Overdue Justice

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE BIG VALLEY. THIS IS WRITTEN AS WRITING PRACTICE AND PURE ENJOYMENT ONLY. Only the "Guest Stars" per say are my creation.

The idea for this story came after watching 'Barbary Red'. The normal 'What if…' took over.

Chapter Two

(SCENE TWO)

Nick stood on the porch watching the sun rise when Anna opened the front door. "I thought; maybe, you took off without me." She had been relieved to find out that wasn't the case.

"I thought about it," Nick answered as he turned to look at her, "why do you need me with you anyway?" He had his own business to take care of; he didn't wish to get 'side tracked'.

"I don't need you," she leaned against the porch railing, "I can handle a gun just as good as any man alive and I've provided for myself and, while they were livin', my parents just fine. Look, I made an assumption last night and that is somethin' I shouldn't have done. Father always said 'assumin' things often times made an ass out of you and me'. I really should have just told you everythin' and asked if you were interested in joining me instead of thinkin' to wait until we were on our way. That was lack of thinkin' on my part."

Nick couldn't help but grin and nod. He'd seen it happen more than once, "It sure can. What assumption did you make?"

"The fact that you were shanghaied. Were you?" She leaned against the railing asking the question on her mind quite bluntly.

Nick jerked backwards slightly then started grinning even wider, "It showed that clearly, huh?"

She shook her head as she looked from the horse that was tied to the hitching post back to him, "You set in a saddle like you were born in one and the first thing you ask about is a change of clothes?"

Nick started laughing, "Well, a man has the right to feel comfortable in his own clothes." That statement got her to laughing also. It was a fact she wasn't about to argue with.

"So," he stopped laughing and grew serious, "why does that make such a difference?"

"My parents, my brother, John, and I went to Stockton for a wedding but he never returned. Want to guess why?" She tilted her head and gave him a look that said 'Please, you look far too intelligible to be unable to answer that one'.

She said her last name was Anders. Her brother's name was John? A couple of memories came back to him, could it be? "He fell victim to Jack Thatcher and his men."

Anna's eyes widened in shock as she stepped away from the railing, "You were shanghaied by the same fellow?"

Nick exploded as he felt all the anger he felt toward the man and his cohorts rise up inside of him, "That son of a…," he bit his tongue; after all, he was in the presence of a lady, "if he is the one you are after then you just got yourself extra help!"

Anna started grinning wide, "Let's get our things and," she chuckled as she headed for the door, "I believe the word you are lookin' for rhymes with witch."

Nick started laughing as he followed her inside; that sure was a polite way of letting him know she agreed with him!

SCENE THREE

Anna handed Nick a plate full of food and sat down next to the campfire he had going. "How long have you been away from your ranch?" She sat with her arms crossing each other and her hands hanging loosely downwards.

Nick gazed into the fire as he finished the bite of food he was eating then answered, "I figure by the time I get home I'll have been gone seven months. What did you say your brother's name was? What did he look like?" He might as well make sure he had his facts straight.

"John. John P. Anders. Unlike me he was almost six feet tall; he sported a beard and his hair was pitch black. That was compliments of our Mexican grandmother I am sure. Why do you ask?" she was puzzled as to why he was asking. After all; if he'd only been gone seven months it's not like he would have known him.

"Who told you he died two years ago?" He kept his eyes on the fire.

Anna found herself with her feathers a bit ruffled. That wasn't an answer to her question and only raised her curiosity more. "An old man full of what I thought was genuine grief and guilt. He came to our house and said my brother had saved his life by sacrificing his own. Are you goin' sit there and tell me he was lyin?" Her face was showing her irritation.

"No," Nick finished his food and put the plate down, "he thought he was tellin' the truth and, I may not like it, but your brother did die at sea."

Anna exploded, "And just what is the truth about my brother and how do you know it?"

Now it was Nick's turn to give her a disbelieving look, "You haven't asked yourself even once how I knew it was Jack Thatcher behind your brother's disappearance?"

Shock waves ran through her as the light went on, "He was on the same ship as you!"

Nick nodded, "We pulled him out of the water; he told us about the storm that hit the ship he'd been working on. He let everyone believe it was the waves that pushed him overboard. Only after we had become better acquainted did he tell me how he came to be out on the sea in the first place. He also told me about the old man and his predicament."

She fought the tears that wanted to come as she picked up her cup of coffee and started sipping on it, "How did he really die then?"

Nick put his arm on her shoulder, "Saving my life during yet another storm. Still want me around?"

She gave him a small smile and let out a soft chuckle, "Of course, I do. We have to get Mr. Thatcher don't we?"

"That we do!" Nick started grinning from ear to ear.