Kate sat at her desk with one foot under the desk, and the other propped on a pillow that rested on the top of the three shelf bookcase next to the desk. Four bruised toes and a swollen foot, throbbed for attention. She stared at a blank computer screen, unable to displace the rampant signals the brain as sending to the nerve endings in her toe.

"Kate?"

Kate closed her eyes and sighed heavily. The last thing she wanted at the moment was the irritating interruption of two displaced former outlaws. "Can this possibly wait?" she asked with a wince and a slight gasp.

"You hurt?" Heyes asked, seeing her swollen, bruised foot propped on the pillow. "Kate have you been drinking?"

"No," she replied curtly.

"Well, by the looks of that, maybe you should consider a shot or two of whiskey. We drink it whenever we get hurt," Heyes said with some genuine concern.

"Yeah, every time one of us gets hurt, and thanks to you, I'm a founding member of AA," Kid added.

"Kid, you're not being helpful. Seriously Kate, what happened?" Heyes asked.

Kate sighed again, giving in to the fact that the two outlaws were not about to leave until they were ready to do so.

"I'm not sure exactly. It was dark. I thought I had just stubbed my little toe but, as you can see..."

"So that's why we ain't been in any trouble lately?" Kid asked. "Cause you got toe jammed?"

Even through the pain of the foot, Kid's use of words stupefied her, and she looked at him with a furled brow and a gaping mouth.

"You been to a doctor?" Heyes asked.

"A doctor can't do anything more than I can for a broken toe," Kate explained with a shake of her head.

"Boy, medicine don't advance too quick, does it?" Kid asked.

"Not in this case. Now, why is it you're here?"

Heyes shook his head. "First things first, and right now I think you take priority. You may not be aware of this, but there's lots of home remedies you could try. You know, folks traveling across the country in a Conestoga had to have a pretty vast knowledge of home remedies. "

"Are you familiar with any?" Kate asked.

"Well, you could wrap your toes in sinew, then soak the foot in a vat of simmering pig fat... No, wait, that might be the cure for a snake bite... Let me think," Heyes replied.

"My Ma also said kissing a sore could make it better," Kid suggested.

Kate smiled, but shook her head. "I wouldn't let you stop with just one toe, Kid. You better be careful with your suggestions."

Kid smiled nervously and stepped back quite a ways. "Up to you, Heyes," he said, deferring all further suggestions to his partner.

"Well Kate, I know it's hard to come by, but I think ice would help."

"There's an ice maker in the kitchen. Kid, would you mind?"

Kid's eyes narrowed nearly to a squint. "You got an ice house in your house?" he asked.

"Remember Kid, I've got a lot of years ahead of you. An ice maker is built right into the refrigerator. The refrigerator is that big white appliance in the kitchen... and stop squinting. You ruin your best feature."

"You sure get proddy when you ain't feeling up to par," Kid grumbled. "And, little miss know-it-all, how do you know that's my best feature?" He asked with an air of superiority.

"I know all your features. I could write your features," Kate snarled.

Again Kid quickly backed off and, without another word, headed off to find the kitchen.

"Kate, are you able to walk on that foot?" Heyes asked.

Kate nodded. "I limp... Sort of like Kid without his gun... Do you think I was too hard on him just now?" she asked with real concern.

"Kate, you've thrown him down a well, gut shot him, nearly froze him to death out in the winter after being attacked by a bear, killed him off a couple of times... No, I don't think you were too hard on him... And believe me, his eyes are his best feature."

Kate couldn't help but smile and even uttered a little chuckle. "Better never tell him that," she replied.

Heyes nodded. "It'll be our secret."

Moments later Kid returned with cubes of ice wrapped in a dish towel that he gently laid on Kate's foot.

Kate smiled appreciatively. "Thank you."

"And by the way, I heard the two of you and for your information, my backside bum is my best feature. Why do you think I wear my gun belt so low?"

Heyes looked at Kate with raised eyebrows and Kate smiled.

"Who would have guessed, a vain and fashionable outlaw?" Kate said.

"Don't give me that smirk, Heyes. All the ladies in them brothels tell me that, and they've seen plenty. " Kid replied.

"Of that, I have no doubt, Kid."

"Fellas, I really don't mean to be a poor hostess but, why did you decide to drop by?" Kate asked, hoping to hasten their exit.

"We was just getting a bit worried about you," Kid explained. "I mean, I ain't been hurt in more than ten days. That's some serious slacking off, Kate."

"The foot will start feeling better in a few days, Kid. I promise, I'll find some reason to hurt you then."

"You ain't just saying that to get rid of us, are you?"

"Kid, if I really wanted to get rid of the two of you I would just turn off my computer, and close my notebook."

"Would you really do that?" Kid asked.

"Never both at the same time, Kid. I always leave a door open to ideas."

"Kate, I do recall a pioneer remedy for an injury such as yours," Heyes told her.

"What's the remedy, Heyes?"

"Horse liniment and a binding. Oh and take to bed in the wagon. Milk it for all it's worth."

"Well, I have managed to get out of mowing the lawn. It's pretty hard to mow with just one foot."

"You know, if you was to get a couple of goats, you wouldn't have to mow at all," Kid suggested.

Kate smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, Kid."

"Well, we'll be going so you can get some rest, Kate. But if we don't hear from you within a couple of days, we'll be back to check on you," Heyes told her.

Kate reached forward and turned off the computer and suddenly the room was very quiet. She turned around in her chair as best she could, but the boys were gone. She frowned but ever so carefully reached for the wet dripping towel, then carefully brought her foot to the floor. Kate dropped the wet towel in the waste basket to deal with later, then stood and hobbled off to bed for a nice long nap.

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Author's Note: Sometimes fiction really is a reflection of life, and this week, injuries have been abundant, so this story is dedicated in part to Good Ole Sis.