I do NOT own The Big Valley nor any of the original Barkley Characters.

Once in a Lifetime

Chapter One

Opening Scene

The wind was blowing gently through the air. And Cynthia bit her tongue as she received a slight burn on the tip of her finger. "I know you said never to play with matches or you'd wind up burned, but" she looked up towards the sky, "it might have been kind of nice if you had taught me how to build a fire without one!" For a moment she could have sworn she heard her mother laughing.

She had to get a fire going. It was starting to get cold and her head was hurting slightly. She was sure the fall she'd taken from her horse just an hour before had something to do with it. She hoped it was nothing major, as she wasn't quite sure how close the nearest doctor was. Finally she got a fire going and let her mind wander.

"Are you crazy?" her oldest sister was practically having a coronary, "You have a good job here! Why traipse clear to California for something that may or may not happen?" Helena didn't understand her baby sister's actions. Then again the woman didn't understand her love of horses and the outdoors and she especially didn't understand her love of floor length dresses. She looked at the simple blue dress she was wearing now and chuckled. She had to admit, it looked more like something a woman would wear in the 1800's than what people were wearing today; even her mother's dresses had hung just past her knees.

Cynthia looked around the ranch she'd just arrived at; it was gorgeous. She couldn't wait to meet her prospective bosses. "That ranch was in the hands of the Barkley family..." Mr. Thayer, Stockton's local historian, had been more than happy to repeat everything he knew when she'd happened to bump into him at the cafe she'd been eating lunch at, "Let me show you some pictures I am taking out that way right now. You see, some of the Barkley descendents were finally able to get the land back into the family." He'd also told her everything he knew about each and every Barkley, along with the history of Stockton.

Before she'd left she'd laughed and said, "I could handle having that blonde haired cowboy look my way." Mr. Thayer laughed along with her. They wound up visiting for a good hour before she left. Not once did either of them see the shadow of a gentleman, one that never moved until she left the building.

Seeing the fire start to die down, Cynthia stood up to retrieve some more wood. She caught her breath, as she felt quite dizzy. Just before she collapsed and passed out, Cynthia could have sworn she felt herself going through some kind of wall and that she saw a blonde haired cowboy riding her way.

Scene One

"Wonder who she is," Audra stood next to her mother; Heath had just laid the stranger in the bed that sat in the guest bedroom. Nick had gone for the doctor, "She can't be much older than I am." Her mother might have answered only their guest moaned and turned her head.

Slowly Cynthia opened her eyes; for a moment her vision seemed to be blurred, then it cleared up. The fall from her horse had definitely done some damage; she was seeing things! She recognized them from the pictures the historian has had shown her over and over, so much so that she had each Barkley inbedded in her mind. This was impossilbe! "Looks like our sleeping beauty is awake," Heath gave her one of his lop sided grins.

'Oh, good, now am I not only seeing things," Cynthia closed her eyes back up, 'I'm hearing them as well!' When Victoria started speaking the young woman became even more convinced the fall had done damage.

"I think we'd best let our guest rest. Nick should be back with the doctor soon." Victoria headed for the door, as did Audra. Heath stood up, but hesitated keeping his eye on their visitor. "Heath," Victoria didn't have to say anything else. The firm, but gentle tone told him he'd best not argue. He turned and followed his mother and sister out of the room.

When she heard the door shut, Cynthia opened and shut her eyes a few times. Nothing changed. "Good grief, girl," she talked only to herself as she realized how much her body ached, "what the blazes has happened? I can not be in the nineteenth century, and I most assuredly cannot be with the original Barkley family!" she paused then looked up at the ceiling, "Can I?"

While Cynthia lay, questioning her level of sanity, Nick and the rest of the Barkleys were down stairs talking to the doctor. "I saw her collapse," Heath was again relating the story of how he'd come to bring the young woman to the house, "She woke up for a few seconds then closed her eyes again."

"She looked quite confused," Victoria added.

"Well, guess I best go check on the patient," Dr. Merar followed Heath up the stairs.

"I wonder who she is?" Audra again wondered the question aloud.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough," her sister in law, Peggy, sat in her wheelchair looking through some of Jarrod's legal papers. He'd asked her to organize them for him, "You're not going to do yourself any good fretting over it."

No one else spoke a word until the good doctor and Heath walked into the living room.

"Well?" Audra looked at the doctor, as did the rest of the family.

"She has a pretty nice bump on the back of her head. I dare say she took a fall somewhere along the line and it caught up with her," Doctor Merar shrugged his shoulder, "She's awake, but she's not talking much. I could barely get a few words out of her."

"Who is she?" Victoria asked, curiosity written all over her face.

"Don't know for sure, the only name she'd give Heath is Cynthia," Dr. Merar smiled at his friend, "In fact, I dare say if it wasn't for the fact Heath was with me she'd not have spoken a word. As it was she answered most of my questions, just didn't offer any information either." Heath wanted to wipe the grins that came onto Nick and Jarrod's faces as the doctor continued speaking, "It appears that whatever gave her that bump on the back of the head robbed her of some of her memories. When I asked if there was someone we could send a telegram to all she responded with was a look of surprise and simply saying 'telegram?'. She also seemed surprised when I said I had to take a train up to San Francisco and would check in on her in a couple of days."

"Poor girl," Victoria couldn't imagine finding yourself in a strange place with a lot of your memories gone.

"I'll be back in a couple of days," Dr. Merar said as he headed for the door.

Scene Two

Cynthia stood next to the bedroom window trying to comprehend she hadn't gone and lost it, that everything she was seeing and hearing was actual fact. She'd pinched herself more than once and, since it hurt, she figured she was awake.

"I see you are out of bed," Victoria smiled as she walked into the bedroom, and felt bad as the young woman practically jumped three feet in the air before turning away from the window, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Cynthia smiled politely, though she felt more nervous than a fox hiding from the men hunting it. "It's okay. I...I was just watching the horses being broken in." She remembered the many times she and her cousin had helped break in horses. Okay, he rode them; she talked to the animals. Everyone thought she was crazy for doing so, but it worked so they couldn't say anything.

Wanting to help the young lady, Victoria asked, "Is there anyone we can contact for you?" Surely the stranger had family who were worried about her.

'Not unless you have a direct line to the twentieth century' Cynthia couldn't stop the thought from popping into her head, even if she did manage to keep it from slipping out of her mouth. Shaking her head, she said the only honest thing she could think of, that is the only honest thing that wouldn't get her thrown into an insane assylum, "Not that I know of," then, knowing she had to have a way to support herself, she added, "I...do you know of anyone needing any help?" She fidgeted slightly, slipping her hands into the pockets of her dress. The fact that she was nervous was clearer than the noonday sun.

The fact that the young lady was holding back was something that Victoria could feel. She couldn't help but wonder what the young lady was running from. Smiling, Victoria answered, "As a matter of fact I do. Our housekeeper just announced she was getting married and is moving back east. I'll give you a try if you'll take it though," Victoria paused, "I would like to know who I am employing."

Cynthia didn't really care for housekeeping, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Good thing she'd helped her mother's housekeeper out a number of times; at least she wouldn't look like a complete idiot. But her name, that was going to be a problem. If she gave her full name they'd try to find her family, and that would be a waste of time. "I'm sorry, Cynthia is the only name I can give you, but I'll do my best work." She was relieved when the older woman did not press the issue.

Victoria thought for a moment the said, "You can start tomorrow." She turned around and walked out of the room. If the young lady could not, or would not, tell them who she was maybe Jarrod could see if the Pinkerton Agency could start looking for someone who might know her. After Victoria left, Cynthia made her way down the stairs and outside.

0000

"I'll send them a wire as soon as I get to my office," Jarrod assured his mother, "for the time being I think it's a good idea to keep an eye on her. The last thing she needs to be doing is walking around with no information."

"Thanks," Victoria walked out of the den leaving Jarrod to his thoughts.

Jarrod turned and looked out the window, he could see Cynthia petting and talking to one of the horses. He couldn't shake the feeling that, while the young woman herself wouldn't harm any of them, there was something not quite right either. That made him nervous. He hoped his mother's idea would work and that his friends at the Pinkerton Agency could help them.