A/N: First off, I am so sorry this has taken so long to post. Combine working retail in the holiday season and being a full-time student with finals this week, and I had no time left to write. The semester is over now so expect some more updates in the coming weeks, including a long overdue Young Guns update. This was initially going to be some light fluff on the way to Griff's introduction, but then a certain someone decided to show up and throw some angst into the situation.

As always, entertainment only. Enjoy!

Also, the Southern Hotel really did exist. The original burned in the 1870's and was rebuilt in the early 1880's, shuttered due to declining business in the early twentieth century, and was torn down in the 1930's.

October, 1870, St. Louis, Missouri

"A toast." Candy raised his glass and clinked it against hers. "To five months together." His eyes glowed as he took a drink. Annie smiled and took a sip of her own drink with a quick glance around the dining room. No one else in the cavernous hotel seemed to be paying the slightest attention to them, but she couldn't shake the instinct to be cautious.

Of course, anyone who saw them right now wouldn't believe they were the same people. Her fancy dress felt strange, and certainly Candy had never worn anything like he was wearing now. He looked more like a riverboat gambler on the Mississippi than a ranch foreman. Buying new clothes they'd never be able to wear anywhere else might be foolish, but they'd both wanted the chance to pretend.

"To us," she said softly. It wasn't fair. Her pa had more than enough money to finance a trip to St. Louis and a stay at the famous Southern Hotel, but that option had been doomed before it was something she even thought she might want. And whose fault was that? She set her glass down and stared at her plate. If only she'd said something sooner, maybe they could have been here on a real wedding trip when the bank was robbed.

"Annie?" he whispered under his breath. "What's wrong?"

"Just wishing I hadn't been so blind."

"We both were." Candy lowered his glass. "And I was so afraid your pa would fire me, I don't know if I would have admitted anything." He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "But we're together now."

"I know, I just wish …."

"I know." His face changed and a smile took over just as approaching footsteps registered. "Ah, it looks wonderful, doesn't it, sweetheart?" He let go of her hand as the waiter placed their order on the table.

"Mr. Campbell insists on nothing but the best for his guests." The man's voice lowered. "Why, just last month, the President himself stayed a week, and I hear Ms. Langtry is coming for the Christmas season. She's to perform down at the theater, you know. "

"A shame we'll miss that," Candy said, a note of regret in his tone. "It's not every day you get to see Lily Langtry perform." The waiter nodded and leaned in closer.

"Lotta Crabtree is here." Annie's hand froze on her fork, but the man didn't seem to notice anything amiss. She was just glad she hadn't already taken a bite. "Granted, she's not as famous as Ms. Langtry, but her talent is remarkable."

"We have had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Crabtree perform and it was a very memorable experience," Candy said evenly, but Annie didn't miss the slight twitch in his jaw. She wouldn't exactly call either occasion memorable, but Candy didn't have any previous animosity coloring his meeting with the actress so he might have actually enjoyed the performance that evening.

Or he was lying through his teeth; he was quite good at that when the need arose.

The waiter left them and they traded glances. Candy shook his head slowly and glanced around the dining room. "What are the odds," he muttered. "Of all the times … if she sees us …"

"She has no reason to do me any favors," Annie said with a frown. Candy scraped a hand through his hair, then his eyes brightened and he snapped his fingers.

"What about your brother? If they've kept in touch, he's got to mean something to her. Would she risk hurting him?"

"For all I know, he'd applaud that hanging. He didn't care enough to even say goodbye then and he hasn't written in almost four or five years now so I can't see him being that concerned."

"But you're his sister."

"Half sister," she corrected. "And at twelve years younger nothing but a headache until we reached our teens." But she'd loved him anyway, and he'd left without a second thought.

"What do you want to do?"

"You mean head north early?" He nodded and took a drink of water. "Do we need to?"

"I don't know. Obviously if she sees us, we've got trouble." He glanced down at himself, then at her. "That is if she even recognizes us."

"Considering our sometimes abysmal luck, she will." She had no doubts on that score. The real question was, what would the woman do about it? She didn't need the money or fame that would follow their capture and inevitable hanging, so they had that going for them anyway.

Small comfort when spite could be worse than greed. Those bright blue eyes she loved so much dimmed in concern. She touched Candy's hand and he forced a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. She knew he was worried, but it was never for himself. No, he was worried she'd get caught and hung, or thrown in prison for years. He needed this respite from the constant running down lonely trails, maybe more than they needed to avoid an irksome actress. "We'll be fine, Candy," she said softly and squeezed his fingers. Even if they couldn't ever find his double and had to disappear into the sage. As long as they held onto each other they could survive anything. He smiled sadly, but the mood didn't lighten the rest of the meal.

She tucked her hand through his arm and they headed for the lobby. A passing waiter glanced at them, then seemed to do a double take and hurried over. "I take it your business in Billings went better than expected for you to be back so soon, sir." Annie stiffened like a bolt of lightening had shot down her spine. The muscles in Candy's arm tensed under her fingers and her heart beat faster. Could they finally …? "Is this Mrs. Whitaker?" They traded glances and Candy cleared his throat.

"Actually, it's Stoddard …" His face brightened. "You must have seen our brother!" He turned to face her with a beaming smile. "We're finally on the right trail, Sam." He looked back to the waiter. "When was Jake here? When did he go to Billings? How long did he say he'd be there?" The man stiffened and worked his hands.

"Forgive my mistake, sir. The two of you could be twins." Candy waved it off and the man relaxed. "Your brother called himself Troy Whitaker when he stayed two weeks ago. He said he had business in Billings, but he hoped to stay again on his trip back south." She nudged Candy's foot under her skirt, all talk of delaying their trip north tossed aside. They'd have to scramble to catch up, but they finally had a real lead. "He booked a train ticket last week."

"Thank you." Candy dug a coin out of his pocket and handed it over. "If you'll excuse us, we need to run up and get packed, this is the first lead we've had on our brother in five years."

"Of course, sir. Ma'am." He offered a bow and she dipped her chin in acknowledgment, her heart racing. A lead. They finally had a lead, proof his double wasn't just a figment of imagination. It took everything she had not to run across the lobby and take the stairs two at a time. Could they risk taking the train? They couldn't leave the horses behind so the stage was out, but …. She rounded the corner in the upstairs hallway and ran right into someone. Candy caught her before she could fall and she swatted at the feathers in her hat with a hurried apology.

"Anyone looking at you right now, little sister, might think you were guilty." Annie froze into utter stillness, that gravely voice so familiar and yet so irritating. She looked up and found herself staring into a face she hadn't seen in five years. A gasp slipped through her teeth and Candy tucked her behind him.

"You want to get her killed?" he hissed under his breath with a harried glance down the hallway. Her husband looked Adam up and down. "I don't think I like you."

"At this point, the feeling is mutual."

"You haven't changed a bit," she muttered with a scowl. Adam frowned and tugged at his suit coat.

"You certainly have, that's for sure." His forehead wrinkled. "Can we discuss this somewhere other than the hallway?" Candy smothered a snort.

"Afraid someone will see you?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Adam caught her by the arm. "You've got some explaining to do, little sister." She yanked her arm free.

"No more than you, Yankee granite-head."

"How could I forget how difficult you can be?" His eyes rolled to the ceiling on a gusty sigh.

"It must be the Yankee coming through," she retorted and stalked down the hallway. "You staying with that two-timing actress?"

"Now just a minute –" Candy laughed at the look on her brother's face and looped an arm around her waist.

"Sweetheart, I wouldn't miss this for all the money in Nevada."

"Oh, dear." Lotta's hand went to her throat and she glanced around the sitting room of her suite, no doubt calculating what might need put away. "I was afraid of this." She stepped back slowly and Candy guided Annie past the woman into the palatial suite. He shook his head on a grin and gave her a nod.

"Ma'am, I would say it's a pleasure, but we all know it's not."

"Of course it's not," Adam protested as he shut the door behind them and shrugged out of his coat. "My little sister is gallivanting across the country with a convicted murderer and a price on her head. While using my mother's name." Candy wheeled around, but Annie beat him to it. She snatched off her feathered hat and slung it at Adam's face.

"How. Dare. You?" she hissed through her teeth. "How many times were you wrongly convicted of murder?" The gloves were next, flying over the back of the sofa. "I seem to recall one time when you and Pa both were standing on the gallows with a noose around your neck before Lassiter intervened. And what about –"

"For the sake of argument, I'll agree you're right. But that doesn't change –" Annie marched up to him and yanked a chain from under her bodice, a gold ring dangling from the end.

"He's my husband," she said, venom dripping from each word. "And we're going to find his double and prove his innocence. If anyone is out gallivanting, it's you. I left to save Candy's life, you left because you felt trapped," she spit in disgust. "Poor you, a thousand square mile ranch and it wasn't good enough." Adam's face darkened.

"That was Pa's dream, not mine." His gaze slid between them. "And if it was enough for you, you would have let him hang."

"He has a name!" Lotta winced at her sharp tone and wrung her hands, her worried gaze shooting to Candy sprawled on the sofa with his feet on the parlor table.

"Aren't you the least bit concerned, Mr. Canaday?"

"Nope." Her hands flew to her hips.

"And why ever not?"

"Because I've got her handbag." He held up a small, beaded bag dangling from a silver chain and opened it to reveal a pearl-handled Derringer. Lotta's mouth formed an o.

"Aren't you going to stop her before she –"

"Oh, no, ma'am. I learned real quick you do not get in the middle when Annie has her ears laid back."

"I swear, Candy, are you always going to compare me to a horse?"

"Maybe," he said with a sly grin. "You sure look pretty when you get mad." Annie scoffed under her breath and turned back to her brother, but he spoke before she could.

"Did you even think about what it would mean before you busted him out of jail? Don't look at me like that, I do read the papers, Anne. I've read everything they published about –"

"Where were you when Pa was reported murdered, then? Or after the courthouse caved in and Joe was trapped? Or when I was missing for a month and presumed dead because some lunatic had a grudge against Pa? Or the time I was abducted by another lunatic with a grudge? What about when I was accused of murder? And what about Hoss' wedding? You mean to tell me you read about all of that and couldn't even be bothered to send a wire? Did you miss the part about me being shot and almost dying?" Long-buried anger surged to the front and she snatched up a glass from the liqueur cart and pitched it at his head. Adam ducked and it smashed against the wall. Lotta rushed the cart and pushed it across the room out of reach while Candy chuckled under his breath. "I always knew you could be an ass, but you were my brother and I loved you anyway."

"I'm still your brother."

"You've got a funny way of showing it."

"I wrote."

"Three times." Her eyes flashed. "How often did you write to Lotta?" His face reddened.

"That's none of your concern."

"I don't care," she retorted. "You can do whatever the hell you want, just don't pretend you care now."

"Believe it or not, I do care, little sister."

"Pa might fall for that, but not me. You disappeared without so much as a good-bye in the middle of the night and that said it all. We were nothing but dirt to shake off your boots."

"That's not true."

"Prove it."

"Oh, Candy, stop them." Lotta wrung her hands. "Even if they don't hurt each other, what if the desk clerk shows up and sees you?" Candy shook his head.

"Walls are too thick, you can't hear a thing."

"Oh!" She paced back and forth, skirt swirling. "Adam, do something!"

"Like what?" She threw her hands in the air and he sighed, scraping a hand over his face. "Anne, I was out of the country when some of those things happened and I didn't learn of them until Lotta told me months later. By that time it was all taken care of and I saw no need –"

"Not even when you and I might have ended up the only surviving heirs to the Ponderosa? There was a chance the Judge might have killed them before I could bring the posse and then how would you have felt?"

"I would have been devastated." Adam pushed off the wall and stalked to the liqueur cart. He poured a glass of whiskey and threw it back. "As it was, the papers didn't pick that story up until after the situation was resolved."

"What about now?"

"What good could I have done?"

"You could have been there." Her eyes burned. "If you cared, you would have been." He slammed the glass down on the cart.

"I was under the impression you didn't want to ever see me again," he said tartly. "Besides, it was a show trial as it was, I wasn't going to give them something else to talk about." He shot a look at Candy. "You're awful quiet over there, what have you got to say for yourself?" Candy shrugged.

"I wish they didn't know she busted me out, but I can't be upset she did when I would have done the same for her." A humorless laugh escaped. "At least we've got a chance to go home, had they not believed Hop Sing about his fingermarks, the real killer never would have been found and we'd have been running forever."

"You still might." Adam refilled his glass and swallowed it in one gulp. "You ever stop and think about how much territory there is for a man to hide himself in?" He scoffed and refilled it again. "He might not even be in the country. You'll never find that man, whoever he is."

"He's in Billings, Montana," they responded in unison, and Adam choked on his whiskey. Lotta grabbed a handkerchief and dabbed at his shirt. He waved her away and shook his head on a cough.

"Maybe now, but he'll be gone by the time you get up there. And then you'll have to track him down again, however you did it this time." Another cough. "How long do you try?"

"Until we catch him."

"And what if you don't? Have you thought of that, little sister? Even if you do manage to drag him back to Carson City, what's to say they believe it was him and not Candy?"

"I don't see where it matters to you," she hissed. "We both know you'll never go home, so it's not like you'll actually be affected. As long as we have each other –"

"We've got a home," Candy finished. "All I need is Annie." Adam snorted, his eyes going dark.

"Funny how you never said a word about any hidden feelings until she saved your life." Candy stilled and Annie swallowed hard. Her husband could be a dangerous man when threatened, no different than herself, really, and she was getting the feeling Adam was perilously close to that line.

"You ever see a man get fired for looking overlong at the boss' daughter?"

"After working for him for three years, you should have known Pa wouldn't do that." Adam slammed his glass down on the cart. "Hell, if he didn't send you packing after spending a month with her in that mine, you weren't ever getting fired."

"Fear is a funny thing," Candy finally said after a tense minute of silence. "My head argued that, and she even said it a few times – in almost those exact words, too – but I was too afraid to risk losing what little I had." He left the sofa – handing her bag to Lotta – and came to stand beside her, his arm slipping around her waist. Annie leaned against him and he relaxed a fraction. "She's my best friend, Cartwright, has been for so long I don't know exactly when it became something more. And then she was shot and I … I couldn't bury it anymore, but I had to." He scoffed at himself. "Why would she want an orphaned Army brat with nothing to his name when she could have any man in the country?" His throat worked. "I wanted to say something, especially after they came back early from San Francisco because I got hurt, but I was afraid."

"We both were," Annie said softly. "I was afraid he'd ride off and I'd never see him again if I admitted how I felt."

"Sounds like something you'd star in, Lotta."

"Art does imitate life, Adam, dear," she said with an arched eyebrow. "How long are you going to be an ass and refuse to hug the sister you haven't seen in five years?"

"As long as he wants to, but you already know that," Annie replied. "He obviously cared more about corresponding with you than his own family." Lotta turned red and Adam straightened beside the liqueur cart.

"Am I the only one who can pick up a pen in the family? You could have written me."

"And send it where? We only got three letters and they were all postmarked differently. Pa wrote for a while, but when he never got a response he just stopped. He was so disappointed you didn't come to Hoss' wedding."

"I never got that letter."

"If you really cared, you would have given us a way to keep in touch, but you didn't, despite the fact you kept in touch with the woman who got Joe abducted."

"You can't get past that, can you? You're just like Pa, neither one of you forgive or forget." Adam scraped a hand through his hair with a growl.

"There was a time you didn't either."

"All that did was hurt us. You ever stop and think about how much of our troubles when you and Joe were seventeen and eighteen could be tied back to that attitude?"

"I'm not going to forget there's a wasp in the room just because it's behaving itself for now."

"Anne –"

"If all you're going to do is argue, we're done, Cartwright." Candy held out his hand and Lotta placed Annie's handbag in his palm. "We've got a double to find and we're not gonna do it sitting here yelling at each other." He gave her the bag with a sideways glance and a raised brow and she shrugged. He bent to collect her gloves and hat, but she stopped him with a shake of her head. She wouldn't need them after tonight and they'd only take up room in her saddlebags. He shrugged and straightened. "I wish I could say it was nice to meet you, but we all know it wasn't."

"It was for me," Lotta protested. "I thought it was shameful the way they railroaded you. I like you, Mr. Canaday, I really do. And I hope you prove your innocence."

"So do I, ma'am." He touched Annie's back and they started for the door. Adam stood there glowering in silence, arms folded across his chest. A part of her wanted to say good-bye, or to just say something, but five years of hurt won out and she held her tongue. If he refused to speak, fine. It didn't matter anyway.

The door shut behind them, and it felt like a part of her life closed itself off. For so long, she'd wanted to tell him how she felt, and now that she had there was nothing left. Nothing but an angry, uneasy silence. Their pa would be hurt if he knew how it had turned out, but it was Adam's doing, not hers.

"You alright, sweetheart?" She smiled up at Candy.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes." She looped her hand through his arm. "Come on, we've got a killer to catch."