Hi guys!

I managed to get a chance to edit this chapter, so now I'm posting it here for you all to enjoy. I'm feeling a bit better these last couple days, this cold I had has gone away somewhat so I'm thankful for that. I've got more tests next week though and doctors appointments so I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload again... I will try and get it up as soon as possible, I do leave this on an awful cliff-hanger *laughs evily* I think you all are aware by now I love my cliff-hangers. I will say, the next couple of chapters are going to be intense as we build to the climax of this part of the story and then we'll start winding down a lil so I can give the characters a bit of a break lol.

In response to the review left about Jack and Lisa's relationship, they have been seeing each other for some time now. Remember that this story is placed between seasons one and two, so the things that took place in season one between them have taken place (except the fishing cabin trip, that will be part of the story later) and they are quite good friends at this point. Neither of them have actually said they love each other yet at this point, however in a couple of chapters there is mention of their feelings about one another. At this point, the best way to describe their relationship is a really really good friendship (they aren't boyfriend/girlfriend as such yet) so they have only had a couple kisses on the cheek ect, so I can include their first real kiss in the story later on. Hope this makes sense for you all and I hope that I answered the question for you Kyle. I also hope that I have managed to capture their budding relationship as well as it is in the series. I want to take it slow and steady, show the ups and downs they go through so if your all expecting them to be married in the near future, you are sadly mistaken. I will say however, it's going to be just as rough a road for them as it is in the series.

Anyway, enough yappering. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Jessica slowed Warrior to a trot as they went to down the creek bank and splashed through the water. Warrior shook his head as he felt the cold water on his legs then jumped up onto the opposite bank and cantered up to the top. The sun was rising now, but she couldn't stop herself from yawning. She was so exhausted she was fighting to stay awake, fighting to stay on the stallion.

Warrior transitioned into a gallop again as they broke out of the trees and headed across an open field. She stroked his shoulder and held onto his mane with her other hand. She had missed him so so much, it was good to be back with him again. The stallion looked at her as she rubbed his neck and she smiled. 'I'm okay boy. We're fine. I'm not going anywhere. No one is taking me away from you.'

The aching in her back continued, getting worse as time passed and the pain medication wore off but she gritted her teeth against the pain and instead focused on staying on his back. She was weak, she knew that and this was really not helping her at all but she just couldn't have stayed there at the hospital. It wasn't safe. Nowhere was safe. He would find her, and he would kill her. It was just a matter of time. There was nowhere left to run, no place left to hide that she could trust to keep her safe.

Warrior started up the climb to the cave as the sun rose higher in the sky. They had taken the long way around because the shortcut was more demanding of both horse and rider. She knew that there would have been no way she could have held on going down the steep inclines that the other trail went over. She was weak and tired as it was. She wouldn't have been able to make it back to the cave if they had taken the other route.

Her vision blurring from the pain, she closed her eyes and forced herself to hang on. She was in agony from her back and her leg but she choked back the feeling of nausea and opened her eyes again. She was almost hunched over the stallions neck now from the pain, but they were nearing their destination. She could rest, even though she didn't want to she knew she needed it. She had to gain enough strength to pack and then be on the run again.

'Woah boy.' She cooed as the stallion stopped at the mouth of the cave, then patted his shoulder as she wearily slid off his back. Almost going to her knees, she grabbed onto his withers to hold herself up, then motioned with her fingers for him to go into the cave. He looked at her, almost as if asking her if she was alright with the gentle look in his eye. 'I'm okay boy, just get me inside.'

Slowly, the stallion stepped forward into the cave and the girl sighed with relief as they went into the shadows. She was safe, for the moment. She would rest, then be on her way before anyone would find her. Sinking down onto a deerskin rug, she heard a noise at the mouth of the cave. Whipping her head around, she smiled in relief as she saw what had caused it. 'Cougar!'

The mountain lion jumped forward, almost knocking the girl over as she leapt into her arms. Jessie laughed despite the pain she was in and held the puma tight, rubbing her head with her chin. 'I see you missed me girl. I'm sorry I was gone so long. You thought I'd left you, didn't you?' The mountain lion purred as she rubbed against her. 'I'd never leave you girl, something came up and I couldn't get back.' She fondled the lions shoulder with her fingers as she leaned against her for a moment longer, then struggled to her feet. 'We've got to get packing. We have to move.'

Slowly, she made her way over to where her things were and started to bundle them up in blankets that she had taken from the deserted cabin. Placing her saddlebags on her lap, she looked over at the photograph of her with Robert and Warrior. The photograph had been taken a couple months before he had been killed and a sliver of emotion crept into her face as she remembered that day. She had found an old camera hidden away in the cellar, and they had decided to try and see if it would work. It had, so the first thing she had wanted to take a photo of was the three of them. She didn't know that it would be the only photo she had of him, or would ever take with him.

Jessica smiled sadly as she placed it in the saddlebag, then as she dragged a blanket off the rest of her belongings a colt pistol clattered to the floor. Picking it up, she brushed off the dirt and checked to make sure it was loaded. Luckily, the day she had been shot she had only been wearing one of the pistols and so even though the police had one of her guns she still had her rifle and a pistol. They had been given to her by Robert, on her eleventh birthday. He had told her she was old enough to carry the responsibility of looking after them, just as they had been handed down from his father to him when he was given the duty of providing for the family. The guns had been in the family for nearly five generations, passed down through the years until they had become hers.

Holding the pistol in her hand, she was reminded of the history of the pistol as she reminisced the story she had been told when he had given them to her. His great-great-great-great grandfather had been one of the most influential Indian chiefs in the early 1900's and these were the guns given to him by the government when he had signed a treaty with them. One thing they didn't guess at the time though was that they were going to be used against them in the great Indian wars. These guns had once protected their people, and now she was going to use them to protect her.

Jessie looked at Warrior and Cougar, then back down at the gun. Something passed over her, a feeling that rushed through her veins, a coursing electricity that stirred her like nothing had ever come close to before. Something that was telling her to fight, to stand up for herself. She owed it to herself, to her mother, to Robert to fight. To stop running from him and fight. It wasn't her that deserved to die. She knew it was time to stop hiding. She needed to face him. To end it once and for all. She didn't care what the consequences might be, all she knew was that the time had come for her to fight back against him, against the hold he had over her. The hold of fear, of terror of him that had been bashed into her so many times. The fear that made her shiver still in fright.

Her leather brown holster clanked on the rock as she picked it up and buckled the belt around her waist. There was a new look in her eye, a new life in her movements as she tied the bottom of the holster down to her leg in gunfighter style with a piece of latigo. The next time she saw him, they would end their feud once and for all. She knew it wouldn't be her lying on the ground, not with the hours of quick-draw she had up her sleeve. She had done it with Robert, they would compete against each other to see who could clear leather first and now that practice would save her life. She wanted to live, she had her whole life to live. She would face him the next time he came for her, face him and tell him to leave her alone for good. If he didnt- well, she hoped it didn't have to come to that. She just wanted to be free, free to live her life the way she pleased and not live in fear or him any more. If it meant killing him to be able to do that, then that was something she was willing to do…

Lisa pulled her horse to a stop beside Jack as they halted near the coral fence and dismounted. Throwing the reins over the rail, she looked over at Caleb and Amy as they rode to a stop behind them. 'Find anything?'

'Not a sign.' Amy dismounted Spartan and led him to where the other horses were tied, then walked over to her and Jack. 'Not even tracks.'

'I'm beginning to think Mallory is right.' Caleb joined the conversation as he tied his gelding next to Spartan. 'She's good at disappearing.'

'You got that right.' Jack looked at his watch, then at the map. 'Lisa and I covered this section here and managed to find some tracks that might have belonged to Warrior but we couldn't follow it too far. There wasn't much to go on and we lost what we had found on the rock.'

'Let's hope Lou and Mallory did better then us.' Lisa saw them cantering up, then saw Tim's truck turning into the drive. 'I wonder what he's doing here.'

'Where have you been? I've been trying to call you for half an hour!' Tim stopped his car and yelled out the open window to Jack. 'I've got your cows on the boss's property.'

Jack rolled his eyes as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw all the missed calls. 'Well, would you look at that. I guess I must have been out of service.'

'Yeh, I guess you must have.'

'We've been out looking for Jessica.' Lisa butted in, deciding to explain the situation since it didn't look like Jack was about to. 'She disappeared from the hospital last night, and Warrior's gone too. The police have organised a search, they'll be turning up soon.'

'She's not in any condition to be out there.' He exclaimed. He'd heard from Amy about the girl and what had happened to her. 'That's definitely not going to help her.'

'Exactly.' Jack walked over to the car as a semi pulling a horse trailer turned into the drive. 'So unless your going to come help, then I suggest moving out of the way so that people who want to help can find a place to park.'

'Alright, alright. I'll help.'

'Might be actually useful for once.' He muttered under his breath as Tim drove over to where Lisa's car was parked and stopped beside it. 'I'll get Amy to get you a horse.' He shouted.

Lisa walked over to Jack as Mallory and Lou joined them. 'Did you two have any luck?'

Mallory shook her head. 'Not a sign.'

'She didn't head towards the lake.' Lou dismounted, then patted the horse as the semi pulled up behind them. 'So that can be marked off the list.'

'Well, with us searching around here.' Jack marked on the map where they had been. 'That leaves the rest of this area to be covered.' He looked over at the semi as two mounted police officers got out of the cab, then began walking over to them. 'Morning.'

'Morning. You must be Jack Bartlett.'

'That I am.'

'Constable Mark Croyden and Constable Dash McKinley.' The man introduced himself as he shook Jack's hand. 'We're the people in charge of this search operation. I understand from Sargent Avery that you guys have already been out to take a look around?'

'That's correct. We didn't find anything though, except a few tracks.'

'Well, that's a start. Let's take a look at where you guys have searched.'

'Alright, you all have your search areas and designated groups now.' Constable Croydon told the group of nearly forty people gathered in front of him, maps in hand. 'We want this search to go as safely as possible, so for your safety and that of Miss Hawkins we request that you do not approach her. If you see her, stay back and radio your position and Mr. Bartlett, Mrs. Stillman, Sergeant Avery or Constable Doyle will come to you. Miss Hawkins has the potential to possibly be dangerous to people unfamiliar to her, so I repeat, do not attempt to approach her. Alright, that's it. Mount up and ride out. We'll meet back here at three if we don't find any sign of the girl.'

Lisa grabbed her horses reins as the search party began to mount and disperse out of the ranch yard and led him over near Jack's paint. She just couldn't resist picking on him, since Jack had been disagreeable with the idea of the Constable assigning the teams. He had growled that he bet he'd be stuck with Tim. 'Are you disappointed that you didn't get teamed up with Tim?'

'Hardly.' He checked the gelding's girth then untied him from the rail. 'It's bad enough we've got sections next to each other.'

'Hey, I heard that.' Tim rode over on the chestnut he had been given, Caleb and Amy following him since they had been told to ride with him. 'You know, I'm sure Caleb and Amy would be happy to swap me for Lisa.'

'I think not.'

'Oh, come on!' Mallory whined as she halted Copper next to them. 'Let's just get out there! Everyone else is already on their way, let's move!'

Jack rolled his eyes as he mounted Paint, patting the gelding as he picked up the reins. 'Alright, let's go.'

Lisa nudged her horse into a trot catch up with Jack as they left the ranch. Almost forty people had showed up to help with the search, neighbouring ranchers and people from the mounted police had volunteered to join in. Patting the grey, the scenery began to change as they ascended into the mountains and the others that had followed them headed off to their sections. Looking over at Jack, she noted the look of determination on his face as he looked at the ground for tracks. She could tell he was worried about the girl, even if he didn't voice it in those words. 'Jack, is there any caves around here?'

'A couple.' He steadied Paint as they rounded a corner of the narrow trail, trees growing thickly on either side. 'But they are both almost ten miles from here, and about fifteen to the ranch depending on which way you go.'

'I think we should check them out Jack.' She nudged her horse into a faster trot as the trail widened, catching up with Jack so she could talk to him. 'She mentioned that she was staying in a cave when we went and spoke with her. I think it would be worthwhile checking them out.'

'I highly doubt she would have been able to ride up there, but we haven't had much luck here. We might as well go take a look.' He touched Paint with his heels and the gelding surged forward into a slow gallop. 'It's going to be rough riding though.'

'I can handle it.' Her horse hurried to keep pace with Jack's. 'I'm just hoping we find the girl alive. Anything could have happened to her. She's not in any condition to be out here, not with her injuries still healing.'

'I agree. Let's hope we only find her and not Durelle as well.' Jack looked around the landscape, keeping his eyes open for any sign of the girl or the man after her. They rode on in silence, going higher into the mountains and they slowed their horses to a trot as they neared the small creak running at the back of the property. He slowed his horse to cross the creek, then something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A look at the ground beneath him revealed a few prints from an unshod horse and he slowed the gelding to a stop and dismounted. Kneeling, he measured the print with his hand. 'Looks like Warrior was here, and from how deep these are I'd say Jessie was riding him. She definitely took him alright.'

Lisa pulled her horse to a stop beside Jack, taking Paint's reins so he could pace out the distance between the prints. 'How far ahead do you think she is?'

'I can't tell.' He knelt again, placing his hand in the imprint. 'These are prints from his front hooves and they're deeper then the ones made by his hind. It means he's got more weight on his front which is why they are deeper.'

'Because Jessie's leaning over his neck.'

'Yep. She's either injured herself running away, or she's worn herself out.' He took another glance at the tracks, then grabbed Paint's reins off Lisa and mounted up. 'Warrior's trotting, so hopefully she's slowed down now and we can catch up with her. Let's just hope we can find tracks on the other side.'

Lisa nudged the gelding into a walk down the slope of the bank, the horse's hooves splashing in the water as they crossed the creek. Jack stopped his horse once they were up the other side, again looking for tracks. 'Over there Jack.'

Jack looked where she was pointing and nodded. 'Well, let's hope we don't lose them.' Paint jumped into a canter as he guided him next to the tracks, watching the ground. He could hear Lisa's horse next to him, knowing she was keeping pace so he focused on the tracks instead. 'Looks like you were right Lis, she's headed back for the cave.'

'Call it a woman's intuition.' She teased, leaning down over the geldings neck as she ducked under some low branches, slowing him down to a trot. 'Should we radio in our position and let them know that we're on her trail?'

'I guess we had better.' Jack pulled Paint to a stop as he grabbed the radio from off his belt, then offered her a water bottle from his saddlebag. 'Want a drink?'

'Thanks.' Lisa grabbed the bottle and sat back, enjoying the scenery while Jack radioed in their location and details of how their search was going. Tall Evergreen pines stretched up towards the sky, growing thick on either side of the narrow trail and ahead in the distance you could see grey mountains, capped with white snow. The sun was shining brightly, the air smelt crisp and clean. Nowhere she had been compared to the beauty surrounding her. Patting the gelding, he snatched a couple of mouthfuls of grass next to the trail. If the situation wasn't so dire, she could have enjoyed the scenery a whole lot more. She only hoped that she was right and that the girl was still at the caves. If it was already snowing higher up the mountains, it was only going to get colder as they went higher. Paint snorted, bringing her back to reality as he pawed at the ground waiting to get going again. 'Easy boy, easy.' She grabbed his bridle while she waited for Jack to lead on again. 'Ready?

'Ready.' He grabbed the bottle off Lisa, then placed it back in the saddlebag and picked up Paint's reins. 'It's not much further to the cave now, let's hope she's there.'

The gelding jumped into a canter, following after Jack's horse as Lisa guided him forward. They rode on a little way, the trees starting to thin a little as they began to climb higher into the mountains. As they rounded a corner, just up ahead was a small clearing and a cave in the side of the mountain. 'That's the cave?'

'Yep. That's it.' Jack halted Paint as Lisa pulled to a stop beside him and grabbed out a pair of binoculars. Taking a peek through them, he thought he could make out something just inside the mouth of the cave. 'I think she's still there.' He looked again, then wondered why Lisa hadn't replied. 'Lisa?'

A muffled scream behind him made him look around. There was a man standing behind Lisa, one hand over her mouth and the other holding a gun to her head as he pulled her off her horse. His blood ran cold as he saw the look in her eyes and he felt frozen, as if he was unable to move. The man looked straight at him, and he could see the coldness in his expression.

'Don't try anything stupid, or she gets it.' He motioned with his gun at the woman's head as Lisa struggled, trying to get out of the man's grasp. He could see the fear in her eyes as the man jammed the muzzle of the pistol to her head and she quickly stopped struggling. She looked at him, terrified as she almost buckled in pain. 'Get off your horse, nice and easy and get away from that rifle.'

Jack didn't say a word as he dismounted Paint, his arms up as he slowly walked away from the horse and the rifle. He had to do something, he had to get her away from him before she got killed. His mind racing trying to figure out a way to get her out of harm's reach, he slowly did what he told him to do.

Matt threw the woman down on the ground roughly, holding the gun on her as spooked the horses. The horses snorted, galloping off down the trail as he hit them with a branch. He smirked as he walked over to the man. 'Don't try anything or I'll kill her now.' He grabbed a piece of rope out of his pocket, then made the man sit on the ground and tied him his hands behind his back. Grabbing the radio so he had no way of getting help, he turned back to the woman. 'Come on sweatheart, let's go get me my revenge.'

Lisa yelped as he roughly picked her up, looking at Jack desperately as the man held her in a headlock, the other hand holding the pistol at her head. She could barely breathe, he was pressing so hard over her throat that she was almost blacking out from lack of oxygen. She wanted to do something, tried to protest but the man pushed her to walk and she was made to stumble away from Jack and towards the cave.

'Jessica Hawkins!'

Yes, yes, I know it's mean ending this chapter here! I wanted to leave it on a note of suspense lol as I have been the last few chapters. I will promise you however that in a couple more chapters I won't be having any more cliff-hangers for a lil while (well, for awhile) cause I know using them all the time takes away the suspense.

Anyway, thank you for reading and if you drop a review or have dropped a review I appreciate the support! This story has about 1.5k views now, so thank you all! It also has the most reviews of any of my stories (and it means a lot to me) and I really appreciate this fandoms support. You guys inspire me to keep writing and bringing you content that you all love.

On another note, I've been tossing around an idea in my head I wanted to run past you all... I watched the episodes of Flashpoint where Lisa stars in them and I've been debating writing a story that's a kind of cross over with Heartland and Flashpoint. What would you guys think of that? It would be a one-off type story with a single storyline, Lisa would be a retired cop who changed her identity after leaving the force (hence the name Lisa Stillman and not Donna Sabine) but has a daughter. It wouldn't be connected to this story in any way except that my OC Jessica would be in it as Lisa/Donna's blood daughter... The storyline would sort of run along the lines of a person Lisa/Donna arrested coming back for revenge by kidnapping her daughter. Lisa/Donna brushes off her uniform (so to speak) and joins the SRU team from Flashpoint to find her before it's too late... It'd be an AU type story, it wouldn't be fully true to Heartland, it would be a mix of Heartland and Flashpoint so there would be some difference to the story regarding Lisa as shown in Heartland

AAnyway, drop me a review letting me know if you guys would want to read anything like that. I'll probably work on it if I get enough interest, but this story does have preference over it. I just really love Jessica Steen's work in Flashpoint so I'd love to write a story showing some of a different side to her in Heartland. If you guys haven't seen her in it, it's on the Web. My favourite was A New Life, the last ten minutes of that episode really took her acting to a whole new level (It was really cool seeing Lisa/Donna vulnerable but dangerous at the same time, holding a gun on the guy who shot her husband) and I've watched it like five times already lol.

Hope you all enjoyed! Adios!