Never
Should Have Let You Go Never
Should Have Let You Go 
Kid joined Jimmy and Buck in the fight once he was certain that Lou was out of sight and out of immediate danger. He was able to sneak in while everyone was reloading. "How nice of you to join us, Kid", Jimmy said with amusement as Kid joined him behind a water trough. "I take it you got Lou out of here and she's alright", he asked as the shooting began again. "She's waiting for us back where we left the horses", Kid said as he turned to cover Jimmy who was still reloading. "Where's Buck?", Kid asked. "Back over behind those trees", Jimmy answered as the fighting began again in earnest. "Look, Kid, we need to end this soon", Jimmy said. "We're running out of bullets here", he explained. At that moment, shooting stopped coming form the cabin. "What do you think is going on in there?", Jimmy asked. "I think they just realized that Lou's gone", Kid said with a smile.
Buck took that opportunity to join up with Jimmy and Kid behind the trough.
"What now?", Buck wondered out loud. "Now, we end this",
Kid said coldly. He then stood and shouted, "She's gone, Gregors! Come
on out and let's finish this". The door to the cabin began to open and
Gregors slowly stuck his head out. "Drop your guns and show me your hands!",
Kid shouted. Gregors immediately tossed his gun into the darkness and raised
one hand high above his head. The other hand still hung in a makeshift sling.
"Well, ya know I only really have the one hand now", he said on a
laugh, "and it looks like you really got me this time, boy", Gregors
said a little too calmly. "Get on the ground!", Kid shouted back.
Gregors dropped to his knees and stopped. He then looked at Kid and gave him
an eerie smile before he said, "You do realize that I had to try".
It was then that Kid realized that Gregors was up to something, but he didn't
want to take his eyes off of him. "Where's the deputy?", Kid asked
Jimmy and Buck. It was at that moment that Jimmy caught movement out of the
corner of his eye. "Kid, look out!", he shouted as he turned to fire
at the approaching figure. Kid turned his head for just a split second and Gregors
took that opportunity to pull the gun he had hidden in the small of his back.
Kid turned just in time to see Gregors pull the trigger. The bullet grazed his
arm right before he returned fire. Gregors slumped to the ground when the bullet
slammed into his stomach. Jimmy then went to investigate the shadowy figure
while Kid went to see to the sheriff.
The sheriff was moaning in agony when Kid reached him. Kid got down on the ground
next to Gregors and then leaned in so that Gregors was sure to see him. With
a smile, Kid then said, "You do realize that I had to stop you". He
then got up to stand over the now unconscious sheriff. Jimmy came over and said,
"His deputy is dead". Buck then came to join Kid and Jimmy. "So
what do you wanna do with him? It doesn't look like he's gonna make the trip
back to town. ", he asked as he nodded in Gregors' direction. "I wanna
leave him here for the animals to pick clean", Kid said honestly. "But
we can't, so let's just tie him up, put him in the buckboard, and get him back
to town where, if he does live, we can watch him swing", he said with satisfaction.
As soon as they had Gregors tied up in the buckboard, they set out to meet up
with Lou.
Lou had been waiting anxiously for what seemed like an eternity. The trip to
the horses was exhausting, but she knew she had to make it. She found Kid's
spare gun in Katy's saddlebag, and she hid behind some bushes. She could still
hear the gunshots and the longer they went on, the more nervous she got. She
couldn't help but worry about what was going on down there. And then the silence
came and it was almost more maddening than the gunshots. "Oh, God. Please
let them be alright", she whispered into the night. For what seemed like
hours, all she heard was more silence. Just when she thought she couldn't take
it anymore, she heard the sounds of an approaching buckboard, and her heart
leapt up in her throat. For a few seconds, panic set in as she thought that
it might not be the Kid coming for her, but Gregors instead. She tried harder
to disappear into the darkness until she could be sure who had come for her.
When they first reached the horses, Lou was nowhere to be found. Kid began to get nervous when he looked around and still couldn't see her. When he searched the area again and still didn't find her, he began to shout her name in panic, "Lou!". Jimmy and Buck joined him in calling her name, but there was still no sign of her. "Kid, are you sure she knew where to go?", Buck asked. "Yeah, I'm sure. I pointed it out to her", he said as he shook his head in confusion. At that moment they heard a voice coming from the buckboard. "She probably didn't make it. Looks like we both lost her, boy", Gregors said weakly but with a sick grin. Jimmy and Buck weren't fast enough to stop Kid as he ran to the buckboard to confront Gregors. Kid leaned over the side of the buckboard and grabbed hold of Gregors' shirtfront. When there was barely a breath between them, Kid angrily growled "You better shut your mouth before I shut it for you". A few moments passed before Buck cleared his throat and brought Kid back to reality. He then threw Gregors back on the buckboard floor where he almost immediately passed out again. Seeing the now unconscious Gregors only seemed to further frustrate the Kid as he spun around quickly and asked "Where the hell is she?". "She has to be around here somewhere, Kid. We'll find her", Buck said calmly.
From her vantage point, Lou could hear the sounds of muffled shouting and lots
of movement but the shadows kept her from getting a good look at the faces of
the men who had come for her. All of a sudden, moonlight broke free and cast
a glow across the scene and the men in front of her. She held her breath as
the light shone across one of their faces and she saw them-those eyes. She didn't
need the sun to show her that they were blue. And she sure didn't need light
to see the love for her that always shown in them. Those were the eyes she wanted
looking at her for the rest of her life. She let out the breath she was holding
with a loud sigh of relief and started to make her way to join them.
The sound of rustling had Jimmy, Buck, and the Kid reaching for their guns. "Easy, boys. I didn't come this far for the three of you to blow my head off", Lou said on a tired laugh. Kid quickly put his gun away and ran to gather Lou into his arms. "Geez, Lou, do you think you could stop scaring the hell out of me for a while?", Kid asked in between kisses. "I'll do my best", Lou said wearily. The fatigue in her voice reminded Kid just how much she had been through and even the fact that he was currently holding her in his arms couldn't stop the worry he began to feel. He stepped back to get a better look at her and it was then that he noticed the dark circles under her eyes, the weary way her head drooped, and the trail of dried blood that streaked down the side of her face. Lou recognized the way he was looking at her and did her best to set his mind at ease by saying, "I'm alright, Kid. She then leaned into whisper, "We're both alright". She then reached up to brush a fallen curl off his forehead. "But we could both use a nap", she finished on a tired laugh. That was all Kid needed to hear. "Alright, guys, let's head back", Kid said without taking his eyes off of Lou's face. Jimmy and Buck exchanged smiles as they got everything ready for the ride back to town.
They rode slowly and cautiously back to town to make sure that Lou wasn't jostled around too much as she leaned heavily on Kid while he drove the buckboard. They arrived in town a few hours before dawn and headed straight for the doctor's office. Doctor Kincaid and his wife were awake and trying to get things back in order. Jimmy and Buck carried the still unconscious Gregors into the office while Kid carried a now sleeping Lou into her room. Doctor Kincaid went to work on sheriff Gregors while his wife went to check on Lou. When she entered the room, she found the Kid sitting next to a still sleeping Lou, stroking her hair. She cleared her throat to let Kid know that someone else was now in the room. Kid immediately turned his head to see who was there. "Oh, hi", he said wearily. "I've come to see to Miss Louise", she said. "Maybe I should see to you as well", she added as she took in the Kid's appearance. "Maybe later", Kid said with a smile.
Louise never woke up while the doctor's wife examined her. The longer she slept,
the more nervous the Kid became. "Do you think that she's gonna sleep like
she did before?", he asked quietly while he moved back to her side to stroke
her face. "I'm sure she's fine", she answered reassuringly. "You,
on the other hand, should let me take a better look at your arm", she scolded.
Kid barely glanced at the wound that was hidden behind a stain of dried blood.
"I'm fine", he said absently. The doctor's wife simply shook her head
and mumbled under her breath as she walked out of the room. Jimmy and Buck stuck
their heads in heads into the room to check on the Kid and Lou. Once they were
certain that the lovebirds were alright, they headed back to the hotel for the
night.
Not long after they left, Doctor Kincaid came to check on Lou and Kid himself.
"It seems you've fallen in love with a sleeper", he joked. A ghost
of a smile flashed across the Kid's face and then he asked, "Are they gonna
be alright? She hasn't woken up yet". The doctor checked all of Lou's vitals
again before he answered him. "I can see why you'd be worried, but she's
just sleeping. Granted it's a deep sleep, but it's sleep none the less",
he said with a smile. "She's had a rough week or so. I think a good night's
sleep is in order-for the both of ya", the doctor said sternly, hinting
that Kid should get some rest as well. "How's Gregors?", Kid asked
angrily. "He's not conscious and I don't think that he ever will be again.
I'd be surprised if he lasted the night", the doctor answered honestly.
Kid almost felt guilty for the relief he felt at hearing those words-almost.
Doctor Kincaid wouldn't leave until Kid let him clean and dress his wound. He
checked Lou once more before he went to leave. "Try to get some rest, Kid",
he said over his shoulder as he walked out and shut the door behind.
The Kid decided to take the doctor's advice and fixed up the extra bed like
he did before, so that it fit alongside Lou's. He carefully climbed into bed
and gently wrapped his arms around Lou. He placed a tender kiss on her temple
before whispering, "I love you" and closing his eyes to welcome sleep.
He couldn't pinpoint the moment he went to sleep and to be honest, if someone
had asked him, he'd have sworn he was still awake. It wasn't until he woke up
that he realized that he actually had fallen asleep. The sun was shining brightly
through the windows-bathing the room in warm, golden light. He turned his head
to place a kiss in Lou's hair only to find she wasn't there. Thoughts of Gregors
and all that had happened in the last few days filled his mind and Kid was immediately
alert and panicked. "Lou!", he cried as he threw the covers back and
jumped out of bed. "Lou!", he screamed as he ran for the door. He
jerked the door open and almost ran her over. "Lou", he sighed in
relief as he gently took her in his arms. "You called?", she asked
on a laugh. He stepped back so that he could look at her better. "I thought
we agreed that you would stop scaring the hell out of me for a while",
he joked. "Yeah well, I waited for you to wake up for as long as I could
but a girl can only hold it for so long before the call of nature will no longer
be ignored", she said smiling. "Sorry", Kid said sheepishly.
"All will be forgiven, if you feed me", Lou said as she placed a kiss
on his cheek. "Well, let me see what I can do about that", Kid said
as he turned his head and captured her lips.
Once he made sure that Lou was comfortably in bed, he got ready to leave and
get them something to eat. On his way out, Kid ran into Doctor Kincaid who was
on his way to check on Lou. The doctor stopped him by placing a hand on the
Kid's arm. "The sheriff died during the night", he said solemnly.
Kid couldn't help the sigh of relief that passed through his lips. He then nodded
his head and thanked the doctor for letting him know. He then left the doctor's
and went down to the hotel restaurant. While there, he ran in to Jimmy and Buck
who were eating lunch. He placed his and Lou's order and then went to join his
friends while he waited. "Hey, Kid", Jimmy said as Kid pulled up a
chair. "Hey, Jimmy. Buck", he said as he nodded in their directions.
"Gregors is dead", Kid said bluntly. "Well, I can't say that
I'm sorry to hear that", Jimmy said quietly. "I bet that's got to
be a load off of your mind, not to mention Lou's. How'd she take the news?",
Buck asked. "I haven't told Lou yet. I was on my way out when the doctor
told me", Kid answered. "I just came here to pick up something for
us to eat", he added. "When do you wanna head out, Kid?", Jimmy
asked as he finished off his meal. "As soon as the doctor says it's alright
for Lou to travel", Kid answered seriously. "Well, that sounds like
a plan to me", Buck said as he raised his glass in a mock toast. The waitress
took that moment to arrive with the Kid's order. He thanked the waitress and
stood to leave. "Kid, we already have all her stuff packed up. Just give
us the word and we can be out of here by tonight", Jimmy said half jokingly
as Kid walked away. Kid turned and said, "You know, Jimmy, I think I'm
gonna take you up on that". He then smiled and headed back to the doctor's
office.
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