Almost two weeks later, Lucas straightened and restraightened his cufflinks as he made his way towards the infirmary. The past two weeks had been really weird, to say the least. First, and this was probably the best part, Lily had been calling him Uncle Lucas almost everyday and he absolutely adored it. She was the sweetest young girl and Lucas found himself just wanting to give her the world. But everything else that had transpired recently hadn't been nearly as lighthearted.

For starters, Fiona seemed to disappear. Lucas hardly saw her for a whole week and when he'd walked into the saloon one afternoon, Mike and Mei had asked him if he'd seen her. Even Faith hadn't seen much of Fiona even though the two of them lived in the same house! And then, a couple days ago, Faith had told Lucas on Monday morning that Fiona had left for Nashville and would be gone for a couple days.

But that wasn't even all of it. The weirdest thing had been Faith herself. Recently, Lucas just felt like something was off between them and he couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with their conversation in the park two weeks ago. Although they hadn't spoken about it, Lucas still felt as though his mind was spinning with what ifs.

But, if Lucas had learned anything from his relationship with Elizabeth, it was better to say something now than to end up in a much worse and much more complicated situation later. It was easier to be clear about what he was feeling rather than stuffing it down and still having to deal with it eventually.

So, Lucas took one singular deep breath before he arrived at the infirmary and opened the door. Sticking his head inside, Lucas was relieved to see that Faith was alone. Hopefully, they would be able to have their conversation before Molly came in for the day.

Hearing the door open, Faith turned from the desk and smiled when she saw Lucas.

"Good morning," she said, setting down the bin of supplies she'd been organizing.

"Hi," Lucas replied, closing the door behind him.

"We didn't have a breakfast date this morning, did we?" Faith asked, her eyebrows scrunching up as if trying to remember.

"No, we didn't," Lucas responded, but then he stopped, awkwardly ending his sentence.

"OK," Faith drew out the word, now looking at him curiously.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something," Lucas finally said, knowing that he had to say something. He reached for his cufflinks, but then remembering that he'd adjusted them already, he let his arms fall to his sides. Just say, Bouchard, he told himself.

"OK." Faith moved away from the table and came closer. "What is it?"

"Does something feel off to you?" Lucas asked, deciding just to jump right in. "Like between you and me? Like-" Lucas stopped and took a step closer. He wasn't sure if he was ready to bring up the distance issue yet. He didn't want to broach the subject if it was something that had never even occurred to Faith "Are you OK?" Lucas asked instead. "Is everything OK with you?" For a second, Faith just stared at him and Lucas was unable to decipher the expression on her face.

"There is actually something that I need to tell you," Faith finally admitted, averting her gaze only for a second.

"OK," Lucas said, gesturing with his hand. "What is it?"

"Tuesday morning I got a telegram from Tom Thornton," Faith explained, all in a rush. "He's coming to town in a few weeks and he asked if he could take me out for lunch."

"Oh." Now, Lucas understood, but for some reason, he wasn't surprised. "And what do you say?"

"I don't know what to tell him!" Faith explained, throwing her hands up in the air. "Sure, I've had feelings for Tom in the past, but our paths diverged. And you and I have been seeing each other for a while now and I wasn't expecting this telegram, but…" Now, Faith paused and looked up at Lucas. "I feel like you're holding back."

"Me?" Lucas didn't know why he was surprised. Despite the sudden subject change, it would be a lie to say that he hadn't seen it coming.

"Yes," Faith confirmed. "It's like for the past couple weeks you've just been hanging back." Faith tilted her head and watched Lucas curiously. "It's almost like you've been slowly pulling away, so unconsciously that I don't think you've even realized you're doing it."

Now, Lucas let out a small sigh as he glanced down. "I guess I have just been… hesitant to get too far into a relationship with you knowing that I am going to have to leave again," he admitted. He looked back up at Faith, but now he felt like he was walking on thin ice. This wasn't uncharted territory for Lucas. He had been here before. And it hadn't ended well.

"I realized it in the park a few weeks ago," he continued. "I want to give you and Lily everything that you could ever want," Lucas explained. "But I feel like that isn't enough if I'm not here. I don't want to take you and Lily from Hope Valley, Faith. You two belong here." He hesitated and then said, "I'm just not sure that I do anymore."

"Lucas, you don't have to give me things or try to be my everything," Faith said, her voice soft as she looked at him. "I want to make this work. I want to work as a team."

"But that's the thing," Lucas countered, feeling his emotions rising within him. "I don't know how. I feel like I have to make up for the fact that I'm gone so often."

"I know you have to go to Capital City, Lucas, but you've been splitting your time," Faith emphasized, seeming a little confused by what he was saying.

"But I might not always be able to do that," Lucas replied. "If things get busy or I decide to run for reelection, I might have to live in Capital City full-time, at least for a little while."

"How is that going to work?" Faith questioned, crossing her arms over her chest now. Lucas could tell that this conversation was going downhill fast and he quickly scrambled to try and salvage it.

"I don't know, Faith. That's what I'm trying to say. I don't want you and Lily to have to leave Hope Valley," he repeated.

"And why would we have to be the ones to leave?" Faith scowled.

"Well, it's not like I could just resign as governor just so I don't have to live in Capital City anymore," Lucas replied, his brow furrowed, like it was obvious. As soon as the words left his mouth, Lucas knew he had made a mistake.

"So, my life and Lily's life are less important than yours. Is that what you are saying?" Now, Faith was fuming. She didn't even give Lucas a chance to answer her question. "Ugh! This is just like what happened with you and Elizabeth," Faith shot out. "You expected her to just pack up and leave. Your job got in the way!" Her accusation was like sparks shot straight from a burning fire.

"You don't know what happened between Elizabeth and me," Lucas retorted. "You weren't there! That was between me and her. This?" Lucas waved a hand between them. "This is between you and me." Lucas stopped and sucked in a breath. "What do you want from me, Faith?" he asked, his voice dropping back to its normal volume.

"I want-" Faith stopped and looked up at the ceiling, as if her thoughts were coming too fast for her to sort them out. "I want us to try to work it out. I want to do this together. Not separate," she emphasized, her words coming faster now. "I don't want you to always be the one doing everything. I don't want gifts. I don't want fancy dinners." Faith threw up her hands and looked Lucas right in the eyes.

"I want to walk to work together," she went on. "I want to take Lily to the park together. I want to be first!" At her last line, everything in the room seemed to freeze. Even Faith looked shocked by her own honesty.

"I can't do that," Lucas finally muttered, his own voice filled with regret because he wished that he could. But Faith just threw up her hands in exasperation.

"You guys are all the same!" Faith burst out, her anger back in a flash. "This is exactly what happened with Nathan." She threw up her hands in exasperation. "There is always something in the way! Why can I never be first?" She doesn't get it! Lucas's thoughts shouted as his emotions seemed to boil over.

"That's what you think? That you aren't first?" Lucas questioned, not even trying to tame his scowl now. "That's what I've been trying to show you this whole time! And if you can't see that, then this is never going to work."

And before he could realize his own stupidity, Lucas spun around, ripped open the door, and stormed out of the infirmary.

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading! I'll be honest, I was a bit nervous to post this chapter, because it's a bit messy, but I promise that things will all get worked out soon. :)