I know this is a rather long A/N, but please read all of it.

I've wanted to write A Million Ways To Die In The West fic for a while, but was always struggling with a plot, one that would fit the setting and the characters. I've finally come up with something.

Warning: this fic will be changed to an "M" rating with the next chapter, so if you want to keep track of it, either put it on alert or be checking the M filter. The reason it will be rated M will be for cursing and for other adult/sensitive content. There will be multiple references to Anna's past. These references are dark, but shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who has seen the movie.

Also: I am going to use the term "Indians" to refer to Native Americans. I am aware that many object to the term, and I personally use "Native Americans." However, they were repeatedly referred to as "Indians" in the movie, and that is now the Native Americans were referred to in the time period that the movie takes place in, so I will call them "Indians" here.

This fic takes place at some point in the first year after the movie, after Albert and Anna married.

Anna leaned forward as she'd seen the Indians do, urging Hickok to lessen the distance between them and the other pair. "C'mon!" she shouted at the horse. He flattened his ears and stretched out his neck, but failed to make up the distance before they streaked across the train tracks, the pre-determined finish line.

"Ah ha!" Albert said triumphantly, pulling Curtis to a walk. "Look who's the winner!"

"Your horse likes you better than mine," Anna protested.

"Your horse is carrying less weight," Albert said.

"Whatever," Anna said, laughing. "We'll get you next time. Actually," she said as an afterthought, "I feel a little bit bad for Curtis."

"Why's that?"

"The only reason you won is because every time you let him run these days he thinks he's being pursued by a band of outlaws."

"He's a frontier horse," Albert said, "assumptions like that are good for him." He smiled over at her. "I'm glad we did this. I needed to clear my head. We're absolutely suffocating in sheep."

"It's good, though," Anna said. "Not having to worry about money."

"No, no, no, you're absolutely right," Albert said. "Gives me more time to focus on rattlesnakes, Indians, wild animals, dehydration, and dozens of various illnesses."

"And the whole sheep suffocation thing."

"And the whole sheep suffocation thing." Albert nodded. "Speaking of which, we should probably get back."

"Yeah, alright," Anna said in a tone of voice that suggested she knew Albert was right, but at the same time didn't want to get back to reality. "I can help you sheer this afternoon. Then we can get into town before it gets dark."

Leaving Curtis and Hickok tied to a post, Albert and Anna walked down the street, Plugger trotting along next to them. "You wanna see if we can find Ruth and Eddie?" Anna asked.

"Ruth just finished up at work," said Emmett Laramie, one of her regulars. "She and Eddie were going to get some food, I think. Though he brought her some pretty snapdragons, so they might have gone right back to their room." Laramie pointed to the man standing a hundred feet farther away, Silas McCoy. "New guy might know. He was talkin' to Eddie earlier."

"I think they did go to get food," McCoy called. "Ruth's had a long day."

"Thanks," Albert said hesitantly as he and Anna continued to walk toward him – Ruth and Eddie would be farther down the street. "Plugger, come on." The dog enthusiastically ran in circles around them. Anna grinned with amusement at Albert's taller, more purposeful posture as they approached McCoy. He was suspicious of everyone coming through town, and most of them picked up on that rather quickly. He noticed her expression and tried to put on a friendly façade.

"Heard two more miners died today," McCoy said as they passed. "Poor old farts."

"Doesn't surprise me," Albert said. "I appreciate the pun, though."

"What?" the man snapped, taking a sharp step forward. His intimidation tactic worked. Albert jumped behind Anna.

Her playful laugh at his sharp movement was cut off by a loud, sharp, explosive sound in the distance. All around her were men and women shrieking, reacting, jumping toward the nearest building. She felt herself falling before Albert's words – hit the deck! – registered in her ears, then felt him land on top of her, his hand on the back of her head, keeping her from raising it.

After a few moments, the town began to calm, becoming more curious than afraid. Albert sat up next to Anna, and she rose to a sitting position herself, brushing the dirt off her face. "Albert, what was that?"

"I don't know, it…it sounded like…like dynamite, or a bunch of guns, or…"

"No," she said, giggling slightly. "What was with pinning me? That sound was easily a mile away."

"Oh, you think this is funny?" he said, trying to look stern. "I was trying to save your life, you think that's fun…I'm sorry, I can't do it," he said, breaking his façade and laughing. They grinned at each other for a moment, then Albert's face grew solemn again. "Seriously, what was that?"

"I don't..." Anna looked where he was looking, in the direction of the sound, seeing a big, black cloud of smoke off in the distance. "Holy..."

Please review and let me know what you think! This is my first shot writing for this fandom and I find it so hard to get Albert and Anna's bantering, laughing relationship down, partly because it was so well written and partly because I like it so much! Figured this movie deserves more fic, though, so I'm giving it a shot!