"I don't think it matters much, Kid, whether they're still on our tail. I need to get this to stop bleeding and wrapped up."

"It's just a scratch," Kid Curry said as he squirmed away from his partner's ministrations. "We gotta move, put some more distance between us and Lawson."

Hannibal Heyes crawled on his knees the few feet that Kid had made it before his injury forced him back down – hard – on his buttocks. "Normally I'd agree with you, Kid, but you've already lost more blood than I like to see. Plus, we haven't heard or seen Lawson or his men in a while. Let me finish this up and then we'll get saddled up again and make tracks for the hills. Gould's only about twenty miles north."

"Why do you wanna get to Gould?" Curry asked irritably. He growled, at least Heyes was pretty sure it was a growl, and scooted away.

"Kid, will ya quit it?" Heyes pleaded patiently. "I need to get your arm wrapped. If it was just a scratch it wouldn't be bleedin' so much."

"Ya ain't gotta be so rough about it!"

"Actually, I do," Kid's partner said as he eyed his friend, fighting both frustration and just a little anger towards the stubborn one before him. "And do you wanna yell a little louder? I don't think they heard ya over to Fort Collins," Heyes whispered. The warning stare he sent his partner's way was enough to get Kid to speak quieter, lest they bring Lawson and his gang back their way. Heyes' clever and convoluted path away from the outlaws had set them in the clear, more or less. But Heyes insisted on stopping to make sure his partner didn't bleed out all over his horse and his saddle – the horse was already a little spooked – and to stop any trail he might be leaving as the blood oozed unchecked from the entry, and thankfully, exit gunshot wounds.

Kid Curry had the decency to look chagrined. "Sorry. But do you have to press so hard? Feels like my arm's ready to explode."

Heyes breathed in deeply and then out slowly. He breathed in deeply once more, smelling the pine. It was a scent that generally calmed him; he needed calm right then as he tried to deal with a hurting and more than proddy Jed Curry.

"I know this ain't new to ya, Kid." Heyes looked up through his too-long bangs and said, "It'd be done sooner if you'd just sit still."

"And maybe it'd be done sooner if you'd just get it over with." Heyes stared at his partner with nothing less than disdain, though Kid figured there were murderous thoughts going through his best friend's mind at just that very moment. But Curry was in no mood for what he felt to be a near case of pussy-footing around, or at least borderline ineptitude at his cousin's doctoring skills. What he wouldn't give for Joe Martin, or even Frank Margaux right about now. Kid kept staring at Heyes, but Heyes had perfected what Curry had come to call Heyes' 'disappointed older brother' look. He hated being on the receiving end of that look. It was a killer look, and it worked every damned time, mostly because Kid would finally see the error of his ways. Guilt was a great leveler, Heyes had told him once. He leaned back against a jagged rock and let Heyes finish his doctoring, such that it was. He breathed in through his teeth as his partner – or was it nemesis – tied the bandage tight, too tight if you asked him, which of course he knew Heyes wouldn't. "What's in Gould?" he snarled.

"A doctor. A hotel."

"Lawson'll find our tracks easy if we head there."

"He won't, but we'll have to take that chance anyway. This ain't a scratch, Kid. You need a doctor to look at this."

"I've been hurt worse."

"And I'd appreciate it if you'd cut that out," Heyes said as he started cleaning up all evidence he could find that they'd spent any time in this spot, blood and bloody rags most especially. He stood and placed the remnants of Kid's shirts in his saddlebag. He grabbed the extra shirt out of his friend's things and turned back…and then stopped cold. A large silvery-brown bear, probably not as big as the one he and Kid had encountered as youngsters heading out of Kansas, though that bear's size could have been a simple matter of wild-eyed children's perspective, was lumbering towards them. Kid didn't know yet; the bear was a good fifty feet away still, coming at them from behind the injured man's back.

"Kid," Heyes said softly, authoritatively. Curry brought his head up, knowing that something was wrong from the tone of voice. He started to open his mouth to speak, but he stopped when he saw Heyes' index finger up against his lips. "Grizzly. Behind you," he said, just barely loud enough to be heard. But Kid wouldn't have needed to hear…he'd become pretty adept at reading his best friend's lips when he had to. He sat still as his partner walked backwards slowly to his horse and pulled his rifle out. Heyes kept his eyes trained on both, deftly switching between the bear and the Kid. "Come on," he instructed. Curry rose as quietly as possible and walked towards his friend, but all the care in the world wasn't going to keep a hungry and probably just-out-of-hibernation grizzly from going after easy prey.

"Down!" Heyes yelled. Kid went down fast, grunting as his bad arm hit the hard ground, but knowing he needed to follow his cousin's instructions. Heyes aimed and fired. Kid couldn't see what happened, but he heard the angry growl from the large beast, and he could feel the animal drawing nearer from the vibrations through the cool ground. He rolled over, wincing at the pressure of dirt and rock against his newly bandaged arm. He pulled his gun from his belt. The bear was practically on top of Heyes when both men fired, just about at once. Kid was pretty sure he'd put a bullet in the bear's head, but he hadn't seen where his partner's shot had landed. The only thing he knew for sure was that Heyes had done something to draw the bear to him and away from the Kid.

Curry didn't know where Heyes's bullet went, but he saw where the bear was going to land. There was nothing to be done…timing and momentum were in collusion and seemed to have it in for Hannibal Heyes. The bear's arm, and its dangerous claws, swept down across Heyes' chest: Kid was sure he heard each layer tear, from his cousin's early spring outerwear, which he'd luckily not bothered to remove while tending to Curry's injury, all the way through to the tender skin on his chest. And then Kid watched, horrified and helpless, as the hundreds of pounds of grizzly bear slammed into his friend. Heyes was knocked off his feet and into the air, landing about ten feet away, hard onto the forest bed. Kid hoped the leaves weren't hiding anything more menacing than more leaves. The bear fell on Heyes, completely covering the former outlaw from his lower abdomen to his hips and all the way down his legs and feet.

"Heyes!" Kid called as he struggled to get to his feet. His arm really hurt, but that pain paled in comparison to thinking that his cousin, his best friend since childhood, the person who meant more to him than any other, might be seriously injured, or worse, from this bear attack. "Heyes!" he called again as he forced his way to his partner. The bear was dead, and dead weight on Heyes. Kid tried to push the large animal off, but he had little leverage with just one good arm. He scooted over to check on his friend. A moan – just about the most wonderful sound Kid Curry had ever heard – came, just barely audible, from Heyes.

"Mmmnng," Kid heard again, followed by, "Oh, god." There was quiet, and then with extreme agitation, "Kid? You all right?" Heyes started to sit up.

"I'm right here," Kid answered. "I'm fine. Just lay back for a while," he added, pushing Heyes back down to the ground. He placed his hand on Heyes' shoulder to do it. He had little choice about where he could place his hand; his friend's chest was a muddle of blood and ripped clothing. He knew Heyes had to be hurting under all that mess.

"Bear?" Heyes murmured questioningly. He blinked rapidly, but settled on keeping his eyes closed; Kid could tell his friend was having little success focusing.

"Dead."

"Good."

"How'd you feel?" Kid asked as he pushed one of the bear's legs over with his good shoulder and felt in his partner's boot for his knife.

"Oh. Um…I…" Heyes opened his eyes and then closed them quickly. "I, uh, hit my head. Trees are spinnin'." He swallowed convulsively as he tried to open them again. That attempt didn't last long. "So're you." He swallowed some more and added, "Be careful. I'm feelin' a little sick."

"I'll try to get out of the way if needs be." Kid lifted his partner's head and felt behind it. He brought his hand back and looked at it. "No blood. Soft ground. You got lucky."

"Hmm."

"Where else do you hurt?"

"There's gotta be more?"

"No, there doesn't hafta be, but I know there is. I saw him swipe your chest and I saw him slam into you and I saw you fly through the air. Plus, you're all bloody. Your coat, vest and shirts are all ripped through."

"Damn. Don't really got 'nough cash on hand for new," Heyes said worriedly. Kid couldn't tell if the frown was truly because of Heyes' clothes dilemma or due to the myriad pains he felt from going mano a mano with a grizzly bear.

"Don't worry about that. I'm gonna cut away some of this to get at those scratches, see how deep he got," Kid said as he started to head for where Heyes had left the remnants of rags and the water he'd just been using to clean up Kid's gunshot wound. Heyes grabbed his arm.

"Kid?"

"Yeah?"

"My, um, legs. They feel kinda funny."

"You got bear layin' across 'em. Don't worry."

"I'm a little worried. When I say funny I mean I can't really feel 'em. That might not be from the weight of the bear. I mighta landed bad."

Kid's eyes grew wide, which scared Heyes right quick, but then Kid smiled. "Well, you got about four hundred pounds of grizzly – dead grizzly – layin' on top of ya, partner. I'm sure that's all it is."

"Oh," Heyes replied, not sounding as sure as the Kid. "Can…" he started, but his teeth chattered. "C…Can we g…get me out fr…from under it?"

"Sure," Kid answered calmly. 'Shit', he thought to himself. He'd seen it happen before. In fact, he'd had it happen to him. A doctor had once called it a 'shock' to the system. It was early spring, and the sun was out and warming up the day nicely, but Heyes seemed to be freezing. "I only got one good wing, here," he said, nodding down to his incapacitated left arm. "I can push him over as much as possible, but you'll have to try to scurry out from under him." Kid knew that if Heyes could manage that, he'd be all right.

Heyes nodded his head in understanding, opened his eyes and then said, "I d…don't know 'bout sc…scurryin', but I'll do what I ha…have to. Don't w…wanna stay under this mountain any l…longer than nec…necess…needed." He stopped and then said, "It didn't s…seem this cold earlier."

"It wasn't, Heyes. It isn't. I think you might just be feeling a little out of sorts. Kind of a shock getting up close and personal with a grizzly like that."

"I g…guess." Heyes closed his eyes again, sighed heavily and lay back hard into the leaves.

"Ya' all right?" Curry asked. The quick draw of the pair was worried. Heyes seemed suddenly exhausted. He needed to get a look, a real good look, at all of his friend's injuries. But first things first. "Heyes?" he asked after he'd received no answer. "Heyes!"

"Yeah," Heyes responded with a shocked tremble. "Sorry. Tired."

"Stay with me. Once I lift this, do whatever it takes to get out from under, okay?"

"Y…Yes."

"On three, okay?" Heyes nodded. "One. Two. Three." Curry pushed with all his strength, which was considerable, even with only one good side. It was amazing the strength to be found when it meant something so very important. Heyes pushed into the ground with his hands and tried to push with his now seemingly useless legs. But just as quickly, his legs started to tingle, badly, which he knew to be a good though painful thing. He pushed again with his feet. His chest was on fire from the exertion, the scratches seeming to pull apart and causing more pain than the original contact with the claws had.

"Are ya out?" Kid called. To get just the right leverage, Kid had been forced to face away from Heyes. He couldn't see a thing. "Heyes!"

"'m out!" Heyes yelled, panting heavily. Kid let the bear fall to the ground, which seemed to quake as all of the weight of the grizzly was released and slammed into the leaves and early spring undergrowth. Curry hurried the few steps to his friend.

"Are ya okay?"

"Gettin' the feeling back in my legs. That's…" he paused, looking for the right word to describe what he was feeling. "Unpleasant," he added, squeezing his eyes shut. "But good…sorta." He paused, breathing in and out rapidly and then added, "Uh. I don't feel good."

"I'll bet. I need to look at those cuts. You know those claws were filthy."

"I know. Go ahead." Heyes lay his head back down. "Just be ready to move when I say move."

"You could just heave the other way." Heyes didn't answer, but proceeded to do just that.

"Uhhhh-huh," he coughed as he finished, his partner helping him to move away from the new mess. "Why couldn't I be the one that got shot?" he asked, his voice a little raw. Curry snorted a laugh. "'s not funny," Heyes moaned dejectedly.

"I know it's not. It just says a lot about how lousy it is bein' a reforming outlaw when you can say somethin' like that with a straight face." Kid gently pulled the mangled cloth from his partner's wounds, using the knife carefully when needed. "You're lucky you had all these layers on." Kid soaked a rag and then laid it on Heyes' chest. His partner hissed. "Sorry, but it'll be easier pulling the rest of this off this way."

"Stings. Burns," Heyes offered quietly, keeping his eyes shut. He was sweating now, which he hadn't been earlier. In fact, Heyes had commented upon waking that morning on what a 'glorious' day it seemed to be. It was unfortunate how quickly things had turned, beginning with Lawson's gang finding them, then Kid getting shot, and now this.

"Need to hurry. All this yellin'…"

"I know. Let's just clean this as best we can, then we'll head out." Kid looked down at his partner's legs, which seemed to be trembling. "How're your legs? You gonna be able to ride?"

"Just shove me up on my horse and I'll be fine. My legs are hurting more by the second, so I guess that's a good thing."

Kid shook his head. "It's a good thing nobody's listening to this conversation. They'd think we were a little bit crazy."

"I suppose we are, thinking we can get that amnesty," Heyes noted thoughtfully, though Kid might call the tone a bit gloomy.

"That's not crazy. Even Lom doesn't think it's crazy anymore."

"Lom's got a good heart. But there's always men like Lawson out there, right around the corner, who'll do almost anything to claim an easy twenty thousand."

Kid rinsed a relatively clean cloth as best he could and wiped deep into the cuts, causing Heyes to grimace softly. Kid apologized for causing pain and then said, "I guess it's good that most of these people lookin' to take us in aren't very smart."

"I guess," Heyes replied as he squeezed his eyes shut and lay patiently as Kid dabbed at each long groove that the bear's claws had left on his friend's chest.

Kid shook his head again and said, "I'm sorry for, you know, earlier. For acting like such a baby."

"Didn't know it was an act."

"Ha-ha."

Heyes waved his hand. "Don't' worry 'bout it. Sometimes," he started, but stopped at a particularly objectionable sensation on his chest. He looked Kid squarely in the eyes. "Sometimes it does seem like it's too much. I know." Kid smiled sadly, knowing…seeing that right now was one of those times for his partner.

"Okay. Let's get you up on your horse and head on up to Gould." Heyes put his hand out and Kid took it with his good right hand. Heyes' legs were none too steady, though, and he leaned forward fast, his chest slamming into Kid's. He put his head down on Curry's good shoulder and breathed in heavily. Kid took his good arm and pulled Heyes in closer, embracing his partner, knowing innately that the simple gesture would mean more than any words ever could. Heyes shivered slightly. Kid knew they should get moving; it would do neither of them any good if their injuries became infected. The blond pulled his partner's coat up tight, buttoning it up all the way.

"Do you need a blanket?"

"Maybe. Let's get riding and we'll see," Heyes answered, sending his partner a smile of thanks.

"Come on," Kid said, giving Heyes one final affectionate squeeze, being extra careful not to pull him in too much and further aggravate the tender slices on his chest. "Let's ride." Curry and Heyes walked slowly to their horses, Kid helping his friend into the saddle as they made their way to the next Colorado mountain town.

"Don't ride too far ahead, okay Kid? I'm not feelin' too steady."

"You bet, partner," Kid answered, knowing that Heyes was feeling pretty poorly if he was willing to admit it. Thus, Kid Curry's horse moved in lockstep with Hannibal Heyes' horse all the way to the doctor's office in Gould.

A few hours later, Heyes and Curry were comfortably in bed – early - all bandaged up properly, a good meal eaten and a decent bottle of whiskey working wonders on their aches and pains from hard riding, bad guys' bullets and grizzly attacks.

"'S'pose the gov'nor would grant us amnesty if he knew the kinda day we had?" Heyes slurred, his exhaustion and the whiskey making the words come out in a lazy drawl.

"I doubt it," Kid replied. He'd been careful not to drink too much, wanting to make sure that his cousin made it into a deep, restful sleep first.

"He's mean," Heyes said as he pulled the blanket up close to his neck. The doctor had said the darker haired one might feel chilled for a while yet, that the ride into town hadn't done him any favors, except for the one big favor of getting him to medical care fast.

"Yeah, I guess he qualifies as mean." Even if the governor wasn't mean for not favoring them on this bad rotten miserable day they'd had, he would make it into the mean column anyway for making them wait over a year already now for the amnesty.

"Do ya think…" Heyes continued.

"Heyes?" Kid interrupted.

"Hm?" his partner replied, his eyebrows heading up, but his eyelids unable to perform the same feat.

"Go to sleep. You've earned the rest."

"Mmm," the nearly asleep one answered. All that could be seen now of Hannibal Heyes amongst the pillows and the blankets was the rich brown hair and the eyebrows. "Night."

"Good night, Heyes."

The End.