More wires with new information arrived in Virginia City. When Adam had read the last of the three that had come that day, he shook his head and mumbled

"I knew it."

He rushed over to the mercantile where his family was loading the buckboard:

"Hey Pa, I need to see Charlotte, meet me over there!"

Joe tried to stop him: "Wait, we also want to hear the news!"

But Adam was already gone. The others hurried to finish the loading of the supplies and rushed over to the doctors house as well, where Adam was impatiently sitting in the waiting area.

"There's someone in, I didn't had a chance yet to speak to her."

"The better it is, we are interested as well!"

After a few moments the door to the examination room was opened and Charlies patient left. The whole Cartwright bunch stormed into the room.

"Whoa Gentlemen, what's the matter?" Charlie asked while she came over to greet her visitors.

"The Pinkertons have identified the donor of the house in Philadelphia!" Adam burst out.

"And?"

"As we suspected, it is a real friend of yours - Aunt Freddie!"

"What?"

"Here, look for yourself! Apparently she had bought the place in your name four months before you actually moved there and arranged for the deposit to take the taxes from as well."

"This is a good thing, isn't it?" Hoss inquired hopefully.

"It sure is son! Charlie my dear, is anything wrong with you?" Ben wondered, as Charlie had sunk to her chair and looked absent-mindedly at her desk.

"No, it is nothing just the surprise. I remember Aunt Freddie telling me that I would not receive my birthday present at Equinox, but we had to travel for it. I suspected a shopping tour through Savannah for some more adult dresses or the like, which was not too thrilling for me. She died a few days later, and I forgot everything about that envisaged tour. Apparently she must have meant that house! Oh my god, I have lived there for so many years and hated it, hated everything in it, but it was her gift to me! That jerk has even spoiled me her gift!"

Having said this Charlie was again not able to hold back her tears. Adam softly took her in his arms and the others left the practice.

"Darling, maybe it is late, but not too late to appreciate your aunts' gift. At least you can be certain now, that you did not live on expenses of that guy during those years, but he actually lived on yours. I bet it was Aunt Freddie, who had filed your application at medical school, not him and most probably she also provided the means for the college. Isn't that something that can provide you with some strength when we will have to face him again?"

She nodded and tried to stop her tears.

"She must have spent her last penny on that and I hated it, this is so ….. so wrong!"

"Firstly you did not hate the house itself, you hated him and your life with him, what is absolutely understandable and secondly unknowingly you honored her gift because you finished medical school, which is what that gift was intended for."

A cautious smile appeared on her face: "You are right again, thank you so much for being reasonable in such a confusing matter. But we still do not know, why he did not claim the property when we were married."

"No, not yet, but in the end of all that we will have that answer as well, believe me!"

They kissed and sprang apart when the door to the investigation room was torn open and Suzanne DuVall went in. As usual her appearance was striking. She wore a dress with quite a plunging neckline and in a deep burgundy red. Again it was tasteful but daring at the same time. If she was surprised to see the kissing couple, she did not let on about that, but greeted them politely:

"A good day Doctor Mathews, Mr. Cartwright, please forgive me, that I bump in here that suddenly, but there has happened something I need to inform you about.

"You're welcome Miss DuVall, please do sit down and tell us what it is. Mr. Cartwright was about to leave anyway!"

"No, no! Quite the contrary, I think Adam will be concerned as well. Yesterday there were two strangers at my place. They were downright unpleasant, already drunk when they arrived and behaved impolite to the girls. Kelly, my doorman, threw them out, which is what he is expected to do with such jerks. This morning however the girls found him, Kelly I mean, behind our house, thoroughly beaten up. Before he became unconscious again he was able to tell me that this had been done by those two guys and before he had threw them out last night they asked him and the girls questions about a Doctor Charlotte Mathews. I am sure he did not give away a thing about you Doctor, but those guys will surely be hanging around here somewhere and I thought you should know that."

Charlie had become white as a wall. Unable to speak she looked at Adam who nodded:

"They have arrived."

Miss DuVall asked: "Do you know these guys?"

"We know what they are up to and owe you a lot for warning us."

Charlie had gained back her senses: "I need to see Kelly, wait a moment I'll get my bag."

When she stood up she needed a moment to manage standing firmly on her feet, but after a few moments she was able to go for her bag. When Charlie had left the room Miss DuVall stated:

"I'll go ahead." and with a little turn to Adam she asked: "it's farewell now for us I suppose?"

He sighed and nodded slowly: "It is, yes! Thank you ….. for everything and all the best!"

"I see! Good luck!" And with a very light and elegant nod towards Adam she left the office.

Adam had guarded Charlie to the bedside of the hurt doorman, who looked hardly like himself because the face had been smashed with incredible brutality. One eye couldn't be seen at all because of a giant swelling, the lips seemed to be completely burst open and his jaws looked awfully displaced. Charlie tried to use his unconsciousness to apply the most painful treatments like putting the jaw back right, but he awoke and whispered, hardly understandable but proud:

"I din'n tell anyfing Doc, no'one word, fey don'n know anyfing fomme!"

"I know Kelly, I know, you are a darn good protector, aren't you? But now you need to rest!"

After Kelly was applied some Laudanum and all his wounds were cleaned and taken care of, Charlie tended to leave. Miss DuVall stopped her:

"Please Doctor, wait here for Adam, he is questioning the girls inside."

A few moments later Adam came out the parlor together with two of the girls.

"Will you allow me to take the girls to the Sheriffs' office Suzie? They can describe the guys best. I will not loose their sight for a moment and bring them back here safely."

Miss DuVall nodded: "Go ahead, but please do really take care for them!"

"I will for sure!"

"I know! Farewell then Adam and all the best for you!"

He tipped the brim of his hat, bowed his head a little and went off.

At the Sheriffs office Roy Coffee looked a bit astonished about the party of visitors that approached him: Adam Cartwright with two apparently 'soiled doves' as well as with his fiancée-to-be Doctor Mathews. But when he was told the story behind it, he reacted fast: He took down the description of the men and compared it with every announcement of wanted persons as well as with the records about recently released or escaped prisoners.

"I'll wire the description to all Sheriffs' offices around here and let you know as soon as there will come a reply. Besides this Clem and I will be on the watch for them!"

"Thank you Roy! Now I will escort the ladies here back to their house and come back then to take care for Charlotte. Roy, lock her up in case she opposes, will you promise me that?"

"I'll take good care fore her, do not worry!"

Adam returned only a few minutes later. "Roy, can Charlotte spend the night here? I would stay as well to guard her and to stay here in case you would have to leave the office."

"Be my guests! This will surely be the safest place for Doctor Mathews!"

"But only for tonight, you know that Paul and Jillian are in Carson City, I need to run the practice!"

Adam frowned at her and answered hesitantly: "I suppose you will not agree to close the practice for a couple of days?"

"No, on no account! I will not let him dictate my life again. I did so long enough!"

Adam nodded: "Good, but please Charlotte, you must promise me not to make one step without a guard. I will not leave your side until this is over and besides me there will always be a second guard. I already sent a message to the Ponderosa to fetch more people. And you will spend the nights here at Roy's office. I will personally lock you up if necessary! You mustn't stay in the Martins' house on your own."

"Good, accepted, but how long do you think it will take?"

"We can only guess about that, but his helpers have apparently arrived here. I am sure they will show up in one way or another during the very next days. Whatever there will happen, it will probably happen soon."

xxxxxxxxxxx

At the same time two shabby looking men had entered an abandoned barn at the outer limits of Virginia City, where they were listening to a third man. Although abandoned for a couple of years, the barn showed this evening some signs of habitation. A big, closed coach occupied ab big part of it. Additionally there had been arranged accommodation for two and signs of previous meals were lying around. The third man was dressed a lot better than his companions, but also his suit seemed to have seen better days. There was some strong tension at the bottoms of his vest, as if the suit would have been made for him when he had much less weight. The man was rather tall and seemed to be in his fifties; he became bold on the head but had some very impressive sideburns. Apparently he was not satisfied with what the two shabby looking men had achieved:

"You searched the saloons and whorehouses for her? Are you out of your mind? Didn't I tell you that she is my cousin and therewith comes from one of the first families down South?"

The bigger of the shabby men tried to contradict: "But didn't you tell us to refer to her as your wife? You call her a dirty bitch every now and then and now she is a kind of lady? How did this.."

But he could not finish the sentence, the third man had struck out in a movement quick as a flash and let something impinge on the others cheek that clapped loud through the big old barn and left a blood red welt behind in his face. The third man curled in slowly, nearly caressing, a leather belt.

"Don't you riffraff dare to stand up to me, you will do as I say, are we clear or will you need another clarification?"

The shabby looking men did not dare to contradict or to fight the third man, they had seen him in this state before, when he was in a rage and started to use this special belt, there wasn't anything or anyone that could stop him until the rage was blown off. The man that had not been beaten said:

"It's understood boss, tomorrow we will search the boarding houses and hotels of the town. But why can't we go straight to the doctors office?"

"Because this is, what everyone would expect us to do! She is not an idiot like you two nitwits, she will expect us in the doctors office and will be observant there; we need to catch her when she let her guard down."

After having received some further instructions, the shabby men left for a saloon.

"Keep your ears open but don't ask silly questions again and do not get involved in any brawls, we do not need the Sheriffs' attendance, is that clear?"

"O.k. Boss!" "Got it!"

they mumbled and went off. Outside the barn the one, who had been beaten, tended to his companion:

"We should leave Herb, that guy is absolutely insane, let him stick the in that coach he seems to live in and run away!"

"No Jeff, not now. You know what he is going to pay: Five thousand Dollars! We have been bearing him already for months, now that we are that close, we can't leave without any money. As soon as he has that chick he's looking for, we demand our pay and then we can leave. I can't wait myself to get rid of that jerk. He's frightening I give you that!"

Over a couple of beers in the next saloon they forgot both their unpleasant principal as well as their task.

xxxxxxxxxx

Later that night in the Sheriffs' office, Adam cautiously opened the door to the room where Charlie should sleep. It was dark inside and he just wanted to leave when he heard a whispered

"Come in, I am not sleeping."

He sat down beside Charlie on her bunk, laid an arm around her shoulders and whispered back:

"You should sleep, you will need your strength tomorrow!"

"So will you, why aren't you sleeping?"

"I'm not tired."

"No, of course not! Listen, I need no knight in shining armor right now, you can rest a little, I am safe here."

"I know, I just wanted to assure myself of that."

"You have ordered everybody to his position, I assume?"

He smiled a little and nodded: "Pa and Joe are at the Martins house; Hoss drew the short strain and has to watch the livery stable. A couple of hands are placed all over the town; you will hardly be able to do an unobserved step."

"Thank you for all that!"

"Later darling, when it will be over, thank me later!"

After a little silence Charlie asked: "Do you know her well?"

"Whom?"

"Suzanne DuVall, or how you call her 'Suzie'."

"Oh, you've noticed that, well ... errrrr ... yes, let's say I ..."

"No stop, this is ridiculous, no confession, I am sorry that I mentioned it at all, I have no right to ask you for a justification, it is o.k."

"You know that I love you, don't you? I love you with all my heart, more fiercely and more dearly than I've ever expected to feel. You can ask me whatever you want. I cannot promise that you will like every answer, but I can promise that every answer will be the truth."

"That's wonderful to know, but again, it was wrong of me to ask. Maybe I just wanted to let you know that I noticed it. Silly, isn't it? Just hold me a bit, that's all I ask of you."

Snuggled against each other on the narrow bunk they finally dozed off.

The morning came much too early. Charlie just tried to find a more comfortable position on the bunk when she realized that Adam had already gone. She found him in the office making coffee.

"Good morning dear! How long are you up already?"

"Just a while, I sent Roy away to catch up a little sleep."

Charlie came nearer and kissed him.

"Today will be the day, what do you think?"

"We cannot be sure of course, but I do think that something will happen today. Look outside! At least we will have today a heavy thunderstorm with some downpour, it had been too dry during the last weeks. How are you by the way?"

"A bit tired but I hardly can wait to leave all that behind us and I hope that it will happen soon! On the other hand I am scared to death! Does that make any sense? Let us hope the downpour will wash all our troubles away."

He kissed her back instead of an answer, when the door to the office was opened and Hoss came in, looking a bit embarrassed at them.

"Good morning Hoss, how are you? Did anything happen?"

"Nope and I am hungry!"

"At least that makes sense, come on guys, let's go over to the 'International House'; I'll buy all my guardians a breakfast!"

"Good, let us make the first shift there, after we'll have finished I'll send over Pa and Joe."

While having breakfast Charlie felt nearly normal, there was some tension palpable, but hadn't she felt such tension during all the years on the run? Adam had been right: Whatever would happen today or during the next days was inevitable! And this time she was prepared!

xxxxxxxxxx

Herb and Jeff, the shabby looking strangers had not returned to the old barn last night, but spent the night in a quiet corner behind the saloon, where they had drunk away their entire advance. After splashing some water from the horse-trough in the street they felt refreshed enough to begin their task of the day to inquire at the boarding houses and hotels of the town for a female doctor. Their search however went not too well, in the International House the receptionist scrutinized them disdainfully from head to toe before he informed them that he knew nothing but even in case he would he would surely not give away any information about any guest! The success at the boarding house they tried was not much better: The landlady, a little, elderly woman, with a lot of loops and ribbons on her dress and in her hair with the name of Clementine Hawkins, send them away very determined with the request not to keep honest people from their everyday work.

Tom, the International Hotels receptionist looked after the two strangers to find out where they probably would go to next and then approached the table where the Ben and Little Joe Cartwright were just having breakfast.

"Mr. Cartwright, Little Joe? I am sorry for disturbing you, but there had just been two rather doubtful looking men been in, asking for a female doctor in town. I suppose they were speaking about Doctor Mathews, but I told them I would not know a thing about that."

Joe had jumped up after the first words: "Where did they go to from here?"

"They went North. If they will inquire also at the boarding houses for her they will come to Widow Hawkins' place next."

Ben rose as well: "Tom, we owe you something for your vigilance! Joe, you'll go over to Clementine Hawkins and I'll inform Adam and Charlie at the practice."

After their new failure in the boarding houses Herb and Jeff discussed what to do next:

"He will be out of his mind when we return without any trace! I don't see why we cannot go to the practice and see whether there is a girl in it!"

"When we go to the practice he will be more than ever out of his mind. I have no taste for being beaten again with that belt of his!"

"Then let us leave right now, we take horses from the livery stable, and leave him alone with that doctor bitch of his! This business and that guy both stink, I don't want to a part of anything that's related with it, let us scram!"

"That's right Jeff, we're through with that stuff! A lady doctor, what a crap! "

These last words were caught by the ears of Miss Patricia Calston, who just wanted to change to the other sidewalk as she intended to avoid any contact with two shabby looking guys standing in her way to the mercantile. Upon hearing that key word of hers she turned around and asked briskly:

"What did you say?"

"None of your business sweetie, but we will surely find something of mutual interest!"

Answered one of the men, who had a bright red wound on his cheek, which made him look even worse than his dirty grin would have done alone. But it was not that easy to intimidate Miss Calston:

"Stop that nonsense and don't you dare touching me! What did you say about a lady doctor?"

That came as a surprise to the men:

"Do you know her, I mean a female doctor?"

"Of course I do, what do you two have to do with her, why do you ask?"

"I told you, none of your business! Where is she?"

"No Jeff, please, look this young lady is ready to help us, be polite! I'd like to apologize for my brother here; he is not used to speak with real ladies like you. I understood you would know a female doctor in these parts?"

"I told you I do, but why are you asking?"

"You see, she had run away from our third brother, who is her husband and he is now everywhere looking for her, because he is absolutely desperate without her!"

Patricia eyes nearly fell out of her head:

"She's married? Oh that's priceless! I knew there was something fishy about that cow! She's probably in her practice over there."

Herb made a sad face and sighed: "You know Miss, we and our brother are already looking very long for her, look at our clothes, we are on a really long search already. Whenever we have come near her sofar, looking that torn out like today, she turns us away and calls for the local Sheriff. So we never had the chance to bring her together with our poor brother. He cannot walk you know, he is sitting in a wheelchair. Could you possibly be kind enough to help us with that matter, you look like a real kindhearted woman!"

Patricia did not like the men nor their behavior, but the chance to confront the doctor cow with her hampered husband, whom she had run away from, was too good to miss:

"Help you? How?"

"We did not have enough money to stay in a decent house, so we had to sleep in a barn, where our brother is wishfully waiting to hear anything from his beloved wife. If you could ask her to come out, we would guide her to our brother without giving her the possibility to have us sent away by the Sheriff again."

"You want me to lure her out of her practice." Patricia stated as a matter of fact.

The man called Herb bowed approvingly his head. Patricia went on:

"Well, I could do so, but there are always a lot of her friends around, the whole town seems to be filled with Cartwrights and their cowboys these days, I suppose you want her to be alone?"

"You are not only very pretty and kind Miss, you are apparently smart as well! Let us take care for that, we'll arrange some kind of distraction. If this will be set in motion I'll give you a signal and then you could do a real good deed and help us to reunite our poor brother with the little wife of his."

"Good! I'll play along. How long will you need for preparing the distraction?"

"Not long, you can wait here! I'll be back in no time!"

After the men were gone, Patricia asked herself again, whether she was doing the right thing, but running away from ones poor husband in a wheelchair was surely an awful thing to do! In light of what Patricia herself had already endured from that bitch, she decided that that cow would only get what she deserved.

The men however did not return in no time, Patricia was just beginning to loose her patience, when the sound of shootings was to be heard in the streets as well as shouts

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

"The stable is on fire!"

and the fire bell rang. Everywhere the doors were opened and men and women stormed into the streets. That was probably the distraction, the men were apparently very determined about their aim, Patricia thought. The same moment she saw that the door to the doctors office was opened and all the Cartwright men were running towards the stable.

'Of course!' she thought when Adam turned around to call something towards the inside of the house. 'Make sure your precious darling is safe! I'd like to see your face when you realize she's someone else' darling already!' That was surely worth a little fire.

A few moments later Herb and Jeff came back and Herb bowed his head a little, tipped the brim of his hat and pointed into the direction of the practice. Patricia's heart beat like a drum, when she tried to open the door to the doctor's office, but it was locked. She already wanted to turn away, when she saw Herb making some furious movements with his arms. Patricia sighed and then knocked at the door:

"Help, help! We need help!"

She heard some movement behind the door and Doctor Mathews approached.

"What is wrong Miss Calston?"

"Help, we need a doctor!"

Charlie opened the door: "Is it urgent Miss Calston, I can unfortunately not leave the house at the moment."

"Yes …. it is urgent …. Adam!"

Patricia was very pleased about this idea. The effect couldn't have been better; the doctor cow went pale and asked

"What? Has he been hurt in the stable?"

"Yes…... come quickly!"

"Of course, one moment!"

Charlie vanished back into the house and returned seconds later with her bag. She wanted to run towards the stable, but Patricia took her arm and dragged her into the other direction, where Herb and Jeff were waiting.

"Along here!"

"I thought you said he was at the stable?"

"No, come along here!"

"No, wait a minute!" Charlie stopped "where do you want me to …..."

but she was not able to finish her sentence. Jeff had knocked her down, took her on his shoulder and ran into the direction of the old barn.

"Hey, did you really have to beat her?"

This was not, what Patricia had expected. The next moment Herb had grabbed her arm and dragged her into the same direction. As the whole of Virginia City was trying to save the horses and to blow out the fire at the stable, no one noticed Patricia's screaming.