"I'm as comfortable as can be," Emeline commented with a smile, taking a sip of the tea while the cramps were leaving her alone.  "I suppose this isn't much different than a cow!"  At that, she laughed and mooed!

"I suppose the most important thing," she continued, a bit more serious, "is to keep him warm.  Babies can catch a chill so easily."  And then she began to ramble about how messy it would be, how Barnabas might have to clear fluid from baby's mouth, how he'd have to tie the cord in two places and cut between, how the new infant might not cry right away, but to be sure she was breathing...

"Goodness!  If I haven't frightened you off, we've nothing to do now but wait."  Hopefully not too long, she could do without all that pain!

Although the rain had let up some by the time Justus got to town, the streets were still deep mud, and Justus was soaked through.  But that didn't stop him, at least until he got to the doctor's house and...well, apparently no doctor!  There was no answer when he pounded on the door, and even without being able to read, he understood that the note pinned to the front door meant that the doctor wasn't likely to be found in town.

But he couldn't just go back empty-handed, at least without trying, so he left poor Mule hitched to a post in the rain and started asking around.  No one knew anything certain, although there were plenty of suggestions on whom the doctor might be helping, not that that helped Justus any.  He had once more place to check before he returned to the Rocking P alone.

Whipping off his hat, then shaking rain-water from his eyes, he stepped into the mercantile, staying back by the door so that he didn't tramp mud into the building.

"Excuse me!" he called, "does anyone know where Doc Danforth is?  Mrs. Pike is havin' her baby..."

"Ma'am."  Nervously fidgeting with the brim of his hat, Justus nodded to the young woman.  A nurse was about as good as a doctor, right?  Especially one that couldn't be found!  "It's mighty damp out, an' I just got th' one horse...an' he ain't got a saddle on.  He rides double real good."

He wasn't sure how adventurous the nurse was, or if she could even ride at all.  "Unless there's a buggy?  I can get that hitched up for ya..."  It would be slower than on the horse, but not so much as to make a huge difference, and it would be more comfortable and protected from the rain.

Meanwhile At the ranch...

Deadly in a gunfight, but lost in this business of childbirth, so he paced, drank coffee. and paced some more. He had just never actually experienced childbirth before. It was not like birthing a calf, or a foal which he had seen many times and helped with on occasion. No, this was his wife and their first to be born, and for the Kalispell Deputy, it was nerve-wracking.

"Wish Danforth would get here." he said as he passed the setee for the umpteenth time. He stopped and looked at Em a nervous smile on his face, "I'm not real good at this as you can plainly see. This one bein' my first, I'm hopin' it gets easier next time."

But he didn't move, he simply stood there close by, a man who had no idea of what he should do.

Justus had to admire her moxie, and he'd not go the break-neck speed he had to get here, and besides, Mule was getting a little worn out, and with two riders, it would push him to his limits.

"I'm Justus Gibbs, Miss.  Might want ta grab a hat."  He gave her a quick smile, then ventured back into the rain, plopping his hat back on his head.  "This here is Mule," he introduced the lanky, wet and muddy brown pinto horse, who looked miserable and not at all happy.  "He don't like th' rain, but it can't be helped, an' I'll get him some extra oats!"

After swinging onto the horse's back, he maneuvered him alongside the raised boardwalk so Bonnie would have less of a leap, then offered her a hand.

Despite already having had a full day, Mule managed to maintain an easy lope back to the ranch, although occasionally, when the road was particularly muddy, he dropped to a trot, a much harder gait to sit without a saddle.  The nearly hour long ride was pretty much without conversation, there wasn't much to say, and talking was difficult anyway.

Once at the ranch, Justus stopped the horse in front of the house, then swung a leg over Mule's neck and hopped to the ground and helped to lift Bonnie down.

"This way, Miss."  He led the way up the stairs, knocked on the door, then decided just to open it and stick his head in.  "Mr. Pike!  It's Justus!  I got a nurse here ta help."

They were greeted by a pained cry from the parlor!

Barnabas really was holding up well, considering the circumstances, although Emeline couldn't help but chuckle at his nerves.  After all, he'd faced all manner of trials -- man, animal and nature -- so this shouldn't be so intimidating, right?  Of course, the stakes here were his family, and he was in uncharted territory.  Besides, she knew it was hard for him to see her in pain and not be able to make it stop.

Still, it was sweet, how he was trying to help while not having a clue what to do.  So far, so good, and all she needed was support, brow mopping, pep talks and an occasional hand to squeeze.  He'd been keeping both coffee and tea hot, anything that Emeline could think of that they'd need was on hand in the parlor...

"Hand!  Hand!" she called out, reaching for that support from her husband as another contraction shot sharp pain through her abdomen.  As much as she tried not to scream, the pains were getting closer and stronger, and she had to let it out!

He almost dropped his cup of coffee when she called out, It was the pain that he could do nothing about. He was there in moments, his cup set down and her hands in his. "You just squeeze as hard as you want. I'll be fine." He said, and he meant it. 

Barnabas could not envision the pain his Em was feeling, tho he could empathize with her, and he could be there for her for as long as it took before their child arrived. He did have a good idea of how this all worked, how the birth would happen, yet looking at her belly, he was wondering just how this would happen. It seemed to him there would be a substantial difference in the child's size and the opening that the child would need to pass through, but then he figured that God knew what was going on and would Take care of everything.

"Gonna be just fine, Love, just fine." He said softly. "Not to worry."

"I just want it done!" Emeline panted, although she managed a smile as she squeezed Barnabas' hand tightly, trying to ride out the pain.  But she knew there would be more, worse, until this was over, and that was difficult to deal with.  There was no choice, however, and she knew the pains would be worth it.

Then something shifted and she cried out, squeezing Barnabas' hand even tighter.  "I think you're going to have to do this," she gasped, not hearing the knock on the front door...