"Thank you for being with me this evening, Abigail," Elizabeth told her friend as she placed her half empty tea cup on the coffee table in front of her. Though she had not drunk much of it, just having the tea cup in her hand had helped as she and Abigail had sat together that evening. There was as much silence as there had been talk, but Elizabeth had just been thankful for her friend's presence.

Elizabeth's eyes fell on the two envelopes sitting on the coffee table. Though both contained last messages from Jack, the envelopes could not look more different. The envelope that Abigail had retrieved while Rosemary and Lee had sat with her earlier, was white and pristine. It still had not been opened. The one that Constable Grant, a name she had finally learned from Abigail, had not only been opened but was wrinkled and dirty. The smears reminded her that blood had found its way onto the envelope. That letter had not been written in a place of safety just in case, but instead in the midst of the fight because Jack had something final to tell her due to a feeling inside. Both were special, but somehow the one brought back from the North meant more to her right now. Maybe it was why she had not yet opened the other letter.

"I wonder whose blood is on the envelope," Elizabeth mused, realizing quickly how morbid that thought was.

"What was that?"

Abigail's question made Elizabeth realize she had spoken the words out loud.

Elizabeth reached out for the envelope Constable Grant had given her that afternoon. "I know it probably sounds a bit morbid but I was just wondering if the blood that got smeared on the envelope was Jack's or someone else's. I did notice that Constable Grant was injured as well," she said, looking down at the envelope.

"Constable Grant was shot while trying to save, Jack," Abigail said softly. "I asked the other Mounties with him after he asked where he could find you," she admitted.

Elizabeth looked from the envelope to Abigail. "Then it is possible the blood was from that wound when he . . ."

Elizabeth paused. Had Jack handed the envelope to Constable Grant? Had he simply told his fellow Mountie where the letter was so that he could retrieve it?

"Abigail, why am I asking myself questions about Jack's last moments?" Elizabeth asked. "Why does it matter? Knowing is not going to change the fact that Jack is gone. He is not coming home to me," she said, tears blurring her vision once again.

Having placed her tea cup on the coffee table when she had finished it about a half hour earlier, Abigail reached for Elizabeth's hand.

"It may not change anything, but you are not alone in that desire, Elizabeth," Abigail told her. "Some are lucky enough to know what their loved ones final moments are. They have a chance to say that final good-bye in person. For those of us who can't be there when our loved ones take their final breath, I suppose we are left wondering about those last moments to help us feel like we can say that final good-bye. When Noah's body was buried in that mine, part of me held to the hope that by some miracle he was still alive. It wasn't until they pulled his body from the rubble that I could let go of that hope. Looking down at his still form, I found myself wondering what those final moments were like for him. Did it happen fast? Did he suffer? Was I on his mind? Part of me wanted it to be fast while another part of me hoped that he had fought to hang on for me."

Even through her own tears, Elizabeth could see Abigail's tears and hear the slight waver in her voice. Still, her friend continued on, trying to offer Elizabeth some comfort in this hard time. "You are going to think, hear, and feel things in the next days that might feel out of place but just remember that things are not normal. However, even the things that seem out of place are likely not something that another widow has not experienced before you. Feel what you need to feel Elizabeth. Let the tears fall. Don't hold misplaced words against the people who care about you. It might not seem like it now, but there will come a day when you will smile. Jack will always have a place in your heart and life will go on."

"It doesn't seem like it should with Jack gone," Elizabeth confessed.

"I know," Abigail said, giving Elizabeth's hand a squeeze. "It will though," she assured her. "When you have had some time to grieve and sort through your emotions, I'd like for you to join me and a few of the other widows for tea. It will be good for you to fellowship with others who have been through what you are going through."

Elizabeth found herself shaking her head. "I don't know. I wouldn't know what to say."

"You wouldn't need to say anything if you didn't want to and you do not need to give me a yes or no now. Know that my biggest comfort when I lost Noah was knowing that I had friends and neighbors who knew what I was going through. The widows of the mine accident, we had each other. The widows of the Mounties lost in the Northern Territories, are scattered but you are not alone. Remember that, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth nodded, laying her head against Abigail's shoulder.

"Part of me wishes I had asked Constable Grant for more details when he offered. Another part of me knows I was not ready despite the questions that are now popping up. It may have been the only chance I had to hearing about Jack's last moments."

"You don't know?" Abigail asked.

Elizabeth lifted her head. "Know what?"

Abigail looked at her. Elizabeth could tell that her friend was unsure of how she might take what she was about to tell her. "Elizabeth, Constable Grant is taking the Hope Valley positing. He will be our new Mountie."

Constable Grant would be replacing Jack. The information pounded in her head. A protest bubbled up inside of her but Elizabeth did not give it voice. It wasn't like she could change anything. The filling of the post was up to the Mounties. Still, did they need to replace Jack so soon? Couldn't they have at least let her bury her husband before they replaced him?

"Why?" The one word was the only thing that came out.

"I am not sure why Constable Grant is taking this posting. I have not had a chance to talk to him much. However, if after you have had some time to process everything, you would like to hear more about Jack's last moments, you will have a chance to ask those questions in your own timing."

Abigail had not understood what she meant with the one word question. Elizabeth had not even considered Constable Grant's feelings with the posting. If he served with Jack, Elizabeth supposed it would be hard to take his fallen comrade's place. Elizabeth's concern was with why the Mounties felt the need to replace Jack so soon. It seemed so disrespectful to her. Had her husband been nothing but a name to follow their orders?

However, Elizabeth did not feel like trying to explain that. A little voice inside her told her she was overreacting. Of course the Mounties would want a posting filled as soon as possible. They did have an office in Hope Valley after all.

Elizabeth reached out for the crumpled, dirty envelope that contained Jack's last words to her.

"I wish Jack had never gone to the Northern Territories, Abigail," Elizabeth said. It wasn't that she was angry with Jack for going. She understood how he had felt after Doug's death. Still, if he had never gone North then perhaps he would still be here with her.

Abigail settled a hand across Elizabeth's shoulders and pulled her close. Elizabeth was grateful for Abigail's presence even if right then she didn't know how to express that gratefulness.

Coming in from making a round of the area surrounding Hope Valley the following morning, Bill reigned in Hero outside of Elizabeth's home. Though Abigail had spent the night with Elizabeth, Abigail had told him that morning that Elizabeth had insisted that Abigail go to work as usual. As he needed to check on the status of the row house for Constable Grant anyway, Bill had assured Abigail that he would stop by and check on Elizabeth.

Dismounting, Bill secured the reigns around the post and knocked on the door. He stood patiently but got no answer.

"Elizabeth, it is Bill. Can I come in please?" Bill called out, thinking that perhaps she was just ignoring the door. He hoped that she wouldn't ignore him.

On the other side of the door, Bill heard soft footsteps coming toward the door. Soon after the footsteps came to a stop, the door opened. Elizabeth stood before him, looking very pale and tired. Her eyes were red and puffy. Strands of her hair were falling out of the pony tail it had been pulled back in.

Elizabeth stood silently to the side, allowing him entry. Bill stepped into the house. He turned to face the door as she closed it. When Elizabeth turned from the door, Bill was simply holding his arms open to her. Without a word, Elizabeth stepped close and put her arms around Bill. He enfolded her in his arms and held her close as Elizabeth dissolved into tears.

Bill didn't offer words of condolences. He knew that nothing he could say could ease the pain that Elizabeth was feeling right now. He did hope his presence brought her some comfort. After all, he had promised Jack he would look after Elizabeth while he was gone. Though Jack had not put into words, the possibility that he might not make it back, Bill had known that implication was there.

Bill simply let Elizabeth cry for as long as she needed to. When her tears came to an end, Elizabeth made no move to step from his embrace and Bill made no move to release her.

"Have you seen his body, Bill?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes," Bill replied, having done so yesterday before the coffin carrying Jack's body had been placed in the room in back of the saloon that served both for ice and a morgue when needed.

"Can you take me?" Elizabeth asked. "Part of me cannot except that he is gone until I actually see the body."

"Are you sure? It is not a pretty sight."

"I don't think I am sure of anything right now, Bill but I think it is the only way I can accept it."

"When do you want to go?" Bill asked, understanding how she felt.

Elizabeth finally looked up at him. "Now?"

There was a pleading in her eyes. Bill could tell this was something she felt she needed to do and she wanted to do it before she had time to think about it. He had his doubts about this course of action but perhaps this was the only way Elizabeth could truly say good-bye to Jack.

Bill nodded. "Get your coat, hat and gloves. I do need to stop by to make sure the windows on the house next to the Weise's place are properly fixed. The saloon is not a proper place for Constable Grant's niece who is arriving this afternoon?"

Even in her own grief, the mention of a kid caught Elizabeth's attention. "Why does he have custody of his niece?"

As Nathan had offered the information freely and not told him to keep it a confidence, Bill saw no reason to relay the information to Elizabeth. Perhaps knowing someone else was grieving would help her. Perhaps Elizabeth could even connect with Allie and Nathan in their shared grief.

"His brother-in-law was killed early on in the conflict up North and his sister died just before Christmas from a blood disorder. His mother's health is questionable from trying to care for her daughter and granddaughter so Nathan is taking custody of his niece. I am not sure he knows what he is getting into but he feels duty bound to do it."

"That poor child," Elizabeth commented as she moved to retrieve her coat. "I couldn't imagine losing both parents, so young."

Elizabeth was quiet for a few moments as she put on her coat and hat. As she pulled on gloves, she looked up Bill. "Abigail said Constable Grant was injured trying to save Jack?"

Bill nodded, remembering Nathan's comments the day before. "I don't know exact details but he served with Jack. Nathan mentioned promising Jack to fulfill his final requests, one of which was to take the Hope Valley posting."

"I may have been angry at the Mounties to hear that they were replacing Jack so soon," Elizabeth said looking a bit remorseful.

"You were not alone," Bill assured her. "However, along with the recent deaths in his own family, Nathan is grieving Jack just like we are. He might be a comfort to you if you are open to it, Elizabeth. When he is ready to talk and you are ready to listen, he could tell you about Jack's last days."

"I would rather just have, Jack," Elizabeth told him.

Bill reached out with his right arm and pulled Elizabeth close to his side. "I know you would," he told her, before leading her out of the house.

Bill planned on checking on the status of the townhouse and then asking Elizabeth one more time if she was sure she wanted to see Jack's body before taking her into town.

Nathan stood at the platform that served as the stage coach station in Hope Valley. The afternoon stage was late but not late enough for him to worry yet. Having spent the morning in the Mounted Police office reading through recent reports, Nathan was in uniform. He could tell by the skeptical looks he was getting that the town's folks were not exactly happy to see him rather than Jack. He couldn't blame them. Jack was a good person. Nathan knew he had gotten lucky being assigned to Jack's command. It was because of Jack that he had been home when Colleen had passed. When he had heard about the effort to get Jack home to spend Christmas with his fiancé, Nathan had cut his own leave short and gone back to take charge of the squad so Jack could go spend Christmas with Elizabeth. Colleen was gone, and while spending Christmas with his mother and Ally would have been nice, Nathan thought his commanding officer deserved to spend the holiday with his fiancé.

When Jack had returned saying he and Elizabeth had gotten married on Christmas Day, Nathan had known he had made the right choice. Even now, knowing he had given Jack and Elizabeth one last Christmas together gave him some comfort in the wake of his friend's death.

The sound of the approaching stage coach broke through Nathan's thoughts. Soon, the stage coach was coming along to a stop in front of him. A Mountie he didn't recognize was riding his friend's, Constable Gabriel Kinslow, horse, Apollo, behind the stagecoach. As the stage coach door opened, Gabriel climbed from the coach. As soon as his feet were on the ground, he turned and helped Allie down from the stage.

Nathan noticed his niece looked way too thin and too pale. The vacant look that had been in her eyes since her mother had passed was still there. She showed no interest in her new surroundings, instead grasping Gabriel's hand and staying close to his side.

"Hello, Gabe," Nathan said, greeting his friend. "Thank you for bringing Allie," he added as he hugged his friend.

"You are welcome," Gabriel told him. "I have a few days before I need to be in my own posting. I thought I would spend them here and help you two settle in."

"I appreciate it," Nathan told his friend before turning his attention to his niece. "Hello, Allie. It is good to see you."

"I want mom and dad," his niece replied quietly, looking at the ground.

Nathan felt his heart clench at the girl's pain. Though his own father had been in and out of jail when he was a kid, his Mom had been his rock. He couldn't imagine not having either of his parents growing up. He knew that Allie's longing had nothing to do with how she felt about him but the simple fact was, he was all Allie had. Nathan knew he would be a poor substitute. He had never planned on being a parent. He had no clue how to be one now.

Somehow though, Nathan knew he needed to find a way to raise his niece.

"I know you miss them," Nathan told her, reaching out with his left arm to pull the girl close. "We are going to figure this out though," Nathan promised her.

Allie didn't respond as she let her uncle hold her close. The silence did not surprise Nathan. His mother had told him that Allie had been quiet and withdrawn since Colleen's death. The teacher at her old school had even suggested that it might be better if Allie did not attend class until she was past her emotional issues as she would not participate in class and her written work was as often not done as it was done, despite his mother's attempts to make sure she at least did her homework.

Nathan thought of Elizabeth Thornton. Though the woman's reaction had been about what he expected, Nathan wondered when she would want to return to the classroom. He supposed someone would take over classes for her for a while, but given the issues his niece already had, Nathan wondered if perhaps he should just keep Allie home until he was sure there would not be a teacher change on her after a week or so.

It was just one of many issues he had to figure out. At least Gabriel would be around to keep an eye on Allie for the next few days. He knew finding someone to watch Allie while he worked had to be near the top of his to do list.

Looking around, Nathan saw that Gabriel and the other Mountie had gotten the luggage from the stage coach. Gabriel was shaking hands with the other Mountie who was getting ready to board the coach. Apollo had been tied to a nearby post.

It was then that Nathan realized he should have asked someone to use a wagon to get the stuff out to the row house.

"Is this your niece?"

Nathan turned to find Bill approaching. The man had a friendly smile on his face rather than the gruff expression that had greeted Nathan the day before.

"It is. Bill this is Allie," Nathan said. He looked down at his niece. "Allie this is Sheriff Avery."

"Hello."

The single word was barely a whisper and said as the girl stared at her shoes. Nathan looked up ready to apologize but Bill held up a hand stopping the words. The action told Nathan that Bill understood.

"Hello, Allie. I hope you will like it here in Hope Valley."

Pressed against her uncle's side, Allie shrugged her shoulders as the stage coach rode off.

Gabriel introduced himself to Bill even as a car drove up and stopped in the spot that the stage coach had just been. The door opened and a man with a jovial smile climbed from the car.

"I am Lee Coulter," the man said. "I run the lumber mill. Bill told me that you might need some help getting belongings out to the row house."

Nathan felt a wave of relief. He might have forgotten that detail but apparently Bill hadn't.

"We could. It slipped my mind. Thank you, both."

Both Bill and Lee extended a "you are welcome." Bill then addressed Gabriel. "You going to be in town for the night?"

"For a few days, actually," Gabriel replied.

"Let me walk you over to the stables and we'll get your horse settled. I can walk you out to Nathan and Allie's new home afterwards."

"I would appreciate it," Gabriel replied.

Refusing to let Nathan help due to his injury, Gabriel and Lee loaded things in the car while Bill took Nathan's key to the room at the saloon to gather Nathan's belongings and check the Mountie out. As he held Allie close to his side, Nathan realized that Jack was right. Hope Valley was a town that looked out for one another. Nathan knew he would be proud to serve here in honor of his friend's memory.