Buck was awakened by the sound of lightening. For a moment, he comforted the gal he was with. She wasn't really frightened, he knew. But it was fun to comfort her anyway. But then he heard someone shout, "FIRE!"

He jumped up out of the bed and quickly donned his clothes, then ran outside. The other hotel was on fire. Vin and Chris were already throwing water at the flames, and Buck could see JD go with Nathan and Josiah to the church. He assumed that it was to get things ready, in case anyone was hurt.

Buck rushed over to Vin and Chris. "What the hell happened?"

"Lightening," Chris stated.

"Where's Ezra?" Buck asked.

Vin and Chris looked at each other then at Buck. The three men looked up at the window they knew was Ezra's. The roof looked to have collapsed around that part of the hotel, and they could see flames up there.

Chris and Buck each dumped a bucket of water over their heads. "Vin...you keep this water going. And let's hope like hell it starts to rain soon." Chris looked up at the sky, looking for all the world like he was giving the weather a direct order.

They charged into the hotel and ran for the staircase. Buck covered his mouth with his neckerchief. "Ezra!" Chris shouted. They reached his room and again called for him. They got no answer.

"Stand back," Chris ordered. Buck nodded. Chris kicked in the door. It didn't take them long to locate Ezra. But from the looks of the room, it would take them a little time to get to him. Unfortunately, with a fire raging around them, time was not something they had.

Ezra was lying beside the bed; a beam from the ceiling lay over his chest and legs, pinning him to the floor. He wasn't moving, but Buck guessed that had more to do with the empty bottle of whiskey lying beside him.

The two men looked at each other. Buck grabbed one end of the beam and lifted it while Chris tried to move Ezra. "Hurry up, Chris!" he shouted.

"I am!"

Chris slapped Ezra. If he could get Ezra to wake up and move himself, they could both hold the beam up. But Ezra didn't respond. Meanwhile, the fire was not getting any cooler, and it still had not begun to rain.

"Hold a moment, Chris!" Buck shouted. He grabbed the basin and pitcher from Ezra's dresser and threw the water over Ezra. Then he lifted the beam again. Chris pulled on Ezra and finally moved him got him out from under the beam.

"Let's go!" The two men lifted Ezra and ran out of the building. They lay him down in the street, not wanting to move him any more than necessary.

Chris looked at Buck. "You get Nathan, I'll watch out for him." Buck nodded. Chris picked up a bucket, then began to assist once more with putting out the hotel fire. They pretty much knew that the hotel was going to be gone, but they wanted to prevent the fire from spreading to the other buildings. A few minutes later, the water from the storm arrived as it began to pour heavily. The rain took only a moment to extinguish the fire.

Vin noticed that Ezra had not moved from his spot on the street. "Hadn't we best get him under cover?"

Ezra hated the rain. He hated it for bringing his life such warmth, for he had lost it and now knew he was cold. Ezra opened his eyes partly. He hurt everywhere. Then he saw her...his angel.

"Catherine?" he whispered hopefully, as he felt the cloth placed against his face.

"Don't you even think on callin' me that, Ezra. Don't you even!" a sharp voice retorted.

Ezra's eyes cleared for a moment, and he saw KC and Nettie hovering over him. The sudden loss after the unexpected hope nearly crushed him and he allowed oblivion to take him back to where his angel haunted his dreams.

The shout of "Thief!" was all the warning he received before being rudely pulled from his bedroll. He regarded the posse curiously.

The sheriff said, "Mr. Sanders, that's my horse you took."

Ezra looked over at the mount he'd been riding. "Indeed it is. I must..." but he got no farther. The sheriff silenced him with a glance.

"You're under arrest...for horse theft. Tie him up." The sheriff looked at the posse.

He was amazed at how calm he was. 'Mother was indeed right,' Ezra reflected silently. He allowed his emotions to overcome him for a brief moment, and now he was being arrested for horse theft. While he was calm, he was also angry. Catherine had been brutalized; Catherine was dead. Yet this sheriff was more interested in the capture of a horse-thief. And if the man had half the sense given a small child, the sheriff should have realized that the theft was unintentional.

On the other hand, the sheriff could make an arrest in this instance. Ezra mused that the man might have been feeling impotent...or remiss in his duties...because he had been unable to bring the man who was harming the town's women to justice. Though Ezra could understand the sheriff's position in a detached manner, he also had no intention of staying for the trial.

He also noted that they were not heading back to the small dusty town whose name he did not know...did not care to know.

"Pardon my inquiry, gentlemen," Ezra stated hospitably. "Might I inquire as to our intended destination?"

Four pairs of eyes with blank expressions turned to face him. Ezra did his best to keep the disgust out of his eyes. He repeated his question, "Where are we going?"

The sheriff looked at him. "Judge is at Fort Laramie. Just as close to go there as back to town." This wasn't exactly true, at least not as Ezra knew the lay of the land. It would take several days to get to Fort Laramie, and only one to return to town. He knew he would miss Catherine's funeral, if Fiona elected to have her buried in the remote backwater. For some reason, he didn't think Catherine would want to arrive in San Francisco only to be buried.
But he knew that the sheriff had another motive. In town, Fiona would state what kind of a man he was before the judge, and the circumstances of his arrest would be understood better. He had a better chance for leniency in that small dusty town. "In other words, my good sir, you don't want me to have character witnesses."

The sheriff glared at him for a moment, but didn't answer him any further. Ezra nodded and kept his silence.

The first night out, he'd tried to escape. One of his guards hit him with the butt of a rifle, hard enough to render him unconscious. By this time, Ezra knew that the sheriff's name was George Smith and the men with him, Tom, Hank, and John, were his brothers. The judge was one Oren Travis, who was known to be a "hanging judge." Ezra knew that in some places out west they hung horse thieves.

While he liked the feel of silk around his neck, he had no intention of wearing it as a hangman's noose.

He decided to bide his time for the rest of the trip Fort Laramie. He realized that now his only chance was to make the judge believe him to be a docile prisoner.

Two days later, he was brought before Judge Oren Travis. He held his head up and a allowed gleam of remorse to show in his eyes. Ezra could tell that the man was reading him, to decide how much of a threat he was.

Sheriff Smith stated, "This man stole my horse."

Ezra could tell the judge was tired of hearing cases at this time. "I'll hear the case Friday. I've got a full docket this week. Jail's full. Since the charge is theft, I'll set bail."

Ezra maintained his expression. He knew that unless the judge set the bail too high, he could make it. And because today was a Monday, he had time to establish an expected routine...in case anyone was watching him.

The judge looked at him. "What's your name?"

Ezra looked at him. "Ezra Sanders."

"Bail is set at $25. Can you make the bail, Mr. Sanders?"

Ezra nodded. "Yes, your honor."

The judge nodded back at him. "Bailiff, collect the bail from Mr. Sanders."

Ezra reached into his coat pocket and produced a fine leather wallet, from which he removed $25.

"Don't leave town, Mr. Sanders."

Ezra nodded his understanding, then left the building, dutifully heading to the hotel. He stayed in the room until 7 p.m.. He had dinner in the restaurant. He then went to the saloon and stayed until 10 p.m.. Ezra wanted to be seen. The next day, he slept in until noon, then made an appearance at the restaurant. He spent the day in the saloon, drinking and gambling. He stayed until 7 p.m., at which time he went to the restaurant for dinner. He returned to the saloon and stayed until 10 p.m..

He repeated the routine on Wednesday, with one deviation. When he was sure he was not being watched, he went to the livery and purchased a horse and tack, and paid the stabling fees for the horse. At 10 p.m., he went back to his room. By now, he knew that the saloon's patrons left at midnight, and the town was quiet within fifteen minutes.

At 12:30 a.m., Ezra quietly left his room. He knew which boards squeaked; he knew which stairs creaked. Those he avoided. He went to the stable and saddled his horse. Then he left town, knowing that no one had seen him, and no one would notice he was missing until about noon. And by then, he would be long gone.

He headed north, back to St. Louis. He knew that in St. Louis he could forget the pain of Catherine's death, and he would be out of that territorial judge's jurisdiction. Perhaps Maude would still be there. Ezra decided that a good con right now would really help him get over this recent lapse in judgement.

A while later he opened his eyes again and saw Nettie sitting by him. "You gonna tell me about her, son?"

"I don't know who you're talking about, I am sure."

"Sure you do. Catherine. That gal you were mooning about so much you were even less useful than usual."

Ezra shook his head.

"Might do you good to tell someone."

"I loved her, Mrs. Wells. And she is gone. Nothing else really matters now, does it?"

"You ever tell her that?"

Ezra shook his head.

"Then why don't you?"

He thought about it for a moment. "It could not be enough. Never enough."

"And what would be?"

He thought about it. "I ... she..."

"Mr. Standish, this Catherine, she came through here once, didn't she?"

He nodded. Nettie talked on while he didn't listen, and, as she was talking, he realized that Catherine's ghost could never rest, not while the man or men who did this to her were still free. And he would never be able to go on living without her if he didn't find them. Six years ago, he had been a con man and gambler. True, he still was. But now he was more. HE was part of the law in this dusty backwater. And there was going to be justice.

She seemed to note when he made the decision, without him even saying a word. "I'll go get your friends, Mr. Standish. I think you're going to need some help." Then she offered him something he would never have expected...something which made him listen to her.

"I saw him ride past with her. Shot at him with my carbine. Winged him too, I think. But I had KC to look after, even then."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The man who murdered your Catherine. I didn't see him do it, mind. But, she had red hair, didn't she?" When Ezra nodded, she continued. "I saw him with her. I wanted to take care of him then. But it wasn't safe, what with him being a relation of the old sheriff. No one else seemed to care. Then, after you boys came, and the old sheriff left, well quite honestly, I forgot. Had other things to do."

Ezra nodded. He did understand. "You are a witness, Mrs. Wells. Would you be willing..."

"Hell, yes. That bastard could come for anyone. Catherine was the last, but she wasn't the only one."

Ezra looked at her with gratitude.

"I'll get your friends, then I'll tell them what I just told you."

Everything made sense now...the sheriff taking him out of town, bringing him up on charges, failing to protect the citizens and uphold the law. And when he thought back, he remembered that one of the men had had a bandaged arm. It was one of those details that had never really been important to him before. But now, it told him who had done this. He knew who had killed Catherine.

Ezra waited impatiently for Nathan to allow him to leave. His injury wasn't all that severe, just a cracked rib. He knew he'd been incredibly lucky to have survived the fire at all. If it had not been for Buck and Chris, he would not have. But still he was restless. Nathan was a vigilant guard, and most of the other hotel residents whose injuries Nathan had been tending were still laid up at the church as well.

But now that Ezra knew who had killed Catherine, he wanted to bring him in. And he could not do that while Nathan was watching him like a mother hen watches chicks. However, he did have something else he had to do first.

Ezra remembered the day when JD and KC had gone exploring the cemetery. He remembered smiling as he watched them head towards it. He distinctly remembered thinking how perfectly suited they were to each other. They each had the same sense of play. JD needed a companion who would laugh at his pitiful jokes and go fishing with him, just as Ezra needed a woman with whom he could discuss literature and enjoy fine dining. KC was perfect for JD. No other woman would have been the least bit interested in reading the names on the gravestones at the cemetery. But JD's curiosity had been peaked, and KC was more than interested herself.

But then, JD ran up to him with KC only a step behind him. "Hey Ezra! You gotta see this one!"

"Yeah, Ezra," KC added.

The exuberance on their faces made it hard for Ezra not to laugh. Instead he raised an eyebrow. "Indeed, Mr. Dunne, Miss Wells. Why would this be of interest to me?"

"'Cause it's got your name on it!" JD exclaimed.

KC shot him a look of disgust. "That ain't it and you know it," she said around a smile.

"You ever been here before, Ezra?" JD asked.

"To the cemetery?"

"No, Mr. Standish. To Four Corners," KC clarified.

Ezra shook his head. But he wasn't sure. Deep down, he knew why they were asking but he could not admit it even to himself. "Out of curiosity, why do you ask?" he inquired.

"'Cause there's a stone that reads Catherine somebody 'beloved of Fiona and Ezra'!" KC said.

He felt a sudden lurch in his stomach. Without answering either of them, he turned on his heels and went to the saloon and began to drink. His memory of that day became fuzzy after that. He thought that JD might have tried to talk to him and probably Buck. He thought that he might have gotten into an argument with Chris. It was one of the few occasions in his life that he drank so much that could not remember how he got back to his room. No one said anything about it the next day, and Ezra never asked who had helped him.

Ezra stood quietly in front of the grave. He had not visited it, not even after JD and KC had mentioned it. Visiting it would have been making an admission. He didn't know why he had not left that day...the day he realized that Four Corners was the town she'd been killed in.

But he hadn't. He hadn't left then. Ezra reflected on it a moment. It must have been because she was here that he had stayed...he couldn't leave her again. Not, at least, without saying goodbye.

After a moment, he knelt down and draped an arm over her grave. How thoughtful it had been of Fiona O'Donnell to include his name on the stone. He wondered what had happened to her. He knew it must have broken her heart when Catherine died. He wondered if she had continued on to San Francisco.

"Catherine," he whispered. "My beautiful Catherine." He waited for an answer, but received only silence.

After a few moments, Ezra stood up and looked gravely at the headstone. "He will pay, Catherine. He will pay for what he did. I promise you." Then he turned and walked to the saloon.

Hank Smith watched the girl ride by him. He hadn't been to town for a while, not since those lawmen came and his no-account brother had run off. Tom and John left shortly after that. For the first time in a long time, Hank was alone.

Hank hated to be alone, and he wouldn't be for much longer.

KC rode towards the fishing hole. She rode quickly, because JD was waiting for her there. She really liked him and enjoyed spending time with him. 'Course, she didn't really want him to know that. Heck, half the time she picked fights with him, just to keep him from thinking she was too soft. That, and she thought the exasperated and confused look on his face was cute.

She heard the sound of a rider coming up beside her, and without even looking, she said, "JD, I tol' ya I'd meet ya. Ain't no need for you to..." KC broke off her sentence as soon as she realized the rider coming up wasn't JD. Then she kicked her horse into a run and held on.

KC hoped that JD was early, or nearby, because she didn't like the looks of the man who was following her.

"Hold up there, girl! Or I'll make you hold up!" he shouted at her.

KC held on and tried to make the horse go faster. She heard a low whistle and looked behind her. The man held a lasso and was about to throw it. KC screamed as the lasso wrapped around her shoulders and she was jerked off her horse.

She thrashed on the ground, trying to break loose of the rope. The man was on her in a moment. He grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back, quickly tying them with the remaining rope.

KC was scared, more scared than she could ever remember being in her life. She kicked the man. In response, he put a gun to her forehead.

"Do that again, little girl, and I'll shoot you. I don't need you alive, it's just more fun that way."

KC blanched and shouted as loudly as she could, "Help! Someone help me!"

But she knew that there wasn't anyone near enough to hear her cries. The man slapped her hard, knocking her head to one side. KC refused to cry out. He jerked his bandana off his neck and tied it so she couldn't cry out again. "That'll teach you, little girl. I'm gonna take you someplace that ain't no one gonna hear you cry out. And you ken scream all you want. Then the fun will start."

He picked her up and threw her over his horse, then he mounted up and rode off. KC couldn't see the road very well, and the bouncing was making her head spin. She closed her eyes and hoped that someone would come looking for her soon.

JD waited impatiently at the pond. KC was late. It wasn't really like her to be late, but it was like her to tease him. He decided that he'd go meet her along the way. It would give him time to torment her for being late.

By the time he got to Nettie's, JD was a bit upset. He should have met her by now. But she obviously had not left yet, or he'd have met her. He contemplated leaving and going back to town, but now he had his dander up.

"KC!" he called to the house.

After a moment, Nettie appeared in the doorway. "Son, I thought you were meetin up at the pond, not here. KC left an hour ago."

JD's face lost color. "She didn't show up, Mrs. Wells."

Nettie's face grew stern, then she went into the house and came back out with a gun. "You go find her, JD Dunne. I'll go to town and get help."

JD nodded and took off.

Ezra looked up when Nettie marched into the saloon. She looked at him, even though there were five other men near him. "He got KC."

Ezra stood up and moved toward her. The others followed quickly. "Tell us what you know." He spoke quickly, taking her arm as they rushed to their horses.

"I just know this: JD came looking for her, an hour after she left. I got a bad feeling about it."

Chris spoke up. "Could be nothin'."

Ezra looked at him. "And I hope you are correct in that statement. However, I am not willing to wager the young Miss Wells' life on it. Are you?"

"We'll meet at the pond. If she is there, then we have nothin' to worry about. If not, we'll split up and search."

"Mr. Larabee, I have an alternate venue which I believe is worth exploring. And I'd like to take Mr. Jackson with me."

"The pond, Ezra."

Ezra glared at Chris. "And if she is not there, then it may be too late. If she IS there, then my excursion will have cost no one."

"Look, Chris, we may not have time to argue over this, just let him go," Buck said in exasperation.

Chris nodded. Ezra quickly spurred his horse on; Nathan followed right behind him.

"Hey Ezra, where are we going?" Nathan asked.

Ezra gave him an unreadable look. "To where I found her."

Nathan didn't ask any more.

JD couldn't find her. But he did find her horse. This scared him. He knew she was in trouble now. Before, he'd just suspected, but now he knew. He looked for tracks, anything that could tell him where she had been taken. But he didn't know how to read the ground like Vin did. He could not follow them, because he could not find them.

Not knowing what else to do, he headed to the pond, knowing that help was coming there.

Chris, Vin, Buck, and Josiah were at the pond waiting when JD arrived. "Someone got her!" he shouted as soon as he saw them.

The men rode off toward JD, who stated, "I found her horse."

"Show us," Chris said.

JD nodded and rode to where he'd found her horse.

Ezra rode warily to the rocks. He wanted to ride in the other direction, but he desperately wanted to make sure that nothing happened to Catherine...KC. As he rode, he kept thinking of Catherine. He had to get there first. He could not allow this to happen again. He would not.

He saw the pile of rocks in the distance, and he slowed down. Ezra looked to Nathan.

"I see it," Nathan said.

There was a single horse there. Ezra could hear KC yelling at someone, demanding to be let go. He could hear the fear in her voice; it was evident despite her words of anger. He had to admire the girl's spirit, even if it was likely to get her killed.

But as of yet he couldn't actually see anyone. This worried him.

"You see her?" Nathan asked. Ezra shook his head.

Together, Nathan and Ezra hurried toward the makeshift camp. Nathan took cover behind a large pile of rocks. When Nathan was set, Ezra shouted out: "Release the girl!"

A man stood up and pointed a gun at him: he held KC in front of him as a shield. "Ain't gonna happen. You bes' jus' go on about your business and leave this one to me."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that," Ezra stated.

"Oh, and why's that?" the man asked.

"Because this is my business, you murdering bastard."

Ezra ducked as the man fired a few shots at him. The movement caused him some pain as he rolled away from the gunshot. He couldn't fire back because he didn't want to hit KC.

Ezra shouted above the sound of the gunshots, "KC, are you all right?"

She replied, "Sure, if you call bein kept against my will by pig 'all right'." There was anger and fear in her voice.

Ezra had to stifle a chuckle at that. But his mirth was short lived when the man jerked her around and smacked her. KC might have tried to stifle the yelp of pain, but she was not successful.

However, when the man had smacked KC, his back had been exposed for a brief moment, a moment of which Ezra took advantage. Ezra shot his derringer out of his sleeve and fired. The man tumbled down, taking KC with him. Ezra could only hope, for the moment, that his aim was true.

"Nathan!" Ezra shouted.

Nathan emerged from the rocks quickly and both men ran to where KC and the man lay on the ground. Ezra threw the man off of KC. Nathan bent down and first untied her wrists. Then he looked at her.

Ezra checked the man. "He's still alive, Nathan." Ezra grabbed the rope that had bound KC and used it to tie up her captor. "How's Miss Wells?" He was afraid of the answer.

Nathan smiled. "She'll be all right." Nathan looked over at him. Then he turned back to KC.

She tried to smile back at him, but her bravado suddenly gave way, and she started to shake. Nathan held her for a moment. "It's okay."

Ezra paced. It was so similar. KC's face was a bit bruised, and the sleeves to her dress were torn. But he could see she was fine other than that. Nathan's smile had told him that nothing else had happened. He sat down near the two, but he kept his gun trained on the unconscious man who was their prisoner. Ezra knew that he would hang. He looked around and smiled. Then he whispered softly, "It's over, Catherine."

It wasn't long before the other men arrived. Vin had found the tracks and led them here. JD was obviously worried. Chris saw Ezra first. Ezra nodded his head to let him know that everything was under control, and that KC was fine. Chris nodded back, and Ezra knew it was an acknowledgement of the earlier discussion. Neither man said a word.

JD had urged his horse to go faster as soon as he saw Ezra and knew it was safe. But when he saw KC sitting there, holding on to Nathan, he quickly went to her. "Are you all right?" he asked frantically.

KC nodded. Nathan moved away and JD took her hand. After a moment, JD kissed her cheek and then held her close to him. He didn't want to ever let her go. JD had not realized that he loved her...really truly realized it...until she had been taken.

He put his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. "KC, I wanna tell you somethin'."

"Well, I'm listenin'," she said quietly. He smiled because she was still able to tease him.

"You be sure and listen good, Katherine Christina Wells," he said.

She glared at him and he continued. "I love you."

KC's stare softened somewhat as she blushed a moment. "JD, I..."

JD held her close to him one last time. He had come so close to losing her. It was not going to happen again. Buck had been trying to torment JD into telling her how he felt for a while, but he had not been able to work up the nerve before.

He smiled when he heard her whisper into his shoulder, "I love you too, John David Dunne. And don't you ever call me Katherine again."

JD started laughing. "Yes, ma'am."

Ezra watched the two and smiled. JD didn't really know how lucky he was; Ezra knew that deep within his heart. JD could not know how lucky he was. KC wouldn't haunt his dreams for the rest of his life, filling his heart with memories of their stolen moments together and reminding him how he once had something perfect. Instead, KC would fill his life. No, JD could not understand how lucky he was, and Ezra hoped that he never, ever would.