A Mounty answering the call in a crisis.
I don't believe that the new courtship is going to run without incident. We have to wait all this time, so I decided to write my own episode. Can you have a read and tell me what you think.
I have penned this to try to provide an example of a situation that could interfere with the impending courtship. This is a fabulous show and we not only wait with bated breath, but we can even speculate ourselves to what may happen. Here is my take on a distinct possibility. My scenario starts on a day into season 9 where Lucas might be looking after little Jack in the saloon while Elizabeth is at school. His pre-schooler parenting skills may be a work in progress, particularly with the job of keeping the little toddler occupied and amused. Little Jack may be missing mum, maybe not wanting his dinner etc. This could be quite comical watching a prospective father wind his way through all this.
Suddenly Lucas' attention is drawn elsewhere, maybe to the phone or a sudden crisis in the kitchen or even an irate customer. The situation is resolved promptly, and Lucas returns to Little Jack. Problem now is that the boy is not there. Lucas looks everywhere in the building to no avail. He notices that the front door is ajar, and the toddler appears to have wandered off. No luck either after a quick look outside. The boy is nowhere to be seen. The alarm is raised, and a call out to a frantic mother who is now beside herself. They and most of the town search everywhere to no avail. It is after dark by the time Nathan finds the very frightened little boy out in the bushland and rescues him from a threatening wild dog. As he brings him back into town, he gives him to Bill Avery while Faith hustles Nathan into the Infirmary to attend to the nasty gash on his arm from the aggressive wild dog. There is a very tender moment as Nathan is close to losing it as he contemplates what might have happened to the little boy he cares so much about. Faith consoles him during this time. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has got her son back and is heading home gratefully. Lucas tries to escort her, but she wishes to be left alone. At home, sitting with Little Jack she notices blood stains on his clothes. She worriedly checks him over but cannot find any wounds or cuts of any sort. Early next morning Rosemary pops in to see how Elizabeth is coping. It is now that she tells Elizabeth that it was Nathan who rescued Jack and sustained a nasty gash on his arm. She heads down the street to see Nathan who is in the distance riding out of town. She finds out from Bill Avery that Nathan is heading to conduct a training exercise at Fort Clay. He had received a phone request 5 minutes before the search for little Jack began. Request was made at short notice as the mounty in charge had suddenly taken ill. Nathan did not hesitate to accept the task, wishing to atone for not being there before which resulted in mounty Jack's death. He felt a degree of guilt. However, saving the life of his son would go a long way to squaring the ledger. Allie was asked to stay with Lee and Rosemary.
Elizabeth despaired with this news not yet being able to make things right with Nathan. Her courtship would have a cloud hanging over it until this could be resolved. Days later, they get news of an explosion of sorts which had occurred on the training exercise. No other news than that. She is terribly worried but as it turns out, a quick-thinking Nathan had recognised the danger early, hence only minor injuries to others eventuated. It was classed as a successful operation as all personnel and leadership handled the tasks well. About a week later a very tired mounty Nathan eventually eases his way back into Hope Valley. Faith is overjoyed and very relieved to see him back and, after a hug, she takes him to the infirmary to rest and check on his arm. Meanwhile, Elizabeth gets word that Nathan is back. She rushes down the street only to see him in the arms of Faith. Once in the infirmary Nathan immediately falls asleep and, with a blanket given to him by Faith, he is out like a light for many hours. Little Jack sees Nathan and the red uniform and associates this with his dad. Elizabeth turns to go back home thankful that he is safe. She becomes more aware of how she will forever be in indebted to the man who has twice now come between herself and disaster. She returns home with a very heavy heart. Where to from here.