Chapter 24

Heath and Nick were gone most of the day on the farthest part of the ranch. Heath still hadn't felt his feet had touched the ground since he and Ellen had returned from the lodge. Nick was happy to see Heath acting this way. He'd been extremely worried about Heath's marriage to Ellen, but with the announcement of the coming baby and the smile that Heath constantly wore on his face, he knew things were going to be alright.

The sun was on its way West when they called it quits for the day, agreeing to meet up in the same spot the next day. Heath whistled all the way home, eager to see his wife. He handed Charger's reins to Ciego and went inside. Victoria told him Ellen was lying down since she wasn't feeling well. She hadn't had much morning sickness as of yet, and he figured it must be kicking in now.

He took the stairs by two and washed up before going in to see her. Ellen was lying on the bed still in her nightgown, a hand over her eyes.

"Hi, Love," he said softly.

"Hi," Ellen replied.

"Mother says you aren't feeling well. Junior giving you fits?" he asked, a small grin on his face.

"I guess."

"Feel like eating some supper? Mother and Silas almost have things ready."

"Yeah. Will you help me get my dress on?"

"I'm not much good at getting it on. I'm much better at getting it off," he responded as he brought the gown to her. He was pleased to hear Ellen laugh.

"Don't I know it. Somehow though, I don't think that's a talent we should share with everyone."

Heath buttoned up the back of her dress then waited while she brushed her hair. Ellen didn't bother with pulling it up, but just clipped it at the base of her neck. She looked pale to Heath's thinking, but he figured that was all part of the morning sickness.

Ellen didn't do much but pick at her food. She also didn't add much to the conversation. Her side had begun hurting during the meal and her shoulder was still giving her some trouble. All of a sudden, she felt nauseous. She excused herself, hoping to make it to the bathroom before she lost what little she'd eaten of her supper. She'd only taken a few steps when she collapsed. Heath was by her side immediately.

"Ellen! Ellen!" he cried out. Victoria was at his side and Silas ran into the room when he heard Heath shout Ellen's name.

"Silas, go ask one of the hands to get Dr. Merar. Heath, let's get her upstairs," Victoria ordered. Heath nodded and lifted his wife into his arms, carrying her up the stairs.

Ellen awakened about an hour later. She felt disoriented, but otherwise fine. Heath was at her side, a concerned look on his face.

"What happened?" she asked groggily.

"You fainted."

"Oh...I'm feeling much better now," she said as she began to sit up. Heath gently pushed her back down.

"No, Love. I want you to stay in bed until the doc sees ya."

"Oh, Heath. You didn't call him out here did you? I'm fine!" Ellen insisted. She started to get up again, but a sharp pain in her stomach caused her to cry out.

"Ellen!"

"Heath, it hurts," she said, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Where?"

"My stomach."

Just then, there was a knock at the door and Dr. Merar entered. He nodded to Heath then turned his attention to Ellen.

"What seems to be the problem young lady?" he asked, his kind eyes taking in her pale features.

Ellen told him of the pain in her stomach and that she'd fainted. He decided to do a full examination and asked Heath to leave the room.

"I wanna stay," he said.

"No, Heath. Go on downstairs," the doctor told him.

"I wanna stay," he insisted again.

"At least wait in the hallway. Please?" Ellen asked. Heath agreed reluctantly. He paced the outside of the room, Victoria waiting with him. It seemed like an eternity before Dr. Merar opened the door. Heath knew from the look in the other man's eyes that the news wasn't good.

"Is she losing the baby?" Heath asked.

The elderly doctor sighed. He looked to Victoria then back at Heath.

"Sometimes, for reasons we can't explain, a pregnancy doesn't go well. I've seen this before in other women. Ellen has complained of her shoulder hurting, her stomach...she has also fainted. She's been spotting some. Heath...whenever I've seen a woman in this condition..."

Heath saw the sorrow in the doctor's eyes.

"Just say it plain, Doc."

"I'm sorry, Heath. Unless there's a miracle, I don't think Ellen will survive the night."

The words hit Heath like a blow to his stomach. This wasn't happening. Ellen wasn't going to die. She couldn't!

"No," Heath said, backing away. "You're wrong. She isn't going to die."

Heath didn't say anything else to the doctor but went straight into the room to see Ellen. He could tell she was in a tremendous amount of pain. Dr. Merar gave her some laudanum that helped her rest easier, but Heath knew the doc did not hold out any hope. Heath never left her side that night, not even for a moment. It was just before sunrise that Ellen took her last breath. Heath was holding her, whispering in her ear how much he loved her. She opened her eyes briefly to look at him, then closed them in death.

Author's note: What Ellen has is now known as an ectopic or tubal pregnancy. This is where the fertilized egg forms in the fallopian tubes instead of the uterus. In today's time, it can be diagnosed fairly quickly and can be taken care of so the woman doesn't lose her life. However, back then, there was no way for doctors to know what was causing the issue and the mortality rate was extremely high.