"I'll call you a cab," Toddy offered.

Elizabeth tried to keep her breathing steady to avoid giving away her relief. While tonight had had its moments, she was anxious to get back to being herself. "Thank you Toddy. We really appreciate it."

The antiques dealer excused himself to make the call, and Elizabeth turned to Trudy. "Thank you again for letting me borrow this dress. It's so beautiful. I'll just go change real quick before the cab gets here."

Trudy waved her hand enthusiastically. "Nonsense! It's as though the dress was made for you! You keep it! Then you can wear it the next time you come for a party!"

That was exactly what Elizabeth hoped would not happen again. It was unbelievable how someone could enjoy playacting like this all the time. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"

"Well, in that case, thank you!" Elizabeth thought over if there would ever be an occasion to wear such a stylish dress in Hope Valley. Maybe Rosemary could put it with her trunk of costumes?

Toddy returned shortly. "The cab's at the door. But we must do this again. Next week?" he asked Nathan.

Nathan turned to Elizabeth. "Well, Diane and I will have to talk it over. I'll give you a call?"

Toddy gripped Nathan's hand tightly. "Anytime. Good to see you Danny boy. Just don't be a stranger, huh?"

Elizabeth and Nathan made their goodbyes as quickly as they could, and headed straight to the taxi cab. "Where to?" the driver asked.

Once again, they looked at each other to get their story straight. "Uh, the train station please. We're hoping to make the last train to Capital City," Nathan explained.

The driver didn't seem at all concerned about the explanation, and simply began driving. As they made their way through Union City, Elizabeth marveled at just how bright it was, even this late at night. "Does no one sleep in Union City?" she mumbled to Nathan.

"There's a lot more to do here then… back home," he spoke in an equally quiet voice. Now outside of Toddy's home, Elizabeth could feel herself relax for the first time since meeting the enigmatic man. She still felt cautious about her words however, not knowing if the cab driver had any reason to spill their secrets to Toddy.

They passed by the movie palace just before turning the corner towards the train station. Elizabeth leaned her head onto Nathan's shoulder. "I thought maybe we should see O'Malley of the Mounted next time we're in town, but now I'm not so sure. Who would have thought wanting to see a movie would lead us to this?"

Nathan whispered into her ear, drawing a shiver across Elizabeth's arms. "I don't know about you, but I had a good time tonight."

She looked up at him. "It was great to see a new side of you, Danny."

A train whistle brought her head up, and she gestured to Nathan to take out his pocket watch. "What time is it?"

Nathan scrambled to get the watch. "10:05."

Elizabeth looked up as she mentally recalled what the train schedule was. "The last train to Hope Valley leaves at 10:03. We just missed it," she whispered.

"Here you are, Mr. and Mrs. DeMarco. Mr. Davis already paid me, so you too have a lovely evening," the driver said, dropping them off without any fanfare.

And like that, the two were stranded in Union City, with no train until 6:00 the next morning.

"What do we do?" Elizabeth asked. She looked around, hoping something in the train station would provide the answer.

Nathan looked around as well, seeking his own solution. "Maybe we… maybe Toddy would let us stay with them tonight? Trudy definitely likes you, you could persuade her."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in terror. "Oh no, not them. I think I'm ready to just be Elizabeth for the rest of the night, please."

He nodded in response. "You certainly have a point there. Well, what else could we do?"

With another glance around her, Elizabeth spotted an advertisement for the Union City Hotel. "Let's just go to the hotel. I'd rather get a good night's sleep than try to save money."

Nathan gave a subtle shrug. "I can't think of anything better. Let's go."

Elizabeth tucked her hand through Nathan's arm, and he cradled it in his as they made their way across the street. She didn't know the last time she had felt quite so tired, even more than just a few minutes ago. The thought of a bed was all she had running through her mind.

At the front desk of the hotel, Nathan rang the bell to bring the manager over. Oil-slicked brown hair matched his oily smile as he greeted the couple.

"Well, aren't you the lucky two tonight. We have one room left. How many nights are you planning on staying with us?" the manager asked.

Elizabeth looked at Nathan. She hoped the manager wasn't seeing her panic, but Nathan read her like a book. "Uh, just one room? Are you sure?" Nathan asked.

The manager gave a cursory look over his ledger. "Yes Sir. Just the one. The bridal suite in fact. And I can give it to you at a discount, normally $2.00 a night, but I'll give it to you for a dollar and two bits. And you can treat it as a second honeymoon!"

Elizabeth looked down at the ring she still wore on her left hand. Then her eyes came up and locked with Nathan's. Here they were, a city far away from friends and neighbors, where no one knew what they were up to. Putting her trust completely in this man who she adored, she slipped back into Diane as she said, "Well Danny, I'm good with whatever you decide."

Nathan gave a glance at her ring as well, then turned to the manager. "Just one night then. Danny and Diane DeMarco."

The man handed over the key. "Room 12, up the stairs and at the end of the hall. Do you have any bags I can take for you?"

Nathan gestured to the single, lovingly used carpetbag Trudy had given them to carry their normal clothes. "Just this. I think I can manage. Thank you."

"Well, you two have a good night. Breakfast is available starting at 5:30 in the morning, and unless you choose to spend another night in our splendid city, check-out must be done by 11:00. Anything else I can do for you this evening?"

"No, thank you."

Elizabeth and Nathan walked up the stairs in silence. The walk to the room seemed much longer than the length of a hallway. Finally, Nathan turned the key and they spied their accommodations for the night.

A large, imposing bed took a large portion of the room, obviously the focal point. There was a plain quilt, and at least half a dozen pillows. A painting of Union City in the evening above the bed reminded Elizabeth of just how bright the city was even when most genteel folk were home for the night.

"Well, I'll give the manager a half hour to go to bed, and then I'll slip out. I don't mind finding a bench at the train station and sitting back. It will probably be more comfortable than some of the beds I had back at the academy," Nathan said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Elizabeth looked over quickly. "What are you talking about?"

Nathan paused his searching through the carpetbag. "I'm not staying here tonight. I am going to use the bathroom to change back into my suit if you don't mind. This dinner jacket is starting to get a little tight."

She stopped him before he could disappear into the bathroom. "No, Nathan, you don't need to leave." She felt the charged energy between the two of them, and knew she was treading a very thin line right now.

Nathan cleared his throat nervously and ran a hand through his hair. "Elizabeth, I know you're thinking about my comfort. But I'm thinking about yours. You shouldn't have to compromise your morals for my comfort, never."

Reaching for his hand, Elizabeth held his gaze steadily. "I don't see it as compromising anything. I know that we are in a completely unforeseen situation, and I have complete trust in you, my impeccable Mountie. So please, don't go sit in a train station all night."

The corner of Nathan's smile raised. "Do you have complete trust in the shady coin dealer though? Because apparently I'm Danny DeMarco tonight, not Nathan Grant."

Elizabeth pulled him close enough for him to wrap his hands around her waist, exactly where she wanted them to be. "I know that Nathan Grant is still there inside, no matter what name you give him. Call yourself Harry, Victor, George, it doesn't matter. The man I love is still there."

Nathan pressed a long kiss to her forehead. "I'm glad to know my Elizabeth is here in my arms."

Elizabeth bent her neck so she could look her Mountie in the eyes. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

Nathan burst into laughter, causing Elizabeth no small amount of confusion. "What? What did I say?"

"Just kiss me, so I know this isn't a dream." Nathan lowered his head, and captured her lips in a sweet, too short kiss.

"What was that about?" Elizabeth asked.

Nathan explained the dream he had about her playing in the waving laundry, and then the less desirable kiss from Scout that had awakened him. Now in on the joke, Elizabeth laughed as well. Then the present caught up to them, and they realized how intimate their position was.

Pulling away, Nathan cleared his throat. "I'll just…" he gestured to the bathroom and picked up his pile of clothes off the floor.

"Wait." Elizabeth allowed herself one more impulse for the evening, and carefully untied the bowtie at his neck. Then with agile fingers, she unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt. "There. Now I can picture you as you should be, relaxed and at ease."

He smiled from ear to ear. "Anytime you're around, you make me relaxed."

She knew if she began kissing him, she would never stop, so she allowed him to disappear inside the bathroom. "I'm going to change as well. Let me know before you come out," she called through the door.

He gave an affirmative response, and Elizabeth distracted herself by focusing on the best way to shimmy out of the tight gold dress. It took twists and turns of gymnastic proportions for her to get her hands on the zipper, and finally pulled down the tab enough to get herself out of the borrowed gown. Luckily, her blue dress was a soft cotton that slid easily over her head. She was arranging the layers just right when Nathan called out from the bathroom.

"Ready yet?" he asked.

Elizabeth smoothed her hand across her legs one last time. "Ready."

He emerged in his shirt and pants, forgoing the tie and outer layers this time. "I figured you wouldn't expect me to wear a tie to bed."

She smiled at him. "No, no tie needed for bedtime."

They turned to look at the bed, and Nathan grabbed an armful of pillows. "I'll just make myself comfortable here," he gestured to the foot of the bed.

"Actually." Elizabeth had an idea pop into her head. "Why don't you set up here?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow and indicated the spot at the side of the bed Elizabeth had pointed to. "You want me to sleep here? Maybe I need to consider if I trust you not to step on me in the middle of the night."

She laughed. "I promise I won't step on you. I just… I wanted to be able to see you before I drift off to sleep."

Nathan's tone became completely serious. "I would love to be the last thing you see before you sleep. And I hope that you'll be the first thing I see when I wake up."

Elizabeth realized once again she had yet to return her ring to her right hand, and now the weight became obvious as she felt the desire to have a true testament to her devotion to Nathan. Dreams of the future suddenly filled her mind. She climbed into bed to avoid the feelings for a moment, settling herself back into the remaining pillows. She took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling, and then asked the question she'd been yearning to know the entire evening.

"Why did you tell Toddy you were married?"

She felt his eyes boring into her, and she allowed herself to look over at him. "Actually, I never really told Toddy I was married. I just told her about my great gal, Diane. He came to his own conclusion."

"Oh."

Nathan continued on. "Though I think I just liked being able to pretend, just for a while. But who knows, maybe one day, it will be real."

Elizabeth turned onto her stomach and reached her hand down. Nathan held his hand up so they could interlock their fingers. The light touch connected them, drawing peace and warmth into the moment. She could feel her eyelids getting extremely heavy, but before she slipped into dreams, she shared one. "I hope it becomes real."

And with visions of her handsome, distracting, pretend-husband, great love in her thoughts, she fell into soundless sleep.

With the sleepover reference made before the season, I thought yesterday's may be the episode. It didn't seem to be that way, but I still had the last scene here striking my muse over and over. I wanted to write it, so I did.

Anyone who is waiting for the next chapter of Unbreakable Love, it's taking me a little longer than I had anticipated. I hope to have it up mid-week, but don't hold me to that. I will give a little preview however: Elizabeth gets to enjoy one of her favorite pastimes.

Happy Reading!