Ella awoke a few hours later. The room was still bathed in darkness, the candlelight was much lower than it had been when she had drifted into sleep and she assumed through her half awake state that one or two of them must had gone out. Slowly she moved her arm from around Joey's middle, determined to not wake him.

She went to sit up and winced as a dull throb began to make itself known in her head. She gave a low groan, her hand coming to her brow as she swung her legs off the edge of the bed and sat up fully. She should have known better than to drink so much, she never was able to hold her liquor and she knew from too many experiences with drunken men in her youth that nothing good ever came of whiskey… At the thought she glanced over her shoulder to the still slumbering form of Joey… She sighed, scolding herself silently once more that drinking never did anyone any good, and now thanks to her stupidity, aided by too much drink, she'd got herself into a situation that she never expected herself to be in – waking up with a hang-over and the knowledge she'd just bedded down with Joey Garza… a cold-blooded killer who treated his own family like the dirt upon his boots and thought little better of Ella herself…

She closed her eyes tightly, again reprimanding herself for her idiocy. She opened her eyes and gave a small nod, it couldn't be helped now, what was done was done and she just had to get herself out of yet another mess. She never could seem to avoid trouble no matter how hard she tried and this awareness left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Before she could fully gather her thoughts, Joey took a deep breath in, waking from sleep and slowly he turned, his eyes squinting at her in the gloom.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

Ella hesitated but found that he did not intend to wait for her answer.

"It is cold, get back in bed" he ordered, his voice tinged with irritation. "I don't like to be cold" he mumbled and lifted the covers for her to join him.

Ella shifted herself back under the covers and turned onto her side so she was not facing him. She jumped a little in surprise as she felt his hand slide around her waist; he gave a low sigh and was again still, but for Ella sleep would not come again easily on this night. Her thoughts reeled with what had just a happened, what she had done, but more importantly that she could not feel real regret and this disturbed her.

---

Ella finally opened her eyes once more; the wooden shack was bathed in warm sunlight that poured through the many cracks. She gave a groan as she became aware that her head still pounded and her tongue felt as if she'd just eaten half a bowlful of corn flour. She gave a dry cough and slowly pushed herself up, rubbing her hands across her eyes.

She concluded that she must have drifted off to sleep a few hours before dawn and now it had to be far past noon. She looked to her side, fully expecting to see Joey still lazing casually in sleep but the place beside her was empty. She glanced about the room seeing that his clothing, which had been discarded haphazardly upon the floor, was gone. Ella pulled the covers over her nakedness and with slow, careful movements to avoid her headache worsening she got up and washed and dressed herself. Then, leaving the bedclothes a mess, she wandered shakily out through the curtain and saw that everything was just how she had left it. She had to give him some credit for not stealing her belongings that had been sorted and wrapped making them easy to carry off if anyone wished.

Her food however had not been so lucky; Joey had eaten her frijoles and bread, not even leaving her a crumb. She went to the small mirror and finding an old and well used comb she tidied her hair as best she could and tied it back with a thick strip of cotton. She stared at the reflection of herself a moment, Maria would instantly know she had been drinking, her peaked look would easily give that away, but she wondered if her friend would sense anything else was not the same… Ella stared deep into the eyes of her reflection trying to discern if anything would reveal her secret…. She didn't think she could ever tell Maria what had happened with Joey, the shame burned heatedly within her cheeks, the emotion akin to betrayal.

She took a deep breath and tried to smile but it looked too forced.

"You've gone and messed things up again" she scolded her mirror image.

Ella turned and began to gather her belongings, making sure to carry the gun separately, she'd call in on Sandro and pay off Dave's debt just as she had intended. She found a jolt ran through her body at the realization that she hoped Joey would not be there, but in the same breath of feeling her skin prickled that he could be.

---

"Here ya go Sandro" Ella said, placing the two Colts on the bar counter. "These should pay off what Dave owed you."

Sandro took the guns and studied them a moment. "These should do" he said, his eyes widening a little.

"I know they are probably worth a little more than his amount but I ain't got any need for guns, just put any extra money left over on Billy's tab."

"Are you sure?" Sandro asked, squinting at her as if she would change her mind at any moment.

"Yeah I'm sure." She waved a hand at him, "I'm goin' home, too tired to stand here talkin' to you all day."

"You look like you drank too much Senorita." Sandro gave a chuckle.

Ella again waved a hand at him absently as she made her way out of the saloon, slinging the large bundle of items once more over her shoulder. She walked slowly through the village, the sunlight hurting her eyes and making her head feel as if it was throbbing so hard that it would explode if she didn't find shade soon. Finally Maria's was in view, the sight more than welcome. She tiredly mounted the steps and made her way towards the door.

"You look like death gringo" Joey's voice sneered.

Ella turned quickly, finally seeing him over the huge sack she carried, she eyed him nervously. She gulped, finding that her voice had once again deserted her and continued to stare at him. He smirked, his casual stance and expression not flickering.

"Perhaps you should not drink so much. El burro sabe mas que tu." He actually smiled and Ella knew he had just insulted her harshly.

She finally narrowed her eyes, all the fluttering that had began to happen within her stomach at the sight of him disappeared, replaced by a burning anger and urge to slap him hard across his smug face.

She stepped up onto the small porch and studied him, her eyes blazing heatedly with contempt. "Well, whiskey helps numb many things, like bedding with useless men" she spat, not caring that the words were crass. "Hell, if women never drank some men would never get under any women's skirts." She gave a cruel smirk that turned into a sly grin. "Now, I got better things to do, so if you'll excuse me" she said, regaining her normal courteous, proper manner. Before he could come back with any retort Ella pushed against the door and kicked it closed behind her.

---

"Ella" Maria said with a warm smile as she entered the room. Ella fought back the feeling of guilt that began to trickle into her consciousness, pushing it from her mind as best she could. "Are you alright?" Maria asked, leaving the task of kneading fresh dough and coming to Ella's side.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, I just drank a little bit too much of Dave's whiskey" Ella said quickly, wanting none of her friends sympathy or caring. She threw down the heavy bundle.

"Ah, you should know better, drinking is bad for the heart as well as the mind" Maria said in a motherly tone.

Ella nodded, "Well, I won't do it again for a good while" she said briskly, and sat down in a chair with a low moan. "My head feels like there is someone inside banging a drum too loud."

Maria pottered around for a moment before setting down a glass of water before her, sweetened with many spoonfuls of honey. "That will help." She paused as Ella gulped down the liquid.

"Thanks" Ella managed, the combination of a headache and Maria's kindness causing her to feel slightly sick.

"You should try to rest, it is the best cure."

Ella again nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll rest a little while, you can sort through that bundle I brought back if you like, see if anything is useful, thought I'd sell the blue dress, get some better ones for it." Ella got up from the chair and placed herself in the larger chair by the smoldering fire, her eyes closing, wanting the bliss of sleep.

"I will not let you sleep too long" Maria said, resuming her task.

"Thanks" Ella mumbled.

---

When Ella's eyes flickered open the light was waning from the sky. She glanced about, knowing that she had overslept by many hours; it was unlike Maria to not keep her word. She slowly pushed herself up from the chair and walked with soft steps over to the table. Her worries were soon laid to rest; Maria was sleeping, her head resting upon her arms. Ella gave a warm smile towards her friend; she worked so hard and deserved a good rest. She was happy to realize that her headache was gone; she got herself some bread and cheese and ate it slowly, knowing that she would feel even better after her body had some food in it. She gulped down a cup of buttermilk and gave a satisfied sigh.

Ella quietly crept over to the door not wanting to wake Maria and at least give her a few more moments of peace. Ella knew they had leftovers that could be easily heated up later so there was no rush to prepare a meal. She closed the door as noiselessly as she could and let her eyes graze over the village, her gaze was drawn to the animal pen in which both Teresa and Rafael were currently playing in, stroking the animals.

Ella made her way towards them. "Hey" she said quietly, so as to not startle either of them.

"Ella," Teresa said with a smile, "shall we come in?"

"No," Ella replied, "your Ma's sleeping, let her have a little longer."

Teresa nodded.

"I'll come fetch you before it gets dark; you just keep on having fun huh" Ella said as she began to make her way over to the laundry she had just noticed. She grabbed a basket from near the steps and began to gather the shirts, skirts and other clothing that was now dry.

She felt his presence well before she knew he was standing behind her. Ella turned quickly, shading her eyes a little from the sun.

"What?" she said, knowing her tone was forcedly harsh, she wanted to hurt him. "I got work to do."

Joey's calm mask twisted for a moment, his face contorting into anger, he lunged forward, his hand clasping painfully around her wrist.

"Don't ever talk to me the way you did today again!" he said through gritted teeth, pulling her harshly forward a few steps.

Ella met his gaze with her own, "Well don't insult me then!" She tried to twist her hand from his grip but he held fast. After a moment she stopped her struggles and moved her eyes to his once again. She wondered how long he had been waiting to get her alone and threaten her, she got the feeling that Joey was not someone who let things go easily.

"What do you want from me Joey?"

At the sound of his name passing her lips his eyes flickered briefly with surprise.

"I don't like playin' games," she paused, "an' I don't expect much to change after… last night, but you could at least stop treatin' me so harsh."

Joey continued to watch her as if waiting for her to add something cruel but Ella cast her eyes from him.

"I ain't had a good life, I ain't a good woman, but I'm tryin'." She paused, "Just don't make it harder for me, okay."

Joey seemed lost for words for a moment before he seemed to regain himself. "I am not making things hard for you gringo; you make things hard for yourself." His words were smug and their aim was to hurt.

Ella narrowed her eyes and moved closer to him. "You're just sore cause I hurt your feelin's, you should try bein' straight with yourself sometime." She made to walk away but Joey again pulled her back by her wrist.

"I told you not to talk to me that way!" He pulled her closer to him. "You said you do not fear me." He narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening, pinching her wrist. "I can make you." His tone was threatening.

"You can't make me do anythin'" she hissed, her own anger blazing. "I did what I did because I wanted to."

"Then you are just a gringo whore, giving yourself to any man." Joey's smirk reappeared as Ella's eyes widened at his stinging insult.

Before she could check her actions her hand flew, slapping him roughly.

"Don't you dare call me a whore!" she barked. "I know you better than you think, I know you felt something you didn't want to feel last night and you're running scared."

Joey looked up, his palm upon his cheek, his eyes burning with violent anger.

"That's all you ever do, you run, fast as you can and don't look back…" She trailed off as he continued to stare at her with his deadly, cool gaze, she wished bitterly she hadn't struck him, those eyes continued to bore into her and she was afraid.

"Do not hit me again!" he said lowly, his tone full of untold threats.

"Don't give me reason to" Ella retorted, more in a reaction to the words, she didn't want to reply she wanted to turn and walk away, run… and her voice faltered as she looked into those intimidating eyes.

Joey glanced over her face as they stared at each other, then with a violent push he let her go.

Ella rubbed her wrist absently, looking at him warily wondering what he would do, his face as always was unreadable apart from anger…

She glanced down at the ground a moment before deciding that she would have to defuse the situation before it became anymore dangerous. "I'm sorry if I made you sore with what I said, I was just angry… an' I'm sorry I hit you"

Joey's eyes again flashed with uncertainty and irritation at the words she spoke.

"You don't have to say you're sorry, I'll just assume you didn't mean none of it either." She turned back to the clothing and continued to gather them into the basket in her view the conversation was other, he would probably sneer at her back and insult her later.

Suddenly she felt his body press against her back, his hands snaked around her waist, she stiffened unsure of his motives and for a moment she thought his touch was hesitant, gauging her reaction. Ella felt that same jolt shoot up her spine at his closeness only this time she had no whiskey to blame it on.

Ella abandoned the washing and covered his hands with her own as desire surged through her body, her head lolled gently back against his chest as his soft lips found her neck and she guided his caresses across her stomach and over her breasts, the touch was light but enough to send shivers through her skin and make the fine hairs upon her arms stand on end.

"Do not hit me again" he whispered into her ear, this time his voice held smoothness in its tone but it was still cool, demanding.

Ella turned to face him, she hesitated before brushing her hands tenderly against his cheeks, then she acted more boldly than she felt, she reached up, meeting his lips with her own in a passionate kiss. They broke away slowly and studied each other; finally she nodded in reply to his demand.

She turned from him again, trying to suppress the smile that wanted to appear on her lips.

"Will you help me take the clothin' in?"

She heard him kick at the dusty ground.

"No," he said simply, "I am not a woman."

Ella heard his footsteps recede away from her; she let the smile loose and tried to make sense of what had just happened.