"Don't look at it, Missy. Find something interesting in that room and stare it down"
"What's the first thing you'll do in Colton?" the rancher asked
"Hm, I guess I first gotta find my grandparent's house. Or let them know I'm coming somehow. I do have their address but find-…" she let out a scream when the doctor spread the wound to get in with the tweezers.
"You know" Mr. Butterfield said "You could also follow the tracks to Colton Crossing. It's not that far from the train station and you'll surely meet your father there" she had to hold herself back not to shove the doctor or Mr. Evans but when the pain got too much she pulled away.
"Ah damn it, I lost it. You hold her tighter, so she doesn't move again"
"I don't wanna hurt her further"
"Her pulling away's not gonna make it better either. Unless you'd prefer someone else to hold you instead" she let out a whimper
"Well, I've met him most while in Bisbee" she only said
"Some of you fellas could get her some food" Ben said "Maybe prospect of getting something to eat will make her more cooperative"
"Stop the comments and help me hold her, Wade" she bit back a sigh of relief when he settled down at her head while Mr. Evans moved down a little, she glanced at him, trying to give him a thankful nod for calling her husband over. But before the doctor could start again there was a knock at the door.
"Pa"
"That's my boy" Mr. Evans informed them and the railroad man opened the door as William reported where he'd seen the members of the outfit.
"How many are there?" the Marshal asked
"Seven, eight"
"Which is it, boy? Seven or eight?"
"Does one make such a difference?" Cecilia mumbled as Mr. Butterfield said it were seven after counting himself. The Marshal as well as his deputies left while the doctor got ready again to get the bullet out, making her wince.
"Just take some deep, deep breaths and think of something happy" she let out a grunt of pain and dug her fingers of the left hand deep into her pillow, not even trying to hold back her whimpers.
"Got it" shortly after the pain was gone and she relaxed until she realized there was another and she let out a moan. The door opened and the Marshal returned but without his men.
"Boss?" Charlie shouted "Boss? Boss, are you in there?" to her dismay, Ben let go of her
"What'd you want me to tell him?"
"You tell him you'll write him a letter every day from Yuma" when the doctor leant over her again, she more or less pushed him away, wanting to hear more of the exchange between the two outlaws. Ben greeted them before telling Charlie to have a drink in the saloon.
"You okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Just sitting up here with my five new friends and Missy"
"Hey! That's enough" Mr. Evans said before her husband went away from the window. Apparently, Charlie had time to toss Ben his hat, who returned to the bed with a smug smile on his face.
"Let's deal with that second bullet now" he carefully held her again, as outside, Charlie spoke up again.
"Listen up! Listen up!" her stomach clenched. Why did they have to arrive just now, as she was being treated? Why not some minutes after? "That is Ben Wade they have up there. Ben Wade and his wife"
"Charlie" Ben hissed while the doctor let go of her and everyone in the room was staring at each other or at her.
"Wife?" Mr. Butterfield was the first to catch his voice.
"Is that now too hard to understand, Butterfield?" Ben asked
"But how…" he stopped when Charlie continued outside, offering everyone $200 who shot one of the posse members. The doctor seemed confused and looked around.
"Do I still treat her or…?"
"You either take that one bullet outta her shoulder or six bullets out of yourself, you hear me?"
"Don't you want to arrest her first? I mean… what if she's dangerous?"
"The only danger you might be in is if you don't take care of her right now" in a way she couldn't say if she had preferred Ben making jokes about her, trying to cheer her up and covering their relationship or how he now showed his care again "You see, Barker, barking dogs never bite and I'm telling you I sure as hell don't bark"
"Aw, to hell with this" the Marshal said and walked out of the room with his deputies, saying he didn't wanna die in an unfair fight. As if he had expected them to fight fair… Mr. Butterfield went after them
"Bye, Marshal" Cecilia muttered with a grin and the doctor swallowed.
"I-I…" he turned to Mr. Evans "You should hold her"
"No need, Dan. I can hold her now" the doctor nodded
"Alright. I… this will hurt but I'll try to do it as carefully and quickly as possible"
"Good luck with that trembling hands of yours Doc"
"You're making him nervous" William said quietly
"Well, if he's clever enough to figure out what I'll do to him if he fucks up he'll also know that I won't kill him while she still needs him. You help her and leave. You don't help her you die. Your choice" the man swallowed and then got to work "Now you see, Dan, generally, pretty much everyone wants to live. Now that means Butterfield too. He's gonna walk out on you. He's gonna come back up here and he's gonna walk out on you. Now, what you gotta figure is why you and your boy are gonna die. All because Butterfield's railroad lost some money?" some moments later, she heard several shots from the outside and winced. Had the people of Contention just killed their marshal for money? She let out a grunt and discarded the thoughts when the pain increased and luckily this time, it was over quickly.
"It's done. Now I just need to disinfect the wound and then band-…"
"Then just as soon get to it instead of talking"
"Boss" Charlie shouted "That all of 'em?" or was it the gang that killed the lawmen? She sure as hell could better live with that.
"Almost, Charlie" Ben replied "Your move, general"
"What do you expect him to say?" William asked
"I expect him to say something that makes sense. Something that might save the two of you. Take a look, Dan" the rancher just snorted "What's the matter? You don't wanna see?"
"I'll see 'em soon enough" Ben now addressed William instead, telling him to have a look. "They're animals, all of 'em. They're gonna kill you and your father, William. And they're gonna laugh while they do it, I think you know that"
"Call them off" William said
"Why should I?"
"Because you're not all bad"
"Yes I am" Ben just said
"You saved us from those Indians"
"I saved myself and my family"
"You got us through the tunnels, you helped us get away"
"Again, had to protect my wife. And if I'd had a gun in them tunnels I would've used it on you"
"But you got a wife. You couldn't if you were that bad"
"There are women who have a thing for bad men" Cecilia answered instead.
"Please Ma'am, you ask them to stop"
"They won't listen to her" Ben said "They do whatever they want unless I stop 'em"
"Talk to him. Make him call them off" he pleaded with Cecilia
"Look, William" she said "He could order them to come inside the hotel and shoot everybody dead. He's giving you a chance to walk away and let him go. They're only gonna kill you if you insist to keep him arrested. It's a fair deal, actually. I would agree to it"
"What about you? He'll have to leave you behind"
"We can meet up later. Besides, him going to Yuma, he'll abandon me too. Even more." this time Mr. Evans looked like he was gonna say something but stopped when the door opened and Mr. Butterfield walked in, looking perpetually shocked.
"I can't do it, Dan" he said "and if I can't do it, you shouldn't do it either" the rancher looked surprised or more shocked at the words. "If you think you have an obligation to me or to the railroad, I assure you, you do not. I am releasing you"
"It's just you left, Dan. You and your boy" also William seemed skeptical now.
"Well, what did Doc Potter give his life for, William? And McElroy?"
"I'll pay you the 200, Dan. Right now. And you can walk away" Mr. Evans let out a snort of laughter.
"You know, this whole ride, it's been nagging on me. That's what the government gave me for my leg. 198 dollars, 36 cents. And the funny thing is that, when you think about it, which I have been, lately, is they weren't paying me to walk away. They were paying me so they could walk away"
"Don't muddy the past and the present, Dan" Ben advised and threw the doctor a glance who seemed finished and was now packing his stuff away.
"I can go now, right?"
"'course." the man got up and hurried to the door "If you dare to step outside"
"Don't be mean" she muttered but he only pushed a strand of hair from her face.
"No worries, he's scared enough to wait now 'til we're gone" she had missed a part of the conversation of the other men but as it seemed, Mr. Evans was still resolute on getting her husband on the train. His son insisted to come too but his plea was declined again.
"You're gonna hold up in a room across the hall. You're gonna wait until we leave"
"I'll get him to Bisbee, Dan, I promise you."
"Oh you're gonna promise me a lot more than that, Butterfield" he wanted that Hollander left him alone and that his wife got $1,000 dollars. Cecilia snorted because it just was the same amount Ben had offered him earlier.
"He does just want to make an honest living" she heard Ben say as Mr. Butterfield agreed
"I can deliver that. Just get him on the train"
"You heard him?" Mr. Evans asked, turning back to them
"I heard him" he confirmed, continuing to thread his fingers through her hair. Cecilia wasn't sure she liked the situation. She didn't want the rancher to get hurt, or worse. Besides, what if someone accidentally hit Ben? Or if Mr. Evans succeeded and there would be no chance of escape for her husband? Again, William started another attempt to change his father's mind but he kept insisting that he would be fine and instead needed a man on the ranch.
"What about the woman?" Mr. Butterfield asked.
"Well what about her?" Ben retorted "Are you concerned 'bout her wellbeing or just want to get her arrested too?"
"She's your wife. She might have been involved in the robberies"
"You think I'd do that and put her in danger?"
"That'll be for the judges to decide"
"Mr. Butterfield" Mr. Evans said "She is injured. I can't get both of them to the train"
"Maybe we could have her put on trial here" now William spoke up saying that just because his father had fought in the war didn't mean his mother had done the same.
"But if we leave her here… What if his men come to get her?"
"You'd better be far away then. The boy's right; you ain't got nothing in hand against her"
"Now you want me to believe she's never done anything illegal?"
"Some minor things" Ben said "But is that really worth risking your life for?" for a while the railroad man seemed to consider it then he nodded
"Fine. Mrs. Daw-… Claiborne stays here"
"Mrs. Wade" Ben corrected "I've had enough of that wrong name now and I bet Missy too. Why'd you think she always wanted to be called Cecilia?"
"Why did you abandon her?" William asked "In Bisbee"
"My life wasn't comfortable, safe or healthy for her anymore in that condition. But I'd have never abandoned her. Took care of her from afar. Would've spoiled her if she'd let me but she wanted to have a humble life, so people won't get suspicious. She really does think of everything"
"So what's the reason you came with us? Looking for a chance to free him?"
"No" Cecilia muttered although that kind of had been a reason too "He promised he'd leave Bisbee with me and I really couldn't stay or people would have found out I never married Grant and would've gotten me into trouble. So I thought by going with you we could leave when he freed himself. He doesn't need me for that"
"And what's your real story?"
"When Billy left, I was supposed to marry Grant but I left him by hiding in one of the coaches he's built for you. Bet you can imagine the rest. At first I wanted to leave the outfit but somehow it never worked and one times Clantons got hold of me for about ten minutes. Well, eventually I chose to stay"
"And chose me" he squeezed her hand.
"That's it" Mr. Evans said and asked Mr. Butterfield to take William away
"Hey, boy" Ben called "Would you be so kind to toss me Missy's bag 'fore you go?" William looked around and when he saw it lying around, he threw it in Ben's direction who caught it and sat up to look through it
"What are you doing?" he pointed his rifle at him and only now Cecilia remembered that her weapons were in the bag.
"Just a shirt" Ben only said as he took out the spare shirt they had packed in Bisbee.
"Now throw the bag away and put your hands up"
"Oh come on, don't trust me?"
"No" he chuckled and after Ben dropped the bag on the ground Dan slowly came closer, taking the shirt from his hand examining it before looking at her husband and giving a nod. He lowered the gun and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the window. Ben retrieved her shift too but Cecilia shook her head
"It's full of blood"
"No shift?" she nodded and he picked up her cut corset "And this?"
"Put it on loosely"
"You'll have to sit up for that" he helped her up before fulfilling her request and then assisting her to get her wine-colored shirt on "You know, I think that color really suits you" she only let out a snort and after she was decently dressed again, she leant against her husband's chest with a sigh.
"No sleep now?"
"No" she mumbled although she really was tired "I'll check up on you first"
"I told you not to worry 'bout me" she glanced up at him and he chuckled "I know that look. You're not gonna give in, are ya?" she shook her head and he sat up a little more "Well, have it your way then, Missy" now she let go of him and looked around for the cloth he had used to clean her wound and then made a grab for it but he took it from her. To her dismay he got up, walked into the bathroom and cleaned it in the bowl before returning to the band and handing the towel back to her. She moved into his lap and started cleaning his face with a smile. Then she looked at him expectantly.
"Any other injuries?" she asked
"No" he said, taking her hand "I'm fine" she wasn't sure if she could believe him that he hadn't gotten hurt at some point but she doubted she'd have the energy to open both his vest and shirt to ascertain that for herself. So she just gave a nod and Ben put the piece of cloth on the nightstand before shifting his arms so he could hold her. "Try and get some sleep now, yeah? Now that the doctor's deemed it safe for you to sleep" she only dug her fingers into his shirt and whispered that she felt cold. Letting slightly go of her, Ben leant forward, grabbed the blanket and draped it over them.
"Hm that's better" she closed her eyes but couldn't relax because the pain in her arm and shoulder was too piercing. And something seemed to upset the baby greatly so it kicked and kicked and moved around as if it was scared and trying to run for its life. She let out a huff "No sleep for you huh?"
"Gotta keep an eye on you" Ben said. Obviously he thought she had been talking to him. It made her chuckle.
"Wasn't talking to you" she tried to take his left hand and bring it to her stomach but the chains didn't allow it. But when he noticed what she wanted to do, he shifted his hold on her so his hand came to rest on the baby bump.
"Yeah, doesn't look like she's gonna calm down anytime soon" he tried to calm the unborn but as it seemed it would have none of this and increased the movements. Cecilia whimpered in pain and clung to her husband even more. "Easy now, little one. You're hurting your Mama"
"What if the baby's not doing well? May-maybe my injuries affected it? O-or what if all the stress means it's born now" she swallowed hard "I-I can't Ben. Not now. Not…" she broke off and let the tears that were burning in her eyes flow.
"You wouldn't happen to now anything 'bout it, Dan? 'Bout birth and all?"
"I… could send William to see if the Doc's still around"
"Missy?" Ben asked, making her hum to prompt him to ask away "You good with that?"
"Dunno" she muttered "I don't like him"
"Yeah, me neither" he pressed a kiss to her hair "You know the baby best. Your call"
"I'll wait. If it doesn't calm down in some minutes…" after all Ben had a point. Just because the baby had not been kicking that hard the past days didn't mean it would never do it again. She let out a sigh and hid her face further against Ben's chest
"You're close" she heard Dan say
"Jealous? You leave that place now and be back home with your own family in just two days" determinedly the rancher shook his head. "'sides what choice do I have with these but having her close?" he moved his hands so the chains clinked.
"I meant emotionally close. Wouldn't've expected her to trust you that much"
"I told you Dan. Told you I'd spoil my wife" he leant back a little "Though I guess with Butterfield's 1'000 dollars you can spoil yours too. Or she'll at least have a bequest"
"Can't change my mind now, Wade"
"It's not just about you" Cecilia said "you know, since Charlie's offered them money for shooting you, you'll have to kill them too. Do you really want to rob other families of their husbands, sons or fathers? Men that provide the income? And for what? Just to deliver an outlaw to a train from which he could easily escape? An outlaw that's already decided to settle down and do no more robberies? In any case there would be others to take his place. Getting rid of one outlaw changes nothing. That really worth becoming a killer again?"
"What she's tryna say is; you really think your determination's justified? That you, as the 'law' can be allowed to kill innocents just tryna make some more livings for literally nothing?" Mr. Evans was silent "See that's what bothers me 'bout the law. Always think they're doing the right thing, always think they're better. Outlaws kill for livelihood and survival. They kill for business"
"It's your business too. Besides' didn't you kill Mr. McElroy because he insulted your mother? For simply saying the truth?"
"You're on thin ice, rancher. Better watch your step"
"Well" the man just said "Question remains if she'd be proud of what you'd become"
"Never gave me no choice" now the rancher looked at them as if lost. "I was eight years old when my daddy had gotten hisself killed over a shot of whiskey. And my mama said we were going back East start over. So she gave me a bible, sat me down at the train station and told me to read it. She was gonna get our tickets. Well, I did what she said. I read that bible from cover to cover. Took me three days. She never came back" the room was silent for some time and Cecilia wasn't sure if Ben expected a reaction or not.