Disclaimer: I don't own Brokeback Mountain... yeah...

ok... the only warning here is that this is a long chapter. I'm not really sure how it became a long chapter, but it did. And alot of stuff happens, so brace yourselves.

The two lived through an entire week in peace and quiet. It was too late in the year to start raising horses just yet. But they had money and they were confident that they would get through the winter. They just had to get horses early next year to start getting things rolling. Their week was spent getting some old furniture and setting up their house so that it was more like a home. They had a table in the kitchen, a couple of kitchen chairs at the table, a sofa in the living room across from the fire, a couple of easy chairs, a few end tables, a few lamps, and a full size bed for the both of them to sleep in. They had also got twin beds for cheap and put one in each of the rooms upstairs that they had picked out for their kids when their kids would visit. It wasn't until Ennis received a letter from Alma that their world was interrupted. The only warning that Jack got about how the night would go was when he got back from brushing down Night. There was a large dent in the wall near the door to their bedroom. He didn't remember that being there before and since it was a hard wood wall he was certain that Ennis had split open a couple of knuckles. He looked at the table and saw a letter sitting on it still open. He saw the name Alma at the end and knew that it must have been the reason for Ennis punching the wall. He took a deep breath and picked up the letter to see what had caused his lover's current outburst.

Ennis,

I received your letter that you sent. I want you to know I know what you and that Jack Twist are doing. I once tied a note to one of your fishing poles. It said, 'I hope you catch a lot of fish, Love Alma'. When you got back that note was still on the fishing pole. You don't fish on those fishing trips with that man. I don't want to think about the nasty things you do with him. And I don't want our daughters near it. I don't want you to talk to our daughters, I don't want you to see our daughters, and I don't want them near you. I don't know you anymore Ennis. I can't believe that you would do something like this and take up with another man. It's the nastiest thing I can think of you ever doing. I don't want to see you ever again.

Alma

Jack cringed at the words his lover's ex-wife had written and at the same time felt incredibly thankful that Lureen had been as understanding as she was. It was starting to get dark and Jack started to wonder where Ennis had gone.

"Please say the car is still there," he whispered to himself. He looked outside and groaned when he saw that the truck was gone. He knew the town was only a few miles away, but walking there would take too long. The only thing he could think of was taking the horse down to the city, but how was he going to get him, the horse, and Ennis back. That's when he realized that the horse trailer was still attached to the truck. He then quickly saddled up Night and rode into town on the horse. Since the town was so close to a lot of ranches no one really noticed a horse riding into town. He quickly spotted the truck with the horse trailer still hitched to the truck as he had assumed. He also noticed that it was parked near a bar. He sighed and put the horse into the trailer. Once he made sure that the horse was secure inside the trailer, he walked into the bar. He saw his lover sitting at the end of the bar with his cowboy hat down low over his eyes and his hand firmly clenched around a glass of whiskey. Jack knew that he was probably the last person Ennis wanted to see right now, but he was the only one who could take Ennis back home again. Jack calmly sat down next to Ennis and ordered a beer. Ennis took another sip from his glass and looked up at Jack. Jack fought down his first reaction to Ennis's bruised face which was to hold him gently and clean the cuts on his face with a wet washcloth. He looked down at Ennis's hands and found that if he hadn't split open his knuckles on the wall, he had done it on someone's face. Jack took in a deep breath and said calmly,

"Nice lookin' shiner. How'd you get that?"

"Asshole," said Ennis quietly. "Just another asshole makin' trouble."

"Really? What did this one do?"

"Yelled at me for my driving. Taught him a lesson." Jack started to sense the nervousness that everyone in the bar had around Ennis. He called down the bartender.

"Give me his tab and I'll pay." The bartender nodded and Jack could see the slight sigh of relief the bartender let out as he turned to make out the bill.

"I don't need you to pay my tab," said Ennis with a grumble.

"Let me take you home cowboy. You need to sleep this off." He paid the bartender and left a large tip before standing up and pulling Ennis away from the bar.

"I don't need to be helped either!" Ennis shouted as he pushed Jack away from him. But then he almost fell into a nearby table so Jack quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back. After that, Ennis didn't grumble as Jack pulled his arm over his shoulders and gently led him outside. He put Ennis in the truck and drove them back to their ranch. He put Ennis in the house and sat him down on their couch in the living room.

"Now, just sit here and let me put up Night."

"Where's Night?"

"In the trailer of the truck. I had to ride Night into town so that I could get you. Now just stay here and wait until I get back." Ennis seemed to agree if for no other reason than he wasn't sure if he could get up on his own. Jack put Night back up in the barn. Then he went back into the house. Ennis was still sitting on the couch where he had left him. Ennis looked defeated.

"I read the letter," said Jack quietly. Ennis looked up at him at first in disbelief. Then he remembered that in his rage he had left the letter open on the kitchen table for anyone to see. Between the missing truck and the new dent in the wall Jack would have read the letter to see what had set Ennis off this time. His expression changed from disbelief to resigned. He took off his hat and sat it down on the side table. He rubbed his forehead with one hand and tried to form what he wanted to say into words.

"Of all the things she could have done to me... I could have lived with her not accepting this... I could have lived with her not liking what I was doing... I just don't care what she thinks about all of this anymore... but she's... she's..." The tears that Ennis had been fighting were finally starting to get the better of him. Jack once again noticed the cut on Ennis's eye and lip and the scrapes and bruises on his face. Jack turned to the kitchen sink and put one of the kitchen towels under the cold water. He rung it out thoroughly and sat down next to Ennis.

"C'mere Ennis," he said gently. He started to gently clean the scrape on the side of Ennis's face but Ennis pulled away. "Calm down. It's just me." He tried again but Ennis pulled away again. "Ennis..."

"What! Fucking what?" Jack knew Ennis was looking for a fight and he needed to defuse the bomb inside of Ennis if either of them wanted to get to sleep tonight. He gently touched Ennis's cheek and leaned in and gently kissed him. He finally felt Ennis relax with the kiss.

"Just let me take care of you tonight. Just let me do this. Ok?" Ennis nodded and let his eyes close. He leaned back on the couch and let his head rest on the top of the couch. Jack gently cleaned the cuts and scrapes on Ennis's face and bandaged up the cut near his eye. Then he turned to Ennis's battered hands and did the same thing. Ennis relaxed further under Jack's ministrations.

"It's because of you." Jack knew what Ennis was saying immediately.

"Which would you rather have?"

"Don't do that Jack. Don't make me choose between you and my daughters. You don't know-"

"No? I have a son remember?"

"Your wife didn't take him away from you for good did she?" The relief that Lureen had been so understanding of his choice came back to him and he almost felt guilty for how well everything had gone with his family.

"She can't do that you know. We can go to court and fight her. Besides, she has to file for sole custody if she wants to keep your daughters away from you. She didn't say that she was doing that. You have to be notified if she is going to file for sole custody and you can fight her."

"Yeah, but the reason that she wants sole custody is going to come out. And I'll loose. Her lawyer that her new husband will buy her will make us look like child molesters and perverts before he's done. And in the end, I'll loose my daughters. It's a loose... loose... loose situation. It would be easier just to give up and let my daughters make their own decisions when they come of age. Hell, Junior is going to be eighteen in another year or so and neither of us will be able to tell her what to do."

"And what about Francine?"

"Francine has been straying away from me for a while now. She's the one who took her momma's side when we had the divorce. Junior is the one who took my side. She's only a year younger than Junior, so she's about to make her own decisions too." That was when they heard a car outside. They both looked at each other in confusion and Jack walked to the door. A black fast-looking car pulled up next to the truck with a girl that Jack recognized as Alma Junior. He wasn't sure what to do as the car was put in park and Alma got out of the car.

"Hi Mr. Twist," she said calmly enough. Maybe this would go a lot better than Jack feared.

"Hi Alma Junior," he replied. He heard Ennis shuffle in the house and knew that Ennis was first wondering what his oldest daughter was doing here and what was about to happen.

"Is my Daddy home?"

"Yeah, he's home. C'mon in." Jack stood back from the door as Alma walked in with tired looking smile on her face.

"Hey there Junior," said Ennis standing and hugging his daughter.

"You been drinkin' and fightin' again?" said Alma tipping up his face to look at her. Jack half chuckled at her attitude towards him. He had to remember that if there was one person who could put Ennis in his place, it was his daughter.

"What do you mean again?" Alma looked him with one eyebrow raised. "What are you doing all the way out here anyway?"

"Momma said I can't see you anymore."

"So you came here."

"Yep."

"Junior, your momma is gonna kill me."

"No she's not. She's gonna kill me long before she comes up here to kill you."

"Does she know that you're here?"

"I picked up my keys and told her I was going to see you."

"And she?"

"Yelled, screamed, cursed, threatened, but I kept drivin'." Ennis shook his head and sat back down on the couch.

"Can I get you somethin'?" asked Jack feeling that he should give them a chance to talk without him near by.

"I'd like a cup of coffee actually."

"I'll brew some up. Bright eyes over here could use some anyway." Jack calmly walked through the door into the kitchen and started making the coffee. Alma pulled one of the easy chairs closer to the couch and sat down.

"Junior... you were just told that your momma doesn't want me to see you anymore. And you came here."

"I came here because I love you Daddy," said Junior. "I came here because I don't care what my momma says. You are still my dad. I want you to know that even if momma says you can't come to the house anymore, I intend on making a monthly trip out here to see you. If I can talk Francine into coming up with me, I'll bring her too."

"Did your momma tell you two why I can't come to the house anymore?"

"She said it's because you're living with a man and that the two of you are together. She says it's not natural and that it's nasty and against everything right."

"What do you think?"

"I knew the two of you were in love when I saw the two of you together for the first time. I figure that if the two of you are in love with each other and care about each other, I don't see what's wrong with it." Ennis felt tears come to his eyes. He had been so afraid that his daughters would shun him just as Alma had. He tried to look away from his daughter but she stood and gently kissed him on the forehead. She was gently pulled into his lap by Ennis's arms. She gently put an arm around his shoulders and one hand on his head. Ennis shook slightly as tears streamed down his cheeks. This was the scene that Jack walked in on. He smiled and backed up into the kitchen to keep the coffee warm until Alma had moved from her dad's lap to the couch next to him. Then he calmly walked in with two coffee cups in his hands.

"Here you go you two. Do you need any cream or sugar Alma?"

"No thank you." Alma gratefully accepted the coffee cup and began sipping on it gingerly. Ennis did the same thing and felt himself starting to sober up. "I should probably get going soon. It's getting late and all."

"Little darlin' you are not driving back this late," said Ennis firmly.

"Well, I can't very well sleep on your couch here or kick you out of your bed."

"You don't have to. We bought beds this week for the three bedrooms upstairs. The one at the end of the hall is yours. It's got a nice window and everything. You and Jack can take the truck into town tonight and call your momma to let her know you are safe and you are staying here tonight. She'll yell, but you need to let her know that you are safe. Tomorrow morning we'll have breakfast and then you can drive back after having a good night's sleep."

"Daddy-"

"No, I am still your daddy and right now this is the best thing for you to do. Everything will be all right." Alma gave a half smile that mirrored Ennis's half smiles. Ennis kissed her on the forehead gently and then turned to Jack.

"Do you mind driving her into town? I barely trust myself standing up right now, much less driving." Jack gave one of his genuine smiles and nodded.

"I don't mind. You stay here and get a little more sober. We can go whenever you are ready." Alma smiled and nodded as she walked outside and waited for Jack on the porch.

"That child is a reflection of you," said Jack as he stood up from his chair.

"Yeah, that's Junior for ya. Be back soon."

"I will. I promise." Ennis caught Jack's hand before he walked away and gently kissed the back of his hand. The two smiled at each other and then Jack walked outside. He and Alma got into the car with few words passing between them and silently drove into town. Alma got into the phone booth with the quarters that Jack had handed her and spent a good twenty minutes on the phone talking. Jack could see that the conversation wasn't going well when Alma started crying. He tried not to eaves drop as he slowly got out of the car and walked across the street to stand near the phone booth. Finally she slammed the receiver down on the cradle and slowly started to slide down the wall of the phone booth. Jack gently knocked on the window of the phone booth that slightly snapped her out of it enough that she opened the door. Jack stepped towards her and held out his hand.

"It's ok Alma." Alma whimpered and more tears slipped down her face. "I promise it will be ok. No matter what happens, your daddy will always love you. And you're always welcome in our house. C'mon, let's go back to the house." Junior finally placed her hand in Jack's and he gently led her from the phone booth to the truck again. He didn't ask her why she was crying and he had a feeling that he didn't have to. He pulled some tissues out of the glove box that she accepted gratefully. Then he drove the both of them back to the house. When they got back Ennis wasn't in the front room where they had left him. Jack walked into their bedroom and found Ennis showered and dozing off on his side on their bed.

"Ennis," he said gently as he touched his naked shoulder. "Ennis wake up." Ennis groaned and rolled over onto his back.

"What is it?" Ennis turned his head and saw Alma in the doorway. Years of being her father taught him when she was trying to keep from crying. "C'mere little darlin'," he said to her like he used to say when she was little and had woken up crying from a nightmare. Alma felt fresh tears stinging at her eyes as she walked to her father's new bed, sat down next to him, and buried her face in his shoulder with her father's arms tightly around her. He gently held her and hummed the old lullaby he had once hummed to Jack up on Brokeback Mountain. Jack started to feel out of place in the room and started for the living room before Alma looked up and asked,

"Where are you goin'?" Jack shrugged unsure of what the correct answer should be. "I need you to stay. I have to ask the both of you somethin'." Jack walked back to the bed and sat on the other side of the bed next to Ennis and leaned back against the headboard. Alma blew her nose on a tissue she still had in her hand and took a deep breath.

"All right," said Ennis sitting up in bed and leaning against the headboard with Jack. He knew that she was ready to tell them what was wrong now.

"I called Momma. I told her that I was here with you. I've never heard her sound so mad before. She was actually screaming at me at one point. How could I do this to her, how could I drive all the way up here to see you, how could I ignore what she said to me and Francine, how could I... how could I... how could I... just about every sentence she said there for a while started with 'how could I'. I told her that I still loved you as my dad and that I'm still going to come visit you once a month. I told her I didn't have a problem with you and Mr. Twist being together. That really set her off. Then she told me not to come back." Both men blinked hard and stared at her. Both had suspected that something like that had happened but they were both thinking they were over-reacting. "She told me she didn't want me living under her roof if I was going to be all right with you and your relationship and visiting you once a month. She told me to come get my stuff and get out of her house forever."

"Oh Alma," said Ennis gently as he took her hand and squeezed it gently. Alma started crying again and looked up at her father.

"I don't have anywhere to go," she whispered.

"Alma, what did I tell you when you got off the phone?" said Jack gently. "I told you that you will always be welcome in our house. You even have your own room here. You can stay as long as you want in my opinion."

"Daddy?"

"Alma you know I wouldn't let you be kicked out onto the street. You can still have to finish school though."

"I've only got one year left, but I don't want to go to college. I just want to work on the ranch with you guys."

"Alma-"

"Daddy, I've made up my mind. Just let me do this." Ennis shook his head and muttered,

"I know I'm going to get hell for this one. All right, fine, you're what, sixteen now?" Alma nodded. "Later than when I dropped out of school. But I warn you now. Ranching is hard work. You're going to be up early and to bed late and you'll be exhausted when you go to sleep but you're going to have to get up again in the morning to do it all again. I'll even buy you a foal in the spring to raise for yourself. It can be your horse. We'll be raising horses and selling them here. Doing that is hard and dangerous. So if we tell you to do something like get out of the way, you have to listen right then and there and do what we tell ya. Think you can do all that?" Alma nodded enthusiastically and smiled at the prospect of living with her father instead of her mother and step father. "All right... tomorrow the three of us will go with the truck and get your stuff from your momma's house and bring it all back here. I'll take you upstairs to your room and put you to bed." Alma nodded and stood up so Ennis could get out of bed and put on his robe over his sleep pants.

"Have a good night Mr. Twist," she said with a smile.

"You too. And you can call me Jack since you're going to be living here." Alma smiled again and then followed Ennis up the stairs to her new room. Jack stayed in the bedroom and stared at his boots reviewing the night's activities. Thus far he had pulled Ennis from drunkenness in a bar, calmed him down, Alma Junior had arrived, she had let them know she accepted and loved them, her mother had kicked her out, and now Alma Junior was going to be living with them. He pulled off his boots, got undressed, and pulled on a pair of sleeping pants before easing into bed slowly. He was tired from all of the running around he had done all day and now he was ready for sleep. He was just drifting off to sleep when he heard the door to their room open and shut. He felt Ennis sit down on the bed and let out a heavy sigh. The lamp was turned off and then Ennis rolled onto his side, spooned up behind Jack, and held him gently like he did almost every night.

"Thank you for letting my daughter stay here."

"It's not a problem Ennis. I wouldn't want my child kicked out onto the street either. I just did what I would do for my own." Ennis squeezed him a little tighter and kissed him on the nape of the neck.