Chapter 71

Nathan and Archie arrived early for their appointments at the hospital in Union City. Nathan paced the floor waiting for them to be called. Finally, a nurse called them into the exam room. Nathan fully expected Archie to tell him to wait outside but he allowed him to stay in the room with him. As Archie changed into a gown Nathan could see the scars on his body from the radiation treatments he'd experienced during his previous bout with cancer. It pained him to look at the them and he prayed Archie wouldn't have to experience that again. Following a series of questions and a brief assessment Archie was taken for x-rays and some blood tests. Nathan sat powerless in the waiting room. It was an unusual feeling for the Deputy Inspector. He was used to being in charge, asking the tough questions and digging until he got the answers. He hoped he could accomplish that now to get answers about Archie.

After an hour Archie reappeared from the exam room. He took a seat next to Nathan and told him they'd taken several x-rays and drawn lots of blood. They waited for the doctor to come and speak with them. They were disappointed when he told them he wouldn't have any results for a few days but once they did, they would send them to Dr. Carter in Hope Valley and they should arrange to meet with her as soon as she had them.

Back at the hotel Archie told Nathan he could use a rest so he went up to the room while Nathan decided to walk around and clear his head. As he strolled the streets of Union City it reminded him how thankful he was to be stationed in Hope Valley. The hustle and bustle of the city was definitely not for him. He'd been to Union City several times since that was where Mountie Headquarters were based. He looked forward to getting home tomorrow, to the peace and quiet of their beautiful homestead.

Sarah was waiting for them at the train station when they pulled into Hope Valley. Though they'd spoken by phone the day before and Nathan had only been gone for two days she realized that she missed his presence. She missed sleeping next to him all night and waking up in his arms. As father and son stepped off the train Sarah approached to see if Archie needed any help. He seemed to be moving okay but she could still see that his coloring wasn't good. As Nathan approached the stress on his face was obvious. He took solace in her arms and as he kissed her, she could feel the stress of the past several days being released.

Caroline and Allie had dinner waiting for them and, though Nathan and Archie were tired from the trip, they were happy to have everyone under one roof and sharing a meal together. During dinner Caroline brought up her discussion with Sarah about staying indefinitely and Nathan told her she was welcome to stay with them as long as she wanted. After dinner and clean up Archie went straight to bed with a little help up the stairs from Allie. Nathan and Sarah also went to bed early knowing they each had a full day of work tomorrow. Caroline and Allie stayed up playing backgammon which had become their nightly ritual in the last couple of weeks. It was a wonderful opportunity for Caroline to share stories not just about Colleen but about Nathan too.

Working on Saturday helped to keep Sarah and Nathan's minds occupied. Nathan stopped in at the infirmary to let Faith know Archie's test results would be coming to her and asked her to please let him know as soon as they arrived.

After work Nathan went to the dress shop to pick up Sarah. Anna and Betsy had gone home for the day and Sarah was finishing up a few things in her office. A smile quickly spread across her face when she saw her handsome husband in his red serge. She didn't think she would ever tire of how he looked in uniform. He swept her into his arms gently caressing her cheek with his thumb before bringing his lips to hers. "You are so beautiful." They stood together enjoying their private moment at the end of a very long week. "Would you please accompany me to dinner tonight at the café?"

"Are you sure we should?" Sarah thought Caroline would probably appreciate a break from taking care of Archie and Allie.

"It's okay, I spoke with Mom and Allie and they said we should celebrate our two-week anniversary so that's what we are going to do." Nathan smiled at Sarah with a glimmer in his eyes. "Come on, let's go." Sarah acquiesced and they headed to the café. They made sure to keep their conversation clear of Archie's situation. Nathan talked about some of the cases he'd been reviewing. Sarah filled him in on what was going on in the shop and how well Anna and Betsy had done while she was gone. It was reassuring to her that she could rely on them so readily. They also discussed tomorrow's christening for Thomas and Frances. They looked forward to celebrating the life of Rosemary and Lee's twins and were honored to have been chosen as Godparents for Thomas. Rosemary and Lee were hosting a dinner at the café after the christening and they were attending along with Allie. Caroline and Archie had also been invited but declined not knowing how Archie would be feeling and Caroline knew someone should stay with him.

Sunday morning came bright and beautiful and there was great anticipation as they went to church. Archie was feeling well enough to attend service so for the first time the whole Grant family attended church together. Rosemary and Lee had asked them to arrive early so Pastor Canfield could go over the part of service where the babies would be christened. Sarah and Nathan were familiar with the ritual remembering several weeks before when Clara and Jesse's son had been christened. His Godparents had been Fiona and Mike Hickham…two people that many in town had expected to become a couple until Mountie Steven arrived in town and he and Fiona had begun seeing each other.

Allie sat comfortably between her grandparents, her hands holding each of theirs, while Sarah and Nathan met with Pastor Joseph along with Rosemary, Lee, Elizabeth and Rachel, who was also Godmother to Frances. Joseph went through the brief ceremony and explained where it fit into the rest of the service. Nathan kept his arm around Sarah's waist keeping her close to him.

The christening was a beautiful part of the service. Francis, Frannie, was christened first and was fully content in Rachel's arms, surrounded by her parents, and Godmothers Rachel and Elizabeth. As Pastor Joseph poured water over her head baptizing her in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit her eyes grew wide and she let out a squeal as though she felt the Holy Spirit come into her heart.

Thomas was not nearly as content as his sister and Sarah was trying everything she could think of to calm him. She held him in her arms bouncing up and down a bit trying to quiet the crying infant. All eyes were on them as Thomas got increasingly fussy. Finally, Nathan reached over and covered Thomas' head with his palm and stroked his forehead gently with his thumb until he quieted in Sarah's arms but kept his gaze on Nathan. Sarah looked up at Nathan who smiled down at his wife of two weeks. She realized that Nathan's calming presence didn't just work on her, but apparently on babies as well. With Thomas calmed down the ceremony proceeded and Pastor Joseph poured water on his head and baptized him.

Following the service Nathan took Archie and Caroline home while Sarah and Allie walked to the café for the luncheon. Nathan joined them later and it was good to spend time with their friends and neighbors celebrating the Coulter babies' christening. Rosemary and Lee had arranged for a photographer so there were several pictures taken of each baby with their Godparents as well as one of both babies, their Godparents, and Rosemary and Lee. The photographer had a hard time getting everyone in the picture because the group was so large. Sarah had been holding Thomas when he started getting fussy again and Nathan came over and took the baby from her. She watched as Nathan held Thomas up on his shoulder and walked around the café singing softly to him and rubbing his back. After several minutes he returned with a sleeping Thomas and a grin on his face, proud that he was able to sooth his godson. Sarah could see he was pleased with himself and commented that he should be careful or he would be the one waking up in the middle of the night to take care of their own crying baby when the time came.

Driving home from the dinner Allie was rather quiet. "What are you thinking of sweet girl?" Nathan wasn't used to her being so reserved.

"Dad, is Grandpa sick again? Is he going to die?" The quiver could be heard in Allie's voice as she asked the questions that had been on everyone's mind.

"We don't know Allie. There could be many things going on. We won't know until the tests all come back. Hopefully we'll know something next week." Nathan didn't try to keep the truth from Allie. He knew that she wouldn't be satisfied until he told her what was going on with her grandfather. Sarah reached over the back of the seat to take Allie's hand in an attempt to provide some comfort.

"Well, I'm going to pray really hard that he's okay but if he isn't, I'll do everything I can to help him." Nathan was proud of Allie's attitude knowing how much she loved her grandpa.

"That's all we can do sweet girl."

Toward the end of the day on Wednesday Faith came to the Mountie office seeking out Nathan. She found him deep in a pile of cases he was studying. "Nathan, do you have a minute?"

As soon as Nathan saw Faith his stomach dropped. He had planned to stop by the infirmary later in the day to see if the test results had come in so Faith seeking him out worried him. "Sure, come on in Faith. Do you have Archie's results?"

"I do." Faith's voice had a lilt to it that made Nathan hopeful. Nathan, it's good news….at least better news than we expected." Faith explained that Archie did not have cancer though he did have a rather serious infection that was causing his liver to be enlarged. The infection and its effect on his liver was causing him to be tired and his coloring poor. He would be on some heavy medication for an extended period of time but the good news was that with lots of rest and taking the medication he should recover from it, the bad news was that, given his age and previous health condition, it could take several months before he would be back to normal.

For the first time since of hearing of Archie's illness the color made its way back to Nathan's face. "Thank you, Faith. That is such a relief. We've all been imagining the worst." Nathan felt the breath release from his lungs not realizing he'd been holding it in.

"Nathan, I'm sorry if I caused you to think that way. I shouldn't have done that but his history and symptoms just pointed in that direction."

"Don't worry Faith. We all let ourselves think that way. I'm just so glad I can give good news to the family. Allie will be thrilled."

After Faith returned to the infirmary Nathan went directly to the dress shop to give Sarah the news. The tears flowed freely as she felt the weight of worry lift. The smile on Nathan's face was something she hadn't seen since they'd gotten home from their honeymoon and first found out Archie was sick. Sarah reached up and framed Nathan's face with her hands. "I've missed this smile." Nathan didn't break his connection with Sarah's eyes. He leaned down meeting her lips with his own. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, and then her lips again. Breathless Sarah pulled back and rested her head under his chin. "I know it sounds silly Nathan but I miss us. Nathan smiled at her in a way that made her heart swell with love for him. "You've been so strong for all of us Nathan. I hope you know how much we appreciate you." The strength Nathan provided his family in the last couple of weeks was felt not just by her but by Archie, Caroline, and Allie too.

Dinner that night was a celebration. Archie still didn't feel too well but knowing that he would get better gave him the energy to get through dinner with a smile on his face. Allie's usual exuberance returned upon finding out her grandfather was going to be okay even though she knew it would be some time before he was back to normal. She was just happy that her whole family was together and they would be for a long time to come.