A/N: I am so sorry this update has taken so long. Just as classes began to wind down, the store I work for changed hands, so I've been slammed with all the new changes and policies plus working retail in Christmas shopping season. (I don't recommend it)

Anyway, tonight on Bonanza, we have our trio finally moving on from Los Robles a man stronger since Wade is joining them on their travels. Will it make a difference? Can they accept the devastating loss from the last chapter? Will they evade the Lieutenant long enough to figure out why he's involved in the first place?

I own nothing but my OC and original content.

Los Robles, California, late March, 1871

"Do not lose faith, my child, our Father is not finished with you yet." The padre's voice shook slightly and she fought the urge to yank her hand away.

How – by making sure Candy wasn't a father?

There couldn't possibly be a reason for any of this.

She untangled her fingers and turned her face away with a brief nod of recognition. His face fell and it stung; she didn't want to hurt the padre. He wasn't the one who'd destroyed everything. "Let's go." Her voice sounded brittle, even to her own ears, but she was past caring.

There were days she wondered if a part of her hadn't died with their child.

She looked over at Candy and found his face as blank as it had been that night they met. Her stomach knotted. To anyone else he might seem fine, but she knew better. He was as torn up as she was and maybe they'd never be whole again, no matter what happened. How could they? Her throat tightened. A part of their hearts would always linger in this town …

"You heard the lady, let's get a move on." McPhail wheeled his gelding and tipped his hat to Maria. "That lieutenant is getting too close for comfort." To his right, Griff turned his own horse, his face set, making him look much older than seventeen.

"Your face is gonna freeze like that, little sister, then how are you gonna convince them fellas you're sweeter than sugar?" She could hear Hoss now and it made her want to cry. She knew her middle brother couldn't fix things with a hug, but God how she wished it was possible.

If it weren't for that damned double, they'd be safe at the Ponderosa and their child would have lived, not lie buried behind a church hundreds of miles from home. Tears stung her eyes and she blinked furiously.

"You alright, S-Sam?" Griff seemed to choke on her name.

"No," she said shortly, and gathered her reins, backing the pinto from the hitch rail. Candy fell in on her left, McPhail shifted to his left, and Griff eased up on her right.

"I will pray for you all," Padre Javier said softly, his eyes misty. Annie swallowed hard and turned her head sharply to the south. They had to leave before the patrol came back.

Maria waved as they rode out of town four wide, but Annie didn't look back. She couldn't. Not unless she wanted to spend the rest of her life sitting under that tree, crying and wondering what their child would have become.

Was it partly her fault? Her heart squeezed as she remembered that desperate leap into the unknown. If she'd known … but what choice had they really had? If they hadn't jumped, the patrol would have caught up and they'd have all died. She was a good enough horsewoman, surely she could have managed to stay in the saddle somehow, never mind the animal lost its footing …

But her mother had been an excellent horsewoman and she'd still fallen to her death …

Shouldn't she have known, somehow? All the women in Virginia City always seemed to know before it was announced that someone was in the family way … what had she missed? Nothing had really been normal since she busted Candy out of jail so if that was the only real indicator … no. She should have known. Somehow. Some gut instinct or feeling or … something.

A hand curled around hers and she looked around with a start. The mountains were fading in the distance and they were somewhere on the trail to Sacramento.

How long had she been lost in her head?

Candy squeezed her hand and swallowed hard, his eyes misty. We can't go back, they said as clear as day. Don't think about it. It was like that everywhere: tiny graves the only reminder of children never spoken of. Kelly's parents had lost a little boy the year before her friend was born; if it weren't for the little headstone in the churchyard no one in town would even know he'd ever existed.

She could feel the weight of eyes and she turned, finding McPhail watching them silently, the smallest flicker of pain in his eyes making her wonder if there was a lost child in their past as well.

"So what's our plan," he asked, proving that if there was, he had no intentions of speaking of it. "I'm thinking that four of us could be a mite too many to pass off as siblings. Two is believable all day long and you got away with three cause he's obviously a kid or close to it, but most people look at me and see one of two things."

"You could have mentioned that before you invited yourself along," Griff muttered.

"We're bounty hunters then," Candy said in a monotone. "After the biggest target in Nevada."

"Hunting yourselves?" The deputy choked on a half laugh. "You sure got more brass than any wanted man I've tracked. Keep growing that beard, maybe cut her hair short, and you might pull it off. If she could lower her voice good enough and maybe get a fake mustache we might even be able to pass her off as a young kid." He shook his head. "It's so brazen it might work at that. How good is your southern drawl, Andy?"

"By the time we get to civilization, it'll be good enough to save our lives," he replied. McPhail's face darkened.

"I hope you realize just how true that is."

"We're still alive, Wade." Candy's eyes hardened. "And we're gonna go home if we have to ride through Hell."

"You mean ride through again," Griff corrected. "Diving over that cliff counts."

"Damn right," Annie said coldly. They'd lost too much to run away and hide. Legare was going to swing from the gallows in payment for everything he'd done, and maybe then she wouldn't feel half numb inside. McPhail threw her a look that said it wouldn't help, but she ignored it. She knew perfectly well that watching the bastard hang wouldn't bring their child back but she didn't care.

She wanted to watch him hang.

The deputy swallowed hard – maybe the words he wanted to say back – and nodded once. "Then we best get to it, fellas. Hudson said he'd be in Sacramento till the end of the week."

Two days later, outside Sacramento

"You sure about this?" Candy's hands shook as he ran his fingers through her unbound hair.

"It'll grow back."

"Take a while."

"It won't matter if we get caught." She forced her voice to steady. "We should have done it sooner."

"I hate taking something else away," he whispered, voice rough. Annie reached up and plucked at a stray lock.

"Better my hair than our heads," she replied. Candy drew in a shaky breath and gathered her hair in his hands. Little strands quivered beside her face and she swallowed hard. He leaned forward, his heart thumping wildly against her back.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." Another inhale and he drew his knife. A few swift tugs later and her head felt lighter than it had since she was a child. Annie reached up and touched the feathered ends just brushing her jaw. It was so strange …

"You sure look different, Sam." Griff whistled softly. McPhail gave a sharp nod.

"It'll do. Bury that and let's get going before those clouds up there unload on our heads."

"I just hope Hudson doesn't shoot first and ask his questions later." She stood and brushed hairs off her jacket, watching the strands tumble to the dirt.

"He won't shoot," Candy said confidently as he finished covering the discarded hair with dirt. "He can't get answers if we're dead."

"How comforting," she muttered and adjusted her hat. Griff smothered a snort. They mounted up and turned their horses towards town.

The ride passed quickly, her heart beating faster as they drew closer to Sacramento. Would Hudson listen? They'd straight up lied back at the Yellow Girl. She could only pray he'd learned enough about getting both sides of the story otherwise this could be a very bad idea.

The dark smudge on the horizon solidified, morphing into hundreds of buildings of every shape and color. Men and horses crowded the road into the city, competing for space with carriages filled with elegantly dressed ladies and farm wagons loaded with supplies. They worked their way through the crush of people, the task proving not as difficult as Annie might have thought. It had been a while since she'd been through Sacramento on Ponderosa business but it didn't seem to have changed much, if at all. A handful of new buildings maybe. The crowd thinned out once they got into the city proper and it wouldn't have been difficult to find the National House even if she hadn't already known where it was. The hotel loomed over the nearby buildings like it knew it was more important somehow. Her stomach flipped. The hard part would be getting up to Hudson's room without an observant bellman or desk clerk recognizing her or Candy. It had been a while, but this hotel tended to keep its help, and they were disgustingly good at their jobs. "Saddlebags," she hissed in reminder, and they left their horses at the hitch rail out front and went inside, McPhail taking the lead by unspoken agreement, accompanied by rolling thunder.

"Afternoon," he said to the clerk behind the massive, polished desk. "Fella named Hudson here? He's expecting us." The clerk's eyebrows rose a notch as he took in their appearance.

"May I ask your business?"

"We're old Army buddies in town to catch up."

"Indeed." His nose twitched. "We do have an excellent sheriff, along with his deputies."

"Too bad we won't be meeting him. What room did you say Hudson was in?"

"I haven't said, sir." The man sniffed again. "If –"

"What took you fellas so long?" Annie glanced up at the stairs and found Colonel Hudson on his way down, Teddy on his heels. "No need to worry about them," he said smoothly to the clerk. "It's been a long time." He met them at the desk, shaking hands all around, a raised eyebrow the clerk couldn't see the only sign he was surprised to see McPhail. Or was it aimed at her? Probably both, she decided on the way upstairs. Hudson ushered them into a comfortable room that would have satisfied her most demanding brother. "Sit down," he said on his way to the bottle of whiskey on the fireplace mantel. He poured shots into glasses and passed them around. "You can start explaining any time now," he added with a pointed look in her direction. Thunder rolled and rain hammered at the windows.

"I'm a deputy U.S. Marshal," McPhail began. "I've known these two for years." He took a drink of whiskey. "Candy didn't do it."

Hudson filled his own glass and downed half of it in one swallow. "Someone showed me the value of getting both sides of the story before making judgments. So convince me."

"But Uncle Jim, you said –"

"I said for you to let me do the talking, Teddy." He finished his whiskey and refilled the glass. "How about it, Ms. Cartwright?" Annie raised her chin.

"It's Mrs. Canaday."

"Congratulations." He leaned back against the mantel. "You and Legare distant kin?" Candy shook his head.

"Not that I know of."

"Good." He swirled the amber liquid in his glass. "I don't know why he pulled your friend into this, or you for that matter. Could be he's just a mean son of a bitch."

"He likes to play games," Annie said. "Told me that himself." She downed half her whiskey, the alcohol fueling the fire burning in her chest. "I won't stop until he's dead, he's taken too much from us to let him go on his merry way," she spit with a glance at the driving rain.

"Also good to hear." Griff looked startled and Hudson scoffed. "You really thought I was going to side with the law? No, you'd all best have no illusions about how this is going to end, and make your peace with that now. If you can't handle blood on your hands, you need to ride out and don't look back."

"You're not telling us anything we don't already know."

"I was pointing out to your young friend here that life is harsh, and justice can be cruel."

"Tell it to someone who didn't have an abusive bastard for a step father." Griff threw back his whiskey in one gulp and rested the glass on the arm of the settee. "Course, thanks to him I did get to see some mighty nice country so I guess I can't blame him too bad, now. I always did want to travel."

"This isn't a game."

"Never said it was," Griff retorted. "Times I wish it was a dime novel, then I'd know for sure we were gonna win."

"Never any guarantees about that."

"No, there's not." McPhail leaned forward. "So how about you tell us what else you know about Legare so we can get back on the trail."

"In good time." Hudson studied them. "I'm guessing you've changed plans. Mind telling me why?"

"He's got the army involved somehow," Candy said shortly. "I don't know if it's all over or just the men at one fort. We ran into a cavalry patrol last month and …" he swallowed hard, his throat working. "There's a lieutenant out there that knows who we are." His hand found hers and held on tight.

"You catch a name?"

"No."

"I'll reach out to some friends, see what I can find." He studied his glass. "In the meantime, you have any idea of where this fella's headed?"

"No. Haven't had a sign of him in weeks."

"If he is playing games, that won't last long." He set the glass on the mantel and worked his hands. "Could take a while to run him to ground."

"It's already been a year."

"And it could be ten more before we finally catch him," Hudson said sharply. "Get used to that. He may not act like it, but he knows what's at stake here, make no mistake about it."

"If he was that determined to keep his blasted life he'd have hidden somewhere, not left us a damn trail a mile wide," Annie protested.

"He can still hide."

"He won't."

"Sure about that?"

"Yes," she spit through her teeth.

"How did you get him out?" Annie leaned back against the settee, contemplating her whiskey.

"I ran home, gathered supplies, forced my brother into the pantry at gunpoint, rode out with extra horses and left them in the woods three miles outside Reno. Rode into town and asked the sheriff to let me see Candy. I locked him in the cell and we took off riding double on my horse. When we reached where I'd hidden the other horses I took the bridle off my horse and strapped a bag of grain to his saddle for weight, then turned him loose. We rode off on the other horses and beelined for Los Robles where Padre Javier married us."

"How long it take you to come up with all that?"

"Not long."

"There were holes in it."

"I know."

"This fella finds a hole, he'll jump through it."

"We know," Candy hissed. "There a point to your questions?"

"Maybe." Hudson eyed them one by one. "I'm not gonna tell you it'll be easy, cause it won't. It's gonna be damn hard to pin him down, and harder still to prove it was him and not you in Carson City. Fact is, I don't know if we can. Prove it, that is."

"That's my job," McPhail said. "I vouch for this one, they bring in all the witnesses from both towns, and by the time we're through, Legare swings from a rope." The deputy finished his whiskey. "Course, I don't think any of us will be tore up if he's brought in draped over a saddle instead. He don't have to talk, that kid sheriff just has to see his face."

"Better if he can talk," Hudson disagreed. "That southern drawl might trigger someone's memory and they'll realize who's who."

"We've lost enough, Hudson," Candy said, his eyes and voice diamond hard. "Our bounties might be live, but if I can kill this guy, I will, and they can sort it out afterwards. I'm not playing games."

"Noted." Hudson propped his boot on the wall behind him. "Legare sent one letter home after he left, told his folks to mail anything to general delivery in San Francisco. They haven't heard from him in months."

"Did he follow old friends west?" Annie asked with a hiss.

"Yes, ma'am." Hudson almost smiled. "There were three of them: grew up together, served together, but only two went west early in '66. Legare stayed behind cause his family pushed him to marry and hang onto the plantation."

"He resented them," Annie guessed, and Hudson shrugged. She remembered something he'd said and changed her mind. "Or did he resent her?"

"Don't know. Mrs. Legare was out at the family seat and wasn't present for the barbecue. I got all this from a spiteful war widow who was only too happy to air her more fortunate neighbors' disgrace. It's apparently an open secret in Charleston that he wanted a different wife and was denied. The girl went west with her brother and their best friend and no one in Charleston has heard from them since."

"Except Legare," Annie suggested. "Something had to draw him west, what, almost five years later?" Her mind spun; there had to be a connection. "… none of them delicate little flowers I was raised with …"

"That would be my guess, ma'am."

"When was Whitaker killed?" Griff asked out of the blue, his face scrunched up in thought.

"'69," McPhail said. "Middle of August. But the outlaw died right there, he couldn't have written a letter from the grave."

"He couldn't," Annie said slowly as the pieces clicked into place. "But the sister could have. Candy, it's just like Barbara. Remember Bozeman? He said something about none of the women he was raised with would risk anything for a man they claimed to love. If she wouldn't fight for whatever they may have shared but she's asking for help now … and add in his friend is dead …"

"You could be right." There was a spark in Candy's eyes she hadn't seen in a long time and her heart soared.

"But what has Candy got to do with that? He didn't kill Legare's friend, if that's who it was. McPhail did," Griff pointed out. "And where's the other one?"

"I'm beginning to wonder if we ain't already met him," McPhail said slowly. "How else would an ex-Confederate get a bunch of soldiers out of California –"

"The lieutenant," they all said together. "But is she his sister, or the outlaw's?" Annie finished. "And why did he go up to Montana?"

"Uh, I hate to interrupt, but do you want me to go settle the horses at the livery? It's really putting it down out there." Griff nodded at the window and the street outside barely visible through the suddenly driving rain.

"Yeah, make it fast, and get back here. We'll stay until it lets up a bit. Couldn't see five feet in front of us anyway," Candy replied. "Wouldn't want to ride right into the Sacramento River." Griff hurried from the room and they all traded looks.

"It makes a lot of sense."

"Especially if he was trying to track me. After we ran into each other down the southwest, I was up to Billings, then Bozeman." McPhail worked the brim of his hat in his hands. "I think he was up there looking for the marshal he knows killed his friend."

"Then why involve them?" Teddy must not have been able to keep quiet any longer. His hands flew through the air in confusion. "They didn't have nothing to do with that!"

"Teddy." Hudson sighed. "Not all men are governed by logic."

"It could also be a case of wrong place, wrong time," McPhail added. "For whatever reason he picked Carson City and didn't even know until later he had a double."

"So where do we corner him?" Annie pulled her knees up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs. "He had his mail sent to San Francisco for a reason, but there's no way we could catch him there, it's too big, there's too many people who could get in the way."

"Dorcas," Candy said suddenly. "He's got a ranch outside the city, maybe he's influential enough he might be able to find out who this mystery woman is."

"Not a bad idea," Hudson agreed. "If you're sure he can be trusted."

"His daughter-in-law and granddaughter are Cartwrights." Annie snorted softly. "Sam has him wrapped around her little finger."

"Then I suggest we pack our bags, Teddy, and ride along to San Francisco." Hudson pushed off the mantel and rubbed his hands together. "I enjoy a challenge."

Footsteps pounded in the hall, then rapid knocking at the door. McPhail rushed to open it and a soaking wet man tumbled into the room. "The river," he gasped. "The river's over its banks!" Then he was gone before anyone could say a word, his shouts echoing down the hallway as he hurried up to the next floor. Annie's heart slammed against her ribs.

"Griff …"

"We'll find him." Candy was on his feet in a split second. "Come on!" They tore down the stairs and splashed across the lobby, muddy water swirling around their ankles, and still rising. She could feel the power in the water as it tugged at her legs. Much higher and it wouldn't be long before it could carry a man away.

"Get to high ground," Hudson bellowed when they reached the street. "That way," he pointed farther into the city and away from the swollen river that she could now hear roaring, fed by the downpour and winter runoff from the mountains. "If that kid has half the sense I think he's got, that's where you'll find him." He was already pushing Teddy towards safety.

Annie looked down the street towards the livery, feeling the water rising higher up her legs. "He won't know where to go," she insisted. "He's never been to Sacramento before."

"Someone will guide him, now come on!"

"Will they?" she retorted with a sharp look at the other people running for their lives on the street. No one stopped. Another surge of muddy, debris-filled water rushed up the street, almost knocking her over.

"We can't get down there!" McPhail had to shout to be heard over the raging river. "You'll be carried all the way to the San Francisco Bay if you get caught in that!" He grabbed her arm and yanked.

"But Griff –"

"There's nothing you can do right now! We'll find him when the storm lets up."

"Before long it'll be too dark to see," Candy insisted. "I don't like it either, but we haven't got much of a choice right now." She knew he was right: the water was already up to their knees with no signs of stopping, but that didn't make it any easier. She put her hand in Candy's and they splashed up the street after McPhail and Hudson.

The next morning

"My God," she whispered, one hand rising to her mouth. Sacramento was … was … even spending her entire life practically on the shores of Lake Tahoe hadn't prepared her for this devastation. Tree limbs, pieces of buildings, and bodies littered the streets. Bile rose in her throat and she swallowed hard. A shattered wagon rested on its side near a hardware store.

"The livery's over there," McPhail said softly. "I'll go in and –"

"We all go in," she said sharply. Griff hadn't turned up yet and she was afraid they'd left him trapped here. The deputy looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't. He simply nodded once and pushed open the doors, tracking slowly through water-logged bedding and hay. No animals greeted them and it soon became clear that all the horses had been turned loose from their stalls before the flood reached the stable.

"If he's not here, where is he?" He hadn't been at any of the temporary camps set up in the city and no one recognized him by description.

"We'll search the whole city if we have to. Can't go anywhere until we find the horses or get new ones anyway."

"What am I bid for four horses with tack?" They all spun and found Griff slouched against the wall near the door. His lips twitched in a smirk, but the amusement didn't reach his eyes and it soon faded entirely. His throat worked and Annie could see in his eyes all the horrors he'd seen last night but would never admit to. "I-it sure wasn't easy keeping 'em together, no sir." He scraped a hand down his face. "I –" Annie rushed him, Candy on her heels, and they ended up in the floor, hugging and crying. "Candy, th-there was a-a k-kid," he choked out. "I tried to get her on the horse but the water –"

"I know." Her husband sighed heavily. "It's not your fault."

"And I didn't know which horse was Hudson's …"

"He'll turn up," the man said dismissively. "That animal always knows where home is, I couldn't lose him if I tried."

"Candy, the kids – I saw …"

"So did we. You tried."

"Things happen," McPhail said hoarsely. "And not everyone survives, that's just how life is." He pushed off the stall wall he'd been leaning against and walked over. "And if someone recognizes either of these two, we'll have more trouble than we can handle, and you might join that list."

"But we need to stay and help!"

"I know you all want to help, but you can't," Hudson said shortly. "Your marshal friend is right, you need to get out of here. Things like this, they attract reporters along with the slime of humanity wanting to profit off others misfortune. Teddy and I will stay to help and once our horses return, we'll join you in San Francisco."

"But –"

"You can't help anyone if you're running from bounty hunters stirred up because someone said they saw a wanted killer."

"No, we're staying." Annie's voice was like steel.

"You ever seen a drowned body, ma'am? Up close, I mean. Let me tell you, it ain't a pretty sight. All you could do is remove the dead, and that's something you don't want to have in your head for the rest of your life."

"We've seen men die before, Hudson."

"Not stacked like cord wood."

"Haven't I?" Candy asked, his arms still wrapped around her and Griff.

"And you want your wife to see that?" Candy deflated and his throat worked as he looked at her. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you want to help even knowing what it could cost you, but not this time. What'll you do if that lieutenant comes riding in?"

"I don't like it but he's right," Candy said softly. "If our faces end up in a newspaper story every bounty hunter west of the Mississippi will chasing us down and if Legare gets wind of it he's liable to run to ground and we'll lose even more time."

McPhail snatched the surviving saddlebags off her shoulder and marched outside to secure them behind the saddles. Annie scrambled to her feet and stormed after him. He turned on her, voice a low hiss. "If you want the chance for another child, you'll listen. You can't raise a baby on the outlaw trail, you know that. Nothing will bring back the one you lost, but the next one doesn't have to die as well."

"Don't … bring … that up," she choked, eyes burning.

"Then get on your horse and ride for San Francisco." He ducked around the horse's rump and finished tying the last saddlebag. "Or pick a town somewhere back east and raise a family where no one knows you." Candy and Griff arrived as he finished and he nodded sharply. "I'll see you soon."

"We'll be watching," Candy said as he mounted up. Griff swung into the saddle slower. Annie drew in a shaky breath and scrambled up, fighting to keep from looking at the bodies sprawled lifeless in the street. She knew what they said made sense, but it wasn't any easier to swallow. Cartwrights always helped when and where they could and it felt wrong to be riding out while people were suffering.

One more reason to hate Legare.

She turned her horse sharply and followed Candy out of Sacramento, blinking back tears.