This is my very first fanfic! So please be nice… English is not my native language and I don't have a beta reader, so if there are spelling or grammar mistakes… I'm sorry! But if you want to apply for the job as my beta reader… Be my guest!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the characters of "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman"… One Beth Sullivan does… But I do own the character of Jonas "John" Kerrigan!

Rating: I don't know anything about these ratings, but let's say T or PG-13. Just to be safe...

Warnings: Nothing graphic, but there are references to child abuse! Oh, and I really suck at the towns geography. So I apologize to all the fans who do know exactly what Colorado Springs looks like and where which building is standing… Because I really don't, so I made up some things… So maybe this story is slightly AU… : )

Summary: A stranger visits Colorado Springs. Not everyone is happy to see him…

Alright… Here it is… the last chapter of this story. Feels a little sad… But I hope you'll enjoy it!

Chapter 9

It was a chilly morning when Jake decided to go to Horace's telegraph office. Yesterday, as he had promised Hank, he had sent some telegrams and posted some letters to some influential people all over the country, to gather information about John Kerrigan. He'd even sent some letters to the Norwegian government. However, the reason he was going to the telegraph office right now was not because he hoped that information was already sent back to him. It was too soon for that. No, the reason why he was going to the telegraph office, was because he hadn't seen the gentleman in question, John Kerrigan, since yesterday morning.

John had promised he would be back later that day to sign some documents concerning the investments he would make in Colorado Springs. Jake had waited for him all day, but the man never showed up. First he had thought that it wasn't like John; that he would have a very good reason for not showing up. But then he thought back to the conversation he had that day with Hank. Could Hank have been right? Could it be that John Kerrigan couldn't be trusted. He had thought about it all night. This morning he had decided to go to Horace. Maybe John had left a message for him there.

"Morning Horace," Jake called as he stopped in front of the window. "Morning Jake!" Horace said and smiled. "What can I do for you?" Jake looked at him a little incredulously. "Well, I was wondering whether you have any messages for me… This is a telegraph office right? What else would I be here for?" Jake sounded slightly irritated and Horace decided to skip the chit chat. "Uh… one moment…" he said as he searched into a big box full of letters. He hadn't had the chance to sort them all out yet. "No… not in here… Oh wait! I think there was a message for you yesterday!" he said as he turned to a bookshelf which had some papers lying on it. "Here it is!" he said enthusiastically and gave it to Jake with a big smile. "Thanks…" Jake said who only got more annoyed. He turned around and started to walk away from the office. Then Horace called after him: "Tell Hank, I have a message for him too!" Jake stopped for a moment, looked over his shoulder and nodded at Horace. Then he walked away.

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Michaela and Sully were sitting at a table in Grace's Café enjoying their breakfast… and each other. "What?" Michaela asked as Sully kept staring at her with a huge smile on his face. "I think you're beautiful," he said and continued staring at her. His elbow was on the table and his head rested on his hand. Michaela blushed and looked at her plate. "Sully," she whispered not knowing what else to say. Then she smiled. "Just eat your breakfast," she finally said. "I'd rather eat you," he said cheekily. Michaela shook her head, not knowing what to do with her man. Sully chuckled and then turned his attention back to his breakfast.

"Mornin' everyone," a voice called. Everyone turned their heads to see who it was and saw it was Jake. He had a piece of paper in his hand. "Uh… I have something to tell ya all," he said hesitantly. "It's about John Kerrigan," he explained. Everyone was listening carefully. "Yesterday he should have signed the documents with me concerning his investments he would be making in this town. However… he never showed up…" Jake heard some whispers and saw some people staring at him in confusion. "I got a message from him today… He had to leave for a while… A private matter he said… He doesn't know when he will be back..." Jake was quiet for a while, but then said: "I'm truly sorry it turned out like this folks… I truly hoped he would sign the deal which would turn this town into a better place…" he looked defeated. "Ahh... come on Jake!" Loren said, "You're talking like he ain't coming back! If he has some private things to deal with, we should respect that! He'll be back…" Loren was convinced of it. Jake however shook his head. "I'm not so sure Loren…" he said softly as he searched the place for Hank. Then his eyes locked with those of the man in question and said: "Uh Hank… Horace said that there was a message for you too…" Hank's facial expression changed immediately from a satisfactory look to a deadly serious one. He stood up without saying a word and walked away.

Sully looked at Michaela. "I'm going after him," he said. "Why?" Michaela asked. Sully sighed. "Because I'm afraid I know who sent Hank a message… and if I'm right…" Sully didn't bother to finish his sentence. Michaela already understood what he meant. Sully was already on his way to the telegraph office and Michaela decided to follow his example. "You think it's from John, right?" Sully didn't answer which confirmed her suspicions. "Oh no…" was all she could say. Sully had told her Hank's tale a few days ago and she remembered being dumbfounded by it. She couldn't believe a man could be capable of such cruelty. She also couldn't believe she had trusted this man. Now she was nervous about what was in the letter and what John was up to. She also feared for Hank.

They arrived at the telegraph office and saw Hank standing a couple of feet away from it with a letter in his hand. His face was as white as a sheet. Sully slowly walked towards him. "Hank?" he spoke softly. "Hank? What does it say?" Hank was quiet for a moment. "I… I'm not sure… Can't read that well…" he said softly, his voice almost a whisper. Sully took the letter from his hands and read it.

Hello Hans,

You've done it again! You've messed up my plans AGAIN! You will not get away with it… not this time. You'd better keep looking over your shoulder Hans! You will never know whether you're safe or not… You AND your boy…

We WILL meet again…

Jonas Kerrigan

Sully looked at Hank after he finished reading. Michaela took the letter from Sully's hands and read it as well. She looked at both men, not knowing what to say. Suddenly Hank turned around and walked away. "Hank!" Sully called after him. "Hank! Where are you going?" Sully followed him and so did Michaela. "Denver…" Hank said. Sully caught up with him and grabbed him by the shoulder. "You're not going alone," Sully stated. "This ain't you're business Sully!" Hank warned as he pushed Sully away. "You made it my business Hank! You made it my business the night you told me!" Hank cursed inwardly but didn't say anything. "Look," Sully continued, "I know we will always have our differences, but I do consider you a friend. And you know what Hank? Friends help each other." Sully looked at Hank and saw his words sinking in.

Hank looked back at Sully. "I have to do this on my own, Sully… the man is dangerous… I can't let anything happen to anyone else…" Hank said softly. "Like what happened to Thomas and Suzanna?" Sully asked gently. Hank sighed. "That is exactly why you can't go alone," Sully continued, "You are too emotional… If he really is going to hurt Zack you will not be able to think straight…" Sully was quiet for a moment, hoping Hank wasn't going to take it all the wrong way. "I just don't want you to do anything stupid…" he said finally. "Like killing him?" Hank shot back at him. "Well… yes…for starters…" Sully answered, "Killing him won't help you OR Zack… And then there is the fact that the man is incredibly smart and strong… The bruises on your throat are proof of that…" Sully pointed at the marks on Hank's throat. Hank sighed knowing that Sully was right.

"Okay… you can come along," Hank said a little annoyed and then looked at Michaela who had been surprisingly quiet during the whole conversation. She was about to say something when Hank interrupted her: "Oh no, you ain't coming too lady!" he warned, then turned around and walked in the direction of the saloon to pack some things. "I'll meet you here in an hour Sully!" he called, "You ain't here… then I'm going alone!" Then he disappeared from Sully's sight.

Sully looked at Michaela who was slightly taken off guard by Hank's remark. "He's right Michaela," Sully said, "Ya have to stay here." Michaela shook her head. "You may need me!" she tried to convince him. "There are doctors in Denver too," Sully said and smiled. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I don't know what will happen. Maybe John is just threatening Hank… Maybe the man never went to Denver and is just scaring the hell out of Hank just for the fun of it… I just don't know! We'll know when we get there…" Michaela sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "I have a bad feeling about this Sully… Please be careful!" she said worriedly. "I will," Sully promised, "Let's just hope the man is halfway the country by now and went on with his miserable life… Zack will be alright!" he said but deep down inside he wasn't convinced about it himself. "Everything will be alright…"

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Hank was packing his stuff as fast as he could. He needed to get to Denver! You stay away from my boy, Jonas! If you hurt him… Hank was afraid of what he would do if John hurt Zack. He knew he had a bad temper and he knew that sometimes he had real problems to keep that temper under control, but if John would hurt Zack… He was afraid he would kill John. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to stay cool… Come on Hank! Get a grip! It'll probably be alright… Zack will be alright… Jonas is probably halfway to Mexico by now… He's just trying to scare you! And he's succeeding… He sighed. The more he tried to convince himself that everything would be fine, the more he got the feeling that something really bad was going to happen. He tried to stay cool, but his mind kept filling itself with horrible images about John and his son. I'll kill him with my bare hands…

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Forty-five minutes later both men were standing in front of the saloon. "Be careful," Michaela said and hugged Sully one more time. "Both of you," she said and shot Hank a caring look. Hank nodded and got onto his horse. "It may not be that bad," Sully said, "We shouldn't assume the worst… The man would be real stupid to leave this message and then going after Zack right away… The man is smart and cunning as a fox! The smartest thing for him to do right now is to lay low…" Michaela nodded. "Let's hope you're right," she said. "Yeah," Hank said "Let's hope so… But I still don't want to take the chance that you're wrong so… Let's go!" Hank was starting to get impatient. "Right…" Sully said and climbed onto his horse. Both men nodded at Michaela and rode away. "We'll be back soon!" Sully called to her. Michaela smiled and waved at him. As the two man disappeared from her sight she turned around and looked at the town's church. She looked up at the sky and then back at the church. Dear Lord, I hope you have time for me… Cause I have to say a lot of prayers for a lot of people…

The end?

What a way to leave this story, isn't it? Anyway, this IS the end of this story! I do have ideas for a sequel (It'll be called "Child of Mine"), but it's up to you whether I'm going to write it! If you don't want a sequel… well, then I'll be very sad, but at least you can all assume that Zack and Hank are alright and that John went on with his miserable life. If you do want a sequel… just let me know and I'll write it!