*Author's Note*

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

Warrant Or No Damn Warrant

Jessa POV:

"Boy, go make yourself useful and split some firewood." Delize ordered Shaw, walking into the living room from the kitchen hallway. Her apron had smears of red on it from wiping her bloody hands off after skinning the possum she was cooking for dinner. "Girl, come help me with the cookin'." The imposing old woman ordered while Shaw rose from his sitting chair.

Shaw gave me a look that portrayed 'good luck' before walking by me and towards the front door that was a few feet away.

Standing up from the sofa, I told my future great-granny-in-law, "My name's Jessa, Granny Delize."

"Very well," Delize nodded as Shaw walked outside, shutting the door firmly behind him. "now come help me cook." As I walked over to her, she pointed at Todd and Mary and told them, "Don't touch nothin', don't get into trouble, an' keep watch over them youngin's."

Todd and Mary didn't say a word, just nodded at the hard-looking old woman. Delize spun on her heel and walked down the hallway. Silently, I followed her. Before reaching the kitchen, I stopped at a decorative wall table that had a bunch of picture frames on it. The reason why I stopped was because I noticed that one of the pictures was of a younger Jim Vance and that a young lady was with him, which took me by surprise cause as far as I knew the crochety mountain man was a bachelor. A bachelor that had a dog (furbaby) that kept him company.

"Ah, I see ya took notice of my picture table." Granny Delize's voice sounded out from down the hall as her boots began to echo against the floor, signaling that she was making her way over to me.

"Yea, I was just surprised to see the picture you have of Jim and-" I began to say only for Granny Delize to cut me off with a knowing remark of, "You didn't know that my Jimmy was once married and it took ya aback.", as she stopped by my side.

"Yea." I nodded since she was spot on with her remark.

"Her name was Mary." Granny Delize told me with a sad bite to her raspy old tone. Looking between me and the picture of a newlywed Jim and Mary Vance, she explained, "They married young and were married for a few years til one of Sherman's raids 'fore his march t'Georgia."

"Oh…" I nodded my head, connecting the dots and quickly figuring out that Mary Vance was one of the victims of Sherman's boys and their raids. Delize didn't need to tell me exactly what happened, I paid enough attention in history class whenever Sully did the Civil War units to figure out what happened to Jim's late wife.

"Such a shame that those blue devils done killed their baby too by settin' him out in the snow, makin' him freeze to death." Delize spat, shaking her head and clenching her hands into fists by her sides.

"Oh my god, that's horrible." Fell out of my mouth since I was shocked that not just Mary, but her and Jim's baby was killed by Yankees too. Oh god, that poor man. No wonder Jim Vance was hateful. After living thru the hell of having his family killed by Yankees it's a no brainer why he's quick to kill anyone that he views as a possible threat to his kin.

"That is was, but sadly horrible things happen durin' war times." Granny Delize told me with a sad undertone in her semi-sigh before placing a hand on my shoulder and leading me down the hall to the kitchen. "By how my great-grandson's got some meat on his bones I take it you know your way 'round a kitchen." Delize chuckled knowingly as we set foot inside of her large country farmhouse kitchen.

"Yea, I can cook." I nodded while taking in the room's décor. The walls were lined with endless cupboards and cabinets while a large stove was in front of a window with a pump sink in the counter next to it. A large table was in the middle of the room and a large china hutch was against the wall that led to the hallway. "I like your kitchen; it reminds me a lot of the one Shaw built." I honestly told Delize as she went over to the counter that she had the skinned possum sitting on a butcherblock at.

"Hmm…" Delize hummed, grabbing a matchbox and a cigarette case from the cabinet above the butcherblock counter. "Smoke." She said, opening the case and holding it out to me in an offering type of gesture. I wasn't much of a smoker (I mean I only ever shared a cigarette with Shaw after lovemaking) so I bit my lip and studied the open case of hand rolled cigarettes as I joined Delize's side. "I ain't offerin', I'm tellin' ya to have a smoke to calm down with cause ya seem wound tighter than an 8-day clock." Delize bluntly told me, shoving the case at me.

"I don't mean to be uptight, but a lot's been goin' on back in Mate Creek." I apologized while quickly taking a cigarette from the case.

"Well, ya ain't in Mate Creek right now so relax a bit and help me make the possum pie for supper." Delize retorted, taking a cigarette from the case and shoving it into her mouth. She placed the case back into her cupboard before lighting up her smoke. "Ya know how to make a pot-pie don't 'cha, girl?" She asked, handing me over the matchbox, while taking a drag off her smoke.

"Yea, I make chicken pot-pies a lot. Why?" I asked, lighting up my cigarette and handing the matchbox back to the imposing old woman.

"Cause I sure in hell ain't holdin' your hand step-by-step with makin' this 'ere possum pie for supper."

"Don't worry, Granny Delize, I'm sure I can keep up with you in the kitchen. I mean your son, Jim, ate the Thanksgiving dinner I made without any complaints."

"Sam's Hill, Jim et your food without a foul word. Now, darlin', you must've won him over cause he's picky when it comes to whose cookin' he ets." The old woman smirked, taking her cleaver from the knife block that was near the butcherblock that possum was on. "Start on the pie crust, girl." Delize ordered, chopping the possum's tail off with a quick whack of her cleaver.

The possum pot-pie was in the oven and I was sitting at the table with Delize, peeling potatoes to boil and make mashed potatoes with. The hardened old woman didn't seem that bad. She was just tough and it was clear to me that she had a hard life. Pausing in peeling her potato, Granny Delize pointed her paring knife at my left ring finger and asked, "So, are ya just wearing his ring or is it legal?"

"We're engaged, but he's planning our wedding for March." I told her while finishing up the potato I was peeling and placing it into the pot that was on the table between us.

"Oh, he's planning it." Delize sniggered, peeling her potato with a quick pace. "So, you don't care to marry him." She stated, not asked, while giving me a pointed look with her icy blue eyes.

"I didn't say that. Of course, I wanna marry him, he's the father of my children." I quickly defended myself, wanting her to know that I was going to go thru with marrying Shaw.

"Girl, don't give me that society expected bullshit. Save it for somebody that cares." Delize scoffed in one of those 'I don't give a shit' type tones. Grabbing a potato from the bowl they were in, she revealed to me in a shameless tone, "I never married any of my children's fathers and lord knows I had 7-children with 4-different men." While peeling her potato, she told me, "All good men in their own right, but not good 'nough for me to shed my name of Vance and take on their identity for the rest of my natural life."

"Oh…" I trailed off, placing my cleaned potato into the pot.

"Jessa, 'fore ya marry Shaw make sure you want to become Mrs. Shaw Eldridge for the rest of your life; give up bein' Jessa whoever-the-hell-ya-are forever. Being tied to a man's no easy feat, just make sure he's the one ya wanna sacrifice yourself for."

"You never loved somebody enough to sacrifice yourself for them?" I asked, my brow arched up curiously, since I wanted to know why she never married any of her baby daddies.

"Reckon not." The old woman shrugged. She shook her head before telling me in a firm and strong tone, "After my pa got hung, cause he shot my firstborn's daddy for knockin' me up an' refusin' to marry me, I saw how my mama struggled t'survive cause she depended on a man and I swore to myself that I'd never end up like that." Delize had a hard and strong look in her icy blue eyes as she added in, "That I'd depend on me and not a man for survival."

"Oh…" I nodded, not really knowing what to say. I mean I got where she was coming from.

Granny Delize locked her eyes on me in a studious manner before revealing in a wise way, "I see a survivor's instinct in you, girl. I believe that's what drawled my great-grandson to ya cause lord knows he's a survivor too."

Suddenly, the side door opened and in walked Shaw. "Granny Delize, I got that firewood cut and stacked on the side porch for ya. Anything else you need?"

Pointing her paring knife between him and the table, Delize ordered Shaw in a snappy tone, "Come sit your ass down and tell me why you're here, boy."

Shaw nodded, took his hat off, and quickly made his way over to the table. He hung his black Stetson on the back of the kitchen chair and draped his jacket on it too before taking a seat. He made sure to take a seat next to me too (as if me being in the middle of him and Delize would save him from her wrath at being ignored by him for the last couple of years). "Truth is my livery got busted up real bad by Tolbert McCoy and Uncle Jim told me to come see you 'bout a loan."

"That's Ole Randall's crazy son, the one that your daddy's friend refused to let near his daughter, ain't it?" Granny Delize asked even tho I'm sure the old woman already knew the answer to her inquiry.

"Yea, that's him." Shaw nodded.

"Hell, that boy's hated ya since ya'll were boys. What'd you do now to piss him off and make him bust up your business?"

Shaw's shoulders tense up as he defended himself with a snappy, "I didn't do nothin', but be a successful businessman."

"Tolbert's hurt cause I picked Shaw over him." I honestly told the old woman since I didn't see any choice, but to tell the truth. It wasn't a bad thing that I picked Shaw over Tolbert. I mean in life everyone has to make choices, I just had to choose between two men.

"Ah, I see." Delize slowly nodded her head.

Shaw leaned back in his chair and ran a hand thru his shaggy golden-brown hair before heavily sighing, "Granny, I really need some money. I don't got enough in the bank to cover repairs, the cost of livestock, and household goods. Please, just make good on Uncle Jim's word and loan me some money."

"Why don't 'cha got 'nough money in the bank? Hmm, what'd ya do with it, drink it all or gamble it 'way?"

"None of that, Granny Delize." Shaw protested with a firm shake of his head. Delize's gaze remained hard on Shaw as he explained what happened to the money with a long ramble of, "I spent it on Christmas presents, supplies to remodel my son's room with, and on a Pinkerton to track down my daughter after the disgruntled housekeeper kidnapped her."

"Dear lord, you've had one hell of a month haven't ya, boy?" Delize asked with a slight scoff in the back of her throat, shaking her head incrediously.

"Yea, reckon I have." Shaw nodded with a heavy sigh.

"Delize, I don't have any family so you're the only person that can help us out. Please, just loan Shaw the money so he can repair the livery. That business is our livelihood." I pleaded with the old woman, that in a few months would become my in-law, as I gave her a pitiful look.

Delize POV:

Of course, Jessa had no family, but Shaw and their children. Goddamnit, those two reminded me so much of Jimmy and Mary when they first struck up, 'fore the war come an' damned the south. Damnit, my son turned to stone after his wife and son was taken from him and I hate that them blue devils did that. Lookin' at my great-grandson and his fiancé, I knew that they had a chance at happiness, but only if they could survive. No, there weren't no war goin' on, but without a livelihood and steady income they'd shrivel up and die or part ways. Tolbert McCoy was Shaw's version of a blue devil, the second oldest of Randall always hated my great-grandson over what I'd only chuck up to as jealousy.

Hell, if Shaw didn't have Jessa and the youngin's I wouldn't be comtemplatin' loanin' him the money. Jessa and her children needed to survive, but that girl also needed to learn how to depend more on herself too.

"I'll loan ya the money, but only cause I can't stand to see your family starvin' when they don't need to." Before that lil shit could start spewing out half-assed thank yous, I told him, "Don't thank me, just go in the other room and take care of your youngin's while us women finish up the cookin'."

"Okay, but thank you anyways, Granny Delize." Shaw told me 'fore standin' up from the table an' walkin' out of my kitchen.

"Jessa, girl, if you're smart, you'd learn the livery business." I told her, placin' the potato I peeled into the large pot on the table.

"I don't have time to learn how to run the livery, I've got children to raise and a house to tend to. Besides, Shaw's going to teach his brother, Todd, the livestock trade." Jessa told me, placin' the last clean potato into the pot.

"You can only depend on yourself, not a man, and if god forbid anythin' happened to Shaw you'd be able to survive by runnin' ya'll's business." I told the girl while taking the potato pot over to the sink. Pumpin' the sink and fillin' the pot up with water, I added. "I wouldn't trust the brother to run the business, he's not your kin and could get swindled." While carryin' the pot over to the stove, I concluded my thoughts with, "This ain't the time for ya to be a weak woman. Not with Tolbert McCoy attackin' Shaw on top of the feud that's been brewin' 'tween the two families for years. Either you roll up your sleeves and learn the livestock trade or you'll starve come a time when all hell breaks loose."

Tolbert POV:

All day I was more or less sittin' at my folks' dinner table drinkin' coffee. Ma wouldn't give me any shine cause she thought I needed t'sober up some, especially since I could've died in my burnt up cabin. I didn't et no breakfast or lunch cause I wasn't hungry. I was angry 'bout what happened t'my cabin tho. I was still hurt too that Jessa was wit' the bastard that burnt my cabin down in an attempt t'kill me. Perry was sure the charges were solid an' we'd see him hang for what he'd done t'me. Truth be told, I wanted t'see him hang, but only cause then I'd be able t'get Jessa an' Silas back.

Goddamnit, I missed my wife an' son. Reverend Garrett once said durin' one o'his sermonds that money was the root of all evil an' I believe it. If it weren't for that Vance Bastard havin' money I'd have Jessa wit' my right now. No…she needs a boat load o'money t'buy her an' her boy shit wit'. At least Shaw's business is busted up now, no more money comin' in for him t'woo my woman wit' anymore.

My brothers an' sisters left me alone, but that was cause ma told 'em too. Pa just kept assurin' me that soon Perry'd have the sherriff lock up Shaw. Assurances I needed t'hear.

It was now dinner time an' I was finally ettin' somethin'. Perry Cline had come ov'r, more so to tell us 'bout the case I had 'gainst that Vance Bastard an' less to actually et, for dinner. He was seated at the end o'the table, next to me, as we all passed the food 'round an' et. Perry was scoopin' some taters onto his plate whenever he revealed the shatterin' news of, "Sherriff Maynard went to arrest Shaw Eldridge, but when he got there the house was empty."

"What? It was empty?" I asked, a bit shocked, as I took a platter from Pharmer.

"Yes." Perry nodded, passin' the bowl o'taters off t'Calvin. Lookin' at me as I scooped some peas onto my plate, my lawyer cousin explained, "Apparently, Shaw took his family somewhere."

"Heathen coward. On the run from the lord's justice." Poppy spat, shakin' his head as he cut his slice o'pork on his plate.

Ma paused in ettin' her dinner only t'look at Perry Cline an' tell 'im in a sure tone, "He's got that grandmother o'his in Virginia, if he went anywhere it was there."

"Virginia you say, Aunt Sally?" Perry asked wit' a raised brow 'fore ettin' a forkful o'meat.

"It's where Jim Vance's mother lives. Woman's more vile then her son if that's possible." Ma told Perry 'tween ettin' her meal.

Lookin' at the man t'my left, I asked, "Can't ya send the sherrif ov'r t'Virginia to arrest him? He did try an' murder me by burnin' my house down."

"Well, I can, but to do that I'd have to know exactly where in Virginia his Grandmother Vance's at." Perry told me, causin' me to just nod an' let out a mumbled mhm since I'd just shoved a spoonful o'taters in my mouth.

"Tazewell." Was the one word my ma uttered out, loud an' clear too.

"What's that, Aunt Sally?" Perry Cline asked wit' an interested look on his face as he paused in ettin' his dinner.

"Name of the town's Tazewell. I remember hearin' Levicy mention that Anse's uncle moved here from there." Mama told Perry, causin' everybody to look at her an' nod. Thank God she remembered that, now the sherriff can arrest that Vance Bastard.

"Ah, well then it looks like I'll be able to send Sherriff Maynard there to apprehend Shaw for arson and attempted murder." Perry announced in a chipper tone 'fore eatin' a forkful o'taters. Lookin' at me, he declared, "Shaw Eldridge'll be locked up sometime tomorrow, Tolbert. You've got my word."

"Okay." I nodded, pickin' my coffee up an' takin' a sip of it.

Jessa POV:

"Seems like you've been winning over Granny Delize. What's your secret cause that woman hates everybody." Shaw told me, stripping down to his long-john pants while I laid in bed watching him.

"I'm not your wife, but the mother of your children." I told him, more or less letting him know the reason why his great-granny liked me (or at least why I thought she liked me), with a slightly pointed look as I watched him grab the corner of the blankets and overturn them.

"Uh-oh…" Shaw nervously chuckled while climbing into bed next to me. While adjusting himself in the small bed next to me (so that we could cuddle) he asked, "So…did she go on her rant about why marriage is foolish?"

"No, she didn't go on a rant." I shook my head while Shaw stretched an arm out, making room for me to slide into his side. "She just told me that she never loved a man enough to give up her identity for him." I told Shaw, nestling into his side.

Shaw wrapped his arm around me while humming out, "Hmm, that sounds crazy."

Leaning up into a half-sit, I smacked Shaw in the chest while telling him, "Hey, don't call your great-granny crazy." He just rolled his honey eyes at me and let out a low chuckle, causing me to chastise him with, "Be nice, she did agree to loan you the money."

"She's loanin' us the money cause of the kids, babe. I mean she even said so before shooing me out of the kitchen."

I nodded, resting my head on his chest. Shaw lazily stroked my arm as we laid together in silence with only the sounds of our breathing whispering in the air. Ussually, this would lull me to sleep, but tonight it wasn't. Something was on my mind and I guess I wouldn't be able to rest until I talked about it. I let out a little sigh before breaking the silence with the remark of, "After you left, she told me that she thinks I need to learn the livery business."

"Why?" Shaw asked, sounding a bit baffled. Not letting me answer his why, my fiancé told me, "I'm running the business just fine and once we get back home Todd's going to be my assistant.", in a confident tone.

Tracing random patterns on his chest, I looked up at Shaw and told him, "She just thinks I need to know incase something happens to you."

"Babe, nothing's going to happen to me." Shaw sighed, rolling his eyes a bit dramatically. He placed his large calloused hand ontop of mine, stilling it, while telling me, "You're a stay-at-home mom and your job's taking care of the kids while I go to work and bring home the bacon." He gave me a half-smile while assuring me, "It's just how things are done here, honey. Don't worry, I'll take care of our family."

"I know, Shaw. I was just telling you what Granny Delize told me." I told Shaw in one of those don't kill the messenger type tones.

"Just take what she tells you with a pinch of salt. She's a bitter spinster so…" Shaw advised me in a long huff of a sigh as his chest rose and fell beneath my head and hand.

"Shaw, don't call your great-granny a bitter spinster. Even if she is one, it's not nice."

"Okay, babe." Shaw nodded, agreeing to stop insulting Granny Delize. "Let's get some sleep. I want to hit the road after breakfast so we can get home 'fore dinner."

Slightly propping myself up on my elbow, I asked him, "What? We're not gonna stay for a few more days?"

Sitting up, Shaw arched a brow at me and asked, "You wanna stay?"

"We could stay for the New Year, spend some time with Granny Delize and get away from the feud drama that's back home." I suggested, trailing my fingers up and down his chest lazily.

"Okay." Shaw sighed a bit reluctantly. Pushing a piece of my dark hair behind my ear, he smiled suggestively and half-whispered, "Well, since we're staying a few more days I reckon we can stay up a bit later tonight."

"No wonder I'm pregnant. You're such a horn dog." I shook my head, biting back a smile. Hell, since birth control didn't exist yet I'm sure I'm going to end up having a litter of kids since Shaw's so touchy-feeling and is like the Energizer Bunny in bed.

Shaw waggled his brows and smirked, "Only for you, babe.", before pressing a kiss to my lips.

On pure instinct, I melded my lips against his and wrapped my arms around his neck. Shaw maneuvered me to straddle his lap while his lips nipped and tugged against mine. I could feel heat pooling deep within me and I knew that we'd be staying up real late tonight. Hopefully we'd be able to keep quiet since we were staying in a guestroom at his great-granny's house.

Me and Shaw were woken up by a loud cow-bell ringing along with Granny Delize shouting, 'Git up, breakfast's ready!', at the top of her lungs. Yea, not the ideal way to wake up. Knowing we didn't have much of a choice, we got up, got dressed, and went downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. I was a bit taken aback to see that Todd and Mary were at the table along with Silas and Lydia, who were in high chairs (that I wasn't even aware that Delize had since she didn't bring them out last night), eating. Of course, Granny Delize was sitting at the head of the table eating her plate that was full of hash browns, eggs, and bacon. The old woman didn't say a word to us as we took our seats at the table and made ourselves up some plates along with pouring some cups of coffee.

Actually, the first one to say a word was Shaw. After taking his first sip of coffee, he told his great-granny, "Granny Delize, we're gonna stay here for New Year's."

"Great, I'm stuck puttin' ya'll up for a few more days." Delize sarcastically crooned, shoveling some hash browns up with her fork. "Stay as long as ya want, but only cause I wanna spend some time wit' the youngin's." She told us before shoving her forkful of food into her mouth. Before me or Shaw could reply to Granny Delize, a loud knock echoed off of the front door. Granny Delize dropped her fork onto her plate with a loud clang while mumbling, "Who the hell can that be?", before getting up and taking off to go answer the front door.

"Who do you think it is?" I asked Shaw between eating some eggs.

"Dunno." He shrugged. Tearing off a piece of his bacon, he added in, "Nobody likes to visit her so your guess is as good as mine."

Suddenly boots pounded against the floor followed by Granny Delize shouting, "Warrant or no damn warrant, ya can't just barge into my house in Virginia to drag my great-grandson ov'r to Kentucky! You've got no rights, ya outta state lawman!"

Me and Shaw shared a wide-eyed look, knowing that Tolbert McCoy or his poppy (hell maybe even both) got Perry Cline to press charges on Shaw for arson. "Shaw-" I began as I heard the lawman's boots get closer only to be quickly cut off by Shaw's firm timbre ordering me in a whisper-hiss, "Get home as fast as you can and tell my dad about this. Sully'll help us get around this, babe."

"Shaw Eldridge, I've got a warrant out of Pike County, Kentucky for your arrest." A short and stout man with a long salt-and-pepper beard told my fiancé as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Sherriff Maynard, nice to see you too." Shaw greeted the man with a sarcastic grin. Pointing to the warrant in the lawman's hand, he asked, "What's the charges?"

"Arson in the first degree and attempted murder against Tolbert McCoy." Deadpanned Granny Delize as she stood behind Sherriff Maynard with her hands folded over her chest, glaring her icy eyes into Shaw's head.

"I'm sorry to disrupt your family holiday, but I've got t'bring ya in." The sherriff told Shaw, walking over to his chair.

"I know, Sherriff." Shaw sighed, rising from the table. He pressed a kiss to my cheek and quickly whispered, "I love you, babe. Make sure to help Sully free me.", before walking over to the sherriff.

Sherriff Maynard cuffed Shaw's hands behind his back and led him out of the side door and to the paddy wagon that was outside.

"Looks like you're gonna learn the livery business now whether ya want to or not, girl." Granny Delize bluntly told me while making her way to the table. Sitting down she told me, "Looks like you're headed home after breakfast."

"Looks like it." I agreed a bit solemnly while picking up my coffee cup.

Sally McCoy was so sure that Shaw would be the death of Tolbert, but right now I'm starting to think that she's got it all wrong and it's really the other way around.

AN:

Well, the drama sure is heating up isn't it? Looks like the feud between Tolbert and Shaw's going to be bleeding into the feud between their families. Yikes. So, Shaw got arrested. Next up we get to see Cap and Allie's reaction to finding out about Shaw's arrest along with Jessa going to Sully for help.