Here we go. It took a little longer than two weeks but here it is.

Fair warning, this chapter... it's sad and it took a lot out of me to write.


Teddy couldn't go back to sleep… His brain felt fuzzy and his hands were cold and clammy. Maybe he was sick. Mama always took care of him when he was sick. Mama will know what to do.

The little boy, his hands and legs shaky and clumsy, pulled down his covers (a warm flannel blanket that somehow smelled like his papa, a comforting scent that suddenly set his teeth on edge) and plopped out of bed.

The narrow hallway to his mother and father's room was dark and it seemed to grow longer with each step he took. He didn't remember it ever taking this long to reach his parent's room.

His chest hurt and he could hear his heart pounding in his head, causing the dizziness he felt to get worse. His heart was fluttering in his chest like the hummingbird's wings he saw out by the garden when Mama's flowers started to bloom. It felt as if he was sucking air in through a honey filled straw. And his stomach… it felt like an animal was clawing it's way out.

Finally, Teddy thought to himself as he gripped the cast iron knob. He couldn't quite get his fingers to hold onto the cool metal. They felt numb and sweaty and Teddy's breath became shallow as an unknown feeling crept up in his throat. He tried again, finally twisting the knob enough to unlatch the door. He placed both tiny hands on the rough wood and pushed with all his might to get the door open.

Moonlight was seeping in through the window by his parent's bed. His father was gone, working another long night at the railroad's smithery. His mother lay on her side of the bed, quiet and oblivious to the scare little boy panting at the foot of her bed.

"Mama," Teddy struggled to breathe as he called for his mother as she slept. His chest hurt and he could hear his heart pounding in his head, causing the dizziness he felt to get worse. His heart was fluttering in his chest like the hummingbird's wings he saw out by the garden when Mama's flowers started to bloom. It felt as if he was sucking air in through a honey filled straw. And his stomach… it felt like an animal was clawing it's way out.

"Mama," Teddy cried out desperately, fear creeping up in his young soul. It was getting harder to breath.

"Mama, please," he begged as tears began to fall down his face as he struggled to walk over to his mother's side. He could see her eyes fluter before opening, sleep still lingering in her gaze.

"What's wrong, my love," Teddy's mother rose up from the bed and began to walk over to Teddy. His mother's voice filled him with peace… Mama was here. It would be okay.

"Mama," Teddy started but… his head hurt. He shut his eyes and clutched at his chest through his sleep shirt.

Ruth Cooper watched in horror as her son's eyes rolled into the back of his head. His lips were blue… when did his lips start turning blue? She moved as quickly as she could to catch her baby as his tiny body went limp.

"TEDDY!"


BANG! BANG! BANG!

Carson jumped out of his bed, sleep still lingering in the corners of mind, as he walked to the door.

"What's wrong," Carson questioned as he took in the sight of a disheveled Constable Roy.

"You have to come to the clinic," the constable stammered, clearly out of breath, "Nurse Carter is already there."

Carson was already getting his coat and shoes on, closing the door behind him, "What's going on?" he asked as they ran down the street to the clinic.

"I was on my rounds around the tenement houses when I heard a woman screaming," Constable Roy managed to get out as they sprinted, "It was Mrs. Cooper. Her son, Teddy, had passed out and he wasn't breathing. I brought him in to town as quick as I could. Nurse Carter was still there and she told me that I needed to come and get you."

Carson vaguely knew of Teddy Cooper. He heard countless stories of the boy from Faith and Abigail, about his sweet tooth and his penchant for getting into trouble. He had heard that the boy's parents were from Quebec originally, traveling with the railroad to get steady work. The father was a blacksmith for the railroad company. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to hint that there was anything physically wrong with the boy. Carson wondered if Faith knew anything about his medical history.

Carson was nearly out breath when he finally reached the clinic. He could see the lamps burning brightly through the windows. He could see Faith hunched over one of the examination tables but she blocked Carson's view of the patient laying flat on it. Carson's gaze quickly moved to the woman beside Faith. Her hair had fallen out of a large braid in the back and there seemed to be a crazed look in her eye as she watched in horror as Faith began to examine the boy.

"I need you to get the boy's father," Carson calmly ordered Constable Roy, "I need you to bring him here immediately and I need you to keep Mrs. Cooper busy while Nurse Carter and I take a look at Teddy."

He saw Constable Roy nod out of the corner of his eye while Carson opened the door to the clinic.

"Mrs. Cooper," Carson addressed the frantic woman in the corner of the room, his voice warm and calm as he approached her, "Nurse Carter and I are going to do everything we can for you son, but I need you to step outside for a moment."

"I'm not leaving my son," Mrs. Cooper was obviously manic with worry. She practically bolted across the room and grabbed onto Carson's arms. Carson held tightly to the worried mother while he chanced a glance at Faith and the boy on the table.

Faith had a strange combination of relief and fear in her eyes. Her normally calm and serene features were drenched in panic and uncertainty and it sent a chill down Carson's spine. He and Faith had sewn up bullet holes, cauterized wounds and reset broken bones. They had helped men and women with influenza and scarlet fever. And through it all, Faith had been halcyon. But now, as a little boy with sandy blonde hair lay still on the the exam table, his lips blue and his skin drenched in sweat, Carson could see that Faith Carter was truly afraid.

He turned his attention back to Mrs. Cooper, "Mrs. Cooper," he began

"I'm not leaving my son," she growled, gripping Carson's arms tighter as her nails dug into the fabric of his coat, "He needs me."

"Right now what he needs you can't give him," Carson cut her off abruptly, "Your son needs medical attention and we need as much room and quiet as possible."

Mrs. Cooper's eyes went wide with fear and Carson moved to wrap his arms around the frightened woman, "And you, Mrs. Cooper, need a cup of coffee."

Carson glanced over his shoulder at the young Mountie behind him, "Constable Roy is going to take you to get your husband and he will stay with you both while Nurse Carter and I work."

The young constable moved to take Mrs. Cooper from Carson's side, gently pulling her out of the clinic while Carson removed his coat and began to wash his hands and make his way over to an unconscious Teddy Cooper.

"Come with me, Mrs. Cooper. Let's go find your husband. Your son's in good hands, I promise," Nathaniel's voice was soft, comforting even, and it threw Carson to see the Mountie handle the woman with so gentle a touch. Maybe there was hope for the boy yet.

"What are his symptoms," Carson asked Faith as soon as he heard the door shut behind Constable Roy and Mrs. Cooper.

"He has an extremely high fever, he's unresponsive to stimuli and he is barely breathing. His mother said that he was complaining of chest and stomach pains before he passed out."

Faith rattled off as much information as she could while Carson began to look Teddy over, "I was starting to make cold compresses to staunch the rise in his body temperature when you walked in."

Carson nodded, "Good. Keep at it," he said while he pulled his stethoscope from his neck and placed the cool metal to Teddy's chest. A steady, too fast whooshing sound echoed in his ears as Carson listened to Teddy's heart. His lungs crackled and there seemed to be little air going in and out of the boy's windpipe. Teddy's lips and tongue were blue, a clear sign of lack of oxygen. Carson stood beside the boy, dumbfounded.

He had seen these symptoms many times throughout his career. He had seen them in men who smoked too much and women over the age of fifty. He had seen them in men who worked too much and drank too much and seemed to treat their bodies with as little care as possible. But never in a five year old boy.

"It…" Carson wracked his brain, searching for clues, signs, anything that might explain the boy's symptoms. Dear God, it looked like, "it seems like he's having a heart attack," he whispered to Faith.

Faith's eyes narrowed in confusion as she continued to apply cold compresses to Teddy's head and limbs. He was sweating profusely now and she couldn't seem to get his body temperature to lower in the slightest.

"Up until now he's been perfectly healthy, Carson," Faith began to question him, putting him through his paces to help him get to the bottom of what was going on. Carson found himself thanking God again (for what felt like the thousandth time) for sending Faith Carter to Hope Valley, "Something did this to him."

"You think he ingested something?"

"I think it's the only thing that makes sense."

Carson looked at the boy again, searching his mind for any possible explanation as to why this was happening, "There's no vegetation around here that's remotely poisonous," Carson thought allowed, "what else could he have eaten?"

"I… I don't know," Faith answered in defeat, "He eats sweets, Carson… I… He's got the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I've ever met. But…."

Carson's eyes narrowed and a sudden, terrifying thought seemed to cloud his mind, "oh dear God."

"What," Faith begged for Carson to tell her, "what is it?"

Carson swallowed, "Faith… I… Teddy may have ingested cocaine."

Faith's eyes widened in horror and disbelief, "What? Carson… he would have had to ingest a large amount… he would have had to ingest… Lord, grams of it in order to cause a reaction like this."

Carson nodded in agreement, "He would have. And it comes in a white powder that looks like caster sugar. He would have thought it was sugar and guzzled it down. It explains the elevated heart rate, passing out. If he ingested it, his stomach would become very irritated very quickly."

"Where would he have gotten it Carson," Faith continued to question his train of thought as she continued to apply cold compresses to Teddy's fragile frame.

"His father works for the railroad," he answered quickly, "Jack and the other Mounties have been investigating a drug trafficking system running through the railroad for the better part of a year. They've asked me to keep an eye out for anyone with symptoms of extended use of it. That's why Jack was in the Northern Territories. They found one of the main manufacturers hiding in a shanty town a half a day's ride from Hope Valley…. Teddy's father could have gotten cocaine from someone with the railroad, brought it home, and Teddy found it and ingested it."

"What do we do, then?" Faith cried out desperately, hoping against hope that Carson would have the answer.

"We have to get his temperature down. It's causing his heart to work too much… it's too small to work that hard. We have to get it his heart rate down or…"

"Carson!" Faith cried out as she pulled the stethoscope out of her ear, "he's not breathing."

"Shit," Carson spat out as he placed two fingers on Teddy's neck and two more fingers in the crease of his elbow, franticly seeking a pulse. Prayers and curses raced through Carson's mind. Hope and desperation coursed through his veins. Please God, please….

"He doesn't have a pulse," Carson confirmed as he moved his hands up to Teddy's chest and began pressing hard down on the boy's chest.

Faith continued to apply cold compresses to Teddy's head, arms, and legs….


Tom Thornton trudged up the muddy hill by the tracks as he made his way back into town. He walked with an easy purpose, peace settling in his every step as he made his way to Jack and Elizabeth's house to visit with his family. He watched as people fluttered about around the town square. Shops were beginning to close and Abigail's cafe was crowded and its warm light spilled out onto the dark main street. It was a pleasant evening despite the cold and Tom couldn't help but smile to himself as he heard loud and slightly off key singing coming from the saloon.

He didn't want to jinx it, but Tom couldn't help but think that things were on the up and up.

His brother was home and healing up nicely. He had a beautiful little nephew that was growing stronger by the day. Had it already been a week and a half since Thatcher was born? The little tyke already had a full head of dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Abigail kept saying that all babies are born with blue eyes, but the lack of conviction behind the declaration told Tom all he needed to know. She hoped he kept those sapphire eyes. Same as Elizabeth's….same as Julie's. Tom smiled to himself as his foot crunched the gravel that paved the town square. Julie.

It seemed a lifetime ago that he walked away from her at that train station. It seemed an eternity ago when he got her first letter once he was settled at his job with the railroad. It nearly made Tom's head spin thinking about how far they had both come. His heart nearly burst at thought of spending his life with the fiery, determined trouble maker that was Julie Thatcher.

For so long, for too long, Tom had resented his brother and sister-in-law for convincing him to leave Julie behind. For so long Tom had punished Jack with his silence and purposefully aloofness whenever his brother inquired about his job and his life. Tom had thought Jack was petty, envious even of the thought that Tom and Julie could be together when it seemed so far fetched that Jack and Elizabeth would make it. How wrong he had been.

In the years that passed from that moment to now, it was obvious to Tom how childish and ignorant he had been. He had deemed himself in love with Julie without truly knowing her or knowing what it meant to give his heart to someone so fully. But Tom had grown… grown into a responsible man that people trusted. He had become a man who knew how much his word was worth and how much it mattered when he told Julie Thatcher he loved her. Tom Thornton had become the man he had always wanted to be… the kind of man his brother had always tried to help him be and Julie had always believed he was.

Julie Thatcher, who was funny and bright and earnest. Julie Thatcher, who made him laugh and forget the pain from losing his father too young that was always buried deep in his chest. Julie Thatcher, who made him want to be strong and steady for her the same way she was strong and steady for him. Julie Thatcher, who made him feel safe and loved and accepted without wanting anything in return.

In just a few months, they would be married. He wouldn't have to kiss her cheek in front of Jack and Elizabeth's door before trudging off to one to his railroad bunk for the night. He wouldn't have to survive on the few precious moments propriety granted him each day with her. Her face would be the last he saw every evening and the first thing he saw every morning. Julie Thatcher would be his wife and he would be her husband. It was enough to make a man jump and dance in the street.

Yes.. things were on the up and up.

And then he heard it…


Joshua Chang had heard that scream before. That heart wrenching, guttural cry that seemed to claw its way out of the back of the throat. He had heard that shrill, deafening shriek more times than he ever wanted to in his relatively young life.

It was a common sound growing up as a young boy in Beijing. Warlords had controlled his city and his country, the government powerless to help its citizens as it lay in tattered pieces. Revolution and war had marred his childhood. Battles and skirmishes had burned down his town and his home and had taken his parents from him far too soon for any child. And when he and his sister found themselves homeless, penniless, and orphaned, Joshua knew that they could no longer stay in their homeland.

He looked for work, anything that would help him save enough for to passenger ship tickets half way across the world to Canada. He had friends living in Toronto that worked for a railroad. They promised him a job when he made landfall. So Joshua worked, scrimped and saved until he was able to secure passage for his sister, Luli. They were on their way and Joshua had promised himself that he would never have to hear that gut wrenching sound for the rest of his life. How stupid he'd been.

He heard himself make that terrifying sound as his innocent sister was pulled from his grasp, gun pointed at her head as tears fell down her face. He had felt that cry rip from his throat as he begged the men that carted her away not to hurt her. He had sobbed that ghastly howl as he promised his employer to peddle drugs and to ruin lives so long as Luli was safe. He had heard that piercing scream too many times for one man in one lifetime.

Joshua ran out of the saloon the moment he heard that scream echo in the cold night air. Dozens of people poured out of the saloon and the cafe to see what was happening, only to find Dr. Carson and a couple standing outside of the clinic, the wife crying profusely.

Joshua watched as the young woman, only few years older than his sister, held hostage by his ignorant and careless mistakes, fell on her knees just outside the clinic's front door. He watched as the man next to her attempted to hold her close, only for her violently push him away. He watched as two mounties and Sheriff Avery ran up to the scene, pulling him the man away from the porch. Joshua's breath caught in his throat and his chest wound tightly when he saw who the man was.

"NO! NO…. PLEASE GOD! NOT MY BABY!"

The woman flung herself to the doctor's feet, clawing at the hem of his pants pulling herself up to meet him. Joshua watched as the doctor held her close as she threw her fists to his chest, cursing him. Joshua watched as Doctor Carson simply let her hit him before Nurse Carter pulled the distraught woman away from the good doctor. He watched as the woman collapsed again, Nurse Carter barely catching her and lowering her gently to the porch.

"TEDDY! NOT MY BOY! NOT MY LITTLE BOY!"

Joshua knew that cry. He heard his mother make that same sound as she held his older brother in her arms, singing softly to him before he died in her arms. He had heard his father make that pitiful wail as he cradled his older sister's lifeless body in his shaking arms. Joshua knew that horrible, disgusting, bone chilling cry.

A mother had just lost her child.

A father had just lost his son.

Joshua looked at the man standing just to the side of the sobbing woman, grief and guilt etched plainly on his face. His face caused Joshua's stomach to turn violently, bile rising up his throat. Dear God… Joshua knew that man. He had… oh God.

The man turned his head for a moment, his eyes meeting Joshua's as Sheriff Avery cuffed the man and began to lead him to the jail.

"This is my fault," Joshua mumbled to himself.

"What are you on about," one of the railroad workers beside him asked, his eyes never leaving the scene just outside the clinic.

Joshua didn't answer him.

He walked away from the saloon, down the steps and onto the gravel street. He heard passersby mumble with curiosity at the tragedy happening in the town square, though he paid them no mind. He didn't realize where he was going until he felt the cool metal of the jailhouse door knob in his hand as he turned and opened the door.

He looked up to see Sheriff Avery and Corporal Van Noppen talking by the desk while Constable Roy gently, Joshua might even say regretfully, push Teddy Cooper's father into an empty jail cell. The man looked up to see Joshua standing in the doorway. Anger flashed in his eyes for a moment before they clouded back over with a bitter pain that savored strongly of regret.

"May I help you, son," Sheriff Avery's gravely voice rang out in the silence.

Joshua tore his gaze away from Teddy's father to see all three of the law enforcement officers staring critically at him.

"I," Joshua began, unsure of where to start, of how to begin, "I…"

"Out with it, son," Bill shouted out.

Dear God… once he said it, it was all over. His life was over… his sister's life would most assuredly be over as well.

But that little boy….

"Son," Sheriff Avery started, "you have thirty seconds to tell me why you're here before I kick you out of…"

"This is my fault," Joshua cut the gruff man off, his words soft and true.

Constable Roy was beside him in an instant, "What do you mean, this is your fault?"

"I sold it," Joshua replied, his gaze falling to the floor, "I sold it to the man. It wasn't… it wasn't his fault. It was mine."

Joshua heard Sheriff Avery swear under his breath before turning his attention to the two Mounties, "We need to tell Jack. We need to figure out what to do next."

"He's still recovering, Sheriff," Constable Roy began to argue, "Surely he can have the night to…"

"He needs to be told immediately. He's the highest ranking law enforcement officer here, Constable. He has to decide how we proceed."

Constable Roy nodded, "Let me put him up and then I'll ride out to tell Captain Thornton."

"I'll ride out," Corporal Van Noppen said, "You book the Chink and then get a full report from the doc and the mother," Corporal Van Noppen stopped for a moment and looked at the broken man currently sitting on a cot in his cell. Disgust and anger flashed across his face, "from the father too."

Joshua turned his head to look at Teddy's father once again, but the man didn't look up. He simply stared at the floor, his heart clearly broken and his soul unbearably heavy. Joshua didn't fight as Constable Roy shoved him into the other jail cell.

He could still hear Teddy's mother crying in the distance….


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Thanks for sticking with this story and for sticking with me.