Rosemary had offered to watch Jack tonight. Elizabeth did not want to inconvenience her friend but Rosemary had insisted. In a way, Rosemary knew that Elizabeth would need some time on her own. To journal or work through what had happened tonight. Rosemary had asked her if anyone had touched her or done anything inappropriate when they had her. Elizabeth said no, nothing like that. Rosemary was at least relieved for that. Elizabeth wasn't ready to talk about the rest of it just then but Rosemary hoped if she gave her the night, she would feel a little better in the morning.

Elizabeth walked into her house but she did not feel comfortable. She went to the kitchen and got the gun that Jack had given her for emergencies. She had kept it locked in a box and hadn't opened it since he died. She held the gun and walked throughout her house, checking all the rooms and closet to make sure no one was waiting for her, like they had been on the street.

Once she had checked everything twice, she went downstairs and made sure every window and door was locked tight. She put the gun back in its box and locked that up tight. She really didn't like having it, but she understood the reason when Jack had asked her to keep it there. He wanted her to be safe when he couldn't be there. It was almost like he was looking out for her still.

Elizabeth went to the kitchen to brew some camomile tea. She hoped it would calm her nerves tonight. She stood by the sink while the tea was brewing. Elizabeth looked out the window with a blank stare, her hands resting on the edge of the sink. She stood there just thinking about being in the dark of that room. In that moment, she went around lighting every candle that she could find. She couldn't be in the dark at that moment.

She took her tea and sat on the settee. She had grabbed her journal off her desk and took it with her when she sat down. Elizabeth put the journal down in front of her, not ready yet. She held the tea in both of her hands, sipping it until her breath calmed.

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Nathan and Bill had walked each member of the gang over to the jail one by one so there would be no issues. Lee and Henry kept an eye on the others while they did this. As they walked from the saloon to the Mountie office, the crowd remained outside on the street, talking to each other trying to determined what had happened that night. When Nathan and Bill came out of the office to walk back over to get Amos Dixon, they knew they needed to clear the street first.

"Ok everyone, please go back to your houses. We need to get our work finished and we do not want to be concerned about all of your safety as well. Please go straight home and we will see you all in the morning. Thank you!" Nathan said loudly to the crowd. The people began to disburse. Once everyone had walked away, Nathan and Bill walked into the saloon.

"Has he given you any trouble?" Bill asked.

"He hasn't said a thing," Henry said.

"Thank you both, you can go home now," Nathan said to both Lee and Henry. The men nodded and went towards the door. Bill began to untie Amos from the chair and pulled him to stand. He left his hands tied behind his back.

"You think you caught me, but I will get out of this. That you can be sure of," Amos Dixon said looking at Nathan.

Bill laughed as Nathan kept his serious, straight face. "You are going away for a long time Amos."

The men were walking towards the door when Amos said, "If you are going to put me in a cell, why not bring that pretty lady back over here. We were having a nice time getting to know her."

Nathan's eyes went wild. He pulled Amos by his shirt and threw him up against the wall next to the door. He stared him down saying, "Don't. You. Ever…."

Bill put his hand on Nathan's arm, "Nathan its ok, he's not worth it. Let's get him in a cell and then we can call headquarters for transport."

Nathan released him and Bill took his hands, pulling him through the door. Bill walked him to the jail with Nathan walking behind. Bill put Amos in the opposite cell from his gang. "I will take the first shift and call headquarters. You go home and get some rest, I'll see you first thing in the morning," Bill said.

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, go home. If I need you I can send someone to come get you. We will be fine here." The men were all cuffed to the cells so they couldn't move too much. Bill would just have to put up with their talking which he had plenty of practice with as a former Mountie. Nathan was anxious to get home, but he had a stop to make first.

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Elizabeth reached for her journal, knowing that was the best way for her to work through things. She was struggling between the wanting to forget and needing to work through it so she could move forward. She would not let these criminals have the satisfaction of knowing that they had affected her this much. She put her cup down on the table and took a deep breath. She opened her journal to the first page and began to write.

As Elizabeth was writing, there was a knock at the door. She immediately dropped her journal and curled her knees to her chest, knocking over the table and the cup in the process. She heard a voice from the other side of the door, "Elizabeth, it's Nathan. Are you ok?"

Elizabeth immediately calmed at the sound of his voice. She stood, wiping her face from the tears that had started when she began to write. She walked towards the door, unlocked it, and opened it a crack peeking out to make sure it was indeed him. Nathan looked back at her from the step with his stetson hat in his hand. He had concern written on his face as he looked at her, "I heard a crash, is everything ok? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I was startled. I knocked over a table," Elizabeth said looking down.

"I didn't mean to startle you Elizabeth. You are safe, the men are all in jail and Bill is keeping watch tonight."

"Thank you."

"Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?"

"I don't know if I can."

"I understand. I was held hostage once before. I'm sorry you had to go through that. They didn't hurt you, did they?" Nathan asked, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer but needing to ask as the Mountie.

"No, they didn't hurt me, not physically. You really were held hostage before?" Nathan nodded back at her, Elizabeth feeling a little more calm that he would really understand what had happened. "Would you like to come in, I made some tea?" Elizabeth asked. Elizabeth held the door open as Nathan walked in. She took his hat and put it on the hook by the door. Elizabeth then walked to the kitchen to get some cups for the tea.

Nathan hadn't been in Elizabeth's house before but it looked like her. The colors and the decorations all looked like some of the outfits he had seen Elizabeth wear in town. He smiled as he looked at some of the pictures around the room. Nathan saw the table in front of the settee that had been knocked over and started to move it upright. The cup Elizabeth had with tea had broken and Nathan tried to pick up the pieces. One of the smaller pieces cut the palm of his hand, "Ouch!"

Elizabeth ran over to where he was standing, "Are you hurt? Oh no, your hand! Come in the kitchen, I think I have a first-aid kit." Nathan walked with his one hand under the other, trying to keep any blood off Elizabeth's floor. Elizabeth motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs and she pulled another chair next to him, taking his hand. She wiped the blood from his hand with a damp cloth and wrapped it tightly. "The cut doesn't look too deep but you may want to have Carson look at it tomorrow. It should be ok for now though," Elizabeth said.

"Thank you Elizabeth." Nathan paused for a moment looking at his hand as Elizabeth took a sip of tea that she had brought over. "Are you ready to tell me what happened?"

"I was walking towards the cafe and a man grabbed me from behind, putting his hand over my mouth. He threatened the people in the cafe if I made a sound. I knew I should struggle but I knew Jack was in there so I couldn't take that chance. The man led me into the saloon where I saw the group of others. I heard some of them call a man Amos, who I assumed was the leader. He told them to put me in the storage room until they could figure out what to do. They put me in a storage room that was completely dark, tied to that chair. The men would come in to check on me, but they would also tell me about things they were going to do. They touched my cheek and said awful things. I heard them later talk about Lucas. I have no idea why they took me. When I heard your voice telling them they were under arrest, I felt such relief. I knew everything was going to be ok. I had held the tears back until that moment because I didn't want them to see me cry. I had to be strong for my son."

"Elizabeth, you were strong. You are safe. They can't do anything to you anymore. I don't know if we will ever know why they took you but I will do my best to find out so you can have some closure. I want you to know that I would do anything to protect you and keep you safe. If you need anything, just ask."

"Thank you Nathan."

"I should be going. I need to be back at the jail in a few hours. Will you be ok here?"

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"Ok, if you need anything, I know Lee and Rosemary are next door but you can call Bill in the jail and he can get me or send Lee and I will be right here."

Elizabeth nodded. Nathan got up and walked to the door with Elizabeth coming behind him. He took his hat off the hook and put it on his head. He looked back at Elizabeth, "lock the door behind me, I'll talk to you tomorrow," Nathan said with a smile.

"Tomorrow, yes." Elizabeth said smiling for the first time. She shut the door and locked it. She felt so much better after talking about it. That wasn't usually the case with her but she felt comfortable with Nathan in a way she hadn't before. She looked at her settee and saw her table with the journal on top. She had been so concerned about Nathan's hand that she hadn't seen him put that all back the way it should be. 'The man had such a quiet kindness.'