Heath sat beside Karen's bed for several hours, just watching over her and making sure that she was okay. The doctor came and went, only bandaging the small graze on her shoulder.

Before he left, he turned to Victoria. "She'll be just fine, Ms. Victoria. I should think that keeping it clean and bandaged will be enough to let it heal without a scar."

"Thank you, Doctor. I wish we didn't have to call you out so often. I don't understand why some people have to focus on hurting a young woman like this. These people should be ashamed of themselves. She's never hurt anyone and yet the man who hired these people want her out of the picture because his wife died trying to avenge something that had nothing to do with this girl. She hadn't even been born yet."

"Some people are just like that, Ms. Victoria. And unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it." He touched Victoria's shoulder. "You needn't worry. Just send for me anytime you need to. I understand why you didn't want to bring her in to me. You were afraid that someone would attempt a kidnapping on the way in."

"I have to admit I was more than a little concerned about such a possibility," Victoria said. She seemed rather embarrassed about that fact. "And when Nick and Jarrod took the two men and that awful girl to town in order to turn them all over to the sheriff, I was concerned that someone would try to stop them and they would end up getting hurt."

"Ms. Victoria, I can tell you that they made it to town just fine. They were leaving the sheriff's office when Adam and I left. Last time I saw them, they had decided to go to the general store to pick up a few things that Silas had told them he needed. I do believe they mentioned that they were picking up something nice for Miss Karen. They hoped it would cheer her up."

"I hope they're right. I think she could use some cheering up. All of these people being out to get her could make her very sad and depressed. I know it would me."

"I think I would get that way as well. I don't know that I could handle it as well as this young lady has. She's a very strong young woman."

"She should be. She's Ben Cartwright's daughter."

"Ben Cartwright's daughter? No wonder she's handling things as well as she is. What is she doing here?"

"Attending school. We brought her home because she needed a break for a while and when we found out that some men were trying to take her away by force and turn her over to a vicious and cruel man, we kept her here in order to protect her. Hopefully this is all over now."

"I hope so. Who knows how much longer she can hold up through all of this?"

Victoria shrugged before seeing the doctor out. Heath had stayed put the whole time. He was determined to make sure that Karen was safe the whole time. He even held her hand for part of it.

About two hours after the doctor had left, there was a quiet knock on the door. Heath got up and went to it. Adam, Nick and Jarrod stood in the hallway. "How is she, Heath?" Adam asked.

"Doctor says she'll be just fine. That it wasn't more than a scratch. He washed it and bandaged it, saying that keeping it clean and covered should allow it to heal without a scar."

"I'm glad to hear that. Real glad." Adam sighed. "I'm sure Pa will be glad to hear about how you protected Karen throughout that incident." Turning to Nick and Jarrod, he continued. "And thank you both for your help in the matter. What happened when you took the men and Lydia to the sheriff's office?"

"Lydia tried to convince the sheriff that she hadn't had any part in the whole thing. She'd just been doing a good deed. Her parents are being contacted and told to come here and bring a lawyer. She's being charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. The two men are being charged with the same thing and they've been told that if they turn over their boss, the judge might just show some leniency. Although that depends on the judge that draws the case."

"Adam, I think you might want to contact your father and have him and the boys come out here. The trial is going to get ugly and I think Karen's going to need all the support she can get," Jarrod said.

"Will you be representing Karen's interests in this thing? I think she's going to need a really good lawyer for her side and I don't know of anyone else I trust as much as I do you, Jarrod."

"I'll be more than happy to represent Karen's interests in this case. But, unfortunately, that request has to be from your pa. Being as Karen is a minor yet. She's only just turned 16 and until she either turns 18 or gets married, only her pa can speak for her."

"I understand that. I'll send a telegram as soon as I can get to town Monday morning. It's too late to start out now."

"Good. I think it would be a good thing to have your father and brothers here just in case things get more than a little crazy. It would be a really good idea to have them here just in case we need the backup."

"I hope we aren't needed. But a show of strength in the courtroom couldn't be a bad thing."

Adam knew as well as everyone else that this could be very bad for Karen. It certainly wasn't going to help anyone else either but Karen could be permanently scarred by this evil incident. And if Gregori should happen to show up to see if his people turn on him, it could be even worse.

The boys each went to their own room with the exception of Heath who was still sitting quietly beside Karen. The moment the two were alone in the room, Heath sat forward and took Karen's hand. "Karen, I want you to know that I will be with you in the courtroom and I will protect you. No matter who else is there. I will stand beside you until you no longer want me there."

"Heath?" Her voice sounded a bit harsh but he was certain that that was only because of the crying she had done.

"I'm here, Karen. I'm right here."

"What happened? I remember Adam holding me and holding both your hand and Audra's. Then, nothing until I woke up in my own bed."

"Do you remember what happened out there?"

"I do. Thank you for saving me from such a fate as they had in mind for me. And, if you would please, next time you see them, thank Nick and Jarrod for me?"

"I will. I was afraid you'd hate me for saying that I would shoot you before I let you go through that terror."

"Heath, to me, that told me just how much you care. If you would kill me before letting me be dishonored like that, you would do anything to protect me and, if it should happen in the future, our children."

Heath smiled at the woman he loved. The woman that was only just becoming a woman of strength like the woman he called Mother. He would be proud one day to call this woman his wife and the mother of his children. "I would move heaven and earth to protect you, Karen. I want you to remember that."

"Heath, I could never forget that. Not after today. That man could have shot you just as easily as he was ready to shoot me. I never would have forgiven myself had he shot you and left you there to die while he took me to his boss."

"Honey, do you know who his boss was?"

"No." She gently shook her head.

"Gregori Dastrovsky. That was the man he worked for."

"Dastrovsky? As in-?"

"As in Anabelle's husband," Heath said with a nod. He knew that Karen was smart and she'd gotten the picture. "Apparently, he'd decided that since kidnapping you had been her idea and that had gotten her killed, you would be taking her place in his life."

"NO!" she whispered harshly. She was terrified. Heath took her hand, hoping to calm her down before his mother came up to check on her.

"Karen, I and my family are not going to allow that to happen to you. Besides, Adam is heading into town on Monday to send a telegram to your father asking him and the other boys to come out here to stand with you in the courtroom against those men and Lydia. We're hoping that you won't have to be there for long and that we won't need the show of strength. But we want to be prepared."

"Do you think they'll come?"

"I'm certain of it. Your Pa and your brothers would never let you stand alone in something like this. And he is a very influential man. Even out here."

Heath noticed that she was shaking. "I don't know if I can do this, Heath. I've never been anywhere near a courtroom."

"Karen, honey, you'll do just fine. I'm sure Ben will ask Jarrod to represent you in the courtroom. And he's an excellent lawyer. I've watched him work before."

"Do you think Mr. Dastrovsky is going to show up?" Her voice was small and she was afraid that he would try something in the courtroom.

"I hope he does. Then, he can answer for the things he's told his men to do."

Karen rolled to her right side and took a better grip on Heath's hand before allowing her eyes to drift shut once again. Heath shifted the chair a little closer to the bed so that he could hold her hand more comfortably.

Three hours later, Karen woke up to find Heath asleep in the chair next to her bed and still holding her hand. She stretched a little and hissed with the pain in her left shoulder. The sound instantly woke Heath.

"Are you okay?"

"Sorry. My left shoulder hurt when I went to stretch a little bit."

"The bullet that killed the first man out there grazed your shoulder. The doctor has already been and gone. He said that it should be fine so long as we keep it clean and covered. Other than that, how do you feel?"

"Scared. And tired of being scared. I wish people would just stop trying to make me pay for things that I had nothing to do with. Why can't they just let me live my life?"

"I wish I understood what they were thinking. I don't understand them any more than you do. If I did, I would explain it to you. Just know that you do not stand alone. My family stands with you. And you know that your family won't leave you to stand alone in this."

"I know. I just wish I could be assured that when I go back to school, no one else is going to try to hurt me. I want to finish school but I'm so frightened that it won't ever happen. Heath, why do I feel this way?"

"Explain how you feel to me. I'll try to explain it to you. I may not be a doctor but I can try to help you figure out how you're feeling and why."

"I feel weak. Like my fear makes me less than what Pa raised me to be."

"Not true at all. But I can promise you that sometimes, when I'm scared I feel like I'm far less than what Mother deserves in a Barkley. It has taken me a long time to even start understanding that fear doesn't make you less than who you are. It's how you deal with the fear that makes you better than who you started out to be. Or not. You, Karen, are a strong young woman. Your pa and brothers raised you that way. You just have to figure out how to deal with your fear to make yourself stronger than what you started out to be."

"I want to hide. Let everyone else take care of this for me. But at the same time I want to fight. I want to make sure that Gregori Dastrovsky knows that I will not break to him. That I will not become a frightened mouse for him."

"Then, do that. Fight the fear you feel. Show everyone that you are a stronger person than they give you credit for. Prove to Gregori that you have strength in as well as behind you. Don't let him turn you into that timid mouse that he wants to make you. Fight back. Tell everyone what happened to you. He will pay for it. That is certain. You've already made a lot of friends here. Think of all the people that you've met when you went into town with us before you started school. They think of you as a part of this community. Already, you are counted as a part of this town. A part of this family as well as your own."

"Do you really think so?"

"I do. Any time I've had to go into town while you were at school, I was asked by different folks if you were doing alright at school. The clerks at the general store, the waitress at the restaurant, the porter at the hotel have all asked when I'm bringing you back into town again. They like you. You were kind and caring to them and that means a lot to them."

"But I can't believe that it means that much to them. I always thought everyone was raised that way."

"Unfortunately not. I grew up believing that you had to fight for everything you got in this world. That no one would give you anything unless you won it from them in some form. You have such a good heart, Karen. Don't let anyone ruin that. You are an amazing person."

"You sound like you're trying to convince me of that fact."

"I am. I don't want to see you become a frightened, timid mouse. You are a good person. I want you to remember that always. I don't want you to ever forget it. I can have everyone else in this house come in here and tell you the same thing if that would make any difference." He leaned in a little closer. "Karen, I want to court you properly. I really do. I just have no clue how to do that. Please have patience with me while I learn to do so."

She smiled shyly at Heath. "You want to court me? Really?"

He nodded and smiled back at her. "I want you to know that I'm willing to become whatever you need me to be. I want to be the man that you need in your life."

She sat up, with his help, and kissed his cheek. "You already are," she whispered in his ear.