A/N - My first foray into the written fan fiction world.
No copyright infringement intended, The Young Riders do not belong to me, not today, not tomorrow, not ever!
It was the first blush of dawn when the light begins breaking and the shadows are deep. Lou propped herself on her elbow and began studying the sleeping man beside her. All she could think was "He looks so peaceful, so handsome." Her thoughts made her face turn crimson as she dropped onto her back. He had changed her life in so many ways; she couldn't begin to count them. She knew she loved him, would always love him.
In only a few moments, the sunlight was stronger & it was time to wake him to begin their day. A day that would be full of hard work, struggle and a contentment she had never known until him. She reached her hand out and woke him with a caress to his face as she whispered, "I love you, Kid."
He turned to her, "I love it when you say that."
"I know, I mean it every time" she smiled at him.
"That's why I love it," he laughed. He rose from the bed reaching out his hand to help her out of the bed. She grimaced at his hand, but knew she needed it. "You know, someday you'll be able to do that on your own again."
"Can't wait" she replied as she stood and lovingly stroked her growing belly.
After the day's chores were finished, the evening meal completed and the dishes were done the sun was setting. This was Kid's favorite time of the day. He studied his wife over the top of the book he pretended to be reading. He looked at her and was struck by what an amazing woman she was and how lucky he was that she loved him.
She sat with knitting needles in her hands. He knew how much it cost her to learn to knit. She was more comfortable mucking out the stalls in the barn than spending her days doing traditional things, but she did them none-the-less. She cooked and baked, cleaned their home, sewed their clothes and now she was knitting. She would have preferred mucking out the stalls if her condition allowed, but she was following the doctor's orders. He knew she would always put her family before her own preferences.
He thought back to the day she had bought those knitting needles. They were in town picking up supplies at Tompkins after a visit with Teaspoon. As soon as he saw her reach for them, he put out his hand to stop her. "You don't have to do this. You don't need to prove anything to me or anyone else."
She smiled at him and said, "If you don't mind, I want to prove to myself that I can do this; besides the cost of new booties is dear."
He frowned at her as he explained, "Lou, I didn't marry you to knit and sew for me" She watched him as he processed what she had said to him, knowing the exact moment it registered, "Wait a minute, why are you making booties? Are you telling me something?" She nodded at him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her deeply.
A subtle cough beside them broke them apart as Tompkins frowned at the pair with an expression that didn't meet his eyes, "Don't you two have somewhere else you can behave like that, it's not fittin' to do that in the store."
As Kid's mind came back to his present, he watched her knit. He saw the line appear between her eyes, the line that said something was wrong and she was getting frustrated. "What's wrong," he asked.
"Nuthin'," she muttered, "I dropped a stitch"
He looked at her puzzled, "I don't even know what that means."
As she laughed, the line disappeared, "Never thought I would."
"I think you need a break and I have a much better way to spend the rest of this evening," he said as he stood before her with his hand out.
She took his hand and rose from the chair, "You do, do you? What might that be, hmmm?" she asked playfully. She walked away from him towards the stairs. As she reached the first step, she looked back over her shoulder, winked at him, turned her head around and continued walking upstairs.
He was behind her in a second, putting his hands on her baby belly, he pulled her to him and nuzzled her neck. "Yeah, I do." He picked her up and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom.
When they were finished, Lou turned to him in the same position she had started her day as he faced her much the same. She reached over and took his hand and put it on her belly. She studied his face as he felt their child moving, the look was one she would never forget, she would cherish it, pull it out on days when she was down and needed to cheer herself up, she would keep that memory forever.
He leaned over and kissed her tenderly and said, "Louise, I love you. I don't know the words to tell you how much I love you and our baby. I want to grow old with you and watch this child grow-up and have children of its own."
She gazed at him with all the love she felt, "You know that I was in an orphanage, you also know I'm not a churchy person, but I did learn my scripture there."
He looked at her and nodded his understanding.
She reached out and gently drew the back of her finger down the side of this face as she whispered, "My cup runneth over, Kid. My cup runneth over."
Inspired by: My Cup Runneth Over with Love
Words & Music by Ed Ames
Sometimes in the mornin' when shadows are deep
I lie here beside you just watching you sleep
And sometimes I whisper what I'm thinking of
My cup runneth over with love
Sometimes in the evening when you do not see
I study the small things you do constantly
I memorize moments that I'm fondest of
My cup runneth over with love
In only a moment we both will be old
We won't even notice the world turning cold
And so, in these moments with sunlight above
My cup runneth over with love
My cup runneth over with love
With love
A/N - many thanks to the ladies at the plus who make me laugh and encouraged me to make a leap of faith. You were right, the water's fine... Special thanks to my beta, who was kind enough to look at this very short work.