AUTHOR'S NOTE:

YEE HAW! In the USA, Cartoon Network will finally begin to air Season 6, beginning on Thursday of this week!

I am SO HONORED at the wonderful response to the previous chapter of this soldier tale! The comments from lovesgod12, FirstFandomFangirl, StoryMaker7, MasterOfCupcakes (formerly known as Guest), TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, AveXCninja11, MMM, and Naruby7 were priceless!

Additional thanks go to Naruby7, who also commented on my Fire Witch story, and to Awesam132 for commenting on my Valentine story!

And since May 1, Kairocksrainbow, MasterOfCupcakes, and RhetoricalAnswer faved me as an author. You folks and the other 16 are just so awesome!

In the chapter below, several references to events from my first fanfic The Fire Within a Ninjago Cowboy appear. The original accounts are in Chapters 10, 23, 27, 30, and 34.

As the chapter below opens, the focus switches back to Garmadon Ranch. When we last left the ladies at the end of Chapter 16, the current day was June 24th. Chapters 17-20, the war action, occurred on June 22nd, a sort of a flashback to two days earlier. Now we are back to June 24th, just a few hours after the end of Chapter 16. The ladies are about to discover what happened with the cowboys...


Chapter 21 - Unorthodox Idea

Mr. Wu returned at suppertime, just like he said he would.

He and the four ladies of Garmadon Ranch sat at the dining room table for the evening meal. The atmosphere remained subdued after the delivery of the ominous letters from the cowboys.

One positive aspect of the gathering was that Brooke felt less nauseous than she did earlier in the day, and thus she had joined the group, though she didn't eat much.

The subdued atmosphere of the gathering, however, turned even more somber when Mr. Wu read to them the telegram he had picked up from town earlier in the day, along with the letters. The message, sent by his friend Captain Noonan of Company C of the 5th Ninjago Cavalry, informed him that Zane had been severely injured from the strike of an enemy's sword to his face while on a reconnaissance mission, and he would need to be transported to Sasnak City for further treatment.

The Captain concluded the telegram by commending the actions of Cole in swiftly seeking help for Zane, as well as the efforts of Kai and Jay in apprehending the enemy assailant.

A pall settled over the dining room table, with the nearly finished supper forgotten as the ladies dabbed their eyes with their kerchiefs after Mr. Wu had finished reading the telegram. They were horrified at the atrocity committed against their friend.

"Poor lad," Miss Gayle murmured, shaking her head sorrowfully at the plight of the platinum-haired cowboy.

"I'm sorry for not bringing this to the attention of you ladies earlier," the ranch owner apologized as he slowly folded the paper and placed it back in his vest pocket. "I didn't want to interfere with your joy of reading the letters from the boys. And...I reckon I needed a little time to absorb the bad news myself."

So that's why he skedaddled after delivering the mail, Sam realized.

"Well, as it turned out, there wasn't a whole lot of joy from their letters anyway," Nya pointed out, referring to the fact that each cowboy's missive to his wife discussed the topic of his possible death in battle.

"So I heard. Miss Gayle told me," Mr. Wu commented, stroking his beard. He sighed. "I'm planning to travel to see Zane. Not sure yet where I'll be going, whether it would be down south to the military camp or straight to Sasnak City. Depends on what I hear from Noonan tomorrow about Zane's condition."

He continued. "I'm also not sure yet exactly what day I'll be going. Depends on whether Lloyd can spare some time from his sheriff duties to tend the cattle while I'm gone. Bo won't be able to do it all by himself," he added, speaking of his gardener who had assumed cow herding duties when the four cowboys departed for the war.

"Seems like all the able bodied young men in the county are either in the war or taking the duties of someone in the war," he lamented. "If I could just hire an additional person, that would make running the ranch a mite easier."


Later that evening, after the supper dishes were washed and put away, Sam wandered down the hall to Mr. Wu's office with a cup of tea in her hand. The door was open. Peeking in before making her presence known, she observed the ranch owner sitting at his desk, which was covered by a large scattering of papers. He was leaning forward with one elbow on the desk, supporting his forehead with his hand in a gesture of tiredness.

"Excuse me, Mr. Wu," she said softly so as not to startle him.

"Oh, howdy, Sam," he replied, lifting his head to look up at her. "Come and set for a spell," he offered, waving his hand in a motion for her to come inside.

"I thought you might like some tea," she said, carefully walking in and placing the cup of hot liquid on an empty spot on his desk.

"Thank you kindly," he smiled. "It'll help me get through some of the dang paperwork I haven't yet touched due to being on the range so much more these days."

Sam settled herself on the office desk chair on the opposite side of the ranch owner. "Actually, Mr. Wu, my reason for being here right now is related to that subject. I was thinking that Blossom and Blaze and I could help with the cattle while you're gone," she offered, mentioning the horse that Kai had presented to her on her birthday last September, as well as the dog that Kai had given to her last Christmas.

"You mean you're offering to do some cow herding?" the older man asked quizzically as he took a sip of tea.

Sam nodded, folding her hands on the desk. "Yes, sir. You've been so good to Kai, and to me, and I'd like to help you out and repay you for your kindness."

Mr. Wu put down the cup and gave her a wry smile. "You do realize it's a smelly and messy job, and also sweaty in the summertime?"

"Yes, sir," Sam replied. She knew Mr. Wu was trying to discourage her unorthodox idea, since women did not ordinarily herd cattle, so she wanted to prove her awareness of the pitfalls of the work. "That's the way Kai has come home every day from the range - smelly and messy!"

The ranch owner laughed. Leaning over the desk, he patted her folded hands. "Touché!" he exclaimed, admiring the clever point she had just made. He leaned back in his chair. "But I'm just not sure it's a good arrangement. Miss Gayle told me her suspicions about Brooke's condition and that she'll be depending on you more as her pregnancy progresses, and Nya's, too."

Sam looked away and frowned. Miss Gayle had told her that, too.

She pressed her lips together in thought. "I could help her in the evenings," the young woman suggested. "The sun stays up later in the summertime, and the floor doesn't care what time it gets swept."

The older man smiled but he quickly brought up another obstacle. "But what about the danger of rustlers? Once or twice a year we get a little trouble from those varmints."

"Mr. Wu, I've faced danger before. Morro kidnapped me, drugged me, and tried to rape me. And I'm still here," she replied, reminding him of last year's shenanigans of her former saloon boss, who was now deceased.

Mr. Wu had to agree that Sam was a resilient young woman.

The white-bearded man sighed. "All right. Why don't you get some work clothes ready, and tomorrow, right after breakfast, we'll go out on the range, and Bo and I can show you some things. And, Sam," he concluded, leaning forward in his chair, "thank you for your kind offer. I knew Kai picked a good woman when he chose to marry you!"

Sam laughed as she blushed at the compliment. "I should be the one thanking you, Mr. Wu, for allowing me to help you," she responded gratefully as she stood up to leave. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night!"


Upstairs in one of the spare bedrooms, Sam found the set of work clothes Kai had worn the day before leaving for the war. His garments, as well as those of the other cowboys, had since been laundered and were now hanging in the armoire. A lump formed in her throat when she spotted Zane's clothes.

I hope he'll be wearing them again someday soon, she thought.

She took her husband's attire and brought the items back into the bedroom she shared with Brooke, closing the door after her. The willowy brunette was sitting at the small writing table, composing a letter to Cole.

"So what are you doing with those?" Brooke asked.

"I'm going to try them on," Sam answered, laying the clothes on the bed. "Tomorrow morning I'm going out on the range with Mr. Wu and Bo."

Brooke's jaw dropped. "You're what?"

"I told Mr. Wu I was willing to help tend the cattle till he gets back from traveling to see Zane," the blue-eyed woman said, unbuttoning her dress. "I figure it's the least I could do, after he let me stay here for two weeks last summer when I hurt my back in Skeleton Territory, and he hosted that wonderful wedding barbecue for Kai and me and Jay and Nya."

"He IS a very generous man," Brooke agreed, helping Sam step out of the frock. "Not many bosses would fund a wedding reception and a honeymoon, like he did for Cole and me." For a moment she remained silent in thought, then continued. "I suppose tending his cattle isn't really such a far-fetched idea. I actually kind of wish I could do it, too, except that…"

Brooke lowered her voice. "I think I might be carrying a child. It dawned on me when I was up here by myself this afternoon."

Sam hugged her roommate. "Oh, Brooke, that's what Miss Gayle suspected! She's thinking that the baby will be born about late February!"

"So Miss Gayle thinks so, too?" Brooke grinned as she returned the hug. "Well, can we keep it a secret from the boys for now? I don't want Cole to know until I confirm it with Doc Julien."

Sam nodded as she stepped back from the hug. "Sure. I won't write about it to Kai just yet. And we can tell Miss Gayle and Mr. Wu not to mention it yet. And I don't think anyone discussed it with Nya, so even though she planned to write to Jay tonight, I doubt she would have put it in her letter." Sam gestured toward the bedroom door. "Looks like Nya went to bed, 'cause her door was shut when I passed by it just now, so I guess that breakfasttime tomorrow will be your next opportunity to tell her."

Brooke's eyes danced with happiness. "Well, for sure I'll be telling her then. And I need to think about how I'll say it in a letter. Oh! And Mama and Daddy will be so happy about having a grandchild! They love children - I suppose that's fairly obvious since they had nine of their own!" she laughed.

Sam was touched by Brooke's delight at bringing a new life into the world.

She placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Oh, Brooke, I'm so happy for you and Cole!" She could say it with a sincere smile. Somehow she had new hope that there would one day be new life within her own womb.

"Thank you, Sam!" The ladies hugged again.

After their embrace of friendship, Brooke stepped back and said, "Now, let's see how Kai's shirt is going to fit on you."

Sam put on her husband's shirt over her corset. Not surprisingly, the garment was way too big.

Brooke cupped her chin in thought with one hand while taking hold of the excess shirt sleeve fabric with the other. "I could use the new sewing machine to help tailor these clothes to your size. It shouldn't take too long. Do you mind that Kai will have one less set of work clothes?" Fashion was a great interest of Brooke's, and she loved being creative with fabric.

"I think that would be all right," Sam mused. "There'll be time to sew a new set for him before the enlistment period is up."

"Good!" Brooke exuded newfound positive energy, something that they all lacked just a few hours earlier. "Put your wrapper on and bring the clothes, and let's go find Miss Gayle to ask if we can use the sewing room this late in the evening."


The hour was late when Brooke was finished, but Sam could now wear better fitting cow herding clothes. While Brooke tailored the garments, Sam - with the help of Miss Gayle - assembled accessories she would need. Like an old pair of work gloves. A kerchief. And the hat Sam had packed in her steamer trunk. Kai had brought it home as a gift for her one Saturday night after one of his rare trips into town to play poker with his Double S Ranch friends at the McAllister Saloon.

Before Sam climbed into her bed that night, she went to a dresser drawer and got out one more accessory she would need for herding cows on the range.

The gun she inherited from Bansha, the legendary markswoman.