*Author's Note*

Thank you for all the follows, faves, and reviews.

I know I got this chapter done pretty fast. Ah, the muses are being very loud.

Miss Hatfield

Allie POV:

"After days of nothin', but a broth an' bread diet, I feel like I died an' went t'heaven ettin' this here ham, eggs, an' toast breakfast." Cap told me in a near moan while chewin' a large mouthful of his breakfast.

"The diet was strict orders from Doc. You couldn't have too much food for fear of throwing up and ripping your stiches out of your eye from the force of the retching motions." I reminded him between nibbling on my toast while sitting on the edge of Will's bed, something that I've been doing since I started nursing him back to health.

"I know an' it was torture not ettin' real food." He chuckled, shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth. "Y'know how long it's gonna take my eye t'heal?"

"Doc's note said he'd check on ya in a few days to see how the stiches were healing so I guess he'll tell you that once he gets here." I answered, grabbing my coffee cup off the bedside table. "Does your head or eye still hurt?" I asked, sipping on my coffee.

"It's a dull ache, nothin' too bad tho." Will told me, grabbing his slice of toast off his half-eaten plate. Nodding, I placed my cup back onto the bedside table. His lone icy eye locked onto me as he gratefully told me in his deep waving timbre, "Thanks for worryin' 'bout me and bein' by my side these last few days, darlin'. It means a lot to me, Allie."

"You're welcome, but I don't mind being by your side tho." I told Will before eating a piece of my breakfast ham. "Hearing you got hurt scared me. I ran from the school to Doc's to find out how you were." I admitted, locking my sapphire eyes onto his lone icy one and its twin that was wrapped up crudely with a bandage.

After finishing his toast Will grabbed my hand, taking me by surprise, and asked in an uneasy tone, "When I'm healed up would ya…would ya like to…uh…see how things go 'tween us?"

"You mean you want to take up with me?" I asked him, using lingo that he was used to, as a way to clarify what he meant by his question. I wanted to make sure I got the right impression before giving him an answer.

Nodding, he clarified, "Yea, that's what I mean." To explain why he was asking me to take up with him he said, "You've been by my side since my accident; that's somethin' showin' ya care for me. I know I ain't gonna be no looker no more wit' one eye, but ya ain't 'round me for that. You're here right now cause I need ya, cause ya care."

"Do you care bout me, Will?" I asked him, my voice dead serious, as I reached over to grab my coffee cup off the bedside table.

While taking a sip of my coffee I watched Will intently as he told me, "Course I do." Smirking he added, "I don't let'cha read my books just for the hell of it."

I nodded, placing my cup back onto the table. Squeezing his hand, I answered with a smile, "Yes, Will, I'll take up with you."

A grin broke out on his face as he quickly pulled me up into his chest, hugging me tightly. "Good, I was hopin' you'd say yes."

"What's goin' on in here?" Asked Levicy's syrupy voice from the doorway, causin' me to break the impromptu hug my new boyfriend was giving me.

"I asked Allie if she'd take up with me once I got better and she said yes." Will told his mom with a large grin as she made her way over to us.

"I'm happy for ya'll." She smiled, taking our empty dishes from our laps. "I'll talk to Anderson, see if he'll let Allie use the family name."

Quickly I shook my head, protesting her remark with one of, "Oh, Levicy, you don't need to bother. I can continue to use my name of Freeland."

"Maybe you two don't see it, but I can see the love blossomin' 'tween ya'll and it ain't gonna take long 'fore somethin' serious t'happen." Levicy told us, her lips pursed in a thin lined smile. Oh boy, she was referring to us sleeping together or at least that's how it sounded to me. "Talkin' to my husband won't be a bother, I assure ya that, dear." She rubbed my shoulder in a comforting gesture before leaving the room.

It was early in the afternoon whenever Doc walked into the bedroom, interrupting me reading Moby Dick out loud as he announced his presence with, "Will, I see Allie's readin' to ya as you're laid up in bed recoverin'."

"Yea, she's takin' good care of me." Will nodded, a ghost of a smile crossing over his lips, as Doc placed his bag on the bedside table.

Looking at me, Doc asked, "Allie, would ya like t'help assist me?"

"Sure." I squeaked out, quickly standing up and going over to where Doc was at by Will's side.

Doc unwrapped the bandage off of Will's head/eye and placed it onto the table. "Lay down." He ordered the shaggy blonde, who did as he was told after blinking his eye a few times. Doc held Will's bad eye open. Pointing to the eye, that was going milky, Doc told me, "Allie, looks like your warm compresses on the eye kept it from swellin' or crustin' up."

"I just followed the instructions you sent home with Anse." I told Doc since I didn't think I deserved any praise for just doing what I was supposed to.

"Wound looks like it's healin' up good." Doc mused before going on to say, "Should be able to remove the stitches next week." Looking at me he said, "You may put a clean bandage on him." I just nodded and went over to the dresser to grab the bandages. "Will, I still want ya on bed rest t'make sure ya don't pop your stitches." Before Will could protest, Doc gave him a pointed look and said, "Popped stitches would mean knockin' ya out an' sewin' ya up all over 'gain, goin' backwards instead of forwards in the healin' time."

I came to a stop by Will's side and started to bandage him up as he told Doc, "Fine, I'll follow your orders."

"Next week after I remove the stitches, you'll be able to move 'round the house." The middle-aged doctor, who I'm positive was a doctor during the Civil War, told Will as a sort of truce for putting him on another week of bed rest. "Have a good day." Doc grabbed his bag off the bedside table and left as I tied off Will's bandage.

"Guess your man's got another useless week in bed." Will teased as I went back over to my bed, picking the discarded book off of it before sitting down.

"Guess I'll just have to read and talk your ears off then." I smiled, opening up my book.

Jessa POV:

It's been a few days since Tolbert moved out of his parents' house and started working on his plot of land. He said he'd be around for supper, but so far, he hasn't been. I guess he was cooking a lot of rabbit stew for himself. Since my fieldwork partner was gone, I was now stuck working alone. Not having Tolbert to banter with meant my day felt endless and my mind wandered aimlessly all the time. Working by myself was very boring too. Sad to say, I missed Tolbert. I understood why he did what he did, but I didn't like it one bit.

When everyone went back to the house for a lunch break, Sally sent me off with a basket for Tolbert. Figuring he'd be working at his still I went there, but only found the site empty. With a sigh I took off trudging all over Tolbert's land, looking for him in order to give him the lunch basket from his mother. When I finally found him, he was laying down a stone foundation, shirtless in the blistering harvest sun with sweat rolling down his taunt muscles. Hot damn, I had no idea Tolbert was hiding muscles under his loose-fitting shirts.

I must've made a noise, that I wasn't aware of, cause Tolbert turned around and furrowed his brows while asking, "What're ya doin' out 'ere, darlin'?"

Holding up the basket in my hand, I simply replied, "Your mama wanted me to bring you over some lunch."

He just nodded and gestured with a wave of his hand for me to bring him over the basket. Silently, I walked over to him. Standing right in front of Tolbert, I handed him the basket which earned me a gruff, "Thanks, ya can go now.", from him.

"What? I walked all this way and you're just going to blow me off?" I asked, a bit offended, as I crossed my arms over my chest and watched Tolbert place the basket down on the part of the foundation he had finished.

"I got work t'do, Jessa." Was Tolbert's excuse for shooing me away.

"That can wait til after you eat the lunch I brought you."

"I'm not hungry right now so head on back home an' get yerself somethin' t'et 'fore ya gotta get back in the fields."

Pointing to the picnic basket I told him, "That basket's pretty heavy, I think your mama packed enough for us to share."

"Darlin', I don't wanna et lunch wit'cha so please just go on back home." Tolbert gritted out, grinding his teeth so had that I'm surprise they weren't cracking and chipping.

"Why're ya acting so distant for? A few days ago, we were close and now you're pulling away and avoiding me."

"Don't act stupid, you know why I'm actin' like this for. I can't have ya pittyin' me, attached t'me cause I'm always 'round yer skinny lil ass." He roughly sighed out in his gruff velvet tone, waving his hand at me a bit flippantly too.

"And I already told you, Tolbert, that I don't pity you and I'm not attached cause we worked together either." I firmly told him, my shoulders squared back in annoyance. Giving him a soft look with my indigo eyes I added, "I like you cause you're usually nice to me even tho you're a hot head."

"Jessa, ya might say ya like me, but ya don't even know me good at all." Tolbert snapped, narrowing his stormy eyes at me. Before I could even reply to him, he cut me down with the blunt remark of, "Every woman I tried t'court turned me down or their daddies did an' I was raised up wit' em. Ya just got 'ere couple months 'go, why'd ya be so dif'rent from them? Hmm?"

I felt so bad for him. Those girls really did a number on him. A soft look crossed over my face as I genuinely told the redhead, "Tolbert, I'm sorry that their rejection of you cut down your self-esteem, but I'm not them. I can see that you're a good guy behind your quick temper and sharp words."

"I ain't a catch or a good man. I'm bad tempered, get into bar fights, an' drink too much whiskey. That's why I'm always rejected." Drifting his eyes onto his boots; breaking our eye contact he sighed, "I like ya, but the situation's complicated. I can't court ya, darlin'."

"Can't or won't?" I pried, my voice a bit firmer than usual as it rung out in the still humid air.

"I don't want a relationship at this time. I'm fine 'nough on my own." Tolbert answered me, his smooth drawl of a voice sounding a bit tense and hollow.

I felt my heart sink into the pit of my stomach. Hearing that he wanted to stay single hurt, especially since he admitted that he liked me. Damn, those bitches that turned him down really did a number on him. I steeled myself, making sure that none of my sadness showed on my face, and told him in a clipped tone, "That's fine, I'm gonna go now."

He just nodded, causing me to turn around and start to walk off. I was about a few yards away whenever I heard him call out, "Tell mama I'll be 'round 'morrow mornin' for breakfast." I just looked at him from over my shoulder and nodded before walking off, making my way back to the McCoy house as my stomach began to growl with hunger.

Allie POV:

I was sitting on the edge of Will's bed, laughing at a joke he made, whenever the bedroom door opened accompanied by Devil Anse's deep drawling voice saying, "Dinner's almost ready." We nodded at him as he closed the door and walked deeper into the room. We both knew why Anse was here and it wasn't to inform us about dinner time either. Looking at us with his piercing blue eyes, he said, "Levicy told me that ya'll have decided to take up with each other."

"Yes, pa, we have." Will told Anse while I just nodded my head in agreement.

"I had a feelin' eventually ya'll would." Really, did everyone feel that way? I mean last month Skunk Hair, Vera, and Sully made a remark about us being together and now both Levicy and Anse seemed to be expecting our news. "Now, after talkin' with my wife I decided that Allie can take on our name of Hatfield."

"Thank you, Anse." I gratefully told the tall and imposing man since I knew he didn't have to let me use the family name since I wasn't even married to his son.

"Thanks pa." Will told his father, gratefulness evident in his deep rolling voice.

"But, Will, I expect ya to work twice as hard once Doc clears gives ya a clean bill of health in order t'be able to pay me for the lumber needed to build a house with." Anse told his son, his pipe dangling on the corner of his bottom lip. Taking his pipe out of the corner of his mouth and pointing it at his son, Anse said, "Also, the parcel of land I'm givin' you I expect ya to take care of the taxes on it."

"I understand, sir." Will nodded, accepting Devil Anse's terms.

"Um, why're you giving him land for?" I asked, a bit confused about the huge gift he was giving his son. I mean land's not a small thing to be handing out, especially to a 16 1/2-year-old boy.

"Cause ya'll ain't gonna be playin' house under my roof forever." Okay, that made sense. I mean things did move faster in the 1800s so moving out, but nearby the family, was normal, I guess. "Oh, and I expect a weddin' once that house gets built."

A wedding? Holy shit, I wasn't expecting that I mean I just became Will's girlfriend this morning. Oh my god… I just nodded, a bit dumbstruck.

"Yes, sir." Will told his father, causing the man to just nod his head and walk out of the room. Clearly, he got his point across and didn't feel the need to say anything else to us.

A few moments after the door shut Will grabbed my hand and asked me, "Are ya okay, darlin'? You got a far-off look t'ya."

"I never thought I'd be married before turning 16…" Trailed out of my mouth before I could think better of it.

"When's your birthday?" Will asked instead of saying something to try and calm my nerves. Eh, he wasn't a very smooth talker that's for sure.

"December third." Was my simple two-word answer.

Will nodded his head before telling me, "Yea, we ain't gonna be married 'fore then. It's gonna take me a few months to build the house since I gotta pay for the wood an' trust me, it ain't that cheap." It ain't cheap, hell how much does his dad charge then? Letting out a small huff he added, "Most likely we'll be married by my birthday in February."

"Oh…" I trailed off, my sapphire eyes wide as I tried to process everything.

Shaking his head and giving me a puzzled look, he asked, "What?"

I took a deep breath before honestly telling him, "This isn't how I imagined getting proposed to. I always thought it'd be something romantic with the guy down on one knee asking me with a diamond ring, not being told by my man's dad just hours after getting into the relationship that he expects us to get married."

Will let out a long huff of a sigh. Clearly, what I just admitted hit a nerve with him. His deep voice hardened just a bit as he remarked, "Well, it didn't happen how ya imagine it, but it happened." Shaking his bandaged blonde head, he scoffed, "I know ya care 'bout me, you wouldn't be here with me if ya didn't, so I don't understand why're upset 'bout somethin' that's bound t'happen."

"I'm not upset about it, just the way it came about." I told Will, earning me a raise brow look from him. "Damnit, Will, we've only been a couple for a few hours and then bam your dad's giving us a timeline for marriage." I explained, trying my hardest not to sound frustrated, as wrung my hands together. "It just took me by surprise."

Nodding, Will pulled me into his chest. Holding me he sighed, "I know pa can be a bit imposin', but he means well. He just doesn't want us to shame the family or anythin' by never marryin'." Will let out a long sigh. "As I understand, Uncle Ellison was with his Mounts woman for years. Since they were our age and they lived together, but he'd never marry her cause he wasn't ready for that big of a commitment." I pulled back slightly and looked at him, wondering where he was going with his story. "One day she got pregnant and they decided that once the baby was born, they'd marry so she'd be able to be a beautiful bride instead of a knocked up one." Will shook his head, his voice hardening as he snapped, "You know what happened? She died and Cotton was born a bastard." After a second or so he added, "Slow too since he was comin' breech and was yanked out when she died."

Oh, so Devil Anse doesn't want his son to make the same mistakes his little brother did. Hell, the 19th century was a bit brutal when it came to life. I knew that woman died in childbirth and the bastards were looked down upon, but I guess I never understood how bad it shook a family. Well, at least until now.

"We'll get married after you build us a house." I told Will with a soft look, cementing the seriousness of our new relationship. "I'm fine with it." I assured him, resting my head on his chest as he sat propped up against his pillows and headboard.

Even tho I was a bit reluctant to get married so young, I knew that us marrying was what was expected of us as a couple in 1878. Also, I knew that after hearing Will talk about Ellison and Miss Mounts that simply living together long term wasn't an option. Hell, how I ended up practically engaged to Will I'll never fully wrap my head around.

AN:

Gotta love Devil Anse, telling his son in so many words that shacking up don't happen in his house. Yep, Allie's definitely with Cap forever now. Jessa and Tolbert, yikes talk about denial and a slow burn. Yea, he's just afraid of getting hurt, but don't worry he'll wake up and smell the roses eventually.