It was Easter Sunday on a lovely spring day in Driftwood. The weather seemed to take pity on the town's inhabitants with a lovely breeze to wisp away some of the sting left behind by the naturally arid climate. Quentin was finishing up some work at the station, ever the busy bee.<br/><br/>Charley's and Quentin's families had gathered together to attend church that morning. As the time came to leave, everyone was wondering aloud where he was, but they all knew he had a penchant for keeping staying late at the office. Even on one of the holiest Christian holidays of the year, the man was busy.<br/><br/>Naturally his mother, Nancy, who worried about him constantly, and his young wife broke off from the group to check up on him.<br/>"We'll meet y'all there!" Charley called out as she laughed and escorted her mother-in-law along to the jailhouse.<br/><br/>"Will Quentin Madison, you'd better get your bottom glued to a pew soon," Charley called as they entered his office. Her husband sighed, looking at the two women in defeat as he put away some paperwork. He ran his fingers through his long dark hair, sighing. "Well ladies, you caught me. I'm goin', I'm goin'," he said playfully as Nancy eyed him disapprovingly. "I know you're the Sheriff of this town, young man, but I did not raise you to be a Godless heathen. It's Easter Sunday and we came to corral you." Her tone was mostly tongue-in-cheek. Will chuckled, "Yes ma'am," and feigned surprise as he buttoned up his vest and put on his hat. Charley approached him for a warm embrace, placing a kiss upon his cheek, and saying, "There we go. We'd better get goin' before church is over. You<i>know</i>if everyone gets to that Easter picnic before you that there won't be anymore potato salad left for you. And then what? I gotta listen to you bellyache for a coupla days about how you didn't get any, until I make you some more." All three folks enjoyed a moment of laughter before they started toward the door. Will's mom was already beginning to usher him out when he turned and said, "Oh, ladies, real quick before you whisk me away, could you grab me my belt off of the desk? Almost forgot..."<br/><br/>Charley turned on her heel to rush back to the desk. Will stepped out the door after that, with his mother waiting halfway between the two for Charley to come along. Shortly after Charley had turned around with the belt, holster, and gun in hand, there was a gunshot. It sounded off from outside. Charley rushed over to Nancy, forcing her to go and hide under the Sheriff's desk for cover, just in case. The closer Charley got to the door, the more voices she heard. Adrenaline kicked in. She didn't care what happened when she walked out that door, but she knew Will had to have his gun.<br/><br/>She ran out, gun in hand and ready to pass it off to her husband, when she witnessed a part of his skull being blown away as he stood on the side of the road. He fell immediately. His body hit the ground in the most unnatural way, kicking up dust with a resounding thud. Three men dressed in black with black cloths covering the lower parts of their faces laughed and taunted Charley. "Big bad Sheriff, down like a sack of potatoes in two shots. Your lil ol' city better watch its back now!" the one with the gun trained on her shouted. She didn't even have time to think. Charley was not a vengeful or angry woman. She'd never killed anything in her life. Her Pa had to be the one to kill and pluck the chickens when she was a child, and she would cry the whole time he was doing it. It was like a moment of psychosis washed over her and briefly, she wasn't herself. Without another word or moment to think, Charley unholstered Will's gun and brought down two of the men in three shots. The third one used the horses of the other fallen two for cover and rode off after mounting his own.<br/><br/>People had already begun to crowd around the scene now. A pool of blood formed on the ground beneath the Sheriff's body, mostly clotted by the dirt as the parched earth soaked up the moisture. Charley was in the dust with her fallen husband, hopelessly screaming until the dust clouded her throat too much for her to do anything except weep.<br/><br/>--------------------<br/><br/>Charley was jolted awake from her nightmare about that fateful day by the sound of Marshall, the deputy, unlocking the door to the jailhouse. The Sheriff snapped up in her seat, wiping the sleep out of her eyes with the back of her hand. She also wiped away the tears that were beginning to form. She tried to clear her throat and found that it was extremely dry, making the unpleasant memories from her nightmare that much more real in the moment.<br/><br/>With a slight groan, she stood and got up for some water, greeting Marshall as he came through the door. "Mornin', deputy." Marshall shook his head and stood in front of Charley before she made another step.<br/>"I knew you'd be here all night again. Brought you a little somethin'," he said warmly, before handing her a hot thermos. "Coffee. The fancy stuff. Black, just how you like it."<br/>Charley sniffled and croaked, "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. You're a lifesaver, my friend." The two hugged briefly before Charley, or Kitty, as she'd been going by these days, pulled away. "Alright. Can't get all sentimental right now, for my own sanity." She paused to take a sip from the thermos and looked around. "Been a...a bit of a rough night."<br/><br/>Marshall didn't need to pry any further. "I'm still havin' nightmares, too. I can't even imagine how much worse yours are, Miss Kitty."<br/>The woman nodded.<br/>The two proceeded to get a jump on the day's work. There was always something that needed to be done around there, as Kitty quickly learned when she took over Will's duties. She understood now why he seemed to never get a moment of peace. That, and she was throwing herself into the work to avoid having to deal with her own issues, which complicated things further. But it was a good way for her to gain control after everything. Every paper was in place, every booking was recorded, every valuable correspondence was properly encrypted and filed away...Kitty left no thread hanging and ran a tight ship. She had a lot to prove in this town, after all. And she wanted to show them all that she was more than capable of running this town where the Sheriff's duties were concerned.<br/><br/>At some point later on, Charley poked her head into Marshall's office and asked, "Am I still scheduled to meet with the building committee at 3? It's not on my schedule anymore, but I have it written down that I was supposed to." But she had already anticipated the answer to that.<br/><br/>Marshall tipped his hat back, wiping the sweat off of his brow with his sleeve. "Well, they canceled again, Miss Kitty. I'm sure you know why. Ain't none of them too happy around here still with you bein' Sheriff and all. Times have changed, but not enough for these people to see a woman taking up the mantle as sheriff. 'Specially without going through any electoral process. Most of these people are still stuck in the dark ages, wantin' their women god-fearin', barefoot, and stayin' at home. And you're, well, the proper opposite of that. And you're cleanin' up this town. A town goin' from a hotbed of sin and secrets, to order and justice...it's bound to piss some people off, Miss Kitty."<br/><br/>Kitty's brows furrowed slightly. "Ya think they'll ever come around to it, Marshall?"<br/>Her deputy shrugged and chuckled. "There's only one way to find out. I guess we'll wait it out. You know I've got yer back. You're doin' this town a world of good. It's just too overrun by scum for the majority to see it thata way. Give it time. Things'll get better."<br/><br/>The woman smiled wryly and shrugged. "I sure hope you're right."<br/><br/>Whether she was invited or not, she was going to that meeting. It wouldn't be the first time she'd inserted herself into a situation like that. Most of the town was grateful to have her around and on board as the sheriff. It wasn't like she was tyrannical or anything. At least, not in the eyes of most of Driftwood. It was the Fat Cats, the political high rollers, and the criminals running underground nonsense that had it out for her. And since Driftwood was a very large, ever-growing city with a good amount of the affluent beginning to settle there, they weren't too happy about not being able to sway her one way or another with the use of bribes or threats. And, as Kitty had learned over the past few months in this position, everyone had an agenda.<br/><br/>But she wasn't on anyone's side but hers and the law's. And boy, did that piss off a multitude of the Driftwood Elite.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>It wasn't but an hour or so before 3 when Kitty's ear caught the sound of the scuffle going on down the street. But being around the corner from the saloon, this wasn't an uncommon occurrence.<br/><br/>Looking out the window at the mess of drunkards hobbling out to the street across the way in the middle of the day, Kitty sighed. Marshall was out the door before she could say anything. Figuring it was just a normal scuffle, Kitty looked on as he tried to keep the peace. Until she saw the glint of the mens' weapons. Then she was out the door.<br/><br/>When she walked up on the lot of them behind Marshall, he was trying to bribe them with a round of drinks on him if they pledged to calm down. She shook her head and muttered as she came up behind him, "And get them more drunk and belligerent? Not on my watch. Do you know who these men are?"<br/>Marshall shrugged.<br/>She raised her voice, "Las Cabezas de Fuego, right boys? If you're the right boys, I mean." Half of the men swung their heads around toward her. Once she got a better look at the colors on the others present, she said, "Aha, and The Sawtooth Gang. Hell of a fight about to happen when these two go down, am I right? If I remember correctly, y'all left half of a neighboring town hurtin' for some aid after you ripped through there in a gang war last month. Crazy stuff." She took the opportunity to light a cigarette while the men gathered around her and Marshall, nine of them all together.<br/>She took a few puffs while the men circled them curiously. "Now, we ain't here askin' for any trouble. We like to keep things fair around here, right Marshall?" The deputy tilted his head forward obligingly, casually positioning himself with his back to hers in as much of a non-threatening manner as he could muster.<br/>"We're just here to make sure everyone's safe and havin' a good time, okay boys? So why don't we all just take a moment to-"<br/>One of the troublemakers barked over her with, "Why don't<i>you</i>take a moment to take yer top off for us then and keep us comp'ny, honey? Yeehaw!" A chorus of laughter broke out amongst everyone around them. Charley laughed with them.<br/><br/>"Y'all are some real jokers. You can come and visit me over there in the jailhouse if you want." She winked. Marshall shuffled uneasily as a few of the drunkards with weapons stepped closer to lunge for the sheriff. She dodged two of them, knocking them under her with a swift kick. The third closest one came after her with a knife. It didn't take much to bat it out of his hand after burning him with the cigarette she'd been smoking. Then, her gun was out in a flash as three others from either side of the group cocked theirs. "Now,<i>we</i>don't want any trouble, but if<i>you</i>want some, I guess we can find it in our big ol' generous hearts to share some with ya," Kitty jeered. She shot two of the guns out of the armed men's hands in the blink of an eye, which sent them to the ground, yowling. The one in Marshall's sight was too drunk to aim and passed out cold on the floor shortly after the disarming of his buddies.<br/><br/>Kitty sighed and got to work immediately cuffing those injured or on the ground. The rest of the onlookers and gang members had dispersed well before any of the shooting took place. "I keep tellin' ya, Marshall. There's a reason you have a tasergun. I know you're a terrible shot, but you shoulda used that thing a lot earlier." Marshall helped gather up some of the apprehended men and replied, "Well, Miss Kitty, I didn't think I'd need to use it on that one," he bobbed his head in the direction of the unconscious man.<br/><br/>Kitty eyed him with disapproval and concern. "You never know, and I'd rather you be safe, dammit. You gotta get over that weapon shyness of yours. I can't always do the sharpshootin' around here."<br/><br/>"Yes, m'am," the deputy responded in a defensive tone, his eyebrows raised.<br/><br/>Kitty playfully knocked his hat off of his head.