Jarrod started awake. He wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but guessed it was close to midnight. He knew he should try to get back to sleep, but the splints prevented him from getting comfortable and his leg itched unbearably. He lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Only two more weeks until Dr. Merar would let him take off the annoying splint. Two more weeks of hobbling around on crutches, two more weeks of having to endure wearing pants that had been split to the knee so he could get them on. Two more weeks of the constant reminder of his stupidity in trying to break that stallion.

Closing his eyes, Jarrod tried to clear his thoughts and go to sleep. The thought of his brothers intruded and Jarrod had to smile. Nick and Heath had been on their best behaviour around him those past few weeks, teasing each other excessively in an amusing attempt to show their big brother they didn't mean it seriously, even going so far as asking his opinion on some day-to-day matters of running the ranch to make sure he didn't feel left out. Jarrod was glad they refrained from mentioning his attempt to break Lightning; he felt foolish enough on his own without anyone else reminding him.

The three of them had plans to head up to the lodge for a week once Dr. Merar gave Jarrod the all clear and the lawyer was looking forward to spending some time with his brothers. It wasn't often they had the chance to just spend time together and Jarrod intended to pull the biggest fish ever out of the lake, still wanting to show his brothers he was good for something other than drawing up contracts.

Suddenly, Jarrod didn't feel like lying there any longer and grabbed the crutches that were propped by the side of the bed to lever himself to his feet. He made his way to the window and stared outside. The moon was full and cast a brilliant glow over the stable yard. Lightning was awake, moving about the corral, when suddenly he stopped and raised his head. Jarrod swore the stallion was staring right at where he stood.

The lawyer got the unmistakable feeling the horse was taunting him. You thought you could master me? his attitude seemed to say. I am stallion. I am king. It takes more of a man than you to control me. With that, Lightning tossed his head and wheeled to the other side of the corral.

The urge not to let that animal best him grabbed hold of Jarrod and wouldn't let go. Didn't the old adage say a man had to get back on the horse that threw him? He knew Heath had been making some progress, Lightning finally grudgingly accepting a rider if only for a few short turns around the corral, but he was possessed with an overwhelming need to do it on his own, to prove his worth to the horse, to his brothers and most of all to himself, to Jarrod Barkley.

Jarrod tossed on a shirt and then pulled on his pants, not even caring about the indignity of the split seam, before wresting on his left boot. He grabbed his coat and, supported by the crutches, he made his way down the back stairs, being careful not to wake anyone as he stealthily left the house.

"Just you wait, horse," he muttered as he passed the corral with the chestnut stallion eyeing him suspiciously. He grabbed a bridle from just inside the stable door and threw it over his shoulder. Then he studied the saddles resting on a rail. There was no way he was going to be able to manage carrying a saddle and maneuver on his crutches at the same time, so he decided to forego that and just ride Lightning bareback. Of course, he still had no idea how he was going to accomplish mounting, either, but he wasn't going to let something as trivial as a half-healed broken leg get in his way.

Hobbling back out to the corral, he opened the gate and slowly approached the stallion. The horse snorted and tossed his head, but Heath had done his job well and Lighting didn't shy away. Jarrod managed to pull the bridle over the horse's head and fasten it before thinking about just how far it was to the horse's back. Jarrod estimated the chestnut was at least sixteen hands and there was no way he was going to be able to mount from the ground. Spotting some bales of hay stacked outside the corral, Jarrod looped the reins around his arm and started forward. Lightning balked briefly and then reluctantly followed. Jarrod limped out the gate, over to the hay and brought the horse to a halt in front of it. Resting his crutches against the fence, the lawyer awkwardly pulled himself onto the stacked bales. He grabbed his leg by one of the splints and as he tossed it over Lightning's back, a brief thought flickered through his mind.

What the devil am I doing?

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Victoria wasn't sure what woke her or what prompted her to don her dressing gown and look out the window. But the sight that confronted her made her question whether she actually was awake or was still dreaming.

Jarrod, her logical, level-headed lawyer, was in the corral with Lightning. Not only was he in the corral, he was putting a bridle on the temperamental beast and appeared for all the world to be preparing to go for a ride. The scene was so surreal, Victoria blinked her eyes several times and rubbed them vigorously, but she still saw Jarrod readying to ride the horse who threw him and broke his leg almost four weeks earlier.

As she hurried down the stairs, realizing she'd be too late to avert disaster if something did happen, Victoria wondered exactly what had gotten into her son. She'd heard of people walking in their sleep, doing things like dressing, eating and bathing while not awake. But none of her children had ever been afflicted and she was sure that wasn't what was happening now. No, this was more likely a symptom of being a stubborn, prideful Barkley male and there was no way Jarrod was going to be able to avoid a severe tongue-lashing; that was assuming his foolhardiness didn't kill him first.

She reached the corral just in time to see Jarrod swing his leg, splints and all, over Lightning's back and barely keep from falling as the horse shifted suddenly. Victoria held her breath as he regained his balance, firmly took the reins in hand and nudged his mount into a slow walk. When she could see Jarrod had the animal under control, she planted her hands on her hips.

"Jarrod Thomas Barkley, you get down off that horse and come inside this instant!"

Jarrod turned and Victoria had to stifle a laugh at how much her grown son looked like a guilty little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. She kept her expression stern, amusement warring with relief as he guided the horse back to his improvised mounting block and slid off. Walking over, she took Lightning's reins as Jarrod struggled to manage crutches and horse at the same time. "I'll put him back in the corral, Jarrod," she said firmly, "and I'll talk to you inside."

"Yes, Mother," Jarrod said meekly, but Victoria couldn't miss the hint of satisfaction in his twinkling blue eyes.

And people wonder why my hair turned completely silver, she thought as she gave the stallion the freedom of the corral.

When she arrived in the house, Jarrod was seated in his favourite chair by the fireplace, leg stretched out in front of him. He gave her a disarming smile and she shook her head as she sat across from him.

"What am I going to do with you?" she said, exasperated.

"Give me a kiss and tell me how glad you are to have me as a son?" Jarrod suggested mischievously.

"Jarrod, I swear…"

Jarrod pushed himself out of the chair and used the table to move to sit beside Victoria on the sofa.

"I'm sorry, Mother," he said, putting an arm around her and kissing her temple. "I really don't know what got into me. And I certainly didn't mean to worry you. I guess I just needed to prove to myself that I could do it, or maybe it's just…" He shook his head as he looked at his hand in his lap, finding his feelings hard to explain.

Victoria reached out and cupped his chin in her hand to turn his head so he was facing her. "It's just that you're Tom Barkley's son, and mine, determined and stubborn. It's one of the things that makes you such a good lawyer and something you definitely share with your siblings. But Jarrod, please, no more riding until your leg is fully healed."

Jarrod chuckled. "For you, lovely lady, anything." He kissed her cheek again. "Well, I should probably get some sleep if I'm going to be in any shape to go off with my brothers in a couple weeks. After I get the okay from Dr. Merar," he added with a smile at her cautioning glare. He got off the sofa and hopped to grab his crutches, settled them and turned to give his mother a cheerful wink before he headed up the stairs.

Victoria sat for a few more minutes, gazing at the glowing embers of the banked fire. In spite of the fright he'd given her, Victoria's heart swelled with pride in her eldest son, a son so dear to her heart.

He'd never have anything to prove to her.

THE END

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Here's the conversation from the episode "Run of the Cat". Jarrod has just arrived home to discover an injured Nick is gone with the hunter, Tanner, to find the mountain lion that attacked him.

Jarrod: What the devil has gotten into him, anyway? What suddenly is so almighty important about hunting down a cat?

Audra: What was so important when you when out to ride Lightning during the middle of winter last year?

Jarrod: What's that got to do with this?

Audra (to Victoria): He doesn't see the comparison

Victoria: That's odd. I see it very clearly. You wanted to break the horse; instead, the horse broke your leg.

Jarrod: Well, that…

Audra: So at midnight, with your leg in splints, you sneak out of the house and climb on the poor animal's back…

Jarrod: Maybe I was just trying to prove that I… (long pause) And maybe I see the comparison after all.