Amelia felt the outlaws shove her back in the hotel with the other hostages. One moment they'd been planning on taking her with them while they rode out of Paradise. No doubt to try to discourage anyone from following.

The next, a bunch of men on horseback had arrived which of course caused the outlaws to scrap that plan.

She went to rejoin Claire and George where they were sitting with John Taylor to wait to see what'd happen next.

Outside, Ethan and Charlie ran up to the leader of the band of lawmen that rode in who represented Union Pacific Railroad. They'd been after the Henderson gang since they held up the train just outside of Reno, killing hostages.

They wanted the men dragged out dead or hung. Ethan knew that and he didn't blame them but he didn't want to endanger the hostages either. Not the children, Amelia or the others. When he'd seen them lead Amelia out, his heart had gone like ice. He'd protested but the arrival of the lawmen made it a moot point.

But the lawmen appeared ready to go rush the building. Ethan put a man on the leader's chest.

"Wait a minute, you can't just go charging in there. They got hostages."

"That's why we're going in. To save them."

Ethan felt the hairs prickle on the back of his neck. Something didn't smell right here.

"Somehow I don't believe you."

The man sighed.

"The Henderson gang has been scattering corpses across three states. Now that I've found them I got no plans to let them get away."

Ethan thought quickly…this thing was about to go south…and the hostages. He didn't even want to think about.

"Let me talk to them. You got them trapped, outnumbered. Maybe I can talk them into giving up."

"Maybe you might get a bullet for your trouble."

The man was playing tough with him but Ethan knew that if the lawmen in their zeal charged the building, the outlaws wouldn't be the only ones carried out dead.

"I'll take that risk."

The leader glanced around appearing to consider it.

"You got 15 minutes…"

Then he left to tell his men to organize. Ethan knew he had to work quickly…if the hostages were to have any chance of leaving the hotel alive.

Ben ran up to him with Joseph.

"Hide a gun in your shirt."

"Can't do that Ben. They found it, they'd kill me and everyone else."

Joseph got upset.

"What if you can't get them to surrender?"

"I don't know Joseph….Scotty!"

The hotel owner came on over.

"Still keep that gun behind the bar?"

Scotty nodded.

"Next to the shot glasses under the towel."

Ethan nodded.

"Can't let these men go charging in there. It's too risky. If I can't talk the gang into giving up, I'll have to kill them myself."

Ethan prepared himself to walk inside the hotel to face the outlaws. All he could think about were the hostages and somehow getting them out alive.

Moses felt antsy not for the first time. He'd planned to take off with only the banker lady with him. Until another bunch of lawmen showed up. He knew it had to be the posse from the railroad that followed them.

Langston stood by the window.

"I count 12. What now?"

Ethan stood out there in front of them.

"Moses…I want to talk."

The lead outlaw yelled at him to come in so Ethan walked into the hotel.

"Search him…"

So they did but he was of course empty handed.

"You know what that posse wants?"

"Sure…us…"

Ethan looked straight at Moses.

"They're going to storm this hotel."

Moses didn't seem too concerned.

"I'll kill the hostages."

"They don't care."

"But you do Cord…Tell them to stop."

"I can't…not unless you give up."

Moses snarled.

"I'd rather take a bullet than be hung."

Ethan staved off a desperate feeling…he knew the guy was serious and he'd take every hostage with him.

"Then why don't you let these people go?"

"No…"

Ethan tried to focus his attention on Moses and not the hostages.

"They're no use to you."

"I like company. Anything else on your mind?"

Ethan said nothing.

"Then get out of here…"

"You crazy."

Moses gestured with his arm.

"Out!"

Another outlaw cocked his rifle and aimed it at Ethan to punctuate that order.

Ethan looked away from Moses then and over where Amelia stood watching it play out. Their eyes met and she didn't look away from him. She looked down and that's when he knew what to do next. He acted like he was leaving and then suddenly punched an outlaw taking away his shot gun.

Then the shooting began as Ethan hammered outlaws with the butt of the shotgun while several of the outlaws tried to shoot him. He dodged the bullets and then started shooting himself, downing one of them.

He dove behind the bar with the shotgun remembering that Scotty kept a pistol stashed there. First he aimed the shotgun at outlaws and shot at one hiding behind a door. The outlaw shot back as he reloaded, nicking a wall above him. Ethan searched under the towels for the pistol but couldn't find it anywhere.

Just as Langston approached the bar aiming his gun at him.

"Adios gunfighter."

All Ethan could do was look up at him from where he was crouched totally vulnerable then he heard a gunshot and Langston went down. He knew that had to be Amelia who somehow must have gotten her hands on the gun behind the bar.

His gun ending up on Ethan's side of the bar, to use against the rest of the outlaws. He shot and took out Moses while John Taylor shot his patient, Zachariah who'd tried to shoot Ethan. . Afterward, he dropped his gun next to the dead outlaw and just stared at him.

That ended the shootout and Claire went to pick up Huckleberry as the hostages prepared to finally leave the hotel behind them.

Amelia put down the gun and they went to rejoin Ethan…who had his gun aimed at one of the outlaws still alive. Claire hugged him and Amelia just looked at him, caressing his face so she'd know he really stood in front of her.

The lawmen escorted the two surviving outlaws out of the hotel while Charlie went to go release Axelrod, Amos and the others from the jail. The town had been sorely tested and fractured by the crisis but if history was any indication, things would go back to normal soon enough. John Taylor left holding Ben and George's hands while Claire and Joseph came out with Ethan.

Amelia walked out of the building with Tiny and they ran into the miner who was looking for the bank. The one who'd been trying to bargain with the outlaws by offering them some of his gold. He poured some of the dust on his hands to show them.

"I tried to tell them but they wouldn't believe me."

Amelia smiled and gestured to Tiny as they all erupted into laughter. It felt good to do that again after the grimness of the past 24 hours.

"This is Tiny. He'll show you to the bank."

The miner followed the blacksmith while Amelia stood at the bottom of the steps waiting for the others. Ethan turned towards her and took her hands in his own, looking at her. She smiled at him, so happy to see him again.

"Thank you."

He said simply because she'd looked after Claire and George for him and they'd been talking about how brave she'd been during the ordeal.

She smiled at him, through the exhaustion, not saying anything. She slipped her arms around him and he let her wrapping his own arms around her to hold her tight. Then arm in arm they walked down the street with the rest of the townspeople.

Two days later…

The town held a picnic filled with music and children running around playing with each other while the adults ate good food and drank some of Scotty's fresh ale from the saloon. It'd been his idea after they'd released the businessmen from the jails. The two factions just glared at each other while the men who'd sat in jail retreated behind the doors of their businesses.

But it'd been Claire who along with Scotty who'd decided to hold the picnic to bring the town back together again and as Ethan sat on the porch swing at Amelia's house it seemed to be working just fine. Axelrod had even contributed prizes from his mercantile for the children's contests. Obviously he had time to cool off and think in that jail cell with the other members of his vigilante group.

The ale proved delicious and he'd been out dancing with Amelia who'd been in pretty good spirits. She'd gone home after the siege to clean up and get some much needed sleep. She'd assured him she'd be okay before he took the children back to the ranch which had been neglected.

Claire had given him a detailed account of what had happened and the lesson she'd learned from Amelia of divide and conquer. Ethan had noticed the fractiousness of the outlaws but hadn't known her role in it or what she'd faced.

Damn she'd always surprised him though. Her beauty had attracted him as it would any man but her spirited nature and her poise during a crisis…the way she'd sacrifice herself for the children without being asked…she'd proven to be special indeed.

He'd invited her to go with him to the picnic and she'd accepted. Now they sat together on her swing and she'd snuggled against him. It'd been tough on her since the hostage crisis but he knew she'd prove resilient. But she still felt good wrapped in his arms, her body close to his own.

"Amelia…"

She paused, and then looked at him.

"I don't know how to do this with you being married and all."

She tilted her face.

"Pierce isn't coming back…it's been over two years Ethan. No he's left for good."

That made him think a long moment.

"Ethan you mean so much to me…it's hard to put it into words," she said, "so I think I'll try some other way to show you."

Before he knew what was happening, she kissed him on the mouth. Gently at first like a butterfly flutters its wings and then more passionately. Kissing her back, no problem for him as it was one of his favorite things to do.

So that's what they did, while the world faded around them. Everything being the way it should be once again in Paradise.