TITLE: Back To The Present
AUHTOR: Carol Pahl
FEEDBACK: cjpahl@smig.net
DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders is owned by MGM/UA and 
Ogiens/Kane Productions. No copyright infringement is intended.

                             Back To The Present
                                By Carol Pahl

"Where do they find all this stuff?" Bill asked his co-worker.

"It isn't real. There's a company in Iowa that makes these reproductions.
They look authentic, don't they? I think they'll really dress up the
buildings. Al said we should be getting some genuine furniture for the house
next week."

The two state park employee unwrapped the artifacts and set them on the
bunkhouse table. Each item needed a park identification sticker before being
placed out in the display. The Rock Creek State Park continued its
restoration of the original Rock Creek Station site. The rebuilding was an
ongoing project. Soon most of the eastern side of the creek would look like
it did in 1861. Visitors enjoyed watching the staff transform the park into
a working historical site.

Bill, a summer intern, and Louise, a state park employee, worked together
most of the summer ordering, cataloging and marking reproduction artifacts
to add to the reconstructed buildings. Both enjoyed immersing themselves in
history. The young woman, with degrees in both American History and Law
Enforcement Management, worked in the Nebraska State Park System for the two
years since her graduation.

Seeing a high number of visitors, the out of the way park featured a modern
campground a half-mile from the historical site and a visitor center in
addition to the buildings along the meandering Rock Creek. Future plans
called for developing the site as a living history park honoring the Oregon
Trail, the Pony Express and the westward expansion of the United States.

"Base One to Miller," crackled the small radio.

"Go ahead, this is Louise," the petite ranger responded.

"You have any plans for tonight?" came the response.

"Why, Jim. What do you have in mind?"

The assistant park superintendent paused before continuing the ongoing
banter with his favorite employee. The two were friends but never dated.
Louise wasn't ready.

"Was wondering if you'd like to spend the night down there is all. Al just
called in. Seems we got some rowdy visitors over at the RV's. He'd feel
better if we had someone on site, especially with all that new stuff you're
working with."

"I don't have any gear with me," she answered into the small radio.

"If you can stay, I'll bring a sleeping bag and extra water down when I
bring the stuff for the cook-out. I sure appreciate it, Louise. Is Bill down
there?

"Affirmative."

"Send him up to the east pasture. He can help me harness the oxen for the
ride. Looks like a big crowd."

"I thought so. Still a lot of visitors down here. I suppose they're here for
the evening activities."

The park featured covered wagon rides pulled by the resident oxen, Katie and
Lightening. The park superintendent, Al Gunner, dressed up as an old
mountain man and told historic tales around the evening campfire. A meal,
typical of wagon train fare, was also served. The weekly Wednesday event
brought a swell of visitors and filled the campground midweek during the
summer months.

                                    *****

"I feel better about having someone down here overnight," the well-seasoned
superintendent said to his young protégé handing her a cell phone. "Any
trouble, get on the horn to the police. Don't mess around with any nonsense.
The historical park is closed after midnight. That means everybody."

"I'll be fine, Al. I like being down here at night. Almost seems like I'm
back in the past."

"Be careful you don't get stuck back in the 1860's." He laughed. Louise
loved her history and was one of the most energetic and pragmatic park
employees with whom he'd worked. He could see her handling her own in the
male dominated world of the previous century.

The small but strong woman was all business. She helped the other employees
and volunteers clean up from the near one hundred guests. It had been a
great evening, adults and children enjoying the camaraderie and the short
journey back in time.

"Excuse me." An attractive thirty-year-old woman approached the young park
employee. "I know its almost closing time, but would you mind if I sit in
the quiet by the fire a while? I have to leave real soon and get back to my
job." She looked around at the deserted building site and sighed. "It is so
peaceful here, now. Up there its not," she pointed to the glow of lights
coming from the campground; "I love the solitude."

"I've got no trouble with that. I'm Louise. Feel free to ask me anything."
She reached out and shook the visitor's hand and received a smile.

"My name is Rachel. I try to get back to Rock Creek at least once a year. I
like what you're doing to the place. It's important to keep a place like
this to remind us of another time, where we came from."

"It sounds like you love history, too."

"Yes, it's almost like I belong to another time."

The two women sat by the dying embers, sat in silence each absorbed by
thoughts of another era. The night sky remained clear; yard lights twinkled
in the distance. Noise from the campground died with the fire.

"I guess I'd better be going. I'm keeping you from your family." Rachel rose
to leave.

"It's been nice. Thank you for coming."

The women said good-by and Rachel started up the road towards the parking
lot. She looked at the female ranger and asked, "Aren't you coming, too? I
figured I kept you from your husband long enough."

Louise looked down at her left hand and sighed. "I'm not married any more.
No one's waiting for me tonight."

"I'm sorry, I just thought when I saw your ring."

"My husband died a year ago. He was killed in the line of duty."

"He worked here, too?"

"No, he was a police officer in one of the nearby towns. We met in college,
in law enforcement classes."

"Please forgive me for asking. I didn't mean to pry."

"That's alright. Good night." Louise watched the lady climb the hill to the
visitor center and parking lot before retiring to the bunkhouse. She shook
out Jim's sleeping bag and snuggled in for a quiet, peaceful slumber. Maybe
for the first time Al would be wrong and no rowdy campers would bother the
historical site.

                                    *****

The sound of logs being tossed on the banked campfire woke Louise. She
climbed out of her bunk and peeked out of the door. At least twelve if not
more men stood around watching the flames come to life and light the area.
Trouble, Al was right again. She pulled the cell phone out from under her
pillow and hit the well-rehearsed buttons. 911. When someone answered,
Louise replied, "Requesting backup to the Rock Creek State Park Historical
site. This is Ranger Louise Miller. Uninvited guests are down here. I need
help getting them out of the park." Hearing an affirmative reply, she put
the phone in her pocket and lit the small electrical lamp Jim left with the
supplies. Taking a deep breath she left the wood structure to confront the
trespassers.

"Hey looky here boys. Dessert's just been served." One of the men spotted
the female ranger and pointed his beer can at her.

"Spose there's more of them havin' a slumber party down here in that
building?" The men definitely were drunk, the smell of beer filling the air.

"The park is closed. If you're registered at the campground go back there.
Otherwise you must leave the park."

"Pretty little lady, we just getting goin' on a good drunk. You and what
army's chasing us out of here?"

"The sheriff's been called. You have your warning. Go." Her eyes flashed,
she wasn't backing down. Many of the other 'boys' at college figured the
short girl to be a push over. She learned her self-defense classes well and
took out most of them who towered over her. This was different. Twelve
drunken men weren't about to be intimidated by her talk. Would help arrive
in time?

One of the men, missing a front tooth, approached her. "Be too late for you
little lady." He reached out for her but she swatted his hand away.

"Don't start something you'll regret in the morning." She warned.

"I already regret wasting the night, knowing you was down here waiting for
me."

Watching him, she missed two other men sneak up from behind grabbing her
arms, pinning them to her sides. Kicking out she caught the first man in the
knee buckling him over.

"Why you little bitch. After we've all been so nice." The toothless smiled
man's fist stuck her in the face. Still being held by the other man she
didn't fall but tried stomping on his foot. Lights flashing indicated the
arrival of the reinforcements. Some of the men not involved with the fight
with the park ranger slinked off into the surrounding woods, hoping to
escape detection from the law officers.

Not to be beaten by a woman, the three men continued to pummel Louise. Kicks
struck but a small branch crashed into her skull. Flashing lights from the
vehicles dimmed as blackness enveloped the brave young woman.

                                    *****

"She's coming to. Jimmy go get the Kid, Lou's waking up." Rachel looked down
at her young friend's face. Multicolored bruises rainbowed across her face
accented with small scabs dotting the skin. She heard the racing footsteps
of a worried husband climbing the steps.

"Lou?" He sat down beside his wife's side. The young woman opened her eyes
slowly and looked around lost.

"What happened?" she stammered.

"You was hit during the fight. We got all of them arrested."

She looked at the young man staring into her face. "Who are you?" Her
question shocked him.

"Lou, I'm Kid. You are my wife."

Her breath stuck in her throat. "I'm not your wife. I'm not anybody's wife."
She looked over at the woman standing by the curtained window. "Rachel, what
kind of game is this? I told you last night that I'm not married anymore."

The housekeeper shook her head, "I... I don't know what you're talking
about, Lou. Last night you two were inseparable. We didn't talk except at
supper."

Refusing to look Kid in the eye, Louise stared at Rachel and the room. "I've
never seen him before in my life." Trying to get up, she was promptly pushed
back down by the young man in front of her. He picked up her left hand
showing her the wedding band, tears in his eyes. He had to swallow first,
afraid to speak, "What do you call this?"

She looked at her own hand, not recognizing the scars or the single wedding
ring. Fear streamed through her blood and she gained a panic glare to her
eyes. "This isn't my ring. Where's the diamond? What's going on here? If I
was hurt why wasn't I taken to the hospital? What am I doing here with
strangers?"

Rachel pushed herself between the upset husband and the terrified young
woman. Something strange was going on here; Lou wasn't herself. Fighting
with the Kid would only make it harder on both of them.

"Kid, why don't you go get the doctor? I'll help Louise freshen up before he
gets here." She shoved him from the room and shook her hand at him when he
hesitated going down the stairs. "Get!"

She turned back to the pale young woman lying on the bed, "Just what do you
remember, Louise?" How could she not know her husband yet recognize someone
she'd only known a few months?

Louise closed her eyes to think, shutting out all other noises and
distractions. "There was fight. Some men who were drunk refused to leave and
one attacked me. I tried to hold my own but there were too many. I'd gain on
one and another took over. Finally one of them must of hit me with
something, a stick or piece of wood. Everything went black."

Rachel nodded her head. That was the circumstances the boys and Teaspoon
found as they came upon Louise fighting with several drunken men from
Kansas. "You don't remember Kid?" wanting to know as much information as
possible by the time the doctor came.

"Who? You mean that fellow that was here, that's his name? Kid? I swear,
I've never seen him before."

"How do you know me?"

Louise laughed, "What is going on here? Just last night you and I shared
stories over a cup of coffee. We sat by the fire. You told me you were a
widow and you came back to Rock Creek once a year to visit. Now," she swung
her hand around the room, "it looks like you live here. You even asked me
about my husband when you were walking up to your vehicle."

The doctor climbed the stairs to the bedroom and knocked. The same young man
followed him into the room, panic clearly etched on his face.

"How are you doing young lady?" the man in the black suit asked, reaching
into his black bag for a stethoscope.

"You make housecalls? This is getting crazier by the second. I am in Rock
Creek aren't I?" she asked sarcastically.

Everyone in the room nodded but were definitely worried about her well
being.

Soon another older man entered the room. Louise was not used to entertaining
strange men in her bedroom or any room where she was the one lying in the
bed.

"Heard she was awake. The boys out in the barn waiting to come up and see
you, Lou."

"Why does everyone keep saying Lou? My name is Louise Miller and other than
Rachel here, who I met last night after the bar-b-queue and campfire, I
don't know the lot of you. If I was hurt as bad as you say I was then I
should be in Omaha or Kearney at the hospital. Damn, my head hurts."

She lay back on the pillow and shut her eyes. Flashes of light danced in her
mind and her stomach felt like it was revolting. She felt a strange
sensation cover her skin just before welcoming darkness took her away from
the strange room.

                                    *****

Louise awoke with a start. It was the same room, the same curtained windows.
Carefully she got out of the rope bed and walked to the window. Looking down
on the street before she gasped. It was Rock Creek but yet it definitely
wasn't Rock Creek State Park, Nebraska. Several horses stood around the
street. Some were hitched to wagons others were tied to fences.

She looked over at the person sleeping in a rocking chair on the other side
of the bed. This must be some sort of dream, a nightmare. He thinks I'm
someone else. All these folks think they know me. Right now I don't even
know myself. She crawled back into bed then noticed the nightgown she was
wearing. The last thing she remembered was her uniform. Even when she and
Michael were married she never wore nightgowns.

Kid stirred in the chair and opened his eyes. There was so much love and yet
sorrow in his eyes. He must truly and deeply love the woman he thought she
was. She didn't date after Michael died. The pain was too great. Now here
she was dressed only in a nightgown, alone in a room with a stranger
claiming to be her husband.

"Did I wake you?"

He rose from the chair and walked to the side of the bed, not sure what to
say. "Do ya mind if'n I sit here with you?"

"Look I don't understand this either, mister, or Kid or whatever your real
name is. Nothing is right. I mean we're trying to rebuild Rock Creek the way
it was so I don't expect electricity or nothing, but this is all so real."

"Rebuild what? What needs to be rebuilt? Rock Creek is growing. Except for
the school that burned down last summer everything is fine." Every time Lou
opened her mouth he became more confused.

"This has to be a dream or a very elaborate hoax. OK, for starters, what is
today's date?

"August 29th."

"Yes, but what year?"

"It's 1861."

Her eyes grew wide. Did she hear him correctly? Did he really say 1861, not
1998? This was getting more like the twilight zone every minute.

"Lou, I ain't goin' ta push ya, I mean about us being married and all that,"
He definitely looked embarrassed. "It's just that I don't understand how
getting hit like you did, you remember Rachel and Rock Creek but you don't
remember me. We've been married over a month and well, we've known each
other a lot longer than that."

"I'm really confused and my head still hurts. How about we talk about this
again in the morning? I doubt I'll fall back to sleep having you staring at
me. Don't you have your own room or something?"

"This is our room, ever since we got married. I don't want to go back to the
bunkhouse. I want to stay here with you, to help you get better. I want
you."

So much longing showed in his eyes, so much love. What she wouldn't give to
have a caring man like him who wasn't bad to look at either? That wasn't in
her future. This was someone else's man; he was taken!

She laid back down and turned her back to him. Maybe he'd go away. She felt
the bed shift but he didn't leave. He didn't crawl under the blanket but did
lie beside her, his arm encircling her small waist. She stiffened to his
touch at first but finally relaxed and both slept side by side for the rest
of the night.

Louise awoke refreshed and calm. She was alone. The sun shone in the east
window, noise filtered up to her room from the street. She was still 'Lou'.
This was too real to be a dream. What was the name of that show? "Quantum
Leap." She jumped in time like the man in that show but that was just
fantasy, not real, just someone's imagination. Had the other 'Lou' traveled
to her time in the twentieth century? If so, she must be more scared in the
future than Louise felt in the past.

                                    *****

"Good morning, Louise. Feeling better?" Rachel entered the bedroom carrying
a tray. "I brought you some breakfast. I don't think you ate much yesterday.
Your face looks better. If you want to get dressed," she pointed at a small
chest of drawers, "it'll be alright to come downstairs. Let me walk beside
you in case you feel faint."

"Rachel, I know this sounds strange but I'm not the same person who lived
here before. I'm not Kid's wife. The Rock Creek I know is in the future,
1998 exactly. This place was abandoned after the train came through. The
state is rebuilding the site as a historical park, a place for people to
experience what you have here. I just didn't expect to experience it for
real."

"Give it time Louise. And try to understand how the Kid feels. You are the
woman he married. More than anything you need to remember him. He was to
take a run today but he changed with Buck to spend more time with you. He's
out doing chores now, waiting for you to awake."

"You mean Kid is a Pony Express rider?"

"Yes. Louise this is the Rock Creek Express station. You rode with them
until you and Kid got married a few weeks ago. You gave up disguising
yourself as a boy to be Kid's wife. Let him love and take care of you."

The confused woman dressed in the simple floral dress, thankful for the
class in historical costume solving the problem of the complex underclothing
of the 19th century. Looking around the simply furnished room she saw the
opportunity waiting for her. She could measure and record the actual
details. Even if she never returned to her own time, she could leave a
record for Al and Jim to use when rebuilding Rock Creek.

The smile radiating from her face as she took in the details of the real
Rock Creek greeted the Kid as he walked towards her. His smile reflected the
happiness he saw in her's. "Hey, Lou. Sleep well?"

Oh, my. I forgot about that, she thought. "Hi, Kid. Get your chores
finished?"

"You look better this morning. Do you feel up to going for a walk?" His
smile reached down to her toes. This is some other woman's husband. Stop it
girl. "I'd love too." She got up and took his offered hand. They walked
around the small town. Several townsfolk greeted the happy couple.

"Kid let's walk up the hill, along the road. I want to look down on the
town."

At the crest, the site of the future's visitor center and parking lot, the
prairie grass swayed in the late summer day. The warm rays warmed both young
people. "Lou are you really alright?"

Pain crossed her face. This was so wrong, so morally wrong. Yet it could be
right, so very right.

"Are you tired Lou? You want to sit down a while?"

"Are you always this caring, Kid?" she asked softly. "Your wife is a very
lucky lady to have someone so special looking out for her. You love her so
much!"

He shook his head, confused, hurt. "It's you I love, Lou. Ever since I saw
you shot and laying on the ground at the way station or dressed up so fancy
at Davenport something inside me knew that you were the answer to my
feeling," He paused looking into her eyes. "My feeling of being so terribly
lost. Now that we're together I feel so loved, so." He shut his eyes. He'd
never poured his heart to anyone before. "We belong together. I know I've
told you before but I truly love you Louise McCloud. If I lost you I think I
would die because going on without you would be impossible."

She looked at him, jealous of the woman holding his heart to be so
unconditionally loved and cherished by one man. Had Michael loved her this
much? She smiled because she believed he did. Knowing that she was ready to
love again, to love with her entire body and soul.

He pulled her close and kissed her. She lovingly returned his kiss. It would
be hard but when the real 1861 version of Lou returned her husband could
love her eternally.

"Here you two are. Rachel said you'd better bring Lou home. You got a run to
make, Kid."

"Go away Jimmy."

"Can't do that. Don't want you to get delayed again. Come on, Lou. Lets get
you home."

All three walked happily back to the way station. The troubles of the world
temporarily forgotten.

                                    *****

"Now don't worry, Lou. I'll be back in a couple of days and we can continue
where we left off before someone interrupted us." He gave a quick smirk to
his friend and mounted his horse.

Louise spent the next two days measuring and recording every feature of Rock
Creek. Rachel worried about her friend's mind but as long as the girl
stopped claiming to be someone else, she didn't stop her. Buck and Jimmy
were recruited to help and willing participated in Lou's nonsense.

                                    *****

Today was the day Kid would return. Five days and she still remained in the
past. Why hadn't her prayers been answered and Kid's Lou come back? She
thought of his kiss and shuddered. How could she pretend to be the woman he
loved so deeply and return the passion?

"Louise, will you help me. I don't trust this weather. Would you help me dig
potatoes?"

"Sure, Rachel. Show me what you want me to do."

The two women worked hard, getting several baskets of potatoes.

"These will taste good this winter." Rachel stood and stretched out her
back. "Oh, my Lord. Forget the rest Lou. We've got to get these to the
cellar."

Louise looked up and saw the black, churning clouds. The air felt heavy and
the animals moved restlessly. She grabbed the handles and ran toward the
open cellar doors.

The women worked rapidly and soon stored everything away. The clouds
continued to churn and boil. The winds picked up to the point shouting was
needed to talk.

"What about the horses? Are they safer in the barn?"

"Let's get the rest inside before they're spooked."

They leaned into the forceful wind and approached the barn. The few horses
outside were soon securely tied out of the rain. Louise looked toward the
rest of the town and saw the black tail descending from the sky. "Get to the
cellar. It's a tornado."

They ran toward the door when the wind force blew them off their feet.
Rachel crawled the few feet to the opening in the ground. She looked around
for the other girl but too much debris blew through the air. Shouts went
unanswered.

Kid appeared out of the black cloud and ran to where Lou lay frozen on the
ground. He picked up his wife and carried her to the cellar. She clung to
his neck as he calmly spoke comforting words into her ear. They stayed
hidden in the cool underground hole until the roaring winds ceased. The sun
followed the horrible black cloud. People emerged to survey the wreckage of
the town.

The west bank of Rock Creek was totaled. Only the small stone building
remained standing. The east side faired better only suffering damage to a
few roofs. Much of the debris from the destroyed buildings littered the
ground.

"Looks like we got our work planned for us for the next few day, boys." The
town Marshall addressed his express riders.

Kid held Louise tightly but she continued to shake from fear. He carried her
up to their room and laid her on the bed, calmly talking to her. Terrorized
by a ferocious storm as a child, the woman panicked in severe weather. The
young man took her into his arms and caressed her trembling skin.

"Don't worry, Lou. You're safe. It's all over." He didn't remember her
getting so upset with the weather before.

"Kid, don't go. Stay. I'm afraid."

He stayed and all previous designs she'd planned blew away with the black
cloud. Later the two lay intertwined alone in their own thoughts. Louise
felt overcome with remorse. She'd broken her own moral code and slept with
another woman's husband.

Kid's thoughts also remained on the past few moments with his 'wife'. She
changed. He couldn't put a finger on it but somethings couldn't be that
different. Who was he with tonight?

The next morning everyone pitched in to help the town clean up the storm
damage. Kid and Lou said little to each other but joined the work crews.
Warm and sunny weather followed the storm. Soon a rubble pile grew. One
section of town remained and the boys went to help the unfortunate citizens
of the west side of Rock Creek.

Lou helped Jimmy pull a wall section toward the pile. Pulling the section,
the two didn't notice another precarious piece of the building leaning.

"Lou!" Kid screamed as the timbers broke and crashed onto the two workers.
The remaining riders raced toward the scene.

They worked in tandem to lift the heavy wall off of the trapped friends.

"Can we reach them? Lou? Jimmy? Do you hear me?" Kid pleaded with the pile
of wood.

                                    *****

"Jim, I just heard on the radio the gas tank at the hospital in Kearney
exploded. Part of the building's gone."

"What part? Is Louise all right?" the younger assistant park superintendent
asked.

"Go on, go see." The older man watched Jim drive off toward their friend.
Ever since the problem down at the historical site, Jim was preoccupied with
concern for their fellow worker.

Chaos greeted Jim at the hospital parking lot. Officers assisted each other
in times of crisis and the sheriff recognized the young park ranger. Soon he
was helping evacuate patients located in the damaged section of the
hospital. He looked for Louise but he couldn't get away from the work until
near sunset.

Louise, injured in the blast, received treatment in the temporary emergency
room set up in the nearby school gym. She didn't move as he approached her
bed. He noticed the straight jacket she wore since waking from the fight
with the drunks was gone.

"Hey, Louise."

"Hi, Jim." She smiled though her chest hurt from her injuries.

"Been looking for you all afternoon. What are you doing here? Could have
used some help out there." He teased.

"Glad you found me."

"Nice to see you without that other fashion statement I saw you in before."

She looked at her friend. What was he talking about? Suddenly she realized
she was back in her own time. "Jimmy, what is today's date?"

He looked at her, "Jimmy? You never called me that before. That bump on the
noggin messed with your brain cells. It's the third of September."

"What year?"

"You've got to kidding, Louise. It's 1998."

                                    *****

Louise spent the next four weeks recuperating from the broken ribs received
from the explosion. Waiting to return to the work she loved left her
irritable. Doing nothing at her small apartment was a foreign concept to the
active woman. Also foreign was the overpowering tiredness she felt.

Daily she fell asleep mid afternoon and slept for three hours. By evening
she was ready to climb back into bed. She looked forward to her six-week
check-up, hoping the return to work would restore her normal routine.

                                    *****

By the first of October she made her first trip back to her job welcomed
first by Al. "Glad to have you back darlin'." He hugged the petite girl.
"You left all the fun jobs for us to finish." Though the older man's
greeting seemed sexist, the endearment was genuine. He cared for the young
woman through the lost of her husband. Her tenacity and love of her
occupation made her one of his favorite employees.

She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. Haunted by her dreams she refused
psychological help. She heard the tales of her escape attempts before the
explosion at the hospital. The five days spent with Kid and Rachel in the
past seemed the true reality. Now it was more like a dream. How could she
share what happened, what she had done? What was the truth?

As she walked around the site she saw items out of place. She looked toward
the small hill behind the bunkhouse. The cemetery. No cemetery existed from
the archeological study of the site but if her dream was real, there should
be tombstones on that wooded hill. Jim and Al watched her act strangely and
followed her up the hill. What was that girl up to?

Louise, gasping for breath, looked around the wooded area, trying to imagine
it without scrubby trees and thorny bushes. Nothing would indicate the
bodies laying at rest below the surface. By now the wooden crosses rotted
away. Ready to give up she almost tripped on the edge of a stone protruding
from the surface. Jim caught her and held her close.

Totally ignoring his embrace she knelt down and brushed away some of the
dirt and leaves obscuring the obstacle. It was a tombstone with letters
carved into it.

Pointing at the stone she stammered, "Jimmy what is this?"

Surprised to find an undiscovered gravestone this close to the park he
studied the carvings. "It looks like the letters m..c..c..l..o. I can't read
the rest."

"McCloud," she whispered. "Louise McCloud." Had the other Lou died, being
crushed under the falling structure? "Do you see a date?"

Al joined the two kneeling rangers and said, "I'll be damned. They suspected
a burial plot around here but never found it. How did you know this was here
little lady?"

She looked up into her boss and friend's faces, afraid to tell them the
truth but unsure of herself if she didn't reveal what happened to her those
missing few days. Tears ran down her face as she summoned the courage to
speak.

"We need to talk. But first I need to know if this stone has a date."

"Should have the archeologist look at it first but let's take a peek."

The two men helped peal back the mat of roots and twigs obscuring the
information. Louise blew the remaining dirt particles away and read the date
out loud June 15, 1891 and the other date June 18, 1891. She hadn't been
killed in 1861!

"Looks like the couple died close together," Al observed.

Louise placed her hand on the ground beside the fallen stone. Kid and Lou.
Where their earthly remains truly buried here? A whole new puzzle of history
presented itself. She would find out more about her namesake and Lou's
loving husband but first she'd better explain her 'dream' and strange
behavior to the others.

                                    *****

The quiet autumn day offered the perfect setting to three Rock Creek Park
employees. They gathered on the porch of the bunkhouse. The two men dressed
in their uniforms, waited for the female employee to begin. "When I woke up
from the brawl I wasn't at the hospital in Kearney. I was still here; only
it wasn't this," she waved her hand around the site, "It was like, well like
I figured how Rock Creek looked at its heyday." There were more buildings
but the house and bunkhouse were here. The people," her face took on a far
away glaze as she remembered their kindness, especially one man's touch.

Intrigued, Al gently brought her back to the present. "You were there?"
There was no sarcasm in his voice.

"It seemed so real." She told them of her discoveries, the people and the
tornado. "I saw the wall falling on us and then when I woke up I was in the
gym being treated for broken ribs. I don't remember being in the hospital at
all. Other than remembering where the cemetery was, it seemed so real." She
held her head in her hands, waiting for the men to start laughing.

"I've heard stories of things like this happening. I just never met a person
who'd experienced it. First thing you need to do is write down everything
you remember, before the present distracts from the past."

"You believe me?" She looked at her two friends.

"Don't see why not?" The older man hugged his young friend. "Just don't go
contacting the press. They're not as open minded to this sort of stuff."

Jim sat in silence staring out at the peaceful setting. Could he accept
Louise's story as readily as Al did? He turned and saw her waiting for a
response. Looking into her large brown eyes brimming with tears, he knew she
was right. Her story was as real to her as his fear seeing her fall after
being beaten that night in August. Fear for a friend, no she was more than a
friend. He reached out for the woman and pulled her into a bear hug.

"All I know is now you are here and I like to do this more often."

She pulled back as if burned.

"You don't understand," she cried.

"What don't I understand?" His voice was soft and caring, like another's in
her memory.

"I'm," her shoulders shook, "They thought I was one of the men's wife. How
could I explain, that even though I looked like her and knew Rock Creek, I
wasn't Lou."

"Lou?" The older man looked up towards the graveyard. "Was that her stone up
on the hill?"

She nodded. "I tried to stay away from him, but he was so kind. That last
night there was a storm and he saved me from the tornado. Everything came
crashing down on me and well... I..." she stopped talking.

Jim reached over and pulled her chin up so she would look into his eyes. "It
wasn't your fault. It was a dream."

"No," she sighed. "It was real and now I'm pregnant. Unless I was raped in
the hospital, I'm carrying another man's child, a man from the nineteenth
century. How do I put that on the birth certificate?"

"I don't care, Louise. I want you to know how much I care for you. It don't
matter who's the father is or was. Let me help you through this. You are in
the present, not a hundred and some years ago, not last year. This is
something I should'a done a long time ago." He pulled her into his arms and
kissed her.

Louise relaxed in his embrace. Kid showed her the way back to love and she
just stepped into the arms of the man she knew waited for her, Jim. It was
time to give up the past and come back to the present and that present most
definitely included James Butler.

                                  The End