September 13th, 1871

Arthur swallowed nervously as he walked down Main Street towards the sheriff's station. Today would be the first day he would be working alone.

Officially. The. Sheriff.

Not just a deputy, but the Sheriff. The boss. The law in this town.

No matter how many times he thought about it or what words he used, he couldn't wrap his head around the idea. He had always thought he would be a deputy for years. Was he even ready for it?

Last week his boss, Sheriff Ellis, had been shot down in a bar fight. What had started as a simple argument from some cowboys passing through on their way to Rawlins had turned into a full scale fight in a matter of minutes. Joseph Eames, the owner of the local saloon, had tried to get things under control. When yelling at them hadn't worked he turned to a more dramatic approach and got his rifle out from behind the bar and fired warning shot. This had got their attention, but in a bad way. They pulled the pistols from their hips and there were three men with guns drawn in an old fashion standoff.

Eames had told them to take the fight outside and to put the guns away, but one of the men started yelling, then the other one joined in and flipped the table they had been sitting at. His partner had just had enough time to duck behind the table before he shot at him.

That's when Sheriff Ellis came in. He had been across the street at the freight depot when he heard the shots and went running to see what the trouble was. Shots started going off in all directions, men were yelling, chairs and tables all over the bar were flung in all directions. In all the commotion, with people ducking for cover and running around no one seemed to know who fired the shot that hit Sheriff Ellis in the chest.

But in the end, the two cowboys who started the fight were dead. It appeared that they shot each other. Sheriff Ellis was found bleeding on the floor next to the saloon doors, and one of the ranch hands from the Foster ranch had been shot in the arm.

Eames had sent one of the bystanders to run and get Arthur, who was at the sheriff's station, and after they came back to the bar to see what had happened, he knew that he needed to go get Sheriff Ellis's family. Even though everything in him hoped his boss could pull though, gun shots to the chest weren't an easy thing to recover from. It was surprising that he wasn't already dead. The Sheriff was taken to Dr. Yuseff at his little doctor's office and apothecary shop at the other end of Main Street. The doctor was used to seeing gunshot wounds and was able to get out the bullet and stop the bleeding within about twenty minutes. Even though the wound was patched up, Dr. Yuseff said he was bleeding into his lungs which was something he couldn't stop. Every time Sheriff Ellis coughed, he spit out blood. The Sheriff managed to stay alive through the evening, long enough to say good bye to his wife Martha and their daughter Ruth.

Martha had been inconsolable. They had been in love since they were kids. This was the only man she had ever loved, her soul mate. Arthur saw their relationship as a model for everything he hoped he could someday have. Even though they fought, they had a fun and happy relationship. Just earlier this year, Martha had retired from her teaching position to be home and spend more time with her husband. Sheriff Ellis had told Arthur that someday in the next few years he would retire and they would travel the country. Martha had always wanted to see New York and Washington D.C. and Sheriff Ellis thought they might even go to Europe. Now it was all for nothing. In Martha's grieving she had no desire to return to teaching, so it seemed that Dom Cobb was still looking for someone to replace her.

Their son, Roger, was a soldier stationed somewhere up in the Indian country. While they had written him the news, it was difficult to get mail delivered safely in that area. He probably wouldn't know what had happened for another couple weeks.

Ruth and Roger Ellis were some of Arthur's close friends growing up. Ruth didn't like talking about Roger being a soldier. Indians scared her, and she knew what they could do. Less than ten years earlier, the militia in Colorado had attacked the Indians in Sand Creek and relations between the white settlers and the natives had been very bad since. Roger had joined when he was twenty and from what he had told Arthur, things weren't getting better anytime soon. They didn't dare say anything to Ruth though. She knew enough to worry, without them adding the horrifying true details into it.

Arthur was close with their whole family. He and Ruth had remained close after Roger had left. At times he thought she wanted to be more than friends, but he never saw her like that. His mother wanted him to marry her though, she brought it up constantly.

"You are too old NOT to get married, why do both of my children insist on this life of solitude?! I want grandchildren! And I've seen the way she looks at you, Arthur, you need to grow up and realize that she is a lovely woman who would make a wonderful wife. You will end up alone if you keep being so picky!"

This was the conversation that she had brought up just last night. He knew she had his best interests at heart, but Arthur wished she would stop. It wasn't that he wanted to be alone... It was just… Why settle for anything less than happiness and love? Would he fall in love eventually if he married Ruth? It didn't seem like his feelings could grow to much more than what they currently were. It didn't seem fair for either of them to pretend otherwise. And while he didn't love Ruth, he cared about her. He knew it would only hurt her to pretend he felt the same way.

He often wondered if he was destined to be a bachelor forever, because no one in this town seemed to catch his eye. All the women that were close to him in age were either already married, too vapid and petty to maintain his interest or he had been friends with them for so long that he couldn't see them as anything different. It didn't bother him as much as it did his mother, but he felt lonely at times.

His best friend Roy McCrery told Arthur that he was a hopeless romantic and a fool, but it didn't change Arthur's opinions on the matter. Of course, Roy fell in love years ago, so who was he to judge?

Arthur was 24; he had only been working for Sheriff Ellis for about seven months before the shooting. Before that he had helped his father at the Mayor's office, but it did not suit him. He wanted action, adventure and most of all; he liked to be able to enforce the law. He liked to maintain the peace and help uphold the structure of laws and regulations in such a wild place. It made it feel like a safer and more established town. Growing up in Denver, he grew accustomed to a certain level of sophistication, and he wanted to bring that to Juniper Springs.

Arthur had bought several books on the subject of Regulating Laws in the Untamed West last summer when he had gone to Cheyenne. For two weeks, he couldn't keep his head out of those books, and he went a little over board enforcing every little rule and regulation he could find.

Mr. Eames did not like it. They were not the best of friends to begin with, if you could classify their relationship as a friendship. They were more like acquaintances, but that was even a loose term. Mr. Eames liked to tease and joke everyone about every little thing, and Arthur couldn't see the point. Why couldn't he just be serious and get down to business?

Arthur had written him up for about three ridiculous violations in his saloon before Sheriff Ellis stepped in. That was what Sheriff Ellis was great at, diffusing the tension. He was a great teacher, people loved and respected him, and Arthur had learned so much from him. He taught Arthur the difference between handling small and unimportant rule violations and serious offenses.

To be a sheriff was more than just enforcing the rules. It was about maintaining the peace and keeping the townspeople safe. Arthur wished he hadn't been killed. There was still so much more he needed to learn.

Before he officially opened the station there was one person Arthur wanted to talk to. Joseph Eames was loved and respected by everyone in town. Except Arthur apparently. He might run a saloon but he did not tolerate loose women or gangs to frequenting his place. What had happened with the shootout was very rare on this side of town. Maybe at Stewart Nash's place, but not Eames's saloon. He kept things under control, went to church, had a friendly and pleasant demeanor about him and the town loved him.

Out of anyone, Arthur wanted to square things away with Eames before he started his first day. He walked into through the dusty swinging doors and had to pause for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the dark room.

"Well I'll be damned, if it isn't SHERIFF Wilde. To what do I owe this great honor?" Mr. Eames said, with comedic shock on his face.

Just get this over with quickly, Arthur thought as he walked up to the bar.

"I'm surprised you're already open" Arthur said to break the ice, ignoring the previous comment.

"Well, it seems that the people of Juniper Springs can't get their alcohol early enough. I open at 9:00am every morning." Mr. Eames smiled but for once, it didn't seem like he was teasing Arthur. "In reality though, it doesn't really get busy in here till around 1:00, so I use the mornings to clean up."

"So I know we've had our problems in the past, Mr. Eames…" Arthur couldn't get another word out before Mr. Eames stopped him.

"Wait, stop. Stop. First, call me Joseph or Eames. None of this Mr. Eames crap. I'm 31, not 50. It makes me sound old. And second, WE have only had problems because you tried to shut this place down because my door wasn't far enough away from the street."

"Ok, Eames. And yes, I know what I did, I already apologized for that. Several times. Can we agree to put that behind us?" Arthur rushed out, embarrassed to have to bring up this whole business again, "As the new Sheriff, I would appreciate it if we were on good terms." Arthur tried to place emphasis on his new position.

"I suppose Sheriff; I am a good friend to have." Eames smirked and turned back to the wiping down the bar.

Just leave it at that, it's the best you'll get. Arthur thought as he thanked him and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Sheriff?" Arthur turned to look at him, "Careful when you're walking out there on that street, you wouldn't want to get dust all over your shiny new badge or those ridiculously clean boots!"

Arthur gritted his teeth and tried not to slam through the swinging doors as stormed out of the saloon. He had spent all morning cleaning and oiling his boots. He wanted to look professional and not like some young cowboy covered in mud.

He could hear Eames chuckling to himself and he just wanted to go punch that smug grin right off his face. So much for being friends, I'd rather be friends with a rattlesnake, he thought. Still it was a start, I suppose. I mean at least I don't have to deal with him on a daily basis. But when the occasion arises, maybe he will support me in the way I need.

And what I need is for people in this town to view me as an adult, not just the Mayor's son.

At least he had been able to move into the living quarters behind the office. Sheriff Ellis had turned the space into an extended office, meeting room and storage space with one bedroom upstairs in case he got stuck working late in bad weather. He and his family had a little house a few miles outside of town so he had never needed to live there, but Arthur found the space much to his liking.

It was a two story house, with one door connecting to the front office and jail cells. There wasn't too much trouble in this town, so the jail was relatively small, there were three cells, one of which could hold up to five people if necessary. There was a big lock on the door that connected the office into the house, which Arthur liked. He had the only key and thought it added some security to the house.

There was also a back door entrance that looked out over an empty field. You could see the school house in the distance and if you listened closely you used to be able to hear the Mrs. Ellis clanging in the bell to call the students in. Often times, she would walk across the field and bring treats and meals to Arthur and her husband after school was out.

Arthur felt a pang of sadness just thinking about Sheriff and Mrs. Ellis; they had been so in love, still like newlyweds even after being married for over twenty years.

After today he would officially be living in his new house. He and Roy had moved all of his things over yesterday.

When he finally got back to the Sheriff's station, nervousness and apprehension filled his mind. Could he do this? Would people listen to him, or respect him?

Thanks everyone who read and reviewed last time! :) I will update again soon, I promise!