Rosemary Levoux was blase as she and Lucas Bouchard drove up to the newly aquired establishment. She was so bored with constantly moving around, she was determined to not let herself get accustomed to this new place, charming as it may look. Lucas looked to her and, seeing the worry beneath the bored expression,

took her hand in his.

"It's okay Rosie, they won't find us here".

"You", she said emphatically, climbing down, "you say that everyehere we go, and they always find us. Forgive me if I have stopped putting any stock into your word".

Lucas rolled his eyes and followed the actress to the double doors of the saloon. He pulled out the key and opened the door, dust flying up and swirling in the air.

"Well", he said, waving his hand in front of him, "it's.. quaint".

"It's a health hazard", Rosemary countered as she stomped away, coughing dramatically.

"Rosie, where sre you going"?

"I'm going to see when the next stage arrives".

Lucas exhaled and followed after her. No sooner had she crossed the street then she stopped in her tracks. Lucas saw what it was that had stopped her. It was a Mountie in red surge, riding through the town. Immediately Rosemary turned and ran for the saloon, not stopping until she had slammed the doors shut. Lucas stood in shock as his brain tried to process what on earth could make Rosemary Levoux afraid of human interaction. Normally she was the outgoing, overtly extroverted type of person that just couldn't help but talk to people.

"Excuse me sir"!?

Lucas looked up to see the Mountie saunter his horse over to him.

"Good day officer".

"Is everything alright with your lady"?

"Yes.. actually I don't know, normally she's not this skittish around people".

"Alright, take care Mr.."

"Bouchard, Lucas Bouchard, and my beautiful companion is Ms. Levoux".

Levoux? It suddenly dawned on the Mountie as to why the lady had been so skittish.

Smiling as authentically as he could, the Mountie bid farewell and cantered his horse over to the constabulary, trying not to think about his ex-fiancee.

Elizabeth Grant was truly shaking as she knocked on the door of her husband's old office. It was so strange to see a new horse standing where Newton once stood. Bolstering her courage, she forced her hand to knock on the door. A voice from the inside told her to come in and she braced herself as she pushed the door open. She couldn't help but stare at the floor as she walked in. Looking a bit higher she could already see that the new Constable had already made the office his own. Finally, she made herself look at the man, his broad shoulders and square jaw gave the impression of a hero of old. Having made it this far she introduced herself.

"Hello.. I'm Elizabeth Grant".

The man smiled knowingly and offered his hand.

"Good day Mrs. Grant, I'm Sargent Jarrick Thornton. I'm..", Sargent Thornton paused as he quickly assessed the widow's face.. she had heard "I'm sorry for your loss" one time to many, "I'm sorry to say that I never knew your husband, aside from his reputation. He was an excellent Mountie". his shoulders relaxed as hers did, his in relief of her acceptance of the compliment, and hers in gratefulness of not having a repeat of that all too well known phrase.

"Nathan was an excellent man", was all she could muster. After her lengthy talk with Abigail and the other widows of Hope Valley she had come to terms with Nathan's death and, it seemed to be, that she was now vocalizing it by employing the past tense. Nathan was.

"Oh, I have something for you", Sargent Thornton said, reaching down to pick up something from his desk, "Nathan's pension".

Elizabeth looked as if a miracle had been performed right before her eyes.

"I put in for this months ago"..

"Well, that's beuracracy for you".

Elizabeth smiled and held the thick envelope close to her chest.

"Thank you, Sargent Thornton".

"Please, if we're going to be friends, I would much prefer it if you called me Jack".

Elizabeth, feeling a new sense of fervor and joy, found herself in a very teasing kind of mood. She looked as if you ponder his statement and shook her head.

"No, I think I prefer Jarrick".

Jack's frown was not at all in a light spirit, but Elizabeth didn't care.

"Not funny, Mrs. Grant".

Abigail Stanton stood with young Michael Grant as they watched Elizabeth and the new Constable exit the Constabulary. Abigail felt tears well behind her eyes. She knew how hard it was to feel any semblance of emotion after the death of someone you had chosen to spend your whole life with, but she was afraid that Elizabeth would never smile again.

"Auntie Abigail, mommy's laughing", the four year old boy said. As Elizabeth waved at t her son Michael took off towards her.. and straight into the constable's leg, which he hugged like a bear.

"Thank you for making mama happy Mister Mountie".

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to tear up. She had just begun to realize how much her grieving had affected her family. Her son was incredibly strong. She had no idea how he dealt with it like he did.

"Alright Michael, we need to let Constable Thornton go about his duties, say goodbye".

As the boy waved goodbye, and as Mrs. Grant walked away, Jack Thornton smiled and looked around the quaint little town. This was only the second time he had taken up someone else's post, and it was never easy. After years of chasing pirates and whiskey runners he was glad to be able to settle down. Except for one complication. One blonde headed, exuberant, red wearing complication.

Hey everyone. I know I've been erratic with my stories lately, I'm sorry about that, but life happened.
I know I already have another What If type story going on. I decided that I really want to write a Jack and Elizabeth story, so this story picks up around Season 5, much like when Nathan came on board. Since Jack wasn't in Coal Valley in season 1, this means that a lot has changed. There is no Lee and Rosemary (at least not yet), and Allie has yet to make an appearance (don't worry she will). I hope y'all enjoy.