Jim didn't leave Artie's side for the rest of the journey and finally, they arrived at a town. It even had it's own train station, which Jim was relieved to see, as he didn't think that Artie could handle horseback at the moment.

Carefully, he helped his friend up off the couch, quickly wrapping an arm around Artie's back in case he lost his balance again. He was relieved when Artie managed to stay upright, however shakily, and he slowly helped him get down the hall to his compartment.

Artie was silent as Jim got him inside, bringing him over to his bed and sitting him down. He took a deep breath and let it out noisier than he intended, blinking his eyes against the dizziness.

Jim made sure that Artie was safely seated before fetching some clothes out of the armoire and helping his friend get into them. It took longer than they expected, and as Jim helped Artie towards the door again, Artie caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and was surprised at his reflection. The man looking back dressed in the tan pants, high boots, and fringed jacket looked nothing like his usual self: face too pale, eyes half-closed, posture slumped…What's wrong with me? he asked himself.

"I don't know, Artie, but we're going to find out."

Artie was surprised at Jim's statement, and realized that he'd spoken aloud without realizing it. He said nothing more as Jim got him out the door, down the hall, and outside the train. He took a deep breath of the fresh air, and it lightened his spirits slightly; it was sunny and the air was warm…not hot, and not cold.

Jim was holding onto him tightly, looking around to see if he could spot the doctor's office from where they stood. He didn't, so he motioned for a carriage, told the driver where to go, and helped Artie get in.

The carriage bounced its way down the street and Artie unexpectedly sneezed. He groaned and put both hands on his head when it felt like it was about to spin off his neck.

Jim, sitting beside him, grasped Artie's arm tightly.

Artie sniffed, suddenly finding that his nose was getting stuffy. Don't tell me we're in Kansas, he thought to himself. Every time he was in Kansas in the spring, he sneezed. He wondered if this was the reason for his dizziness, before remembering that it had started while they were still in New Mexico.

A few minutes later, they arrived, and Jim helped Artie get out. Artie almost missed the last step, but managed to keep his footing thanks to Jim's quick reflexes. Jim tossed a coin up to the driver before carefully helping his friend to the door and opening it without knocking. "Hello?" he exclaimed.

The doctor came out of a back room, and at the sight of Jim holding Artie up, he hurried over and got on the other side. "What happened?" he asked, helping Jim get Artie into the room that he'd just come out of.

"He's been constantly dizzy since last night," Jim said.

The doctor frowned as they sat Artie on the table. "Any other symptoms?"

Jim looked at his friend. "Artie?" he said, in case something had popped up that he wasn't aware of yet.

Artie took a deep breath, blinking repeatedly. "No," he replied.

The doctor put a hand under Artie's chin and looked into his eyes. "No concussion," he said. "Tell me what you feel, young man."

Artie sighed. "Everything is spinning. It gets better when I sit down, but it never goes away."

"Humm…" the doctor said. "Have you ever been prone to dizzy spells?"

"Not for no reason," Artie said.

The doctor suddenly noticed the cut on the side of his head. "What's this?"

"A bullet graze," Jim told him. "It happened yesterday. Could that be what's causing this?"

The doctor studied it. "I doubt it, it's just a graze to the skin." He picked up Artie's wrist and checked his pulse, before taking out a stethoscope and listening to his heart and lungs. "Have you ever had any trouble with your ears?"

"No," Artie said.

"Are you a heavy drinker?"

"No."

The doctor put his hand on Artie's forehead to check for fever, and found none. "Have you been ill lately or taken any medicine?"

"No," Artie answered.

"Has anything in your life changed dramatically?"

Artie thought for a second. "We've been on a train a lot lately."

"Aha," said the doctor. "Have you ever suffered from motion sickness?"

"Motion sickness?" Artie repeated, surprised at the notion. "No…and I'm not nauseated."

"Thank goodness for that," the doctor said. "But motion sickness can take different forms. Have you ever done heavy traveling by train before?"

Artie hesitated. "No, I haven't."

"Humm," the doctor said again. "I want you to try something." He looked around the room, before pointing to the wall behind him to Artie's right. "Keep your eyes focused on that picture and tilt your upper body to the left."

Artie obeyed.

"Did the dizziness get worse?" the doctor asked.

"A little," Artie answered.

"Now do the opposite…look at the picture on the left and tilt to the right."

Artie obeyed, and almost instantly toppled towards Jim, who grabbed him, thankfully standing on Artie's right side.

Artie inhaled sharply, putting a hand over his eyes.

"Just as I thought," the doctor said. "You either have something going on inside one of your ears—the right one, most likely—or you are suffering from motion sickness. There are other causes of dizziness that are harder to determine, but these are the likeliest reasons."

The possibility of motion sickness while living on a train was preposterous. "Oh, great," Artie said.

"If it's his ears, then what can we do?" Jim asked, still holding onto his friend.

The doctor sighed. "That's not something that is easy to treat. Unfortunately, doctors don't have much knowledge yet when it comes to things of that nature," he said, apologetically. "There could be an infection in your inner ear…if so, it should clear up in time."

"Should?" Artie mumbled, hand still over his eyes.

"Well, if it's minor, it should heal without complication and you'll be back to normal," the doctor said.

"And if it's not minor?" Jim asked.

The doctor sighed again. "If it's very serious, then you could lose some of your hearing in the affected ear."

Artie lowered the hand from his eyes and looked at him.

"Does your hearing seem dimmed on either side?" the doctor asked.

"Not that I can tell," Artie said.

"That's good, at least," said the doctor. "There are some remedies for dizziness that we've discovered." He looked at Jim. "Put lemon in his water. Also, ginger and nutmeg help, as well as chamomile."

Jim looked around for something to write with, and spotted a pencil and paper on a nearby counter. With his left hand still gripping Artie's arm, Jim reached over and grabbed them, putting the paper on the table and writing the list down.

"I wish there was more that I could do," the doctor said to Artie. "I imagine that it must be miserable to be constantly dizzy."

Artie sighed. "Miserable is the word."

"How long do you think this will take to go away?" Jim asked, sticking the paper in his pocket.

"It depends," said the doctor. "If it's motion sickness, then it might not." He looked at Artie. "You'd have to stop traveling by train."

Artie looked at Jim at that.

"If it's an infection, it'll clear up," the doctor said again. "If it's something else…well, there are cases where people suffer dizziness for years…even all their lives. I don't have the resources to figure out the exact cause. Dizziness often goes undiagnosed because of the mystery surrounding it."

Artie sighed.

"Just get some rest, try the remedies that I suggested, and you'll probably be fine," the doctor said. "The only thing left to do is visit a big hospital if it doesn't improve."

Jim nodded. "Thank you, doctor." He took out his wallet and handed him a bill. "Is this enough?"

The doctor nodded. "Too much…especially since there wasn't much that I could do."

"Keep it," said Jim. "Come on, Artie." He helped his friend slide off the table, holding onto him tightly lest he lose his balance.

Artie managed to stay upright. He realized that he wasn't quite as dizzy as he'd been before they'd arrived, and he wondered if that meant that it was motion sickness. He sincerely hoped not…how was he supposed to remain Jim's partner in the Secret Service if he couldn't travel by train?

TBC