A couple days came and went since Ethan and Lenny's escapades in Valentine. Camp was quiet and slow, even more so in the absence of several figures. Arthur returned the day before, upset with the task of freeing Micah, which then led to an unnecessary massacre in the town of Strawberry. Ethan felt an enormous hatred toward Micah, even more so that his father was a key player in his survival. And even though it was in self-defense, Arthur felt guilty at the senseless bloodshed.

To the luck of many in camp, Micah wasn't coming back until he found a 'peace offering' for Dutch, which for many, if not all, was a respite.

"Young Morgan." Pearson greeted.

"Mr. Pearson…morning."

"Another day, another nickel." Pearson expressed, pouring Ethan a cup of coffee.

Ethan snickered. "Yup, just like the last one."

Ethan turned around and saw Mary-Beth sitting at the table, located near the fire. She saw him too and offered a tired smile.

"You look tired. Didn't sleep well?" He questioned, sipping his coffee.

"I'd rather still be sleeping," She breathed a laugh. "But I doubt Miss Grimshaw would allow it."

"G-Good morning," Kieran greeted from behind.

Ethan tipped his hat. "O'Driscoll."

"Good Morning." Mary-Beth replied with a yawn.

"Leave it over there." Pearson ordered.

Ethan kept his eyes on Kieran, making sure he didn't do anything foolish. Not that he would, the boy was afraid of his own shadow. Pearson seemed to take him under his wing, ordering him to do the chores he used to do; he got a huge kick out of it. Ethan however, was hesitant to trust the kid.

"Is something wrong?" Mary-Beth asked.

"It's just strange to see him walking around like he's one of us–"

"Well he's really nice to everyone."

"I know, but he's still an O'Driscoll," Ethan reminded. "I mean, he saved Charles, but he could still–"

"I think you're putting a negative spin on something that's really great."

Ethan chuckled under his breath. "You think?"

"A little; I think he just needs a chance to prove himself." She said, taking his hand.

"I hope you're right," He worried. "Well….at least the chores will get done a lot faster."

"Yeah then we'll have nothing to do," Mary-Beth snickered. "I feel like time is just dragging along."

"Really?"

"Well maybe a certain cowboy doesn't seem to notice, because he's always running errands."

"No, I don't think so." A certain cowboy replied.

"I'd like to go to town one afternoon. But honestly, I'd settle for just taking the horses out for a ride."

"We can do that…one of these days," He shrugged. "I mean, it would be a nice date, I think."

Mary-Beth blushed, a sweet smile tugging at her lips. "I'd like that very much. You must know some places, huh?"

"Now that you mention it, I've heard there are some pretty waterfalls up north–"

Mary-Beth set her sights over Ethan's shoulder, and nodded her head at the older man, who always wore a plain gray suit. She didn't really like him and she knew Ethan didn't either.

"Herr Morgan, good morning."

Ethan turned and heaved a heavy sigh. "Herr Strauss, good morning to you."

"I am sorry to bother you. May I ask a favor?"

Ethan pursed his lips, as he tried to hide his discomfort. Mary-Beth was quick to catch on, and even quicker to give them some space.

"What do you need, Mr. Strauss?"

The man opened up his book of accounts and debts, something he did frequently, though usually it was his father he went to. He, on the other hand, avoided the man whenever he could, but Strauss was quick and struck before anyone caught wind of his plans.

"I need you to help me collect a debt. I should warn you though, the man who asked for the loan is rather stubborn."

"Why do you need me? Why not my father?" Ethan asked, clearly agitated. "I mean….Bill or Javier would've even been the better choice."

"That's not the point, Mr. Morgan," Strauss insisted. "I don't trust them for a task like this; they're likely to kill the debtor instead."

Ethan clicked his tongue. "Alright, tell me who it is then."

"Perfect, I'm glad you understand!" Strauss exclaimed. "His name is Thomas Downes. You will find him west of here at the Downes Ranch. Once you have collected the debt, please take it to the donation box."

Even if Ethan was reluctant to do so, he agreed, and that was all it took to get his morning off to a bad start. After checking and rechecking his ammo, then saddling Gray, the young cowboy was ready to leave, when his father approached him from behind.

"Morning," Arthur greeted. "Why the long face?"

"Strauss–" Ethan huffed. "He wants me to collect a debt."

"I take it he was direct and didn't ask Dutch first?"

"I hate doing this kind of work," Ethan griped. "It's vile–"

"I know," Arthur nodded. "But it's still a job that has to be done. I've done it myself, and it's not something I like very much either."

"Well why can't he go?"

He shrugged. "Here, take my plate to Pearson, I'll go collect the debt."

"Really?"

"Sure. Besides, it helps clear my head." Arthur insisted.

"Thanks, Pa."

"Don't mention it," Arthur replied, lighting a cigarette. "After what happened in Strawberry yesterday I could use the distraction."

Ethan watched his father as he climbed on his horse and settled in the saddle. He couldn't thank him enough, but then again, he'd find some way; maybe a trip to town, a nice meal, a hot bath for the both of them - they certainly needed one.

"I'll talk to Strauss about settling the debts for you - maybe you can buy me a beer in return?"

"Heh, I was already thinking about something like that."

"Well only one, us Morgan men don't fare too well when we drink."

Ethan snickered. "Yeah, yeah."

Arthur bid his son a farewell, then left camp in a cloud of dust. Ethan watched until he disappeared, then turned and came face to face with Miss Grimshaw.

"Mr. Morgan, don't you have some things to do?" Miss Grimshaw questioned.

"Uh, not at this moment, no. Is there anything I can do for you though?"

She shook her head. "Nothing at the moment, but Mr. Marston wants a word with you."

"Thank you, ma'am."

John was on the outskirts of camp, resting against a rather large tree. The view of plateaus and plains, with a meandering river must not have been as interesting as the book in his hands. And truth be told, he didn't even know John could read.

"Miss Grimshaw said you needed to talk?"

John looked up. "Hey kid."

"How you feeling?"

"Pretty good," John replied with a stretch. "I can move around just fine now."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ethan replied, sitting down beside John. "I bet the women'll love the scars."

"I highly doubt that," John rasped. "How're you and Mary-Beth gettin' along?"

"We're doing okay, just…taking it slow. I'd like to spend more time with her, but–"

"Work?"

"Yeah."

"Enjoy it now," John patted Ethan's shoulder. "Cause when you get married, you'll wish you spent more time working–"

"Thanks, I guess. How about you and Abby?"

"Fine."

He raised a brow. "Just fine?"

"What do you want me to say?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well I don't know what you want me to tell you."

"What about Jack?" Ethan asked.

"What about him?"

Ethan loved John dearly, even considered him his uncle, but sometimes he was dumber than a sack of potatoes; maybe the wolves had eaten part of his brain? Ethan took a cigarette from his shirt pocket and lit it with a match.

"Miss Grimshaw said you were looking for me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Uncle told me about a potential train robbery - said Mary-Beth told him a couple of weeks back during a trip to Valentine. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, I think I remember her saying something about it."

"Well, is there any progress?"

"I haven't even thought about it until now," He admitted. "Do you really think it's a good idea? Won't we arouse suspicion?"

John laughed. "It's been weeks since the last one. Besides, it wouldn't be anything elaborate like last time."

"So, what's your idea then?" Ethan asked.

John folded his arms. "Well, I had an idea; we put an oil wagon on the tracks and force it to stop."

"Huh…well that's actually not a terrible idea," Ethan teased. "Plus, I doubt any conductor would be crazy enough to drive through an oil wagon."

"Exactly."

"You want me to help you?"

"Luckily for you, I've been keeping an eye on the oil refinery in the Heartlands. From what I've gathered, a wagon stops in Valentine every couple of hours. My guess is the driver stops for food or a hot bath."

"Sounds good, alright, I'll grab the wagon–"

"Nah, I don't think so," John interjected. "I think it's better if I do it. After all, I think it's time to get my lazy ass up and moving, don't you think? And besides, I need to grab a few things for Abigail anyhow."

"Heh, whatever you say."

"Once I get the wagon and hide it, I'll come back and we'll head out, sound good?"

Ethan stood from the log and walked over to the hitch to ready Gray; he loaded the saddle with his preferred weapons, and some emergency food and water. He pulled a sugar cube from his saddle bag for Gray.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, We're probably about to do something crazy…again–" He snickered, petting Gray's neck and mane.

"Hey, I thought you already left–"

Ethan turned and saw Mary-Beth standing there - he smiled as he draped his arm over the saddle.

"My Pa took the debt for me," Ethan said with a sigh. "I'm really grateful to him since I hate doing that shit."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Mary-Beth sighed. "I've seen it many times….Strauss gets this look in his eye."

"Then he asks them for double what he lent them."

"So who did he ask you to go collect from?"

Ethan shrugged. "Some stubborn old fool named Thomas Downes."

"Do you think Arthur can convince him to pay without any trouble?"

"I sure hope so."

"So what did you and John talk about? I noticed he left camp."

"Remember a few weeks ago when we went to town with Uncle? You mentioned a train was comin' through Scarlett Meadows."

Mary-Beth nodded.

"I think we're planning on hittin' it. We're gonna place an oil wagon on the tracks and force it to stop."

"Really?" Mary-Beth asked. "Gee, I'm glad I was helpful for a change."

"You're always helpful."

"Flatterer," She teased. "Well, I should go do the rest of my chores. Talk to you later?"

"Of course."

Ethan blushed as Mary-Beth walked off. They were still keeping their relationship a secret and it was better off, because if too many people knew about it and got involved, it might ruin what they already had. And he saw firsthand what happened when others got involved.

As he finished saddling Gray, he saw Lenny approaching Hosea. The older man was sitting at a table reading the paper and enjoying a cup of coffee, or what Pearson said was coffee. No one really knew for sure. Ethan sensed that their meeting was important, especially with the concern on Lenny's face.

He wasn't sure what the problem could be…it couldn't be over Micah. To even consider that was laughable.

"Hey, uh, do you think...do you worry–" Lenny looked toward Dutch's tent, then lowered his head. "Do you worry that maybe we lost our way?"

"How do you mean?"

Lenny heaved a heavy sigh.

"Ignore that," Hosea said, eyeing Ethan coming up behind Lenny. "I won't pretend ignorance, I know what you mean."

Ethan took a seat beside Lenny, and it was at that moment, everyone knew what the impromptu meeting was for; Dutch.

"But I don't know...things seem bad. The world is changing and...I'm not making a lot of sense, am I?"

"Not much," Ethan said. "It's like we've fallen off the wagon, isn't it?"

Lenny nodded. "Yeah, you just explained how I feel."

Abigail brought the percolator over and refilled their cups of coffee, then slipped away before she heard something she didn't want to hear.

"It seems okay, then it goes to shit again," Lenny observed. "It just seems like there's no way out and–"

"Listen," Hosea interrupted. "We've gotten out of sticky situations before and we'll do it again. Don't take Dutch's pattern about redemption too seriously. We are doomed, just like every other creature on this rock. But unlike them, we'll go down with a fight."

Ethan squinted. "Is that what you really believe?"

Hosea looked at both young men, then down at his meager cup of piping hot coffee.

"I don't know what to believe, apart from wishing I wasn't going to find out sooner than I'd like."

Hosea sighed, then opened his paper again.

"What do you think, Ethan?" Hosea asked as he read his paper. "You seem quiet–"

"I try not to think about it too much, Hosea," Ethan said. "I guess the more I think about it...I don't know. I just feel like there are things that aren't right."

"You're right to have doubts, son, but don't let them get you killed out there," Hosea said.

"I'll try, old man," Ethan said with a smirk as he rose from the table.

Hosea let out a soft chuckle as he turned the page. As Lenny left, still with doubts in his head, Ethan made his way to his horse.