Here's another chapter! I will update again toward the end of the week! Read and review!

Margaret noticed Neil's quietness as he sat by the fire, smoking his pipe and staring at the flames, late Sunday night. The room was dark, other than the firelight. She came up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Neil?" Margaret asked softly. "Neil, are you alright, darling?"

He sighed heavily. Margaret moved around and knelt in front of him, her hands on his knees.

"Neil MacNeill, what is bothering you now?"

"You make it sound as if I'm always bothered."

"Aren't you?"

Neil soaked in her face and reached out, his fingers capturing one of her long black curls. "No… no, sometimes I am perfectly content."

Margaret smiled. "Somehow I doubt that now is one of those times. You're thinking about her again."

"I'm trying not to, Margaret. She made it very clear this week who she cares for…maybe even loves."

"I know, Mac. And I'm trying to be patient with you. But Christy's gone. She's with David now. Neil, I'm here. Your wife."

"You gave me back my ring," Neil reminded her.

"I would love to put it back on, Mac, if you want me too."

Neil leaned toward her. "I need time."

She nodded. "You're worth waiting for, Mac. I only wish I had known that all along."

Margaret stood, preparing to go upstairs and give him space, but he reached for her hand to stop her. She settled onto his lap instead. She half expected him to complain and order her away, but he continued to run his fingers through her hair. She eventually moved so that her head was resting on his shoulder. She was drifting off to sleep when she was quite certain she heard him call her what he used to… Angel.

(Neil's POV)

I don't know how long I sat there, holding her in my arms. She was back, and it hadn't quite sunk in yet. She was so different, and in just a week. I knew she and Christy had talked, and there had also been the fight, or whatever it was we had had in the El Pano Tea-house, but this drastic change was unbelievable. Something was at work here that I did not yet understand.

Margaret moaned and moved slightly before once again snuggling back into me. For the first time in a long time, I actually was considering the fact that I still loved her. Maybe, even though she had hurt me so much, I never had stopped loving her. I remember the devastation I felt when I had realized she was gone the first time. The second time, I had felt betrayed. And from then on, I was just angry. My anger had made me push her to the back of my mind, and I lied to myself, and Christy, saying that I had finally forgotten her. But I was wrong. I could never forget Margaret MacNeill. This woman had something on me, and I couldn't make it leave, even if I wanted it to.

"Mac…" She moaned.

I tensed. I wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming.

"Mac, help me…" Margaret gasped.

"Margaret…" I whispered into her hair. "Margaret, I'm here."

"The baby…" She moaned. "Help me…"

I bit my lip. She was dreaming about that terrible night, several years ago. The night we had lost the thing that had been so important to us; our baby.

Moving, so that I was sitting up more, I cradled her more tightly in my arms. "Margaret… wake up…"

She moaned again.

"C'mon, love…" I said, rubbing her arm. "Wake up."

She suddenly screamed and I jumped a foot in shock.

"Margaret!" I shook her harder and she finally opened her eyes.

As soon as she saw me holding her, she clung tighter to me, crying into my neck. "Oh…Mac."

"Shh…It's alright. It was just a dream."

"I just want them to stop. Every night, I relive it. The worst night of my life, and I keep going through it again and again."

My heart broke for her. I had done everything I could to forget that night, and I hadn't gone through half of what she had. "Shh… they'll go away someday."

She suddenly sat up and looked at me. "Mac, I want another baby."

"Margaret, I…"

"I know. We can't right now… but if you ever love me again, I want to give you a baby. I failed once, but I won't let myself do it again. I won't fail you again, Mac."

I didn't know what to say, so I pulled her close again so she couldn't see me. So she couldn't see the tear that fell down my face.

Neil walked into the schoolhouse Monday afternoon to find Christy vigorously scrubbing the blackboard. She was wringing the washcloth out over the bucket of murky water when he stepped up behind her and took the cloth from her hand. She let out a surprised yelp.

"Easily startled there, Christy?" Neil asked with a smile.

"I was deep in my thoughts, I suppose. I didn't even hear you."

"Well you were certainly attacking this blackboard with the washcloth," Neil commented. "May I?"

She nodded and moved out of his way, leaning on her desk as he began to scrub the blackboard. Christy let out an audible sigh, and Neil glanced at her over his shoulder.

"What's bothering you, lass?" He asked.

"Only the Spencer children attended today," Christy said. "Fairlight brought them and she visited with me for a while. We discussed everything, and she was an incredible friend, as always. But she couldn't make any promises about the others returning."

"What happened to the McHones?" Neil asked. "I thought David said they would be here."

"Apparently Ault visited them last night and persuaded them otherwise."

"I see," Neil said, placing the washcloth back in the water. He leaned on the desk next to her. "This is a very difficult situation."

"Have you heard the things they're saying about me? And about David?" Christy asked. "It's awful, Neil."

"And none of it is true," Neil reminded her.

"No! None of it, Neil!" Christy exploded. "After everything I have done here, all they can call me is a liar, a hypocrite…Fairlight wouldn't even repeat some of the things she's overheard. I don't understand. It isn't fair!"

"No, it's not fair, Christy. But have you ever encountered anything in this cove that is fair?" Neil questioned. "Nothing about Cutter Gap is fair, and you know that. You knew that the moment you stepped foot in this place. Accidents happening, Mountie refusing to talk, Opal's baby dying, feuds, death, illness, poverty… Nothing is fair here. If you want fair, you better pack your bags."

She was silent, staring at him with her mouth hanging open. "Neil…I…"

"Christy, stop feeling sorry for yourself and your situation and do something about it. You were raped, and that was awful and I hate that man more than I have hated anyone in my life. If he ever steps foot in this cove again, I will kill him without a doubt, and I won't think twice about it. He had no right to take the things from you that he did, but he didn't take everything. You're the strongest woman I have ever met, Christy Huddleston. You're going to be happy again. You're going to raise this baby and love it just as a mother should. You're going to marry David and spend the rest of your life supporting him, and he'll spend his supporting you, because if he doesn't, he'll have me to deal with."

Christy began to cry softly, and she wiped at her tears quickly.

"Lass, look at me."

She slowly looked up at him.

"Everything is going to be fine," He whispered. "You're never going to be alone."

"I know," She nodded. "Neil, thank you for being my friend."

"It is an honor I find myself unworthy of, Miss Huddleston."

She smiled. They grew quiet for a while, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Have you been feeling alright?" He asked.

"Yes."

"I wish Alice was here with you. I would feel better about all of this."

"David and Ruby Mae are taking wonderful care of me, and I'm sure Miss Alice will be home in a couple of days," Christy informed him. "And I'm fine, Neil."

He nodded.

"How is Margaret?" Christy asked softly.

"She's healing nicely. I wish we were headed into summer instead of winter, because it would be better for her lungs to have fresh and warm air rather than being cooped up in that cabin, but we'll make do."

"So she's staying in the Cove then?"

Neil stood, walking toward the window. "We're still talking about things. She's so different, Christy. I barely know her anymore. It feels like we're starting over, but we're married and there's so much pain there."

"Pain doesn't last forever," Christy told him.

"No," Neil agreed. "But I've never allowed myself to believe that I could ever feel anything but anger and hatred for that woman."

"Do you feel differently?"

"I look at her in that cabin and I forget all of the pain. She's just the woman I fell in love with…only better somehow."

Christy smiled. "I just want you to be happy, Neil. Please, whatever decision you make, make sure that you're going to be happy."

Neil grinned. "I didn't know my happiness was a concern of yours, Christy."

"Of course it is! You're one of my closest friends, Neil. You've taught me so much about myself, and I don't know why you've been by my side through everything, but you have."

"Your happiness is my concern as well, Lass," Neil told her softly. "So tell me. Are you going to be happy with David?"

Christy nodded, her face lighting up. "I've been so blind and foolish when it comes to him, Neil. He has been so patient, so loving, so kind, and supported me all along. The moment I stepped foot here at this mission, and fell into his arms, I think I knew that he was going to be there for me for the rest of my life. I think he knew it too. I just couldn't accept that love would find me so quickly. I feel so unworthy of him sometimes, but I know that that doesn't matter. Marriage is about being together as one, even when the world is trying to keep you as two. It's about commitment, and dedication, and the desire to hold one another up. I am so blessed to find all of those things with him. He's everything my mother and father have been praying for me to find since the day I was born. He's so…he's so…" She broke off in an amazed breath of air, giggling softly.

Neil let out a deep, soft chuckle and Christy turned to find him staring at her with tears in his eyes and smile on his face. "You really love David, don't you?"

Christy nodded. "Yes. Wholeheartedly."

Neil rose and pulled her into his arms, hugging her. "I'm glad, Christy. I'm glad you found what you're looking for. And maybe I will too."

"Maybe it's been there all along, Neil," Christy said, looking up at him. "You just have to be willing to find it."