"What a handsome boy you are. Look at those blue eyes. Our Jarrod has blue eyes, but his are deeper blue. You know...his Father has the same color eyes that you have young man. A nice soft blue." Victoria smiled at the little one before her, as he listened intently to her voice.

"Goodness, you're starting to shiver, so I think we need to get you out of this water. I think you might be just a bit less feverish."

Tom picked up Heath and laid him onto the nice soft towel that lay on the floor beside the tub. Gently they patted him dry. When he started to cough hard again, Tom laid him face down over his lap and patted his back so that the boy could get rid of the phlegm that threatened to choke him.

"Whatcha' doin?" came the question from eight-year-old Nicholas, standing in the doorway.

Then he walked in to get a closer look, squeezed in between his parents and squatted down beside Heath.

"Hey there, Little Fella. My name is Nick. Mother, is this our new baby? He's bigger than I thought he'd be. Did he come to us sick?" As always Nick had too many questions and no matter the answer he'd be given he'd have a better conclusion.

"No, Son," Tom answered. "This is not our baby. Remember we told you that it would be a while until we have our new baby? This is Heath and he and his Mother are going to stay the night with us. Now go back to bed."

"Can't we keep him? I want a brother," Nick suggested.

"Nick, Heath has a family." Tom smiled shaking his head. His eyes couldn't help but enjoy the twinkle in Victoria's eyes as she hugged her youngest son.

"Can he sleep in my room? I have a big bed?" young Nick pleaded.

"Son, Heath is a sick little boy. He's going to need tending most of the night, so I think that he'll need a bed of his own." Tom once again rejected Nick's suggestion.

Victoria gazed at her husband with a questioning look, "You know, Tom, we only have one guest room furnished and we'll need to put the women in that room. Maybe it would be good to have Heath in Nick's room. Nick, would you mind allowing Heath to use your room tonight? You could sleep in Jarrod's room."

"Mother...no, please! I wanna stay with Heath. I shared with Jarrod my whole life. I want to stay in my room with Heath. I can sleep on the floor if he needs the whole bed." Nick never gave up without a fight, always willing to negotiate a deal to get his way.

"Nicholas, now you stop this behavior right this minute or we'll make room for Heath in the guest room," Tom warned.

Victoria couldn't take her eyes off Heath. The sick little boy had weakly uttered the word "mama" a few times and seemed almost lifeless, except when coughing would wrack his little body. Now his eyes followed Nick's every movement. And she thought she had even seen a crooked little grin for a few seconds when Nick addressed him directly. Her Nick was going to be good for this little one, even if it would only be for a short time.

"Ahhh heck! Okay, Okay. I'll go get our room ready, okay Heath?" Nick smiled down at his new little friend and then ran toward the door.

"What do you mean get the room ready?" Victoria questioned her son. "Young man, no toys. Heath needs to rest and you need to do the same."

"Okay...okay. I'm just gonna get the kid somethin' to wear. You and Father have the kid laying there buck naked," Nick responded as he ran off.

"Buck naked?" Tom's eyes showed frustration in the words his son used. "Where did he learn that phrase?"

"School, isn't that right, Heath?" Victoria kidded her husband with her answer as she fussed over the little blond.

"Heath, are you ready to be taken care of by the likes of Nick Barkley? I doubt it!" Tom smiled as he picked up Leah's child wrapped snug in a warm blanket and carried him down the hall.

"We're almost there, Ladies," McCall informed, knowing that they had to be cold and worried about Heath.

"Mr. McCall, I ahh... was wondering if I could ask a question?" Leah hesitated.

"Please call me Jake, Ma'am. I'll be happy to answer your question if I can." The tall cowboy smiled.

Leah looked at Rachel, seeing her approval she continued, "The doctor, well, I'm not sure how to ask this, but do you know what his fee might be?" Leah asked with nervousness in her voice.

"Howard is a good man, a good doctor. If you're worried that his fee would prevent him from tending to you boy, then don't worry. Howard's not that kinda man. One of the other hands rode into town to fetch him while I was coming for you. It was going to be mighty late when he would have arrived if we'd waited until I got you back to the house and settled," McCall assured as he took a good look into the face of the young woman posing the question.

Again Leah was uncertain as she approached her next question. "What will he, the doctor, expect from me when I can't pay in full for his treatment for Heath and medicine?"

"Expect? I guess he'd expect you to pay when you could," McCall answered, confused about the question.

Leah beamed at Jake then turned to Rachel who also was smiling. Relief...what a wonderful feeling. Heath would get the treatment he needed from a good and proper doctor. One that was not driven by money or lust. Now she would never have to go to Tom. He'd never have to know. She would be able to keep her son. She reached down and squeezed Rachel's hand. What had been a terrible night was fast becoming a new tomorrow. Maybe the Stockton doctor had a big enough office that he'd have room for a patient. Surely he would allow both she and Rachel to stay with Heath. They'd be able to stay one night with this family Mr. McCall was taking them to then move on into town tomorrow. Hopefully in a few days they could travel back to Strawberry...they could be home for Christmas.

Heath was fast asleep, his face snuggled tight into Tom's neck. The short trip down the hall provided just enough cuddling to send the sick child into a deep slumber.

"I'd forgotten how fast little ones can drop off to sleep," Tom commented softly as Victoria opened the door to the guest room. Silas had prepared the room for their guest while they had cared for Heath. The room now had a warm fire and the bed had been turned down. Tom gently laid the bundled child down on the bed.

"I wish we had a cot we could move into this room," Victoria fretted.

"Sweetheart, they'll be fine. I imagine that one of the two women will be up tending to this child most of the night," Tom shared assuredly as he unwrapped the boy from the blanket in which he was cloaked.

"You're right, Tom. He is so thin. I hope he has a strong constitution to get through this illness." Victoria couldn't help but worry for the small blond who struggled to get a full breath.

"Well, Howard will do all he can for the boy. We'll make sure that tonight he gets everything he needs," Tom warmed.

"Tonight...what about tomorrow and then the next day? I can't help but wonder why two women would be out this late, alone, in this cold rain with a sick child. I wonder what kind of man his father must be. He should be with them." Victoria's voice was now showing signs of distaste for the father of this sick child, whoever he was.

"Now Victoria, you're jumping to conclusions. Maybe his father was riding ahead to get help. Maybe he's away on business. There could be any number of reasons why his father is not with them. Not all fathers are as involved with their sons the way I am," Tom assured.

Victoria embraced her husband, indeed he was quite the doting father.

"And if this child I'm carrying is a girl, will you be disappointed?" Victoria questioned as her hand caressed her growing stomach.

"Never! I'm sure she'd be as beautiful as her mother. You'd just have to be willing to share me with my second favorite girl," Tom teased as he wrapped his arm around his pregnant wife and joined her hand gently petting her belly.

A tender moment was interrupted by a frustrated eight-year-old, whose little hands were planted on his hips. "I've been waitin' for ya'!"

Nick walked over to the bed and tossed the night shirt down.

"Shhhh, Heath fell asleep," Victoria warned as she took the gown and worked it onto the sleeping child. She then scooted a pillow under his head and moved him to the center of the bed.

"Is he feelin' better?" Nick questioned as he hopped up on the bed beside Heath.

"Not yet, Sweetheart. Thank you for finding a nightshirt for him," Victoria praised her dark-haired son.

Nick smiled taking in the praise. He sure liked to make his parents happy. However, they had said that Heath could come to spend the night in his room, so why was he in here? His mother could see the whirl of doubts spinning in his mind and answered his questions before he could even ask them. How did she do that?

"Son, we know that you wanted Heath to sleep in your room, but we are waiting for his Mother and the doctor to arrive. Why don't you go to bed and I'll come in and let you know how he's doing. You'll get to spend some time with him if it's okay with his mother and the doctor," Victoria persuaded.

"I can wait. I'll just stay right here with him," Nick said.

"Mister, you'll listen to your Mother. Now head to your room and go to bed," Tom disciplined.

Nick's bottom lip told them of their son's growing disappointment. Just when he thought he had lost his battle, Jarrod entered the room.

"Father, you wanted me to let you know when Jake returned. He's downstairs."

"Thank you, Jarrod," Tom responded as he got up off the bed preparing to head downstairs.

"Jarrod, would you stay here with Heath...and Nick while we greet our guest?" Victoria asked making sure to include Nick to avoid a battle.

Jarrod nodded his head and moved to sit on the bed in the spot where his father had sat. Nick eyed his older brother's position and scooted closer to Heath's side.

Darn that Jarrod, he always did the right thing, never seemed to get into any kind of trouble. Sometimes it was downright annoying, but right now Jarrod had bought him more time to spend with his new friend. Nick cleared his thought and informed his brother about the boy who lay on the bed asleep.

"His name is Heath. He's a sick little fella and he's mine! I'm in charge of helpin' take care of him."

"Little Brother, he has a family. And he's not yours. You shouldn't say that kind of thing," Jarrod corrected.

"Mother does." Nick's tone was defiant.

"She does not," Jarrod countered.

"She calls us hers all the time. You've heard her say that," Nick used his best tattling voice.

"That's different, Nick. We're her children. Heath is a stranger," Jarrod explained.

"He doesn't feel like a stranger. He likes me," Nick's voice softened. It felt good to have someone accept him so quickly. He had trouble at times making friends. His teacher had just told him yesterday that he was too bossy and he had to give the ideas of others a chance. He couldn't help it if his hunches were better.

Jarrod ruffled the hair of his younger brother.

"I can see that he likes you. Nick, there's a lot to like. And Nicky...I like you too!"