The scene outside the infirmary the next morning was a grim one. Nathan and Gabe were pacing outside the building, hoping against hope that Lucas would live. Carson had briefly come out to inform them that Lucas was in bad shape and he needed to perform surgery to remove the bullets and stop the internal bleeding. He said it might take hours, and he needed one of them to volunteer to help him since Faith was not there. Bill said he would do it, and the two of them had vanished into the infirmary.

That had been five hours ago. Now the sun was rising slowly over Hope Valley, and they still hadn't heard a thing from Carson. Nathan's emotions were in turmoil. Worry over Lucas. Guilt that he was the reason Lucas was fighting for his life. Wondering what they could have done differently to avoid this situation they found themselves in.

The town was starting to wake up. People passed by the infirmary, glancing curiously at the two Mounties pacing the boardwalk, looking haggard. It always stung when someone was injured in a mission gone wrong, but Lucas was one of Hope Valley's residents. His condition would affect the entire town.

Nathan saw Lee drive up to his office in his car. Spotting Nathan and Gabe, Lee immediately knew something was wrong. He got out and jogged over to them, glancing at the infirmary door. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice a little hesitant. Lee was normally very jovial, but right now he looked concerned.

Nathan tried to answer but couldn't. Gabe put a hand on his shoulder and answered for him. "We caught the bank robbers last night," he said. "But Lucas got shot twice in the process. Carson is performing surgery as we speak."

Lee's face clouded. "Is it bad?"

Gabe simply nodded, looking sad.

"He saved my life," Nathan said hoarsely, looking at the door. "I should have been the one shot, but he pushed me out of the way."

Lee put a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Nathan said.

Neither Lee nor Gabe looked convinced.

"Nathan, you felt guilty over that young Mountie dying in a situation that was beyond your control," Lee said, looking him right in the eyes. "Now Lucas literally took a bullet for you. I know you well enough to know you're probably feeling eaten up with guilt right now."

Shrugging, Nathan looked at the ground. He couldn't deny it. The guilt was starting to weigh him down.

Lucas had to be okay. He couldn't handle it otherwise.

"Nathan." Nathan looked up to see Lee still staring him down, a compassionate look in his eyes. "This is not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. You can't blame yourself for something that is entirely on the bad guys."

"My head knows that," Nathan said, rubbing his forehead. "My heart isn't convinced."

The door opened, and Carson stepped out, looking weary. All three men turned their eyes to him, a sudden hush falling over them. Carson's expression was unreadable. Nathan could hardly handle the suspense.

Letting out a sigh, Carson looked at each of them in turn. "He survived the surgery. We got the bullet out of his shoulder and his abdomen and stopped the internal bleeding." He shook his head. "Fortunately, it didn't hit his abdominal artery. If that bullet had been a centimeter to the right, I wouldn't have been able to do anything to save him."

Nathan let out a sigh of relief, then noticed that Carson still looked concerned. "What is it, Carson?"

The doctor shook his head. "Now it's a matter of time as to whether or not he wakes up. I've done all I can. There's a real risk an infection will set in, or that he'll never wake up from this coma. He didn't move the entire time we operated, and I didn't have to use anesthesia. That concerns me."

Once again, Nathan felt his heart drop. He was thankful Lucas had survived the surgery, but considering how worried Carson looked, his life was still very much in danger.

Carson glanced around at them. "I think it's time you both went home," he said to Gabe and Nathan. He looked specifically at Nathan. "You're going to need to rest after being up all night. And I'm guessing there's a young woman who's anxiously waiting to find out whether or not you're okay."

Elizabeth. He had forgotten that she would be worried about him. "I…"

Lee took his arm. "Come on, we'll go tell her you're alright together."

Gabe nodded. "And Bill and I will go get those criminals. I just remembered they're still tied to that tree."

Nathan's eyes turned to steel. "Bill can try them right here in Hope Valley. And if Lucas doesn't recover, the one who shot him will be tried for murder. As it is right now, he'll be facing attempted murder at the very least."

"Yes, he will," Bill said, an equal steel in his voice as he emerged from the infirmary. He looked at Gabe. "Let's go get them." As he passed Nathan, he paused and leaned close. "Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened to Lucas."

Nathan smiled in spite of himself. His friends knew him too well, and he was thankful for their concern and support. "Thanks, Bill." He watched as Gabe and Bill walked away, and then he looked at Carson. "Can I sit with him when I get back from Elizabeth's?"

"Of course," Carson said. "Though I still think you should get some rest."

Nathan waved a hand. "I'll rest later." He walked down the steps toward Lee's car and got in. Lee started the engine, and they drove the short distance to Elizabeth's rowhouse. As Nathan got out of the car, Lee said, "I'm going to tell Rosie what's going on. Come get me when you're ready to go back to town."

Nathan nodded woodenly and went to Elizabeth's door, knocking gently. She opened it seconds later, and a look of relief flooded her face as she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Oh, you're alright," she breathed, pulling back to look him in the eyes. A frown wrinkled her forehead. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Bill or Gabe?"

Nathan shook his head, drawing strength from being in Elizabeth's arms while bracing himself to give her the bad news. "No, they're fine. It's Lucas."

"Lucas?" She frowned. "What happened to him? Is he sick?"

"No, he's not sick. Not in the way you mean. He came on the mission with us. It was going well, and we thought we'd nabbed all the bad guys. But there was a fourth man we didn't see." He let out a shuddering breath. "Lucas knocked me out of the way, Elizabeth. He took two bullets meant for me."

Elizabeth's arms tightened around him as she absorbed his words. "You could have been shot?" she asked, looking a little dazed. "And Lucas was shot?" Her eyes widened as she realized what that meant. "Is he okay?"

Nathan felt this throat tighten. "We don't know. He was in surgery for hours. Carson just told us he survived the surgery, but he's not waking up. And infection is a risk, too."

Tears filled Elizabeth's eyes, and she leaned her head against his chest. They held one another for several minutes, drawing comfort from each other. Finally, Elizabeth pulled back, determination in her eyes. "Let me get Jack, and we'll go see him together," she said. She disappeared inside for a moment, then reappeared holding Jack in her arms. He babbled with delight when he saw Nathan, reaching his arms out to be held. Nathan took him and held him close, breathing in his sweet toddler scent. Jack put his hands on Nathan's cheeks, tilting his head at him. "Na'tan sad?" he asked.

Nathan couldn't speak past the lump in his throat, so he nodded. Jack leaned forward, giving Nathan a kiss on the cheek, then leaned his little head against Nathan's shoulder, patting his other shoulder lightly.

That little gesture finally made the tears fall from Nathan's eyes. Elizabeth took his hand and squeezed it in support, knowing how hard this was for him. Taking a deep breath, Nathan headed to Lee's car with Elizabeth and Jack just as the Coulters came out of their house. Rosemary gave him a look of sympathy, placing a hand on his back. "We're going to organize a prayer vigil," she said quietly. "Lucas will be surrounded with love and prayer. He'll get through this."

Nathan prayed she was right.

Fiona looked at the clock. It was almost 8:15, and Lucas was late for work. She wondered if he was trying to fix shelves in the saloon again. Come to think of it, Hickam hadn't shown up yet either. She'd come in early and been so engrossed in her work that she hadn't noticed the time until just now. She frowned, standing. Maybe she should check the saloon.

She walked the short distance to the Queen of Hearts, opening the door. The room was empty. "Hello?" she called out, wondering if anyone would appear. It was quieter than she'd ever heard it before. Her one word still seemed to be echoing in the room.

"Odd," she muttered to herself. "Where is everyone?"

She went back outside and glanced around the town. Everything seemed to be running as usual until her eyes found the infirmary. A small crowd was gathered outside. Fiona could see the Coulters, the Flynns, Henry, Florence, Molly, Gustav, Ned, and Hickam. A curling fear worked its way into her heart. Where was Lucas?

Everything in her screamed to walk away, to ignore the scene outside the infirmary, but like a moth drawn to a flame she slowly walked there. Rosemary saw her coming and came to meet her, concern etched all over her face. She had little Jack in one arm, and she looped the other arm through Fiona's, drawing her closer to the infirmary.

Rosemary wasn't saying a word. That alone told Fiona something was terribly wrong. She forced herself to speak. "What's happened, Rosemary? Where's Lucas?"

Her friend bit her lip, at a loss for words. And just like that, Fiona knew. Lucas was the one inside the infirmary. Without realizing she did it, she pulled her arm from Rosemary's and walked up the steps and into the building. She saw Carson at the bedside, and she saw Nathan and Elizabeth huddled together on the opposite side of the bed. Her eyes landed on the pale, still form lying there, dread filling her heart. "Is he…?" She couldn't finish the sentence. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks as she stood there, feeling lost and alone.

Elizabeth came to her, wrapping an arm around her tightly. "He's alive," she said gently. "He had some bad injuries, but Carson has gotten him patched up."

"What happened?" Fiona asked, barely able to whisper the words past her constricted throat. Elizabeth led her closer to the bedside, and Fiona looked down at Lucas. He was so pale, so still.

"He was shot," Nathan said, his voice tight. "Twice. He pushed me out of the way and took the bullets himself."

Fiona sat on the side of the bed, taking Lucas's unresponsive hand in hers. She looked up at Carson, not caring that all three of these people would know her true feelings for Lucas. "Is he going to be okay, Carson?"

"I can't say," Carson said gently. "I hope so." He put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll know more tomorrow."

Fiona nodded, thankful that Carson told her the truth but wishing he could tell her what she wanted to hear. She looked at Lucas, her vision blurred from her tears. "Wake up," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "Please wake up. You have to be okay. You have to." She lifted his hand to her lips, pressing a kiss there, then held it against her cheek. She could feel Elizabeth's hands on her shoulders, lending her silent support.

The rest of the day was a blur for Fiona. People came and went, always with a hug and a promise to pray for Lucas's recovery. While her feelings for him hadn't ever been a secret, they were now widely known. The whole town knew Fiona was sitting by Lucas's side and refusing to leave.

When night fell, Henry shuffled in, his hat in his hands. He nodded at Fiona, then took a seat next to her. "How is he?" he asked.

"Still the same," she replied. Her tears had dried up hours ago, and a determination had filled her. She wasn't leaving Lucas's side until he woke up. She appreciated the support of the townspeople. Gustav had volunteered to run the saloon while Lucas was convalescing. Hickam had said he would try to keep things going with the oil business. Both had told Fiona they didn't want her to worry about work while she was watching over Lucas.

Henry was quiet for a moment. "I'm going to the vigil in a few minutes," he said. "The whole town is going to be there. Lucas will have lots of people praying for him."

"Thank you, Henry," Fiona said softly. "I've been praying for him all day too."

He nodded, then fidgeted a little. Fiona tilted her head, studying him. "What is it?"

Henry cleared his throat. "Do you need someone to help run the oil company while you're here? I promise I'll run everything by you first, but Hickam doesn't know much about the ins and outs of the business, not like I do. He's going to need some help. If that's something you would be okay with."

Fiona smiled at him, grateful. "That would be wonderful, Henry. Thank you."

He smiled, looking bashful. "I'll talk to Hickam tomorrow, and we'll make sure things continue to run smoothly." He stood. "I'm heading to the church now. See you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Henry," Fiona said again. "I'll be praying here in spirit with all of you."

He gave her a nod and a smile, then quietly vanished out the door. Fiona took Lucas's hand in hers again, needing to feel his warmth, to know he still had life in him. She started talking, knowing he couldn't hear her, but needing to speak her heart.

"The whole town is at the church right now praying for you," she told him, gently running her thumb over the back of his hand. "I've never seen so much support from a community before coming to Hope Valley. Everyone here truly cares about each other. And they care about you, Lucas. I think I saw every resident of this town today. They wanted to see how you were and to let you know they would be praying for you. They've been so encouraging. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." She leaned closer, her elbows resting on the bed. "You were so brave, Lucas. I'm impressed with your courage and the fact that you were willing to take a bullet for Nathan. I know you two have had your differences in the past, but that must be behind you now. I hope it is. I think the two of you will be great friends." She paused, getting choked up again. Taking a deep breath to fortify herself, she continued. "Seeing you lying here, not knowing if you're going to wake up, fearing I might have lost you…" Now the tears did fall, and she didn't even bother trying to stop them. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Lucas. I couldn't figure out my reaction to you for the longest time, but after you kissed me on our date, I started thinking about us and I realized I had deep feelings for you. Now, the thought of losing you, just when we found each other, tears me apart inside."

She stood and leaned over him, pressing a tender kiss to his forehead, then leaned her head against his, her tears falling on his cheeks. "Come back to me," she whispered. "I don't care how long it takes. Just please come back to me."

Fiona prayed long into the night. Eventually, her eyes could stay open no longer. She fell asleep in the chair, her hand still holding Lucas's, her head resting on the bed next to him.

Carson found them like that when he returned from the vigil. He took in Fiona's hand in Lucas's and smiled gently. He hoped and prayed that Lucas would wake up soon. It was clear Fiona had fallen in love with him, and they both deserved to be happy. Happy together. Picking up a blanket from a shelf, he placed it carefully over Fiona and then quietly left the building.