As the sun rose on Hope Valley Monday morning, the town started to come to life as usual. At the Coulter's, Rosemary was in the kitchen cooking breakfast while Lee sat at the table already sipping on his cup of coffee. Upstairs, their guests still slept.

"I wish there was something more I could do for those children," Rosemary commented, keeping her voice low.

"We're doing what we can, Rosie. We're giving them a place to stay and the comfort of knowing someone cares. Hopefully, Nathan and Gabriel will find out who they belong to and then they can be reunited with their family."

"What if they can't?" Rosemary asked as she flipped a pancake.

"Then they'll make sure the children are properly cared for," Lee assured his wife.

Footsteps on the stairs drew both Rosemary and Lee's attention in that direction. Momentarily, Lillian appeared on the steps. Though Lillian's appearance was put together, there was a weariness on her face.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Lee asked, getting to his feet and pulling out a chair at the table for the young woman.

"Yes, please," Lillian replied, the same weariness that showed on her face coming through in her voice. She sat down in the chair and Lee moved to get her a cup of coffee.

"How did you all sleep?" Rosemary asked, as she continued making breakfast.

"The girls both cried themselves to sleep. I sat up with them until they were asleep. Afterwards, I had a hard time falling asleep. There are just so many questions surrounding the two girls and I knew that Gabriel and Nathan are out there, searching for answers. I guess I was worried about them," Lillian said. "At least we knew that Bill and Henry got back safely."

"Bill plans on heading out on the road Nathan and Gabriel took if he doesn't hear from them this morning," Lee commented. "I'm sure they are both fine though."

"I'm sure you're right," Lillian replied as she accepted the mug from Lee. As it was too hot to drink quite yet, she instead inhaled the aroma. The smell of the coffee helped uncloud her foggy mind a bit.

Before anything else could be said the phone rang. Lee moved to answer it, though the sound attracted the attention of both Rosemary and Lillian.

"Hello," Lee said, answering the phone on the third ring.

"Hi, Lee. Hold for Constable Kinslow, please," Molly's voice said through the line. "Go ahead, Constable."

"Hi Lee," Gabriel said over the phone. "Sorry to bother you but I figured Nathan wouldn't have made it to the office yet. Do you mind seeing if you can find him at his house or at Elizabeth's?"

"I thought Nathan was with you?" Lee asked.

"We found an accident last night. Carson, Jesse and I transported the lone survivor to the hospital in Union City while Nathan headed back to Hope Valley."

"Okay," Lee said. "I'll see if I can locate him." Lee paused a moment noticing the expressions on both Rosemary and Lillian's faces. "I think Lillian would like to talk to you. Let me put her on while I look for Nathan."

"Okay," Gabriel said.

Lee motioned to Lillian. The young woman got to her feet and quickly crossed the room to Lee. Taking the phone from Lee, Lillian asked "are you okay?"

Lee let the conversation fade into the background as he headed for the door. He grabbed his coat as he approached the door, putting it on as he walked out the door. Despite Elizabeth's house being closer, Lee decided to try Nathan's house first. Hurrying down the steps, he headed in the direction of the Grant's home. He hadn't gone to far when he spotted Nathan heading in his direction.

"Good morning, Lee," Nathan greeted as he continued toward Lee.

"Good morning," Lee replied. "You're just the person I was looking for. There is a call for you," Lee said motioning toward his own home. "It's Gabriel."

"Thanks," Nathan replied. "I hope the call didn't disturb you," he commented as he fell in step with Lee.

"No. We were already up."

Nathan nodded in acknowledgement.

Reaching the house, Lee lead the way into his home. Once inside, Lillian quickly wrapped up her conversation with Gabriel and handed the phone off to Nathan. Then Lillian and Lee retreated to the table and their respective cups of coffee. Though they weren't necessarily trying to eavesdrop, the size of the home made it impossible for them not to overhear Nathan's side of the conversation. Of course, only getting half of the information made it hard for any of them to piece together exactly what was going on.

Before long, Nathan ended the conversation. Looking toward the table he was met with three pairs of curious eyes as Rosemary, Lee and Lillian all looked to him. Nathan didn't make them as any questions, starting to explain what Gabriel and he had come across the night before.

"The Mountie they transported to the hospital last night has been identified as Brian Peterson," Nathan told him. "He was traveling to Unity with his mother and two younger sisters. The father was recently killed in a fight over a poke game, and Peterson had convinced his mother to relocate to where he had been posted. As the only two we found at the accident site were Mrs. Peterson and Constable Peterson, we're assuming the two girls Lillian and Gabriel came upon are the two sisters. According to the information in the Bible we found in the wagon that would mean their names are Bridget and Ivy."

"Those poor girls," Rosemary murmured. "With all they've been through recently, no wonder they're traumatized.

Nathan nodded. "How are the two girls doing?" he asked, looking toward Lillian.

"They ate very little last night and they ended up crying themselves to sleep. I planned on letting them sleep as long as they can this morning."

Nathan nodded. "Okay. When they do wake up, let me know. I'd like to try talking to at least the oldest one again. Right now, they're the only two we know of who can tell us anything about what happened out there. The car was empty when Constable Stevens found the accident. We don't know who or even how many people were in that vehicle. Any information the girls can give us would be helpful."

Lillian nodded. "I'll let you know when they're awake," she replied.

"Do you want to stay for breakfast?" Lee asked.

Nathan shook his head. "Elizabeth invited me to breakfast this morning. I'll have breakfast with her and Ally and then walk the two of them to school."

"Okay," Lee replied.

With a nod in good-bye, Nathan turned and left the Coulter's making the short trek to Elizabeth's house next door.


It was midmorning when the three men from Hope Valley gathered at the livery where the wagon and horses had been left after brining Constable Peterson to the hospital.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Carson asked Gabriel after he had given the doctor and Jesse an update on the constable's condition.

As Carson had suspected the night before, Constable Peterson had suffered several cracked ribs and a broken arm when he had been thrown from the wagon, along with the more obvious head injury. The arm had actually been broken in several places, but the doctors at the hospital had managed to set it and wrap it. They were confident the broken bones would heal. What the hospital doctors weren't so sure of a prognosis for was the head injury. Though stable, Constable Peterson was currently in a coma and when or if he would come out of it the doctor's were unsure of.

"I did manage a couple of hours," Gabriel replied, knowing that trying to dodge the question wasn't going to get him very far. "I'll be fine," he added, seeing the disapproving look on Carson's face. "It's not the first time I've had to function with little sleep and it probably won't be the last."

Carson let out a sigh. "Just promise me you won't try making the trip back to Brookfield without getting proper rest."

"I'll spend the night in Hope Valley, doc," Gabriel replied easily before swinging himself up onto Ember. "Shall we get going?" he asked.

Carson nodded as he and Jesse climbed onto the wagon seat. As Jesse commanded the horses to start forward, Gabriel urged Ember to the front. Despite not being in uniform, Gabriel still planned on looking out for the people he was traveling with.

Elizabeth looked around the small classroom. She had assigned the different grades reading assignments so the school was quiet. Or at least it should have been, except for the quiet turning of pages, which was why even the soft whisper she was hearing had caught her attention. As she looked around, she tried to find the source of those whispers. Looking to the right side of the classroom, Elizabeth noticed a note being passed toward the back of the classroom, Robert being the current recipient.

"Perhaps you would like to share with me the contents of the note," Elizabeth commented out loud, drawing Robert's attention to her.

Robert looked up at her with a guilty expression as the students in front of him all tried to look busy. Elizabeth looked at him expectantly. She knew he wasn't the originator of the note. However, he was guilty of being the one currently in possession of the note.

As Robert hesitated in his reply, Ally hesitantly raised her hand in the front of the classroom.

"Yes, Ally," Elizabeth said, acknowledging the raised hand.

"Emily and I started the note, Mrs. Thornton," Ally admitted.

"Then perhaps you would like to tell me what is so important that it couldn't wait until morning break to discuss with your peers?"

"Well, I know Miss Walsh asked for the adults help in providing gifts for the orphans in her charge but I was thinking it would be nice if the children of Hope Valley could do something nice for them for Christmas as well."

"Like we did when they were stuck here and we donated toys to them," Opal chimed in timidly from beside Ally. Despite wanting to show support for her friend, the little girl still seemed concerned about upsetting her teacher as well.

Elizabeth nodded. "I think that is a nice idea. I like that you want to do something for the children of the orphanage. However, passing notes during class time is not an appropriate or acceptable way to discuss the idea."

"Yes, ma'am," Ally said looking down at her hands.

Elizabeth got to her feet and walked around to the front of her desk. "As the reading time has been disrupted already, would you all like to take a ten minute break from it and discuss taking on Ally and Emily's suggestion as a class project."

Elizabeth got a chorus of agreement from her pupils.

"Okay then," Elizabeth said, leaning against the front of her desk. "Ally, I'd like you to go to the board and right down the possible ideas of nice things the class could do for the children of the orphanage."

"Okay," Ally said, getting up and going to the board.

"So who has a suggestion?" Elizabeth asked her students.

Several hands shot up. One by one, Elizabeth called on the children. Soon there was a list of six ideas of things they could do which included sending the Christmas Cards to them, baking cookies and making ornaments.

As Ally returned to her seat, Elizabeth looked over the list. There were several good ideas on the board and she was proud that her students wanted to take on the project.

"I really like the Christmas Card idea," Elizabeth told her class. "Given the number of children at the orphanage and the number we have in the class, I think we can split into two groups. One group can do Christmas Cards and as a class you'll vote on the second project to take on."

There was a chorus of enthusiastic agreement from her children.

"Okay then," Elizabeth said walking around her desk and to the black board. "We'll do this as a secret vote. I want you to vote for the one idea that you like the best of the one's remaining," Elizabeth instructed, picking up the piece of chalk that Ally had used shortly before. "Everyone put your heads down on the desk. When I call out the idea you like, raise your one hand in the air. Whichever suggestion gets the most votes, that's the second project."

Elizabeth waited for the class to put their heads down. She then proceeded to call out the suggestions one by one, and counted the raised hands. When the vote was completed, making ornaments for the children at New Hope Orphanage had the most votes.

"Okay, so I want you to think about which project you would like to work on," Elizabeth told the children. "Later this afternoon, I'll have you each write down which project you would prefer to work on. I hope that each of you can work on the project you want but I need the two groups to be almost even so it might not work out. I'll let you know which project you'll be working on tomorrow morning. Now, let's get back to the reading assignment. I believe you still had twenty minutes left of reading time," she told her students.

Elizabeth sat down at her desk. There was a little bit of chatter between the children as they opened their books to their reading assignments. She gave them a few minutes to settle down and was pleased when they were all shortly back to reading their assignments. She hoped that she had a chance to tell Lillian about her children's school project before she left for Brookfield. She was sure Lillian would be as pleasantly surprised as she was herself.


Reaching the Coulter's home, Nathan knocked on the front door.

Lillian had called down to his office to let them know that the children were awake and that she was making them something to eat. Hoping to give the children some time to eat, Nathan finished the paperwork he was doing before walking out the Coulters.

It was Lillian who answered the door, motioning for Nathan to come inside.

"I haven't said anything to them about what you discovered last night or that you were coming out to talk to them," Lillian informed him quietly as she closed the door behind him.

"Okay," Nathan replied, looking toward the table where the two girls sat. The oldest one was looking at him silently, while the younger girl had left her chair and was trying to hide behind her sister.

Nathan walked slowly toward them. "Was the meal good?" he asked quietly, knowing that asking about everyday things could help break the ice. If they wouldn't answer a question about food, then there was little chance of them talking to him about the events that had caused the trauma.

The older girl nodded in reply.

Nathan was encouraged. He considered any type of response from the girl helpful in this situation.

"What did Miss Lillian make for you?" Nathan asked sitting down in the chair next to the girl.

The girl looked over at Lillian, who had taken a seat on the settee, briefly before looking back at Nathan. Her eyes were focused on his uniform yet she didn't offer a reply. Just when Nathan was about to attempt another question, she finally spoke.

"Grilled cheese."

"Those were one of my favorites when I was younger," Nathan replied. "I think I outgrew them."

"I hope I never outgrow grilled cheese," the girl replied.

"That good, huh?" Nathan commented.

The girl nodded in response.

"So, can you tell me your name?" Nathan asked.

The girl looked down at the table. At her side, her younger companion buried her face against the older girl's side.

"Are you Bridget?" Nathan ventured, recalling the name in the cover of the Bible.

The girl looked back up at Nathan at the mention of the name. Nathan saw a glimmer of hope in her expression as she asked softly, "did you find my brother?"

The fact that she asked about her brother and not her mother told Nathan that the little girl had known her mother was dead before she and her sister had wandered away from the accident scene.

"We did," Nathan told her, reaching out a hand and placing it on Bridget's shoulder. As the girl didn't draw away from the gesture, Nathan let his hand rest there. "He was badly injured and we took him to the hospital in Union City. The doctor's will do all they can for him."

"What happens to me and Ivy?"

"I'll make sure you're looked after until we figure that out permanently," Nathan assured her. "Do you think you can tell me what you remember about the accident?"

Bridget nodded. "Can Miss Lillian take Ivy somewhere, though? I don't want to upset her more."

Nathan smiled. Already Bridget had the protective instinct of an older sibling. "She can," he assured her, looking back in Lillian's direction.

Lillian was already on her feet. She came forward, and after a little coaxing from both Lillian and Bridget, Ivy let go of her sister and was hugging Lillian. Moving toward the stairs, Lillian carried the youngest girl upstairs.

Alone with Bridget now, Nathan encouraged the little girl to move to the settee. With her sitting beside him, Nathan got the conversation started with a question. He then gave Bridget ample time to reply, letting her go at her own pace. When she leaned against him, Nathan put his arm around her protectively. Just like he needed the information, Bridget needed to feel protected and cared for right now.