"I don't like breathing steam and don't want to do it."

"I don't like breathing steam either when I get bronchitis, but you have to do it," said Mike. "If you don't, you could get pneumonia and that's a lot worse than bronchitis. If you get pneumonia, you'll have to stay in bed all the time and they'll put hot mustard packs on your chest, but they don't always work. People die from pneumonia all the time and I don't want you to get that sick and die. While you're breathing steam, I'm going to get your copy of Little Women from your room and if you're not as far as the rest of us are, I'll read some to you, but you have to breathe steam while I'm reading or I'll stop."

Cat started breathing steam so Mike walked up to her room and took her copy of Little Women from her night table. He looked at the bookmark and saw that she and Hoss had only finished a chapter and a half since Sunday and guessed that Hop Sing was giving her an herb to make her sleep. He carried the book downstairs and said, "Since you haven't finished this chapter, I'm going to start at the beginning. Then you'll remember everything that happens."

Cat had been breathing steam for about five minutes when someone knocked on the door. Adam opened it to find Paul Martin standing there with his medical bag in his hand. "Hello Paul. What brings you all the way out here today? Come on in. The Devlins are here. Everybody is in the dining room except Mike who's keeping Cat company in the great room. She's breathing steam right now and Hop Sing will know how much longer she has to go."

"I thought I'd take advantage of the good weather and check on Cat. It's cold out here. I sure could use some of Hop Sing's coffee."

"Well then, why are you still standing there? Dinner should be ready soon and you're welcome to stay and have some."

"Thank you. I believe I will." He walked into the dining room and looked at everyone and the expression on Ben's face and asked, "What is this, an inquisition?"

"You could say that," answered Dan. "Ben is still being overprotective of Cat and has been expecting her to think and act like an adult. Cat is convinced that he doesn't love her and from what she's told Mike, I can understand why."

"Why do we need to keep having this discussion Ben? You keep promising to stop being overprotective, but you don't keep your promise."

"I'm just trying to keep her from getting hurt."

"We have talked about that too and you know it's impossible to keep someone from getting hurt. Accidents happen and, as much as we'd like to, we can't always keep them from happening. Rest assured, if we need to have this discussion again, I will be contacting Matt and Rip to let them know what's happening and see what they want to do about it. Don't forget, Cat is not your typical girl. If you don't stop being overprotective, you're going to wake up one morning and find her gone. Now, how is she?"

"Grumpy!" said Ben, Abel, Hop Sing, Adam, and Mary together.

Paul laughed. "That's typical, especially for a Cartwright. All of them get grumpy when they're sick or injured. Most people do too. Now, how much longer does my patient need to breathe steam?"

Hop Sing handed him a coffee cup and Dan handed him the coffee pot. "Dr. Paul drink coffee. Missy Cat still have five minutes breathe steam. Then she drink tea for cough," answered Hop Sing.

"Don't give her the tea right away. I need to listen to her lungs while she's coughing. Also, don't empty the bowl she's spitting into right away either. I need to see how much she's getting out of her lungs."

A few minutes later, Hop Sing walked into the great room and told Cat she was done breathing steam and said, "Doctor Paul here to see you." He carried the bowl of water back to the kitchen and as he was walking through the dining room, said, "Doctor Paul, Missy Cat done breathing steam."

"Thank you Hop Sing. I'll go and see how she's doing." He walked into the great room and said, "Hello Cat. How are you feeling?"

"Fine as frog's hair. I'm all better now so I don't have to breathe steam or drink tea anymore. I want to go outside and play in the snow."

Ben started getting upset and was going to scold Cat but Paul just laughed. "Adam, I am going to kill you for teaching that to your sister. Now, Cat, since I spent many years going to school to be a doctor, why don't you let me decide if you're well now?"

"No because doctors always say that kids are sick even when they're not. Doc Adams does it all the time."

"Well now, I think that maybe you're exaggerating a little bit. Galen Adams is a fine doctor and I know that he won't say that someone is sick when they aren't. You are just like every other child I've ever treated, including Michael here. You don't like being sick, so you say that you're better when you really aren't. I looked at the bowl you've been spitting up into and you are still bringing a lot of mucus up out of your lungs." He took his stethoscope out of his bag and said, "I need to listen to your lungs and see how they sound. When I tell you to, take a deep breath for me. Don't worry if you cough and don't try to keep from coughing. It is very important that I listen to your lungs when you are coughing and when you are not."

Dan noticed that Ben was upset with what Cat said to Paul and said, "Why don't we go back into the dining room? It will be much easier for Paul to examine Cat if the rest of us aren't hovering like a bunch of vultures." Once they were in the dining room, Dan looked at Ben and said, "What is wrong with you Ben? It hasn't even been thirty minutes since you promised Cat to stop expecting her to think and act like an adult and you were at it again."

"I won't have her being rude to anyone, especially adults."

"There was nothing wrong with what she said to Paul. Adam, would you please remind your father of how old your sister is?"

"She's nine and a half. She'll be ten in June."

"There you have it Ben. Your daughter was acting like a nine year old child. Paul and everyone else knew it, but once again, you expected her to act like an adult. She wasn't rude. She was saying the exact same thing that my sons say every time they're sick. Nobody likes being sick. Even though it means that they don't have to go to school, children hate it when they're sick. They don't want to have to stay in bed all day for days or weeks on end. They want to be out playing with their friends. Mike is thrilled that he has a friend who lives nearby and enjoys doing the same things he does. They won't be going back to school until around Easter and Cat wants to be outside playing in the snow with him. Obviously they can't go sledding right now because of the threat of blizzards, but the pond is a short walk away and they can go ice skating. They can also have snowball fights, throw snowballs at your sons, and pull each other around the yard on a sled. I know it's been a long time since Joe was a boy, but think back to when he was and got sick. Did he enjoy having to stay in bed or on the settee all day or did he want to go outside and ride his horse and play with Mitch?"

"He hated being sick and wanted to be playing with Mitch and riding his horse."

"There you have it. Cat is acting exactly like every sick child in the country does. They try and convince doctors that they're well, even though they know that they're not."

Paul took Cat's temperature and listened to her breathing. She started coughing when told to take a deep breath. When he finished examining Cat he said, "Well Cat, you're not going to like what I'm going to tell you, but you are still a very sick little girl and will be for at least another week."

"I knew you were going to say that. Doctors always say that kids are sick even when they're not! I am not sick! I'm all better and am going to play in the snow!" Cat's outburst caused her to start coughing again.

"I know that you don't want to be sick. Nobody does. But you are still very sick. I looked in the bowl you've been spitting up into. You still have a lot of mucus in your lungs, and your temperature is still higher than it should be. Listen to yourself cough. Your body is telling you that it's still sick. Today is Tuesday and you woke up sick on Sunday so you've only been sick for three days. It takes a lot longer than that to get over bronchitis. Mike has had it several times and knows how long it takes to get well. I'm going to ask Hop Sing to make you some tea for that cough. Mike, would you please tell Cat how long it took you to get well the last time you had bronchitis?"

"Dr. Paul is right Cat," said Mike. "I was sick for two weeks the last time I had bronchitis and I hated it just as much as you do. It's very cold outside and if you go out to play in the snow before you're well again, you could get pneumonia and die. Nobody wants that to happen. Maybe I can get your Pa and my parents to let me stay here with you until you get well again. At least you'll have some company that isn't a grownup then."

"You have to go to school, so you won't be able to be here all the time."

"We won't be going back to school until around Easter. We've already had one blizzard and could get another one any day. Once we start having blizzards, the kids who live outside of town don't go to school until spring. That's why Miss Winter sent all of those lessons home with us. We'll do them at home and won't be too far behind when we go back to school. All of the farmers and ranchers are buying enough supplies to last until Easter because once we start getting more blizzards, they'll be snowed in and won't be able to get to town and there will be days when we won't be allowed to leave the house. The adults will take care of the animals. We probably won't be able to go sledding because the mountain is too far from the house, but if we take shovels and clear off the pond, we'll still be able to go ice skating. We'll just have to leave the pond as soon as it starts to snow."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"I know. This is your first winter here and you have a lot to learn about what winter is like here. It's a lot different than where you lived before. Kansas is one of the states we studied last year and I know it doesn't get as much snow as we do here."

After examining Cat, Paul walked into the dining room. "Hop Sing, would you please give Cat some of your tea for her cough?"

"Water boiling now. Just have to add tea, herbs, and honey. Dinner almost ready. Dr. Paul stay and eat."

"Thank you Hop Sing. I gladly accept your invitation. Ben, just what were you planning to scold that poor girl about this time? She's very sick and doesn't need you scolding her for perceived infractions of rules she knows nothing about!"

"I won't have my daughter being rude to anyone, especially an adult."

"Have you lost your mind? She wasn't being rude. I have been practicing medicine for many years now and if I had a dime for every time a child, including your sons, said the same things that Cat did, I would be a very wealthy man and would own Nevada and California. She knows that she's still very sick and just like every other child, hopes that telling me she's not, will instantly make her well again. Mary, Dan, I want you and Ben to give serious thought to letting Mike stay here for the rest of the winter or at least until Cat is well again. He's good for her. He's had bronchitis several times and knows how hard it is to be that sick. Just like Cat, he hates breathing steam and drinking tea for his cough. It's also good for her to have someone close to her age to talk to. I'll have to write to Galen Adams and ask him how often Cat was sick. I don't think she was sick very often but unlike here, most, if not all of her friends lived in town and could visit her when she was sick."

"Won't Mike catch bronchitis from Cat and get sick too?" asked Ben.

"No. Bronchitis is not contagious. Michael will not catch it from Cat."

"I have no objection to Mike staying here as long as Dan and Mary don't mind," said Ben.

"I for one, think it's an excellent idea," said Abel. "In fact, I agree with Paul that Michael should spend the winter here. Cat is not used to winters here and having a friend close to her age will help her on days when she won't be able to leave the house. If he does spend the winter here, with Dan and Mary's permission, I would like to take him along on the trip to Boston. As with Cat, it could be a once in a lifetime experience for him. Cat is suppose to keep a journal to share with the class when she goes back to school after Easter and Mike can keep one too. It will be something he can share with his children. I didn't know that winter here would be so bad that some of the children wouldn't be able to attend school, so Catherine doesn't know that we'll be leaving for Boston soon. I just told her that we'll be going at the end of summer. Weather permitting, I would like to alter our departure date. Instead of leaving on February twentieth, I would like to leave on February fifth. That will give us an extra two weeks, so we will easily have time to go to Gettysburg and possibly a few other places without having to worry about being back here before Easter."

Mary and Dan looked at each other. They couldn't believe what they just heard. Their eleven year old son had just been offered the trip of a lifetime. "Yes, Michael may spend the winter here," said Dan. "Abel, that was very kind of you to offer to take him with you when you take Cat to Boston. Of course he has our permission to go with you, Adam, and Cat. Please allow me to pay for his train fare and meals."

"There's no need for that," replied Abel. "The Barkleys have graciously consented to allow us to use their private rail car for the trip. That will make it easier for Cat and now Mike to do their school work and write in their journals. Meals are included with the use of the car. We will be staying at my house in Boston and I have a housekeeper who cooks for me. As far as when we're not on the train or in Boston, Michael will be my guest and I will pay for his meals. You may want to give him some money to spend on himself. There are many shops in Boston with things that will catch a child's eye."

"Thank you Abel," said Mary. "I agree with my husband. Your offer is very kind. We will make sure that Michael has some money to spend on the trip."

"Does Mike know how to draw?" asked Adam? "As Mary knows, I've been working with Cat and her drawing is improving. I may decide to work with Mike also so he can draw things that interest him on the trip."

"He has done a few drawings, but is never happy with the finished product," said Dan.

"That's fine. Weather permitting, I'll ride into Carson City tomorrow and pick up more drawing supplies. Cat, Mike, and I will need them for the trip and I'll get some extra supplies for Mike and work with him while I'm working with Cat."

Dan reached into his pocket, pulled out some money, and handed Adam ten dollars. "I don't know how much those things cost as Mike has just been using his and Mitch's old tablets for his drawings. If his supplies cost more, please let me know so I can pay you for them. Is Cat going to keep her journal on a tablet or in a journal?"

"She's going to keep it in a journal. Thank you. Ten dollars is more than enough money to get what he needs including a journal."

"Mitch and I will go home after dinner and pack Michael's clothes in a trunk and bring it back here," said Mary. "Should I pack his suit also?"

"That would be a good idea," replied Abel. "We might attend the theater and opera while we're in Boston. It will be good for both children to be exposed to those things. I'll have to see if the performances being offered are suitable for young children. I'm not looking forward to telling Cat that she's not going to be able to wear her buckskins or ranch clothes around Boston. People there aren't used to girls dressing in boys clothing."

"If we're lucky, Edwin Booth will be starring in Hamlet while we're there. I would love to see Ned again. Maybe his daughter will be with him. Edwina is about a year younger than Cat and I'm sure that they'll get along just fine."

"I think we should wait until after dinner to tell the children that they're going to spend the winter together," said Mary. "Ben, don't be surprised if Cat doesn't believe it, because if I were her and had been treated the way you have been treating her, I wouldn't believe it either. Don't look at me like that. You have nobody but yourself to blame. Instead of making her feel loved and part of your family for the past four months, your actions and words have convinced her that you don't love her. In fact, you should be the one to tell her and Mike that he will be here all winter. She may believe it if the news comes directly from you."

Hop Sing walked back into the dining room and heard what Mary said to Ben. "Hop Sing agree. Mr. Cartwright tell Missy Cat that Mr. Mike going to be here all winter. Then maybe she believe it true. Dinner almost ready. Number one son please set table."

"Since I'm staying here to help with Cat, I'll set the table," said Mary. "Please tell me where everything is.

After dinner everyone walked into the great room where Cat and Mike were playing checkers. "How would the two of you like to spend the winter together?" asked Ben.

Mike got excited, but Cat said, "Don't believe him Mike. He's just saying that because your family and Dr. Paul are here. As soon as everyone leaves, you'll have to go home with your family."

"This isn't a trick Sweetheart," replied Ben. "Mike is going to be spending the winter here with you. His mother and Mitch are going to go home and pack his clothes and school books and bring them here."

"Once you're well, we'll clean the snow off of the pond so the two of you can go ice skating," said Adam. "I'll keep checking the almanac and if no blizzard is predicted for several days, we'll get Laura, Mary, and Carrie and take all of you to go sledding. Maybe we'll even be able to arrange for Jasper to be here on that day."

"Carrie's too little to go sledding, so why is she going to come?" asked Mike.

"Carrie is going to come because Joe promised to take her sledding if she stopped having temper tantrums and started helping her mother more," replied Adam. "Mr. Ingalls said that she has been behaving much better, so Joe will need to keep his promise. Cat, that means you're going to have to keep breathing steam and drinking Hop Sing's teas so you'll get better and be able to go sledding and ice skating before the weather gets bad and we're snowed in."

"I have another surprise for you Cat," said Abel. "Instead of going to Boston in the summer, since you won't be going to school until Easter, weather permitting, we are going to leave on February fifth and Michael will be coming with us. The Barkleys have graciously agreed to let us use their private train car so we won't be crowded into small sleeper car rooms. It will also make it easier to have your dogs with us and the two of you will have plenty of room to do your school work without other people interrupting you."

"Gee thanks Mr. Stoddard! That sure is swell of you to invite me like that!" exclaimed Mike.

"I hope you have fun Mike because you know that Pa won't let me go. He says he will, but I know that he'll think of a reason why I can't go. He'll say something like it's too far or too dangerous or he'll say I did something wrong and can't go. I told you he hates me and doesn't want me to do anything fun. Remember what Andy told us the day it started snowing when you, me, Jas, and Mark were sledding. Pa was going to burn my sled and break the blades off my ice skates and put them in the rubbish."

"You're wrong Cat," said Ben, who was hurt by her words, but knew it was his own fault. "I love you very much and you will be going to Boston with your grandfather, Adam, and Mike. The only reason that you would have to stay home is if you are very sick like you are now or if you are badly hurt. I can't think of anything you could do to become badly hurt because I am going to wrap you in cotton wool and quilts so if something does happen, you won't get hurt and have to miss your trip. In fact, I'm going to wrap you in so many quilts that you will look bigger than the abdominal snowman. Mary, when you and Mitch go home to get Mike's things, will you please bring back some cotton wool and quilts to wrap him in too? I don't think I have enough for both children and I want to prevent anything from happening that could possibly ruin their trip."

Both children giggled at Ben's words.

Cat enjoyed having Mike there with her. He read to her while she was breathing steam and Adam worked with both children on their drawing. It took almost two weeks, but Cat finally got over the bronchitis.

One day when it wasn't snowing, Paul came out to check on her. After listening to her lungs, he said, "Well Cat, your wish has come true. You are well again. The bronchitis is gone. I know that you want to go out and play in the snow, but I would like you to spend two more days inside just to make sure that the bronchitis is completely gone." He reached into his bag and pulled out a tightly knitted muffler made from green yarn and handed it to her. "Mrs. Martin made this for you and used her softest yarn. For the rest of the winter, whenever you go outside, including when you go to Boston, I want you to wrap this around your nose and mouth. Your lungs are weak from the bronchitis and I don't want you getting sick again. This will keep the cold air from getting into your lungs and making you sick. Mike and Mitch had to do the same thing when they got well after having bronchitis. Mike, I want you to remind Cat to wear it when you go outside because I know she'll forget since this is the first time she's been so sick."

"Ok Dr. Paul. I'll remind her."

"Thank you Mike. I appreciate that."

As soon as the two days were up, Cat wanted to go ice skating. Before Ben could say anything, Abel said, "Cat, you've been very sick for almost two weeks and even though you don't realize it, right now, you are weaker than you were two weeks ago. Instead of going ice skating right now, why don't you and Mike take turns pulling each other around the yard on a sled and playing on your swing? That will give you time to build up your strength and you'll be able to come inside as soon as you feel tired. Also, I don't think that your brothers have cleared the snow off the pond yet and it's impossible to go skating in deep snow. When the ice is cleared off and you do go skating, I think it would be a very good idea if one of your brothers was there with you. That way, if you start to feel too tired to walk, he can carry you back to the house. I just don't want you to get sick again and have to miss the trip to Boston."

"Ok Grandpa. I'll play in the yard until the snow is off the pond. Do you think that Joe would come skating with us?"

"I'm sure that he would if you ask him to. After all he went sledding with you, didn't he?"

"Yeah he did. I almost forgot. Come on Mike. Let's go play before Pa says I have to stay in the house forever."

Once the children were out of the house, Mary said, "Ben, I hope you paid attention to the way Abel told Cat that she couldn't go ice skating right now because I know that you were just going to say no. He explained it in a way that she understood and wouldn't upset her. I think I remember Matt saying something about he always explained things to Cat. Dan and I always explained things to our sons. I think Mitch was thirteen or fourteen when we no longer had to explain things to him."

"Yes Mary. Matt did tell Benjamin several times that he always explained things to Cat. He said that she sometimes argued with him as young children do, but she understood why she couldn't do something she wanted to."

The children pulled each other around the yard and pushed each other on the swing for almost an hour when Mike noticed that Cat was getting tired. Knowing that his friend would never admit it, he said, "We've been out here for almost an hour and you've been very sick. Why don't we go and see if Hop Sing has any hot cocoa and cookies for us?"

"That's a great idea Mike. Thanks for thinking of it."

They put the sled and swing board back in the tack room and went into the house. After taking off their hats, coats, and mittens, they went into the kitchen. "Hop Sing, we're cold and tired. Can we please have some hot cocoa and cookies?" asked Cat.

"Missy Cat and Mr. Mike go sit by fire get warm. Hop Sing bring cookies and hot cocoa when ready."

After she and Mike finished their cookies and two cups of hot cocoa, Cat said, "I'm warm again. Let's go back outside and play."

"Not right now Kitten," said Ben, walking into the great room.

"Why not?"

"There are several reasons. First, you have been very sick and today is the first day you have been outside in two weeks. You just came in the house fifteen minutes ago and said that you were cold and tired. If you go back outside right now and get cold and tired again, you could get sick again and have to miss your trip. Remember, you are leaving for Boston in two weeks and I know that you don't want to get sick again. I want you to stay in the house until after dinner. Then you can go back outside and play for another hour. Second, because you have been sick, you have a lot of school work that needs to be done and I would like you to start on it now. I would like you to do two lessons for each subject. If you do that, you will only have to do one lesson for each subject each day on your trip. Otherwise, you'll spend most of your trip doing school work and won't be able to enjoy the trip and all of the places you are going to visit. Since arithmetic and grammar give you the most trouble, why don't you do them now so if you have trouble with them, you can get help now instead of when you're tired. When you come in from playing after dinner, you can do your reading and history. When your brothers return home from making sure that the cattle have enough food, I'll talk to them about cleaning the snow off the ice on the pond so you can go skating again before leaving for Boston."

"That is an excellent idea," said Mary. "Michael, you haven't done any school work since you've been here so I want you to do two lessons for each subject also. Pick two subjects and do two lessons for each of them now and then you can do the other two after dinner."

"We'll come in here so the two of you can use the dining room table," said Ben. "Remember Cat, no flying arithmetic books. Ask for help if you need it."

Both children grumbled as they reluctantly walked upstairs to get their school books, causing the adults to start laughing.

"You handled that very well Benjamin," said Abel. "You explained to Cat why she couldn't go back outside and play right now while giving her something to look forward to after dinner. You also set reasonable expectations for her school work. Having her start with her two worst subjects before she gets tired was an excellent idea. Although, I do believe that both children were hoping that you would forget about their school work. I know that I would if I were in their place."

Cat opened her arithmetic book, looked at the first lesson she was supposed to do and said, "I hate doing fractions. I'm tired of having to find common denominators for them."

"Are you still adding and subtracting fractions?" asked Mike.

"No, I have to multiply them. Miss Susan said that after Laura and I learn how to multiply and divide them, we're going to learn how to add and subtract mixed numbers and when we know how to do that, she'll teach us how to multiply and divide them."

"Multiplying fractions is easy. In fact, it's lots easier than adding and subtracting them. All you have to do is multiply the numerators, then the denominators, and reduce your answer to lowest terms. What is your first problem?"

"Two thirds times four sixths."

"Ok. Multiply two times four and then do three times six. What's your answer?"

"Eight sixteenths."

"Right. Now reduce your answer to lowest terms. That is an easy problem because you can just divide sixteen by eight."

"Hey, you're right. Multiplying fractions is lots easier than adding and subtracting them."

Ben heard Cat's statement, looked at Mary and Abel, and asked, "Did I just hear my daughter being happy about doing arithmetic?"

"No Ben," laughed Mary. "I don't think that Cat will ever be happy about doing arithmetic. What you heard was her being happy that multiplying fractions is much easier than adding and subtracting them."

When Adam, Hoss, and Joe returned home from making sure that the cattle had enough food, they saw all of the children's footprints and sled tracks in the snow. "Hey, look at that!" exclaimed Joe. "Cat's been allowed outside to play. I hope she didn't overdo it and won't get sick again."

"I don't think she did," replied Adam. "Mike has a good head on his shoulders and wouldn't let her overdo it."

"Now that little sister's been out here playin', we're gonna have ta clean the snow off a the pond so's she can go ice skatin' again afore ya leave for Boston," said Hoss.

"I hope the two of you have fun doing that because I intend to spend time sitting in my chair with a good book," said Adam.

"Awww come on Adam," replied Hoss. "It's for our baby sister. How do ya think she's gonna feel when she learns that ya didn't wanna help do somethin' for her?"

"I'm sure that she won't mind this time."

Joe looked at Hoss who just shrugged his shoulders. "It will go a lot faster if the three of us are doing the shoveling. You've apologized to her and me for the way you've treated us, now show her that you really mean it when you tell her that you love her." Hoss and Joe had been talking and decided what they wanted to do for Cat's tenth birthday but wanted Adam to look at some trees near the pond.

"Sorry brothers, but I want to start reading one of the books Cat gave me for Christmas. The two of you will be fine without me there."

Joe was worried because Adam's help would be needed with Cat's gift but they couldn't talk to him about it in the house. "Don' worry," said Hoss quietly as they walked their horses into the barn. I'm gonna talk to Pa and ask him to tell Adam to help us. I'll just tell him that we need to talk to Adam about Cat's birthday present. Pa'll convince him ta help us."

"I hope you're right because he's leaving for Boston in two weeks and needs to know what we want to do so he can draw the plans."