A Mother's Instinct

by Katlynn

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program "Big Valley" are the creations of Four Star/Republic Pictures and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted to the author.

Victoria Barkley absently poured herself a cup of tea and sipped the hot drink before setting it down and, just as unconsciously, picking up the book that lay in her lap. She sat alone in the parlor of her spacious home, studying the page before her but failing miserably in her attempts to concentrate on the words. She'd read the page three times before and still had no idea what it said.

The house had been uncharacteristically quiet that evening, her children having departed for destinations unknown shortly after their evening meal. She'd excused herself from the supper table, bidding her family "good night" as she left the dining room. The family usually gathered in the study after supper but she'd already told them of her long day and her desire to make it an early evening, so no one questioned her leave-taking. But once in her bedroom, sleep had eluded her. Even as determined as she was to slumber, she knew it would only get more difficult if she tried to force herself to sleep. A half hour after leaving her family at the table, she decided to rejoin them. Book in hand, she descended the grand stairway, expecting to hear the usual talk and laughter from the study. But the house was quiet and her family was nowhere to be found. Well, she reasoned as she went to the kitchen to prepare a pot of tea, it WAS Friday night and they probably all had plans for the evening.

So, like mothers everywhere, she sat and waited for her family to return, now reluctant to sleep until she knew they were safely home. A soft chime from the timepiece on the desk told her it was twelve o'clock and a shiver ran through her as the midnight hour tolled. A sixth sense … an intuition … a mother's instinct … something suddenly told her that one of her children was in trouble and her breath caught in her throat as she fearfully wondered which of her children might not be coming home tonight. She pulled her shawl more tightly around her shoulders as she got up and crossed the room to the window, looking out at a landscape eerily lit by a full moon. The shadows it cast fueled her imagination as she saw danger in every darkened patch of the yard.

Was it Jarrod who was in danger? Jarrod, her beloved oldest son. The mighty crusader who sometimes found the cause more important than the people he involved. Of all her sons, she would have expected Jarrod to be the one to see the least violence in his life. He did, after all, wear a suit to work. But there was no denying that his brushes with danger came close to rivaling those of his brothers. She had to admit that Jarrod's troubles were hardly run-of-the-mill. He'd been blinded in an explosion. Fought his brothers while suffering from amnesia. Found himself caught in a bear trap. And watched as his wife died in his arms after being shot by a man he'd once sent to prison. Well … okay … that was more Beth's problem than Jarrod's; she was, after all, the one who'd died. But Jarrod HAD gone a bit crazy and disappeared for a time after that, Victoria reflected. Was it Jarrod who inspired this feeling of dread that had so suddenly come over her?

Or, perhaps, her thoughts were of Nick. If any of her children could be thought of as enigmatic, it was Nick. He could be as volatile as a stick of dynamite yet as gentle as a newborn lamb and both of those traits had gotten him in trouble in the past. He'd run afoul of Gypsies, squatters, thieves, and jealous husbands. He'd been kidnapped, shanghaied, and ambushed. Beat up, set up, and waylaid. And his luck with the fairer sex could be summed up in a single word … bad. If they weren't already married, they were anarchists, manipulators, or simply fickle. There was one, she recalled, whose family murdered her beaus and tossed them in a river. His bad luck with women bordered on legendary! But his troubles weren't limited to encounters with other human beings. No, Nick Barkley didn't discriminate in that regard! He'd tangled with wolves, cougars, and wild horses and Victoria couldn't help but wonder … if Nick WAS the one whose situation filled her with trepidation, what manner of creature had he tangled with this time?

But … maybe it was Heath! Not her youngest, but her newest, son. He certainly had a propensity for attracting danger. Gunfighters. Religious zealots. Former lawmen who'd long ago passed their prime. Or just plain crazy town folk. She'd lost track of how many times he'd been shot, whipped, or imprisoned. Why a body only had to sneeze in front of him and he'd likely catch a cold! And his luck with woman was on a par with Nick's. She couldn't even begin to guess how many times he'd been rejected by a woman he loved … or run into a former girlfriend who brought trouble with her … or been pursued by a gun-toting female. And just when he thought he'd found the right one … why … she ran off and became a nun! Victoria was still taking stock of the trials and tribulations he'd seen in his life – many experienced before he'd found his father's family and become one of her children. She'd thought – naively, she now knew – that his troubles would all be in the past once he'd been accepted as a Barkley. Oh, how wrong she'd been. Could it be Heath who caused fear to fill her heart?

Or could it be Eugene? He'd disappeared one day and no one in the family had seen him nor spoken of him since he left town. Certainly he must still be at school, she thought. That's where he'd told them he was going when he left that last day. But how could they really be sure of that? Eugene had often spoken of things that no one else seemed to know much about … germs … elves … fairies. At least she thought it was Eugene. She couldn't imagine any of her other sons mentioning such creatures. But now that she thought about it … Eugene HAD stomped out of the room in a huff when the talk turned to elves and fairies. Was that when he disappeared? She couldn't remember. In fact, it was a struggle just to remember what he looked like. She found, much to her chagrin, that she could neither remember his face nor whether he was younger or older than Audra, her beautiful, blonde, only daughter.

Oh, no … not Audra! It couldn't be Audra, she thought uneasily. Certainly, like her brothers, she was no stranger to danger. She could mysteriously disappear or go into a catatonic state as well as anyone Victoria had ever met. Put her in front of a classroom of children and trouble was bound to find her. And there was no denying that her willful daughter had a knack for attracting the wrong men. It seemed that no matter who she found camping on Barkley land or who she invited to dinner after he'd saved her life … no matter who, there was always additional peril to be found in their company. Ah, but the most recent was a man in uniform! Oh, sure, there had been others in uniform who'd brought danger into Audra's life … but the odds were definitely on their side. Sooner or later one of her suitors would have to be … well … suitable. But was it … oh, what was the name of the officer she favored this week? There'd been so many that the names tended to blur one into another.

Of course, maybe things were blurring because she was tired. She returned to her chair and laid her head back, closing her eyes for a moment to rest them. Visions of her children danced through her mind … although the one of Eugene was fuzzy. Oh, if only they'd included him in the family photograph … maybe then she'd remember what he looked like, she thought sleepily. Heath hadn't been with the family long when they'd taken that picture so he couldn't be faulted for simply asking, "What about what's-his-name? Ain't he gonna be in the picture?"

Uncharacteristically discreet, Nick had gently nudged his brother and whispered, "His name is Silas and even though he sometimes acts like he's part of the family, we don't usually include him in family pictures."

If only someone had realized that Heath had actually been speaking of Eugene! Then he'd be in the picture and she wouldn't be struggling so now to recall his face. She quit trying as she decided that it probably wasn't Eugene who prompted these feelings of dread. He hadn't been at the dinner table since … well, she didn't really know when … so she certainly wasn't expecting him to come through the door anytime soon.

Maybe she should wake Duke McCall, their foreman, and have him send men out to look for them. She was sure that one of them MUST be in trouble! She started to rise from her chair when reason returned.

What if Nick and Heath had just gotten involved in a poker game? Or Jarrod had simply let time get away from him as he sat discussing politics over drinks and cigars? What if one of them was escorting a young lady home at that very moment and would soon be walking back through the door? Or, maybe Audra was sitting out on the swing on the verandah with her young man. How would it look if their mother sent someone out to look for her "children" … adults in the eyes of everyone else? Still … there WAS that feeling that something was wrong.

She shook it off and sipped at her now tepid tea. The teapot was empty when she picked it up to pour some more and, determined to busy her mind with something other than her children, she placed the pot on its tray and carried it to the kitchen to refill it. Preoccupied, she reached for the kettle on the stove and let it drop back onto the burner with a clatter when its handle was … well … too hot to handle. She was reaching for a towel when the kitchen door was pushed open and Silas poked his head into the room to investigate the noise.

"Miz Barkley, I thought you was sleepin' long ago. I'da been pleasured to fix ya' some tea if I'da knowed you was up," he shuffled into the room, still dressed as he had been when he'd served their supper.

"As Nicholas used to say when he was a child … my body wanted to sleep but my brain didn't," Victoria told her faithful servant and friend. "But by the time I came downstairs to rejoin my family, they'd all gone out for the evening. I've been waiting for them to come home. You know how hard I find it to sleep when my children are away."

"But, Miz Barkley … they's all sleepin'," Silas told her. "I heard 'em talkin' right after you went upstairs. Miss Audra reminded them that the children from the orphanage would be spendin' the day here t'morrow and they all decided to turn in early. They all went upstairs not more 'an ten minutes after you did."

"ALL of them?"

"Yes, ma'am. I watched them climb the stairs."

Victoria couldn't help the sigh of relief that she let escape. "I've had the strangest feeling that something was wrong with one of my children … and they're all safely asleep in their own beds," she said with a slight chuckle. "That'll teach me to let my imagination run wild! Silas, I think I've had enough tea for one night. I'm going to follow my children's example and go to bed."

The old man watched her climb the back stairs, shaking his head sympathetically at the thought that she'd spent the past few hours waiting for her family to come home while they'd all been peacefully asleep, oblivious to her vigil. He knew her mother's sixth sense was usually correct but he was glad that, if her instinct had predicted trouble, it was wrong this time.

Victoria, for her part, had been happy to hear that her children were all soundly asleep and far from any of the dangers she'd imagined. And she was also happy that none of them would hear that she'd sat up past midnight waiting for them to come home when they'd never actually left the house. Silas would never embarrass her by telling her family of her night watch, she knew.

She was passing one of the bedrooms when she heard a soft cough from behind its closed door. Before she could reach to open it, three other doors flew open and three bodies joined her in the hallway.

"Was that Heath?" Nick demanded. "Did I hear him cough?"

"I KNEW one of you was in danger!" Victoria said almost triumphantly. "I SHOULD have trusted that instinct! It's ALWAYS right!"

As she pushed Heath's door open, prepared to fight the beast that threatened her youngest son … well … not counting Eugene … she heard her children spring into action.

"I'll have Duke send one of the men for the doctor!" Nick was halfway down the back stairway before the words were out of his mouth.

"I'll have Silas put some water on to boil!" Jarrod followed his brother down the stairs.

"I'll get the liniment!" Audra headed for the bathroom.

Victoria stopped for a moment, shaking her head and letting out a loud sigh. They were never going to marry that girl off if she couldn't even learn what liniment was for! No wonder all those men tried to do her harm! Why Victoria, herself, felt like slapping some sense into her every now and then!

Next time, she vowed … next time her mother's instinct told her that one of her children was in danger … well … if it was Audra … and if she knew that for sure … she just might ignore it and get a good night's sleep. Let the chips fall where they may!

But as for now she could only hope they weren't too late to save this newest member of their family from another battle with a life-threatening illness! Fear gripped her heart … from the sound of that cough she was sure it was probably pneumonia! If only she had listened when her mother's instinct spoke to her. Well … she HAD been listening … but … if only she had figured out what it was trying to tell her before her son had to suffer so!

"Heath, sweetheart, we're here! We'll save you!" she promised as she hurried across the room.

Awakened from a sound slumber, Heath heard her words and knew he must have done it again … he must have coughed in his sleep. As he envisioned a week in bed with his mother and sister hovering over him, he groaned audibly.

Victoria gasped as she heard the sound from the bed. It was worse than she thought!

"Audra!" she cried out. "He's in pain … bring the laudanum, too!"

Her mother's instinct … it was NEVER wrong!

THE END