"Where's Hank?" Emma Jane asked as she walked back into the saloon. She had spent the last hour or so with Michaela, Dorothy and Grace discussing the former's bid for town mayor. They had come up with a number of ideas as to strategy and proposals and felt confident that they could promote change in the town.

"Don't know," Mandy said from behind the bar, "Saw him gettin' on his horse a little while ago. He rode off out of town."

"Typical," Emma Jane sighed and lifted a few empty glasses from a nearby table, "he's probably still sulking."

"Sulking?"

"Because Michaela's running for mayor and I said I would help. I don't think he's too keen on us women potentially getting the vote."

"The vote?" Mandy's eyes grew wide, "Ya think we could git the vote?"

"If Michaela wins, we will, whether we own property or not. Wouldn't that be a coup?"

"A what?"

"A victory." Emma Jane rephrased. She put the glasses down on the table, "I just don't think Hank sees it like that." She looked around, "It's not very busy in here, where is everyone?"

Mandy shrugged, "At the meeting I guess."

"No, it finished over an hour ago." She sighed, "Oh well, I'm sure they'll be in soon enough. Have Will and Victoria been all right?"

"Sure, haven't heard a peep outta either of them," Mandy replied, "both been sleeping like babies."

"I'll just go check on them," Emma Jane said, "can you manage down here?"

"Sure thing."

Emma Jane left the bar and made her way upstairs to her children. She slipped into Victoria's room where the little girl was lying on her side, her thumb halfway out of her mouth, her breathing regular and even. Emma Jane watched her, admired her blonde locks on the pillow. She was two and a half now, and growing bigger by the day. She left the room and closed the door quietly behind her, then she moved into her own room where Will was lying sleeping in his basket. As she moved closer, he opened his eyes and looked up at her, not crying, just looking as if to say, 'where have you been?'

Emma Jane lifted him out of the basket and held him to her, "Hey little one. Are you hungry?" She sat down in the chair beside the bed and opened her dress to allow him access to her. As he latched on and began suckling, she felt that sense of completeness that always enveloped her whenever they shared such a special moment. "You're so beautiful," she crooned to him gently, "and I'm always going to look after you, no matter what." He looked up at her with big, brown, trusting eyes and she smiled gently, "I promise, I'll always be there for you."

In her mind's eye, she remembered her dream, the vision, where she had seen Lydia and Abigail and what they had told her of the future. Then she banished it from her mind. It had been some strange hallucination, most likely brought on by fever, it wasn't something she should put any stock in.

SSSS

Hank had been waiting almost half an hour for Old Nick to make up his mind on the locket. When he had arrived at the shop, he had been full of hope, convinced he would get a good price for it, but as the time went on, he was starting to grow doubtful. Old Nick was still staring at it through his magnifying glass.

"Well?" Hank demanded impatiently.

"These things take time," the older man replied.

"I ain't got time!"

Old Nick lifted his head, "What is it with you young folks? You never got any patience."

"Are ya gonna buy it or not?"

Old Nick furrowed his brow, "I'll give you a hundred dollars."

"A hundred bucks?" Hank was stunned, "that's all?"

"Best price you'll get," Old Nick replied, "There isn't much call for these kind of trinkets."

"Ya gotta give me more than a hundred bucks."

Old Nick held out the locket, "You're welcome to try and get a better price somewhere else."

Hank paused. He could try somewhere else, but this was most likely his best bet. Nowhere else would give him a higher price than Old Nick. He was known for being scrupulously fair. "Fine," he grunted.

Old Nick smiled, "I'm glad we have a deal."

Hank came out of the shop a hundred dollars richer, but one important keepsake less.

SSSS

By the time he got back to the saloon, it was after dark and when he went inside, Emma Jane looked up from behind the bar, her gaze accusatory.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"None of yer business," he replied sourly, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and pouring himself a drink.

"Oh really?" she replied, "I suppose I'm just expected to stay here, run a saloon and look after two children, am I?" She grabbed the bottle back from him, "and you drink far too much of that."

"What?" he looked at her in disbelief.

"I said, you drink far too much of that," she lowered her voice, "My God, Hank, you can get through half our inventory by yourself. Try and leave some for the paying customers." She was half-joking, but Hank didn't share her humour.

"If I want to drink, I'm going to drink," he grabbed the bottle back from her.

"What is wrong with you today?" she asked, "You were fine this morning and now you're acting like a bear with a sore head."

Hank bit his tongue. He didn't want to tell Emma Jane about the money situation. It was something he had to sort out himself as man of the house, "Yeah well, I'm just tired."

She stepped forward and put her hand on his forehead, "You do feel a little warm."

He slapped her hand away, "Bin takin' tips from Michaela have we?"

Emma Jane was growing tired of his behaviour, "Oh for God's sake, go to bed if you're going to be like that. I've got customers to serve." She walked away from him and started to pour drinks for two men who had just approached the bar. They appeared to be enquiring about the hospitality and he saw her gesturing to Mandy and Helen. Then he turned and headed upstairs to bed.

Will was lying sleeping in his crib and Hank stood looking over him for the longest time, as if imprinting his face onto his memory. He didn't realise how long he had been standing there before Emma Jane came up behind him.

"Everything all right?" she asked softly, partly so as not to wake the baby, and partly because she didn't want a repeat of the argument that had had downstairs.

"Yeah," he replied quietly, not taking his eyes off of the baby.

"I didn't mean to nag," she continued, "I was just…wondering where you had been, that's all."

Hank turned to face her and took in her troubled expression. It was on the tip of his tongue to confess all, but something held him back. "Sorry," he said. He didn't say it often and when he did, Emma Jane knew he meant it.

"It's ok," she stepped forward and put her arms around his waist, "I'm sorry too." She turned her face upwards and let her kiss him, "The last few customers are starting to leave and the girls' are cleaning up…" she let her words tail off.

Hank lifted her up and carried her over to the bed. Laying her down gently, he started to unbutton the front of her dress, his mouth trailing kisses down her neck. Emma Jane ran her hands through his hair and pulled his mouth down harder on hers. Just as things were beginning to get to a crucial point, there was a knock at the door.

"Go away!" Hank called, lifting his mouth from his wife's only long enough to say the words.

"Sorry," Mandy's voice floated through the door, "Victoria's a bit upset, and she wants Emma Jane." Hank sighed resignedly and moved his body off of Emma Jane's to allow her to move off of the bed.

"Never mind," Emma Jane said, buttoning up her dress and smoothing her hair down, "plenty of time later." She shot him a suggestive smile.

"S'pose so," Hank muttered, annoyed that he had been thwarted in his attempt to forget about money and revel in his wife's body.

"You know," Emma Jane said, checking herself in the mirror, "As handy as it is having the girls around to look after the children from time to time, I won't be sorry when the entertaining stops."

"What?" Hank looked up at her.

"When the entertaining stops," she repeated, "when Michaela becomes mayor."

"Who says anything about stoppin' the entertainin'?" He demanded, jumping off of the bed.

"Michaela says it's uncivilised and I happen to agree," she turned to face him, "I've never been in favour of it, but I've gone along with it all these years. I think it's time to make a change now."

"Oh, ya do, do ya?"

She frowned at his hostility, "Come on, Hank. We do our best to look after the girls, but it's not really a life, is it? And, quite frankly, I'm not sure I want our children growing up around that."

"So yer gonna let her ruin our business are ya?"

"It's not going to ruin our business," she laughed, "we make enough through the saloon, we don't need the…extras."

Hank was fuming. "I was here long before you were!" he shouted at her, "I started this place and I ain't changin' what's bin workin' just fine fer all these years! The entertainin' does not stop!"

Emma Jane stared at him, "You might not have a choice, Hank. When Michaela becomes mayor…"

"She ain't gonna become mayor!" he bellowed at her, "'sides, ya can't even vote, and no man who can is gonna vote for her!"

"Something else which will change when she wins," Emma Jane stood her ground, "I hope you're going to be coming to the debate tomorrow, Hank, you might actually learn something." With that, she swept out of the room, determined to stand her ground and feeling quite pleased with herself. She was looking forward to a new town regime.

Hank flopped back down on the bed and reached under the mattress to where he had stored the hundred dollars. Lifting it out, he flicked through it, wishing he had it for any other purpose than to hand over to the bank. And it wasn't nearly enough.

On a whim, he got up and walked over to the dressing table where Emma Jane kept her jewellery box. The only pieces she ever really wore were her wedding ring, a pair of earrings her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday and a small gold chain. She had other more expensive pieces that her family had passed down to her, but which she tended to keep locked in the box. He stood looking at the small rosewood box, his mind's eyes flitting over the pieces he knew were inside; an emerald ring and earrings and a pearl necklace, to name only two. If he were to sell them, they might help him to reach the target figure he needed.

Opening the top dresser drawer, he found the small silver key tucked at the back and fitted it easily into the lock. Then he stopped, unable to bring himself to open the box. It would be no better than stealing and while in theory he wasn't averse to it, he knew he couldn't steal from the one person who meant the most to him. It would destroy any last vestige of trust that existed between them. He took the key back out of the lock and put it back into the dresser drawer.

SSSS

"You'd close the saloon." Hank looked hard at Michaela the following morning as the town sat in the church to witness the debate between the two candidates. Deep down, he felt that perhaps it might not even matter any more if she did.

"I never said that," Michaela replied.

"But you got an opinion, don't you?" Jake turned to look at her.

"I think it's something for the whole town to decide," Michaela appeased. "Drinking does cause health problems and it can lead to violence. Alcohol leads to men beating their wives and children."

"So you'd ban it," Jake pressed.

"As I said, it's something for the whole town to decide."

"But if it were up to you?" Jake faced her.

"Personally?" Michaela paused, "Yes, I'd prohibit it."

The church erupted with the sound of men groaning at this thought, the possibility that they could be prevented from having their usual tipple. The women too put their heads in their hands; they knew it was over, that men would never vote for a candidate planning to close the local drinking den.

"Told ya," Hank turned to where Emma Jane was sat beside him, "told ya she'd wanna shut down our business."

"She said it would be a town decision," Emma Jane replied unconvincingly.

"Yeah, right." Hank got to his feet as everyone began to make their way out of the church. "Keep tellin' yerself that."

He left her sitting in the pew, deflated. From having such high hopes as to what Michaela could bring to the town as mayor, she now felt as if the rug had been pulled right out from under her.

"Emma Jane!" Michaela and Dorothy hurried over, "We were going to make some banners, do you want to join us?" The former smiled enthusiastically.

"I'm sorry," Emma Jane replied, "I can't."

"Well Hank can manage by himself at the saloon for a few hours, can't he?" Dorothy said. "You've got artistic flair! We could use your input."

"I need all the help I can get after that performance," Michaela grimaced.

"I'm sorry Michaela," Emma Jane said, and she really was, "but I can't help you with your campaign."

"What? But…why not?"

"I agree with so many of your principals, I really do. Lord knows I would love to have the vote and I could even live without the entertaining in the saloon…" she trailed off, "but…the saloon's my livelihood, it's Hank's livelihood and it's our home and…" she sighed heavily, "I can't support someone who would want to close it down. As much as it pains me, I'm going to have to support Jake."

"Oh…Emma Jane…" Dorothy looked upset.

"It's not that I don't want you to be mayor!" Emma Jane put her hand on Michaela's arm, "It's just…" she didn't know how to explain that despite it's ramshackle appearance, slightly dingy interior and dubious clientele, the saloon was where she had spent the last twelve years of her life and there was no way she could give it up on a point of principle.

"I understand," Michaela sighed, "I'm sorry."

"So am I," Emma Jane replied. As she walked back to the saloon, she looked around her and took in the numerous signs and banners already depicting Jake's name and demanding a vote for him. There was literally no building left unmarked, including the saloon, which had a large painted sign above the door proclaiming, 'Vote For Jake – He'll Save Your Whiskey.'

She pushed open the door of the saloon and immediately she could hear men laughing at how there was no way Doctor Quinn could win now, not if she was planning to abolish alcohol. Hank was nowhere to be seen and Mandy and Helen were struggling to serve behind the bar.

"Where's Hank?" she asked, throwing her shawl down on the bar and putting her hands on her hips.

"Think he's upstairs," Helen replied.

"I'll go and get him," Emma Jane said, "I'm not having him lazing around debating Jake's imminent victory while we all slave away down here." She stormed towards the stairs and pounded up them, ignoring one man who called her an elephant. "Hank!" she looked in Victoria's room and found it empty. Then she went into her own bedroom and found him sat on the bed holding Will in his arms with Victoria by his side. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"What does it look like?"

"There's a full bar downstairs and the girls need help."

"So go down and help," he told her.

Emma Jane walked over to the bed and crouched down in front of him, "Hank, is something wrong?"

He lifted his eyes and looked at her, "What?"

"Is something wrong?" she repeated, "You've been acting a little strange recently. All this business over the campaign and about the entertaining…" He looked back down at his son lying in his arms and then at his daughter. When he met her gaze again, she thought she saw tears hovering in his eyes. "Hank?"

At that moment, Will started to cry and he immediately handed him to her. Emma Jane held the baby to her and watched as her husband walked over to the window and looked out.

"Hank, you're frightening me. What's wrong?"

Hank turned back to face her, "Ya know I love ya, don't ya?"

"Of course." She rocked the baby in her arms.

"An…ya know I love Victoria and Will."

"I know," she said.

"I got somethin' to tell ya."