-Part 2-

A few months later, the girls were standing outside, leaning on the fence, watching as the boys took turns breaking some horses in. Ben was in Viginia City running some errands.

"Do you ever feel sorry for the horses?" Sarah wondered.

"Not usually. I don't think they're being hurt any, just thoroughtly annoyed until they cooperate." Abbie said, smiling. Sarah smiled.

"That's a strange way of looking at it. But, I guess you're right." she said, almost laughing. Then, her expression turned serious.

"Then, do you ever worry about Adam?" she asked.

"About Adam?" Abbie asked.

"Yeah. Do you worry about something happening to him. I worry about Hoss a lot." Sarah said.

"Well, I think Hoss is more than capable of taking care of himself. But, I know what you mean. Of course I worry about Adam. Almost everything he does is dangerous. But, Adam can take care of himself in most situations. I have to trust that he'll be alright." Abbie said, "Besides, sometimes I worry more about Little Joe with the crazy situations he gets himself into."

"Yeah. I think you're right about that." Sarah said, "Truly, I'm surprised Little Joe doesn't get hurt more often." The girls laughed. All of a sudden, Abbie felt lightheaded.

"Abbie. Abbie? Are you alright?" Sarah said.

"I... I don't..." she started to say before she started to lose her balance. She reached to grab the fence, but just missed.

"Abbie!" Sarah yelled as Abbie fell to the ground. Sarah tried shaking her awake and saying her name a few more times. When Abbie didn't wake up, Sarah yelled for Adam.

"Adam!" she yelled. Adam heard the yelling and came running, followed by Hoss and Little Joe.

"What happened?" Adam asked, kneeling down beside her.

"Sarah, what happened to Abbie?" Hoss asked.

"She fainted. She just fainted. She was fine just a minute ago." Sarah said.

"Abbie." Adam said, touching her cheek in an attempt to wake her up. Adam picked her up, taken slightly off guard at first by the slight added weight, and carried her inside.

"Hoss, go into town and get the doctor." Adam said.

"You bet, Adam." Hoss answered and hurried off to get his horse. Adam carried Abbie up the stairs to their room and gently layed her down on the bed. After a while Hoss came back from Virginia City with the doctor. Ben was also with them.

"Adam, what's this about something happening to Abbie?" Ben asked.

"She was outside with Sarah and she fainted." Adam answered. The doctor examined her and came to a conclusion.

"She should be alright. She's just exhausted. Probably the heat. She just got too much sun, just worked herself too hard." the doctor told them, "She just needs some rest, is all. She's awake if you want to go see her."

"Thank you, doctor." Ben said. Adam walked into the room.

"Abbie." he said, sighing as he sat down on the bed.

"I know, I know. I need to be more careful. I'm sorry, Adam. Sometimes I forget that it's not just about me anymore." she said.

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" he said, "Just try to take it easy from now on, alright."

"I will. I'll do everything I can for our baby. I'll be a good mother. I promise." she said, placing a hand on her abdomen.

"I know you will. That's all I can ask." Adam said, smiling as he placed his hand on top of hers. At three months now, she was starting to show, just a little, her abdomen a small, firm bump. You could feel the difference when you placed your hand on it. Ben, Hoss, Sarah and Joe walked into the room.

"Glad to see you're alright, Abbie." Ben said.

"Thank you, Ben." Abbie said.

"You had us mighty worried there, Miss Abbie." Hoss said.

"I know. I'm sorry." she said.

"There's no need to apologize." Sarah said, smiling, "You just shouldn't work yourself so hard. You have to take care of yourself."

"I know. I will." Abbie said.

"If you need anything, let me know." Ben said.

"Thank you." she said. Ben, Hoss, Sarah, and Joe left the room.

"Get some rest, Abbie." Adam said. He bent over and kissed her before leaving the room.

"I will." she said, smiling as she closed her eyes and got some much needed rest.