Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Getting up, Mary Travis again paced the small confines of her office and living quarters as she listened to the wall chime nine o'clock. Mary finally stopped again at the windows to look into the street for any sign of Chris and Billy's return. They should of been back hours ago she thought to her herself rubbing her arms — unconsciously trying to ward off the chill of fear that threatened to grip her.
Turning away from the window, she had barely made it across the room when the sudden sound of footsteps and a knock on the door stopped her. Hurrying over to the door, Mary jerked it open hoping to see the two wayward souls standing there. Mary was shocked to see an auburn haired woman there instead.
"Oh... I'm sorry.. I'm closed..."
"No please... Listen to me... Chris and Billy need you" the stranger interrupted, grabbing Mary's hand and pulling her outside into the cold night air.
"Wait... let me get my coat" Mary urged darting back inside to grab the garment and a scarf. Coming back outside, Mary joined the obviously impatient woman waiting for her and together they hurried to the livery.
On the way, Mary took to the opportunity to look more closely at the stranger who had come for her. She was slightly shorter than herself, with an ivory completion that glowed in the firelight. Mary guessed she was a few years younger than her, but not much. She was dressed in a simple, gingham dress and had a shawl thrown loosely over her shoulders. For the life of her, Mary couldn't remember ever seeing her around town before.
Further contemplation on the stranger was put on hold as the women reached the stable. Hurrying inside, it wasn't until Mary threw the saddle on her horse did she finally ask the questions she most wanted the answers for. "Where are they? Are they alright? What's happened to them?"
"Chris' horse was startled by a mountain lion. It threw both of them off and ran away. Chris bruised some ribs when he landed trying to protect Billy. Your son's okay, just scared and needing you" the stranger explained watching Mary's hurried movements.
"Maybe I should get Nathan..." Mary said uneasily leading the horse outside.
"No time. We need to go now if you are going to get back before the snowstorm hits."
"Storm? What storm?" Mary asked, confusion evident on her face. Looking up at the dark sky above, granted she couldn't see any stars, but it was only October, far too early for a snowstorm.
"Come on" the dark hair woman urged, pulling herself onto a horse. Waiting for Mary to do the same, the women headed into the darkness.
Riding for more than an hour, the fear and trepidation were wearing on Mary. The farther they got from town, the more her nervousness grew. After all, she didn't know this woman she had left town with.. had never even seen her before tonight. How do I know this isn't a trick she wondered uneasily. After all, every time I have tried to find out how she knew about Chris and Billy's predicament, she changed the subject or simply did not answer.
Frustrated and scared, Mary finally had had enough. Pulling her horse to a halt, she waited until the stranger had come back beside her before speaking in a low, even voice. "Give me one reason why I should keep going with you or believe anything you have told me. I've never met you before tonight and for all I know you could be leading me away from Chris and Billy."
Looking into her eyes, Mary saw both understanding and impatience. "I can't make you believe me and it would take far too much time to explain how I know what has happened. It's time we don't have. All I can do is to try to assure you that I am taking you to them and to say that if you care about Chris and Billy, you will come with me." Without another word, the woman turned and urged her horse forward.
Watching her move off, Mary bit her lip nervously. After a moment, she kicked her mount to catch the disappearing figure. She wasn't willing to take the risk that this woman was right and not do anything. The cost would simply be too high — the two people she loved most in the world.
A short time later the stranger pulled to a halt and looked around in the darkness as if to get her bearings. Mary used the chance to once again try to find out more about this elusive traveler.
"So how long have you known Chris?" Mary asked, trying to sound nonchalant while asking it. Her curiosity about the woman was peaked by the bittersweet smile that appeared on her face at the question.
"I knew him a long time ago... before he came to Four Corners... before..." the woman trailed off, glancing at Mary.
"You mean before he lost his wife and son?" Mary gently finished.
The woman nodded yes while looking into the darkness.
Part of Mary knew this wasn't the place, the other part couldn't pass up the opportunity. "What was he like back then?" she asked quietly.
A genuine smile of joy flashed across the woman's face. "In some ways, very different. In others, he is still much the same. He's more cautious now, less likely to trust people.. quicker to see the worse in them. But he's always been a leader... ready to stand up for what's right.. to defend who and what he cares about with his life. The others — Buck, Vin, JD, Josiah, Nathan and Ezra — they've given him a new purpose. They look up to him... depend on him... would follow him into the gates of hell I think. It always amazed me how he could inspire people like that. Buck use to say Chris could get a possum out of its den in broad daylight if he set his mind to it."
Glancing again at Mary who was listening intently, she continued. "Since the fire, he's been darker... drinking more, putting himself in danger all the time. He's been lost... looking for revenge. It has saddened me that he has wasted so much time thinking that it can somehow undo what happened... it can't." Shaking herself, the stranger threw a smile at Mary. "But lately, I've seen more of the old Chris again. He's drinking less... smiling and laughing more. That's good... I want to thank you for that."
"Me??" Mary asked, startled by the words she was hearing.
"You and Billy. You're good for him. You remind him that there's more to livin' than hate."
Embarrassed by the praise and chilled by a gust of cold wind, Mary shifted uneasily in her saddle. "Shouldn't we be going?"
"We're there... look" the stranger said, pointing to a small fire a short distance away. Mary could see the shape of Chris sitting up and Billy curled up on the ground in front of it.
Turning confused eyes to the stranger, Mary stuttered "But.. how? Where...?" She couldn't quite find the words to ask why she hadn't seen them there before now.
Shaking her head to tell Mary it didn't matter, the stranger placed a cold hand on Mary's hand. "You better hurry. It'll start snowing soon."
"I don't really know how to thank you for bringing me out here..." Mary tried to explain, not sure if she would have the opportunity later.
Shaking her head, the woman looked briefly over at Chris and smiled tenderly before turning back to Mary. "You can thank me by giving him a message when he's ready to hear it. Tell him that loving you and Billy doesn't mean he loved Adam or me any less."
Startled, Mary tore her eyes from the figures by the fire and looked quickly beside her only to see... an empty saddle. The riderless horses' reins were laying loosely in her hands.
Another cold blast of wind penetrated Mary's coat. The shiver that ran through her wasn't just from that though.
The feel of a wet snow flake on her cheek snapped Mary out of her confused stupor. Nudging the horses forward she called to Chris.
Snapping his head up, Chris was startled by the sound of Mary's voice. Gingerly shifting so as to not wake Billy curled up beside him, he rose to meet her halfway. "What are you doing out here? How did you find us?" he asked bewildered by her presence.
Engulfed in his embrace, Mary blinked back the tears of relief that had appeared in her eyes. Pulling back, she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Come on, we have to hurry if we're going to make it back before the snow gets too bad" she urged.
Releasing her and moving back to the fire to put it out while Mary gently lifted her son to cradle him against her, Chris was still astounded by her appearance. From her earlier comment though, he knew he wasn't going to get many answers right now. So he settled for catching Mary's eye and throwing his head back towards the horses. "Where'd you find him?"
Glancing up at the mounts, Mary realized for the first time that the horse that Sarah had been riding was Chris' black. "He... uhm... came into town" she stuttered, not looking at Chris directly.
Riding into town in the swirling snow, Mary and Chris could make out the shape of several horses and men just inside the open doors of the livery. Nearing it, they realized the bundled shapes were in fact Vin, Buck and Josiah. "Hey... they're back" Mary heard Buck call to the others as they pulled to a halt beside him. Dismounting, Mary reached up to take the sleeping Billy from Chris so he could alight also.
"Was just gettin' ready to go look for ya" Vin said taking Mary's reins from her hands and nodding to Chris. Seeing Chris' cautious movements trying to protect his side, he cocked his head at the gunslinger inquiring if he was alright. Flashing eyes toward Mary, Chris shook his head no to tell him to drop it until she was gone. Receiving the message, Vin continued. "Got a wire sayin' a storm had blown up and dropped over a foot of snow to the north."
"Didn't even know you were gone Mary til we were tellin' people about the storm" Buck jumped in, a slightly accusing tone to his voice.
"Finally found someone who saw you tearin' out of town leading a horse" Josiah added coming up behind Mary. "You should of told us Chris' horse had come back riderless" the preacher quietly chided the woman now looking at him.
Nodding, Mary dropped her eyes and couldn't look directly at any of the four men standing around her. "I know... I'm sorry to worry you, but there wasn't time to get you AND find Chris and Billy before the storm hit. With no supplies, they wouldn't of survived the night" she quietly explained.
"How'd you know about it since you were already gone when the news of it came in?" Buck pressed. "The only one I ever knew who could predict a storm like this was Sarah" the scoundrel said looking at Chris who nodded in response.
A look of surprise and panic flashed across Mary's face at Sarah' name. Trying to hide it, she shifted Billy and tried to make an escape. "I'm going to take Billy home now" she said moving towards the door. Pausing at the doorway, she turned back to look to the men watching her and locked eyes with Chris. "Please have Nathan look at your ribs to make sure they're not broken" she said before pulling her son closer and moving into the night.
Chris turned a confused look back to the others. Shaking his head, he found the others looking at him waiting for some explanation. "Don't look at me. I have no idea how she knew about the storm or how she found Billy and me or how she knew I hurt my ribs. I didn't tell her any of it."
Walking down the street towards the welcoming sight of the lights inside of the Clarion, Mary whispered three words into the wind. "Thank you Sarah."
The End
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