VIC

It had been a shitty start to the day, having to drive Lucian out to the crime scene she had to stop thinking that it was place Branch had died or else she might say it out loud to the wrong person and he had stood there, grim and silent for a long time. Vic had waited silently beside him, taking the time to say her own prayers and good bye, given there had been no time for it the day before. With a sharp nod and a hmmpfh Lucian turned, held out his hand for the keys to Walt's truck and smiled a nasty grin,

"Time to start babysitting, he still locked in the cell?"

She nodded and said quietly "Lucian I need you to keep him out of harms way and away from anyone to do with the case" her voice faltered and she couldn't look Lucian in the eyes when she finished up "Keep him safe from himself too.."

Lucian barked a laugh "Girlie I will keep him just drunk enough to be incapable but not so drunk to be dangerous" and slammed the truck door shut, wrestled the bench seat a bit closer to the steering wheel, and lurched off down the hill eventually finding the smoother road.

"That's what I was afraid of" she muttered to herself.

Next stop of the morning was the hospital to update Ferg on the situation and check on Barlows' status with whatever doctor she could find.

Ferg was rumpled and tired eyed but pleased to see her. Vic welcomed the harsh strong cup of coffee he handed her, and wrapped both hands around it for comfort as she sipped in between telling Ferg about the events of the last day and night. Of necessity it was brief and edited and she finished up,

"So the Mayor approved for a couple of security guards to watch Barlow, they should arrive pretty soon so you can go home and grab some sleep. The extra guys from Campbell county should arrive after lunch and I'm going to need you to take them through how we do things, is that OK?"

She had learned the hard way that a Sheriff got better cooperation out of the deputies if there was two way communication, plus she liked Ferg and was in desperate need of his help. He was no doubt as shaken and as adrift as she was, most likely, so they had to stick together. She sighed and drained the last of the coffee.

Ferg's voice was quiet but firm, as he put a hand on her arm to still her from rising, so she sat and looked at him seriously

"Vic, I know this is rough on you, its rough on both of us. But I'm proud you stepped up and took over as Sheriff. I want you to know you have my full support, no question."

She smiled a small private smile for the two of them "Thanks Ferg, that really helps. It is going to be rough but once we get these cowboys from Campbell County doing all the callouts, you and I can get down to serious business. Sound good?"

"Sounds pretty good to me Sheriff. Oh you will need this" he handed her a stationary file box with the lid on and she looked at him in confusion "Its Branch's and Barlow's personal effects. I got them bagged and tagged and in the box ready for you."

She smiled "Hell I had forgotten all about it, good job. You head home and grab that shower and some sleep, I will wait here for the security guys and check in on Barlow. Did he say anything interesting?"

"Just the usual 'I need to call my lawyer' and stuff about Walt" he looked down at the floor "Is Walt OK?"

Vic's smile was much the same as Lucian's had been earlier "I have Lucian on guard duty, but he is calling it babysitting. Oddly happy about it too."

Ferg's face was a study "Oooh Walt isn't going to like that much"

Vic rose to her feet and said firmly "Right now, what Walt likes or dislikes is the least of my problems. You good?"

He nodded and yawned "All good Sheriff, see you in a few hours" and ambled his way sturdily to the lift and the joy of a hot shower and a comfortable bed. Vic was deeply envious, she would feel so much better if her goddamn head didn't feel like someone was hammering a metal spike behind her right eyeball. A red hot metal spike!

Barlow was asleep when she ducked her head into his room, his face was impressively bruised and puffy and from the chart it looked like he had two broken ribs and a fractured eye socket, if she deciphered the medical terminology correctly. Walt sure packed a punch when he wanted to, and she ruefully rubbed her temples with both hands, trying in vain to quell the ever present headache.

Taking the seat outside Barlow's room, she checked her watch, nearly 9am so the security guys should be here soon. Reception had been notified to let them up, and hopefully a doctor or ward nurse would pass by soon so she could update them.

A hand gently shaking her shoulder roused her, with a quiet male voice saying "Vic, ummm Sheriff". Shaking herself awake shit falling asleep on guard duty was not a good look she saw the nice young doctor who had checked her over after the shitstorm at Chance's farm. Never remembered his name.

"Oh sorry Doctor, I was waiting for the security guys to arrive. Late night, must have fallen asleep" she stifled a yawn and looked blearily at him "Did you need me for something?"

The red headed doctor sat in the chair next to her and looked hard at her for a few moments before saying

"How is your head, still getting the headaches?"

Too tired to care about lying, she nodded tiredly at him and winced a bit doing so, her neck had cricked while she was sleeping in the chair

"All the fucking time, and not getting any better either. I would have come seen you about it, but, well things have been a little busy lately."

The doctor nodded "I'm concerned about the headaches, Vic, I think you should see a specialist. Your home town is Philadelphia right?"

She nodded and winced again, rubbing one side of her neck where it was tight.

"I have a colleague who works in the Neurosurgery department at Hahnemann University Hospital, I could get you an appointment there, probably take a couple of weeks though."

"Doc I appreciate it, but I'm probably going to be here trying to solve a homicide. Don't know how long that's going to take."

He nodded, and scribbled on a notepad, tearing it off and handing it to her "In the meantime this is a script for some stronger pain meds and an anti-inflammatory. See if that helps and come back and see me if it doesn't."

He rose, tucking both hands into the pockets of his white lab coat "Need to take good care of our Sheriff now, don't we."

She smiled, touched at his kindness and empathy, and he smiled back before striding steadily down the hallway, avoiding the two tall bulky uniformed men treading in heavy soled 'kick butts and ask questions later' combat boots. These must finally be her security guys.

Her stomach rumbled noisily as she pulled into the usual Sheriff space at the Red Pony. The two pill bottles in her shirt pocket rattled, both had to be taken with food, so she decided to kill two birds with one stone, seeing Henry and grabbing some much needed food. The half bowl of cereal she had choked down several hours ago was all she could stomach so early in the morning, and it wasn't nearly enough.

Resting her forehead on her hands still gripping the steering wheel, she closed her eyes and took a quiet moment, hammers still pounding inside her head. Hopefully some food and the new meds might help, but first there was a necessary conversation to be had with Henry.

His face lit up as she strode steadily towards the bar, but didn't return his smile, instead he got a nod and a firm

"Sheriff's business Henry, can we talk in your office?"

He took a step back, surprised at her flat tone and nodded

"Of course Sheriff, you know the way"

She kept walking and opened the door to the office and stepped in as if she owned the place.

HENRY

Puzzled at Vic's serious demeanour Henry waved her into his office, and poured a couple of cups of coffee, adding cream and sugar to Vic's and elbowed his way into saying

"How can I help you on this fine day in Absaroka County, Sheriff"

She was standing with her back to him and half turned, and the light from the high window above his desk showed the tear tracks trailing down his face as she said an a choked voice,

"Oh God Henry, I don't think anyone can help me sort out the fucking mess Walt has got us all into!" and she burst into messy noisy sobs.

Startled, he put the coffee cups down in a hurry, heedless of them spilling brown liquid onto his desk, and covered the distance between them in two long strides and wrapped Vic gently in a hug, cradling her against his body like a child, and lowered them both to the sofa, crooning wordlessly in Cheyenne. When the crying storm finally ended with wiping of face and eyes, he silently handed her the hand embroided handkerchief out of his pocket and waited while she put it to good use.

He spoke quietly and calmly, as if to a fretful child or frightened animal "I heard gossip about what happened at Barlow's farm yesterday, but when I didn't see Walt I assumed it was under control. What happened Vic? What did Walt do?"

Hello Lovely Readers! I sat my exam last week so have LOTS more time now. Had to take a few days to get my head back in the game as well.

Quite a few people commented they are finding Vic a little hard to take in this timeline, so here is a chapter from her POV that might help