Momochan77: I'm glad you liked the final battle! Watching the movie once I realized Custer shouts for the attack on his horse, then is hiding from the fight my brain automatically went 'Oh Billy would so take that horse!'. So I'm glad it worked so well and you enjoyed it! I'm probably going to take a break from updating this for a short while, emphasis on short, I just don't want to rush movie #3 and give myself time to comb through it to get it all just right. In the meantime if you need something Billy related to fill a craving I recommend "Dancing with Billy the Kid" by Terri Meeker, you can get the book on Amazon and it's definitely worth it! I was nervous to buy a book I hadn't read prior but I'm so so glad I took the risk. I loved it, like I stayed up til 3am to finish it. Another good source for Billy stories is LiteraryDragon over on Wattpad. Thank you again for the reviews and I'll see you soon friend!

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Chapter 10

Getting Billy on a plane was much easier when there wasn't a fight headed your way. Larry had everyone buddy up so no one got left behind in Washington and naturally Billy stuck by Anna's side. He helped her onto the plane like a gentleman and held onto her the whole ride so she wouldn't be jostled, especially during turbulence.

Anna drifted in and out, the exhaustion of the night finally catching up with her. Occasionally, Billy's hand would rub up and down her arm as she'd snuggle deeper into his hold. When she was awake she'd ask him for stories that no history book had ever been able to record. He told her about dances he'd gone to, jokes his friends had made around campfires, memories with his mother, he even sang softly to her. And he was good.

When given the chance to talk about whatever he wished her mind noted that he didn't speak of guns or fighting, he talked about having fun. Overall, he was just a good, fun loving young man who'd been given horrible things to deal with in life.

She was happy that his good memories were so clear and plentiful.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, it was a short flight but they did land in the street with plenty of time to spare before dawn. Amelia had targeted their landing perfectly and the plane stopped right in front of the museum.

"All right, come on guys." Larry instructed once he'd hopped out, "Remember, stay with your buddy alright."

The cavemen all got out first, followed by the Huns, then Sacagawea and the miniatures. Billy stepped out first then turned and offered Anna his hand. She took it with her good arm and as she stepped down Billy grabbed her shoulder to keep her steady as she regained her balance. Then Larry approached them.

"Anna, do me a favor, go inside and just do a headcount for me?" He asked jabbing his thumb over his shoulder to the front door.

"Sure." She nodded before turning to Billy who lingered by the plane door. He nodded encouragingly at her to go. She hesitated but slowly moved on, her hand sliding out of his. When she climbed the steps and went inside she couldn't shake just how wrong it felt to not have Billy next to her after he'd been like her shadow for the past several hours.

At the bottom of the stairs Larry stopped and passed the tablet to Dexter who carried it inside. Then he rested his hands on his hips contemplating what came next.

He couldn't keep them hidden in the basement forever, especially since he didn't work there anymore. But there had to be something he could do, he'd made thousands of dollars, and if money was what made the world go round there should be something he could do to help his friends.

As he thought up a plan Amelia exited the plane and stood by Billy.

"Quite the adventure." She commented gazing up at the museum.

"I'll say."

"Maybe we can find a nice spot to watch the sunrise from B Level." She suggested referring to their return to storage.

Billy chuckled and shook his head, "Not me, Miss Earhart. I intend to see as much as I can before dawn, and wherever I end up I end up. I just hope it's someplace beautiful."

"I like your moxie Kid. You and I would have gotten along well." She replied smiling. Then the grin slowly slid from her face and she turned to Billy. "However I'm going to have to put a damper on those plans of yours." He turned to her confused, "You remember that sassy cephalopod?"

"A fella don't forget a peculiar thing like that. What about him?"

"I heard Mr. Daley talkin' when he let the big guy into the pond. Kid," she rested her hand on his shoulder, "If we don't get back to our museum by dawn, we'll turn to dust."

His expression fell.

"I'm sorry." She removed her hand, "Looks like it's back to permanent storage for the both of us."

"Not us. Just me." Billy corrected her, "I saw where they'd been keepin' you. You've got a hope and a prayer of seein' the light of day again. You're a hero. No one wants to come see an outlaw. I'm just the bad guy. No one cares about me."

Amelia turned to the steps where Anna was coming out. She stopped by Larry and filled him in and he nodded as she spoke.

"I know someone who does." Amelia pointed out.

Billy turned his eyes to Larry and Anna too, they weren't doing anything important, just talking. But still he and Amelia couldn't seem to tear their eyes away from them.

"Quite the pair aren't they?" she asked and Billy nodded, "I'll miss them."

Billy composed himself before he turned to face Amelia and smiled, "Well, no use lookin' on the gloomy side of it. The laughs on me this time."

Then he pushed off from the plane and headed to say goodbye to Anna. She hadn't seen him yet and as long as Amelia couldn't see anything but his back, he let the frown take over his face for the moment.

Larry was the first to spot him and they both smiled and nodded to each other before he headed over to Amelia.

"Well you're back where you belong." They heard the pilot greet the night guard.

Billy stepped forward less than a foot from Anna, "Everyone accounted for?"

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Everything inside even came to life once Dexter ran in with the tablet."

Silence took over for a moment while he nodded and she tried to avoid the awkwardness that she dreaded in conversation.

"I'm glad your friends are okay."

She looked at him and noticed the small difference in his expression.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked noticing that he seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes as bright as they'd been all night.

"Yes ma'am." He nodded with a small grin. The smallest she'd seen. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

She lifted her hand to cup his jaw but the movement only drew Billy's eye to her bandage.

"You take care of that okay? Make sure it heals proper."

She nodded running her thumb over his cheek, "I will."

"Good." He smiled, "Once you get that fancy degree. . . come visit?"

She knew it would never be the same. And she didn't know if she could see Billy like that. Cold and lifeless. Not after seeing him so full of life, cheerful, laughing and smiling. Billy was made to be out in the world. Exploring, living a full exciting life. Sleeping under the stars and riding his horse at a full gallop under the sun during the day. She felt that pain again in her chest, at how unfair life was. His life had been cut short in 1881 and now it was happening again.

"Anna." He said bringing his hand to her face now, drawing her attention. She didn't realize how long the quiet moment had been and could only imagine the sadness that had taken over her face. Billy looked at her concerned and she tried to think of something to say that would reassure him, that would bring back that grin she'd loved seeing all night.

But her mind was blank. Not one happy thought in it. So she leaned forward and kissed him again. Again he responded immediately, his hand moving from her jaw to tangle in her hair, his other hand going to her waist, holding her flush to him. Her free hand held onto his shirt white knuckled while the hand cupping his face held him there.

"Well, looks like this little cowboy isn't the only one getting to second base." Jed said from Larry's pocket making him turn from Amelia's retreating back to see Anna and Billy locked in a passionate kiss. Part of him was sad that her first relationship had to end like this. Another part was happy that at least he wasn't going to be hurting alone for the next few days. . . or weeks.

"Mr. Bonney." Amelia called from the open plane door. Though she looked reluctant to break up their moment.

Anna felt tears sting her eyes. She hadn't cried in front of Billy all night and she didn't want to now. So when they broke apart she leaned her head forward onto his shoulder to hide it. But she knew he knew anyway. He ran his hand down her arm and took her hand, the other one lifting her chin. He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, this one more lingering then the one in the Smithsonian. He mustered up one last smile as he pulled back to look at her. Then he stepped back and walked away.

The hand he'd been holding slipped from her grip but she felt fabric in its absence. Looking down she saw he'd slipped her his bandana from around his neck. Her fist clenched around it desperate to hold onto anything she'd get to keep of him. She heard the plane start but couldn't look up to watch it go.

"There they go." Octavius narrated in his dramatic roman way.

"Straight towards. . ."

"Canada." Larry finished Jed's sentence, "She's heading for Canada."

Then the plane turned around.

"No now she course-corrected." Jed nodded.

Larry turned to Anna and when he reached her he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back inside. He felt her trembling under his arm as she held back her urge to cry. Once they stepped inside Teddy turned to them grinning, but the smile fell when he saw the condition Anna was in. She walked out of Larry's partial embrace and headed off. Probably for somewhere private to break down.

"My dear." Teddy greeted her sadly as she passed him and he patted her shoulder.

Then he turned to the night guard and perked up.

"Lawrence. Bless you for bringing them back."

Anna quickly headed below, to Larry's old office space. There she collapsed on the ratty old couch, face down, and bawled her eyes out into the dusty pillow.

2 months later

The worst part for Anna had been putting on a brave face for her family.

Nicky could tell something was up, and Anna wasn't sure if Larry had filled him in on everything that had happened at the Smithsonian. But her dad and stepmom were completely clueless as to why Anna was quieter than usual, why she spent more time in her room and why her face often looked like she'd just finished crying. She did her best to play it off, but keeping up the act was slowly killing her.

Come visit after getting that degree, Billy had asked. She almost chuckled to herself, she hadn't even started college yet. She had no idea how she'd survive the next four years feeling this way. This clawing pain like her insides were being torn into pieces. And the guilt didn't help. Her mind often would bombard her with everything Billy had lived through in the 1800's. His mother had died when he was very young leaving him to automatically become the man of the house when he was barely a teenager. His step father had taken off to pursue a dream of digging up riches in a mining camp. Leaving Billy and his brother to be split up and taken in by different families in town. Then there were the years he'd travelled through Arizona on his own, eventually ending up in Lincoln only to see more of his friends die in the war. Living on the run and evading posse's sent to kill him. But all the while Billy the Kid had a smile on his face, always looking at the glass half full, even when he'd been arrested and sentenced to hang. He stayed positive – and that reminder that Anna couldn't handle a simple parting of ways made her feel ashamed of herself. That Billy would be let down by how much she was letting her own grief and negativity ruin her life.

Larry had practically had to drag her to the museum for a project he'd been working on and he'd resorted to Nicky begging her to go to the premiere of the new night program. He told her their friends missed her, Teddy, Sacagawea, Ahkmenrah and Attila. Even Dexter and Rexy would look around and tilt their heads at Larry like they were curious as to where she'd gone. She went for her friends, not for herself. Telling herself it was only one night and she could suck it up for that long.

"Well, well, well, well, well. I see the old uniform fits after these long, long years." McPhee said with a smile as he walked up behind Larry. "So, to what do we owe this triumphant return? Not cut out for the corporate jungle after all? Got fired?"

"No, actually, I sold my company."

"Ah the world doth move in mysterious ways." McPhee nodded, "One day, we need to get rid of everything old. The next. . . a rich, anonymous donor gives a huge endowment, with a proviso- everything stays the same. . ."

McPhee looked Larry up and down as he wondered if the rich donor was the night guard, using the money he'd gotten after selling his company. Then he shook his head at his own foolish thought.

"Well, not exactly the same obviously."

"Bully lads and ladies! The name is Theodore Roosevelt, naturalist, Rough Rider, and twenty-sixth President of these great United States. Come along. The hunt is afoot." Teddy announced to his tour before giving a salute to Larry, "Lawrence."

All around other exhibits were giving tours and lectures to adults and children alike. Attila was telling a group of children a folktale. Sacagawea was explaining tracking methods she'd used on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The animals were all roaming about freely. Even Ahkmenrah was giving a speech in his Egyptian hall under the watchful eye of his Anubis-style protectors.

While all that was going on upstairs Anna was sitting downstairs in storage. The carriage Cecil had used to try and escape was down there, it was scheduled for its yearly wax and polish so right now it was just her and the six horses enjoying the quiet while the muffled ruckus above barely reached their ears.

She'd made one lap around the building and glanced at all the exhibits. A small smile on her face at how amazed the kids and parents seemed to be.

But it barely held her attention. She was used to the magic, and used to her friends' stories and mannerisms. The old fashion way they spoke, each unique to their time. So after about twenty minutes lingering around she found herself hiding away downstairs.

She fiddled with the red kerchief tied around her wrist. Even after helping Larry with this new project for the last two months she still missed Billy. Every minute her mind wasn't distracted by something else she caught herself thinking about his smile or how blue his eyes were, his laugh or the old words he'd use. She understood very well now what people meant in the books she'd read about The Kid, how he was so popular, how everyone loved him, how he had this energy that just drew people to him. Billy was hands down the most positive person she'd ever met, that positivity radiated from him and did draw you in like a planet's gravitational pull. Now that it was gone her core yearned for more of that feeling.

One of the horses whinnied and she stood from where she was seated in the open door of the carriage. She made her way down the line of horses petting their sides as she went from one to another. That's when she realized one horse was missing. It couldn't have gotten itself free, she thought, looking at the reigns that held each horse in place.

Behind her she heard a clip-clop of hooves and as she was about to turn she heard a voice call, "Excuse me miss?"

Her heart stopped before it picked up a pace twice its regular one. She turned and there he was, leading the missing horse by its tether.

"I'm new to this museum, I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to show me around?"

Anna brought her hand up to cover her mouth, not sure if she was going to grin like an idiot or cry like a baby. She crossed the room and when she was five feet from Billy she dropped her hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"What?" he asked pretending to look offended, "You're not happy to see me?"

She let out a single exasperated chuckle before she wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned her hug, dropping the horse's reigns as she buried her face in the curve of his shoulder.

"Billy." She tried to keep herself from sniffling as she held on tighter and he patted her back. When he stepped back his eyes went straight to the collar of her shirt and worry darkened the clear blue.

"Are you alright?" he asked and she nodded with a wide grin. She stepped back and pulled down her collar just enough to see some of the pink scar that was still fading.

"Your stitches did the trick."

"Good." He replied looking relived as his hands fell to her waist. It only took a moment of them staring at each other before she pulled him in and kissed him deeply, Earth, Wind and Fire playing in the background.

.

.

A trumpeting from behind Larry and McPhee made them both flinch.

"Mammoth." McPhee chuckled. "Extinct. Today's technology is beyond me."

"I know. It's so life like." Larry chuckled.

When the chuckling subsided McPhee asked, "You'll stick around a bit longer this time? Or you gonna run away again when you get something better?"

"I'm gonna stay."

"Stay, for a long time." McPhee nodded, "Good. Cause as night guards go, you're. . . "

"What?"

"The best." He choked out.

"Excuse me?" Larry asked not sure if he'd heard him right. McPhee's only response was a light punch to the shoulder that Larry returned with a smile.

Then McPhee cleared his throat, "You, the toddler! Don't hug the displays!" he said as he walked off to reprimand the child. Larry stayed there smiling to himself, then he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned. Rounding the corner were Billy and Anna hand in hand as Billy led a horse forward. They were smiling and Anna looked happier then he'd seen her in months.

As she'd been helping him pull together this new 'night program' Larry had wanted to get her something to say thank you. Not only for the night program but her help back at the Smithsonian. He'd called Rebecca who had some pull in the historical community and together they'd been able to talk the Smithsonian into letting Billy go. Since he was in permanent storage and they had no plans to use him they gave him to the Natural History Museum happily. Larry was glad at least one of them got to have a happy ending regardless of what the future held.

Larry turned back around and caught sight of a red head walking among the crowd. She looked oddly familiar and he couldn't help but approach her.

Meanwhile Billy had let go of Anna's hand and climbed aboard the horse. He held out a hand to help her up as she mounted and settled in on the saddle behind him.

"You know, I haven't been to New York since I was three." He looked over his shoulder at her, "Maybe you can show me around. We have every night until sunrise."

Anna smiled and wrapped her arms around his middle before resting her cheek on his shoulder. Billy chuckled and kicked the horse forward as Anna pointed out where the museum kept everything. Above them Jed and Octavius soared by on a small model plane while Larry introduced himself to the red head.

(End Movie #2)