Buck awoke in a stress. He could only remember Kate in pain and their daughter screaming. He sat up with a yell, not knowing what to care for first, the pain in his left leg or his spinning head?

"Calm down," Kid spoke and landed a hand on Buck's shoulder.

Buck turned to him with fear in his eyes.

"Where's Kate?" he asked.

"She's still in labor," Kid explained and breathed a sigh of relief when Buck seemed to relax some hearing his wife was taken care of, and laid back down.

"How long since we got here?"

"Almost eight hours," Lou said from across the room. She had been asleep in a chair most of the night.

"Eight hours?!" Buck shouted nervously and his eyes grew wide in shock.

"Doc gave you laudanum for the leg, he still hasn't been able to set it. And I'm afraid Kate's in a lot of distress," Kid said. That was the last they had heard from doc's wife.

"But births can take much longer than that, everything is okay," Lou soothed.

Just then the door opened and the doctor's wife came in.

"Well?" Buck demanded with wild fiery eyes.

"I have some bad news," the elderly woman announced sadly and walked up to the expectant father.

"No," Buck whispered and tried to ignore the dizziness that washed over him at the thought of what might have happened.

The doctor's wife sat down on a chair by his cot.

"You know you're here a month too soon," she began and tried to find the right words. "The birth was very difficult, and I'm sorry to tell you," she stopped there and sought his worried eyes.

"What?" he whispered weakly and both his hands gripped the sheets.

"I'm afraid the child was stillborn," the woman concluded and Buck didn't know whether to be relieved or sad. At least Kate was alive, but he didn't know how either of them would deal with the death of their second child. He knew he was mostly shocked, but Kate must be devastated.

"How is she?" he asked with a cracking voice and met the woman's eyes warily.

"She's still in pain, and my husband is afraid there's still something wrong," the woman said and held back her own tears. She often found situations like these very moving. And sad. "The baby was born early because it died, and there might be some internal damages done to your wife," she continued.

"The baby?" Buck asked and looked up again. His sad eyes were glazed with tears. "Was it a boy or a girl?"

"Are you sure you wanna know?" the woman asked and landed a hand on his arm.

"Rather than not knowing," he replied firmly.

"It was a girl."

Buck couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He sank back on the cot and stared at the ceiling. The tears rolled down his cheeks like fat pearls and he made no effort to wipe them away. He doctor's wife whose name he didn't know motioned something to the marshal and his wife, then scooted soundlessly out of the room.

Lou pushed Kid into leaving too, then took a seat by Buck's side. She didn't speak, just sat there and held his hand. Many long minutes passed by while Buck lay in guilt on the cot, no longer bothered by the pain in his leg. All he could think of was how Kate would yell at him, hit him, scream in his face. All because he didn't care enough for her. All because he didn't help her around the house. And because he cared more for his work than for his family. The child she had been expecting was what kept them together, he was certain of that. He loved more than life itself, but he knew Kate only stayed by him because he was the father of her child. A child that was dead now. Their marriage was definitely over this time.

Buck became slowly aware of a dark room and silence. He had cried himself to sleep and Lou had long since left his side. The only window in the room had been blinded so he could sleep in peace. His leg felt funny and sitting up carefully he soon realized it was splinted now. And it hurt. He must have been sedated again, he figured. Last time he had been very upset about it, but this time all he wanted was to sleep. And preferably never wake up again.

He looked around the room and tried to make out where the dim light was coming from. Under the door. He saw as well as heard feet walk past it and he tried to identify the voices. Kid. Lou. And another man. Doc. To his surprise the door suddenly opened and Lou came inside.

"Hey," she whispered and closed the door. The room was once again black. "How you feeling?"

He sighed and shook his head.

"Kate alright?" he sniffled.

"She's not well," Lou admitted and clasped his hand, sitting down on a chair by his side.

"Have you seen her?" Lou nodded and Buck sighed. "What did she say?"

"She's mostly just sad. And in pain. She's worried about you too."

Buck's eyes fell on his feet, and his back leant heavily against the bedpost.

"This is my fault," he whispered. "She hates me now."

"No, Buck. She's just worried about you," Lou soothed, but her words never reached him.

"She's gonna want to divorce me for killing her child," he rambled on. "I'll never see her or Sherry again."

Finally the desperation got the better of him and he cried again. Lou leant forward to hug him, and his whole body heaved in heart wrenching sobs for a long time. When he finally stopped he was weak and tired. Drained. Lou sat back on her chair and wiped at his wet cheeks.

"This will work itself out, Buck. You'll get through this," she promised.

"Maybe I will, but Kate won't. I know she won't. She's got no reason to get out of it. Everything's going to hell," his voice got caught in his throat before he could finish his speech.

"She's got you and Sherryleen," Lou pointed out.

"We had a conversation about losing the baby once. It's over seven months ago. Kate said she was scared it would happen. She was right."

Lou knew she couldn't convince him into believing things would be okay. She too was scared she would lose her baby, and now more than ever. She could only offer him her physical support.

Kid hugged his wife tenderly and wiped at her tears. She refused to let go of his shirt front and her sobs echoed in his head.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked though he had a feeling it had to do with Kate.

"What if something happens to out baby too?" she asked between sobs.

"Oh, Lou." Kid started but she cut him short.

"She was feeling fine last night, she said so herself. I'm feeling fine now, but what if I don't in a couple of hours? Or days? What if this happens to us too, Kid?"

"It won't," Kid soothed. "They were unlucky, that's all."

"But it can happen to us!" Lou nearly shouted into his chest.

"I know, but I'm sure it won't. It's okay," Kid whispered and hugged her hard. "You'll see, it will work out."

Lou stood in his arms for a moment and was just beginning to feel his strength and support when a voice rang out through the hall.

"Erin!"

In a flash the doctor's wife came running past them, into Kate's room a few doors away from the couple. Lou was seized by new panic and her face bored into Kid's chest.

"What's wrong, Kid?" she asked but he didn't answer.

"Please God, don't take her too!"