It had been three days since the night Trina had seen the doctor, and the Gatorade she recommended had helped greatly. That was, Drew reflected, the only bright spot in this world at the moment. That and her new Powerpuff Girls lunch box. Buck had given it to her yesterday "so you don't have to carry around one of those ugly brown paper bags." Ezra had rolled his eyes at that one, and after Buck had gone, he'd tried to convince her to leave it home. But she liked it, even if it was a bit kiddie, and after arguing with Ezra about it, she was allowed to keep it. She removed the bright blue box from the fridge and shut the door. Trina had packed her lunch last night. A scotch egg, a hunk of cheddar cheese, a slab of homemade bread, and a homemade chocolate muffin for dessert. She ran outside and got into the car, where Ezra was waiting impatiently.

"We're going to be late." he said as she put on her seatbelt. "That's not going to go over with your new boss."

"Too bad for her." said Drew. Ezra sighed and backed out of the driveway.

"You're going to have to change that attitude too." he said as they drove to the Grille for breakfast. It was early in the morning, so there weren't many patrons, Drew noted as they sat down. "What would you like for breakfast, Drew?"

"Pop Tarts." she replied. Ezra shook his head.

"That won't do, Drew. You need more than junk food." She shrugged.

"Whatever then." she said. Ezra sighed and went to order breakfast. Drew was toying with the ashtray when he came back.

"I ordered your Pop Tarts, but you're getting poached eggs and orange juice too." he said. Drew rolled her eyes.

"I'm not that hungry Ezra." she said.

"You will be." said a voice behind her. Drew spun around in her chair. The person who had spoken was a tall imposing looking lady with a low crowned, flat brimmed hat, a tan DNR shirt with short sleeves, and aviator style sunglasses with mirrored lenses. Drew's first thought was "Drill Sergeant from Hell." She could just picture this lady with a riding crop, barking orders at young recruits. She chuckled.

"Something funny?" asked the lady, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, no ma'am." said Drew. This job was going to suck bad, that was for sure.

"Alright then." said Drill Sergeant Alley, for that was surely who it was. She held out a wrapped package. "Your uniform." Drew opened it up and looked at Ezra.

"I am not wearing this." she said, showing him the bright orange jumpsuit.

"Maybe you'd prefer the comfort of the county jail?" asked Drill Sergeant Alley.

Drew threw her a dirty look and plunked herself down in her chair. "I'll wearthestupidsuit." she muttered. Drill Sergeant Alley smiled another chilly smile.

"Glad to hear it." she said. "Now I suggest you eat your breakfast. When you finish, go change and meet me at the Jeep outside. Don't be too long, we have a lot of trails to maintain today." Ending on that note, she went back to the end of the bar to finish her steak and eggs. Drew looked at Ezra.

"Ez, I can not do this. She scares me." she whispered. Ezra sighed.

"Well, I really wish I could offer you some alternative, but I don't think you have much of a choice. Besides, Miss Alley is really a very nice person once you get past the surliness." he said. Drew picked at her food. "Yeah, but look at this outfit!" Drew whispered. " I can't possibly wear this. Its horrible." Ezra looked at the orange jumpsuit that sat on the table.

"I cannot argue with that." he said. "It is a truly horrible color. But, it could have purple polka dots on it." Drew grinned.

"Or green stripes." she said, chomping on a Pop Tart. Ezra chuckled.

"Perhaps a big red bow?" he said. Drew cringed, and ate some more of her breakfast. Big red bow, indeedy. That would be awful.

Despite her earlier protests that she wasn't that hungry, Drew ate most of her breakfast. The poached eggs were actually pretty good. She picked up her new jumpsuit and went to change. When she had disappeared into the ladies' room, Ezra walked over to Alley, who was just paying for her meal. "Alley. . ." he began. "I know Drew isn't exactly the most optimal of partners. ."

"It alright, Ezra." she said, looking over at him.

He offered her a smile. "Well, I just came to ask you please don't inflict any bodily harm on her." he said

"Ezra you know me better than that." she said. "I'm not going to shove her off a cliff or anything. But I'm not a babysitter either. If she sticks her hand in a cactus, I'm not going to kiss it all better for her."

"I'll be sure and warn her about it then." he said. Alley nodded and headed outside. Ezra sighed. Allison Steele was a good person to have on your side, but the problem was, he wasn't sure if she was on Drew's side or not.

"Don't worry about her, Ezra." said Dwayne from the bar. Ezra looked up.

"Excuse me?" he said. Dwayne offered him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry." he repeated. "Alley'll take care of her. She's in good hands."

"I hope you're right." said Ezra. "If anything happens to her out there. .."

"Nothing's going to happen to her." said Dwayne. "I bet she comes back from this first day and tells you how much fun she had."

"Bet I don't." said Drew from the hallway. Ezra looked around. Drew stood there in her new jumpsuit, looking very sulky. "I don't want to go out into some hot, nasty desert and pick up trash with Miss Drill Sergeant."

"Drill Sergeant." said Dwayne. "I'll have to tell her about that. She'll get a kick out of it." Drew looked stricken.

"Drew, don't worry. You'll be alright." said Ezra. "Alley promised me she'd be nice." She didn't exactly say that, but it's close. he thought.

"And its some beautiful country you're going into as well."

"Right." said Drew. "Bare rock and cactus. Gorgeous." she sighed.

"Drew, don't make me go and get a big red bow." Ezra teased. That brought a smile to her face. She gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Ezra." she said, stepping back. "Well, I'm off to boot camp." She snapped her heels together and saluted him, then went for the door.

**********

"Took you long enough." said Alley from the driver's seat of her Jeep.

"Sorry." said Drew as she got in. Alley started the engine backed out, and headed south out of town. Drew watched the as her surroundings got progressively more barren.

"So, you're a park ranger?" she asked Alley, trying to make small talk.

"Park ranger, game warden, fire lookout, tour guide, sometimes animal control officer and federal officer." she replied.

"Sounds like a lot of work." said Drew. Alley didn't reply to that one.

Drew sat back and contented herself with looking at the bare rocks and sparse vegetation, which wasn't much. Finally she couldn't stand it. "I've died and gone to Hell." she muttered.

"Oh no, not quite." said Alley. Drew looked over at her. "Wait a few minutes, and we'll be there." Drew, not knowing what to make of the remark, said nothing she downshifted to climb the ridge that loomed before them. In thirty seconds they had reached the top. "Now you're in Hell." said Alley as they drove downhill.

"What are you talking about?" asked Drew. Alley looked over her shades at her.

"Hell." she repeated. "We've just entered it." Drew furrowed her brow in confusion. "See that big rock formation over there? Looks like a big set of steps?" Drew nodded. "That's Hell's Front Porch." She gestured north. "That dry lake? Devil's Swimming Hole. And those tall pointy things in the southwest? Devil's Lamp Posts."

"Niiice." said Drew. Alley drove down the winding road a little longer. Presently, a small building came into view. Alley drove into the tiny parking lot.

"We'll start with the Saguaro Hiking Trail." she said, getting out.

"How long is that one?" asked Drew. Alley shrugged and went around to the back of her Jeep. She came back with a canteen, a hatchet, a handsaw, and an assortment of other brush trimming tools.

"Four point eight miles." she replied, handing Drew some of the tools.

"But. . that's . . " she stammered as Alley slung the canteen over one shoulder.

"It's the shortest one we'll do today." Alley said, heading off into the bush. Drew stood by the Jeep, not believing what she had just heard. "You coming?" called Alley. Drew hefted the hatchet, wishing for a second to bury it in Alley's skull, then followed.

**********

Drew climbed wearily into the Jeep. It had been a long day, but it was almost over. She had chopped trees, cut brush, hauled and burned branches, and generally done more hard labor than she ever had in her life. But now it was almost over. Just one last trail to do. It started on the top of a mountain, and the best part was that they could drive right up to it. And the job itself wasn't too bad, she reflected as they drove up the mountain. Once you discounted the heat, the bad outfit, and the inhospitable enviorment. Alley parked the Jeep and got out.

"Quite a view, isn't it." she said, getting her tools.

Drew looked out at the desert. "Yes it is." she said. If you like cactus and sagebrush. she thought. She went to retrieve her set of tools from the back of the Jeep, but a small sound stopped her. Sounded like somebody stepped on a duck. She looked around, trying to find the source. "Alley?" she called.

"What?" called Alley from the trail. Drew put a hand to her ear.

"I hear something." she said. Alley strode back up the trail.

"What's it sound like?" she asked. Drew pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"I don't know for sure. Sort of. ." she shut up as the sound came again.

"That it?" asked Alley. Drew nodded. "That's a baby bighorn sheep. Probably lost his mama. I bet that's her over . . . aww Hell." she said

"What?" asked Drew. Alley went to her Jeep and dug around in the back. She removed a long coil of rope, and turned to Drew.

"If that's his mama over there, then that baby probably fell into that ravine." she said. "Hopefully, he's not hurt. All we got to do is get down there, catch him, and bring him back up." She started towards the edge of the ravine.

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Drew. Alley shrugged.

"Might be." she replied, arriving at the edge of the ravine. They looked down. Sure enough, there was a furry little sheep running frantically up and down the length of it, bleating pitifully.

"Awwww, he's cute." said Drew. She looked to Alley. "What should I do?"

"Not a thing." said Alley, uncoiling her rope. "I promised Ezra I wouldn't throw you off a cliff." She searched for something to tie the end of her rope too. The only sturdy thing was a boulder twenty or so feet away. The paring lot was fenced in, so there was no bringing the Jeep over. "Dammit." Alley cussed.

"Let me go down there, and you can pull me back up." said Drew. She felt sorry for the little critter, lost down there without his mommy. Alley looked at her doubtfully. "What's he going to do, bite me?"

"No, but there's other critters down there besides him." Alley said. "Maybe snakes, tarantulas, scorpions. . ." she sighed. "Still, it doesn't look like we have many options." She handed one end of the rope to Drew. "Tie that under your arms." Drew obeyed. "Alright, now here comes the hard part. You got to walk backwards down that rock wall, just like them rock climbers I'm sure you've seen on TV."

"I don't, uhhh, I mean. . well. . " began Drew.

"I won't drop you. Its only your first day. You still got two more weeks." said Alley. Drew gulped, turned her back to the rim and began her descent, Alley feeding her rope. It was better than twenty feet to the bottom. As soon as she felt her feet on solid ground, Drew untied the rope and set about the task of catching the little critter.

"Here sheep." she called. The fuzzy little animal regarded her warily, and ducked through her arms as she tried to grab him. "Alley, this isn't working." she called.

"Keep trying." Alley called back. Drew grumbled, and made several more attempts, all of which ended in failure.

"He's not hurt anyway." she called up to Alley. She looked up. "Alley?"

"Over here." she yelled. "I figured out how he got down here."

"How's that?" asked Drew, glad to have a momentary break from sheep chasing.

"This trail." Alley yelled. "Its steep and narrow. Big folks like you and me and mama sheep can't get down it. Babies can, thought. Problem is, its too steep for the poor little bugger to get back up."

"Great." said Drew. "So, what does that mean?" She didn't answer. "Alley?"

"It means that I got to block it off somehow." she said. "But we can do that later. Right now, let's get that baby up here and back to his mama." Drew sighed and went back to trying to catch the little bugger. It took her nearly ten minutes, but she finally cornered him and managed to grab him. She took him back to where she left the rope, tied it securely around his middle, and hollered for Alley to haul him up. When the baby was safely up, Alley threw the rope back down, and hauled herself up.

"Have a look at that." said Alley quietly, pointing. Drew looked in the direction she indicated, and saw the baby sheep nursing his mother, his little puff of a tail flapping happily. "Gives you a warm fuzzy, don't it." said Alley. Drew was to tired to answer.

**********

Alley and Drew pulled into the parking lot of the Grille at dusk. They had hiked the last trail and cleared it of brush. They were both tired from a long day's work, Drew more so than Alley. She walked into the Grille and plunked herself in a chair across from Ezra. He looked up at her and smiled.

"How was your first day?" he asked her. Drew groaned.

"Long. I had to chop, saw, and haul wood. And I had to rescue a sheep."

"What?" asked Ezra., looking confused.

"A baby sheep got himself down in a ravine. I went down and got him out." she said. "He was pretty cute."

"Well, that was a courageous thing to do." said Ezra. Drew rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." she said. "Can we please go home? I need a shower."

"Certainly." said Ezra, getting up and heading for the door. Drew followed.

"Bright and early tomorrow morning." Alley called after them.

"I hate that woman." Drew said as Ezra started the car. "I really do."

.