Hey guys, look how quickly I wrote this chapter! I really hope everyone enjoys it, and I hope that this marks a new era for me when chapters can come out more often. I know as a reader that nothing is more frustrating than waiting. Thanks to everyone who has read so far, and remember whatever you liked or didn't like about the chapter or those previous, leave it in the reviews or message me about it.

I do not own Liberty's Kids or most of these characters

Sarah's eyes fluttered open slowly as she woke up, the sunlight warming her face through a crack in the wall. She started for a moment before she quickly realized that she simply dozed off in the hay loft, nestled between the two piles she had sat on. She sighed lightly and rolled over, settling back into the warm hay. She found it far more clean and comfortable than she had ever imagined. She realized that sleeping in this hay loft could not be very proper of her, and her dress would be covered in hay later; but thinking of the warmth of the bedding and the people awaiting her inside, Sarah decided that this was a time when formal etiquette could come second to her desires.

Just as Sarah snuggled back into the hay bed she had made herself, her body stiffened as she hard foot steps coming towards her from across the loft. Her mind began to race as she wondered who it was. What were they doing? The steps came closer and closer to her and she felt her heart beat race, her body tensing ready to attack whoever it may be. She realized that she had no weapon, how silly of her. She began to panic, her mind could only picture attackers approaching her, and Sarah decided that her only hope would be to catch the man off guard, startling him and giving her time to escape down the ladder near her.

The steps were getting closer and closer till finally Sarah couldn't stand it any longer. She sprung up to surprise her attacker, leaping suddenly out of the hay piles with a yell as she jump towards the man. It was at that moment when she began to jump that Sarah realized in horror that her "attacker" was really only James. James nearly jumped all the way out of his skin and began to yell at the sudden appearance of Sarah. She tried to stop herself from jumping, but it was too late and all she succeeded in was falling over onto the pile of hay she had previously been laying behind. Mean while James tripped over his own feet falling backwards onto the wood of the loft hard.

"SARAH!" James screamed as he fell backwards.

"What in the world are you doing?!" He yelled at her still frantic and confused.

"I thought you were someone coming to attack me!" Sarah yelled back her heart still racing.

"Attack you! You were the one attacking me!" James said pointing at her. The two simply started at each other for a moment their chests heaving until they were both able to take depth breaths and calm down.

"What were you doing here?" James asked much more calmly as he stood up and went over to help her up.

Sarah had never felt more embarrassed in her life. She stood up and tried to brush off her dress as she felt her face flush a color she was sure resembled a tomato.

"If you must know Mr. Hiller." She said, slipping into her most formal vernacular to try to combat the embarrassment, "I was taking a walk in the garden when I became cold and I decided that the barn would be a nice warm place to shelter me from the wind. So I came here and was actually very comfortably sitting, when I heard foot steps and prepared myself for an attacker. Though I realized when I got up that it, in fact, was only you." Sarah finished proudly with her head held high and her lips defiantly pressed together, not looking at James. That is until he burst out laughing and her head whipped over to him, her eyes glaring.

"Im. So. Sorry." James said between laughs. He made an effort to try to calm down but he was still chuckling some as he continued. "you just sounded so serious just now and you were trying to be so very proper, but your hair just a mess and it ruined the whole appearance." This made him bust into more fits of laughter as Sarah quickly turned away from him.

"Look I'm sorry!" He said as he walked over to her. He really meant it too. James realized that he shouldn't have laughed at her. After all he knew Sarah's appearance and dignity were very important to her, and she was clearly already embarrassed. "I really am sorry." He said softly as he reached her, and when she turned around he started to pick the hay out of her hair, letting it flatten back down.

"I shouldn't have laughed at you. And I am very sorry that I scared you. I had come up here and hadn't seen you at all. I'm surprised you didn't hear me coming up the ladder."

Sarah looked back at him and sighed. He could tell she wasn't mad any more, however she still had a mildly exacerbated look on her face; but that was normal when she was talking to him.

"So what made you come up here anyways?" Sarah asked as she walked over to one of the piles and plopped down on it. James wandered over next to her as he answered "Oh, I just like to come up here some times to think. It a really nice spot and until today there hasn't been other people here." He sat down next to her and then chuckled. "Well I guess that's not true. Once I was here and then Henri came up because he was trying to hide from Moses to avoid doing work. At least that's what I think he was doing. When he saw me he looked startled and said something about just looking to be sure the hay was still there and then he scurried back down the ladder." Sarah gave a small laugh at that and shook her head thinking of Henri doing just that, though she was picturing him with some food item stolen from the kitchen.

"Was he eating a chicken leg too?" Sarah said laughing. But James answered in a very serious tone saying "No." Then he looked at her and it was clear he was working to hold back a smile "It was a pie." As much as he had tried to look serious when saying it, as soon as James said 'pie' the two of them burst out laughing. Sarah was so happy to be laughing with James. It made her feel like Isabelle had not in fact gotten to him as she had worried. He was still her friend even if there was a patriot his age to replace her with if he wanted.

"So did you come up here to think about your article?" Sarah asked in what she hoped was not a prying way. She knew that some people liked to keep their thoughts to themselves, however James talked about many things to her (some more than she really wanted him too), and his articles were something that he could talk about for hours and hours at the slightest provocation.

"Oh no" He said a little suddenly. "I don't come up here for that kind of thinking. I could do that at a desk in the shop." Sarah was rather confused at this statement. How could one think of somethings in the shop, and others one couldn't? "This place is for things that are bigger. When I think about huge engulfing things that distract me and that I need to think about alone and undisturbed." James could see Sarah's confusion and so added on "Things like: when I worry about what this war will mean for America, for England, for me. When I miss my parents. When I don't know what to do with my life."

The two sat in silence for a few moments. All Sarah could think of though was that she wanted to know what it was that James needed to think about this time. She knew though that that was a question which one did not ask another. However James could feel the unasked question either way and soon sighed and started to speak again.

"I just needed to think about Isabelle some." James said with a sigh and Sarah couldn't help but feel a small twist in her stomach at the mention of Isabelle. She again felt a desire to ask him things but knew that it was not right for her to pry. "Oh." She said in what she hoped was a simple light way.

James felt a strong pull to keep talking to her about it. After all she was his friend and he didn't have anyone else to share his feelings with. But Sarah wouldn't want to hear about it. It was his problems and she would simply say that that was not proper discourse for a man and a woman who knew each other as little as they did. But then hadn't they been good friends? Did they not have a heartfelt and open conversation just a few days before?

"Sarah, were friends right?" James asked finally. Sarah looked taken aback. That was not the question that she had been expecting. "Of course we are James." She said firmly. She was expecting something more from James after that but they kept sitting in silence. Finally Sarah could not take it any more. This was a silly use of their time to just sit there.

"James, do you have something you want to tell me? If you do you really can." She said, causing James to sigh loudly and stand up. For a moment Sarah was worried she had annoyed him, but James merely started to pace and speak to her.

"It's just that Isabelle is a very very nice girl Sarah." James said, to which Sarah had a rather rude thought but she held it in. James continued to pace back and forth thinking about how he was feeling about Isabelle. While before he had been worried to tell Sarah, once he started talking he simply couldn't get himself to stop and all of this thoughts poured out in a rather incohesive mass of ideas and worries.

"It's just that she's the first real, strong, patriotic, woman that I have thus far met. She and her father have worked for months to help with supplies and they give so much to the cause, it's amazing. Also, it turns out that she lost her mother at a really young age just like I did which is just great. I mean it's not great it's horrible but I felt like I had such a connection to her because of that. But then again she's also really upset right now so I think that it wouldn't be a good time. But maybe there is never a good time. Also what if I do everything wrong? I just don't know what to do Sarah." James realized as he finished that at some point his voice had gone up a whole octave and he was no longer forming very reasonable thoughts, but still his worry trumped all as he turned and faced Sarah.

"James," Sarah said slowly, a little confused about everything that he had said. "What are you talking about? A good time for what?"

"A good time to court her!" James said as though it had been obvious. Somehow hearing the word 'court' coming from James sounded so odd to Sarah. She didn't really know why, after all this had been a big part of their lives recently. They were getting to the age where one courted and got married. She supposed she just never really thought James would.

James looked at Sarah and saw her face in shock.

"Sarah, why are you so surprise? You know that this is the stage of life were in. All of our peers are getting married, even you are getting courted. So why so shocked?" James began to wonder if it was because some how Sarah did not see him as a person who would marry. Maybe she, as a woman, had some insider knowledge saying that he was in fact a horrible catch. Embarrassment got the better of him and James tried to back track a little ways "Look maybe its just all the talk of it has gotten me thinking too hard about this marriage stuff. But still I don't know. I feel like Isabelle is really nice and good and I could see myself marrying her. Well I mean...I think...maybe?" James trailed off rather uncertainly. How was one supposed to know who they would marry anyways? Yes you courted someone; but even that was a big step. James realized that he was feeling no better now then he had been when he entered the barn.

"Look Sarah could you please just say something? I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do it." James felt like he was pleading with her for her advice.

"Well James." Sarah said, trying to think logically about everything she had heard. She was surprised at how very gentlemanly and adult James was actually being. Though he was terrified and irrational, he was thinking of his future and trying to do this right.

"I would say that you should go ahead and ask. Though you might want to wait until she had more news on her father. Now is not a good time to leave a woman with a delicate decision. Now usually one would ask a father permission first, however it is possible that that will not be an option for you seeing how her father is not really available for conversation. You could wait till he is available or you could simply ask her yourself; I have a feeling she would not mind such a bold move. Still you should be very proper and respectable, and James, it will all be fine. She seems to like you, I wouldn't worry about it too much, just man up and try."

James looked at Sarah in awe. The advice had the effect of calming and rationalizing him in the best possible way. Of course Sarah was right. He would wait for news of her father, giving her time to get pulled together and him time to be sure about what he wanted. After that he would ask her father first, and if not him then her directly. Maybe he would talk to Moses about it too. He must have some good ideas. James smiled lightly at Sarah. How very helpful she was.

"Thank you Sarah. That was what I needed to hear. Now I'm not sure about you, but I am starving and think I shall go get some food" Sarah smiled back as James lead her to the ladder.

"Mr. Hiller, since when did you know how to get your own food from the kitchen?" Sarah asked in a teasing way, as she climbed down the ladder and waited for him at the bottom.

"Since you left the dinner food out." James said as climbed down, jumping a few rungs from the bottom and landing softly next to Sarah. He noticed that she was giving him her usual annoyed look, though James thought he saw a small smile underneath it. Still as he followed her back to the shop, James decided not to mention to Sarah that there was still a piece of hay clinging to the very back of her hair.

-Thanks for reading!-