Eventually, I left Chase in the infirmary to deal with Benji, after the former had calmed down a bit.

I needed to find Jed. I hadn't seen him since the incident, and I had to admit that I was worried. I shouldn't have been, especially after what had happened, but I couldn't help it. The outburst was just so uncharacteristic for him.

But despite my worry for Jed, I felt even more anger towards him. He had caused so much hurt in just five minutes; emotional pain for Chase, and physical pain for both Benji AND Chase.

And he had to answer for that.

I headed straight for the sheriff's office. Sure enough, Jed was in there, pacing the length of the room and looking out the window.

I stopped the entrance and planted my feet firmly apart, folding my arms. "What the hell was all that about?" I demanded. "Why did you verbally attack Kirk and actually attack Chase?"

"None of your business," snarled Jed.

I had had enough. I strode forwards and grabbed Jed's lapels and lifted him off the ground, just as Jed had done to Chase. "No, it IS my business!" I yelled in his face, an angry snarl on my face. "You made Kirk cry for no reason and hit him in the stomach! Then you distracted Chase from a major operation and effectively ruined Benji's life! He's going to be paralysed for the rest of his life! Do you know what paralysed means?! It means he's never going to walk again! And it's all your fault! And not only that, but you also physically assaulted Chase, one of your best friends, and now he's beating himself up because he thinks that Benji's paralysis is his fault, when in reality, IT'S YOURS!"

My anger dying down, I dropped Jed on the ground. Breathing heavily, I fully expected Jed to spring up and either hit me or yell at me or both. Instead, I heard muffled sobbing, and when I looked down, I saw that Jed's shoulders were hunched, and his face was buried in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking as he sobbed.

Feeling a slight pang of sympathy, I crouched down next to him. "Jed?"

"How could I have been so stupid?" Jed sobbed. "I've lost the respect of my men…all because of a moment of anger."

I felt my heart ache with pity, but I forced myself to maintain my anger. I couldn't afford to let myself forgive him that readily. "It was a bit more than just a moment!" I snapped. "More like several minutes!"

Jed flinched, and I felt really mean at that. But I didn't let up on him. "You could have killed Chase. You could have seriously damaged Kirk's emotional state. You could have let Benji die!"

Jed blanched. "I…I didn't mean to…"

"JED!" came a screamed voice from outside.

I spun round and came face to face with Annie, my younger sister. She froze when she saw me, her blonde curls bobbing in place. "I-Irene…"

"What is it?" I demanded. "What are you screaming about?"

Annie just pointed with a shaking hand towards the roof of the saloon. I followed her finger, and my heart froze like water in winter.

On the roof of the saloon was Kirk standing on the very edge, poised as if about to jump. The smaller figure of Chase was standing a metre or so behind him, trying to coax him down.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked, rushing towards the saloon with my eyes fixed on the two figures on the roof. "KIRK!"

Kirk's head jerked towards me, and his eyes locked on me. He reached out towards me with one hand. "Irene…" I heard him call softly.

"Please come down!" I called back desperately. "Safely, not the quick way!"

Kirk bit his lip. As I watched, I saw Chase calling things to him. I couldn't hear exactly what the doctor was saying, but it seemed to be working; Kirk was slowly stepping away from the ledge. I felt a new surge of respect towards Chase as I saw him take Kirk's hand and lead him away from the edge of the building.

Annie and I both breathed out audibly in relief as we watched Chase help Kirk down from the roof.

I closed my eyes and turned away, puffing my cheeks out in relief. That was way too close. We almost lost Kirk today.

I turned towards Jed, who was observing with horror from the doorway of his office. "See what you did?" I asked bitterly. "See what your words and actions nearly drove Kirk to?"

Jed's mouth was opening and closing but no sound was coming out.

This made me relax a bit. I walked towards Jed and put my hands on his shoulders. "How about you talk to someone, Jed?" I said gently. "Someone who can help. Give advice. Give comfort. Make sure that this kind of rage episode doesn't happen again."

Jed nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's the best idea. And I know the best person, too. Excuse me." He strode back into his office.

Both curious and suspicious, I dismissed Annie and waited for Jed a few metres away from the office, hidden from sight. When I saw him emerge, I followed him discreetly all the way to the tunnel between the Wild West diorama and the Rome diorama. Peering down the tunnel, I watched as Jed met someone halfway in. Using the shadows, I snuck closer to see and hear more.

Wait. Was that who I thought it was?

My nose wrinkled in disgust. It was. It was General Octavius of Rome. Jed's new best friend.

I hiss under my breath and back myself back up the tunnel. "So…the "best person" is a Roman bighead, is it, Jed?" I muttered bitterly, narrowing my eyes. "You should be focusing on your own people, Jed! Not the Romans who would stab you in the back if it meant getting a bit of glory! The best person to comfort you and offer you advice is pompous, too-good Roman scum?!"

And here I was thinking I actually meant something to Jed.