Kat was still conscious when she hit the ground. The only pain she felt was
in her shoulder, which had taken the brunt of her fall. She gathered her
senses and realized the man who had been holding the gun on her, was crumpled
on top of her. She pushed the man away from her and began to sit up.

"Are you ok?" Kat heard someone ask as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She focused and could see Cody crouched above her. His eyes wide with horror
as he saw the blood across her chest.

"It's not my blood." Kat said, almost as much to convince herself as to
assure Cody.

Teaspoon, Kid and Lou came running around the side of the barn, guns
drawn.

"Kat's ok." Cody informed the group as he gave Kat his hand to help her
up.

"Buck!" Kat gasped as she thought of the scene at the other end of the
barn. She took off running toward the two still figures. "Buck!" She screamed
at the top of her lungs.

The other four were right behind her. She was crying by the time that she
reached Buck. She turned him over gently and nearly screamed in horror as she
saw the front of his shirt covered in blood.

"He's still breathing." Teaspoon assessed as he crouched next to Kat.

"Kid! Get the doctor! Cody, let's get him in the bunkhouse."

Lou ran ahead to get things ready for the doctor. Kat stayed right next
to Buck, helping Teaspoon and Cody move him. Cody watched as Kat tried to
calm herself and stop crying. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and
hug her, but he kept his mind concentrating on moving Buck.

As they laid Buck onto his bunk, he stirred out of unconsciousness.
"Jen!" He called weakly, then passed out again.

Everyone in the bunkhouse froze and looked at Kat to see what her
reaction would be.

"Go get her." Kat said after several minutes in a controlled voice as she
looked at Cody.

Cody hesitated and looked to Lou and Teaspoon for help. He knew how hard
it was for Kat to tell him to get Jen, and he didn't want anything else to be
hard for her.

"Then I'll do it!" Kat fumed as she rose from where she had been sitting
next to Buck's bed.

"No." Cody yielded. "I'll get her."

He left the bunkhouse knowing he wouldn't have done it for anyone else,
including Buck. But, he just couldn't refuse Kat.

The doctor had been with Buck for what seemed like an eternity. Kat was
with him, knowing enough from working with her uncle to help.
Kid paced frantically while Lou sat calmly, her knees against her chest.
Teaspoon alternated between sitting and pacing. An occasional tear streamed
down someone's cheek.

Cody arrived with Jen and Matthew. He knew by the scene on the porch
there was no word on Buck yet. A tear slid down his cheek as he thought of
Ike and Noah.

"How is he?" Jen asked, looking toward Lou.

"Doc's in with him now." Kid answered after he saw that Lou was too upset
to speak without breaking down.

The vigil returned to silence for several moments.

"Where's Kat?" Cody asked, realizing she wasn't on the porch. He was
worried about her, especially since Buck had called for Jen.

"Helping doc." Teaspoon answered.

"Is that a good idea?" Jen asked as she looked around the group
anxiously. She didn't really know anything about this woman and wondered if
anyone but Buck did.

"Nothing to worry about." Teaspoon assured Jen as he placed a hand on her
shoulder. "Kat's got experience in this area."

Jen just nodded. After her introduction to Kat, she didn't want to know
what kind of experience the woman had.

"By the way," Teaspoon began, looking at the man with Jen. "I'm Marshal
Hunter, this is Kid and Lou, and I guess you met Cody." Teaspoon introduced
as he gestured toward the group.

"Matthew Higgins, sir." The man said cordially taking Teaspoon's hand. "I
wish we could have met under better circumstances."

Teaspoon was about to reply when the door opened. Everyone jumped to
attention as Kat and the doctor stepped out.

"Well he's lost a lot of blood." The doctor said grimly. He was so sick
of telling these people that time and time again. "But this girl even taught
me a few tricks." He added putting a hand on Kat's shoulder.

"He'll be ok?" Kid asked.

"If he makes it through the night." The doctor answered warningly.

"Thanks to this little lady."

Kat smiled weakly. She looked pale and exhausted. She also didn't feel
like she'd done as much as the doctor was giving her credit for. She'd mostly
just been an extra set of eyes and hands.

"Can we see him?" Kid asked anxiously.

"One at a time for a few minutes." The doctor said. "He's very weak."

Everyone looked at each other, trying to silently figure out who would go
first.

"He asked for you." Kat finally spoke up, looking at Jen.

Jen looked a little shocked, but nodded and entered the bunkhouse.

Kat watched her enter, than walked toward the main house without another
word.