Please see Chapter 1 for warnings and disclaimers.

A/N: An ENORMOUS thank you to Gaben for input, feedback, and editing. Some of my favorite lines from this chapter belong to this incredible author, and what started out as a nebulous idea became a full fledged chapter unto itself thanks to this very talented individual. Any mistakes are all mine, though.

Chapter 9

"Ya comin' ta play ball?" Levi asked seeing his friends outside the restaurant. He and Billy had come looking for the twins since a group of kids were gathering by the church for the game. They hadn't seen the stage arrive.

"Levi, we've got ourselves a right big problem," Ethan said giving a shake of his head, continuing on to quickly describe the appearance of the wicked old maid and how she aimed to see he and Eli put in a workhouse.

"You wouldn't believe some of the things she did to the kids on that orphan train," Eliza said shaking her head in perfect unison with her brother's, her eyes gaining a furious glint as she remembered.

"We gotta get outta here," Ethan explained to his friends.

"We can help," Levi offered. "Can't we?" he asked a skeptical looking Billy Travis.

"Don't ya think Mr. Larabee and my grandpa and the others can take care it?" Billy asked.

"They're bound by certain laws and rules, Billy," Eliza answered with a soft shake of her head. "Ethan and I are orphans." She knew this wasn't precisely true, but she was playing on the other boy's sympathy.

"Least until we find our pa," Ethan added.

Eli shot her brother an exasperated look before continuing, "And orphans don't have many rights according to the law."

"Well," worry was written all over Billy's face, but he certainly didn't want to see his friends go to a workhouse. Finally he shrugged, "Grandpa's gonna tan my hide for takin' that picture anyway, so as long as I'm already gonna get it…"

"Hey, I bet all the kids would help," Levi added with a huge grin.

Ethan smiled back. "As I remember, you were right good with them tools o' Mr. Sanchez's at the church. And I watched ya fix that train of Billy's like it weren't nuthin'. Bet you'd be plenty handy at settin' things up."

"What kinda things?"

"Here comes Mr. Jackson to fetch us," Eliza said, "We can't let on anything. We're supposed to have two hours of playtime and he agreed to take us over for the game." The twins still weren't allowed to go anywhere unsupervised. "We'll get the kids together, set up a plan and then tell 'im we lost the ball or something. You guys are the best," she flashed a brilliant smile at their two friends that had both Billy and Levi puffing out their chests and feeling like heroes.

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

Due to the arrival of the stage, the kids ended up having less than the allotted two hours. Josiah, Chris, Ezra, and Vin arrived at Mrs. Potter's store to retrieve the twins, who Nathan had left there so he could care for a child who'd fallen off a fence rail. The Judge had set up a meeting for this evening and Ezra wanted to talk to the children before then.

"They're upstairs in Levi's room," Mrs. Potter said with a smile, moving to the stairs to call the children down.

Levi and Billy came trotting down the steps, looking expectantly at Mrs. Potter.

"Billy, I think your ma and grandpa have been looking for you," Chris stated grimly, knowing the boy had probably been avoiding the Judge intentionally.

"Oh, ah, maybe I had ah, better b-be goin' then," the boy said his eyes flashing from Chris to Ezra to Josiah to Vin and back to Chris nervously.

"Where are Ethan and Eli?" Ezra asked before Billy could make a dash for the open front door of the mercantile.

Levi shrugged. "Ain't seen 'em since the game broke up cuz we lost the ball."

"Of course you have," Mrs. Potter replied. "I sent them up to your room not five minutes after you got home."

"They never came ta my room," Levi said shaking his head.

"Billy?" Chris barked at the boy who was slowly edging his way to the door.

"Uh-uh. I ain't seen 'em."

The four men shared a look and Ezra and Vin headed up the stairs to search.

Josiah sighed and bent down so that he was eye to eye with Levi. "Listen, son, I don't know what they told you, and they probably are a bit nervous about what's gonna happen to them. But everything is going to be okay. You need to trust me on that and tell us where they are."

Levi looked into Josiah's pale blue eyes and a pang of guilt nearly took his breath away. He had loved spending time with the former preacher and really didn't want to disappoint the man. The boy also wanted to believe what the silver-haired peacekeeper was saying, but the twins had made a pretty good case and he didn't want to risk seeing his friends sent to a workhouse.

A determined look filled the boy's brown eyes and he gave a resolute shake of his head. "I wish I could help ya, but I ain't seen 'em. They never came up ta my room."

Ezra and Vin returned and with a shake of their heads communicated that the twins were indeed missing in action once again.

"Son, you listen sharp," Josiah said standing to tower over the lad, one hand on his hip and the other pointing a reproving finger at the child, "This is important and could mean big trouble. We need to find Ethan and Eliza. You keep lying to me and I guarantee you I will tan your backside right here and now."

The boy's eyes flashed anxiously from Josiah to his mother. Gloria's eyes narrowed, as she realized he expected her to intervene.

"With my blessing, young man, so you had best start talking."

"B-b-but Ma I ain't lying. They never come up to my room."

She pinned her son with an angry glare, then turned to Josiah, "I think you can handle this just fine without me. Come on, Gracie, we have bins to refill up front of the store."

"Billy," Chris growled menacingly. "You and your grandpa already have a serious talk comin' up. You want to go into that meeting with your backside already sore?"

Billy's eyes widened and he shook his head. "N-no sir. They – uh, went to the Livery. Yosemite was called out to Parker's farm cause the plow horse threw a shoe and uh, well they uh figured –"

"Billy Travis, you shut your mouth!" Levi yelled angrily.

"Why? I don't wanna get in any more trouble than I'm already in."

"Ya squealer!" Levi said, lunging at the other boy only to find himself restrained by a pair of big, muscular arms.

"Yeah, well look whose talkin'. Why'd Ethan and Eli get caught in the first place?" Billy hollered back, taking a step toward the older boy.

Struggling against Josiah's grip Levi tried to reach Billy who was now being held back by Chris. "Yer justa-" Levi's comeback was cut short by a firm slap of Josiah's palm to his backside, and Chris offered a similar incentive to get Billy to calm down.

The stairway now cleared of brawling children, Ezra and Vin hurried down the stairs and out the front door.

"Billy, you head on home," Chris ordered with another swat to the boy's rear. "Straight home, or you and me are gonna be having a talk after your grandpa gets done with you ."

Tears pooling in his eyes Billy was quick to do as he was told with a forlorn, "Yes, sir," thrown over his shoulder.

Josiah offered five more powerful swats to Levi's backside before sending him up to his room with a promise that they would be having a longer discussion a bit later in the evening. Levi winced. If Josiah was mad now, the boy wasn't sure he wanted to stick around to see the former preacher's mood by this evening. Maybe he'd do well to light out of town with the twins.

"Levi," a tremulous young voice stopped him before he reached the top of the stairs and he turned to face his little sister. "I don't wanna get in no trouble."

"You won't, Gracie, I promise. I'll take all the blame. All ya gotta do is keep Mama busy and her attention away from me. Don't let her come upstairs."

"And then the wicked witch won't get Ethan and Eliza?" she queried.

"I ain't gonna lie to ya, Gracie she ain't a real witch like from yer storybooks, but she is a real evil lady that done some mean things ta kids with no ma or pa ta look out fer 'em."

"That's bad. Real bad," she said her tiny brow furrowing. Gracie had seen the strange woman get off the stage and she certainly did look like a wicked witch from one of her storybooks.

"Yeah, it is. That's why I aim ta help 'em. You'll do what I asked won't ya, Gracie?"

"Yeah," the girl agreed and was ecstatic when her older brother reached out to give her a hug, the first one in a very long time. Things seemed to be getting better and better. Levi was being nice to her again. Mr. Sanchez was coming to dinner a couple of nights a week and Ma smiled more. Thinking of the normally friendly peacekeeper brought another frown to the girl's face.

"Levi, ya reckon Mr. Sanchez is really gonna give ya a tannin' later?"

"Yeah, I reckon he is," the boy answered swallowing hard and trying not to think of the upcoming punishment. He hadn't even finished his part in this whole thing so he better not start focusing on the consequences just yet or he was bound to chicken out for sure. "But don't you worry, I'll make sure you don't get in no trouble."

Gracie tilted her head sideways. "You remember when Mama read us from the Bible thet sometimes good people got persha shooted just fer doin' the right thing?"

"Yeah," the boy answered hoping his sister wasn't off on one of her crazy long tangents because he needed to get a move on.

"Well, I reckon that gettin' in trouble is better than bein' any kinda shooted," she stated mater-of-factly. "Pa got shooted fer doin' the right thing. So even if I do get in trouble, even if I get spanked, well at least I won't be shooted fer tryin' ta help a friend."

Levi looked at his little sister in awe, wondering when she'd gone and grown up so much. Then he gave her another quick hug before hurry up to his room to get ready for the next part of the plan.

"MAMA," Gracie yelled starting to sniffle as she made her way back down the stairs, "I banged my toe!"

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

Though Vin and Ezra had headed straight for the Livery, the two decided to wait for the other peacekeepers before moving in to apprehend the miniature mischief-makers. A bit of time up front would most likely save them more trouble later on and it would only take a few minutes for their friends to join them. The wayward siblings were probably rather desperate and Ezra didn't want them slipping past, so a few more eyes on the scene would be a good thing. It wasn't long before the seven men were ready to head into the Livery.

"Mr. Jackson! Mr. Jackson!" A young voice called out running to intercept the men.

"What is it, Andy?" Nathan answered stepping forward.

"It's Matt," the eldest Hanson boy replied huffing and puffing. "I think he done broke his leg down by the creek!"

Nathan looked up to Chris. "Go on, I think six of us should be able to bring in two naughty kids. Send Andy back if ya need more help."

With a nod Nathan headed after the desperate boy at a run. The other men turned back toward the Livery, Vin and Josiah heading around the back to cut off that escape route. However, when Chris reached to open the door, Ezra shook his head and motioned the other men back. Throwing the doors wide open the former conman jumped back in time to miss a sack of marbles being dumped right on his head. The sack dropped and the marbles scattered all over the stable. Just as he was going to proceed a sound caught his attention and he paused, the marbles had been only a counter weight and he barely missed being covered by the slop dumping from the bucket overhead. As it was his boots and trousers were liberally splashed with the oozing semi-fluid and bits of leftover food. Yosemite didn't keep pigs so he couldn't imagine where the swill had come from.

Chris growled and yelled out, "Ethan! Eliza! You know what's good for you, you'll get your tails out here right now!" His command was met with only a spirited whinny and a softer nicker from the stalls within.

The men headed in and a ruckus from a door to the side…Yosemite's office…caught their attention. Before they could investigate a shout from Vin outside brought them all to the door just in time to see two small figures galloping away on a sorrel mare.

"Them's the clothes, the twins showed up ta town in," Vin observed as he watched the horse head for the trees.

They headed back in to get their own horses, but found all the tack missing.

"I don't need no saddle," Vin stated jumping up on Peso and heading out after the renegades.

JD looked about to follow but a thump from the direction of Yosemite's office and a sound that could only be a child's giggle from the hay loft, caught all the men's attention. Chris pointed at Josiah and then the ladder to the loft and similarly directed Buck toward the closed office door.

Josiah headed up the stairs to the loft. "Ethan, Eliza? You up there?"

At the same time Buck gently opened the door. "Ethan? Eli?"

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

Nathan was plenty winded as he followed Andy down the side of the creek. "Ya sure ya know where yer headed?" the dark-skinned healer demanded.

"A course. We 'as fishin' just up here," the eldest Hanson boy replied. After about another two hundred yards Andy yelled in an exaggeratedly loud voice, "WE"RE GETTIN' CLOSE!"

Nathan immediately heard a shrill moan.

"Here he is, Doc," Andy said pointing, though by this time it was hard to miss the writhing, thrashing form of a groaning Matt Hanson by the side of the creek.

For the slightest moment, Nathan paused to wonder at the boys' choice of fishing locations. The creek was shallow here, barely more than a mudflat with only a few inches of water for several feet out. He had little time to ponder this, though, because Matt's moans seemed to go up an octave. He knelt beside the lad reaching for the injured leg.

"Okay, where's the pain?"

"NO!" Matt exclaimed, scooting away from the man. "IT HURTS! It's my knee it hurts somethin' fierce."

"Okay, now just hold still. Let's roll your pant leg up and take a look. Whoa! Now, settle down, boy. I know yer hurtin' but I gotta see this leg o' yours."

Matt's thrashing subsided, but he still twisted back and forth making it very difficult for Nathan to examine his knee. He couldn't see any discoloration or swelling but when he tried to feel for the injury the boy bucked, sending the healer off balance and into the muddy shallows.

"Here, Mr. Jackson," Andy was quick to offer, "Let me help you up." Unfortunately, just as Nathan was coming up out of the sucking muck, the adolescent lost his grip and dumped the man right back in, only making matters worse. "Gosh, I'm mighty sorry, Mr. Jackson. Here let me try again."

"No, no that's okay. I think I can make it on my own." Nathan slipped and slid through the soft silty mud until he reached the steady rocks of the bank with a heavy sigh. "Now, let me have a look at that leg, Matt," a disgruntled and suspicious Nathan insisted.

"Ya, know Mr. Jackson, it's feelin' a fair amount better. I think I can make it home with Andy's help," the boy was quick to say before the healer was within reach.

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

After seconds of opening the door, Buck found himself covered in sticky molasses. "What in the hell!" He exclaimed but got no further as his mouth was suddenly full of loose grain. "

Once again there was a faint giggle coming from somewhere.

ETHAN!" the mustache man bellowed spitting grain from his mouth and slamming the door the rest of the way open only to hear a cacophony of pots and pans falling from the ceiling followed by a flurry of squawking, clucking, and flapping. At least ten chickens made their displeasure known as they attempted to escape their confinement and the frightening ruckus. Once most of the fowl had found their way into the main part of the stable and even out of the Livery, Buck turned around, blowing feathers from his lips. One brave hen sat on his shoulder, pecking grain from his molasses covered head.

"When I get my hands on you, boy," the lady's man growled.

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

Vin easily gained on the escaping sorrel and its riders. The astute tracker noted something incongruent about the two figures; he didn't remember Ethan being quite that big, but with a shake of his head he continued his chase. The pair reached the trees only moments before Vin and scurried into the bushes.

"Ethan? Eliza?" Vin called. "Come on out now!" He made his way through the thick brush easily following the trail. "I ain't foolin' 'round no more. Ya come out or ya ain't gonna be ridin' so comfortable back ta town." Coming to a small outcropping of rocks, Vin heard scraping and rolled his eyes as he made his way toward a small opening in the rocks. He got down on his hands and knees and peered into the small opening, too small for the children to have squeezed into.

Twigs snapping to his left had him spinning around and he saw a flash of color. "Stop right there," his voice held a frightening edge and two small figures froze turning to look into blazing blue eyes.

"Levi? Billy?" Vin queried looking at the two familiar faces.

"Hi Mr. Tanner," Levi offered timidly. Billy just waved.

Vin's eyes narrowed. "Two o' you're in a whole mess a trouble. Git yerselves over here RIGHT NOW!"

The boys gave each other a defeated look and started heading for Vin but stopped dead in their tracks after taking only two steps, their eyes growing wide. Then they started backing away.

"Don't ya even think on runnin' away from me," Vin warned.

"Ah, Vin," Billy squeaked, pointing a shaking finger toward the rocks.

Pulling his gun, Vin spun around to find himself facing off with a small black and white bundle of fur. He heard the boys beating a hasty retreat behind him and he couldn't really blame them.

"Aw hell!" he said as the polecat let loose it's acrid spray.

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

JD was laughing so hard he almost couldn't stand. "Buck, oh, Buck, if ya could just see yerself," the young sheriff chortled, unable to help himself.

"Oh, ya think this is funny do ya?" Buck demanded taking a threatening step toward his friend and upsetting the hen roosting on his shoulder. The bird flew off with a disturbed squawk.

A snigger from the loft drew all the men's attention and Josiah continued his climb. "Hey, that's my hammer," he said picking up the stray tool that was hanging from the wooden rung. Too late, he realized the hammer had a rope attached and before he knew it, the silver-haired peacekeeper was tumbling off the ladder under a cascade of yellow straw.

"Josiah, you okay?" JD asked in concern moving forward only to slip on a marble and run into the handle of a shovel dangling from the ceiling. "What the-" the youngest peacekeeper started reaching for the wooden tool.

"JD NO!" Chris cried, too late as his friend grabbed the handle and a small bag of grain swung free hitting the dark-haired sheriff smack in the middle of the chest and sending him flying back to land in a soft pile of manure that had been recently shoveled out of the stalls.

Ezra shook his head at the chaos before him, unsure which friend he should attempt to help first. He couldn't believe his children were responsible for causing such mayhem and utter confusion. His eyes widened. Chaos…confusion…slight of hand… Just the night before last he'd been talking to Ethan about card tricks. About confusing your mark and drawing a person's attention away from the cards… about the art of a diversion. The card sharp turned on his heel and quickly headed back toward Potter's Mercantile.

"Standish!" Chris called after him. "Where you goin'?"

"To retrieve our delinquents," Ezra responded over his shoulder.

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

"You sure about this?" Eliza asked her brother peering down out the attic window at the sheets tied end-to-end reaching all the way to the ground. Levi had brought them some rope, but it had only reached half-way down the back of the building.

"Yeah, I read about it in a book once."

Eliza sighed heavily. "Okay, I'll go first." The girl climbed onto the make-shift rope and started down.

"See! I told ya!" Ethan said excitedly.

Ezra rounded the corner to see his son climbing out of the attic window, grasping the soft cotton of the tattered sheet. "NO!" the man yelled running toward the dangling stream of material just as the piece Eliza was holding onto started to tear away with a heartrending rip. The girl screamed grasping for another piece of the worn fabric to no avail. She was surprised to land in comforting arms rather than on the hard unforgiving ground. There was no time to contemplate the rescue, as Ezra stood his daughter quickly on her feet with a little push to the side so that he could catch a now tumbling Ethan. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite brace himself so rather than catching the boy he broke his son's fall, landing with a loud, "OMPH!" on his backside ending up with Ethan seated on his lap.

After catching his breath, the boy looked up into Ezra's eyes, which still showed the alarm of the near tragedy. "Uh, hi Mr. Standish. Fancy meeting you here," he quipped offering a roguish smile.

Ezra's eyes narrowed and darkened considerably as he realized how close he'd come to not being able to break his son's fall from a third story window. Without a word he flipped Ethan over and landed a powerful swat to the seat of the boy's pants.

"OW!" Ethan yelped in surprise. "AH! OUCH!"

Replaying the picture of the child's fall in his mind, Ezra allowed his palm to fall again and again. "You are" SMACK! "Never," SWAT! "To climb," SMACK! "Out of a window," SWAT! "Again."

"OW! Okay…never…again…I promise, I'm sorry!" Ethan wailed.

Eliza watched wide eyed as the man she knew to be her daddy laid swat after swat on her brother's backside, finally bringing the spanking to an end with one final hefty smack to the boy's sit spot. After which he gently flipped the lad over and pulled him close to his chest in a crushing embrace. Ethan cried out his remorse and apologies until his hitched breaths were nearly calm.

Rather awestruck by what she'd just witnessed and more than a little apprehensive over whether the card player had expended his displeasure, Eliza took a quiet step backwards, drawing Ezra's attention despite her caution. "Oh, no, darlin', I don't think so."

Ezra swung Ethan up and rapidly gained his feet. The girl took another few steps back, shaking her head but Ezra was quick to close the distance and take hold of the girl's arm. Finding a seat on a wooden rain barrel, Ezra pulled his daughter across his lap.

M7***M7***M7***M7***M7

Six exhausted, sullied men make their way down the quiet street, leaving the carnage of the Livery behind them. One is covered in bits of hay, one in dried mud, one in manure, and one in molasses, grain, and feathers. Another dusty figure appears much the same as always, but carries a foul stench that can be smelt a block away. Leading the group is a black clad figure looking relatively unscathed, but with granite set to his jaw and a fierce glare for anyone foolish enough to look him in the eye. The dead silence is broken by the sound of a loud smack and an accompanying yelp; the formidable men start to see first one and then another window shut, then a curtain being drawn followed my a second and a third. There's a scurry and scattering of tiny feet from the alley, then the heavy slamming of a door. Silently noted and counted are the accessories to the chaos with six silent promises to tender retribution. But for now, the only sounds on the dusty street are the rhythmic smacks followed by the holler of at least one repentant child.

TBC...

A/N: I know, I know, many of you are chomping at the bit for Ezra's public announcement of paternity, as well as to find out what's going on with Weatherby etal. This started as just a part of chapter 9 but took on a life of its own (thank you Gaben for jump starting my muse). The next chapter is nearly completed already so I promise it won't be long in coming and many of your questions will be answered.

Also, I know I changed perspective/tense for the last paragraph of the story and hope it isn't too discordant for you, but I liked the effect/contrast.