Nathan holstered his pistol and went to the door of the cabin, calling out to Bill. "Sutherland is in here!"

He ran back and put his fingers on the man's neck. As Bill came to the door, Nathan said, "He's still alive, but his pulse is weak."

While Nathan checked Sutherland for other injuries, Bill fell to his knees and was using the faint light to examine the man's foot. "It's a common foothold trap, spring-loaded. Swelling has stopped the bleeding. It looks like the spring is..." Bill grimaced. "...inaccessible under the swelling." He looked up at Nathan. "Even if we could, we shouldn't remove this. Looks like the trap might actually be keeping his foot somewhat stable."

"Seems like it's just his foot, no other injuries that I can find." They looked at each other and Nathan said, "We need Carson."

Bill nodded.

"Do we take Sutherland down, or get Carson up here?" Nathan asked, covering the man with a blanket.

Bill shook his head. "We have to take him down." He raised his eyebrows. "We're not only going to need Carson, we're probably going to need Kevin. This trap will need to be cut off."

Looking closely at it, Nathan nodded, and said, "Very carefully. And you're right, that needs to be done in the Infirmary." He went to his saddlebags and pulled out the first aid kit he always carried with him. Bill got a large bowl from the cupboard and Nathan poured antiseptic over Sutherland's foot and then wrapped the entire thing in bandages in an effort to keep infection at bay; although he knew it might still be too late.

For a moment they both thought through exactly how they would get Sutherland down the mountain, and there was really only one way. They both knew it, and understood what had to be done. No need for words between two Mounties.

Nathan took a deep breath. "I'll get started."

"I'll wrap him up," Bill said.

Nathan found the axe by the cabin door, grabbed some rope and cutters from his saddlebags and ventured out into the driving snow. The only good news was that now they would be heading down, and in this weather, down was always better.

He found a good spruce pine with low-hanging branches that could spread out into a fan-shape. Using the axe, Nathan cut the branches and carried them to the front of the cabin. Then, by weaving the rope through them, he fashioned a soft but firm bed. Finally, he laid thicker pieces of wood side by side and wove them together to create a pallet on which to put the bed. Now the sled was ready for them to tie on to one of the horses to pull behind them.

By the time Nathan had finished and entered the cabin again, his fingers and toes were going numb. Stomping his feet, he took his gloves off and put his hands under his arms to warm them. Making a fire was very tempting, but time was not on their side; not only from the standpoint of Sutherland's condition, but also weather and darkness.

"Sunset in about twenty minutes, Bill." Nathan said.

Bill had wrapped Sutherland in blankets and ropes securely so that he looked something like a mummy. He'd fashioned a box of sorts around the trap with sticks of firewood so that it would move as little as possible on the trip down.

"He's coming around," Bill said, "Which could be a good or bad thing. I've got some whiskey in my saddlebags. It'll warm him up and help with the pain."

Nathan was back in a moment with a flask. Bill held it to Sutherland's lips and he moaned, just barely able to open his mouth and swallow. But his breathing sounded good and Bill could feel that his heart rate was increasing. Bill gave Nathan a thumbs up and nodded.

Nathan leaned down close to his ear. "We're going to get you to the doctor, John. You're going to be fine. It might be a bit of a rough ride, but we'll get you there. You hang on. Think about Mary and Esther and your boys, okay? We're going to get you home to them."

Sutherland opened one eye and a tear slipped through. Nathan put his hand on John's shoulder. Who knows how long he's been here, Nathan thought. He knew he would never forget those long, slow hours in that field with cold seeping into his bones and his pain the only focal point. His experience would forever give him a deep well of compassion to draw on in moments like these.

Bill and Nathan decided that Bear was the stronger horse and would be the best mount to pull the pallet. Bill's horse was faster and much more spirited, so he would ride ahead down the mountain to get Carson and Kevin prepared for the surgery. Then he would ride back up to help Nathan if he needed it.

They both knew the trails well. And what got them through the cold, now-dark night, was that they knew there would come a moment when they would look through the trees and see the welcoming soft glow of Hope Valley.

Elizabeth had been staring into the fire for far too long, and when a log finally reached the breaking point and fell into two pieces in a shower of sparks, it startled her. She caught her breath and sat up, looking almost mechanically at the clock. The sun had set a little after eight, and it was ten-thirty now.

The rest of the house was asleep, and Elizabeth knew that she should be as well. But somehow, she felt that staying awake was keeping Nathan safe, illogical as that might seem on the surface. She felt that if she continued to send her love, her thoughts, her hopes in his direction, that it would sustain him in some unknowable way. And anyway, she knew there was no possibility of sleep for her right now.

She put her arms around herself, warding off a shiver. The room was warm, so it wasn't the temperature that caused it, but the thought of Nathan out there in the snow. She had to hope that he and Bill had found a cabin and were happily sitting by a warm fire telling Mountie war stories.

Elizabeth had sat for some time in the sunroom by the phone, but it was colder in there, so she'd moved to the living room and the big fireplace. She knew that she would hear the telephone just as well from here, and that in any case, as the hours dragged on, it would be less and less likely to ring.

Elizabeth sighed, unable to make the decision to stand up. She thought she might have one more little talk with God, although she'd been keeping up a running conversation with Him all night.

Elizabeth had always been certain with Jack that if something happened to him, she would know. That some seismic tremor would reach her, rattle her heart in her chest to let her know he was hurt or worse. But it hadn't. Jack had died and she'd been blissfully unaware for nearly thirty-six hours. Hours that she'd spent in laughter with friends, in trivial activities, in solitary musings about their future once he came home.

She had searched through those hours in her memory countless times, trying to find even the slightest notion that something may have been wrong with him. But there had been nothing.

So now, Elizabeth's certainty was gone. She would like to think that she and Nathan were so connected that a feeling would tell her if he was injured, or lost, or something far more dire; but she couldn't fall back on that any more.

Elizabeth closed her eyes. Where are you, my love? she thought, and before the thought had faded, the telephone rang.

Elizabeth ran to the sunroom. The phone was starting to ring a second time when she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Elizabeth." It was Bill. And in the way time can telescope, she managed to move through a number of scenarios in the split second before he continued. "Nathan is on his way back down the mountain. We found John Sutherland, but he's injured and Nathan is bringing him on a pallet to Carson. I'm going back up to join him, but I wanted to let you know first."

Elizabeth clenched her eyes tightly shut, willing her voice to sound even. "Thank you, Bill. I was worried. I'm very glad you called."

She could almost see Bill's smile. "Somehow I thought you would be," he said. "It's pretty bad up there, but I'm sure they're making good progress. We should be back in town, oh, I don't know, in a couple hours."

Elizabeth released a long-held breath. "How badly is John injured?"

Bill snorted. "Stepped into one of his own traps. From the looks of it, yesterday or the day before. He's had a rough couple of days, but we hope he'll be fine. Not sure he'll keep the foot, though."

Sighing, Elizabeth said, "How terrible. Does Mary know?"

"I stopped off there on my way into town. They've got plenty to eat and her boys are handling the wood chopping. She was glad to hear he's alive, and she says she'll be fine," Bill said.

"Oh, good," Elizabeth said. "Bill, when you see Nathan..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll tell him. Though not quite the same way you might do it," he said, chuckling. "I'd better get going, Elizabeth. Don't worry, you hear me?"

"I won't, Bill," Elizabeth said. "Thank you so much for letting me know."

"Go to sleep. You have babies to grow," Bill said softly.

Elizabeth laughed. "Not you, too! We still don't know if it's twins, Bill!"

Bill laughed too. "Okay, then, just grow them one at a time. But go to sleep." He paused for a moment. "And Elizabeth? I'd ride with your husband any time. He's an excellent Mountie and a very good man. I'd trust him with my life."

"Thank you, Bill. I know how you felt about Jack, and it means a lot to hear that," Elizabeth said softly.

"Hmmmfh," Bill said, in his uniquely Bill way. "Just wanted you to know. Now sleep. He'll be home before you know it."

Elizabeth put the earpiece in its holder. Then, releasing all of the tension of the day and night, she moved seamlessly into tears. Nathan was safe, and he was doing what he did best, but she'd been so worried for him.

"Everything okay, Elizabeth?" Archie stood in the doorway, a robe loosely tied over his pajamas.

Quickly drying her tears, Elizabeth sat up. "Yes, he's bringing an injured man down from the mountains. He should be home in a few hours."

"Well, that's a relief." Archie sat down across from her and peered into her eyes. "You've been crying."

Which, of course, brought the tears back. "I was worried," she said brokenly.

Archie walked around and sat next to her. He put his arm around her and she leaned up against him, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her robe. "I should really be better at this," she said.

"At what, sweetheart?" Archie said softly.

"Being a Mountie's wife," Elizabeth said. "We're supposed to be stoic, serene, and silent."

Archie chuckled. "Far as I understand it, you're not supposed to exist at all. Least that's what Nathan's mother told me when he first signed up."

Elizabeth sniffled, but she was smiling now. "What did she say?"

"That he'd never marry, and we'd seen the last of grandchildren," Archie said, nodding.

Elizabeth squeezed his hand on her shoulder and sat up. "Surprise," she said, tilting her head at him.

His voice was almost a whisper. "Such a wonderful surprise."

Elizabeth wiped her eyes, feeling much better. She looked at Archie, frowning a little. "So, Nathan joined the Mounties when you..." She paused, unsure how to phrase it.

Archie smiled. "When I went to prison. Yes." He looked pointedly at her, not certain how much she knew. "The first time."

"Yes," she said, to let him know she knew that part of the story. "And how did you feel about that? When he chose that as a way of life?"

Archie exhaled. "In the manner of most things, it's been bittersweet. You know, Nathan being a Mountie is both a great pride to me and also a cross I have to bear."

Elizabeth frowned. "In what way?"

Laughing softly, Archie said, "Does he think I don't know that he chose this life in order to show that he was a better man than I could ever be?" Archie sighed raggedly. "And in case I didn't know it, his mother drove me from the door one night telling me so." Elizabeth was silent, waiting for him to finish. Archie looked up at her. "I heard the truth of it."

Elizabeth reached over and took his hand. "He loves this work, Archie. No matter how he first came to it. And he's very good at it."

"That first time I came to Hope Valley, I told Nathan that I imagined growing up with a father like me, and doing what he does now, can harden a fellow." Archie looked at Elizabeth. "He had that hard edge when I first saw him again, but I watched him ease up when he was with you."

"We're good for each other." Elizabeth said, smiling. "And he saved someone's life tonight."

Archie just nodded. "Well, that's good."

She smiled at him. "And can you take credit for the good just as strongly as you blame yourself for the bad, Archie?"

He laughed softly. "And there's a lifelong challenge, right there."

"For me, too," Elizabeth said.

Archie laughed in disbelief. "You? The sweetest soul on earth. What could you possibly regret?"

Shaking her head, Elizabeth sighed. "Oh, so many things. My relationship with my parents, children at the school that I've lost, things I haven't said that I should have." She smiled at him. "Things I've said that I shouldn't."

"We all have those, Elizabeth." He looked at her for a moment, thinking. "And what about with Nathan? If, God forbid, something had happened to him tonight, would there be regrets for you?"

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and took a deep breath. She kept her eyes firmly on Archie as she thought, her mouth slightly open.

Slowly, incredulously, she began to shake her head. "No."

Elizabeth smiled, and Archie saw tears coming into her eyes again. "I've said everything I've ever wanted to say to him. He knows how completely I love him, and I have no secrets from him. The main feeling I would have would be sadness that he couldn't see Allie and Jack grow up, and..." She looked down and put her hands on her stomach. "These little ones..."

"You think it's twins, too, don't you?" Archie said softly, winking at her.

Nodding, she said, "I do." She shrugged. "I don't know why, but I do."

Smiling, Archie said, "Well, you've got some challenges ahead, believe me." He put his arm around her again in a hug. "You alright now?"

Elizabeth turned and gave him a full hug. "Yes. Thank you, Archie." She pulled back and looked at him. "I'm so glad you're here with us."

"I couldn't be happier," he said simply. He patted her arm and stood up. "Can you sleep?"

She smiled and stood up with him. "No. I'll just sit by the fire in the living room for a while. Nathan may call when he gets back into town and I want to be awake when he does."

Archie looked at her for a long moment. "He's lucky to have you."

"We're both lucky," she said, kissing Archie on the cheek.

Settling back down with the quilt over her legs, Elizabeth gazed at the fire, debating whether to put another log on it. She decided it would hold for another couple of hours and she locked her eyes on some embers. The bright orange of the fire danced and played in the grain of the wood, licking upward and then fading into the black of the coals...

"Elizabeth."

She opened her eyes slowly and thought she was dreaming. She often dreamt of Nathan in his red serge, but he never looked this tired. She reached a hand up sleepily and touched his face. "You're so cold," she said, and she was suddenly fully awake.

"Nathan!" she said, throwing her arms around him. His heavy coat had kept his uniform dry, but his hair was cold and wet. She kissed him on the neck, the cheeks, his nose, colder even than the rest of his face, and then his lips. Oh, how she loved his lips, full, and now beginning to warm as she lent her heat to them.

When she pulled away to be sure it was really him, she thought he looked much less tired than he had just moments ago. His eyes were very blue and reminded her of the dancing embers in the fire.

He whispered to her, "I've been thinking of this for hours, and I still could never imagine how good it feels to hold you." Kissing her again, he moved closer. "To kiss you..."

After a moment, Elizabeth stood and took his hand. "Come to bed. You can tell me all about it."

Nathan raised an eyebrow and followed her. "I'll come to bed, angel, but I don't think I'll feel like talking."