AN: My muse wanted to do some wrap up of the oil rig fire but I promise that Nathan and Elizabeth's supper date will be in the next chapter. Enjoy!


Walking into the café, Nathan saw that there was a wide selection of open tables. He led Allie to a table away from the windows. He wasn't sure if Hargraves had chosen to stay in town after delivering the notice about the inquiry or not, but Nathan had no desire to give the man an easy view of this time with his niece. He knew he had been in the man's cross hairs ever since the inquiry board had sided with him over the choice to arrest the cattle rustlers. The fact that the suspension for disobeying an order had been lifted had never sat well with Hargraves.

Nathan would not be surprise if the only reason there was an inquiry into his actions with the O'Rourke prisoner transfer was because of the man. Nothing had been said by any of his superiors when debriefed about the incident following it.

"Uncle Nathan?"

Allie's concerned voice brought him out of his thoughts. Looking across the table, he was met by two worried eyes. Nathan tried to smile as he reached a hand across the table to rest on her arm.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I was lost in my thoughts."

"Are you all right?"

"Just a little smoky from the fire but I am just fine."

"What about other than the fire? Robert said a high-ranking Mountie was talking to you this morning. Are they ever going to leave you alone about the prisoner transfer? It wasn't your fault. I heard Judge Avery say you could have been the one shot. Can't they just leave you alone?"

Allie's voice was pleading by the end of her string of questions. Having moved his own chair around the table so he was beside her, Nathan reached a hand around her shoulders and pulled her against him. Placing a kiss to the top of her head, he felt eyes on them and was thankful that the café was not packed.

"Are they going to put you in jail? What is going to happen to me?" Allie asked the words now muffled against his uniform.

"You are staying right with me because I am not going to jail," Nathan assured her.

"You promise?"

"I promise," Nathan said firmly. "I do have to go through another inquiry but the absolute worst that could happen is I lose my job, in which case I may be asking Mr. Coulter for work. Do you think he would hire me, or do you think he would let us starve?" Nathan asked.

The last question had the desired effect, putting a smile on Allie's face as she tilted it back to look up at him. "Mr. Coulter wouldn't let us starve. He would probably open his house to us if we needed it."

"Exactly. As would a lot of people in this town so no matter what happens with this inquiry, you and I are going to be just fine. I promise," he said, hoping the repeat of the words would reinforce that message.

"Okay," Allie said. As she didn't make a move to pull away, Nathan continued to hold her close for a bit. When she did pull away, her worried look had been replaced with a smile. "So, what is going on tomorrow night?" she asked.

Nathan shook his head. He should have known that exchange wasn't going to be forgotten by his niece quite so quickly. Before he could find the words to reply though, Clara showed up at the table, with both the pot of coffee for Nathan and an ice tea for Allie. The Grants thanked her for the drinks.

"Are you ready to order or do you need some time to decide?"

Allie quickly ordered her favorite meal and Nathan told her he would take whatever the special was. He had eaten on the trail enough that most anything freshly cooked tasted good to him. There were not many foods he wouldn't eat.

"So?" Allie asked, as soon as Clara had walked away.

Nathan chuckled. "So," he replied echoing his niece and hoping he sounded casual. "I asked Mrs. Thornton to supper tomorrow, and she said yes."

Allie squealed, gaining a glance and a smile from most of the other patrons.

"Now, I don't want you to get too far ahead," Nathan cautioned her. "It is just supper. Relationships with adults can be complicated. There is no guarantee that this is going to work out, but I do want you to remember that no matter what happens between me and Mrs. Thornton, it does not need to affect your relationship with her."

"I get that," Allie said. "But I hope things go well. You are more like you use to be when you are around Mrs. Thornton. Less serious and you laugh more. I've missed that side of you."

"I wasn't aware that you noticed a change," Nathan said, a feeling of guilt washing over him. He tried so hard to protect Allie from outside things that affected her negatively but he had failed at letting his own problems affect her.

Allie nodded her head. "It seemed to have something to do with what happened at Fort Clay. At first I thought it would pass with time, but it didn't. But then I noticed that Mrs. Thornton could bring out that fun Uncle Nathan that I've missed."

Nathan blinked away tears. He hadn't realized he had let everything that had happened at Fort Clay change him so much. He knew he had to work harder to put it all behind him, and perhaps now, after revealing the truth to Bill and Elizabeth, he could.

"I'll see if I can't figure out where the fun Uncle Nathan got to, for you," he told her, reaching across the table and mussing her hair like he used to do when she was younger.

Allie protested as she moved away, but she was giggling as she did so.


Hanging up the phone, Bill sighed. After talking to two different people who dealt with safety on oil drilling site he knew one thing - igniting the oil from a spark of the metal against rock was a possible risk no matter what precautions were taken. The fire itself seemed as if it might be hard to hold Lucas responsible for.

However, if he could find a safety violation at one of the other derricks then perhaps he could argue negligence in taking what precautions could be taken. A knock on the door made him look up to find Henry standing in the doorway.

"You couldn't even wait for me to be in town for one day before you pull me into your office," the other man ventured, remaining in the doorway. The mistrust between the two men was clear in Henry's voice.

"What can I say? You have bad timing," Bill answered dryly as his phone rang. Pointing to the chair across the desk, he reached out with his other hand to lift the ear piece from its cradle. "Judge Avery," he said curtly.

"Go ahead, Commissioner," Florence said over the line.

"Judge Avery this is Commissioner Collins," the man calling said, even as a soft click indicated that Florence had gotten off the line. "I've got business in Hope Valley starting tomorrow."

"I've heard," Bill replied, anger bubbling up inside at the thought of the inquiry. "Sounds like the Mounties are on a witch hunt to me. I was there last October you know. Grant had the situation under control until Novak pulled out that rifle. Now, I can understand wanting to protect the young man's memory but not at the cost of another man's reputation."

"The Mounties are not on a witch hunt, Bill. However, Inspector Hargraves is insisting that we hold another inquiry to make sure that something wasn't overlooked. He claims that we owe that to Constable Novak and his family. Frankly, I think there is something more going here. I am hoping that letting this inquiry play out might reveal more about Hargraves motivation behind the charges he is putting forth."

"I recently learned that this isn't the first time he's brought charges against Grant," Bill ventured.

"We are aware of Fort Clay and we are keeping that in mind. Myself and the others on the board still feel letting this play out is for the best no matter how stressful it is for Grant."

"There is a young girl affected by all of this too."

"I know. We are considering Allie Grant in this choice as well." There was a brief pause before Collins continued. "Look, I didn't call to debate my choices with you. I do, however, need a place to conduct the inquiry. Could we use your office?"

"On one condition," Bill countered immediately.

There was a sigh over the line. "What condition would that be?"

"I want to be present for the inquiry. I know Nathan answered your questions before without representation. Chances are, he probably intends to do so again, but Nathan deserves to have someone in his corner."

"So you want to serve as council for Grant?"

"If he'll have me but even if he declines, if you want to use my office, then I want to be present during the inquiry."

"Fine," Collins agreed. "But remember Bill, you won't be judge or jury in this inquiry. It is still our inquiry and you will follow our rules and regulations and conduct yourself accordingly."

"Understood."

"We'll be there at ten to start the inquiry."

"I'll clear my docket," Bill said, knowing that he only had handful of minor disputes on his schedule for the next couple of days but wanting it to seem like the Mounties were inconveniencing him.

"Good day, Judge Avery."

"Good day, Commissioner Collins."

Bill hung up the phone and met Henry's gaze across the desk. Something about the other man's smirk irritated him.

"Still giving the Mounties a hard time, Bill?"

"I hate the bureaucracy," Bill muttered.

"So, was your leaving really your choice or did you cut a deal with your superiors?"

Bill narrowed his eyes. "None of your business," the judge said, each word clipped. "Now, as for why I called you here, if I understand correctly Bouchard bought you completely out of the oil business."

"He did," Henry replied with a nod.

"So, as you would not be liable for any safety violations there may be, I was hoping you might come with me to inspect the other derricks. I am sure if corners are being cut, then you would notice them."

"Most likely," he consented, giving another nod. "Still trying to pin something on Bouchard?"

"I just want to make sure the people of this town are safe."

"Fair enough. When do you want to go?"

"Now. Before Bouchard can even think about trying to cover up anything I might find."

Henry got to his feet. "My car is out front," he offered.

Picking up the pad he had been jotting things down on, Bill got to his feet. Together the two men left the office.


Leaving the café, Nathan sent Allie off toward the row houses. As he could be working late, he suggested that she go spend time with Opal. He had an arrangement with Ellen that Allie could stay with them whenever he was doing something for work. Knowing she was well cared for had been a relief these last couple of years.

After watching Allie for a few moments, Nathan looked toward the Queen of Hearts. About the only thing he wanted to do less than talk with Lucas was to run into Hargraves. The paperwork his superior had given him this morning said the inquiry was scheduled for tomorrow morning at ten thirty. If the Inspector was staying in town instead of traveling back and forth, the Queen of Hearts was the only place to stay in town.

With a silent prayer that this visit was quick and painless, Nathan strode toward the saloon. Other than polite nods as he passed, no one stopped or tried to speak to him. Entering the building, his gaze swept the room. Spotting Lucas at the bar, he headed in that direction.

"Looking for me I suppose," Lucas commented. Though the man was trying to act in his usual calm and casual manner, Nathan could hear the resignation in his voice.

"I am. You are the last witness I need to speak to before I write up my report," Nathan replied.

Lucas nodded. "Let's go to my office."

Nathan nodded before following Lucas from the main room to the office across from the kitchen. Reaching it, the saloon owner opened and held the door, motioning for Nathan to enter first. Though he did so, the Mountie instinctively turned and face the door after taking only a handful of steps into the room.

"Shall I close the door or leave it open?" Lucas asked, meeting Nathan's gaze.

"Your call," Nathan told him.

Leaving the door open, Lucas walked casually into his office. "Have a seat, if you would like," he commented, motioning to the comfortable looking wingback chair that sat opposite of his own chair. The saloon owner walked around the desk and took a seat. Leaning back, he casually let his hands rest in his lap.

Deciding that the conversation might go better if it didn't appear he was purposefully going for intimidation, Nathan took a seat across from Lucas.

"Before we get to the reason for your visit, I have an apology I would like to make," Lucas offered.

Nathan's right eyebrow rose as he met the man's gaze. An apology from Lucas was the last thing he would ever expect.

"A bit ago, I accused you of not having Elizabeth or Allie's best interests in mind. I never should have questioned that, especially when I was not doing so myself. I intend to do that now. Elizabeth has stated her choice, and I will respect that," Lucas told him. "Even if I am not sure the better man won," he added, a smug smile coming to his lips.

"I never thought of it as a competition," Nathan said, unsure of how to react.

Lucas shrugged his shoulders even as he changed the topic of the conversation. "So, do you have specific questions you want to interrogate me with?"

"Why don't we start with you just telling me what happened at the oil derrick," Nathan told him. Having talked to everyone else that was there already, he had a quite clear idea of what had transpired. If Lucas' story matched up, then fine. If it didn't, it could be proof the man was trying to cover something up. "If I have any questions, I will let you know."

Lucas nodded once before he began to speak, telling his version of the tale that Nathan had heard several times already today.


Later that evening, Nathan sat at his own desk in the Mounted Police Office. His fingers pushed the keys of his type writer down to form the words on the paper for his report. He wanted this out of the way tonight so the only thing he had to worry about was the inquiry. So much for thinking that botched prisoner transfer was behind him. He had been starting to believe that Bill and Rogers were right - that Novak getting shot was not his fault.

Did his superiors think differently?

Realizing that his finger had stopped moving, Nathan glanced down at the paper in the typewriter. Regaining the right train of thought, he continued the report. He was just typing the last words when the office door opened. Not even sparing the visitor a glance at first, Nathan pulled the paper from the typewriter and sat it aside. When he did look up, Bill was making himself comfortable in the chair across from him.

"How was your check for violations with Henry?" Nathan inquired of the judge.

"How did you know about that?"

"I saw you leave in Henry's car. Given how much you like the guy, it wasn't hard to figure out why that might be."

"Yeah well, all known safety precautions are in place at the other derricks. Unless your report says something else, this incident is going to have to be let go as an unpreventable accident."

"Well, you know I found nothing suspicions at the accident site. All my witness accounts more or less coincide. Some are a bit more detailed than others, but no glaring contradictions. If you want to charge Bouchard with something, you'll have to look elsewhere."

"Mr. 'From Here and There' and I do 'This and That' will give me something eventually I am sure."

"Are you sure you are not just trying to find something on him simply because he gave you answers you didn't like when you first met?"

"Are you defending Lucas?"

Nathan shrugged. "I am just saying, from experience, that when you feel you've been wronged by someone, trying to find a fault in their actions might become a vendetta of sorts. Perhaps you might even convince them that the are guilty of something."

Feeling Bill's eyes scrutinizing him, Nathan looked down at the desk.

"You did nothing wrong during that hold up situation with Jenny O'Rourke. If Novak hadn't tried to play the hero, we all would be alive and Jenny would not be serving time for murder."

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked. He could hear the plea in his own voice. He was doubting his own memory once again. Had there been something else he could have done to prevent the tragedy.

"I am positive. You had the situation under control. Novak chose to go for that rifle and it cost him his life. It could have cost your life as well. I plan on making sure that truth is not twisted someway in this inquiry."

"And how do you plan on doing that? You think they are going to let you be a spectator?"

"They wanted to use my office, so yes, they are allowing me to be at your side during this," Bill informed him.

Nathan sat for a few moments feeling stunned. He was use to being the person trying to stay strong for others. To have someone so solidly in his corner was a new feeling - one that he liked.

"So the question now becomes, are you going to let me serve as your legal council for this inquiry or are you going to continue to be stubborn and go it alone?"

"I would appreciate having you at my side this time, Bill," Nathan replied, finally get his emotions in check.

"Like I said when that promotion came up, I hate breaking in new Mounties," Bill muttered.

That comment brought a smile to Nathan's face. "As you are not sherif any more you couldn't throw the next one in jail."

The older man glared in response. "Are you ready to call it a night then?"

Nathan nodded. Sliding the report into a desk drawer to keep from losing it, Nathan got to his feet. Together, the two men left the Mounted Police Office. On the boardwalk, they parted ways as Bill headed for his apartment over the judge's office and Nathan headed for the road that would take him out to the row houses. As he walked down the main street though, the feeling that someone was watching him came over him. Glancing toward the Queen of Hearts, he saw the unmistakable outline of Hargraves standing at the balcony railing.

Head held high, Nathan continued on his way, not wanting to give the man the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to him.