Hannibal Heyes sat at a table in the hotel dining room finishing his coffee and reading the day old Denver evening newspaper. When is eyes suddenly fell upon a brief article on page three of the newspaper, Heyes set the coffee cup down on the saucer and sat up straight. His hands shook as he folded the paper to focus on the small headline on page three.
TRANSIENT FOUND IN ALLEY CLINGS TO LIFE.
The article described a blonde man in his thirties who had been found unconscious in an alley three days ago and was was in the pauper ward of the Denver Hospital with severe internal injuries, not thought to be survivable. The man had been severely beaten and had sustained numerous broken bones, a severe head trauma, as well as other potentially life threatening injuries. Anyone with information about the identity of the man or knowledge of the altercation was asked to contact the police or Denver Hospital.
Heyes was certain the man was his partner, Kid Curry. Heyes and Curry had arrived in Denver four days ago to visit their friend Clementine Hale. When they discovered she was not in town but had left a note saying she had been called away on business and would be back in a few days, Heyes and Curry had taken a room at the Pennington Hotel. That first evening they had visited a a saloon on Bar Street in the downtown district of the city. Heyes had played poker but had lost his money and returned to the hotel. Kid had taken up with a saloon girl and had promised Heyes he would return to the hotel "in a hour or so."
But Kid never returned.
Heyes visited the saloon the following morning and asked questions, but no one at the saloon knew, or was willing to tell Hayes what had happened to Kid or if they had even seen him. Heyes had scoured the streets and alleys in the district, all to no avail.
Heyes quickly paid for his breakfast and, slipping the newspaper under his arm, Heyes went directly to the hospital and sought out the pauper ward. After explaining to a nurse why he was there, the nurse summoned the doctor, a man named Samuel Carter. Heyes then explained to the doctor why he was there.
The paper said he was very badly hurt, near death. Will he live?" Heyes asked.
"Let me take you to him, first Mr. Smith. If he is in fact your partner, then we can discuss the state of his health."
The doctor led Heyes into the pauper ward. There were six beds lined against each of two walls. Ten of the beds were occupied. They walked to the far end of the room to a man lying in the third bed from the end.
The man's eyes were closed. His face badly swollen and there was not a spot on his face that was not some shade of purple, green, or yellow. The man's hands were heavily bandaged and resting over the blankets and across his chest. The man's face was so bruised and swollen that Heyes honestly could not tell if it he was in fact his partner, Kid Curry.
But the curly, dirty blonde hair was most definitely that of his partners.
Heyes stooped down beside the bed. He gently brushed a curl from Kid's forehead, then put his hand on Kid's right arm. "Kid, it's me. Can you hear me?" Can you open your eyes for me?"
There was no response. Heyes watched the rapid rise and fall of the blanket from Kid's shallow breaths.
Heyes swallowed hard and stood up. He nodded to the doctor.. "That's him."
"He had no identification on him, no money, no personal possessions. His pockets were empty when the police found him in an alley near Bar Street. What's his name?" Dr. Colton asked."
"Thaddeus Jones."
"Let's go to my office, Mr. Smith."
Once in the doctor's office, Heyes sat down heavily in a chair in front of the doctor's desk. The doctor sat down at his desk and pulled Kid's chart from a stack of ten charts. He opened Kid's chart, laid it on his desk in front of him, and scribbled the name Thaddeus Jones on the chart.
"Mr. Jones has several life-threatening injuries," Dr. Colton explained. "The bruising on his face actually looks good compared to the bruising on his torso. Both kidneys have been very badly bruised and currently are functioning very poorly. The liver is also bruised. His left lung is collapsed. Eight of ten fingers are broken. Six ribs are broken and another three are cracked. All are likely bruised. In spite of all this, the worst wound is the large lump on the back of his head. Judging from the size of the lump, his head was likely thrust against something very hard multiple times. A rock or a brick perhaps. It's a miracle he doesn't have a skull fracture. But the brain is likely quite swollen. Until, or rather, if, he regains consciousness, I won't then be able to determine the degree of injury to the brain."
"He hasn't been awake at all?" Heyes asked.
Dr. Colton shook his head. "He's actually in a self induced coma. For the time being, that is not a bad thing. It's the brain's means of minimizing activity so it can heal. However, if a coma lasts for more than a week, the chances of coming out of the coma begin to dwindle."
Heyes sat wringing his hands in his lap and struggling to stay calm and focused.
"So what are you currently doing for him?" Heyes asked.
"The day he was brought in, we treated the physical injuries, gave him morphine for the pain. But he had a bad reaction to the morphine..."
"Yea, he doesn't react well to most pain medicines," Heyes explained.
Dr. Colton nodded. "Yes, the night he was brought in and given the morphine, we were all quite certain he would die from it. He seems to be a fighter, though. We are watching his kidneys closely. I've prescribed medication to help them function. If the kidneys shut down, he won't survive more than a few days at most. Until he is awake, we can't get enough fluids into him. He needs fluids in order for the kidneys to function."
"What about his fingers?"
Dr. Colton looked a little surprised. He had just told Mr. Smith about life-threatening injuries and Mr. Smith was worried about the man's hands!
"If he survives, the use of his hands and fingers should eventually return,"
"A hundred percent?"
"That remains to be seen. If I may ask, what is your relationship to Mr. Jones?"
"We're cousins, but we're as close as brothers. Neither of us have any other family."
"If you want to help him, be here as often as you can. Even when he's unconscious talk to him. He may still be able to hear you and it might draw him out of the coma."
"Assuming he survives, which by the way will be my assumption throughout all of this," Heyes began. "How long do you expect he will he be in the hospital?"
"Weeks at a minimum, maybe even months."
"I understand this is the pauper's section of the hospital. Would Thaddeus get better care in the regular part of the hospital?"
"As far as medication, physician services, no. In the main hospital he would have a private or semi-private room, more nursing attention. The nurses on this ward are stretched pretty thin I'm afraid."
"Thaddeus doesn't have any money to speak of, neither do I. But we do have friends that may be willing to help. I'll contact them. If we could get him a private room, I'll stay with him round the clock so he'll always have somebody watching over him."
"That might be very beneficial to him."
"I'll go send some telegrams, put a few of his things together, and be back this afternoon."
"The paupers ward does not allow visitors to stay overnight, I'm afraid, but during the day, having someone he knows here, someone he is familiar with, may be beneficial to him."
"Not to worry, Doctor. I'll be at Kid's side as much as you'll allow."
0-0-0-0-
Heyes went first to the telegraph office. He wrote one basic telegram and had it sent to Silky, Soapy, Lom, and Big Mac McCreedy telling them where they were, what happened to Kid, and asking each of them for a monetary loan or gift so Kid could be moved to the general hospital. By evening, all had wired money to Heyes. Soapy had instructed Heyes to have all bills sent directly to him. Lom said he would travel to Denver within the week.
Heyes spent the afternoon in a straight back chair beside Kid's bed. He talked to Kid constantly. There was no response from Kid except for an occasional coughing reflex that sometimes wracked Kid's body.
Because visitors were not permitted to stay the night in the pauper's ward, Heyes was forced to leave Kid for the night. On his way back to the hotel, Heyes again knocked on Clementine's door.
Clem opened the door and broke into a huge smile. "Heyes," she exclaimed. But seeing the look on Heyes' face and the absence of his partner, Clem's smile quickly disappeared.
"What's wrong? Where's Kid?" Clem asked.
"Can I come in?" Heyes asked wearily.
Clem nodded and opened the door wide. and Heyes walked in to the foyer and stopped.
"Come, sit down," Clem said, leading Heyes to the parlor. "Why are you here alone?" Clem asked after they were both seated."Where's the Kid? Is he alright?"
Heyes felt drained and exhausted. He sat down and rubbed his temples with his thumb and two fingers. "It's bad, Clem," Heyes said and then proceeded to tell her about Kid.
"The doctor doesn't think he'll live through it." Heyes concluded.
Clem's hand covered her open mouth as she listened to Heyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Can I see him? Can I visit?"
"He's in the pauper's ward right now. They only allow visitors during the day.
"What bar did you go to?" Clem asked.
"The ah... Broken Pony I think it's called."
"Down on Barr Street?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Heyes, that's the roughest neighborhood in Denver. There are gangs down there that just watch for easy prey. I suppose Kid took up with one of the saloon girls and she discovered he had money on him?"
Heyes nodded. "He had a few hundred dollars."
"The saloon girls are all patsies for the gangs. I don't care how fast a draw Kid is, he didn't have a chance."
"I'm getting to get him moved out of the pauper's ward tomorrow," Heyes said. "Soapy, Big Mac, Silky, and Lom all said they would help pay."
"Thank God you two are lucky to have such good friends. I'm going with you to the hospital tomorrow, Heyes."
"You'd better prepare yourself, Clem. He'll be quite a shock to you."
"You can check out of your hotel and stay here. If you're going to be here for months, you'll need to stretch out your own money."
Heyes smiled for the first time that day.
"What?" Clem asked.
"You said stay here for months...You expect Kid to recover."
"Don't you?"
Heyes sighed. "Wait till you see him... It's very bad."
0-0-0-0-0-
The next morning Heyes and Clem went directly to Dr. Colton's office with the telegrams he had received and asked that Kid be moved to a private room in the the general hospital as soon as a private room was available. Dr. Colton said he would make all the arrangements and added that it was a pretty rare thing for someone in the pauper's ward to be moved to the general hospital.
"Any change in Thaddeus?" Heyes asked.
"Not really certain at this point. The nurse said his eyes opened a few times last evening, but didn't appear focused and they didn't stay open for long. But just opening his eyes is something new. That can be a sign of him slowly coming out of the coma, but it can also be a fairly common occurrence with someone in what is called a semi-vegetative state of a coma. In that condition, they eyes will open and, sometimes they eyes will actually follow some movement. But the person is not conscious really. They are really still in a coma. We'll have to wait and see."
Heyes led Clem into the ward and down to Kid's bed. Kid's eyes were closed and Clem gasped when she saw Kid's face. She looked at Heyes but Heyes ignored her, keeping his eyes on his partner.
"Hey, Kid, it's me, Heyes," He said quietly and directly into Kid's ear. "I brought Clementine with me," Heyes said and nodded to Clem to encourage her to speak to Kid.
Clem bit her lower lip. "Hi, Kid. It's Clem. It's good to see you again,. I've missed you,Kid. Looking forward to a nice visit when you're feeling better." she said.
Heyes pulled two straight back chairs up next to Kid's bed. "You don't mind if Clem and I stay and visit with you a while, do you?"
"I'm sorry I missed you boys the other day," Clem said. "But when you're feeling better Kid, you can come stay at my house and we'll have a great time." Clem said and looked at Heyes for approval. He smiled and nodded his head.
"You're going to be moved to a private room as soon as Doctor Colton can arrange it, Kid. That way I can stay with you all night if you want me to."
There was no sign of a response or recognition, but that didn't stop Heyes and Clem from talking incessantly to Kid for the remainder of the morning.
They left at noon to get some lunch. When they returned, the nurses had re-positioned Kid, so Heyes moved their chairs to the other side of the bed so that, if he were to open his eyes, Kid would be able to see them.
When they were out for lunch, Heyes had bought Twain's Tom Sawyer and began reading it aloud to Kid, knowing it was one (maybe the only one), of his favorite books.
Late in the afternoon two orderlies arrived with a gurney and Kid was moved to a private room in the main hospital. Heyes and Clem stopped by Dr. Colton's office to thank him for all he had done before they headed up to Kid's new room.
When they walked in the room, Kid was lying on his back, propped up a bit with some pillows behind his back. His eyes were open but fixed on the ceiling and unfocused. Heyes and Clem exchanged glances. Heyes approached the foot of the bed so as to be within Kid's view.
"Kid, can you look at me?" Heyes asked.
Kid's eyes continued to look to the ceiling.
"Kid, it's me, Joshua, and Clem's here too. Will you look at us?" Heyes asked again.
"Kid, please look at me," Clem said, fighting tears.
Ever so slowly Kid's gaze lowered to their level, but they remained unfocused and glossy.
Clem smiled, "I love you, Kid," she sniffled.
Kid's eyes remained open for a few more seconds before closing.
"I think he knows we're here," Clem said hopefully. She walked over to the side of Kid's bed and gently touched his arm.
Kid winced. Clem looked at Heyes excitedly. "He does know. He felt me touch him," she exclaimed.
Heyes dashed out of the room and summoned a nurse and told her what had just occurred.
"Mr. Jones, can you hear me? Open your eyes if you can hear me," the nurse said.
There was no response.
"I'm telling you, he knew it was us," Clem said.
The nurse smiled reassuringly. "It could simply be that he reacted to pain when you touched him, but I'll be sure Dr. Richards is informed," the nurse said.
Heyes chose to agree with Clem. He chose to cling to the idea that Kid might actually be aware of them being near by. He leaned in close to Kid's ear and whispered to him.
"That's a good one, Kid. Only let me and Clem know you're trying to climb your way back to the living," Heyes said smiling.
0-0-0-0-0-
That evening Heyes saw Clem home and then returned to the hospital and slept in a chair in Kid's room. In the middle of the night, Heyes was awakened by Kid's spasmodic coughing that lasted for several minutes. This was then followed by several weak, moaning sounds. Heyes lit an oil lamp and saw that Kid's eyes were open. Heyes poured a glass of water and brought it to the side of Kid's bed, then reached his hand behind Kid's head to lift his head. He stopped suddenly when he felt a lump the size of his fist at the back of Kid's head. Gently he raised Kid's head and brought the glass to Kid's mouth. He tilted the glass just enough to bring the water to Kid's lips. Kid's lips parted slightly and Heyes tipped a small swallow of water into Kid's mouth. Kid swallowed the water, so Heyes did it again. Again Kid swallowed. Heyes smiled and spent the next twenty minutes giving Kid small sips of the water until the glass was empty. He gently laid Kid's head back down on the pillows. Kid's eyes remained open.
"Kid, if you can hear me, blink your eyes," Heyes said. "Come on, Kid, blink your eyes for me."
Heyes waited for over a minute until Kid's eyes blinked deliberately once. Heyes smiled broadly. "We're going to get you through this, Kid," he promised.
Kid's eyes closed again and he quickly fell back asleep.
"When his eyes are open, he can follow simple directions," Heyes told Dr. Richards the next morning. "I mean really simple directions like open and close your eyes."
"The next time he does that, have the nurse summon me, even if it's in the middle of the night, Mr. Smith. I would like to determine his neurological abilities and monitor any improvements."
"His what?" Heyes asked.
""Neurological abilities. It means how well his brain is functioning."
"He was incontinent once during the night, Doctor," the nurse reported."
"Good. His kidneys must be starting to work again. These are very positive signs, Mr. Smith... But don't get your hopes up too far. Not yet, anyway. Not till we know for sure."
"He drank a whole glass of water for me during the night. It took him a while, but he did it," Heyes said, purposely failing to acknowledge the doctor's words of caution.
Dr. Richard's lifted one of Kid's eye lids and examined the eye. Then he moved to the other eye and did the same.
"They look okay?" Heyes asked.
"The pupils are a bit slow to react to light.."
"Is that a good thing?" Heyes asked.
"No, but that may also improve as the swelling in the brain goes down."
Dr. Richardson lifted the sheet and blanket from the foot of the bed and ran the bottom end of his pencil down the length of Kid's foot. He saw the foot move. He repeated it with the other foot and saw it move as well. He pulled the bedding back over Kid's feet.
"I do think you are right that Mr. Jones is making some progress." Dr. Richard's said. "We'll just have to wait to see how much progress he'll make. Right now, without eating, without drinking much, even some progress may simply not be enough to survive. I'm sorry I can't be more optimistic for you, Mr. Smith."
"We weighed him when he arrived on this wing yesterday. He's lost twelve pounds since he was brought to the hospital," the nurse reported. "He still hasn't eaten any food, Doctor."
"If he's drinking some now, let's try to give him some nourishing liquids, some warm milk, perhaps some soup. We'll see how he tolerates that and progress from there."
"Yes, Doctor, the nurse replied.
Dr. Richards felt the lump in the back of Kid's head. "The swelling does not seem to be going down much. But that was a severe blow, actually many blows I'm told, and it may take more time for the swelling to recede. Does he seem to be aware of any pain?"
"He'll moan and groan occasionally but not often," Heyes said.
"If he starts awakening for longer periods, that may become and issue. We may have to give him something to keep the pain under control."
"He don't react well to most pain medicines. I think Dr. Colton even called it an allergy to morphine."
"Yes, I'll talk with Dr. Colton before prescribing anything for pain," Dr. Richards assured Heyes.
0-0-0-0-
Little changed for the better part of the next week except, despite drinking some milk and soup, Kid lost another ten pounds. His ribs were now showing but the bruises on his face and torso were beginning to fade. Kid's eyes would open several times a day and always Heyes or Clem would give him warm milk, soup, or water to drink in small sips. Spasmodic coughing would wrack his body and fatigue him to the point of sleep. Either dreams or pain would cause Kid to utter agonizing moans or frightened whimpers in his sleep.
Always either Heyes or Clem, but usually both were at Kid's side constantly, talking or reading out loud to him. Always trying to engage him. Never being rewarded with anything more than some eye contact.
At the end of the second week, late in the afternoon, Heyes was reading aloud from a book of poetry while Clem dozed in a chair.
"Heyes," Kid whispered, his voice barely audible. Heyes stood up and walked to the side of Kid's bed. Kid's eyes were open and seemed to be actually looking at the ceiling.
"I'm right here, Kid," Heyes said and reached out and touched Kid's arm.
Very slowly Heyes watched Kid's eyes move in the direction of his voice.
"Clem" Heyes called to her to waken her while never taking his eyes off Kid.
"What is it?" Clem asked sleepily.
"Go summon the doctor."
Clem sat up and looked at Kid who was now looking at Heyes.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Heyes smiled. "He's talking to me, Clem."
Clem jumped out of her chair and ran out of the room to get the doctor.
"Heyes?" Kid weakly whispered a second time.
Heyes smiled. "Right here, Kid. How are you feeling, Kid?"
"What... What hap..pened?"
"Seems you were in a bit of a scuffle... Took the worst end of it I believe."
The door opened and Dr. Richards rushed into the room.
"Kid's been talking to me," Heyes explained without taking his eyes off of his partner.
"Mr. Jones?" Dr. Richards said but got no response.
"Maybe you have to be in his line of vision," Heyes suggested and DR. Richards moved over next to Heyes.
"Kid, this is Doctor Richards. He's been taking care of you. Can you say hello to the doctor?"
"No," Kid whispered, his breathing still shallow, still rapid..
Heyes smiled. "Alright," Heyes said. "He's been wanting to see you awake. If I stay right here, Kid, will you answer some questions for him?"
"Do I have to?" Kid asked in a very frightened, child-like whisper of a voice.
"It would help him a lot to get you feeling better," Heyes said.
Kid swallow, then coughed. "Stay here."
"I won't leave you, Kid."
"Okay."
"Mr. Jones, are you having any pain?" the doctor asked
Kid didn't answer but continued looking at Heyes."
"Try calling him Kid, Doc."
"Kid, do you hurt anywhere?"
Kid nodded his head slightly.
"Where do you hurt, Kid?"
"Head... stomach."
"Do you see my fingers?" the doctor asked, holding two fingers up in Kid's visual field.
"Yep."
How many do you see?"
"Two."
"Tell me your name?"
"Kid,"
"Your given name?"
Kid continued to look at Heyes who reluctantly gave Kid a single nod of his head.
"... Thaddeus... Jed."
The doctor looked questioningly at Heyes. "Jedadiah... middle name," Heyes lied.
"Clem, since Thaddeus is awake, why don't you go ask one of the nurses to round up some soup for Kid."
Clem nodded and left the room.
"Mr. Jones, do you remember what happened to you?" Dr. Richards asked.
Kid shook his head ever so slightly.
"Do you remember being in a fight?"
"No."
"May I see you move your arms and legs?"
Kid looked at Heyes who smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, Kid. He just wants to see how well your doing."
Kid slowly raised his arms a few inches and then moved each leg under the covers.
"I'm getting kind of tired and... my head hurts... Can we stop?"
"Doctor, can we stop for now?" Heyes asked.
Reluctantly Dr. Richards agreed. "I'd like to speak to you in the hall, Mr. Smith."
"Kid, is it okay if I just go out in the hall for a few minutes? Clem will be back soon with some soup for you. I won't be long."
"I don't think I can eat it. My insides still hurt too much."
"Well, try if you can. It's important that you eat. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."
Kid nodded.
"These changes are encouraging, Mr. Smith, but your friend is far from out of the woods. He's still in critical condition. I'm still not convinced he can survive this."
"He's not going to die, Doctor."
Dr. Richards looked at Heyes. "I just want you to be aware. I want you to be prepared."
Heyes shook his head. "Prepared to let him die? I'll never be prepared for that."
0-0-0-0-0-
When Heyes returned to the room, Clem was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to coax Kid into taking a spoonful of soup. Thus far, he had refused.
"What did he say?" Kid asked
Heyes smiled. "He said he is very encouraged." Kid let his head sink into his pillow. He lay in the hospital bed, swollen, bruised, bandaged, more than 20 pounds underweight, and in constant pain. And, most importantly, he knew Heyes was not being truthful with him.
"No more," Kid said to Clem.
"You haven't even had a bite," Clem protested.
"I said, no," Kid replied.
Clem looked at Heyes, then got up and put the bowl on the dresser.
"Heyes, I heard you and the doctor talking out there. I heard him telling you he was still worried...that I might be dying..."
"I'm not going to let that happen," Heyes assured him.
"I don't want to die, Heyes. But I think it already has... I mean... I think Kid Curry has already died... I think Jed is the one trying to survive."
"I don't understand," Heyes said, growing tired of lying to his partner but unable to bring himself to admitting the truth to himself, let alone to Kid.
Kid lay in the bed looking at his partner. His breathing was quick and shallow, his eyes heavy and he struggled to keep them open.
"Well... Jed's the one who learned to fast draw, aim straight, but Kid is the one who used those skills... to watch your back... to protect you..."
The corners of Kid's mouth tried in vain to smile. "Kid was fearless... Jed's always nervous...afraid of losing you...afraid of what's going to happen to him..."
Kid stopped as a spasm of coughing engulfed him. When he spoke again, his voice was even weaker than before and Heyes had to strain to hear him.
"Kid's not afraid of dying. Kid's been ready for that ever since he took up a gun... But Jed's afraid, Heyes."
Heyes smiled sadly. He reached out and wrapped his arm around Kid's arm. "Kid's just probably still sleeping, Jed. You know Kid, he can sleep at the drop of a hat. But I promise you, I won't ever abandon Jed...or Kid if he decides to return."
Kid very slowly raised his bandaged hands level to his eyes. "I don't think Kid can come back...even if he wants to... Broken fingers saw to that."
"There's a lot more to Kid than a fast draw. I know he can come back...I know he will come back," Heyes lied again and mustered a reassuring smile.
Clem drew her lips tightly together when listening to their conversation, her heart aching, breaking.
"Kid..." Heyes said, but Kid cut him off.
"No, Heyes... Not now. No more...I'm going to sleep now," Kid said and closed his eyes.
0-0-0-0-0-
It was two days before Kid's eyes opened again. When he did open, the eyes were distant and unfocused. Heyes took the opportunity to get Kid to slowly drink a glass of milk. Kid swallowed as a reflex. That period of coherency two days before had perhaps been a fluke, as Kid showed no signs of recognition or awareness.
"How long can he possibly hold on, Heyes?" Clem asked despondently. "He's so weak, so fragile."
"Clem, when you start talking like that, or even thinking like that, you have to take yourself out of this room. We don't need those kind of thoughts in here," Heyes said sternly.
Clem's lower lip quivered and Heyes realized he had spoken to harshly to her. He got up and wrapped his arms around her. Clem clung to Heyes.
"He hasn't eaten in weeks. He's so thin his ribs show. I don't want to lose him," she cried into Heyes' shoulder.
Heyes sighed heavily and stroked Clem's hair. He shared the same thoughts. He just refused to put spoken words to those thoughts."I know, Clem," Heyes said softly. "I know."`
The next morning when Dr. Richards had completed his daily assessment of Kid, he slowly folded his stethoscope and slid it into his pocket.
"His heart is getting weaker. Without food and water, it may just be a matter of time," Dr. Richards said.
Heyes was thankful that Clem had not yet arrived to hear the doctor's conclusion. When Dr. Richards left the room, Heyes walked over and sat on the edge of Kid's bed. He looked at his sleeping partner for a long time. His eyes grew wet. He leaned forward and stroked Kid's hair.
Kid," Heyes said softly. "If you can hear me, please keep fighting. I need you, partner. I don't care if it's Kid or if it's Jed... I need you."
Kid's eyes fluttered and opened and he looked directly into Heyes' eyes. Heyes felt like Kid was seeing beyond his eyes, beyond his face. Kid was looking into Heyes' very soul.
"I am fighting, Heyes," Kid whispered weakly. "I just don't think I can win this one..."
Heyes reached out and stroked Kid's hair. Heyes no longer worried that Kid might see the tears forming in his eyes. "You think you can scoot over some?" Heyes asked.
Very slowly Kid mustered the strength to move a few inches in the bed. Heyes lay down beside him on top of the covers.
"Whatever you decide, Jed," Heyes whispered quietly into Kid's ear.
"Stay here...with me...Heyes."
"I'm not going anywhere, partner."
Kid tried to smile but broke into a coughing spell and he turned his head away.
The cough sounded wet, Kid's breathing was rapid, quite shallow, and had a whistle to it. He sounded congested. But Kid's body felt relaxed next to Heyes..
"Heyes..."
"Yeah, Kid?"
"No matter what... as long as you live... I'll always have your back."
"I'll always have you in my heart, Jed. We'll never be far apart."
When Clem arrived she found both men sleeping in the bed, one beneath the covers, one above the covers. She smiled and sat down. Hours passed and neither man stirred. By mid afternoon. Clem was asleep in the chair.
"Clem,"
She felt a nudge on her shoulder and opened her eyes to find Heyes standing over her. His eyes were blood shot and wet with tears.
"Everything alright?" she asked Heyes.
He sighed slowly. "It's over, Clem. Kid's gone."
Clem's eyes shot to the be where Kid's body still lay. Tears streamed down her face and she covered her face with her hands.
Heyes pulled Clem up by her shoulders and she fell into his body. "It's alright, Clem. It's what he wanted... He's not suffering anymore. He had the two people he cared about right there with him."
Clem pushed away and looked up at Heyes. Kid might no longer be suffering, but Heyes was suffering terribly.
"He died in my arms," Heyes said. "He told me this morning that, even in death, he'd always be there for me." Heyes' chin quivered and tears flowed freely down his cheeks.
"What do we do now?"
Heyes sighed and spoke softly. "We tell a nurse...make arrangements...and go back to your place."
"Life just goes on?"
Tears streamed down Heyes' face. "Yea," he said, his voice cracking.
Three days later Heyes, Clem, Soapy, Silky, Big Mac, and Lom stood at the grave site while the minister spoke of ashes to ashes. Then Heyes picked up a clod of dirt and and gently tossed it into the grave. "Good night, Kid... I'll see you in the morning." Heyes said, then turned and slowly walked away. In his mind, he heard Kid say "I'll always have you back, partner."