Best give me the baby, Mrs Pike
"Well, Sis, may I call you Sis? It will only hurt for a moment."
"You promise?" Sis whimpered "Yeah, everybody calls me Sis... cept this feller once... he called me Miss Lister... that's... that's how I could tell he meant me harm..." she babbled, somewhat incoherently.
"Now this Tom Love fellow, an outlaw you say? And where does he say he found all of this out about you and Mister Pike?"
"I dunno... Frisco I spose." Sis sighed, her shoulder hurt, she wasn't really listening. "... said Pike was a Pony Express rider, used to go to Frisco reglur, just fore me and Clem was borned." Her breathing was getting shallow.
"Don't you think Mister Pike would have recognized you? I mean, rather than shoot you."
"I thought..." she was slipping back into sleep, weak with loss of blood, the effort of talking and answering all these questions making her pant for breath a little "I though he did recognise me... that why he shot me... someone told him he's got a daughter... recognised... I'm a... I'm... big girl..." her eyes closed and her head sank back into the pillow.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
A brief knock on the back door, and Danny calling out that they had supper with them, meaning that Nate was with him, and that meant food she wouldn't have to cook was with them. Danny opened the door, and Nate came in with a pot that he took right to her stove.
"Son of a Gun Stew, Ma'am. Made special, there's plenty enough for you, the mister, the lady doctor, an' that woman she' treatin'." Danny had an apron load of biscuits as well, which he put on the table before he stepped over to look in on Wheeler.
"Makin' up some snickerdoodles are ya?" Cookie asked, knowing what they were, and by the amount that she was making up, the boys would be overjoyed. Everyone loved snickerdoodles
"I heard that!" Pythias said as he came through the back door. "Come ta see if I could be of help, knowin' things are a mite busy around here this evenin'."
"I'm soaking this bandage a bit, which will make it easier and less painful to remove. Angelique said as she soaked a piece of cloth and wrung it out. No sense in more screaming than necessary from Sids.
"Frisco, you mean San Francisco, I see. Pony Rxpress rider was he?" She asked, "Now I would think maybe you and your brother, how much older was he than you, or you than he?" It was really none of her business, but she was the inquisitive type, and this whole thing about Misater Pike being her father almost demanded her attention, and some answers.
Just outside the door, Dixie Brick was standing guard as Pike approached, a finger pressed to his lips as he took up a spot where he could hear what was going on in the room. He intended to go in and question her himself and to assure her she would come to no further harm, but the conversation the doctor was having with the woman caused him to pause to see how it turned out.
"I mean, if one of you is older and by how much, well, then, Mister Pike would certainly have gotten to know you, and you him. At least I would think. Though I understand that his job would have him on the trail to St. Joseph and back on a regular schedule, but there would be time he spent at home. You did have a home I would think.
The knock on the door startled Emeline, and she jumped, starting to skitter toward Wheeler's crib before she mentally chastised herself for being so jumpy. She was safe in her home, surrounded by men who challenge any threat that came near, and besides, she was determined not to live in fear.
"Come in! Oh, hello, Danny, Nate." Smiling, Em relaxed and nodded.
"Son of a Gun Stew, Ma'am. Made special, there's plenty enough for you, the mister, the lady doctor, an' that woman she' treatin'." Danny had an apron load of biscuits as well, which he put on the table before he stepped over to look in on Wheeler.
"Thank you so much." While it hadn't been necessary, Emeline appreciated the thoughtfulness, that they realized she hadn't had an opportunity to cook for the household. "That's very thoughtful, we can certainly use it."
"Makin' up some snickerdoodles are ya?" Cookie asked, knowing what they were, and by the amount that she was making up, the boys would be overjoyed. Everyone loved snickerdoodles.
"I am! I was planning on huckleberry pie, but you know how that turned out!" She chuckled a little, making light of the situation. "I figured you boys deserve a treat after what I put you through, and nothing beats a woman's cooking, you know!" She was teasing, of course!
"I heard that!" Pythias said as he came through the back door. "Come ta see if I could be of help, knowin' things are a mite busy around here this evenin'."
"Indeed, I can always use help." Her smile widened at Pythias' familiar presence. "Wheeler might need changing!" Again, she laughed, a little nervously, still fighting to calm herself. "Or you can help with these, I've got the dough ready, we just need to make the balls and roll them in the sugar and cinnamon." She glanced at Nate and Danny. "You can help if you'd like...or check that diaper!"
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Danny jumped back as if he'd touched a hot stove, "Rollin' dough, that's my specialty." He said, wanting nothing to do with a diaper.
"And I can help wherever you might need it here in the kitchen." Nate was quick to add, wanting to do anything but fumble at changing a diaper.
"Now you boys step aside an' I'll handle this diarper bidness," Pythias said, "Looks to me like the bakin' end of this is all sewed up. You jest set me to where the clean diapers an' yer pail for the dirty ones is, an' I'll have 'er done right quick." He grinned. Having come from a large family of mostly boys, and being near the oldest, he was well practiced at the task. "Stand aside there, Daniel, I'll handle Mister Wheeler's needs."
It took another moment or two for Barnabas to cool down enough to consider what needed to be done. "Mike, get the boys fed and some watches set, I'd rather not be surprised in the middle of the night, Cookie's got everything ready, an' I'm sure it's getting' on past time for chow. Me an; Em'll join in once they're fed. Any questions?"
"Sounds good to me," Mike replied, "While you were busy, I sent a couple of men to take care of the body, so we'll have to keep something for them."
He then set about working out those who would take the first four-hour watch and the two after that. Now all there was to do was for the call for dinner.
@ [Flip
"Oh, no, Pythias, you needn't do that," Emeline chuckled. She'd been teasing, although it wasn't uncommon for the man to change the baby...he'd make a great dad one day! "Thank you, and you know Wheeler adores you. Me, too! I always appreciate the help."
She then focused on her other helpers. "So, we'll roll these into balls, roll them in cinnamon and sugar, then lay them out on the sheet here. They only need to cook for a few minutes, then I suppose I'll have to impose on you gentlemen to try them, just to be certain they are all right!"
"I though he did recognise me... that why he shot me... someone told him he's got a daughter... recognised... I'm a... I'm... big girl..." her eyes closed and her head sank back into the pillow.
Angie smiled. This was about to make cleaning and stitching up the shoulder wound all that much easier. A quick dab of chlorefom on a small cloth damped over the girl's nose, and then it was on to the wound. It had gone through without a great deal of interior damage. However, the blood loss was substantial. The boys had done a great job of bandaging, or she might have bled out before reaching the ranch.
The idea was to make quick work of what needed to be done, sew her up, then roll her and tend to the exit wound. So Angie set to work on her first patient since arriving in Kalispell. Cleaning the wound was done in short order, followed by carefully sewing up the bullet hole to leave as small a scar as possible once it healed.
She stepped outside and approached Dixie, "Hello, I'll need your help rolling this lady on her side and holding her while I tend to the exit wound."
"Yes'em, I can do that," he said and followed her in. With Dixie's help, rolling Sis on her side allowed Anmgie to make short work of the wound cleaning and stitching. She quickly applied a dressing to each side as she wound a strip of linen around Sis's shoulder and then one around her chest to hold the dressings in place.
"Thank you." She said as she laid the girl back, taking the cloth away. "You helped make that a great deal easier than me trying to fight, holding her up, and doing the job." Dixie smiled as they left the room. "She'll sleep now for a good bit."
"My pleasure. I never saw a lady doctor before, but you sure know yer stuff!" He replied, "Shell be okay then?"
"Yes, she'll be fine," Angie replied.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"Oh, no, Pythias, you needn't do that," Emeline chuckled. She'd been teasing, although it wasn't uncommon for the man to change the baby...he'd make a great dad one day! "Thank you, and you know Wheeler adores you. Me, too! I always appreciate the help."
"Not to worry, you just show me where the nakin's are an' I'll have 'er done while you go on with yer bakin'." Pythias said. "An' them feelin's is mutual, Ma'am, we just seem ta click here in this kitchen, an' thet's a real pleasure."
She then focused on her other helpers. "So, we'll roll these into balls, roll them in cinnamon and sugar, then lay them out on the sheet here. They only need to cook for a few minutes, then I suppose I'll have to impose on you gentlemen to try them, just to be certain they are all right!"
"Yes'em!" Danny replied, as he and Nate got busy rolling the dough into the balls as Emeline had directed. And soon there seemed to be a mountain of the little sugar and cinnamon balls that were then laid out on the sheet.
"Sounds good to me," Mike replied, "While you were busy, I sent a couple of men to take care of the body, so we'll have to keep something for them."
"Good, I'm not altogether sure what all this is about, but bein' prepared for anything is probably the best thing we can do. On the guards, I 'spouse you got that one figgered. Maybe we best keep a night watch as well as the night herd for a spell." He was edgy about this situation and wanted to try to be as ready as they could be, just in case. Though an attack on the place seemed a bit on the far-fetched side of things, he had no idea what they were up against.
@JulieS