And now we meet Myra's siblings! Sorry about the delay, as some of you know my computer died last month, but thankfully my files were not corrupted or lost and I was able to get them transferred! Anyway, I have a shiny new computer and the world is right once again! ;P I hope that you all enjoy the chapter; please let me know what you think.

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Chapter 28: Arriving

Myra was wringing her hands in nervousness. Her brothers and sisters were arriving on the stagecoach any minute and her stomach was a riot with butterflies. She had not seen her siblings in almost a year. She had explained that they were actually her half siblings, her mother had died when she was very young; a few years later her father remarried and had Myra's four brothers and two sisters. Her stepmother had cared for Myra like she was her own and the young woman had come to call her "mother". Their parents died a few years ago, leaving Myra as provider.

She wondered how much they all had grown. Patrick, the eldest, would now be 14; she wondered if he and Matthew would become friends, being so close in age. The youngest, Benjamin, was only three and she knew he would not remember her; Elizabeth, who was the second youngest, was only now six and Myra was not sure she would remember. Oh, how on earth was she ever going to be able to raise them all?

A slender hand squeezed her shoulder; Myra looked behind her to find that while she had been worrying herself sick Dr. Mike, Robert E, Dorothy, Olive, Charlotte and the Cooper children had gathered around her. Her eyes welled up with grateful tears, she smiled brightly at her friends. Her thoughts paused at that thought as she came to a realization, these people were not her friends, at least not just her friends, they had become her family. She nearly burst into tears at the truth of how these people had taken her into their hearts, homes and lives. How did someone even begin to say thank you for such a gift?

There was a shout from up the street as the first person to see it let the rest of the town know of the stagecoach's arrival. Butterflies once again took up residence in Myra's stomach, but now, at least, she was not the nervous wreck she had been but a moment ago.

The stagecoach rolled to a stop in front of the mercantile where they were all waiting. Little heads were poking out of the windows looking around curiously. One of the two little girls, who looked to be about eight, spotted Myra and her eyes went wide with joy.

"Myra!" she squeeled with happiness and leaping out of the stagecoach as soon as the door was open and launching herself in to her elder sister's arms.

Myra held her little sister close. "Oh, Lucy." She eventually pulled away so that she could see the younger girl. "Let me see ya." The eight year old did a little spin, her brown curls swirling. "Well I believe you've grown!"

"Uh huh!" the child nodded enthusiastically, her green eyes sparkled.

A boy of 11 was hugging the petite woman next. "Hi, Myra!" He grinned up at her, his brown eyes warm with affection.

"Alex," she placed a hand atop his straight, brown locks which were just below her chin, "you're near as tall as me!"

Another boy, about a year older than Alex took his turn hugging his sister, though he was more restrained. "Heya, Myra."

"Neil," she said smiling, her eyes level with his hazel ones, his slightly wavy hair swept into his eyes bashfully when he noted the group around them.

Patrick, the eldest, towered above all of his siblings, his curly hair a bit shaggier than his brothers' and his brown eyes more serious. He was carrying little Benjamin, who had straight hair and curious, wide, green eyes. Elizabeth was clinging to her big brother's leg, her brown eyes eying the strangers warily, though she looked like she dearly wanted to approach her big sister.

Patrick leant down and kissed his elder sister's cheek. "Good ta see ya, Myra."

"Good t' see ya, too." She turned her attention to Lucy, leaning down to the six year old's height. "Hi, Izzy." She opened her arms. "Do I get a hug?"

That was all the encouragement the child needed and she plowed into Myra's embrace happily. Myra smiled, running a hand over the braided pigtails, wondering, absently, who had done her sister's hair. Elizabeth finally released her so she could stand up and greet her final sibling.

"Hey, Benji," she kissed his cheek, smacking loudly; he giggled happily and returned the embrace but also wrapped his chubby arms around her neck. He eventually released her and settled back into Patrick's arms, jabbering to the older boy about "sissy" and a few other barely-intelligible phrases and pointing at Myra.

Myra turned to her friends and made introductions while the children's suitcases were brought down to them.

Everyone then helped them over to Dr. Mike's wagon, loaded the suitcases and gave them a hand situating everyone so that they fit. They then took off, along with a few dishes laden with food that had been pressed on them by their friends for dinner.

Questions abounded from the children about everything around them and everyone they had so far met. From "Is Miss Dorothy really the newpaper gal?" to "Why were those girls wearing only their corsets and skirts?" to "Are there real Indians 'round here?" to "Is Dr. Mike a real doc and are we really livin' near her?" to "Is there a place to swim near the cabin?" to "What kinda bird is that?" and so on, the whole way to the homestead.

When the children saw the cabin the younger ones clambered down from the wagon and eagerly ran inside, Dr. Mike, carrying Hanna, was close behind them to show them around.

Patrick was slower to follow, looking at the building closely before turning to Myra. "It's brand new."

She nodded. "The people in town came and helped build it when they found out y'all were comin'."

He looked back at the place they would now call home.

Myra twisted her hands together. "I know it ain't much, but – "

"It's great, Myra," he turned to her smiling reassuringly.

A relieved smile spread across her face. "You, Alex, Neil and Benji are gonna share a room and, me, Lu and Izzy will be sharin', but everyone gets their own bed."

Alex came dashing out of the cabin. "Patrick! Me and Neil get bunk beds! And so do Lu and Izzy, though Lu and Dr. Mike're makin' sure Izzy gets the bottom bunk since she rolls lots. And you and Myra get yer own beds and Benji gets a crib, though Dr. Mike says that when he gets bigger he can get a real bed too!" the boy's words came out in an excited rush. "And there's a big table with 'nough room for all o' us and more! And there's a couple a' rockin' chairs, an' lots more! C'mon! Ya gotta see!" He waved his big brother to come inside before spinning around and running back in.

Patrick grinned at his elder sister. "Well, I guess they're excited."

She returned his smile and followed him up the steps to go inside, feeling for the first time that she might truly be able to do this.

"Patrick!" they heard Alex shout from somewhere inside, "Dr. Mike's got a WOLF!"

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I just had to end it with that line! :D I hope that it was ok! I am not exactly sure what is going to happen next but knowing the characters they will take over the moment I start typing and let me know what's going on.

To clarify, in case anyone is confused, here are Myra's siblings names (nicknames) and ages:

Patrick - 14

Neil - 12

Alexander (Alex) - 11

Lucy (Lu) - 8

Elizabeth (Izzy) - 6

Benjamin (Benji) - 3

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think!