TITLE: Day Of Discovery
AUTHOR: The Stationmistress
FEEDBACK: Louandkid@aol.com
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders don't belong to the author, but to 
MGM/UA Television, Ed Spielman and Josh Kane. I'm just borrowing them. No 
copyright infringement intended.

                              Day of Discovery
                           By THE STATIONMISTRESS

Bright slashes of red and yellow filled the horizon as the sun tentatively
peeked from the behind the mountains. Sam Cain wondered at the beauty of
nature even though he was witness to it everyday. He knew he would never
cease to be amazed by the untamed grandeur of the West. To him, only one
woman can hold a candle to the wild magnificence of Mother Nature and the
image of an irate Emma Shannon prompted Sweetwater's Marshall to spur his
horse to a gallop to continue his early morning journey to the Pony Express
Station.

As he approached the station, Sam pulled his horse to walk. He didn't want
to wake up everybody and spoil his surprise to Emma. Sam smiled as he patted
the hamper tied to his saddle. He woke up the Sweetwater Hotel's cook at an
ungodly hour to ask him to prepare a picnic basket for two. The
temperamental French guy nearly swooned when Sam told him he wanted to
surprise "Miss Shannon." Apparently, the Marshall's romance with the owner
of the Pony Express station house was the talk of the town.

Sam got off his horse and walked towards Emma's house. After tying his horse
loosely to the porch post and taking down the basket, Sam took off his hat
and used it to slap the dust out of his coat and pants. With his fingers, he
combed his hair into some semblance of order wondering not for the first
time if he should have asked his deputy, Barnett, for some of the pomade he
used. Satisfied that he looked presentable, Sam moved towards one of the
windows to peer inside. Seeing nobody, he decided to go around and come in
through the back door.

Just as he was about to around the house, two figures emerged from the barn.
Sam dropped down to a crouch and sat-walked his way to the space between the
bunkhouse and the house. As he leaned on one side of the bunkhouse and
watched, he saw the Kid get on his horse Katy. Lou followed a little
distance behind. The two riders spent a couple of minutes talking, minutes
Sam spent wondering if he should reveal himself. The decision was kind of
made for him when Kid looked around, then reached down to draw Lou to him
and kiss her lightly on the lips. Shocked, Sam stumbled backwards and landed
on the seat of his pants.

Kid? Lou? He would have never thought the boy from Virginia would be the
type. Not that there is anything wrong with that, Sam told himself. Righting
himself, Sam peeked from the side of the bunkhouse again to see another
rider gallop in and Kid take the pouch. With a wave of his hand, he was off
on his morning run.

"Sam Cain? What the hell are you doing there?" Sam turned to see Emma wiping
her hands on the apron tied to her waist.

"I, ah, well uh..." With her eyebrows raised, Emma indicated that she was
still waiting for an explanation. "Happy birthday, Emma," Sam blurted out,
his mind blank after seeing what he knew were two young men in lip lock.

"Why thank you, Sam. Is that the reason for the picnic basket here?" Emma
pointed to the hamper with a toss of head.

Recovering, Sam stood up and brushed the dust from his pants. So much for
looking your best, he thought. "Well, yeah. I thought we could take a nice
long ride together," Sam warmed to the idea as approached Emma, "Down the
lake, by the willows. What do you say?"

"I've got work to do."

"Aw Emma, it's your birthday. Teaspoon can hold the fort for a day." Sam
wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her to him. "C'mon, just the two
of us together. No unruly town, no rambunctious boys..."

As if on cue, Cody burst out of the bunkhouse. "Emma, I got a special run.
But I need breakfast before I leave. Can I eat before the others?"

Shaking her head, Emma glanced at Sam before turning to look at the young
man. "I'll talk to Mr. Spoon first."

"Aw, Emma." Cody shut up when Emma tossed him a look, grumbling as he made
his way inside the bunkhouse. Sam caught Emma's hand as she walked towards
the rider's quarters.

"So, are we on?"

"As soon as I talk with Mr. Spoon."

                                   *****

The food was scrumptious, the company unequaled but Sam's mind wasn't on his
and Emma's private celebration. His thoughts jumped from one memory to
another as he racked his brain searching for clues to Kid and Lou's
"unusual" relationship. True, the two riders have been extremely close, but
Sam thought it was just because they were the best of friends like Buck and
Ike. He didn't think there was anything out of the ordinary of the bond
between the two young men. Though he did wonder at the extreme reactions of
Kid and Lou when the other was in trouble.

Sam remembered seeing Lou cry on one occasion. Kid and Cody were missing and
Lou went after Jimmy for not showing enough concern for their fellow riders.
Jimmy shouted back, leaving a tearful Lou. Later, when the Kid arrived, Sam
noticed how Lou's face lit up and he surreptitiously exchanged his full
plate for the Kid's. The incident was forgotten for right after that they
got the message that Buck was in danger.

Then there was that time when Kid was railroaded into jail and forced into
hard labor. Sam and the "boys" rode out to find the Kid. On the trail at
night, he heard Buck, Jimmy and Cody trying to comfort a very upset Lou.
Again, Sam told himself, they're friends, of course, Lou would be upset.

But there was also that time when that insurance man Tyler Dewitt arrived in
Sweetwater. Until now, he could never figure out how Lou got involved with
the Dewitt fellow. Both Lou and the Kid clammed up when Sam asked, and since
they got the gang, he never thought to ask again. But now that he thought
about it, there was something about Kid's concern when he told Sam Lou was
missing. At that time, he couldn't quite put a finger on it. But now, Sam
realized there was a tinge of jealousy and suspicion in Kid's voice.

"Hey."

Sam opened his eyes to see Emma above him, tickling his nose with a blade of
grass. Instinctively, he curled a hand around Emma's nape and brought her
lips down to his. But even as he began to enjoy the feel of being with the
woman he loved, his mind wandered to the two figures he saw this morning.

Noticing his preoccupation, Emma disentangled herself from Sam's arms and
sat back. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

"Sam, you haven't been yourself since we rode out of the station this
morning. Now, tell me why. Is there a problem in town?" Emma's concerned
gaze raked over Sam's face, noting his wonderful mouth, the angled panes of
his cheeks, his troubled eyes. "Sam?"

The Marshall cleared his throat. "Emma... have you noticed anything unusual
about your riders?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just anything," Sam grappled with the words, not exactly knowing what he
wanted to say, "out of the ordinary."

"You mean aside from the fact that the Sweetwater station has six of the
finest looking young men in the territory. All of them dead shots. All of
them with their heads screwed in place."

Sam smiled. "Yeah. They are good boys, aren't they?" He stood up and began
to pace. Glancing down at Emma and seeing her questioning look, Sam pressed
on. "How about their, their uh... friendships?" At Emma's puzzled look, Sam
at back down and took her hands in his. He didn't know how to tell her. He
didn't know what would happen if Emma and Teaspoon found out about Lou and
the Kid.

"It's not that it is wrong. It is just unusual. Again, it's no crime. If
this is truly what they are, we have to accept it. We are their family now
and maybe they'll need people to talk to."

"Sam Cain! Spit it out, you are giving me a headache."

"This morning," Sam began hesitantly then stopped. taking a deep breath, he
tried again. "This morning I saw the Kid kiss Lou on the lips before his
morning run," he poured out in a rush, bracing himself from Emma's outraged
reaction. Or so he thought.

                                   *****

Sam imagined all sorts of reactions from the woman next to him, but her
peals of laughter were certainly unexpected. "What? Emma? Are you okay?"

Emma glanced at Sam who was holding her hand at looking at her with all
seriousness, before collapsing in a heap of laughter. She tried several
times to speak out, but couldn't get anything out. Sam watched, confused
with Emma's laughter. Finally, Emma was able to control herself and she
dried her tears with the back of her hand. She glanced at Sam, but dropped
her head again when she felt her laughter bubble again. She decided she was
better off not looking at his poor, confused face. "Sam, promise me you
would not tell a soul about what I'm going to tell you. You can talk to the
boys but never to Mr. Spoon."

When Sam did not respond, Emma turned to him and found him watching her with
a bemused expression. "Sam? Are you listening?"

"Uh-huh."

"Sam, Lou is a girl." Emma watched as a myriad of expressions flew across
Sam's face. He started to speak several times but close his mouth when he
couldn't form the words he wanted to say. Finally, "How could that be?"

Emma hid a smile as she answered, "Born that way, I guess."

As the realization of the truth stuck him, Sam stood up and shouted an
expletive. "Of course. Why didn't I see it before?"

"Probably because you weren't looking too hard. People tend to accept things
they see at face value."

"She and the Kid?"

"You're right. There's more than friendship there. I think Kid was the first
among the boys to discover Lou wasn't what they thought she was."

"No wonder, he is very protective of her. It is a dangerous life she chose."

"But she's very good at it." Pulling Sam down to the blanket, Emma looked
straight in his eyes. "Sam, don't tell Teaspoon. I promised Lou."

Sam hesitated. A woman like Lou shouldn't be doing the things she had been
doing. The world out there is full of danger. But he has seen Lou in a
fight. He has also seen the steely gaze in her eyes and the obstinate thrust
of her chin. Searching Emma's face, he saw the strength of her belief in her
young charge. "And you? When did you know?"

"Right from the first."

With a sigh, Sam observed. "Kid is going to have a hell of a time."

                                  The End
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