The livery was quiet when Nathan found his way inside Friday morning. Though the sky was starting to lighten, it was still too early for the sun to have made its appearance and Nathan wondered if he might be the only one walking about Hope Valley at this early hour. There was still forty-five minutes until he had agreed to meet Gabe and Bill and he had a feeling the two men were just starting to get ready if they had even gotten out of bed yet.

However, Nathan had found it hard to sleep. Surprisingly, it wasn't the nightmare that had trouble his sleep this time. Last night, he found that sleep just didn't seem to want to find him. His mind had been too busy running through possible scenarios for the day. He had managed to lose count of the number of things he thought of that might happen to keep him from keeping his promise to make those calls. When he finally managed to fall asleep, it was restless and he'd wake up forty minutes later just to repeat the process.

Eventually, Nathan had just given up on the attempt and started getting ready. He was sure he was going to miss the sleep later in the day but there wasn't much he could do about it. He had put off going to the livery for a bit and then eventually just gave up. Even Newton's company would be preferable to his own at this point.

Slipping into Newton's stall, Nathan greeted the horse, his voice soft and calm unlike the swirling emotions inside of him. The horse responded to the attention with his own kind of affection.

"I thought I'd find you here early."

Nathan jumped at the comment, despite recognizing Gabe's voice.

"Sorry," Gabe said, though there was a smile on his face. "Have some coffee," he added holding out a mug to Nathan. "You look like you need it."

"Thanks," Nathan replied taking the offered mug. "Did you raid Lucas' kitchen this morning?" he asked as he raised the mug to his lips.

"No. I got permission from Gustov to make coffee this morning," Gabe replied. "He also gave me a recipe last night that I want to try making. Maybe Ally will be willing to try it tomorrow night when I watch her. If she likes it, perhaps when I ask Lillian out, I'll cook her dinner instead of taking her to the hotel. I just need to figure out a place to serve it to her. My little room will never do and somehow I don't think setting up a table in the middle of the Mounted Police Office would be romantic."

Nathan laughed. "Not romantic, but it would definitely be something she wouldn't forget," he told his friend.

"Yeah, probably for reasons I'd rather she would forget."

"So, you finally going to actually ask Lillian out?" Nathan ventured.

Gabe smiled. "What can I say. Seeing you and Elizabeth together these last few days has got me inspired."

"I can live with that," Nathan replied.

The two friends chatted while they finished their coffee. Afterwards, they went about saddling Newton and Apollo. They hadn't gotten far before Bill found his way into the livery.

"How long have you two been awake?" Bill asked, glancing briefly in their direction as he went to Ember's stall.

"You don't want to know," Nathan replied.

"Long enough to be properly caffeinated," Gabe told the older man.

"That's about what I figured," Bill replied.

The three men worked in silence as they got the horses ready to leave. Before long they had led their horses out of the livery. Bill and Nathan had waited while Gabriel returned the coffee mugs to the saloon. As they mounted the horses and headed out of town, the first rays of light were falling over the town that was slowly waking up.

Opening her eyes, Elizabeth tried to figure out what had woken her up. Listening, she didn't hear Little Jack crying. A glance toward the window told her that the sun was making an appearance as light creeped around the edges of the curtains. As she tossed back the blankets, deciding she might as well start her day, she recognized the smell of coffee finding its way into her room.

Grabbing her robe, Elizabeth made her way out of her room. She peeked in quickly on Jack, who was sleeping peacefully, before she headed downstairs. As there was only one other person in the house, Elizabeth wasn't surprised to find Ally in her kitchen.

"You're up early," Elizabeth commented, noting that Ally was already dressed.

"I woke up right before dawn and didn't feel like going back to sleep. I didn't disturb you, did I?"

"No," Elizabeth replied, though she was pretty sure that it had been the aroma of the fresh brewed coffee that had woken her up. Given how comfortable Ally seemed in the kitchen Elizabeth had a feeling this wasn't the first time the girl had started breakfast.

"I'm making oatmeal for breakfast," Ally replied as Elizabeth moved to the cupboard for a mug.

"That sounds wonderful," Elizabeth said. "I've got some blueberry muffins that will go with it. Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm good."

"Then I'm going to get some coffee and see how much of it I can drink before Little Jack wakes up," Elizabeth said, deciding that she was going to take advantage of the situation. She doubted she would be awake in the morning before her son again any time soon.

The trio rode in silence for the first part of the trip, with Bill riding in the lead. Gabriel rode beside Nathan, who caught the glance his friend would cast in his direction every now and then. To his relief, Gabriel didn't try to make conversation though.

Nathan wasn't in the mood to talk. He didn't want to put into words the feelings that were building up inside of him. Though rationally he knew that the likelihood that anybody would be waiting to ambush them around the approaching bend, Nathan still felt trepidatious.

As they approached that particular bend, Newton whinnied nervously. The horse's steady gait stopped as he pranced nervously. Nathan wasn't sure if his horse was nervous because of where they were or if Newton was picking up on his own mood. Not that it really mattered.

"Easy," Nathan said, trying to keep the tone of his voice calm and steady. Tightening his hold of the reins in his right hand, he reached out to rubbed Newton's neck with his left hand.

The action didn't seem to calm the horse down any. After a couple more steps, Newton paused and pawed at the ground with his right forefoot. Making the decision that he would be safer leading Newton, Nathan dismounted.

Not far ahead, Bill had brought Ember to a stop and was looking back.

"Everything okay?" Bill asked.

"Newton's just nervous," Nathan replied.

Beside him, Gabriel had dismounted as well. Together, Nathan and Gabriel led the horses forward.

"And perhaps the rider is a bit nervous as well," Nathan admitted.

Bill nodded, dismounted himself. They had plenty of time to get to Buxton in time for the trial. Walking for a bit wouldn't hurt any of them any.

"No one is waiting for us this time," Bill said, as the three men continued down the road leading the horses.

"You trying to convince me or yourself?" Nathan asked.

"Maybe a bit of both," Bill admitted, a nervous smile coming to his lips as he led the trio.

As they rounded the bend where Jenny had taken them by surprise the week before, the road was empty. Though no one appeared, Nathan recalled the events of last week. He remembered Jenny's surprise appearance and the conversation that occurred. Nathan still remained convinced that he had been reaching Jenny. That if Bryant hadn't gone for the rifle that Jenny would've surrendered.

No one had to die that day, of that he was sure.

"Nathan."

It was Gabriel's voice that broke through his thoughts. As Nathan took in Gabriel's expression, and the fact that his friend now held Newton's reins, he had a feeling that it wasn't the first time Gabe had tried to get his attention.

"You okay?" Gabe asked.

"Fine," Nathan said trying to push the memories away and focus on the present. Other than the horses and themselves, no one was in sight. Taking a deep breath, Nathan let it out slowly trying to ground himself.

Looking away from Gabe, Nathan's gaze found Bill. The older man was watching him, a troubled expression on his own face. Like Gabe's expression, Nathan could see the concern in Bill's features. However, there was something more there. Something, that though Nathan couldn't exactly put a word to, was fairly sure was mirrored on his own face.

"The memories seem stronger here, somehow," Bill commented, his voice low.

Nathan simply nodded his agreement. That was a very good way to put.

Gabriel remained quiet, keenly aware that he was the outsider in this situation. He hadn't been there when Jenny ambushed the group taking Elias O'rourke to Buxton. This place held no specific meaning to him like it did for Bill and Nathan.

"Did we miss something, Bill?" Nathan finally asked. "Should we have been more cautious? Should we have anticipated that O'rourke may have been working with someone else?"

"Not that I was aware of," Bill replied. "From everything I read or heard, O'rourke was working alone. There was no indication that he had an accomplice, let alone someone that was close enough to him to risk breaking him out. Though I do recall seeing Jenny O'rourke around Hope Valley before the transfer."

"She was at the train station the day I arrested O'rourke," Nathan replied, the memory coming back to him. "I don't know why I didn't make the connection before now, but I remember passing by her when I was leading O'rourke out of the train station."

Bill nodded. "It makes sense. They were probably traveling together though trying not to appear to know one another. The simple fact is, Jenny O'rourke did nothing to attract attention to herself. There was no way to know that she was connected to Elias."

"You sound so sure of that," Nathan remarked. Though he wanted to believe what the older man was saying a nagging voice inside of him had him asking if there was something he had missed that might have changed the outcome.

"I am," Bill countered, his voice firm. "I learned a long time ago that second guessing yourself doesn't benefit anyone in the job. You've got to go with your instincts. If you stop trusting those instincts and start thinking too much, you're only increasing the danger. What happened here was tragic, but it could've been worse. You did the right thing, Nathan. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out for the best but don't keep second guessing yourself. It's a dangerous path to go down."

For a few moments the chirps of the birds in the trees around them were the only sound.

"That might be something both of you want to keep in mind," Bill said, his gazing drifting from Nathan to Gabriel, and then back again. "You okay?" Bill asked.

Nathan nodded feeling a little more grounded, even as he reached out for Newton's reigns.

"Then how about we keep going. Personally, I believe I have spent quite enough time with the memories."

"Me too," Nathan admitted, as he signaled for Newton to move forward. He still didn't feel quite ready to try mounting the horse again.

Together, the three men headed down the road, leading their horses, both Gabriel and Bill willing to let Nathan decide when they would continue their journey on horseback.

Elizabeth sat at her desk while the kids were outside on their lunch hour. Being about halfway through, she had a feeling that most of the kids had finished their lunches and were playing games. Glancing from the book she was trying to read over to her sandwich, she realized she had managed to eat less then half of it.

A knock at the other end of the schoolhouse caused her to look in the direction of the door. A familiar figure was standing just inside.

"Lucas!" Elizabeth said, surprised to see him at the school house. Given the current situation, she had figured she'd only see Lucas when she was in town. She certainly didn't expect him to come see her at the school house. "What brings you up this way?" she asked, getting to her feet and stepping down from the platform her desk was on.

"I was accepting a delivery at the Mercantile when a phone call came in from Nathan," Lucas told her as he walked down the aisle. "Florence wrote down the message for you and I volunteered to bring it out to you," he told her, holding out the slip of paper he held.

Elizabeth felt her breath catch as she reached out for the piece of paper. She didn't know why she anticipated bad news, but that fear was there.

Opening the paper, Elizabeth wrote the short message on it.

Nathan called. They reached Buxton safely. He will call tonight at six.

Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief as she looked back up at Lucas.

"Thank-you for bringing this out to me."

Lucas gave her an easy smile. "It's no problem. Though I should probably be getting back to the saloon so I can check on Fiona. This is the first order that has come in since she started helping me manage the saloon and I don't want her to get overwhelmed."

"Fiona's helping you manage?"

Lucas nodded. "Gowen Petroleum is taking up a good bit of my time right now and Fiona may be many things, but she wasn't cut out to be a waitress."

Elizabeth smiled. "Well, I hope things work out well for both of you."

"I'm sure it will," Lucas said. "I'll let you get back to your lunch."

Elizabeth looked back at the partially eaten sandwich before looking back at Lucas. "I think I might actually be able to eat now."

"That's good," Lucas replied. "Good afternoon, Elizabeth."

"Goodbye, Lucas," Elizabeth said. "And thank-you again."

Lucas nodded before turning and heading for the door.

Elizabeth listened to the sound of his footsteps as she read the reassuring words again. Like a kid waiting for Christmas to come, Elizabeth found herself looking forward to six o'clock.

Tucking the note in her skirt pocket, planning on handing it to Ally when the girl came in from recess, Elizabeth returned to her desk. She still had time to finish her sandwich before she had to call the kids in from recess.