Fighting for Love: Author's Note

This first story was conceived after I discovered all three seasons of my favorite TV Western from my youth on Netflix. After watching all 68 episodes in about four days, I began to search the internet and discovered many websites full of fan fiction. Many of these fan written short stories and novellas dealt with what happened to the main characters after the end of the Pony Express and the show. Though good in and of themselves, in my opinion, none of the stories stayed true to the characters.

In the course of the series Lou (Louise) McCloud had made it clear she would not be left behind when her loved ones were in danger. In the last few episodes of the series she made the love of her life, Kid, promise to never leave her behind when he rode off into danger, but to let her face any troubles with him. At the same time, he made it quite clear that if, when, war broke out between the states he would return to Virginia to defend his birthplace.

This means neither of the two most common scenarios for what happened to Lou and Kid after their wedding and the end of the Pony Express would have been possible. Kid would never have sat out the Civil War in the West and Lou would never have stayed home while Kid went off to fight.

So what would have happened? The answer, to me, was simple. Lou would have followed Kid back to Virginia, re-donning her disguise as a boy, to join him in his fight for his birthplace. She would have done this to protect him, not out of any conviction of her own. In fact, if Lou had joined either side out of her own convictions, she most likely would have joined the Union Army. It was a dilemma that faced many families during those perilous times, whether to stay loyal to their ideals or their families. There is no doubt, Lou would have chosen family. Also, while not common, it was also not unheard of for wives, sisters, daughters to disguise themselves as boys/men in order to fight alongside their loved ones. This happened both during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.


As I began to develop Lou’s and Kid’s story during the Civil War, I realized something was missing. What were the other Riders up to? So, their stories too, were added. I hope you enjoy.

Pilarcita
July 2011

p.s. While making allowances to stay true to The Young Riders' show canon, I've attempted to be as historically accurate with this story as possible.