The horse trotted along the forest road, the wily stallion's hooves clopping along the weather-beaten path as the small carriage rolled through the forest. The small two-person coach was driven by a blonde in a well-worn brown coat, his ponytail windswept, his hat slightly ajar. Inside the coach sat a charming young red-head and her prim and proper mother. The younger woman, named Sarah, turned to her mother, excited for the chance to talk to her mother after Sarah and James picked her up from the docks, to take her to her new home. Sarah was ecstatic that her mother had finally made the move to America but she herself had decided to remain at the Pennsylvania Gazette for a while to continue her journalism. Besides, with Moses running his school and Henri in France, someone needed to help James run the paper, with Doctor Franklin acting as their chaperone.

"Sarah dear, are you sure that you don't want to stay on the new settlement with us? There's plenty of room for you," said, Mrs. Phillips, trying to convince her daughter to change her decision.

"That's a wonderful offer mother but I've already decided to stay with the paper and continue writing about the new nation," sighed Sarah as her mother frowned when she once again declined her invitation.

"Sarah, you know the longer that you stay doing a job like journalism and living with that ruffian the more difficult it is going to be to find you a desirable match?" reasoned her mother, trying to get her daughter to open her eyes.

"Mother, it's alright, I'm not interested in marrying right now, I'm happy just focusing on my writing," replied Sarah cooly, trying to hide her growing irritation at having to have this conversation once again.

"Keep this up young lady and it'll be near impossible to marry you off! What do you think that American has prospects? Think of the gossip! Sarah, he's got no connections and no prospects, you need a man that can provide you the title and lifestyle appropriate for someone of your birth!" exclaimed her mother, irritated by her daughter's foolishness.

"Mother, how rude! I know you want to see me married off to avoid the gossip but don't drag James into this! It's not his fault he's an orphan and he's been nothing but kind to us!" whispered Sarah angrily pointing to the roof of the coach where the aforementioned blonde was driving, oblivious to the conversation below.

"This is preposterous, you need to secure a match! Don't you want to settle down, start a family, and raise a brood of your own?" questioned Mrs. Phillips, knowing that she'd gotten through to her daughter in some way, when she saw her daughter pause, deep in thought. And Mrs. Phillips was right as Sarah gazed out the window lost in thought. Images of several children playing on a grassy hill as she watched them fondly, their youngest sibling swaddled in her arms. The baby opened its eyes, familiar blue eyes gazing back at her, startling her. As she cooed at the fussy infant a man approached the children, causing them to stop playing en lou of jumping into their father's waiting arms, his hat coming loose as they tumbled to the ground revealing a blonde ponytail underneath. The realization of the man, the daydream father of her children's identity, enough to shock her out of her daydream, but before she had completely returned from her thoughts, the carriage slammed to a stop, the screeching halt sending Sarah tumbling into her mother's arms with a shocked gasp.

Knocking on the coach window, to get James, attention, the young man leaning down from the top of the coach to make sure, Sarah and her mother were alright. "James, what is the meaning of this, I'm lucky my mother caught me or I would be covered in bruises!" shrieked Sarah causing James to wince, "What happ-," noticing the look of dread on James' face, Sarah paused. "James, what's wrong?" she questioned the look of genuine fear in his blue eyes, causing fear to settle deep in her stomach as she followed James' gaze to a loan rider blocking their way down the road, cutting off their path as he rode closer.

"Stick 'em up, this is a robbery!" shouted the figure as three more bandits appeared, surrounding the coach before dismounting, guns cocked. "No sudden movements or we'll shoot!" he yelled, dragging James down from the top of the coach, two men restraining him as soon as he collided with the ground, while another began pulling Mrs. Phillips' luggage down from the roof.

"Well lookee, here," smirked the lead bandits with a crooked smile as he spotted a terrified Sarah and Mrs. Phillips clinging to each other, "It looks like we got ourselves a few special guests," he smiled mockingly, his yellow teeth flashing, "Get 'em boys," he cheered a predatory look in his eyes as he wrenched a struggling Sarah and Mrs. Phillips out of the coach, shoving Mrs. Phillips into the waiting arms of his associate, choosing to restrain Sarah himself.

"Well look at that, the young lass seems unattached, meaning she's as pure as the day she was born. Unlike this one," whistled the bandit restraining Mrs. Phillips as he gazed at Sarah, his intentions anything but pure.

"Don't you dare touch her!" snarled James, struggling against the man restraining him's grasp, causing the man to jab the struggling blonde in the gut with the butt of his pistol, making him bend over in pain.

"Don't be stupid brat! Don't you have any common sense, I'm the one in control here!" Snarled the leader, but upon seeing the look of pain on Sarah's face the lead bandit smiled.

"Well that explains it, I think this street rat and this young woman fancy each other!" he cackled, turning so that Sarah would be forced to watch what happens next, "A pretty thing like you could do so much better than that filth," he whispered in Sarah's ear, loud enough for James to hear, causing her friend to bow his head in shame not even flinching as the leader pistol-whipped James, causing him to lurch back, blood pooling from the shallow cut.

"Stop it!" shrieked Sarah, tears in her eyes as James looked up at her, giving her a reassuring smile, which had the opposite effect as his teeth were stained with blood from when he bit his cheek.

"It's alright Sarah, I'm okay," he soothed before locking eyes with the bandit, pleading, "Please, just take what you want, hurt me if you want to, but please just let them go," wheezed James before spitting out blood a the leader eyed him thoughtfully.

" Guess we could let the hag go unless you boys want her?" he asked, looking at his associates, them gazing at the woman before nodding no and eyeing Sarah, "but this sweet lass here, is coming with us," he grinned maniacally as Sarah struggled and her mother sobbed.

"Like hell you will!" snarled James as he once again began to struggle.

"Aw look, this little runt is trying to be a gentleman, and you know what we do to gentleman in these parts," he growled pulling out a knife and dragging it across James' face, earning a wince from the young man as blood pooled from his eyebrow down to his cheek.

" No James! Stop it, please, you're hurting him!" wailed Sarah.

"So youthful and fiery, yet unattached, a pure maiden such as yourself will make a fine 'companion'" he purred as Sarah froze, horrified, and James glared at the leader, absolute hatred and fire in his eyes while Sarah frantically tried to come up with a reason to get them to leave her behind as well.

"But I'm not, I'm married!" she cried, causing everyone to pause, James' and her mother's James dropping.

"Sarah, what is the meaning of this!" cried her mother.

"I'm sorry mother, we didn't want to tell you until after we were married, because we were afraid that you and father wouldn't approve," she fake sobbed, looking at her mother, her eyes telling her to just go with it.

"I don't believe you, you ain't wearing a ring!" he scoffed, smirking, not realizing that Sarah had a plan to explain that too.

"We married in secret for fear that people wouldn't approve of an American boy marrying a loyalist English girl and might try to harm us, isn't the right, James?" Sarah explained as her fake husband gazed at her in shock before realizing that Sarah had a plan, and that he should just go with it.

"Erm yes, tensions are still high between the colonists and the English, we once fought against," stuttered James, gazing at Sarah as the leader released her, seeing what the young woman might do next. Much to his shock, instead of fleeing, the redhead rushed toward the man restrain her "husband", causing him to let go of James in shock. Now standing on his own, James scarcely had a moment to react before Sarah launched herself into his arms, her face buried in the crook of his neck as he held her shaking form.

"Glad you like yer husband missy, too bad you'll be looking for a new one," he said, his pistol raised.

"Please, you can't!" she sobbed.

"And why shouldn't we just kill your sweetheart? He's too good for you anyway, you'd be much better off with me," he purred, a bandit raising his pistol to James' temple.

"Because of the baby. Please, I'm with child and I can't raise our child without him," she sobbed, cuddling into James' embrace. "Mother we were planning to tell you and father when we arrived at the new settlement," she sighed before turning to the leader, "Please don't take him from me, I don't think I could bear it, especially in my condition," she plead. "Take whatever you want, please just let us go, we won't say anything!" wailed Sarah as James rubbed soothing circles into her back.

"Tempting, but how do we know that you'll keep your word?" he asked, shooting out the wheel on the coach and damaging another, the sound of gunshots making the horse rear up and lurch forward, the sudden jolt causing the coach to topple over.

"Well now you're not going anywhere," cackled the bandit holding Sarah's mother and with a nod from their leader he tossed her to the ground before joining his three colleagues in rooting through Mrs. Phillips' luggage for valuables, while their leader watched their captives, his rifle pointed straight at James and Sarah.

"Alright boys, we got what we wanted, let's move out!" their leader called, all of them mounting their horses. While the others headed off, the leader turned back toward former captives, locking eyes with Sarah.

"Just to make sure you keep your word," he grinned before firing a shot, the bullet striking James in the shoulder, his blood spattering on Sarah.