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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2870820" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Thirty-nine, “Delivering bad news”, Sunday, May 28th, 1882, 8:30 A.M.At the Three Gods Meeting House the next morning, barely awake, Ruby nuzzles Jake’s neck and purrs sleepily into his ear, “Let’s be decadent and stay in bed together all day darling. I don’t ever want this feeling to end.” Ruby rubs her hand smoothly over Jake’s belly, hoping to convince him. "All day? Heh. At least all morning." He gets a wicked smile on his face, "I always felt that a freshly seared rib-eye was appropriately decadent second thing in the morning. No need to rush first thing...." Jake pulls Ruby on top of him. They snuggle up and kiss, and even though they are still not fully awake being together comes more natural to them than sleeping... There is a knock on Jake and Ruby’s bedroom door at what they consider to be an ungodly hour.   They hear Richard's voice on the other side saying, “Mr. Cooke, Miss. West, you have a visitor waiting for you downstairs. And I’m afraid that there is also some very bad news to report. There was a major gunfight back in Promise City. Your deputy friend has been shot and killed." Richard then adds, “Your visitor is downstairs having breakfast right now in the main room with Mr. Van Horne. He also brought you a newspaper that describes the gunfight. I’ll leave it here by your door.”   Ruby stops kissing Jake, and just stares at him with a funny look on her face. "Did you just hear that? I think I'm still dreaming, I thought I heard someone at the door and it wasn't good."Jake froze at the words. "Hermes," he hisses. "Not Chet." Jake then mutters an obscenity before delicately moving some hair away from Ruby's face. He calls out, "We will be down in a few minutes."Ruby's face drops, and her eyes go blank at Jake's reaction. He had heard it too, she wasn't just having a horrible nightmare. Her eyes fill with tears as she slowly pulls herself away from the warmth and comfort of her lover, feeling like her own body weighed a 1000 pounds. Finally she speaks as she sits up in the bed, supporting herself with her arms. "I knew something bad was going to happen, I had a feeling it would. If we were there we would be dead right now." She pauses. "Oh, poor Chester." Ruby can't hold back anymore, she throws her hand to her face and begins sobbing. A few minutes go by before she numbly crawls out of bed, taking the soft white sheet with her. She retrieves the paper from the door but doesn't read it, instead handing it to Jake. In shock she wanders back out the open door, "I'll go see who is downstairs."  As Jake takes the paper as Ruby disappears from view. She quickly makes her way down the three flights of stairs to the main room, where the only two occupants are Cornelius Van Horne and Manuel Gonzales, sitting together and each eating plates with fried bacon, Spanish-style omelets, corn bread and strawberry jam accompanied by large mugs of fresh coffee.Ruby wipes her eyes and approaches the table. She sits without asking again blinking back some tears. "Mr. Gonzales... so glad to see you..." she struggles with the words as she tries to be polite but is just too numb. "What are you doing here?"Gonzales stands, sensing Ruby's anguish he rushes over to her and gives her a long deep hug. Mr. Van Horne says, "I think I'll leave the two of you alone. You should have privacy despite the size of the room, the only one in the building usually up at this hour on a Sunday is Richard and he's out in the lobby."  Gonzales continues to hug her deeply and says, "It's alright my little bird, even a Golden Eagle is allowed to cry. It is hard to lose a friend." He then adds "I am here because you called for me. You sent a telegram to Promise City which I only just now received."Ruby buries her face in Gonzales shoulder and continues to sob for long moments. Finally she lifts her face to him with tears streaming down her face. "Oh, that's right I forgot. On our train ride here Wyatt Earp came to us and threatened us. Well, actually he threatened you and Madge, he accepted Jake and my's honest answer. He thinks one of us told of his being invisible. Somehow whoever attacked him knew he was and we were the only ones to know what happened. I wanted to warn you," she sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of her wrist. "I know you can take care of yourself and you didn't even look like yourself but Madge... she is alone and he could really hurt her. I am very worried about her, and even us too." She breaks into more sobs, "I am tired of people getting hurt and dying." She buries her face again and grips his shoulders tight in a hug.He returns the hug and says, "I appreciate the warning. I came to the same conclusion after Chumbley's paper on Friday mentioned Wyatt Earp being alive. He was seen in Tombstone, saved the life of Kate's brother in fact. Madge is safe, he won't find her. Nor is he likely to find Mr. Austin."He says, "I'm afraid that it was my fault. My other apprentice Morgana was summoned along with her friends to Tombstone. Since they had run-ins before with Earp I wanted to warn her about him being there under the cover of invisibility. I thought she would just use that knowledge for her own self-protection, I didn't expect her to tell the Sheriff."   "Morgana told the Sheriff?" Ruby shakes her head. Ruby breathes a long sigh of relief. "I just... I didn't know if you would know. I don't understand how could someone have known?" She sighs again. "It seems we missed a lot." Ruby is quiet and she hangs her head. "What happened to Chester?"  He says, "I only know what I read in the paper myself. It indicated that he only received minor wounds from the confrontation."Ruby's head snaps up, "What? Richard said he was dead!" She wipes her face again. "I didn't read the paper, I just came right down." She starts to cheer up a little bit, "So he's ok? Who died? What happened?"  Gonzales releases her and says, "Kate didn't want you to have to read about it first but they wouldn't let me go upstairs. I told him to let you know that Deputy Marshall Niles Hoover had died.""Niles?" Ruby's face drops again. "Niles is dead?" The tears well up in her eyes again. "I guess I should read that paper," she says sadly, "How could he have gotten mixed up in a gun fight? And did you say Deputy Marshall?"   Ruby wipes her eyes. "Can you get us home? I don't want to... to miss..." Her words break up and she is unable to finish speaking.He replies, "No, I can't. I've now already used both of my transport spells today. You'll have to take conventional means back. That's why I felt the need to wake the two of you, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get back in time for Hoover's wake. There's a train leaving for Tombstone in around forty-five minutes and another one heading to Wilcox in around two hours. Either one would get you onto a stagecoach arriving in Promise City this evening."Upstairs, He sits there naked, reading the paper and shaking his head. He says aloud, "Damn fools, the load of them. Stupid time for Hoover to grow principles. All that and they didn't even manage to kill Adair." Jake sighs and goes about getting dressed.   Clothed plainly with the newspaper under his arm he enters the large empty room. He walks somberly to where Ruby and the elderly wizard are and says, "Buenos dias, senor. I am pleased to see all the troubling events of the last several days have not brought harm to you as well."Gonzales says, "Well, those events are about as new to me as to you. I was away and got back to Promise City only around two hours ago. I hadn't even finished my breakfast at the El Parador when Kate sent me off here to fetch the two of you. So I'm afraid that I can't tell you much more than what you read in the paper."Ruby nods her head. Jake comes to join them but she doesn't make eye contact with him. "I guess I should go get ready to leave then. I'll be down in a bit." Ruby excuses herself and returns upstairs, heading for Jane's room. Not anxious to be in the room packing just now, Jake stays with Gonzalez for a few minutes talking. "Ruby appraised you of our little encounter with Wyatt Earp? At the time I felt that heading back to Promise City then and there would have made the already suspicious Earp convinced we were involved."  He says, "She spoke briefly of it. That man is dangerous. But he is visible now and without the means to make himself invisible again so should be less of a danger."Jake replies, “I would not say he is less dangerous. We will just have to be happy that he is not invisible." Jake relates the conversation with Earp to Gonzalez. "There, you know what we know."  When they finish speaking, Jake says, "I suppose I should be packing. Ruby has got it in her head that being in Promise City is not safe for us. I cannot seem to make her understand it is not Promise City, though I will not deny it is not the safest of places, but our getting involved. Most of the trouble we have been in is because we were helping out our friends. She somehow thinks that all our problems go away if we just move." Jake shrugs. "Since all Hades will be breaking loose in Promise City, I do not think I will be changing her mind anytime soon."Gonzales says, "I agree with your assessment. Most of your trouble has been because of your friends, although the trouble with Adair she started entirely on her own when she slapped him and then stole away business from his saloon with her singing. Running away from problems is never the answer, fixing them is the answer."   He sits back down at the table and takes another bite from his second interrupted breakfast of the morning. He looks back up and adds, "As for Hades breaking out in Promise City, isn't freedom worth fighting for? Your county seemed to think that it was around twenty years back."Jake answers, "Yes and no. Freedom does dead folk little good. Seems to me the last war was just a bunch of politicians sending boys off to kill each over excitable rhetoric. Some good did come out of it, but the price was just too damned high. There should have been another way. Just because I wear a gun low on the hip does not mean I like using it. If folks talked more, negotiated more and thought a bit more... well perhaps guns would not be fired so often." Jake looks thoughtfully at Gonzalez and then laughs, "Listen to me go on like some know it all preacher. Enjoy your breakfast senor, I will return shortly and be ready to travel."He says, "Okay, as I told Ruby, there is a train leaving for Tombstone in around a half hour and another for Wilcox in around ninety minutes. You should be able to catch a stagecoach from either town that would get you back into Promise City in time for Mr. Hoover's wake."  Jake nods and leaves to pack his belongings. Ruby knocks softly on the door. "Janie, it's Ruby. I need to speak with you."  Jane doesn't immediately reply. Ruby knocks again and hears "Wha...it's too damned early. Whoever you are GO AWAY!"  Ruby wipes her eyes and knocks again, "It is VERY important Jane, I need to speak with you now."Ruby hears some grumbling and knocking around in the room. Jane opens the door. She is wearing a slate blue terrycloth bathrobe, her hair is disheveled, make-up is smudged and she in no way resembles the usually glamorous Priestess of Aphrodite that Ruby knows.  In a surly voice Jane exclaims, "What is so damned important that it can't wait until a decent hour?"Ruby sighs. She knows just how the priestess feels. She pulls the sheet tighter against herself and says, "I'm leaving. There has been some trouble at home and one of my friends was killed. I wanted to say goodbye before we left."Jane screams at her "What! You can't just go off and leave me! Not now! I need you here! What if Red has different expectations after last night! This could ruin everything! You can't encourage me to take him as my lover and then just run away when I need to talk to you the most!""Did you hear what I said Jane?? One of my friends and business partners was MURDERED. I HAVE to go. Believe me, I don't want to. Actually, I was going to speak to you today about the possibility of staying here permanently. I had a bad feeling and look what happened. I know it, if Jake and I had been there one or both of us would be dead right now. And I just can't do that, Janie. But I have no choice, I have to go back now.  How did last night go? I guess the goddess pointed you in the right direction."Jane's voice raises higher "You do have a choice! We're your business partners now! Jake owns part of this place now! Let your other partner back in Promise City take care of it! I need you here with me! Last night....that now messes everything up! I need you here to help me! Don't run away when I need you most!"Ruby tries to remain calm but the tears begin welling again. "No Jane, YOU and JAKE are business partners. Jake has no responsibility to me and I have none to him. I am not a partner here.  As for the other stuff, come with me to the room and talk to me now while I dress and pack. I'll help you in any way I can.""I thought you loved me! Fine, run away!" Jane exclaims. She steps back into her room and slams the door in Ruby's face.   Ruby blinks hard as the door is slammed in her face. "That's what I do," she says quietly to the door, "I run."  She glumly returns to the room. She mindlessly pulls on some clothes and shoves her other belongings into her bag as she continues to cry.Her belongings packed, Ruby stands before the mirror and begins brushing her long hair. Her face already looks pale, her eyes red and puffy. The emotions of last night, which she had so longed to hang onto, were already disappearing and there was nothing she could do about it. Her heart was heavy with dread thinking of returning to Promise City. In times past she would have never attended a funeral, never cared enough about anyone to do so. Now she had no choice. Suddenly, the city with her home in it, the place her friends lived, the location of her business and what she thought would be her life long home was the last place she wanted to be. The old familiar feeling of being held down, like there were heavy chains around her ankles, was returning. She wasn't free to do what she wanted and this time it was because of the bonds she had let herself make.  She knew one thing. She could not stand by and watch the people that she loved get hurt, or worse, die. She knew she wouldn't survive that misery. And there was only one thing her unimaginative mind could think of to do. Ruby resumes brushing her hair, sullen and devastated at the turn of events.Jake enters the room and stares at Ruby for a moment before he goes about collecting his own items. "I am going to miss Niles," he says without expecting an answer.   Without turning her head Ruby looks at Jake in the mirror. A fresh remark begins to come out of her mouth but instead she smartly stays silent. She finishes brushing her hair then puts her brush in her bag. "My things are ready," she says quietly, then sniffles. "Jane is very angry with me for leaving early. She hates me." Ruby plops down on the bed and picks at the blanket as she watches Jake pack. "She says all I do is run away, and she's right." Silence.   "You know, I was really hoping the goddess would send me a sign last night, for doing the ceremony. Even though I felt really good, between me and you, she didn't send me one. At least not one that is readily apparent to me at this moment. I know you don't want to believe they do things for us and all...but...well," she slaps her hand down on the bed in frustration, "Ugh. Forget it. I can't explain it  I don't need to tell you how I feel, you already know. Let's just go and get this over with." Ruby grits her teeth, trying not to cry again as she waits for Jake to finish.Without much care Jake stuffs his clothing into the travel bags. As he ties the last one shut he says, "She could not be more wrong. Who stood by her when Johnny Ringo came threatening her? I do not rightly see how going back to Promise City for Niles Hoover's final services is running away. He was a good man and a friend in his own way, if the well wishes at his departing mean anything to the gods then I will be there granting mine." After a pause, Jakes starts to say something and stops and then instead says, "You feel a kinship with her because of the goddess, but what has she ever done for you? What risk has she taken on your behalf? When you needed her, was she standing beside you? No, you do not need to answer to me, just yourself. I will never ask you to justify your friends." Jake opens the door before lifting travel bags. "If you think about it, you do not have to search too deeply to know who are your true friends. I wonder if I have done a disservice to Red with my meddling last night? I will not say anything against her to him, let them make their own way."Ruby picks up her bag and starts dragging it to the door. Without looking at him she says, "Yes, Jake, I know. I make stupid, foolish choices in just about everything I do. Why would she be any different?"  Ruby doesn't wait for an answer, she walks out the door and down the stairs without a glance back. As she walks away, Jake just stands there shaking his head. He drops the bags on the floor and mutters to himself as he strides to Jane’s room, "It is never easy with you Ruby West, even when I am telling you I respect your decisions you think I am belittling you." A heavy sigh escapes his lips just before he arrives at the priestesses door.  Jake knocks loudly and says, "Jane. Jane, it is Jake."When the door opens the Priestess is standing before him. Unlike the twenty-minutes earlier when Ruby knocked she is not disheveled and frumpy looking. The woman standing before him is freshly bathed, has make-up flatteringly applied to her face and is attired in a sheer low-cut ivory colored dress that is partially covered by a scarlet silk robe. A pearl necklace adorns her neck with matching pearl earrings and pearl rings on four of her fingers. Ivory and scarlet high-healed shoes raise her closer to Jake's height than usual and she sweetly exclaims, "Why Mr. Cooke, what brings you to my door at such an early hour?"He states, "Untimely and sad events require our presence elsewhere. I wanted to ask if you had anything to advise me on my earlier request. That and to bid you farewell until we return, which we trust will be soon."  She says, "I've already dispatched a telegram to somebody who might be able to help with that. I may not know for a while yet. When would you need it by?"Jake brightens, "It would be special for me to have them go away on her birthday, that is the second of June. However, such a boon would be welcome anytime, I do not mean to sound ungrateful or presumptuous."  "Until we meet again then Mr. Cooke," she states and then leans in to kiss him.  Slightly surprised, he recovers himself quickly and politely returns a friendly kiss.  Following the kiss she exits her room, closes the door, and wanders off in the direction of Red's rooms.  Puzzled, Jake hoists his bags and heads downstairs to find Red to say his farewell.</blockquote>

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