hello everyone, i have a new chapter for you. YAY! OK, so i just saw the original True Grit this morning. holy chiz, that movie is AWESOME! i loved it, and John Wayne is certainly one of my favorite actors now. i also thoroughly enjoyed Glen Campbell's portrayal of LaBoeuf, but I HATE THAT THEY KILLED HIM IN THE END! to me, that was unnecessary, but apparently he dies in the novel too. buy anyway, because of my excitement over the original True Grit, i decided to hurry up and get this chapter done so i could post it A.S.A.P. i hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: i do not own True Grit, or any of it's characters. i only own Catherine, Ivory, and Dan. i forgot to mention Dan in the last disclaimer :)

Catherine watched as LaBoeuf walked off, heading for the town stables. She sighed and walked over to her white horse. "Let's go Ivory" she said, swinging up into the saddle and riding off after LaBoeuf. "Mr. LaBoeuf, there is no sense trying to leave me behind" she said, walking Ivory along beside him.

LaBoeuf looked up at her. "Ms. Ross…"

"Call me Catherine"

"Catherine" LaBoeuf continued. "Do you have any idea what you would be up against if you were to come with me?"

Catherine nodded. "Yes, I am very well aware of what Dan Chaney is capable of"

LaBoeuf chuckled. "Yes, but we're sure to run into other criminals besides Chaney. And I'm not always going to be there to help you…"

"Mr. LaBoeuf, I am more then capable of taking care of myself" Catherine said.

LaBoeuf nodded. "Yes, I'm sure you are" he said, not really sounding like he believed her.

"Where will we be headed first?" Catherine asked.

LaBoeuf sighed. This girl wasn't giving up. "Well first I'll have to get my horse from the stable, since I won't be going back to Texas right away"

Catherine smiled. She had always had a deep love of horses. "What breed do you have Mr. LaBoeuf?"

"Appaloosa" LaBoeuf said.

Catherine smiled more. "Oh, I'm sure he's lovely!" when they got to the stable, Catherine got off Ivory and secured his reins to a hitching post. Then she followed LaBoeuf inside where he paid the stable owner and went to get his horse. Catherine gasped when she saw the large Appaloosa. "He's beautiful!" she said, holding out her hand so the horse could sniff it.

"Thank you" LaBoeuf said.

"What is his name?" Catherine asked, not surprised by LaBoeuf's answer.

"Ranger"

"what a fitting name" Catherine said.

LaBoeuf quickly saddled up Ranger and led him out of the stable. Catherine went over by Ivory and untied his reins, getting up into the saddle and riding over to LaBoeuf. Ranger seemed frisky. "I haven't ridden him in a few days" LaBoeuf explained, finally getting the horse to stand still long enough for him to mount. He started to ride off, Catherine following him.

"So now where are we headed?"

LaBoeuf hesitated. "Well…" LaBoeuf said. "We're in Franklin now, and we'll probably make it to Elkins in a few days" LaBoeuf said.

"Elkins? What is in Elkins?" Catherine asked.

"From what I've heard, the Chaney family has land there" LaBoeuf said. "They have for the last 100 years or so"

"perfect!" Catherine said, smiling. But then she frowned.

"What?" LaBoeuf asked.

"Now that I think about it, I doubt Chaney would go back home. Wouldn't he come to the assumption that you would look for him there?"

"I doubt it" LaBoeuf said. "Chaney doesn't have many friends, and not many people know where he lives"

"you certainly know a lot about Chaney, don't you Mr. LaBoeuf?" Catherine said.

"Yes, I suppose I do" they rode out of Franklin in silence, not saying anything for several minutes.

LaBoeuf found himself looking at Catherine, since he hadn't really had a chance to get a good look at her before. She was very pretty, with long dark blond hair that nearly reached her waist, large brown eyes that were very expressive and full pink lips. She was short, but still taller then Mattie, and she struck LaBoeuf as sort of a tomboy. She wasn't wearing a dress, but a white flannel shirt with tan pants and black riding boots that looked to be a bit too tight.

"Mr. LaBoeuf?"

"What?" LaBoeuf snapped out of his thoughts and noticed Catherine looking strangely at him.

"Are you all right?"

LaBoeuf nodded. "Yes, I'm fine"

silence yet again.

"So where is she?" LaBoeuf finally asked.

"Where's who?"

"Mattie. I'm a little surprised that she isn't with you"

"oh" Catherine frowned, suddenly looking upset. "Do you remember when she fell into that pit and got bitten by a rattlesnake?"

LaBoeuf nodded. 'Yes. Mind you, it wasn't all that long ago"

"well… Mattie had to have her arm amputated because of it"

LaBoeuf didn't hide the shock that was clearly written over his face. "Oh" he said slowly. "I… I'm sorry"

"don't be" Catherine said sharply. "Mattie is strong, and she is taking it quite well. It is a little more difficult for her to do some things now, but she is handling the situation very bravely"

"and that's why she's not with us now?"

Catherine nodded. "Yes. The doctor wants her to rest for a few weeks and try to get used to her arm, little by little. He doesn't want her doing much, and that includes riding a horse"

"I see" LaBoeuf said.

Catherine looked at him. "Are you really letting me come with you?"

LaBoeuf quirked an eyebrow at her. "Pardon?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I mean" Catherine said. "Mattie told me about how you and Marshal Cogburnnearly left her behind"

LaBoeuf chuckled. "Darlin', if I were going to try to leave you behind, I wouldn't have let you come this far" he motioned to the landscape. "this wouldn't exactly be the place to leave you"

"As I've said before Mr. LaBoeuf, I am quite capable of taking care of myself, so if you were to leave me behind, I would only be very cross with you, but not at all incapable"

LaBoeuf chuckled again. "Whatever you say Catherine" he glanced skyward. "It's a little after noon now, so we should probably only ride for a few more hours"

Catherine nodded "Ivory is a hardy horse, he can go far" she leaned forward and patted her horses' neck affectionately.

LaBoeuf looked at the white gelding. "Ivory, eh? Fitting name"

Catherine smiled. "Thank you. When I was a little girl, I had a black pony named Ebony, and I always told myself that if I ever got a white horse, I would name it Ivory"

"makes sense" LaBoeuf said. "I've had Ranger ever since I became a Texas Ranger" he smiled a little as he glanced down at his horse. After that, they rode in silence once again, the only sounds being an occasional snort from the horses.

...

"We can stop here" LaBoeuf said.

Catherine looked around. It was nearly dusk, but still not too dark out. "Surely it's not too late to go just a little further?"

LaBoeuf shook his head. "Nope, we need to make camp now. We don't want to risk trying to stop somewhere we can't"

Catherine sighed and nodded, getting down from the saddle. She and LaBoeuf unsaddled their horses in silence, and Catherine quickly started the task of building a fire, as it was quickly getting dark. once that was done, Catherine sat down, leaning against her saddle. Ivory and Ranger were tethered to a tree a few yards away. LaBoeuf sat across from Catherine, glancing behind him when a wolf howled in the distance.

"i doubt any wolves will come around Mr. LaBoeuf" Catherine said, smiling.

LaBoeuf nodded. "oh yes, animals don't like to come near fire"

Catherine sighed. "what's it like?"

"what's what like?"

"what's it like being a Texas Ranger?"

LaBoeuf sighed, thinking. "no one's ever asked me that before" he said. "well it's a very proud thing to be back in Texas. i remember the day i was done with my training" he smiled. "that was one of the proudest days of my life"

"have you ever killed anyone?" Catherine asked.

LaBoeuf sighed and nodded. "yes, a few times"

Catherine nodded slowly. then she sighed. "well, we have a long day ahead of us" she smiled. "goodnight Mr. LaBoeuf"

LaBoeuf nodded. "yeah. goodnight Catherine"

...

Catherine awoke the next morning to the sun shining in her eyes. she sat up with a start, quickly realizing that it was late afternoon. she stood and turned to go saddle up Ivory ad give him a drink before they left, but her eyes widened and anger boiled up inside of her at what she saw. Ivory was the only horse tethered to the tree.

LaBoeuf and Ranger were gone.

well, how was that one? please let me know what you think by reviewing! i'll try to have the next chapter up soon.

-FreddysNightmare1984