Buxton wasn't much more than a central distribution point in the district where the trains would come through and provide a regular service. There wasn't very much to speak of but there were a few stores and homes around the place as well as the telegraph office and a police facility. A few streets and livery stable was a fair description of the dwelling. A weary but excited Captain Peter stepped from the train and received a kind farewell from the conductor, "Our best wishes to you sir and we hope to see you again with us someday." Peter stood on the platform full of anticipation and watched as the train pulled away and eventually rumbled onwards out of sight. He waved goodbye to the heavy lumbering noisy monolith that had brought him thousands of miles across the country to his final destination, with sincere gratitude, he was almost sad to see it go.
He now looked across at where the stagecoach was waiting for him and he now started to realise that this was going to be the final leg of his long and arduous four year journey. This time, his wife would be there waiting for him at the end of an hour and a half trip when it would pull into Hope Valley. He was trying very hard not to be over excited as he was not there yet and it still felt like a dream to him. He had waited for this moment for over four years with every new voyage and having to keep his wits about him all the time to keep the vessel afloat and do the job for the people who needed him. Christine had never left his thoughts even with heavy waves crashing over the bow and then, after all that, there was his final discharge from the sea returning to civilian life and then the commencement of one disappointment and setback after another. "Howdy sir, are you bound for Hope Valley, I'm the one who can get you there, the name's O'Malley and you'll be the only passenger today. I still have to go even if I am on my own because I deliver the mail as well and sometimes there are some big packages to carry."
Peter was quite prepared to be the single passenger as he had spent much of his time remembering the past but now there was a chance to contemplate the future and that started to cause him some excitement. He had been a sailor for the past four years and before that, he worked hard with Bert on the land but now he had little idea of the future and he hadn't given it much thought to what he was going to do and he wasn't sure that he felt like a married man, after all, he had only been married for three days before he was shipped out. "You're very welcome sir, to ride in the cab but how about you come and sit up here with me and ride shotgun just like the old days." He had noticed Peter's uniform and knew that this man came with a great deal of responsibility and deserved some respect, "It's not like how it was in all those years gone by, we don't have the bad outlaws like then and my rifle here hasn't been fired in many years but now it's just part of the furniture." Peter found that there was much to like about this kindly older gentleman and he felt that this would be a fine journey to Hope Valley.
It was warming up in the day so Peter removed his jacket and placed it inside the cab and then gladly accepted O'Malley's invitation to join him up top and ride shotgun. It was indeed quite a different sensation than sitting inside the cab or being in a train carriage as a passenger, "I promise you sir that you'll see the journey quite differently from up here." There was no whip in the place where it would normally sit, a slight gee-up and the beautiful team of six black horses slowly pulled out together and it reminded Peter of how he would have to pilot the big ship from the dockside and out of the harbour. There was no other place to be than sitting up next to the driver where you could appreciate how majestic it was to see those horses at work, "well Mr O'Malley, I feel like I've gone back fifty years to what it must have been like, just as my grandfather used to tell me. I can see now what he meant."
The horses seemed untroubled as they laboured as a team over the gradual rise and they slowed when on a gentle slope. Peter could see how these were things that you wouldn't notice and appreciate from inside the cab. "What brings you to these parts sir, I don't think they have any need of a naval officer way out here." Peter told him how this was the final leg on his journey and he was coming home after a long period of absence. "You know sir, every day when I pull into Hope Valley, there is a very pretty young lady sitting on the depot steps in her nurse's uniform with an air of expectancy as if she is sadly waiting for something or someone." He cast a glance at Peter who kept looking into space. "I sure hope that she finds what she is waiting for and the smile returns to her pretty face.
They were well into their journey and Peter was taking in every tree, fence and gate, O'Malley said how there was only about fifteen minutes left before they would reach Hope Valley, "you will see the water tower in the distance before you see anything else then you will know that we are nearly there." Peter could feel his heart starting to pump louder and he kept staring intently into the distance and imagining Christine to be sitting hopefully on the steps. He felt the wedding band on his finger and how it had been with him through thick and thin during the raging storms and he remembered when and where Christine had placed it on his finger back on their wedding day. He recalled the dreadful, heartbreaking first meeting with Susan and how he thought for an instant that his ring would have to come off forever. That moment was gone and now the wait for both of them was nearly over and they could be at peace, living together and starting the rest of their lives. Peter noticed the thoughtful look on Mr O'Mally's face, "I've always had a soft spot for the folks of Hope Valley and what they have been through over the years. Some time ago many of the womenfolk lost their husbands in a mining disaster and they had to fend for themselves and that's exactly what they did. There is a great deal of family spirit and comradery in this town, yes sir."
O'Malley started to point to a spot in the distance, "That's the water…," his concentration was interrupted abruptly by the sound of a rider who came up from behind and beckoned them to stop. He was a thickset aggressive looking man with a heavy coat and the collar was turned up and he wore a black hat. "Thanks for stopping for me." He then produced a pistol out of nowhere and then Peter recognised him as the burley card player from the train the day before. "I'll be glad to see you chaps step down from the carriage if you please, and don't take too long about it, and you can leave that rifle right where it is if you don't mind." O'Malley was incensed as he climbed down despite having a gun pointed at him, "Who the hell do you think you are, people don't hold up stagecoaches anymore, all that finished years ago when they carried gold or payroll. What do you think you're going to do with us."
Peter could see that he was the one who this idiot was planning to harass, "I'm sorry Mr O'Malley, I met this gentleman on the train yesterday when he was trying to relieve a young man from his first ever pay envelope, I felt the need to intervene and I knew that he didn't appreciate it." He looked this man who was holding and pointing a gun at him, "That was a mean thing to do and you should have known better." The man of course was completely unimpressed with Peter's comments and he said so, "You should have minded your own business and I wouldn't have to be here with you today, now kindly empty your pockets both of you and I'll be on my way." He looked Peter up and down, "I reckon you with your fancy uniform should be a man of some means so get on with it, I haven't got all day to stand here and chat with you. Let this be a lesson to you for interfering in other people's business."
Peter had never had the occasion to have a loaded gun pointed at him at any stage of his life and he found having to stare down the barrel to be a very sobering experience. "The police are going to come after you and they are very capable you know," he looked down at the gun, "oh, look at that, there's no firing pin." The man took a glance down at the gun in his hand and that was all it took, next thing he knew, after a shot rang out, he was writhing around in agony on the ground feeling what felt like to be a broken jaw. O'Malley soon regained his faculties and angrily sunk his boot in and probably broke a couple of ribs. He was very angry because one of his valued passengers on his watch had been placed in danger and it was unacceptable and it took Peter some considerable effort to restrain him from doing more damage to him, "Mr O'Malley, please stop, we have to have something left of him to deliver to the police who will make sure that he spends years behind bars for his activity here today. Have you got any rope."
"Yes sir, I always carry rope but I've never had to use it until now." O'Malley made sure that the gun was secured and placed well out of sight and then he started to head for the rear of the cab for the rope. He saw Peter stumble, "Good God man, you're bleeding. Peter's left arm felt like it was on fire and he felt light headed and he was close to fainting, "Come on sir, let me help you into the cab and I will take good care of our uninvited guest. Don't worry, I probably know just as many of those sailor's knots as you do and I can guarantee that his ride into Hope Valley will be most uncomfortable." He tied him up quickly to the seat and he had the rope wrapped a couple of times around his neck securing him tightly to the window, "sir, this man isn't going anywhere for a while and now he doesn't look quite so sure of himself anymore." Peter was in a bad way with the pain in his left arm and his right wrist hurt like the devil, he lay on the seat almost wondering where he was. O'Malley soon set off being careful only for Peter's benefit but soon he had the horses galloping at the fastest rate possible and soon the water tower came clearly into view.
There was not much else left to do at the jailhouse as Amy was still looking after Gene Tully and the captain and Nathan were considering the next tasks for an official service for Adrian and by now, Bill and Virgil should be at Cape Fullarton. Elizabeth knew that Christine would be devotedly sitting on the steps at the depot waiting in hope so she excused herself and soon she was sitting next to her with her arms around her. "It can't be long now for him to come surely; we will see him climb out of the cab and then you can start the next fifty years of your life." Elizabeth was not trying to be flippant in order to diffuse a despondent Christine's anxiety, she just sat there with her knowing exactly how she was feeling.
She had been let down and disappointed so many times before as she would see the stage coming from down the road and she would be hoping so much for her husband to be there but it was always a false alarm yet again. Elizabeth remembered waiting and watching the road every day for Jack's return years ago and the months would go by and he was never there and there was the other time when all the Mounties would return and you could tell from their faces that they hadn't found Nathan. There was nothing that anybody could do or say to make it easier even though she knew that he was coming but the wait for her was unbearable and getting worse by each day. Faith was happy to let her have all the time she needed but she was sad to see her come back each day with no husband in sight.
"Am I mistaken but Elizabeth, do you think that the stage is late today, that's strange and I wonder if something has happened along the way." They kept watching the end of the road and there was still no stage approaching but there was nothing else to do but sit and wait. "The trains have been all over the place after that heavy storm hit some weeks ago but Mr O'Malley is usually pretty good with it all and he never ever complains and he is never in a hurry." She felt her wedding ring in anticipation and remembered the happiest day of her life, she had no hesitation at all when Peter had asked for her hand in marriage. That wedding band had never left her finger for a moment and was never going to. Elizabeth could see the tense anxiety growing in her face again, "You know Christine, today may yet become the happiest day of your life when our dear Mr O'Malley arrives and his passenger steps out of the carriage, I'm sure that it won't be long now.
Sandra had come out onto the landing after wondering where Elizabeth had gone, she could see her sitting at the depot with Christine and she knew why they were there. Her heart ached for the young nurse and she, like most of the townsfolk, could hardly wait for the sea captain to arrive. She had loved her, right from the start and she was pleased that she had Elizabeth and Faith to lean on over these challenging times of her life. She looked across the street and noticed the saloon where the Mounties had bunked during the search for Nathan and her heart went cold at the reminder of days that would never be forgotten. She hadn't overlooked that she had come to Hope Valley to support Elizabeth as a result of Adrian's death but right now she wanted Peter Glover to be home here and with his wife, she also, found the waiting exhausting.
They looked down the street in the direction where the stage would appear as always and they could see the track that led out of the town. Elizabeth knew that they would see the stage long before it would hit the main street and all the people out and about would make sure that they would be on the footpath and well out of the way even though O'Malley was always very careful in the town. They could see a man in a horse and cart and Christine noticed how he suddenly pulled over quite alarmingly to be out of the way and then the stage appeared and thundered by with dust in the rear. It was approaching the town very quickly and she could see the six horses straining out in front.
The urgency was becoming obvious and the closer the stage got to the street, the more it appeared that something was desperately wrong. O'Malley was well aware that there would be people in the street on day to day business so he fired off a shot from the pistol that he had kept close in his possession. He fired another as people suddenly noticed the stage thundering down the street towards them. A dangerous situation needed to be averted so he fired another and now people had taken heed and made sure that everyone including little children were all out of the way. There were no shots left in the gun and his rusty old rifle hadn't been fired in years but the message had got through to everyone and thankfully, no one had been hurt.
Nathan and Captain Foster had both heard the shots and had rushed to the doorway to join Sandra as the stage flew past them, they saw Elizabeth and Christine looking at them in amazement and now they knew that something was definitely wrong. The Mounties raced over to Elizabeth who yelled out to them, "We heard Mr O'Malley shout out loudly that a man has been shot as he went past." He had been driving the stage between Buxton and Hope Valley for many long years and he knew exactly where the Infirmary was located and he pulled up right next to it and then he hurriedly climbed down to help assist his wounded passenger from inside the cab.
Peter was a tall, powerfully built man and it was not going to be an easy task to get him safely out of the cab and inside the Infirmary in his condition. It was going to be a struggle for O'Malley but Nathan arrived just in time to help out. Captain Foster noticed a man strung up and tied to the inside and it seemed like he was put there like that for a reason. Peter was only semi-conscious and was unable to be of any assistance so it took the two men a mammoth effort to extricate him from the cab carefully. He was barely able to be standing, let alone walking so he was carried inside and gently placed on the bed where Faith proceeded to evaluate the situation. O'Malley started to explain, "He was shot in the left arm ma'am by that idiot outside, he will need your assistance as well ma'am but he can wait his turn for all the good that he has done."
Christine, Elizabeth and the captain had seen the man tied up in the cab and they weren't sure what to do, they hadn't seen Nathan helping O'Malley with the other man. They went around the other side of the cab where the door was and when they opened it a boot came out and the man tried to kick them. It seemed obvious that this wasn't the man who had been shot and now they realized that Nathan must have helped him inside. Captain Foster was not impressed, "with that attitude, he can stay right where he is until we find out what is going on." Christine headed inside with the other two right behind her and now she was ready to provide assistance and support for Faith. She was ready to wash her hands but then she saw the man on the bed, she screamed, "Peter, what happened," she raced over to hug him and she got in Faith's way, "what has happened to you." She looked at the man lying still on the bed and four years of wondering where he was and whether he was safe all flashed through her mind. "Faith, is he going to be alright, what happened to him." She was crying in his arms and she was never going to let him go.
Faith had seen many people over the years, especially with Carson and many of them were badly injured and they needed all the care and expertise that they could muster. "Christine, I need you to release him so that I can finish my examination with him," Christine took no notice at all and it was getting harder and harder to get through to her as she was inconsolable, she ran her fingers through his hair and tried to look in his eyes but he was now unconscious and unresponsive. Elizabeth tried roughly to pull her away, "Christine, we don't need Mrs Glover right now, what we need is Nurse Christine Glover to pull herself together and assist Doctor Faith. She finally released him and then she cried in Elizabeth's arms. Christine felt a hand on her shoulder, "I know exactly how you feel miss, I just lost a good friend and I won't ever see him again, I know it looks bad but your man is going to be just fine, just you wait and see, but they need you now." She turned around to see him, it was Gene Tully.
Nothing could be done until Faith has fully assessed Peter's condition and it had helped that Mr O'Malley had outlined in detail what had happened. She ripped his shirt and a bad gunshot wound was revealed in his left arm and this was going to require immediate attention. "I can help too Faith if you need me, I can get hot water for you." Amy knew that they would need all the hot water that she could muster so she got right to it. Christine couldn't take her eyes off her man and she was thankful that he didn't seem to be in any pain while he was semi-conscious. She noticed that he had a paper in his right hand and it was all crinkled up and it looked like he had been carrying it for quite a while. She realised that Faith needed her now so she focussed on her job and started to clean up the wound. "I don't think that it is as bad as what it might look at the moment, it may be a blessing that he is out cold, probably from shock because we need to get the lead out of his arm as soon as possible. We haven't got much time as I can do without him being conscious while we are doing this."
Faith addressed everybody in the room, "I don't blame anyone for being a little squeamish so please go out of the room as I don't want another patient to have to deal with, don't worry, I have done this all before." Everyone felt for their nurse Christine but they were in awe of Doctor Faith and the dedication and poise that she had in a time of adversity. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that she knew exactly how and what she was doing and soon the shell was extricated and placed in a container. They were careful with the antiseptic and it would sting but there was no reaction from the patient. He was soon bandaged up and now he looked as if he was sleeping. Christine took his hand and O'Malley remarked, "be careful of his wrist ma'am, he gave that man quite a wack, that's about the slickest move I have ever seen in my life. He had a gun pointed at him and then the man was on the ground soon after Peter belted him into next week, he never knew what hit him." Elizabeth by now was very close to tears and she had nestled into Captain Foster's arms without even knowing.
Christine's heart went cold at the thought that she might have lost him out on the road after being so close to home after four long years, she looked at him lying there so peacefully, what could be possibly going through his head and what had he gone through these last four years. Faith put her arm around her dear friend and colleague and Christine stood up and hugged her, "you are my best friend and I don't know what we would have done without you." Faith smiled at her, "it all went very well and he should be fine after we make sure that there is no infection to deal with, I'm expecting that he may sleep for hours so we just have to wait, I don't suppose that you might be going home to get some rest." Christine was not going anywhere and she didn't know or care whether she was hungry or thirsty, her man was here finally and he needed her.
Jason had wheeled Sandra down from the jailhouse to the Infirmary and she had witnessed the entire operation, she knew that she just had to wait for a while and then she could report to her father that the long awaited sea captain was now home in Hope Valley with his wife. She could see that Faith needed a break but now there was the matter of the other man still bound up in the carriage. "Can someone bring that other man in here and put him in the other room which in fact was only divided by a curtain. Jason headed for the door, "hang on sir, I'll give you a hand as it doesn't seem as if he is going to be very cooperative, he may need some gentle persuasion on our behalf." Gene accompanied Jason to the carriage and neither of them were in any mood for any resistance or backtalk but they didn't want Faith to be faced with more injuries than this man had already sustained.
They looked into the cab and saw a big burley aggressive looking man trussed up and secured very tightly to the cab window, they appreciated that he would have been uncomfortable for a long time and he may not be in a very good frame of mind, however, he had brought it all on himself and would have no one else to blame but himself. Gene set about explaining the one-sided terms as he prepared to start trying to undo the complicated knots restraining him, "now you listen very closely to me, there is a very nice lady inside there who is very tired but she is prepared to have a look at your injuries. I am not quite as accommodating as she is and I would be more than happy to leave you right where you are but she is the one in charge , not me. You make it hard for me and I promise you that I will get you in there by your ankles, make no mistake, I am dead serious."
Jason was initially amused but now he was horrified, he could see that Gene meant exactly what he had said and he would not be a man to take a step back and he thought that if he needed someone to rely on, Gene would be the man. He thought that he should have been here to talk to Amy's father. At least he was able to depart in one piece but it may have been different if Gene had been in attendance. Gene was talking to this man rather harshly as he went to work with the rope, "I have never been able to accept people like you who seek to take advantage of your size at the expense of someone who might be less able to defend themselves. You are an opportunist and people like you never learn even when it is too late." The man still looked defiant but he had nothing to say. Gene had one more thing to tell him before they escorted him inside with his hands still tied tightly, "I almost hope that you would try to take a swing at me, it will be the last thing you remember for quite a while."
That man had showed defiance, probably that he didn't know any difference, however, he was in no position anymore to provide any resistance despite Gene's comments to him. He couldn't move his jaw and his stomach hurt with every move that he made. He was led into the other enclosure and he sat down obediently and waited for Doctor Faith to attend to him. He had been paraded past a number of Mounties who just stared at him as he walked past. Nathan had the look of anger and contempt as he thought how he and Simon had hunted all over the country looking for the man lying on the bed at the hands of this man. He had to remain in control so that he could compile the accurate and concise report that would put this man away for many years of his life. The man was starting to realise that his future was all mapped out for him and there was only one place where he was going. "I think he broke my jaw," he pleaded, O'Malley was not impressed or sympathetic, "You're lucky he didn't break your neck."
From what Faith could tell, there didn't appear to be any real damage so he was bandaged up and he was led over to the jailhouse to stay in the cell that Gene had occupied and he was to wait for the prison wagon which would arrive early in the morning. Captain Foster thanked Gene for his help, "I don't know what you said to that man but it seemed to have had the right affect and he didn't present us with any further problem." He was happy that Gene was out of that cell finally and now maybe he could find himself again. "Sir, when this is all over can I come and talk to you, I no longer want to be a burden on anyone." Amy came out of the Infirmary and hugged him, "Gene, I'd like you to come with me and meet the people who I call my real parents."
Ned and Florence had heard the fury of the stage coming down the street and they wondered what must have happened but they knew that they couldn't leave the Mercantile open and the telephone unattended. "Mum, Christine's husband has finally arrived but he was wounded along the way but Faith has seen to it that he will be alright." Florence spied the man standing behind Amy, "the name's Gene Tully ma'am, I'm from Cape Fullarton and your daughter has been my saviour since I got here." Florence's face went white, "did you know the man from Rainsford?" Gene still had the sadness in his eyes which would probably be there for many years, "yes ma'am, he was my partner and a very good friend to have, it was very brave what he did."
Christine was still not about to be going anywhere; she would sit there by his side all night and she wanted herself to be the first thing that he would see when he would wake up. However long it would take didn't matter to her, he was back home and that was what mattered to her. "Except for a painful arm and maybe a sore wrist, I expect that he will be quite mobile but he is going to need plenty of rest after all the blood that he has lost," this was Faith's final diagnosis before leaving Christine alone with just candlelight flickering in the room. She felt for his note that was always in her pocket but it was too dark to read it, she just about knew it word for word and she was just pleased that it was there.
She could vaguely see the paper in his hand and tears filled her eyes when she saw that it was a copy of The Valley Voice' he must have carried it in his hand everywhere he went and it meant something to him. "I can't believe it my dearest, we've been apart for so long and now you're really here right by my side, and it's a captain's uniform that you are wearing, how could this be so, you were just a sailor when you left." She was talking to him as she was staring at him, he looked just the same as when he had left and he was the same man that she had fallen head over heels for at the dance that night. She wondered whether he could hear her as she recalled their hasty courtship and wedding which she had adored. She was relieved that he was asleep rather than wincing in pain and she wondered how he would feel when he would wake up after his operation.
She sat gently by his side on the bed rather than in the chair and her eyes became heavy in the candlelight and she didn't realise that she had gone to sleep despite being determined to stay awake. It was so quiet and the candle was still flickering in the dark and it was well into the night by now. There was no disturbance of any kind except for a clock ticking but now there was no one to hear it as they were both asleep together. She dreamed of the letters from her grandfather and when she first stepped from the stage here in Hope Valley and how she started almost immediately to work for Doctor Faith. They were good memories for her to keep in her heart and she couldn't wait to have her husband back with her, she was excited that she was going to have news for Peter's mother and for Susan and also, for her good friend Sonya Radcliffe.
There wasn't a murmur anywhere, no rustling of branches as there was no breeze outside, everything was dead calm as one eye tried to open along with the other one. There was nothing to see as it was dark except for a dull light from what was left from the remains of a candle. He was so comfortable as he lay there in the dark, he had no idea where he was so he shut his eyes again. He must be in a dream as he could barely remember what had happened the day before and there was an unmistakable scent of Christine that he had never forgotten during his long absence. His dream was so real to him and he just lay there waiting for the day when he would see her again. He could see her so vividly on that day four years ago when he departed on the train for, who knows where. He remembered the exuberance when he was riding shotgun on the stage and how Mr O'Malley had said that they would soon be there. He wondered in his sleep why did the stage stop and who was that man on the horse. He couldn't think of anything after that.
He still wondered where he was as he was now starting to become more awake from his deep sleep, nothing was familiar in any way and he wondered if he was still in the hotel room in Masterton or whether Judge Monroe had put him behind bars in contempt of justice or something. It had to be a most wonderful dream as it felt as if Christine was lying right beside him, maybe the last four years had just been a blur and they had never been separated at all. Whatever it was, it was something that he could not explain, the sedative that Faith had give him was starting to wear off and now he could start to feel the pain in his left arm even though he was remaining still. He dared not to move at all just in case the dream that was all so clear to him that he was having would be gone.
He felt that he was now awake as he was extremely thirsty and he needed a drink of water but he was still just content to be lying there peacefully, long shifts on the ship in the storms forced you to stay at your post and there would be no time or opportunity for a drink so you just had to put up with it, so this was something that he was well accustomed to. There was a hint of light in the room as it was early morning still before first light but now Peter could look around the room and see that it didn't look anything at all like a hotel room. He could now remember having been sharply ordered down from the stage but nothing after that. He remained relaxed but he winced as he moved his right wrist slightly. He now knew that there was a woman lying next to him and he could hardly contain himself as it had to be Christine, his heart was beating strongly but he remained completely still as he did not want to wake her, he would be able to give her the hug soon enough that had taken four long years. His arm hurt for some reason but he could not be happier. He was home at last even if it was still a dream but it felt so real.