The core characters belong to the creators of the show (except for the ones made up by myself in the course of the story).

This is a fairly long chapter. The story is such that I could not break the chapter into two, the flow would've been disturbed.

Hope you enjoy, please read and review.

"Abigail! What a pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed and moved to give her a peck on her cheek. He leaned in and hesitated for a brief second. Abigail saw that. She leaned in slightly, turning her cheek ever so subtly to his face. He smiled and brought his lips to her soft cheek. He immediately smelled her hair shampoo, the same familiar scent. As she leaned back after the kiss, the strand of her hair fell again to the side of her face. Instinctively, he brushed it aside with his thumb as it grazed her cheek bone lightly. "You look beautiful…" Henry said softly, leaning in to tell her that in her ear. She smiled shyly at him.

"I did not expect to see you here." She said to him.

"I did not expect you to be here either. Do you know the couple?" Henry asked curiously.

"Yes, the groom is my very good friend's son." Abigail said and Henry nodded in enlightenment.

"I am just so happy to see you…", Henry said to Abigail.

"As am I" she said and locked her eyes with his. They stood like that for a moment before Henry leaned in for a kiss. Abigail looked up into his eyes with anticipation.

"Henry!" called someone out loud. Henry leaned backwards again and Abigail looked disappointed. Henry turned behind and saw Mr. Andrews, who was motioning him to go to him. Henry looked back at Abigail.

"Sorry, that is Mr. Andrews. I work for him in Hamilton. I will be right back." He said and Abigail nodded.

Henry groaned internally as his conversation with Abigail was interrupted. Mr. Andrews only wanted to introduce him to other people. As much as he appreciated the recognition, his heart was left behind with Abigail. He glanced in intervals at Abigail and watched in awe as she held conversations with the who's who at the wedding. The wedding was packed with many politicians and leaders and everyone seemed busy striking a deal and talking business. He felt sad that a wedding had turned out to be a venue for business meetings.

After a few introductions, Henry excused himself to look for Abigail. He searched for a while but he could not see her. He began to worry that she was missing. Just then, there was a gunshot! Henry ducked. His leg started to pain and he crawled under a dining table. People screamed as they scrambled for safety wherever they found a spot. The shooting was now sporadic and Henry saw a couple of lifeless bloody bodies around him. His heart sank as he thought of Abigail being out there. He prayed hard that she was safe. Lucky for him, the table clothes were long enough to cover the table to the ground. He gently lifted the tablecloth to see what was happening. He heard more gunshots followed by screams of a woman. It did not sound like Abigail.

"Let's go!" said a gruffy voice.

"Let me go!" said a voice and his eyes darted from one end of as far as he can see to another. That was unmistakably Abigail! He lifted his head above the table. Suddenly he felt a blunt object strike him behind his head. He felt that his skull had been broken into two. He held on to his head and fell on the ground. He tried to turn around slightly to look at who his assailants are as he was dragged by his shirt to where the other assailants were. As he turned around, through his blurred vision, he saw a man holding a woman hostage from her neck. A gun was pointed towards her head. He blinked as he tried to get his vision cleared. It did ultimately and the sight that was in front of him was one that he never thought he would see. His heart jumped out of his chest. The woman held hostage was Abigail. Her face was pale with worry, he could tell. He held up his hand at her. The man holding her hostage got angry and kicked him on his face. he felt a sharp pain on his nose and mouth. He felt a warm liquid on the sides of his nose. It was blood. Abigail's body jerked at that impact.

"No!" Abigail said as she looked at Henry. She could not move much because of the gun at her head. "Do not do anything to him! He is innocent," She said.

"Let her go!" he said as he got up again and another member of the assailant's gang struck him with the handle of his rifle right below his ribs. He groaned as he dropped again on the ground.

"You have a problem with me! Let him be." Abigail said and a tear flowed down her cheeks as she struggled to let go.

"Hold on, Frank!" the man who assaulted Henry told the man who was holding Abigail. "I think we have a love affair here, the former mayor, Henry Gowen and the current mayor, Ms. Abigail Stanton!" He said and they both laughed loudly.

"Take him too!" the man holding Abigail at gunpoint said, looking at Henry.

"Why do we need him?" the partner asked.

"Listen to what I am saying." He replied, his steely eyes on Henry. Henry's assailant lifted him up. Henry still had a little strength left and he stood on his feet. He looked around carefully to see there were 6 of them. They all had guns. He would have fought two of them but with 6 of them with guns, he would risk Abigail's and his life. He decided to go along. He looked at Abigail whose eyes were full of fear, yet she didn't utter a word.

Abigail and Henry were both bundled into a scrawny looking carriage, their hands tied and a rag over their mouths. The carriage rattled as they moved. At some point, Henry thought the carriage would give way and they would all fall. He looked at Abigail momentarily and then at the kidnappers and back at Abigail. He had many questions on his mind. Why did they want to kidnap Abigail? Whenever he tried to look at the kidnappers or at Abigail, they would hit him and that, for some reason, gave Abigail more anguish than what was going on with her.

ABIGAIL'S POV (30 MINS EARLIER)

What Abigail felt was a mundane affair (the wedding) was suddenly a cause of her heart's flutter. There he was, Henry. He did notice her and he seemed distracted by her. The thought of the effect she had on him came to her and a gentle and shy smile lingered on her lips. And when she had excused herself to go and speak to a friend, she returned to find him frantically looking for her. She did ask him playfully who he was looking for. And when he finally did see her, his eyes, so full of love, were transfixed on hers, like as if in that one moment, she had returned to him everything he ever gave up, like he had never loved anyone else as he had loved her. His one look made her blush and when he ever so slightly brushed her cheeks when tucking a strand of her hair (which she felt was his favourite thing to do) she felt his cold knuckles on her warm cheek. That threw a shiver down her spine. Her hair on the back of her neck stood, and not in a bad way….in a more exquisite and sensational way. She kicked herself again for feeling this way, her knees jellied up. The effect that he had had on her was something she hadn't felt in a long long time and she hated to admit it but she loved feeling that.

Suddenly, someone called Henry over.

"Sorry, that is Mr. Andrews. I work for him in Hamilton. I'll be right back." He said. She smiled a little as he looked nervous around her, not wanting to leave her side, on the other hand. As Henry walked away, Abigail's eyes followed his structure. He seemed to have lost some weight and he had a slight limp. Abigail made a mental note to ask him about it later. She watched as he walked over to Mr. Andrews, turning to smile at her only in intervals. The mayor of the town nearby, who was also invited to the wedding, walked over to her and introduced her to his wife and children. More politicians came to speak to her and she happily obliged. After some minutes of talking, her throat felt dry. She needed a glass of water and as she walked towards the table where drinks were being served, a huge scruffy-looking man approached her. He stood beside her and she looked up at the tall figure.

"Excuse me, please…" she said, expecting the man to give her way but he did not budge. She looked up at him and he had a very entitled smile on his face. "Give me way, please." She said again, more firmly. He did not. He smiled even more, eyeing her from top to bottom. Abigail was repulsed by that look on his face and she turned around to leave but was stopped by another man who came and stood behind her so that she was trapped. She turned to look at the first man, who showed her that he had a gun, tucked at his waist. She took in a deep breath. She knew he meant business. "What do you want?" she asked them, steely.

"Abigail Stanton, is it?" the man with a gun said.

"Yes, I am Abigail Stanton." She answered fearlessly.

"Well, we need to talk." He said.

"What about?" she asked, again.

"Pacific mining." He said and Abigail turned to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed. It then dawned on her. She had not permitted Pacific Mining to dig a coal mine in Hope Valley. Their business plan contravened all laws and further, their safety standards were not satisfactory.

"I have already told the director that they will not get my permission, as the mayor of Hope Valley, until they meet certain criteria." Abigail said, calmly.

"We have instructions to get that permission from you…in any way that we can, by hook or by crook." The man answered, symbolically touching his gun.

"You will not force me to do anything that shall be harmful to the people of Hope Valley." Abigail said.

"Perhaps you will be convinced otherwise…" the man said and removed the gun from where it was concealed. The groom saw the man with the gun and approached him and Abigail's assailant shot him in cold blood. Abigail watched in horror as the bride screamed away. The man shot at the bride too but Mr. Andrews jumped to rescue her, and instead, the bullet pierced his heart in the process. Panic suddenly set in Abigail's heart. Women were heard shouting and the men shot at whoever was moving around frantically.

"Stop this madness!" she screamed, crying and the two men laughed. Suddenly, four other men with rifles arrived. Screaming was heard everywhere. She saw the bride clutching at Mr. Andrews as he became unconscious, her eyes wide with disbelief and denial. Abigail could hear her say softly "Please speak to me uncle Mark…please…." The bride then turned to look at her newly wedded groom. She let go of Mr. Andrews and crawled over to him. She held him as her white clothes turned red with his blood. She cried with anguish as she hugged his lifeless body. Abigail saw this and tears formed in her eyes. "Please don't kill innocent people!" she screamed at the men with the guns. "They have not done anything wrong!" she screamed more.

"Your stubbornness is the cause of their death!" the man told her. Abigail looked at him in disbelief. Her eyes then dropped, as she realized that it really was because of her that this violence has occurred. More tears formed in her eyes. "And today, you will have to come with us. We have the paperwork all ready. You must sign. Do not resist, more will die because of you." the man said and yanked her hair. Abigail grimaced in pain.

"Let me go!" she said and suddenly, she saw Henry hoist himself from under a table not too far away from them. Before she could warn him, a man had already hit him on his head. Something rushed inside of her. He tried to get back up but the other men kicked him and hit him on his sides. The man dragged him to where she was standing. He did hold out his hand to her at some point but one of the men kicked him on his face and he was bleeding from that. A combination of fear and panic set in. She could not bear to see Henry in pain. "No!" She said, "Do not do anything to him! He is innocent!" she screamed from inside. She felt her insides ripping apart as she spoke. The men decided to take Henry with them. She was scared but relieved at the same time knowing that he was with her.

In the carriage, she avoided looking at him because every time he looked up at her, the men beat him. He was the one being beaten up, but she could swear that she was feeling the pain.

END OF FLASHBACK

After what seemed like an eternity of riding in the carriage, they finally stopped. Abigail and Henry were roughly bundled out of the carriage and into a small shed-like structure with roof and walls. There was a front and a rear door. Two men accompanied them into the shed and the remaining four were outside near the carriage, keeping watch. In the shed was a table on the side, with some papers on them and a pen. They pushed Abigail on to the chair and untied her hands and the gag from her mouth.

"Sign it!" one of the men barked.

"I will not!" Abigail said fiercely.

"I am now becoming impatient with you!" he said and slapped Abigail across her face. Henry got angry and tried to free his hands off the rope that was tightly tied to his hands, trying to shake the other man off him. The man saw that and kicked Henry on his legs and he fell on the floor.

"Don't hurt him!" Abigail said, tears forming in her eyes again. "He has done nothing to you!"

"Well, it does hurt, right? Seeing a loved one in pain?" The man next to her told Abigail.

"You tell whoever you represent that I would rather die than sign these papers!" Abigail said, calm yet firm.

"Maybe we should kill him, then?" the man standing before Henry said, pointing towards Henry. Abigail's strength faltered. He leaned down and roughly picked Henry up. He opened Henry's gag on his mouth. "Tell her to sign." He said. Henry looked at Abigail and her eyes showed desperation.

"Abigail will do no such thing!" Henry said and bent over and bumped with his head his assailant off his feet. The other one removed his gun from his waist but before that, Henry kicked his hand and the gun fell. Abigail picked up the gun, in the meanwhile, Henry kicked him on his sides and the man too, fell on the ground.

Henry's assailant got up and Henry again butted him with his head and he fell. Abigail hurriedly rushed to Henry to untie his hands. While doing so, the other man held Abigail by her neck and pushed her again on the chair. The gun in her hands fell to the floor. Henry stood there untying his hands off the rope that had already been loosened by Abigail. Henry, meanwhile, kicked away both the guns to the corner of the shed. In that instance, Henry's assailant also stood up. Lucky for him, Henry had already untied his hands. He folded his fists and hit one man on his ribs. The man fell, clutching his sides. He then looked at the other man who was now strangling Abigail, she seemed pale and breathless.

"Duck!" Henry said and Abigail did as she was told. She forced herself down and Henry reached over and hit Abigail's assailant on his nose. He groaned and fell on the ground. He took Abigail's hand and led her to where the guns were. They each picked up a gun.

"Mark! Joe!" shouted one of them, trying to alert their colleagues from outside. Henry rushed and hit them both at a spot just under their ears and they both fell unconscious. Henry looked over at Abigail and put his finger on his lips. They both went over to the window and carefully looked outside. The men were still near the carriage. They were, however, becoming inpatient. Abigail looked at Henry as he motioned Abigail to follow her to the rear door. Henry opened it slightly, shifting the gun to his left hand. He peered around and did not see anyone. There seemed to be a forest behind the shed.

"We should go to the forest." Henry said and Abigail nodded as they ran as fast as they could. One of the men saw them run and shouted at them to stop. Three of the men followed them and one went into the shed.

Henry and Abigail ran as fast as their legs could carry them. At some point, Henry was tagged by a giant tree's roots and he fell. Abigail ran to help him up. Both ran faster this time. They approached a river. Henry went down from the side and saw a curve under the ground, which had been eroded away by the flowing river. He helped Abigail down to the curve such that they were hidden from the men above them on the land. The area in the curve was narrow and Abigail and Henry huddled together as close as they could, guns in their hands. Henry checked both in his and Abigail's gun. They had enough bullets to take down a few people if they had to.

At some point, they heard rustling over their heads but lucky for them, the men could not see them under the curve. They heard them speak in hushed tones and tell each other that there was no way that they had crossed the river and that they had to be around the banks of the river somehow. It seemed like they split and went separate directions in search for Abigail and Henry. Henry tried to stand up and look if they had gone but Abigail held on to his hand and shook her head to tell him not to. They sat there for a while, afraid to speak, lest their voices were heard.

After what seemed to be a few minutes, Henry whispered to Abigail, "I have to check if they are gone." Abigail nodded and said "Please be careful.", to which he, too, nodded. He gently arched his head around the curve to check. Abigail also checked for the assailants on the opposite side, the gun readily cocked, ready for a shootout. Henry stood there for a couple of minutes and said to her that it was clear to move. He took Abigail by her hand and walked up the curve, careful enough not to step on the muddy part of the river wall. Abigail followed him carefully, gun in her other hand. He made his way up to the river bank, pulling Abigail behind him. Once they were on the ground, they ran up ahead into the dense forest. They followed a narrow path and up ahead on a clearing, they saw one of the men, his back towards them as he searched around the shrubs and bushes. There were quite a few shrubs that has been carved out as shelters by animals who would take refuge under them. Just then, Abigail stepped on a twig and the man heard a "snap". He immediately turned around to where they were standing but he did not see anyone. Meanwhile, under another dense shrub nearby, Henry and Abigail hid, trying not to breath loudly. The man came near the shrub to inspect. Henry and Abigail stared at the man from a small opening in the shrub. Henry squeezed Abigail's hand as the man came dangerously close to the shrub and he touched the shrub. Henry readied his gun.

"Joe!" another man called out the man who was next to their shrub. He turned around and ran towards the man who called out to him. "I think they went this way…" the man pointed to another direction and he and Joe ran there. Abigail breathed out in relief as she rested her head on Henry's chest. Henry held her as tightly as he could with his one hand.

"I think we should stay put here." Abigail said as she leaned back slightly and Henry leaned back too. The space in the shrub was snug and they were sitting very closely to each other. Henry looked around to see if there was anyone out there. Abigail watched his face closely. He had bruises everywhere. Just before she could say anything, he turned and looked at her, his eyes transfixed on her face. He reached his hand for her cheek and gently caressed the bruise she had from when she was slapped on the face. She cringed at contact on her cheekbone. He apologized. "I am not quite sure if staying here for longer will be a good idea. It will be dark soon." He said and looked up at the sky. Henry calculated in his mind that they had close to about half an hour of light before sunset. Abigail looked around and said "We should then make a move," and she clutched the gun in her hand. Henry nodded. He gently got up from under the shrub and looked around to check if there was anyone. He looked at Abigail and motioned her to follow him. They got up cautiously and started to walk. Just then, they heard shots being fired. They both ducked while running, Henry ahead, with Abigail behind him. They could hear a man shouting in the distance. Henry took cover behind a tree and Abigail followed suit. They both faced opposite directions, ready to shoot. More shots were fired by the man. Henry got on all fours and asked Abigail to do so too. Luckily, they had shrubs around them so they took cover there. Henry fired some shots and one of them struck the man on his shoulder. That brought him to the ground.

Henry took Abigail's hand and ran. They both ran as fast as they could, across the forest. After a few minutes, they saw a house in a clearing. Smoke came out from the chimney and gentle lights shone from its windows.

"We should go there and ask for help." Henry said and Abigail agreed. They ran over to the house and knocked on the door, keeping a careful watch that no one was following them. An old lady opened the door.

"Yes?" she asked, wary of the strangers at her door.

"Sorry, could we please come inside? We are being followed." Abigail said, pleadingly. The old lady looked from Abigail to Henry and back at Abigail and then at their guns. She contemplated whether to help or not. Suddenly, they heard shouting from behind the trees. "Please let us in ma'am. We just want to be safe." Said Abigail. The old lady looked at Henry. He had bruises on his face. He looked at the lady, his eyes pleading with hers.

"Come in…" She said and Henry and Abigail hurried in. "Go up the stairs and hide in the bathroom closet…and remove your shoes here! I do not want you to mess up my house." She said sternly. Abigail and Henry quickly removed their muddy shoes and wondered where they would keep them. "Put them in the kitchen, behind the counter." Henry took both their shoes and kept them where she instructed them to. He and Abigail both ran up the stairs, two at a time. The old lady looked through the window and saw two men approaching her house. She quickly cleaned the mud around the doorway with a rug and waited for the men to knock on the door. Soon enough, as expected, they did. She opened the door wide. "Yes?" she asked again.

"Sorry to bother you ma'am, we are looking for a man and a woman who are on the run." One of them said to her.

"I have not seen them here." She said, sternly.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not convinced.

"Yes, I am." She said firmly again.

"Alright, just be careful though, they have murdered people and are now running away from the authorities." The man said, his mouth breaking into a grin, a disgusting yellow toothed grin.

"I think I would know a murderer when I see one. The people you say are not here." She said and looked at them daringly.

"Let's go…" One of the men said to the other and they both walked away.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Henry and Abigail hid in the bathroom closet, not making a sound. Suddenly, they heard footsteps towards them. Henry and Abigail readied their guns to shoot and in walked the old lady.

"Hey! Put those weapons down! I do not like seeing guns in my house!" she said grumpily.

Henry and Abigail apologized as they lowered their guns and put them on the floor.

"Who are you two?" she asked, peering inquisitively.

"Ma'am, I am Abigail Stanton…and he is Henry Gowen. We are from Hope Valley." She said and Henry did not bother to correct her that he was now in Hamilton.

"And why are you being chased by these men? Who are they?" The lady asked. Abigail and Henry narrated the whole incident to them. Henry listened intently to Abigail as she explained why the men were after her. He did wonder why they would want to kidnap her but because of the activity surrounding their escape, he never got down to asking her. "I see…" she said and breathed out. "Well, you are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like." The lady finally said.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, ma'am. We both appreciate that you took us in and trusted us enough, despite us having these guns, to shelter us from those horrible men." Abigail said.

"Well, I trusted your kind face…" she said to Abigail and then turned to Henry and said "…and his honest eyes…" Henry looked at her and smiled pensively, very lightly.

"Thank you again," he said and the lady nodded.

"You both can use the room next to mine. You see, that is the only other room I have to spare." She said.

"That sounds perfectly fine, ma'am. We will be very comfortable there." Abigail said gently.

"Go on then…you both…" she said and hushed them through the door as they both thanked the lady. "Oh, Abigail?" she called out and Abigail and Henry both turned around. "Your husband needs dressing…here you go…" she said as she handed over the first aid kit from the drawer in her bathroom closet.

"Oh…erm…he…uhm…Henry is not…he is not my husband…" Abigail said nervously. Henry looked embarrassed.

"Well, you both are blushin' eh? I suppose I predicted that a little early." She said and gave them a sly smile. "I have a feeling you will be the one doing the dressing for him anyway." She said and Abigail laughed nervously. "It's alright…you get cleaned. I will grab a change of clothes for you two and some clean towels. You both need a bath!" she said as she scrunched up her nose and shooed them off with her hand. Abigail and Henry tried to sniff at their clothes and indeed they needed a shower. In fact, Henry's clothes were specked with his blood from the beating that he had gotten.

They entered the room and saw two single beds. They were both inwardly relieved that they could share the room comfortably. Henry told Abigail that she could shower first. While they were debating, the lady came with a change of clothes and towels. Abigail and Henry both thanked her and she excused herself. Abigail did go for the shower first. When she emerged from the bathroom, Henry could not help but admire the sight in front of him. She looked just as beautiful in the slightly bigger dress, her hair all wet from the shower.

"You look…" Henry said momentarily… "fresh…" he finished off and Abigail smiled.

"I feel it." She said. Henry smiled and grabbed his towel and change of clothes, together with the first aid kit. "I will help you do that…" she said and held his hand that was holding the first aid kit.

"Oh, it's alright, I can do it." He said to her.

"I insist." She said and Henry gave the first aid kit to her. "I will need you to run some lukewarm water over the bruises and cuts so that they get disinfected." She said and he nodded. He went in for a bath and a few minutes later, came out feeling a lot better. He was wearing a trouser and a shirt that fit him perfectly.

"You look…fresh…too." She said and approached him with the first aid kit.

"I feel it too." He said and for the first time that day, he smiled a little widely.

"Have a seat." She told him and he did. She sat next to him, facing him. Abigail then put the first aid kit on the side and got the antiseptic out. She put some on the gauze and dabbed it over his several cuts and bruises. When she dabbed it over a very deep cut, Henry jerked slightly at the pain. "I am sorry, you must be in pain…" she said compassionately.

"It hurt more when that man slapped you." he said to her, and her hand stopped midway as she peered into his eyes. He looked softly into her eyes. "I never thought I would witness a moment where someone would be hurting you and I would not be able to do anything." He said, pain depicted in his voice.

"Who said you did nothing?" she asked, looking at him with eyes filled with tears "You are the reason I am here right now." She said. They both looked at each other for a couple of seconds.

"Abigail? Henry?" the lady said and knocked on the door, that was already open. Henry and Abigail quickly got up from the bed. While quickly getting up, Henry groaned slightly as he felt a pain on his side. Abigail noticed that and looked him, and then at the side he was gently holding. "Sorry dear, dinner is served," The lady said and disappeared from the doorway. Abigail turned to look at Henry.

"Can I see?" She asked and he shook his head.

"It's nothing…" he said quickly. "Just a little sore" he finished.

"May I please see it." She said again, this time firmly. Henry blinked helplessly and turned around to show her where it was hurting. Abigail lifted the shirt that he struggled to lift himself. She cringed as she saw a large purple spot just under his left rib. She touched it and he jerked from the pain. "I am sorry." She said and went to get an ointment that she applied on it. "This will need a dab of warm water and the ointment thrice a day from today. It seems like your blood vessel is burst in there." She said.

"How do you know these things?" he asked her in wonder as she put a little more pressure on the spot and Henry jerked again.

"I nursed a lot of Noah's injuries from the mine." She said and Henry felt a pang of guilt. His face showed it. "Henry…" she said gently as she dropped his shirt and went over to stand in front of him. "We should be able to speak about Noah and Peter without you feeling the way you do right now." She said compassionately. "We are now beyond that." She said and walked up to him, very close. Henry did not flinch at their proximity. Then Abigail said "I think we should go downstairs before she shouts at us." She said and Henry smiled lightly and nodded, to which, Abigail smiled back. They went downstairs and there lay on the table some warm soup and scones. On the side was some rice and vegetables. "Oh, this is quite a feast, ma'am." Abigail said.

"You can call me Mrs. Brightley." The old lady said. Abigail smiled at that.

"You have really gone out of your way, Mrs. Brightley. How could we ever thank you?" Abigail said.

"Oh, this is what I used to make my son and daughter in law whenever they visited. Unfortunately, they both died in a winter storm a few years back. I am now left with my granddaughter who is visiting her other grandparents in Mount Hope." She said.

"We are sorry for your loss, Mrs. Brightley." Henry said gently.

"Oh that is fine, dear. I have made my peace with it." She said.

That evening they chatted away until it was time to go to bed. Abigail and Henry retired to their room and so did Mrs. Brightley. For a long time, neither Henry nor Abigail said a word. They were both in their respective beds, backs facing each other, both thinking about and reliving the horrific moments of that day. Henry heard a slight sniffle. He turned around to look at Abigail sit up on her bed and walk to the windowsill and stare at the moon from the window. He got up and sat net to her on the windowsill, looking at her. She was startled to see him there.

"I am sorry, did I wake you up?" She asked apologetically, trying to blink away tears.

"I have not slept at all." He answered. She looked away.

"I know how you feel." He said, as he put his hand on hers. She sobbed lightly and she slowly put her forehead where he put his hand on hers.

"I am so sorry for today, Henry. This was all my fault." She said as she sobbed some more. He put his other hand on her head.

"Abigail…look at me…" he said and she lifted her face to look at him. "Nothing that happened today was your fault at all. Pacific mining is responsible..." He said.

"But…the groom, Henry…and your Mr. Andrews…and at least four others…" she said and cried more openly.

"Abigail…" he whispered and enveloped her into a hug. She cried softly into his shirt. He put his chin on the crown of her head. "You did not kill anyone, they did." He said as he held her tightly, until her shaking from the crying, lessened. "They will pay for the damage that they have caused…" he gritted his teeth and said.

He was determined, a little more than usual.