Leaving a note on the window that he would return soon, Joe pulled the door to the store shut. He normally wouldn't be taken a break on Friday afternoon, but it seemed to be unusually slow this particular Friday. He had spent a good portion of his time this past week sorting through his feelings about Lissett and Maggie. He had even dug out the photo that had been taking on their wedding day. Sitting alone in his room above the store, Joe had finally accepted that Maggie and Gabriel were right - Lissett would want him to be happy.

After coming to that decision, Joe had spent the rest of the week working up the courage to ask Maggie out to dinner. A spark of courage had finally come to him, and as there had been no customers in the store, Joe decided to ask Maggie out before that spark went out.

Joe crossed the street to the Infirmary. Standing outside the door, Joe wiped his hands on the apron he was wearing. He couldn't believe he was getting sweaty palms like some schoolboy. Taking a deep breath, the store owner reached out for the door handle and opened the door.

As Joe stepped into the infirmary, Billy, who was sweeping the floor, retreated toward one side of the room. The boy was still timid around others, especially when not at Gabriel's side. Joe didn't take offense to the action, choosing instead to simply greet the boy as if his reaction to Joe's arrival was perfectly normal.

"Hello, Billy," Joe said, with a smile and a wave.

"Hello, Mr. Moody," Billy said, standing with his back against the wall and the broom clenched in two hands.

Looking from the boy, Joe found Maggie. The nurse was sitting on a stool reading from a book in front of her. She had looked up at the greeting Billy and Joe had exchanged.

"Good afternoon, Maggie. Reading anything interesting?" Joe asked, grateful for the book in front of the nurse to give him a safe easy topic to open the conversation with.

"Well, I find it interesting though I imagine a lot of people wouldn't. It's a medical journal. As I have appeared to become Brookfield's only medical person, for humans at least, I have been trying to expand my knowledge. Though Dr. Shepherd and I have been talking. Now that Hope Valley has two doctors with Dr. Carter returning, there is a possibility that he'll make regular visits here to see patients."

"I think a lot of folks would appreciate that," Joe said. 'How do you feel about it?"

Maggie smiled. "Believe me, on more than one occasion I wish there had been a doctor around to give advice. Right now, the best I can tell folks when I'm not sure of something is to go to the hospital in Clearwater."

Joe nodded. "Folks appreciate all you do here, Maggie."

"I know," Maggie said. "However, even my knowledge is limited. I'm not afraid to admit that, and if Dr. Shepherd is here even only a couple of days out of a month, I think it could be a benefit to this town. That is what is important, not my pride," Maggie told him. "Besides, it could be a learning opportunity for me as well."

"I hope things work out then," Joe replied, looking around the room. Billy had gone back to the task of sweeping the floor. "I see you have a new helper," Joe commented.

Maggie smiled. "Having Billy around has been very pleasant. He's been helpful and it is nice to have someone to talk to other then the jars."

Joe chuckled. Somehow, it wasn't hard to imagine Maggie having conversations with her jars of medicines when she got bored.

"Somehow, I don't think chit chat is why you took time from your afternoon to come over here," Maggie speculated.

Joe nodded his agreement to Maggie's comment as he wiped his hands on his apron again. "I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?" he finally asked while focusing on the shelves of jars behind Maggie rather than Maggie herself.

"That would be splendid," Maggie replied without missing a beat.

"It would?" Joe asked, part of him surprised by the quick answer. He finally looked at Maggie to find an amused smile gracing her already pretty features. "I mean, that is great. I'll pick you up at five?"

"That sounds fine," Maggie told him. "I'll bring a dress with me and change here, so you can pick me up here."

"All right," Joe replied. "I should get back to my store. I'll see you tomorrow evening."

"I'll be counting the minutes," Maggie told him with a smile.

Unsure how to reply, Joe nodded and turned for the door. He said a quick good-bye to Billy, who had stopped sweeping to watch the exchange with curious young eyes, as he stepped through the door.

Joe was halfway across the street before the enormity of what had just happened hit him. He stopped there in the middle of the street.

"I have a proper date," Joe said softly to himself. "I haven't been on a date in years."

There was no telling how long he might have stood there if the afternoon stage hadn't arrived. A yell from the driver had Joe moving quickly out of the road and to his store, where he spotted Mrs. Meadows standing patiently outside the store waiting for his return.

Maggie was smiling as Joe left the infirmary. She had been hoping all week that he would ask her to dinner again. She was thrilled that he finally had. She didn't even need to worry about what to wear, having made a decision earlier in the week as to what dress she would wear for her first proper date with Joe.

"Miss Maggie, can I ask you a question?"

Billy's question brought Maggie out of her happy reverie. She looked toward the young boy who stood in between the cots, broom in his hand.

"Of course you may," Maggie told him. She motioned to a second stool. "Come have a seat and ask your question," she instructed. "The sweeping can wait."

Placing the broom against the wall, Billy stepped around the pile of dirt and moved to the stool Maggie had indicated.

"So what is your question?" Maggie asked the boy.

"If Mr. Moody likes you why is he so nervous around you?" Billy asked. "Mountie Gabe isn't nervous around Miss Walsh."

"You noticed that too, huh," Maggie commented casually. "That isn't a question that there is one easy answer. Some men just don't have self confidence to ask a woman out. In other cases, it has to do with how far along in the relationship one is. At the beginning someone might be unsure if the other person will return those feelings. In other cases, it has to do with life experiences. A bad experience or even a loss might make someone hesitant to open their hearts to someone else."

"Why?"

"Well, could be out of fear of getting hurt."

"Like I have trouble trusting people because of being hurt in the past?" Billy asked.

"Exactly like that," Maggie replied.

"Did Mr. Moody lose someone he cared about?" Billy asked.

"He did," Maggie consented, surprised at how perceptive the boy could be. "He doesn't like to talk about it."

"I won't bring it up to him then," Billy replied. "I know how hard it is to be reminded of things that hurt."

"I'm sure you do," Maggie consented sympathetically. "You do know that Constable Kinslow and Judge Avery are trying to help though, right?"

Billy nodded. "Maybe I should have just answered Mountie Gabe's questions from the start. It would have saved time."

"Well, I can't argue with the reasoning," Maggie told him, "but no one is faulting you for remaining quiet. You had no reason to trust people when you first came. However, I hope that is changing, Billy. I hope you are learning to trust again."

"I trust you," Billy replied.

The comment created a pang in Maggie's heart. She was touched by this child's trust.

"I trust Mountie Gabe too," the boy added, looking down at the floor. "I wish I could stay with him, but I know that is too much to hope for. My mother didn't even love me enough to stay alive for me."

"Billy, what do you mean by that?" Maggie asked, even though she had a feeling she wasn't going to like the explanation.

"When the Mountie came to tell us that my father had been killed, my mom left me with him and went off. I thought she would be back soon but she never did come back. They found her at the bottom of a cliff. I heard people saying that she must have felt like she couldn't go on without my father. Why didn't my mother love me enough to stay for me?" Billy asked, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Oh, Billy," Maggie gasped, feeling choked up by her own emotions, but trying to struggle past them. She wasn't sure what to say but she knew she had to say something to try and reassure the boy. "I am sure your mother loved you very much," Maggie told him. "Grief is a very powerful emotion though and people react differently to it. When you get tragic news like that, your emotions take over. There is no thinking rationally. Don't blame your mother for her reaction to that news and don't doubt that she loved you because of a moment of irrationality."

"I miss them both," Billy said, looking at the floor again.

"I am sure you do," Maggie replied. "May I give you a hug, Billy?" the nurse asked.

Billy nodded in reply.

Getting to her feet, Maggie crossed to where Billy sat. Wrapping her arms around the boy, she held him close, feeling relief when Billy wrapped his arms around her as well. Maggie knew that somehow she needed to tell Gabriel about Billy's desire to stay with him. She wasn't sure if it was feasible, given Gabriel's job. She couldn't even be sure that Gabriel would want to take on that responsibility. However, she knew Gabriel needed to know and she doubted Billy would get the courage to make that confession to him anytime soon.

"Where is, Billy?" Lillian asked as she and Gabriel sat at a table in Pearl's bakery, waiting for Pearl to finish with a customer at the counter.

"With Maggie," Gabriel replied. "He seems to like spending the day with her and at least I know he is supervised while I'm at work."

"Have you thought about him going to school?"

"I considered it," Gabriel told her. "However, until it is settled where he will be going, I thought it might be better if he doesn't make too many attachments here in Brookfield if there is a chance he will be going elsewhere."

Lillian nodded. "I guess that makes sense," she agreed. "Though I wish there was a way to show him that he would be welcomed at New Hope Orphanage."

"Well, tonight might be that chance."

"He agreed to come?" Lillian asked hopefully.

Gabriel nodded. "He did, though I think he's still nervous about it. He made me promise not to disappear from his sight, so I think he'll be staying at my side the whole night."

"But it is progress," Lillian said.

"That it is," Gabriel agreed as Pearl appeared at their table, a tray in her hands.

"Good afternoon, Constable," Pearl said. Looking toward Lillian, she added, "happy birthday, Lillian."

"Thank-you," Lillian replied, as Pearl placed two coffee cups on the table in front of her two customers.

Pearl preceded to fill both coffee cups, placed cream and sugar on the table from the tray she carried. "And a birthday scone as requested," she added, placing a scone with a candle in it in front of Lillian.

"I know Grace and the kids are going to have cake for tonight, but I wanted to celebrate while I had you alone," Gabriel told Lillian.

"He even requested apple cinnamon like you always get," Pearl added as she lit the candle.

"How did you know?" Lillian asked.

"I asked," Gabriel told her. "So make your wish and blow out the candle."

Lillian laughed but did just that.

"As we'll be having cake later, I thought we could split the scone," Gabriel told her. "However, if you'd like your own I will get a second one."

"Just say the word," Pearl said.

"As good as your scones are, Pearl, I think splitting this will be just fine. I don't want to upset the children by ruining my appetite."

"Of course," Pearl said. "If you two need anything else, I won't be far away," she told them before heading back to the counter.

"The scone was a sweet gesture," Lillian told Gabriel as he cut the scone in half for them.

"You're welcome," Gabriel told her.

The two of them chatted while savoring the scone and the cup of coffee. Gabriel had just paid the bill when Maggie showed up with Billy at her side.

"Happy Birthday, Lillian," Maggie said as she walked Billy over to the table Lillian and Gabriel had been sitting at.

"Thank-you," Lillian replied.

"Billy, would you mind if Mountie Gabe and I stepped outside briefly?" Maggie asked. "I need to talk to him privately for a moment."

"I guess," Billy said hesitantly.

"Why don't you sit right here next to me, Billy," Lillian suggested indicating the spot to her left. "You will be able to see Mountie Gabe through the window."

"Okay," Billy said, going to the indicated chair.

"I won't be long," Gabriel told the boy as he got to his feet.

Gabriel followed Maggie outside the bakery. "Was there a problem today?" Gabriel asked the nurse as soon as she pulled the door shut behind them.

"Not a problem exactly," Maggie told him. "It's just Billy and I were talking and he said something that I thought you should know. He mentioned to me that he would like to stay here with you but that he thought it was too much to hope for."

Gabriel was silent for a while as he let the information sink in. Looking through the window of the door he saw Billy sitting stiffly in the chair next to Lillian. Part of him had been wanting to keep the boy with him for a while now. The boy had lost so much and had been finally finding a place to belong again. However, he wasn't sure how it would work. Who would look after him when his job took him away? What if something happened to him like it had Billy's father? Would the laws even let him become a guardian to Billy? Then there was Lillian. He was going to propose to her tonight. A decision like taking Billy in would have to be discussed with her as well.

It seemed like the situation had a whole bunch of questions with no easy answers.

"I didn't think he would share it with you, but I thought it was something you should know," Maggie said with Gabriel didn't say anything.

Gabriel nodded looking back at the nurse. "I thank-you, Maggie."

"You're welcome." Maggie told him. She paused before continuing. "I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, I know keeping Billy is a huge decision and might not even be possible, but if it changes anything, know that I don't mind having the boy at the infirmary. I'd be willing to watch him at any time should he stay with you."

Gabriel nodded. "Thank-you," he told her.

"Oh, and Joe asked me to dinner tomorrow. He was picking me up at five."

Gabriel smiled. "Glad to hear it," he told her. "I will make sure I collect Billy from the infirmary before then tomorrow."

"Thank-you," Maggie said. "I should let the three of you go. I know there are people waiting to throw Lillian a party. Have fun tonight."

"You're welcome," Gabriel said. "Goodnight, Maggie," he added.

As Maggie turned and walked away, Gabriel went back into the bakery. A few minutes later, the trio was making their way toward the orphanage, Billy and Lillian on either side of Gabriel.