Chapter 22

Hope Springs, Alberta Canada

Thursday, March 12, 1925

MaKayla paced around the living room as another contraction slowly ebbed away. She was definitely in labor, she concluded as she continued to walk around the room. Her contractions were about seven minutes apart.

"Oh, little one. I really would appreciate it if you could wait for your father to get back." MaKayla said aloud as she caressed her abdomen. "I'm guessing though, you have other plans." She told the baby in her womb as another contraction hit her. MaKayla looked up as Mrs. Cleveland and Henry were coming down the stairs from giving the twins a bath and getting them ready for bed.

"The twins are patiently waiting in their beds for you to…." Mrs. Cleveland stopped speaking as she took a good look at MaKayla once she had reached the bottom of the stairs. She walked over to MaKayla, "You're in labor, aren't you my sweet girl?" She asked her gently.

"You would be right about that." MaKayla told her as she gave her a weary smile. "Margaret, could you please help me upstairs. Henry, I need you to call Faith and ask her to come over. Tell her my contractions are seven minutes apart." MaKayla said calmly.

"Sure MaKayla." Henry told her as he eyed Margaret nervously. He walked into Lucas's library where the telephone was.

"Faith, it's Henry Gowen. MaKayla is in labor she needs you to come to her house. She said her contractions are about seven minutes apart. Lucas isn't home right now and I can't reach him. Do you think the baby will be born soon?" He asked anxiously.

"It's hard to say Henry. It is her second pregnancy after twins. Her labor could go quick or it could take some time. I will be over as soon as I can." Faith told him.

Henry hung up the telephone and sat at Lucas's desk for a minute deep in thought. Lucas, where in the hell are you? Your wife needs you, he thought.

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Declan stared at the man holding the gun on them. "I told you. Put the gun down or your friends are dead." The man said angrily. Everyone then froze as they heard the sound of gunfire outside.

"Damn!" Daniel said as fear struck his heart.

"Drop the gun now. I'm not going to tell you again." The man said firmly. Declan eyed him and calculated quickly the many ways this could play out, but with the sound of gunfire outside he knew he needed to do something fast. Lucas was on his own out there. In the blink of an eye, he kicked the gun out of the man's hand and wrestled him to the floor. "Go see what just happened." Declan told them as he subdued the man that was threatening them. "I've got this one."

Montague bolted, trying to make his way to the side door in the parlor but Bill stopped him. "Not so fast, you're not going anywhere, Montague. You're going to finally pay for all the trouble you have caused Hope Valley and Lucas." Bill told him calmly. Daniel, sensing the danger Lucas might be in, picked up his gun and ran outside.

Lucas groaned in pain. He slowly managed to get up onto his knees when he felt Spurlock standing over him. He raised his head and stared at Spurlock as the man stood there with his gun drawn and the hammer pulled back aimed at Lucas's head.

"This is the end of the line for you, Bouchard." Spurlock spit out. A moment later another shot rang out. Lucas looked at Spurlock's shocked face as he fell to the ground in front of him. Lucas looked over to where the gunshot had come from. Daniel was standing on the front porch with his gun arm extended.

"He was going to kill you. I had no choice but to shoot him." Daniel said coldly. Lucas bent over Spurlock's body and checked for a pulse.

"He's dead." Lucas said as he turned to look at Daniel again. Lucas then sank back on his heels. He closed his eyes and raised his head to the heavens and whispered softly. "We got him, Mattie. It's finally over." Lucas said as he lowered his head again as a feeling, he couldn't describe washed over him.

Daniel went down the stairs and walked over to Lucas, who was overcome with emotion. Daniel extended his arm to help him to his feet. "Let me help you up, my boy." Daniel told him softly. Lucas took his hand and stood up. Daniel noticed the blood running down Bouchard's right arm on to his hand dripping to the ground.

"Is that another bullet wound? MaKayla is going to be so unhappy with me about this." Daniel told him shaking his head.

"It's just a flesh wound, although it hurts like hell." He told him as he held his arm close to his body. "She didn't say don't get shot. She just said to come back to her alive." Lucas said jokingly, shrugging his shoulders, knowing that Daniel was right. MaKayla would not be pleased with either one of them.

Both men turned as a car came up to the front of the house. One of Daniel's men, jumped out of the car. "Sir, we have the perimeter secured and all the men are in custody." He then turned to Lucas. "Sorry Governor. We were hoping that they wouldn't be able to get that shot off." Kennedy told him.

Just then Declan and Bill came out of the house with Montague, Ledbetter and the other man. "Kennedy, you can have these men as well." Declan said as he and Bill walked the men over to him.

"Wait a minute." Lucas said sternly as he worked over to Montague. Lucas stared Montague in the eye. "You SOB; you are going to prison for the rest of your life. I promise you that. I will stay governor for as long as I have to, to make sure you get everything coming to you. So don't think for a minute any of your friends are going to come to your rescue, because they won't be." Lucas said fiercely.

"Don't be so sure, Bouchard." Montague said. "I know a lot of people."

Lucas chuckled and despite the pain placed a solid right jab to Montague's face. "That was for Matthew Aucoin. I underestimated you once Montague. Never again. And for the record, I have more money and power than you are ever remotely aware of. No one will be coming to save your sorry ass. I guarantee it. Now get this piece of garbage out of my sight." Lucas said turning to look at Kennedy.

"Gladly sir." Kennedy said as he pulled Montague toward the car.

Daniel walked over to Lucas and squeezed his good shoulder. "You got them Lucas, all of them."

Lucas gave Daniel a sad smile. "I just wish that we could have known all this before Aucoin was murdered. Maybe we couldn't have done anything to save Jack Thornton, but things might have played out differently if Matthew hadn't been killed." Lucas said with regret.

Daniel turned to Declan. "Murphy, take the governor back to the safe house and call Doctor Kiehl to come and take care of his injury. We will meet you back at the safe house once we have this mess taken care of here. Good job men. I am proud of both of you." Daniel told Lucas and Declan.

Declan and Lucas walked over to the car and got in and headed back to the safe house. Lucas laid his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe that his hell was finally over.

Bill walked over to Daniel. "You know, I underestimated Bouchard once again. Elizabeth walked away from a good man. Everyone in Hope Valley owes him a bigger debt then they even realize." Bill sighed as he thought of all that Lucas had done for the town and had never asked for anything in return.

Dr. Kiehl was putting the last stitch in Lucas's arm after removing the bullet from his bicep. "Governor, you can have these stitches removed in about a week and you will need to keep the wound clean to avoid infection. Infections are easy to come by for a man without a spleen, especially with injuries like this." The doctor told Lucas with a stern expression. "I'm sure Dr. Bouchard will know what to do." He said as he finished bandaging the wound.

"Thank you doctor. I appreciate it. My wife is always cautioning me about infections." Lucas told him as he gingerly put his bloody shirt back on.

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Hope Springs, Alberta Canada

Thursday, March 12, 1925

Henry was pacing around the living room. He was frantic as to where Lucas was and what was happening. He also wished that Faith would get here, he had called her an hour ago. Henry was walking into the kitchen to get a drink when the telephone rang. Henry went into the library to answer it.

"Bouchard residence." Henry answered.

"Henry, it's Lucas. May I please speak to MaKayla?" Lucas asked tiredly.

"Lucas, are you Ok? You don't sound good." Henry told him.

"I'm fine, Henry. Where's MaKayla?" Lucas asked again trying to sound more upbeat, although truth be told all he wanted to do was lie down.

"She's upstairs. The baby's coming, Lucas. If you want to be here when your child is born you better get back here soon." Henry told him.

"Is Faith there?" Lucas asked anxiously.

"Not yet, I called her. She is on her way. Margaret is with her; she is not alone." Henry told him to ease his young friend's mind.

"Tell her I love her and I'm on my way back. I'll be there in a few hours." Lucas told him as he hung up the telephone.

Lucas turned to Declan. "Let's go, my wife went into labor. We have to get back to Hope Springs as fast as we can." Lucas quickly wrote a note for Daniel and Bill and the two men left the safe house bound for Hope Springs.

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MaKayla walked out of the bathroom to see Faith waiting for her. "Faith, thank you for coming over so quickly." MaKayla told her friend.

"Of course. How is everything progressing?" Faith asked.

MaKayla smiled at her friend. "Seems pretty much like the last time." MaKayla told her as another pain hit her. "My water broke about a half an hour ago. But hopefully it is only one baby this time." She said as the pain passed.

"Well, I have good news." Faith told the women. "When Nathan and I came in, Henry, told us your husband called and is on his way home." She told her with a smile.

Both women watched as MaKayla visible relaxed. "Hopefully this little one will wait for him to get here before making an entrance." MaKayla told them wearily.

"Well, let me check you and see how far along things are." Faith told her.

"I have the bed ready for the delivery, doctor." Mrs. Cleveland told Faith. "While you check Mrs. Bouchard, I will go check on the twins and see if Henry has any idea when the governor will get here."

Margaret checked on the twins who were fast asleep, she then walked downstairs and saw Nathan Grant talking with Henry. "Good evening, Constable. Henry, any more word from Lucas?" Margaret asked him.

"No, if he was in Union City, he should be here in another hour or so. Do you think he will make it in time?" Henry asked.

"Hard to say, her labor is progressing nicely. As soon as he gets here send him upstairs." She told the men as she turned to go back upstairs.

Nathan watched her leave turned his attention back to Henry. "Ok, so why was Lucas in Union City?" He asked. "He would only have left MaKayla this late in her pregnancy for something important. What is he up to now?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Henry gave him a feeble smile. "He had a lead on Julius Spurlock. Bill and Daniel Sterling are with him. MaKayla insisted he go. She knew how important this was to him. He needed answers." Henry told him.

"So, he didn't drop his investigation of Spurlock. Why am I not surprised." Nathan said shaking his head. "That man is a magnetic for trouble. Well, let's hope he got the answers he wanted and makes it back before his child is born." Nathan told him.

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Hope Springs, Alberta, Canada

Friday, March 13, 1925

An hour and half later, Henry heard a car drive up and the front door was thrown open as Lucas came racing in. "Did I make it in time?" Lucas asked quickly.

"We haven't heard a baby cry yet, but you better hurry." Nathan told him. Henry and Nathan watched as he climbed the stairs two at a time.

"He doesn't look so good, does he?" Henry asked.

"Nope. Looks like he has been in a fight. Wonder what the other guy looks like?" Nathan quipped.

Lucas threw open the bedroom door. All three women looked over at who had rushed into the room. "Lucas, you made it." MaKayla said wearily with a happy smile.

"Just in time." Faith told him as Lucas walked over to the bed.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here." He told her with regret.

"Lucas its fine, you're…" MaKayla stopped talking as another contraction hit her as Lucas sat on the bed next to her.

"Ok, MaKayla. With the next contraction, you can start pushing. Are you ready?" Faith asked as Lucas held MaKayla's hand.

"The baby's head is crowning," Faith told her. "Ok. MaKayla, I need you to bear down." Faith told her as MaKayla squeezed Lucas's hand. After the contraction passed, MaKayla laid her head back on the pillows. "Just need one more big push, MaKayla." Faith told her. MaKayla pushed with all the energy she had left as the baby slipped out into Faith's waiting arms. The baby instantly started crying. "That's a pretty health cry." Faith said with happiness. She checked the baby over quickly and then gently placed the baby on MaKayla's abdomen. "Say hello to your new son." Faith told the happy and exhausted couple.

"We have another son." Lucas said as happy tears streamed down his face. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Looks like he is going to fair haired like his mother." Lucas said with a smile.

"Yes, I think he just might be. Isn't he beautiful, Lucas?" MaKayla said dreamily. "I think we make beautiful children." She told him as Lucas laughed.

Faith then took a good look at Lucas and it was obvious he had been in some kind of fight. He had a black eye and a swollen lip. Not to mention his right sleeve was covered in blood.

Faith turned her attention back to MaKayla. "How about we get the Bouchard family cleaned up. Let's give this young man to Mrs. Cleveland to clean up," Faith said as she handed the baby to Margaret once the umbilical cord was cut. "Lucas, you can use the bathroom, while I finish up with MaKayla." Faith said eyeing Lucas.

Lucas was about to protest when he looked down at his shirt sleeve. He gave her an embarrassed smile. He got up, walked over to his bureau and took out a new shirt before heading into the bathroom. He took a look at his reflection in the mirror. He was a mess. Spurlock certainly packed a good punch. He would scare his newborn son; not to mention his wife, he thought. He washed the dried blood away; it had been worth it though. They had gotten justice for Matthew. Thankfully, he made it back in time to be there when his new son was born. He would deal with the rest of the ramifications of what happened later.

Margaret took the baby into the nursery to get him cleaned up and swaddled before returning him to his parents. Faith was just finishing up with MaKayla when Margaret came back in. "Sweet girl, why don't you go into your wardrobe and put on a fresh nightgown and I will change the sheets on the bed." She told her as she placed the baby in the cradle.

Ten minutes later MaKayla walked out of her wardrobe and got settled back in bed as Margaret handed her the baby. Lucas finally emerged from the bathroom looking better but still a mess. He saw MaKayla sitting up in bed holding the baby. Lucas smiled at his beautiful wife and son.

"Come Lucas, do you want to hold your new son?" MaKayla asked happily.

MaKayla held the baby out to him, when he reached to take the baby from her, he let out a loud groan. "Lucas Bouchard, what happened to you this time? I can see the swollen lip and black eye. What else have you injured? MaKayla asked with a smirk.

"Maybe I better sit down before you give me the baby." Lucas said with a sheepish grin. Faith started to laugh.

"Lucas, will you be needing my medical attention as well this evening?" Faith asked teasingly.

Lucas gave her a chagrined look. "No, I'm fine. I've already been seen by a doctor. Thank you, Faith." Lucas said a bit annoyed at the fun she was having at his expense.

"I will be on my way out then. Congratulations again. He's beautiful. It's the middle of the night, you two should try to get some sleep at some point. I think you both need it. I will be back later today to check on you MaKayla." Faith told them.

"If the twins need anything in the middle of the night, I will take care of them. The two of you get some rest and enjoy your new son." Margaret said as she left the room with Faith.

Faith and Margaret went downstairs to tell Nathan and Henry of the baby's arrival. As they walked down the stairs both men stood up as they saw the women "Is everything alright?" Henry asked.

"Yes, mother and baby are doing fine. They have another son." Faith told them with a smile.

"Perhaps you might want to tend to Lucas as well. He looked like he was in some kind of fight." Nathan said slightly concerned.

"He said he is fine and doesn't require the services of a doctor tonight despite looking like he does." Margaret told them with a wry grin. "Now, I think everyone needs to be going home and getting some rest, the sun will be up shortly." She told them.

Faith and Nathan said their goodbyes and left. Henry turned to Margaret. "Did they say what their son's name is?" Henry asked.

"No, not yet. I'm sure they will share that with us later today." She said with a grin. Henry then leaned in and gave Margaret a kiss.

"So, Mrs. Cleveland, when do we get to share our happy news with the Bouchard's?" Henry asked as he held her in his embrace.

Margaret blushed. "Oh Henry. I don't know. Do you think they will be upset?" She asked

"If I know Lucas and MaKayla, they have already figured it out." Henry said with mischievous grin.