AN: So, a friend made a comment to me tonight that perhaps I should do a one-shot where season 8 was someone's dream or happened while in a coma. I know it has been done with some shows, but it got me thinking that there was a point near the beginning of season 8 to do just that. This is the result. Right now it's a one-shot but if there is interest, I could see how this storyline could continue a bit more, so let me know.
The characters of WCTH are not mine, nor are the events and dialogue that I took from the episodes.
Riding along in the dark, Nathan knew that Bill was right. This was a bad idea. However, he knew that simply giving Dylan the money would solve nothing. His brother-in-law said he would go away for good but Nathan knew that it was just another lie in a long line of lies. Dylan had spent the years married to Colleen lying to her. Telling Colleen that he would change, but he never had. Dylan continued to drink and gamble and use Colleen to take his frustrations out on. Nathan had begged his sister to leave him. He had promised her he would take her and Ally somewhere where they would both be safe, but Colleen wouldn't go. Her love for Dylan made her blind to the man's faults even when those faults looked back at her in the mirror.
When Dylan had left after Colleen's death to escape the rumors circulating that he had finally beaten her to death, Nathan had taken the opportunity to leave with Ally. Dylan's abuse may not have been the cause of his sister's death, but it had been the cause of her emotional distress. The emotional distress that had caused Colleen to swallow a bunch of pills. Those pills had been the cause of his sister's death. Nathan knew that for a fact as he had been the one to find her, the empty pill bottle still in her hand.
No, the only way to make sure that Ally was safe, and perhaps even Elizabeth and Little Jack, was to make sure Dylan was behind bars. As Gabriel had said when trying to catch Sinclair, assault on an officer was an easy charge to make stick. He had told Gabriel it was a bad idea then, and Nathan knew it wasn't any better of an idea now.
It was however the one way he could protect Ally.
The rope around him came out of nowhere. Before Nathan could do more than acknowledge its presence though, it tightened and pulled him from Newton's saddle. Unable to hold onto the reigns, Nathan fell from the horse, the impact from the fall knocking the breath from his lungs. Nathan felt his head hit the dirt. Even as he fought to bring air back into his lungs, Nathan knew that Dylan had picked his spot. It was a spot still ahead of where Nathan had suppose to meet him.
Turning on his back, Nathan saw Dylan approach. Nathan's vision was blurry and he wasn't sure if it was from the blow to the head or the lack of air, or perhaps both. Dylan was talking but Nathan couldn't focus on the words. He heard the words 'money', 'back' and 'Ally' and was aware of Dylan removing his gun from its holster. For a fleeting moment he thought the man would shoot him right there as he struggled for breath and to get up off the ground.
Nathan managed to turn over and start to get to his hands and knees. A kick to his ribs knocked the air from his lungs again as he collapsed in pain.
"Take care of my little girl, Nathan," he heard Dylan taunt as the man walked away.
As he lay on the ground, Nathan could hear the echo of the hoof beats in the ground as his brother-in-law rode away. Again, Nathan tried to get up from the ground. Dylan was headed the direction he had come from. He hoped Bill had stayed in Hope Valley as asked to keep an eye on Ally.
As the darkness closed in around him, thoughts of Ally were the last thing he was aware of.
The light in the room was fading as the sun set outside. Elizabeth looked out the window, hoping that Little Jack wasn't missing her too much. She knew he was safe as he was with Lee and Rosemary. As much as she wanted to be with her son, Elizabeth knew she couldn't leave where she was.
Looking away from the window, Elizabeth looked down at Nathan's pale face. Bill had shown up on her doorstep that morning informing her that Nathan had been hurt. Though he had been vague on details, Bill had assured her that the man who had hurt Nathan would soon be behind bars.
Elizabeth hadn't cared about that. All she could think of was getting to Nathan's side. She had scooped up Little Jack, walked past Bill, and had headed next door. She couldn't even remember what she had told Lee as she had handed her son to him before leaving the Coulter's steps and heading toward town. It had been when Bill and draped her coat around her shoulders that she had become aware that the older man was beside her.
"I love him, Bill," she remembered saying. "As flattering as Lucas' attention is, and as scary as the thought of loving another Mountie is, I love Nathan."
"I know," Bill had said simply, his arm around her shoulders as he walked with her toward the infirmary.
That had been this morning, and now with the sun setting, Nathan still hadn't opened his eyes. People had come and gone all day, checking on Nathan and on her. Mrs. Weise had tried more than once to get Ally to come back to her home with her. Like Elizabeth though, Ally would not leave her uncle's side. Even now, Ally slept on the cot next to Nathan's, her cheeks stained with tears. Ally had cried herself to sleep when another Mountie had come into the infirmary to check on Nathan. It had been clear to Elizabeth that the dark-haired Mountie was a friend of Nathan's but she still felt too numb to ask questions. After Ally had fallen asleep, he had laid her down in the cot, drew a blanket over her, and after a brief word with Carson had left.
This was exactly what Elizabeth had been trying to protect herself from. She had known she was falling in love with Nathan two Christmases ago. Part of her had hoped he would kiss her when she had turned and found him so close after helping her hang the bird. It was in that moment she had realized that somewhere along the way, she had fallen in love with Nathan Grant, though she wasn't quite ready to explore those emotions yet. The pain of losing Jack had once again felt fresh with Little Jack's first birthday coming up.
After that, Elizabeth had fought against the emotions awakening inside of her. It wasn't the falling in love part that scared her but the thought of losing Nathan like she had Jack. But then Clara had reminded her that losing someone you loved wasn't limited to just Mounties' wives. Lee's accident in the windstorm had further driven home that point.
Then that Mountie had been shot and she had thought she had lost Nathan. He had asked her out and then she had thought he was gone before she could give him an answer. Accept then he had walked into town.
After her initial relief, Elizabeth had once again tried to bury her feelings. She had tried to convince herself that being with Lucas was the safe choice. Except that hadn't it been because of Lucas' past that she had been held at gunpoint in the saloon. Being with Lucas didn't guarantee safety either and though she enjoyed Lucas' friendship, his attempts at romance reminded her of Charles. Charles, who she had turned down a proposal for marriage because he represented the life she had left behind when coming to Hope Valley.
The simple truth was, Elizabeth liked the person she had become here in Hope Valley. She had no intention of going back to the world of materialistic things. The world that Lucas could give her.
No, she loved Hope Valley and she loved the man lying in the bed before her.
"Open your eyes, Nathan," Elizabeth whispered as Carson began lighting lamps in the infirmary.
Either Carson or Faith had been here since Elizabeth had arrived. Both doctors assured her that Nathan's vital signs were strong and steady. That he hadn't suffered any broken bones, only bruises.
And yet, Nathan still hadn't opened his eyes since bringing back to Hope Valley by the Mounties Bill had requested to trail him.
Bill wouldn't give her details about what Nathan was doing last night. Her friend had told her that it was Nathan's story to tell. The only thing he would assure her of was that there was no further threat.
Movement caught Elizabeth's attention. Though his eyes were still shut, Nathan had moved his head. Elizabeth reached for his hand and felt him reflexively grasp hers as well.
"Nathan, can you hear me?" Elizabeth said, her voice wavering as she fought back tears. She was aware of Carson moving to the other side of the bed.
Nathan's eyes fluttered open. He looked confused to see her. As he looked around the room, Nathan's eyes fell on Carson.
"What am I doing here?" Nathan asked the doctor.
"You were ambushed last night while riding. Someone lassoed you from your horse and then left you in the road. If Bill hadn't sent Mounties to follow you, who knows how long you would have been lying out there."
"Lassoed from my horse?" Nathan said, clearly trying to make sense of everything. "But that was months ago. No one found me. I finished what I had set out to do and came back to Hope Valley," he said.
Elizabeth looked to Carson for reassurance as Nathan didn't seem to be making any sense.
"And what are you doing here, Elizabeth?" Nathan asked. "The last time we talked you told me that you loved me but you weren't in love with me."
Elizabeth shook her head. "I never told you that. The last words I spoke to you were 'stay safe'. That was yesterday evening. You said you had to go out of town but were hoping we could have dinner when you came back."
"I remember you saying that but it wasn't yesterday. It couldn't be."
Elizabeth looked up at Carson. "What is wrong with him?" she asked the doctor in a pleading tone.
"Uncle Nathan?" Ally said sleepily, the talking having woken her up. "You're awake," she said happily, before wrapping her arms around her uncle and burying her face in the crook of his neck.
Nathan reached up and wrapped an arm around his niece even as he pressed a kiss against her hair.
"It's okay, Ally," Nathan told her, wanting to comfort her even amiss his own confusion.
"Nathan, what day is it?" Carson asked, still trying to assess his patient's condition.
"September third, I think," Nathan replied, looking up at Carson.
Elizabeth gasped. The fact that Nathan wasn't aware of the date scared her. Her reaction caused Nathan to look over at her. "Isn't it?"
Elizabeth shook her head.
Carson asked Nathan a few other questions, which he was able to give the correct answers to. The doctor was silent as he examined Nathan again, a task made a bit more difficult by the clinging Ally. Still, the doctor did not try to move the girl away from her uncle.
"Carson, what is going on?" Nathan asked, as the doctor sat down on the cot that Ally had been lying on moments before.
"What I can tell you is that it is April 21st. You left Ally with Opal and her family and left town yesterday evening though I think the only other person who really knows why is Bill. I was woken up early this morning when a couple of Mountie's brought you back. Their account to me was that they had been asked by Bill to shadow you. You were ambushed by a man, who pulled you from the horse, took your guns, kicked you and left you in the road. One of them followed the man while the other two brought you here. You've been unconscious since they brought you here and you were starting to worry me."
"I'm still worried," Elizabeth commented.
"I remember all of that," Nathan admitted. "However, I remember so much more happening. I remember the school year ending and an entire summer."
"I think that what you think you remember was a reality that your mind created while you were unconscious," Carson told him. "It isn't unheard of. One theory is that it is the brain's way of dealing with something that is bothering a person that was unresolved when an injury occurred."
"So everything I remember after that night simply happened in my mind."
"It would seem so."
Nathan closed his eyes. "It seemed so real," he murmured.
"It wasn't," Carson assured him. "As for the man who ambushed you, Bill says he is in jail."
"Good," Nathan replied.
"And Nathan," Elizabeth said, bringing his attention toward her. "I not only love you. I am in love with you. I have been for a while now but I was too afraid to open myself to that kind of emotion again. However, I can't hide from it. Whether I want to recognize it or not, it is there and the pain of losing you would be there whether I accept those feelings or not. So yes, Nathan, I want to go to dinner with you." Elizabeth could feel the tears start to run down her cheeks but still she continued. "I want to spend time with you and experiences the ups and downs of life with you because I would rather have those memories if I lose you then to have to live with the fact that I never told you what you mean to me."
Nathan reached up with the hand not holding Ally, and gently wiped tears from her cheeks. Elizabeth could see the love in his eyes, but she could also see something else. She could see a fear there as well.
Carson had withdrawn to the far side of the infirmary at the start of Elizabeth's speech. However, he could still hear Nathan's next words.
"I do love you, Elizabeth. However, there are things I need to tell you before anything else happens between us. Things that I probably should have told you before now about my sister's passing and the reason that I came to Hope Valley. I always meant to, but the time never seemed right."
Elizabeth nodded. She wanted to know as much about Nathan Grant as she possibly could. She also knew that there were things that she hadn't shared with him yet. There had been the opportunity or the time yet. Right then though, she couldn't imagine anything this man could tell her that would change her feelings for him.
"We'll talk," Elizabeth assured him. "Just as soon as you're feeling better."
"Elizabeth's right," Carson said, taking a few steps forward. "You need to take it easy for a day or so - physically and emotionally. Besides, I think that conversation should be saved for somewhere a little more private."
"You're right," Nathan said. "Perhaps you should go home, Elizabeth. You look exhausted."
"I want to stay with you a little longer, if you don't mind," Elizabeth told him, taking his hand.
"I don't mind at all," Nathan assured her.
"I'm going to step out for a minute. Constable Kinslow asked me to let him know when you were awake."
"Gabe's here?" Nathan asked.
Carson nodded. "Yes. He was one of the Mounties that brought you in," the doctor replied before leaving.
"Is Constable Kinslow a good friend?" Elizabeth asked.
"We went through training together," Nathan told her. "When I took in Ally, he took my place as her godfather," he said, looking down at the girl who had once again fallen asleep.
Elizabeth looked down at the sleeping girl herself. The girl who had become more special to her than any other student.
Yes, Elizabeth was glad that Nathan was going to be okay. Not just for her own sake, but for Ally's as well.