Her heart in her throat, she heard Jimmy's voice from upstairs as she approached the back door. She couldn't understand his words, but he was yelling and he sounded afraid. Jimmy was afraid. To Lou, that could only mean that Ann was in.

She got in the back door without being noticed. Quickly, she snuck up the back stairs. At the top, she looked around for Jimmy and Ann. Jimmy was in a front bedroom with both Colts drawn and firing out the window. Every minute or so he would yell down the hall to the back bedroom to ask if Ann was still there and that she was okay. Lou looked into the back room when she heard Ann answer. She was huddled up in the corner with her head down, arms around her knees, hands over her ears. Her eyes were tightly closed. She was terrified.

Lou quickly crawled into the room with Jimmy, rushed over to the window and fired her gun with Jimmy. A moment later, they both sank down under the window to talk.

"Lou, what are you doing here?" Jimmy asked breathlessly.

"I saw them heading out here and figured you could use the help. I can go if you want." she finished with a smile.

"Don't even think about it!" He smiled back and leaned forward to give her a quick kiss. "I'm actually really glad to see you. Ann is just a bit scared."

They quickly looked out the window and fired a round into the gang trying to keep them from advancing. They each hit a gang member, bringing their number down by two. Still way too many to have a way out.

"I told Cody and Buck to get Teaspoon. They should be here any minute."

"Can you get her out of here?" he turned his head back to where Ann huddled against the wall.

Lou nodded, "We'll have to go out a side window. I saw them movin in around back."

Jimmy nodded now and smiled at her gently. Then he turned back to the window. He would have to keep their attention if the girls were to sneak out.

Lou kept down as she hurried into the back room.

"Ann, " she yelled to the other girl who in return jerked her head up in surprise. Her eyes went from scared to angry. At the sound of the next gunfire, however, she was scared again.

"What are you doing here, Lou?"

"That's a popular question today." At Ann's questioning look, Lou just smiled to herself with a reminder about getting a grip and went on. "Ann, we have to get out of here. There are too many, we can't stop them. Jimmy's gonna cover us and we are sneakin out a window."

Ann simply looked at her with wide eyes and nodded. She knew that Lou was right. There was no other way. Together, the two girls crawled back towards the door. Jimmy stopped firing long enough to look back at them as he saw them start down the stairs. He took a deep breath and focused on the problem at hand.

Lou and Ann were almost to the bottom of the stairs when the men started coming through the door. Lou quickly dropped the first two. The third came in and aimed at the girl who was now cowering to the wall up a few stairs. Lou saw and fired. The man dodged, aimed again and fired. Lou saw no other way. She jumped to the side. She was thrown against the wall as the bullet impacted with her flesh. The man never had a chance to fire again as Lou faintly heard her name and saw a flash above her head. The man fell in his tracks, dead.

Jimmy reached Lou's side and continued firing at the men as they came in the door. Finally, they heard more guns and watched as the men stopped moving forward, instead hunching down and falling as Teaspoon and the boys cut them down.

Ann had run down the rest of the stairs to kneel down beside Jimmy as he cradled Lou in his arms. Lou tore her eyes away from Jimmy's to look at her.

"Why, Lou? Why would you do that? You hate me!"

Lou looked at her with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Ann. I have acted so badly. I never hated you. I just love Jimmy."

With that, Jimmy looked up at Ann and she at him. He nodded his head slightly and Ann understood as he turned his gaze back to Lou.

"Well, Lou" she started, "when you want to make up for something, you sure do it in a big way." She smiled at her nervously, Lou smiled back. Then Lou was unable to stop the grimace of pain as her damaged nerves started complaining.

"Jimmy, I can't, " she whispered weakly, not able to be nice anymore. Jimmy just nodded and asked Ann to go get Teaspoon and tell him they needed a doctor. Then he looked back at Lou.

"You're gonna be okay, Sweetheart," he smiled sweetly at her. "We have a date remember. You are not gonna make me wait this long and then stand me up."

Lou just looked at him and quietly closed her eyes and squeezed his hand.

"Lou? Sweetheart? Stay with me Lou! Damn!" Jimmy carefully put his arms under Lou and stood up, lifting her tenderly. He would get her to the doctor now!


Part Two
Part Four

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