Topic: Almost There

Marin

Date: 2017-01-16 09:02 EST
What a day it had been. A day in which one nightmare was brought to an end, yes, but the means by which it had happened would definitely bring old nightmares back to haunt the Lassiter family. Nightmares of fire and loss that haunted father and daughter but would now never be repeated in the living world. With guests in the house, Marin was the one who had to leave the children to deal with them, leaving Evan to watch over Caleb with Maggie wrapped around him.

"Papa," the girl said thoughtfully, "is the bad man in the barn the same bad man who hurt my first mama and Aunt Emma?"

Evan's mouth formed a hard, grim line at his daughter's question, which brought back memories of things better left forgotten, or maybe better left to rest. His late wife's murder had brought out a side of him he hoped his present family would never have to see again. Fire and blood; grief and hatred. No, Dobson wasn't the same man who'd killed Maggie's mama. He'd made sure that man had paid for his sins in blood years and years ago, but it seemed no matter how many hate-filled men might be put into the ground, there was always another to take his place. "The man who hurt your mama is no more," he explained as simply as he could without worrying her further. "The bad man in the barn ....He killed your Aunt Emma and Uncle Jake, but he can't hurt no one no more."

Hugging into her papa, Maggie nodded, her eyes on her little brother, who was sleeping peacefully enough. "I was real scared, Papa," she whispered, almost ashamed of herself for not being braver. "He had a-hold of Cal and he said he would shoot him if I made a noise. Should I have yelled out then" Only I didn't, and Mama got in a fight because she had to come get us."

"No, little darlin'. You did just what you should've done to keep yourself and your brother safe. You were very brave today, and your ma and me are real proud of you," he praised her, touching a kiss to her hair, and pausing a moment to breathe her in. She was so like her mother sometimes it made his heart ache, but he knew he was blessed to have her and her brother and Marin. He'd been given a second chance at life, and he had no intention of wasting it.

Reassured, Maggie squeezed her arms around him a little tighter, glad she'd done the right things today. "The man in the bed," she said then, still trying to get everything straight in her mind. "Is he gonna be a friend" He throwed us at Mama in the fire, and he got hurt by the bad man. Is he stayin', Papa?"

Though Evan hadn't spoken a word to the man occupying one of the upstairs beds as yet, he owed him a debt he could never repay. Were they friends" No, not yet, but that was likely to change. "He's an old friend of your Mama's," Evan explained. "I s'pect he didn't have time to explain what he was doing. He just wanted to get you and Cal safe." He leaned his cheek against her hair for a moment, content to hold both his children close as long as they'd allow. "I ain't sure how long he's stayin', but he's welcome here long as he wants."

"He was real brave," Maggie murmured. She was trying not to think about the fire itself; the sensation, for the second time in her life, of being surrounded by flame and unable to escape. The first time, she had found her papa; the second time, it had been the mama Papa had given her who had been there to take the terror away. "And the bad man is really gone for good?"

"For good, darlin'. I promise he'll never try to hurt you or anyone else ever again." That was a promise he could keep, but there was still the matter of Rogier. As far as Evan was concerned, this had gone on long enough. It was time to end it, even if he had to kill the man in cold blood to keep his family safe. "You're safe, Mags. Your mama and me and Jodie and Bill ....We ain't never gonna let anyone hurt you or Caleb ever again." And by extension, Duncan and Mara, too. He knew he could count on that other family for help, if they needed it.

"Mm'kay," Maggie nodded, nestling in close once again. For a long time, there was only the sound of three of them breathing together in the warmth of the family room, before the door opened, and Marin slipped inside. She smiled at the sight of her husband all wrapped up in his children.

"Everyone's settled," she said quietly. "Sam's wife showed up before Mr. Hale did, but it's all sorted out. They're here as long as they need a place to stay. It's the least we can do."

"He gonna be all right?" Evan asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the two children curled up against him, whether they were sleeping or not. Caleb was young enough that maybe he'd forget what had happened, though Maggie never had. There were things they needed to discuss still, but not until the children were tucked safely in their beds.

Marin nodded, crouching down next to where he sat to stroke her hand over Caleb's hair with a smile for Maggie. "He's fine," she promised confidently. "All healed up, and his wife with him. He's got nothing he needs to worry over until the morning."

Evan grunted in acknowledgement of her statement. So, one night of peace and then all hell breaks loose in the morning. "We've got a lot to talk about," he said, not just the two of them, but their extended family, as well, including the newcomers recuperating upstairs.

"He didn't know," she said softly, knowing Evan would understand what she meant. "He'll want answers."

Maggie stirred, blinking her eyes open to see her redheaded mama there. "Answers to what, Mama?" she asked innocently.

Marin smiled, reaching over to gently chuck their daughter's chin. "Answers to questions he doesn't know he has yet, cheeky chops."

"Go to sleep, darlin'," Evan urged his daughter, not because he had no more patience for her, but because she simply needed her rest. "Your mama and I will be right here all night. Promise," he assured her quietly, so as not to wake her brother. It wasn't often the children shared their parents' bed, but tonight might be one of those rare nights.

"And Cal?" Maggie asked, her voice weary with fright and exhaustion.

"He'll be right with us all the while, sweetheart," Marin promised her, gently taking Caleb from Evan's arm to lift the sleeping toddler up onto her hip. "But let's get you both in bed before you give your Papa a bad back."

By morning, Evan knew word will have traveled to the Mallorys and beyond, and friends would be gathering to offer whatever help they could. Evan didn't think a lynch mob was a good idea, but they'd have to wait to see what the morning would bring. Cooler heads would likely prevail. "What do you say, little darlin'" Ready for bed?" he asked his daughter, who was growing up a little too fast for his liking.

Marin

Date: 2017-01-16 09:02 EST
"Gon' have nightmares," Maggie murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're gonna be close, right?"

Marin's smile was a little sad, knowing that nightmares were the least of the fears re-awakened by the day's events. With luck, Cal would forget as quickly as he had experienced it, but Maggie would always be afraid of fire and the men who set it.

"Course we are," he assured her gently, as he lifted her into his arms and got to his feet to follow Marin to the bedroom. "And I learned a spell for keeping away nightmares. You wanna learn it?" he asked, though he'd really learned no such thing, but whatever little white lie helped her feel more secure was worth it. He wondered if there was a charm or something to keep nightmares away. It was something worth looking into.

Maggie nodded, trying not to yawn and give away how tired she really was. "Does it work even if you're not magic, like us?" she asked hopefully, glancing ahead to watch as Marin eased Caleb down into the middle of the big bed that was normally reserved for their parents only.

"Yep! It's 'specially for folks who ain't magic, like us," he replied, waiting for Marin to get Caleb settled in before tucking Maggie in beside him. "All you do is close your eyes and think about your favorite things. Think about all the folks who love you, and try to see a picture of them in your head. Think about sunshine and flowers and horses," he suggested, starting her out, waiting for her eyes to drift shut before touching a kiss to her forehead. "May the dream fairies keep all your nightmares away and may you only dream of happy things," he whispered, tapping her nose three times in succession. He was making it all up as he went along, but he hoped it gave her a little comfort.

Maggie sighed softly, cuddling in next to her brother as their father wished her off to sleep with happy thoughts and pleasant dreams, smiling as she drifted slowly into the deep oblivion that only children can truly enjoy.

Marin smiled as she leaned against the end of the bed, not daring to offer a kiss of her own in case she roused the newly sleeping girl. "Sweet dreams, my little darlings," she whispered to their children fondly, absentmindedly rubbing the bruise on her hip from her athletics earlier that day.

Evan seemed reluctant to leave them, even to move a few feet away, watching them in their sleep as if he was afraid they might wake up screaming in terror at any moment. "What kind of man hurts children?" he asked, quietly, though he wasn't really expecting an answer. This was the second time he and Maggie were living this nightmare, but thankfully, this time the tragedy had been averted.

"The cowardly kind," she murmured softly, content to wait until he was ready to leave the children asleep for the time being. "The kind who sends men to do his dirty work for him and thinks he can intimidate a grieving daughter into selling her body and her land with it."

Evan clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, just barely withholding a growl at the reminder of what both Rogier and Dobson had done to or tried to do, if it had not been for him. "Rogier was behind this," he said, his voice dripping with loathing, though his voice was a hushed whisper. He tucked the blankets around both daughter and son, and leaned down to give them both a soft kiss.

"Who else would want us so broken?" Marin murmured sadly, easing from her lean to slip out through the open door and into the room beyond. She hadn't really allowed herself to think about what had happened, or the implications of it, moving from one capable solution to the other until this moment, when there was nothing left but to think on it.

Evan, too, had wanted to think on how things could have ended, but thankfully hadn't. They had come far too close to disaster. But for the grace of God ....if there even was such a being, he thought to himself. He hovered over their children a moment longer before following Marin to the next room, knowing she was going to need some comforting and reassurance of her own. "Mare," he started as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's all right. They're all right. Dobson is dead, and I'm gonna make sure Rogier never hurts anyone again."

She breathed out shakily, leaning back into his arms, enveloped by his embrace. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should never have let them out of my sight. He wouldn't have got to them if I'd just kept them under my eye. I'm so sorry."

"Shh," he whispered, forgetting the anger and hatred for a moment, so he could focus on soothing his wife's undeserved guilt. "It ain't your fault. They're kids. They should be able to play on their own land without us worrying about some ....someone trying to hurt them." That wasn't the word he'd wanted to use for Dobson, but he didn't want the children to wake up and overhear their father cussing either.

She twisted about, wrapping her arms around his waist as she leaned into him. "And I forgot that stupid gun, too," she muttered. She hated the thing, but Evan had trained her how to use it. "As soon as Sam mentioned Dobson, I just ran. I knew where they'd been playing, I needed to see them, and ....and he was already there."

"You wouldn't have been able to use it, anyway. Not with the children so close," he reminded her, though it had inevitably been a bullet that had taken Dobson's life, but not by her hand. He could have blamed himself, too, for arriving too late, the barn already in flames, but there was no point. It was no one's fault but Dobson's and, beyond him, Rogier. It was just that simple. "He's gonna pay. I promise you that."

She nodded, forcing herself not to cry. Evan didn't deserve to have to deal with her tears today as well. "Bill says Sam didn't know the truth," she told him. "Mr. Hale will have told him as much as he knows, too. Perhaps we can put Sam in Rogier's place, and have a neighbor we can trust."

He wouldn't have minded if she cried; in fact, he would have understood and was half expecting it. "Seems the logical thing to do. Just a matter of how and when," Evan agreed, even if it took him calling the man out for a duel and putting a bullet between his eyes.

"We don't have access to a lawyer until the roads clear a little," she said quietly, drawing him down onto the couch to sit with her as they talked it over. "Mr. Hayes would see to it all, I'm sure. I am fairly certain he was the solicitor who took custody of the original deed and will, too."

"A lawyer," Evan echoed with obvious distaste and doubt. "You really reckon Rogier will submit himself to a trial?" he asked, dubiously. The man was as slippery as a salamander and had more tricks up his sleeve than a magician. No, there was only one way to put an end to Rogier for good, but it was a bloody one.

"We're going to do this right, Evan Lassiter, or another one just like him is going to pop up out of the ground and make life hell for us all over again," Marin told him firmly. "The law is with us on this, we should make use of it. Send to the Watchhouse on the river for a sheriff to take evidence and arrest Rogier."

Marin

Date: 2017-01-16 09:03 EST
"So he can do a few years in prison and come back to haunt us?" he countered, or maybe escape. "No, we're gonna put an end to Rogier once and for all," he told her, brooking no argument over that fact. He wasn't going to risk the lives of his wife and children over a piece of trash like Rogier ever again.

"And we'll do it legally, because if you end up in prison, I will never forgive you," she informed him sternly. "Don't you dare argue with me about doing this the right way, Evan, or I'll handcuff you to a tree and deal with it myself."

"Marin, do you trust me?" Evan asked her bluntly, choosing a different tack as he took a seat by his wife on the couch. He didn't want to argue, but he knew how men like this operated, and he didn't want to take any chances.

"Of course I trust you," she told him with a frown. "You know I trust you. I've been hiding behind you since the day we met; if I didn't trust you, there would be no point to that, would there?" Her eyes narrowed as she considered him. "Why, what are you getting at?"

"Then trust me on this. There's only one way to make sure Rogier never hurts anyone again." He lifted a hand to silence her before she could protest. "I ain't talking about murder. I'm talking about a duel." A shoot-out, Texas style, where the man with the fastest hand and best aim was the sole survivor. He would have never suggested it if he wasn't completely confident that he was that man.

Her mouth opened, but she kept her peace when he silenced her, waiting until he spoke again. "And a duel won't be considered anything but murder unless a watchman is there to witness it," she told him firmly. "Evan, I know you. I know you'd win a duel against Rogier. But I don't want to lose you to prison or worse because impatience drove you to do something without the proper recourse to the law. And besides ....Rogier is Sam's father. He deserves the right to decide when and how the man is dealt with."

"Fair enough. I will leave it to Sam to decide, and then we'll consult with the Watch. Agreed?" he asked her. It wasn't that he was itching to spill Rogier's blood so much as he was anxious to put the whole matter to rest for good.

Relieved that he was at least going to be reasonable about the way they went about this, Marin breathed a sigh of relief. "Agreed," she nodded. "Thank you. I know I'm overprotective and squeamish and delicate, but I do understand what is necessary. I'm just too selfish to risk losing you over it."

"Trust me, darlin'. I dealt with men ten times worse than Rogier. You ain't gonna lose me," he assured her, with just the hint of a self-assured smirk. You might be able to take the man away from the Old West, but you couldn't take the Old West out of the man. He touched a kiss to her cheek before weaving his arms around her waist. "No more talk about Rogier tonight. Tell me how you know Sam."

She laughed softly, nestling into his arms. "We grew up together, sort of," she told her husband fondly. "Before Rogier took started throwing his weight around, Sam was allowed to come over here to pick apples and berries, and I learned how to ride at Oakham Mount. Our mothers were very good friends, and after Sarah died, my mom would invite him over to play and to have tea with us. We lost touch after I went to Earth to pursue music, and when I came back ....well, you know how that went. Chances are Rogier told Sam that you drove him off at gunpoint without provocation and ordered him not to come over here and risk himself. Until today, Sam's never seen the darker side of that man."

Evan took that in stride, listening as she explained a part of her past that he didn't much all that much about. There was no jealousy in him; he was far too secure in his marriage for that, and he'd caught sight of the pretty redhead who'd so frantically come here looking for her husband. "Why would a man not acknowledge his own flesh and blood" Why lie to him all his life" I don't understand."

"I don't think anyone could explain it but Sid Rogier, and he's not a man who explains himself," Marin sighed softly. "He's been a toxic influence on these parts far longer than I ever realized. I wish I'd insisted on going over there when we found Mother's papers. We could have shown Sam his birth certificate years ago."

One question led to another, until Evan came to understand what had happened in the past that had brought them to this point in the present. "Why didn't you?" he asked simply. Of course, if they had, everything might have been different, so the point was kind of moot.

"Because I was still scared of Rogier, and you were still too angry to let me anywhere near him," she said simply. "You know me, love. I'm a coward at heart. I'll only stand up if someone I love needs me to do it for them. Standing up for myself ....I don't think that's something I will ever be able to do."

"You were brave today, Mare," he reminded her. If it hadn't been for her, things might have turned out much differently, and then Rogier would have won. "We owe Sam a debt we can never repay," he added.

"I'd do anything for our children," she said in a quiet tone. "Which apparently includes running directly into gunfire and hoping none of the bullets hit me." She snorted a little at that; no doubt Sam had almost had a heart attack when she'd ducked into the loft in the first place. "We'll see him where he should be," she said thoughtfully. "We'll be his friends. Perhaps that will go some way to repaying that debt."

"Reckon he'll need a few friends," Evan said. "That pretty little wife of his remind you of anyone?" he asked, with a bit of a smirk, thinking of another redhead he knew and loved well.

Marin laughed again, pulling a face at her husband. "Wait until you hear how she talks to him, and then decide if the similarities are that clear," she suggested in amusement. To her knowledge, she had never threatened to kill Evan, but that had been the first thing Bridget had said when she arrived about Sam.

No, Marin had made other threats, but she'd never threatened to kill him tha the could recall. He smiled, relieved to hear her laugh again. It had been a long, harrowing day for all of them, including himself. "I'll refrain from judging 'til tomorrow," he promised, pulling her onto his lap.

She yelped a little as he pulled her up onto his lap, keeping her laughter quiet for the sake of the children in the next room. "Are you proposing to put me to bed, Mr. Lassiter?" she asked innocently. "Because I think you might find there's already someone in it."

Marin

Date: 2017-01-16 09:03 EST
He would have had other plans for her, if they both weren't so tired from the day's events and if there weren't two exhausted children already taking up space in their bed. "I ain't proposing anything, but I have been wondering what you might think about the prospect of having another baby," he whispered, nudging his nose playfully against the side of her neck.

She smiled, tilting her head as his nose and breath teased her throat. "Missing the cuddles from babies too small to escape, sweetheart?" she asked him teasingly, turning her head to touch her nose to his as her fingers played through his hair.

"Would you laugh if I said yes?" he asked, admitting to having a weakness for children, the smaller the better. For such a gruff-seeming man, he was a sucker for children, as evidenced by his own son and daughter. "We could adopt," he suggested, knowing how close she'd come to tragedy when Cal had been born. There were plenty of orphans in Rhy'Din who needed good homes, after all, and it would be a way for them to help someone less fortunate than themselves.

She was relieved to hear him offer that alternative. Despite her initial dismissal of how seriously Cal's birth had affected her, as the years passed and their children grew, Marin was more and more aware that pregnancy carried too many risks for a woman of her stature. She had almost died the first and only time she had given birth. It was not a scenario she wanted to repeat. "Maybe we should talk to Cal and Maggie about it before we start looking into the whole thing," she suggested. "Find out how they feel about having a baby brother or sister. But ....I know what you mean. I actually kind of miss the broken nights, in a way. But I'd never put you through that with me again. It was just too close to a line I might not be able to cross again if I have to go."

"You've made me a very happy man, Marin," he assured her, not wanting her to think he was ungrateful or unsatisfied with the two children they had. Marin had accepted Maggie as her own child, and Maggie has blossomed under Marin's care, and Caleb was growing like a weed, but he wondered if they didn't have room in their home and their hearts for one more. "I don't wanna risk losing you again. That's why I haven't mentioned it, but Cal ain't a baby no more, and if we're gonna have another, we should probably do it sooner, rather than later."

"I'd love to have another child," she confessed softly. "I haven't wanted to say it, because I didn't want you to think that I'm not happy with you and our family - I'm very happy. But ....another child would be lovely, and good for the kids, I think."

"Let's sort out this mess with Rogier first, and then we'll see what Maggie and Caleb think about having a little brother or sister," he said, suggesting a sound plan of action. He doubted either of their children would be against the idea, but it was only fair to find out for sure before they made a decision that would affect their rest of their lives.

"I think you have yourself a deal there," she smiled, brushing her lips to his in a gentle, tender kiss. "I love you, Evan. Have since the day we met. I love our family, great and small alike. We'll make it work, once the immediate crisis is out of the way."

"I have no doubt," he replied, touching another kiss to her lips, a soft smile on his face. "I love you, too, Marin. Always have, always will. Question now is ..." He glanced toward the bedroom where two small children were peacefully sleeping and snoring a little. "Where are we gonna sleep?"

She giggled softly. "On either side of our children, in that huge bed you laughed at me for buying a couple of years ago," she informed him sweetly. "Doesn't seem like such a silly frippery now, does it?"

He chuckled at her question. "Reckon not," he replied, moving to his feet and pulling her up with him. "Shall I tuck you in, Mrs. Lassiter?" he asked, smiling softly at her. Despite the day's excitement - or maybe in part because of it - he was feeling closer to her than ever before.

Lifted up and set on her feet, she grinned up at him. "Let's see if we can get in there and ready for bed without waking up either of the angelic monsters," she suggested laughingly. "If we can, then you can tuck me in."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a small chuckle of his own, as he led her back toward the bedroom to get into their bedclothes and sneak into bed without waking a soul. For two supposedly full-grown adults, a lot of giggling ensued before they eventually accomplished that task. But giggling or not, nightmares or not, the Lassiters slept well that night, secure in the knowledge that one half of their greatest problem was already in the grave.