A/N: And here we are again. Still on the run and stupidly turning away from potential help. Annie does have her reasons for her decisions and Candy agrees with what he knows about, but is it the right choice in the long run? I borrowed a little from The Silent Killer for this one, but it's not the main focus of the chapter. As always I own nothing but my OC.

Somewhere between Challis and Leadville, Idaho Territory, December 17, 1870

She'd passed up Challis, as much as it pained her to do so. Joe would expect them to stop, especially if he'd figured out they were the ones the dead man had shot at. The delay he'd incur searching in town might not be much, but it was something.

If Candy wanted them back in Nevada, she'd get them back to Nevada. Somehow. Her heart sank at the empty expanse stretching out in front of them. Hundreds of miles to cross before they reached Los Robles and comparative safety. Annie looked back at the snow covered trees behind them.

Could they evade Joe long enough to get to Wells? Why was she even trying? Griff was right … he could gather the information they needed without half trying … could save valuable time … why didn't she just turn around? Maybe it was the knowledge of how badly he'd kept a few secrets, or how he couldn't rein in his hot New Orleans blood like she could.

Or maybe it was the look on his face when she'd forced him into the pantry at gunpoint. It always came back to that moment, didn't it? He hated her for that, he must. She'd threatened her own family and took off without so much as a good bye, without giving them a chance to fight for Candy through normal means. Clearly, Adam despised her now and he hadn't even been there.

But the normal ways wouldn't have worked, she knew they had to know that, they just hadn't wanted to accept it. Carson City would have ignored any stay of execution the Governor could be persuaded to give. Had there been time, maybe she could have brought Joe around, could have made him understand, but there wasn't, forcing a standoff she'd never wanted.

"How close are we," Griff called over and she forced the thoughts away.

"Maybe another twenty, twenty-five miles to Leadville. Then another fifty or so to Shosone." And over a hundred to Wells. With Joe on their back trail and Whitaker in front, she could only imagine what that journey would be like.

Maybe that was the real reason she'd ridden straight past Challis … God only knew what tricks that damned double had up his sleeve. With Candy injured, she didn't like their chances.

"Why are we going so slow? I'm not made of glass, sweetheart." Candy reined his horse alongside. "If we're that close, we could reach town by this afternoon."

"That's what I planned, Canaday." He chuckled and clutched his shoulder with a hiss. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just moved too fast."

"Maybe we should have stopped in Challis."

"I know your brother just as well as you do, I reckon. He'd have caught up for sure. Got a stubborn streak a mile wide."

"He still might catch us anyway."

"Anything's possible with Joe, that's for sure. Never thought I'd see him dive into Lake Tahoe to reclaim a boat."

"It wasn't the boat we were worried about, it was you." Candy made a noise in his throat and she glanced over. "You seriously still don't believe that?"

"Cowhands are a dime a dozen some times."

"You're worth a hell of a lot more than that." She wanted to cry. How could he still not see? "Pa paid your ransom, too."

"He did it for you, sweetheart."

"He did it for you, too."

"Ransom?" Griff's eyes went wide.

"It's a long story," Annie said with another look around. The land was calm, the snow undisturbed as far as the eye could see. Had Whitaker stayed in Challis or had he taken another route over the mountain? Again, she thought about turning back. God only knew the chaos that would ensue if Joe ran into the double.

No. He'd have to handle himself. Her first priority was her husband and dragging an injured Candy into Joe's proximity was bound to cause no end of trouble if all three of them were within spitting distance.

If they weren't running for their lives, she could fully appreciate the rugged beauty of Idaho and Montana before it. Why couldn't she have been smart enough to realize the truth lurking under her nose the entire time? The signs had been there – subtle, but there. They could have been in a different state entirely and good luck to Carson City pinning it on him then. Not that they wouldn't have tried anyway, but it would have been significantly more difficult. "Come on, let's ride."

Three hours later, they rode down the narrow street in Leadville as the sun began to set. They reined up in front of the lone hotel and dismounted. "See to the horses," Annie said as she untied saddlebags and slipped her rifle from its scabbard. "Bring your gear with you."

"Yes ma'am." Griff took the reins and headed for the livery while she helped Candy inside. Carefully of course, it wouldn't do for anyone to realize he'd been shot.

"Help you, folks?" The man behind the counter pushed aside a deck of cards and reached for his ledger.

"One room," Annie said. The tiniest frown creased his forehead and she tamped down rising irritation. What she wouldn't give to be able to tell the truth … "There's three of us, my other brother is taking care of the horses." The frown smoothed, but only a little. Candy took the pen he offered and scribbled a random name in the ledger. The clerk handed him the keys.

"Room six at the end of the hallway."

"Thanks." They headed up the stairs, Candy smothering a hiss when a harried looking kid not much older than Griff shot past them, knocking him off balance into the wall.

"Mister, this town have a doctor?" The kid's voice faded as they reached their room and the clerk's reply was inaudible.

"He'll need one he hurts you again," Annie spit through her teeth as they hurried inside. Candy chuckled under his breath as he dumped his saddlebags on the bed. She carefully set the rifle down on the dresser and let her own bag fall to the floor. "One night and we'll move on." She wasn't sure who made her more nervous: Joe or Whitaker. Candy didn't reply, just stretched out on the closest bed and sighed.

"I can't believe you have to run away from your brother because of me." She swallowed hard. Oh, Candy … she sat down beside him and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"You're not the one who locked him in Hop Sing's pantry at gunpoint," she finally managed to admit.

"You what?" Any other time, his reaction would have been comical. She just nodded. "Oh, Annie … why?"

"He didn't understand, he thought I should wait on Pa's meeting with the governor, but I knew there wasn't time." Her eyes burned with tears. "I knew they wouldn't listen, not after she lied, and there wasn't time to make him see … I did what I had to do and I don't regret it." She choked on half of a laugh. "You should have seen his face. He thought I'd finally leaped without looking."

"Well, to be fair, you didn't really have much of a plan past busting me out."

"Not at that exact moment in time," she clarified. "But I had parts of a plan."

"You think he's mad at you."

"Wouldn't you be?" Her chin quivered and she bit her lip hard. "I pointed a gun at my twin with every intention of using it."

"Annie …" he shifted so he could wrap his arms around her, pulling her gently against his chest. "You might have put a bullet in his leg, worst case, but you wouldn't have done any serious damage, I know that and he knows it, too. And that's if you could have brought yourself to pull the trigger, which I seriously doubt."

"I don't know," she admitted in a tiny voice. "I don't know what I would have done if he'd pushed." Silence filled the room for several minutes before Candy spoke, his hand rubbing circles on her back.

"You didn't say anything about it before now because you're afraid he might have been able to talk you down if you gave him half a chance."

"Candy –"

"And if he had, I'd be dead." Tears spilled over her lashes.

"Don't say that."

"Hey, shh. You're afraid that if he catches up, he'll manage to talk us into some crazy plan he came up with on the fly so he could get us back without considering the consequences to us." She stilled, then swiped at her face.

"How did you figure that out?" She hadn't realized it until he spelled it out.

"I spent three years on that ranch." He shrugged. "And I've always been good at reading people." She lay back against him, lost in thought. So much so, she jumped when a knock came at the door, followed by Griff's hushed call. She scrambled carefully off the bed and let him in.

"Horses are bedded down, and it's getting real cold out there now that the sun's gone down. I sure am glad we're not camping tonight."

"You and me both, kid," Candy said with a grin. "I'm getting too old for that kind of thing."

"You're not old," Annie protested and he laughed. Griff cleared his throat.

"I don't … uh … need to go back to the livery for a while … do I?" Annie spluttered and Candy laughed again.

"Not tonight, kid." He tugged his boots off and got back into bed. "These walls are like paper," he muttered before rolling over. "Everybody in this building would hear and how would we explain that?" Annie bit her tongue to keep from laughing out loud at the look on poor Griff's face.

"I'm … just .. uh … going to bed." The kid practically dove into the other bed and rolled over to face the wall, the pillow stuffed over his head. Annie shook her head and curled up next to her husband. Candy's grin was sly.

"Shut him up real quick." He looped an arm over her shoulders and held her close. "I'd never be mad at you, sweetheart, even if you hadn't done it. You wouldn't have a price on your head and –"

"I wouldn't have you." Their eyes met, her blood heated, and she consigned those paper thin walls to the deepest pit of hell. "That's not something I could live with." He touched her cheek.

"That's how I know Joe wouldn't have talked you down."

"Look at all that snow." Candy whistled softly. "That sure came out of nowhere, must have blown down from the north last night." Annie's heart sank. They couldn't ride through that, she couldn't even see down the street. Stranded again. "Might as well see if the hotel has any leads on breakfast." They went downstairs and managed to scrounge up some bacon and biscuits with coffee. Annie kept her eyes moving the whole time the three of them inhaled their food. The kid who'd bumped into Candy yesterday sat next to him now, picking unhappily at his plate and casting nervous looks in the direction of the stairs.

"Something the matter, kid?" She finally asked. He jumped.

"Pa's sick. They said the doc won't be able to get here until later, he's delivering a baby on the other side of town." The kid's face went red and he coughed. "They … uh … said it might be a while."

"That it might," Candy agreed. "Well, family, since we're stuck here for the time being, how about a few hands of poker?" He pushed back his chair and nodded at the kid. "Hope the doc gets here soon for your pa."

"Thanks, mister."

They were well into the fourth hand of the morning when footsteps stopped outside their door and someone knocked heavily. She and Candy traded glances; he jerked his chin at Griff. The kid laid down his cards and went over to the door. "Who is it?"

"Doctor Lanham. I need to speak to you, it's important." Griff turned with raised eyebrows. Candy worked his jaw and went to the door.

"Yes?"

"Are you or your siblings ill, Mr. Butler?" Annie almost choked at the name, but she managed to hold it in. "The man and his son in the next room have influenza." She felt more than saw Candy stiffen despite being halfway across the room.

"We're fine."

"I just thought you'd like to know."

"Appreciate it." The doctor nodded and left the room, Candy closing the door slowly behind him. He worked his jaw for a moment and glanced at the shared wall. "Nothing we can do until the storm blows over."

"He was right beside you." Candy shrugged and went back to their makeshift poker table on the bed.

"Not for long. Griff, how about you run over and check on the horses, make sure they've been taken care of?"

"Sure." The kid glanced between them, and she could see him debating on whether or not to ask how long he should stay gone.

"No need to linger," Candy added. "Those walls haven't changed overnight." Griff flushed to his ears and snatched his coat before darting out the door, accompanied by Candy's laughter.

"Candy, that kid was right beside you and you're already toting a bullet wound." No one knew why or how, but it seemed any sickness was made worse if someone was already under the weather. Her heart skipped a beat and she laid her cards down.

"He wasn't that close."

"But he did cough."

"Annie, I'm fine, I promise." He set his cards down and pushed back the creaky chair. "Come here." She went to him and settled into his lap, her head coming to rest on his good shoulder. "I know you're worried, but you don't need to be. I've had influenza before and fought it off. I fully intend to stand there right beside you when they finally have to admit they were wrong."

"I want that so much."

"We'll get it, I know we will." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and sighed. "Damn these walls." She laughed and he held her tight, their hearts beating together. "Would it kill someone to build a decent hotel?"

"Four people are ill now, Mr. Butler. I strongly encourage all of you to stay as far away from the other guests as possible. I've had all the sick moved to two rooms on the main floor and I'll see to them with Mrs. Bird's assistance."

"We'll be riding out as soon as the storm clears," Candy replied, his back tight with tension. Annie worked her jaw. This wasn't good.

"I would caution against leaving until we know the sickness has run its course. You wouldn't want to be halfway to Shoshone and come down ill in the middle of nowhere."

"You say that like it's never happened before, Doc."

"But –"

"I know what you mean, but we're still moving on as soon as the storm breaks." The doctor sputtered and scrambled for an answer a moment or two, but finally shrugged.

"Suit yourself. I only hope your family doesn't suffer for that decision."

"It's our decision, too," she added, and the man shook his head.

"Good luck to you then."

"You, too." Candy closed the door and leaned against it. "Well, back to the game, I guess, not much else we can do." He reclaimed his seat and shuffled the deck. "We're all gonna be experts by the time the storm's over." Annie glanced out the window at the blowing flakes, unable to keep her thoughts entirely off her brother. He'd found somewhere to shelter, she knew that much from their connection, but she couldn't afford to dig deeper.

At least he wasn't here.

They played the rest of the day, Griff taking a break long enough to run out and check the horses. Candy eyed the weather outside and turned to her with a smile. "It's slowing down, we might be able to leave tomorrow."

"I hope so." The three of them turned in early, Annie laying awake beside him for several hours staring up at the ceiling, lost in everything and nothing, until she finally drifted off. Two things woke her that night: the silence outside and the fever burning Candy up from the inside out.

"I knew it," the doctor sighed when he saw Candy. He scraped a hand over his thinning hair. "I'll have Mrs. Bird run up and see to him."

"I can take care of my brother myself," Annie insisted.

"I'm sure you can, but you have your other brother to look after as well. It never hurts to have help, even if one isn't used to asking for it," he said gently.

"We can handle it. Mrs. Bird doesn't need to split her time when she's already got four other patients to look after."

"Five," the doctor corrected sadly and she swallowed hard. "That's why I came up in the first place." All the more reason to keep everyone away.

"If I need help I'll ask for it, but right now I don't."

"If you're sure." He didn't sound like he was convinced.

"I am." He sighed and left. The door closing sounded unbearably loud in the sudden silence. Griff swallowed hard and turned.

"What do we do?"

"Open that window a bit and get some fresh air in here, then run downstairs and find a bowl and fill it with snow. And some broth if anybody down there has any."

"Snow?"

"We need to keep his fever down." Griff worked his jaw and hurried to comply. Cold air kissed the back of her neck and she shivered. The door slammed. "Candy, you said you were fine," she whispered.

"I am," he said through a coughing fit. "It's no worse than the last time I had it."

"Last time you weren't packing a bullet wound."

"I'm used to it," he muttered weakly and rolled over. Annie bit her lip. "What are we gonna do about Griff?"

"I was planning to keep him out of here as much as possible."

"Good." He coughed again and her chest tightened. "Come on, sweetheart, scared doesn't look right on you."

"I can't help it," she whispered. "I think I could take anything except losing you." His hand found hers and squeezed gently.

"You're not going to," he said hoarsely. "I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Canaday." Their eyes met and she leaned down. It was so hard to always pretend … A knock sounded on the door and she jerked upright. "Who is it?"

"It's me." She drew in a breath and regretfully pulled away.

"We need to work on his timing," Candy muttered. "He's about as bad as your brother." She hurried to the door and let Griff in. The kid handed her a bowl of snow and set the steaming bowl of broth on the top of the dresser.

"That woman acted like I was crazy for wanting broth instead of 'real food' as she put it."

"Probably still holds to the old wives tales for doctoring, though why a real doctor doesn't set her straight is beyond me." Annie dug an extra bandanna out of the saddlebags and scooped up a handful of snow, setting the wrapped bundle on Candy's forehead. He sighed happily.

"That feels wonderful."

"Hungry?"

"Not right now." He burrowed into the blankets and closed his eyes. "Just gonna sleep for a while." She laid her hand on his arm and he relaxed. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned to find Griff watching them both. She raised her free hand and covered his. His throat worked.

"We're family," she said softly. "Always."

"The doctor told me to come up here and sit with your brother a while so you could get yourself something to eat." Mrs. Bird fixed Annie with a hard look. "You won't do him no good if you take sick, too."

"I'm fine."

"He said you'd say that and I wasn't to accept no for an answer." The woman pushed at the door. "You're the only one who hasn't left this room in three days."

"Because I don't need to," Annie said through her teeth.

"Nonsense. Downstairs with you, there's food in the kitchen."

"I'm not –"

"Go on, Sam, so she'll stop screeching," Candy murmured from the bed. Mrs. Bird drew in an offended breath.

"Why, I never."

"You need to eat, sis."

"We've got jerky and –"

"More than that." Annie sighed.

"I'll be back in ten minutes, maybe sooner." She brushed past the older woman and stomped down the stairs at the end of the hall. She turned left into the kitchen tucked down a hallway behind the staircase and grabbed a plate off the scuffed sideboard, filling it quickly from the covered pans on the back of the stove. She didn't even sit at the table, just leaned against the wall and inhaled her food without really tasting it.

Annie was scraping her plate and searching for the coffee pot when Griff came in, a wild look in his eyes that had her dropping the plate with a clatter. "What?"

"That woman's crazy, Sam! I finished at the livery and when she opened the door to let me in, it was like walking into that oven over there. She's got the window shut and Andy's piled under so many blankets I don't know where she found 'em all. I tried to stop her, but she said you were too young to know how to take care of a sick man and didn't know – Sam!"

But she was beyond listening.

There was a broom next to the kitchen door and she snatched it up on the way to the stairs. She took those two at a time and was in front of their door within seconds, a red haze clouding her vision. She threw the door open and flew into the suddenly stifling room. "Get out." Mrs. Bird didn't seem to have the good sense God had gifted a goose, lifting her chin and folding her skinny arms across her chest.

"You'll thank me, child, after he's well. Kids these days don't know the first thing about doctoring. I know all about it."

"I learned from a doctor's wife who learned from him and Florence Nightengale herself." Annie brandished the broom. "And I swear I'll break this over your head if you don't get out of my sight this minute." The woman paled. "Griff, open the window and put out that damn fire." The kid scooted around her and hurried to comply. She sidestepped to the bed and yanked the extra blankets off. Candy chuckled and pushed himself up on one elbow.

"You should have listened," he chided. "Did all the snow melt?" He coughed. Griff scurried over to check the bowl and dunked the bandanna in the water. He settled it on Candy's forehead and her husband sighed happily. "Thanks."

"I said get out!" The woman jumped. Annie started forward, completely out of patience, and Mrs. Bird scuttled away like a rat in the feed room, ducking around her on the way to the door. Annie took a swing at her anyway, eliciting a shocked yelp, and the door slammed behind her. "And stay out!"

"You've lost your mind," came from the other side of the door, and for five seconds, Annie debated charging out there and really breaking the broom over her head. Only Candy's sudden coughing fit brought her around. She dropped the broom and scrambled to his side.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head, still coughing, but it was mixed with laughter.

"You really kicked that time, sweetheart," he spluttered. Annie let out a breath and rubbed her forehead as she sat down next to him.

"That's not funny, she could have –"

"I'm not gonna take a turn for the worst from five minutes of her interference." He caught his breath and her hand, rubbing his thumb over the backs of her fingers. "Your eyes spark when you get mad, you know that? It's beautiful." She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"You're never going to stop comparing me to a horse, are you?"

"Afraid not," he admitted, a crooked grin on his face. "That was the funniest thing I've seen since Hop Sing ran you out of the kitchen at Hoss' wedding." She gave him a sideways glare, but he only laughed harder. It wasn't long before she was laughing, and then Griff was laughing, too. She ended up sprawled across Candy's chest, yet again cursing hotel builders who decided thinner interior walls were perfectly acceptable. Later, his eyes promised, and her face heated. Griff cleared his throat and studiously turned away to dig through the saddlebags, presumably for a book. "I'd like some of that broth now," Candy said softly, his hand touching her face. "We need to be ready to move on as soon as the weather breaks and we can't do that if I'm still laying in bed."

"You need to –"

"We need to get to Los Robles and meet up with McPhail. It's gonna take long enough with it being winter."

"What good will it do if you kill yourself on the way?" Her voice shook and she forced it to steady. "I know we can't linger for a week or more, but at least rest a day or two."

"We can't, not with your brother on our back trail and Whitaker ahead. As soon as the weather clears, we're riding out for Shosone."

"You stubborn mule," she hissed, and he grinned up at her.

"Worked again."

"What worked?"

"You switched from worried to mad." She exhaled heavily and rubbed her forehead. How did he always do that? He touched her cheek, thumb brushing away a single tear, and she leaned into his touch. Blasted walls ….

"Wonder why the doc hasn't come up here after what she had to have told him?" Candy didn't look away from her as he answered Griff.

"Think back to how she looked less than ten minutes ago and ask that again."

They sat at the window at midnight on Christmas Eve, glasses of whiskey in hand, watching the snow flakes drift away into the darkness. Come morning, it would be clear enough to ride on. At least that crazy woman hadn't killed any of the other sick men. After she saw Candy up and about a day after her attempt at helping, she'd quietly changed her tune. Candy sighed and adjusted his arm around her waist. "It's not what either of us wanted this to be like, but it's better than what was fixing to happen, that's for sure. Maybe next Christmas we'll be sitting in front of that fireplace," he said softly.

"Maybe." She took a sip of whiskey, the amber liquid burning all the way down. "I hope so." It was so easy to picture, she felt like she could almost reach out and touch the vision dancing in front of her eyes. Her chest tightened, and she could feel the faint echoes of Joe's emotions soaring across the miles dividing them. It was so rare they weren't all home for Christmas that she could count on one hand the number of times it had happened and have fingers left over. How did Pa feel tonight with half of his children so far away? Her eyes burned and she threw back the last of her whiskey. Griff imitated her and sputtered, making them laugh a little.

"Me too, sweetheart," Candy said on a sigh, his lips nuzzling her neck. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Canaday."

"Do I need to run out and check on the horses?" Candy's head dropped to her shoulder, his body shaking with silent laughter.

"Kid, if these walls haven't thickened up in the last week, I don't think they're gonna start now."