Amelia Lawson had been riding all day through the winding trails in the lower foothills of the Rockies, which opened up into a valley. She glanced back to make sure that Pearl was following her, keeping pace as they crossed over the most treacherous rock that threaten to chip away at their horses' hooves.

"Are we almost there?"

Amelia looked around for a familiar landmark but didn't find anything. She'd only been here to check out a silver mining town with her ex-husband Pierce who'd been trying to look for the next get rich quick scheme.

"I don't know…Colorado Springs should be in the next valley over," she said, "We should get a view down on it after we ride up that trail over there."

Pearl nodded and urged her horse on forward. They were trying to make good time since they lost the men pursuing them.

No sign of the in the past half day and Amelia hoped they'd finally lost them but she couldn't afford to lower her guard. She'd been the one who had talked Pearl into leaving Reno with her. The young woman who was about the age that Amelia had been when she'd gotten married had been sold off by her legal guardians to a man who owned and ran a local brothel.

She'd helped the girl pack her things and they'd slipped out in the dead of night. Not quickly enough as it hadn't taken Kingston that long to get the crooked sheriff to send a posse out after the two of them. Amelia knew if his men caught up to them, they'd stop at nothing to take Pearl back.

She couldn't let that happen…just the thought made her urge her horse on faster telling Pearl they had to keep moving.

They didn't see the shadow ahead of them, the one hiding a gang of men on horseback. Not until it was too late.

Pearl stood next to the girl with the long blonde hair who called herself Colleen Cooper. She was helping an older woman with reddish dark hair who had called herself a doctor and had been tending to Amelia through the night.

"When is she going to wake up?"

The older woman looked at her and smiled.

"We won't know for a while," she said, "She suffered a serious blow to the head from her run in with the gang…if Jake and Hank hadn't scared them off…"

The woman didn't finish. She gestured to the wash bowl at the back of the clinic.

"Why don't you clean yourself up," she said, "Colleen will take you to our house and you'll stay there for now."

"Really I can't…"

The woman rested a hand on one of her shoulders.

"Really it's no trouble at all. There's plenty of room and I'll be here at the clinic keeping an eye on her."

Pearl sighed.

"It's all my fault…she was just trying to help me," she said, "She's not going to die is she?"

"I don't know…she's stable now and resting…but there's no telling if there's any damage that was done and if it's permanent."

Pearl didn't want to think about that.

"Do you know who she is?"

The girl shrugged.

"She called herself Amelia…," she said, "She showed up in town back in Reno a few weeks ago."

"Okay, that's some place to start…I'll talk to Horace."

An older woman walked into the clinic. The doctor looked over at her.

"Barbara what are you doing here?"

The woman sighed.

"There's a town meeting at Loren's store on the festival," she said, "Jake and Hank nearly came to blows over whether or not the saloon girls will be able to participate."

The doctor put her stethoscope down.

"This is supposed to be an event which brings us together not puts us in separate corners."

"I know…maybe you should come the meeting when you're done here."

The doctor shook her head.

"I have work to do here and I'm going to have to stay with her," she said, "Sully will have to look after Brian and Katie. It'll have to go on without me."

"Who is she?"

The doctor shrugged.

"I don't know yet…Hank and some of his men found her and Pearl here in the canyon. They were ambushed by outlaws."

Barbara shook her head.

"They've been more brazen these days."

The doctor called over to Colleen who left the patient.

"Why don't you take Pearl here with you when you pick up Brian at school," she said, "and take Katie with you?"

Her daughter nodded and went to pick up the toddler.

"You coming home tonight?"

The doctor hedged.

"Probably not…she won't wake up until the morning at earliest."

Colleen nodded and took Katie out of the clinic. Barbara turned to the doctor.

"I'd better head back but if you need anything just let me know," she said, "Grace will bring you some food."

Dr. Michaela Quinn nodded as she returned to monitoring the unconscious woman on the bed.

Reno

Ethan had checked in at the hotel but there was no sign that Amelia had ever been there. She had wired him out of the blue saying that she was in Reno and wanted to see him. He hadn't thought twice about it and had Charlie and Dakota take over at the marshal's office while he was gone.

The hotel manager said that she'd been staying there for several weeks but it had been several days since he'd last seen her.

"She didn't check out but she might have left…"

Ethan didn't think it'd make much sense that she wired him and then decided to disappear. He would have to look for her and he'd start with some nearby locations before heading to the marshal's office.

He headed on out of the hotel to start looking.

Amelia found herself riding through the meadows shrouded by fog all around her. So impermeable she couldn't see where she was going and where she'd been. Behind her were the sounds of hoof beats and men yelling. She knew she had to get away from them.

So she urged her horse on even faster but the men who followed her began to close in. Then she looked up in front of her.

The outline of a man emerged right in front of her…