A/N - I'm sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. Kinda got stuck but hopefully I've dug myself out of it. Thanks to everyone who got in touch and shamed me into getting busy and writing some more.

And I'm in the mood to celebrate today having read that Netflix are going to give us a Season 4! LongLiveLongmire - Woo Hoo!

Chapter 6

Back in Durant, the Ferg called that evening to the hospital and brought Cady something to eat from Busy Bees. He always had a soft spot for his boss's daughter, but she was oblivious to his feelings. She just thought that he was the sweetest guy and a great friend. They were eating biscuits and gravy, sipping Cokes and chatting when Walt showed the first signs of regaining consciousness.

The first thing they noticed was a change in his breathing. Not long after, his head lolled a little to his right and then back to the centre of the pillow again. Cady quickly put down her food, turned her full attention to him and reached for his hand. She was rewarded with a weak, but unmistakable, squeeze.

"Daddy, its Cady, open your eyes," she said, getting to her feet and reaching across to stroke his forehead. "Ferg, he's waking up. Will you call the nurse?"

"Sure thing," he said getting to his feet. He left the room and quickly returned with a nurse in tow.

"Sheriff Longmire, can you hear me?" the nurse asked rather loudly and deliberately as she approached the opposite side of the bed to where Cady was standing. Cady watched on expectantly. "Walt? Are you going to open those eyes for me?" she asked again.

The nurse produced a small penlight from the pocket of her uniform and lifted the sheriff's upper eyelid and shone the light it. He reacted immediately to the light, groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. She did the same to his other eye and the sheriff tried to raise his right hand to stop her. However, he hardly had the strength to do so. His feeble attempt was enough to hurt his injured chest and shoulder area. His face grimaced and his breathing quickened. The nurse noticed his distress immediately.

"It's okay, Walt. Just relax. You're in the hospital. You were shot, but you're going to be fine," she told him, looking over at Cady and trying to encourage her to talk to him.

"I'm here, Daddy," Cady said, putting her hand on his arm. "You're okay…. you're going to be fine."

With that Walt's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at her groggily. It took a few seconds for his eyes to focus, but his vision eventually cleared. He recognized the smiling face above him.

"Hey, Punk," he croaked, his voice barely audible.

"Hey, yourself," Cady replied, a broad smile extending across her face. His pale eyes were fixed on her. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "Thank God. I was so worried."

"Sorry," he said painfully as he exhaled.

"Sshhh, it's not your fault. I'm just so glad you're okay," she told him.

He smiled a weak smile. He could see the emotion in his daughter's eyes. She looked tired he noticed. He tried to remember how he had ended up in hospital this time, but it was all a blur. He noted the ache and heaviness in his chest. He felt so weak. It must have been a bad one, he assumed, as his eyes threatened to close once more.

"How do you feel, Sheriff?" the nurse asked stepping into his line of vision, her voice jolting him awake again. "If you have any pain, let me know."

"What happened?" he asked weakly.

"You were shot, Dad," Cady replied. "At the bank. Do you remember anything that happened?"

He shook his head feebly. Why couldn't he remember?

"Don't worry, Sheriff. The brain has a funny way of blocking out a trauma until you're ready to deal with it. It will come back," the nurse piped up as if reading his mind. "You rest and Doctor Weston will be in to see you shortly."

The nurse gave Cady a reassuring smile then left the room. Cady continued to cling to her father's hand. The Ferg stood back, feeling a little awkward being present for such an intimate moment between the sheriff and his daughter.

"You really scared me this time, Daddy," she told him. "Everyone's been so worried. Ruby and Vic were here earlier. The Ferg is here. He brought Busy Bees."

"Hi, Sheriff," Ferg piped up. "Glad you're okay."

Walt wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. His mind felt clouded. He just looked up at his daughter through bleary eyes. He felt Cady squeeze his hand again and it comforted him knowing she was there. But he was so tired. He fought to keep his eyes open, but it was a losing battle.

Cady watched as her father struggled to stay awake. It broke her heart. She had never seen him so weak and vulnerable.

"It's okay, Daddy. You don't have to fight it. Just sleep. It will help you heal. I'll be here when you wake up," she promised, placing her hand on his forehead and stroking his head gently.

He smiled at her again before allowing his heavy lids to close. Soon he was in a deep slumber. The Ferg hugged Cady, their joint relief evident. Shortly after, he excused himself and headed back to the office for a while. The doctor dropped by and spoke to Cady briefly. He promised to call back in the morning when the sheriff would hopefully be awake. Cady was hugely grateful and couldn't thank Doctor Weston enough.

She looked back at her sleeping father and felt a weight had been lifted. He had pulled through. Knowing he would sleep for a while, she decided to take the opportunity to call around and let people know that he was awake. She was walking to the entrance of the hospital when she met former sheriff, Lucian Connally, striding towards her.

"Ah, Ms. Cady," he said, greeting the young woman.

"Lucian, it's good to see you," Cady said, hugging him warmly.

"I'm sorry it's so late. I heard about your dad and came by to see how the big fella was doing?"

"Better today. He regained consciousness earlier. I was just heading outside to make a few calls. You can go on in and see him if you like, Room 114. He's sleeping again though," Cady told him.

"I might, just for a minute, if that's okay?" Lucian said.

"Go ahead. I won't be long," Cady told him.

So while Cady made her calls, Lucian visited with his successor. He and Walt went way back. Walt was his deputy for many years before he retired. They were close and still had a standing arrangement to play chess every Tuesday night.

"Now what did I teach you about getting yourself shot?" Lucian said reproachfully as he approached the hospital bed. "Doing stuff like that can get ye killed, Walt," he continued, despite the fact that Walt was in a medicated sleep. "I'd rather they weren't putting you in the ground before me, Son."

Lucian had taught Walt everything he knew about being a lawman in Wyoming. He had been hard on him, but Walt had proved himself a quick learner and when the time came for Lucian to retire, he was the obvious choice to take over. And Lucian's faith in him had been proved correct. Walt had excelled at being Sheriff. He was good for the county and good for the town. He was a affable fellow. Lucian was very fond of Walt and was desperately sad to hear that this had happened to him.

"They tell me you killed one of them son's-o-bitches that shot you," Lucian told him. "Now that's more like what I taught you. You heal up, Walt, and get back out there as soon as you can, do you hear me? Absaroka County needs you. And I don't want to have to find something else to fill my Tuesday nights."

Lucian didn't stay long. He said his piece and left. Cady was still on the phone outside when he was leaving. She gave him a wave as he strolled back to the retirement home where he now resided.

Cady tried to call Henry but it went straight to voice mail. She left a message. She decided to try Branch.

Branch was leading his horse down the trail when his cell phone rang. The horse startled a little and Branch had to settle him before answering. He switched the reins in his hands before reaching into his pocket to answer it.

"Yeah?"

"Branch, it's me," Cady said eagerly.

"Cady. How's he doing?" Branch asked anxiously, half expecting bad news.

"He woke up. He's going to be okay," she told him, sounding thrilled.

"Well, that's great, Cady. I never doubted it for a minute," Branch replied, feeling genuinely relieved that his mentor would recover.

His horse exhaled loudly and Cady heard the unexpected snort.

"That sounded like a horse. Where are you, Branch?" she asked curiously.

"Somewhere north of Pole Creek. Henry and I found Molly Grady's attacker," he told her.

"Henry's with you? I was trying to call him," she told him.

"Oh, we heard it ring, but he couldn't reach it because of the splint on his arm," Branch told her.

"Splint? What happened to him?" Cady asked, suddenly becoming concerned for Henry.

"He got in a tousle with our prisoner," Branch told her. "Arm looks broken. He'll get it checked out when we get down the mountain."

"Oh no, poor Henry. I bet he's not happy. Will you tell him about Dad?" she asked. "It might make him feel a little better."

"Sure I will," Branch replied. "We're on our way back to the truck now. I think Vic is meeting us. She can take Henry to get his arm looked at and I'll take this freak to jail."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back. Take care."

As he pocketed his phone, Branch shouted the good news back to Henry who was on the horse taking up the rear.

"Hey, Henry. Walt's awake."

A wide smile crept across his normally stoic face. He said very little to voice his delight, but you could tell he was hugely relieved.

As light was fading fast, Henry suggested that they ride double to ensure they get to the Grady property before dark. Branch was reluctant to do so, but the it was getting dark and he knew it would be dangerous to continue their journey in darkness. He checked that their prisoner was tied securely to his horse and then climbed up behind Henry. He kept a tight grip to the reins of his horse as Henry, single-handed, steered his mount home.

They knew they were close to the Grady property when they saw the lights of the Sheriff's Department truck and the ambulance lighting up the ranch. Vic was waiting with her folded arms, leaning against the truck as they rode up.

"Is this him?" she asked, checking out the unkempt figure slouched across the neck of the horse.

"Yep," Branch said, sliding down from Henry's mount.

Vic turned up her nose at the odor emanating from the guy she was expecting to take into custody.

"Jeez, that's strong," she said, trying not to gag. "So I suppose you want me to drive him back to the jail."

"Nope," Branch replied. "I shot him so he needs to go to the hospital. You can follow behind the ambulance and take Henry. His arms busted."

Vic turned back towards Henry who was awkwardly attempting to dismount.

"Do you need any help?" she asked, approaching him.

"No, thank you," he insisted, as he threw one leg over the neck of the horse and slid off one side quite nimbly.

"Okay," Vic said, impressed.

Branch untied the prisoner and helped him down and into the waiting ambulance. The medics checked him over and then listened to Branch's warnings about him. Branch then handcuffed him to the gurney and ordered the paramedics to leave him handcuffed until Deputy Moretti released him at the hospital, insisting it was for their own safety.

They didn't need to be told twice.

Vic and Henry followed the ambulance back to Durant Hospital.

"It is good news about Walt," Henry said by way of conversation.

"Absolutely," Vic replied. "It's such a relief. I thought we were going to lose him, Henry. I was never so scared."

"I have to admit that I too was scared," Henry told her. "When I saw him on the sidewalk, I thought he was dead. It was not a pleasant feeling."

"Yeah," Vic sighed. "But he's going to be fine and that's all that matters."

When they arrived at the hospital, Vic stayed with the prisoner while Henry was seen to in the emergency room. Every bone in her body wanted to run to room 114 and hear Walt's gravelly voice once more. But she had a job to do and however much it pained her, she had to stay with the prisoner.

Branch, despite being tired, had to load the horses back into the trailer and taken them home to be watered down and fed. It was late in the night before he made it back to the hospital. Vic was glad to see him.

"I was going to call in and see Walt," Vic said when he arrived.

"Go ahead. I'll stay here with Grizzly Adams," Branch replied.

"We can check in the morning, see if we can identify him. Have you heard if Mrs. Grady is conscious yet?" Vic asked.

"No, nothing yet. I'll ask a nurse to check. Is Henry okay?" Branch enquired.

"He's fine. His wrist is broken and he bruised a couple of ribs. They put a cast on it and gave him some pain killers and sent him home," Vic told him.

Vic left Branch with the prisoner who was sedated and secured in a private room. He would be relocated to the jail the following morning. At that moment, she didn't care what happened to him. She just wanted to see Walt. She had waiting to see him since Cady had called her earlier in the evening. At last, she had the chance.

TBC...

A/N - thats it for this chapter. At least Walt is awake. Still more to come. Hopefully I won't take as long for the next one.