ok this may seem slightly O.O.C. but i had an inspiration and this amuses me, as I hope it amuses you.

When Sam got to the tack room, blaze tagging along at her heels, Ace's saddle rack was empty. That was odd, it wasn't anywhere else in the tack room either. Maybe she had already gotten it and set it on the stall partition....

When she returned, Ace was completely tacked up, saddle, bridle, everything. Ace turned and looked her in the eyes, "I decided to dress myself this morning."

Sam tried to process that for a moment. Then she snorted. At the same time that she recognized the voice, Jake's head popped up on the other side of Ace. "Well that's nice Jake, I'd have been slightly disturbed if you hadn't." He grinned and tightened the cinch.

"How long have you been here hiding behind my horse?" Sam questioned. His goofy grin only widened. Sam tilted her head at him, slightly annoyed, " You did understand the question right?"

"I really can't believe you didn't realize I was here." Jake rolled his eyes at her complete lack of omniscience.

"Forgive me sir Jake, I was uninformed of the new law stating that all citizens who aren't brilliant trackers are considered to be lower life forms" Sam pressed her hands against her heart dramatically.

Jake smiled slightly, "Well I'm sorry you didn't get the message, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice that a large black horse has taken up residence in your barn."

Sam glanced around, looking for Jake's large, black, and extremely short tempered mare, Witch.

"Behind you," Jake hinted.

Sam looked sheepishly towards the stall directly across from Ace's, where a big black rump with a swishing black tail in the middle greeted her. The sound of chewing came from the same direction. "Oh, that."

"Yes, that. I take it you plan to go for a ride?"

"No, I just felt like brushing Ace and saddling him up."

"Ahh," Jake took it in stride, "Of course."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Yes I'm going for a ride."

"So am I! Where too?"

"Did I invite you?"

"You forgot to take your happy pills this morning didn't you Sam?"

They stared each other down for a moment, Sam frowning, Jake with his lazy tomcat grin plastered on his face.

"War drum flatts."

(I was originally going to continue with that but for now I have decided not to, if I change my mind later I'll be sure to post it. :)

"He hates me!"

Darrel glanced away from the road for a moment to give me a condescending look. "Jake Ely hates little Samantha? You're not fooling anyone Sammy, he cares so much about you it just about drives him nuts."

I sniffed, "Then how come he doesn't act like it?" I flipped the sun visor down and looked in the miniature mirror there, my eyes were all puffy and red.

"Kinda messes up the whole 'tough guy' act, I guess."

Darrel shifted in the drivers seat. "Do you remember," he asks, "that accident at the corrals?"

I did, sort of. During Christmas break, a heavy snow had fallen, and as it was beginning to clear up, Brynna had asked Jake and I to go and check on the horses up at willow springs. I couldn't remember exactly why Darrel had gotten to come along on that little expedition. When the accident happened, I had been up on the cat walk, supervising the movement of some mares and their foals from one pen to another. I had tripped some how, and fell. That wasn't a very big deal, except I ended up right in the chute, between a momma and her baby. I guess that momma was nervous already, she squealed and then trampled right over me to get to her baby. She broke my arm, I was lucky she didn't break anything else. I felt a crunch, heard it too, but the pain didnt come until later, a combination of that and seeing the blood made me faint. I think that was what had really scared Jake. I don't remember what happened after that, but I have been filled in on the rest often enough. Jake and Darrel had to take me to the hospital because an ambulance probably couldn't make it through thread the needle, and Brynna hasn't let me and Jake go up there by ourselves since.

"Yes," I responded. "He was mad at me after that."

"He was mad at himself," Darrel corrected. "You don't remember the ride to the hospital." It was a statement, he knew I had been out cold.

"No."

"Well I do." Darrel grimaced.

"I was driving." He seemed reluctant to go on.

"And?" I prompted.

"And Jake was sitting in the back, holding on to you. He was saying something, some of it was to low for me to hear, I realized later that he was praying, he prayed the whole way to the hospital. I think he forgot I was even there."

"For me?"

Darrel nodded, staring strait ahead at the road. "For you. He was afraid you were going to die Sam. He was telling God that it was his fault, that it should have been him.... that if God would let him, he would take your place."