Frontier Medicine - Part 28 - The Makings of a Good Life

Well, My Friends, we've come to the end of this story. Being Alex and Kara, a simple wedding day wouldn't do. I hope you enjoy!

It was very quiet at the new homestead. Alex walked quietly through the house making sure everyone was comfortable and sleeping peacefully. She thought back to earlier in the day. Jon and Rachel had arrived safely right before supper and since the weather was so nice, they'd had a small party in the flower meadow over by Matty's homestead.

George was talented with a grill and the rancher was still full of the copious amount of steak she'd consumed. Matty had baked some potatoes and cooked up some green beans. Then there'd been apple pie and cream for dessert. Alex chuckled, remembering Kara's pained groan as they'd parted ways that night. saying she was so full she thought she'd burst.

Parted ways. The rancher hoped that tonight would go fast. She already knew that sleep would be sparse without her lover with her. She glanced at her pocket watch and then put it away. Time to get back to Matty's and try to get some sleep.

Xx

Kara was tossing and turning. Too hot, then too cold. She flopped over and punched her pillow harrumphing as she just couldn't get comfortable. Alex wasn't back yet, she knew. The rancher was still up at the new homestead taking care of everyone. Kara sat up and lit the candle on her nightstand and she gazed for a long moment at the simple, yet elegant white wedding dress that was sitting on a wooden stand. She snickered. She could hardly wear white after the number of times she and Alex had made love at this point, but she offered a silent prayer to the Lord and told him she was sorry, not sorry, but that she loved him.

Just then, she heard quiet footsteps come up the hallway and pause outside her door. Alex could obviously see the light and knew she was probably still awake.

"Kara," Alex said softly through the door.

"Yes, Love?" the doctor replied.

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you more than I've ever loved anyone or anything else in my life and it's my honor and pleasure to marry you tomorrow. I want us to be together and grow old together, rockin' on the porch of our new home and bein' cantankerous old bitches together."

Kara laughed softly and went to the door, pressing her hand and lips against. "I love you, Alex Danvers, and I want all of that too. Forever."

"Goodnight, Kara."

"Goodnight, Alex."

Kara sighed as the footsteps drew away and she heard the door close next door. Across the hallway, Matty smiled and settled back down to sleep.

Xx

It was pandemonium at the ranch. A heavy windstorm had blown up during the night and taken down a section of fence in the near meadow, allowing some of the cattle, which were ready for sale, to escape onto the ranch proper. Alex was sitting on an unbroken fence, counting the animals still left in their correct spot, wiping her forehead with her 'kerchief and cursing under her breath.

George rode up on his big horse, slowing him abruptly with a tug on his reins. "How many?" he asked.

"Miraculously, looks like only four," Alex replied. "Seems like the others just stayed huddled together during the storm. We're gonna have to go find them though."

The sound of hammering floated to them on the wind as the fence repairs were being completed. Alex hopped down and checked her pocket watch. "We have four more hours before the weddin'. If I'm not back a half hour before to get ready, Shirley and Kara will kill me."

"Alex," George replied. "Listen. You can't risk being delayed or gettin' hurt. Please, let me and the boys find those cattle for you."

It took a moment but finally Alex nodded. "Ok, George. Thanks. But you all be careful. I need my best man here too."

"I'll be back for the weddin' I promise," the man replied as he tipped his hat. "Seeya later, Boss."

Just then, Kara ran toward her, waving and beckoning to her. "What now?" Alex groaned as she picked up her pace and ran to meet her partner.

"Alex, there's a gunshot emergency. I have to go to the clinic."

"Do you need help?" the rancher asked worriedly.

"Janie and Eve are coming with me," the doctor replied breathlessly. "I'm sorry, Alex. This is turning out to not at all be the day I expected."

"I know," Alex nodded with a sigh. "For me too." Kara turned to leave but her hand was caught and held, and it stopped her. "Kara, the Devil himself will not keep us from getting married today," she added, her eyes serious.

The doctor nodded and hugged Alex hard, kissing her gently on the lips. "Come hell or high water, dressed or not dressed, I will see you in that pasture at two o'clock."

Xx

"Shit… SHIT…" Kara shook her damp hair out of her eyes as she struggled to extract a bullet from the leg of a four-year-old child. "It's lodged in the bone. Eve, please bring the light closer so I can see better. Janie, increase the dose of the anesthetic by an extra drop per minute. It's a bit light." Each woman efficiently did as they were asked, and Kara nodded. "Good, thank you." She went back to the wound and after some gentle wiggling, managed to extract the stubborn metal. She pulled the forceps back slowly and dropped the bullet into a metal kidney tray with a solid clink.

"It's one-thirty," Janie said quietly, and Kara's face fell. There was no way she was going to get back to the ranch to get dressed and make it back by two. Then she set her shoulders and went back to work on sewing up the gunshot wound. "Come hell or high water," she murmured to herself.

Xx

Alex was covered in manure.

Not the hard, dried stuff but the fresh, squelching, smelly kind that came from anxious cows full of milk. "Shit…" Alex sighed. "Literally," she added, making Shirley laugh even harder than she already was. "Dammit."

The older Zorel sister had arrived just as it happened to remind Alex that it was one o'clock and she needed to start getting ready. "Oh my God, Alex!"

"Still want to come live here?" the rancher asked wryly. "It's not for the faint of heart."

Shirley just laughed some more as Alex went back to milking the last cow. It was almost one-fifteen by the time she was done, and she ran back to the homestead to hop into the bath Matty had ready for her and scrub down. It was the fastest bath she'd ever taken, and she was back in her room getting dressed when Matty knocked on the door. "Alex?"

"Come in, I'm dressed," the rancher called but she frowned when she saw the look on her aunt's face. "What? What is it?"

"It's one-thirty and Kara's not back yet," she said softly. "Her dress is still in her room, along with all her other stuff."

Alex closed her eyes for a long moment and blew out a long calming breath. Then she slowly murmured something that Matty had trouble hearing. "Come hell or high water…" Then she opened her eyes. "Pack it," she said. "The dress, shoes, all the stuff. Pack it all into a suitcase. Tell Shirley to pack for Eve and then the both of you pick a dress for Janie. I'm goin' to bring the wagon 'round. Tell everyone to be ready outside in ten minutes. Wagon's leavin' for town!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Matty replied with a little salute and ducked back out the door.

Alex sat on the bed and pulled her best boots on, shined to within an inch of their lives. "I am marrying you today, Kara Zorel," she muttered. "Come hell or high water."

Xx

"There…" Kara slowly set down her needle and thread, watching for any seeping blood and ready to wipe it away but after a few seconds, she realized that her work had been successful. "I think he's going to make it," she said softly, wiping her forearm across her forehead to erase the beads of sweat that were dripping into her eyes.

"Thank the Lord," Eve whispered, stroking the boy's hair back from his face as the doctor finished bandaging the wound.

Kara nodded and then plunged her hands into a basin of clean water, grabbing her bar of soap and scrubbing until her hands, arms and nails were free of blood. "What time is it," she suddenly asked as she dried off with an old towel.

"One forty-five," Janie replied, her face downcast. Kara sighed. She had fifteen minutes to get to the ceremony, but she looked a total mess.

Just then, she heard the clatter of hooves, reins and harnesses outside and her hand flew to her mouth as the door was flung open and a gaggle of people entered the clinic.

"What the hell is going on?" Kara demanded, shell-shocked. Then she grinned as Alex strode into the room, a bouquet of flowers grasped in her hand. The rancher was dressed in her best pants, boots and embroidered shirt and she was sporting a new red-velvet waistcoat with a gold watch and chain neatly peeking out of its pocket. Her hat had been laundered and sat crisply on top of her braided hair. She looked sexy as hell.

"Doctor Kara Zorel, we have…" Alex glanced at her watch. "Thirteen minutes to turn you into a bride and get to the ceremony." She looked around the room then. "Gentlemen, with me. Ladies, you know what to do." She handed the bouquet to her wife to be and grinned.

Kara laughed as Alex and her mates ducked out of the room and all of the women in her family converged on her. They stripped her clothes off, cloth-bathed her, fixed her hair, helped her into her undergarments and dress and added some light blush and lipstick to her face. Then the doctor stood in awe as they did the same for Eve and started on Janie... in record time.

Just then, there was a knock at the door and her patient's parents stuck their heads in. Kara bristled and walked to the father to poke his chest. "Your son will survive," she said harshly. "But you put your guns somewhere he can't get at them and you teach him that guns are NOT toys. Do you hear me?!" The man blinked in shock. "DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Yes, yes, Ma'am," he stuttered.

Kara nodded slowly. "Now, you and your wife will stay with him while he sleeps. He'll wake up in an hour or so. I'm getting married over in the pasture by the river. If anything goes wrong here, if he's in unmanageable pain or he stops breathing, you come and get me. I'll be back to check on him later."

"Ok, thanks, Doctor Zee. Thanks for saving his life."

"You're welcome," Kara replied. Then she turned to her entourage. "Ladies, we have a ceremony to get to."

Xx

Alex was standing nervously at the bottom of a makeshift aisle with Matty. Jonn and George were waiting at the top of the aisle and her friends and neighbors were milling around and chatting as they waited for the other bride to arrive.

"I don't expect her to be on time," Alex said quietly. "They only had thirteen minutes."

Matty cleared her throat and jutted her chin out. "Doctor Zee can do anything if she puts her mind to it," she said, chuckling softly. "Look, Alex."

The rancher turned and her breath caught in her chest as she saw Kara walking across the meadow, her family behind her. Alex almost laughed as she realized that Eve was still doing up the buttons of Janie's dress as they walked but she shook her head in amazement at the beauty of her lover. Kara was positively radiating joy and she smiled broadly as she locked eyes with her rancher.

"Time to go," Matty said, guiding Alex up the aisle as the band began the Wedding March. At the top, she kissed the rancher on the cheek. "I love you, Alex, and I'm so proud of you," she said, teary-eyed.

Alex hugged her hard. "I love you too."

Matty went to join the rest of the family and neighbors to watch as Kara's father met her at the bottom of the aisle and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful, Darling," he said. "I wish your mother could see this. Are you ready?

Kara, never taking her eyes off Alex's, spoke softly. "I've never been more ready for anything in my life."

Alex and Kara's souls welcomed each other so profoundly that tears rose in the doctor's eyes and trailed slowly down her cheeks. The rancher was holding her breath with anticipation and George elbowed her gently. He stuck his finger inside his collar and adjusted it a little, squeezing his hat in his other hand. "Don't lock your knees," he advised. "You don't want to keel over. And don't hold your breath."

"Yeah," Alex breathed out, barely hearing him and Jonn chuckled softly. They watched Rachel scatter rose petals along the ground as she walked toward Alex. Then it was the bridesmaids' turn, closely followed by Kara and her father. The rancher hugged each of them in turn and, a moment later, Jon was placing Kara's hand in Alex's. "You're both my daughters," he said, kissing each of them on the cheek in turn and then ducked away to stand with the rest of the family.

Kara and Alex turned to face each other as Jonn prepared himself to begin. "Hi," Kara said softly. "You ok?"

"So much better than ok," Alex replied with a smile. "You?"

"Yeah," the doctor replied. "It's been a day. Thanks for getting me to the altar on time."

"You'll have to explain how you pulled that miracle off later. You look so beautiful, Kara."

Jonn cleared this throat, catching their attention and garnering sheepish smiles. "Let's begin, shall we?" He lifted his voice to begin the ceremony. "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of these two women, Alexandra Danvers and Kara Zorel. God blesses all those who love unselfishly, and I believe that their union is blessed, since the love between them is both radiant and joyous."

Kara and Alex held hands tightly, nodding at each other. George held his hand out, the two gold rings, forged and tooled by Jonn, glinting in his palm.

"Without further delay, do you, Kara Zorel, take this woman, Alexandra Danvers, to be your wife?"

"I do," Kara said breathlessly.

"And do you, Alexandra Danvers, take this woman, Kara Zorel, to be your wife?"

"I do," Alex replied nodding hard.

"Now, Alex, please take a ring, place it on Kara's finger and repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."

Alex did as was asked but added some words of her own. "Kara, not only do I promise to love you forever, but I promise to take care of you for as long as I'm able. You are my everything." She slid the ring into place and smiled happily.

Jonn grinned. "Your turn, Kara."

The blonde nodded and slid Alex's ring onto her finger. "With this ring, I thee wed. You're my strength, my hope and my best friend, Alex. I promise to take care of you for as long as I'm able. You're MY everything."

Jonn smiled widely. "Then by the power vested in me by my two beloved friends here, I pronounce you married! You may both kiss the bride!"

The crowd yelled and applauded as Kara and Alex wrapped their arms around each other and kissed gently, then laughed as Kara turned them and dipped Alex, kissing her again, and sending flowers in all directions as they knocked over an arrangement.

The band suddenly started up and the standing crowd immediately grabbed partners and began to dance in celebration of the happy couple. Kara laughed as Matty grabbed her father and led him around in a dance he obviously didn't know, but he shrugged good-naturedly and went with it. Kara and Alex, pressed closely together, slow danced as their guests circled them in a lively jig.

"Well… we said come hell or high water," Kara said, grinning. "That's how we pulled off this miracle Alex. Both of us. I kept telling myself that nothing would stop me from being here, even if I had to turn up covered in blood and sweat. I had literally just finished the surgery when you all arrived at the clinic."

"How's the patient?" Alex asked gently.

"He'll make it," the doctor replied. "But I gave his father a tongue lashing. His stupidity almost got his son killed."

"Good," Alex replied. "And I'm glad that you didn't have to turn up in blood and sweat. Although, you're always beautiful to me, My Love."

"Sweet talker," Kara laughed. "But you know half of these folks would have fainted dead away if I'd turned up like that. I would have been treating them instead of marrying you."

"True but what I'm tryin' t'say is… I love you Kara, no matter what."

"I feel exactly the same way."

They shared another kiss as their friends continued to celebrate around them.

Xx

It was very late, and the wedding had wound down to just the family and close friends of the happy couple sitting around a campfire in Alex's favorite spot by the river.

"I'm full and a just a little drunk," Kara explained, poking Alex in the chest to make her point.

"A little?" Alex repeated incredulously as she held her wife up straight. "Winn, what have you been givin' her?"

"Jush a little shomethin' I got in from Meshico called tequiiiiiiiiila," her friend replied, obviously a lot more drunk than Kara was. "Putsh hair on your ballsh."

"Winn!" Alex exclaimed although she couldn't help but laugh too. "Watch your mouth in front of the ladies."

"Mom, what does he mean?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing, Darling," Shirley replied, eyes twinkling. "You'll find out when you're older."

"Actually, hopefully not," Kara interjected. "Where's Alex? Oh… there you are. HAHA!"

Myriah laughed and handed Alex a mug of coffee. "She only had two shots and a beer. Get that into her and get her walkin'. She'll be fine in an hour."

"Thanks," the rancher chuckled. "Alright, Doctor Zorel, let's get you up and walkin'. Goodnight, Everyone. See you tomorrow."

"G'night," Kara added. Then she looked at Alex intently. "Can I have your name?" She allowed her wife to link arms with her and tug her along.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked as she gave Kara some coffee.

"When people get married, don't they normally have the same last name?"

"Hmmm… you have a point. What if I was to take YOUR name?"

"But I like Danvers," Kara whined.

Alex chuckled. "Why don't we talk about it tomorrow when you're sober, Love."

"I'm not drunk."

"I beg to differ."

"I can walk in a straight line," the doctor disagreed. "Watch!" Alex grabbed the coffee mug before it took a nosedive and stood with her arms crossed as her wife wabbled along the river path. "See?! And I can touch my nose." Kara poked herself in the eye. "Ouch. Dammit. Who put that eye there?!"

The rancher laughed and kissed her wife's eyelid soothingly. "Tell you what, why don't you let me help you home. That's what wives do for the one they love. And look, I even brought you some coffee."

"Ok," Kara agreed amiably. She linked her arm through Alex's and took the mug, sipping from it slowly. They walked along the river path, the stars twinkling above them as they enjoyed the cool breeze. "I really would like to take your name," the doctor said softly. "I'd like to be Doctor Kara Danvers."

"Kara…"

"I'm sobering up, Alex. I realize I poked myself in the eye. Seriously though, when we have children, I'd like us all to have the same family name. Danvers is respected around here."

"So is Zorel," Alex replied.

"Maybe," the doctor replied with a little smile. "But my name doesn't have the history that yours does."

Alex thought about that for a while. "I just don't want you to regret giving up your name later on."

"My brothers will carry the name on," the blonde shrugged. "If I'd married a man, I would have been expected to take his name. I would have ended up Kara Madden if I'd married Joseph." Alex growled a little at the suggestion and Kara smiled affectionately. "I married you, Alex. I'd like to have your last name."

Alex took the empty coffee cup and hung it off her belt. "If that's what you really want, Love, then that's what we'll do."

Kara stopped them and kissed Alex gently. "I'd love that." She deepened the kiss and then pushed Alex slowly backwards until her back was pressed against a tree trunk, out of sight of the path. "It's our wedding night," the doctor whispered, unbuttoning Alex's waistcoat and shirt and slowly pushing her bra up to expose her breasts to the cool air.

"Uh huh," Alex agreed.

"There's no one around." She ducked her head and sucked on each nipple in turn as she trailed her fingernails down her wife's defined abdominal muscles.

"Uh huh," Alex agreed again, a little dazed from arousal.

"I want to be inside you right now."

"Uhhh…" Alex's eyes slid shut as Kara undid her pants and slowly slid her hand inside.

"Fucking you…"

"Kara…" Alex groaned, and Kara felt a sudden increase of wetness against her fingers as she slid them between the rancher's folds. She needed a better angle though, so she slipped Alex's pants down further and encouraged her to ease her thighs apart.

"Making you come…" Alex's hips jerked forward seeking more pressure. "That's it, Baby," she said gently, sucking on her wife's earlobe. She pushed two fingers inside her, loving the gasping moan the rancher made and began a steady rhythm that soon had Alex trembling against her. The rancher's knees unlocked, and Kara wrapped a strong arm around her waist, holding her against the tree with her own body as she continued to thrust into her.

"Kara…" Alex moaned. "Please…"

The doctor smiled tenderly. "I love you," she whispered as she pressed her thumb against Alex's center, circling the bundle of nerves and then rubbing it until the rancher cried out and her body convulsed in place. Her hands gripped Kara's arms with a strength that left finger marks on the doctor's skin. "I've got you, Love," Kara whispered, pressing little kisses to her wife's face and lips. "You're so beautiful."

"And you are amazing," Alex replied as she slowly straightened, knees working again, and fixed her clothes. "That was amazing."

Now almost fully sober, Kara grinned happily. "Let's get back to the house so you can get this dress off me. It has about a thousand little buttons."

"Oh, I intend on doing a whole lot more with your body than just getting that dress off of it."

Kara giggled softly. "Is that so, Mrs. Danvers?"

Alex nodded and wrapped her arms around her wife's waist kissing her soundly. "That's exactly so, Mrs. Danvers."

"God, I love the way your mind works," Kara sighed dreamily. "And I can't wait."

The End.