"Well, it must not have gone too badly." Cody remarked, as Molly walked towards them. "You're still in one piece."

Molly shrugged. "Well, I'm not so sure. She's still pretty mad at me."

"Where is she?" Kid asked in concern.

Molly sighed. "She stormed out. She didn't say where she was going. I guess you were right. She just needed to be alone."

Rachel came out onto the steps, followed by Teaspoon. "Have any of you seen Jesse? He's supposed to be studying right now."

Noah frowned. "No, I haven't. He was with us earlier."

"Well, would one of you check the barn." Rachel asked. "Knowing him he's probably hiding out in there to avoid math."

"Can't say that I blame him." Cody said under his breath. Rachel flashed him a look. "Ok, Ok, I'll go look for him."

Molly subtly moved in his way. "Well, he's not in the barn. I was just in there. I would've noticed if he was there."

Teaspoon chuckled. "Oh if only you knew Jesse. He has a way of being in a room and overhearing everything you say without you ever knowing about it." He said. "It's a gift."

"I guess so." Molly murmured.

"I'll be right back." Cody strode off for the barn.

Molly sighed. "Well, it's getting a little cold. I think I'll go get my sweater. Rachel, can I get you something while I'm inside?"

Rachel smiled. "No thanks Molly."

As Molly hurried away, Kid shook his head. "I wonder what got into me. And what's gotten into Lou."

Noah shrugged. "You just got carried away, Kid. Besides, Lou was about ready to strangle Molly. You had to stop her."

Rachel frowned. "I just don't understand this. I've never seen Lou so set against another person. She usually gives people more than enough chances."

"Unless she thinks the people she loves are threatened." Jimmy observed, causing everyone to turn and look at him.

"What are you saying, Jimmy?" Buck said. "That Lou's right about Molly?"

Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know. But I do know Lou's always backed me up on something I felt strongly about." He had been replaying what had just happened in his head, and he had never seen Lou act so irrationally. Seeing Kid push her to the ground had suddenly cleared his mind and he wondered why on earth they were more inclined to take Molly's side over Lou's. He shook his head, feeling as if he had let his best friend down. When she got back, he intended to apologize to her right away.

Just then their attention was drawn to Cody, who was running towards them as fast as he could with his gun drawn. He arrived pale and out of breath. "Where's Molly?"

"Cody, what - "

Cody looked at them hard. "Jesse's unconscious in the barn. He was hit on the head and Lou's nowhere to be seen but there's blood everywhere. Where's Molly?"

They all sprang to action. Rachel ran to the barn to help Jesse, while the others burst into Rachel's house. Kid was the first to burst through the door. He skidded to a stop and held his gun steady at Molly as she was trying to leave through the back door. "Stop!" She turned around to see five guns pointed with dead aim at her head.

As if knowing she wasn't going to escape, Molly dropped her innocent act and smiled in a very unpleasant way. "Boys! Have I overstayed my welcome?"

"Where's Lou?" Kid asked, his voice a low growl.

Molly smiled and shrugged innocently. "Well, maybe if you all had listened to her earlier she wouldn't be in the predicament she's in now."

Jimmy lunged for her but Teaspoon held him back. Buck grabbed the bag she had in her hands and shook his head. "Teaspoon! There must be about $50,000 worth of gold in here."

Noah stepped up to Molly, his eyes flashing in anger. "You tell us where Lou is or else we're going to make sure you die a slow, painful death."

She rolled her eyes. "Please."

"Buck, Cody, tie her up. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere." He turned to the others. "She's not telling us anything. Let's go see how Jesse's doing."

They ran to the barn where they found Rachel trying to tend to Jesse, who looked horrible. Blood was still oozing from a gash on his temple and his eye was already black and blue and swollen. Still he was struggling to sit up.

"Jesse please!" Rachel pleaded with him. "You're hurt."

Jesse looked relieved to see Teaspoon and the boys. "Teaspoon! Andy took Lou to the river. He's going to kill her."

Without another word they ran out the barn door in the direction of the river. The rain began to fall in torrents, making it difficult to see and hear, although the occasional lightning illuminated everything for a few seconds in a ghostly light.

"We'll have to split up!" Teaspoon yelled to be heard above the noise. Kid, Jimmy go that way. Noah and I will go this way. Hurry!"

Lou knew it was useless, but she struggled anyway. She was like a doll in Andy's arms, and he paid her no attention, even though she pleaded with him. "Andy, your sister is a bad person. And she doesn't treat you very well. Please, you don't want to kill me. Killing is very bad." He trudged on as if he couldn't hear her.

They reached the river. It was raging, out of control due to all the rain they'd had lately. As if on cue, rain began to fall in sheets, making the river seem to boil. Lou began clawing her captor, desperately trying to get free, but he didn't even flinch. He merely backhanded her and her head snapped back. Lou went limp, stunned. She felt him let her go into the water, but she clung to his arm. She could barely focus anymore, but she knew if she let go, she'd be swept away and then she'd be dead. He was trying to pry her fingers loose but she just dug in harder, cementing her grip.

The river was cold and Lou began to shiver. She felt the current pulling her and yet she still hung on. She was stubborn, she could survive this, she told herself. And yet, she felt a gnawing realization that she probably wasn't going to survive after all. She was no match for Andy and there was no one there to help her. Water splashed around her shoulders and face, and she coughed when she swallowed water.

Then she felt something on her head. She realized with horror that Andy was pushing her under the water. She was helpless as she plunged into the river, feeling the air within her throat slowly run out. Terror overcame her as she tried in vain to save herself.

The boys parted when they reached the river. It was swelled from the recent rain, and the current was so swift it had a quiet roar to it. Kid was frantic. He didn't see how they were going to find her, with all the underbrush and shadows. But then a flash of lightning hit closeby and he froze. "Lou!"

Just ten feet away, Andy was hunched over at the side of the river where the bank was high, like a small cliff over the water. And Lou was hanging over the cliff, her legs immersed in the water. Kid watched in fury as Andy took his enormous hand and pressed Lou's head under the water.

Kid sprinted towards him, with Jimmy close behind, and ran full force into Andy. The blow didn't faze the giant at all. Kid pulled out his gun and struck Andy on the head with it. Twice. Finally the enormous man groaned, and slumped unconscious to the ground. Meanwhile, Jimmy grabbed Lou's hand and tried to pull her up. "Hold on Lou!" Jimmy yelled. He desperately tried to get his footing but it was too wet. His feet started to slip and he backed up only to slip again.

Lou gasped for breath, coughing up water. She looked at Jimmy but was too scared to show any relief. The water was strong and it was pulling her in. She shook her head, as if seeing it was useless and then Jimmy felt her grip loosen.

"No!" Jimmy screamed, and as he felt her slip away from him, he jumped into the current with her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her whole body into his. Then he remembered he couldn't swim. Concentrating on staying afloat, he just tried to stay headfirst as the current carried them downstream. He still had the strength to stay afloat in the raging river, but he knew she did not. She felt as fragile as a reed in his arms as he tried to keep both their heads above water. Jimmy vaguely heard Kid yell behind him, and he wildly looked around for anything that would help them stay afloat. He grabbed a tree branch floating nearby and hooked Lou's arms around it. She was barely conscious now, and shivering. The water was freezing. Jimmy held onto her tightly. He wasn't about to lose her now.

He heard a yell and saw Teaspoon, Noah and Kid standing on a log that jutted out over the water like a half-finished bridge. With all his strength, Jimmy did his best to steer him and Lou over to them. Kicking his legs furiously, he managed to steer over to within their reach. Teaspoon grabbed Lou while Kid and Noah both grabbed Jimmy and they pulled them to safety.

Teaspoon quickly carried Lou to the ground and lay her down. She was unconscious, but something wasn't right. Kid, who had knelt right next to him, gasped. "Teaspoon, she's not breathing!"

Teaspoon realized she had swallowed too much water. "Hold on Sweetheart." He said as he lifted her limp form in his arms and, his hands wrapped around her rib cage, began pushing in. "Come on Lou, breathe, dammit, breathe!"

Noah, Jimmy and Kid watched helplessly as Teaspoon rammed his clenched hands into her stomach. Kid finally didn't think he could take it anymore when finally, after one hard thrust Lou began coughing, spitting out water and gasping for air. Teaspoon gasped in relief, holding her up as she trembled, fighting for her breath again. "Good job Louise. I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Kid, Noah and Jimmy looked relieved as well. They had come so close to losing her. Teaspoon swept up her legs and motioned to the boys as he started to walk back home. "Come on boys. Let's get her out of the cold."

As they approached the house, Rachel, Jesse, Cody and Buck all looked horrified at Lou's condition. They couldn't tell if she were alive or dead. Jesse bolted forward, staring at Lou's bruised face, blue from the cold, "Lou-!"

"She's going to be all right Jesse." Teaspoon said.

"Cody, go heat up the stove and boil some water." Rachel said, her eyes never leaving Lou. "We need to warm her up. Buck, fetch the extra blankets in my cedar chest." Teaspoon carried her into Rachel's house and laid her on the bed. She was shivering uncontrollably, and still coughing as if it hurt to breathe.

Still she opened her eyes and, fighting to focus, looked up at her friend's anxious faces surrounding her. "So I'm not dead?"

"No sweetheart. Not even close." Rachel said, tears springing to her eyes, as she squeezed Lou's hand.

"So I guess now you believe me." Lou paused, then managed to smile.

Noah shook his head. "My God, she is the most stubborn person I've ever met!"

"We owe you an apology, Lou." Kid said, kneeling down to be eye to eye to her. "I owe you an apology."

She smiled weakly but warmly. "It's ok."

Rachel stood up. "All right boys. Out. Time for Lou to get some rest."

"Time for us to deal with Molly Pierson." Jimmy said grimly.

They walked downstairs to where Cody and Buck had left her securely tied to a chair. She couldn't even move her finger, much less escape. "Well your plan failed." Kid told her. "Lou is still alive and so's Jesse."

"Well you win some and you lose some." She replied, trying to maintain her cool.

"Can we kill her now Teaspoon?" Jimmy asked, looking completely serious. He pulled his gun and aimed it point blank right between her eyes. Molly swallowed in sudden alarm.

Teaspoon looked hesitant. "Boys, now you know I can't let you do that. That would be murder."

Molly looked unsure. "You can't kill me. You'll hand me over to the authorities."

Noah looked at her coldly, pulling his knife out and playing with it so it caught the candle light's glare. "Teaspoon is the authorities!"

Cody pitched in, whispering suggestively. "Come on! Just this once. No one will ever know. We can throw her body in the river and no one will even find her for days."

Teaspoon's eyebrows lifted in sudden agreement. "Now you do have a point there."

Molly started to panic. "You can't be serious. You can't kill me in cold blood! You're insane! You can't do it!"

"Give me a few to think it over boys." Teaspoon finally said. Turning to Molly, he added before they left the room, "But I have a feeling you're not going to live through the night." They filed out of the room, leaving Molly shaking with fear and protesting desperately. Once they were out, Teaspoon sighed in contentment. "Ah that was fun."

"I would really like to kill her." Jimmy admitted. 'But just making her think we're going to kill her is better than nothing I guess."

"I can't believe I fell for her act." Kid shook his head. "And believed her over Lou."

"We all did Kid." Buck reminded him.

"Yes, we all owe Lou a big apology." Teaspoon sighed. "And I think I know just the thing that will make it up to her."

Lou stepped out onto the porch, thankful for the short dry spell that night. Needless to say, she was tired of the rain. Taking a deep breath, she realized how lucky she was to be standing there at all, much less breathing. She owed her life to Teaspoon and the others, but she figured saving her life was the least they could've done, after putting her through all that.

Then, a voice from behind her said, "All right, Louise, your chair is ready."

She turned around to see Cody standing next to a wooden chair he had cushioned with pillows and blankets. Jimmy was standing nearby with a glass of lemonade, and when she sat down, Kid massaged her feet, while Noah stood next to her with a fan. "And how about music?" She asked, smiling sweetly.

Cody rolled his eyes. "Teaspoon!"

Teaspoon came out of the bunkhouse playing with questionable finesse on a fiddle. He was grinning ear to ear.

Lou sighed in contentment. She liked the way Teaspoon thought, and if this was the way they wanted to make it up to her, then so be it. She sank back in her chair and smiled.

Jimmy whispered to Kid, "Let's just be sure not to be wrong about something like this again."

"I'm with you."

The End