SPIRIT
This story is a sequel to the will so if you haven't read that one, please
go and do so before reading this one.
Please enjoy and let me know if you like either of these stories.
Time frame - about three (3) months after THE WILL
Frankie – I apologize for leaving it so long. The plot changed about a dozen times which is unusual for me. Usually when I have an idea, I stick to it and just add in new bits here and there. But this one changed entirely. Hope you are still reading. Thanks for your reviews.
Joxer – Okay, if you don't want to read anymore, no more updates for you LOL. (Just kidding)
Sara – This chapter is for you, who have never failed to believe that this story would be finished. Thanks for sticking by me and my ridiculous updating schedule.
Ihni – It actually hasn't really begun yet, but hopefully you will enjoy what I have done so far.
Kas – I am so glad you liked the WILL. I never really got more than a few people letting me know what they thought with that one. It was my first SeaQuest story and I was a bit of a green author back then. Nothing much has changed til now.
Mar – No, I am not fair. I apologize to you and all of the readers out there. Yes, Lucas is going to give Bridger a heart attack one day. I think he has already had several thanks to my plotlines LOL Love that you are reading my Bonanza stuff. Wish I could get more feedback for my LOTR stories. Don't know how many are reading or not reading that one.
okay, here is the next part..............
Bridger frowned a little as he sat in an arm chair in the living room when he heard a scuffling sound on the verandah outside. Tony was teaching Dagwood how to cheat at poker in the same room. Kristen and Lily Baron were talking idly in the kitchen.
Lily had almost made the comment that Lucas should have been back by now with the bread for lunch that she asked about. There was no way of knowing how long it might take the teenager to find some extra hands for the ranch.
The sound on the verandah made her pause mid-sentence as well, wearing an equally questioning look as Nathan. Mac was laying down inside, resting before lunch was served.
"Maybe that's Luke now," Tony said, getting to his feet to investigate. "Don't you go messing with those cards while my back is turned Dag."
"Dagwood promise not to touch cards, Tony" Dagwood responded.
A sly smile crept over Bridger's face as he observed Piccolo's teaching methods. Dagwood would think he was a card shark by the end of the day, apart from the fact that Tony would have robbed him blind in the mean time.
Tony had the remains of a grin on his face as he opened the door, but that quickly faded as he gazed down at the sight before him. "LUCAS!!" he shouted. The others in the room heard his yell and quickly gathered inside the doorway.
Tony quickly knelt by the side of his unconscious friend, feeling his limbs for any signs of breaks. There was blood from a few cuts in places, signalling that the teenager had suffered quite a beating at the hands of someone.
Piccolo's temper began to boil when he thought of Lucas being beaten senselessly like this. He would have to put those feelings aside for the time being though, as Bridger joined him and they tried to assess the best way to carry Lucas inside.
"Lucas hurt," Dagwood said plainly. Those gathered around could help but nod in silence at the G.E.L.F.'s observation. His honest perception of the scene struck a cord in each of them.
As if in answer to the comment, Lucas moaned as Bridger lifted one of his arms. He could already see some bruising starting to form on exposed parts of his
body. No doubt, there would be more underneath his clothing. His chest and upper body seemed to have suffered the most damage until they could take a closer look.
"Lucas?" Bridger said, trying to gain the boy's attention. He had wan smile on his face when a pair of blue, unfocused eyes opened and looked at him in confusion. "Don't worry, we are going to take care of you."
Lucas didn't say anything or gesture that he had understood the statement, instead closing his eyes and turning his head again, trying to take count of where all the pain was coming from. "S-sorry a-about," he began, the effort to speak proving difficult. "A-about the b-bread." he finished."
Lily couldn't help but wipe a tear from her eye and laugh affectionately at
the boy's comments. She now went back into the house and went to gather the medical supplies that they would need to tend him. They could take him to the hospital a few miles from the ranch, but without knowing the extent of his injuries, they might cause him more harm than good.
Tony could see Lucas's attention growing more distant, although it hadn't been very good to begin with. His eyes fluttered twice more, on the third time, they remained closed and his head lolled to the side, signalling that he had lost his tenuous grip on consciousness once more.
"Dagwood, you take his legs, I will lift his shoulders," Bridger instructed. "I will support his head as best I can and lead the way up the stairs."
Between the three of them, with as much care and consideration as they were able to muster, Lucas was gently picked up from the verandah floorboards and taken inside.
Halfway up the stairs, Bridger pondered the idea that maybe it would have been a better idea for just one of them to carry the unconscious teenager. Given the awkward position they now found themselves in, with Dagwood at the bottom of the staircase, and he at the top, that was no longer a plausible option.
"Bring him in here, quickly," Lily stated, standing in front of the doorway to Lucas's bedroom. While she wanted them to move him as quickly as possible, all present were also aware of the fact that they didn't know what the extent of his injuries were yet.
Kristen was standing on the far side of the bed, already having her medical bag open and the items she deemed necessary at a finger tip's reach. She watched with expert eyes as Lucas was laid on the pillow and sheet. She waited to see if there was any reaction at all from the teenager.
Thankfully there was, signalling that a degree of consciousness was returning to the young man. The worst injuries on the surface appeared to be bruising and a cut just below the hairline on his temple. No doubt that was the area of most concern for the moment and probably the cause for his lack of responsiveness.
With a delicate hand, Kristen used a sterile hand to gently probe the slightly swollen skin around the gash. The bleeding was minimal and nothing to be overly worried about.
At Kristen's touch, Lucas tried to jerk his head away from the source of pain, making the headache present come alive with resounding realisation. He moaned deep in his throat and tried to use a misguided hand to stop her examination of the tender spot.
A gentle pair of restraining hands from Lily, and Lucas's forehead frowned, but he no longer tried to stop her diagnosis. The hands grasping his own were warm as Lily spoke comforting words to him and told him to keep still while the doctor checked him over.
A few minutes later and Lucas was struggling to open his eyes. Kristen was a good deal through her diagnosis of his facial injuries. Thankfully most of them were superficial and would require only time to heal. The bruises were not fully coloured yet, but by would be the day after tomorrow. Some ice on the problem areas would benefit when Lucas was more alert and a cool compress was kept in place.
"What's the damage," came the question in a croaky voice.
"I'll give you a full report in a minute, just as soon as you lift your shirt for me and let me take a look at your chest," Kristen answered. "Try and stay awake for me as long as you can."
Lucas nodded in acknowledge, knowing it was dangerous for any patient to be allowed to go back to sleep shortly after regaining consciousness. "I would help you if I could, but it hurts too much," he admitted, not believing he had the slightest bit of strength to do as she asked.
"Well you just lay there nice and quiet for me and talk to Lily while I take a good look," Kristen said. For the moment, Bridger, Tony and Dagwood were content enough to let the two ladies take care of Lucas's medical treatment until they were asked to help.
Tony and Dagwood stayed towards the rear of the room, happy enough to talk idly as they watched the proceedings. They didn't want to speak up too loudly in case Kristen asked them to wait downstairs. If they remained quiet enough, she might forget they were there altogether.
Mac Baron had been happy enough to wait downstairs altogether. No doubt Lily would give him a full version of the story when she was ready, but for now he kept a low profile. As he sat downstairs, waiting for news on Lucas, his thoughts started to drift towards who might have been responsible for assaulting the teenager in such a callous way.
Mac couldn't help but come to the conclusion that everything that had been going wrong lately was connected. He had this dreadful feeling that things were not going to be very profitable around here in the immediate future, though he hated to voice such pessimistic thoughts out loud to Lily or Lucas.
Bridger on the other hand, was hovering directly behind Kristen and wanted to know the purpose of each item as she retrieved it from her bag or the bedside table. Kristen felt like asking him to calm down, but saw only the fear and worry on his face for someone he cared about. She would save the chastisement for when Lucas was feelings better.
Kristen's expression turned a might more stern as she unbuttoned Lucas's shirt and took particular note of the extent of bruising and discolouration to the chest area. The bruises looked painful, but her main concern was for broken or cracked ribs. No matter how much she wanted to avoid it, she would have to carefully feel around for the damage. There was no other way of doing it and being so far from a hospital took out the option of moving him too far for the moment.
"I am sorry, but this is going to hurt," Kristen said, trying to warn Lucas. The teenager smiled bravely back at her and tried his best to brace himself for the pain he knew was coming. Lily tightened her grip on his hands for support.
"You might need to help us hold him down if the pain becomes too intense," Kristen said to Tony and Bridger. The two of them moved into position at the end of the bed, awaiting the signal that they would be needed. They could only pray that they wouldn't be.
Again, with skill, technique and all the care she could muster, but mindful that her diagnosis needed to be accurate, Kristen went about probing each individual rib. Feeling along them for any signs of a break. Lucas had gasped out loud at the first wave of pain that rolled over his body.
Kristen had given the signal for Tony and Bridger to gently restrain his legs to avoid him thrashing about or chancing to jar his body. After the first rib, Lucas resolved himself to the pain somewhat and apart from the occasional gasp or moan, allowed the pain to take him until Kristen said she was finished.
A few stray tears from the intense pain fell from his eyes, although he did his best to hide them. Lily admonished him quickly enough and told him that it was perfectly natural for him to do so when he was feeling so bad and hurt.
By the time Kristen had finished her careful feeling of his entire rib cage, the pain barrier was taking its toll on Lucas's ability to concentrate on those within the room around him. His eyes were fluttering closed only to have him jerk himself awake a few seconds later, forcing himself to stay awake as he had been asked to.
Kristen was satisfied that the head injury was not sufficient to leave any lasting damage and her motherly concern for Lucas came to the surface, telling her she needed to put an end to his pain and the suffering. Before telling the others of her assessment, she filled a syringe with a painkiller and sedative. Injecting the teenager and noting that he barely responded to the sting of the needle, she was pleased to see his eyes close again and remain so.
"I need you to support his shoulders and upper body, Nathan, while I tape his chest and ribs. There don't appear to be any broken ones, a small miracle we can be thankful for. I felt two cracks though on his right side. Only minor ones, but he will need to be careful for a few weeks in order for them to heal," Kristen explained.
"Will he be alright?" Bridger asked, not knowing what else to say. Lily fussed with the blankets at the end of the bed, knowing that she couldn't put them over the sleeping teenager until the doctor had finished, but at least feeling as though she was doing something to help.
"Yes, I think so. The bruises will fade with time, though he might find getting around difficult for a day or so. Those ribs need to be kept bound for a week to allow them to start knitting together properly, but after two days bed rest, he should be able to walk around normally, so long as he is extra careful. If he was to fall suddenly or take a nasty tumble and fall on his chest, he might cause the ribs to become more than cracked."
"Most of the damage was done to his upper body, not his face. He must have protected his face to a certain degree with his hands. They have a number of bruises, signalling his attempts to fight back or at least defend himself. There must have been a number of attackers though, given the number and severity of bruises on his arms and upper chest."
"I don't think you have to worry too much about having someone to watch out for him. I think I speak for all of us in the room when I say that we will all be keeping a good eye on him," Bridger said with a smile, noting that Tony and Dagwood were nodding their heads in agreement to his words.
"When are you going to ask him about what happened?" Tony asked, feeling like he needed to go and do some major hurt to someone for Lucas's sake.
"I know you want to go into town, Tony, and find out who did this and why," Nathan said, putting a hand on Piccolo's shoulder. "I do too. But we have to be smart about this. Lucas is hurt and he has to be our main concern right now."
"So what do you suggest we do, just let it go that Lucas got the crap beaten out of him?" Tony said angrily and loudly to the Captain. His emotions were running very high, and although he had no real animosity towards Bridger, he had to doubt the man's tactics on something like this.
"Gentlemen, please take your discussion and yourselves outside this room," Kristen said in a no nonsense tone of voice. Lucas was not likely to awaken from their raised voices, but protocol within a sick room had to be maintained.
"We will wait for you downstairs," Bridger said apologetically. "Do you need any more help before we go?"
"Lily and I will manage just fine," Kristen returned, indicating that he should take both Tony and Dagwood with him.
Dagwood stood for a few moments, as if he was confused about what he should be doing. Part of him wanted to do what the doctor was going and leave the room with Bridger like he was being asked. A more protective part within him, wanted to stay here and make sure that his friend Lucas was going to be alright.
Kristen was the indecisiveness in the G.E.L.F.'s expression and realised about the troublesome thoughts that were plaguing him. Dagwood was showered with many comments about his intellect, but his friendship towards Lucas and the need to protect Lucas from being hurt was very strong. Something that couldn't be artificially manufactured like some had tried to do in the past.
"It's okay Dagwood, if you like, you can come back later and sit with Lucas a while and watch over him when one of us needs a break," Kristen suggested. Taking Dagwood out of the situation and treating him like a child was the wrong thing to do. She had to harness that protective spirit within him and put it to good use when it was needed. It would do Dagwood the world of good to think that he was helping in Lucas's recovery in some way.
Dagwood seemed happy enough with the doctor's suggestion and it was during those words that Piccolo almost forgot his angry discussion with Bridger. He smiled gratefully towards Kristen for what she had done. They all needed to stick together now and help each other. The doc had just made the right step in that direction.
****************************
"Tony, I want to find out as much as you who did this to Lucas," Bridger said once they were seated downstairs. All of them kept glancing towards the stairs, waiting for Kristen and Lily to emerge. Mac listened to the conversation, not wanting to intrude.
"But..........," Bridger paused as they heard the sounds of footsteps from above. they looked towards the stairs, but it was just one of the ladies walking around.
"But what?" Tony said, restarting the conversation. "Did you get a good look at him up there. Did you. The poor kid's going to be black and blue for a couple of weeks, not to mention sore."
"I know, Tony," Bridger said, forcing himself to remain calm. Tony was a good sailor and friend to Lucas, but let his emotions run his heart sometimes. They needed good practical common sense to tackle a problem like this. "We need to wait until I can talk to Lucas and ask him some questions. You probably know just as much as I do how difficult it is going to be to get any information out of him."
"What then?" Tony asked in a pout, knowing the Captain was right, but not wanting to admit it straight away.
"I will talk to Lucas as soon as I can, tomorrow, if he feels up to it and try to put a few more pieces to the puzzle together. We don't have anything really to go on at the moment," Bridger pointed out.
Tony put his hands in his pockets and paced about, having a hard time remaining still when he just wanted to kick something or somebody for what had happened to Lucas. The kid was one of the gentlest people he knew. He didn't deserve this and Tony made a silent promise to himself and Lucas to find whoever was responsible and make sure that they did get what was coming to them. Tony Piccolo style.
"What do you make all of this, Mac?" Bridger asked. The black man's silence made him think that he might know something at least. What had been going on before Lucas arrived at his request? Did any of it relate to what happened to Lucas today?
"Well, I'll tell you, Mr Bridger sir," Mac answered, "I think we best be keeping a good eye out around ourselves over the coming few days and weeks. There have been some strange goings-on around here, even before Lucas arrived."
"Did you tell him about any of these problems?" Bridger asked, not accusingly, but knowing that Mac would not have asked Lucas to come if he didn't think the teenager was needed in some way.
Mac could think of no reason not to disclose what he had told Lucas. He proceeded to tell Bridger and Tony about what he and Lucas had talked about before coming back to the ranch. Why he and Lily had decided to stay off the ranch for a while and what had caused his "little" accident.
Mac would not go so far as to say that Lucas suspected his father Lawrence involved. He left out those crucial details, but could see in Bridger's eyes that the suggestion had already crossed his mind. It didn't take much to add two and two together. Lawrence had been responsible for almost killing Lucas on the last visit to this ranch.
"When Lucas is well enough, we have to put a stop to all of this, Mac," Bridger said in a warning tone. He of course meant Lawrence or whoever was causing these stream of unfortunate turn of events lately. No matter who, they had to be stopped.
Kristen and Lily now came downstairs and joined the men seated in the living room. "He is resting comfortably for now. I have taped his ribs, he may not like it when he wakes, but they will help some. I will give him some more painkiller without the sedative if he is still experiencing too much pain."
"I put some extra blankets on the bed up there, but we have only put two over him," Lily said. "Won't help him none if he becomes too warm. I best be getting back up there and keeping an eye on him," she announced.
"Do you need any help, Lily?" Tony asked out of politeness. He felt a little uneasy at the sly smile that was exchanged between Lily, Mac and Bridger.
"No son, but I think Mac might need some," Lily replied, whispering quietly to Kristen as she disappeared back up the stairs to take her turn at watching over Lucas.
Kristen had said they wouldn't need to do so after tonight on a round-the- clock basis. But for tonight, while the injuries were so fresh, they would do so until morning. There were enough of them to take two hourly turns and still get sufficient rest themselves for the next day.
"What does she mean, Mac?" Tony asked innocently. He wasn't aware that the rest of the afternoon would soon see him regretting any part of farm work.
"Come with me and I will show you," Mac said. He wouldn't be able to do much of the work himself. Bridger offered to put his own hands to work, but both of them smiled openly at the thought of Tony being roped into the idea.
Upon arriving at the barn, Mac handed Tony a large three pronged pitchfork. Tony looked a little confused at first until he saw the large mound of fresh straw in one of the stalls.
"Oh, I know what we do with this," Tony said, thinking he was well on the way to being a farm-boy already. "We got to put fresh straw all over the stalls where the horses are, right?"
"Yes, that's the general idea, Tony, but first," Bridger said, trying not to laugh outright at the man's naivety of his fate.
"You'll be needing this too," Mac now said, pointing to a old rickety wheelbarrow along side the barn wall.
"What do we need that for?" Tony asked, thinking that he had seen them fork the straw into the straw on any western movies he had seen. The work hadn't looked to difficult when the cowboys on the screen had done it.
"You have to take the old straw out before you can lay the fresh stuff," Mac said, clapping Tony on the back.
Tony walked casually towards the next stall, gauging how much straw he would have to remove. It looked as though it was going to be a longer job than he anticipated. He wanted to help Lucas out in anyway he could, but was beginning to find out just what was involved.
As Tony looked at the old straw in the stall, he became aware of something that had just occurred to him. As he was about to voice his objects and protest about what he was being asked to do, he turned, only to find Mac and Bridger barely containing their laughter. They of course had known this all along.
"You want me to pile all of that in there?" Tony began to ask incredulously, his arms beginning to become more animated the more he spoke.
Bridger and Mac couldn't help but laugh as they nodded their heads in a 'yes' gesture to his half-finished question.
"But those horses have.........."
Mac and Bridger were laughing harder still. "Yep," Mac replied, knowing exactly what Tony was referring to.
"And they have.................."
"Yes Tony, and after you spread all of that nice warm hay, you have the good fortune of having to do it all again tomorrow," Bridger said and then leant heavily against one of the wooden support beams as he laughed heartily at Tony's predicament.
"That's just yucky," Tony said sternly before turning and beginning to fork the old hay with much more energy than he needed to.
Mac and Bridger went about a few other afternoon chores, leaving Tony to his work. They finished a good deal before Piccolo and were sitting back in the living room when Tony came through the front door. Dagwood was helping Kristen in the kitchen and Lily was still with Lucas upstairs.
"Mac, you got to put those horses on some sort of diet or something," Tony said with disgust. "I mean, they eat that stuff all day, and what comes out is not pretty I tell you. They must have not chewed any of it at all. You have to keep better control over what goes into them, because what is coming out is a crime."
Tony now climbed the stairs, ready to take a much needed long shower and wash the scent of hay from himself. "Dagwood, tomorrow, you and I will do it together."
"Okay, Tony, Dagwood help," the G.E.L.F. said, not really knowing what he had agreed to do. He was happy enough to help Tony if he asked.
Bridger and Mac were in fits of laughter again as they watched Piccolo, only to get confused looks from Kristen who observed their mirth. "What have you two been up to?" she asked. Kristen couldn't hold back her own giggles once Bridger explained what had happened in the barn.
Dagwood happily sat at the table and peeled potatoes, the topic of conversation not interesting him. He didn't know what the others in the room where talking about and didn't understand about horses. He hoped that Tony would show him tomorrow. He remembered Lucas teaching him a few things last time they were here, but most of those were now forgotten and he would have to learn all over again.
As soon as Tony disappeared to have his shower, Bridger was asking about Lucas's progress. Kristen told him that Lily was still with him and the teenager had slept the whole time they were out in the barn. She did not expect to see him awake for most of the night ahead.
The potatoes that Dagwood was helping peel were going towards making a nourishing, hot soup for Lucas. The teenager wouldn't feel like eating much when he did make and would no doubt be feeling fairly miserable. Lily had told Kristen of a recipe that she had found to work on Lucas when he was younger and would visit the ranch much more regularly.
The night progressed quietly and mostly uneventful. Bridger was the last to take a turn at watching over Lucas, having been badgered by Kristen and Lily that he needed to rest if he was going to help Lucas and do more of the chores around the ranch.
Tony had retired to bed shortly after dinner, complaining that he had pain in muscles he didn't even know he had until today. Kristen was sympathetic enough to offer a tube of soothing balm to rub into his aching muscles.
It was about 4.00am and Bridger had just taken watch over Lucas from Kristen about half an hour ago. Kristen had told Bridger about giving Lucas another dose of painkiller, this time in liquid form, wanting him to drink as much water as possible. He wouldn't need another dose until after breakfast. So far, he had slept peacefully enough, only offering a few grunts of pain as he tried to roll over in bed.
Bridger was just beginning to doze off sitting up in the chair when another moan from the sleeping teenager made him start. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and took a closer look at Lucas to see if he was alright. He was surprised to see a pair of blue eyes open and looking back at him.
"Hello there," Bridger commented with a smile, in a very quiet voice.
"Hi," was the brief reply. The grimace on his face at the slight movement was noticeable. He started to reach a hand up towards his face, as if to feel the areas that hurt the most. Bridger grabbed a hold of them and prevented him from doing so, knowing that poking at them wasn't the best thing to be doing right now.
"Hurting a little?" Bridger asked, hoping for an honest answer.
Lucas chose not to use words, but nodded his head slightly in positive answer. The fact was his whole body was hurting something fierce. Bridger held a glass of water to his lips to drink from and he drank gratefully, allowing the cool liquid to sooth his sore throat.
"Thanks!" came the whisper as the glass was withdrawn. "Guess I messed up a little, huh?" he now said. Bridger was a little surprised at such an early comment about the whole incident. He didn't think now was the right moment to be talking about it, but he didn't want to push the teenager away either.
"I don't think so," Bridger answered, truthfully telling Lucas that what had happened wasn't his fault in anyway. "Do you remember any of what happened?" he asked, thinking of the most logical place to start.
Bridger's question remained unanswered though as Lucas had already fallen back asleep. He didn't mind though, knowing that there was plenty of time to talk. Healing was the most important thing to do right now at 4.45am in the morning. "You just rest, don't worry about anything," he whispered to the slumbering young man.
It was after 7.00am that Kristen appeared in Lucas's room, ready to relieve Nathan from his vigil. She smiled at Bridger's persistence but told Nathan that they could probably get away with leaving him to sleep on his own for most of the day.
She would check the bandages around his chest and the other injuries to make sure they had started to heal. Other than that, sleep was the best medicine right now. Lucas was to be allowed to sleep as much as he wanted to for the next few days, allowing his ribs as much time as possible.
Lucas had awoken not long after her arrival. He ate a sparse breakfast, though the bruises on his forearms were now vividly coloured and caused him discomfort as he held the eating utensils in his hands. While he ate, Kristen told him how bad the bruising was and about the cracked ribs.
Lucas reached down to the area she spoke about and noted the dull ache that was present. No doubt the pain would become more intense once the painkiller wore off. He traced along the line of bandages, swallowing a little at how much was there and silently saying a prayer that he had been fortunate enough for them not to be worse.
Kristen had playfully admonished him about any thoughts of leaving the bed today, but Lucas had responded by only burying himself further down into the blankets. He didn't think he could move very far at the moment, even if he wanted to.
While Lucas was eating breakfast, another battle was taking place within the household. Bridger and Mac trying to rouse Tony out of bed to help with the morning chores again. It's not that he didn't want to help, but rather that Tony was not a good morning person. Anything before 10am was blasphemy.
"Come on, Tony, the horses need to be fed again," Mac said, still smiling broadly at the man's antics to avoid them getting him out of bed. The two of them had tried pulling the blankets off him and tickling his feet, but to no avail.
"Did you tell them that they only ate like twelve hours ago," Tony said crossly, grabbing at the blankets and wrapping them around himself tightly.
"The sun is shining outside and the birds are singing, you are going to miss it all, Tony," Bridger tried coercing.
"Send me a postcard!" Tony retorted.
"Dagwood already to go Tony," the G.E.L.F. said cheerfully as he came into the room. Dagwood had taken his responsibility seriously and was now waiting for Tony to show him what needed to be done to help Lucas around the ranch.
"Ready for what, Dag?" Tony asked, sighing audibly, knowing that he couldn't be angry or disgruntled at the man. He poked his head out from underneath the covers to see Dagwood dressed in old style clothes and donning a straw hat and boots. He looked like he just escaped from Old McDonald's Farm.
"Ready to help Tony with horses," Dagwood said, frowning a little as though he had gotten it wrong what was to be done. "Dag would not help?"
"You'll be just fine, Dag," Tony said as he got up from the bed, flashing a glare at both Bridger and Mac. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Bridger had planned this little stun with Dagwood, but he didn't voice it out loud.
Lucas was still in bed resting, and would probably be asleep again within the hour, his body forcing him to sleep to counteract the pain. Tony and Dagwood had stolen a brief check on the teenager, to make sure everything was okay. Both of them still feeling a tinge of anger as they saw the bruising now standing out in contrast to Lucas's pale complexion.
"Do you two boys want breakfast first?" Lily Baron asked as they appeared near the back door, ready to head to the barn to complete the morning's chores.
"Nah, let's get these chores over and done with first Dag, then we can sit down and take our time eating," Tony suggested. A nod of agreement from Dagwood and the two friends headed out to meet Mac at the barn to be told what needed to be done.
Mac had given them the list of chores, telling them that they shouldn't be anymore than an hour or so. He and Bridger and the two women were contently enjoying a second cup of coffee when they heard footsteps approaching the back steps.
Bridger was the first to burst into laughter at the sight before them. A very unhappy, dirty Tony stood in the doorway, small bits of straw or hay protruding him his hair in various and numerous places. A very sheepish looking Dagwood was behind him, though he was not unkempt at all.
"How did you boys go?" Mac asked, hiding his laughter briefly. Kristen and Lily were already giggling openly at the sight of the bedraggled Tony before them. The sight was too priceless.
"How did I go?" Tony spat back sarcastically. "How did I go?" he repeated. "I will tell you how I went. I went from being almost finished doing all of the chores, to ending up under a mound of soiled hay in one of the stalls."
"Dagwood sorry. Dagwood didn't see Tony until he yelled at me," Dagwood offered. Bridger had a mental picture of Tony's reaction as a stray pitch fork full of hay landed on him from nowhere.
"What do I look like to you, Dag, the rear end of a horse?" Tony asked loudly.
"And the aroma you are surrounded by is just heavenly," Lily commented, covering her nose slightly from the unpleasant stench that wafted to them. Tony stomped through the doorway and up the stairs, muttering something about taking 'another' bath.
The scene certainly did wonders to lift everyone's mood and make them smile at the mischievous deeds of Dagwood. He might not have known what he was
doing, but the results were nothing short of spectacular. Bridger made a mental note to share what had happened to Tony with Lucas in a few days. Hopefully they would all see the funny side by then and enjoy the laughter.
The morning's breakfast ritual was interrupted yet again by a second set of footsteps approaching, this time, the front door. These footsteps had a much more official sound to them.
Mac looked at the group seated at the table with curiosity that spoke volumes, and then made to open the door and greet the unannounced visitor.
"Yes sir," Mac greeted the well-dressed gentleman.
"My name is Mr Walker, maybe you will remember me. I conducted some legal matters for Mr Wolenczak and Mr Summers after his death," the man began.
"Andrew Walker, isn't it?" Bridger said, getting up from the chair and recognizing the solicitor that had handled the will of Lucas's friend. This was the last person Bridger expected to see here that day.
"Yes, and you are Captain Bridger, if I remember correctly?" the solicitor responded in turn. "I didn't realise you would be here as well, Captain."
The last statement making Bridger frown slightly. How had the man become aware that Lucas was here in the first place? "Why wouldn't I be?" he challenged.
"Oh, no offence intended Captain, my sources led me to believe that young Mr Wolenczak would be staying here for at least a few days, but I did not think his family or friends would be travelling with him," the solicitor said, trying to save the conversation into a positive one.
"And how do you come to know that young Mr Wolenczak is staying here?" Bridger asked, his suspicions quickly mounting.
"That is the reason for my visit today, Captain. Unfortunately I have some rather unpleasant business to discuss with Lucas. Is he at home so that I many speak to him please?" Walker asked.
"Yes, he is at home, but I am afraid that you cannot speak to him at the moment. His doctor will vouch that he is too ill at present to have any agitation," Bridger asked, gesturing for Kristen to come forth and back up his explanation. She did so without a moments hesitation, Lily also coming to hear what the solicitor had to say.
"Lucas was badly beaten in town yesterday, he is unwell to see many visitors and it may be days before I can allow you any time for discussions," Kristen voiced, daring the solicitor to give any details that he knew of the assault.
"Oh, my, well that is indeed unfortunate. I hope that Lucas will be alright. But I am afraid that I cannot delay in this business that I have come about today. Any delays at all might cause Lucas more hardship and for yourselves as well, Lily and Mac," the solicitor said, addressing the Baron's for the first time that morning.
"What are you here to discuss?" Mac asked, somehow feeling that the news from the man wasn't going to be good.
"I have been served with a petition on behalf of a person or persons that this ranch is not adhering to the zoned status of its land obligations," Walked began explaining.
"Speak English," Bridger growled, his temper becoming increasingly short with this man, even though he had helped them in the past.
"Very well," Walker said, looking over the bridge of his glasses and not appreciating the Captain's shortness. "This land is zoned as a working stud ranch. Therefore it must be maintained in such a manner for it to retain all of the council benefits under that arrangement. If the council deems that the land is being used inappropriately, or that the arrangement is not being adhered to, then it can place the land and all fixtures up for auction to the highest bidder."
"We have some horses on this properly at the moment," Mac Baron pointed out, not understanding the full implications of what the solicitor was saying to them.
"Yes, Mr Baron, you do. But not many, and according to my sources, very few that are able to work or be used on a stud. I believe you have only a few mares and one colt, is that correct?"
"Yes, that's right," Mac admitted.
"Under the arrangements put in place before Mr Summers death, the council requires no less than 20 horses on this ranch of a suitable working age. They can be a mixture of males and females, but there needs to be a significant number more."
"Are you serious that the council can just take away the land like that if the ranch doesn't have the number of horses you are talking about?" Bridger asked, never hearing of a legal arrangement such as this before.
"I am quite sure Captain, the people responsible for this petition are very adamant to lean on the council to use its full discretionary powers and have the land sold." Walker said firmly.
"How long do we have to do this?" Bridger asked nervously. The full impact of Lily and Mac losing their ranch and Lucas losing any part of his uncle's land coming to bear in his mind.
"This ranch needs to have 20 horses no later than 21 days from now to satisfy the requirements of the council," Walker informed them.
"We can't do it in that time," Mac protested, knowing that getting the corrals fully finished in that time as well as buying good breeding stock would take time and money.
"I am sorry, Mr Baron, but you have 21 days," Walker said handing the man the legal paper. "I wish there was something that I could do, but I can't. I even canvassed the possibility of asking for an extension on the time, but the rules and legislation are fairly concise on this matter."
"Are we able to know who these "people" are that started this petition?" Bridger asked as his frustration about feeling so helpless beginning to grow.
"I would say not Captain, those details are usually treated as confidential information. On a 'need to know' basis only," Walker replied.
"I NEED TO KNOW!" Bridger shouted into the man's face.
"Very well, Captain. It is a little unorthodox on my part to reveal such information, but the petition was organized by one Mr Wolenczak Senior," Walker said, now heading towards his car. There was very little else he could do to help these clients at this point in time. They needed to stock the ranch with horses and they needed to do it within 21 days.
Bridger's face crumpled at the revelation of who was behind such a heinous campaign to take the ranch from Lily and Mac Baron. Lawrence Wolenczak's mind games with his son and those he considered beneath him knew no bounds. He would stoop at nothing to see Lucas in endless misery, even if he had to hurt other people along the way.
"What are we going to do Nathan?" Kristen asked, tears in her eyes at the thought that Lily and Mac were on the verge of losing everything they had worked so hard for.
Mac Baron spoke next, knowing of a much more difficult question to ask, "What are we going to tell Lucas?"
The four adults looked at each other with very little to offer in suggestion. The day had just gotten a lot darker.
TO BE CONTINUED..................
Hi folks, I have apologized in the past, but my updating is done as I can. This particular story did get left out in the cold for a long time, but I never forgot about it. I hope you like this so far. Lots more to go yet.
The title to this story has a different meaning than the name of the small colt. The meaning will become obvious towards the end and a bit more into the story so please stick around.
None of the medical treatment is real nor any of the details about running ranches. All just made up for entertainment purposes.
Let me know you are still reading out there.
JULES
Please enjoy and let me know if you like either of these stories.
Time frame - about three (3) months after THE WILL
Frankie – I apologize for leaving it so long. The plot changed about a dozen times which is unusual for me. Usually when I have an idea, I stick to it and just add in new bits here and there. But this one changed entirely. Hope you are still reading. Thanks for your reviews.
Joxer – Okay, if you don't want to read anymore, no more updates for you LOL. (Just kidding)
Sara – This chapter is for you, who have never failed to believe that this story would be finished. Thanks for sticking by me and my ridiculous updating schedule.
Ihni – It actually hasn't really begun yet, but hopefully you will enjoy what I have done so far.
Kas – I am so glad you liked the WILL. I never really got more than a few people letting me know what they thought with that one. It was my first SeaQuest story and I was a bit of a green author back then. Nothing much has changed til now.
Mar – No, I am not fair. I apologize to you and all of the readers out there. Yes, Lucas is going to give Bridger a heart attack one day. I think he has already had several thanks to my plotlines LOL Love that you are reading my Bonanza stuff. Wish I could get more feedback for my LOTR stories. Don't know how many are reading or not reading that one.
okay, here is the next part..............
Bridger frowned a little as he sat in an arm chair in the living room when he heard a scuffling sound on the verandah outside. Tony was teaching Dagwood how to cheat at poker in the same room. Kristen and Lily Baron were talking idly in the kitchen.
Lily had almost made the comment that Lucas should have been back by now with the bread for lunch that she asked about. There was no way of knowing how long it might take the teenager to find some extra hands for the ranch.
The sound on the verandah made her pause mid-sentence as well, wearing an equally questioning look as Nathan. Mac was laying down inside, resting before lunch was served.
"Maybe that's Luke now," Tony said, getting to his feet to investigate. "Don't you go messing with those cards while my back is turned Dag."
"Dagwood promise not to touch cards, Tony" Dagwood responded.
A sly smile crept over Bridger's face as he observed Piccolo's teaching methods. Dagwood would think he was a card shark by the end of the day, apart from the fact that Tony would have robbed him blind in the mean time.
Tony had the remains of a grin on his face as he opened the door, but that quickly faded as he gazed down at the sight before him. "LUCAS!!" he shouted. The others in the room heard his yell and quickly gathered inside the doorway.
Tony quickly knelt by the side of his unconscious friend, feeling his limbs for any signs of breaks. There was blood from a few cuts in places, signalling that the teenager had suffered quite a beating at the hands of someone.
Piccolo's temper began to boil when he thought of Lucas being beaten senselessly like this. He would have to put those feelings aside for the time being though, as Bridger joined him and they tried to assess the best way to carry Lucas inside.
"Lucas hurt," Dagwood said plainly. Those gathered around could help but nod in silence at the G.E.L.F.'s observation. His honest perception of the scene struck a cord in each of them.
As if in answer to the comment, Lucas moaned as Bridger lifted one of his arms. He could already see some bruising starting to form on exposed parts of his
body. No doubt, there would be more underneath his clothing. His chest and upper body seemed to have suffered the most damage until they could take a closer look.
"Lucas?" Bridger said, trying to gain the boy's attention. He had wan smile on his face when a pair of blue, unfocused eyes opened and looked at him in confusion. "Don't worry, we are going to take care of you."
Lucas didn't say anything or gesture that he had understood the statement, instead closing his eyes and turning his head again, trying to take count of where all the pain was coming from. "S-sorry a-about," he began, the effort to speak proving difficult. "A-about the b-bread." he finished."
Lily couldn't help but wipe a tear from her eye and laugh affectionately at
the boy's comments. She now went back into the house and went to gather the medical supplies that they would need to tend him. They could take him to the hospital a few miles from the ranch, but without knowing the extent of his injuries, they might cause him more harm than good.
Tony could see Lucas's attention growing more distant, although it hadn't been very good to begin with. His eyes fluttered twice more, on the third time, they remained closed and his head lolled to the side, signalling that he had lost his tenuous grip on consciousness once more.
"Dagwood, you take his legs, I will lift his shoulders," Bridger instructed. "I will support his head as best I can and lead the way up the stairs."
Between the three of them, with as much care and consideration as they were able to muster, Lucas was gently picked up from the verandah floorboards and taken inside.
Halfway up the stairs, Bridger pondered the idea that maybe it would have been a better idea for just one of them to carry the unconscious teenager. Given the awkward position they now found themselves in, with Dagwood at the bottom of the staircase, and he at the top, that was no longer a plausible option.
"Bring him in here, quickly," Lily stated, standing in front of the doorway to Lucas's bedroom. While she wanted them to move him as quickly as possible, all present were also aware of the fact that they didn't know what the extent of his injuries were yet.
Kristen was standing on the far side of the bed, already having her medical bag open and the items she deemed necessary at a finger tip's reach. She watched with expert eyes as Lucas was laid on the pillow and sheet. She waited to see if there was any reaction at all from the teenager.
Thankfully there was, signalling that a degree of consciousness was returning to the young man. The worst injuries on the surface appeared to be bruising and a cut just below the hairline on his temple. No doubt that was the area of most concern for the moment and probably the cause for his lack of responsiveness.
With a delicate hand, Kristen used a sterile hand to gently probe the slightly swollen skin around the gash. The bleeding was minimal and nothing to be overly worried about.
At Kristen's touch, Lucas tried to jerk his head away from the source of pain, making the headache present come alive with resounding realisation. He moaned deep in his throat and tried to use a misguided hand to stop her examination of the tender spot.
A gentle pair of restraining hands from Lily, and Lucas's forehead frowned, but he no longer tried to stop her diagnosis. The hands grasping his own were warm as Lily spoke comforting words to him and told him to keep still while the doctor checked him over.
A few minutes later and Lucas was struggling to open his eyes. Kristen was a good deal through her diagnosis of his facial injuries. Thankfully most of them were superficial and would require only time to heal. The bruises were not fully coloured yet, but by would be the day after tomorrow. Some ice on the problem areas would benefit when Lucas was more alert and a cool compress was kept in place.
"What's the damage," came the question in a croaky voice.
"I'll give you a full report in a minute, just as soon as you lift your shirt for me and let me take a look at your chest," Kristen answered. "Try and stay awake for me as long as you can."
Lucas nodded in acknowledge, knowing it was dangerous for any patient to be allowed to go back to sleep shortly after regaining consciousness. "I would help you if I could, but it hurts too much," he admitted, not believing he had the slightest bit of strength to do as she asked.
"Well you just lay there nice and quiet for me and talk to Lily while I take a good look," Kristen said. For the moment, Bridger, Tony and Dagwood were content enough to let the two ladies take care of Lucas's medical treatment until they were asked to help.
Tony and Dagwood stayed towards the rear of the room, happy enough to talk idly as they watched the proceedings. They didn't want to speak up too loudly in case Kristen asked them to wait downstairs. If they remained quiet enough, she might forget they were there altogether.
Mac Baron had been happy enough to wait downstairs altogether. No doubt Lily would give him a full version of the story when she was ready, but for now he kept a low profile. As he sat downstairs, waiting for news on Lucas, his thoughts started to drift towards who might have been responsible for assaulting the teenager in such a callous way.
Mac couldn't help but come to the conclusion that everything that had been going wrong lately was connected. He had this dreadful feeling that things were not going to be very profitable around here in the immediate future, though he hated to voice such pessimistic thoughts out loud to Lily or Lucas.
Bridger on the other hand, was hovering directly behind Kristen and wanted to know the purpose of each item as she retrieved it from her bag or the bedside table. Kristen felt like asking him to calm down, but saw only the fear and worry on his face for someone he cared about. She would save the chastisement for when Lucas was feelings better.
Kristen's expression turned a might more stern as she unbuttoned Lucas's shirt and took particular note of the extent of bruising and discolouration to the chest area. The bruises looked painful, but her main concern was for broken or cracked ribs. No matter how much she wanted to avoid it, she would have to carefully feel around for the damage. There was no other way of doing it and being so far from a hospital took out the option of moving him too far for the moment.
"I am sorry, but this is going to hurt," Kristen said, trying to warn Lucas. The teenager smiled bravely back at her and tried his best to brace himself for the pain he knew was coming. Lily tightened her grip on his hands for support.
"You might need to help us hold him down if the pain becomes too intense," Kristen said to Tony and Bridger. The two of them moved into position at the end of the bed, awaiting the signal that they would be needed. They could only pray that they wouldn't be.
Again, with skill, technique and all the care she could muster, but mindful that her diagnosis needed to be accurate, Kristen went about probing each individual rib. Feeling along them for any signs of a break. Lucas had gasped out loud at the first wave of pain that rolled over his body.
Kristen had given the signal for Tony and Bridger to gently restrain his legs to avoid him thrashing about or chancing to jar his body. After the first rib, Lucas resolved himself to the pain somewhat and apart from the occasional gasp or moan, allowed the pain to take him until Kristen said she was finished.
A few stray tears from the intense pain fell from his eyes, although he did his best to hide them. Lily admonished him quickly enough and told him that it was perfectly natural for him to do so when he was feeling so bad and hurt.
By the time Kristen had finished her careful feeling of his entire rib cage, the pain barrier was taking its toll on Lucas's ability to concentrate on those within the room around him. His eyes were fluttering closed only to have him jerk himself awake a few seconds later, forcing himself to stay awake as he had been asked to.
Kristen was satisfied that the head injury was not sufficient to leave any lasting damage and her motherly concern for Lucas came to the surface, telling her she needed to put an end to his pain and the suffering. Before telling the others of her assessment, she filled a syringe with a painkiller and sedative. Injecting the teenager and noting that he barely responded to the sting of the needle, she was pleased to see his eyes close again and remain so.
"I need you to support his shoulders and upper body, Nathan, while I tape his chest and ribs. There don't appear to be any broken ones, a small miracle we can be thankful for. I felt two cracks though on his right side. Only minor ones, but he will need to be careful for a few weeks in order for them to heal," Kristen explained.
"Will he be alright?" Bridger asked, not knowing what else to say. Lily fussed with the blankets at the end of the bed, knowing that she couldn't put them over the sleeping teenager until the doctor had finished, but at least feeling as though she was doing something to help.
"Yes, I think so. The bruises will fade with time, though he might find getting around difficult for a day or so. Those ribs need to be kept bound for a week to allow them to start knitting together properly, but after two days bed rest, he should be able to walk around normally, so long as he is extra careful. If he was to fall suddenly or take a nasty tumble and fall on his chest, he might cause the ribs to become more than cracked."
"Most of the damage was done to his upper body, not his face. He must have protected his face to a certain degree with his hands. They have a number of bruises, signalling his attempts to fight back or at least defend himself. There must have been a number of attackers though, given the number and severity of bruises on his arms and upper chest."
"I don't think you have to worry too much about having someone to watch out for him. I think I speak for all of us in the room when I say that we will all be keeping a good eye on him," Bridger said with a smile, noting that Tony and Dagwood were nodding their heads in agreement to his words.
"When are you going to ask him about what happened?" Tony asked, feeling like he needed to go and do some major hurt to someone for Lucas's sake.
"I know you want to go into town, Tony, and find out who did this and why," Nathan said, putting a hand on Piccolo's shoulder. "I do too. But we have to be smart about this. Lucas is hurt and he has to be our main concern right now."
"So what do you suggest we do, just let it go that Lucas got the crap beaten out of him?" Tony said angrily and loudly to the Captain. His emotions were running very high, and although he had no real animosity towards Bridger, he had to doubt the man's tactics on something like this.
"Gentlemen, please take your discussion and yourselves outside this room," Kristen said in a no nonsense tone of voice. Lucas was not likely to awaken from their raised voices, but protocol within a sick room had to be maintained.
"We will wait for you downstairs," Bridger said apologetically. "Do you need any more help before we go?"
"Lily and I will manage just fine," Kristen returned, indicating that he should take both Tony and Dagwood with him.
Dagwood stood for a few moments, as if he was confused about what he should be doing. Part of him wanted to do what the doctor was going and leave the room with Bridger like he was being asked. A more protective part within him, wanted to stay here and make sure that his friend Lucas was going to be alright.
Kristen was the indecisiveness in the G.E.L.F.'s expression and realised about the troublesome thoughts that were plaguing him. Dagwood was showered with many comments about his intellect, but his friendship towards Lucas and the need to protect Lucas from being hurt was very strong. Something that couldn't be artificially manufactured like some had tried to do in the past.
"It's okay Dagwood, if you like, you can come back later and sit with Lucas a while and watch over him when one of us needs a break," Kristen suggested. Taking Dagwood out of the situation and treating him like a child was the wrong thing to do. She had to harness that protective spirit within him and put it to good use when it was needed. It would do Dagwood the world of good to think that he was helping in Lucas's recovery in some way.
Dagwood seemed happy enough with the doctor's suggestion and it was during those words that Piccolo almost forgot his angry discussion with Bridger. He smiled gratefully towards Kristen for what she had done. They all needed to stick together now and help each other. The doc had just made the right step in that direction.
****************************
"Tony, I want to find out as much as you who did this to Lucas," Bridger said once they were seated downstairs. All of them kept glancing towards the stairs, waiting for Kristen and Lily to emerge. Mac listened to the conversation, not wanting to intrude.
"But..........," Bridger paused as they heard the sounds of footsteps from above. they looked towards the stairs, but it was just one of the ladies walking around.
"But what?" Tony said, restarting the conversation. "Did you get a good look at him up there. Did you. The poor kid's going to be black and blue for a couple of weeks, not to mention sore."
"I know, Tony," Bridger said, forcing himself to remain calm. Tony was a good sailor and friend to Lucas, but let his emotions run his heart sometimes. They needed good practical common sense to tackle a problem like this. "We need to wait until I can talk to Lucas and ask him some questions. You probably know just as much as I do how difficult it is going to be to get any information out of him."
"What then?" Tony asked in a pout, knowing the Captain was right, but not wanting to admit it straight away.
"I will talk to Lucas as soon as I can, tomorrow, if he feels up to it and try to put a few more pieces to the puzzle together. We don't have anything really to go on at the moment," Bridger pointed out.
Tony put his hands in his pockets and paced about, having a hard time remaining still when he just wanted to kick something or somebody for what had happened to Lucas. The kid was one of the gentlest people he knew. He didn't deserve this and Tony made a silent promise to himself and Lucas to find whoever was responsible and make sure that they did get what was coming to them. Tony Piccolo style.
"What do you make all of this, Mac?" Bridger asked. The black man's silence made him think that he might know something at least. What had been going on before Lucas arrived at his request? Did any of it relate to what happened to Lucas today?
"Well, I'll tell you, Mr Bridger sir," Mac answered, "I think we best be keeping a good eye out around ourselves over the coming few days and weeks. There have been some strange goings-on around here, even before Lucas arrived."
"Did you tell him about any of these problems?" Bridger asked, not accusingly, but knowing that Mac would not have asked Lucas to come if he didn't think the teenager was needed in some way.
Mac could think of no reason not to disclose what he had told Lucas. He proceeded to tell Bridger and Tony about what he and Lucas had talked about before coming back to the ranch. Why he and Lily had decided to stay off the ranch for a while and what had caused his "little" accident.
Mac would not go so far as to say that Lucas suspected his father Lawrence involved. He left out those crucial details, but could see in Bridger's eyes that the suggestion had already crossed his mind. It didn't take much to add two and two together. Lawrence had been responsible for almost killing Lucas on the last visit to this ranch.
"When Lucas is well enough, we have to put a stop to all of this, Mac," Bridger said in a warning tone. He of course meant Lawrence or whoever was causing these stream of unfortunate turn of events lately. No matter who, they had to be stopped.
Kristen and Lily now came downstairs and joined the men seated in the living room. "He is resting comfortably for now. I have taped his ribs, he may not like it when he wakes, but they will help some. I will give him some more painkiller without the sedative if he is still experiencing too much pain."
"I put some extra blankets on the bed up there, but we have only put two over him," Lily said. "Won't help him none if he becomes too warm. I best be getting back up there and keeping an eye on him," she announced.
"Do you need any help, Lily?" Tony asked out of politeness. He felt a little uneasy at the sly smile that was exchanged between Lily, Mac and Bridger.
"No son, but I think Mac might need some," Lily replied, whispering quietly to Kristen as she disappeared back up the stairs to take her turn at watching over Lucas.
Kristen had said they wouldn't need to do so after tonight on a round-the- clock basis. But for tonight, while the injuries were so fresh, they would do so until morning. There were enough of them to take two hourly turns and still get sufficient rest themselves for the next day.
"What does she mean, Mac?" Tony asked innocently. He wasn't aware that the rest of the afternoon would soon see him regretting any part of farm work.
"Come with me and I will show you," Mac said. He wouldn't be able to do much of the work himself. Bridger offered to put his own hands to work, but both of them smiled openly at the thought of Tony being roped into the idea.
Upon arriving at the barn, Mac handed Tony a large three pronged pitchfork. Tony looked a little confused at first until he saw the large mound of fresh straw in one of the stalls.
"Oh, I know what we do with this," Tony said, thinking he was well on the way to being a farm-boy already. "We got to put fresh straw all over the stalls where the horses are, right?"
"Yes, that's the general idea, Tony, but first," Bridger said, trying not to laugh outright at the man's naivety of his fate.
"You'll be needing this too," Mac now said, pointing to a old rickety wheelbarrow along side the barn wall.
"What do we need that for?" Tony asked, thinking that he had seen them fork the straw into the straw on any western movies he had seen. The work hadn't looked to difficult when the cowboys on the screen had done it.
"You have to take the old straw out before you can lay the fresh stuff," Mac said, clapping Tony on the back.
Tony walked casually towards the next stall, gauging how much straw he would have to remove. It looked as though it was going to be a longer job than he anticipated. He wanted to help Lucas out in anyway he could, but was beginning to find out just what was involved.
As Tony looked at the old straw in the stall, he became aware of something that had just occurred to him. As he was about to voice his objects and protest about what he was being asked to do, he turned, only to find Mac and Bridger barely containing their laughter. They of course had known this all along.
"You want me to pile all of that in there?" Tony began to ask incredulously, his arms beginning to become more animated the more he spoke.
Bridger and Mac couldn't help but laugh as they nodded their heads in a 'yes' gesture to his half-finished question.
"But those horses have.........."
Mac and Bridger were laughing harder still. "Yep," Mac replied, knowing exactly what Tony was referring to.
"And they have.................."
"Yes Tony, and after you spread all of that nice warm hay, you have the good fortune of having to do it all again tomorrow," Bridger said and then leant heavily against one of the wooden support beams as he laughed heartily at Tony's predicament.
"That's just yucky," Tony said sternly before turning and beginning to fork the old hay with much more energy than he needed to.
Mac and Bridger went about a few other afternoon chores, leaving Tony to his work. They finished a good deal before Piccolo and were sitting back in the living room when Tony came through the front door. Dagwood was helping Kristen in the kitchen and Lily was still with Lucas upstairs.
"Mac, you got to put those horses on some sort of diet or something," Tony said with disgust. "I mean, they eat that stuff all day, and what comes out is not pretty I tell you. They must have not chewed any of it at all. You have to keep better control over what goes into them, because what is coming out is a crime."
Tony now climbed the stairs, ready to take a much needed long shower and wash the scent of hay from himself. "Dagwood, tomorrow, you and I will do it together."
"Okay, Tony, Dagwood help," the G.E.L.F. said, not really knowing what he had agreed to do. He was happy enough to help Tony if he asked.
Bridger and Mac were in fits of laughter again as they watched Piccolo, only to get confused looks from Kristen who observed their mirth. "What have you two been up to?" she asked. Kristen couldn't hold back her own giggles once Bridger explained what had happened in the barn.
Dagwood happily sat at the table and peeled potatoes, the topic of conversation not interesting him. He didn't know what the others in the room where talking about and didn't understand about horses. He hoped that Tony would show him tomorrow. He remembered Lucas teaching him a few things last time they were here, but most of those were now forgotten and he would have to learn all over again.
As soon as Tony disappeared to have his shower, Bridger was asking about Lucas's progress. Kristen told him that Lily was still with him and the teenager had slept the whole time they were out in the barn. She did not expect to see him awake for most of the night ahead.
The potatoes that Dagwood was helping peel were going towards making a nourishing, hot soup for Lucas. The teenager wouldn't feel like eating much when he did make and would no doubt be feeling fairly miserable. Lily had told Kristen of a recipe that she had found to work on Lucas when he was younger and would visit the ranch much more regularly.
The night progressed quietly and mostly uneventful. Bridger was the last to take a turn at watching over Lucas, having been badgered by Kristen and Lily that he needed to rest if he was going to help Lucas and do more of the chores around the ranch.
Tony had retired to bed shortly after dinner, complaining that he had pain in muscles he didn't even know he had until today. Kristen was sympathetic enough to offer a tube of soothing balm to rub into his aching muscles.
It was about 4.00am and Bridger had just taken watch over Lucas from Kristen about half an hour ago. Kristen had told Bridger about giving Lucas another dose of painkiller, this time in liquid form, wanting him to drink as much water as possible. He wouldn't need another dose until after breakfast. So far, he had slept peacefully enough, only offering a few grunts of pain as he tried to roll over in bed.
Bridger was just beginning to doze off sitting up in the chair when another moan from the sleeping teenager made him start. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and took a closer look at Lucas to see if he was alright. He was surprised to see a pair of blue eyes open and looking back at him.
"Hello there," Bridger commented with a smile, in a very quiet voice.
"Hi," was the brief reply. The grimace on his face at the slight movement was noticeable. He started to reach a hand up towards his face, as if to feel the areas that hurt the most. Bridger grabbed a hold of them and prevented him from doing so, knowing that poking at them wasn't the best thing to be doing right now.
"Hurting a little?" Bridger asked, hoping for an honest answer.
Lucas chose not to use words, but nodded his head slightly in positive answer. The fact was his whole body was hurting something fierce. Bridger held a glass of water to his lips to drink from and he drank gratefully, allowing the cool liquid to sooth his sore throat.
"Thanks!" came the whisper as the glass was withdrawn. "Guess I messed up a little, huh?" he now said. Bridger was a little surprised at such an early comment about the whole incident. He didn't think now was the right moment to be talking about it, but he didn't want to push the teenager away either.
"I don't think so," Bridger answered, truthfully telling Lucas that what had happened wasn't his fault in anyway. "Do you remember any of what happened?" he asked, thinking of the most logical place to start.
Bridger's question remained unanswered though as Lucas had already fallen back asleep. He didn't mind though, knowing that there was plenty of time to talk. Healing was the most important thing to do right now at 4.45am in the morning. "You just rest, don't worry about anything," he whispered to the slumbering young man.
It was after 7.00am that Kristen appeared in Lucas's room, ready to relieve Nathan from his vigil. She smiled at Bridger's persistence but told Nathan that they could probably get away with leaving him to sleep on his own for most of the day.
She would check the bandages around his chest and the other injuries to make sure they had started to heal. Other than that, sleep was the best medicine right now. Lucas was to be allowed to sleep as much as he wanted to for the next few days, allowing his ribs as much time as possible.
Lucas had awoken not long after her arrival. He ate a sparse breakfast, though the bruises on his forearms were now vividly coloured and caused him discomfort as he held the eating utensils in his hands. While he ate, Kristen told him how bad the bruising was and about the cracked ribs.
Lucas reached down to the area she spoke about and noted the dull ache that was present. No doubt the pain would become more intense once the painkiller wore off. He traced along the line of bandages, swallowing a little at how much was there and silently saying a prayer that he had been fortunate enough for them not to be worse.
Kristen had playfully admonished him about any thoughts of leaving the bed today, but Lucas had responded by only burying himself further down into the blankets. He didn't think he could move very far at the moment, even if he wanted to.
While Lucas was eating breakfast, another battle was taking place within the household. Bridger and Mac trying to rouse Tony out of bed to help with the morning chores again. It's not that he didn't want to help, but rather that Tony was not a good morning person. Anything before 10am was blasphemy.
"Come on, Tony, the horses need to be fed again," Mac said, still smiling broadly at the man's antics to avoid them getting him out of bed. The two of them had tried pulling the blankets off him and tickling his feet, but to no avail.
"Did you tell them that they only ate like twelve hours ago," Tony said crossly, grabbing at the blankets and wrapping them around himself tightly.
"The sun is shining outside and the birds are singing, you are going to miss it all, Tony," Bridger tried coercing.
"Send me a postcard!" Tony retorted.
"Dagwood already to go Tony," the G.E.L.F. said cheerfully as he came into the room. Dagwood had taken his responsibility seriously and was now waiting for Tony to show him what needed to be done to help Lucas around the ranch.
"Ready for what, Dag?" Tony asked, sighing audibly, knowing that he couldn't be angry or disgruntled at the man. He poked his head out from underneath the covers to see Dagwood dressed in old style clothes and donning a straw hat and boots. He looked like he just escaped from Old McDonald's Farm.
"Ready to help Tony with horses," Dagwood said, frowning a little as though he had gotten it wrong what was to be done. "Dag would not help?"
"You'll be just fine, Dag," Tony said as he got up from the bed, flashing a glare at both Bridger and Mac. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Bridger had planned this little stun with Dagwood, but he didn't voice it out loud.
Lucas was still in bed resting, and would probably be asleep again within the hour, his body forcing him to sleep to counteract the pain. Tony and Dagwood had stolen a brief check on the teenager, to make sure everything was okay. Both of them still feeling a tinge of anger as they saw the bruising now standing out in contrast to Lucas's pale complexion.
"Do you two boys want breakfast first?" Lily Baron asked as they appeared near the back door, ready to head to the barn to complete the morning's chores.
"Nah, let's get these chores over and done with first Dag, then we can sit down and take our time eating," Tony suggested. A nod of agreement from Dagwood and the two friends headed out to meet Mac at the barn to be told what needed to be done.
Mac had given them the list of chores, telling them that they shouldn't be anymore than an hour or so. He and Bridger and the two women were contently enjoying a second cup of coffee when they heard footsteps approaching the back steps.
Bridger was the first to burst into laughter at the sight before them. A very unhappy, dirty Tony stood in the doorway, small bits of straw or hay protruding him his hair in various and numerous places. A very sheepish looking Dagwood was behind him, though he was not unkempt at all.
"How did you boys go?" Mac asked, hiding his laughter briefly. Kristen and Lily were already giggling openly at the sight of the bedraggled Tony before them. The sight was too priceless.
"How did I go?" Tony spat back sarcastically. "How did I go?" he repeated. "I will tell you how I went. I went from being almost finished doing all of the chores, to ending up under a mound of soiled hay in one of the stalls."
"Dagwood sorry. Dagwood didn't see Tony until he yelled at me," Dagwood offered. Bridger had a mental picture of Tony's reaction as a stray pitch fork full of hay landed on him from nowhere.
"What do I look like to you, Dag, the rear end of a horse?" Tony asked loudly.
"And the aroma you are surrounded by is just heavenly," Lily commented, covering her nose slightly from the unpleasant stench that wafted to them. Tony stomped through the doorway and up the stairs, muttering something about taking 'another' bath.
The scene certainly did wonders to lift everyone's mood and make them smile at the mischievous deeds of Dagwood. He might not have known what he was
doing, but the results were nothing short of spectacular. Bridger made a mental note to share what had happened to Tony with Lucas in a few days. Hopefully they would all see the funny side by then and enjoy the laughter.
The morning's breakfast ritual was interrupted yet again by a second set of footsteps approaching, this time, the front door. These footsteps had a much more official sound to them.
Mac looked at the group seated at the table with curiosity that spoke volumes, and then made to open the door and greet the unannounced visitor.
"Yes sir," Mac greeted the well-dressed gentleman.
"My name is Mr Walker, maybe you will remember me. I conducted some legal matters for Mr Wolenczak and Mr Summers after his death," the man began.
"Andrew Walker, isn't it?" Bridger said, getting up from the chair and recognizing the solicitor that had handled the will of Lucas's friend. This was the last person Bridger expected to see here that day.
"Yes, and you are Captain Bridger, if I remember correctly?" the solicitor responded in turn. "I didn't realise you would be here as well, Captain."
The last statement making Bridger frown slightly. How had the man become aware that Lucas was here in the first place? "Why wouldn't I be?" he challenged.
"Oh, no offence intended Captain, my sources led me to believe that young Mr Wolenczak would be staying here for at least a few days, but I did not think his family or friends would be travelling with him," the solicitor said, trying to save the conversation into a positive one.
"And how do you come to know that young Mr Wolenczak is staying here?" Bridger asked, his suspicions quickly mounting.
"That is the reason for my visit today, Captain. Unfortunately I have some rather unpleasant business to discuss with Lucas. Is he at home so that I many speak to him please?" Walker asked.
"Yes, he is at home, but I am afraid that you cannot speak to him at the moment. His doctor will vouch that he is too ill at present to have any agitation," Bridger asked, gesturing for Kristen to come forth and back up his explanation. She did so without a moments hesitation, Lily also coming to hear what the solicitor had to say.
"Lucas was badly beaten in town yesterday, he is unwell to see many visitors and it may be days before I can allow you any time for discussions," Kristen voiced, daring the solicitor to give any details that he knew of the assault.
"Oh, my, well that is indeed unfortunate. I hope that Lucas will be alright. But I am afraid that I cannot delay in this business that I have come about today. Any delays at all might cause Lucas more hardship and for yourselves as well, Lily and Mac," the solicitor said, addressing the Baron's for the first time that morning.
"What are you here to discuss?" Mac asked, somehow feeling that the news from the man wasn't going to be good.
"I have been served with a petition on behalf of a person or persons that this ranch is not adhering to the zoned status of its land obligations," Walked began explaining.
"Speak English," Bridger growled, his temper becoming increasingly short with this man, even though he had helped them in the past.
"Very well," Walker said, looking over the bridge of his glasses and not appreciating the Captain's shortness. "This land is zoned as a working stud ranch. Therefore it must be maintained in such a manner for it to retain all of the council benefits under that arrangement. If the council deems that the land is being used inappropriately, or that the arrangement is not being adhered to, then it can place the land and all fixtures up for auction to the highest bidder."
"We have some horses on this properly at the moment," Mac Baron pointed out, not understanding the full implications of what the solicitor was saying to them.
"Yes, Mr Baron, you do. But not many, and according to my sources, very few that are able to work or be used on a stud. I believe you have only a few mares and one colt, is that correct?"
"Yes, that's right," Mac admitted.
"Under the arrangements put in place before Mr Summers death, the council requires no less than 20 horses on this ranch of a suitable working age. They can be a mixture of males and females, but there needs to be a significant number more."
"Are you serious that the council can just take away the land like that if the ranch doesn't have the number of horses you are talking about?" Bridger asked, never hearing of a legal arrangement such as this before.
"I am quite sure Captain, the people responsible for this petition are very adamant to lean on the council to use its full discretionary powers and have the land sold." Walker said firmly.
"How long do we have to do this?" Bridger asked nervously. The full impact of Lily and Mac losing their ranch and Lucas losing any part of his uncle's land coming to bear in his mind.
"This ranch needs to have 20 horses no later than 21 days from now to satisfy the requirements of the council," Walker informed them.
"We can't do it in that time," Mac protested, knowing that getting the corrals fully finished in that time as well as buying good breeding stock would take time and money.
"I am sorry, Mr Baron, but you have 21 days," Walker said handing the man the legal paper. "I wish there was something that I could do, but I can't. I even canvassed the possibility of asking for an extension on the time, but the rules and legislation are fairly concise on this matter."
"Are we able to know who these "people" are that started this petition?" Bridger asked as his frustration about feeling so helpless beginning to grow.
"I would say not Captain, those details are usually treated as confidential information. On a 'need to know' basis only," Walker replied.
"I NEED TO KNOW!" Bridger shouted into the man's face.
"Very well, Captain. It is a little unorthodox on my part to reveal such information, but the petition was organized by one Mr Wolenczak Senior," Walker said, now heading towards his car. There was very little else he could do to help these clients at this point in time. They needed to stock the ranch with horses and they needed to do it within 21 days.
Bridger's face crumpled at the revelation of who was behind such a heinous campaign to take the ranch from Lily and Mac Baron. Lawrence Wolenczak's mind games with his son and those he considered beneath him knew no bounds. He would stoop at nothing to see Lucas in endless misery, even if he had to hurt other people along the way.
"What are we going to do Nathan?" Kristen asked, tears in her eyes at the thought that Lily and Mac were on the verge of losing everything they had worked so hard for.
Mac Baron spoke next, knowing of a much more difficult question to ask, "What are we going to tell Lucas?"
The four adults looked at each other with very little to offer in suggestion. The day had just gotten a lot darker.
TO BE CONTINUED..................
Hi folks, I have apologized in the past, but my updating is done as I can. This particular story did get left out in the cold for a long time, but I never forgot about it. I hope you like this so far. Lots more to go yet.
The title to this story has a different meaning than the name of the small colt. The meaning will become obvious towards the end and a bit more into the story so please stick around.
None of the medical treatment is real nor any of the details about running ranches. All just made up for entertainment purposes.
Let me know you are still reading out there.
JULES