The Mountain's Hail 2

Journey

by Lady Arkin

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asl/larkin/mohail02.php
Summary: After the brothel, being a slave again isn't so bad, but Daniel soon finds himself on a quest that he never envisioned. The question is will he find what he needs to, or what he was meant too?

CHAPTER 9 – EVER FORWARD

The moment enough skins were ready, Jack had told him to pack. Daniel didn't understand his hurry, but he could tell from the way Jack had spoken to him that he wasn't asking. Jack seemed to want to be away from the Omaha people.

Daniel made their excuses to Six Running Horses and thanked him for his help. He'd assured Six Running Horses that he would never tell anyone that he or his sons ever helped to skin and tan, but thanked him for doing so. He apologized for their leaving so suddenly, and formally hoped them well.

Then Daniel left Jack to get everything ready. With most of the meat dried out, it was easy to disassemble one of the meat drying racks and create a travois for his horse. With Red Sky Woman's help he managed to find enough thin green limbs to make a bent wood cage for the travois. In the cage they folded and stored their skins and food for travel. Red Sky Woman's daughter, Little Star, even brought him their parfleche as a gift. Red Sky Woman insisted that he take it. Daniel knew that most of pemmican that they'd made to date was stored inside, and there weren't many chokeberries left to flavor a great deal more.

"No."; He said flatly.

"You must take it. There will be hard times ahead.";

"That's why you should keep it.";

As Red Sky Woman opened her mouth to speak again, he cut her off saying, "I don't have children.";

She was quiet for a moment, long enough for Daniel to turn his head and see Jack adjusting the saddle on his horse.

"He'll want to go to the whites. He'll trade the skins and we'll get food there."; Daniel felt a bad taste in his mouth. He hated the idea, but he knew that he was right. When he looked back he saw the look on her face, "I'll be fine.";

"Not after what you told, the last place where the whites kept you... What if he takes you back? You should have food of your own so that if you run away you...";

Daniel looked away, ashamed. Little Star didn't know what her mother was talking about, and Daniel knew that she should never have to know.

He swallowed hard before saying, "That's past. He needs me to speak for him. He'll make sure that I'm cared for...at least until he doesn't need me any more. If he keeps his word, I'll be able to go back to my family.";

Red Sky Woman didn't say anything to him about his last statement, but he could see the doubt and sorrow in her face. "You would have made a good wife for Stone Calf,"; she said quietly. "I would have liked to have had you in my family."; Then a surge of truth followed, "We could have used the good luck as well as the strong back to help with the work.";

Daniel walked up and stroked her hair back over her left ear. "I would have liked to have been your daughter-in-law."; He looked away for a moment before meeting her eyes and saying, "But I'm a slave. Slaves don't have choices. I hope for nothing else then to leave all of my luck here with you. You are all going to be in my prayers.";

For some reason that he couldn't imagine, she managed a big smile, "Then we will be well.";

He said his goodbyes and mounted his horse over the travois poles and settled down onto his saddle. He took one last look back at the people before nudging his horse after Jack. Jack was already rising over the hill far in front and quickly leaving him behind.

~ ~ ~

Daniel pulled the fur up around his shoulders before it had a chance to slip away. He secured it in place and then took the reins back up into his hands. The plains were barren and never ending. Usually he'd welcome the sight but there was nothing to do. He'd passed boredom quite some time ago. He'd given up braiding leather for rope. He cut up enough sinew for sewing. He'd cut leather thongs for this and that. There was nothing to adjust. He wasn't hungry. He wasn't thirsty. And his companion hadn't spoken to him since they left the Omaha at their impromptu butchering camp.

"You must really love her,"; Daniel said suddenly.

O'Neill turned to look at him. Daniel saw the expression and wondered if Jack had heard him above the blowing wind.

"You must really love her."; He repeated. "To go all this way, go through all this effort. Some men wouldn't bother. You must love her terribly.";

Jack looked away and didn't speak to him long enough to make Daniel wonder. For a moment Daniel wondered if the man was angry with him. Daniel turned his head so that he could see Jack's face and found a dour look there.

"You do love her, don't you?"; Daniel asked.

More silence.

It was awkward enough that Daniel looked away as he reminded himself never to ask Jack a personal question again.

"I was still a baby,"; Jack finally said. "My da didn't have the money for us to travel to America. He had only managed to save enough for one passage. The thought of leaving my ma behind was unthinkable to him; so he decided to stay, despite what she wanted. Then a friend of his gave him the money. My family traveled to the States. Life continued. A few years later a little girl comes to our house and knocks on the door. She was about ten and traveling with her aunt. My da's friend had died and his last and only request in this life was for his daughter to marry my da's boy. I grew up with her in my home...like brother and sister.";

Jack breathed in deep as if preparing himself so that he could finish. "Then one day my da said that I had to marry her. I didn't want to, but I knew that I didn't have a choice.";

Both men were silent for a good long while, long enough to cover a mile or so.

"No wonder you're guilty."; Daniel said after some thought. "You left your wife when your father refused to do so.";

"My da never lost his wife, or his son. Just me."; Jack said coldly. "I may not have been the best husband, but I'm going to see this to the end.";

"What is the end?"; Daniel asked.

Jack looked at the man riding beside him.

"I need to know."; Jack said simply.

"And if they're dead and I can find you proof that they are gone, will that make you feel better?";

"I need to do this.";

"What if we search for years and find nothing? That too is possible.";

"I have to try.";

"What if all we find are anger, pain, and hurt? What will you do when your heart and spirit are crushed...probably by my people?";

Jack stopped his horse. He looked Daniel in the eye before saying, "I wasn't in love with her. I hold no strong feeling for her beyond that of a sibling. The boy was all I lived for. I missed most of his life because of the war. I can't undo that and I hate it, but I need to know. I need to put this away or I can't continue living. I don't want to hurt anyone, but if my son's been tortured or harmed...";

"Unlike whites,"; Daniel said on an exhale, "when we take children we don't often kill them. He would have been taken into someone's home; more than likely as a slave. Either way, we don't see slavery as your people do. Your people use it as a reason to subjugate a person who you consider to be worthless. We see slavery as a way to replenish our society, to make ourselves stronger. Your son, if he's as strong and capable as you are, will be taken into a home to do work. Like I did, he will help the mistress of the household with her chores. He might have even been adopted into a family by now. If he's alive, then he's being fed, and cared for. I can't think of any nations that are at war right now. Once he finds his place in the village, the only real danger to your son's life is from the whites that attack and kill without regard...";

~ ~ ~

They didn't speak again until that night. And when they did it was awkward.

Jack was already lying on his bedroll. The skins were pilled up around him and he was lazily waiting for Daniel to finish up. Daniel was sitting by the small fire sewing.

Though Jack couldn't understand it, he'd taken to giving in when the sun started setting and Daniel would immediately say, "It's time to stop.";

In Jack's mind they could travel for two or three more hours after sunset and still be fine, but Daniel had some kind of personal issue with night travel. It was fine with Jack as long as they could rise early and be off, which Daniel never argued with. Besides, Daniel had a point: the plains might look flat, but there were roots and holes that could trip a horse.

Daniel was carefully sewing a furry hat with earflaps...for Jack. As he watched him, Jack realized that Daniel was always doing something domestic. He always did the cooking and did an amazing job of it. Jack wasn't complaining about the food. Daniel always did the washing, as well. He never failed to make wherever they were a little more homey and comfortable.

"You are one of them, aren't you?";

Daniel looked up and waited for Jack to explain himself. Over time he'd found that he was quite good at not only reading the man, but anticipating what he wanted, needed, and was trying to say. But that statement was a bit too cryptic for even him to decipher.

"A barkey, birdkey, burncheese...";

"I think that the word you are so valiantly trying to pronounce is bur-da-che, just like cheese.";

Jack didn't say anything: he just watched as Daniel calmly began to lecture while he fussed with the furry skin in his hands.

"I actually would appreciate it if you didn't call me a berdache, it isn't a nice word. We say winkte, a person of two spirits. Berdache is actually a derivation of the Persian word 'bardaj' which was a derogatory term for a passive homosexual partner. Originally it meant a seized prisoner, usually a much younger person than the person saying bardaj. During the Crusades Europeans took berdaj to mean 'sodomite heretics' but then weren't most people heretics to them? They are the ones that made the word come to mean what you think it means...a homosexual sex slave, someone who is forced to do the unthinkable.";

Daniel put the fur hat down as he carefully packed his bone needle away.

"I didn't realize just how special our culture was until I spent time in yours. I was in New York and in Virginia for my studies. You have no cultural point-of-reference for what a winkte is and that is sad. Your culture only values two sexes.";

"What else is there?"; Jack said with a shrug.

Daniel looked at him and smiled. "Jack, there are five sexes.";

"No,"; Jack said simply.

"First there is a woman that is born a woman; she seeks to mate with men. Second, there is a man that is born a man; he seeks to mate with women. Third, there are men who are born men; they seek to mate with men. Fourth, there are women who are born women; they seek to mate with women. Fifth, there are persons born that are neither man nor woman. You can not tell by looking at their body or genitals whether they are men or women. These are special people; when that child grows up they will tell their parents whether they want to mate with a man or a woman.

"I am a man that likes men. I've known this for as long as I can remember; it also makes me winkte. To us a winkte is a special person. Because they are both male and female winkte are considered to be closer to the spirit world. We are considered to be good luck to those that we come into contact with. We can be warriors, wives, and guides in this life. It's a special thing to be."; Daniel looked at him and then asked, "Would it make you feel better if I slept away from you from now on? I wouldn't be offended.";

Jack had to think. For the first time he realized that he was unsure around Daniel; then he realized that nothing had changed. He still needed Daniel. And needed to make sure that Daniel survived the trip long enough to help him.

"No,"; Jack finally said. "Come lie down. We have a long ride ahead of us.";

CHAPTER 10 – SURVIVAL THROUGH CUNNING

The miners were dirty, smelly, and disgusting. Daniel knew the breed all too well. He'd serviced more than one of them and it turned his stomach to recall that fact. He pushed his thoughts away and stuffed them down into a deep cubby hole in his mind so that he could lock it away.

For the most part he stood apart and let Jack handle the trading. He didn't like the looks that he was getting. Some were curious, some were lustful, and some were confused. They all felt the same as far as he was concerned. He wanted to get away

It had taken five days riding north by north east to find this nasty little town. It was the kind of place that Daniel hated. The town itself was nothing more than one ramshackle wooden hut after another. The mine and the saloon were the only things holding the economy together, and it was obvious that no one was willing to improve the place. In fact, the only nice thing that he could say about the place was that the idiot that had picked out the location had chosen the windiest location possible. The town caught every gale, freezing the men who lived there from the inside out; with any luck they'd all be dead or suffering terribly by the end of winter.

Daniel sat at a table alone, wrapped in his furs. He hadn't had the time to do anything with them. He'd spent every free moment working on sewing their hats and long furry mittens that came up to their elbows. He and Jack were both quite well dressed for the weather, even though they weren't in the height of fashion. He knew that the moccasins on his feet and his hide clothing would attract looks, so he didn't bother to show them. He kept his eyes down and hoped that no one would speak with him as he waited for Jack.

Jack was busy. Jack was busy drinking. Jack was sitting at a table gambling. Jack was having the time of his life. Jack had made a room full of friends in under a few minutes. All Daniel could do was smile under the edge of his fur as he secretly watched the man attract everyone to him with his easy manner, quick jokes, and charm. The man was in his element.

After an hour Daniel had received three indecent proposals and Jack had won several pots of money, bought two rounds of drinks, and had started negotiating for the sale of his furs to a man named Dorsey at the table. As they began speaking about the furs Dorsey stopped the card dealing before another round could start. A new game was dealt, Blackjack.

~ ~ ~

It was later that night as they lay in bed that Daniel couldn't sleep.

Jack had won a great deal; he had also lost a great deal, but he had enough to get a room in what passed as a hotel in the town. Daniel would have preferred to sleep outside of the town, but Jack had been elated at the idea of sleeping indoors so Daniel had kept his mouth shut. The furs were lying in a heap in the room with them. The room was small and cramped but it was indoors and Jack seemed to appreciate that. Daniel had made sure to rub him down thoroughly before tucking him in. In the candlelight he had seen the big smile; Jack had been very happy. But Daniel still couldn't sleep.

Knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to sleep until he got it out of his system, he nudged Jack awake.

"Oh, you're awake?";

Jack growled and rolled over onto his other side.

"Since you're up. I have a question.";

Jack growled again. It sounded vaguely like, "Go to sleep or I'll kill you.";

Daniel chose to ignore it as he said, "In the last game, why didn't you ask the dealer to hit?";

He heard a loud snore and ignored it. He knew Jack wasn't asleep.

"You were standing on a sixteen. The other man had a seventeen. There were two aces, a two of clubs, a four of diamonds, three fives, and only one ten of spades. You had a one in eleven chance of wining the hand. Or, did you fold to make friends with the miners?";

The fake snoring ended.

Daniel watched the bundle of blankets and fur cast aside as Jack sat up in bed and met his eyes.

"You memorized the deck?"; Jack finally asked.

To Daniel it sounded like an accusation. "I wasn't playing. I just couldn't help but notice-";

"So you memorized the cards?";

"There were only two decks."; Daniel claimed defensively.

"I'm not accusing you. But you did memorize the cards?";

Daniel looked away and then pulled the blanket up before pulling the fur over his head.

Jack quickly yanked the fur away and asked, "Did you?";

"Yes,"; Daniel replied in a small voice. "I couldn't help it. My uncle was always asking me to memorize everything that I saw, heard, or did. I can't help it anymore.";

"Brilliant,"; Jack said happily as he lay back down and pulled the blankets and furs up under his chin.

Daniel said nothing.

"Tomorrow I'm going to introduce you to Dorsey. We'll get a Blackjack game going and then you'll join in. You haven't told anyone that you lived with Indians, did you?'

"Yes, Jack I did; because I want a bunch of filthy miners to rape and beat me to death.";

Jack smiled. "As far as anyone needs to know you're a tenderfoot from New York. You're a language professor out here trying to start a school. You got robbed. I found you wandering around and you don't understand much of anything.";

"Including gambling?";

"Yes,"; Jack said. His smile grew harder and bigger.

"That's cheating, Jack.";

"No, that's 'we've got nothing and no way to survive the fucking winter that's coming.' That's what that is. Unless you've got a better idea.";

"Sell the furs. We can make do.";

"No. We can't. I talked with Dorsey. He's a thief. I also think that he controls most of this town. Those furs are worth at least ten dollars apiece. He's offering three, and the other men that I approached offered even less. There isn't a lot of money in this pigsty, but even if we just trade the hides for goods, we're going to get robbed.";

Daniel leaned up on his elbows and looked at Jack.

"I'm not kidding,"; Jack said. "That's why I didn't make a deal this evening.";

Daniel was quiet for a few minutes as he stared at the ugly uneven ceiling with its hewn-rough logs. "It's still wrong.";

"Or,"; Jack offered, "we can leave and hope we can find another town before we starve.";

~ ~ ~

They spent the next day in bed. It looked like the first snowstorm of the season was about to start, it was too cold to actually do anything more than eat and hurry back to their room. Daniel took the opportunity to finish sewing himself a furry hat with earflaps. Jack spent his time cleaning his guns and whittling. It annoyed Daniel to no end that Jack would even consider whittling in bed, but he didn't say anything because it was cold and he'd seen Jack limping slightly.

Instead, Daniel warmed oil by the fire as he gently took the wood and knife away. He brushed down the fur, Jack, and the bed for splinters before he turned Jack over. Jack didn't say a word as he flipped over eagerly. Daniel lifted up his shirt and jacket before covering him with the fur. He fetched the warmed oil and rubbed Jack down until he was content and relaxed enough that he slipped into a nap.

Daniel sat back down on the bed, careful not to disturb Jack, and continued with his sewing. He got quite a bit done, too. At least until the first shot of the evening was fired.

The sounds from the saloon had steadily been building up since early afternoon. None of it had woken Jack until the gun had gone off. Jack immediately bolted up in bed and looked around like a frightened animal ready for action.

"From the sounds of it, they seem to already be drunk."; Daniel said calmly and evenly, not wanting to startle Jack until he was fully awake.

Jack's body relaxed back slowly until he was finally lying back down on the lumpy mattress that Daniel thought was far too uneven to actually sleep on.

Jack exhaled loudly before saying, "Let'em get nice and drunk. Impaired judgment will make the game easier.";

"If you say so,"; Daniel said as he put the finished hat on the rickety night stand so he could get out of bed and pack.

Daniel had no delusions that they wouldn't need to make a quick egress from the town once their game was over. Daniel didn't hold himself up to be any kind of an expert in regards to personality types, but he knew whites well enough to know that the second they got angry there would be trouble. By the time Jack was up and ready to go to the saloon for dinner and the fleecing of the natives, Daniel had their things ready.

Daniel wore his newly made fur hat. Still dressed in their fur robes and long fur mittens they wandered down out of the boarding house.

It was on the street that Jack said, "Do you need me there?";

Daniel knew to what he was referring. "No.";

They were twenty feet from the saloon.

"I can do it."; Daniel said confidently.

A violent sound caught their attention. The double hinged doors to the saloon had been closed off to the winter cold with a full sized door. It was opened quickly and a man was bodily thrown out into the street. The door slammed shut. The sounds from inside the saloon never wavered.

Jack turned to Daniel.

With a bit less confidence but with full determination Daniel repeated, "I can do it.";

Jack nodded. "I'm going to leave at one point. I'm going to clear out our things, load the horses, and meet you in this alley."; Jack said with a jerk of his head. "Get here, with or without the money. Just get here.";

Daniel nodded and they continued to the bar.

Dinner itself was not terribly exciting. The mashed potatoes were too plain. The canned peaches had no flavor, and didn't even taste much like peaches. And the pork chops were nothing more then cooked meat. Jack smiled as he ate. Even in the short time that he'd spent with Daniel, he'd already found himself spoiled worse than he could ever recall. At any other point in his life he'd have taken the food and been grateful. Now, he felt as if he were chewing on sawdust; though the sawdust would probably have more kick.

Despite his better judgment, Jack ate what was offered without complaint. When he was done, he picked his teeth of the food that he hadn't been able to swallow. With one look he knew that Daniel thought even less of the meal than even he did.

"It's not that bad,"; Jack said none-too-quietly.

When Daniel didn't say anything Jack slapped Daniel on the back and said, "Oh, come on boy! This ain't New York! You ain't gonna get anyone to serve you fancy food, gotta take what you can get, and be thankful!";

Daniel just gave Jack a sour look as he tried to stomach the rest of his meal.

"What's that?"; Dorsey shouted over at Jack. "You traveling with a city boy, Jack? Didn't figure you for it!";

There were several laughs all around.

Jack leaned back on his chair's hind legs. He smiled back at the men and said, "Now it ain't that I love city folk, but I just couldn't abide deserting a man out in the middle a no where."; Jack pulled his drink off the table before he added the word, "Naked!";

There were hoots and hollers all around. Jack had to join in once Daniel started blushing bright rosy pink. Once he was able to calm himself down some Jack said, "Now what kind of Christian would I be if I left this boy out there all by his lonesome! Robbed of everything!"; Then a little more quietly he spoke into his cup as he said, "And not a lick of decent work in him.";

"I'm trying,"; Daniel whined. "Not my fault horses don't do what you want them to.";

Jack was surprised that the man could pout like that.

"Boy,"; Jack said leaning into him. "Horses don't read your mind. They're animals. You gotta git them to do what you want.";

Then Jack was called away. Dorsey had a poker game going and they needed a fourth. Jack happily took his drink with him and sat at the table. He changed a half dollar worth of coins and then slowly lost a half dollar worth of coins.

"Damn it to hell!"; Jack cursed as he threw his cards out.

"Looks like this just ain't your night."; Dorsey said as he pulled the pot towards him.

"Or this ain't my game. How about a game of Blackjack? I got,"; Jack dug into a pocket and found a dollar. "To get things moving.";

"You're on,"; Dorsey said as he began to neatly stack his money.

"I'm getting those back,"; Jack said confidently.

"You can try,"; Dorsey shot back.

The game started and Jack saw Daniel lean back in his chair to study the table. Jack hoped that the man was paying close attention to what was happening, how everyone played, and what was being dealt. They had one shot at this. And if Dorsey or if anyone else thought for a second that they were cheating, Jack knew that they'd soon find themselves in a very bad situation.

Jack won the first hand.

Then Jack lost the following four games in a row.

"Yeah."; Dorsey said as he lit a cheroot. "It sure ain't your night."; Dorsey puffed on the end of his cheroot a few times before reclining back.

"We'll see about that,"; Jack said as he stood. "I'll be back in a few minutes.";

"Go get my money, O'Neill. Can't never have too much money.";

Jack stood and said, "You go ahead and keep it nice and warm for me. I'll be back for it in a few minutes.";

Jack turned and walked out of the saloon, leaving Daniel standing there watching.

"Hey, tenderfoot,"; Dorsey said, lounging back. "You play?";

"Ah,"; Daniel said awkwardly. "I've been watching, but no one's formerly explained the rules of the game.";

"It's easy. Sit.";

Gingerly, Daniel pulled the vacant chair out and sat down.

"Object of the game is to get twenty-one. Who ever gets twenty-one or the closest without goin' over wins.";

"I see,"; Daniel said as he watched Dorsey.

"An ace is either one or eleven. Two through ten are face value, and the Jack, Queen, and King are all worth ten. Now,"; Dorsey said pulling his cheroot out of his mouth. "Put some money on the table.";

Daniel reached under his fur and pulled out a gold watch that Jack had given him and put it on the table as he said, "Will this do?";

He wasn't horribly surprised when the others in the game only put down a fraction of what the watch was actually worth.

"This here is a gentleman's game,"; Dorsey explained as the cards were dealt.

Dorsey was dealt two cards valuing ten. Daniel two cards, and ace and a two.

Confidently Dorsey said, "Hit,"; and received what Daniel knew was the last seven in the deck.

Dorsey showed a seventeen.

Daniel had either a three or a thirteen. "Hit,"; he said easily. An eight for twenty-one.

Daniel looked over the pot and found that he'd just made about fifteen dollars. He promptly put the watch away so he wouldn't have to explain that he lost it to Jack.

The next hand went the same and the one after that.

By his third win they'd attracted a great deal of attention from the people in the saloon, who were cheering and egging Dorsey on as he lost his shirt.

A man came in and whispered into Dorsey's ear as the second game was being dealt. Dorsey nodded, pulled a few bills off a pile in front of him and handed them to the man who walked off happily.

"You've played this before,"; the man accused.

"No, sir,"; Daniel said as innocently as possible. "I'm just good with probabilities. Mathematics was a minor of mine in college. This game seems to be based on probability of numerical occurrences as much as it is on chance. I find it fascinating."; He tried to look as wide-eyed as possible.

Dorsey made some sort of a grumbling noise. "Tell you what, tenderfoot. I'll make you a bet that you can't possibly turn down. One hand,"; Dorsey pointed down at the money on the table. "All a yourn against all a mine."; Dorsey pointed to the door with his cheroot. "Out there is a supply wagon that just got in. I'm putt'n it on the table.";

Daniel looked unsure. He desperately wanted to go to the door, open it, and see the wagon before he made any kind of a deal. He didn't trust the man any more than he trusted any of the other smelly, disgusting, greasy, nasty looking men in the saloon. However, he knew that the insult wouldn't go over well.

"Boy,"; Dorsey chastised. "You at least need ta give me a chance ta git my money back. It's only right!";

Daniel nodded slowly and then hesitantly pushed the pile of money forward as he mentally went over the remaining cards in the deck.

~ ~ ~

Jack hid in the darkness of the alley, right where he had told Daniel he would be. Jack was already mounted and held Daniel's horse's reins in his hand. He was ready for a fast escape. Despite the bitter cold and the blowing winds that found their way into the narrow alley his hands still managed to sweat. The leather mitten felt icy and stiff because of it. The howling was growing fiercer and the sky was dark as pitch. It was obvious that a storm was about to come in hard.

As he waited he realized that it was taking too long. Two or three games didn't often take this long. Jack shifted in his seat as he realized that Daniel could be in trouble. Could be? No. He was in trouble. And it was Jack's fault.

He swallowed hard as he stared straight ahead. He had made the decision to dismount and walk back to the saloon when he heard several shots begin to fire.

In the next moment, he saw Daniel drive by the alley in a loaded wagon as he screamed out, "J-a-c-k!";

Jack wasted no time in driving his spurs into his horse's sides. With Daniel's horse weighed down by the travois, he knew they wouldn't be able to go full gallop, but at least they had a better chance of getting away than if Daniel were on the second horse. Still, the wagon wouldn't be able to maintain top speed.

Within three minutes of hard riding he caught up to Daniel's wagon.

"Where'd you steal that?"; Jack shouted over the rushing wind.

"Won it in a game!"; Daniel hollered. After another moment he leaned out and screamed, "We're going to die if they catch us! I counted eight men that were Dorsey's!";

A hard gust of wind kicked up. Even through the warm furs, Jack felt it bite to the marrow in his bones. The snow started within minutes. Before they knew it, they were in the middle of a blizzard. They were forced to slow down as the road grew harder and harder to see.

"Jack,"; Daniel hissed as loudly as he dared, unsure just how close Dorsey's men might be.

Jack leaned over grabbing the edge of the wagon to get closer.

Daniel leaned towards him and grabbed Jack's fur to say, "We have to get off this road and find some place to ride this storm out or we'll die.";

Jack only nodded and then rode out to take point. They veered off the main road and headed off into the trees. As he looked back at his tracks in the fresh powdered snow he realized that there was no danger of being followed, the snow was now falling far too quickly. All proof of where they'd gone would be erased in minutes.

Within a five minute ride into the scrub pine and the murky shadows Jack thought that he saw something. Perhaps irregular shadows cast by a full moon surrounded by too many black clouds created the illusion? Perhaps there was just something about the place beyond the trees? Perhaps it was instinct? Or perhaps it was just dumb luck?

Jack rode his horse towards the shadowy place just a hundred yards or so ahead of him. He maneuvered his horse through the trees until he could clearly see a rock formation. He smiled. If they could find a nice dark nook they might be able to ride out the storm. They just needed a safe enough place for a few hours.

As Jack got closer he realized that the shadows weren't just shadows, they were the dark maw of a cave. When close enough he dismounted his horse and went forward to check it out. The opening of the cave looked about big enough to take the wagon. At the back he found a narrow passage that seemed to go back farther, but without light he didn't go far into it. Something inside told him not to waste time and to fetch Daniel right away. He often found that it was a bad idea to disobey that instinct when it spoke to him, so he didn't.

On his way back to Daniel, Jack tried to find a path that would take the wagon from its current position to the cave. He rode in circles until he worked out a route. There would be a bit of a trouble getting the wagon past an awkward ditch that took up most of the path, luckily, by the time he got back to Daniel the man had already taken down the wagon's white canvas top. With a lot of pushing and encouraging of the wagon horses they managed to get it all the way to the cave.

"Help me turn it around,"; Jack hissed. "We need to be ready to ride straight out come morning.";

Daniel saw the logic in that. He knew they would need to leave as quickly as possible once day broke.

They turned the horses away from the cave and then backed them up slowly. Just as the wagon was about to cover the entrance Daniel stopped and began to unhitch the horses.

"Daniel,"; Jack hissed. "There's barely enough room for us.";

"Fine."; Daniel said. "We have skins. We can keep each other warm. We need the horses alive come morning.";

Daniel led the wagon horses inside. He took the saddle off of Jack's horse and threw it on top of the wagon before letting Jack's horse go into the cave. Daniel unsaddled his own horse and then watched his horse walk into the cave without encouragement.

"I'm going to see how much room is left."; Daniel said quietly before disappearing inside.

He walked with his hands forward. He could smell the horses, but he couldn't see them. When his hands hit a wall he continued to feel along until he found an opening. He heard one of the horses whinny. He slipped into the narrow opening and continued forward until he found an outlet into a larger room. In total darkness he had to rely on his other senses.

"Horse,"; he said out loud. The sound that came back told him that it was a fair sized room.

Daniel smiled and went back to Jack.

As they pushed the wagon into the cave Daniel grunted out about the cave toward the back. Once the wagon was in as far as it would go, Daniel turned to Jack and said, "See if there are any lamps in the wagon. I'll be back soon.";

Daniel walked off into the trees and worked until the wagon tracks were covered over. When he got back to the cave he offered up a prayer and pulled up several small bushes, roots and all. He smoothed over the ground leaving it as undisturbed as possible. He brought the bushes back, loosened the ground and planted them in an irregular pattern; just enough to hide what might attract the people following them.

With that Daniel slid between the wagon and the wall. As he felt along, he found several of their furs piled on the wagon. Daniel grabbed a handful and pulled them along as he continued until he found the narrow passage at back. Suddenly, a light blazed inside. Though weak and small, it seemed horribly bright in the darkness of the cave. Daniel moved faster until he was out at the other end. He pulled up a fur and quickly covered the opening. He tucked the fur into several crevices until he was sure that the fur wouldn't get blown in by the sharp winds and that the light wouldn't get through and giveaway their position.

Once that was done, he breathed in relaxing a little. Jack was setting a small oil lamp to one side on a flat rock. He'd dragged in their bedrolls, more furs, and a big wooden box filled with food.

"You did good Danny,"; Jack said happily.

Daniel couldn't help the smile as he picked up the furs he had dragged in. He took them to where the horses were all huddled together off to the other side of the cave. Daniel unfurled a fur for each of the four horses and carefully draped a fur over each.

"You all did very well my friends,"; Daniel told them.

He took the time to stop with the two new arrivals and gently blow into their nostrils as he spoke with them.

In no time Jack was at his side with a bowl, a water skin, and a bag of oats. Each horse was offered a bowl of oats and water.

"You're all very brave."; Daniel said. "Tonight you all need to rest. Tomorrow we will need your strength again.";

When the horses were bedded down, for the evening the men set about making their own camp. They set their bedrolls down next to each other and settled down so they could pile furs on top.

CHAPTER 11 – CHANGE ON THE WIND

They had intended to leave early the next morning, but the blizzard didn't let up. Worse still it blew mercilessly until the snow piled up and covered the entrance where the wagon was. Jack actually laughed when he saw the white ice formed over the entrance. A weak light from outside could be seen gleaming through it, but the wind from outside could vividly be heard howling passed as the blizzard continued.

He only bothered to pierce the protective shell just enough at the very top to allow fresh air to ventilate the area. Then he turned and went back to bed. At least he had Daniel to keep him warm there.

The hours passed slowly. They had plenty of oil, food, and water but the seemingly never ending storm began to take its toll in terms of boredom. Daniel was sewing a pair of furry britches for Jack. Daniel knew that the man was still having trouble with his knee and shoulder, though he wasn't complaining about it. But once they left the cave, Daniel knew that the sharp winds would make Jack sorry he ever got out of bed. Jack in the mean time had broken a wooden piece off the box that held their food and was busy hacking away at it. Hard, sharp, impatient flicks from his knife sent slivers of wood flying in every direction.

"What's wrong?"; Daniel asked.

"Nothing,"; Jack said mulishly.

Jack flicked his knife again. A piece of wood went flying straight up and landed on the fur that Daniel was trying to sew.

Daniel picked the wooden sliver and threw it away as he said, "I ask again, what's wrong?";

Jack dropped the knife and the wood this time as he said, "I'm bored.";

"You have a lot of wood there, Jack."; Daniel said gesturing to the wooden box.

"I don't want to whittle.";

"Eat something.";

"Not hungry.";

"Well, then why don't you take a nap?";

"I'm not tired.";

"Then I don't know what to tell you,"; Daniel said as he turned his attention back to the stitching.

"Why don't we talk?"; Jack finally suggested.

"Go ahead,"; Daniel said absently as he continued his work.

As Jack thought about it he realized that he didn't know what to talk about, and then it suddenly came to him.

"Have you ever been married?";

"No.";

"To a woman or to a man?"; Jack suggested.

"Neither.";

Jack thought about it and then asked, "Why?";

Daniel looked up and then said, "I was too young for marriage when I was kidnapped from my people. My uncle wanted to wait at least another two years before he'd accept any proposal for me.";

"You had proposals?";

Daniel looked up and nodded. "My uncle and aunts would get angry. There were a few men that brought horses with them when they talked to my uncle. He just told them that I was too young and to get away from his home. I was only about fifteen at the time; I guess they were afraid that there would be rumors.";

"How many proposals?";

"Um,"; Daniel said thinking back, "I don't know. Fifteen, twenty. Something like that.";

"You got twenty proposals?"; Jack asked incredulously. "You must have been something really amazing.";

Daniel met Jack's eyes and said, "My hair's darker right now because I've been indoors for so long. When I'm in sunlight a great deal my hair bleaches. My skin darkens to the color of dark honey. White wives are prizes; my uncle could have gotten as many as twenty ponies for me if he'd wanted.";

Jack suddenly felt rather uncomfortable.

Daniel jabbed the needle through the fur. "When I was at the whorehouse I couldn't go outside without getting hurt, or being degraded. It was just safer to stay inside. Being away from nature took a great deal from me. Beauty...it doesn't matter. I agree with my aunt, it fades like spring. But being locked up like that took my spirit as well; that was hard.";

"So you were kidnapped by soldiers and taken away from your people, but how did you end up a Doctor of anthropology?";

"The whites discovered that I was white. I knew how to speak English, but I didn't try until they told me that they knew my grandfather. My father had spoken of him. And I wanted to see him, my last and only blood relative, so badly that I went.";

"Was he cruel?"; Jack asked with a bit of dread for that little boy.

"No. Worse. He was indifferent. At first he tried to beat the Kiowas out of me, but when he realized that I wouldn't cry, scream, or make a sound he tried reason. He convinced me that my father wanted for me to follow in his footsteps. All I wanted was to make my grandfather happy.";

"So he educated you?";

"No. He sent me away in the name of educating me. I couldn't understand why. There were schools near his home. They were just as foreign as the schools that he sent me to."; Daniel tied off the sinew and secured it tightly before reaching for another to string through the bone needle's eye. "I hated every day that I was there, but I studied because it was what my father and grandfather wanted. I wrote every day. I wrote telling him to please forgive me and send for me. I told him that I would behave if he sent for me. After a few months I realized that he wouldn't come to get me, so I began sending letters telling him that I was fine, to not worry. I went from sending letters daily, to weekly, and then only monthly.";

Daniel threaded the needle and then picked up the fur to finish the seam that he'd been working on. "I graduated far earlier than he had ever anticipated. I went to my grandfather's home and all I found there was a slave. She showed me his drawing room and the piles of unopened letters on his desk. My grandfather had opened one letter, gotten upset, and then hadn't bothered to open any others. I was told that he'd left for a place called Denver quite some years ago.

Daniel smoothed out the fur in his hands. "That's when I decided that I was going to go home.";

"No wonder you hate him.";

"I don't understand him,"; Daniel explained. "Family is everything, at least that's what I was taught. A person does everything for family. They are all a person really has. This is why I can't understand a man who can throw family away.";

"Sometimes there are reasons."; Jack offered.

"Not that I understand."; Daniel spoke before he realized what he'd said.

He turned and found a sour look on Jack's face.

"I'm sorry."; Daniel said gently.

"No,"; Jack mumbled. "Don't apologize to me.";

"You don't deserve pain, Jack.";

"Really?"; Jack sounded dejected. "What do I deserve?";

Daniel had no answer for him. Instead, he offered up the fur in his hands. "I'd appreciate it if you'd try this on. I need to see if it fits.";

"I'm comfortable."; Jack griped.

"Then you don't want to wear these nice warm britches when we leave here and walk out into the snow?";

It only took a few seconds for Jack to get out from under the fur pile.

Daniel had one side done. The other leg still had to be fitted and adjusted. Daniel pulled the unfinished things up and told Jack to hold the waist up.

"Spread your legs a little."; Daniel said as he checked the inseam.

He crouched down and realized that he needed to hem the legs about an inch on either side. He came up the right leg slowly, checking to make sure that he didn't need to piece another strip of fur anywhere, and that he didn't need to cut anything away. As he neared the waist he found two things: his eyed measurement of Jack had been just about right, and Jack was visibly erect.

Daniel pulled on the furry waist and pulled the trousers down. Jack was stiff, his eyes were shut, and it was obvious that he was trying to will his arousal away. And yet he didn't push Daniel's hands away as he worked the buttons on Jack's jeans. With the skill that he'd mastered, Daniel took the swollen member into his mouth. He instantly tasted the bitterness of sweat and urine in his mouth; the smell of a healthy but unbathed male dominated his senses above the lingering stench of horse and horse shit.

Daniel sucked hard as he pulled his head away. Twisting and altering each pull on the man, he carefully worked his tongue and hands at the task until Jack was pumping hard into Daniel's mouth. Daniel concentrated on relaxing his throat and breathing as his instincts took over the rest of his undertaking. It didn't take long for the heavy panting and hungry gasps coming from the man's throat to give way to the hot seed that poured into Daniel's mouth. He took it all in as he pulled away until he'd milked Jack dry of the thick bitter liquid.

Daniel helped the weak man down onto the furs. He pulled up Jack's jeans and buttoned them before pulling the furs up over him. Then Daniel turned to face an empty corner and spit out hard enough to send the discharge away from him. He wiped his mouth and then settled back down onto the furs.

He had sewing to finish.

CHAPTER 12 - WINTER'S PASSING

"This would have happened about three summers ago. The woman is white. She has bright gold hair, blue eyes, and her son does too. She's seen twenty eight years. She has a scar on her upper right arm from a bad fall when she was a girl; it cut straight up her arm."; Daniel said indicating on his arm. "She's very quiet and mild. The boy was seven summers old but tall for his age. He may have looked closer to nine, by now he's thirteen and probably very tall. He's strong-willed, laughs a great deal; he has the makings of a great warrior in him.";

The tribal chief smoked with a thoughtful look on his face as he considered Daniel's description. The lesser chiefs at his side looked doubtful, several even shook their heads.

It had taken him several hours to convince the men that they were on a peaceful mission, that they sought no vengeance, or retaliation. All they wanted was to find the woman and the boy and pay for their release, or to buy their bodies for burial. In order to convince them that he spoke the truth, Daniel had to tell them who he was and where he'd lived. He had to show the chiefs his tattoos, tell his stories, and prove to their satisfaction what he was; just like he'd been doing at every stop along the way.

When the chief finally spoke it was to say, "Most of the slaves that are brought to us for trade come from the west not from the east.";

"I understand."; Daniel said, it had been the same in his own tribe. "But have there been any rumors or offers? Sometimes gossip comes even this far west. Have you heard anything in any of your travels?";

~ ~ ~

They were fortunate this time; the tribe's chief was kind enough to offer them the safety of their village in which to camp for the night. Usually they were accepted as warmly as the weather and then sent away the moment Daniel was done talking. Whatever Daniel had said, it had obviously made some sort of an impression, because the chief even offered them a tepee in which to take shelter. Yet given all the gifts that Daniel had given the village, Jack thought it was a bit pricy for a night in a drafty leather tent. But Daniel was happy. At least, in the very least, Jack knew that there would be peace and quiet for the evening and during the travel to the next village...however long that might take.

As he walked through the village, he wrapped the fur tighter around his shoulders. The people of the village might not mind Daniel...a white Kiowas, but they were sure as hell not giving Jack an inch. He didn't blame them much, even if they were being obvious about watching him. The two guys that followed him were blatant. They kept a good distance, but wherever Jack went so did they.

He stood by the frozen river watching the children playing on the ice. Daniel had called it training; that in learning to withstand low temperatures the children were learning survival under any conditions. Jack called it insane. It was freezing cold in the dead of winter and there were children playing half-naked and shoeless chasing each other around on the solid ice. Toddlers sat on skins in the center of the frozen river as their siblings watched over them. And yet none of them seemed to mind.

Jack walked away still amazed that any child could survive that kind of weather without at least a pair of moccasins. Jack reached down and rubbed his knee. The cold had seeped in seemingly weeks ago, well before the winter had even begun. No matter how hard he tried to keep his leg moving the stiffness just wasn't leaving him. He turned towards the tepee that he and Daniel were sharing for the night. He knew that he wanted a rub down; and whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not, he also wanted the other nice gestures that Daniel offered him every night.

Outside he called, "Daniel, I'm coming in.";

"Wait!"; Daniel shouted quickly.

Jack waited until he heard, "Alright"; so that he could open the flap quickly and duck inside.

He found Daniel adjusting his pants as he stood in front of a tightly woven basket filled with steaming water.

"You're next,"; Daniel said as he knelt down in front of the basket and continued to bathe.

"Hell no,"; Jack said as he secured the tepee's flap before stiffly walking to and lowering himself down onto a thick fur lined bed. In the place where a headboard would have stood there was a wonderful high backrest upon which the bed's fur extended and draped. Jack had quickly found that he enjoyed the simple comfort of the thing and had already asked Daniel to trade for one so that he could have one on the trip.

Daniel splashed the water up over his head and washed his hair with something that smelled of herbs. When he came up he used a big piece of linen to dry his body before dressing completely. As he did Daniel said, "You'll bathe. You stink.";

"Too cold,"; Jack said stubbornly.

"Is it too cold to eat?";

Jack looked up at Daniel and asked, "Is that supposed to be some sort of a threat?";

"No,"; Daniel said quickly. "I'm just sure that you're a very capable man. Fully capable of cooking your own meals, washing your own clothes, and all the other things that I usually do for you, after all you do have two hands-"

"Alright,"; Jack growled. "I get it.";

"You stink,"; Daniel stated. "You need a bath. I'm not putting anything of yours in my mouth until it's clean,"; Daniel said as he stoked the fire under the warming pot. "And just so we are clear, that was a threat. The water in the basket is still warm and I'll have more for you in a few minutes. Take your clothes off.";

Jack realized in that instance that whatever control he might have thought that he had over his slave was sadly in underestimation of the kind of control that his slave seemed to have over him. As he took his clothes off and did as he was told, Jack wondered when it had all gone wrong.

~ ~ ~

Jack didn't have to ever request, and Daniel didn't ask or protest. Daniel just made him feel better every night. Jack just came to consider it another bonus of having Daniel around. He made the aches and pains go away and made the trip easier to bear. For a little while, at least, Jack felt his body relax and his spirit soar. Then, if he was really lucky, his dreams would be empty and void of images. Those black dreams of the war would be gone. The dead and dying wouldn't reach out screaming for him, and he wouldn't see full-color images of his child pleading for him amid blood and chaos.

But he wasn't thinking about dreamless sleep as Daniel pushed his knees farther apart so that he could get down deeper. Under the blankets he couldn't see what Daniel was doing. More than not it drove him to the point of insanity because he could feel so many things happening at once until his skin felt as if it was on fire. Jack forgot how much his knees hurt as he offered himself up willingly and all too happily. Daniel's tongue finished another pass swirling around the sensitive glands under his penis before kissing and laving his way down to pay special attention to the soft hairy sacks just below. Jack mindlessly grabbed a handful of the fur underneath him and cruelly twisted and pulled as that creative mouth ruthlessly attacked. Daniel had steadily over the past few weeks learnt how to draw out the wildest and loudest reactions from Jack. This experience was no different.

As Daniel altered between sucking and nipping lightly with his teeth, his finger tips were drawing lightly along the inside of Jack's splayed thighs. When he was nuzzling and sucking gently on his balls Daniel's hands were stroking and working the swollen head of his penis. By the time Daniel found his way lower, Jack was panting hard and ready to scream out for release. Daniel quickly licked his way down even farther and tenderly penetrated him with his tongue. If Jack hadn't felt that hot tongue follow a trail down he might have wondered what had been happening. Jack didn't feel himself screaming, all he felt was Daniel's tongue slowly fucking him. He felt the surge take him hard and fast into the back of his mind as waves of bliss overpowered him, and then nothing.

The sound of voices woke Jack. He was happy but his body felt completely drained. He looked around for Daniel and found that the tepee was empty. The fire had burnt down to a pile of glowing embers. He could smell dinner; some sort of stew from the smell of it, was hanging over the fire in a pot, and, even better, he smelled bread. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the small area. Jack himself was warm and comfortable; the tepee was warm. But where was Daniel?

As he concentrated on the softly spoken nearby voices, he quickly recognized Daniel's murmurs. Jack couldn't understand a word that was being said, but he knew that it was Daniel. Then the two voices trailed off into quiet.

Jack stretched out lazily and yawned at his leisure before curling up happily under the furs. Nothing hurt, he was clean, he'd gotten a little fun, and now there was bread. As far as he was concerned this was one of the better days that he'd had in months.

When the tepee flap opened, the cold air swept in slicing over Jack's skin. He growled and then drew the fur over his head. When he looked up, Daniel was securing the flap to the tepee's frame with leather thongs. Jack rolled over onto his back and waited. He didn't feel like getting up. They didn't have to leave until the next morning and there was warm bread coming. He didn't want to move far; dinner would just have to come to him.

Jack didn't become concerned until he looked over at Daniel. He was going to ask what kind of bread it was that they were having for dinner, but the question died in his throat. Daniel's face was tense and his eyes were moist with unshed tears.

"What's wrong?"; Jack asked as he sat up and pushed himself back to the back support.

"Nothing,"; Daniel said managing a weak smile. "Dinner's ready if you're hungry. I made a yeast bread. I found some red cloth among the things from the wagon. The women here really wanted it. They traded root vegetables and pemmican for it. I think I have enough to keep us through the winter. My aunts used to unravel cloth, especially if it had colors in it. They'd weave such beautiful things.";

Jack studied Daniel; his face, his posture, even presence. All of it vibrated tension and unhappiness.

Jack felt a nervous laugh rise up out of him. He wiped his face. "Please tell me that we didn't do something stupid and are going to get killed in our sleep?";

"No,"; Daniel said seriously. "We're still guests in good standing with our hosts."; With those words Daniel seemed to deflate. The façade that he'd put on for Jack's benefit cracked and fell away.

"It has nothing to do with the village."; Daniel said slowly. Daniel moved to the fire and stirred the stew as he said, "One of the lesser chiefs came to see me.";

"You,"; Jack repeated as he watched Daniel fidget with dishes and food.

Daniel swallowed hard before saying, "He asked if you'd be willing to part with me. He is willing to pay a great deal.";

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "And you said?";

Daniel pulled the cloth off of the smoking-hot bread that he slid out of the Dutch oven. He sliced off a thick piece as he said, "I told him that I wouldn't make a good wife and that I had made you a promise to stay.";

Daniel brought Jack his food without looking into his face. In fact, Daniel looked at everything but Jack.

"Daniel-"

"I'm fine."; Daniel said quickly as he went back to his place by the small fire.

~ ~ ~

It was a few days later as they camped at the base of a wooded outcrop to protect them from the wind sheer that Jack's fears reached a crescendo. All day Daniel had been unusually quiet and fidgety. He just didn't seem to be able to get comfortable inside of his own skin as he went about his business. Jack flipped over and tried to settle down into the warm bed that Daniel had made for him.

The nook that they found in the rock was the spot that offered any protection at all from the wind: it was immediately given to the horses. Covered in their winter furs, the animals huddled together for warmth, while Jack stood in the snow trying to figure out what Daniel was doing. At first Jack couldn't make heads or tails of it. The winter storms had progressed to their worst. Instead of huddling next to Jack and trying to keep each other warm through what looked liked a harsh day, Daniel started digging into the frozen ground.

Jack quickly gave up and helped Daniel dig the shallow pit. Long and rather wide, Jack knew that it wouldn't go any deeper since the ground was frozen almost completely solid.

"Daniel! I'm cold!"; Jack yelled above the frigid wind.

"Go get the firewood!"; Daniel shouted back.

Begrudgingly, Jack did as he was told. And then he watched Daniel burn all of their wood at once. The fire was nice for the moment but Jack knew that it wouldn't last. As he enjoyed the fire Jack watched in confusion as Daniel took apart the travois and tore off a few slats of wood from the wagon. Once the fire had burnt down Daniel scattered the glowing embers across the shallow pit and began to lay out the long poles from the travois across the pit. The slats of wood were then laid horizontally forming a bed of sorts. One of the furs that they'd been using to protect themselves from the frozen ground all winter was laid across the bed and then their bed rolls were laid out over the whole thing.

"Lay down,"; Daniel yelled.

Jack complied. Daniel stretched out next to him. They pulled the blankets and furs over themselves and then settled down onto their bedrolls. As the evening's storm progressed it went rather unnoticed by the two men as the warmth under them radiated up keeping their bedrolls, and them, warm.

And yet Jack couldn't sleep. He should have, but he couldn't. He turned over onto his side and tried to find a comfortable place, but his mind wouldn't let him close his eyes. The bed frame that Daniel had made for them was solid, but he knew that he was keeping Daniel up with his restlessness.

Jack closed his eyes. Breathed in the cold crisp air and tried his damnedest to hold still.

A warm hand came to settle on his chest. Jack turned his head to face its owner and found that Daniel had turned on his side to face Jack.

"Do you want to talk about what's been eating away at you?";

Jack jerked his head into a firm, unspoken, 'no.'

"This has been building up for a while now,"; Daniel said patiently. "I know you like to keep emotions to yourself, but I think I should point out that in the months that we've been traveling together, you've never had a problem falling asleep. Whatever this is, it's getting worse.";

Jack just stared up at the murky sky. It looked confused and unfocused. It was the middle of the night, and the winter winds were blowing. Not quite dark, but not really daylight. The skies were just seemed mystified as if they really didn't know what they were meant to be doing.

Jack stared up for a long while as he tried to find the words. In the end he decided that he didn't understand his own mind, or how to phrase it. Even if he tried, he'd probably sound like an idiot anyway so why bother?

"Do you want me to help?"; Daniel said.

"Can't see how?";

"You started having trouble sleeping the night we stayed with the People of the Wind."; Daniel moved over slowly and snuggled up next to Jack offering his body heat. "I thought it was because you'd napped earlier that day, but the truth is that you haven't been sleeping well since.";

Daniel paused and studied Jack's profile as he tried to think of the gentlest way to say what he was going through his mind.

"I'm pretty sure that you're upset. Anger has a way of just vibrating off you."; Finally, Daniel said, "The way I see it, it's one of two things. Either you're upset because of what I did to you that evening when I was-"

"No,"; Jack said quickly as he lifted his head to look at Daniel's worried face.

Jack had been wondering why Daniel had been holding back lately. Jack had been distracted but it was obvious that Daniel had started being conservative when they were in their bedrolls. He wasn't sure what to say or how to fix it. He wanted to tell Daniel that he'd loved having Daniel's tongue inside of him, that it was the most shaking orgasm that he'd had in years but the words failed. Instead, all Jack was able to say was another wilted, "No.";

"Then,"; Daniel said, letting some of the tension leave his body as he expelled a stiff breath that he hadn't been aware that he'd been holding. "You're upset over the other thing.";

Jack looked back up at the purple, blue, pink sky. It was almost other worldly in its arrangement, as if it belonged on another planet.

After a long moment of contemplation Jack was able to say, "You were tempted to stay.";

Daniel said nothing at first.

To the silence Jack said, "I don't have anything to give you. Nothing to offer...Nothing.";

There were tears in Daniel's voice when he said, "I was offered a comfortable position in a relatively wealthy village. He wanted to make me his wife. The wife of a chief, even a lesser chief, holds respect. My uncle was Onde. That means that he was basically a noblemen and a lesser chief, a well known warrior with great honor in our nation. I would have been getting back something that I haven't had in my life in a long time; of course I was tempted.";

The silence became thick. The howling of the wind over the barrenness around them only added to the tension.

"Unlike what your people think, I was raised to believe that good people are chaste, hard-working, and pious. Eventually, I would have shamed that man. I wouldn't make a good wife for anyone.";

Daniel swallowed hard. Those were hard words to hear and even harder to acknowledge, but he knew that he spoke the truth. Truth that was of true value was often hard to hear, but necessary.

As if to make himself feel better he reasoned that, "Besides, I'm on a path that I can't stray from. If I had stayed, I might have been tempted to never finish. My place is with you. When this is over...I will return back to my path. I'll finish the circle at last.";

Jack looked at his companion again. "You're always so cryptic about your path. What is the circle?";

Daniel turned his face down into his bedroll and was quiet for a long time. He turned away from Jack and pulled the furs up his chin.

Jack leaned over him and asked, "You'll stay?";

"Yes,"; Daniel said without hesitation.

Jack slid down pressing his body against Daniel's and wrapped his arms around him as pressed his cold face into Daniel's neck. Daniel didn't complain, though he did shiver. Jack pulled the furs over their heads and promptly fell asleep.

CHAPTER 13 – FROM ONE TO ANOTHER

The worst of the storms had passed. The snow was still high enough to slow their progress on the way from yet another winter camp. As was becoming the usual, Daniel had spoken with the villagers while Jack kept his mouth shut and waited. The closer they went into the heart of the plains, the colder the reception from the camps were. Occasionally, they met with people willing to trade this or that, but the warm hospitality that Daniel had often spoken about was worn so thin these days that Jack considered themselves lucky that they hadn't been attacked. The villages had been hard pressed by the encroaching settlers, and hard soldiers. More and more Jack saw haggard faces worn by strife and hunger.

From personal experience, Jack knew that the soldiers were under strict orders to protect miners and settlers at all costs from the threat of savages that would raid and kill without regard. There were standing orders to kill savages and the buffalo that was their main food supply. 'If they aren't dead then they have to go to reservations,' his General had said. They'd seemed like reasonable orders at the time, but now Jack wasn't so sure about the methods or the intended results.

Over the past four and a half months they'd visited twenty-two small winter camps. As Daniel explained it, villages would often separate into smaller camps in order to better survive the winter and then rejoin come spring. Without their actually planning it, Daniel had begun to carry news from one camp to another along their journey. It seemed to be one of the main reasons why they were often allowed to stay long enough to speak with anyone about their search. Twenty-two times in a row they'd received nothing helpful from the people that they'd questioned.

~ ~ ~

They'd taken the wagon apart well over a month ago and transferred the belongings onto two travois that the wagon horses would be able to drag much more efficiently. The bulky wagon had kept getting stuck over the unpredictable terrain. They'd gone through a good deal of their supplies over the course of the long winter and there was no need for the wagon any longer. Daniel gave the wagon away to the village that they'd been visiting at the time, even if it was just for firewood. Then he set about sorting the contents for the new travois. Daniel broke up as many of the crates as he could and piled them up for firewood as Jack sorted their remaining food into neat bundles to place in the travois cages and saddlebags. They kept the wagon wheels, a lamp, all the food and oil, the few blankets that they'd taken to using, and a few of the cooking pots. Everything else was placed in the second travois to be traded as an opportunity arose.

In sorting the wagon contents, Daniel had found a hand mirror with a matching silver-handled hair brush. He put it aside in hopes that they'd find someone who'd give a good price for it. Two weeks later they spotted something large on the horizon. Daniel began to get uncomfortable the moment he saw the wagon canvas's sailing over the horse figures.

"Calm down,"; Jack said gently as he moved his horse forward.

Daniel sighed and then allowed his horse to fall back a bit behind Jack's. Usually, Daniel took lead but the given circumstances had just flipped.

"You handle your people and I'll handle mine. Just do what I usually do: try not to say much, try not to look threatening, and let me do the talking.";

Daniel had to smile at Jack's words. Jack even looked back and winked at Daniel with a smile of his own.

The figure on the horizon turned out to be a wagon train with ten wagons, horses, oxen, and piles upon piles of things on each wagon.

The lead horse rode up close enough for them to see that he held a rifle. The rider howled out a, "Ho!";

"Hello!"; Jack said holding out a hand. "We have things to trade if you're interested!";

The rider pulled his scarf away from his face and smiled before riding closer. He looked both men over carefully. "Though you might be savages there for a minute.";

"Sometimes,"; Jack said with a smile as he pulled his furry hat back so the man could see his face. "Today we're just business men. You have anything to trade? We ran out of coffee, sugar, and flour months ago. We've got buffalo skins and dry meat for trade.";

The rider smiled. "Well then Mr.?";

"O'Neill, Jack O'Neill This is my associate Mr. Jackson.";

"The names O'Shea."; The man settled back in his saddle with a smiler on his face. "Looks like we may be able to do business, Mr. O'Neill. I always like doing business with a fellow Irishman.";

"It's a might early in the season for you to be traveling so far from civilization, isn't it Mr. O'Shea? The wagons don't usually start for another two months; the prairies are prone to early spring storms.";

"We weren't welcome at the town where we were passing the winter. It was time to move on."; The man said simply.

O'Neill simply nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Whether it was because they were Irish or trouble makers, it made no difference to him.

O'Shea's wife had immediately liked the mirror and brush. Jack traded them for half a bag of coffee, a wheel of cheese, half a bag of flour, and a bucket of fresh milk from one of the O'Shea cows. The wagons circled and camp was made for the night. Daniel didn't say anything when Jack asked to bunk down and share the safety of the O'Shea camp; even though Daniel didn't believe that it was either safe or a good idea.

Jack and O'Shea sat down and began talking almost immediately as the women went about setting up camp. Jack was introduced to his five married sons, and a handful of miscellaneous poor relations that were tagging along for the trip out west. The pleasantries lasted long enough to become ridiculous. As he listened politely to O'Shea, laughing when it was expected, Jack suddenly remembered why his father had always complained that he was far too quiet to actually be an Irishman.

Daniel had set about making their camp and fixing dinner when he started to notice some of the odd looks from the O'Shea camp. Both the men and women seemed to be glancing over at him more than once. Daniel kept his eyes down and decided that he didn't care what they were thinking or wanting to believe. So long as he was left alone he'd be happy. He'd had enough of whites and their odd ideas to last him a lifetime.

Daniel soaked dried prairie turnips for a stew and made hot tea for the mean time. He knew how cold Jack got in the evenings. He mixed the tea with scalded milk and poured it into a covered wooden bowl for Jack.

Jack was sitting by the O'Shea camp laughing and conversing easily with the travelers. Daniel didn't bother to look at anyone or speak as he approached. He crouched down only long enough to offer the brew to Jack and then left. He noticed that everyone seemed to quiet down while he was there, and then the conversation picked up again.

"Your companion doesn't say much,"; O'Shea said completely redirecting the conversation in the middle of his own story.

Jack looked up from sipping his warm creamy tea as he considered how to reply. He settled for just saying, "He'll speak if I tell him to.";

"Tell? Not ask?";

The other O'Shea's were suddenly quiet as they listened to the new turn in the conversation.

"Are you an Abolitionist, sir?"; Jack asked cautiously as he took another draft from his steaming bowl before replacing the wooden lid.

O'Shea laughed. "No,"; the man said gregariously, "I'm a displaced landlord looking for a new kingdom to rule over. I've had servants of my own.";

"Daniel isn't a servant; he's my slave."; Jack said easily. He'd seen some of the looks thrown towards Daniel. Without intending to, Daniel did look wild, beautiful, and haunting in the environment that he was born to. Wrapped in skins with his long burnished hair whipping around him, he'd attracted more than a look or two along the way. And Jack had no wish to dissuade another potential suitor.

"I thought this country didn't allow that anymore, sir?";

"It doesn't. But in this territory you either bring your own law with you or you make it up as you go along.";

Jack removed the lid and sipped quickly wanting to gulp down the rest of the tea before it grew cold.

As he walked away, Daniel contemplated that he had better things to do then sit around and worry over what a bunch of peasants thought of him; he had a dinner to put together. He grabbed on of the parafleche's containing the ground dried meat and opened it. He threw a handful into the boiling water. As it reconstituted and expanded, he added some of the fresh milk and flour to it. Then he set about searching through the food that he had left to augment the meal until he had something decent to present to Jack.

Jack tried to be a good guest. He didn't particularly care for O'Shea or his snobbish ways with his own family. The man seemed determined to dominate over all of them with a sharp temper and a demanding tone.

The only highlight in the evening was when O'Shea's wife offered him a slice of the bread that she had baked. Jack looked in the basket that she offered him and he politely asked, "May I have two slices?";

She nodded and he took them. He dropped a slice in Daniel's bowl and continued to eat his dinner.

As the evening progressed, he made up his mind that they would leave come first light.

That decision was cemented in his mind when Jack had off-handedly told the clan that he had been a soldier and had met Indians in combat and one of O'Shea's grown sons stood up to say, "I want to fight them too. I want to kill at least five of them and bring back their scalps as prizes.";

There was a bit of kidding around from his brothers, as Jack realized that Daniel had stiffened at his side.

"Boy,"; Jack said somberly, "your da has been more than kind to have us in his camp. So I'm going to do your da a service by telling you that if you keep thinking like that you're going to leave a real young widow behind. As a man that's had to live with his son's death for three years I can't even begin to tell you the harm you're going to do to your parents.";

Jack wasn't surprised when the younger man stood with a furious look on his face. O'Neill stood slowly and menacingly. He was older by at least twenty years, but the man had size on his side.

"Sit!"; The O'Shea commanded. "This man is my guest, and you'll put your arse back down or I'll put it there!";

The O'Shea boy looked unsure and reluctantly sat; he kept an angry eye on Jack though.

"Let me tell you a story."; Jack said smoothly to the young man as he found his own seat. "I hadn't seen my family for the better part of two years. When the war ended I went home for a week. Then I got sent out here. I was here for three more years before I was able to convince my wife that our son was old and strong enough to survive the trip. I had to convince her that the trails were safe and that there were no uprisings with the Indians.

"She finally came. I rode out for two weeks to meet her on the trail, but when I encountered the wagon train the Wagon Master informed me that my family was dead."; Stiffly Jack said, "Reasonably, I was upset. There was a parson's wife on a wagon that was very upset about Sara's death. She was a God fearing woman, I believed her when she said that my wife had fallen off a wagon holding onto my boy and that the Wagon Master had refused to go back for them.

"So at gun-point I made him take me back to the place where he claimed that my family was buried. I tied him to a tree and then dug up the bodies of twelve dead people. Sara was a blonde; my son was blonde. The only child in that grave was too short and had dark hair. They weren't there. I cut him with a knife and let 'em bleed until scavengers came for him.

"The man that lost and was responsible for my family's deaths is now dead. There are three morals of to this story, boy. One: don't ever start something you aren't willing to carry through to the end. Two: if you go out and do something stupid you will end up in a bad way. Three: this land is hard, cruel, and heartless and it won't go easy on anyone. And don't you ever forget that.";

"Is that why you left the army, Mr. O'Neill?"; O'Shea said.

"I left to find them."; Jack hesitated but he finally said, "My wife and son are dead. I know it. We've searched long enough that I know that I'm looking for remains not people.";

"But there's always hope,"; the man said helpfully.

"My wife was very beautiful, sir. If there's anything that I've learnt in my time with Daniel is that white slaves are a valuable commodity in this land. A woman like Sara would have sold for a great deal. Only a very powerful chieftain would have been able to afford her; and a sale like that would have attracted a lot of attention. No news like that has ever been spoken among the tribes that we've visited.";

"But the savages might not-"

"We've been to thirty-five winter camps in the last months. We're working our way to the heart of the territory of the villages that Daniel thinks might have been responsible for the attack. All I hope is to find out how they really died and whether or not they were buried. I want to mourn them and bury them, even if it's only in my own mind.";

As the evening progressed Daniel found O'Shea about as intolerable as Dorsey had been, although for different reasons. He grew bored with the conversation. It was derived from the white view and that point-of-view dominated the conversation until he wanted to scream. Finally, he leaned towards Jack and asked if it would be rude of him if he were to go to bed. Jack only jerked his head towards their camp and continued with what he was saying to O'Shea.

Daniel gathered their bowls and walked off to finish the nightly chores so he could get to sleep. As usual he fed the horses, saw to their comfort, and then pulled out the bedrolls. The night was actually much warmer than he had grown accustomed to. Daniel doubted that they would need it, but he still pulled out the usual furs...just in case. He left them bunched up at the foot of their pallet. Then he got under the cold blankets on Jack's side to warm it up for him.

Daniel awoke when he heard someone walking near. He saw a figure and recognized Jack's particular silhouette against the moonlight.

Daniel moved over to his side of the bed and waited for Jack to get in with him. As soon as Jack was next to him, Daniel snuggled into him, felt the blankets thrown over their heads, and was soon asleep.

CHAPTER 14 – EMENY OUTSIDE

Jack pulled his knees farther apart and sucked in his breath as Daniel took full advantage of the position, fucking Jack that much deeper with his tongue the way that made Jack growl, bite, and scream like a wild man until he came so hard that he more often than not passed out. Without the bitterness of winter hanging over them, they could do this without the furs tenting them and it was sheer pleasure to watch Daniel work. It was better than he had actually thought it would be. Hiding under the furs provided a sensory image for his mind to hold onto while each wave of bliss hit him until the eventual orgasm, but watching Daniel and being watched in turn made it even better.

Daniel would often hold onto Jack's hips as he sucked as if he were enjoying his favorite treat. The first time that those big blue eyes had stared up at him with O'Neill's dick firmly held in Daniel's mouth, Jack had arched up and come harder than he had since Daniel had first started sucking and licking at his hole.

Jack found the last few weeks of winter and the first weeks of spring marked by one howl of joy after another.

~ ~ ~

"It's the first day of spring!"; Daniel announced dramatically.

"No,"; Jack said easily looking up from stiff leather that he was carefully slicing circularly into a long ribbon with which to braid rope, "it isn't.";

"Well,"; Daniel said as he put the bowl down between them, "it is now. I found all of these wonderful tender greens and we are having salad. Look! Not a dried turnip in sight.";

Jack nodded as he put the leather and knife away. "It's certainly a sight to behold.";

Daniel produced the two spoons that they'd been using throughout their journey and they began eating. The rabbit that they'd killed was still hanging over the coals roasting.

Jack took a bit of green and chewed thoughtfully. "What's the oil?";

Between bites Daniel said, "Walnut. I traded for a little at the last village.";

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Daniel was sorry that he'd mentioned the last village.

Jack caught the immediate change in Daniel's posture and that he'd stopped in mid-chew.

"It's alright,"; Jack said easily, "I really didn't mind.";

"I did,"; Daniel mumbled. "That man-"

"Had his own problems to deal with. If he felt the need to curse me out in my own language just because I'm white, then I hope that when I'm having as bad a day someone else will understand too."; Jack took another mouthful of salad, chewed, and swallowed. "Perhaps we should go back to my staying out of the villages until after you've spoke with the villagers.";

"He shouldn't have said all those awful things about your family. It was very rude and insulting.";

Jack just stroked Daniel's hair and then they went back to their dinner.

When the food was finished, they carried the dirty dishes to the river that they were camping near. The water was still ice cold, but it was water and it was clean.

Jack washed up quickly. As he was drying his face Daniel looked over and said, "Why don't you go get ready for bed? I'm going to finish here, and maybe bathe.";

Jack froze. He'd tried to get Daniel to wash earlier that day while the warm sun was still over them and Daniel had refused claiming that he had chores. The nights were warmer than during the storms but they were still very cool.

The situation immediately brought questions to his mind and maybe even made him a little mad. But over the past months he'd learnt that Daniel couldn't be approached head-on with anger because it only caused him to dig into his position more stubbornly than anyone else that Jack had ever met in his life. Jack simply nodded, got up and walked back to camp.

He settled back against his backrest, staring up at the stars as he listened to the sounds of Daniel bathing. It was easy to lay back and just listen: imagining the water sluice down what he knew was a tight, hard-worked body. He wondered briefly what it was that Daniel was trying so hard to hide. He'd seen Daniel damn near naked at the brothel where Jack had found him. Those skimpy little drawers didn't hide much; what else was there for him to hide? Shame couldn't have much to do with it. A man who repeatedly stuck his tongue up another man's ass while jerking him off two or three times a day couldn't possibly have anything to blush about.

When Daniel returned, dressed in his grimy clothes, Jack looked him over carefully. Wet, his hair extended down dark and straight past his shoulders as the shorter locks that fell across his face stayed when he pushed them back. Daniel went straight for his satchel so he could change into one of the linen shirts that Jack had traded for recently. Jack noticed that Daniel didn't bother to change his pants. Instead of turning so that Daniel could sit on the bedroll next to him, Jack held out his hand. He was almost surprised when Daniel didn't hesitate to take it. Jack pulled him in close until Daniel laid his head down on Jack's chest and settled in until he was comfortable.

After a few long minutes Jack finally said, "I'd like to make a request.";

Daniel said nothing. Jack took it as a sign that he was being given the room to speak.

In another moment he said, "I'd like to do something different tonight.";

Daniel picked his head up and looked at Jack expectantly.

"I'd like to touch you.";

Instead of speaking, Daniel sat up and took his shirt off. He folded it and put it aside before laying back. Jack wasted no time in laying a hand on Daniel's chest and sliding him over until they were face-to-face, but instead of the reaction he expected Daniel turned his head away.

"No kissing,"; Daniel said. "You can do anything you want to me except kiss me.";

"Alright,"; Jake said, "but explain to me why.";

Daniel tuned and looked up at Jack. The small fire illuminated the space between them, casting a weak orange light over their faces.

"It's a personal act."; Daniel swallowed. "The first thing that Maggie taught me was to never kiss. They can use you all they want. That's business. Personal is when your heart is involved, and that doesn't happen when it's business.";

Jack looked down into Daniel's big eyes. "You really did have to shut yourself off, didn't you?";

"I've survived."; Was the firm answer that Jack was given.

Jack nodded and rolled off Daniel onto his side as he said, "Take them off.";

Daniel sat up looking very unsure as he looked around.

"And don't even think about dousing the fire, or fetching blankets. I want to see you.";

Daniel seemed to freeze. And then he became animate again. Slowly, he stood and faced away from Jack as he began to unbutton his jeans. He turned with them already undone. Those big haunting eyes stared down at Jack, forcing him to become the center of the universe, a focal point of utter contemplation as the most drawn out performance possible made Jack's mouth go dry. Jack was as bound by the eyes and the almost frightened look on Daniel's face as he was by the slow hand movements that made his cock hurt from the continual pressure.

Daniel pushed his jeans down, exposing himself and then stopped. Jack didn't even feel it when his jaw dropped and his eyes zeroed in on the young man. Just standing there half in shadow surrounded by hazy light, holding his jeans in mid-slide just under his slim hips, Daniel looked other worldly.

As if he'd received his second wind, Daniel pushed his jeans down quickly and stepped out of them so he could hold them in front of himself. Jack found it amusing and was about to say something when he saw the black mark on Daniel's right thigh. Jack leaned forwards in the murky light until he finally made out an inked design made to look like a rope.

Jack leaned forwards even farther and grabbed the hem of the jeans. He gave a tug and pulled them away. Jack held his breath at the sight. It wasn't just the beautiful golden body that stood displayed so elegantly both hidden and highlighted by the play of shadow and light. Daniel's hips, thighs, and flanks were covered in a composite of inked drawings. Lines, swirls, words, and several pictographs that he knew were used by natives in their artwork joined together to form a type of inked short pants. The tattooing was concentrated at Daniel's flanks, forming a swirl on either side in pictographs but it was too dark for Jack to actually make out clearly.

Jack stared. He wasn't sure for how long. His cock hurt so bad that it was hard to sit still, but he couldn't tear himself away from gawking at Daniel. Since he'd seemed to have lost his ability to reason or speak, it was Daniel that walked up and lay down in front of Jack.

Jack happily spent the next hour doing nothing but touching Daniel. He had Daniel turn this way and that so that he could see him better, compare this ink figure to that one, trace this muscle and then that one, touch him here and then there. All the while Jack gently teased Daniel's member with long, slow, gentle pulls.

It took a while but when Daniel finally did come Jack leaned in to his almost delicate looking ear and said, "It's been a while since you've given yourself any attention."; Then he licked a path around that ear before tearing himself away for more.

CHAPTER 15 – EMENY WITHIN

He'd been warned a thousand times by Maggie to never get emotionally close. He'd listened, and he thought that he'd learned the lesson quite well. But it was getting harder and harder to draw that imaginary line that she had taught him to set down between himself and the person he was with at that moment. He thought that it would have been easier to keep that line in its place and its existence in mind if Jack was cruel or at least a little indifferent. But the man was kind, caring, and - as Daniel was beginning to find out one step at a time - a generous lover.

Jack didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave the river. Over their time together, Jack had come to know just how much Daniel liked the taste of freshly washed skin. He preferred it and made no effort to hide the fact from Jack. After spending so much time forcing himself not to gag from the smell, or taste of some of the disgusting men he'd had to service in his time at the Horsehead, there was no point in being shy about his preferences. To do otherwise was impractical and a waste of time and effort.

He took the next morning to dedicate himself to laundry. After a good breakfast, he pushed Jack down and sucked him off before going down farther. Jack seemed to love it when he slid his tongue inside him and sucked gently and not so gently on the tight rosebud between his cheeks. Daniel found it exciting and quite educational to watch him and pleased Jack however they both wanted. Daniel tried different tricks, maneuvers, and approaches; thus far Jack seemed receptive to it all.

Oh, he'd performed the act before. He hadn't had a choice in the matter that time. But the moron that always requested it had, without fail, always made Daniel feel like a pervert for doing what the moron in question had requested. Daniel had always borne the indignity as another awful fact of what had become his life. But this was different. Jack loved it. Jack wanted it. And Jack happily shouted out each and every time as he shot hard and hot from Daniel's attentions. Most importantly, Jack never made him feel like there was something wrong with him for enjoying giving the attention to Jack's body.

Daniel waded into the river up to his knees: it was too cold to go in deeper. He found a few large, flat boulders and dumped the laundry on them and began scrubbing down the long ignored pile of smelly items. The tallow soap that they'd recently traded for helped a great deal. Up to that point, Daniel had only been able to wash in plain water. Without soap the effect was minimal. He scrubbed hard, lathering until he was satisfied with the results.

He bent over and dunked the last shirt in the running water before wringing it out so he could dunk it again. As he heard the splashing behind him he wasn't horribly surprised when a pair of warm arms encircled his waist.

"I'm almost finished,"; Daniel said as he wrung the shirt one more time.

"I suppose we have nothing to wear?";

"Not for a few hours at least."; Daniel said, "I'd like to wash the skins and the blankets too.";

"Later,"; Jack said firmly. His hands were already running along Daniel's skin.

Daniel stood straight and walked over the boulders where he'd laid out the wet laundry to dry. He made room for the linen shirt and stretched it out. As he fussed with it he felt a set of fingers lightly drawing over his left buttock.

"This is why you were wearing them stupid drawers. Probably would have walked around naked if these weren't here.";

"Madeline considered it,"; Daniel replied. "But in the end she said that I'd scare customers away. So long as I was only sucking off the men, she didn't want me exposing anything more than was needed.";

As the hand on his buttock tightened, Daniel realized that the earlier comment had been rhetorical. He could feel the tension coming off of Jack and Daniel made a mental note not to talk about what he'd done in the brothel ever again.

After a moment of quiet Daniel finally heard Jack say, "Bet you got top dollar too?";

Daniel didn't reply. He knew the question was directed as much from anger as curiosity. It would do neither of them any good if he actually did mention his going rate.

Daniel felt his other buttock grabbed. Then Jack spread his ass cheeks. Daniel bent over and braced himself on the rock in front of him before he even realized what Jack intended.

"Please,"; Daniel said as the panic rose up in his chest, "I'm not ready. Let me get ready first.";

"What do you mean?"; Jack said as he kneaded the firm flesh in his hands.

Daniel gently pulled away.

"I have to be ready for you or you could hurt me badly."; Daniel took a step away from Jack. "I could wind up bleeding and then I won't be able to ride for a while. I just need a few minutes.";

For lack of anything better to do, Jack just nodded. Jack followed Daniel out of the water and back to camp.

The idea bothered him. He didn't want to hurt Daniel, but the curiosity about what it might be like with him was driving him insane. He wanted it so bad that he could think of nothing else. He had thought that his days of walking around rock hard on a daily basis were long past him; but every time that Daniel and he tried something new it drove him harder and faster. Jack knew that it was Daniel. It was the alluring innocence and the deep wisdom wrapped up in an intensely fragile human being that made him want so much. Daniel gave more than he was aware of and asked for so little in return that Jack had no idea how he could even begin to ease some of the pain that he clearly saw in the man.

And he did want to ease it.

As he followed, his eyes were fixated directly on the black swirling patterns as those fine tapered hips moved gracefully forwards.

Daniel reached his satchel and sifted through it until he found the bottle of oil. He'd already replenished the oil six times in his time with Jack, though that was so that he could massage Jack before bed. Now, the bottle was to resume its previous line of work for him. Daniel turned slowly and found Jack lounging casually on the bedroll. He was sure that the man was completely unaware of his powerful sex appeal. The confidence. The easy manner that he had. The intensity of his dark eyes.

Daniel swallowed hard and reminded himself that Jack was just another customer. As soon as their journey was over, Daniel would go his way and Jack would go his. It was simple.

Daniel stepped forward and hesitantly said, "Perhaps I should go down to the river and do this, then I could-"

"No.";

"Jack, I-"

"Hurry.";

One look into Jack's hungry eyes and Daniel knew that it hadn't been a request. Daniel knelt down on the bedroll and pulled out the cork. He poured a measured amount into his hand. He carefully set the bottle down, and gulped nervously before reaching down and doing something that he hadn't had to do in far too long.

The lack of familiarity showed in the pain he felt as he introduced two fingers inside of himself. Daniel eased back and carefully worked, controlling his breathing, forcing himself to relax into the intrusion. He massaged his opening, loosening the tight ring of muscle until he could insert his fingers easily.

Jack watched fascinated as the performance that Daniel put on took a different turn than he might have guessed. He'd never in his life seen anything like it before. He'd never even heard of anyone doing anything like this. Jack couldn't tear his eyes away as Daniel's slippery fingers leisurely plunged into his own body. Jack watched the methodical movements that carefully widened the way for his eventual approach.

Three fingers burnt slightly on their first entry. And again Daniel eased into it. He continued to work his body into cooperation until his fingers were able to reach in and stroke deep enough that he felt a bolt of desire shoot through him; he usually took that as a sign that he was ready. Since he was unsure, since he wasn't used to any of it any more, since Jack had never done this, he continued for a few more minutes...just to be sure.

Daniel reached for the bottle and poured a little more into his hand. He sat back on his haunches and reached back to nuzzle into Jack's neck as he reached down and began deliberately stroking Jack in long, gentle pulls; the way Jack liked. Jack began thrusting into his fist almost immediately. It went on for a while, one thrust after another into his hands. Jack's hard muscled body knew this dance and he knew its rhythm well: one smoothly deep thrust at a time.

It was Jack that stopped it. He was the one that pulled away.

"Inside you,"; were the only words he was able to let out through the mental haze and panting as his body struggled with itself and Daniel.

Daniel got back up on his knees and spread himself out for Jack. He lowered his head down and braced himself as he tried to mentally keep himself from panicking. Panic meant pain; and that was the last thing he wanted at that moment.

Daniel felt the head of Jack's penis at his entrance and he felt his eyes roll back into his head for a moment as he felt himself begin to pant. He'd kissed, sucked, and licked every inch of Jack at one moment or another. He'd memorized the man's body. He knew just how big Jack's cock was, where the veins began to bulge out when he was hard, the sections of his skin that were the most sensitive to nipping and sucking. Daniel was sure that he would know it blindfolded. And yet it was still a shock at that moment; it was a shock when that generous mushroom head pushed between his oiled cheeks and demanded entrance into his body.

Daniel lowered his face down farther and offered himself up. He found himself holding his breath as he bore down on the momentary burn as Jack entered him. It felt too large a thing for such a small space...at first. Then he let his breath out in a long gush. The next breath he took in was filled with a kind of wonder that stroked his curiosity. The curiosity was sated the second that Jack began moving inside of him in long, slow, deep strokes that seemed to hit 'that' spot every time, forcing Daniel to move wildly in an instinctive dance of his own.

Jack relied heavily on his age and experience to try and hold still as he looked down and found himself sheathed inside of Daniel. In his years he'd done a great many things and had a great many experiences in the arts of fornication, but he'd never had anything like this. Daniel was tighter, hotter, and more willing than anyone that he'd ever had in his bed.

Without meaning to, Jack found himself moving against Daniel in long leisurely strokes that made his mind grow dim. Working on instinct he found his body moving of its own accord. Jack realized quickly that he wasn't in control but more precisely, he didn't want to be. His body was doing just fine without his mind getting in the way. It was seeking out the hardcore pleasure and mind numbing experience that he'd been missing for so long. Interfering now would only lead to thinking and that was good for no one. Instead, he plowed ahead and came so hard that he bit down on Daniel's shoulder and left an impression of his full set of teeth as his screams were muffled by the inked flesh in his mouth.

Daniel, for his part, didn't notice the bite mark until morning when he found that his shoulder was sore. At the time he'd been far too busy screaming out Jack's name as Jack's warm seed spilled into him. Daniel poured out all over himself as he clenched down on Jack before collapsing down to the bedroll and passing out.

~ ~ ~

They woke up in a heap. After coming to sometime during that night, Jack had just enough presence of mind to throw a blanket over them both as he pulled Daniel closer and settled down.

Daniel woke up with Jack's morning erection wedged into his backside.

"Good morning,"; Jack said lazily.

"It will be,"; Daniel said as he pulled away from Jack's grip and turned himself onto his other side so that he was facing his lover.

Daniel nuzzled into Jack's chest as Daniel grabbed his erection. They instinctively slid against one another until both of their erections were held firmly in Daniel's fist. He heard Jack moan with the first stroke. Daniel threw his leg over Jack's hip and nudged him closer. Jack allowed him to take over more easily than Daniel would have expected. Daniel worked quickly not wanting to waste his energy on teasing. He wasn't in the mood.

For the first time ever Daniel concentrated on what he wanted, on what he needed. He worked the both of them at his leisure and his speed wanting it all for himself. Soon he felt Jack's face in his shoulder as he grunted while holding fast to Daniel's shoulders. Daniel bucked faster, doing what he remembered doing for himself in another life; before his body became a thing that he could hardly stand.

Without being aware of it he began to speak. Without even realizing what he was doing the said the kind of words that he hadn't spoken in a long time. They came flowing out of him and against Jack's skin in feather soft murmurs. Jack recognized none of it but the tone drove him into a frenzy that made him lose control. Daniel felt Jack stiffen and shudder as he poured all over Daniel. He used the extra lubrication against his fingers to work himself faster and he was soon able to release.

CHAPTER 16 – SPRINGTIME DISCOVERIES

"Do you like it?"; Jack asked as he continued to watch Daniel.

"What exactly?";

"This,"; Jack said pointing casually at Daniel's handiwork.

"Yes,"; Daniel said about as wide-eyed as Jack had ever seen him.

"It makes me happy when I can make others happy, comfortable, and-"

"Spoiled?"; Jack supplied

Daniel looked up and smiled. After a moment of thought he simply said, "Yes.";

"Well,"; Jack said as he leaned back against his fur lined back rest, "don't let me stop you from your pleasure.";

Daniel pushed his finger tips back into the soft dough and continued to knead it. It had been Jack that had secured their current influx of supplies. He'd left Daniel by a small lake and had told him to make camp, hunt, and settle in; he'd be back soon. By the next morning, Jack had returned with supplies.

"Where did these come from?"; Daniel said, refusing to accept the sack that Jack had offered. "We don't have anything to trade and I know you don't have any money.";

Jack threw the sack into Daniel's arms as he said, "Calm down. I won a few hands of poker and a bought a few things.";

Daniel looked down at his hands and found a small sack of flour. "Then I take it that there won't be any men chasing us this time?";

"Not a one."; Jack said as he pulled out two larger sacks filled with goods.

Daniel made bread. To make it last, he stretched the dough by turning the last of the cooked beans into a paste, adding herbs and mixing it all together. Daniel had hunted. He'd found a young doe. He cleaned her, butchered her and then set out half the meat to dry over low racks. He was able to slice the meat thin enough that the flies didn't bother with it since they couldn't lay their eggs. Waiting for the meat meant waiting another day, but he was sure that Jack wouldn't mind. The abundance of trees provided a good camp and by the time Jack had returned he had a good thick stew for him and the news that they would have more food for their journey.

When the bread was done, he set Jack down with a big bowl of stew and a thick slab of freshly baked bread as he went back to the doeskin. He had pegged it down to the ground but he still needed to finish scraping it.

Jack watched Daniel work as he ate his sumptuous meal. He never ceased to wonder as Daniel continued to provide for them. He hadn't expected any of what he'd gotten at all. He was sure that if it hadn't been for Daniel he wouldn't have been able to come as far as he had. They hadn't found evidence of Sara or Charlie's presence anywhere that they'd been, but in the least they had eliminated a great many tribes from their long list of possibilities.

After his meal was long finished he was still staring. He had discovered long ago that he liked watching Daniel. The man moved so deliberately that there was rarely a wasted movement. His mind seemed to work at a thousand miles an hour, constantly analyzing, questioning, and evaluating. And it could all be seen playing out across his face. The man's body language was an array of verbal signals to anyone willing to take the time to learn what was being said.

Jack watched Daniel stand and stretch out before heading down towards the water. Jack quickly got up to follow; he just thought of something else that Daniel did very well. He hung back watching Daniel wash.

When he was finished Daniel stood and slipped his linen shirt up over his head. He turned and grasped Jack's gaze as Daniel took a few steps away from the edge. He continued to walk away until his back hit a tree. He stepped around it and found a fallen tree that had just started to attract mushrooms. Daniel threw his shirt over it and slowly began to untie the waist of his pants. He turned and removed them altogether so they could join his shirt.

"Daniel?";

"I'm ready,"; Daniel said as he bent over and grabbed the tree tightly.

"Are you sure?"; Jack asked as he began to free himself.

"Yes,"; Daniel said tightly as he felt himself grow hard. "Please, Jack.";

Daniel closed his eyes and threw his head back as Jack entered him. He grabbed his lip between his teeth and bit down trying to keep his mouth shut. The last thing that Daniel wanted was to speak; speaking would be bad, but as Jack began to move inside of him Daniel began to lose sight of why speaking was bad.

Jack found that Daniel was more than ready for him. After the first few tentative strokes, Jack braced his feet farther apart and picked up the pace. Over the past few days he'd come to realize that Daniel was really enjoying himself when he was screaming out in one foreign language or another. Jack adjusted his angle and tried again. When he didn't get the reaction that he wanted he adjusted his angle again, grabbed Daniel's hips, and slid in hard and fast as he pulled Daniel back towards him. He heard a very satisfactory grunt. Jack tried again and heard the same deep throated grunt from his lover. He tired once more, a little harder, a little faster this time, receiving a low moan.

Jack knew that he'd found the right angle, speed, and movement. He concentrated on perfecting his aim with each and every thrust until he was far too lost of think properly. In return Jack heard that tone, the one that let him know that he was doing everything just right. Daniel was lost and screaming out gibberish between grunts and shouts whose meanings Jack could only guess.

Jack controlled Daniel's hips until he felt Daniel clench around him tightly as he orgasmed. Jack used the opportunity to his own benefit and soon spilled out inside of the soft, moist, heat that he'd grown to love quite dearly.

The moment they were finished, Jack felt the tension rise in Daniel's body. He could sense the tears before he saw or heard them. Something deep inside of him twisted. He turned and went back to camp like the coward that he was.

Daniel was glad that Jack had left; the last thing that he wanted for the man to watch him blubbering like a child. He fell down to his knees. He vividly felt Jack's seed spilling out of him over his over-sensitized flesh and it made him cry even harder. Hysteria, snot, and drool: he felt it all as the horrible grief inside poured out of him in one wave after another.

The last thing in the world that he had wanted was to like it. He didn't want to like any of this. He didn't want to admit it to himself or to anyone else. He didn't want to admit what actually fell out of his mouth when Jack was pounding into him, or when he was thinking about the next time Jack would be pounding into him. Jack was the enemy. Or at least, he was supposed to be.

It was supposed to be as simple as that. He was one of them, one of the people Daniel knew that he couldn't trust. Those were the people that hurt him repeatedly and everyone that he'd ever cared for. Caring, liking, or loving was out of the question. Daniel knew this, he understood it; but his head and his heart didn't seem to be listening to one another.

He wiped his face and leaned heavily on the fallen tree to hoist himself up to his feet. He was sore, wonderfully so. He knew he'd feel this one for a while. He had to remind himself to squash the smile that inadvertently spread across his face.

It was just the way things had to be.

CHAPTER 17 – PROMISES AND OTHER THINGS UNSURE

"Are you sure that you're alright?";

"Yes, Jack,"; Daniel said having grown tired of the conversation quite some time ago.

For a solid day Jack had said nothing to him, and then he wouldn't shut up. Daniel had had to endure one hour of questions after another regarding his health. Whether or not he'd like to rest? Were they riding too much? Was he ready for a break? Was he hungry? Was he thirsty?

"You didn't hurt me, Jack,"; Daniel repeated again for the hundredth time.

And as usual, Jack fell into a silence that would last for an hour or so before it all started again with, "Daniel are you s-"

"Yes,"; and then Daniel would try his damnesdest to change the subject.

It was a relief to find the familiar clan signs marking a trail that would lead them, hopefully, to another village. A few days later their tedious new conversation regime ended with the sighting of the first Sioux village. They came over the grassland expanse and came to a halt. Daniel felt his heart beating at a hundred miles an hour as he looked out over a familiar sight. If he squinted a little he could easily pretend that he was riding home to his village and that the past ten months hadn't happened at all.

Then the serene scene quickly changed as their presence was noticed by the village guards and the shouts went out to the village. Before the warriors could shoot at them, Daniel pulled a blanket out and signaled it high above his head. He signaled 'peace' and 'friendship' as quickly as he could in a repeating pattern. Horses were mounted and warriors at full gallop rode hard toward their position.

"Don't turn, don't make any big movements, if they think that we're here to attack we're dead.";

"I know,"; Jack said relatively calmly.

The warriors rode out and stopped just far enough away to challenge and be challenged as they shouted out in loud whoops, pointing their weapons. Ten warriors, five rifles, five bows, six lances at the ready and there were more men mounting and riding out to join them.

In a level voice Daniel said, "We come in peace to speak to your Chief. We come to trade. We come as friends.";

"Whites are not our friends!"; One of the warriors shouted out.

Daniel nodded and said, "I agree. I'm also not white. I'm a Kiowas, one of the last of the Deer Hunter Tribe led by a great Chief of the great south plains-"

"The Deer Hunters are all dead!"; The man spat back at Daniel.

"No,"; Daniel said calmly. "The Deer Hunters have lost almost all of their people. A great massacre took our warriors that day.";

"If you were Deer Hunter, you'd be dead as well.";

"I'm winkte. I was home with my aunts preparing skins, as was my place. The men were out hunting; the first big hunt after winter. At least, we thought they were hunting. They were dead, killed by the white soldiers. Then the soldiers came for us: they began to kill the women and children. We had only the very young and very old warriors to protect the village.";

Daniel looked around; he had their attention. Unlike the previous villages they had met, he knew this tribe was close enough to his own to have had close relatives among his village. He'd been away for so long from his own people that Daniel knew no one here and couldn't hope to be known by any of them.

"I took up a lance and I defended my village. We killed many of them, but there was no victory. All that was left were a few women and the children that we saved."; Daniel swallowed hard. He didn't often tell this much to the warriors, usually only to the Chief. It was hard to say in front of this audience. "I took them someplace safe.";

Daniel took in a deep breath and said, "Our people have long standing treaties. I am Onde and you do not have the right to stop me. Let me speak with your Chief and let him decide if I am what I am.";

They looked angry and perhaps tired enough of white men to attack; Daniel knew that he was running a big risk by pulling social rank on the men in front of others, but he and Jack probably wouldn't get gain entry otherwise.

One of the last riders to join them moved his horse forward, "If you are Deer Hunter, show me.";

Daniel looked at the young man's clothing. He could easily tell that he was talking to a fellow nobleman on his own turf; a nobleman and a Medicine Man by his markings. Daniel didn't hesitate to turn his horse and lift his shirt up.

"Let them pass,"; the Medicine Man said. "Let White Horse decide what we do with them.";

With that the nobleman turned his horse and rode back towards the village.

It was in turning his back on unknown people that made Daniel decide that he was more than just young, he was naïve and inexperienced as well.

Daniel pulled his shirt down and nudged his horse forward slowly.

"Wait,"; the same warrior said. "I want his weapons.";

Daniel looked at the man. Daniel could see it in the man's eyes, he was dead serious; and not a man to be toyed with. The Medicine Man might be green, but this one wasn't.

"He leaves his guns with me. He can have them back...as he's leaving.";

Daniel turned to Jack.

"He would feel much safer if you'd please leave your guns with him.";

"You're shitting me?";

Daniel's face was impassive.

"You're not shitting me?"; Jack clenched his jaw and let out a breath. "Just how sure are you about these people?";

"Word travels very quickly. We're close. And, we need them to help us.";

"I hate it when you're right,"; Jack said as he slowly pulled his gun free of the holster and emptied out the chambers. He pocketed the bullets and tossed the gun to Daniel before going for the other one.

"I just want you to know,"; Jack said, as he emptied the other gun. "If we die; it's all your fault.";

"Yes, Jack."; Daniel said as he rode closer to the warrior to turn the guns over to him.

"And yours."; The man said to Daniel.

Daniel smiled and said, "I'm winkte. I've never held a gun; and I hope never to hold one.";

Daniel rode forward towards the village with Jack at his side, surrounded by warriors.

~ ~ ~

After Daniel had stripped down and shown his tattoos, given his history, and proven who he was; Chief White Horse had accepted the gift of tobacco that Daniel had offered. It wasn't a traditional gift, but it was the best that they could do given the circumstances; and White Horse didn't seem to be complaining.

White Horse sat smoking his pipe in quiet contemplation. After a long time, he pulled the pipe away from his lips long enough to say, "And when you find what you seek?";

"I asked this question too."; Daniel looked away. "I've seen more death and wrongs than anyone should. I don't want to have the death of anyone on my hands. This man did save me from that terrible place in order to find his wife, but if I thought that he would kill the people that had taken his family I would ride back to the whites that had me and I would die there.";

White Horse puffed a little cloud around him as he said, "I believe you. It's him that I don't trust.";

"Then trust what I am. I will point no one out. When I find out what actually happened to this woman, I will tell him when we are far enough away; someplace safe where his grief and anger won't kill him or anyone else.";

"And how could you stop him from returning with more men for vengeance?";

"I can't,"; Daniel admitted. "But it was he that told me that his wife was dead. I told him only that a woman as beautiful as he describes could not have gone unsung."; The Chief nodded in agreement. "She's dead. She must be. The boy, if he's alive, has been away from his father most of his life. If the boy lives; he doesn't remember. From here on we hunt and gather, hopefully when we find the right village we'll have enough to trade, either for information or for the boy.";

The questions went on for a long time. Usually, the chiefs were very careful when questioning him. It wasn't unusual for the questioning to take one or two hours. But with White Horse, it was different. Daniel was careful about how he answered because he knew just from the elder man's systematic questioning that he was holding something back.

The pipe came away long enough to say, "You know who hunts the territory north of the Long River.";

Daniel nodded once. Sioux Nation. The Kiowas and Sioux were sisters, but if Daniel was right, the people that had Jack's family were not just neighbors to White Horse's people: they were blood kin. White Horse wanted something, or needed something; it was the only reason that would explain why he didn't chase them off the moment Daniel had opened his mouth.

White Horse looked Daniel in the eyes as he said, "Is this information so valuable that you would dedicate all this time?";

"Yes,"; Daniel said quickly. "It's important to him to bury his family so that he can put their spirits to rest. It's important to me; once my duty to him is finished, I am free to return to my people.";

"If I say, I have heard nothing to help you?";

"Then we leave and find the next village to speak with.";

"If I say, I have heard something that might help you?";

"Then I offer what little we might have to you for it.";

White Horse put the pipe back between his lips and puffed a few times before he asked, "What?";

And this was when Daniel knew that it would happen.

"Two horses that we can spare; all four of our horses if you insist. The rest of the tobacco, a deer skin, sugar, flour, and all the ammunition that we carry, the weapons too if you want.";

White Horse slowly shook his head.

Daniel looked away and said, "We have nothing else.";

"Not true."; White horse said slowly. "You survived when the other Deer Hunters did not. You saved survivors; you took them-"

"Someplace safe,"; Daniel said quickly. "I won't speak of that to anyone. Do not ask.";

White Horse nodded once. "You bring honor to your family name. You hold strong magic. You can keep your things, I have no need.";

Daniel waited.

White Horse continued to smoke his pipe. Daniel wasn't surprised when he no longer spoke about what he wanted and instead offered them refuge in the village for the evening.

"Tomorrow we will go for a ride,"; White Horse said. "Tonight you will rest.";

This was the end of the conversation and Daniel knew it. He thanked their host and concluded the pleasantries.

He signaled Jack to get up and they left White Horse's tepee. The warriors were waiting for them outside and wouldn't allow them to move.

"What's going on?"; Jack asked in a controlled voice that didn't fool Daniel for a second.

The man was nervous.

"We've been invited to stay the evening.";

"Invited?"; Jack asked skeptically.

"Our host is named White Horse and he's invited us to spend the night in the safety of his village.";

"Ugh,"; Jack grunted.

A few moments later the Medicine Man came out of White Horse's tepee.

"Come,"; he said curtly as he turned away, "I will show you where you will sleep.";

Daniel turned to get his horse. He tried to look casual and not confused as all hell. Why a nobleman and Medicine Man felt it necessary to escort guests was beyond him. But Daniel kept it to himself as he followed.

"Elk's Tongue?"; Daniel called as he picked up his pace to catch up to the young man's long stride.

"What's happened?"; Daniel asked quietly.

The man made no answer as he continued on his way without breaking his stride.

"Please do not try to fool me. I can see that there is something greatly wrong with White Horse, enough to make you worry.";

The slight hesitation in the man's stride gave him away. Daniel said no more.

CHAPTER 18 – WHAT'S IN A NAME

Elk's Tongue showed them where they would stay the night. Daniel and Jack then went about settling in for the evening. It was after they had closed the tepee's flap and their dinner was simmering over the fire that Jack asked, "Who are you?";

Daniel smiled and said, "Daniel, we've met. Remember?";

"I mean really."; Jack said as he got up and came to sit next to Daniel. Jack pulled him close and asked, "What's your name?";

Daniel was going to protest, but he quickly lost the momentum. There was no harm. Instead, he slowly said, "A-ei-kenda.";

To Daniel's shock, Jack had not only listened but repeated the correct sounds to repeat his personal name out loud to him.

"What does it mean?"; Jack asked completely absorbed.

"One Who Is Surrendered."; Daniel told him. "There is tradition among us not to allow names to die.";

"I don't understand.";

"When a person dies, their name is never spoken again. The name dies. To keep this from happening names are often given away; it keeps a hereditary tradition alive. I got my name from my uncle who held it. He said that he'd been waiting for the right person to give it to because it wasn't his to keep. He said that it held power, which would help me always. It's been handed down for several generations, from one person to another.";

Jack smiled and was about to comment when someone announced their presence. A woman was at their tepee and said something that made Daniel push Jack away quickly so that he could go to the flap. For a moment Jack thought that it was because he was holding Daniel. They'd maintained a strict hands-off policy when in the villages; and they usually even kept to it. Daniel claimed that the natives had no problem with the idea of two men, but that they might not trust Daniel if they thought he was Jack's wife.

Daniel opened the flap and bid the woman to enter. She didn't.

Daniel went out to her. From inside Jack could see that she held a child wrapped in a fur; the kid looked sick.

The woman spoke quickly to Daniel as she nervously eyed Jack from outside. Daniel replied and the poked his head inside long enough to say, "Jack would you mind-"

"Going for a walk?";

Daniel smiled. "Something like that.";

Jack walked out and quickly discovered that he'd, once again, been given guards to watch over him. O'Neill wandered over to a shady spot and settled down. He sat there for a long time, watching the tepee as his guards watched him. Finally, the tepee flap opened and the kid came running out. The mother followed as she called after her kid. Before taking two steps away she remembered to turn and take Daniel's hands in hers. They spoke briefly and then the woman left.

Daniel looked around quickly, spotted Jack, and then waved him over.

Jack smiled and began the walk back. As he did, he noticed others walking towards Daniel. By the time he arrived, Daniel was in deep conversation with a man and a woman who seemed to be in the middle of an argument.

As he approached, and before Daniel could say anything, Jack said, "Just let me get some dinner. I'm starving.";

"Quickly,"; Daniel said before turning back to his conversation.

Jack entered the tepee and stopped cold. The scent of something strongly herbal was hanging in the air.

Jack grabbed a bowl and a spoon. He ladled stew into his bowl, piled some of the greens and onions that Daniel had fried on top, and then grabbed two of the biscuits that had been leftover from breakfast. He stuffed one biscuit in his mouth and let the other fall onto his stew so he could grab a fur and walk out.

Jack returned to his shady spot and extended the fur out for himself. Then he sat down and had his dinner. He wasn't terribly surprised when he fell asleep long before Daniel ever came to wake him.

Eventually, a hand did gently rouse him.

"Jack,"; Daniel said softly. "Come on.";

Jack got up out of sheer habit. He felt stiff and achy, but he did as Daniel asked. Dragging the fur behind him he walked back to the tepee. Jack went to the bed that Daniel had prepared for him and he crawled into it. He wasn't surprised but rather relieved when Daniel removed his clothes and then rubbed him down head to foot. Jack fell asleep with a big smile on his face that carried over to morning.

~ ~ ~

Jack woke up with the oddest feeling. Yes, the smile was still on his face. There was also a weight on his chest. After a few hazy, happy moments he realized that Daniel was still asleep and curled up on and around him. Jack reached down and gently stroked Daniel's back as he relished the feeling of just laying in bed with his lover. No conversation. No demands. Just lounging and lazy comfort as a preliminary to a new day.

Usually, when he woke up he'd find that Daniel had been up for an hour or more. The fire wood had been collected. Daniel had foraged around for their breakfast, or hunted. There was usually even a fire made. And more often then not it was the smell of breakfast cooking that roused him from sleep. Several times, he'd even woken up and found Daniel beating their clothes against a rock.

So the pleasure of beating Daniel to the waking world was novel. Unfortunately, Jack found that he couldn't slip out from under Daniel to do something for him. Breakfast wouldn't get done, but as Jack stared down at Daniel's sleeping face and listened to the little rumbling snores in the back of his throat, Jack couldn't help the smile that spread out across his face.

Just as much as he was enjoying it, that's how quickly Daniel's eyes opened and he awoke. Daniel lifted his head, embarrassed as he found that he was still lying on top of Jack. He hated that he woke up like that every morning. No matter how far from Jack he fell asleep, he'd always awoke to find himself splayed all over the man; he felt himself blush.

Jack brushed Daniel's cheek as he said, "This is nice.";

Daniel blushed hotter and got up. He made himself busy with getting dressed.

As Jack lounged lazily in bed he said, "So are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?";

"With what?"; Daniel said absently.

"With all the visitors,"; Jack said as he leaned back and watched as Daniel finish dressing and wander over to the fire pit.

"Well,"; Daniel said as he made himself busy with cleaning up. "The village lost the last of their winkte during the winter. There was a raid by another village and she was killed.

She? Jack thought.

"This village has been without since.";

"And this makes everyone rush over because?";

Daniel thought for a moment and then he said, "Think of it like this, a winkte straddles a doorway to another world. One foot is on this world and the other foot is in the world of the spirits. Because we are of two spirits we can easily move between these two places. A shaman is a person who learns how to help people with medicine to treat the body and the spirit. Winkte doesn't have to learn what they already possess.";

"So you're magic?";

Daniel couldn't help the blush. "No. I've never thought of myself like that. But people think that I can intervene on their behalf. If you knew someone who could speak directly to God for you, would you ask for their help? Sickness, negotiation, mediation, basically just translating between people, spirits, and nature.";

"So they want you to work for them...for free?";

"Jack,"; Daniel said in a strict tone, "how could I ever charge anyone for doing what I was put on this earth to do?";

Jack just watched Daniel. The younger man's body was stiff, the tension evident.

"You're a good luck charm, aren't you?";

"I'm not lucky,"; Daniel said after a long minute. "People sometimes think I bring them luck, but I don't see it.";

"I believe it."; Jack said, "The lucky part that is. You've brought me luck. Hell! You've kept me alive through winter, and more comfortable than I've been in a long time.";

Daniel looked up at Jack with big wet eyes. He was about to open his mouth when someone outside announced themselves.

"I'm going for a walk, aren't I?"; Jack said, getting up to find his jeans.

Daniel said something to the person outside and then watched Jack dress for a moment. By the time Jack was ready to go Daniel had a water skin and a bag for him.

"Breakfast,"; Daniel said as he walked Jack to the tepee flap.

Daniel opened the flap and Jack took the offerings as he left. Outside he was greeted with the snobbiest and most sour look from the woman that he'd seen arguing the previous day with - what Jack assumed was - her husband. The man and woman were back and they looked like they'd been up all night fighting.

"Good morning,"; Jack said to the guests over enthusiastically. "Fabulous day, don't you think?";

The woman 'humfed' loudly at Jack and ducked wide girth inside the tepee. Jack smiled at the man who just looked worn-out; he gave Jack a look that just screamed 'you have no idea' and then he followed the woman inside.

"Yeah,"; Jack said as he began to walk away, "some days marriage stinks like a pile of rancid shit.";

Then Jack walked away to his spot under the trees to eat his breakfast with his guards in tow.

He took a long pull from the water skin and then put it aside. Inside the bag he found dry meat, a handkerchief bundle of sunflower seeds, and some odd little cakes. Jack tired one and found that it tasted a bit like wine, but had a bean-like texture. It was actually rather good; he ate three before he settled down and watched the morning pass under the tree. Occasionally, he whittled but mostly he just watched the life of the village flow from one moment to the next.

It was actually rather peaceful and nice, until he noticed the people headed for him. A man dressed rather elegantly, headdress and all. He had with him several people pulling horses along. The man was obviously important and rich. Jack immediately stood up to greet the man.

"Hello there,"; Jack said.

One of the ones that looked like a servant came forward. "Hello,"; the young man said. "This man is Iron Shoe. He is my master. Good man.";

"Pleased to meet you, sir."; Jack said towards Iron Shoe. "I'm Jack O'Neill.";

The servant translated and the Master responded. There were several inane pleasantries that ended when the servant said, "My master say he bring many thing for trade, many horse, he will give you servant, and furs.";

Jack looked at both men rather confused. "For what exactly? I don't have anything that valuable.";

The servant smiled. "My master want trade for Aikenda.";

"A-ei-kenda,"; Jack carefully sounded out. "Is not for sale, trade, or barter.";

The servant looked confused. Jack knew that he'd lost the man, so he simply said, "No.";

"Many horse,"; the man said again.

Jack couldn't help but smile as he shook his head. For a moment, Jack couldn't imagine what Daniel's uncle had gone through.

Twenty suitors, my ass! We've been here less than a day; wonder how many the old man didn't tell Daniel about?

"No."; Jack repeated as he sat back down.

"My master-"

"No.";

"He say-"

"No.";

"There are-"

"No.";

"But-"

"No.";

"Sir-"

"No.";

As the man went to open his mouth Jack raised a finger as he said, "Ah. Let me put it this way. If your master takes all the horses in the village, all the furs, all the rifles, all the gold, and all the slaves and tries to give them to me, it's still not enough. No."; Jack said shaking his head. "No.";

~ ~ ~

It took longer to settle the dispute than Daniel had thought. Woman's Heart was a picky one; she was very rigid in her thinking and uncompromising in how she wanted things to be. Her husband could only be described as the long-suffering spouse who only wanted to sort the situation out so that he could have peace in his home again. It took a while, but eventually a compromise that everyone could live with was found.

Unlike the state in which they had arrived, the couple seemed to leave much lighter, and Daniel felt as if he were finally useful again.

Daniel quickly grabbed some food and headed out. He saw Jack under the trees again surrounded by the same warriors.

"They looked happy,"; Jack said as Daniel walked up.

"There was a dispute,"; Daniel said taking a seat next to Jack, "about an inheritance. Usually, those cases are pretty clear but the dead person in question was involved in a mystical death. The wife wasn't convinced that the relative was completely dead; she didn't think that it was right to giveaway the relative's possessions.";

"Sounds,"; Jack mulled over several adjectives, and he knew offhand that the words 'stupid,' 'insane,' and/or 'nonsense' would all get him no dinner and no Daniel in his bed to keep him warm so he opted for the word, "Complicated.";

Daniel pulled out one of the last jars of spiced peaches that Jack had purchased as he said, "It was. I had to make sure that the relative really was dead before I could settle the dispute, and that lady was pretty impatient and demanding. Then I had to interpret the man's last wishes to Woman's Heart in a way that she could accept. It was a challenge.";

Daniel poured some of the peach syrup for Jack into a little bowl and gave it to him before licking the side of the jar and his fingers.

"Sounds like it,"; Jack said, sipping the sweet peach flavored juice.

They were half way through eating the peaches when Jack noticed Chief White Horse exit his tepee, dressed elegantly in a shirt fringed with ermine and scalp tufts. His moccasins, the cuffs of his buckskin pants, and the breast on his buckskin shirt were heavily beaded in fancy patterns that Jack couldn't make out from the distance. But he was sure that the man was all decked out for a reason. Jack saw White Horse zero in on he and Daniel and Jack just knew that he wasn't going to like whatever was about to happen...and he was right.

A horse was brought to White Horse. The man mounted and was followed by some fifteen warriors, all mounted and dressed in their native finery. They rode out to them. White Horse said something to Daniel. Daniel replied.

Then Daniel turned and said, "We're going for a ride.";

"We as in...";

Daniel closed the lid on the Mason jar. "Maybe you should-"

"Last time I checked you were my property. I have a vested interest in making sure that you don't run off; where you go, I go.";

Daniel just nodded. Then Daniel spoke quickly to White Horse before walking back to the tepee.

By the time Daniel came back out Jack had the horses ready for the 'ride.'

CHAPTER 19 – MOURNING TIME

"White Horse,"; Daniel asked gently. "Where are we going?

"My cousin and I always camp close to one another when possible. There is advantage there, especially with all the raids; there is strength in numbers.";

Daniel nodded.

"During the winter, the raids took much from us. We lost our last winkte; her replacement is still only a child. She will have a great deal to learn over the next very few years. My cousin's village didn't fare well either. They have many sick from the winter.";

"And their Medicine Man?"; Daniel asked.

When White Horse finally answered it was to simply say, "He is old.";

"Do they have winkte?";

"Yes,"; White Horse said simply.

"Do your people go to them?";

"Yes.";

"White Horse, are there people there who need of me?";

"Yes.";

Daniel smiled and looked away.

Daniel stopped his horse and dismounted. He pulled a blanket off one of the packs hanging off his saddle and walked away. Sixty yards away he found a nice place to sit. Daniel draped the blanket out over the grass. He lowered himself down, pulled his knees up to his chest, and waited.

White Horse watched him, made up his mind, and followed. He sat down in front of Daniel and waited.

After a moment Daniel said, "I will not take him anywhere that I am not sure about.";

"He was not meant to come.";

"Where he walks, I walk; where I walk, he walks.";

"You're very stubborn.";

"And you're transparent."; Daniel countered. He watched White Horse; it was a lie of course. The man was excellent at playing this game. His face, body language, and words gave absolutely nothing away. "You either led the raid on the wagon train that killed Jack's wife or you know who did. I've known it since we first met.";

"I know,"; White Horse said quietly. "You could be happy with us.";

"I could have been happy in many of the places that I've traveled."; Daniel bit his lip, then he let it go to say, "I have a journey to finish, obligations to keep.";

"You will leave us and go back to the Deer Hunter survivors."; White Horse translated.

Daniel shied away as he averted his eyes, "What exactly is in the village that we are going towards?";

"Someone who needs help.";

Daniel shook his head, "Not enough.";

White Horse's placid mask finally shifted for a fraction of a moment and Daniel saw worry there, perhaps even pain.

Daniel watched the thoughts play out behind the man's eyes until finally White Horse said, "There have been many deaths. This last winter there were many more than usual. One of those deaths was...expected.";

White Horse looked away from Daniel's gaze for the first time. Daniel could feel the pain, serious pain.

"My son, Back-Hide, was widowed that day."; White Horse said thickly. "He cut his hair. Slashed his face. And screamed out for her. But, it did not end."; The man sat back and took in a breath. "There are some who think that the woman bewitched him and is still trying to take his spirit with her into death.";

"With the death of your winkte,"; Daniel said, "You took him to your cousin's village hoping that they'd be able to help him there since your Medicine Man is still so young. And when I told you what I was you sent people to test me.";

Daniel reached out and took White Horse's hands as he said, "Of course I'll help.";

"He listens to no one.";

"Then the right words haven't been spoken yet. If I can help, I will.";

With those words Daniel got up and picked up his blanket. He shook it out and folded it neatly as he walked back to his horse.

~ ~ ~

Much to Jack's chagrin White Horse and his soldiers managed to effectively control the situation. White Horse took lead with Daniel riding at his side while Jack got boxed in by some of the man's men. Jack watched as Daniel and White Horse talked quietly between each other while Jack narrowed his eyes and wondered what the man was up to. He kept his peace though; there was no point in making a fuss...yet.

Jack had noticed that Daniel had changed his clothes into something clean. His buckskin outfit seemed plain and worn next to that of White Horses' but at least he blended in, where as Jack felt like a sore thumb.

His mood grew much darker when he saw Daniel walk off to speak with White Horse. Jack had tried to get off his horse too, but the lance that he found in his side, pressing into one of the old wounds there, made him rethink the action. He had to sit on his horse and watch as Daniel and White Horse flirted. Then he got to watch Daniel paw at White Horse.

A few minutes later Daniel fell back and rode up beside Jack. He offered Jack a bean cake.

Gruffly, Jack said, "I'm not hungry.";

Daniel kept the cake and closed the parfleche as he quietly asked, "What's wrong?";

"Nothing,"; Jack said quietly, "I'm just glad I came along. You seem to make such good friends everywhere you go.";

Daniel's first instinct was to open his mouth and protest, but it died in his throat. He felt a rush of pleasure at Jack's reaction and he wanted sorely to defend himself but any of those words would have to have included endearments that he couldn't say...wouldn't say. Instead, he kept quiet and rode the rest of the way alongside Jack.

When the warriors in their party whistled out several birdcalls, Daniel knew that they were getting close and a part of him instinctively began to tighten. Daniel felt almost as if he were choking from the inside out.

The village guards responded in calls that came from several directions. Daniel felt his hands start to sweat.

They rode into a valley and as they did he saw a serene sight ahead. Daniel brought his horse to a dead stop. He breathed in deep and tried to control the deep feeling of grief that welled up inside of him as he watched the village in front of them. As Jack's hand came down to smooth his back, Daniel felt the tears fall freely from his eyes. He knew this was the hard part. What he had to do in that village was easy; this would be the hard part...for him.

"Daniel?";

Daniel looked up at the man next to him and tried to look past his own feelings to see the actual man; for the life of him all he could see was a warrior, a good man, yes, but a warrior none-the-less. Daniel wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about anything. Even without his weapons, he knew that this man could be dangerous. If brought to the point of anger, this man could be extremely dangerous. But what would happen if Daniel prepared him? Or didn't?

Daniel didn't know and wasn't sure. And he hated that feeling.

"Daniel?"; Jack asked again.

"I'm fine,"; Daniel said as he sniffed and wiped away at his own face. "I'm trusting you, Jack. All of my trust, all of my faith, and all of my heart are in your hands.";

Daniel nudged his horse and followed White Horse without ever seeing the look of shock pale Jack's face.

~ ~ ~

Instead of riding into the village White Horse veered off to one side. Daniel was surprised that he would defy proper etiquette and forgo paying the proper respect to his cousin and - only who knew - how many other relatives, acquaintances, and political allies resided in the village.

Daniel saw the man, the servants, and the winkte surrounding a man sitting in front of a grave before they came to a stop. A young boy ran up and took White Horse's reins from him. Daniel left his horse without noticing whether or not the boy had bothered with it. He walked forward towards the man. Hunched over, his hair was cut short in ratty tuffs where it had been hacked off. Daniel could see the dirty, bloody skin.

Daniel walked towards him until he was stopped. He looked up and saw a winkte. He saw the challenge in her pretty face; her hair hanging loosely around her face. Like always recognizes like; she knew what he was.

"Aikenda is Deer Hunter tribe."; White Horse explained.

The look the winkte gave Daniel was nasty challenge and bile. Daniel ignored her and looked past her to the man in mourning.

Daniel went to take a step when the winkte stepped in front of him again.

"Take nothing sharp,"; the winkte said quickly. "He will find a way to hurt himself again.";

Daniel held his hands up and said, "I carry no weapons.";

With that the winkte relented and let him pass.

Daniel walked slowly towards the man. He was sitting in front of a recent grave marker; but there was another grave marker a few feet from the first, both crosses. Daniel noticed immediately that the area was being kept meticulously clean. Not a leaf, rock, or stray twig littered the area; a surprising feat for graves lying beneath the shadow of such large oaks. The man rocked back and forth slowly as he kept vigil over the grave singing out a strange soft tune.

Daniel walked close enough to see what the winkte had been worried about. Back-Hide had slashed his face open. Unusual in and of itself; Daniel had never seen a man do it and not wash his face. Custom dictated that women usually slashed their faces and didn't wash during the mourning period, but this man had taken it even farther. Because the man wore only a buckskin loincloth Daniel could easily see the healing wounds all over his body where he had cut, scratched, and harmed himself viciously and repeatedly.

He was gaunt. With one look Daniel could tell that the man wasn't eating or drinking near enough. The reason for White Horse's hurry and fear were quite evident.

Back-Hide stopped his song long enough to say, "I know what you are. Go away."; Then the man went back to rocking himself slowly as he hummed gently.

Daniel lowered himself down to the ground and looked at the grave markers.

"She must have been...such a mean spirited woman.";

The humming stopped. Back-Hide turned to look at Daniel full in the face. In the next moment, Back-Hide launched himself up from his place on the ground. Daniel jumped up with him and took a few steps back. If the man were at full strength, Daniel knew that he would have had a fight on his hands. As it was Back-Hide barely managed to rise to his feet and half-stumbled to keep upright as he found his voice.

"My wife!"; Back-Hide tried to shout, but his voice was husky and low from weakness and thirst. "Was a good woman. She was the best there was."; His face crumbled and the tears began. "She was everything to me."; Daniel watched Back-Hide reach up and grab his hair. Back-Hide yanked at his hair until he pulled a tuft out, then he sat back down at his place in front of the marker as he pulled on his hair and sobbed.

"A good wife,"; Daniel repeated and he squatted down near the man. "I wonder what she would say if she saw you like this.";

The sobbing continued as Back-Hide began to rock again.

"She was white. Whites don't understand our ways. If she saw you like this, I wonder if she would run up and kiss you; or, if she would runaway from you in fear.";

The rocking stopped, and Daniel sat down next to him again.

"Any wife that would want to see her husband in such pain is a mean spirited woman with no conscience. You say that she was a good woman, if this is so then why would she want this for you? A slow lingering death is what you wish on an enemy, not on a lover. I think that you are in such pain that you can't even hear her any longer. If you could hear her, you'd be listening to her wailing; she grieves for the man that you are trying to put in a grave.";

Back-Hide looked up at Daniel. The confusion and grief was so clear from the man that it made Daniel choke.

"I know,"; Daniel said. "It hurts. It hurts so much that you don't know what to do. Unfortunately, dying won't free you. It just traps you in a place where you can feel that pain forever. The only way to free yourself and her is to mourn; mourn her and live for her."; Daniel looked away and said, "I had to leave my family and my village. Their bodies were left to rot out on the plains for animals to feed on. For a long time I didn't want to live either. I know this pain very well. It never really goes away, but it gets better. Slowly, it gets better.";

Back-Hide shook his head, his face pleading.

Daniel smoothed back Back-Hide's raggedly shorn hair until he was holding the man's head between his hands. "One day at a time, one moment at a time.";

~ ~ ~

When Daniel was done he looked up to find Jack standing nearby staring at the second grave. Carved into the oak in front of the marker was a single word, "Charlie."; Jack's face was slack as he stared at the wood, his mouth hanging open, tears streaming down his face.

Daniel felt his breath hitch and his chest constrict. His first instinct was to go to Jack, wrap his arms around him, and hold him for as long as it took to make it better. But he knew that Jack needed to be alone, and Daniel needed to know what had happened.

Daniel found several other winkte standing with White Horse. Daniel motioned them over as he left. As they met he grabbed one and pulled her close, "Feed, wash, and treat his wounds while you can. Good moments will come and go.";

With those words Daniel walked back to White Horse and asked, "What exactly happened?";

"Will he live?"; White Horse asked in a forlorn voice.

"I've done what I can. I've told him what he needs to know. From here on it's his choice to live or die."; Daniel pulled White Horse down to the ground and sat with him. "I've kept my part. Please, tell me what happened.";

When it was over and he left White Horse; Daniel walked to Jack's side. He stood next to the man; they both stared at the small cross standing so meekly in the field of green.

"With all the hunters killing off the buffalo finding food has been hard. They started to raid the wagon trains and enemy villages to survive. My people did the same. You go for the newer settlers; they panic and make mistakes. Mistakes mean food and things to trade for.

"That day they rode down hard on a wagon train. The Wagon Master panicked: in their haste to get away a woman and a boy fell off a wagon. Back-Hide was one of the lead riders that day; and he was the only one to stop."; Daniel swallowed hard before continuing. "Charlie landed face up; Sara landed face down...on top of him. His head hit rock and killed him. Her face hit the same rock and it scarred her very badly.

"White Horse said that she cried out for death when she saw her son. White Horse was going to do the merciful thing and kill her."; Daniel paused so he could find the best way to explain, "We are nomadic; we can only move as fast as the slowest person. A slow tribe is a dead tribe. Sometimes, survival of the many means leaving people to die; it's just a reality that we deal with.

"The strange part is that Back-Hide wouldn't let his father kill her. Instead, he took the woman with him. He buried the boy here and had her wounds cared for. When she was strong enough, he carried her out here so she could mourn her son. White Horse said that she wrote those figures on the ground and asked Back-Hide to carve them on the tree. He did.

"It wasn't long after that he asked her to marry him. At first she refused. She told him that she had a husband; but out here that doesn't mean much. A captured woman is a free woman in these parts. After a while I think she got scared she'd get into trouble, left to starve, or punished. She explained that courting is done differently among her people and that she wanted her customs respected.

"White Horse is still pretty shocked that his son courted her according to her customs. Chaperons and all. She stalled him for over eight months.";

Jack laughed but it died quickly in his throat. "Guess she thought I was going to rescue her, or something.";

Daniel suddenly found the ground interesting.

When Jack didn't continue Daniel said, "They were married after a long time. White Horse said that she seemed happy; she visited Charlie's grave daily when ever they were here for spring and summer. Back-Hide wouldn't allow his father to camp anywhere else; he'd nag his father incessantly to come back to this same spot with no deviation.

"Last summer Sara got ill. From the sounds of it, she had some sort of an infection that never really went away. She was weak a lot, tired; it got worse as time went on. Soldiers attacked sometime during the winter. They had to travel hard to keep safe. The travel on inadequate food weakened her even more. She died about two months ago.

"At first everyone just thought that Back-Hide was taking the mourning very seriously, but he hasn't recovered. Back-Hide's suicidal and maybe a little touched in the head. I'm pretty sure that he's convinced that dying is the best way out. Since no one will let him kill himself he's taken to starving himself. He hasn't even been drinking water. People have to hold him down and force feed him.";

Jack fell down to his knees as he stared at the carefully carved name in the tree. With a look he could tell that it had been done with great care by someone who really knew what they were doing. There were piles of rocks decorated with feathered objects and offerings. Jack didn't know what any of it was for, but he could tell that whoever had done it had done so with great care.

For the first time, he looked towards the left where Sara's cross sat not more than five feet away. Her grave showed the same care that Charlie's did.

"I've given my word to the villagers that you wouldn't harm anyone. They have a lot of reason to be afraid.";

Jack absently shook his head. He mouthed 'no,' but suddenly couldn't find the strength to speak out loud.

He felt Daniel's hand smooth a small circles on his back as he said, "I'll tell the villagers that they have nothing to fear. You take as long as you need.";

CHAPTER 20 – SORTING LIFE OUT AND OTHER OXYMORONS

Jack wasn't sure how long he'd sat there, but when he got up he was stiff and cramped. He'd said his goodbyes, only one thing left to do. He turned and found that his guards were keeping a distance but they were ever with him.

Jack walked towards them and raised a friendly hand as he said, "So, any of you speak English?";

The stony glances told him, 'No.'

"Alright,"; Jack said walking past them and heading into the village. He saw no one familiar outside and there were about thirty tepee's in the village.

Three minutes from the gravesite he spotted White Horses' mount and headed for it. He noticed a big tent near the horses that had guards posted outside. Jack walked towards it. When one of his guards shouted something out towards the tepee, Jack knew he'd chosen right.

The tent flap opened and White Horse came out looking as imposing as he'd ever looked. Jack kept walking towards the man and as he did he ducked his head down. He could see Back-Hide inside the tent...the man that married Jack's wife.

White Horse began half-shouting at Jack before he was within ten feet. Jack walked right up to the man, as if he even understood what White Horse was saying. Instead of reacting, Jack reached into his pocket. He heard the weapons being pulled out, drawn, and lined up with Jack's heart. Jack slowly pulled out the handkerchief wrapped thing and carefully unfolded it.

The only thing that he'd kept of Sara's things was this one silver framed picture. He played with the clasp until the thing opened. Inside were two pictures of Sara. The first was of her when she was still that gawky ten year old girl fresh off the boat from the Rock, and the second one was of her in her wedding gown on the day of their wedding.

Jack immediately sat on the ground in front of White Horse. From between his legs Jack could see that Back-Hide had somehow made it to the tent opening. He and Back-Hide were eye-to-eye. The damage to the man's face and body was hard to look at. Jack held the picture between White Horse's legs, offering it to Back-Hide. It took a fraction of a second for the man to reach out for it.

"Tell me that you speak some English?"; Jack said.

Back-Hide was lost in the pictures in his hands.

"Hello?"; Jack said.

The man wasn't paying attention. Jack decided then and there that the man had a bigger fixation then Daniel when he was concentrating on something.

"Hey!"; Jack snapped.

Back-Hide looked up suddenly.

"Do you speak English?";

"Yes,"; the man said sluggishly. "She teach me. She said it good tactical strategy with soldiers and trade.";

Luckily, White Horse moved away and just watched.

Jack couldn't help the sudden smile. "She was smart,"; Jack said in wonder.

When Jack looked up he found Back-Hide staring back oddly. "She was very smart,"; Back-Hide assured. "You did not know this?";

Jack looked down and said, "I was a very bad husband. I was a very...bad father too. They deserved better.";

Jack wiped his face with his hands as he realized that he'd spoken more truth in that one breath then in most of his life.

"Was she happy with you?"; Jack finally asked.

"I try hard to always be good husband. I try make her happy. She good wife, beautiful, funny, smart. She was good at making things work."; Back-Hide laughed suddenly. "She fix one rifle, old. She make it work.";

Jack's face twisted as he said, "Really?";

Back-Hide nodded as his eyes welled with water, but he didn't seem to be able to speak.

Instead of saying anything else Jack reached out and patted the dirt smooth. Carefully, he wrote the letters, S A R A in the sand.

"That her white name?";

Jack nodded as he said, "I'd appreciate it if you'd carve this into her tree. I think she'd like it.";

"Yes,"; Back-Hide said quickly.

Jack looked up and said, "You might want to write it down for later. Right now I don't think you could drag an ax.";

Back-Hide nodded. He glanced down at the picture again and then held it out to Jack.

Jack just shook his head as grief overtook him. "I'm leaving her here with you. I've carried enough guilt; you seem to want to take care of her. I never did such a good job.";

Jack was quiet for another moment and then he said, "I'm going to leave now.";

"Jack,"; Back-Hide said. "She no blame you. When she knew that she was going to die she say to me that she never blame you. She say Charlie die because of accident; no one to fault. She say you good man, just too much brother, not enough husband.";

Jack would have liked to have been able to smile; he probably would have under any other circumstances. At least a smirk...

Instead, he just said, "Yeah.";

Then he got up and left.

He numbly half-stumbled away until he found his horses. He leaned against his saddle as he thought how much he wanted nothing more than to ride away and camp someplace private with Daniel. He wanted to make love for hours until he passed out and forgot all about the past hour. Then he wanted food, a bath, more sex, and more food...at least until he felt human again.

He heard someone come up behind him. Jack looked up, expecting to see Daniel. Instead, he found one of the guards. The one that had taken his guns; the one that was returning his guns. Jack accepted them and slipped them into his holsters.

"Thanks,"; he said to the guy.

Jack looked around and for the first time noticed that his horse and the two wagon horses were present, but Daniel's horse was missing.

Jack pointed at the empty pace next to the third horse and said, "Daniel...A-ei-kenda.";

The man didn't hesitate to lift his hand in a sweeping motion towards the south west. Jack stared off in that direction for a moment and then shook his head, "No."; Slowly he pronounced the name again, "A-ei-kenda.";

The man made the same motion with his hand again towards the south west.

A sudden fear gripped Jack's throat. Their deal suddenly came to mind and crashed all around him in frightening reality. With his exhaustion forgotten Jack mounted his horse, reached over for the other two horse's reins, and began to ride hard.

White Horse came running up to find the white man riding away, "What happened?";

"I told him his lover left without him.";

White Horse smiled slowly. "Then Aikenda went to search out the Deer Hunters.";

"And that one will be too busy following Aikenda to bother with anything else.";

White Horse patted his servant on the back before turning away to go back to the tepee where his son was recuperating. For the first time in weeks, Back-Hide was willingly eating and drinking. It was more than White Horse could have hoped for. He'd been right about Aikenda; the magic was there. In one bright morning his son was cured, the white man was sent away, and both villages were safe for another day.

~ ~ ~

Daniel didn't like having to cross enemy and white territory alone, especially looking the way he did. From far away either would think that he was of the other and probably try to shoot him. He kept to the gullies avoiding the high places as much as he could; there was no sense in giving himself away completely.

He camped near a small river that he and Jack had passed not more than a week prior. Instead of sleeping, he stared at the moonlit water most of the night. He saw fish jump occasionally, shattering the silvered glassy surface.

For some reason that Daniel couldn't fathom, Jack loved fish and fishing.

"You godless heathen!"; Jack had screamed out at the top of his lungs.

Daniel had laughed hard.

The memory brought an instant smile to Daniel's face. Jack had been red with frustration. Daniel hadn't been able to stop laughing.

"You are not normal!"; Jack insisted. "There must be something wrong with you! But don't worry! I'll find a way to fix you!";

Daniel had calmed down long enough to say, "Well there must be something that you would refuse to eat?";

"No!"; Jack insisted automatically. "All of nature can end right at my dinner plate. I don't mind. There is nothing that you can't eat if you fry it!"; Then Jack pleaded that, "They're fish for Pete's sake, Daniel! They're meant to be eaten. That's why they're there!";

Daniel had shaken his head. "No. Kiowas don't eat fish. It's bad luck. They are not good food.";

"Actually they're very good food, especially if you put lemon on them. A little salt, maybe some mashed potatoes on the side...";

It had gone on for a while. He and Jack could talk for hours about nothing, argue about it and laugh, and then argue some more and then finally laugh again.

It wasn't fair.

Daniel swallowed hard and allowed himself the opportunity to mourn. No matter what went through his mind or how much he wanted to go back, Daniel knew that come first light he'd start riding south by south west again. He had much left undone. He wanted to concentrate on a face, a place, or an event to look forward to; but all he saw was Jack. All he felt was a gaping hole in his life that would never be filled again and the pain cut so deep that it tore at him.

Back-Hide came to mind suddenly and Daniel wondered how much more it would have hurt if he had ever kissed Jack. How much worse if he had told Jack just how much he meant to him? What if there wasn't a mountain to return to? Would it have made a difference to Jack if Daniel had fallen at his feet and begged to stay with him? Would it have made a difference at all?

Daniel was tempted to cut his hair off and mourn Jack's loss properly. Sometime during the night he pulled out the piece of flint rock that he'd been carrying for two days. The misery welling up in his heart wasn't abating. He knew it wouldn't until he gave in to the grief and let himself mourn properly, it was the only way.

He knew morning wasn't far off when he walked back to his camp. His horse was still standing where he'd left him. Even the horse looked sad; it probably missed his friends. One of the wagon horses that he and Jack had kept was a tame little mare that his horse seemed to favor; and even he looked pained at having to leave her behind.

Daniel set out a thick fur and built a small fire near it. When that was done he took his flint rock and balanced it on a larger rock. He found a good hammer stone and pounded on the rock until it broke. He sifted through the sharp broken pieces until he found a good thin, sharp-edged piece that was suitable for the task. Daniel walked to his fur and fell down onto his knees with the sharp flint in his hands.

Softly at first, he began to croon an ancient song of mourning. He sang of lost love, separation, and the ache of remaining alive. His voice grew stronger, louder, and filled with more pain. He looked deep down into his soul and tried hard to pull out all of the ache that he was holding. He let it out onto the wind and let the wind carry away from him what he couldn't shoulder on his own...what was crushing him by bits and pieces.

He sang the song again and again as the tears washed down his face. When he didn't have the strength to wail any longer Daniel reached up and grabbed at the hair at the side of his head. He brought the sharp flint up and slowly began to slice at it.

Daniel wasn't ready for the shove that sent him hurtling forwards onto his face. He was violently turned onto his back and the flint pried out of his hands before Daniel could react. His wrists were held down above his head and his body straddled before he made out the face of his attacker.

"Do you have any fucking idea what I've had to go through to find you?"; Jack screamed at the top of his lungs.

Daniel was so shocked that he couldn't move.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?"; Jack shouted down at the unmoving man as he tore at Daniel's buckskin pants. He harshly loosened the waist and heaved them down. "What? What were you doing?";

Daniel was so startled that he didn't fight as his clothes were hauled off his pliable body.

"How dare you? How?"; Jack demanded as he fell down hard on top of Daniel, pinning his body down as O'Neill once again took control of his wrists.

"Jack,"; Daniel was finally able to whisper out as he stared up at the haggard face. Jack's ragged breath beat down across his lips.

Then it suddenly changed and the shouting turned to a low rumble as Jack said, "You shouldn't have left.";

The only thing that Daniel could think to say was, "I'm sorry I-"

Jack cut him off when he slowly said, "You will be.";

The tone was so deep and hard that Daniel froze. As he looked up at the deep back places where Jack's eyes should have been Daniel realized that he'd never really seen Jack truly angry, and a part of him wondered what Jack was actually capable of. It was the voice that did it. The haggard breath added a menacing quality to it that suddenly made Jack seem very frightening. His voice was ruthless but his grip was not; and Daniel's cock sprang to life despite what was going through his head in that moment.

"Don't you move,"; Jack said gruffly as he backed away. Jack went just far enough to grab up his saddlebag and fetch it back.

It was also just enough time for Daniel to start to recover himself.

"How did you find me?"; Daniel asked. "Why? We finished.";

Jack ignored the questions completely as irrelevant. He walked back concealed by shadow. The small campfire behind him cloaked him in a shroud of night as he advanced on his lover.

Jack knelt down between Daniel's legs.

"Spread your legs out prettily for me."; Jack said as he put the saddlebag down and began to unbutton himself.

In daylight Daniel was a light golden brown. He'd described himself as having been the color of dark honey, and he wasn't far off. In the campfire glow highlighted by moonlight he was luminescent, all golden haired, big-eyed, and brilliant with wonder as he willingly complied with Jack's demands.

Daniel was so hard that it hurt. It was Jack; it was his Jack. Jack was there one last time, and Daniel wanted to enjoy every minute of it as he indulged in every act that they engaged in. After a week of bleak hell he wanted one last good memory to hold him together until the mourning could pass. He needed it. He needed Jack.

As Jack's oiled fingers slid inside of him, Daniel fell back farther as he lifted himself up for more. He writhed on the soft fur, trying to find a better angle, a way to get the fingers in deeper, to open himself up farther. He braced his feet up against Jack's shoulders at first until finally he just pulled his knees up and held them back as far as he could. When Jack's fingers slid in just right Daniel moaned out loudly.

"No one's going to hear us out here; but I want to hear you."; Jack said smoothly as he introduced two fingers into Daniel eliciting an extremely satisfactory reaction from him. Jack smiled wolfishly and continued his work, while attempting to strike that same small bundle of nerves deep on, at least, every other stroke.

Daniel threw his head back and screamed out loudly the way he knew would make Jack happy. Then he heard himself moan out long and hard like an animal in its death-throes as he momentarily wondered where it was coming from. The thought disappeared with the next movement of Jack's hand as he felt another bolt of fire shoot up through his body so that he was left panting and gnashing his teeth. He held back, or at least he tried, but it broke somewhere inside. And then the words came.

It was his mother's language. His first learned language that came streaming out, one word after another surged out of his mouth encouraging Jack not to stop, to love him, stay with him, and to never stop.

Jack smiled harder as he heard it. He hadn't even begun and Daniel was already babbling along hopelessly ticking along from sound to another. Jack doubled his efforts, gauging his effectiveness from the quality of the sounds that he produced.

Sweet, was the only word that came to mind as he glanced from his hand buried inside of his young lover to Daniel's rapt expression tensed in harsh reaction.

Slowly, Daniel's shouts began to deepen in relation to the tension in his body. When he began bucking violently in time with the fingers inside him, Jack knew that he was ready. Jack pushed Daniel's legs back against his shoulders as he adjusted Daniel's hips against himself and pressed the swollen head of his penis against Daniel's entrance. Slowly. Excruciatingly so, Jack slipped inside, enjoying the tight ring of muscle as he pierced it. The feel of pressure sliding down his length made his head grow light and his breathing tight in his chest as his heart began beating so hard that he could hear the pounding and nothing else...even above Daniel's screaming.

Once sheathed inside of Daniel, Jack stopped. He took a moment to catch his breath. He was suddenly unusually glad that they were outdoors; the night breeze helped to cool off his overheated skin. He breathed in deep and tried to control himself, but then Daniel began moving.

Daniel bucked against Jack as his tone began to grow demanding. Daniel clenched his teeth and growled at Jack in a guttural command. Jack responded to the frenzy by grabbing Daniel's hips and quelling his movement. Then Jack fell on top of him so that their faces were close.

Daniel panicked immediately.

"No!"; Daniel shouted with another buck of his hips. "Don't! I'll do anything you want! Jack!";

Jack smiled as he ignored Daniel's attempts to push him away. He took full advantage of his position to get closer. Daniel fought, trying to push him back with his long powerful legs. Jack countered by grabbing Daniel's shoulders and yanking himself forward. Jack took full opportunity to slam himself in hard and deep into Daniel. When Daniel's legs didn't give up he did it again and again until the man underneath him began to melt into him, meeting his thrusts. A few more and Jack could lie down on Daniel.

"Don't,"; Daniel said miserably. "Leave me something."; Daniel steeled himself and then said, "Please. Please don't.";

Jack smiled and wiped away the few stray tears that had fallen out of Daniel's eyes.

"No,"; Jack said firmly. "You're mine.";

Jack bent his head and tenderly kissed Daniel's lower lip. He pulled away just enough to watch Daniel lick his lips. Jack bent down far enough to do it again; this time he didn't pull away. He kissed again, gently brushing Daniel's lips with his own the way he'd been dreaming of doing for so long. Jack hadn't been able to stand sleeping face-to-face with Daniel, or God forbid fucking him face-to-face without the temptation hitting him like a hard pang of hunger.

Jack teased and teased hoping to entice Daniel's tongue to come out and play, but Daniel's lips were unmoving and a bit stiff. Jack pulled away long enough to see the surprised blushing face looking back at him. Out of curiosity, Jack dove back towards Daniel's pout and slipped his tongue inside Daniel's mouth to caress Daniel's soft tongue. Daniel pulled away with a sharp breath. Jack saw the blush deepen even harder as Daniel's breathing quickened.

Jack smiled softly at the realization. He stroked Daniel's cheek tenderly with his thumb as he realized the extent which this actually meant to his lover.

"Move your lips against mine,"; Jack said as he licked his lips and then bent down to kiss Daniel's lips again.

This time Daniel responded with a mimicking of what Jack had just done to him.

Jack pulled away and said, "This time open your mouth a little.";

Unlike before Jack slanted his mouth against Daniel's. Daniel half-expected Jack to try and put his tongue inside of his mouth again, instead Daniel felt Jack's warm lips moving against his own. Daniel kissed back and lost himself easily in the action. It wasn't long before he tried to move his hips against Jack as they kissed. But Jack held his hips firmly, not allowing him to move very much, not that it kept him from trying.

"Now,"; Jack said half-breathless, "I'm going to give you my tongue. I want you to suck on it."; Jack smiled happily. "I know that you know how to do that properly. When I'm done,"; Jack said coming in close, "I want you to give me yours so I can return the favor.";

Daniel nodded impatiently as he reached up to embrace Jack's neck.

Jack slanted his mouth against Daniel's mouth and kissed him as he held back as much as he was able. Daniel proved to be a quick study; again proving that he had an excellent command of mind/mouth coordination. Jack pulled out and hovered around Daniel's lips until a pink tongue came out. Jack accepted what was offered to him so eagerly. He suckled gently at first. Then Jack massaged Daniel's tongue slowly as he began to thrust against Daniel's hips in time with his kiss.

Jack found quickly that Daniel kissed as hungrily as he could fuck. Daniel met each and every thrust that Jack drove into him with his own energy, his own need; until there was only animal lust and instinct.

As the waking mind wafted away and the baser mind took hold, the world came down to only pleasure and need. Each sought what they could get from the other, grunting, crying, and moaning out in an ancient dance that didn't require thinking.

CHAPTER 21 – IN LIGHT OF DAY

Daniel woke up lying on his stomach just as the faintest sunlight was starting to streak past the dark sky. The clouds in his line of sight were thick and blazing with a pink and orange glow that was more pretty than bright.

He smiled, though he felt bruised and more than a little 'well-worn.' He felt something scratchy at the small of his back. It was annoying enough that he reached back to remove it. The annoying thing was Jack. Or more precisely, Jack's head.

Daniel turned to look at Jack laying face down into the small of his back. Jack had a tight grip on his legs and Daniel realized that there was no way to move without waking the man up.

This fact was confirmed when Jack grouchily said, "Don't you dare move.";

"Jack-"

"No.";

"But I have to-"

"No.";

"Then I'll just piss right here!";

"Fine."; Jack said as he turned, grinding his thick morning growth into Daniel's sensitive lower back and buttock. It might have passed for accidental if Jack hadn't noticed the way Daniel tensed and grabbed a fistful of the fur beneath them, so he decided to make another two passes over Daniel's flesh with his stubble. Then Jack bit down on one of the soft, round globes and sucked until he left a very satisfactory bruise. He licked it gently and then said, "You're not going anywhere.";

Daniel turned to face him, "I think that's my decision, not yours.";

"You know,"; Jack said deviously, "I've heard it said that sometimes when people travel alone out here they get caught and taken. Sounds a bit like what happened last night.";

"I'm free. You said you'd release me after I found your family.";

"Yes. And you kept your word to the letter. I kept mine too. You were free. You left. Then I caught you. You are trapped, and very much mine.";

Very seriously Daniel said, "Get off me, Jack.";

"No,"; Jack said, equally serious.

Daniel pulled himself out from under Jack and turned himself over only to feel the effects of what they'd done last night radiate a warm pain that shot up his belly and down his legs for a cold second before settling down into a mild discomfort. A reminder.

"I'm not your slave anymore and I won't do as you tell me.";

"Excuse me?"; Jack asked as he leaned his head against his fist. "But when exactly did you do as I asked? I don't think that I was there when you did my bidding. However, I do recall doing yours.";

"And this is what? Some sort of attempt to make up for not being a stronger master? That isn't my problem! I'm going my own way and you can't stop me.";

Jack watched Daniel's face grow vividly pink, a shade or two lighter than his kiss swollen lips.

Jack nodded. "You're right. I can't stop you, so I'll just have to go with you.";

"What?"; Daniel said stupidly.

"Well,"; Jack said sitting up. "Let's face it Daniel, you don't even carry a knife. You use mine. You've never fired a gun. How the hell are you supposed to get to where you're going without an escort? You need me with you.";

Daniel quickly said, "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.";

"No. You're perfectly capable of taking care of me. And, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of you. It's a good fit. We're a good team. And I'm coming with you.";

"Like a parasite?"; Daniel asked dryly.

Jack smiled and said, "You can think of me in those terms...s'long as I get to choose where I'll be attaching myself.";

Daniel blushed again. "You're not coming.";

"Then I'll follow you.";

"Jack-"

"I've already made up my mind.";

"Alright,"; Daniel said after a moment. "Do you want to tell me why you've concocted this utterly insane plan?";

Jack became quiet for a moment, and then finally he admitted. "You're all I have.";

"I left everything with you!"; Daniel snapped.

Jack's gaze never wavered. Quietly he said, "I'm not talking about things.";

Daniel just stared back at Jack, his mouth hung open slightly. As he looked away he finally managed the word, "Oh.";

Jack crawled over the fur until he was able to sit next to Daniel. He left some space between them so as to not make Daniel uncomfortable. For lack of anything better to do they watched the sunrise in the sky in front of them. Eventually, Daniel moved a little closer. Jack turned to look at him. Daniel offered him a shy smile.

Jack smiled back and leaned towards him a little. Daniel met him half way in a soft, innocent, purposeful kiss.

As Jack watched Daniel's face he could see the happiness spread through him one inch at a time. He realized that he had done that, and he liked the look of it. Happiness looked good on Daniel. It was a thing that Jack wanted to see more of.

Jack brushed the back of his hand over Daniel's warm cheek as Daniel leaned into it in a cat-like demand for attention. In a smooth arc Jack brought his hand around to stroke Daniel's hair away from his face. Jack pulled him close and wrapped his arms around Daniel and held him fast.

"I think I can give up a land of angels for just one,"; Jack whispered.

Daniel shut his eyes tightly and buried his face in Jack's chest.

Jack was real. Solid. And when he looked up he found that it was still Jack.

Daniel laughed a little nervously and then said, "Well, if you plan on stalking me all the way there I guess I might as well tell you,"; Daniel said carefully, "I have lied to you.";

Jack smoothed Daniel's back and waited.

Daniel pulled away from Jack a little and said, "I can't tell you what I lied about but I promise that I will as soon as I can.";

"Alright,"; Jack said, far more easily than either of them would have thought possible. "Then I guess we wait.";

"No, we should pack up and leave.";

"No."; Jack said with a smile. "I don't think you'll be able to ride for a while. We have a nice river to enjoy. I'll hunt something. We'll set some meat to dry for a day or two and then we'll ride.";

"And what do we do while the meat dries?";

"Oh,"; Jack said taking Daniel in his arms again. "I think we might be able to come up with something."

Next: The Circle