*Author's Note*

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

After The Dust Settles

Shaw POV:

The sun was castin' a golden glow this mornin' as I walked with Cotton to the cemetery. Ever since I talked with him a couple of weeks back, Cotton always ask me if he can go see his daddy which always results in me takin' him after breakfast. It wasn't a daily trip, but I'd say that we'd go 3-or-4-days a week just to bring flowers or just for Cotton to talk to Ellison. It seemed that talkin' to his daddy's makeshift wood cross marker seemed to help him cope with his grieving.

I didn't see a problem with him doin' it, which is prolly why I took him to the cemetary in the first place. Devil Anse and a lot of the other Hatfields, well, they had a problem with it. Sully and Uncle Jim never said a word, but in a way, I think they felt too bad for Cotton's situation to even confront me 'bout the boy visitin' the cemetary early in the mornin's. Truth be told, I think Anse's just pissed that I come to work an hour late some mornin's cause I take Cotton to the cemetery to pay his respects instead of just headin' to work right after breakfast.

When we reached Ellison's grave, I just patted Cotton on the arm, lettin' him know that he could sit and talk to his daddy, before walking a few feet over to my mom's grave. Cotton knelt down on the ground and touched the wooden cross marker that had Ellison's name and dates of birth and death carved into it 'fore announcin' his presence with a simple, "I miss you, daddy."

I tuned out whatever Cotton said next while kneelin' down in front of my mom's headstone, choosin' to focus on my own unsettled grief instead. It felt so surreal that she's been gone for 4-years now. God, how I wish she was still here. There was so much left undone and unsaid 'tween us. I mean she never got to see me get married or meet her grandchildren. It's just not fair…

I wasn't one to talk to my mom's headstone. Just sat and stared at it. Let myself cry a few silent tears. I wasn't like Cotton; I couldn't talk to the dead to feel better. I wasn't that pure and innocent at heart like he was to think that my dead loved one could actually hear me. I was too dark and tainted by hate and circumstance.

"I miss you, daddy." Cotton trailed off, repeating what he first said when he sat down.

Sighing to myself, I stood up and went over to Cotton. Placin' a hand on his shoulder, I softly suggested, "I think we better get back to the house so you can help Jessa."

"Okay." Cotton nodded, slowly standin' up as I heard the sound of a wagon rollin' down the road nearby.

I didn't pay any mind to the wagon, figurin' it was just somebody passin' by, and started to led Cotton away from Ellison's grave and in extension my mom's. In hindsight I should've paid attention to the wagon since it was full of my boss and co-workers. Yea…it ended up stopping next to the cemetery only for Devil Anse to get out of it and make his way over to me and Cotton while loudly askin', "Shaw, can I have a word with you?"

Damn…

"Stay right here. I'll be back, okay." I told Cotton since I didn't want him to hear whatever Anse had to say to me; was going to meet him halfway instead of havin' him lecture me in front of my simple-minded cousin.

"Okay, Shaw." He simply nodded, causin' me to pivot on my heel and rush over to Anse.

"Just say whatever ya gotta say, Anse." I told him, meetin' him halfway in the cemetary only to stand on the grass in between random graves beling to some body connected to the Hatfields in some way, shape, or form.

Pullin' his pipe from the corner of his mouth and pointin' it at me, he lectured in a deep and firm tone, "It ain't right how you keep bringin' Cotton here. My brother was all 'bout the work of life; wouldn't want his son just sittin' 'round his remains."

"Anse, your brother left me in charge of his son knowin' that I'd take care of him. A part of me takin' care of him is lettin' him grieve and his way of healin' and grievin' his visitin' Ellison's grave." I told Devil Anse, causin' him to just shake his head at me. He went to say something, but before he did I blurted out, "I'd rather bring Cotton here after breakfast then have him take off in the middle of the night to come here cause he thinks nobody understands his need to come here.", to further prove my point that I was doin' the right thing in letting Cotton visit his daddy's headstone.

"Shaw, you and him both should be on your way to work right now." Anse snapped at me, his icy blue eyes cold and hard as he stared at me. He was tryin' to intimidate me, but it wasn't workin'. After bein' raised by Peter til I was 12, well I doubt anybody'd be able to intimidate me.

"Cotton ain't goin' back to work. He's goin' to help my wife tend to our kids indefinitely." I stood my ground, holdin' my chin up in a show that I wasn't goin' to do what he wanted, but what I thought was best for the boy.

"Very well." Devil Anse relented, shovin' his pipe back into the corner of his mouth. "Send him on home and then get into the wagon. We gotta go to work."

"Like hell I'm gonna let him walk home alone. I'll get to work after I take Cotton home."

"You can't coddle him, Shaw. He needs to move on from what happened, he needs to grow up."

Anse's remark rubbed me the wrong way. So much so that I blew up at him. "Are you fuckin' stupid? Cotton's never goin' to grow up or at least not how the rest of us did. He's slow, Anse. He's gonna have the mind of a child forever so even after he moves on from his grief he's not gonna be swingin' an axe alongside the other lumberjacks at your loggin' camp cause he just ain't mature 'nough for that."

My cousin's hard look never faltered. If I insulted him, well he didn't let it show. No, all her did was harshly warn, "If you want to keep your job, I advise ya to change your tone with me. Listen to me a bit too."

"You know what, I've got a livery business so don't threaten me with my job. You need me to work for you not the other way 'round." I bluntly told Devil Anse, takin' him aback since he never thought I'd throw bein' a businessman myself into his face. "Now, I'm gonna take Cotton home and then I'll head to work." I told the imposin' and cold patriarch before turnin' my back to him and walking over to where Cotton was at, patiently waitin' for me.

I didn't look back to see Anse's reaction, but I'm sure he was fumin' as he made his way back to the wagon full of workers. I just kept my focuse straight ahead, only to come up to Cotton's side and smile, "Let's get'cha on home, buddy."

"Okie dokie." Cotton chirped, oblivious to the fact that I just had a bitch fest with his uncle in order to enact my right to raise him as I saw fit.

I heard the wagon take off down the road behind me as I walked with Cotton down the path that'd take us back home. As we walked home I noticed that Cotton seemed at peace, his shoulders weren't hunched or slumped like they usually were and he had a small spring in his step. Whatever he talked to his daddy 'bout this mornin' must've really helped him out; put his mind at ease.

Jessa POV:

It's been a couple of weeks since all the tragic events connected to Election Day and Thanksgiving was coming up. In fact, the holiday that's main focus was being grateful for family and friends was actually in a few days. I wasn't too thrilled about having a big family Thanksgiving at the main Hatfield house considering that Cotton was still grieving. No, he wasn't sneaking out to the cemetery anymore, but he was still goin' there. He just asked permission to go. Usually Shaw took him after breakfast, before he went to work. It was their thing, a way for them to bond. I think Shaw was finally, in his own way, grieving his mom while helpin' Cotton in his own grieving process.

I was sittin' on the sofa, enjoying a cup of coffee and watchin' my kids play with some toys nearby, whenever I heard a knock sound at the door. Placing my cup down, I stood up and went over to the door. Answering it, I was met with the site of Allie standing on my front porch. One kid on her hip and the other standing next to her. I wasn't expecting any visitors (well from time to time Uncle Jim pops by, but he's more or less a staple here not a visitor when he comes around), so I forced a smile and greeted my friend with, "Oh, Allie, hi. Come in; sit down and I'll get you some coffee."

Allie just smiled at me and ushered her son thru the door before following right behind him. As I shut the door, she nudged her son into the direction my kids were. Scooping the room, she made her way over to the sofa while observing, "Cotton's not here."

Crossing the man room and entering the kitchen, I confirmed her observation with, "No, he's with Shaw this morning."

"Oh, so he's takin' him to work." Allie remarked as I grabbed a mug from the cabinet.

"No, they're visitn' the cemetery so Cotton can talk to Ellison." I corrected, going over to the stove and grabbing the coffee pot.

I poured some coffee into the mug and set the pot down while Allie asked in a tentative tone, "Is that healthy considerin' how Cotton is, Jessa?"

"It's helping him grieve and get over what happened, Allie. There's nothing wrong with him going there." I told her, crossing into the main room and over to the sofa. I handed her the cup and took a seat next to her; picking up my own coffee cup from the table and taking a sip of it.

"I didn't say it was wrong, but Shaw takin' Cotton there…well…" Allie trailed off in a tiptoeing tone, sipping on her coffee and giving me an uneasy look.

"Well what?" I asked, just wanting me friend to spew out what she meant instead of tiptoeing around. I knew whatever she had to so wasn't going to be good, but I needed to hear it anyways. We were best friends growing up; were good friends now so we should be able to talk openly and freely to each other about things. The fact that she was tiptoeing around me didn't set right with me.

Allie let out a deep sigh and set her cup down on the coffee table. She gave me a thoughtful look while answering me lengthily with, "Maybe if you were the one taking him it'd be different, but Shaw's not the nicest person to be around somebody like Cotton. He's quick tempered and, for a lack of a better word, a blackheart. I bet he just views draggin' him there as a chore; doesn't actually do it out of the kindness of his heart."

"Don't talk about my husband like that." I barked, setting my own cup down with a loud clunk. Turning to face my friend, I snapped, "You don't know how he is cause you're never around him. Shaw's good with Cotton; would never do anything to hurt him or bring him harm."

"Jessa, I know that Ellison bestowed Cotton on you, but I think that maybe me and Cap should take him for a while. Just to give you and Shaw a break cause I'm pretty sure he's about to reach his boiling point with how stressful everything's been lately."

"No matter how stressed out Shaw gets he never takes it out on me and the kids; he'd never take it out on Cotton either. We're more then capable of taking care of Cotton, Allie, despite what you might think."

"You're capable of caring for him, but Shaw's not. He's manipulative, heartless, and crazy. He has no compassion so he's not goin-" Allie was saying until she was roughly cut off by my husband (who appeared out of nowhere) snarling in a deep, but low shout, "He's not going to what, bitch?", as he stood in the entranceway. "Hmm, take be able to raise a special needs kid? Hmm, is that it?"

"Where's Cotton? Shouldn't he be with you or did you just leave him alone at the cemetery?" Allie asked my husband in a very dry and condescending tone as she narrowed her sapphire eyes accusingly at him.

"Don't fuckin' go there with me, Allie. Cotton's on the porch, where I told him to sit for a lil bit cause I saw your wagon in the yard and knew that you were here to stir up shit." Shaw spat in, his honey eyes glowing an angry amber, as he stormed into the main room.

"Of course, you don't want him seeing me, you're afraid that he'd want to go stay with me and Cap instead of staying here with you." My friend huffed, flipping her light blonde braid over her shoulder as my husband came to a stop right in front of the coffee table and in extension us on the sofa.

"You're so full of yourself that it's not even funny." Shaw scoffed, venom dripping off of his tongue, as he folded his arms over his chest. "Cotton likes it here with me and my wife; he gets along good with our kids and meshes with our family. The reason why I have him out on the porch is cause I don't want him hearin' me cuss you the fuck out, bitch." He informed her in an eerily cool tone, staring her down and daring her to come back at him with a remark.

Looking at me, Allie demanded in an insulted tone, "Jessa, how can you just sit here and let him talk to me like this?"

"You brought it on yourself, Allie." I honestly told her, earning me a nasty look. I let out a sigh before explaining, "I'm not going to be pouring water on this fire when you've been doing nothing, but insult Shaw since you got here."

"I think it's time for ya to go." Shaw smugly told Allie, giving her a shit eating grin since he knew that he won the little spat between them.

"I think so too." Allie tightly said, standing up and stalking off to the door.

Before I could even say a word, she walked out of the door and slammed it shut behind her. Well, looks like that rocky friendship's on the outs again.

Tolbert POV:

Even tho it was mid-November it was hotter than hell t'day. Seems that the Texas heat knows no seasonal boundaries, it just keeps scorchin' everthin'. I must say that I miss the cool fall weather back in Kentucky. I miss 'em hills too. I didn't really like El Paso all that much, even tho I had good job an' made a decent wage. Reckon I just didn't do well wit' the heat. Hell, hope Oklahoma ain't this hot or else I'm gonna have problems.

It was a hot one out as I rode wit' Jose Luis to town t'pick up some supplies for the bunkhouse kitchen. Wit' him bein' the resident cook for us cowboys he was always rollin' into town t'buy supplies like flour, sugar, an' what not. He usually asked me to tag 'long when he went to the general store. He seemed t'be my only friend 'ere on the ranch so I always went wit' him t'help load up the wagon.

When we rolled up to the general store my eyes popped outta my head as I saw all the wanted posters hung up on the wall and posts of the store. Every single bounty picture was of a Hatfield. From Devil Anse himself t'Cap t'Shaw, even Jim Vance an' my cousin Selkirk had a bounty posted on 'em 'long wit' countless others. Jose Luis didn't even have the wagon stopped good 'fore I jumped down an' ran ov'r to read the posters.

"Senor Tolbert, what're you readin' all those wanted posters for? You're not a bounty hunter?" The chubby Mexican man asked, comin' up to my side.

"These people are the Hatfields, the family that's made mine suffer years of hell an' torment." I explained, pointin' to the slew of posters nailed up all ov'r the wall an' porch posts of the store.

"Ah, I see." He nodded. Lookin' 'tween me an' the wanted posters, he asked, "So, what'd they do to get bounties posted this far south?"

Lookin' at him, I told him what was printed on the poster. "They murdered my brothers, Pharmer an' Bud, 'long wit' a neighbor boy."

"Oh…So who's the one your senorita's the Missus of?"

"This one." I told him, pointin' to the wanted poster wit' Shaw's name an' picture on it. His was one of the most expensive bounties too since my 'murder' was on it 'long wit' the murders of Pharmer, Bud, and Bobby Belcher.

"Shaw Hector Eldridge. Alias The Vance Bastard." Jose Luis read in his thick Spanish accent. "Hmm, he looks like a rough one."

"He is." I deadpanned.

"Says here he killed ya, but as I can see you're alive and well." My Spanish cook friend chuckled, makin' me smirk as well.

"My mama, aunt, an' brother had me fake my death so that the Vance Bastard would leave me 'lone. If he thought he killed me, well I'd be safe." I explained to him why everyone back home in the Tug Valley thought I was dead when the truth was, I was far from it.

"Looks like it's time to go back for your senorita and son." Jose Luis told me, a serious look in his rich brown eyes. I went to open my mouth only for him to cut me off wit', "Everything greedy bushwhacker, bounty hunter, and trash's gonna be huntin' those Hatfields down for the rewards. There's a chance she or your son could get caught up in a crossfire, even get used as leverage to get one of 'em to surrender too."

"I can't go back there alone, not after they murdered my brothers." I told him, panic slightly lacin' my smooth, but gruff timbre. I wasn't dumb, I knew that I'd be a sittin' duck if I went back home. If anybody found out I was alive, well I wouldn't be for long.

"I'll go with you so y'won't be on your lonesome in the vipers pit." Jose Luis told me, placin' a hand on my shoulder in a supportive gesture. "Also, we'll travel on horseback under the guise of bounty hunters to blend in easier." He added in, makin' sure I knew we'd be safe while travellin'.

"Thank you, Jose Luis. I don't know how I'll ev'r repay ya for this."

"Just help me pick up the pantry supplies for we can get back to the bunkhouse, pack up, and get on our way." The cook told me 'fore removin' his hand from my shoulder, brushin' by me, an' walkin' into the general store.

Well, looks like the time to reclaim my family's finally come.

AN:

So, the dust has settled, but the angst and drama's just starting up. How do you think things are going to go whenever Tolbert and Joses Luis get to the Tug? Yikes, Shaw's temper's flaring and it seems the Hatfields are on the wrong side of it.