Sitting next to the bed, Lillian looked down at Gabriel. There was no missing the pain in his expression or how pale he was. Though Gabriel's breathing was shallow and seemed faster, he didn't seem to be in too much distress. In fact, Lillian found herself wondering if he had fallen asleep. In case he had, she remained silent as she held his hand.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Yes," Lillian said, keeping her voice at a normal level.

The door opened a bit and Grace stepped part way into the cottage. "Do you need anything?"

"Could you bring out a couple glasses of water?" Lillian asked her.

Grace nodded. "I'll bring out a picture of water and a couple of glasses," she replied.

"Thanks," Lillian told her as he sister left, closing the door softly behind her.

Lillian glanced back down at Gabriel, trying to sort through her emotions. She felt some anger at him for putting himself at risk for further injury. At the same time though, she understood why he did it. Nor could she fault that reason. Mrs. Meadows had needed his help. The newborn baby had needed his help. Helping people wasn't just part of Gabriel's job, it was part of whom Gabriel was. She had learned that much about him. This wasn't the first time he had put his own safety aside to help others, nor would it be the last.

Lillian thought of Elizabeth's admission that she had fought falling in love with Nathan out of fear. She knew that feeling well. It was what she had been doing with Gabriel. She recognized that now. A part of her even now wondered if she should continue to fight it because she knew tonight wasn't a one off thing.

By pursuing a relationship with Gabriel, this was what she was signing up for. Yes, this time it was because of prior injuries and not the situation. If he hadn't already been injured, delivering a baby wouldn't pose much of a threat to Gabriel. In the future, things could be different. He could be out tracking someone and she wouldn't know if he was safe or not until he came back. Or another Mountie showed up to tell her that he wasn't coming back.

It was a scary thought but then so was the idea of not having Gabriel in her life. These past few weeks had been some of the happiest times she could remember despite what had happened. She knew that having Gabriel around was a big factor in that. She had enjoyed having him around as much as the children had.

"Are you having second thoughts about us?"

Gabriel's words cut through her thoughts. Looking down, Lillian saw that he had his eyes open and was looking up at her.

"I wouldn't blame you if you were," Gabriel continued when she didn't say anything.

In that moment, Lillian knew that Elizabeth was right. Fighting this out of fear would only rob her, rob them, of the happiness they could share together. Life was full of good and bad times for everybody. It was the happiness and the good times that made the rest bearable.

"No," Lillian said, letting the emotions other than the love she had for Gabriel fall away. "I love you," she stated. "Tonight may have opened my eyes to exactly what loving you is going to entail, but you're worth it."

"If I wasn't in so much pain, I would pull you close and kiss you right about now," Gabriel told her.

"How about I kiss you?" Lillian said, leaning down and pressing her lips gently and quickly against Gabriel's lips. Though she would have like to draw the kiss out, she also didn't want to contribute, or cause, any breathing issues for Gabriel.

"I love you, Lillian," Gabriel told her.

Lillian smiled. She knew the truth behind those words. Gabriel showed her that he loved her multiple times a day. Even when she hadn't been ready to accept it, she could think of times that he had shown her how he felt about her. Still, hearing the words were nice and she hoped to hear the more often in the future.

"I love you, too," Lillian stated as she reached out to gently run her fingers through Gabriel's hair, still holding his hand with the other. There wasn't much she could do for Gabriel right now, but she hoped her presence might bring him a bit of comfort.

"Ah, here comes the lecture," Gabriel commented as Carson walked into the cottage.

Carson smiled, as Chuck vacated the chair next to the bed. Though he had persuaded Lillian to go inside and try to get some sleep, Chuck had remained at Gabriel's side.

"I'll save the lecture given the circumstances," Carson told him.

"How's the baby doing?" Gabriel asked.

"Hope is doing just fine," Carson replied. "From what I hear, that's because of you."

"I just did what I was trained to do," Gabriel replied.

"Yeah, well it's a good thing that you kept your head enough to do what you were trained to do," Carson told him. "From what I can see, there aren't any complications though I'm going to hang around for a few days, both to keep an eye on Hope and on you," he added as he sat down in the chair next to the bedside.

"He's had the pain medicine he was prescribed for the original injury," Chuck replied. "I've also been applying ice on and off. The inflammation seems to be improving, and he seems to be breathing easier."

Carson nodded as he pulled his stethoscope out of his bag. He proceeded to examine Gabriel's ribs and listened to his lungs with the stethoscope, asking questions as he went.

"Well, the good news is, there is no indication that you punctured your lung with your recent activity," Carson told him when he had finished his examination. " However, the ribs aren't fully healed, so between the jolting on the horse and your activity while helping deliver that baby, they've moved, aggravating the tissue and muscles surrounding them. It hurts to breathe because some of the muscles that do that surround the rib cage. While you've probably set yourself back a bit in your recovery, it's nothing some bed rest won't cure."

Gabriel nodded, relieved by the news.

"We'll keep the bandages off for now," Carson continued. "Can you keep up with the ice or do you need to get some sleep?" he asked, looking up at Chuck.

"I got a couple hours of sleep while Lillian was sitting with him," Chuck replied. "I'm okay for a while."

"Okay," Carson said. He looked back at Gabriel before continuing. "I'm going to give you something to help you sleep."

Gabriel opened his mouth, prepared to protest but Carson didn't give him a chance.

"The best thing for you right now is proper rest so that your body can heal. Have you been able to sleep since they brought you back here?"

"Not really," Gabriel admitted. "I've dozed off for a few minutes a few times, but it doesn't seem to last long."

"You just proved my point," Carson told him. "Trust me. A few hours of good sleep will help a lot."

"Okay," Gabriel relented.

Carson administered the medicine and then picked up his bag. "I'll be at the Meadows if you need me," he told Chuck. "I'll check in on him later in the day. The most important thing is just for him to get rest."

"We'll make sure that happens, doctor," Chuck assured him.

Carson nodded as he glanced back at the bed. Between the exhaustion and the medicine, he could tell that Gabriel was starting to drift off to sleep though he wasn't there quite yet.

"It shouldn't be a problem for the next few hours or so," Carson commented. "Make sure you get some rest as well."

"Don't worry. I have a feeling Lillian will be back at his side fairly soon. I'll get some rest then," Chuck assured him.

"Okay," Carson replied with a nod before heading for the door.

Gabriel started to become aware of things as he moved from sleep to being awake. Though the pain was still present, it wasn't as bad as he remembered it being. Nor was breathing as painful. The fingers stroking his hair near his temple felt pleasant.

"I sure hope someone other than Chuck is sitting beside me right now," Gabriel murmured, not quite ready to open his eyes yet.

Lillian laughed at the comment. Gabriel thought it sounded like music.

"I'm definitely not Chuck," Lillian commented. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than I did last night," Gabriel commented, finally opening his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the windows of the cottage. "What time is it?"

"It's probably close to lunch time," Lillian told him.

"I slept that long?"

"I think you earned it," Lillian told him. "When I came out here to relieve Grace, Chuck was still sleeping on the couch in the sitting room so you're not the only one sleeping the day away."

"Good to know."

"Do you think you could eat something?" Lillian asked. "Eleanor was planning on making chicken noodle soup for lunch."

Gabriel nodded. He did feel hungry, which he supposed was to be expected after sleeping through breakfast. "Yes," he told her.

"Okay. Let me go see how far along she is," Lillian said. She leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on Gabriel's cheek before getting to her feet.

With that, Lillian left the cottage. Alone, Gabriel attempted to push himself into a sitting position. The increased pain in his left side convinced him that it was a bad idea. Resting back against the pillows, he closed his eyes, letting the pain fade away to the ache he had felt upon waking up.

Gabriel hoped that Carson was right, and he had suffered only a minor setback. He was getting tired of being limited in what he could do. He wanted to be up and about and back doing his job. The last couple of days had made him realize that he wasn't there yet. Still, nothing would have changed his choice from the day before. The fact that Davor had been unsure of the situation was proof enough to Gabriel that he had been needed at the Meadows yesterday. He only hoped that put in that situation again that the young Mountie would feel more confident about what to do.

A knock at the door brought Gabriel out of his thoughts.

"Come in," Gabriel called out.

As the person had knocked, he doubted that it was Lillian returning. As the door opened, the bright red of the Mountie uniform jacket told him that he was correct in that assumption.

"How are you feeling, sir?" Davor asked, as he stepped into the cottage.

"I thought I've told you that you can use my first name," Gabriel gently scolded the young officer. "If you're not comfortable with that, at least address me by the last name. We're not up North any more. You and I are equals."

"It's a hard habit to break," Davor told admitted. "However, it does tell me you're feeling better than yesterday because you weren't bothering correcting me then."

"Anything going on in the area?"Gabriel asked, choosing not to comment on the other Mountie's observation.

"Mr. Stewart called me over to the hotel because of a possible theft of a ruby necklace. It just ended up being a case of misplaced jewelry. Apparently the lady didn't remove the necklace before retiring last night and the necklace fell off while she was sleeping. The maid found it mixed up in the blankets while tidying up the room."

Gabriel smiled. "Ronnie does tend to overreact sometimes."

"That's for sure," Davor replied. "However, it did get me away from the official mail that came in this morning."

"Which will still be waiting for you when you get back to the office," Gabriel told him.

"Don't remind me," Davor replied as the door behind him opened.

Lillian came up short when she noticed the other Mountie in the cottage. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had other company," she said. "Though if I had been paying attention, I probably walked right past a horse outside."

Davor and Gabriel both chuckled at the comment, Gabriel immediately regretting it as his ribs protested.

"Yes, Clover is outside," Davor said. "However, you're not interrupting anything. I was just checking in on Constable Kinslow during my rounds."

"Could I offer you something to eat, Constable?" Lillian asked.

"Ah, no. I should be going," Davor replied. "Thank-you for the offer though, Miss Walsh."

"It's no problem."

"Feel better, s-" Davor started to say, glancing over at Gabriel. Catching the look Gabriel was giving him, he finished with, "Constable Kinslow."

"Have a good day," Gabriel told him with a nod and a smile.

Lillian placed the tray she was carrying down on a shelf as Davor retreated out the door she had just come through. Peeking out the window, she watched the other Mountie get on his horse before turning to look at Gabriel.

"So, were you that nervous when you started out as a Mountie?" Lillian asked.

"Not that I remember," Gabriel replied. "However, I also didn't come out of training and get sent into a conflict like Davor and his classmates did. The skirmish up in Northwest Territories were hard on even the seasoned Mounties."

Lillian nodded thoughtfully. Though she had heard about the conflict to the North, it had seemed like something happening faraway. She hadn't known anyone that had been up there at the time.

"I can see how that could be hard on someone so young," Lillian commented thoughtfully. "I'll try to cut him a little slack."

"Good."

"Do you need help with sitting up a little more?" Lillian asked.

"I'd like to say no," Gabriel told her. "However, my first attempt at sitting up by myself didn't go so well, so yes."

"I think you're finally getting a hang of this letting other people help you for a change thing," Lillian commented as she went to the bed to help Gabriel get in a position to eat.

"Just as long as I don't start wearing out my welcome," Gabriel commented.

Lillian laughed. "You've already done that one or twice already, but somehow you weasel your way back into my good graces."

"One of my many talents," Gabriel told her, smiling up at her.

"Uh-huh," Lillian murmured, helping Gabriel sit up a little so she could place another pillow behind him. "Do you get sassy like that with your mother?"

"My mother would probably punish me for talking back if I did," Gabriel admitted.

"Yet you'll talk to me that way."

"Yes, Miss Walsh, because you will give me sass back. I like seeing that side of you."

Lillian smiled, a little color coming to her face. "I just bet you do," she said turning to retrieve the tray of food. "You're lucky I love you."

"I'm the luckiest man alive," Gabriel replied.

Lillian was glad her back was to him, as the heat rose in her face. The funny thing was, she felt like the luckiest person alive knowing that Gabriel cared so much about her. Love was a wonderful thing.