Chapter eight

Louise picked up a wooden crate and began browsing through the store for a
few picnic items. She found what she was looking for, and then paused at the
corner filled with baby items. She had no idea what to choose until she
spied a beautiful white, lace trimmed christening bonnet. Perfect! she
thought, as she placed it in her crate and went to the counter to pay for
her purchases.

"I'd like that wrapped please," she told Mr. Tomkins as he picked up the
bonnet.

"For a friend?" he asked bluntly.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Louise replied curtly.

"I can't believe that girl had the nerve to show up again after all the
trouble she caused," he continued, referring to Emily and apparently
ignoring Lou's rebuke. "Seems old Ike got himself killed for nothin'. She
just up and found herself someone else, and it didn't take her too long
either."

Lou was fuming. "I'd advise you to keep you mouth shut when it comes to
things you know nothin' about. And if I wasn't a lady, I'd have a few more
things to say!"

Mr. Tompkins wasn't getting it. "You haven't been a 'lady', as you put it,
yourself for long now. What would you know about bein' a lady?" he prodded.

"At least when I dressed like a man, I acted like a gentleman," Louise
replied very sweetly. "That's more than I can say for you! My packages
please!"

She snatched the crate from him and stormed out the door. He's the most
crude, insensitive, man -- no, beast -- I've ever come across, she raged.
Lou was so angry, she forgot to pick up her skirts as she started down the
stairs. Her boot caught the front of her skirt, and with her hands full, she
had no way to catch herself. She fell forward, her head striking the top of
the buckboard wheel, her body landing on top of the wooden crate. She passed
out crumpled to the ground.

Kid saw her fall and raced towards her. "Louise!" he yelled, pushing through
the crowd of onlookers that had gathered around her. He gently rolled her
over to discover her eyes closed and her face covered in blood from a nasty
gash on her forehead. "Louise!" he said frantically, shaking her gently.
"Someone get a doctor!" he screamed at the crowd as he tried desperately to
wipe her blood from her face.

Lou's eyes fluttered open and all she could feel was an intense, stabbing
pain in her abdomen, worse than any gunshot wound she'd ever had.
Instinctively, she knew she was losing her baby. I never told Kid! she
thought. Louise could barely see her husband through all the blood in her
eyes and she knew she was going to pass out again. She whispered softly,
"I'm so sorry, Kid. I meant to tell you, I really did." Her eyes closed
again and she went limp in his arms.

Kid could tell he wasn't going to get any assistance from the crowd of
onlookers. He gently lifted Louise's frail body and carried her towards the
doctor's office, tears streaming down his face. I can't lose her! he
thought.

"Doc!" Kid screamed frantically, climbing the stairs of the office porch.
"Doc!"

The doctor's door flew open. He looked at Louise and said, "Good Lord. Get
her in here. Follow me."

Kid obediently followed and laid his wife on the doctor's examining table.
He held on to her hand for dear life and lay his head down on the table.

"Kid, you'll have to step out," the doctor told him softly.

Kid raised his head and looked at the doctor in disbelief. "I ain't leavin'
her here!" he said emphatically.

"It's just the next room," the doctor explained. "If anything happens, I'll
let you know right away. Please," he said, "Let me tend to your wife."

Kid lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. "I love you, Louise.
Please wake up." Then he stood up and slowly left the room, turning to look
at her again before closing the door behind him.

Teaspoon had heard the commotion and was standing in the waiting room when
Kid appeared. The young man was covered in his wife's blood and was as
distraught as the marshall had ever seen him.

"She'll be all right, son," Teaspoon comforted Kid. "She's a fighter. You
know that. Why don't you head home and get yerself cleaned up. I'll wait for
word."

"I ain't leavin, Teaspoon," Kid said again. "She needs me. I ain't leavin'."

"Well, then,' Teaspoon went on, "I s'pose I should get the buckboard back to
the station and let Rachel know. I'm sure she'll be here shortly." He turned
to leave and then told Kid again, "She'll be all right, son."

Kid just nodded, hoping Teaspoon was right. He'd never been so scared in all
his life -- even through gunfights when the riders were outnumbered, even
when Lou'd been held hostage by Frank Pike. He paced the floor, waiting for
some sort of news about his wife. This can't be happening!

Meanwhile, Teaspoon headed back towards the store to gather up Lou's
purchases and the buckboard. He drove home, wondering how to break the news
to Rachel. Rachel was like a mother to Louise, and he knew she'd be just
about as hysterical as Kid'd been.

He pulled up to the house, leaving the buckboard there. He figured he'd be
heading back to the doctor's office shortly with Rachel anyhow. He grabbed
Lou's crate and somberly entered the house.

Rachel was surprised to see Teaspoon so early for lunch. She noticed his
grim expression and suddenly realized something was terribly wrong.
"Teaspoon?" she questioned. "What is it? What's happened?"

"It's Louise," he announced quietly. "She fell and hurt herself real bad.
She's at the doc's right now with Kid. Poor kid won't leave her side," he
continued, shaking his head with disappointment.

"Oh my Lord!" Rachel gasped. "We have to go there. We have to go now!
Emily," she called up the stairs, "Let Buck know Lou's hurt! We'll be at the
doctor's!" She ran out of the house and climbed in the buckboard, Teaspoon
following closely behind her.

Chapter nine

Arriving at the doctor's office, Rachel and Teaspoon discovered a weak
looking Kid leaning on the porch railing. Rachel could tell he'd gotten
sick. His usually bright blue eyes were clouded with fear and anguish, and
his shirt was soaked with Louise's blood. She grasped his hand and
whispered, "She'll be fine, honey. Any news?"

Kid just shook his head as he followed her back into the claustrophobic
waiting area. Teaspoon stayed outside. Like Louise, doctor's offices made
him uncomfortable.

Rachel and Kid sat on a narrow bench together, clutching each other's hands,
silently praying for the woman they both loved. At long last, the doctor
appeared, closing the exam room door behind him. Kid leapt to his feet,
desperate for an explanation about his wife's condition.

"I'll begin with the good news first," the doctor calmly stated. "Although
she lost quite a bit of blood from her head wound, I was able to stitch it
up nicely. It's above her hairline, so once it heals, it will hardly be
noticeable. She will be rather weak for a while from the blood loss, of
course," he continued. "It also appears that she broke at least three ribs.
I don't believe her lungs were punctured, but she will have to be watched
closely for that. Breathing will be very painful for some time."

"So can I see her now?" Kid asked with urgency in his voice.

"I'm not quite finished, Kid," the doctor said calmly. "Unfortunately,
Louise has lost her baby."

"Baby?!" Kid questioned, confused. He looked to Rachel for some sort of
explanation, but she merely shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. Oh,
Louise! she thought. Now I understand!

The doctor looked confused as well. "She hadn't told you?"

"No," Kid whispered, barely audible. He sat, crestfallen, on the bench and
covered his face with his hands. But she meant to.

"She only found out herself yesterday," the doctor went on. "She didn't seem
too excited about the idea."

Because of me, Kid thought. Because of my damned decision! Then he realized
the doctor's implication, as if Lou had caused her accident on purpose. He
rose, enraged, and yelled, "How dare you imply that! I don't care if you are
a damned doctor! You have no right!!"

Rachel grabbed Kid's shoulders to calm him down. She could feel the tension
coursing through his body. She softly asked the physician, "May we take her
home now?"

"She's still unconscious, but home would probably be best for her, yes," he
replied. "I've given her morphine for the pain, and I'll send some laudanum
along with you. She'll need to be watched closely for the next week or so,"
he added.

Kid headed directly for the exam room and pushed open the door. The doctor
had cleaned the blood off Louise's face, but the dried blood covered the
bodice of her dress. She looked peaceful, but her face was ghostly white. He
gently kissed her cheek and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Louise. This is all my
fault!" Then he carefully lifted her tiny frame and carried her out of the
room.

Rachel held the office door open for him and followed him out of the
building. Teaspoon, seeing the frail young woman in her husband's arms, just
shook his head in defeat. He and Rachel helped Kid climb into the back of
the buckboard while he cradled his precious cargo. He helped Rachel up on to
the seat of the buckboard and walked around front to untie the horses, when
he noticed Buck galloping towards them at breakneck speed. "We're bringing
her home, son," Teaspoon said to the rider.

"No, Teaspoon. It's Emily! Her baby's comin'!" as he dismounted and charged
into the doctor's office.

"Then we best get movin'," Teaspoon commented to Rachel, climbing up beside
her. What a day this was turning into!

Chapter ten

Arriving back at the station, Rachel jumped off the buckboard and ran to
hold the door open for Kid. He cautiously carried Louise in and up the
stairs to their bedroom. He heard Emily's moans of pain as Rachel rushed
into the opposite room to check on her.

Teaspoon tended to the horses and was walking towards the house when Buck
returned, the doctor not far behind him. The three men hastened into the
house where they too could hear Emily's cries. The doctor rushed up the
stairs to her room and closed the door behind him.

Meanwhile, Kid had closed the curtains to darken the room and lay down next
to his beloved Louise. He gently caressed her hand and cried himself to
sleep.

***** Rachel left Emily's room and rushed downstairs to boil some water for
the doctor. She found Teaspoon pacing the room and Buck staring blankly out
the window. Rachel noticed a crate of items on the kitchen table, with a
small brown package on top. She carefully opened the item and discovered a
beautiful white lace christening bonnet. Tears fell softly down her cheeks
as she realized Louise had purchased the bonnet for her child, a child that
would never arrive. She wrapped the bonnet back up and tenderly placed it
back in the crate. After finding the largest pot she owned and filling it
with water, she turned to address Buck and Teaspoon. She related the
information about Lou's condition to the men and then commanded, "There will
be no mention of any of this to Louise. She'll have a hard enough time
working through this having Emily's baby around. Is that understood?"

Both men nodded silently, their feelings of excitement and anticipation for
Emily overwhelmed by their sorrow for Louise and Kid.

***** After what seemed an eternity, Rachel reappeared in the kitchen of the
little house, finding Teaspoon and Buck exactly where she'd left them. She
made the proud announcement, "It's a boy!" and was relieved to see each
despondent man smile broadly. "Emily wants to you come up and meet him."

The men followed Rachel up the stairs to Emily's room. Each glanced at the
door opposite hers, knowing the tragedy that had befallen those behind it.
But life went on, and it was time to meet it.

Emily was glowing radiantly as she proudly held her new son. Buck and
Teaspoon gathered around the head of her bed to get a better look at the new
arrival. "His name is Ike," she declared contentedly.

"And he looks just like him, too, bald and all," Buck joked.

"Do you wanna hold him?" Emily asked Buck.

Feeling honored, Buck took the infant from his mother's arms and cradled
Baby Ike against his chest. Tears of joy welled in the young man's eyes as
he looked at Emily at gratefully said, "Thank you."

***** Louise awoke to the sound of a baby's wails. Her head pounded and her
side hurt terribly. Where am I? she wondered in the darkness. Is that my
baby? Where's my baby?

She then realized it wasn't her baby; Emily's baby must have finally
arrived. Her baby, Kid's baby, was dead. She'd never know if it was a boy or
a girl; never find out if it had Kid's sparkling blue eyes or her deep brown
ones. She had never imagined herself as a mother, but in the short time
since Kid's announcement last night, the idea had grown on her. That's why
she had wanted it to be a special moment when she told him. Instead, she'd
been stubborn and foolish and now she'd accidentally ended her baby's life.
Grief swept over her and she began sobbing as she never had before.

Her sobbing woke Kid from his fitful sleep and he reached over to comfort
her. He held Louise in his arms and whispered, "It's okay, Lou. It'll be
okay," but she was inconsolable. Kid's tears flowed freely as Louise's sobs
became more violent. She clung to him and wailed, "NO! NO! NO!"

Rachel quietly opened the door and was bewildered at the sight of the
forlorn couple. She sat on the bed and placed her arms around each of them.
"Shhh," she whispered, trying to console them. "There'll be others." She
held the newlyweds until they had no more tears left to cry, then left the
room as quietly as she'd entered.

Chapter eleven

Four Weeks Later

Louise sat on the corral fence, blankly staring at the horizon. She couldn't
be in the house with Emily and Baby Ike. She bore them no ill feelings, she
just couldn't control the pain she felt when she saw them, happy and
excited, together. Emily understood, knowing Louise needed time to heal.
Consequently, as soon as she'd been able to leave her bed, she'd spent most
of her time outside, cleaning Katy and Lightning's stalls, sweeping the
porch, helping Buck and Kid finish fixing the roof of the bunkhouse, and
making lists of supplies they'd need for their move to Sweetwater.

She and Kid spoke little of the accident, but there was no need. Each
understood the other's pain and knew only time would heal the wounds. A
fresh start would be the first step. Both had come to view Rock Creek as a
town filled with bad luck -- Noah and Ike had suffered untimely deaths
there, it had been the end of the Express, its talk of war had literally
torn apart their Express family, and now it had taken their first child.

Once Kid felt he could leave Lou's side, he decided he and Buck should head
to Sweetwater to find a place they could build into the ranch of their
dreams. He'd badgered both Rachel and Teaspoon to death, making them each
promise at least ten times each to look after Louise. Lou had stood in the
yard as they rode away when Kid turned Katy around unexpectedly and rode
towards his frail young bride. He'd leaned down and she wrapped her arms
around his neck and he kissed her farewell, lifting her off the ground, her
skirts billowing in the breeze. "I'll be back soon," he'd promised. He'd
easily found a place and come home filled with plans and excitement for
their new home.

Kid's excitement was rubbing off on Lou. He even thought he'd seen a twinkle
in her eye the last time they spoke of their plans. Lou had even christened
the ranch the KL&E -- Kid, Louise, and Emily. "We'll have people comin' from
across the territory to buy the best horses anywhere from KL&E!" he'd
exclaimed.

Buck had decided to stay on in Rock Creek for the time being, but promised
to visit as often as he could. He'd taken quite a shine to Baby Ike and had
agreed to escort Jeremiah and Theresa to Sweetwater from St. Jo when the
time came. Buck had presented Emily with a precious gift, Ike's mother's
wedding ring. He'd found it among Ike's possessions but hadn't revealed it
to any of the riders. Emily had been overwhelmed and was speechless. To her,
it was like having another part of Ike with her and it made her more
comfortable to wear the band and call herself "Mrs. McSwain."

They'd be heading out tomorrow morning at first light -- Kid, Louise, Emily,
and Baby Ike. They'd made Rachel promise to let Jimmy and Cody know where
they were if she ever heard from them, on the off chance either one ever
ended up near Sweetwater. Louise dreaded the good-byes -- leaving Rachel and
Teaspoon would be torture, but she was looking forward to the fresh start in
Sweetwater. The time had come.

The end