Something In The Water - Part 5

©2004 by Helen Gibson

Looking at each other, Lou and Jimmy both smiled, shaking their heads.

"Okay, okay, we're up!" Jimmy exclaimed as he and Lou climbed out of bed and put their shoes on. Once their shoes were on, Jimmy picked up Joey, wrapped his spare arm around Lou's waist, with Lou doing the same to Jimmy, and together the trio headed outside to face the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lou and Jimmy decided they wanted to marry whilst the family was there, so they decided to marry the following Saturday. That gave them just over a week to prepare. Lou rode off early the following morning into town where she went to the dressmaker to arrange her dress. Then she went over to the church to talk to the minister.

After seeing the minister, Lou went over to Tompkins' store to buy some things she'd need for the wedding; from there, she went over to see Teaspoon who had come to town even before she had to do a bit of work and see how the town coped without him…and as usual, the town coped UNTIL he arrived.

When Lou arrived, Teaspoon was just locking up a boy who couldn't have been more than fifteen years old. At Lou's quizzical look, Teaspoon stated simply "I found him breaking into the Livery this morning. He won't tell me nuttin', so I'm gonna keep him here til he does."

"Well I'm hoping you're gonna tell him something' kid, coz I know this man will do exactly as he's just said." Lou told the prisoner, and then turning to Teaspoon, continued, "So, Teaspoon, will you consider giving me away? Jimmy can't do it this time. He's apparently preoccupied on that day. And you've been like a father to both of us that it seems only right if you do!"

"Well now, it would be my pleasure, darlin'!" Teaspoon replied, tears pricking at his eyes. Without looking at the boy in the cell, Teaspoon escorted Lou to the awaiting wagon across the street. He couldn't be happier than he was at that moment, well for now anyway!!!

When Lou arrived back at the ranch, Jimmy ran up to her and wrapped her up in his arms. Sure she had only been gone for a few hours, but he really missed her. These days it was like he couldn't breathe without her. He gave her a deep kiss, just to let her know how much he had missed her.

"Do you know how much I missed you today?" Jimmy questioned Lou when they broke apart.

"You missed me, huh? Well how are you gonna go staying at the hotel the night before our wedding?" Lou replied with a smirk across her face.

"WHAT? Are you serious? Lou, I don't know about that. I mean…the whole night, away from you? What if somethin' happens here? Maybe I should stay in the Bunkhouse?" he suggested, teasingly.

"Nope. This place is off limits to you that night. Remember, you can't see me before the wedding. If something happens here, Teaspoon aaaand Sam will be here to help us poor defenceless women and children. Now come on, help me put the wagon and horse away, then we can take these groceries inside and talk more about our wedding. After all, we still haven't discussed our honeymoon and where we're gonna stay on our wedding night." Lou ordered, wiggling her eyebrows at the last part.

Laughing, they both put the horse and wagon away, then headed inside with the groceries to talk more about their future. Since Joey hadn't come running out to welcome Lou home, she figured Joey was busy playing with the other children, or having a nap…at this time of day, she opted for the latter.

Jimmy and Lou entered the house and instantly they smelt the efforts of Rachel and Emma's cooking. With watering mouths, they went into the kitchen, not only to put away Lou's purchases, but since it was almost lunchtime, they wanted to help out with anything they could to get lunch ready quicker. For some reason, they were ravenous.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The week simply flew by. Friday was a fury of activity. Lou was busy picking up her dress and organising the final preparations for the wedding. The other women were busy cooking: pies, biscuits, the wedding cake, foods of all descriptions…They also had to keep Cody out of the kitchen – that's where Teaspoon and Sam came in. They got the children to create as many chores as they could to keep Cody occupied.

Jimmy meanwhile was busy organising the boy's hotel accommodation for the night, putting the final touches to his wedding night surprise for Lou…his bride-to-be. He stopped his horse a little way off from the ranch as he saw Lou sitting on the Corral fence looking out over the plains. He knew she was taking some time-out to think – he could see it in her face that she was deep in thought. He rode slowly up beside her and dismounted, still without her noticing.

"Lou…" Jimmy whispered, careful not to scare her.

"Lou jumped at hearing her name, but Jimmy had his hand behind her back just incase she fell. Turning towards the voice, lou smiled brightly at seeing Jimmy.

"Hey, how are you? I've been missing you today!" Lou exclaimed

"I've missed you too. Are you okay? You were thinking pretty hard there. Are you having second thoughts…" Jimmy gulped, a lump had just formed in his throat "…about the wedding? About us?" he choked on the last bit. He knew he would never have second thoughts about anything related to Lou.

Lou looked at Jimmy shocked, "No, Jimmy. I wasn't having second thoughts at all. Actually, I was thinking about us. Where our life together might take us…um, Jimmy. I do need to as you something though…I was just wondering about 'Wild Bill'. How does he fit into our life? I know you've always hated it, but I don't want to lose my husband to someone who wants to make a name for themselves. How do we erase him from our lives so we can be just Jimmy and Louise?"

Looking away from Lou to the expansive prairie, Jimmy replied, "Well, Lou. I've been thinking about that since the day I arrived. I was thinking about killing him off, maybe going by 'Butler' as our surname. That way, noone will ever know who I was before we married. The name Hickok will die with 'Wild Bill'. I just don't know how to go about it. We get married tomorrow – time's running out."

"Well let's go talk to the boys. Maybe one of them will have an idea. Remember Teaspoon's friend, Sirius Happy and the trick they played on that cheating gambler that Christmas? Maybe together we can all come up with an idea like that… and maybe, Jimmy, putting one of your guns away might not be a bad idea either. I know you got the first from 'The Judge' and the second after you killed your friend Brad, but to kill off 'Wild Bill', Jimmy, you'll have to leave one off your hip." Lou suggested.

Nodding, Jimmy wrapped an arm around Lou and pulled her over for a kiss. "I know you're right. I also knew it wouldn't be easy. But what I've learnt is that it will be a lot easier to do with you by my side. Lou will you marry me tomorrow and become Mrs. Butler, not Mrs. Hickok?" Jimmy proposed.

"Of course I will, Jimmy. As long as I marry you tomorrow, I don't care what our last name is. Remember I was Mrs. Kid McLeod…Mrs. James Butler, will be easy" she smiled. "Come on. Let's go let everyone in on the plan." She insisted, jumping down and pulling him down with her, before they both headed into the house to find the rest of the family.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that evening the boys all rode into town for the night. After putting their horses into the Livery for the night, they all headed to the tailor to pick up their suits, then they went to check into the hotel.

After checking into the hotel, Jimmy excused himself for a little while. When he left the hotel, he headed over to Tompkins' to get some last minute gifts for Lou. When he was walking back to the hotel, Jimmy felt like he was being watched. He stopped and looked around, but couldn't see anyone acting suspiciously. Shrugging, he continued towards the hotel.

As he neared the hotel, the boys came out of the hotel. Jimmy quickly ran upstairs to his room to deposit his purchases, then returned to the boys, where they all went over to the restaurant for dinner. On the way to the restaurant, Jimmy noticed Buck kept looking around.

"What's wrong, Buck?" Jimmy asked. 'Maybe he senses it too' he thought.

"I don't know. It feels like someone's watching us. I've been feeling it since we rode in today… the thing is, I don't see anyone." Buck growled. He'd always haded this feeling…trouble was never too far off.

"I know what you mean, Buck. I feel it too. Come on, let's get to the restaurant," Jimmy encouraged, and together the group hastened over to the restaurant.

Once inside, they ordered their meals and a bottle of wine to have with their meal. Soon enough the meals and wine arrived. They toasted to Lou and Jimmy's happiness and then ate their delicious meals. As they awaited dessert to arrive, Cody noticed Buck and Jimmy looking around again.

"What is going on with you two?" Cody demanded. "You keep looking around like trouble's at yer back!"

"Maybe it is, Cody. Someone's watching us and I think I just saw who it was. If it is, trouble really is about to break out." Buck hissed.

* What is it, Buck? * Ike signed.

"Not what, Ike, Who…" Buck replied.