"Well, boss lady, what now?" Paula threw the last files onto the desk in front of TJ, a grin pulling itself onto her face. They had just covered every inch of the packing plant work areas and Paula had reason to be proud. The first start up on the new machinery had gone well and the few workers who had been in the plant had had no difficulties in using it, or rectifying the simulated breakdowns. As soon as the final inspections were completed, the plant would be operational.

TJ looked up at the grinning woman, pleased to see her so happy. Paula had put an awful lot of work into getting the plant up and running. In fact, without Paula and Erin the rejuvenation of Meridianville would have been impossible. "Where are Mare and Erin?"

"Hoping I can convince you to call it a day," she suggested.

"Hmm. That might be possible, on one condition." Paula raised her eyebrow in inquiry. "It's late and I think we all deserve to celebrate a little. Let's go to that bar on the road out of town, get a bite to eat and have a few drinks."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Who's driving?"

"You can toss for it," replied TJ, putting the files that Paula had dropped on the table into her briefcase.

"Oh great," moaned the woman. "I never win when we toss for it."

"You could just ask Erin to drive for a change, you know." TJ looked over her shoulder as she wheeled out of the door. "This is your celebration, after all."

"Good point, well presented and you can tell her." Paula smiled sweetly and walked ahead to round up Erin and Mare.

Erin actually took the fact that she had been made designated driver pretty well. They had all piled in the truck: Paula and Mare in the rear, TJ and Erin up front. Morale within the quartet was high. Things on the ranch, at the factory and in town were going well; life was treating them all kindly for a change. Erin knew that she would be the only one sober by the end of the evening, but she didn’t begrudge Paula her night out.

The bar wasn't that far from the factory site, ten minutes at the most. Since it was still pretty early in the evening, it wasn't that crowded when the girls arrived. It was like most other bars found in smaller towns; dimly lit with smoke-clouded air, the wail of a country singer coming from the juke box.

The four women immediately found a table that they could fit TJ's chair beneath, and a somewhat tired looking waitress came for their order. TJ dove in first, ordering a jug of beer, cutting off any remarks by telling them all that they were having a proper drink not some fancy cocktail concoction. She also requested that chips and nuts and whatever else they could lay their hands on be brought. The waitress grinned at the obviously happy group and made to leave but Erin stopped her, asking for a large cola and also telling the waitress that she was setting a limit on the amount of beer that would cross the bar for the table tonight.

TJ scowled across at her but didn't argue. She knew the rules; she was the one who had invented them. They all knew that whoever was driving made the decisions. If Erin told them they were leaving, they left, no arguments, and if she told someone they had had enough then they stopped. Anybody who didn't play by the rules would pay a nasty forfeit when they finally sobered up. If they should get arrested, then they were left for the night in the care of the local law.

They had all paid the forfeit at least once and none of them cared to pay it again. There was the time before TJ's accident when both Erin and Paula had regretted the decision to ignore TJ's "it's time to go" and spent a very uncomfortable night sitting outside their hotel because TJ had told the manager not to let them in. She hadn't even relented when it rained, though she did send out raincoats for them.

But they had got their own back a year later just before TJ's accident. TJ ended up cleaning Erin and Paula's apartment for a week, also doing the laundry and cooking. The cooking had been changed to restaurant or take-out after the initial taste of what TJ had put in front of them that first night. These rules had been carefully explained to Mare and it was up to her to stick to them.

An ice-cold jug of beer and three glasses appeared on the table and Paula did the honors by pouring the first drink. She waited until the waitress got back with Erin's cola and the snacks before she made the first toast of the evening. Paula stood and raised the glass in her hand.

"To the loves of our life and a job well done," she said, looking at her lover and two friends. She took a deep drink as the others repeated the toast.

Despite the fact that she was the only sober one sitting at the table, Erin was enjoying the evening. In the two hours that they had been here the bar steadily got busier. The noise level rose and it became increasingly difficult to see through the layer of smoke that hung in the air. Erin checked her watch again, wondering what time to call it quits on the happy little group. It was just after eight thirty. I'll give them another half an hour then I'll get them home.

Mare rose unsteadily to her feet and smiled down at TJ who was gazing lovingly up at her. "I'll be back in a few minutes, sweetie." Even in her inebriated state, Mare managed to hold back her desire to lean down and kiss TJ.

TJ tangled her hand in Mare's and squeezed tightly, knowing that a more overt public display of affection would be appreciated by Mare, but probably not by those around them. "Hurry back, I'll miss you." Her lower lip dropped and Mare grinned at her, loving the cute expression on TJ's face. Mare returned the squeeze then tottered off toward the restrooms, weaving between those who were dancing to the country music with the expertise granted her by the amount of alcohol she had consumed this evening. TJ propped her elbow on the table, placed her head in her hand and watched Mare's shapely body disappear from sight.

Erin observed TJ with interest. She had never seen her friend so totally taken with someone, not even the few times she had gone out with women in college. It amused her to see TJ so absorbed in the woman.

She felt a heavy weight on her shoulder and looked to her left. Paula, talking to TJ who was still gazing toward where Mare had disappeared, now rested her head on Erin's shoulder. Time to get this lady home to bed I think. "TJ! TJ." TJ's head slowly turned toward Erin.

"Hmm?"

"Last one, then we go. Okay?" TJ nodded and went back to gazing after Mare.

Mare eventually broke through the dancers and spied the facilities she was after. She edged her way around a group of four rather loud men, not recognizing them in the smoky atmosphere. She pushed the restroom door open, squinting at the bright light and groaning to herself. Boy, am I gonna regret this tomorrow. A few minutes later she exited the restroom and began to make the trek back to TJ and the girls. She had put one foot on the dance floor when she felt a large hand grab her shoulder and turn her around.

"Hello there, Doc." Mare blearily looked up and recognized Nick Lanson, a local troublemaker. "You gonna let me and my buddies buy you a drink?"

Uh oh. She smiled at the man and then carefully removed his hand. "Thanks for your offer but I'm with friends." She smiled at him again then turned and made a rapid exit across the dance floor.

TJ beamed as she saw Mare appear through the crowd. She grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her down into her chair. "You're back!" Her smile lit up her face. "The big, bad lady over there says we have to go." TJ turned her blue eyes on Erin.

Erin smiled at the pair. "Yes, and the big, bad lady is sticking to her guns."

"No fair," said Mare. "We were just starting to have fun."

"Ah, ah, ah. Remember the rules," Paula said with a pronounced slur to her words.

Nick watched the blonde woman walk away from him and turned back to his friends. Juan was nearly in tears; he was laughing so hard. Miguel wasn't much better. Tony, the youngest of the four, strolled up to him and draped an arm around his shoulders.

"It was a nice try, Nick, but I'd say the Doc's brush-off was better." Tony let his gaze wander over in the direction the blonde had disappeared. His eyes fixed as a parting in the crowd showed her sitting down at a table full of beautiful women. "Oh, looky there. I wonder if that's some of her new friends from Meridian ranch." His face turned dark when he thought about the buckshot fired into the side of his truck by some maniac at Meridian ranch. Sheriff Jackson had let them off with a warning to stay away from the ranch, but that didn't satisfy Tony.

Nick looked over at the younger man, seeing the look on his face. In the years since they had started hanging around together, Tony had a hundred percent record when it came to the ladies; Nick had a rather less auspicious track record. Juan and Miguel normally kept out of the little competition that had sprung up between the other two. "Twenty says you can't get her to talk to you," Nick said.

Tony let a rakish smile cross his face. "I'll take that bet, but you double it if she walks out of here with me. Why don't you guys come run interference with her girl friends?" And maybe we can stir up a little trouble for that Meridian crowd. Nick looked over to the others who nodded agreement.

Erin spotted them first as they crossed the dance floor. She sighed wholeheartedly, wishing she'd suggested they leave earlier. They had had this problem before when they had gone out as a threesome. A lot of men had tried to pick them up, TJ especially. They had come up with inventive ways of dealing with the problem and, of course, there was the direct way of just telling them they were gay. But they had no idea how the town would react to that little tidbit of information, so they couldn't give it out just yet. She sighed again and looked at her companions, trying to figure out whether she would get any assistance from them, but it didn't look hopeful.

Tony walked up behind Mare while his three friends spread themselves around the table. "Ladies." He nodded in greeting.

Mare, smiling, turned to face the person giving the greeting. Her smile changed to a frown when she realized that Nick and his friends had followed her over. She knew this could be trouble. None of them had a love for the Meridian family for starters, and the guys weren't known for their good manners.

TJ saw Mare's frown as she turned to face the man who had walked up to the table. Wonder what that's all about?

Now that Tony had the attention of everybody at the table, he smiled and turned his charm on Mare.

"I just wanted to apologize for my friend's earlier behavior and wondered whether I could buy you and your group a drink?"

Mare gave him a polite smile, knowing that antagonizing this man and his friends wasn't a good idea. She was rapidly beginning to sober up. "That's a really nice offer, but I'm afraid we were just leaving." With that Erin stood up, pulling the unsteady Paula with her.

Tony was rather shocked with the immediate brush-off he got, but he wasn't known for giving up. "Come on, one more won't make a difference."

Erin decided to take the emphasis off of Mare. "As my friend said, it was a really nice offer but we really do need to get going. Some other time, maybe?"

TJ may have been a little more the worse for wear than was usual, but she could tell that the man questioning Mare wasn't happy. She caught his fleeting glance towards his friends, one of whom was trying to hide a growing smirk. Uh oh. This might be trouble.

Tony had now gone beyond shock and was starting to get angry. This had never happened to him before; usually women were falling all over him. His smile faltered slightly, letting his anger show through on his face. "Some other time?" He reached out and put a hand on Mare's shoulder, his hold scarily intimate. "No, we want to buy you a drink now. Just one small one won't hurt."

Mare shuddered as his hand came into contact with her shoulder and she knew that this guy wasn’t going to give up easily. "Look, thank you for the offer, but neither my friends nor I are interested."

Nick was grinning openly. He was going to win this one and show Tony up for an idiot, all in one fell swoop. God, this was going to be good.

Mare didn't say anything, just continued to look at Tony then down at his hand, which he reluctantly removed. "As I said, thanks for the offer but we were just leaving." Mare stood up, walked behind TJ's chair and pulled it from beneath the table. "Goodnight."

Erin breathed a sigh of relief. It looked as though they were going to get out of the bar without a major scene. She supported Paula around her waist, and slowly turned her toward the door.

When he saw the wheelchair and recalled the town gossip about the woman who owned Meridian ranch being crippled, Tony's attention switched immediately to TJ. Suddenly, he could taste revenge. His face turned into an ugly mask and he shouted an expletive. "I thought these women were from the Meridian ranch, but I didn't think the owner was here, too, you bitch!"

He said it loud enough that the other patrons in the bar realized that something was happening. "Your family turned this town into a cesspool when you abandoned it." A snarl further marred his countenance. "My old man committed suicide because of you. You took away his livelihood and he couldn't support us no more. You ruined my family's life and you come back here to lord it over us? We're supposed to bow down and kiss your ass? I don't think so."

TJ turned the chair and saw that the man, so engrossed with raving at her, now had a bruising grip on Mare's arm and was actually shaking her. His voice lowered into a growl. "Next time we hit your ranch, I'm gonna put some buckshot into those damn horses of yours, just like someone did to my truck."

The idiot was threatening three objects of TJ's deepest affection: her lover, her horses and her ranch. A fierce protectiveness washed over her.

Listening to Tony's tirade, his friends nodded their heads in agreement with his denunciation. Their eyes were glued to him and they didn't seem to be taking any notice of TJ, wrongly assuming that the wheelchair meant she was no threat.

She looked behind her and saw Erin, with a concerned look on her face, holding up Paula. The others in the bar didn't look as though they were going to interfere. Guess that leaves me to straighten this guy out. Because all eyes were on Mare and her noisy antagonist, nobody but Tony noticed when TJ rolled up beside him. Reaching up, she took hold of his thumb at the joint where it attached to his hand and twisted, putting pressure on the ligaments and tendons, causing excruciating pain. He let go of Mare's arm and when he felt his thumb pulled downward, he could do nothing but follow.

"Hi," said TJ as brown eyes came down to the level of her blue eyes. Her low, menacing voice spoke to him alone. "The only part of Meridianville that's a cesspool is whatever spot you're standing on, you useless piece of shit." She twisted his thumb again to hammer home her point.

"You do realize I could break this appendage without thinking about it, don't you?" He nodded rapidly and she smiled sweetly. "You come anywhere near anything that belongs to me and it won't be your thumb that gets broken, stud. Your friends will be calling you 'Sally.' You got that?" Another rapid nod jerked his head.

"Now, my friend said we were leaving and we would appreciate it if we could do it without being disturbed." She relaxed her hold a little as though she were moving away. Tony's face took on a look of relief and the pressure eased. He couldn't believe this bitch had brought him to his knees just by grabbing hold of his thumb, but if he tried to move waves of pain surged all the way up his arm.

He squealed in pain as her hold tightened again. "Oh, and when a woman says 'no' that is exactly what she means." She gave one more twist. "Got it?" Tony nodded his head frantically. TJ released his hand, turned her chair and waited for Mare to continue wheeling her to the exit.

The bar remained quiet until the four women had left, then the absurdity of what they had seen took over. The whole bar roared with laughter at the man who'd been brought to his knees by a cripple holding his thumb. They hadn't heard the interchange of words.

Mare took a deep breath as she walked into the cool night air, relieved to be leaving the tense atmosphere. "My god, TJ. Where the hell did you learn to do that?"

"The boardroom; though I think it looks more impressive now that I'm in the wheelchair." She quirked a smile up at Mare.

"Woman, you are incorrigible," said Mare, lightly slapping her arm.

Erin had already opened up the van and helped Paula into the back. "Hey, you two coming?" she asked. "I'd like to get away from here before you cause any more trouble." She said it with a laugh in her voice, but underneath that she was concerned. The look on the face of the man they had just made a fool of hadn't been that pleasant. She wanted to get out of here before he decided to cause any more trouble.

"Yeah, we're coming, Erin," said Mare, pushing TJ the last few yards to the van.

In the bar, Tony was fuming. He gave Juan a shove. "Go watch them. Let me know when they leave the parking lot." He turned to the other two men. "That Meridian bitch is not getting away with making a fool outta me in front of the whole bar. We already owe her a lesson for messing with our families. Last time didn't hurt her enough. We'll get her good this time."

Nick and Miguel agreed with him. They remembered how miserable life had turned for them when their parents' jobs had disappeared. Nick's father had deteriorated into a typical drunk who beat his wife and kids and finally drank himself to death. Miguel's father had done his best, trying to eke out an existence on a rented parcel of land, but his fun-loving wife tired of never having any money or the nice things it would buy and deserted her husband and son. Juan's family stayed together, but his association with the other three led him into always looking for trouble, same as they did. Before long, they had a bad reputation and they gloried in it.

Tony's voice turned even nastier. "And that other one with the dark hair looks like the one who shot at us and messed up my truck. They're both gonna pay." He did the double shot from the round Nick had provided and ordered another round. He saw Juan returning. "They leave?"

Juan hurried over and tossed back both of his double shots before answering. "Yeah. Took off in a van."

Erin started the van and looked both ways before driving onto the main road back toward the ranch. She looked over at Mare who was sitting quietly next to her. "You okay?" she inquired.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just have one hell of a hangover starting. It is amazing how quickly you can sober up when trouble starts, huh?"

"Oh yeah. But I somehow get the feeling that that guy got a little more than he expected."

Mare giggled. "Yep. Don't think he was prepared for the terror on two wheels back there, do you?"

"Uh uh." Erin glanced into the rearview mirror. "Gods, would you look at those two?"

Mare turned and looked over her shoulder. Paula had slumped sideways in the back seat and was now fast asleep, cuddling TJ. TJ was gently snoring, head rested against the cool glass of the window.

"Think our girls had a good night, don't you?"

Erin smiled. "I think we all had a good night till the end, and I think the only person who enjoyed that was TJ."

"Yeah, she did seem to get an inordinate amount of pleasure from bringing that guy down to her level, didn't she?"

"That's our TJ for you." Erin brought her full attention back to the road. The headlights of the van sliced through the thick blackness, letting her know where they were. Another twenty minutes and they would have to wake the sleeping beauties in the back and get them into their own beds.

Once the laughter had died Tony had turned back to Nick and the other two, a dark grin on his face. "That Meridian bitch isn't gonna get away with this. Think I'm gonna take the truck for a spin. Anybody coming?"

Nick shook his head. Tony was a hotheaded fool before he'd had a drink, and afterwards he was worse. Going after the women was only gonna cause more trouble in the long run. Things had taken a turn upwards in the town since the Meridian ranch had reopened. Before, the sheriff had turned a blind eye to their antics, but now his support couldn't be relied on. "Tony, why don't we just forget about it for tonight, have a few beers and enjoy ourselves?"

Tony sneered at the suggestion. "You wimping out on us, Nick? Scared of a group of women?" Miguel and Juan stood next to Tony showing their support for their slighted friend.

"No, just don't see why we should run after them right away, spoiling our night out."

Tony stepped forward and roughly poked Nick in the shoulder. "Because that woman is going to pay for showing me up in front of these guys." He turned and walked over to the door. "You coming?"

Nick sighed, upended his bottle of beer and drained the dregs before placing it on a nearby table and following Tony out of the door.

Nearly home, mused Erin in the silence of the van. The road was pretty quiet at this time of night. They had passed only a couple of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. Bright lights blinded her as she looked in the rearview mirror. She lifted her hand and angled it so that the glare no longer affected her eyes. A minute later and the glare had not dissipated, but now she could make out the dark form of a truck close behind them. A sense of unease settled in her stomach and she sped up slightly. The truck behind sped up, too.

Mare shook herself out of her thoughts as she felt the van pick up speed. She turned toward Erin and saw her looking worriedly at the rearview mirror. "Everything ok?"

"I'm not sure; some jerk behind us is tailgating me."

Mare turned and looked past her sleeping lover and friend out the back window, seeing the truck.

"What do you think?" She turned back to the front.

"I think that those guys from the bar couldn't take no for an answer and though TJ's show was pretty good, I bet they didn't appreciate it." A rough jolt threw the van forward. Mare braced her arms on the dash to keep herself in her seat. A startled exclamation erupted from the back. Mare looked and saw Paula picking herself out of the space between the front and back seats.

"What the bloody hell was that?" TJ reached down and hauled Paula the rest of the way into the seat just as another jolt threw them all forward again.

Erin struggled to keep control of the van as the hits from behind crashed into them. "I think those guys from the bar were a little pissed at us." Erin looked to the side as the headlights disappeared from behind them and started to make their way up the left side of the van. Erin slammed on the brakes, hoping that would force the truck in front of them, but a split second later the truck followed suit. "Er, guys, I think we are in trouble." Erin saw it coming this time and swerved, taking the van off of the blacktop to avoid another hit.

Tony filled the truck with a whooping yell as he urged the vehicle forward into the van in front of him. Juan had broken open a case of beer that had been in the back of the truck, and all of the men were drinking.

"Hit them again, Tony," Juan urged, rolling down the window and throwing an empty bottle out, before cracking open another.

Tony complied and put his foot down on the accelerator. Another set of yells echoed through the truck.

"Anybody have any ideas?" a desperate Erin asked as she narrowly avoided the truck again.

"How far are we from the ranch?" TJ asked, leaning forward.

"About five miles," came the reply.

"In that case," remarked Mare, "the entrance to Abner's ranch is not far away. See if you can swing in. We should be safe up there. I doubt if they want to carry on this game with witnesses."

Paula was digging through her backpack, which they left in the rear of the van under the seat while they were in the bar. With a cry of triumph, she held aloft her cell phone. "I'll get the sheriff." She started to punch in the number.

Tony, grinning, looked out of his side window and faked a swerve at the van. He saw the van move sharply to the right to avoid the implied impact. Then he swerved over as the driver swung back onto the road. The two large vehicles broadsided each other, violently rattling the occupants of both.

Erin resisted the urge to ram the bigger truck back, knowing it was a fight that the van couldn't win.

Now that the two vehicles were side by side, Tony began to force the van off of the road. The dark stretch of blacktop in front of them had a steep embankment to either side.

"Ah hell, hold on tight. I can't keep us on the road," yelled Erin as she strained to turn the steering wheel. For a split second the pressure eased as the truck again swerved away. Erin sighed in relief before it came careening back at high speed and crashed into the van. The shockingly strong impact shook Erin's grip off of the steering wheel. A sharp, agonizing pain washed over her and she realized her wrist had snapped from her effort to keep them on the road. She heard faint screams and recognized that they were hers. Vaguely, she saw Mare reach across her and try to get hold of the steering wheel.

Mare heard Erin's scream and lunged across the woman, attempting to get hold of the steering wheel. She felt the vehicle tip and start to go over the steep embankment.

TJ experienced the same helpless frustration she had felt when Mare fell from the horse. Here she was, yet again, unable to do anything about their situation. Paula got through to the sheriff's department and quickly gave them the information they would need to come to their assistance. TJ heard Erin's scream and then felt herself sliding across the back seat as the van tipped. Oh hell, how many times do you have to be told about putting the blasted seatbelt on? She grabbed blindly and found the offending item. Knowing she didn't have time to put it on properly, she wrapped it around herself and grabbed a tight hold of Paula, knowing that if she didn't have one on then neither would her friend.

A cackling laugh echoed through the truck as Tony saw the van go over the embankment. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" A bright light shone into the truck that was now driving on the wrong side of the road. Tony's eyes widened in shock as he swung the truck to the right to avoid the oncoming vehicle. The truck shot off the other side of the road, rolling forward down the embankment, coming to an abrupt halt against the trunk of a tree.

Silence descended along the midnight-black stretch of road.

Mare opened her eyes. There was a full, pounding pain in her head, which she knew had nothing to do with the amount of alcohol she had consumed. She swallowed to get rid of the thick, brackish taste in her mouth and recognized the taste as blood. Her bleary mind began to make sense of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was grass beneath her hands.

She struggled to push herself up, groaning as the pain from her head worsened. She raised her hand and pushed her hair from her eyes, catching the trickle of blood that ran from a shallow gash on her forehead. Her breathing started to increase and she realized she had been thrown from the van. Frantically she looked about and saw the van twenty feet away where it had come to a stop, lying on its side, facing down the steep embankment.

"Oh sweet Jesus, TJ!" She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the multitude of aches and pains she felt her body shout out to her. She heard footsteps above her and gave a startled yell as a hand caught hold of her. At once, she realized she had been falling.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. Sit down, you're hurt." Gentle hands lowered her to the ground.

"My friends are in the van. I have to help them."

"Mare? Is that you?"

Mare looked up into the face of Chuck MacMasters. "Oh, Chuck, thank the Lord. Some idiots ran us off the road."

"Yeah, I know. I saw it happen. They are on the other side of the road. Tree stopped them after I couldn't get out of their way. Missy's called the sheriff and an ambulance."

"Chuck, TJ and her friends are in the van."

The older man nodded his head. "I'll go check it out, make sure they are okay."

"I'm coming with you." Mare's tone of voice assured the rancher that Mare wouldn't take no for an answer. He nodded his head and carefully helped her to her feet.

The sheriff's siren wailed in the distance. "They got here quickly," remarked Chuck as Mare hobbled along by his side. He kept a wary eye on her as they approached the van.

"Paula phoned them while we were in the van. We were hoping to make it to Abner's place." A deep groaning started off to the side of the van and Mare and Chuck hurried over, trying to find the source in the long grass that hadn't been flattened by the passing of the van. Mare caught sight of the familiar form of Paula, who was now coming around, and she breathed a sigh of relief. One down, two to go. "Paula, lay still. Help's on the way."

"Mare?" came the groaning reply. "Erin? TJ?"

"We haven't found them yet, sweetie. You just stay here; I'm gonna find them." More rustling footsteps were approaching her through the grass and she looked up, finding Missy, Chuck's wife, approaching.

"How are they?" asked Chuck as she came to his side.

"It was Tony Yarrow and his bunch of rowdies. Tony was driving." She shook her head as Chuck raised an inquiring eyebrow. "But the others are okay, just shook up."

Chuck nodded. "How about if you stay with the lady here, while Mare and I go find the rest of her friends." He had pulled Mare to her feet again and they went straight toward the van. The siren shut off as the sheriff's car pulled to the edge of the embankment. The flashing lights illuminated the accident scene somewhat, and the opening and slamming of doors could be heard before two figures appeared at the top.

"Everybody okay down there?" came the yell from Sheriff Jackson.

"We got a few injuries down here, Curt."

"Did the truck get away?"

"Nope, came straight at me on my side of the road. Ended up making the acquaintance of a tree over on the other side."

"Okay, I'll go check them out. Ambulance is on the way, shouldn't be too long."

As Chuck spoke to the sheriff, Mare left his side and hurried to the van. The back door on the driver's side had been ripped off of the van, which no doubt is how Paula ended up outside of the vehicle. She clambered up the underside of the van, wincing as more bruises made themselves known. Erin's door was intact though the window was missing. Mare reached over and felt around, coming into contact with Erin who was still strapped into her seat by the seatbelt.

The darkness made it impossible to see how badly Erin might be injured. "Chuck, we need some light down here," she yelled over her shoulder. She heard Chuck holler up to the sheriff and climbed the rest of the way up until her legs dangled in the doorway that the back door should have protected. She peered into the deep, dark interior. "TJ?" She could just make out a dark form huddled at the bottom, but was loath to jump in when she didn't know what was beneath her.

Another siren wail throbbed in the distance and Mare knew that was the ambulance rushing toward them. She quickly glanced up the embankment and saw that some other cars and trucks had stopped to offer assistance. Several men made their way down toward the van, and two of the cars turned in the road so that their headlights shed light on the scene.

She heard a scrabbling behind her and Chuck appeared next to her, handing her a long-handled flashlight. Mare took a deep breath and clicked the light on. She checked Erin first. Erin was unconscious with a large bump on her forehead and her swollen right wrist dangling. Another deep breath and she let the beam of light illuminate the back of the van. TJ lay crumpled, a dark stain covering her white shirt on the side on which she was lying. From this distance, she wasn't even sure that TJ was breathing.

Mare fought hard to keep her emotions under control. TJ needed her calmness and concentration now. She needed her expertise in the medical world. Even if she was more used to animals than humans the principles were the same. "Chuck, when that ambulance gets here you bring them straight over, you hear me?"

"You got it, Mare," came his reply.

Mare braced her arms on either side of the opening and slowly lowered herself in, carefully placing her feet where they would do least damage, until she was surrounded on all sides by the van. She stood still for a moment, letting her weight settle before she crouched down and extended her hand to the neck of her lover, fingers searching for a pulse. She couldn't find one and felt the panic building within her. She forced herself to take another deep breath and felt again, concentrating hard. There it was, a faint flutter against her fingers, but it was there. She quickly made an assessment of TJ's injuries, knowing already that there was some damage to her side, probably from the fractured window on which she was lying. She didn't like the position she was lying in either. Her head was curled toward her chest, cramping her airway, and the arm she was lying on was curled at an unnatural angle.

Another light appeared above her and she gazed upward into a face she didn't recognize, but a uniform that she did. "You need to get Erin, in the front, out first. TJ here has a previous spinal injury and will need an extrication device and collar before we even attempt to move her."

"You a doc?" came the unknown female voice.

"No, I'm a vet," she replied.

"Better than nothing," murmured the woman before she disappeared.

Mare felt the van move as other people climbed onto it. Another medic, this one male, appeared above her as she leaned over TJ, protecting her from anything that might fall from above. She kept her right hand in constant contact with her lover, reassuring herself that she was still there. She watched the people working above as pieces of equipment were handed into the van. The medic calmly and efficiently directed those helping him to get Erin out of her seat. A stiff neck collar was handed to him, then a K.E.D. 2000 extraction device which he slipped behind her in the seat to keep her back and neck stable. Within a few minutes, they were ready to lift Erin clear of the vehicle. The van rocked again as they lifted and then for several minutes Mare was left alone with TJ.

"Ma'am?" Mare looked up as the male paramedic reappeared. "I need you to come up here so that I can get down to your friend." Mare nodded and quickly climbed up to allow him to get to TJ. "My partner tells me your friend already has a spinal injury." He looked up at Mare as he checked TJ's pulse. "Can you tell me what level?"

"Um… T-11. She was shot just over two years ago, and still has bullet fragments embedded in her spine." She moved herself aside as another medic arrived on the scene.

"Hey there. I've sent Billy and Janice off with the other casualty."

"How was she?" asked Mare.

The man looked over at her with a reassuring smile. "She'll be fine. Has a nasty bump to the head and a fractured wrist."

"Marcus, I need oxygen and an IV line with fluid," said the male medic with TJ. Marcus reached down and hauled up a bag, handing the medic the items he had requested.

Mare refused to get down from the van while they were working on TJ, though several people asked her to. As long as she wasn't in the way of the medics, she wasn't leaving. More and more people arrived at the scene. The local rescue squad had turned up just after the first ambulance and had helped remove Erin from the van.

It seemed an age before they were ready to get TJ out and then Mare stood back with Chuck and his wife. The plan was well-orchestrated and the team worked well together. Once they were ready to move TJ, they had her out in minutes.

It broke Mare's heart to see her like this. Her once tan skin was greyish-white, with a sheen of clammy perspiration coating her. Her neck was encased in a collar and strapped tightly to a short backboard. Drip lines ran, one into each arm, and a large pad of gauze was bandaged to her side to slow the bleeding.

As soon as they began to move TJ to the ambulance, Mare felt her legs begin to buckle. Reaction to the crash finally hit home, now that she no longer had to be strong. A wave of darkness tunneled her vision and she felt hands clasping hold of her… then nothing.

It was the strong, overpowering, antiseptic smell that roused TJ to consciousness, a smell she had come to hate just after the shooting. Four months of immobility in a spinal rotational bed, unable to move even her head, had given her an almost pathological hatred of hospitals. Her dislike of the hospital hadn't lessened when she had been moved into her own room and a normal hospital bed. She knew that this had to be a nightmare, because there was no way on this earth that she would have willingly returned to this setting.

The next thing that assaulted her senses was the humming of electricity and the beeping of machinery--one that kept an annoyingly persistent beat with her heart--the quiet murmur of voices, the gentle squeak of rubber-soled footwear on the highly polished floor.

This nightmare is frighteningly real. Her mind turned that thought over. Was she in bed at the ranch? Now she noticed the pounding of her head and a small groan escaped her mouth. God, we must have had a good night last night for me to have a hangover like this. Her eyes were still closed, seemingly glued together. She tried to lift her head into a more comfortable position but found that she couldn't move it. Her eyes flew open and panic gripped her as she realized that this wasn't a nightmare but hard, cold reality. She felt a hand clutch hold of hers and squeeze, but her throat was constricted with the panic that was building within her.

Mare was sitting curled up in a comfortable chair that had been brought into the room where TJ had been placed after she had been stabilized in the ER. And what an experience that had been….

So here they were, three days later, still waiting for TJ to wake up. The only benefit to her continued unconsciousness was that Michael had been able to perform several tests to find out the extent of the newer SCI symptoms.

A moan coming from TJ's bed woke Mare from the doze she had fallen into. She sat bolt upright and, leaning over, took a tight hold of TJ's hand.

"TJ? Sweetie, you back with us?" Mare felt TJ's hand clamp vise-like over her own. TJ's heart rate increased rapidly, as did the beep of the machine recording it. Mare looked closely at her lover who was, at this moment, face down with her chest rising and falling rapidly. Mare got out of the chair and slipped to the floor so that she could see TJ's face. Her lover's eyes were scrunched closed, her mouth slightly open; a cold sweat dripped from her face. Ah, hell on earth.

Mare's spare hand scrabbled around for the call button and she pressed it twice, hoping that Dad was close by. That done, she adjusted the bed slightly, using the electric controls, so it was inclined instead of horizontal. She gently caressed her lover's face. "TJ, open your eyes for me." She got no response. Continuing to gently stroke her face, Mare carried on. "TJ, I need you to slow your breathing down, honey." The door behind her opened and she looked up to her father's concerned face.

"Everything okay, Mare?" he asked as he got near.

"Dad, she's awake but something's wrong."

Wrong? Something was more than wrong. To TJ's mind she wasn't in this hospital, she wasn't here with Mare at all but in some small, private ward in a hospital four years ago. She was back there, reliving every agonizing minute of the time she discovered not only that she had lost the use of her legs but also that Lance her beautiful, loving brother was dead. She remembered every second of that time in technicolor detail, every word in stereo surround-sound, and she couldn't live through it again.

Erin woke, startled from her sleep by the echoing of a nightmare she no longer remembered. She adjusted her position, rolling so that her head was nestled again in the crook of Paula's shoulder. Though Paula was still deeply asleep, her arm wrapped around Erin and pulled her in closer. Erin snuggled a bit more before settling down, but her mind was wide-awake and it refused to let her sleep anymore.

Her finger idly began to paint nonsense patterns on Paula's stomach. They had been let out of the hospital the day before yesterday, after a night of suffering the ministrations of the nursing staff. She'd been on the verge of discharging herself when they relented and made sure she was put in a room with Paula. Erin wasn't sure, but she thought that Mare's father had something to do with that.

They also got to see TJ the morning they were discharged, before she was transferred to Springerly. She looked so small, attached to all the machines monitoring her; it brought back bad memories for both of them. Still they knew that this time TJ had Mare there for her and, hopefully, that would make a difference. Because, if she were going to be honest with herself, she wasn't sure that she or Paula could go through it for a second time.

"Are you going to lay there brooding all night or are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Erin tilted her head back to see her partner gazing down at her. She strained upwards and felt Paula respond, leaning down to place a gentle, loving kiss on her lips. God, what would I have done if I had lost her?

Erin dropped her head and hugged Paula tighter, sucking in a tiny breath as she forgot and put pressure on her injured wrist.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Paula was now getting concerned with Erin's unusual behavior.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about things. I want to go see TJ and Mare today. You think Bill will let one of the men drive us up to Springerly?"

"I'm sure that won't be a problem, honey. We'll give him a ring first thing in the morning," replied Paula, rubbing soothing circles on Erin's exposed back. Erin snuggled tighter and Paula smiled indulgently, knowing that within minutes her lover would be asleep, now that her concerns had been addressed. It had been the same the first time TJ was injured. She'd lie awake for hours then ask for the simplest of wishes, like going to see TJ, or going riding, and when Paula agreed she'd be asleep in minutes.

They had talked about it and Erin couldn't explain why these insignificant things bothered her. Paula rather thought that it wasn't them so much as the person they concerned. Ever since TJ had saved her from those thugs in college, Erin had taken it upon herself to look after TJ. And when she couldn't, she needed to be doing something for her. She thought it likely that Erin was feeling responsible for the crash though she had done everything she could to prevent it.

Paula hadn't been able to get her to talk about it yet. I will though, honey. You won't be able to avoid it for much longer. Another glance down assured her that Erin was once again in the realms of Morpheus. A few more hours, sweetheart, then we'll get up and go see if our warrior has decided to rejoin us.

********************

The ride into Springerly was quiet. Bill assigned one of the men to them until they got their casts off. Erin sat in the front next to Mike, while Paula had the whole of the back seat to herself, her leg raised onto it. They phoned the hospital before they left, but were told that Mare was asleep and that her father was in clinic and couldn't be disturbed. Although they dug for more information on TJ, all they were told was that she was in stable condition.

Mike parked right in front of the entrance to the hospital, hopped out quickly and ran around to open the door for Paula. She slid herself forward and took the crutches that Mike lifted from the floor. "Thanks Mike. Go take yourself to the movies or something. We're going to be a few hours. We'll give you a ring when we need picked up."

They were a pair to behold as they walked, or in Paula's case hobbled, into the hospital. Bruises proudly worn, they looked as though they had been in the ring with a heavyweight boxer. But they ignored the curious looks they got, and made their way straight to the Gillis Clinic on the sixth floor of the hospital.

The Clinic took up the entire sixth floor. It had its own physical therapy department, its own hydrotherapy pool and it own specialized nurses, therapists and counselors who looked after only those on the unit. And of course the unit had one of the most experienced medical and orthopaedic teams dealing with Spinal Cord Injury.

Erin and Paula were impressed when they stepped from the elevator. With a carpeted floor and bright artwork hung from the walls, it didn't look like your average hospital unit. There was an information station directly in front of them. The young woman who sat behind the desk smiled in greeting and asked how she could help.

"We'd like to see TJ Meridian," said Erin.

"Are you relatives?" the woman inquired.

"Not exactly," replied Paula, wondering whether they were going to have an argument about getting in.

"In that case, may I just take your names? I'll make sure Miss Meridian can have visitors." The woman's smile still didn't falter but Paula could tell that she'd defend this desk and admittance to the unit with zeal if challenged. They gave her their names and got an immediate response. "Miss Scott, Miss Tanner, of course, Dr. Gillis has already put you on the admitting list. Sorry to delay you. Miss Meridian is down the corridor, fourth door on the right. Go right on in; no doctors are with her at this time."

"Thanks for your help." Erin smiled back at the woman and moved in the direction she had pointed.

Erin pushed the door open slowly, not wanting to disturb Mare if she were still sleeping, but she needn't have bothered. Mare was wide awake, sitting in a comfortable chair. Mare turned as Paula swung her crutches through the doorway, followed immediately by Erin.

"Hey, there. How's she doing?" asked Paula as she made her way over to Mare. Erin rushed to pull up another chair for Paula to sit in. TJ had been turned and was now lying on her back, head still securely strapped to prevent movement.

"She woke up last night, but she was a mess--went totally berserk, screaming for Lance. Dad had to sedate her. She's been kind of restless ever since."

Erin sat on the arm of Mare's chair and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "She was real bad when she woke up and found out about Lance, last time. I guess this brought back too many bad memories for her. What about you? Are you okay?"

Mare lifted her hand and patted Erin's. "Much better, now that I know she's going to wake up. She had me scared there for a minute."

Paula leaned forward and held a hand out to Mare. When Mare took it she squeezed gently. "You do know that this is going to be very hard, don't you? I know it is different this time, TJ has you and something to look forward to… but, and it is a big but, she is not going to handle being in the hospital again very well. From what your dad has told us about her condition, she has some very hard decisions to make and it is not going to be easy."

Mare smiled sadly. "I know. Don't worry; I'm here for the long run. She's not getting rid of me that easily."

They sat in relative silence for the next hour, only occasional words being spoken before TJ began to stir. The atmosphere became tense as they waited to see what would happen.

TJ mumbled a few unintelligible words and Mare leaned forward to gently caress her face, keeping a close eye on TJ's fluttering eyelids. As she began to actually open her eyes, Mare stood up and leaned over so that the first thing her lover would see would be her face. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as the blue eyes stayed open and focussed on her. "Hey there, beautiful, good to have you back."

"Mare?" TJ whispered, trying to move.

"Yep, and try not to move just yet, sweetie."

"What happened?"

Mare quickly looked over her shoulder at Erin and Paula then back at TJ. "What is the last thing you remember?"

TJ's eyes left Mare's face and were roaming the ceiling. Mare could actually see her trying to remember. "The bar, I remember the bar."

"Okay, that's good. Well, on the way home we had an accident." Mare saw the buildup of panic in TJ's eyes. "Hey, hey." She leaned closer to TJ. "Everybody's all right. We got a little banged up, but we're fine. You’re the one who had us worried." With the hand that wasn't caressing TJ's cheek, she waved Erin and Paula forward.

TJ's face broke into a smile as Erin and Paula appeared above her. "Boy, you two look like crap."

Paula laughed, pleased to see that her friend was calmer than her earlier awakening. "Well, kiddo, you don't look so great yourself. You lose a fight or something?"

"Yeah," said Erin. "Thought we told you to leave the big ones to us."

"So." TJ looked back to Mare. "What's the deal here? And when can I get out of this contraption?"

Her voice was steady but Mare could hear the fear in it. She took a deep breath but didn't hesitate in her answer. "TJ, you got really banged up in the crash. You have a brand new scar on your side, dislocated your shoulder..." Now she did falter slightly.

"And?" TJ said slowly.

"And, hell, maybe I should get my dad in here; he can explain it better." For some reason Mare didn't want to be the one telling TJ that she would be spending quite a while in the hospital.

TJ pinned her lover with her eyes, sensing her reluctance to tell her the whole truth. "No, tell me now."

"TJ?" Erin stepped forward. "It's complicated. Let Mare get her dad. He'll be able to tell you what your options are."

TJ closed her eyes, feeling the frustration building. It was starting again. People telling her lies, refusing to tell her how bad things were because they were afraid of what her reaction might be. "Tell me what the hell is going on, or I get the nurse in here and sign a discharge form."

She'll do it, too, Mare thought, but she was stopped from having to say anything more because her father opened the door and came in. "Morning, honey, ladies." He nodded to Erin and Paula. "How's my favorite patient this morning?" He walked to Mare's side, wrapping an arm around her and gazed down at TJ. "Good morning, young lady. Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'd feel a lot better if somebody would tell me what the hell is wrong and why I'm strapped down to this thing." TJ's anger and frustration clearly showed.

"Okay, that's not a problem. I have all your charts in here. We just need to tilt your bed so that you can see the scans." He pressed the buzzer near the bed and within a minute a nurse walked in.

She smiled at Mare who was now known around the unit. "Well, hello there," she said to TJ when she saw she was awake. TJ just glared back, already fed up with being in the hospital. "Dr. Gillis?"

"Morning, Nancy. Could you adjust TJ's bed to 45 degrees for me?" Michael walked over to the X-ray display and began putting up TJ's scans.

Nancy began moving around the bed, securing extra straps around TJ's body to prevent any movement when they tilted the bed. After a few minutes, TJ was on the move and was tilted so that her only view wasn't of the ceiling. Now, although she was still unable to move her head, she could see most of her room. Erin and Paula were in her peripheral vision, as was Mare. Mare's dad was standing in front of her with the scans displayed for her viewing.

"Okay, your old scans from the original injury are on the left, the ones taken a few days ago after the accident are on the right." Mare pulled a chair closer to TJ's bed so that she could sit and still keep hold of her hand.

TJ was staring hard at the scans; that nervous feeling she always got when she knew something wasn't right started to gnaw at her stomach. "The trauma doctor who dealt with your case in Sharlesburg managed to get your scans and records viewed via a computer linkup with the hospital that treated you originally. I have the actual scans so I can be a little more accurate in my diagnosis." Michael looked over to make sure TJ was following what he was saying, then carried on. "The bullet fragments that remained in your spine are now calcified and show up as white on the later scans, but they are the darker shadows on the earlier ones. And as you can see they have moved." He looked over at his daughter and her lover, noticing that Mare was wincing slightly at the grasp that TJ had on her hand.

"What does that mean?" asked TJ, though she didn't really want to hear the reply.

"Your spine from T9 down to just below T12 is unstable and we will need to operate to stabilize it. But those fragments have shifted and are now in a position that we could possibly remove them." He waited to see if TJ would say anything, and carried on when she didn't. "It is also clear from the most recent MRI scan that the spinal cord wasn't severed by the fragments, as first thought, but was severely compressed."

Mare heard TJ's breathing pick up before the monitor's beep registered the change. "You ok? TJ?" She stood up and cupped TJ's cheek. When TJ opened her eyes, Mare saw a depth of pain within them that she had never seen before. Mare felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up into her father's green eyes.

"TJ, we have to make a decision here. I can go in and stabilize the spine with rods and leave the fragments. The residual effects that the doctor in Sharlesburg noticed are most likely due to bruising, not any further injury. Or I can remove the fragments and stabilize the spine."

TJ swallowed nervously. "What will removing the fragments do?"

"I have to say that no matter what decision you make, it will mean a significant time here at the hospital."

"Just tell me what removing the fragments will do."

"I'm not sure, maybe nothing, but with steroid treatments there is an outside possibility that you may regain some feeling."

"Would I be able to walk?" TJ's voice was quiet.

"Honestly, I doubt it, though you might be able to with crutches or a frame. However, we may be able to retrieve bladder control and some of the lower body functions. But none of this is guaranteed, TJ, and there are other side effects you should know about before you make your decision."

"Like?"

"The major side effect we would be likely to see would be pain. If you do regain any feeling it is likely to be a very slow process, and very painful. It is a possibility that you wouldn't regain any feeling at all, and be left with a constant pins-and-needles sensation. If we do go ahead you may be in permanent pain for the rest of your life."

Silence settled in the room. Not even the incessant noise of the machinery disturbed the oppressive atmosphere. Erin had her arm wrapped around Paula, holding her tight. They had known what was coming, as had Mare. What they hadn't known was what TJ's reaction was going to be. Erin was unsure whether the lack of reaction was good or bad. She knew how to deal with TJ's outbursts but had never quite managed the silences. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable, wondering whether she and Paula should have stayed away while TJ was given the news. She looked at her lover's concerned face and saw the same questions echoing in her eyes. She felt Paula shrug slightly. She didn't know what TJ was thinking any more that Erin did.

Mare watched in frustration as TJ once again closed her eyes, denying her those windows to her lover's deepest feelings and thoughts, closing herself off from the support that Mare could provide for her. Mare's emotions were on a rollercoaster ride, heading lord knows where. One second she was overwhelmed with joy that her dad may be able to help TJ. The next she was frightened, her father having explained exactly what TJ would be going through. She knew TJ looked strong, knew that the wall she'd built between herself and everybody, including to some extent Erin and Paula, looked unbreachable to most, but she'd seen the fragile shell that it actually was. If she went through with the operation to remove the fragments, it would be hard and stressful on them all.

TJ couldn't just go out on Flag to forget all her worries--there would be no escape from her situation. Lack of activity would lead to depression no matter how well things were going with her treatment. Mare knew TJ would be thinking of all this and she needed to let her know she wouldn't be alone through whatever trials lay ahead. Right now, though, TJ was closing her out, dealing with it on her own as she always had to before.

"I'd like to be alone, please." TJ's voice, though quiet, echoed through the silence, startling them all from their own thoughts.

Paula moved first, realizing that TJ would need her space. She maneuvered herself to her feet, using the crutches and Erin for support. "We'll be back to see you later. Okay, love?" she said, before hopping to the door. She got no reply from TJ, but then she hadn't expected one.

Mare was more than a little dismayed at TJ's request, and would have argued with her, had it not been for the pressure of her father's hand on her shoulder. "I'll be just outside if you need me," whispered Mare as she placed a loving, gentle kiss on TJ's forehead.

"Can you turn the lights off?" Michael Gillis looked back over his shoulder at his daughter's partner's request, flipped the switch, throwing the room into twilight darkness, and closed the door softly behind him.

TJ opened her eyes as the click of the door signaled that she was alone. She stared up toward the ceiling, her thought's tumbling over and over. What do I do? Do I take the risk? Can I go through this all over again? Well, I don't have much choice about that part, do I? Whatever I decide, I'm gonna be here for some time. Weeks and weeks, probably months in the hospital. Just like the last time.

Suddenly a fierce need for Mare's comforting touch rocked her. Will you be able to stand to be around me if I do this? Or will I drive you away? Oh, I hope not. She felt the call button under her finger and pressed it.

Mare saw Paula and Erin had commandeered one of two small couches at the end of the hall from TJ's room. Paula had her leg propped on the low table in front of her. Mare joined them and sat quietly with her thoughts until her dad appeared with a tray of coffee. "What do you think she'll decide?" Mare took a sip of the hot beverage and looked over at Paula and Erin.

"I have no idea." replied Erin.

Paula shook her head. "I couldn't tell you, either, but I will tell you that whatever decision she makes, she'll need you by her side."

"She'll have that no matter what happens. I'd go to hell and back with TJ."

"It might take that," came Michael's deep voice.

Mare looked sharply at her father, then nodded. "Yeah, but that won't change my mind." She looked up as the buzzer sounded from TJ's room.

"Go on," her father said. "It's you she's calling for."

Mare put her coffee on the table and stood up, taking a deep breath. She smiled reassuringly at Erin and Paula then squeezed her dad's hand. As she walked toward TJ's room the corridor got longer and longer, each step taking those few seconds more until, finally, she reached the door.

Michael set his empty cup on the tray and locked his straightforward gaze on Erin's hazel eyes. "How long have you and Paula been with TJ?"

"We've known her since college. She hired us to work for her after she inherited the corporation from her father." Erin leaned her head back against the couch. Paula frowned at Erin's obvious fatigue.

"You've been through this with her before, then, when her brother was killed?"

Head still leaning back, Erin closed her eyes and nodded, strain evident in her drawn face. She re-opened her eyes and met Michael's. "And it wasn't pretty. In fact, it was damned ugly--for all of us. She spent months in the hospital, getting more and more depressed. Counseling didn't help her; Paula and I couldn't help her; all she wanted was to join Lance. She tried to commit suicide."

Michael nodded. "The marks on her wrists."

A note of surprise sounded in Paula's voice. "You don't miss much, do you, Doc?"

Michael swung his gaze to the dark-haired woman. "TJ is doubly important to me. She's not only my patient, but also Mare's special friend. I'm determined not to miss anything that bears on her recovery. What can you two tell me about her reactions to her first injury that might be helpful now?"

Paula looked toward Erin who began speaking. "Before the accident, TJ sat on top of the world. She'll tell you herself she always loved power and, being in charge of Meridian Corporation, she had both hands full of it. She was a take-charge person and she had broad enough vision to be aware of what each company did and specific enough vision to give bonuses and pats on the back to individuals when they deserved them."

"If she had been the only one injured, I think she would have coped a lot better. She's tough in some ways, not so tough in others, especially when it comes to heavy emotions. She doted on her brother Lance and his death changed her into a different person. She just shut herself down. Whatever anyone at the hospital told her to do, she did, but like a zombie. None of it meant anything to her. For months she was in a deep depression, either screaming and throwing things or totally ignoring us and everybody else."

"And you two suffered, right?" Michael's eyes filled with sympathy.

Erin and Paula nodded without even consulting each other and Erin continued. "You got that right, Michael. For months we were walking on eggshells, reluctant to let TJ get worse, but leery of igniting her anger by pushing her to improve. After awhile, the situation affected our own relationship and we had to have a number of heart-to-heart talks between ourselves to even keep trying to help her. I'm not sure we could go through that again." Paula squeezed Erin's forearm and the curly-haired blonde lifted her head from the couch back and, smiling softly, brushed Paula's cheek with the fingers of her good hand. "Some people are too important to risk losing."

Michael quieted, watching the interaction between the two women. That they loved each other was unmistakable and he discovered that he felt happy for them.

After a moment, Paula, her eyes still connected to Erin's, spoke softly as if only to her partner. "TJ's too important to risk, too."

Erin stared deeply into Paula's dark eyes and finally nodded. "You're right, love. We'll be here for her, no matter what. TJ is family."

Then she took a deep breath and continued. "When TJ tried suicide we convinced her doctors that she needed to go somewhere to get back into life, to become involved again. We knew she had been trying to get people to separate their idea of her from their experiences with her father and Meridianville was one of the places on her list to be revived. We got the idea that we could bring her out to the ranch with Flag. She's almost obsessed with horses and we thought her interaction with Flag might help to wake up her emotions. But it wasn't really working very well. She stayed depressed."

Michael smiled gently. "Until Mare showed up." This part of the story, he had heard from his daughter.

"Yeah," Erin grinned and Paula smiled in remembrance and their spirits lightened. "Mare brought TJ back to life, got her involved again. You might say she picked us all up from the depths."

Michael leaned forward, putting his elbows on his thighs and interlacing his fingers. "Maybe this time, with Mare to help her, TJ will have a better time of it."

Paula nodded her head vigorously. "Michael, your daughter has TJ in the palm of her hand. If anyone can help her, Mare can."

"Let's just hope TJ lets her," Erin said fervently.

"And we'll be right behind her to back her up, come hell or high water." Paula stated this firmly.

Erin nodded, then smiled wryly. "And with TJ, you can never be sure which is which."

********************

Mare pushed the door open and stepped into the darkened room. She walked over to TJ, her hand immediately caressing her face.

"Will you hold me for awhile?" TJ's voice almost broke her heart; tears sprung from her eyes even though she smiled.

"Of course, I will." She bent and kissed her lover, then altered the bed so that it sank back down to its horizontal position. She climbed onto the bed, wrapped her arm around TJ and held her as close as the restraints allowed.

They closed their eyes and lay still, surrounded by the shielding armor of their love. But the oppressive silence pummeled them with unanswered questions, unaddressed options--clamoring for satisfaction--until it forced them from their shelter.

TJ sighed, and both women opened reluctant eyes, recognizing that important issues needed to be resolved. "What do you think, Mare?" A furrowed brow indicated TJ's uneasiness. "Should I go ahead with the operation?"

Mare clasped her lover's hand. "TJ, you are the only one who can make that decision. I can only tell you that, no matter what, I'll be here for you. I love you. In my mind--in my soul--you and I are connected forever, and nothing will ever change that."

TJ raised their hands and kissed the small one. "Mare, you have done so much for me. You brought me back to life. Not only through your love, but in allowing me to love you."

Deep affection streamed from Mare's expressive eyes. "You don't have to say anything, sweetheart."

"Please, Mare. I've been thinking and thinking about this. I know you've heard most of it before, in bits and pieces, but I need to put it all together and tell it to you." A wry smile. "Consider yourself my therapist for a few minutes."

"Okay, I can do that." A small smile quirked the corners of Mare's mouth.

TJ dropped her eyes and began to speak in a lower voice. "My parents had smothered any love I had for them: my father through abuse and my mother through just not caring. Lance was the only person in my family whom I truly loved and he was the only one I believed truly loved me. When I lost him my whole world went dark." TJ raised her eyes for a brief moment, lifted her hand from Mare's and placed it on Mare's cheek. Mare pressed her own hand against it for support.

The eyes lowered again. "Being paralyzed at the same time was just one more burden that I couldn't handle. That's when I tried suicide. I just wanted to go wherever Lance was. I ached for that unconditional love that we had for each other." TJ gathered strength from an occasional glance at Mare's concerned face. Oh, TJ, how I wish I could have been with you then. Maybe I could have helped sustain you through that unbearable loss.

"This life seemed too cruel, too filled with darkness. Erin and Paula made heroic efforts to chase that darkness but they just weren't able to bring me completely back." The raven head wanted to hide from the terrible truths being told but tight strapping kept the tortured face exposed. "I still yearned to leave this hellhole called life. Most people run from death; I embraced it."

Mare turned her head and kissed the palm of TJ's hand, then brought it down and held it in hers. Tears oozed from her eyes, and she swallowed hard, hoping to contain her emotions. "I love you, TJ," she whispered. Your pain scores furrows on my heart and, gods, it hurts.

A softness spread across the strong face, bringing the beginnings of a gentle smile. "Then you came along--this beautiful, caring, generous, feisty person who didn't try to edge cautiously into my life; you jumped in with both feet. No pussyfooting around TJ Meridian's monumental temper; it never even fazed you. That in itself was a miracle of huge proportions. No one else had ever reacted to me that boldly and you piqued my interest right away."

"Mostly I didn't know enough to be scared of you. Thanks for not tossing me out on my ear," Mare murmured. TJ raised her magnificent eyes and her smile brought an answering one to Mare's face.

"After I had spent months looking inward, you forced me to look outward. As naturally as the sun rises everyday, you brought sunshine into my life, and held back the darkness. You captured my heart… my mind… my soul. I fell in love with you." Mare pulled TJ's hand against her pounding heart.

"And, as if that weren't enough of a miracle, you fell in love with me, too." Now TJ's eyes brimmed and her voice thickened. "You taught me to love again and you made me feel worthy of your love. You filled my every need and you let me know that I filled yours. I learned from you that intimacy doesn't mean taking, as I had always thought; it means giving."

The tears slowly spilled over. "I discovered that mutual satisfaction with your lover is the highest form of self-satisfaction in existence. When I learned that from you, I knew I wasn't half a person anymore. I thought my physical disability made me half a person, but I was wrong. My emotional disability was causing that and you freed me from it."

Mare lifted her hand from TJ's for a moment and reached for some tissues from the bedside table. Smiling and sniffling, she wiped TJ's tears, then her own.

"So, no matter what happens…you've made my life as good as it gets." The larger hand, once again clasped with the smaller, tensed. "I'm going to have the operation and hope for the best." TJ's jaw set with determination. "I will cope with whatever results from it. With you at my side, I can handle anything."

Mare released TJ's hand, pushed herself further up the bed and leaned over. "TJ, you know I'll always be at your side." She worked hard to look mischievous, to give a lift to her lover in this heart-wrenching decision. "I'm grafted there in case you hadn't noticed." Mare's voice went hoarse. "At least my soul is."

Putting a hand on each side of TJ's face, she bathed TJ with the look of love pouring from her eyes and kissed her deeply. TJ's injured side and shoulder prevented her from hugging Mare as she wanted to, but she returned Mare's kiss with abandon.

"Ahhh, Mare, I ache to show my love for you." TJ's seductive voice brought further tears from Mare's eyes. She dried their faces again, patting TJ's as she did so.

"Shush now. We'll have plenty of time together when we get you back home. You just concentrate on that. Paula's got everything just about ready for me to move in at the ranch." Mare chuckled through her tears. "You should see her hobbling around with that cast, supervising the people she hired to help her. I tried telling her she should keep that leg elevated and she said, 'The damn leg's elevated all night long and that should be enough.' You know Paula, there's no slowing her down when she's on a mission."

The change of subject lightened the atmosphere and TJ grinned. "She's a tough cookie, all right. I'm glad Paula and Erin will be there at the ranch to keep you company until I get back."

"They're both wonderful, TJ. We couldn't ask for two better friends." And Erin has hired detectives to investigate the Raphaeles. You may have a new brother in the wings. I hope he deserves you.

"That's for sure. They've always stood by me."

A knock came on the hospital room door and a nurse poked her head in. "Miss Meridian, there is a delegation of people here who would like to speak to you for just a moment. They're from…" Ignoring the fact that Mare was on the bed with TJ, she looked down at the clipboard she held, raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Meridianville. Will you see them?"

"I'll see them in two minutes," TJ answered and the nurse departed.

"A delegation?" TJ frowned and looked at Mare, who shrugged.

"I don't know anything about it," Mare assured her. "I'm trying to bunch regular calls to free up some time so I've hardly been in town except to sleep."

TJ sighed. "Hope there aren't any problems. How do I look?"

Mare grinned. "You look fine. Of course, you would look fine to me if you were covered with slime."

"Slime? Yuck!" TJ made a face at Mare and chuckled. "You have such a way with words, Dr. Gillespie."

"I try," Mare laughed. "But let's make ourselves presentable." She slipped off the bed and pulled the chair over to TJ's bedside.

Another knock came at the door and the nurse reappeared. "Ready for your visitors?" TJ answered affirmatively and four men from Meridianville entered the room. All were dressed up in white shirts, ties and suits. Mayor Steve Armando led the group. He and the others nodded to Mare, then he walked to the bed to shake TJ's hand. "Miss Meridian, TJ, I've brought a few people from our town council to visit you. I think you know Abner Stirkle." Abner inclined his head in greeting. "This is Lew Sturgis, the town solicitor and Carlos Sandos, who owns the grocery store." The two men came forward and shook hands with TJ.

Mare's curiosity was in high gear. What are they doing here? And in such a formal group? I hope they're not bringing TJ any trouble.

"First, I'd like to say how sorry we all were to hear about your accident. Seems those troublemakers were the same bunch who vandalized your ranch. Sheriff Jackson looked the other way when that happened because feeling ran so high against the Meridians. He let them off with only a warning. We shouldn't have let him get away with that and we've decided to put him on half pay for six months as a reprimand. We're hoping it will show him that we don't want our sheriff to play favorites."

"I think that's a wise choice. The law should protect everyone, including people you might not like." Lying flat on her back, TJ had a problem seeing everyone. She smiled and politely asked, "Could you all move a little closer, please? I like to see my visitors." At her request, they crowded next to the bed, alongside Mare's chair, where they came into contact with TJ's powerful gaze.

"When we learned of the accident and who was involved, we called a town meeting." Mayor Armando rubbed the back of his neck and his face flushed a bit. "I know when you first came here, we didn't think too highly of you. We were judging you by our dislike of your father and what he had done to the town. But now we know we were wrong. You've done nothing but return our pettiness with generosity. You saved all of us from the contamination spill. You've opened up the ranch and the packing plant and are offering our people honest employment." The mayor looked into the faces of his friends and they nodded their support.

Mare started to breathe easier now that she realized the group was not here to complain.

"You're putting Meridianville back on its feet and you have asked nothing in return except a fair chance to hire people. We spoke about all this at the meeting and we decided we should do something to show our appreciation and gratitude. We don't want you to believe that those young thugs had anything to do with the way the rest of us feel about the Meridian name now."

TJ grinned and quirked an eyebrow. "No more s-o-b connected with it?"

The four men grinned, too, and a couple of them turned red for a moment as Mare choked back a laugh.

"No more s-o-b," the mayor agreed. "Instead, we have a token for you to show our sincerity. Lew?"

Lew Sturgis pulled out a 7" x 14" package that he had been carrying in a plastic bag. "Abner's a bit of a metal craftsman and he made this up for us to present to you, on behalf of the town." He handed the gift to TJ. "We don't want you to think of this as just an object, Miss Meridian. This symbolizes the love and gratitude of the whole town. We all voted for it."

TJ lifted the package in front of her eyes and her hands shook, the only sign of her emotional involvement. "Mare, would you please open this for me?" Mare stood and received the package from TJ's hands. She removed the ribbon and gift wrap, and handed TJ a plaque. Mounted at the bottom of the mahogany plaque was a large brass key, heavily embellished, with the name "TJ Meridian" engraved on it. Above the key, a brass rectangle, fastened to the wood, was etched with the following message: "This Key to the Town of Meridianville is presented to Taylor Jade Meridian in recognition of her priceless contributions to our well-being. She is truly our number one citizen."

TJ's lips quivered and her eyes filled with tears. Twisting her lips and putting a hand against them to quiet them, she handed the plaque to Mare to read. Soon two people had tears running down their cheeks and even the men had to blink their eyes and look away. The tissue box got called into duty again.

At last, TJ got some control over her voice. "I don't know how to thank you."

Abner patted TJ's arm. "No need for you to be thanking us, TJ. We're here to thank you. Took us a while to see who you really were. We want you to know you've opened our eyes to how unfair we were to think you were painted with the same colors your father was. Yours are a helluva lot truer."

"Thanks, Abner." TJ's magnificent eyes acknowledged each man in turn. "Thank you all."

The mayor cleared his throat. "Abner's right, TJ. No need for thanks. We'll be going, now. Just remember that key gives you access to anyone, at anytime, for anything you need that we can help you with. We all hope and pray that you recover quickly and get home soon. Good-bye."

Each man shook hands with TJ and Mare, said their good-byes, and left.

Mare stood up, holding the plaque so TJ could see it. "You want me to stand here for an hour or so and just hold this so you can admire it?" Her cheeks dimpled.

"Sure!" TJ smiled at her lover. "But I won't put you through such torture. Lay it on the table where I can reach it to look at once in awhile." TJ's eyes filled. "I can't believe they did this." She began to cry in earnest.

"Hey, I think I might buy some stock in a tissue company." Mare gave a handful to TJ and barely got her little quip out before her tears came and she had to grab a handful for herself. She laid the plaque on the table, pulled her chair as close to the bed as she could, and sat down.

Pushing the button to lower TJ's bed as far as it would go, Mare leaned in until her golden head lay next to, and touched, TJ's raven hair. She put a hand up and caressed TJ's strong jaw. "I'm so glad they recognized your true worth."

TJ, tears still flowing, closed her hand around Mare's, moved it to her lips and kissed it, then laid it back along her jaw. TJ would have been embarrassed to cry so openly in front of anyone else, but Mare didn't seem like "anyone else." She was an extension of TJ, body and soul. Mare waited until TJ finished crying then pushed herself up enough to reach her and dried her face with kisses.

"Do you know what this means to me, Mare? I feel like I've been fighting a battle forever to divorce my father's life from mine. This is the first indication that I am succeeding. My first victory." Although hoarse from crying, TJ's voice radiated hope.

"There will be lots more to come, TJ. I know that as well as I know you." Let's hope this boost to your battered self-worth soothes some of the pain of your recuperation.

TJ took hold of Mare's hand once again, clasped it with her own and raised their joined hands in the air. "To victory. And to us."

Keeping their hands together in the air, Mare joined her lips to TJ's waiting mouth and they wordlessly declared their love. When they parted, they smiled into each other's eyes as Mare echoed, "To victory. And to us."

The End.

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Thank you for reading.
Comments are always welcomed!
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Karen A. Surtees and PruferBlue

Who are hoping to do a sequel! 

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