"What?!" Came hollers from both bunks, the house, and Teaspoon's shed. Lou was knelt at Kid's side holding Katy down. She knew that if the horse stood she would trample Kid. The others came out and ran to Lou, Kid, and the mare. "What happened?" Teaspoon asked kneeling beside Lou. Lou had tears streaming down her face.
"It's� all� my� fault� He� ch-chased� me out� of the bunk� I� I� heard� him.. rac-racing� Katy� trusted him," Lou stopped for a breath between sobs. "They� couldn't� make� it� over� the fence� she fell� la-lan-landing on� hi-him," Lou finished.
Together they all flipped Katy to her other side. She stood up, not even touching Kid.
"I'm sorry, Lou. I never meant ta make ya and Kid so mad�," began Dani, not knowing what to say.
They pulled Kid away from the mare and Ike led Katy off, who was limping, keeping her left foreleg off the ground. Lou ignored Dani and put Kid's head in her lap. He suddenly gained consciousness. "Is she Ok?" Kid cried out.
"She's fine," Lou reassured him glancing at the mare. "Ike's with her, in the barn."
Kid nodded and everyone helped him up. Together they helped him into the room where someone who was sick or injured stayed, in the house. It was quiet there, where no one was allowed to be noisy. While everyone was fussing over Kid, Dani slipped out the door. She scribbled a note and took her stuff to the barn. She mounted Bright Star and rode off without anybody noticing.
"Is he gunna be ok?" Lou asked worriedly.
"He'll be fine in a few days, no riding fer him, or sleepin on that top bunk after he comes round," Teaspoon answered. Rachel brought a pail filled with lukewarm water and a rag. Lou took it from her and started to wipe Kid's face.
"It's my fault, I shouldn't have snapped at him," Jimmy said miserably.
"No, it's mine if I hadn't gotten angry with Dani, he wouldn't come after me and gotten hurt," Lou told him stubbornly. Suddenly, Ike came in.
He went straight to Buck. "Dani's horse, is gone, so's her things," Ike signed so fast that Buck barely caught what he was sayin.
"Dani's gone? Teaspoon, Ike says Dani's horse and things are gone!" Announced Buck.
Teaspoon, however was more concerned about Kid's injuries and didn't hear him. Kid had definitely ripped muscles in his leg, but he couldn't determine anything else. After all, he wasn't a doctor or anything. Lou looked at a bruise that was getting bigger on the back of Kid's head as she was wiping his neck with warm water to get him cooled off and a bit clean. Lou's heart ached for him as she saw a bunch of cuts and plenty of bruises as she cleaned up his arms.
"We'll have to get the doc out here in the mornin," Teaspoon said. Cody went to the window and looked out.
"You don't have to wait, we've been up all night. The sun's wakin up," Cody tried to lighten up the tense atmosphere.
They took a blanket and covered Kid. There was nothing else they could do until the doctor came. Lou still had tears streaming down her face.
"Lou yer a girl ain't ya?" Teaspoon gently asked.
"Well�yes," answered Lou slowly. "But don't you gotta fire me?" Lou finished with frustration. She wanted Kid to wake back up and stand up and say that nothing was wrong. Meanwhile, Jimmy had calmed down a bit from Kid's accident, and went off to the other bunk. He found a piece of paper lying on the table, and quickly read it, barely understanding the poorly written note.
"Teaspoon! Dani left, fer good!" yelled Jimmy, running into the house.
"Good!" snapped Lou.
"What do you mean good?" Jimmy demanded, glaring at Lou furiously. But, before they could continue their argument, a horse's galloping hooves caught their attention.
"It's Doctor Mathis!" hollered Cody.
"But how did he know we needed him?" asked Teaspoon. Then the door opens and slams shut as Dr. Mathis comes in. "Dr. Mathis! What're you doin here?"
"A young halfblood Injun boy came in and told me that Kid was hurt, so I came as quick as I could," Mathis said. "I've seen him ridin with ya'll." Everyone fell silent. They knew exactly whom he was talking about. Jimmy glared at Lou even angrier, and Lou's face was frozen between disbelief and gratefulness.
"Stop bein so angry, Jimmy that ain't gunna help any!" Emma exclaimed at him getting a bit angry herself.
"Sorry Emma, but it's just that, Lou doesn't seem to care bout Dani," Jimmy said lowering his head.
"She's got enough on her mind without thinkin bout Dani as well," Rachel said.
"Well, ya don't have ta worry bout her no more, cause she quit! And yer all too quick ta forget that she got the doctor here!" Jimmy exploded. Everyone gaped at him. Then Kid suddenly jumped awake, exclaimed, "Damn it! Why'd you put me in a bunk with those girls? Teaspoon�!"
"How was I supposed ta know?" said Teaspoon, scratching his head furiously. No one had noticed Ike had escaped and galloped off on his horse, Razor. He followed Bright Star's tracks and soon caught up with Dani, who was checking Bright Star's hooves for stones.
"Why'd ya quit?" Ike signed furiously.
"Cause it's my fault Kid's hurt," said Dani bitterly, picking the stone out and mounting again.
"It's nobody's fault. It's just an accident."
"It's my fault, and I'm movin on, like I meant ta before I met yous. It's ironic, that I only spent a day or so with you guys before one o' ya started hatin me," spat Dani.
"That ain't true. Lou and Kid don't like anything comein between em. When somethin does they get angry with them or it. Don't be hard on Lou. This a lot to take in at once. She cares fer Kid and he's her best friend. Just come back please. At least come back and make things right cause Jimmy and Lou are fighting, and Buck is worried. Rae seems nervous without ya there. Please, Dani," Ike signed, trying to help everyone.
Dani was silent, and there were some deep crease lines in her forehead. She looked tired and older than she should. "I suppose I should go back to settle everyone, but I'm leavin when it's over. I gotta apologize to Kid personally and quit myself."
"Let's go!" Ike said pleased with himself. Together they turned and galloped back to their friends. They reached it and dismounted throwing the horses' reins over the hitching post as they ran into the house, anxious to see how Kid was.
When they entered Lou glared at Dani. "Why'd you come back?" Lou snapped.
"I want to set things right. Lou, I don't want you angry with me. I didn't mean for all this to happen," Dani whispered.
"You should've come to me earlier, not waited. Look, at him. What's he supposed ta do now?" Lou asked still very upset.
"Lou, I'm gonna be ok," Kid said still awake. She looked at him and smiled.
"I'll send a message to the other stations that we aren't workin today, so's they avoid this station," Teaspoon said. "In the meantime lets all try and get some sleep. Dani, stay, we need the help. No one caused Kid's accident, it just happened," Teaspoon finished.
Dani looked at him. "But I don't see how I can after everythin that's happened. It just doesn't seem fair that Kid's the one who's injured. He didn't deserve it," Dani said miserably
"I'm sorry, Dani, I didn't mean to be so mean but I'm so upset, I can't think straight," Lou said softly.
"Well, I dunno know bout the rest of ya but I'm hungry," Cody said.
"Yer not the only one," Rae chimed in.
"Yea, I'm supposed to get better but I can't if Emma or Rachel don't cook somethin," Kid added on.
"Kid, what do ya want?" Emma asked completely ignoring Cody.
"Well Kid if you ain't ready to die, I'm gonna wait in the kitchen," Cody said tryin to joke. Kid grabbed Lou's rag and put it in the pail. After it was soaking he hit Cody smack in the back as he was walking out the door. Cody turned around. "Hey!" He exclaimed.
Everyone laughed as Cody got outta there to go change his, now wet shirt, so he looked nice when he went into town that afternoon. "Hey, I'll git both you two somethin while yous have a moment alone," said Dani, herding the rest of them out, including the good doctor. Lou smiled tightly, and as the doors closed, Lou turned to Kid and they just sat there looking at each other, a silent conversation passing between them. Lou smiled blushing a bit at what was going on through her head. Kid slowly sat up wincing as his leg hurt him. She helped him put a pillow behind his head. He pulled her into his arms and she laid her head on his chest. She decided to shut her eyes for just a minute. Her brain however had different ideas, she was asleep in seconds. Kid looked down at her and smiled. He knew she'd been up looking after him. Kid stroked her hair as she relaxed into sleep. The door opened then and Cody came back in with a clean shirt. Emma followed with the food. Kid put a finger to his lips telling them to keep silent. Emma smiled at them, looking happy yet tired for him. "I'm gonna go lay down fer a little while," Emma whispered leaving the food on the table beside the bed. Kid nodded as she left the room. Cody took up the chair that Lou had been occupying. "She ok?" Cody whispered. "Yea, jus completely worn out," Kid whispered back. Cody tried unsuccessfully to hide a yawn. "Go ta sleep yerself," Kid told him. Cody got up and left as Dani came back inside. "You twos were meant fer each other, so don't let her go, Kid," said Dani quietly, bringing some fresh water for Lou to cool Kid down with later. Then she left as well and Jimmy came in then. "Lou asleep?" He asked. Kid nodded. "Well when she wakes up tell her I wanna talk to her but let er sleep, she needs it," Jimmy said. When he left the room like the others, he joined Dani, who was curled up on a chair, nodding off, her head rolling slightly. There were slight shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep, like Lou's but Lou's were darker due to her being more worried then the rest about Kid. Dani thought Kid and Lou looked good together but she tried not to let her feelings get the better of her. Rae was sitting in another chair also dozing. "Rae?" Cody asked. "You ok?" "I'm fine, just worried bout him. I've been tryin to keep quiet to stay outta the arguments and the tension. How's Lou?" Rae said. "Sleep with her head on Kid's chest," Cody answered. Rae smiled and nodded. "I'm not surprised the way she's been lookin after him all night," Rae murmured quietly. "And Kid? How's he?" "He's gonna be ok," Cody answered, settling into the chair beside Rae. Teaspoon walked up to them and looked at all of them gathered outside. "What's goin on?" He asked. "See fer yerself," Jimmy said point to the closed door. Teaspoon nodded and quietly opened the door. He looked at the bed. Lou and Kid were both fast asleep. He saw what Jimmy had meant. He noticed that neither had eaten. He also noticed how they were sleeping. She was curled up against him with her head resting on Kid's chest. Kid had his arms around her with his chin resting on top of Lou's hair in such an adorable way that Teaspoon would hate to interrupt, so he left the room like everyone else. He then met another cute sight. Dani was asleep, deeply now, and Jimmy was gently brushing all the loose strands of hair out of the way of her face. "Cody," Rae said. "There's somethin I need to tell ya and everyone else." "Go ahead," Cody urged. "Guess," Rae told him. "I dunno, tell me," Cody replied. "I'm a girl� like Dani and Lou," Rae whispered. "Great, three girls but why didn't you tell me?" Cody asked incredulously. "I couldn't," Rae answered. "I wouldn't tell. I would've kept yer secret." "Jimmy promised Dani, but today he just let it slip." "Damn�Kid has been sharing a bunkhouse with three girls. I can't believe it." "We didn't do nothin, in case yer gettin ideas." "I ain't. I'm just wondering, that's all," said Cody. "Look at Jimmy and Dani, they're so cozy together, like Lou and Kid. But I still don't know what's gonna happen when this is done, cause there's still plenty of tension even if we've lightened it a bit." "What did you think about when you first met Lou and Dani?" asked Cody. "That they definitely weren't boys. But Kid and Lou are meant for each other." "Yer right, but you should git some sleep yerself, okay?" said Cody gently. Rae nodded, stood up and walked outside. She headed over to the bunk glad to have told Cody, about herself. She turned and head to the barn first to find out how Katy was doing. Katy stood in the stall beside the mare and foal with her head hanging low. She still had the foreleg off the ground but Ike had rigged up a sling so the mare couldn't put her leg down on the floor. She walked over to the mare and rubbed the mare's nose. Katy gave a distressed wicker and she looked over Rae. Rae could see that Katy wanted to see Kid, her owner and partner. She scratched the beautiful paint's muzzle. When she heard footsteps she turned to see who it was. It was Doctor Taylor, the animal doctor. "How's the mare?" He asked. "Injured pretty badly. She hurt her foreleg and has bruises. She's better off then Kid, however," Rae told him. The doctor nodded and went into Katy's stall. He felt the mare's leg for swelling. "She'll be ok, that leg's just got some swelling. It's not broken. I'm more worried about that wound on her chest though. It looks like she lost a lot of blood. I'll just stitch it up and someone's gonna have to keep her clean. You can walk her around when she seems more comfortable. There's nothing else I can do for her now. It's all up to her if she wants to get better," the doc said finishing up his examination and starting to stitch the chest wound. He finished up and gathering his things he left. Rae left the mare and headed up to the bunk. She went inside and lay down on her bed. In seconds she was out like a lamp. Up at the house Lou was still sleeping but Kid had woken up. He shifted a bit so that he was more comfortable. Emma came in and looked at him. "How are ya feelin?" She asked. "Better but my leg hurts like heck," he answered. "But it don't hurt so much when Lou's here." "Ahhh, that's so sweet Kid," Emma smiled at him. Lou stirred beside him and he looked at her as she began waking up. Her eyes opened and when she saw Kid, she smiled, and then colored furiously when she found herself practically in Kid's arms. He just smiled at her ignoring the fact that she was blushing. "How're ya doin?" Kid asked her. "Tired, hungry, hmm, and comfortable," Lou said her cheeks bright red. Emma slipped quietly out of the room, but they didn't notice. Suddenly the door came open and Marshal Sam Cain walked through it. "What happened, Kid?" He asked going over to the bed. "Didn't someone tell ya?" Lou asked sitting up. "No everyone's dead asleep out in the hall," Sam answered. "Kid and Katy tried to jump the corral fence but Katy fell on top of him. He's got ripped muscles in his leg," Lou told him. "I get it now, Lou. Are ya a girl?" Sam asked. "Yup," Lou answered, laying her head back on Kid, wanting more sleep. "I'm glad cause the way you and the Kid are around each other. Not that I didn't already have an idea that you were," Sam said. Emma walked in then, and she was surprised to see him. He smiled at her. "Rough night?" He asked. "What do ya think?" Emma asked him, smiling back. "I shouldn't ve asked," Sam told her. Together they left Lou and Kid to themselves. Lou looked up at Kid with soft eyes. He looked back with a warm look and their eyes locked. Neither wanted to look away and break the trance. Then, Buck came in, and after one glance at his friends, he rolled his eyes heavenward and escaped. Outside the room everyone was starting to wake up. Rae came up from the bunkhouse. Dani was mortified with Jimmy, cause his hand was still on her hair. Teaspoon came up from his place and walked over to them. "Why ain't anyone inside?" Teaspoon asked. "See fer yerself," Rae told him. He nodded and walked in but with one glance he turned, and like Buck escaped into the real world. "I see what ya mean. How long they been like that?" Teaspoon said. "Since last night," Emma told him. "I brought up their food and they didn't eat it. Lou jus fell asleep." "Aww, that's sweet. But they ain't gonna stay that way. They gotta eat sometime, and Lou's gotta do her job." Teaspoon told em. "Jus leave 'em fer a while. They need some time together. Lotsa time," said Dani, her eyes glittering. Her dark hair was mussed up, thanks to Jimmy hanging on to it while he fell asleep. "Yea, they've had a lot of things happen," Cody added. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. "I suppose," Teaspoon said. Rae sat down in the chair she'd occupied last during the night. Everyone wore dark circles from lack of sleep. Even Sam was still there. "I've gotta get back to Sweetwater, if you need any help, I'll be there. I'll come and check on the Kid after I've taken care of some things." Sam said walking out the front door. "What do we do now?" asked Buck, breaking the silence. "Whatever you want but I imagine that'll probably want to sleep some more," Teaspoon answered.