Gunsmoke and Spies 5

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"Hey, Amanda." Lee smiled at her as he stepped into the room and crossed over to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, my head hurts." Amanda answered truthfully. "But I'm alright, I guess, or at least I think I will be. But, Lee, what about Mother and the boys? Do they know what happened? You know I need to contact them. They'll be worried sick if I don't check in like I promised. And what happened? How did we end up here? I mean I wake up with a headache and that nice woman beside me but you're nowhere around and…"

Lee smiled at her rambling. She always did that when she was upset. Sitting down beside her, he gently took her hand. "Amanda, calm down, will ya? Look, it's alright. I sent a wire to your mother telling her that we decided to visit with some friends of mine here and that we'd be delayed for a few days. So don't worry about your family. And…" he raised a hand forestalling the next question he knew she would have. "Don't worry about us. We are safe. I've just spent a considerable amount of time with the Marshal here and I'm pretty sure he's a straight shooter. We can trust him."

Amanda studied his face for a moment before relaxing and nodding her head. She trusted Lee implicitly and if he said they were safe here, then they were. Of course just exactly where 'here' was and why she should be worried about their safety, she still wasn't sure. "Lee," Amanda glanced around the room again. "Where is here? I mean, I know this is Dodge City, Dr. Adams told me that. But why are we here? What exactly happened?"

Lee sighed. The gray haired Dr. Adams had told Lee that Amanda would be a little confused for a while because she had hit her head so hard and that she might not remember the accident. It looked like the doctor was right. "It was just an accident, Amanda." He told her, moving his hand to softly caress her face. "We were in a rented buggy out west of here and the horse got spooked and took off. You were thrown when the buggy turned over and you hit your head."

Amanda searched her faulty memory banks but the last she could remember was walking with Lee down a boardwalk and looking into various storefronts at the merchandise they had to offer. She of course remembered her name and Lee's and where they came from and that she had a mother and two little boys waiting for her in Virginia.

She remembered, or at least she thought she did, that her husband was killed in the war and she and Lee had met at the train station when she had gone there to meet her mother, who was coming to live with her. Though it seemed like those memories were told to more than actually remembered by her. And though she couldn't remember it clearly, she did have a brief flash of her and Lee standing before a preacher and saying vows. Suddenly she looked up at Lee. "We're married." The thought was amazing.

Lee smiled and nodded, as he bent down to place a kiss on her lips. "Yeah, we are. We just got married a couple of weeks ago. I'm glad you at least didn't forget that."

"Not on your life, Scarecrow." She murmured as she pulled him back to her for another kiss.

When their lips parted, Lee grinned at her. "You remembered my nickname as well. Things are looking up."

Amanda started to reply but the door opened and Doc came in. "How's your head feeling, Young Lady?" He asked as he stepped over to the bed.

Amanda grinned at Lee before looking back up at Doc. "It's alright. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did."

"Good," Doc smiled at her. "That's a good sign, but I still want you to take it easy for a day or two. Rest is about the best thing for you right now."

"I'll see to it that she gets it." Lee told Doc as he caught the look on Amanda's face. He could tell rest was not what she was hoping for.

"Uh huh," Doc wasn't fooled by either one. "Well, just to be sure, I'm going to give you something to help you sleep and I intend for you to do just that. Sleep!"

"Oh, no, Sir." Amanda protested. "I don't need anything. I'm fine, really."

"Amanda," Lee grasped her hand. "If Dr. Adams says you need rest, then don't argue with him, okay? For me?"

Amanda dropped her eyes to the worn quilted comforter covering her body and sighed before raising her eyes back to Lee and nodding. "Alright, but stay here with me, huh? Please?"

Lee gave Doc a questioning glance and the old man nodded. "Just make sure sleep is all you two do." Doc said gruffly.

Laughing, Lee readily agreed. "Yes, Sir." He answered as he looked over at the deepening blush on Amanda's face.

TBC