Lucas wasn't entirely sure what was going on when he noticed Nathan ride back into town, and take up a conversation with another Mountie. Seeing Bill join them shortly after piqued his curiosity a bit more, but figured when he needed to know, they'd tell him. Seeing Nathan pass out on the street had been another matter, especially with Elizabeth and Allie right there. He and Henry had been walking into town when they saw the commotion and had rushed over to help. Once Nathan was settled in the infirmary, Bill had whispered something to Henry, who then motioned for Lucas and he to head back to the saloon. All Henry had said was that Bill would be over to talk to them later, and that was that. Heading back to his office, he glanced up at the stairs and noticed Jessie walking down. All thoughts about Nathan, Henry, Bill and anything, really, vanished. All he could see or think about was this incredible woman who had unexpectedly come into his life and turned everything upside down. He watched as she descended and then smiled as she found him in the crowd. They walked towards each other, oblivious to the sounds or people around them. Lucas could immediately tell something was very wrong, so he took her hand and walked her to his office.

Once the door was shut behind them, Lucas led her to the chairs in front of his desk and helped her sit down, before taking the other seat, not letting go of her hand. "Jessie," he asked, 'What's wrong?"

Jessie sat there, looking down at their entwined hands, trying to prolong the moment. Knowing that this could very well be her last conversation with this wonderful man sitting next to her. A man she had only known a few days but knew, without a doubt, they belonged together.

"Lucas, there is a Superintendent with the Mounted Police in town. His name is Andrew Hargraves. He and I, well, I guess you could say we have a complicated history. He has been a close friend of my father's for longer than I have been alive, but unlike my Father, he is not honest, nor is he decent. In fact, he is connected to a man who runs a very large and extensive crime ring. Because of his connections to the ring leader, they've managed to avoid capture or even punishment for anything they have done. I am only aware of one situation, about seven years ago, when one of the groups had been smuggling stolen jewelry across the county, disguised as cattle thieves. The Mountie, whom Andrew had assigned to track them, made a judgement call and intercepted them before they could cross the boarder. The men were arrested, but never charged with anything, and managed to disappear." Jessie stopped for a moment, trying to gauge the man's reaction to what she had said, knowing that his first thought would be that she was involved. "Please, Lucas", she continued, grasping his hand tighter and fighting the tears in her eyes. "Please believe me when I say that I am not involved with any part of this."

Hearing that last sentence, Lucas immediately replied with, "I believe you, Jessie." And he did believe her, completely. The idea hadn't even crossed his mind, but there were still so many questions. Before he was able to ask, Jessie burst into tears and started to pull her hand away. The tears shocked him, but what surprised him most was the overwhelming protective feeling that came over him. He immediately reached out and pulled the woman into his arms. Holding her tight, he let her cry against his chest.

Never in her life had someone told Jessie they believed her, at least not for something like this. There had been times when she went to her Father, hoping for help. But after hearing what she said, he would laugh and say how she was just being dramatic, and how she needed to stop being so uptight about things. Hearing Lucas, someone she barely knew, say those words when he had every reason not to believe her was her undoing. Then he pulled her into his arms to comfort her, which was something else she'd never experienced. She tried to keep her emotions in check, but this man's actions, and his genuine belief in her, was too much. She sank into his embrace and continued to cry.


Hearing the door open, Nathan looked over, hoping to see Faith walking through the door, ready to let him leave the infirmary. He was surprised to see Elizabeth walk in. She had left at the same time as Faith, to walk Allie home, where she would take over watching Jack and Goldie, to allow the Coulters to come back to town. Knowing it was too soon for her to have gone and come back, he raised an eyebrow as she walked towards him.

"Lilly asked if she could go home with Allie to play with Jack and Goldie, so Faith is walking them home." Elizabeth explained as she sat down, next to Nathan, on the bed.

"Ahh." was his only response. He reached out and took her hand, a silly grin appearing on his face.

"What?" Elizabeth asked, looking between him and their entwined hands, squeezing gently.

Nathan brought their hands to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "Nothing. I just love the fact that I can hold your hand. It makes me feel like a little boy at Christmas, is all. Especially when you accept it so willingly."

"I like that too, Nathan." she told him, gently bumping her shoulder to his.

"Does this mean I have to wait until Faith gets back before I can leave this place?" he had seen the playfulness in her eyes, but could also see that something else was going on behind those eyes. Figuring it was going to be the lecture about being careful, and he wanted to delay that one as long as possible.

Elizabeth smiled, her eyes twinkling as she looked into his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that managed to take her words away, but also could draw her into a world where it was just the two of them simply being together.

Once again, the door to the infirmary opened, and they smiled at each other. Of course, there would be another interruption. The person who walked in was the last one Nathan had expected to see that day. "Didn't I leave you in Buxton?" he asked, not sure what the expression on his friend's face was trying to convey.

"You did, thanks for that, by the way. You owe me, but we will talk about that later. First of all, why on earth are you in the Infirmary?"

Feeling the heat start to climb up his face, Nathan countered with, "What's the second of all?"

"My friend, I have been ordered to keep you here until Superintendent Hargraves personally comes to get you."

"What!?" Elizabeth exclaimed, "you mean like house arrest or something?"

Gabe's eyes hadn't left Nathan's since he walked into the building. He didn't want to say anything in front of this woman, who he assumed was Mrs. Thornton, but decided that was for a later time as well, but hoped his friend could read the message in his eyes. He sighed with relief when he saw the subtle nod of Nathan's head, indicating he understood what he'd been trying to say. Looking at the woman sitting next to his friend, he introduced himself, "Constable Kinslow, from Brookefield, ma'am" he said tipping his hat.

"Elizabeth Thornton, but please call me Elizabeth." She replied with a smile.

"And please call me Gabe. It's nice to have a face to put to the name." he told her.

She was a bit confused by that statement, but assumed he had heard about her from Nathan. "I am going to need to make a list of all the things that are being 'put aside' so we don't forget them." she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Elizabeth," Gabe said, after clearing his throat, knowing how awkward this could get. "Would you give me and Nathan a few minutes? There are some things we need to discuss." Seeing Nathan about to interrupt he hurried on, "And while I am sure Nathan will fill you in on everything, I'd like to talk to him alone, if you don't mind"

"Of course," she said before leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on Nathan's lips. Standing up she smiled and headed out the door.


Pulling the door shut behind her, Elizabeth was surprised to see Superintendent Hargraves standing there. Thankfully, he was facing the other way and hadn't seen her, or so she thought. "Mrs. Thornton." he said just as she started to walk away. Stopping, Elizabeth slowly turned but didn't say anything. "Your husband loved you a great deal, you know. H was always going on about how he couldn't wait to get back home to you, The day he left on that training mission he and I were talking, and he asked me to protect you, at any cost. That is why I am here. In fact, it's the only reason I am here. To keep you safe," he enunciated each word, and ended with, for Jack."

"And what makes you think you know what will and won't keep me safe?" Elizabeth asked, folding her arms in front of her.

"I found out that you were no longer in a relationship with Governor Bouchard, and then found yourself under Nathan Grant's spell. I promise you, he is not a good person and Jack would be horrified," he paused a moment, "No, he would be ashamed of you for carrying on with him like this." And then he was gone, walking down the street, tipping his hat, and calling out "Governor." as he passed Lucas, who was walking the opposite way towards the infirmary.


He'd seen Elizabeth talking to the man, and watched as she folded her arms in front of her, knowing exactly what it meant. He then saw the shock on her face at what she had heard, and noticed she became a little unsteady. Then he watched as the man began walking in his direction with an amused expression on his face. Lucas ignored the acknowledgement that was directed towards him and hurried to Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth," he asked quietly, reaching out to gently touch her shoulder, "are you okay?"

"Thank you, Lucas," she answered, with a small smile, "I am okay. Do you know where Bill is?"

"I was actually just looking for him as well. How is Nathan?"

"Doing better, thanks." she said, before asking again, "Do you know where he is?"

"I believe he is in his office. Elizabeth, what's going on?"

Elizabeth sighed, "I'd rather only say it once more, can we go find Bill and talk with him?"

"Of course." And together they started walking. Lucas noticed the frustrated look on her face and asked again, "Are you sure you're okay? Did that man say something to hurt you?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "Not out loud, but his intention was very clear." Seeing Bill coming out of his office, she picked up the pace and hurried to meet him, Lucas trailing just behind her.

Bill was relieved to see both Lucas and Elizabeth walking towards him and motioned for them to hurry to his office. He noticed the anger on Lucas's face, and the frustration on Elizabeth's as they got closer, so decided what he needed to say could wait until they were inside.

Upon reaching him, Elizabeth asked him directly, "Bill, do you know this Superintendent Hargraves?"

He nodded hesitantly and she asked her next question. "Then do you know why he came to my house and said all those terrible things about Nathan, not to mention lied about being good friends with Jack?"

The last part of her question caught Bill by surprise. "He said he was friends with Jack?" he asked incredulously.

"He did, but I seem to remember Jack mentioning something about a superior officer of his in the Northern Territories, that he had a few run in's with. I can't remember the name exactly, but when he said his name, it sounded really familiar." Elizabeth explained.

By this time, the three of them had entered Bill's office and were seated around the desk.

Looking at Lucas, Bill asked, "And you Governor, what are you here for?"

"I have a feeling this is all connected, but first, Elizabeth," he said, turning towards her. "I believe you had some things to say?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath, and was surprised when she felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks. Taking one more deep breath, she went on to explain what had happened at her house earlier. She quickly repeated everything the Superintendent had said and her responses. She then explained how Allie had come bursting into the room, having overheard it all, and what she had said.

"Cattle thieves?" Lucas muttered to himself as he listened to her story. "Wait, Elizabeth," he began, "Didn't you tell me that Nathan had been suspended because of cattle thieves, which is why Jack ended up leading the training mission?"

Elizabeth nodded her head, not sure if she wanted to go through this conversation again.

It was then that Bill spoke up. "I have a feeling we all might be telling the same story but with different details. So let's try to get the important details out and worry about the rest later. Here is what I know. Andrew Hargraves has a connection with Casimir Shaw," he paused, watching Elizabeth's reaction before continuing, "which means he's dirty and not to be trusted. However, it also means he can be extremely dangerous. He has it in for Nathan, seems to want him out of the picture, and has for a long time. He's the one that gave Nathan the suspension at Fort Clay."

Lucas began with what he knew. "Hargraves is dirty, Bill. Jessie, the reporter from Capital City, has known him since she was young. He and her father are good friends. From what she says, he's basically been allowing his people to run wild in the territory. Always making sure they aren't caught, or giving them ways to escape. Apparently, only once has Hargraves been unable to protect his men, but they still managed to escape charges and have since disappeared. That one incident involved cattle thieves and a Mountie who didn't exactly follow orders."

Bill was beside himself after hearing this information. "And this Jessica Harrison, as she calls herself, you are sure she isn't involved?" he asked Lucas directly.

Lucas looked the older man in the eyes and simply nodded his head. Even though it went against instinct inside of him, Bill accepted the answer.

"What, who is this reporter?" Elizabeth asked.

"Jessica Harrison, or Jessie, as she prefers to be called. She's a reporter for the Capital City Gazette who is in town right now." Lucas explained.

Elizabeth's eyes widened a little, "It can't be." she murmured to herself. It was a little louder than she intended, so was a little surprised when Bill and Lucas both asked, "Can't be what?"

"I went through school with a Jessica Harrison. Her family has been involved in politics for decades. She and I weren't exactly best friends, but we did spend a lot of time together. Last I heard, she was in Cape Fullerton, working as a journalist. Although that was around the same time I came here. She is the one who helped my sister, Julie, do some digging for me on for me when I was trying to find the truth about someone who showed up here."

This was a story neither Bill nor Lucas had heard, but both decided it was best to stick to the current issue.

Elizabeth, who had paused and was deep in thought for a moment, began talking again. "I remember she was so nice to everyone, even though her life at home wasn't good at all."

"That sounds like Jessie." Lucas said, unable to keep the pride out of his voice.

"Wait," Elizabeth exclaimed, "Was that who you were walking with yesterday, out by the row houses?"

The smile on Lucas's face was all the answer she needed. "This is wonderful. I must go find her later, but for now," she turned to Bill, "What does Hargraves want with Nathan, and why did he send Constable Kinslow to the infirmary?"

Bill was silent for a moment, "Kinslow is here too?" he asked.

"Yes, he was with Nathan when I left the infirmary."

With that, Bill stood up and hurried out the door, leaving Elizabeth and Lucas staring after him.


Andrew Hargraves, wasn't one to startle easily, his way of life had made sure of that, but he was definitely startled when the door to the RCMP office opened and in walked Bill Avery. He sighed, and then looked Bill in the eye, "Judge?" he asked calmly, "What can I do for you"

"First of all, drop the phony attitude, Andrew. It doesn't work on me. Now, tell me, what are you really doing in Hope Valley?"

The ring of the telephone caused both me to look at the contraption on the desk, both reaching out to answer it. "RCMP Office, Superintendent Hargraves here" Andrew asked politely. There was silence on the line for a moment before he heard a woman's voice say. "I was told Judge Avery might be there, is that true?"

"Yes, Judge Avery is in the office with me."

"Well I have an urgent call for him, will you put him on, sir?" the woman asked, trying to be polite, but Andrew heard something else in the voice.

"I am sorry, but he is busy at the moment, but I will pass on your message. Good day." and with that he hung up the phone and smiled at his former mentor.