"Please; for Mark's sake!"

"…You have more than one boy to get home to, Dave."

"I don't," Eddie declared.

"And how much of a chance do you think you stand against Bennet?"

"I don't care!"

"Well I do! I'm not leaving either one of you in here to face Bennet alone!"

"Neither are we!" Merrar snapped back. "You're resourceful, Luke, but he's holding all the cards!"

"Either you two walk out of here when that door opens, or none of us will be going home!"

"You can't do this to yourself! To Mark! I won't let you!"

"You don't have a choice!" Lucas stood, slamming his palms on the table. He then took a step back, revealing a card for each man. Dave and Eddie read the notes before silently nodding. "…If something happens to me, John Hamilton is to see after Mark's affairs. I have a brother in Nebraska that will take him in."

"…We'll see to it," Eddie answered.

"When you go out there, don't try anything with Bennet, just get out. We don't need any more bloodshed than necessary."

The minutes to follow slowly crept by as the men waited in silence. Finally, the door cracked open, a voice calling from the other side.

"Alright, McCain. You come on out now."

The men looked at each other in confusion before Lucas answered. "…Dave and Eddie, they're going out next."

"I'll let them go as soon as we finish our business."

"…What business?"

"Come out here and you'll find out."

Lucas again took his pencil and began writing a note as he answered, "Let the others go, first."

"And then what guarantee would I have that you'll cooperate? No, they stay right where they are. Start walking."

Lucas slid Dave the piece of paper before apprehensively approaching the door. He stepped into the next room as his eyes searched for Bennet, whipping around when the door slammed shut behind him. At the sight of a gun, Lucas raised his hands and took a step back.

"I was hoping they'd choose you."

"This isn't justice, Greg. You shoot me, it'll be plain murder."

"Should be easy enough to get away with, considering the last man that was tried for murder here."

"We couldn't convict him! It was his word against yours!"

"You fools couldn't tell a cat from a dog! You have no idea what happened that night!"

"So tell me what happened! All of what happened!"

The man laughed, wagging his head from side to side. "You should have listened in court."

"Oh, I listened. I just can't quite buy that your brother was willing to die over a few old newspapers!"

"I never said he was willing to do anything! George had no idea what he walked into that night!"

"But you did- and whatever it was that you were caught up in, it got your brother killed! That's what this is all about, isn't it?! The guilt must be eating you alive!"

"This isn't about me!"

Lucas stepped forward, causing Bennet to back away. "Then why are you shaking? Why is there sweat on your face?!"

"Shut up!"

"Why'd you do it, Greg? How could you let your little brother-"

"I said shut up!"

Lucas took another step forward, forcing Bennet to back up against the door. "And all for what? Money? Or maybe it was a woman?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"DAVE, RIGHT SIDE!"

Lucas dove to the ground as several shots rang out. Bennet collapsed to the ground, howling in pain as he grabbed at his leg. The rancher quickly got to his feet and charged Bennet, kicking away the man's gun before he had a chance to reclaim it.

"Luke?!"

"I'm alright." Lucas pulled Bennet away from the door before opening it. He looked up at Merrar, then pointed to the bullet holes in the door. "Dave, just where were you aiming? Any lower and you would've gone straight down!"

"…Hit him, didn't I?"

Lucas shook his head, finally letting out a short laugh. "Eddie, will you disconnect that blasting box while we get him outside?"

"Sure thing."

The two cattlemen half-carried, half-dragged Bennet outside where the were met by a concerned and confused group of onlookers.

"Lucas-boy, what happened in there? You two alright? Where's Eddie?"

"He's taking care of the blasting box, he'll be out in a minute. Bennet needs Doc before you lock him up."

"I'm here, Lucas." The doctor emerged from the forming crowd and briefly looked at the wound before turning to two of the deputies. "Get him over to my office. Micah, this shouldn't take long. Then you can throw this scumbag behind bars."

The marshal started to follow after the men before turning back towards Lucas and Dave. "You two come with me; I still want to know what happened. Mays, get inside and make sure Eddie doesn't blow himself up."

As they started towards the doctor's office, Lucas and Dave began explaining what had transpired inside the meeting hall. As Doc began working on Bennet, Micah kept one eye on his prisoner.

"…And so Eddie and I were going to go along with the initial plan Luke had written out for us, but then Bennet changed things up and wanted Luke to come out alone."

"I didn't know where Bennet was in proximity to the blasting box, so I couldn't risk taking the gun with me and spooking him. I wrote Dave another note and told him to fire at the door on my signal."

"I'm sorry we couldn't do anything to get you out of there sooner," Micah offered. "There were just too many liabilities to try something."

"You were right in what you did," Dave assured.

"If that's all you need, Micah, I'm going to get home. I'm sure Mark's worried sick."

"John got thrown on the way to the ranch; he'll be alright, but we had to bring him back into town for Doc to fix up. Mark made his way back to the hotel."

Doc looked up, his brow furrowed. "…I was just over there. Mark wasn't in the lobby or restaurant."

"…I saw him head that way while you brought John over here."

"…I don't know what to tell you, Micah. The boy isn't at the hotel."

Lucas stood in front of the Madera House as he looked up and down the street. He patted BlueBoy, longing to hold Mark in his arms again. Finally, the rancher started down the street, away from the main part of town. He grew concerned the farther he walked, wondering just how far his son had gone before finding a quiet place to hide. His heart ached, knowing the thoughts that must have run through the boy's mind.

Lucas had reached the edge of town before stopping and letting out a heavy sigh. As the rancher thought back to their first few weeks in North Fork, he recalled taking his son to a secluded stream nearly a half mile from town. Praying that he wasn't wasting time, Lucas left the road and started down an unworn path.

The moon provided enough light to make out a small figure huddled at the river's edge. A lump swelled in the rancher's throat as he saw his son's posture; the boy's arms tightly wrapped around his legs while he pressed his head against his knees.

"…Mark?"

At the sound of his father's voice, the boy's head shot up as he began looking around. Finally seeing Lucas's tall frame, Mark jumped to his feet, tears springing from his eyes. "PA!"

The rancher ran to meet his son, kneeling down as he took Mark in his arms and pulled him close. The boy shook, clinging to Lucas as he buried his head into his father's chest.

"It's over," Lucas assured. "I'm alright..."

"Why? Why did he want to kill you?" he cried. "Why does it always have to be you?!"

Lucas struggled to answer, unsure if he could. After several moments of silence, the rancher pushed through the lump in his throat as he ran a hand across his son's back. "…It wasn't about me, Mark. I just happened to be on that jury. But I made it out alive. We all made it out alive."

Mark shook his head, sinking deeper into his pa's arms. "It's not fair! Why did everyone else get to come out, and not you?!"

"I did, Son, and I'm here. …I know this was mighty frightening for you… but if I hadn't stayed as long as I did, someone else very well could have died." He hesitated before going on, "…I'm sorry I couldn't be here with you… that you had to wait so long. But if I had come any sooner, another boy would be crying because his pa wouldn't be going home tonight."

"Why do people have to be like Mr. Bennet? Why can't they just go away?" he cried. "I just want it all to go away…"

Lucas tightened his arms around his son, bending down to place a kiss on his forehead. "I know. But that's why we stand our ground… so that the people like Mr. Bennet learn that there's no reward for their actions. We stand our ground so that one day, the men like Mr. Bennet do go away. …I know that doesn't make what we went through tonight any easier. But don't you ever forget that it wasn't for nothing."

Mark slowly nodded, still trembling as his tears continued to slip down onto Lucas's shirt.

"I'm here, Son. I'm not going anywhere."