Disclaimer: Alias Smith and Jones does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.
Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.
A/N – story presumes the details on the wanted posters are not entirely accurate. Story exists in the same story verse as Kid Plans, South By Southeast, and Trouble In Texas but should also stand alone.
Epilogue
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After another dose of laudanum, Kid soon drifted back into a restless sleep. Matt refused to take any more medication, fretting about not being able to feed Hannah. Heyes promised to bring both girls back before nightfall and left Clem brewing more willow bark tea. Kyle followed Heyes down the steep mountainside trail.
"Lom wanted to see you," informed Kyle. "He's at the undertakers."
"When was Lom here?" asked Heyes as he tilted the brim of his black hat up away from his eyes.
"When you was busy kissing Miss Clementine," grinned Kyle.
Heyes rubbed his tired eyes. He really wanted to lie down and sleep, but the slender man diverted his steps away from the boarding house and headed towards Lute Morrison's. August flowers, Red Indian Paintbrush and bright yellow Black Eyed Susans bloomed in the garden surrounding the undertaker's home. Lute and Lom stood visible near the fence separating Lute's garden from the Thunder Ridge cemetery. Heyes started shaking his head before he reached Lom.
"You ain't burying Tattersall in Thunder Ridge," insisted Heyes.
"Course not Joshua," responded Lom. "I've already made arrangements to have his body shipped back to Nevada."
"Then what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Heyes as he rubbed a hand across his head and squinted against the late afternoon light.
"When's the wedding?" demanded Lom with a steely glint to his eyes. "Bad enough I missed Kid's, I ain't missing yours too."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Heyes didn't answer Lom's question. Instead the slender man turned towards the sound of noise coming from the boarding house. The front door slammed as the woman dressed in purple stomped her way down the front steps.
"I'm going back to Minneapolis," huffed Martha in a voice that carried across the village square. "What kind of heathen place…"
"Now Martha," pleaded Wheat as he followed out the door, hurrying behind her, "we just don't have all the comforts of a big city…"
A third figure dressed in black with his hat pulled down low slunk out of the boarding house. Heyes beckoned for Preacher. The big man scowled at the couple now walking towards the livery stable.
"What's going on?" hissed Heyes. "I thought you were gonna marry those two."
"I ain't a Lutheran minister," huffed Preacher, "and the boarding house ain't a proper church."
Hmmm. Heyes hurried after Wheat. Preacher and Kyle exchanged a glance and then followed after the mastermind. Kid wasn't here to back Heyes up, and they certainly weren't gonna be the ones to tell Kid his partner got in trouble while they stood watching.
"Miss Elwood," called Heyes.
Martha stopped in the middle of the roadway and turned to the sound of Heyes' voice. Wheat was moving so fast, he continued right past his fiancée and did an about face when he realized she had changed directions.
"Mr. Smith," greeted Martha with a formal tone of icy politeness. "We meet again."
"Yes ma'am," nodded Heyes. The brave man ran a finger along his collar feeling an unexpected chill in the August air. "I understand you're looking for a house of worship."
"Yes…" began Martha.
"My friend Wh- Johannes, usually goes to Four Corners the first Saturday of every month, stays overnight at the hotel," hurriedly pressed Heyes.
"And you tell me this why?" demanded Martha.
"Johannes can tell you," answered Heyes with a confident smile. "Church is right next to the hotel."
Martha glanced sideways at Wheat. Heyes didn't figure he needed to mention why Wheat went to Four Corners, nor the fact that he usually was accompanied by Kyle, Preacher and Lobo. If Martha thought Wheat stayed for Sunday services, well… she didn't hear that from Heyes.
"Is this a Lutheran Church?" asked Martha.
"Uh…," hesitated Heyes. Brown eyes looked past Martha to see Wheat nodding eagerly. "I think so, but maybe you and Johannes should go check it out tomorrow."
"You might like a buggy ride Martha," suggested Wheat with a big grin. "We could take a picnic basket. It would be like when we was first courtin'."
Heyes was surprised to see the woman flush. She looked flustered for a moment, then smiled and nodded. The burly man held out his arm politely. Martha placed her left hand upon his forearm. Heyes thought that the pair would walk back to the boarding house, but Wheat took a slight detour.
"Martha, there's some folks I'd like you to meet," said Wheat as they approached the four men watching from the relative safety of the fence. "This here's my partner Kyle, you already met Preacher, and Sheriff Lom Trevors…"
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Later that evening, Heyes and Jenny brought both girls back up to the cabin. Lobo was back, but no sign of Doc Beauregard. Eliza made a beeline straight to her father. Lobo scooped her up and put the rambunctious four year old in the chair closest to Kid before the bushy haired man resumed changing the dressing on Kid's chest. Jenny propped little Hannah up on pillows and began chatting with Matt about the infant's feeding and other bodily functions over the past twenty-four hours. Heyes went in search of Clem.
"Settling in?" greeted Heyes.
He leaned against the door frame of the small back bedroom, watching. Clem looked up from the framed photographs she was placing on the dresser, smiled and nodded. Gesturing to the closest photograph, she beckoned Heyes to come closer. He peered at the small oval photograph that must have been taken last summer in Denver. There must have been a breeze that day. With Eliza's curls blowing sideways, you couldn't really see much of Kid beside his floppy hat, but Eliza's happy smile and tiny hand stroking the horse's muzzle made Heyes's lips curl up in a dimpled grin.
"Is that Acclaim?" asked Heyes.
"Yes," answered Clem. "I think Eliza started to trust me when I showed her this photo."
Heyes picked up the next rectangular framed photograph. He hadn't seen that one in over fifteen years. The photograph was a really close picture of Kid, Clem and himself. Heyes chuckled. He had been twenty-seven, Kid and Clem twenty-three and he still remembered how that awful starched shirt scratched. Heyes set the picture down and reached for the familiar third photograph of Clem as a child, her two brothers and her parents.
"Clem," asked Heyes, not quite sure how to phrase the question that had been on his mind since his earlier encounter with Wheat and Martha, "do you have any particular requirements about getting married?"
"Requirements?" questioned Clem. She placed the folded garment in her hands and laid it flat on the mattress. "What do you mean requirements?"
"Oh I don't know… a church… or a fancy dress… or…," Heyes stared intently at the photograph in his hands, not looking at Clem.
He didn't see a mischievous smile light up her face, and he was too busy talking to hear her quiet footsteps as she approached, but he did feel her small hands wrap around his waist.
"Oh I have lots of requirements," breathed Clem. "Smart, kind, brave, handsome…"
Heyes' grin spread across his face and his shoulders relaxed as he listened to Clem's recital. He twisted around to face Clem.
"Of course since Jed is already married…," smirked Clem.
"What?" squawked Heyes.
"I'll have to settle for you," concluded Clem with a smile and a teasing look in her hazel eyes.
"Hmmph," responded Heyes. He arched an eyebrow, and added, "I could have proposed to Georgette you know."
"You could have," agreed Clem with a self-satisfied smirk. "But I just don't see you having a Texas Ranger as father-in-law."
"Me neither," chuckled Heyes in agreement.
Clem leaned closer and Heyes found himself wrapping his arms around her. He breathed in the scent of vanilla extract as he lowered his lips to whisper in her ear.
"Clem, what kind of wedding do you want?"
"The important part is having you as groom," answered Clem. She reached a finger out to trace the image of Eliza in the photograph on her dresser. "The other stuff, where and dresses, really aren't all that important. I must say I thought Jed and Matt's wedding was just about perfect, but it would be nice to have a flower girl too."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
Doc Beauregard fussed about the possibility of Kid pulling out his stitches. The medical man sounded almost like a little old quilter that Heyes remembered fondly. Despite Doc's fussing, two days later Kid insisted he was well enough to sit outside in the rocker on the front porch. Personally, Heyes thought his partner was tired of being cooped up inside. Clem and Eliza kept Kid occupied by demanding he referee their game of stickball. Jenny sat in the chair beside Kid, ostensibly to rock little Hannah, but mainly to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't try something foolish that might hurt those stitched chest muscles, like standing up by himself or laughing hard. Inside, Heyes was taking directions from Matt.
"Cream the sugar and butter," insisted Matt.
"Cream? I didn't bring any cream," replied Heyes. "The Cole's might have some. I can be down there and back quick…"
"No," huffed Matt. She handed him a wooden spoon. "I mean mash the butter and the sugar together until it looks all creamy…"
"Well why didn't you say that in the first place?" demanded Heyes.
Heyes kept stirring as Matt brought more ingredients to be added to the batter, eggs and flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Heyes kept stirring until he felt that his arm was going to fall off. Oops. He hadn't meant to say that bit out loud.
"Really?" huffed Matt as she pushed a blonde strand of hair back from her face with the only hand she could use. "Get a bullet in your shoulder and then you can complain."
"Sorry," mumbled Heyes.
"That's the first time I've ever been shot before," confided Matt. "I thought I was dying."
"Getting shot is scary," agreed Heyes.
"I guess I sounded real foolish that day," admitted Matt. "Compared to some of the things you and Jed have gone through…"
Heyes knew how much a bullet could hurt. Thinking back, he realized he'd never been shot as an outlaw, only after the partners started trying for amnesty. He remembered Matt's whispered words when she thought she was dying. Words of encouragement for Kid. A promise of love waiting.
"No, not foolish," objected Heyes.
"Crazy then," sighed Matt.
"Not crazy either," argued Heyes. "Believe me, I've seen crazy. There was a woman named Lorraine, she sort of looked like you, she and her mother kidnapped Kid and threatened to kill him."
Matt raised her eyebrows at his comment. Too late Heyes realized how that might sound.
"You think I look like a crazy kidnapper?" harrumphed Matt.
"I didn't say you look like a crazy woman," clarified Heyes quickly. "You a lot taller than Lorraine…"
"Is that why you were so stand-offish when we first met?"
"Well you were chasing after a man intending to kill him," reminded Heyes. "Not exactly the kind of woman I want my partner to get interested in..."
"Hmmph!" sniffed Matt. "I'm not a mur..."
Her voice trailed off as she looked at the spot on the floor where Tattersall had fallen.
"No, you're not a murderer. Self defense is not murder," agreed Heyes. He smiled, "But you got to admit you were a very scary, angry woman back then."
"Hmmph!" sniffed Matt again. "I'm not Lorraine."
"Course not!" agreed Heyes. "You just look like her. A little bit... I mean... sheesh!"
Heyes gulped at Matt's frown and poured the batter into the waiting pan. Sometimes Matt was still a scary woman.
"Who would have ever thought making a birthday cake was gonna be this hard," grumbled Heyes as together they finally slid Kid's cake into the oven.
-x-x-x-x-x-x
The last Saturday in August, a watchful Heyes walked slowly with Kid to the forest glade near the spring. It was the first time since the shooting that Kid had left the house.
"Take your time," reminded Heyes, "we don't want to wear you out…"
"Heyes, quit worrying," huffed Kid. He rubbed his chest muscles. "I'm fine. Stitches ain't gonna pull out."
In an effort to distract himself from worrying about his partner, Heyes did the one thing he did best. He talked. He chattered. He babbled.
"Three times is the charm, right?" asked Heyes not really expecting an answer. "I mean it took you three tries before Matt said yes…"
A grunt from his partner stopped him. Heyes looked at Kid standing on the woodland path beside him. Kid's poker face was on.
"I said I proposed three times," reminded Kid. "Never said I proposed to Matt."
"What?"
"Tried to once or twice," continued Kid. "We talked about just everything, but whenever the word marriage came up, Matt would say Lord no! Once was enough!"
"But, but…," Heyes gestured with his hands to point to Kid and down the path to where Matt and Clem awaited them. "You're married…"
"Matt proposed to me," replied Kid with a grin.
Dumbfounded, Heyes continued silently until the partners reached Preacher, Lom, Jenny and the girls. Heyes looked over at his partner, but Kid's next words stopped any additional questions Heyes had.
"Here comes Clem."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
In September, the new Mrs. Carlsen, Martha to her friends, began teaching school at Thunder Ridge. Martha and the librarian didn't always see eye to eye, and she wasn't the least bit impressed that Heyes was a member of the school board too.
"She's banned Wuthering Heights!" hissed Heyes in annoyance as he sat down beside his partner.
"Didn't you say that book was awful?" asked Kid.
"Well yeah, but that's beside the point," huffed Heyes.
"And what is the point Joshua?"
"Banning books is worse than awful," answered Heyes.
Heyes continued grumbling about the new school teacher's opinions on certain books and their effect on impressionable minds until Kid got tired of listening.
"Hasn't she done anything right?" asked Kid rolling his blue eyes
Heyes stopped complaining and started to grin.
"Yeah Thaddeus," responded Heyes. "Oh yeah, she's hung ruffled curtains on the bunkhouse windows."
"I saw," grinned Kid. "The pink roses are real pretty."
Construction at the bunkhouse provided separate rooms for the newly married Carlsens. And the addition of a lady to the house added some new rules. Kyle was still complaining about the Saturday night bath requirement.
"Martha's also started a theater group for the older students," added Heyes. "Gonna put on a play before Christmas."
"Which play?"
"The same one you and Clem were in back in Valparaiso," answered Heyes. "Do you remember it?"
Kid rubbed the cleaning cloth over his gleaming pistol once more.
"Yeah, I played Borrachio," answered Kid. "The character was a villain, a real bad 'un, said bad things about a lady."
"Nah Kid," objected Heyes. "Borrachio was a hero. He's the one that finally told the truth."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
In October, Doctor Neville Beauregard introduced his new protégé from Boston.
"I am thinking about retiring," confided the medical man as he tugged on his suspenders.
Heyes wasn't quite sure what he thought of the young doctor. Hiram Winston Abernathy had a lot of new ideas.
-x-x-x-x-x-x
In November Harry packed his bags and headed south.
"Heard word of Bannerman," grinned Harry. "I'm going to New Orleans."
"We've got a friend that lives there," replied Heyes. "You might try looking her up."
-x-x-x-x-x-x
"What's on your mind Joshua?" asked Kid as he slammed the axe down.
Heyes stopped a few feet short of where Kid was splitting logs and reached up behind his neck and turned up the collar on his brown jacket against the December chill. Back at the cabin, Matt opened the front door to greet Clem.
"What makes you think I've got something on my mind?" stalled Heyes.
The excited man tried his best to sound nonchalant, but it was hard keeping the happy words locked down tight. He'd promised Clem to let her tell Matt. Heyes watched until Clem stepped inside and then he spun around to face Kid. His partner had his head tilted to one side, watching Heyes.
"You got that look in your eyes," answered Kid. "Like you got a new idea, and your brain is all swellin' up. You gotta tell someone…"
"Well you know Kid," grinned Heyes, "It's a miracle, but it ain't me that's swelling up."
Happy words bubbled forth as the talkative man began to explain. Kid sat down on the stump he was using as a chopping block and grinned at Heyes. The older Kansan paced back and forth in front of the woodpile. Hands waved in the air and Heyes talked on.
"Heyes," asked Kid when his partner finally stopped for a deep breath, "what's that fancy new doctor fella mean change of life baby?"
"It's just some fancy talk Abernathy has," answered Heyes. "Means Clem is nearly forty, and I'm even older."
"It don't make no sense," replied Kid. "All babies change a person's life. Change for the better."
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