~~ Part 1 ~~ Kid couldn't believe Lou had finally said yes. After not taking him seriously, then turning him down, and then their break up, as much as he loved her Kid began to think that they were never meant to be. But after what they went through trying to save Dawkins, he knew they were meant to be. After all, Adrian gave his life so they could be together. As the minister had said, they were truly blessed. When she made him promise never to ride on without her again, he knew she was finally ready to give her heart to him completely. He had hoped for somewhere more romantic than a cemetery to propose, but he couldn't wait any longer. At least this time he had gotten everything right. He'd removed his hat, gotten down on bended knee, took her hand, called her by her given name, and had at least gotten most of the words out of his mouth before she enthusiastically showed him and then said yes. Well he'd almost gotten everything right. Being born in the South, he knew it was proper to ask for the father for their daughters' hand in marriage, but that was impossible. Even though Teaspoon was like a father to all of them, asking him wasn't the same thing. So he figured he'd ask the next best person. Kid hadn't gone back to the orphanage any of the times Lou had gone to see her brother and sister, but he knew Lou had told Mother Superior that he was allowed to visit with them, and even to take Jeremiah & Teresa in case anything had ever happened to her. Trying to pack for the trip and leave before Lou got back from her run, Kid rehearsed in his mind what he was going to say. He had hoped to take them somewhere nice to tell them the news. He wasn't sure if they'd remember him, but he had hoped Lou had talked to them about him. He decided he would be honest with Jeremiah; treat him as the man he was starting to become at fourteen. Kid remembered not too long ago when he was that age, and knew what a confusing time it could be. There was a knock on the bunkhouse door before Rachel entered. "Here I brought the clothes you asked me to wash. Are you all set to go? You better get a hurry on it; Lou's due back any time now." "I'm almost ready." Kid said as he finished putting in his nicest shirt in his saddlebag. Even though his gun shot wound had healed quickly, he grimaced in pain as he pulled the bag off of Lou's bunk. His shoulder was still sore, but at least he didn't have to wear the sling anymore. "Are you sure you should be doin' this without lettin' Lou know? She has a few days off comin' up, and I'm sure she'd love to go see them." "This is somethin' I need to do on my own Rachel," Kid said. He had explained the purpose of the trip when he asked her if she would do a special load of laundry for him. "You know how much this means to me." Rachel nodded. "I know, just think Lou should go with you is all. But when you're ready to go, Katy's saddled and ready for you." "Thanks Rachel. Let Lou know I'll be back in a few days and we can finish makin' arrangements for the wedding when I get back." "Ride safe Kid," she said as she exited the bunkhouse. Kid followed and untied Katy from the rail. As he mounted he saw a cloud of dust and knew Lou would soon be passing the mochilla off to Noah. Luckily he was heading in the other direction. Lou rode up beside the clothes line where Rachel was busy hanging a load of sheets. "Where's Kid goin'?" she asked. Rachel looked up at Lou and smiled. "Said he had some important business to take care of and would be back in a few days." Lou sighed as she dismounted. "He knew I had some time off comin' up and I wanted to spend it with him makin' weddin' plans." "He wanted me to tell you he'd be back in a few days and you guys could finish everything up then." Lou led Lightning towards the barn and went through the motions of cooling her down before letting her loose in the paddock in the back. Lightning had picked up on Lou's anxiousness to return and needed some time to settle down before being cooped up in her stall. Lou gave her a carrot from the supply of treats Noah had left out, and headed towards the bunkhouse. She and Kid had been engaged for over a week now, and since then they'd hardly had time for each other. Except for a few precious stolen moments here and there, they were always around everyone or one of them was out on a ride. Finally their schedules had coincided with each others and they had a few days off together. But now all she wanted to do was to take a quick shower to wash off the dirt and grime she had accumulated over the past two days, then collapse into her bunk and sleep for the next few hours. When she woke, she would talk Teaspoon in to giving her some extra time off so she could go see her brother and sister. She and Kid still hadn't talked about what they would do once they were married, especially concerning Teresa and Jeremiah. She hoped that before long, they'd be settled enough where they could finally bring them to live with them and they could all be one family. It wouldn't be easy at first, especially where Jeremiah was concerned, but they'd make it work. After showering and changing, she climbed up in to her bunk and turned towards the wall. As she had done since they became engaged, Lou fell asleep thinking about the wedding; especially how her brother and sister could be a part of it. ~~ Part 2 ~~ Due to an unexpected storm, Kid had had to stop frequently and now he pushed Katy hard to make up for lost time as he headed towards St. Joe's. After leaving Katy in good hands at the livery, he checked into a hotel and cleaned up. Kid began to wish Lou was here with him because he was having second thoughts about doing this. They could have taken the few days together and acted like a real engaged couple. Since they'd been back together, especially after he found about what Wicks had done, they decided to take things slowly, do things right this time. Make sure it was meant to be. It hadn't been easy; they had run into a few problems along the way, but the trip to Davenport showed them both they could handle anything that came there way... as long as they faced it together. Looking at the clock, Kid decided it was time to head back to the livery and rent a buckboard. He figured it would be easier than having to borrow two more horses, especially since he wasn't sure how well or even if Teresa and Jeremiah could ride. After getting directions, Kid headed off towards the orphanage. He hoped that Jeremiah and Teresa would remember him. When ever she would talk about her visits, Lou never mentioned if they said anything about him. It was mainly that Teresa had developed a case of hero worship towards Jimmy and Jeremiah had wanted to hear of Cody's often exaggerated escapades. Kid took it as a good sign that they had hopefully forgotten that he had been responsible for killing their father. As he pulled in towards the orphanage, the gates opened and he could hear the children playing and laughing. Many of them surrounded him as he came to a stop in the courtyard, and he smiled and greeted each one. Finally one of the nuns approached as he was stepping down. "May I help you?" She asked. "If it's not too much trouble I'd like to see Mother Superior. I know she's not expectin' me..." "Come with me and she'll see you as soon as she can." She said as they entered the church vestibule. Out of habit Kid removed his hat. "She's with someone right now, but if you tell me your name, I'll let her know you're here." "My name is Kid; I'm a friend of Louise McCloud's." The nun nodded and walked away as Kid sat down on a pew. After what seemed like forever, Mother Superior and the nun who greeted him entered the room with a worried expression on her face. "Kid, is everything ok? Is Louise alright?" "Actually things couldn't be better. Louise has agreed to marry me." Placing a hand over her chest she looked relieved. "I was worried when the sister told me you were here and anxious to see me. I'm so happy for you both, is Sissy with you?" "Actually, no she's not. I made this trip alone, hoping to be able to talk to Jeremiah and Teresa. If it's alright with you, I was hopin' to take them in to town for lunch." "I'm sure they would enjoy that very much," she turned towards the sister. "Would you please inform them they have a visitor and help them get ready for the trip?" The nun nodded and left. They made small talk while waiting for Teresa and Jeremiah. After a few minutes he heard Teresa squeal in delight. "Kid!" she said running to him and hugging him around the waist. She had grown since they last saw each other, but she still carried Ms. Mumblepuss with her. "Is Louise with you?" "No not this time, I came to talk to you and Jeremiah about something very grown up." He noticed Jeremiah standing back and reached out his hand to shake Jeremiah's hand. "Jeremiah." The evil scowl Jeremiah expressed worried Kid and he pulled back his arm. "What are you doing here?" Jeremiah hissed. "Where's our sister?" "Lou's fine and back in Rock Creek. I came all this way to talk to the two of you, especially with you. I was hoping I could take you guys in to town for lunch." Teresa nodded happily, while Jeremiah shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You can't make me!" "Jeremiah!" Mother Superior scolded him. "You have better manners than that." "Do I have to go?" the Mother Superior nodded. "Fine, but I don't have to like it." ~~ Part 3 ~~ Lou arrived at the orphanage glad that she had missed most of the storm that was hitting the area. It was causing travel to be almost impossible and she didn't want anything cutting into the time she had to spend with her brother and sister. To make matters worse, there wasn't a hotel room available anywhere in St Joe's. Hopefully Mother Superior wouldn't mind an extra guest while she was visiting with Teresa and Jeremiah. "Louise?" Mother Superior said stepping out of her office. "It's wonderful to see you," she said as they hugged. "We were so happy when we heard the news, congratulations." Lou looked puzzled as they went into her office. "How did you know? I haven't been able to tell Teresa or Jeremiah yet, that's why I'm here." "Why your fiance was just here, you must have missed them by about ten minutes." "Kid was here?" Mother Superior nodded. "My Kid? Tall, sandy haired..." Mother Superior looked rather worried. "I do remember who he was from last time he was here. Is there a problem? I thought he had your permission to see the children." "No that's fine; I just didn't know he was comin'," Lou was furious. She had no problem if Kid wanted to see her brother and sister, but she was angry that this is why he left without talking to her first. "Did he say why he'd come?" "He said he wanted to talk to them about something important. He came by and is taking them in to town for a nice lunch." Lou frowned at the thought of Jeremiah being alone with Kid. "I guess I'll try to catch them there. Would you mind if I stayed here during my stay? All of the hotels are full and with this storm movin' in, I don't want to have to make camp." "Of course dear, you're always welcome here, and I know Teresa will be glad to spend more than a few hours with you. She misses you a lot when you're gone." "I miss them both too. But hopefully once Kid and I get settled we'll send for them." Mother Superior nodded, "We'll miss them, but at least God has finally given them a chance at a happy childhood in a well loved home." ~~ ** ~~ At the restaurant Kid knew without a doubt that he should have waited and brought Lou along. Teresa couldn't be happier and continued to talk nonstop. Jeremiah on the other hand hadn't said a word since they left, and he ignored all attempts Kid had made to talk to him. "So I bet you guys are wonderin' why I came all this way to visit, aren't you?" Both children nodded. "Well, I wanted to ask you somethin' important. Your sister and I have gotten very close and I love her very much." Teresa giggled. "Are you going to marry her?" Jeremiah finally looked at Kid with interest. Kid didn't want to let them know that he'd already asked and Lou had accepted... not yet anyway. "I'd like too. Now you both know I'm from the South right? Well, I was always told when I wanted to marry someone I had to ask her father for his permission. Well I can't do that, so Jeremiah, I'd like to ask for your permission." Jeremiah flew out of his chair. "No! You can't ask our father because you killed him!" All the noise in the restaurant stopped and everyone looked at the trio. "Jeremiah," Kid said trying to calm him down. "If it weren't for you, we could be livin' with him and Lou wouldn't have abandoned us again. It's all your fault. You killed our father!" Teresa started to cry and from behind him, Kid heard a stern "Jeremiah, that man was not our father!" Kid groaned, "Lou?" "Not now Kid," She sent him a look telling him to let it drop. Teresa ran to her sister and Lou hugged her and then looked at Jeremiah. "Jeremiah, we've discussed this before and you know better than to have an outburst like that in a nice place like this." Jeremiah still didn't back down. "I remember more than you think Lou. I may have been young when ma left with us, but I do remember our father. And now you want to marry the man who killed him?" "Jeremiah, it's not as easy as that. Kid did what he had to do to protect you... to protect us." "Lou," Kid started. "I'm really sorry, I..." "I said not now Kid. We'll talk more about this later. Now Jeremiah, apologize to Kid and let's have a nice meal. Afterwards, we'll take you back to the orphanage and after Kid and I talk, we can discuss this more somewhere private." "I'm sorry Lou," Jeremiah said as he sat back down. He found Lou an extra chair and brought it to the table for her placing it between him and Kid. He still refused to even look at Kid, let alone apologize to him. For the rest of the meal, everyone remained quiet. Kid kept looking at Lou, hoping to catch her eye, but she wouldn't look his way. He knew she was mad and he couldn't blame her. He just wasn't sure if she was mad at him or at Jeremiah for his outburst. ~~ Part 4 ~~ Kid waited on the buckboard while Lou went in to the orphanage with her brother and sister. Teresa finally started to talk on the way back, asking questions Lou wasn't ready to answer. It was already getting dark and he was beginning to wonder if she was coming back out. Finally he saw her silhouette in the doorway as she started to approach the side of the buckboard. "Why'd ya do it Kid? Why didn't you tell me what you had planned?" "Why didn't you tell me how much Jeremiah hated me?" Lou sighed. "I didn't realize how much until I walked in to the restaurant. I guess I didn't realize how much he remembered. They were both so young." "How much did you overhear me sayin'?" "Enough to know why you came. It's sweet Kid, but I already said yes. You didn't need to do it." Kid got down and took her face in his hands while looking into her eyes. "Lou, I've done so much that's wrong with us since the beginning that I just wanted to do something right." Lou smiled, "Kid, you did do something right. You came to your senses and asked me to marry you when the time was right... for the right reasons. Things with Jeremiah are difficult. I know you wanted his blessin', but if you had told me what you were plannin', or that you wanted to come see them, I would've told you it wouldn't have been that easy." "Did Rachel tell you I was here?" "No, Mother Superior did. I was furious with you, but when I walked into the restaurant and heard you explainin' why you were there, I couldn't stay mad at you anymore." She kissed him softly on the cheek. "Lou, come back to the hotel with me. We can have a nice dinner, go for a walk..." "Kid, we wanted to go slow, remember? Since there were no rooms in town, I'd already asked if I could stay here tonight. Had I known before that you were here... Well, it wouldn't look right if I didn't stay." Kid nodded. "I guess I should get goin' then. Should I come back here in the morning?" "It's late and Jeremiah and Teresa will be going to bed soon. We won't have much time to talk tonight. Come by in the afternoon?" Kid nodded. "I love you Kid." "I love you too Lou." He pulled her into his arms and softly kissed her. They both heard the sounds of girls giggling coming from behind them. Lou chuckled. "I guess I better go. Night Kid." "Night Lou." Lou watched as he climbed back into the buckboard and headed back towards town. She sighed as she turned towards the girls and saw that Teresa was among them. Putting her arm around her sister, Lou smiled. "Come on and let's find your brother." ~~ Part 5 ~~ After tucking Teresa in her bed, Lou went outside to the courtyard to talk to Jeremiah. Lou knew Jeremiah had issues with Kid, but now she knew why and she had to convince him that what Kid had done was for the best. She found him sitting under a tree and she sat next to him placing her coat around him. "It's cold out; you should've worn your coat. I can't have you gettin' sick on me now, can I? Jeremiah, you know what you did today is wrong, don't you? Are you ready to talk about it?" "Why did you lie to me and say our father was dead?" "Well Jeremiah, things were complicated. I promised our mother on her death bed that I would make sure you and Teresa knew that our father had been a wonderful man who loved us very much. She didn't want you growin' up knowin' what I knew." "I use to dream about a man who was always nice to me," Jeremiah started. "I didn't know it was our father, though, until he came for us. I was so angry at you when I found out you had lied, and then you continued to lie to us." "Jeremiah, I'm going to talk to you like you're an adult, OK?" he nodded. "How much do you remember from when he lived with us?" "Not much. I remembered him always tellin' people what to do and where to go, but I remembered how he would always play with me... or put me on his shoulders as he walked around the house, and show me stuff... and I remember how he would always give me a piece of sweet candy." "Is that all?" "It's been so long I don't remember what's real and what my dreams were." "Well sometimes that happens. You block out the bad things that have happened to you so you don't remember them. But they always have a way of comin' back..." she paused wondering how much she should tell Jeremiah. "Did you do that?" He asked looking at his sister for the first time since they started talking. When she nodded he continued, "Was it because of what he did to you?" Lou sighed. "That and some other things; awful things that happened to when I left here." "Awful things Kid did to you?" "Jeremiah, Kid has never done anything awful to me. He is in no way like our father. He has always been there when I needed him. When those things that I'd hidden came back, he listened, helped me get through the pain." "But he killed him. How can you say he's never done anything awful to you?" "Jeremiah, things happened so fast that day, I don't think you remember everything. He was threatenin' to kill Jimmy and to take you from me. He wanted me to leave you there. He was gonna shoot me. Kid had no other choice. He was protectin' us." "Why didn't you leave me there? I would've had my father and not had to live in this stupid place. You and Teresa could have stayed and we could've been a family again." Lou finally realized that even though Jeremiah was becoming a man, he wasn't yet ready to face many adult things. Still he needed to know the whole truth. "Jeremiah, remember when he made you watch that man gettin' whipped?" Jeremiah nodded. "That was the kind of man he was. If somebody didn't do what he wanted, or if they said the wrong thing, he would hurt them. I couldn't leave you with a man like that. You would have grown up the same way." "How do you know?" Jeremiah was getting defensive. "Because that's what happens when you grow up in that kind of place. You learn by example. You may not remember, but he used to beat us; Me, ma, even Teresa." "I don't remember him ever beatin' me. And Teresa was too small, he'd never do that." "Jeremiah, you were so young. You were barely no longer a baby yourself when we left." "I was not." "Yes you were. I was eleven, you were almost four and Teresa was only a couple of months old. He never hit you because you were his son." "Is that why we left?" Lou nodded. Jeremiah jumped up. "I don't believe you! He would never have hurt us, he loved us!" He ran back inside. Lou sighed. She thought things were going well and that Jeremiah had begun to understand why Kid had had no choice. She knew better than to go after Jeremiah. He was so much like her when it came to anger; she knew the best thing was to let him be. She'd try again in the morning. ~~ Part 6 ~~ Lou woke the next morning to worried voices outside the room. At first she thought it was Rachel fussing then she remembered where she was. She quietly got up so she wouldn't disturb Teresa who had climbed in to bed with her at some point during the night. "Is everything ok?" Lou asked as she left the room and silently closed the door. "Louise," Mother Superior said. "Jeremiah ran away last night and we don't know where he is. One of his roommates said he returned from talking to you, packed a bag and left." "Did anyone say where he might be going?" "No, just that he was really upset. I'm so sorry about this Louise." "It's my fault. I tried to tell Jeremiah some things that he didn't want to hear. Do you know where he might have gone? Is there a place he likes to go sometimes?" Mother Superior shook her head. "And the storm moved in last night. It's cold out and raining really hard." "Do you have an extra horse I can borrow? I left mine at the livery in town yesterday. Kid brought us back." "I'll make sure it's ready for you by the time you're ready. If you need anything, please let us know." Lou nodded and hurried back into the room she was staying in. Teresa was starting to wake up. "Teresa," Lou said as she sat on the bed next to her sister. "Do you know where Jeremiah likes to go when he's upset about something?" Teresa shook her head. "Are you sure? It's very important." "He never tells me anything, honest. Why what's wrong?" "Jeremiah ran away last night after we talked. There's a storm outside and we need to find him quickly." "I'm sorry Sissy, I don't know where he would go." Teresa hugged Ms. Mumblepuss tightly and started to cry. "It's not your fault sweetie, I'll find him." Lou started to get dressed in warm clothes. "I'm goin' back to town and let Kid and the Marshal know what's going on. You stay here in case Jeremiah comes back, ok?" Teresa nodded. "If he does come back, tell him not to leave until I return, ok? That's my girl." As promised, when Lou went outside, there was a horse waiting for her. He wouldn't be much helping in tracking Jeremiah, but it would get her to town where she could retrieve Lightning. ~~ ** ~~ Kid was awoken by what sounded like someone pounding on his hotel door. He immediately reached for his weapon and cocked it before cautiously going towards the door. "Kid, you in there?" He could hear Lou's panicked voice coming from the other side. "Kid it's me. I need your help!" Kid quickly opened the door to see Lou standing there soaking wet. "Lou what's wrong? What happened?" Lou walked in and shut the door. "Jeremiah ran away last night after we talked. The sisters didn't notice he was missing until this morning." Kid reached for Lou and hugged her. "This is my fault. If I hadn't come he wouldn't have run away." Lou shook her head, "No it's what I told him about Boggs that got him so upset. He wouldn't listen, wouldn't believe it was true. He got angry at me and ran off." Kid started dressing while she talked. "Does anyone know where he's gone? Is there anywhere he likes to go off too?" Lou shook her head. "Then we need to ask the Marshal for help." "I already did that. He'll be waiting for us when you're ready." Lou sat in the only chair in the room and looked at Kid. "Kid, I'm scared." Kid crossed the room and knelt in front of her. "We'll find him Lou, don't worry." Lou leaned her forehead against his and he smiled. "This wasn't what I had planned for our first time together again in a hotel room." Lou laughed her nervous laugh that Kid loved so much. "Katy and Lightning are outside. Are you ready?" Kid nodded and helped her up from the chair. They walked outside of the hotel to see the Marshal and three of his deputies waiting. Lou and Kid mounted their horses and went off to search for Jeremiah. ~~ Part 7 ~~ After a brief meeting, the search party decided to split in to three teams of two people each. Lou went with one deputy north towards the hills, the Marshal and another deputy went east following the common trails, and Kid and the last deputy called Michaels headed south towards Kansas City along the rain swollen Missouri river. The Marshal also stopped in at the St. Joe's station and asked that the next rider out send word along the route to the Rock Creek station letting them know what was going on. Chances were by the time they received it, Jeremiah will have been found safe and sound, and Kid and Lou would be on their way back, but at least this way, if they were delayed for any reason, Teaspoon and the others would know why. Kid could barely see where he was going. The strong winds were blowing the freezing rain into his eyes, and with the thunder it was hard to listen for any sounds that might help them find Jeremiah. The search party had decided to meet back at the Marshal's office in the late afternoon, and if Jeremiah hadn't been found by then, to decide how to continue, if they should continue during the storm. Kid knew Lou would not stop searching for her brother no matter what. She would continue to search through the night if she had too and so would Kid. He wished more than anything Buck were with them, as his tracking abilities would make finding him so much easier, but they had to make do with what they had. "We need to start headin' back soon. It's late and too dangerous to keep searchin'." The deputy said pulling up beside Kid. The young boy had complained most of the trip, but he knew the area better than Kid. "If you want to head back you can. I want to keep searchin'." "Why? He's an orphan. He's not the first one to run away and won't be the last. I don't see why we have to waste our time and freeze looking for some kid no one cares about." Kid stopped Katy and looked over at the deputy. "That orphan has a sister that's about to become my wife. He may not mean much to you, but he sure as hell means a lot to us! If you don't want to search anymore, then go ahead and leave, I can do this on my own." Kid spurred Katy in to a gallop and started to call out for Jeremiah. He turned around and saw the deputy still stopped looking as if he wasn't sure what to do. As Kid started to round a bend covered by a lot of trees, he continued to call out for Jeremiah. He stopped when he thought he heard something. "Jeremiah?" he called loudly and listened. "Over here!" Kid heard faintly. As he finished rounding the bend, Kid saw Jeremiah lying half in the river and half on the bank; he was tightly clutching a downed tree. "Michaels!" Kid yelled back towards where he hoped the deputy was still at. "I found him!" Kid stopped Katy and ran to Jeremiah. "Are you ok?" Jeremiah shook his head. "I fell in the water, and now my leg is stuck under this tree. I can't move." Kid tried lifting the tree, but it was too heavy. The deputy came up beside them and tried helping Kid lift the tree. "There's no way we can lift this off him." "Do you have an axe or something we can cut it with?" The deputy shook his head and Kid frowned. "OK, first grab the blankets under my saddle and the roll behind it. Then hurry back to the Marshall's office. Bring back anyone who might be able to help lift this and an axe in case we can't. Do you understand?" The deputy nodded and went to get the blankets. "Anything else?" Kid nodded as he started to wrap the blankets around Jeremiah. "Don't bring Lou back with you. Tell her I said to head back to the orphanage to wait for us. Bring the doc back too if you can. We don't know how bad Jeremiah's injuries are and it'd be best if he looked over him first, ok? Take my horse, she may be tired, but she'll get you there quicker." The deputy turned and went back to the horses. He mounted Katy and took off in a gallop. Kid knew help wouldn't be back for at least several hours, and that was if they decided to come back during the night. It was still raining so making a fire would be next to impossible. Jeremiah remained silent as he watched Kid make a shelter to keep them dry. He knew it had been stupid to run away, but he had been so angry about what Lou had told him, he didn't think. Lou often told Jeremiah to give Kid a chance that he was a good guy, but up until last night, he'd thought their father had been a good guy too. Kid noticed Jeremiah shivering from the cold and went to wrap some more dry blankets around him. The makeshift shelter consisted of a couple of large branches and his bed roll. It wouldn't keep them warm, but it would hold of the rain as long as the wind didn't pick up or change direction. "Hopefully help will arrive soon and we can get you out of there. This should help keep the rain off 'till then." Kid said as he sat beside Jeremiah. He didn't expect Jeremiah to say anything. "Thanks." Jeremiah said before going silent again. After a few minutes, he spoke again. "Kid, is what Lou said true about our father? Did he really beat them?" Jeremiah asked softly. "Yeah, it's true." "Why?" "Sometimes we don't know why people do things like that. My father was the same way." "Really?" Kid nodded. "Does that mean you'll be bad like him? Lou said if I had stayed with him that I would be." "No, he ran off when I was younger than you. But she's right. My brother was older and even though he felt what he was doing was right, it was still wrong. He did a lot of bad things and it was because he probably learned it from our father." "Do you regret killing my father?" Kid wasn't sure how to answer and paused for some time thinking of a way to tell him the truth without getting Jeremiah even more upset. "I never like havin' to kill someone, but if it's a choice between them and someone I care about, then I have no choice. Do you understand?" Jeremiah closed his eyes and nodded. Kid let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding and placed some more dry blankets over Jeremiah. Soon he could hear Jeremiah's soft snoring, much like Lou's, and Kid prayed that it would either stop raining or help would arrive soon. ~~ Part 8 ~~ It had finally stopped raining a couple of hours ago and when Lou saw the faint glow of flames near the river bank she knew she had finally found them. As she rode closer the site what she saw made her smile. Kid was sleeping sitting up with his arms around Jeremiah who was lying back against him. Both were covered in several cold and damp blankets. She dismounted from the horse she had borrowed, and grabbed the axes from her saddlebag and an extra bag she packed with clothes. She walked over and gently tapped Kid on the shoulder. "Mornin'," she said as she smiled. "Lou?" he asked half asleep. When he realized he wasn't dreaming he looked at her. "Guess it is. What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay back at the orphanage." "Kid, you know me better than that. When I found out Jeremiah was trapped under a downed tree and no one else was gonna help until the rain let up, I couldn't wait. How is he?" "Cold. Good you brought a couple of axes. We need to get him out of the river." "I also brought a change of warm dry clothes for both of you," she said tossing him the extra saddlebag. "The Marshall and the doc are probably about an hour or so behind me. They're bringing a buckboard to take him back in." Kid gently moved away from Jeremiah and stood. "We'll worry about getting him changed once he's free." Lou nodded as Kid removed his wet shirt and replaced it with a dryer warm one. When he was done Lou was already knee deep in the river chopping the tree. He grabbed the extra axe and started chopping from the other side. "Kid... Lou?" Jeremiah asked waking up from the noise. "Lou you came!" "Of course I did. We're gonna get you out of there real soon, just hold on a little longer." "I didn't think you would come for me. Not after how I treated you. I'm so sorry." Lou stopped and looked at her brother. "Jeremiah, I love you very much. No matter what you ever do, I will always love you, do you understand?" He nodded and she smiled. "Besides, I couldn't leave you out here all alone with Kid, who knows what kinda trouble the two of you could get in." Jeremiah smiled and looked over towards the Kid who grinned back. They went back to chopping silently and after awhile Kid wiped the sweat from his brow and looked over at Lou. "That might be enough. Jeremiah see if you can move your leg any. Don't get it free; I'll help with that, just see if we've cut enough." Jeremiah did as he was asked and screamed in pain. Since Kid had arrived, Jeremiah had forgotten about the pain, but now that he tried to move it, he remembered how bad it was. "It hurts real bad, but I think I can get it free if someone helps." Lou threw the axe on the bank and went to help. "Can Kid do it?" Lou smiled and nodded. She knew this was a big step in their relationship. She didn't know what had happened between the two during the night, but for Jeremiah to ask for Kid's help, she knew things were eventually going to be ok between them. Kid put his arms under Jeremiah shoulders and folded his hands over the boy's chest. "OK Lou, on the count of three, see if you can lift the tree any. Ready?" Everyone nodded. "One... Two... Three!" Lou reached under the tree near where Jeremiah's leg was stuck and moved it enough that Kid was able to pull Jeremiah completely free and up farther on the bank, out of the water. Once he was free, Lou ran over to them and started making sure Jeremiah was ok. "I think his leg may be broken," she said. "But I'm more worried about how long he's been in the water. Help me get him in to dry clothes." Jeremiah groaned at Lou's help and tried pushing her away. "Jeremiah, it's not like I haven't seen any of it before. I've lived with six guys for almost two years." She looked at Kid and gave him her shy smile, remembering seeing him naked in the shower for the first time. "Lou," Kid started, trying to hide a blush. He knew what she was thinking. "This is different; let me help him. Why don't you start fixin' some food that will warm him up? I'll help get him in to some dry clothes and then help him get comfortable." Lou started to protest, but when she saw Jeremiah nod, she did as Kid asked. By the time she had warmed up some stew and bread over the fire, Kid had found two strong braches to help bind Jeremiah's leg, and propped him up against a tree close to the fire. Lou handed each of them a bowl then sat down between the two men. They ate in silence, the only noise being an occasional sniffle or sneeze from Jeremiah, the water rushing by in the river and the crackle of the fire. Kid and Lou kept glancing at each other wondering if they should approach their upcoming marriage to Jeremiah, but decided to let it rest. He's been through enough already, and even though Jeremiah didn't seem as angry at Kid as before, they couldn't be sure. By early afternoon, they finally heard the sounds of horses and knew the search party had returned. Soon everyone was helping pack things up and carefully move Jeremiah to the back of the buckboard. The doctor said his leg was broken, but that he had been damn lucky. He was more concerned about the frostbite that had started to appear on his foot as well as any river water Jeremiah may have swallowed. The doctor recommended that someone ride with Jeremiah to help keep him still, and Jeremiah refused Lou's offer asking for Kid to ride with him instead. Jeremiah slept most of the trip back due to the painkillers the doctor had given him. Lou rode slowly next to them, wanting to make sure everything was ok. As they got closer to St Joe's, Kid suggested she ride along and let everyone know at the orphanage about Jeremiah's condition and to get his room ready. When she agreed and rode off, Jeremiah finally spoke. "I thought she'd never leave," he said. Kid looked over at Jeremiah and smiled. "Figured you've been awake for the last hour or so, you weren't snorin'." "I don't snore," Jeremiah protested. "Your sister says the same thing, and she's had six of us tell her she does." "You really love her, don't ya?" He asked looking Kid in the eyes. "More than anything, Jeremiah." "I guess, since you saved me, you 'spectin me to give you my blessin' ain't ya?" "Jeremiah, I plan on marryin' your sister whether you want me to or not. I don't expect anythin' from you. I saved you because Lou would never forgive herself if somethin' happened to you. I'd like for you to be happy for us, but if you can't, I understand." "Promise me somethin'," Jeremiah said. "Promise you'll never hurt her again." "I can promise you I never intend to hurt her, but that doesn't mean I won't. All couples fight, and sometimes things are said they don't mean. But I can promise that I will never physically hurt her, they way our fathers did to our mothers, if that's what you mean." Jeremiah nodded. "Just remember if you do, you won't have given me any choice." ~~ Epilogue ~~ Kid watched as the church doors opened and his soon to be wife started walking down the aisle. So much had happened since their trip to St. Joe's, that he wasn't sure if this day would ever come. They had planned on Teresa being one of the train attendants and Kid had asked Jeremiah to stand with him, but Jeremiah had developed a bad case of pneumonia and it was touch and go for awhile. Lou kept trying to postpone the wedding until he was better, but finally Jeremiah told her that Kid had promised never to hurt her, but every time she wanted to postpone it, she was hurting him. Then the news came that the Express would be ending. Kid had bought a piece of land near the old station in Sweetwater, near their water hole. With Cody soon leaving as a scout for the army, Buck, Noah and Jimmy had offered to help Kid and Lou build their house. If things went according to plan, Teresa and Jeremiah will be living with them by the Holidays. Kid took another look at Lou and saw Buck turning to smile at him. Lou had never looked more beautiful, everyone could see that, and he knew everything leading up to this day both the good and the bad, had well been worth the wait. HOME