Doc took a deep breath before he looked up at the hill man. "Get some water from Burke and boil it!"

Festus nodded and headed out the door as Newly stepped into the kitchen.

"Newly," Doc said gathering what he'd need from his bag. "I'll need your help! When Festus gets that water boiling, I want you to put these in it. We can't risk an infection, Robert's to weak as it is."

"Yes, sir," Newly said taking the instruments and dropping them into a pan as Festus returned with a bucket of water.

Matt entered the kitchen with a clean white sheet and handed it to Newly as Doc listened to Robert's chest.

"Kitty figured, you'd need that if you were planning on doing surgery," he said as Doc nodded.

Newly started ripping the sheet into strips as Doc let go of the stethoscope to rest against his chest. "Matt," he said with a nod toward the hill man.

"C'mon," Matt said taking Festus arm. "Let's go outside."

"No! I want to stay with my son," Festus protested as Doc looked perturbed.

"You can't do anything for him," Doc said gently. "Go with Matt now and I'll call ya when I'm done!"

Festus only nodded before silently following Matt outside.

The surgery took less than an hour but Doc wasn't happy that it had taken that long as every poke seemed to produce a fresh torrent of blood that Robert just couldn't spare.

"You want me to bring Festus in now?" Newly said cleaning that last of Doc's instruments before putting them back in the physicians bag.

Doc nodded absently as he listened to the ever weakening heart of his patient. The blood loss combined with Robert's existing myocarditis didn't help matters and the physician hated to admit it but he felt it was just a matter of time before his protégé's organs gave out. How he was going to tell Festus that his effort to save his son wasn't going to happen, he didn't know.

Festus stepped timidly into the room and met the eyes of his friend. "Newly wouldn't tell me nothin, Doc," he said looking down at Robert. Naked from the waist up, his pale face and chest betrayed his condition and the hill man shook his head. "He ain't gonna make it, is he?"

"Festus, I've done all I can..." he replied before trailing off deep in thought. "But," he exclaimed coming around from behind the table. "I don't think you have!"

"What you talkin about!" Festus asked angrily as Doc hurried to the doorway.

"Newly!" Doc yelled as the Marshal trotted inside the house.

"What's wrong?" he said as Doc grabbed his arm.

"I want you and Festus to take Robert off the table and put him on the floor beside it!"

"What fer?" Festus asked as Doc turned around.

"You just might be able to save Robert's life!"

"Me," Festus said looking quite confused. "How?"

"You just leave that up to me!" Doc said looking at Newly. "Grab that sheet and let's get him off that table!"

Newly stepped back as Doc inserted the needle attached to a rubber tube into Robert's artery at the crock of his arm.

"You sure about this," Newly asked quietly. "Blood transfusions usually kill the patient."

"I know," Doc said looking up at the younger man. "This is his last chance! I'm just hoping that since it's coming from his father, it'll work!"

"And if it don't?" Newly said looking at the sedated hill man.

"Robert's going to die if we don't do something," Doc said standing up. "The way I see it, we don't have nothing to lose!"

Newly could only watch as the physician, unclamped the tube just below the insertion point in Festus arm.

"Now," Doc said checking the time. "All we can do is wait!"

Doc constantly monitored Robert's vital signs while Newly kept an eye on Festus. After two hours, the physician noticed a marked improvement in Robert's color and heart rate.

"Doc," Matt said standing in the door way. "Kitty wants to know what's going on?"

"Well," Doc replied climbing to his feet. "I'm really not sure myself but by golly, you can tell her, that this just might work!"

The constant rattle of a wagon was the first thing he heard followed by the movement beneath him. To weak to move, he could only crack open on eye and look around before emitting a low groan of disapproval.

"Stop!" Doc said reaching up to put a hand on Newly's shoulder. The Marshal nodded before he brought the wagon to a stop. "He's waking up!"

Festus stopped Ruth beside the wagon as Doc took Robert's wrist. "Doc," Robert said slowly opening both eyes. "Kitty...the baby?"

"Their both fine," Doc said putting away his pocket watch. "I'm more concerned about you? How do you feel?"

"Weak," Robert replied looking up at Festus as the hill man grinned.

"We'll get some vittle's in ta ya and you'll be right as rain, right Doc?"

"That's right," Doc said with a wink as Robert closed his eyes.

"Thought I was dead," he mumbled before drifting back to sleep.

"It ain't your time yet," Doc replied with a slight smile before meeting Festus grateful look of gratitude. "Well, c'mon! Let's get him home!"