It was almost two o'clock that afternoon when Micah returned to the doctor's office. He stepped into the back room, sensing his friend's uneasiness.
"He still hasn't come around?"
"He came around… he just couldn't understand anything we were saying or put a full sentence together. He could hardly stay awake long enough to eat something."
"It's progress, Lucas-boy."
"What about Willie?"
"…We've looked everywhere… there's no sign of him. I've sent wires to all the nearby towns, there are just too many possibilities. He'll show up, sooner or later."
The rancher shook his head, slamming the wall with his fist before starting towards the door. "If you won't look for him, I will!"
"Lucas, there's no point in going out there; he could be anywhere!"
"He almost killed my son!"
"Which is exactly why you should be here, looking after him! Lucas, I'm sorry, but there's no trail to follow. Someone will eventually see something and we'll find Willie, but right now, you need to be here."
"What good am I doing here?!"
"Keeping Mark calm," Doc said as he entered the room. "You saw as well as I did how scared he was when he came around. He doesn't understand what's going on, and he needs you here. As confused as he is, what do you think would go through his head if he woke up and you weren't here?"
"…Micah, if you hear anything at all…"
"You'll be the first to know. I'm sorry we couldn't find him, Lucas-boy."
"…I know."
"Did Mark say anything about what happened?"
Lucas shook his head. "Like I said, he couldn't put a full sentence together. All we could piece together was that he couldn't understand what we were telling him, and that he wanted to press charges against Willie."
"Well, at least now we have more than Jeffrey's word about who did it."
"…You doubted him?"
"Not really, given the history between Mark and Willie. Just knowing Jeffrey's propensity to not being the most observant person, it makes me feel better having something more concrete to go on."
Lucas briefly eyed the marshal before dismissing his confusion. "Where are you at with a warrant?"
"Still waiting to hear back from Judge Evans, but once I let him know about Mark's statement, I don't see why he wouldn't issue one. I'm going to go wire his office now. Let me know if anything changes."
After the marshal left, Doc Burrage briefly looked Mark over before informing Lucas that he had to go out for a while. "I shouldn't be gone too long, but Mrs. Kane and a few others need checking up on. If he wakes up again, try getting him to eat what's left of that bowl. More if you can."
"…Doc… his head… do you think it will heal? I've never seen him so…"
"I can't make any promises, but I'm hopeful. At the very least, he was aware enough to know something wasn't right. That's a good start. If anything concerning happens while I'm gone, send Micah after me."
Not long after the doctor had left, Lucas again resorted to pacing. Nearly half an hour had passed when he turned to see that his son's eyes were half open, watching him.
"Mark?" He crossed the room, quickly taking a seat on the bedside. "Son, can you hear me?"
The young man's eyes slowly closed as he brought his hand to rest on Lucas's.
"Mark?"
Mark again forced his eyes open as he felt his pa grab his shoulder. He studied Lucas for a long moment, fighting against heavy eyelids.
"…Home," he weakly called. "…Please… home…"
It pained Lucas to see the desperation in his son's eyes. He again squeezed the boy's shoulder, nodding in understanding. "Soon, Mark… we'll go home just as soon as we can."
"Jenny, wait up!"
Jenny looked over her shoulder to see Jeff walking up behind her. She shook her head and continued towards the doctor's office, Jeff catching her shoulder before she reached the door.
"What do you want, Jeffrey?"
"To talk about it!"
"I don't want to talk about it!"
"You can't just pretend it didn't happen!"
"No, I can't. Because if we had been with Mark instead of in the store, he wouldn't be laying half dead at Doc's!"
"You don't know that! This isn't our fault, and you can't make it out to be!"
"…Maybe not, but we still shouldn't have been in there."
"What are you so afraid of? No one's gonna find out."
"You wouldn't understand, would you?!" Without saying anything else, Jeny turned and entered the doctor's office.
"Well, good morning Jennifer, Jeffrey," Doc greeted. "What can I do for you?"
"Is Mark awake?" she inquired. "I heard that he had come around a few times yesterday."
"He was awake for a little while earlier this morning, but he drifted back to sleep the last time I checked on him. …I'm afraid he's not up to visitors right now, anyway."
Jeff hesitated before asking, "…Doc, do you think he's going to get better… really?"
"I'm seeing small signs of improvement here and there, and I'm hoping he'll be well enough to go home in a few days. Long term effects… we'll just have to wait and see." Burrage got up as he heard Lucas calling for him. "Excuse me."
As the doctor made his way to the back room, Jenny and Jeff took their leave. Doc stepped inside to see Mark sitting up, cradling his head in his hands as Lucas worriedly looked down at him.
"Lucas, what happened?"
"I don't know; he just sat up and started holding his head."
"Has he said anything?"
Lucas shook his head. "Is there anything you can do for the pain?"
"…It might be alright to give him something to make him sleep in a little while, but for now-"
"No." Doc and Lucas both looked at Mark in surprise as he shook his head, hands still covering his face as he laid back against the pillow.
"Mark?"
When he didn't respond, Lucas turned to the doctor in concern.
"…It's just going to take time, Luke. I don't know how much he can or can't understand, but he seems to be getting stronger and more alert. I know it isn't easy, but the only thing we can do is wait. I'll see about getting him something to eat."
That afternoon, Doc was out making his rounds when Lucas heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
"Mr. McCain?"
"Jeffrey," he greeted, gesturing to offer the young man a seat.
"…How is he?"
"Doc seems to think he's doing better. I'm glad you and Jenny found him when you did."
"…I just wish we would have found him and Willie before the fight began."
"Knowing Willie, I don't know how much of a difference it would have made."
Jeff started to change the subject, hesitating as he looked down at Mark.
"Something on your mind?"
"…Has Jenny been by today? Other than this morning, I mean."
"I didn't know she came by this morning. I haven't seen her since the day before yesterday. …Everything alright?"
"…I think I said something stupid that made her upset with me… I want to apologize, but I don't even know what was so wrong with what I said and I can't find her to explain it to me."
Lucas let out a quiet chuckle. "Give her a little time to calm down, I'm sure she'll be willing to talk about it once she has."
"…I hope so. …Mark warned me about hurting her on accident… I guess I didn't listen too well."
"Just don't make the mistake of leaving things as they are. …Like I said, I'm sure she'll be willing to talk about it once she's had some time to calm down."
"…Thanks, Mr. McCain."
That evening, Doc entered the back room carrying a tray of food for Lucas and Mark. "Next time he wakes up, try to get him to eat as much as he can. I'll be over at the jail if you need anything."
"The jail? What happened?"
"Couple of the boys got into a brawl. Micah wanted me to look them over."
The rancher nodded as the doctor gave a few final instructions and took his leave. It wasn't long before he saw his son begin to stir, raising a hand to rub the bridge of his nose.
"Mark?"
Hearing the concern in Lucas's voice, the boy shook his head. "…I'm alright, Pa."
For what felt like the hundredth time, Lucas apprehensively asked if his son could hear him, not quite sure if he could believe it when Mark nodded.
"…I've been able to understand more throughout the day… I was just too tired and my head hurt too much to really answer anything. Before… I could hear you talking, but it didn't mean anything, or I could only understand one or two words. …Nothing really made sense."
The rancher sat down on the side of the bed as his son looked up at him. "How does your head feel now?"
"Better than it has, but it still hurts a lot. …I heard you and Jeff talking this morning, and I think I remember you saying he and Jenny found me?"
Lucas nodded.
"…What happened? Last I remember was Willie trying to kick my head in."
"I don't know how much time passed between then and Jeff and Jenny finding you, but they came out of the store to see Willie running off and you unconscious."
"…I couldn't quite understand… did Micah find Willie or not?"
"…Not yet… he sent out wires to other towns to keep an eye out for him, and Judge Evans should be granting a warrant sometime tomorrow. …What made you finally change your mind?"
"Change my mind? About what?"
"…After what Willie did to you, I was going to have Micah track him down, anyway… but I was a little surprised that you were so quick to ask for charges after you woke up."
"…Truth be told, I don't remember saying that, but it's what I've been thinking. …I thought this was all about something I said… something I could apologize for and fix. But it's not… and I think Willie's gonna end up trying to take his anger out on a lot more people than just me. And if he isn't stopped, he's probably gonna do a lot of damage before getting himself into a heap of trouble."
"…So if it's not about something you said, what is it about?"
Mark studied his pa for a long moment, still wary of telling him the truth.
"Son, the boy nearly killed you. I have a right to know why."
"…Remember back when you worked for the railroad? And Mr. Case tried to steal the money box and nearly killed the foreman and his wife?"
"…I do."
"…Mr. Case was Willie's pa. He took on Mr. Crewse's name when his ma remarried. …Mrs. Crewse always told Willie his pa had died trying to prevent a railroad accident, and that he saved a lot of people doing it. …I didn't know that when I heard Willie talking about Mr. Case, and I told him what really happened. I thought he was mad at me because I said something in front of so many other kids… but it's not that, and I guess I should have realized it. …He blames us for what happened to his pa… he blames us for "ruining" his life."
"…I can understand why he blames me, but how could he blame you? You had nothing to do with it."
"…I don't know. Maybe it does have more to do with what I said than he wants to admit. …If I had never said anything, he wouldn't have to live with the truth."
"You weren't wrong to speak it, Son."
"…I know… I just wish I had known who he was before I said anything."
"…I still don't understand… why wouldn't you tell me about this earlier?"
"…Like I said… I thought it was something I could fix. I didn't want to have to involve you… I didn't want to make you relive all that again."
"That wasn't your weight to carry."
"I know… but I wanted to. I guess I was just so determined to work it out on my own that I was too blind to see that I couldn't. …I'm sorry."
"…In a way, I'm proud of you for trying… but just remember what you've learned through this."
There was a gleam in his eye as Mark nodded, again rubbing his head. "Don't worry… I don't think this is a lesson I'll ever forget."
The following afternoon, Doc allowed Mark to go back to the ranch on the condition that he stayed in bed or sat up in the front room. He was pleased, if not a little concerned, by how agreeable the young man was to the terms of his release. Monday evening was quiet around the McCain homestead as Lucas fixed supper and Mark drifted in and out of sleep while sitting in his pa's leather chair. The rancher smiled to himself as Mark would wake up and apologize for falling asleep, carry on a few more sentences of conversation, then give in to his heavy eyelids once again. Tuesday morning, Lucas found his son much more alert, insisting he would be fine by himself for a few hours.
"Mark, I really don't think…"
"There have got to be strays all over the place, and who knows what the streams are like. You can't deny that they need checking up on."
"One more day-" Lucas was interrupted as a horse rode into the yard, a knock soon sounding on the door. "Jeffrey, come on in."
"If Jeff sticks around, will you go?"
"I'm sure Jeffrey has better things to do than sit around here and make sure you stay put."
"…Actually, Mr. McCain, there is something I'd like to talk to Mark about… Pa gave me the morning off and I figured I'd stay for a while to keep Mark company… if that's alright."
Lucas hesitated before nodding. "Alright, but he's not to move from that chair- don't believe anything else he tells you."
"Thanks, Pa."
"I shouldn't be more than two hours."
Mark and Jeff made small talk as they waited for Lucas to get his things together. After his pa had finally left the cabin, Mark quickly changed the subject. "So I'm assuming you're still in trouble with Jenny?"
"How'd you know about that?"
"I wasn't asleep near as much as everyone thought I was; I heard you and my pa talking, and now you're here alone. What on earth did you do?"
Several moments passed before he let out a heavy sigh. "…I think… maybe… well, I know I did something that was a really big deal… and then I think I said something that made her think I didn't think it mattered… but it does… a whole lot. I didn't mean anything by what I said, but she was upset about it and I was trying to calm her down and I told her not to worry about it, but that made her even more upset and-"
"Upset about what?"
"…About what I said."
"You're talking in circles. What did you say and what did you do that was such a big deal?"
"…I'm sorry, Mark… it's not exactly something I can just come out and talk about. Jenny would skin me alive."
"…Well have you tried talking about whatever "it" is with Jenny?"
"That's the thing, she got mad and didn't give us a chance to finish talking about it. She hasn't been working at the store, and every time I go into the hotel, Miss Mallory says she's not to be disturbed because she isn't feeling well. I don't know what to do!"
"…You could try writing her an apology?"
"I'm not good with words like you are."
"…Well it can't be any worse than something you'd say in person. If you write it all out and it doesn't sound good, you can always start over."
"But what if I mess it up? Mark… you don't understand… I… I love Jenny… one day… I mean, I'm not ready to now, but one day I want to… to marry Jenny… and if I get this wrong…"
"Well it's not going to get any better by doing nothing. …Look, you made a mistake and you're owning up to it… you're trying to make it right. She might need a little time, but if she's not willing to work through something you did on accident… I don't know if that's someone you'd really want to marry. …But knowing Jenny, I think she will come around."
"…What if she doesn't? What if she gets so upset she leaves town and she doesn't even say goodbye and I never see her again and-"
"Jeff, calm down! You're being completely irrational!"
"Irrational?! This is my entire future we're talking about here!"
Mark stared at his friend for a long moment before shaking his head. "Sure Willie didn't hit your head, too? …I know what it's like to think you've found the girl you want to marry… maybe Jenny is the one for you, maybe she isn't. Either way, it can make you do a lot of things you'll come to regret if you aren't careful. I think you're working yourself up over nothing. Sooner or later, she'll have to leave the hotel, and sooner or later, she'll have to talk to you. And that will go a lot better if you've thought this whole thing out rationally instead of worrying yourself sick over it. There's some paper in the desk over there… why don't you sit down and try to work some of this out? I think putting it all out in front of you might help you see things a bit more clearly."
Jeff hesitated before taking the suggestion and starting towards the desk. Mark watched as Jeffrey wrote page after page, crumpling each one up and throwing it into the waste bin after looking it over. Nearly an hour passed before the young man sat at the table, silently reading over the only surviving letter.
"…Well?" Mark asked.
"…Well it's the best I got," he answered. "If she won't talk to me after this… I don't know what I'm gonna do. …You figure I should leave it tonight, or before I leave on Friday?"
"Leave? Where are you going?"
"Well after what happened, Pa doesn't exactly have anyone to take his orders to Willow Springs. He wants me to take the order up Friday afternoon and come back Saturday morning so I can close up for him that night."
"Well I certainly don't think you should put it off… besides the risk of upsetting Jenny more, you'll rest a lot easier if you get this settled before you leave."
"Unless she doesn't listen…"
"Jenny has a temper, yes. But once it flares and she has time to settle, she listens to reason. I really don't think this will be as bad as you think it will."
"I hope you're right…"