By Aimee
Copyright 1999
Part Two

About two hours later, Buck halted his horse. "I think they've gone back. We should rest for awhile." He dismounted and helped Sarah down. She spread out some blankets, and Kid laid Lou on them.

"Is she okay?" he asked anxiously.

"She'll be fine," Sarah told him. "She cut her head and has some bruises. What I'm most worried about is the fact that she can't move her legs. But with a fall like she had, that's common. But it could be temporary. It just depends."

"How do you know that?" Kid asked her.

"My husband was a doctor, and I often helped him out as a nurse. I've seen injuries like hers before, and in some of the cases, the patient recovered completely."

"So you think she's going to be okay?" Kid still wasn't convinced.

"The way she hit her head when she fell probably affected the nerves in her legs; all she needs is plenty of rest, and as the wound heals, hopefully the nerves will too."

Buck brought some coffee to Kid and Sarah and sat down beside them. "Don't worry Kid. We're going to take good care of her. We'll rest tonight and start again at dawn."

he thought, laying back down. He immediately sat up again. He did hear horses approaching. He and Noah went out to the porch to watch for them.

"That looks like Kid and Buck," Noah said as Cody and Eli came out. They watched as Kid and Buck rode towards the station. In the pre-dawn light Jimmy could just make out the outline of a person behind Buck, but it didn't look like Lou. He squinted his eyes to look at Kid and was shocked at what he saw. Lou's limp form lay across Katy's back in front of Kid. He ran over to help Kid and yelled back at Cody, "Go get Rachel!" Cody ran toward Rachel's house as Kid handed Lou down to Jimmy.

"She's burning up with fever," Kid said. "We've got to get her inside now!"

Jimmy carried Lou into the bunkhouse with Kid and Sarah right on his heels. He laid her on Kid's bunk just as Rachel came in. She would be easier to care for on the bottom bunk.

"What happened?" Rachel asked Kid.

"She was thrown from her horse and captured by a gang of horse thieves. Turned out her father is still alive and is the leader of the gang. Buck was able to sneak her out of the camp, but she was wounded from her fall. She hit her head pretty badly. A few hours ago she started getting feverish, so we headed back here instead of waiting until light," Sarah answered for Kid, who was too worried about Lou to even hear Rachel's question.

"Who are you?" Cody asked.

"I'm Sarah Norman, Louise's aunt. Her father is my brother," She related the story of how she had come to be in the gang's camp.

Buck came in from taking care of the horses. "How is she?" he asked concernedly.

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "Why don't you boys go to my house and find something to eat while I examine her. Sarah would you help me?"

Kid looked like he was about to rebel, but Buck grabbed his arm and pulled him outside. "Come on Kid. She's going to be fine, just let Rachel take care of her."

Kid and Buck walked over to Rachel's house and made some sandwiches. Kid ate his quickly, anxious to get back to Lou. But Buck convinced him to wait until Rachel said it was okay.

"We need to go tell Teaspoon what happened anyway. He'll want to capture that gang. I saw several Express horses in that corral, and I know Lou will want to get Lightning back."

Kid nodded. "Let's go see Teaspoon then."

Teaspoon was dozing at his desk when Buck and Kid walked in. "Listen to him snore," Buck whispered, trying not to laugh. "It seems like such a shame to wake him up."

"Well," Kid replied. "Shame or not, we're gonna wake him up anyways. Teaspoon? Teaspoon! Marshal Hunter!" Teaspoon woke up with a groan. "Oh, good. You're awake." Kid couldn't resist teasing him. It helped relieve some of the worry about Lou.

"Did you want something, or did you just come to see if I was awake?" Teaspoon was irritated with the boys for inturrupting his nap.

"We found Lou, Teaspoon." Teaspoon sat up and looked at them. The tone in Kid's voice told him it probably wasn't very good news. "Well?"

"She was thrown and hit her head. She's running a fever, so Rachel's with her right now. She ran into some trouble with horse thieves..." Buck's voice trailed off as Eli came into Teaspoon's office.

"Teaspoon, Rachel needs to see you right away; Kid and Buck too," he said as he turned around to leave.

"Wait a minute son. Did she say why?"

"No, sir," Eli replied. "She just said to tell you to come right away." He turned to leave again.

"Where are you going?" Kid asked, concerned about his haste and what Rachel could want.

"Rachel told me to get the doctor too," he explained.

Kid took off toward the station to check on Lou. Teaspoon and Buck followed more slowly, but still reached the bunkhouse quickly. They were worried about Lou, but also curious about Rachel's request to see them right away. As they walked into the bunkhouse they saw Kid sitting next to Lou, holding her hand and talking softly to her. Rachel and Sarah were sitting at the table, waiting for Teaspoon to get there. As the two walked in, Sarah spoke to Buck.

"Have you told him what happened?"

Buck shook his head. "Not completely."

Teaspoon looked confused. "Why don't you tell me now?"

Buck took a deep breath and sat down. "Well, Teaspoon, she was thrown from her horse and taken prisoner by the horse thieves. Kid and I found their camp and I managed to sneak in and get her out. Sarah was there too."

"Did they hurt her?" Teaspoon was now more worried about Lou.

"No," Buck assured him. Then a strange look came over his face. "Teaspoon, do you remember when we went after that gunrunner, Boggs?"

"And it turned out he was Lou's father right?" Teaspoon smiled at the memory of the words of wisdom he had given to the "boy" after that adventure. "When Lou tried to get her brother and sister away, Kid killed him right?"

Buck shook his head. "That's what we thought, but he didn't die. He's the leader of the hores thieves. He somehow figured out who Lou was and was holding her captive."

Sarah broke in. "You have to arrest him before he comes after her again."

Teaspoon nodded. "He's been causing trouble for the Express for too long as it is. What can you two tell me about the camp?"

"I want her found!" Boggs was extremely angry. "There's no way two women could have gotten very far in this territory; especially since one of them is hurt."

"We've combed the whole area, Boss. I'm telling you, they are long gone!"

"Track them. Hunt them down. I don't care. Just find them! I'm going to be gone for a few days, and when I get back, she'd better be here."

"What about Sarah?"

"I don't care. Kill her, bring her back, whatever. Just make sure Louise is here."

The two outlaws looked at each other. This was not going to be an easy job. "Sure boss," one of them finally said.

"Buck, Cody, Jimmy, I want you boys to come with me. Kid, Ike and Eli, you stay here and take care of the mail. Kid, I know you want to stay with Louise, but you're going to have to take some runs until Noah gets back. Ike and Eli can handle the longer runs, so you just have to take the shorter ones okay?" Kid nodded.

"Teaspoon," Buck broke in. "Eli doesn't know all the trails yet. How's he supposed to take runs?"

Teaspoon thought for a minute. "Ike, can you show Eli the routes? Kid you might have to take one of the longer runs until Noah get back."

"Don't worry Teaspoon," Eli said. "I'm pretty familiar with the territory around here. I'm sure I can handle most of the runs."

"Okay, you three," Teaspoon said. "Divide up the runs however you think is best. We'll be back in a few days."

Rachel and Sarah stood on the porch, watching them ride off. "Eli," Rachel went back into the bunkhouse. "Where is the doctor?"

"He was out on an emergency. I left him a note to come as soon as he gets back." The doctor knocked on the door just as Eli finished speaking.

"Rachel," he said when she opened the door. "I have a message to come over here right away."

"Come in Dr. Wallace."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Its Louise. She was thrown from her horse and hit her head. She started running a fever early this morning."

"Let me see her." The doctor was the only person in Rock Creek, besides Rachel, Teaspoon and the boys, who knew Lou was really Louise. Just after they had moved to Rock Creek she had burned her arm while trying to help Rachel make dinner. Of course, the doctor had figured out her disguise rather quickly, but he promised to keep her secret on one condition, which she was happy to agree to. She was not allowed to help cook anymore!

The doctor admired this young lady very much. She had made a life for herself doing something she was good at. In a society where the only jobs most women could find was prostitution or scrubbing floors, this was remarkable.

Rachel shooed the boys out of the bunkhouse so the doctor could examine Lou. Ike and Eli went to the barn to work on the chores for the day while Kid paced the porch, desparately wishing he could be inside.

After about a half an hour, the doctor finally came out, followed by Rachel. Kid stood by impatiently as the doctor gave some final instructions to Rachel.

"Keep cool cloths on her head to bring the fever down, and keep giving her lots of liquids. I'll check back this evening."

"Dr. Wallace, is she going to be okay?" Kid asked. The doctor looked at him and was suprised at the love for the young lady shining in his eyes.

"She's going to be fine Kid," he answered.

"What about her legs? She said she couldn't feel or move them."

The doctor nodded. "That's common with her injury. She will probably begin to get some feeling back in a few days, the sooner the better. But I'm not going to lie to you. She may not ever completely regain use of them. Only time will tell."

"What can I do to help her?"

"All you can do is be there for her Kid. Let her lean on you, and just be patient with her."

Kid nodded and looked at Rachel. She smiled at him. "Go on in and see her, Kid."

Kid went into the bunkhouse and Rachel turned back to the doctor. "Thanks Dr. Wallace."

"Don't worry Rachel. She's going to be just fine." He walked back to his office where he pulled out a medical book. He had to remain positive around Rachel and the Kid, but he was really worried about Louise. Everything he had said to them was true, but he hadn't told them the whole truth. He had heard of cases like hers, where the patient regained complete use of their legs, but he had never seen it. He had no experience with this kind of case, and it scared him.

Teaspoon, Cody, Jimmy, and Buck looked down on Bogg's camp. Men were wandering around, but there was no sign of Boggs. As they watched, a man rode into camp, briefly talked to three other men, and the four of them rode out again.

"Are we just going to let them go Teaspoon?" Cody asked.

"We need to focus more on roundingup the majority of the gang and getting the horses back. There aren't enough of us to go after them too." Teaspoon made this decision based on what he saw, and what Buck and Sarah had told him about the camp and Boggs' operation. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear the conversation, so he didn't know he had just made a huge mistake.

The three outlaws were saddling their horses when another man rode up to them.

"Hey Luke," one of the outlaws addressed him.

Luke nodded his head. "Hello. Where's Boggs?"

"The Boss? He said he would be gone for a few days. I don't know where he went."

"Where are you three going?"

"His daughter and Sarah escaped. We're going after them."

Luke thought for a moment. He really didn't trust these outlaws to treat the woman in a way Boggs would approve of. It was a good thing he had gotten back in time. "I think I'll come with you."

The three men nodded. "Well, let's get going then." The four men rode out of camp.




Lou stirred and moaned. She felt something cool on her forehead and heard voices. "I think she's waking up." She didn't recognize that voice, but it seemed familiar. "Lou honey, wake up." That sounded like Rachel. She felt a strong hand grip hers, and she opened her eyes to see Kid's face looking down at her. He smilied and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible. My whole body aches. I feel like, well like I was thrown from a horse," she joked feebly.

"What about your legs?" Kid sounded worried.

Lou had forgotten that she hadn't been able to move or feel her legs. She concentrated on trying to move them. "They're tingling a little, but I still can't move them."

Kid smiled and squeezed her hand. "That's a good sign. Dr. Wallace said it should all come back eventually, but it will probably be a slow process."

Lou nodded her head and closed her eyes. As she drifted to sleep she heard the strange voice talking to Rachel and Kid.

"She's still running a fever, but I think its gone down some," Sarah said.

Ike and Eli came in just then. How is she? Ike signed.

"She's going to be just fine, Ike," Kid said happily. "She was just awake, and she's even got some feeling in her legs. And her fever's going down."

Ike smiled, relieved that Lou was okay. Rachel brought lunch to the table as they all sat down. Ike began to ask Kid what was going on with Boggs, and Sarah filled them all in on what Boggs had told Lou about reuniting their family. When she related the part about Boggs intending to get Jeremiah and Teresa, Kid and Ike looked at each other worriedly.

"He's probably even more determined to get them now," Kid said. "He knows that if he had Jeremiah and Teresa, Lou will go back to him. She won't let anything happen to those children if she can help it."

Looks like we're headed to St. Jo, Ike said.

Kid looked over to the bunk where Lou lay. He was torn between wanting to stay with the woman he loved and protecting her brother and sister from a man who was capable of amazing cruelty. His own father had been abusive, and he knew no child should have to go through that. Lou would give her life for those kids, and he knew she would want him to go. Besides, if he didn't and Boggs was able to get them, nothing he could do would stop her from going after them. So, driven partly because he knew what Lou would want him to do, partly by the memories of his childhood, but mostly by the desire to protect the young lady who had already been through so much in her short life, Kid rose from the table and prepared to ride to St. Joseph.

Eli was saddling his horse, preparing to take his first run with the Pony Express. Kid and Ike had ridden off about four hours ago, and Noah was due back any minute now. He looked up at the sound of horses approaching. Shielding his eyes against the late afternoon sun, he was able to make out four riders heading toward the station. As they got closer, he recognized one of the men and gasped. "How did he find me?"

Knowing there was trouble coming, he ran into the bunkhouse to warn Rachel and Sarah.

The two women looked up from where they were preparing supper as Eli burst through the door. "Eli, what's wrong?" Rachel asked. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for your run?"

"Looks like trouble's coming! Four riders are headed this way, and they don't look very friendly."

Rachel and Sarah rushed to the windows to look out. Sarah gasped as she recognized the men.

"You know them?" Eli asked her.

She nodded. "They work for Boggs. They probably tracked us here." She looked anxiously toward the sleeping Louise. "Boggs probably sent them to find Louise. That one," she pointed to the leader, "is Luke Fowler. He's Boggs' right-hand man. The only member of the gang that Boggs really trusts."

Rachel looked at Eli questioningly. Eli nodded ashamed. "He's my brother," he explained.

"We'll have to defend ourselves somehow," Rachel said. "Sarah, can you use a gun?"

Sarah nodded. "I'm not very good, but I know how to shoot."

"That'll have to work. Eli, you take that window, Sarah that one, and I'll cover the door. Whatever happens, don't let them get to Louise.

Each took their place and prepared to defend the sick girl. The four men approached the station and Luke called out, "We know you've got the girl! Hand her over to us and no one will get hurt!" He looked around the yard and noticed Eli's horse saddled and ready to go. "So, I've found you at last," he muttered smiling wickedly. He looked at the bunkhouse and again called out. "I'm warning you again! Send her out! Or we'll be forced to come in there!"

He was answered by a gunshot from Rachel. It hit the fence next to him and sent splinters of wood into his face. He cussed and pointed the other three men to various places around the bunkhouse.

The three people inside the bunkhouse were ready for a fight. They were shocked however, when Luke shouted again. "And I know you're in there Elizabeth Fowler! You won't get away from me again!"

On to Chapter Three

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