Thank you for the reviews. I'm going to try to update once a week for as long as I can. Then college starts and well... you know. The ending isn't very good, but if I continued it like I wanted to, it would have been a extremely long chapter and I didn't want to subject you all to that. Much love.

Chapter 14. Back in Lincoln

Lincoln hadn't changed at all. It looked the same as it did the day I left; yet it felt different. I had walked in those streets, shopped in those stores, drank in that saloon, and lived in this world I had so easily left behind. Elizabeth Harris walked alongside Mary Wagner, both gripping their pregnant bellies. My curls were billowing in the wind and my eyes were hidden under Richard's hat. I nodded politely with a smirk in response to their dumbfounded expressions. The two waddled off as fast as their fat legs could carry them to spread the new bit of gossip: the Tunstall girl had returned.

The McSween residence hadn't been altered either since the beginning of the war. We rushed up the front steps to door and hurried in. Alex, who was wheezing and coughing, sat at his desk and Susan stood at the base of the stairs, puzzled by the group that just broke into her home. We positioned ourselves by windows and doors, prepared for whatever would face us.

"Alex, let's go. Word's out. They're gonna come kill ya," Billy told the asthmatic lawyer.

"Damnit, Billy. I told you not to come here. I'm not leaving my house," he replied while still trying to catch his breath.

"Alex, if you stay, they're gonna kill ya. Then I'm gonna have to go around and kill all the guys that killed you."

"And that's a lot of killing," I added.

Yet Alex, who was just as stubborn as Pa, refused to leave. Susan even suggested leaving, but he wouldn't have it. He wheezed and coughed more and more. Even if he wanted to go to Mexico, he would have died long before we reached it. Shouting and the sound of wheels rattling could be heard from the streets. I peered out to see men with rifles and shotguns creating barricades and loading heavy. We watched as Sheriff Peppin and his deputies ran back and forth. Murphy men were organized on the east side. John Kinney rode in as well. It was going to be a massacre.

As I scanned the faces of our attackers, I saw one that I was all too familiar. "Son of a bitch!" I whispered softly. With a shiny silver badge pinned to his vest and a gun in his shaky hands was none other than James S. Grant. He was working for the sheriff and probably making his father proud. The stupid, insecure boy that had driven me absolutely mad for three years was trying to kill me. James' haughty smirk only added fuel to the fire and I intended to let him have every bullet he deserved.

"Bonney! Tunstall! We got you up there, kids. Take a look at the firepower. Ya'll come on out, real slow!" Peppin shouted. "You up there, Bonney?"

"Yeah, I'm here, you bastard," Billy answered, dodging away from the window and pulling me next to him.

He covered me with his arms and kept his face down toward mine. I looked up at him with pleading eyes. Billy must have sensed my worry. He kissed me tenderly and affectionately as if to say, "We're going to get through this. You and I are going to live." I believed him, but I had no other choice.

The bullets ceased and Billy's grip loosened. Doc gave me a look of concern, letting me know that he had seen the kiss. I simply nodded my head. It was an unspoken way of telling him that this was the way things were and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Chavez saw it too, but he knew me better. He knew that he could scold me and warn me until he was blue in the face and I would never change my mind. Pa always said that I would cut my nose to spite my face. Unfortunately, he was right.

A voice called from outside. It was James. My heart pounded wildly in my chest. He was calling to me like he used to with the same tone. He tried too hard not to sound commanding that it just came out as a whine.

"Cordelia, we don't want to hurt you. Just come down here and we can talk rationally."

The wheels began turning as my mind wrapped around what he was saying. I stood up and pulled the tiny pistol from my ankle where it was hidden and shoved it into the pocket on the dress. I stepped gingerly over to the window, still out of the way of any stray bullets they might fire. "Alright, James. But I'm only going to the porch and you have to promise not to shoot. I'll surrender calmly if you promise."

There was silence.

"Corie, what the hell are you doin'?" Billy asked, fear in his voice.

"What I have to."

After a long pause, James answered me. "We promise not to shoot, Cordelia. Just come out real slow with your hands where we can see them." This just may work. The pocket wasn't clearly visible between the folds of the skirt and the gun was so small, it didn't create a lump. With a smile and a nod, I walked out of the door and into the sunlight. James stood at the bottom of the front steps, just as obsequious as before.

"Hello, Cordelia."

"Hello, James. I see you have a new profession. It seems to suit you well," I replied calmly.

"Yes, it does. Have you seen Mary since you've been in town?" he asked civilly.

"Mary Wagner? Yes, I have. She looks like she's been busy lately."

"Well, actually, we have. She's Mary Grant now. I married her not long after you left and…"

"I'm glad at least one of our marriages worked out. Mine didn't, in case you haven't heard."

"I did hear. I'm very sorry for your loss," he said. "Anyway, down to business. I'm afraid I'm going to have to arrest you for one count of murder. On your last little visit to town, do you remember?"

"The man I shot in the eye? Oh, I didn't kill him! Just wounded him is all. Someone else finished him off for me. After all, I am a lady, and ladies never do their own dirty work."

"Is that why Billy called off the wedding? So you could live happily ever after with your cowboy without feeling guilty? Oh wait! You can't live happily ever after with him… he's dead!" he cackled.

Laughter sounded throughout the square. Every one of them laughed. I stared blankly at him, watching him laugh himself to tears. This was my pain they were laughing at. My temper flared suddenly as a shot rang out. The hole in the middle of James' forehead was still smoking when he fell backwards to the ground.

"That's for hitting me."

I turned and entered the house. Stunned, and I'm sure very confused, the artillery just sat there. Sheriff Peppin's mind finally caught up to what had occurred and shouted, "Fire!" and the house was being sprayed with bullets again. Billy and I were huddled against the wall, waiting.

"What happened out there, Corie?" he asked.

"He needed to know what death feels like. It's a good lesson learned."

Once they stopped, it was our turn to return fire. It went on like this for four more days. Until, on that last day, justice was finally served.