The picture stood on the table as though it was watching Jo. As she carried down her last traveling bag, she was about to settle back and look on in satisfaction when she got that feeling. That sometimes-scary, always-annoying, and endlessly-nagging feeling. She was forgetting something. As she turned around slowly in the hallway, retracing her steps from earlier that morning, there was a gentle knock on the door…as it opened. "Mornin'!" called the voice of one of the few select men who, over the years, had the privilege of being able to walk through that door anytime they pleased.
"Jo?" Nick said with that always adorable 'I love you but right now you're so insane you're scaring me' look.
"I'm thinking…" she trailed off, and began patting her pockets.
"Well, I got the tickets," Nick grinned, "And the train's gonna be leavin'-"
"Aha!" Jo cried out triumphantly, holding up a folded sheet of paper, "Franz's letter!" With a slightly devilish look, she handed it to Nick. "Here, you read it."
"Jo," Nick said, "I can actually read now. Ya don't need to force me into practicin' or learnin'." She threw him a look, warning him not to ruin her fun. "Alright," he sigh, "Dear Nick and Aunt Jo, Glad to hear about your visit. We might not be able to go with you to see Dan though, seeing as Isabel is due any day now."
"Wow," Jo said thoughtfully, "I'll be a…great-aunt. Doesn't that make me…really old or something?"
"Jo-"
"Well I don't really feel old…"
"Look! It says here what they decided to name the baby!"
"What?! Did they choose the first name or the second?"
"I dunno," Nick said with a grin, folding the paper in half.
"Nick Riley!" Jo yelled as she playfully chased him around the house. She finally caught him in the kitchen, and pried away the letter. "Liar! It doesn't say one word in here about names!" she said.
"Yeah, but 'least we proved you ain't so old after all," Nick grinned, rubbing his arm, "Some grip ya got there great-aunt…"
"Bess!" Nat called out loudly, knocking on the door, "Bess, we're going to miss our train!"
"Coming!" came a muffled voice. Soon after, the door seemed to just fall open.
"Bess?" Nat called, carefully walking around the different piles of things. Books in one corner, pictures in another, the desk covered with odds and ends, and of course the clothes all over the floor. "You know Bess, I'd never have imagined in a million years that you would be so…messy. Nan, of course…but you? Bess, are you even in there?"
"I'm here!" came the voice…soon followed by a face as she popped out of the only other room in her modest 'apartment.' "Did you get our assignments?" Nat gave her an uncomfortable look. "What's the matter? We can't take time off? Did one of us get fired? NAT?!"
"Okay, okay!" he grinned, "I got them." She gave him a playful shove and shook her head. "I get to write a feature about what Christmas will be like in the coming century."
"And….and?" Bess prompted him.
"And Jerry told me to tell you that if you want to get married, call him up, because he'll be quite willing…along with every other guy at the office…hmm…," Nat grinned again. After a *very* meaningful glare from Bess, he cleared his throat and said, "They want you to get some good shots of the 'great west'…you know, feature articles can use them…stuff like that." Bess nodded, and pulled about four suitcases towards the door. "Bess, what are those?" Nat asked, pointing.
"Oh those? Those are just my things," Bess said, trying to fix her hat in the mirror.
"Bess, we talked about this," Nat sigh, "I'll let you take three…but ONLY three." Bess gave him a pouting look in the mirror but then rolled her eyes in consent. "How can you even find anything to pack in those cases?" he chuckled, coming up behind Bess. He gently took the hat and pin out of her hands and put it up for her. Afterwards they simply stood, staring at each other in the mirror. "Nervous?" Nat finally asked.
"Me? No…no…you?"
"Not nervous," Nat said, "Worried." Bess gave him a sweetly caring smile and turned around.
"It'll be fine. It'll be better than fine…all right?" she said, smoothing his jacket. He gave her a skeptical look telling her that he didn't believe her for a minute and motioned towards the door.
"Come on, we don't want to be late for the most…interesting…reunion of the year, do we?" Nat asked, holding out his arm to Bess. "We certainly don't," she said in a sure voice, taking his arm. As the two reached the door, they both turned around to view the chaotic room before them…and then shared a look, which turned into laughter as they closed the door behind them.
Nan looked up at the window as she paced back and forth. She smoothed her new dress - something that the 'Plumbfield crew' would have been surprised to see her in. Deep green with a full skirt and a stylish top, she was the picture of someone prominent and successful…err…'the wife of someone prominent and successful these days,' she thought with a sigh. The words of her father rang in her ears, "Women can't be successful on their own! They must have a successful husband in order to be successful." Little did the people on the street know that this woman was different. 'You, a doctor?!' she had heard often enough. And once the shock of that was surpassed, the shock of her being a single female doctor was simply too much.
"Missy, you been walkin' past my window 'bout near close to an hour now. You fixin' on buyin' a ticket ever?" the man in the window said with a twinkle in his eye.
Nan gave him an apologetic look and, walking up to the window said, "Of course, I'm sorry. I'll take two tickets for Denver. One. No two. No. One. Two. One. Two?" She stopped in dismay.
"Or maybe you won't be buyin' a ticket?" the man chuckled. Nan looked at him closely. He seemed nice enough. Good listener…hmm…
"Well you see, I'm supposed to meet my family for Christmas," she began. As the man nodded, she went on, "Well, I'm kinda nervous, so I was thinking about maybe brining a friend from school. But I don't know if I'd like to drag someone else into this…or whether it would just be better to handle it on my own or…or…" She looked again in dismay at the ticket man who was now beginning to give her a very odd look. "Two," she said, "I'll take two."
"Mornin' Sheriff!" a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman greeted Dan.
"Hey Anna," he said with a grin.
"What're you tryin' to do? Buy out the store? You been in here last three days!"
"I know, it's just that I keep forgettin' stuff," Dan said, taking off his hat and running his hand through his hair.
"Let me guess…this time it's pork?"
"Naw," he chuckled, "Candles." Anna nodded with a smile and began to wrap some.
"Oh, Reverend Bishop was in here early this mornin'. Asked me to tell ya that he wants to talk to ya next time you go out that way," she said, trying to act casual. Yet there seemed to be some undercurrent of apprehension. Dan's brow furrowed.
"Somethin' happen?"
"Johnson's boy was found yesterday mornin' down 'bout a mile from their house…"
"Was he hurt?"
"Well…he did have a slew of cuts and bruises…"
"Who? Who was it this time?"
"Now Sheriff, they ain't sayin' nothin'…they don't want no trouble…and you best be puttin' all notions of blame outta your mind," she said, handing him the candles.
"Yeah? Well I'd be real interested in knowin' where Dave Foggs was the night of the attack," Dan said.
"What attack?" a voice boomed. David Foggs. Medium build, slightly middle-aged man with light hair and eyes…he looked normal enough on the outside…like any neighbor. Yet Dan was one of the few people in town who was willing to admit in public that there was something very wrong with David Foggs.
"There was another beatin'. Johnson boy again," Dan said, looking Foggs in the eye.
"That's a real shame sheriff," he said. The look on his face appeared to be serious, but Dan could almost swear that he saw a sadistic grin hidden behind his solemn face. "But sheriff," he went on, "I've got more important things to discuss with you. Sheriff, now I'm not one to get hostile-" Dan suppressed a snicker. "But Sheriff, I just can't keep my mouth shut anymore. Sheriff, them slaves just bought the old Coalster property!"
Dan tried to share a look with Anna, but she had retreated to the other end of the store, and had her head down. "Foggs," he said, also trying to suppress a grin now as well, "they ain't slaves no more - they're free. And it's time folks like you start treatin' them that way! Now if that's all, I'll see ya later." Dan put his hat back on his head and tried not to storm out of the store. He quickly got on his horse and rode out of the modest town. About a mile or so past the edge of town there was a cluster of buildings. Small, poor homes in one corner and a school in another. The only thing they didn't have was a store…they'd do their shopping once a month, early in the morning before the rest of the townsfolk arrived.
Anna didn't mind them at all - personally. Dan cringed every time he heard that word. Just because someone felt a certain way personally didn't necessarily mean that they would act on their beliefs - if he had learned one thing over the last year, he had learned that. Anna had explained to him countless times how it just wasn't right for "folks like them to be mixin' with folks like us all day long." It "wasn't personal," she had said. They, sadly enough, were the African-American residents of the town. Ever since he had arrived, Dan had always wondered at their seclusion. They lived in a small sector all their own, and no one ever said a word about it - good or bad. It was just "the way things were." But men like Foggs got angry enough every time any of them stepped out of their invisible boundary.
"Mornin' Sheriff!" he heard called out to him from a few different areas as he road into their small 'town.' He nodded his head and smiled - "Sheriff." He still couldn't get used to that word. It had been sheer luck that he'd gotten the job. He'd been living in the town only for a few months when the current sheriff decided to head farther out west to search for gold. The town had been in dismay about where they'd get a new sheriff from - for one was certainly in need. Dan hadn't really volunteered…some people in the town, mostly lead by Anna and a few others, pressed for it. He'd only helped out a few families since he'd gotten there…nothing really. Yet they made it sound like Dan had done so many heroic acts. It finally came down to Dan and David Foggs. There'd been a vote, and Dan had just barely won.
He stopped outside of the Bishop's home and tied up his horse. Simon Bishop was the preacher of their African-American church - Dan had been told that everyone wanted two separate churches…yet he often returned such comments with, "even God?" Simon had what some jokingly considered the 'largest family in town.' His mother lived with him and his wife, and his four children also lived close by. His daughter Rose lived with her husband, Sam Johnson, making her son the boy who had been beaten. Bishop's other three sons lived down the street with their wives and children as well.
Dan took off his hat and smoothed back his hair as he knocked on the door. An older woman answered the door with a smile. "Sheriff! Why what brings you here?" she smiled, a little nervous.
"Need to talk to Simon," he said simply.
"Well, he's…away at the moment, but I'm sure he'll be back any minute. Why don't ya come in an' have some tea with Mamma? She's been achin' to see ya," she grinned.
"Thanks Mrs. Bishop," he said with a smile. 'Mamma' was the elderly mother of Mr. Bishop. Revered in the small 'town' as a twenty-four hour advice giver, she seemed to Dan one of the wisest women he'd ever met. "Mornin' Mrs. Bishop," he said with a grin.
"Boy! I told ya to call me Ruth 'stead 'a Mrs. Bishop," she coughed, but with a smile, "Got too many Mrs. Bishop's runnin' around already. How you been?"
"Good, real good," he said, sitting across from her. He always found it ironic how such a small woman could be so great. When she sat there in her rocking chair, she looked as though she were being swallowed by it. She seemed so weak…and that's exactly what Dan had thought the first time he'd met her…how he treated her too. Yet he quickly came to realize that this woman's strength was far greater than he imagined.
"Yer family, they be comin' soon?"
"Yeah, day after tomorrow," he said, unable to hide his smile.
"Let me see…there's the girl…what's her name? The one you been gettin' letters from all these months…and yer other friends…and that woman…"
"Mrs. Jo?"
"Yes! That's the one. You promised you'd bring her on by," warned Ruth.
"Yeah, I know, and I will," Dan said with a grin. Suddenly, the door opened and a gust of cold wind entered…along with Simon.
"Sheriff," he said with a nod, "Perhaps we could speak outside."
"Son, you talk nice now," Ruth commanded in her strong voice, but Dan saw the twinkle in her eye. The two walked outside together, but Dan lagged behind as Bishop moved towards the railing, overlooking the vast white prairie.
"I assume you heard," he said in his quiet manner.
"How's Rose?" Dan asked in reply. Dan especially knew the tragedy Rose, Simon's daughter, suffered every time her son got hurt, yet again.
"She's doin' fine," was all he said, but Dan knew that that wasn't the whole truth.
"Reverend, ya gotta do somethin' about this," Dan insisted, "I mean, this just can't-"
"Dan, we had this conversation," Bishop interrupted, "Now son, you're a good Sheriff, and you been a good friend to my family, but there ain't nothin' you can do. I won't make a fool of myself and try and tell you that things are better this way, but the plain and simple truth Dan is that things are this way. And there ain't nothin' we can do about it." He walked over to where Dan, with a look of defeat on his face, was standing. "I thank you," he said, putting a hand on Dan's shoulder, "for everythin' you've done for us. And I dunno if Mamma invited you yet, but you're welcome to use our hall for your weddin'. I know it ain't much…but-"
"It's great," Dan said, and Bishop could tell how much he meant it.
"Anyway, you and your family are also invited to our New Year's festival," Bishop said, opening the door, "And you be sure and bring some of them 'round to see us."
"Course," Dan said. He wanted to say more…but as the door shut he knew that Bishop wouldn't have given him the chance. He once again ran a hand through his hair, vowing silently to himself that he'd 'lost the battle but not the war.' As he got on his horse and rode back to town his mind turned to other things…namely the company that would be arriving in just two days…
Part 2 -
"Pressin' against that window ain't gonna make us go any faster," Nick chuckled from his seat next to Jo.
"I know, but…I guess I'm just so-" Jo paused as the train jolted a bit, "excited! I mean Nick, imagine it! A whole month with the kids. It seems like forever since I've seen them."
"Jo, it's only been a year," he said.
"I know that…but I just can't wait. And Franz! Oh how long it seems since I last saw him! I wonder if-"
"Three minutes!" shouted the conductor. With that simple statement, Jo lost all train of thought, and gathered her things together. In what was really less then three minutes, but what seemed like more than 3 years to Jo, the train pulled into the station. Like a giddy child on Christmas morning she bounded from the train towards her…'Christmas tree?'
"Nick, we'll come back and pick up the trunks…I want to find Franz…do you think someone here would….oh! Oh, excuse me!" she called. Walking past Nick's grinning form she approached a man inside the ticket booth. "Would you happen to know where Mr. and Mrs. Franz Bhaer live?" she asked.
"Ooh, Mr. Bhaer aye?" the man said with an odd accent, "He be livin' down at the end of the road. That green house down there. Ye be family?"
"Yes," Jo said with a warm smile, already inching her way down the street.
"Always good to have family at times like these," the man said with a solemn expression.
"Times like what?" Nick asked, fully aware of Jo's squirming.
"Well…considerin' what happened and all," the man drawled on.
"What happened?" Jo said suggestively, not even really listening.
"You mean ye don't know? 'Bout the Misses. She had them babies beginnin' this week…'cept….'cept she herself didn't fair so good."
"What do you mean?" Jo asked, her attention fully fixed on the man now.
"She passed on," was all he said. There was silence for a moment, and then Jo abruptly walked back towards the station, in the opposite direction of Franz's house.
"Thank ya," Nick said kindly, and then excused himself to go after Jo. She was facing away from him, a hand up by her face. "Jo?" Nick said softly. She was silent though.
"We….we should probably go," she said softly as Nick nodded. She paused and then reached out to find comfort in his arms. He encircled her with his arms lightly, but then gently guided her away. She tried to push other lines of thought out of her mind and focus on Franz as she gave him a smile and began to walk down the street. As soon as she knocked on the door she could hear the babies crying. As they waited for the door to open, Jo noticed some of the townsfolk…well…staring.
"Aunt Jo!" Franz exclaimed, taking a few steps back as he opened the door. Noticing the looks on their faces he said, "You heard." Jo looked him straight in the eye, and then simply walked over to him and hugged him. He grabbed onto her tightly and breathed out a breath that he had been holding for….well…a week. Nick took a moment to look around the house…and the disarray it had fallen into. After Jo and Franz had finally parted, Franz reached out a hand to shake Nick's, and was much surprised when Nick pulled him into a hug.
"Knowin' what it's like when ya loose people ya love, I just wanna let ya know that Jo and me are always here for ya," he said. Franz nodded his head, and both moved over to where Jo was leaning over two little 'bundles of joy.'
"Twins!" breathed Jo.
"Yes, they're fine. Two girls. They came out of it with no harm," he said, smiling down at them.
"Their names?" Jo asked with a smile.
"Well, umm…the one on the right is Belle Bethany Bhaer, and the one on the left is Josephine Anna Bhaer," he smiled.
"Jo?" Jo commented, wonder in her voice. Franz just smiled and looked at her in admiration and pleasure. "And Bethany…that can't be-"
"Your sister," he said quietly, "From everything you've said, she was a very admirable woman who's life was over before it had begun. Anna is a favorite relative of Isabel's, and I'd like to think of it as a form of Nan…and Belle…well…"
Jo nodded and picked up little Jo-Anna. "Here darling! How is my little niece?" The baby gurgled in her arms, causing everyone to laugh. Jo looked intently at Franz again and simply said, "We're here now…you don't have to do this alone anymore."
Later that night, a light snow fell over the town as Franz sat outside in a thin coat. Inside, Jo pushed back her hair and wiped her hands on her apron again. "I'm going to go out and talk to Franz," she said, pulling her coat and a blanket from some pegs on the wall. The second the door closed, one of the babies began to stir.
"Oooh," Nick said in apprehension, "Please…noo…no no no, don't do this, not now…" He looked in agony at the door, and back at the baby…
Jo sat down quietly next to Franz and draped the blanket over his shoulders. "Careful not to catch cold Daddy," she joked. Franz simply sat in silence for a few minutes…as if making up his mind.
"Aunt Jo," he said suddenly, "I want to thank you so much for everything you've been doing all day long today…cleaning, cooking, tending to the girls-"
"Oh Franz, it was nothing really I-"
"Hear me out Aunt Jo," he said gently but firmly, "I appreciate what you've done…but I want to stop this before it starts. I need you now Aunt Jo, more then ever - in some ways. But I can't have you doing these things for me. The girls and I need to figure out how to make do on our own." He took a deep breath, wondering at how she would respond.
"Well," Jo said, taking a deep breath, "I…umm…" Franz looked down at his shoes, clearly upset now. "Franz!" she said quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong impression, "I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done everything for you in the first place. This is your home now." She smiled and reached up a hand to touch his face, "This place has changed you Franz…so much…your uncle would be so proud."
"Thank you, Aunt Jo," he said, reaching up to squeeze her hand.
"But, you will come see Dan with us, won't you?" Jo asked. At Franz's unsure glance she went on, "Please…only a month. You can stay with us until Christmas. And like you said, WE need each other right now." Franz slowly nodded and squeezed Jo's hand. "I better go see how Nick's doing with those girls of yours," she said with a grin. She squeezed his shoulder before slowly walking back into the house.
What she saw inside both startled her and touched her. Nick sat with one of the girls in his arms, gently rocking her. "You kinda look like yer Aunt Jo," he said softly, "But least you let me get a word in every now 'n then!" Jo stifled a giggle as she walked up silently behind them. "You know," Nick went on softly, "Always wondered what it'd be like to have a kid of my own…say, I figure you know 'bout this stuff, right? Ya think I'd make a good dad?"
"Oh I agree with you little Jo Anna," Jo's voice cut in, "After all, he's already proven himself to be one many times before." She knelt down next to him and the baby grabbed her finger and giggled. Their gazes shifted from the baby right into each other's eyes, where they shared a deep look.
"Well!" Franz burst in, interrupting their moment, "How are my girls fairing?"
"Fine," Jo said, breaking off the gaze first, "They're being taken care of by their Uncle." That remark caused another look to pass between Jo and Nick…yet this one had many more layers underneath it… "Time for bed! We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow!" smiled, gently picking up Belle and moving into the children's room. She didn't notice Nick's eyes following her the entire time, a troubled look on his face.
Dan adjusted his vest as he walked up and down the train station platform for the millionth time. He had dressed nicer than usual…yet he didn't want to dress in his best and then seem too overdressed. Confusing thoughts like that had been running through his mind for most of the morning. Suddenly he stopped, hearing a train whistle in the distance. He took a deep breath and put his hat on. Then he took it off. Then…he put it on. Finally, he just held it in his hands, and shook his own head at himself.
As the train pulled in and people began getting off, Dan kept on craning his neck to see a familiar face. Suddenly, one, then two emerged from the crowd. "Mrs. Jo! Nick!" he called. Hearing the voice Jo quickly caught sight of Dan and brusquely walked towards him.
"Dan," she said simply, yet so much emotion was conveyed in that simple word. She hugged Dan so tightly…surely more tightly than the day he had left Concord. Afterwards, Nick was waiting behind her.
"Hey Nick," Dan said, trying now very hard to keep his joy and great admiration, even after all these years, under close check.
"Hey Dan," was Nick's reply, simple like Jo's, yet conveying the admiration he now felt for Dan. He took Dan's outstretched hand and pulled him into a hug.
"This is great, I'm so glad to have ya guys here," Dan said with his grin, "We can wait for the others in my office and talk there. So if ya wanna get your luggage now, or later…"
"Wait Dan," Jo said, a smile playing on her lips, "There's one piece of luggage - three actually that we simply can't leave." With smiles, Jo and Nick parted a bit, and off behind them was Franz, carrying two small baskets. Jo ran over to take them, and lead Franz over to where Dan was. The look that the two boys - men - shared was far beyond words.
"What's….what?" Dan began, looking in confusion at the baskets…which were now making giggling/gurgling noises.
"These are my daughters, Jo and Belle," Franz said, looking at them with pride.
"Well," Dan asked in confusion, looking around, "Where's Isabel." A silence came over the three. Nick rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Jo.
She was about to reply when Franz said, "Isabel passed away while in childbirth." Dan looked at Franz, his gaze steady and solid; he knew what loosing people you loved was like…they all did. So he simply hugged Franz tightly. Jo's eyes, already full of tears, threatened to overflow. She and Nick shared another look, more meaningful this time than ever before, and she said, "Well, how about me and my three favorite guys go see that office of yours Dan?" Franz took the children back and they set off, Jo's arms linked through Nick's and Dan's.
"Bess, ya look beautiful," Nat said in answer to her question.
"But…what…what…Nat, remember when I said I wasn't nervous?" she said, smoothing her burgundy dress, complete with black lace around the edges.
"Next stop Coalville!" cried the conductor.
"Yeah," Nat said in distraction.
As she yanked his coat in her direction, her eyes wide, she said, "I lied!" Nat nodded and patted her hands.
"Bess, now look at me," he instructed, "It'll be fine, okay, just fine."
"But Nat," she said, getting more serious, "We've written what…two, maybe three letters to each other over the last year? What do you think that means?"
"Look Bess, he wrote to me about as much as he wrote to you. Maybe Dan's just not a writing person okay? That doesn't change how he feels about you. He loves you." The train slowly stopped as Nat said his final words.
"Just hold my hand," she smiled as Nat began to get up. In reply he took her hand and gave it an extra squeeze as they got in the line of passengers getting off the train.
Outside, Dan, Jo, and Nick stood waiting. "I'm sure Bess will be delighted to see Franz's children," Jo smiled.
"I'm sure Dan'll be delighted to be seein' Bess," Nick chuckled. Jo elbowed him, but he bumped her back in return.
Before their playful fight could go any farther Dan said, "I see them." He literally froze at the sight of Bess…she was more beautiful than ever…his eyebrows crinkled though, at the sight of her squeezing Nat's hand, and him patting it reassuringly.
"Bess! Nat!" Jo called. As Jo and Nick had done earlier, Nat and Bess quickly walked over to the happy trio. Many hugs and greetings and funny words were passed along until the only thing left for Dan to do was…actually welcome Bess. Jo and Nick, sensing his need to do this alone, both became suddenly over-interested in Nat, pulling him aside with them.
"Dan," Bess breathed the word seemingly, "You look wonderful."
"So do you Bess…beautiful," he said, his eyes darting up to meet hers. She leaned in, suddenly wondering why she had been so nervous. This was Dan! She knew Dan better than anyone else in the world. She slowly and sweetly kissed him, her eyes closed, savoring the moment. When she pulled back, Dan took both her hands in his and squeezed them gently.
"Mother, Father, Asia, and Aunt Meg are coming tomorrow," she said with a soft smile.
Dan nodded and said, "Can't wait." They gazed at each other in silence until the other three joined them again.
"Bess, if Dan does that all day, it'll seem just like the paper staff hmm?" Nat chuckled, soliciting laughs from everyone.
"But I don't travel so far on uncomfortable and dirty trains to see the paper staff Nat, do I?" she grinned. They all, once again, made their way towards the Sheriff's office/jail (*grin*) to see Franz, and wait for the final train of that day - the train that would bring them Nan.
