Placing the last of his things in his pack, Gabriel picked it up. The last few weeks had seemed long but his ribs had at last healed. Maggie had finally cleared him for duty and he would relieve Constable Davor this morning. Other than his sidearm, which was still locked away in his office where Nathan had placed it, he was in full uniform. It felt good to have the uniform on once again, however, Gabriel wouldn't deny he was going to miss staying in the cottage. He had enjoyed being closer to Lillian and the children and not eating meals alone.

Taking one last look around the cottage, Gabriel turned and stepped outside. He had just barely pulled the cottage door shut when Christian and Vincent were suddenly in front of him.

"We don't want you to go," Christian stated.

"Yeah. We like having you near by and who will teach us things when you go," Vincent added.

"I'm sure Lillian and Grace will teach you plenty," Gabriel told them.

"About the things they know about, sure but you know things they don't," Vincent countered.

"And we never got to go fishing," Christian added.

"I'll still take the two of you fishing at some point," Gabriel assured the boy. "I'll talk to Lillian. Perhaps we can make it an outing for the entire group and we can try catching lunch for everyone."

"That would be fun!" both boys exclaimed.

"What would be fun?" Lillian asked walking over to them, the other children with her, schoolbooks and lunch pails in hand.

"I'll talk to you about it later," Gabriel told her. Looking back down at Christian and Vincent he added, "and I'll come by on Saturday to continue our land navigation lessons, okay?"

"Okay," Christian and Vincent replied together.

"You're still teaching me as well aren't you, Mountie Gabe?" Fred asked from his spot at Lillian's side.

"Of course I am," Gabriel assured the child.

"However, right now all of you need to get to school so that your teacher can teach you," Lillian stated, her voice calm but firm.

"Can I walk with you?" Gabriel asked.

"Well, you are going our way," Lillian consented, a bit of a playful tone in her voice.

"Thank-you," Gabriel said, with a smile.

As the group headed toward Brookfield, Gabriel fell into step with Lillian, Fred still on her other side. They hadn't gone very far when Gabriel felt a small hand slip into his. Looking down, he found Mary Louise on his other side. The little girl smiled up at him, and Gabriel gave her hand a gentle squeeze. The three older children walked a few steps ahead of the adults.

"Are you happy to be cleared for work again?" Lillian asked.

"I am," Gabriel replied. "However, I think those two rooms behind the jail are going to seem lonelier than they did before," he admitted.

"You'll just have to come visit us when you get lonely," Fred stated.

"Shouldn't you ask Miss Lillian before extending that invitation?" Gabriel said, looking down at the little boy.

"Can he, Miss Lillian?" Fred asked, looking up at her.

Lillian smiled. "Yes, Gabriel would be welcomed at the orphanage if he gets lonely in town," she told him, looking over at Gabriel as she finished the sentence.

"I will keep that in mind then," Gabriel replied.

Fred and Mary Louise kept up a constant flow of chatter as the group walked toward the town. When they reached the schoolhouse, Gabriel said good-bye to Lillian and the children as he continued on to his office.

Davor's horse was saddled and waiting out front of the office. The young Mountie evidently intended to head back to Clearwater as soon as possible. Stepping into the office, Gabriel found Davor sitting behind the desk. His rifle lay across the desk. The young man immediately got to his feet when he spotted him.

"Welcome back, Constable Kinslow," Davor said getting to his feet.

"It feels good to be back on duty, though at least the town was in good hands while I was laid up."

"I did try," Davor replied, coming around the desk. He handed Gabriel the key to the desk. "Your side arm is still the drawer."

"Thank-you for keeping an eye on things," Gabriel said, holding out his right hand. "I hope you didn't find being in a small town too boring."

"Actually, it turned out to be refreshing for the most part," Davor said, shaking Gabriel's hand. "I'll admit, after being in the Northern Territories, the idea of being in a small town where I'm basically on my own made me uneasy. I was content to serve in a place like Clearwater where I had other Mounties to rely on. Being here in Brookfield made me realize that I can handle this job on my own, well except for the Meadow's baby."

"And the next time you find yourself in that situation you'll be able to handle it too," Gabriel told him confidently.

Davor nodded. "Yes, I believe I could," he admitted. "When I get back to headquarters, I'm going to put in a request to be posted to a little town when something becomes available."

"Happy to hear that," Gabriel replied. He had seen the young man gain confidence over the last few weeks. It was another good thing to come out of the incident at the orphanage. "You are a good officer. You have been since you first joined my squad up north. Now that you have found some self confidence, I think you have a good future ahead of you."

"I have you to thank for giving me the opportunity to find my way," Davor told him.

"Just doing my job," Gabriel told him.

Davor nodded. "A letter for you came in from headquarters yesterday afternoon," he told him. "It's on the desk. As they sent it through the mail, I figured it wasn't something I needed to rush out to you."

"I'll make sure I look at it soon," Gabriel told him.

Davor gave Gabriel a few other bits of news and then picked his rifle up from the desk. Gabriel walked his fellow Mountie outside. While Davor went to his horse, storing the rifle in its saddle holster, Gabriel walked to the edge of the boardwalk.

"Safe journey," Gabriel told his fellow Mountie as Davor swung himself up on Clover.

Davor touched his fingers to the brim of his hat with a slight nod before turning his horse in the direction of the road to Clearwater.

Alone on the boardwalk, Gabriel looked around the little town. Several passing town folks said a quick hello to him as they went about his business. Gabriel returned the greeting, glad to be back at this post. There had been something about this town that had drawn him in even before Lillian Walsh had returned to open her orphanage. Now, it felt more like home than ever.

Looking toward the orphanage, Gabriel saw a lone figure walking toward it. Even from this distance he knew it was Lillian heading home. One day soon, he planned on being able to call that place home as well. In the meantime, he'd help out where he could and get to know Lillian better.

Turning, Gabriel headed back inside. After retrieving his belt and sidearm from the desk drawer and putting it on, Gabriel sat down behind his desk. Given the time he had been away, Gabriel had no doubt that there would be plenty of news that he needed to catch up on. At least it seemed like Davor had kept the office neat while he was occupying it. Reaching for the letter from headquarters, Gabriel opened it. Reading it, he discovered that it was a request for him to appear at the trial of Jack Trenton to testify in two weeks time.

The request didn't come as a surprise. He had expected that his testimony was needed, and as no one had shown up while he was recuperating for that testimony, he figured Jack Trenton hadn't gone to trial yet. Reading the summons, it was clear why. Not only was the fugitive facing charges of attempted bank robbery and theft, but the force was also pushing for three counts of assaulting an officer. The fact that all three of those officers were still alive to testify told Gabriel that Jack Trenton was looking at a long time behind bars.

Behind bars or not, Jack Trenton had still left an impression on the lives of Lillian and the others at the orphanage. The fugitive had left an impression on his own life as well. Gabriel recognized it even if he didn't want to dwell on it. It had been some time since he'd had a nightmare about what had happened that day but Gabriel had a feeling testifying might bring them back. He wondered if he should even tell Lillian about the trial.

Gabriel didn't entertain that thought for long. Lillian's reaction when he had asked Sam guard her while trying to deal with Sinclair told him it was a bad idea. In love or not, Lillian would be upset if she found out he went to the trial and told her he had gone out of town on something else. The aftermath of Jack's intrusion upon their lives wasn't something he could protect Lillian from. It was something that they would need to deal with and even he could see that it would be best if they could do so together.

Putting the letter back in the envelope, Gabriel put it in his desk. He would deal with sending an acknowledgment to the summons shortly. He had a feeling he would be receiving another telegram that would need a reply shortly.

The walk back to the orphanage seemed much longer than the walk into town this morning had. Lillian knew that it was the lack of company. Gabriel's company in particular. On more than one occasion, she had found herself stopping to look back at the town.

It wasn't so much the idea of Gabriel going back to work. Lillian had known that was inevitable. Gabriel being a Mountie wasn't just a job. It was who he was. Kind of like running this orphanage was part of who she was.

Approaching the house, Lillian's eyes drifted to the cottage. She had gotten use to the idea of Gabriel staying there. Of being able to go to bed at night knowing that Gabriel was safe and in the cottage. Tonight, Lillian wouldn't have that assurance because Gabriel would be in town. The not knowing was what had Lillian worried.

Lillian looked from the cottage and back toward town. Taking a deep breath, Lillian let it out slowly, trying to calm her worries. She was being silly. A little over a month ago she was going to sleep just fine without knowing that Gabriel was home safe. He was the one that was suppose to be looking out for all of them. He knew how to take care of himself. He had been trained on how to handle dangerous situations. Things were no different now then they were then.

Except that everything had changed.

You worried about the ones you loved. It was just the way things were. For now though, Gabriel lived in town and she was out here with the children. She knew it wouldn't always be that way. In fact, Lillian hoped that it wouldn't be that way for long. She may have fought her love for Gabriel, but now that she had admitted it, Lillian hoped that it wouldn't be long before he asked her to marry him. She knew her heart, and her heart belonged to Gabriel.

Turning from the view of the town again, Lillian headed into the house. She had things that needed to be done and she wasn't accomplishing anything standing outside.

"We'll get these messages sent for you right away," Ruth assured him as she took the forms from Gabriel.

"Thank-you," Gabriel replied, picking his hat up off the counter.

As Gabriel had expected, Nathan had sent a message to him. Like himself, Nathan had received a summons for the trial. Nathan had sent him a telegram stating he would come to Brookfield first, and they could continue on to High River together. Knowing that arguing with his friend would be a waste of time anyway, Gabriel had simply sent an acknowledgment to Nathan. Though Gabriel would have never asked for the company, he wouldn't deny he would welcome the company.

"Have a good day," Gabriel told Ruth as he turned to head out of the office

"You too, Constable," Ruth replied already turning to give her husband the messages so they could be sent.

Stepping out of the Telegraph Office, Gabriel put on his hat, surveying the little town. Everything seemed like business as usual, but after his time away even that seemed important to Gabriel. Deciding that he would grab something to eat at the hotel before riding out on rounds, Gabriel headed across the street.

As Gabriel was about to enter the hotel, he heard someone call his name. Looking around he spotted Mr. and Mrs. Meadows walking toward him. Melody's arms were occupied with a precious bundle wrapped in a pink blanket.

"Good day," Gabriel greeted them both with a smile. "How are you all doing?"

"A little short on sleep theses days, but everyone is in good health," John replied.

"Thanks to you," Melody asked.

"Just doing my job," Gabriel said, trying to shrug off the praise.

"No, you weren't," Melody countered. "We know you were on medical leave and that you risked your own health to come help. No one would have faulted you for not being there. You came anyway and I have my little Hope because of that."

"You're welcome," Gabriel told her with a nod.

"Could you join us for dinner tomorrow night?" Melody asked. "It seems like the least we could do."

"I'm not one to turn down a home cooked meal or good company," Gabriel told her. "I'd be happy to join you and your husband for dinner."

"We usually eat about five-thirty."

"I'll be there. Thank-you," Gabriel told her.

"Would you like to hold her?" Melody asked, nodding to the precious bundle she cradled in her arms.

"Yes," Gabriel replied, reaching out for the little bundle.

Beaming the smile of a proud mama, Melody handed her daughter over.

"Hello Hope," Gabriel said, smiling down at the infant. Hope stared up at him from her blanket cocoon. "You've grown since the last time I held you," he informed the little girl.

This was definitely one of the highlights of his job.