AN: And with the last chapter of "When Worlds Collide" having been posted, I no longer have an open story in the When Hope Calls category. My muse says that will not do. This story will get updated when I get a chapter ready for it, so please be patient. However, I need a Gabriel story open while working on my current open WCTH story. I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: The characters and town of Brookfield are property of Hallmark and now I guess GAC. Just borrowing them for entertainment purposes!


It was beautiful spring morning in the little cattle town of Brookfield. With the sun just above the horizon, nature was starting to wake up. The melody of the birds as they started their morning drifted on the gentle breeze that blew across the tall grasses surrounding the little cluster of buildings that formed the town. On the boardwalk in front of the Mounted Police office a figure in red serge sat in the rocking chair out front of the office. His feet were propped up on the post in front of him as he leaned the chair back on its rocker, a mug of coffee in his hands.

It was the start of spring in the cattle town. The ranchers and farmers scattered around the cluster of buildings were either planting their fields or getting ready for the spring calves. As the only veterinarian in the area, Chuck Stewart was being kept busy. Even work though had not kept Chuck from meeting the stage coach that a couple days ago that had brought Grace back to Brookfield. Gabriel knew Chuck had worried that Grace would not come home at one point, but the draw of Brookfield, her sister, and love had won out over England.

Gabriel was happy for Chuck. He had gotten the girl. Chuck and Grace had seemed happy to be reunited. Just like Lillian seemed to be happy with Sam, as the two had waited for the stage coach together.

Gabriel was happy for both couples. He really was, despite the pain of a love not returned. However, he did not blame Lillian. One felt what they felt and she had never led him on. Lillian had come to talk to him one evening, shortly after she had found out the details about the incident with Sinclair. The red head had apologized for overreacting and thanked him for having her best interests at heart. She had then told him, with tears in her eyes, that though she did care for him, that she did not feel like she was strong enough to be in a relationship with a Mountie.

For the second time in his life, Gabriel had accepted that harsh reality. He was starting to think that his dream of a family and a career as a Mountie was naive. Perhaps those Mounties who claimed that a family and a career as a Mountie did not mix were right. After all, his first sweetheart, Vanessa had broken up with him shortly before he left for training. She had handed him back the ring he had given to her on their graduation from school just a month prior. Now, Lillian had come to the same conclusion - loving a Mountie was just too hard.

Ironically, giving up his dream had not crossed his mind then nor had it now. If Lillian could not be with him because he was a Mountie, then that was just the way it was. He would not expect her to change for him nor would he change for her.

Like with Vanessa though, he was struggling to move past his feelings. Gabriel knew he would in time, though for now, seeing Lillian with Sam still hurt.

Perhaps that was why Brookfield had lost some of its charm. Or perhaps, the reason was that everyone involved in the Brookfield bank robbery, was behind bars where they belonged. Russell Meeks had even returned to their community. The man had been given back his position as a bank teller and was not as jumpy as he had been in the woods when Gabriel had tracked him down. Ronnie Stewart was more relaxed these days as well now that the trial was behind him. Gabriel's testimony that he believed Ronnie was not aware of what he was getting involved in, when he accepted the money from Sinclair and Tess Stewart's help with bringing Sinclair to justice had resulted in Judge Avery simply giving Ronnie a very long lecture about corporate responsibility as a sentence.

Whatever it was though, Gabriel had been feeling a longing for something new to come along as winter gave way to spring. Checking the mail each morning, part of him hoped it would contain a letter from headquarters sending him to another post. Yes, he could request a transfer from Brookfield. However, that felt like running and that was not his style. Yes, his heart had been bruised but bruises faded away in time.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Gabriel got to his feet. People were starting to join nature on Brookfield's one street as they started their day. Soon, the laughter of children would join the song of the birds as they converged on the schoolhouse. Lifting his coffee cup to his lips, Gabriel took a sip. He made a face as he swallowed the now cold liquid. Apparently he had been lost in his thoughts longer than he had intended.

Heading inside, Gabriel placed the cup on his desk. He then went back outside figuring that it would not hurt to go on rounds a little earlier today. As he walked toward the edge of the boardwalk, a familiar laugh reached his ears. Looking in the direction of the laugh, Gabriel saw Lillian walking with Sam. With a basket over her arm, Gabriel assumed she was taking some eggs from the flock of chickens they now had out at the orphanage to the store for Joe to buy. With the milk from Virginia helping her with the budget, Lillian had decided to try her luck with chickens. Given the regular trips to the store that Gabriel saw Lillian makes these days, he would assume the chickens were successful.

As he watched, Lillian leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Sam's cheek. Given the look that Sam was giving her, Lillian was the only thing that Sam was aware of right now.

Gabriel's observations came to a crashing halt as his foot slipped off the edge of the boardwalk. He felt his ankle twist as he fell forward. With a jolt that knocked the air momentarily from his lungs, he hit the packed dirt of Brookfield's lone road.

Once he was able to draw air into his lungs again, Gabriel felt a heat rise in his cheeks. He hoped that not many had witnessed his less than graceful step off the boardwalk. As he sat up, a familiar voice asked.

"Are you all right, Constable?"

Gabriel looked up to find Hank standing nearby, the reigns of the horse he was riding in one hand.

"Yes," Gabriel replied. As Hank was holding out a hand to him, Gabriel grasped it and let the ranch hand help him to his feet. As his right ankle ached, he was careful not to put too much weight on it.

Once on his feet, Gabriel let go of Hank's hand. Brushing dirt from his serge, Gabriel looked around. His fall had attracted the attention of several people, including Lillian and Sam. Meeting Lillian's gaze, he gave a nod, hoping to assure her he was all right from a distance. He wasn't sure his ego could deal with Lillian's concern right now as Sam would be with her. Nodding back, Gabriel was relieved when Lillian headed into Joe's store, Sam at her side.

"Are you sure you are all right?" Hank asked.

"I'm-"

Gabriel got no further than that one word, as he tried to put weight on his right foot. His ankle protested, causing him to wince as he bit his lower lip.

"I would say that is a no," Hank commented.

"I just twisted it a little," Gabriel replied, his hand on the post now. "It'll be fine."

"Can I help you over to the infirmary?" Hank asked.

Gabriel shook his head, already gingerly stepping up onto the porch. "I am just going to sit for a few minutes," he said returning to the rocking chair he had vacated moments before. "I probably just jarred it."

"Are you sure?" Hank asked, not looking convinced.

"Positive," Gabriel told him. He waved Hank away. "Go back to whatever brought you into town. Thank you for your assistance."

"All right," Hank replied, reluctantly turning from Gabriel and heading in the direction of the feed and seed.

Sitting in the rocking chair, Gabriel resisted the urge to reach down and rub his ankle. As he walked away, Gabriel noticed Hank glanced back at him a few times. Soon though, Hank was at the feed and seed and talking with Ben. Looking around, Gabriel saw that everyone who had noticed his fall, seemed to be going about their normal activities.

Even with his weight off the ankle, the pain did not go away. It wasn't long before Gabriel acknowledged that having Maggie look at it was going to be necessary. Tentatively he got to his feet. Biting his lower lip, Gabriel started to slowly limp his way in the direction of the infirmary.

"My father would say, suck it up buttercup."

Sam's words from the previous spring came back to him. The words had been in response to a wince from his gunshot wound acting up while lifting something. Gabriel was thankful even that had finally past but he could some how imagine the prospector turned handy man telling him the same thing now. Gabriel found himself glancing over to the store that Lillian and Sam had disappeared into. He was thankful that neither seemed to have come out.

Reaching the infirmary, Gabriel opened the door and limped through.

"Maggie, can you-"

Once again Gabriel stopped in mid sentence. This time wasn't from pain but from the surprise of seeing a blonde haired, woman surveying the shelves holding the medicines and ointments that Maggie kept on hand. Responding to his entrance, she looked at him with pretty blue eyes that seemed to pierce his heart.

"You are not, Maggie," Gabriel finished. Forgetting about not putting his full weight on his right ankle, Gabriel did just that. Wincing in pain, he reached for the nearby counter so he could stay on his feet.

"No," the woman replied. "Dr. Faith Carter," she said, as she closed the distance between the two of them. "Did you twist your knee or something?" the doctor asked.

"The ankle," Gabriel replied, trying to hide the reaction that the pretty doctor's touch had on him. What was it with him and feeling an immediate attraction to women anyway? Though to be fair, the first time he had experienced that feeling had been with Lillian.

"Get a grip, Kinslow," Gabriel told himself.

"Let's get you sitting down," Faith told him, slipping under his right arm and sliding a hand around his waist. She knew she wasn't going to be much help to him, but she wanted to do whatever she could to ease his pain.

Gabriel let Faith lead him over to the nearest bed. "Are you from, Hope Valley?" Gabriel asked, hoping the conversation would distract him from the pain in his ankle. "I seem to remember Nathan mentioning a Faith who went off to medical school?"

"That would be me," Faith replied.

"Do you plan on visiting Brookfield regularly?" Gabriel asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Maggie does a wonderful job, but sending the patients she can't treat off to the Clearwater hospital can be inconvenient."

"I am thinking about making Brookfield my home if the people will have me," Faith replied, grabbing a stool as Gabriel began to unlace his right boot. "Things weren't working out in Hope Valley, and I knew Maggie has been seeking a doctor to come work with her since Dr. Wilson decided to just retire," she told him sitting on the stool so that she was perpendicular with the bed. " I got in last night. May I?" Faith asked, indicating his foot.

"Go ahead, Dr. Faith," Gabriel said, hoping that the pretty doctor would not take offense to the less formal address.

Faith laughed softly as she reached down to lift Gabriel's leg into her lap. "I think that is the first time I have been called that," she told him as she placed Gabriel's calf and foot on her lap. "It's always been either just Faith or Nurse or Dr. Carter."

"I'm sorry if I overstepped."

Faith shook her head. "I kind of liked it," she told him. "Though, perhaps I should know your name, Constable."

"Gabriel Kinslow," he told her.

"Well then, Gabriel, I am going to check for any obvious breaks before trying to remove your boot, though the fact that you hobbled over here on your own means that there is not a complete break. It may hurt."

"Go ahead."

Faith began her examine, probing and moving the ankle in certain directions and asking for input from her patient.

"How did you hurt your ankle? Did you trip over something? Find a hole?" Faith asked knowing that the how could help her determine the type of injury.

Gabriel felt the heat raise in his cheeks. "I may have slipped off the boardwalk not paying attention. The right foot is the one that slipped off the edge of the boardwalk," he admitted.

"I thought Mounties were observant of their surroundings."

"We are usually," Gabriel admitted. "I may have been lost in my thoughts."

"Watching a pretty girl, Constable," Faith teased gently.

"More like lamenting that the pretty girl chose someone else," Gabriel admitted.

"I'm sorry," Faith told him. "Nothing seems to be broken," Faith told him, as she went about loosening the laces of the boot the rest of the way. When she had them as loose as possible, she tried to ease the injured foot out of the boot. Even with Faith being careful, Gabriel still hissed in pain during the process. "Sorry," Faith apologized.

"It is fine," Gabriel told her, knowing that the last thing this pretty blonde wanted to do was cause anyone pain.

Faith placed his boot aside and carefully stripped the sock from his foot. Gabriel could see that the outside of his ankle was puffy.

"There is no bruising which is good," Faith said, even as she probed the area gently with her fingers. "So the good news is that I believe it is just a mild sprain."

"Then what is the bad news?" Gabriel asked.

Faith looked up at him. "The bad news is, you need to stay off that foot for a few days. We have a pair of crutches that you can use so you can get around, but absolutely no riding or chasing down the bad guys."

"Not even if I hobble after them on my crutches," Gabriel joked, an impish smile on his face.

Faith laughed. "Now that would be a site," she said. "If you tell me who to talk to, I will let them know that you will be limited to office work for a few days. First though, I want to ice that ankle, before applying the birch sap that Maggie has on hand and wrapping it. So, make yourself comfortable while I go get some ice from the hotel."

"Yes, ma'am," Gabriel said, thinking that Dr. Faith Carter was probably the prettiest doctor he had taken orders from.


Faith left the infirmary and started the short walk toward the Royal Brookfield. She had come here for a new start after learning that her relationship with Carson had not weathered the changes they had both been through during her time away. Between those changes, and the new dynamic with them both being doctors, something had to give. That something was their relationship.

The one thing that Faith was thankful for was that the breakup had been mutual. Both of them had seen there was a problem but neither of them had known how to fix it. Perhaps it could not have been fixed. Perhaps she and Carson were just not meant to be. Despite that, she owed Carson a lot. He had helped her reconnect with her father. He had given her the courage to pursue her dream to be a doctor. Carson had believed in her when she had been having trouble believing in herself.

It seemed as though Carson had come into her life for a reason, and for that she would always be thankful. When they had said good-bye yesterday morning, Faith having caught a ride in the wagon with Jesse who had been delivering a lumber order that had been put in for by Brookfield's blacksmith who had recently gained a business partner, Carson had instructed her to contact him if she ever wanted a second opinion or had a question.

As cordial as the breakup had been, Faith knew working with Carson would be too hard. It had been Nathan that had told her that Brookfield's nurse had been looking for a doctor to work with. That fact, had been why she was not surprised that Constable Kinslow had recognized her name. What had surprised her was her reaction to Brookfield's Constable.

Faith had felt the butterflies the moment she had looked in Constable Kinslow's direction. She had never been shy about her girlish dream of courting a Mountie. There was something distinguished about a man in red serge. She had even told Elizabeth, who had captured the heart of a second Mountie, to bring her a Mountie home from the ball that she and Jack had not gotten to go to.

Had Nathan had a motive, other than just sending a needed doctor to Brookfield, when he had told her about this opportunity?

Constable Gabriel Kinslow did look distinguished in the red serge, even with limping into the infirmary. However, there was also a boyish charm about him at the same time. Red serge aside, Faith had felt a certain desire to want to get to know him better. It was why she had asked the question about if he had been watching a pretty girl. She had wanted to know if she even had a chance of capturing Constable Kinslow's attention. Though she was sorry that he knew the sting of unrequited love, she had found out what she wanted to know - Constable Kinslow was currently unattached.

Perhaps nothing would come of her infatuation. Perhaps neither of them was ready for another relationship just yet. Perhaps Constable Kinslow would not find her at all interesting.

However, there was a chance.

First though, she had a sprained ankle to treat.

Reaching the Royal Brookfield, Faith walked in and made her request of ice. After some complaining about the cost of ice, Faith was able to charm a small bucket of ice from the man. Ice in hand, Faith returned to the infirmary to treat her patient.