Lilly Cartwright's Story

Someone sat astride a horse, looking through a pair of binoculars with a compass and a map being held in the other hand. She let go of the the binoculars and they fell around her neck by an old piece of leather.

"Lilly, honey we have to find somewhere to go, Holly's not getting any better.", the older woman said.

She sat in the saddle of another horse with an attached pack horse, with what appeared to be a younger girl sitting slumped over in the saddle in front of her. The two that were leading the horses, looked as though they hadn't slept good in days, and the one slumped over, looked pale and sick. It had been almost month and half long trek across Texas and New Mexico, with a week down to try to get Holly healed up. Granted it could have been much worse, then getting hit by a bullet from a bandit, but the fact the wound had gotten infected.

"Its okay Momma we're close now, just a little bit further, just don't jostle her around too much and she should be okay till we get to Sanctuary. Hopefully there's someone there that can give Holly some medicine."

Lilly put away the map into a satchel on the back of her saddle and the compass in the pocket of her jacket, it was still early morning and she wanted to get to Sanctuary before, the midday sun was beating down on them making it almost impossible to travel. They had been doing most of their travel in the colder hours of the evening but Holly's condition and their destination so close had convince them to move out in the early morning hours today.

"Come on Wildfire, lets keep moving if we get there in record time I might be able to see I can get you a treat. Wont that be nice boy?" Lilly patted the horse on the neck and it prompted the animal to move forward.

Amber looked down at her youngest sitting in the saddle in front of her, her face had all the signs of being sick from an infection. The pale pasty complexion, hotter than a red hot fire cracker to the touch, she was worried she didn't want to loose her baby girl. But then again what sort of shape would they be in if they had stayed with her father in Texas, as he has slipped further into psychosis. God know what he would have done to her in the girls, if he had snapped and thought they were aliens invaders.

She clicked her tongue moving her own horse forward, the pack horse behind them moving as well.

Along the southern wall, a man in his fifties patrolled Sanctuary. John didn't like the idea of having an armed town, but he understood the necessity of keeping people who knew how to use firearms around. The threat of bandits and aliens was ever-present.

At the formation of Sanctuary, he had made a concession to allow sentries to keep watch. Along with the sheriff and his deputies, they were the only ones officially allowed by the people in charge to carry. Though, Callum and Finley were generally okay with citizens carrying as long as they didn't threaten other citizens with them.

On the horizon, this sentry, known as Deacon spotted some moving forms. From that distance, he couldn't rightly tell what they were. But, as they got closer, he could see that they were people sitting astride horses. Well, two of them were sitting - a third was lying slumped over.

He couldn't immediately grant them entrance, and he hated that, but those were the rules. They had all heard stories of how bandits would pretend to be injured to get the sympathy of a town and then ambush. Sort of a Trojan Horse thing.

When the three got within shouting distance, Deacon called out, "Who goes there?"
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Zoey rose to her feet when Yolanda passed through the door and smiled to the older woman.

"Miss Gunn! Mister Callum is waiting for you, I think."

Inside his office, John was seated. He, however, did not stand. Not only did he have the luxury, as the only one that really had more authority than Yolanda. She didn't really have an official position like he or Finley did, but she commanded enough respect that she was allowed to tell other people what to do and they would listen. The sheriff even listened to her, even though he really didn't have to.

John was sixty-six, but he looked older. The ten years since the invasion, and the years since founding Sanctuary in particular, had taken a toll on him. It was like the President of the United States. Even at the end of the first four years, they looked so much older and more tied than when the term had begun.

When she entered, he smiled that tired smile that he always gave. He was much more candid with her than he was with anybody else, save maybe his son. With her, he forced the smile much less.

He'd spent enough time around her that he knew when she had something important to say, so he had to get his in first.

"We had a visitor from Garland today. Robert's son, Michael. They're offering free trade and travel between our settlements." The old man paused, allowing a moment or two for the information to register with her before he continued, "Robert wants to meet and speak with me in Garland. It could be a trap. If it's not, it's a dangerous trip. What do you think?"
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Sheriff Finley took his job seriously. He knew that a lot of people in town saw him as a hard-ass, but in a place like this, there had to be laws, and there had to be someone around to enforce the laws. And that's where Moses came in. He tried to be fair. Everyone here was trying to make a life for themselves, so it wasn't like he was going around hanging people for anything.

After Michael Garland and his bodyguards had left the building with John's office, Finley followed them for a short ways. After a half-block, they stopped, turned, and approached the sheriff.

"You're the sheriff, right?" Michael asked.

"Sheriff Finley."

"Michael Garland, from the town of Garland."

Moses nodded curtly in response, "Can I help you?"

"Well, we could use some directions."

"Where to?"

Michael glanced to his bodyguards and then back to Finley, "Mister Callum invited us to stay until he's ready to leave. Is there a place we can stay for the night? Also, any place to relax - like a bar - would be nice."

"The Pitstop is a restaurant and hotel. That's in that direction," the sheriff replied, pointing north, "And then there's Freedom Incarnate," he said with a sigh, "That's just down the street from the hotel."

"Thanks, sheriff."

"Be careful, though. Freedom Incarnate is a little shady." It was no secret that Finley didn't like Freedom Incarnate, and it was no secret that he didn't have any kind of fondness for its owner, Gary Lane. But, since neither he nor his establishment were breaking any rules, Finley had no recourse to do anything. Not unless someone was causing trouble there.

"What do you mean?" Michael asked, looking a little worried.

"You'll see. It's not dangerous, just shady. Nothing your boys can't handle," Finley said, nodding to Michael's bodyguards. "By the way, if you do run into any trouble in there, it's best you come to me instead of trying to solve it on your own. The folks here might not take kindly to people from another town getting into fights, even if you didn't start it."

"Thanks for the heads-up," Michael nodded, turning back towards his bodyguards.

"It's what I'm here for. Just try not to cause any trouble, okay?"

"Sure thing." And then, with a nod to his bodyguards, they were off.

The sheriff watched them for a while before he turned and headed back the way he'd come, intending to return to Callum's office and see how things had gone there.

Finley walked down the street and, before he could turn towards the mayor's building, a pair of frightened looking men rushed towards him. He recognized them as Dan and Elias. Some how they were related, but he wasn't sure how. They hadn't been in Sanctuary long enough for him to find out.

"Sheriff!" the younger one of them exclaimed, Elias, "That guy Jack just pulled a gun on us."

"Goddamnit," Finley muttered, "Okay. Lead the way."

Jack had become increasingly unstable lately. It was getting bad enough to the point where Finley was going to have to have a serious discussion about forcing him to leave, and this incident might just force his hand. Pulling a gun on another citizen of Sanctuary was bad. And with Jack's state, there was no telling when something worse could be around the corner.

The pair led the sheriff back from where they'd come where Jack's neighbor Marina was, looking as if she'd just exited Jack's home.

Moses motioned to the house, "Marina, can you bring him back out here? I need to sort this out."

Lilly could't believe her eyes as they drew closer to the what looked to be a large settlement in the distance. It was already starting to grow warm, and she knew if they didn't get somewhere, her mother, sister and she would have to take refuge. There was no way, Holly couldn't wait any longer, so it was this is Sanctuary and they had finally reached their destination after almost a month and a half. Or this was something else and they would bed dead as soon as they were in distance. Needless to say Lilly was grateful to hear the voice of the man on the gate.

"Who goes there?"

It was totally understandable, Lilly thought for all they knew they were decoys for raiders, or worse.

"Please sir I know what this looks like, but I swear we're not bandits. We've been looking for this place for about a month and a half, all the way from Texas. Please, a couple of weeks ago we got caught by some, yahoos that tried to steal our horses."

Lilly turned a little in the seat and pointed back to her mother would was looking up at the man with sad eyes, her young daughter slumped over in the saddle in front of her.

"My little sister got hit when we were running, we were able to find somewhere to hide out for a couple of weeks after we lost the bandits. Did our best to patch her up, it was a clean shot, but the wound got infected and she's.... very sick."

Lilly looked back up at the Sentry. "Listen I know its stupid for me to expect you to cry a little tear for us, and let us in with open arms. I'm not that ignorant, but I'd thank you kindly that if whoever I have to speak with to gain access, you'd send them out right quick. Cause I don't know how much more my sister can handle riding, and if we don't get in somewhere's before the sun comes out good, we're done for cause we're running low on water."

She made sure her voice was straight forward and two the point, and did her best to not sound like she was fabricating anything. Lilly knew that if there was even a hint that they were being untruthful, they would probably be shot. She prayed to whatever God was still around, that they let them in, cause she didn't know what they were going to do if they couldn't get into Sanctuary.

Lilly's mother, pulled the hat she was wearing off her head, "I'll say somthin to so ya know, we aint tryin ta trick ya'll." Amber's thick Texas drawl piped up, "If its a problem with numbers, you take my girls in ya hear, I'm willing to take my chances alone iff'n my little girls get taken care of."

Lilly's eyes nearly bugged out of her head hearing her mother's words, she whipped her head back at her mother. "Momma hush, they'll take you too!"

Amber's eyes gave a scolding glance, "Lilly Elizabeth Cartwright you hear me right good! You know better than to raise your voice at me young lady, but there aint no guarantee this place can afford to take in three refugee's, so you hush ya mouth miss and you let me do my duty as your mother. Do you hear me?"

Lilly's mouth sat slightly agape looking at her other, she wanted to scream at her to just let her handle it, but in the end this was her mother. She had the utmost respect for the woman that had raised her and her sister with no help from family or men. If there was anyone in this world that Lilly looked up to the most was her mother.

Lilly's mouth closed and she looked down at the horn of he saddle in defeat like a scolded child. "Yes... mam.", she said quietly.

The older woman nodded with confidence, the turned to look at the sentry, "Please sir, for my girls, whoever can let us in, talk to him."

A couple miles north of Sanctuary, not far from Bonell Bay, Paul and a few others were working on the irrigation project. The son of Sanctuary's mayor was kneeling while he held a piece of metal tubing, pieced together from salvaged metal.. He was wearing a simple white wifebeater, the light gray shirt he'd had on before had already been tossed into the dirt. It wasn't summer, but it still got hot fairly quickly, especially when you were working.

On his head rested a simple black baseball hat, and he also wore a pair of sunglasses, all at an attempt to keep the sun from interfering with his work.

A woman a few years younger than he was, Kate, approached him from behind and knelt beside him. She squinted as she looked at him, "What's the verdict?"

"It's going to have to do, until I can find a better piece. I really don't have anything better." He tossed the piece aside and stood up. Kate did the same.

"Did Ollie decide to show up?" he asked.

"I haven't seen him."

"Shit," he mumbled, "He's a genius, but he's not really reliable, or stable, for that matter." Paul wouldn't admit it, but Ollie's contributions were invaluable. The problem was, like he said, that the man seemed to be lost in his own world, and only sometimes did his world line up with what other people were thinking and doing.

Kate sighed, "You don't have to tell me that. I know."

Paul looked to the woman standing next to him, while nodding, "Yeah, I think everyone does." He smiled at her faintly, before stepping back towards the pieces of the irrigation system in front of him.

"Well, back to work."
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Deacon squinted at the women as they spoke and argued, and then he turned towards another sentry that was approaching, Luke, a much younger man with light brown hair.

"Luke, lead them to Doctor Gutierrez's office when they come in," he said before turning back to the three outside the gate, "I'm opening the gate now." Then, he took the steps down to the ground, unbarred the gate and pulled it open. The younger of the two conscious women moved toward the gate first. When the mother hesitated, Deacon motioned for her to enter as well, and she did.

The daughter looked as if she were about to express her gratitude when Deacon stopped her, "We wouldn't turn you away, especially if you need medical help." And they didn't look like the type to be spies for a group of raiders, That kind of thinking was dangerous, though; anybody could be. But, Deacon had a feeling.

"But, you'll have to meet with the sheriff, or one of his deputies." He paused briefly to look at Luke, then to the conscious daughter, "Luke will take you the doctor. She'll do what she can for your sister."

It wasn't far from the gate to the doctor's office, but it wasn't a very big town.

Doctor Lisa Gutierrez was a Latina woman in her forties with glasses and a kind face. Sitting in her office, she was reading a piece of paper with her hair tied up in a bun. Luke entered her office.

"Doctor," he began, "There are some outsiders who need to see you."

Her eyes adjusted as they moved from the paper to the young sentry, "What happened?"

"I think one of them said she'd been shot."

Gutierrez stood up immediately, looking concerned, but she remained calm, and sighed, "Okay." They then stepped outside, speaking to all present while motioning to the unconscious girl, "Help me with her."

Luke and the others moved to help the doctor carry the girl. Once she was inside, they brought her to the back room where they laid her down on what amounted to a medical examination table. She looked over at the conscious mother and daughter, "I need you to tell me exactly what happened."
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John stood up and rested his hands on his hips as he slipped into thought, for a little too long.

"John?" Yolanda spoke up after a while.

"I can't send Paul. He's been working on the irrigation project, and he's just about the only one who's worked on it every day of its production." He paused for a moment and he sighed, "And if anything were to happen, I don't believe my heart could take having to bury my last son." The death of his two eldest sons, Thomas and Jared, was not a secret amongst the people of Sanctuary. They knew about it, and he knew that they knew it, but he rarely spoke of it. Not to Paul, and not to Yolanda.

"I don't know that I could ask you to go in my place, either," he said, turning back to the woman, "To be quite honest, I think you're the future of this settlement, and probably better suited for my position than anybody else, even myself." At that admission, he chuckled before continuing, "Paul is a smart boy, but I can't see him being in charge of an entire town. Sheriff Finley is a man of action and would grow restless in my position, I think. And Mister Lane, well..." It seemed peculiar, even to himself that he would consider Gary at that position, but he was a shrewd man, that much John knew, "He lacks the kind of morals needed. I'm not sure he would follow my regulations if Finley didn't keep such a close watch on things."

"With that said," he continued, "If anything were to happen, I think the town would be best served it happening to myself than to you. Robert seems to want to speak with me personally, in any case. That also means that you'll be in charge until I get back." John was going under the assumption that he would return; he didn't want to be the one just assuming the worst would happen all the time, but the threat was very real.

"But, I won't be going alone. I'll have to take along some protection, for the trip over to Garland, if nothing else. You know the people of Sanctuary best. Do you have any recommendations?"
________________________

Finley folded his arms over his chest as he looked to Marina briefly with a deliberately neutral look. As sheriff, it was important for him not to take sides and not to let people get to him. His job was to enforce the town's rules, one of which Jack had broken. He couldn't let that slide, no matter how sympathetic he was to what Jack had gone through. If something happened to Dee, his as of yet unborn child, or his mother, well... It would be hard.

"I appreciate your concern for Jack, but I can't. This is a serious offense, if true. He's going to have to come with me, as are you two," he said, turning towards the two men behind him, whose gleeful expressions soon faded, turning into looks of muted shock.

He looked back to Marina, "I'll give him the benefit of letting him sober up before speaking to him, at the very least. You'll have to come with me as well, if that makes you feel any better."

Finley was hoping she wouldn't fight him on this. He knew that both Marina and himself would prefer it if Jack came out with her, more or less willing. Because if the sheriff had to go in there, he might end up having to drag the man out of his house. It made the sheriff look unreasonably harsh, and it would be humiliating for Jack.

Marina tossed him a look that he discerned as a mix of anger and reluctance, but Finley remained stoic.

It went more smoothly than Lilly could have ever imagined, after her mother's speech they were lead into the gate and from there swiftly to the hospital. She tried to thank the sentry that had let them come in but all he said was that he wasn't going to let them go out and die in the desert if they needed help.


"Yes, of course I'll talk to whomever you want me too."

She was grateful to him but as quickly as he had said this he had turned her over to another young man by the name of Luke. She followed him swiftly to the doctors office, she kept making quick back glances at her mother and sister just to make sure they were alright. It wasn't too far to the office and when they got there, Luke helped them all dismount and carried Holly into the office. He didn't struggle carrying the girl too much, cause Lilly knew Holly didn't weight much to begin with, but after being sick for a week she had lost even more weight.

The doctor looked kind, not much younger than Lilly's mother she looked Latin what specifically Lilly wasn't sure but she looked like a nice person and she was grateful for that.

"Well, we were on our way here and we got cornered by some bandits. We got away but she got hit by a stray bullet in her left calf muscle. It was a clean shot..." Lilly lifted up the pants leg of the sweat pants her sister was wearing. "We did our best even held off traveling for a week, but the wound got infected and without any antibiotics or nothing she just got sicker. You think she'll be okay doctor?" Lilly looked hopefully at the female doctor as her the girls mother brushed hair off of Holly's forehead.

Fort Defiance

"Commander," A partisan pushed his way into the commander's office. He was young. Probably wouldn't be old enough to sign up for the military if he was in the old world. Sixteen, maybe seventeen.

The aging veteran, Braxton Briggs, stood up, "What is it, son?"

"Sanders and Jones haven't come back from scout duty. They were supposed to be back an hour ago."

Briggs remained silent for a while before nodding, his lips pressed firmly together. Something could have held them up. Or, it could be worse.

"Give them another hour. If they don't show up, go out there and find them. Take Carson and Reeves with you."

"Yes, sir."

Somewhere in the Mojave Desert

The fearsome bandit leader and two of his most trusted friends, both of whom he'd been with since Boston, stood above a pair of cowering travelers. Behind them and all around them were the rest of the Crossbones clan, numbering nearly forty, and each of them was holding a weapon of some kind. The newer the member, the worse weapon they had.

At Roger's right stood Lane Jackson, nicknamed Calico Jack, and he held an assault rifle. While, at his left, Sam Morgan, nicknamed Black Sam, held a shotgun.

"Now," Roger began, addressing the civilians, "You may have heard of me. They call me Jolly Roger. You've probably heard that I'm vicious and merciless, but that's just not true. I'm giving you a chance to walk away from here alive." He paused, watching their reactions briefly, "All you have to do is agree to join our clan. I can't guarantee how long you will survive with us, but if you don't join us, you will die."

There were five of them. An older man, probably in his seventies. It was likely a miracle that the man had survived even this long. Then there was a woman, probably his daughter; she looked like she was in her forties or fifties. Finally, there were three who looked to be the woman's children, a daughter who looked be in her mid-twenties, and two sons - probably twins - who looked to be no older than nineteen.

"Anybody who wants to be spared, stand up."

There was a long silence as they all looked at each other.

Roger's face turned into a menacing scowl, "Last chance."

At that, the two youngest boys stood up to the horror of his family beside them.

"Why are you doing this?" the sister asked, her eyes pleading.

"They're going to kill us!" one of the boys retorted.

"So you'd rather--" the sister began, only to be cut off by a gunshot. She and her mother screamed as the old man fell to the ground, dead from a bullet wound to the head.

The bandit leader had grown impatient and had executed the man to force them to make a choice. Besides, he was too old to be useful anyway.

"Hurry up and make your choice!" Roger growled.

They all looked to Roger in horror, the boys included, but nobody said anything. Roger sighed, waiting their responses, growing even more impatient.

After another moment or two of horrified looks between family members, Roger fired two more bullets. The first one into the older woman and the second into the younger, killing them both.

The boys stared at Roger, and one of them took a step back. And then he turned and began to run.

Roger looked over to Calico Jack, who raised his weapon and fired. The bullets shredded through the boy's torso and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. His friend even went through the trouble of walking over to the boy's body and firing a few extra shots into him.

"Now," Roger said, looking to the only surviving family member - the same one who had pleaded his case to his family, "Are you going to run?"

Hastily, the boy shook his head, already afraid of the bandit clan leader.

"Good choice. What's your name?"

"Will," he answered quietly.

"Welcome to the Crossbones, Will."

Back in Sanctuary

Yolanda's attentiveness to the details of the town never ceased to both astound and amuse John. He didn't consider himself out of the loop, not by any means, being the mayor of Sanctuary, but her knowledge far surpassed his own, and it even surpassed Finley's, who was supposed to know about everyone in town. That was his job.

John had to consider his options now. All the names Yolanda had said were all at least somewhat familiar to him, except for Gary Lane's - Callum was more than familiar with the proprietor of Freedom Incarnate. With the others, he felt like he'd at least given them a friendly hello on one occasion or another.

As he sat, he leaned forward and placed his hands on what served as a desk in front of him. He knew enough about Yolanda to know that she didn't come to his office everyday, and a lot of times, she came to his office to speak to him about something. It was fortunate that she did come, at any rate, due to the arrival of Michael Garland.

True to his nature, John came right out with the question. "What have you come to talk about?"
________________________

Doctor Gutierrez listened intently before going to inspect the girl's leg. After a moment or two, she looked back to the younger of the two women standing with her. "You have no idea how lucky you all are. A centimeter in any direction and she'd have bled out. I'll do what I can, but I don't think she'll walk right from now on. She likely has permanent nerve and tissue damage." She looked between the mother and her two daughters, "When dealing with bullet wounds, it's a good idea to get it taken care of as soon as possible."

The doctor turned towards one of the cabinets she had in the room, found a pair of gloves, a needle, and some antibiotics. She approached the younger daughter and injected the antibiotics into her leg, "I don't mean to lay a guilt trip on you." After injecting the antibiotics, she retrieved some bandages and wrapped the leg, "She should stay off her feet for a while, just to let it heal - as much as it's going to. I'll bring you some crutches."

Gutierrez then took off her gloves, tossed them into the trash, and exited the room. Several seconds later, she returned with a set of crutches, which she set against the wall. Then, finally, she offered her hand, first to the mother, and then to the daughter, "I'm Doctor Lisa Gutierrez."

"Amber Cartwright."

"I'm Lilly. And that's Holly," the daughter said, motioning towards her younger sister.

"I'm sorry our meeting wasn't under better circumstances, but welcome to Sanctuary. You're welcome to stay here until she wakes up," the doctor announced with a small, friendly smile, looking towards Holly.
________________________

Finley folded his arms as Marina turned to go back into Jack's place, and looked towards Dan and Elias, who smiled nervously at the sheriff. He kept his eyes on the pair, carefully observing their expressions while they all waited. The younger and taller one, Elias, averted his eyes, looking down to the floor, while Dan gave Finley the same nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

The sound of the door opening caused them all to look back. It was Jack, followed by Marina. He spoke to the sheriff directly.

“You don’t need to look no further, I’ll come willingly.”

Moses unfolded his arms and nodded to Jack, grateful for both his and Marina's compliance, "Thank you, Jack." There was more that he wanted to add, but he refrained, wary of appearing biased towards Jack.

Finley had his own theories about what had gone down. Jack had been increasingly unstable lately, but he had a suspicion that Dan and Elias had something to do with what happened, based on Marina's reactions to them, their uncomfortable manner, and Jack's current unwillingness to make eye contact with the pair. Of course that could just be his guilt at drawing a gun on them.

The sheriff led the others to his own office, which was next door to the mayor's, but smaller. The interior was small as well, just a desk that was flanked by a few doors, one of which served as a makeshift cell. But, he didn't want to have to lock up Jack. At least not until hearing what he had to say for himself.

Besides the chair behind his desk, there were a few chairs, which he motioned to, "Sit, please."

After a moment's hesitation and an exchanged look between Dan and Elias, they sat, as did Jack and, eventually, Marina. Finley looked between those sat before him, before his gaze stopped on Marina.

"Tell me what happened."

"What have you come to talk about?"

And with that, John abruptly pulled the curtain down on the conversation. Yolanda could almost hear the clang as the town's leader shut away her suggestions in another part of his mind, to be ruminated at his leisure - and in solitude. Growing frail he may be, but John Callum still had a mind like a steel trap.

"Well now, don't you know how to put a girl at her ease, John Callum," she frowned in mock annoyance, folding her arms and pursing her red lips. "In fact, Mister Lane and his morals, well, that's why I came to see you."

An almost imperceptible nod of the head told Yolanda she had John's attention, even while his agile brain was leaping ahead to consider whether her motives for suggesting Gary go to Garland were tied up in her own interests. She ploughed on regardless; John would conclude, in his own time, that nominating Gary hadn't been done out of malice or self-interest.

"I got an angry mother on my hands, John. Ana-Maria Fernández. If I'm not mistaken, I might have a few angry wives on my hands soon too. The back rooms in Freedom Incarnate... well, they're perhaps not as free as all that."

Under John's calm gaze, she elaborated. "Ana-Maria's daughter, Susanna, it sounds like she's turning tricks. Now, I know you allowed the back rooms for a reason" - she paused briefly as memories of her brief, passionate relationship in the back rooms flashed across her mind - "but this sounds like straight-up prostitution, John."

She stepped up to the edge of the mayor's desk, the wooden lip pressing a line into the meat of her thigh.

"The back rooms are like a safety valve for the human needs of Sanctuary, that's why we have them. But this... this is not good. Ana-Maria is fit to stab Mr Lane, and the gossip about who else sees Susanna is only going to grow. You know what people are like. That's what concerns me. That, and it's hard to know how safe she's being."

John lent back in his chair, and Yolanda realised she'd been looming over him. She stepped away, took in a brief circuit of the office while John steepled his fingers again. She instinctively knew what he was going to ask next.

"No, I haven't spoken to Mr Lane yet." She could feel the blood rising in her cheeks, anger on behalf of Ana-Maria, who only wanted to protect her daughter just as Yolanda wanted to protect Sanctuary; anger at the supercilious Mr Lane, who would only duck and dodge and avoid any direct line of conversation, and suggestion of responsibility. "He'll say he's not responsible for Susanna. He's not so foolish as to say he doesn't know what happens, but he'll say he's not responsible for what goes on in the back rooms."

There was silence for a moment as Yolanda struggled to control herself. John would feel such outbursts were unnecessary between friends, that she didn't have to personalise what was clearly a political issue, that losing one's temper was an undignified attempt at extra leverage. Nonetheless, Yolanda couldn't help feeling towards Gary Lane a degree of the same anger that Ana-Maria felt. He had his own short-term benefit in mind, and nothing else, certainly not the long-term peace and prosperity of Sanctuary.

John nodded four times, each nod more definitely than the last. Yolanda imagined the steel shutters coming down on the matter again.

"I'll take my leave, John Callum," she said, slipping into formality in an attempt to mask her irritation. "Take care now."

'Take care, Ms Gunn,' John replied in kind. Just as the door closed, she glanced back and suspected she saw a teasing twinkle in the old man's eyes. As she crossed the dusty street to Doctor Gutierrez's practise, meaning to investigate what precautions Susanna was taking, if any, she conceded a wry smile at John's deft leadership skills, his ability to disarm her potentially disruptive temper.

"Luke Hall? Shouldn't you be on watch?" she asked as the tall young man emerged from the hospital. Not a year ago, she would have described him as gangly, but he'd undergone that growth spurt all young men had at that age, outwards rather than upwards, where his muscles had thickened and his build broadened. He was rangy now, not gangly.

"M- Ms Gunn?" he stuttered, as if guilty for having been caught away from his post. His gaze flicked around her curves, then up to her face, then settled on the dry ground as the safest location. "Ms Gunn, I was bringin' a hurt girl to the Doc. Deacon telled me so."

"Well done, Luke," she smiled warmly at him, which did nothing to stop the red blush from rising from his neck to his cheeks. "Is this hurt girl still inside?"

"Yup," he nodded enthusiastically, proud of his role in the girl's survival. "And her Ma and her, her, her sister."

"Go on, Romeo," Yolanda grinned as she passed and patting Luke on the shoulder. "Back to your post. Keep on keeping us safe." The rangy young man snapped an improvised salute as he jogged back to the wall.

"Hello? Dr G?" she called as she stepped into the sparsely-lit waiting room. "Hi, it's me?"

After a moment, the doctor stuck her head through the door to her office. "Back here, Yolanda," she nodded, and disappeared again. As another senior member of the town, the doctor was on familiar terms with Yolanda.

In the doctor's office, a young woman was laid out unconscious on the couch under a blanket. A woman in her 20s and an elder, obviously family to the girl on the couch, looked on anxiously. The doctor busied herself a final check on a bandage on the girl's leg and pulled the blanket over it. "These here are the Cartwright girls," said Doctor Gutierrez. "Amber and Lilly - " the onlookers stood apprehensively - "and this here napping is Holly."

The older woman, undeniably mother to the others, offered her hand. "Amber Cartwright, ma'am. I just gotta say how mighty grateful we all are you takin' us in like this. Holly - " The words seemed to catch in her throat and she fell silent, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Ms Cartwright, I'm Yolanda Gunn, not 'ma'am', and you don't have to thank me," smiled Yolanda, taking her the proffered hand. "That's just how we are here in Sanctuary. If we can help folks that need helping, we'll help. And Lilly, it's good to have you. Your sister is in safe hands with Doctor G."

Pretty although dust-grimed and drawn by exhaustion, Lilly managed a broad smile. Yolanda could easily understand Luke Hall's stuttering.

After her mother mumbled her name and shook the doctors hand, Lilly shook the her hand, introduced herself and the unconscious Holly. She could tell that the physician had experience dealing with emergency situations. As she quickly, did what she could for Holly.

"Yes, thank you doctor. I don't know how we can repay you." Lilly smiled, something she hadn't felt like doing in a long time.

After things calmed a bit, and Holly rested, Lilly and her mother sat down, she watched intently as the doctor cleaned up. All Lilly's mother did was sit there quietly, looking at Holly on the table. Lilly had noticed lately that her mother had grown quiet, especially since Holly had gotten sick. The once exuberant, lively, sharp tongued woman had turned into a shell of herself since this whole mess with the alien invasion happened. It was like the chaotic world that had become reality, had sucked the life out of Lilly's mother. She reached over took her mother's hand in her, and squeezed it gently to reassure her that things were going to get better. Just as she was about to say something, Lilly heard a conversation going on expecting the sheriff or a deputy she looked up at the door to the clinic.

Lilly was surprised when a woman walked into the room, she and her mother stood up out of respect. The doctor introduced them to the woman. Her mother must have realized that this woman must have been some kind of authority in the town, Lilly watched as her mother introduced herself... and then broke down, Lilly reached out and hugged her mother as she sniffled. She patted the older woman's back.

"I'm sorry Ms. Yolanda, my moms been through allot recently, especially with my baby sister being sick and all." Lilly led her mother to sit back down.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and walked over to the woman that had welcomed them to Sanctuary.

"There was a little while where we were afraid we'd never make it through this trip, but I feel like this is where we're supposed to be. Well beats living in the back woods of Texas, with nobody to talk to but the squirrels and a crazy old man that thinks the squirrels are government spies. Ms. Yolanda, we'll do whatever we have to, as long as we can be somewhere safe and secure."

Lilly's mother nodded, and wiped her eyes, "Yes, ma'am Cartwright's aren't afraid of work, besides if we lived in the woods as long as we did without running water or electricity. I think, we can do just about any job you give us around here."

Lilly looked over at her mother and smiled, it was like a little bit of life was breathed back into her mother and finally things might turn around.

She turned back to Yolanda, "Ma'am.. I mean Ms. Yolanda, the sentry at the gate said we'd have to speak with the sheriff or one of his deputies. Begging your pardon, but are you one of the deputies?"

"A deputy? With these nails?" Yolanda held up her carefully manicured hand, threw back her head and laughed, then flashed a complicit smile at Lilly. "Oh honey, my rough-and-tumble days are long behind me." She didn't want to shame these women for the disparity between her glamorous appearance and their road-worn clothes and borderline malnourishment, but rather hint at the possibilities that Sanctuary held for them.

"No, I'm what I suppose you'd call a busyboy. I keep people busy and keep bodies together. It helps stick Sanctuary together, you know? And I don't doubt your ethic, ma'am - " here she nodded at the elder woman " - I don't think y'all should be worried about work right now. Why don't you two head on off to the kitchens - it's the big metal-sheet building about four down on this side - and see if there's a late breakfast or an early lunch to be had. Tell them I sent you, and Doc G and I will keep an eye on this one for you."

A short while later, Yolanda emerged from the hospital, squinting as the sun upped its punishing glare as it neared midday. She waved as two girls ran past, shrieking and laughing, each holding one end of a length of red ribbon. Amazing what passed for toys in these difficult days. Dust swirled up in their wake. The sooner we get that irrigation project finished, the better, Yolanda thought.

She took a deep breath, trying to suppress her annoyance at Doctor Gutierrez. Sure, she could see patient confidentiality still had a place in the world today, and no, she wouldn't like it if just about anyone could find out her private business by asking. But couldn't the doctor see this was no mere snooping? There wasn't just the issues of a spread of disease and an unwanted, possibly contested pregnancy. Did John Callum really want a town where prostitution was acceptable? Did he not see the damage that could to to morale? And what's more, if a character like Gary Lane could get away with this, what else would he attempt?

In the doorway to Freedom Incarnate, Yolanda primped her hair and smoothed her dress down on her hips. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she picked out Gary Lane standing by the bar, seemingly in conversation with a customer. She stepped towards them, her high heels click-clacking in the sudden silence.

Lilly and her mother nodded after Yolanda explained her position, and when food was mentioned, as if on cue Lilly stomach growled. She placed both her hands on her stomach slightly embarrassed. Her mother, shook her head "I'm gonna stay here Lil's if you're hungry you go on ahead, I'll catch after your sister comes to."

Lilly looked at her mother, she had always had a soft spot for Holly, not that she showed favoritism it was just that Holly was the baby. And once Holly truly grew up, that meant that both her girls weren't her little babies any more, it was like her mother was holding on to that for dear life. She felt like she had already lost that with Lilly being so independent, and very often taking charge of tough situations. Despite feeling a little down that her mother chose to stay, Lilly nodded.

"I'll bring ya something back okay Mamma?", she said with a little bit of concern for her mother.

Her mother nodded and the turned her attention back to Holly. Lilly slipped through the front door and headed for the what she thought was the kitchens as she walked along she realized she had turned the wrong way and was now lost. There wasn't anything around her but what looked like living quarters. She was just about to turn around and go back when she almost ran right into three men who had just come around the corner between a couple of buildings. One was a smaller man with red hair and a short beard, another was a behemoth of a man that towered over Lilly like a giant, and the last was a shorter black man with a thick large beard. She stopped before she crashed into them, and swallowed nervously, they looked like a group of men that she didn't want to interact with.

"Would you look at this one boys, another one. I swear to God if Callum keeps letting every needy little waif in here we're going to all wake up to another bandit raid with our throats cut.", the red haired man looked Lilly up and down. "At least this ones easy on the eyes.", the giant guy chuckled a bit and then moved on around Lilly. She heard them going on about the guy they had just taught a 'lesson' that they left behind the barracks.

As they made their way out of sight, Lilly sighed with relief but she wondered what they meant by the man they were talking about. Curiosity got the best of her, and besides if those three had been teaching anyone a lesson it wasn't a good thing. She turned the corner in between the two building that the men had emerged from before. She came up behind a guy that looked like he had been hurt. She was just grateful to find a living person and not a dead body or something.

"Hey.... you all right?", she asked, "I saw those men come out of here and well it was obvious they weren't friendly." she walked up to the young guy, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You need the Doc or anything? I made the wrong turn down here on my way to the kitchen... I guess its a good thing I did now.... My names Lilly by the way, just came through the gate this morning. My mother and sister are at the clinic, at least I know where that is."

"Hey.... you all right?", she asked, "I saw those men come out of here and well it was obvious they weren't friendly." she walked up to the young guy, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You need the Doc or anything? I made the wrong turn down here on my way to the kitchen... I guess its a good thing I did now.... My names Lilly by the way, just came through the gate this morning. My mother and sister are at the clinic, at least I know where that is."

Lazarus was relieved to find someone that actually seemed to care about his well-being. He had never been much of a ladies man. A girl's hand on his shoulder would have made him a nervous wreck years ago, but war had a way of pushing aside minor stress. She asked if he was alright. He had taken two big hits to the abdomen, Thornton had made impact with his ribs a little. Lazarus lifted his shirt up, a bruise forming around his lower left ribs.

"Bruises don't usually form this quick. I've probably got a sprained or cracked rib." Every time he breathed there was minor pain shooting from his left side. Her hand came off his shoulder and he looked down at her, standing almost a whole foot taller. Suddenly aware that he had just revealed his wounds when the girl may not have seen what caused it, he panicked.

"H-Hey, please don't tell anyone about this. I'll deal with it." He rolled his shirt back down, shooting a nervous glance at the direction McAllister had gone. "I could definitely go for the kitchen. I'm Lazarus by the way." He extended his hand in greeting.

The guy couldn't have been much older than she was, maybe a bit younger, and on closer examination he looked like he was in allot of pain as he tried to stand. He was quite a bit taller than her but that wasn't unusual, most guys were taller than her. At least he wasn't mortally wounded, by the looks of those hoodlums Lilly wouldn't put it past them to beat someone to a bloody pulp then leave them to die in an ally. However when the guy lifted his shirt up it made Lilly wince to see the painful bruises forming on his torso.

"My God, you should really go see the Doc about this." she could tell his breathing was already labored, from the injuries.

When he made the comment about his ribs being bruised or even cracked she looked up at him again with a panicked look.

"No, I'm serious if they are cracked and you move wrong you could collapse a lung or something. Come on lets go now..." she gently put her hand onto his arm to try to lead him in the direction she had come from.

But he stopped and gave a worried look in the direction that asshole and his goons had gone. And then he asked Lilly not to say anything as he rolled his shirt back down over his injuries. She sighed knowing why he didn't want anyone to know, especially the doctor. If word got back to those guys, that he had told anyone in authority around here, they might come back and do something far worse the beat him up. She nodded letting him know that his secret was safe with her.

She walked along side him as they headed out of the alley, Lilly noticed his strained way of walking probably doing his best to get through the pain in his ribs. She gave a smile when he told her his name and shook his offered hand.

"Nice to meet you Lazarus, that's not you're everyday run of the mill name you got there." she tried to make small talk as the headed towards the kitchens. Maybe it would help take his mind off the pain he was probably experiencing.

As they walked toward the kitchen they talked about a lot of random things. How they both got to Sanctuary, which for Lilly was very recent. Lazarus was sorry he couldn't help her get more acquainted, but he had been keeping to himself. She tried to convince him to see the doctor but he was having none of it. Moments later they were in line at the kitchen, being served a thin gruel that sufficed for oatmeal. Fruit and nuts were served on the side. It was no extravagant meal, but it had nutritional value.

"So, Lilly, do you think you and your family are going to stay in Sanctuary? I know it is kind of a stupid question, but you would be surprised that some people actually move on. Whether they think there is somewhere better out there, they don't like the climate, or they just prefer keeping to themselves."

After going around and around with Lazarus, she finally gave up trying to get him to go see the Doc about his ribs. If there was one thing she learned while they were living with her grandfather, it was that men were stubborn, especially when it came to things like an injury or their health. But she also understood that he didn't want those goons to try to come back and finish him off either. She sat next to him at a make shift cafeteria table, made of old oil drums, plywood, and rope, with a blue tarp table cloth. When he asked if her family planned to stay she looked down at the "oatmeal".

"Well... yeah. The weather isn't a problem. We're from Texas so heat don't bother us much, but... we really have nowhere else to go. Definitely not gonna go back to liv'n in the woods with a crazy old man that was beginning to think we were all under the control of the aliens. Especially an old man with access to twenty years worth of hording guns and ammunition. Granted you could have the same sort of thing happen here, but at least there are some good people to rely on here." she looked up at him after taking another bite.

"What about you? Are you going to stay?"
((Sorry if this doesn't make any sense, I just haven't had the time to make fit together, so I just separated each part with Lazarus or Lilly in a different color. I just couldn't wrap my mind around how to make the colab work right. Lilly=purple, Lazarus=green))