Once again, Cat wasn't as hungry as she thought she was and had trouble finishing the food on her plate. When she was finished, Joe carried the tray into the kitchen. Cat started to lay down again and remembered that she hadn't fed Fury and Beauty so she got up off the settee and headed for the front door.

"Where are you going?" asked Ben. "You are sick and need to be on the settee or in bed under the blankets."

"I have to feed Fury and Beauty. They haven't been fed since this morning and they'll starve if I don't feed them."

"No you don't," said Adam.

"Yes I do. They're hungry and will die if they don't get anything to eat."

"You don't need to feed them. I took care of it when I fed Sport. Taking care of things like feeding horses is something family members do for each other when someone is sick. Nobody expects you to risk getting sicker by going out in the cold to take care of animals. One of us will also let your dogs out before you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning. All you have to worry about is getting well."

"Oh. Thank you."

"You're welcome little sister. Just remember, it's our job to take care of you, especially when you're sick or hurt. Do you feel like trying to do another drawing?"

"I guess I do."

"Good. Because just like with your guitar, the more you practice, the better you get at what you're doing." Adam turned the book to a different angle and Cat drew it the same way she did before. "No Cat. You have to draw it just the way it is. For example, Mrs. Devlin is sitting in my chair. If you were to draw her the way she is now, would you draw her laying on the floor?"

"No."

"That's right. You need to draw things the way they are. Just use the back of that paper and draw the book again." Cat turned the paper over and drew the book the way Adam had put it on the table. "Very good little sister. That's enough for now. We'll do more tomorrow. Right now, you need to snuggle back down under those covers for a little while. I'm pretty sure that Hop Sing wants you to inhale more steam with herbs in it before you go to bed, but right now, you need to be laying down."

A little while later, Cat's temperature went up again and she got too warm. She pulled some of the blankets off but was still too hot, so she decided to go outside for a little while and cool off. She started toward the door and Ben asked, "Cat, where are you going?"

"I'm hot so I'm going outside where it's cold."

Ben picked her up, hugged her, and felt her forehead. "That's not a good idea Sweetheart."

"Why not? I'm hot and it's cold outside so I won't be hot anymore."

"You're hot because you have a fever. If you go outside, you could get even sicker than you are now and nobody wants that to happen. Lay back down on the settee and I'll get a bowl of cold water and a wet a towel to put on your forehead. That will help you feel cooler."

"There's something else you're not thinking about Squirt," said Joe.

"What's that?"

"You're only wearing your long underwear, wool socks, robe, and slippers. If you go outside dressed like that, you'll be a Catsicle in just a few minutes. When you come inside, you'll melt and make a big puddle. Then Hop Sing will get all upset about the mess."

Cat giggled at Joe's words. Ben hugged her and said, "Now that's a sound I love hearing from my baby girl. Before you get upset, you will always be my baby girl. You will still be my baby girl even when you are one hundred years old and have great grandchildren. Remember, Joe is ten years older than you and he is and will always be my baby boy. Now let's get you back on the settee and under the covers."

Before she went to bed, Hop Sing had Cat breathe more steam and drink more soup. He also gave her more tea to drink and put a little bit of an herb in it to help her sleep. When Ben carried her upstairs to bed, Hoss said, "I'll be up to read with ya in a few minutes Punkin."

As Hoss was walking toward the stairs, Abel said, "When you're done reading with Cat, leave her door open. That way if she needs something, her dogs can come and get one of us."

The adults sat in the great room, talking when Ben said, "Mary, I was going to tell you and Dan after church, but Cat got sick. Cat has taught her friends how to tell tall tales."

"What do you mean by tall tales?" asked Mary.

"Silly little things. For example, when I took Cat to Carson City so she could do her Christmas shopping, Adam, Hoss, and Joe gave her money to buy things for me. When I asked her where the money came from, she said she took it out of the safe. Since she doesn't know the combination, I asked her how she got it open and she said she stood in front of it and said Open Sesame, like in the story about Ali Baba. When I asked her how much money she took, she said that she had taken a million dollars but left ten million in the safe. I thought the children were late getting back from ice skating yesterday, but Hoss found them in the barn, petting and hugging our horses. Mike said that they had been petting Fury and the girls had been hugging and kissing him, and our horses got jealous so they had to spend time petting them too. Mary said that Cochise had turned green with envy until they started hugging and kissing him too."

Mary laughed. "That little girl is quite the scamp, isn't she? You're right, those stories are very funny. Jealous horses, including one that turns green. Now I've heard everything. I wish I had been here to see Joe's horse turn green. I can't wait to see Dan's reaction to whatever tall tales Mike has to tell. I guess I'd better tell Betsy and Ted so they don't think Jasper's up to something. I'm sure they'll enjoy the laugh."

"Cat has a very active imagination. When she and Laura showed me their arithmetic tests, both of them had forgotten to reduce the answer for the last problem to lowest terms. When I asked them if they had forgotten how to do that, Cat said she had to use the outhouse and her test said it would run away if she did, so she just turned it in. Laura said her test threatened to bite her if she reduced the last answer, so she just turned it in. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss having those children around the house. It's been too many years since this house was filled with the sound of children's laughter and it was nice hearing it again."

"I understand completely. I want to do something for Cat that I would do if I had a daughter. I would like to start a hope chest for her."

"I think that Liz had one, but I'm not even sure what it is or what goes in it."

Mary laughed. "I'm not surprised. Your sister could probably tell you what was in hers and I'm sure she's going to pass it down to her daughter, if she hasn't already. A hope chest contains things a girl will need when she gets married, things like tablecloths, linens, dishes, and clothes. It also contains heirlooms and family keepsakes such as letters and photographs. When Cat gets close to her sixteenth birthday, I plan on writing to your sister and asking if she's planning to come here and have a quilting party for her. If not, I will do that for Cat. I have already told her the same thing that Caroline has, and that is if she ever has any questions only a mother can answer, she is free to come and ask me. I know that Caroline has told you that when the girls are old enough, she is going to talk to them about the changes their bodies will go through as they approach womanhood."

"Yes she has and I am very grateful for that. I wouldn't know where to begin or what to say. Thank you for offering to start a hope chest for Cat. That's something I never thought about. Raising a girl is so much different than raising boys that sometimes I feel lost. I have learned that her feelings are very easily hurt and that she takes everything literally. When we had the first snowfall, she wanted to play in the snow before breakfast. I told her no, the only things we did before breakfast were chores and because I didn't tell her she would be able to play in the snow after breakfast, she became very upset and went out to play in it with her puppies anyway. When the girls were painting Caroline's cart, Adam asked her to run up to his room and get some of his old shirts, so she started running through the house. When I asked her why she was running through the house she told me it was because Adam told her to."

"Yes, girls do get their feelings hurt very easily. They also tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves. Even though he was at sea a lot, Abel helped raise a daughter and I'm sure he can tell you what she was like when she was a girl. Unless her mother had one, why don't you and I plan on taking Cat to Carson City in the spring so we can buy a hope chest for her?"

"I don't know if Kate had a hope chest or not. Why don't you and I ride over to her and Michael's house after breakfast tomorrow and see what's there? I haven't been there in a while and need to see what kind of repairs need to be done on it. That way, when Cat get married, she and her husband can live there if they want to."

"I would enjoy that. Maybe we'll find something there to bring back for Cat to remember her parents by."

"Yes, we might just find something."

"It would be nice if we did. If someone will please tell me which bedroom I'm using, I'm going to go and get ready for bed. I'd like to do a little reading before going to sleep. I don't know if you normally sleep with your bedroom doors closed or not, but until Cat is better, I suggest that everyone sleep with them open. That way you'll hear if she calls you or her dogs can get you if necessary."

"That's an excellent idea Mary," said Adam. "I'll show you to your bedroom. I want to check and see if Cat has enough wood for the fire in her room while I'm up there." After showing Mary to her room, Adam checked on Cat and had to chuckle at the sight of her snuggled between her dogs. He walked to his room, took a drawing pad and pencil off his desk, walked back into Cat's room and drew her and her dogs on the bed. Before going back downstairs, he petted each dog, kissed Cat on her forehead, whispered that he loved her, and put another log on her fire.

When Adam returned to the great room, Ben asked, "How is your sister?"

Adam handed him the drawing and said, "Sleeping like a baby. Her temperature's down and hopefully it will stay that way all night."

"I hope so too son. Nothing would make me happier than for her to be feeling somewhat better in the morning."

Cat's temperature went up during the night and she woke up and started coughing. Ben forgot to leave his bedroom door open, so Lassie and Silver Chief woke everyone else. Abel went downstairs to get a bowl of cold water to try and bring Cat's temperature down. Hop Sing had heard everyone stirring upstairs and already had water boiling so Cat could breathe in the steam and to make tea for her cough. Hoss looked at all of the blankets Ben had piled on top of Cat and asked, "Mary, do ya think little sister really needs six blankets on top of her? The fire is going strong, it's real hot in here and them dogs sleep right up next to her. She might be cooler ifn she didn't have so many blankets on her."

"That's good thinking Hoss," said Abel walking into the room. "What do you think Mary, shall we remove one or two blankets from the bed?"

"We should take three of them off of Cat. However, instead of removing them from the bed completely, why don't we fold them at the end of the bed for tonight? That way if Cat gets cold, one of us can cover her back up again without having to look for them. If Paul doesn't come out here tomorrow or Tuesday, someone will need to take those quilts back to Virginia. I'm sure you have more than enough blankets to keep your sister warm."

Hop Sing walked into the room carrying a bowl of steaming hot water. "Little Joe go and get tray and get towel from settee. Number two son help Missy Cat sit up so she can breathe steam."

Adam noticed how hot it was in Cat's room. "Mary, do you think it will hurt Cat if we open one of the windows for a few minutes to cool it off a little in here?"

"No, I don't think it will hurt as long as it's not the one facing the bed. I think Cat will be more comfortable once it's cooler in here."

It took almost an hour, but they got Cat's temperature down and the room cooled off. Hop Sing gave her more tea to drink for her cough and put an herb in it to help her sleep.

At breakfast, Ben said, "I'm glad Cat was able to sleep all night. Her dogs didn't wake me at all during the night."

"Catherine did not sleep all night" replied Abel. "You didn't leave your door open so the dogs couldn't wake you!"

"Why didn't any of you wake me?"

"There was no need. Obviously you decided that getting a full night's sleep was more important than helping your sick daughter. The rest of us left our doors open and were able to help her. Hop Sing even had his door open."

Before Ben could answer, Mary scolded him too. "What were you thinking when you put six blankets, including two quilts on Catherine and put enough wood on her fire to last until tomorrow morning? That room was like an oven when we went in there and the poor child was miserable. We had to open the window and cool it off in there so she would be more comfortable and sleep better. I know that Paul said to keep her warm, but you went overboard."

Ben started to say something but Lassie appeared on the landing and barked. "Go and take care of your daughter," said Mary. "She needs you."

Ben walked into Cat's room and found her struggling to get dressed, coughing the entire time. "Good morning Kitten. Why are you getting dressed?"

"'Cause I gotta hurry so I can eat breakfast before I go to school. I don't want to get in trouble for being late."

Ben hugged her tightly. "You are sick Sweetheart and will not be going to school until you're well again. Sick children don't to go school. The only place you're going today is downstairs to the settee. Hop Sing has breakfast ready and you need to breathe more steam with herbs in it. I'm sure he's got some tea ready for you too. I know you don't like breathing the steam and drinking the tea, but you need to so you're breathing will get better and you won't cough as much. Let's get your clothes off of you and your robe and slippers on. Do you need to use the pot?"

"Yes."

"Ok. I'll help you get your clothes off and I'll carry your pillows and blankets downstairs while you're taking care of your needs. Then I'll come back and carry you downstairs. Would you like me to take the doll you got from the Ingalls downstairs also?"

"Yes please."

"I will be more than happy to do that for you and I'll take your favorite blanket downstairs too."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Sweetheart. I'll be back up here to get you in just a few minutes." He carried Cat pillows, blankets, and doll down to the settee. Once he got everything arranged, Ben walked into the dining room and said, "It's a good thing Lassie let us know Cat needed help. She was trying to get dressed because she thought she had to go to school even though she's sick. I don't know where she got that idea because I'm positive Matt never made her go to school when she was sick. You boys didn't tell your sister that she would have to go to school when she was sick, did you?"

Adam Hoss and Joe replied that they hadn't and wouldn't, even as a joke.

Mary expressed her opinion on the subject. "Since I know she's always trying to get out of going to school, Cat may have misunderstood something you said. Also, it's been a long time since you've had a young child in the house and may have forgotten that they sometimes get funny ideas that may not be true."

"You're probably right. I'd better go and see if she's ready to come downstairs yet. She needs to breathe some steam, eat, and get under the covers so she'll stay warm."

While Cat was eating breakfast, Ben asked, "Cat, why were you getting dressed to go to school when you're so sick?"

"'Cause Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip said I couldn't spend the summer with them if I didn't go to school."

"You misunderstood what they said. They didn't say you couldn't spend the summer with them if you didn't go to school. They said you wouldn't be able to spend the summer with them if you skipped school. Staying home from school because you're sick is not skipping. Neither is staying home because the weather is too bad for you to ride that far or if we're snowed in. Nobody expects children to go to school when they're sick. Didn't you ever miss school in Dodge because you were sick?"

"I don't think so. I didn't get sick much."

"I'm glad you didn't get sick much and I hope that this is the last time you will be sick for a very long time. I see you've finished your breakfast. Would you like some more food?"

"Maybe some more eggs and toast with strawberry preserves on it."

"Hand me your plate and I'll ask Hop Sing to make some for you. Adam, Hoss, Joe, I need the three of you to make sure the cattle have enough food and salt. Take a few hands with you. Many hands make light work, it's snowing in the mountains and I don't want anyone caught out in a blizzard. Mary, if we're going to go for that ride we talked about last night, we need to go now because you may need to head for home before too long. Cat, Mrs. Devlin and I are going for a short ride. Stay out of mischief and behave for your grandfather and Hop Sing."

"Awwwww. You're no fun. I was going to go up to the hayloft and ride the rope down to the ground."

Ben hugged Cat and kissed her on top of her head. "Little Scamp! I'd better not catch you riding that rope down from the hayloft, especially when you're just wearing your long underwear, robe, and slippers. If I do, I will tickle you until you wet your pants. Then I will go to school and tell all of your classmates what you did. I will also make you ride to school facing backwards on a mule. Stay under the covers so you don't get cold. If you need anything, ask your grandfather or Hop Sing to get it for you."

Before leaving with his brothers, Adam put a sketch pad, pencil, and eraser on the table in front of the settee. "If you feel up to it, take a few minutes and practice your drawing. Just pick anything you can see from the settee and try to draw it. However, since you're still learning, I recommend picking something easy. Would you like me to get a book for you before I leave?"

"Yes please."

"Which one would you like?"

"I don't know. One we haven't read yet."

Adam walked upstairs to Cat's room, took a book from her bookcase and her journal and a pencil from her desk. "I brought Gulliver's Travels for you to read and I also brought your journal in case you want to write in it."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome Little Sister. Now stay under the covers so you're warm and will get well sooner. I've got to go and help Hoss, Joe, and some of the hands feed the cattle. Oh and no riding the rope down from the hayloft until you're well again and I'm here to draw you doing it."

Ben and Mary walked out to the barn and Ben started to saddle her horse. "I think it would be a better idea if we took a buckboard or the buggy," said Mary. "That way if we find anything to bring back here, we won't have to make a second trip."

"I didn't even think about that. You're right of course. If Kate had a hope chest, it would be very hard to bring it back here on horseback."

Ben drove the buckboard and about fifteen minutes later, stopped in front of a medium sized house. The paint had faded and some of the porch steps and boards were rotting due to years of neglect, but it was obvious that it had been painted blue with yellow and green trim. "Adam drew the plans and the four of us built this as a wedding gift for Kate and Michael. Joe was only eight at the time, but he helped as much as he could. He hammered nails and painted the porch and doors. Considering his age, he did a very good job with the painting."

"Since Cat may want to move in her when she gets married, once the snow has melted, you and the boys may want to come over here, check the condition of the roof, and start doing any necessary repairs. That way all you'll have to do until then is regular maintenance."

"That's an excellent idea. I'll mention it to them tonight. If we don't get any snow tonight, we should at least be able to check the roof tomorrow and make any necessary repairs to it. I've hated seeing this house sit empty for so many years, but it will still be quite a few years before Cat is old enough to marry and move into it." They walked inside and Mary saw a four bedroom house that had been designed to have more rooms added to it if necessary. "Go ahead and look around. Let me know if you see anything Cat might like to have right now."

Mary opened a bedroom door and was delighted to find a nursery. "This must have been Cat's room. I love how the walls were painted to look like a forest with baby animals in it. No wonder she loves animals so much. That cradle is wonderful. It's got animals carved into it. I wonder why the crib wasn't painted like that."

"The walls and carvings on the cradle were Hoss' idea. Adam cut the wood for the cradle, Hoss carved it, and Joe stained it. I guess the reason the crib was never painted like the walls and cradle is because the war started and Michael left for the Army. He was killed and Kate took Cat and went to live with our father. Hopefully this room will be used again when Cat grows up. I can't even begin to tell you how much I want grandchildren. Joe's the only one of the boys who's courting right now, I'm not sure how serious he is, and Cat is still too young to even think about it."

"Don't give up just yet. From what Mitch has told me, I think that Joe is very serious about Sally Ann. I've seen him at the dances and, except for Cat and her friends, she is the only girl he dances with. I think the problem is Sally Ann's father. Amos doesn't seem to want to accept the fact that his little girl has grown up. I predict that you're going to be the same way when Cat is old enough to start courting. Amos also worried about Joe's reputation with the girls and doesn't want his daughter to get hurt. Joe's temper tantrum about not being able to see Winnemucca's daughter is a prime example. I'll have Mitch talk to Joe and get him to stop flirting with every pretty girl he sees. If Joe does, it will show Amos that he's growing up and Amos may say yes when Joe asks permission to marry Sally Ann. Now, let's explore some other rooms. I want to see if your sister had anything we could give to Cat right now."

Mary closed the nursery door and opened the door to the room next to it, which turned out to be the master bedroom. The room was light and airy and Mary fell in love with it. "This is beautiful Ben. Your sister and her husband had wonderful taste. I love how open it is and how light everything is. The darkest thing in here is the chest at the end of the bed and it's cedar, so it's not that dark. I can't wait to see what's in it. With your permission, I'd like to bring Daniel over here one day to see this room. We've been talking about redoing ours and he doesn't seem to understand what I want to do."

"Yes Mary, you may bring Dan over here anytime you want to. Good luck getting what you want. Let's see what's in this chest."

Ben opened the chest's lid and couldn't believe his eyes. His sister's wedding gown was on top of a lot of other things. Then he noticed an envelope on top of the gown. He picked it up, opened it and started reading. "It's from Kate to Cat."

"Ben, I don't think you should read it. It was written from a mother to her daughter and I think Cat should read it before you do. In fact, I think we should take this chest, which appears to be your sister's hope chest, back to your house for Cat to go through when she's feeling better. It looks like there's a quilt under the wedding dress, so why don't we put it on top of the dress and ask Cat if she'd like to put it over the foot board on her bed? I'll ask if she'd like me to come over and be with her when she goes through the chest. If she does, the three of us will arrange a date to do it. You need to be there too when she goes through it and reads the letter from her mother. It's a shame Victoria lives in California as I think she should be here also."

"You are correct of course. Cat should definitely read this letter before I do. I'll write a letter to Vicki when we get back to the house and see if any of the hands are planning on going into town today. If they are, I'll ask them to mail the letter for me. If not, I'll mail it tomorrow. Given the weather, I don't think she'll be able to come now, but at least she'll know that we found Kate's hope chest and Cat has it. I don't think there's much of anything in the other bedrooms because Kate had such a hard time giving birth to Cat, Paul told her having more children could kill her. However, it would be a good idea to look around because at least I'll be able to see if the roof leaks."

"Considering the fact that this house hasn't been used since Cat was a baby, I'm surprised at the lack of dust in it. I wonder if someone has been coming over here occasionally and cleaning."

"Now that you mention it, this place is very clean for not having been used in more than eight years. I do know that the boys came over & brought the things they and Michael made for Cat, back to the house. Maybe Hop Sing has been coming over here."

They walked through the house and although they didn't find anything else of great interest, Ben was pleased to note that there were no signs that the roof had been leaking anywhere. He put the chest on the buckboard and he and Mary drove back to the main house. He stopped the wagon by the porch, helped Mary down, and put the chest on the porch. "I'll carry this in once I've taken care of the team."

"Ok. I'll see you inside. I'm going to get a cup of Hop Sing's coffee and try to steal him away from you."

Ben just laughed and drove the wagon to the barn. He carried Kate's hope chest into the house, showed it to Cat and said, "Mrs. Devlin and I went over to your parents house and we found your mother's hope chest."

"What's a hope chest?"

"A hope chest is a wooden chest that stores special items for a girl to use when she gets married" replied Mary.

"Oh. I wonder if I would have had one if I was still in Dodge."

"I'm sure Kitty would have started one for you," said Ben.

"Can I look in Mama's now?"

"We'll look and see what's in it when you're feeling better. Mrs. Devlin said she'll come over and help us if you want her to. We did find one thing you might want to have now." He opened the chest and took the quilt out. "This was your mother's quilt. It smells musty because it's been in that chest for a long time. Once it's been washed we can hang it over the end of your bed or you can use it. It will be your decision. Right now, I'm going to ask Hop Sing to wash it the next time he does laundry."

a/n: I'm not sure when I'll be able to publish the next chapter. I have dislocated my left shoulder four times since the end of June and will be having surgery on April 7. I'll be in a sling for at least 4 weeks & it may be the entire 4 weeks before I'll be allowed to use the arm.