The Kid and Heyes slipped into the almost full courtroom and sat at the back about ten minutes before proceedings started. The arrest and conviction of Manley had apparently caused quite a stir. Also from what the Kid could see of some of the men crowded into the packed space, it'd also attracted the interest of more than one national newspaper.

The Kid looked round the courtroom with uneasy interest, his heart beating louder and faster than he liked. He'd not faced this situation himself, but he recognised the building from when he'd been brought in front of Judge Lawton. A too vivid memory of the painful grief of those desperate days, flashed across his mind and his breath sped up. His throat was suddenly almost painfully dry and tight. In an attempt to clear it he coughed, which drew the attention of Heyes who patted his knee gently and whispered.

"You all right?"

The Kid's throat eased and his discomfort settled as he regained some control. He turned to look into his partner's slightly worried expression and was able to nod and offer a half-smile as he said honestly. "I'm doing pretty good, Heyes and I don't intend to miss this, just 'cos of my stupid nerves."

Heyes' expression eased into a smile of his own at the nod and they both turned back to face the front of the court as the noise in the courtroom suddenly peaked and there were several cries of "Shame."

The four defendants were brought into the courtroom in shackles, shuffling and stumbling as they were led to the dock to sit. The judge banged his gavel, calling the court to order and a breathless, anticipatory hush fell over the assembled crowd.

The Kid looked at the men and his eyes lingered on Manley, whose eyes restlessly roamed the court before settling to look down at his cuffed hands. The Kid felt some satisfaction at the sight of the man, who'd had so little care for anything other than lining his own pocket, finally about to pay for the misery he'd caused.

The Judge had begun speaking and the Kid listened intently. "I have taken much into consideration when deciding on the sentencing. Vernon Masters, James Coulter and Matthew Danby are all sentenced to three years and ordered to reimburse Wyoming Territory the money that they illegally obtained. But you, Albert Manley, as a man in a position of trust, which you abused so shamelessly, deserve a longer sentence. I feel nine years is an appropriate length that reflects the seriousness of your breach of responsibility to the territory which employed you."

The court exploded into activity as cheers and a round of applause rippled loudly through the crowd. There were bright flashes and strong smells as the newspaper men sought to record the expressions on the men's faces for posterity.

The Kid slightly overwhelmed by the activity around him, quickly found a way out through the crowd and was soon stood on the street, taking steadying breaths as Heyes stood next to him with a grin on his face. As his nerves settled, the Kid managed a smile as the news sank in.

XXX

Their attention was caught by someone calling the Kid's name and they turned in unison to see a man rapidly walking towards them. Heyes glanced at the Kid with his eyebrow raised as Curry said softly. "Jenkins."

The Kid saw Heyes' face relax as he turned to smile at the man who had now reached them and he offered his hand. "Mr Jenkins. I'm Hannibal Heyes."

"Good to finally meet you Mr Heyes. Your letters sure were entertaining." Jenkins shook Heyes' proffered hand as he glanced over at the Kid with a smile and nod. "You're looking well."

The Kid experienced a twinge of embarrassed discomfort at the memory of just how low he'd been last time they'd seen each other. But the man's gaze was warm and before anything else could be said, a sweet- faced young woman came up to them. She was carrying a babe in her arms and a young boy was hanging onto her hand. "Michael?"

Jenkins turned to smile at her and put his arm round her waist as he held out his other hand to the boy who took it while staring at the Kid and Heyes with interest but no fear. "Laura, this is the man I told you about, Jed Curry and of course his partner Hannibal Heyes. Mr Curry, this is my wife, Laura." Jenkins smile included all three of them, before his gaze rested on the Kid's face, his expression relaxing into something almost fond.

The woman's face lit up and she offered her free hand to the Kid who took it gently. "I am so glad to finally get to say thank-you."

The Kid was uncertain how to respond to their very obvious gratitude, as he felt he was somehow unworthy of it. Unsure even now, whether he would still have intervened if he'd known the pain that would come after, despite the fact it'd brought him the knowledge that Heyes wasn't dead. He found himself tongue-tied and looked over at Heyes who smiled at him.

Jenkins looked between them and appeared to realise what had gone through the Kid's head as he cleared his throat and said carefully. "Most men in your place would simply have let the other inmates attack me. Even if you didn't consider the possible consequences of what you were doing, it was still very decent of you." He smiled down at his wife as he added. "And we will be forever grateful."

He cleared his throat and pulling his wife in close to him said softly. "Manley told me he was transferring me to another block after you were released back to your cell. He said it would prevent me from becoming too involved." He paused before adding angrily. "How involved is a man supposed to get when he owes someone his life? I'm not sorry that he's going to jail himself. I wish...I'm sorry about Jake." He stopped and added a little uncomfortably. "I'm real happy you made it outta there and earnt the chance of a good future." He trailed off, but before the silence could become awkward, he put his hand out to the Kid and they shook. "Good luck, Mr Curry, Mr Heyes." With that he and his family walked away and the Kid watched them go, with a small smile on his face.

"See, Kid. He agrees with me. You just did what you had to do."

The Kid turned back to his partner, blinked and sighed. "I still ain't sure about that Heyes. But it was real good to see Jenkins and his family and at least Manley ain't getting away with what he did."

XXX

Heyes watched Emily Porter walk up the aisle on her father's arm to the strains of Mendelssohn's wedding march. She looked calm and composed, although Heyes could easily see the happiness in her. Lom however simply looked as nervous as Heyes could ever remember him being. Amused he turned to the Kid, who was also watching Lom, but alongside the expected amusement there was a hint of wistfulness in his expression.

Heyes unable to resist teasing asked lightly. "You gonna catch that bouquet Kid? Don't seem like there'll be much competition with all these married folk around."

The Kid turned to look at him briefly, before turning back to the front of the church. Just as he looked away, Heyes caught a flash of something close to pain in his eyes and wondered at its cause. He'd have to worm it out of his partner later.

XXX

"You know, Heyes, I don't ever think I'll convince a woman to marry me and start a family. I got nothin' much to offer her. Besides how will I know if she's marrying me for the right reasons? And not because of some romantic idea she's got from them dime novels."

Heyes sighed at his friend's words and eyed the nearly empty whiskey bottle between them. The Kid's voice was slurry and his eyes were bleary. He'd definitely had more than enough to drink and Heyes was drunk enough that he wasn't even close to ready to deal with this conversation. He waited for the Kid to say something else, trying to think of a way to change the subject if he had to. When nothing more was forthcoming he risked a glance at his partner, unsurprised to find him staring vaguely, his eyes resting between the empty glass in his hand and the over half empty bottle on the bar. "C'mon, Kid, think it's time you were in bed."

He manoeuvred his un-protesting partner onto his feet and started to guide him towards the door. They were almost out when the Kid turned to him. "You know I'm right, Heyes."

"Oh, I'm sure there'll be someone. Like you've often said, Kid, there's a lot of strange women out there." He continued to walk them both to the door, almost grateful for the moment that his partner hadn't yet regained all his usual weight. The Kid said nothing more but simply leaned heavily onto Heyes' shoulder when the cold air hit him as they reached the street.

Heyes was out of breath and more than little relieved when they finally arrived at their room. With some manoeuvring, he was able to safely half drop his almost asleep friend onto the bed. He gently removed his boots before carefully throwing a quilt over him. The Kid was soon fast asleep, breathing heavily but not quite snoring.

Heyes not quite ready to sleep himself, sat in the easy chair by the window and stared out into the still busy street. He had to admit that his partner had made a good point, which was probably true for both of them. Although he'd be loathe to admit it to him. He hoped the Kid had drunk enough to have forgotten this conversation in the morning as it was a question he didn't have a good solution to, at least not yet.