A/N - thanks again for your interest in this story. Hope you enjoy the ending. This and one more chapter will wrap it up.

Chapter 9

After a few days in ICU, Walt had been moved to a more comfortable private room. Each day he grew stronger and although he was ordered to stay off his injured leg, he was pestering anyone who would listen to him about going home. He harassed his daughter every day about bringing in some clothes so he could get out of there. However, Cady resisted his petulance and doggedness until eventually, nine days after he had been shot she arrived in with a bag of clothes from home.

He smiled when she popped his hat on the foot of the bed.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Walt asked.

"Absolutely," Cady replied, smiling at her father's obvious delight. "You've been sprung."

He was immediately up on his feet, although technically he was up on one foot, and reaching for his crutch.

"Take it easy, Dad. There's no rush," Cady said, as he hobbled to grab the bag.

"Maybe not from where you standing, but I've been in here long enough," he said, reaching for the jeans. He sat on the edge of the bed and struggled to pull them on. His right leg was swaddled in a heavy bandage that covered his thigh and continued down over his knee. It was awkward as it didn't allow for his knee to bend very much.

Cady saw his struggle and offered to help. Walt, a little embarrassed at his inability to put on his own pants, was reluctant to accept her help.

"Okay, you'll just have to stay here until Henry gets here later," Cady said wryly.

Walt considered this option, but then relented and let his daughter help him. Once the jeans were over the injured leg, he managed to pull them on. Then he removed the hospital gown and stiffly pulled his shirt on. Cady could see by his deliberate movements that his chest and shoulder area were still quite tender.

"I'm good to go now," Walt said, brushing back his hair with his hand and putting his hat on.

"Not so fast," Cady said, slowing him down. "Doc Weston wants a quick word before you go. He'll be here in a minute," she told him.

Walt sighed and sat back on the bed. He knew what was coming. Doc Weston would read him the riot act, warn him about taking it easy and taking his painkillers, blah, blah, blah. He was right. The doctor arrived and gave Walt a stern talking to. Walt listened again to how lucky he is to be alive and tried not to appear bored with it. He felt fine and he was ready to get home and then back to work.

"And you can forget about work for at least another 2 weeks and even then, light duties only," the doctor warned. "Do you hear me, Walt? If you undo all my hard work, I'll keep you in here for a month the next time," he threatened. "And I want you back here in a couple of days to change the dressing on your leg."

"Okay, 2 weeks. I can manage that," Walt said, not truly believing that he could.

"Don't worry, Doc," Cady piped up. "I have the whole department warned and I'll make sure he takes it easy. We'll see you Thursday."

At last Walt was free. He insisted on walking, with the aid of a crutch, out to the Cady's car, despite the protestations of the orderly sent with a wheelchair to escort him. By the time Walt reached the car, he was beat. It was the furthest he had walked since he had been wounded. He was still pretty weak, he realized.

Cady drove him home. When they got to the cabin, Walt saw smoke from the chimney. Then he noticed Vic's truck. And someone had put another step up to the veranda which would make it easier for him to get onto the front porch.

"Henry got a few guys from the Rez along with Bob to do that so you wouldn't kill yourself trying to get in and out," she told him he slowly hopped up the couple of neat, wooden steps.

The door of the cabin opened and Vic stood there, smiling widely.

"Welcome home," she said, standing back and allowing him inside. "I'm making dinner."

"That's great. Thanks but you didn't have to," he said, a little uncomfortable having people fuss over him.

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to," Vic told him. "After you being stuck in that hospital for so long, I thought you might like to eat on the front porch. Get some fresh air."

"Sure," he said, limping over to the couch and easing himself down.

"I'll leave your stuff in the bedroom," Cady said, walking on through.

"You look good, Walt," Vic said to him before turning to the stove.

"Seems like a lot of food," Walt said, seeing the full pots and plates on the sideboard.

"We're having company," she told him. "Henry is coming over, so is Ruby. The Ferg and Branch are holding the fort tonight."

"Oh," Walt said, unsure if he was in the mood for company. "Could you throw me a beer?" he asked.

Vic went to the fridge to get him one, but Cady came out of the bedroom just at the right time, or wrong time if you were the sheriff.

"What did the doctor say, Dad? No alcohol while you're on those painkillers," Cady reminded him.

"I'm sure he meant hard liquor," Walt said, chancing his arm. "A beer hardly counts."

Walt grumbled as Vic handed him a soda instead. The two girls cooked up a storm and soon dinner was ready. Henry and Ruby arrived separately and warmly greeted Walt. They all sat outside, ate and chatted. Walt was in a contemplative mood. A large harvest moon hung above the mountains. It lit the Big Horns beautifully. For the first time in quite a while, Walt felt glad to be alive.

"Walt?" Henry said, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I don't think you heard me. The news from the hospital is that Molly Grady woke from her coma today," Henry told him.

"That's great. I really need to talk to her and see if she can identify the guy Branch arrested," Walt said, perking up.

"Eh, I don't think so," Vic interjected. "Two weeks, isn't that what the doctor said, Cady?"

"Absolutely," Cady replied.

"Anyway, Walt, while Molly is conscious, I'm not sure she'll be able to tell you anything," Henry continued.

"Why not?" Walt asked.

"I spoke to her husband in the Red Pony earlier. She's going to have some lingering effects of her head injury. Most likely seizures and memory deficit, he said. They're going through a really tough time," Henry explained.

Walt sighed and looked out over the landscape. Life could be so unfair. Another family's life changed forever. Their soiree continued for another while until Ruby and Cady noticed that Walt was getting tired. Despite his protestations, Cady insisted that he go to bed.

Henry and Ruby thanked Vic and Cady for the lovely evening and made their way home. Cady and Vic were tidying away the dishes when Walt finally decided to turn in for the night.

"You two can head on home," Walt said, hobbling towards his bedroom door. "I'll finish those in the morning," he said referring to the dishes.

"I'm not going anywhere tonight," Vic said, much to Walt's surprise.

"What?"

"Cady is heading home so she's going to come over in the morning after I go to work," Vic told him.

"I don't need a babysitter," Walt said, sounding insulted by their planning.

"Well, call me the babysitter or just call me crazy, but you're stuck with me," Vic said, without even looking at him.

"I don't have a spare room," Walt said, stating the obvious.

"The couch is fine. I've slept on it before, remember?" Vic reminded him.

"Fine then," Walt said indifferently, limping off to his bedroom without another word.

Cady and Vic exchanged glances at had a little giggle at Walt's expense.

"Are you sure you're okay staying with him? He's a bit grumpy tonight."

"Absolutely. Don't you worry about me. I'll take good care of him. I'll see you in the morning," Vic said, walking Cady to the door.

"Make sure he takes his medication," Cady reminded her.

Vic promised and waved Cady off. She went back to the kitchen and finished off the cleaning up. Soon she was ready to sit down and relax. Then she realized that Walt hadn't taken his medication because it was still sitting in a bag on the piano.

"Walt?" she said, picking up the bag and knocking on his bedroom door. "Are you awake?"

There was no answer. Slightly concerned, she entered the room and she found Walt half undressed and fast asleep on top of the bed covers. The sight made her smile. There was something sweet about seeing him like that. She would have loved to have let him sleep, but she had to get the medication into him.

"Walt?"

He stirred but didn't wake. She leaned over him and rested her hand on his shoulder. He woke and sat up suddenly. Vic jumped back, surprised by the suddenness of his wakening.

"Fuck. Sorry, Walt," she said.

"What is it?"

"It's just you forgot to take these," she said holding up the package.

Walt flopped back down onto the bed, relieved that there was nothing wrong.

"Why don't you finish getting undressed and I'll get you some water to take these," Vic said, walking into the bathroom.

When she came out, Walt was sitting there and only his shirt was off.

"What about the pants?" Vic said with a flirty tone.

"I think I need a little help with these," he said, not intending it to sound like a come on, but it just did.

Vic raised her eyebrows and Walt blushed.

"My leg," he said by way of explanation. "I can't bend my leg."

"Well, let me help you with that," she said grinning at his embarrassment. "Lie back down," she ordered.

He looked at her with a worried look.

"Trust me," she said, gently pushing him back.

His breath caught in his throat as he lay back and he felt her fingers undoing his button and zipper.

"Up," she said, encouraging him to raise his butt.

He did and she quickly took the ends of the jeans and pulled them down. Walt tried to control his body's natural reaction to her closeness. His breathing quickened.

"Easy there, Cowboy," Vic said, noticing his growing excitement.

Walt just looked intensely at her. He wanted her. There was no denying that. She handed him his antibiotics and painkillers and a glass of water. He swallowed them without argument and handed back the glass to her. As she took it from him, his hand caught her wrist and he gently pulled her onto the bed beside him.

"Walt?" she said nervously, her usual cockiness abandoning her.

His hand ran along her arm, across her shoulder and up into her hair. She closed her eyes and allowed his hand to explore her body. Despite his injured limb, he managed to pull himself closer to her. She sat on the edge of the bed with her back to him. He placed his strong arms around her, inhaled her perfumed scent and started to undo her shirt buttons. She didn't stop him. He softly peeled the shirt from her shoulders and kissed the perfect skin on her back.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" she asked anxiously, pulling away and standing up.

"Yup," he managed to say.

Walt fixated on her heaving breasts. She let him watch for a few thrilling moments before she unsnapped her bra and stood there unabashed, her confidence returning.

Her eyes met Walt's and with a sexy smile she began to undo her trousers. She kicked them off and her underwear quickly followed. She climbed onto the bed and crawled over to him. She pushed him onto his back and held herself over him, teasing him. Their eyes locked and each could see the desire burning in the other. She straddled him, still on her hands and knees, teasing. She lowered her head and gently kissed the area around the bandage on his chest. Her kisses continued upwards until she found his eager mouth.

Walt wasn't sure if he was asleep or if any of this was real. He felt the moisture of her lips on his. He heard her gasp as he eased himself into her and felt the warmth of her sex as she enveloped him. It felt pretty damn real to him.

Despite his eagerness, their love-making was gentle and controlled. Vic dictated the pace, ever conscious of his injuries and of not hurting him. She didn't want to be the reason he ended up back in hospital.

Despite Vic's attempts at keeping her weight off his injured limb, a jolt of pain shot down his leg, a reminder to Walt of his limitations, yet he continued on. There would be no stopping him. He kept his gentle rhythm until they could both hold back no longer. They came together in a wave of pleasure and panting.

Vic collapsed on the bed beside Walt, her chest heaving. Walt did likewise, feeling more exhausted than he had ever felt before.

"Are you okay, Walt?" she asked as soon as she got her breath back.

"Never been better," he said.

"Are you sure?" Vic asked. "I didn't hurt you or anything? Should I check your dressings?"

"Just come here," Walt said, pulling her close to him.

She put her head on his chest. His heart was still pounding like a diesel engine. He felt the warmth of her breath as she played with his chest hair. For Vic, being so close to Walt after wanting it for so long, felt so right. She hoped he wouldn't have any regrets. His heart beat was starting to regularize, his breathing grew heavier.

When she looked up into his face, he was fast asleep. It had obviously taken a lot out of him. She got up and pulled the blanket over him. She snuggled back in beside him, put her arm across his abdomen and pretty soon she, too, was asleep.

TBC...

A/N - those of you who have been urging me to give you some Walt/Vic loving, I hope this was okay. I don't usually include physical intimacy scenes in my stories because I'm not confident at writing them. I changed the category of the story to M so as not to offend.