Caitlin steadied the horse under her and looked out across the range. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh clear air. Her stay at the clinic had lasted the better part of a month whilst her physical injuries, the gunshot wound to her shoulder and the minor head bump, had healed. Her parents had insisted she move home so she had spent the last few weeks recovering at her parent's ranch. Her lips twisted. Recovering wasn't exactly the right word; existing, maybe.

She sighed and nudged the horse to a walk, following the trail. Out here, on her own, she didn't have to pretend the emotional scars were healing. Hawke had let her go, sent her away and told her to stay in Texas. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she refused to give into them. She'd cried enough already. It would help, she mused, if she could be angry about it but all she felt was sad because she knew why he'd done it; known that he'd pushed her away because he cared about her too much to risk losing her…it wasn't the way she imagined finding out she was loved, Caitlin thought.

She sighed and urged the horse to a trot. She could have happily spent most days with the covers pulled up over her head ignoring the rest of the world. Tiredness dogged her. She couldn't get to sleep most nights for nightmares that haunted her; side effects of the amnesia she'd suffered courtesy of the head injury. Only the goal of flying again had stopped her sliding completely into depression, helped focus her physical recovery. She knew her family were worried about her…

Caitlin urged the horse to a trot, to a canter and then to a flat out gallop. The wind rushed through her hair sending it streaming like a red banner behind her, as she lowered her body as close as she could to the horse. Her mind went blank as she let the horse take her where it wanted. She saw the high gate too late to stop the stallion jumping and she trusted the horse matching rhythm and breathing, relaxing when the horse tensed to jump, hanging on as they cleared the gate and the jolt of the landing. Caitlin reined him in and calmed him down on the walk back to the stables. By the time she had seen to the horse and walked back to the house, she was sweaty and irritable.

She entered by the back porch, shucked off her boots and walked into the large kitchen, her only thought to grab a cold drink and head for a shower. She stopped at the sight of her sisters and mother gathered around the table. She ignored her first instinct to turn and walk out but she straightened her spine and raised an eyebrow, trying for amusement. 'Did I miss the invite for the party?' She asked as she headed for the fridge.

'Kinda.' Erin, her older and pregnant sister said, her eyes scanning Caitlin anxiously. 'We thought it might be nice to have a girlie day out, do some shopping for the wedding and the baby. What d'ya think?'

Caitlin sighed and looked at their hopeful faces. 'Sure. Why not? Let me go shower and change.'

'We'll wait.' Her mother, Maggie, assured her. She watched her daughter leave the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief that the suggestion hadn't caused a fight. All she seemed to do with Caitlin lately was argue. She frowned. Caitlin was painfully thin, her pale skin stretched tightly over visibly delicate bones; there were shadows under her eyes that seemed lifeless as though someone had switched a light off. Maggie swallowed hard. She knew she'd had a part to play in that; she'd pleaded with Hawke to get out of Caitlin's life so her daughter would be safe. Her lips firmed. Caitlin would recover. She would get over it. She had to.

It wasn't long before the four women had completed the thirty minute drive from the family ranch to the closest town and parked in the centre. It had one main street and they started at one end, intending to work their way down to the diner at the other. They were about to enter the one and only shoe shop when Erin groaned. 'Damn. I need to go to the bank.'

'Me too.' Caitlin quickly said. She didn't really want to be left alone with her mother or her younger sister who had recently gotten engaged to a man Caitlin herself had once been involved with.

'Can it wait until after I take a look at the bridal shoes?' Fiona, the youngest of the sisters asked, flipping long, strawberry blond hair over her shoulder.

Erin and Caitlin exchanged an amused look; they knew how long Fiona took to look at shoes. 'No.' They replied in unison.

'Look, Fiona, why don't you get started?' Maggie suggested. 'I need to go to the bank too. We'll catch you up.' Fiona readily agreed and waved the other three away.

The bank was bustling with activity. The O'Shaunessy's said hello to friends and neighbours as they joined the queue at for the counter.

'I swear this bank gets worse every time I step into it.' Maggie complained.

Caitlin listened to her mother's complaints with half an ear, her blue eyes scanning the crowd disinterestedly. She frowned at a man reaching the counter in the queue next to them…he seemed so nervous and dressed so strangely for the time of the year…her eyes widened with sudden realisation almost at the same time as he drew the gun.

Panic. A gunshot. Caitlin dragged Erin and her mother to the floor, covered her sister's body with her own. Screams. Shouting.

'Everybody on the floor! Now!' The gunman was waving the gun wildly.

Caitlin looked up and her eyes immediately fell on the security guard the man had shot. Billy Taylor. She'd gone to school with his son. He groaned and she gave a sigh of relief; he was still alive.

'Oh God! Oh God!' Erin whispered, her hands automatically covering her bump.

Caitlin took hold of her hand. 'Just stay calm, Erin.' She whispered.

Everyone was complying with the gunman. The rest of the bank staff apart from the teller who'd been unfortunate enough to be serving the man were coming out from behind the counter. He was demanding the teller fill a bag with money. Caitlin prayed they'd hurry, that it would be over without…the sound of police sirens destroyed her hope that the bank hadn't activated the silent alarm. The man panicked. He locked the doors and as quickly as that they were all hostages.

'This is wrong! This is all wrong!' The man paced up and down, the gun still in his hand as he shook his sweaty head. 'It was supposed to be quick and easy.' He pointed the gun suddenly at a woman who was shifting into a more comfortable position. 'Stay down!'

The women whimpered and cringed away.

The man looked at her with disgust. He marched to the window and peered through the blinds. The bank was surrounded by cops.

Caitlin patted her sister's hand and inched away from her silently, ignoring Erin's moue of distress. She got clear of her sister and mother before she cleared her throat. 'Look, you don't have to do this.'

The man whirled and the gun was suddenly pointed directly at her. 'Shut up!'

'I can help you.' Caitlin said calmly. 'I used to be a cop. I know how these things get worked.'

'And why would you help me?'

'Because I don't want anyone else to get hurt here.' Caitlin said. 'And I don't think you do either.'

'What would you know about it?' He snapped at her. His fingers clenched around the grip and Caitlin tensed.

'I know you didn't want this.' Caitlin said. 'You just wanted to get the money and get out.'

'You're right about that.' The man lowered the gun. 'OK. What do I do?'

'You need to let everyone but me go.'

He laughed harshly. 'Right.'

'You'll have me. Cops take care of their own.' Caitlin said calmly. 'I'm more valuable to you then anyone else here. You don't need them. They'll only panic and it's more likely someone else will get hurt.'

He was considering her words when the telephone rang. He picked it up and listened for a moment. 'No,' he said interrupting whoever was speaking on the other end, 'you listen to me. I'm sending out all the hostages but one. I want a car outside the bank with a full tank of petrol. I'll be taking my hostage with me. I see something I don't like, hear something I don't like and I'll kill her. You understand? Good.' He slammed the phone down and waved the gun at the door. 'Everybody out, now! Move! Go!'

There was a rush of movement. Someone helped the security guard to his feet; Maggie helped Erin to hers. They paused by Caitlin who was standing to the side, staying motionless as she had promised.

'Come with us!' Maggie whispered.

Caitlin looked at her mother steadily. 'I know what I'm doing. Just get Erin out of here.'

'Cait…' Erin touched her arm. 'Please.'

'I'll be OK.' Caitlin insisted. 'Just go.'

Maggie led Erin away; they were the last to leave. They were half-way across the street, crying and holding each other, being ushered by uniformed cops when they heard the gunshot…

The cops abandoned them, swarmed towards the bank.

'Oh God!' Maggie clasped a hand to her mouth. Caitlin. Her daughter…

The bank doors opened and Caitlin stepped out, the arm of one of the deputies around her.

Erin sagged against her mother in relief. They were both running then, hugging Caitlin to them as she reassured them she was OK. Once she'd been on her own, it had been easy to tackle the man and restrain him; the gun had been shot accidentally.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of statements and the visit to the hospital to admit Erin for observation. It was after midnight when her parents brought Caitlin home to the ranch. She bade them goodnight absently and headed to the kitchen. She was pulling out the tub of ice-cream when her mother came into the room after her.

'Mom, please. No lectures, OK?' Caitlin said. 'I think I deserve a little ice-cream after today…'

'I have something to tell you.' Maggie said bluntly. 'Please sit down.'

Caitlin turned around to argue but something in her mother's eyes stopped her. She sat at the table slowly. 'What is it?'

'Today, for a moment, I thought I'd lost you…' Maggie's voice broke and clutched the back of the chair she gripped harder. 'I knew then what I'd done was wrong.'

'What do you mean?' Caitlin asked confused.

Maggie sighed and stiffened her spine. 'I need to confess something I did. Something I had no right to do.'

Caitlin considered her for a long moment. 'I'm listening.' She said quietly.