HEROES AND LEGENDS: McCLOUD

By: M.L. Tankesly
Copyright 1999-2000

NOTE TO READER:

First off, I'm sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Unfortunately, I live in Eastern North Carolina and we have had some of the strangest weather recently. It also didn't help that my old system went "bonkers" on me one day and destroyed my master file disk. {Damn, computer gremlins!} Anyway, I got a new system and the weather is behaving itself, for the most part, so I've finally have the time to get some work done on "Heroes." Thanks to everyone that has patiently waited for this update and I assure you that the rest of the story is on the way.

Second off, I'm not responsible for the general clueless-ness of Sweetwater's populace - it just seems that I am. :)

Third off, I apologize for the really bad Irish accent. I'm German, what do I know about an Irish blur. If anyone can help me out in making Liam sound more like an Irishman let me know.

And finally, all warnings and assorted disclaimers can be found in part one. I still don't own any of the Young Riders, as much as I would really like to. All other characters belong to me and are used with permission, isn't that grand? :)

Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to Tankesly@rocketmail.com, except for that one suggestion that I type faster. I still have university to attend so my time is a bit limited, so please bear with me, okay? So without further ado, or stalling for that matter, onto "Heroes" part 3!!!! About time, huh??

Liam O'Rourke stepped out of the Doctor's office and into the clear Kansas night with a tired sigh. According to the Doc, Cain would live. While the bullet had entered the man's back, it hadn't done any real damage, missing his vital organs by mere inches. Cain's main problem had been the blood loss, if he didn't develop an infection he should make a full recovery. What bothered Liam the most was the attack itself; it didn't make any sense. Unless someone else was in the house with Lou and Cain, but if that was true then where were they hiding? According to Cody and Hickok the upstairs was deserted, no one else had been in the house.

'Bloody 'ell, none of this makes ina sense,' he thought ruefully rubbing his eyes, the making of a first rate headache forming behind them.

"Liam," Teaspoon Hunter said stepping into the porch with a nod of his head. "I got Buck and Jennings watching Lou over at the jail. The boy still hasn't woken up, I think that Gillian hit him too hard."

Grunting slightly, Liam briefly closes his eyes feeling his headache intensifying.

"Doon bother asking the Doctor to be looking at the lad. He's already said that he canna leave Cain unattended." Liam commented his distaste for the Doctor and his lack of ethics clear in his voice. Since coming to Sweetwater, O'Rourke and the town Doctor rarely seem eye to eye on anything. Something about the kindly country doctor really got on Liam's nerves and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it was about the man that annoyed him so much. 'Face it O'Rourke the git reminds ya of your uncle and Lord knows ya canna stand HIM' Liam thought with disgust shaking his head to clear it of the stray thoughts.

Teaspoon merely nodded at the report, his thoughts elsewhere trying to solve the mystery that seemed to center around Lou McCloud. Nothing about the entire day made much sense, and Teaspoon had a nagging feeling that things were only going to get worse before all was said and done. Things tended to work that way around one of his boys, the whole lot of them seemed to be able to find trouble in the most unlikely of places. Hell there was a reason Teaspoon didn't let Lou make the Bear Creek run anymore, at least not without Ike where to make sure the little guy stayed out of Ms. Emily's establishment. Out of all the Riders, Hunter would never have thought Lou would be arrested for starting a brawl at a bordello, much less forcing a man to walk out of the place without a stitch of clothing on. 'That boy sure does have a mean streak in him,' he thought with a small grin, wishing for the millionth time he had been in Bear Creek to witness the whole sorted affair.

According to Cody, who had been with Lou at the time, it was a site to behold. Lou standing where shirt miss buttoned, gun firmly in hand, tell the town bully, who was completely smashed not to mention naked as the day he was born, that he was leaving right then and there. Teaspoon never did find out what had set the boy off, only that Lou was defending the honour of one of Emily's girls. Cody wouldn't say anymore about it, only that Lou and the girl seemed to know one another. Which in a way eased Hunter's mind a bit, for a while their Teaspoon had begun to think that Lou didn't like women. Obviously he had been wrong, Lou has always been really protective of those he let close to his heart. Maybe one of these days Teaspoon would get to meet the young woman that could trigger Lou's somewhat unpredictable temper and yet keep him from making a terrible mistake the boy would have to live with for the rest of his life. 'Lou needs someone like that in his life,' Teaspoon thought, wondering yet again about the youths past 'the boy has too many demons running around inside of him.'

Peter Nicholaas stepped into the dimly lit office, absently noting the play of shadows on the walls created by the flickering lamps located through out the small room. "Can I help you?" Jennings asked looking up from the checkerboard sitting between him and Buck.

"I just wanted to check on my young friend there," Peter replied with faint German accent, pointing to the cell and its sole occupant lying on the narrow bunk within.

"The Doctor is a bit busy with Marshal Cain right now, I thought it would be best if I took a look at Lou."

"You know Lou?" Buck asked turning his attention from the board game to the man standing near the door. Something about the newcomer bothered him, when ever the man came near him, Buck always got the impression that Peter was more then he seemed.

"Yes, we meet a many years ago, just after his mother died. He is like a son to me in many ways." Peter replied honestly, well almost. It was true that Lou did hold a special place in his heart but as a daughter, not as a son. Of course, Peter couldn't very well go around saying THAT, now could he? "I try to look in on him whenever I can, he tends to get into the most unusual trouble when he's left alone too long." He added with a conspiring twinkle in his eyes to both men.

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Jennings replied with a small grin of his own. He didn't know Peter all that well; the other man tended to keep to himself the few times he saw him around town. On one of the few occasions the man did interact with others was over at the saloon, when Peter broke up a fight before it could escalate into a free for all. For that small act, Jennings was forever grateful, the young deputy really didn't feel up too stopping a brawl that night, especially since the Marshal had been out of town that night and none of Teaspoon's boys had been around to help out like they usually do in such situations.

"I'm not too sure what you can do for Lou, though, but you're welcome to set with him if you want." He offered, knowing that if it were his son lying unconscious in a jail cell, he'd want to be there too. Besides it wasn't like Lou was going anywhere and if Peter tried anything he'd have to get past both him and Buck, who Jennings knew for a fact would watch his back.

Reaching for the key ring lying on the desk, Buck handed it over to Jennings without word, puzzling over what Peter had said. As long as he had known Lou, never once did Lou mention knowing a Peter Nicholaas, at least to him anyway. Granted Lou didn't always talk about his past, not many of the others did, still Lou was one of the few that had been more open then anyone else. 'Maybe Lou said something to Ike?' Buck concluded wishing that Ike would get back from his run so he could ask him. Lou and Ike were close, something that Buck at first resented, Ike had always been his friend, but over time Buck came to realize that Lou didn't want to replace him as Ike's best friend. The two just had more in common then any of the other Riders; for starters they really didn't have too much trouble excepting Buck for who he is half Kyowa. They never throw that little fact up in his face, and usually tolerated him when he got into his brooding moods about being a "half-breed".

Although the two of them did throw him into a river once when his brooding got on their nerves during a ride back from a rather uneventful run. He never did figure out just how they had gotten behind him that day without him noticing and toss him in. Resolving to keep an eye on Peter Nicholaas until either Lou woke up or Ike got back so he could ask them, Buck settled back to continue the board game silently watching the pair in the cell when not beating Jennings at checkers.

Peter could feel Buck's eyes on him as Jennings opened the cell door, but chose to ignore it at the moment. It pleased him to know that Lou had such friends that would go out of their way to protect him, Lou was going to need those friends in the coming troubles ahead of them. Pushing aside the thoughts, Peter focused his attention on the still form on the narrow buck before him, 'Louise what have you gotten yourself into?' he silently wondered.