Later that day after Rosemary had sent all the children off on their lunch break she walked through the town in the direction of Lees office. It was a bitter day but the sun seemed to take the edge off of the freezing temperature. It certainly helped to take the edge off of her dejected mood.

Before climbing the stairs to Lees office she took a few moments to glance across the road to the jail. It was weird walking past and knowing it was empty. On a day like this Jack would have normally been sitting out for his lunch, he didn't even seem to feel the cold and would never pass up an opportunity to enjoy the sun.

From his office, Lee followed her look across the street and knew more or less how she was feeling. His work breaks had been lonely since Jack died, Jack had been one of the best friends Lee had ever had and he had always enjoyed being able to head across the road for a coffee and chat. But since Jacks death, the silence of his lonely breaks had tasted bitter, and so had the coffee.

He smiled as Rosemary came into the office. He was glad she was spending more time in his office, he had Jessie and Henry who both worked there but during breaks, they tended to leave the office and spent time with various other members of the town, just as Lee used to do with Jack. Lee always liked the company of his wife, but more recently it was something that he was needing, not just wanting.

As she came into the office and saw his half-smile she saw the sadness behind it and knew almost straight away that there was something not quite right. "That doesn't look like the face of a happy man?"

"Seeing you helps a lot." She sat down on the edge of his desk and took his hand. "Talk to me Lee"

"It's nothing, I just saw you looking at the Mountie office. It made me realise how much I've missed seeing Jack on my breaks. I guess I kinda feel lonely now. Jack was like a brother to me." He threw his pen down in frustration "this is why I try not to let people too close, I lost my brother and I always knew it would happen again."

As a general rule of thumb, Lee was a very calm man and this outburst caught Rosemary slightly off guard. She rubbed his shoulder gently "You let me get close" He smiled slightly as he took her hand in both of his. "Since when did you ever follow the rules?" They both smiled and he sighed and as she gently rubbed his back he looked into her eyes before deciding it was time he spoke about how he was feeling rather than avoiding the subject or just pushing it to the back of his mind by burying himself in his work.

"After I left home I got so used to being alone that I didn't think I needed anyone else, I thought that being alone was a good way to avoid getting hurt. But then I came here and this town changed my mind. It made me realise that I do need people and friends in my life so I started to let people in but now I just feel the need to isolate myself again, I can't cope with any more loss Rosie, Jack was like a brother to me and the idea of having someone else grow into my life and feel like a brother to me and then for me too lose them terrifies me." He looked into the distance and blinked away tears "The thought of feeling lonely again terrifies me"

Rosemary wrapped her arms around her husband and held him close to her. "Lee, you are loved so much by this community, all the time you are here you won't be lonely". She pointed out towards the main high street "Here the people we live with aren't just our friends, they are our family as well and they won't ever let a fellow member of the family feel alone. And as your wife, I promised to always love and care for you and that includes doing everything in my power to make sure that you are never lonely or hurting and I intend to do everything I can to keep that promise"

He smiled and kissed her hand gently "Thank you, Rosemary." In response, she gently placed a hand on each of his cheeks and kissed him softly "I love you, Lee Coulter"

"Not half as much as I love you Mrs Coulter" he responded and they both smiled before pulling each other close and they just stood for a couple of minutes enjoying the comfort of being close to each other.

"Rosie?"

"Mmmm?"

"Did you still want to invite Elizabeth round tonight?"

"So long as you feel up to it I think it would do us all good" Lee nodded in agreement with his wife "Yes, I think so too sweetheart."

"Shall we for a walk now and talk to her then, the kids will be on their lunch break now so she'll have the time to talk to us" Lee smiled and offered her his arm "Let's go" he said placing a kiss on her cheek.