AN: This story is set after the events of the Christmas Special (aka Season 2) and just after the new year in 1917. England has been holding fast in WWI, but it was a matter of time before the war was brought to the shores of England. The United States has yet to enter the war, but we know that they declared war in April of 1917, barely a month before Germany was bombing the London area.

I have added a new Mountie and some other characters. In the first chapter, child abuse is alluded to but will be expanded a bit in further chapters. I figured that since this could be a trigger for some people, I wanted to be sure to give warning.

As Gabriel and Constable Marcus Drake crossed the road towards the North West Mounted Police office in Brookfield after having breakfast in the Royal Brookfield Hotel, Gabriel heard the stagecoach from Clearwater approaching at a higher rate of speed than normal. Moments later, the stagecoach comes to a halt in front of the hotel and one of the men on top of the stage calls out to Gabriel, "Constable! We were attacked by three bandits on horseback! They were either wounded or killed because they stopped chasing us, but we think the young lady who is our only passenger was injured!"

A moment later, the stage door opens and a petite redhead with what appears to be a gunshot wound in her right shoulder tries to disembark from the conveyance. Unfortunately, she tries to stabilize herself using her right hand, but it won't bear her weight due to the injury and she plummets towards the ground. Constable Drake acts quickly and catches her before she hits. As he sets her back on her feet, he notices her wound and exclaims, "You've been shot!"

The young woman sarcastically comments, "Thank you, Constable Obvious! I had no idea."

Gabriel chuckles as he approaches the pair. "Hello, I'm Constable Gabriel Kinslow, and the young man who caught you is Constable Marcus Drake. However, I do like the new nickname you gave him. I am going to enjoy sharing it with my fellow Mounties. It looks like you have already started first aid on your wound, but how about we get you to our nurse because I know it is not easy treating a gunshot wound in your own shoulder?"

"That sounds great, but Simon needs to go as well. He may have injured himself traveling in the bench seat. I discovered him just before the bandits started shooting." the young woman answered as she waved a boy of about three out of the stage. Then she looks up at the men on the stage and asks, "Did either of you or the horses get hit?"

"No ma'am, we are all fine, thanks to your excellent shooting! I think you might be a better shot than Bob here!" the driver answers as he points to his partner on the stage.

Gabriel escorts the young woman and the small boy into the Infirmary. As the small group enters the Infirmary, Gabriel announces to Maggie Parsons that he has brought her some new patients. Nurse Maggie introduces herself, and the young woman answers that her name is Alexandria Ramsey, but she prefers Lexi. Lexi puts her hand on the boy's shoulder and tells Maggie that his name is Simon.

With Lexi and young Simon getting medical care, Gabriel felt that was a good time for he and Constable Drake to investigate the bandits that attacked the stage. Gabriel tells the ladies that he will check back in a little bit with them. As the two Mounties leave the Infirmary, Lexi calls out, "Constable, if you are going to investigate the bandits, I would estimate that at a gallop you could reach them in about ten minutes."

Gabriel responds, "Thank you. That helps just in case I need to track them. Since they may be wounded, they may ride slower."

"You will not need to track them. Dead men do not ride. There should be two down on the right side of the road as you are riding from Brookfield, and the other on the left." Lexi rejoinders.

Constable Drake queries, "How can you be sure they are dead? You were in a moving conveyance, and…."

"And what, Constable Obvious, I'm a woman?" Lexi angrily declares. "I am a woman that can hit what she shoots at so far, every time! The first two I hit between the eyes, and the one that shot me I shot in the temple. I just hope the horses were not hurt when the bandits fell off them."

Gabriel states, "I notice that you seem to care about the well-being of the animals. Constable Drake and I will make sure that the horses are just fine."

As the two Mounties head towards their horses tethered outside the Northwest Mounted Police office, Gabriel laughingly tells Marcus, "I thought it was bad when I told Lillian that she needed help carrying a sack of feed. Not sure how you could get back into Miss Lexi's good graces after practically telling her that she couldn't possibly kill the bandits because she is a woman. I am going to enjoy seeing you trying to court her."

As the men ride towards where Lexi said they would find the bandits, Marcus confides to Gabriel, "When she appeared in the door of the stagecoach, I felt like I had been hit by a bolt of lightning. Then when she fell, I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep her head from hitting the ground and she would be killed. I was not going to say that she couldn't shoot, but even a Mountie would have a difficult time in the back of a bouncing carriage, especially injured in their shooting arm. How did you get on Miss Walsh's good side? Since you are courting, I am assuming you did."

Gabriel chuckles and responds, "Yes, I am back in her good graces, but I made several missteps along the way. For one, I believe that a woman who can handle being with a Mountie is a woman that wants to walk next to her partner not be protected and left in the dark about possible dangers. I get the feeling that Miss Lexi is not a damsel in distress, more a damsel that wears a dress. With her quick wit, she is going to keep you on your toes. As for getting back into her good graces, a phrase that Lillian often uses really does apply here 'Actions speak louder than words.'" As they came upon the scene where the bandits lay on either side of the road, Gabriel says, "Well, it looks like she was right in saying that she killed them, and she will be happy to hear that the horses are alright."

Gabriel and Marcus dismount to inspect the three bandits, and they find that in fact two of them had been shot right between the eyes and the third in the temple just as Lexi said. The bandits' three horses are munching grass nearby, and Marcus rounds them up so they can be used to transport the bodies to Brookfield. After loading the bodies on the back of the horses, Gabriel and Marcus head back towards Brookfield leading the deceased bandits' horses.

Back in the Infirmary, Maggie is attending to Lexi's wound in her right shoulder. As she removes the bullet and cleans and dresses the wound, she asks Lexi what brought her to Brookfield.

Lexi starts her story, "Well, I have been living in England with my grandfather for the past seven years, but he died last year and my creepy second cousin inherited his title. He has been trying to force me to marry him so he could get the money my grandfather left me. I was in the process of locating a ship to get me out of England when I met a young couple running an orphanage in London that had two children with family they had located in Canada. They asked me to escort the children to their families, and since one of the children was coming to Clearwater Mrs. Stewart asked me to bring two trunks to her sister in Brookfield. Oh, my goodness, I forgot about my trunks on the stage!"

Just then, one of the two men from the stage pokes his head inside the Infirmary and says, "Ma'am, we put your trunks and bag outside the Mountie office. Joel says that anytime you need a ride anywhere, it's on the house, or rather the stage. Your expert shooting really saved our bacon since we were carrying two payrolls!"

"Thank you, sir. I imagine I will be in Brookfield for a couple of days to deliver the trunks to their destination, find out where Simon here needs to go, and be on hand if the constables have any questions in regards to me killing the bandits." Lexi responds.

As Bob leaves the Infirmary, Maggie tells Lexi, "Please stay in Brookfield for a few weeks at least. I want to be sure that shoulder heals and that will take a few weeks. While the gunshot wound will heal in a couple of weeks, the damage to the muscles in the shoulder will take longer. Please no shooting anything or anyone for at least six to eight weeks."

"Well, today was the first time I shot anything other than a target. It's not something I enjoyed doing, but I would rather the bandits died than any of us on the stagecoach. I guess I will need to teach myself to shoot with my left while my right heals." Lexi clarifies.

"Please wait at least a week before you even try shooting with your left." Maggie asks, "If the last child you were escorting was going to Clearwater, where is young Simon headed?"

Lexi confesses that she found Simon under the bench of the stagecoach. Lexi tells Maggie, "We hit a particularly rough bump and I heard the bench say 'Oof'. When I lifted the bench seat, I discovered Simon curled up underneath it. I had just gotten him out when the bandits started shooting."

"Now that we have Miss Lexi fixed up, let's check you out young man." Maggie says to Simon. As she looks him over, she notices that he did not get any injuries from riding under the stagecoach bench, but he does have some older injuries. Trying to find out little Simon's story, Maggie asked him if he enjoyed his adventure in the stagecoach and asks if he had been on other adventures.

Simon says in small voice, "My dad died before I was born, and shortly after I was born my mom took us to live with her brother and his wife outside Clearwater. My mom got sick and died last year. My uncle told me I was lucky they were willing to keep me because orphans get mistreated especially bad little boys like me. So, when they were shopping in a store across from where the stage was, I hid under the bench while the men loaded Miss Lexi's trunks. Miss Lexi, can I please stay with you? I will be a good boy, but please don't send me back to my uncle!"

Lexi silently coaxes Simon to snuggle into her left side. From the fire Maggie can see in her eyes, Simon's aunt and uncle better hope that Lexi's aim with her left hand is not accurate. She spies the constables returning with three extra horses, and thinks it might be best if she lets Gabriel know what she has found out about the two new residents of Brookfield. She tells Lexi that she is going to step out for a minute, and she heads straight for the two Mounties.