Chapter 12: Highs and Lows


Five Years Prior


Jonathan leaned his back against the wall by the front entrance of the Dakota saloon, carefully watching as drunken men stumbled around and laughed at each other. Thankfully, no one was causing any trouble for him this evening. Ever since Jonathan violently tossed out three unruly men who had been dancing on tables and breaking glasses, the patrons of Standish's saloon respected or more so were cautious of the tall, intimidating bouncer watching over them.

When Jonathan was a younger man, before he even met his wife, there was a time when he acted like those drunken fools, stumbling around town, picking fights and waking up in the mornings with a throbbing headache. It was fun then, back when his body could handle the long nights, but now those outings were long behind him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a kid walk in the saloon. The boy was aged sixteen maybe even fifteen. Jonathan saw the nervous look on the kid's face and the stiffness in his walk. A first timer in the saloon no less. The boy glanced up at Jonathan, then immediately looked away as he headed for the bar. It was the fatherly instinct in him that almost pushed him to stop the boy from buying a drink and send him home, but Jonathan restrained himself.

The night carried on unremarkably and it was two in the morning when Jonathan finally finished his shift. As he got back to the hotel, the man carefully opened the door to the dark bedroom that he shared with his wife and young son. It was then he noticed that the moonlight illuminated a figure sitting on the bed.

"Alice?" Jonathan whispered. He saw the figure turn to him as he made his way over to the bed. "Why are you awake so late?"

"I couldn't sleep." She said. "How was work tonight?"

Jonathan sat beside her, glad to get off his aching feet. "Not too bad. Couple of loud customers, but nothing I couldn't handle."

Alice sighed. "I wish you didn't have to work there."

"I know, but I don't really have much of a choice right now." Jonathan then looked across the room to see Andy sleeping quietly. "At least it looks like one of us will be able to get some rest tonight."

Alice tried to smile, but was so tired she leaned herself against her husband's shoulder. "You know he tries staying up late most nights, so he can see you when you get back."

Jonathan paused for a moment, thinking about what he had seen earlier that night. "I saw a kid in the saloon tonight, acting all nervous. Probably only a few years older than Andy. Hard to believe how fast he's growin' up."

"Don't go wishing away his childhood."

"I wasn't." He nodded his head. "Although, it's gonna be strange when he's finally able to look me in the eyes."


Present Day


Andy slowly opened his eyes to sunlight beating through his bedroom window. There were noises coming from the rest of the house outside of his room, like the sound of his parents arguing. He always hated that sound.

"Well, where else would he have gotten any?"

"I don't know, Alice."

Andy tried to get up out of bed, but his head was pounding and his stomach churned as soon as he tried sitting up. He drank way too much the previous night.

"You need to confront him about this, Jonathan. I told you before that I was afraid of him going to that saloon."

"Alice, this is our son we're talking about. He would never do something like that."

"Are you sure about that?"

Andy closed his eyes again, realizing that he had no idea how he had gotten home last night after going to the Silver Coin. His risk was finally catching up to him, although he was surprised at how long it had lasted.

A few moments later, Jonathan opened his son's door and let himself in. "Andrew?"

Andy was still laying on his bed, but was able to find some strength to sit himself up. "Yeah, pa."

"How you feelin'?" Jonathan asked, noticing how bad Andy looked and remembering how much he was stumbling around when Edwards brought him home last night.

"My head hurts."

Jonathan did not want to say the next part out loud. He did not want to believe that his son had taken after him in the worst of ways. "Andrew, I want you to be completely honest with me. Where did you go last night after Laura and Almanzo's wedding?"

It took Andy a moment to respond, although not even trying to deny anything. "The saloon."

"And that wasn't the first time you've been there, wasn't it?"

"No." Andy shook his head.

Jonathan sighed, feeling more disappointed when he probably should have been angry. Why did Alice always have to be right? "I thought we told you to stay away from that place."

"Like father, like son." Andy said bluntly under his breath in response. "If you were so worried about me going there, why didn't you ask Pierce about me every time you went?"

Not prepared for that kind of backtalk from his son, Jonathan immediately became furious. "This isn't about me! I'm the father here and you went against what I told you. I don't know when this bad attitude of your's started, but I'm not having anymore it."

Andy stood up from his bed. It was then Jonathan realized how much his son had actually grown over the past few years. It seemed like only yesterday his boy could run into his arms and Jonathan was able to pick him up without effort. Now, they were practically eye level with each other. "You two have always been ashamed of me no matter what I did."

Jonathan did not have time to respond before Andy stormed out of his room. He heard Alice try to stop their son from leaving, but it was quickly followed by the slam of a door. Alice then rushed in. "Jonathan?"

"I'll go after him."


On the other side of town, Albert was curled up on his own bed. Thankfully he had the loft to himself for once in his life, with Laura having moved out after the wedding and pa neglecting to relocate Carrie's bed. Every part of his body was sore, his mind cloudy and it was hard for him to even breathe. He was not hungover, but instead dealing with the fact that he had completely run out of morphine.

Tossing and turning to find any sort of comfort, Albert noticed that his sheets and pillow were drenched in sweat. He had previously denied his cravings for morphine when Andy and Willie both confronted him about it and even tried to take a break from the substance, but now there was no denying it. It was like he physically needed that drug to survive. And only way he knew for him to get some was through Bret in Mankato, waiting for him to blow the last of his savings on another hit.

"Albert! A letter came for you in mail." He heard Caroline call for him from downstairs.

Albert slowly rose up from his bed and tried desperately to pull himself together. His feet felt heavy as he walked across the loft and down the ladder to the main room of the little house. Albert saw the letter for him sitting on the table and reached out for it.

"It's from the university." Albert noted the front stamp on the envelope and then proceeded to open the letter. "Mr. Albert Ingalls, in review of your academic standings and examination results, we are proud to award you with a four-year scholarship to the University of Minnesota School of Medicine."

"Oh, Albert! Congratulations!" Caroline ran over and threw her arms around her son. "I knew you could do it! We're all so proud of you!"

"Thanks, ma." Albert was barely able to muster up a smile through his intense discomfort. "Can I go tell pa?"

"He's in town getting ready to take a delivery to Mankato."

"I'll see if I can catch him before he leaves." The boy was quick to shove the letter in his pocket and dash out the door. Albert paced himself as he made his way into town. His body was still sore as he tried to run across the prairie, his mind bouncing between the scholarship and an itchy feeling in his mouth.

Finally, Albert made it into town and headed straight for the mill, where he saw his father hitching up the team of horses. "Pa! Pa!"

Charles stopped what he was doing when he saw his son running towards him, noting his disheveled appearance. "Albert, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Albert had to stop and take a moment to catch his breath. "Pa, I did it! I got a scholarship to the university!"

"You did!" Charles looked down to see Albert pass him a folded up piece of paper. He carefully read through the letter, his smile growing wider and wider. "Congratulations, son! I'm so proud of you!"

Albert braced himself as Charles pulled him into a tight hug, feeling a sting in his muscles. "Thanks, pa. Wh-when will you be back?"

"I should be back by dinner time. We can celebrate with the whole family. Have you told Laura yet?"

"No, but I'll do that this afternoon."

"I'm proud of you, Albert." After giving his son one final hug, Charles went back to finish getting his horses ready for the ride and set out on his delivery.

Albert watched as as his father drove out of town, letting his eyes find Doctor Baker's office across the street. He had morphine and Albert had the perfect excuse for a visit.

Inside the office, Hiram was busy mixing his remedies in the examination room, when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in."

"Hi, Doc." The boy walked into the back room.

"Hello, Albert." The doctor paused his work. "Is everything alright?"

Albert nodded his head and held his hands firm. "I got the results of my scholarship examination."

"You did! How'd you do?"

"I got a four year scholarship to the school of medicine."

"Congratulations, Albert!" Doctor Baker walked over to him and put a congratulatory hand on his shoulder. "That's wonderful! How do you feel?"

"Overwhelmed...and happy, of course."

"Take it from an old man, Albert, if you study hard and apply yourself, you're going to become a fine doctor someday."

"Thank you, Doc. And I appreciate all of your help."

"That reminds me." Albert watched as Doc Baker walked out of the exam room to the front room where his desk was. Not wasting a second, Albert shuffled his feet over to the medicine cabinet, which was left unhinged. It did not take long for Albert to spot the packets he so desperately craved. A quick swipe and two packets of morphine was shoved into his back pocket, just in time for Albert to straighten himself up as the doctor returned. "Here. My old medical textbooks. I just ordered a set of new ones, so I'm giving these to you. Hopefully they'll be of some help in school."

"Thanks, Doc." Albert took the stack of medical books in his hands. "I better go tell my sister and Miss Wilder the good news."

"You go do that. If you need anything at all, just let me know. Congratulations again, Albert."

"Thank you. See ya', Doctor Baker." Albert rushed out of the office and sprinted away from town. A wave of relief fell over him as he had what he needed. It did not process in his mind yet that he had just stolen from Doctor Baker. All Albert could think about was the high he was missing.