Hi again! Well…that was quite a premiere, wasn't it? I was shocked! Thanks for the continued support, and as always, read on and enjoy.

Lady Ravanna- Thanks so much for your thoughts! =)

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She wasn't able to immediately catch up with Cullen, as being on the large horse made her nervous. If not for the temporary pony-riding lessons from her childhood, this steady gallop wouldn't have been possible. It certainly wasn't nearly as fast-paced as Bohannon was going. Then again, it was just as well. Eabha didn't want him to know he was being followed, and despite him nearly being out of sight, she could still spot him just enough.

Heels dig, hands give, heels dig, hands give…

It was hard to know how long she rode for. Her mind couldn't focus on anything other than the most horrible images. Thor, covered in blood, standing over the corpses of poor Naomi and little William…But thinking of such things wouldn't help. If she were going to stop her deranged husband, she had to clear her head. Nevertheless, maybe he couldn't be stopped. God only knew what was going through his brain at the moment. The young woman shuddered to fathom it.

Eventually, Bohannon disappeared over a hilltop near a tall lone tree. Though the girl didn't reach that spot for several minutes, she figured the man would still be in sight. She was shocked to see the homestead in the valley below. Was this where the Hatches were?

If they're still alive.

She couldn't see Cullen, or anyone else for that matter. But upon trotting down the steep hill and getting closer, her rescuer's horse came into view. There were a few other unsaddled horses in a small fenced corral, and some chickens were scattered across the grass. Eabha carefully got down from her horse to scope things out. She considered calling for Cullen, or even Thor, but her heart was beating rapidly. The whole situation was too frightening for her to risk endangering anyone. Everything was deathly quiet, too quiet.

Her heart leaped into her chest upon seeing the lifeless woman in the barn doorway. There was a horrid crimson stain on her front, and a bit was leaking from her mouth as well. Eabha didn't have to get too close to know she was dead, and that it was her spouse's work. She'd just gathered enough courage to keep looking when she heard a distant gunshot. It seemed to be coming from the long patch of woods near the homestead. Was Thor there, or Cullen? And she hadn't found Naomi or the child yet. Before she had a chance to even consider running into the forest, she heard a noise from the nearby corral.

The sight of a face-down man with a bloody wound in his back was horrifying, but not far from him, a younger man feebly stirred. Eabha's legs propelled her to him with surprising speed.

"Sir, you…you're all right."

There was an open wound on his head, but it looked like the bleeding had stopped near his mouth. Yes, he was alive. The woman didn't know what to do, so she simply knelt down beside him. After a few more mumbles and groans, the man slowly opened his eyes. They squinted from the sunlight before focusing on the woman above him.

"Don't move. Let me help…"

Eabha saw the water pump nearby and rose to her feet. But prior to reaching it, a thought occurred to her.

That wound should be covered.

She reluctantly approached the barn where the dead woman was, forcing herself to ignore it in her search for some cloth. Once she found it, she ran out back to the pump, ripped off a few strips, and held them under the spout. It took a few minutes, and the girl had no idea if she was doing this correctly, but the young man's head was eventually bandaged. Eabha sat back on her legs and gazed at him as he sat up.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"I…" He was still getting his bearings, but an answer came. "I was cutting wood, and…who're you?"

"My name's Eabha, sir."

"Isaac. What…?"

Eabha followed his horrified gaze and looked at the nearby dead man. It was hard to decide what was more painful: the deaths of another innocent man and woman, or the fact that it was Thor who'd killed them. This thought spurred her to speak.

"I'm sorry. There's a woman in the other barn…but I didn't find Naomi. Or William."

Isaac's eyes widened upon hearing those names.

"Naomi…"

They were interrupted by an approaching sound. Eabha quickly stood, trying to think of a possible weapon as she helped Isaac to his feet. But the sight that greeted her from next to the house was both a terror and a relief.

Cullen and Naomi were walking towards the property, along with a young toddler. They looked disheveled, but at that distance, there were no visible injuries. As they got closer, it appeared that Bohannon was dragging something heavy. Eabha and Isaac immediately went to them, and when they got near enough, it was obvious that the limp form being dragged with the couple was the Swede's.

"You're hurt!" Eabha exclaimed, noticing the bleeding wound in Cullen's upper leg.

"Dammit…I told you to stay put."

Pain was obviously straining his voice, along with his annoyance. Still, Eabha wasn't in any mood to be scolded. She turned to Naomi as Isaac helped Cullen drag Thor further towards the barn.

"Are you injured?"

"No."

The other woman held William even closer, glancing at her homestead. At that moment, Eabha realized that the lifeless man must've been Naomi's father.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Cullen was shot, he's bleeding. I have to help him."

"All right. Can I take the baby back inside?"

"Yes, thank you."

Naomi quickly approached her wounded husband while Eabha went towards the house with the boy in her arms. Part of her wondered if Thor was dead, but he was bound with chains to the water pump now, which meant he was probably just unconscious. This eased the girl's heart greatly. She had no desire to be in his line of sight when he woke up.

Little William started getting fussy once they were inside, but the woman carried him near his bed, trying not to notice the jagged hole in the door nor trip over the large ax. She sat down in the rocking chair, nurturing the child until his weeping had eased. A few minutes later, her mind wandered to Branna. She was most likely safe in that little nursery with the other children, but her heart still ached. Nothing would've pleased her more than to be with her child right now. However, Naomi had just lost members of her family, including her father, to say nothing about nearly losing her son and her own life as well. She needed all the support she could get. While she knew Thor had committed murder once again, it hadn't really sunk in. It was almost normal, after all. She wondered why she wasn't more pained by this awful occurrence, but she simply couldn't process it right now.

And I shouldn't. If I try to, I might shatter.

After almost an hour, Eabha heard the front door open and close. Naomi came into the room a few seconds later.

"How is he?"

"I told him not to go, but…"

"Go?"

"Camp Douglas. It's about a two-day ride."

"Why is he going?"

"To bring that man to justice, he said."

Eabha took this in. Cullen was taking Thor to a distant camp with a gunshot wound to the leg? The thought of her husband doing something to break free, especially with her rescuer in that condition…she didn't even want to picture it.

"Well," she said, standing to give Naomi her child, "he's long overdue for justice."

"Didn't…didn't he abduct you, before Fort Smith?"

"It's a long tale."

But Naomi wanted to know all the same. So as they sat down at the kitchen table, Eabha proceeded to tell her of the marriage that created Branna, Thor's killing of an innocent woman, his supposed execution, his murder of her parents, his second escape from justice, his appearance in Truckee, and his most recent abduction of her.

"Your daughter, is she…?"

"She's in a nursery in Salt Lake City, but I think she's safe." There was a long pause. "The woman outside, was she your sister?"

"Yes."

"Naomi, I'm so sorry."

The other woman glanced down for a moment. Then, she looked back up at Eabha and replied.

"I know he's your husband, but I hope he—"

"As do I. He stopped being my husband a long time ago."

Just then, Isaac opened the door and approached them.

"I dug two graves. We should lay them down before it gets dark."

His voice was broken, but Naomi was quite stoic in rising to her feet. She went to follow the man outside, only to pause and look back at Eabha.

"Stay with us for a while, Eabha. I don't know if he'll come back, but…just in case."

"I wouldn't be imposing?"

"No. You can stay in Sara's room."

"Thank you, thank you both."

She followed them out to the graves, uselessly trying to quell the infinite thoughts flying within her head.

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