A/N: This one is a long one. A lot of dialogue and tough conversation – but necessary.

As Elizabeth and Nathan neared the Mountie office, she stopped and looked at him. "Can we go inside for a minute? I just thought of something and I think we should talk about it."

At the pensive look on her face, Nathan tried to not have flashbacks to their canceled date from 3 years ago. "Sure" he said as he fished in his pocket for the key to unlock the door, trying hard to not give away his anxiety.

They stepped inside and Elizabeth turned to him. "Allie. We need to talk about Allie. Little Jack will easily accept and love the fact that we are together. For one, I need to apologize to Allie for how I treated her when I first started courting with Lucas. Secondly, I think she deserves an explanation before we walk into the cafe hand in hand, don't you?"

"Huh." Nathan said as he sat on the corner of his desk, crossing his arms. "Good call, Lizbeth. Yes, you're right. I guess I was just so happy that I didn't want to think past that. I believe that Allie will be thrilled. Like me, she's forgiven you and moved past what happened back then. She loves and looks up to you. But, I think it would mean the world to her if we singled her out with an explanation when we get there and maybe the two of you could go for some ice cream after supper? Jack and I will have some guy time. I can take him home and we can meet you there."

At Elizabeth's nod and smile, he reached for her hand and pulled her closer. Kissing her forehead, he said, "It really is going to be alright. And, thank you for thinking of Allie and considering her feelings. I can't tell you how much that means to me. Just one of the reasons why I love you, Lizbeth."

"I love you, too, Nathan. And you're an excellent father. Teenaged girls can be a challenge, but you've done a wonderful job. Allie is an extremely intelligent, kind and loving girl. She's a delight."

"Thank you." he whispered. For a moment they just gazed into each others eyes, but Nathan stood up. "Um, we should probably get going."

As they once again walked towards the cafe, Elizabeth said, "By the way, I never would've canceled on you again. Never."

Nathan jerked his head towards her. "How? How did you know?"

Elizabeth stopped and looked him in the eyes, "I can read you pretty well, Nathan. I hurt you back then, and while I can never take that back, I will always remember the pain in your eyes and know that I caused it. I will never so carelessly hurt you again. I can't promise that I won't ever make mistakes, but you can be assured, things are different now. I am different now." Then she turned and began walking towards the cafe again, glancing over her shoulder without stopping, "You coming?" she asked.

With a somewhat stunned smile on his face, Nathan hustled to catch up. So, this was how it was going to be. Well, he was here for it. All of it.

xxxxxxxxx

Nathan and Elizabeth went around to the side door of the cafe - their eyes met in silent communication and Nathan opened the door, holding it for Elizabeth. Before he even cleared the doorway, he heard Allie shout, "Mrs Thornton! You look amazing!" By the time he entered, Allie had thrown her arms around Elizabeth.

With a surprised chuckle, as though she'd completely forgotten her new look, Elizabeth returned Allie's hug. "Thank you, Allie. It means so much to me that you think so."

Allie stepped back. She narrowed her eyes, looking back and forth from her father to Elizabeth. "Okay, you two. Out with it."

Elizabeth glanced at Nathan in alarm. Before either of them could respond, the missile that was Little Jack ran into the room straight for Nathan. With quick reflexes, Nathan knelt down and scooped Jack up just as he collided with him. "Hey there, big guy!"

Little Jack looked at his mother with a bright smile, then back at Nathan. "Mama's pretty."

"Yes, she certainly is, Jack." Nathan said, trying very hard to not look at Elizabeth while Allie was staring them down.

During this interchange, Minnie had come in with Fiona on her heels. Minnie quickly read the situation and offered Jack some cookies that were in the front room (Elizabeth chose to ignore the fact that he probably hadn't had supper yet). Fiona picked up the latest order and, with a wink at Nathan and Elizabeth, cleared the room.

Nathan looked at his daughter. "Allie. You're right. Something is up. We'd like to sit down and talk with you."

There was suddenly some uncertainty on her face. She nodded and sat down, her gaze traveling between her dad and Elizabeth. "Is everyone okay? Is something wrong?"

Nathan took a seat next to Allie on the sofa, with Elizabeth next to him in a chair. He picked up his daughter's hand. "Allie, there is absolutely nothing wrong. Actually, things are the exact opposite of wrong." He watched as she went from alarmed to naked hope - her gaze traveling between them again. She admirably held her tongue, waiting for them to speak.

"Mrs Thornton and I"...Nathan started, hesitating when he realized they'd completely skipped over discussion of courtship and went straight for the declarations of love.

He needn't have worried because that was enough for his daughter who, with a wide grin of pure delight, blurted, "You're courting, aren't you?!"

The duo tried hard not to smile, but it was impossible. A look crossed between them and Elizabeth responded, "Yes, Allie. We are. We were hoping that you'd be okay with it..."

"Am I okay with it?! I've been wondering what was taking you two so long! I promised myself that I wouldn't try to meddle, but I was beginning to get impatient. This is absolutely the BEST news!"

Elizabeth got up and moved to sit on the other side of Allie. "I'd like to take you for some ice cream after supper, if that's alright with you."

Allie grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love that. This is the best day, ever!"

xxxxxxxxx

Supper was a lively event and definitely felt like 'home'. This was how it was supposed to be and Elizabeth was grateful that she'd been given a second chance to get this right. Minnie had urged her to not waste too much time on regrets, because one could get stuck there.

It was almost time for her to take Allie for their ice cream and talk. Elizabeth excused herself for a moment and slipped into the kitchen to have a word with Minnie. She explained to her friend what she planned to do and Minnie thought it was an excellent idea.

"Just remember, Elizabeth, Allie is now a young lady. You don't have to sugar coat everything or gloss over it. She's a smart one and she'll see right through it. Set the standard, right now, for an open and honest relationship for the two of you going forward. You won't regret it."

Minnie reached over and pulled her friend into a warm hug. "You go on, now, I'll make sure that your two young men get on their way home after I feed them their dessert."

Elizabeth smiled and squeezed Minnie's hand. "Thank you, Minnie. For everything. For helping me take my life back."

This is just what Elizabeth planned to do. Once Nathan and Jack received their chocolate cake, she kissed her son and told him to be good for Mountie Nathan, then she kissed that Mountie on the cheek and told him that she'd see him at her house in an hour. The idea of her and Allie coming home to Nathan and Jack at her house felt so right. If only they didn't have to leave.

Elizabeth linked Allie's arm through hers and they walked over to the soda shop. Mei was there, but it had mostly cleared out for the evening. Mei gushed over Elizabeth's new look and took their order. After getting their ice cream, they took a seat in the corner, she noticed Mei turn over the open sign to closed and then slip into the back room. Knowing Mei, she'd left and would come back to lock up when they were finished.

"Mrs Thornton," Allie started. Elizabeth held up a hand. Allie raised her brows in question.

"Let's talk about what you would like to call me outside of school. Mrs Thornton is far too formal for us, don't you think?"

Allie's eyes lit up. It was as if all of her dreams were suddenly beginning to come true. She knew it could change and all go away - just look at Mrs Thornton's broken engagement to Governor Bouchard - but she just wanted to relish every single moment.

Allie nodded. "Miss Elizabeth?" she offered.

"I think that would work, for now. It's still a lot of syllables, isn't it?" they laughed over this, but it was too soon for any discussion of more intimate names.

Once they finished eating their treats, Elizabeth reached over and took one of Allie's hands into her own. "Now, I'm going to get serious. This is hard and I don't want to bring up bad memories, but I think it's far too important that we start with a very clean slate, don't you?"

On Allie's nod, she continued. "First, I owe you a heartfelt apology or apologies, because I think there are multiple incidents, for how I treated you when I first began to court Mr Bouchard. Governor Bouchard. I also want to give you a chance say what you want to say or to ask me any questions, and I will try - no matter how difficult it is - to give you an honest answer."

Allie nodded again, her eyes began to well up and Elizabeth realized that she only had one handkerchief. She got up to see if Mei had any napkins and found a stack of several hankies on the counter. Mei could be very quiet and very discreet. At that moment, she heard the back door close. She made a mental note to write a thank you to her friend.

Grabbing the hankies, she turned back to the table and set them in the middle. Both of them chuckled and Allie said, "Mei's pretty great, isn't she?"

"Yes, she really is." Elizabeth handed one to Allie and grabbed one for herself.

"Mrs...I mean, Miss Elizabeth? Can I start? I have an apology or apologies, too."

This took Elizabeth off guard. Why on earth would this child need to apologize to her? She was the one who had behaved unforgivably and to one of her students, no less. She managed a nod, though she wanted to object. Remembering Minnie's words, she held her tongue.

"First, I apologize for what I did before and during my adoption ceremony." Allie began. When she noticed Elizabeth start to object, she just shook her head. "Please. This is important. I wasn't going to invite you. I was hurt that you'd rejected my dad and were courting Mr Bouchard. So, I wanted to hurt you back and that was wrong."

Wiping her eyes, she continued. "When Dad saw that I'd left you off, he called me out on it. We talked about it and he thought that I had simply put your name back on the list when I'd really removed everyone else's. He didn't know until you walked into Mr Avery's office. I got in trouble for it. I'm so sorry I put you both in that awkward position."

Taking a deep breath and a drink of water, she went on. "I also should not have made that invitation and invited you to dinner. I knew you were seeing Mr Bouchard. I just didn't want to accept it."

Both ladies wiped their eyes and noses. "While I don't think that you need to apologize for anything, I respect you tremendously for doing so. You are becoming so mature, so grown up. I'm proud of you, Allie. And, without question, I forgive you."

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to take a deep breath. She had much more to atone for, as the weight of the issues lay at her feet. "I'm so sorry that I treated you the way that I did, when I knew - deep down - that your child heart longed for a family. And you and I were close. I was way too harsh with you when you invited me to dinner. I also am sorry that I allowed Mr Bouchard to insert himself into any situation involving you. He had no place trying to parent you or offer any advice to you. I simply let him get away with too much."

Allie looked up as Elizabeth took a drink. "I forgave you a long time ago, but I am curious as to why you allowed it. You seemed so different when you began courting him. If I'm honest, and you said I should be, you weren't always as nice."

It was like an arrow through her heart, but Elizabeth knew that Allie was only speaking the truth. She'd hit the bullseye. She hadn't been herself with Lucas. She let the man get away with so much that she would've never allowed with anyone else. That wasn't love, it was enabling. It was the height of dysfunction and couldn't ever last. 'Don't dwell on regrets' she told herself. 'Use this for good.'

"Allie, it's a fair question. I won't make excuses for my behavior, but I will explain what I've come to understand about it. When I lost Jack, we'd only been married for a few weeks. To say that I was completely devastated would be an understatement. I wasn't functioning well at all. It wasn't long before I discovered that I was expecting, and everything became about the baby.

I was still devastated, of course, and it was heartbreaking to know that Jack wasn't going to ever get to meet his child and share in the joy. I believe that was the beginning of being distracted from my grief rather than facing and going through it. One can't come out of the other side of something like that without going through it."

At some point, Allie had reached over and taken Elizabeth's hand in her own. What a treasure this young lady was. She looked up into the girl's hazel eyes and smiled her thanks. After taking a sip of her water, she continued.

"Then Mr Bouchard and your father came to Hope Valley. Both expressed interest in me and I gave in to another distraction from my grief. They say that when we veer off course that we can stop noticing that we're giving a little bit of ourselves away every day. I was way off course. I lost my way.

I went from being a strong, independent woman to one who gave that kind of advice to others, but lived in abject fear of being devastated again, so couldn't take it for herself. This is why I ran from your father, Allie. Not because I didn't love him. It was because of the depth of my love for him.

I ran to Mr Bouchard because my heart would be safe from that kind of devastation. I'm embarrassed and ashamed that I hurt so many people rather than digging deep and dealing with my fears."

"So, you've done that now?" Allie questioned.

Elizabeth nodded. "The feelings that I'd buried so deep began to resurface last fall. It was actually the day of the hostage situation in Rock Creek. I'll just say, that there were cracks in my relationship with Mr Bouchard before that. It all came to a head when I realized that I had some big decisions to make. After the election, I began to meet with Mrs Canfield regularly. She pointed out that I needed to work through my grief and all of my unresolved feelings."

The ladies talked for a little while longer, but the sun was setting and the hour that she'd promised Nathan was almost gone. They cleared their dishes, and Elizabeth found a pencil and paper so the two of them could write a quick thank you to Mei for her thoughtfulness.

While they walked to the Thornton home, Elizabeth answered any other questions that Allie had and they arrived shortly arm in arm. Once they got inside, Elizabeth was struck by the scene before them. Little Jack was cuddled up in Nathan's lap on the settee and both of them were asleep.

She and Allie exchanged a smile, and before Elizabeth could even go and cover the boys with a blanket, Allie was already doing so. A peace settled over her that she was sure she'd never really known before. She was 'home'. This was what she wanted her life to be going forward and she was going to do whatever it took to make certain it happened.