"Are you asking me if I believe in fate?" Nathan said, turning to her and raising an eyebrow.

"I am," Elizabeth said.

Nathan chuckled. "I think fate is taking what life gives you, and turning it into what you want." He gazed at Elizabeth for a moment, and as was usual these days, he felt the wonder of what they had become to each other. So many years of loving her and hoping that she would someday admit her love for him – and now, here he was, knowing that he was about to kiss her and that she would return his kiss in equal measures of tenderness and desire.

They had stopped on the boardwalk in front of the produce stand, and for a brief second he thought about all the times they had met there in passing. Now here they were again – and as Allie said, they were "a couple." Mike and Mei's wedding was their coming out of sorts, and Nathan hadn't missed the sideways glance from Florence as he had taken Elizabeth's hand in public. Florence was as thorough as the Valley Voice at disseminating news, and a fair bit faster, so the cat was definitely out of the bag.

Nathan wanted badly to kiss Elizabeth, but he could never resist making her laugh. It was one of his favorite sounds, though it had recently been surpassed by the soft sighs he heard and felt against her lips as he bent to kiss her. Now he could have both, so Nathan reached over and picked up something he knew would make her giggle.

"Or, you could always kiss a potato…" he said, smiling mischievously.

And there it was, a sound like bells chiming, like water falling over rocks, and he laughed with her. He couldn't remember being so filled with hope and joy, and a sense that the future held nothing but good.

"I already have my heart's desire," she said, looking at him in a way that left no doubt about her feelings. She reached for the potato, and he moved it further over his shoulder. She would have to move closer in order to get it, and she obliged him without protest. His lips were nearly on hers when he heard a voice that he had hoped never to hear again.

"Constable Grant." Nathan and Elizabeth turned together to confront the owner of the voice. "Mrs. Thornton. I am Superintendent Hargreaves."

"Of course, I remember," Elizabeth replied coldly. How could she forget the man who had tried and failed to prosecute Nathan for something he had never done – and in the process had caused so much pain and heartache to Nathan and to Allie.

Nathan stood as tall as if he were wearing his serge. "Sir. What brings you from Fort Clay?"

"I'll explain. In private."

Nathan felt frustration begin. The least the man could do is be civil, but that seemed too much to ask of Andrew Hargreaves. "Can it wait?"

"No, I'm afraid it can't." Like talking to a brick wall.

Nathan sighed loudly. "Okay, well, we can speak in my office…"

"I'm not here to see you, Constable," Superintendent Hargreaves said. "Mrs. Thornton, it's about your late husband."

Nathan and Elizabeth turned to each other in confusion. Then Elizabeth raised her chin and turned back to the Superintendent.

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say with Constable Grant at my side."

"It's a matter of protocol…" he began, but Elizabeth cut him off.

"I'm not one of your Mounties, Superintendent. I'm not bound by your protocol."

Nathan tried, but was unable to prevent a tiny smile from appearing at the corner of his mouth. He still held her hand in his, and he gave her a light squeeze in support.

Hargreaves narrowed his eyes and wondered when he would ever be free of these people. None of them – not Grant, not Avery, not even this woman, seemed to understand that he had a job to do and he meant to do it, no matter how many roadblocks they set up.

He took a deep breath to hold his temper. "I also have a message to relay to Constable Grant, but I was planning on speaking to him separately."

The fact that Hargreaves was talking to Elizabeth as if Nathan weren't right there, pushed Elizabeth over the edge. She didn't even try to disguise the loathing she felt for the man. "Then this should save you some time," she said icily. But Hargreaves' last words had caused a light shiver down the back of her neck. They had just gotten through dealing with Fort Clay and had come so far together. Please, world, just leave us be and let us love each other.

For a moment, the three of them stood locked on each other's eyes.

Nathan knew that he had told Elizabeth everything – only the truth – and he had vowed never to keep anything so important from her again. There was a fine line between his job and his love, and he and Elizabeth knew there would be times when he would need to keep information to himself about his work. But never again would he keep something from her like his assignment to Fort Clay. It had driven a wedge between them and had nearly caused him to lose her. He would quit the Mounties before he allowed that to happen again.

Nathan's patience was at its end. "With all due respect, Sir, Mrs. Thornton has made it clear she would like me to be present. Please proceed."

Hargreaves sighed. "Might we at least sit down, Constable?"

Nathan waved his hand toward his office and looked at Elizabeth to be certain. She nodded and smiled thinly at him as they walked behind Hargreaves. How quickly the mood had changed from the joy of a wedding to the dread of what he would have to say. About Jack? Curiosity and trepidation mingled in both of them.

Without a word, Hargreaves took Nathan's chair behind the desk in the Mountie Office. Raising an eyebrow, but choosing not to dispute it, Nathan sat with Elizabeth in the chairs opposite.

Elizabeth sat up ramrod straight. "What is it you have to tell me, Superintendent Hargreaves?"

Hargreaves paused. Then he looked from Nathan to Elizabeth, and spoke in a clear voice.

"Mrs. Thornton, your husband did not die at Fort Clay."

Elizabeth gasped. Nathan narrowed his eyes. Superintendent Hargreaves stayed maddeningly silent, on some level enjoying the power he held over these two people.

"J-Jack isn't dead?" Elizabeth said, barely louder than a whisper.

Hargreaves shook his head solemnly. "No, your husband is deceased, Mrs. Thornton, but he did not die in a rock slide on a training mission. He died in the Northern Territories on a mission of the utmost secrecy, one which no one but myself and my superior was privy to. He was the leader of a group of Mounties called The Lost Patrol."

It was Nathan's turn to take in a deep breath. The Lost Patrol was whispered about but never confirmed. It was believed that four Mounties had left Fort McPherson, just north of Fort Clay, in May of 1915 for a highly secret mission accompanied by indigenous guides who were intended to assist them with skills the southern Mounties lacked, those required for survival in the bitter cold. They had no knowledge of what wood to use for fires, the changing wind directions during storms, and which hills and mountains were safe to camp – and the guides were crucial in bridging that gap. However, after only three days, the indigenous guides returned, saying they had been dismissed by the leader of the Patrol.

The Lost Patrol was never heard from again, and no bodies had been discovered.

Until now.

A local guide had run across their last camp in the mountains, which had been deeply buried in snow and ice until a recent warming trend. All four bodies had been identified, and Constable Jack Thornton was among them.

Elizabeth finally found her voice. "Why did you tell me that Jack died on a training mission at Fort Clay?"

Hargreaves looked her in the eye. "Your husband was the leader of the mission, Mrs. Thornton. The only word we had was from the indigenous guides that they had been dismissed, and at the time, that account was deemed unreliable. The nature of the mission was highly secret reconnaissance, and the Mounties didn't want it to be public knowledge in case the enemy was warned to expect another one." He sighed heavily. "It was easier to have Constable Thornton lose his life in the accident that took the recruits. That was his cover for the mission, so it was left that way."

Elizabeth held her tears in check for just one question. "Why would Jack not tell me he had been given this very dangerous assignment? He said that Fort Clay would be safe…"

Hargreaves removed his hat and laid it on the desk. "It wasn't an assignment. Constable Thornton volunteered of his own free will." Elizabeth sat still, barely breathing. "And if he had shared the details of the mission with anyone, even his wife, he would have been in violation of his oath."

Nathan put his arm around Elizabeth and held her tightly. "And why are you telling her this now?" His voice was steel. "Why not leave well enough alone?"

Hargreaves returned Nathan's cold stare. "The Mounties don't work that way, Constable, as you well know. Mrs. Thornton buried an empty coffin. It is our duty to give her the chance to bury her husband properly."

This was finally too much for Elizabeth, and she turned to Nathan's arms and hid her face in his gray suit, allowing the tears to flow. Nathan stood and held her tightly, working at keeping his voice even, and masking the hatred he felt for the man across from him.

"Could you give us a moment, please?"

Hargreaves raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid there's more, and I'd like to complete this duty and be on my way. I have other visits to make before I return to Fort Clay."

Now Nathan's voice was ice. He still held Elizabeth as she cried softly. "By all means, don't let us keep you."

All three were standing now, and Hargreaves tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. "Along with the bodies, there was a journal recovered. It was wrapped in oilcloth, and due to the cold, it is remarkably well preserved." He looked up and got right to the point. "Constable Thornton admitted to releasing the guides. I am recommending that his posthumous status be altered. That may affect Mrs. Thornton's death benefits for a Mountie in good standing, which may need to be returned."

Hargreaves was already retrieving his hat and replacing it on his head, his duty completed. Elizabeth had gone silent and stiff in Nathan's arms and he held her even tighter, stroking her hair, trying to offer any small comfort.

Reaching the door, Hargreaves turned back. He made it clear that this was the most distasteful part of today's duty. "Oh, and Grant, I've been instructed to convey the apologies of the Force. Your inquest was necessary to keep up the facade and remind everyone that Constable Thornton was at Fort Clay. You were never really in any danger of losing your job and your record will reflect that. It was just a formality." Hargreaves allowed himself a thin chuckle. "I'm certain you understand."

Speechless with rage, Nathan stayed silent.

Not receiving a reply, Hargreaves shrugged. "Well. I'll inform you when a decision is made, and we'll go from there." With that, he stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

Nathan felt Elizabeth shudder in his arms, and after a moment she pulled away and looked up at him, her eyes red-rimmed and still wet with tears.

"Nathan?" she said plaintively, and he reached up and brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"We'll figure this out." He shook his head, the anger still coursing through him. "I don't know why Hargreaves is always looking for a fight, but he picked the wrong one this time…"

Elizabeth moved away, needing to breathe. "All I can think of is Jack…" she turned quickly, knowing that Nathan would misunderstand, "Little Jack, and what this will mean to how he thinks of his father…" Elizabeth paced, her eyes darting around the small Mountie Office that had so many memories, old and new. "And that he volunteered for this mission, maybe even before we were married, knowing that he was going to the Northern Territories and that I might never see him again. At least when it was an accident, I could bear it somehow, but…"

Nathan reached out a hand, wanting to calm her. "Elizabeth, I think we need to take everything that Hargreaves says with a large grain of salt. He enjoys causing pain, and as we know from my inquest, he tends to embellish the truth…"

"He kept a journal," Elizabeth said softly, as if she hadn't heard him. She had backed herself into the corner where the bars of the jail cell met the wall and she was holding her arms around her chest tightly. "We buried an empty coffin? They told me I should remember him as he was and that I shouldn't look…" As Nathan moved toward her, she spoke rapidly, eyes wide. "I've already spent some of his pension, and put the rest into an account for Jack's college. I would have to borrow the money from my father to pay it back…"

Crossing the room quickly, Nathan pulled her back into his arms, and she clung to him as if for dear life, breathing shallowly. Nathan spoke softly into her hair, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I still have good friends at Fort Clay, and I'm going to find out the truth of all this. Bill can cover Hope Valley while I'm gone…"

With impeccable timing, Bill Avery stepped through the door of the Mountie Office. "Was that Hargreaves I saw riding out on his horse? What in God's name was he doing here again…"

Looking over at Nathan and Elizabeth in the corner, and quickly taking in her red eyes and pained look and Nathan's set jaw and eyes of steel, Bill shook his head.

"Spreading joy and sunshine again, is he?" He took off his coat and sat down. "Okay, what is it this time?"