AN: This chapter is a bit longer than the others because originally I didn't have the first section in. I just skipped from Saturday to Monday. However, as I was writing I realized the mention of the guitar got ignored and this seemed the best way to add it. Hope you all enjoy the chapter and thanks for everyone who is leaving the review. It's always nice to get them!
Though she had protested at first, Elizabeth had been grateful to have Gabriel by her side while at church on Sunday morning. The rescue at the river was the prevalent conversation both before and after the service despite Pastor Zeke's sermon. Elizabeth should have anticipated that people would approach her with questions about Nathan, but she hadn't. Luckily, Gabriel had fielded those questions for her.
Despite it taking longer than Elizabeth would have liked, she and Gabriel eventually extracted themselves from the welling meaning folks of Hope Valley. With Little Jack in her arms, her son having once again claimed Gabriel's Stetson, she walked toward the little row of houses with Gabriel at her side.
"Thank-you, for stepping in with the questions about Nathan. I should've realized they would be asking me how he was doing, especially as Bill wasn't there," Elizabeth said.
Bill had elected to stay at the house with Nathan and Ally.
"You're welcome," Gabriel replied simply. "How are you holding up through all this, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth looked down at Little Jack as she contemplated how she wanted to answer that question. "I told Bill yesterday that I felt, numb," she replied. "I'm past that now and I figured I would either feel sadness from memories of losing Jack or the desire to pull away from the relationship in an effort to protect myself but I don't," she admitted. "Right now, I just want to be with Nathan and make sure he knows just how much I love him."
Gabriel nodded. "I'm glad. Nathan needs someone like you in his life, Elizabeth. He's been taken care of others since he was Ally's age. He deserves someone in his life that can take care of him when he needs it."
"Someone other than you?"
Gabriel laughed. "Yes, someone other than me. Not that I mind the job. He's like a brother to me. However, it just isn't the same."
"And you know this how?"
"I haven't been married before or anything if that's what you're trying to find out. Until I met Lillian, there just wasn't anyone that I had those feelings for before. Yes, I went out on dates, but they weren't serious. They weren't the type of relationship that my parents and my sisters have found. The type of love that I've seen between you and Nathan these last few weeks."
Elizabeth could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and she looked down at Little Jack in an attempt to hide the reaction.
"Just be patient with him, Elizabeth," Gabriel continued, not bringing any attention to Elizabeth's blushing. "I know Nathan and I know he will go back and forth in his mind the next steps of your relationship. He'll get there, though."
"With a little prodding from you?" Elizabeth asked.
"If need be," Gabriel admitted. "It's what friends are for."
Elizabeth laughed though she took Gabriel's words to heart. "He's been patient with me and I sorted through my own feelings. I can be patient as well."
The two walked in silence for a while. As they approached the little row of houses Elizabeth spoke up. "Would you mind, taking Little Jack into Nathan's house? I'm just going to go get the casserole I put together and I'll put it in the oven at his house. I know you have to do rounds but carrying a kid and a casserole isn't going to work well."
"I'd be happy to," Gabriel told her, holding his hands out for Little Jack. The little boy went easily to Gabriel, even placing the Stetson awkwardly on Gabriel's head as the Mountie settled Jack in his arms.
"Thanks for giving me back my hat, Jack," Gabriel told the boy who giggled in reply.
At the Grant's home, Gabriel disappeared inside while Elizabeth continued to her own home. At her house, Elizabeth changed into a more simple dress before grabbing the casserole she had put together before church. Coming out of the house, she noticed Gabriel making his way toward town. She waved to him before walking down the row of houses to Nathan's.
Being expected, Elizabeth knocked on the door as she opened it. The only one in sight was Bill. The older man stepped forward as she entered, reaching for the casserole dish.
"Let me take that for you," he told her.
"Thanks," Elizabeth said, relinquishing the casserole to Bill.
"Little Jack is upstairs with Nathan and Ally," Bill told Elizabeth as he carried the dish to the kitchen as Elizabeth removed her coat. "I'll put this in the oven and keep an eye on it while you go visit."
"You don't have to, Bill," Elizabeth said, as she had planned on cooking the casserole herself.
"I want to," Bill told her. "Besides, I think Nathan is getting sick of my company by now. Like Little Jack though, your presence will put a smile on his face."
Elizabeth smiled. "Okay," she conceded, not bothering admitting or deny that she was anxious to see Nathan again. She had a feeling that Bill was already aware of that fact.
Leaving the casserole in Bill's capable hands, Elizabeth made her way upstairs. She could hear Little Jack's laughter as she reached the second floor. Following it, she was soon standing in the doorway of Nathan's room.
Nathan was sitting against the headboard of the bed, Little Jack sitting on the bed beside him. The little boy was laughing because Nathan was entertaining the little boy with a sock puppet. Though Bill had said Ally was up here, Elizabeth didn't see her. It didn't worry her too much though because Bill would have noticed if she had left the house. Nor did Elizabeth think that the girl would have gone far from her uncle.
"Are you two having fun?" Elizabeth asked, announcing her presence.
Nathan looked up from making the puppet talk to Little Jack. He smiled when he saw her. Elizabeth noted that Nathan didn't seem at all embarrassed to get caught making a sock puppet talk.
"We are," Nathan told her, even as Jack made a grab for the now still sock puppet. Nathan looked in his direction even as he asked. "How was church?"
"The service itself was fine," Elizabeth replied, slipping into the room. She debated on whether to sit on the edge of the bed or the chair briefly before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Everyone was asking me about you though. Thank-you for insisting that Gabriel escort me. I think I would have felt overwhelmed without him there to help me field all the questions."
Nathan glanced over at her as he told her, "you're welcome."
Nathan picked up a faded and worn teddy bear and handed it to Jack. Elizabeth figured the bear had maybe one time been a shade of brown, though it now appeared beige. The little boy eagerly reached out for it, forgetting all about the sock puppet. Peeling the puppet from his hand, Nathan placed it on the bed, out of Jack's reach but near Elizabeth.
Elizabeth picked it up to look at it.
"My sister made that to entertain Ally when she was three," Nathan told her without being asked. "Ally lost interest of the puppet shows when she was about seven. She told me that she was too old for it, but she's kept it, as well as the bear."
"It's very well made," Elizabeth said, setting the puppet back down. She had noted the button eyes, and yarn hair on the puppet. Things that could be a choke hazard for an almost two year old. Hence why Nathan had placed it out of Jack's reach. "Is the bear one of Ally's as well?"
Nathan looked down at Jack who had laid down next to Nathan. The little boy was using Nathan's leg for a pillow, and was holding the bear close to him.
"I bought that bear for Ally when she was born. She was already about a month old by the time I got to my sister's to see her. She's had it ever since and she made it clear that she was only letting Jack borrow the toys."
"I bet," Elizabeth said, knowing how special both must be to the young girl. "Where is Ally?" Elizabeth asked.
"She retreated to her room to read her book for her book report that's due on Friday. She said Jack and I were too much of a distraction."
"Well, Jack isn't a distraction now," Elizabeth commented, watching her little boy's eyes flutter as he started to drift off to sleep.
"No. I guess I tired him out," Nathan commented, reaching down to put a protective hand gently against the little boy's side.
"He's had a busy morning," Elizabeth commented. A silence fell over the room. Elizabeth took the chance to ask the question that had been on her mind since the previous evening. "I noticed a guitar sitting in the corner. Do you play?"
Nathan glanced over at the instrument in the corner. "I didn't for years," Nathan told her. "I found Ally was taking up a lot of my time outside my work duties, and it didn't make sense to have something else to worry about every time I moved. I had left it with Angela, Gabriel's sister, for the longest time. I asked Angela to send it to me at the beginning of the year, after I turned down the promotion. I figured if I was going to settle some place then I should probably have the guitar with me. It's something I enjoy, like woodworking."
"Will I get to hear you play sometime?" Elizabeth asked.
"I think that could be arranged, though the way my back feels today, it might not be for a bit."
"That's okay," Elizabeth told you. Reaching out she took his hand in hers. "You heal up first, then I'll remind you of the promised serenade."
Nathan chuckled. "You might not call it a serenade after you hear me play. The neighbors didn't seem to enjoy it when I first got the instrument back."
Elizabeth laughed. She'd had her own experience with the thinness and closeness of the row houses.
"In the meantime, how about you use your storytelling abilities and tell me about your adventure coming from Hamilton to Hope Valley," Nathan told her.
Knowing that Bill would let them know when the food was ready, Elizabeth gave a nod as she tried to figure out how best to start the tale.
The following day, Elizabeth stood on the top step of the little school house and rant the bell to start the day. The gathered children who had been using the last few minutes before school started to expend some energy, stopped what they were doing and headed toward the schoolhouse. One by one they filed past Elizabeth, who mentally took attendance as they went by.
"How are you feeling today, Opal?" Elizabeth asked as the young girl headed up the steps.
"I'm okay. Though I think, I'll stay away from the river for a while."
"I think that's a good idea."
"Mrs. Thornton, can I ask you something?" Opal asked, looking up at her teacher with a sad look in her eyes, as the other students kept filing by.
"Of course," Elizabeth told her.
"Would it hurt your feelings if I thought another Mountie was as brave as Mountie Jack?"
"No, Opal. It wouldn't. I think most Mounties are very brave," Elizabeth told her student, having a feeling she knew where the girl's train of thought was going. Both Jack and Nathan had now saved her from very terrifying situations. Opal and the other children had been very fond of Jack. She knew they cherished Jack's memory. The plaque for the school was a testament to that. "And you know what, I don't think Mountie Jack would mind being compared to Constable Grant either."
"Constable Grant saved my life. Do you think he would mind if I called him Mountie Nathan?"
Elizabeth smiled. The children had always used Nathan's proper address. She knew it was their way of keeping Jack and Nathan separate. The fact that Opal was willing to blur that separation was special, though she wasn't sure how Nathan would react to the more familiar address.
"I think you would need to ask Constable Grant that question," Elizabeth told her.
Opal nodded thoughtfully. "I think I will," she said. "Is Constable Grant okay? I haven't seen Ally yet this morning."
"Constable Grant is going to be fine but Dr. Shepherd wants him to rest a few days. Ally probably just wants to stay close to her uncle. Would you like to go see him after school? I know he's asked Dr. Shepherd how you were doing. I think he would like to see you."
"Will you go with me?"
"Of course I will, Opal."
"Then yes, I'd like to go. I want to thank him for saving my life," Opal told her, before stepping around Elizabeth and heading inside.
Elizabeth watched Opal head inside. She was about to follow her when a flash of red caught her attention. Looking in that direction, Elizabeth saw Gabriel walking with his arm around Ally's shoulders.
Reaching the bottom of the steps, Gabriel stopped. He said something to Ally that Elizabeth couldn't hear, and gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. Afterwards, Ally started up the steps.
"Good morning, Ally," Elizabeth said.
"Good morning, Mrs. Thornton," Ally greeted her as she made her way by.
Elizabeth watched Ally go into the schoolhouse and then looked back to Gabriel.
"Sorry, about the timing. We had a bit of trouble convincing her to even come to school this morning," Gabriel said, looking up at Elizabeth. "She didn't want to leave Nathan."
"It's understandable," Elizabeth said. "This is the third incident in the last few weeks that she's had to worry about something happening to Nathan. It's only natural that she'd be a little clingy after what she's already lost."
"Third?" Gabriel asked.
"We were stuck in a windstorm a few days before the prisoner transfer," Elizabeth told him. "Nathan was out looking for one of the students and Ally was worried about him."
"Yeah, I guess it has been a tough few weeks for her."
"She'll be fine," Elizabeth said. "I'll keep a close eye on her today. How is Nathan doing?"
"He's up and about," Gabriel told her, "though he's feeling a bit stiff and sore. Dr. Shepherd wants him to stay around the house at least for the day. Until he clears Nathan for duty, I'm going to hang around, to make sure he follows the doctor's orders."
"You're a good friend, Gabriel."
"I try," Gabriel replied. "I should be going. I've got rounds to do and I should let you get classes started," he told her, touching his fingertips to the brim of his hat as he took a step back.
"Have a good day, Constable," Elizabeth told him before turning and heading into the schoolhouse.
Finishing the last coat of stain on the jewelry box he had made Ally for her birthday, Nathan placed it on the brown store wrapping he had placed on the table. It would dry in plenty of time for him to hide it away again before Ally came home from school. Turning, he walked over to the settee and eased himself down onto it. Even if he hadn't been on doctor's orders to take it easy, Nathan didn't think he would be doing much today.
Moments after sitting down there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Nathan called out, deciding that he wasn't going to bother getting up, especially as it was probably Carson stopping by to make sure he wasn't doing anything he wasn't suppose to be doing.
The door opened and instead of Carson, Bill stepped inside.
"Milking the 'take it easy' doctor's orders, I see," Bill joked.
Nathan smiled. "If you must know, I just sat down and didn't feel like getting back up. I think my back hurts more now than it did Saturday."
"Bruises do tend to get worse before getting better," Bill said, having experienced a few injuries himself over the years. "I brought you lunch," he added holding up the wrapped plate he had brought up from the café.
"Thank-you," Nathan replied. "Can you just sit it on the table for now? I just want to sit for a little while before I do anything else."
"Of course," Bill replied, walking over to the table.
Placing the plate on the table, Bill took in the wooden jewelry box sitting there. "Did you make this?" Bill asked, admiring the intricate roses and vines carved into the lid.
"I did. It's Ally's birthday present."
"She's going to love it," Bill commented, turning back to face Nathan.
"I hope so. Buying gifts for her seems to get harder every year," Nathan replied.
"You're doing a fine job with her, even if she is a little outspoken at times," Bill commented.
"That's her mother coming out in her," Nathan replied, a sadness coming over him as he remembered his sister. "My sister was never at a loss for words and she would say exactly what was on her mind, whether you wanted to hear it or not. My mother use to tell people I was so quiet because I had Colleen to do all the talking for the both of us."
"I imagine you see more and more of your sister in Ally as she grows up," Bill ventured. This was the first time that Nathan had spoken of his sister with him, and that fact more than anything else, showed Bill just how much his relationship with Nathan had changed recently.
"I am. She looks a lot like her mother and as she's growing up there are little mannerisms that are coming out that remind me of Colleen. In some ways, it's like a piece of Colleen lives on in Ally."
"I think that's a very accurate way to put it," Bill commented. "I also think that we see those similarities more between parent and child when we've lost someone, because we're trying to hold onto the person that we lost. In the brief time I talked with Archie while he was here I recognize one trait that you share with him."
"And that is?" Nathan asked, surprised by the reaction Bill's comment brought. Nathan knew that there was a time when a comment like that would have just made him angry. Now he was just curious to know what similarity Bill had recognize.
"When I was questioning your father about the necklace, he stated twice that he didn't take it. After that, he simply answered my questions but didn't waste time trying to sway my opinion. He knew what the truth was but he wasn't going to waste time trying to persuade me after he made the determination that whatever he said wasn't going to change my mind. You do the same thing. You don't keep wasting your time trying to persuade people, even when you know you're right, you just let the matter go and let life or fate prove you right."
"There are some situations where you're never going to sway people with just words," Nathan replied.
"Like with a town sheriff who wouldn't let the new guy in town explain why he got involved with the fight."
"It wasn't quite a fight yet when I got involved," Nathan reminded him, "but yeah that's the perfect example. After I told you twice I could explain, I figured that tact wasn't going to get me anywhere and you would eventually figure out your mistake."
"And you just made my point," Bill replied, smiling.
"Fine, but please any other comparisons between my dad and me, please keep them to yourself."
"Understood," Bill said, with a nod as he headed for the door.
"Bill, am I just repeating my father's mistakes just in another way?" Nathan asked.
Bill paused and turned to look back at Nathan. "I'm not sure I understand the question," Bill commented. Having a feeling that this might turn into a lengthier conversation than he had intended, Bill retrieved the chair from the desk as Nathan spoke.
"I grew up resenting my father because he kept disappointing us. I caught my mother in tears on several occasions for various reasons, related to his gambling. Then he went to jail and he was never around. When he came back, he claimed things were going to be different. My mother wanted to believe him. To be honest, so did I. Instead, things didn't change much. He resorted to petty theft claiming he was trying to provide for his family and he ended up in jail agin. He let his family down and sometimes, I feel like I've done the same thing with Ally."
"How so?" Bill asked, now sitting in the desk chair facing Nathan. He knew that as ridiculous as the comparison sounded to him, he needed to understand Nathan's thought process in order for anything that he said to be beneficial.
"I've uprooted her so many times, that when we first came here she had problems making friends because of issues I didn't see. Issues that I wouldn't have seen if Elizabeth hadn't pointed them out. She has learned to do things that kids her age normally wouldn't have while she hadn't had the chance to learn things that a girl should be learning. I'm constantly going away because of my job leaving her alone. Leaving her to worry that I might not come home. She didn't even want to go to school today. A child shouldn't have to live in fear like that. Maybe I should've just left Ally with my mother or quit the force and did something else."
"Would you have been happy doing something else?" Bill asked.
"I don't know," Nathan replied. He waited a few seconds before admitting, "probably not," he amended thinking of the admission that he had made to Elizabeth on Saturday. "However, I'm starting to think that my job has not been fair to Ally."
'Life isn't fair," Bill said simply, not at all phased by the withering look that Nathan shot in his direction. He knew it sounded like a statement you tell a child when they accused you of not being fair to them. However, it was also true. He had learned that over the years. "It's true Nathan. I grew up in a town where criminals ruled the streets for years. The mine explosion here in town a few years back left behind widows and children who will grow up without their fathers. You grew up your father because he was in prison. Ally lost her mother. Little Opal has almost died twice in her short life. If you wanted, I could keep giving you examples."
"Life isn't fair and it isn't easy. All we can do is the best we can, and you've done that. The fact that Ally is still able to trust people around her is a testament to that. Yes, she worries about you, but she isn't the only child who is living with those fears and yours isn't the only profession that has dangers. A few months ago, neither Rosemary nor Clara probably worried much when their husbands left for the day. That's changed now. I can guarantee that."
"There is no comparison between the choices you've made that have affected Ally and the choices your father made when you were a kid. Your father's actions were selfish. They didn't take into consideration the family he had at home. The fact that you question your choices, and that you want what is best for Ally, tells me that you take her into consideration when you make decisions. You gave up a promotion so that she could stay here with the friends she's made. If you didn't put her first, her feelings never would've factored into that decision."
Nathan was silent for a bit, allowing Bill's words to sink in. Deep down, he knew the truth of Bill's words. Hearing those words spoken though, reinforced their truth. "Thanks, Bill. I needed to hear that."
"Anytime," Bill told him, standing up. "I should probably head back to the office in case anyone is looking for me."
"Thanks for bringing lunch by, and the pep talk," Nathan told him as Bill put the chair back under the desk.
"You're welcome," Bill replied, before ducking out the door.
Alone, Nathan glanced over at the wooden jewelry box on the table. He thought of the words his sister had written in the letter to him. Words of wisdom passed on from their mother, to Colleen, and then to him - that it began with simply loving them. He had put love into that little box. Love that he hoped Ally would see when she opened it Wednesday.
Slowly, getting to his feet, Nathan made his way over to the table, realizing that he was starting to feel hungry after all.