A few weeks after Lee had turned two, Angel Eyes returned home from a job where it had taken him longer than usual to hunt down the target. It had rained a good bit as well, so when he returned home, he was muddy and bone weary.

After the good meal Emma had cooked, he took a bath, then went straight to bed, eager for some rest. As was his usual habit, he'd brought back a few gifts for Lee, but told Emma he would wait until the next day to spend some time with him, after he'd had a chance to get a good night's sleep first.

Before going to bed herself, Emma gathered the clothes he'd worn on the trail, as she'd planned to do laundry the next day. She always made sure Angel Eyes looked immaculate when he left for a new job, but he was invariably dusty and dirty when he returned home.

She rose early the next morning and gave Lee his breakfast, before getting ready to do the wash. She let Angel Eyes sleep, figuring he'd awaken on his own shortly.

"Where Da?" Lee asked as he watched his mother clean up the kitchen.

"I'm right here, little man." Angel Eyes stood in the doorway, yawning loudly.

The little boy held up his arms and his father obligingly picked him up. "Come on, sit with me while your mother makes me a cup of coffee."

Angel Eyes lit his pipe as he waited and let Lee stay on his lap as he ate breakfast.

Later that day, after Emma finished the tedious laundry job, she went to the side yard facing the barn to hang the wet clothes. There was a fence around the yard that also separated it from the barn,

Lee followed his mother out into the yard, not wanting to miss anything she might be doing. He was a curious child, always learning by observation.

His father had gone to the barn a few minutes previously to trim the horses' hooves, while the toddler was still occupied watching his mother gathering the wet laundry into the basket.

As she began to hang clothes on the line, Lee chased a butterfly to the fence, where it hovered at the top of a fence post. Wanting to catch the little creature before it flew away, he began to climb the fence. Once he reached the top, he leaned out far with one hand, trying to grab it.

He overbalanced and fell, cutting his head on the post going down, then hit the ground with a resounding thud. A moment later, he began to wail loudly, confused by what had just happened. Emma knew by the pitch and urgency of the cries that this was serious and he wasn't merely whining.

As she dropped the laundry and ran to the fence, Angel Eyes ran out of the barn. He'd heard the thud and the anguished crying from where he was working.

He emerged just as Emma reached Lee and picked him up. The toddler had a large, swollen knot on his forehead, which was quite bloody from the cut he'd gotten from the post.

"Weren't you watching him?" Angel Eyes demanded angrily, bending to take a look at his son, who was still sobbing.

"I was hanging the laundry," she told him. "I took my eyes from him for just a moment, but that's all it took. I can't constantly watch him and get my chores done, too. I'm probably going to need a hired girl to help me, at least while he's little."

"Never mind that right now," he snapped. "He needs a doctor."

"There's a new doctor in town," Emma reported. "Name of Garrett. Office is right across from the mercantile."

"Good," Angel Eyes replied. "I'll go get him and bring him here. You bring Lee inside and wash him up as best you can. Put him in our bed until I get back with the doctor."

He quickly saddled his horse and set off for town, while Emma took Lee into the house and did what she could to make him comfortable until the doctor could get there.

Angel Eyes got to town in record time. He found the doctor's office quickly. A sign reading, "Jeremiah Garrett, MD", was prominently displayed on a building across from the mercantile.

He swung down from the horse, threw the reins over the hitching rail, then hurried inside. The waiting room was empty, so he went through a door in the back of the room that was ajar.

A man about his own age was seated at a desk writing in a notebook. He looked up expectantly as the other man clattered into his office.

"You the doctor?" Angel Eyes demanded impatiently, glaring down.

"Yes, I'm Dr Jeremiah Garrett," the other man answered calmly. "How may I help you, Mr…."

"Sentenza," he supplied. "It's my boy. He had a fall and I think he split his head open. He's bleeding like a stuck pig."

"I'll get my bag and my horse and follow you to your home," the doctor told him.

The two men arrived at the house a short time later.

"In here," Angel Eyes told the doctor once they'd entered the house.

Emma looked up expectantly as the two men entered the bedroom. She'd been using a wet cloth on Lee's forehead to sooth him. His cries had been reduced to subdued whimpers by this time, but it was obvious he was still in pain.

"How is he?" Angel Eyes asked gruffly as he reached down to take Lee's little hand.

"I got him cleaned up as best I could," she reported, indicating a bloody towel on the nightstand. "He's not bleeding so much now, but I'm worried about that big knot on his head."

The doctor stepped forward at this point, smiling down at the obviously agitated mother. "I'm Doctor Garrett, Mrs Sentenza. It looks like your little boy will be fine, but I'll examine him to make sure."

Emma looked up and immediately noticed the doctor's kind eyes. She knew instantly that she could trust this man implicitly. Giving him a shy smile, she stood to give him room to make his observations.

Turning his attention to his young patient, he asked, "Now, then, young man, what's your name?"

Looking at both his parents uncertainly, he finally replied, "Lee."

"Well, Lee, I'm going to take just a few minutes to look you over and make sure you're all right. Your Mom and Dad will stay right here while I do that "

A few moments later, the doctor finished his examination. Turning to Angel Eyes and Emma, he said, "Lee will be just fine. Head wounds often bleed profusely, even when the wound is a minor one. Make sure to regularly clean the cut with rubbing alcohol, but whiskey would do if you don't have any rubbing alcohol. I'll stop by in a couple of days to see how he's getting along, but feel free to come get me if you need me."

"Thank you, Doctor," Emma said, smiling.

Angel Eyes accompanied him to the door, then pulled several bills from the wad of cash he'd taken from his jacket pocket.

"Oh, you don't owe me that much," the doctor protested when handed the money.

"Take it," the other man insisted. "It's worth it to me and Lee's mother. We are obliged to you."

Garrett took a closer look at him then, noting the large caliber revolver riding in a cross draw holster, the standard rig for hired guns. So, the rumors he'd heard in town about this couple were apparently true. No matter, though. He'd taken an oath when he finished medical school to serve everyone, and that's exactly what he planned to do.

Accepting the money from Angel Eyes, he thanked him then headed back to town.