©1997 by Kathy .
All the eyes in the bunkhouse gazed questioningly at Emma as she came in. She
dumped the bowl and spoon she'd been using to feed the Kid on the table. "Not
yet."
James Butler Hickok, also known as 'Wild Bill' since Marcus wrote that stupid
book about him and his imaginary 'exploits,' frowned. He and the Kid had their
differences, but when it came down to it, he just hated seeing Kid laying unconscious
in the bed they'd fixed for him in the house. "Doc said probably two or
three days. It's been four already."
<<Yes, and Lou gets more upset every day. She'll be impossible to live
with soon,>> Ike signed.
Emma sighed. She couldn't afford to discourage the boys, but they had to face
the truth. That wound on Kid's head was a bad one. She tried to smile encouragingly,
but it didn't fool anyone. "Give it time. You know bumps on the head are
tricky. Doc couldn't tell for sure, but you know Kid's a fighter."
"That's right, boys." Teaspoon began to pontificate. " 'Member
that time Ike got hisself shot in the head and was out for a few days? Doc tol'
you then, head wounds is funny things. You c'n wake up straight away or take
awhile."
"Hope so," Jimmy said. "Ike's right - Lou's sending us all crazy."
"I remember he said Ike might wake up in a few days or he might never wake
up." Cody said loudly, as always. The mood in the bunkhouse blackened considerably.
William F. Cody had a way of putting his foot in his mouth. Teaspoon often thought
Cody only apologised so's he could take a breath before sticking the other foot
in there. "Now Cody, we don't know that. "Ike woke up, didn't he?"
Ike grinned at Cody. <<I sure did.>>
"Sides, like Emma said," Teaspoon nodded towards the waystation's
cook, acknowledging her words. "Kid's a fighter. You know how he won Katy,
he just kept going till he got that $30 and wouldn't give up even when he was
so beat up he couldn't hardly stand. He'll..." He broke off abruptly as
Lou came in the door.
"Kid?"
"Lou..." Emma said helplessly. Lou's face, already showing the effects
of several nights with little sleep, fell further. "C'mon. Supper's ready."
"Ain't hungry. I'll go and sit with him while you eat." Lou's stubbornness
seemed to get worse by the minute.
"Not till you eat. Ain't gonna do the Kid no good for you to be all wore
out too." Emma shoved the plate of stew in front of Lou as she spoke. Lou
scowled, but realising the truth of Emma's words, she began to eat.
"Quite right, Miz Emma. Now, Buck's due back tomorrow mornin'. Kid's up
next, so who's taking his run?" Teaspoon's question started everyone arguing,
just as usual. No matter how bad things get, he thought, some things never change.
He woke again, this time with a headache like there was a whole
herd of mustangs galloping though his head. He groaned, then looked for the
water again in the dim light. The glass was empty. If anyone had been in since
he woke up last, they didn't notice that he'd drunk the water. Laying back down,
he winced as his head hit the pillow. Pillow? - it couldn't have hurt his head
more if it was a rock.
He checked himself for other injuries - very carefully. apart form his head,
his right arm ached, along with a sore spot just under his right shoulderblade.
Maybe he'd fallen on a rock or something there. Otherwise it seemed he wan't
too badly hurt. He just couldn't remember how he got wherever-it-was he was.
He knew that was confusing and would have shaken his head to clear it but any
movement made his head spin.
Just after dawn, he thought. Then the door opened, and a brown-haired head peeked
around it. "Kid? You're awake?" And whoever belonged to the head rushed
in, nearly dropping the bowl of food. The skinny lad managed to put the bowl
down safely - more or less - on the chair next to his bed. "Kid! I'm so
glad! You're all right, ain't you? We were so so worried!" The lad then
did the most surprising thing. He gave the injured boy a very firm hug. "Oh,
I'd better tell the others!" And he rushed out again as quickly as he'd
come in, giving the 'kid' no time to ask any questions.
Well, he thought. At least someone's glad to see me awake! How long was I out?
His thoughts were interrupted by the noise of several voices calling loudly,
then the footsteps of several people came closer to the door and the door opened
again.
The skinny lad he'd seen before led the way. "See, I told you he was awake!"
A chorus of "Hey-Kid!-How-are-you?"s, "Welcome back'"s and
"Kid!"s greeted him,.until a woman with strawberry blonde hair and
big brown eyes told the others to '"Hush! Kid's probably got a headache
and don't need you boy's yelling like that. Ain't that right, Kid?" Her
warm smile made him feel welcome.
"Yeah, my head does hurt a bit," he answered. The speech, little as
it was, made his thirst reassert itself firmly. "Can I have some water
please, ma'am?"
The woman looked at him strangely. "Sure, Kid." She went to pass his
the water glass, but saw it was empty and passed it to a young man dressed in
buckskin with long blonde hair and very pale blue eyes. "Cody, get Kid
some water please."
"Yes, Emma." So the woman was Emma and the buckskin-wearing man was
Cody. As yet unnamed, but smiling at him was an older man with grey hair, 4-days-worth
of stubble on his chin and pink suspenders, a half-breed Indian with a huge
knife on his left boot - could be dangerous, it'd pay to watch him - and another
man with a very square jaw. The one named Cody came in with the water and handed
it to 'Kid.'
"Just a moment, Cody," Emma said. "Help Kid up." Cody helped
the 'Kid' sit up and handed him the glass. 'Kid' gulped the water down.
'
How're you feelin', Kid?" the skinny lad asked when 'Kid' had finished
the water.
"Oh, all right, I guess. Head hurts, though."
"Ain't no wonder, the bump you got on your head looks like a duck's egg."
The half-breed's pleasant baritone surprised the Kid. He'd expected the dark-skinned
Kiowa? - yes, Kiowa - to have an accent, or his speech to be of the 'How! You
com-um here' variety, but his English was perfect.
"Kid, you sure you're all right?" Emma's suspicions were growing by
the minute. The Kid was quite wary of Buck, in a way she only saw when people
didn't know the Kiowa and were unaware of his gentle nature. He hadn't given
any attention to Lou, hadn't asked bout Katy, his beloved horse and worst of
all, he hadn't used anyone's name.
"I'll be fine, uh, Emma." His attempt at a smile didn't allay Emma's
fears at all. She looked at Teaspoon and saw her worry mirrored in his eyes.
Teaspoon decided to force the issue. "Son, how'd you come off Katy?"
Son, huh? In that case, the older man must be...He decided to take a chance.
"I cain't rightly remember, uh... Pa?" He must have got it wrong.
The shocked look in everyone's eyes said it all.
