AUTHOR'S NOTE:

After a hiatus of over two months, this cowboy AU tale is back!

But before we begin to dive into the nineteenth century, I wish to thank everyone who read my recently completed fanfic The Fire Within: The Fire Witch Incident. You guys are awesome! Hugs to you and to the commenters on the final chapter: StoryMaker7, lovesgod12, TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, Kai Lover911, INFJwriter, AveXCninja11, and Guest.

(Note to Guest, which must be done here since I can't respond otherwise: I encourage you to create an account, or at least give yourself a moniker, because I'm fairly sure you've previously made nice comments on my chapters! And you have a good memory about the timing of the cowboys' babies in my AU story. Indeed, one cowboy will not make it home in time for his baby's birth!)

My poll on where Kai and Sam should go on their honeymoon is still up and will be for a while, so I encourage you to vote if you haven't already done so. Thanks to those who have cast their ballot!

And now, back to the nineteenth century...I wish to thank all eight wonderful commenters on the previous chapter of this cowboy yarn: lovesgod12, MMM, StoryMaker7, TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, AveXCninja11, Naruby7, SwimmerNinja13, and JayFan67!

In Chapter 20 below, the men on the reconnaissance mission have returned to camp with the wounded Zane, whose face was severely injured by the strike of a Purple soldier's sword. That Purple soldier is now a prisoner of the Yellow army, having been captured in a daring chase by Kai, Jay, and their cowboy friend...


Chapter 20 - Many Worries

On the way back to camp, Kai found out that Lieutenant Pierce had seen him chasing the Purple soldier, and thus the officer had given orders for Jay (the best horseman in the group) and Michael Donlan (the best roper after Kai) to join in the chase of the Purple scumbag who had wounded Zane.

It was now twilight in the Yellow camp. The Purple lieutenant had been processed as a prisoner of war.

The tale of the afternoon events of the Company C contingent was circulating around camp. Wherever Kai had traveled in the camp during the last few hours, he had been congratulated by his fellow Yellows for his part in the capture of the Purple.

But worry for Zane overshadowed any pride he might have felt otherwise. Zane had undergone surgery in the field hospital and would need to be transferred to a military hospital in Sasnak City when his condition was stabilized. He had lost a lot of blood.

Kai, along with Cole and Jay, was with Captain Noonan when the officer sent the explanatory telegram to Mr. Wu, who Zane had designated as his next of kin.

At supper, the men who had gone on the reconnaissance mission ate together. Except for Cole, who said he was not hungry. Cole wished to stay by the field hospital, near the wounded Garmadon Ranch cowboy.

The normally rowdy banter among the men in the mess tent was subdued tonight. After supper, they each went their separate ways around the camp. Jay said he was going back to the sleep tent he shared with Cole, in order to start another letter to Nya. Kai went for a walk. He had a destination in mind.

Cole was seated on the ground against a barrel in front of the field hospital, idly tossing pebbles as Kai approached him.

"Howdy, pardner," the brown-haired cowboy said in greeting.

"Howdy," the black-haired cowboy replied listlessly, looking up briefly before he returned to tossing pebbles.

Kai seated himself beside his friend. "You all right?" he asked.

Cole threw a few more small rocks before answering. He turned to Kai, his face pinched and his eyes wide.

"There was so much blood, Kai. And pieces of flesh not meant to be seen by any human…"

Kai put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "And from what I hear, you did everything right, Cole. You wrapped his wound and put him on his horse all by yourself and got him back to camp right away. You were the best one out of all of us to be there when it happened."

Cole looked back at the ground. "It was awful."

Kai realized his fellow cowboy was not handling the event of this afternoon very well.

"I think maybe you should eat something now, Cole. You haven't had any grub since this morning." Kai fished through the pockets of his uniform and found some dried apple slices wrapped in cloth. "Have these. These are from the package sent by our wonderful Garmadon Ranch ladies," he smiled, handing over the small bundle.

Cole accepted the bundle. After slowly unwrapping the cloth, he picked up a piece of apple and studied it.

"Brooke said she's been wanting to make an apple pie," he said before taking a bite.

"Well, with Miss Gayle teaching her, she'll be baking the best apple pies in the whole county in no time!" Kai assured him. He hoped to get Cole's mind off the horror of the afternoon, and it appeared that the tall cowboy's discussion of the subject of apple pie was working to change his focus.

Suddenly an orderly, who they knew by the nickname of Shorty, rushed out of the hospital tent, carrying a piece of paper, a bottle of ink, and a pen. He stopped when he saw Kai and Cole. Knowing them to be part of Company C, he asked, "Have you seen Captain Noonan?"

"I saw him eating with the officers in the mess tent at supper, but not since then," Kai informed him.

Shorty looked in the direction of the tent, about a half-mile away. "I'll start looking there." He then looked at the piece of paper in his hand. "I have to get a signature from him. Since you're friends of Corporal Falk, you'll want to know that he's being transferred to the military hospital in Sasnak City tonight. The wagon leaves within an hour."

The two cowboys looked at each other. "So that means he's doing better?..." Kai's voice trailed off.

Shorty grimaced. "It just means he's stable enough to travel, because we can't do anything further for him here."

"Can we see him?" Cole asked, stuffing the bundle of apple slices in a uniform pocket while standing up.

Shorty nodded. "That would be all right. He's sedated right now, though, so he's not responsive."

"I'll go get Jay, so he can see Zane before the wagon leaves," Kai volunteered as he stood up to head toward Jay and Cole's tent, which was located right next to the one occupied by Kai and Rusty McKanna.

The brown-haired cowboy paused for a moment before setting out. "Should I collect Zane's personal effects?" Zane shared a tent with another corporal from Company C.

"That would save me a task if you would. Much obliged," the orderly gratefully replied.

"All right. I'll buckle to it," Kai agreed, turning in the direction of the sleep tents as Shorty led Cole into the field hospital.


A short while later, the Garmadon Ranch hands and Captain Noonan were assembled around the bed of their injured friend, waiting for the wagon to appear at the hospital so he could be loaded into it. Zane was unconscious and barely recognizable, with bandages covering most of his face.

Kai had brought Zane's knapsack containing his belongings from his tent. Now he was filling it with the items that Zane had been carrying in his uniform pockets at the time he was struck with the Purple soldier's sword. The nurses had placed the items on the bedside table after removing them from the bloody clothes of the wounded soldier.

Kai came across the empty binoculars case and looked around for the prized antique that was meant to be housed in it.

He looked under the table and the bed, but to no avail.

"Has anyone seen Zane's binoculars?" he asked. "They don't seem to be around."

"I haven't seen them since he was looking through them at the reconnaissance spot," Cole answered.

Captain Noonan frowned. "I'd find it hard to believe that someone around here would have stolen them. Everyone I've talked to has expressed sympathy for Zane's plight at the hands of that Purple rascal."

"I remember looking through them and laughing at that Purple Company's lasso skills," Kai recalled, "and I remember giving them back to Zane after Michael looked through them, too." In his mind, he quickly recounted the rest of their reconnaissance to come up with a clue as to the whereabouts of Zane's family heirloom.

Then he remembered a moment that made him feel uneasy.

At the moment he and Cole had returned to their hiding spot to see where Zane was, Kai remembered the clink of metal as the Purple soldier hollered in pain and dropped his gun. Had Zane thrown the binoculars at him?

If so, the binoculars ended up on the ground, where they could be found by the enemy army. If they had been unmarked, that would be one thing, but Kai had noticed Zane's identifying leather tag with the words "Zane Falk, Garmadon Ranch/Ninjago Town" from when he himself had looked through them.

Kai swallowed, hoping that the missing binoculars would not somehow end up endangering the residents of Garmadon Ranch. He felt sick at the thought of his beloved wife Sam ever becoming a civilian prisoner of those Purple varmints.

"Well, I reckon we can send the binoculars to him once we find them," Kai said, mustering up false cheeriness. He remained silent about his theory about where they ended up, not wanting to cause his fellow cowboys to worry about their women any more than they already did. He would speak to Captain Noonan later.


As the cowboys stood and watched Zane's wagon disappear into the darkness of the evening, they wondered if they'd ever see their friend again. To them, the patient had looked gravely ill.

A thought crossed Kai's mind. In addition to the day Morro had left him stranded in the desert, Kai could now add another entry to the list of worst days in his life…

Today. June 22.