I got to handle a REAL Desert Eagle this past weekend so I had to write a little something about them in this chapter. Boy those things are heavy!

Please Enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pain. Sharp pain. It's back again.

Jo flinched in her sleep. That pressure in her side returned during her slumber. It was worse this time, more painful and throbbing intensely. There was some kind of weight pressing against it, forcing her shirt to become stained with blood. The wound had opened again, maybe it was infected.

"Ahh." She gasped in a whisper tone. Opening her eyes to see why her pain had returned.

Wrapped around her waist was the arm of the strange saloon girl from the night before. She had an amazing grip for being such a dainty little thing. She seemed fragile but held on to the gunfighter's side as if her life depended on it.

In a way it scared Jo, never before had she had any other person hold onto her like that. She was confused on what to do and curious as to why Meg would do that.

She's putting to much strain on the wound.

Carefully, the silver haired girl gripped Meg's arm. As gently as possible she unraveled it, placing it back beside the sleeping red head. She then quietly sat up, holding her side.

The moment she stood up she heard a tiny voice behind her.

"Hmm? Mrs. Pillow? Don't run off to marshmallow and pickle land without me."

Jo's eye twitched. Meg had mistaken her for a dumb pillow.

She glanced back at the dreaming girl and rolled her eyes.

"Uhh." She released her own grip on her throbbing side. She had no idea how hard she had been holding it. The blood had finally stopped though, leaving her shirt damp and a bit of red color seeping through.

She narrowed her eyes and began pulling on her clothing once again.

'Click.'

'Snap'.

'Snap'.

She slid her hostlers back around her waist and thighs. Her coat easily slipping on her arms, hugging her curves.

She felt empowered by just gearing up. It made the feeling of battle overcome her. And as disturbing as it was, the smell of blood from her injury powered her up more and more. She badly wanted to go after her prey but knew her body couldn't take the fight even though her mind was ready. Plus her enemy had ran off like the coward they are. She got a bad taste in her mouth just thinking about it.

"Jo?"

She placed her hat on and turned to see Meg. She was sitting up in bed, a strap from her nightgown had slid down her arm. It didn't expose anything yet made her look…different somehow. Like her innocence was slightly fading. The red dress she usually wore was short but covered the important parts of her body. Now it seemed with her gown that she began exposing herself a bit more.

She didn't even notice the strap, she was busy fixating her eyes on the gunfighter.

"You're…you're leaving now?" Her voice sounded a bit depressed.

"For awhile. I need to get some practice shooting done."

"Oh! Can I come!" Meg's voice was now cheery and excited.

"Sure." She smiled.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Bang'!

'Bang'!

Jo's eyes focused around her small, unmoving targets. This small town didn't have a shooting range of any type so she had to just use the open desert. Rocks, cactus, and the occasional buzzard were the only enemies. She had tried to shoot a slow tortuous a few minutes ago but Meg began squealing and crying about it. She was an animal lover…or as Jo had called her "a shell loving sissy".

It was only a joke but Meg still hit her friend lightly for it.

"You do this a lot, huh?" She watched over the girl's shoulder.

"Yeah." She aimed.

"I can tell because you're really good! You've hit every single rock and boulder in this desert." She giggled.

This was worth skipping work! I've never got to see this kind of stuff up close before!

'Bang'!

She fired a direct it, the bullet splitting the cactus in half.

"That was amazing!" Meg cheered.

Jo smirked.

"Do you want to try?"

Jo was feeling playful, which wasn't a common thing for her. She kind of wanted to see Meg try and hold just one of the heavy weapons and fall down. It was mean but Jo needed a good laugh.

"Really? Me?" Meg's heart warmed up. No one had ever offered her a chance to try something new. It felt good.

She got right beside Jo, holding onto the Desert Eagle.

Jo smiled as she let go, leaving the gun in the red head's hand.

Sure enough Meg's knees went weak as her grip on the gun began slipping. She grabbed it with her other hand and managed to hold it up, barely. Still it was to heavy for her to lift up to a shooting level.

"Ahh!" Meg's high pitched squeal was cute but desperate.

She blinked one last time before the gun began falling from her hands. She felt hopeless in a way. The ONE time she gets to try a new thing and blows it because she's weak!

'Clink'.

"Huh?" The gun remained in her hands as another set were over hers.

Jo's arms were secured around either side of the younger girl, helping hold the gun up in her smooth hands.

Meg felt her face flush but she had no idea why. It was only Jo helping her out.

But she was no where as confused as Jo was. She thought she had wanted to see Meg fail and maybe get her pride hurt. But for some reason the minute Meg squeaked and began loosing grip, Jo felt as though she had to help. It wasn't a major deal if she dropped the dumb gun but still the gunfighter felt it was her place to give the girl a hand. No matter how small the issue was.

"Thanks." The red head smiled.

"No…No problem." Jo tightened her grip and began showing her friend where exactly to place her fingers so she could hold the weapon properly.

Unknown to Jo, Meg was blushing fiercely and her heart was racing every time her friend's chest pressed harder against her back.

W-why do I feel so weird? I've never had this happen before! What's going on!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Meg? Meg? Meg!"

"Hmm?" She snapped back to reality when hearing her coworker screaming over the loud piano playing.

"You need to stop dreaming and stop working the bar! Get out there and make some money!" She stomped off in a huff.

Meg stuck out her tongue. She didn't want to go flirt with a stupid pig. She NEVER wanted to. Serving drinks was as far as she'd go. She just wished other people could accept that. Also she had other things on her mind. Like today's strange event and how Jo asked to spend another free night with her. Of course she was more then happy to have her but the feelings of the practice shoot were still buzzing around her mind.

"Hey sweetie." A man, much older then Meg strolled up to the bar.

"What can I get you?" She said in her sweetest voice.

"How about a tall one?" He eyed her exposed thighs.

She did her best to ignore that and began filling up a glass with beer.

She set the mug down and smiled, "Drink up."

He winked and chugged it down as fast as he could. It was gone in a matter of seconds, which wasn't unusual for the heavy drinkers living in town.

"You're a sweet thing." He set the money for the beer down on the bar. As Meg leaned over to gather the small bills he stuck a crisp dollar right in between her breasts. He swiftly walked away as the girl's jaw dropped.

Two tears fell as she bared her teeth. She couldn't even stand to look up at anyone, fearing that they saw the incident. Afraid that they thought she wanted him to do that. To be a womanizer and offend her. She didn't want to loose her reputation for being a 'good girl'. Though around the saloon it was a better reputation if you slept with a man and made more money then anyone else.

"Well it seems you're finally getting the picture." She heard a familiar coworker's voice right above her.

She wanted to defend herself but was to choked up and shocked to do anything.

"Meg it's okay to fit in with us. We'll love you no matter what." She joked.

The red head shot up from her leaning position, "I-I don't want to fit in with you!" The loud music covered the sound of her voice.

She simply shot a glare at the other girl and ran up to her bedroom. Forgetting that Jo was in there.

She slammed the door behind her. Tears still flooding her eyes. She was about to just scream and let everything out when she saw Jo standing in front of her small lit up vanity. She was facing the mirror, her shirt lifted up enough to show her wounded side. It had begun bleeding again.

She didn't bother hiding it once hearing Meg come in.

Meg hid her tears though, not wanting her friend to see her like that. And because she saw how badly Jo was hurt, her emotional pain probably didn't even compare to how bad the older girl felt.

"Oh my God. Jo are you alright?" She quickly wiped the remaining tears and stood beside her unmoved companion.

"I'm fine. Just a little sting." She twitched when touching it.

"Jo no! It looks infected. I have some medicine for it. Don't move!" She rummaged in her closet and found a small bottle of clear ointment. She also grabbed a few cotton balls.

Jo sat on the bed, still holding her shirt up. Meg sat beside her and opened the bottle.

"How on Earth did this happen? Did you get hurt today?" She poured a small amount on the cotton and lightly pressed it against Jo's skin.

She gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. It stung but she needed to get healed somehow.

"I'm sorry. I know it stings but this will help, I promise!" She continued applying medicine.

Jo looked down at her. Praying a distraction would come along to get her mind off the sensation. Sure enough it did when she saw Meg's puffy red eyes.

"You were crying?"

"Hmm? It's nothing. I just had a bad night." She lied.

Jo knew it was a lie when her eyes wandered down on the red head's body. She saw the green bill sticking out.

"Is that why you have a tip there?" Her tone changed. She sounded more concerned.

Meg quickly took the bill out and tossed it on the floor.

"It's nothing! I…" She held back the tears.

Jo stayed quiet. She never really dealt with this kind of thing.

"A stupid, arrogant, piggish man did that to me. He had no right to lay a hand on me but he did. He had the nerve to do that to my body! To touch me." She now felt more angry then sad.

The two were quiet for the remainder of the time Meg put the ointment on. Both had things to think about and didn't want to share those thoughts at the moment. The younger girl already spilled what happened but felt slightly better for it. Still she was angry. Jo's thoughts were distant, she showed no sign of what they were.

"There's some bandages next door. I'll go get them. Wait here." She got up quietly and left.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of her heels stopped at the bedroom door. She was unsure about going back in. There was a good side to returning and a bad side.

The good: Jo made her feel better by just sitting beside her. Something inside just clicked whenever they were together. She wasn't sure if it was because of the danger Jo brought with her or because she felt like a friend to Meg.

The bad: Jo might think Meg's a little weird for bursting out like that. She may even leave because of that act. It scared the red head to think about Jo leaving.

'Click'.

She hesitantly opened the door. Jo was still sitting on the bed. She didn't look disturbed, mad or anything. Just a blank face as she was in deep thought.

"Here you go." Meg shut the door and tried to act a bit more cheery.

She wrapped the bandages around the gunfighters stomach and waist, securing below the wound. Jo let her shirt fall back into place once it was done.

"Meg? Why do you get so mad at men?" She whispered.

More then being upset by that, the girl felt good knowing someone was concerned.

"Well when I was younger. My dad left because he loved something more then me. He loved it more then my mother and more then his own life. He gave my mom a child and left her with the responsibilities. The duty of taking care of a baby all by herself." She stood up and walked to the vanity, looking into the mirror.

"He wasn't ready for a baby so he thought he'd just leave and everything would be okay. I just know that most men are probably like that too. Every time I've been around a man they treat me like dirt. They're pigs, losers and drunks. I can't stand it and it's all because he had to leave. Then before my mom decided to abandon me she had the nerve to give me a lecture on the perfect man…she was right on that though. A guy that can take care of me, be a family man, love me and never think about leaving." She smiled.

"You hate men but you believe there's a perfect guy out there for you?" Jo asked.

Meg shook her head, "Yes. I think there's a chance a person might actually love a lonely, broken saloon girl."

She heard footsteps walk over and stop behind her.

She turned, seeing Jo right behind her. The girl came even closer, forcing Meg's back right against the mirror. She leaned closer to her face.

"Maybe there's a person out there for you but do you think it's a man?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kind of left you hanging. Be sure to tune in to next chapter to see if Meg catches Jo's drift or if she decides a girl friend is to much for her to handle.

Please review!