Buck refused to sleep, eat or leave Lou's side. The bullet had been removed, but she had lost a lot of blood. Red Bear gave Buck a special broth to give to Lou, it was to help her infection, he only hoped she would live. He knew that if she died, Running Buck would die along with her, & that thought broke his heart. She had become known throughout the tribe as "Fists Of Thunder " since the warriors had returned & told the story of how Lou fought just as any other warrior would have.
As night fell, Lou began to stir, causing Buck to jump to her side & hold her hand. As her eyes fluttered open, her eyes darted about the tepee, trying to figure where she was & what had happened. Then the pain hit. She cried out in pain, making Buck more concerned for her. He wanted to take away all her pain & see her smile again.
"Buck? What happened? Where are we?" she sobbed as she tried to sit up & the pain increased.
"We are in my village. We fought the Dog Soldiers who had kidnapped my nephew. Do you remember?" Buck asked, helping her up, trying not to cause any more pain.
"Oh, yeah. Are you still mad at me?" she asked, looking into his eyes.
"Of course not. If you had died, I would be! You should have told me you were hurt. We all thought you wouldn't make it when Red Bear was removing the bullet. You almost stopped breathing several times & scared the hell out outta me. I don't ever want to lose you Lou." Tears formed in bucks eyes, & he layed down on Lou's legs & finally let the tears fall silently. She was the only one he would allow to see him cry. Not even Ike had seen him cry.
"Shhh. It's okay. I'm here & I promise I'm not going anywhere without you Running Buck Cross!" She vowed, smiling at him as she used his full name.
He sat up, wiping the tears away & kissed her. This was a promise he knew she would keep. "What do you say we go home?" he asked.
"Are you sure? Don't you want to make sure Swims Like Fish is going to be okay?" she queried. "Besides, it means we can spend more time together ……. all alone!" she hinted.
"Hmmm, sounds great. I think I'll take you up on that offer. Besides, you still need time to rest & heal up!" He announced, the protective side showing again. "I'm just gonna tell Red Bear, & make sure it's okay with him." He nodded to Lou, giving her a loving kiss, stood up & walked out.
When he returned, the smile had been wiped off his face. "Buck…what's wrong?" concern & fear welling up inside her.
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