I want to apologize to everyone for not updating this story sooner. I just graduated from college, and things have been quite hectic, to say the least. I promise to do much better now that school is over! Now I can actually write about things I want to!

Thank you to Beezer, Sierra, The Crazy Conook, and Mommies Girl for reviewing! Thank you most of all for being patient with me. Hey FlameImmortal - where's my cookie?!

Now to the story . . . .

--------------------------------------------------- The first thing Jesse felt was intense pain. The second thing Jesse felt was that his hands and feet were tied to a chair.

With a groan, Jesse finally made his way back to consciousness. Where am I, Jesse wondered to himself. With that thought resounding in his head, Jesse tried to muster all the energy he could to open his eyes.

What met his eyes surprised him. He was in a barren room, with nothing on the walls. It had the appearance of a shanty. In fact, the only thing in the room was Jesse and the chair. No one else was there.

Jesse struggled with the ropes around his wrists, hoping that there was a chance they might be loose. The only thing he succeeded in doing was igniting the pain in his side and rubbing burns on his wrists. He finally gave up, as his energy was spent.

"Zee. . .", he whispered.

"Well, well, look who's awake," came a voice from the doorway. "It looks as though pretty boy outlaw decided to rejoin the land of the living. Don't worry, I don't plan to keep you long."

Jesse drew a breath and replied, "Well that's good, I wouldn't want to wear out your kind hospitality."

Cody laughed deeply, and said, "Looks like ya got a good sense of humor, Jesse James."

"You know my name?" Jesse exclaimed.

"Of course I do. Who wouldn't know the most famous outlaw in the west?"

Jesse came to a realization and said, "Oh, so this is about that old price on my head . . . well, I ain't worth nothin' anymore. . ."

Cody stepped closer and bent down on Jesse's level. "You're worth the revenge to me. I will have my revenge!" With that, Cody stood up, slammed his fist on the wall, and shot one last menacing glance at Jesse before exiting the empty room. Once more, the door closed with an ominous bang.

Jesse felt his tenuous hold on consciousness begin to slip away as his world again became blackness.

----------------------------------------- Back at the James' ranch, Zee was beginning to get worried. It just wasn't like Jesse to not contact her at all. She knew they had a very bad spat before he left, but it wasn't so bad that he would completely ignore her. Surely he would have sent a telegram had he been able. Just then Zee felt a prickle on her neck and knew that something was definitely wrong with Jesse.

Zee took off running towards the corral to find her horse. She didn't even bother placing a saddle on the horse, but instead, just jumped on and rode bareback. She knew that she had to get to Frank. He would know what to do so they could find Jesse and extricate him from whatever trouble he had found. She prayed that she would get there in time.

Finally, she rounded the bend to Frank's homestead.

"Frank! Frank!" she shouted.

Frank rushed out the door, wondering what all the commotion was about. "What is it, Zee? What's wrong?"

Zee hopped off the horse and rushed up to Frank as she tried to catch her breath. "Frank, it's Jesse . . . something is definitely wrong. I haven't heard from him since he left to go back to the old homestead. He usually sends a telegram at least. Frank, I haven't heard from him in days! I know. . . I just know that something is horribly wrong!"

Frank nodded, formulating the plan in his head. "Okay, ride back to your place and gather up your things. I'll get ready here and then I'll come out there. We'll find Jesse, Zee, don't you worry. As Shakespeare said, 'Be just and fear not.' Fear not, my lady, we will find him."

With that, Frank dashed into the house, Zee rode away again, and Jesse himself was dreaming of them both.