This is a story I am writing for two reasons: One, because I love history, especially the Civil War, and I always wanted more Laramie episodes about our boys' experiences during that time. Two, because I desperately wanted three of my favorite western characters to meet each other, and the more I researched the more I felt a story coming together within the confines of the Third Texas Cavalry, a real regiment in the Confederate Army. I have put real historical characters in this story, such as Colonel Greer, General McCullough, and others that may pop in and out. After looking through the list of the soldiers who fought in the Third Texas Cavalry, there was a real Fletcher, a real Mark Yates, a real N. J. Yates, and a real Horace Sherman (there was also a soldier named Jesse Fuller which I found amusing). Therefore, my imagination was ignited and I took off like a shot with the ideas this research sparked. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to add constructive criticism, point out flaws in my research, or just simply to say you are enjoying it.

The boy was all skin and bones, but he had a fighting spirit that made up for the stature he lacked. His dark hair fell into his blazing blue eyes as he clung to the musket he had been issued. Even though his gray uniform was in tatters, there was a pride that burned in his eyes so brightly that it could almost be felt. He looked at the men all around him, most of whom were older. Eagerly he waited for an officer to give him his orders so he could start shooting at some Yankees.

But after most of the afternoon had passed and he was still waiting for orders, he decided that he might have to wait a little longer than he had thought before he could jump into action.

And Jess Harper was not one who liked waiting for action to come his way. He liked to start it himself.

Therefore, when he finally understood that there was no action forthcoming, he gripped his musket even harder and went in search of some activity that would keep his boredom at bay. He didn't have to search very long. After walking a little ways, he heard a commotion near the area where the tents had been pitched.

Coming upon the scene, all he could see at first was a cloud of dust and some movement inside. He watched for a little while before he could make out the form of two men fighting. Well, men might not be quite the right word, for as one of the participants in the fight stumbled into sight, Jess saw that he was near his own age. This boy was taller than he was, with a thick head of light hair. A snarl on his face should have made him look older, but it didn't. Jess found that he almost wanted to laugh as the boy charged back into the dust cloud. However, when the other member of the fight was revealed and shown to be a man at least twice the boy's age, Jess's love for an underdog immediately kicked into high gear and he began to root for the young boy.

The fight continued for several more minutes, Jess cheering loudly along with the crowd of men that had gathered around. With each jab Jess found himself rooting more for the light-haired boy, and therefore when the older man used the cheap trick of throwing dust into his eyes to stun him, Jess couldn't keep himself from jumping into the fight. The older man was clearly surprised to be attacked by another assailant, while the young boy was still rubbing his dust-filled eyes and trying to find out what was happening.

With his advantage of surprise, Jess got a few good licks in. Once the older man had comprehended his position, however, he recovered his wits and was able to return two good hits of his own. But Jess was quicker than the young boy who was fighting earlier, and the older man found that he couldn't keep up. As blow after blow found its mark, though they didn't have the power behind them that his own would have delivered, the man found that he was quickly losing strength. Jess noticed this as well, and he was just about to charge in for the finish when a commanding voice cut through the cloud of dust.

"I demand that you stop immediately!" The authority in the voice left no room for argument, and in spite of himself Jess felt himself pulling up. He looked up to see a tall colonel with steady blue eyes and a dark goatee watching sternly.

"Fletcher, I expected more decent behavior from you!" The older man, breathing heavily, shook his head and jerked a thumb at the light-haired boy.

"These kids just jumped me out of nowhere!" Jess glared at him but held his tongue. The other young man was apparently not as wise.

"Nobody talks about my father the way you did, Mister," he yelled across the distance that separated them. He had managed to wipe the dust out of his eyes, but they were still red and swollen. The officer who had stopped the fight merely looked at the boy angrily and said,

"I want to see all three of you in my tent in five minutes." All three looked at each other, half angrily, half sheepishly. The older man shuffled away, and the light-haired boy slowly ambled over to Jess.

"I don't know why you jumped in my fight, but I thank you for it." A ghost of a smile flitted across Jess's face.

"Let's just say I don't like cheatin'." The young boy grinned and stuck out his hand.

"My name's Mark, Mark Yates." Jess grasped his hand firmly.

"Jess Harper." After a moment's awkward pause, Jess added, "Well, I guess we'd better head over to that Colonel's tent."

"Yeah, I guess," Mark echoed, and they walked together towards the tent of the officer.

When they entered Fletcher was already there, waiting with an infuriating smirk on his face. He had obviously already told his story to Colonel Elkanah Greer, and he had no doubts that the boys would be punished accordingly. Mark threw him a black look as they entered.

"Thank you, Fletcher," the Colonel said after the boys came in. "I'll talk to them about what you've said." Fletcher threw them a triumphant grin as he went out of the tent flap. It was all Jess could do not to trip him as he passed.

Once it was just the three of them, Colonel Greer let out a long sigh. "Boys, I suppose you know it's against the code of the Confederate Army to brawl in public." Mark and Jess nodded their heads and each said a quiet,

"Yes, Sir."

"And I suppose you also know that I am the officer in charge here, able to punish anyone who breaks that code." They nodded again and echoed their earlier response. The Colonel pulled the piece of paper on his desk closer and began to scratch on it. Mark and Jess watched with growing trepidation, wondering what their punishment would be. After writing for a few moments, the Colonel surprised them both by throwing his pen on the desk and leaning suddenly back in his seat.

"Boys, why did you join the Third Texas?" They were caught off guard, and were silent so long that the Colonel repeated his question. Finally Jess opened his mouth and said cautiously,

"I joined because I want to fight the Yankees. They've got no right to be down here telling us what to do." The Colonel nodded contemplatively, chewing on the end of the pen he had picked back up. Then he pointed with his pen at Mark, indicating that he should answer. After shooting a panicked look aside at Jess, Mark replied,

"Uh, well, I joined because my older brother joined, and I didn't want to stay home." The Colonel let out a deep laugh, confusing the boys even more. Weren't they about to get punished?

"Boys, you are just the kind of men I want in my army, just the kind of men who will push those Yankees back where they came from." Mark's mouth had started to fall open, while Jess shot a half smile at Colonel Greer.

"You're not going to punish us?" asked Jess hesitantly. Colonel Greer threw a smile of his own back.

"I'm not going to punish anyone for fighting against a piece of vermin like that Fletcher. He deserved all that he got." He rose from his desk and came towards the boys. "Tell me, what are your names?" Jess answered first.

"My name's Jess Harper."

"Where are you from, Jess?"

"I'm from Marshall, Sir." The Colonel nodded in approval.

"A good place, Marshall. It's where I decided to settle when I moved here from Tennessee." He was silent and pensive for only a moment, then looked at Mark and asked, "How about you, Boy?" Mark remembered himself and closed his mouth.

"My name's Mark Yates." Looking up in recognition, the Colonel asked,

"Are you Dan Yates' boy?" Mark immediately became defensive at the mention of his father.

"I am. Is there something wrong with that?" The Colonel merely raised an eyebrow and said,

"No, nothing wrong with that. You've got his rowdy temper, that's for sure." Since Mark wasn't sure whether this was a compliment or an insult, he didn't say anything back. By this time the Colonel had walked back around to his desk and settled in his seat.

"Boys, don't ever lose that fighting spirit of yours. That's the only thing that will keep the Confederacy alive, the only hope we have against Northern tyranny. I only wish we had more with a spirit like yours." He smiled gently, if a little sadly, then waved a hand as if shooing them away. "Dismissed."

Mark and Jess exited the tent flap and looked at each other, mystified. "Well, that's not how I expected that to go," Mark commented. Jess nodded.

"Yeah, Mr. Don't-talk-about-my-father, that's not what I was expecting either." Mark looked up to see if Jess was kidding or not, and when he saw that he was, Mark flashed a grin at him.

"At least I didn't jump in on someone else's fight just because I don't like cheatin'." Jess laughed out loud and slapped Mark on the arm.

"Come on, Rowdy, let's get some sleep before we roll out tomorrow."