A little while later, Jack woke up to see Elizabeth staring off in the distance with tears falling down her cheeks. He reached over to gently pull her face towards him. "Elizabeth, Sweetheart" He asked with concern, "What's wrong?" He looked at her with worry in his eyes.

"Jack, how am I going to face the parents today after their daughters were nearly killed by something from my past? I keep thinking maybe I should have calmed the girls more and just gone with him. You would have found me. I don't think I could live with myself if one of the girls had been killed."

Jack was horrified by that thought. "Elizabeth, no! This isn't your fault. You are not to blame for what was going on in Williams' sick mind. This is all on him. Everyone in town knows that." He stroked her cheek. "In fact, I think you will find people thanking you for what you did to protect the girls"

"You think so?" She replied with a small smile on her face as she thought about what Jack had just said.

Jack leaned over and gave her a kiss. "I know so".

Just then, Dr. Matthews entered the room. "How is the patient this morning?" He walked over to the bed and started checking her vitals. "How did you sleep last night? Did you have much pain? Any nightmares?"

"My shoulder was a little painful but only because I kept trying to roll over on my right side to sleep. Once I roll back, I didn't really feel the pain. I did have one nightmare, but Jack was here to comfort me." She smiled up at the doctor. "Thank you for letting him stay with me."

"You're welcome. Things are looking good with the shoulder. I can let you go home today, in a little while. Mrs. Stanton was just here to check on you and I told her I thought you would be going home today. She left to go to your house to get some clothes for you. Once she comes back and you change, you are free to go. Just keep resting the shoulder and make sure you keep it in the sling. I know it will be uncomfortable for a while but it does help with the healing."

"Thank you, Dr." Elizabeth said.

"I will make sure she follows your instructions to the letter, if I have to park outside her house all day and night". Jack said and Elizabeth giggled.

A short time later, Abigail appeared with a change of clothes for Elizabeth. Jack stepped outside to allow her to change in private. Abigail stayed to help. "I knew you would want a new dress after what happened yesterday."

"Thanks, Abigail. You think of everything."

"I have breakfast planned at the café for you once we leave. You need to eat in order for your body to heal."

"Would it be ok if I took the breakfast home? I don't want to face anyone else today.

"Sure, I guess that's fine. Just make sure you eat. "Abigail said. "Just have a quick cup of tea with me in the back before you head home."

"That sounds nice."

Elizabeth had finished dressing. Abigail moved to the door and opened it. Jack was waiting right outside. "You looked beautiful, Elizabeth." He said.

Elizabeth scoffed. "Really, Jack. I know I am definitely not looking my best."

Jack shook his head. "You always look beautiful to me. Even yesterday I was rushing you here, when you were so pale, you still looked pretty to me." He walked over to her and offered his arm. Together they walked out of the doctor's office with Abigail behind them and walked to the café.

When Jack opened the door to the café and stepped inside with Elizabeth, everyone inside started applauding. Elizabeth let out a little yelp when she saw the town's people telling her how happy they were that she was ok. Some thanked her for her bravery in protecting the girls. Opal and Emily ran up to her and gave her big hugs. "We are so glad you are ok, Miss Thatcher!"

Elizabeth, overcome by emotions, started crying. "Thank you so much for the warm greetings. I was so sure you would be mad at me because of what happened. If I had just gone with him and gotten him out of there, the girls wouldn't have been frightened."

Cat stepped forward. "Why would we be mad? You couldn't control what that man was going to do. Bill told us he had a mental problem, that in his mind he believed you were his. What happened in the school house was all on him. We are all so thankful that you protected the girls and that you are ok. That's all that matters." Around the room numerous "here, here's" and "I agrees" were heard.

Elizabeth put her hand to her heart. "Thank you so much for believing in me and understanding the situation."

Jack, who had been standing right behind her, whispered in her ear "See? I knew the town's people would not blame you. They are almost as happy as I am that you were not seriously hurt." He took her hand and said. "How about some breakfast? The town planned this just for you."

"Thank you, I think I would like to sit down and have something to eat."

"Let me go get you a plate."

Later that morning, after having breakfast and chatting with the town's people, Elizabeth started to feel tired. She wanted to go home but felt it would be rude since her party was still going strong. She was so blessed knowing that everyone here supported her. She felt a yawn start and tried to hide it with her hand. Jack noticed. "You feel like going upstairs and getting some rest?" He asked. It had been decided while they were eating that Elizabeth would spend a few more days at the café so Abigail could look in on her.

She blushed. "I thought I did a better job covering the yawn. I hate to leave since everyone has been so kind to me, but I really feel I need a nap."

"No problem. Let me take care of it." Jack got up and told everyone she needed to get some rest. As they walked out, they all came by to once again tell Elizabeth how happy they were that she was ok. Jack helped Elizabeth up to her room, followed by Abigail who was going to help her change. Once Elizabeth was in bed, Abigail let Jack back in the room.

"Don't stay too long. She needs some rest." Abigail cautioned.

"I won't. I was planning on sitting with her until she falls asleep and then go to the jail to file my report about this." He didn't need to say anything further as to what "this" was.

Jack walked to her bed and sat down on it. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. Elizabeth gave him a tired smile. "Close your eyes, Sweetheart! You need to rest. I will stay with you until you fall asleep, then I am going to the jail to get some work done. I will come back later for dinner and maybe we can sit out on the swing and talk about our wedding. It's getting closer and closer." Excitement shown in his eyes.

"I would like that, Jack." She said, sleepily. "I can't wait for it to be June 18th. Maybe we could talk about where we would like to go on our honeymoon?" She knew it was just an innocent comment but she blushed none the same.

"That sounds like a great idea." He kept her hand in his and gently caressed it. Soon she was asleep. He quietly got up and walk out of her room.

A knock at her door woke Elizabeth. She glanced at her clock and noted it was 1:30. "Come in."

Abigail walked in to find Elizabeth attempting to sit up in bed. She moved quickly over to the bed to help her sit up. "I hope I didn't wake you. I thought I would check in to see if you needed anything. Are you hungry?"

"Surprisingly I am. I ate more than I usually do at breakfast this morning, I figured I wouldn't be hungry until dinner. I guess it's my body telling me I need more nourishment to help with the healing."

"You are so right, Elizabeth. I have beef stew and chicken and dumplings today."

"I will have chicken and dumplings." She saw Abigail move towards the door. "Abigail, I would like to come down to eat. Could you help me get dressed?"

"Of course".

A short time later, Elizabeth was sitting at the table in the kitchen with a plate of chicken and dumplings in front of her. As she ate, she began thinking about where she would like to go on their honeymoon. She decided Banff would be her first choice. She had heard wonderful things about the resort there. It was nestled in the mountains and had a hot spring. Also added Calgary and Edmonton to the list in her mind.

Abigail came back into the kitchen as Elizabeth was bringing her dishes to the sink. "You didn't have to do that. I would have cleared the table."

"It's no problem, Abigail". Elizabeth returned to the table. "Do you have some time to sit with me? I wanted to talk with you about something."

"Of course, Elizabeth. The last of lunch crowd just left. Would you like a cup of tea and some fresh baked cookies?"

"I would love some." Elizabeth waited until Abigail had served the tea, cookies and sat down at the table. She started to say something but couldn't find the right words for what she wanted to say.

Abigail noticed she was nervous about something. She took Elizabeth's hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's ok, Elizabeth. You can tell me anything."

"Abigail, I love Jack so much and I can't wait to be his wife but….." Her words trailed off.

"And you are nervous about the wedding night." Abigail finished for her.

Elizabeth looked at her in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I was a nervous bride-to-be once myself. And a nervous young bride. My mother had died before I got married and I was the only girl in the family. Noah's mother tried to give me some advice but it didn't help calm my nerves. Thankfully, Noah was understanding; he knew how nervous I was especially since I didn't have a mother to talk to. He didn't know his mother had tried to talk to me. He made sure we had a romantic night and that we took things slowly. He even said we didn't have to do anything that night; that we could just spend the night in each other's arms." The memory of it brought a tear to her eye. "Jack reminds me a lot of Noah. I know he will want to take things slowly with you."

Elizabeth thought over what Abigail had said. "You are right, Abigail. Jack will want to take things slowly. Thank you. I feel better about this now." She stood up from the table. "I am going to take a walk. I need to go out and get some air."

"That sounds like a good idea. I wish I could join you but I have to get started on dinner."

Elizabeth nodded then went out the back door. As she walked down the street towards the pond, she waived at everyone who called out to her. It was nice knowing she had the town behind her after the mess with Gregory. She loved Hope Valley. It was a wonderful town to call home.