Heyes yawned widely and deciding it was time to stop dismounted in an area under a couple of trees and set up camp. Unsaddling his horse he gave him a quick rub down before starting a fire and digging the makings of some supper and coffee from his saddlebags. His thoughts were on the Kid as he waited for his food to cook and the coffee to boil wondering if he had gotten away safely and feeling a bit guilty knowing that he had been carrying last of their supplies. He yawned again and stretched, wincing at the pain in his knees remembering how they had spent the previous night struggling in the dark. Pouring himself a cup of coffee he sat by the fire forcing himself to eat. He was looking forward to getting to town tomorrow afternoon if all went well, a day earlier than he and Kid had planned.

XXXXX

At roughly the same time Heyes was making camp, Kid was also stopping for the night. He had briefly considered shooting a rabbit that had scampered across in front of him for supper but didn't want to risk alerting anyone that might be within hearing distance. He didn't know if he had the energy to clean and cook it anyway so instead he would settle for the last piece of jerky and a few mouthfuls of warm water from his canteen. He slid wearily off his horse, dragging the saddle from its' back making sure the animal was well tended before spreading out his bedroll and seeing to his own needs. He was so tired he ate only one bite of the jerky before putting the remainder back in his saddlebag and not even bothering to start a fire he curled up shivering in the chill of the night. His last thought before sleep claimed him was that he should clean his wound again.

XXXXX

Heyes was up at sunrise reheating some leftover coffee from the previous night before breaking camp. The storm had broken the oppressive heat wave they had experienced the past few days, cooling rather dramatically overnight. He shivered slightly, wrapping his hands around the cup to warm them, sipping the hot liquid his thoughts once again drifted to his friend. Kicking dirt over the fire he saddled his horse setting off for Green River where he hoped to find his partner safe and sound. If he hadn't been so concerned about the Kid he would be enjoying this ride.

"Sure hope you're all right Kid," he whispered.

XXXXX

It was well past sunup when Kid finally forced his eyes open with a groan. His chest felt a bit tight and he couldn't stop the few coughs as he got stiffly to his feet. He tried to shake off his lethargy and having a drink of water before checking his wound. Grimacing he removed the makeshift bandage, cleaning the bullet wound with water again, wishing he had some whiskey to pour on it to stop, or at least slow the infection that was building.

"All right Jed, c'mon you can do this," he muttered softly as he stood looking down at the sixty pound saddle.

Taking a deep breath he grunted painfully but managed to hoist the saddle up and onto the horses' back. Leaning against the animal he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth while Buck stood patiently waiting as Kid managed to tighten the cinch. Resting his forehead against his horses' neck Kid coughed a couple more times catching his breath before pulling himself up into the saddle.

"Okay partner I'm comin'," Kid whispered as he headed in the direction of Green River.

XXXXX

It was mid afternoon when Heyes rode into town. He and the Kid had been here about a year before liking the town and the friendly people in it. Even the sheriff, who was a pleasant grey haired fella, had sat in the saloon playing a few hands of poker with them and regaling them with tall tales that had them all laughing. Checking the name on the office as he rode past he smiled discovering it was the same sheriff before heading to the livery to see that his horse was well taken care of.

He rang the bell on the counter in the hotel and waited patiently for the middle aged clerk to appear from the backroom.

"Good afternoon sir," he greeted him as he looked Heyes up and down.

"Good afternoon. I'd like a room please, facing the street with two beds if you have one."

"Yes sir, it's two dollars a night" the clerk agreed pausing just a moment before turning the register for Heyes to sign. "How many nights are you planning on staying sir?"

"Well, I'm waiting for my partner so I'm not real sure. How be I pay for three nights to start with."

"Very good sir."

"And could you send up a bath?"

"An excellent idea sir, I'll have it sent up right away…room 205."

Heyes took the key with a grin, he couldn't blame the clerk, he was filthy. Making his way to the room he tossed his saddlebags on the floor and strode to the window. Parting the curtains he glanced out into the street watching people go about their business, wondering when Kid would get into town.

It wasn't long before he was stripping off his clothes and getting himself into the bath that had been delivered. Hissing as the hot water stung his scraped knees he lowered himself the rest of the way in sighing loudly.

The clerk smiled approvingly as a clean Heyes walked by heading for some supper at the café thinking of the poker game he was hoping to join in after eating.

A couple hours later a tired Heyes could be found back in the hotel having pocketed a few dollars from the poker games. Sleep seemed to evade him so he picked up the book he had found in the drawer stretched out on the bed and started reading. He didn't get very far, the book dropping softly to his chest his eyes closing as exhaustion finally claimed him.

XXXXX

Kid travelled slowly throughout the day, stopping in the early afternoon to fill his canteen at a stream letting the horse drink its fill. Sweat was beading on his forehead his left arm throbbed relentlessly his chest was still tight and his cough was getting worse. He didn't need to be a doctor to know this could become a problem. He drank deeply from his canteen before refilling it, he thought of the jerky but shook his head deciding to save it for later.

"Okay," he said closing his eyes for a moment, bracing himself before climbing up into the saddle again.

Several times during the afternoon he jerked himself awake shaking his head trying to clear it. He had no idea how far he had come or how much farther town was but what he did know was that he had to stop for a bit. He found a place to stop well before dark, not bothering to do anything other than to look after his horse before collapsing into his bedroll, not realizing he was only an hour from town.