After removing her wedding dress, Lillian had found the hangar she had brought with her, and finding a peg on the wall for hanging things up, she hung the dress up. Perhaps it would never get used again. There was no guarantee that she would have a daughter of her own or that her daughter would want to wear the dress. Still, it was special and Lillian planned on being careful with it.

Lillian had not rushed the process of putting on her nightgown and robe. She was hoping that a little time would help settle the nerves that she still felt. Nerves that she did not quite understand. This was what she wanted. She wanted to be able to say goodnight to Gabriel and have him by her side. Now that it was a reality, Lillian suddenly felt shy to even walk into the next room in her nightgown and robe.

It was silly really. Husbands and wives always saw each other in their nightclothes. Eleanor, Grace and most of the kids at the orphanage had seen her in a robe. Not that she had made it a habit of walking around in her nightgown, robe and slippers but if one of the children had a nightmare after they all went to bed Lillian had certainly never paused to get dressed properly. Doing so had never occurred to her.

Gabriel is going to think he married some silly goose, Lillian scolded herself silently.

Pushing aside all her doubts and fears, Lillian headed to the bedroom door and pulled it open. Stepping into the main room, Lillian found Gabriel sitting on the settee before the fireplace. He had gotten a fire going, taking the chill out of the air of the cabin, and held a tea cup in his hand. Having just taken a sip, Gabriel lowered the cup and looked in her direction as she stepped out of the bedroom.

Lillian burst out laughing. Here she was a bundle of nerves and Gabriel was sitting peacefully on the settee sipping out of a tea cup. She had not changed from yesterday and neither had Gabriel. The only thing that had changed was that they were now husband and wife. That union should bring her closer to Gabriel not drive her further away because she was afraid of the fact that the barriers between them had been taken down.

"Is me drinking from a tea cup really so funny?" Gabriel asked easily as he placed the tea cup on a coffee table in front of him and got to his feet.

Lillian shook her head. "It isn't really the tea," she told him. "I just still feel like a bundle of nerves, despite my happiness. Seeing you so relaxed is such a contrast to what I am feeling I think the laughter was just a release of my nerves."

Gabriel smiled as he approached her. Reaching out, he took her hands. "If laughing at me drinking tea makes you feel better, then laugh away," he told her. Lifting her hands to his lips, he kissed them.

"Why am I a bundle of nerves and you are acting like today is just another day?" Lillian asked.

"Because you are a planner, Lillian," Gabriel told her, a smile on his face as he gazed into her eyes. "You like to make your plans, and then follow through with those plans. That process gives you confidence. I have always been the type of person who takes things as they come. I make my plans, but I learned working with my father on the ranch, that you need to be ready to modify those plans at a moment's notice."

"I have never dealt with change well," Lillian admitted to him, though she had a feeling Gabriel had already learned that. Especially after he witnessed the parting with Ellie. "More often than not, in my experience it has not led to good things. I am also not a spontaneous person. That is more Grace's territory," she admitted, thinking of some of Grace's antics that had caused her worry. Despite that she loved her sister.

"You have handled everything just fine, Lillian," Gabriel told her, letting go of her hands and reaching out to pull her close to him.

Lillian melted willingly into her new husband's embrace, her hands resting on his chest. She knew that she was safe with Gabriel. That she could draw strength from him when she felt weak, like right now.

"I never want to go through this again," Lillian murmured.

"Good," Gabriel replied, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I am not planning on letting you go anytime soon." He paused before asking. "Are you cold? You are trembling."

"No," Lillian admitted honestly. The cabin was snug and her robe was warm. "I still feel frazzled though. Everything has happened so fast and I keep thinking of everything that went wrong, like me dropping the ring."

"Which led to a beautiful moment of Billy helping you put the ring on my finger," Gabriel reminded her. "Remember Lillian. We both said we were not worried about perfection. That if we had our family and closest friends around us and it ended with us saying 'I do' that we would be satisfied," he told her gently.

Still holding her close with one hand, Gabriel placed a couple of fingers underneath her chin and gently lifted her head. Looking into his eyes, Lillian saw only love reflected in them.

"That is what happened today, Lillian. You looked beautiful coming down those steps. That is what I am going to remember from today, not all the little hiccups that did not affect the outcome of the day. You are my wife. I get to say goodnight to you tonight and stay at your side, unless of course you decide you want me to sleep in the other room. I meant what I said, I will do so if you want me to."

Lillian reached up with her left hand. Both her engagement ring and wedding band glinted in the light that caught them just right as she placed the hand against his cheek.

"I want you right by my side tonight," Lillian told him.

"Then that is exactly where I will be," Gabriel assured her, before pressing his lips against hers.

Lillian returned the gesture. Despite all her other feelings, her love for Gabriel was one thing that she had no doubt about.

"So, why don't you have a seat in front of the fire," Gabriel said, when they broke from their kiss. He gently started to lead her toward the settee he had left a short time ago. "I will pour you a cup of lavender tea. Elizabeth says it works wonders for nerves. While you are sipping your tea, I will make us something to eat."

"That sounds nice," Lillian admitted, letting Gabriel guide her to the settee. As she sat down, she asked, "what did I do to deserve someone like you?"

"You fed my horse," Gabriel told her easily a smile on his face.

Lillian laughed at the reminder of their first meeting. It had definitely not been a traditional meeting, but it had turned out to be one of the most important moments of her life.

Nathan opened his eyes with the feeling that something had woken him up. Listening, he did not hear anything out of the ordinary. Sitting up, his eyes taking in the dark outline of objects around the moonlit living room, Nathan immediately checked for the kids. Jack was sleeping soundly in his sleeping bag right next to him. Beyond Jack, he could make out the outlines of Ally and Opal. Turning to look in the other direction, he was met with one flat sleeping bag and the outline of one sleeping boy.

As it was the sleeping bag next to him that was empty, Nathan knew that it was Billy that he was missing. Remembering Gabriel's account of Billy going to the table to draw when he could not sleep, Nathan did not panic. Being careful not to wake the other children, he slipped from his sleeping bag. Looking toward the kitchen, Nathan saw a dim light through the doorway. Padding quietly across the floor in his sock clad feet, he headed in that direction.

Stepping into the kitchen, Nathan spotted Billy sitting at the table. A lamp sat on the table near him, casting a soft glow over the paper and colored pencils that the boy was using.

"I did not mean to wake anyone, sir," Billy replied quietly as he continued to work on his drawing. He had his head prompt up on his left hand as he drew.

"You did not wake me up," Nathan assured him. "Though when I woke up to see the empty sleeping bag I did want to make sure you were okay."

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would draw," Billy replied.

"Glad that you are making good use of the restless hours," Nathan commented as he sat down next to the boy.

Billy had already sketched an outline for his drawing. Nathan could see five figures - what looked to be two adults and three children. The woman in the picture was holding a baby. Billy had just started adding color and details to his drawing.

"What are you drawing?" Nathan asked.

Bill did not look up, though he did pause in his shading. "It is supposed to be your family," Billy admitted softly.

"I hope you will share it with me and Mrs. Grant when you are finished," Nathan replied.

Billy did not respond as he went back to shading with the light brown pencil. Nathan did not press the boy as he sat quietly at the table next to him. However, as a tear drop fell onto a bottom corner of the page, Nathan reached out a hand to rest it on the boy's shoulder.

Billy put the pencil down, and reached up to wipe away more tears. His head was still resting on his left hand, shielding his face from Nathan's view.

"Billy, what is it?" Nathan asked softly, hoping that the boy would open up to him. Something had Billy upset and while he really did not want to disturb Gabriel and Lillian at the cabin, he would if it was necessary. Nathan hoped that if the boy would talk to him that it would not come to that.

"Why does it seem like everyone gets a real family except for me?" Billy asked. "Ellie's family wanted her. Sophia left for her new family. The Coulters took in Bridget and Ivy. Ally, Jack and Gabriella have you and Mrs. Grant."

Nathan did not bother reminding Billy that Christian, Vincent and Mary Louise had not found new families. He knew all to well that when you longed for something you noticed the people who had what you wanted, not those who didn't.

"Billy, I know it hurts to grow up feeling different or alone. My Dad spent a lot of my childhood in jail. As hard as that was, I do not know what I would have done without my mother. However, you are not alone any longer. It may not be conventional, but you are a part of a family now."

"I want to call Miss Lillian and Gabe, Mom and Dad but I do not want people to think I just forgot my Mom and Dad."

"Those who matter will never think that, Billy. Miss Lillian and Gabe know they can never replace your birth parents. Just like I can never replace Jack's father and neither Mrs. Grant nor I can replace Ally's birth parents. Nor would we want to. Everybody we meet, for good or for bad, have a unique place in our lives. Just tell Gabe and Miss Lillian how you feel."

"I am afraid to," Billy said so quietly that Nathan could barely hear him.

Nathan moved from his chair and knelt down next to Billy's chair. Wrapping his arm around the boy he asked, "why are you afraid to, Billy?" Nathan asked the boy gently.

"Sometimes I have a hard time sleeping because I am afraid that when I wake up I will find out that this was all a dream. That fear makes me cautious about doing anything that might upset what I have found. Gabe gave me a place to live. Miss Lillian has assured me that them getting married will not affect that. What if me saying I want a Mom and Dad is too much and they won't keep me after all?"

"Oh, Billy," Nathan said, pulling the boy toward him. Billy relaxed against him, something that Nathan doubted would have happened during the boy's first visit with him. It pained him to see someone so young so afraid that anything good in his life would not last.

"I figure if I don't ask then at least I can pretend they would want to be my Mom and Dad."

"Asking them to adopt you would make them both very happy," Nathan told the boy.

"How can you be sure?"

"Because Gabe is my best friend. I know him well. Lillian has a huge heart and cares about children. That is why she runs the orphanage. To make sure that the children in her care at least know that someone cares about them."

"I should just be happy that I have a place to stay and people who care about me," Billy lamented.

"You deserve a Mom and Dad if you want to bestow those titles to new people," Nathan countered. "Would you like me to help you bring the topic up? We could do it when Miss Lillian and Gabe get back Monday evening."

"Would you?" Billy asked, looking up at Nathan expectantly. Tracks of his tears were clear on his face.

"I would be glad to," Nathan assured him, knowing that it was a conversation that would make three people in his life very happy. "It will be okay, Billy," he promised.

"I hope so," Billy replied.

Nathan got the feeling that Billy wanted to believe that but giving the many disappointments in his life, he was afraid to. It was something Nathan could understand. After all the times that his father had let him down, it had been easier to believe he had stolen the necklace he had been accused of stealing rather than believing he was finally changing. Elizabeth and challenged him to take that leap of faith and he had discovered the truth.

Nathan hoped that the more good things that Billy experienced the less he would expect those good things not to last.

Nathan held the boy close to him for a few minutes before asking, "are you ready to try to go to sleep again?"

Billy nodded and with Nathan's help cleaned everything else. Nathan turned off the lamp and he and Billy returned to the living room. The others were still sleeping. Without disturbing them, Nathan and Billy slipped into their sleeping bags.

"That wasn't part of the plan."

"I am done with the plan."

Gabriel jumped at the sound of the gun going of. The movement tightened the rope around his neck even as Randy turned. The man laughed as his steely eyes held Gabriel's gaze.

Gabriel gasped as he opened his eyes. He looked around for something familiar but none of the shadows in the room looked familiar.

"Gabriel, are you all right?"

Gabriel turned his head in the direction of the question. Lillian had lifted her head from his right shoulder even as her right hand moved across his chest. It came to rest over his heart, and he found himself wondering if she could feel his pounding heart.

"It was just a dream," Gabriel told her, speaking as much to himself as to her. "Sorry to wake you."

"Don't be sorry," Lillian told him. "Not twenty-four hours ago I promised to love you through good times and bad. I am here for you, Gabriel. Do you want to tell me about it?"

Gabriel hesitated for a moment. His first instinct was to protect Lillian. However, he also knew that Lillian was right. They had promised to love each other through the good and the bad. She could not really follow through with that if he kept things from her.

Though she had already heard the account of his abduction and knew what had really happened, now he told her about his dream. About being tied up with only Randy and Walter there. About Randy pulling the rope tight around his neck before shooting Walter.

"There was nothing I could do to save him Lillian," Gabriel said as he finished the account of the dream.

"Which is how you feel in real life, isn't it," Lillian said gently. "You tried to get Walter to walk away from his life and he refused. You could not save him."

Gabriel nodded. "Perhaps I should have tried harder to convince him."

"Gabriel, you probably did more for that boy than anyone else has. You can't blame yourself for his choices. You can't blame yourself to the way of life his brother has got him involved in. You also cannot do anything else for him at this time."

"You're right," Gabriel agreed. "Logically I know that but mentally, it is still hard. It always is when you couldn't help somebody."

Lillian nodded. "I understand. I do. However, I also want to see you happy."

"Just being with you, makes me happy, Lillian," Gabriel told her, leaning in and pressing a kiss on her temple. His heart rate was starting to slow down.

"So you are a charmer even after a nightmare, huh?"

"I try," Gabriel told her.

Lillian yawned.

Gabriel chuckled. "I should let you go back to sleep."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I will," Gabriel assured her. "The nightmare is getting less frequent and I have you right here with me. Go back to sleep, Lillian."

"Are you going to be able to go back to sleep?"

"I will," Gabriel told her even though right then he was not feeling a least bit sleepy. He had a feeling it might be awhile before he fell asleep. However, he did not want to keep her awake as well. He had a feeling their wedding had been more taxing on her than on himself.

"All right, then," Lillian said, not sounding completely convinced. However, she rested her head on his shoulder again and settled in the crook of his arm again.

Just feeling her weight against him, was soothing for Gabriel. It was nice to know that he was no longer alone. Nice to know that after bad cases, he would have Lillian and the children at the orphanage to come home to. He would have Billy there waiting for him. Lillian and Billy were his family now.

Gabriel smiled at that thought. Still, even as Lillian's breathing evened out, Gabriel found himself staring up through the dark at the ceiling he knew was above him. Lingering images from the dream still came to mind. What Walter was doing even now made him worry about the kid?

But Lillian was right. He had done what he could and Walter's choice was not his fault.