Chapter 2: Decision

I

Vic simply couldn't take the drama any longer. Walt was so obsessed with Jacob Nighthorse that it was affecting his very sanity, at least Vic thought so. She respected him, she thought the world of him, she loved him.

He had threatened the top man of the Irish Mob in Boston; he had this running feud with Nighthorse; she had heard about the fight with Henry and how he was treating Cady. She didn't think he would ever hurt her physically, but she had to worry about the life growing in her womb, and she didn't want to take the chance.

Moretti had actually toyed with the idea of asking Travis to go with her. There was a better than even chance he was the father, but as sweet as he had been to her since finding out, she couldn't imagine a life with a man who had the emotional makeup of a ten year old, thanks in part to his mother. And with his penchant for petty cloak and dagger, that wasn't the life she wanted.

She had wanted a life with Walt. That was gone now.

Vic had stopped at her trailer, grabbed a few essentials and started driving East. She had no plan, but needed to get out of Wyoming. She was an emotional wreck, from the pregnancy, the stress she was leaving and on top of that a broken, battered heart.

She wasn't sure what her future held, but she was sure it couldn't be in either Durant or Philly. As far as she was concerned, those bridges were burned.

Before she left, she had gone back to the station, making sure Walt was gone. She put two letters on his desk, leaving her empty Sig Saur and her badge on her desk in plain sight.


Ruby, as usual, was the first one to arrive the next morning. She liked to try and organize the day for the officers as best she could, knowing that events would probably throw it off schedule, but it got her mind going.

She unlocked the door, and went to her desk, then headed toward the coffee machine that was behind Vic's desk. Ruby got fresh water, a new filter, and turned on the old copy machine…

…..Then she noticed items on Vic's desk: her service revolver and her badge. Ruby's heart went cold. She had a key to Walt's office, and opened the main door into it. Ruby's eyes were met by two envelopes sitting on Walt's desk. She recognized Vic's handwriting on both.

She knew Vic was gone.

She went back to the coffee machine, poured herself a cup, sat down…and began to cry.


An hour later, Walt walked into his private office entrance to begin the day. He felt dejected. He had wanted he and Vic to go back to his cabin or her trailer, drink, and talk about their feelings for one another. He hadn't expected them to jump into bed-although he had hoped for that-but wanted them to get on the same page.

The door opened, and he saw the two envelopes on the desk, figuring Ruby had dropped them there. Like Ruby, when he was able to read the envelope, he recognized Victoria Moretti's handwriting.

He felt a cold ball of fear in his stomach. He was literally shaking as he picked the topmost envelope up and opened it:

Walt Longmire,

Absaroka County Sheriff

Sheriff Longmire;

This is to inform you that I have resigned my position as Deputy at the Absaroka County Sheriff's Department effective immediately.

Victoria Moretti

As he sat down at his chair, a sudden headache seized him, wondering if this nightmare were true. He didn't want to open the second letter, but he knew he had to.

Walt;

By now you've read my resignation letter. Maybe I'm a coward for not telling you in person, but I needed to make the decision to leave. For the most part, I have enjoyed my time as your Deputy; I've learned so much about law enforcement from you, and I admire you so much as a man and as a person.

But in the last few months, so much has changed. The depositions at your civil trial and at Chance Gilbert's trial were emotionally exhausting; your continuing battles with Nighthorse, and your estrangement from both Cady and Henry have put a great strain on you, and on the rest of us.

I have one other burden that has made me decide to leave. I'm pregnant.

I don't know who the father is. In a perfect world, you would be the father. But for some reason, even though I practically screamed it every day that I was in love with you, you never saw it.

I needed to leave. I could not have the baby in Durant, being unwed, and with the rumors that would surely swirl after everyone thinks you and I are an item between the sheets. I just can't have my baby be in such an environment right now.

I don't know where I'm going. But if I stay here, I'm afraid with all the stress, I would miscarry, and after seeing the ultrasound of baby's heart, I couldn't bear that.

I'd like to say I'm not mad at you, but I'll be selfish and say I am. After everything you and I have been through together I find it unfathomable that you either didn't realize that I loved you, or that you simply chose to ignore that fact.

I could have stayed here if you hadn't done something infinitely worse: you cut me off as your partner, and, even worse than that, your friend. If you weren't in love with me, that would have been fine, but when you put up that personal and professional wall between us, it made it so that I couldn't continue as your Deputy.

Right now, you have more to worry about than me-your civil suit; you're crumbling relationships with Cady and Henry, and your obsession with Nighthorse, the latter which is driving your problems with Cady and Henry. You need to stop that obsession before it permanently damages your relationship with them, or kills you.

Please don't look for me. Just don't. I needed this clean break. I need to find some tranquility while I carry this baby to term. I'm not coming back. I don't hate you-I never could really hate you, but I can't wait any longer for you to realize how I felt. I have to move on with my life.

Vic


That afternoon, Walt called both Cady and Henry. His relationship with both of them was strained at the moment-and that was putting it mildly. His daughter had gone to work on the Rez, accepting $150,000 from Jacob Nighthorse to start her Legal Aid work. Walt had never forgiven her for that. Her work was improving lives of the people on the Rez, but all Walt had every been able to see was Jacob Nighthorse.

With Henry, it had been more violent. They had recently engaged in a nasty brawl with each other at The Pony. Walt had deduced, correctly, that Henry was the new Hector, and had tried to prove it by ripping Henry's shirt of that night. Mathias had hauled both them into the Rez Police station, and they hadn't talked since.

Walt told them this was extremely important, and asked if they would meet him at his place. It was tense, but both of them accepted.

Henry picked up his Goddaughter and they arrived at Walt's place around 7 pm. Despite the fact that both of them were angry with Walt recently, their overriding emotion was concern for his physical and mental health. Between the civil suit by Barlow Connolly's Estate against Walt, his feud with Nighthorse and his coldness toward the two of them, it was tearing him apart, they both could see that. He was drinking more; the fuse on his temper was being lit much faster; he had seemingly lost any and all direction. They were literally afraid he would snap sooner or later.

They walked in and Walt was sitting in his chair, seemingly at ease, but Cady immediately caught the far-away look on his face, and when she was at eye-level with him, his eyes were clouded and confused. She glanced at Henry, who didn't miss much-Henry saw the same thing.

"How are you, dad?", Cady began tentatively.

Walt didn't respond for a moment, as if he didn't hear her, finally turning to look at her, "I, uh..." He paused.

He almost seemed to be In shock, Cady thought, and her concern deepened, "Dad? What's wrong?"

"Well, ah, let's just say I've had better days in my life, Punk." He wasn't looking at her again, and his mind seemed to be lost in a fog, "I've had better days."

Henry leaned forward, "Walter, I think you need to open up to both Cady and myself. You called this meeting with us. Talk to us, my friend."

Walt took a breath, "I asked, uh, both of you here today because things have reached a crisis point in my life, both personally and professionally, and, uh, well, I think I need help."

Neither Cady nor Henry had expected to hear that. While it relieved Cady's mind on one level-maybe her father had finally realized the path he was on-but it also made her think something almost cataclysmic had happened.

"What's happened, dad?", Cady said softly. She could feel the despair coming off of her father.

Walt reached got up for a moment, and went to his desk, and pulled out two letters, then sat back down, "I...", and he faltered, "Uh, I ah, received some news today, and it's finally made me realize that unless I get some, uh, serious help, I'll lose everything that I love and cherish including the two of you." He slid one letter to Cady, the other to Henry.

Cady unfolded the one she had been given: it was the very short, curt resignation letter from Vic. Her hand came to her mouth, "Oh, my God", and she looked up at her father.

Henry opened his. His face became more somber and distraught as he read on. When he finished, he looked up at Walt, then angrily tossed the letter on the coffee table, and looked away from both Walt and Cady.

Cady looked first at Henry, then her father, and then slowly picked up the second letter...

Her gorgeous blue eyes filled with tears, and she again looked up at her father, "Dad, Vic is gone?"

Walt didn't have a chance to answer, as Henry beat him to it, "Yes, Vic is gone. And you simply..." Henry stopped, not wanting to step over a line if he could help it.

"And I simply ran her off, Henry? That was what you were going to say?"

Henry replied, finally looking over at his friend, "Yes, Walt, you ran her off. I have been telling you for, what? Forever? Vic not only respected you as a Sheriff, but adored you for the man you are-or were. Obviously, Cady and I do not know all the details, but there seems to be a litany of hurt between the two of you."

"Good God, dad", Cady said with alarm, "What the hell happened? Why did Vic suddenly leave. She didn't even say goodbye to us!" Cady put her face in her hands, feeling angry and grief-stricken over her friend's sudden departure.

"It's a long story, Punk", Walt began, "And, uh, it is personal, but while I know I need counseling, I don't want to go into the details."

Henry was more direct. "Does this have to do with her pregnancy, Walt?"

The Sheriff shook his head, "No. Until I read the letter, I didn't even know. Did she tell either of you?"

Henry and Cady looked at each other, then at Walt, both shaking their heads.

"And, ah, what hurts the most isn't what Vic said to me: it's the fact that I was in love with her. Had been for a while, but I dealing with so much..." Cady cut him off.

"You never told her this, dad?", she almost yelled the words, "That's crazy. I could tell she had something for you as early as a few years ago, but you never let her know?" Cady stood up, in a fit of anger and walked around the room.

"No, Punk, I didn't", Walt looked down with shame, "I denied it for so long. I thought I was betraying your mother's memory with those thoughts of Vic. Now?" His voice trailed off.

Henry completed the sentence, "Now, you realize you have made the biggest mistake in your life since Martha died, is that not correct?"

"Yeah, Henry", Walt said softly, "Something like that."

The angry look was back on Henry's face. "The question now, Walt, are you going to ignore what Victoria told you in the letter to not try to find her, and try to find her anyway?"

Walt didn't want to answer that one, but he knew he had to, "No, Henry, I won't. I will respect her wishes."

Cady threw up her hands in anger, "So you'll just let her walk out of your life-out of all our lives-without a fight, dad? You say you love her? If you do, you owe it to both of you do go find her!"

Walt shook his head. "No, I will not do that. Cady, I would like you to find me a therapist, so I can start sorting my mind out. But for the time being, I don't want to hear her name again, if I can help it." He stood up, and without a backward glance, walked into his bedroom and closed the door.

Cady and Henry stared at the door, then at each other in stunned disbelief. They aimlessly walked out of the Cabin, and silently drove away. They headed to Cady's home. They needed to talk.


By early the next morning, Vic was out of the state of Wyoming and into Nebraska. She had gone South to Casper, then had taken Interstate 80 East. She still didn't know what her destination was. She hadn't planned that far ahead. Like her quickies with Eamonn and Travis, she had done this on the spur of the moment.

Yet when she saw the sign that said Welcome To Nebraska she had physically sighed in relief, as if a ball and chain had been removed from around her ankles. She stopped at a rest area near Sydney, Nebraska, and wouldn't drive much longer as she had been up the entire day before. She would spend the night in Kearney, Nebraska. She would figure out after she ate where she might go.

She felt conflicting emotions. Emotionally, getting out of Wyoming was absolutely necessary for her if she were to move forward. Yet she was painfully aware that she had left without saying goodbye to Cady, Henry, Ferg...and especially Travis. Travis was the father of the child she was carrying, she was sure. Had she told him she was leaving, he would have caused a scene and demanded he go along. She almost would have taken him. She didn't hate Travis by any means. He could be sweet. His stunted emotional development, however, would have driven her insane in short order. She berated herself for agreeing to have sex with him for that one time-what had she been thinking, for God's sake?

That was another issue. She hadn't been thinking. She had been reacting-reacting to what Walt had said and done in regards to their relationship. She had slept with Eamonn in large part because Walt was seeing Lizzie. She had made that damn-fool pact with Travis to fuck him that one time. And with both those one-nighter's she hadn't protected herself from getting pregnant.

She had, after a fashion, used both Eamonn and Travis to punish Walt for ignoring her. She would never sleep with someone like Travis, or so she thought, under normal circumstances, and, yet now she was stuck carrying his baby.

She concluded she wasn't exactly innocent in the events that had driven her from Wyoming. Yet she came back to one simple truth of what had gone down. At one time, she knew Walt Longmire had strong feelings for her, that they were a good Law Enforcement team, and they had been, above all else, good friends. Yet somewhere after Gilbert had cracked her skull, her divorce, and kissing Walt in the hospital, he had all but removed her from his life except for the bare necessities of what was needed as his Deputy.

She got to the hotel mid-afternoon, and immediately laid down on the bed to think. Alright, Moretti, you've made your bed, so what are you going to do now? She still had quite a bit of money from the divorce settlement with Sean, so she and the baby weren't going to starve. Vic needed to find somewhere to anchor herself. Philly was out of the question. Her family had literally turned their backs on her after the Donatalo case. Even as evil and as dirty as that guy had been, her brothers' believed in the Blue Wall of Silence, and her father, being Chief of Police had no choice but to let her flail in the wind.

She sighed, pulling out her laptop, plugged it in, and begin simply looking at a map. She wasn't looking for somewhere to establish roots at the moment, but somewhere that she could live comfortably until the baby was born, which would be in about six months. Just for the hell of it, she googled where the best cities to have a baby were. The list was pretty long and boring, she thought, but then she saw the last one-Boston.

That got her mind churning.

She had graduated from Temple with a degree in Law Enforcement, and had been dabbling with the idea while in Durant to continue her education someday, perhaps maybe even taking The Bar. She had always wanted to see law enforcement from all angles, and that felt like a natural step.

Vic also knew Boston had one of the best Pre-Law programs in the country at Boston College.

She also realized that one of her closest friends from her days at Temple lived in Boston. Vic thought how funny life could be, when having some harmless musings could lead one in a totally new direction.


Vic called her friend Lisa Bishop, who worked as a the head of Human Resources at a major corporation in Boston. From that call, Vic found out that Lisa was still single, tied to her career, and that her current roommate was being transferred to Seattle by her company. Lisa was thrilled when Vic said she might head to Boston, and had immediately told her that she could be her new roomie.

Four days later, taking a leisurely drive from Kearney to Boston, she arrived about 8 pm on a Saturday evening. Lisa was waiting at the door.

"Victoria!", she yelled, coming down the steps of her condo, wrapping up her friend in a hug, "God, how long has it been, kid?" She kissed Vic on the cheek.

"What? Maybe seven or eight years?", Vic smiled warmly at her friend, "To long, that's for sure."

"Come on in, Vic! Let's unwind before we get your stuff in."

Vic laughed, "I don't have much with me. I left Wyoming in a hurry."

Lisa could see the hurt and confusion in Vic's eyes. She knew something major had happened to force her to leave Wyoming. Wine was offered, and Lisa waited for Vic to open up.