Wow. I know I've been FOREVER, but I've just had no inspiration whatsoever… So I'm really sorry! The only reason there's even an update, is chicasespanola… You inspired me to write this!

He hesitated, looked around and scratched his head.

"Is the doctor going to be here soon?" he asked, watching as the woman started to tend to Haley. She lifted her head, a stern look on her face. "I am the doctor," she said. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. Nathan furrowed his brows and wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his sleeve.

"But," he stuttered. "You're a woman…" His voice was a little shaky, but he blamed the situation. There was a sharp intake of breath, and her hands stilled for a moment. She pursed her lips and nodded. "I am very aware of that, sir. Now, would you rather go to the nearest male doctor – which would take about a day – or do you prefer that I save your wife's life?" she asked, still working on Haley's cuts. Nathan closed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Please help her…"

Nathan leaned against the wall, the sun warm on his face. He couldn't bear being inside anymore, watching all the rags that piled up on the floor, covered in Haley's blood. The doctor had been working on her for almost three hours now, and he was getting nervous. Was she supposed to be unconscious so long? He breathed in slowly, the dust in the air making his throat raspy. His jeans clung to his thighs from sweat, and he only now realized how hot it really was. His mind had been too preoccupied earlier to notice, but he also discovered that he was quite thirsty.

And yet, he wasn't moving. He wasn't even sure he could. Then he heard slow footsteps coming from inside, and, despite the warmth, he felt goose bumps crawl over his skin. He was nervous; he had to admit that much. He wondered how he'd become so attached to a woman he'd never even spoken to, it wasn't like him. But he understood the importance of silence. With his job, silence was rather significant. Sure, he could talk to the animals, but they weren't exactly the best conversationalists…

"Sir?" asked the doctor. Nathan turned around and clenched his jaw as he saw her apron; covered in blood stains. She motioned for him to come in, taking a second to check for audience before letting him in. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans, but it only made matters worse. He got a little nervous when he couldn't see on the table, and turned to ask the doctor where she was. However, she beat him to it.

"She's upstairs, asleep. I had my son carry her up. She was pretty messed up, you know," she said, raising her eyebrows. Nathan nodded, anxious to hear what the doctor had to say about her condition. She seemed to catch on, and smiled weakly.

"She's going to be fine… I cleaned up her cuts, there doesn't seem to be any infections so far, luckily. Her right leg is fractured, but not completely broken. I'm pretty sure she has one or two broken ribs, so I bandaged her up, but I can't tell for sure without the right equipment. Aside from a concussion, she has no other serious injuries. It won't take a month before she'll be good as new."

He nodded, trying to process all the information. At least she was going to be okay… He was glad. But then the doctors' face became a little more solemn.

"Look, I don't wanna be nosy, but if you did this to her, I have to report it to the sheriff… A man hitting his wife isn't popular around here."

Nathan looked up in anger. "Look, I had nothing to do with this! We're not even married. I just… found her. Like that. So I took her here." He explained. He wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the whole truth. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, obviously satisfied with his answer. She began scribbling in her notebook, and pointed towards a door behind her.

"Go up the stairs and she's in the first door to the left. I gave her some chloroform, but she'll be awake in the next hour or two," she said, still scribbling. Nathan hesitated for a moment, nodded and slowly shuffled up the stairs. But he didn't go into the room. He wasn't sure he could. He wasn't even sure he even had the right to. Then again, he couldn't leave her here alone either. So he took a deep breath, opened the door and went inside.

Haley woke up almost two hours later, her head throbbing. She looked around in confusion, and saw a woman pouring a glass of water next to her. She blinked, trying to focus. Everything was slightly blurry and off, but after some blinking and clenching, she could see again. The woman turned towards her and gave her a quick smile.

"Good, you're awake. Drink this," she said, placing the glass to her lips. "And you'll feel better in no time. I'm sure you have an awful headache, but that'll clear up soon as well."

Haley took a sip, her throat burning as the cool liquid slithered down. She winced, but continued drinking. Then she laid her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. It felt like seconds later when she woke up again, but it was suddenly dark outside. There was a small ray of moonlight illuminating her room, but she could barely see. A snoring figure sat beside her bed in a chair, his head lolling to one side. She had to smile at the sight, but soon stopped. It hurt her head.

"Good morning sunshine…" came a low husky voice from beside her, as she opened her eyes and blinked at the light that was pouring through her window. She turned her head and saw Nathan towering over her, a half smile on his face and a glass of water in his hand. "Drink this," he said and handed her the glass. She took it, and with an unsteady hand, she lifted it to her lips. It didn't burn this time. It soothed.

"You had me quite worried for a second there…" he said, smiling at her. She looked up at him, a puzzled expression on her face. He sighed and looked down at his feet, scratching the back of his neck. "Look, I'm still confused. With this whole marriage thing, and what you have to do with those guys. But it's not like it's your fault. We all have our ghosts. Yours… just happen to be the more violent types…"

She nodded solemnly and turned her head to gaze out of the window. Her eyes wondered around the room; it was a small common bedroom with one window on the opposite wall of the door. It was painted light green, and the only furniture was; a bed, a nightstand and a desk. No chair. There were no curtains, and the room looked a little bare.

The door opened and the doctor came in, a small smile on her face. Haley opened her mouth, and turned towards Nathan. Her eyes pleaded with him to help her. He caught up and fumbled with his hands.

"She doesn't talk much," he said. The doctor furrowed her brows. "Actually, she doesn't talk at all."

"Why?"

"I… Well, she never really had the chance to tell me." He said; a crooked smile on his face. Samantha, the doctor, nodded and rubbed her temple. Suddenly, there was a loud crash downstairs, making everyone jump. More banging. More crashing. Someone was thundering up the stairs.