Chaos...a jumble of images and half-heard sounds...shot through with bolts of pain...

John found himself standing outside Beecher's Hope. It seemed to be night, but the sky was a dark, dark red, and clouds...the color of dried blood...raced across the starless void. A huge, baleful moon hung in the sky. At least, he thought it was the moon...until it blinked. The ground under his feet felt unnatural, as if he was standing on some kind of shuddering, twitching beast. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a cougar. It looked at him with glowing eyes, tipped its top hat in his direction, and complimented him on his taste in horses.

Behind him, he heard voices, though he couldn't make out the words...it sounded as if he was under water. He turned and saw Abigail and Jack, standing motionless...just staring at him. As he reached out to touch them, they disintegrated and blew away, like ashes in a sudden breeze.

Fear and nausea welled up inside John's gut, and he was staggered by a intense weariness. It was as if a huge weight was crushing down on him. The oppressive vertigo, pain and heat slowly began to fade, though, and he felt himself sliding downward...downward to oblivion.

Then, he heard a final voice...that of a young child...a girl...

"Papa...you have to stay, Papa...please, save Mama and Jack...you have to stay..."

...

John opened his eyes with a start, and tried to get up, but gasped out in pain. The light, though very dim, was momentarily blinding to his eyes. Through the haze, he saw that he was in a cabin that he didn't recognize, lying in a cot. Off to his left, the door slowly opened, letting in more light.

"Well, you're alive," an unfamiliar woman's voice said.

"So it would seem," he croaked in response. Groggily, he raised himself up and looked over to the open door. The woman who entered the cabin certainly looked familiar.

"So, how do you feel?"

"I don't know the polite word for it."

"I do...'stupid' is the word we use around here. What were you doing?"

"I was...ugghh...doin' something stupid."

"Well, you'll be okay. It was touch and go there for a while, but once you didn't die, the doctor said you'd be fine...though you did have a pretty bad fever there. Doc got the bullets out a couple days ago."

John just grunted in response.

"Anyway...it cost us fifteen dollars."

"I'm sorry, Madame...you should have left me there to die."

"Did you want to die? I mean...it that it? Why you went strait out to Fort Mercer and picked a fight with that...that...monster? Mister...err..."

"Mr. Marston...John Marston."

"Bonnie MacFarlane...MISS Bonnie MacFarlane"

"Well, you may be right, Miss MacFarlane...I don't know." For the first time, John noticed that, except for the bandages across his torso, he was naked under his covers.

"Miss MacFarlane...have you seen my clothes?"

"I have...right over on the table, Mr. Marston. You didn't expect us to let you lie there for several days in your own filth, did you? Besides, I had to keep changing those bandages."

"You changed them?"

"Oh, come now, Mr. Marston...I grew up in a household of menfolk. No need to be shy. Though I must say, you do have your fair share of scars on you."

"Well, just the same, could I have a bit of privacy to get myself dressed? I think I can manage that by myself now."

With a wry smile, Bonnie closed the door. John got unsteadily to his feet and gathered his things. As he moved around, the stiffness worked its way out of his muscles. The lady certainly knew how to dress a wound, he noted. When he finished and finally placed his hat on, he opened the door and joined her on the small deck of the shed.

"So, what were you doing?" Bonnie continued.

"Trying to give Mr. Williamson a chance," John replied wearily, "for old time's sake."

"You knew Bill Williamson?"

"Knew him...long time ago..."

"Well, what was he like?"

"Dumb..."

"Just like you," Bonnie interjected.

"Thank you, miss" John said, tipping his hat. It finally dawned on him where he had seen her.

"I saw you on the train, didn't I?"

"Yeah...down in Armadillo. I heard you had something to do with all that commotion at the saloon. Seems commotion likes to follow you around, Mr. Marston."

John chuckled humorlessly, "That it does, Miss MacFarlane...but usually I just seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just lucky, I guess."

"Is that so? Well, uhh...what will you do now?"

"Now, I'm gonna take my time and go after him in a less kind way."

"Oh, that sounds very fun...quite heroic, just like in those Penny Dreadfuls my brother used to read. But you'll need more than 'luck', I fear. Meanwhile, if you'll excuse me, I've got a ranch to run. Of course, if you feel better, why not take a ride with me and help me patrol the perimeter? You can earn back some of that money we wasted on doctor's bills."

"Thank you...I'll do that...and thank you for saving my life. By the way, what were you doing out there? How did you even know to come save me?"

"Let's just call it woman's intuition, shall we?" Bonnie said with a small smile, as she headed off to the large ranch house.

...

Once inside and back up in her room, Bonnie took a cedar box out of drawer in her vanity table. Laying it on top of the table, she opened the box and took out an ornate deck of cards wrapped in a silk cloth. After giving the deck a quick shuffle, she drew two cards and laid them down as well...the Fool and the Tower. With a sigh, she glanced out her window, in the direction of John's cabin.

"A lot more than just luck, Mr. Marston..."

Thanks for the reviews...it's always nice to get encouragement. Even constructive critisism will be appreciated. I used a lot of the original dialog this time, but interjected some stuff I thought just made a bit more sense (I mean, John wore those clothes lying there for days? They never needed to change his old bandages?). Yeah, there's more to this version of Bonnie than meets the eye, but don't expect her to turn anyone into a toad or anything like that. So, I'll try to update more frequently...and more reviews wouldn't hurt!