A/N: I forgot to post this one. I wrote it in November when I wrote lots of other stuff. This one was for the Writer's Ranch Gap Filler Challenge. It happens on the way back from Fort Reunion.


The ride back from fort reunion was so far uneventful. Everyone was mostly quiet the ride back, but something had seemed a bit off to Buck. He had decided it must be because Emma and Jimmy were tired from all the things that had happened to them while they were away. Buck was glad he and Sam had come when they did or Jimmy may not have gotten out of there alive. He was sure Sam was mostly responsible for that though. Sam was a man determined. Buck almost thought Sam would make a good Express rider for as fast as they arrived at the fort. They were taking their time getting back now. It was for the best. The buckboard couldn't go any faster especially not with Jimmy recovering from being shot. The slow going didn't give Buck much to do but observe his friends.

He watched the way Sam looked at Emma. Unless he missed his guess, Sam was in love -lock, stock, and barrel. The riders all knew Sam was sweet on Emma ever since they had met him. Buck remembered the exchange between Emma and Sam on the boardwalk in Sweetwater. It was the first time he or the others had ever been to town. It was at that meeting that Buck figured they would all being seeing an awful lot of Sam. He wasn't wrong. Pretty soon Sam was over for supper all the time. Emma sometimes would make funny faces at Sam while she dished up supper. Sam seemed the same. He was maybe a little more protective of Emma now after what happened at the fort. Emma seemed to be reacting very differently.

Emma seemed distracted to Buck. There were times she couldn't seem to make her eyes meet Sam's and other times when it seemed like she was fine. Mostly she seemed to shy away from Sam when she took care of Jimmy. She almost seemed uncomfortable at times when tending Jimmy but she was better when Buck helped her. She seemed to ask him to help a lot which was ok with Buck. He could show Emma some of his herbal remedies while they were on the trail.

Jimmy looked at Emma and Sam a lot, Buck thought. It was almost as if Jimmy was trying to convince himself of something. He also seemed more comfortable when just Emma was tending him. Those times made Buck wonder about Jimmy's thoughts on Emma. Jimmy seemed to have a soft spot when it came to Emma. It wasn't exactly that she seemed to be a mother figure to Jimmy like she had been to the others and Emma was the only person that seemed to be able to reason with Jimmy at times. Buck wondered if maybe something had changed between them at the fort.

Throughout their trip Emma and Jimmy took turns telling Buck and Sam the stories about everything that happened at the fort. There were a couple of tense looks between Emma and Jimmy that Buck didn't understand. It was almost as if they were leaving something out. Sam didn't seem to notice or care. Buck just found it interesting.

Their last night out on the trail was much of the same. They had all finished their coffee and were settling into their bedrolls. Sam had just put another log on the fire and he and Emma had curled up together. Jimmy shot them an almost jealous look. Buck couldn't contain his curiosity anymore.

"So, besides getting yourself shot, anything else happen at Fort Reunion?" Buck asked in a whisper across the fire.

"No!" Jimmy answered a little bit too quickly.

Buck smiled and pulled his blanket up to his chin. There was definitely a story there. Someday, Jimmy might even share it.