STAY WITH ME
This is my first fan fiction, and my first story in English (or Spanish!), so feedback is more than welcome. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!
She couldn´t be dying.
But Kid knew she was. He knew by the paleness of her face. He knew by the look in the doctor´s eyes.
"I´m sorry son," the man had said, shaking his head. "Ain´t nothing more I can do for her. She lost too much blood. It's up to her now."
Kid just nodded. After all these years, after all they had been through together.
She had survived the terrible experiences of her youth, all the dangers of working for the Express, and even a war.
This couldn't be happening. Not to them.
Sitting by the bed, holding Lou´s cold small hand in his much larger one, Kid just couldn't help thinking how happy they were, how happy they had always been.
His Lou. His bright and beautiful Lou. His strong and stubborn Lou. She looked so fragile now, her breathing getting shallower by the minute. Kid just kept looking at her, amazed at how pretty she was, even now…
A groan made him lift his gaze. The doctor had finally dozed off in the rocking chair. He didn´t know how many hours they´d been in that room, in complete silence. Just waiting.
Kid realized his legs had gone completely numb. He gave Lou a kiss on the forehead, 'Gosh! She was so cold.', and ran his fingers through her long dark hair. Then, with a sigh, he stood up and walked to the window. He caught a glimpse of Lou's clothes, neatly folded on her open trunk beside the window. He couldn't help but smile. Besides her pregnancy clothes, she had only one dress, for socials and Sundays, and a couple of skirts and blouses for house chores and every day dinner. The rest of the time she kept wearing trousers, as she spent most of her day working with the horses or around the ranch. No more longjohns, though. She loved her chemises and pantalettes.
He lifted the curtains, and was surprised to see that it was almost morning
The first rays of daylight had already started to illuminate their front yard, giving the landscape those special colors only dawn could give.
Lou loved that time of the day. From time to time, she got up really early, woke Kid, grabbed a blanket, and they sat together on the porch swing. While everybody else was still sleeping, it seemed there was nothing else in the world but them two.
"It´s important that we do this Kid," she used to say, sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "So we can appreciate all that we have now. When you have so much sometimes is easy to forget the time when you had nothing…"
And so many things they had indeed. For them, at least, it seemed like a lot.
After the end of the Express, Kid knew it was impossible for him, no matter how hard he tried, to let his homeland fall to pieces without even trying to fight for it. He knew Lou would understand. But he also knew there was no way she was staying behind, waiting for him to come back, if he came back at all. She needed to be right beside him, watching out for him. No way was she letting him go on his own. So she disguised herself as a boy once more, and they left for Virginia, together.
After two years, however, Kid was seriously wounded in the leg, and discharged. Lou revealed herself to their commander to be discharged as well.
Kid had a bad limp in his left leg for a while, but deep inside they were both thankful. They knew if they had stayed longer, one of them, or even both, would have been killed.
It was hard for them at the beginning, not only because of Kid´s leg, but also because by that time he understood that fighting in this war had been a huge mistake, and knowing that he could have get Lou killed only made it worse. Kid´s near brush with death wasn´t easy for Lou to cope with either.
So they came back home to Rock Creek, where Teaspoon, Rachel and Buck still lived. And with time, with Lou´s patience and care, Kid got better. They bought a small ranch in the outskirts of town, spending every last dime they had on it, and somehow managing to persuade Buck to be partners with them.
Actually, talking Buck into it was all Lou's work. Cody and Jimmy were not back from the war, and even when they did come back, everyone knew they wouldn't stay in Rock Creek for long. Lou just couldn´t stand to lose Buck as well. She made sure he stayed right there with them. Keeping the family together was important for all of them, but somehow it was vital for Lou.
So there they were, the three of them with a horse ranch to build. They got Theresa and Jeremiah, and they all moved together into the big, dilapidated house at the ranch. It was a really old house indeed, but, though it needed a lot of repairs, there was plenty of room for all of them. With Teaspoon and Rachel living in town so nearby, everything started to fall into place again.
Kid couldn't help but smile every time he remembered the speech Lou gave to all of them the day they first moved into their new house:
"Boys, and girl," she said, with a very serious look on her face, "I´m sure I ain´t got to tell you this, but I will anyway. This place needs a lot of hard work, and that´s exactly what we´re going to do, together.And, since we will be working together around the ranch, then we´ll need to take care together of the house chores as well. I mean cooking, and cleaning, and doing the laundry, and everything else that needs to be done. I´m sure you ain´t got no problem with that, am I right?"
They'd nodded silently.
"Well, it ain´t as if we were going to risk it with your cooking, anyway," Buck said between his teeth.
They all chuckled.
"That's very nice, Buck," Lou said, pretending to be offended. "Thank you very much. At least we all agree…"
Well, it´s not that they had a choice, anyway.
So they worked, together, side by side, to build their horse ranch. They didn´t get much profit at the beginning, and the work was very hard, but they didn´t mind. They knew it was their future they were building.
Things were actually going well for them, but after a year or so Lou started to act a little distant and distracted. At first Kid thought she was just worried about Cody and Jimmy, still fighting in this never ending war, especially since they hadn't heard from Jimmy in about four months. Since she always changed the subject when he tried to ask her about it, he thought it was better just to give her some time.
That was until the day he found her sobbing in the barn with a small rag doll on her hands.
"Lou? You all right?" he asked.
Lou startled and turned around to face him as she quickly hid the doll behind her back with one hand and with the other wiped her face.
"Yes! Don´t worry, too much dust in here, that´s all."
Kid sat over a bale of hay and signaled her to sit next to him. He couldn't let this just go on.
Lou sighed as she sat down and started to turn the doll in her hands.
"What's wrong, Lou?"
"Nothin´," she mumbled, her eyes fixed on the small toy.
"That´s a very pretty doll you got there," Kid ventured. "You got it for Theresa?"
"Well," she hesitated. "Not exactly…"
"So that´s what´s been bothering her," Kid thought.
"It´s just like...," Lou went on, her gaze still fixed on the doll, "I saw this a while ago in the store, and I thought it was so pretty, so I just got it. See, I´d figured that by this time we, you know…I mean, we've been married for almost four years now, and well, even before … it ain´t that we was ever that careful or anything…"
Kid nodded. Actually he had been wondering about that himself, even if he would never tell Lou about it.
"So I´ve been thinking…" Lou paused, took a deep breath, looked up at Kid and just let it out. "What if I can´t have no babies, Kid? What if because of what Wicks did we can´t have a family? I mean," she looked back at her feet, "he did hurt me pretty bad, and well," she said, letting go of the doll, "I just don´t want to believe he also took that from me…from us…"
Kid didn't say anything for a second. He always felt his throat closing and his blood boiling when he thought about that man. Then he got himself together, grabbed one of her hands on his and with the other lifted her chin to make her face him.
"Lou, he can´t take anything from us that we don´t let him to," he started.
"Yes but…"
"Let me finish. Honey, we still have plenty of time to have lots and lots of babies, and if we don´t, well, we already have a beautiful family, don´t you think?" he said smiling at her, with that smile of his that always made her heart skip a beat.
"Yes I know," she said. "It´s just…"
"Don´t think about it, Lou. As I said, we still have plenty of time. Let´s not get worried about it yet."
She finally smiled back at him.
"All right, if you say so…"
"What's most important now is that we keep practicing, you know? All the time!" he added with a big grin.
She chuckled and put her arms around his neck.
"Is that so? Hmmm, I guess you must know what you're talking about…"
It turned out he actually was. About a month later, Lou, Theresa and Buck were in town after getting supplies at Tompkins store, when Lou suddenly started to feel pretty dizzy. She even had to grab a post with one hand to keep her balance.
"Louise, you all right?" Theresa asked, taking her other hand. "You look pale as a ghost!"
"I don´t know, I just…"
Buck barely had time to catch her as she fell to the floor.
"Theresa, go get the doctor," he said, as he lifted her in his arms and rushed over to the Marshal´s office.
Lou came back to her senses about half an hour later, to find herself laying in a cell bed, with Theresa and Teaspoon looking down at her.
"Louise!" Theresa said. "I´m so relieved you´re awake!"
"You gave us a pretty good scare there, child," Teaspoon said. "You feelin' better?"
"What happened?" Lou asked, slowly sitting up. Her head was still whirling a little.
"You fainted!" Theresa said. "Right in the middle of the street!"
"What?" Lou exclaimed. "What do you mean I fainted? I don´t faint! I´ve never fainted in my whole life!"
"Now, calm down," Teaspoon said. "We don´t want you to be sick again, now do we? The doctor wanted to talk to you as soon as you awake, so I´ll go get him. And you stay right there, you hear!", he warned her, as she started trying to get up.
Lou groaned.
"Buck went to get Kid. They should be back soon," Theresa said.
"What? I can't believe you're making all this fuss over nothing. I don´t even think I fainted at all! I guess it was just the heat or something…I see no need to get Kid!"
Theresa just shrugged.
A moment later the doctor came in.
"Well, I'm glad you´re feeling better," he said to Lou. Turning to Theresa, he added, "Now, would you mind giving me a moment to talk to your sister?"
"Sure," Theresa said, with a worried look on her face. "I´ll be right outside."
Once she left, Lou turned to the doctor.
"Listen," she started, "I appreciate you taking care of me, but I really think everybody's overreacting. It was just the heat and…."
"Mrs. McCloud," the doctor started.
"I´m sure everything´s just fine," she went on, completely ignoring him. "I just need to go home and rest a little."
"Mrs. McCloud-"
"I really don´t see the point on getting my husband to come all the way here. I mean, now he´ll get all worried about it and-"
"Mrs. McCloud, you´re expecting!"
That finally got her attention
"Huh?" she said a puzzled look on her face. "Expecting what?"
"A baby, ma´am. Expecting a baby," the doctor sighed, exasperated.
"Oh!" she gasped. She hadn't seen this coming. Not at all.
Suddenly Kid came rushing through the door.
"Hey," he said, sitting by her side and holding her hand. "What happened? You all right? Buck said you fainted."
She didn´t answer. She still couldn´t believe it.
Kid then turned to the doctor.
"What is it? Is she all right?"
"I´ll let the two of you talk," the doctor said. "I´ll be at my office if you need me."
Kid looked at his wife.
"Lou?" he asked again. Now he was getting seriously worried.
Lou looked back at him, and then it finally sank. A big smile appeared on her face.
"What? What is it?" Kid said.
"Nothin´. Just wondering…"
"Wondering what?"
"If our baby will have those blue eyes of yours," she said, putting her hand on his cheek.
"Our…our baby?" Kid was perplexed. "Are…are you sure?"
"Well, that´s what the doc just said to me!"
"I...I just…that´s…" he stuttered.
He really didn´t know what to say, so he just hugged her tightly, a big grin on his face. She hugged him back.
"See," he whispered on her ear after awhile. "I was right. Lots of practice! You should listen to me more often!"
She laughed heartily, a lighthearted sound full of joy he hadn't heard in awhile.
They all drove home in the buckboard. All the way back Kid looked like he wanted to say something, but then he got second thoughts and kept silent. After awhile Lou put her hand on his knee.
"Just spit it out, Kid."
"Well," he mumbled, "it's nothing really. I was just thinking, maybe now you'd like to take it a little easier at the ranch, you know. You've been working so hard. Let us pamper you for a change."
"C'mon Kid," she said, trying not to be too hard on him. "It ain´t like I'm sick or anything, you know? Women have babies all the time! I don´t see why I shouldn't keep doing my work at the ranch. And I won´t hear another word about it, you hear me?"
He'd known what her answer would be before she opened her mouth, anyway. He knew it was pointless to try to stop her from doing whatever she thought she needed to do. Her stubbornness and strong will were two of the things he loved the most about her. He wouldn't want her to be any other way. He just worried that something could happen to her, that´s all. She could be so bold. But he had learned the hard way not to get carried away by those feelings and just let her be. It was hard for him sometimes, but he trusted her.
"All right, all right!" Kid just lifted his arms in surrender and smiled. "It was just a thought!"
"Don´t worry," she said, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "We'll be just fine."
"You know Louise," Theresa said from the back of the buckboard, "I think you should listen to Kid more often."
"Yes, that's what he always says, Tessie." Lou smiled at her.
And everything went fine all right, except that their baby decided to be born a few weeks early. So, when Lou's time came, she and Kid were completely alone at the house. To make matters worse, a big storm had struck town just the day before. Buck and Jeremiah had left two days ago to buy some Indian ponies, and Theresa was staying with Rachel for a few days since she wanted to improve her cooking skills, something she definitely couldn't do at home.
It was already dark when Lou realized she was in labor, and she uncharacteristically panicked.
"Lou, I have to go get the doctor, or Rachel at least." Kid said, starting to put on his pants.
Lou just grabbed his arm and look at him with a terrified face.
"Dammit, Kid! What if the baby comes before you´re back? Or worse, what if you can´t get back at all because of the storm? Kid, if you leave me now I swear I´ll make you pay for the rest of your life!"
Kid knew she was right. With that kind of storm there was a big chance that the road was blocked.
"What are we gonna do, Kid?" Lou pleaded, just about to burst into tears.
Kid had never seen Lou this scared. Hehad never been this scared. But he tried with all his might to stay calm. He knew one of them should have a clear mind, and she really needed him right now.
He sat back down on the bed next to her and held her hands.
"Lou, I think we'll have to do this by ourselves."
"Oh my God! No, no, no, there has to be another way."
She was almost hysterical, and she never got hysterical.
Kid cupped her face with both hands and looked her straight in the eyes. He really needed to calm her down somehow.
"Louise McCloud, look at me!" he demanded. "We can do this, I know we can. You're the bravest person I've ever known, and it ain´t nothing you can't do! I'll be right here with you, and we'll do this together, as a team, as we always do. But I need you to stay calm and trust me, Lou."
She looked back at him. How was it that even in the worse of situations he always managed to make her feel so safe?
"Alright," she softly said. "I trust you."
Kid smiled at her. Then he took his hands away as he didn't want her to notice how badly he was starting to shake. He'd actually rather take a bullet in his other leg than this, but it really seemed the only possible thing to do.
So as the wind started to lessen and the morning sun rose over the horizon, Kid was receiving the crying baby in his arms.
"It´s a girl, Lou!" he announced with a big grin. Tears started to run down his cheeks as he could no longer hold back after hours of apprehension and worry.
"A girl? Is she all right?"
"She´s perfect, honey. She´s just perfect. She looks exactly like you."
He wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed her in Lou´s outstretched arms.
"Oh my God, Kid, she´s so tiny!" Lou exclaimed, holding her daughter close to her heart. She couldn't believe that this precious little thing was actually hers, that she was somebody's mama.
Kid sat next to her and they just kept looking at the little bundle in Lou´s arms.
"You did it, Lou, you were so brave. I´m so proud of you, sweetheart."
Lou grabbed his hand in hers and kissed it.
"Wedid it," she said.
"What should we name her?" Kid quietly asked.
Lou looked into his beloved eyes and said, smiling, "How ´bout Virginia?"
Kid looked back at her and for a moment he couldn't say anything. Then he nodded.
"That's a beautiful name. Thank you."
"There´s nothing to thank me for, Kid."
By the time Rachel and Theresa came to the house later that morning to check on them after the storm, they found all three sound asleep on the bed.
After a couple of months, Lou was getting really impatient and restless. She was thrilled with her baby girl, who was like a little doll to her. But at the same time she desperately needed to get out of the house and go back to work, no matter how tired she was. She knew Kid was as tired as her, and he kept working on the ranch nevertheless.
She knew for a fact she would go crazy if she stayed in the house a minute longer. Anyway, her plan all along had been to simply take Virginia with her and go back to work. And now the time had come to get her plan started.
So that night at dinner, when the whole family was gathered around the table, she just announced her intentions.
"The thing is", she said, "as much as I love taking care of Virginia, I´m just going out of my mind in here. And well, we have to admit I´m not too much help with the house chores". At this statement, Theresa just shook her head silently, a meaningful look on her eyes. "So starting tomorrow, I´m going back to work, and I´ll just take the baby with me!" Lou finished, a big smile on her face.
Kid looked at her, his mouth half open, not really knowing what to say. "Lou," he finally mumbled, "Do you really think that´s such a good idea?"
"Well, yes, of course! Actually, it´s the only possible thing to do!" she answered him in a matter-of-factly voice.
Buck, Theresa and Jeremiah just kept eating and looking from Lou to Kid, with an amused look.
"Don´t you think it might be a little…dangerous?" Kid ventured.
"Kid, you know perfectly well I´ll take very good care of her!" she was getting annoyed. "And besides, we´ll have so much fun! It´s a great idea, isn´t it?" she asked, turning to the others.
Again, Kid opened his mouth to protest this wasn´t exactly anybody else´s business, but they spoke first.
"Yeah, why not?" Buck shrugged.
"And I can help you in anything you need! We all can, right?" Theresa said, looking around.
"Sure!" Buck and Jeremiah answered immediately.
"You´re already a big help with the baby, Kid," Lou said to her husband. "And I´m sure even Rachel can come some days. So, it´s settled then!" Lou finished, in a tone of voice that meant the conversation was over.
Kid sighed. He wasn´t thrilled about this idea. But he couldn´t exactly deny he had seen this coming. And Lou was so kind and caring with their daughter, he knew she wouldn´t take any risks. Maybe if they all helped out, they could make it work.
He shook his head. "Lou, you have to promise to be extra careful…"
Lou smiled at him and reached to kiss him in the cheek.
"You know perfectly well I will be, sweetie" she said. Then she just turned to Theresa and Jeremiah and she started to ask them about their school day.
Kid kept looking at her, smiling. There was nobody like her. Nobody. He saw now any other woman and they seemed to him so plain and simple…and boring. He suddenly realized that Buck was looking at him with a mocking grin.
"What? And don´t forget you volunteered to help her!" he spat at him, blushing, and went back to his dinner.
By the time they got the news that the war was finally over, things were going pretty well at the ranch, and even Kid´s leg was much better. So when first Jimmy and then Cody came back, Lou felt that there was nothing else that she could ask for.
Both Jimmy and Cody stayed with them for a while, either helping at the ranch or with Teaspoon at the Marshal's office. But Lou knew all too well that sooner or later they would leave. So when they finally did, she made both of them promise her they would visit as soon and as often as they could.
"Don´t forget that this is your family," she told them. "This is the place to come back to when you need to go home."
And so they did. They both tried to come at least once a year and to stay for a while.
That´s why when, two years later, Lou and Kid's second baby was born, everybody was home. Buck, Theresa, Jeremiah and Virginia. Even Cody and Jimmy, who had just arrived that day. Teaspoon, Rachel, her brand new husband, and Buck´s fiancée, Maria, who were having lunch with them. And Berta, the lady they had hired a couple of months ago to help with the cooking, the house chores, and their growing family. Everybody was there. Everybody…but Kid.
He had just left earlier that morning for Fort Kearney, to close a possible deal with the army. He wasn´t supposed to be back for more than a week.
"I´m so sorry you just missed Kid," Lou said for the tenth time, as they all sat down for lunch. "But he will be so happy to see you when he comes back."
They all chatted happily while they ate, until Rachel noticed that Lou had been very quiet for a while and was strongly gripping the edge of the table with one hand.
"Lou, honey, are you all right?"
"Hmm?" She turned to face Rachel. "Oh, yes, just fine!"
"You don´t look so fine to me, Lou," Cody said, as he swallowed a bite of his third piece of pie.
"I´m telling you I'm just fine," she answered through clenched teeth.
Rachel handed Virginia, who was sitting on her lap, to Berta, and reached out to grab Lou's other hand. It was soaked with sweat.
"Oh my God, Lou!"
Lou quickly drew back her hand and hid it under the table.
"I'm perfectly fine, Rachel. Thank you."
Rachel put a hand on her shoulder.
"Lou, are you in labor?" she asked softly.
There was a metallic clank as everybody dropped their forks at the same time. Cody started to cough violently as he almost choked on his last bite of pie.
Lou looked up and saw that everybody was staring at her. A single drop of sweat ran down her face.
"No Rachel, of course not," she said, trying unsuccessfully to smile. But all she managed to come up with was a grimace.
"Yes you are!" Rachel exclaimed, as everybody just kept looking at them in awe. "How long ago did your contractions started?"
Lou stared at the floor.
"´Bout an hour ago," she mumbled in a barely audible voice.
"Lou! Why didn´t you say something?"
Lou gave her friend an annoyed look, never letting go of the table.
"I cannot be in labor," she said, very seriously and very slowly.
"But why not?"
Lou took a deep breath and blurted it out. "Because Kid´s not here, that´s why!"
She really hated to sound so needy. She had always thought of herself as a woman who could do anything on her own. But the thing was that the mere thought of doing this without Kid by her side was dreadful. He should have known better than to leave so close to her time. It was true that they didn´t expect this baby to come for at least two weeks, but then again, the same thing had happen with Virginia.
By now everybody was all around her, talking at the same time, as Rachel and Buck held each of her arms and guided her up the stairs to her room.
"I´ll get the doctor," Jeremiah exclaimed, and he sprinted through the front door.
Lou started to struggle. "I´m sorry, but I refuse to have this baby until my husband comes back!"
"Lou," Buck said, repressing a smile, "I really don´t think you have much of a choice."
"Yes I do!" Lou exclaimed, still struggling as they got to her room, the whole troop behind them. "And I´m putting my foot down on this! This baby ain´t coming out until Kid gets back, so we all might as well go back downstairs and finish lunch, as nothing ain´t gonna happen here!"
"Now, Lou," Teaspoon said, "you need to be more reasonable about this. If the baby has decided it´s time to be born, then it´s time to be born!"
"I don´t think the baby has a say in it, Teaspoon," Cody sniggered, still chewing on a chicken leg he had brought with him. "If Lou say he´s staying in, that´s exactly where he´s staying!"
At this point Rachel and Buck had managed to sit Lou on her bed, and everyone else gathered at the door.
"Lou, this is enough," Rachel claimed, and she held onto both of Lou's shoulders to keep her from getting up.
Lou looked at her.
"Rachel, you don´t understand," she pleaded. "Kid needs to be here. And I need him to be here, too."
"I know honey, but there´s nothing we can do about it!"
"Yes, there is!" She was getting mad now. She turned to the crowd at the door. "I need one of you to go and get Kid!"
"But Lou! He left more than six hours ago! By the time we catch up with him and bring him back, probably the baby will be learning how to ride!" Cody exclaimed.
"Cody!" Teaspoon said, holding one hand up. "Lou, what you´re asking for doesn´t make any sense and…"
"I´ll go."
Everybody turned to look at Jimmy, who had kept quiet until now, leaning against the wall.
Lou beamed at him.
"Thank you Jimmy."
"Yeah, don´t mention it."
And he just turned and left.
"Well, now everybody out!" Rachel snapped at them. "Theresa, let´s see if we can at least undress this stubborn mule sister of yours."
Jimmy didn´t actually expect to catch up with Kid. He should be half way to Fort Kearney by now. But he knew it was the only way to calm down Lou. So, after getting ready, with one swing he mounted Sundance and took off. Who knew, he might as well give it a try.
He had been riding for about two hours when he saw a horse in the distance walking towards him. Then the rider beside the horse, holding its reins. And then that the horse was unmistakably Katy.
"I´ll be damned!" Jimmy muttered to himself , as he sped up Sundance to meet with Kid and Katy.
Kid had his hand already at his gun belt when he saw a rider galloping towards him, but then he heard his name and relaxed.
"Jimmy!" he exclaimed with a big grin, as his friend came to a halt right in front of him. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey Kid!" Jimmy dismounted and they vigorously shook hands. "I was about to ask you the same thing. You´re supposed to be miles away by now."
"Katy got a stone bruise, and I was nearer home than any other place. So I decided to just walk back. But what are you doing here?" he repeated. Then he was suddenly serious. "Everybody all right at home?"
"Yeah, everybody's all right," Jimmy hastened to calm his friend. "It's just that your baby decided to be born today, and that wife of yours is claiming she´s having no baby until you get your butt back home. So, here I am!"
"Oh my God, Jimmy!" Kid grabbed Jimmy´s arm.
"Yep, and if I know Lou, believe me, she´ll keep her word!"
Kid glanced at Katy´s leg and then back at Jimmy with a questioning look.
"Oh, just go ahead," Jimmy grunted. "Take Sundance and I´ll finish walking back with Katy."
"Thanks Jimmy!" Kid said, already jumping on Sundance´s back and sprinting to a gallop. Lifting an arm as he sped off he yelled back, "See you back home!"
"Yeah, no problem," Jimmy sighed and started his long walk home.
Back at the house, the doctor was very close to sending everybody to the devil and just leaving. This woman was absolutely impossible.
"Mrs. Mc Cloud," he was saying, in the most decent tone he could manage, "I´m telling you that this baby is coming now! You need to cooperate!"
"No!" Lou, who was actually up and pacing back and forth in the room, glared at him. "I already told you we´re waiting for my husband!"
"Lou," Theresa pled, "please lay down! It´s impossible for Kid to get back in time!"
"He'll make it!" she cried as she bent over grabbing the edge of the bed. Then she just shouted, "KID!"
"I´m right here, baby!" Kid shouted back, as he climbed up the stairs two at time and flew to catch Lou in his arms.
A breathless Lou held him tight and whispered into his ear, with a big grin on her face, "I knew you´d be back, I just knew."
Rachel and Theresa just stood in wonder looking at them, just as all the others down in the living room had done when they saw the Kid come bursting through the door like a whirlwind and rush upstairs.
"But how on earth?" Rachel started.
"Well, now that everybody is here," the doctor said impatiently, "Mr. McCloud if you could please step out so we can finally deliver this baby."
"No!" both Lou and Kid turned on him at the same time.
"I´m sorry doctor, but when I said I needed him I meant here, by my side. Of what use is he to me down in the living room? He might as well be at Fort Kearney in that case!"
Kid just smiled at the doctor.
"Her wish is my command, what can I say?" he shrugged.
The doctor shook his head in disbelief.
"Have it your way, then!" he groaned. And then he mumbled to himself, "These are a bunch of crazy folks, that´s for sure!"
Hours later, when Jimmy finally got back home, exhausted and all covered in dust, he found the whole family gathered around Lou and Kid´s bed, contemplating their new baby boy.
"Jimmy!" they all greeted him as he entered, patting him on the shoulder.
Lou, who was sitting on the bed holding her baby, with Kid and Virginia next to her, held out her hand to him. Jimmy took it between his and smiled at them.
"I don´t know how to thank you, Jimmy."
"Anything for you, Lou," he answered, the sweetest smile on his face. Peeking at the bundle in Lou's arms he added, "Now let´s take a look at this little fellow who caused all this fuss."
"Do you want to hold him, Uncle Jimmy?" Kid asked.
"Oh no!" Jimmy said, holding up his arms defensively.
They all laughed.
"So, have you thought of any names yet?" Rachel asked.
Lou and Kid shared a meaningful look, and then Lou turned to the rest of her family.
"Well, we have been thinking about this over the last few days, and, if that´s alright with you," she turned to Jimmy, who was still standing next to the bed, "we would like to call him James."
Everybody looked at Jimmy, who was suddenly turning red.
"Oh!" he stammered, tilting his head and frowning slightly. "I… I don´t know what to say. Why would you want to name your kid after me?"
Lou took back Jimmy´s hand and squeezed it very tightly. She looked him straight in the eyes.
"What else would we name him, Jimmy?"
Jimmy just smiled at his friends and nodded silently.
"Well!" Cody said, "I never thought I´d live to see the mighty Wild Bill Hickok blush like a girl!"
"Shut up, Cody!" they all shouted, a big smile on their faces.
So time went on, and life was good. They managed to keep the family together through the years, even if they didn't see each other as often as they would like. For Cody it was especially difficult after he got married, but he tried to come from time to time, and he always kept in touch. Jimmy, on the other hand, never let a year go by without visiting his friends.
He loved coming here. It was actually the only place on earth that he really felt at home. He was home. When he got to Rock Creek that morning he only stopped by the Marshal´s office to say hello to Teaspoon, and then went straight to the ranch.
Buck saw him coming at the distance and came to greet him. He took his horse and left to do the rest of his chores. Jimmy just let himself in.
"Hello! Anybody home?" he shouted after closing the front door.
Theresa´s head popped out of the kitchen.
"Jimmy!" she shouted with a big smile as she rushed to hug him.
"Hey!" Jimmy hugged her back and then pulled back to look at her. "Look at you, all grown up! Hasn´t any beau come to steel you away yet?"
"Jimmy!" she said, blushing.
"So, where´s everybody?" Jimmy asked looking around. "Looks like a ghost town in here!"
"Well," Theresa said, taking his hand and leading him back into the kitchen, where she gave him a glass of water and continued to prepare lunch. "Jeremiah is with Teaspoon, you know he´s been working with him for a while now. Buck´s outside. Berta and Maria are picking up some groceries at Tompkin´s. Lou´s upstairs with the children, and I think I saw Kid go that way a while ago. I´m sure they're all taking a nap. Why don´t you go wake them up? Lunch´s almost ready anyway!"
Jimmy went upstairs, and then just stood at the main´s bedroom open door amusingly contemplating the sight before him.
A very pregnant Lou was asleep on one side on the bed. Kid, sleeping next to her, still had his boots and hat on. Four year old Virginia was between the two of them, with one hand on Lou´s face and her feet on Kid´s chest. And two year old Jamie had his head on his sister´s lap and his legs over Kid´s.
As Jimmy stood there smiling, a sudden melancholy overtook him. They all looked so peaceful and happy. These were the times when he couldn´t help but feeling just a little envious, when he couldn't help but thinking, "what if…" But he knew better than that, and he had made his peace with it a long time ago. So he started to shake those feelings away, as Virginia opened her eyes and in one second she was flying towards him.
"Uncle Jimmy!"
The commotion that followed made Jimmy wonder if he had just imagined the quiet picture he was contemplating five seconds ago. In the blink of an eye, Jamie was clinging at Jimmy´s legs, clamoring for his uncle to pick him up, too. Kid sprang out of bed mumbling something about having too much work to do before it started raining, never pretending to fall sleep, and Buck probably going to kill him. Then he greeted Jimmy, hugging him the best he could with his kids clinging on both Jimmy's arms, went back to bed to kiss Lou and rushed down the stairs.
Lou was unsuccessfully trying to sit on the bed, beaming and calling at Jimmy, and holding her hands out to him for help.
"Who wants to help me with the cookies?" Theresa shouted from downstairs, and both kids scrambled back to the floor and flew out of the room.
"Virginia, watch your brother down the stairs!" Lou called after them, as Jimmy held her hands and helped her up.
Then he hugged her really tight and backed up to look at her.
"Well, Lou, it seems like every time I come around you´re having another baby! You really need to tell that husband of yours to leave you alone!"
"Jimmy!" Lou burst into laughter, as she elbowed him in the side. "You´re terrible! Besides," she went on, as she took his arm and started to walk downstairs, "I´m pretty sure this little fellow here´s the last one. You know he was kind of a …surprise for us," she added, smiling, "and I don´t think we could handle more than three of these youngsters running around."
They went out to the porch, where Jimmy helped Lou sit on the swing and then sat next to her. She took his hand, rested her head on his shoulder, and they started to catch up on each other's lives. Jimmy was always amazed at how she still seemed to be the only person to whom he could open up completely. He loved his other adoptive brothers dearly, but the bond he had with Lou was special. She got him. He knew that somewhere in his heart he would always be in love with her. But above all, Jimmy was certain that if there were two people in this world meant to be together, they were Kid and Lou.
His dearest friend was happy, and that´s all that mattered.
Just a little later, Theresa came to the door to announce that lunch was ready, and then went to the barn to get Buck and Kid. Jimmy stood up and held his hand to Lou, but when she got up he saw a very strange look on her face.
"You all right?" he asked, a little concerned.
"I don´t know, I feel a little strange," Lou answered. "I think something´s wrong, Jimmy," she said, and then looked back at where she had been sitting.
There was a blood stain on the swing, and on the back of her skirt. She looked up at Jimmy with a frightened look, just before she grabbed his sleeves as she lost her balance. Jimmy caught her and lifted her up in his arms.
"Kid!" he yelled, as he rushed back inside.
Kid was walking to the house with Buck and Theresa when he saw Jimmy lifting his wife and calling to him in a tone of voice that made his heart freeze. He felt something sinking inside of him, even before he could fully process that something was wrong, really wrong.
And everything was so different this time. Lou had a very difficult delivery. Worst of all was that she just kept bleeding, and it looked like the doctor couldn´t do anything to stop it.
Kid stayed there by her side, as he always did. After the doctor examined Lou and told him that he couldn't possible stay in the room this time, he practically had to beg him and promise that he would stay out of the way.
So all he could do was hold Lou´s hand and sit back as he watched the doctor, with Rachel´s help, try to save her life. He never had felt so powerless.
Against all odds, Lou managed to stay conscious until the baby was born, but as soon as they assured her that he was all right, she passed out.
Even then she kept bleeding, and by the time the doctor managed to stop the hemorrhage, he told them that it was probably too late.
That was hours ago, ages ago. And now there was nothing any of them could do, but wait.
Kid looked back from the window where he was standing as he heard Lou moaning. That woke the doctor too, who went immediately to her side. Kid just looked expectantly at him.
After the doctor finished examining Lou, he sighed and looked back at Kid. He slowly shook his head.
"I´m sorry," he whispered. "I don´t think she´ll make it through the morning. You should talk to your family."
"No!" Kid slowly walked back to the bed, his eyes fixed on Lou. "She´s not gonna die."
He sat next to her and held her hands.
"I´m very sorry, son, these things just happen and…"
"No!" Kid looked up at him with a sudden fierce glance that made the doctor shiver. Then he turned back to Lou.
She was still so young, so full of life. Kid felt a dark emptiness starting to grow in the very core of his soul. He could sense the tears threatening to flow, but he didn´t want to cry. Because crying was accepting that she was dying, and he just couldn't do that. He just couldn't. He shook his head and closed his eyes really tight.
How was he ever supposed to live without her? She was his best friend, his lover, his partner. She was the love of his life. She always had been.
He leaned over and felt her soft breath on his face. He finally opened his eyes.
"You can´t leave us, Lou," he whispered. "Who´s gonna teach Virginia to be a stubborn and brave woman like you? And the boys? Who´s gonna show them to be as kind and sweet as you are? You have to fight, honey, please fight. You´re so strong, I know you can do this. You still have so many adventures ahead of you."
And suddenly Kid felt like the walls started to close on him. He couldn't breathe. He stood up and slowly let go of her hands.
"I…I need to get some air," he mumbled, as he walked to the door.
When he got to the stairs he saw Virginia and Jamie sleeping on their beds through their open bedroom door.
"Kid?"
He looked down and saw Teaspoon standing in the middle of the stairs.
"How…how I´m supposed to tell them that their ma…" he couldn´t finish the phrase.
"Son," Teaspoon softly said, "I ain´t quite sure you're aware of this, but you´re a great father. You have been for Theresa and Jeremiah, and for your children…" he sighed. "If it gets to that…I´m sure you´ll know what to do."
Kid now really felt he was going to be sick. He tried to nod at Teaspoon as he rushed down the stairs and trough the living room.
"Kid," Rachel, who was holding the baby, rose when she saw him coming, but he went past her. He couldn´t talk right now. He just ran outside. He needed to get out of there.
Theresa and Jeremiah were sitting in the porch swing when they saw Kid rushing out. Theresa squeezed her brother´s hand and gave him a worried look.
"You think…?"
"Nah, don´t worry. He would have told us."
"Jeremiah, do you think that Louise is really going to die?"
"Of course she ain´t," he told her. "I mean, she´s Lou!"
Kid made it half way through the front yard before suddenly he could walk no more and felt his legs giving out beneath him. He fell to his hands and knees and just stayed there, looking at the ground, the ground on which they had worked so hard all these years. What sense did anything make if she wasn´t there with him?
He tried to catch his breath, and then sat back, with his glance lost in the distance. After a while he noticed that Jimmy was sitting next to him.
"I can´t live without her, Jimmy," he said with a hollow voice, without looking at his friend.
"I know, Kid," Jimmy whispered, putting a hand on Kid´s shoulder. "I know."
Kid took a deep breath and tried really hard to pull himself together. Lou needed him; he had to be with her.
"I gotta get back."
He gathered all his strength to stand up and walk into the house again. The he ran upstairs.
When he got to their room he went straight to the bed and once more sat next to Lou. He took her face on his hands, leaned over her and whispered in her ear:
"Lou, please don´t leave us… don´t leave me. Never riding off without the other, remember? You promised, too! I need you too much, honey, we all do. Please stay with me, Lou, stay with me. We´re supposed to grow old together."
Despite all his might, Kid could no longer hold back his tears. He grabbed Lou´s night gown with both hands and buried his face on her chest. "Baby, please, I beg you."
That was the moment when he realized she had stopped breathing.
He pulled back as he felt a hole opening up in his guts.
"Lou…? LOU? No, no, no, no." He took her face back between his hands. "Lou, please don´t… No, NO!"
He heard somebody screaming and realized it was him.
In a haze Kid looked at the doctor, who was taking Lou´s pulse, and watched as he turned to him and shook his head.
"I´m so sorry," he said. "She passed away."
Kid turned at Lou. No, he couldn´t take this, he wouldn´t. He tightly cradled her in his arms and closing his eyes tucked his face into her hair.
"Lou, please," he just couldn't stop crying as he slowly rocked her back and forth. "Please stay with me, baby, PLEASE! I love you so much, honey, please don´t go, don´t go. I can´t do this without you, Lou, don´t leave me."
The rest of the family was once again gathered in the living room. But they didn´t have to wait to hear the doctor's words as he exited the room and came downstairs. They'd heard the Kid.
"Oh my God," Rachel sobbed, as Theresa rushed crying into her arms.
Teaspoon ran a hand over his face and shook his head. Not their Lou. This was so unfair.
"Merciful God," he whispered.
Jimmy just leaned against the wall, closed his hand into a fist and hit the wood behind him. Then he closed his eyes.
Kid kept holding Lou as if his own life depended on it. Her neck and hair were wet from his tears. He felt the world spinning around him as the life of his beloved wife slipped away from him. And he couldn´t do anything to stop it.
Then, coming from the deepest of his soul, he heard his own voice.
Don´t let her go.
And he suddenly stopped crying. He held her tightly and whispered in her ear, "Lou, stay with me."
He stayed still. He couldn´t move. He couldn't hear anything but the sound of his own breathing. He couldn´t feel anything but the soft body of his beloved Lou tucked in his arms.
And then he felt her move. His heart started to beat a little faster, but even then he didn´t want to move, because he was too afraid to break the illusion.
Then he felt her again, he was sure. Kid flung his eyes open and pulled back, still holding Lou in his arms. She was breathing.
"Lou? Oh my God, Lou?" He felt as if his heart was going to burst from his chest as he turned to the door and yelled, "Doc, come quickly! She´s breathing!"
When they heard the Kid, the doctor shared a very concerned look with Teaspoon.
"Poor Kid," Rachel sobbed. "This is gonna be so hard."
"We better get upstairs," Teaspoon mumbled.
But when they got to the bedroom door, they stopped short.
"Hot damn," Teaspoon whistled.
Kid didn´t notice as his family entered the room. He didn´t notice anything but his slight wife breathing in his arms, as she slowly started to open her eyes.
Lou looked up at him. Tears ran down his face, and he was beaming at her with that smile of his, that beloved smile of his, that was just for her and her only. His dark blue eyes fixed on hers. And his soft voice. She could swear she still could hear his voice, asking her not to leave. She lifted her hand and lightly touched his face. She would follow this man to the end of the earth and back.
"Kid," she whispered, "I followed your voice."
"You stayed with me, baby," Kid murmured, his face very close to hers.
She smiled.
"Well, I guess for once I listened to you."
He laughed and held her tightly. And Lou held him back.
THE END.
Thank you so much to Pilarcita for your incredible patience and help. I´m very grateful to have you as my friend!