The day dawned crisp and cool, the sky overcast with heavy clouds building and the threat of rain or perhaps even wet snow in the air. The cottonwood trees were shedding their leaves of brilliant yellow, the light breeze scattering them across the ground and around the hooves of the two horses that rustled their way through them. Their weary riders pulled the collars of their coats up, both thinking that soon it wouldn't be rain it would be snow and neither were looking forward to that.

"Gettin' cooler," Kid grumbled as he halted his horse, shifting in his saddle to look behind them after hearing thunder.

"Yeah," Heyes mumbled without much interest as he smothered a yawn.

"We'd best be findin' someplace to hole up before that gets here," Kid added seeing several flashes of lightning in the distance.

Heyes glanced back briefly "I wouldn't worry about it too much Kid, think it's gonna miss us."

"You think what you want, I'm gonna find some kind of shelter," he urged his horse forward without waiting for a response.

His partner had been out of sorts since yesterday, so Heyes merely sighed heavily his shoulders drooping as he silently followed him, the first fat raindrops falling just as they ducked under a rocky outcropping.

"Gonna miss us huh?" Kid snapped irritably with a raised eyebrow as the skies opened and the rain poured down.

Heyes was tired, his patience crumbling but resisted the urge to bite back instead shrugging and rolling his eyes as he burrowed further into his coat as the cool breeze picked up. He cast a glance toward his friend watching as he pulled the collar of his Sherpa up higher knowing the Kid was every bit as tired as he was. It had been a trying week having to run from the last town when they had been recognized as they dismounted in front of the saloon. They hadn't even made it to the boardwalk when they heard someone hollering for the sheriff. Spinning around in unison they had thrown themselves back into their saddles and kicked their mounts into a run with a rapidly formed posse hot on their trail. Now here they were three days later desperately low in supplies, slouching miserably in their saddles waiting silently, watching the storm as it quickly passed before leaving their sheltering overhang.

"Figure we outta follow the river Kid, should take us to Sweetwater or close to it."

"Reckon you're right, we need to get stocked up on supplies. Still think we shoulda headed south for the winter."

"Kid you're startin' to sound like an old man the way you carry on so about the cold," Heyes teased with a small smile.

"Well Heyes, when it comes to Wyoming winters I'm beginnin' to feel like an old man."

"Much as I hate to admit it, thinkin' about winter makes me feel a might old too," Heyes chuckled, nodding his head slightly in agreement as the tension between them eased some.

They rode steadily throughout the morning following the river, both men hoping that the town of Sweetwater would be kind to them, allowing them to get their supplies, enjoy a good hot meal and get at least one decent nights' sleep in a warm bed.

Kids' eyes had started to droop, his head bobbing slightly with the motion of the horse, daydreaming of the nice hot bath he was going to have in town when a terrified scream jerked him back to reality. A quick glance at each other was all they needed to spur their horses into a gallop, reining them to sliding stops near a woman who was trying to clamber down over the rain soaked rocks into the river. Heyes dismounted quickly grabbing her arms and pulling her back from the edge.

"Hey whoa easy there…"

"No, my son…" she cried frantically as she desperately struggled to get away from him, pointing to where a young boy was clinging precariously to a rock in the middle of the river.

Kid, seeing the youngster was losing his hold on the rock and wouldn't be able to hold on much longer didn't take the time to remove his boots. Pulling his gun from its holster he tossed it on the ground close to Heyes as he started down the slippery rocks. As he stepped into the river he gave his partner a quick look.

"Stay on the bank, I'll get the boy and hand him up to you."

Heyes and the woman both watched nervously as Kid waded carefully the fifteen feet to the boy, the water reaching just above his waist.

"Hey son, are ya hurt?"

The boy was terrified and could only shake his head.

"Don't you worry none, I gotcha, won't let nothin' happen to ya. What's your name?" he said calmly as he tried to reassure the boy.

"J..J..Jacob."

"Well Jacob, reckon it's time we get ya back to your ma."

He turned to the pair on the bank, "Throw me a rope Joshua, I'm gonna tie it around him just in case he slips away from me, the current's pretty strong out here."

Heyes hurriedly grabbed the rope from his saddle, accurately tossing one end to the Kid who tied it snugly around the boy before picking him up. The boy wrapped his arms around Kids' neck burying his face in his shoulder as they slowly made their way back toward the edge of the river. Heyes took the child when Kid handed him up, quickly passing him back to his mother, not even removing the rope before turning back to reach down to help his partner climb up. Kid reached for his hand just as his boot slipped off a rock and he started falling, their hands brushing but neither able to get a grip on the other. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, Heyes gasped as he felt Kids' hand slip through his, watching helplessly as his friend fell, landing solidly on his back against the rocks. He immediately began scrambling down to his cousin when he saw he wasn't moving.

Heyes checked the Kid over finding a cut on the back of his head, swallowing his uneasiness when he saw the amount of blood not only on the rock but on his hand, finding another smaller cut just behind his right ear. Heyes gently tapped the Kid's cheek but got no response, not even when he patted his cheek a little harder.

"Dammit Kid," he hissed partially under his breath, "you're gonna make this difficult ain't ya? Throw me that rope," he yelled over his shoulder to the woman. She hurriedly threw him one end and tied the other end to a nearby cottonwood sapling.

Tying the rope around the Kids' chest he made his way up to the bank knowing he was going to have to pull him up. It may have been only four feet but it was steep and the rocks were wet, he'd never be able to keep his balance and carry the Kid up. Taking a deep breath he started pulling slowly, hoping he wasn't causing any more damage to his friend. Finally he was able to grab his shoulders pulling him the rest of the way onto solid ground. The woman had already sent her son on ahead to the nearby cabin and was now kneeling beside Heyes as he removed the rope from around the injured man.

"Bring him to the cabin," she said getting to her feet.

Heyes stood, tossing the rope aside before picking up his partners' gun and tucking it into his belt. He took a deep breath as he looked past her and seeing the distance to the cabin doubted he had the strength needed to carry his partner that far by himself. She saw his hesitation.

"You take his shoulders, I'll get his legs."

Heyes said nothing but eyed her doubtfully.

"I'm stronger than I look," she stated putting her hands on her hips and staring at him. "Well, were you thinking of just leaving him lying here?"

"No ma'am," Heyes bent grabbing the Kid's shoulders waiting until she had his legs before lifting.

"Oh Thaddeus ya gotta stop eatin' so much," he grunted as between them they managed to cover the distance to the cabin.

"Jacob open the door," she called as they neared, "and put two towels on your pillow…hurry!"

'Yes,' Heyes thought thankfully a minute later as they lay the Kid on the bed, 'she's definitely a lot stronger than she looks.'

They straightened at the same time, both taking just a moment to catch their breath.

She left him to get the Kid's wet clothes off, returning a few minutes later with the items needed to stitch and dress the wounds.

"Did you see any other injuries when you removed his clothes?" she asked as she finished putting a bandage around the injured man's head.

"He's got some swelling buildin' on his back, gonna have a pretty colourful bruise, but didn't see nothin' else ma'am."

"My name's Rebecca, my son's Jacob."

"Joshua Smith ma'am and he's Thaddeus Jones."

"Well I thank you both for saving my son, he knows better than to go near the river, and I'm sure he'll stay away from it from now on."

"I'm sure he will ma'am, he's had quite a scare."

"Yes he did, but he will also think of it for the next day or so every time he sits down."

"Yes ma'am," Heyes had to smother a smile in spite of his worry, remembering his mother saying the same thing about him…more than once.

"Please it's Rebecca. I was getting some lunch ready before all this excitement, it won't be long if you want to collect your horses. You can put them in the corral seeing as you'll probably be staying a couple days at least."

"We'll try not to put you out too much ma'am…Rebecca."

Heyes shuddered slightly as he recalled the sight of his partner so still on the rocks after falling. Closing his eyes and shaking his head he washed his partners' blood from his hands, taking another minute to calm himself before seeing to their horses.

Several minutes later he entered the bedroom to check on the Kid who still showed no sign of coming around. He pulled a chair up beside the bed sighing deeply, rubbing his hand worriedly across his face.

"We can't catch a break can we partner, it's always somethin'."

He sat at his bedside for some time before giving in to Rebecca's insistence that he come and get something to eat. They sat at the table eating stew and homemade bread, with Heyes watching a subdued Jacob sitting across from him.

"You had quite an adventure Jacob, are you all right?"

"Yes sir, my backside's a little sore though," he glanced guiltily at his mother.

"My ma used to tan my hide for not listenin' too, so I know how you feel. But you need to stay away from that river son it can be real dangerous when it's runnin' like that."

"I ain't goin' nowhere near it ever again', he stated emphatically.

"Good boy," Heyes grinned.

"Is your husband away Rebecca?"

"He died two years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that…you mean you bin livin' out here all alone?" he looked at her in surprise.

"I'm usually quite capable of looking after myself and my son."

"I'm sure you are, I surely didn't mean no disrespect. Maybe I can repay your kindness by choppin' some wood for you since winter'll be here soon."

"There's no repayment necessary your friend got hurt saving my son…but I would appreciate it."

Heyes gave her a smile before getting to his feet and heading to the door.

"I'll get started on that right now, work off some of that stew."

She watched him go, knowing that he needed to work off some worry and frustration, the woodpile being the perfect thing for that. She stood clearing the table and cleaning the kitchen before starting on supper, smiling thoughtfully as she took down a jar of fruit she had preserved earlier in the summer.

Rebecca took time out from her baking to look in often on the injured man, checking the bandages and watching him for any sign of infection or fever. This handsome young man had been in her son's bed for the better part of three hours still not showing any sign of regaining consciousness. She felt badly knowing he had been hurt saving her son who would have surely drowned in the river if these two men hadn't come along when they did. She frowned in concern as she reached out to gently sweep the curls from his forehead, surprised when she saw his eyes flutter open revealing bleary blue eyes. He blinked lazily several times before his eyes closed once more, but in restful sleep this time. She smiled slightly, getting to her feet she left the bedroom, threw a shawl around her shoulders and made her way outside to her other unexpected guest.

Heyes had worked mindlessly splitting and piling wood having no idea how long he had been at it, his thoughts on his injured friend in the cabin. He paused, running his arm across his face wiping the sweat away, wondering when he had taken his coat off spinning around startled when he heard a voice just behind him.

"Mr. Smith, your friend woke up for a moment, thought you'd like to know. He went right back to sleep though."

Heyes buried the axe in the chopping block turning a broad dimpled smile on her before striding quickly to the cabin. She smiled as she watched him go, picking up his forgotten coat she followed him inside, seeing he had already made his way in to his friend.

Heyes stood, his face creased in worry as he looked down at his partner, slowly sinking wearily into the chair. He started talking softly about anything that came into his head just wanting him to know that he was here waiting for him when he woke up. He was rewarded a couple hours later when he heard his partner groan softly, reaching out he gently but firmly caught the Kids' hand when he lifted it from the bed, stopping him from touching his head.

"Kid?" Heyes said barely above a whisper.

The Kids' eyes opened slowly and he squinted as he tried to bring Heyes into focus.

"Welcome back partner, how ya feelin'?"

"I'd feel better if there weren't two of ya, one's bad enough," he answered drowsily.

Heyes chuckled. "Other than that how do ya feel?"

"Head hurts, what happened?" he replied his eyes closing as he grimaced in pain.

"We'll get into that later, you need to rest and get better…and don't even think of tryin' to get up."

"Don't think I could even if I wanted to," he replied opening his eyes to look at his friend.

Heyes grinned at his partner as he stood patting Kids' leg several times. "I'm gonna go get…what is it?"

He saw the strange look on the Kids' face when he had patted his leg and he frowned when the Kid reached down to tentatively at first and then more firmly, touch his left leg, then his right. His breathing increasing he looked up at Heyes, his eyes widening with fear.

"What's the matter?" he felt sure he wasn't going to like the answer.

"I…I...my legs…"

"What, they hurtin'?" he asked uneasily seeing the look of fear on the Kids' face turning into panic.

The Kid shook his head…"I can't feel them…Heyes I can't feel my legs."