Outlaws to the End (HotCider & heartofcourage)

[HotCider]

Ian's brows rose when Cheryl appeared in the doorway with a plate-full of food. Elizabeth had glanced his way and reading her eyes, he knew what she was saying to him. The Southern belle had certainly put time in her outfit, and Ian decided that he would be somewhat of a gentleman and politely compliment her.

"Aren't you lookin' gorgeous today Cheryl," Ian said.

The blonde blushed and remained in the door, all of a sudden feeling too shy to take another step. "Thank you Ian. Yer lookin' healthy. We were worried about you."

He couldn't stand it anymore. She stood there with an attractive plate of Ma's cooking just waiting to be devoured.

"'Preciate it. Really do. What ya got for me Cheryl? A woman can't wave her cookin' before a man and expect him not to eat it."

Cheryl blushed even more. "I prepared it for you. Same as before just Ma told me to add in some of her delicious rolls."

"She's spoilin' me. Bring it on over here girl."

Cheryl walked around to the other side of the bed from where Hope sat and carefully set the plate in Ian's lap. The thief was quick to dig in and Cheryl overstayed her welcome, watching Ian scarf down his food as though it was the most attractive thing he's ever done. The room had been dead silent since she entered, the awkwardness settling in. The silence soon became too unbearable that Ian lowered his fork and was about to ask Cheryl to give him and Hope some privacy when Jesse suddenly barged into the room.

"There you are Cheryl, I was lookin' all over for ya," Jesse said.

Cheryl blinked at Jesse and if she were a cat, she would have raised her hackles when he approached her. "What you mean? You knew where I was! Hey! Put me down!"

Jesse had snatched up Cheryl and lifted her over his shoulder kicking and fussing. He then marched right out of the room, closing the door behind him, and exciting an amused grin on Ian's face. Jesse was such a life saver.

"I owe that guy somethin' for that stunt. That was brilliant," Ian confessed with a laugh. "I'm sorry about her. Ya see..."

Ian paused in his eating and said sheepishly, though honestly to Hope, "Last I was here, we flirted a bit, and I swear I did nothin' more than that. She must still like me, but don't you worry. You my girl. Especially after all the trouble I gone put up for you (ya crazy broad). You gonna be mine here and in Heaven. As I said, ain't nobody takin' you from me. If I gotta get you a ring for you to cook this good if not cook at all, then I'll get you the best ring there is."

Ian smiled impishly at her as he returned to eating. When the plate was cleaned, Ian was sprawled out, looking defeated. He had eaten so much that he didn't think he could move. It was the trap that he and Jesse had told Elizabeth about. She was witnessing it. When Ian heard Ma's voice, he practically rolled over and ducked beneath the covers as though her voice was of the Devil.

"You want another plate Ian? I just made some sweet potatoes!" Ma called.

Ian just groaned pathetically. Why didn't she put those in the last dish? He loved her sweet potatoes!

"Cheryl just made you a nice hot apple pie!"

Ian closed his eyes tight, he didn't even want to look.

Ma then came barging in with her pot full of boiled and candied potatoes. "You gotta try my potatoes at least Ian."

"Why'd you let her in here?" Ian complained to Hope.

"You hush now. I'm only given you a taste."

She pulled the blanket from his head and shoved a spoonful of her yams at him. Ian kept his cheek turned.

"I ain't leavin' 'til you taste it Ian."

Ian sighed and muttered, "You just wanna see me explode don'tcha' woman?"

Cheryl was next to enter the room and Ma said, "You gotta try some of Cheryl's pie too."

"You just said the potatoes! I ain't eaten no pie!"

"Ian you're sounding like Jesse. It's just a taste."

Ian frowned and muttered, "Fine. Just because I ain't no Jesse."

Jesse shouted from the other room, "What do I hafta' do with any of this?"

The catch had been that Ma had made sure the spoonful was more than a big enough scoop to have given Ian a sample of her cooking. It was enough to fill one cheek and the apple pie had been enough to fill his other and that had been difficult to consume. A piece of apple had dribbled down his chin only for Cheryl to catch it with the spoon and shove it back within his mouth. Hope's lover looked like he had finally passed on the way he laid there with cheeks swollen and full of food. He couldn't chew it or swallow it. He was that stuffed, but the fact that he had eaten it had been a satisfying enough sight for Ma to leave, dragging Cheryl with her.

Trap gonna be the end of me, Ian thought. He swore his stomach was going to pop if he swallowed it. The food was already becoming so soggy and liquefied that his impulses were demanding that he swallow it. Finally, Ian did, and his stomach uttered the most upset gurgle before digestive gas released, travelling up his esophagus to erupt from his mouth in an explosive belch.

"Aah, sweet Jesus," Ian moaned. The relief of tension had made him somewhat more comfortable than before. He then closed his eyes to bask in the aftermath of his gluttony.

 

[heartofcourage]

Cheryl. That was the woman’s name. Elizabeth’s eyes slid along her body, taking in the tiny little shorts on her hips and the shirt tied tightly around her breasts. She pursed her lips, the ire rising in her chest as this woman sauntered up to the door and Ian’s eyes instantly found their way to the blonde bombshell.

Elizabeth felt a slow simmering rage, an intense jealousy, and she absently reached up to touch her own red locks, fingering them and wishing that she were blonde again. She let out a soft little sigh as Ian began to talk in a polite way, complimenting the girl who was now blushing and seemed to have lost her nerve.

She watched Cheryl like a hawk, making sure that she didn’t do anything funny as she finally walked into the room and placed the plate in her hands on Ian’s lap. As Ian started to eat, Cheryl stayed put, making sure that Ian ate every bite on the plate. The room around them was silent, tense, and she wanted to tell the blonde to scram.

That was when Jesse came in to save the day, snatching up his cousin and hauling her from the room, leaving her and Ian alone finally. As Ian started to confess what had happened the last time he was there, Elizabeth turned her blue eyes towards him, letting out a little sigh.

“I don’t blame her for having a crush, but after everything that’s happened…I guess I’m a little on edge.” She said softly.

Smiling when he mentioned buying her a ring, she felt a strange little warmth start in her belly. She wanted to be his wife and spend her life with him. She just didn’t know when that was ever going to happen. Their life so far had been crazy and it wasn’t really the kind of life that led to a person being married.

“Just for you, I’ll try to learn to cook. You have to give me some slack though. I’ve spent my entire life with a cook in the kitchen.” She said as he started to eat again.

The moment the old woman’s voice sounded through the door, Ian groaned and ducked beneath the covers. Elizabeth laughed at his attempt to hide from more food. The room was soon full again as Ma and Cheryl came back with more food, forcing Ian to take a bite before they would leave well enough alone.

When Ian finally swallowed and belched, Elizabeth found the right moment to stretch out along side him on the bed, her arm looping low around his waist as she pressed herself comfortably against his body.

“I slashed a man with a razor for you last night.” She blurted out, no longer able to keep what she’d done to Pa to herself. “I guess that makes me just as much a criminal as you are now.”

 

[HotCider]

Ian turned his head as Elizabeth crawled into bed next to him. He gazed into her pretty blue eyes, a smile curling his lips. He was pleased to see her beautiful face. It was when she told him of her crime that his expression quickly changed. His brows rose and he stared at her with disbelief shining in his eyes.

"What are you talkin' about?" Ian asked.

He suddenly felt spooked. The last thing he remembered was puking his guts and going unconscious from his fever and infection.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth saw the confused look in his dark gaze and she let out a little sigh. She didn’t really want to tell him what had happened the night before since it was apparent that he didn’t remember. It was best to let sleeping dogs lie, but Ian was a man that was stubborn and would push for answers.

“The old man tried to poison you for your reward money. When the poison didn’t work, he tried to drown you in the tub.” She said in a straight forward way. “I’m never going to let anything happen to you though, Ian. I took the straight blade by the sink and slashed his face and arm until he let you go and backed away.”

“I would have done way more then that if it meant keeping you safe.” She said, gently touching his cheek with the tips of her fingers.

 

[HotCider]

Elizabeth would be able to see how little her assurance had on him. If there was one thing that she would learn about Ian that may not have been as strongly apparent, it was that he was a man constantly living in paranoia. He couldn't believe the words she had spoken, but then he had to. She wasn't a liar. Frowning, Ian stared harshly at his thoughts. He then posted his palm flat against the mattress and gritting his teeth in pain, he sat upwards.

"Son of a bitch!" Ian growled. "Jesse!"

The blond quickly barged into the room. "Ian, what's wrong?"

"Where's your Pa?"

Jesse blinked. "He should be in the shed."

"Go check!"

Jesse was disturbed by the ferocious tone of Ian's voice. He could almost feel the anger exuding from him. Cheryl was standing behind Jesse, peering into the room with concern shining in her eyes when Jesse turned and ordered, "Cheryl, go check and see if Pa's still in the shed."

His cousin quickly nodded and darted from the bedroom.

"Gimme your pants," Ian said.

"Wha...Ian, where you goin'?"

"I'm gonna go punch yer fat pig of a father in the kisser!"

"Ma, Ian-"

"And if you tell your Ma, I'm gonna-"

"You must think I'm deaf, boy. Not with you roarin' in my house," said Ma as she strode into the room and Jesse cleared out of her way. "Ian Darcy, you aren't goin' anywhere until them nasty wounds are gone. Pa ain't goin' nowhere. My brothers gone taken care of him. He gonna be in that shed under their watch until you better. Now you need to settle down. Hope gone through the trouble of bandaging you up, and here you gone openin' your wounds again. They open aren't they?"

Ian frowned at the old woman and then across from him at the wall. He didn't want to say anything more. He didn't trust them and...he secretly felt guilty for having not trusted Hope. He thought he trusted her with his heart. It had been so easy to say when he was healthy and was able to care for her and himself. Now she was caring for him; fighting for him; and he wasn't used to it.

Ma stared at Ian for a moment, her old eyes gazing deep. "Come Dear, we gotta get the First Aid kit. Ian gonna need new bandages. Jesse, keep an eye on him please."

Jesse nodded in acknowledgement and couldn't help but feel awkward watching Ian. He gazed at his back, expecting the thief to leap up any moment and escape. Mentally, he was playing the situation out and Jesse was fighting with more skill in his mind than he'd ever show in reality.

Ian, however, was sinking deeper and deeper into his conscience. He still couldn't believe it, and the thought of Pa trying to poison him - stab him in the back - infuriated him to no end. Elizabeth said she had cut him, but it didn't satisfy him enough. "You knew what Pa was plannin', didn't you?"

The question was cutting and Jesse suddenly felt uncomfortable. His throat became thick as he tried to hold back the truth. His lips parted as he attempted to speak a truth-lie, but he couldn't speak a single word. He had been dreading those words leaving Ian's mouth, and he could only suspect that Hope had told him what he didn't need to know. Finally, the tears welled in Jesse's eyes and he rushed over to Ian to fall at his feet.

"I'm sorry Ian! I was scared! I'm sorry, please forgive me," he wept. "I'm a stronger man. I ain't afraid of my Pa no more. Not after seein'im trynna' kill you and hurt Hope."

Ian was silent, but taking notes for later...much later. He was then startled from his trance when Jesse wrapped his arms about him and began to crush him in a hug that did wonders for his chest and arm.

"Forgive me Ian, please forgive me!" Jesse begged.

"Aagh! Idiot! Fine! I forgive you!" Ian cried.

Jesse quickly released the thief when he heard him scream. He had forgotten all about his condition, having been caught up in the moment. He stood there looking guilty, watching Ian squirm and groan on the bed from his agonizing wounds. If they hadn't been open before, they definitely had opened then.

Ma came back in the room, "Jesse what you do? I said watch'im not kill'im!"

 

[heartofcourage]

Stunned didn’t even begin to describe how Elizabeth felt the moment that Ian pressed himself upwards. The pain that laced through his shoulder was evident as he pulled at the wounds that she’d worked so hard to clean and make sure were healing.

“Ian…” She said, trying to calm him down as he shouted and hollered. “Ian Darcy, calm down!”

She could see the crazy look in his eyes as Jesse came into the room. With a loud sigh, she pushed herself off the bed and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for Ian to finish with his little tantrum. The moment that the old woman came in though, she knew that the situation would soon be coming to an end.

She listened silently as she scolded Ian, telling him to calm down before he injured himself further. Then she followed behind her to get the first aid kit to dress his bandages again. She had never been so angry with someone before. Ian had a way about him that always seemed a little on edge and paranoid. He could aggravate her at the drop of the hat and make her incredibly happy at the same time.

She was most definitely in a huff by the time they retrieved fresh bandages and returned to the sound of Ian crying out. Elizabeth rolled her eyes when she entered the room behind the older woman, staring at Ian with an unnamed emotion in her blue eyes.

“Ian, for the love of God, would you please just lay down and stop making a scene?” She asked, watching as he squirmed and moaned on the bed. “You deserve every moment of pain!”

She had never gotten the chance to show him just how mad she was about the heist that he’d pulled or just how scared she’d been that he would die and leave her alone in the middle of nowhere. Her nerves were frayed and she hoped that his wounds hurt him every bit as much as they had hurt her.

 

[HotCider]

Ma and Jesse fell silent upon hearing Elizabeth's emotional outburst. The grandmother set the bandages on the bed and then walked over to Jesse to grab him by his shoulder and yank him to his feet. She dragged him out of the room to leave Ian and Elizabeth alone.

Ian caught his breath and endured the pain of his paroxysms. He, too, had heard Elizabeth's cry and could sense the passion behind it. She didn't have to tell him that she was upset with him. He had felt it. What could he say? He couldn't take back the fear she had felt. He had felt foolish to think that she had just forgotten how she had felt. To have just pretended it all just never happened. Elizabeth had been holding it back.

He closed his eyes and replied, "I deserve it."

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth blushed fiercely as Ma grabbed Jesse and drug him from the room. She hadn’t meant to make a scene in front of them, but she couldn’t keep herself contained. When the door to the room closed, she sucked in a deep breath and blew it out in a huff. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared down at her lover and struggled to come to terms with what she was feeling.

“Ian, I’m suppose to be your girl. How could you just leave me like that? We were suppose to work together.” She went quiet for a moment as he closed his eyes and told her that he deserved his pain.

“Do you know what it’s like to wake up and know that your only lifeline is gone? In a big city, knowing that I didn’t know my way, you left me…” She felt tears gathering on her lashes and she fought to blink them back.

“Do you trust me, Ian? I need to know.” If he didn’t trust her then she very well might as well pack up and go back to Chicago.

 

[HotCider]

Ian listened as she asked him such hurtful questions. It hurt only because he knew he had harmed her, and she was still aching from it. But did he trust her...he hesitated to answer, having to ask himself the same question. Did he trust her? Elizabeth had been the one to save him from the alley. She brought him to the house and kept him alive. Why didn't he trust her? He wanted to but his conscience wouldn't let him. The thief kept his eyes closed, trying to hide the truth from her behind his closed eyes, behind his closed lips, but the only thing he couldn't close were his ears and heart.

Ian turned his head as his eyes became tight and it became harder to keep up his façade. Hot tears streamed from the corners of his eyes as he wept in shame.

"No," he answered. "My heart wants to but I can't, but I swear to you I will try."

"If anythin' happened to you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. Goin' alone was all I could think of. It was easier this way. If I were shot or stabbed, I knew I could take it. But you, no, I didn't trust that you would live, and even so, I don't want to see you hurt. Not because of me. I'm the god damn bank robber!"

 

[heartofcourage]

The tightness in her chest as she listened to his confession was almost overwhelming. It was hard to keep breathing, to draw air in and out of her body. He didn’t trust her. He loved her, wanted to keep her safe, but he didn’t trust her. How could all of this work if he didn’t trust her?

Elizabeth parted her lips to speak but couldn’t form the words. She felt defeated, tired, worn, abused…she wanted to go home. “But I’m your girl, Ian.” She hated the way her voice sounded so tiny and small. Who was she trying to convince of that? Him or herself?

She stepped towards the bed, carefully crawling in alongside him and wrapping her arms around his chest. “You’re worth so much to me, Ian, and I gave you something so priceless. I can’t bear the thought that you…” She couldn’t even say the words anymore.

“I wasted too much time with someone who treated me bad. I lived too much time in fear that he would do something to me because he didn’t trust me and I didn’t trust him.” The next words burned like acid on her tongue but she knew they needed to be said. “And now I feel like that with you…and I hate myself for it.”

 

[HotCider]

Ian felt her crawl in next to him. He was wiping the tears from his eyes when her arms slung around him in a warm embrace. He closed his eyes, savoring the warmth of her hold until her confession. His eyes opened and he turned his head to look her in the eyes. There was tension in his copper-coin pools all because he wasn't sure he heard her right. She did not just indirectly compare him to Stephen Collingwood.

"So you're tellin' me that you feel like you've wasted your time on me? Or are you comparin' me to your low-down, good-for-nothin' fiancé? Or is it both? Maybe you meant both?" Ian asked, demanding clarification before he flipped his lid. "Whatever you meant. I want you to get somethin' straight. I love you; I love you so much that I was willin' to get shot to make our dream come true. I've been workin' on it, really I have. Trustin' you that is. I've had so many supposedly-good men, women, and children in the past stab me in the back quicker than you can drive. I don't think of you like that and I don't wann think of you that way. Me trustin' you is gonna happen though if you're patient with me. I prayed that you'd find me in the alley, and you did. I trusted you to find this house, and you did. And you saved me from Pa even when I don't remember what happened. I woulda' just gone to sleep and woke up in Heav...Hell if it weren't for you. But don't you ever go thinkin' you wasted your time. And you can call me anythin' you want, but don't you ever compare me to your dirtbag fiancé."

 

[heartofcourage]

The look in Ian’s coffee colored gaze made Elizabeth shrink back. She had offended him and she didn’t like the tense look that crossed his features as he told her why she was wrong. She hadn’t meant to compare him to Stephen…but it seemed that he had anyway. She let out a little sigh as he continued to lay out why she was wrong in her assessment of him.

She just wanted the whole thing to stop and the hurt and ache that had been caused in the past few days to fade away and leave them happy again. Leaning forward without thought, she pressed her lips against his, stopping his words and preventing her own from escaping.

Her body pressed against his, her hand resting on his cheek as she pulled him further into the spontaneous moment of passion. Her full lips clung to his and she let her baby blue eyes flutter close, a sigh leaving her body at the peaceful little moment that she’d forced upon them both.

 

[HotCider]

Elizabeth would realize that Ian hadn't kissed back even as she pressed her body against his and cupped his cheek. She had offended him so much that he wasn't in the mood. She had made their whole journey seem like all for nothing. If she wasn't willing to pass through the fire to get their dream, then why did she board the train? Why had she been with him for so long? Wasted her time...as soon as she was finished, Ian turned his head, no longer looking at her. She had silenced him all right. He had nothing to say to her. If there was anyone she needed to blame for feeling like shit, it was herself.

Just thinking about the night they had spent together, the money he had chosen to blow on their evening out rather than going straight to Vegas with it. It had been a mutual decision. They both had agreed on it, and here she was telling him how he had wasted her time. She had spoken so ungratefully...who was this girl? Where did Elizabeth Darrow go? He feared that this was the woman he had been loving all along. Spoiled and ungrateful once he was unable to keep the world shining and full of rainbows. Despite his fist fights, car stealing, and bank robbing, this was the closest to reality that she had ever been; and she needed to learn that shit happens. Sometimes people get hurt or things don't always go as planned. He swore he told her about how bank robbing worked and how dangerous it really was.

 

[heartofcourage]

A surprised gasp left her lips as Ian turned his head when the kiss broke and lay there beside her. She knew he was angry, silently fuming. Elizabeth was at a loss of what to do next. She was tempted to simply leave him alone, leave the room and slink off to lick her wounds. She wasn’t prepared for their moment together to escalate so quickly into a full out fight.

With a huff, she turned away from him, presenting him with her own back and lying beside him with just as much anger as he was showing her. How had he expected her to act after telling her that he didn’t trust her? He was the most infuriating, stubborn, and paranoid man that she’d ever met in her life! He would fight anyone at the drop of a hat, he would grow dark like a storm cloud when the moment took him, but she had to admit that he completed something deep inside of her.

The ways of the world were incredibly confusing. Never did she thing that things could be so complicated when she left her apartment to go to her bank that morning. Ian had struggled to protect her from all of those problems…and until the moment he’d been shot he’d succeeded.

A little sigh escaped her lips as she realized that she needed to apologize. Her heart still hurt to know that he didn’t trust her in certain ways, but to get past this incident, she needed to be the one to take the first step. Time stretched on further before she finally parted her lips to speak.

“I’m sorry, Ian.” Her voice was soft, sincere, quivering with the emotion that was trying to escape. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean to compare you to Stephen. And I didn’t mean to sound insincere for everything that you’ve done so far for me. It just…hurt…”

The words died on her lips. She couldn’t tell him how much she hurt and expect him to understand. She couldn’t expect him to understand how frightening the world around her was. Nor could she ask him to keep protecting her. He had other things to worry about.

“But I guess my hurts don’t really matter all that much right now. I’m not the one that got shot up yesterday.”

 

[HotCider]

"It matters Elizabeth," Ian said gruffly. "As much as you try to hide it, I know it matters."

Ian turned his head to see only her back. He knew he had upset her by shunning her affection, but it hadn't solved anything. A kiss never erased pain or memories, maybe in the movies but never in reality.

"That was my last bank. You won't have to worry about me getting in serious danger like that again. I can't promise you that shit won't happen but I will promise that I will always be there with you, for you, like I am now. You wanna leave then just say the word and we'll go. There's quite some miles from here to Kansas City. We can pick up some food and medicine and keep goin'. But I need you to tell me one thing. I know this all may seem like too much for you, but before you came around this has been another walk in the great park of life for me. Do you want to go on Elizabeth? Can you? Because if you think you can't, then you might as well stay here. Tell this family who you really are and let'em get the money and you can go back to monotnous."

The questions were cold, but she had compared him to her fiance and if being with him was no different then she could go back to a world less chaotic.

"We've come a long way, and I can't feel sorry for what I did. If I had to do it again, I would. I would play it out exactly as I've already done."

 

[heartofcourage]

She was quiet for a moment, mulling over his question. Did she really want to continue on this crazy journey with him? Could her heart handle all the twists and turns that were ahead? She didn't really know the answer to that and it wasn't really as easy as she had thought it would be.

"I don't want to go back to Chicago." Elizabeth said softly. "And I don't want to leave you."

With a long sigh she turned back to face him again, her blue eyes holding his for a moment before she spoke again.

"I love you, Ian. I truly do and I can't bear the thought of losing you. All the other stuff...the little house with the picket fence, the dog in the yard, the little children running around...they're all just the silly dream of a girl who didn't know the world. If having you means that none of that can happen...well I guess I'll still choose you every time."

 

[HotCider]

Ian listened and smiled softly when she rolled over and faced him. He reached over and rested his hand upon her cheek, capturing a few locks of her ruby hair against his fingers as his thumb stroked just beneath her plush lips.

"It's not a silly dream," Ian told her. "It was the life we both agreed to have, and we will have it."

He wanted to just roll over and bury his face within her neck or wrap her warmly within his arms and tangle their legs. It was the pain of his arm and chest that kept him flat on his back. Ma had did a good job sewing the holes closed and with the tonic they could keep the infection from spreading, but a daily cleaning was necessary. As much as he hated when someone squeezed his wounds to get the blood, puss, and whatever else out of them, he knew it was the only way for him to quickly recover.

"You may not believe it, Mrs. Darcy because seein' is believin' to you, but you gonna see it happen. I'm gonna show you."

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth visibly relaxed as Ian reached out to touch her cheek. She turned her head to the side, pressing a kiss to Ian's warm palm as he promised that he would show her everything that he'd promise and she'd always dream of.

"Mrs. Darcy, huh?" She asked him with a gleam in her eye. "Someone's got to ask me to be his wife first before I can be Mrs. Anything."

She could see the pain in his dark eyes and she knew that he felt every single wound on his body. She wished she could take the pain away or make It her own. The least she could do now was care for him until he was well again.

 

[HotCider]

Ian smiled at her, feeling her warm lips against his hand. If he hadn’t been so beaten-up, he would have made love to her. Instead, he turned his eyes up to the ceiling and closed them, trying to take his mind off of it.

“I’ll get there,” he reassured her.

There was then shouting outside.

What are you doin’? Don’t go in there!

I gotta see Ian!

Hey!

The bedroom door burst open once more as Cheryl entered. “Ian, Pa’s gone. I think he gone to the city!”

If life couldn’t get anymore worse...Ian felt so on the edge of a knife that if he slipped, he could fall and split himself in two: one part fear and the other part madness.

“We gotta leave!” he exclaimed.

Once again, Ian bore his teeth as he attempted to sit up and Cheryl ran over to help him.

“Ian, you’re in no condition to leave,” Cheryl said.

“You let him go! Now he gonna come back with the pigs, and you think I wanna wait for that?”

Cheryl was frightened by Ian’s shouting. She stepped away from him as Jesse entered. “I’m gonna get ya some clothes Ian!”

“Jesse!” Cheryl shouted angrily.

“Cheryl, they can’t stay. You know Pa gone to the city hopin’ to tell them about Ian!” Jesse was just as furious and upset. They weren’t ever going to see Ian again thanks to Pa. He wouldn’t be able to trust their family ever again.

Ma could have been heard from the kitchen, raging at the cousins for letting Pa escape. One of the cousins had fallen asleep and that was all it took for the fat man to get away. Ma couldn’t blame them entirely since she had the two men watching him in constant shifts. Pa’s escape was only evident, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Jesse returned in the room with a pair of jeans and a red plaid shirt. Ian tossed back the sheet and slipped on the pants, and with Jesse’s help managed to get the shirt on.

“We’re gettin’ outta here Hope,” Ian told her.

They were back on the run, and it had barely been a day of rest. Jesse, Cheryl, and Ma followed the fuming thief outside, and barely in proximity of the truck they had hijacked, Ian could see the sabotage. All four tires were flat and...Ian opened the backdoor and his blood ran cold when he noticed the money was gone. He stepped back in shock. His brain felt like it was being fried on a pan inside his head as the world just seemed to collapse around him. His hard work...everything he had risked his life for was now gone. His right eye twitched and his face flushed with anger. Didn’t he tell her to hide the money? It was the first thought that came to his mind. No transportation, no money, and now the pigs were on their way. It felt like fire was burning in his throat. He wanted to yell at Elizabeth so harshly, so ugly, but he kept it down, while his thoughts did all the work for him. His fire eventually extinguished and rather abruptly for no longer was Ian in the mood to run.

Ian sat and laid down next to the car and stared up at the sky in what was clearly his defeat. He couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t go on trying to follow the dream he and Elizabeth had promised to have. She already thought that he was no different than Stephen and that their love was a waste of time. He didn’t think he would ever forget those words no matter how much she apologized for she had been honest when she told him. Ian Darcy...he would never escape that name and what it meant.

Ma frowned at Ian. “Ian Darcy, you get up off that ground. You and Hope gotta get outta here.”

“I’m tired of runnin’, and she tired of me,” Ian replied hopelessly.

 

[heartofcourage]

If the entire would could have ended in that moment, Elizabeth would have gladly let the darkness take her. Ian lay on the ground beside their disabled car, his words a whisper but so incredibly loud in her ears. He had taken her words to heart and it would take an eternity for her to make it up to him. The most sickening part was that their money, the stash that Ian had risked his life for, was gone in an instant.

She wasn’t about to let their journey end. Not this way, at least. Slowly turning from the car, Elizabeth’s brain was churning, the tossing and turning thoughts that raced through her skull creating an awful clatter as she tried to straighten them all out. Where could they run in the short amount of time that they had? Would it be worth it to set out on the road without a penny to their names?

Glancing at the old woman, Cheryl and Jesse, she suddenly knew what she was going to do. “Jesse and Cheryl, you need to get Ian out of here. I don’t care where you take him, but get him away from this house for a while. Take him out into the fields, go to the barn and hide, just get away from here.”

Turning to the old woman, she sucked in a deep breath and steeled her nerve. “Ma’am, I don’t know how you feel about your husband, but you’ll have to forgive me because I’m about to send him away to prison for a very long time.”

“And Ian…you tell me one more time that I’m tired of you and I really will leave your sorry hide.” She stalked back into the house, her heart racing as she got her story in mind as to what she was going to tell the cops when they showed up with the old man.

 

[HotCider]

“You touch me and I’ll give any of ya a fat lip,” Ian growled. “You just runnin’ the show now huh? What you plannin’ to do that don’t involve what I think you plannin’ to do? What you know about the cops and this world to go plannin’ like you certain everythin’s gonna go the way you think? You a cage bird with clipped wings. Ain’t nobody teach you to fly.”

Suddenly, to his surprise, Jesse and Cheryl were on him. Jesse slipped his hands beneath Ian’s arms while Cheryl grabbed his legs.

“What!? What do you think you’re doin’? Put me down!” Ian growled.

“Sorry Ian. We can’t let them take you,” Jesse apologized.

The thief started kicking and shifting and Cheryl did her best to hold onto him.

“Jesse!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry Ian,” Jesse apologized before he grasped Ian’s wounded bicep and squeezed.

It had not only made Ian more controllable, but it had pissed him off.

“Don’t let her do it! She doesn’t know what she’s doin’! Hope! You better not do what I think you’re gonna do! Hope!”

Jesse and Cheryl took Ian out to the field where there was an old, deep well. They laid him next to it and Ian stared at it as though it was a portal to Hell. “You ain’t plannin’ on droppin’ me in there...”

“Not drop. We gonna tie this rope around you and lower you down. You gonna be in there until the cops come and go.”

“And what if the rope breaks?”

“Well, we just find another rope.”

Ian watched nervously Jesse loop the old dusty rope about his waist. He didn’t trust it. It looked strong enough to heft a bucket of water but not a full-grown man. Once the rope was tied, he and Cheryl carefully sat him on the edge of the well, and then pushed him in until the rope went taut. Jesse with Cheryl’s help, held onto the rope and they slowly lowered Ian down. The entire time, Ian was gazing down into the darkness. The deeper he descended, the smellier it became until he wondered if they used the damn thing as an outhouse. The heat of the prairie dissipated and it started to grow cooler. Then there was a creak of the rope that made Jesse stop and Ian look up in terror. The rope split a little and then began to unwind.

“Damn! The ropes loosenin’!” Jesse exclaimed.

“Quick! We need to lower him down!” came Cheryl.

Ian then plunged as Jesse and Cheryl began quickly feeding the rope into the well. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been fast enough. A loud snap emitted and the rope suddenly became loose.

“Ian!” Jesse exclaimed.

Ian felt a breeze as he plunged into the darkness, and darkness soon became all that he knew.

Jesse paled when he heard what sounded like Ian hitting the bottom of the well. It must have been dry this time of year. “Ian! Are you all right?” he screamed.

On the horizon, two cop cars and a truck were barreling down the road on a plume of dust.

“We gotta go Jesse. We can’t be seen standin’ here or they’ll know where Ian is.”

Jesse was hesitant to leave the well, unsure of whether Ian was all right or not. He didn’t want to tell Hope what had happened, at least not until all was in the clear. The two cousins raced back to the house and fled inside to sit and wait for the inevitable.

 

[heartofcourage]

Ian’s yelling was enough to raise the dead, but Elizabeth didn’t turn back. Not once. She had to get them out of this situation using the only weapon that she really had…her brain. It was clicking along like a well oiled machine as she moved from the living room back into the bathroom that had been the scene of so much horror the night before.

Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, she wondered if she really had the guts to pull this off. If she didn’t Ian would be in the electric chair before they knew it and she would be back in Chicago, her wings clipped yet again. It had to work. There was no other option.

First, she raked her fingers through her hair, tugging and pulling until it was a rat’s nest about her head. She pulled at the tresses until strands came loose, which she threw on the floor at her feet. Next, she slapped herself in the face as hard as she could, a great red welt forming beneath her still healing eye. The old man had no idea what he would be in for when he stepped from his truck.

She could hear the sounds of a siren pulling into the yard. There wasn’t much time, she thought as she hiked her skirt up around her waist and reached to her pale thighs, scratching her nails across the skin until she drew blood. Gritting her teeth against the stinging pain, she then pulled off her panties and threw them in the corner, letting the skirt fall back down to cover the marks that she had placed on her body.

Then came the final piece. Her fingers were trembling as she reached up and tore her bodice open, the little buttons flinging across the room. She looked like a mess, a woman violated, and she really hoped that the police would buy her little act. When the sounds of doors slamming in the yard caught her attention, she thought about the hopeless situation and let the panic take her.

The cops in the yard were not ready for the hysterical red headed woman that bounded down the stairs, her cheeks stained with tears and her dress gaping open around her body.

“Where’s my husband?!” She shrieked, sobbing as she looked between them, her eyes lingering on Pa for a moment. “The monster killed my husband and raped me! He did this!”

 

[HotCider]

Pa’s brows shot upwards when he saw Hope come running down the stairs disheveled and accusing him of rape.

“What!?” he exclaimed. “You lying bitch!”

The cops glanced at the man suspiciously not taking kindly to his use of language. Hope had immediately won their sympathy as the cops began restraining Pa, and the lead investigator approached her carefully, trying to calm the hysterical woman down. “Miss, I want to help you, but you must calm down and catch your breath.”

Ma, Cheryl and Jesse were gawking at the scene that was happening before their eyes. The investigator removed his jacket and draped it around Hope’s shoulders.

“She a liar I tell ya! She Darcy’s wife! Ma tell’em!” Pa demanded.

The old woman stared at her husband in handcuffs. Just the sight of him like that made her lack the strength to speak. He could go away for many years and she’d never see him again. What was good about him for her to miss? He treated her well, but he had been so abusive to their only son. Poor Jesse always feared him rather than respected him and what did she do for him but kiss his wounds? Jesse was staring at Pa in the restraints with wide-eyes. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he thought in shock and disbelief: He could go away forever...

Any boy would have been sad to see their father in such a state, but Jesse felt anxious and excited.

The investigator turned to Ma and demanded, “Ma’am, you must tell me everything that’s happened here.”

Ma was still silent, her heart heavy, but Jesse was quick to speak, “That’s Hope. She and her husband were travelin’ when they had some car trouble and stopped by our place. They stayed for the night and then Pa and him got into a fight. He caught Pa trynna’ rape Hope and tried to stop him when Pa shot him. He then ordered me and Cheryl to throw his body down the well. I didn’t mean to do it! He was gonna shoot me if I didn’t!”

“You lyin’ sack of cow shit! How dare you go lyin’ ‘bout the man that raised you. As soon as they prove me innocent boy, I’m gonna get ahold of you! Get ahold of you good!”

“Can you show me the weapon?”

Jesse nodded and ran inside the house. He ran to his room and opened his closet where he had Ian’s sack hidden. He had saw that it was full of money, and he had thought about keeping some for himself, but had decided against it. He knew that Ian was a bank robber and as much as that cash would do his family good, he had seen how hard Ian had worked for it. He wasn’t about to do that to him and Hope. He grabbed the revolver that he found in the bag and brought it outside for the investigator to inspect. He had barely looked at it. The fact that there was a weapon being handed to him by the rapist’s son was proof alone.

Frowning, the investigator glanced away from the weapon to then glare at Pa. “You better pray we don’t find a body in that well.”

Pa’s face shifted twice first white and then red as he exploded, “I ain’t shoot nobody! Don’t listen to them! That ain’t even my gun! Ma, tell’em! Tell’em damn you!”

Ma turned her back to Pa as Cheryl cradled her in her arms. She knew that the situation was more than the old woman could handle. It must have broken her heart to have to betray her husband, but she knew it was for the better. It was for Hope and Ian.

“Get on the rover and call everybody and get them down here,” the investigator ordered as he walked Hope over to the porch and set her down. “You sit here and try to calm down. We got help coming.”

In roughly fifteen minutes, a fire truck and an ambulance pulled up along with two other cop cars. There were crew all over the family’s yard. Jesse had showed them the well they had dumped Ian and firefighters got out ropes to retrieve him. A firefighter went down inside the well and emerged with a mud-covered Ian, still unconscious from his plunge. They laid him flat across the ground and one of the EMTs rushed over to inspect the body.

“He got bandages on him,” the EMT noted.

“We were trynna help him. We didn’t want to throw him down the well but Pa made us.”

The EMT then pressed his fingers to Ian’s neck. His brows shot upwards. “Glory be, he’s alive!”

The investigator was equally surprised. “Well I’ll be...you’re blessed girl. Your husband is well alive.”

“You gone save’im?” Jesse asked.

The EMT cut away the bandage and inspected the holes, “He’s a lucky son of a gun. No infection has started yet...” He noticed the other bullet scars that riddled his body. “Looks like he’s been shot more than once.”

“He was a soldier, but got wounded and discharged,” Jesse explained. It was a tough lie, but he hoped he bought it.

“We got a hero on our hands. We’ll get him to the hospital right away!”

“Take her too. She needs to be looked at,” the investigator informed.

Jesse and the family gazed at Hope, and how her idea had been so brilliant. Pa was going to jail as she predicted and Ian was going to get real medical help. Their journey was going to be continued for them. The ambulance would take them to Kansas City and as soon as Ian woke they would be able to continue on with their business.

“Wait! Hope!” Jesse called.

He ran inside the house and returned with Ian’s sack. “Don’t forget your things.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth knew what she was doing was lying and deceitful, but it would mean that Ian would get the help he needed and a scum bag like Pa would learn a valuable lesson. She allowed the cop to fawn over her, clenching his jacket around her shoulders as she continued to scream and cry for their benefit.

She felt extraordinarily bad for the simple fact that Ma was devastated. If only there was a way to make everything end peacefully, but she knew that a man like Pa wouldn’t stop until he was rolling in the dough. She was about to open her mouth and tell the cops her story when Jesse spoke up, stunning everyone as he filled out the story she was trying to tell.

Weapons were produced and Ian was hauled from the well, pale but alive. She was never more relieved to see a doctor in all of her life. Ian had a fighting chance now and she was sure as hell going to give it to him. She stood to the side, still wrapped in the warm coat as she watched the doctor closely, listening to the lead cop tell her that she would be going to the hospital as well. Dumbly she nodded, startled as Jesse yelled for her to wait.

She was never more happy to see that bag of money in Jesse’s hands as he came out of the house and reminded her not to leave without her things. Taking the sack from him, she held it close to her chest and nodded, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding him tight.

“When we get to Kansas City, we’ll send you and Ma some money. I promise you that, Jesse.” She whispered in his ear, knowing that she owed him so much more than a few measly dollars. “And don’t you worry about Pa. He’ll won’t hurt you anymore.”

As she pulled away from Jesse, she saw that they were already loading Ian into the ambulance. The lead officer waited for her patiently to say her goodbyes. The longest hug was reserved for Ma, the kind old woman still in shock as Elizabeth let her go and followed the man into the ambulance. She stared at Pa for the longest moment before she slipped into the vehicle, her eyes narrowing to show him that she truly had meant business the night before when she warned him to stay away from Ian.

 

[HotCider]

Jesse was in tears when Hope embraced him. He hadn’t wanted her and Ian to go, but he understood their situation. “Ya’ll come ‘round and visit. It’ll be better next time, promise.”

He waved goodbye as the ambulance and police cars left with Ian, Elizabeth, and Pa. Cheryl walked over to hug her cousin’s side and share his sorrow to see them—mostly Ian—go, but they had done good. Everyone was in a better place.

Kansas City Hospital

When Ian opened his eyes, no longer did he see darkness but bright, white lamps hanging above his head. He squinted his eyes as they stung his retinas a bit, and dragged his fingers back on what felt to be a sheet. There was a sterile smell around him and a pillow was behind his head and a warm blanket was embracing him. Ian was cleaned up and no longer caked in mud. His wounds were properly disinfected and dressed, and the painkillers numbing his chest and arm had gone unnoticed.

Suddenly, the events from an hour, a day, or he didn’t know how long it had been, came rushing at him. The thief’s eyes grew in brief panic before he exclaimed, “Hope!”

It had been a frightful reaction to the foreign atmosphere around him.