A/N: Hi everyone, thank you for waiting so patiently for my next update. As my readers, you must understand that writing well-thought out chapters are very important to me, therefore I always like to take my time with posting new ones. On top of that, I also work at a wedding venue & I'm super busy this season. I'm honestly lucky to get a couple chapters out in a month. So I would just like to thank those who have stuck with my story and have continued to read it and review. It truly means everything!

All rights go to Mrs. Laura Wilder & the producers of the television series.

"You need to give yourself more credit.

Just remember what I said, there will come a time when you need to tell her how you feel -

and denying it won't help you."

October, 1887

The Wilders retired back to their home after church service ended and after Jenny had successfully lied to her family to run off with Elizabeth and meet her best friend's beau; Randall. For Randall and Elizabeth, it was almost love at first sight. Jenny had covered up for Elizabeth a countless of times in order for her to spend time with him without her family knowing. It was true that Mr. Stark, Elizabeth's father, was not very fond of the boy, and Elizabeth, ever the non-confrontational girl she was, would do anything to avoid conflict in her family.

As much as she loved Elizabeth, Jenny knew that eventually the secret of her and Randall courting would have to be known. Jenny was afraid, that if Elizabeth didn't tell her folks soon enough, it would only be harder for them to accept. To be honest, Jenny was rather wary of Mr. Stark.

She held her cousin Rose snugly to her chest and sat by the fireplace as Laura prepared a pot of tea. Almanzo was in the stables tending to the animals and locking the doors. Last year, the Wilders nearly lost their animals due to large gusts of breaking open the doors to the barn. Luckily, Almanzo was able to purchase strong steel nails from John Carter (at a discount, of course) to make sure the doors wouldn't break open so easily. Jenny glanced out the window from her place by the fire. The sky was progressively becoming overcast, and Jenny knew that she didn't need a farmers' almanac to know that it was bound to start raining.

Laura began humming a sweet tune as Almanzo quietly walked into the house.

"Hiya girls," he beamed. Laura blushed as he went over to give her a tender kiss on her cheek. Jenny smiled at the gesture before shifting her gaze back to her now sleeping cousin.

"Did you have fun with Elizabeth after church today?" Almanzo quickly thanked his wife for his cup of tea before sitting down across from Jenny.

"I - Oh yes we did."

"You left rather quickly," Almanzo eyed her curiously.

"It was started to get cold outside, and Elizabeth needed to go home," Jenny gulped. She knew that if she told her aunt and uncle about Randall, they would probably say something to the Starks, and Jenny couldn't betray her friend's trust.

"Reason enough," Almanzo absentmindedly sipped his tea, "At least you're out spending time with girls and not boys, most of them are too young for me to punch."

"Manly!" Laura scolded, "Jenny may spend time with whoever she wants. And anyways, she's a smart girl. We can trust her," Laura winked at her niece, "But since we're on the topic of boys, she does spend quite alot of time with Jeb Carter, almost more than she does with Elizabeth."

Jenny felt herself turn pink.

"They're just friends," Almanzo insisted, shaking his head, "Isn't that right, Jenny?"

"Yes, sir."

"I know, I know!" Laura waved her hands in defense, "I'm only saying, I wasn't that old when I fell for you, Almanzo Wilder," her eyes twinkled as he gave her a seductive look. Jenny looked away in disgust.

"That's true Beth, but he's almost a teenager, and Jenny is still quite the youngin'!"

"Uncle Manzo, Aunt Laura," Jenny gulped, not sure how much more she could handle of her folks talking about her and her best friend in a romantic way, "I can assure you both, that Jeb is and only will be my best friend, Elizabeth included."

"Alright Jenny," Almanzo chuckled, "But seriously, if I hear anything about a boy pursuing you, I will gladly fetch my castrator."

"Manly!" Laura shouted, "Oh forget it! My Pa said much worse when he found me in your house with only a robe on, unmarried."

Jenny grimaced, she was about to excuse herself before there was a loud, urgent knock on the door.

"Could that be John?" Laura questioned, gathering Rose in her arms.

"Probably, his deliveries are always early," he kissed her cheek once more before opening the door.

"Isaiah?" Almanzo asked bewilderdly.

"Almanzo, Laura, Jenny," Mr. Edwards greeting, his voice shaking slightly.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked.

"Maybe it would be better if we all sat down," he said. Jenny didn't miss the concerned glance he directed towards her as Almanzo let him in. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

...

Jenny was able to escape her aunt and uncle's notice as she sauntered into her room and began scribbling on a piece of paper. She could barely breathe or control the endless tears that escaped her eyes as they fell onto the letter in front of her. Quietly, she pulled out a cylinder from her desk drawer and began to tie a knot around it with the last bit of string she had left. The carrier pigeon was happily perched in a cage on her desk. The pigeon was a gift from Jeb that he'd given her before her incident in the pond. It was a time in her life that she was most fragile, and Jeb was there for her despite her indifference towards him. Yes, she would be forever grateful.

She took the pigeon out of its cage and tied the cylinder to the bird's feet, "You know where to go," she whispered, bringing it to her window. As soon as she opened it, the pigeon took flight. She watched it anxiously until it was only a speck in the sky.

Jenny had to control herself until she started sobbing again. This type of pain was all too framilar to her. She could feel the walls around her closing her in, corrupting every molecule in her body until she collapsed.

Several minutes later, she heard a tap on her window and saw Jeb's pigeon with another cylinder tied to its feet.

With a heavy heart, she pulled the note out of the cylinder and read.

J -

I heard about what happened to Elizabeth and her Ma. My folks aren't letting me out of the house either. They're probably in town already with yours, so I'm having Jason cover up for me. I'll be at the pond in five minutes.

- J

Jenny tucked the note inside the dress of her pocket. Laura and Almanzo had forbade her to leave the homestead while they went into town to gather information about the horrible incident that involved her best friend, but she didn't care. She was leaving the house, no matter how dangerous it was.

She swiftly left the house, not even bothering to grab her bonnet as she took off running. She knew it had definitely gotten colder outside as she felt the wind whip her cheeks and sting her eyes. Jenny had barely begun to register what had happened and why she was risking being seen by someone other than Jeb as she ran further away from the house.

It was essential that she saw Jeb. She didn't even have to ask to meet him, he needed her too.

The more Jenny ran, the more she could feel herself growing weaker with dread and sadness as she pondered Mr. Edward's awful news. Finally, she made it to the very top of the foothills that overlooked the pond. Jeb was already running halfway to meet her. Jenny took a moment to catch her breath before Jeb caught her in his arms. Without hesitation, Jenny immediately broke down and cried messily into Jeb's shoulder, embracing him tightly.

At the edge of the foothill, the two of them sat huddled together. Her grief stricken cries eventually turned into soft whimpers as Jeb exhaled slowly while brushing his fingers through her un-braided hair.

"He shot them. Mr. Stark shot Elizabeth and her Ma." Jenny said after several moments.

Jeb looked lost for words as Jenny turned her head to look at him, "Why? How could he?"

"I don't know," Jeb said lowly, a lump rising in his throat.

"I can't lose her Jeb," Jenny chocked back another sob. "I just can't. Not after Ma and Pa," she started to cry into his shoulder again.

"I heard Randall heard the shots, he found them and ran to get Doctor Baker. He'll tend to them, Jenny. They will be strong again. We can't lose faith. Not yet," he told her soothingly. She trembled against him, trying to make sense of his words. Doctor Baker was indeed a talented man, but he wasn't stronger than God.

Jenny was lost in thought as Jeb brushed her hair away from her wet cheeks. He softly tilted her chin, "Do you want to see her?"

"Can we?"

Jeb shrugged, "Randall is there, and I'm sure Doctor Baker would let you. You're her best friend."

"We would get into so much trouble if we were seen by our folks, Jeb. I wouldn't want to break their trust and nor would you."

"But Jenny, this is your friend. Shouldn't you have every right to see her as much as Randall? He's probably never even talked to her before! Listen, if we do get caught, I will put the blame on myself."

Jenny's head shot up, "No Jeb! That wouldn't be fair! What would you even say? That you forced me out of my home to go into town?"

"Yes!" He tried to reach for her hand but she immediately pulled away, "I don't know, Jeb. What if Mr. Stark really is somewhere near to us? If you got hurt as well, I would never forgive myself. Don't you understand?"

"I do understand," Jeb argued. "I know you better than you think, Jenny Wilder. I know that you're not going to rest properly again until you see Elizabeth and her Ma who are both being well taken care of as we speak. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Jeb..." she let her voice trail off. Despite her poor mental state, she couldn't help but marvel over the passion and confidence in his words. Jenny knew him well enough to see that he was almost as damaged as she was in the inside. She realized, that even though he was scared and unsure himself, he hated seeing her the way she was now and he was committed to make her feel better. Jenny sighed, what would she do without him?

"Don't you trust me?" He asked, almost above a whisper.

She gulped, "Of course I do."

"Then trust me when I say that I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll protect you."

"Jeb, you're only thirteen years old!"

He smirked at her before pushing the sleeves of his shirt up and flexing his muscles. He watched her shocked expression in amusement, "Jeb Carter, that is highly inappropriate! I think you forget who I am sometimes - " Jeb interrupted her rant as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. For a split second, Jenny forgot about Elizabeth and her Ma as she mercicly kicked Jeb in the stomach.

He brought her past her limit, whatever she said to him now she wouldn't regret, "If you don't put me down, I'll make sure that Uncle Manzo won't forget his castrator the next time he sees you."

Jenny found herself back on the ground in no time.

...

The town of Walnut Grove was eerily silent as the two quickly scampered across the bridge, keeping a close eye on their surroundings. Jenny bit her bottom lip as they made their way closer to Doctor Baker's office. The first person they noticed was Randall, who looked just as bad as Jenny did, maybe even worse.

"Hi Randall," Jenny greeted him. He looked startled as his head shot up. He eyed them cautiously, "Jenny, and Carter? What are you two doing here?"

Jeb frowned, "Jenny needs to see Elizabeth. I'm surprised you're still here, actually. I didn't know you were close with them."

Randall looked offended, "Elizabeth...I love her."

Jenny gaped at him, "You love Elizabeth?"

"That's what I said, didn't - " Randall caught Jeb's stern look, "Alright, I'm sorry. I've been on edge all afternoon. Jenny, you know how important she is to me. I couldn't leave. I'm going to stay here as long as I can."

Jenny exhaled shakily, "But is she - "

"She'll be alright," Randall said quickly, "And so will her Ma."

Jenny looked slightly relieved as she turned to look at Jeb for the first time since they got there, "I think I'm ready to see her." Jeb nodded at her encouragingly and led her to the door. His hand was grasped around hers until she was inside and it was no longer possible.

He turned back to find Randall watching him with an amused grin, "And I thought I was the only one that was smitten."

"Huh?" Jeb narrowed his eyes.

"Yes Randall, not huh," the older boy smirked as he imitated Ms. Plum whenever she caught him talking to Jenny.

"Shut up. I'm not in the mood."

"You think I am?" Randall asked incredulously. For a fifteen year old he was very tall and strong, but Jeb didn't let that intimidate him, "I don't know Randall, you seem pretty happy all of a sudden."

Randall ignored him, "Are you going to ask her to be your beau?"

"Land sakes!" Jeb felt like he was talking to another Mr. Edwards, "Jenny and I are friends. Yes, I care for her. More than anyone will ever know, but she is definitely not my beau."

"Suit yourself," Randall took a seat on the porch steps and rested his hands on his forehead. Jeb watched him for a moment before rolling his eyes and resting his back against a horse post. He debated going to the Mercantile to see if he could talk to Willie but decided against it. It was risky enough going through town when his parents forbade him to. He just had to keep reminding himself that it was all for Jenny, that way he wouldn't feel so guilty.

"Carter?"

Jeb turned to look at Randall, who was eyeing him curiously, "How did you feel when you rescued Jenny from the pond?"

"How did you know that?" Jeb blurted out, his hands began to ball into fists.

Randall chuckled, "Relax Carter, I know your little secret about not being able to swim. You forget, I love Elizabeth and her best friend just so happens to be Jenny herself. You could say I have a way of knowing things."

"Look, first of all, I do know how to swim. Second, I'm not talking about what happened with Jenny. She's changed and if you want to hear more then you'll have to ask her yourself."

"Oh but Carter, you're missing my point. I'm not talking about Jenny. I'm talking about you."

Jeb bit his bottom lip as he looked off into the distance, trying to ignore Randall's smoldering gaze. He shifted uncomfortably as he thought of the right words to describe how he felt. The last time he recalled talking about the incident was with Jenny when she decided to come back to school that following Monday. He and Jenny decided it would be best if they just forgot about what happened. The two of them had progressively become closer to each other throughout the rest of spring, summer, and the beginning of fall. She understood that he saved her because she was his good friend, but was there more to it?

He never really talked about his feelings towards the incident with anyone else, let alone another guy who he barely knew. He never even brought it up with Jason.

"I know more than you think, Carter," Randall said, breaking the trance. "Only hours ago, I felt like I was in your place. After I helped gather Elizabeth and her Ma into Doc's office, I spent a mere few minutes just holding Elizabeth. I feared the time when I had to let her go because I didn't know if that would be the last time we touched."

Randall smirked as Jeb shifted uncomfortably, "Did you feel that way, Carter? Did you feel a close connection with Jenny after you pulled her from the pond? Did you feel deep down that you gained a new desire to protect her? To be her best friend? To hold her? To kiss - "

"Randall. Shut. Up. What if someone hears you?!" Jeb gritted his teeth.

"You're not a little boy anymore."

"I know I'm not!"

"Then what's the problem? You can't tell her how you feel? Because the way I see it, life is short. You never know when something unexpected will happen," Randall said, his demeanor slowly changing back to hopelessness.

"Look Randall, I understand where you're coming from. But I'm just not ready yet, I need to find myself. I need," he sighed, "I need to love myself."

Randall looked at him in an almost disbelieving way, "What do you mean 'love yourself?' Carter, you're like the most confident, friendly, albeit self-absorbed guy I know! Don't take this the wrong way," he said quickly, "But you're not really that bad looking either."

Jeb furrowed his brow. They were not having this conversation.

"Alright, Carter," Randall threw his hands up, "I may not be a psychic, but let me tell you this. If you really want to put your feelings for Jenny to the test, another lad will come around sooner or later and it'll be up to you whether or not you want to step in or not before she's gone."

"Land sakes you idiot! She's only ten!"

"And a pretty one if I may add. Just because the love of my life is only feet away from me, doesn't mean I don't think other girls are a catch. Willie Oleson thinks Jenny is pretty."

Jeb felt his face get hot as he turned away from the older boy, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing him uneasy. It was one thing to talk about other pretty girls in their class, but Jenny was his friend, his closest friend. Just hearing others boys talk about her in an overly friendly way was enough to make him use a baseball bat against them.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Carter." Randall put a hand on Jeb's shoulder, "You need to give yourself more credit. Just remember what I said, there will come a time when you need to tell her how you feel - and denying it won't help you."

Jeb sighed as he looked upwards at the sky. Slowly, rain drops were starting to fall. The two continued to stand by Doctor Baker's door as they absentmindedly watched the ground become covered in droplets of rain.

"I'm afraid."

Randall looked at him curiously, "Of?"

"What if she doesn't like me in that way? What if I can't make her happy?"

The older boy almost doubled over, "Are you insane? Do you not see how you great you make her feel? It shows! She smiles more around you than anyone else? And who does she go to when she's sad and needs to be cheered up?"

He shrugged.

"You! Damn it!" Jeb gasped at Randall's language, "Don't act so surprised little one, you learn new words everyday. You should say it more often, it's a good stress reliever. Just not around girls."

Jeb fought the urge to roll his eyes as Randall returned to leaning against the post, watching the sky as the rain fell harder.

"Just remember what I said," Randall shut his eyes as he began to breathe slowly, looking relaxed for the first time since Jeb saw him.

He realized that he would have to make changes in his life; attitude, looks, or whatever it took. He would make Jenny see that he was grown up, that no other boy could take his place as her best friend. Maybe he did fancy her a little, he didn't quite know. What he felt for Jenny was something that he never felt for anyone else. He didn't know what it was, but it was something good.

Something he needed.

A/N: Thank you for reading :D