Janie and her father accompanied a very subdued Simon into the station and everyone welcomed him back but they could see that he was going to need time to recover from this bad news. They wandered into Captain Edwards' office for Simon to report back but they all knew that the search for Captain Glover would have to take a back seat under the present circumstances. The captain outlined how he had spoken to Captain Foster at Hope Valley and how there were many details to be sorted out quickly. He was agitated as he prepared for his next comment, "Simon, the two Mounties at Rainsford had been given a very raw deal and they had subsequently found themselves there at the wrong time but there is the issue of the little girl who has survived the fire thanks to the young Mountie being there, his name is Adrian Metcalfe and his parents had to be informed. There will be plenty of time to fill you in with all the details but for now, welcome back and be with your family."

They were all so very quiet as they trotted along the track towards Union City. Bill would constantly take a glance at Earl who was extremely withdrawn and had not uttered a word since they had left Hope Valley. "Take good care of him Bill," were the final imploring words from Captain Foster as the three of them departed and he knew that they had an additional responsibility on their plate and that meant that there was no place for any hot-headed reactions when they would arrive at Cape Fullarton. Joseph was under no illusion as to what could happen and extreme care was needed from now on. Bill knew his own reputation of being seen to be hot-tempered and on a short fuse from time to time and now he would have to be very guarded and careful over the next day or so. The work that he and Virgil had done together during the recent investigation showed that they had an excellent working relationship and now it seemed that it was going to be tested once again. He'd had a high regard for Captain Bedford and it had been his suspicion in the first place that wrong had been done and it was possible that an innocent man was in prison. He couldn't imagine what might have caused the captain to take such a drastic action to dismiss the two men so indiscriminately.

They thought it wise to leave Earl to his own devices and their main objective now was to get him back home with his wife as soon as possible. This was well and truly above the requirements of anyone to have to deal with even though he was a first responder. His recovery was going to be well drawn out and his family and friends would be there for him to see to that. Virgil was also keeping an eye on Earl and he knew that he had been asked to look out for the two men from the cape and that it was he who had insisted that those men would not be on any revenge mission as had been suggested. He wanted to take the week back and start over and all this would not have happened. "Bill, I can't get the sight of that little girl and her mother out of my mind. Their home was just a pile of ashes when I arrived there and they had lost everything and that little girl was so scared. I'm going to rebuild their home for them and that's a promise I made to them and I intend to keep it."

There was no more welcome sight for Nathan than to see than Fiona and Allie racing out the front door as soon as they had seen him approach. They were not sure whether he knew the drama of the last few days so they were very careful with him. He seemed to be more concerned for everyone else rather than himself. He had yearned for this moment to be reunited with his family and he decided that he would never venture far from them ever again. Fiona had never looked as beautiful as what she did right now. "I've already been to the office and they filled me in about the loss of our young Mountie, I can't seem to describe how I feel because I just don't know and that is so strange. All the memories of Jack Thornton would be flooding back for Elizabeth and I'm so thankful that she now has the captain to rely upon. He had young Jason bring Sandra here from Fort Clay to add some support for her, that was really good thinking."

He sat down with Allie and Fiona and he knew what it was like to be home. "I'm so sad for Janie to have to witness all that, I don't care how professional she might be, this will affect her for a long time and Simon must be back there by now. I heard that the young Mountie died in his partner's arms and that was just like what happened to Simon with Sarah." Fiona had just let him talk to help release the tension but now it was all too much. Allie was surprised to see her dad sobbing in Fiona's arms. "I saw Earl Grey just before Bill and a Mountie I haven't seen before took him back to Union City. The best thing for him will be when he gets back and he is with his family." He hugged his family and he was never going to let them go. "They had to go and break the news to the parents about their son, Elizabeth got told about Jack in the main street at night when she was on the way home." He sat quietly together with his family for about ten minutes.

Well, the decision was ultimately made and now she was firmly settled on the train and Masterton was well out of sight and behind her so it was too late to change her mind. There was no chance of that happening as she had never met anyone like Peter in her young lifetime and this was a totally new experience for her that she couldn't ignore. She had said all her goodbyes at home with her parents and now she was leaving her home and she had no idea of how long she would be away and what it would be like. It would be one day at a time for her from now on. The other day she was just helping a man out in a time of need and she never dreamed that her life would be turned upside down because of this. He had been so easy to be with and to talk to and she had felt an attraction to him even then but her heart was stolen when he broke down in tears with relief in the police station. Christine was his soulmate and it was a lifetime bonding which a person could only dream about and Marjorie wanted a big piece of it.

Nathan remembered when the tragic news came through so long ago about the fate of Jack Thornton. He thought even to this day that it should have been him in that position and Jack would still be alive today. It took all the efforts from the people of Hope Valley, Fort Clay and Union City over a long period of time to get him to realise that he was not to blame but it still hurt every time he would see Elizabeth and Little Jack. He had come to depend on his family and he was no longer a loner. "Fiona, you should have seen Amy caring so dearly for the man sitting so forlornly in the cell, they said that it just came naturally to her when she saw him in so much distress." She looked at him with love and admiration, "Nathan, you can take all the credit for her, you gave her the chance that she needed when you couldn't see her going to a life behind bars and, if I remember correctly, you also saved the life of Simon's little girl from potential kidnappers.

The question of Christine came up and Fiona was able to suggest to Nathan that, if there was anything that he could tell her, then it might be a good idea to venture along to the Infirmary to see if she was still there, it might help to relieve some of the stress for the both of them. They could see a light on as they wandered along the street so they knew that one or both of them would be still on duty in the Infirmary. Their first look at Christine told them so much, she looked washed out and, even though she had a letter from Susan, it was still an aching in her heart to have to wait so long for her husband to arrive. She looked beseechingly to Nathan hoping to see something in his eyes that told her some good news but he was very careful, "Welcome back Nathan, thank you so much for racing all over the country looking for Peter, I can't thank you enough." They could see the distress that Christine had endured from so recently and probably over the last four years. Even now she was so upset for Earl and she was disappointed that she had missed saying goodbye to him a couple of hours ago.

She hugged Fiona and Nathan and they sat down together, "Christine, we have nothing conclusive to tell you but both Simon and I are very optimistic that Peter Glover will be here most probably only in a few days' time. We were so close on so many occasions and we only missed him by a whisker, he was even on the same train as ours and we didn't even know it. What a privilege it was to meet your cousin, Susan and I might add, she is threatening to come to our wedding. We know that she now knows where you are and she will be able to direct him here but there is something else. When we were at Masterton and we had just missed him from the hotel that he stayed at, we were told by Martin at the desk that he had been picked up by someone who must have known the nurse that Susan had sent him to find."

"I'm sorry Christine, we have no idea who picked him up and we don't know where he went but if he gets back with the police inspector who we spoke with, Captain Peter will know exactly where you are and how much you are desperately waiting for him." Christine was so tearfully thankful for all the work that he and Simon had done for her and she then fossicked around in her pocket and produced the letter that she had received from her husband. She unfolded it and handed it to Nathan and his lips started to quiver as he had immediately recognised the handwriting. Fiona read it and burst into tears, "How can you bear to have to wait for him for so long Christine, I am going out of my mind for you and I want him here right now. All I can say is that he better be on his way here or else." That brought a watery smile to Christine's face and she was pleased that there was someone else that felt the way that she did.

Nathan looked at her and decided to confide in her, "Christine, we have stuff that our captain doesn't need to know about because before we left, he told us in calmy but in no uncertain terms that we were to stay out of trouble as, where we were going, we would be well out of our jurisdiction. Sometimes you just can't stand aside and we found an occasion to intervene with this very rude and aggressive man on the train who hit a young lady with a little baby. When we got into Grampton this man demanded our arrest as he was a lawyer and said that he knew his rights. To cut a long story, a letter signed by Captain Peter Glover detailed the incident so accurately and it saved us from any embarrassment or action. This is when he had been on the train at the other end of the carriage, he was right to the point and could not have written his thoughts out any better. The judge, who happened to be that man's father could not have been any more impressed and he said that he very much wanted to meet Peter one day." Nathan took Christine by the hand, "Christine, this sea captain husband of yours is a very good man." He purposely left out the part how the police inspector had notice how disconsolate Peter was and how he hoped that he would get some heartening news very soon.

Karolina had not seen her husband for many months and Peter watched the reunion from the window of the train and he thought what resolute people he had met after what they had been subjected to over recent times. Renata watched him intently and waved goodbye to him as the train departed and he now had a fire burning in his heart for those people. Thankfully they could make a new life for themselves in this country and the past for them would be left behind forever. Peter couldn't get the little girl's face out of his mind and he imagined her settling in to a new life with new friends and going to school. It wasn't long and Grampton was going to be the next stop so he was told that they would be there within the hour. It had been a long time coming. He smiled as he was going to have good news for Susan as he now knew where Christine was living.

The closer he got to Grampton, the more excited he became but he noticed how gradually the train had started travelling slower all of a sudden. The conductor came along and advised everyone that a large tree had fallen across the track the day before and it had taken a lot of effort from many workers to chop it up and safely remove it out of the way. The track apparently appeared to be undamaged, however, trains had to traverse the line very carefully just in case so there would have to be a delay to when they would arrive in Grampton and their train would probably not depart for many hours later in the day. That was not going to cause Peter any annoyance as he would be able to spend more time with Susan as he had so much to tell her. He knew that she lived out of the town on some land but he didn't know where, so that could present him with a problem. He didn't dare miss the departure of his train after seeking out her home but he desperately wanted to tell her his exceptionally good fortune. He decided that he would head straight to the constable's office or the post office to get some directions.

The train had taken an eternity to travel the last few miles but soon all the carriages finally came to a stop next to the platform and he was able to step out. "Peter!" came a loud shriek, "I've been here for every train for the last few days waiting for you." He raced over to her and hugged her and for a moment, he couldn't find any words. He never forgot even for an instant how closely she resembled his wife. "Peter, I know where she is, your search is now over." She was crying as she had desperately wanted to tell him a long time ago and now he was going to be able to relax knowing that Christine was waiting for him. "Oh, I've got so much to tell you and I sent you on that mission to Masterton when two minutes after you had gone, I found out where she was after I got a letter from your mother in Ashford. You would have been there by now."

Peter held her gently in his arms and smiled with tears forming in his eyes, she had been quite right, his search for his wife was now most certainly over. He waited patiently for her to relax, thinking how he thought that it would be him who would be excitedly telling her of his news of Christine's whereabouts. The train would not be going anywhere for hours and he also, had much to tell and it would take some time because he barely knew where to start. He was well aware that he'd had quite an experience over his journey to Masterton and back and it could easily have turned out very different than this if he hadn't met Marjorie. He remembered how despondent he had been and how he had seriously entertained the notion of returning to sea duty for the rest of his life.

Of course, as it turned out, his application for re-enlistment would have been rejected and news of Christine would have been given to him then and there. That would have been unfortunate if he made it all the way to the dock as he may have felt guilty for many years after that. "Susan, I found Sonya Radcliffe with the help of a lovely young nurse and they moved heaven on earth to find where Christine was living." He showed her the crinkled little newspaper that had not left his hands since Masterton and said how Christine had seen one of these with a little dog on the front. "Sonya was determined to not rest until she solved the puzzle and she eventually did." Peter gulped as he looked at her in astonishment, "Susan, do you know that two Mounties came all the way from Hope Valley just to find me, I find that absolutely astounding."

By now they were sitting in the same place on the station platform where Susan had cried when she had got the letter and the train that Peter was on had just disappeared out of sight and on its way. "Take a look at this picture of this lady with all those school children, she was the one who found out that I was back on dry land and she had started the search and they started looking for my wife." Susan marvelled at the beautiful little building and that pretty lady standing there looking so happy surrounded by all those children. He told her that this lady was the daughter of Mr Thatcher, the owner of the shipping line and that was how it all got started. Susan was much happier sitting in his arms on the station platform now than the last time.

"Peter, the two Mounties appeared right here out of the blue while I was sitting here crying because I had missed you only by a few minutes, they were extremely nice young men and they had been sent here by their captain from Hope Valley as a starting point to look for you. They had said that Christine was frantic and beside herself and she was urgently planning to go to Bakersfield without any delay but it took the captain to calm her down and see reason. He apparently said to her to let us do our job. We find people who do not want to be found so we will find your husband for you." Peter said how he had heard most of this story from the police inspector back in Masterton after the two Mounties had been there to see him. He had a lump in his throat to think that Christine was having such a hard time but soon they would be back together again. Susan smiled at him, "Peter, do you know that you are interfering with their wedding plans and they have fiancés back home with their arms folded impatiently. When you get to Hope Valley, you will meet Senior Constable Nathan Grant and Senior Constable Simon Morgan works out of Union City."

"Is everything alright Mrs Madison?" came an enquiry from a young man who appeared to be sporting a number of bruises and he walked with a limp. "Ah, Peter, I want you to meet Patrick who lives with us now and he's a nice young man and he is a huge help for us already. When you get to Hope Valley, you must ask Nathan about how Patrick came to be here and live with us. It is an interesting but absolutely disgusting turn of events but all is well now." He welcomed Peter to Grampton and told Susan that he had some more jobs to do then he would wait for her. "Peter, we still have plenty of time and there is a man here who has said that if Captain Glover ever returns here, I want to meet him before he leaves." He was surprised to be led over to the county courthouse but Susan assured him that they were in the right place. He had a cold shiver as he had never had cause to be inside an establishment like this and be placed before a local magistrate and this only reinforced his desire that it would be the last. The court official smiled and welcomed Susan and then his observation of the uniform made him greet Peter with a smile and a welcoming handshake. "Judge Monroe is going to be very pleased to see you sir. Please have a seat up the back here while I report your presence here."

Judge Monroe was heavily engrossed in the matter currently before him when the court official apologetically interrupted the proceedings as he had been previously instructed. His facial expression gradually turned sour and he started to fossick around for something of a piece of paper which he soon found on his desk. He carefully put that aside for the moment and started to try and wind up the current case. He stated that he had concluded that it needed further investigation and then he adjourned it to next week. He then looked up and partially found a smile for Susan as he motioned for them to come forward. "Mrs Madison, you have a visitor with you who must be from outside of our town. Would you please introduce him to me." He had noticed the uniform as soon as they had entered the building and he had waited for some time for this moment to occur. Peter recalled years ago how Bert was good friends with many prominent people from the district and one of them was a district judge who had a great deal of responsibility in Ashford.

He was not normally this formal with Susan, "Judge Monroe, I have the great pleasure to introduce Captain Peter Glover, formally of our merchant navy." The judge looked him up and down and Peter got the impression that it was with quite a bit of disdain, why, he did not know. He was quite a forbidding looking man sitting up there in his position of authority and Peter felt quite uneasy like as if he was awaiting sentence. He took his glasses off and then put them back on as he addressed the newcomer as he waved a piece of paper in the air, "Sir, I have a letter that came into my possession some time ago, written very well I must say, but I have to draw your attention to one particular observation that the writer had made." The judge was quietly enjoying the moment and he was getting a chance to meet a man who had given so much to his country. "You commented on the behaviour of the man on the train and you concluded that the problem lay solely with the parents. I have to tell you sir that I am the parent of that man, what do you have to say about that young man?" Peter was horrified to think that he had been seen to lecture a county magistrate and he looked around for a hole to bury himself in.

The judge's stern appearance suddenly disappeared and he started to laugh loudly and then he removed his glasses and stepped down and shook hands with the nervous sea captain. "You were absolutely correct in every sense Peter and I have to tell you the result of your direct letter to 'whom it may concern', my opportunistic son is no longer a part of our legal system and he is now under the control indefinitely of my army officer colleague. He will be there for many years and Colonel Hayden will make a man out of him I'm sure, no matter how long it takes." Peter looked at Susan and realised that she had been part of this charade. He thought that she would be lucky that there was no water trough around where he could throw her in, she had an impish grin that would be there for quite a while. They sat for a while and the judge remembered the case, "Peter, I would have seen through the plot very quickly because the reports provided by the two Mounties were very detailed and professional, your letter, however, made me see reason to take action with my son's transgressions. I have to tell you; I haven't had this much fun since I threatened those two old bags with jailtime.

Sandra was well across with what was important and what needed to be done just like Pastor Joseph. She wasn't sure whether her father knew of the man in command at Cape Fullarton so she was about to find out and he had asked to be kept informed. After getting permission from Eric, she asked Florence to put a call in to Fort Clay and to Superintendent Mills. "Eric, my father will want to speak with the superintendent at Cape Fullarton after I tell him what has happened. The call soon came through but Sandra had to wait for some of the officers to locate her father around the compound but he was eventually located after standing outside with some men for a while. "Father, I have tragic news to report to you." She proceeded to tell him of the loss of the young Mountie from far away and how the incident had ramifications concerning Hope Valley with the young man's partner occupying a cell here and being virtually inconsolable. "Father, I feel that there are two matters that are very important and they must be handled urgently and very carefully."

Any injury or loss of one of their men was felt very heavily by everyone and Sandra's father was almost speechless for a while, "I agree totally with you and you can tell Eric that I am going to follow this up without any delay, will you please extend my best wishes to Elizabeth Thornton and my understanding as well. I am so glad that you are there for her as she would have many memories of her late husband and this would bring it all back for her." Elizabeth was overcome to think that the superintendent would remember her from the past and she recalled his visit to her home when he had come so long ago to see Constable Grant. "Your wonderful father is a very special man Sandra and it's no wonder that he is held in so high regard."

"Mills here, am I talking to Superintendent Stanbridge," the wonder of modern technology was marvellous and not to be ever taken for granted. He always remembered when he first heard the clicking of the telegraph some years ago and from then, it was almost beyond belief that you could communicate with someone many miles away almost instantly. It hadn't taken very long for the people in authority to recognise the massive benefit to police work all around the country. The recent storm had played havoc with the infrastructure but, at least it was only going to be temporary and they would learn lessons from it. He considered that it would be more than three day's ride in a coach but now he could talk to someone from that distance away just as if they were in the same room together. The two minute wait was a small price to pay but soon the two high ranking officers were now ready to liaise with each other over the phone and set about dealing with the serious matters before them.

"Sir, I have a daughter who is at Hope Valley even as we speak and she has reported to me the terrible tragedy that has befallen the young Mountie from Cape Fullarton and his family. Unfortunately, it has brought back memories of a similar tragedy from some years ago at Fort Clay which cost the life of one of our highly regarded Mounties. I wasn't there at the time but I feel the loss as one of my own." These two officers had not spoken together at length other than a passing acknowledgment at previous conferences but there was now great empathy for each other. Superintendent Stanbridge responded, "I took Captain Bedford with me when we had to break the news to Mr and Mrs Metcalfe and I can tell you, there is no amount of money or experience in this force that can prepare you for a task like that. Mrs Metcalfe was a tower of strength and it is people like her who make our country what it is today."

The main areas of concern as described by Sandra were the tasks of supporting and rehabilitating the captain and also ensuring that the Metcalfe family never find out about the circumstances of their son's dismissal. "I am worried about Captain Bedford and I am continually considering any further support that can be arranged for him. He made a heartfelt apology at an assembly of the men and they have offered their support to him so that is encouraging. I have also ordered every mention and instruction of the dismissal to be expunged and that it be stricken from any record that we have here, there is to be no record of it anywhere. If the parents ever find out the true events then I fear that it would be even more tragic for the family and destroy Captain Bedford and he would never recover."

Superintendent Mills was heartened by what he had heard but there was the matter of why the two men were so far away from their post and it would be needed to be explained. Sandra had made a suggestion to him which he now put forward. "Sir, I suggest that you prepare instructions from your end to suggest that the two Mounties were selected from a group and they were currently travelling to Fort Clay on secondment for a period of time. We will also have the corresponding documentation prepared from our end to corroborate this arrangement and tie up any loose ends. I think that we both know that, for the sake of the parents that this must never see the light of day." Superintendent Stanbridge could not have agreed more after seeing the faces of the parents and not wishing in any way to have the memory of their son tainted by the captain's irrational decision.

"My heart is very heavy at the loss of this brave young man and what he did as my daughter Sandra said how he saved the life of a little girl from the raging inferno and, by all accounts she is going to be fine and well after recovering from the dreadful shock. I hear also that the family of this little girl have lost everything which is something that I can't possibly imagine." His voice from over the phone could be felt unmistakably with huge sadness. "Sir, I have to tell you that this is all too similar to the loss here of Constable Jack Thornton who saved two of his men from certain death in the avalanche that took his life. Our young Adrian Metcalfe has died a hero and we must honour his passing with the service and the respect that he most fully deserves." They both resolved to jointly coordinate with each other and plans were to be put into action as soon as possible.

Both men were thankful that they were in full agreement with each other and they thought, "why wouldn't we be so," A great tragedy had occurred in its midst and it needed some wise and experienced heads to bring things back together. Superintendent Stanbridge had an additional proposition to put forward, "Sir, I can't bear the thought of that poor mother, what she has gone through and nearly the loss of her daughter. I suggest that, between the two of us, we most definitely have the resources, the means and the manpower that we will need and we would be well able to restore that home from the ashes and it might help restore the townsfolk as well. This must have been an earth shattering shock for them as well." They were both having a hard time getting their heads around the loss of the Mountie but there was a little child who was still alive.