Hi guys!

I have heard your pleas for another chapter and so I have found deep down in the depths of my cold heart to upload this chapter earlier than I first intended! I am not sure when I'll be able to update this one again (probably a few days or so) as I need to get some more written on this story before I upload any more... Once I get one more chapter written (that's my goal lol) I'll upload the next one. I need to keep some chapters just ready to upload in case I get sick again and unable to write, at least I can still continue to upload what I've written then.

I am very thankful to you all who have reviewed this story and my Heartland/Flashpoint crossover A Mother's Love! Thank you so much for your support and feedback, however I know that you guys really love this story but please stop leaving reviews saying Update Soon ok? I will upload when I get a chance, but asking for it all the time is starting to get on my nerves a little especially if you don't give decent feedback like saying how you enjoyed the storyline ect. I do not wish to offend anyone, but I do feel like I need to address this issue since it's starting to feel like I HAVE to upload, instead of following my premade uploading schedule which allowed me time to work on more chapters in between uploading. I am thinking now of uploading every four days, so I can continue to have chapters in reserve. I need to be stricter in when I upload, so from now on I respectfully ask if you are going to ask me to update, please leave me a longer review then 'Update Soon' because it's starting to annoy me a lil. Saying update soon isn't feedback, and in all honesty, it's not helpful. So please, bear that in mind.

Please note, I did not wish to offend anyone by what I said. I have a lot going on right now health wise, and my writing is my escape. I do not wish for it to become a chore.

And now, a word from our characters...

*Jessie- *Glares at author* So, do we find out what happens to Matt now?

*Me- Sure. Brace yourselves folks! Let the games begin!

Please note, the gunshot in the first part of the chapter is the one from Jessie shooting the gun from Matt's hand. There has only been one shot fired so far.

Chapter 15

BANG!

A single shot rang out in the near distance, the sound echoing through the mountain ranges. Tim, Amy and Caleb looked at each other. It had come from the direction of the cave. Without a word, they kicked their horses into a gallop, dragging Paint and the grey alongside them as two policemen joined them on the trail….

Slowly Jessie uncocked the gun, but still held it aimed on the man. Her father. There was not one good reason why she should spare his life except that it would be she who was punished. 'Death is too good for you, father.' She spat the words out like they were venom, then glanced momentarily at Jack. 'Can you tie him up? There's some leather in my back pocket.' She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye and felt him grab the cord from her jeans. Glaring daggers at the man, she motioned with the pistol for him to lie down. 'Don't do anything stupid or I will kill you. You've been warned.'

Matt rolled his eyes as he slowly got down on his knees. 'You wouldn't.'

'Try me and find out.' She held the gun on him as Jack grabbed his arms to tie him up, Lisa standing behind her just off to the side. 'After all, the blood of a killer runs through my veins.'

Matt didn't answer as he laid down, calculating his next move. There was no way she would pull the trigger. It was just talk. She didn't have it in her. When it came down to it, she was just a weak pussy. A coward. He felt the knife he had hidden in his boot, that would be his ticket. He'd get it out, plunge it into the man and then grab the gun off the girl. He waited until the man was standing over him, then he went for the knife from his boot.

Jessie had calculated he would try and do something stupid, and she contined to hold the gun on him as Jack went to tie him up. She was he grab the knife from his boot and her thumb pulled back the hammer as she squeezed the trigger. Another shot rang out as Matt slashed at Jack with the knife, just catching the man's arm instead as he lay on the ground. Her eye flamed, her thumb on the hammer again. 'I told you not to do anything stupid.'

'You- shot. Me.' He gasped, blood pouring from a wound in his chest as he still held onto the knife. He coughed, gasping for air as he struggled to breathe. 'I. Didn't. Think. You. Had. It. In. You.'

Jessie leant down over his body, kicked the arm with the knife to the side. Grabbing him by his shirt collar, she pulled him up with one hand, the other continuing to hold the gun on him. 'I told you not to, I gave you a warning and you didn't believe me.' She glared at his eyes as she spoke her words strongly. 'No one is going to hurt people I care about ever again. Never.'

Matt laughed at her as he was thrown back down on the ground and he looked up into her face with his cold eyes. 'No. One. Will. Ever. Want. Half-breed. Trash. Like. You.' He was losing this battle, but it would be worth it if he could take her with him too. Mustering all the strength he had left in him, he lunged for her with the knife.

Jessie jumped backward out the way as the man went at her with the knife, yelping as she felt the it tear through her jeans and into her leg. Quickly before he could go at her again, she cocked the pistol and fired. The man fell back to the ground in the middle of a lunge and his body yerked once, then didn't move as blood oozed from his head. His glazed eyes stared at her, a gaze penetrating through her soul. It sent shudders up her spine watching the blood flow from the wound, a huge gaping hole in his forehead. She had killed him. She was frozen as she stood over his body with her gun on him, unable to move, unable to take her eyes off him. Her leg and back ached, but all she was focused on was the man at her feet. Her father.

'Put the gun down now!' Sargent Avery yelled, his voice bellowing around the mountains as he and Maggie galloped over towards them, Amy, Caleb and Tim in tow. Sliding his horse to a stop, he drew his gun and held it on the girl. Quickly he dismounted the mare and began to approach her, shouting his orders at her. 'Put down the gun!'

The girl jumped from the man's yelling and glanced at him with clouded eyes. Her vision was blurring, everything was starting to go funny, even her hearing. She forced herself to focus, trying to make sense of what he was asking. She saw the pistol pointed at her and heard him yell again, but it was as if she was in a trance. Her eyes returning to the body lying at her feet, she slowly took a couple shakey steps back. The man yelled at her again, vaguely hearing it over the throbbing pain wracking her body and she carefully knelt and placed the pistol on the ground.

'Step back, away from the weapon.'

Vaguely she became aware of the command and she backed away from the gun, watching as the man continued to hold the pistol on her as he grabbed her revolver. She could feel a trickle of blood running down her leg to her ankle as she started to succumb to her exhaustion and pain. Her vision was going cloudy, her hearing fuzzy as the man spoke again then she fell to the ground as everything went black.

'Jessie!' Lisa was kneeling by the girl's side in an instant, pulling her into her lap. 'Jessie, Jessie, can you hear me?' She asked, looking at the girls closed eyes and pale face. She heard Amy, Caleb and Tim riding up and stopping near them but only focused on the girl. The girls eyelids fluttered, and she felt Jack's hand on her shoulder as he knelt down beside her. 'Jessie, Jessie honey?' Jessie opened her eyes, looking up at her. She almost cried with relief as she looked at the girl in her arms. The girl's eyes were glazed with pain, tears running down her cheeks. 'Hey, hey. I've got you. Your okay, your okay.'

'My leg.' Jessie muttered, her voice breaking from the pain as she lay limply in her arms. 'He cut my leg.'

'Constable, grab the first aid kit.' Nick knelt down beside the girl, holstering his pistol as he grabbed his knife to cut away her jeans. A gash was torn through the fabric, blood seeping through the material. Touching the girl's leg he felt her flinch, and looked at her. 'I'm just going to cut your jeans Jessica so I can bandage your leg up. Okay?'

She nodded, her eyes half closed as she looked helplessly Lisa. She was tired, really really tired and in pain. Her back and thigh were throbbing, but that was nothing compared to what thoughts were racing around her mind. Matt was my father. My father. I can't believe what that man said. I can't believe that I killed him, that this nightmare's over once and for all. She glanced over at the man's body as the Constable handed the Sergeant the first aid bag. A shudder ran down her spine as the woman began examining his body. The knife was still in his hand, her blood dripping from the blade to the ground. He had come so close, so close to killing her with that knife. He would have stabbed her in the chest had she not shot him he had been that close. Things could have turned out to be a whole lot worse. She whimpered softly as the officer tore her jeans, Lisa stroking her cheek to reassure her that it was alright.

'Is everyone okay?' Tim asked as he dismounted and ran over, Amy and Caleb tying their horses and his up to a tree then following him. 'What happened?'

Jack got up and took a few steps away from Lisa and Jessie, the police officer and Lisa taking care of the girl. He looked at Matt's body then turned back to Tim. 'Matt got Lisa and tied me up then dragged her over here to use her as bait to get to Jessie. I managed to get free, but the horses had bolted and that man broke my radio.'

'So that's why you didn't answer when I called you.'

'Grandpa, are you okay?' Amy asked, running over and holding him tight as she looked up at him. 'We heard the shots, we-'

'It's okay Amy, Lisa and I are fine.' Jack held the girl tight to his chest, then looked down into her eyes. 'We're fine. Jessie wasn't shooting at us, she shot the gun out of his hand and then when he tried to go for her and I with that knife she shot him.'

'She did a pretty good job too.' Maggie interrupted, joining their conversation as she stopped beside them. Her voice low, she continued. 'That man is definitely dead.' She saw a cut in his jacket arm and motioned to it. 'That was from him?'

Jack nodded as Amy let go and turned to the woman, Amy standing close beside him. 'I was tying him up to hand him over to you guys when he pulled out a knife from his boot. Jessie shot him before he could really injure me. He only managed to cut the sleeve, I'm not hurt.'

'We'll have to grab an official statement off you later. There will be an investigation into his death of course, according to protocol, but I can already judge from what I've seen that his death was in self defense.' The woman looked back towards the girl. 'I'll call Barbara Douglas and get her to come to the ranch so she can check her over. How deep is that wound Nick?'

'It will probably need stitches, but it hasn't damaged any muscles or tendons that I can tell.' He looked up at Jessie as he started to bandage her leg. 'Is that too tight?'

'No, it's fine.' Jessie murmured, her eyes closed then she opened them and looked at him. 'Am I going to be in trouble?'

'We can talk about what happened later.' He replied, pulling her bloodied jeans over the bandage then began packing up the first aid kit. 'How are you feeling?'

'Exhausted.' She rested against Lisa, savouring the feel of her arms around her. It felt good to be held. She hadn't had much of that in her life. It made her feel safe. 'But relieved. Things could have turned out way worse then they did.' Her eyes glanced over to the body of her father lying on the ground, the policewoman wrapping it up in a blanket obviously to move it from where it lay. 'I'm just glad it's over, really over once and for all.' She looked up at Lisa. 'I'm just sorry you were caught in the middle.'

'It's not your fault honey.' Her heart was still pounding slightly from her close shave with death, but she didn't convey that to the girl. 'You couldn't control his actions. You did what you had to do, to keep yourself and us safe.'

'Even so, I can't believe that horrible monster is my father.'

Lisa saw everyone's head turn except Jack's at what she said, but she knew the girl didn't see their surprise. Unfortunately for her, the truth was something that she really hadn't needed to hear. That the man had never wanted her from the beginning. That was something no child should ever had to have heard. 'Jessie, don't blame yourself for what he did or said. He might have been your blood father but that doesn't matter. You aren't him.'

'Yeh, I guess.'

'We should probably get you back and get you checked over by the doc.' Jack interrupted as he walked over, the two police officers now absorbed in doing their job regarding the dead man since they had finished reporting the girl had been found and the search over. 'You can ride with me if you like.'

'Can I ride with Lisa instead?' She asked. It wasn't that she didn't like him, it was just the fact that she didn't trust him. 'It's nothing against you Jack.' She was quick to add. 'I just feel more comfortable with Lisa.'

'That's fine by me, I don't mind.'

'Is that ok Lisa?'

'Sure.' Lisa looked over to Tim and Amy. 'Can you bring the horse over here?'

'Just one thing before we do go.' Jessie added as a couple of the other people she didn't know headed to where the horse's were tied. 'I need to grab the rest of my things from the cave, and Warrior too.' She omitted mentioning the mountain lion. 'Is that alright?'

'Yes, but there's no way your walking.' She slipped one hand under the girls legs, the other around her back as she lifted the girl up. The girl was so light that she was lighter then some bags of horse feed she would lift on a regular basis. The child was so skinny she could feel every bone in her body as she held her against her. 'I'll carry you up.'

'Are you sure your up to that?' Jack asked, slightly concerned about her since he could see she was still rather shaken by the whole thing. 'I can carry her up there, or Tim could.'

'Its fine, I can manage.' The girl rested her back against her shoulder and she placed her chin on the girls head to reassure her. 'You guys should probably start heading back. It's already past noon and Jack and I will be quite slow, you don't need to wait for us.'

'You two go ahead.' Tim motioned at Caleb and Amy. 'I'll stick around incase my help is needed.'

'Alright Dad. Anything you want us to do Grandpa?' Amy asked as she handed the greys reins to Jack.

'Set the old cot up in the living room, so the doc can check her over.' He patted the gelding as he looked at his granddaughter. 'And try not to tell Mallory what happened even if she does pester you, she doesn't need to know about what's happened.'

Well, there we have the answer to what happens to Matt! How is this going to affect Jessica? Lisa? Jack? I guess you'll all have to wait till next time! Adios!

P. S. I will try and upload the next chapter of A Mother's Love tomorrow...