Summary: An AU story, set in the Montana ranch of newly-weds Mr and Mrs Taylor. What will happen as Mac and Stella and their new employees, Danny Messer and Lindsay Monroe start their new lives? - SMacked, DL, FA

Author's note: Hey, it's lily moonlight and Brinchen86. Because we love AU fics so much, we decided to write one together. This one here is set in the 19th century. Leaving their old lives behind, Mac and Stella buy an old farm in Montana. Soon two new employees arrive; Danny and Lindsay, who are also looking for a fresh start. Meanwhile Flack and Jessica are busy with taking care of the town's shop and also Sid, Hawkes and Adam will find their place in the story. Find out what happens to all our favourite characters as they find that life in Montana holds more surprises and challenges than they ever imagined.

Disclaimer: We don't own anyone or anything.

Rating: K+

The road was long; long and dusty and dry. They had been traveling on it since the rising of the sun in a flood of yellow light spilling across the land and the sky, and now the sun was beginning its descent into the blood red clouds of late evening. The huge and empty landscape surrounding them was bathed in red and the lingering heat of the day made the dirt road shimmer and snake away in front of them. Mac looked ahead and rubbed his eyes in weariness, feeling the vastness of the sky pressing down on him, until he saw the smallest dot of something waver into existence on the horizon. At that sight, a surge of energy passed through him. Stella, sleeping with her head on his shoulder, stirred suddenly as the wagon jolted over a rut in the road. Transferring the reins to one hand, Mac wrapped his arm round her, trying to move her into a more comfortable position, but her eyes were already opening, and she sat herself up and blinked hazily.

"You all right?" She asked him in a sleepy voice.

Mac smiled at her, and pointed to the dot on the horizon that was becoming clearer and taking shape into something, "More than all right, Stell. See that? Reckon we aren't too far now."
She peered towards where he indicated, and a smile spread across her face, "Is that really what I think it is? Is that the place?"

He grinned, "Gotta be; we're on the right road, and there aren't any other places out here. Ours is the only homestead for miles, so the agent said."

"How far then? We got much further?" Shading her eyes with her hand, Stella leaned so far forward from the seat, that Mac grabbed hold of the back of her dress.

"Hey! Don't you be falling out!" He exclaimed, "Can't have any accidents before we've even reached our new home."

Stella sat back with a grin, fully awake now, and patted his leg, "Don't you be worrying! No way I'm falling out. Not when I'm excited to be so close!"

"Hold onto that excitement till we reach there, we got another half hour to go I reckon." He smiled softly at his wife as she gave him a kiss and than sat back with a sigh of contentment. Mac allowed himself a few seconds to gaze at her flushed cheeks and her hands pressed together as they did when she was excited, and then he turned back to the road, and the shape that was becoming clearer and clearer with each step their horses took.

Half an hour later, they rounded a bend in the road and came in sight of an old wooden gate leaning drunkenly on broken hinges, and an overgrown path; steep and barely wide enough for their wagon to pass along. He negotiated it carefully, Stella's hand on his arm the whole time, guiding the horses with him, and they made their way slowly, the wagon bumping and swaying, and their possessions rattling about inside it. He didn't miss Stella's wince at the sound of something smashing, and hoped for her sake that it wasn't one of the precious pieces of dinner service that had been their most prized wedding gift. Finally, they reached the end of the drive and a cluster of tumbledown buildings, surrounded by wooden fencing, met their eyes.

The horses slowed to a stop and everything fell into stillness. They sat in silence, drinking in the scene; the sounds of crickets chirping, the scents of evening cool in the air and the last fingers of the sun warming their faces. A hush fell around the old ranch that was their new home, and neither could speak for some time.

In the centre of the homestead was a farm house; built of wood and clapboard, with a tiled roof, some of which was slipping. Two of the windows had broken panes, smashed into spider web cracks, and the rest were festooned with dust and debris. Pieces of wood, old items of riding equipment, and mouldy hay bales lay flung about, and weeds were almost smothering the path to the front door. Thick clumps of sagebrush and grasses swayed in the breeze and a swirl of pollen blew around them as they sat and took everything in.

It was Stella who broke the silence; with a gulp in her voice, she tugged at Mac's sleeve, and drew her eyes to him, "Guess we'd better jump down and start unpacking everything, huh? Seeing as we're here and it's getting late."

Mac gripped her hand in his, squeezing it tight, "Sounds a good plan to me."

With a creaking of stiff muscles, he leaped down, and then as Stella moved to follow his actions, he reached up, caught her round the waist and lifted her, swinging her round before setting her down on the ground with a grin on his face, "Guess I ought to be carrying you over the threshold of our new home, what do you say?"

"Mac!" She hit him lightly on the arm, but her eyes were sparkling with laughter. Taking a step forward, she put her hands on her hips and surveyed the house, then she turned to her husband with a smile lighting up her tired features, "Can hardly believe it, that we're here and this is real!"

Mac smiled down at her, and kissed her cheek softly, before tucking a curl of hair that had tumbled down from the loose twist on top of her head behind her ear, "Of course it's real, Stell. As real as you and me. I always knew we'd make it. This is what we wanted, so we made it happen."

For a moment, she looked wistful, and Mac squeezed her hand, "What are you thinking?" His arm slipped round her waist, drawing her closer to him.

Stella sighed and turned to face him, the last rays of the setting sun catching in her curls, bringing out the glints of gold. Mac's breath caught in his chest as he gazed at her, and marvelled again that they were here, together, after all they had been through such a short time ago.

As if reading his thoughts, Stella ran her hand through his short crop of hair and laid her hand against his cheek, "I was just thinking about everything that happened before we made it here. Hard times, Mac. I'm hoping they're all behind us now, and we've got a bright future ahead of us out here." A shadow crossed her face, "Away from everything back East."

He laid his hand over hers, keeping it against his face, and pulled her closer to him so they were pressed together, feeling their hearts beat in unison, "We're here, we've got our new home, and we've got our new lives, together. Whatever the future holds, we've gotta remember that, Stella. I reckon the two of us can face anything so long as we've got each other."

His words had the effect he wanted as her smile reappeared and she tipped her head back to look at him, with her eyes shining again, "Reckon you're right. This is the first day of the rest of our lives."

"I'll be back soon, I promise," Lindsay whispered. Smiling warmly, she ran her hands through the thick, brown mane of Ranger, her beloved horse. Like always, she couldn't tear her eyes away from his; those beautiful, gentle brown eyes. It felt like he could gaze right into her mind, knowing exactly what she was thinking, what she was feeling. Like he understood her.

Still she could remember how she had seen him for the first time, back then still so young, only a couple of years old. It had been on a horse market, her first time ever. How excited she had been when her father had allowed her to join him, how thrilled she had been when on their way to the market he had told her he would buy her her own horse. The moment they had arrived at the busy market, with yelling salesmen everywhere, Ranger had caught her attention. No one had really wanted to buy the poor horse, mainly because he didn't even accept people touching him. His eyes though, they had caught Lindsay's attention. Possibly he was as nervous as her. Despite what her father had told her, she had approached him, all the time softly talking to him. It had been her who had made the impossible possible; Ranger hadn't just allowed her to touch, he had even allowed her to mount him.

This day, years in the past, had been the time she had decided she didn't want any other horse but Ranger. She had pleaded and discussed until her father, not without rolling his eyes at her, had agreed to buy him. Now, years later, he was her constant companion. Wherever she went, Ranger was with her. The horse with the warm, brown eyes gave her the feeling someone understood her. Something she wasn't used to when it came to her family.

"Why can't I just stay here all day?" she said quietly, snuggling her face into his warm fur. Once again she felt the lump in her throat; an all too familiar feeling. It wasn't her fault she wasn't like her sisters; all women who enjoyed staying at home, who enjoyed discussion with her mother, about topics every housewife liked to discuss. But this wasn't her. Lindsay didn't like to talk about recipes for meals they could cook for her father and brothers. She didn't like to talk about how to get dirt out of clothes best. She was different and with every year she realised that what her family had planned for her wasn't what she wanted herself.

"You'll see, one day we'll be able to make our dream come true," she said. Ranger looked back at her, once again seeming to understand her perfectly. Many times she had told him about her plans. Plans that wouldn't please her parents but her. Lindsay wasn't willing to do what she was supposed to do. She had three sisters and four brothers. There were enough people who'd be able to take care of her parents' farm one day. But this wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to stay, the farm being handed over to her without her doing anything for it. Lindsay wanted to work. She wanted to create something on her own, with her own hands, no matter how many hours of work this cost. Since she could think she was like this; always having the dream of being independent, standing on her own feet. Since she could think her family had shaken their heads at her, amused by the girl's dreams that in their eyes would never come true.

Having a strong will and being a stubborn girl, those reactions only caused her wish to increase. One day she wanted to be independent. She couldn't imagine herself leaving the state yet. Montana was her home and possibly always would be. She loved the quiet of the country, the impressive sight of the mountains, the deep blue lakes, sparkling in the sun like thousands of diamonds, the sound of birds singing in the trees, the fresh smell that was so unique and always gave her a small taste of what it meant to be free. This didn't change that she couldn't imagine herself staying on her parents' farm forever.

"What do you think? Will they get mad at me when I'll tell them our news?" she asked Ranger. Leaning against the wooden door of his stable, she watched him. Her parents surely wouldn't be amused when they'd find out she had applied for a job on another ranch, miles away from theirs. She could already hear their questions; if she wanted to work on a ranch, why not staying at home? She knew they wouldn't understand her motives; that it didn't have to do with the job but with the fact she was doing something on her own, not something people had planned for her. She'd have to prove she was good if she didn't want to lose her job. It would be a challenge; exactly what she was looking for.

"Wish me luck," Lindsay said then, placing a soft kiss into the horse's fur. Then she left the barn again. Stepping through the large, wooden door, she stopped for a moment. Like always, the view took her breath away. Montana was a beautiful state, in Lindsay's opinion surely the most beautiful one of the whole country. Right in front of her, the endlessly long wheat fields reached the bottom of the mighty mountains in the distance, swaying in the light, warm breeze. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the mountains, colouring the surrounding area in a beautiful, almost mystic reddish colour. She took a deep breath of the fresh air, a smile on her face. She could almost smell the adventure that was awaiting her and no one would be able to convince her from the opposite.

Danny was staring into the mirror in front of him for who knew how long already. His hands were resting on the old, wooden surface of the commode, his arms carrying the weight of his exhausted, aching body. The blurry image in the dusky mirror was perfectly fitting to his inner shape. Blinking a few times, he stared at the bruised up face of his own, one eye slightly swollen, blood dripping from a fresh wound above the other eyes, leaving marks on the dark wood of the commode. His body was shaking. A strong anger was rushing through his muscles, causing him to need his entire willpower to not smash his hand into the mirror. His hands clenched into fists, his eyes squeezed shut. He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself down again.

But the image in the mirror stayed the same. Releasing a deep, painful sigh, Danny turned his eyes away from his own appearance. Quickly he took a piece of cloth from the top drawer of the commode, wetted it in the small bowl in front of the mirror and pressed it against his bleeding wound, hissing at the sharp pain. Still shivering, he made his way over to the small window above his bed, the floorboards squealing under his heavy boots. With a painful groan, he knelt down on his bed, just enough so he could sit but still look out of the window. The pale sunlight was burning in his eyes and he had to narrow them to look out onto the busy streets below. Dusk was preventing most of the sunshine from finding its way into his bedroom. He always kept his window closed, not wanting the dirty air to get into his small room, covering the walls with the dark dusk of the factories.

"Dammit," Danny cursed, shaking his head. He didn't understand why he had kept on bothering himself with those tiring circumstances. A city that was so busy, so loud, so dirty. Family members who entertained a good relationship to a pretty decent bunch of criminals. A brother who brought himself into trouble over and over again, needing his younger brother's help then. And what did he get for helping him out over and over again? Right, he got beaten up by strangers, just because he had wanted to support his brother. Or because he had wanted to help his family. Or because of no reason at all. It was tiring, exhausting and he had enough of it. He had enough of this way of life, had enough of this dirty, boring life in a city where no one cared about him at all. He needed a fresh start, far away from home. A fresh start somewhere nowhere, where no one of those people who caused so much trouble could find him. Like a lonely ranch in Montana.

"Don't you start to wallow in self pity now," he hissed at himself. "That ain't gonna happen. It's your own fault you didn't come up with that earlier."

Carefully he crawled away from the window and lay down across his bed, which squealed at every movement. Groaning at the pain that shot through his body, coming from the bruises that covered most parts of his skin, he reached over to the tiny, old table next to his bed. Almost gently he took the envelope into his hands before he sat up straight again, resting against the metal frame of his bed. Ignoring the pain the hard bar caused while being pressed against his back, he examined the small, white letter. Well, white didn't quite describe its colour; since it had arrived at his place, its formally bright colour had changed into a light greyish one now from being opened over and over again. This envelope contained a letter; a letter that had the answer for all his problems. Danny was convinced about that.

With a smile Danny fished the folded paper out of the envelope, like so many times before reading it again, taking in every single word. In only a couple of weeks, he would start his new job. A job far away from the city, on a lonely ranch in Montana. Applying for the job, he had never really expected to get an answer. Who was going to employ a man from the city who had no idea what it meant to work on a farm day in and day out? Who had no idea how it was like to live in the endless, dusky landscape of the Mid Western state? Obviously the couple that owned the ranch hadn't agreed with his opinion.

Closing his eyes, Danny took a deep breath. Relieved he found himself no longer angry. The prospect of moving soon, leaving his old life and all those problems behind caused him to shiver in joy. Images of endlessly long wheat fields, of strong mountains with snowy tops, of glistering, deep blue lakes found their way into his mind. It seemed like he could almost smell it; the smell of hay, of animals, of fir trees and fresh, wet earth after a rain shower. The smell of freedom. Only a few more weeks and he'd be working on a ranch, in an area like this where everything was so different from what he was used to. It was an adventure; an adventure he was eager to experience, excited about what was awaiting him.

"Have a nice day," Jessica said, handing the small paperbag with the good the customer had bought, over to him, giving him a friendly smile. She watching him carry it through the shop, carefully to not drop the well filled bag. She already could see it coming; her customer would struggle with opening the door to leave the store again. Quickly she followed him, reaching the door before him and opened it. "Allow me to help you with that."

The old man smiled up at her, nodding gratefully. "Thank you, Miss."

"You're welcome," Jessica replied. Smiling, she watched the old man balancing his bag out of the shop. She made sure he managed the few steps in front of the entrance door. While her customer slowly made his way across the dry, dusky street, she remained standing in the doorway for a moment. It was a beautiful afternoon in spring, the birds were singing in the trees, a light, warm breeze was blowing, gently creeping under her dress. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh smell that was so unique for a spring day in Montana. Jessica loved spring, when the trees were green again, when the flowers started to bloom. How much she loved walking around the town, seeing flowers everywhere. Still with a smile on her face, she headed back into the store and closed the door again, causing the tiny doorbell attached to the doorframe to make a little noise. When she turned around, she almost jumped when she realised she wasn't alone in the store anymore.

"Don!" she exclaimed, pressing one hand against her chest. "Don't you scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry," Flack apologized, a broad smile on his face. "Have you been daydreaming again, Miss Jessica?"

Jessica immediately felt herself blushing. Flack knew her too well. Then again this was no surprise; they were working together all day for years now. Still she could recall the day when Don Flack had arrived, looking for a job to start his new life in a town with the fitting name 'Hope'. Her father had offered him to work in his store for a while until he'd find another job. Years had passed since this day and now Mr. Angell was convinced he couldn't be happier with his employee; as a worker but also as a loving partner for his daughter.

"I'm just enjoying the beauty of the day," Jessica answered.

"I know how much you love this season, Miss Jessica," he said softly, giving her his warmest smile. "Spring and all the beautiful flowers it brings with it. It ain't surprising me you're daydreaming, my love."

Jessica's face redden more at the loving words. "Well, I reckon we might go back to work now. Only a question of time until new customers will arrive and they won't gonna find us chatting like this."

"You're right, Miss Jessica," Flack answered, still smiling at her. "Like always."