Making his way from the Queen of Hearts to the infirmary, Gabriel tried to stifle his yawn. He had left Brookfield soon after hearing from Bill about Nathan being shot. Surprisingly, when he had went to tell Faith he was leaving town and why, his fiancé had insisted on coming with him. They had managed to arrive in Hope Valley before day break. Stopping by the infirmary, they had gotten an update from Dr. Simmons. As Nathan had only briefly opened his eyes a few times, Bill, who had been sitting at Nathan's bedside, and Gabriel had left Faith with their friend. Bill had shown Gabriel the note that had been found on Nathan's desk and then took him to the Queen of Hearts which was closed pending the conclusion of the investigation.

Right now, what physical evidence there was implicated Lucas in the shooting. The saloon owner was still maintaining his innocence and was refusing to say anything else until a lawyer from Union City arrived. As Gabriel intended on letting further questioning of their suspect be conducted by Super Intendant O'Reilly when he arrived, this was not a problem. Being so close to Nathan, Gabriel did not trust himself to not say something unprofessional to Lucas during questioning.

Now, Gabriel was hoping to get good news on his friend's condition.

Stepping into the infirmary, Gabriel noted that Dr. Simmons was with another patient. A curtain had been drawn around the bed Nathan had been in. With a nod of acknowledgment to the doctor, Gabriel slipped through the curtain. Faith was sitting in a chair next to the bedside, while Ally was perched on the side of the bed holding one of Nathan's hands. Though his eyes were closed, Gabriel noted that some color was returning to Nathan's face.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Gabriel asked his god daughter, the question just slipping out.

Ally looked up at him. Though her eyes glistened with unshed tears there was a small smile on her face as she said, "that is what Dad told me too."

Gabriel let his gaze go from Ally to Faith. "Then Nathan has been awake?"

Faith nodded, her own smile in place. "He was awake twice, briefly. He was aware of who we were and where he was, though events from yesterday afternoon were hard to recall for him," she informed her fiancé quietly.

"Which is perfectly normal in these circumstances," Dr. Simmons added having stepped into the curtained off area behind Gabriel.

Gabriel turned to face the doctor. "Do you think it is permanent? Right now we have evidence that says one thing and a suspect swearing that he was at home the whole afternoon. Whether Nathan can remember anything from the incident might be a deciding factor."

"We will just have to wait and see," Dr. Simmons said. "I know that is not the answer you want as a law officer but it the only answer I can give you. Constable Grant lost a lot of blood. He should make a full recovery, if the wound doesn't get infected, but even then, his memory of those events may remain vague or they could all come back."

Gabriel nodded, remembering his own experience of being a shot. The pain was the main thing he had been aware of when waking up at the hospital. That and seeing Nathan's face, as his friend had come to be with him and his family. He had remembered that he had been shot but at first he couldn't remember how that had happened. Over the following days, as he was awake more and sleeping less, he had remembered being shot while chasing the Brookfield bank robber. Once those memories had started coming back, so had nagging questions about the case that he had been able to follow up on and find answers to when he had returned to Brookfield.

"Now, I have seen how stubborn Mounties can get when a fellow Mountie is hurt or there is a case to solve, but as this town's doctor, I must insist on you trying to get some sleep. Dr. Carter told me the two of you rode through the night and now you have been investigating all morning. Take a few hours to get a little sleep so I don't end up with another patient."

"Faith should get some sleep first," Gabriel said, his protective instincts going to his fiance's well being. He was touched that she had insisted on making the trip with him, and he knew he had to make sure her needs were met along with doing his job.

"She already did," Dr. Simmons replied as Faith stood up and walked over to Gabriel.

"I ended up sleeping for about three and a half hours. Apparently, I was more tired than I thought," Faith told him resting her hands on his shoulders as she stood close. "You look exhausted. Go lay down for a little while and I will make sure we come get you when Super Intendant O'Reilly finally gets here."

"You can use the bed up in the apartment above the infirmary. Like I told Dr. Carter when I shooed her upstairs, you will be close by if anything changes. All I have been using it for is storage as my family is happier in a row home," Dr. Simmons told him.

He was out numbered even before a third voice chimed in.

"I would feel better if I wasn't the only Mountie lying around, Kinslow," Nathan murmured.

Gabriel looked from Faith to the bed to find that Nathan had his eyes half open. He blindly took one of Faith's hands as he moved away from her and closer to the bed. He felt Faith squeeze his hand comfortingly as she stayed close to his side.

"At least you feel well enough to make jokes," Gabriel commented, reaching out with the hand not holding Faith's and resting it on Nathan's left shoulder.

"That and sleep are about all I feel up for," Nathan told him, his eyelids fluttering as he clearly fought to stay awake.

"Get the rest you need," Gabriel told him. "Bill has a suspect in jail and O'Reilly and I will do a thorough investigation."

"What suspect?" Nathan asked.

Gabriel looked toward Dr. Simmons, silently asking the doctor's permission about answering the question. The man nodded his consent.

"Bill arrested Lucas last night. We have evidence that points to him but he is denying being involved."

"Lucas?" Nathan murmured, clearing trying to focus on the events leading up to the shooting. "Everything seems fuzzy," he said with a small shake of his head.

"Don't force it, Nathan," Dr. Simmons told him. "If the memories are supposed to come back, they will. Just rest for now."

Nathan gave a brief nod before drifting off to sleep again.

Faith placed a kiss on Gabriel's cheek. "Now it is your turn to get some rest," she told him.

"I am sure Dr. Carter would be happy to tuck you in if you want, Mr. Gabe," Ally teased.

Gabriel and Faith both chuckled, Reaching out, Gabriel chucked his god daughter's chin. "Do not be so cheeky," he told her.

"What does that mean?" Ally asked.

"Look it up," Gabriel told her. "It can be today's vocabulary lesson seeing as you skipped school."

Ally put a small pout on her face at the comment but left it at that.

"You will come wake me when Super Intendant O'Reilly gets here?" Gabriel asked, looking at Faith.

"I will," Faith promised. "Go get some sleep," she insisted.

Gabriel gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. The action elicited an 'oooo' from Ally which both adults ignored. Gabriel then slipped from the curtained area and let Dr. Simmons show him upstairs to the waiting bed.

Super Intendant O'Reilly arrived in Hope Valley that afternoon. As Bill was the one to have contacted him about the situation, he checked in with the judge first for a longer explanation of the situation. The two men then stopped by the infirmary to check on Nathan's condition. They happened to walk in while Nathan was awake. Nathan still could not remember the events of the afternoon before. O'Reilly told him to focus on healing for now. The rest would be dealt with afterwards.

"Constable Kinslow, Judge Avery and I have the situation well in hand," O'Reilly informed him. "We'll get this matter settled with or without your testimony, you can be sure of that."

"Thank you, sir," Nathan murmured, already drifting back to sleep after a short time of being awake.

The three men had left the infirmary again, leaving Nathan with Ally and the doctor as Faith had once again gone upstairs for some sleep as she planned on keeping an eye on Nathan through the night so Dr. Simmons could go home to his family that night.

"Though Judge Avery has had a brief conversation with Lucas Bouchard, I have not officially questioned him regarding the matter yet," Gabriel told O'Reilly as he led his superior to the Queen of Hearts. The establishment was still closed due to the pending investigation. The few people who had been staying in rooms had been relocated to the Bed and Breakfast, which now stood next to the train station, the evening before. "Bouchard was waiting for his lawyer to come from Union City and given my close friendship with Constable Grant, I though it would be best if you conducted that questioning, sir."

"That does sound like the best course of action," O'Reilly replied. "I will have that conversation as soon as our suspect has his legal representative with him. In the meantime, tell me what we know about the incident."

Gabriel nodded as he used the key obtained from Gustav and unlocked the front door of the saloon. He held the door for, O'Reilly. Gabriel was already telling the Super Intendant about the note found on Nathan's desk as he followed him inside.

Elizabeth opened her eyes to find sun streaming through the west facing windows of her bedroom. She had gone upstairs to lie down shortly before noon, having not been able to sleep the night before. The lack of sleep had caused a headache to begin threatening. Rosemary, having stayed while Clara, Jesse and little Bethany had headed into town with Lee, had promised she would feed Jack lunch and keep an eye on the boy.

"Mama awake now?"

The question drew Elizabeth's attention to the bedroom door. Jack stood in the door frame looking at her expectantly. The little boy held something in his left hand, though Elizabeth wasn't sure what it was from this distance.

"Yes, Jack. Mama is awake now," Elizabeth said, putting her feet over the side of the bed as she sat up. "What do you have there?" she asked her son.

"Aunt Rosie helped me make cookies," Jack told her, walking over to his mother. "Bite?" he asked holding it up.

Elizabeth obliged her son, taking a bite of the cookie he held up to her. It was immediately clear that Jack had baked peanut butter cookies with Rosemary, which did not surprise her as her son loved peanut butter. Though the cookie tasted good, it also signaled to Elizabeth how hungry she was having eaten little at breakfast and nothing at lunch time. Her stomach growled even as she complimented Jack on his cookie.

Jack giggled at the sound of Elizabeth's stomach. "We made egg salad for lunch, Mama," he said, reaching for her hand. "Come. I make you a sandwich," he said, giving her a little tug.

Despite the fact that her feet were bare, Elizabeth followed her son as he finished the cookie he held. By the time they reached the stairs, Jack had finished the cookie.

"Can we take some cookies to, Nathan?" Jack asked as they started down the steps. "I want him to know I want him to get better soon. Aunt Rosie said I had to ask you."

Elizabeth felt tears well up in her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was because of the mention of Nathan or the fact that Jack wanted to do something nice for him despite Nathan being away for so long. It told her exactly how much Jack's limited interactions with Nathan had affected her son. Perhaps it was a little bit of both. As she wanted to check on Nathan herself, and this provided an innocent way to do just that, Elizabeth nodded as she answered her son.

"Yes, you can take some cookies to Nathan. You can wrap some up for him and we will walk into town after I eat lunch and get some shoes on," Elizabeth told him. "Depending on how Nathan is doing, you may not be able to see him though," she cautioned, wanting to prepare her son for that eventuality.

"At least he will know I care," Jack replied without missing a beat.

"Yes, he will," Elizabeth replied, blinking back more tears.

They found Rosemary in the kitchen. The woman was sitting at the small table feeding Aster, a small blanket draped over one shoulder providing the needed privacy.

"How are feeling, Elizabeth?" Rosemary asked.

"The headache is gone," Elizabeth replied, not wanting to comment on her confusing emotions.

Rosemary nodded, accepting the answer. Meanwhile, Jack had moved to the ice box and removed the covered bowl of egg salad. He carried the bowl to the counter and with Elizabeth's help, got it safely on the counter. He looked up at Elizabeth.

"You will need to cut bread, Mama," Jack said, apologetically. "I am not allowed to touch the knife."

Elizabeth smiled. "I will get you two slices of bread," she told him even as Jack climbed up on the chair that was still near the counter.

Elizabeth sliced some bread while Jack pulled the bowl closer to him and reached for a wooden spoon that had clearly been used for the egg salad earlier. "Can I have half a sandwich, please?" he asked looking over at Elizabeth. "Baking made me work up an ap'tite"

"Of course you can," Elizabeth said, slicing a third piece of bread. She passed two of the slices off to her son, who immediately began the process of putting egg salad on the bread. She then cut the third slice in half and moved that closer to Jack. As Jack often 'helped' her in the kitchen, the blobs of egg salad that ended up on the counter or floor, did not even bother her.

Jack finished his sandwiches and climbed down from the chair. Elizabeth covered the bowl and handed it to him. As Jack returned the egg salad to the ice box, Elizabeth quickly cleaned up the egg salad that did not make it onto the bread.

Soon the two were seated at the small table with Rosemary. Aster had finished feeding and was now sleeping peacefully in Rosemary's arms.

"Mama said we can take some cookies to Nathan," Jack told Rosemary.

"I am sure he will appreciate them," Rosemary replied to the little boy though her eyes were looking at Elizabeth. Instead of meeting her friend's gaze, Elizabeth concentrated on her sandwich.

"We are going to go after we eat," Jack continued. "Are you coming, Aunt Rosie?"

Rosemary nodded. "Yes, we can all walk to town together. Then perhaps you and your Mama can come over and have dinner with me and Uncle Lee tonight?"

Jack looked from Rosemary to Elizabeth expectantly. Elizabeth knew that she could not deny her son an evening with his favorite aunt and uncle. Nor if she were honest with herself was she feeling like cooking tonight.

"Yes, we can, Jack," Elizabeth told him. She glanced over at Rosemary and mouthed a thank you to her friend.

Nathan bit his lip to keep from crying out as Dr. Simmons went about cleansing his wound, even as he squeezed the hand he held. He understood the importance of making sure wounds didn't get infected. He had even seen enough infections to know it was not something he wanted to go through. That did not mean this process was any less painful though. If it wasn't for the hands keeping him on his side, Nathan would probably move onto his back to keep the doctor from being able to access the wound.

"Almost through, Nathan," Dr. Simmons said calmly.

Nathan didn't respond. He had a feeling even Gabriel would be surprised by the words he wanted to say. Soon though, Dr. Simmons was helping him settle back in the bed, the pain from the wound near his right shoulder starting to ease. As Nathan settled his head against the pillow, he noticed Gabriel shaking out his left hand.

"Sorry," Nathan murmured, apologetically.

"Do not worry about it," Gabriel said. "I don't think any fingers are broken," he kidded.

"I thought you were tougher than that, Kinslow," Bill said clapping Gabriel on the back.

"Next time he can hold your hand," Gabriel told him.

"I wish there wouldn't be a next time," Nathan murmured.

"Unfortunately there will be," Dr. Simmons informed him. "The good news though is that the wound still looks clean and there was no new blood this time. That means we can put more time between dressing changes."

"Good," Nathan replied.

"I will go see if Faith and Ally are nearby and let them know they can come back in," Bill commented as he headed for the door. Faith had taken Ally for a walk so she did not see or hear anything that might upset her further.

Nathan nodded, closing his eyes. However, unlike earlier in the day, sleep didn't seem ready to claim him right away. Either he was starting to heal or it was the pain that was keeping him awake now.

Listening, Nathan heard the door close behind Bill. One set of footsteps moved away from the bed. As he heard the scrape of a chair against the floor on the side of the bed Gabriel had been on, he assumed it was Dr. Simmons who had walked away. Despite everything that had happened, Nathan was still observant of his current surroundings and yet he still could not remember what had happened twenty-four hours ago.

That frustrated him. Probably more than the fact that even the act sitting up in bed right now was tiring and painful.

"Nathan, are you still awake?"

The question came quietly from Bill. Opening his eyes, Nathan spotted Bill standing in the doorway.

"I am," Nathan replied.

"Faith and Ally are still walking somewhere but you have a young man out here who would like to see you, if you are up to it?" Bill told him.

"Yes," Nathan replied.

Bill stepped inside and motioned to someone outside. In came little Jack, a small wrapped package in his hands. Elizabeth stepped into the infirmary though she hung back by the door as Jack approached the bed.

"This side," Gabriel instructed the little boy, motioning to the side of the bed he was on, which was Nathan's left side.

Jack obeyed the command, approaching the bed. "I baked peanut butter cookies for you, Nathan," the boy said holding out the package.

"That sounds yummy," Nathan said, reaching out for the package. "Did you make them all yourself?"

Jack shook his head. "Aunt Rosie helped me."

"I am sure they are delicious," Nathan said.

"You are going to get better?" Jack asked.

Nathan nodded. He placed the package on the bed beside him and reached out to place a hand against the side of Jack's head.

"Dr. Simmons is going to make me well," Nathan told the boy. "It is just going to take some time."

"I am glad," Jack said, finally smiling.

"Me too," Nathan told him.

"We should go, Jack," Elizabeth said from the door. "Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Lee are waiting for us."

Jack nodded. "Bye, Nathan. I hope you enjoy the cookies."

"I will," Nathan told him. "Thank you for stopping by."

Jack nodded and then headed for Elizabeth.

"Get well soon, Nathan," Elizabeth said softly before slipping out the door with Jack.

Nathan did not have time to voice a thank you before she left, still the short visit from Elizabeth and Jack had done wonders for his spirits. He looked from the doorway to the package on the bed. He then looked up at Gabriel.

"Can you get me out a cookie as I only have use of one arm right now?"

Gabriel chuckled. "I can," he said reaching for the package. "Aren't you glad you did not break my fingers earlier," he joked.

"That was never my intent," Nathan replied, knowing that he was lucky to have friends and neighbors who were looking out for him during the current situation.