The stillness of the night and the security of the warm campfire caused them to loose all sense of danger. There was no need to be afraid of anything on such a warm night as this. Stars sparkled overhead, while crickets sang out their own tune without a care. It was runs like this that made the riders glad that they worked for the Express. An easy-paced delivery, and a slow journey back home.

Teaspoon had given special instructions that they take it easy all the way back. His riders had been overworked and 'underpaid' for all of the time that they had been putting in lately. The government was demanding faster service with less money. War talk swept across the plains like a irrevocable prairie fire. But for these two, they were oblivious to the world...focusing only on the moment and the fact that they would finally be able to sleep after three solid days of riding.

"Lou, what do you want to do with this time off? I'll show you a real night out," Jimmy said, half-teasing as he knew how exhausted she was.

She smiled at his offer. For one of the first times in her life, doing something exciting was one of the last things on her mind, "I just want to sleep, but if you want to go find a party, I'll stay here and watch your horse for you."

Jimmy wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No, sleep is a good idea," he said as he rested his head on his saddle and turned his back to the campfire.

"Goodnight," Lou called out through a yawn.

"Nite."

"It looks like now is the time to make our move," he whispered from behind the tree in which he had hidden himself. If this worked out the way it was supposed to, he was going to be a rich man by the time the night was over.

The person with him stammered, this was the first time that he had ever done something like this. All of his life he had obeyed his mom like he was supposed to, and he was always in before dark. Now, he was supposed to be robbing two people in their sleep. "Are you sure this is such a great idea?"

"Of course, you idiot!" He shot back. "When I give the word, you go over and see if that one's got anything. I'll check the other."

"Yeah, but what if he wakes up?"

He chuckled. How could he have been so foolish to bring such an stupid accomplice with him? "Kill him."

"Oh," the boy replied absentmindedly. The words didn't sink in until a few seconds later...then his eyes lit up and his voice was full of terror, "Do what!?" He almost shouted, but it was too late. His boss had already begun to make his move. "Owwww, I didn't want to do this!"

Jimmy rested in silence for the longest time. He was completely exhausted from the journey that they had made, yet still, sleep refused to set in. Quietly he rolled over and glanced at Lou. She was sound asleep, and by the slight smile on her face, it was obvious that she was dreaming about something nice. Deep down he couldn't help but wish that she would wake up and see him. There were so many things that he would have liked to tell her on a night like this...but as it turned out, the time was never right and he would probably have to keep those things to himself forever.

Just as he was beginning to relax, there was a rustling sound from behind him. Once you've been sleeping under the stars, it's easy to tell the difference between the sounds of nature and the sounds of man. This was obviously the noise of a man.

Gently and steadily, Jimmy reached for his gun and held it in his hand. He thought about waking Lou, but in order to do so, he would end up notifying whoever it was behind him that he was awake.

Then, he felt something touching the saddle bag that was resting against his side. With lightning speed he rolled over and met up with his opponent. He raised his gun and sat up quickly. "What do you want, huh?"

Lou heard the noise and sat up quickly, "Jimmy, what's....?" She didn't have time to finish the question when someone met up with her from behind and tackled her. Moving on pure reaction, she grabbed his arm, threw herself around, and pinned him down. It was easy to do, because the boy was smaller than she was.

"Please don't hurt me!" He pleaded through a terror-filled voice.

"You should have asked that before you attacked me!"

Jimmy looked over at Lou, and couldn't help but smile at the way she was "holding her own". He turned his attention back to the man that was standing in front of him. It all happened so fast that Jimmy wasn't sure how he reacted in time. The man pulled his gun from nowhere, and Jimmy did not hesitate to shoot instantly.

Lou spun around in time to see the second man fall to the ground. The boy whom she was still pinning down began to shake in fear. "I'm sorry! I didn't want to do this, but he said that if I didn't take all the money you were carrying, that he was going to tell my momma that I was drinking after school. I couldn't let that happen, please understand!"

Jimmy walked over and helped Lou to her feet, "Who was he?"

"His name was Carlson...that's all I know, honest! Please if you let me go, I swear I'll never do anything like this again. I've learned my lesson."

Lou looked over at Jimmy and he nodded. She turned back to the boy, "Go on, but next time, I won't be so nice about how I take you down," Lou said as she narrowed her eyes trying to look mean and tough. The boy nodded his head and took off running.

"What do we do now?" Lou said, motioning to the man who was sprawled on the ground.

"Take him into town, and tell the Marshal what happened," Jimmy knew that this wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time that he had to kill someone for a stunt like that. Although it was tragic, he couldn't help but find it comforting that perhaps his reputation wasn't the only reason that he had to live by the gun. Men like Carlson were going to strike whomever they could, regardless of their name.

After another long night, Jimmy and Lou figured that their best bet was going to get back to the station. It was apparent that if either one of them was going to get any sleep, they'd have to get it in the bunkhouse.

As Rock Creek came into sight, Lou slowed down long enough to get a good look at it on the horizon. It seemed so much bigger from a distance than it really was.

Jimmy came up beside her and smiled, "So, you ready for a big night on the town?"

She looked at him and curled her lip, "No, I think that I'll just settle for twelve hours of sleep, thank you," Lou's expression soon faded into a tender smile, "I'd settle for a rain-check on that though."

With a nod of agreement, Jimmy turned his attention back to the sight in front of them. "Oh, and you know what Lou, I meant to tell you..."

"What?" She hoped that it wouldn't be anything too serious. Right now was not the time for him to ask her a deep or personal question...a nice, soft, warm bed was all that she wanted right now, and considering the circumstances, she didn't think that was too selfish.

"You were kind of mean the way you handled that boy last night," he smiled, "Just don't ever come at me like that." Jimmy raised his hands, "I promise I'll be good."

Lou laughed, relieved that he was teasing her lightheartedly. "Don't attack me in my sleep, and you won't have anything to worry about."

"Deal."