AN: Okay, so a bit of Billy's past comes out. I will warn you, Billy has a sad past and there is abuse in his past. This chapter starts revealing those details.
The snow had started to fall by the time Gabriel brought the two dinners across the street from the hotel. It was a light, steady snow, but it had soon turned the town's boardwalks white once again.
Coming into the office, Gabriel stomped his feet to get the snow off of his boots. Placing one tray on his desk, he carried the other to the cell. Billy was there waiting to receive the food.
"I like knowing where my next meal is coming from," Billy commented as he took the tray over to the cot.
"Miss Walsh and Miss Bennett would make sure you got regular meals out at the orphanage as well," Gabriel replied casually as he headed to the door to hang up the hat. "You would probably have a more comfortable bed as well."
"The cot is comfortable enough. Better than the ground."
"I can't argue with that," Gabriel commented, hanging the hat up on a hook. "There would be other children for you to interact with there though. They would probably be better company than me."
"Your company isn't so bad," Billy replied.
Gabriel smiled, sitting down at his desk so he could eat his own meal. "Well, I'll take that as progress then," he told the boy.
The two ate in silence for a little while. Though Gabriel had been trying to say kind things about Lillian and Grace sporadically, he also knew that constant talk about them might push Billy further away.
"Are there any men who run the orphanage?" Billy asked.
Gabriel looked over at the boy. Billy was looking down at his food. However, it was the first question that the child had asked him. The first sign of interest in anything other than getting his belongings back.
"Three women run New Hope Orphanage. Mrs. Winters helps with the cooking and housekeeping. Miss Bennett and Miss Walsh are actually in charge of running the orphanage and taking care of the children there."
"What about the up keep? Men always are in charge of that."
Gabriel put his fork down momentarily as he processed the question. "No one does that job permanently. The ladies do what they can. A couple of the older boys take care of some of the simpler things. Other members of the community do jobs when the need is there. Miss Bennet's fiancé and myself help out when we can."
Billy continued eating without any acknowledgment to the information.
"Were you hurt by someone who worked at an orphanage you stayed in Billy?"
Billy shrugged. "It's in the past. What does it matter?"
Taking his gun out of its holster, Gabriel placed it in a drawer before getting to his feet. Slowly he got to his feet. Retrieving the keys to the cell, Gabriel headed toward the door, picking up one of the chairs facing his desk on his way by. By this time, Billy had looked up from his food and was watching Gabriel. Keeping his movements slow, Gabriel unlocked the cell door and stepped into the cell. Placing the chair just inside, Gabriel pulled the door shut, pocketed the keys and sat down in the chair.
"It does matter, Billy," Gabriel told the boy. He knew he still needed to give the child space but he hoped that by coming into the cell that Billy would get the message that he did care. "Adults are supposed to look after and protect children. No child deserves to be injured on purpose."
"Nobody cared before. Once they told me to deal with it. Even the other boys there said that. Another time I was told to stop making up stories."
"I am sorry you had to go through that, Billy," Gabriel said. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Doesn't matter," Billy said, his voice picking up a tone of defiance. "I'm not going back to either place."
"I would never let you be sent back to a place you were hurt, Billy," Gabriel said patiently, purposely continuing to use the name the boy had given him. He wanted the child to know that he thought of him as an individual and not just another case.
Billy finally looked over at him. Gabriel casually met the boy's gaze, as he remained still.
"Why have you been so nice to me after I bit you?" Billy asked. "You could have arrested me for that and stealing and then sent me to one of the bigger jails in a city."
Gabriel nodded. "You're right. I could have. That would not have helped you though, Billy. People, even children, do things when they are scared and desperate that they normally would not do. Even things that they are not so proud of. I think you stole the food because you were hungry and that you bit me because you were scared."
Billy nodded his consent.
"I want to help you, Billy, but I don't know how to best help you unless you talk to me."
"I want to trust you," Billy said.
"But," Gabriel prompted.
"If I tell you where I ran from, how do I know you just won't send me back?"
Gabriel nodded. "Trust is a hard thing when you have been hurt multiple times, isn't it?"
Billy nodded again.
"Then how about we start with you telling me about one thing," Gabriel suggested. "How about you tell me how you hurt the wrist that Maggie is treating?" Gabriel asked. "You don't need to tell me where it happened or give me any names. Just tell me how the injury happened. Can you do that?"
"It was at an orphanage. My last orphanage," Billy admitted, looking across the cell at Gabriel. Gabriel gave him a nod, encouraging him to continue. "The handy man there was never nice to any of us kids. He was always yelling at us, whether there was a reason or not. The ladies running the place simply told us to stay out of his way. I tried to do that. I really did try," Billy added, an almost pleading tone to his voice.
"I'm sure you did, Billy," Gabriel said, in a calm voice trying not to let the anger he was feeling show through. A man like that should not be employed by an orphanage. "What happened?"
"One day, it was my turn to bring wood in from the woodpile and stack it by the kitchen stove so the cook had wood at dinner time. I walked in with the first armful and saw the man taking cash from the petty cash box. It was there so if the cook needed to pick up something at the last minute. I tried to just go back outside, but the man had already heard me. He grabbed my wrist, making me drop the firewood, and started yelling and cursing. I wanted someone else to hear the commotion and come but no one did. I told him that I wouldn't tell anyone and he yelled that I better not, and let me go with a shove. The door was still opened, and I tumbled down the stairs, hurting my wrist when I landed."
"I'm sorry you had to experience that, Billy," Gabriel said. "Did a doctor look at the wrist at the time?"
Billy shook his head.
"Why not?"
Billy looked down at the floor. "When they noticed I was favoring my wrist, I told them I fell. I was told I shouldn't have been so clumsy and the matron simply wrapped the wrist," he said quietly, the words interrupted with sniffles along the way.
Gabriel got to his feet and slowly crossed over to the cot. Billy didn't look up and as he didn't try moving away, Gabriel sat down on the cot on the opposite side from the boy's dinner tray.
"I ran away a couple of days later," Billy told him. "I won't go back," the conviction in his voice clear.
Tentatively Gabriel put a hand across the boy's shoulders. He could feel the stiffness in the small frame underneath his touch but Billy didn't lash out or pull away.
"I would never send a child back to a place like that. Even if you had just fallen, that was not an appropriate response. You should be in an environment where you feel safe and not like you need to hide an injury."
"I forgot what that feels like," Billy said softly.
As Billy still hadn't moved away from him, Gabriel pulled the boy close to his side.
"I want to help you discover that again, Billy," Gabriel told him quietly.
Though the boy didn't attempt to put his arms around Gabriel, the Mountie did feel Billy finally relax against him. Gabriel knew he still had some ground to cover to completely gain Billy's trust but he knew that he had taken a giant step toward that goal tonight.
By Saturday morning, the storm had moved on leaving a few inches of fresh snow in its wake. With no reports of troubles from the ranchers surrounding the little town, Gabriel stayed in town. After returning breakfast trays and dishes to the hotel, Gabriel stopped in to see Maggie who still insisted on changing the bandage on his hand daily. While there, he shared with Maggie a little about how Billy had injured his wrist, though he left out a lot of the details. Maggie had commented that the lack of medical treatment explained a lot.
Leaving the infirmary, he cleared the boardwalk in front of the building, having done the one in front of his office before breakfast. Seeing Pearl working on the boardwalk in front of her bakery, Gabriel took over sending the bakery owner back inside. Afterwards, Pearl invited him in for a cup of coffee to warm up and Gabriel didn't turn her down.
Afterwards, he returned to the office. Billy was lying on the cot, reading the copy of Tom Sawyer that Lillian had given him.
"Hello," Billy said, glancing up from his book.
"Hello, Billy," Gabriel replied, pleased that the boy was starting to interact with him a bit more. Billy had also given him a good morning when he woke up. "Enjoying the book?"
"Yes, sir. Thank Miss Walsh for me, please."
"I could do that," Gabriel said. "Or I could bring her by later and you can thank her yourself. She and I are going to dinner with some friends tonight."
Billy put the book down on his chest and looked at Gabriel. "Is Miss Walsh your girl?" the boy finally asked.
Hearing the phrase comes from the boy's mouth made Gabriel smile but he did answer the question. "She is," Gabriel admitted. "Though I haven't proposed yet."
"Are you going to?"
Gabriel nodded. "In about a week."
Billy nodded. "I could thank her myself, I guess. If you like her then I suppose she is nice as well."
"Miss Walsh is very nice," Gabriel assured him. He paused, contemplating what he was about to suggest. As Billy wasn't officially under arrest, he wouldn't be breaking any rules. There were however risks. Still, if he expected Billy to start trusting him then Gabriel knew he needed to start showing some trust in the boy. "Would you like to go outside and get some fresh air, Billy?" Gabriel asked. "You would need to promise me you won't try running away."
"Fresh air would be nice," Billy consented. "Though my worn coat never was much good at keeping out the cold. Being warm is just as nice as the regular meals."
Gabriel smiled. At least the kid saw the benefits of his current situation. "I've got another coat you can use. It'll be too big but it'll keep you warm."
Billy nodded.
Gabriel headed to his apartment in the back and got the winter coat he used when not in uniform. When he returned, Billy had set the book aside and was sitting on the cot. The boy had put on the faded winter hat he had been wearing the first day Gabriel had met him. Retrieving the keys, Gabriel unlocked the cell and motioned the boy over. He helped the lad put the coat on, chuckling at the sight of the boy swallowed up by the coat.
Even Billy was smiling as he looked down at himself. "It would definitely be hard to run wrapped up in this coat," the lad commented.
"But you're not going to even try, right?"
Billy shook his head. "No, sir."
"Good," Gabriel replied getting to his feet. With a hand resting gently against the boy's back, he guided the boy to the front door.
The two stepped out onto the boardwalk in front of the office. Billy took in a deep breath, as he looked around at the snow-covered town. Gabriel stayed quiet but alert as he stood by the boy's side.
After a few minutes Billy looked up at him. "Could we go to the store? I'd like to apologize to the store owner."
"Yes, we can," Gabriel told him.
With a hand on the boy's back again, Gabriel lead the boy slowly to the general store. Other than the store owner, the store was empty when the two walked in. Joe, who had a newspaper spread open on the counter in front of him, looked up as they entered.
"I think that coat looks better on him than it does you, Gabe," Joe joked.
"Funny," Gabriel replied. "Billy, this is Mr. Moody."
"Hello, Mr. Moody," Billy said. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for stealing from you the other day. It was wrong, no matter how hungry I was."
"It takes a lot of courage to admit when you've done wrong," Joe replied. "I accept your apology."
"Thank-you, sir."
Reaching over to a jar of peppermint sticks, Joe removed one. Leaning across the counter, he held it out to Billy. "I'm sure you've been getting enough to eat these last few days, but probably not in the way of sweets. I think you've earned a treat today."
"Really?" Billy asked as he eyed the candy.
"Yes," Joe told him. "I would have given you the muffin and the crackers that day if you had just asked."
"People in the cities wouldn't. Even if you offered to do something for it. They just tell you to get lost."
"Brookfield isn't like those cities," Joe replied.
Billy reached out and took the peppermint stick from Joe. "Thank-you, Mr. Moody."
"You're welcome," Joe told him with a smile.
"I'll see you tonight, Joe," Gabriel said as he started guiding Billy back out of the store.
"Right. Tonight," Joe said, reaching up and subconsciously pulling at his collar. "I was thinking of bringing a rose for Maggie. What do you think?"
"In my experience, giving a woman flowers never hurts," Gabriel told him with a smile. "Especially on a date."
"This isn't a date. It's just dinner."
"Two men and two women having dinner together, it's a date," Gabriel told him with a grin as he left the store.
Gabriel and Billy were halfway back to the jail before Billy spoke up.
"Isn't Mr. Moody a little old to be nervous about going on a date?"
"Just because we get older, it doesn't mean everything suddenly becomes easy to do. Adults get nervous about doing things just like children do."
"I thought everything got easier when you got older," Billy commented.
"Life is always going to have its challenges, Billy. However, the older that you get the more experiences you have to draw upon to face those challenges assuming you choose to learn from previous challenges you've faced."
Putting the peppermint stick in his mouth, Billy nodded, thinking about Gabriel's words.