Sully laid on the ground, staring up at night sky. Inhaling deeply, he ran a hand over his face and he sat upright. Quietly, not to disturb the others sleeping around him, he walked to the nearby river bank. He squatted down and sighed heavily.

They had been searching for Katie for almost four weeks now and he was beginning to doubt if his daughter was even alive.

"Why?" He spoke low. "God, why are You doing this to us?"

A cool wind blew, and he tightly shut his eyes, holding back the emotions he felt rising in him.

"You don't even here me…do You?"

Laying his face in hands, a whimper escaped.

"Where is she?" Sully breathed. "Where's my baby? My baby…Katie," he cried.

After nothing but tears of mourning, Sully felt a presence behind him, but he didn't turn around.

He then felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a soft voice.

"Sully," it was Robert E.

Sully didn't respond, he just continued to cry.

"Hey, it's alright," the older man put a hand on his shoulder.

"I need to…to find her," he wiped his eyes.

"We're gonna find her," Robert E. said.

"Michaela, she needs…she needs her. I need her. I swore I'd find her," Sully looked upward.

"We got ourselves a good start," the blacksmith's voice was soft. "And I bet in a few more days, we'll be back on our way to Colorado Springs, with Katie."

Sully sniffed and again wiped his eyes.

Giving a slight nod, he put a hand on Robert E's shoulder.

"I know," he swallowed.

"Hey," Robert E. noticed the moisture in his friend's eyes. "I don't know exactly what you're going through but, I know what it feels like to lose a child and I know how…your heart feels like…" he paused for a moments, attempting to hold back his emotions. "Your heart feels like it's gonna break and your life just might end if anything…anything happens to that little person."

Sully cried at his words.

"It's…it's worse than losing a child," he said. "I've lost kids before…Michaela and I have lost before but…" he momentarily fell silent. "It's worse when you don't know."

A frown grew on Robert E's face.

"What do you mean?"

"When they're not with you and you don't know if they're alive or…gone. They're just…she's not…" Sully drew in a deep breath. "She's not where she belongs. She not with me," he touched his chest. "She's not with her…Poppy," he cried. "She needs her Poppy."

Robert E's heart broke. Opening his arms, he pulled Sully in an embrace.

"She needs me," Sully sobbed. "I'm her Poppy. She needs me."

"We're gonna get her back, Sully," Robert E. said. "I promise. Everything's gonna be fine."

A moment of silence passed as the father wept for his child. Robert E. felt as if he was not only crying for Katie, but all the children he had lost.

Sully exhaled loudly and broke the embrace between he and his friend.

"Thank you," his voice cracked.

With a smile, Robert E stood.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" He offered Sully hand.

Accepting, Sully stood.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Don't you worry about it," Robert E. shook his head. "Come on, get some rest."

The two men walked back to the campsite. Robert E. laid back down, as did Sully.

Closing his eyes, Sully thought of his daughter. Her beautiful eyes, her curly hair, her smile, Michaela's smile, her smell. He remembered when he first saw her, as if it were yesterday.

"My baby girl," Sully closed his eyes. "Poppy's gonna find you," he said. "I promise…I'll find you."

THE END