English is not my native language! A big thank you to Sarah who has helped me with the grammar and spelling of this story! You are great!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the characters of "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman"… One Beth Sullivan does…
Rating: I don't know anything about these ratings, but let's say T or PG-13. Just to be safe...
Warnings: This story is situated right before the last movie, which is about 2 years after the ending of season 6. However, at the time I write this story, I haven't seen the most of season 5 and 6. I've seen it a long time ago, but I've forgotten about most things. So it's possible that some things don't match with the things that happened on the show during the last 2 seasons. You could say that this story is slightly AU…
This story has NOTHING to do with my previous stories! It's a standalone… Zack is alive!
Genre: Drama / Tragedy (Yes, I'll be killing someone off again… YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!)
Summary: When Hank visits his son in Denver, he walks into Myra. Though, she isn't the woman he remembered…

Chapter 14

Hank and Sully stood in front of the big house where Diane Pierce was supposed to be living in. Sully looked at Hank briefly, seeing the other man's facial expression darken slightly at the sight of the huge house. "Shall I do the talking?" Sully asked, hoping the barkeep would agree. He hoped Hank could behave himself in front of the woman, otherwise they would be having a hard time finding Samantha. Hank remained quiet and kept looking at the house. Sully could only guess what was going through his mind right now. "Please behave yourself," Sully asked, hoping his request wasn't in vain. Please Hank, just for once… Do it for Myra…

Both men walked towards the huge door. They knocked on it firmly and waited patiently for someone to open it. After a short while the door was opened by an elderly, classy-looking lady. Sully figured that she was the one they were looking for. The lady eyed the two men suspiciously. They were obviously from out of town. No men dressed up like that in St. Louis. Well, at least not in this part of town. "Can I help you?" she asked, her voice cold. "Indeed you can ma'am," Sully answered, trying to sound as friendly as he possibly could. He had to earn her trust and he knew very well how they must look like to her. The woman looked from one man to the other. The dark-haired one looked friendly enough to her, however, the blonde one actually scared her a bit. His eyes were shooting daggers at her and she couldn't help wondering why. She turned to look at the other man again who had answered her question. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Are you Mrs. Pierce?" Sully asked and, as he had expected, the woman nodded. "We're here to talk to ya about a young woman who used to live here… Her name was Myra…" Diane listened to the man's words. Myra… It had been ages since she had last heard that name. She closed her eyes for a brief moment remembering the time Myra had lived under her wings. It had been wonderful… so wonderful to have her around. She had been like a daughter to her! The daughter she never had… It had been a wonderful time, until… Until she deceived me! Diane's expression darkened. She folded her arms and glared coldly at the two men. "What did she do this time?" she asked annoyed. "Did she rob you? Does she owe you money? Or did she deceive you in another way? If so, you're at the wrong place… I don't know where she is and I don't really care either." Her words were filled with hate and anger which made Hanks' blood boil even more. Sully felt how the man next to him was trying to restrain himself, to keep his anger under control.

"That's not why we're here," Sully answered, hoping Hank would be able to control himself. The woman eyed Sully incredulously. "What can you possibly tell me about the little minx that would interest me?" she asked, her voice even colder than before. "I'll tell you a bit about Myra… about what she did to me… I took her in after her mother died… Gave her everything she needed! But it wasn't enough for her… She just HAD to deceive me… betray me… ruining my reputation! I bless the day she finally left!" That was it for Hank. He couldn't keep his anger inside any longer. "LEFT!" he yelled at the woman in front of him. "Ya kicked her out, lady! She may have ruined yer bloody reputation, but YOU ruined HER LIFE! Because of YOU she ended up living on the streets. BECAUSE OF YOU she lost her daughter! BECAUSE OF YOU she is now DYING!"

As Hank spoke he moved closer to Diane. She couldn't help but take a few steps backwards as she feared that the tall man in front of her would attack her. "Hank!" Sully yelled at the barkeep and grabbed him by the shoulder. "It's true Sully, and she knows it!" Hank yelled back. "This is NOT the time," Sully said giving him a stern look. "Not now…" As he felt Hank's muscles relaxing a bit he let go of him and turned back to Diane who was eyeing Hank frightfully. "I'm sorry for my friend here," Sully apologized to Diane. "Could we come in please? We.. we need to ask you something…"

Diane was unsure of what to say. Hank's words repeated themselves over and over in her head and she was still trying to process what he had just said. Who are these men? What do they want? And what do they mean, saying Myra's dying? Sully seemed to read her mind and said: "I'm sorry… I'm Byron Sully," he said and then pointed at Hank, "This is Hank Lawson… We're old friends of Myra's. She arrived back in Colorado Springs a few days ago…" Diane slowly nodded, while her facial expression softened. "Myra is dying?" she asked softly, a sad look in her eyes. Sully slowly nodded. "Oh God…" Diane said with a sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. After a brief silence she looked up at the two men and beckoned them to follow her. "Please come in…"

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Diane sat on the couch processing what the two men just told her. Myra was dying… She had about a week to live… It's my fault… If I hadn't kicked her out… She closed her eyes, feeling incredibly guilty. She opened her eyes again, taking in the sight of the two men opposite her. Now that she knew who they were she didn't feel that threatened anymore. Myra had told her many things about her friends in Colorado Springs. At first she had been disgusted, hearing how these people lived, how some of them made a living and the fact that Indians lived nearby. Now two people of those she had heard so much about where sitting on her couch and she couldn't help but feel respect for the both of them. They had travelled all this way to help a friend they cared deeply about. A friend who was dying and whose dying wish was to see her baby girl again. If she had known Myra would end up like this, she would never have kicked her out. She sighed deeply. I just tried to do what was right, Myra… I'm so sorry…

She took in Hank's appearance. He looked kind of dangerous, well, sort of… He clearly was a man you shouldn't be messing with. "So you're Hank Lawson…" she suddenly said, causing Hank to raise an eyebrow. Diane smiled softly at him. "Myra told me a lot about you… She said you're not as bad as you appear on the outside." Hank couldn't help but grin. "Yeah well… don't let it get around," he said. Diane let out a soft chuckle. "That's what she said as well…" And I think she was right, she thought as she saw Hank look away a bit shyly. "I know you're angry with me," she suddenly said to the barkeep. "And I understand… I'm actually not pleased with myself either, especially now that I know how Myra ended up after I sent her away… If I had known this was going to happen, I would have done things differently… I should have helped her… I should have helped her getting back to her feet… But unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it now…" Hank listened carefully to the elderly lady's words. "Ya can do something…" he said softly. Diane smiled gently as she knew exactly what he meant.

She stood up from the couch and walked towards a small cabinet. She opened it and took out an envelope. She handed it to Hank who gently took it from her hands. "It's the address of the family I sent Samantha to," she explained. "Please believe that I had Samantha's best interests at heart… I knew this family… a wealthy family; Irish immigrants actually … A married couple with three kids: a son and two daughters. The son married a lovely lady, but unfortunately they couldn't have any children. They wanted kids so desperately and it was tearing them apart that they couldn't have any of their own… I thought they were the perfect couple to raise Samantha…" Diane sighed deeply, still feeling very guilty about the whole situation. "I know I made a mistake… I should never have separated Samantha from her mother… I just… At the time I thought I was doing the right thing… I guess I was wrong…"

"I guess you were," Hank answered accusingly. Despite the fact he actually understood Diane, he couldn't help feeling angry with her. Because of her actions Myra was now a dying woman. A part of him knew it wasn't fair to think that way, but he couldn't help himself. Diane nodded slowly. "Why didn't you send Samantha back to Horace, Samantha's father?" Sully suddenly asked. Diane shook her head. "You've got to be kidding me," she answered, "The man tried to kill himself after Myra left him… Not a very good example for a young girl, is it?" "Still, he was, and still is, her father," Sully said, "You didn't just separate Samantha from her mother, you separated her from both her parents…" Diane sighed deeply. She didn't know what to say. The man was right, she saw that now, but what good would it do her? What good would it do Myra? Or Samantha?

"Their names are Paul and Caroline MacNamara…" Diane changed the subject and pointed at the envelope in Hank's hands. "They live in Denver; the address is inside the envelope. Tell them I sent you and explain the situation… I'm sure they'll understand and they'll let Myra see Samantha…" Both men stood up from the couch and nodded their thanks. They figured asking Diane more questions wouldn't be of any use. Besides, they got the information they needed, which was more important. "Please tell Myra I'm sorry," Diane whispered as the two men passed her. Hank couldn't help but giving her a stern look. He wanted to make sure she knew how much damage she had done and that nothing she would do would make him forgive her. He knew Myra would forgive her, but he knew he never would. "We'll do that," he heard Sully say, "Thank you very much ma'am."

They walked towards the door, Diane leading the way. She opened the door and let the two men out. Before she closed the door she saw Hank turn around and walked back towards her. "Just a question," he asked, "Where can I find 'The Silver Bullet'?" Diane looked at Hank questioningly. "It's on the other side of town near the old library," she answered. "You can't really miss it…" An evil grin appeared on Hank's face. "Thanks," he said and nodded at her. Then he turned his back on her again and left. While shaking his head Sully watched Hank pass him by. Hank was once again on a mission and Sully didn't like it one bit. However, another part of him understood Hank completely. The owner of 'The Silver Bullet' had mistreated Myra in the worst possible way and he was getting away with it. I better stick with him, hoping he won't kill this Joe… He can beat him up a bit and I'm sure that's what he will do… I just hope he won't go too far… That's the last thing we need right now… the last thing Myra needs…

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Hank stepped inside 'The Silver Bullet', Sully not far behind him. He looked around, taking in the sight of the place. It actually didn't look much different from his own saloon. He walked towards the bar and tipped his hat to the barkeep. He watched the man carefully. He looked Hispanic. He had shoulder length, dark hair which he wore in a ponytail. This must be Joe, Hank figured, remembering Myra's description of him.

"Nice place ya got here," Hank said to the man and grinned broadly. "Thank you very much," the man said and smiled. "What can I get you?" Hank shrugged. "A whiskey is fine," he answered. "What about your friend?" the man asked and pointed at Sully who was still looking around the saloon. Hank chuckled. "Ya got any sasparilla? My friend isn't much of a drinker…" The barkeep laughed and nodded. "Sure!" He grabbed two bottles and poured some of their contents in two glasses. With a smile he served Hank and Sully the drinks. "So… you're the owner?" Hank asked. "Yes, I am," the man answered. "The name is Joe…" he extended his hand to Hank who took it and shook it firmly. "Hank…" he introduced himself.

"So… you in need of some 'entertainment', Hank?" Joe asked and winked at blond, longhaired man. "Maybe," Hank replied taking a sip from his whiskey. "I heard quite some stories about this place… Especially about some of yer girls…" Joe smiled broadly at Hank. "Really? Which girls?" he asked. "Well, I heard some very interesting ones about a girl named Myra," Hank answered as casually as possible. He was already disgusted with the annoying grin Joe wore on his face. This guy was slick, very slick and he smelled his arrogance from miles away. The guy only cared about himself, he figured as much.

Joe laughed. "Myra?" he said, "Well that's a name I haven't heard in a while… She was a fiery one! She loved to put up a fight!" Hank chuckled softly. "That's not what I've heard," he said causing Joe to look at him questioningly. Hank just shrugged and continued drinking his whiskey. "Well, she doesn't work here anymore," Joe said quickly still wondering what Hank meant by his previous remark. "I know," Hank answered throwing back his drink in one final gulp. Joe was now completely confused. Then why did he ask about Myra in the first place? Who the hell is this guy? He shook his head and decided it would be wiser not to pay any more attention to it. He was about to turn to another customer when Hank grabbed him firmly by the arm. "I wasn't done talking," he said in a gruff voice his eyes shooting daggers at the man in front of him. "Did ya know Myra used to work for me?" he asked, "I have a saloon myself… She was one of my best girls… In fact, we became very good friends… Unfortunately she got married, then got divorced and then somehow ended up here…"

While Hank spoke Joe was trying to break free from Hank's grasp. He had a feeling where this was going; why Hank was here, and he actually felt scared. The look in Hank's eyes told him Hank was up to no good; that he was in big trouble. He could see anger and hate in those steel blue eyes. He struggled to free himself, but Hank didn't let go. In fact, he steadied his grip on him even more. Hank grabbed Joe by the collar and pulled him towards him so that Joe was forced to face him.

"She told me about ya, Joe…" Hank continued, never loosing sight of his prey. "She told me what ya did to her… what ya made her do… the things ya forced her to do… And ya know what? She told the wrong guy!" With all his strength he dragged Joe over the bar. Glasses fell to the ground and shattered to pieces. Joe screamed but Hank paid no attention to it. He pushed Joe away from him causing the guy to crash into one of the tables. He stood up as quickly as he could ready to fight back this time. However, Hank didn't give him the chance. All his anger was ready to come out and as soon as Joe turned around to face him again, Hank lashed out at him; his right fist connecting firmly with Joe's jaw, knocking the man out. "From Myra with love…" he said venomously to the unconscious man on the floor. Then he turned around and left the saloon.

Sully, who had been watching the whole scene from a safe distance, quickly checked on Joe. Figuring the man would be fine except for a large bruise beneath his eye, he quickly left the saloon as well to catch up with Hank. "Ya feelin' better?" he asked looking amused at the man next to him. "Oh yeah," Hank answered, "Much better…" Sully couldn't help but laugh softly as a satisfying grin appeared on Hank's face. This man never ceased to amaze him and this time was no different…

TBC

I have to say, I enjoyed writing this chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it...