Hi all, thank you once again for all the love and support for the story. I am so glad to note that we are a group of Henrigail shippers and that I am not the only one.

The characters belong to the creators of the show. Full credit to the casting directors of the show for painting a picture in our heads every time we talk of Henry and Abigail.

This chapter is a little longer. Hope you enjoy.

Abigail straightened her hat as she looked at herself in the mirror. Cody looked up from his books at her.

"You look great, mum." He said and Abigail's frown turned into a smile. She turned to face him.

"Thank you darling." She said to him.

"Mum, can I go to see my friend over at his home later on after dinner?" Cody asked.

"Of course you can." She said. "Where does he live?" She asked. Cody went over to his suitcase and got out a crumpled piece of paper, which he handed over to Abigail.

"Oh, this is on the same street as Mr. Gowen's house!" Abigail noted. "Come now. We are getting late for the dinner." Abigail said as she and Cody walked out of their room.

AT HENRY'S HOUSE

"I wish you stayed longer." Henry told Meredith as she wore her coat, folding her hair to the front of her shoulders.

"I have to go back Henry. Anthony needs me there." She said. Anthony was her fiancé.

"I understand." Henry replied and began escorting her to the main door.

"Henry…" she said as she turned to look at him. "When are you telling Abigail?"

"Tell her what?" Henry asked as he helped Meredith with her handbag.

"That you love her?" She said. Henry was taken aback by that. How did she know? But again, this was Meredith, his childhood friend. If there was anyone who could read his face, it had to be her.

"I think she knows." He replied, nonchalantly.

"And did she have a dream about your proclamation?" Meredith asked and Henry looked at her with a straight face. "I am just saying…women need to be told. It is good for their hearts." She concluded.

"Like I said, she knows. I do not need to tell her." Henry said adamantly.

"Alright, I will let you deal with it the way you want. You know her better." She said and opened the door to his house, him right behind her.

"I do." he said as she walked out the door, turning to face him.

"I wish you all the best Henry. I wish you all the happiness in the world." Meredith said.

"Thank you. I wish you the same. I hope you and Anthony have the best of all things together." Henry said genuinely.

"That's very generous of you." she then leaned very close to him. "Let me know if Abigail rejects you. I don't mind waking up next to your handsome face every morning…" she said teasingly as she kissed him on his cheek.

Unknown to the two of them, Abigail and Cody stood a few meters away, watching. They were walking over to Henry's house when they saw the door open and Meredith walk out.

Henry smiled at her and hugged her tightly.

"I will miss you Meredith." He said as she pulled away.

"So will I. Please do write." She said, a sad smile playing on her lips.

"I will." He said and finally turned his head only to notice Abigail and Cody with a bouquet of flowers and a basket of muffins that they had bought from a store. "Hi Abigail!" he said, almost running to meet her. "Hello there Cody!"

"Hello Mr. Gowen." Cody said and held out his hand to shake Henry's, which Henry pleasantly did. Meredith walked to them, smiling.

"Hi Abigail." She greeted and Abigail gave her a warm smile.

"Hi Meredith." She replied. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked.

"Yes, I was actually bidding farewell to Henry. I leave town to go home tomorrow morning." Meredith said.

"Oh, that's a pity! Why don't you join us for dinner then?" Abigail asked.

"Thank you Abigail. Henry offered already. However, I need to get some shopping done before getting back to my hotel." Meredith said and Abigail nodded. "I will get going now. Enjoy your dinner!" she said and smiled widely. She winked at Henry. "Don't be too quiet. Do write once in a while." She said.

"I will." He said and hugged her one last time before she walked down the street. They all looked at her walk away. Just as she disappeared into the corner, Henry looked at Abigail. "Please come in." he said as he motioned her to follow him into his house.

"These are for you…" Abigail said as she handed over the flowers and the basket to him.

"Thank you." he said and smiled, before putting the flowers and muffins on the table and then helping her and Cody out of her coat. He asked them to have a seat while he searched for a vase for the flowers.

"Whatever you've made smells wonderful!" Abigail said as she sat on the sofa and Cody joined her there.

"That's chicken pot pie with a side of mash potatoes and some freshly baked chocolate brownies." He announced triumphantly.

"That sounds perfect!" Abigail announced.

"We can start with dinner if you're hungry." Henry said and he and Abigail both looked at Cody who was eyeing the oven hungrily. They both looked at each other and smiled. "I think we should start with dinner." Henry announced as he went into the kitchen. Cody could not see them both. Abigail followed to lend a helping hand. She was impressed by how neat and clean the kitchen was.

"You cooked?" She asked.

"Yes I did." He said proudly.

"I am impressed!" she said and Henry smiled.

"Do you know the secret to a good chicken pot pie?" Henry asked as he drew close to her such that she leaned back on the counter. He reached over her and looked down at her beautiful face. He wanted to kiss her but he stopped himself. Abigail found herself looking up to him, her eyes expectant of any show of emotions. He leaned his face only a couple of inches apart. Her breath got hitched as she opened her mouth to say something. "Some homemade chili sauce." He said as he brought down from the cabinet above a jar of freshly blended homemade chili. He held it out to her, his face still inches away from hers.

"Here you go…" he whispered to her as she closed her eyes from his warm breath over her face. She took the jar from him and looked up at his face. He slowly put his arm around her waist and drew her even closer than she was. She had closed her eyes, expecting his warm lips on hers.

"Mr. Gowen!" Cody called out loud and her eyes immediately opened. Henry was startled too, but his hands did not leave her waist. He still looked into her eyes and she was immediately shy. Henry smiled and blinked at that as he gently let her go. He then brushed aside a strand of hair that fell on her face and slowly walked out of the kitchen. She was left there, her heart pounding. She felt like an infatuated little girl who had just had an experience with her crush. She could not hide her disappointment at the kiss that did not happen.

"Yes Cody. Everything alright?" Henry asked.

"Would it be alright if I had a look at the car on your desk?" he asked, pointing at it.

"Yes of course. But I think we should eat first." He said as he saw Abigail walk out of the kitchen, her cheeks flushed. "Please have a seat and I will serve the food." He said to both of them as he gave a knowing smile to her. She smiled back at him. He brought the food to the table as Abigail and Cody settled down.

They chatted away animatedly like nothing had happened in the kitchen. Henry spoke about his job there in Hamilton while Abigail filled him in on the latest at Hope Valley. She told him about the budding romance between Carson and Faith and how Elizabeth was dealing with her loss. She also mentioned how Lee missed him at the lumber factory and how Rosemary was always planning a party for Hope Valley residents to help them cope with Jack's death. Henry felt nostalgic as he heard her mention the names of the people of Hope Valley. He had a sad smile on his face. Cody would then quip in with his tribulations with the children of Hope Valley, which made Henry laugh always. He loved hearing about Hope Valley. He missed everyone very much and hoped that he will get to see them again.

Once dinner was over, they sat at the living room while Henry prepared some coffee for him and Abigail and a glass of warm milk for Cody to keep him warm in the cold night. They did not realise that it has been

two hours since they had dinner. Abigail reluctantly got up to leave.

"I think we should get going, Henry." She said as Cody got up too. Henry followed suit.

"So soon?" he asked.

"Yes, Cody and I have an early morning coach back to Hope Valley. He also needs to say bye to his friend who lives just down the street." She said.

"I will walk you." he said instantly and rushed to get his coat. Abigail did not want to stop him. They all went over to Cody's friend's house and stayed for about 15 minutes before Cody bid farewell to his friend. His friend had taken the same training class with Cody.

Their walk to Abigail and Cody's hotel was deliberately slow. Abigail wanted to say a lot of things to Henry but could not find the words or the opportunity to do so while they walked. Henry would once in a few seconds steal a glance at her, knowing fully that it would be a long time before he would see her again. He doubted whether he would even see her after this and he was determined to capture every memory of her face to last him a lifetime.

They reached the hotel finally. They got to the door to their room. Cody, sensing some unsaid things between the two of them, quickly excused himself. He gave a hug to Henry before he politely disappeared into the room.

Henry and Abigail were left standing at the door, which was closed.

"It was really nice to see you." henry said and took a step closer to her.

"It was really nice to see you too, henry." She said and took a step closer to him too. "Henry, I…uhhhh…" she said as struggled yet again to find the words.

"Holding in your feelings will make this even worse, Abigail." He said gently, taking half a step towards her. He could go no further than that. He was once again that evening, inches away from her.

"I was broken when you left." She said and Henry patiently waited for her to finish. "I was hurt too that you never once spoke to me, even though you called numerously."

"I did not want to make things harder." He said.

"It couldn't have gotten any worse." She defended.

"I am sorry. But you did not call either." He said.

"You chose to walk away from me. My self-respect did not allow me to pick up the telephone to call you. Also, I did not have your number, even if I had decided to call you." she replied.

"You could have written…" he said.

"At what address?" she asked. "You did not write either…" She said, "…despite starting the letter a number of times." She finished. That caught Henry by surprise. He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "I saw the crumped up papers at the bin at the foot of your desk when I was looking around your house. I was not prying, I just saw my name on one of them and couldn't help but have a look."

"When did you go through the papers?" he asked.

"When you were fetching the food from the kitchen." She replied. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before reopening them and sighing. "Even one letter would have taken away the immense pain I felt in my heart, you know." She said.

"I am sorry." Henry whispered as he leaned to touch his forehead to Abigail's, their noses also touching momentarily. She loved the warmth he exuded.

"I love you…" she said and Henry did not expect that. He looked at her, shock in his eyes but her eyes showed that she was not sure. Henry's eyes softened at her uncertainty.

"I love you too." He said, holding her hand and massaging her knuckles with his thumb. "I don't think so…I know so…" he said, looking deep into her eyes. He stayed like that for what seemed like hours to Abigail. "But…I know you have a lot to think about before you make any decision." He said and leaned back. "You would like the blessings of the people of Hope Valley and I understand that. But before you do so, you need to find out if you love me or not. "I think I love you' may not be enough." He said and smiled slightly at her. She nodded knowingly. "I have always wanted to be your strength, Abigail, and not someone who makes you weak at your knees." He said and she blushed at that. "I know you're attracted to me. But you need to find out if you love me. And I will wait for you as long as you want. The day you know for sure that you love me, just pick up the telephone and say "come home". I will not waste a single moment doing so. And the day you feel you have found a better partner or have moved on from me, your words "Goodbye Henry" on the telephone will be more than enough for me to know." He said as his eyes moistened.

"That will never happen." She said as she leaned in, trying to cover the distance between them.

"I will pray that that doesn't happen." He said, his voice shaky.

"Please don't let me go…" she said as she touched her forehead to his again. They both sighed at the warmth they shared.

"I wish I could ask you to stay." He said and pulled away slightly as he cupped her face in his palms. "I will wait for your call…when you are ready." He said and pulled away totally. She felt the sudden cold from his ceased proximity to her. She felt she was stripped away from her warmth.

"I don't know if I will be able to live like this." She said, indicating the distance between them.

"You have before and if you choose to, you will." He said, still holding her hand.

"And what about you?" she asked. His eyes teared up as he cleared his throat.

"You should not be worried about me. I will be fine." He said sadly. Silence ensued for a few seconds.

"This is where you kiss me…" she said slowly and hesitantly. He shook his head at her.

"If I do, I will not be able to let you go." He said.

They stared at each other before Henry slowly enveloped her into a big hug, his arms covering all of her. It is this warm protective layer around her that she missed. His scent…musky. He kissed the crown of her head ever so slightly. She hid her face in the nook of his neck, trying to get in as much of him as she could. Her warm skin against his neck felt oddly comforting to him. He felt her tears on his neck as she felt his on her shoulder as he hugged her closely.

They must have stood like that for several minutes before they knew they had to break apart now. They did so. She wiped her tears from her eyes as he blinked his away.

"I will see you off tomorrow morning." He said and walked away abruptly.

She slowly walked into her room. Cody had already fallen asleep. She freshened up and willed herself to go to sleep but she could not. Fresh tears flowed down her cheeks as she lay on her pillow.

Meanwhile, Henry blinked as tears formed in his eyes. He was at home, staring out of his window with a glass of scotch in his hand that he sipped from time to time. He was hurting inside so much that the pain flowed out in form of tears from his eyes.

Neither Henry nor Abigail slept well that night.

THE NEXT MORNING

Abigail waited as the coachman loaded the coach with her and Cody's belongings. She looked around one more time. Henry was nowhere to be seen.

"We need to go now ma'am." He said impatiently. They had waited for almost half an hour and neither the coachman nor Cody was sure why. Abigail was waiting for Henry.

"Of course…" Abigail said, crestfallen as she prepared to climb into the coach behind Cody.

She suddenly saw a hand held out, purporting to help her. She looked up and saw Henry. He looked tired and worn out.

"I am sorry I am late." He said apologetically. She did not mind. She was just so happy to see him. She took his hand and helped herself up but did not let it go even as she sat down. He held on to her hand too, like his life depended on it.

"Good bye Abigail" he said and Abigail could not find it in her to respond to that.

"Goodbye Mr. Gowen!" Cody replied emphatically.

"Goodbye Cody. Do take good care of your mum, alright?" he said and Cody nodded.

Just then the horse neighed. It had been prompted to trot away. With that, Abigail and Henry's hands slipped away from each other. Henry was left standing on the side of the road, looking at the moving coach.

Abigail continued to look at him, her hand on the window, until he was out of sight.

She sobbed softly while the coach moved. That did not go unnoticed by Cody. He looked from his mum to Henry. He was not an expert at these things but he knew that his mum liked Mr. Gowen a little more than usual.