©Becca

Chapter XXII

"Noah, I can walk up a staircase by myself," Louise hissed, trying to disengage her arm from Noah's firm grip.  "I'm not Jon."

Noah Dixon had never allowed himself to be truly intimidated by any woman and knew that this tiny woman's bark was usually worse than her bite. He took a firmer grip on her arm as he continued to help her up the stairs.  "I've got strict orders from Doc Stephens, Rachel, and Kid to make sure you don't go takin' a tumble down these stairs," he said.

Jon's head poked around the corner as he stood on the landing.  "Hurry up, Mama!" he called.  The excited little boy disappeared again and they could hear him ecstatically greeting Kid.

"That boy's got more energy than a nest of hornets," Noah chuckled.

"Yes, remind me to have Buck teach him about the idea of sneaking quietly," Louise replied drolly.

Noah released her arm as they reached the landing at the top of the stairs.  He looked down at the diminutive woman who'd captured his friend's heart so completely.  Even with her facial bruising having turned a slight greenish color as it faded, she was beautiful.  They'd all seen her in skirts for the first time at dinner that evening and it was like she'd become a totally different person.  It was hard to believe that the beauty before him had ever tried to masuerade as a man.  Even more absurd was the fact that the others had initially fallen for it!  Gone was the hardness that had clung to Lou, the need to prove her worth through hard work and determination.  In its place was a softness and femininity that had only been hinted at before.  Oh, the old, tough Lou was still there but now there was also Louise, a sweet, loving woman and mother.  Noah had to admit that he liked this version of her.

"I'll just leave you two to your 'reunion'," he said mischievously.  He turned and started down the stairs before stopping briefly, a couple steps below Louise.  "And Lou," Noah said quietly, his brown eyes twinkling and a grin on his handsome face, "don't wear 'im all out in one night.  Ya might kill 'im."  He chuckled at Lou's furious blushing as he left.

Lou walked down the hall to the open doorway of Rachel's extra bedroom.  She could hear Jon and Kid talking as she stopped outside and peeked around the doorframe.  Kid's hair was tousled and Lou figured he'd been napping when Jon had stormed in.  Other than the bandage on his chest and the sling holding his left arm, Kid looked none the worse for wear.  Louise had to stifle a chuckle as Jon tried unsucessfully to climb onto the high bed.  He got stuck halfway up with his torso on the bed while his little legs dangled just inches off the floor.  She could see Kid biting his lower lip in an effort not to laugh.

"You want a hand, Jon?" Kid asked tightly.  His right hand reached down and poised itself over the waistband of the little boy's trousers.

"No, Daddy, I do it!"

"Okay."  Kid patiently waited as Jon grunted trying to pull himself over the edge with his little arms.

Lou could see he wanted to help the little boy but knew by the stubborn turn in Jon's jaw that he'd ask for help only after he'd gotten frustrated.  So Kid watched, ready to grab his son just in case he fell.  When a few minutes had ticked by and Jon was still struggling, Louise slid around the corner of the doorway, leaning against it casually.  "Jonathan Matthew McCloud, what in heaven's name are you doin'?" she asked.

"Gettin'...in...dis...bed," he said deliberately, his frustration showing in the pout on his face.  "Mama, help me do dis!"

With a soft chuckle, she approached the bed and lifted his backside up so that he knelt on the bed on his hands and knees.  Louise gave his bottom a playful pat as Jon climbed over Kid's lap to make room for her.

"Mama, sit!" Jon demanded, pointing to the open spot on Kid's good side.

Louise sat as commanded, smiling at the way Kid watched her every move.  She sat facing him and his right hand snuck around to caress her left thigh through her skirt.  Lou just looked at him for long moments, relearning every line of his face, the way his eyes seemed to see straight through to her soul.  The warmth, comfort, and belonging she'd always felt with him wrapped around them again and she couldn't help the relieved sigh that escaped.  As her eyes raked over his torso, examining it for any other injury the others might have kept from her, she noticed a fist-sized purplish bruise on his abdomen beneath his ribcage.  "Where'd that come from?" Lou asked quietly.

Kid looked down.  "Oh, that."  He shrugged nonchalantly.  "That's why I wasn't breathin' right after I was shot.  Doc said that when I fell, I musta fallen onto a rock or somethin' and it knocked the wind outta me."

She reached forward and brushed one soft curl back from his forehead.  The action was an automatic one she'd done countless times when they were alone.  "Well, it scared the hell outta me," she replied.  Lou cupped his cheek and leaned her forehead against his weakly, her eyes scanning his for the truth.  "Promise me you won't ever scare me like that again!"

"I promise," he swore.  "As long as you promise me the same thing."  Louise nodded and he smiled, his lips brushing hers gently.  He pulled back and brought his hand up to cup her cheek as he rubbed her nose with his, eliciting one of her soft, intimate laughs.  "Good, now what do we do?  Where do we go from here?" Kid whispered.

"Let's go fissin'," Jon spoke up.  He crawled so that he was between the two adults.

Kid tickled the little boy's stomach until he laughed and squealed.  "You wanna go fishin', huh?  Well, we'll go as soon as I'm better, okay?" he suggested.

"Otay," Jon agreed, nodding his head.  He stood up on the bed and wrapped his chubby arms around Kid's neck, kissing the stubbled chek with exaggerated affection.  "Love you, Daddy."

Kid's eyes met Lou's in a mixture of tenderness and humility.  He'd gotten used to Jon calling him 'daddy' but the little boy had never before said he loved him.  Kid was awed and humbled and...well, he loved this feeling.  It struck him suddenly that he'd never felt he truly belonged anywhere in this world until he'd come to Sweetwater.  There, he'd found the whole family he'd never had and never expected to find--brothers, sisters, parents, all adopted but still as much family to him as Jed and his mother had been.  Then there was Louise--the woman he loved above life itself, his best friend and lover who carried his child--and her son who was, in turn, like Kid's own flesh and blood who'd honored him with his childlike love.  He hugged Jon tight, kissing the wild auburn curls and squeezing his eyes shut against the tenderness threatening overwhelm him.  "Love you, too, Jon-Jon," he whispered huskily.

Louise wiped at the tears in her eyes and giggled as her loudly growling stomach reminded her of the littlest member of their makeshift family.  "Well, I don't know about you Kid, but I think we'd best be makin' this family legal real soon before I get too big to fit into a weddin' dress.  Which reminds me," she said, smiling.  She pulled Jon onto her lap.  "How would you like a baby brother or sister, Jon?"

He looked up at her quizzically.  Jon was quiet a long time as if pondering the question thoughtfully.  Suddenly he shrugged his shoulders.  "A baby?"

"A little person just like you only smaller, and when he grows up you'll have to be the big brother and show him how to do things," Kid volunteered.

"Like what?"

"Well," Lou replied, "you'd have to teach 'im how to fish and how to help feed the horses."

Jon nodded sagely agreeing to the charge.  Yup, he could teach his baby brother stuff.  "But what if him's a her?" he asked inquisitively.

Kid turned to Jon in mock seriousness.  "Oh, well then, you have the biggest job of all," he said.  "If you get a baby sister, you have to take care of her.  Big brothers keep their baby sisters safe.  They hold their hands while they're learnin' how to walk to keep 'em from fallin'.  And they keep the bad bigger boys from teasin' 'em and dunkin' their hair ribbons in the ink well at school."

"Was you a big bruver, Daddy?"

Instead of the pain he used to feel at the thought of Jed, Kid chuckled slightly at memories of his own childhood.  "No, Jon I was a little brother, but I had a big brother and I used to be bad just to see if he could keep up," he replied.  "He always did."

They passed the next several hours explaining to Jon all about the baby, where it was, what would happen after it was born.  He asked question after question as only a two-year-old can.  Soon, Jon fell asleep curled comfortably on Kid's lap as Kid and Lou made their plans and dreamed of the future.  The next morning, Rachel brought Kid's breakfast try in and found all three of them sound asleep in the same bed.  Louise lay with her head on Kid's shoulder, her face pressed against his neck.  Kid, had wrapped his good arm clear around Lou so that his hand rested on Jon's curls as the child lay sleeping on Kid's stomach.  With a gentle smile, she quietly retreated from the room and closed the door behind her, giving the new family a few more precious moments of solitude.

The wedding was planned and arranged in the record time of two weeks. It was a simple family affair held at Sweetwater's tiny Methodist church with all the riders, Sam, Emma, and Rachel in attendence.  Teaspoon performed the ceremony, his voice quieting with pride and emotion as he read the words and listened to the couple pronounce their vows.  The riders, except Jimmy who gave Louise away, acted as Kid's best men, Rachel as Lou's attendant while Emma was in charge of Jon.

When the time came for Kid to finally give up the secret of his Christian name, he leaned in and whispered into Teaspoon's ear.  As hard as she strained, Louise couldn't hear what passed between the two men.  However, when Teaspoon refused to divulge the secret, she couldn't help the teasing smile she gave a very relieved Kid.  Coward, her eyes said.  But the smile faded as she realized it didn't matter what his name was, it didn't change how she felt about him.  She pronounced her vows softly but with assurety.  She'd never been more sure of anything in her life than the fact that she loved the man beside her.  Rachel had been right.  The moment Louise had started down the aisle, all the doubts had fled away and she'd concentrated on Kid's adoring eyes as she walked to meet him.

Kid looked at the radiant woman beside him, unable to look away.  She was his life, his love, and he couldn't believe that they were here making eternal vows to each other.  He was so privileged and honored to have her pledging her life to him.  It was a sacred gift that Kid swore he'd never abuse.  He knew every inch of her, but today it was like he was seeing her for the first time.  She fascinated him and Kid wondered if he'd ever get enough of her, of looking at her, of touching her, of loving her.

And then Teaspoon's voice broke through his reverie.  "Kid?" he called.  Kid looked over quickly, his head shaking slightly as if he were waking from a dream.  "Kiss her."

He looked back at Louise, who was smiling in anticipation.  He'd been so wrapped up in her that he'd never realized that the ceremony had flown right past.  There was a slight warning in her eyes as he lowered his head to hers.  Their lips met almost tentatively at first, like that first kiss they'd shared in the barn, before they both forgot about the church full of people watching them and deepened the kiss.  In a flash of mischief, Kid deliberately forgot the promise he'd made to her last night and snuck his tongue into her mouth to meet hers.  As the kiss went on, he heard Noah's appreciative whistle and a couple "Oh my's" from the congregation and both Kid and Lou parted slightly to giggle at each other before turning to rush down the aisle to the church doors.  Once outside, they couldn't resist the urge to kiss again as the congregation began filing out and the new couple greeted their guests.  Then it was off to the town hall for the informal reception.

Louise looked down at the gold band encircling the fourth finger of her left hand, rubbing it absently.  She couldn't believe she was a married woman.  Had her mother felt like this when she'd married Boggs?  It was like the whole world had changed while she'd stayed the same...and she was happy.  Kid would never be like Boggs, she thought quickly.  Every time Kid looked at her it was with love and desire in his eyes, even when he was angry.  I wish it could've been like this for you, Mama.  She looked around at her family laughing and joking and dancing and smiled at them.  You'd never know that just two weeks ago they'd all faced their deaths.  I wish you could see this, Charlotte, she thought sadly.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She looked up to see Kid smiling down on her.  He set a glass of punch down in front of her and sat down in the chair beside her, pulling it as close to hers as he could.

Louise smiled sadly at him as he took her hand.  "I don't think you have enough money for them after all this," she replied indicating the reception.

"For you, I'd listen for free," Kid said.  His eyes narrowed as he looked at her drawn face.  "What's wrong, angel?" he asked worriedly.  "How's the little one?"

She smiled at the loving concern in his eyes.  "The little one's fine," she assured him, her hand straying to her abdomen as it was wont to do these days.  "Just thinking how different my life's turned out and it's all because of you.  Here I am a married woman with a wonderful husband and lover, a beautiful two-year-old, and another on the way.  Why I'm positively domestic!"

"Now if only you could cook," Kid quipped.

Louise smacked him in the chest for the remark.  "I can too cook, I'm just a little outta practice," she protested.

Kid arched one eyebrow and let the hand that lay beneath the table out of the public's eyesight stray up her leg.  "'Sides, it was your other talents I married you for."

"Why Kid!" Lou exclaimed dramatically, holding a hand to her bosom in mock shock.  "Are you implyin' that you married me because of what we do in the bedroom?  Shame on you.  I thought you were a gentleman."

He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck with his lips.  "In the bedroom, in front of the campfire, at the swimmin' hole....  Oh, and I do remember one incredible night up against a stall in the barn," he murmured.  "And I am a gentleman. That was a gentleman's way of sayin', 'Let's stop playin' patty-fingers and get on with the dancin'."

Lou giggled and pulled away, kissing him briefly.  However, the serious look returned as she broke off the kiss.  "Kid, are we doin' the right thing?" she asked.

"Of course we are, angel!"  Kid gripped both her hands in his and brought them to his lips.  "I love you and that ain't never gonna change no matter what life brings us. I promise you I will do anything in the world to see you happy.  And I'll never leave you.  Not even death could tear us apart."

She shuddered at the words.  She didn't want to think about his death ever again.  Lou'd faced it once and she hoped never to face it again.  What would I do without you, she thought emotionally.  "I never thought I could be so happy," she whispered, brushing away tears.  "I'm almost afraid it's all a dream and I'll wake up alone again with Simon banging on the door."

Kid pulled her into his embrace.  "If this is a dream I definitely don't wanna wake up," he whispered.

"Me neither," Lou replied.  "Let's never wake up again."

"Sounds good to me," Kid chuckled. He stood and extended a hand down to help her up.  "And now, on to the fun part."

Louise gripped his hand tightly as he just looked at her, his eyes darkening in anticipation.  "Well, what are we waitin' for," she asked.  "Let's stop playin' patty-fingers and get on with the dancin'!"

To chapter 23
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