CHAPTER 4

Capital City, Alberta Canada

Monday, October 25, 1920

Election day, was finally here. It had been a little over three weeks since he had left Hope Valley to pursue the governor's office yet it felt like a lifetime. He now sat in his campaign headquarters on the night of the election with Edwin Mitchell, and several other members of his campaign staff. He hadn't wanted to be at the Mount Royal Hotel where everyone else was waiting to hear the results. He knew he would have to make an appearance win or lose but he wanted to hear the results with as few people around as possible.

Voter turnout had been heavy which Edwin seemed to think was an indication that Lucas had reached a lot of people who believed in his platform and wanted the reform that he offered. Hope Valley and all the surrounding community's future rested on tonight's results. Edwin had been contacted by the election board and told that the results would be announced at 7 p.m.

Lucas's nerves were on edge, what if he actually won this thing. Could he actually be governor and lead effectively? Oh, how he wished that Elizabeth and Jack were by his side. Yet, no one from Hope Valley was here, he was surrounded by men he barely knew. He was doing all this for Hope Valley, yet no one from the town had called and wished him luck. No one, not even Elizabeth. He had to stop thinking of her. It was over, her deafening silence made that abundantly clear to him.

They had the radio on listening for the results. Finally, the announcer came on, "in the hotly contested governor race between new comer Lucas Bouchard and incumbent Bixby Balfour…"

Hope Valley, Alberta Canada

Monday, October 25, 1920

Hope Valley's residents had gathered in Lucas's saloon where the only radio in town was located to hear the results of the election. Everyone was jovial and hopeful that Lucas could pull out a victory and save the town from the destruction that the re-election of Balfour would surely bring.

"Did Buddy win, Mama?" Jack asked.

"We don't know yet, but let's hope so." Elizabeth told him

"I miss Buddy, will he come home after he wins?" The little boy asked with hopeful eyes.

Elizabeth looked at her son. She hadn't yet told him that the three of them were no longer going to be a family. If Lucas won, it would be easier to explain as Lucas would be in Capital City. But if he lost, she assumed he would come back to Hope Valley, after all he had a business here, friends. She was waiting to find out the outcome before she broached the subject with Jack.

In addition to the hurt she caused Lucas; she undoubtedly had hurt her son as well. He saw Lucas as his father figure, she had encouraged it and they had bonded together so well. Another mess she had made out of fear or whatever it was that had led her on the path she took.

Rosemary Coulter came up to her and sat down, "This is so nerve racking, waiting on the results. At least we got everyone in Hope Valley to vote. I just hope it was enough for him to win." She said earnestly.

Elizabeth smiled at her, "Yes, he just has to win."

Mike Hickam asked everyone to be quiet, "Quiet down, the results are going to be announced." He adjusted the radio to get the sound to come in clearer.

"Wow folks can you believe it, by a mere 200 votes," The radio announcer's voice boomed through the saloon, "Alberta has a new governor, Lucas Bouchard. Bouchard has beaten incumbent Bixby Balfour." The saloon went crazy.

"Did he win, Mama, did he win?" Jack asked excitedly as he saw everyone cheering.

"Yes Jack," Elizabeth said as she hugged him, "your buddy is going to save our home just like he promised."

Capital City, Alberta Canada

Lucas sat there dumbfounded; he had won. Two hundred votes had just changed his life. Edwin and the other staff members were hollering in delight.

"Congratulations, Lucas you did it," Edwin said, "this is fantastic." As he patted him on the back.

Lucas smiled back at Edwin; not sure what else he should do. He was surrounded by people yet he felt very cold and alone. He schooled his face into his most unreadable countenance as to not give away his true feelings to Edwin and the other men who had worked so hard on his campaign.

"Lucas," Edwin said, "let's head over to the Mount Royal where the rest of the staffers and your benefactors are waiting for you to make an appearance. They will want to hear from the man himself." He told him excitedly.

"Edwin," Lucas said quietly, "if you don't mind, I would like to make a few phone calls in private. You go on ahead and I will join you shortly to celebrate." He told him with the most dimpled smile he could muster.

"Don't take too long," Edwin told him. "We have celebrating to do." Lucas nodded and the men left. Lucas sat there and put his face in hands, what now? He thought to himself. He just got something he never wanted. The only thing he wanted was Elizabeth and Jack, he should be celebrating his marriage not being elected governor. The telephone rang, shaking Lucas from his thoughts.

"Bouchard here" Lucas said.

"Lucas, it's Bill Avery. Congratulations on your victory." He told him excitedly. "We knew you could do it. Everyone in Hope Valley is so proud of you. We are all gathered at the saloon; having a toast in your honor." He told him jubilantly.

Lucas could hear the shouts of the people in the saloon. He imagined everyone there, celebrating the victory that would save their homes. A profound sense of sorrow came over him. He wondered if Elizabeth was there, maybe even Jack? If she was there, should he asked to speak to her? His mind flooded with thoughts.

Finally, he just said, "Thanks Bill. Listen I have people waiting for me, I have to go." He told him.

"Lucas are you, OK? You don't sound like a man that just won." Bill told him.

Lucas paused, not quite sure how to answer that question. "Thanks for calling Bill, appreciate it." Lucas hung up.

Hope Valley, Alberta Canada

"Bill what did Lucas say?" asked Rosemary excitedly. "Is he happy? Did you tell him that we all voted for him?

"Uh, well… he didn't sound like a man celebrating a victory. He sounded like a man that has lost all hope," Bill told her honestly as they both gazed over at Elizabeth and Jack.

"He's in Capital City, with a lot of people that mean nothing to him. While we are all here, in his saloon, surrounded by friends, toasting the victory that will protect our town from Balfour and his cronies. What exactly did Lucas get out of this?" He asked Rosemary earnestly. Rosemary just stared at him unsure how to answer as Bill walked away.

Elizabeth came over to Rosemary, "What did Bill say, is Lucas excited?" She asked.

Rosemary just stared at her for a long moment, she didn't want to make Elizabeth feel bad. "Hmm, Bill said that Lucas couldn't really talk, he had people waiting for him." Rosemary smiled brightly as she said it.

Elizabeth looked Rosemary directly in the eye. "What did he really say?"

"OK, you know me too well. He said that Lucas sounded like a man that has lost hope."

"Oh," Elizabeth said, "I see."

"Elizabeth, please don't take that comment to heart. Lucas is probably overwhelmed right now. I'm sure the next time we speak to him, he will sound like his old self." Elizabeth just shrugged and walked back to her son.

Capital City, Alberta Canada

Lucas sat in the office a little while longer, knowing he needed to get over to the hotel before people came looking for him. "Well," he said to himself, "let's get this over with." It was raining heavily, when Lucas stepped outside the office. He was opening his umbrella when lights from a car were being flashed in his face. Lucas looked up, "What are you doing here? What do you want?" He said surprised.

Jeanette Aucoin started walking toward him. "I came to congratulate, you Cherie," she said in her Louisiana accent. "Governor Bouchard has a nice ring to it."

"Who's your friend?" Lucas said eyeing the man to Jeanette's left.

"This is Mr. Shaw he has some business he would like to discuss with you." She said in a frightened tone as the man moved alongside her.

The rain was coming down harder now, Lucas knew he wanted no part of this conversation. "I'm sorry this is not the place or time." He started to turn to go back into his campaign headquarters.

"Lucas!" she said urgently, "I'm afraid Mr. Shaw insists."

Lucas looked back at the pair; Shaw was now holding a gun on Jeanette. In a split-second Lucas decided to take action, he thrust his umbrella at Shaw. Lucas grabbed the gun and the two men struggled. Suddenly the sound of gun fire could be heard. Lucas fell back and hit his head on a rock.

Shaw aimed his gun at Lucas to finish him off, but Jeanette stepped in at the last minute moving his arm an inch to the right so the second bullet hit his shoulder instead of dead center in his chest.

Jeanette stared down at Lucas, "Let's get out of here. Now!"

Everyone at the Mount Royal Hotel was waiting for the man of the hour. Joshua went up to Edwin, "Everyone is wondering when Lucas will be here. What do you want me to tell them?" He asked Edwin a little nervously.

Edwin looked at his watch, 9:00 p.m.; he frowned, Lucas should have been here by now, he thought. He wondered what was taking him so long.

"Did you try to call the campaign office," Edwin asked Joshua.

"Yeah, no answer." Joshua told him.

"Ok, go get John, the three of us will go over to headquarters. Edwin sighed deeply, "He may be sitting there brooding about things regarding Elizabeth. I might need some help in convincing him to come over here." He told the men.

As they drove up to the campaign office, they were shocked to see Lucas laying on the ground covered in blood. They jumped out of the car. Joshua reached Lucas first. He appeared to be unconscious and was breathing rapidly.

"Lucas, can you hear me? Wake up. Lucas!" Joshua said urgently as he began lightly shaking him. No response. "It looks like he's been shot, there is a bullet hole in his right thigh and left shoulder area." Joshua told Edwin and John.

"We need to get him to a hospital." Edwin said. "The three of us will have to get him into the car, we can't wait for help." The men lifted Lucas with great difficulty, at 6'2" and dead weight he was not easy to move, but they managed to get him into the backseat of the car.

Upon reaching the hospital, the staff immediately brought him into an examination room. The three men paced in the hallway as they waited.

"How did this happen," Edwin said aloud. "I bet you Balfour and Montague are behind this. Just couldn't stand the thought of losing. I should have insisted that Lucas have protection." John and Joshua looked at each other, not sure what to say to Edwin.

Finally, a doctor came out into the hallway to talk to them. "He's alive but barely. He's lost a lot of blood. There are two bullet holes with no exit wounds which means we need to perform surgery to remove them. There is no surgeon on duty right now, but we will call one to come in, unless you have someone in particular you want us to call?"

Edwin didn't hesitate, "Please call MaKayla Donovan. Make sure she knows it's Lucas Bouchard that needs her help." The doctor nodded and started to walk away.

"Doctor," Edwin asked with pleading eyes, "he's going to be OK, right?"

The doctor's look put the fear of God in Edwin, "I honestly don't know." And with that he went to call Dr. Donovan.

MaKayla came running into the hospital twenty minutes later. "Dr. Donovan thank you for coming." Edwin said.

"Edwin, I will talk to you after I see Lucas." She said as she hurried into the exam room. Ten minutes later they were wheeling Lucas out of the room with MaKayla by his side.

"I'm going to operate, I'm not sure how long this will take." She told the men as they looked at her with anxious faces. "I will do everything in my power to save his life. But it wouldn't hurt to start praying."

Two hours later, Dr. Donovan came to find Edwin. The men stood up as they saw her approach. Her expression did not give the outcome away, good or bad.

"He's alive." She said when she reached them. They all released the breath they had been holding.

"But it's not good. I removed the bullet from his leg. The gun was discharged at close range. When the bullet entered his leg, it did a lot of damage but hopefully with time he will regain full use of his leg. The second bullet in the upper left chest area is still in there. I could not find the bullet readily; his blood pressure was dropping dangerously low and it was not prudent to continue to try to find the second bullet at this time. If his condition stabilizes tomorrow, I will try again. Edwin, does Lucas have any family we should call?" With that comment, Edwin gazed at her with trepidation.

"Dr. Donovan, may I speak to you over here." Edwin pulled the doctor over to the side. "Lucas's parents are in Europe and to be honest, I am not sure where. He has no siblings and his cousin Gustave is on a ship bound for France right now. Hmm… up until three weeks ago, Lucas did have a fiancée but she ended their engagement when Lucas came to Capital City to campaign. He has not spoken of their break up to me but I know he still loves her deeply and the end of their relationship was not his idea. If I was to call anyone it would be her. Not for her sake but for his. Do you think I should?" He asked with fear in his eyes.

MaKayla thought how everything that Susan had told her had been true. She certainly did not know Lucas well, but her heart broke for him in that moment. "No, not yet. Let's see what the morning brings. I will be staying with him all night. You and your men I'm sure have things that you need to take care of. Lucas won tonight; it should have been a night of celebration." She told him sadly.

"Yes," Edwin said ironically, "a night of celebration. Please call me at the Mount Royal Hotel if anything changes. Thank you, Doctor, for coming in. I know when Lucas wakes up, he will appreciate it as well. I will see you in the morning."

Later, MaKayla entered Lucas's room. She walked in and told the nurse sitting by his bedside that she could take a break. MaKayla took the seat the nurse had just left. She looked over at the man she had met only a week ago. As she brushed the hair off his forehead, she saw he had a good size bruise forming, she assumed from the fall after he was shot. He was so deathly pale. She decided to check his blood pressure again, 90/60; still very low but slightly better than it had been during surgery. His breathing was still rapid. She listened to his heart; he was still tachycardic.

"So, Mr. Bouchard or should I say Governor Bouchard," she laughed softly, "It seems you have gotten yourself into another mess. Were you rescuing another damsel in distress tonight? Honestly, we really should stop meeting like this." She paused, looking at him hoping to see any sign of consciousness.

"By the way, I voted for you today. I know, I know, I told you I hated politics and politicians. But I will tell you a secret." As she leaned in closer to whisper, "You made me believe there are still good people out there in politics. Now that you're Governor, I hope that one of your mandates will be to work on the road conditions around here." She said with a smile. "Afterall, we wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last week." She paused as she looked at him.

"Lucas," she took his hand in hers, "I believe with all my heart that you will get the chance to be a good governor. I mean you need to prove to all the cynics like me that some politicians are indeed good men. But I really, really need you to fight to come back to us. I can only do so much; you have to want to live." She continued to sit there a while longer, holding his hand, hoping he could feel the human touch, knowing that someone cared.

Edwin arrived at the hospital at 9:00 a.m. the next morning and immediately went to Lucas's room. There was a nurse sitting with him. "How is he?" Edwin asked her.

The nurse looked up, "Mr. Mitchell?"

"Yes," said Edwin, "I'm Governor Bouchard's manager." The nurse smiled at him.

"Dr. Donovan told me to get her when you arrived. I'll be right back." Edwin took the seat next to Lucas's bed. Edwin thought he did not look any better than last night, was it possible he looked worse?

MaKayla entered the room, "Edwin, I was just about to call you. I'm glad you're here." Edwin stood up hearing the doctor enter and gave her a pained expression.

"He doesn't look any better." He said quietly.

"He isn't. I'm going to have to operate and get that second bullet out if he stands any chance of surviving. I believe the bullet is causing some internal bleeding. We attempted a blood transfusion last night, but he had an adverse reaction so we had to stop it. His blood pressure is too low and his breathing and heart rate are still erratic. Edwin," she said no longer holding his gaze, "if Lucas meant anything to Mrs. Thornton you might want to give her a call now."

Edwin nodded, "I'll call her. Dr. Donovan…Lucas didn't deserve this, any of this. He should be on his honeymoon right now, not fighting for his life." He said sadly.

She gave him an understanding look, "I'm going to do my best. Edwin, if you're a praying man, you might want to send up a Hail Mary, he needs all the positive help he can get."

"Hello Lee, It's Edwin Mitchell, Lucas's campaign manager. I need to speak to Elizabeth. Florence thought she might be there with your wife." He said with an edge in his voice.

"No, Edwin, she isn't. Is something wrong." Lee asked concerned. Just then Bill Avery walked in.

"Yes, something is very wrong, Lucas has been shot and…." Edwin was interrupted as Lee relayed this information to Bill. Bill grabbed the phone out of Lee's hand.

"Edwin, what's this about Lucas being shot?" He said abruptly.

"I need to speak to Elizabeth, could someone find her for me, please?" Edwin asked with urgent tone to his voice. Bill told Lee to have Edwin hang on, he knows where Elizabeth is and will go get her.

Bill got on his horse and raced out to the log on North Road that he had seen Elizabeth sitting on earlier. As he rode up, he saw Elizabeth and Nathan there. He came in fast shouting their names.

"I need you both, It's Lucas, he's been shot!" The pair stared at each other but immediately got on their horses and followed Bill into town. They entered the newspaper office.

Lee handed the phone to Elizabeth. "Edwin, it's Elizabeth. How bad is it?" Elizabeth asked frightened.

"It's bad Elizabeth. There are two wounds, they removed the bullet from his leg last night. He is in surgery now to remove the second bullet from the shoulder area. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Tell me he's going to be pull through. Edwin, tell me… tell me he's going to be alright." She said as her voice cracked from emotion.

I'm sorry Elizabeth. The surgeon is here now, I have to go. If Lucas meant anything to you, then you need come to Capital City. You need to come now." Edwin hung up the phone and turned to the doctor.

Elizabeth put the receiver down slowly, staring at her friends, "I have to go to Capital City." Lee, Rosemary, Nathan and Bill all looked at her worried.

"You go Elizabeth, Lee and I will watch Little Jack," Rosemary said.

"How is he?" Lee asked.

"Edwin said it was bad. He was shot twice. He's in surgery right now to remove the second bullet. I need to get to him." Elizabeth said as a tear slid down her cheek.

"I'm going with you." Bill told her.

Bill and Elizabeth arrived in Capital City the next day and went immediately to the hospital. They entered Lucas's room and found Edwin standing at the foot of Lucas's bed. Edwin turned around as he heard them enter.

"How is he?" Elizabeth asked.

Edwin lowered his gaze, "Touch and go."

Bill looked at Elizabeth, "and the surgery….?" Looking back at Edwin.

Edwin looked somber, "They found the second bullet and repaired the damage. He simply lost too much blood. They attempted a transfusion but apparently Lucas has a rare blood type and…he's just very weak."

Elizabeth looked at Lucas, she had never seen him so still. He was also extremely pale. She walked over to his bedside and sat down in the chair next to his bed. "Lucas. It's Elizabeth. I'm here with Bill. Please come back to us." She said pleadingly.

"Has he regained consciousness at all?" Bill asked Edwin. "Do we know who did it?"

Edwin shook his head, "No on both counts."

"I bet this was Montague, he threatened Lucas on his way out of town after the Governor's Ball. Do the Mountie's have any leads?" Bill asked

"Right now, Lucas is the only one who knows what happened, hopefully he will regain consciousness soon and we can ask him." Edwin told the former Mountie

"Elizabeth, I'm going to step out of the room for a minute to speak to Edwin. I will get us some coffee as well. I will be back soon." Elizabeth turned and nodded to Bill.

Shortly after Bill left, MaKayla walked into Lucas's room finding Elizabeth asleep in the chair next to his bed. MaKayla looked at the woman, this must be Lucas's former fiancée. She was a pretty woman, but looked a little older than Lucas, Makayla thought. She quietly walked over to the other side of the room and sat next to Lucas on the bed.

"Good morning, Lucas," she said softly. She took his blood pressure, listened to his heart and lungs with a worried look on her face.

"Do you want to hear something interesting?" She said to him, "you and I share the same blood type and since we haven't been able to secured any of your blood type elsewhere, I am going to give you some of mine. No need to thank me, I'm happy to do it for our new Governor." She told him with a soft laugh.

She just wished he would answer her back. Next, she lowered the blanket that was covering his torso and took the bandage off his shoulder wound, despite the difficulty in retrieving the bullet it was a relatively clean wound. She checked the wound for infection, put some additional iodine on the incision and began to rebandage the site.

Elizabeth opened her eyes and saw a nurse was in the room checking Lucas's shoulder wound. She had never seen Lucas without a shirt on before, and couldn't help but smile. She was surprised at how toned he was. She finally found her voice.

"Hello, I'm Elizabeth Thornton. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm Lucas's…." she trailed off, "I'm a good friend of Lucas's." MaKayla turned from what she was doing to look at her and gave her a friendly smile.

"Dr. MaKayla Donovan, I'm the surgeon who operated on the Governor." She said as she continued to rebandage Lucas's wound.

Elizabeth was surprised that Lucas's surgeon was a woman, there were not many woman surgeons and she looked so young. "How is he doing?" Elizabeth asked with concern.

"I wish he would regain consciousness He lost a good deal of blood which is complicating his condition. We have had trouble securing the correct blood type to give him a transfusion which he desperately needs. Fortunately, we found a hospital employee with the same blood type and she was willing to donate this life saving gift. I'm going to start the transfusion in about 15 minutes. It will take between 2-4 hours to complete. You will not be able to stay during the transfusion. Perhaps you can go get some rest after your long trip. I assume you are tired. You can come back this evening. Hopefully he will be awake when you return." Bill walked into the room just as MaKayla finished bandaging Lucas's shoulder wound.

Elizabeth stood up, "Dr. Donovan, this is Judge Bill Avery from Hope Valley. Bill this is Dr. Donovan, the surgeon who operated on Lucas. They are going to give him a blood transfusion now and said we can come back later this evening."

Bill in his usual harsh tone said, "Can't we stay during the transfusion. We just got here." MaKayla smiled warmly at the older man.

"I'm afraid not. We need to monitor Lucas continuously in case there are any more issues, our last attempted transfusion did not go well. Besides I am sure you and Mrs. Thornton are tired. Lucas is not out of danger yet; he has a long way to go. He will need both of you to be at your best when he wakes up." She told them in a calm voice.

Thank you, Doctor," Elizabeth said briskly, "we will back this evening."

Bill and Elizabeth returned around 5 p.m., but Lucas was still not awake. MaKayla saw them enter Lucas's room and went to give them an update.

"Good evening, the transfusion went well; his vital signs have improved somewhat, the first positive sign we've had. No guarantee he will wake up tonight but please feel free to stay if you would like. I will leave you to visit with your friend."

Bill and Elizabeth left the hospital around 8 p.m. without Lucas having regained consciousness. MaKayla went to check on Lucas one last time before she left the hospital for the night. She entered the room and made her way to his bedside. She sat on the bed next to him. She gently moved the hair that had once again fallen into his eyes away from his face. She checked his vitals which were better, not great but better. She smiled at the man before her.

"Lucas, can you open your eyes for me?" She asked barely above a whisper. She took his hand and gently started to massage it, from her work with the Royal Medical Corp she knew that touch was so important to patients. For reasons she could not explain, she felt drawn to this man, she hardly knew him but yet she found that he felt like a kindred spirit to her. Something she hadn't felt in such a long while, not since Trevor.

"Your former fiancée is here," she told him. "She's very pretty, but I am going to tell you another secret. She annoys me. I know what you're thinking, I don't even know her. Yes, that is true but I can read people. It's a gift. I'm sure if you were awake you would laugh at that, but I'm actually very good at it. Don't worry I only use it for good. I know she has to be a good person otherwise you wouldn't have wanted to marry her. She must still care for you on some level, after all she came all this way when Edwin called her. You might want to consider waking up so you can talk to her." MaKayla paused, she thought that she felt him squeeze her hand.

"Lucas, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand again." She waited a minute and she felt it again. "Lucas, that was good. Can you try to open your eyes? I know it's hard but you can do it. Just listen to the sound of my voice. Fight through the darkness Lucas." She waited a few more minutes. Finally, she heard him whisper, "Elizabeth."

"Lucas, it's MaKayla, open your eyes." Slowly he opened his eyes. "MaKayla?" he managed to croak out. Lucas looked around the room, his vision was blurry. He stared at the woman in front of him but wasn't sure who she was. Everything was so fuzzy. At that realization another thought hit him, everything hurt.

"Lucas, it's Dr. Donovan, MaKayla. Remember we met last week; you helped me operate on a little boy." She said anxiously.

Lucas gave a slight smile at that, "Bobby," he finally said.

"Yes, Bobby," she smiled. "He's doing very well, he actually went home yesterday," she told him. "How do you feel?"

"My leg feels like it is on fire, my head hurts and my shoulder. Can I have a drink of water?" He asked.

"Sure, just take little sips," She held a glass up to his lips for him to drink.

"What happened? Where am I?" He asked her.

"You don't remember?" She asked him gently. "Just go back in your mind, what's the last think that comes into your head?"

Lucas was quiet for a long moment, "I was leaving the campaign office to join Edwin at the hotel. That's all, it goes blank after that until waking up here, with you. Did I fall or something, I remember it was raining really hard." He chuckled, "Did I get stuck in the mud again?" MaKayla smiled at that.

"No mud was involved this time, just rain." She told him cheerfully. "Right now, you're in the hospital where I work. That is all that you need to know for now." She said gently.

"Please tell me what happened, I need to know." He said as forcefully as he could.

She paused but finally said, "Ok. You left your campaign office to go to the hotel to meet Edwin. You had just been elected the new governor of Alberta and you were on your way to celebrate with your team, when someone shot you." Does any of that sound familiar?" She asked.

Lucas stared at her for a long time. "Someone shot me? I don't remember anything about a shooting. Did they catch who did it?" He asked hopefully

Makayla frowned, "Everyone was hoping when you woke up you could tell them who did it."

Lucas's eyes shot wide open, "Elizabeth, was she there; was she hurt?" He asked frantically.

She stared at him. Oh boy, she thought, does he not remember that she ended their engagement three weeks ago and was not in Capital City with him? Although his confusion was not uncommon, actually to be expected. She did not want to be the one to tell him.

"Lucas, what do you remember about Elizabeth?" She asked tentatively.

Lucas smiled, "she's, my fiancée. Although I'm not sure if she came to Capital City with me." He said confused.

"She is here in Capital City, you don't need to worry about her, she is fine. She has gone back to the hotel for the night, she will see you tomorrow." MaKayla said evenly. Lucas calmed down at her words.

"Why is everything so unclear in my head?" He asked concerned.

"You suffered a traumatic event. The pieces of the puzzle will fall back into place. I promise. You just have to give it a little time." She told him with conviction.

"One last question," Lucas said with a smirk, "are you, my doctor?"

"Yes, I was the one that operated on you. Does that bother you?" She asked nervously.

Lucas smiled, "I would say I'm a lucky man, to have you be the one who is taking care of me. Thank You." He said sincerely.