Nathan had spent the entire afternoon thinking about his conversation with Bill, and finally had to admit the older man was right. Why was Elizabeth more at risk from his job than Allie. He loved Allie, more than anything, and the thought of something happening to her was beyond scary, but that hadn't stopped his desire to becoming her guardian, or even to adopt her even. So why was he all of a sudden so worried about Elizabeth.

He was in love with Elizabeth, and had been since that night long ago when Amos Dixon had taken her hostage in the saloon as a way to get to Lucas. Never would he forget the moment when, Lucas, telling him the saloon was still closed because he was in the middle of a nap, slightly opened the door some more, and he saw Elizabeth's basket upset on the floor. Seeing her basket made his heart stop, seeing its contents scattered on the floor, made it start beating faster than it ever had before. The idea of her something terrible happening to Elizabeth nearly caused him to explode through the door so he could rescue her. Fortunately, he was able to calm his nerves just enough to let Lucas know he understood the message and would help them. As he made his way up the back stairs, and began trying each window, hoping one was unlocked, images started to appear in his mind. Images of a future he didn't know he wanted. A future with Elizabeth by his side. Soon he'd found an unlocked door and was able to quietly enter. As he made his way down the hall he was able to see over the banister and again his heart stopped. A man was holding a gun to Elizabeth. Knowing that rash acts always lead to disaster, he forced himself to calm down and with the help of Elizabeth and Lucas he was able to apprehend the bad guy and send him off to jail, again.

As soon as the dust had, and he admitted to the universe how he felt about her, the guilt came crashing down on him. Finding out he was removed from the training mission, then finding out it was Jack Thornton, of all people, that had replaced him. Everyone knew the name Thornton, after all. Following the inquiry into his insubordination, he was transferred to out of Fort Clay. In his new position, he found out that Jack Thornton had been a newlywed when he died, which meant his wife was now a young widow. Then rumors about his wife being pregnant, and giving birth to a son reached him, and he knew what needed to be done. He requested and was granted the post in Hope Valley with the intention of watching over Jack Thornton's widow and son until someone else came along who could do it better. The thought of falling in love with Jack's widow never even occurred to him, until the day she introduced herself and let the town know she was accepting of the new Mountie.

The moment she walked through the door, Nathan had felt a shift in the atmosphere, and when he glanced up to see who it was, not only did his mind go blank, he couldn't find any words to say. She was one of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, but it wasn't just the physical attributes that made her so. It was the hesitancy in her voice when she said 'Hello', her willingness to be seen with him on the street. She was a beautiful person inside and out, and he enjoyed being in her company. He felt complete with her, but he would never allow himself to fall in love with her, but fall in love he did. So he used for the guilt to fight his true feelings, and they became good friends, Through it all he continued to love her, more and more each time they met.

Nathan had noticed a slight change in Elizabeth soon after. Like she was opening her heart up again and considering looking for love again. Then the incident with the prisoner transport occurred. The fact that, after seeing him alive, she ran straight into his arms gave him hope that maybe, she was beginning to open her heart to him. Holding her in his arms and resting his chin on her head had given him an idea of what the great poets meant when describing an all consuming love. He felt their souls connect at that moment and knew she was the only woman in the world he would ever truly love. Now here he was, a few years and broken hearts later, on the brink of making his unspoken dreams come true, and he was pulling back.

It was while helping Mrs. Gentry get her chickens rounded up and safely back in their coup that he admitted to himself the truth. Just like Elizabeth, using her fear of him being a Mountie, caused her to push him away, the fear of her breaking his heart again was forcing him to push her away. Now he was the one listening to his head and not his heart, and the irony was not lost on him.

Once he was back in town, and Newton was settled in his stall, Nathan headed toward the Judge's Office,

"Took you long enough." Bill smirked when he saw who was coming through the door.

"I am going to head home for the day, and was wondering if you'd be willing to keep an eye on things tomorrow? I have some things that need to be taken care of as soon as possible." Nathan asked, trying to appear calm and routine.

Bill saw right through Nathan and smiled to himself, glad he'd been able to help Nathan see things differently. "Take your time, Son." was all he said.

She could hear the sounds of the river through the trees and smiled. There was nothing quite like hearing the sound of rushing water, picturing the scene in your head, and then realizing that scene was not even close to the real thing. She loved this out of the way place, and said a prayer of thanksgiving each time she came. Suddenly, she heard the sound a rock makes when it's dropped into a pond. That can't be right, no one knows about this place, at least as far as she knew. Coming through the trees, she was stunned at the picture before her. There, by the river, was Nathan, sitting on a blanket, absently tossing rocks into the water. In her shock, she didn't see the tree branch right in front of her, and just like that she was sprawled on the ground, having tripped over it.

Nathan, hearing the sound, quickly turned and rushed to her. "Lizabeth, are you okay? He asked, a worried expression on his face.

"Yes, well that is, I think so." she was trying to get her limbs back in order so she could stand up while trying to not let Nathan see her embarrassment at tripping over a tree branch. It also didn't help that she had gotten lost in his eyes, the moment he reached her. Reaching out, he assisted her up and made sure she was steady on her feet before releasing his grip. Elizabeth looked down, expecting that she'd tripped over a large branch, but the only ones in sight were little twigs, and her embarrassment continued to grow. Thankfully, she'd dropped the basket, some of the items had spilled out so she was able to gather them back into her basket, and calm her self down a bit.

"Sometimes those small ones, just reach right out and grab hold of ya." Nathan said with a wink, and then asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I am, thank you. Although my pride might take some convincing, it's not the end of the world later on tonight, thankfully I have some extra cookies at home. That usually helps the pride feel better." she said with a chuckle, looking over at him once again, and once again getting lost in his eyes. "But, Nathan, what are you doing here? I mean, why are you here? I mean, how do you know about this place?" the questions started tumbling out before she could stop them.

"I was sitting by the river, tossing some rocks." Nathan answered, pointing to the blanket he'd been sitting on. "I found this place a few years ago, now, and come up here all the time to think or decompress, or just throw rocks in the water. I've never told anyone about it, so maybe I should be the one asking you why you are here?"

"Ah, well, I stumbled into it a few months ago now, and come up when I need to think out loud. I've never seen anyone up here, or really ever heard anyone talk about it." she explained.

"You stumbled into to it? Like you did just now?" Nathan asked, pointing at the twigs on the ground.

"Not exactly like that," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes at him, "I had a lot on my mind and had gone for a walk and suddenly here I was. Thankfully, I paid attention on my way back and have been coming here ever since."

"I can go now, if you'd rather be alone." he volunteered, all the while praying she'd ask him to stay.

"Please stay with me?" Elizabeth asked, pleading with eyes as well.

"Always" he whispered back to her and they both went back to that night in the infirmary when they had both said the same thing.

Reaching for her basket, they walked to the bank of the river, and sat down together on the blanket.