Chapter 12 Light Duty Work
Nathan can now return to work for light duty so he opts for civilian clothes. He walks Elizabeth and Allie to school. At the school house he squeezes Elizabeth's hand and stares at her. Allie clears her throat and says "Students here". Elizabeth blushes and goes into school. Nathan laughs at Allie and gives her a hug and tells her he should be there after school.
Nathan checks in with Gabe who tells him all is well. Nathan wanders around town talking to the townspeople who are glad to see him back in some capacity. At the oil office he sees Fiona sitting there and stops in surprise. It has been a blur since the prison transport day and Nathan didn't know about Fiona leaving the phone company. Fiona says "I was so bored without work and Lucas took pity on me and asked me to help at both the Oil Company and the saloon." She says she goes back and forth between the two places and says she has to check in at the saloon. As they walk together she says she is glad to see him back to work and he wishes her luck with her new job.
He goes back to the jail to see if he could at least do paperwork which Gabe has already done. He shoos him over to the Café for coffee so Nathan goes. Nathan is sharing a cup of coffee with Bill who wants to know about the date. Nathan says it went well. Gabe joins them and they both tease Nathan into telling more. They are interrupted by Clara who sees smoke outside of town. Gabe immediately springs into action and takes off to check it out.
Meanwhile Florence is very confused about a call Fiona will not accept at the saloon. She tries again and Fiona rejects the call. Florence becomes more suspicious and talks it over with Molly who just happens to be in the mercantile. Molly offers to find Nathan or Gabe and tell them about it. She finds Nathan at the Café and starts telling him about this phone call. After calming Molly down both Bill and Nathan thinks there is something suspicious. They run over to the mercantile to question Florence.
Apparently earlier in the day had Fiona had been insistent that Lucas was expecting a phone call from an important oil dealer and wanted to ensure that Florence would connect the call to the saloon. Fiona keeps answering the phone but rejects the call. Bill checks the saloon and notes it is all closed up which is also unusual for the time of day.
Nathan instructs Florence to connect him to the saloon and Fiona again answers. Nathan identifies himself and tells Fiona to think carefully and pretend he is someone else. Fiona rises to the challenge and Nathan questions her "Is there a situation at the saloon?" "Yes" she responds. Nathan then asks "Are they in trouble and are there guns involved". Fiona respond "Yes again you are late with the shipment. "How many men?" He asks "We are waiting for 3 cases" she says "Are there other people there" Nathan asks. "You are about 9 days late with the shipment" Fiona calmly responds. Nathan tells her to stay calm and don't panic, they will work on this.
Quickly Bill and Nathan come up with plans some of which are quickly abandoned. Nathan instructs Ned to go around to the businesses and tell everyone to stay inside and lock up. He asks him to have Lee and Jesse come in. Ned runs out to do this and Nathan and Bill are quickly joined by Lee and Jesse. Nathan learns that Rosemary and Carson are both inside the saloon just by chance. Mike is sent to the school to tell Elizabeth there is a hostage situation in the saloon and to keep the children indoors and occupied. She gets an idea of the gravity of the situation and worries about Nathan and Bill and sends a quick prayer up for their safety and the entire town. She then rallies to do her part; keep the children safe and occupied. Nathan and Bill devise a quick plan and with deep breaths they begin to implement the plan.