A mountie to rely upon

by awdeano

This is the story of how Nathan rescued Little Jack and his visit to Fort Clay. He had to move on from Elizabeth and other new characters came into his life. They all avert catastrophe and they are forced to test how they feel now that we venture into season 9 and beyond. It's not going to be easy. I, along with the program's aim, try to arrive at a positive outcome for all of us.

6. Chapter 6

Bill walked back to the street with a very distressed Nathan after leaving Elizabeth's home. There was no way that their visit was going to end well but at the very least, she knew that Nathan was alright. He had never seen Nathan this much in distress before even in the past when it looked as if Allie's father was going to cause her some harm. "Bill, I can't believe it, I really upset her this time and I don't deserve her forgiveness. I swear I didn't know that she knew anything about this, and I don't know how she could have. Wow, if she had got hold of my gun, I reckon she would have shot me." Bill was very sympathetic and very supportive. "She embraced you at the finish even if she was still crying, that should tell you something and, in any case, your gun was full of blanks." That comment didn't even draw even a half-hearted smile from Nathan as they walked along the road. Bill was quietly observing Nathan hoping for now that Elizabeth's hysterical comments about the doctor and the nurse had gone unnoticed. He still had to take some deep breaths of relief after being made aware of the deception.

Elizabeth shut the door behind them and tried to gather herself, seemingly in vain as there were too many things to think about all at the same time. As soon as she had heard that Nathan was alright, she had felt huge relief which was soon replaced by anger and then disappointment. She couldn't imagine any set of circumstances where she would allow herself to do that to anybody else. It was disgraceful to do that to Allie and Fiona and have them think that he was heading for permanent incapacitation. She could recall how upset Ned and Florence were at seeing him in this way. She remembered a long time ago how Nathan had said to her how she really mattered to him. Obviously, things must now have changed, and she didn't really matter to him at all anymore.

"Are you sure that you'll be okay?" asked Bill still concerned as they got back into the main street. "Yeah, I'll be okay," said a very subdued Nathan, "I just want to go and see Fiona and Allie," and off he wandered sadly. Bill waited for a while and then headed for the infirmary to see Faith. He thought why we all couldn't be in just an easy-going town where all we had to worry about was what colour to paint some of the buildings and the signs. Instead we have Mounties coming and going having to deal with illegal weapons plants, attempted murder and whisky shipments, my goodness, I don't want us to have a reputation like Dodge City.

"Hello Faith, I need to talk to you." She welcomed him inside and took a close look at him and remarked, "I can see that this is not a social call. You look like you've just run last in a horse race." He sat down and ran his hand through his hair and said, "Faith, we have had quite a day here, quite a week in fact. You would have seen those Mountie officers here from time to time, well, one of them was a fake." Faith said how she had noticed them going in and out of the jailhouse and how she had seen constable Simon Morgan with them. "Elizabeth came and saw me and said how it looked like Nathan was showing some bad signs from his accident. She was very upset, and I said that I would keep an eye on him. I stayed away most of the time because I thought that he might wonder what I was doing." Faith made him a cup of coffee and tried to give him a chance to collect his thoughts. Clearly there was some sort of an explanation coming.

"Well Faith, Nathan had us all completely fooled, it was an absolute masterstroke how he finally outwitted the masquerading captain and forced him into error." Faith listened intently but wondered where she fitted into the complicated picture. It eventually became clear after it was revealed how Nathan wasn't ill at all but, in fact, just playing a part for a reason. She had lots of questions and soon it looked like she knew as much as what Bill did. She was horrified when the story of Elizabeth came up. Bill said, "It seems from what we got from a hysterical Elizabeth was that she got very upset at her book launch in Union City recently when talking about Nathan seeming to have further complications with his health. Faith, the doctor was there with his daughter and he told her everything. After we spoke to her earlier today and she found out about the deception, she blurted all this out to Nathan. I'm not sure but he might have been too upset himself at seeing Elizabeth to take any notice of what she had said."

Faith was still not totally clear on the situation. "Am I to understand that Nathan conveniently let Elizabeth believe that he was losing his marbles just so that he could catch the man out who was impersonating the Mountie officer? If that's true I will be having a word to him myself." she said crossly. "No, that's just it, he didn't know." lamented Bill. "After he apologised to the Superintendent for the deception, he said that he was thankful that Elizabeth had been shielded from it. You should have seen his face when I told him that she knew everything and had been in great distress. He was traumatised to think that Elizabeth had been hurt by his actions." Faith drew breath and said sadly, "Now look at me, I can't believe that I doubted him for one minute. Come to think of it, I have never seen on any occasion where he put himself ahead of any of us. Where is he now?"

Little Jack had become very clingy after seeing his mother vastly out of character. They sat together as they had done many times before when life had got on top of them. This was one such occasion where she was so thankful for her little boy and she hung onto him dearly as if her life depended on it. She felt that she was entitled to be hurt from the events earlier, but life was going to have to go on. "Come on Jack, let's go next door and pester Auntie Rosemary. I need someone to talk to." Off they went and, as usual the front door was never a barrier. Emily was pleased to see them as usual and had a hug for both of them. "I wanna come to school tomorrow." she said appealing to Elizabeth. She had crayons in her hand and a colourful piece of paper. "I drawed this and mummy helped me; do you like it?"

Rosemary knew that something was up as she had heard all the commotion from earlier in the day and also, from Elizabeth's fragile appearance right now. "My goodness Elizabeth, what has happened, this looks serious!" Elizabeth sat down while the two little ones started playing together, "Rosemary, now would be a good time to trot out some cookies." She described the earlier event with Bill and Nathan and how the worry about Nathan's health over the last week was all a wasted effort. Rosemary was horrified, "Elizabeth, we know Nathan better than this, surely there must be some mistake. I can't believe that he would do something like this deliberately and be so uncaring. He's just not like that. He hasn't got a callous bone in his body." All this from Rosemary made Elizabeth give some consideration to the possibility that there had to be some other explanation.

Nathan, after Bill had departed, did not head home to see Fiona and Allie. He was far too troubled, so he went and sat in the office of the jailhouse. He recalled how he still felt responsible for Jack's death and today, having caused the anguish for Elizabeth was too much to bear. He took his gun out of the holster and hurled it against the wall, then shoved all the paperwork off the desk and on to the floor. He had a carefully and calculated pause and then removed his uniform and folded it gently onto the table. He found some writing paper and a pen and then sat down. "Dear Bill," he wrote thoughtfully, "My performance as a Mountie over the last few months has been deplorable. I have caused the town and my best friends far too much distress that they never deserved and needed to bear. The fact that I didn't know is not a satisfactory excuse. A worthy mounted policeman would not have allowed this all to happen. I have arrived at the conclusion that I am unfit to wear the red serge of the NWMP to serve the town and the people I love. I am therefore riding forthwith to Fort Clay to hand in my badge. Will you please let Fiona and Allie know that I will be away for a few days." signed "Nathan Grant." He addressed an envelope, all very formal to Judge Bill Avery and left it on the desk.

Elizabeth had listened very intently to Rosemary's take on the situation and it seemed to have made some sense to her. She also thought that she knew Nathan a good deal better than that. She left Little Jack with Emily to play with and hurried down the street where she met Bill just coming out of the infirmary. She was out of breath when she tried to speak, "Bill, I'm sorry for my misjudgement, I think I jumped to a silly conclusion when I should have known better, where's Nathan?" Bill was quite flustered by now and wanted to have the issue rectified without delay. He took her arm firmly, "Elizabeth, you must understand, Nathan thought that you had been kept out of this completely, he really didn't know, but if I know him well enough, he will still think that it is his fault. He said he was going to see Fiona and Allie."

They headed quickly towards the jailhouse only to see Nathan climbing onto his horse. They looked at each other and frantically called out, "Nathan." Nathan saw them, hesitated and then without even any acknowledgement rode quickly out of town. "Nathan wait," cried Elizabeth but it was too late and then he was gone. "Why did he just ride off, where is he going?" questioned Elizabeth. They strode into the jailhouse and Bill immediately saw the papers strewn all over the floor and a gun lying by the wall. He then went cold as he saw a single envelope on the desk addressed to him. Without a word he opened it and read the worst piece of news that he could have ever expected. He sat down in despair and handed it to Elizabeth. "Here, read this," he said looking as if he had seen a ghost, "I'm getting too old for all of this" he lamented.

Elizabeth read the note and felt sick to the stomach. "This is complete and utter nonsense," she cried. "He blames himself for everything that has happened to him. He didn't cause his accident and it wasn't his fault that all the Mounties were here looking for him. Him and Jack are the two most honourable men I have had the satisfaction of knowing. Oh, my goodness, he still blames himself for Jack's death. Bill, I am the cause of all of this, how could I have thought for one minute that he didn't care for me?" She sat down crying and felt absolutely helpless. Bill felt numb and thought how all this had happened in less than two hours. "Nathan got satisfaction at exposing that crook but all that went out the window when he found out about what had happened to you Elizabeth. Now, he's heading for Fort Clay, I'm going to ring the Superintendent first before we go and tell Fiona and Allie. I'm not looking forward to that!"

Nathan had ridden out of town rapidly but after a while he slowed to not much more than a walking pace. It was going to be a long ride and he was not in any great hurry and more importantly, he had to consider the welfare of his horse as always. He remembered the last time he had gone to Fort Clay. His arm tingled at the thought as it had been the following morning after rescuing Little Jack from the wild dog. That was well in the past and much water had gone under the bridge since that day. Times had changed for both himself and Elizabeth, but he still felt that his task was to look after her and her little son. It was now that he had failed miserably and lowered the standards of a credible mounted policeman. That was not an acceptable way to treat a good friend. "I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to speak to me again." He had caused the massive waste of Mountie resources for the extended time of his unknown whereabouts when they could have been utilised on far more important duties. The anguish that he had inflicted upon Fiona and Allie would now be put to rest and never come again.

"Florence, can you please get a call through to Fort Clay for me to speak to Superintendent Mills. Now that I think about it, he won't have returned from here and be back there for a long time, maybe even well into night-time. I would like to speak with at least the next in charge please." There was nothing to do now but wait. Elizabeth wandered around the room seeing the mess on the floor and the gun was still by the wall. She thought that Nathan must have been in a terrible state and she was the cause. She recalled the relief at getting the news that Nathan had been found and was safe, then came the possibility that there were further complications to his health. She reflected on the horror that she felt when it looked like he was getting worse. When she found out the true circumstances, she didn't trust him enough after all this time to wait for an explanation. She was disgusted with herself and thought that this was not the way you treat your good friend. "I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to speak to me again."

The phone rang finally with the voice of Captain Foster from Fort Clay wondering what the urgency was about. "Good afternoon sir, this is Judge Bill Avery from Hope Valley. Normally we would talk with your superintendent, but we know that he and Simon Morgan would still be on their way back to Fort Clay after being with us until about three hours ago. We need your help sir." The captain was very receptive as he could feel the tension in the air even over the telephone. "That's right sir, I didn't get an invite to your party even though we were briefed on the target, I'm new here and one of the junior captains in the service. How may I help you sir?" Bill replied, "If I gave you the full story we would be here until daybreak. Suffice it to say, it was a successful operation and outcome and the officers and Superintendent Mills departed very pleased indeed. The man who devised the scheme to capture the criminals unfortunately caused distress to some of the civilians here and it got out of hand. To cut a very long story short, he has gone off the deep end and is now on his way in a very distressed state to hand in his badge to the superintendent. Our man is Constable Nathan Grant…." Captain Foster interrupted, "Yes, I've heard of him from Constable Simon Morgan in very glowing terms. He's one of the best there is sir, and you are lucky to have him." Bill pleaded with him, "Captain, please talk to your superintendent as soon as he gets back and do your best to stop Nathan from doing something stupid that he might regret for the rest of his life.

The smile on Fiona's face disappeared rapidly as she remembered the last time that Bill and Elizabeth came to Nathan and Allie's doorstep. "Hello Bill, did the operation go off alright, Nathan was expecting a climax today." This came as a surprise to Elizabeth to see Fiona apparently with some knowledge of what was supposed to have happened in the jailhouse today. "Yes Fiona, the man Nathan suspected was captured along with his two accomplices. Two shipments and many prisoners were taken as well. That should now put an end to their business for good. We have a problem now concerning Nathan." Elizabeth's face fell as she now had to tell of the events which had Nathan ride off to Fort Clay. "I'm so sorry Fiona, I'm supposed to be his friend and I have let him down badly!" Fiona was not so sympathetic to this person who should have known Nathan well enough to avoid this outcome. She looked sternly at Elizabeth, "If the shoe was on the other foot do you think he would have treated you like that? Bill, you've got to get me to Fort Clay, I'll go by myself if I have to." She wasn't quite frantic, but she was very close to it. "Are you any good on a horse," asked Bill who would have liked everything to slow down a bit. "If I fall off, I will get straight back on again." said a very agitated Fiona. "I will get the wagon with two horses and we can go straightaway." said Bill hurriedly. Fiona could see the state that Elizabeth was in and immediately sat down next to her an put her arm around her. "I'm sorry for jumping at you like that. You've been the rock for us all for so long, it's time for one of us to be there for you." Elizabeth was totally confused, "I am so happy and relieved that Nathan is alright, and that's how I should have been in the first place.

Bill could see that Fiona was adamant about travelling not later, but now, so he knew that he had his next few days decided for him. He hurried to the stable and readied the wagon with two borrowed horses. While they were waiting Fiona told Elizabeth how she had to storm into the jailhouse and cry out that Nathan had forgotten her name and appeared incoherent in the morning and how it all was going to evolve from then on. "I eventually had to tell Allie what was going on after she had been getting more and more upset so then we kept her home from school after that." Elizabeth then told her about how she had angrily blurted out about the doctor and nurse from Union City and maybe it was something that Nathan shouldn't be faced with for the time being. "I don't think he took any notice of it all as he was as upset as I was." said Elizabeth, "you can decide if, and when he should find out about this. I hope you can get to Fort Clay in time, it's a long way."

I can't believe that you and Nathan were able to put a plan like that into action at such short notice and make it work so well." remarked Superintendent Mills as he was talking to Simon, "all this because he had met a lieutenant Bedford some years ago." They were about three hours into their long trip back to Fort Clay. It would be well into night-time before they would arrive but that didn't concern them as they were anticipating a moonlit night. Simon added that Nathan had observed from time to time, where the two sidekicks had frequently gone and had seen them passing information to people waiting on the outskirts of town. "That's how they knew our plans virtually before we did sir." He added further, "Bedford didn't even try to talk his way out, he knew he was caught and trying to shoot you and Nathan has now got him a life sentence along with many others in the gang." The superintendent had a wide grin on his face, "I don't normally like being the last to know what is going on in my command. I'm glad there wasn't any photographer around to catch me and the two captains as we were being fired upon, I didn't even have time to be scared." He added with a laugh, "How's my report going to look, a successful mission which I had nothing to do with. I don't know how, but I plan to get even with the both of you someday."

Elizabeth hugged Fiona and said that she would look after Allie as they quickly departed in the wagon. She had apologised yet again but felt a great deal better after an enlightening talk with Fiona. Bill said, "Fiona, I hope you brought a blanket with you. You might be able to get some sleep along the way." She looked back at Bill, "In this thing, you're kidding, I can feel the bumps already and we're not even moving." Elizabeth had a gentle smile on her face and thought that Fiona was going to be a match for Nathan at every turn. She was very heartened to now head to the Mercantile as she was going to be able to provide good news to some of the most deserving people whom she had ever had the chance to meet. Allie had been getting through her homework and extended maths assignment in another room and had heard nothing of the outside gathering. "I'll look back in on you later Allie, Fiona had to go with Bill and will be back tomorrow sometime." Ned and Florence were not far away from closing for the day, so Elizabeth had arrived just in time. "I would have been banging on the door even if you had closed up. I have something important to tell you and I have to make an urgent phone call." They were very relieved to hear about Nathan and they were glued to her story about the brilliant deception that resulted in the capture of the crooks. "All this happened right under our very noses," remarked Ned. Elizabeth said how she was in the shop when Nathan appeared and seemed to forget why he was there. Florence observed, "There was one of those Mounties in one of the aisles looking for something, maybe he saw Nathan come in and leave the way he did."

"Florence, I said before that I need to make a phone call. Can you try and get a call through to the hospital at Union City? You are welcome to listen in if you like, it's going to be welcome news for two most wonderful people who I met at my book launch." She told Ned and Florence while they were waiting, how a doctor and his daughter had seen her suffering after talking about Nathan and had come over to introduce themselves to her. They were all startled when the phone rang, "Good afternoon, I have a call for you from Mrs Elizabeth Thornton from Hope Valley. Go ahead Elizabeth," instructed Florence. "Hello, this is Elizabeth Thornton, I need to speak to either Doctor Parker or his daughter Janie Parker please. They would be expecting this call from me, I'll wait thank you." The lady at the desk replied, "Yes, we all remember you Mrs Thornton from the book launch, we will do our best to find them if they are here on duty, hold on for a while."

Nathan was unhurried as his horse ambled along the weather-beaten track, sometimes at a trot then slowing to a walk when he felt like it. He didn't expect to arrive at Fort Clay until well after dark, so he even thought of stopping for a long break as no one was expecting him. He vaguely remembered some of the watering holes along the way so one of those locations would suffice. He sat for a while and watched the sunset. He wondered what sort of a reception he would get from the Superintendent. Maybe he was already considering some form of disciplinary procedure after failing to follow orders and negligence. There was only one way to find out as he stood up. He had to get to Fort Clay and face his dues.

Bill and Fiona were making quite good headway and they felt that they should make good use of the remaining hours of daylight before they would be forced to navigate their way in the dark, even though it was going to be a moonlit night. Fiona was worried about Nathan and this sudden compulsion to end his career which he valued so much. "How did you know that he was going to Fort Clay?" she asked. Bill told her about the note that had been left back in the jailhouse purposely. "I think I patched things up with Elizabeth back there, but she had quite a story that she told me while you were getting the wagon ready. She found out that Nathan had been injured and was in the hospital in Union City all that time." Bill then told her of the visit that he and Faith had taken before and how they had found the people in Union City who had looked after him over that six-week period." I think that we are going to have to tell Nathan everything so that he will know that none of this was his fault and that anybody can have an accident. We purposely withheld his note from you but maybe we shouldn't have. He has blamed himself for everything that has happened to him."

"Good afternoon Mrs Thornton, what a pleasant surprise to hear from you. This is Doctor Parker; I trust you are well." Elizabeth remembered the kind voice that she had heard that day in Union City at the book launch. She was happy that she could put a kind face to that voice also. If she was ever struck down with sickness or even if she needed someone to talk to, he would be a fine doctor to turn to. "Doctor Parker, you may remember that you asked to be kept updated on our Mountie who you and your daughter had nursed back to health." Doctor Parker now sounded rather worried as he recalled how Elizabeth had described Nathan's possible worsening condition. "Well sir, I have good news to report to you that there was a reason for how he seemed to be. He put one over on us all to deceive a criminal and force him into error." She enlarged on the weeks' activity for the doctor who was absolutely amazed and very happy that Nathan was not sick. "My daughter Janie is going to be very relieved to hear this news Mrs Thornton," Elizabeth then sadly told him about her adverse reaction to Nathan, upon finding out why he had put on this charade and how she had not known about it. "I'm sorry to say that I caused him to become very upset and now he has decided instantaneously to hand in his badge at Fort Clay and leave the Mounties. I will never forgive myself if that happens. It will be my fault. I inadvertently mentioned you and your daughter without thinking straight." Florence could not believe what she was hearing. Doctor Parker thought for a moment and concluded, "I know some of the Mounties here in Union City and if they are the same at Fort Clay then they will not hear of him abandoning his vocation. They don't part with their highly rated people easily; I don't think that you will have much to worry about. I'll be grateful if you will let me know the outcome and whether you need me to talk to him." As she hung up the phone, she thought him to be about the nicest man she had ever met.

The welcome sight of Fort Clay eventually came into view for the superintendent and Simon after their long journey back from Hope Valley. They had barely made a stop other than for the horse to get water so the assistance from two helpers was greatly appreciated. Soon Captain Foster appeared from out of the darkness, "Welcome back sir, I'm afraid that we are going to have a problem to deal with. I will try to explain as best as I can from what I could gather from my phone call with Judge Avery." The two men looked at each other in astonishment. All seemed to be well when they had departed earlier in the day. "Apparently sir, there was some issue that had arisen after the operation had been completed and now the very disturbed constable is now on his way here to hand in his badge. I think that there had been words between him and someone else and he took it quite badly. Judge Avery expressly asked if we could stop him from, and I quote, doing something stupid." The superintendent was very puzzled as he did not detect any problem when they were preparing to depart from Hope Valley. "Simon, what do you think may have happened for Nathan to become so agitated to cause an outcome like this?" Simon had noted that Nathan had been satisfied with the successful outcome but had not shown any real pleasure in it. There had only been relief.

"I'm getting too old for this and it soon will be past my bedtime. Nathan is going to work in my café for a whole week to make up for this." grumbled Bill as they rode the miles away. "I hope Superintendent Mills tears strips off him to save us having to do it." Fiona had been quiet for the most part and felt that she would have been able to help Nathan see reason if she had been there at the time. She felt that the wagon to travel in was not as bad as she thought it might have been. "I still reckon that you're driving on the bumps on purpose." The twilight soon turned into darkness, but they were thankful for no clouds to cover up the moon. The outline of the track was just visible enough to allow them to make reasonable pace.

Elizabeth called back into Rosemary's to get Little Jack. "Rosemary, you were absolutely right about Nathan; he couldn't believe it when Bill told him that I had seen him and thought that he was ill. You will never believe where he is now." She told Rosemary how he had written that awful note and then rode off to Fort Clay to end his tenure as a Mountie. Rosemary could see how Elizabeth was having trouble holding it together, "I'm supposed to be a good schoolteacher in the community and put trust in my friends. I wish that you had been there to stop me from making a fool of myself. Fiona and Bill have gone after him in the horse and cart after they rang someone at Fort Clay. I should have let it run me over." Her best friend was there again to provide support, "Elizabeth, you reacted just like any other human being would have. I could see how stressed you were, and you were obliged to do the book launch when you could have done without it. You and Nathan care so much for each other, it's no wonder you were hurt so much. We all have obstacles put before us to try us and hopefully, if we survive them, we learn from them. Elizabeth, you are one of the wisest and most stable people I know, yet, not even you can get it right all the time."

"Captain Foster, this is what I want," stated Superintendent Mills with his kindly but assertive tone even before he had dismounted from his horse. "Nathan Grant is going to arrive here in about two to three hours' time. I want him met with care, but I don't want him to know that we are expecting him. He is not likely to be in a good frame of mind, so I want him brought with encouragement to my office rather than him finding a spot to hang out until morning. We didn't spend six weeks hunting the entire countryside looking for him to abandon him now. This must be handled right captain." Captain Foster had become a new addition to Fort Clay only recently, so he was unaware of Nathan's tie to these people. "I will organize the men for this task sir." Two men would be arranged to take it in turn to keep an eye out for him and make out that they had thought they heard something and had come to investigate. This should be completely harmless and not cause any suspicion. If they timed it right, with a prearranged plan, then the superintendent would just happen to see him and be surprised after strolling outside for some fresh air. "Now Captain, is there anything else that you may have missed that I need to know?" asked the superintendent. The captain thought for a moment, "It seems from what the judge said that your constable blames and holds himself responsible for everything that has happened to him. Usually it is the other way around for the most part sir." The superintendent contemplated for a while, "I think I'm going to earn my pay tonight."

Elizabeth had rejected Rosemary's invitation to stay with her for company and returned home to try and busy herself. Little Jack happily stayed with Emily who arranged a little party and picnic for them to have. Elizabeth stood alone in the quiet room and felt so lonely with nothing to do but wait for what would seem like an eternity. She was supposed to be completing modules of the accreditation specifics, but she didn't have the heart or the energy to even cast a look at it all. Her gift of the red serge was hanging on the door. She resolved that if Nathan left the force then she would hand it back. She then hunted around on the messy table for the envelope which contained the letter from Ruth Sims. If she was to do anything for the rest of the day a response to her would be the least that she could do. She found the letter, but the envelope was not in sight. Elizabeth started to tidy up the table and surrounds thinking that the envelope would be under something. She was certain that she had not thrown it out. She found it on the floor with some of Little Jack's drawings; she was relieved when she saw that it had a return address on the back of it.

It was a familiar sight that greeted Nathan as he slowly headed into the Fort Clay entrance. This was his station some years ago and he had been back here on one occasion since being transferred to Hope Valley. It was unusual to have a lone rider coming in well into the evening, so he happened to be greeted by a young constable who had supposedly been walking his lame horse in the dark for exercise. That happened to be the best idea that he and Captain Foster could come up with at this late stage. Nathan was out of uniform as his red serge had been folded up and placed neatly in his bag. He wasn't anticipating that he would be wearing it ever again. "Good evening sir, it's rather unusual to have a single rider coming in after dark, can I help you with your horse?" This man was in uniform and introduced himself as Constable Peter Jones. "Have you travelled from afar sir?" he asked. "I'm Nathan Grant and I have come in from Hope Valley." was the reply from a tired and irritable Nathan. "I will be looking to try and see the superintendent sometime, but I don't want to disturb him now. I'd like to head to the bunk house for now. I know the way; I've been here before."

Elizabeth had sat down with pen in hand and was trying very hard to put a face to this lady. She could recall the moment when she had signed the book for Ruth Sims but maybe it was only a fleeting moment with hardly any facial contact with many others in the line waiting. Elizabeth thought that she would like to have been in a better frame of mind when she might reply to her letter but now would have to do. There was nothing else that she was prepared to turn her attention to. She made a start; there is no time like the present she thought. "Dear Ruth, I hardly know where to start. We've had our emotions turned upside down here for such a long time and it's difficult to find any opportunity to draw breath. It would most definitely have been our Mountie Constable Nathan Grant who you rescued on that evening. You have done him a great service as well as me, his family and the entire Hope Valley community. I hate the thought of what might have eventuated if you hadn't chanced upon him when you did. With mixed feelings, I must apologise for becoming upset at my book launch. Even now I can't help feeling the lump in my throat as I relive the time when I found out that, after all the time waiting for his safe return, that he started to show signs of aftereffects. I think I described it very well at the book launch and nearly ruined the day for everyone. I'm trying very hard not to strangle the pen and the paper as I try to explain what happened since returning from the book launch. Well, that awful man who we love so dearly had us all fooled. His so-called aftereffects were part of his plan which completely foiled a gang of smugglers when the leader took him for granted and eventually made a mistake. I was very upset with him and he hasn't taken it well, however, we are desperately grateful that he is alright. I just wish that he wouldn't so frequently place his life on the line and have the rest of us continually worry about his wellbeing. I was sorry to read about your brother being away for so long without any news. I will keep you and him in my prayers every day," signed, "with love, Elizabeth Thornton."

Nathan declined the constable's offer to assist with his horse and began to wander off. "Constable, can you please find Captain Foster for me?" came a request from an office from across the road, "Who is that man with you...my goodness, Nathan, what are you doing here?" asked the superintendent with the most puzzled look that he could muster. It wasn't difficult for him to have a surprised look even though they had been expecting Nathan. He was the most forlorn looking creature that Superintendent Mills could imagine. Nathan had a long journey to prepare what he might say but now he just stood crestfallen and silent in front of a man who he held huge respect for. "Constable take care of this man's horse will you. Nathan, you come with me." No words were spoken as they wandered over to the office. The superintendent wondered with a heavy heart how he was going to find out what in God's name had caused this man to arrive at Fort Clay in such a disturbed state in the dead of night. After an amazing outcome earlier in the day, he had not expected to see Nathan on his doorstep on the same day. He tried to break the ice gently and not create the impression of a confrontation.

"Come on in and have a seat Nathan, this doesn't seem like it's a social call." said the superintendent in a gentle and caring tone. Nathan had no idea what to say, he knew why he was here, but this was not like just checking out of a hotel. He was ending his career, the one that he had spent his life aspiring to. "Sir, I don't believe that I have conducted myself at the highest level of one of the mounted police. I caused the massive wastage of Mountie resources, I failed to follow orders and I hurt someone in the process who is most dear to me." The superintendent could not believe his ears at the rubbish that he was hearing from one of the most worthy men to pull on a Mountie uniform. What was even more disturbing was that Nathan actually appeared to believe all this nonsense. Now that they had got this far and got it all out in the open, he planned to deal with it all one step at a time. He could see that they were going to be in for the long haul.

He handed Nathan a cup of coffee whether he had wanted it or not. He thought that it would be a waste of time asking if Nathan wanted anything to eat due to his current state. "Nathan, I'm very interested to know how you wasted the Mountie resources. This is an extremely serious indictment and would result in severe discipline being applied." The superintendent was not in any doubt where this part of the conversation was going but it was going to help them get to the heart of the matter. "My negligence caused all of the Mounties as well as others to waste six weeks looking for me. I still have no idea what happened but that is no excuse for my carelessness." Nathan's mood was not on the improve but he was prepared to listen to this man. "Nathan, as I understand it from Simon, your situation was the result from an accident that must have occurred on your rounds. I think that you are being very hard on yourself. Let me ask you this," He paused thoughtfully, "If that had happened to Simon out on the track would you have had him arrested upon his return for negligence and dereliction of duty. Maybe you could have had him transferred to the navy and have him walk the plank out at sea." He was relieved that his flippant comment passed harmlessly. "Now, you say you failed to follow orders; I find that rather strange coming from you Nathan." The superintendent relieved Nathan of his empty cup which he had been hanging onto with both hands. "I gave the impression that I had withdrawn the Mounties from the action, something I had no authority to arrange." Superintendent Mills nearly fell off his chair when he heard this. "Nathan, did you actually issue any orders to anyone to have this carried out? I think not. This was the greatest piece of wizardry that I have ever seen from anyone in the force. You are well aware of the outcome and will probably be due for a commendation, not a reprimand. I believe that you came under notice for a similar action some years ago for which you paid a considerable price. If I'd have been there back then, the outcome of the hearing may have been viewed differently." He was getting rather agitated by now. "In your office today, there were three high level officers, Edwards, Peterson and me. We had no idea between all of us on how to put an end to this illegal trade. It was you and Simon who provided the answer by using what some people may perceive as initiative, something which seems to be in very short supply most of the time. I will never forget old Peterson's face even after he rode off back to Fort Simpson. I don't think even then he knew what had happened."

Superintendent Mills was a very perceptive officer and gentleman and he didn't get to the level of superintendent without knowing how and when to hand out discipline, use his authority and leadership and provide compassion when needed. "Nathan, none of this has been your fault and I've heard nothing to suggest any mistake or indiscretion in anything that you have said but I think you already know this. Now, tell me what is really bothering you." He sat back and waited thinking that they were finally getting to the nitty gritty. He could tell that Nathan was finding it difficult to find the words, "I thought my plan to appear incompetent and at times incoherent was a good one and it did achieve the outcome that I had expected. You remember Mrs Thornton sir, in the process of hoodwinking that Bedford character, I failed to see that she had seen me and thought it was all for real. I caused her great pain and suffering that I cannot reconcile, and I don't deserve to remain as a Mountie. I am prepared to hand in my badge effective immediately."

The superintendent had well considered that this was where everything had been leading up to. Everything else was window dressing. "It is obvious that you care deeply for Mrs Thornton and have done so for many a long time. She most probably feels the same way and her, having the thought that you may have done this deliberately, caused her to become very hurt and upset. It is clear to me that this has been a most unfortunate event which had become compounded along the way. You will be able to sort this out when you get a chance to talk to her and make her understand if she doesn't already. You are one of the most competent men, either in the service or out that I know, yet, not even you can get it right all the time." He looked at his watch and said, "I know it's getting late but I'm going to tell you a story,Nathan, just to show you that I'm speaking from personal experience."

Nathan was listening but all he could focus on was the look of disappointment and hurt that he had seen on Elizabeth's face that he had caused. "I have a daughter, Sandra, you'll meet her tomorrow. She lives here with us in the women's quarters. She is a vibrant, feisty young lady who gets teased and tormented by all the men here and she gives it all right back. She has been self-driven right from childhood. There is not a thing that they all wouldn't do for her, but she is very independent and does very well for herself. They call her fidget because she always has to be doing something." He was very focussed on delivering a strong message to Nathan. "About ten years ago, when I was a captain back at Fort Simpson, Sandra was riding around the compound on her horse as she had done nearly every day. She was a good and competent rider and had been so for quite a while. I was outside watching her in great admiration even though I could see that a storm was approaching. There was a crash of thunder and a lightning bolt which caused her startled horse to rear up in fright. She had fallen off her horse many times before but this time she never got back up as she always would. I went over to help her up, but she sank straight back down again. She wasn't even in any pain. A father never wants to hear a doctor say that his daughter will never walk again.

Nathan recalled teaching Allie very slowly how to get used to sitting on a horse and how to progress from there. He would never take that for granted ever again. "Sandra recovered and handled her affliction with the most courage that I've seen from anyone. She took to painting and playing the piano with gusto. Nathan, do you know the worst of it? Helen, my wife never held me responsible even from the outset. The doctor said that moving her and lifting her up could have contributed to the paralysis, but we would never know. It took me five years before I could turn bitterness into some form of acceptance. Nathan, I'll pose a question for you to consider. Put yourself in my place. If you could go back all those years but knowing the outcome, would you never let her get on a horse in the first place. When you see her and talk to her then you may begin to find an answer. It took me so long to realize and accept that you can't control everything that happens to you and others that you love. It is more how you deal with it all when something does happen." Nathan was stunned. He didn't know whether to feel foolish or thoughtless or anything at all. The superintendent knew that he had made his point and now his voice changed from one of compassion to one of authoritative.

"Now, on your feet young man, I will in fact, take that badge of yours thank you." said the superintendent firmly. Nathan was rather surprised as he removed his badge and handed it across the table. "I am replacing it with this one," he said. Now, salute a superior officer as you have done many times before, Senior Constable Grant. Nathan felt like he wanted to hold the salute forever. "Well Nathan, what say you?" said Superintendent Mills with a smile. "I don't know what to say sir, replied a surprised and subdued Nathan. "Well, you had better figure out something to say by morning or else my daughter will eat you alive. First order of business for you is to have breakfast with me at 0700 hours tomorrow. Now, you can find your way to the….." The door burst open before he could finish his sentence. "Nathan," cried Fiona as she rushed to his arms. "My goodness, how did you get here!" exclaimed an amazed Nathan. There was further astonishment as Bill strolled in through the door. "Good evening Miss Miller, I didn't see you after the other day when you perpetrated that nice piece of artistry on all of us, nicely done ma'am. You had us all completely bamboozled." said the superintendent with a beaming smile. "Nathan, we were so worried," gasped Fiona.

Superintendent Mills put them all at ease, "Nathan and I have had quite a discussion and I think we have worked everything out to some satisfaction. It's getting late so please enjoy our hospitality here at Fort Clay and please join me for breakfast in the morning. Fiona, when you're ready, we have a spare room for you here and you gentlemen can find your way to the bunkhouse." Bill, Fiona and Nathan sat outside for a while; it had been quite a day. "Well, that never turned out like what I had expected." remarked Nathan, "I came here expecting to finish up in the guardhouse, but instead, he promoted me. Fiona, I have a lot to get my head around. I feel like as if I have had my heart removed ever so gently and given back to me on a plate. I still hate the thought of how I caused so much chaos with the Mounties having to waste time to hunt for me. At least I know that I can square things with Elizabeth now." Fiona hugged him and looked him in the eye. "Nathan, she was horrified when she read your note. She blames herself for ever doubting you. When you see her, you will be lucky to get a word in yourself. Now, when we get back home there will be a lot to tell you which will explain why it was never your fault with the Mounties. You'll just have to be patient until then."

Next morning Bill and Nathan, who was now back in uniform, well almost because his gun was still on the floor of his office, fronted up on time to the mess hall for the obligatory breakfast. Superintendent Mills was there with all his men as was the case every morning. There was no class distinction with this group as Nathan could see. Fiona was already being entertained by countless men who had wondered who this mystery woman was that just appeared in the realm. There was no chance for Nathan to get anywhere near her and she wasn't shying away. Some of the men had remembered her from their long stay at Hope Valley before but now this was on better terms. Simon saw Nathan and stood up and asked the men for their attention. "Can I have everyone's attention please, only for a moment. Some months ago, many of us were on an assignment in Hope Valley searching high and low for a missing Mountie. It was a mission thankfully that finished up as a success and our man was returned to us safe but worse for wear. My friends, I'd like to introduce Nathan Grant from Hope Valley to you." The warm cheer that sprang from that introduction would be something that Nathan would never forget.

This breakfast session was going exactly as the ever-perceptive superintendent had planned. Nathan would learn the lesson over again that he was not a loner and that he would never be a loner ever again, especially if Miss Miller had anything to do with it. This was a healing session for the men as well as they could remember again how they had toiled all day long for weeks on end to try and find this man. "Good morning Mr Grant," came a voice belonging to what seemed to Nathan to be a young boy. "I'm Jason and I spoke for quite a while to your daughter Allie when we were in Hope Valley. She came to help feed all of us with that lady over there," as he pointed to Fiona. "I will never forget the courage that she showed as, at that time, we still had no idea where you were." Nathan was nearly overcome now that he could see all these men who were there in his hour of need. "Hey Fiona," yelled one man, "if you ever want to throw this guy over, you can come back and see us!" Nathan shook his head and looked at her. Fiona was clearly enjoying all the attention that she was receiving. "You seemed to have lost your girl constable," laughed a young lady sitting with some eager young men. He turned around to see this pretty young woman sitting in what was not obvious at first, but in a wheelchair. His heart melted and now he could understand in an instant how her father could speak so glowingly of her. "Good morning Constable Grant, it's about time you visited us here at Fort Clay." He thought she had the most disarming smile.

"Good morning Miss Mills," replied an awkward Nathan after what seemed to be about half an hour. He was clearly stuck for words at seeing a most confident person who gave no indication that she had a handicap. He could see that all the men treated her as she expected to be, as a normal human being as capable as anybody else. "It is an honour to meet you, I didn't know the superintendent had a daughter. I can see why he is so proud of you. He spoke of you last night when I came in after dark." He sat down with her and she asked about Hope Valley, Fiona and Allie among other things. He was surprised that she knew of Allie. "I know much more about you and Simon than you might imagine" she said with a smirk. "Simon tells me that she's quite the fisherman." Nathan grinned at this lady and felt that he had found a friend for life. "We were very sad for you many months ago and we prayed for you every day."

There were paintings all around the hall that had been signed 'Sandra Mills'. "After my accident," she said, "I had to find something that I could turn to as I couldn't ride my horse anymore. I had no desire for any remorse, dad had enough of that for both of us. My work is getting better and it is something that gives me a great deal of satisfaction. Nathan was overawed at the quality of her work which included landscapes, horses and even some of the constables in uniform. "There are not many of them as they can't and won't stand still long enough." she complained with her captivating smile. Nathan said goodbye to her and said how he would be visiting her more often from now on. He couldn't help thinking that any thought of her being disabled was quickly dispelled.

Bill had been enjoying the company of the superintendent and they had been watching Nathan very closely. "Bill, I think we have gone someway to solving his problem. He was in quite a state last night." Bill then went into some detail about his and Faith's trip to Union City and how they know a great deal more about what had happened to Nathan. "We will have a talk with him when we return home." said Bill. Nathan finally got hold of Fiona, bid everyone farewell and headed for the door. Four men stood and sang out in unison with inflection, "Goodbye Fiona," which caused her face to go bright red with embarrassment. She smiled and said, "I think I will be coming back here more often."

Nathan showed Fiona around the compound. Not much had changed since he had been stationed there some years ago. As they wandered about, Nathan could not help but reflect on the superintendent's words last night and how all the men would give heaven and earth for him. His leadership was firm but kind. They turned a corner and Nathan's jaw dropped as he saw something that wasn't there before. A quaint little building which had a plaque on its front which read, 'Elizabeth Thornton Chapel'. They looked at each other in awe before they went inside. They sat there for half an hour without speaking.

As they departed, they said farewell to Simon. Nathan proudly showed him his new badge and how much it meant to him. "I already knew that you were getting this," said Simon as he displayed the new one on his jacket. "I think we have earned our promotion. I'm glad you finally got to meet Sandra or Fidget as we call her. There is so much competition for her attention. You should see when she goes somewhere and has to be lifted into her chariot. There are at least ten men including me lining up for the task."

The minute they arrived back at Hope Valley Nathan headed to see Elizabeth who should just about be arriving home from the day at school. Rosemary was out the front with Emily and Little Jack. She didn't say so, but she was relieved to see that Nathan was back in uniform which meant that he must have resolved the situation. "Elizabeth is going to be very pleased to see you Nathan, it's all just been a big misunderstanding which can easily be sorted out. Oh, here she comes now!" Elizabeth had seen Nathan from a distance and was running towards them and was now out of breath. She also recognised the uniform as she hugged him and said before Nathan could speak, "Nathan, I'm so sorry for the way I reacted. I know I was hurt but I'm ashamed to think that I doubted you. Rosemary was the one who put me straight and when I rushed down the street to tell you, we saw you ride out so quickly. Then I read that awful note on your desk. Nathan, none of that is true. I'm so sorry." Nathan tried hard to calm her down. He could see things far more clearly now thanks to his visit with Superintendent Mills. "Elizabeth, I don't know where to start but I have so much to tell you." He looked thankfully at Rosemary who had decided to take the children away to give them a chance to talk. "You know how much you matter to me so when I had upset you so badly, I rode off to Fort Clay in an absolute spin. I was ready to hand my badge in and get thrown into the guardhouse for dereliction of duty, but Superintendent Mills promoted me instead to Senior Constable. So, you can see I'm still in uniform and am about to stay that way. He is like a father figure to me."

He told Elizabeth about Sandra and how she was such an inspiration to him and everybody in the compound. He was choked up when he mentioned about him and Fiona sitting in the little chapel with Elizabeth's name on it. As he lay in bed that night, he pondered over whether to wrap Allie up in cotton wool and never let her on a horse ever again. What an awful question to have to consider. He wondered whether the superintendent had ever arrived at an answer himself. It would have to be the worst predicament to have to face, yet the superintendent had done so and survived. Sandra had grown into the most complete woman that he could imagine, and it had been a privilege to have met and talked with her.

Elizabeth was also lying awake thinking about the day's events. Nathan was alright, healthy and still a Mountie thank goodness and what's more, with a promotion which he hadn't expected. She had hunted out the little photograph of the little chapel which bears her name and how she ached to see it for herself. She couldn't bear the thought of ever returning to Fort Clay but now, she couldn't rule it out forever. Doctor Parker's words returned to her and she thought how wise he must be. He never had any doubt that Nathan's dilemma would be easily resolved. Now, more than ever, she felt that it was imperative that Nathan must meet these wonderful people who saved his life and put to bed forever any guilt that he might still be harbouring. Her eyes welled up at the prospect of him meeting the doctor and the nurse.

It was still a few days before the weekend where Elizabeth would be able to accompany Nathan and the others to Union City. It would be a tight squeeze in the stage, but it would have to do. They would need to coordinate everything with the doctor and have a conversation with Nathan before they could put anything into action. Elizabeth was determined to be with them even if she had to walk. Before she could put her attention to this, she had another little project that would demand some focus. Emily had pestered her stepmother daily to be allowed to go into the school for a day, so she was going to get her wish. It had actually promoted the idea of having the little ones of the district in at school for a special day, something that they could plan for a regular basis. The older students had been given this task and were looking forward to having Little Jack, Emily and Robbie Turner along with a few others be part of their day. The mothers would be there just in case of any catastrophe such as Emily getting hold of all the chalk for the blackboard and not sharing.

The classroom at the start of the day soon filled up with students and the invitees who were in admiration with the organised arrangement. The students aptly took charge under Elizabeth's direction and made sure that the mothers were welcome and confident that their little ones were going to be looked after and enjoy the day. Emily saw the older children doing show and tell and wanted to have a turn. Elizabeth gave her a little car and she promptly described how she would often go for rides with her stepdad when he came home from work. Robbie was so pleased to be allowed to ring the bell for recess. The proud mothers could see that these little ones were going to be a big part of the future of Hope Valley and the country. None of the younger children wanted to leave until it was officially home time. The day had been far more successful than Elizabeth could have imagined.

Elizabeth went down the street after school to see Bill about working out the best way to talk to Nathan. She didn't like the idea of Nathan being confronted by a deputation of everyone and suddenly put in an awkward position. He was just happily getting back into his routine now that recent events were in the past. He hadn't dwelled on any mention by her or Fiona about what had happened to him. "Bill, I have a suggestion for you. I think that you and Faith would do best to tell Nathan because you know more about it than any of us. It would be far too imposing on him if we are all there getting in the way of each other." To suggest that his was going to be a sensitive situation would be a massive understatement. Nathan had a six-week break in his life and still knew nothing about it. They would have to tread very carefully. "Elizabeth, I can't help getting the impression that he has put all this behind him or else he can't bring himself to deal with it. I was there when you were upset and mentioned the doctor and the nurse but he either missed it or he has deliberately avoided it. I think you're right; Faith and I should approach him carefully. Do you think it's possible that he may not even want to know?"

Faith had hardly seen Nathan since his rapid departure to Fort Clay. She was quick to congratulate him on his return after hearing about his promotion in rank after talking with Elizabeth. It had seemed to her that things were finally going to return to normal as Nathan's problem seemed to have now been resolved. So, when Bill arrived at her doorstep with a different outlook, she started to wonder if he had a point. He read Nathan's note to her about his perceived shortcomings, but he hastened to add that the superintendent had been able to address all the issues. After regaining her composure, she could see Bill's point and felt that it was now imperative that they get Nathan to the people at Union City to shut down any lingering guilt that he may still have.

Faith and Bill had to wait for Nathan to return from his round until they could catch him in the jailhouse at his desk. "How do we get started?" wondered Bill who was clearly unsure. Faith, on the other hand, had been in positions where she needed to deliver hard information as part of her job, so she was more poised to get Nathan's attention. She knew that Nathan trusted them without question. "Nathan, Bill and I need to talk to you." said Faith as she sat down next to him. "We have a lot to tell you and a little confession to make." Nathan smiled, "I've got the keys to the cell right here, am I going to need them?" He could see the seriousness on their faces and from then on, he gave them his full attention. Faith began carefully, "Can you remember some time ago how I needed Bill to come with me to help a friend somewhere near Union City. We got Lee to drive us there. Well, that was all just a story to hide the real reason why we went. Bill had come to me with his thoughts on where you had been located all that time and the young girl who got off the stage here the next day." They could see that Nathan had put most of those past events into the background, but he perked up at the mention of that young girl. He clearly recalled that seeing her had meant something to him.

"Nathan, we're sorry for going behind your back but we didn't really have much to go on and we might have been running around for weeks and turned up nothing. We had to start somewhere so we went to the police station in Union City and with their help we found where you had been for all that time where you can't remember." Faith grabbed him by the arm and with her lips trembling, "Nathan, we met the nicest people and they were so happy to know that you had fully recovered. I will get down on my knees and beg if I have to, but we would like to take you there to meet them; to talk with them and finally put your mind at rest." This was quite a bombshell to land on Nathan and he was quite taken aback. He soon realised that these were his best friends and confidants who had loved and cared so much about him. He had also recalled that Fiona had made some mention that there would be some explanation coming his way. Bill advised Constable Grey at the police station and Faith had the pleasure of letting the hospital know that Nathan would be arriving Saturday. Both places knew to keep everything low key and to avoid any surprise party experience. Bill added finally, "You thought Superintendent Mills to be like a father figure to you and rightly so. We are going to introduce you to another father figure.

Bill and Nathan had no intention of sitting in the stagecoach for that length of time, so they took to horseback. Five in the coach would be uncomfortable and rather squashy. Nathan was silent for most of the way not really knowing what to expect and whether he was ready to face it. Bill rode next to him and knew to leave him alone when he wanted it to be. He was so relieved to at least get him this far. The ladies in the cab would talk to each other and try not to even glance a look at Nathan as they rumbled along. Nobody noticed Elizabeth's long staring glance at the place where Lucas had proposed to her at what seemed a lifetime ago. Nathan could hardly remember Union City as it had been many years since he was stationed there even for just a short period. He recalled the time when he had knocked back the inspector's position at Union City in favour of staying at Hope Valley for Allie's benefit and the other matter. The last visit he thought was one to forget. Fiona smiled at Nathan and gave him a nod to suggest that he should keep his chin up and know that she was proud of him. The city buildings came into view which meant that there was about fifteen more minutes to go.

As they pulled in right next to the police station Nathan looked around wondering if he should have recalled anything from last time. He appeared relaxed but everyone could see the heightened anxiety level. Bill opened the door and all five went inside to be met instantly by Constable Grey. "Good morning everyone or is it good afternoon, I'll have to check when I can find my watch." That was his way of breaking the ice. "Welcome Senior Constable Nathan Grant, you don't know how happy it makes us to see you here. I have to apologise for the way we treated you last time." He motioned to a couple of men to look after their horses. Another voice came from across the room. "Excuse me, can we help you people?" They looked around to see the smiling owner of this familiar voice. "Simon," gasped Elizabeth, "what are you doing here?" He grabbed Bill by the scruff of the neck, "I'm here to keep out the riff raff." Bill replied, "Just remember I'm a judge who can throw you in jail." Simon looked at Nathan, "Captain Edwards wanted either me or Nathan here on secondment for a couple of weeks after being so impressed with our efforts at Hope Valley recently, so, here I am."

Two of the Mounties from the station came and shook Nathan's hand. "Welcome back sir." They were the ones who found him by the tree after he had been removed from the station. This was a special moment for these two men and now Nathan was finally glad that he had agreed to the trip. He could see how this was going to mean so much to many people. Simon gave a special nod of acknowledgment to Fiona; he knew why they were here. Faith said how they would be looking to head to the hospital very soon. "When I get off here, I will join you down there, I think I may have something to offer. said Simon.

They stood outside on the steps and Nathan spoke to them. "I have to tell you that I was apprehensive about coming here and unearthing something that I thought should stay buried. I am a bit frightened about what is going to happen next, but I want to thank you all for caring so much for me. I'm not sure how you got me here but, so be it. I'm just so glad now that I don't have to do this alone." Fiona took him arm in arm and they wandered off unhurried to the hospital. Nathan kept looking around thinking that he was supposed to be recognising something that may be familiar. They all had to pause and draw breath when they reached the entrance to the hospital. Elizabeth fought the tears welling in her eyes as she imagined this being the exact place where Nathan would have been stretchered inside suffering so badly. Bill and Faith could see how hard that Elizabeth was finding all this and put their arms around her. Nathan was indeed part of a large family. Bill and Faith had been here before and this time, they knew what to expect.

The Assistant Administrator, Susan Brown had been wandering around all morning like a cat on hot bricks anticipating Nathan's arrival. The day when Bill and Faith came before was one that she would never forget. Today was going to be even more special and, my goodness, when was he going to get here! She couldn't stand behind the counter all morning, she had work to do which would draw her away from time to time to other rooms. She received a message from a nurse that she had been waiting for. Her people were here in the front foyer and were waiting for her.

Bill had opened the front doors, and everybody filed in up to the front desk. Not everyone would have recognised Nathan from before but the sight of a tall, strapping young Mountie caused quite a stir. Two nurses turned into four and then ten all at the service desk. It was obvious to Nathan that he must have been here before but so far it meant nothing to him. Susan came quickly along the corridor and saw Bill and Faith in the foyer. Her heart skipped a beat and she nearly choked when she saw the Mountie. This was the man who had caused a town to nearly shut down and have troopers hunting all over the country while he was in here recovering. "Hello Bill and Faith, welcome back and this must be our mysterious Mountie, Hello Nathan, to see you now makes it all worth it. I expect this is all a bit much for you so far. Now, I recognise this lady," she thought carefully, "Mrs Thornton, I was at your book launch and I put two and two together. I saw you talking with Doctor Parker, so I didn't feel that I needed to intervene." Bill introduced a very teary-eyed Fiona to her. "I can see that you are the people who had to keep going all that time wondering if you were ever going to see this man ever again. You will have a story to tell your grandchildren." She motioned them all to a large office and said that she was going to summon Doctor Parker. She noticed that Fiona would not release Nathan's arm for anything.

Susan organised for two nurses to provide cups of tea and cookies while she was on the hunt for the doctor. "Nathan, you will like this man. When Faith and I were here before, we knew that you had been in the best of care with him." said Bill. Elizabeth and Fiona were not handling all this very well at all. It was one thing to see the heart-warming reunion at the police station but now they were right in the very heart of the place where Nathan had been brought in on a night so long ago. They were going to have it all explained to them and the heartbreak and loneliness would all return with a vengeance. They could almost visualise it all which was very unnerving. Hopefully, this was going to be the end of it.

The door opened and Susan entered with the kindliest older man following in behind her. Bill and Faith instantly recognised him from their last visit and Elizabeth recognised him from his time with her at the book launch. Fiona's heart had been pumping so hard that surely everybody would have heard it. As soon as she saw this man enter the room, she could see that Nathan had been in the best of care. He saw Nathan and, just for a moment, it seemed like his guard had been let down. "I'm Doctor Parker, I'm finally glad to see you Nathan and know that you have recovered so well. There is much to tell you." So far, Nathan had been just trying to take it all in without getting too involved. There was nothing here that he could remember, but now there was this man standing in front of him who had a major hand in his recovery. "Good afternoon sir, I believe I owe you my life," said a much more disarmed Nathan. Fiona hugged him and burst into tears and would not let go. So many prayers had been answered and this man had been part of it. "Thank goodness for you doctor, we can never repay for what you have done for us." cried Fiona. He looked at them with the most caring expression that they had ever seen, "I can see that this is still very raw for you folks. I am going to try to give you some answers to what happened to you back then Nathan." They could see that this was a one-thing-at-a-time man who would have seen many a heart wrenching case over the years, some with good outcomes and some maybe not so good. He knew how to deal with both situations. Susan had witnessed all this, and she thought to herself that it still never gets any easier no matter how much time passes.

They all sat down together and slowly and steadily Doctor Parker began from the beginning, the story of how Nathan came to be in their hospital. "Nathan, a lady brought you to the front entrance in a car during the evening. By the time we got you inside here and settled, she was gone. We have no idea who she was or where she was from." Elizabeth was going to be able to help them with that later. He went on to say how Nathan was incoherent and semi-conscious for three or four days before he started to come around. "My daughter is a nurse here; you will meet her soon. Nathan, she looked after you and sat with you night and day through your recovery. You had no open wounds, but it seemed to us that you had received a huge bump to your head and shoulder. How you got it, we don't know. As you began to recover and talk to us, we became aware that you had no memory of who you were or where you were from. You weren't in uniform as you are now and had no identification on you." This was all very hard for Nathan to grasp as he had no knowledge of any of it. "The last thing I could remember sir is that I was on horseback and on my rounds. Next thing I knew I was here in the park in Union City."

There was a knock on the door and, as it opened a pretty young nurse slowly entered. Nathan could remember nothing else but now seeing this girl puzzled him. He thought that he had seen her before as he stood up. "You must forgive me, but I know you from somewhere and I can't place it." She looked at Nathan and the memories of all six weeks rushed back to her. Without hesitation, she walked over and hugged him tightly. "Everybody, I'd like to introduce my daughter Janie to you. As I said, she was the prime carer for Nathan over the whole period." There had been a chair provided for her as she sat down with eyes glued to Nathan. "When you were here you didn't have a name and you probably can't remember me but that's okay. The fact that you are well and recovered is everything to me." Nathan was completely stunned, "I am sad that I can't remember anything about this, but I do know you from somewhere."

"Nathan, it took weeks for you to recover enough so that you could get outside, and we could wander down the street. You couldn't shave as your face gave you so much pain and your hair grew long. From time to time I could see that you would notice something that had been familiar to you, but we had to tread warily because of your loss of memory." Nathan was looking so intently at this young woman who had worked so hard for him and saved his life. Now it was his turn to hug her. He was completely overcome to think that all this had happened, and he knew nothing about it. "Janie, you're in my head somewhere and I hope I can find where someday. I wasn't sure about coming here but now I'm so glad I did. So many people have looked after me, it's my job to be looking after them. I won't forget you or your father ever." Elizabeth put her hand up, "Doctor, I received a letter from a very nice lady who said she was at my book launch. It turned out that she was the person who brought Nathan in here on that night. Her name is Ruth Sims and she lives here in Union City.

"Good afternoon miss, I wonder if," a nurse at the front desk turned around, "Oh, my goodness, two Mounties in the one day. This is our lucky day," she remarked cheekily. "How can I help you sir?" she said after sort of regaining her composure. Simon asked to be pointed in the direction of the other Mountie and all the people with him. "I'll take you there if you like, come with me." She took him down the corridor to the envy of her co-workers and pointed to an office door. "Thank you," he said as he knocked and walked inside. They all looked up as he entered the room. Simon was immediately stopped in his tracks and blown completely off guard. He immediately locked eyes with Janie who had looked up and become fascinated with another Mountie entering the room. Bill stood up, "Doctor Parker, I'd like to introduce Senior Constable Simon Morgan to you and Janie." Simon shook hands with the doctor and immediately resumed his gaze at Janie. She offered her hand and he didn't know whether to shake it or kiss it. The three ladies looked at each other with a smirk. This was a nice little interlude after such a heavy afternoon and enduring the discussion about Nathan's recovery.

"Well Nathan, I think we have given you as much enlightenment as you need. The only thing we don't know is how all this happened in the first place. Simon perked up at hearing this, "Doctor, I can't guarantee it, but I may be able to suggest a theory as to what might have happened." He described how he went with Nathan on his round and the tree where a bough had recently fallen. Nathan had sat on his horse right under where it would have come down while he was removing his serge on a hot day. "As I said, it's only a theory." Bill recalled how Lee had said how he had to stop the car to remove a large branch off the road. Nathan shuddered to think how unlucky he might have been if he had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and if this was what really happened.

"Janie, do you think that we could go on that walk that you said we had done when I was starting to get better," asked Nathan. He put out one hand for her and the other for Fiona. "Can I please accompany you Janie," asked a hopeful Mountie Simon. Janie drew all the attention as she stepped out with a Mountie on each arm. "Don't you believe in sharing," came a response from one nurse from behind the counter. Janie took them all along the same route as she had done with Nathan before. She described how she had always remained observant and every now and then he had appeared to see something that triggered a memory. It was still all a mystery to Nathan as they wandered along but he did point out an elevated water tank similar to the one at Hope Valley. Janie saw this and remarked how he looked exactly the same as that time before when she was sure that he had noticed something when he was starting to recover.

She remembered how something had caught his eye when they had sat together in the little café before. They stayed in the café for some time and she purposely sat back just observing Nathan. She was certain that there was a trigger somewhere in here and she wondered what it was. Nathan sat there and sadly reflected on how he would have been here, and all these people back at Hope Valley would have been going out of their minds searching and wondering where he could be. He grabbed Simon's arm and told Janie, "Simon led the group of twenty Mounties who searched from dawn to dusk all over the country to try and find me. I have had a hard time trying to grasp how all these people put themselves out without question for so long." He was toying with the menu on the table even though he had no intention of ordering anything. He ran his finger down the list and found where it said 'Swedish Meatballs'. "Hey Fiona, look at this as he pointed to the entry, "I wonder if these are as good as yours." He told Janie how Fiona and Allie had tried a new recipe from a magazine, and they had done a good job of it despite copping ridicule in fun from the local mercantile. "Fiona, I'm sure that Nathan noticed this, and it had meant something to him even then." said Janie. This was all too much for Fiona and she slumped into his arms trying so hard not to cry.

"Let's go and sit on that bench over there, I'm going to tell you something Nathan," said Janie. They sat on the bench facing the police station with the others listening intently. "We sat right here, and you were very sad one day and you were wondering if you had been a bad person or even a criminal during your life. I told you that I could never believe anything like that and now look, I was right." Elizabeth looked at Simon, "I swear, if I had my red serge here, I would give it to her right now, nobody deserves it more than her." She took Simon aside, "Simon, we couldn't help but notice, you were really taken with Janie as soon as you saw her." Simon's reply was really heartfelt, "When I saw her, I saw Sarah again, she is the spitting image and she has the same mannerisms. I know I made a fool of myself back there in the office, but I couldn't help it. I did the same with Sarah, but she was still worth it." Nathan was just sitting there staring into space. "Nathan, none of this was your fault, it was an unfortunate accident," Janie hugged him tightly, "You have to listen to me and understand this, it was not your fault." He could not help himself, he sobbed uncontrollably in her arms. "You will now be able to put all this behind you and get on with your life." Faith and Elizabeth immediately got around Fiona.

Simon had excused himself previously and headed quickly for the police station. He returned just as they were going to walk Janie back to the hospital. Fiona took Janie aside and wanted to speak to her. "Janie, I can hardly find the words, I think you know what you have done for all of us." Fiona rolled her eyes looking impatient, "If he ever gets around to asking me, I want you and your father with me at the wedding. Goodness knows, I could have had three children by now." Janie smiled and hugged her. "You will be able to put all this behind you as well. We will look forward to the day." She added, "You will have him for your whole life, but he was mine for six weeks."

They farewelled Janie at the entrance to the hospital. "I am so sorry that I can't remember any of this," Nathan said sadly, "I wish with all my heart that I could. Thanks everybody for doing this for me, I will never forget this day as long as I live." Simon asked "Can I see you to the foyer Janie?" He escorted her inside and surprisingly revealed a package that he gave to her. Two people at the desk turned into ten as there were many inquisitive eyes in their direction. "The Mounties of Fort Clay hold Elizabeth Thornton very close to their hearts and they had me present something special to her to show their love and appreciation." She opened the package and nearly fainted with amazement. "The people from today and the Mounties of Union City want you to have and wear this knowing the love that we all have for you." She took out the red serge from the box and Simon put it on for her. "Nobody could be more deserving of this than you." She paraded around proudly to a very warm round of applause. "Thank you, Simon," as she gave him a warm hug. "It didn't go unnoticed to me how dedicated you are to Nathan and the people of Hope Valley." He thought now was as good a time as ever. "Do you think that we could have dinner at that little café sometime Janie?" She responded warmly with a smile, "I think that would be very nice."

On the way back to Hope Valley, Elizabeth had a turn at riding Bill's horse so that she could talk to Nathan. She had thanked Bill and Faith for making the effort to find the people and help answer all the questions. It wasn't only Nathan who was grateful. All that time over the six weeks they now knew that Nathan had been looked after with love and care. "Nathan, you were very brave to do this today for yourself and all of us. I think if you could do that, then I should be brave enough to let you and Fiona eventually take me to Fort Clay to see my little chapel." Nathan looked at her and said, "You just wait and see, sitting in there was about the most spiritual thing I have ever experienced."

A few days went by back at Hope Valley and Nathan had hardly enough time to digest the visit to Union City when a phone call came to him from Cape Fullarton. "Good Morning Nathan, this is Captain Bedford, and before you can draw your gun, this is the real one." Nathan screwed his nose up and thought that he had seen enough surprises over the recent period and now, here was another one. "Nathan, I have to thank you and compliment you on your job of exposing that imposter recently. You saved us a lot of heartache and embarrassment. I now have information that you are going to need." His tone was now quite different from the genial one in the beginning. "Nathan, all those men went to prison and didn't know that we had slipped someone in with them. You will come to see that you aren't the only super sleuth in the force. It was a dangerous position for our man to be in, but he is okay. He found out that there are two men still out there who were part of the group. They were expecting a big payday and they know that it was you and Constable Morgan who thwarted their operation. Nathan, they know that Morgan has a young child who may be somewhere in Hope Valley. They see that child as being a huge part of their restitution. We are very pleased that we have been able to do something for you to show our gratitude. They won't know that you have been informed and have prior knowledge of their plan."

Nathan's heart went cold at the thought that little Emily may be snatched for a ransom demand. Bedford had told him that these men had no information about the child other than it may be in Hope Valley. "This could happen any day from now on. Thank God we know about this already." he thought. Simon had to be informed immediately and then they could formulate some plan and be ready. Constable Grey was surprised to hear from Nathan so soon after his visit, but a quick explanation had a very worried Simon on his way at the best speed that he could muster to Hope Valley. He asked Constable Grey to personally advise Janie that he would not be able to make it for their dinner together, but he would be back as soon as possible and not to worry.

Elizabeth would be at school with it being morning, but Nathan thought that he might be able to catch her during recess even just for a moment. The children were always pleased to see their Mountie and would gather around like honeybees but this time he would need to get her on her own. "Elizabeth, it's important," he said urgently. She wondered what possibly could cause Nathan to come to the school like this. "This concerns others, but it includes you and Little Jack as well." He outlined the phone call from the real Captain Bedford and how Simon's child has been targeted. "Simon is on his way from Union City even now. We have to be ready for these men." said Nathan thoughtfully. "We are fortunate that one very brave man had been infiltrated into the jail where all the prisoners were, and he heard them talking. We have him to thank for the advanced warning. The two men coming don't know which child it is, and they don't know that we have been informed." Elizabeth knew to tell Rosemary and the children should be kept inside out of sight.

Simon had been clever and brought two horses on the long journey from Union City to make it easier on them but, even so, they needed some love and care at the stable when he arrived late into the afternoon. He was very agitated when he met up with Nathan who did his best to settle him down. Simon was a proven top-class Mountie, but now it was a different matter if his daughter was involved. "Simon, we have to get our heads together on this very quickly." They walked into the jailhouse and sat down to work out their plan. "Simon, put yourself in their place. These two men barely escaped the Mounties ambush and would be absolutely incensed at the loss of their goods and the money that they would have made. They soon find out that it was you and me who upset their arrangement and they also find out that you have a child. What are they to do now? They can't just ride in here and snatch the first child that they see. They will give themselves away when they start making some enquiries. We can catch them if we supply them with wrong and misleading information. We'll get one chance at this and one chance only. Simon, just remember, if they saw Emily with the Coulters, they won't associate her with you. We have that in our favour."

Nathan already had some semblance of a plan in his head already and started to move. The load was now off his mind from the recent events and now he was going to repay the people who had placed their confidence in him. He went quickly to see Jesse and asked him to ride out to the Turners farm and bring Andrew back here. He would need to make sure that Robbie would be kept out of sight for safe keeping. After Jesse left, Nathan spoke with Clara and told her of one of the vital tasks that he had planned for her. He then invited her to, of all places, the dress shop. "Clara, get whoever you need to help you. We need a model of a grandmother and also, a little girl of about four years old. Rosemary would be happy to help."

Next stop was the stable where there was an old stagecoach in a state of disrepair. Henry and Bill would be needed to make this vehicle worthy for one last trip. "Bill, as soon as you are available, you will need to make sure that there are no families with young children in the street for at least a couple of days." Simon witnessed all this as it unfolded and shook his head, "Nathan, don't despair, I will come and visit you in the funny farm." He had never seen Nathan so focussed and determined. "Simon, these men are going to see your daughter returning in a stagecoach from a holiday. They are going to know it's your daughter because you are going to tell them. Now, is there anything that we have missed?" Simon was completely bewildered as he followed along but he wasn't prepared to bet against Nathan by any means.

Everybody had flown into action without delay. Elizabeth had stayed with Lee to look after Emily and Little Jack so that Rosemary could work with Clara to finish the two models. They would have liked to have known what they were going to be used for but there hadn't been any time for explanation. Henry had commandeered two helpers and were making headway on the weather-beaten coach. They knew and were thankful that they didn't have to return it to mint condition. "Nathan, if this bucket of splinters goes more than ten yards, I'll ask for more money." moaned Henry. Nathan smiled at Henry, "If it doesn't go ten yards, I want my money back."

Jesse returned with Andrew Turner who was looking for a quick explanation. He was worried after hearing from Jesse back at the farm that his son should be kept out of sight. Nathan started to unbutton his serge and motioned Simon to do the same. "Those two men are going to see Mounties Grant and Morgan in the café and in the street, but we will be in the stagecoach." explained Nathan. Simon looked at Andrew and Jesse, "Don't worry, I'm just as in the dark as you are." Both men liked the fit of their new red jackets. "Now this is what I think will happen," considered Nathan. "How are the men going to find out about Simon's child. They're not going to come and ask us in the jailhouse. The café is where people talk, and they might figure that some direction might come from there. Well, Andrew, you and Clara are going to give them some." Nathan looked at them all, "Andrew, you are the closest thing we have to Senior Constable Morgan here and Jesse is going to have to be me. When they find out that the child is coming in on the stage in the afternoon, say three o'clock and the Mounties are going to be sitting in the office doing paperwork, they will be game enough to make an attempt somewhere out of town."

Clara was very worried as she knew that the entire charade depended on her delivering her story. Rosemary encouraged her and said that she would be completely authentic and convincing. "I know why they didn't ask me," she complained, "I'm sure they thought that I'd try to turn it into a Broadway performance." Nathan was very impressed with the two models done at such short notice. They were placed and secured in the cab so that they would be visible from a distance as the stage would be rolling along the track. They waited until nightfall to move the old relic and hide it about three miles out of town. The only thing left to do was ensure that any locals knew to ignore the two Mounties frequenting the café and the street. "I think we are all set." proclaimed a thoughtful Nathan.

The next morning came around with nothing out of the ordinary so far. Bill had been very busy making sure that families knew that school would be cancelled for a day or two. Mrs Thornton apparently had a bad cold and needed to rest. A team of horses had been prepared and taken close to the stage to be hitched up when ready. It looked like their plan was ready for action when two men rode into the street and ventured straight to the café. They were happy and courteous and well-presented after a long trip on horseback. "This is a very nice little café you have here ma'am, I bet the food here is excellent." They ordered coffee and surveyed the menu for a while. "We are here looking for our cousin, Sally. I've never met her husband; his name is Andrew Turner. They have a little boy called Robbie, about four years old I reckon. They live here on a little farm somewhere. I have a letter here from Sally inviting us sometime." Clara was sure that these wouldn't be who they were waiting for; they seemed genuine family. Clara shook her head at Bill peering from around the corner and he slipped out the back and informed Andrew, who had been watching from outside the jailhouse that this looked like a false alarm.

It didn't take long until two other men arrived looking rather apprehensive as they seemed to survey where everything was located. They waited in the street for a while and had noticed a Mountie standing with a horse by the jailhouse. These men were unkempt and rather dishevelled as they strolled into the café. They ordered coffee and didn't even look at the menu. There was barely a thank you as the coffee was served. They sat there for ages just listening to the banter from the other patrons. Clara nodded to Bill who slipped out again to see the Mountie and get things rolling. The Mountie strolled into the café and, without taking any notice, sat down somewhere near the two men. "Good Morning Senior Constable Morgan, would you like coffee sir?" He appeared impatient, "Simon will do ma'am and coffee would be fine thank you." He was sitting and thumbing through one of the magazines when Clara appeared again and enquired, "Your daughter gets back today doesn't she, I bet you missed her." He looked up and smiled, "Yes, she'll be on the afternoon stage about three o'clock, I can't wait." A very subtle nod to each other showed that the two men now knew where the child would be. Constable Morgan thanked her for the coffee, "Well, I'd better get back, we've got mountains of paperwork to finish and it's not going to get done on its own."

Clara went back to the kitchen and had a big sigh of relief. Her job was done; now it was up to Nathan and Simon. The two men wandered outside and looked around at the quiet street of Hope Valley. They saw the two Mounties; one was heading into the office and the other was talking to two ladies in the street. Nathan and Simon had been at the other end of the street and had seen a green flag from Bill signalling that these two men were probably the ones they had been expecting. They hurriedly rode off to the team of horses and took them to the stagecoach. They were soon ready to roll and nursemaid the old stage along the way. Simon was the driver and Nathan was lying very uncomfortably on the floor in the cab out of sight. He excused himself to the grandmother and he thought for a moment that the young girl had grinned at him, "No, that's not possible." he thought. Simon checked the time; it was heading for quarter to three.

The two men outside the café checked their watches and mounted their horses. This had been an easy job. Soon they would have the child and some bargaining power. These Mounties were going to pay dearly for messing up their business. They casually rode out of town and soon they would be expecting to run into the oncoming stagecoach if it was running on time. Simon was sitting on his pistol and Nathan was armed and ready. They knew they had to catch these men in the act or else they would go free.

Simon started to sing which meant to Nathan that he could see the two men slowly approaching on horseback. They could see the old lady and the young girl sitting quietly in the cab. They motioned for the stage to stop and then one of them pulled out a gun. "Give us the girl and there won't be any trouble." he said forcefully. The other man got off his horse and opened the door to the cab. "Tell your friend to drop his gun," said Nathan fiercely with the barrel of his gun pointed straight at him. The man on the horse took his eyes off Simon only for one second which was all it needed. "Drop it now." said Simon. The two men got to ride in the cab in handcuffs and leg irons in the company of the two females. They were going to join their mates for a long stay in prison.

The stage pulled in and parked right in front of the jailhouse with four horses at the rear. Nathan thanked Clara and Jesse for doing such a wonderful job. "It would never have worked without you." Clara went to Andrew and said that he could introduce himself to those other newcomers who had wondered why nobody had seemed to have heard of the Turner family. Elizabeth and Rosemary emerged with their little ones who were now safe. Soon the two prisoners were safely behind bars awaiting to be collected by the prison wagon from Union City. "Well, Simon, that was a good job well done and Emily is safe, what now for you?" asked Nathan. Simon was already saddling up his other horse. "I'm heading straight back to Union City; I have a dinner date with Janie which I'm not planning to miss. What about you?" he asked. Nathan looked at him thoughtfully, "I'm heading straight for Fiona and something that is well overdue." Simon smiled, "I'm really happy for you Nathan, give my best to her." A sincere handshake and a salute to each other and they departed.

Nathan knew that Fiona would be with Allie so there was no point in looking at the hairdresser shop. He strode through the door of his home and there she was. A ring came out of his pocket that had been there for months. Her jaw dropped and she couldn't breathe as she saw him get down on one knee. "Fiona, you have been there for Allie and me right through the hard times and all the fun that we've had. I want to be there for you for the rest of my life, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" She had tears in her eyes as she said "yes." and then she added, "It's about time." Allie came rushing from the other room and hugged them both. "Thank God we stayed in Hope Valley dad."

Elizabeth and Rosemary wandered along the street now that all the excitement had abated. Elizabeth watched people quietly coming and going about their business. Some were relatively new residents to Hope Valley. She wondered whether they would also have a story to tell of love, hardship and family life. They wandered along the street and Elizabeth looked up to where she would see Lucas on the balcony. People would never know how her son was nearly mauled by a wild dog and how the townspeople had suffered with the mining accident. They would never know about Jack and how he was responsible for the lovely little school which everyone adored. She stopped suddenly and realised that she was standing right at the spot where she had been given the tragic news about Jack all those years ago. Rosemary looked at her and took her arm and said, "It's one foot after the other and one day at a time."