"Jane. ...Jane. Jane. Deputy Rizzoli. Jane."
"Lemme try, Korsak." Frost cleared his throat. "Hey. Jane, Jo Friday's tail is on fire. Maura just shot the postman. Jane. I decided I want to marry you. Jane."
"Incredible," Korsak muttered, getting up from behind his desk.
Frost and Jane were sitting on the other side, but Jane had dozed off several minutes ago thanks to her useful ability to fall asleep anywhere in any position. Korsak and Frost had been so involved in their conversation that they hadn't noticed at first that Jane was asleep, until Frost found it strange that she hadn't tried to butt in yet. Frost was almost worried: it wasn't like Jane to fall into a deep sleep like this, even if she had gone days without proper shut-eye.
When he expressed this concern, Korsak waved him off and said, "You'll feel different if you're ever a parent, Frost. Besides, Jane didn't hardly have any time to get herself prepared for this. I don't blame her for being exhausted."
"Hold on," Frost said, holding a hand up when Korsak moved to give Jane's shoulder a shake. He pulled out his gun and leaned towards Jane, aiming his firearm off to the floor. He cocked it, and at the click of the hammer, Jane's eyes shot open. Frost expected her to react right away, but she appeared disoriented; still, in a matter of moments, she'd reached for her own pistol before realizing where she was. Frost fired the bullet, killing a roach.
"Don't do that, Frost," Jane muttered, rubbing her eyes.
"Just wanted to make sure you were still on your toes," he said. "Is it just me, Sheriff, or has domesticity finally calmed Calamity Jane?"
"Barold Frost, I hope you get charge of a baby sometime soon," Jane yawned. "Then you'll understand it. It ain't just about staying up all night when she cries; it's about ...well, lots of things you won't get till it happens to you."
"Jane," Korsak said. "You know there's still a chance Tommy could come back and take Lily Mae, don't you?"
She looked miserable at the very thought, but her expression soon became as aggressive as her tone when she said, "Yeah, I know. If he does, though, I'm gonna put up one hell of a fight. You can count on that." She cracked her knuckles, shifting recklessly. "Korsak? How could Tommy do something like this? How ...how could he have done this and run away, given up? D'you think if I'd not been away so—"
"I think you and Frost were doing exactly what it was you needed to be doing," Korsak said. "Tommy's a grown man, and he's made his choices. You can't blame yourself for that. Now if we can get back on topic, here?"
The morning was largely uneventful, and as Jane headed out that afternoon to start patrolling, she met Maura, Collin, and Kay by a long row of houses at the end of town. Maura was holding Lily, and Kay was standing by what appeared to be a very battered, old-looking crib.
"How're my girls this lovely afternoon?" Jane asked, grinning down at Lily and offering Maura a quick kiss to the cheek. She nodded at Kay, who smiled bracingly back at her. Collin cleared his throat, arms folded indignantly, and Jane gave his head an affectionate pat. "And how's my boy?"
"Fine! How're you?" he replied, imitating a little bow Maura had taught him to try out earlier.
"Better, now that you're here. Is this what I think it is?" she asked, nudging the crib with her foot.
"It certainly is!" Maura said.
"A tugboat!"
"It's a crib!" Collin laughed, as Maura rolled her eyes.
"Where'd you get it?"
"Adelaide," Maura replied.
"Addie? I thought you weren't supposed to see her until this evening."
"I wasn't, but she stopped us on our way into town. This was the crib her youngest child had slept in—she said you'd know him?"
Jane laughed and rocked the crib. "Sure did."
"She knew we needed one, and she offered to let us have this. It needs a little fixing up, but I told her it was nothing we couldn't handle."
"You're darn right it ain't!" Jane said, grabbing the crib by both ends and picking it up. "Hmm... y'know what..." She carefully set it back down. "I think I'd better go ask Korsak to borrow his carriage. We'll take this thing right back up to the corral and fix it up proper—if we stick to that area, I think it counts as keepin' an eye on my patrol."
She winked at Maura, then hurried back to the sheriff's station for the carriage. While Maura and the kids were left waiting, a small assembly of elderly woman came ambling down the street, led by Biddy Charleston. With a grand wave of her walking stick, she brought the group to a stop, and poked the stick in Lily's direction. Maura swerved with unnecessary force to ensure no contact was actually made.
"Whose child is that?" Biddy asked abruptly.
Maura was flushed; she knew it wasn't her place to out what Tommy had done. She could feel a rash coming on as she tried to think of how she might reply, but Kay half-stepped in front of her, hands on her hips to ask, "Who wants to know?"
The women all gasped, and Biddy turned her disapproving eye on Kay, who did not budge. "Step aside, you rapscallion, unless you have a useful answer for us."
"This baby is none of your concern," Kay said curtly.
"She's my sister!" Collin argued.
Biddy looked down and raised her eyebrows at him. All anyone in town knew about Kay and Collin was that Maura was the only living relative they had (thought technically she and Kay actually shared no blood), and that as Collin was still a child, Maura had taken him in to raise him. The general consensus among Biddy and her friends was that Maura ought to try and find a husband to help her bring up the child—especially as he was a boy.
"Your sister looks quite young," Biddy said.
"Well, she's a ... baby," Collin said, looking a little confused.
"Precisely," said Biddy. "Where did she come from, Dr. Isles?"
"She was born by one of my patients in Green Forge," Maura answered, holding Lily a little closer. "The father has run off, and before the mother died after childbirth, she asked me to raise the baby."
Biddy clucked disapprovingly. "Did she know you have no husband?"
"Yes. She did."
"Miss Isles, regardless, you must think of the child," Biddy said. "It has a right to a mother and a father, so unless you foresee a husband in your near future, I would suggest setting to work finding fit parents for her."
"Thank you for your input, Mrs. Charleston," Maura said in a sweet voice. "But I have already taken the liberty of locating fit parents for her. I am one of them, and here comes my companion of choice right now."
The group of women collectively looked over their shoulders to see Jane pulling up in Korsak's carriage. Biddy just threw Maura a last disapproving look before leading the way on down the street. Jane hopped out of the carriage and picked up the crib, stuffing it in the back as best she could. Helping Collin and then Maura into the front, she asked Kay if she'd like to come along.
"No," Kay sighed, watching Biddy's group shuffle along. "I think I'll follow them into town and spit at the backs of their heels."
"Atta girl!" Jane laughed.
"Trust me," Kay said with a bit of a growl. "Where I spit, no grass grows. Ever."
"Kid, you're starting to grow on me."
"Likewise."
Pleased that Kay's attitude towards her had gone a step beyond mere tolerance, Jane bid her goodbye and clambered up into the carriage. She started off at her usual (fast) pace, but Lily made her unhappiness with it known very quickly, and Jane slowed down. Even though the bumps they hit were minimal as they crawled along, Collin twisted around and kept a firm grip on the crib in case it were to go flying out.
Once everyone and everything was unloaded at the corral, Jane sent Collin into the barn to get some tools for them to work with. He headed off to do so, and Jane took Lily from Maura's arms.
"Hey there, pretty girl," she whispered, starting to pace. "Know where we are? This here's Korsak's corral. It's one of the first places me and Maura ever had a real conversation. I was goin' around, trying to pick a new horse, and havin' a helluva time with it till I saw this vision here standing by the fence. She was watching me, and I thought this was sort of a funny thing for a lady to do. I came on over, and she smiled at me real big, and we got to talkin' again. She offered to fix my belt loop, and she's been fixin' me ever since."
"Don't listen to her, Lily Mae," Maura said. Both of them were looking down at the baby, but Maura at least put her hand on Jane's back. "She fixed herself. She fought her own demons, on her own terms."
"I had help," Jane protested.
Maura turned to give her a swift kiss. "And I'll always be here if you need it in the future."
Jane nodded down at the baby. "She needs both of us. And I want her."
Maura's arm wrapped a little more firmly around Jane's waist. "I know, sweetheart. So do I."
Collin returned just then, lugging a hammer, a little makeshift box of nails, and the sanding paper Jane had described. Jane sat down cross-legged by the crib, and Collin knelt beside her. Maura held it steady as Jane, still cradling Lily, directed Collin where to start sanding. He looked happy to be doing something productive, and watching him and Jane together, Maura couldn't help but think of what Kay had told her about his relationship with their mother, Hope.
"First she lost my father, then she lost Doyle. We were all she had left of those relationships, and she couldn't see us for what she'd lost. She fussed over me, not wanting me to turn out like she did, and Collin really wanted the attention I hated. She loved him, sure, but she had a funny way of showing it."
It wasn't possible to fathom that Collin might ever doubt how strongly Jane felt for him.
"Maura!" Jane said, calling her out of her reverie. "You said you wanted to help, didn't ya? See that leg towards you, on the left? Kinda wobbles a bit?"
"Yes."
"Fix it up. Collin, can ya hold it still for Maura, there?"
"Sure!"
As Maura pried out an old nail, the new one clenched between her teeth, Jane couldn't help chuckling. "Well, lookit you! There may be hope for you yet, Maura, to be a real woman livin' on the range."
"I think I've already paid my dues in that regard," Maura said, squinting up at Jane. She brushed some hair out of her face and slipped the old nail into the pocket of her apron.
"I suppose that's true. Collin, did you know Maura can use a bow and arrow so good, she could hit a pen point with one if she had to?"
"Hark who's talking!" Maura laughed, putting the new nail in place. "Collin, the first time Jane and I met, we were riding in a carriage and she had one of the men on top throw a coin off—and she shot it clean through."
Collin's eyes were wide with amazement. "You can do that?"
"Sure as you're born, boy. That's one of the reasons Sheriff Korsak trusts me so much to be his deputy. Ma always said I'd never get a man with a gun, but I'm all right with how things turned out. It's mighty useful havin' a doctor in the family."
"Thank you," Maura chuckled.
Speaking of family, Frankie passed by a few minutes later, looking exhausted. He was barely able to sit straight on his horse, and couldn't be bothered to dismount when he stopped to say hello. Frost had just gone to relieve him at the mine, and Frankie said he planned to go sleep for twelve hours.
Nearly as soon as he'd been sent on his way, two older gentlemen stopped by the corral. They were strangers in town and had hoped to find someone hospitable enough to lend them some water. Jane pointed them in the direction of the well, assuming they would leave once their thirst was quenched, but the men ambled back towards them, looking a little restless.
"Ma'am, we couldn't help noticing the hard work you're going to there," said the larger one, nodding at Maura and her hammer. "Can we give you a hand?"
"That's generous of you, sir, but I've got a handle on it, thank you."
"Where you fellas from?" Jane asked, narrowing her eyes at them.
"Oh! Where are my manners? Name's Kenneth Leahy, but you all can call me Kenny. This here's my good friend Lyle."
Jane nodded and shook their hands, balancing Lily in one arm. "Leahy, Lyle. Where ya headed?"
"Oh, just up the road a ways," said Kenny, gesturing towards Green Forge. "We're passing through, came by way of Colt City."
"You from there?"
"No, ma'am, we were just paying our respects. Stopped by Jake Wyatt's marker."
Collin stood up, admittedly not a very dramatic move for someone so small, but it got the attention of the surrounding adults. "Jake Wyatt!" he spat, looking more furious than Jane thought any child had the right to. "You paid respect to Jake Wyatt?!"
"Calm down there, son," Kenny said calmly.
"He's a scoundrel!"
"My boy, he was a hero," Kenny insisted.
"Sir, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't put ideas like that in my boy's head," Jane said steadily, reaching out to put her hand on Kenny's arm and keep him from leaning closer to Collin. She knew as far as the boy was concerned, an outlaw like Jake Wyatt was no better than Paddy Doyle. And besides, the last thing she needed was someone else around like Tommy, who worshipped Jake. "Mr. Wyatt was a sad, degenerate man. He ain't worth cryin' over."
"Hold on now," said the man called Lyle, looking down at Maura. "I seen your picture, miss. Ain't you the last woman who kissed Jake Wyatt before he died?"
Maura took a short breath, trying to concentrate on the crib. "Incidentally."
Lyle laughed. "Incidentally? How's that?"
Kenny gave Lyle's shoulder a small shove. "That ain't a proper line of questioning, my friend," he said. "I apologize, miss. Don't you listen to him. But I'll have you know this, ladies: Dakota territory, eight years ago. I was holed up in a shack no bigger than the interior of a stagecoach. Surrounded on all sides. I used to be the law in this one city, see, and some ruffians decided to try and take me out. My deputies were tied up. I was trapped."
Despite his initial distrust and dislike of this man, Collin was captivated: "What did you do?"
"I didn't do much, besides pray. Somebody jumped on top of the shack, and I thought, this is it. I'm done for. I couldn't see a thing, except for a tiny hole in the door about the size of a tea saucer. It was night, and it was dark, but I could see this posse comin' for me, and I figured maybe their leader was the one who'd jumped on the roof of the shack. That was it. He was gonna break his way down and kill me."
"Did he?!"
"It was the most amazing thing. I hear this voice call out, 'if you all wanna live, you'll turn right around and leave this man alone.' Son, I ain't ever heard a voice that meant more business in my life. The moon was hangin' just so I could see the face of the man in front. They all had their rifles trained up to the roof, and one took a shot. I thought, 'this man is done for,' but he fired right back and I saw the hat of the posse's leader go flyin' off. Shot clean off his head."
"Did he kill him?"
"Didn't have to. He said, 'You better think twice before you take another shot at Jake Wyatt.' And boy, you'd think the devil himself had come to town by how fast those fellas scattered."
"He saved your life?" Maura asked, glancing at Jane.
"And countless others by extension, I'm sure," Kenny said. "I understand maybe Mr. Wyatt didn't obey the law every step of the way, but I can't help wanting to pay my respects on account of what he done. See, boy?" he said, smiling at Collin. "Sometimes things ain't so black and white as they seem."
They were gone soon afterwards, saddling up and heading back on their way. Collin looked terribly confused.
"Maura?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Is it true? You really kissed Jake Wyatt?"
"Collin, you leave your sister alone about that," Jane said authoritatively.
"But—"
"You're just a boy, Collin. There are some things that just ain't gonna make sense to you at this age, understand? Those men were right; Jake Wyatt's a complex figure, and we ain't gonna get into it right now. The only thing you need to know is that Maura's the purest thing in this territory. She ain't ever done a thing wrong."
"Yes, ma'am," Collin mumbled, though he still looked doubtful.
He remained quiet for the next several minutes, doing what Jane and Maura instructed and not bending to their attempts to engage him in conversation. It reached a point where Jane worried that Maura was going to faint from anxiety soon, and she was about to suggest they call it quits for the day when she heard another carriage rumbling up the road. This one carried Angela and Korsak, both of whom appeared to be in very high spirits.
"Hello, honey!" Angela cried, passing Jane and Maura and sweeping down on Collin.
"Hullo," he said back.
"Sheriff, what brings you h—"
Boom.
An ear-splitting explosion went off just up the road. Angela fell to the ground, and Korsak barely managed to catch Collin from doing the same. Maura's heart was pounding in horror; she had never heard a sound even close to matching this one in volume or type. Jane squinted in the direction of Green Forge, where the sound had come from—it was dragging on, and after the shock had surged through her, she remembered the only other time she had heard it.
Making herself heard over the noise was difficult. "Dynamite!" she yelled towards Korsak. "The mine?!"
The mine that hadn't been operative in years. The one that was recently targeted by some desperate pillagers who were sure there was still gold to be found. The one Frost had been watching, on hand to keep an eye out for any suspicious characters.
"Ma, take Collin and Lily and stay here!" Jane shouted, putting the screaming baby into Angela's arms.
"Wait, Jane, I wanna come with you!" Collin cried.
Jane whisked around to face him, ready to be stern and stand-offish, but the desperate look on his face—the concern of being separated from her, the fear of sending her off to something that seemed so dangerous—almost made her burst into tears. She got down on her knees and pulled him as close to her as she could; he returned the hug with every mite of strength within him.
"Don't go, don't go, don't go," he begged, and Jane could feel him shaking with sobs.
"Collin, my partner's over there, I gotta go," she said back.
"But—"
"But you're my boy," she said, pulling back to look him in the eye. Her hands were trembling, and to compensate—or perhaps just really drive home her point—she was gripping either side of his face, tight. "And that means I am coming back, Collin. I can't go till you say you believe me when I say that."
"Y...you..."
"I am not. Leaving you. I will be back. Understand?"
He held her gaze for a few long moments, then nodded and threw his arms around her neck one more time.
