"Doc…Will"
Will quickly got to his feet hurrying into the room to see Heyes leaning over his friend.
"What is it?"
"What's wrong with him?" Heyes asked worriedly as he stepped aside allowing the doc access.
Will smiled when he saw what had him bothered. The Kid was soaked with sweat and moving restlessly.
"That's a good sign it means the fever is breaking. We just have to make sure he stays covered so he doesn't catch a chill now."
Heyes looked at him, his concern still apparent.
"Because he's sweating he'll catch a chill faster. We can't allow that to happen."
"He is gettin' better isn't he?"
"Well he's still on the brink of pneumonia but we can focus our energy on combating that now that the fever's down."
He saw Heyes' shoulders slump again. He reached out patting him on the forearm.
"Don't give up on him yet, I have a couple things in mind for him."
"I won't ever give up on him doc, not as long as he's breathin'."
"And we're going to make sure he keeps on breathing. You stay here and make sure he stays covered while I go make something to help treat that pneumonia."
Will left Heyes sitting beside his friend wiping the sweat from his face, pulling the cover up several times as his partner restlessly continued trying to push it aside. He could hear the doctor rattling around in the kitchen and he took the opportunity to lean close to his partner's ear and talk softly.
"You hang on Kid, the doc seems to know what he's doin', but ya gotta fight. I'm pretty sure he knows who we are, but he hasn't let on and he hasn't gone for the sheriff, but ya gotta fight ya hear."
He stopped talking, leaning back in his chair when Will came back in juggling several things in his hands.
"This is a mustard plaster. I've found that they seem to work quite well in easing the breathing for patients with lung ailments."
"I remember he's had them before…that and breathin' in steam with peppermint oil in it. Just thinkin' about that makes my eyes water again."
"I imagine it would," he chuckled as he place the mustard plaster on the Kid's chest before pulling the blanket up and tucking it in around his shoulders.
"He must have had a good doctor to know about those treatments."
"Don't recall his name off hand, but he worked real hard on the K…Thaddeus."
Heyes looked away closing his eyes and gritting his teeth almost angrily at what he had almost said. He didn't see the other man hiding a smile as he turned to the table. Will turned back to face Heyes when he heard him sigh.
"Since you refuse to leave him, I'm going to get a couple hours sleep while your friend is fairly calm. Take the plaster off after another fifteen minutes. He needs plenty of fluids so try to get these into him," he pointed to the two cups he had put on the table. "One is willowbark tea and the other is just a broth."
Heyes nodded his understanding.
"Go ahead and get some sleep doc, I'll watch him."
xxxxx
It was three hours later when Will returned. Stopping in the doorway he smiled at the sight of the two men. One still covered, the other leaning on the bed, having fallen asleep with his head resting on one arm, facing his friend with his hand resting on his shoulder. He quietly approached and looking on the table he saw that the two cups were empty. At just that moment the Kid moaned softly and shifted a bit. Heyes sat up immediately awake, smiling when he saw the Kid's eyes flutter open. He reached out to feel his forehead, his smile disappearing when his eyes drifted shut again almost immediately.
"Sleep is the best thing for him."
"Yeah, it was a long few days on the trail to get here."
"Why don't you go get some sleep, I can stay with him."
"I'm fine doc."
Will didn't bother saying anything else as he could tell by the way it was said that Joshua wasn't going to leave his friends' side…at least not yet.
xxxxx
Heyes was exhausted when morning came but had stubbornly stayed at his friends' side. Seeing his eyes slowly open he leaned forward, stunned when he saw the Kid try to push himself further back into his pillow fear and distrust flashing in his eyes as he tried to focus him. He jerked back blinking in surprise, feeling hurt and confused at his partners' reaction to seeing him.
"What's the matter?"
The Kid frowned at him, trying to untangle his thoughts.
"We…we were in the street," he said his voice still a little hoarse.
Heyes just looked at him.
"You were gonna shoot…"
"What? Shoot who?" Heyes asked, shocked.
"You told me I had to fight."
"I said that yesterday…I meant you had to fight to get better."
The Kid closed his eyes as he desperately tried to sort out his jumbled memories. He tried to move his arm, but Heyes had tucked the blanket firmly around him and it was restricting his movements causing him to panic slightly.
"I can't move."
"Easy now, it's just a blanket tucked around you."
Heyes loosened the blanket and patted his chest, but the Kid continued to look at him suspiciously. He stood backing away and shaking his head as Will stepped up to the bed.
"Hello Mr. Jones my name is William Sims and I'm the doctor."
Heyes pinched the bridge of his nose, finding it hard to believe that the Kid would ever not trust him, let alone be afraid of him. He turned away, quickly leaving the room, heading to the kitchen to sit wearily at the table with his head in his hands.
Will joined him a while later after the Kid had gone back to sleep and seeing the dejected man poured two cups of coffee, adding a healthy measure of whiskey in one.
"Here, drink this. Doctor's orders."
"How could he think I'd want to hurt him?" he asked miserably.
"He's been ill and it's worn him down. You saw yourself that the fever caused him to become delirious. When he wakes up again, I'm sure he'll be making more sense."
Heyes just sighed shrugging his shoulders and rubbing a hand across his eyes.
"You need to get some sleep Joshua or you'll be sick next. There's a bed in there, get a few hours sleep and don't worry I'll watch Thaddeus."
Heyes had gotten to the point where he couldn't think clearly anymore, and although he didn't want to leave his partner unguarded, knew he needed sleep.
"All right maybe just a couple hours."
"You can rest easy Joshua, you're both safe here."
He eyed the doc for a few seconds before getting to his feet and heading wearily to the room the doc had indicated. Pulling his boots off before flopping back on the small cot, too tired to even get undressed, his final thought was to wonder what the doc meant with that last comment before finally giving into the exhaustion.
xxxxx
Heyes had no idea how long he had been asleep, but he felt much better as he swung his legs over the side of the cot, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Pulling his boots on he got to his feet, stretching before making his way towards the room his cousin was in. Hearing voices he stepped just inside the door, stopping when he saw his partner look at him, unsure as to whether he should come in or not. He saw the Kid smile at him and he felt a wave of relief as he neared the bed.
"How are you feeling Joshua?"
"Much better thanks doc," he said looking at the clock on the table, surprised to see that he had slept for almost nine hours. "Seems I slept a lot longer than I intended."
"You needed the sleep."
"How about you Thaddeus? How are you feelin'?"
"I'm all right. The doc's as much a mother hen as you are."
That statement made Will laugh as he patted the Kid's arm.
"But you know doc, I think I've seen you someplace before cos you sure look familiar."
Will took a deep breath.
"Do you think you can make it to the kitchen? We can sit and have some dinner. Martha just left a few minutes ago and left us roast beef. We can talk after we eat."
"Thought I could smell somethin' good," the Kid smiled broadly.
He started to throw the blanket aside, pulling it quickly back over himself, eyeing his grinning partner.
"Suppose you want some clothes."
"Well I ain't goin' out there nekkid…and can ya hurry up I'm hungry."
"Yup, he's feelin' better," Heyes chuckled.
There was silence as the three men did justice to the roast beef, green beans and fried potatoes. The Kid didn't eat as much as he usually did, but still ate fairly well which pleased both Will and Heyes.
They all leaned back with satisfied sighs. Heyes got up pouring three cups of coffee before sitting down once more, waiting to hear what Will had to say.
"All right doc, think you were gonna tell me where I seen you before."
Will paused for a couple minutes, looking down at his hands that were clutching his coffee cup, before beginning to tell his story…
"All my life I had wanted to become a doctor. I'm from Nebraska originally and my parents were poor dirt farmers. They had no money to send me to medical school, but from the age of seven I did anything I could think of to make money…worked at other farms when I could get away from ours, delivered stuff from the mercantile, worked at the livery. And my folks allowed me to keep every cent I earned knowing what I wanted to do. I talked my pa into letting me stay in school when most boys my age were working full time. Then when I turned sixteen, I managed to get a full time job assisting the town doctor."
The Kid and Heyes exchanged a quick glance, seeing the faraway look in Will's eyes. They wondered where this was going. Will smiled as he continued.
"With Doctor Burk's help I got accepted to the University of Pennsylvania. I was so happy…I was going away to learn to be a doctor…and scared, I had never been anywhere. It was a long trip by rail…my first time on a train. I remember the train screeching to a halt and hearing people complaining…then the word started going around that we were being robbed. And not by just anyone, we were being robbed by none other than the Devil's Hole Gang, led by Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. Well, they were so famous that even I'd heard of them."
Heyes and the Kid squirmed a bit in their seats.
"One of the men came into the car I was in and ordered the passengers to put all their money and jewelry in a bag he pulled out. I had some cash, but most of my money was in the form of a bank draft. I knew that once it was gone so was my dream of becoming a doctor. That's when you," he said nodding toward the Kid "came in the car and saw what he was doing. You told him quite emphatically that you didn't rob from passengers and to give it back. He laughed and told you to go to hell. You didn't say anything, just stood looking at him, and when he went for his gun, yours was out and pointed at him before he even touched his. I had never seen anything like it, you were so fast one minute you were standing there your thumbs hooked in your belt and then your gun was in your hand. It was incredible."
"I took the bag away from him and gave it to you, told you to make sure the few folks that he'd taken stuff away from got it back," the Kid finished.
"If not for you stopping him, I probably wouldn't have become a doctor."
"That was Harvey wasn't it…" Heyes stated rather than asked.
"Yeah," the Kid said softly.
"That was his first and last job with us. But if we hadn't stopped the train…"
"No, please I don't look at it that way. That was the most adventurous thing that has ever happened to me…and I got to see Kid Curry draw. But I don't recall seeing you Mr. Heyes."
"I would've bin in another car opening the safe…and please call me Joshua."
"I haven't heard much about you or your gang lately…you are still wanted aren't you?"
Both men looked at him sharply.
"No I don't mean any harm, I was just curious."
"Well doc, we gave up robbin' almost two years ago."
"And yes, we're still wanted…no thanks to the damn governor."
"You mean you've applied for amnesty?"
Both men just smiled at him.
"Well good for you and since I'm your doctor, I'm bound by doctor patient confidentiality," Will grinned at the two men, straightening up and becoming serious when he saw the Kid yawn widely.
"All right, back to bed…no arguments," Will said, stopping the Kid from saying whatever he had been about to say.
The Kid rolled his eyes as Heyes tried to hide a grin.
The Kid headed back to his bed, Will right on his heels, leaving Heyes at the table remembering that train robbery and all the problems they'd had with that one particular man. He also remembered standing slightly behind his partner in silent support as Harvey was kicked out of the gang by one very angry Kid Curry. And he thought about the man who had become a doctor in part because of the Kid, a doctor that just happened to be the one they came across when his partner desperately needed one. He had a feeling that the Kid would be able to spend another day or two recovering without worrying that Will would turn them in. He smiled when he heard the doc laughing from the other room…yes, he was actually looking forward to spending a couple restful days here.
Epilogue
Three days later the two men sat their horses outside Will's office saying their goodbyes.
"Doc I can't thank you enough for your help."
"It was a pleasure Joshua. You men take care of yourselves."
"We'll try doc," the Kid said with a smile and a nod as he started to rein his horse toward the road, Heyes' voice stopping him.
"Say Will, have you ever heard of a doctor name of Chauncey Beauregard?"
Will frowned as he thought for a moment, finally raising his head to look at them.
"No, can't say that I have, should I?"
The Kid snorted a laugh before responding.
"Let's just say if it wasn't for me and Joshua there wouldn't be a Chauncey Beauregard hospital wing in San Francisco."
"You men gave him the money for that?" Will asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Not willingly doc…definitely not willingly," Heyes laughed.
And with no further explanation they dug their heels into their horses, leaving Will smiling and wondering as he watched them disappear in a cloud of dust.