When the storm passed, Buck went out and tried to put a saddle on a horse. His ribs, still hurting from the event the previous day, hurt even more. He hadn't been able to rest since Ike left, and without resting, the ribs had no chance to heal at all.

He tried for a third time to put the saddle on before he got so frustrated with himself that he threw the saddle to the ground. Even that action sent a shock of pain through him, and he sat on the ground near the discarded saddle.

Why'd you have to leave, Ike? Buck thought to himself. Closing his eyes, Buck could see the look of pain in Ike's eyes once again. It had taken him half the night, but he finally realized why the mutes had gotten so close to Ike so fast.

Ike has always wanted to be around people like him. Now he had a chance, and we tried to take it away from him. He didn't want to hear the truth. He wanted friends.

"You planning on going; after him?"

Buck looked up and saw Teaspoon at the entrance of the barn. He wondered how long the man had been standing there, watching him fight with the saddle, and his emotions. Slowly he stood, holding onto his ribs. "Yes."

Buck moved to pick up the saddle again, but Teaspoon entered and grabbed it for him and threw it onto the horse. Buck nodded and started to tie the straps while Teaspoon leaned against the horse. "What if he doesn't want to come back? What will you do then?"

"Ike will come back with me," Buck stated. He came out from underneath the horse and got the bridle. "He'll see that we need him and come back."

Teaspoon shook his head. "I don't think he will."

Buck gave Teaspoon an accusing glare. "He will."

"Buck, think about this for a moment. Ike has finally found people like him. He's not going to give that up easily."

"But he has us, Teaspoon. We need him."

"You need him," Teaspoon stated, and Buck stood up straight, ignoring the pain in his ribs. Teaspoon watched Buck as those three words hit home.

After a moment, Buck looked up and nodded. "I do need him, Teaspoon, he's my friend… he's my family. He's all I got right now."

Teaspoon put a strong hand on Buck's shoulder. "He will always be your friend, Buck, but he needs to find himself right now, and you chasing after him ain't going to help him any."

"So you say I should just let him run… let him leave all of us for a traveling group of people. What if I never find him again, Teaspoon?"

Teaspoon sighed and looked out the barn. "He'll find you. Right now he needs to find himself, and you need to heal."

"What if he's in danger? What if something goes wrong? I don't trust those people, and the thought of him with them scares me."

"I didn't like them either, son, but Ike needs to learn to make his own mistakes. However, if we don't hear from him within a month, you should be healed enough, and I'll give you a 'vacation' to go visit family. How's that?"

Buck closed his eyes. He could picture Ike, laying almost dead in the woods, waiting for Buck to come. Shaking the image away, he nodded. "I don't like it, but you're right. One month, then I'll go."

Ike turned his head slowly, yet he did not open his eyes yet. The back of his head hurt, and even with his eyes closed, he felt dizzy. Finally, he slowly opened his eyes.

Julie's smiling face was there to greet him. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Ike," she said, placing a wet, cool cloth against his forehead.

"Where are we?" Ike signed slowly.

"We're in the wagon, outside of Blue Ridge. We've stopped to get some supplies and rest the horses."

Ike nodded, and felt the dull pain still present on the back of his head. "What happened?"

"Adam and Marcus heard your horse, and they rode back and found you. They said you had hit your head on a rock and your horse dragged you a bit. They brought you back to us."

Julie looked up suddenly, and Ike followed her gaze to the entrance of the wagon. Wilson had entered, carrying a basket of food. "You're awake!" He signed to Ike. "That's wonderful. We were worried a bit about you, son."

"Thank you." Ike replied. Julie helped him get into a sitting position, and Wilson placed the basket on his lap.

"Have something to eat, and we'll talk more in a minute. Julie, can I see you outside?"

Julie gave Ike a quick look, then nodded and followed Wilson outside.

They walked a bit away from the wagon, then Wilson turned to face Julie. "How is he?" he asked.

"He's fine. His head still hurts him, that much I can tell. Otherwise he's much better."

"Good… good." Wilson looked past Julie back to the wagon. "We're not going to do anything here, since we're still too close to Sweetwater. Once we're a good distance away, We're going to show Ike what we're really about."

"And you think he'd stay after that? What would keep him from turning us in?"

Wilson smiled. "You."

Julie laughed. "What makes you think I won't be on his side?"

With his hand, Wilson made a motion to strike Julie down, but he kept himself from hitting her. He hated her insolence, but he needed her, and a handprint on her cheek would get Ike suspicious.

"Then, I'll just have to make it so that Ike gets too involved to even try and get out."

Wilson turned and walked away, but stopped after a few steps and turned back around. "And if Ike somehow learns of our plans, don't think that I won't hesitate to kill him, or you, if it comes to that."

With that, Wilson walked away, and Julie stood in the middle of the street, her mind full of fear, for both her and Ike.