Disclaimer: We don’t own Lancer or any of the characters, nor do we make a profit when we play with them.

Summary: A What Happened Next for Blood Rock.

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“Why’d you offer yourself up like that?” Johnny wasn’t angry, but he was confused, and well, maybe a little angry.

They had made camp early that night for Ben’s sake and for Scott’s. Ben was struggling through having met a man who claimed to know his father and watching him die soon after. At some point Ben might be told the truth that Price was his father, but no one wanted to share that information now.

And Johnny had thought the Lancer family reunion had been difficult. Scott wasn’t saying much, suffering through some aches and pains from tumbling off his horse. Better than being shot, but it still didn’t make for an easy ride.

Rolling his right shoulder again, Scott didn’t even look at Johnny, simply kept his gaze on the flickering flames of the campfire. “I wasn’t given a choice in the matter.”

“You had to know going out there that Price wasn’t about to let you leave.” Johnny sat cross-legged by his brother breaking thin twigs into an ever growing pile in front of his legs.

Reclining against his saddle, Scott’s eyes shot over to where Murdoch was talking in a low gentle tone with Ben to settle him down for the night. They were far enough away that they couldn’t hear what was said.

Johnny’s eyes followed and he was struck by the thought that this is what their father might have been like with them if Johnny and Scott had grown up on Lancer. That wasn’t something worth thinking on too long.

Scott’s eyes moved back to the fire. “A son should at least know his father.”

That stilled Johnny’s hands. “Yes, but things don’t always work out that way.”

Scott looked to him. “I guess we are proof of that. I agreed with Murdoch that Ben deserved a chance and to hopefully see that wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps wasn’t a wise choice. Unfortunately, Ben had to see that in the harshest of realities.”

“He’ll be okay.” Johnny went back to snapping twigs. “You said it yourself the Tafts are a good family for him. He’ll have a chance to make something of himself without the shadow of his father following him all his life.”

“I hope so.” Scott sighed, then locked his eyes on Johnny. “Thank you for the warning. I have a feeling I would have come out worse if you hadn’t called out.” A slight mocking smile showed itself. “And why did you run out to help me when you knew that fame-seeking sheriff and his merry band would shoot anyway?”

Johnny’s head ducked down and the snapping of twigs was a little more forceful. “Maybe because I knew that fame-seeking sheriff and his merry band would shoot anyway. You landin’ in a heap in the middle of that trigger-happy bunch was just givin’ them somewhere to aim.”

“And you ran out, why?”

“Just a distraction, Scott. Make them think twice about shootin’.”

“Or give them another target.”

“Still made them think twice about who they were goin’ to shoot, right?”

“That it did.” Scott cocked his head to the side. “You didn’t think twice.”

“Nope.” Johnny tossed the last of the broken twigs into the pile and brushed off his fingers on his knees, taking his time doing so.

“Still, the proverbial rock and a hard place.”

His hands stilling, Johnny turned his head to look at Scott. “Not so hard.”

~The End~