December 1914

Abigail's Christmas Spirit had begun to dwindle after she said those hurtful words to Henry but it only completely vanished the moment she heard word that Becky was not going to make it to Hope Valley on time for Christmas Day.

Henry had been present when she was given the telegram that stated so and he immediately began to think of some way that he could go get Becky and bring her back himself. He knew a shortcut through the woods to Nelsan Ridge, shown to him by Ray Wyatt when they were working together, and he knew he could have her home in less than a day. If only he could find some way to get to the stables for a horse without being noticed.

He found one quick opportunity in the stables whilst helping the children paint the Christmas parade floats and snuck off to fetch a horse once no one was looking. It wasn't long before Jack Thornton and Lee Coulter noticed his absence and went to tell Bill.

Abigail then began to feel like a Scrooge following that news, knowing that this would be one of the most rotten Christmases she'd ever had following her first Christmas without Noah and Peter. She spent the rest of the morning, afternoon, and evening blaming herself for all of this. If only she hadn't allowed Becky to return to school before Christmas break when Cody was sick. If only she hadn't suggested to Bill that Henry stay in the Hope Valley jail for Christmas. None of these negative things would be happening so close to the jolly holiday. If only.

If only it weren't for Cody, she most certainly would not have had anything to smile about at all. But he was smiling enough for the both of them and being more optimistic than she'd ever seen him before. Perhaps adopting him and his sister truly was the best thing that she could have done.

"Could we have pumpkin pie?" Cody asked Abigail about their Christmas Day dessert two days before the holiday.

"Becky's favorite." Abigail stated as they cleaned up the last of the dishes from their last few customers at the cafe that evening.

"It would kind of feel like she is there with us." He suggested, setting the dishes he had down in the kitchen sink.

"Pumpkin pie, it is." His mother said in an upbeat tone though all she could think about was how far Henry had gotten away considering Bill and Jack had to turn back before being able to catch Gowen.

Before Abigail had time to set the dishes she had in her hands down in the sink, they heard Florence Blakely rush into the cafe door, out of breath as the cold air lingered on her blushing cheeks. "Oh, you've got to come and see this!" She told them eagerly with a hand over her belly in an attempt to catch her breath. Abigail and Cody both immediately set whatever they had in their hands down and followed the excited woman out onto the cafe's front porch. "He came back!" Florence said with a hint of both awe and confusion in her tone at once.

Abigail was about to ask 'who' when she followed Florence's gaze to see Henry Gowen atop a horse, riding back toward the center of town, slowly passing the cafe just in time for Cody and Abigail to see that he was not on the horse alone.

Henry stopped the horse as Cody rushed to them calling his sister's name in excitement. Becky dismounted the horse on her own as Henry handed her the bag of clothes she had brought with. Cody hugged his sister instantly before she went to hug Abigail. "Mr. Gowen came to get me." She said with a joyful grin before moving to stand behind her brother and facing Henry once he was off the horse himself.

"I heard she had been stuck up by Nelsan Ridge Depot. Knew a shortcut Ray Wyatt showed me."

And just like that, all of Abigail's pessimistic feelings from the passed nine hours or so were gone and she smiled from ear to ear at the convict. "Thank you, Henry." She instantly hugged him without even a thought.

"No need to make a big deal out of it." Henry told her, not exactly hugging her back as he noticed Bill and Jack were walking over to them.

"Oh, it's a big deal, Henry. It's a very big deal!" Abigail assured him, tears of joy beginning to fill her eyes.

"I'll go put a pot of coffee on." Bill said, feeling a bit bad that he actually thought Henry had run away though a bit confused as to why he didn't with such an opportunity like he had.

"Thank you for bringing Becky back to us." Cody said with a wide smile, almost forgetting that Mr. Gowen was the big, bad man that everyone in town was so afraid of once upon a time.

"Merry Christmas, Henry." Abigail said to him with a grin, her eyes almost sparkling as she looked at him and Henry froze for a moment, never having seen her look at him in such a way before.

A strange feeling took over him and he ignored it, heading toward the stables with Jack and the horse as Bill went to the Mountie's office to start the coffee as he said he would.

Abigail wanted nothing more than to follow him and ask him why he did it, but she caught Rebecca's eye and smiled again. "Come on, sweetheart. I will make you something warm to eat. And maybe a hot chocolate?"

"Oh, I would love that." Becky grinned and they all headed back inside the cafe whilst Abigail thanked Florence for coming to get them.

Her thoughts of hating this Christmas had seemed to disappear as she spent the rest of the night with her children, smiling and swapping stories with Becky about shenanigans in town while she'd been gone and Becky told them stories about her classmates and her favorite teachers. They stayed up as long as their eyes would allow and once both kids were asleep, Abigail pulled their blankets up higher and tucked them in before she headed back down into the kitchen to make sure she had put everything away properly. Once she was sure everything was in its place, she put her warm coat on and headed over to the Mountie's office.

She stepped inside quietly, just in case Bill had gone to sleep already, and much to her surprise, when she entered, she saw that Henry had fallen asleep as well. She walked a bit closer to the jail cell, watching the former mayor slowly breathe in and out on the uncomfortable cot inside. She gently smiled to herself, knowing that he earned his sleep after today and she would come back tomorrow night instead, quietly leaving without waking him.

After having fed Becky and Cody their Christmas Eve dinners the next night and gushing about what a success that afternoon's Christmas Parade was, Abigail made up a plate of leftovers to bring over to the jail.

"Christmas Eve dinner." She said once she saw him.

"Smells delicious." Henry told her, standing and going over to the cell bars.

"Well, you've been working hard on your community service." She told him, justifying why she brought it to him, though she knew the real reason she was bringing it to him.

"Except that I left town." Henry reminded her as she gently handed him the tray of food through the meal slot in the bars.

"And for that, I will always be grateful." She told him. "I spoke to Bill. The prison will never find out about your little field trip."

"Oh, be our little secret, will it?" He half-chuckled.

"Hope Valley's little secret." She told him, remembering that Florence had already told more than half the town about what Henry had done.

"We'll see how long that lasts." Henry said, knowing that those who wish ill of him would probably let it slip to the people who matter outside of town.

"What you did…you can fool yourself if you want, Henry, but you can't fool me." Abigail began to tell him.

"I wouldn't read too much into it, Abigail." Henry told her, already knowing exactly what she was going to suggest about him and what's in his heart. But the truth was….he didn't want to admit to himself that he had any good in him. Not after the things he'd done in the past. Not after knowing he would most likely be heading off to prison for the rest of his life. Abigail believing he was good was the LAST thing he wanted right now, because his guilty verdict would only let her down once again. HE would let her down once again. And after the way she looked at him the other night after bringing Becky home was the last look he ever wanted to see in her eyes. Not disappointment…but pride and friendship and dare he even say it….Love.

"Well….Merry Christmas, Henry." She smiled at him one last time before turning to leave.

"Merry Christmas, Abigail." He said quickly before she could go and she turned to face him again.

"It is, Henry. Thanks to you."

Just before she could step out the door, he spoke again. "You deserve to be happy." He told her before sitting in the chair in his cell to begin eating.

Abigail looked at him briefly before closing the office door and walking back over to the jail cell. She looked at him for a bit before sitting down in the chair opposite him through the bars. "You deserve some company." She told him.

"Oh, I'm sure Bill will be around soon enough." He told her.

"No. He is having Christmas Eve dinner with the Blakelys and Sullivans tonight. Knowing how much Molly and Florence can talk one's ear off, I reckon he won't be around for some time."

Henry nodded slightly as he took a small bite of his muffin.

Abigail watched and let out a soft chuckle.

"What?"

"You never cease to go for the sweets first, huh?"

"My eating habits always catch your eye." He told her.

"Well, it is sort of my job as the cafe owner to take note of what my customers like." She said as she undid a few buttons on her baby blue winter coat. "Bill has it quite toasty in here tonight, doesn't he?"

"Think he threw a few extra logs on the fire for me before he left."

"Well, that was nice of him. Considering most other times I've been in here, it's colder than my refrigerator." The new mayor chuckled.

"Becky happy to be home?" He asked her.

"Oh, I think she's VERY happy." She answered, removing her coat completely. "She and Cody have been all smiles since she arrived."

Henry nodded before taking another bite of his muffin and setting it down to lift his spoon and have a bite of his squash. "You cut your hair." He said to her once he properly swallowed his food.

"Ah…Yes. I did." She told him, reaching up to touch the ends of her golden curls that bounced just above her shoulders now.

"It is quite…lovely." He told her, his cheeks burning with slight embarrassment as he told her that. "I haven't seen it this short before."

"Oh…Yes. No, I have never been brave enough to cut it quite so short. Is it too different?" She wondered, still playing with a few of her curls as they spoke about it.

"No. It is wonderful. It suits you. Makes you look younger."

"Does it really?" She asked him with another wide smile. "I hadn't noticed."

"It does. I really admire it." He admitted, immediately feeling silly again as he told her that.

"Thank you, Henry." She finally brought her hand back down into her lap, playing with her other hand and fiddling with her own fingernails as she wished she could reach a hand over to gently touch his shoulder, but the bars reminded her of why she couldn't. "I hope you received my letters." She finally said after a moment of silence.

"Your letters?" He looked at her. "You wrote to me?"

"Well….yes. I sent you maybe two or three once you were taken away. Perhaps you did not receive them because of the camps. But once you are brought to the prison I am sure they will give them to you." She said with hope in her tone.

"Why read your words in a letter when you can say them to me now?" He asked her, taking a bite of his diced potatoes.

"Why hear them when you can read them?" She countered.

"Abigail." He said, almost feeling like a teen boy whenever he spoke to her recently. "What could you possibly have to write to me about?"

"Hope." She answered him.

"Hope?"

"Yes. I wrote to you to have hope. In the end, you did the right thing. You turned yourself in and agreed to testify against Wyatt. The judge has to account that for something."

"Sometimes I believe that you have TOO MUCH much hope, Abigail." He said to her as he continued to eat.

"That is not true. Yesterday, I had none. When I heard about Becky. When I thought you had run away. I had no hope at all actually."

"Really? You?"

"Yes. Me." She admitted. "I couldn't even be as excited for Christmas as Cody was. But you did the unexpected and came back. And you brought my daughter to me. All I am saying is that sometimes…the unexpected can happen and can change your outlook on everything. Perhaps the judge will do something unexpected." She tried to encourage him.

"I'm not counting on it." He told her.

She watched him eat for a while longer before standing up and going over to the Mountie desk, opening a few of the drawers before she finally found the ring of keys in one of them. She walked over to Henry's cell and began to try a few of the keys in the key hole.

"What are you doing?" Henry asked her, his tray of food mostly gone now.

"The unexpected." Abigail told him. "Aha!" She exclaimed once she finally found the key that fit into the lock. She turned it, opening his cell door and she stepped inside before closing the door behind her.

"What makes you think I won't try to escape?" Henry asked her, curiously.

"Rip!" Abigail called to Jack's dog who was sleeping on his doggy bed by the furnace. "Come here, boy!" She called to him again.

At first, Rip did not want to move from his spot, but he lazily stood and went toward the mayor's voice. His sad eyes looked up at her in the jail cell with Henry and he groaned at the man. He looked back at Abigail as if to ask her what she interrupted his sleep for.

"Here you go, bud." She leaned down to hand the ring of keys to the dog, allowing him to take it into his mouth. "Go lay down." She told him and he obeyed, taking the keys with him before Abigail shut the jail cell door, locking herself in there with Henry.

Rip groaned once again as he laid back down in his doggy bed with the keys still in his mouth and he rested his chin on his paws.

"What'd you do that for?" Henry asked her.

"There. Now I know you won't escape." Abigail walked over to the cot in the cell and sat down on it. "And now I can see what it's like to be in jail." She looked around. "Sort of."

"How are you going to get out of here?" Henry asked her, taking the last few bites of his dinner before placing the empty tray on the floor.

"I am going to call for Rip once I am ready to go." She simply told him.

"What if he doesn't come this time?" He asked as he stood up from the chair.

"Then I will have to stay in here 'til Bill returns, won't I?" Abigail replied with a hint of a laugh in her tone.

"What if one of us has to use the bathroom?" Henry asked her, moving to the wall of the jail cell and leaning his back against it. He folded his arms across his chest, looking at the mayor with amusement.

"I…hadn't thought about that." She admitted.

"Genius plan, Madame Mayor." He told her with half a smirk as he held back a chuckle.

"Oh, we'll be alright." She told him. "Besides, it's not like either of us has to use the bathroom right now."

"What was it you were just trying to tell me? Expect the unexpected?" His smirk grew. "One of us may 'unexpectedly' have to use the bathroom."

"The more you talk about the bathroom, the more likely you are to make one of us have to use it." She tried to tell him, her own amused smile starting to grow now. "My, sitting on this cot is no different than sitting on the floor." She said before standing up. "No wonder you don't get much sleep in here."

"I manage." He told her.

"Yes, well…last night you were out like a light." She told him.

"Last night?"

"Yes…I came by to visit after getting the kids into bed. To thank you again for getting Becky. But you had already fallen asleep. That was the deepest sleep I think I had ever seen you in. Almost looked like you were dreaming."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I didn't want to be rude. And you earned it after the day you had. That long journey on a horse in such a hurry must have been exhausting, I'm sure."

Henry nodded a bit as his eyes slowly moved from her eyes to her nose and lips and down passed her jawline and chest to remind him of the bright white blouse she had on, almost see through, had they been in better lighting, and down to the dark Navy blue skirt she had on. His heart skipped a beat before his eyes slowly looked back up her body and landed on her eyes again.

"What?" Abigail asked him as she noticed he had been staring.

"Nothing. I am trying to memorize you." He told her.

"Memorize me?" She asked, quite confused and almost chuckling at his words.

"In case I never see you again." He said to her, his dreading thoughts of the prison returning to his mind again.

Her smile faded at his reply and she felt her heart fall in her chest. "Don't talk like that." She told him. "I am sure you will."

"But what if I don't?"

"Have hope, Henry." She took a step closer to him.

"How can I? Knowing all the terrible things I've done?"

"Look at all of the good you've done." She tried to encourage him again. "The rowhouses. Investing in my cafe. Saving Bill from Ray Wyatt's gun. Bringing back Becky."

"Those are all things I did for YOU, Abigail. Not things that I did because they were good. But because they benefited you."

"How was saving Bill for me?"

"He is your friend."

"Why would you care about doing those things for me?" She wondered out loud.

"I-" He hesitated. "I don't." He lied. "No good deed goes unpunished, right?" He changed his answer. "I did it all for me. To LOOK good. Not to BE good." He lied.

"Henry." She stepped closer to him again but he walked passed her, away from one wall and toward the other wall across from him. "I refuse to believe that."

"Well, believe it." He turned to face her again. "I am not this good, wonderful man that you think I am. And I deserve what I am about to get. I DESERVE to never see you again."

"I refuse to believe that too." She told him.

"You are so stubborn." Henry stated.

"And you are so pig-headed!" Abigail almost raised her voice at him, but held back.

They just stared at each other for a second before Henry broke the silence. "You looked so happy and beautiful on the Christmas float. That smile…the light in your eyes….That's the way that I want to memorize you."

The cafe owner let out a breath as he said that and went to him, kissing him passionately as her hands slid up his broad shoulders to remove his suspenders from them. She untucked his white button down shirt from his trousers as they intensified the kiss. Her nimble fingers found their way under the fabric of his shirt, feeling the tone in his abs and the warmth of his skin.

Henry kissed her back immediately, allowing his hands to gently cup her face as he let her do what she wanted with him. He felt the urge to undress her but knew that he shouldn't…that he couldn't. She would not allow him to.

The mayor began to undo Henry's belt as they started to walk toward the cot, but before they could go any further, the office door opened and they heard a familiar voice.

"Look, Rip. I brought you a….oh, dear."

Henry and Abigail tore themselves away from each other just in time to see Rosemary Coulter standing there with a plate of leftovers for the dog. Her eyes were fixated upon Abigail at first, her curls a bit messy now and her lips a bit sloppy, wondering how she had ended up inside a jail cell to begin with before her eyes moved to Henry, his belt undone, his suspenders fallen to his sides, and his shirt untucked and wrinkled.

"Abigail? What are you doing in-" She looked between the two once again. "Well, I am sure I know. But why are you locked in there with him?" She went over to Rip, setting his plate down before taking the ring of keys from him. "Don't tell me this poor dog arrested you."

"No, Rosemary." Abigail said, her face bright red as she let out an embarrassed chuckle. "I just wanted to keep Mr. Gowen company. It is Christmas Eve after all."

"That, it is." Rosemary agreed, stepping over to the jail cell with the ring of keys. "Shall I leave you two to it? Or…."

"No, um…I should probably head home." Abigail said, changing her mind on a whim.

"Are you sure? I have no problem standing outside and guarding the door in case Jack or Bill drops by."

"That is sweet, Rosemary, but no thank you. Could you unlock the door for me, please?" Abigail asked her, her face only getting more and more red as she avoided looking at Henry at all.

"Yes, ma'am." Rosemary obeyed and once Abigail told her the correct key to unlock the cell, she did and Abigail left without another word to Henry.

"Abigail?" Henry tried to call out to her, but she did not stop. He sighed as Rosemary locked him up again.

"I would allow you to go after her, but-" She started to say.

"Yeah, I get it." Henry sulked and sat back down on the cot with a huff.

Rosemary watched his reaction and furrowed her brows in confusion before suddenly realizing that she could tell something was going on between them. Something more than just sex. And it was something neither of them had realized yet though SHE now did. And this was a secret that she knew would be the hardest one to keep yet.