"I hope you have a good reason for barging into my office and interrupting my meeting with Mrs. O'Shay." Doc Danes demanded, rising from behind his desk and starting toward them with a darkening expression on his face.
"We're here on official business Danes." Teaspoon told him, unperturbed by the doc's anger at their intrusion.
He turned toward the red-haired woman with an apologetic tone in his voice. "Sorry ma'am for interrupting your talk with the doc."
"That's quite alright, Marshall Hunter. Doc Danes and I were about finished." The woman replied and started toward the door.
"I'll walk you out Jen. I've been meaning to come by your place and get your applesauce cake recipe." Rachel said.
"There's nothing to it Rachel, you just-,"Mrs. O' Shay said as the two women left the room.
As soon as the two women were no longer within earshot, Doc Danes exploded. "How dare you barge into my office while I'm with a patient! My patients expect a certain amount of privacy when they seek my assistance and I'll not have that jeopardized because of you!"
"Quit your blustering Danes, neither Cody, Rachel or I are interested in listening to you run off at the mouth. One of my riders' is missing and I need your help." Teaspoon told him.
"I should have known." Doc Danes said sarcastically. "One of your riders' being in trouble hardly qualifies for being official business Marshall Hunter. If I had a gold coin for every time I've had to tend to one of your hotheaded young ruffians I would be a rich man by now. What ever possessed those Pony express folks to hire such a sorry bunch of orphans is beyond me. They've even managed to train a half-breed to hold down a steady job, although I wouldn't be surprised to learn one day that he's scalped you all in your sleep."
"Don't you talk about Buck like that, you, you pompous jackass!" Cody exclaimed angrily, lunging at the older man. Doc Danes shrank back in alarm as Cody lunged at him.Teaspoon stepped nimbly forward and grabbed Cody before he reached the doc. Cody glared at the doc over Teaspoon's shoulder.
"Let me go Teaspoon! You heard what he said about Buck!" Cody shouted, struggling in the stationmaster's grasp.
"I'm not going to stand here and listen to this long haired smart mouth ruffian insult me, Marshall! I'm a law abiding citizen and I deserve to be treated with respect!" Doc aid indignantly.
"As much as I'd enjoy seeing you whip the tar out of him, Cody, I can't let you do it cause we need his help. Can you ignore him long enough to do that?" Teaspoon told the struggling rider.
Reluctantly Cody agreed and Teaspoon released his hold on him. Doc Danes took another step back, as if expecting Cody to lunge at him again. Cody cast another glare over Teaspoon's shoulder at the doc before going to stand against the wall near the door. He had barely taken up his angry stance by the door, when the door opened and Rachel entered.
As if sensing that something had occurred while she was out of the room, Rachel cast questioning glances across the room as she took a seat in the chair Mrs. O'Shay had previously vacated. Teaspoon sent her an 'I'll explain later' look and turned his attention back to the doc.
He leveled an icy look upon Doc Danes face and there was an edge of steel in his voice when he spoke. " If you ever make another remark like that about one of my riders, I'll forget I'm wearing this badge and mop up the floor with you myself. My boys may be hotheaded and impulsive at times, but their good men and I'd trust any of them at my back during a gun fight which is more than I can say for any other man in Rock Creek! I don't have the time to stand here and argue with you though! I have a rider who has gone missing under some questionable circumstances and we need your help. So why don't you stuff all that hot air you've been expending at our expense back into that oversize balloon you call a head and shut up long enough to help us!"
Doc Danes bristled under the sharp insults Teaspoon shot at him. He swallowed audibly under Teaspoon's steady glare and nervously wiped again at the sweat dotting his forehead. When he had managed to gain some of his composure back, he spoke.
"I can't find out what the powder is unless you give it to me."
Teaspoon nodded to Rachel, who stood up and handed the packet to Doc Danes. Doc Danes took the packet from her outstretched hand and examined it carefully. After smelling and tasting it like Teaspoon had done earlier, he started out of the office and motioned to Teaspoon, Rachel and Cody to follow. He led them down the hallway and into one of the examining rooms that Teaspoon, Cody and Rachel had passed earlier. As the threesome took up positions near the door, Doc Danes crossed to a cluttered workspace nestled between a set of large wooden cabinets. As the threesome watched, Doc Danes took an empty glass vial from a holder on the workspace and poured the powder into it. Next he took a dipper of water from a nearby bucket and added water to the vial. Doc corked the vial and with a flick of his wrist shook it one time. Almost immediately miniscule bubbles began to form inside the vial and rise upward to the top.
"Well Doc, what'd you find out," said Teaspoon impatiently.
"The powder is potassium carbonate," Doc told him, turning away from the workspace and starting toward them with the bubbling vial in his hand.
Why's it bubbling?" asked Cody.
"It's bubbling because you are seeing the potassium carbonate in its active form. When dry the carbonate lays dormant until water is added." explained Doc.
"What's it used for?" Rachel asked.
"It's used as a tonic of sorts to relieve the more discomforting symptoms of heartburn, ulcers, indigestion and nausea caused by morning sickness. In fact I make it a standard practice to give to all my patients in their early months when morning sickness is most prevalent," Doc continued.
Teaspoon, Rachel and Cody exchanged startled glances at the doc's last few words. It was obvious to all three of them that the possibility of Lou being pregnant had never occurred to any of them. Now that the idea had been brought to their attention, it didn't seem so far fetched a possibility.
"Uh, thanks doc, for all your help. We've got to be going now," Teaspoon said quickly, starting out of the room with Cody and Rachel following close behind.
"Your welcome, I guess." Doc Danes called after them, puzzled over their sudden departure.
Teaspoon led the way out of the doc's office and onto the crowded sidewalk. Mindful of the people milling around, the threesome started back to Teaspoon's office in silence, thoughts of a pregnant and alone Lou filled their minds as they walked. Once they had reached the privacy of Teaspoon's office and had checked to make sure Barnett was not within hearing did anyone speak.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Cody asked.
"If you're thinking that Lou left Rock Creek because she found out she was pregnant, then yes I am." Rachel told him.
"Yep, that's what I was thinking alright." Cody told her. "What are we going to do Teaspoon?"
"There isn't anything we can do Cody. At least not right now," Teaspoon told him. "All we can do is hope that the boys find her and convince her to come home with them."
"Why do I get the feeling that that's going to be a lot harder than we think?"
"Because we're talking about Lou here. Never known a woman quite so stubborn or determined as Lou is to do what she wants to do once her mind is set on doing it." Teaspoon commented. "Those boys will certainly have their work cut out for them."
No one spoke as all three pondered over what Teaspoon had said. Each had a feeling that they would not be seeing any of the absent riders' any time soon. All that they could do would be to sit and wait to see if Kid, Jimmy, Buck and Ike's search for Lou paid off and hope that they could successfully convince her to return to Rock Creek and the people who loved her.
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