AN: Well, here is the next installment. Enjoy. :)

Sunlight pierced through the window, its rays waking Jane up.

Ow! Was Jane's first thought. There was a headache that was pounding away in her head. It hurt something awful. She held out her hands to shield the sunlight. Only then did she notice that she was lying on Maura's bed. This hadn't happened since the night the soldier had died.

She sat up suddenly, making her head spin round and round. Jane had the urge to throw up. She fell off the bed and looked for the commode. Thankfully, it was empty, although, it was not after Jane was done with it. She wiped her mouth with her sleeves. She tried to get up and get changed, she had always been up early, helping Maura about the house.

But the headache grinding away in her brain was so painful, she gave up and just lay on the bed.

She tried to recall what had happened last night. There was drinking, I think. I made my way back to Maura's house. Then... with a start, bits and pieces started coming back Jane, and they weren't forming a very pretty puzzle. I walked into the room, came to Maura. Did I touch her? Dang!

The door opened and Maura walked in, her face was drawn. "Oh, you're up." Her voice was neutral.

"Uh, yeah. I am."

"Here are some clothing you can change into." Maura handed Jane a few articles of clothing. She smelled a certain stench coming from the commode. Looking at Jane, she asked, "Are you having a headache?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Having a bit of trouble remembering things?"

"Uh, that too."

"Hmmm... Classic signs of a hangover."

"What, that's it? No gibberish sounding scientific terms for this thing known as hangover?" Jane tried to inject a bit of humour.

"No. If you drink too much, you simply wake up with a headache and will sometimes throw up. In addition, inhibitions are usually compromised. Tongues start to loosen."

With the word 'inhibition' and 'loosen', every single memory of what happened last night flooded into Jane's mind. I came back drunk, I said some stuff, I collapsed right on top of her – what exactly did I say that made Maura look so sad now?

Not only did those memories come back, but others too, from times when Jedidiah had treated girls roughly after he had a drink too many. It helped him to forget, even if was for a moment, the worries of life that he had burdened himself with.

But, this was Maura. And Maura was something else. She was a different person altogether. Maura had also fallen in love with Jane, accepted her as who she was, accepted that Jane was also Jedidiah. No other girl had done that.

"Shoot, Maura, I, I came back drunk, didn't I?"

Maura's silence said it all.

"Oh, Maura, I am so sorry! I am such an idiot. I didn't mean it at all. I wasn't myself. I wasn't thinking. Did I hurt you or anything? Please, will you forgive me?" Jane begged, she had slid off the bed and was on her knees, in front of Maura. Tears were streaming down her face.

Maura was a bit taken aback by Jane's actions. But her sincere apology and her humbling posture touched Maura's heart. She put her arms around Jane's shoulders and pulled her up. "Jane, I forgive you. I already did. And, don't worry, you didn't hurt me at all. On the contrary, you actually said a bit, and that set me thinking." Maura paused a bit before carrying on:

"Jane, I want you to go back home. I realise that if you don't settle this, you'll probably always have this nagging feeling in you. So, here, I took the liberty of packing a bag for you." She released Jane, walked back to the door, picked up the bag and walked back to hand it over to Jane. "Once you're changed, you can be on your way. I've got another bag that has food in it. Come down and get it when you're done."

"Maura, wait. Is this your way of sending me out of your life? Please, please, just give me a bit more time. I'm sure I can sort this out."

"No, Jane. It was obvious that last night happened because you didn't want to think. If you want to come back afterwards, you are more than welcome. I just don't want to have to contend with a 'life goal' for your attention. Jane, just go." And with that, Maura turned and left the room. Don't make it harder than it already is.

Maura was more than saddened to see Jane go. A dark blanket of sorrow settled in the bottom of her heart. She had just given Jane a chaste hug before trudging back into the house. The people in the house could have seen the look of despair on her face, and realised that something had happened between Maura and Jedidiah.

Three days after Jane had left, Maura was taking stock of the supplies they had when one of the volunteers came looking for Maura. "Doctor Isles, Major Rockman is outside waiting for you."

Surprised, Maura walked out onto the front porch to find Dennis and one other soldier standing there. "Dennis, is anything wrong? You aren't due to come until tomorrow."

"Hi, Maura. Yes, I know that I am not supposed to come today, but, there was some discreet information that has been passed on to me, and I would need to enter your house to investigate this information."

"Uh, okay. May I know what exactly you are looking for?"

"Sorry, that is something I cannot share with you right now."

Dennis and the other soldiers entered the house and started searching the house. They tried to make as little mess as possible when they were near the patients. But, when they came to some of the rooms, that did not hold as many people, or none at all, they nearly trashed the entire room. Maura's room was the one left in the worst condition, and it was where they found what they were looking for.

Maura's heart rate started galloping wildly when she saw that Dennis was holding a piece of white paper in his hand. She was still standing outside on the porch. "Maura, I think we found what we were looking for."

"What is that?" Maura asked.

"Apparently, this is a letter from one of the Union generals. Received by none other than your fiancé, Jedidiah. There are some other things written here, but, it says right here, 'Thank you for all the help and intelligence you have provided.'"

"What?"

"Did you know that Jedidiah was actually in the Union army?"

Maura could not lie, and her silence condemned her.

"I take it that you do then?"

More silence.

"Well, then. I am afraid that we will have to ask you to come with us to the Confederate camp with us."

Maura protested, "Please, I never knew about this. What would this house do without me? I have to stay and help out."

"We will get doctor Pike to take over for the time being."

Maura snorted. While she was the unofficial town doctor, doctor Pike was the official doctor. Doctor Pike was now in his forties, twenty years Maura's senior, but, he was so slow about everything, that the patient would be already buried six feet under by the time he finished cleaning and setting up his medical tools.

Dennis addressed her one more time. "Maura, you do not have a choice. Please do come with us, or we will have to use force."

"Okay, okay, I will. Just give me a few minutes to arrange things with my assistant, Susie."

Dennis nodded in reply and Maura dashed in to arrange everything as fast as she could. It was really up to the volunteers and Susie to make sure that this make shift hospital run. Maura knew she could not depend on doctor Pike at all.

Gathering an extra coat on her way out, she was escorted to the three horses tethered outside.

Dennis offered his hand and said, "You will have to ride behind me."

Maura had no choice but to accept the proffered hand and mounted the steed. The ride there was solemn and quiet. Almost as if the verdict had been handed down that she was already branded a traitor and that she should hang.

They brought her to one of the smallest tents and planted a guard outside. There was only a thin mattress laid out on the ground, a small stool, and that was it.

Before Dennis left, he ducked his head under the tent flap and spoke to Maura. "For your sake, I hope that tomorrow's questioning will go all right. I will try my best to help you out. But you will have to cooperate as well, understand that."

Maura mutely nodded her head in reply. Tonight was going to be a long night.

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