"I was thinking I'd go to the court house alone tomorrow," Nathan ventured as he and Gabriel headed up the steps of the boarding house they were staying at.

Gabriel's first instinct was to protest and say he was going. However, though he didn't want to leave High River before Jack Trenton's sentencing, Gabriel also had no desire to face the man again. He knew that entering the courtroom again was just providing the man an opportunity to taunt him again.

The smart thing to do was not to show up at the courthouse tomorrow. Gabriel knew that. Nathan knew that. However, Gabriel also knew his friend wouldn't tell him directly not to go.

"I can spend the time making sure our supplies for the return trip are in order," Gabriel acquiesced instead of insisting on going. Though the trial itself had concluded that afternoon, the judge had not past sentence. That would take place tomorrow morning. In Gabriel's estimation, the longer the guy was behind bars, the better. However, it was the judge that would make that determination.

"The earlier the start we get tomorrow the better," Nathan commented tactfully.

"You know, if you wanted to head for Hope Valley when we reach Stonemans Fork, that would be okay with me," Gabriel told him. "I'm sure Elizabeth would like to have you home a day earlier."

"I won't deny that," Nathan said. "I won't even insult you by saying that there isn't a part of me that wouldn't like to do that. However, I'm not about to do that. Not after what happened in the courtroom this afternoon."

"That guy is just all talk," Gabriel said, trying to feign confidence. "He's going behind bars where he can't threaten anyone. The fact that he opened his mouth like that just helped seal that fate."

"True," Nathan conceded. "I'm still not buying that it didn't get to you and maybe I can't keep an eye on you indefinitely but I do plan on doing so until you're back in Brookfield. Once you're back there, others will take over. Especially Lillian."

Gabriel smiled, feeling a slight heat rise in his cheeks. He knew his friend was right. Lillian would be keeping an eye on him when he got back, just as she had this past month. He only hoped that he had been able to help her sort through the emotional fallout of what had happened, as she had him.

The two had reached the second floor and were standing outside their rooms. Gabriel looked over at his friend. "Goodnight," he said simply.

"Goodnight, Gabe," Nathan replied, before both of them went to their respective rooms.

As he shut the door behind him, Gabriel was well aware of the silence in the room. The landlady must have come by to put the lamp on, as the lamp on the night stand cast a low light over the room. In the silence, Gabriel could hear Jack Trenton's taunting voice in his head. The man's words from this morning kept playing through his head.

Jack Trenton had been right. As bad as the situation had been, Gabriel was relieved that the man hadn't spent much time upstairs when he had taken Lillian and Grace to the second floor. The idea of what Jack Trenton could have done while he was tied up downstairs had been on his mind even then. Not that there would have been anything he could have done if the man had stayed upstairs. Knowing that he had made the threat to both Lillian and Grace only made it worse.

Walking into the room, Gabriel undid his belt. Placing it on the bed as he walked by, Gabriel went to the window. Outside, few people walked the street at this time of night. Those that did were either couples or single men. A red uniform signaled one of High River's Mounties was doing their rounds of the small city.

Somewhere out there, Jack Trenton was spending the night in a jail cell. Gabriel hoped it was the start of a very long stay. Though he had a feeling that Jack would be anything but bored. He was probably still try to play mind games with anyone within earshot. He also didn't strike Gabriel as a man who would easily accept defeat. Chances were that Jack would try to find a way to escape.

A creaking sound behind him made Gabriel jump slightly. Turning from the window, Gabriel looked around the room. The door was still closed and no one was in sight. The most likely explanation was one of the other guests moving about. Perhaps it was even from the floor above him. That logic however didn't stop Gabriel from crossing to the night stand and picking up the lamp.

Lamp in hand, Gabriel first checked under the bed. He then made a closer inspection of the small room, even opening the wardrobe and checking inside. Knowing his actions were a bit ridiculous, he placed the lamp back on the night stand. Ridiculous or not, the action helped to sooth his anxious feelings a little.

Taking off his uniform jacket, Gabriel hung it in the wardrobe. Picking the belt up off the bed, Gabriel removed his side arm from the holster before hanging the belt with his jacket. He then sat down on the edge of the bed, placing his gun under his pillow before removing his boots.

Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to sleep anytime soon, Gabriel retrieved the book he had brought with him. Settling himself in the bed, he opened his well-worn copy of Don Quixote. The book had been his favorite since reading it as a boy, and Gabriel hoped that the familiar story might finish calming rattled nerves and anxious mind.

The following morning, Nathan knocked on Gabriel's door. The trial was reconvening in about an hour. Nathan was about to head down to breakfast and he wanted to check in with Gabe before hand.

Knocking a second time, Nathan began to feel a bit worried. He doubted Gabriel would have gone downstairs without telling him.

"Gabe, its Nathan. Are you in there?" Nathan called out through the door.

Nathan heard shuffling sounds from within the room follow his question. It wasn't long before Gabriel was at the door, still looking half asleep.

"You slept in your clothes?" Nathan questioned as he took in Gabriel's disheveled hair, a white long-sleeved shirt, uniform breeches with the suspenders down, and stocking feet.

"Yes," Gabriel replied, stating the obvious as he didn't feel like explaining. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight," Nathan replied. "Are you feeling okay?"

"It was a restless night," Gabriel told him. "You should go eat breakfast so you're not late. I'll see you after the trial concludes."

"You sure?" Nathan asked.

"Yes," Gabriel said rubbing a hand over his face. "I need some time to wake-up."

"I'll bring you up coffee and something to eat," Nathan told him, having a feeling that his friend didn't intend on taking a chance of having to face other guests at the table this morning.

"Thank-you," Gabriel replied.

As Nathan turned, Gabriel shut the door. Heading downstairs, Nathan hoped the conclusion of this trial didn't take long. He had a feeling Gabriel was more than ready to put some distance between himself and High River. Nathan knew that he sure was.

Following the trial, Nathan located Gabriel in the small barn behind the boarding house where their horses were stabled. His friend was in full uniform now and brushing Apollo's coat. From the shine to Newton's coat and mane, Nathan had a feeling his own horse had gotten some attention as well.

Gabriel looked over at the sounds of Nathan's footsteps. "What was the sentence?" Gabriel asked without preamble.

"Jack Trenton was found guilty on all accounts. The judge sentenced him to twenty years."

"Not long enough if you ask me," Gabriel stated, as he went back to brushing Apollo.

"I hear you," Nathan replied. Others in the courtroom hadn't ben happy with the sentence either. Nathan had been able to tell through the low comments and looks on the faces of those who had showed up.

Nathan wasn't sure how he felt about the sentence himself. He didn't think that twenty years in prison was going to change Jack Trenton any. Nor would he mention to Gabriel Jack's comment to him as two Mounties had led the prisoner from the courtroom. Spotting Nathan in the audience the fugitive had called out, "bet that red head will still look pretty in twenty years." What Nathan was sure of was that he would be keeping tabs on Jack Trenton over the years. If the guy escaped or was paroled, Nathan had a feeling certain people would need to be aware of that man's actions and Gabriel and Lillian were probably near the top of that list.

"If you saddle up the horses, I'll go inside and bring our things out. I arranged with Mrs. Witter this morning for some sandwiches for our trip home. She was finishing them up when I checked a few minutes ago."

"Sure you wouldn't prefer to stay for a hot meal for lunch?"

"No. I think I'm as anxious as you to be on the road, though perhaps for different reasons."

Gabriel nodded. "Thanks, Nathan. I'll get the horses ready," he told his friend as he handed Nathan his room key.

"You're welcome," Nathan assured him, taking the key and heading back into the boardinghouse.

"No! Gabriel help me!"

He struggled against the ropes securing him to the chair. However, nothing he did seem to loosen the bindings. In fact, his struggles seemed to pull the ropes tighter around his wrists and arms. The ropes around his waist held him in a sitting position and the ropes around his ankles held his feet to the legs of the chair.

He was helpless to help himself or to help Lillian.

Eventually, Lillian's coherent calls for him to help her became only cries. Still they found their way to Gabriel's ears, tearing at his heart.

"I'm sorry," Gabriel found himself saying over and over as he struggled futilely against the ropes. He didn't care about his own pain, all he wanted was to get free so that he could put an end to Lillian's.

He wasn't sure how long he struggled helplessly against his bindings before he heard approaching footsteps. Soft whimpers reached his ears as well. And then Jack walked into the room, dragging Lillian's limp form with him. The man dropped Lillian onto the ground in front of him.

Lillian's face was bruised and puffy. Bruises in the shape of fingers had already appeared around her wrists. Buttons on her blouse were undone and her skirt was torn in several places. Though her eyes weren't open whimpers of pain still escaped her lips.

"No, no, no, no."

The single words kept coming out of his lips. He couldn't seem to stop it, just like he hadn't been able to stop Jack from hurting Lillian.

"You failed her, Constable," Jack taunted, a menacing laugh trailing after him as he left.

Gabriel finally stopped struggling against the ropes that bound him to the chair. Instead, he let his body go limp, the ropes now the only thing keeping him in the chair. Lillian lay on the floor at his feet - battered, unconscious and whimpering in pain. Gabriel found he was relieved that her eyes were closed, not sure he wanted to meet Lillian's gaze right then. He didn't want to see her pain reflected in them or any accusations that he hadn't come to her aid.

The word no found its way to his lips again even as he dissolved into tears. Jack was right. He had failed her.

The fact that Gabriel had become restless had been what first caught Nathan's attention. Having volunteered to take the first shift of watching the fire, Nathan had hoped his friend might be able to get some sleep now that the trial was behind him. It had seemed to work at first. Gabriel had slept peacefully for a couple of hours.

Now, Gabriel was tossing his head in his sleep. Nathan moved from his spot by the fire, closer to his friend's side. He debated on whether to wake him or not. It was clear that whatever was going through Gabriel's mind right then wasn't pleasant.

When Gabriel started crying in his sleep, Nathan knew he had to do something.

"Gabe, wake up," Nathan said, reaching out and giving his friend's shoulder a gentle shake. He repeated the process two more times before Gabriel opened his eyes, sitting up with a gasp.

Reaching out, Nathan put an arm across Gabe's shoulders, as his friend looked around, clearly trying to get his bearings.

"It's okay, Gabe," Nathan told his friend, keeping his voice low and reassuring. He had woken up from enough bad dreams over the years to know how disorientating it could be as well as how real those dreams seemed in those first moments.

"Where are we?" Gabriel asked, reaching up and wiping tears from his cheeks. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly trying to ground himself.

"A couple of hours after Stonemans Fork," Nathan stated. "We're coming back from the trial in High River," he reminded him.

"He dropped Lillian's battered body in front of the chair I was tied to. I couldn't comfort her, just like I couldn't do anything to help her," Gabriel said softly, shivering.

"It was just a dream," Nathan said calmly, his arm still around Gabriel's shoulders. "Lillian is safe at home in Brookfield," he assured him, as he used his other hand to reach for his own blanket. "Jack Trenton's taunts are just messing with your mind," he added as he wrapped the blanket around Gabriel's shoulders. With the blanket in place, he rested an arm across Gabriel's shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

"It seemed so real," Gabriel said softly.

"They always do," Nathan commented, knowing exactly what his friend meant.

As if finally becoming aware of what was taking place, Gabriel tried to pull away. "I'm being ridiculous," he commented, sounding embarrassed. "It's just a dream."

Nathan held onto his friend. He'd had some bad dreams over the years, but none that had caused him to cry while sleeping. That alone told him how bad this was affecting Gabriel, and he wasn't about to let his friend draw away. Nor was he going to let Gabriel pretend everything was okay. Not when he knew his friend hadn't slept well the night before as well.

"No, it's your mind's manifestation of your fears. You need to deal with this or it'll just keep eating away at you, Gabe," Nathan said, keeping an arm around Gabriel's shoulders even as he moved into a sitting position next to his friend. "You and I are the only two here. Talk to me."

Gabriel gave a shuddering sigh, finally allowing himself to lean against his friend.

Nathan sat there silently, simply trying to be a rock for his friend as he waited for Gabriel to speak.