Lucas sat on the park bench next to Faith as Lily ran around the playground with some of her friends from school. A smile shone on the little girl's face as she played and laughed without a care in the world. She was holding tightly to a teddy bear that Lucas had given her before they'd left the saloon. He had seen it when he'd been in Capital City and instantly knew that it was the perfect gift for Lily. The excitement on the little girl's face as soon as he had given it to her told Lucas that he was right.

"Lily sure loves it here," Lucas commented, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between him and Faith.

"I know," Faith agreed. "Both of us do." She watched Lily with a smile. "I remember when Fiona asked me to come to Nashville with her at Mike and Mei's wedding," Faith said, a faraway look in her eyes as she replayed the memory. "And while I think it's amazing what Fiona is doing and it would have been an extraordinary opportunity, I knew that I don't want to leave."

"Everything I've ever wanted is here in Hope Valley." Faith glanced back at Lucas as she continued. "And Lily's future is too. This is where I want her to grow up and it's where I want to raise her. It feels like home to me. It always has."

At this point, Lucas felt his vision start to blur. Somewhere in the middle of Faith talking, all he could hear was Elizabeth's voice in his head.

"My whole life is here," she had said. "This is where I want to raise my son. This is where I want to be."

Hadn't Faith just said the exact same thing? What am I doing? Lucas wondered. How could he keep pursuing a relationship with Faith when his life so often took him away from Hope Valley? He would never ask Faith and Lily to leave, but how could a long-distance relationship be sustained long term? Where would that leave him and Faith?

"I'm so glad I can give her a stable home here," Faith was saying and Lucas suddenly realized that she was still talking.

"I think that's great, Faith," Lucas responded, meeting Faith's gaze. "And it's obvious that Lily is very happy to be here and have you in her life." Lucas smiled because he meant what he said, but he couldn't shake the thoughts that were now swirling like a tornado inside his head.

He knew he could never ask Faith and Lily to leave Hope Valley. And he didn't want to. They belonged here. But the fact was, Lucas didn't. This town wasn't his home anymore and Lucas didn't know if it ever would be again.

Lucas couldn't forget how it had ended with Elizabeth. How could he expect it to end any differently with Faith?

Late that night, Lucas was seated at the bar with Fiona in the still bustling saloon. Fiona was sipping her sarsaparilla and even though Lucas didn't usually care for them himself, he decided to try one tonight, just for a bit of a change. His conversation with Faith had Lucas reeling. For the life of him, he couldn't seem to forget it. And Lucas couldn't seem to solve it/come up with a solution either. But, he didn't want to think about that right now. He had come here to help Fiona. He wouldn't be any help if he was preoccupied by his own massive problem that even he couldn't solve.

"So, what's this speech about?" Lucas finally asked, breaking the silence and trying to refocus his mind.

"Well," Fiona said, looking up from the papers she'd been pouring over. "It's not actually for me. One of our rally organizers is totally swamped right now, so I offered to write it for her."

"And you're not?" Lucas raised both eyebrows. "Totally swapped?" he added/clarified, when Fiona just stared at him blankly.

"Oh! Maybe a little," Fiona admitted. "But this shouldn't take too long. She's only talking for about ten minutes."

"Where is the rally taking place?" Lucas took a sip of his drink before setting it down and leaning over to glance over the papers spread out in front of Fiona.

"This one's in Nashville," she replied. "I was the one who organized most of the rally actually. It's been in the works for a while," she explained.

"So," Lucas drew out the word. "Why don't you give the speech?"

"Oh, I'm not really the public speaking type," Fiona replied, waving a hand dismissively.

"Really?" Lucas was surprised she saw herself that way. He thought of the toast she'd given at Mike and Mei's wedding. "I think you would be great at it."

"Honestly, I'm more of a behind-the-scenes type of gal." Fiona shrugged. "I may be able to write a good speech, but I doubt I'd be any good at giving it."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Lucas countered. When Fiona still looked skeptical, Lucas leaned forward. "I think you can do anything you set your mind to." Lucas just held her gaze for a moment, as if daring Fiona to believe him. But when she finally glanced away after a couple seconds, Lucas could tell that she still wasn't convinced.

"So what do you have so far?" Lucas shifted in his seat. He figured it was a good time to change the subject.

"Right, of course." Fiona shook her head as if coming out of a daze as she riffled through the papers, trying to find the right one. "Here it is." She handed it to him. The two worked on the speech for a solid hour until the number of people in the saloon had started to dwindle.

"I think that should do it!" Fiona announced as she wrote the closing sentence and shut her notebook. "Rosemary said I could use her typewriter to type this up tomorrow," Fiona said, waving her pen in the air. "Thanks so much for your help, Lucas. After everyone hears this, I'll never have a dull moment when I get back to Nashville. Everyone will think I wrote-" The rest of her sentence was lost on Lucas. All he heard was, "when I get back to Nashville."

"You're going back to Nashville?" Lucas blurted, interrupting whatever Fiona was still saying.

"In about a month," Fiona confirmed with a nod. But now she was looking at him curiously. "I'll probably be on the road for a while, helping the movement gain traction in some of the smaller towns in the area."

"Oh, wow. That sounds great," Lucas said, forcing a smile as he tried to sound supportive. In reality, he felt like a deflating balloon. Why couldn't anything stay the same? "How long will you be gone?" he managed to ask.

"I'm not sure," Fiona replied with a shrug, but the curious look had yet to leave her face. "For as long as it takes, I guess. There isn't really a timeline."

"Well, it sounds like a great opportunity," Lucas made himself say and he hoped he sounded believable.

"It really is," Fiona agreed with a smile. "I feel like I finally have the opportunity to actually do something meaningful and I just really want to take it."

"And you should keep doing that," Lucas said and he actually managed a smile this time.

"Well, it's getting late," Fiona said after a second. Lucas helped her gather up her papers and then they both stood. "Thanks again for all the help."

"Anytime. I guess I'll see you around?" Lucas said, walking backwards slowly towards the door.

"I'm sure you will," Fiona replied with a smile.

"Have a good night, Fiona."

"You too."

Lucas was almost to the door when he stopped suddenly and turned around. "And Fiona?" Fiona pivoted back towards him and tilted her head expectantly. "You don't have to travel the country to do something meaningful. What you're doing is already meaningful. What you've done at the switchboard, at the barber shop, and in the cafe? It's always been meaningful."

Hearing his words, a soft smile appeared on Fiona's face.

"Thanks Lucas," she said. "That means a lot to me." Lucas just smiled in return.

"Goodnight, Fiona," he said.

"'Night Lucas."

As Lucas walked home, he tried to let all his worries float away into the night sky. He didn't want to think about things ending with Faith or Fiona leaving. He didn't want to think about whether he could win another term as governor or if he even wanted to run again. He didn't want to keep wondering where he truly belonged.

Instead, Lucas just wanted to savor this moment. He wanted to enjoy the quietness of the night and the brilliance of the stars. He wanted to believe that everything would work itself out and that he would eventually end up where he was supposed to be. And Lucas just wanted to think that this was exactly where he was supposed to be at this very moment. By the time he got to his house, Lucas almost believed it.