When the sun rose to enough height to pull Jimmy from his slumber, he found, to his amazement, Faith still sleeping in his arms. He gently extricated himself from her and dressed before heading to the kitchen. He never had become much of a cook but breakfast had been his specialty. It was simple and he could handle it pretty well.

In short time he found himself whistling as he carried a tray back to her room. She was still asleep and he wondered how long it had been since she'd had a good rest. He stood there a moment longer just watching her sleep and fully allowing himself to appreciate her features. She was beautiful, there was no mistaking that. Her cheeks and jaw line looking as though sculpted by some visionary of an ancient land. When opened, her eyes a color shifting hazel that he could never get a bead on. He tried, oh how he tried for those eyes were often his only tiny glimpse of the heart within. Jimmy's pulse quickened every time he thought upon her lips; soft, full, inviting. Most of the time, they were mere shades darker than the slight pinkish cast of her ivory skin but when filled with the blood of desire, they darkened beyond that artificial stain the women of the saloon used. They veritably dripped with passion as juice drips from mid-summer cherries.

Jimmy became aware of his rapid breathing and how hard he was gripping the tray. He then came aware of a knocking at the front door.

He sat the tray down on her dressing table and headed to the door and opened it, ready to draw if the need arose. It did not as there was only one of his deputies standing on the porch.

"Pete, what in the hell are you doing out here?" Jimmy asked in complete annoyance.

"Sorry Marshal, there's a bunch of fellas causing a ruckus in town," Pete said almost apologetically, "Not too bad right now but once they set to drinking…"

There was no need to finish the thought and Jimmy nodded.

"I went to find you and the desk clerk gave me the message you left," the deputy got a smile that Jimmy wanted to forcibly remove, "Sure was surprised to find you out here."

"I slept in the barn," Jimmy said flatly, "How well do you think you can handle these fellas by yourselves?"

"Probably can for a while but come nightfall things could get rough."

Jimmy contemplated for a moment and then said, "I came out to fix Fa-the widow's step."

He hoped his slip of the tongue had not been caught and then continued.

"She didn't answer when I knocked so I went in to check on her," Jimmy wondered when lying had become so easy, "She's taken ill, it seems."

"Should I send the doc out?"

"No," Jimmy said easily, "She's been under a great strain recently. I'm sure some rest will have her right as rain. I'll be back in town late afternoon. If you need me before then, send someone to fetch me."

The deputy shot an odd look full of questions he dared not ask and Jimmy thought once again how handy Bill could be to have around.

Jimmy went back inside and found Faith had still not moved at all. He sat next to her and brushed her cheek lightly before bending to press his lips to hers.

She opened her eyes disoriented. He just smiled at her.

"Good morning, pretty lady," he said and saw the beginnings of a smile play at the corners of her mouth.

He got up and turned back to her with the tray of food. Jimmy saw the smile fade as her mouth turned different directions and she began to weep.

"You come to help me," she squeaked through her tears, "And I can't even get up to cook for you."

"Faith, you needed that rest and I'm not completely helpless in the kitchen," he smiled and then added, "Besides, I kind of liked the idea of taking care of you."

Faith dried her tears and made a valiant attempt at a smile.

"Well, who would have thought Wild Bill Hickok could cook?"

"First of all," he said with a laugh, "I can think of a few men and a woman who'd swear I can't cook. And second of all, Bill ain't here. I wouldn't let him within a hundred yards of you."

That brought a genuine smile from her.

Jimmy excused himself to work on the step while she ate and got herself up and around. It wasn't very long before he looked up to see her sitting on the porch swing. If he had thought her pretty before, the effect of a good night's sleep had rendered her breathtaking. He found himself staring at her until she looked up and took notice. Jimmy quickly turned his eyes back to the step embarrassed.

He wasn't sure why he should feel as if they were only just getting acquainted. In addition to their talks, they knew each other in the biblical sense. But something did feel different even if he couldn't figure it out.

Jimmy worked in silence until it was broken by Faith.

"Are they dead?"

"Are who dead?" he asked.

"Your friends," she answered, "I know Bill Cody's alive but the rest of them; is that why they aren't in your life?"

Jimmy thought back to the day he left Rock Creek. The express was over, Cody was long gone, Kid and Lou married. Ike and Noah were in the church cemetery and despite his efforts to the contrary, he found himself less and less able to look Rosemary in the eye. He knew Rachel and Teaspoon had wanted him to stay but even Buck had gone, knowing that the war would somehow make things even more complicated for the Indians. The home, the family that Teaspoon and Rachel were clinging so tight to was already gone. So he left too.

Jimmy blinked and saw Faith still looking at him awaiting an answer.

"No," he said at last, "They ain't dead, not that I know of, but I am to them."

"Not that you know of?" she asked in disbelief, "You don't even know?"

Jimmy could only shake his head as he kept working. Faith said nothing more until the job was finished and Jimmy had readied his horse.

"I'm sorry," she said looking at her feet.

"It's not your fault," he replied then added, "If it wouldn't be too much bother to you, I thought I might ride out tomorrow just to see how you're doing."

"I'd like that."

He wasn't sure why but he felt almost nervous about kissing Faith. This was hardly their first kiss and they had already done so much more than kiss but it now seemed as if everything else didn't count. He thought maybe that night and all that had happened between them to this point had only been to heal them and allow them to start anew.

Jimmy relished the excited butterfly flutters in his stomach as he leaned toward her and she must have felt them too as he heard an anticipatory gasp from her as his gloved hand touched her cheek. He pressed his lips to hers and let the soft heat of them overtake him.

Jimmy reluctantly parted from her and just stood for a moment drinking in her beauty. A breeze blew a lock of her hair across her face and he gently tucked it behind her ear before kissing her on the forehead.

"I guess I'd best be off," he said with no real conviction. Whatever he'd 'best be' doing, all he wanted to do was stand and stare at her.

She nodded as if not trusting her voice. He saw her eyes follow him into the saddle and she waved to him as he rode away.

When Jimmy rode into town it wasn't even suppertime and already he could hear the chaos in The Sagebrush. One of many saloons in town, The Sagebrush had the roughest reputation and Jimmy rolled his eyes as Pete sidled up alongside him.

"How long's it been like that, Pete?" Jimmy asked.

"Just started getting loud."

Jimmy gave a single nod. He really hoped this was one of those times when his mere presence would diffuse things. He dismounted and strode over to the bat wing doors and entered. He let his hands hover over the butts of his guns. He'd made it a rule never to draw unless he planned to shoot and he preferred to avoid shooting when necessary.

A handful of patrons saw him enter the room and took note of the steely look in his eyes. He knew he looked intimidating when angered and had learned to conjure that expression when needed. On this day though, it was no act. He really didn't want to be there and he was genuinely mad as hell at the small band of cowboys necessitating his being away from Faith.

At last those very ruffians took notice of him standing in the doorway, hands hovering over his Colts as if daring them. Jimmy's heart sank a little when one of them, the leader he guessed, sized him up and got that look Jimmy had come to know all too well. It was a look that said the whiskey was doing the other man's thinking and whiskey rarely made wise choices. He saw the man reach for his weapon and, as Jimmy didn't draw unless he was fixing to shoot, he went with the assumption that everyone else felt the same. Unfortunately for the other man, Jimmy was faster by far. The other man had two patches of red spreading across his gut before he'd been able to get his gun clear of its holster.

Jimmy knew that one of two things would happen next and he stood there still holding his pistols at the ready waiting to see which it would be. Either this man's friends would take up his cause and there would be a messy gunfight or they'd take the path of self-preservation and surrender. His unuttered prayer was answered when he saw hands raised and heard guns dropping onto tables.

With a look, Jimmy conveyed to Pete he ought to take the men up to sleep it off in a cell for the night and happened to notice Doc Landon at a nearby table playing cards.

"Sorry to break up your free time, Doc," he said in sincere apology, "But it looks like you got yourself a customer."

Jimmy stood watching as the old man braced his hands on the table and pushed himself out of the chair with a grunt. He looked on as the doc instructed some of the men standing near to carry the injured man to his office. Jimmy just took in the scene until the men left with Doc trailing behind. He tried to not care if the man made it or not but he really didn't like killing anyone so he did care. He knew Bill would say that a man doesn't go for his gun unless he's about to use it and it's better to shoot than be shot. The truth there didn't make the taking of a life any easier.

Finally Jimmy moved but only as far as the bar where he simply nodded to Dave the barkeep. While Jimmy hadn't been in town long enough to get to know the citizenry, he'd been there more than long enough for every bartender to learn his nods. Proof positive, he thought, that he'd been spending far too much time in saloons. This nod said, 'Whiskey and keep it coming'. Tomorrow, after he emptied his jail cells, he'd go see Faith but tonight he was going to see how much booze it took to get Bill to leave him alone for a bit.

Soon the noise and activity of the saloon returned as if nothing had happened. Jimmy quickly found himself growing cross with the racket and took the bottle with him down the street, alone to his room.

Closing the door behind him, he let out a sigh but it was less relief than resignation. He hated this room. There wasn't really anything wrong with it but he hated it all the same. He knew where he wanted to be. It was the one place he knew Bill would not follow.

I still have no earthly idea where this story is going so I hope you all don't mind being on the trail to possibly nowhere with me. It might turn out good...maybe. So, yeah, I know I haven't been updating this often but I have had a lot of other irons in the fire. I have two novels outside the realm of fanfic that I am working on and then there have been some little one shots plus a story I had promised a friend of mine that I had to write. I always have multiple stories I'm working on at any given time but five and six stories simultaneously is a lot even for me...plus dealing with the family which is alright but very trying sometimes. So, I thank you for your patience and hopefully there is still interest enough to follow the spotty updates. I do love you all. Really I do.-J