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Note: Here is another, slightly longer, misadventure of our little dark headed cowboy. Yesterday, I got an e-mail from KateHn asking me if Nicholas had done this yet. Well, the wheels in my head started turning and I just had to get it written. It was one of those things that wouldn't leave me alone. I give all the credit for this idea to KateHn, she was my muse for the day.

Kate, thank you for the gift of this idea, I hope I did it justice. This ones for you girl.

As always, any and all feedback is welcomed. (I'm off to work on my twins fic.)




All Is Not Well The Misadventures Of Nicholas Barkley

"Nicholas, don't you do it!" Nine year old Jarrod Barkley scolded.

"You're no fun, go away."

"I'm going to tell Mother, you better get off right now!"

"I'm bored, I ain't gonna get hurt."

"You can fall, you dope. Don't matter if your bored, you can still fall and break that dopey neck of yours."

"Go away!" Nicholas yelled then smiled, "Or I'll tell mama about that little thing I heard....."

Jarrod made a fist and shook it at his little brother, "You'd better not if you know what's good for ya!"

"I 'speck she'd get out the wooden spoon if she know'd you was sayin' them words....."

"Nicholas." Jarrod grounded out, "I'll knock the rest of them teeth out if you don't hush."

"Make me, you.....you.....big goof!"

Jarrod took a step forward. "Don't think I won't."

Seeing Jarrod slowly makin' his way towards the well he was currently perched on, he made a move to jump off, his right hand missed the rock and found only air, before he knew it he was falling backwards into the well.

Two things happen in quick succession, Jarrod jumped forward to grab his brother, and Nicholas' left hand reached out to grab anything to stop his fall.

The leap to rescue his little brother fell short and Jarrod fell face first into the dirt. As he looked up, his heart skipped a beat as he saw his brother's boots disappear over the edge. "NICHOLAS!!!!"

Nicholas knew he was gonna die, and it was gonna hurt. Flailing his left hand as he was falling over the edge, he snagged the bucket tied securely with a rope. "Please hold." Nicholas whispered as he grabbed the bucket as tight as his little hands could. He heard his brothers yell, he felt the bucket's rope pull tight as it stopped his descent, then he heard the grinding of the spool brake as it labored with the weight. Ever so slowly, Nicholas found himself being lowered into the dark, damp well as the brake failed to hold him. "Jarrod.....HELP ME!" He yelled.

Jarrod got up and ran to the side of the well, 'Nicholas, you're okay!"

"Get me up, Jarrod, I promise I won't tell!"

"I have to get someone stronger, I don't think I can do it. I'll be right back." Jarrod ran to the kitchen door to get Silas.

During his brothers absence, Nick reached the bottom of the well, the water was cold and deeper than he would have thought or liked, but he was thankful that he was still alive. Holding onto the bucket as if his life still depended on it, he sloshed around in waste deep water. Papa's gonna kill me." He worried. "Stepping to the side of the well, his small, booted foot slipped forward into a crevice of the rock wall, "No..." Nicholas said as he fell and felt his ankle twist painfully.

The frantic movements to keep his head above water were hampered by the fact that his right foot was now lodged in the crevice. Thinking as fast as a five year could, he grabbed the bucket, yet again, and used it for support.

"Mr. Nicholas, you down there are ya okay?" Came Silas' worried shout.

"Silas, help me," He cried, "I'm stucked and it hurts and I'm scared."

"Mr. Jarrod, go get your ma and send one of the hands out to fetch your pa! Mr. Nicholas is hurt, hurry now.....GO! Bring Mr Duke back with ya!"

Jarrod took off like a bullet.

"Mr. Nicholas, nows you hold on, we gettin' your ma and pa and they'll be here shortly. Ol' Silas ain't gonna leave ya, no sir. Now tell Silas what hurts ya."

"Silas, I'm scared." hiccup, " My foots stucked in a hole," hiccup, "and it won't let go. My ankle hurts real bad." hiccup, "Silas, It's dark down here, what if there's monsters?"

"There's no monsters, Mr. Nicholas."

"That one story Mr. Duke told," hiccup, "said sometimes witches lives in old wells," hiccup, "I don't wanta witch to get me." He sobbed.

"I promise ya, Mr. Nicholas, there not be a witch within a thousand miles of this well."

"Mrs. Tucker's a witch and she just lives down the road a bit."

"Mr. Nicholas, Mrs. Tucker isn't no witch. Now you's be strong, ya hear?"

"Papa said she was." He cried.

Nicholas! Oh my Lord, Nicholas!" Victoria screamed as she ran for the well and peered over the side. "Speak to me, Nicholas! Are you okay?"

"Mama, I'm stucked, it hurts and I'm scared!" Nicholas cried, hiccupped and cried some more.

Victoria gave a startled gasp and looked to Silas for answers, "What?"

"His ankle is stuck in a hole and he can't get it free, he's just scared and hurt, Missus Barkley."

Victoria gave her head a shake, then turned back to the well mouth, "Nicholas, are you hurt anywhere else, son?"

"No mama, but I'm cold, real cold."

"Mrs. Barkley?" Duke said as he ran up with Jarrod in tow. "Sent Matt to town to fetch the Doc."

"Oh Duke, thank you! Nicholas has fallen down the well, his foot is stuck."

Duke frowned then leaned over the well's rock wall, "Nicky, you okay, boy?'

Nicholas rolled his eyes dramatically as he sniffled, took a deep breath then, "I'M STUCK!!!!" He screamed, hiccuped, took another deep breath, "IT HURTS!!!!", hiccup, breath, "AND I'M SCARED!!!!"

"I reckon he's scared, let me see if I can turn the crank, maybe if he hold's onto the bucket, I can pull him out of that hole." Leaning back over the wall he hollered down, "Nicky, I'm gonna turn this here crank real slow, I want you to hold on tight to that there bucket, you hear? Don't you let go!"

"Okay, Mr. Duke. I won't let go, promise." Nick felt the rope start to tighten, so he looped his arms through the pail handle and closed his eye.

"Okay Nicky, you tell me if it hurts, okay, and I'll stop!" Duke yelled as he gave the crank another turn.

"OW....OW.....OW....STOP!" Nicholas cried.

Duke stopped and released more slack on the rope to ease the strain on Nicholas' stuck leg. "Okay Nicky, is that better?"

"Yeah." NIcholas cried.

"Is your head above water okay?" Duke realized that the water in the well was probably pretty deep for a youngun.

"Yeah!"

"Did ya try to reach down and work ya foot out of the hole?"

Nicholas sighed, "Yeah!"

"Victoria, Duke, Silas, Jarrod!" Tom yelled as he rode full tilt to the well, jumped off and landed square on his feet. breathing hard he asked, "What.......what happened, Jace said Nicholas fell down the well?"

"Oh Tom, we have to get him out, he's so frightened." Victoria sobbed as she collapsed against his chest.

"We will, dear, don't worry." Walking over to the well wall, he leaned over, "Piglet, are you okay?"

"He's Stuck." Silas said.

"And he hurts." Duke and Jarrod said in unison.

"And he's scared." Victoria finished.

Tom knitted his brows together, "Piglet, papa's here and we're gonna get you out."

"Papa! Hurry Papa, before the monsters and witches come. I don't want Mrs. Tucker ta get me!" Nicholas whined.

"Nicholas, no monsters or witches are down there, I promise. Now, just give me a minute and well see about gettin ya out."

"Okay papa."

Duke, see if we have a latter long enough, if I remember right, this well isn't all that deep, maybe twenty foot or so, and send a hand into town to get the Doc."

"I already Sent Matt ta get the Doc, should be here shortly, I'll get the ladder." Duke answered as he scurried away.

"Silas, see if you can find a lantern, we'll light it and lower it down to him, maybe he won't be so frightened."

"Be back before ya know it, Mista Tom." Silas left for the house.

"Vic, you and Jarrod talk to him, try and keep him calm, I'll be right back."

They both nodded and turned towards the well as Tom ran to the workshop next to the barn.

"Nicholas, Mother's here, sweetheart, you stay brave and Father will have you out of there in no time." Victoria turned and gave Jarrod a nod, "Go ahead, dear, talk to him."

"Hey little brother......uh......Oh......are their any spiders down there? I bet they get huge......"

Hearing her youngest release a scream very few could match, Victoria placed her small hand over her eldest son's mouth, "Jarrod, we are trying to calm him down not scare him half to death." She whispered harshly in his ear.

"Sorry Mother." Jarrod said, trying and failing to hold back a grin.

"We will talk later, young man." She said wagging her finger for effect.

"Yes Mother."

"Mama, are their spiders in here with me!" Nicholas screamed.

"No dear, I don't think so." She yelled back, "at least I hope not." She added to herself. "Just stay calm, we are here and we are not going any where."

Both Tom and Duke made it back to the well at the same time, and Silas returned just seconds after.

"Okay, Duke, lower the ladder, Silas tie a rope to the lantern and lower it down, slowly."

"What's that in your hand, dear." Victoria asked, noticing the items held in his hand.

"A tack hammer and chissel, I was hoping I could tap around his foot and loosen the rock."

"Oh Tom, do you think it will work?" Victoria continued.

"I think so." Tom stopped at the blood curdling scream emenating from the well, "Piglet, what is it, what's wrong!"

"SPIDERS!!!!! I SEE SPIDERS, PAPA, BIG SPIDERS!!!!"

Tom cringed, "The lantern." He stated, "Don't worry boy, they're more afraid of you than you are of them."

"I DON'T THINK SO PAPA!! I'M PRETTY SCARED!!!!"

"Be still, Piglet, do you see that ladder?"

"YES!!"

"Well, papa's gonna be climbing down to you so don't worry."

"Kay." Nicholas sniffed

Tom sat on the wall of the well, turned and lowered himself down to the top rung of the ladder. "Be back before you know it." Tom said with a wink to his family.

A few moments later, Tom stepped into the frigid water, "Well now, how's my boy?"

"Papa, I'm so glad your here, I'm cold."

Tom removed his shirt and wrapped it lovingly around his cold son, "Okay Piglet, I'm going to feel around for your foot and see if I can chissel a bit of the rock loose. Be brave for papa, okay?"

Nicholas kept his wide eye's on a particullary large spider on the wall just above his papa's head, "Yes, Papa, I'll try."

"Good boy, now show me which leg is caught."

"This one, it hurts." Nicholas answered pointing to his right leg, tears streaming down his face. "Is it broked?"

Tom, with the chissel in his left hand and the tack hammer in his right, followed Nicholas' right leg down into the water. Feeling the area he frowned, "I can't tell if it's broken, may just be a bad sprain." He told his frightened son.

Placing the chissel at an angle away from Nicholas' booted foot, he began tapping, "Tell me if it feel loose, but don't pull it out, let papa do it, okay Piglet?"

Nicholas nodded.

A few minutes passed, Tom felt small areas of the rock start to give way around the trapped limb as he tapped. Then finally, "It's loosed papa, I can feel it move, and that spider is huge!"

Tom stopped for a moment and turned his head to see what his son was starring at, with wide eyes and a hitch to his breath, he answered, "Whoa, that's a monster!"

"WHAT!!!" Nicholas scretched.

"Tom, what happened?" Victoria asked worriedly.

"Nothing, Vic, just a spider." He answered, "the biggest damn spider I ever saw." He thought to himself. "I've almost got him, dear." Turning back to his son, "Don't worry about that ol' spider, Piglet, we'll be out of here before he gets a change to make his way down here."

"You sure?"

"Yes son, I'm sure, now I'm going to pull your foot out real slow, then we'll get on out of here." Seeing Nicholas nod, he put the chissel and tack hammer in his back pocket, reached down and slowly pulled the foot free, "See there." Turning to yell to the others he said, "He's free, we're coming up."

"Thank God, Howard's here and waiting. Be careful." Victoria answered.

Tom picked up Nicholas, "Wrap you arms around my neck, Piglet, hold on real tight."

"Don't worry papa, I won't let go." Nicholas answered with chattering teeth.

Slowly, Tom made his way to the top holding on tightly his precious cargo. Finally he was able to pass his son off to Duke and Matt then climbed over the wall to safety.

Other hands had gathered durring the rescue and the yard errupted in shouts and cheers.

Taking his son back, they all made their way into the house, up the stairs and into Nicholas' room.

"Let's get these wet clothes off," Dr. Merrer started, looking at the swollen right ankle he added, "And I'll need some scissors to cut off this boot. That ankle looks pretty swollen."

Tom began to undress his son as Victoria ran to her sewing room to get the scissors.

"I brung some warm water for you, Doctor, and some dry towels." Silas stated sitting the items on the bedside table.

"Thank you, Silas." Dr. Merrer smiled then took the scissors that Victoria had just produced, and began to gently cut the boot off his young patient's foot.

Once the boot was off, he cut the pants leg to the knee and removed the soggy sock, "Well young man, I don't think it's broken, but it is a bad sprain. It's going to be tender for quit a while." Looking to Tom and Victoria, "I'm going to wrap it, he needs to stay off of it for a few days, no walking or running on it and definantly no more falling down wells." He finished with a tweak to Nicholas' nose. "Let's get these britches off and a night shirt on him before I start wrapping." Turning to Silas, he added, "Silas, would you get him something warm to drink, maybe broth or tea?"

"Yes sir, Doctor, already got it heatin' on the stove." Silas answered then turned to leave.

"Silas?"

Hearing his name called from the small boy on the bed, he turned back, "Yes Mr. Nicholas?"

"Can ya get me some of that cinninim bread, too? I'm powerful hungry."

Looking to the boys parents and seeing them nod, "I surely will, Mr. Nicholas. It'll be my pleasure."

Nicholas smiled brightly then went back to watching Dr. Merrer wrap his foot.

Jarrod came up in between his parents and gave his little brother a wave then grinned, "Boy I've never heard anyone scream like that," He laughed, "You sounded like a girl. Afraid of a little spider" Jarrod shook his head.

"It wasn't little, it was big, ask papa!" Nicholas frowned.

"It was pretty big, I guess it was about the size of my fist, I've never seen a spider that big." Tom agreed.

Jarrod turned to ask his father another question when he spied something on his father's back, close to his shoulder and let out a scream so loud and so high pitched that Tom was sure it had cracked a few windows, "WHAT!!!"

"The......the.....sp.....spider......it's on your back!!!!" Jarrod screamed and stumbled backwards.

Victoria paled and jumped to the side, grabbing Jarrod as she went.

Dr. Merrer shimmied to the other side of the bed.

Nicholas rolled to the other side, with the doctor.

Tom spent the next five minutes chasing down and getting rid of the monsterous beast. Out of breath he declared, "It's gone, everyone can relax." He said as a shiver ran through him.

Nicholas started laughing, "Boy Jarrod, I ain't never heard anyone scream like that."

"That was impressive son." Tom added and started laughing himself.

Soon, the whole room was laughing, except for Jarrod of course. "It just took me by surprise....that's all, I'm not afraid of spiders."

Victoria hugged Jarrod, "Son, it's okay to be afraid, that was a really big spider, I was afraid, too."

"but you're a girl, Mother, all girls are afraid of spiders." Jarrod frowned.

"I was afraid." Dr. Merrer added.

"Well...." Jarrod started.

"And I have to admit, I was a little afraid myself, I don't mind spider all that much, just don't want the critters walking on me." Tom gave another shiver.

"Boy wait till I tell Peggy you screamed like a girl."

"You better not!"

"I will!"

Victoria, Tom and Dr. Merrer all grinned and shook their heads as they made they're way out the door and pulled it closed muffling argument going on in the room.

"I don't every want to have to do that again." Tom sighed. "I've never been so frightened in my whole life then when Jace told me Nicholas had fallen down that well."

"Yes, I have to say, to hear them argue is music to my ears." Victoria added seeing Silas bringing the tray of broth and cinimon bread down the hall, "Thank you Silas, for everything." She smiled.

"Your more than welcome, Missus Barkley, I'll just take this here tray to Mr. Nicholas and get you all some coffee."

"Sounds good, I'm going to change out of these wet clothes and I'll meet you all in the parlor." Tom stated as he turned, gave Victoria a kiss on the cheek, and left.

As they walked down the stairs, Dr. Merrer chuckled.

"What?" Victoria asked with a grin.

"I was just thinking, that boy in there, I sure do hope he out grows these little adventures soon."

"I agree, but I don't think I would call them adventures." Victoria chuckled.

"Oh....then what would you call them?" The Doctor asked.

"Misadventures."

The End