A/N: I'm so sorry this one is taking so long to finish. Maybe I should have waited until it was complete to start posting like I did with The Last Regulator, but I wanted to get it out there so bad I just couldn't wait. Big changes to canon are coming and there won't be many chapters left after this, I don't think. It was never going to be as long as my first Young Guns story, simply because I'm not AU'ing both movies. Billy didn't regret what he did in the Lincoln War so he didn't get to go back that far. Entertainment only! This chapter gets explosive, so hang on and enjoy.

Billy drew in a shaky breath and flipped through the pages of the journal, running a finger over Jessie's neat handwriting spelling out his name. He should have known she'd never accept it. God, he could only imagine what Doc would say once she told him. He shoved the book away and buried his face in his hands.

A horse galloped down the street and stopped abruptly with a sharp neigh. The shack's door flew open and he looked up. Jessie kicked the door closed and crossed the tiny room to sit across from him. She pushed the journal back into his hands. "Finish it, Billy." Her eyes burned with emotion. "You have no idea how annoying it is to be a ghost and unable to knock some sense into the idiot you love. I'm not doing that again." Air left his lungs in a rush.

"What do you mean?" Ghost? Love? "What are you saying?"

"The ass in the suit is an ass because he got the worst guardian angel job in the history of the world. He must have pissed somebody off real bad because he got stuck with all of us, from Dick to you and every regulator in between."

"How do you know this?" Billy shot out of his chair. "He never told me –"

"He hates you, always has. He blames you for all of his problems." She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, propping one boot on the table rung. "He showed up out there in the desert and dropped me back into a past that I know didn't happen but it felt so damn familiar that it must have." Their eyes met and the look in hers gutted him.

"What – what did he show you?" Billy asked through numb lips.

"Fort Sumner," she said shortly, and his heart crashed to his boots. She'd hate him now for sure, he might have already told her, but that wasn't the same thing as actually seeing it.

"Jess, about us … well … you … I was …" She scoffed and drew her pistol, studying the smooth grips.

"Believe it or not, I'm not mad about that. All we've ever had was each other." Her face darkened. "But that ass Garrett … I knew he was a rat the first time I saw him at the fandango, I just never thought he was that big a rat. All he had to do was let us go, we were going to Mexico." The fire left her eyes and the pistol fell to her lap. "If I hadn't gone into that room we'd have made it out, but I couldn't let go anymore than he could."

"You're really not mad?"

"That's really what you fixate on?" She arched an eyebrow. "We both know the truth now, and we've got a chance to get us all out alive." She tapped the book. "We have to finish it and expose the Ring once and for all." Jessie sat back in her chair. "I'm not letting Garrett get hailed as a hero a second time." She leaned across the table and grabbed his hand, making his heart soar. "Let's take them all down." A smile tugged at his mouth and Billy nodded.

"Get the boys in here and let's get to work."

"Pat Garrett is no honorable sheriff," Billy dictated as he paced the small room, the fire casting shadows on his face. ""He knows we have been pardoned by Governor Wallace, yet continues to pursue us for his own glory, not caring that he will have to kill innocents to make himself famous." He paused with a frown. "Too much?"

"I'd say not enough," Jessie growled, pen hovering in midair. "But you're telling this part so it's your call." What remained unsaid was only he knew the aftermath stretching out for decades and would know best how to phrase things to sway public opinion to their side. Especially if the journal should end up being their only voice in history should none of them survive. The ass in the suit – their guardian angel? – had warned him that was possible.

"Maybe you should say something about how he betrayed us," Doc added, a dangerous light glinting in his eyes. Billy nodded and motioned to Jessie to keep writing.

"He called himself our friend, but what friend will turn on his pals and kill them for money? Governor Wallace asked us to testify to everything you have read so he can clean up the New Mexico Territory, which is the last thing the Santa Fe Ring wants. They want complete control, and as long as we are alive and can tell the world what they did in Lincoln County, they will not have that." Billy raked a hand through his hair. "Got it, Jess?" She nodded. "We all need to sign it." His heart beat faster. It was finished, finally. They could run it to El Paso or somewhere else in Texas in the morning. Pride filled his chest as they all gathered around to sign. He'd finally done something right.

Running footsteps sounded outside and Manuela burst through the door, face wild, and a wrinkled newspaper in her hands. "Dave is dead!"

"What?" The Regulators shot to their feet and eyed each other. Voices rose in confusion. Billy waved his hands in a call for silence, but they didn't listen, instead swarming around Manuela. He shoved his way through the group and took the paper from her hands, eyes skimming the page in mounting dread.

The story was days old, and God only knew what that might mean for them. His heart raced as he stared at the picture of Dave's body laid out in a coffin on the main street of White Oaks, a dark stain on his shirt mute proof of how he'd died. Billy's hands shook and the paper quivered. He looked up and met Jessie's eyes. "The bounty hunter got him," he said hoarsely. "Story calls him Bay Firestone." He gave the paper to Doc and stumbled back to his chair, burying his head in his hands. A light touch on his shoulder brought his head up enough to see Jessie standing at his side, her other hand on her pistol, her eyes flashing green fire.

"He better not have said anything."

"You know he did," Doc muttered and tossed the paper to Charlie and Tommy. "Even dying that weasel wouldn't have been able to resist getting his name in the papers."

"But it don't say anything," Charlie protested. "Not one word. Take a look, Chavez."

"Perhaps he thinks it is more useful to not speak out," Chavez said with a frown. "If he is after money and fame, he will know Garrett has the advantage. Anything Dave may have told him he may decide is too valuable to let just anyone know."

"Garrett has to know we went to Mexico, he sure didn't have any trouble finding us last time," Doc spit. "What do we do now?"

"We stick to our plan." Billy stood, Jessie still touching his arm. "We take that journal to the papers in Texas tomorrow morning, then we turn around and ride deeper into Mexico." Before, Garrett had hesitated for two months, but now? Billy wasn't sure and he wasn't going to risk losing Jessie again because of another stupid mistake. "Get the horses saddled and ready, we ride at first light." He wasn't taking any chances. Chavez laid a hand on his shoulder and nodded once. They all filed out, Manuela tucked under Charlie's arm, leaving him and Jessie alone. She went back to the table and tucked the book into her vest pocket.

"We'll make it, Billy, I know we will." She returned to his side and slipped her arm around his waist, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Billy's heart skipped a beat and he froze, half afraid she'd realize what she was doing and pull away, and he didn't think his heart could take it right now if she did. "We're not in public, Billy, and I don't know anymore if I'd care if we were."

"What – what are you saying, Jess?" His mouth was dry. She laughed once without an ounce of humor.

"You never forgot, and I remembered everything after that ass showed me what would have been. I was stupid to push you away, wasting what time we could have had."

"You had a reason, Jess. That story –"

"We knew it wasn't true, that's all that should have mattered. The feelings are there, Billy, they've just been buried deep so I didn't have to face them. I thought I didn't mean anything more to you than Jane did." Billy's throat closed.

"You're my everything, Jess." Slowly, he slipped his arm around her waist. "All I've ever had is you. And then I got you killed."

"No. I didn't have to go in that room, nor did I have to confront Garrett. I could have been like you and slithered away but I didn't." She sighed heavily. "I've done a lot of thinking over the past few days and while you can be reckless, you're not the only one. He asked me what was more important: love or vengeance." She turned her head, eyes shining in the firelight. "I choose love."

"Jess, you –"

"I think we forgot that in the midst of the fighting and killing. We started this because of the love you all shared for the father you'd have never had if John hadn't taken you in. He would have wanted justice, not vengeance." Stunned, Billy could only stare at her. Was that where they'd gone wrong? He'd spent seventy years wondering and to hear it summed up like that just made so much damn sense it hurt.

What had he really been doing when he shot Henry Hill in that outhouse? Yeah, he'd known Lincoln County would never try the man, much less convict him, but he hadn't even tried another way, he'd just fired, and sent them all galloping down a trail they could never turn back from.

"It is my fault," he said in a shaky voice. "You wouldn't have been in that position if I hadn't started it all back in '78."

"Pointing fingers won't do us any good now, what's done is done. All we can do is look ahead." She sighed. "I don't know about you, but I don't intend to meet that ass again until I'm old and gray." Billy laughed despite himself and pressed a tentative kiss to her hair.

"You don't happen to know what that ass' name is, do you?"

"Francis." Billy howled with laughter, that distinctive cackle he'd had to hide for decades exploding full force. Jessie's eyes sparkled and then she was laughing with him, the both of them falling into each other's arms. Billy held on for dear life, the feel of holding her again after so long almost as intoxicating as the best whiskey he'd ever tasted. Their lips met and two lifetimes merged into one, the present mirroring that last, agonizing night at Fort Sumner.

You won't get her this time, Pat.

They woke to screams and a fusillade of gunfire that ripped the night apart. Billy grabbed his guns and rolled out of bed, Jessie falling almost on top of him in her haste to get her weapons. They scrambled into their clothes and darted outside into an image of hell itself. Houses burned, turning the night into day, and mounted men rode back and forth firing with abandon. Billy couldn't count how many there were in the chaos, didn't even know if he could see all of them, but only one thing mattered right now. "We've got to get to the stable."

"Let's go." Back to back, they scrambled from shadow to shadow, returning fire whenever bullets whizzed past. "See the boys?"

"No." Billy squinted, the fires making shadows dance and distorting what he could see against the backdrop of night.

"We've got you now, Kid!" An oily drawl rose above the screams and gunshots. They traded glances and Billy's blood ran cold. Poe. Garrett was here, and he'd brought hell with him. There was only one outcome from this: total annihilation of the Lincoln County Regulators, unless they could slip away one last time.

"There's at least a dozen," Jessie hissed breathlessly as she reloaded on the run. Another house down the way burst into flame, throwing sparks into the air. "They're not gonna stop until the whole town is destroyed." They traded looks and Billy's heart broke. How did this happen? He'd tried to fix things, but he must have done something wrong somewhere.

"Take care of as many as we can, maybe somebody can escape." Jessie nodded and popped out from behind the building, shooting an attacker off his horse. The man pitched sideways and lay still. Billy fired a second round into him to make sure he was dead, and they moved on. "Any sign of the boys?"

"No." Her hair flew wild in the breeze that only fanned the dancing flames and she pushed it out of her face. "Think they got out?"

"I don't know." Billy scanned the street, convinced he was looking at hell. Bullets peppered the building behind them and he ducked, yanking Jessie down with him.

"He's over here!"

"Olinger," they breathed in unison and checked their guns, gazes locking. Billy nodded slowly and Jessie raised her weapons. They hadn't been born to hang. If this was their time, they'd go out in a blaze of glory no one would ever forget. They rose from cover, weapons spitting flame. Olinger staggered back, dropping his gun, but just as fast another man took his place, swinging a rifle up to bear on –

Billy's blood iced over and he threw himself at Jessie as time slowed to a crawl, the muzzle filling his line of sight as smoke and flame jetted from the barrel. Weight plowed into his back and he staggered, crashing to the ground in a heap, pain shooting through his entire body. His vision went black for a second and he forced his eyes open. Jessie spun next to him, two of her filling the shadows.

"Billy!"

"Do it, Jess," he hissed under his breath, barely able to concentrate. "Get 'em out." Fury on her face, she fired at the attacker until the man collapsed in a heap. She looked around, swiped hair out of her eyes, breathing hard as realization roared in.

"Regulators," she howled into the night. "Skin out, now!" The call brought a renewed fusillade of lead in their direction and she hit the ground, somehow managing not to land on him. "Come on, we've got to get out of here." She looked around, obviously searching for an escape route, but he didn't think she'd find one.

A hand landed on his arm and Billy barely managed not to yelp in pain. Jessie spun, gun at the ready, lowering the muzzle when she saw who it was. "Chavez."

"Gata." His eyes shone in the firelight. "I have the horses."

"Of course you do," Billy mumbled through the pain, his head spinning. He shook his head, but the dark spots at the edges of his vision didn't go away. "Jess … take over." He wasn't sure he could sit a horse without falling, but if she got out, at least he'd die without regret.

"Where are the others?" she hissed, still firing from behind the house. Chavez shook his head.

"I haven't seen Hendry or Charlie, but Doc and Yen have Susie and Tommy, they rode north as soon as you gave the order. I don't think any of them were hit, but I can't say for sure." Chavez ducked and slid Billy's arm over his shoulders. "We've got to get moving. They haven't checked the stables yet, but as soon as they do, they'll know at least some of us have escaped."

"Anyone from Juarez escape?"

"I saw some women and children running into the desert." Chavez swallowed hard and Billy found himself wondering if one of them was the woman their friend had danced with at Charlie's wedding. "Come on." He stood and pain shot through Billy's back and down his legs. He stumbled, would have fallen if not for his pals. A gun cracked behind them and Jessie let go of him to whirl around, gun raised. She swore in confusion and he barely turned his head just enough to see a man on the ground.

"I don't know and right now, I don't care." She grabbed his arm and they stumbled to the waiting horses. "Get on, Billy." For her he'd try, but he didn't think he'd make it far. A moan tore up his throat when they shoved him into the saddle. Jessie mounted up and grabbed his reins, leading the animal into the desert, Chavez covering from the rear.

Barely half-conscious, Billy could only wonder how many friends and innocent people had died tonight, all because of a mistake he must have made somewhere. Why had he ever thought he could change anything? He didn't even flinch when they stopped and Jessie mounted up behind him, her leg brushing his hip, sending a fresh wave of pain crashing through him. Billy tumbled headlong into darkness.

Juarez, Mexico

This wasn't right. Bay wandered the deserted streets, charred embers scattering on the breeze that carried the thick scent of smoke. Here and there, bodies lay sprawled in the street, some of them women and children. He stopped and sat down on a rickety set of steps to a house that no longer existed, staring mutely at the aftermath of last night's horror.

This was cold-blooded murder. And for what – to stop a group of kids who could topple a corrupt crime ring? Bay rubbed his forehead, his hand coming away black with soot. The rest of Poe's bloodthirsty posse had searched the whole town for the regulators, but all they'd found was Charlie Bowdrie, and Poe was livid, convinced he'd killed them all with his grand plan.

Instead, he'd killed one regulator, four of his own men, and over two dozen people from Juarez. Bay stood and made his way back to his horse, stopping at the spot where he'd made his decision last night. Blood stained the dirt and sand, though the man's body had already been moved. The mood he was in, Poe would probably kill him if he knew that one of those four "deputies" hadn't died from a regulator's bullet.

If they'd been given a chance to surrender, he might have acted differently. He glanced back over his shoulder and swallowed hard. No matter how it was told later, the truth would get out, and the perpetrators of this crime would be forced to answer for what they'd done.

"It's a start, Firestone," Poe drawled as he came up behind him, and Bay stiffened. "Garrett was too cautious, but we've got 'em on the run, and Olinger says the Kid is hit bad. They can't have gotten far." The man clapped him on the back with an oily smile. "We'll be famous yet, boy." He sauntered away and Bay hid a determined smile of his own. He touched his vest pocket and the small journal resting inside. He'd found it last night after the chaos had died down and one look at the first page was all he'd needed to see to realize he'd found dynamite. He flipped the pages, almost entranced by the neat handwriting.

"No, you'll be infamous," he whispered.