Disclaimer: The characters of Yellowstone belong solely to Taylor Sheridan and John Linson

Thank you for reading. I really enjoyed writing this! I know the last part has been written before, but I'm hoping we get to see it in season four and this is just how I'd like to see it go.

—

It had been a month since Kayce's funeral. Two months since the bombing and the shootings. The investigation was still underway, with Roark and his clan of fuck heads cleared of any wrong doing.

The family had their suspicions, but whoever did this was good at covering their tracks. The one good thing about all of this is that Market Equities seemed to lay off on the airport plans, for now.

Monica and Tate stayed in the main house with John. Beth and Rip stayed in his house. Jamie was gone, but no one seemed too bothered by that. Everyone came together for lunch (or dinner) every day. As morbid as it felt, nothing at the ranch changed. The horses still needed fed, the cows still needed to be worked, things still needed to be fixed, or built. There was plenty to do to keep one's mind occupied.

Kayce's absence did not go unnoticed, however. John saw him every time he saw a horse being lunged around the round pen. Rip saw him every time he rode out to check on cattle. Beth saw him in Tate. Monica saw him everywhere... Sitting next to her at the dinner table, playing with Tate out in the yard, lying next to her in bed.

Everyone was working toward getting used to the new normal, and saying goodbye to yesterday. It wasn't gonna happen soon. It wasn't gonna be easy, but it would happen.

Beth had taken on the role of supportive sister toward Monica, and she was completely okay with that. There was no way Monica could just deal with all this alone. Rip took on more of the ranch work like the dutiful adoptive son he had always been. John worked with the wranglers as much as he could while going back to his job as livestock commissioner.

Things had settled down, but the Dutton's knew better than to trust that.

—

Beth gave Rip a deep passionate kiss before retreating down the steps of their house. She was headed to check on Monica.

"I'll come find you for lunch if we're back by then." Rip called out to her.

She turned and blew him a kiss to let him know he'd been heard.

Beth made her way across the field, and came across her dad working one of the new colts in the round pen. "Good morning, daddy." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Hey, sweetheart. You headed up the house?" He asked, and she shook her head yes. "'Kay well Tate might need some distraction. Monica seemed to be having a hard morning. You can send him down here if he's up for it."

"Thanks, daddy." She waved and continued on her trek.

Beth finally made it to the house, greeting Gator on her way through the kitchen. When she got upstairs she couldn't find Monica right away. Then she heard sobbing. Peeking into Tate's room she saw him engrossed in his new iPad.

"Hey, kiddo, why don't you go see if Gator will teach you how to make those chocolate chip banana cookies you like?" She gently snatched the iPad away from him. "These things will rot away all your imagination and sense of adventure."

Tate rolled his eyes, hopped up, and ran to the kitchen. He knew this was just a distraction so they could talk about adult stuff, but those cookies did sound good. When Beth stepped into Monica's room she found her in the bathroom, leaned back against the tub, sobbing.

"Hey sister, what's going on?" She asked, trying to sound upbeat.

Monica sniffed and wiped some tears away. "This." She handed over a white stick with a pink cap.

Beth's heart sank. It was a positive pregnancy test. "Oh, Monica..." She wasn't really sure what to say.

"This would be such an amazing thing if Kayce were here... We had talked about putting a kid in every room..." Monica burst back into tears.

"This is an amazing thing." Beth reassured her. "I know it's gonna be hard, but we're all here for you. Anything you need. This baby is a perfect way to keep Kayce's memory alive. Literally." She let out a small chuckle.

"I'm still figuring out how to live without him. I don't know if I'm ready to figure out having another kid without him..." She admitted.

"Well... you do have options." Beth put that out there.

"No. Not for me I don't. Tate and this new baby are all I have left of him. I'm keeping it. I just need to... adjust and accept." Monica stated in a very matter of fact tone. She didn't know Beth very well, but they were getting there, and she appreciated this new supportive side of her.

"Okay." Beth nodded in understanding. "Let's call and schedule your first appointment for this little blessing in disguise, and we'll go from there." She smiled and extended a hand to Monica. "How does that sound?"

Monica took Beth's hand and the two of them went downstairs to see how Tate and Gator were getting along with those cookies.

—

Beth walked slowly down the barn alley, letting the morning sink in. She was ready to see Rip. As much as she hated to admit it she really hated being away from him after the attack and the bombing at her office. The ranch, and Rip's arms were the only two places she felt safe anymore.

It was bitter sweet. She loved spending all this time with Rip, and she definitely didn't want that to change. On the other hand however, she hated that these attacks on her and her family had shaken her so. She'd get past it though. There was no doubt about that.

The wranglers were just getting in from their morning work. Rip tried not to smile like an idiot when he saw Beth, but failed. That got him razzed by some of the guys, but he didn't care. Beth brought out a completely different side of him that the other wranglers had never seen. For the sake of keeping their respect, and holding up his hard ass exterior, he tried to keep it that way.

"Jimmy, get the fuck outta my face and go put the horses up! Then go get that barrel racer of yours outta the bunk house." He commanded on his way over to her.

"I had Gator make us a picnic." Beth told him.

"You uh, you wanna go out to the park?" He raised one eyebrow at her and winked.

She laughed and took his hand.

Their drive to the park was filled with a peaceful silence. Well, peaceful for Rip anyway. His fingers were interlaced with hers, his thumb stroking her hand. Beth was lost in her head, trying to think of the right words for what she needed to tell him.

Rip laid out a blanket and the two of them ate lunch in the back of his ranch truck, overlooking a herd of elk grazing the valley below them. He could tell something was up with Beth, but he knew she'd talk when she was ready.

"Monica just found out she's pregnant." She finally broke their silence.

"Fuck..." He ran a hand through his dark curly hair.

"I know..." Beth sympathized. "I keep telling her this is a good thing, but god. I can't even imagine."

Rip scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Rip, I need to tell you something." She moved away from him and crossed her legs under her sundress. "And I'm telling you this now, before we start planning our wedding in case this changes your mind."

This had been eating at her for so long and now was as good a time as any to put it out there.

"Honey, I highly doubt that's gonna happen, but you tell me anyways." He assured her with one of his heart stopping grins.

"Okay..." She took a deep breath. "So, I told you that I can't have kids, but I haven't told you why yet."

Rip nodded, his brow furrowed with worry and concern.

"Do you remember when we were young and I told you I went to town for a pregnancy test?" She looked to him for his reaction.

He gave her a quiet "Yes".

She took another deep breath trying to steady her heart beat. "I actually had Jamie take me to get an abortion, and well the place he took me was a free clinic on the reservation. Apparently it was the only place he thought we could go where no one else would find out."

Rip's heart took a leap right out his chest. "Beth..."

"I'm not done." She told him. "I'm gonna get all of this out right now then we can talk about it. Okay?" She looked up at him, her eyes pleading.

"Okay." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"The catch at this place was that to receive an abortion you had to be sterilized..." Tears started to fill her eyes. She took a sharp breath and tried to blink them away. "And Jamie lied to me. He told me it was okay. I had no fucking clue how abortions were done. I didn't think anything of it when they put me under. When I didn't have a period ever again I thought it was because of the abortion. I finally went to see a doctor, years later, and she asked why I'd had a hysterectomy. She told me it was frowned upon of course, but still common practice for these free clinics to force sterilization on indigenous women in need who had no other choice..."

By the time she finished she was sobbing. When she looked at Rip it was hard to gauge his expression.

"Um..." Was all he could manage at the moment. Beth had no idea what he was feeling.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She hung her head low and sobbed. "I just didn't want you to live with that too... but after everything that's happened... I-I couldn't keep it from you."

"Beth..." Rip's chest heaved up and down. He was seeing red and trying to cool himself down. "I'm gonna fucking kill him. I'm gonna go find that coward and I'm gonna kill him." He started to get up, but Beth stopped him.

"Wait!" She pushed him back into his spot next to her, tears streaming down her face. "You don't wanna talk about this? You're not angry with me at all?"

"No, baby, I'm not angry with you." He cupped her face in his hands. "You made the right decision. Your brother didn't."

"Y-You're not upset that I didn't tell you sooner?" She took his hands with hers and stared down at them.

He rested his head against the cab of the truck. "Beth, this was your story to tell. I don't care if it took 15 minutes or 20 years for you to tell me I'm just glad you did. I don't ever want you to feel like you cant come to me with whatever is on your mind." He used his thumb to wipe her tears away. "You thought I'd be angry with you?" He kissed her forehead. "We were sixteen. We didn't need no fucking kid. You went to someone you trusted for help and he did you wrong. That, and how you deal with it, is not your fault. And that's why I'm gonna kill that mother fucker."

"Will you just... stay right here. With me?" She placed a hand on his cheek the other on his chest.

Rip stared right into her smoky blue eyes and a wave of peace fell over him as she did her best to ground him. She was the only person who could have him rage-full and ready to kill then giddy as a love struck teenager 5 minutes later.

Beth pushed her dress up so she could straddle his lap. She pressed her forehead to his. "You never leave me wondering why I love you."

She took a sigh of relief and settled into his embrace. They spent the rest of the day in that truck bed, under the warm sun in the cool breeze, enjoying each other's company.

—

Thanks again for reading! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! Follow if you're ready for chapter two!