Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. Larry McMurtry, Rysher entertainment, and probably a lot more people I've forgotten do. I'm just borrowing them for my own entertainment and will return them when through. Gray Fox and Jesse Calder, though, are MY creations and I'd like to be told if you plan to use them. I'll probably say yes anyway.

Author's note: This is an AU story, based on the Lonesome Dove Saga by Larry McMurtry. AU means that some of the faces, features, and facts might have been altered. If there are any questions, send them through my profile and I'll try to answer them quickly.

Author's note #2: I know I've been neglecting my other stuff, and I PROMISE to work on them when I can, but this took hold and wouldn't let go.

Author's note #3: Reviews are like food and water to me. If you read, won't you please review?

Part Four

Call halted them just in sight of Austin and Jesse watched him fretfully. Was he about to tie her back up? He'd trusted her this far, couldn't he trust her a bit farther?

He drew a deep breath, but he didn't face her. "You know they'll put you in the jail."

Jesse simply nodded. She knew she was living on borrowed time, now. She had been since he'd caught up with her. She didn't blame him, either. He'd had a job to do, and he'd done it well. He'd been unfailingly polite to her, even though he knew what she was and what she'd done, and that was a mark in his favor. He hadn't held it against her, or at least not openly.

"You won't be in it long."

His words called up the hangman's noose that undoubtedly waited at the end of her jail stay and she sighed. "I wouldn't do a damn thing different." She needed that out there, needed him to understand her reasons, needed him to understand, period.

"Then you hold onto that and you don't let ANYONE tell you it was wrong." Now he turned to face her, his own expression blank but his eyes were blazing. "You did what you had to do, ain't no shame in that, and don't let anyone tell you different."

Jesse nodded again. She knew he'd have to assume a different attitude in town. He was a lawman, after all, and she his prisoner. She held his eye for a moment more, feeling something pass between them but unable to identify it. Then she turned Domino back toward town and started walking that way. He let his horse fall in step with hers and they crossed the plains together into town.

***

At least it was clean and dry, Jesse mused as she sat on the little bunk and waited. She knew the trial was set for the next day, but the waiting might kill her first. Nothing to do, no one to talk to. The men guarding her had pointedly ignored everything she said and she'd soon given up.

She lay down on the bunk, one arm over her eyes, and tried to sleep. There was little else to do.

***

Call was meeting with the governor. He'd reported the job completed, of course, but he'd also made mention of her actions on the trail since. She'd been unfailingly honest. Everything he'd asked, she'd answered, and yes, he was satisfied that those answers were the truth and nothing but. She'd remained with him even though she'd had ample opportunity to escape.

He finally wound down a little and put a hand through his already tousled hair. "She doesn't deserve to hang, sir, and that's the God's honest truth."

Pease put up a hand to get a moment to think straight. "IF all you're saying is true, Captain Call, then she most assuredly doesn't deserve to hang for a moment's mercy. I'll order a stay of execution long enough for you to investigate. Find Gray Fox and his band, talk to them. See if the stories match. He hasn't been raiding among us white folk, so I'm of a mind to be lenient when you find him. Just find the truth, Call."

Call nodded and left quickly before the man could change his mind. Pease understood the way things worked out here a lot better than those Army boys that had moved in after the war. He'd hold off the hanging until he was sure of Jesse's guilt or innocence. Now it would be up to Call himself to find the truth, but he wasn't going to go alone. He just hoped Gus's leg was healed enough to make the trip. He might need his friend's quick mouth when they caught up with Gray Fox.

***

It didn't take much to find Gus. He was sure feeling much better than he had when Call left a week ago.

He stalked into the saloon and got a whiskey for himself, as if taking courage from it. In truth, he was trying to calm his irritation a bit. Gus had a habit of whorin' around when he felt up to it, and he usually felt up to the task, so to speak. Call wouldn't interrupt, but he'd have the other man's attention as soon as he showed his face downstairs again.

Fifteen minutes became half an hour, then an hour, and Call was getting progressively more annoyed. To be fair, Gus had no idea yet that Call was even back, much less that his co-captain had need of his services. But that didn't mean he could drag out the whole day whorin', either. Finally Call put down his glass, put his hat back on, and headed for the stairs. "Augustus! Augustus McCrae!" His voice was thunderous. He wouldn't have to knock on doors, or even open them. That shout was guaranteed to get a response from Gus.

Sure enough, there he was. Popped his head out of a door halfway down and all Call did was nod. Gus nodded back and within five more minutes, he was mostly dressed and out in the hall, trying to put on his boots while he kept up with the taller man. "You goin' out again?" was his first question, quickly followed by "Not alone you ain't" and "Dammit Woodrow slow down enough for me to get my damn boots on!"

Call halted and whirled on the other man, surprising Gus enough that he nearly fell over when the boot went on his foot. "We're lookin' for Gray Fox, but not to kill him," he said simply. "I brought in that scout, and if she's tellin' the truth, he could keep her from gettin' hung. You comin'?"

"She? Woodrow, did you say SHE?" Gus had the other boot on and was headed for the bunkhouse for his travel clothes. "That scout's a GIRL?"

"Yeah. And she's got a hell of a story, too. We'll swing by the jail on the way out." Call wanted Gus to hear everything first hand; he could then make his own decision on her guilt or innocence. Not that it mattered; they had their orders.

The livery, however, proved to be another stumbling block. "What do you mean, no fresh horses?" Call growled softly.

"Just what I said, Captain," the man replied, not a bit intimidated by Call's looming presence but still cautious. "Them Army boys come through about an hour ago and took all the fresh horses, said they was goin huntin' Indians."

Call swore softly. "Which way were they headed?" He thought he had an idea and it wasn't a good one.

"Headed northwest, said they knew of some 'savages' up that way." He went into the bar and brought out the buckskin Call had brought earlier and a dark roan for Gus. "These are what I got, son, and they're far from fresh. But they'll go till they drop if you ask 'em to."

Call nodded his thanks and swung up, turning to Gus for just a moment. "You go get Pea and Ikey, send them to the jail. I don't trust those Army boys as far as I can throw 'em." He knew Gus would remember the run-ins they'd had before. "Then meet me at the jail." The last piece had clicked into place for him. Gray Fox had killed one of the soldiers, that was why he was locked up, but Jesse wouldn't tell him why. Said it wasn't her place to. Somehow, all of this figured together and the army wanted it kept quiet.

Call left town a little to the south, headed for the small Indian dwelling nearby. "Famous Shoes!"

The Kickapoo tracker immediately came forward and greeted Call with respect. "The wind is speaking to me," he said quietly as he turned his face toward the sun. "It tells me you must find one of the People who has gone to ground. Gray Fox is cunning. He will not be easy to find."

"Can you get us to him before the Army?" was Call's only question.

"The Army men do not listen to the sounds of the world," was the calm answer. "They could not track a mule for as little as a mile. I will find Gray Fox if he is to be found."

"Fair enough. Meet us here in half an hour." Call whirled his mount, headed for the jail. Pea and Ikey were already standing guard in the front, lounging on the chairs set about, but Call knew they were ready for trouble. Then he stepped in and saw Gus being blocked by two soldiers. "We need to talk to your prisoner," Call demanded.

"We've got our orders, Captain Call, just like we told McCrae. No visitors."

Call merely nodded, but Gus was mad. "We're acting on orders from the Governor, Lieutenant," he snapped angrily. "Add to that, we're both Captains, so I guess you're outnumbered and outranked. Now move."

The lieutenant looked thoughtful for a moment but held his ground. "And we've been assigned by Major Ellington, Captain. Now just run along, because we have our orders."

Gus was in what Call thought of as a righteous fit by now. He finally decided to put an end to all this foolery and drew his gun. Call did the same. "Now you move, Lieutenant," he snarled. "We're gonna go in and talk to her, right nice as you please, and then we're gonna leave. And if you don't stay out of the way my trigger finger is likely to slip, you understand me?"

The soldiers both held up their hands and backed away, leaving a clear path to the cells on the other side of the room where Jesse stood at the bars, watching intently. "Call!"

Call gave her a nod. "Need you to tell McCrae here everything you told me," he said grimly.

Jesse started talking. Somehow, it was easier this time, as though the fear and sadness of those days was being purged by the telling. When she finally finished, she realized the soldiers had drawn closer, also listening. "I'd do it again, too."

Call had been watching the soldiers, but there seemed to no longer be a threat there. They were clearly beginning to be uneasy about their orders. "You ain't told everything yet, I don't think," he said quietly. "You left out a couple things. Like why Gray Fox killed that soldier to get locked up in the first place."

She looked uncomfortable, but Call knew there was more. He could see it in the sudden tensing of her body, the scared look in her eyes. "I - I can't. You wouldn't believe me anyway."

Gus holstered his gun and caught her eye. "Not even to save his life? The Army is out there lookin' for him now. You think they'll actually bring him back for a trial? No. They'll hang him on the spot. So if there's more to say, best get to sayin' it so we can stop 'em."

The soldiers had already put away their own guns and were also listening intently. Gray Fox had said nothing about why he killed their sergeant, and they were curious as well. They were listening closely.

Jesse sighed, then sighed again, lowered her eyes, and then brought her face up, looking wretched. "He did it because the sergeant was trying to rape me," she said finally. "That bastard told me that it wouldn't matter even if I told his major what he'd done. Nobody'd believe me because I'd already been done dirty by the Comanches and a white man couldn't possibly be interested in that."

The final piece clicked into place. Gus and Call looked at each other quickly and then Gus nodded. "That ain't exactly true, scout, and we'll take care of this for ya."

The lieutenant had exchanged glances with his corporal as well. "No fears on that score, Rangers. We'll see she isn't harmed until you return. The Governor sent over that stay of execution, and we'll see to it that it's enforced. We can do that much."

"We'd better get movin, Woodrow," Gus said quietly as Call approached the cell again. "It's gonna be a race to see who finds him first."

"We'll get there first. We've got Famous Shoes." Call said nothing to Jesse, but his eyes were flat and angry at what had been done to her and that he'd been a part of it. Then he turned and walked out of the jail, Gus close behind. "He's waiting just to the south. If anyone can find Gray Fox fast, it's him."