Chapter Two

The sound of the train's whistle seemed a hundred miles away, as Jarrod sat in a seat next to the window. Bryon Hammer sat next to him, but there was no talk between them. Jarrod's mind was on days long since gone, and Mr. Hammer was thinking of the gracious lady whom he loved just as much as his daughters. It wasn't until Jarrod turned to face Mr. Hammer that the silence between the two was broken.

"How long was it before you knew she'd live?" Jarrod asked, as his thought of Georgia fighting for her life without him by her side; it made his heart hurt.

"It was touch and go for a few months." Mr. Hammer took a deep breath, as he saw his wife, the doctor, himself or one of his older children, hovering over the young woman fighting for her life. "Eventually she pulled through and woke up for good."

Jarrod closed his eyes for moment then opened them back up, asking as he did so, "After Georgia was finally able to talk with you, did she ever talk about us as a couple at all?" It was a question he just had to ask before they arrived at their destination.

Mr. Hammer leaned back and scratched his chin. "At first she did, before the telegrams were sent, before she thought your parents must have disapproved, before..." His words trailed off as his mind turned to the past. After a few minutes, he began recalling the past discussions he'd had.

FLASHBACK

Bryon Hammer sat out onto the front porch of their three bedroom home looking at Georgia, who was sitting next to his wife, Gabriella. It was the first day the doctor had said it would be okay to take her outside, and they wanted to talk to her privately.

"We don't know what to tell you. If your husband is the kind of man you say he is, if his family are the kind of people he told you they were, I would think they would have answered those telegrams. If you want, we could send more telegrams." Mr. Hammer leaned against the railing that surrounded the porch and looked at Georgia.

Georgia shook her head vigorously and replied, "No, two telegrams are enough. It's obvious they don't want me there. I'll just have to wait until the war is over. Jarrod will survive the war. I know he will. I'll send him a telegram and let him deal with it. I just don't know where I'll go until then."

Gabriella Hammer automatically reached out and put her hand upon Georgia's upper arm. "You don't have to worry about that. You can continue to live here, with us." She spoke keeping her eye on her husband, who simply nodded as his wife spoke.

"Okay." She smiled. The couple had indeed been life savers, and she would be eternally in their debt.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Georgia used to talk a great deal how you and she were, after you were better, and how you constantly had to run and hide out a lot. She told us how she came to care about you and how she went from caring about you to falling in love with you. I always got the impression she loved you more than life itself." Mr. Hammer looked at Jarrod as he talked.

Jarrod nodded his head as he closed his eyes for a second…re-living all time he and Georgia had spent hiding from people while he recovered, and until the winter was over. The fact that the army could have labeled himself a deserter and hadn't still boggled his mind at times. "If it weren't for her I'd have died in the war." He said when he opened his eyes up again.

Mr. Hammer gave a half amused chuckle. "I believe you. Georgia does have a heart of gold on her, nurses a lot of the family when a doctor wasn't available, though her main job is teaching school." He then paused as a look that said; 'do I dare say what's on my mind'?

Jarrod, who easily read the nonverbal question, smiled. "Don't be afraid to say whatever you have to say; I won't get upset. I might not like it, only I won't take it out on you in any way."

Mr. Hammer chuckled, as he knew exactly how it was to feel like that; he then grew serious. "In spite of what I found out when I started my search for Captain Barkley, I admit I hesitated when it came to actually coming to talk to you after learning you'd never remarried. The thing is," he took a deep breath and said, "Georgia is in a wheelchair, but she's not a cripple in the way many people think. She is one very capable young lady. I didn't want to see a number of things happen…one being that you would do more damage than good by showing too much pity and concern. Our small community has abided by our wishes all this time and not done that; I wasn't sure you would, abide by our wishes of not showing pity and over amount of concern."

*Remembering the three weeks he'd been blind after Cunningham had had dynamite thrown through the study window, Jarrod nodded slightly. "I won't do anything for her that she can do for herself." He then frowned slightly and asked as he turned his face to the window. "Did she ever say how she felt about the fact you were going to look me up on this trip?"

If Jarrod had turned his face back towards Mr. Hammer, he'd have seen a rather embarrassed look come upon the man's face. As it was, all he heard was the verbal answer. "She didn't know I decided to do that until after my friends who were helping me came to the house and gave me their report; they were the ones that actually told me you were still living outside Stockton." He chuckled and told Jarrod, "She gave me both barrels when she learned of the hunt."

Jarrod, who had been staring at the scenery flash by his eyes as mile after mile of land full of trees, rocks or whatever happened to be within sight of the train's path, couldn't help but look at Mr. Hammer and chuckle. Georgia had always had spunk about her. To hear that she'd laid into Mr. Hammer for going behind her back did not surprise Jarrod. However, he said nothing as he found himself turning his head back towards the window. Jarrod couldn't help but wonder how his wife would react to him when he arrived, and if they would be able to reconnect and move on together…or if the trip would all be in vain.

*Refers to the episode "Time After Midnight".