APRIL 15, 1860

When Luke and Meg came in from their picnic, Daniel and Serena were in the study talking. Meg knocked on the study door and went on in. Daniel and Serena stopped their conversation and looked at Meg and Luke.

Taking a deep breath, Meg just blurted out, "Daddy, I'd really like for you to give me away at my wedding. Luke just asked me, and I've accepted. I really love him, Daddy, and it's not like it's some stranger off the street. I'm 17 years old, and I think I'm old enough to make this decision on my own."

Daniel stood up walked over to his daughter gave her a hug and said, "Luke, see what you have to look forward to for the rest of your life? Once you get her started it's hard to get her to shut up." Then he looked down at his baby girl and in his mind said, You are never getting married you will always be too young. You are all I have left of your mother. But what came out of his mouth was something different, "Of course. I'll be glad to give you to Luke, Baby." As he heard himself say the words out loud, he knew they were true, he was just losing his baby girl. He kissed Meg on the forehead and left the room.

Meanwhile, Serena gave Luke a brotherly hug and hugged her stepdaughter as they squealed and Meg showed off her new ring. She had seen Daniel leave and as soon as Meg got finished showing her the ring, she went to find her husband.

Serena found Daniel in their room, looking at a drawing of Elizabeth that she had drawn.

"Elizabeth, Meg is getting married. I'm not sure I can do this. I mean I want her to be happy, and I know that Luke will make her happy. But she's all that I have left of you." Serena noticed the tears on Daniel's cheeks.

"Daniel, Meg is not the only thing you have left of Elizabeth. You have pictures of her all over the house and you still have her in your heart. Meg is just getting married. She's not dying. You'll probably see more of her after the wedding than you do now."

Daniel smiled and wiped the tears from his face. Serena saw that her attempt of humor had worked. "You know just what to say to cheer me up, Serena. There are times when I think that Elizabeth sent you to me."

"Maybe she did. She would have wanted you to be happy. I try to make you happy."

"You do." Daniel smiled and kissed his current wife fully on the lips.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours later:

"Just where do you think you're going, Young Lady?" Meg turned to look at her father with a big grin.

Grabbing her shawl she said, "With you and Luke, of course."

"Oh no you're not." Daniel insisted. "The saloon is not a place for a young lady of your background. You can stay here with Serena, and do whatever it is you two do." He added in a tone that dismissed the two women.

The two women glanced at each other and shrugged. "Oh, Daddy, please. I want to cheer you and Luke on in the tournament."

Luke, seeing an opportunity to rib his future father-in-law jumped in to Meg's defense. "Yeah, c'mon, Daniel, let her go." He wrapped an arm around the young girl's shoulder, "She's my good luck charm, not that I need one . . . " He suddenly knew the right button to push and went for it, "Oh, I get it, you're afraid your daughter will see her fianc�e take all of her father's money."

Meg jabbed an elbow into Luke's gut, making him grunt, while Serena laughed good naturally at the picture of pure annoyance on Daniel's face. "Fine, you can come along. But don't you dare help him cheat, I'm still your father." He said with a smile.

Meg's smile lit up the room, "Thank you, Daddy. I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"Yes, because I'm a pushover." Daniel mumbled.

"No. Because you're the best daddy in the whole world." Meg kissed her father's cheek, then turned and took Luke's hand as he led her out of the house.

Daniel sighed sadly. "There goes my baby girl. I'm going to miss her so much." He turned to kiss his wife good-bye, only to find her with her hat and shawl on ready to go with him. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"With you. Don't think for one second that you are letting your daughter go and you're leaving me behind." Serena said as she swept out of the house, leaving Daniel to wonder when he had lost control of his household. He smiled at the picture he knew his daughter and wife would make in the saloon. Like a fish out of water, he thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Meg sipped at her sarsaparilla as she looked around the room. Luke would look at where she was sitting periodically and she would smile at him, silently wishing him luck. Meg spotted Desi, and rose to go talk to her.

"Excuse me, Serena, I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"I see Desi over there, I need to ask her something."

"All right, give her my best, and invite her to dinner at our place."

"Okay I will." Meghan said as she looked over to the table where both her father and Luke were staring at her questioningly.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of those two." Serena said with a small chuckle.

Meg bent down and placed a kiss to her stepmother’s cheek, "Thank you, I owe you."

Serena smiled, "Okay, now go and talk to your friend."

Meg walked up to where Desiree was sitting as she took a break from serving drinks to the poker players. "Hi, Desi, do you have a minute?"

Desi looked up at her friend and smiled, "Well, long time no see. Sure do, have a seat. What can I do for you?"

"Well I need to talk to you. Is there someplace a little more private where we can talk?" Meg said as she looked around.

Desi nodded, she knew it must be important if Meg wanted to talk in private. "Not here, let's go for a walk." Meg nodded and the two young women left the saloon.

As the two friends exited, Desi asked, "So what's this about, Meg? What's so private that you couldn't tell me in there."

Meg blushed, where should she begin? "Well, um . . . I'm getting married." She said quietly.

"You're what!?" Desiree stopped in her tracks. "To who? When did this happen?"

Meg smiled, "Shhhh! Not so loud." Meg pulled her friend's arm and the two began to walk again. "I'll tell you. I'm marrying Luke."

"Luke? Luke Saunders? The Barber? When did this happen, I thought you liked Buck?"

"I thought I did too, but I guess I was wrong. Desi, I love him. I just realized that I've loved him for a long time."

"Well congrats. When are you two hitching up?"

"He just asked me this afternoon. We haven't set a date yet, but I'm thinking May. Desi, you're the first person who isn't family that knows. Please don't say anything until we announce it." Meg said.

"So it's soon huh? Meg you aren't . . ." Desi thought about how she could phrase it. "In a family way are you?"

This time it was Meg's turn to stop. "No! Of course not, I'm a . . . well that is I've never . . . been with a man before. Luke and I have known each other for years. He knows me better than anyone else. We've been through so much together, and we just don't see the need for a long courtship and engagement."

"Oh. Well, I just had to ask, it's all so sudden."

"I understand. It's like a tornado came and turned my life completely around, I'm still stunned when I think about it. Just last month I had no beau, and now I'm getting married in a month."

"Well I'm happy for you, you could do a lot worse than Luke Saunders. He's a good man."

Meg nodded. "Desi, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Sure, is it about the wedding night?"

Meg blushed a deep red, "No."

"Oh, oops." Desi laughed. "Sorry, ask away."

Meg giggled good naturally, "Will you be a bridesmaid and sing at the reception? I know we haven't spoken in a while but I'd like you to be there with me."

Desi was speechless. "Meg, are you sure? I mean I work at the Saloon, and you're the doctor's daughter. Most people in your position would look down at me, I don't want people to talk about how it wasn't right that I was there."

"I'm sure, I'm not 'most people' Desi. Who cares what anyone says. I want you there. Please say yes." Meg pleaded.

Desi thought about it and nodded, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Thank you! This means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, I'm honored to be asked."

"Good, so it's settled." The two women hugged and laughed as they walked back to the saloon. "And Serena and I would like to invite you to supper tomorrow night."

"All right, I'll be there."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There were three tables set up with 5 chairs around them. At table number 1 were Luke, Lee, Lou, Jimmy, and Kid. When Luke got up, Joshua sat down and when Lee got up, Richard sat down for a round on one of his breaks. When Richard got up, White Wolf sat down.

At table number 2, sat Catherine, Wild Bird, Buck, Rachael, and C.J. When Buck got up, Dev, sat down.

At table number 3 sat Charlie, Simon, Stephen, Noah, and Beauregard. Simon was teaching Javier how to play and when Stephen got up, Javier sat down and started to play. When Noah got up, Destiny sat down.

Meghan and Serena were watching Luke and Daniel play cheering them on. Lilly was cheering on Javier and her boss Charlie. Laura was watching Catherine and Wild Bird play. Clover was there watching CJ and Charlie, but was also mad that her sister seemed to be getting extra tips.

Prudence walked into the saloon looking for Absalom. She thought that he might be here watching the game. She looked all over for him before realizing that this was the night that Kathleen was tutoring him. She thought while she was there, she might as well go ahead and watch.

Jacy walked in right after Prudence. She didn’t care for saloons, drinking and poker and such, but Prudence told her that some of the local fellas were having a poker tournament in the saloon. She decided that it might be a good idea for an article. The first thing she noticed was that Cody wasn’t there. But she did see CJ, so she went up to his table to watch. She knew Catherine and Rachel at his table, but she didn’t know the other two participants.

Jacy spotted Jimmy at one of the other poker tables and was going to go over there, but CJ said, "Aw my lucky charm has finally arrived," as he looked at Jacy. Jacy blushed. "Do you know how to play poker?" Jacy shook her head. She had never played poker before, nor had she seen anyone play poker before. "Then sit down my dear." He quickly got up and placed another chair at the table for her. "Watching is a good way to learn. And if you have any questions after we’ve played a hand, please ask. I will try my best to answer them." So Jacy sat down and learned the game of poker and took notes for her article.

When Luke saw Meg leave, his luck started going down hill. He had a feeling it was because his mind was on Meg and not the game. He decided to quit before he lost all of his winnings.

When he got up, he saw his beloved returning with her friend Desi. He knew that she was all right, but seeing it for himself was such a relief. He didn’t think that he could ever feel this way about anyone.

"Hey," Luke said as he walked up to them.

"I hear congratulations are in order." Desi grinned.

Luke beamed as he took Meg’s hand and pulled her close to him, "Yeah, thanks."

"Well, I got to get back to work." Desi informed the couple.

A little while later, Luke and Meg saw Michael come in searching for his father. When he found him, he whispered into his ear, "Papa, Caly fell asleep and woke screaming. I can’t calm her down."

The dealer was just about ready to deal again when Steven said, "Sorry, Gents, Family emergency I got to go." Steven grabbed the money that was in front of him and left in a hurry.

Luke and Meg saw Steven follow Michael out of the saloon and Luke told Meg, "I think you better go make sure that Caly is alright, I’ll talk to Daniel and Serena."

"Thanks." She said giving Luke a kiss before she left.

Buck saw Steven leave and excused himself as well. He caught up with Steven and Michael and learned what was wrong and went with them.

Meg arrived at the Johnson Ranch shortly after Steven and Buck. Caly was calmer than when Michael had left her, but Meg knew from experience that she had a nightmare. After having her father home and Buck and Meg near her, Caly was able to go back to sleep.

"I knew I shouldn’t’ve gone tonight." Steven said.

"No, you had no idea that she was going to have a nightmare before you got back." Buck said

"Thanks, Meghan. I don’t know what’d do without you and Buck. You should get back to your father though."

"You sure? I can stay if you need me to."

"No, I got it from here."

"OK." Meg said as she left to go home.