Chapter 149- Love And A Mountie's Duty

The next day was filled to the brim with Christmas festivities for the Grants and Warren. They spent the morning decorating the Queen of Hearts for the upcoming dance, before borrowing one of Mr. Coulter's logging trucks to drive out to the Grant's secret meadow. There, they cut down four Christmas trees. Three evergreens were delivered into town. One to the Canfields, one to the Coulters, and one to Nathan's parents, while the last, and biggest, was displayed prominently in the Grant's home.

Through the afternoon and evening the house had been filled with laughter and fun. Delicious smells of Christmas and the soft glow of the firelight had wrapped Warren in a familial warmth. He worked fervently to sear each moment and memory he created with the Grant's into his mind and heart. Trying to replace the heaviness there with his friends' light.

When the tree was placed and decorated to Allie's particular specifications, Charlotte hung her special ornament, the interlocking hearts Nathan made for her the year before, with her husband's assistance since the bough she had chosen was just outside of her reach.

Nathan did the honors of placing the final piece, the carved angel, atop the evergreen. They all took a moment to reflect on the tree's splendor, sitting around the decorated pine, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands, telling stories, planting their pinecone seeds, listening to a Christmas record on the gramophone, and playing a game or two of checkers on the rug in front of the fire.

Tired from all the festive activities, Charlotte excused herself first. Allie followed her mother upstairs, secretly understanding after her conversation with Warren in the church from the day before, that Tremblay and her father needed some time alone to talk.

The crackling and popping logs in the hearth were the only sound between the two men for a long time after Charlotte and Allie went to bed. Nathan used those moments to silently study the younger man who sat across from him. Watching Warren nervously shift on the couch before standing to make his way towards the fire, then to the tree to straighten the popcorn garland, and finally to the far side of the living room where he absentmindedly perused the titles of the Grant's collection of novels that sat along the shelves.

Nathan recognized the fatigue in Tremblay. The weight of a Mountie's duty seemed to be a heavier burden then the young man had anticipated. Maybe Charlotte was right the other night when they talked about Warren. Maybe what Tremblay needed most right now was someone willing to listen and be there for him. Someone to give advice from lessons learned and those hardships already experienced from a life in the Force. Someone to understand.

"Is something troubling you?"

Warren's head swiveled toward the questioner, and his mouth opened to make quick denial. But as his dark eyes met the intense blue of the man who set before the open fire, he closed his mouth without a word being uttered. He stopped his agitated pacing and ran a hand through his jet-black hair. It was the only habit he had never conquered in his effort to give nothing away.

Nathan no doubt picked up on it now when he said, "Is it something to do with the Mounties?"

Tremblay heaved a deep sigh. How could he answer that? It wasn't- yet in a way it was. He turned back to the fire. The dog at Grant's feet stirred restlessly, looking from one to the other as though waiting for some kind of exchange to take place.

"Sometimes I hate the Force," Warren finally muttered and then stiffened. His face flushing guiltily as if he had just committed treason.

Nathan did not respond. Instead, he nodded toward the chair opposite him before the fireplace. With a heavy sigh, Warren lowered himself into the seat.

"I'm sorry," Tremblay began slowly. "I didn't mean to bring my… my discontent with me. For so long I've looked forward to spending time here in Hope Valley, and now that I'm here. I… I have no wish to spoil it for- Well for anyone really. Allie. You. Charlotte."

Nathan smiled. "Charlotte was the one who asked me to speak to you."

Warren's face showed his alarm. Then he reached up to run a hand through his hair again. "It was that obvious?"

"I thought you hid it very well. Almost had me fooled. I assumed you might just be tired. Or lonely. One gets that way after months of duty. Especially in the North. But Charlotte- she's not so easily fooled."

Tremblay leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Now that it was out in the open, he felt a bit relieved. "A year ago, when you and I were in Potter's Creek, we talked about how I was questioning if the Mounties were the right fit for me."

Nathan nodded. He remembered their conversation on the boardwalk outside of the sheriff's office vividly.

"Don't get me wrong. I still… still love being part of the RCMP and honestly it is hard for me to imagine being anything else. I have felt for a long time called to protect and serve the people just like our motto implies, and after seeing you honored in Calgary at the Mountie Ball, it just fueled that flame even more and I thought- well I thought those feelings of discontent would change by being stationed at my own posting up North. Away from headquarters. Away from… I don't know… the bureaucracy of it all. And at first- it was that way." Warren shifted in his seat, his eyes turning to the flames in the fireplace as though seeking an answer in the blaze.

Nathan's gaze stayed focused on Tremblay. Studying the young Mountie. Trying to understand what weighed on the man. Finally, he asked. "What changed, Warren?"

Tremblay stood again and moved to lean against the fireplace mantel that had been decorated in pine boughs and dried orange slices. Four stockings were arranged along its length. He reached out and ran a hand along the one that bore his name, carefully knitted across the top to match the rest of the Grant family stockings. It was a gift from Maise she had presented him today when they delivered her and Archie's tree to their apartment. The elder Mrs. Grant wished for Warren to have his own sock since he would be with them for the holiday, saying she wanted to make sure he felt a part of the family.

"Is one of the other Mounties in your region causing trouble?" Nathan asked, hoping his gentle prompting would open Warren up.

"No."

"Is it an assignment you had? I remember in one of your letters you were talking about some illegal liquor trading that was happening in your territory. Is that what is causing you to rethink your work with the Mounties?"

Warren looked over at Nathan and saw the man's expression reflected deep empathy. "In a roundabout way… Yes." Just thinking of it brought troubling memories. Warren could hardly bring himself to speak of it, but deep down, he knew he needed to. He knew he needed Nathan's advice as a mentor and a friend. "Soon after I returned from Peace River and helping with the flood and landslide cleanup, I received word of a missing Cree man, Mistahi Muskwa."

"Big Bear?"

Warren nodded, seemingly pleased Nathan understood some of the Cree language Tremblay had come to learn over the past year being up North. "I had known Big Bear since I arrived at Cadotte Lake. He… and his granddaughter… were my only friends in those early days while the rest of the tribe was trying to understand if they could trust me or not."

"Wasn't there a Mountie stationed there before you?"

"Yes…" Warren hesitated. "That might be some of the problem."

Nathan looked at Warren, concern showing in his eyes. "A 'bad' officer?"

"I believe he did his duty, but he kept himself apart from the people. What I've learned from Big Bear, the last Mountie made sure the Cree knew he was - a little above them? He liked having authority and seemed to be a loner who didn't like to be bothered and one way to keep the community at a distance was to keep them believing there was a 'great gulf' between them, and the lawman, so to speak."

"And now that you want to earn their trust and help them, you have to show them you're different."

Warren nodded. "Big Bear, he was the only Cree man in the area who knew some English and could help me communicate. Like I said, we quickly became friends. He took me out into the woods and taught me things the Mounties never could and slowly, through his influence, and me trying to chip away at the preconceived notions that the people had of the Mounties, I started to feel less tension on the part of some of the Cree I served. That was until a few months ago, when I found out liquor was being traded in my territory. Some of the men, both white trappers, and the Cree, didn't understand why I had a problem with it. But Big Bear did. He had lost his only son and daughter-in-law to the firewater years ago, through a tragic accident that claimed both their lives when they lived in the big village further east. His grandsons were grown and married by the time it happened, but his only granddaughter, Kisik Nimihto- Sky Dance- she came to live with Big Bear and his wife in Cadotte Lake. She took care of her grandmother when Summer Wind became sick, until the elderly woman passed away a few months prior to my arrival. Big Bear tried to convince Nimi- that's what I call Sky Dance- to return to the other village to be with her brothers and their families, but she couldn't stand the thought of him being alone, so she chose to stay."

"Was Nimi the one who told you Big Bear had gone missing?"

"Yes." Warren began to pace, the anguish in his heart nearly overwhelming him. "She said soon after I left for Peace River, Big Bear received word about another shipment coming through the territory and he went to investigate who these whiskey runners may be. He told Nimi he may be gone for a night or two, but by the time I came back it had been over a week and Big Bear had not returned to the village." He paused then, struggling against his emotions. "I found him. A day later- a gunshot wound through the heart." Warren sunk back into the chair and buried his face into his hands. "He was just an old man, Nathan. A kind, old man who simply wanted what was best for his people and I was supposed to protect him, and I failed."

"Warren, you can't blame yourself. It was a terrible accident. One that could have happened to anyone who crossed the criminal's path and tried to stop them."

"Finding him… That was hard on me, but I've seen death before. What was a first though, was being the one who told the family what happened. To be the one who delivered that news. I wasn't prepared to tell Nimi that, in a way, whiskey claimed yet another member of her family." Warren said, his voice full of his anguish, one hand thumping gently but firmly into the palm of the other. "When I returned to the village, she ran out from that little cabin when she saw someone approaching. The minute she noticed it was only me- her face went pale. She looked so… so lost, so broken. And it was because of me she was all alone again."

Warren made an effort to calm himself, but his chin was trembling. He appreciated that Nathan did not try to fill the silence with solicitous, empty words.

"I… I suggested to her that we go back inside. A cold wind was blowing and the temperature- she would have suffered frostbite in no time and would have never even realized it. She let me lead her by the arm. By then she was already staggering. I'm sure she knew what I was going to say. She kept repeating Nimosom- my grandfather- over and over in a… a little whimper. I tried to lead her to a chair, but she refused to sit down and…"

For a long moment he could not go on. The room was silent except for the crackling of the fire and the sympathetic whine of Remi.

Warren swallowed. "After I told her, she just sort of went to pieces. She clung to me and sobbed and sobbed. I have never heard such… such absolute heartbreak in all my life. And she hung on. Just grabbed my jacket like she was drowning. I don't know how long I held her, praying silently, trying somehow to… to calm her… to ease her terrible pain. I've never felt so… so totally helpless in my entire life." Warren almost lost control, and he brushed at tears. Perhaps it was unprofessional for a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to cry. But even a law officer was human. "It was the first time in my life I wanted to run. To get out of there. And at the same time, I knew I couldn't leave. I couldn't abandon Nimi. She has no one. The only family she has left are her brothers and she says she doesn't want to burden them. Nimi says they each have their own tipiyawe- family- to worry about." Warren stared into the fire, his jaw working as he fought to control his deep emotions. "I didn't know what to do then. And I still don't."

He stood to pace again. Remi rose with him, her eyes passing from Warren to Nathan as though wanting to do something about the heaviness in the room.

"Did you find the man? The man who…" Nathan's voice trailed off.

Warren shook his head. "No. Nimi needed me and besides, by the time I found Big Bear, they were long gone. I could have tried tracking, but then what would happen when I found them? I needed backup and I knew this wasn't the kind of burden that I could ask others in the community to share. It was the law that was needed… that much was obvious after what happened to Big Bear."

"What did headquarters say about it all? When you reported it?"

Warren gave a bleak laugh. "They called it an 'unfortunate incident', but something I should get used to happening the longer I serve in the North. Especially in- communities- like Cadotte…"

"That doesn't sound like something headquarters would say. Do you know which officer sent that message?"

Warren shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "They also denied my request for backup, either from a neighboring posting or someone from Cape Fullerton."

"You're kidding me." Nathan felt the rise in his own emotions.

"I wish I was." Warren tilted back his head, squeezing his eyes shut to try and conceal the tears that threatened to spill from them. "Nathan, this isn't the kind of Force I want to be a part of. The kind that turns their back on these people. Big Bear… and Nimi… they deserved better."

Warren again brushed a hand through his hair. Agitation caused his usual broad shoulders to droop as the silence stretched before Nathan spoke. Asking a question that had been swirling in his mind since Tremblay's arrival. "How did you get this leave? I know that headquarters doesn't usually approve of short-term respite like this. Especially when you've been serving less than a year in Cadotte Lake."

"I'm quitting." Warren stated, as if it was nothing special. "I came out of the North so I could hand in my official resignation to headquarters in person. Constable Myers in Peace River owed me a favor, so he is keeping an eye on things while I'm gone, but he doesn't know why I left…"

"Why did you leave? Is it just because of headquarters handling of Big Bear's murder?" Now it was Nathan's turn to run his hand through his hair. "Maybe I can talk to someone like O'Reilly or Collins. Make them see that…"

"It's not just about what happened to Big Bear."

Nathan looked up at Warren and regarded him closely. Then he realized exactly what Warren was alluding to. "Nimi?"

Warren simply nodded his head.

"You have feelings for her?"

"It's more than that," Warren's dark eyes implored Nathan's to understand. "I love her."

Nathan's jaw involuntarily slackened, and he quickly pulled it back up. He could tell through their whole discussion this evening that Warren cared for Big Bear's granddaughter, but love… he wasn't quite prepared for that confession. Though looking now at the man in front of him, he could clearly see it.

"I can't even tell you when it first happened. Or how." Warren's gaze returned to the fire. "I just remember the feeling as I held her in my arms that night. I just wanted to make everything right for her. To make it better. And not just because I was the local Mountie, but… because I care for her. She matters so much to me. I would have done anything in that moment to take that pain away from her and with that realization it was like a lightning bolt for me. I just thought to myself, so this is love. This is what it feels like."

Nathan studied his hands where they were clasped together. He leaned forward from his seat on the chair, his arms resting on his legs. He knew the feelings Warren was experiencing all too well. His own memory flashing back to the evening of the wildfire and Charlotte's miscarriage. Having those same thoughts as he sat on the floor of his office with his back braced against the front door. The words, 'So this is love' continuously looping through his mind and heart.

"I'm going to ask Nimi to marry me."

Nathan's head darted up. His eyes found Warren's. While Nathan knew he had the beginnings of love for Charlotte when he proposed to her the first time, it was his desire to protect and care for her and their unborn child that pushed him out of his comfort zone to offer her a marriage of convenience. While their circumstances had been slightly different, he still understood the need to protect the woman you love. To do anything in your power to see that she was happy and cared for. A marriage between Warren and Nimi would be able to accomplish that. "That's why you are resigning from the Mountie's?"

"Yeah." Tremblay shrugged his shoulders, trying to sound nonchalant. "You know the regulations."

He did. Mounties were sent up North to serve the people there. Not marry them. To make Nimi- a Cree woman- his wife, Warren would be required to give up his position with the RCMP. "How does Nimi feel about you leaving the Mounties?"

"She just thinks I'm doing it solely because I'm upset with those in Cape Fullerton over how they handled Big Bear's murder. Which is partially true, but she doesn't want me to quit. Nimi thinks that the next Mountie will be like the last and she doesn't believe he will serve her people honorably. I didn't tell her the real reason I would have to give it up is for her. To marry her."

"If you do marry… then what? What will you do? What will she do?"

"I'm not sure." He sighed deeply, then continued. "She wants to stay in Cadotte Lake to see justice brought to the man or men behind her grandfather's murder…" Thoughtful silence followed. "And I don't know if I can do that without being a part of the Mounties. And how will I provide for her in the North? I'm not a trapper or a tradesman. Being a part of the Force is all I know."

"You'll be successful in whatever you set your mind to. I know in Calgary, Lee and my father both offered you positions at their companies. You and Nimi could always make your home here in Hope Valley."

"I bought this in Edmonton on my way here." Warren pulled a small ring from his pocket and presented it to Nathan. "When I saw it in the store window, I knew it was meant to be on Nimi's finger."

Nathan took the tiny ring and studied it. A simple, unadorned, silver band held a small, oval ammolite gem. One that displayed every color of the rainbow and cast different shades in the shifting firelight. He could understand why the ring made Warren think of Nimi and her Cree name of Kisik Nimihto- Sky Dance. The gemstone reminded Nathan of the Northern Lights, which he was certain was Nimi's namesake.

"It's beautiful," Nathan said, handing the ring back to the younger Mountie who admired the jewelry for a few moments himself before returning it to the safety of his pocket.

"Thanks. That's what Allie said yesterday too when I showed it to her."

"Allie knows?" Nathan's eyes grew wide, and he knew he couldn't disguise the tremor in his voice. He hated that he had forgotten about his daughter's feelings in all this. He knew how much she cared about Warren, and he was concerned about her heart being broken over the news that this dashing Mountie loved another. "She knows about you and Nimi?"

"It seems the women in your life are quite perceptive, Grant. God help ya." Warren gave a small smirk. "Allie picked up on it when we were talking yesterday in the church. I guess… we were both the listening ear that the other needed at the time."

"And… She was okay?"

Warren furrowed his brow, seemingly confused at Nathan's question.

"I mean how did Allie take the news that you… are in love with Nimi?"

Warren looked pensive for a long moment. Trying to plan his next words carefully. "Nathan- Allie and I, we care deeply for one another. I would even go as far as calling it love, in a way. But it's more like a family love than anything else. I love her and feel protective of her like I do my older sisters. And Allie feels the same. She even said yesterday she looks up to me as she would a big brother who she feels comfortable talking to about these sorts of things. A sounding board. You had that with Colleen, didn't you? You loved her, but it's different from the love you share with Charlotte."

"But you two are going to the dance tomorrow together. I just assumed things were… Well, I don't know…"

"We are going as friends, but I won't deny that a part of me wants to lay it on thick for Constable Wolf so he knows that he's a fool for letting a woman like Allie get away." Warren joked but seeing the look of concern still etched on Nathan's face, he again turned serious and continued to explain. "You know I would never hurt Allie. Especially something as cruel as leading her on when we both know that nothing could come of it. She still has so much of her own dreams to pursue. She needs to finish school here and then go on to study to become that lawyer she wants to be. Devoting her life to helping kids in need. I can't stand in the way of that. Like I told her yesterday, I don't want her to conform her life to fit into someone else's. Someday, a young man- much younger than I- is going to come into her life and help her reach those dreams. Help her protect everything she holds dear. Someone who will be her lifetime. Allie means the world to me, and I honestly feel as though we've been put in each other's lives for a reason. To help each other through this season of our journey…"

Warren leaned over to throw another log on the fire. Bright sparks sprinkled over the grate, popping like miniature firecrackers.

"Listen," Warren said, turning to look at Nathan. "I respect you and your opinion, more than… Well more than anyone. If you think it is better for Allie and I not to go together to the dance tomorrow, I'll talk to her and explain the situation…"

"That's not what I'm saying," Nathan stood, and stepped forward to join Warren before the fire, and for several minutes they stood shoulder to shoulder watching the flames devour the rich pinewood. While he knew everything had happened how it was supposed to, he also knew how much it had pained him at the time with Elizabeth and not being her choice. He would do anything to make sure that Allie never felt that way. He thought back over the past day. Allie seemed perfectly fine, actually relieved in a way. Nathan just assumed it was because of Warren's talk with her about Robert, but it seems she also reacted favorably to Tremblay's news of being in love with someone else. It was clear to see Allie was happy for him, and Nathan knew he should be too. "As a father, I just… I wanted to make sure Allie was okay. I know she thinks the world of you too, Warren. We all do. You deserve to be happy, but… Is quitting the Mounties really what you want?"

"That's the problem. I'm not sure, because how the rules are… no matter what I choose I would have to give up something I love." Warren shook his head. "Nothing seems clear right now. My head is saying one thing, and my… My heart is saying another."

"I've been there before." He whispered, staring into the flames in front of them.

"And which did you choose?"

"My heart." Nathan sighed heavily, before turning to look at Warren who watched him carefully. "You always follow what your heart is saying, Tremblay. It won't steer you wrong. A little praying never hurts either."

"Even if it may cost me everything I've worked for?"

"Love is always worth fighting for." Nathan turned slightly, and Warren stared into the familiar face nearly level with his own. "If you fight for it. The sacrifices you make are worth it every time."

"I'm at a crossroads and I honestly don't know which path to choose." The younger man's head swung around. "The Mounties have been so important to me, and I feel still being a lawman is the only way I can bring justice for Big Bear and his family. On the other hand, I love Nimi. I do. I think deep down I've known I've had feelings for her since she walked through a snowstorm to my cabin soon after my arrival in Cadotte Lake." Seeing Nathan's eyebrow raised in question, Warren continued. "Not like that. She brought me a pair of moccasins she made. Teasing that my lawmen boots weren't made for winters in the North and that she'd hate to see my toes pay the price of my inexperience." Tremblay caught Nathan's smile. "What? Why are you smiling like that?"

"I guess… you are just reminding me a little about when I first realized I started to have feelings for Charlotte."

"She made you moccasins, too?"

"No, not exactly." Nathan chuckled. "The first time I realized there was maybe something more between us was when I was late getting home from a trip to Brookfield. Charlotte and Allie had spent the day together and she left me a plate of food and cookies with a note that said she 'figured it was time someone took care of me for a change'. When I read those words, it was like I had been hit square in the chest with the realization that for the first time in my life, I was someone's choice."

"Is that when you knew?"

Nathan watched Warren closely, trying to read between the lines. "Knew what?"

"That you were in love with Charlotte?"

He let out a long, slow sigh as he let his mind slip back over the years of his relationship with Charlotte. The highs and lows and every moment in between from their first meeting on the stagecoach platform to today spent as a family preparing for Christmas. "Honestly? I'm not sure. What I do know is that from the moment I met Charlotte, somehow, I knew she would become important to me and I think the love has just grown more every day I'm with her."

"I want that too. For Nimi and I."

"I think you already have it." Nathan placed a strong hand on Warren's shoulder and squeezed it with a gentle reassurance. Watching as a smile returned to Warren's face. "Just wait until I tell Charlotte that you are going to become a permanent fixture in our community."

"Now hold on just one minute, Grant. Don't go gettin' anyone's hopes up. I haven't even proposed yet to Nimi, and who knows if she is willing to leave the North."

"I know. I know." Nathan teased. "I'm just putting my wishes out into the world. Forget all those Christmas gifts you brought; I don't think anything would make our family happier than you being close by."

Warren couldn't stop grinning, even as he shook his head with Nathan's dreaming.

"Speaking of gifts," Nathan continued. "I've been meaning to ask for your assistance with something for Charlotte's anniversary present. I've been working on it for a long time and I think you could help me with the last piece I believe is missing."

Get ready for a big long novel of an Author Note I'm sure some of you have come to expect from BetterThanWCTHSeason8WritersJK...

Okay friends- gah! I know how many of you were routing for Allie and Warren… and I agree the relationship they have is INCREDIBLY special. But (as with most of my writing) I want you to trust me on this… I can't give away all my reasonings, but I do want to give a couple of them now just so you all understand where I am coming from.

1) Some of the deepest friendships in my life are guy friends. I think it is extremely important to have male-female relationships that are healthy (give and receive equally- not like what we currently see between one Elizabeth Thornton and Nathan Grant on a show that shall not be named), caring, and give a different perspective than ones you would find from your same gender. I also believe that male-female friendships are a very underutilized genre in media. The friends to lovers troupe is fun, but sometimes just being friends is important too!

2) I realize I've hinted (Hey... I always want to keep you guessing) at more between Warren and Allie- especially on Allie's side. Now why did I do that? Well, I think I put a little of myself into Allie for this storyline. How was I navigating the opposite gender at her age- 15 or 16ish? Well in Chapter 106- Acquaintances, Charlotte says- "I think every teen girl, at some point in her life, has a bit of a fancy for a handsome, young man, a few years her senior". Well, that was me. My first major crush (that I had for years) was my best friend's older brother. He was/is a cowboy. Charming. Tall. Dark. And handsome. Did I mention a cowboy? Haha!

But in the end, he and I (very much like Warren and Allie here) talked about it in some very mature heart to heart conversation and realized that what we had as friends was far more important in our life then… More. And again, that's okay! We weren't each other's 'lifetime'. It was very mutual, no heartbreak, and even fifteen plus years on we are thankful that we never tried to push it anywhere that it wasn't meant to go. He's very much an older brother to me that I never had (I was even a part of his wedding- I keep tellin' y'all… my life is just one bridesmaid dress after another). Our relationship has never been romantic, but it is one of my most treasured connections and I'm thankful for the friendship and family relationship he and I will always have. (I also think he would die with embarrassment if he knew I modeled a fictional character after him)!

And if you go back and re-read Warren and Allie's interactions in past chapters, while they have banter (and yes Allie working through her own feelings about this dashingly handsome Mountie), I hope you are now able to see that I've always tried to balance/temper my suggestion that they could be more to them always being first and foremost- friends. REALLY good friends.

3) While we all love Hope Valley, I think we must admit it is a rather civilized/progressive community for the 1920's Canadian 'frontier'. There are two doctors. The mercantile and regular mail. A church. A school. Etc. And while Nathan is an outstanding member of the Force, there was so much more that a Mountie would have been trained to do during this time period (just read about Wynn in the original When Calls The Heart series or the book 'Mrs. Mike'). Having Warren's character based in the North allows me to explore those options and other 'Mountie duties'. That includes developing more of HIS community with the indigenous people he served in a more primitive setting.

It seemed natural to me to have this kind-hearted Mountie develop an almost 'forbidden love' (disclaimer- I was not able to find much history on the subject of a Mountie marrying an indigenous woman to prove this right or wrong, but this is the author direction I'm choosing to take) and see how that plays into his story moving forward. Also, it gives me an opportunity to delve more into learning (I've been reading and listening to anything I can get my hands on) and writing about these early cultural interactions (and sometimes clashes) between white settlers and the indigenous communities. I feel this is something that we still are feeling repercussions from over a hundred years later with the realities of the residential school systems and Missing/Murdered Indigenous Peoples Crisis (I already tucked a little of that into this chapter with Big Bear's story). Y'all know I love being able to bring in a dose of reality and the possibility of being able to touch on these harder topics surrounding indigenous communities in the future is important to me. The inclusion of a character like Nimi fuels the fire of story options and opportunities while still being true to the time period.

4) Finally, I realized in the creation of this chapter it may be hard for some of you readers to switch your feelings from loving on Allie with Warren to Warren with Nimi. You don't know Nimi. At least not until I introduced her in this chapter. Talk about a 180, right? The thing is, I just don't have the time/space/or place to fully develop her character as richly as I have tried to all of our other beloved characters (both original and my own creations). I tried to give you as much of a back story for her and Warren as possible here, but to fill in the gaps I hope you were able to see all the comparisons and parallels I tried to draw between the Nathan/Charlotte and Warren/Nimi relationships and early romance that I put in this posting.

My biggest fear with this chapter, and why I've spent a lot of time on it hoping it comes across correctly (or as best as can be), is that I don't want you to feel like we have an S8 finale all over again. That is not my goal at all to create a love triangle or a pairing out of the blue. It is just given where Warren is located, in the remote North, it's hard to feed this information in 'piecemeal' and part of the reason I brought him back for this Christmas special was to bring his relationship with Nimi out into the open. And as he alluded to with Allie last chapter and Nathan in this one... he didn't realize it really was love he felt towards this Cree woman until after her grandfather's passing (which was after the Grants were last with Tremblay in Peace River).

I know some of you may be upset with my partnering on this, but I'm going to ask that you trust me (yet again) with the direction I'm going with this story and these characters. I don't live in the fluffy Disney/Hallmark world. I'm always trying to bring in a little touch of reality and show these characters moving through the world and dealing with some very real situations in a very fictional world.

I hope you stick around through the rest of the Christmas special because there is plenty more to see and find out. Who else is going to help Warren continue to work through his questions and concerns about Nimi and his future with the Mounties? Is Operation Catch and Release going to be a success? How are Nathan and Charlotte going to celebrate their first anniversary? And maybe more importantly, how is Warren going to help Nathan with Charlotte's present?

Also, can't forget about celebrating more of their new family's traditions… Christmas morning pancakes anyone?

P.S. I know a few of you have asked through the reviews what Allie and Warren's ages are at this point in the story. This Christmas special takes place in December 1921 (after my Season 11). Since we don't know when Allie's birthday is, that would put her right around 15/16. For Warren's backstory, I have that Nathan trained him in Fort Clay as a new recruit (before he and Allie arrived in Hope Valley). By my calculations that would make Warren about 25/26 or 10 years older than Allie. While this age difference was the norm/very acceptable 'back in the day' (again I'm referencing Wynn and Elizabeth in the original WCTH novels and Sergeant Mike Flannigan and his young wife Kathy in the novel 'Mrs. Mike'- even my own grandparents were a ten year difference in ages with my grandma being 22 and my grandpa 32 when they married), it wasn't the direction I ultimately felt called to take for Allie. As Warren says in this chapter and the last, she has a whole life to lead yet before she worries about settling down with her 'lifetime'. Who has already been created in the epilogue, and in my opinion, their love story is very special in it's own right. Allie deserves that just as much as anyone else, but it's just not the right 'season' for her to be getting married.

Again... I hope you trust me enough to tell this story how I have it all cookin' together up in this head of mine. Have I steered you wrong in the past?

Wait... maybe don't answer that ;)