Part Two.

Ezra was not an early riser. He never had been, as a man who only believed in speed as a necessity, and whose life revolved around the unhurried pace of the gambling tables, it had never been within his nature to arise at the sight of the first morning rays.

To begin with, it had caused no end of troubles, as the other men, with the added exceptions of JD and Buck, who were also prone to some oversleeping, were natural dawn birds, up with the first wisps of light.

But not Ezra. He was not a morning person, and, as his eyes slowly opened to take in his room, bathed in late morning light, he inhaled deeply, and closed them again, the perfect comfort of his mattress and sheets luring him back into the world of sleep.

However, no sooner had he shut his eyes, than they were open again. All grogginess and laziness gone as he pushed himself to his elbows, fully awake, and aware that there was someone in his room.

The figure, silhouetted in the light from the window, was taking his clothes from where they were vaguely folded on the chair by the washstand, transferring them instead to the wardrobe. Letting out a short sigh, the figure straightened up, moving to clutch at their back tenderly, the other hand moving to sweep back wild white hair in disarray.

Ezra frowned,

"Miss. Evans?"

Annie turned to look at him, her expression that of a disapproving school mistress.

"Oh, awake at last are you?" her voice was full of consternation, and she turned to face the bewildered gambler, folding her arms, "I hope you realise it's nearly midday?"

Ezra blinked at her, trying to push back the clouds of puzzlement threatening to overwhelm him.

Annie's hands moved from folded across her chest to her hips, after taking him in for a few moments, she turned, pulling back the drapes and letting the light flood in.

Ezra groaned, his arm moving to shield his eyes as he squinted through the waves of painful brightness. Annie carried on bustling around the room,

"There's newly warmed water in the jug, and I've sharpened your razor up nicely too," she turned to him once more, face still scolding, "Come on. Up!"

Ezra moved into a sitting position, taking his arms away from his eyes as they adjusted slowly to the light. He cleared his throat,

"Um...Miss. Evans. What are you doing?"

Annie didn't hesitate, or pause as she continued to straighten up the room, pulling back the drapes to tether them to the wall hooks.

"I'm tidyin' this place up."

Ezra sighed,

"I can see that, but...why?"

As Ezra struggled to get his head around his wake-up call, Annie turned to him as if it were the simplest thing in the world, her expression softening, her eyes showing a sad affection that moved Ezra somewhere deep inside as she replied.

"Because you need mothering."

Annie brushed her hands against her skirts,

"Now, up you get, I'll make sure breakfast is ready downstairs, your fresh clothes are laid out on the chair for you."

She turned to the door, before stopping to pick up a pillow that had fallen from the bed during the night. Ezra watched in amazement as the elderly woman placed it back on the bed, pulling a loose feather from between the weave. She studied it carefully, almost seeming mesmerized.

"You know, my mother always used to tell me that goose feathers were the signs of guardian angels. Luckiest thing in the world to find one of those. Means someone's looking out for you."

She smiled, almost nostalgically before blinking, as if coming out of a trance. She swallowed, almost self-consciously, and half-turned her head to face Ezra.

"Get dressed now,"

She took a step forward, and opened the door. Suddenly, she gasped, gripping at her side, and taking deep breaths, her hand clinging to the doorknob for support as her eyes squeezed shut.

Ezra watched her puzzled,

"Miss. Evans?" he asked softly.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and took a deep, steadying breath.

"I'm fine."

She left quickly, the door slamming behind her, and Ezra turned back to take in his empty room. No longer was she Annie Evans, dragon-lady, unnapproachable. Now she was Annie Evans, intruder into his life, seemingly bringing her emotion baggage with her.

Ezra sighed. Rubbing his eyes, trying to ascertain whether it was all a joke, or, even better, a dream.

Was this how she was going to repay her life-debt? He groaned. Hopefully it was only for the day.