September 2, 1900

Tombstone. 

This morning I walked around looking to see if anyone needed assistance with anything. I found Drij in front of the Oriental Saloon and we talked about how he was still hoping to help out with law. I told him I had no open cases and that it was a fresh start, and we talked about who was active law lately. 

I headed down the street and went in to Annie’s, seeing a group dancing there. I met a girl named Mara who said she had met Natalie in the clinic that morning and said she was going to make a great doctor. I walked outside and heard Mara talking as she followed out behind me. “I have things to look for too.” 

“What are you looking for, Mara?” I asked. 

“Oh.. someone that I use to know...” 

“Who would that be? Maybe I can help,” I said and noticed the horse come over to Andra who was petting her. 

“Though she was just a little girl at the time .. well that is where the confusion comes in Miss Trin... I keep hearing of a Payton.. but the Payton I am looking for was with her mother when she came.. the one I hear of .. is an orphan...” 

“I know a Payton. She lives over at the orphanage now but I hear that there is an adoption possibility in process.” 

“I was hoping to be her mother,” Andra said. 

“How did you know her?” I asked. 

“I hear that too...” Mara smiled sweetly. “Well. I knew her growing up .. she has an older brother . .. her father was a veterinarian .. before things got bad and he left.” 

“Really... What were her brother and father’s names?” 

“Last heard.. her mother and her were headed this way..” she looked at me with a smile. “Well her brother’s name was Mathew.. her father was Lucas.. I knew him well..” 

“They have a last name?” 

“Morgan.” 

“She said someone was going to look for her and was very worried about it,” Andra commented. 

“How exactly did things go bad? What made Lucas leave?” I looked between them with interest.

“Well.. seems the family wasn’t your loving... together family.. Lucas was her father .. and mine,” Mara replied. 

“So you are her older sister?” I asked. 

“You... could say that... more of a... half sister, really.” 

“Well then I wonder if she would be glad to see you again. As I said you can either find her at the orphanage in Tombstone here or over in Black Diamond where her potential father is a veterinarian.” 

“Well... thank you for the information. Will make my search easier.” 

“Or in Benson,” Andra added. “I’ll tell her when I see her.” 

“Thank you,” Mara tilted her head. 

“Okay,” Andra said as she pet the horse. 

“Well.. she seems to have made a few friends here .. she was always a sweet one ... I sorta feel bad for her situation.” 

“She has done well for herself... for the most part,” I said, not mentioning the detour in law Payton had taken with robbing from the bank. 

“Well... her father hoped she would... that’s why he left his things with her,” she nodded. 

“If you see her.. just tell her a friend is looking for her,” Mara said. 

“I am not going to lie to her.” 

“Well... I wouldn’t call it a lie...” Mara said to me while she then thanked Andra for the ride around the different towns earlier. 

“No. I was more a bad seed than family.” 

I sighed at that and said, “Then you’re going to have to be on your own. I’m not going to help reunite Payton with someone from her past if they’re of the criminal nature.”

“I’d be worried as well,” Andra nodded. 

“Oh you misunderstand me... I am no outlaw...” Mara giggled. “I can shoot straight an all but .. I meant that I didn’t belong.. you see.. her an me.. we have the same father .. different mothers.. Papa liked the ladies.. a bit much...” 

“You said you were the bad seed of the family. I know what that means,” I said. 

“Well I can understand about being called a bad seed .. in our family we call them black sheep,” Andra said. 

“Well... I was hoping to find her and her mother.. do you know what became of her?” Mara nodded to us. “Well I have been called much worse before.” 

“I told you where to find Payton and I think that’s more than you deserve to know by the sounds of it. If you ever cause problems for that girl, Mara, I will hear of it and make things right. She’s dealt with enough bad seeds lately,” I said firmly. 

“Well.. thank you for your time detective.. and it may not mean much now.. but I do with the best for your daughter and she is a very smart girl.” 

“And I wish the best for your sister,” I nodded. “Take care, ladies.” 

Black Diamond. 

I walked to Diamond and checked my mailbox, finding a note from Ty. I cringed, seeing the date was from over a week ago and went over to the sheriff’s office. I talked Deputy John Grey who was back in the office after being away for a while and I offered him my assistance on any cases that he had open. 

*** 

Tombstone. 

I walked down the street this afternoon and then heard Jimmy crying and screaming. I looked around at Bree, Jess, and the little boy with them. “Where is he??” I looked around. 

“Trin, need to find Nat and Jimmy,” Bree said. 

“Looks like Jimmy is missing too,” Jess said then. 

“Too?? Who else is missing?” I blinked at her. 

“Yes, I am looking for Natalie,” Jess said. 

I saw Jimmy between the bank and the coral and ran to him, leaning down as he was crying and holding his arm in pain. “Hey buddy, what happened?” 

“I try see where Natalie went, and fell off roof of stable,” he cried. 

“Natalie went somewhere?” I asked, looking around. 

“I no find Nat,” Bree said. 

“I heard her scream and then nothing,” Jess said. 

I blinked at that and looked around nervously, worried. 

“She run, Miss Trin. She scared,” Jimmy told me. 

“Scared about what?” I asked as Jess bent down to look at Jimmy’s arm. 

Jess said that he might have broken it and that she needed to take him to the clinic. 

“Jimmy.... what did Natalie say before she ran off?” I asked him. 

“Miss Trin, she see some letter sayin how her ma and pa die,” Jimmy told me. 

“Oh? Come on, let’s go to the clinic,” I said and followed them to the clinic. 

I tried to hold it together while Jess worked on Jimmy’s arm and put a cast on it. 

“Miss Trin...she say sometin bout her mom bein a Dove..and then Pinkertons killin her pa and that make her bad person,” Jimmy said. 

“Pinkertons killed her pa??” I sighed, knowing that must have been a shock for her. 

“Miss Trin..she seemed scared to death...she fraid she gona be bad like her ma and pa..she say she not know who to trust no more,” Jimmy said as Jess continued to work on him. 

“She tooks off on her horse and went back towards the tracks from the stables.” 

“Oh no, she went to Ghenna...” Jess shook her head. 

“I hope not... She knows not to go there.” 

I continued to hold Jimmy still as Jess worked on his arm. When she was finished, we decided to head out and look for Natalie since we wanted to find her before dark. 

I spent the afternoon looking for Natalie but found her nowhere. By dinner time I was getting desperate and ran into the clinic, hoping beyond hope that she had returned there. I saw Alex sitting near the window and looked around. “Natalie are you.... Alex!”

“Did Nat find you?” Alex asked me. 

“Alex... have you seen... where...?” I said, out of breath. 

“Calm down. She was just here,” Alex nodded. 

“Thank God...” I exhaled and sat on the couch, relief pouring over me. 

“Jimmy found her.” 

“Where?” 

“Out by the Apache village where you go to think.” 

I blinked and looked at him. “Alex! She could’ve... What if...”

“You can’t think of what ifs. Everything is okay. I told her never to go out there without telling anyone where she was going. She said found some of the peace she needed there.” 

“You’re right. I just... the thought of...” I sighed. “She’s been reading those journals...” 

“She found out about her real mother’s profession.”

“She did?” I blinked at him, not remembering what Jimmy had told me in the clinic since I’d been so worried about Natalie. “I mean we looked at the paper with her brith certificate on it but we didn’t go through the whole stack ‘cause it was getting late... I didn’t even think to go through the rest today.” 

“Yes, she found a paper along with the papers that told her real age. She got upset when she read that and ran off.” 

“Her age was shock enough... What else could she possibly have found out? Jimmy said she was afraid of becoming like her parents..” 

“Yes. She was very worried about that. Her mother was a prostitute.” 

“A.. what?” 

“I told her not to worry about that. She’s on her way to becoming a doctor. Trin, you should be really proud of her. She’s doing a great job.” 

“What about her father...?” I asked. 

He took a deep breath and said, “He was killed by Pinkertons when he refused to help find his wife’s killer. He didn’t want them to know what she did. That’s a lot for a kid to handle.” 

“Good gosh... No wonder she needed to go and think... You said she found peace...? At the village?” 

“Yeah she said she was able to think out there,” he nodded. 

“Alex.... the journals... She’s gonna read about how they treated me all those years ago.. Every tribe I tried to help... I don’t want that to happen to her.” 

“I know that’s a tough part of your history. Just be honest with her.” 

“Like my investigation of the Pinkertons... Some were bad in our past, I can’t deny that. But I try to be different.”

“Exactly. Tell her about that too. Explain that some of them are bad and some like you are good.” 

“And what do I do about her parents? I don’t even know how I would handle that news.” 

“Answer her questions the best you can,” he shrugged. “Just let her know you’re there for her and that she isn’t bad because her parents had problems.” 

“You’re right... thank you... Just the realization she left without telling me... I mean I let her wander around wherever before dark because I trust her but... I never thought she’d go to the village without telling someone.” 

“I don’t think she stopped to think about how dangerous it was. Hopefully she’ll think twice next time.” 

“Alex... thank you for being here for me... but also for her. I know she looks up to you.” 

“You’re welcome. I’m always here for you. Both of you,” he said and I started to mutter something, then looked away. “You okay, Trin?”

“I just... I miss your wife.” 

“Yeah she doesn’t get into town much anymore. And when she’s here in Tombstone, she gets bombarded with work.”

“Work that she won’t ask me for help with...” 

“I’m sure if there’s something she needed help with, you’d be the first she’d ask,” he smiled then. “Seriously Trin, I’m really impressed with Nat. She’s doing such a good job in here.”

I looked over then and saw the bandage on his hand. “What happened to your hand?”

“Oh, I broke a glass bottle. Nat took care of it for me. She was really brave about the blood. Looked more interested than anything.”

“Oh yeah? Wasn’t squirmy or anything?” 

“Not a bit! Very professional.” 

“I’m so glad to hear that.” 

We said goodnight then and I went home to find Natalie. She was sitting on her bed looking worried and scared, and I tried to assure her I wasn’t mad, but I wanted to make sure she was okay. She told me about the report in her perspective and we talked about how there had been bad Pinkertons in the past and I had tried to look into their history before becoming an agent, and she seemed to understand that I tried to be different than them. That didn’t mean, though, that I had to let people walk all over me either. She asked about what people did in Annie’s and if it was the same as her mother’s job. I told her she might want to talk to Paisley about what she does for work. I knew Paisley could explain it better than I could, and that Natalie liked the woman too. 

After putting Natalie to bed, I headed for Kate’s to get some whiskey. I sat in front of the saloon and talked with Jess a bit before she wandered off. I met a man named Charlie Blue who said he had some issues to solve out of town before coming back. I met a woman named Tiffany McBride, a man named Jacob McCain, and a little girl named Onica McBride. Thomas came over and I stood to go wrap an arm around his waist while the group of us talked. I told Thomas about what happened with Jimmy and Natalie and he grew worried about them but was relieved to hear they were okay. Joan came over too and was also worried, but we insisted to her that they were fine. She said she wanted to hire me for a case but I asked if we could talk tomorrow as I was too tired to work any more tonight. She wandered off to talk to Pet and I just shrugged, grateful to not have to worry about it now. 

I looked into the street and then smiled seeing an old friend I hadn’t seen in a long time, Katie, who had once been married to David Norwood. “Katie! It’s good to see you again!” 

“Hello Trin,” she greeted me and then looked over at the man walking over. She walked over to him and slapped him. 

“Katie? Is everything alright?” I blinked, stepping back beside Thomas again. 

“Ouch what the hell was tha.......” the man yelped and backed up a bit. 

“Evening ma’am,” Thomas tipped his hat to Katie. 

“No Trin everything is not ok. I was hoping to never see you again Kory after what you did.” 

I blinked and turned to the man. Kory looked at her nervously and said, “Kate I swear, that wasn’t how it looked. I was forced to leave!” 

“Sure you were, I don’t believe that for a second,” Katie glared at him. 

Kory turned and fell on the ground  and I looked over to Katie. “What did he do?”

“He broke my heart,” Katie went over to kick Kory hard. “And ran off with all my money. Over a year ago.” 

“Now you’re going to break his bones?” I asked her. 

“Oh my!” Thomas exclaimed. 

“And what do you have to say for yourself?” I looked over at Kory. 

“Ouch damn it... I swear Kate... Your brothers told me if I didn’t leave that they would kill me!” 

“I am gonna break more than his bones,” Katie kicked him again. 

I went to try and restrain her and said, “Come on, Kate... You don’t want to do this. I mean I’m sure you want to but...”

Thomas knelt down to help Kory up and asked, “Hey, you alright fella?”

Kate tried to get away from me and kept kicking him. “Ouch, come on Kate... Ouch!!!” Kory cried. 

“Kate come on..” I tried to pull her off but I had the feeling Kate wouldn’t back down. 

Thomas looked at Kate and said, “That’s not very lady like ma’am!”

“I’m fine... I’m trying to start fresh, Kate. It’s in the past...” Kory growled. 

“May be in the past for you but I have never gotten past the hurt you are gonna pay for it,” Katie yelled at him. 

Thomas reached for Kory’s gun to stop him then and said, “I wouldn’t do that mister. No need for that sort of thing here.”

“Katie please.... No need for violence here... He’s not worth it,” I Begged her but she kept kicking. I muttered, knowing I wasn’t going to stop Katie. 

Kory smacked at Thomas’ hand and said, “Don’t you dare touch my gun Mister.” He pulled his colt out and aimed it at Kate. “Kate, if you don’t back away, I will shoot you!” 

Thomas pulled out his gun then and held it against Kory. I looked across the street to the sheriff’s office and called, “Kris!” 

“Even if you shoot me it can’t hurt me as bad as you have already hurt me and as bad as the man that came after you did, you damn men,” Kate declared. 

I put my hand on my gun in anticipation and Thomas put his gun against Kory’s back. “I told you none of that mister.” 

“Katie, walk away. I don’t want you to get shot here,” I told her. 

“I am not afraid of him,” Katie shook her head. 

I looked at Kory and said, “And you... Put the gun away.”

“I don’t think so Mister,” Kory said and turned around to fire on Thomas. 

“Kris! I need you!” I called for help again and watched as Kory gunned Thomas down. I watched as Kory ran towards Pearce and shot a few rounds at him, hoping to hit him. I lost him in Goldfield, though, and ran back to check on Thomas. 

“Thomas! Damn it, Thomas!” I cried, watching him get led into the clinic. 

“What happened?” Wedge asked.

“Wedge, I lost him in Goldfield headed for Pearce,” I said. 

“Kory shot him,” Kate said. 

“Triiiiin!” Thomas called out. 

“Who? Oh... crap,” Wedge shook his head. 

“Triiiiin!” Thomas whispered. 

“Anything I can do to help?” Jacob ran over then. 

“Sweetheart, I’m here... Thomas....” I walked over to him and leaned down. 

“I’ll go look,” Wedge took his gun out and ran down the street. 

“Trin, what happened?” Chris came over. 

“Trin .. he needs a a doc. not sure how bad..” Zan said. 

“Jess, we need you!” I called out to the woman passing us. 

“Triiin.....” Thomas whispered again. 

“Darling, I’m here... I’m here...” I reached for his hand and squeezed it. 

“What happened?” Kris walked over then and asked. 

“Katie and Kory were fighting. Kory drew on her and then Thomas put his gun to him to stop him. Kory turned on Thomas. Kory ran off to Pearce and I headed after him but lost him. Wedge chased after him.” 

Thomas squeezed my hand and said, “Tell Trin I love her...please!”

“Darling I’m here... Darling... I love you too, sweetheart... You’re not goin’ anywhere. Well, to the clinic now...” I felt myself trembling in the shock and then helped Thomas over to the clinic. 

Jess came into the clinic and started to work on his wound while I tried to talk to Thomas and keep him awake, but he went unconscious. I sighed, knowing that there was nothing I could do and worked on my witness statement. Jacob came in with fresh coffee for Jess and I continued to watch with worry. 

Wedge came in and said, “Sorry Trin.. I didn’t see hide nor hair of anyone.” 

“I see him again, he’s mine. ’m just writing up a statement.” 

“I won’t stop you.” 

“Better not. No one shoots the man I love.” 

“I understand...now let me get out of the Docs way.” 

I gave him my witness statement and asked if he could drop it off in Aly’s mailbox for me. He took it and left the clinic. I walked back to focus on Thomas and rubbed up and down his leg as I watched Jess pull the bullet out. 

“Trin come out here!” Kris called and I headed outside. “Need you on Allen Street. This the man that stabbed yours?” he asked as I walked over to them. 

“This is the man who shot my man, yes,” I nodded, reaching for my gun. 

“No! No Trin!” Wedge stopped me and I jumped, relaxing. 

“I’ll take that as a yes. Sir, you’re going to jail,” Kris said. 

“I swear marsahl, it was self defense!” Kory exclaimed as Kris led him to the sheriff’s office. 

“Sorry...” Wedge said. 

“Don’t be sorry, he’s in jail.” 

“Okay... all good then,” Wedge wiped his brow. 

“Nice to see the system work... Though it would have been nicer had Kris helped to stop the gunfight in the first place.” 

“Agreed. Ok um... your honey needs ya, right?” 

“Yeah, I need to go back to the clinic. Did you give him my statement? Kris, that is?” 

“Doing it now.” 

“Thank you,” I went to hug him, exhausted and emotional from the events of the evening. “Thank you... I just... Natalie went missing... was found... Jimmy broke his arm... Now this...” 

“Oh damn...” 

“It’s been a hell of a night.” 

“I’m sorry. Rest now...if you can.” 

“I was hoping that Thomas would be able to help me unwind. Looks like I’ll be takin’ care of him.” 

“It may help... in an odd way.” 

“Thank you for your help, Wedge.” 

“Anytime.” 

Kory walked past again and I figured he’d done his time or paid bail. I walked into the clinic and looked over at Jess. “How’s he doing?” 

“Breathin’ normal, pulse normal...” 

“Good to hear.” 

Jess ran a bit of smelling salts under his nose. “Come on Mister, time to wake up.” 

“Dear.... Thomas...?” I squeezed his leg a bit. 

“Wha!” he exclaimed, his eyes opening, and I exhaled with relief. “Where am I? Trin?!” 

“In the clinic. You can talk to him Trin,” Jess said. “You can help him with his shirt.” 

“Darling, I’m here... You’re okay,” I said to Thomas, tears in my eyes. “Thank you, Jess... Thank you...” 

“Oh dear God, I thought you got hurt,” Thomas smiled finally. 

“No dear.... I went after the man but he escaped. He just came back in town and he was arrested. I gave Wedge my statement to give to Kris.” 

“Thank you very much..what do I owe ya?” Thomas looked at Jess. 

“Not at thing, just take care of yourself, keep the wound clean and dry and watch for wet spots,” Jess instructed. 

Thomas tried to sit up and reached for my hand and I held his. “Yes ma’am,” he said to Jess. 

“Can you stand dear, or do you need a minute?” I looked at him with concern. 

“Take it easy you still have morphine in ya. make you wobbly. You help him, Trin,” Jess ordered and left the clinic. 

Thomas shook his head and said, “Better give me a minute dear. Woah things are kinda spinning. I’m sorry Trin...this wasn’t supposed to happen.” 

“Oh I’m just so glad you’re alright..” I nodded and rubbed his back. 

“So they got Kory?” 

“Mmhmm they sure did.” 

Thomas reached down and undid his gunbelt, leaving it and the pistol on the table. “I wont be needing that anymore. This is enough for me.”

“I know, it’s not fun getting shot, is it?” I continued to rub his back. 

Thomas looked over his shirt with holes and blood all over it and said, “Well there went that shirt.” You wanna know something?” he asked as he hugged me gently. 

“What’s that, dear?” I held him. 

“All I could think about when I laid in the street, was you!” 

“And all I could think of when I saw you go down was shooting the jerk who did that to you. But he got away,” I said as he put on his ruined shirt. “You’re staying with me tonight in Pearce,” she looks at him, not leaving room for negotiations. 

Thomas eased off the table, wobbly at first. “Yes ma’am! No arguments here.”

“Let’s get you home, dear,” I said and put my arm around his waist, helping him out of the clinic. 

Pearce. 

I stopped outside of my house and said, “We’ll have to be quiet... Natalie should be asleep by now... hopefully.” 

“I am just glad you got her back home. Poor thing, what happened to her ma and pa, or do I wanna know?”

“Her mother was killed by a man she was in bed with while workin’ as a dove. Her father wouldn’t help the Pinkertons catch the killer because he didn’t want to make her name bad... so they got in a gunfight and the Pinkertons killed him.” 

“Oh sweet mother in heaven! Natalie found that out today by herself?” 

“Yep. She found it attached to her birth certificate that we found on the weekend which revealed her true age of twelve, not nine. Dear... I’m going to need you to write a witness statement about tonight...” 

“Remind me to get that poor girl something special. Jimmy too. Ok. I can do that. You know what you need out here Trin?” 

“What’s that, dear?” 

“A swing to sit in during the evening to enjoy the cool night air and maybe in the morning when you have a cup of coffee.” 

“Well dear that’s what the tree is for,” I winked at him. “Though it’s hard to cuddle in a tree...”

“Trin I want to tell you something,” he laughed quietly. 

“Come dear, let’s sit by the water..” I said and led the way to the water where we sat down on the ground and I leaned against his good shoulder as he held me close. 

“I have never been as scared as I was tonight. Trin, until tonight I didn’t know this but I do now more than ever. Trin, I love you!” 

I hid against him, trembling hard as the tears started to fall. I hadn’t heard those words in so long. “I.. I thought I lost you.... I love you too, Thomas... and it’s been a long time since I’ve said those words.”

He had tears in his own eyes and said, “I thought you lost me too. All I could think about was you and Natalie...and even Jimmy..but more you than anything. Because I knew I never got to tell you how I really felt about you.”

“I almost lost Natalie and you both in the same night...”

“Trin, just so you know. If something ever does happen to me, for whatever reason, everything I have is yours. Including a small inheritance in a bank back east. I ummm had it drawn up and signed it my last trip back to Texas.”

“Darling, no... stop talking like that... You’re not going anywhere.” I clung to him for dear life, not wanting to think about ever losing him. 

He held me tightly and kissed me on the lips softly. “I just want you to know, that you mean everything to me, and that I love you. I love Natalie too, and I only met her once or twice. Because she is your daughter, how could I not love her. I will help you take care of her if you will let me.”

“I need your help... She was so overwhelmed and scared tonight... She’s determined to be a good doctor and focus on that... She was just so ashamed and ran to the Apache village to get peace... I just... I hope she doesn’t get hurt by them like I did... But I’ll have to share that part with her eventually. She’ll get there soon in my journals. It’s just.. It’s so hard doing this alone but I have people like you and Alex helping me and I don’t know what I would do without either of you.”

“I am here for both of you. I have decided what I want to do in Tombstone. Tonight made my decision for me actually.”

“Oh? What are you going to do, sweetheart?” 

“I am going to become an attorney for people like Katie. To rid this world of scum like that Kory. I can get justice without the use of a gun.” 

“You’re going to be a prosecutor like me, dear? That would be so wonderful... Then we wouldn’t have to work against each other like I was fearing when you wanted to defend Payton in that case. I’m so proud of you, Thomas!” I kissed him with relief. 

He smiled and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and stuck it in my pocket. “That’s a little something to help you and Natalie. Maybe it will get her the right education she needs to be the best doctor she can be.” 

I beamed at him and held him close. “I love you so much, darling...” I whispered. 

“Are you going to be ok dear?” 

“With you by my side at the end of such a hard day? Always... Let’s go in to bed, shall we?” I looked in his eyes. 

“Yes, I am feeling weak still, and my head is spinning.” 

I helped him up and led him inside. We walked inside and I felt a fresh set of tears as I saw Natalie fast asleep in her bed. Thomas went over and knelt down beside Natalie, kissing her forehead and tucking her in. “Good night sweet darling,” he whispered and then walked over to me. I felt my heart melt at watching how he acted with Nat and held him close. “I love you so much,” he kissed me deeply. 

I kissed him back and led him to the bed. “I love you too dear... Are you in much pain still?”

“No, I am just tired, and want to lay down with you to rest,” he said and we lay down beside each other, falling asleep.