SNOWSWEPT

by CuddleFae

Dr. Lauren Lewis has been assigned to oversee the opening of a new hospital. Overwhelmed by all there is to know and learn in an unfamiliar land, she crosses paths with a mysterious woman with a dark past - a past that has caused her to live by one rule. Trust no one. Thrown into a desperate struggle, can they overcome the barriers between them in their fight to survive?

14. Chapter 14: War Zone

A/N: FYI – This is the second chapter of a 2-chapter update! If you haven't read Chapter 13, go back… or, in the words of Lauren Lewis… "retreat, retreat, retreat!"

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Chapter 14: War Zone

Two Hours Later, Bo's House

"I'm sorry I don't have a bigger room for you, Rudy."

"This room is perfect, Sissy! It's Rudy sized! Can I hang my pictures?" The youngster asked.

Bo smiled, "Of course. What do you have?"

Rudy jumped off the small bed and slid under the blanket to pull her suitcase from beneath the bed. Bo watched as her little sister heaved the case onto the bed, unzipping the top compartment and pulling out a large envelope.

"Here!" She smiled, holding the envelope up to Bo before jumping onto the bed and patting the spot next to her.

Bo smiled, sitting down beside her. She carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of brightly colored drawings, obviously done by Rudy's own hand. She looked at the one on top as Rudy explained,

"I drew that one of the ocean outside of my bedroom window. It's pretty, isn't it?" Rudy asked.

Bo smiled at the crayon drawing of the beach, ocean and sun, noting the large figures in the drawing, "Who are these people?"

Rudy smiled, "That's Johnny, Camie and Sanjo. They're my surfer friends. They watch me when Mom's at work."

Bo nodded, "They look older than you."

"Of course they are, silly. Kids my age aren't allowed to babysit!" She giggled, "They taught me how to surf. They said I could be a champion some day!"

Bo chuckled, "I'm sure you could be. Champions run in our family."

Rudy smiled, "I know. We got the news about your… well, you know. Mommy said I repeat myself too much."

"It's okay. Everyone repeats themselves sometimes. I'm glad you knew about me… well, about my sledding career."

"Me too. I wanted to come here and see snow sooooo bad! I wish we came in winter!"

Bo shrugged, "Well, you've got a lot to learn before you can be out here in winter."

"Mom says it's a hard life compared to our life on the island. Is that true?"

"I don't know, Rudy. I've never lived on an island."

Rudy nodded, looking down at Bo's hands. She took one in her own and placed her palm on Bo's, "Your hands are a lot bigger than mine, but they're the same, right? Because we're sisters?"

Bo smiled, wrapping her fingers around the tiny hand before allowing her eyes to travel up to the hopeful eyes of her little sister. It still felt weird to say that… little sister.

"I suppose that's the reason." The older Dennis replied, realizing she was going to enjoy the younger girls' company. She had such positive energy about her. She had to wonder if there was a time when she was the same way.

Rudy smiled, "I always wanted a sister. Now my dream came true. I hope you can come visit my island one day."

"Are you looking forward to going home?" Bo asked.

Rudy shrugged, "I just got here. I'd rather spend time with you for a while if that's okay. I promise I won't be annoying. My friend at school is a big sister and she said that her little sister is annoying. I don't want to be like her little sister, so I'll try not to be annoying, but sometimes I guess I can be because I like to know stuff, so I have a lot of questions and I talk a lot and sometimes I talk real fast, so… well…" She looked up at Bo who was quietly chucking, "Sorry."

Bo grinned, "You remind me of a friend of mine. You apologize a lot."

"Sorry." She looked up at Bo and the pair started to giggle together, "I guess I do apologize a lot."

Bo tweaked her nose, "We'll work on that. You don't need to apologize to me."

Rudy smiled, "I'm pretty sure I'll do something to hafta say sorry for. I kinda sorta get into trouble a lot. Mommy said I'm curious as a cat, so it's a good thing cats have nine lives." She picked up her pictures, "Is that true?"

Bo shrugged, "I don't know much about cats, but if you want to know about dogs, we can talk."

"I can't wait to meet all of the other dogs. They're so fuzzy!"

Bo smiled as Rudy stood on the bed looking down at her big sister, "Maybe I'll stay here and we can just go visit my island once in a while. Mom said I can stay here with you if I want to. Would you want me?"

Bo's eyes went wide for a moment, but she quickly realized her reaction when she saw Rudy's face droop. She quickly forced a smile to her face, stalling for time,

'Thanks, Mom. Just great.'

She had no idea how to respond to Rudy's question and she surely didn't have any clue what was going to happen down the road. Right now, she was pretty sure that she and her mom would be having another little chat. Why would her Mom have told her that? Was she looking to dump another child somewhere? All Bo knew right now was that Mary Dennis was nothing like the woman she had remembered as her mother.

Bo smiled down at her little half-sister,

"Rudy, I want you to be happy no matter where that is. To be honest, I'm just learning how to be around other people, so I'm not sure how much you'll like my company, but I would do my best if it's what you wanted."

"I love you, Bo." She smiled, wrapping her arms around Bo's neck.

The brunette awkwardly patted the youngster's back, allowing the gesture with some discomfort. It was funny how easily a child could give their love away to someone they barely knew. For Bo, it had been hard to give her love to anyone most of her life and It was that inability that had stunted the growth of her relationship with Lauren. For a moment, she wondered if she was like Rudy when she was her age. Did she love and trust this freely? If so, where did it all go sideways for her? How had she become so closed off from the world?

Bo was pulled from her thoughts when she felt the child pull away and drop onto the bed beside her. Bo looked down, watching as the small hand pulled a picture from the stack of drawings,

"Got any tape?" Rudy asked.

Bo nodded, "I'll be right back."

Rudy watched Bo leave before standing to spread the entire stack of pictures out across the bed, keeping the pictures of her house grouped together. When Bo came back in, she stood beside the little girl and looked down at the bed,

"My my, you certainly have a lot of pictures."

Rudy smiled, "I like art class."

Bo nodded, looking down at the drawings, "I used to like art class too."

"Did you like school?"

Bo smiled, "I did. I was very smart and loved doing homework."

"Yuck. I'd much rather surf than do homework."

Bo chuckled, "Well, you have to remember that where I grew up, there wasn't much to do during the school year once you left school. If it wasn't dark all day, you only had a few hours of sunlight and even then, it was still dangerously cold. Once I got home, it was time for my lessons with your mom to learn how to survive, then I would do my homework while she cooked dinner. After we cleaned up, she would tell me stories or we would play a board game."

"Mommy tells me stories too. She has the best stories."

Bo nodded, "She did… does."

Rudy jumped up on the bed, careful not to step on any of her pictures and turned to face Bo, "I heard you yelling at Mommy."

"I'm sorry."

Rudy shrugged, "It's okay. I know she left you alone. She told me. I told her she was bad for doing that. I told her we had to come and find you. I told her since I was six."

Bo smiled, "I guess she didn't listen."

Rudy shook her head, "The man told her she had to stay hidden to keep you safe."

Bo nodded, "It's okay, Rudy. It's not your fault."

"Mommy was wrong for leaving you. I heard you and you're right. She was afraid."

"She was afraid for you, so I understand why she didn't come sooner. I'm fully grown and can take care of myself. You can't do the things I can do to protect yourself."

Rudy shrugged, "Johnny, Camie and Sanjo would have watched me while she was gone. I told her to get you and bring you back to me, but she wouldn't. Sanjo's wife wanted me to live with them and so did Johnny's. Camie's girlfriend isn't very nice, so she didn't offer. She owns a hotel on the island and she thinks she's… what does my mommy call it?" She thought for a moment, "Self-important… whatever that means."

Bo chuckled, "It's okay, Rudy."

"But it's not. I missed my whole life with you." She said, her hands punching the air as she spoke.

Bo smiled, "Well, then it's good that we have the whole rest of your life to get to know each other. Now, tell me about these other pictures."

"Oh, right!" She bent down and picked up another picture, "This is Freddy the shark. He comes near our beach sometimes. When he comes around, I talk to him from the big rock in front of our house. He's got big teeth, so I don't go near him because he'll bite me."

Bo smiled, "Good idea. And this one is you and your mom walking on the beach?"

Rudy shook her head, "Nope! See the tattoo on her leg? That's you and me when you come to visit!"

Bo laughed, "I have a tattoo?"

Rudy shrugged, "Well, all of the people that are super cool on our island have tattoos, so I thought you would have one too. It's the shape of Alaska, see?"

Bo grinned, holding back her laughter, "I see. Well, I don't have a tattoo on my calf, but it's very nice that you drew a picture of us together."

"Mom had a picture of you from when you were my age. It was black and white and really hard to see, but I imagined you looked a lot like her. You do, but your eyes are… different."

Bo smiled, "I have my dad's eyes."

Rudy nodded, "Does that bother you?"

"Honestly? It didn't use to, but now that I know who he is, I don't look in the mirror too much." Bo shared, but stopped abruptly, deciding it wasn't the sort of feelings she needed to share with a child, so she flipped to the next picture – a photograph.

"What's this?"

Rudy smiled, "That's our house."

She pulled out five pictures and laid them on the bed, "Mommy let me take them before we left. We printed them at the print shop in town so that I would have them forever just in case we stayed here. This is the front, this is the back, these two are the sides and this is the view of the ocean from my bedroom – it's just like the picture I drew."

She carefully took the pictures, aligning them in a sort of house of cards, "See? This is my house! Well, except for the roof because… well, I can't fly or anything." She looked up at Bo, a big grin spreading across her face, "But Mommy said she can fly a plane. Did you know that?"

Bo smiled, nodding, "It's a great house."

It was strange to imagine her Mom living in a house that glistened in the sun, surrounded by white sand, but there it was. She could see that the home was somewhat weather-beaten, but nothing like their home on the North Slope had been. Bo had seen pictures of beach homes before and this one looked much like those. It had a bright blue door with dark wood panels and a large picture frame front window. The home was a single floor, but long like a some of the ranch-style homes Bo had seen in the architectural magazines she had read at the library. The landscaping was unfamiliar, but she could imagine her mom planting the flower beds and large leafy trees that hung lazily over the roof to eh home. Mary Dennis was a rock star when it came to plants and soil.

Bo's mind drifted to the days they'd spent together in the chef's garden, but her attention was quickly pulled back to Rudy when she heard,

"Whoooaaaa!"

Reacting quickly, she caught the youngster before she fell off the bed, "Careful there, cutie."

Rudy brushed her hair from her face, "Thanks, Sissy. That was a close one, huh!" She giggled.

Bo smiled, grateful she had caught the girl before she'd fallen off the bed when she'd lost her balance hanging a picture on the wall. She nodded,

"Okay, let's get these hung." BO smiled, "I'll spot you while you hang them."

Rudy grinned, "Like in our Gym class when we do gymnastics! I can do a cartwheel! Wanna see?"

Bo laughed, "One thing at a time, champ. Let's get these pictures hung, then you can cartwheel all over the yard tomorrow."

"Right! Pictures! If you want to know what any of them are, just let me know. I can tell stories while we hang them together." Rudy placed another picture on the wall, her tongue hanging from the corner of her mouth while she tapped the corners, "This is fun, huh?"

Bo smiled, "This is fun."

Bo felt a tug at her heart as she melted at the sight of the young girls' brilliant smile and sparkling eyes. This is what a happy child looked like… felt like. In that moment, Bo knew that she would do anything to protect this child from whatever was coming – no matter what her mom chose to do – she would always be there for her little sister. Still – if she could feel this way in just a few hours with this little girl, it left her questioning how she had been orphaned by the same mother.

Bo kept a hand on Rudy's back as the girl chattered on about a picture of the lava-covered land. While Bo was definitely curious about what it would like to live near an active volcano, her eyes traveled to the woman now standing by the hearth in her living room. She sighed, realizing she didn't really know her at all. The mother she had dreamed of finding most of her life was here, but this Mary Dennis was little more than a stranger.

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Bo's head snapped up at the sound of a twig snapping in the distance. It took only a second for her to unsheathe the knife from her hip and stand from the chair on the back porch, tossing the blanket to the ground.

Her eyes scanned her surroundings, noting the perked ears of Harper who was now standing dutifully in front of her at the top stair,

"What do you see, girl?"

Harper sniffed at the air as Bo looked up towards the mountain, the purple horizon and position of the moon telling her it was closing in on the midnight hour. It was July in Alaska, so there was plenty of light straight on until morning. If someone was coming for them, they were clearly not experienced if they would come at her from this direction.

"Harper, come."

Bo took the steps one at a time, before crouching down and traveling around the house to the side garage door. She could hear voices in the distance before she saw movement on the other side of her truck.

"Harper…"

Before she could say anything, the dog sprinted off towards the group, barking loudly.

"Great. So much for stealth." She shook her head, taking a few more steps before she recognized a voice,

'Good girl! Are you protecting Bo? Yes, I missed you too! Come on. Let's go find your Mommy.'

Bo stood, heaving a heavy sigh as Lauren came into view. She sheathed her knife, stepping into view. As she moved towards Lauren, she saw a group of people move out from behind the truck,

"What the…" Was all Bo could say before accepting a hug from Lauren.

"What are you all doing here?" Bo asked, keeping one arm around the blonde's waist as her eyes moved across the faces of her family, finally landing on Tosh, "Big brother?"

He shrugged, "Family sticks together. We're not leaving you out here on your own, Bo. That's final. You best find room on this property for us. We brought the ATV's so we can get around better… move Elise and that little sister of yours if we have to go across river and into the mountains."

Bo sighed, disappointed that her brother wouldn't realize that the mountains would be the perfect for Big Jim's men to launch their assault. Fleeing to the mountains would never be an option. They were going to be pinned down here which is why she had wanted them all safe and sound in town,

"Well, I know better than to try to talk you out of this."

She turned to Lauren, "You, however, have never fired a shot at another human being. I know you won't…"

"Leave? No, you're right. I won't, so don't even bother wasting your breath. I'm here in case you get yourself shot… in case anyone gets shot." She broke from Bo's hold, "Damn guns and violence. I don't understand when people will ever learn."

She frowned, watching Lauren stomp off around the back yard, Harper following her as she disappeared into the side door of the garage. Bo turned back to her family,

"So, I have those built-in benches along the windows. The cushions that Molly made are under the lids. They may not be the most comfortable beds, but they're wide enough to sleep all of you head to toe. The Feds are sleeping in shifts in the barn where my guys built out small bedroom stalls and a common area."

LJ smiled, "I'll sleep with the dogs. If you don't mind, I'm heading there now. If I don't get a few hours of sleep, I'll be more likely to shoot myself in the foot than hit a target fifty yards out."

Bo chuckled, "I know you're beat, LJ. Sorry you had to come back early today."

He shrugged, "My plans were a bust anyway. At least I got some time off to get out on the trails. I still had some fun today."

Bo patted his shoulder as he walked towards the garage, "Glad to hear it."

He nodded, giving a wave over his head, "Goodnight, crazy family of mine."

Mark and Molly shook their heads as they walked to Bo, "Now we're crazy? Yesterday he was grateful to have us. Go figure."

Bo laughed at Molly whose eyes were fixed on the sleeping Elise in her husband's arms, "She wouldn't stay with her friend. She wanted to be here with you. She thought she should help your little sister because she doesn't know how to survive in Alaska."

Bo's eyes brimmed with tears as she smiled at the little girl in Mark's arms, "She's so precious."

Mark kissed the top of her head, "She's a blessing. Thank you, Bo for bringing her into our lives."

Bo shrugged, "I'd love to take the credit for this little blessing of yours, but that was all Lauren."

Molly nodded, "Maybe so, but your support and the way you've been with her all of these weeks has helped her to open up to us. I know you think of your life as tragic, Bo but I just think you should consider that if you hadn't been left behind, you wouldn't have the experiences that have made you who you are today. If you weren't you, we wouldn't have Lauren, we wouldn't have Elise and we might never have been rid of Big Jim."

Bo offered a tight grin as she replied, "Well, apparently we're rid of his presence, but his goons are still coming for us."

Molly patted either side of her waist beneath her jacket, "Well, I say let 'em come. Dorothy and Auntie Em have been itching for this fight for a long time."

Giving Bo a slap on the shoulder, Molly took Elise from Mark and headed towards the house. Mark chuckled, removing his hat and shaking his head as he raked his hair back out of his face before donning the cap again,

"My wife is hot!"

Bo burst out laughing as he walked towards the house. She shook her head replaying LJ's words over again in her head. Her family certainly was crazy, but they were a good kind of crazy and she was grateful they'd all come into her life – especially now.

Her eyes scanned her property, making note of the location of the Special Agents, particularly Acacia who was propped up in the tree stand Bo had pointed out to her, explaining how they used them in the blind for hunting. Bo had to give her credit, to the untrained eye, she would blend in and no one would ever know she was there.

She gave her a nod, noting the signals she sent her way telling her that there were agents in all five of the tree stands that surrounded the home. Bo glanced around, giving a return nod to each of them, still surprised that Acacia had taken her advice.

She turned to walk into the house, but stopped when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. The sound of her blade being unsheathed rung through the trees as she took a deep breath and spun around, her blade meeting the steel of her opponent,

"Just wanted to see if you were on your toes."

Bo visibly relaxed at the sight of her old friend, "Shit, Tamsin! I could have killed you!"

"Seriously? You can barely win in a fist fight."

"Key word there is barely. I do eventually get the upper hand. You look like shit."

Tamsin tugged at the collar of her jacket, scowling, "Back atcha."

Bo frowned, "I just need sleep."

Tamsin nodded, "Me too. Let's head inside."

"You should be in the clinic."

Tamsin shook her head, "Clinic is closed for business until tomorrow."

"What?"

Tamsin thumbed behind her where the three Nurses and Kurt were unloading the trunk of Tamsin's SUV, "They insisted. They're here to help Lauren with the wounded and… and I quote… take down some bad guys, Alaska style."

Bo shook her head at the small group of women as they approached, "Kurt, I know you're not about to leave my family out here. They're like kin to you, but ladies, are you sure you know what you're signing up for here? This is life and death. These people are not playing around. It's not some kind of game."

"We know, Bo. We know. You know, there's crime in Boston… real crime. Lauren doesn't talk about it, but she doesn't just repair diseased hearts – she repairs damaged ones as well… hearts damaged by guns and knives in gang violence, drive bys and just pure stupidity. We've seen the results of what those weapons you carry can do and there is no one more qualified out here to do the job than we are, so yes, we know and we're staying."

Bo was surprised to see that Kelly had found her voice. She nodded at the youngest of the three before stepping aside and motioning towards the house,

"Well, head inside and pull up a floor."

Kurt smiled, "They brought air mattresses and a couple of foot pumps to inflate them."

Bo nodded, "Okay then. Let's get inside and get some sleep. The agents will need relief in a few hours."

They all headed inside, Bo taking one last look at Acacia. She turned to find Tamsin looking at her, "See something?"

Bo grinned, "Nope. Nothing there at all."

Tamsin turned and headed inside while Bo gave a wink and a smile to Acacia before following. She looked out across the river, her eyes roaming the mountain. A flash of light caught her eye, causing her to pause for just a moment. For now, she would give Acacia and her people a chance, but her backup plan was brewing in her mind. Whoever was left of Big Jim's loyal followers, they were coming, and she would be ready to protect her own.

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Late evening, Bo's Living Room

Molly and Mark had provided a feast fit for royalty. When the Anchorage crew arrived, they came with everything they knew Bo would want. Traps, snares, shovels, knives and plenty of rope. Of course, they also brought fire power and lots of it. The brunette wasn't much for guns, but her family was like most others in Alaska – if they weren't packing heat, they were packing bear spray.

This time of year, Bo didn't have the cover of darkness to rely on at night, but she did have a lot of Federal Agents on her property. She took advantage of the distraction they would be to any uninvited guests and made her way through the brush into the woods, low and slow. Her Mom had caught her leaving and practically begged to help her, but Bo had rejected the assistance. She told her to stay with Rudy and watch over her. Of course, she had also told Tamsin and Adam the same thing.

Truthfully, she just wasn't ready to be alone with her Mom. She just needed a little more time. So she had set out to lay her pit traps, hoist traps, line traps and snares along a perimeter about a mile out from the homestead and then handed off a map to Acacia so that her agents would know not to venture out to that perimeter for fear of getting caught in one of Bo's deadly setups.

The Trapper had also taken the opportunity to have a closer look at the mountains through the scope of her rifle. As suspected, there were two snipers perched atop the peaks and two others lying in the brush halfway down the mountain. She noted they were all young – none older than mid-twenties – all wearing camouflage. She used bear fur to move around the river to the base of the mountain undetected and lay additional traps at the base. If they tried to come across the river, she would have ample warning from their screams. Satisfied with her plan, she moved back towards home, knowing that she would wait until midnight to check in on the visitors again before turning in for the night… with one eye open.

Back at the house, everyone had gathered for various evening activities in the living room of Bo's house. Lauren had seemed taken by Mary. Bo wasn't sure how she felt about the two of them talking and laughing together and was deeply curious about the topics of their chat. They'd been deep in conversation ever since Bo had returned from setting up her plan B.

Adam, LJ, Michael, Elise and Molly were sitting at the table playing "Go Fish" while the Nurses' corrupted her brother Tosh by teaching him a drinking game. Of course, he didn't look too unhappy about it, so Bo just chuckled and headed out to the garage take care of the dogs. She hadn't had much time with them today and felt bad for neglecting them – not that they hadn't had plenty of attention from Elise and Rudy. The two girls had become fast friends and were happy to have each other. Now, Bo was sitting amongst her canine companions, accepting the calming therapy the being among them always provided. She needed her dogs – now more than ever. Of course, they needed food and she would have to remedy that shortly.

"You good, Bo?"

She turned to see Kurt standing in the doorway. Smiling, she replied,

"Sure thing." She stood, planting her hands on her hips, "So, how did you get dragged into this?"

He shrugged, "You're family, Bo."

"Kyle made you come?"

He laughed, "She told me she'd kick my ass if I let you go up against Big Jim's assholes by yourself after all you'd been through."

Bo nodded towards the kitchen door that led to the crowded living room, "By myself? Have you not seen my house – inside and out?"

Kurt rubbed the back of his neck, nodding with a smile "How are you doing with all of this?"

Bo stirred the bucket of food a little longer than usual as she contemplated his question, "I feel… ah, hell – I don't know how I feel, Kurt."

He laughed, "Want me to clear them all out?"

Bo looked up with a smile, "Would you?"

"Sure thing, Bo."

The two shared a laugh before Kurt pulled his cap from his head, turning it in a circular motion as if examining the even wear of the brim before he spoke,

"Seriously, Bo. Your Mom pops in, you have a kid sister, all of these Feds around here, your family, new friends and old. I mean, I'm well aware that just a few short months ago, you were Alaska's most famous hermit. Now, here you are, playing hostess with the mostess. How are you handling all of this Bo? I mean – I'm uncomfortable for you. It's your damn house and everyone has just sort of converged here and made themselves at home."

Bo shrugged, "I was going to have a house-warming party next month anyway. I guess it's just a little earlier than I'd expected."

Kurt recognized the weak smile on her face. They'd never been close friends, but they had been coworkers for a very long time. Since the race, they'd grown closer and he'd come to think of her as a big sister in the absence of his own flesh and blood. She had helped him through a rough time and he surely intended to help Bo in return. His sister didn't have to tell him to come – he was coming even if he had to sit out in the brush by himself every night.

"Yeah, well in a house-warming party, the guests bring you gifts, not mooch off of all you've built."

He shook his head, realizing he was speaking ill of Bo's family, girlfriend and friends, "Sorry, Bo. It's no business of mine. I'm just…"

"Looking out for me. It's fine, Kurt. I appreciate the sentiment. It's nice to know someone recognizes that I might be uncomfortable." She smiled, "But, as long as they keep eating my food, I can at least get alone time out on the river doing a lot of fishing, right?"

He laughed, watching as she stared up at the door that led to the kitchen. She was practically staring right through him, so he decided he had to ask,

"Bo, what else is bugging you?"

She dropped the ladle into the mixture, pulling off the gloves as she spoke, "Lauren and my Mom are in there laughing like long-lost best friends."

Kurt nodded, "You're mad at Lauren for liking your Mom?"

"She doesn't know her like I do."

"So your mom is the enemy now? All of these years, you've been searching for her and now she's unwelcome? Come on, Bo. You're better than that."

Bo scowled, "Maybe not." She looked up at Kurt, "I'm having a hard time forgiving her absence from my life and… well, I'm having trouble trusting her. I've got all of these theories about why she's here and none of them are good."

Kurt nodded, "That's understandable, Bo. But have you heard her out yet?"

Bo shrugged, "Not really… I guess."

Kurt nodded, "Well, maybe you should hear what she has to say about where she's been."

She twisted her mouth into a frown, knowing full well that he was right, "Fine."

Kurt smiled, "You'll be happy you heard the whole story."

She nodded, "Right." Deciding a change of subject was in order, she continued, "So… how is Kyle?"

Kurt smiled, "She's amazing, Bo. I mean, I always knew my sister was special – she's a fighter, for sure, but I never knew just how tough. She's up and walking for about thirty minutes every day. She's still not too happy about her face, but she'll get through it. I know she will."

Bo smiled, "If anyone can, Kyle can."

He grinned, "She's a stubborn old bitch, eh?"

Bo laughed, "Hey! I wouldn't call us old just yet, but she's definitely stubborn. She'll beat the odds."

"Hope so." He nodded, "Well, I'm guessing you came out here to have a little solitude, so I'll leave you to it."

"Thanks, Kurt. We may not have always been too close, but you always seemed to know me better than most. I just hope you know it's not personal… me wanting to be alone."

"Absolutely, Bo. All of those years you spent wandering alone in the wilderness – well, I suppose I just think of you as a creature of habit… the nicest creature possible, of course."

Bo laughed, "Yea, well I've always wondered if I'm entirely human. Living the way I did for most of my life, I sometimes think I'm more animal than human. We're cool."

"Thanks, Bo."

"No, thank you, Kurt. Appreciate you understanding my need to step away from the chaos that is my house for a little while."

"Absolutely." He stepped towards the door. Placing his hand on the knob, he paused, turning back, "Bo – you won't go taking off after these guys on your own, will you? I mean – if you want to go after them, I'll totally go with you. You know I can keep up."

Bo's head remained set on the task of filling the bowls of her dogs. She dare not speak because her time with Lauren had taught her she was a terrible liar. Truth was, Kyle was right on the money. Bo had been thinking of nothing other than a way to end this thing - far away from her family. She knew where the remaining members of her dad's gang were and she knew those mountains better than anyone – definitely better than any of them. She could move into the bush with her rifle and pick them off one by one before they knew what had hit them. Of course, that wasn't Bo's style. That little voice in her head would never allow it. Human kills, just like animals, should always be self-defense. If they weren't attacking her, she had no right to attack them. Unfortunately, that moral high ground meant that they had to shoot first – they had to draw first blood… just as she'd always lived in the wild unless it was life or death by starvation.

"Bo? Please promise me you won't go after them alone."

Finally, she leaned back against a railing, dropping the ladle into the bucket, "Kurt, you know me so I know I don't have to explain my thinking. I'm a musher, a trapper and a hunter."

"You're also a builder, a pilot, a wilderness medic, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, our friend and a partner to Lauren. You have people who care about you now, Bo. It's not like it used to be."

"That works both ways, Kurt. Hell – everyone I care about is in this house. I'm not going to sit here and wait for someone to come and set it on fire or pump it full of bullet holes. This all started because of a rift between me and Big Jim. It's my fault this is happening, so I'm going to be the one to end it."

A voice from the side garage door interrupted Bo, "That's not true."

Bo turned back to her bucket, still struggling to make eye contact with her Mom despite the fact that Lauren was standing right behind her. She felt badly about how she had avoided her girl friend since she'd arrived, but she was still a bit upset with her for orchestrating the whole coup of her homestead. The doctor had decided she was coming to stand by her side no matter what the consequences and no one would let Lauren come alone, so… well, here they were.

"It's my fault this is happening. Not yours." Mary spoke her truth plainly for all to hear, but her words were met with a long silence.

"I'm going to just… head inside." Kurt said awkwardly before heading through the back door into the kitchen.

Bo didn't have to look up to know that the pair of women were advancing towards her, but she walked further away from them over among the crates, cleaning up the straw and adding more to the spots where it was thin.

"You've built quite a home here, Ysabeau."

"Yea, well you do what you have to do when you're left no choice."

The woman nodded, "Well, you have definitely grown into a strong, independent woman."

"Like I said. No choice."

"It's true that you had no choice, but it's in your blood. It's in the way you were raised. You are a strong Athabascan warrior."

"Stop it! Stop it! Just stop it!" Bo said, her voice rising with each word until she stood, turning on her Mom, her eyes on fire, "Just stop it, Mom. Stop pretending you give two shits about me. Why are you here, huh? Why did you really come here? My guess is because you knew that Rudy needed someone who could protect her. My guess is you've been keeping up with news of your long-abandoned daughter through your sources here in Alaska."

Bo's mom looked surprised at her comment which caused Bo to smirk, "That's right, Mom. I've figured it all out. You've learned that I'm the right woman for the job – the one to get rid of the bad guys because you figure I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. You've been keeping tabs on me, so you know I'm the most feared 'warrior' in the region… a monster to all and friend to none!"

The words were spat like venom from her tongue, "You never stood up to him. You were always afraid of him. You were always afraid of my brothers. You were afraid, so you ran. All of those years you told me stories of great warriors in our family, told me all about how to survive in the harshest conditions on the planet, but it was my dad who was one of them. He was a survivor and he took you in to be his… whatever sort of sick role you played in his life."

"Ysabeau, you must understand that times were different… village culture was different. I did…"

"What you had to do… right. I've heard it all before, Mom, so just… stop." Bo stood, walking the short distance to her mother and stared her in the eyes,

"You know, as a child when they told me you were dead, I grieved you. When I learned that you might be alive, I spent the better part of my life after you left searching for you. When I learned who my father was and began to remember my real life… our life as a family, I fought for you. I held you up on a pedestal of righteousness. I built this image in my mind of a woman who couldn't be stopped… who was too strong to allow anyone to get the better of her." She chuckled, her eyes finding the floor, "I built myself in your image so that one day I would be worthy of standing in your presence and until I learned the truth, I felt as though I had failed at that which is why you went out and got yourself a new family."

Bo straightened her posture, cocking her head as extended her finger towards her mother, her jaw set,

"But now, I find that you have come here for protection. All of the Athabascan warrior stories and traditions were nothing but a smoke screen to hide your fear. I can smell it on you and now I know the real reason you came here with Tamsin. They were on your trail and you were afraid. You came here not because you loved or missed me, but because you knew I was the only one who could protect you."

Bo stepped back, turning away and shaking her head before she spun around and looked at her Mom, "Well, you were right to bring Rudy here. She played no role in this and it's unfair that she has had to live in the shadow of Big Jim. I'll protect Rudy and the rest of my family. But you? You allowed this to happen, Mom. You could have ended this years ago, but instead, you ran. Warrior my ass."

"Bo!" Lauren yelled, her face filled with surprise at her girlfriend's comment, but Mary stepped forward, nodding,

"You're right. I ran, but I did run to keep you safe, Ysabeau. Go to the prison. Ask your Father. We had a deal. I stay away, you stay alive."

Bo's eyes went wide as her Mom continued to speak.

"That's right, Ysabeau. Your Father said that if I let you go he would allow you to live. But a few years ago, when he found out about the federal agent I spoke to, he tried to kill him. He found me – sent one of his men to me – they told me that he had sent one of his men to kill you because I had broken the deal. I called the Sheriff in town – a Dyson Thornwood – and he intervened. That was when they sent a young Special Agent to Talkeetna to keep an eye on things."

Bo sat back on a nearby railing, "Tamsin."

Mary nodded, "Once your Father realized that the Feds were onto him, he called me and told me to stay away or he would kill everyone who cared for you. I know you thought you didn't have any friends, but he told me about your co-workers Kyle and Kurt. He knew all of your workers' names as well as where they and their families lived – he knew their children's names, Ysabeau. Then he said he would kill your closest ally – a young man named Little Jon."

"LJ!" Bo spat, her mind still trying to believe anything her mother was saying.

"LJ." She said, calmly, "From what I was told, the Morton men were very good at handling Jim at council meetings and controlling what he said about you in town."

Bo laughed, "Really? That's hysterical, Mom because I've been treated like a pariah… like… like… some contagion to be eradicated!"

The tears fell freely now, "I was unwanted, cast aside, forced into the wilderness." She shook her head, "I knew only the friendship of the forest and tundra." She laughed, "At my youngest, I considered myself akin to Doctor Dolittle from the stories you read to me as a child. As an adult, I knew I could never be accepted by humans… could never live among humans. I still don't feel right among humans. I'm still trying to find my place."

Lauren swallowed hard, hearing the brutally honest admission from her girlfriend. She's never heard Bo speak her truth in such a raw, uncensored way. In that moment, she understood so much more about her and it broke her heart. Even more, she felt horrible about the news she'd received from Evony today. She's tried to talk to her boss – to explain what had transpired in recent days, but that must made the iron-fisted ruler even more steadfast in her insistence that her orders be obeyed.

"Ysabeau, I'm sorry for all that you fell victim to because of the family you were born into. I'm sorry for all you've suffered because of the choices I've made in the name of keeping you safe."

"I had a right to know, Mom. At some point, I had a right to know. You should have sent word to me. You should have told me why everything was happening the way it did."

Mary nodded, "I didn't make the right choices for you. You're right. I made deals with a madman. It was foolish of me to think he would ever make good on them. But I swear to you, I came here to set things right. I came here to fight the fight I should have fought long ago. This is my fault and it's my feud to settle. I will stand with the federal agents and use my knowledge of this land to end this once and for all so that you and your family can have the life you should have had all along."

She stepped towards Bo, her eyes filled with sincerity and unshed tears, "I did not bring Rudy here for you to fight this battle for me."

Bo's lips quivered, "You expect to die here. You brought her here to be raised by me."

Mary nodded, "This is my fight. You have to live on to give Rudy the life I should have given you. You deserve to see her grow up…" She chuckled, "…so you can live your youth vicariously through her."

Bo smiled, remembering her word-a-day calendar from a long, long time ago, "Vicariously… meaning in a way that is experienced in the imagination through the actions of another person."

Mary pulled her head back, cocking it to the side, "Uh…"

Lauren stepped to Bo's side, sitting beside her on the rail, her hand rubbing her back as she replied to Mary, "Your daughter has a bit of an obsession with vocabulary words. It's her version of a college education… a very good one."

The doctor could see the blank stare on Bo's face as the realization hit her – the wheels were turning in her head. She was plotting… planning how she would save them all.

Mary smiled, pulling a small dark blue rectangular leather book from her back pocket, "Speaking of college educations…"

She handed Bo the booklet. The brunette took it, "What's this?"

Mary nodded, pointing to the now open page, "It's your college fund… well… yours and Rudy's."

Bo showed it to Lauren, then looked back at Mary, "Mom, there's more than two college tuitions in here."

As Lauren took the book, paging backwards to view the entries, Mary smiled, "Banks used to pay much higher dividends on savings accounts than they do today. I never closed the account and it was a fixed rate, so they had to continue to pay up." She shrugged, "It's funny that the bank manager thought he was getting quite the deal at six percent on my money back then. Now I'd be lucky to be getting one percent if I opened such a fund."

Lauren shook her head, "You made monthly deposits since Bo was…"

She handed the book to Bo, pointing to the earliest entry,

"Six years old." Bo said, her mouth agape, "Mom, I can't take this money."

"You can and you will. The account bares your name, I only ask that you share it with Rudy." She pointed to the book, "When I'm gone, the two of you will have plenty."

"Stop! Stop, Mom. You're not going anywhere. I'm not going to let that happen."

Lauren looked at Bo, seeing the muscles of her jaw clench, she knew… she knew right away. She'd seen that look before at the Iditarod. Her girlfriend was about to make some self-sacrificing gesture for them all. She knew she would which is why she had told Tamsin to keep an eye on her tonight.

"You are not going to fight this battle for me, Ysabeau. Contrary to your earlier statement, I am not a coward. I am an Athabascan warrior just as I raised you to believe. I fought the elements, the animals and – despite you having no memories of it – I did fight your Father, in my own way… in a way that would keep you safe."

Bo sighed, "Well, I suppose I'll have to take your word for it."

She handed the book back to Lauren, knowing that she would know where to put it. While she was injured, Lauren had organized a home office of sorts for her in the loft and she had helped LJ open a business account at the local bank. Bo still hadn't looked at any statements or made any of the payments unless they were in cash, but everything was there just in case she ever decided to get on board with the 'real business world' as Lauren had called it.

For now, LJ was managing the business accounts with assistance from his Aunt and Uncle. This account didn't appear to need anything. The money could just sit there, and the little blue book could just sit in the drawer. Out of sight, out of mind.

Bo stood, "Well, I'd better finish up with the dogs."

Mary nodded, looking at the kennel, "They're beautiful, Bo."

The brunette nodded, her heart full as she gazed upon the curious face of Harper. She decided to extend an olive branch – a sort of apology for all that she had said earlier. She patted her leg and made a few quick kissing noises. Harper came running,

"Mom, this is Harper."

Bo watched the face of her mom light up before a tear ran slowly down her cheek, "You mean…"

Bo nodded, "The same bloodline you began I continued. There are various lines of breeding from her line that led to the team I have today, but this one… she's the principal player. The puppies that Rudy was playing with earlier are her grandchildren. The dog that Elise had in the house is from the same litter. LJ also has one as does Tosh. There's six in all and they're quite a handful, but they're Harper through and through."

Mary smiled, kneeling down and putting her forehead against Harper's, "Do you know who I am? Has your Mother's spirit told you of our connection?"

Bo smiled, "I'm sure she has, Mom."

Mary looked up at Bo, "You don't have to pretend to believe in the ancient animal spirits, Ysabeau. I'm sure the realities of the world have long wiped away the lessons of your youth."

Bo shrugged, "I've lived in the wild, Mom. I've communed with the wolves and the many creatures of the land. I've learned their ways, I've lived among them. I believe more than you think and I'm likely more animal than human."

"Bo…"

The brunette looked at Lauren who was reminding her that she was definitely more human than animal. Bo sighed, giving the blonde a slight nod before Elsa, Anna and Belle came to stand with Harper, leading Bo to smile, "This is Lauren's team – Elsa, Anna and Belle."

"Well, they're mine for a few more days, anyway." Lauren replied causing Bo to scowl.

"They can survive in Boston." Bo smiled, ruffling Elsa's fur, "Right, girls?"

Lauren laughed, "I'm not going to force them into city living, Bo. That wouldn't be fair to them. They need open space to run. They'll be staying here. LJ has already agreed to take them on when I leave."

Bo's heart sunk, "I didn't know that."

It was an awkward moment to have in front of Mary, but the woman had caught on quickly to the choices of her daughter's spirit,

"I'm sure the two of you will work out whatever needs sorting. For now, what's best for these beautiful dogs must be put before your issues as a couple."

Bo's head popped up, "Our… did you say… as a couple?"

Mary laughed, "Ysabeau, I wasn't born yesterday, you know. I was raised to believe that the spirit seeks love in its own way, separate from the body. Your spirits have found one another – it's not something either of you can hide from me. And – for the record – I approve."

She smiled, placing a hand on each woman's shoulder, "But Lauren is right. These little ladies need room to run and be free. They were bred from the wolf and as a wolf their spirits choose to live free. You will have to care for them in Lauren's absence, no matter how long that may be. I'm sure in time, the spirits will sort out what is or is not to be."

"Time." Bo nodded, "Is not always on my side."

Lauren stood, heaving a heavy sigh, "I'm going to go see to Elise. I told her I'd be right back to finish coloring with her. I'll see you two ladies inside."

Bo watched as Lauren left quickly, her eyes following her until she disappeared inside. Mary sat down beside her on the rail,

"Ysabeau, you have to trust that life has a plan for you and a plan for Lauren. You must also trust that where life is pulling your roads in different directions, that through the journey, your paths will cross again."

Bo looked up at her Mom, "But when? And for how long?"

Mary had only a tight smile and warm embrace to offer her daughter. Bo was stiff at first, but as the tears fell, she felt her relax and accept the gesture,

"It appears I've arrived just in time. Focus on the things life brings to you and be grateful, Ysabeau. You have this time right now. Make the most of it and cherish the memories when your love departs. In time, you will be reunited. You must trust that she will work through what she must and that her spirit will find its way back to you."

"What if it doesn't? What if she takes her spirit away and doesn't come back?"

Mary smiled, "Then your life will continue separate from hers and you will be grateful for what life offers as a replacement. You'll have Rudy and all of your newfound family. You will continue to have friends and that circle will grow, Ysabeau. Trust that life will not always offer you heartbreak. You are long over due for happiness. It will find you."

Bo sighed, "I wish I could trust the spirits the way you do, Mom. Unfortunately, the lessons life has taught me having left me feeling a little less optimistic."

Mary nodded, "You will see, child. You will see."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Midnight, Southeast River Bend

Bo was perched in a tree over the river bend. The noise of the water rushing through the fish wheel as it spun round and round echoed on the cool breeze that ran with the rapidly moving current. She'd been sitting on the large branch for just over an hour, watching the light of the moon glance off four pieces of steel still settled on the mountain. Looking through her scope, she had noticed the weapons were all mounted on stands, the assassins likely off getting some sleep or a meal.

Satisfied that all was now still, she climbed down from the tree and lowered herself into the shallows of the water. Her camouflaged skin made her almost invisible to any spotters as she glided slowly through the water, careful not to make visible crossing currents. When she reached the other side, she immediately headed for cover in the low ground cover, staying alert for any wildlife that decided to use the area as a hotel for the night.

She had already planned her route, so headed towards the start of the east trail that would take her to the summit. She headed around the burm just ahead and through a small section of fireweed before reaching the base of the mountain. Donning her climbing harness, she loaded up the pockets, tossed her rope over her shoulder and began the top-roping ascent to the peak. It would take her just over two hours if she made efficient use of the oxygen she'd brought on the last leg of the climb.

She focused on the task at hand, using the trail she had laid when she'd first climbed the mountain. She checked each clip to be sure it was still secured tightly in the rock before allowing it to hold her weight. If these guys did their homework, they'd know Bo was a skilled climber and guide. Sabotaging the rock trail would be a perfect way to kill her and still allow it to appear as an accident. Bo knew it was more likely the damage would be done further up the trail, but she was taking no chances on this night. She was alone and with spring upon them, if she was left alive, but injured and bloodied, she would stand no chance against the wildlife that would want to use her rotting corpse for an easy meal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bo's Bedroom, one hour later…

Lauren woke to find the bed empty next to her. She wasn't surprised, really. Bo hadn't spoken much before falling asleep on her side of the bed. She'd stared out the window while Lauren encouraged her to give her mother a chance. When Bo hadn't responded, she tried to discuss her coming departure, but nothing seemed to be of interest.

She must have nodded off at some point, but now she couldn't shake the feeling that Bo was in trouble. She rose from the bed, pulling on Bo's hoodie – a telltale sign that the brunette was not inside. She moved to the rail at the end of the loft and looked out the window to the lands below. She released a heavy sigh when she realized Bo was not sitting by the river or in the yard with the dogs.

She headed down the stairs, careful to remain quiet as she approached Tamsin who was sleeping in a chair by the window, her shotgun resting across her body. Lauren leaned down, nudging her to consciousness, laying a finger over her lips before she could speak.

She nodded towards the room and Tamsin immediately understood, instead following Lauren into the garage before the two spoke,

"I think Bo took off on her own."

"Shit. I knew she was going to do this."

Lauren nodded, "Me too."

She pulled out her phone, "Which is why I had Kenzi put a locator chip in the handle of the knife I switched out of her gear last night before we went to bed."

Lauren held up the screen to Tamsin who shook her head, "She's headed up the mountain. Why would she be headed up the mountain?"

"Because she spotted the four weapons aimed at this house just like I did."

The pair turned to see Mary Dennis standing from a bed of straw.

"Comfortable?"

Mary shrugged, "More comfortable than I've been in years."

Tamsin smiled, "Good to be home, huh?"

"I was never an island girl." Mary smiled, pulling her rifle over her head, allowing it to drape across her back before pulling two pistols from her back, checking the chamber on each before resetting the weapons with a loud click. She opened her jacket, revealing two short knives hanging from a belt beneath her jacket,

"I'm armed up and ready to go. Who's with me?"

Tamsin pulled the shotgun from above the door and handed it to Lauren, "Wake the men, everyone take a window. Stay low and shoot anything that moves. I'll put Acacia on notice. Mary and I will go after Bo."

"Can you climb?" Mary asked.

Tamsin nodded, "I learned from Bo about five years ago. I'm sure you were a great climber at one time, but…"

"Please don't tell me you're going to insinuate that because of my age I am incapable of a climb up that small mountain out there. I've summited Denali at least fifty times. That's like the volcanoes I climbed in Hawaii."

Tamsin smiled, "Of course it is. Well then… lead the way." She waved her hand towards the door, allowing Mary to walk ahead of her, but the older woman turned back to Lauren,

"You'll protect Rudy?"

Lauren smiled, "With my life."

The woman nodded and left the garage, but Tamsin turned to Lauren, "Don't you dare die. Bo would never forgive me for leaving you here if you did, but I know you're not going to let me stay."

"I will never forgive you if you don't save Bo from herself." Lauren replied.

"Right." Tamsin replied, "Acacia will have your back. She's good, Lauren. You can trust her, even though Bo doesn't."

Lauren smiled, "I'm sure."

The agent headed out the door and into the night, leaving Lauren to stare down at the weapon in her hands, "I'm supposed to fix the damage these things do, not cause the damage. Dammit, Bo!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Summit of Mount Joy, North of Bo's Home

Bo moved up behind the first shooter, perched at the highest spot on the mountain. She noticed the silencer on the weapon and was grateful they'd decided to go stealth. If anyone got off a shot on her attack, it wouldn't signal the others to her presence.

Slowly unsheathing her axe, she pulled it back over her shoulder and gave a quiet, but quick whistle. The man turned to see Bo, his eyes wide as he pulled the weapon off its stand and rolled onto his back, aiming at Bo. Her release was quick and her axe landed hard in the man's chest. For a moment, she saw her brother's face as his hands found the handle of her weapon, his eyes landing on hers before he fell back, hitting the ground with a thud.

She kicked the weapon away from his side approaching cautiously. Checking his pulse, she felt nothing. She stared down at the man, wondering who he was and if he had a family. He imagined his Mom and Dad would wonder how he'd ended up here and his siblings would only know that he was killed by a monster in Alaska… a monster born of this young man's boss. Damn Big Jim for setting all of this in motion.

She looked up to see her home across the river. There was smoke coming from the chimney now which meant that Lauren had awoken to find her gone. Her brothers and nephews were all awake, probably staring at her through the scopes of their weapons at this very moment. She hoped that they would keep their hands free of the blood of her father's men and let her be the one to live with the nightmares that would follow. If there was a heaven, she could at least allow them the chance to find the pearly gates for any God that lived there surely had already closed them to her.

She sighed, pulling the axe from the man's chest and digging it into the ground to clean the blade before securing it to the leather holder on her belt. She lifted the sniper's rifle, burying it in the brush before heading across the ridge towards the next sniper. This one might see her coming if she wasn't careful, so she lowered her head and forged on towards her destination.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Reaching the summit of the mountain, Tamsin and Mary took a break for a sip of water,

"Should have brought oxygen." Mary said, her breathing heavy.

"You okay?" Tamsin asked, also gasping for air.

Mary nodded, "I will be. Let's just keep moving."

Tamsin watched as she looked around the area, quickly finding a heel mark in a small patch of snow, "Tracks."

Mary pulled her goggles back down and pulled up her hood. She looked at Tamsin who was checking her fingers,

"Frostbite?"

Tamsin shrugged, "I don't think so – not yet, anyway."

Mary dropped her pack, pulling out a jar of ointment and walking to Tamsin, "Take off your gloves."

"What's that?"

"Just do it, please. Remember, I taught Ysabeau all she knows about native medicine."

"Minus what Seline taught her."

"Seline. That bitch of a traitor." Mary spat.

"You knew?"

Mary nodded, rubbing the salve on Tamsin's fingers then over her hands and wrists.

"That was a hard pill for Bo to swallow. She thought she was a friend… a mother figure."

"So did I. Alas, sometimes things are not as they appear. I remember when you were a young, bumbling agent who would have fired your weapon at a suspect if they looked at you wrong."

Tamsin smiled, pulling her gloves back on, "Yea, well I've grown up a bit since then."

"I'm grateful for all of your help, Tamsin. Truly."

"Just doing my job, Mary."

"No, it's more than that. You truly care for Bo and I appreciate that she has friends like you in her life."

Tamsin nodded, "She's a good person. Just misunderstood."

"Thanks to her father." Mary said, shouldering her backpack once again, "But that ends today. Let's go."

"Yes, Ma'am."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The air was cold – very cold for this time of year, but at this altitude it wasn't unexpected. Up here, the mountains were still covered in snow and would be through summer. Knowing that allowed Bo to come prepared. She opened her pack and pulled out her homemade salve. As she folded it into her hands, she thought back to when she was a child and her mom first taught her the lessons of the plants and herbs that had to be blended to keep her skin safe from the Arctic cold by adding an extra layer of protection. She rubbed her hands over every bit of skin, making sure to apply it to her face, neck and ears before the lid back on and returning it to her pack.

She lifted the sniper's rifle to her shoulder and found her next target. What she didn't expect was to see him staring right back at her. He got off a shot just as she dove for cover, narrowly missing her head.

"Shit that was close."

She crawled into the brush, realizing her mistake too late as another shot narrowly missed. She laid still, hugging the rifle to her chest, looking left, then right in search of cover as she scolded herself quietly,

"Any movement will make the tops of the branches wave an invitation to that sniper, Bo. What do you say you move like you were taught and stop giving away your location like an idiot."

She thought through her situation and released a deep breath. She whispered to herself, her breaths rapid and short, "Okay. Decoy shot it is."

She carefully rotated the weapon, careful not to disturb the roots of any shrubs this time, then fired off a shot to her right. Sure enough, the sniper fired several rounds in the direction of the disturbance, allowing Bo to shift backwards along the ridge until she found cover behind the rock face.

"Well, I prefer axes and knives but now, all bets are off buddy. Guns it is." She said, pulling the stock of her rifle tight against her shoulder. She lowered her cheek to the firing mechanism, eye peering through the scope, catching the assassin as he moved to a new location. She aimed for his hip, wanting to bring him down quickly, but alive. Holding her breath, she aimed and fired.

He dropped, screaming in agony. The sound would surely draw the others to him, so Bo moved quickly, heading across the ridge before descending to where the man lay with both hands trying to tie a piece of fabric around his upper thigh as blood spurted a brilliant shade of bright red across the fresh white layer of snow. She grabbed his gun and tossed it away,

"What's your business here?" She asked, gun aimed squarely between his eyes.

"We come to avenge our leader."

"Avenge your leader? Seriously? You sound like a friggin' alien from another planet."

"Mock me all you want, but you took him from us, now we take all of your loved ones and then we take you."

"Hmmm… I think you're doing things a bit out of order there, kiddo."

He laughed, "So you were meant to think. We knew you'd play the hero. We knew you would come, leaving all of your loved ones alone. It only took one threatening phone call to that doctor to get them all to come. While we're up here taking care of you, others are killing your kin across the river. Wait for it…"

Bo turned to the homestead and watched as weapons fire ignited in the trees. She pulled her knife from its' sheath, cutting the fabric free from the man's thigh,

"You will bleed to death… slowly… for the pain you've caused my family."

"And I'll die knowing my duty to my leader was fulfilled."

"Yea, well you'd be surprised to see how resilient my kin can be. Don't count them out just yet."

He laughed, "Doesn't sound good for them. They sound outnumbered."

Bo smiled, "The sound you hear is your men against fifty federal agents…" A loud scream rang out followed by an explosion, "… and decades worth of trapping knowledge that your people don't have." Bo chuckled, "Outsiders. Think they know it all."

The man struggled to roll over and look across the river, "You… NO! NO!"

Bo smiled, "So, care to surrender? Care to ask your other men to surrender? I mean, you could all go hang out with your fearless leader in prison. You'll lose, we'll live, but at least you'll all be together, right?"

He rolled over, pulling a knife and taking a swing at Bo. She cursed herself for getting cocky the minute the tip grazed her shin, but her blade was out of its sheath just a moment later. With one quick swing, she buried her blade in his abdomen, just below the sternum.

She looked into his eyes, swallowing hard to finish what this man had begun. She wasn't a killer, but this man was giving her no choice. The least she could do is remind him of his most heinous crime,

"My blade is in your aorta. When I pull it out, you will bleed to death in seconds. I'd like you to consider – assuming you were involved in the poisoning of the water supply with that virulent strain of Legionella – that you tried to kill thousands of innocent people – men, women and children. I would like you to brace yourself to be afraid – be very afraid - for you are about to spend all eternity in whatever version of hell your belief system can summon up. Should have made better choices. Good luck."

"Please. Don't. Help me."

Bo's hand remained firm on the end of the blade, "You just swore that you would kill everyone I loved and then kill me. Why on this green earth would I spare you now?"

He was struggling to stay conscious as he replied, "There is no reason. You're right. I'm a killer. I don't deserve life. But what you said… I don't want to spend eternity in hell. I… I'm… I'm afraid."

"Every person you've killed was afraid before you killed them. Why should your fear be a reason I spare you now?"

He looked up at Bo, his eyes bloodshot, his breaths short and quick as his blood now struggled to provide oxygen to keep him alive,

"Because you're not like me. You're not a killer."

Bo lowered her eyes, unable to stomach the sight of the bright red blood that saturated the snow beneath them as she replied,

"I've killed."

He gave a slight shake of his head, "Big Jim told us your mantra… only in self-defense."

Bo shrugged, "There's a first time for everything."

"You won't. You can't."

"I can." Bo replied, her grip twisting on the knife as she prepared to remove it.

"Please. Don't."

The fear was visible in his eyes and Bo paused for a moment as time seemed to stand still. This young man had been lured into her Father's world, likely because of one of the other men. He was too young to have gotten involved in all of this and in that moment, she wished she could wave her hand over his wounds and save his life. She knew that even if she didn't pull the knife, he had lost too much blood now and with his aorta being blocked, it was only a matter of time. There wasn't enough time to get him to a hospital and even if Lauren were standing right here, it was unlikely she could do much but prolong his suffering.

On the other hand, Bo also recognized that while he may be young, he was also old enough to know better. He should have walked away. As another volley of shots rang out across the river, Bo looked towards her house. Three explosions could be seen as they fired off in succession along the perimeter. They were going to breach the line of agents. It was only a matter of time.

Her voice carried on the wind as she thought of her Father and all of the damage he had done, "How many people did you have working for you? Will we ever find peace on this earth?"

She shook out her thoughts, turning back to the younger man,

"You chose your path and you sealed your own fate when you chose to come here. Whether or not I remove that knife, your life is forfeit. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you. May whatever God you may worship have mercy on your soul."

"Please! The blonde is a doctor."

Bo shrugged, "And for all we know, she's dead by now if your men have their way."

"Please."

Shaking her head, she chuckled, "I wonder how many of the people you killed said please just before you killed them in cold blood? I wonder how much they pleaded with you not to kill them or their loved ones? Huh?"

She released the knife, deciding to let the man be, but he spoke one last time, "I know I don't deserve it, but I don't want to die. I'll try to stay alive until you come back with the doctor if you can."

"Anything you can do about the gunman below us?"

He shook his head, "He won't listen to me."

Bo shrugged, "So you want me to drag the doc back here after your men have been shooting at her and her family, yet you won't do anything in return for me?"

He gripped his leg, squeezing to keep the blood from pouring out, "He won't listen to me." His face lit up, "But I can tell you… I can tell you how many there are! I can tell you the weapons and our whole plan for attack. I can tell you where the others will come from! Please!"

Bo scowled, "Others? There's more than the ones that are here?"

He nodded, "North Slope and West Coast. There's two more groups. There's only ten in each, but they're the last of those loyal to Big Jim. I swear it."

Bo nodded, "What the name of the leader on the North Slope?"

"Hawthorne. He's some big deal Athabascan elder who's been buying up land for oil rights in the east."

"No Athabascan elder would be in the oil game. They hate the big oil guys."

The younger man shrugged, "Can't speak to that. I'm obviously a white dude, but I'm telling you, he's into oil and he's in it up to his eyeballs."

This was news to Bo, "So he's the money guy?"

"He's more than just the money guy. He's Big Jim's right hand. He does all of the deals and all of the books and with Big Jim in prison, it's all his now."

Bo sighed, "And the west coast group?" She looked over the edge of the mountain crest, noting the position of the man below while the young man explained,

"They're down in Sitka." He chuckled, "They were so pissed that you won the Iditarod after all they did to try to stop your dogs!"

The brunette's head snapped around, her eyes dark as she peered down at the man, the heel of her boot buried in the snow between the man's legs as her foot applied the slightest of pressure to his groin,

"You? You poisoned my dogs?"

"No! No! Not me! I've never done anything like that! I swear! Ahhhh! Stop! Please!"

Bo pulled back, "Who's the head in Sitka?"

"Paul Montgomery. He's from New York, some big Wall Street guy. He launders the money that Big Jim brings in and ships it up to Hawthorne."

He shook his head, "Please. I need the Doc. Look at this! I'm bleeding!"

Bo nodded, "So you are."

She turned her back on the young man. She did not reply, but instead headed down the mountain. It was a dangerous descent, but she had a trail laid. She clipped her harness into the first carabiner hanging from the rock face, giving three hard tugs to be sure it held. She would repel down and land directly over the next gunman, hopefully able to make a silent approach. If not, it wouldn't matter anymore… nothing would… but she had to take the chance. If she could take over that position, she could easily take out the other sniper and then start picking off Big Jim's men from their locations on the mountain before crossing the river to home. Hopefully she could get there in time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Cover me." Lauren shouted to Molly as bullets rushed through the windows from multiple directions.

"Lauren!" Molly called out as the doctor rushed from the cover of the stone pillar, heading for the small bedroom where Elise and Rudy were huddled together on the floor, "Shit!" Molly said, firing a wide spray from the semi-automatic weapon Acacia had given to her from the window seat. Right now everyone in the room was happy that the agent had stashed plenty of heavy arms beneath the lids of the benches, anticipating the possibility of getting pinned down like this. Of course, Acacia hadn't anticipated losing ten agents in the first volley.

Molly held fire, watching as the blonde slid feet first into the room, catching the carpet as she went. She gripped the girls mid-slide pulling them with her. When they stopped, she looked up to see them looking back at her, fear in their eyes as tears streamed down their faces.

"Lauren? Are we gonna die?" Elise asked.

While her heart broke for them, she steeled her will and clenched her jaw, "We are not going to die. We're going to use our big brains and outsmart those bad people out there. You're strong and brave. Both of you."

They nodded in unison as Lauren planted a kiss on each of their foreheads. She looked around the room, knowing that she needed to get to the garage. They would be safe there – for at least a little while. Bo had all sorts of secret spots in this house that she had only just begun to share with Lauren. She'd told her that living off grid as the daughter of a vicious killer made her a target, even though Big Jim was in prison. She wanted strategic ways to maneuver around the house should she ever be threatened – plus, the fire had taught her that she would need a way out – just in case.

Thinking of how she'd installed a drop door for the dogs at the kennel, she began to feel around the floorboards along the wall.

"What are you looking for?" Rudy asked.

"I think your sister may have installed a way out in here." Lauren replied, continuing her search.

Elise searched the room, "Like the ones at the kennel and the General Store?"

Lauren nodded, unwilling to stop, but Elise smiled and pointed, "There."

"What?" Lauren asked, looking at the youngster before following her finger towards where she was directing her attention.

"I don't see anything." Rudy replied.

Lauren agreed, "Me either."

Elise crawled towards the middle of the room across from the bed, "See the change in the color of the wood and the direction of the grain? Bo showed me how to find them when I was working at the kennel."

Lauren smiled, watching as Elise pushed on the middle of a piece of wood and the board opened, revealing an escape hatch. The older blonde moved to the opening and slid her upper body out through the opening. She grinned as she scanned the area,

"Geez, Bo. Ready for world war three much?" Her eyes surveyed the space that, from outside of the home, appeared to be a simple basement covered by lattice trim with aluminum backing to prevent animals from getting inside. In actuality, the space was an armored room with crates of weapons, traps, a sled ramp, dog food, people food and anything else one would need in an emergency shelter. She shook her head, thinking of how there were times when Bo's logic really did pan out. She slid back up to the girls,

"Head on out. There's a compartment down there that's fully protected. I'm going to get the others. Stay down, okay?

The two nodded before doing as told, heading down through the hatch to safety. Lauren turned to Molly who was huddled down against the stone, reloading her weapon,

"Molly! Remember those recently installed escape routes at the clinic? They're here too!" Lauren pointed at the opening in the room, causing Molly to smile,

"Yes! Bo Dennis, I love you and your paranoia!"

"Come on!" Lauren shouted, waving her towards the room, but Molly shook her head,

"If we stop firing, they'll come in and start looking for us. We have to be smart."

Molly looked around, trying to figure out her situation. Finally, she spotted Bo's fishing gear leaning in the corner near the front door. She peaked around the corner, calling out to the group,

"Okay, everyone! We've got a plan!"

Mark rolled onto his back, reloading his shotgun while gunfire rained in over his head, "I certainly hope that plan has something to do with us not dying here."

"That's the idea." Molly said, firing out the window over Mark's head to give him a moment's peace, "I need you to grab Bo's fishing reel."

"Her what?"

"Husband! For once in your life would you just do what I ask? Trust me!" He slid over and grabbed the rod by the handle, removing the reel and tossing it to his wife, "I love when you get bossy. It's hot! Now what?"

Molly rolled her eyes, "Everyone find a way to mount your weapon beneath the window over your head. Make sure It can't be pulled or pushed from its place and make sure you mount the automatic weapon and not just the shotgun! Your personal weapon is going with you."

Molly watched as everyone did as she asked. She turned back to Lauren, "I don't suppose your paranoid girlfriend has weapons down there, does she?"

Lauren grinned and nodded causing Molly to sigh with relief, before she replied, "Remind me to tell Bo I'm grateful she's so damn paranoid!"

Molly used the firing pin to break the fishing line she had unspooled. She unfolded the mounts on the weapon and laid it on the floor, pushing the stock down so the weapon was aimed to fire high out of the window. She gripped the metal container that held the firewood and placed it behind the butt of the gun and then pulled on the fishing line.

"Yes!" She said when the weapon fired, staying put in the spot where she'd mounted it.

Mark looked at his wife who was showing him how her set up worked. He nodded, catching the fishing line and setting up his weapon the same way. It took some time, but eventually, they were all firing with the pull of a string. The shot guns would need reloading, but Acacia came up with the idea of putting the three shot guns in the small bedroom as a last line of defense instead of leaving them beneath the windows.

Acacia, Mark and Tosh used their large hunting knives to break through the floor before threading the strings through so the weapons could be fired from the shelter by pulling the various lines. They all escaped to the safety of Bo's armored war room.

"Wow. My sister really is paranoid. I had no idea…" Tosh said, scratching his head as his eyes scanned the large space that ran the length of the house.

"Okay, let's not judge. Right now, this room is a gift. We have to figure out next steps. We can't stay here forever." Lauren said, trying to be the voice of reason.

Mark nodded, "Well, Bo got us here. What would have been her next plan?"

"Sled path." LJ said, pointing to the launch ramp, "It goes down, but it might not be a finished idea."

He moved to the top of the ramp, his hand on the handle of the sled, "She must have had a way to get the dogs in here."

"From the garage into the kitchen, around the corner into the room and down here. I don't see any other way around." Kurt replied.

"I'm going for the dogs." LJ said, picking up a scrap piece of the metal that surrounded them.

Big Jon nodded, "I'm coming with you."

"No, Dad. This is the only piece of armored scrap metal and it's only big enough for one person."

"Then I'm going."

"Dad. I'll be fine."

"No, LJ. I'm not letting my son…"

"You don't know the dogs, Dad. They're my responsibility. Stay here. Keep firing those weapons to give me cover fire. I'll be fine. I promise."

Big Jon nodded, cursing his grandfather's name as he watched his son crawl back upstairs. They all waited, watching the opening over their heads while Tosh, Acacia, Big Jon, Kurt and Michael paced the pulls on the fishing lines, trying to conserve ammo. Finally, a litter of puppies appeared over the opening, their heads peering down as they yapped aloud to make their presence known. Mark and Molly reached up, gripping each one by the front paws and handing them off to Elise and Rudy,

"Keep them quiet, girls. Keep them happy." Mark cautioned, "We don't need them giving away our position."

One by one, the dogs came into view, making the leap to the ground beneath, each of them wearing a muzzle. Finally, fourteen dogs were pacing around beneath the house,

"That's all of them." Molly said.

Lauren sighed, scratching Harper's head as she peered up into the hole, "Your nephew should be back by now."

Molly gave her shoulder a squeeze, looking past her to the worried face of her brother-in-law. Finally, Acacia stepped up,

"I'm going up. Cover fire, please." She said, looking at the group for a moment before turning her attention to the task at hand.

Everyone watched as the agent slid her weapon through the opening before stepping onto Kurt's hands for a boost up. It felt like an eternity until LJ slid down the hole, bleeding from his left shoulder,

"I think it went through," He said to Lauren, "They got me coming into the garage - stray bullet came… uhhh ahhh… through the garage door window."

"Stray?" Acacia asked.

"You didn't notice? No other windows are broken in there." LJ replied, groaning as Lauren rolled him over to check for an exit wound.

"Through and through." Lauren said, "Anyone see a first aid kit?"

Big Jon shouted, "Here!"

He ran to his son's side, "So stubborn."

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Dad." LJ chuckled.

"You could have been killed."

"You don't know by now? I've got nine lives, Big Man."

"Yea, well last count I think it was down to about five. You're running out, Little Man."

"No worries. I'm here. So, what next?" LJ asked, looking around the room at the concerned faces before his eyes landed on the doctors who seemed to be deep in thought, "What's wrong, Doc? Am I dyin'?"

"What?" She shook her head as she turned her attention back to her patient, "No, I was just thinking… I mean, I was just curious. Why did you muzzle the dogs?" Lauren asked.

"They were barking like crazy. I thought it better no one knew we were down here." He cringed as the doctor applied a pressure bandage to his shoulder, "I dIdn't have muzzles small enough for the pups, but I figured their squeaky barks won't carry far."

He looked over to see the girls cuddling the litter, "Of course, they may just fall asleep exhausted from the stress of it all."

Mark nodded, "As long as that gun fire doesn't get closer."

"Okay, so we're all down here. Now what's the plan?" LJ asked, his eyes surveying the faces of the adults in the room, "I don't like those little girls being in the middle of this. It's not right."

Lauren nodded, then shrugged, "I agree, but we're safe for now – they're safe for now. They're distracted by the puppies which may also help to calm them." She pointed towards the far end of the room, "For now, one of us needs to figure out where that sled run goes. If it can get us out of here, we might be able to get to the trucks and ATV's we brought. Moving targets would be much harder to hit, yes?"

Everyone nodded their agreement as Lauren finished up with LJ's shoulder. Thankfully, the bullet hadn't hit anything vital. He was lucky to be alive and use of his left arm was going to be limited.

Lauren looked at the other adults, all taking turns pulling at the strings that attached to the triggers of the mounted weapons upstairs. It was strange to hear the rhythm of the shots ringing out over head. She looked at the girls sitting in the corner huddled together with the pups pulled close to their chins. She needed to get them out of here. LJ was going to be a problem, but somehow, she needed to get everyone to safety.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Bo!" Tamsin ran to her friend who lay bleeding along the bank of the river.

Mary kicked the body of the man beside her, finding him motionless. She rolled him over and jumped back when she saw the familiar handle of Bo's knife in his gut.

"Bo! Talk to me!" Tamsin rolled the brunette over, "No, no, no!"

"Tamsin?"

"Yes, yes it's me, Bo. Where did he get you?"

Bo gripped her head, "Get me? He didn't get me. I landed on that fucking boulder and knocked myself unconscious when he came at me. I buried my knife in his gut and he fell on top of me. Damn that hurts."

She moved to sit up, but screamed gripping her shoulder, "Shit. I forgot. I got hit by a ricochet from a sniper before I landed on him when I was repelling down the mountain."

Tamsin pulled back her layers, revealing the large slash-like wound on the outer side of Bo's shoulder, "It's deep, but it is a graze wound."

"Well, get me bandaged up and get me over to the homestead."

"Bo, your head has a huge gash in it. You're in no condition to fight."

Bo slapped Tamsin's hands away as she stood, but moving too quickly combined with the concussion she surely had made her sway in the breeze. She steadied herself on the very bolder that had done its worst and glared up at her friend,

"Do you hear that?" She asked, pointing across the river, "That's my entire family being hunted like animals! I am not going to lose them! These men are going down. Then I'm heading to Sitka and the North Slope to take down the left and right hands of my father to kill this sick war once and for all."

Tamsin scowled, "Sitka and the North Slope?" She shook her head, "Bo, you're not making any sense."

The brunette pulled the knife from the man's chest before turning to head down river, looking for some cover that would allow her to cross. As she walked, she told her Mother and Tamsin what the young man had told her up on the mountain.

When she finally found the spot she was looking for, they crossed the river, staying low until they reached the high brush and wildflowers just beyond the bank,

"Bo, look." Tamsin said, pulling Bo back to her as she nodded towards the side of the house, "That's a body being pushed out from beneath your house."

Shaking her head, Bo explained, "There's a panic room under my house. I guess they found the sled launch."

"Yea, well there's no snow for that sled, so how are they going to…" Tamsin stopped as she saw LJ lift his head, "It's LJ on the sled."

Bo nodded, "Yea, well he must be hurt."

They watched as Mark's head came up next followed by Molly and the two girls. They stayed low, and when they headed for the barn, Bo knew the plan,

"They're going to take the ATV's, but the minute they start them up…"

"The goons in the woods are going to open fire." Tamsin finished leading Bo to nod.

"We need to create a distraction." Bo said before the blonde nodded towards the backyard,

"Looks like Mary's already on that."

"What is she doing?" Bo asked, starting towards her Mom, but Tamsin pulled her back,

"Let her do her thing, Bo. She's much stronger than you've given her credit for since she arrived here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Bo watched as her Mom stood and drew her bow. Taking aim at a tree, she let a the arrow fly before crouching back down. About five seconds later, a man hit the ground with a thud leading the nearby group of men to give up their cover and run towards their fallen colleague on the other side of the house.

"I didn't know she could still do that." Bo said, but Tamsin was already heading towards the opening in the house,

"Bo! Come on!" She yelled, drawing the brunette's attention.

Bo nodded, running towards the house, but she was starting to struggle. Her head was pounding and she was getting nauseous and dizzy. Not good. She kept her head down and ran for the house, following in Tamsin's footsteps to avoid running into the small trees the agent used for cover.

She was almost to the entrance of the sled launch when she saw Lauren's head emerge. The doctor turned towards her, their eyes meeting as Tamsin shouted,

"Bo!"

Black and white spots clouded her vision, her breathing grew shallow, her eyes shifted to the sky as the trees seemed to spin in the dim light of the late day before there was darkness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mary Dennis crawled forward through the trunk of the massive downed tree to the opening. She reached down to her waist and pulled the large hunting knife from its sheath on her waist. She listened intently to the footsteps of the men outside, mumbling under her breath,

"White men. So stupid. Their heavy footprints and big guns trampling through the forest as if they are the kings of the hunt. Shoot my daughter, will you? Let's show you how a real warrior hunts… a proud Athabascan warrior woman."

She held the handle of her axe in her right hand, the handle of the knife in her left, the blade of the axe over the long, heavy blade of the knife… waiting and listening. Her mind drifted back to a time long ago…

Flashback… Yukon Territory… 1970

"Mary? Mary! Come, child! It's time to go hunting with your Father!"

Little Mary sat up, pushing her puppy off her legs before running towards the family home. The pup followed happily, barking as they ran up the ramp into the door to the cold room. Once inside, her Mother pulled back the young girls' hood and pulled off her coat,

"You have about fifteen minutes to eat some soup before he's ready to go."

"Can Honor come?"

Mary shook her head, offering a sympathetic frown, "Sorry, child but Honor is too young a pup to be out in the cold for that long."

Mary turned to her dog, "Sorry girl, but you can't come. I promise I'll play with you when I get back."

"After your nap."

She huffed, "After my nap." She knelt down and hugged her puppy, "Will you nap with me?"

The little dog wagged its tail and barked twice.

Mary giggled and followed her Mom into the kitchen. She stepped up on the stool by the stovetop and smile,

"Caribou soup! My favorite!"

Her Mother smiled, nodding as she ladled out a bowl, "I know and this is the last of the Caribou, so I hope you two get a big…"

"Bear!"

Mary's Mom laughed, "Yes, we could make use of some more furs, but you don't like the taste of bear meat!"

The child shrugged, "But that's what Father wants to get. He told me so. He said we need the money."

Nodding, the elder woman agreed, "We could definitely use the money, but we have all we need to survive. I'm more worried about filling our cache with food for the worst of winter."

Mary smiled, "I'll get you a caribou, Mommy. Dad can get the bear."

"Don't forget the fish!"

"We don't fish until the last day."

"I know, sweetheart." She said, giving Mary a piece of bread.

The little girl tore the grain in half and tossed it to Honor who laid down and slowly made her way through the tough, thick bread. Mary watched her Mother work, admiring the long, straight black hair that flowed down her back until her Father entered the home,

"Mary! How's my favorite daughter?"

Mary giggled as her Daddy kissed her cheek, "Are we going to get a big bear?"

"You're going to get a bear. I'm going to get a caribou because Mommy wants us to have food for the worst of winter, Daddy!"

He looked up at his wife, "Mommy wants a caribou, huh? Well, we'll have to see what we can do about that."

Mary watched as her Father dipped her Mother and kissed her neck, then lips. Her Mother laughed, shouting at her husband to stop. Mary smiled brightly. She loved the way her parents were together and now her Mom was expecting a baby. She was very excited that she was going to have a sibling and get to be a big sister. Her plan was to be the best big sister on the planet.

She smiled at her Father as he came to sit beside her, "In a few months, you're going to have a new hunting buddy, Mary! What do you think about that?"

"She's going to have a sibling that will do nothing but sleep, eat and poop, Merit. There will be not hunting for many, many years."

He shrugged, "Mary drew her first bow at age two, hit her first target with an axe at age four and sold her first sable fur at age six." He smiled at his daughter, "She's going to be the best trapper in the country, this one. Right, Mary?"

A proud smile spread across Mary's face as she nodded her agreement, "I'm gonna win the North Slope Junior Axe-Throwing Championship next week, Mommy!"

"Come, Elise. Sit down with us to eat. You always eat over the stove." He waved his wife to the table.

"It's warmer by the stove." She smiled, but relented when she saw Mary's face drop.

She moved across the room taking the seat across from her husband and next to Mary, "You have to beat that nasty little boy, Bear Hawthorne."

"It's not his fault he's bad, Mommy."

"Oh?" Elise replied, her face begging an explanation from her daughter.

Mary nodded, "He's got to live up to his name, right? Names mean something in families."

Merit smiled, "You were named after a very strong woman, Mary."

The child shrugged, "She was a poet, Daddy. What's so strong about that?"

Elise protested, "She was so much more than that, child. We've told you about how Mary Tallmountain's Mother had Tuberculosis, so…"

"The government gave her to white people who took her from her home to Oregon. She had to learn how to survive after being taken from everything she knew. I know, Mommy, but I wish I was named after…"

"Chief Charlie. We know, Mary but Charlie is a boy's name." Merit sighed.

"That's not true! Me and Honor looked it up the other day! Girls can be called Charlotte and then they can be called Charlie! The New York girls do it!"

Elise scowled, "You are a strong, Athabascan warrior in your own right, Mary. Chief Charlie even said so himself. He told you Mary is a strong name. That Mary Tallmountain was a strong, resilient woman who was taken from her native home, yet found her way back to her roots even though she was in the Lower Forty-Eight! Embrace your name, Elise. And instead of researching outsiders, read about Mary Tallmountain."

Her Father stood, "As a matter of fact, Chief Charlie sent this along for you at our meeting last night."

Mary followed her Father, putting her bowl in the washing sink, "You had a meeting last night and you didn't take me?"

He sighed, "You had homework to do before our hunt."

She stood, watching her Father pull a book from her bag. He offered it to her with a smile, "This is a history of our tribes. Neal… Chief Charlie… is still working on creating a working history of our language and he used this very book to start his work."

Mary's tiny hand traced the hand-crafted and hand-etched leather cover, "You mean our whole history is in here?"

Merit nodded, kneeling before his daughter. He pointed to the bookmark, "It is and this bookmark is all about Mary Tallmountain."

Mary's eyes grew wide as she looked up at her Father, "She's in this book?"

Merit smiled, "You don't think your Mother and I would have given you a name from some obscure, nobody, do you?"

Mary looked up at her Mother, "What's obscure mean?"

Elise smiled, "You'll have to look it up when you get back." She turned to her husband, "It's time for you to get going or you'll miss daylight."

He nodded, taking the book from Mary, "You'll have some reading to do when you get back."

"Awww! I can't take it with me?"

Elise moved to her daughter, "It's a very fragile book, Mary. It's been in our tribe since the beginning. It will be here when you get home. Now, go pull on your layers and get ready for your big hunt."

"Right! Daddy, did you pack my hunting knife, my long pole and my shotgun?" Mary asked.

Merit laughed, "Of course I did, Mary."

"And Mommy made us bear spray. Did you pack that?"

"I did, Chief."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "My three best traps?"

"They're all on the sled."

"And our favorite jerky?"

He nodded, "And before you ask, all of your favorite foods, the fuel for fires, the dog booties and three bags of hay for the dogs are also packed. The sled is full and so is the trailer. Now are you going to get ready or am I leaving you behind?"

Mary's eyes went wide before she ran off to her room with Honor in tow. Merit turned to his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist,

"Pray for me while I'm away with our precocious little daughter."

Elise laughed, kissing her husband on the cheek, "I'll pray that you have the answers for all of her questions and I'll pray that she lets you handle the bear."

He shrugged, "Still, I sharpened her knife and axes just to be sure she has a way to defend herself."

"No matter her name, that child is a warrior through and through. I worry about her, Merit."

He nodded, "She knows no fear. It worries me as well. I swear I'll protect her with my life, Elise."

"I know you will, Merit. That's what worries me."

End Flashback…

Mary was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of a twig snapping. She wiped her eyes dry with her sleeve and peered out across the now moonlit lands of the forest. She slid forward, lifting her upper body out of its hiding place and rolled onto her side. She drew back her axe, aimed and threw, her wrist snapping down hard as the axe plunged into the chest of the man closest to her.

He barely made a sound as his eyes looked down at the axe buried in his upper torso before he fell to the ground, landing on the axe.

Mary sighed, as she dragged herself out of the trunk and quickly moved across the forest floor with grace and stealth, her steps intentional and silent as if she'd been born a feline. She rolled the man over with some effort and retrieved her axe, having to pull several times before it came free. She wiped the blade clean on his clothing, picked up his weapon, pulling the strap up and over her head and scaled a nearby tree.

She stilled her breathing as another man approached. She had to take him quickly before he found the body or he would surely call out to his posse. She wrapped her legs around a branch and extended her body out towards the tip. Draping her left arm over the branch, she hung low, freeing her right arm for the toss. Taking aim, she let her axe fly once again, this time burying it in the side of the trespasser's neck. It took only a moment for him to drop to the ground. Mary smiled seeing that this man had the courtesy to land in ground cover. She wouldn't have to move him.

She scanned the area for the closest man and carefully slid down the tree, moving quickly through the ground cover until she reached the first man. She dragged him into the higher brush before using a large branch to cover the drag marks. She then moved quickly towards the group of men approaching her position in a V-formation, guns drawn. She stopped suddenly when she noticed a strange branch sticking up from the soil. She lay down flat, eyeing the suspicious position of the twig,

"You definitely do not belong there. If you had fallen from the tree, you would not have landed straight up, burrowed into the ground like you are. Who put you there?"

It was dark. Too dark to know for sure, but this had to be one of Bo's traps. It was an interesting design – one unfamiliar to Mary, but she had taught her daughter how to manufacture traps from things given to her by nature, so she wasn't all that surprised.

When she finally decided to look overhead, it all became clear. Mounted in the trees was a very large net. She grinned, now seeing the brown thin line that ran down the tree trunk.

"Trip line. Good girl."

She wasn't sure how the net would fall. Would it stay wide until it hit its target or would it fold in the wind and miss? She could only trust that Bo would know what she was doing and would have weighted the net. She waited, watching as the men moved closer together.

"Good location, Bo." Mary smiled, the man to the right moving closer to the man at the center because of a bolder in his path and the man to the left moving closer to middle because of a thicket of pine trees. She set her eyes intently on their feet, watching for one of them to trip over the invisible line likely stretched close to the forest floor.

"Closer… closer… closer… come on… work… please work…"

The grin that spread across her face was wide when she saw her daughter's trap in action. Three shotguns fell from the air as the men were left suspended high in the trees.

She looked around, waiting for men to come to their rescue, their shouts a dead giveaway to her position should she stand, but no one came. Still, taking no chances, she waited once again, admiring her daughters' handywork.

"So, they trip the wire and a sling buried beneath the topsoil comes up from under while the top net comes down. Suspended from only one wire, they flip over several times essentially trapping them in a cocoon. Pretty special, Bo. You'll have to teach your little sister that one."

Fairly certain it was safe to approach, she stood and quickly moved forward, staying low. She followed the set branch to the wire that was now holding one side of the trap. Lifting her left hand, she swung hard, slicing through the cab. She smirked as the three men swung from height to the tree trunk on the opposite side, hitting it hard. All three men let out a collective grunt on impact, only two still conscious. They were still looking around trying to figure out what was happening when she cut the other line and moved to stand over the crumbled lump of men,

"Like I said – white men… think they're so smart."

One man was now moving, so she walked to his side of the heap. Lifting his chin with her blade so that she could look into his eyes, she asked,

"Do you know who I am?"

"Huh? Uh… look, Lady… you gotta help us! That crazy Bo Dennis rigged these woods with traps! She's a crazy murderer!"

"Oh? And who invited you onto her lands?"

"We're here to take down a demon! We're saving Alaska from the likes of that half-breed!"

"See, now that's where you've made your seventh mistake for the day."

"Huh?"

"You see, your first mistake was entering into a gang like Big Jim's. Your second mistake was the failure to recognize that you were associating with the wrong people the first time they asked you to do something illegal. Your third mistake was getting on a plane and flying to Alaska. Your fourth mistake was taking the train to Talkeetna where Bo Dennis is not only well-known, but well-loved. Your fifth mistake was daring to come onto her land. Your sixth mistake was attacking her family and now, we've arrived at your seventh mistake… well, maybe it's more like the tenth, because there's the whole taking up a weapon, walking through lands that you know nothing about – trapper's lands – in the dark, assuming that because you're a man that you can easily defeat a woman… well, you get the idea… you've made a lot of mistakes. But the biggest and the worst was referring to Bo Dennis as a half-breed and telling you that this fine state needs to be rid of her."

She stood, flipping her knife over and over in her hand, "You see, my name is Mary Dennis, mother of Bo Dennis and you've just insulted an Athabascan warrior…"

She licked the blade of her axe, tossing it end over end in her hand before twirling it around, "My daughter made this axe and the last time I saw her, she was dropping to the forest floor after being shot. Now, the doctor was right by her side when I began my hunt for her killers, but if she's dead, you'll be grateful I killed you and yours quickly. Of course, I might also be convinced to spare your stinkin' life if you're willing to provide me with information on Big Jim's operation."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know! Just please, don't kill me! I've got a wife and kids!"

She knelt down before him once again, "Then what in the world are you doing here? Why aren't you home with them?"

He smirked, "Why weren't you home with Bo?"

Rage burned through the veins of the native as she stared down at the man trapped in his daughter's snare, "That was your final mistake, sir. May your family know peace in your death."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Tamsin approached the cluster of tall trees as the west end of Bo's property, she saw Mary sitting up against a tree. She had tripped over two bodies in the bush just behind the homestead and followed the woman's trail through the low ground cover to this point.

She was still. Very, very still. She walked slowly, hoping to all of the native Gods she'd ever heard spoken of that this woman was alive. There were cables and rope hanging from the trees and what looked like a bundled cargo net of bodies beside her. There was blood… lots and lots of blood.

She decided to take a wide berth so as not to disturb any evidence but had to drop to the ground when Mary turned, heaving an axe and blade in her direction. She found herself in a choke hold just a moment later. She tapped the woman's harms feverishly, but the woman did not relent. Finally, she was able to move to a half-stand and flip her over her head before pressing her shoulders into the ground,

"MARY! MARY! It's me! It's Tamsin!" She shouted until the woman's eyes went wide with recognition.

"Tamsin. I'm… I'm so sorry. I thought…"

"I know. It's okay. Are you okay?"

Mary sat up, looking to her side where the men lay in a clump, "They uh… they…"

"Mary. Look at me." Tamsin said, turning the woman's head so she held her eyes, "You did what you had to do." She looked down, "You did it a bit… excessively… but you're alive and they're dead. That's all that matters."

"He called her a half-breed. He called her…"

"Mary, come on. I need you to come with me. Bo's been shot."

Mary nodded, "I saw. Is she… Tamsin, please tell me she isn't…"

"She's alive, Mary, but she's in bad shape."

Tamsin watched as the woman gathered her thoughts for a long moment, then stood, walking towards the grotesque sight of where the warrior had been unleashed. She had shown no mercy, taking the lives of all three men, two who had been unconscious at the time. She pulled her knife from the neck of one man and her axe from the head of another before wiping the blades clean on the forest floor.

She sheathed the knife on her leg before sheathing the axe on her back and walked to the trees that held the weapons she had hurled at Tamsin. One was mounted to her hip the other to her thigh before she walked back to the bloody scene once again. She picked up the three shotguns in addition to the one she had confiscated previously,

"These should not be left lying around where children may be playing. As a matter of fact, there are likely weapons all over the forest now. They can do a great deal of damage and are not safe to be left unattended."

She headed back towards the homestead, leaving Tamsin holding the pile of four guns, "These are dangerous?" Tamsin mumbled, "And you with your sharp pointy objects are not?"

She shook her head and followed, watching as the woman seemed to drag her feet across the topsoil of the woods. The words she had spoken to her on the train echoed through Tamsin's head,

"My soul is dying. This war had raged on long enough and I fear my soul will be sacrificed to save my children."

The woman had then fallen into a deep sleep, leaving Tamsin to play with her young daughter. One thing was certain, if her soul truly was dying, Bo's death would surely be the end of it. She couldn't help but think it would be a mistake to share the intel they had gotten from Bo about the two remaining threats in Sitka and the North Slope with this woman would be a mistake. But still, that was what Acacia planned to do. She was convinced that Mary would know these two men and she had every intention of gaining any advantage Mary could provide with that knowledge.

They walked, both women silent and heads down… until Mary heard the snap of a branch and the whoosh of an arrow rush past her head. She motioned to Tamsin to get down and the blonde immediately complied, taking one of the shotguns and mounting it to her shoulder. She looked through the site, searching for a shooter until she saw what looked like a bear moving through the brush.

She pointed in the direction of the movement, drawing a nod from Mary who slowly reached up to the tree behind her and pulled down the arrow that had been released on her position. She examined it, shaking her head when she saw the gold-painted initials below the mount of the tip… G.W.

She sighed before pulling her axes from their sheaths and standing to face her opponent,

"Come on out, Little Brother. Let's do this as Father taught us, shall we?"

A loud bellow of laughter came from the distance as a large, dark-skinned man stood, throwing the large bear skin from his shoulders and stepping towards his elder sister,

"Mary. My lovely big sister. How are you? It's been a long time! How's my rambunctious little niece, Ysabeau? I shot her, you know."

It was a statement of fact. One that obviously made him proud.

"Does it make you feel powerful like all of those white men of yours to kill an innocent woman?"

"Innocent? She's a filthy half breed, Mary! You tainted our line!"

"You know, it will never cease to amaze me that all of you hate the fact that Bo's blood is tainted with non-native blood when that other blood belongs to your boss!"

"Mother and Father would be sick to know that you strayed from our native roots!"

"Mother and Father know that a man like Big Jim doesn't exactly give young women without parents a choice!"

"The only reason we didn't have parents is because YOU killed them!"

"I did NOT kill our parents!"

"If they hadn't had to save you, they would still be alive!"

Mary hung her head, knowing that every word coming from her brother's mouth was true. It had been her greatest source of guilt her entire life and now that she was back in Alaska, the shame had only grown with flashbacks from her childhood. The memories were eating away at the very core of her being. Gemini would be a different man if their father had been around to raise him.

"So, let's do this thing, Sis. Huh?"

"Well, I would but you always cheated, didn't you, Gem?"

Gem chuckled, "No, you always accused me of cheating. It's not my fault you couldn't count to three."

"Okay then, so we draw on three or on two then?"

"I'll draw on three, you'll be too slow and then you'll be dead, giving me a clear path to your little girl."

Mary shook her head, "No, you say you'll draw on three, but you'll draw on two and you'll be too slow then you'll be dead. My little girl will live on and you'll be dead."

She frowned as she said the words, "You know, it's too bad, Gem. Ysabeau really loved you. You were her best friend and only Uncle. Then you took off after Big Jim and never came back. She needed you, Gem and you turned on her. You betrayed me."

"You left her, Mary. Don't put that on me."

"I didn't have a choice, Gem and you knew it! You said you would take care of her and you pawned her off on a schoolteacher she barely knew!"

"What did you expect, Mary? You expected me to be a single Dad to your kids?"

"You were the one who was supposed to carry on our line, Gemini. You were the one who could have changed everything or Ysabeau. She had so much promise and without Big Jim to hold her back, she would have been something truly special."

Tamsin interjected, "She is something special. She's really special. So, while the two of you are sitting here whining away about your past like children, I think I'll go see to her needs. You two can kill each other for all I care. This feud between all of you so-called grown-ups gets more and more ridiculous the more I hear. What the hell is wrong with you people?"

Tamsin picked up the pile of weapons and headed down the path towards the house, but Mary's shout drew her attention. She stopped, turning towards her voice, but instead saw her toss an axe her way, deflecting an arrow mere inches from her chest before heaving another side-armed into her brother's chest just as he released an arrow. The man's projectile missed its intended target, instead hitting Mary in the side. She folded up, dropping to her knees before falling onto her side.

"Shit! I forgot how much that hurts." She said, her eyes on her brother to be sure he was staying down, "Check him. He's got a lot of layers on. Don't drop your guard. He can draw an arrow faster than you can shoulder a shotgun."

Tamsin drew her sidearm, "Good thing I can pull a trigger faster than he can sit up then."

Mary watched as the blonde moved cautiously towards the man, kicking him several times before using the bottom of her boot to push him over. His eyes were like dark pools of glass, blood draining from his mouth. She watched blood spurt out around the axe as his heart pumped the last of its beats.

"He's dead." She watched as Mary shook her head, "Sorry."

"Honestly, I thought he was already dead. Still, he was a man of his word. The last time I saw him he told me that if we ever met again it would be me or him."

Tamsin nodded, "I'm sure your daughters will be happy it was him. Can you walk?"

She looked down at her side, "Got a lighter or matches on you?"

"You're not going to…"

Mary nodded, "I'm losing too much blood. If I don't cauterize the wound, I'll be dead before we make it back to the clinic in Talkeetna."

"Okay, okay. Tell me what to do."

"Go tear a strip of cloth off my brothers' clothes, wrap it around a stick and set it on fire. Bring one of his arrows back with you too."

Tamsin did what she was told and returned holding a flaming torch and an arrow.

"Kneel down here in front of me. Break the tip off the arrow and hold it into the flame."

Mary watched as Tamsin followed her directions. She laid down on her side, trying to relax. She'd had to do this once before. She had passed out. This time, she needed to try to stay conscious.

"I don't think the arrow hit anything vital. Because the arrow's in there, there won't be much blood. When I pull the arrow out, the bleeding will be mostly internal until it gets too heavy for my body to hold it in. So, you're going to break off the tip of the arrow, then push it through while I pull it out from the front. As you push it out, replace it with the heated arrow. That should cauterize anything that's been opened. If it's good and hot, it should also kill anything that was on shaft."

"Geezus. Are you serious?" Tamsin asked, staring at the tip of the arrow.

"Do it, Tamsin. Do it or I die before we get back. Do it or you'll have to carry me out of here."

Tamsin pressed the end of the torch into the ground and handed the hot arrow to Mary. She moved behind Mary and gripped the shaft before breaking off the tip. She took the arrow back from Mary and heated it up once more,

"You'd better wrap something around the arrow so your hands don't slip." Mary cautioned.

Tamsin nodded before snapping off the tip and pushing the arrow in, chasing it with the now red metal of the other arrow. There was a loud scream before Mary collapsed from the pain, passing out cold. Looking down, at her hand, she wasn't sure what to do next. Was she supposed to remove the arrow? Of course, that could start the bleeding again, but she decided that if she left it in, the blood would start to clot, making it impossible to move. She pushed it through the rest of the way, relieved when she noticed very little blood on the shaft.

"Lauren's going to kill me for doing that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I understand this is a difficult time for you, Lauren but you are under contract and I need you in Boston! End of discussion!"

"Then I quit!" Lauren replied.

Evony turned to the doctor, standing only inches from her face, "Then I will own you. I will take everything you own. I will take everything your girlfriend owns and I will make sure that Tamsin is working in some dark Federal basement sorting files for the rest of her life! I will withdraw charity care from your friend Kyle and she will spend the rest of her life eating meals through a straw, pinned to a wheelchair as she withers away into nothing."

"Evony!" The nurses said in unison.

She turned to the three women, pointing at each of them, "I take it the three of you don't value your jobs either?"

Lauren held up her hands, "Fine. I'll go, but my flight doesn't leave until tomorrow evening, so I would appreciate it if you would stay out of my way until then."

"We have things to discuss."

"Not things that are more important than the care of my patients. The coroner will be arriving shortly, and I have a mountain of paperwork to finish. Then, I believe that Sheriff Thornwood will want to take my statement. In accordance with my contract, I have full decision-making power in medical matters, and you have no jurisdiction where matters of law enforcement are concerned, particularly in a federal investigation."

At that moment, Acacia came to join the group from behind the curtain of one of the treatment rooms. She pulled on her jacket and approached the group, pretending she hadn't heard Evony's rant. In truth, Acacia had come to feel a connection to these people. They'd been to war together and she owed them, especially Lauren. She had saved the lives of several of her agents.

"Has anyone seen Tamsin?" She asked.

Lauren turned to Acacia, "She just called. She's on her way in with Mary, who was apparently shot with an arrow."

Acacia nodded, "And who's this?"

Evony didn't wait to be introduced. She shot her hand out and took the matter into her own hands, "The name is Evony Fleurette Marquis and I am the owner of this establishment and the boss of the medical staff."

Acacia chuckled, "Big boss lady, huh? Well aren't you special."

"Excuse me?"

"Nah." Acacia replied, "Lauren, would it be possible for me to start making the rounds to take statements? Apparently, I'm a bit short-staffed at the moment, so I'd like to get started if I can. I'll save you for last as I'm sure you're busy tending to the wounded."

Lauren shrugged, "I'm afraid that most of them are in no condition for conversation, but Mark and Molly are sitting with LJ. They should be able to give you a good run down."

Acacia nodded, "Mark and Molly it is."

Lauren stopped the woman, "Acacia, you're bleeding again."

The elder agent looked down at her side, "Dammit. Why won't it stop bleeding?"

"Maybe because she's vertical and I told her not to leave the bed!" Doctor Chapman said, walking towards the group.

Lauren frowned at Acacia, "I know you are trained to put work first and your own life second, but you have got to take a beat, Agent. Please, go with Dr. Chapman so he can repair your stitches and then stay in bed. I'll have Tamsin start the interviews when she gets in as long as she isn't injured."

Acacia nodded, "Fine, but make sure you take care of yourself too, Doc." She said, pointing at Lauren's side.

"That's not my blood. It's Bo's."

"I didn't mean take care of our wounds, Doc. I meant take care of you."

Lauren gave a half smile as the agent in charge was led away by the other doctor on staff. She turned to Evony and sighed,

"Leave, Evony. Leave now if you're not going to show any empathy or help. You have no place in a hospital where people are suffering after a tragedy of this magnitude, so get out."

"It's my hospital. I can stay if I want to."

"Actually, you're aggravating my staff and my patients, so no you can't. As I said, in medical matters, you may not overrule me. It's in my contract. Break that contract and I will sue you for everything you own. I will own the hospital and employ everyone here. I will give them all raises and use the money we make for good rather than designer clothing, limos and private jets."

Evony smirked, "I can't wait to have you back in Boston. Tata, ladies."

The four women watched as the boss left the clinic. Voice raised in unison, "Bitch."

There was a pause as they all looked at each other, then burst out laughing. It was Shannon who spoke first,

"Lauren, you're not seriously going back to Boston with Bo in critical condition, are you?"

The blonde shrugged, "She's right. I'm not worried about myself and I know the three of you could get work anywhere else, but Bo… Evony wasn't kissing when she said she would own her and let's face it – Bo has been through enough."

"But how could she possibly hurt Bo?" Kelly asked.

"With everything that's been going on including the fire at the construction site, they're behind schedule. She could sue Bo for breach of contract or at the very least, bury her in fines. At worst, she would hire another company leaving Bo with no income to pay her workers for the work they've done so far. She has money, but she doesn't come close to having the bankroll that Evony to fend her off."

"Well, I just talked to Kenzi and she said that Hale told her that Evony has put this place up for sale."

"What?" Lauren asked, her eyes set on Carolyn as she explained.

"Apparently with the hospital opening, she plans to divert all patient care to the hospital. She's going to move the equipment over there and sell this place off as a retail business."

Lauren's jaw clenched, "And where are the three of you going?"

Kelly shrugged, "We're not supposed to know she's selling. She did mention to us that we would be having our end of the year evaluations just before Christmas and that she would renegotiate our contracts at that time."

Shannon nodded, "I asked her if she was expecting to move us back to Boston and she just said no. There was no explanation, no alternate destination, nothing. We have no idea if she's keeping us on staff or firing us."

"Right before Christmas, huh?" Lauren asked.

The three women nodded.

A throat cleared, causing the four women to look over their shoulders to find Dr. Chapman standing just outside of their circle,

"If I may… and you should know that I am no fan of Evony's… but maybe there's a retirement clause in your contract, Doctor Lewis?"

Lauren laughed, "Retirement? Why would I retire? I mean… I can't retire. Retirement is for elderly doctors and I'm just…"

"Doctor Lewis, I'm merely giving you the only option that would allow you to exit your contract without repercussion."

Lauren stopped, her eyes locked on the other doctor's as he stood calmly, "I'm retiring at the end of this year."

"You? But you're only in your early forties. You've got a family."

He smiled, "The beauty of a retirement clause. I'm permitted to work in any setting other than the one where I am currently employed. My official duties are at Seattle General, not here. If I retire from Seattle, I can choose any other non-hospital setting."

"Meaning you could work here if you wanted to." Lauren smirked.

He nodded, "And I must say, that you are one of the most honorable physicians I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I would love to work for you should you, say… ever own a clinic. Check for that retirement clause. I've been talking to other doctors. It seems it's a standard clause her lawyers recommend she have in all of her contracts. It prevents us from working for a competing hospital but also gives us a way out, so we're not considered indentured servants."

Lauren smiled, giving the man a nod as she pressed her hands into her lab coat, "Thank you. Thank you for helping me to see outside of Evony's box."

He smiled, "She does have a way of making people see only her point of view. Remember, Doctor, she's not as smart as you. Not even close." He looked down at his watch, "Now, I believe Kelly has a flight to catch with Kurt who is leaving for Anchorage for a supply pick up in about twenty minutes. Doctor Lewis, you look exhausted. I am ordering you to take the rest of this shift off. You've been through a tremendous ordeal; you have several cuts and scrapes that could become infected if they're not properly cleaned and you need sleep. I'd say all of that will take about twelve hours at which time, you can come back to brief me on the clinic before you leave for Boston."

Lauren smiled, "Doctors' orders, huh?"

He nodded, "And I believe there's two little girls who are quite traumatized by the events of the last several hours. They might need a house call as well, so if you need a bit more time, I'll be here and so will the nurses."

They all nodded, leading Lauren to smile. It warmed her heart to have the support of so many.

She nodded, turning to Kelly, "I suppose we have a flight to catch."

Kelly nodded, "We need supplies, so we really do need to leave on time. Do you have any goodbyes you want to say?"

Carolyn shook her head, "We'll make sure everyone is here tomorrow. Just make sure you make arrangements with Kurt to fly you to the airport."

Lauren nodded, "I'll need time to pack…"

"Lauren, we know what has to happen before you go from Alaska to Boston and before you say anything, we know you're unsure about returning. We'll make sure that everything is ready to go from here in your apartment and at Bo's house."

The blonde nodded. The thought of taking her things out of Bo's house was… well, she was glad that someone else was going to do it. She turned to Kelly,

"I'll see you at the airstrip in ten minutes."

Kelly nodded, "See you there."

"You'll make sure Bo's Mom is well cared for?" She said to the remaining three as Kelly exited the clinic.

Shannon smiled, "She'll get our best, Doc."

"Thank you all again." She turned and headed up to her apartment to gather an overnight bag.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Four hours later, Anchorage General Hospital, Trauma Unit

"Hello, Doctor Lewis. We've been expecting you."

Lauren smiled at the night nurse, taking the offered chart, "How's my patient?"

The nurse sighed, "The surgery was successful, but she's been in an out of consciousness. She's in a great deal of pain."

Lauren shook her head, "The surgical report says that the arrow splintered?"

The woman nodded, "The bullet lodged in the soft tissue of her abdomen and, as you suspected, was a through and through. It nicked an artery, but the doctors credited your quick work in the field with saving her life. The arrow, on the other hand, was a bit of an ordeal. It hit her hip and splintered. They found pieces of graphite in seven different parts of her body. They were concerned about attempting an MRI to rule out any other splinters, but…"

"The magnetic field would be too dangerous because the arrow wasn't wooden. It was a metal. Have they considered…"

"They're doing a PET Scan in the morning. For now, she needs as much rest as she can get."

"Of course." Lauren replied, "Thank you."

The nurse smiled as Lauren turned and headed for the intensive care unit. She'd become all too familiar with this hospital since Kyle's stay here before being moved to Seattle. She had hoped that she would spend the night wrapped in Bo's arms before she'd left, but now, here she was, visiting Bo in a hospital bed again. It seemed as if since the day they'd met there was always some sort of impending doom lurking in the shadows of their lives. Was this really the best they could hope for as a couple?

She entered the room to find a restless Bo tossing and turning in the bed. The nurse was about to administer another injection, but Lauren stopped her,

"Please. I'd like to see what happens when she's conscious."

"She's in pain when she's conscious. Who are you?"

Lauren looked down, noticing that her jacket was covering her credentials, "My name is Doctor Lewis. This is my patient. I have surgical privileges here, but she had to come ahead of me."

"Yea, well someone really did a number on her. I hope they got the bastard."

Lauren nodded, "They did, thank you."

The nurse nodded, "Just hit the nurses' button when you're ready for the injection. I'll come running."

Sitting by Bo's bedside, Lauren nodded. She turned to face the brunette. It was the first time she'd seen her in the light. Kurt had airlifted her in his chopper right from the trail before they'd ever made it to Talkeetna. Lauren had to stick around to take care of the wounded and tag the dead for the coroner. She'd done all she could for Bo and she knew she had to stay busy or she would go crazy waiting for her to get out of surgery.

As she gazed down at the face that she'd come to adore, she found it covered in bruises and cuts. She had no idea what had happened when she'd gone off on her own, but she had a knife wound to the side and leg, to match the arrow and gunshot wounds.

"What were you thinking! I can't protect you if you go running off on your own! You want to be a couple, but you make these crazy decisions for yourself. If you want us to be together, then you have to give me a say."

She laid her head in her hands on the bedside, her fingers finding Bo's. She closed her eyes for a moment, but sat straight up when she felt Bo's fingers curl around her own. She looked at the brunette who was staring up at her with drowsy eyes,

"Bo?"

"I hear you and I'm sorry. I don't know how to be a couple. I didn't think… I'm so used to being alone."

Lauren stared down at the fingers in her hand. The nurses hadn't cleaned her hands yet. She leaned over and grabbed one of the wet wipes on the bedside table and got to work cleaning the grime from beneath her nails.

"Lauren, you don't have to do that."

The blonde ignored Bo's words, continuing to work, but the brunette wasn't having it.

"Lauren, please. Talk to me before I fall back to sleep again. Are you okay? Is everyone okay?"

Still, Lauren said nothing, unable to reply as she was holding back tears about the news she was about to deliver. Maybe she should wait until morning.

"Lauren, you're scaring me! Is someone dead?"

The blonde looked up, tears betraying her, "Everyone is alive, Bo. Your Mom was shot with an arrow by your Uncle Gemini, but she's going to make a full recovery thanks to Tamsin's emergency first aid."

"Tamsin did first aid, huh?"

"Mary insisted." Lauren smiled, "She took down six men on her own, Bo. I think any doubts you had about her attention should be put aside now."

"Six men?"

Lauren nodded.

"So everyone is alive… then why are you crying?"

Lauren sighed, "I… I don't know if or how to say this."

Bo squeezed Lauren's hand, "Just say it, Lauren. You can tell me anything."

Pausing for a long moment, Lauren lowered her eyes, her work on Bo's fingers now more of a nervous act than an actual attempt to clean her hands,

"Evony showed up at the clinic…"

"No."

"Bo…"

"No. Not now. You're not leaving now. I'm not ready!"

Lauren looked up, her heart clenching as tears fell from Bo's eyes. She heard the monitor sound and cursed herself for telling her. She stood, watching as the brunette's heartrate soared,

"Bo, I need you to calm down. Sweetie, calm down."

The nurse came into the room and immediately prepped the syringe when she saw Lauren give her a single nod. Leaning down, Lauren whispered,

"No amount of distance can change the love I feel for you, Bo. Sleep. I'll be here when you wake up. We still have tomorrow, Bo. I promise. We will have tomorrow. I'll be right here. I love you."

The brunette looked up at the blonde who leaned down and kissed her forehead. She gave her a weak smile and a gentle kiss on the lips before she whispered,

"No distance can take our love away."

"I love you, Lauren. I'm not ready." Bo said before the drug took hold and sleep claimed her.

Lauren lay her head on the brunette's chest for a moment, then sat back in the chair, never letting go of her hand. She looked up at the nurse who had her arms crossed over her chest,

"Your patient, huh?"

"My girlfriend who became my patient when they came for her and shot her. She saved ten people today. She's the strongest woman I know. I did emergency care in the field and had them chopper her here where someone who could be objective could operate. We had twenty people in my clinic up in Talkeetna. I came as soon as I could. She knew I had bad news. I shouldn't have told her. Not yet."

"Is there a war zone nearby that I don't know about?" The nurse asked.

Lauren let out a chuckle, "You heard about Big Jim?"

The woman laughed out loud, "What a whack job that guy is. Heard he tried to kill his own kid. Came after her at the Iditarod and she lived to tell the tale. Heard a hundred men were chasing her the whole way."

Lauren kept her eyes on Bo as she replied, "You don't really believe a hundred men were chasing one woman, do you?"

"Nah, but a friend who ran in the Iditarod said there were Feds everywhere trying to get the guy."

"About twenty men chased her. In the end, she survived and won the race. Big Jim ended up in cuffs."

"Well, any guy who tries to kill his own kid deserves to be in jail."

Lauren nodded, "Well, this is the kid he tried to kill."

The nurses' eyes went wide, "Wait – this chart says Jane Doe."

Lauren smiled, "She doesn't like attention."

"This is Bo Dennis, the Iditarod Champion?"

"One and the same." Lauren smiled.

"Who the hell did this to her?"

"Big Jim still has men loyal to him out there. His men are still chasing her and her Mom. They came for us at Bo's home. A lot of people died."

"And you told her who died?"

Lauren nodded, "Something like that."

It did feel like a death. It felt like half of her was being ripped away. Why had she been so adamant about leaving? In this moment, it seemed insane. She loved this woman. She loved the fight in her. She loved the life she'd found here. She loved the family they'd created here. But the constant fight against Bo's past was exhausting. Still, that wouldn't last forever, would it? Surely, they would find safety and settle into a normal life.

Lauren chuckled knowing that life would Bo would be anything but normal. She looked up at the nurse who was hanging Bo's chart and checking her drip lines.

"She'll sleep for a few hours now. When she wakes, if she remembers what you told her, try to keep her calm, okay? That heart rate was dangerous for her condition."

"I'm aware." Lauren snapped, immediately regretting it, "I'm sorry. I just… I'm tired."

The nurse came over to Lauren, "You're hurt."

Looking down, Lauren noticed the gash on her arm, "I hadn't noticed. I must have… well, I honestly don't know what happened. A lot of things happened."

"I can clean and stitch that up for you if you'd like." The nurse offered.

Lauren nodded, "No sense getting an infection. Can you do it here? I don't want to leave her. I promised I'd be here."

"Of course."

"If I fall asleep, please feel free to continue." Lauren smiled.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but you do look exhausted."

The doctor nodded, "I don't even know how long I've been awake. It's been a long time, though."

"You rest. I'll take care of that. Do you have any other wounds?"

"None that I know of."

"Well, you can hop in her shower if you'd like. I can give you some scrubs."

"That would be great. I'd love to wash this day away."

"Well, why don't you scrub down in the shower and I'll be back in about fifteen minutes. Be careful with that."

Lauren nodded, watching the nurse leave and come back with a set of scrubs.

"Here you go."

"Thank you, nurse."

"Nancy. My name… it's Nancy, Dr. Lewis."

"Thank you, Nancy."

Lauren looked at Bo. She was happy that she was sleeping soundly, but she desperately wanted to hold her and be held back. This wasn't the goodbye she had hoped for – not by a long shot. She sighed and stood, deciding a shower would be the best thing right now. The nurse would stitch her up, she would pass out and when she awoke, Bo would be awake, and they would have some time together. For now, that's what she had to focus on. They had time.

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