March 1915

They did not see each other again until Henry's trial in Cape Fullerton. He was shocked to see that she had agreed to testify FOR him rather than against, but his lawyer had begged him to give him ANY name of someone who MAY speak of him positively. Just to shut him up, Henry said Abigail's name, not expecting her to actually BE a character witness in the case, but it was the best "fake" decision he ever made. The judge gave him a lesser sentence than he had anticipated and then credited him time served so that he would get to go home to Hope Valley immediately following the trial. All thanks to Abigail's testimony. She had practically begged the judge to not ONLY judge Henry on his mistakes but also on the good things he had done for the town as a whole and the selfless things he had done for her, her family, and even Bill.

Every word that Abigail said FOR Henry on that stand stung him as he knew he did not deserve to hear kind words from her. But he knew she was not lying and they were things that she actually believed about him. That only made him feel worse. He promised the judge that he would not make a fool of him for this sentencing but Henry was not entirely sure that he was going to keep that promise and he was ashamed to even think it. But he knew himself better than anyone did and he knew it was only a matter of time that he would mess up again. And the next time….he was certain, Abigail would not give him another chance.

Once he was brought back to Hope Valley, Henry did his best to avoid Abigail, though he knew he owed her thanks for her testimony. He got a job working at the sawmill for Lee and felt as though he had taken several steps back in his life. He had worked from the ground up to become one of the employers and now he was back to being a measly little employee…taking orders like some trained dog. He hated it….but he knew he deserved it.

"Mm, life's just getting better." He said sarcastically when Lee informed the workers at the mill about a few weeks after he began to work that there would be no payroll for a few days or even another week. Henry immediately suspected that there was something wrong at the bank when he heard this so he visited the bank himself and had a word with Mr. Jenkins. He was right.

So much for avoiding Abigail.

He went to her office to warn her, telling her as quickly as he could with as much advice as he could give before leaving quickly.

It wasn't even two days later that the bank closed down and the town was in a panic. Abigail, for once feeling as though she had no smarts for something like this, then approached Henry at work at the sawmill the next day, asking him for his help. She knew that with his old connections, he must know SOMEBODY with enough money to invest in new funds for their bank. Henry was reluctant at first to even consider trying, knowing that with word out about his arrest and his trial, there was a chance that all of his old buddies would only see him as slime now. But when he told Abigail no, she did not take that, telling him that the Henry Gowen she knows would live for this kind of fight…a business deal gamble…and the look in her eyes only gave Henry the kick in the butt he needed to finally tell her he would give it a shot. Though a part in him asked himself why he, still, always did anything for her.

April 1915

A couple of weeks passed and Jack and Elizabeth were married. Frank had returned from the children's hospital to perform the ceremony and Henry avoided Abigail even more. He noticed how much more she smiled around Frank and decided to do his work, try to get investors for the bank and move on. Though he hadn't much luck with the finances, he kept trying, getting a no every single time. He felt awful having to disappoint Abigail over and over again.

It was only a day or two later that he finally found an old friend who sounded interested. He was on his way to the cafe to tell Abigail when he saw that she was standing at the stagecoach with Frank, Elizabeth, and a few others. He stayed across the street, not wanting to intrude on whatever was happening at the moment, but witnessed Frank climb into the stagecoach and leave town.

After Abigail then said goodbye to Elizabeth and Jack who were leaving on their own carriage for their honeymoon, Henry finally approached her to tell her the good news. He tipped his hat to her after hearing her thanks and left, heading home without another word to her.

He continued to avoid her unless they had business to discuss. His finances began to crumble more with the bank closure and his less than desirable new job at the sawmill. It wasn't long before Abigail heard word that he sold his mansion in the woods to acquire more cash and he moved into a room above the saloon. She always attempted to approach him and ask how he felt about it, but he would come up with some excuse as to why he needed to leave or had no time to talk.

June 1915

Soon, he kept his promise, bringing Greta Preston into Hope Valley as an investor and after a few days of hardships with an investor that Mr. Jenkins contacted, Greta and Jenkins signed a contract together. The bank re-opened and the town began to thrive again. Well…some of the town. Henry kept his cash on hand, no longer trusting the bad decisions that Mr. Jenkins continued to make. Henry had even admitted to Abigail that the bad investor that Jenkins had found opposite Greta was the type of man he would have chosen himself back when he was the selfish mayor a year ago. Abigail, of course, tried to convince him that he was a changed man now and Henry brushed off her words and left her alone in the saloon.

Abigail couldn't understand what she had done wrong to make him act even more cold toward her than he even had back when the mining accident first happened. Any time she tried to have some sort of conversation with him, he seemed almost emotionless and she couldn't understand why. For a while, she suspected that perhaps he still thought she had something going with Pastor Frank, but even after she informed Henry that they broke things off and Frank would be staying at children's hospital in Cape Fullerton for good, the convicted felon still spent his time avoiding her. She wondered if perhaps she said something at his trial to scare him off. Or maybe her asking him for help from his former rich friends went a little too far and made him feel used. She hadn't intended to make him feel that way. She hadn't a clue how to approach him anymore.

Perhaps that was why she was more than surprised when, one night, Henry entered the mayor's office to speak with her.

"I just gave my notice to Lee at the mill. I'll be leaving town soon." He told her, his voice soft and even a bit sad.

"What's going on?" She asked him with a bit of concern in her tone. First he sells his home, now quits the only job he may ever get after his arrest.

"I've been given the opportunity to run a company in Benson Hills."

"That's wonderful!" She smiled, actually happy for him. "How did this happen?"

"It was offered to me by a woman named Eleanor Roberts."

"Is that the widow of Lee's silent partner?" She asked him, a hint of suspicion in her tone.

"I believe that it is."

"What kind of company is it?" She wondered, now remembering her conversation with Rosemary earlier that same day about how Rosemary was afraid Eleanor was up to something.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that at this time." Henry told her, knowing that if he mentioned it was another sawmill, it would look suspicious and as if he were trying to compete with Lee. Which was actually not the case for once.

"I worry about a job you can't talk about." She told him.

"I understand that anything I do will fall under suspicion." He told her, finding it hard to look her in the eye. "But this IS a legitimate opportunity."

"I don't know, Henry. You-"

"Abigail." He softly interrupted her. "Look at me." He said with almost a hint of desperation in his tone. "I'm a convicted felon on parole who's barely scratching out a living. I'm trying to maintain some semblance of being a gentleman, but…it's all kind of falling apart." He admitted to her, looking into her eyes with slight pain in his own eyes. "Not too many people would take a chance on me."

"Henry…" Abigail set her files down on the desk between them. "I just want you to be sure that it's the RIGHT opportunity." She told him kindly.

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't take it." He informed her. "I have the skills to run a company. I've done it before."

"With all due respect…running the Pacific Northwest Mining Company was not your shining hour." She told him honestly.

"I know that I made mistakes…big ones." The look in her eyes confused him. The words she said hurt him, but the way she looked at him made him feel like….she cared. "But I like to think that I learned from them and it will make me a better manager…That aside, I want you to know that I know that I wouldn't even have this opportunity if it wasn't for you. I'll never forget that."

Abigail sighed as she watched him leave, the words he said about how not many people would give him an opportunity made her wonder what this Eleanor Roberts woman really was up to.

She approached Bill and asked him to learn more about her background and see if there was anything suspicious about it. Bill found nothing.

She couldn't believe her ears when she was called to the Mountie's office only a day or so later with the news that Henry had informed Bill and Lee that Eleanor was asking him to steal Lee's business deals and clients for her. Her plan to start her own sawmill and take most of Lee's plans and deals was more than illegal and Henry helped Bill arrest her by pretending to be in on her plan. Almost as if he were undercover.

"Shall we head over to the saloon for Carson's surprise birthday party?" Abigail said to the men surrounding her in the Mountie's Office where Eleanor was now locked up.

"Be over there in a minute." Lee told her as Bill made sure Eleanor's cell bars were secure.

Henry followed Abigail outside after Lee had told him he earned himself a little promotion at the sawmill. But he did not look like he had received such good news.

"What's wrong, Henry?" Abigail asked him as they descended the stairs outside the Mountie's office.

"Foolishly, I thought things would be different." Henry sighed as he walked down the street with her. "Clearly, Miss Roberts only saw me as a criminal."

"You're not a criminal." Abigail shook her head, starting to feel angered by the way everyone was treating him.

"I earned that reputation, Abigail." Henry told her with a pained smile.

"As of today, you're earning a different one." She tried to reassure him.

He turned to face her, stopping in his tracks in the center of the street. "That's kind of you to say, but I still have a long way to go." He admitted…his own disappointment from losing an opportunity to be a business manager yet again ripping any semblance of hope he had left for his future away from him. His motivation to join a party was even less present than it was before any of this. "Why don't you go on inside? I think I'm gonna take a walk."

"Do you want company?" Abigail asked him, her own sadness taking over as she noticed the look in his eyes. She could see that he was giving up. She could see that the hope he had the other night when he told her about the job had been torn from him and it caused her to feel a pain in her chest she hadn't felt in a long time. She more than felt sorry for him…she felt hurt for him. Seeing him so broken and even more alone than he'd ever been hurt her more than she would care to admit. She couldn't understand why seeing him this way affected her so. She wanted to be with him the rest of the night so he wouldn't feel so alone anymore. She needed him to know that he wasn't.

"I'll join you later." He told her…not wanting to take away her opportunity to have fun with her friends.

She was disappointed in his answer but tried to hide it with a kind smile and she turned to head to the saloon, wishing Henry would change his mind and call after her…but the further away she was from him, the more she realized that he was not going to call her name like she wanted. Just as she approached the saloon door, she turned to look at him behind her but he was already gone and she sighed again before heading inside.

Carson's party was exactly what she needed yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. She thought it was all about Henry. She would look toward the door to see if he was about to walk in, but he never came. Not even to go up to his room for some sleep. Something in her spirit felt so wrong and she could not figure out why. She tried to ignore her feelings and continued to smile throughout the party.

It wasn't until Elizabeth mentioned that she forgot Carson's birthday present at the school and Abigail offered to walk over there with her that her feeling was finally confirmed. Something WAS off. Only it had nothing to do with Henry. Just as she and Elizabeth left the saloon, they were approached by a Mountie whom Elizabeth mistook for Jack only to learn the news of his passing in a landslide accident.

Abigail was not sure how long she had been holding Elizabeth, sobbing in the street before Lee and Bill stepped outside for fresh air to find the two ladies in such a state on the ground. More and more people noticed the sound of Elizabeth's cries outside and exited the saloon to find out what the commotion was. The moment they saw the Mountie, they knew. Carson's joyful party turned into a devastating gathering of those who loved Jack and tried their best to comfort Elizabeth and coax her to stand so she could be escorted home by her friends.

Abigail and Rosemary stayed with Elizabeth the longest. Stroking her hair and wiping her tears as she laid on the sofa in her rowhouse. Eventually, Elizabeth cried herself to sleep and Rosemary convinced Abigail to head back to the cafe to make sure Cody and Robert would be getting ready for bed at a reasonable hour after the party, which some folks had tried to patch together for Carson after Elizabeth had been escorted away. Abigail almost couldn't leave Elizabeth, but as she watched Rosemary care for her and was reminded of the two boys at home, she knew she had to step away for a bit, her heart sinking as she realized that Elizabeth reacted just as she had when she heard of the mining accident.

As Abigail stepped into the cafe after leaving Elizabeth's, she froze for a moment, placing a hand over her heart. Her eyes stung from hours of crying and her throat burned from trying to hold back more and more tears whilst she and Rosemary did their best to keep it together for their friend. Abigail wanted nothing more than to scream. Why was it that nobody in their wonderful town could stay happy? Why did everyone there have to lose so much? If it wasn't husbands or children lost…it was money…if it wasn't money lost….it was friends or parents. She was starting to lose her faith again. Why would God allow these things to keep happening? Why would he take Jack from Elizabeth now after all they'd been through? And not even in battle. He had to die in some natural accident…saving his men from a landslide of rocks. She felt herself breaking…only to be quickly glued back together for a brief moment as she heard the boys' voices coming from upstairs.

She took a moment to calm herself and stop any other threatening tears from falling before she headed upstairs to get Robert and Cody tucked in for bed. She waited until they were asleep before she went back down into the kitchen to make herself some tea.

She sat at the table as she waited for the water to boil in her kettle, her eyes fixated on the wall ahead of her. A wall that Jack helped her patch up when she first bought the cafe. She looked up to the ceiling at the spot that had once had a hole in it. The leak in her roof that Jack had also mended. She had felt awful at the time, being unable to pay him for his help, but he had never asked for money from her. He had told her that as long as she looked after Elizabeth…it was all the payment that he needed. She let out a breath and covered her mouth with both of her hands to muffle her sobs as she began to cry again. She had lost count now at how many times she had started and stopped crying in just this one night, but she couldn't help it. Her heart ached for Elizabeth but also for the man that she knew would give anything to be here right now to comfort his wife. Her heart ached for Noah and Peter as well. And oh, how she missed Becky out at school. She knew Cody was still too young to understand how to comfort her. She didn't want to place this type of burden on him anyway.

She cried at the table for a while before the steam from her tea kettle began to fly through the air. She quickly stood to take it off the stove before it would whistle and wake the boys. Wiping her tears away, she got a teacup from the cupboard. Her mind began to wander long enough for her to miss that she had overfilled the teacup, the hot water spilling out and onto the counter. It wasn't until she heard the stream of water hitting the floor that she snapped out of her thoughts and grabbed a towel to dry up her mess.

As she squatted down to dry the floor, the back door to the cafe opened and she looked up to see Henry looking down at her.

"Some men at the saloon told me the news." He spoke gently and in a voice she hadn't heard from him since they last spoke of Noah. He knew that squatting to be at eye level with her would hurt his bad leg more than anything, but he didn't care, setting a hand on the corner of the counter to crouch down too. He took the towel from her hand and started to wipe up some of the water from the floor for her. "Do you want to talk about it?" He softly asked her, looking up into her sad eyes. He suddenly remembered the very first time he saw her. He had bent down just like this in the mercantile to help her pick up that bag of flour she had knocked over. A part of him said not to speak but another part of him, the part that told jokes to cope with uncomfortable situations, told him otherwise. "We have to stop meeting like this." He tried his best to make her smile.

Abigail just looked at him for a moment with nothing she could even think of to say. But she saw the sincerity in his eyes and knew that, despite his ill-timed joke, he was there for her. "Oh, Henry!" Was all she could say before hugging him tightly and she cried again.

He let go of the towel on the floor to hug her back, wishing he could take away every bad thing that ever happened to her. Hearing her cry on his shoulder broke his heart and he wanted nothing more than to protect her from ever feeling this way again.

They both stood together without breaking the hug. Henry gently rubbed her back as he felt her squeezing him, ignoring the pain in his leg. "Why does this keep happening?" She quietly asked him.

"I….I don't know, Abigail." He told her the truth. "But none of you deserve it." He informed her, hugging her a bit tighter as well and he slid a comforting hand up into her hair, closing his eyes.

"Least of all, Elizabeth." She told him. "She has never brought harm to anyone."

Abigail's tone hurt Henry even more. He hadn't heard her truly cry like this before. Even at the memorial the town held when all the miners' bodies were found…she had held it together to help comfort the other widows.

"I know." Henry told her. "Neither have you." He gently massaged her hair. "I am sorry." He said genuinely. "I hadn't realized Constable Thornton meant so much to you."

"Oh, he was such a good man. And a great friend." She finally broke their hug to look Henry in the eye, but she didn't let go of his shoulders as she spoke. "But I am hurting for Elizabeth too. I know how she feels."

Henry lost the fight to his urge to reach up and wipe away Abigail's tears with his thumbs. "She is lucky to have you as a friend." He told her.

"Oh, the letter!" Abigail finally said.

"What letter?" Henry asked her.

"Before Jack was deployed to the Northern Territories…he gave me a letter he had written to Elizabeth should anything happen to him….I don't have the heart to give it to her now." She admitted. "It's too soon."

"You should give it to her when you feel the time is right then." Henry told her, though he was not entirely sure how this all worked. When his parents died, he had no one to help him through it. And he had lived the rest of his life after that dealing with anything and everything on his own. He had no idea how to be a friend to someone who lost a loved one.

"I just wish I knew how to help her." Abigail said before finally moving away from him and going back to finish drying up her mess.

"What…helped you when…you know?"

"I guess….realizing that I wasn't the only one going through it." She told him. "Speaking with the other widows helped me not feel so alone in it all."

"Then perhaps you should gather some of the other widows for Elizabeth some time. Show her that she isn't the only one." He suggested, unsure if that was the right thing to say or not.

"That…" she stopped what she was doing and looked up at him, "...is a great idea, Henry. I will keep that in mind. Thank you."

He was surprised to hear those last two words from her. Did something he said actually help? He couldn't even believe it. "Is there….anything you need?" He asked her, unsure if he would even be able to give her anything at all….but he could at least try.

Abigail finished drying the floor and counter and she dumped some of the water out of the teacup into the sink before realizing that she didn't want tea anymore anyways and she poured the whole glass out before turning to face Henry again. "I am not sure, Henry."

"Well…if you ever think of anything…you can come to me. I know I would not be your first choice for something like this, but-"

"Henry, stop." She said in a gentle tone.

"Stop what?"

"Putting yourself down so much." She went over to the sofa she had by the furnace and had a seat on it. "You have helped me through a lot, believe it or not and…you don't give yourself enough credit for it. I WILL take you upon your offer. If I think of anything that I need…you ARE the first person I will come to."

"Really?"

"Really." She softly smiled at him, her eyes still sparkling with tears. "And I really appreciate you coming over here tonight." She patted the spot on the couch next to her to offer it to him. "You may sit if you'd like."

He hesitated, looking at her hand on the spot beside her before soon going over to take it. They sat with their knees facing one another and Henry looked around the room they were in. "You really did a great job fixing this place up." He nodded. "I never told you that, but I always thought it." He admitted.

"Thank you. Jack helped out some as well." Her stomach hurt as she said Jack's name.

"He was a good man."

"Yes, he was."

"He let me into his Bachelor Luncheon when everyone there turned me away." Henry told her.

"He did?" Abigail turned in her seat to face him even more. "I never knew that."

"I know it might not be appropriate for me to ask…but do you think you could put in a good word for me to receive an invite to his funeral? He was the only man around here sometimes who tried to treat me equally even when I didn't deserve it. And I'd really like to pay my respects to him." Henry felt silly asking and he expected to get no more than a 'maybe' from Abigail.

"Of course I will, Henry." She told him without hesitation, taking both of his hands in her own and squeezing them. "Now….would you like some coffee or hot chocolate? I already have water ready for tea." She almost chuckled.

"No, thank you. I should be heading back." He moved to stand up, but Abigail squeezed his hands harder so that he couldn't.

"Stay." She said, beginning to rub the back of one of his hands. "I could really use the company." Her voice broke a little as she lost her breath, the thought of being alone again almost terrifying her like a little kid alone in the dark.

He had no idea what words to say back to her as he saw the look in her eyes. Without so much as a peep, she was begging him. He was reading her mind again. He felt his heart pounding as his eyes focused on her eyes but his mind focused on her hands holding his. She continued to rub the back of his left hand for a moment before sliding her hand all the way up his arm, passed his shoulder and up his neck to rest on his cheek.

She meant to speak aloud but her words came out in a whisper. "Why did you come here tonight, Henry?" She just now began to notice just how much she would say his name recently, the sound feeling good on her lips every time she said it. Her thumb caressed his cheek as she waited for an answer from him.

"I-I don't know." He said, his heart pounding even harder as her hand on his cheek made it hard for him to concentrate. "The thought of you being sad called me over."

She looked deeply into his eyes, knowing that he was telling her the truth and their history rushed through her mind in a flash. Her body felt a wave of both warmth and a chill all at once which traveled from her knees and up to her head. "Kiss me, Henry." She told him, her own heart pounding now as well. She could read in his eyes that he wondered why she would say that. Before he could ask with words, she answered him, as if she were taking him up on his earlier offer. "It's what I need."