He would give anything for another way. The toil of the past few months must have been a futile cause, for the treacherous traitor ship of ingratitude brought about a great sacrifice more important than his former task. Now the shell of his essence laid in vein with a motionless heart. The heat of the incessant beating sun rotting the carcass soaked in a thick copper blood.

The fading memory of his last breath was all that was left as his soul departed from the living world. In his final days the hardened man had spent his last shred of skill on the act of stealing lives for the purpose of saving those he held dear. After the deed was done his promised freedom would be given, but not until that day had he realized what the true price would be.

Only that morning had life begun to feel as normal as it could. John was greeted by his stubborn wife's embrace before the sunrise. Despite the grudge that she held against him, he was grateful to find that she still cared. Or at least enough to look past his flaws for the sake of their son, who had been working in the barn later that day. How Jack resented him was a dark reality, but due to his efforts to become more of a fatherly figure the trust was nearly regained.

That was until the warning of the elder drunken man alerted the two with a grim sight on the hills. It wasn't a few mounted men, but what seemed to be a whole army rolling towards him. Realizing the sacrifice that must be made for his remaining family's safety, he sent them off before he could be greeted with his demise. The demise that came in the form of near a dozen lead bullets pelted into his flesh. His last sight being that of the heartless political man.

Ceasing of a beating heart was not his fated end. Although the incapability to move a human body was gained, it almost felt as if there was some sense of consciousness left in his mind. Gradually his sight regained as the shadow of a figure found himself with the ability to stand. A whispy hand? The man inspected his opaque arm that lagged a cloud like substance behind him as it moved. Such an existence became one of confusion. No longer did the needing habit of breathing possess him. No longer did the familiar beat move his chest in the way that he remembered.

The landscape around him remained same in surroundings, but faded in sight. A fog seemed to be evident in the distance, and the ranch was empty of life. But one thing remained in the faded scene which resembled that of a dream, his lifeless body that laid near the barn. This shocked him. As he took a step away, he could feel him absent self detach. A throbbing sensation pulsated through the consciousness of the ghost figure, causing a dizziness like none other to overcome him. Stumbling around trying to regain his step became an issue of inexperience. If this was death, wasn't he supposed to be free of ailment? He groaned, mumbling a question to himself in confusion,

"It's the fog, you get used to it." A tender voice was spoken clear through the cool haze. John turned to the sound in a fashion that gaze his apparition the gracefulness of a dazed drunk.

There his barn stood, the one he had built with his own two hands. Or at least in it's ghost like form. It appeared that if he were to touch it, the whole structure would topple or disappear like a cloud of vapor. His shadow eyes scanned the premises for the source of the voice,

"The hell…" A figure smaller than his withdrew from it's shelter behind the tall doors. It was a young girl dressed in a white cotton lace dress. Her hair, a familiar dark color that fell past her shoulders. She peeked her eyes from behind the wooden walls to see the man,

"Did I scare you?" She giggled at the man's clueless expression. All men and women who had recently passed possessed the same expression. Either from shock of the accident or confusion in their form, they all looked the same. It never ceased to amuse those who had taken their form long ago,

"Scared isn't the word I'd use." From what little he could see of the girl she appeared to be nearing the age of eleven, but still had an innocence to her eyes that was of a child's naivety, "Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me?"

"Come on out, let me get a better look."

The child stepped out into better view in the center of the barn doors. The man stood in front of her still dumbfounded as to both who this girl was and what was going on. She twirled in place as if to show off her flowing white gown. It was then, after the playful child displayed her demeanor, that he finally realized that this girl was his daughter,

"Caroline?" A huge grin found it's way onto her thin pink lips,

"Hiya Pa." The faded girl couldn't contain herself from wrapping her arms around the waste of her father.

The reunion was short lived, however, for soon enough the confusion resurfaced in the man's thoughts. He gingerly pried the arms of the girl from around him, kneeling to be slightly under her immediate sight range. Even in the passed life, she was still such a scrawny girl of petite size,

"Mind explaining where we are?"

"Yeah, Pa, we're at home." She spoke in a matter of fact tone, as if to question how right his head was. Her spunk hadn't escaped her, "But not the home that Ma and Jack are at, this is the home we come to after we die." She paused for a moment, her eyes falling to the ground as her expression faltered, "At least… that's what the strange man told me."

"A man? What man?"

John's eyebrows furrowed in an even deeper state of confusion. She wasn't talking about a God was she? He had long since abandoned the theory of a divine power due to the evils he witnessed. To many who see such a darker side of the human existence it seems almost too evil of a kind god to allow such to happen. Where was this god when the meek and gentle suffered at the hands of the dastardly cruel? Even so, he still felt the need to pass on the faith in hopes that it's morals would steer his own children away from the life he led. You can only keep a person innocent for so long, and as long as they acknowledged a better existence after life he saw his duty as complete,

"Yes." She nodded, her solemn gaze turning into one that displayed deep thought. Her words were spaced as she found a way to continue her story, "When I first got here I was just as silly as you were. Stumblin' around and the like. It was awful confusing…" Trailing on, she seemed to get lost in her own words. She shook her head back into the somewhat reality that was left to continue once more, "But then this man came along. He was wearin' a black top had and had a funny lookin mustache. He told me everything was gonna be okay from now on, that all will pay for their sins and the innocent will have eternal life. He said a bunch of other stuff too, but I didn't understand it at the time."

John had met this man before. He hadn't given him a name, but he recalled receiving a scolding for his past actions from a man of this description. Somehow he had known a story of himself splattering the guts of a woman named Heidi all over a wall. This fact was surprising to him. It all began to make sense to him when he tried to shoot the man in cold blood, but the bullets passed straight through. It was then that he realized that this man his daughter described was of some supernatural existence.

At the moment she seemed to understand her father's blank, for she flashed a sweet glowing smile to her father, "Oh Papa, Everything's gonna be okay now. You're gonna like this place. There's no worries." The man forced a dry chuckle, disregarding her statement,

"I'm afraid that can't be, Darlin. As long as your mother and Jack are still living I can't help but worry."

"You died for them, didn't you?"

"How'd you know that?"

"It was really brave. But it was to keep them safe, right."

John thought for a moment, causing a silence as he realized that it was exactly what he wanted. In the moment that he sent his family through the back of the barn, he realized that the only way to keep the law away from them and to pay for his actions would be with his death. It was the only way, and for a killer gunslinger it would be considered a courageous act,

"I guess so."

"Ma and Jack's gonna be fine. And if the worst happens, they come here. We'll be a happy family again."

Still, one questioned remained in his mind. After all he had done in his life, after taking into account all the lives he took unrightfully, who ever thought he'd deserve to live happily in any afterlife? Surly in the eyes of any kind deity he should deserve to rot in hell, not spend it with the people he was trying to protect all along,

"You paid for your sins when you gave your life." Although he had made the ultimate sacrifice, he still disagreed with his fate. Maybe he did possess a sense of justice,

"Since when did you get so mature?" The seemingly innocent girl continued to flash her warm smile with closed thin lips,

"Everything becomes clear once you die. Even to little girls." He laughed slightly, the girl wrapping her arms around his neck to give him a hug,

"Oh and Pa, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"How's Rufus?" She released his neck shadowed with stubble, left as a mark of his former shell. She stared at him with wide eyes as he gave a laugh that seemed to ask in the tone 'really?',

"He's fine." Her glowing eyes seemed to light up in it's faded form,

"Good." A mere moment's pause seemed to be enough to take away her childish smile and replace it with an often used look of distress, "Oh... and there's something else I need to ask you."

"What is that?"

"What happened after I... died?"

The question was one that lingered since her arrival at the apparition ranch. It was true, she had been given the choice of returning to the human world by the strange man in the form of a ghost, but it came at price. She couldn't return to the bliss of this place without accomplishing what she had set out to do in the first place. And at the time, she was too innocent in her childish mindset that she didn't wish to see her family suffering. Now the curiosity was becoming unbearable, and she was beginning to miss her family. Specifically, she wondered how Jack was getting along without her constant nagging.

John took it hard, slightly clenching his fists at the memory. Carrying out your own daughter's lifeless body and burying her six feet under was something you could never live down. He even took it with him to the afterlife. The fact that he, or modern medicine, could do nothing to save her was the worst part. He felt helpless. Guilt haunted him for months,

"It was hell, putting your own kid in the ground before her mother's even gray. I'd never seen Abigail cry so hard, being the strong woman she is..." the memories of guilt still overcame him as he found the strength to continue, "Jack took it the hardest, he still hasn't been the same. He does nothin' but read his books anymore." The girl's eyes welted up with tears in their ducts. John was never a compassionate man, any western gunslinger is not the kind to offer much comfort, but any father has the ability to calm their child with their mere touch. what could have been an uncomfortable hug with any other was one meant to calm young Caroline,

"I'm sorry, Pa."

"You didn't do anythin wrong."

"Yeah I did."

"No." He rested his hand on her shoulder, pulling her apart from him once more, "Listen, Caroline... I was never much of a father to you or Jack. I never want you to think it, or anything, was your fault. All I can remember since you were a young kid was you giving me nasty looks, that I deserved 'cause of the things I let you see. I can't begin to apologize for any of it." His grip tightened. All of what he had said were things he wished he could have told her before. But now that they had both passed, he had hoped he would find the strength to shove past his hardened exterior to explain how wrong his decisions were in the past, "I've always loved you and your brother, since the day you came into this world 'till the day you left. I'm sorry your mother and I could never give you the life we wanted." Nothing sounded more sweet to her ears than his last words. Love. It was something she always felt was shy in her heart. At least from her father. Her first memories consisted of resentfulness towards John because of what he did, but it was as if now it were all released. No hard feelings remained. Only this unfamiliar love that grew in her heart,

"I love you too, Pa."

I'm intending for this to be my final chapter, guys. It's been a fun ride, and I'm gonna miss writing about sweet lil Caroline. Hopefully you've all enjoyed her story, be sure to review because they excite me. 3

P.S. Also check out my JackxOC story To Be Free if interested. I thought he needed to be shown some love :]