Author's Note: This is my first attempt at Fan Fiction. It's been swirling around in my head for years, and I've finally decided to try to get it down on paper. If anyone happens to actually read this story, your feedback would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

Chapter One:

Rock Creek, Nebraska Territory

1864

James Hickok shuffled into the sheriff's office and casually hung his gun belt on the hook by the door. Teaspoon, whose feet were propped on the desk, muttered from under the hat he had carelessly tipped over his eyes.

"Everything quiet out there, Jimmy?"

Any casual observer would assume that Rock Creek's sheriff was oblivious to the goings on in his town, but Jimmy knew better. Even as he aged, the former Texas Ranger never missed a beat, and others underestimated him at their own peril.

"Quiet, as always," Jimmy muttered, attempting to keep the twinge of annoyance out of his voice.

He'd taken the job as Teaspoon's deputy almost three years ago, after the Express had ended for good. He'd hung up his saddle and accepted the only position available that would keep him in Rock Creek. But with war still raging back east, no one seemed to have the time or the energy to have much need for peacekeeping in their little town.

Jimmy was restless. After the constant thrill of riding the trail with the Express, the job as deputy held little excitement and left him with entirely too much time to think. About people he'd lost, regrets he had, and things he'd left unsaid.

He didn't regret staying, exactly. And he had his reasons. But there was part of him that ached for a purpose. He missed the bone-wearying exhaustion that came with a ride completed and a job well done. And he missed the only family he had ever known, now scattered to the winds by war, and lost causes, and cruel fate.

He was about to try to find some small task to busy his hands, and hopefully his mind, when a familiar voice called out.

"Who's ready for some supper?" Rachel asked her two favorite men, the only ones who hadn't up and left her when the Express dissolved.

Cody had been the first to leave, of course. Called up to duty as a Union scout. He passed through Rock Creek from time to time on a new assignment, and while he was still Cody, there was a seriousness in his air that had never been there before the war started.

Buck had been drifting away from them slowly to spend more and more time with his Kiowa brothers. As the war raged and tensions grew, Jimmy suspected that Buck felt less and less a part of the white man's world. Finally, he just stopped coming home at all.

Lou and Kid had been the last to leave, but their break had been the most final. They had ridden out one morning for Virginia under a cloud of tension, and they hadn't been heard from since.

Jimmy knew that Rachel understood all of their reasons for leaving, but he also suspected that it hurt her to know that she hadn't been strong enough to hold them there.

"Well now, Rachel. I do believe that we can put this pressing work aside for the moment and take in some sustenance for the taxing evening ahead." Teaspoon sat up and stretched lazily, and Jimmy caught him wink at Rachel from under the brim of his hat.

As they sat down to a meal of Rachel's stew and biscuits in the sheriff's office, Jimmy found his mind wandering. He was thinking absently about the boisterous meals they used to have together in the bunkhouse, riders playfully teasing one another and Cody angling for seconds.

Teaspoon's voice broke suddenly into his meandering thoughts.

"Had a letter from Barnett earlier today. Says someone's fixin' up the old Shannon place."

"What's that, Teaspoon?" The older man suddenly had Jimmy's full attention.

"Seems someone's bought the old Express station in Sweetwater, appear to be turnin' it into a ranch of some sort. Barnett didn't know who. Seem to be keepin' to themselves."

Jimmy stiffened at the table, and his fork clattered noisily to his plate. Both heads turned to look at him with surprise and confusion.

"What is it, Jimmy?" Rachel asked, worry evident in her voice.

"It's them. It's Kid and Lou. I know it is. It's got to be. Teaspoon, I'm goin'." Jimmy eagerly pushed back his chair to stand.

"Now, hold on just a minute there, Jimmy. You don't know it's Kid and Lou. Barnett didn't give any details. It could be almost anybody."

"Who else would Emma sell to? It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Son, I know you want it to be them, and Lord knows I do too. But wishful thinkin' don't usually bring nothing but disappointment. You need to slow down a minute and think this thing through."

"I have to go, Teaspoon."

"I know things between the three of you didn't end like you wanted, and I know that's been weighin' heavy on you all these years. But are you sure you're ready to face what's coming if it is them? Not every reunion's a happy one."

"I have to try. I can't just go on without findin' out for sure."

"Then at least get a good night sleep first instead of ridin' out of here like the very devil's chasin' ya."

The next morning, Jimmy had his saddle bag packed and Sundance saddled just as the sun was cresting the horizon. He had a long ride ahead, but there was a lightness and anticipation in his chest that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Teaspoon met him at the barn door and handed him a small package wrapped in a tea towel.

"Rachel wanted you to have a proper breakfast." Teaspoon paused and glanced up at Jimmy in the saddle. It was a ritual they had repeated many a time in the Express days, but Teaspoon suddenly looked older than his years, and worry rested heavily in the lines on his face.

"Are you sure you know what you're ridin' into?"

"No, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try."

"I know. I just hope to God this turns out for the best."

Jimmy turned his palomino away from the rising sun and kicked his heels into her flank. As the horse surged forward, Jimmy heard Teaspoon call out over his shoulder.

"Ride safe, son."