"Kid, do you hear something? Kid. Kid wake up!" the woman hissed in a loud whisper. The man in the bed beside her stirred. "Kid!"

"What Lou?" he groaned.

"Do you hear that? Listen!"

"I don't here anything Lou. Go back to sleep."

"Wait. There it is again. It sounds like a horse approaching."

"Lou, its probably just someone riding past. It happens all the time. Go back to..." Kid quit talking as the sound disappeared.

hey stopped," Lou whispered.

tay here," Kid told her. "I'll go see who it is."

"Be careful Kid."

"You worry too much Lou," he told her with a grin.

As Kid made his way downstairs he had to admit he was a little worried. Lou was right, it was kinda strange for someone to be ridin' around in the middle of the night. He had just reached the bottom of the stairs when someone knocked on the door. Kid took his shotgun down from its rack over the door before calling out, "Who is it?"

"Is Kid here?" a voice asked.

Kid opened the door, shotgun ready. He wasn't really expecting trouble, but he didn't recognize the voice, and well...you never could be sure.

Before him stood a tall, handsome, well dressed man, with long dark hair and a droopy black mustache. Something about him seemed familiar, but Kid wasn't sure why. "What can I do for you?" he asked cautiously.

"Now Kid. Don't tell me you don't recognize me," the stranger said with a grin. "All them times I saved your life when we rode with the express, and this is what I get?"

"Jimmy?!" Kid said in astonishment. "What are you doing here? Come on in!"

Jimmy started to answer, but just then Lou came down the stairs tying her robe. "Kid, who's there?" she asked, not noticing Jimmy at first.

"Well Lou, it looks like we have a visitor," Kid informed her as she noticed the man standing beside him.

"Jimmy!" she cried as she ran to hug him.

"Now this is the kind of welcome I like!" Jimmy laughed as he held her out to look at her. "Louise, you are lovelier than ever!"

Lou's eyes were bright as she smiled up at Jimmy. Her once short auburn hair was now almost to her waist. It hung in thick, shiny waves caused by the braid she usually wore it in during the day.

"And what is this?" he asked, noticing her obviously rounded stomach.

"Well," Kid said with a huge grin. "It looks like you're gonna be an uncle."

"An uncle! That's great you two." Jimmy was really happy for his friends, and he could tell they were happy too. "When?"

"Any day now," Lou told him. "And I hope its soon. I'm so tired of being fat. I look like a cow."

"You most certainly do not!" Jimmy protested. "You are beautiful."

"And you are a good liar." Lou smiled at Jimmy to let him know she was only teasing him.

"Well," Kid told her. "I know you want to stay up and talk to Jimmy, but you need your rest."

"You worry too much, Kid," she teased him.

"I just want to be sure you and the baby are okay," he said seriously. Jimmy could hear the concern, and perhaps a small amount of fear in his voice.

"We are both fine. But I will go back to bed now. Goodnight." Lou kissed him as she turned to go back upstairs.

"Goodnight Jimmy. Its good to have you back."

"Goodnight Lou."

Jimmy and Kid stayed up a while longer, talking about their memories of riding for the express.

"Remember the time Cody took Buck's medicine pouch?" Jimmy said.

Kid laughed. "Yeah. And Buck got him back real good!"

"Cody sure looked funny runnin' around like that."

"Actually, Cody was always makin' a fool of himself over one thing or another!"

"Have you heard from any of them?" Jimmy asked.

"Lou keeps up with everyone as much as she can. Rachel's still in Rock Creek teaching the school. Teaspoon went back to Texas not too long after the express ended. Last we heard, he was working with the Rangers again."

"Teaspoon! Isn't he a little too old for that?"

"Well you know Teaspoon. He'll probably never settle down. Let's see, Buck went back to live with the Kiowa. He visits every once in a while. He has a wife and a son, but he's probably not going to stay in the tribe very much longer. He's not really accepted there, and the Kiowa are struggling to survive. His family is just more mouths to feed. Lou and I want him to come live with us. The farm is getting to be more than we can handle. Besides growing wheat, our horse trading business is growing. If Buck is willing, we're going to make him a partner. We haven't heard from Cody in a couple of years. I thought maybe you would have kept in touch with him."

"I run into him every so often. Last I heard, he was still working with the army as a scout."

"Well, Rachel's coming for Christmas, and so are Sam and Emma."

"How are they?" Jimmy asked. "I haven't heard from them since the express ended."

"They are doing real good for themselves. Sam is in charge of all the Indian Agents in the territory. He and Emma have three kids. They should be here in about three days. Rachel's only an hour away, so she's coming out on Christmas Eve. Lou tried to write to everyone else to invite them, but we weren't sure where to send the letters, so we don't know if anyone got them."

"Well," Jimmy said. "I'm never in any one place too long, so I'm not surprised it never reached me.

"I'm really glad you came back Jimmy. Its been too long since we've seen you."

They talked a while longer, then decided to go to bed.

The next morning Kid showed Jimmy around their farm while Lou cooked breakfast. Jimmy realized that both Lou and Kid had changed a lot in the years since he last saw them, not only in appearances, but something else was different. He had no idea what had happened in their lives. Kid had just told him that he went back to Virginia to fight then once he got home, he and Lou bought the farm. But Jimmy suspected there was more to the story than that.

Jimmy was right. In the years since the express had ended, a lot had happened; to all three of the former riders. Jimmy, although never officially aligned with the Union army, had worked as a scout and spy for them, mostly in the West. In the year since the war had ended he mostly drifted around from town to town, never keeping a job too long.

Kid on the other hand had left Rock Creek, leaving Lou behind, to return to Virginia to fight for the South. He fought at the Second Battle of Manassas and at Antitem, where he was taken prisoner by the Union Army. He was in prison camp for two years before being released in a prisoner trade. By then he was so sick from the horrible conditions of the prison that the Confederate army discharged him (after he spent some time in an army hospital).

Lou had been angry with Kid at first because she couldn't understand why he wanted to go back to Virginia to fight. But she knew how much his home meant to him and how important it was to him to fight, so, even though she hated it, she said good-bye to him just six months after they were married. By then only she and Rachel were left in Rock Creek, so she couldn't even have the comfort of her family around to help her through it. A month after Kid left, Lou found out she was pregnant. She wrote Kid to tell him, but he never received her letter. In fact, even though they both wrote to each other regularly, neither ever got any of the letters. So Lou was left to face having her first child without Kid. From the beginning she had difficulty with the pregnancy. The doctor said it was toxemia, and prescribed her to complete bed rest. Rachel was there to take care of her the whole time, and the doctor did everything he could, but her daughter died at birth, and Lou almost died too. She was in bed for several weeks afterward recovering; and just when she was up and regaining her strength, she got the telegram telling of Kid's capture. At first, this sent her back to bed, but she began to push her worries and fears back and threw herself into helping Rachel with the school and other things around town. Rachel worried about her, fearful that she was living in denial, but it was the only way Lou could cope.

For the next two-and-a-half years she never heard any other news about Kid; she didn't even know if he was dead or alive. Then one day, he just showed up. He told her a little about his capture and where he had been sent. But he wouldn't talk about the war or what the prison was like, and, knowing he wanted to forget the horrible things he had seen, Lou didn't press him for details. He never volunteered any, so many questions remained.

After Kid returned he and Lou decided they needed to get a place of their own. They bought some land about an hour from Rock Creek and tried their hand at farming. The first year had been hard; their crops had failed and a harsh winter had killed many of their cattle. They had barely been able to hold onto their land, but with a loan from Rachel they started again. The following years had been good to them. Now, their harvests were bountiful, their cattle herd was growing, and they were beginning to breed horses too. As Kid had told Jimmy, they were barely able to handle it themselves.

Jimmy and Kid were at the corral looking at some new horses Kid had just purchased when they heard horses approaching. Coming around to the front of the house they saw Lou greeting Sam and Emma.

"Sam, Emma! Its good to see you," Kid said. "We weren't expecting you for another three days."

"Well, the territorial governor let me go early," Sam said. "So here we are."

Meanwhile, Emma and Lou were hugging. "Its so great to see you Emma." Lou whispered. "I've missed you so much."

"Let me look at you! I'm so excited for you!" Emma hugged her again.

"Come on in. I'm just gettin' breakfast on the table." Lou and Emma walked inside as Sam introduced his three kids to Jimmy.

"This here's our oldest, Sam Jr. And this is Laura and Leah, our twins."

Lou and Emma were visiting inside. "You and Kid have done real good for yourselves here," Emma commented, helping Lou set the table for breakfast.

"We've been blessed the last few years," Lou said quietly, memories of harder times reflecting in her eyes. "Its been good for Kid to have something to focus on after his experiences in the war. He still has nightmares about it, but he won't talk to me. He's trying to handle it all himself, and I'm afraid of losing him." Lou was crying by now. "All that, and his worries about me and the baby almost consume him."

Emma, like the rest of them, didn't know much about what Kid had gone through in the war. But she knew what Lou had gone through while he was gone. "You know Loulabelle, Kid isn't the only one who's been trying to handle everything himself. You haven't really had anyone to talk to either. But while I'm here, I want you to lean on me. And I don't want you to do any work." When Lou started to protest, Emma interrupted her. "The baby is due soon, and Rachel and I will be here to handle everything. You've been working hard to keep up the farm, and now you deserve a break."

"You're wonderful Emma, you know that?" Lou, despite hating to have anyone wait on her, was grateful. She had been working hard, and the pregnancy took a lot of her energy too.

"I'm not so sure about that," Emma teased. "But I do know a little about cooking and housework."

Lou laughed. "Thank you Emma." She gave the older woman a hug.

The group had just sat down to breakfast when they heard horses approaching, again. Going outside to see who it was, everyone was surprised to see Buck and his family riding up.

"Buck!" Lou squealed, running to hug him. "I'm so glad you came."

"Well, it looks like I'm gonna be here for a while."

"You've decided to accept Kid's offer?" she asked.

He nodded. "It's time for a change. By the way," he smiled at her. "I have a surprise for you. Look who we ran into on the way here."

Lou looked up as a man walked around from behind Buck's family. "Cody!"

"Hey Lou," He said as he gave her a hug. "It's great to see you. What's this?" he asked, surprised. "Are you getting fat?"

"No silly! I'm gonna have a baby!"

"No way! When?"

"Any day now."

"Buck, why didn't you tell me?"

"Cody, if you could see the expression on your face right now, you'd know exactly why," Buck said, as they all laughed at Cody.

Lou turned to greet Buck's family. "Morning Flower! It is good to see you again. And this must be your son!" she said, looking at the small child in Morning Flower's arms.

"This is Little Buck," Buck told them proudly, coming to take his son from Morning Flower.

"Everyone come in. Breakfast is getting cold, and I'm sure Buck and Morning Flower are probably hungry."

For the next three days Lou and Kid enjoyed the company of their family. Lou was happy to have them all together again. Rachel would arrive in a few days, and everything would be perfect. Well, almost. If only Teaspoon were here. Then everything would be perfect, she thought.

Christmas Eve finally came. Early that morning Kid, Jimmy, Cody, Buck, Sam, and Sam Jr. set out for the woods to find the perfect Christmas tree. Lou, Emma, and Morning Flower showed the twins how to make paper chains to decorate the tree with. With the children thus occupied, the three women got out the rest of the ornaments that Kid and Lou had collect over the years and made a space in the parlor for the tree.

They were sorting all the ornaments when a wagon approached the house. "Rachel must be here!" Lou exclaimed, jumping up.

"Louise, stay here," Emma said firmly. "You are supposed to stay off your feet until the baby is born. Rachel will be in in just a minute. I'll go greet her." Lou knew better than to argue with her. Besides, the doctor had told her to stay off her feet, and Kid would kill her if he found out.

Emma and Rachel came in a few minutes later. "Louise, you look so beautiful!" Rachel said coming over to hug her.

"What's going on?" Lou asked suspiciously, looking at Rachel and Emma. Both women had huge smiles on their faces.

"We have a surprise for you," Rachel said, still grinning.

"What is it?" Lou asked.

"Where is this new mama?" a man asked, entering the room.

"Teaspoon!" Lou exclaimed as he came over to hug her. "We were so worried. We had no idea what had happened to you," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"I'm just fine Louise. I'm sorry I haven't written you, but I'm here now, and I'd like to stay for a while if that's okay with you and Kid."

"You know you're always welcome here, Teaspoon," she said. "I want you to be around to get to know your grandchild."

"Speaking of that, let me get a good look at you." Teaspoon was amazed at the change in the former pony express rider. There was no way she would ever be able to disguise herself as a man now, even if she wasn't pregnant. Her hair was longer, and the pregnancy had given her face a glow, radiating happiness.

"Louise, you are the most beautiful woman I have seen in a long, long time. Kid is a very lucky man."

Lou blushed, which only made her even lovelier. "It is so good to have you back Teaspoon."

For the rest of the day, the women visited and Teaspoon alternated between entertaining the twins with stories of his adventures as a Texas Ranger and giving doting attention to his first grandchild, Little Buck. Lou was just content watching them all. Yes, she thought, Everything is perfect now.

It was late afternoon when Lou felt the first contraction. She gasped in pain.

"Louise, are you okay?" Rachel looked at her with concern.

"I think the baby is coming," Lou said once the contraction subsided.

"Come on, let's get you up to bed." Rachel and Teaspoon helped her upstairs. "The doctor is supposed to be here to check on her soon," Rachel told Teaspoon.

"I'll ride towards Rock Creek to see if I can get him here any faster. You and Emma and Morning Flower take care of her. I'll be back as quick as I can." Teaspoon rushed outside to saddle a horse.

Emma cam up to the room with a kettle of water. "I boiled some water, and here are some rags. Everything's gonna be all right Loulabelle," she said, going over to where Lou lay on the bed. Lou nodded as another contraction took control. For the rest of the afternoon Rachel and Emma stayed with her while Morning Flower watched the children. Teaspoon finally got back with the doctor, who took over for Rachel and Emma.

"It looks pretty good right now," he said. "It's gonna be a while though."

When the men came back with a tree early that evening, the doctor's wagon was parked in front of the house. Kid ran inside, worried about Lou.

"What's going on? Where's Lou?" he asked Rachel as he burst into the house.

"Calm down Kid, she's fine. The doctor's with her right now. It looks like you're gonna have a nice Christmas present."

"What do you mean?" Kid asked, confused.

"She's having the baby silly."

"Is she okay?" Kid was obviously very worried.

"She's fine Kid. The doctor said it looks real good. Why don't you go up and see her."

Kid ran up the stairs as the others came in.

"She's having the baby?" Jimmy asked.

"Don't worry boys. The doctor is taking care of her," Emma said, greeting Sam. "Why don't you go on into the living room and start setting up the tree."

"Lou, don't worry. I'm here."

"Kid?"

"Shh. Just rest."

"Kid, I'm so scared. All I can think about is what happened last time."

"Lou, this is nothing like last time. You are stronger now, and the doctor says everything is good. You and the baby are both gonna be fine." In reality, Kid was probably more worried than Lou, but he knew she had to stay calm. So he pushed back his worries and became strong for her sake.

"Just try to rest before the next contraction comes." The doctor came over to check on Lou. "It's still gonna be a while."

The tree was trimmed, dinner had been eaten long ago, and Emma and Morning Flower had just put the children to bed; still there was no sound of a baby crying.

"How long is it gonna be?" Jimmy tensed as Lou's cries of pain echoed down the stairs as another contraction hit.

"They're getting closer together," Rachel said. "It shouldn't be too much longer now."

But it was another four hours before the baby was born. Cody and Jimmy, who had never been around childbirth, looked as if they wanted to die every time they heard Lou's cries; especially once the baby began to come.

"I can't take this any more!" Cody said.

"Son, I think Louise should be the one sayin' that right about now, not you." Teaspoon and the others laughed at Jimmy and Cody.

Suddenly, everything was quiet. Everyone held their breath, remembering what had happened the last time. They all sighed in relief as a baby's cries echoed through the house.

"You did great Louise." Kid kissed his wife on the forehead.

"Thank you for being here for me this time, Kid. I never could have made it without you."

"I'm always gonna be here for you Lou."

"Well, here she is." The doctor brought the baby over to Lou. "You have a healthy baby girl Kid, Louise. It's just a few minutes past midnight. It looks like you have a Christmas baby."

"Our very own Christmas Joy."

Lou smiled at Kid. "It seems as if you've named her already."

"Well, Lou, don't get mad at me. But I think the name fits."

"I think you're right Kid."

"Now you and Joy have to rest. I'll go tell the others you are both fine."

"I'll just clean up, and then I'll leave you to sleep. If you stay in bed all day, then you can go downstairs to celebrate Christmas tonight. But you have to carry her down, and she must lay on the sofa. No working or any other stressful activity." The doctor looked sternly at Kid.

"Don't worry," Kid said. "I'll make sure she stays in bed." He went downstairs to talk to everyone.

"How is she?" Rachel asked.

"Lou and the baby are both fine. They're resting now."

"So, is it a boy or a girl?"

"What are you gonna name it?"

"Who does it look like, you or Lou?" The questions came flying at Kid.

"We have a healthy baby girl. She was born just after midnight, which means we have a Christmas baby. We named her Joy, and I hope she'll look just like Lou. You can all see them later," Kid said, anticipating the next question. "They have to stay in bed all day, but I'll carry them down tonight so we can all celebrate Christmas together."

Later that night everyone was in the living room, gathered around the Christmas tree. The children were happily playing with the toys they had received, and Rachel was bringing coffee and pie for all the adults. Lou surveyed her family from her place on the sofa. She was happy to have them all together at last. She reached over and slipped her hand into Kid's, who held baby Joy. She couldn't imagine being any happier than she was now.

"Merry Christmas everyone."

"Merry Christmas," they all replied.

Emma stood up. "I think it's time we get these children to bed."

"Before you do that Emma," Teaspoon said, "I think we need some Christmas carols. Rachel, why don't you start."

"Silent night, holy night..." she began as everyone joined in.

A blanket of snow covered the farm, and the moon shone brightly upon it. The song echoed through the valley. Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

Christmas had come, and it brought with it peace, family, and most of all, Joy.

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