Jack's excitement over J.D. and his guest stemmed from the fact that the three of them…Ennis, Jack, and J.D….had become the best of friends. And here was J.D., lonely for so long, coming to Christmas Eve dinner with…an acquaintance.

After Ennis and Jack had returned from Lightning Flat, Jack relayed to Ennis the story that J.D. had so painfully told to him. After hearing it, Ennis had left the house and wandered outside a long time, silent, wondering how he would feel if Jack were to die…alone…without him. How would he feel if he had been unable to protect him from harm…had been unable to say goodbye.

After that, Ennis had contacted J.D. and asked him to come by. Ennis stood on the porch, hands in his pockets, scuffing his foot on the wood as J.D. approached.

"Hey, Ennis. I got your call. Everything alright?"

"Jack told me about Nathan, J.D."

J.D. stopped a few feet away from Ennis not expecting this reception.

"I'm real sorry. I can't know what you went through, but if I think of losing Jack…," Ennis paused caught up in that terrible thought. "I'm real sorry about Nathan

J.D. looked down at his feet, then over to his left, then back at his feet. He looked up at Ennis to see unshed tears. His own eyes began to water. Ennis stepped towards J.D., hand extended. As J.D. took Ennis' hand to shake, Ennis grabbed J.D.'s hand in a firm grip, "If you ever need anything, J.D…if you need to talk…or…if you need a friend…well…." Ennis held J.D.'s hand for a moment longer then released it.

"If you got some time, Sheriff, why don't ya come on inside for some coffee." J.D. looked down at his feet again, then nodded to Ennis. They both walked on into the house.

The three of them sat down for a long time and talked about Nathan. Some tears flowed and their friendship was firmly cemented that day. For J.D. the opportunity to have friends of the same inclination was a blessing he never thought he'd have.

Having Ennis and Jack as friends helped J.D. to open up and believe that maybe he could end his loneliness. He felt like there might be a glimmer of hope on the horizon for him. It was when he responded to a shooting outside Riverton that the glimmer began to brighten.

The sheriff's office had received a call from a hysterical woman shouting that her husband was trying to kill her. Sparse territory that this was, the dispatcher knew most everybody and recognized Edith's voice right away. This wasn't the first call that they had ever received from her and had to respond to. Her husband was an alcoholic…and a sad and pathetic excuse for a man…and beat up on her on a regular basis. This time though there was a gunshot and the line went dead.

J.D. was called to the scene and the hospital was notified to send an ambulance.

The ambulance had arrived a couple minutes before J.D. and the two attendants had pulled out a gurney, one of them was pulling it towards the door of the house, the other taking equipment out of the back of the ambulance.

Two things happened simultaneously…J.D. pulled up and the husband stepped out of the house raising a rifle as he walked towards the ambulance driver.

"GET THE HELL OFF MY FUCKIN' PROPERTY 'FORE I BLOW YOUR HEAD RIGHT OFF YOUR SHOULDERS!"

The ambulance driver was taken up short…he had been walking backwards pulling the gurney and turned to see a rifle in his face.

"BILLY, YOU DROP THAT RIFLE RIGHT NOW!"

"Sheriff, you better take your men outta here! I ain't kiddin'!" The deputy hung back so as not to crowd Billy but J.D. continued walking. He shifted his gaze to the ambulance driver who, at the same time, glanced over at J.D. J.D. nearly forgot where he was and what he was doing. In this man's gaze, he saw a similar plea for help that he had seen from Nathan so many years ago when they had first made contact. With great effort, he snatched his eyes away and focused back on Billy.

"Billy, these men are here to help Edith. Now you drop that rifle…" J.D. reached up slowly and took off his hat knowing he would have to get close and he didn't want it in the way…or to get dirty.

"Screw the bitch! She can die for all I care! I know she's cheatin' on me. I see all those people looking at me and laughing when I walk into town. They all know."

"Billy, ain't nobody looking at you any which way. We been over this a bunch a times now." J.D. said calmly as he stepped up within a couple of feet of the two of them. He dropped his hat behind him.

"Don't believe ya, Sheriff…" As Billy yammered on, J.D. turned slightly to the ambulance driver and quietly asked, "What's your name?" Slowly the man responded in a hushed, strained whisper, "Dale." He never took his eyes, green eyes, off J.D. who continued to have difficulty keeping his attention on Billy.

J.D. slid between Dale and the rifle barrel then backed up to push Dale a little distance away. When J.D. made contact with Dale, a spark ran through him causing a loss of concentration on the rifle which J.D. found to be really disconcerting.

He slid his hand slowly up toward the rifle barrel and pushed it aside, "Now, Billy, I'm asking you to put this rifle down now. You're really scaring Dale here and all he came to do was help Edith. So you gimme the rifle, okay?"

Billy yanked once on the rifle, "No, I ain't…" J.D. shot out with his left fist catching Billy square in the face. Billy rocked back once then dropped straight to the ground.

"Got no time for this," J.D. said calmly. "Ya cain't never argue with this man. He just won't shut up." J.D. realized he was still pressed against Dale, who was breathing real heavy, and though he had the strongest desire to stay just that way as long as he could, he knew he needed to step away. So, stepping forward and taking the rifle by the stock, he retrieved his hat then turned to face Dale.

Dale had his eyes closed. He slowly dropped his hands and placed them on his knees. His breathing was heavy and he was shaking slightly. He kept saying, "Shit…shit…shit." J.D. put a hand on his shoulder, "You alright?" Dale's hand shot out to grab the fabric at J.D.'s waist…something to ground him. Another jolt of desire went through J.D. at this contact.

Now that Billy was no longer a problem, J.D. could indulge in looking more closely at Dale. He saw a handsome man, younger looking than J.D.'s estimate of early 30's, about the same height, dark blonde hair, green eyes (the first thing he noticed), radiating this palpable vulnerability that always drew J.D.'s protector side like nothing else.

It took everything to not reach down and draw him close to ease his fear.

Dale stood up a few seconds later. He realized he was still holding onto J.D. and snatched his hand away, "I'm sorry. I'm real sorry." J.D. felt the sudden vacuum created as Dale turned and stepped a couple of feet away.

"I ain't never had a gun in my face before," Dale said with his back turned.

"It's okay. It's always rough the first time. Two or three more times and you'll get used to it," J.D. said jokingly. Dale turned giving a weak smile.

J.D. nodded towards the house, "Got a patient waiting on ya." Dale's head snapped up. J.D. watched Dale's concern for his patient flood back and his concentration sharpen.

"Sorry. Thanks again. I owe ya," and he strode on into the house with his gurney followed closely by his partner. J.D. saw Dale glance once in his direction as he went through the front door.

J.D. went over to help his deputy, who had already handcuffed Billy. Together they carried the unconscious man to the cruiser, not hard since he was a skinny little guy, and placed him in the back. As they finished, Dale and his partner came out with Edith.

"She's gonna be okay, Sheriff. Just a graze to the arm. But we need to go ahead and get her to the hospital." Dale was trying not to look at J.D., embarrassed by having grabbed him earlier around other people like he had. Damn, why would you go and do something like that? How could you slip up so bad? Yeah, there was the whole gun-in-the-face thing…but…damn…gotta be more careful.

"Well…uh, I'm sure we'll meet again…this whole people-shooting-people thing, ya know. Hear it happens pretty regularly." Dale dropped his head, closed his eyes and groaned. People-shooting-people thing? HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID? Shut up while you're ahead! Dale looked up red from embarrassment.

"Okay…well…gotta go." And with that, Dale took off with Edith never looking back, the whole time thinking, Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

J.D. stood there for a few minutes replaying the whole incident from first sight of Dale to last sight of Dale trying to figure out what was up with this man. Why was Dale so nervous? Sure, J.D. had twinges of desire running through him at the sight of this man but…could Dale…could he be thinking the same way? J.D. was so out of practice at looking at other men or knowing when they were looking at him, that he wasn't sure.

He found old memories and feelings that he thought he had buried forever, rising, surfacing to the forefront of his brain. Part of him felt awkward and another elated at needs and desires opening up that had been stifled. A small whisper of hope blew across his mind causing him to smile…slightly. He felt a bit of a stirring down below that hadn't occurred for a long time.

"Sheriff, you comin'?"

J.D. remembered that his deputy was waiting for him to take Billy to the station. He'd have to put these new…yet old…thoughts aside for a little while. He'd return to them later…yes, he'd return.

"Seems new guy's kinda the nervous type," deputy pointed out.

"Seems so."

"Ain't gonna last long out here if he don't toughen up some."

"Just needs some time, I guess."

J.D. took one last look at the scene, still seeing Dale, then turned and walked to the cruiser.

I don't even know him. How could I lose my cool so completely? Dale's mind was reeling from his contact with J.D. Maybe you act different when your life is in the hands of some scrawny, alcoholic, living-in-the-middle-of-nowhere, crazy man with bad teeth and access to a gun. That must be it. Dale didn't believe that for a moment and knew that he had been instantly taken by J.D. But it's a hopeless situation. He ain't queer. No way. I mean, look at him! I'm just gonna have to let this go. Can't be goin' around carrying a torch for some straight guy. Ain't no future in that.

He remembered the moment his eyes fell on J.D. He thought, first, that he recognized him but just couldn't quite remember from where. Then he realized he had never seen him before but now couldn't take his eyes off him. Then J.D. was right in front of him and he could feel the heat from his body. Then…oh, God…J.D. had leaned against him and pushed, Dale realized after a few seconds, to get him to back up. He hadn't wanted to break that contact for anything.

The feeling that he was completely protected by J.D. was nearly as intoxicating as the contact. It was all he could do to maintain his composure…and keep little Dale, Jr. from standing at attention.

Dale couldn't get the picture of J.D. out of his mind…the dark brown hair and brown eyes, the stocky body that fit so well into that uniform, the strong jaw and strong hands. He could still see how J.D. had walked…no…strode up the yard towards Billy…the aura of command and authority that surrounded him, his quiet confidence that never wavered…all of these things coming together as one very striking package.

"Hey, man, you look like you're off on some other world."

Dale was jerked back to reality by his partner's voice. He had drifted so far away, he had forgotten where he was and his reason for being there.

"We're about a minute away. You ready?" Dale shook his head.

"Yeah, ready to roll. C'mon let's get this done." Dale tried to pump himself up to do his job, pushing all thoughts of J.D. aside to accomplish that…though he wasn't able to push J.D. too far away.