Chapter 32

Capital City, Alberta Canada

Saturday, December 17, 2021

Despite having put Edwin in charge of the Christmas Gala it seemed to Lucas that Edwin was constantly wanting his opinion on different things. With everything else that he had going on dealing with this gala had left him utterly exhausted. At least it would be over after tonight. He put the jacket to his tuxedo on and was ready to go. MaKayla should be arriving at any time, he thought. This was their first official function as an engaged couple. He hoped everything went well.

As he went downstairs, he admired all the Christmas decorations and lights. He loved Christmas but especially the coming together of family and friends. Not that this gala quite fit that description but he hoped that it would be an enjoyable evening for all. The mansion did look magical with all the Christmas decorations.

Lucas was speaking with Edwin when he heard MaKayla's voice. He turned to see her on the arm of a very handsome young man. The man was tall like him, short honey brown hair. At first Lucas was taken aback, then broke out in a big grin and went over to greet his fiancée and her guest.

"Andrew, how wonderful to see you. When did you get in?" Lucas said as he shook his old university friend's hand.

"Yesterday, but my darling sister wanted my appearance tonight to be a surprise." He said as he gave MaKayla a side eye.

"Well, Lucas is always surprising me. I wanted to be the one doing the surprising this time." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

"I know MaKayla was worried when it appeared you were going to be delayed. Glad you were able to make it. And you can stay through the wedding, correct?" Lucas asked.

"Absolutely, I have groomsmen duties to perform do I not?" He said with a chuckle.

"You certainly do." Lucas replied happily. Although Andrew and Lucas hadn't seen each other in eleven years and what bond they did have had been through Matthew, he was overjoyed at seeing Andrew again. He wondered if Andrew blamed him for Matthew's death as well? He was not sure what MaKayla had told him about that situation. Although having someone around who actually knew Matthew felt good, it also came with trepidation especially if Andrew did hold him accountable for what happened. Although he was eager to get to know Andrew better in his own right, especially with him soon becoming his brother-in-law.

"I don't have to report back to London, till mid-January. You know Lucas I can't say that I ever saw you as being the man who would end up marrying my baby sister. You had all these women flocking after you at school, but you never seemed to notice. Matthew and I were always flabbergasted at how oblivious you were to all the female attention you attracted. I'm definitely looking forward to catching up with you when we have more time. He told him enthusiastically.

"As am I. Unfortunately, MaKayla and I have hosting duties to perform right now." He told him.

"I will head into the ballroom for now. See the two of you later." He told them.

Lucas turned his attention to MaKayla. "You look absolutely stunning." Lucas told her with an admiring eye.

"You like?" She asked with an alluring smile as she twirled in a circle to show off her dress. She was wearing a deep emerald sleeveless off the shoulder ball gown that accented her figure and highlighted the green in her eyes. Her hair was partial up but with beautiful curls cascading down her back. She was a vision.

He walked into her arms as they embraced, they stole a few kisses before they heard Henry come up behind them. Lucas turned and blushed. "Sorry, we are off to the foyer to greet our guests." Lucas said quietly. Henry just chuckled, as he thought these two need to get married and soon.

Lucas and MaKayla were almost done with receiving guests when a familiar face from Lucas's days in Hope Valley appeared. "Carson, how good to see you. I'm so glad you could make it tonight." As the two men embraced.

"Lucas, it has been a while. Thank you for inviting me." Carson said.

"MaKayla, I would like you to meet Doctor Carson Shepherd. He was the doctor in Hope Valley before Faith. Dr. Shepherd has been working at John Hopkins in Baltimore for the past few years." Lucas told her.

"Carson, this is my fiancée Doctor MaKayla Donovan." He told Carson with pride.

"It's indeed a please to meet you Dr. Donovan." He told her.

"You as well, Dr. Shepherd." She told him cordially.

"Carson is here at my request. I'm hoping to entice him to come and work for the Valley Community Hospital as the chief of staff." He told MaKayla. "He is also going to come to Hope Valley to attend our wedding and look over the location of the new hospital."

"Dr. Shepherd, I have heard a lot about you from Doctor Carter. I look forward to speaking to you more." She told him cordially. Carson smiled, hoping that Faith had been kind when speaking of him. He then left them to go into the ballroom.

"Lucas, did you know that Faith and Carson were dating when he was in Hope Valley?" She asked nervously.

"Yes, but that was years ago. Faith is with Nathan now. Did Faith tell you about her and Carson?" Lucas asked surprised.

"Of course, she did. We're friends." She told him. Lucas chuckled wondering what else the two women had talked about. As he thought about that he decided he would rather not know.

The evening was going well. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the dancing and food. There was a grand piano in the ball room where different guests took turns playing some of their favorite Christmas songs. At one point Lucas looked over at the piano as he heard a familiar voice. Carson was seated at the piano bench and MaKayla was singing. Lucas moved closer to the piano, as did most of the other guests. MaKayla was singing Hark the Hearld Angels. She had a beautiful voice and the guests were captivated. They asked her to sing another song, she complied by singing, 'Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem' to great applause. The duo closed out their impromptu concert with 'Silent Night.' They were a big hit with the guests.

MaKayla saw Lucas watching and walked over to him. "I hope that was Ok, my singing?" She asked a little nervous.

"You were wonderful. Of course, I've heard you sing before and I'm always enchanted by the melodious sound of your voice. I'm glad you shared it with our guests. Certainly, far better than me attempting to do such a thing." MaKayla laughed as she had to agree.

"I think you have charmed everyone in the room, even those who do not like my politics." He said with a dimpled grin. "One last dance before the evening is over?" He asked. She put out her hand as he took it and he walked her to the center of the dance floor where everyone watched as they glided around the ballroom flawless and beautifully in step with each other.

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Capital City, Alberta Canada

Monday, December 19,1921

Henry sat at the dining room table wondering where Lucas was for breakfast. They had an 8:30 a.m. meeting with Governor Thomas from Manitoba. Lucas had been on the move all weekend with the gala and then socializing with MaKayla's family on Sunday, but still it was unusual for him to be running late.

Gustave had come into the dining room to refresh Henry's coffee. "Gustave, have you seen Lucas this morning? We have a meeting at the capital that we need to get soon." He inquired.

"No, Henri, he has not been down yet this morning." He told him. "I think he tired himself out with all the fun he had this weekend." Gustave chuckled and went back to the kitchen.

It was almost 8:00 o'clock, Lucas was going to have to skip breakfast if they were going to make their meeting, Henry thought. He decided to go up and knock on Lucas's bedroom door.

"Lucas, it's Henry. Are you up? We need to get going if we are to make our meeting." Henry listened but heard nothing. He debated with himself as to what he should do but decided to enter his room. Lucas was walking out of the bathroom extremely slowly and he did not look well. He was not wearing a shirt and Henry got to see first-hand the physical damage the past year had done to him. He had a scar on his left shoulder and a large nasty looking scar running down the middle of his abdomen with a bullet hole off to the left. Henry lowered his gaze and sighed.

"Lucas, are you Ok?" Henry asked. Lucas looked over at him blearily eyed as he continued to walk over to the bed and sit down.

"No, not really. I've been up sick all night. Is it hot in here?" He asked befuddled. "I don't think that I can make our meeting today. Can you please attend the meeting and offer my apologies to the Governor." He said quietly. Henry walked over to him and felted his forehead.

"Lucas you're burning up." Henry told him anxiously.

"I'll be fine. I just need to rest." He told him barely above a whisper.

"I think I need to call MaKayla." He told him.

Lucas looked up at him. "No, Henry, I'm fine honestly. I'm much better than I was last night. I just need to rest." He said as he laid back down and closed his eyes.

Henry knew sick when he saw it and after everything that happened to Lucas in the past year, he was not going to take any chances. He left Lucas's room and went downstairs to use the telephone in Lucas's library. "Operator I need Capital City Hospital. Dr. MaKayla Donovan." Henry waited for MaKayla to pick up, hoping she was available.

Finally, MaKayla picked up the telephone. "This is Dr. Donovan. How may I help you." She said warmly into the telephone.

"MaKayla, it's Henry Gowen. Could you come over to the governor's mansion? Lucas is sick and I think he needs a doctor. He told me not to call you, but he is burning up with fever. He looks like hell." He told her nervously.

"Henry, thank you for calling. I will get there as soon as I can." MaKayla told him as she felt her panic rise.

A half an hour later, MaKayla arrived at the governor's mansion. Henry was waiting in the foyer for her. "I didn't tell him that I called you." Henry told her.

"Thanks Henry. I'll take care of him from here." She told him as she raced up the stairs. She stopped at the top of the stairs as she didn't know which room was his.

Henry could see her confusion, "Last door on the other side of the hall." He yelled up to her. She sped off in that direction.

She gently opened the door and saw him lying in the bed, his eyes were closed. He was not wearing a shirt and the blankets were pushed off to the side. "Lucas, it's Makayla." She said softly as not to startle him.

He slowly turned his head toward her. "I told Henry not to call you. I will be fine. I just need some rest." He said very unconvincingly.

MaKayla walked over to the bed and sat down. She placed her hand on his chest. "Lucas, I don't need a thermometer to tell me that you have a fever, a quite high one." She said scared and annoyed at the same time. She took a thermometer out of her medical bag. "Does anything hurt? Your head, stomach." She asked sympathetically.

"I was sick all night, I still have some stomach pains that come and go. But it's much better than earlier." He told her. MaKayla then put the thermometer in his mouth. She started to palpated his abdominal region. "Lucas, did that hurt after I stopped pressing?" She asked. He shook his head no.

"That's good." She said as she took the thermometer out of his mouth. "Lucas! You have 102-degree temperature. When was the last time you were sick to your stomach?" She asked.

"A few hours ago. I actually do feel better now. Honest doc." He said with a weak smile.

"Lucas Bouchard what am I going to do with you?" She said while shaking her head. "I will be right back." She told him as she left his room. She went downstairs where Henry and Gustave were waiting.

"How is he?" They both asked.

"I believe he has what is commonly known as the stomach flu. Unfortunately, without a spleen he is unable to fight off infections like you or I might. Right now, the main objective is to get his fever down. Gustave, do you have any willow bark tea?" She asked.

Gustave shook his head no. "Could you please go out and buy some? Right now, I need to get some cold compresses and ice. Henry needless to say, Lucas will not be going to work today so you will need to cancel all his appointments."

"He's going to be Ok, right?" Henry asked.

"Right now, we just need to focus on getting his fever down. We don't want this to escalate." She told him as she went into the kitchen to get the ice. Once she was back upstairs, she put a cold cloth on the back of his neck and forehead.

"MaKayla, I'm so sorry about this. It isn't fair that you have to keep taking care of me." He said sadly as he closed his eyes.

She gave him a sad smile. "Lucas, this is not your fault. The first two years after a splenectomy is when you're the most vulnerable for infections. Your only six months post-op so it's really not so unexpected especially with the schedule you've been keeping lately. Maybe having the wedding so soon is too much for you right now." She told him.

Lucas opened his eyes, turned his head to look at her and took her hand, "MaKayla Donovan, nothing and I mean absolutely nothing is going to keep me from marrying you on New Years Eve so don't even entertain that idea." He said as forcefully as he could.

She gave him a smile, "I love you Lucas Bouchard, now and forever." As she took his hand and placed his palm on her cheek. For the rest of the day MaKayla stayed by his side keeping him hydrated and re-applying cold compresses. By early evening his fever was down to 100, which was a nice improvement.

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Lucas opened his eyes and saw the sun was shining in. "Good afternoon, Lucas. How are you feeling?" Lucas turned his head in surprise.

"Mother." He said in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"You were supposed to pick us up at the train station this morning, but fortunately for you, your wonderful fiancée did instead." She said with a cocky grin.

"What time is it?" Lucas asked totally disoriented.

"It's 3:00 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon. Our train came in at 10 a.m. this morning right on schedule." She told him with a chuckle.

"Tuesday? Where's MaKayla?" He asked worried, knowing he was missing a day.

"She is at the hospital, taking care of other sick patients since you are on the mend. Your fever broke early this morning, so the crisis has passed. After she leaves the hospital, she is going home for some much-needed rest and will see you tomorrow. How do you feel?" She asked him still concerned

"Better, much better, actually. I'm hungry which I'm guessing is a good thing." He told her.

"Well, your lovely fiancée said you can have soup if you were interested in eating. I must say Lucas, I have enjoyed speaking with Miss Donovan on the telephone over these past months but to finally meet her in person has been an absolute joy. Your father is very much smitten with her as well." She said with a chuckle.

"I liked Elizabeth well enough at the time. Of course I deplore the way she handled things. I would have thought she would have had better manners than that. I have a few choice words for her but…anyway. The point is, I think you are marrying the woman who will truly make you happy." She told him honestly.

"Mother, Elizabeth and I have made our peace with how things are. It's in the past, just let it be. For my sake if nothing else." Lucas told her emphatically. "Could I have that soup now?" He asked. Helen nodded and left to go to the kitchen. Lucas sighed, hoping that once his mother got to Hope Valley, she did not impart any of those choice words to Elizabeth.

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Capital City, Alberta Canada

Saturday, December 24, 1921

Lucas and MaKayla sat on the sofa wrapped in each other's arms as they gazed at the Christmas tree beautifully lit before them with a roaring fire going in the fireplace.

"This is nice, finally it's just the two of us." Lucas said. "I'm looking forward to spending Christmas Day with our families tomorrow but this, this is just perfect for tonight." He said as he kissed her on the temple. "Last Christmas was so sad and lonely for me. But I'm not focusing on the past, I'm looking forward to the future and all the new Christmas memories that we will make together." He said with contentment.

"I'm just grateful that you are well this Christmas and you are healed in body and spirit." She said with joy in her heart.

"And I have you to thank for that." He told her as she snuggled closer into his embrace.

"Did you get to talk to Jack today for his birthday." She asked curiously.

Lucas smiled, "I did. He loved the big new red sailboat I sent him and the Mr. Wiggly game. He said he has a Christmas gift for me and will give it to me when I see him in a few days." He said happily. "But speaking of gifts, I believe there is something under the tree for you as well." He said with excitement.

He got up and went to take the gift out from under the tree. "Merry Christmas, my love." He said as he handed her the gift-wrapped box.

MaKayla slowly opened the package to find diamond teardrop earrings. "Oh, Lucas they are beautiful. Thank you." As she leaned forward to give him a kiss. "I think there is something under the tree for you as well." This time she got up and went to retrieve the gift she had put there earlier when she arrived. She handed him the gift.

Lucas opened the box and saw a stunning 18K gold Rolex wrist watch with a black band. This is a very handsome watch. Are you trying to tell me something with this gift?" He asked tentatively.

She blushed slightly, but held his gaze. "Yes. I think perhaps it's time that you put your pocket watch away. You can save it if you want and give it to Jack someday." She said quietly.

Lucas lowered his gaze; he didn't realize that MaKayla knew the pocket watch was a gift from Elizabeth. She had given it to him when he was in jail after Wyman Walden tried to frame him. "How did you know the watch was a gift from Elizabeth?" He asked wishing he didn't see the hurt in her eyes.

"After you were shot in Hope Valley, we burned your clothes as they were covered in blood but of course, I took your wallet out of your pants pocket and your pocket watch from your vest. That first night in the infirmary, I wanted to hold on to something of yours so I held the pocket watch close and when I turned it over and read the inspiration 'Our Time Has Come.' I just knew it was a gift from Elizabeth. As the months passed, and we grew closer, I guess I was hoping that you would replace it on your own but you haven't. And well with our wedding in a week…" She trailed off.

"MaKayla, you don't have to say anything else. I honestly never meant to hurt you by keeping the watch. At first, I think I kept on wearing it after we broke up, because it was something tangible to prove that Elizabeth had indeed loved me once upon a time. I can remember how I waited and hoped for the day that she would remove her rings from Jack. I told myself when she did, that would mean she was truly ready to move on. Of course, in her case that wasn't true. But I don't need to keep the watch anymore. I wear it out of habit nothing more. What Elizabeth felt or didn't feel is no longer important to me. What is important is how my wearing the watch makes you feel. I don't ever want you to doubt my love for you for even a second." He told her with sincerity.

He looked down and unclipped the watch from his vest. He stood up and walked over to the fireplace. "Lucas, you don't have to destroy the watch for me, save it for Jack." She pleaded with him.

He turned to look at her. "Jack wouldn't want this watch. Times are changing, and we must change with them. It truly is time to shed that last vestige of my time with Elizabeth." She walked over to him and put her arm around his waist.

"If you're sure Lucas, but do it for yourself and not for me. I'm content with you just putting it away for Jack someday." She smiled up at him.

"I'm sure," he said as he threw the watch into the fire. They both watch as the flames crackled for a moment. MaKayla left his side and went and got the new wrist watch she had gotten him.

"Look at the back of the watch." She told him.

Lucas took the watch and turned it over. The inscription read, 'Meant to Be L & M.' He turned to face her and smiled as he put the watch on his wrist. Then he took her face in the palm of his hands and kissed her with all the love he was feeling. When they separated, he looked into the eyes that had carried him out of the darkness, "One more week, MaKayla and then our forever will begin." As he wrapped her tightly in his embrace never wanting to let her go.