The Search

A/N: Inspired by the Wanted Dead or Alive episode Baa Baa

Disclaimer: If you recognize it I don't own it

"Mr. Tanner, I was told you're a bounty hunter." Vin warily stopped on his way to the boardinghouse and turned to the unfamiliar voice behind him.

It was early morning, the sun was just an impression of light on the horizon, trying yet in vain to vanquish the darkness of the long night. The world was gloomy and full of shadows. The feminine figure behind the Texan was cloaked in darkness but the distress dripping from her voice was impossible to hide. His ever-alert senses sharpened further as his blue eyes darted along the shadows seeking any lurking threat. He had been camping out just on the outskirts of the small rowdy town, close enough to help keep the peace but far enough to be able to breathe freely and hear anyone coming up on him. He reclaimed the campsite he used before he left to help the Seminole village. Now he could afford to pay for a room, it was even part of his wages but he couldn't bring himself to sleep in the tiny wooden room. He stowed his gear there during the day but at night he retreated to a roof of stars, walls of wind, and the embrace of the earth for a bed.

He and what were essentially six strangers had taken positions as peacekeepers of the small lawless town not more than two days before. Even with his temporary time working in the town sweeping dust off the boardwalk he still hadn't personally met many of the townspeople. His more reserved nature coupled with the bounty on his head made him observant of those around him but not very openly friendly.

As she hesitantly stepped closer he remembered seeing the older woman around town as she worked for the seamstress and rented a little room from her in the back of the shop. She was in her forties, unmarried with no children that he knew of. He could think of no reason for her to stop him on the street. The town was still peacefully sleeping after a long night of the new peacekeepers breaking up bar fights and imprisoning drunken miners and cowhands.

The quiet morning air was crisp not yet stifling the world with the unbearable heat of the sun. Vin relished the solitude before the world awoke around him. He often felt hemmed in by all the people and buildings, like he couldn't breathe properly until he was out in the land untouched by the hands of men. It was another reason he couldn't quite figure out why he told the Judge yes to staying here. He rarely tied himself to a town and only ever long enough to replenish his funds and supplies. He was planning on declining the job offer to stay but when it had come to him, he couldn't bring himself to break the fledgling bonds formed with the other six men, especially the gunslinger dressed all in black. No matter the hangman's noose hanging over him or the town trapping him in at all sides, he had wanted to stay.

"Among other things ma'am." He inclined his head towards a lowly burning lamp and lead the woman over to the light. He set his bedroll at his feet but held his long gun securely in his hand unsure of what troubled the woman. He waited for her to speak.

"You can find a person anywhere," She wrung a damp handkerchief in her hands as tears filled her eyes.

"What seems to be the trouble," Vin was tired of her beating around the bush. She was clearly distressed, with long hair in loose strings around her drawn tear-stained face. He couldn't help if he didn't know what the trouble was. He was hired to keep the peace and she was anything but peaceful at the moment.

"A member of my family is missing."

He didn't think she had any kin, but perhaps she had adopted a kid recently. "A young'un?"

"Yes, my kid, Clara. She has brown hair and blue eyes. She just recently came off her bottle. Just the sweetest little baby. I don't know what I'll do if I've lost her."

"How long she been gone?"

"Since last night. I let her out in the yard to play, while I finished up an alteration. When I went to call her in for dinner she didn't come. I looked everywhere."

"Has anyone seen her since?"

"I asked tired asking everyone in town last night and nobody had seen her, but it started getting dark and men were drinking and fighting and I was frightened. I ran home and I left her out all night all alone. If something happens to her it's my fault. I wasn't brave enough to stay out and find her." She wailed, "Please, Mr. Tanner, you're my last hope of finding her. She must be so scared, out there all alone."

"Why hasn't a search party been put together, already?"

"I've tried, but everybody I asked for help, just laughed at me."

The justice-loving Texan felt his blood boil at the unfair treatment of the woman. Recently he had been railroaded, wanted dead or alive for a crime he didn't commit. But his life seemed to have started unfair, his mama had tried to scrap out a living, a woman alone raising a young boy with no father. The world had been unfair to her too. It's what lead to her early grave. His Indian friends had been treated unfairly, rounded up and sometimes slaughtered, and treated no better than animals. If he could bring a little justice to the unfairness of life he would. It's why he helped save Nathan from being lynched, fought the Ghosts of the Confederacy in the Seminole village, brought Mr. Potter's murder to pay for his crimes, and one reason he agreed to stay on for a dollar a day to give the little town a chance of to thrive in the harsh unforgiving west.

"I'll help ya," Vin promised.

"Oh thank you, Mr. Tanner!" She threw her arms around the waist of the startled young man. He froze in her grasp, unsure how to extract the crying clingy woman from off of him one-handed. After several awkward moments, she thankfully released him wiping at her eyes with her soiled piece of cloth that had held many of her tears throughout the long lonely night.

She exchanged the handkerchief for a small picture, eagerly handing it over. "I had our photograph taken last month. See that's her in my lap. She has grown a bit since then." She rambled on happily, unaware of the shock she had given her savior.

"A goat?"

"Well, yes, her horns are bigger now. But don't worry she is very gentle, she won't butt you. She has a little silver bell around her neck. It was a month's wages to get it made for her, it was worth it. I hear its tinkling as she comes prancing over to me when I call her name. Kids are very intelligent. Her blue eyes are very rare in these parts and she comes from a champion line of milkers. Her milk will be the sweetest thing you've tasted this side of the rocky mountains."

The promise of help seemed to have opened the floodgate releasing the words off her tongue. He couldn't get a word in edgewise. He had promised to help her find her kid. A promise was a promise, whether the kid had two legs or four, he would try his hardest to find Clara the goat.