Mary sat down in the chair facing the bed. She could still feel the warmth from where Nathan had been only a few moments ago. As she turned towards the basket of clothes on the table next to her, she noticed a figure storm out of the saloon doors out of the corner of her eye. Involuntarily, quick as a flash her head turned fully towards the window. It was Vin. He leaned forward with his arms onto the low wooden bar outside of the saloon for a few moments, facing the floor, before lifting his head, slapping his thigh in what Mary could only presume was anger, and then paced off towards the direction of the livery. Mary turned back to her pile of clothes, heart beating faster ever so slightly. She had been expecting Chris, there was no point in denying it to herself, and she wasn't sure whether she felt relieved or disappointed that it had been Vin instead that she had seen. She had always had mixed emotions when it came to Chris Larabee, but recently her feelings towards him and become even more conflicting and unsure. Every time she looked at the cowboy, Mary saw a tormented man, but things were different between them now. Something had shifted in the way that Chris thought of her, she could tell by the way he had acted towards her of late. Perhaps he felt guilty? Or perhaps he resented her? Mary sighed to herself, knowing that unless the gunslinger enlightened her on the issue, and that would be highly unlikely to happen, she would never uncover the mystery. But it wasn't only Chris' behaviour of thoughts that had changed. Mary herself had began to see Chris in a new light since the whole affair with Ella had happened. Whilst Chris was a good man, Mary couldn't shake the way in which he had been so readily able to forget about the town of Four Corners. And me, she thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by a groan from the bed. Mary turned to see Amy stirring from her sleep. It looked as though she had either knocked her injured arm or that the pain had come back, as a grimace accompanied Amy's groan. Mary, unsure of whether to approach the girl, edged her chair slightly closer but remained seated. Amy's eyes finally fluttered open, and as she caught sight of Mary a baffled expression filled her face.

"Are you Mrs. Travis?" the girl asked, catching Mary completely off guard.

"Uh…yes, I am. And you're Miss Duke I believe?"

The girl answered with a nod, as she pulled herself in a sitting position.

"May I ask how you knew who I am Amy?" Mary was careful to ask in a docile tone.

"That Nathan doctor man was tellin' me about some of your town folk. You seem to be kinda important around here Mrs Travis…though I'm not exactly sure what you're doing here?"

Mary's breath caught in her throat, and she looked down momentarily as the girl repeated her old title. Stifling back the familiar feeling of sadness that resurfaced whenever she allowed herself to think of Steven, she looked up at Amy, biting back the sting of tears.

"It's just Miss Travis, my husband passed away almost two years ago…" Mary could feel her voice trailing off. Amy's brow furrowed in a look of empathy,

"I'm sorry to hear that Mrs…uh sorry I mean Miss Travis"

Mary smiled bitterly at Amy,

"Mary, please. And the reason that I'm here is that I was wondering if there was any way I could aid you Amy?"

"You a doctor too?" a confused gaze appeared on Amy's face.

"No I'm afraid not," Mary laughed, "but I brought some clothes that you might like to change into? And if I can arrange a place for you to stay or anything like that I'd be most happy to help?" Mary held up a few items of clothing from the top of the pile, "I'm afraid it's nothing fancy or…"

"No thanks," Amy's reply cut Mary halfway through her sentence. Mary turned her attention away from the clothing in her hands to Amy. The girl was staring at the skirt with a look of unease, then seemingly realising the abruptness of her reply, she hastily continued,

"I mean, I'm thankful for your offer Ms Travis, don' get me wrong, It's just I'm not exactly a skirts and dresses kinda gal."

Mary chuckled, folding the skirt back into the basket,

"That's alright. To be honest with you Nathan did warn me that you and I may not share the same taste in clothing. But what about the other issues, like boarding?"

Amy looked thoughtful for a moment. Mary watched intently as her eyes seemed to glaze over, with a sad look, and Mary assumed her thoughts were racing off to a distant familiar place. Almost as swiftly as the wistful look had arrived, it disappeared, but Mary could still sense a hint of sadness within the girl's eyes.

"No thank you Mary. It's mighty kind of ya'll to offer, but I plan to be moving on from Four Corners as soon as I can ride again. To tell you the truth I hadn' exactly planned on stopping here in the first place."

Mary nodded, smiling at the young woman in front of her. She couldn't help but be intrigued as to not only where this girl had been or was going, but also as to who she was. She seemed so young, but Mary could also sense pain in this woman that made her manner appear much older. Especially in her eyes. Mary couldn't shake the torment she has witnessed Amy trying to conceal. She knew how it felt to look into the eyes of a person in distress, she had been doing so to herself for the last two years. But she could also feel the wall that this girl had built up around herself. A knock at the door saved Mary from her anxieties,

"That'll be Nathan here to check up on you," Mary smiled at the younger woman. The smile was still on her face as she opened the door.

"Good morning Mr. Jackson, I hope you feel better res…" she was cut short by the sight she found in front of her. Chris Larabee was looking down at her, a concoction of surprise and sheepishness on his face. Mary felt her mouth drop open in shock, and once again the conflicting feelings began to rise in her. Beating them back down, Mary pulled the door closed behind her, giving her a chance to regain her composure. She turned back to face Chris with a cool, neutral expression,

"Mr. Larabee. On what business are you here?"

Chris shuffled his stance awkwardly, looking at his feet.

"Mornin' Mary, sorry to interrupt, I was just comin' to check up on how Miss Duke's doing s'all."

Mary was unsure of how to reply to his answer. She was unsure of whether it was the sight of Chris, or the result of stepping outside into the morning sun, but it seemed her tireless night was finally catching up with her. A wave of sleepiness crept over her, and she could feel her eyes beginning to droop. Unaware, Chris cleared his throat and lifted his gaze to look Mary in the eye.

"I was kinda hopin' to catch you though Mary."

She fought back a yawn, and Chris took this as his cue to continue,

"About yesterday. I'm sorry for takin' my anger out on you Mary. I truly am. And not just yesterday…" he paused, seemingly struggling to find the appropriate words for what he wished to say, "I guess I'm just sorry for the way tha' things have been goin' on between us. An' I guess I'm hopin' that it ain't too late for us ta' try and fix things?"

Mary stared at Chris intently. The sincerity was obvious in his eyes, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. With everything that had happened to Chris over the last few years, the least she could do was give their friendship a second chance.

"I'll be perfectly honest with you Chris. I want things between us to stop being so strained as well. I miss having you as a good friend," she flashed a half smile at him, "but, it's going to take some effort on both our parts. I know that you are dealing with a lot of issues presently Chris, but you have to be more wary that I'm only here trying to help you." She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat as she prepared herself, "I actually have something to tell you. I have for a while…Whilst you were out near Red Fork, at Ella's ranch….Gerard came to visit me."

Mary couldn't help but stop talking temporarily, searching for a reaction from Chris. She noticed his jaw clench slightly, but this was the only indication of any change in emotion.

"He and I….well I believe that our relationship may be developing again…and I just thought that I should let you know…"

Chris waited patiently for Mary to finish, and when he was sure she had completed her sentence, he smiled at her. Not a beaming smile, but not quite a forced smile either, it was a genuine small smile,

"I'm happy for you Mary, congratulations. Gerard is a good man, and he's good with Billy. You deserve some happiness, lord know it."

The yawn that Mary had been fighting finally surfaced, and throwing one last smile in Chris' direction, she turned towards the stairs,

"Thank you Chris. Nathan said that he would be back soon, but would you mind waiting with Amy until he arrives? I am struggling to keep my eyes open all of a sudden…"

"Of course," he smiled back at her.

As Mary turned to start walking down the stairs she heard Chris call out to her,

"Mary?"

"Yes Chris?"

"Thank you, for y'know…."

Mary smiled, "You don't need to thank me Chris." And with that she made her way down the stairs. Chris' gaze followed her as she made her way across the dirt track road towards The Clarion office.