Oh darling, I love you so
If you'd ask me for my heart, there's no way that I'll say no
Oh darling, just take a chance please
So we can stay together till hell starts to freeze
-Plug In Stereo ft Cady Groves "Oh, Darling"
Standing with the other townsfolk, she watched the smoke come out of the windows. All they could see was smoke, but where there was smoke there was fire and two men were still inside dealing with that fire. Everyone else had vacated the saloon.
As she watched the smoke come billowing out of the windows, she had to keep reminding herself to breath. She hadn't felt this scared since she had watch Jack ride away to war. Jack had come back that time.
Just like she was soon going to see him come out of the saloon soon.
He had to come out. He had to because she knew how she felt about him but she had never put it into words. She had been afraid to. Now she realized that what scared her more was something happening to him and he didn't know how she felt.
She planned on changing that - as soon as he walked out of the saloon.
She felt Rosemary's arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her. It didn't bring much comfort. Her heart still pounded against her chest as the minutes seemed to crawl by.
A cheer went up from the crowd as first Lucas and then Nathan walked out of the saloon. Both men were covered with soot and coughing but seemed otherwise unharmed.
With a little cry of relief, Elizabeth rushed forward. She rushed past Lucas, missing his look of surprise as she went by just as Dr. Shepherd reached the saloon owner. Reaching Nathan, she threw her arms around him, not caring how it looked to their audience.
"I'm glad you're okay," she said, in a shaky voice, the words muffled in his red jacket.
Getting over his surprise, Nathan put his arms around the woman clinging to him. "I'm fine, Elizabeth," he managed to get out between coughing fits.
"I'd prefer if you let me be the judge of that," Dr. Shepherd said as he approached the two.
Not really wanting to, but knowing it wasn't proper to keep clinging to him, Elizabeth loosened her grip on Nathan, who did likewise. She took a step back but didn't go further. She wished she could just blurt out her feelings. She wished it was proper for the woman to ask the question.
But it wasn't. As she looked up at Nathan, she caught his gaze. She hoped that he could read her desires in her eyes. She hoped that he would find the courage to say the words that she wanted to hear.
She knew it was a risk giving her heart to another Mountie, but like with Jack, she found that she didn't have a choice. She had fallen in love and any risk was wroth pursuing that feeling.