Rango was slowly roused from his slumber by a bright light and very comfortable warmth. Groggily, he blinked his eyes a few times, letting his vision clear up. The light and warmth that had woken him was the sun shining through the window on the wall to the right of the bed. It was the only window in Beans' bedroom. The sun had started rising, and the sky was as blue as always, so he figured it was about eight in the morning.

He rolled around to the other side of the bed to see if Beans was still sleeping, but was shocked to see her gone, the blanket sloppily folded back from when she must have gotten up.

She must have gotten up early to go take care of the animals in the barn, Rango thought. She did say a few times that she has to get up earlier for that. I better get up too or she'll think I'm lazy.

He sat up, and stretched out his arms with a groan, and then licked his dry mouth. The sweet aftertaste from the mosquito had gone, and was replaced by the familiar taste of his own spit he always had in the morning. When he was done stretching, he sat up more, turned his legs to the side of the bed, half sliding and half hopping out of the bed.

The night before, he was too tired to have a good look at the room, plus the room was too dark. In the sunlight, he got a better look around. Beans' bedroom looked about the same as the rest of her house, with the same aging wood, but still nicely dusted and well-kept.

The bed he and Beans had slept in was about as wide as her wagon, just big enough for two, with not much personal space, propped up on old wooden legs. The soft sheets, fluffy pillow and hand-sewn red quilt were all very comfortable last night. Beside the bed, on his side, was an old wooden drawer where a melting candle rested.

There was an old tan dresser of a similar material propped against the wall opposite of the window, probably holding Beans' clothes. Above dresser was an oval shaped mirror, about the size of a window, with an old wooden frame. On the dresser itself was an old brass jewelery box, and another picture frame holding another picture of Beans' family, the same one Rango had seen downstairs.

Rango figured that in the jewelery box was the emerald ring that Beans' dad gave her mom when they were married. The box also must have held her mom's earrings and necklace that she said she was fond of. Beans had told him about these things. She said that they were worth a lot of money. How much, exactly, he did not remember. She had said that she almost sold one of them to better support the ranch during the drought, but decided against it.

Rango was tempted to open the box and take a look at the said jewelery, but decided it would be better to wait and ask Beans' permission to see.

Suddenly, a delicious smell broke into Rango's thoughts. It was a warm, buttery, rich, and had a sweet aroma to it. He also smelled another warm smell, though it was thick and bitter. The latter must have been coffee.

"Hun! Breakfast's almost done!" Beans' voice shouted up.

"Huh? Oh! Coming!" Rango called back down. He smiled as he replayed 'hun' in his head. He patted down his wrinkly shirt and straightened out his collar to look neater. His pants lay on the floor just under the bed. He ran over to them and slipped them back up over his boxers.

Rango hopped down the stairs, a happy pep in his step. At the bottom, he turned through the door into the kitchen. Beans was standing over the stove, holding the handle of a pan filled with a tasty-looking hotcake cooking. Also on the stove was a tall metal pitcher with a lid. It must have had the coffee Rango had smelled.

"Mornin' sweety," Rango walked on up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Before he turned back, she turned her head and gave him a quick kiss on the nose.

"Uh, what time did you get up?" He asked.

"Oh, 'bout two hours ago." She replied, turning back to the pan. "Gotta get up early to take care of them animals, you know. They're outside in the fields. Flapjack's taking care-o them."

"Oh, he's back already?"

"Yep. Came in about an hour ago. Seven o'clock sharp, as always."

"Wow, that's pretty cool, that he's back up so early." Now Rango felt more guilty for sleeping in late. "Oh, uh- thanks for letting me sleep in, by the way."

"Sure, but don't get too use to it." She poked the hotcake with her spatula. "Okey-doke, looks like its ready."

Oh, boy! Another one of her home-cooked meals! Rango screamed with glee in his mind. "Well, it sure smells ready!" He said out loud.

"Can ya get the coffee there?"

"Sure." He reached around her and picked up the coffee pitcher by the warm handle.

He followed her over to the dining room table, to the same spot he sat at last night. The table had been all cleaned up from last night, and where the couple had each sat, now was a steaming plate of hotcakes, some un-prickled cactus fruits on the side, all drizzled in some brown syrup. Sunlight was shining through the window to the center of the table, lightening the room some more. There was another pitcher at the center of the table, probably for the syrup. A mug sat beside each plate for coffee.

Using the spatula, Beans slid the last hotcake from the pan onto Rango's plate as he poured the coffee. Then, she turned back towards the kitchen to deliver the pan to the sink.

Rango sat down at his seat after setting down the coffee pitcher. The gourmet that sat before him looked irresistible. He willed Beans to come back to the seat so they could dig in.

Within a few more minutes, the couple were sitting down, and enjoying the sweet, delicious breakfast that Beans had made for them. Between the two, it was hard to tell which meal was better, the breakfast, or the dinner from the night before.

"How's the hotcakes?" Beans asked at one point.

"Deeee-lish!" Rango cheered. "It's so sweet and fluffy. Perfect thing to start any day with. Your cooking is to die for, Beans. Seriously."

"Thanks, hun." Beans smiled at him, and lowered her fork for a minute.

As he looked up at her smiling face though, he could see a slight ting of sadness in her eyes. What was wrong? What could have possibly started making her feel down now?

"What's the matter?" He asked, suddenly more serious.

"Huh?" She blinked, and in an instant, the sad look in her eyes was almost gone. "Oh, its... it ain't nothin'." She looked back down at her plate and took another bite of her hotcakes.

"Beans, honey, come on." Rango pleaded. "You can tell me anything."

She looked back up at him. "Oh, well... it's just that this is how my Daddy liked his hotcakes. Slightly overdone, with a little maple syrup and cactus fruit. He liked his coffee black though, no creme. I remember when he, Momma and I would sit down together for breakfasts like this. That's all it is." She took another piece of cactus fruit on her fork, and popped it into her mouth.

Rango put his fork down. "Beans, sweety, I know you miss your parents. But you remember what you told me last night? How you were happy? How not matter how hard times got, you always seemed to pull through? How you all loved each other?

She was looking at him the whole time. She took a quick sip of coffee.

"Now, I know your Daddy had his shortcomings, but you said it yourself: overall, he was a great man, right?"

"Yeah... He was."

"I'm sure he's happy, looking down on you from Heaven, watching you enjoy your breakfasts with your handsome boyfriend. Wouldn't ya say?"

Beans' smile became even wider, especially after he said boyfriend.

"Thanks, Rango." She took another sip of coffee.

"Anything to see your beautiful smile." He took another bite of his hotcakes before having a sip of coffee.

The couple took another minute to enjoy the food before Beans spoke up again.

"You know, Rango, I'm really glad you came over last night."

"Me too. Last night was fantastic."

Beans giggled a little as she remembered last night. "You did a great job out with the animals last night, first off."

"Oh, thanks. I'm glad Buck likes me."

They both got a good laugh out of that.

"You did good with the pigs n' hamsters too. They like you for sure now."

"Thanks. Friendly little critters they are." Rango was so grateful last night that those animals gave him much less trouble than Buck did.

"Now, here's what I was thinking," Beans continued, this time a little more seriously. "I was thinking you could move out of your run-down little place in the Sheriff's office, and live up with me on the ranch here. How does that sound?"

Rango stopped eating for a moment and turned to Beans. "Woah! Really? You mean it?"

"Yep."

Rango felt a jolt of excitement in him. "That sounds fantastic. Sure. I'd love to do that."

"Think about it," Beans continued. "You helping me and Flapjack with the animals, having home-cooked meals like these every day, getting to spend more time with me..."

Rango pictured this life that Beans was describing for him. It sounded like absolute paradise. He may have to wake up earlier and maybe get a few more chores around the place, but he could handle that. It was no big deal.

"Only thing is what about my job at the town. Dirt needs its Sheriff, after all."

"Oh, don't worry. I could drive you up every day for when I need to get to Town. And some nights, if you really need to, you can still stay at your office for nights."

"Okay then. Sounds like a great idea. Let's do it."

"Great. We'll grab your stuff on our way into town today and bring it home tonight."

Rango was about to answer, when he suddenly remembered another thing. "Hey, Beans, hun, actually, ya think we can wait for tomorrow for me to move in? See, the Bird and the guys invited me to their poker night."

"Oh, sure thing. No problem."

"Super!"

"Now, lets finish up here. When we're done, we'll just check on the animals one last time before heading out."

Rango gulped. He was still nervous about facing Buck again. But he was sure everything would be okay in the end.

After another few minutes,the food was all eaten up. The couple cleared off the table and washed up the dishes quick. Rango got his hat, vest, and belt from the rack before before they headed outside.

A few hours later, Beans' cart pulled up into the familiar town of Dirt. The heat in the air was far less brutal than the day before. Most of the citizens of the town were wandering about the streets, going about their business. Beans had sold all of what she had to sell the day before. Now it was time to spend the money she earned on some supplies for the ranch. She had said she needed some new horseshoes, some more rice, and a few other knick-knacks and goodies.

Rango was feeling pretty good. Thankfully, he had had no trouble with Buck that morning, and the other animals had been really friendly towards him. They all seemed to like him by now already. He figured there was something special about him that way, the way the animals all warmed up to him so quick. He was confident that in time, Buck would warm up to him too.

"So, we'll each just get to work here, then meet up at the end of the day?" He asked his lady friend at the reins.

"Yep. That's the plan, pretty much." And then she gave a slight smirk. "Maybe I'll even have you handle the reins."

"Sure, why not?" He smiled.

Suddenly, a speckled roadrunner stampeded towards them, and came to a quick halt right before the cart. Riding the bird was a familiar crow dressed in an Indian-style cloak.

"Rango, sir! Thank goodness! You come right on time!" exclaimed Wounded Bird.

"Woah! Bird!" Rango cried out. He sensed the urgency in his partner's voice. "Something wrong, partner?"

"There's trouble. Bad Bill and his gang are on their way to rob the water train coming in from Armadillo Hills."

Rango stood up, ready to spring into action "Where'd you hear that? Did the wind tell you or something?"

"No. They were in the saloon just now talking about it, and I overheard them from outside."

"Oh... Well... good work!" Rango always felt awkward whenever he related one of the many stereotypes about Indians to Bird. He tried to ignore those mistakes and act around them, since Bird never seemed to comment on them.

He hopped down from the cart. "Well, sounds like we got work to do!"

"Yes. Finally, some action!" Bird boomed. "Go mount up. I meet you on the outskirts." And with that, Bird whipped his reins, and his roadrunner, Spirit his name was, dashed forth towards the outskirts.

Barely a minute later, Rango lurched out of the stables, riding his fine white-feathered roadrunner, Excelsior. They dashed off in the direction Bird had headed off in, past the many pedestrians who gladly cleared out of the way of the charging roadrunner.

He stopped by Beans' cart for a second though. To his surprise, she had not gotten out yet. Spoons and Waffles were standing by the cart too, talking to her.

"So, I'll see ya later?" He checked with her, leaning in to hear her answer.

"Yep. You take care now, hun." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.

"Go give 'em hell, Rango!" Spoons cheered.

"Yeah! But be careful!" Waffles added, "Tonights still Poker Night!"

"I'm lookin' forward to it, guys!" Rango nodded to them. "I'll see all of you tonight!" He turned back to the road up ahead. He kicked his spurs ever so gently into his bird's sides, and held the reins.

"Ride like the wind, Excelsior!" He cried.

Excelsior squawked, and charged ahead.

Rango held on to the straps, and felt the cool wind in his face. At one point, his hat almost flew off, but he caught it before it could slip off his head. In a matter of seconds, they were out of the town, where the wind picked up more.
As he promised, Wounded Bird and Spirit were out there, waiting for them. As soon as they were close enough, they charged off ahead, heading straight for their destination, eyes on the prize, ready to catch a crook.

"So," Bird asked when they were riding close and steadily enough to talk, "how was your night last night?"

"One of the finest of my life, Bird," Rango answered him with a smile on his face. "I'm tellin' ya, Beans is somethin' else!"

The End

Author's Notes: Well, that's the end of this story. I hope everyone enjoyed it, and I'm sorry I had to hold out on everyone for so long! I'm so happy and proud that I finally finished one of my stories that I've been working on that are decently long.

You want to know something interesting? I actually used this story for a creative writing assignment. That is what gave me the extra push I needed to finish here.

Well, I'll see you around, my fellow Rango fans!