Robert dismounted and went into the hospital with several of Quantro's men carrying an unconscious Quantro inside just behind him.
"Bring him up here," Robert ordered climbing the stairs, he opened the door to the surgical room. "Put him on the table."
Stephen came in last and after the others stepped outside, he slowly approached the table.
"You're sure, you can save him," Stephen said meeting Robert's eyes.
"I'm sure," Robert said gathering what he needed to successfully complete the surgery. "You can stay and watch if your that worried about him."
"I'm not worried," Stephen said running a hand though the older man's hair. "He's just the closet thing, I've ever had to a father."
"I feel sorry for you," Robert said washing his equipment in alcohol.
"Why?" Stephen asked angrily. "It's not any different than the relationship you have with your father."
"Really," Robert said returning the anger. "I don't go out with my Pa and steal from towns and take off with their woman and burn down the town in the process."
"I didn't come from a place where I was handed an education and got the opportunity to become a doctor," Stephen said snidely as Robert laughed.
"And you think, I was," he said quietly shaking his head before draping a white cloth over Quantro's body. "After I'm done then maybe I'll tell you were it was I came from."
Matt and Festus moved away from the doors of the Long Branch as Ernest entered the double doors with Newly and several of Quantro's men behind him holding rifles.
"Marshal," Ernest said with a nod toward the men behind him. "I think it's safe to say that you and your deputy's will be better off over at your office. Don't you?"
"Are you asking?" Matt said though clinched jaws. "Or is it an order?"
"My men want a drink while we wait, nothing more but I think it best if you three were gone," Ernest said more firmly as the men moved in to disarm them. "Take them over to the jail!"
"Matt," Kitty said as Matt turned around to silence her.
Kitty sat down with Doc and Abelia at a table in the back of the Long Branch as the three men were taken out the front doors and lead over to the jail.
"Now what?" Matt said crossing his arms once they were inside.
"I'm not going to lock you up because of your cooperation," Ernest said with a wiry grin. "However, I'm going to put a couple of guards outside. Do not leave without my permission or I will have to lock you inside the cells."
Festus watched the small Mexican leave before turning to Matt. "We should think about making a plan, Matthew?"
"Plan!" Matt said frustrated. "As long as they have our families, I'm afraid this is the plan!"
"I have to agree," Newly replied looking at Festus. "They have got us outnumbered and now, outgunned."
Abelia looked at Kitty and Doc after several of Quantro's men came in to get a drink and Abby started to squall. "She's probably hungry and it's getting awfully loud in here."
"Why don't you take her into my office and feed her there," Kitty said standing up as Abelia did the same. "It'll be more quiet and private."
"That's a good idea," Doc said with a nod as one of Quantro's men came over to the table.
"Where you going?" he said as Abelia stopped to look at him.
"My baby is hungry," she said harshly. "I'm going to find a quiet place to feed her!"
"Feed her here," he said roughly pushing her back into the chair. "No one leaves!"
"How dare you!" Kitty said angrily as Doc got to his feet.
"This woman just had a baby," he said harshly. "She shouldn't even be sitting here."
"That's her problem," the man said with a sneer.
"Carlos!" Ernest said from the bar. "We did not come here for women, remember!"
"Si, Ernesto," the man said moving back to the bar as Ernest approached the table.
"So sorry, señorita," Ernest said with a wiry grin.
"Sorry," Doc said sternly. "If you're really sorry, you'll let me mover her upstairs where she can lay down."
Ernesto looked at Abelia who seemed on the verge of passing out and nodded. The last thing he needed was a sick woman, Quantro needed the doctor more than anyone else.
"Fine," Ernesto said moving back toward the bar. "Take her up there."
"Kitty," Doc said moving in to help Abelia stand. "Take the baby."
Kitty took Abigail as Doc got Abelia to her feet and lead her up the stairs to Kitty's old room.
Ernesto sipped his whiskey and smiled when Carlos came over to the bar. "Patience my friend," he said quietly. "Before we leave, you can have all the woman you want here but we must wait till Quantro is better to keep that doctors loyalty, understand!"
"Si," Carlos said watching the two women and the old man go into the room upstairs.
"Here we go," Doc said gently easing Abelia onto Kitty's old bed. "Lay down here and rest."
Abelia grimaced painfully as she stretched out and put her hand on her abdomen.
Doc noticed immediately as he sat down beside her and pulled out his pocket watch. Checking her pulse, he swiped his mustache angrily before looking at Kitty.
"You think they'd let Sam get my bag from my office up stairs," he said as Kitty nodded.
"I'll see what I can do," she said putting the baby next to Abelia.
"You'd better have him bring some formula as well," Doc said as Abelia struggled to nurse. "Just in case."
Kitty nodded and headed toward the door but stopped in front of her bureau. She had left the items in the room when her and Matt had moved into the house just in case she ever had to stay the night at the Long Branch.
Opening the top drawer, she pulled out a tiny derringer and put it into a hidden pocket deep within the folds of her skirts.
"Don't get caught with that," Doc said with a wiry grin.
"Don't worry," Kitty said curtly. "If I do it's only because I'll be using it!"
Doc watched her leave before turning back to Abelia. After the baby finished nursing, she handed her off to Doc who put her in a drawer of Kitty's dresser.
"Now," Doc said drawing a blanket over Abelia. "You just rest and when Sam gets bag with my bag, I'm going to have a look at your incision."
Abelia nodded as she closed her eyes and Doc put a hand on her forehead before he shook his head.
Matt sat at his desk and watched as Festus paced angrily back and forth. Newly stood against the door watching out the windows.
"Looks like most of Quantro's men are in the Long Branch," Newly said looking out into the street. "There's a few walking the street and I'm sure some are guarding the hospital."
"Yeah," Matt said looking at Festus. "Are you done wearing a hole into my floor!"
"Sorry, Matthew," Festus said stopping to look at his boss. "Just feel so dern helpless!"
"Sam's leaving the Long Branch," Newly said watching the big burly man walk the short distance to the alley and then cross it to climb the stairs to Doc's office. "He's going to Doc's!"
"Doc's," Festus said going to the window to watch as Matt stood up.
"He's got Doc's bag," Newly said meeting the Marshal's eyes as Festus clinched his fists.
"Still don't think we should come up with a plan, Matthew," Festus said harshly.
Matt sighed as he sat down at his desk. "This is what we're going to do," he said unlocking the bottom drawer of his desk.
Festus smiled when Matt placed a box of revolver parts on his desk. "Newly, see what you can do with these," Matt said with a slight grin as Newly got to work assembling the guns. "Festus, there's a chest with ammo under the cot."
Festus quickly retrieved the chest and put it on Matt's desk.
"We're going to load these guns and hide them until they're needed," Matt said looking at the three men. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone take over my town."