Disclaimer and warnings: See part 1

Constructive comments are welcome: pattypat@iname.com
 
 

Debbie woke up in the middle of the night with the urgent need to empty her bladder. It took her a moment to understand why she was naked in this strange bed, but a smile crossed her face when she remembered the gentle massage that BJ had given her earlier. As efficient as it was pleasurable, she thought testing her muscles. Still aching, but muuuch less, thanks BJ, she smiled inwardly. She got up silently to put on shorts and tee-shirt. She vaguely remembered BJ telling her to either use the gun or to wake her up if she needed to go out during the night, but BJ seemed to be in deep sleep and the young blonde was reluctant to wake her up for a simple trip to the outhouse. It wasn't that far anyway and what could happen at that hour in that short distance? Naan, I don't need to disturb her for this.

She tiptoed out of the room and crossed the living area to go outside. She grabbed a flashlight and stepped in the cool night air in the back of the cabin.

BJ sat suddenly on the bed, instinctively knowing that something was terribly wrong. Roaring sounds and cries coming from outside made her jump into action instantly, reaching for her gun and rushing toward the back door. F**! she cursed when she saw what was happening. Deborah was frozen by fear against the outhouse door while a huge grizzly bear was standing on its back paws in a frightening attack position.

"Don't move," BJ ordered as calmly as she could. "Play dead and he's going to leave you alone."

At the sound of another voice, the bear fell back on his four legs and turned around to be able to keep an eye on both preys.

"Debbie, listen carefully, honey. I'm going to distract him and make him move away. As soon as I tell you, I want you to run inside and shut the door behind you. Got that?"
"B..but you?" asked a tiny shaky voice.
"Just do what I say! I'll be all right. Ready?"
"Ye..es..."

BJ took a deep breath. That was risky but there wasn't too much choices and she didn't want to shoot the beast. Slowly, she walked sideways away from the door in the opposite direction of where the bear was facing. Hopefully, he would follow her and leave Deborah enough time to get inside. The bear seemed to hesitate between his two preys. When she thought she was far enough, BJ shot her gun in the air and yell to get the grizzly bear's attention. It worked and the angry bear turned toward her with striking speed. He stood on his back paws and roared at her while she kept yelling and waving him away from her friend. Suddenly, the bear moved quickly toward the dark-haired woman and she ordered Deborah to run inside while she herself ran away from the charging beast. Oh sh**, BJ thought, realizing the bear was running faster than she had thought it would be able to.

It took a couple of seconds to Debbie to register BJ's order and she then ran in the house and closed the door firmly behind her, leaning against it while trying to catch the breath she'd been holding for what seemed hours.

As she ran around the house, BJ could feel the breath of the angry bear getting closer behind her. Should have thought this through a bit more, she realized knowing it was only a matter of time until she got caught. Then, she had an idea. She jumped on an empty barrel that was supposed to catch rain water and propelled herself toward the roof of the cabin, pushing the barrel away as she did so. As she got her hands on the gutter and pulled herself up, she felt striking pain in her left leg but she ignored it deliberately. She pulled herself higher on the roof, leaving the angry bear fuming on the ground below. When she saw that the beast wouldn't follow but merely waited for her to get down, she started to breathe more easily. Hopefully he'll get bored quickly and I can go back in a warm bed soon, she thought starting to register the coolness of the night.

In the pale light of the moon, she could see a deep bloody gash in her left calf. She tore apart a bit of her tee-shirt to make a temporary bandage over it and waited for the bear to leave. At least it's not raining anymore. She lied herself down on her stomach on top of the roof, one leg on each side of it, trying to get herself as comfortable as possible for what could be a long wait.

An hour later, Deborah was dying to find out what happened to the courageous woman that was her boss. She carefully eyed outside and saw nothing, neither in front nor in the back. Cautiously, she opened the front door and check the area with her flashlight. Nothing. No noise either. Is it gone? Where's BJ then? Oh god, she might be hurt... or worse! She grabbed a gun, not sure if she could use it in case of necessity, but feeling safer to have one, and stepped outside, calling for her companion. Only a couple of owls answered her.

"BJ..." she yelled in the night, over and over, but staying safely close enough from the front door.

Sh**... must have fallen asleep, the rancher realized when she heard Deborah's frantic call.  "Debbie?" she called back.
"BJ? Are you ok?" she asked, trying to find out where the voice was coming from.
"Yeah... Go back inside, it's not safe."
"The bear's gone. Where are you?"
"Safe on the roof. Go back inside, NOW!" she ordered, worried that the grizzly would come back hearing the noise.

She heard some shuffling sounds coming from below, then a beam of light followed by a blonde head appeared on the edge of the roof. Stepping carefully on the roof, Deborah quickly scanned her friend's body and gasped at the sight of the injured leg.

"Oh my... you're hurt!"
"Just a scratch," BJ answered, sitting up and instantly feeling dizzy from the loss of blood.
"Yeah right!" Debbie grumbled, reaching her boss in time to hold her steady. "Think you can make it down the ladder?"
"Not much choice, is it?!... C'mon, let's go before our furry friend comes back!"

Helped by the blonde, BJ made it safely down and was lead to the bedroom where she gratefully sat on the soft bed, wrapping herself in the blanket that was handed to her.  Debbie went to the kitchen and came back in a flash with a mug of tea and a medical kit. She handed the mug to BJ and silently started to clean gently the deep wound the bear's claw had inflicted to her savior.

"Sorry, this' gonna hurt," she warned before using the disinfectant over the wound. BJ hissed and tensed her body in pain, but otherwise remained stoically quiet.

"Thanks doc," BJ teased her when she had finished to bandage the injured leg.
"Thanks for saving my life," Debbie said softly, fighting back her need to cry.
"Didn't I tell you not to go out without a gun or a guardian?"
"Yeah, you did... I'm sorry..." she apologized, her voice cracking up.
"Shht.. it's okay, Debbie," she assured calmly.
"You're not angry at me?"
"No."
"You should."
"You're right. But first I was just too worry that you'd get hurt, then I had to save my butt, and now you're tending to my well-being. How could I be angry?" she smiled tenderly. "I only hope that you learned something tonight and that you won't put your life in danger next time."
"Oh I learned, all right!.." she grumbled, looking away to hide the tears she couldn't keep in.
"C'mon here," BJ asked, petting a spot on her bed beside her.

As soon as she felt BJ's arm tenderly around her shoulders, Deborah started to cry in earnest and was pulled against the now warm body of her friend.

"'s okay, honey, we're both safe, that's all that matters..."
"I could've got you killed," she sniffed.
"Naan, I'm not that easy to get rid off!" she joked, rewarded with a chuckle from the blonde beauty sobbing on her chest. "I learned something too tonight, ya know."
"Oh? what?"
"Never get a grizzly bear's attention if you have no clue of what to do when you get it!" Another chuckle.
"Thought you had a plan..."
"Oh I had! Plan was to get it away from ya.. the rest, well.. I didn't really have time to think it through," she admitted.
"Nobody ever risked their life to save mine before... Thanks warrior," she concluded, hugging the woman tighter.
"My pleasure, kid," she smiled, enjoying the feeling of the blonde's body against hers.
"BJ?" came a sleepy voice a moment later.
"Mmmh?"
"Why didn't you just kill the grizzly?"
"Because if someone wasn't at their right place, it was us, not him. I will never take an innocent life if I can avoid it, especially a creature as magnificent as a grizzly bear."
"You have a good heart..."
"Sometimes," she snorted. How can you say that after the week I made you go through, little one?

She was about to suggest to go to sleep when she realized that Deborah had already fallen asleep in her arms. Well, I couldn't think of better company at the moment, she smiled, closing her eyes and following her companion into Morpheus' realm.

The first ray of sun piercing through the small cabin window woke up BJ who found herself captive under another warm body. Wha?.. Then she remembered the events of the night and the way Deborah had felt asleep beside her. BJ lifted her head slowly to assess the situation. There was no way to get out of bed without waking her companion. Debbie was lying on top of her, one arm around her stomach, one leg over hers and her head softly pillowed on her chest. I certainly could get used to wake up like this, the rancher smiled, pushing her head back on the pillow to enjoy the feeling a little longer.

However, BJ had to make them move sooner or later and she regretfully decided to wake up her friend. The first attempt only raised a mumble from the blonde who tightened her hold on BJ. Nice.. but not the result I expected.  She called again, softly caressing Debbie's hair without realizing it. This time, she got one eye to open.

"Hey sleepyhead," BJ whispered, "c'mon, we need to get moving."
"Donwanto," she mumbled back.
"We have to, honey. C'mon, open those pretty eyes of yours..."

Deborah did as told and realized with embarrassment the position she was holding on top of her boss. Oh God! She blushed without moving, her body tensing, but somehow feeling very much at home.

"Comfy?" BJ teased, still playing idly with the blonde's hair.
"I.. er.. Hmm.." she grumbled as she pulled away from the embrace to sit down, her back turned to BJ. "I'm sorry.. I dunno wha.."
"Don't worry about it. I was comfy too," she assured with a grin.

She was? Debbie turned around to see if she heard right and the playful smile on BJ's face made her relax slightly.

"Thanks," she whispered, blushing again.

They kept their eyes locked into each others for a moment, holding their breath without realizing it, waiting for something to happen.

"Debbie," the rancher croaked, her emotions making her voice unsteady, "we've got to get going..."
"Oh yeah, of course," the blonde said, berating herself for her lapse of control and untangling herself from her companion's warmth.
"I'm not sure how well I can ride with this leg, so I'd like to be on the way soon."
"How's your leg?"
"Sore, but I'll live," she smiled at the genuine concern. "Why don't you work on making us breakfast while I get the horses ready?"
"Sure, no problem," she said, leaving toward the cooking area. Damn, damn, damn! Behave yourself, Debbie Dawson! She's your boss, for God's sake! I can't believe she let me sleep on top of her like this. This is sooo embarrassing... Although.. that felt good and she didn't seem to mind too much. Hmm..interesting...

Sitting on the bed, BJ couldn't refrain herself to feel suddenly very lonely. Sh**... What's wrong with me?! She's been around for less than a week and I feel like I've known forever. This felt so... right, so as it should be. Damn... the last thing I need is to fall for a blonde city slicker... Damn...

Less than an hour later, the two women had made sure the cabin was properly closed and they were silently on their way toward the ranch.

"How are your muscles today?" BJ asked casually.
"Much better," Deborah answered truthfully, blushing at the memory of the extensive massage she had gotten the previous evening. "Thanks to you.  How's the leg?"
"Painful, but we should be able to ride home in good time nevertheless. You did a great job on those stitches, by the way."
"Thanks, but I only wish I wouldn't be responsible for your injury in the first place."
"Hey," BJ said softly, stopping her horse to better look into the blonde's eyes, "that wasn't your fault, ok?"
"But if I hadn't been stupi..."
"Hush! I'm the one who foolishly decided to run in front of a grizzly. This is my own fault. I don't want you to feel guilty about this. Understood?"
"Yeah but..."
"No 'but'! You didn't know why I had asked you to wake me up or take a gun, I should've explained. You're doing so well around here, I kinda forgot that you were from the city. I should've been more careful. And we both learned a valuable lesson last night. And we're safe. I don't hold you responsible for it, and I ask that you do the same. Yes?"
"Ok," she admitted reluctantly.
"Good!" BJ smiled, kicking her horse back in action.
Wo! She forgot I was from the city? "Did you mean that?"
"Sure I did!"
"I mean, the part where you said I'm doing well for a city girl..."
"Yes, I do mean it, Debbie," she answered sincerely.
"Thank you," she breathed. "You have no idea what it means to me."

BJ didn't add anything but smiled tenderly. Oh I think I have a pretty good idea of what it means to you.. And you staying here would mean even more to me... Damn.. Here I am again! BJ Prescott, repeat after me: NEVER get involved sentimentally with any of your employee!

"So what are the plans for the next days?" Deborah asked sincerely interested.
"Work wise? Well," she continued after the blonde nodded in approval, "today you and I will take it easy: once we'll reach the ranch, we'll just clean the stables and I have to fix the paddock's fence, then it'll probably be dinner time. After dinner, each employee will in turn come in my office to get their weekly paycheck, then they probably will drive downtown to drink and enjoy themselves so tomorrow they can be miserably hung over. So tomorrow is a day off."
"Because of that?" she chuckled.
"No, because it's Sunday. But that could be the reason too. You'll see," she winked. "Technically, Sunday is off for you too, but I'd like to meet with you after dinner tomorrow to talk about the past week and get your impressions. That is, if you don't mind meeting the boss on a day off."
"I don't mind at all," she answered promptly.
"It's settled then."
"Are you going in town too tonight?" she asked lightly.
"No, I usually do some paperwork and let the boys have fun. There isn't many bars around, they don't need the boss on their back when they're off."
"So when do you go and relax in town?"
"I don't."
"Why not? I'm sure your men wouldn't mind seeing you having fun and all..."
"No. I'm fine by myself."
"Surely you nee.."
"Deborah," she said on a warning tone, "in case you haven't noticed yet, I am not incline toward social activities. This is why I own a ranch in the middle of nowhere. You are welcome to accompany them, though. I'm sure they'd be real proud if you do, but don't expect me to join the party. Got that?"
"Yes Ma'am," she answered, getting a surprised frown from her employer.

They continued on their way silently for a long time after that, each deep in thoughts. They made a short halt for lunch, giving time to the horses to drink in a nearby river while the women ate what Debbie had prepared.

"You leg seems painful," the blonde noticed when BJ got up her mare again.
"It is," she grumbled back.
"Don't you wanna stop a bit longer then?"
"Nope. The quicker we go, the quicker we'll arrive and I can take care of it. Let's go."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Deborah pushed her horse to catch up with the rancher's.

"What does BJ stands for?" she asked, trying to break the tension.
"Blue Jean?"
"Ha ha," she groaned.
"Big Jinx? Barbaric Jerk? I'm sure you'll find your own version of it," she spat bitterly.
"Blind Joker certainly could apply," she grumbled. "Sorry for being social."
"No, I'm sorry," BJ corrected softly. "I'm truly being a jerk. It stands for Betty Jane, but I just want to be called BJ."
"Sounds like you're used to hear people making fun at your expense."
"I am," she admitted. "Although, as I grew taller and stronger, they kinda stop yelling names at me but rather whispering them in my back."
"Why?"
"Because otherwise I would beat the crap out of 'em," she laughed sarcastically.
"No, I mean why would they call you names?"
"Maybe 'cuz I deserved them."
"I doubt that," she countered sincerely.
"Why not? I mean, just look how I've been treating you for a week. I am not a nice person, Deborah."
"I can't agree with that and you won't convince me. I think under this harsh attitude of yours, there is a tender heart waiting to care for someone and to be cared for. You just haven't found the right person yet."
"How can you say that?" she hissed. "You don't know me."
"You're right, I don't know you. Sure you've been rather rough to start with, but then you risked your life to save mine, and you cared for my aching muscles and I even saw you smile a couple of times," she concluded, making BJ chuckle. "See what I mean?.. You're not half as bad as you think you are."
"You're something else, ya know that?" the rancher asked with a genuine smile.
"I do, now," she smiled back.

The rest of the way went by with both women chatting amiably about their respective childhood, Deborah going into details while BJ kept the conversation alive with a phrase or two. Not that she didn't want to participate, but she wasn't used to speak about herself and although she felt surprisingly comfortable talking to the young blonde, she still didn't want to let her guard down.

When they arrived at the ranch, BJ's leg was hurting so much that Mary and Debbie both convinced their friend to stay sat quietly in her office while the new recruit would take care of the horses and clean the stables.

The boys came back for dinner and, as usual, it was in a friendly atmosphere that the group recalled the events of the last two days. They all were impressed when Debbie told them how her boss had chased the bear away from her, even if they didn't quite approved the way she had handled that.

Soon enough, they had gone in BJ's office for the weekly chat and paycheck, including Deborah. They all insisted that the blonde joined them to go in town afterward, but she refused as she was exhausted after her first week of hard work. She chatted with Mary while helping her cleaning up the kitchen before going to her room. As she passed near BJ's office, she heard a string of curses that made her smile. Uho.. someone has PC problems in here, she thought. She hesitated a couple of seconds before knocking at the office door. An angry yell answered her.

"WHAT!!"
"BJ?" she asked softly as she passed her head in the doorway. "Anything I can do to help?"
"No, no," she answered, suddenly much calmer. "It's just that piece of junk that keep giving me a blue screen about illegal operation when I try to access my program."
"Uh huh... I'm a computer geek, remember? Want me to have a look?"
"It's your weekend, Debbie. Just go on with the boys and have a good time."
"I already said I didn't want to go this week," the technician countered. "So... do you let me check it?"
"That'd be great if you could fix the damn thing, yes..."
"Ok, show me what you tried to do?"

BJ hit a few keys and, inevitably, the blue screen appeared again.

"See? This machine hates me, I'm sure!"
"No," she chuckled, "that's only the creators of Windows want to sell their debugging programs! Move aside, I can fix that."

A few clicks later...

"There. It'll work for now. Did you install this yourself?" Debbie asked, frowning over the registry file.
"No, a former employee did. Why?"
"No wonder you have so much problem, this is a mess. You even have material conflicts, different hardware using the same address..."
"Life threatening, doc?" she teased.
"No," she laughed, happy to see BJ relaxed and joking. "I could fix it, but it'll take a few hours and before doing that, I'd like to do a backup of your hard drive, in case."
"Can you do all that?"
"Sure. I have my technician equipment in the trunk of my car. The backup will take at least a couple of hours, though. I could setup the tape and before you leave for the night, just click the backup process on, so tomorrow we'll have it and I can work on the PC right away."
"It's Sunday tomorrow, Debbie," she reminded her.
"So? Now, doing this is vacation for me... And I love playing with those annoying toys, so I don't mind."
"Tell you what, why don't you do that on Monday instead?"
"Because Monday, hopefully, I'll have a job to do somewhere in the field and I want to do it."
"I won't win that one, will I?"
"Only if you really need to use your PC tomorrow."
"All right," she bent, "bring your tools in then and send me the bill afterward."
"Yes boss! I'll be right back to install the tape backup," she smiled, rushing toward the hangar where her car was parked. A bill, right! she laughed inwardly. As if...

Fifteen minutes later, everything was set and the two women bid each other good night.

It was still early when Deborah woke up the next morning. She had expected to sleep all morning to recuperate, but her body seemed happy by waking up at 7am. She got up and started her day by doing her now usual stretching exercises while looking through the window. She was not especially surprise to see BJ walking toward the stables. Figures! This one could never sleep in, I'm sure, she smiled at the thought.

Half an hour later, Debbie was joining her boss in the stables.

"Morning BJ," she said happily.
"Morning. I didn't think I'd see you before noon," she teased gently.
"I didn't think I would be up before noon," Debbie admitted, "but somehow, I'm up and about already. Guess my internal clock is getting used to my new life here."
"Seems so," BJ agreed.
"How come you're doing this on your own?"
"Because I can?"
"Seriously..."
"It's Sunday, all my employees are off, so I do clean the stables by myself. That's how it goes. If you want breakfast, you'll have to cook it yourself, Mary is off too today."
"Oh, ok. Did you have breakfast already?"
"Piece of bread & juice. Me and cooking.. naan..."
"Want me to cook you something?"
"You.. you would?"
"Sure! Come in.. thirty minutes, it'll be ready."
"Cool, thanks."
"No problemo senorita!" she smiled as she walked away.

BJ looked at her as she left, a smile on her lips. Wow.. the kid's making me breakfast! That's new...

Half an hour later, they were both sitting in the dining room, enjoying a rich breakfast made of eggs, ham, bacon, sausages, toasted bread, potatoes, coffee and orange juice.

"Woah, this is great, Debbie!" BJ appreciated sincerely.
"Thanks. Glad you like it. I was hungry too... So where is everybody?"
"Probably dead drunk in their beds. They'll start whining some time in the afternoon," she laughed. "You'll see, it's a show to see them whispering in an attempt to reduce their headache!"
"They do that each week?" Debbie chuckled
"Yup! And each time they swear it's the last..."
"How do they come back from town?"
"They take turn at being the designated driver. I think this week it was Mary."
"At least that's smart! So many idiots drink and then drive..."
"I'm pretty strict on that. I have nothing against them getting drunk, but then either they sleep in town or they have a designated driver. A few years back, one of my father's employee killed a child on a Saturday night, after a drinking contest. Since then, the rule at Prescott's has been very strict."
"Good thing!" Deborah appreciated. "So on Sundays, the only job done is the cleaning of the stables?"
"Yes and no... it depends... I always find something to do around, you know... I can't stay sitting down doing nothing for very long, so then I go cut some wood, or fix this and that.."
"Need a hand?" Debbie suggested softly.
"No, but thanks. Beside, you already cooked me breakfast and said you'd fix my PC."
"That won't take all day."
"Deborah, today is your day off. Enjoy it!"
"Oh all right," she gave in. "When can I work on your computer, then?"
"Just go in there whenever you feel like it, room's all yours today."
"Okay, I'll do that as soon as I cleaned the dishes. I'll let you know when I'm done with it."
"Perfect. Now.. if you change your mind about it, it's ok too, ya know."
"Will you change your mind about me giving you a hand?" Debbie teased with a disarming smile.
"Nope!"
"Then why would I change mine, huh?" she winked, taking another sip of her coffee.

BJ shook her head in disbelief. Somehow, I think I'm in trouble with this kid here, she smiled inwardly.

A little over three hours later, Deborah joined BJ who was reading Saturday's paper on a rocking chair, on the front porch.

"Hey..." the blonde said as she sat on a neighboring chair.
"Hey. How is the baby?"
"Healthy," she giggled. "Don't be surprised to find a couple of extra softwares in the 'start' menu, I needed to install them to be able to log on the internet with my cell phone."
"Huh? why? my phone doesn't work?"
"Probably does, but it's a long distance to get to my provider and I didn't want to build up a long distance bill on your account."
"Did you log to fix my computer?"
"Well, yes, I needed a couple of drivers for th..."
"Then I should be paying the bill, not you!"
"No, no, I could have managed otherwise, but in the mean time I updated both your and my anti-virus."
"I have an anti-virus?"
"You do now," she smiled, "and I also checked my emails, so..."
"Deborah, I want this phone bill included in the bill you'll charge me for the repairs. I insist!"
"I'm not gonna charge you anything."
"Oh yes you will!" BJ warned.
"It's my fun to do it, I didn't do it for money."
"To fix the damn thing, it'd cost me at least 60$ an hour plus the time I'd loose to get to the store. Now you did that in.. what.. four hours and I didn't have to go anywhere. I want to pay what I owe you, Mrs. Dawson."
Ouch! the 'Mrs. Dawson' threat again... "You owe me nothing. Think of it as a favor for saving my life back at the cabin, if it helps you to accept it," Deborah insisted. "How's your leg, by the way?"
"Throbbing. Listen Debbie, I..."
"BJ... please..."
"Fine," she sighed, "I give up. Can I offer you lunch in town, at least?"
"On one condition."
"You're a tough one to deal with, ya know that?.. What condition?"
"You go see a doctor for your leg."
"Agreed. Now, can we go, mom?" BJ teased, standing up and wincing at the pain the move provoked in her leg.
"Sure, kiddo," the blonde deadpanned with a laugh as she automatically took a hold of BJ's arm to help her walk toward the hangar.
"D'you think you could drive the jeep?" the rancher asked, slightly embarrassed to admit her pain.
"Probably, I drove cars with manual gear-box before. Trust me with it?"
"You bet."

She didn't even argue when I suggested a trip to the doctor, she must hurt way much than she let it know, thought Debbie, stealing a look at her boss before backing the jeep out of the shed.

The town doctor was a man in his fifties and had been the Dawson family doc almost since BJ was born, although he told Debbie that he rarely had the chance to see her more than once a year.

"She's too stubborn for her own good," he told the blonde, ignoring the warning glare coming from his patient. "Luckily, she's also very strong and her body is able to take the continual abuses. But I'm warning you, Betty Jane, one day, this great body of yours will give up on you. It'll say 'nuff is 'nuff and you'll end up in a hospital instead of my home..."
"You're so reassuring, Doc," BJ said sarcastically.
"Well, it's not my fault if you treat your horses better than yourself, my friend. Who did the stitches here?" he asked, giving a professional look at BJ's injury.
"I did," the blonde admitted softly.
"Nice job. I'm looking for a nurse, interested?"
"She works for me, Doc," the rancher growled, before Debbie could open her mouth.
"Good thing too, maybe she can make you take care of yourself, then."
"Change my mind: Debbie, you can apply for his job!"
"Er.. I think I'll stick with the first idea, if I'm hired that is," Deborah said timidly, slightly disconcerted by the doc and BJ's friendly banters.
"Now I'll have to think about that," BJ deadpanned, her smile betraying the words.
"What happened with this leg, anyway?" the doc asked while tending the wound.
"A slight misunderstanding with a bear," the rancher stated.
"She saved my life, doc," Deborah started enthusiastically. "There was that big grizzly..."
"Debbie..." BJ tried to interrupt.
"..that was attacking me and BJ just got his attention and started running..."
"Debbie..."
"..around the cabin, jump on the roof but somehow the bea..."
"Deborah!" she said more forcefully.
"...r cau.... yes?"
"Stop it," she sighed.
"Bu... Wh.. why?" the blonde asked, confused.
"You make it sound like I'm a hero."
"You are!"
"No I'm not! Running in front of a grizzly is not heroic, it's stupid!"
"Gotta agree with you BJ," the doc said gently, "only if you do it for a thrill. If you do it to save someone's life, it's heroic."
"Awww Doc..." the rancher whined. "Not you, too..."
"Here," he said, ignoring BJ's complaint, "you're all set. Change the bandage once a day and take those at breakfast and dinner, they'll help fighting the infection. Should I give them to your nurse to be sure you'll take them?" he teased, looking at Deborah who was fighting her urge to laugh.
"I'll take care of that," BJ grumbled, roughly taking the bottle and hopping down the examination table.

A few minutes later, both women were sitting at a table on a nice terrace near main street, looking at their menus.

"Are you angry at me?" Debbie asked shyly.
"For teaming up with Doc against me? I should... but I'm not," she smiled in reassurance.
"You two seem close."
"That's the good thing in a small town, the doctor knows personally all his patients and give a more.. human service than what you get in big cities. When I was a child, I was calling him 'uncle doc'," she smiled at the memory. "He's like family to me."

BJ's loneliness reflected in those words and caught Deborah by surprise. Her companion just showed her a very vulnerable side of her, even if it didn't last long, and it made the city girl willing to get to know her boss more. Easy Debbie, don't freak her out now...

"You told him I work for you," she noticed gently.
"You do, until tomorrow morning when your seven days expire."
"Oh," she dropped, disappointed.
Way to go BJ! "Not that you're not gonna be hired after that, though," she added quickly, hoping to bring back a smile on this beautiful face.
"Will I be hired?" she asked, hopeful.
"I.. didn't ask you here to speak business, but... Yes Debbie, I'll hire you if you're still willing to work for me."
"Of course I am willing!"
"Done deal. We'll discuss wages, vacation, insurance and all that back at the ranch, ok? I just want to enjoy lunch with a friend, for the moment."
A friend? wow! "Thank you," Deborah beamed, her heart beating loudly. "You don't know what it means to me."

BJ just smiled, not sure if her companion was talking about the job or their new friendship.

"I've got a question about the ranch," Deborah resumed after a silent moment of mutual enjoyment.
"What's that?"
"So far from town and yet you have running water, sewer and I even saw fire hydrants... How?"
"That comes from my grand-father, when he built the place. At the time, they had a big number of cows and horses, about thirty employees, so it was vital to have drinkable water. The source that feed the city starts in our land, so he made an agreement with the mayor at the time, on the verge of blackmail but... He offered to let the water run its natural course only in exchange of connections to the town's water system. Afterward, he also helped paying as the town couldn't afford it all, though."
"Wow.. that must have been quite a construction site."
"It was. But we're not totally dependant of the town's water. The source is clean and doesn't really need any filtering, so the water we use for the animals and the fire hydrants are directly hooked to the source, heavy pumps having been installed in the barn."
"Wow..." Debbie said admiratively.
"It's vital for us... Imagine the damage until the fire trucks get there? Three times a year, we do a fire drill. Everybody should know what to do, where the hoses are and so forth."
"Impressive organization."
"Have to," BJ shrugged. "The next big work I'd like to do is put all the electric and phone wires underground. But even though I have some money in front of me, I can't really afford to spend it all just for esthetic purposes. There are more vital things to handle before that."
"Phone line is easy: just get a couple of cell phones, but electricity is another matter entirely."
"Exactly. We already do have cellulars, though, but we use them only for emergencies."

What an amazing woman, Debbie thought, her feelings deepening the more they were talking. They had so many common ideas, common goals. At that precise moment, the young computer technician knew without trace of a doubt that she had made the right decision, that Prescott's ranch was the right place for her.

The next two weeks went by with Deborah adjusting more easily to the daily routine in the ranch. She was able to do more tasks with less pain, her body also getting used to the hard work. Feeling less tired than the previous weeks, Deborah accepted to join the others for the Saturday night out and was slightly disappointed to have failed in her attempt to convince BJ to go too.

The boss had preferred a quiet evening home, doing some accounting work before relaxing a little with a good book. Reading in bed before going to sleep was one way she found efficient to suppress a little of the daily stress managing a ranch brought continually.

An insisting ringing brought BJ out of her sleeping state. She looked at her bedside clock and moaned loudly when she saw the red numbers indicating 01:42.

"Damn," she muttered as she walked toward the phone. Who's calling at this hour?!  "Yeah?"
"Er... Boss?" Rick's hesitant voice asked.
"Yes. What is it that justify to call me in the middle of the night, Rick?" she questioned grumpily.
"Well.. er.. sorry, but.. we kinda got a problem here.."
"What problem?"
"There was a fight at the bar.. and er.. we're in the town's jail."
"WHAT?!" she choked. "If it's a joke, it's not funny, Rick!"
"No joke, boss. The officer won't let us out without you bail us out."
"Pass him the phone," she grumbled. "Who's that?"
"Mike."
"Hi Mike. Why can't you let my people out? I'm sure they haven't done anything that ju.."
"They started the fight. There are witnesses. Sorry BJ, I can't let them out without some guarantee."
"All right," she sighed. "Give me ninety minutes and I'll be there."
"Don't you want to wait for tomorrow?"
"No! I'm coming in town, NOW. You'd better be there too, Mike."
"I will. See ya then, BJ."

She hung up and angrily got dressed, mumbling to herself about how stupid her team had been to get caught in the middle of a bar fight. Then, her breath caught in her lungs as she remembered the beautiful blonde that was with them, hoping that she had not been injured. Faster than safety would have required, she drove the jeep on the bumpy road leading to town.

It was near 3am when she finally arrived at the county jail. The town was now silent, except for the beating of BJ's boots in the parking beside the police's building.  As she entered, the officer greeted her with an apology.

"Sorry BJ, nothing I could do," he told her.
"Yeah yeah.. old story," she dropped. "Where do I sign?"
"Page 3 and 5. There will be a law suite for the damages in the bar, too. Something around four thousands bucks."
"No need, send the bill to the ranch. I'll pay it. Now, get my people out."

A few seconds later, the six Prescott's employees came out of their two cells, looking down, sorry and humiliated. Rick came near BJ and try to say something, but she interrupted him with a raised hand.

"We'll talk later," she stated. "Take them home, Rick. Deborah, go wait for me in the jeep," she added, giving her the keys as she followed the others to the truck.

They all climbed in it and BJ leaned on the driver's door.

"Short story," she ordered.
"Debbie got harassed by a drunk, she said 'no', he didn't like it and the rest of them took the opportunity for a riot," Rick answered matter of faculty.
"Okay. We'll talk tomorrow. Night."

She walked back to the Jeep and climbed behind the wheel. Deborah looked miserable on the passenger seat and, taking a deep breath, BJ decided to get the full story from her.

"You okay?" the boss asked gently.
"I guess," was the almost whispered answer.
"Didn't get hurt?"
"No."
"Good!" she stated as she turned the ignition key and got on her way home. "Now, can you tell me why this evening just cost me a few thousand dollars?"
"Thousands?" the blonde asked in shock.
"The bail for you all, plus the damages to the bar, yeah."
"W.. why? We didn't start this..." she cried.
"Please, just tell me what happened, Debbie."
"It was my turn to get the drinks," she started after taking a deep breath, "and while I was waiting at the bar, some drunk came to me, asking me to dance with him. I refused and he got more insistent."
"Where were our boys?"
"Sitting at our table, on the other side of the dance floor."
"Ok, keep telling, please."
"I tried to ignore him, but when he grabbed my.. me," she blushed, "I slapped him."
"I'd have hit him too, had I been there," BJ mumbled, so low that Debbie didn't hear it.
"He just came back at me more excited," she sighed. "I.. I didn't know what else to do, I kicked him. Then, I'm not sure what happened... He stumbled on someone who knocked him back, next thing I know, the whole place is in a full blown fight. Then cops came in and cuffed us. Only us."
"I see," she hissed, teeth clenched in anger.
"They didn't even arrest that guy," she stated in disbelief. "Nor any of the crowd. Just us."
"That's the town's way, Debbie," she explained calmly.
"But that's not right. And why did you agree to pay the damages? that's not your responsibility either."
"Because whatever I say, I'll be held responsible," she said.
"If you go in court, you..."
"I'll be charged for it, the judge will make sure of that," she interrupted.
"Why?"
*sigh* "Deborah, this town is ruled by some old fashion bigots. Everything bad happening in this town would be my fault because to their eyes, I'm a pervert and a curse to the face of the Earth."
"Huh?"
"Homosexuality isn't well accepted here, Debbie," she concluded with deep sigh. There, so you know. Run away now if you want, she thought bitterly.
"Oh!"
"Shocking, huh?"
"Yeah..." she answered forcefully.
"Sorry to break your ideal image of me," she spat, gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white. Somehow, Deborah's rejection hurt more than she thought it would.
"Wha... Oh no! no, no! I'm not shocked that you're gay," she hurried to rectify, putting a comforting hand on BJ's forearm. "I'm shocked that at the dawn of the 21st Century, people still think the way they do and find necessary to persecute you."
"You okay with me being a dyke?"
"Sure! Why wouldn't I?"
"I dunno... For a moment I thought tha..."
"Betty Jane Prescott," she interrupted softly, "if I had to be shocked by homosexuals, I would shock myself, then."
"You... you mean..."
"Yup!" she smiled, watching BJ's worrying face turning into a wide happy grin.
"Woah..." was all she could muster.

They traveled a moment in silence before Deborah resumed their conversation.

"So, why don't you fight for your rights?" she asked gently.
"Because in this town I can't win and I don't want to go to higher courts each time this town give me difficulties."
"But you would win. You don't have to pay thousands dollars every time they find it opportune to order you to."
"I know... I've stopped fighting about four years ago. I don't want the hassle. If paying give me tranquillity, it's worth it."
"But it's so unfair," she insisted.
"I know."
"That's weird," she continued after a short pensive silence, "I wouldn't have thought they were abusing you like this. They all seemed to be friendly enough when we went in town together."
"Some are more open  minded than others. But some are only glad to see me when I show them my bank card, so at least I don't have problems doing business around."
"Is it why you rarely come in town?"
"Part of it, yes. The other reason is that I like being away from everybody, alone on my land."
"For real, or did you convince yourself that you like it?"
"For real," she affirmed.

Silence.

"Are you angry at us?" Deborah asked shyly.
"For defending yourself? I think not!" she affirmed.
"I'm sorry I created you more problems..."
"Oh Debbie," she exhaled, "please, don't blame yourself on this. I'm just glad that no one of our team was hurt. Beside, had I been there, that guy who harassed you wouldn't be able to walk straight for a week, so he should be happy too!"
"You'd fight to save my virtue?" she teased.
"You bet! Would that bother you?" she asked seriously.
"No... it makes me feel.. special. Thanks, warrior," she smiled tenderly.
"You are special. And you're welcome," she smiled back. Warrior?

Despite the bumps on the road, Deborah soon felt asleep on the passenger seat, leaving lots of time to BJ to think about the night's revelations. The rancher surprised herself feeling definitely giddy despite the events that led her in town in the middle of the night. She had thought about revealing her orientation to the young computer technician, trying to find a way to do it smoothly because what the girl thought was important to her, but she hadn't expected it to happen that way. Her only hope had been that Deborah would understand, but she had never dared to hope they'd be playing in the same team. Now, they were and that created a new set of hopes in BJ's mind. She liked Debbie. A lot. But the rancher had strict rules about relationships between employer and employee. She wanted to be friend with the young woman, maybe more if feelings were mutual, but they still would be the employment status problem. Damn! I really didn't need that...

When they arrived at the ranch, the others had already gone into their rooms and the place was quiet as usual. BJ took a couple of minutes to admire pensively the sleeping woman curled up on the passenger seat. So beautiful, so peaceful... With a deep sigh, the rancher exited the car and went around it.

"Hey, Debbie," she said, gently shaking the sleeping girl's shoulder. "C'mon, wake up..."
"Hmmphhhmm.."

Ok, so that won't work, she sighed, reluctant to force her companion awake. Guess that leaves me only two choices, huh? Leave you here or carry you to your room... *sigh* Option one is not even to be considered, sooo...

"Debbie..." she tried again, with the same negative result. "Guess that means you want me to carry you, huh?"
"Hmmphhh.."
"All right, sleepyhead," she chuckled, unbuckling the girl's safety belt, "here we go."

BJ had no problem at all to lift the light sleeping woman in her arms to carry her out of the car. As she walked toward the employee's aisle, Deborah unconsciously hold the rancher's neck, hugging her in a tight embrace.

"Oh, aren't we a cuddly one?" BJ whispered with a huge grin on her face. Not good BJ, not good. Keep yourself out of trouble, stay away from her while you still can.  Yeah right! As if I could!

She kicked the bedroom door open and carefully walked toward the bed where she gently deposited her precious cargo. She was pulled down on the bed by the strong grip Debbie had on her and she allowed herself a moment of tranquillity with her. That feels so right... How could it be so wrong?! She enjoyed the soft breathing on her neck, the smell of the blond hair spread on her shoulder, the warmth of the body lying closely beside hers. *Sigh*

Regretfully, BJ forced herself out of the tender embrace and got off the bed. She took the time to remove Deborah's boots before looking down at her a last time. In another time and another place, she sighed.

"Good night, Debbie," she whispered before walking out of the room.

As it was her habit after having done the Sunday chores, BJ was sitting on the porch reading the newspaper brought by her team overnight. Watching above the pages, she saw Debbie walking toward her, wearing a sleeveless shirt and denim shorts and she felt her breathing quicken at the view. Waow... She pretended reading until the blonde was standing beside her.

"Morning," Debbie said shyly.
"Morning," she grinned back. "Have a seat."
"Thanks. I... uhmm.. I have a question," she hesitated.
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Ho.. How did I make it to my bed last night?" she blushed.
"I carried you there. Couldn't wake you up," she chuckled.
"That's what I was afraid of," she sighed. "I'm sorry to be such trouble around here."
"Deborah," BJ started, deposing the newspaper on her knees and looking straight into misty green eyes, "believe me, you are NO trouble at all. What happened last night in town wasn't your fault and it was no trouble carrying you to your room."
"I.. uhmm.. Thank you," she smiled weakly, lost in those warm sea blue eyes. "Did you have something to eat yet?" she asked after a silent moment.
"The usual bread and juice," she stated.
"I'll go make some brunch, then."
"Cool. Here, lemme help ya."
"Oh no," she laughed, "you can keep me company, but you stay away from the stove. I'm too hungry to let you experiment with the cooking."
"Ok, ok," she grumbled falsely insulted, "I'll only set the table, then."

Half an hour later, they were both enjoying a good healthy meal and chatting amiably.

"Tomorrow, we'll all go to see the wild horses," BJ stated. "We need to capture one of them and it will be your first training project."
"Me?"
"Yup! You will slowly train it, ride it and get it ready to be sold."
"But I've never done that before..."
"That's why you and I will work together on that. The schedule for the next weeks will be slightly altered so we're gonna stay around the ranch. We'll work every afternoon with the new horse. Don't worry, I'll show you everything there is to know and I won't put you in any danger."
"I'm not worry," she smiled, "excited is more like it. But what if I traumatized it or do something wrong?"
"See, you're worrying already," BJ underlined gently. "One step at the time, ok? First, we go get a horse, then we'll work with it."
"Ok... Oh, I can't wait," Debbie said enthusiastically, bringing a pleased grin on BJ's lips.

They took a few bites silently before BJ changed the subject of conversation.

"I'm glad to see that yesterday's events didn't scare you away from this place," she said, trying to sound casual.
"Why would they?" Debbie asked curious.
"Being unable to go in a bar without ending up in jail, knowing that you're in a very homophobic town.. Many would take the first opportunity to run away."
"But I don't live there. I live on your land and I'm truly happy here. It's not a bunch of narrow minded people who will make me leave."
"As I said, glad to see that," BJ dropped, taking a sudden interest in the bottom of her coffee mug.
"You actually thought I could leave?" she questioned, surprised to feel the woman's insecurity nearly surfacing.
"It has crossed my mind, yes..."
"Would that bother you?" she almost whispered.
"Yeah," she admitted. "You're doing great here," she added quickly, trying to hide her personal feelings, "and you get along nicely with the team. Would be a shame to have you leaving now." Or ever.
"Well, that's good 'cuz I have no intention of leaving unless you fire me," she stated, gently patting BJ's forearm.
Not in a million years! "Want some more coffee?" the rancher asked, getting up to hide her nervousness.
"Sure, thanks," she answered, puzzled by the sudden change of subject. There is something you're not telling me, BJ Prescott... But I'll find out what soon enough.

During the first week, BJ and Debbie worked very closely together. The older rancher showed her pupil how to have the wild animal used to a lead rope, then a light bridle, making her trot around in the corral, having her get used to the human presence around her. It was obvious from the start that the mare liked Deborah much more than BJ and was less reluctant to be ordered around by the gently young blonde. So when the time came to try to mount the mare for the first time, although experience would have required BJ to do it, they decided that Debbie would be the one. The dark-haired woman took long hours explaining what to expect from the unbroken animal, how to react to it and, mostly, how to fall without getting injured. If Debbie was anxious, it was nothing against what BJ was feeling, but they both knew that it was the right way to do it.

At the end of the second week, they decided that both the mare and her rider were ready to try. While BJ was holding the lead rope, Deborah helped herself first on the corral's fence, then on the back of Artemis, as Debbie had christened her. The horse kicked back and forth a few time, but it was nothing like what the city girl had been dreading, so she maintained herself on the saddle without too much difficulty. In the end, the mare reluctantly submitted herself to the trainer, trotting in circle in the corral while Deborah told her words of praise. Both BJ and Debbie had huge wide smile on their face for the young blonde's first success.

When she got off the mare's back, she petted her nose with pride, telling her how nice she'd been with the rookie trainer, then she turned around to face BJ who had joined them.

"I did it, BJ! I did it!" she almost yelled, jumping a step forward to hug her boss tightly.
"Ya sure did," BJ answered, overwhelmed by the woman's enthusiasm. "Congratulations!"
"It was sooo... sooo... incredible!" she stated, unable to find any word strong enough to describe her feelings.

The two women looked at each other, both thrilled by Deborah's first success. Then a sparkle ignited Debbie's eyes and the smile faded, giddiness giving way to something else, something deeper. Both women realized it and BJ was unable to stop anything, even if she had wanted to. Deborah raised herself while BJ lowered so their lips would meet half way in a timid kiss at first, becoming quickly deep and passionate. Their first kiss was everything Deborah had dreamed of and more. It was tender and possessive, light and strong, shy and fierce. At that moment, the world ceased to exist for the both of them. And only the need to breathe pulled them away from each other, knees weak and heartbeats over speeding.

BJ was the first to regain her senses while she was holding herself against the fence. As soon as the realization of what just happened hit her, she started blaming herself for her lack of control.

"I.. I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I shouldn't have... I'm sorry," she finished as she almost ran away to isolate herself in her office.
"BJ? BJ, come back," she yelled.
"Unsaddle Artemis and feed her," was the last words coming from the rancher as she entered the house, leaving a stunned blonde behind.

What on Earth happened? Why was she spooked away like that? Deborah asked herself, unable to understand the reaction after what had felt like a perfect moment of harmony between two persons in love. Doesn't she feel the way I do? I thought she did after the two weeks we spent together... Could I have been wrong?... Damndamndamn...

On her side, BJ also had contradictory thoughts, some definitely happy of that kiss, some reminding her of her strict rule about relationship between employer and employee. She let out a long string of curses before picking up the phone.

As she was caring for Artemis, she heard the truck's engine and saw that BJ was leaving the ranch. Puzzled, Deborah watched her going, unsure if she was responsible for that unexpected trip or if BJ had an appointment she didn't know about. Betty Jane Prescott, we need to talk! she thought.

As the boss wasn't back, dinner time went quicker than usual. After Mary insisted on it, Deborah explained how she broke Artemis, getting the enthusiastic congratulations of the whole group. But her heart wasn't in a mood to enjoy the moment. When she asked where BJ went, Mary remained vague, saying that she had business to do in town, but one of the boys made some rude comment about their boss needing to be laid and going to see an old acquaintance of hers. He was shut up quickly by Mary, but not quickly enough for Deborah to feel betrayed and hurt.

After dinner, Gerry pulled the blonde apart gently.

"Don't worry, kid, she'll come around some day."
"Wh.. what do you mean?" she asked.
"I don't know what happened here today, but it's obvious that you love her. And I'm sure the feeling's mutual. But she's a stubborn woman who made some rather definite rules here, and she can't imagine breaking them, even for you."
"Bu.."
"Be patient with her, it'll be rewarding, I'm ready to bet on it. You two are made for each other, it's as obvious as a nose on a face," he smiled.
"Thanks Gerry, I needed to hear that."
"I know... Good night Debbie."
"Night..."

At first, Deborah wanted to wait up and talk to her boss immediately when she returned, but then she thought about it and couldn't find herself any right to do so. After all, they weren't involved together and if BJ wanted to go in town to see someone, she didn't have to ask permission. Even less, Deborah didn't have to approve it. You're nothing to her, Debbie, put that in your stupid brain! But if the brain could accept it, the heart, on the contrary, was not.

The next morning at breakfast, BJ was in a killing mood. Her trip in town hadn't bring her the pressure release she had expected, and she was both physically and mentally frustrated. The day's schedule had everybody but Debbie in the field and nobody dared to argue with her. BJ gave a few instructions to the blonde about Artemis and then went to get ready for her day in the field. Flabbergasted, Deborah didn't know how to approach the angry woman without creating more anger, so she decided to wait for the evening. It was Saturday, so the day would be shorter and then all the paid employees would go in town, leaving Deborah the opportunity to talk with her employer alone. At least she hoped she could convince BJ to talk...

She chose to go get her paycheck last, so she'd have time to talk to her boss. When she entered the room, she felt the tension building all around her, but she forced herself to look calm and sat opposite of BJ.

"As your contract says," BJ started, "you have a bonus this week for the training of Artemis. I'm sure you'll find some way to use it."
"Thank you."
"You're going in town tonight?" she asked casually.
"No, I won't. BJ.. we have to talk," she said softly.
"There is nothing to talk about. I told you I was sorry, if that ain't enough, feel free to sue me for harassment."
"Sue you? BJ, what are you talking about?"
"I trespassed the rules we agreed on, therefore you can sue me if you like. And in this town, you're pretty sure to win, too. So go for it," she spat bitterly.
"This is ridiculous," she growled in anger. "I have no intention of suing you. I'm the one who jumped at you, not the opposite. What I'd like to understand is what happened there?"
"Nothing that should have happen. As I said I'm sorry."
"Ok, time out here! Could we got outside to talk in a less formal environment, please?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I do!.. Please, BJ..."

Seeing no way to avoid it, the rancher sighed and gestured for them to walk on the porch where they sat only inches away from each other.

"You wanted to talk, then do it," BJ said aggressively.
"I will if you drop the attitude," the blonde countered.
"Sorry.. I'm not used to sensitive chat.. go ahead, please."
"That's better," she approved. "BJ.. I.. I'd like to understand. I'm receiving very mixed signals here since yesterday... First, we both seemed to enjoy that.. kiss yesterday. Then you literally ran away and disappear for the night."
"I had some business to take care of," she answered.
"The boys told me what kind of business it was, thanks. Could you please at least be honest with me?"
"Ok, you want the truth? Yes, I went to see an old girlfriend of mine and we f**ed our brains out! Is that what you wanna know??"
"No," she gulped painfully, "what I wanna know is why? why yesterday? I know you haven't gone to see her for a couple of years..."
"Those boys talk too much and should mind their own business," she growled.
"BJ.. please, don't shut me out. Surely you know what you mean to me, don't you?"
"Stop hero-worshipping me, Deborah."
"I've passed the age for hero-worship and I'm grown up enough to know when I've fallen in love with someone. And I have. I love you, Betty Jane Prescott. You can run away from me as much as you want, it will not change that fact: I love you."
"You can't mean that," she almost whispered.
"I do! And yesterday afternoon, for a couple of deliciously happy minutes, I could have sworn that you were too."
*sigh* "I like you. You're a great kid, but there can't be anything between us. I'm sorry if I mislead you, Deborah, but you're my employee and I was just very glad that your first horse training went so well. Your enthusiasm was contagious and I got lost in the moment. For that, I apologize. Please, don't see any hidden meaning into it, because there isn't any."
"Is.. Is it only because I'm an employee or you don't feel anything for me?" she dared.
*Damn..* "Some day you'll meet someone that will be very special to you, Deborah, and then you'll be glad of the decision I'm taking now. Trust me."
"I doubt that. I've already met that someone... What if I wasn't working for you?"
"Answer would be the same. I'm not a lovable person, even if you don't want to see that right now."
"You're the blind one here and now, BJ..." she mumbled, deeply hurt. "I won't change your mind, will I." A statement, not a question.
"No," she lied.

Without a word, the blonde stood up and walked away, her heart heavy and hurt, but she held on to her tears until she was safely in her room. BJ on her side wasn't feeling much better. She'd lied to the girl hoping to solve the issue, but seeing the pained look into those beautiful green eyes just made her feel worse than before. Damn...

The next Sunday, contrary to the routine she had established over the last weeks, she didn't join BJ for breakfast. She stayed in bed, terribly sad and unknowing of her future in the ranch. She wanted to stay, but on the other hand, seeing BJ every day and knowing that the woman will never return her feelings were too hard to bear. She decided to take a few days of reflection before taking any decision on that matter. If work could still be done normally, then maybe she still could stay. If not, then she'd leave and try to find another ranch to work for.

Things weren't too bad during that week, BJ having assigned Deborah in other teams than hers, avoiding any possibility for any personal talk. She felt bad being that tricky, but she didn't know any other way to handle the situation. She loved Deborah as much as the blonde loved her, but there was no way she'd let anything happen between the two of them. But the whole team was somehow paying the price of their boss frustration, even Mary got verbally assaulted when she tried to bring up the subject with her old friend.

One night, BJ decided that she had to try to open the dialogue with Deborah in a way to find a peaceful solution to their problem. She found the blonde talking to Artemis in the stable. She stayed in the dark for a moment, enjoying the sight of the young woman exposing her heart to the listening mare.

"I'm going to miss you, girl, you know that, right?" Debbie told the horse while petting her head gently.
"Why would you miss her?" BJ asked, coming into view of the girl.
"Well, first you're going to sell her some day. I'm surprised to see her still here, in fact."
"And second?" BJ pushed, holding her breath.
"Because.. I'll leave as soon as I find some other work," she exhaled, looking anywhere but at BJ.
"Ah, I see... Well, wherever you go, you won't miss Artemis, because she's yours," BJ stated.
"Mine? What do you mean 'mine'?"
"I've took it for you. You couldn't ride Mary's horse forever and any good cowhand has a horse. You chose her, remember? and you two get along well. She belongs to you now."
"Why.. didn't you tell me?" she croaked, her voice betraying her emotion.
"I was keeping it as a surprise for your birthday, but as it looks like you won't be with us by then..."
"Oh, BJ..." she started crying. "I.. I don't know what to say.."
"Nothing to be said, Debbie. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be a good-bye gift, tough."

Deborah sobbed even more at BJ's last sentence and she fell on her knee in the hay, unable to stand under the weight of her emotions. The rancher swallowed hard as a lone tear rolled down her own cheek. How can something as beautiful as love be so painful? She took a couple of steps forward and sat beside the crying girl, pulling her gently against her, holding her in a tight comforting hug. Both women cried together for a moment before BJ started to speak her heart.

"I.. I don't want to see you go, Debbie," she admitted softly.
"I don't want to go," Deborah sniffed, "but it doesn't work out. Everybody's been miserable since last week's events. Someone has to leave and it can only be me."
"No, it doesn't have to be that way."
"We can't keep going like we did this week, BJ," she stated the obvious.
"I agree, but maybe we can find a solution that will work out."
"And why would you care? You made perfectly clear that your feelings for me were only professional," she said bitterly but with no anger.
"I lied," BJ sighed deeply. "I thought that if you believed that, things would go back as they were before. I was wrong and I'm truly sorry to have hurt you."
"Wh..what are you saying?" Debbie asked, uncertain to have heard what she wanted so much to hear.
"I do love you, Deborah Dawson. I fell in love with you the first second I laid my eyes on you that first dinner we had all together."
"You did?" she croaked.
"Oh yes! And don't ask me why I've been so rude and heartless the next week, because I honestly don't know. But I regret it. As much as I regret what I said last week. Can you ever forgive me?"
"By God, BJ, don't you know I already have?.. I love you so much," she added, starting to cry again.
"Shhtt.. it's okay... I love you, too, and we'll find a way to make it work, I promise."
"How? You're still my boss..."
"We'll find a way. Together we will," she affirmed, holding the girl tighter.
"Can we... BJ.. would you.. kiss me?" Debbie asked in a tiny shy voice.
"I'd love to," the rancher answered softly, bending slowly to place her lips on top of Deborah's in a salty tender kiss that reflected all their love and hopes for the future.

At that moment, BJ knew there was nothing more important in life than what they were sharing, no rule could stop their feelings for each other. Nothing, no one, was worth risking to loose a love so deep.

Things went much better from that moment onward. After having talked and held each other long into the night, both women had decided to take it slow and had gone in their own bedroom for the night. Everybody felt relieved the next morning when they realize that the atmosphere was much less tense and, even if they didn't comment on it, they all knew why and were happy for the two women.

Weeks went by quickly and, even though both women craved to bring their relationship on a physical level, neither of them had dared to express it yet. Summer turned red as Fall arrived, then the leaves fell when the first snow showed up early. The working days were shorter now and evenings were spent either playing all together or watching tv in the common living room. Often, BJ would excuse herself to work on the administrative side of the ranch, the one she had tendency to neglect during the warm days, and almost as often, Deborah would suggest her help with the computer side of it. They were making a great team, both on a personal and on a professional level, even though BJ had needed some time to adjust to the latter.

An evening of mid November while BJ was working with Debbie on some complicated spreadsheet, the rancher's keen ears registered some unusual noises coming from the stable. She stood up and opened the window to check, thinking maybe a wolf or a bear was making the horses nervous. As she took her first breath of the outside air, she knew.

"Sh**!" she cursed, running toward the door.
"What?" Deborah asked, following without knowing why.
"Get the boys, quick! Fire in the stable. I'll get the horses out," she yelled without stopping.
"Oh God!" Debbie said as she ran toward the living room to alert the others.

In the space of a few minutes, the men had rushed outside, picked up the fire hoses, hooked them to the hydrants and started spraying the burning building. The fire was spreading quickly and Debbie felt helpless, knowing BJ was inside. She knew she was still ok as she could see the horses getting out one by one, but when the building started to whine and crack with the rancher still inside, Debbie knew something terrible was about to happen. I need to get in there and help her. Think Debbie, think!... Then she saw it, the horse drinking trough. Without hesitation, she literally dove in the freezing water, soaking her clothes and wetting her hair, before rushing toward the fire. She vaguely heard Mary yelling at her to stay out, but she didn't listen.

The roof had collapsed in a few places, letting the smoke out and allowing her to see rather well in the stable. She quickly noticed that the fire was expanding rapidly and that she wouldn't have much time. She also noticed as she went deeper inside, that the horses seemed to have all got out in time.

"BJ!" she yelled, her voice covered by the incredible noise of the fire. A beam and part of the roof fell only a few feet behind her. "Great," she told herself out loud, "now I have only one way out: the side door on the other end. BJ?" she yelled again and again, getting no response. The heat was tremendous, but her wet clothes were somewhat protecting her, although it wouldn't last long. Her lungs, however, had a hard time dealing with all the smoke and she started coughing hard. "Gotta keep going... gotta find BJ..." she summoned herself.

Outside, Mary was frantic! She ran from one side of the building to the other, hoping to see both women out and safe, but her prayers went unanswered. She had called the fire department as soon as she heard about the fire, and also requested a medical helicopter to transport the potential injuries toward the closest hospital. Now there was nothing she could do but run and hope and scream in the night the name of the two women inside.

Stubbornly, Deborah wasn't about to give up on her lover. Despite her cough and the heat, she kept looking carefully around as she walked toward her only exit.  At the same time she saw her, lying flat on her stomach, unconscious, part of the roof collapsed near them, a large burning wodden beam landing on BJ's legs.

"Oh god, no!... BJ, do you hear me? BJ..." she asked as she arrived beside her.

But the rancher was out for good. Deborah found a light pulse and that pushed her own limit a little further. The beam was huge and in flame, but luckily it seemed that some other debris had somewhat protected BJ's legs from the heavy weight. The blonde didn't take the time to think twice. With a strength born from desperation, she grabbed it and pulled it away from her companion. Some sparkles flew toward BJ and her hair were starting to burn, so Debbie removed her jacket and wrapped it around BJ's head and torso, temporarily stopping the fire. Time... I'm running out of time... the blonde thought, barely controlling her panic. She grabbed BJ under her arms and pulled her toward the side door that was miraculously still accessible. Exhausted and unable to breathe properly, the only reason that kept Deborah going was the thought of loosing the one person she loved most. Gotta get out... gotta get out...

She was only a couple of feet from the safety when she collapsed, unable to go any further.

"I'm sorry BJ, I'm so sorry," she cried, holding her lover tightly.

"Hold on," Rick said as he reached for them with Mary only seconds later.

Both women were pulled outside and the contrast between the heated building and the cold November night woke Debbie up in a shiver.  They had set up many blankets on the snow and Rick laid them on it, checking quickly for injuries.

"You okay, Debbie?" Mary asked nervously.
"BJ..." was the answer.
"You got her out, she'll be fine," Mary said, although she hadn't checked on her friend yet. She will have to be okay! "Lie still, a helicopter is on the way to get you both to the hospital."

Both injured women were rolled in multiple blankets, while the other men tried to extinguish the fire, or at least, to prevent it from spreading to the other buildings. All the horses were safely in the corral, but the stables would be totaled when the fire would be out.

Half an hour later, the helicopter landed nearby and three medical assistants ran to where Mary were signaling them. They quickly check for vitals, then one of them ran back to get a stretcher to carry BJ while one of his co-worker helped Deborah to walk up to the helicopter. She was in shock and not quite aware of what was happening around her, not even feeling the pain from her deeply burnt hands and arms. Soon, both women were flying toward the nearest hospital.

Deborah woke up from her nightmare with a start. Gosh, that was a bad one, she thought. Then she opened her eyes to discover an impersonal white room, silent except for the constant beeping of some medical instrument. Sh**.. that was no nightmare! BJ? she turned around quickly to see that the bed next to her was occupied by her unconscious lover, the beeps she heard were her life signs. Thank God, she's alive!

"Good morning, Miss Dawson. I'm Fran, your nurse. Do you feel any pain?"
"No," she croaked, her voice startling her.
"Don't try to talk to much. You got lots of soot in your system last night and we had to intubate you to remove most of it, so you'll have a sore throat for a few days. We also treated your hands that were badly burnt, so were your forearms."
"Really?" she whispered. Weird, I don't recall being injured...
"Yes really. From what I heard, your friend over there was lucky to have you to get her out. You'll have some explanations to give to the doctor, though, as some of her injuries are hard to explain."
"How's she?" Debbie worried.
"She'll be all right. She needs to rest and she'll need physiotherapy for her legs, but in the overall, she's doing well."
"Can you help me to get to her, please?"
"You should rest..."
"Please.. I need to see her.."
"Ok ok, but we do it slowly, ok? You're in no shape to play hero today, understood?"
"Yes..."

With the help of the nurse, Deborah reached BJ's bed and leaned over to look at her lover closely. She was lying on her stomach, her face turned toward the blonde. Debbie kissed the sleeping woman's cheek tenderly.

"BJ," she whispered, "you hang on in there, okay? You and I haven't finished what we started... And we have a long road ahead together. So tough it up, 'cuz I can't go on without you. Got that?... I love you, BJ... I love you..." she said as she started to sob silently.
"Come on," the nurse gently pulled her away, "let's get you back in bed. You need to sleep some more now."
"Don't want to.."
"I promise to wake you up as soon as she regains consciousness, will that help you agree on sleep?"
"Promise?"
"Promise!" the nurse smiled as Deborah's eyes slowly closed.

She woke up only the next day. This time, she registered some heavy back pain and her hands felt like they were still in fire. A quick look on the side allowed her to see that BJ was still unconscious.

"Well, look who's awake," Fran chirped as she entered the room. "How do you feel today?"
"Pain, lots of it..."
"Here, swallow this. You'll get something stronger in a moment, but both the doctor and the fire investigator want to talk to you. Do you feel like seeing them?"
"Guess I won't avoid that long, so.. yeah..."
"Do you need the bedpan first?"
"No, I'll be fine."
"Good. I'll send them in, then."

The doctor entered first, silently checking her progress and vitals, then he went to the door to get the investigator.

"I'm doctor Jenkins and this is Frank Ingall. How do you feel?"
"Fuzzy around the edge, and in pain," she answered honestly.
"We'll give you something for the pain soon. How's you back?"
"Stiff and very painful," she whispered, her voice still sore.
"Do you recall what happened in the stables, Miss Dawson?" the investigator asked.
"I haven't had time to really think about it.."
"Could you try, please," the doctor encouraged.
"Well... BJ was inside and somehow... I knew something wrong had happened... So I got my clothes wet in the trough and ran inside... it was smoky, dark and bright at the same time.. and very hot... I called BJ, but got no answer..." she recalled, shivering as she relived the events in her mind.
"So you went further inside?" the doctor asked softly.
"Yes..."
"And you found her. Was she conscious?"
"..No.. she was lying face down.. Then a beam fell on her..."
"What did you do then?"
"I.. I'm not sure.."
"How was she trapped?" the inspector asked while Deborah kept thinking silently.
"A beam, on her legs... about two feet wide and ten feet long... fire... it was burning... BJ was under..." she cried, feeling the same helplessness she did on the spot.
"Then what happened, Miss Dawson?" he insisted.
"I.. I grabbed the beam, I think, and pulled up to move it away..."
"That would explain your strained back muscles and the burns on your hands," the doctor agreed.
"That would require someone very strong, doctor," the investigator countered.
"Adrenaline and shock, or fear for a loved one, can sometimes create very extreme reactions, Mr. Ingall. What she's telling us is not impossible. Beside, both women's injuries seemed to prove that story."
"Miss Dawson, didn't you feel any pain when you grabbed the beam?" the skeptic investigator asked.
"N..No.. My only thought was to get BJ out... I.. I do feel it now, though," she said weakly.
"Ok, so you freed her and then what?"
"I.. pulled her toward the door, then I don't know. I thought I had failed, but... here we are..."
"You collapsed near the door, Miss Dawson, but fortunately, two of your colleagues were close enough to get you out to safety."
"I.. I don't recall..."
"Don't worry, with a lot of rest, it'll come back eventually. I will give you some pain killer that will also help you sleep."
"Thank you, doctor..."
"Thanks for answering our questions, I know you're still very weak and tired."
"Do we know the cause of the fire?" she asked.
"Electrical short-circuit, it seems, but we're still investigating. If you recall anything abnormal from inside the fire, please let me know.. like strange smell, or the way the fire spread.. anything can help.."
"I'll try," she promised. "Doctor, how's BJ?"
"She's suffering from smoke inhalation and has both legs broken and badly burnt, but with time and therapy, she won't have any lasting side effect from the incident. Now, you get some rest. I'll come by later."
"Thank you..." she said as she fell in a drugged induced sleep.

Three days later, BJ awoke in a foggish world, her eyelids too heavy to work open. She tried to concentrate her brain cells together, using all her senses to assess the situation she was in. Too quiet, not in stable anymore... Beeps and antisceptic smell, hospital?.. how?.. Can't move.. why?.. Perfumed shampoo..

"Debbie?" she whispered with a very hoarse voice.
"BJ? BJ, you awake, love?" the blonde frantically rushed toward her lover's bed.
"Guess so... Where.."
"Shht baby, don't talk too much yet," Deborah comforted as her bandaged hand caressed BJ's hair tenderly. "We're in Edmonton's hospital, love. We'll be fine."
"You hurt?" she worried.
"A little, long story. How do you feel?"
"Dunno... why am I tied down?"
"The doctor wanted to be certain you wouldn't turn around. The back of your legs was badly burnt and it's important to avoid any contact with bed sheets right now."
"Horses safe?"
"Yes love, you got them all out. Everything will be ok, don't you worry. Just rest and get your strength back."
"'kay.."

For a long moment, Deborah thought that her friend had fallen back asleep and she was startled to hear the weak voice calling her.

"Yes, I'm here, sweetheart," she rassured gently.
".. I love you.."
"Oh baby.. I love you, too," she managed to say despite the lump in her throat.

This time, BJ let herself fall into a deep sleep, leaving her companion crying her raw emotions by her side.

BJ's injuries appeared to be less worrying than it first appeared. She'd been lucky. The fact that the beam had fallen on her when Deborah was close by, the fact that some debris had prevented it to crush the bones irremediably, inflicting only straight break that would heal without consequences, the fact that Debbie had been quick and strong enough to remove the beam... all that concurred to let BJ in a relatively good condition. She'd been very lucky.

Deborah, although frustrated to be unable to use her hands, was also doing well. It would take some therapy to heal her back muscles and ligaments, but knowing the pain was the result of saving BJ made it all very bearable. They both had been very lucky.

When Mary came to visit them, they had managed to get their beds side by side so they could be close and touched each other without having to walk. Mary briefed BJ on the ranch situation and told her the events that Deborah had refused to detail. The more Mary was explaining the blonde's interaction in the drama, the more BJ's eyes were shining with pride and love for the one who risked her life to save hers. She couldn't understand why Debbie had minimized her participation so much. She's my gardian angel and she doesn't even realize it...

"What did you do with the horses?" she asked Mary, looking still into Debbie's shining eyes.
"We empty the hangar and made a temporary stable there for this winter. There is no way for us to build one before spring."
"Good thinking. Tell the boys I'm proud of them... I'm proud of everybody, as a matter of fact," she added, sending all her love to Debbie with one look that made the blonde blush.
"And we're proud of you two. You're the real heroes here, not us. Well, I gotta go... those boys will need someone to cook otherwise they'll be too happy to just eat nacho chips!" she laughed.
"Thanks Mary. You take care..." Deborah said gently.
"You too, honey. We'll see you home soon."
"Bye Mary," BJ concluded.

A moment of silence filled the room, during which Deborah hoped to hide under the bed.

"So," BJ started in a menacing and yet tender voice, "it seems that you've been hiding some important details from me..."
"Well... they're not that important..."
"Excuse me?! You risked your life to same mine and that is not important?? Heelloooo..."
"I told you that I went in to get you out, the 'how' isn't that significant..."
"It is to me, my hero," BJ smiled, stretching her arm to caress the blonde's head tenderly. "How you knew I was in trouble is a mystery to me, how you raised that beam too... but I know that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. You are my gardian angel, Debbie."
"You'd have done the same if it had been me," she shrugged.
"Probably... but it doesn't diminish what you've done. I can't begin to tell you how proud of you I am... I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you in my life, but I'm damn grateful that you're here! I love you, my angel."
"I love you, too..."

She pushed herself forward and moved closer from BJ's mouth, dropping a tender kiss on her soft lips.

"Debbie," BJ said, her voice hoarse with lust, "we need to get better and out of here quickly!"
"You're telling me," she sighed. "All in good time, my love. I'm not going anywhere without you."
"Good. Kiss me again, please?"
"Oh yeah!"

"Wow..." Deborah exclaimed as BJ stopped the skidoo a few meters away from the cabin.
"Wow is right," the rancher answered, admiring the same view as her companion. "Always loved it here in winter, so peaceful, so immaculate..."
"I'm glad you could get away from the ranch for a couple of days and show me this."
"Anything for my Valentine," she smiled, turning back to steal a quick kiss from her lover. "C'mon, let's get settled and heat this place up."

Months had passed since the dreadful fire of the Prescott's stable, painful months of physiotherapy, anger and frustration when the progress wasn't good enough to BJ's taste, patience and comfort from Deborah each time her lover's temper blew over. But they had made it. Together, they went through everything with hope and love. And they both physically recovered. After having gone through the worse, it was now time to go through the best of their relationship. So BJ had suggested a trip to isolate themselves for Valentine's Day, making the best of it in a loving cocoon in the wood and Debbie had been thrilled by the idea.

After unpacking and lighting a fire, they had decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and take a walk with snow-shoes that had ended up in a full blown snowball fight. By the time they came back, the cabin had warmed up and was comfortable. Debbie had cooked a wonderful Valentine's dinner while BJ had set up the table, candles and everything.

Later, they cuddled together on a sheep skin in front of the fireplace, enjoying the peace of the moment.

"Debbie," BJ started almost solemnly, "since you entered my life, you've been such a light for my dark soul, you have no idea how much good you've done for me."
"Oh baby, I..."
"Shht, hear me out please, I ain't too good with words and what I wanna say is too important to screw up. 'kay?"
"Ok."
"So, not content to have saved my soul, you also managed to save my life, litteraly. And then you endured with a constant smile my rudeness when I got frustrated, the curses and insults I was throwing around... you stuck to me nevertheless. Thank you. Now, I know we haven't known each other for very long, less than a year in fact, but I feel like I've known you forever... and I'd like to keep you forever," she added, digging out a velvet box from her jeans pocket. "This is a small token to remind you of how much you mean to me every second of my life. Happy Valentine, my love," she concluded with a shy kiss.
"What it'd be if you were good with words," Deborah teased as she was crying, looking at shiny gold band engraved with a celtic design, one little light blue sapphire in the center. On the inside of the ring, one single word:  Forever! BJ  "This is beautiful, BJ."
"Not as much as you, my love."
"Well," she sniffed, "you, too, have changed my life for the best. When I answered your add for a cowhand job, I would never have expected, or dared hope, that events would turn out to be so wonderful. And it's good that you'd like to keep me around, because I have no intention of going anywhere without you, baby! And looking at this," she added making her ring sparkle in the fire light, "I'd say that we are not only soulmates, we also have the same brain pattern. Here, this is my gift to you, with all my love," she concluded with a tender kiss.
"Wow... same brain pattern, huh?.. woah, same, indeed..." she smiled, looking down at an almost similar gold band with another style of celtic design and one bright red rubis in its center. And also one word engraved inside: Forever! Debbie  "It's great. I love it.. and I love you!"
"I love you, too..."

Forever!
 

THE END

I was tempted by the classic "and they lived happily ever after".. but we all know that, so... why bother!  ;o)

I'd like to finish by saying my thanks to all of you who took the time to drop me a note, encouraging me to finish it. It's really rewarding to know that I'm not only writing these for myself, that someone else might appreciate them too. So thank you!
And stay tuned, I'm already working on my next story, called "Destroyer"... :o)

Patty Pat

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