A/N: I know I have a few chapter stories out there to finish and I promise I will finish them. I got hit with this bunny in December and have been writing it for a while...so far it has twelve chapters in various states of completion and I think it is finally in shape to share with you all. This takes place after the Express is over.

Part One: What Goes Around

Chapter One

Buck re-tied his string tie for the fourth time. He could not get it to look straight. Hazel Franklin would be at the Holiday Dance tonight and he wanted to look his best. She was very pretty and had long blonde wavy hair, sparkling green eyes, and ample curves in all the right places. Buck had noticed Hazel when they first moved to Rock Creek. The second day they were all there, he and Ike had gone to the bank to open accounts. She had sashayed from behind the teller's window with her bright flirtatious smile and took it upon herself to get them started with the paperwork. Buck had felt immediately tongue tied and nervous. She was the loveliest creature he had ever seen.

Ike had laughed at him that day and Buck had buried his feelings deep. She would never have eyes for a man like him. It was probably for the best. There were things about Hazel that were just a little too close to another woman Buck had foolishly lost his heart to. Like Kathleen Devlin, Hazel was the daughter of the town banker. The two even looked sort of similar in build and description right down sway of their hips to the golden bouncy hair. Hazel had the same rebellious streak when it came to her parents that Kathleen possessed. She seemed to take delight in exasperating her father and scandalizing her mother. It was probably best if he stayed away. The last thing he wanted was to become another pawn in a parent/daughter power play.

Buck untied his tie and pulled it from his neck. He wasn't going. He didn't feel much like celebrating anyway. Ike was gone, Noah was gone, Cody joined the army, the Pony Express was closed, and Kid and Lou practically had their own place. They lived with Rachel now, but come spring they would build their house and move out to a little farm just outside of town. Jimmy, Teaspoon, and Rachel were still in Rock Creek doing much the same things they were doing before. Buck did not really have any direction for his life. He still worked for Russell, Majors, and Waddell. He managed the horses for stagecoaches and freight deliveries. The work was just that, work. He didn't find much joy in it. He rarely had a chance to just ride through the open prairies. He missed it.

Buck shared the bunkhouse with Jimmy. Jimmy worked as Teaspoon's deputy and mostly worked at night. Jimmy and Buck's working hours were almost opposite of each other's so they barely saw each other. Kid and Lou were taking any and every odd job they could find around town to save up money for their farm. They hardly saw each other let alone anyone else. Rachel still taught school and held a Sunday supper every week. It seemed to be the only time the riders ever saw each other anymore. This place that held so many memories in its walls was becoming oppressive in its loneliness. Buck laid his suit coat on his trunk and started to unbutton his crisp white shirt.

There was a knock on the door and Buck went to open it up. Kid and Lou were on the other side all dressed up and happy. Buck let them in.

"Why aren't you ready yet?" Lou asked frowning.

"I'm not going," Buck answered unbuttoning the cuffs on his shirt.

"Not going?" Lou repeated. "Buck you have to go."

"He doesn't have to do anything, Lou," Kid said jumping to Buck's defense. "But we would both love it if you did."

"What's the point?" Buck asked. "There has never been anything for me at a town social or dance."

"Buck, that's not so," Lou argued. "Why, just this morning Hazel Franklin asked me if you would be there."

"She did?" Buck asked surprised.

"Yes, she did," Lou answered, "and I assured her that you would."

Buck let a grin spread across his face as he thought of Hazel Franklin and her bouncy blonde hair.

"Come on, Buck," Kid encouraged with a light slap on the shoulder. "You never know, you might just have fun after all."

"Just give me a couple of minutes and I'll be ready," Buck said relenting. Perhaps it would be fun and maybe, just maybe he might even get to dance with Hazel.

Buck finished getting ready except for the string tie. "Lou can you help me with this tie?" he asked.

"Sure, Buck," Lou said with a smile.

"So, Hazel really asked about me?" Buck asked curiously.

"Yes, she did," Lou answered with an excited smile. "She was really pleased to find out that you planned to go to the dance."

Buck's smile grew and his face flushed as Lou worked on getting his tie to look perfect.

"You could do a lot worse than Hazel Franklin," Kid added.

The door opened startling the three friends. "Ain't you guys ready yet?" Jimmy asked looking dapper in his best dark jacket and trousers.

"We're almost ready," Lou answered for the group. "Are Rachel and Teaspoon ready?"

"They already left," Jimmy answered. "We're supposed to meet them there."

"What do you think, Kid?" Lou asked as she started playing with Buck's hair. "Down or up?"

"Oh who cares," Jimmy said exasperated. "Let's just go!"

"We have to make sure Buck looks his best for Hazel," Lou admonished. "Now down or up?"

"Hazel Franklin?" Jimmy asked. "Buck, you've been holding out on me."

"I have not," Buck said. "Lou just told me she's been asking about me."

"I've seen her watching you," Jimmy recalled. "She's been following you around with her eyes all week."

Buck swallowed hard. "Really?"

"It's starting to get late," Lou said. "Jimmy was right, we should go."

"Come on, Romeo," Kid said with a laugh. "Let's get you to your Juliet."

"Very funny," Buck said straightening his suit coat and giving himself one last inspection in the mirror. He smoothed out his hair and gave it a slight tousle, placed his hat on his head, and headed out the door.

The dance hall was decked with holiday decorations and there was eggnog in the punch bowl. Buck looked around the room and found Teaspoon and Rachel. Kid and Lou had found them already and Lou and Rachel were busy looking at each other's dresses. Buck glanced around the room as he walked over to his friends and found Hazel staring at him with a 'come hither' look. Her delightful green eyes beckoned him to come closer with each subtle blink and he felt immediately nervous.

"Why don't you ask her to dance, Buck?" Lou whispered.

Buck felt several hands give him a little push over toward Hazel, but he couldn't do it, not yet. He needed to build up the courage first. He turned to face his friends and gave them a pleading face.

"Don't look now," Kid coughed and averted his eyes as Jimmy and Lou looked away.

Buck's eyes grew wide as Rachel put her hand to her mouth to hide and laugh.

"Son…," Teaspoon said bobbing his head back to indicate the presence Buck was both anticipating and dreading.

Buck slowly turned and blushed. Standing before him was the woman he spent the whole day thinking about.

"Mr. Cross, I hope you don't think it too forward of me," Hazel said sweetly, "But, would you like to dance with me?"

"I…" Buck started. This night seemed too good to be true. "Yeah."

He smiled and Hazel smiled back. Buck put out his arm and Hazel tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. He led her out to the dance floor and decided it best not to look around at any of the faces in the crowd. He was sure there were people out there that were angry or offended that he would be dancing with a white girl, but he also knew his friends and family would be sporting smiles and other looks of encouragement. Instead, he gazed on the delightful face of Hazel Franklin as she looked into his eyes.

At the conclusion of the dance, Buck was feeling rather warm and he caught the sight of Hazel fanning herself as well. "Would you like to take the air with me?" he asked shyly.

"I thought you'd never ask," Hazel said with a flirtatious smile.

As soon as Buck stepped out from the crowded dance hall, he felt something was off. He looked over at the smiling Hazel and decided his mind was playing tricks on him. She looked so beautiful tonight and he must be feeling unworthy. Rachel and the others were always chastising him for feeling like he didn't deserve happiness, but Buck had a hard time trusting that anything good would ever happen to him. The times that good things did come to him, those things were fleeting or were just deceptions. He took a deep cleansing breath and decided to throw caution to the wind and live in the moment. It was all he had right now.

Hazel pulled him further away from the dance hall and closer to the livery stable. Buck felt his stomach tighten. He hadn't been in this sort of situation in a long while. She turned and looked up at him. Mischief sparkled in her pretty green eyes and Buck couldn't help but smile back. She dropped her hand from his arm, turned from him, and started to walk toward the livery stable. She stopped suddenly and looked coyly over her shoulder. The look she gave Buck nearly elicited a primal growl from him. In that moment he had never wanted another human being as much as he wanted her. She giggled and started to run away from him, but the looks she sent over her shoulder begged him to chase her. Her lips were pleading for his kisses and her big green eyes told him that she had him halfway out of his jacket and shirt in her mind. He stood in place trying desperately to get his feet to move forward, but all he could do was watch her. She stopped at the door to the livery stable and opened the door a crack. As she slipped her body part way through the door she stopped and bit her lip flirtatiously.

"Come get me, Buck," she giggled and then blew him a kiss.

Buck swallowed hard and let an aroused grin permeate his features. He looked around at the deserted streets and took a tentative step to the stable. With his confidence bolstered by the forward momentum, his steps began to quicken until he was joyfully running to the stable door. His mind cataloged the different noises coming from the livery, but it was too distracted to process what lurked behind the door. All he could think about was Hazel and her delightful invitation.

His head screamed at him to listen and to know that no good could come from opening the door. It recognized from the creaking boards in the hay loft that there was more than just Hazel in that barn. The slight chemical smell should have stopped him in his tracks, but it didn't. His want of love and acceptance willfully blinded him as he burst through the door on his quest for the lovely Hazel Franklin's affections.

The reality of Buck's situation began to crash upon him as he felt the first can of paint splash on him from above. He looked down to see red paint dripping from his hair staining his best jacket and crisp white shirt. Next, a splash of yellow hit him, which seemed to catch mostly the right side of his jacket. Buck stood there stunned and could do little when he heard footfalls in a run behind him. He turned just in time to be hit with green and blue paint. The splatter from those last two colors kept itself mostly to his favorite pair of buckskin pants and his boots.

Buck turned back to search for Hazel. He wanted to see her sympathetic face and longed to see her horrified and angry on his behalf. In looking for comfort in her eyes he just let the inevitable take its course. The sound of cloth ripping failed to inform him of the gentle, almost serene, cascade of white pillow feathers that gently landed on his paint soaked hair and clothes. It was through the curtain of white that he finally found Hazel. She was giggling and pointing at him with her arm hooked into the elbow of a young man with a can of yellow paint at his side.

"Mr. Tompkins was right," said the young man. "Paint and feathers are the best way to keep an Indian in his place."

Buck thought he heard some excited yelling behind him and turned to see all the dance attendees spill out onto the street. His humiliation was complete. The whole town was watching him and the laughter was unbearable. His friends, Teaspoon, Rachel, Jimmy, Kid and Lou, were the only ones not laughing at him. The final blow was when he heard Hazel speak.

"I told you I could get him here," she said to the young man. "You owe me a dance, Mason. I need to save my reputation and I think you are just the man to do it. To think, some people actually thought I liked him."

The nod she gave to Buck as she disparaged him on her way back to the dance hall was the final straw. Hazel had tricked him. He was foolish to think maybe she really liked him. Buck felt so humiliated. He couldn't stay here right now. Rock Creek had given him nothing but pain. Buck just wanted to disappear for a while. This was much worse than the last time. Last time he managed to sneak back to the station and only Ike and Teaspoon knew what happened. This happened and the whole damn town knew about it. The only people that didn't laugh were his friends. He stomped off to the barn. He would get himself cleaned up and then he would leave.

Buck splashed the steamy hot water onto his face. This was the second time in his life he had been covered in paint and feathers, both connected to his liking a girl. Buck angrily tossed a soiled towel across the barn.

"Come to the dance, they said," Buck grumbled. "You'll have fun, they said. That Hazel Franklin has been making eyes at you, they said. Well, that's the last time I listen to my so called friends."

Buck's best suit jacket was ruined. There was no way he would get all the yellow paint off of it. His favorite buckskin pants were stained with green and blue paint as well as flecks of other colors. His white shirt…well there was no hope in it remaining so. Maybe Rachel could dye it for him. At this point, he would just settle for getting the red paint out of his hair and the splatter off his boots.

There was a knock on the barn door, and Teaspoon walked in. "You alright?" he asked.

"I'm just so tired of it all, Teaspoon," Buck answered angrily throwing his suit jacket across the room. "I'm a grown man, but somehow people still think doing this to me is funny."

"I know, Son," Teaspoon said.

"I need to get out of here for a few days, maybe longer," Buck said. "I just can't stay here right now."

"But, Buck, it's a week from Christmas," Teaspoon reminded him. "Rachel has been looking forward to the holiday this year. Cody should even be back."

"It has been well over a month since I've ridden anywhere, Teaspoon," Buck complained. "I won't be gone forever, but I just need to be out riding on a horse. Nothing else makes any sense to me."

Teaspoon sighed. "I guess I can't fault you for that," he said resigned. He looked back up and Buck could see the fear in his eyes and hear the hitch in his voice. "Please come back, Buck. I don't know how Rachel would take it if you left us for good. I don't know how I would take it either. You're my family and family sticks together."

Buck nodded as the beginnings of tears stung his eyes and went back to cleaning the paint from his body and clothes. "I won't leave till morning," he said turning away and leaning over the basin. He waited until he heard Teaspoon leave before splashing more warm water on his face.

A/N: I couldn't have done this story without some help. I thought, like you do, that this was a lot shorter than it has turned out to be and by the time I realized it, I was thousands of words into it. Parsing it out into chapters was a difficult thing to do. I must thank Beulah, Gert, Hortense, and Myrtle for helping me chop this story up into viable chapters and for their unrelenting eyes for detail that helped me expand some of the sections. I must especially thank Beulah for her commitment to this story and helping me keep my matches from exploding all over the place.