AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Howdy to my patient readers! This is the first new chapter to this story in over FOUR months-yikes! But I wanted to make sure I did something to commemorate my THREE-YEAR anniversary on FFN! Many thanks to all you readers out there for your love and support of my writing!

Now, a bit of explanation regarding the chapter below. It's made up of a series of conversations between various characters, starting where Chapter 46 left off with Sam getting shot, and ending in mid-February, when the Third Division of the Purple Army has just been told to leave its winter camp at Garmadon Ranch and prepare for battle with the United States...


Chapter 54 - Conversations

Monday, January 2nd, 2:30 in the morning…

Sam's eyes fluttered open as she became conscious of throbbing pain in her leg.

The first thing that registered in her foggy mind was the window in her line of sight. Though it was covered with frost, it revealed the darkness of nighttime.

Flickering flames from the fireplace told her she was lying in her bed in her cottage, and the bed had been moved to the parlor room to take advantage of the warmth of the hearth. This was a furniture arrangement she and Kai had temporarily made during the cold months of last winter, so it felt familiar to her.

What was unfamiliar was the thin balding man with wire rimmed glasses, bustling about in rolled-up shirt sleeves. He was rummaging through a black bag which sat open on the small table a few feet away.

In her semi-daze, she watched the man for several seconds before she got a whiff of a chemical scent which reminded her of Doc Julien. Is this man a doctor, too?

A sudden wind gust from the cold blue norther blowing outside suddenly rattled the window glass. It sounded like a gunshot.

Gunshot!

Her last memories came flooding back to her.

The struggle with General Chen...the loud pop of the gun...the searing pain in her leg...

She moaned at the recall of the agony.

At her outcry, the man stopped what he was doing and strode to her bedside.

"Good evening, miss. I see you are awake," he greeted her without cracking a smile. He began to check her pulse. "I am Dr. Mills, a physician with the Second Battalion," he stated, introducing himself in a businesslike tone.

Gesturing toward the other side of Sam, he continued. "This is Nurse Evans, also with the Second."

Sam had not realized there was a third person in the room. She drowsily turned her head to look in the direction indicated by Dr. Mills. An older woman, wearing a nurse uniform with her graying hair severely pulled back in a bun, stood next to the bed, drawn to that spot by Sam's moan.

The physician grasped his stethoscope from around his neck and listened to her chest in silence before placing it in his black bag. Then he began to untie his bloody surgical apron from around his waist. It dawned on Sam that the blood was hers.

Dr. Mills noticed that she was staring at the apron. "I am happy to report that your gunshot wound was not life threatening, but you will need a few weeks of recuperation."

So the gunshot wound was not life threatening...to me. Fear suddenly gripped Sam's heart. Had the shooting caused her baby to be injured...or worse? Did the doctor even know she was carrying a child? "Wh-what about my baby?" she managed to croak, despite her extremely parched throat. She tensed up, awaiting his answer.

"Rest assured, your baby is fine as well," the physician responded as he began to roll down his left shirt sleeve. "Major Clouse alerted Nurse Evans and myself that you are carrying his child."

Jake told them I'm carrying HIS child?!

Dr. Mills continued before she could rebut him. "I can't say that his morals are impeccable, but at least he wishes to atone for his reckless behavior. Bringing you here to western Ninjago from Ollira Junction, to ensure your well being until the child is born, is admirable. I'm puzzled as to why you tried to shoot him when he is trying to do the right thing."

Jake told them I tried to shoot him?!

The physician began to roll down his right shirt sleeve. "And finding this hidden cottage for you to stay at until the birth was fortuitous, for it will help to conceal his, uh, transgression from his fiancee and future father-in-law. Major Clouse is compensating us well for our silence. You may not have a reputation worth upholding, but he does."

WHAT?! Sam was now totally shocked at the story Jake had told these people while she was unconscious.

Dr. Mills checked his pocket watch before directing his attention to the older woman. "It's 2:30. Nurse Evans, since the patient's condition seems to be stable, I think I will get a bit of rest now before our replacements get here at sunrise. When we get back to camp, I will need to check on that Saunders boy. I pray he doesn't have pneumonia. Wake me if you need anything."

"Of course, doctor. Rest well," she replied as he settled down on the floor near the fireplace. He curled up under a blanket and within one minute was fast asleep, having been awake since the wee hours of the previous morning.

Sam became aware once again of her dry tongue and throat. "May I have a drink of water?" she croaked.

The nurse silently complied. Pouring from the water pitcher on the nearby table into a cup, the nurse gently set the cup to Sam's lips, and the patient took a sip.

Suddenly, the nurse tipped the cup higher. Sam gagged as the unexpected excess liquid flowed down her throat while additional liquid spilled down her neck, chilling her.

She looked at the nurse in astonishment while struggling to stop coughing. The nurse scowled back.

"I ought to be tending to fine Purple soldiers beset with winter illnesses, rather than caring for a lowly harlot such as yourself," she agitatedly grumbled, careful not to wake the physician. She set down the cup on the bedside table. "If women like you would stop distracting our brave heroes, we could have this war won much sooner!"

Nurse Evans then marched over to a parlor chair and sat down with purpose, picking up an embroidery project which she had apparently been working on and set aside when Sam awoke.

"Harlot?! I'm a married woman!" Sam sputtered with indignation.

The older woman rolled her eyes. "I don't see no rings on your finger! And you were wearing barely a stitch of clothing when the good doctor and I arrived."

Sam checked her left hand. Indeed, her engagement ring and wedding ring were missing. She also noticed that she was now wearing a plain white shift, which provided more modesty than the purple silk robe General Chen had made her put on less than 12 hours ago.

Seeing that the nurse had busied herself with her needlework and had no intention to converse any further with the patient, Sam settled her head on the damp pillow and took a ragged breath, smarting from the loss of her jewelry and the insult to her reputation, in addition to dealing with her leg pain.

Oh, Kai, how did life get to be such a nightmare?


Monday, January 2nd, several hours later…

At sunrise, a sleigh showed up at the cottage for the purpose of delivering new medical personnel and some food and supplies, as well as taking Dr. Mills and Nurse Evans back to camp. Since the blue norther winds continued to blow, the sleigh's driver came into the house to avail himself of the warmth of the fireplace during the brief interaction between the doctors regarding the patient's status.

The driver of the sleigh was Major Jacob Clouse.

"What do you do with my wedding ring, Jake?" Sam demanded angrily as soon as she recognized him.

Jake smiled a winning smile for the benefit of the medical personnel in the room who were staring at the two of them. "I see that the little accident with the gun has muddled her head as well as her leg," he joked. "She thinks she and I are married!"

Despite the pain in her leg, Sam continued. "Stop the charade, Jake! How could you tell these people that the baby is yours? And that I'm nothing more than a harlot?! You know perfectly well that -"

"Sam!" Jake shouted to interrupt her. Then, in a lower voice, he asked, "Dear, how much sleep did you get last night?"

"I've been awake since 2:30. But don't try to change the subject. The time I woke up has nothing to do with -"

Jake interrupted her again. "Doctor Ashiya," Jake addressed the newly arrived doctor, "A sedative, please, to help the patient to sleep. She seems to be hallucinating."

"Ya, sedative." Dr. Ashiya nodded vigorously and began to quickly assemble what he needed.

"Oh, no, you don't, Jake!" Sam struggled to sit up. "I want people to know the truth!"

Jake rushed to the bed and held her shoulders down. "Sam, dear, please calm yourself. I know I said I wouldn't do this anymore, but maybe it will help you relax." And he planted his lips on hers to prevent her from talking further.

His mind was instantly transported to a time about eight years earlier, when he and Sam were sweethearts, sitting next to each other on the parlor sofa in the Tonbos home she shared with her father. Her innocent kisses were awakening a decidedly unholy longing within him. As the kiss right now was doing…

Swiftly he tore himself away from her in order to compose herself. His action was rewarded by a hard slap on his cheek, courtesy of Sam. Her action was rewarded by a stab of a syringe into her arm, courtesy of Dr. Ashiya. She fell back onto the pillow and, within a minute, her eyes closed and she slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

Jake rubbed his cheek and grinned once again for the benefit of the medical personnel in the room. "I've never known her to be so unhinged. Must be due to the shock of the gunshot."


Wednesday, January 4th, at sunset...

For the past few days, Sam lay in bed with little to do but re-read a few books she had left behind in the cottage at the start of the war. Conversing with Dr. Ashiya and Nurse Suzuki, her daytime caregivers, had proved to be too difficult due to the language barrier. Conversing with the evening staff of Dr. Mills and Nurse Evans had already proved to be too difficult from that first night of their icy meeting, due to their low opinion of her.

And she was definitely not going to converse with Jake, the only other person who visited the cottage. She was furious with him for stealing her rings, for sullying her reputation...and for that kiss.

So when dusk fell upon a certain cottage in the woods by the Ninjago River, Sam planned to ignore Jake's greeting to her when he delivered Dr. Mills and Nurse Evans for their nighttime duty shift.

Tonight, however, only Jake arrived in the sleigh. In addition, he avoided acknowledging Sam's presence in the room, focusing solely on the medical personnel.

Sam waited for Jake to explain the whereabouts of the missing night duty, but he did not do so, even when it sounded like Dr. Ashiya was posing the question.

Ashiya and Suzuki gathered their gear, and Jake ushered them out the door.

Sam could no longer bear not knowing what was going on. "Jake!" she called out.

Jake did not even look at her as he closed the door after himself, leaving Sam all alone.

Sam spent a few minutes speculating as to what was going on, but mulling the possibilities made her tired, and she dozed off in the twilight.

She woke up when she heard the door creak and a shadowy figure entered the cottage.

"Good evening, dearie!"

The familiar voice made her freeze.

"Wh-where are the doctor and the nurse?" she sputtered.

General Chen moved farther into the room, and Sam could see his ugly face in the firelight.

"Oh, Clouse will bring them later," Chen said cheerily as he took off his winter slicker. "In the meantime, you and I can spend a few hours together. Because of your attempt to stop me from shooting those dogs the other day, we never did get to enjoy each other's company, if you know what I mean."

"But...my leg is injured!" she protested.

"No need to worry, dearie," Chen assured her, wiggling his eyebrows as he began to unbutton his uniform shirt. "I'll be verrrry gentle."

Sam frantically tried to stall the inevitable. "So what happened to the dogs?" she asked. It was a question she had pondered over the past several days, since she had little else to do.

Chen sneered. "Ah, the mutts got scared away when my gun went off. They ran back to the main house. If only that housekeeper weren't so nosy, I'd take them back into the woods and get rid of them myself."

Sam smiled inwardly, grateful for Miss Gayle's penchant for wanting to know other people's business.

The blonde patient's small moment of happiness was short-lived when Chen removed his shirt and flung it on the nearby chair. Quickly she asked another question. "What reason did you give Mr. Wu and the ladies about me not returning to the main house?"

Chen chuckled as he sat down on the chair to remove his boots. "Clouse made up a story about how you wanted him to take you to visit Ninjago Town and then, while you were there, you decided to stay and take care of a saloon girl who was sick. Then he got your raven-haired friend to pack a bag for you. Pretty clever, that Clouse!"

"A bag? How long did you tell them I'll be gone?" Sam demanded to know.

Chen took off his loosened left boot and tossed it aside. "You'll be staying here for the rest of the winter, dearie. Two months, until we get our orders to move out toward Ouroborus and fortify our position to take over Sasnak City and the rest of Ninjago."

He then managed to loosen and remove his right boot. "We can't risk word getting out that a pregnant United States citizen, the heiress of a train mogul, was injured by the Purple Army. Right now we're not ready to face the U.S. Army, should they decide to step in."

"But we're taking precautions to mitigate any public relations damage," the general added, standing up and unbuckling his belt. "A King's magistrate will be arriving on the day after tomorrow to change your country of citizenship to Ninjago. You need to complete the paperwork yourself because we don't know some of the answers to the questions on the form. The magistrate would have arrived in Ninjago Town by now, but the blue norther delayed him."

Sam grimaced. Last spring, she and Miss Gayle and Brooke had made a pact to become Ninjago citizens once the war was over. Right now, it didn't seem like such a good idea.

Chen removed his pants, revealing his full union suit. Then he began to undo the buttons of that garment, exposing his hairy chest.

Sam shrank away from him in horror as he sat on the bed next to her, his green eyes glimmering fiendishly. "Now, dearie, let's pick up where we left off on Sunday…"


The early evening hours of Thursday, January 6th, at Garmadon Ranch…

At the main house, standing in the office that had been usurped from Mr. Wu, Chen angrily slammed down the telegram onto the desk. He had just read the message to Jake, who stood on the other side of the desk.

"Egads, Clouse! If only this could have waited to happen until spring!" Agitated, the general poured himself some whiskey and promptly quaffed half the contents before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

The general continued. "If only that Purple sympathizer had waited until spring to shoot that pro-Yellow U.S. senator, then I would have had the Third Division rested, fortified with supplies, and positioned at Ouroborus, ready for any hostile action by the U.S.!" Chen chugged down the rest of the whiskey and began to pour himself another glass.

"At least the senator survived the attack," Jake quietly reminded him.

Chen took a gulp of the liquor in his hand. "He BARELY survived, Clouse. If he ends up dying, there could be hell to pay. Real hell."

Jake took a deep breath, weighing options in his mind as to how the potential threat of U.S. aid to Ninjago's Yellow Army could be mitigated.

Then an idea occurred to him.

"Well, sir, perhaps it's time we let the world know that we are holding in our custody a beautiful, wealthy United States heiress who is carrying a child. The King can spread the word that if the U.S. interferes in our war, Sam's safety can no longer be guaranteed. That would certainly sway U.S. public opinion against involvement in Ninjago's affairs."

Chen paused to stare blankly at his subordinate. Then a wide grin slowly crossed his face.

"Yessss, that would work! I like the way you think, Clouse! You may find yourself to be a colonel sooner than you realize!"

The general took another drink. "When the magistrate arrives on the stagecoach tomorrow, send him right back home. Your beautiful blonde friend will remain a U.S. citizen."


The early evening hours of Monday, January 16, at Kryptarium Prison…

From his hospital bed that evening, Kai could tell something unusual was going on outside his private room. The main ward beyond his door seemed extra loud with conversation.

He asked a nurse about it when she came into his room to tend to him.

"A colonel was found dead in the registration building late this afternoon with his skull bashed in by a fireplace poker," she explained, "and the suspect is on the loose. Apparently he kidnapped that female major, that one who's come to see you a few times, in order to make his getaway unnoticed."

"Thunderation!" Kai exclaimed. He said no more to the nurse, but internally his thoughts churned.

He could guess which colonel was the victim, based on the location being the registration building. And he could also guess who the 'suspect' was, based on Skylor's involvement. And, knowing of the romance between Skylor and Brossette, he knew Skylor left of her own volition. He wondered what the circumstances were that led to the fatal outcome.

He didn't know where the couple was going, but he prayed they would reach their destination safely.

And he prayed that he would soon be reunited with his own lover, his beloved wife Sam.


Tuesday, January 17th…

Chen slumped into "his" office chair at Garmadon Ranch, reeling at the news Jake had just told him. His good friend, Colonel Oliver Doolverr, had been found murdered at Kryptarium Prison.

"Egads! I never thought Oliver would die like that. It's true he had more enemies than friends, but that just meant he was an effective leader."

Jake blew air out of his cheeks. "There's more, sir. Colonel Doolverr's killer apparently kidnapped Skylor and escaped capture."

"Skylor?! Oh, the news just keeps getting better and better, Clouse! How do they know my daughter was taken?"

"The telegram says she was last seen riding on horseback away from the prison with the sergeant in question."

"Hmm." Chen reached for the letter opener and began to idly fiddle with it in silence. Jake stood quietly, awaiting further response from his superior officer.

"You know, Clouse," Chen said slowly, "if my daughter didn't want to do something, she wouldn't do it. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, sir." Jake had observed that trait during his courtship of Skylor.

General Chen took one of Mr. Wu's cigars out of the humidor, bit off the end, lit the other end, and began to smoke it. "All I can say is that Skylor better have been kidnapped, or there'll be hell to pay. I can't allow my own flesh and blood to dispatch a fine Purple officer and thumb her nose at the Purple cause."


The late evening hours of Monday, January 23rd, somewhere in Ninjago…

Skylor and Jules secretly huddled together in the hay of a random farmer's barn, keeping close to a cow for warmth on a cold winter night. They had been on the run for a week now. They were dirty and hungry, but they were making progress on their journey to Garmadon Ranch. Not only had they sneaked themselves into the barn, they had managed to sneak in their horses as well.

As the lovers held each other, being careful not to aggravate each other's healing bruises, they talked quietly.

"I would have liked to say goodbye to Kai," the red-headed beauty commented, "but I know there wasn't time."

"Me, too, cherie," Jules agreed. "You don't think we put him in any danger, do you?"

Skylor puckered up her face in thought. "I don't think so. That newspaper we found said that I was a kidnap victim, not a deserter."

Jules sighed. "I cannot wait to reach Garmadon Ranch. Having to avoid Purple uniforms all the time is like trying to avoid a cocodril after a rainstorm."

"I know," Skylor soothed him, stroking his cheek, "but it will all work out in the end. I just know it."

"Ah, cherie, I love your spirit!" Jules squeezed her tightly next to him. "And I love you, too, Skylor!"

Skylor smiled. "And I love you, too, Jules."


Second week in February at Garmadon Ranch...

Early on a clear winter morning, the main house of Garmadon Ranch bustled with activity. Inside the office which General Chen had usurped from Mr. Wu several months ago, the officer paced the floor. As thoughts came into his head, Major Clouse was recording them on paper.

Eventually, the general pinched his forehead between the eyes.

"That's enough for right now, Clouse. My head is about to explode. Why did that U.S. senator have to die? Why did the U.S. decide to interfere in Ninjago's business? We needed more preparation time but the King only gave us three days."

Chen poured himself a drink. "I think a little visit to your beautiful blonde friend is just the thing I need to refresh myself. Clouse, arrange for a visit to her tonight."

"Yes, sir." As Jake responded, he realized he could use some refreshing, too. He hadn't seen Fifi in weeks. And now that the Third Division would be on the move earlier than planned, he wouldn't be able to travel to Shanville for the foreseeable future.

Then a thought occurred to him. He had led the medical personnel attending to Sam to believe that she was his harlot, in order to protect General Chen's privacy.

But maybe, when the general was busy with commanding the Third Division, and Jake was off duty, well…

...maybe Jake could turn his insinuations in reality.