the rain began to come down in sheets. On and on she walked. Keeping a trained eye onto the path in front of her, ever searching for any sign of shelter.

Suddenly there was a strange, eerie hush that seemed to settle into the wilderness. Even the animals and the nature around Allie seemed to sense the uneasiness. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, and she scanned her surroundings trying to pinpoint what her instincts were trying to warn her about.

It was then she heard it. A low moan that turned into a thunderous roar, with a cracking and stirring that shattered the air with its intensity. As the sound rent the stillness, Allie saw upstream a wall of debris being pushed quickly towards her by a powerful rush of flooding water. Huge tree limbs were thrown many feet in the air and hurled forward. There was a shifting and grinding, and foam and angry water that whipped the shores as it came nearer and nearer. The water crested the banks, spilling out on either side of the debris wall it pushed ahead. Foaming as though intent on some evil, roaring out vengeful messages.

Fear coursed through every vein in her body. For everything Allie had prepared for, nothing in her dad's survival drill or Warren's Mountie manual could have shown her how to handle a flash flood barreling towards her. She tried to process the information she had. She tried to make smart decisions on how to keep herself safe, but she quickly realized she had nowhere to run. No shelter to take. The water was too high. Too fast. Too powerful.

So, she did the only thing she knew she could in that situation. She turned to the One who was more powerful than all.

The train let out a hiss and chug before it made a jerky stop. Charlotte quickly awoke and stirred slightly. Nathan knew by the way she moved that she was afraid of waking him, so he sat up straighter and smiled at her.

"It's all right," he assured his wife. "I'm already awake."

"Did you get any rest?" she inquired, concern in her voice.

"Rest, yes. Sleep, little."

"I'm sorry. I guess I dozed off there for a while."

"No reason to be sorry. I'm glad you got some sleep." He tucked wisps of unruly hair back from her face. "You needed it."

She sighed and tried to brush the remaining haze from her eyes.

"This is our stop," Bill said, standing up to collect his bag. "If I remember right, the Mountie office is just across the way from the depot. We can check in with McKenzie and see what progress has been made in the search for Allie."

Nathan and Charlotte stood and followed Bill's lead. Quickly exiting the train, they found their way to the RCMP building. Upon entering though there was a stir of fervent activity.

"Are all these people here to help find Allie?" Charlotte whispered to Nathan.

"I'm not sure," he said, moving towards one of the men in serge. "Excuse me, constable, but I'm looking for…"

"Grant!" Travis McKenzie called out pushing his way through the crowd to shake Nathan's hand. "I wasn't sure if you would make it this morning. The trains from Edmonton never seem to be on schedule anymore."

"What are all these people doing here?"

McKenzie's face fell suddenly. "There's been an accident."

"What kind of accident?"

"A landslide."

Nathan felt Charlotte's hand tighten its grip in his. No doubt her mind was also racing to that of Jack Thornton and how he lost his life.

McKenzie continued. "With all the rain we've had over the past few days, Pat's Creek burst its banks and, in the process, caused a massive landslide on the section between Grouard Hill and Kauffman Hill."

Charlotte turned towards Nathan; worry written all over her face. "That was the route you thought Allie may take on her way to Cadotte Lake."

"One of them, yes." Nathan answered. "It was the most direct path."

"I'm sorry, Sergeant Grant, but no one is getting through that way any time soon. The pass is completely blocked."

"Was there any…" Nathan paused, unable to make himself say the word. "Casualties?"

"Yes," McKenzie looked at his boots, as he struggled to make eye contact with Nathan. "It took out a cabin in the hills that an old trapper lived in, and then a farmstead further downriver with a family of four. Myers just came back from the scene; says they found another body and are bringing it in now. I'm sorry to say, but you should prepare yourselves. If what you say is true- that your daughter may have been traveling through the pass…"

"No," Charlotte said with such vehemence that all the men looked at her in surprise. "No, it's not Allie. It can't be."

"Char-" Bill began as he took a step closer to her side.

"No, Bill. It's not Allie. I know it isn't." She turned to face Nathan directly. "Nathan, it's not her. You have to believe me. You know last night when we were talking about a mother's intuition. I know in my heart; Allie is still alive. She's still out there. We just need to find her."

Nathan studied his wife intently. Both with the conviction that she spoke and the belief that showed in her eyes, Nathan too, felt that Allie was not gone. He pivoted towards the wall along the back of the office that held a map of the region. He studied it.

"You say this is where the landslide happened?" He questioned McKenzie, pointing to spot along Pat's Creek.

"Yes. This whole area is blocked. We have some volunteers up there now, but things are still unstable with this storm and all the rain."

"If Allie didn't take that path, she would have taken this one. Straight north out of town, following the Peace River. The terrain would have been more difficult, but it has more options of shelter and food. With the amount of rain that's been coming down, that's the way she would have gone."

"Even if she did, we've had reports through the night that with the rain one of the dams on a tributary downriver was in danger of breaking. If that goes… there's no telling if your daughter would be any safer on that route."

"Either way, I have to find her." Nathan turned around to face the other Mountie, Bill, and Charlotte. "Do you have any horses we can borrow?"

"I do, but…"

"Good," Nathan interrupted. "I assume McKenzie, you haven't been able to make contact with Tremblay in Cadotte Lake since this all came about."

"No, sir."

"Okay, well this is the plan. You and your men continue your search party through the pass along Pat's Creek. Bill, you ride to the east towards St. Isidore and then loop north from there towards Cadotte Lake. Find Tremblay and then come back west towards the river. Charlotte and I will ride north along the route I believe Allie took. Hopefully, that way either we will catch up to her, or you and Warren can head her off before she reaches Cadotte Lake. Traveling on horseback, compared to her on foot, we should make up for some lost time."

"Look."

Nathan's gaze followed the direction Charlotte pointed. Through the trees he could make out the faintest outline of an old trapper's cabin. They both urged their horses into a trot and came into a small clearing.

As soon as Nathan had a plan in place that morning, he, and Charlotte saddled the horses McKenzie provided and they set out from Peace River. Heading north up the hill to the high bluff. They followed a path, not much more than a game trail, most of the way as it winded along the cliffs of the river, then down again towards its banks. When they had set out that morning, it was grey and cold, but at least the rain had stopped. But as the day went on and Nathan and Charlotte continued north the clouds rolled back in and the heavens opened, sending down sheets of rain upon them.

"Do you think Allie's been here?" Charlotte asked as they swung down from their horses and tied the reins to a tree branch.

"Maybe." Nathan shrugged. To be honest, with each passing hour his hope of finding Allie seemed to slip further and further from his grasps. If she had come this way, the rain had made tracking her impossible. Any signs had long ago disappeared, and Nathan started to worry. What if she had gone along the Pat's Creek route and…

He opened the entrance to the cabin and ushered Charlotte quickly inside to get out of the weather. Allie wasn't the only one he was worried about. He was also concerned about his wife. She never complained, but he could tell the hours in the saddle over unfamiliar and difficult terrain were taking a toll on her body.

With the overcast skies, there was little light streaming through the cabin's single window, but it was enough to see a fireplace along a wall and a cot pulled haphazardly in front of it. Charlotte must have noticed the arrangement at the same time he did, as she rushed to inspect it.

"Nathan, this fire had to have been from just last night. Allie must have stayed here. She can't be far; we have to go find her."

Nathan caught Charlotte by the arms as she went to brush past him. "Just hold on a second. We don't have any idea it was Allie and not some other poor soul out here in this storm. You need to rest. To dry off."

"How can you say that? We're this close. I can feel it."

"I can say that, because I care about you too."

"But she could die!"

"You both could! I can't risk that." There was pain in his voice. "I'll go back out and search, you stay here. Let me do my job."

"Let me do mine." Charlotte's voice was steely. "I'm her parent too, Nathan. We're searching for her together. Partners, remember? I can rest and dry off after we find her."

Charlotte wanted to shut her eyes to it all, but she couldn't. She studied it carefully. A few miles from the cabin, Nathan and Charlotte came to the sight that stopped them dead in their tracks and they dismounted their horses.

Devastation. There was no other word for it. What once had been a peaceful river, had changed into a deadly force of nature, with what McKenzie had warned about. A dam break and the result- a flash flood.

The aftermath left bits and pieces of logs crisscrossed and mangled with brush and other debris along the once idle riverbanks. Water still crested over its sides, but it seemed to be much lower than when the first burst had flowed free.

"I've never seen anything like it." Nathan whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "I don't know how anyone could…" He stopped himself from continuing.

"Maybe she didn't come this way after all." Charlotte looked at him with wet eyes and noticed that his eyes were glistening, too. Nathan's arm slipped around her and drew her close.

"Maybe not." Nathan said. Although they both knew the truth.

Suddenly Charlotte could contain her despair no longer. She sagged against him, her hand pressed to her mouth to try and stifle the screaming cry that escaped. She sobbed; her face buried against Nathan's chest. His hands smoothed her wet hair as he held her close. She cried for Allie, for Nathan, for herself.

Oh, God, she prayed. You are the only one who can help us now. Please, give me the grace to face what lies ahead for our family. Somehow Charlotte knew Nathan was silently praying the same prayer.

Suddenly, a deep affectionate voice seemed to float to her on the wind, saying the words from the second book of Corinthians- But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Stirred, Charlotte pulled back from Nathan's arms. His own face filled with astonishment.

"Did you?" She gently questioned.

"You heard it?"

She nodded her head in agreement.

"Dad? Mom?"

Nathan and Charlotte spun around to look back down the path. Their eyes blinked rapidly as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

There was Allie. Soaking wet. Tired. Scraped and bruised, but there.

Alive.

With a joyous cry they all raced towards one another. Nathan reached her first and Allie leapt into his open embrace. Throwing her arms around his neck.

"Dad!" Allie cried, her head buried against his chest as all the pent-up emotions of the long days, weeks, and months apart poured out in a torrent of tears between them all. Charlotte was soon with them. Enveloping her arms around them both, fervently peppering kisses along her daughter's dirty face and wet hair. "Mom. Oh, Mom." Allie continued to cry out in gratitude. "I never thought I'd see you guys again. I never thought…"

"It doesn't matter," Charlotte interrupted. "We're together now. Everything is going to be alright."

"The river… it…"

"A dam broke upstream," Nathan explained. "With all the rain, it couldn't hold back the water any longer."

"I didn't know what to do. Everything was so still and then the next thing I knew; a wall of water and debris was rushing towards me."

"How did you get away?"

Allie stifled her sobs and tried to speak. "There was no way to get away. It was coming too quickly. With so much force. So, I did the only thing I could. I prayed. And then suddenly right before the waters came, they rushed on to a sharp bend in the river." Allie pointed to an outcropping of land a little further along. "There it seemed to stop. Struggling and lashing as the debris got caught, causing the water behind it to tumble and slip up the banks. The bend gave me just enough time. I ran to the nearest, strongest looking tree I could find. The one that reminded me of the maple back home on the ranch. When I reached the first thick branch was when the river broke free again, the debris spewing out in every direction. The rising river, free to flow again, moved downstream, rocking and shaking the tree I was in, and I was so afraid that it would break off into the twisting sea of troubled water below, but it didn't. It held on and so did I."

"Thank God." Charlotte pulled her daughter closer to her chest. Unwilling to let the girl out of her grasp for still the fear this was all just a dream. "You are amazing, Allie Grant. Simply amazing."

Nathan looked over at his girls and a smile crept across his face. "What did I tell you, Mrs. Nathan. Allie's the best recruit I've ever had."