Changes
"So what is going on?" Nate asked both Raylan and Winona one night over dinner.
"What makes you ask?" Raylan questioned.
"You two have been acting weird, speaking in hushed tones, secretive. What's going on?"
"Well we do have some news," Winona said putting her fork down.
She had finally told Raylan the other night that she was pregnant. She wasn't sure how he would react but he was genuinely happy. "I haven't been this happy since I heard those words the last time," he beamed.
"Really, I wasn't sure if it would be good news," Winona said relieved.
"Of course it's good news. This will give me something positive to think about and put this damn money issue behind us."
"I am so sorry about involving you. It was such a stupid thing to do," Winona admitted.
Back at the dinner table Raylan knew that Nate had realizing they were holding out on him and he hoped this would solve his quest for information.
"Well, you're going to be a big brother," Winona announced.
"How far along are you?" Nate instantly asked.
"Not too far."
"Well what else have you been hiding? This goes back further," Nate stated acting as if he hadn't heard his sibling status.
"Son, didn't you hear her? We're going to have a baby; you're going to have a baby brother or sister." Raylan explained.
"Yeah I got that."
"You're not excited?" Winona asked cautiously.
"Well, no offense, but this probably only complicates matters. Look, sure I'm happy for you both, but…"
"But you don't think we'll stay together," Raylan interrupted.
"Not my place to say," Nate said scooping up some mashed potatoes.
"Well that answer had a lot of tact," Winona said unsure what to think of the entire exchange.
Nate walked into the office looking for his father. He could see him in Art's office and the exchange looked awkward. He walked over to Tim's desk and continued to watch the conversation unfold.
"Are they fighting?" he asked Tim.
"No more than usual," Tim replied. "Why?"
"Just wondering."
"No offense, but your father has the knack of bringing out the worst in every situation."
"None taken, try living with him."
"How did you get here? Does he know you're coming?"
"Hmm, maybe, I texted him a few minutes ago. My friends mother dropped me off."
The tête-à-tête broke up and Raylan pulled his phone out of his pocket and then looked over at his son. "A little more warning next time," he said.
"Sorry but I was with Tommy and his mom and she was going to sort her yarn when we got back and I couldn't think of any other polite way to get out of it other than saying you texted requesting my presence."
"I see."
"Everything okay with you and Art?"
"Fine, why do you ask?"
"Just looked a bit uncomfortable in there."
"He's my boss; sometimes it can be uncomfortable between a boss and his employee."
"So it's okay?"
"Yeah, fine, absolutely nothing to worry about," Raylan assured.
Nate knew that something had happened most likely at work and must involve Winona in some manner, but nobody was going to include him in the current trial so he would have to hope that it ran its course without any lasting consequences.
One evening as his father and Winona were staring at the sonogram photo in the living room Nate's phone rang. He noticed it was Loretta so he casually removed himself from the room for more privacy.
"Hey," Nate said quietly as he closed his bedroom door.
"I need a favor," she asked equally quiet.
"What is it?"
"Can you get a gun?"
"What, why, why do you need a gun?"
"Never mind, forget I asked. The last thing I want to do is get you involved."
"Well, just by calling me and asking me for a gun, you have involved me."
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me," Nate challenged.
"You're not from here."
"But I am, I've just been removed for a while. But the method to the madness is as deep in my blood as it in yours."
Loretta inhaled and told Nate her intentions.
Raylan looked in his rearview mirror to see his son standing at the bus stop, back pack slung over his shoulder, enduring look on his face. He wasn't sure exactly how much Nate knew or suspected about what was happening in Harlan. The whole coal mine fiasco had tensions running high, Helen's death only added to the mistrust and Raylan knew the anarchy would only continue to escalate. He also knew his presence would be required down south he just had no idea under what premise.
Not much later that morning the premise became clear. A call taking him to the foster home where Loretta resided began the journey he seemed destined to take. "How long has she been gone?" Raylan asked Loretta's foster parents.
"We're not sure an hour maybe longer, but there's something else," the man whispered. "I didn't tell the cops, well because I'm not supposed to have a gun."
"Let me guess, the gun is missing?" Raylan asked.
The man nodded. "Thank you for being honest," Raylan said quietly already heading back to his car.
"What are you doing?" Winona asked him, already alarmed.
"I have to go get her," he explained.
"You don't even know where she is going."
"Yes I do, she's going to Harlan to avenge her father's death."
"How do you know that?"
"Because that's what I would do. Look I'll take you to work and I'll be back in time to pick you up."
"You can drop me off, but I'm not promising you that I'll be here when you get back," Winona answered.
The answer was like a slap to the face, but Raylan felt he had no choice in the matter. They went their separate ways but as Winona sat at her desk the more desperate her mood became. She was extremely uneasy about Raylan going to Harlan and feared for his life. Her concerns finally drove her to the marshal's office to talk to Art. As she waited for the elevator her phone rang.
In Harlan things had gone from bad to worse, gun battles reigned with shots being fired and explosions taking more than the structures that they engulfed. It wasn't long before Dickie found another victim in the form of Ava. This feud was far from over.
Back at the Federal Building Winona found Art and quickly asked for an audience that was immediately granted. "Now Winona it's always a pleasure to see you but please don't ask about Glynco."
"No that's not what this is about. Look Art, I'm really worried about Raylan being down in Harlan. You know how they feel about him. I'm afraid they'll go after him."
"Then maybe that is what has to happen. This office cannot chase him around the state and interfere with his self-destructive ways."
"There is one more thing. The school just called me; Nate didn't show up today. They couldn't get through to Raylan so they tried me. He was at the bus stop this morning. Art I'm afraid he is on his way to Harlan with Loretta. He'll be right in the middle of this mess and Raylan has no idea."
Art exhaled and closed his eyes in silent condemnation. He knew exactly what the boy was doing and they both knew it left Art no choice.
Nate sat in the backseat watching the driver closely. Loretta had known him well enough to entrust him with their transportation to Harlan, but he had bucked when he saw the gun in Loretta's bag.
"Whoa now, you can't go up there with a gun," he stated.
"I can and I will; now if you want to get paid then you keep on driving. If not then let us off here and we'll hitchhike the rest of the way," Loretta replied.
"Look, just get us within a few miles of Harlan and then you can pretend this never happened," Nate added not too keen on the idea of hitchhiking.
Wade Messer was very uncomfortable but decided that his need for money outweighed his concern for the two kids he was going to drop off in a potential war zone. He continued to follow the road south pretending everything was normal.
They had managed to convince Wade to drop them off near the Bennett's store. The wagons had circled and there were quite a few of Harlan's prominent citizens taking up space in front of the Bennett's homestead. Nate noticed that feathers weren't ruffled enough for his father to be in the area and from his spot hidden in the nearby trees he wondered where Raylan was.
Things hadn't gone quite as planned for Raylan who had found himself hanging upside down from a tree. Suddenly he heard Boyd Crowder's voice and for once in his life felt relief at the man's arrival. He hadn't been exactly sure how far Dickie would have taken this little caper but the rough and tough marshal was beginning to become concerned as he had been wacked more than once with the wooden baseball bat. He thought of Winona begging him not to go, he thought of Nadine and the possibility he may very soon see her again, but most of all he thought of Nate and who would be forced to tell him his father had been beaten like a piñata at birthday party. His ribs ached his head throbbed but as he crashed to the ground it took all he had to keep the cool marshal exterior he was known for. He had never given in to hysteria, he didn't see the point in panicking, as it only served to waste time and energy. If fate had its fingers on you then running around shrieking and begging wasn't going to change a damn thing. It was apparently something that ran in the family as Nate was rarely, if ever ruffled.
After dusting himself off Raylan righted his ship and looked to Boyd for assistance. "Now I need Dickie to get near the Bennett's. If I can't get there then I can't help Loretta," he explained.
"But this man shot Ava and is responsible for her pain and suffering and I know you aren't good with that. Dickie has to die; I think we can agree on that can't we?"
"I have no problem with your vigilante justice in theory, but I need him to save a fourteen year old girl. What happens after that…well I don't have time to be concerned about the future right now." Raylan explained to a frustrated Boyd.
Boyd unhappily conceded and allowed Raylan to leave with Dickie vowing that this wasn't over. Dickie thrilled at his last minute reprieve didn't allow himself to get too excited as a gun was now held to his head by a man he had just beaten the crap out of. Raylan never had an issue with pulling the trigger and his amnesty might be very short lived.
Nate knew there was no holding Loretta back. "I can't go, Doyle knows me and I'm sure won't let any Givens past him. I'll do what I can from here," he explained. "It looks like a damn hillbilly convention," he said as he slid a bullet into the chamber.
"That's who we are," Loretta said quietly.
"No, this is who we are," Nate said holding up his gun, "that is who we don't want to become," he said nodding his head at the vengeful crowd just waiting for an excuse to start shooting.
"Aren't they the same thing?" she asked.
"It's up to us to distinguish the difference."
Loretta unsure of what Nate as trying to tell her readied her gun. "Wish me luck."
"Luck isn't what I was thinking. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean let justice take its course. At worst you could be killed at best you will have to carry the death of someone else on your shoulders."
"She has to carry my daddy's death on hers."
"Then let her do that, let it drag her down her remaining years. Don't take her burden from her."
"Nate, I can't pretend it never happened. I can't move on without dragging this with me everywhere I go. Let me put it to rest."
"It's not up to me, this is your choice."
Nate watched her backtrack so it appeared she just came up from the road. Though she was initially viewed with suspicious eyes, Doyle gave the all clear and allowed her to go up and talk to Mags.
Nate sighed and watched the gathering grow restless and soon followed suit. He wasn't even sure why he came, but then he remembered; he only hoped that Art followed the trail that he had laid down. He swatted a swarm of gnats that had begun to bug him when a car pulled up with Dickie Bennett driving at Raylan's not so gentle insistence. He automatically stepped back, deeper into the trees at the sight of his father. He could barely hear what Raylan was saying but there was no doubt what he had come for. He knew Loretta was about to do something she may regret for the rest of her life and he was prepared to do whatever it took to protect her from herself and the entire crowd that continued to mill around, guns at the ready.
Suddenly there was a gunshot and the bullets began to volley like a game of deadly dodgeball. Nate doing the opposite of what any normal child would do stepped forward and realized that this place was deeply embedded in his blood despite his mother's best efforts. Destiny is simply that; a path that seemingly can't be changed. Raylan had fought it, Nadine had fought it on behalf of her son, but in the end they both found themselves holding tightly to the only thing that made sense in their world.
Nate, now on the edge of the tree line saw his father on his back on the ground with Doyle hovering over him, his menacing look translating to his trigger finger. Nate, still undetected brought his gun up and put his site on Doyle as he told Raylan that this should have happened twenty years ago. Nate licked his lips and realized his next action would irrevocably change his life forever. Nothing would be the same regardless of his choice. If he didn't have the courage to pull the trigger, would he have the courage to step out into the open and die right beside his father? Suddenly the decision was no longer his as a dark dot appeared on Doyle's forehead and he was dead before his body caught up to that realization. He eventually slumped over as a cluster of marshal's led by Tim Gutterson, who continued to hold his weapon up and ready, charged forward taking over what little resistance that was left.
Nate saw his father get up, red seeping through his shirt. He ran over, his eyes big and full of concern. He instantly knew this wasn't over as Raylan looked down at this son and smiled. If his son's presence had shocked him, he didn't show it. "Flesh wound, it will be okay. I take it Loretta is inside?"
Nate nodded. "Yes sir."
"You stay here and do what you're told, I'll be back shortly," he assured taking the gun from Nate's hand and tucking it in his waistband grimacing with the effort.
Art grabbed Nate's arm and pulled him close as Raylan marched up towards the door. "I didn't think anybody could dethrone your father at the top of my 'pain in the ass' list, but son, I think you might have just succeeded."
"I'm sorry, but I was afraid you wouldn't come unless I gave you a reason. I thought this was the best thing I could do."
"You think too much son," Art said softening his face a bit.
"I know, it's a big problem." Nate admitted.
Inside Raylan, who had been followed by Rachel and Tim immediately, saw the cause for the eruption of gunfire outside as Mags limped over to a chair, her pant leg soaked in blood. Upset and running on pure adrenaline Loretta swung the gone towards the newcomers.
Raylan put his hand up. "It's okay now; I'm here to help you. Nate is outside waiting for you, why don't you go out and let him know you're okay."
"Loretta," Mags began clearing her throat, "Marshal and me, we made our choices. Now we're paying for 'em, but you, both you and Nate still have a chance in this world. Don't commit to something you're not sure you can handle. Please do what the marshal asked of you."
"I can't believe I trusted you, you killed him," Loretta answered referring to her father. She then looked up over Raylan and saw his blood soaked shirt.
"Got caught in some return fire, just through and through, I'll be fine. But Nate is worried about you, why don't you go on out and calm him down a bit," he urged again.
Loretta had hard time thinking Nate was all that frantic, but she seized the offering of escape with dignity that Raylan offered her. By the time it was all said and done, the feud was ended, Mags was dead and the ride to the hospital seemed to take forever.