TITLE: Katelynn
AUTHOR: Kirsten T.
FEEDBACK: robin-t@clear.net.nz
COMMENTS: First of the 'Katelynn' series
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders don't belong to the author, but to
MGM/UA Television, Ed Spielman and Josh Kane. No copyright infringement
intended.

                                  Katelynn
                                By Kirsten T. 

Visions haunted Lou's dreams. It was almost as if Katelynn were still alive,
but of course she wasn't. Lou had seen her father beat Katelynn till she had
fallen backwards off the cliff. Still, there were times when Lou felt as
though her blue eyed twin was close by. Tonight was one of those times. She
could see Katelynn so clearly in her dreams. Of course Katelynn would have
been a grown woman now. In the dreams there was always a small black dog and
a powerful white horse with Katelynn, almost as though they were animal
guardians. In some dreams, Katelynn was happy and laughing, others had her
running from someone that Lou could never see. Just as the person was to be
revealed, she woke up. Most of the time her husband would sleep through
Lou's nightmares, but other times it scared him. Kid had wondered if the
nightmares he'd had about the Black Raiders were the reason for his wife's
sleepless nights, but he sensed it was something completely different.

                                   *****

At first look, Jimmy could have sworn that it was Lou walking down the dusty
streets of Sweetwater. But as the woman moved closer he saw that her hair
had a red richness to it. A huge white stallion followed her and beside it,
a small black Labrador trotted happily along. Jimmy noticed the stallion had
no saddle or bridle, it just seem to know where it's mistress was heading
and followed her as if to protect her from something unknown.

Almost as though she sensed he was watching her, she turned to look at him
and smiled. Her deep blue eyes laughing at him being caught watching her.
She had a regalness in her and Jimmy almost felt criminal for starring at
her. Before he had a chance to walk away, a tall man with a jagged scar
across his forehead moved towards the woman, gun raised.

"Katelynn!" His voice ripped through the silent town. "You're not getting
away from me this time!"

As Jimmy went for his own gun, Katelynn spun around hurling a knife, which
had appeared from nowhere at her attacker. Stunned, the man staggered
towards her, the knife lodged in his chest. "You'll pay for this, my brother
will see to that." His words echoed in Jimmy's ears as the man fell dead at
Katelynn's feet.

As Jimmy moved towards Katelynn, her horse moved in front of her, shielding
her from the possible threat. Glancing down at the stallions hooves, Jimmy
noticed the dog was standing underneath the stallions belly growling.

"You look as though you had seen a ghost." The voice came from behind the
horse.

"You look a lot like a friend of mine," Jimmy directed his reply as best he
could to the petite figure behind the horse.

"Napoleon, move aside." The horse carefully stepped back so as not to step
on the dog beneath him. "And who would this friend be?" Her blue eyes
teasing him.

"Louise McCloud." The name brought a fearful look to the woman's eyes. Had
Katelynn inadvertently brought danger closer to her sister? She had let
Louise think she was dead all of these years so that Louise would remain
safe.

"Are you all right miss?" Jimmy hadn't missed all the color drain from the
woman's face.

"I'm fine thank you," she said retaining her perfect composure again. "Where
would I find Louise?'

"I'm going there now. If you like, I could take you there." Jimmy was more
than happy to find a reason to spend more time with this woman.

"That's awfully good of you. Are you sure it isn't a inconvenience?" Her
face had taken on a cautious look.

"It's no problem at all. Her husband is like a brother to me." Jimmy saw no
point in mentioning that Lou was anything but a sister to him. That one kiss
still haunted him.

"All right. I appreciate it." To Jimmy's amazement, the stallion knelt down
on all fours and allowed it's mistress to easily climb on. The dog jumped up
in front of Katelynn and settled itself as the horse stood up. Jimmy had
never seen anything like it. he climbed on his own horse and started to ride
towards Kid and Lou's farm. He knew the woman's name: Katelynn, but who was
she and how did she know Lou? She was very quite the entire ride to the farm
as though she was wondering if she were doing the right thing.

What was actually going through Katelynn's mind was much more terrifying.
Her father attempting to sell her to the Redmonds. Her having to fake her
own death. The Redmonds finding out she was alive. The never ending run from
a grip on her life that she had no say in. What had been the most difficult
had been hiding from her twin. They had been just about joined at the hip as
children. Although not identical, they almost shared the same thoughts. They
had always known when the other was in trouble. Hearing that her sister was
married was like a knife through Katelynn's heart. How she would have loved
to have been there. Part of her knew that Louise would make sure her younger
brother and sister would be safe. Katelynn had always brought out the worst
in her father, nobody knew why. But then, the best in her father wasn't much
better, it just left less bruises. For the sake of her siblings more than
herself, Katelynn had waited for her father to strike another blow and
tipped herself backwards off the cliff. She had not expected a young Indian
boy to catch her. The blood from her beating that had dripped onto the rocks
had been enough of a sign to convince her father that she was dead and some
wild animal had dragged the body away. To her family, she was dead and it
was safer for them that way.

Unfortunately, the Redmonds weren't as eager to let go of their purchase.
They hadn't found her till five years later when she had left the Indian
village and she had been running ever since. The Redmond family seemed to
have a never ending supply of brother, cousins and uncles. Just when she had
got rid of one, another turned up vowing revenge.

As they approached the farm, Katelynn couldn't help but be impressed. Louise
had done well for herself. At that moment, Katelynn knew she had done the
right thing remaining out of sight all of these years.

Jimmy climbed down from his horse and went to help Katelynn dismount, only
to find that the horse had once again knelt down to allow it's riders to
climb down.

Kid came walking out of the barn with his brother-in-law behind him.
Glancing up form the list he was writing, he made that same mistake Jimmy
has made earlier. "Honey, are you going to put an order in today."

Jeremiah's face turned pale. "That's not Lou."

Kid looked up again from his list and found himself looking into a pair of
clear blue eyes. "I'm sorry, for a minute there you looked just like my
wife." He held out his hand. "I'm Kid. What brings you out here."

Katelynn smiled. So this was Louise's husband. He seemed nice enough. Her
brother looked as though he was going to faint. He had grown so much since
she last saw him, but she could still recognize him. She took Kid's out
reached hand and shook it. "My name is Katelynn McCloud."

Kid and Jimmy couldn't believe what they had just heard. Lou never mentioned
any family other than Jeremiah and Teresa.

"But you're dead," Jeremiah stammered. "We all saw you go over that cliff."

Katelynn felt terrible. Jeremiah and Teresa were practically babies when she
supposedly died. It wasn't until she saw her twin sister that she wished
that she hadn't come here.

Lou's eyes were brimming with tears, "Somehow I knew you were still alive.
Where have you been? How can you still be alive?"

Katelynn shrugged, "Would you believe an Indian boy caught me?" As she
looked at the small group of people around her, Katelynn noticed the
surprised looks on their faces. "I'm sorry. It was a bad idea to turn up
here unannounced."

As she turned to leave, Louise rushed forward and hugged her sister. "Don't
you dare leave me again." The two women stood crying and holding each other.

Katelynn looked over her sister's shoulder and laughed, "So you married my
sister."

Kid looked startled, "It's a long story. Maybe we'll tell you about it one
day."

Seeing his twin sisters together, Jeremiah pushed his fear aside and ran up
to hug his long lost sister. "I can't believe you're alive." His hug almost
crushed her.

"I can't believe how big you got," Katelynn carefully freed herself from her
brothers grip.

At that moment Buck rode in. Unlike Kid and Jimmy, Buck didn't see Lou when
he looked at Katelynn. He saw a princess, or at least what he had always
envisioned a princess would look like.

Katelynn sensed the Indian's reaction was not going to be the same as
Jimmy's and Kid's, but she surprised everyone when she spoke in his native
tongue. For a few moments she and Buck spoke to each other, introducing
themselves and putting each other at ease without anyone else understanding
what they were saying.

In Katelynn, each of them saw something different. Jimmy, (though he cursed
himself for it) saw a chance that he could never have with Lou. Kid, saw a
secret that his wife had kept from him. He wasn't hurt, just confused. Buck
saw the half of her soul that she had lost when she had seen her sister die.

"I guess we have some catching up to do." Katelynn suddenly felt
uncomfortable at being the center of attention. Katelynn was welcomed into
the house and introduced to Teaspoon, Sam, Emma, Rachel, Amanda, Cody and
his wife Louisa. Teresa had been too young to remember what had happened to
Katelynn, so she was not as reluctant to show her joy at seeing another
member of the family. They all gathered round the fire place when the
children had been put to bed to hear Katelynn's tale.

A young Indian boy had been riding the day Katelynn had fallen off the
cliff. He was in fact sitting on his horse just under where Katelynn had
fallen, so she had basically fallen a couple of feet straight into his lap.
Her father had not checked till late to see if she were dead or alive, so by
then she was long gone.

The boy had taken her straight to his village as she was too weak to make it
on her own. When Katelynn had opened her eyes, she found herself starring
into a pair of green eyes that were filled with wonder. The boy had never
seen anyone with blue eyes before. He had managed to convince his people to
take her in and look after her. Katelynn had stayed with his people until it
became oblivious to her that a white girls presence in an Indian camp would
cause more trouble for the people who had come to care for her as one of
their own.

The boy had grown into a fearless man, being Sitting Bull's brother had made
him unconcerned with his fate. Katelynn had learned their language, but
preferred to call him Curly. It was Curly who had met her in Willow Creek
two years later to tell her that her father and mother were both dead. Her
twin sister had seemed to disappear, and her younger brother and sister were
in an orphanage. Every few years, Katelynn and Curly met, if only to make
sure the other was still alive. It was at one of these meetings that the
Redmond family had discovered the girl they had paid so much money for was
still alive and that was when the trouble really started. When they tried to
take Katelynn, she had killed one of the brothers before he could kill her
and they had been chasing her ever since.

Teaspoon had heard about the trouble Katelynn had in town from Barnett and
could understand why she had been so reluctant to visit her sister.

Her entire visit, Katelynn's dog had remained at her side. When she moved,
he moved. Suddenly he sat up, listening to something outside. His mistress
watched him carefully as he trotted over to the door, her hand waiting to
retrieve the gun she had strapped to her calf. She relaxed as the little dog
started wagging his tail and bounced around by the door.

Kid went to open the door so that he could see what the dog had heard.
Standing outside was Curly. Surprised to see the Indian standing outside his
door after all of these years, Kid just stood open mouthed in the doorway.

"What a strange way to say hello," The Indian said as he walked into the
house, not waiting to be invited in. He moved directly towards Katelynn and
enveloped her in a bear hug. "Good, to see you still alive."

Katelynn laughed "As if there were any doubt I would be."

Curly looked around the room, recognizing the faces in the room.. Just one
face confused him.. Turning to his tiny friend, he pointed to Lou. "I think
she used to be a he."

Suddenly, Katelynn realized why Curly had not been able to find her sister.
She had been hiding disguised as a boy.

Kid stepped forward "No Curly, she's always been a girl. She's now my wife."
Kid grinned at the surprise on Curly's face.

The green eyed Indian shrugged and smiled, "Well, that makes things a bit
clearer. I always wondered about you two." Everyone laughed. It wasn't the
first time someone had said that.

Louise and Katelynn were still talking in the early hours of the morning,
after everyone had gone to bed. They had sixteen years to catch up on.
Jimmy's dreams were filled with Katelynn walking towards him. But when
Katelynn reached him, she was Louise.

Kid rolled over to hold his wife, only to find the empty bed beside him. He
wondered for a moment if Lou had even come to bed last night, but the warmth
of the sheets told she had. Getting out of bed and pulling his clothes on,
he moved towards the kitchen. Still half asleep he wrapped his arms around
the woman cooking breakfast.

Buck and Curly walked in at that moment. Seeing the tender scene before them
they grinned. Buck glanced at his Indian friend before calling out. "Hey
Kid, Lou says can you help her with the foals while Katelynn cooks
breakfast."

Kid immediately let go of the woman he had mistaken for his wife and saw she
was laughing.

"Kid," Louise's voice came from outside the house. "Will you hurry up and
let go of my sister so that you can help me."

The three men looked at Katelynn in surprise. How had Lou known, after all
she was outside. Katelynn grinned. "It's a twin thing."

Before Kid could move they all heard gunshots from outside. Jimmy ran into
the room with Cody and Teaspoon right behind him. The family peered outside
to see a group of men riding up to the farm, guns drawn. "Great, just what I
need and I haven't even finished breakfast yet." Katelynn's voice cut
through the silence.

Louise had hid herself carefully in the barn when she had seen the men
riding up. She was unarmed and it would have been foolish to make a run for
the house. Besides Katelynn knew where she was, it would be safer for
everyone if she stayed put.

Each one of the men in the house had armed themselves, Buck and Curly with
bows and arrows , rest with guns. Amanda, Rachel and Emma had started to
load the spare rifles while Louisa took Teresa and the children safely into
the back room. Jeremiah stayed close to his sister, somehow he knew just
what she was about to do.

Katelynn walked out onto the porch knowing at the very least she had to get
Louise a gun. "What do you lot want?" Her voice like ice.

"We own you girl. We've just come to get what we paid for." The leader of
the group cast his eyes over the vision before him. She looked harmless
enough. He couldn't figure why his family were having so much trouble
getting control of her. He had big plans for this one. He was even thinking
of keeping Katelynn for himself when the shots starting firing from the
house.

Katelynn made a run for the barn, reaching the door as a bullet flew past
her ear. Hitching her skirt up above her knee, she displayed the guns she
had strapped to her leg. "Need a gun?" Louise gratefully grabbed the two
guns she was handed as she followed her sister towards the horses.

"I hope you have a plan Kate." Louise climbed onto Lightening as Katelynn
mounted her own horse.

"Well, I was thinking of getting back to the house, what about you?"
Katelynn grinned at her sister. This was insane, but they had nowhere else
to go.

"Sure, why not," Louise cast her sister a doubtful look.

The two women spurred their horses on and just as they reached the house
they jumped to the porch. When they got inside Jeremiah and Curly tossed
them a rifle each. They had used all the bullets in their guns just getting
to the house. Firing the rifles twice the two sisters flipped the rifles
over there shoulders and reached for the reloaded rifles that Curly and
Jeremiah had waiting for them. It seemed like hours before the gunshots
stopped even though it was only a matter of minutes. Katelynn stood and
walked back onto the porch. It was over. Every last man was down. This is
what her life had become, one gunfight after another. Curly stood beside
her, "It is a good day to die." It seemed to be a favorite saying of his.

Katelynn threw her friend an annoyed look, "Speak for yourself."

It was time to go, she knew it and so did Louise. If she stayed any longer,
she would end up loosing the only family she had left. Turning to her
sister, she gave her a hug good-bye and did the same for her younger
siblings. No words were spoken, they all knew that this was the way it had
to be. Climbing onto her white horse, she waved good-bye and rode off into
the dust.

Curly looked at the confused faces around him. "She'll be back. One day when
it's safe for everyone, she will be back."

Kid found Louise later grooming the horses. She had been so quiet since her
sisters strange departure. "You OK?' He wrapped his arms around her tiny
waist and nuzzled her neck.

She smiled "I'm fine. I just wish that I hadn't believed that she was dead
so easily. We missed out on so many years."

Kid nodded "Yeah, but I have a funny feeling that she will be back to make
it up to you."

As the sun went down, the happy couple were still holding each other, never
wanting to let go. Finally Buck went to tell them that dinner was ready,
"Will I ever have what they have?" he wondered as he followed Kid and Lou
inside. Looking into the setting sun, he saw a feminine figure on a horse
watching the house. "Maybe one day."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Image][Image]