Elizabeth sat outside the infirmary for hours. The only time she spoke was when Allie arrived. She heard Allie's voice and she immediately gathered the girl into her arms. She spoke comforting words, telling her everything would be ok. Elizabeth promised to come get Allie as soon as there was any news on Nathan. William offered to take Allie back to Elizabeth's house and pick up Jack from the Coulters house. Elizabeth nodded and went right back to her seat outside the infirmary.

Bill tried to get Elizabeth to come to the cafe with him to get something to eat. She looked straight ahead and didn't answer him. She had been crying for hours and the tears had dried on her face. She tried to be strong for Nathan and for the children. The thought of having to go on in Hope Valley without Nathan was too much.

When the door opened to the infirmary, Elizabeth jumped up so fast that she almost lost her balance. Faith ran over and held her arm to stop her from falling. "Elizabeth are you ok?"

"Nathan… is he…" Elizabeth asked, ignoring Faith's question.

"He is alive. Carson removed the bullet from his side and it appears to have missed any vital organs. Carson stitched him up but Nathan hasn't woken up. We are watching him for any signs of infection."

"Can I see him?"

"Yes, you can sit next to him if you want." Faith looked at Elizabeth before they went inside. Elizabeth looked tired and Faith was concerned that Elizabeth was having difficulties standing. "Elizabeth, when was the last time you ate something?"

Faith held her outside until Elizabeth looked at her. "I don't know. Yesterday maybe."

"I will let you go in and sit by Nathan. I will go to the cafe and get you a sandwich, you need to eat so you can be strong when Nathan wakes up."

Elizabeth nodded as Faith held open the door and guided her in the room. Elizabeth's eyes went wide as she saw Nathan lying in the bed. She saw his serge lying on a chair to the side of the bed. His boots were at the end of the bed where Carson or Faith had removed them. The blanket was pulled up to his collarbone. Nathan was pale from the loss of blood. Elizabeth moved slowly to the chair and took Nathan's hand in hers.

Carson and Faith walked to the other side of the room before Faith left to go to the cafe. Elizabeth held Nathan's hand next to her cheek and she moved the hair that had fallen over his eyes. Elizabeth felt her breath catch as she looked at him, lying there so still. She took a deep breath and said to him, "Nathan, I'm here. Allie and Jack are ok, my father is watching them. We are all worried about you. I am trying to be strong, but I'll admit I'm not doing a good job. You are part of me Nathan. I need you to get better so we can start living our future together. Please Nathan, just open your eyes…."

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At church the next morning, Joseph led everyone in a prayer for Nathan. William had tried to get the children to go to church with him, but Allie had been up most of the night crying. Jack kept asking for his mama, not understanding what had happened. William decided to stay home with the children and he sat on the settee with prayers of his own. For Elizabeth and for Nathan.

Elizabeth stayed in the infirmary all night. Carson and Faith took turns sitting with her and monitoring Nathan. He hadn't woken yet and Elizabeth could see the concern on both of her friends' faces. Rosemary had stopped by before church with a change of clothes for Elizabeth. Bill had talked to Rosemary as she left the infirmary and asked if Rosemary could help with the school since he knew Elizabeth would not be able to.

Bill started to walk back to the Mountie office after church. He had made sure all the doors to the office were locked as well as Charles' cell. Mike was going to sit outside the office to keep an eye on things while Bill was gone. As Bill was walking he saw a horse with a Mountie coming into town. He had called Gabe in Brookfield yesterday and asked him to come as soon as possible. It was clear that Gabe had ridden throughout the night.

Bill walked up the steps of the Mountie office and thanked Mike for his help. Mike walked in the direction of the saloon and Gabe dismounted the horse in front of the office. "I wasn't expecting you until later."

"I wanted to get here so I could check on Nathan and get the prisoner out of town as soon as possible."

"He is inside. I checked on Nathan before church this morning and he still hadn't woken up. Elizabeth hasn't left his side yesterday."

"I think I will check on him first and then come over here to get the paperwork started for the transfer."

Gabe left his hat on the saddle of his horse. He straightened his serge and walked to the infirmary. He looked over at the bed where Nathan was lying. Elizabeth had her head lying on bed next to where she held his hand. Gabe looked over at the desk and saw Faith who nodded at him. When he shut the door behind him, Elizabeth looked up.

"How is he Elizabeth?" Gabe asked. Elizabeth looked over at him and no words would come. She started to cry looking down at Nathan's hand, rubbing her thumb over his hand. Gabe crouched down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "He will be ok. I know it."

"How do you know?" Elizabeth asked.

"He told me when you both started courting. He was so happy. I know that he will fight as hard as he can to come back to you," Gabe said with a small smile. "I need to go over to the Mountie office but I will check on you before I leave town."

Elizabeth turned back to Nathan and Gabe stood. He walked over to Faith and asked her to let him know if there were any changes. He talked to Bill outside the office and the two of them got started on the paperwork.

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Nathan could feel every stitch that had been put into his side. Once the bullet hit him, all he felt was pain. He started to open his eyes but everything was blurry. He was trying to focus and figure out where he was. Once his eyes focused, he looked around the room and he heard a sigh next to him. He looked down and Elizabeth was lying down on the bed next to him. She was curled up and she had her head on his the pillow next to his. 'Was this a dream?' Nathan thought.

He tried to move his hand to his face without waking her but it was no use. Her eyes flew open at the movement and she looked in his eyes. Neither one of them said anything for a couple minutes. Nathan was happy to have her next to him and Elizabeth was trying to determine if he was really awake.

"Hi," Nathan said with a scratchy voice.

"Nathan! You're awake!" Elizabeth threw her arm over Nathan's chest, holding him close. She heard a grunt from Nathan and pulled back. She had forgotten about his injury. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. Are you in pain?" Elizabeth tried to pull back from him but Nathan grabbed her hand.

"It's ok, how long have I been out?"

"Two days. It was the hardest two days of my life," Elizabeth said.

Nathan leaned over and kissed her. It was brief as he couldn't move without pain but he wanted to show her that he was ok. Elizabeth would have been happy to stay there forever. She heard the sound of the door opening and she quickly moved back to the chair next to the bed, never releasing Nathan's hand.

Carson and Faith both walked in. They had gone to the cafe for something to eat, telling Elizabeth they would be back soon. "Nathan, good to see you awake," Carson said.

"Thank you Carson. And thank you for taking care of me after…" Nathan said, not wanting to talk about the shooting to upset Elizabeth.

Elizabeth kissed his hand that she held. She had so many things she wanted to tell him but it could wait. Everything she had hoped for could become a reality. Now that she knew he was ok, the lack of sleep and hunger hit her. Carson looked at Elizabeth and asked, "Elizabeth why don't you go over to the cafe to get some coffee and something to eat. I need to check Nathan's stitches and vitals. You can come right back but it would be good for you to take a moment."

Nathan saw the look on Elizabeth's face and added, "I'm ok Elizabeth. Please take care of yourself. I will be here when you are done."

"Ok. I will be right back." Elizabeth leaned down and kissed Nathan. She didn't care that Carson and Faith were there. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand before she walked towards the door.

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William was sitting with the children at the Coulters house. Rosemary had invited them all for dinner. He watched as Jack played with toys on the floor and Allie sat on the floor with him. She moved a couple of toys but she was obviously distracted. There was a knock at the door and Lee walked to answer it.

"Bill, is everything ok?" Lee asked.

"Yes, there wasn't an answer next door so I thought William and the children would be here," Bill said.

"Is my dad ok?" Allie asked as she stood up.

"He's awake. Dr. Shepherd is checking on him. He said that you could come check on your dad in the morning."

Allie smiled and went back to where Jack was. She started to play and help Jack build with the blocks. Bill looked at William and asked, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yes," William said. He looked at Allie, "I'll be right back."

Both of the men walked to the porch. "What is it?" William asked.

"It's Charles. He wants to talk to you before he is transferred to Capital City."

"Tomorrow. I'll bring the children to the infirmary in the morning and I can listen to whatever he has to say."