Jessica heard the gunshot at the cafe and her heart leaped as she spun around. Her hand went to the butt of her pistol as she broke into a run, racing for the cafe. She leaped up onto the porch, hardly slowly and burst through the door. She skidded to a halt and surveyed the scene, her heart sinking as she saw Mindy on the floor and the pool of blood.

What happened? She asked, dropping to her knees next to the injured woman. Chase came flying into the room and she yelled at him to find the doctor. She yanked off her bandanna and pressed it against the wound, trying to slow or even stop the flow of blood.

Mindy groaned at the applied pressure. Damn that hurt. Jake held one of her hands and glanced back out the front window. "Random gun shot. No rhythm or reason." He looked down at Mindy concerned. He had grown up with her and seeing her like this brought back memories of when her father had been shot.

"Sorry that I'm hurting you," Jessica said. "I'm just trying to slow the bleeding." She wanted to go looking for whoever had done this, but the wounded Mindy was more important now. Jessica glanced down at the wound and saw the blood on her hands. Suddenly she was a child again and the blood was that of her parents as she tried to stop their bleeding.

A strong, masculine hand on her shoulder yanked her back to reality and she looked up into the gentle face of Monty. "Chase is here with the doctor," he said softly, knowing exactly where she had been before he had touched her. "Why don't you step outside for a moment."

Jessica nodded and moved out of the doctor's way, before turning and stumbling out the door. She stood out in the street gasping for breath and only now realizing that her cheeks were wet from tears. Monty wrapped a strong brown arm around her and she looked up into his brown face, framed by long black hair. The half Indian could always read her like an open book and there was no hiding anything from him.

The doctor had her wrapped up and ready to move quicker than you could blink. At her insistence, he moved her to the mission instead of one of the rooms above the cafe. Now she was settled in a cool white room on a small cot. The priest quietly worked nearby outside where Jake was brewing against one of the walls. He vented to the priest, "It makes no sense. Her mother died randomly during a gun fight when she was just a babe. Her father was shot before her very eyes when she was but a child. Now she is shot too? It is like someone is trying to wipe out the family. I have been with them a long time. No one in her family has ever caused harm to another. None of this makes sense." The priest listened quietly while continuing to slowly sweep the courtyard. Only a trained eye would be able to see the tense shoulders and slightly tight grip on the broom he held.

Jessica fought the flashbacks that lashed out at her. She had watched her parents killed before her very eyes at the tender age of nine, had frantically tried to stop their bleeding only to watch the life slip from them. She struggled to push the memories back into the recesses of her mind. Finally she could lift her head and when she did, her eyes burned with anger.

Jessica walked back to the front window of the cafe and looked in to the spot where Mindy had been shot. From there she turned, judging the trajectory of the bullet and finding the spot where the shooter had been standing. Monty followed her gaze and jogged to the spot, dropping to one knee to examine the area.

Though Jessica had grown up with the local Native Americans after her parents died and did know how to track, Monty was a much better tracker. She turned and saw Chase walking towards her. "Check with the people standing around and see if anyone saw who did it," she ordered. "Then go back to the mission and stay close to Mindy; they might try again." Chase nodded and started interviewing the people standing around.

Mindy rested with Jake gently smoothing her hair back. Pain. It didn't matter that the doctor had left pain killer. The moment she had arrived at the mission, the priest had taken custody of her. Only what he gave her was she allowed to ingest. Since he hadn't prepared the pain killer himself, he wouldn't allow her to use it. Instead he made a poultice that eased the burning sensation, but it still throbbed. Looks like she was going to miss the camp out this weekend with the kids. Mary was going to have a cow when she found out.

Chase returned shortly from interviewing people to report that there was nothing conclusive to report. Jessica wasn't surprised and hadn't figured there would be much, but it had been worth a try. Sometimes, someone saw something that could help. "Go keep an eye on Mindy," she ordered Chase. "Don't let her eat or drink anything unless Monty, the doctor or I bring it. And keep yours eyes open."

With that she turned and made her way to where Monty knelt. "What have we got?" She asked, looking at his handsome brown face. He was a good and gentle man, never letting peoples scorn or half-breed comments really get to him. Many people in town weren't the happiest with her letting him work in town. Most felt that he should stay on the reservation 'where Indians belonged'.

Monty's strong, deep voice brought Jessica back to the task at hand. "It wasn't a hired gun or anyone really comfortable with a gun. The shooter was nervous and agitated, which may be why Mindy wasn't killed." His eyes never left the marks in the dust on the boardwalk. "Could it have been an accident? Maybe a kid messing around with his dad's gun," Jessica asked. Monty shook his head, his eyes still on the ground. "There is lots of anger mixed with the nerves."

Unlike many people, Jessica did not ask Monty how he could tell all this. She understood how tracking worked and she knew that a keen eye could see all kinds of things where and untrained eye would see nothing helpful. She sat back and looked at the area around them. This is one of those times when she wished she could look at it with Monty's eyes, but at least she knew that he would tell her everything he could.

Mindy looked up when a shadow fell across the doorway. Chase stood there with the priest behind him. Jake nodded to them. "Welcome friends. What can you tell us?" Mindy saw the strain in Jake's angry eyes. He was upset. Of course he would be. She was his child hood friend.

Chase shook his head sadly. "Not much right now; no one seems to have seen anything. Do you know of anyone who might be mad at you, have been acting suspicious in the last few days?"

Jessica saw something shiny and went to pull it out of the shadows. It was a spent shotgun shell. "Ni!(Look!)," she called to Monty, so caught up in her work that she didn't even realize she had spoken in Cherokee.

Monty smiled as he came over to look. "It is good to hear you speak," he said in Cherokee, looking down at the bullet.

Jessica blushed, only now realizing that she had spoken in Cherokee. She had spoken all the time in Cherokee when she was growing up with them, but it had been awhile now. "Is it from the gun?" She asked in English. Monty nodded, pulling it out and handing it to her.

(Sorry trying to use actual Cherokee when I can, which will always be followed by the English. If it bothers you, just tell me to knock it off.)

(knock it on)

She thought about it but couldn't really think of anyone. "Not really. There was something strange at the ranch a few days back. Found a cut fence randomly in the middle of nowhere. Tried to track it, but the tracks also went no where. The foot print we found was on the small side though."

Chase nodded. "Okay thanks. If you remember anything else, tell me. Jessica thought it best if I help out the Priest and Jake in keeping an eye on you. Whoever it was might try again."

(Do you want this to be a longer drawn out thing or an easier thing? I can have Monty be able to track her or only be able to give us bits and pieces to work off.)

((drawn out. maybe over time the excitement dies down only to have it happen again when everyone's guard is down...))

Mindy slept the rest of the day. The priest kept a cup of bitter liquid by her bedside that helped with the pain. She wasn't fond of it, but knowing the priest's background, didn't argue. He had taken her in and taught her all kinds of things that no one else knew about either of them when her father had been killed. She trusted him.

Jake left while Chase was there to run errands and ride out to the ranch to let the others know. He grabbed his sleeping roll while there so that he could take a night shift with Mindy. He had almost lost Mindy and that had really brought home how much she meant to him.

"Can you track the shooter?" Jessica asked. Monty gazed at the area around him. "Tlano(no)," he said, shaking his head. "Dust doesn't hold a track well and is easy to disturb. The footsteps are smaller, woman or teenager." Jessica sat back on her haunches and looked around, mentally filing what information they had collected.

They really didn't have that much to go on, but it would have to be enough for now. She stood up and looked over at the Cafe where they were putting boards over the hole in the window.

Jake rode back into town and to the mission. Riding in and stabling his horse. He went to relieve Chase. "I'll take over here. You go on and get some supper."

"Don't let her eat anything you or the priest haven't prepared unless Jessica or I bring it," Chase warned before leaving. He left and caught up with Jessica and Monty at the Sheriff's office. Jessica was busily scribbling down on the info that they knew. She looked at the little info on the page and sighed, rubbing her temples. She hated knowing that there was a criminal loose out there that was trying to kill and might kill someone else.

Her parents killers had never been caught, sadly they had died of old age as free men. Good had come from their death, at least if you could call it that, which had driven Jessica against all odds to become a lawman and work her way up to sheriff. Strangers still had trouble with her gender and many didn't take her seriously at first.

The next morning, the priest began her on a series of easy movements and exercises. He purposefully started at dawn after Jake had gone to bed and before anyone else showed up. He wanted to get Mindy into the training that an assassin would do if injured despite the injury. They would only see a ranch girl, a civilian, in need of rest and care. So up she was slowly working hard. It hurt a lot. She was light-headed and weak. She trusted him though and slowly went through the simple routine.

Jessica slipped into the barn just as the sky was lightening. She slipped Bellisario's bridle on and led him quietly out of the stable. Once outside she vaulted onto his back and trotted out of town, urging him into a gallop once she reached the edge of town.

Sleep hadn't come to her last night. Every time she had fallen asleep, she had dreamed of her parents death and woken up screaming or in a cold sweat. Even awake the memories and flashbacks hovered at the edge of her mind, just waiting to slip past her guard.

Chase had stopped by to see how she was doing. When he saw her up and moving, he had gotten really upset. So had Jake. They both gave her advice on how to get better faster and pushed her off to bed. A boring morning ensured. Chase stayed with her until lunch. Then Jake stopped by with some books for her he picked up at the library. She pretended to read and was grateful when the priest stopped in for a check on her. She had kept it a secret that he was the one who had suggested she get out of bed earlier. He returned the favor to her. As soon as the boys left for lunch in the cafe, he brought around Shakespeare who was all saddled for her. Grinning, she slowly mounted and took the back way out. Crossing the meadow, she slipped unseen into the forest.

Jessica galloped along, hugging close to Bellisario's neck until she saw a rider ahead. Only when she say Chief Black Wolf on his paint horse, did she realize that she had ridden to the Reservation. She pulled Bellisario to a halt and both stood breathing hard.

"Ulihelisdi Oginalii(Welcome friend)," he greeted, pulling his horse to a halt next to Bellisario. Jessica only nodded in greeting, knowing that Black Wolf would understand. She felt Black Wolf's eyes on her and knew that he was reading what was wrong. "Ehena(come)," was all he said.

Bellisario fell in next to Black Wolf's horse, his usually fiery spirit subdued by the distress he sensed from his mistress. They rode along in silence, Black Wolf knowing that she would speak when she was ready.

Mindy headed out to where the kids were to be camping this weekend. Walking around the camp site, she dismounted and started slowly getting it ready. Stacking branches and moving small rocks out of the way, she soon had the place to her satisfaction. Mounting again, she headed on towards the waterfall that she would show them. It was a peaceful place and her spirits lifted as the sound of rushing water greeted her ears.

Jessica and Chief Black Wolf rode silently side by side, Jessica deep in thought. They came to a halt in the woods near the a clear, calm pool in the stream. They both dismounted and released the horses who wandered several yards away and began to graze. Gray Wolf and Jessica settled down in the grass by the stream and Jessica finally spoke.

"Someone got shot in town yesterday," she said softly, pulling her knees up to her chest. "When I saw the blood, I...I was back with mom and dad." She dropped her head to her knees as the tears that she had been holding back all day began to flow.

Leaving Shakespeare to graze for himself, she walked around the waterfall pool listening to the roaring noise. Slowly, so not to pull her wounds, she hiked up a trail that went up beside the waterfall to the top. At the top she had a gorgeous view. Settling in there, she enjoyed listening to the sounds of nature. Hoof beats sounded off in the distance. She saw a horse and rider come into view below her.

occ: sorry I haven't responded. I remember reading this but I think I was at camp and got busy or something. Still want to continue.

ic: Chief Black Wolf nodded slowly, remember what Jessica had been like when he had first found her after her parents death. He laid a gentle brown hand on her shoulder, feeling the quiet sobs shaking her body. He stayed silent, knowing that that was what she needed right now. He remembered how deep inside of herself she had retreated for months after her parents died. She hadn't spoken to anyone in weeks, the only things that had seemed to comfort her was nature and the camps horses.

ooc: not a problem.

ic: Jake came into the clearing below the waterfall. There was Shakespeare. Mindy had to be around here. He dismounted and looked up at the waterfall. He could clearly see Mindy looking down at him. He offered a wave that was returned. Turning, he started up the trail. Mindy disappeared from view for a moment. As he came around at the top, she was gone. He frowned. Walking over to where she had been sitting, he looked down. Scuff marks. She had not left willingly. Turning, he scanned the woods. She was injured. There was no way she would be able to take care of herself. Whoever had Mindy knew this.

ooc: hey want to start a second one? a fantasy based one? I have a character I am creating that I want to use. Actually two characters. One good and one evil. Revy/Erza themed for the bad one and Ul/Etain themed for the good one.

occ: Sure though I must admit that I am clueless about Revy/Erza and Ul/Etain.

ic: Jessica raised her head, knowing that she should get back to town and look for more on Mindy's shooter. She wiped away the tears and looked into Black Wolf's dark brown eyes. He nodded, understanding what was going through her head. "In ehi uhusti, vgido(be strong my sister)." Jessica nodded and turn, leaping up onto Bellisario's back. Chief Black Wolf rode with her to the edge of the Reservation.