Jack was tracing the patterns of the tattoos on Daniel's body with the tip of his tongue.
"And this?" Jack asked as his tongue began following a lasso that circled his left thigh.
"Captivity," Daniel said dreamily. "It tells the story of my parents' death. How I wound up in my uncle's home."
Jack ended the pattern with a gentle kiss. Then he wandered to another marking. He lapped at a series of little figures.
"And this," Jack asked before continuing his work.
"It's a prophesy...of sorts," Daniel said cryptically.
"What kind of prophecy?" Jack said huskily as he traced, kissed, and teased the skin that he was slowly making love to with his mouth.
Daniel could feel every muscle and bone in his body slowly melt. He felt sleepy, relaxed, and aroused all at once. It was an effort to answer. And, it more of an effort to not tell the complete truth.
"My uncle said that I was special," Daniel said, staring up at the trees above. The sky moved slowly. It floated by with the same carelessness that his mind has seemed to have attained. "He put that there himself. Said I was a gatekeeper." Daniel smiled, "Uncle said that's what my father told him."
"I thought your father was dead?"
"He was," Daniel said lethargically. "But my uncle said that he spoke with my father many times."
"What about?" Jack said as he languidly licked a trail along Daniel's hip bone.
"My future," Daniel murmured half-asleep.
Jack stopped suddenly and looked up at Daniel.
When Daniel realized that Jack had stopped he opened his eyes and sat up just enough to look at him. Jack was still half lying on top of him and staring back at him.
"Is this about your path?" Jack asked in the next moment. Jack watched Daniel swallow suddenly. He looked like a startled animal for a moment.
Daniel regretted ever telling Jack about that.
"You're going to start asking me questions again, aren't you?"
"Why bother?" Jack responded. "You never answer any of them."
Daniel sat up the rest of the way, his face tense. As he sat up so did Jack. It was over...again.
"It's not that I don't want to answer. It's that I can't."
"Right," Jack said just as vaguely. "You sold yourself as a whore and you can't tell me why."
There was a tense moment.
"I should get dinner started," Daniel said as he got up and dressed.
"Yeah," Jack said as he lay back down and draped his arm over his eyes. "We wouldn't want to talk or anything."
~ ~ ~
It was later that night, long after they'd finally finished making love that Jack woke suddenly. At first he thought it had been his overactive imagination. Too many years as a soldier had made him paranoid; of course...he did trust that sense. He'd come to rely on it.
When he felt a presence, he didn't move a muscle. Instead he cracked his eyes open and swept everything in his line-of-sight. At the edge of his vision, right where his own arm sat in the way, was a movement. When he realized that it wasn't human he sat up.
He found himself face-to-face with a wolf that was standing right in the middle of their camp with a parfleche in his mouth. Jack didn't move; he didn't even blink. His only thought was that if the wolf attacked, Daniel was asleep and Jack didn't know where his gun was at that moment. The wolf seemed to have frozen too. The moment it regained its composure it ran off with the parfleche between its jaws.
Daniel was still packing when he noticed the missing parfleche.
"A red wolf?" Daniel said as he mounted his horse. "You actually saw a red wolf in our camp last night?"
"It looked red, but it was smaller than a grey wolf."
"And yet still larger than a coyote? Long ears and legs?"
"Yes," Jack said simply.
"That's a red wolf, Jack."
"Why is it so amazing?" Jack asked after another moment. "Are they rare in this country?"
"No," Daniel said, "but they don't usually come into camps. Wolves avoid humans as a general rule."
They continued to ride in silence for a minute or so. It was an easy silence, the kind that they often fell into when it got too hot to talk.
It was once Jack had more time to mull it over that he decided to share that, "It was more than hungry. It looked...bony...starved."
Daniel stopped his horse in the next moment and said, "Let's stop."
"Why?" Jack said out of curiosity. They were no more than four minutes away from the camp that they had just broken.
Daniel thought for a few seconds before admitting, "I have a feeling."
"What kind?"
"We aren't pressed for time, Jack. We can stop for a day or two. Besides, you're technically following me anyway so I can stop if I want."
Jack just smiled. "I wasn't disagreeing with you, lover. I was just wondering, why?"
"Lover?" Daniel said in a bit of wonder as he watched Jack, who turned slightly away trying to hide his blush.
"What're you thinking?" Jack said hoping to change the topic.
"That I love you." Daniel said in one soft breath.
Slowly, Jack met his eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment.
Daniel finally broke the mood when he said, "I think the wolf might be trying to talk to us...to you."
Daniel could see Jack's eyes, which was why the unwavering smile didn't fool him.
"Please don't doubt me, Jack."
"I didn't say anything," Jack said defensively.
Daniel kept his voice calm. "You don't actually have to speak, O'Neill. I can see your eyes. They're very expressive and say much more than you do most of the time." Daniel turned his horse away and headed closer to the river. "This is a good place." Daniel said loudly. He knew that he'd left Jack behind staring after him.
Daniel just smiled. It was nice to be able to render the man speechless from time-to-time.
~ ~ ~
Daniel cooked dinner early in the day and set it off to one side. Jack spent most of the day fishing. He seemed happy enough even though Daniel didn't see him doing anything more than just lying on the river bank with a fishing pole in hand and a big smile on his face. There didn't seem to be a point to the activity...but Jack was content.
Daniel shrugged. So long as he didn't have to listen to Jack complain about being bored, he was happy, too. Jack could sit by the river and feed fish little pieces of dried meat all he wanted. They'd hunted recently; they had it to spare.
Daniel walked away, leaving Jack to his mighty hunt against the little fish.
He made sure that Jack couldn't see him as he stole a good sized piece of meat. He walked away a distance from the camp, closer to where they'd camped the previous night. He set the meat down on a large piece of bark where he would be able to see it by the fire from the campsite.
He walked back to camp quickly and took up the leather that he'd been working on for the past several days. He looked the leather over carefully. He found his awl and diligently began to drill the little holes that he would need to piece together a new saddlebag.
The second he noticed a movement in his peripheral vision he made sure to keep his movements as restrained as possible. He kept his face and eyes down as he watched a large dark blur of fur creep towards the food that he'd left. The figure moved stealthily, cautiously making its way through the underbrush as it reacted to Daniel's slightest movement.
Finally, four feet from the meat there was a mad dash towards it. All Daniel saw was a dark blur of fur with black tipped ears that ran off at high speed towards a thicket just beyond a wall of oaks.
Daniel smiled and went back to his work.
Later that night, Daniel sat eating his roasted venison and greens as Jack waited for his fish to finish cooking as he recounted the struggle between himself and the little fish hanging over the fire. Daniel laughed, oohed, and ahed at the appropriate times as the telling took on epic proportions. Hand gestures and acting out of certain parts of the story were even employed to bring the more exciting aspects of the saga to living color.
Once Jack had food in his mouth Daniel was finally able to say what he had wanted to, but he found that he lacked the courage. He forked more greens into his mouth and chewed silently.
After a while Jack said, "You remember when you said that my eyes said a lot more than I did most of the time?"
"Yes," Daniel said with a warm flush of happiness.
"Well," Jack said as he sat back, separating fish bone from roasted meat, "I don't even have to look at ya' to know your mind is ticking along at all kinds of speed. You want to talk to me about what exactly?"
Daniel didn't smile. Normally, he would have but this was far too important.
"Shunk manitu tanka," Daniel said, "That's what we call them; it means 'animal that looks like a dog but is a powerful spirit.' They really are, you know. We honor them because they are a great deal like us. My middle aunt would often say that the wolf had a teaching spirit. I think because they have such great wisdom about the world and their place in it.
"They're like us." Daniel said big-eyed. "They're fiercely loyal to their family, devoted. They hunt a territory. Are extremely agile hunters and very human like in the way they interact with one another."
Jack said nothing. He enjoyed watching Daniel when he lectured; it was like watching him come to life.
"Their eyes, ears, lips, muzzle: with them they will tell you how they feel. All you have to do is listen."
Jack loaded his fork with fish and greens as he said, "You think that the loner is trying to talk to us?"
"It's spring. Why would a wolf be hungry enough to risk sneaking into a human camp to steal food? That makes no sense. He should have a home full of puppies and a big territory to hunt. Unless he looked sick or hurt?"
Jack shook his head and swallowed, "Moved fast enough with that parfleche between his jaws."
"Why would a hunter resort to risking his life for a morsel of food when he could just go out and kill something?"
Jack stopped chewing long enough to consider the question. He pushed the food into his cheek. Hesitantly, he said, "Because he's trying to talk to us?"
That night both he and Jack waited upwind of another large piece of meat. At first Jack was convinced that Daniel was right and that sitting up against a tree on the muddy ground was the right thing to do, but his opinion changed as the night wore on and no wolf appeared.
He woke up at one point with his face plastered against the harsh bark of the tree that he'd grown on intimate terms with and the annoyance immediately filled him. He looked up to find Daniel still sitting across from him behind his own tree and bushes as Jack wiped the drool from his face.
The sun was just starting to rise and he hated that he'd spent the night uncomfortable, cold, wet, and far too far away from Daniel. But he held his tongue when he realized that Daniel was still diligently staring at the meat. Jack sneered as he pulled tightly on his coat and tried to make himself comfortable against the wood.
Daniel didn't like having to do this with Jack. O'Neill was far too loud, had no idea how to hold still, and he even fell asleep at one point. He was sure that the wolf was somewhere watching, waiting, and listening to the two loud humans giving their position away. He allowed it to continue to test the animal. As Daniel watched the wolf creep into view his every suspicion was confirmed.
It was male, thin, large, and looking in the direction of the humans as he inched his way towards the food. Daniel didn't even breathe until he watched the powerful jaws snatch up the meat. Just as before he watched the wolf run at a full gallop towards the oaks and into the thicket beyond, disappearing completely into the still and quiet shrubbery.
Daniel got up from his hiding place and slowly walked towards the thicket.
"Hey," Jack said annoyed as he got up stiffly, "I'm coming with you."
"No, Jack. It's safer if I go alone."
"You need someone to guard your back."
"I meant for the wolf," Daniel said quietly. "I don't think he'll hurt me."
"Fine," Jack said seriously. "Then you won't mind if I come along to make absolutely sure of it."
Daniel turned towards him and said, "Swear to me that you won't try to hurt him, or shoot him, or make any aggressive moves."
"Done."
Daniel turned.
"But if he tries to hurt you I'm going to have a new scrawny-looking fur to wipe my shoes with."
Daniel wasn't in the mood to argue so he began the business of tracking the animal. As he spotted a well-worn trail Daniel began to grow worried. He couldn't think of a reason for a wolf to wear such an obvious trail to and from the same place.
Daniel moved slowly. The trail was easily enough to follow, but the last thing that he wanted was to startle a creature so desperate that it was taking big and unnecessary chances with its life.
Daniel stopped cold when he heard a shallow and high-pitched whine of a canine whimper. He heard Jack stop automatically behind him in response. Daniel's instinct told him that they were in danger; he didn't hesitate to slowly go down onto his knees. He lowered himself onto all fours and used his peripheral vision to look around. He saw nothing, but he didn't stand up and he tried hard to keep his eyes down on the ground.
Slowly, he moved forward; one hand, one knee at a time. It was as he broke through the next bushes that he saw a long rope hanging from a tree and he heard another whimper.
Daniel knew that if the large wolf wasn't out hunting, he'd be in the neighboring bushes...watching and waiting.
He decided that the only thing would be to go forward. He felt his hair get caught twice. His clothes were snagged, and his arms were scratched but when he made it to the other side he found something that made his heart grow tight.
By the looks of it a trapper had been in the area recently. The trap looked like it had been meant for something a little bigger than a wolf, but it got this red one just the same. In chewing on the rope and trying to get itself free it had somehow managed to get hopelessly tangled. Both legs and its lower body were half up in the air and entwined in knotted rope.
The wolf itself was red and looked exhausted. And yet the red one seemed to be better fed than the large one. The red one was watching Daniel as closely as Daniel was watching it.
A low growl at his right made Daniel lower his eyes down to the ground. Daniel waited, but the large wolf did nothing.
Daniel tested the matter by putting one hand forward a few inches. When the large one didn't react Daniel moved his body forward slightly before taking another step. Slowly and easily, he made his way around the red one, giving the animal a wide berth. In order to do that he had to step closer to the large one.
When he heard Jack sharply take in a breathe Daniel slowed down even more and went more cautiously until he was behind the red one.
The trap was secured to a thick root. Untying the anchor rope was easy. As gently as he could, Daniel fed rope up until the red one's body was lying on the ground. Once down the poor animal gave one soft whimper.
"Knife," Daniel said in a measured tone.
Instead of going for the big knife at his side, Jack reached down for the smaller one that he kept in his boot. Because he used it so rarely he knew the edge was sharper.
Like Daniel he'd gone down on all fours, trusting that Daniel knew best. But when he started forward to help Daniel with the red one the larger wolf immediately snarled. It was a nasty, deep rumble that let his displeasure be known. Jack carefully pulled his hand back and threw the knife near Daniel.
Jack wasn't stupid enough to move, especially when the wolf inched closer to him. He knew what this was.
Daniel slowly took the knife in his hand and carefully began to cut away at the knots. He noticed immediately that the red one had been struggling long enough to have deep rope burns that had cut into his legs. As far as he could see, the only reason that the red one was still alive was because the ropes hadn't dug into his abdomen and strangled the life out of him.
Cutting away at the rope around the red one's mid-section was easy. It was the legs that he knew was going to hurt badly. He stroked the soft red fur for a few long moments and murmured soft words to the wolf. He told the red one how brave he was, how smart his mate was for keeping him alive, and that it would be over soon.
No matter how careful he'd be, Daniel knew that his actions would hurt the red one. Loved ones can't often stand to watch their beloved in pain; the internal struggle being far too hard. Daniel continued to speak gently, more for the comfort of the large wolf than for the red one.
With the next whimper from the red one, Daniel froze. The large one momentarily pressed his muzzle to Jack's face as it growled threateningly. He left the imprint of fear on both men and thick slobber running down Jack's face.
Daniel was infinitely careful with his next try at the ropes. Not only was Daniel trying to not hurt the red one, he was having to keep the injured wolf from licking around his hands. He pushed the red one down and tried to keep him still but the animal wanted to clean his wounds. It took well over twenty minutes to finally get the red one free.
Daniel pulled the lengths of rope away and moved a bit away from the red one. The large one left Jack and went to the red one. Daniel watched the large one lick the red one's face thoroughly before regurgitating its food. The red one ate before trying to stand on unsteady legs.
Daniel watched nervously as the red one staggered. His hind legs looked weak and shaky. The large one watched as patiently as the two men until the red one was up and off the ground. Then the large one nuzzled the other before looking at the humans.
Daniel was sure he saw a smile as the large one's black tipped ears perked up and its tail wagged. When the red one turned and looked at them it was still holding a deep sadness. He whimpered once, but managed to wag his tail and perk his ears up a few times before carefully trying to walk. With the large one at his side they walked away slowly; the large one watching for all signs of danger at every step.
It wasn't until the wolves were gone that Jack wiped at his face and said, "I can't believe that just happened."
Daniel looked up and said, "We should check to make sure that there aren't any other traps."
Jack got up to his feet with a bit of a stagger, his knee clearly bothering him. He half-limped the three steps to Daniel and bent over to pick up a sliced section of rope. Jack looked it over carefully, "This is good rope."
"Maybe we'll find more."
"No, Daniel. You don't understand. This is hemp rope; the same braid and thickness that the army uses. Either whoever put this here bought it at a fort, which equates with expensive. Or, the person who set it is army personnel."
Daniel looked at the thing in Jack's hands. "That wolf had been in that snare for a minimum of four days; I'm thinking closer to a week or so. No one has checked the trap."
"Unless it was meant to kill, not trap," Jack said as he scanned the surrounding area. After a few seconds he spotted another trap and walked towards it.
"There's a water source nearby," Daniel said referring to the river they'd been camping at. "You think they're killing predators?"
Jack knew it wasn't so much a question as it was a statement.
"Settlers bring livestock. Wolves eat livestock. They attack people; children come into danger."
"No they don't!" Daniel demanded far louder than he needed to say.
Jack stopped in mid-step and turned to face him, "I'm just telling you what they're thinking. By killing the big predators they're making the area safe for the people coming in to settle the area."
"And helping populations of rodent, rabbit, and deer explode out of control." Daniel retorted. "The wolf is needed. He thins out the weak, sick, and crippled animals that would otherwise make their prey weaker overall."
"Not arguing with you," Jack said as he picked up a heavy stick and threw it at the trap. Jack watched as the trap snapped the stick and flung it violently to one side. "You can't stop what they're doing Daniel, but maybe we can save the next wolf."
It took a few hours, but when they packed up their camp and rode away it was with nearly fifty pounds of additional weight; all of good sturdy hemp rope.
It was a few days after the encounter with the wolves that they found themselves on a road. It was an actual road with well-defined boarders and a hard-packed dirt surface, and it was the first sign of 'civilization' that they'd found on their journey. Jack immediately noticed that Daniel looked uncomfortable traveling on it. He was more hyper-aware, more edgy, and maybe even nervous. Jack knew that though Daniel preferred following clan signs a road was far easier to follow than a bent limb, a scratch on a tree, or a pile of rocks. At the very least, there was less for the horses to get caught up on and an honest to God direction to go in.
Jack was happy enough to follow it, until the trees began to thin out and give way to stumps and barren areas. For the first few miles, Jack refused to even look at Daniel afraid of what he might find there.
When he finally did look at Daniel it was to see a very schooled mask of calm that Jack didn't trust for a moment. He didn't have to wonder about it to know that there was a potential argument broiling there just under the surface, so Jack did his best to behave.
The silence however was disturbing. Jack didn't like it, didn't want it, and felt bothered by it.
After a while Jack asked, "Is that usual?"
"What is?"
"The wolves. Do they usually behave like that?"
"Wolves search out mates about as carefully as my people do. It's a very important task to find a mate that you will be with for the rest of your life. When they finally do choose a mate, they're very loyal. I've seen wolves starve themselves sitting by a pile of bones and fur."
Jack was silent for a while. After some time had passed, he said, "But I thought the red one was a male?"
"He was."
"But..." Jack said with a frown then slowly he said, "Oh."
"Did you really think that you and I were the only ones in creation?"
Jack felt himself blush.
But the happiness ended quickly as they rounded a bend and looked out over the valley that they had to travel through. The road snaked down into the valley and followed a path of man-made destruction. The hills looked bald. Not an animal was in sight.
The clear-cutting had left nothing standing. The valley rose and fell in a speckling of stumps that dotted the landscape. From their elevation, it was obvious that a river had been carving its way through the valley for several hundred years...or longer. Exposed to the unrelenting sun the river had all but dried up. Patches of mud were all that was left along the ravine. The entire area was dry and barren.
"Daniel..." Jack said. But the words stuck in his throat. It had been meant as a condolence but it wound up feeling more like an apology.
"I've seen it before," Daniel said coldly as he nudged his horse forward.
They rode in silence for the better part of the day. Jack couldn't think of a single thing to make it better. He just couldn't say anything, so he said nothing.
The ride through the valley was uncomfortable and hot with no shade in sight. They stopped a few times but neither said anything beyond the basic communications that were needed.
By early evening they'd made their way through the valley. Further along they followed the rise of the land that joined another wave of land that rose up into the skies to form mountains. Sitting atop their horses on that crest they surveyed the next great challenge.
The road continued forward and cut through a small town perched at the base of the next mountain. The land surrounding it was just as bare as the place that they'd traveled through. With the exception of a few scrubby trees in out of the way places, the entire landscape was devoid of any color other than the black and grey of the rocks and dirt underfoot. Once he saw the great rushing river that sped past the little town, Jack understood where all the wood was going.
"Logging town," Jack said in a flat tone. "There must be a bigger town or a small city down river. They float the logs down. Destroy the land here and build it up somewhere else."
"They leave nothing behind for the future," Daniel said in a mournful tone.
In the next moment he heard Daniel say, "Jack," in an almost pleading tone.
"I don't want to go there either," Jack said. "Besides, we don't have any money for a room and I'm not in the mood to gamble. We can camp out here, ride through come daylight.
Surprisingly, firewood wasn't terribly hard to come by. Sun dried twigs and small branches littered most of what was once the forest floor. Daniel collected twice what they would need so that there would be plenty for dinner and breakfast.
By the time he arrived, Daniel found Jack setting up their bedrolls. The fire pit had already been dug. Their supplies had been sorted for use. And the horses had already been groomed and covered with their furs for the evening.
Daniel smiled and dropped the wood near the fire pit.
"You're going to spoil me." Daniel said as he began to set the wood in the pit.
"Me?" Jack said innocently as he brushed the bedroll off. He got up and walked just close enough to Daniel to gently brush back his hair. "Now, why would I do that?"
Daniel felt his eyes close as he leaned into Jack's touch.
Slowly, as if drawing him in, Jack's touch grew bolder as his hands wandered down to Daniel's shoulders. Jack settled down on the ground behind Daniel bringing himself closer.
"Not that I don't appreciate the affection, but I don't feel comfortable here."
Jack pulled back but continued to gently rub Daniel's shoulders as he said, "It's been a while."
"I know," Daniel said a little sad as he looked away pretending to concentrate on setting up the firewood.
Jack moved to one side and sat next to Daniel looking at him. "Is it me?"
Daniel looked up at him finally meeting his eyes. "No." Then he looked away. "It's just..."
Jack waited far more patiently than he thought was possible...for him.
"The closer we get the more odd I feel."
Jack instantly wanted to ask what exactly they were getting close too, but he knew the question wouldn't be answered.
"Usually, I dream every night. But I haven't dreamed in a long while. Too long. I feel..." There were a few moments before Daniel finally said, "Like there is someone here with me...looking over my shoulder...all the time."
Daniel smiled and looked up at Jack. "Doesn't make sense, does it?"
"Doesn't have to make sense to me, just to you."
Daniel smiled and leaned into Jack for a moment. "You sounded like my uncle for a moment."
"Then he was truly a wise man."
Daniel smiled widely at Jack's words.
"Now," Jack said smoothing Daniel's hair back. "Why don't we get dinner together? Then we'll talk."
Daniel nodded for lack of anything else to do and went back to setting the fire.
Dinner was made quickly, efficiently, and with little fuss. Neither of them was particularly picky. They ate a little bit of dry jerky, a few roasted turnips, and hot tea.
When it was over they sat around in the hazy campfire light just enjoying each others company. They didn't speak for a long time. Daniel because he wasn't sure of what to say, and Jack because he wasn't sure how to phrase what he wanted to ask.
After a while, Jack finally asked, "Are there others besides wolves?"
"Other what?"
"Life-long mates."
After a few moments, Daniel said, "The bird on your leader's shield."
Jack scrunched his face up as the confusion took him.
"Brown bird, white head, it's drawn with its wings spread out." Daniel said as he imitated the stance.
"Do you per chance mean the eagle?"
"Eagle," Daniel said tasting the word on his tongue. "So that's what it's called. I heard someone say it was a turkey."
Jack smothered a half-laugh as he said, "I know you know what a turkey is so stop it."
Daniel only smiled.
After a moment Jack asked, "So they mate for life too?"
"There were also little birds in the cities. Little ones, they looked like this," Daniel said, drawing a figure on the ground.
"That looks like a pigeon."
"And then there are these." Daniel patted the dirt clean and then drew the long eyebrows and big eyes of the next figure.
"A barn owl."
"This one, you might not know." Daniel said carefully drawing. "It is a big bird with three times the length of wings as it does its body. It lives mostly in high places."
Jack looked at the drawing for a few second before saying, "Condor."
"And these." Daniel said drawing a long graceful neck.
"Swan."
"You know this animal," Daniel said as he carefully drew a half-crouching animal howling.
"Coyote."
"What about this?" Daniel asked, continuing.
"What is that?" Jack asked leaning in. "Oh, that's a water bird...crane."
"This?" Daniel said as he smoothed the dirt out again to start drawing.
"Well, it looks a might like a rat, but with a that tail I'm going to say beaver."
Daniel smiled as he said, "It doesn't look like a rat."
"Oh, yeah," Jack said happily, "it does." A second later he leaned his face against Daniel's arm and nuzzled him gently. He smelled the sour stench of old sweat on his clothes and the sweet smell of Daniel's natural scent. "Are we?" he finally asked.
"God," Daniel said breathlessly, "I hope so."
Jack felt Daniel's hands card through his hair and just held him.
It was in the completely safety of Daniel's arms that Jack said, "I keep thinking of the wolves."
Daniel smoothed his hair down with one hand as his second hand smoothed his back down. "Why?"
"I understand the big one." Jack finally said against Daniel's skin.
"So do I."
"He couldn't go far without leaving his mate vulnerable to attack from predators."
Daniel bent down and kissed Jack's hair. "He couldn't go far to hunt and what he did catch he brought back for the red one."
"He was starving himself. Driving himself crazy watching his mate in pain, unable to help him."
Jack caught one of Daniel's hands and held it close as he said, "I think I know why your people honor that animal so much. I don't think that I would have understood a year ago, but I do now." He stroked Daniel's hand gently with his thumb. "When you don't belong just to you anymore, you're willing to do anything to keep that other part of you alive...anything."
Daniel looked down into Jack's face as he said, "Even following someone blindly to a place you don't know, when the other won't tell you anything at all?"
Jack looked up and said, "I'd be lying if I said I loved that part of it."
Daniel smiled softly and said, "I love that you haven't said anything and have come along anyway."
"Well," Jack said casually, "that's what makes me so incredibly wonderful and worth putting up with."
~ ~ ~
They arrived at a crossroads as they approached the logging town at the end of the valley. Jack felt the relief as he saw that the left road would take them beyond the valley in the general direction that they'd been traveling in for the past few weeks, without taking them through the town. He started his horse in that direction when he realized that Daniel wasn't following. He looked back and saw that Daniel was headed down the right road.
"Daniel," Jack called watching Daniel's back.
"We have to go this way, Jack!" Daniel called back.
"What?" Jack said as he turned his horse around.
He galloped his horse after Daniel's. Daniel didn't get too far ahead of him while dragging the travois with their equipment and leading the two extra horses. When he'd caught up he slowed his horse down to a gentle trot at Daniel's side.
"Daniel," Jack said trying to calm himself down as he prepared for the obvious duel of words that was about to happen.
"We have to."
"Have to what? Loggers aren't known for their open-minded enthusiasm for strangers, especially when those strangers look like we do right now."
"You're white," Daniel said simply.
"And, though I'm told you are," Jack only pointed at Daniel.
From the feather that he'd taken to wearing in his hair, to the braids that he'd wrapped in strips of fur, Daniel didn't look white; even with the blue eyes and the hair that was lightening day-by-day from the sun. He carried himself differently. He bore an air of authority that didn't come from anything obvious. He was so different from anything and everyone that is or was that it was easy to be threatened by it. And that frightened Jack.
"I know," Daniel said quietly, "but we still have to go this way."
"Give me a good reason."
Daniel was silent at first. After a minute or two he simply said, "It's that feeling that I was trying to describe to you. We could go around the town. It really wouldn't make much difference, but I know we have to go there."
"Is that it?"
"Yes."
Jack let out a long breath. He was about to open his mouth and protest when Daniel said, "Thank you for understanding. It means a lot to me."
"Shut up," Jack grumbled under his breath as he reached for his gun. He checked each piece thoroughly, making sure that he'd be ready, just in case.
Jack rode the entire road into the town with a scowl on his face. It was just so annoying to ride the path of destruction up to a small pathetic town that was so obviously temporary. Exactly as Daniel had said, they'd created nothing for the future. Ramshackle and flimsy, the buildings weren't permanent; it'd be amazing if they'd be able to survive the first winter they saw. No crops, no livestock, nothing of value had been created. The town's only thing of value seemed to be the mill that could be heard howling, buzzing, and clunking loud noises as far as a mile away.
The only other industry of note seemed to be the whore house that was reaping the rewards of the trees. Five half-naked and unkempt looking whores lounged on the porch of a rickety looking building, fanning themselves as they watched he and Daniel ride through town.
Jack wasn't really worried about anything until they passed the mill on their way out. The town's general store stood as the last building in the row on the right left side of the road, and just outside was a crowd of men standing around an old covered wagon. They were joking with one another and laughing about something. It looked harmless enough, but Jack got a bad feeling right off. It was the kind of feeling that he usually obeyed; experience had taught him that it was safer that way. He wanted to leave the town as quickly as was possible and that was the only thought in his head.
Was he surprised when Daniel stopped his horse right next to the wagon? No. He probably should have been. He also probably should have been angry when Daniel dismounted his horse and rushed off into the crowd of men. But he wasn't.
Instead, Jack pulled his hat down tightly and followed hoping that they could get out of the place without anyone shooting at them.
"Pardon me," Jack said at the edge of the crowd as he broke past the standing men. Jack immediately noticed that the crowd had grown considerably quieter.
Past the people he found a black man lying on his back. The wounds said that the man had taken a scatter gun in the face and chest. From the blood on the ground, and his sand covered face and eyes, Jack could tell that the man had been turned over. Daniel was standing over him checking him for breath. Jack watched as Daniel stood and went to the back end of the wagon and stared inside. Jack could see another body inside.
"Daniel," Jack said calmly. "You can't do anything for these people."
After a moment Daniel gasped out a horrid 'No' as he jumped into the wagon.
"Don't think she's going to do much f'r ya!" Someone yelled out. The crowd laughed.
Jack approached as he watched Daniel turn the body in the wagon over. The laughing stopped, and Jack froze as the piercing sound of a crying baby rose up loudly.
Jacked walked to the edge of the wagon and looked in. The mother was lying next to Daniel staring out blankly; a gruesome gunshot in her chest. Daniel already had the baby in his arms. Tears ran down Daniel's face as he looked down at the bundle in his arms.
When he looked at Jack with those big watery eyes all Jack could do was nod as he mouthed, "Yes."
Jack turned and looked down at the man on the ground. He took the four steps to the dead man's side. He reached out and shut the man's dust covered eyes as he wondered briefly what could possibly come next. It was by the man's side that Jack realized by yet another inch why Daniel could hate white society so much.
Hearing Daniel walk up, Jack turned.
"We have to bury them," Daniel said as he walked passed him.
The crowd parted.
Jack followed Daniel saying, "We can't take the wagon."
"Too big," Daniel said going to one of the extra horses and untying it.
Jack took the rein out of his hand and told him, "I'll do it. See if his mama had any diapers for him. If I remember correctly, these little people leak a whole lot."
Somehow, it made Daniel smile. Even if it was only for a moment, it was still a smile.
When Jack returned with the horses, the men that had been standing around had scattered, though some still stood or sat around in front of the general store watching in confusion but doing nothing.
Jack took his knife and cut the canvas free from the wagon's frame. Once he had the big stiff piece of fabric he slit it down the middle. He left half on the ground and used the half in his hands to wrap the man carefully before loading him onto the horse and securing him. Jack laid out the second piece of canvas before walking to the wagon to retrieve the woman's body. He pulled her out of the wagon by her ankles careful to keep her skirt down, and then carried her carefully to the canvas. He covered her with the canvas and then secured her the way he'd done for her man. He led the burdened horses back to his mount and tied them to his pommel before returning to Daniel.
Jack found Daniel rummaging through the remains on the wagon. It was obvious that anything of value had disappeared long before they'd arrived.
As he stood by Daniel pointed to a box, "They left baby clothes. There are diapers, a rattle, and a doll; but no bottles to feed him with."
"I'd imagine his mama took care of that."
Jack watched Daniel studying the baby intently.
"Don't worry," Jack said quickly. "You get the baby settled so we can leave. I'll see if the store has any bottles."
"They won't," Daniel said very sure. "Look around; there isn't any call for one. And I don't want anything from people who would do anything like this." Daniel slipped his finger into the baby's mouth. "He's got a few teeth already. I think he might be old enough to be able to eat solid food."
Jack didn't answer. He hoped Daniel was right as he mounted his horse and led them away.
~ ~ ~
They passed a dresser that someone had apparently thrown off a cross-country journey. Weather beaten, bleached by the sun, and half-rotted: it could still be identified as having once been a rather nice looking dresser. Jack pulled on his horse's reins and just sat for a moment as he looked around.
"We should stop here and wait." Jack said, studying a small cluster of trees up ahead.
"For what?"
Jack looked back and said, "Well, to bury them first. Not a lot of trees here. The loggers won't disturb this land too much."
"We can bury them anywhere, Jack."
"True, but this is the halfway point between that town that we passed and the fort that lies up ahead. That means that any travelers will be coming through this area. That creek over there will be good to rest next to." Jack took a looked at Daniel and said, "You set up camp. I'm going to have a look around. I don't think the kid is going to want jerk meat for dinner. I'll see if I can find any fruit."
Daniel didn't argue. He followed Jack to a shady area under the few trees that stood near the little creek that cut through them and did as Jack had asked. He removed the man and the woman from the horses and put them on the grass. The bodies had stiffened in the trip and they sat up rather rigidly on the ground. Daniel pushed them down on the grass until they were laying flat and then went to see about setting camp.
Daniel set out a large soft fur and set the baby down on it so he could get a fire together. He wandered away only as far as to gather wood while still being able to watch the child. In less than a minute the baby began to cry. Daniel remembered his aunt's words and called on his inner strength to be able to ignore it. He found a wild potato plant and pulled it clean out of the ground. He said a prayer to the plant in thanks and then set about carving a few tubers and planting them where they would take root before harvesting the potatoes from the thick dirty roots. He walked back to camp with one arm loaded with wood and one hand holding up his buffalo hide shirt's hem which held a cache of potatoes for dinner.
The baby was still crying loudly.
"That's enough little one," Daniel cooed. "You're only going to upset yourself."
Daniel breathed in deeply as he ignored every instinct that demanded that he pick the crying child up. He didn't. Instead, he set about arranging the wood and starting a fire. The baby's piercing cries rose up even harder. Daniel turned and looked at his little fat arms and legs flaying in the air, but he told himself exactly what his aunt had said, "A crying baby is a danger to a camp. A baby has to learn that crying does no good."
Of course, without a village to secure the area and women around to keep watch, the last thing that Daniel wanted to do was to take the baby out to the bushes and leave him until he stopped crying. The training was important though, he knew that. It hurt, but he knew it had to be done.
Daniel set the wild potatoes to roast in the fire and then he got up to search around. There were plenty of herbs, greens, and flowers to pick within sight of the babe. Daniel had a good little harvest for their meal and the next, but he wasn't sure how much of it the baby could eat safely.
On his way back to the baby he stopped at a tree and managed to pull off a large sheet of bark from it. When he arrived at camp he set the sheet of bark down and put all of the green things that he'd picked on it.
Daniel went to check the baby. He was still crying. The tears, snot, and saliva were flowing down the sides of his face. Daniel wiped his face and rubbed his belly briefly. Then checked his diaper; unfortunately, there was nothing there. The baby was hungry. Daniel left him and tended to dinner as he continued to talk to the baby in soft tones as he touched the baby at every chance as he tried to calm him.
By the time the tea was done and the greens were simmering, he spotted Jack ridding back. Daniel walked out to meet him.
"Daniel for Pete's sake! I could hear the kid crying for miles off! Why haven't you picked him up?"
Daniel took the reins as he said, "First, he has to learn not to cry. And second, he's hungry. The food isn't ready yet."
Jack just stared at him, "What?"
"A crying baby can give away a camp's location. My aunt was adamant on this; she was right. A child has to learn that crying does it no good. I'll take care of this."
Jack blinked and held up a sack and a dead squirrel. "I found dinner."
Daniel smiled as he dropped the reins and took the offerings back to camp.
"Shhh," Daniel said to the baby. "Aren't you tired of crying yet, little lapa? You're going to scare the game and the horses, and you're going to cry yourself asleep. Just watch," Daniel said as he opened the sack and found it full of nuts. Inside was also a small pouch. He opened it and found blackberries. "And Uncle Jack went out and found berries for dinner. Do you really want to sleep through dinner, lapa?"
By the time Daniel was skinning the squirrel the baby had calmed down a great deal. The crying had picked up now and again but for the most part he was too tired. By the time the squirrel was securely on a spit and hanging over the fire the baby was fast asleep.
Daniel mashed the berries into a compote; when the first potato was cooked all the way through he mashed it up as well as he could and thinned it out with as much berry juice as the compote could spare. The end result was a purplish mush that he hoped the baby would eat.
By the time Jack was done rubbing the horses down and sat down next to him, Daniel had a cup of tea for him.
"Do you really think that he can eat solid food?"
"He's old enough to start."
"Start?"
"Start." Daniel repeated. "But he still needs milk to keep him healthy."
"How long do you think it'll take before he starts getting into trouble?"
"I don't know. A few days. A baby needs lots of milk from their momma; he needs to feed every three or four hours. Food will only take him so far."
"Not a lot of breasts around here, Daniel. And if we do happen to find one, we have to convince it to feed a negro baby."
Daniel shook his head. "I never understood that about your culture. Why does a skin tone command so much animosity?"
"Or nationality, or religion, or ethnicity?" Jack said. "There's a lot about us that needs fixing. We're not going to change overnight, Danny."
Daniel dropped the subject only because he had nothing good to say on the topic and he didn't feel like fighting. He was tired and felt the makings of a headache starting from the baby's wailing.
"I think we should start to dig the graves. The food will take a while yet."
Jack nodded.
"When he wakes up," Daniel said, "I'll feed him."
"No." Jack said, "You stay and watch him. I'll dig. I've done it before."
With that Jack was gone.
~ ~ ~
The baby refused to eat. No matter what Daniel tried, nothing would go down his throat. And Jack saw the fear and worry growing on Daniel's face as every hour passed. The crying was now a constant backdrop to what was becoming a stressful reality and Jack was staring to believe that before it was over he was going to have to dig yet another grave.
Daniel had given up on leaving the baby to cry helplessly. He knew that the boy needed all the strength that he could spare, and he didn't have it to waste on crying. Daniel rocked him and coddled him continuously as he tried to keep him calm. He kept offering the baby spoonfuls of compote and mashed potatoes, but he still refused to eat.
He was about to call on Jack, beg him to ride out to the white fort that he said was nearby to ask for help when he realized that Jack was riding his horse away from their camp at a hard gallop. Daniel saw the dust billow up in a powdery trail denoting where Jack had been as he rode away. Daniel wondered what was happening, but then the baby began to cry again.
By the time Jack returned Daniel was shedding as many tears as the baby was. He couldn't keep the baby quiet and he could actually feel the baby's temperature starting to rise. And there was nothing that he could do.
Jack dismounted from his horse and sat down in front of Daniel. Breathlessly he held up a tin cup covered with a little piece of leather.
"Friends," Jack gasped out as pulled the leather off and showed Daniel a little bit of milk at the bottom of the cup.
Daniel was far too stunned to do anything but smile.
"Sit him up," Jack said as he reached for a spoon.
"You know what this is, don't ya boy?" Jack said as he held up a spoonful of milk.
He held the spoon to the baby's crying lips and let a little spill into his mouth. The baby faltered in his crying for a moment, continued to cry, and then stopped as he tasted what was in his mouth.
"That's momma milk. Come on," Jack said offering the spoon again. "I know you want more. All you got to do is sip."
Most of that spoonful dribbled down the baby's chin and down into the tin cup. However, the crying was ended and the messy eating had commenced.
By the time the three wagons had appeared within sight of the camp the baby had eaten and was finally peacefully watching the world around him, waiting for more.
"Is that where you went?" Daniel whispered.
"Saw them on the horizon. Promised them one of the extra horses for three days of milk. The man has a wife who's nursing."
~ ~ ~
By dinner time the baby was on the woman's breast. Daniel wasn't sure if he liked the people, but he didn't care. So long as the woman provided the baby with milk he was happy. Once the baby had eaten Daniel took the baby and walked back to his own camp. He fetched a small wooden bowl and walked back to the woman who was now stirring a pot over her camp fire.
"I know this might sound odd to you," Daniel said still holding the content baby on his shoulder. "But my aunt would mix her milk in with solid food when she started introducing my cousins to food. I just need a little to feed him again before sleep."
She gave him an odd, untrusting look but pumped her breast for a little milk just the same. Daniel walked away happily with the little bowl.
He set the baby down saying, "You're going to eat a real dinner lapa, I insist."
"What does that mean?" Jack said as he continued work on the cradleboard that Daniel had already stared.
"Lapa means baby in my language."
"So I guess the kid has a name now." Jack said threading sinew in the still golden light of evening.
"Could be. We'll see. The spirits will tell me what his name is, and then his secret name will come."
Daniel poured the milk into a little bowl of minced herbs, and potatoes. The herbs would build the child's strength back up and the potato would introduce him to solids. Daniel mixed until he had nice thin porridge and set it aside for later.
"Tomorrow," Daniel said checking the baby, "I need you to try and find buffalo dung."
"What for?" Jack asked as he tried to thread the sinew through a small hole. "We have all the fire wood we can use here."
"It's not for fuel," Daniel said. "It's to powder the baby's bottom. If he isn't powdered, he's going to start getting a rash. You don't want to hear the crying that they do when they have a rash."
~ ~ ~
Two days later Daniel had the cradleboard finished. The wooden frame was large enough for the growing baby to fit into for at least another three or four months. The sheet of bark had been stripped and bent carefully forming the protective sides, and then the whole thing had been covered in leather. Daniel stuffed the sides with soft moss and used leftover fur to line the inside. He'd been careful to make sure and create the cradleboard with the distinctive Kiowa boards sticking out of the top. Like two feathers, the boards that extended from the flat board back ensuring that if the little one fell head first, he'd survive unharmed.
Daniel had the cradleboard on his back when Jack rode back into camp two days later with his latest kill. Daniel had been preparing all morning for Jack's arrival. Like yesterday, he walked out to meet Jack's galloping horse. As usual, Daniel always gave Jack back his knife, refusing outright to carry a weapon. Jack unsheathed the knife that Daniel preferred to use and flung it down blade first into the ground before dismounting. Daniel stopped only long enough to pick it up as he went to the travois that Jack dragged behind his horse.
Together they untied the travois and lowered it down to the ground. Jack walked away to rub down his horse while Daniel untied the dead elk. He made quick work of skinning it and soon had a fresh skin spread out under the shade of the trees. When he looked up, Daniel saw that Jack had left again. He smiled and went back to the elk.
By the time Jack returned with a deer thrown over the second horse that was trailing behind him, Daniel already had most of the elk butchered, cut into thin strips, and hanging to dry in the sun on the low racks that he'd set up earlier that morning. Daniel stood up and stretched his lower back. He'd forgotten how heavy a baby in a cradleboard could get after three hours of work.
"I found dinner," Jack said as he rode by.
"Good," Daniel said, "put it over the fire. I'm almost done here."
"Alright," Jack said as he stopped just close enough to pull on the cradleboard. Daniel shrugged it off and let him take the boy.
Daniel wasn't surprised when he'd finished and found that Jack had dinner over a spit as he lounged with the naked uncradled baby at his side. Jack lazily dangled a feather on a piece of sinew as the baby kicked and cooed at it.
Daniel just smiled as he went about his business. He skinned the deer in no time and laid the hide next to the animal. He butchered the deer quickly into smaller pieces and then went to sit next to Jack.
"The baby, ugh," Jack said pointing to a small diaper pile on the ground downwind of them.
"I'll wash it later."
"Has he eaten?"
"Yes," Daniel said looking back towards the wagons. "The woman fed him a bit this morning and I fed him a little solid food a while ago. I'd like to offer them the deer for another day."
Jack just looked up and nodded.
Daniel returned his smile and then went to make the deal.
~ ~ ~
Daniel sent Jack to creek after dinner with a change of clean clothes. He'd spent most of the day and evening working the skins. He'd traded most of the deer to the woman for another day of feeding the baby and the rest of the deer for a bushel of pecans, and a basket full of wild onions and carrots that the woman's children had picked. In regards to their supplies, Daniel was more than pleased. They had more than enough to eat for the rest of the trip. They even had enough to trade for milk.
As Daniel watched the woman feed the baby before sleep Jack came over and handed him a cup of tea.
The husband didn't hesitate at that moment to look up from what he was doing and ask, "How about if we trade, Mr. O'Neill?"
"For what?"
"That little negro 'll come in handy when we reach our new land. Course he won't have no work in him for a few years yet, won't give you much. But I'll give you a fair price."
Despite the crying that ensued, Daniel didn't hesitate to drop the bowl of hot tea, rush up, and take the baby from the woman's breast. He walked away quickly and returned to their camp to set their bedrolls out for the night.
Later that night, Daniel sat up from his bedroll and looked into the next camp. The other people seemed to be asleep. The cradled baby between Jack and he was asleep and quiet. Daniel got up and crawled over to Jack. Jack kicked the fur aside and welcomed him. Daniel moved the baby a little aside and found a shiny glint. He reached out to touch it.
Jack grabbed his hand as he said, "Careful, you don't know what to do with one of those."
Daniel felt a cold metal beneath his fingers and then pulled his hand away.
He leaned in to Jack's ear as he whispered, "You think that they're deceitful too. I don't trust them."
Jack pulled him close as he whispered, "We leave tomorrow."
Daniel nodded and then slipped his hands down. He loosened Jack's pants quickly as he whispered, "I know what to with one of these."
Daniel slipped down Jack's body as he threw the fur over his head. Jack picked up his hips and helped pull his pants down. Daniel's mouth began watering before he even had Jack in his hands. Daniel settled down, making himself comfortable before leaning forward. Jack's scent filled his nostrils and made his head slightly dizzy from need. He tentatively bent down in the blackness and with his tongue out and found Jack's cock by touch. Lapping his way along in the dark, he quickly found himself with a hot leaking member pulsing with blood. On his first pass with his hungry mouth he felt Jack strain up towards him as he silently demanded more. Daniel took hold of Jack's hips and quickly began his work.
He hadn't had the desire for much over the past few weeks and it was now obvious that the lack of attention had taken its toll on Jack. As Daniel slid his tongue inside of the little slit at the top of his favorite plaything he felt Jack's hands grab at him desperately and Daniel made a mental note to give Jack more attention. The man was practically starving, and that just wouldn't do.
~ ~ ~
Jack rolled over and shifted his arm. It landed on the cradleboard instead of on Daniel. The sensation of hard cradleboard against his arm was new, but not finding Daniel next to him wasn't. He was used to waking and finding Daniel had already been up for at least an hour preparing the fire, breakfast, and whatever needed doing. However, what he wasn't used to finding was a soft, little, wet thing next to his stomach, and the cold hardness of his gun just under his hand.
Jack opened his eyes just enough to look under the fur when he lifted it. He found a dark, little, writhing mass of arms and legs. He closed his eyes and put his hand on the baby's stomach to tickle him. He felt a little hand grab him tightly, and then a certain someone started sucking on his finger. Jack smiled as he realized that third grave would have to wait a while. The kid not only had a hell of a pair of lungs, he also had a good grip, and an apparent iron will to survive. The suckling quickly turned to gumming and chewing as the little teeth began nibbling at him. When the chewing started to bother him, Jack realized that the feeding problems would resolve themselves and the kid would be just fine.
The unmistakable locking of a weapon forced him to open his eyes. Slowly, Jack lifted his head as he surreptitiously moved his hand slowly away from the babe to the gun.
"Good morning," Jack said as he looked down the long barrel of a shotgun.
"Gimme the little negro," the man said.
Jack looked around quickly. The wagons looked ready to leave. His woman and children were sitting in the wagons watching.
Jack chewed his lip for a fraction of a moment before saying, "You might want to put that piece down, turn around, get in your wagons, and leave."
The man just smiled, "I'm the one holding the iron."
"True," Jack said as he watched Daniel come out of the brush. "But I have something you don't."
Daniel threw a knife about as well as Jack had ever seen. It landed straight in the back of the man's thigh. Jack easily lifted his weapon, cocked the hammer, and aimed it at the man writhing in pain on the ground.
Jack said, "My lover and I don't trust you."
Daniel moved forward and ripped the shotgun out of the man's hand before he could protest. Then Daniel noticed the woman standing with another shotgun in her shaking hands.
Steadily, Daniel leveled the weapon in his hand and said, "I don't have a problem with killing you, woman. Can you say the same?"
Jack smiled and puffed his chest out, about as proud as he'd ever felt in his life. He sat up just enough to buckle his gun belt on before picking the baby up, and walking over to Daniel, "I am so impressed with you at the moment." Jack said as he approached. He put the baby in Daniel's arms as he leaned in for a morning kiss.
"Now," Jack said, taking the shotgun out of Daniel's hands. "Give me that before you kill yourself." Jack walked over to the wagons. The woman was already in tears. She stepped away from Jack as he approached and cried harder. Jack didn't bother with her; he just picked up the second shotgun and walked to the creek to pitch both guns in.
When he walked back, he found that Daniel already had the baby in the cradleboard and on his back. Jack walked up and found the man crawling back towards his wagons as he growled out obscenities at his woman, Daniel, and everyone that he could come up with.
"Be nice!" Jack growled loudly.
The man stopped. "I don't think your woman or your children need to hear this. I'm sure that my Daniel doesn't want to hear it." Jack knelt down in front of him and clearly said, "And you'll either shut your hole, or I'll shut it for you."
When quiet was restored Jack opened the back of the wagon and helped the man inside.
"Missus," Jack said as he approached the woman. "There is a fort that way. You follow just to the left of the sun and by tomorrow evening or the morning after you'll find it. That's the best place to get your man some doctoring."
With that done Jack walked away to break camp.
When the wagons didn't leave immediately Daniel walked just close enough to the wagons with a small bucket to ask, "If you give me as much milk as you can before you leave I'll trade you this salve." Daniel held up a small pot. "It'll keep his wound from festering before you get to the fort. I'll even dress his leg."
The woman looked upset. Despite the angry reaction from the man in the back, she nodded.
Daniel handed her the little bucket and then walked around to the back of the wagon. Daniel pulled the back down and watched the man for a moment.
"Now you be nice," Daniel said quietly. "Or I'll yell for Jack and tell him that you were mean to me."
Daniel hung the little lidded bucket of leftover momma's milk on the end of travois containing the milk that the baby didn't eat. By the end of the day the jostling of the trip had churned a small lump of butter for dinner. Daniel mixed the whey in with the baby's dinner and added a bit of butter to help the food go down. Because of the milk's short shelf life, Daniel made sure to wake with the baby during the night and feed him what remained. By morning the butter was mostly gone, but the boy refused to eat in favor of sleep. Because he knew it would go rancid, he and Jack wound up having roasted potatoes and turnips smothered in butter for breakfast.
The rest of the day passed quickly. Trees were few and far in between but the trail was rather easy going and they made excellent time. That afternoon they crossed another trail and Daniel immediately recognized it. He nudged his horse and continued forward as he studied the high mountains ahead of them. The moment he spotted the first pine nut tree, he knew whose territory they were riding in.
"Dweller on the top of the mountains," Daniel said pointing to the tree. "They're the Ute. They eat these nuts. This tree means that we're five days from home. Maybe six."
"Home?" Jack asked curious that Daniel would even use the word.
Jack wasn't surprised when Daniel looked away and didn't answer all the questions that were brewing between them.
That was when Jack began to have doubts. Where they were heading suddenly became important. And their history became far more a point of contention than Jack wanted to admit, even to himself. But instead of saying anything he kept it to himself. He didn't have to talk to Daniel to know that he was starting to bubble over with questions and heady thoughts.
They rode well into dusk, though the trail became increasingly hard to follow as the landscape changed from endless grassland to mountainous crags and gorges. Once they reached the tree line, Jack found a decent place for them to rest the night. They set up camp quickly and settled in.
Daniel boiled dried meat until it reconstituted and then chopped onions, carrots, turnips, and potatoes for a stew. Jack was deep into his baby-sitting duties; lying on his back keeping the baby entertained. The little one was lying on his stomach occasionally pushing himself up on his cubby little arms and kicking as Jack made faces and played little games with him.
As they waited for dinner, Jack ventured, "Home, huh?"
He saw Daniel immediately bite his lip hard. Jack was sure that they would be kiss swollen and pink by the end of the conversation.
"The first time I saw you," Jack said gently. "You were..."
"Desperate," Daniel offered as he opened one of the saddle bags and searched out sewing with which to keep his hands busy.
"I was actually going to say crazy." Jack swallowed and sat up, taking the baby with him. "All I really remember was what I thought was a half-breed rushing into my office unannounced, with my men trying to throw you out. You looked half-crazy screaming about evil soldiers and the universal wrath of God..."
Daniel wiped his face as he hid it. He breathed in deeply a few times as he tried to keep the tears away at the painful memories that instantly bombarded his mind. Without meaning or wanting the sense imagery, he could feel his aunt's lifeless body in his arms...the way her blood felt warm on his skin. Daniel pushed the image away as best as he could.
"When we had been told that we had to leave our lands and move...again...for the third time that year, we were told that your fort was the place that we were supposed to go to if we needed any help." Daniel shrugged and said, "I needed help; but I didn't get it."
"Daniel," Jack said knowing he would hate the answer he was going to get to his question long before he ever uttered it; he didn't have to utter it.
"No. I still can't tell you how I wound up there." Daniel smiled half-heartedly for lack of anything else to do as he said, "I've been away almost a full year, Jack. I don't even know what's happened. Anything could have happened in that time. Anything." Daniel suddenly looked very hard. "Given the right circumstances, desperation will drive a person to do just about anything. It's the next day that you start to think," Daniel looked mournful as he said, "maybe that wasn't as good an idea as I thought it was at the time."
The silence between them suddenly widened farther than the spaces between the mountains around them. And in a real way it felt as if it stayed that way for days after to the both of them.
~ ~ ~
It was hard going over the rough terrain of wood, rock, and impasse until they found a trail. It cut around the side of one of the mountains and led them through a pass and down into a valley. It took a day's travel to make it through the valley and then a morning to find a decent trail up the side of another mountain. At several points they had to dismount and dig, pushing rocks out of the way and casting loose shale aside so that the horses could find some footing and the travois could make it through.
They rose and fell with the topography of the land in that manner, but managed to hold on to the horses, the travois, and their lives. Four days into the last leg of the journey, they trudged onward in the seemingly infinite expanse of brush, grass, and nothing only to find themselves face-to-face with a barbwire fence. For such a small thing, it brought a great amount of joy to the both of them.
From there it was an easy matter to follow the fence to the first vestiges of civilization. That vestige turned out to be a ramshackle little wooden structure with planks of rough wood that sported gaps as wide as one inch. The structure held a sod roof, a door, and nothing else.
The baby began to cry again, "Shh, Lapa." Daniel said as he pulled the cradleboard up from its place strapped over his saddle's pommel. The baby had started getting fussy again. "Lapa wants milk, Jack."
"Yeah," Jack said as he studied the shack.
They both knew the baby hadn't been eating well again. He wasn't sleeping as well, and the crying was increasing in frequency. They didn't have a great deal of choice, but neither of them made a great move to hurry forwards.
Smoke billowed out of a small chimney, but no one could be seen. The baby continued to cry despite Daniel's coddling. After a few minutes a man appeared from behind the shack. At a distance the sun burnt pink faced figure seemed to walk cautiously until close enough to the house to run and barge inside before returning out a few moments later with a weapon in hand.
The man stood out in front of his house...ready.
Daniel was careful to ride slowly behind Jack. He tried to keep his hands in sight and made no wide, unexpected movements.
Jack led them along the fence to the edge of the man's property. He dismounted saying, "Stay here."
Daniel watched him walk off to meet the man holding the weapon and Daniel hated the nervous feeling deep inside that made his stomach boil and his hands sweat.
After a few minutes, Daniel saw Jack turn and shout out his name. Daniel dismounted, picked up the cradleboard and walked slowly towards the shack as he shrugged it on.
The man seemed to look Daniel over hard before asking, "Where you from?"
Daniel considered the question and then asked, "Do you mean originally, where have I lived the past few years, or where do I consider myself from?"
The man seemed confused by the question so Daniel chose the most innocuous answer he could provide given the situation, "I was born in New York State."
"You," the man said squinting at him, "a city feller?"
"No, sir. I was born and raised out here in the Nebraska Territory. I was sent back to New York to be educated when I was older, and then I returned home."
The man scratched his chin as he said, "He don't sound inj'un."
"He ain't. But his papa was one of them odd ducks, liked to study in'jun talk. That's why..." Jack said motioning to Daniel.
The man strictly said to Daniel, "Don't want you teach'en no heathen ways to my kin!"
~ ~ ~
That the farmer's woman didn't like Daniel's appearance or his presence in her house was far more than obvious. She referred to the baby as 'that slave baby' and seemed uncomfortable with the idea of them being anywhere near her. He watched her feed the baby and then took him back. Daniel left the shack altogether and walked out to where Jack and the farmer were talking.
The farmer wanted help putting up a barn. With three men, a woman, and his small band of children the project looked daunting at best. Three of the barn sides had already been started and were lying on the ground. Unfortunately, raising them would take a great deal more man power than they had. As Jack and the farmer discussed the logistics of it, Daniel walked the area. The man had a rough frame put up. Despite the tools and materials available the frame looked solid and substantial. Daniel roughly measured the length and breath of each frame and barn side by his foot steps.
When he was finished, Daniel walked back towards the two men and interrupted their conversation by asking, "Jack, how much rope would you say we're carrying?"
Jack turned, paused to think for a moment, and then said, "Maybe three hundred and fifty feet."
"Sir," Daniel said turning towards the farmer. "If you have another hundred feet or so I can put the sides of the barn up without anyone getting hurt, and with minimal effort."
"Daniel," Jack said in a patronizing tone. "This isn't a recreation."
"Really," Daniel said insolently. "Thank you for pointing that out to me I don't think that-"
"What I meant," Jack said annoyed, "was that someone could get hurt, or the frame could be damaged."
"I understand the basic mechanics of engineering, Jack. Grandfather insisted. If you can build the last frame on the ground, then I can raise them. However, I will need additional rope. And in exchange your woman has to continue to feed the baby."
With that Daniel walked back to the shack where he and Jack had been allowed to store their gear. Daniel found his satchel and got out his small writing box; the last remnant that he was an educated man. He opened his ink well and realized that the ink had gone dry quite some time ago. He dribbled a little water inside and mixed it until it was usable again.
Because of the inherent darkness of the shack he had to go outside. He used a stump for a seat and another as a writing table and then began to design a system of pulleys that would lift the barn sides up to a standing position with minimal effort. He calculated mechanical effort, pounds per pressure, and the amount of effort needed to move the frames up given the size of each frame given their estimated weight.
When he was finished with a suitable design he walked back to the future barn site to find that Jack was already working on the last of the barn sides.
"I've decided to trust you," Jack said with a smile.
Daniel felt himself blush slightly as he handed Jack his design.
All Jack said as he looked at it was, "You're kidding?"
"It'll work, Jack."
Jack just shrugged and gave the paper back.
~ ~ ~
By the next evening the last barn side was finished and Daniel had both Jack and the farmer carving out pulleys. Two days later the simple wooden pulleys were in place and every inch of rope that was available was tied off and stretched out in a web. Each barn side sat butted up against where it needed to go. From each top corner a rope secured each frame section to the system and connected over the standing frame to the center where the pulleys were attached to suspended burlap sacks filled with sand. Because the effort the sand bags would exert wouldn't be enough Daniel had attached a second line to a double tree on which was harnessed every available horse.
Daniel picked up a hammer and yelled, "One!"
He looked at Jack holding his guns ready.
Daniel aimed the hammer carefully, "Two!"
"Three!" he shouted as he bore it down hard knocking the peg loose that held the sand bags as the shots rang up as the farmers children began to scream at the horses as they'd been instructed.
Without the pegged rope holding them up the sandbags fell, beginning the ascent of the wooden frames that the horses' effort continued. Jack continued to fire into the air as he screamed. The children hollered and farmer began to whip at the horses flanks once he saw that it was working.
Daniel watched, thrilled, as each side went straight up.
"Four!" Daniel shouted. He and Jack ran hard towards the hanging ropes and climbed them as quickly as possible. They met at the top of the frame as precious seconds ticked by. Once the horses got tired, the sides would start to fall, knowing this they joined all of the supporting ropes in the center by securing them to the center beam. The second that was done Daniel shouted, "Five!"
The shouting stopped. The horses ended their effort. And to the surprise of almost everyone, the building held.
Jack looked at Daniel and said, "Daniel Jackson, you are amazing and I love you."
Daniel looked at Jack and said, "Let's get some nails in before this thing falls apart and they shoot us."
~ ~ ~
Once the critical sections of the new building were secured Daniel left the construction area. On his way back the farmer's shack he saw the woman in her vegetable patch, tilling at the soil as the youngest of her children helped her. Barely off their mother's teat, the little ones diligently followed her, pulling up weeds and carting away unwanted stones. His little Lapa was lying in his cradleboard next to her youngest which was lying on a blanket under the shade of a nearby tree.
Daniel proceeded inside and set about starting the evening meal. By the time the farmer's wife arrived, Daniel had dinner all but ready. He'd used her flour and lard for two loaves of bread that were still baking. He took from his own meat and vegetables to prepare a thick stew that all but filled her biggest pot. And he even made a dessert. He didn't have many berries left but when combined with some of her soaked dried apples he was able to conjure the fruit into a cobbler. He made drop biscuits for the top and topped the entire thing with crushed pecan nuts that he still had.
She came in non too happy that he'd been 'rattling around in my kitchen,' but he offered her some tea and her chair. She seemed to settle down once she realized that he was willing to do all of the rest of her chores for her. By the time the men and the older children came in, the table was set and dinner was sitting on the table.
Daniel said nothing when he saw the farmer and his sons walk in filthy and dripping in sweat to sit at the table, but when he saw Jack he said, "Go wash first."
Jack made a face that screamed, "Sun burnt! Tired! I hate you right now!" But he went just the same.
Though the table was large there weren't enough chairs to go around. Most of the children sat on tree stumps, the two youngest on the floor.
When Jack returned Daniel sat Jack by the fire and offered him a big bowl of his favorite tea. As time had passed Daniel found that the strong taste of the herbs covered up the taste of the medicine that he was always trying to pour down Jack's throat. This was easier on both of them. And Daniel knew that when Jack woke up he wouldn't as sharply feel the effects of the day's work.
By the time Jack wiped his mouth of tea, Daniel had a bowl of stew and two slices of bread for him.
"Nice, Danny," was all Jack said as he tore into the food and relaxed back against the brick hearth.
Daniel ate his own food as he half-listened to the farmer and his kin carrying on about their new barn. He jumped a little when the farmer slammed his hands down on the table and said, "I git my barn put up in a day! An I git the best victuals ever in that same day! We gonna have ta write this in the bible, mother!"
Daniel looked up meeting Jack's eyes; Jack knew.
Daniel didn't hesitate to get up. "Now you sit right there, Missus." Daniel said as he went to fetch the dessert out of the fire. "You were nice enough to make this enormous feast. Least I can do is serve the rest of it."
"More?" The farmer cried out as he tilted back in his chair before laughing out.
By the time Daniel was done serving the farmer's wife was blushing like a virginal bride as her husband complimented and repeatedly kissed her. Half-hearted she'd shoo him away saying, "Oh, the children!" But it was more than obvious that she didn't mean it and was loving every second of the attention.
The dessert seemed to have been a great hit and was eaten happily by everyone.
"Ah!" The farmer said just before emitting a loud burp. "I take it back woman." He sucked his teeth and then tilted back in his chair again. "I take it all back, what I said about you not buying them apples. You was right." He shook his head and picked at something in his teeth with a fingernail. "You was right about them apples. I'm a big 'nuf man ta say when I am wrong. And I was very wrong. You dun right."
The farmer loosened his pants and let out another belch as he said, "They was costly, but they kept well. All these months later an they tasted mighty fine. Mi'ty fine indeed. I'm a gonna have to apologize to that negro man when I sees him." The farmer hit the table with a hand and said, "Yes, sir! I'm a gonna have to apologize!"
"Negro man?" Daniel said getting up from the floor. He walked over to the table and asked, "Negro man? Would he have a name, sir?"
"Name?" The man said lost for a moment.
When he didn't think of it immediately the wife leaned in and whispered, "Murray."
"Murray!" The farmer said almost in the same instance but far louder. "Yes, goes by the name a Murray. Great, big, scary looking darkie, he is."
Daniel's face softened considerably as he said, "As big as a brick wall and as kind and gentle as he is strong."
The farmer paused for a moment and asked, "You know 'im?"
Daniel smiled brightly, breathed in deeply, and said, "Yes, sir." He blossomed with the first true happiness that he'd felt in a very long time as he said, "I do indeed." Daniel took a step closer and asked, "Please tell me, how was he the last time you saw him? Where did you see him? Was he well? How many days away is he? Is he still limping? Favoring his right leg?"
"Now, hold yur britches, boy!" The farmer demanded. "Cain't but answer one question at a time!"
"Yes, of course." Daniel said quickly.
"Sit," the farmer's wife said happily as she stood up and took her chair to Daniel. She smiled at him looking rather pleased as she walked by to wash the dishes from dinner.
The farmer spent almost a solid hour talking. He seemed to enjoy talking. And Daniel couldn't get enough.
It was Jack that pulled him up from his chair saying, "We aught to leave. These folks are tired and need their sleep."
Reluctantly, Daniel looked around and saw the sleepy faces, "Of course."
They bid their goodnights and walked back to where they'd been making their camp, in the future barn. Unlike previous night though, they now had a partial roof and one partial wall sheltering them from the night.
The moment they were in their bedroll Jack didn't hesitate to ask, "Who's Murray?"
"No one," Daniel said with a smile that could be heard in his voice.
"You asked questions and badgered a man about no one for over an hour?"
"You should be tired?"
"And yet I'm not."
"There will be more work tomorrow."
"I'm a big boy. And apparently, so is your friend, Murray."
Daniel paused as his high dissipated. He sat up and looked down at the shadowy figure that was Jack.
"Jack," Daniel said carefully. "I can't tell you about him; I gave my word of honor. But in the same breath I'll give you mine as well. You're the only person that I'm in love with and I won't do anything that would betray that. If that isn't good enough, then I don't know what to tell you."
With those words Daniel settled back down and promptly fell asleep.
They departed from the farm the next day, much to the dismay of the farmer and his family. The man had woken up in a very good mood. Both he and his wife were all smiles. She fed everyone leftover stew with pieces of the day old bread from dinner diced into cubes over the top. Daniel placed a basket of pecans on the table to round out breakfast and made sure that the basket stayed behind. The wife spent breakfast feeding Lapa and even gave Daniel a little pot of her milk to take with them.
The farmer and his kin walked them all the way to the fence. They waved and watched them leave until Daniel could turn back and could no longer see them any more.
When Daniel turned back he could clearly see the wagon road that the farmer had mentioned straight ahead. The road was well-defined, solid, and led a clear path all the way to where they needed to go. The farmer had said that the road would take them all the way to South Park. Just past the mining district they would find several good stores where they could load up on supplies. The farmer had no idea where Murray lived, only that he went into town now and again to trade.
Daniel wasn't worried. He knew that once he actually got to the place he'd be able to get his bearings and find his way back home. Kiowas never lost their way. And like a wolf with his nose stuck right in the air he knew he could sniff out the right direction. He knew he was still traveling in the right direction - all he had to do was get there. He knew he'd get his bearing when he got close enough.
He and Jack took turns feeding Lapa while the morning was still cool and the milk was still good. The baby drank, burped and spilt milk until his belly was fat and he was so sleepy from eating that he didn't even fight the slumber. Daniel realized that Lapa had fallen asleep in mid-sip and pulled the little pot away before he drowned.
"Here," Daniel said to Jack offering him the pot of milk. "Drink it."
Then Daniel secured Lapa in his cradleboard and hung it from his pommel.
Daniel was offered the pot. He looked up to find Jack licking the white mustache from his face and happily drank down the remainder of the sweet milk. With the pot still in hand they came upon a sign nailed to a gnarled tree.
"Colorado City," Daniel said reading the slightly skewed sign aloud. "Amazing," he said in a dry tone.
A few minutes later he felt the need to say something to fill up the silence that seemed to be tightening between him and Jack, "It wasn't the mining that brought people here originally it was beaver fur for hats. My father told me that pelts could go for as much as six dollars a pound in Philadelphia back when beaver hats were in fashion. There was a trading post up here and that's all. When the wealthy back east didn't want beaver anymore that's when the buffalo robe trade began. And then they found gold."
When Jack didn't respond to him, Daniel went on to say, "My grandfather said that my father was an idiot for buying land out here. That it was worthless and never would be worth anything.
Jack turned to him and finally spoke. "I thought we were headed for Denver?"
Daniel looked at Jack, "No. Of course not. Denver is where my grandfather lives."
"But you said you wanted to go home."
"Home is not there, Jack. Home is the place my father found. It's a good place. You'll see."
"How can I? How can I know anything when you refuse to tell me?"
Daniel turned his eyes back to the road as he felt the uncertainty build up.
Jack stopped his horse.
Daniel responded by stopping his.
"Just tell me one thing." Jack said. "Just tell me how you ended up in that goddamned whorehouse and I'll leave this be."
Daniel felt his face fall. It didn't make much sense now, so removed from that moment. It made even less sense as he said it out loud, but he said because he knew that Jack needed to know. "I needed the money."
Daniel looked around at the high mountains covered in green, black, and purple that cut the sky with their height as he said, "I needed to buy land. The only thing of value that I had was me. I did what I had to."
Jack just stared at him in obvious shock.
When he spoke, all Jack could say was, "Tell me you're lying?"
Daniel met his eyes and evenly said, "You asked me, Jack. I've told you."
Jack sat on his horse for a few minutes as Daniel rode ahead of him. When he'd recovered himself, Jack kicked his horse into a trot. He caught up with Daniel and continued to ride beside him.
It wasn't until well after lunch that Jack managed to gather up the courage to ask, "How much did you get?"
Even out of context, Daniel knew what Jack was asking. Neither of them had said much during the day; it was obvious to him that they were still continuing the previous train of thought.
"Five thousand dollars," Daniel said simply. He waited for a rebuttal of some kind, a jab, a joke, some sort of retort that would either denote either the over or under payment of the goods exchanged. But none came.
Instead, Jack said, "Lapa needs a change," before he scooted aside to lay down in the shade for a while before they started on the road again.
~ ~ ~
They camped that night in the middle of road. The definite lack of traffic was a significant contributor to their choosing that spot. They bunked down for the night with minimal communication. Daniel somehow managed to close his eyes but something kept him from sleep. He felt horribly sleepy, but he found no rest. He wanted sleep more than anything, but none came. He wanted to either open his eyes completely or shut them and sleep but he found that he couldn't leave the middle place that lay between the two places.
A sudden brightness accompanied by the heat of day suddenly dawned over him so quickly that he knew it was wrong. It had to be a dream; nothing else could be so unnatural.
When his eyes finally opened he became aware of day. The pallet beneath him was missing, and the road wasn't as rocky as before. It was hard and almost perfectly smooth. Odd painted lines decorated the edges and middle of the road. He sat up and found himself to be neither sleepy, nor confused, nor deranged. Everything was perfectly clear around him, but he understood none of what he was seeing, a fact which let him know that it was a vision.
A strange wagon with odd round, black wheels and metal skinned chassis sat to one side of the road. As Daniel took a closer look he realized that one of those wheels looked broken.
Daniel stood and looked around. Jack, Lapa, their gear, and horses were gone. A white man opened a metal door and stepped down to the road. Two more walked around and joined him.
Daniel looked them over. Though he didn't recognize their uniforms, he knew that they were soldiers. He knew rifles when he saw them. The soldiers didn't seem to take notice of him even though he was in plain sight. They didn't shoot or defend themselves. They seemed to see right through him. And he knew that he was omniscient in this vision.
The one with the soft pointed cap looked like he had high rank; he had the bearing for it. He pulled a sidearm out and told the soldier next to him, "I'll keep an eye, you help the driver."
Daniel watched the two underlings working on the wagon wheel for a moment. When he turned the soldier was gone. Daniel walked up the wagon's chassis and pressed his ear to the metal.
"I'm sorry. I can't help you..." the soldier said to someone inside.
"Wait, wait!" Another one said. "We can...we can prove it."
"The date." A third person said. "What's the date?"
"August 4th." The soldier said, "1969."
Daniel pulled away from the metal wagon, almost shocked. Just as quickly he pressed his ear back.
"What happened in '69?" The second asked.
"The-the moon landing." The first one said.
"That was just a couple of weeks ago, right?" The second one asked.
"The entire world knows that." The soldier said in an almost lazy drawl.
Then the second one rebutted, "But not too many people know you watched it from your father's bedside in his hospital room...just two days after his first heart attack.
"How did you know?" the soldier said sounding shocked.
"Because we know you. We will know you. For some reason, thirty years ago, you decided we were going to need help. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing there with a note. Now you going to listen to yourself, or not?"
Daniel then heard the soldier help the others inside. From their knowledge, Daniel was sure that the soldier was helping shamen, sages, or priests and he was glad that he was witnessing this. Knowledgeable spirits willing to administer help were very good luck; and he wanted to make sure that he got home as quickly as possible. He knew that he had to pay close attention to it all and learn what he was supposed to.
This was why it was so confusing for him when the soldier stepped out still holding his weapon and called for help. Instead of shamen the others stepped out were wearing clothes that looked as regimented as that of soldiers. With an odd weapon that shot blue lightening another leader among them subdued the other soldiers and then set a trap for a truck.
He watched silently by the truck as the dream evolved at its own pace and the four men and a woman soldier set a trap for a similar metal clad wagon that sped towards them. Daniel had seen trucks before in the city's, but nothing as big as what came down the road...without horses, just like the first metal behemoth. Three other men were then struck by the weapon and went down to the road limply.
After destroying the second wagon's cargo the man with the weapon jumped from the wagon's back and asked the soldier, "Got any cash?
The soldier pulled out money and the other took it saying, "That's good. I'll pay you back, with interest."
The man with the weapon was clearly in charge as he walked away from the truck towards the first. Daniel walked along keeping in step with the young soldier. Out of all of them his was the only one that had a name on his unifrom, "Hammond."
The woman began to lecture, "One more thing. You have to keep everything you've seen and everything we've told you a secret, and I mean for the rest of your life."
"General Hammond. I like the sound of that," Hammond said, "what are you going to do now?"
Daniel saw it in the man's eyes but was unable to give any warning before he saw the man pull out the starnge weapon and shoot Hammond down. The man collapsed at Daniel's feet and the others soon left.
For some reason Daniel expected to awaken at that moment, but he didn't. He sat down next to the unconcious soldier named Hammond and waited for something...anything. Dreams weren't usually this clear or real. Visions were often confusing. He really wasn't sure what was happening or where he was, so he waited.
Eventually, one of the other soilders awoke. He awoke vomiting and continued to vomit.
The sounds of retching seemed to awaken Hammond. Daniel watched him closely. And just as Uncle Three Owls often said, a dream begins to make sense when it is ready to teach you and not before. There was something in the way the man awoke. A smacking of his lips in those first few moments between the waking and dream world that reminded Daniel of someone else.
Hammond's eyes widened as he saw Daniel, and Daniel knew that he saw the man... really saw the man in front of him.
"Hello Lapa," Daniel said gently.
The man still looked spooked and crawled back away from him by several feet. Still agape, the man breathlessly said, "Hello."
For lack of anything better to say, Daniel said, "I saw what you did. You are a good man."
"Am I dreaming?" Hammond asked.
"I thought I was," Daniel replied.
"Am I dead?" Hammond asked.
Daniel managed to smile as he thought about the philosophical nature of the question. 1969 was a far cry from 1869; to answer the question he settled on something simple. "I think that given the right perspective I might be dead and you still don't exist, but this depends on who happens to be doing the perceiving."
"I see." Hammond replied.
Then Daniel leaned in and asked, "I'm trying to get to a place called Cheyenne Mountain. It is my home; I thought I knew the way yesterday but," Daniel looked around and admitted, "I don't recognize anything at the moment."
The man pointed to the direction the trucks had come from. "I work under the Cheyenne complex," the soldier said, still pointing. "It's that way. About eight miles."
Daniel smiled and sat back. "Thank you, Lapa. I appreciate the information a great deal. I'm sure I'll be able to find it now."
"Sure," Hammond said just as he began to fade away from Daniel's vision, watery, and vague until only a faint wisp of an outline remianed.
The fuzziness faded until it was hard for Daniel to even see properly. Daniel shook his head until he felt no control over the shaking that was rattling him.
"Daniel!" he heard Jack shout at him. "Wake up! For God's sake wake up!"
"What?" Daniel said staring up at Jack. "What's wrong Jack?"
"You! That's what's wrong!" Jack shouted at him. "I tried to wake you but you wouldn't! You were just staring off into space!"
Daneil didn't know how to react other than to calm Jack down and assure him that he was fine.
~ ~ ~
The next day they continued on the road to Colorado City. With the guidance from the dream Daniel knew exactly where he was going. He tried to explain the dream to Jack but he didn't seem interested, so Daniel kept the dream of a hundred years to himself. He'd learned what he had needed at that moment...where the way home was.
"Colorado City might not be alive for much longer." Jack said. It was the first thing that he'd said that morning.
"The new road to Denver," Daniel said agreeing.
"That's why my wife was traveling along the Platte River on her way to me. The road there's better."
Daniel couldn't help the small malicious smile that grew on his face, "With any luck. Yes, it'll die and the people will leave. Find some other place to destroy stone-by-stone."
Daniel recognized what South Park was the moment they rode into it at the height of afternoon. It was a crossroads where miners re-supplied, sold their goods, and stopped for rest. The area was rank with the wild looking men that moved the earth in hopes of riches. As an industry, the district was filled with stone and log buildings that supported the mining trade. There were people on the dirt streets; many more people than Daniel could have imagined. And he didn't like some of the looks that they received on the ride in.
Daniel held no illusions as to how he might appear to the people that openly stared and occasionally pointed at him. He dressed in the buckskin that he found infinitely more comfortable than woven cloth. His hair was now long enough to wear in braids all the time. Though not as long as it had been when he'd been forced to cut his hair for the whorehouse, his braids were long enough now to wrap in strips of fur. He knew that he couldn't hide the almost white sun bleached streaks that his hair sported or the way they fell across his face. For whatever reason the hair at the top of his head always seemed to grow slower than the rest and was forever falling across his eyes. Lapa's cradleboard was securely on his back. He didn't trust the people he was looking at and if they had to move quickly he wanted to make sure Lapa would be safe.
Daniel snuck a look at Jack. He knew Jack had already checked his guns several times since first spotting the outskirts of the frontier city. Jack looked tense and extremely aware, as if he was continuously assessing their situation as they passed through a potential gauntlet.
Once past the rougher buildings, they entered deeper into the better constructed buildings. Neat rows of solid log buildings or brick buildings lined the main street. On either side of them there was even a wooden boardwalk so that people wouldn't have to step through puddles, mud, or horse manure. Instead of miners there were now families and well dressed business men that were staring.
As they passed a group of several men in suits standing in front of a large log constructed general store Daniel bothered to look back. He couldn't help a moment of revulsion as he watched the money makers. They were the ones that drove the machine that was systematically destroying his world. They came, made a profit off of destruction, and then left so they wouldn't have to live in the filth that they left behind. And the thought sickened Daniel.
Daniel turned his head away and concentrated on what lay ahead. He could already see the mountain top from where they were. The silhouette was unmistakable. The man, Hammond, from a hundred years to be had directed him right. The vision was right. The circle was now almost complete. He was almost there only a few steps away, this is why he initially found it so completely annoying when he was interrupted from taking those steps when one of those well dressed businessmen ran out into the dusty street yelling for him to stop.
The man rushed ahead of them so suddenly that he frightened Daniel's horse into rearing up. Daniel pulled on the reins as his horse's hooves came down in an instinctive effort to not kill the man. Once his horse was on the ground and the momentary shock had passed Daniel saw the frightened man standing in the middle of street wide-eyed, and stiff. Daniel patted his horse and thanked his Uncle Three Owls once again for his good training.
It was Jack that bellowed out, "What in the hell did you think you're doing man?"
The man closed his eyes for a moment and looking right at Daniel and in a heavy Italian accent asked, "You're Daniel."
Daniel looked at Jack who was suddenly as confused as Daniel was.
The man once again said, "You're name is Daniel Jackson, is it not?"
Daniel dismounted from his horse in one clean move. Once his feet were on the ground he carefully asked, "How do you know me?"
The man smiled widely as if he were thanking God and then rushed ahead to embrace Daniel. He was so surprised at the action that Daniel just stood there about as wide-eyed and frightened as the man had been a moment ago.
The man suddenly held Daniel away from him and said, "You came! You finally came!"
Much less challenging and much more confused Daniel once again asked, "How do you know me?"
"Mr. Murray said you would come. You're on your way to him, aren't you? Come. Come! Come inside! I owe Mr. Murray some money. You can take it to him. You can rest for a minute. Giuseppe! Luigi!" The man called.
Two tall gangly boys walked out of the log constructed general store and came forward. A plump woman and a little girl stood at the store's doorway looking on.
In Italian the man instructed the boys to, "Take the men's horses. Water them. Luigi, get some oats for them."
In Italian Daniel asked, "Sir, I know this will sound like a rude question. But is your wife still feeding your little daughter on her breast?"
The man looked back at Daniel as if in shock. "You speak my language? Are you Italian?" The man laughed happily.
"No. I'm not Italian, but I do know the language." Daniel shrugged off the cradleboard and showed the baby to the man. "We found this child on the trip here. Finding milk for him has been hard."
The man looked at the baby. "Of course, Mr. Jackson. Please, come. Come."
The man's boys led the horses to a post as the man led the way to the store.
"Maria," the man called in his language, "they're bringing Mr. Murray a boy. He needs milk."
Daniel was actually rather amazed that the moment he set foot on the wooden steps to the general store the wife was already taking the cradleboard from him and cooing at Lapa. Daniel allowed her to take the cradleboard, but he proceeded inside more cautiously.
The store itself was about as neat as those stores could be when stacked floor to ceiling with one item after another. Daniel immediately noticed the strings of dried apple rings hanging all along the walls. The store was very well stocked with cloth, dry goods, tools, equipment, and all manner of specialty items that had obviously been imported from back east.
"Please," the man said walking behind the counter. "Come. Anthony, watch the store."
Daniel followed him and found another one of the man's sons behind the counter who only smiled as he watched them big-eyed and full of curiosity. Through the doorway behind the counter they entered a larger room which was more like part of a home, cluttered and lived in. The wife was already bustling around a small, busy kitchen with Lapa on her breast. The little girl had been sat off to one side with a cracker in her mouth as she watched big-eyed and shyly.
The smell of hot food filled the enclosed area until it was almost painful to smell it. The man pulled out two chairs for him at a small table and sat himself down waiting for them. Daniel walked ahead and took a seat as Jack followed.
"Please excuse the mess, here. Always a mess. We get the things to sell ready here. Jar foods and many other things. We actually live there," the man said pointing to a door. "On the other side is our house. Mr. Murray is very generous man with us. You understand I couldn't talk about this out there. No one else knows and Mr. Murray wants it to stay like this, so I say I owe him money so you come inside."
The moment the man stopped talking Daniel finally asked, "Who are you?"
The man laughed at himself as he wife approached with three glasses in her free hand.
"Lorenzo!" The woman scolded as she placed the glasses down. "You didn't bother to introduce yourself to them?"
"I was too excited," The man exclaimed as he gestured in explanation.
She smacked him lightly on the arm as she said, "Introduce yourself right now before they think you're a barbarian."
The man smiled again and said, "My name is Lorenzo Martinelli. This is my wife Maria. You're probably wondering why I ask you in."
Mrs. Martinelli brought a pitcher of lemonade and poured them each a drink. He and Jack accepted it happily; it was the first real taste of sugar either of them had in months.
"We come to this country to make new lives, but the cities were," the man made a face, "no good. Work was bad. The people didn't treat us good. My children had to work to keep the family fed. No. It was no good. I want my boys to grow up to learn. I start to think that maybe coming out here is better for us. Find land. Farm. Make a good living."
The paused and then said, "It was very hard coming here. When we finally get to this place. We had no more money. No money for food. No money for travel. No money to even mine to make more money. No one wanted to give me work because I was emigrant. It was cold and it was very bad. I was down where the miners go trying to find work. I see this big black man driving a big wagon with apples. I see him I think maybe he needs help selling them."
The lemonade was easy going down. He and Jack drank down their glasses very easily.
Mr. Martinelli said, "I ask him. He say yes. Sell the apples and I give you half. That day I make enough money to feed my family. He ask me if I want to sell more things for him, he said he come back with more the next day. I said yes. I waited. He come with more apples. I sell everything to the miners for good money. That was the day we start. Everything you see here, he buy. I sell. He make half, I make half."
Mrs. Martinelli refilled their glasses.
Mr. Martinelli patted Daniel's arm as he said, "He good man. Build the house there for my family. My boys have good work; like a gentleman, they no going to work in the sun. My boys all learning the English and to read and write. Numbers too."
"How did you know who I was?" Daniel asked curiously.
"Mr. Murray say he waiting for you to come. A white Indian, long gold hair, and blue, very blue eyes. He tell me description of you and your name every time he comes. He always asks if we see you. Very important to find Daniel when Daniel comes. Lorenzo you make sure that he has what he wants. What I have is his, you make sure he comes to find me. I see you, and I know."
Mrs. Martinelli brought a huge loaf of sliced bread and placed it on the table.
"Mangi, prego!" the man insisted.
"What?" Jack asked.
"Eat," Daniel translated as he reached for the thick, hot bread.
A platter of butter, and cheese followed to the table.
"Lorenzo," the wife said as he left the baby with her husband for a moment.
Lapa began to cry almost the instant the nipple left his lips. Daniel held out his arms and took the baby. Lapa didn't stop crying but the cry went from the high-pitched hysterical cry to the more tolerable hungry cry.
Mrs. Lorenzo was gone just long enough to pull a roasted meat out of the oven, put it on a plate, and then deposited it on the table. She took Lapa back and pulled her ample breast out of her opened dress. Lapa stopped crying the moment he was in her arms and saw his lunch returned to him.
Mr. Martinelli just watched with a big smile. He turned to Daniel and with a huge smile said, "I feel the same way about them too."
Mrs. Martinelli hit him again before turning back to the kitchen.
~ ~ ~
All three of them rode away from the Martinelli family's store with the same sleepy satisfaction. Lapa fell right to sleep once Mrs. Martinelli was done feeding him; nothing woke him through the rest of the trip, not even Jack's incessant compliments about the woman's cooking. The lamb was succulent, the bread was hot, the butter was sweet, there was even a fresh tomato salad made with real tomatoes that came out of the family's garden plot. The first few minutes of travel were hard. Their bellies were stuffed and the horses created movement, but they got through it.
The trail up the mountain was obvious...to Daniel. Murray had marked it with Deer Hunter clan marks. Every half mile he spotted the same torn swatch of bark missing at the same height from the same kind of tree. He followed the marks carefully until they reached a fork in the road; at least, he recognized it as such.
"What is it?" Jack asked.
"This way," Daniel said turning off the road and into the trees.
"What? Daniel that's not a trail."
"Yes, it is," Daniel said pointing to the missing strip of bark on the tree. "Deer like to eat strips of bark from these trees. I am Deer Hunter. My tribe marks these trees high like this one, only a Deer Hunter knows how to do this. Murray left it for me to find."
Daniel led the way off the road and into the trees. The travois became stuck almost immediately. The brush was thick and the tree branches were low, and awkwardly in the way. Daniel was forced to dismount. He tied Lapa's cradleboard to the pommel and struggled with the travois through the dense undergrowth as he followed a partially hidden trail. When the markers ended he left the horse and walked ahead as he scanned the entire area for any sign. Instead of another marker on a tree, he found a pile of stones.
Daniel knelt down and picked up one of the stones with a smile.
"Why are you smiling?" Jack asked as he walked up behind him.
Daniel held the smooth rock and held it up to Jack.
Jack looked confused as he took it and looked over the shiny, black, stone. Jack rubbed the stone with his thumb as he said, "This doesn't belong here. This is a volcanic stone."
Daniel smiled softer, "I'm glad I've married a smart man." He turned and looked up the rocky path whose base the stones decorated. "It's good luck to throw stones down a path before you walk it."
"Let me guess," Jack said, "another Deer Hunter habit."
Daniel only smiled as he went back for the horses.
The trail was narrow at the start, barely big enough for the horse. Daniel became concerned enough about possibly losing his horse that he took the cradleboard back and put the boy on his back. One end of the travois hung in mid-air as it traveled along. But the trail widened as it continued along. Soon they were walking the trail comfortably as it wound and twisted around the mountain face.
The trail ended on a patch of broken rocks. The moment Daniel set his moccasin clad foot on the broken rocks he studied them carefully. The rocks weren't naturally occurring; they'd been broken, transported, and dumped to fill in a deep crevice that extended in either direction of the trail for several meters.
Daniel led his horse forwards and past the broken rocks to a trail that had been worn into the grassy slope beyond. He waited for Jack as he spotted three more clan markers within sight.
"We're close," Daniel said when Jack had joined him.
Roughly ten minutes later, Jack stopped.
"Trail," Jack said as he studied a worn path that led away from where they were walking. The second trail led up towards a break in the rocks.
"No black stones. No clan marks. Murray wouldn't make it hard for me to find him." Daniel said as he continued forward carefully avoiding looking at the path. He knew exactly where he was now. It was obvious that all other paths into the mountain had been sealed up; just as they'd planned. And the thought elated Daniel to no end.
The mountain reached up out of the ground just ahead of them and stretched its hand out in an enormous stone growth that poured up and over them in a natural overhang that extended over the path that they were walking. The height was just enough for them and the horses to pass under the cool rock without having to duck. Under the rock formation the path radically changed directions and led them from north to south west. At the other end they broke into a wooded area that spilled down into a path created by planted rows of apple trees.
Daniel followed the natural path to a small pile of black stones that marked another direction. Rounding another rock outcrop he guided the horse out of the apple grove and followed the rocky outcrop. On the other side he found a small log cabin tucked against the natural protection of the living rock face and surrounded by ancient trees. Smoke billowed gently out of the stonework chimney. Outside the cabin strings of apple rings hung all along the edges of the cabin's porch roof. Gently, they blew from side-to-side in the breeze as if welcoming him home.
"Aekenda," Jack said gently to him.
Daniel tucked his head down afraid to move.
He looked up at Jack who brushed the back of his hand across Daniel's cheek as he said, "Your journey has come full circle, One Who Is Surrendered."
Daniel wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh, cry, or smile.
He was still trying to decide when he saw the door to the cabin swing open. Two people that he recognized, even at that distance, came out.
He heard himself shout out loudly and unintelligibly. Before he knew what was happening Daniel running hard and fast. He ran up the worn trail with the cradleboard bouncing around on his back so hard that he had to hold it down with one hand as he continued to scale the ever growing grassy hill up to the cabin. They ran down towards him. Daniel stopped within ten feet reeling from the reality and quickly fell to his knees.
Tabananica, true to her nature slammed right into him as she tackled him in a tight embrace. Daniel felt the wind knocked out of him momentarily but he embraced her just the same. She let out a loud pain filled sob. He had to close his eyes to it as he held her close. He felt her body vibrate with grief and sobbing. He held her tighter as he felt his own pain rise to the surface. When his tears started they were hard and miserable. They came from a deep, dark place where he'd effectively managed to bury every grief that he'd had to bury along the terrible path that he'd had to walk along his journey. For the first time, for the first time ever, he opened up that place and let it spill out.
It was Murray's first touch that sent him into a howl of pain. His large hand stroked Daniel's head, gently smoothing back his hair and Daniel suddenly felt as if someone had pummeled him soundly. He collapsed against Tabananica and laid his head limply against her.
For the first time since he'd left he allowed another person to take care of him. They held him. They stroked him. They gave him what he needed. And it made him want to fall in deeper against Tabananica's body to take it all in. He wanted it all; but more importantly, he needed it.
Daniel lay on the grass with his head on Tabananica's lap for a long time. When he was able, he slowly dragged himself up to a sitting position. He lifted his eyes slowly to find Tabananica's gentle eyes watching him.
Murray smiled and said, "Welcome home, brother."
Daniel looked away as the guilt began to well up, "If you know the things that I've done." Daniel swallowed hard. "You wouldn't welcome me back. You shouldn't." Daniel wiped his face with both hands and then much more clearly said, "I should go."
Tabananica pulled him forward and hugged him again. "You're home and home you will stay."
Daniel shut his eyes tightly. "You've never looked better," he said sincerely.
She pulled away just far enough to say, "You brought me back to life; now it's time to return the favor. We've been waiting for you to return home for a long time. Promise you won't leave."
Silently, he met her eyes and nodded. He slid his hand up and touched the wide band that she wore around her head. He carefully shifted it up just high enough to see the beginning of the thick, angry, white scar that marred her perfect bronze skin. She shied away as she pulled it back down.
"I hope his spirit spends the rest of eternity wandering aimlessly," Daniel whispered fiercely.
Murray reached out stroked Daniel's face. Daniel didn't hesitate to reach up and hug the man for the first time. He felt the two powerful arms encircle him in a protective embrace that made it hard to breath but even harder to pull away from.
Softly, Murray said, "We love you. Don't ever leave us again."
And Daniel finally knew that he was home.
Jack watched Daniel cry himself dry. The squaw held him and stroked his Daniel's hair. Jack itched to move forwards and hold Daniel too when it was so very obvious that he needed it. But he knew better.
The situation had just become more than just complicated. As he watched the big, black man walk down the trail to sit on the grass next to Daniel so he could touch and hold him too, Jack saw the recognition on the man's face the moment their eyes met. Jack wasn't sure where the name Murray had come from but he sure recognized Teal'c when he saw him. Unmistakable, unforgettable, and standing not more than a few meters away; Jack knew that he was in a lot of trouble. The only reason that Jack didn't get on his horse and ride out at that moment was because of Daniel.
Jack watched the three of them talk for a good while. Whatever needed to be said was said. Daniel picked up Lapa and carried him over as the squaw walked towards the cabin. For a glimmer of a moment Jack hoped they were leaving. It faded, however, when he saw Teal'c follow Daniel towards him.
"Jack," Daniel said happier then he'd ever seen him, "this is Murray."
"Colonel O'Neill," Murray said with a slight nod as he closed in the last few feet.
"Teal'c," Jack said with a similar nod. "We've met, Daniel."
"It was my understanding that you died, Colonel."
"Then the dead must have excellent intelligence. I heard you died a month or so before I did."
Impassive as ever, Teal'c merely said, "Things happen in life that can not often be ignored. My death was necessary."
"That's how I felt."
"Then let us reach an agreement, I will allow you to be dead if you will also allow me."
Daniel put his hand on Jack's shoulder.
Jack didn't even have to look into the big eyes to know what he wanted. Jack gave in without trying. "Deal," he said simply.
Teal'c bowed his head slightly and took the reins from Daniel's hands.
Jack followed Teal'c's lead all the way up to the cabin steps. Together they unloaded the travois, saddlebags, paraflechs, and baskets were deposited on the porch.
"Come," Teal'c said as he led the horse around the side of the cabin.
Jack took his horse's reins and led him and the other three tied behind him along like they'd been traveling along for the past few months. The last few steps led along a path next to the cabin up an incline and into a natural cave formation. Inside several natural openings cast down bright shafts of light that lit up the entire area. Wooden stalls, feed boxes, and a smithy's forge were all arranged inside.
As Teal'c relieved Daniel's horse of the travois Jack began to unshackle his own horse from his saddle. They made quick work of brushing down the horses, feeding them, watering them, and housing them in stalls for the night.
At one point Jack turned and found Teal'c standing straighter than any soldier that he'd ever had beneath him. This man was one of the ones that he'd wished had been able to serve. Jack knew that he'd have been excellent in the role of soldier, it was a shame.
Jack knew that Teal'c wanted to talk so Jack walked up, slipped his hands into his pockets, and waited.
"You realize," Teal'c said stoically, "that he is an extraordinary human being. If you hurt him, I will ensure that you suffer greatly before I allow you to die."
Jack nodded, "And that is how I know that you really care about him. I'm glad." Jack said as he walked out with Teal'c. "He needs that kind of love."
~ ~ ~
It was at dinner that Jack truly realized just how limited Daniel had been on the trail. If lunch was good, dinner was excellent. He wasn't sure what he was eating, but it was too good to stop and ask. A thick stew was served with lots of squash and pumpkin and big chucks of venison. Cornmeal cakes and a kind of gravy made from sunflower seeds were served on the side with chokeberry-apple dumplings.
Jack had watched Daniel make the food, as Daniel and the squaw gossiped. And yet he still couldn't believe how good it all was. He ate happily as he listened to Daniel speaking in his language with the squaw. Truth be told, Jack didn't trust the squaw one bit. It wasn't that he thought she was shifty; it was just that he knew a fighter when he saw one. If that woman was a meek, submissive little squaw, he'd eat his boots. It was in the way she held herself. Her posture was all wrong for a simple wife.
She didn't even try to help with the chores that he had watched Daniel do that evening. Jack also noticed that unlike Daniel she didn't rush to the baby...ever. She didn't even try to touch Lapa; after all Daniel had said about how well cared for Kiowas children were; it just didn't sit right. She smiled when she looked at him and did all the right things, but he could see it none-the-less. She was dangerous.
When they were finished Jack watched Teal'c and the squaw get up and leave the cabin.
"Where they going?" Jack asked when the door was closed.
"Leaving," Daniel said simply. "Teal'c thinks we should have the cabin for tonight."
"Oh," Jack said with a slight smile that Daniel found contagious. "Have anything planned?"
"Well," Daniel said getting up as he gathered the dishes. "I thought I'd clean up while you washed up. We've been on the trail for a while. Go in the bedroom," Daniel said nodded to the only other door. "There's a door that leads to water."
"A door that leads to water?" Jack asked skeptically.
"Take a lantern," Daniel said. "I'll be there in a minute."
Jack took a lantern from over the fireplace, lit it, and walked into the next room. He found a cozy bedroom with its own fireplace and a big feather bed. He pushed on the bed and found a decent mattress, the first he was going to sleep on in a long while. Like Daniel said there was a second door to the bedroom.
Jack walked to the door and opened it only to be met by a soft, warm draft and the smell of something. He held the lantern up and felt a smile curl his lip up. The yellow of the lantern's light cast a warm glow into a small cavern with a steaming, hot spring. He smelled the air and realized that there was a scent of minerals of some kind. After all the months of bathing in cold streams, freezing rivers, and breaking ice during winter he almost felt like crying. Jack stepped down into soft white sand and hurried in farther.
Close to the water he found a small table and set the lantern on it. He began to take his clothes off and set each piece together in a pile. The moment his bare feet touched the powder soft sand he realized that this was going to be better then he'd imagined. He finished undressing and wandered to the edge of the water. He dipped a foot in and realized just how hot it was. He had to go slowly. Inch-by-inch he eased himself deeper into the soothing hot water. Five feet from the edge he eased himself down and sat in the tranquil water. He moaned as the heat began to permeate his skin and warm his bones.
Lately, his old injuries had started to get colder more and more. He never admitted that to anyone; but somehow Daniel always knew. The hot teas that Daniel gave him helped, but nothing made it go completely away. This, however; this was amazingly fantastic.
It only got better when he heard the sound of Daniel breaking the water and felt the waves pushing against him. Daniel sat behind him and pushed himself up behind him. Jack took full advantage and leaned back against the man, luxuriating in the hot bath. Then, Daniel managed to do it again when he placed a cup of tea in Jack's hand. Jack looked up and received a gentle kiss on his lips.
Jack smiled, sipped some of his tea, and said, "If you're trying to seduce me you won me over with dinner." He sipped more tea and said, "Just let the old man finish his tea, have his bath, and then he'll go fuck you bowlegged. Alright?"
Jack felt Daniel's arms and legs encircle him. "Whatever you say old man."
~ ~ ~
Jack prided himself as being a man of his word. And he kept his word last night until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion on top of Daniel and promptly fell asleep still spilling his seed deep inside of lover.
He didn't have to look to know that Daniel wasn't in bed with him, but he could still smell Daniel on the sheets. The smell was unmistakable. Like a fine perfume it hung all over him, the smell of sex, and excitement. The smell of Daniel pleasing him and being pleased. The smell of his lover enjoying himself and letting go. It was all there and it was wonderful. Jack smiled against the pillow and snuggled in.
It was with the stupid grin on his face that Jack realized that something was wrong.
He sat up in bed and smelled the air. No food. No sounds. The cabin was all wood; he should be able to at least hear Daniel moving around.
Jack stood and walked into the other room. With a look he found that he was alone. On the table he found a note sitting under a bowl of dried apple rings. He picked it up and read:
I'll be gone for a few hours. There is lots of food in the house. I'll be back soon.
Daniel
Jack dropped the note and returned to the room. He found clean clothes in one of his saddle bags and dressed. He walked outside and went straight to the stable. With a look he found all the horses present and accounted for. He walked out and headed back to the house.
Inside, he found his guns and strapped them on. He fetched a handkerchief out of his pocket and filled it with dried apples from the bowl before going on his way out the door. There was only one place that Jack could think of that Daniel would go. He headed towards the orchard and then turned off to the second trail that led away from both the orchard and the cabin. The unmarked trail. The trail that hadn't 'welcomed' them. Daniel hadn't even looked at it. He'd kept his eyes away from it, as if he had been afraid. Jack just wasn't sure of what.
The passage turned out to be not much of a passage. He was glad that he'd had a good hot soak the night before because his knees were tested on the steady climb that took him even higher up the mountain face. The 'trail,' if he could call it that, was actually the only sane way to climb up. There were foot holds but it was a difficult climb. The morning was still cool and the sun was weak, but he managed to soak through his shirt in the first fifteen minutes.
When he reached the end, he found himself at a ledge that someone had worked flat. The ledge met a wide crevice with tool marks that could be seen on the walls of the living rock. Pieces of the mountain had been removed to make it possible for a grown man like Jack to pass between each side of the walls, in some places even walking straight ahead with his arms at his sides. He followed it along until it emptied out on a narrow trail that ran in both directions.
Jack chose left. He only had to walk a few steps before he met a steep incline. He looked carefully and saw that there weren't any stones at the bottom, black or otherwise. That alone let him know that it was the wrong way. He turned and went back.
Down the right way he walked on for several minutes until he found another incline. No rocks. Or rather, no small rocks.
Jack turned back and walked back to the point where he'd exited from the passage and tried to think of what he could have done wrong. As he stood there feeling stupid he inched closer to the edge and looked over for lack of anything else to do. To his surprise he saw more than a few small, dark, stones several hundred feet below. Jack got down on his hands and knees and squinted his eyes. He couldn't be absolutely sure of what he was looking at, but he was pretty sure.
It was on his knees that he saw the scarred rock face a few feet away from him...a rock with evidence of having been worked by a tool. Jack smiled and sat up as he contemplated the stupid thing that he was about to attempt. He'd done a lot of stupid things before, a lot. But in all his years, he'd never tried to scale down the side of a very large mountain with no rope, no gear, no back up, and no real idea of where he was going.
He found a small stone lying next to his knee. He picked it up and pitched it over the side.
"Can't hurt," he said as he carefully maneuvered over the side and felt around with his foot until he blindly found a foot hold.
Jack took a deep breath in and then took his life, literally, into his own hands as he went over the edge. Most of the hand and foot holds were naturally occurring, but many more hand been carved out of the rock. In a few difficult places large spikes had been driven into the rock. He went down slowly and with great care. He'd never cared greatly for heights. They were pretty to look at, but not from that angle. The wind sheer alone was enough to knock his center of gravity completely off and Jack