"Oh let the men go off and talk," Lou said with a warm smile when she saw Faith's uncertainty at seeing Jimmy walk away with Kid. "I made some lemonade for us girls."

Faith was somewhat encouraged by Lou's smile and words and accepted the invitation to sit on the porch.

"How are you doing?" Lou asked.

"Okay I guess," Faith answered rubbing her belly, "The last few weeks are always the longest."

"That's not exactly what I meant," Lou said, "I meant after everything that happened with you having to shoot your…your…"

"Aaron," Faith finished, "His name was Aaron." Faith paused and looked out to where Jimmy was smiling easily with his friend and took a deep breath before speaking again. "I don't know how I'm doing. Sometimes I feel alright and others I feel terrible. I don't even know how I'm supposed to be doing."

Lou nodded understanding.

"Jimmy probably told you a man hurt me once too."

"No," Faith replied, "He didn't. He just said you'd been through hard times. I'm sorry that happened to you."

"It was a long time ago," Lou told her, "I let it define me for a while. I wasn't married to the man or nothing but it still turned me around for a while that he took from me what he did. I know it's not the same."

"I loved Aaron once," Faith said softly, "He was worthy of it too."

"That damned war messed up a lot of men, good men too," Lou nearly whispered, "I'll never be able to thank God enough that Kid stayed and didn't go fight."

"He was a good and kind man before but I guess I've heard that war changes a man. Aaron was proof of that."

"You must have been terrified when you saw him on the street," Lou said and then saw Faith's eyes grow distant.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I can't imagine you want to dwell on that much at all, not when you should be thinking of happy things like that baby."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Faith asked as the tears began to slowly fall, "I thought you were his friend."

"Faith, I am his friend. I'm yours too. One doesn't rule out the other."

"I'm a terrible person," Faith sobbed pushing Lou away as she tried to comfort her. "You were right to be suspicious before. Your instincts were good. I'm all wrong for him."

"My instincts were way off," Lou asserted, "You were in trouble and it followed you but what I had been afraid of was you trying to use him. Plenty of women have you know. I can see you really love him. And I can't wait to meet this baby and see the two of you building a life together like me and Kid have been able to do. Jimmy never gave himself a chance at that before. I could tell he wanted it but it was like he didn't give himself permission to want it. You gave him something precious right there and in a few weeks you'll give him something even more precious."

Faith shook her head as her tears slowed.

"No, this is his gift to me," she said, "I was told I'd never have another."

"That reminds me," Lou said jumping up, "I have something for you."

She bustled inside emerging a few minutes later with a small quilt.

"I wanted to give you this for the little one."

Faith's tears renewed but they were no longer fear or sadness but the joy of having finally found friends long after giving up the search flowing from her eyes. Lou gave Faith a hug and then settled back into her chair sipping at her lemonade.

"Have you thought about names?" she asked, "I feel bad now about naming Jamie what we did. I mean you could still have a Jimmy junior but I don't know if he'd want one with our circle so full of Jameses already."

"He didn't want to name a boy after himself anyway," Faith told her, "We've talked some but I don't think we've settled on anything just yet."

"Something will just seem right," Lou assured her, "So are you going to try to fit a wedding in before the baby? It'll be tight but I'll bet we could manage the planning."

"There isn't much planning to do," Faith answered, "Teaspoon's going to marry us at our house and it'll just be for our friends anyway. I don't need to be a spectacle waddling down the aisle with this belly and I don't need the big ceremony anyway. I just want to be married to him. I don't care much what it looks like."

"Well we have to do something still," Lou mused, "Have a party, even if it's small. You should have a new dress too."

"I don't think a new dress is very practical given my size right now."

"I can make one that would fit now and I could fix it up to be a nice dress after the baby too," Lou said, "I'll get with Jenny and we'll come over sometime and get to work. I'll just bet between Jenny and me and Rachel we can get some food made to have a nice little party."

"I really don't think we need to make a big fuss," Faith protested, "I'm ridiculous enough marrying when I am this big with the baby. I don't think we need to increase the scandal. He's worked so hard to avoid notice and here I am drawing a big arrow to him and starting people talking all over again. It's not bad enough he's marrying the crazy lady who shot her husband down in the street barely a month before she was to have a baby. I'm sure the gossips will be talking about that for months."

"A couple will talk about it because their own lives are so boring and desperate for excitement they have to borrow yours," Lou agreed, "But most people have better things to worry about. They got over the fact that I dressed like a man, did a man's job and slept every night in a bunkhouse full of men. They even looked past the fact that I married one of those men. Not exactly the picture of the blushing bride but people turned out for the wedding all the same and they wished me well and they meant it. When I had Jamie, the ladies turned up with quilts and clothes and diapers just as they would for any new mother. If one of us is sick they show up with food and offers to watch the young 'uns same as for any other family. Once you have your precious one they will be there for you too. We don't have the same pretenses around here that some places might. We have a marshal who probably wasn't always on the right side of the law who has a half-blood deputy. That deputy's wife was once raised among the Indians herself. Our schoolteacher is a former gambler and the speculation of what else she might have done has run all over at times but she does her job and the kids get an education and eventually no one cared. Though if Teaspoon don't marry her soon that might change. To have Wild Bill Hickok come riding back into town was a bit of a stir for about a month and a half and now he's just Jimmy and no one pays him any mind. You're a mystery but once people are used to seeing you around they won't bat an eye and you and your baby will be just as much a part of this place as the rest of us."

A whimper from the floor of the porch pulled the women's attentions from Faith's worries to where Mary had been happily playing on a blanket. Mary's little face was starting to twist into a frown and Lou moved to grab her before she worked into a full blown wail but Faith stood first and put a hand on Lou's shoulder.

"I can see to her."

Lou thought to protest but then relented quickly somehow understanding Faith's need to see to the child. Later she would reflect at how many reasons Faith seemed to have to want to tend Mary right then beginning with a desire to show friendship and aid to a new friend and extending to a need to remind herself that she did indeed know how to take care of a baby since she would be doing it on her own in a few short weeks and a host of other reasons as well that fell between those two.

Faith lifted the girl and held her close.

"You just need someone to hold you a bit don't you?" she cooed knowing full well the child needed a nap, "How about Aunt Faith rocks you a little while once we get a clean diaper on you?"

Faith couldn't help the moisture that sprang to her eyes when Mary tightened her chubby little arms around her neck. It had been so long and still it felt so good to hold a little one close. Faith made short work of Mary's diaper and then sat in the rocking chair next to her crib and stroked the girl's hair while she sang softly to her. It didn't take long before Mary was asleep against her. Faith almost didn't want to move her to the crib; it was so nice to have this sweet babe asleep in her arms. But she stood anyway and gently placed the baby in the crib.

"Sleep tight little one," she whispered and straightened up to find Jamie watching her from the doorway. She smiled at him and felt her heart seize once more at how like her Adam he looked. Once she was out of the room he spoke to her.

"Why'd you rock Mary?"

"Because your mama works hard and needs a break," she explained before adding, "And I need the practice again. It's been a long time since I rocked a baby to sleep."

"Uncle Jimmy could show you," Jamie said earnestly and Faith couldn't help but smile.

"He's that good at it?" she asked.

"Mary likes him best of all."

"Do you think this baby will like him best of all too?" she asked patting her belly and smiling at the boy who obviously had a pretty high opinion of his Uncle Jimmy too.

"Uncle Jimmy's the best!" the boy declared.

"But he won't be Uncle Jimmy to this baby, he'll be pa."

The boy got a look that said he wished Uncle Jimmy was his pa and Faith stifled a giggle. Someday their own baby would probably prefer any of his or her uncles to Jimmy. Uncles can be much more fun and never have to handle the unpleasantness. But she did get a warm feeling thinking of Jimmy rocking their own child someday soon.

Faith and Jimmy had just finished breakfast and Jimmy was heading out the door when he nearly bumped right into Lou and Jenny.

"Morning ladies," he said smiling and tipping his hat earning him a smile and playful swat from Lou.

"Ain't you finished that cradle yet?" Lou asked.

"I have but don't tell her that," he said, "I'm working on something special—a surprise."

He walked away and Lou leaned to Jenny.

"Thank God Faith is a good woman," she whispered, "As head over heels as he is for her, if she wasn't I might have to shoot her."

Jenny giggled as the two walked into the house knocking lightly on the door jamb as they did. Faith looked up at them and smiled.

"Let me finish the breakfast dishes and then I'll get some tea on and we can talk," she said.

"Dishes later," Lou said, "And no time for tea either. We have work to do."

"What work?"

Jenny pulled some cloth from a sack smiling, "We need to make you a wedding dress!"

"I don't need a wedding dress," Faith insisted, "I'm bigger than a buffalo and it's just not necessary to go to such fuss."

"I wouldn't have taken you for selfish," Lou said pointedly.

"I'm not selfish. I'm thinking of what it looks like for Jimmy. I'll be due almost any day when we marry. We're only just sneaking this in before our baby is born out of wedlock. Making a big old thing out of it is just poor taste."

"You don't want a big ceremony in the church and that's fine," Lou told her, "Jimmy wouldn't have cared a lick for that anyway. But don't you deprive him seeing you walking toward him in a pretty dress. Kid says that's one of his favorite memories was watching me walk down the aisle with my hair all done and in a new dress. He remembers thinking right then how lucky he was that I was his. And you want to walk to your new husband in some old worn work dress?"

"I hadn't thought…" Faith looked like she might cry.

Jenny wound an arm around Faith and Lou spoke quickly.

"I didn't mean to snap at you," she said apologetically, "I get a little protective of him, remember?"

"We kind of asked Jimmy what he might like," Jenny spoke up, "Without letting him know why we were asking. Come look at the material."

Faith did and couldn't help falling in love with the simple pattern of small pink and purple flowers on a white background. Lou pulled out some wide dark green ribbon the color of the leaves of the flowers.

"I'll use this to accent the sleeves and the waist and down the skirt," she said, "And I have some nice lace as well to go around the collar and maybe at the cuffs."

"Waist?" Faith asked looking down at her lack of a waist.

"Well, I guess really that's just under your bust," Lou acknowledged, "There's a name for a waist that high. If I do it right it won't take anything at all to alter it into a regular dress once the baby is born and we can find your real waist again. It'll make a nice dress for church socials."

The women set to work and worked diligently until Faith stopped them.

"Jimmy will be coming up for lunch any minute," she said as the women quickly hid the progress they had made on the dress giggling. Lou and Jenny helped Faith throw together a lunch for Jimmy and themselves and they ate in relative quiet.

Jimmy paused to kiss Faith before he went back out to work on his surprise project for her. He hoped to finish it in time for it to be a wedding present.

"So what are you girls up to in here, anyway?" he asked holding her to him and not really wanting to let go and leave for the barn.

"I could ask you the same thing about what you do in that barn all day," she said, "I know how close you were to finishing that cradle weeks ago. It must be done by now."

"Fair enough," he smiled at her and then kissed her deeply paying no mind to the fact that they weren't alone, "You have fun now. You deserve it."

He kissed her again and finally released her leaving Faith feeling a little lost and lonely for the lack of his arms around her. She sighed and Lou giggled.

"I think you'll make it until supper," she said, "But I remember those days when I couldn't bear an hour away from Kid."

"I still miss Buck when he leaves for work in the mornings," Jenny said sadly.

The women set to work again and by the time Faith had to start getting supper ready for Jimmy the dress was pinned together and needed only for Lou to finish sewing it.

"I'll be over the night before the wedding to put your hair in rags," Jenny said, "Don't forget to boot Jimmy out for the night."

"I can't kick him out of his house," Faith protested.

"I can," Lou said with a smirk, "And I will."

Later that night while Faith was brushing her hair Jimmy spoke up. She snapped to attention as he rarely spoke while she did this. He always watched but hardly ever spoke. There was a time it made her uncomfortable to have his attention so completely but she now could read the love in his expression.

"So Lou tells me I'm sleeping in the old bunkhouse the night before the wedding," he said smiling.

"You don't have to," she said the brush pausing halfway through her long hair; "I think we've already built up all the bad luck possible. Seeing me before the wedding won't hurt a thing. You shouldn't be put out of your own home."

"Our home," he corrected her, "This ain't just my home. It wasn't a home at all until you got here. And I don't think me being scarce the night before has anything to do with luck, just with the other ladies trying to get you all prettied up for the wedding."

"You don't have to leave."

"It's one night and I think the reward'll be plenty worth it," he told her.

Faith quietly finished brushing and braiding her hair and came to bed quickly finding herself in Jimmy's arms.

"Did you have fun with the girls today?"

Faith nodded against him. It had been fun to be around two other women and spend time talking about babies and dresses. Faith had actually shared the details of her first wedding which she hadn't really thought about in far too long. It still stung a little bit but she was finally coming to some understanding that her husband had been dead from the time the government had declared him so even if the actual man had still been drawing breath. The man she had loved was already gone and she had moved on which was only to be expected. In time maybe the guilt would leave her but at least it didn't hurt so bad anymore and she thought maybe it was okay she had friends. At first she was sure she didn't deserve Jimmy or his family here in Rock Creek.

"You should have fun, you know," he whispered into her hair, "You should smile more too. I miss seeing your smile like I used to. I know things haven't been smooth for us but you should still smile more."

Faith couldn't help the tear that slid from her eye and onto his chest. Jimmy just squeezed her tighter.

"I have to work on this love thing a bit more, Faith," he said, "I want for you to smile and I make you cry. You really sure you want to hitch yourself to a man who can't do any better than that?"

"It wasn't a sad tear," she said softly, "Sometimes I'm just too happy when I think that you really love me. You are…I just…I just love you so much and I can't always believe that somehow I have this now."

"I sometimes wonder how I got so lucky to find you but maybe there's something to fate or God or something leading us where we need to be," he told her, "I don't think I would have found you on my own, that's for sure."

Faith pushed herself up so that she could reach his lips and kissed him deeply then nestled next to him resting her head back on his chest. Her eyes closed as she listened to his heart beating steadily in her ear.

Jimmy held tight to Faith knowing that somehow he had found her. He had in his grasp all he had ever needed even when he thought so surely he had needed something else. She relaxed into him and he knew she had fallen asleep. He thought back to the day so many months ago when he had been up early not being able to stand one more moment in that drab and sad room and he had spied her, hair down and glinting in the morning sun. She had been frightened but showed a brave face and he thought maybe he had fallen in love with her right then. Her defiant strength was something he admired and it drew him in and made it impossible for him to ever leave her for long. Or so he thought. He could also remember the day he had made the biggest mistake of his life and she had been the one to pay for it. Somehow they were granted another chance and he would not mess this up. He would never leave her or their child again and he would fall asleep every night as he was that night, with her tight in his arms.

Wow...there isn't much more to this now...I would dare to say the next chapter is wedding! Yay! And she doesn't have long to go before we have a little Hickok baby! I just love the idea of little Hickok babies. Oh it just makes me squee to think of them.-J