Disclaimer: I do not own Big Valley or any of its characters nor am I making any money. This is just for fun.

A/N

If Tomorrow Never Comes

Chapter Ten

Heath held tightly to the reins as he urged the tired horses on in the near pitch black. He was so close to home now he could fairly feel its nearness. His family slept in the back completely worn out from their journey. When they had started out early that morning the family though tired from illness had been in good cheer. They talked and laughed with each other it was clear they had missed one another. Though they had been in the same house that was the first time in more than a week that the whole family had been in one place and able to talk to each other. They had tried to include Heath in their discussions but Heath would only reply briefly and turn all his attention back to driving the wagon.

Around the third hour on the road, everyone had gone quite too tired to talk but not quite enough to sleep. Often Heath would have to stop in order to rest, for the benefit of not only his family but himself as well. As the day progressed the time in between the stops became less and less while the time they spent resting became more and more. Heath wasn't sure if his family had noticed that he was not so quick to move or that he was less then eager to continue after each stop. But he no longer really cared if they did they would be home soon and others would be there to help them. Heath had made a deal with himself that all he had to do was make it to tomorrow and then he could rest. But until then he needed to keep moving and take care of his family. Unfortunately, he didn't know if he was going to be able to do that much.

It was close to six in the evening when Heath himself had given in to exhaustion and had fallen asleep at the reins. Heath had woken with a start as he had felt himself begin to fall off the wagon bench. It was dark out and the cloudy night made it impossible to tell how late it really was. He was relieved to find that everyone else was safely asleep in the back. Now as he looked up at the night sky he wished for nothing more than for tomorrow to come. It just felt as if tomorrow was slipping away from him though. It was like smoke in the wind you could see it, smell it, and taste it but you couldn't grab hold of it, it only slipped through your fingers. The night seemed endless as did the ride home. As the lights of the ranch became visible, it was all Heath could do not to push the tired horses into a run. The last half hour of the journey seemed like an eternity to Heath. There wasn't a part of his body that didn't hurt and he just wanted to get his family home so he could finally get some real rest.

Heath slowly pulled into the yard and stopped in front of the house. Silas came out of the house in his night robe holding a lantern clearly worried to see Heath and the family coming home at such an hour. McCall having been awakened by the sound of the wagon driving into the yard had also come out to see what was going on.

"Mister Heath?" Silas called out from the front porch. Heath waved the two men closer. "Everyone has come down with the flu. I need some help getting them up to their beds." Heath said simply too tired to explain further. "I'll go send one of the hands for the doctor," McCall said as turned to go to the bunkhouse.

"No, wait till it's light out. They're in no immediate danger and I don't want someone gettin' hurt riding around in the dark. But as soon as it's first light..." Heath trailed off as he woke up Jarrod and Nick. Duke nodded and picked up Victoria to carry her to her room. Audra though tired was able to make it to her room without help. Nick and Jarrod, on the other hand, need a steadying hand to get them up the stairs. Heath had helped Nick while Silas had done the same for Jarrod. After everyone was settled Heath tiredly made his way to his own bed. Once they had gotten to the ranch house things had happened quickly everyone was now resting peacefully in their beds. Heath found it a little hard to believe that there was really nothing else for him to do and he could finally just rest.

Heath sat on his bed pulling off his boots almost feeling giddy now that he had reached his goal. Now that he no longer had to care for his sick family he let himself give into his body's demands. His head had no sooner hit the pillow, then he was asleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At eight the next morning the doctor's buggy came trotting into the yard with Jud Cooper riding his horse beside it. Doctor Merar jumped from the buggy and went straight into the house as Silas opened the door. Duke frowned and waved Jud over to him, Jud sighed he knew Mac was unhappy with how long it had taken him to get the doc out to the ranch. "He wasn't at home. He was at the Whymer's ranch helping Dora deliver her baby. But by the time I got out to the Whymer's he was already gone. I ended up having to ride out to three other ranches before I found him on the road making his way back to his home. I got him here as fast as I could," Jud explained before Mac could question him. Mac nodded and gave Jud his assignment for the day then went back to work himself.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Mrs. Barkley and Mister Nick is the sickest, so's you best see them first," Silas said as he showed the Doctor up to the bedrooms. Merar followed the older black man up the stairs to his patients. Two hours later Howard walked out of Jarrod's room and headed to Audra's room. Dr. Merar knocked lightly on Audra's door and waited a moment for her to answer. When he was granted permission to enter, he opened the door to see Audra sitting on the window seat looking out the window. "Well, I see you are feeling better than the others."

Audra looked at the doctor, "How are they? Mother and Nick have been so sick. We had thought we were going to lose mother for awhile up at the cabin." Howard patted her hand comfortingly, "well, she is doing fine now. Unless she were to get a relapse I do not foresee any problems with her recovery. In fact with a lot of rest and good food she should back to her old self in no time. As for Nick and Jarrod, they are well on their way to recovery and will back to normal in no time as well."

Audra closed her eyes in relief at hearing the doctor's assurances. "That's because of Heath, I mean Heath is the reason we are all still here and getting better. He worked almost round the clock to make sure we were cared for," Audra explained as the doctor examined her. She then began to tell him about their whole ordeal at the cabin. "It seems to me you have your brother to thank for saving your Mother's life and most likely Nick's life as well," the doctor said as he put his medical tools back in his beg. "Now, I want you to stay off your feet and rest as much as possible so you can gain your strength back."

"I will. And Dr. Merar?" Audra called stopping Howard from leaving. "Yes?" Dr. Merar replied turning back around to look at the young blond woman. "Could you look in on Heath before you go?" Audra asked obviously concerned for her brother's welfare. "I was planning on it." With that said, Howard left Audra's room and walked down the hall to speak to Silas, who was standing just outside of Nick's room. "Silas, do you know where I can find Heath?" The gray-haired man looked thoughtful for a moment. "I's think he's still in bed. Though he mighta' gone out to work whiles I was lookin' in on the others. Come with me Doctor, I'll take ya to his room so's we can see if he's there," Silas suggested, as he waved the doctor to follow him. Howard complied and walked with Silas to Heath's room.

Silas knocked on Heath's door, "Mister Heath?" At receiving no answer Silas opened the door and looked in, "Mister Heath?" Still no answer, Silas walked to the bed and knelt next to it, "Mister Heath?" When he didn't get any response Silas placed his hand on Heath's forehead. Silas turned to the doctor, "He's got a fever." Howard instantly started assessing Heath's condition. When Merar brushed his hand over Heath's right upper arm the sick blond jerked away and moaned. "Silas, hand me the scissors from my bag please."

Once Dr. Merar got a look at Heath's very clearly infected arm he began to abrade the wound to try and clean the infection out. "Silas I need boiled water and more clean bandages." The houseman quickly set off to do as he was instructed. Two hours later the two men exited the blond's room. "Does he have the sickness like the rest?" Silas asked the doctor. "No, I don't believe so. Not yet at least. He's got a bad infection and some serious bruises that are making him so sick and weak. It is very important that you keep the rest of the family away from Heath. If he were to get the flu on top of this infection he would die. Even Audra must stay away for the time being." Dr. Merar took out his pocket watch and noted the time, "Well I have to go, I'll be back tomorrow to check on everyone. But if Heath should take a turn for the worst between now and then send for me at once," Howard instructed.

Silas walked the doctor to the door again agreeing to make sure his instructions were followed to the letter. Once Dr. Merar had driven away McCall made his way to the house to talk to Silas. Silas saw Mac and waited at the door for the man to reach him. "What did the Doc say?" Duke asked as soon he got to the front porch. "They's all going to be fine. But mister Heath is in a bad way." Mac looked at Silas in surprise, "Heath?"

Silas nodded sadly, "Yes, Mister Heath." Silas went on to explain what had happened."Doctor Merar says that ifen mister Heath were to get the flu like the others that he'd die for sure." Silas finished.

"I'll keep one of the boys close to the house just in case you should need to send for the doctor," Mac said. He was distressed to hear that one of his employers and friends was so sick.

"Alright. And Mister Nick said he wanted to talk with ya after supper." Mac nodded then both men turned and went to carry on their respective jobs.

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