By Suzy
Copyright 1999
Kid rode Katy as hard as he dared, his legs barely strong enough to grip her sides but he was determined to get to his wife's side. Sending her away when he was injured so she didn't have to cope with him in his incapacity was one thing, but having to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing if she would live or die was not something that he could stand. By the time he reached the old Sweetwater station, Katy was latherd and breathing hard, a think sheen of moisture covered Kid's face, his shirt soaked with his own sweat, the exertion of the ride almost more tan his fatigued body could take, but his love of his wife far outweighed his own needs.
He hadn't thought of how he would climb off Katy's back when he arrived but now that he had arrived he knew that he was going to have trouble getting from her back to whereever Lou was. Seated on Katy's bare back he looked critically around the waystation that had been his home so long ago. Knowing that even before his long ride his legs were practically useless he decided that he would need to dismount as close to the house, which is where he assumed Lou would be, as possible. He rode Katy as close to the porch as he could and using the increased strength he had gained in his upper body to grab hold of the banister and swing himself off his beloved horses back and onto the stairs. Emboldened by the fact that his legs did not give out beneath him, he used his arms to pull himself up the stairs practically dragging his semi co-operative legs as he moved. The strength of his love for Lou the only thing keeping him upright. Desperate to find the tiny woman who meant more to him than life itself he inched his way across the porch to the door and pushing it open, facing a new worry.
In his haste to get to Lou he had forgotten all about the internal staircase, taking a deep breath, he gradually made his way through the door and clinging to the sparse furnishings, he eventually reached the bottom of the stairs the already tortured muscles in his legs screaming with pain, each step feeling as though his lower limbs were made of jelly, his face a lather of perspiration. Knowing that the stiars were well and truly beyond his capabilities didn't stop him. He started to pull himself up the stairs using as much power as he could muster from his arms, but his face contorted in concentration, he realised that he wasn't going to succeed, he turned to drop heavily on to the step and dragged himself up, it took him some time to reach the top of the staircase, and pulling himself back to his feet he paused to wipe his furrowed brow, almost overbalancing in the process, clutching frantically at the banister for balance as he nearly tooppled head first to the bottom of the stiarcase.
Buck spurred his horse, trying to make it travel faster than he was already flying across the plains. He knew that he was pushing the animal too hard, but he had worked too hard with his friend to let him destroy the tiny amount of self confidence that he had gained in just one morning. He knew that he wasn't far behind Kid, but he also knew that Kid would not let the possibility of personal injury come before his love of Lou. Buck knew that he, himself would gladly take a bullet for Lou without a moment's hesitation but, in saying that he knew that Kid's protectiveness of his tiny wife was what had forced him to push her from him, and was in fact the same thing that was forcing him to race across the plains to save her.
Kid awkwardly clawed his way along the wall to Emma's old bedroom, knowing somehow that Lou would be there, and she would draw comfort from being in that room. The regret that consumed him when he thought of having sent Lou away was enough to make fresh tears spring to his eyes. The pain that burned through his soul when he thought that he had subjected Lou to the same pain that he was currently feeling didn't help either. He hadn't meant to make her feel the desolation and pain that he was now sure that she had suffered since his accident, he realised now that he was wrong to shield her from his injuries and his recuperation.
Buck breathed a sigh of relief as he rode into his old home and saw Katy grazing happily in the garden of Emma's house. At least now he knew that his friend was not laying somewhere along the trail injured or worse.
Knees that were weak already, nearly buckled as he hungrily drank in the sight of her sleeping soundly in the bed before him. His eyes filled with tears as he stood transfixed, not able to see his fill of her, a frown creasing hisbrow as he saw a huge purple bruise and swelling marring her temple and cheek. Her belly heavily rounded with their child, a child he longed to see, yet had almost lost without even knowing it. Her breathing shallow but even, he watched the rise and fall of her chest for several minutes before he shuffled into the room and lowered himself as gently as he could to sit on the bed beside her. Not wanting to disturb her, one trembling hand reached out to gently stroke the side of her face, quickly retracting as though scalded when in her sleep, she winced in pain.
Kid his tears overflowing as he watched her sleep, intensely regretted every minute they had been seperated, her belly swollen with the evidence of their love. He thought of the pain he knew that she had silently and selflessly endured on her own while he had sent her away from him. He knew he would never forgive himself for the way he had made her suffer, so how could he expect her to forgive him, he had honestly thought that he was saving her pain, but now he knew that he had only caused her more pain. He would never be able to replace the time they had missed during the early months of her pregnancy, the joy of the baby's first movement, the quiet time they most certainly would have shared talking about the upcoming birth and their dreams and aspirations for their child. Having both been orphans, they had often talked about having a child and ensuring that that child would have the family that they had never been able to enjoy. He knew that he had robbed Lou of some of that joy, all he could do now was hope that she forgave him and they could get on with their lives, together. Laying back against the pillows behind him, he lay facing her, his quivering fingers tracing her hand as it lay on the quilt beside him, his eyes heavy with his own exhaustion.
Almost as if she could sense him there, Lou turned towards his warmth in her sleep, cuddling against his sweaty body.
'Please don't be a dream again,' she murmured drowsily as she snuggled into his chest
'I'm here sweetheart,' Kid murmured against the top of her head, anguished at the pain in her voice.
'I missed you so bad,' she slipped her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest, the lone tear that squeezed from beneath her closed eyelids almost breaking her husband's heart.
'Not as much as I missed you. I'll never leave you alone again Lou,' he spoke sincerely as he drifted into an exhausted sleep clinging tightly to her. Content just to hold her in his arms again, he knew there would be time later to find out what had happened to her.
Neither of them were aware of Buck as he stepped into the doorway of the bedroom, tears in his eyes but a broad grin across his face. He had doubted that no matter how hard they had all tried, that Kid would ever come to his senses, but now he knew that times might be rough for a little while longer eventually they would be the happy family they were before the accident. He flicked his hair back from his face and stepped into the room, lifting a blanket from the seat under the window he spread it carefully over Kid and left the room, content to wait for them to wake.
Lou woke slowly, confused by the familiar smell of her beloved husband beside her. Even more confused by the warm body she dreamt she was snuggled into, but not quite willing to open her eyes and find her dearest wish evaporate before her eyes. When she heard the sounds of gentle snoring and his exhaled breath stirring the hair against the top of her head, she knew that she couldn't be dreaming. A wide smile on her face she opened her eyes, her hungry eyes drinking in the sight of Kid's face. Reaching up she place a tentative kiss on his lips and watched with a little trepidation as he opened his sleepy eyes and slowly became aware of his surroundings.
'Kid, I want you to leave now if you don't want me back.' she spoke a teary quaver in her voice.
'Lou, I'm sorry I hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. I wanted to save you pain,' he spoke quietly watching her face for her reactions.
'I need you Kid, good or bad, walking or not. I need you, your love, your compassion, your tenderness. Your legs are only part of the package and if you can't walk it's not the end of the world, its just a new journey that's all,' she murmured tearily, 'Our baby needs it's Daddy too,' she spoke.
'I'll never leave you again Lou. I swear on my life,' she pressed her fingers against his lips at his last words, not wanting to hear him speak of his own mortality. Lifting his hand from where it lay against her side and placed in over her protruding belly.
'Say hello to your baby Kid,' Lou spoke softly watching Kid's awe at feeling their child's movement under his palm.
'Does it do that often?' he held his palm against her not looking into her face, but intently watching her stomach
'Sometimes more than others, he must sense his Daddy is here because he is more active than usual.' Lou spoke absently completely unaware of the fact that she was referring to the baby as a son.
'Are you going to tell me what happened?' Kid lifted his hand and gently traced the bruising on her face.
'I got in the way of a bank robbery.' she spoke softly looking deeply into Kid's concerned eyes.
On to Chapter Eighteen
