I do NOT own The Big Valley nor any of the original Barkley Characters.

Once In A Lifetime

Chapter Three

Scene Five

"She's got to be around here somewhere!" Marie, Cynthia's childhood friend was frustrated as she parked her jeep and climbed out. Her fiancé, Paul, his brother, and her sister had been searching for their missing friend for two days. After talking to the Stockton Historian they'd traveled to the Barkley ranch. The new owners, John and Alyssa Barkley, had been more than willing to allow them to search on their land. In fact, they had gotten some friends of theirs and were looking themselves.

"We'll find her." Paul did his best to reassure Marie. He, like the others, couldn't imagine Cynthia just up and going someplace else. If she had decided to do that she would have called her family, or at least Marie. They were just like sisters.

While Marie and her group continued their search, John and Alyssa had come upon the fire pit Cynthia had used. He'd stopped his truck and they were resting by it. When a shiny object had caught his eye, John bent over and picked it up. It was a bracelet with the letters C.B. on it. He felt shock waves go through him and showed it to his wife, "Didn't those folks say their friend had a bracelet that was too large for her wrist, that they were afraid one of these days it would be what was lost, not her?"

Alyssa's heart skipped a beat as she took the item from her husband and looked it over. "They did at that. We best go show this to them and see if it's hers. At least, if it is, we'll know she was indeed here. The two quickly got back into their vehicle and took off.

Upon finding Cynthia's friends, Alyssa handed Marie the bracelet they'd found. Fear entered into Marie's eyes, "It's hers! She has been here! We have got to go back to where you found this and look some more!"

Paul looked up at the sky, it was starting to darken. "We best go back to the house, eat supper and get some rest. It's getting too dark to do anymore searching; we can start looking again tomorrow." Marie would have fought him only she knew he was telling the truth. She slid the bracelet into her pocket and climbed back into their jeep.

Scene Six

Cynthia was dusting the furniture in the living room when a wave of dizziness caught her off guard. She had to grab the table to steady herself. For a split second she could see Maria and her friends looking for her. "Hey," Heath, who had just entered the house with Nick, hurried to her side, "You okay?"

She wanted to assure him she was only she didn't know what was going on, it scared her. However, she wasn't about to admit to what she'd just seen, "Yeah, I just got a little dizzy. I'm fine, now." she let go of the table and passed out.

When Cynthia came to, she was laying in her bed. Dr. Merar and Victoria were in the room talking. When she sat up, the two hurried back by her side. "Well, young lady, you gave everyone a scare. How are you feeling?" Dr. Merar smiled at Cynthia.

"Fine, but what am I doing he…" she started to asked then remembered what had taken place in the Barkleys living room, "I passed out didn't I?"

Victoria smiled slightly and nodded, "Yes, you did." Mrs. Barkley then looked at the good doctor, "You were saying?"

The gentleman shrugged his shoulders, "I can not find anything wrong. The best I can come up with is the fact that this young lady had that nice sized bumped on the back of her head when Heath first brought her here. We don't know a lot about the human brain and it just may be that she's going to have to be careful. It may be a side affect of the injury and, if that's the case, it may happen again. I'm just glad I happened to out checking up on McCall when this happened." The long time foreman had went and injured his arm a few days before.

"Oh, how joyous." Cynthia didn't stop the remark from coming out of her mouth. Victoria and the doctor both gave her sympathetic smiles. It was a sentiment they were sure they'd be repeating if they were in her boat. Though they both had to chuckle when the young woman asked, "So, how soon can I get out of this bed. I've got work to do."

"As long as you promise that if you feel the least bit dizzy you'll quickly sit down, or lie down," Dr. Merar answered, "You can go ahead and get up, but," he looked at both women, "If this does happen again, I want to know. A trip to one of the clinics up in San Francisco may be required." The doctor said as he left the room.

As Cynthia got out of the bed, Victoria remembered the feeling she'd gotten when Cynthia woke up the first time. The feeling that this young woman knew more than she was letting on. Victoria was getting the same feeling again. "If you ever need anyone to talk to," Victoria smiled with compassion on their newest employee, "My door is always open."

It unnerved Cynthia to know this woman could see through her like she was. For a moment Cynthia actually thought about it. 'Sure girl, tell her you were born in January of nineteen fifty. That will give you a one way trip to one of their insane alyssums!' "Thanks," she smiled back at Victoria, "but there's nothing to talk about. I need to get back to work." Cynthia hurried out the bedroom door leaving Victoria with her thoughts.