A/N: So I know it's been forever, but I'm finally updating! When we last left our heroes, Buck saved Marty from Kicking Pony and they had a "moment". Then Mrs. Collins ruined it all and Buck had to ride with the driver for the rest of the trip back to Rock Creek. Let the pining commence!
"Teaspoon, ain't there anything you can do to make the boy see reason?"
Teaspoon looked up at Tommy Erbach from his most comfortable position, slouched back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk in his office. Teaspoon crossed his arms and watched his old friend from under hooded lids. He had let Tommy go on for long enough now. His patience was at an end, old friend or no.
"Tommy, that "boy" is grown, and he is of an entirely different opinion than you, when it comes to how our government is handling these Indian troubles. I believe he's made his feelings on the matter as plain as the nose on your face too. He ain't going to do it. He said helping you translate at the pow wow a few weeks ago, was the last time. Can you blame him? The ink was barely dry before you and your men went into that village and..."
"They were the ones that broke the treaty, Teaspoon! My orders were clear" Captain Erbach interjected. He slapped his palm against the desk for emphasis. With startling quickness Teaspoon was on his feet.
"Your orders were wrong, Tommy. Just like they have been since the day you rode on into this town," Teaspoon said through gritted teeth.
"Orders are orders. You know that," Tommy sighed.
"I know. I also know you used to be able to think for yourself on occasion."
"If you aren't careful, Teaspoon. I'll forget just how far back we go..." Erbach warned.
"Now that," Teaspoon sighed, "is exactly what I don't want. You need to remember those days now, more than ever."
Teaspoon's stance relaxed and his expression softened. He put his hand on Tommy's shoulder, as he had done countless times before. Tommy shifted his weight but didn't shake off the hand. After a long pause, Tommy gave his old friend an apologetic smile,
"Those days were a lot more fun, I remember that."
"Heck yes they were... You remember ol' Clara Jane's place in Lockhart? Captain Jack figured after chasing Buffalo Hump and thousands of Comanche off that we needed some 'recreation'... and boy did we recreate!"
"That was before my Susannah," Tommy shook his head at the memory.
"Oh of course. You stopped your carousing after you met your sweet Susie... anyways. You got drunk as a skunk, Tommy. You remember that? Lost every hand of cards you played and sang til you were hoarse and I had to carry you off before the Captain shot you just to get you to stop."
Tommy cringed, "I don't remember carrying on like that,"
"Selective memory," Teaspoon dismissed, "anyways. Didn't think much of it at the time, but as I dragged your caterwauling hide back to camp, I remember you got real serious on me. You said you couldn't help feeling for Buffalo Hump. That if strangers came into your land and killed your friends, that you'd go raiding like he did, and maybe worse."
Tommy looked to his hands and tugged his gloves on tighter, before sighing, "I do remember. Don't you think that don't come back to haunt me, now and again..." he trailed off as he turned and looked to the street, "just tell Buck, I want to talk to him, alright?"
Teaspoon walked towards the door with him and peered around Tommy to look towards the east end of town. The overcast day was slipping into night as the clouds turned a darker shade of grey. The wind picked up and Teaspoon pulled his collar tighter.
"He's due back from Omaha this evening. You know why he went of course," Teaspoon caught Tommy's curt nod of affirmation, "well, that stage should be here any minute now. You can ask him yourself. Maybe he'll be in a helping mood if things went his way with the Territorial Governor," then Teaspoon paused as motion at the end of street caught his eye, "in fact that may be the stage now."
Buck saw Teaspoon and Captain Erbach standing together on the boardwalk and let out an audible groan as he realized they had seen the stage coach and were waiting for it.
"Are you alright there, Buck? Fight catching up to you?" the driver asked, giving him a sidelong glance.
"Something like that," Buck muttered, realizing he did in fact feel sick now.
"Well, it's worth repeating. Thank you for dealing with those sav... Indians. I have arrow holes to patch up. Could've been a lot worse."
"You're welcome," Buck said distractedly as the stage started to slow.
He tried to take a few deep breaths but his ribs hurt too much for it. His hand went to grip his medicine pouch, as he steeled himself for what felt like his next fight. Part of him wanted to ignore both men, walk right past them and go straight to bed. The day had been endless and he was bone tired. He knew he wouldn't though, because of Marta. Everything was different now, because of her.
The coach stopped and Teaspoon was right there, as Buck climbed down from his perch.
"It wasn't that bad sitting in the box now, was it?" Teaspoon joked as he waited for Buck to turn around. All thoughts of teasing him further, left him as he got a good look at Buck's face.
"What happened to you, son?" Teaspoon asked, frowning as he saw the angry bruises on one side of Buck's face.
Buck gave Teaspoon a half smile, which quickly faded as Captain Erbach joined them.
"Buck, I'm going to need to talk to you," Erbach said with hesitation. The injuries and the odd fact that Buck had ridden with the driver was not lost on him either.
"It's going to have to wait," Buck said as he held up his hand, to both men.
"Now Buck, what is going on here?" Erbach asked.
"Just... trust me. Whatever you were going to say, can wait," Buck insisted as he reached to open the stage door.
Once Marta's anger over Buck being relegated to sitting out in the cold with the driver, instead of by her side subsided, she thought the quiet of the last leg of the trip would help calm her nerves. The quiet ended up having the opposite effect. Buck had filled her senses and her thoughts. Talking to him, and then subsequent terror she felt once they had been stopped by the Sioux, made her forget all about the fact that she was directly disobeying her father by showing up in Rock Creek, after he specifically told her not to. The very fact they had dealt with the Sioux at all proved his point and now she had no idea how he would react.
Mrs. Collins was not helping. She sat across from her in quiet judgement and it was all Marta could do to not stick her tongue out at her and scandalize the woman further. Marta looked out the window instead and felt her heart drop to her stomach when she realized she saw buildings. They were only moments away now. With trembling hands, Marta affixed her hat back on her head and tucked a few loose strands of hair into place before putting on her gloves and smoothing down her dress. Mrs. Collins gave her a pinched smile,
"Civilization! I will not feel completely at ease until I see my brother, but it seems our nightmare is finally over."
Marta barely managed a nod that she heard her as the stage came to a stop. She felt someone jump down, then voices. One of them sounded like... yes, it was. Marta closed her eyes tightly as she sent up a quick prayer, before finding her valise and gripping it with both hands. The door opened and she peered out, meeting eyes as familiar to her as her own.
"Marty? Marty is that really you?" Erbach said, stunned as his mind slowly registered what his eyes were seeing.
"Hi, Daddy," she said cautiously as she made motion to step out of the coach.
Buck stood ready to help her down but Captain Erbach took two quick steps over to his daughter and lifted her out. Her feet barely touched the ground as he grabbed her in a bear hug. He held her tightly until Mrs. Collins loudly cleared her throat from inside the stage. Erbach stepped aside and offered his hand to her, while he kept one arm wrapped firmly around his daughter.
"Sorry, ma'am," he said, allowing his attention to be pulled away from his daughter for the moment it took him to help the woman down before smiling brightly at Marty again, "what are you doing here, sweetheart?"
"Are you mad?" she asked, her worry obvious.
"I should be... but... no. Not when you're standing all grown up right in front of me, making me realize it's almost been a year since I saw you last. You knew that, didn't you?"
"No. Hoped it though."
Teaspoon walked up to both of them while Buck held back, watching the reunion with an indiscernible expression . Marta caught Buck's gaze for just a moment before turning her attention to the man standing by her father.
"Tommy, your daughter is a vision of your dear Susie. Miss, delighted to meet your acquaintance. Teaspoon Hunter is the name and your Pa and I go back far too many years to recall. Welcome to Rock Creek," Teaspoon said with flourish as he bowed slightly and offered her his hand.
Marta let out a giggle as she accepted his hand, "Daddy, your friends usually aren't this charming. Pleased to meet you. You knew my mother?" she asked, her curiosity obvious.
"Well yes, back in the early days of the Texas Republic when-"
Mrs. Collins stepped between them and interrupted, "Mr. Hunter, is it? am I to assume by the badge on your jacket that you are the law in this town, and you... Miss Marta's father, I don't know your name yet but I can see from your uniform you are an officer in our fine army? I can't let this pleasantries go on one minute longer. I am tired. I need to be directed to my brother, William Tompkins, and I must tell you of the abuse we suffered en route to this oasis of civilization so that you might take immediate action!"
Teaspoon straightened up, his previous concern renewed as he saw Buck tense and his face cloud over in anger. Erbach dropped his arm from Marta's shoulders and frowned at the older woman demanding attention.
"What happened, Mrs..."
"Collins. Eunice Collins. We were attacked! It is only by good Lord's infinite mercy that we are still alive!"
Buck listened to Mrs. Collins launch into her tale for only the first minute or so before he had to stop. She embellished the facts and was damn insulting besides. Teaspoon and Captain Erbach were hanging on her every word. Marta though, looked angry enough to spit, especially when Mrs. Collins said words against him. It just made Buck want to grab her hand and pull her into his arms. He caught her eye just as he was reliving the feel of her lips against his own.
Marta resisted the urge to slap Mrs. Collins, but it was hard. With each word the woman spoke, the frown on her father's face deepened. It would take all her powers of persuasion now to convince her father the truth of what happened and how Buck really saved them all. Finally she couldn't take it any longer,
"Daddy, Mrs. Collins has had quite a shock, and granted, what happened was very frightening, but Mr. Cross here handled himself commendably. There was a bit of a," she paused as she glanced at the bruises on Buck's face, "scuffle, to settle a disagreement the braves had with us, but Mr. Cross was able to end that confrontation peacefully as well. Now please, father, Mr. Hunter, I know Mrs. Collins would like to be settled in her brother's home. Perhaps an assurance that this incident will be given the attention it deserves will be enough to ease all our minds for tonight?"
Marty ended her speech on the last of her breath and looked to her father hopefully. Captain Erbach glanced over to Teaspoon, who gave him a curt nod of his head,
"Marty, you are your mother's daughter, as beautiful as you are wise," he said with a point of his finger for emphasis, then he said for Mrs. Collins' benefit, "You have the word of the Marshal and myself, Captain Erbach, that we will get to the bottom of this. This is my daughter we're talking about here, Mrs. Collins, there ain't nothing I wouldn't do to ensure her safety."
Mrs. Collins wanted to argue more, but Bill Tompkins chose that moment to walk out of his store to see what all the fuss was about. His eyes popped open as soon as he saw who was standing by the coach. Mrs Collins saw him instantly.
"Bill! Yoohoo, Bill!" Mrs Collins called as she bustled across the road to meet him.
"Eunice! I thought you was living with your boy in Omaha. What brings you here?" he asked as he scratched his head.
"Elwood's wife was becoming unbearable, the little chit. Ever since my dear Horace passed away, I've been passed from the homes of one my children to the next. They're so ungrateful, after all I've done for them! Then I realized what a delightful surprise it would be to visit my brother for the holidays. Who knows, perhaps I could even stay longer?" Her voice carried all the way back to the stage as they all blatantly stared and watched the scene unfold.
"Now, Eunice, this is a lot to take in. Why don't I send a boy for your things and you can come upstairs for a cup of coffee and we can talk this out."
"William Tompkins, you know I detest the smell of coffee. I hope you have some good quality black tea in your quarters or that will be the first thing I will buy from your establishment in the morning!"
They walked up the steps to Tompkins store and inside where they could no longer be heard. Teaspoon cleared his throat as his lips twitched, Captain Erbach's shoulders shook slightly, and Buck suddenly found his boots very fascinating as he bit his lip. Marta's mouth hung open slightly. Finally she threw up her hands and looked to the other three men.
"Well, aren't any of you going to say it? That is the silliest nag of a woman I've ever met and though I don't know her brother, I don't think there is a man I feel sorrier for than Bill Tompkins!"
For a second Captain Erbach wondered if he should reprimand his daughter's bluntness but then Teaspoon and Buck burst into peals of laughter. Soon Erbach was laughing harder than them both.
"Oh Marty my girl, I have missed you more than I thought a body could. Let's get your things and set you up at the boarding house for the night. We can talk about how long your visit will be tomorrow,"
Buck had stayed quiet for most of this, just watching her and admiring her spirit. It warmed his heart just having her nearby. He slipped around the rest of them to get their luggage from the back of the coach. Buck's canvas bag, Teaspoon's box of fine china and Marty's trunk. He was struggling to pull her trunk off the back end and set it on the boardwalk when Captain Erbach stepped beside him,
"Let me help ya with that. If I know Marty, she packed mostly rocks."
Buck said nothing but offered him an end. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Marty covering up a smile with her hand. The trunk landed on the boardwalk with a thud.
"Sounds like I owe you a debt of gratitude, Buck for keeping my little girl safe today. I appreciate that more than words can say."
"She's a special girl," Buck said with a half smile, as he looked past the Captain to the daughter standing behind him. She had a twinkle in her eyes, just for him.
"She is at that," Captain Erbach said a little stiffly, before turning to his daughter, "Com'on Marty, we've taken enough of Buck and Teaspoon's time. Let's get you to that boarding house and maybe catch a bite to eat while we're at it."
"Sure, Daddy," she said with less enthusiasm, as she held her valise a little tighter and joined her father on the boardwalk.
Teaspoon noticed Buck's reactions to Tommy's daughter from the moment she stepped out of the coach. Buck already looked to him like a lovesick puppy dog.
Teaspoon edged over Buck and whispered, "Looks like you got it in a hurry."
Buck gave Teaspoon his most deadly scowl, followed by a sigh. It was confirmation enough for Teaspoon. He cleared his throat,
"You know Tommy, my fiancee is one of the finest cooks in this here territory and her house ain't but a hop, skip and a jump away from here. We could enjoy a nice, hot meal together, and take the chill out of all our bones. I have a stash of some fine brandy in her pantry too, Tommy. It might not be a drink for these young folk, but I've never seen you turn down quality spirits. I'm even thinking... course we'd have to ask Rachel proper and not make assumptions, but I'm thinking she has a guest room all made up that will be a lot nicer, and safer too than any boarding house... for tonight least aways."
"Aw, Teaspoon, that sounds great, but I couldn't impose like that," Erbach said, hesitating.
"Ain't nothing of the sort," Teaspoon huffed.
Marta looked past her father to see Buck still watching her, even as he tried to make it seem like he wasn't.
"Buck, will you go to dinner at Rachel's?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"I do most nights," he answered carefully, aware that Marty's father was watching the two of them closely.
Marty cleared her throat and said in her most rational tone, "Daddy, I think we should take Mr. Hunter up on his hospitality. I confess I'm getting hungrier and sleepier the longer we stand out here... It's cold and it's late. What is Rachel making for dinner tonight, Mr. Hunter?" she turned her wide eyes to Teaspoon, who blinked for a second as he noticed how blue they were.
"Well, Miss Marty, I believe she tole me chicken and dumplings."
"Daddy, when was the last time you had chicken and dumplings?" Mary asked with genuine enthusiasm. "My mouth is watering right now, and if Buck is going to be there, he can tell you more about our adventures today. Please?" she asked, internally wincing at her the sound of her own begging, but she didn't want her day with Buck to end yet. The hunger pains were genuine too.
Captain Erbach shook his head and let out a chuckle, "Lead the way, Teaspoon, you old scoundrel."
Rachel quickly got over the surprise of extra mouths to feed. When she cooked for the Express riders, there was always a need to make more, no matter what the occasion. Even though it was regularly only her, Teaspoon and Buck for most meals, Kid and Lou stopped by unannounced often enough, so she had kept the practice of making more than she thought they might need. Buck was glad of it as they all sat around her small dining room table and got to the work of eating her fine cooking. He thought maybe it was his tiredness or the stress of the day talking, but he couldn't remember a better meal and he told Rachel so. She beamed in response and Buck went back to devouring his meal.
The brightly crackling fire in the fireplace warmed him up to the point of relaxation, then pushed him past that, into a languid tiredness where his muscles wouldn't move as fast as he wanted them to and his eyelids would not open to full alertness. He drank another cup of coffee and it perked him up a little bit, but mostly it just served to warm his insides too. He idly wondered if anyone would mind if he just grabbed Marty by the hand and laid down on the couch by the fire and fell asleep in her lap, maybe with her stroking his hair...
"Buck?" Marta nudged, snapping him out of his thoughts. He sat up straight and blinked his eyes open wide, he hadn't been paying attention to the conversation at all.
"Hmm? I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked as he turned to look at her.
Her lashes were so long, they fluttered against her pink tinged cheeks as she smiled slightly. He realized he must be staring obviously so he quickly turned to look elsewhere. He settled on Teaspoon. That was a mistake. The old man was smirking and enjoying how uncomfortable he was far too much for Buck's liking. Buck sighed and waited for Teaspoon to say something he was sure would embarrass him.
"I was asking you to pass the salt. It's right there, in front of your nose," Teaspoon said as he leaned forward with open hand.
"Salt... right," Buck muttered as he slid the salt shaker across the table.
"You feel like telling me about your run in with the Sioux today?" Erbach asked as he pushed his empty plate away from himself.
Buck rested his elbow on the table and then his chin his hand, he looked down and wasn't sure how to answer the question. His frown deepened until he felt Marta move her foot to touch his own under the table. She shifted almost imperceptibly till her lower leg up to her knee was pressed against gently bounced her heel up and down, so her leg moved slightly against his. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She looked very interested in her food, it was very convincing, he supposed, to anyone else watching at her. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he leaned his leg towards hers and repeated the same subtle motion. It was her way of assuring him, he just knew it. Buck realized he still hadn't answered her father's question and so he looked up to meet his gaze squarely.
"On my best day, I wouldn't be of a mind to talk to you about the Sioux, and this here has been far from my best day. I think I'd like a little sleep and some time to think about what happened today, before we talk about things in any detail. The short of it is, the the Sioux ain't happy with starving and they might start doing something about it that you won't like. The more you push them back, the angrier they're going to get," Buck said flatly.
Marta's leg stilled against him. Buck's heart skipped a beat over that, but she didn't move away. She cleared her throat instead,
"Daddy, Marshall Hunter, you should be real proud of Buck. He held our fate in his hands, and was able to use diplomacy and then his fists, when diplomacy would go no farther. I would not be sitting here with you if it wasn't for his protection," she paused, unsure if she should go into further detail, but decided he'd know all eventually. "The Sioux wanted to take me, Daddy. Buck wouldn't let them. He's as heroic a man as I've ever met..."
Marta looked up then and realized all eyes were fixed on her. Buck's gaze burned hot until he dropped his eyes, Rachel and Teaspoon looked more bemused than anything else and her father... well, her father knew her too well.
"I see," Erbach said quietly. His lips pressed into a thin line and disappeared under his moustache.
He said nothing else and the silence stretched. Rachel stood up suddenly from her chair, and started to clear dishes. She caught Marta's eye and smiled,
"I'm glad you see him the same way we do, Marta. He just keeps doing things to make me more proud, every time I turn around," Rachel kept her tone light, as she walked by Buck and patted his shoulder, but her eyes told Marta how deep those sentiments ran.
The dishes were cleared and washed. The chatter moved on to other topics and soon Rachel insisted they wrap things up so Marta could go to bed.
"Tommy, I won't hear any more about the boarding house. This girl is about to drop and she has a bed waiting just up these stairs. We'll talk more about future plans tomorrow. Now why don't you say goodnight to your daughter and scoot, so she won't feel guilty about turning in on you."
"I know better than to argue with a lovely lady such as yourself, Rachel," Erbach said as he walked over to his daughter and pulled her into a nice, warm hug, "I'll try and make it into town by lunch, after I'm finished running drills with my troops. Then we can talk. That sound alright?"
Marty nodded and gave her father a sleepy smile, "I love you, Daddy." She kissed his cheek, and returned his embrace before saying goodnight to Teaspoon and Buck.
Her eyes lingered on the latter. Simply saying good night after all they had experienced together felt grossly inadequate, but she couldn't run over and fall into his arms either. She smiled at him instead and let Rachel lead her upstairs to her room. She did not look back.
Buck watched her retreating form until the bedroom door closed. He turned around to see Captain Erbach sizing him up with his arms crossed over his chest, he didn't avert his gaze from Buck, but said to Teaspoon,
"Think the drink will have to wait for another time, Teaspoon. Let Rachel know again how much I appreciate this."
"I surely will, Tommy," Teaspoon said as he sauntered over to Buck's side.
Erbach glanced at Teaspoon long enough to acknowledge he heard his old friend, before placing all his attention back on Buck.
"You fixing to go back to the bunkhouse, Buck?"
"Yeah," Buck answered flatly.
"Good, we can talk on my way out."
The two men exited the house without another word. The air was crisp and cool and the moon hung low in the night sky. Both men stood on the porch and flipped up their collars against the chill. Buck waited for Erbach to speak, already feeling the anger churning in his stomach as he imagined what the other man might say. He doubted it would be anything different than what others had said in the past. Erbach finally broke the silence.
"I really admire you Buck," he started. Buck turned in surprise, Erbach caught his expression, "I mean that, I do. I can see why you'd be surprised, given how often we've... disagreed over the last month or so. It can't be easy living in your skin. What you went through today tells me that more than maybe anything else has." Erbach fell silent again, to the point Buck wondered if he was finished. Then he spoke again, quietly,
"Marty is mostly her mother, you know. Maybe God knew Susie wouldn't be long for this world, and saved some of her sweet spirit and put it in her. My girl got her stubborn pigheadedness and her tendency to speak her mind when she'd do better to hold her tongue from me. It's gotten her in trouble before, but God help me I wouldn't change a thing about her. She's a caring soul, her heart's as big as the ocean. When someone has helped her, she's thankful for it..." Erbach stopped then and ran a hand through his hair, he looked to Buck almost embarrassed by what he knew he would say next.
"Buck, don't take her gratefulness for... more. She's such a tender heart. I could see her confusing the two feelings. If you encourage her, it's only going to mean a world of hurt for both of you. The world is still the same ugly place it's always been. You know that as much as me."
Buck glared at the ground, "So I'm not good enough to be her friend, is that it?" he spat out.
Erbach sighed, "That ain't it, at all, for me anyways. It's just the way things are. It's my duty to protect my daughter, even if it's from herself and her youthful fancy."
Buck's jaw only tightened as he turned his head away from Erbach. After a brief pause he heard Erbach add as he walked away from him,
"Goodnight Buck, and thank you."
Buck stood for a long time staring up at the night sky before heading towards the bunkhouse. His eyes caught the soft light coming from Rachel's guest room. He stopped and watched the window, maybe he'd catch a glimpse of her, but the room went dark without any movement at all. Buck's heart felt heavier than it had all day as he stepped inside the darkness of the bunkhouse.
A/N: There will be more, I promise! The muse has lots more to say about Marty and Buck, but she also delights in torturing me, and so I have to listen to what she is screaming about loudest. You will probably see the other project my muse has been up to, soon ;)
I hope you liked it! Let me know :)