This story takes place shortly before the episode "Team Cherokee" and takes our characters away from Dallas to the Cherokee Reservation where Walker originally grew up. It's my first story centered on the Reservation. And I am eager to go there via the written word.

Wings of the Eagle PART ONE

"I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this," Katheryn exclaimed, a grin broadening on her face as she propped her elbow on the backseat window of Carlos' Durango and watched rural north Texas pass them by at about fifty miles per hour.

"Me too," Trent chimed in from the front seat. "I'm really eager to meet some of Walker's family."

"Yeah." Carlos kept his eyes on the road as he drove and spoke. "I've heard so much about them all from him. Can't wait to finally put some faces to the names."

"I agree," Molly inserted from behind Carlos. "It's like they're already family. We just haven't even met them yet."

"I second that," Katheryn grinned across from her best friend, sharing a hearty pair of smiles. "So how much farther do we have to go?"

Carlos heaved a sigh as he calculated the distance in his mind. "About an hour maybe." He then glanced over at Trent who was currently examining the map. "That about right?"

Trent took a glance over at the speedometer and grinned. "Yeah. If not less than that." He then glanced at an unfamiliar road sign. "You do know the way, right?"

"Yeah," Carlos defended himself. "I've taken this road plenty of times."

"Alright," Trent surrendered and went back to his map. "You're the boss."

About an hour later, all four of them were nursing aching backs while taking turns pacing back and forth with Trent's cell phone to try getting a signal. They weren't lost. But apparently the gas tank had not been filled as much as Carlos had estimated. And Walker was waiting for them at the Reservation which, according to Carlos, couldn't be very far from where they were currently stranded.

While Molly walked with Trent up the lonesome road to find a signal, Carlos and Katheryn stayed behind, both with arms crossed in the silence while leaning against the hood of Carlos' SUV. The winds whipped around Katheryn's ponytail and played with the hems of their shirts as they stood there, silently watching absolutely nothing take place around them. A tumbleweed drifting across the road set to a mournful fiddle would have made the little scene complete.

Katheryn wanted to tease Carlos. But her emotions were far from being humorous. She had looked forward to this trip since the beginning of the year it seemed. And after having so many obstacles in her way since then, she wasn't about to let anything get in her way this time. Not even the slight mistake of the man she loved.

Carlos smiled. "Want to hear a joke?"

"Nope." Katheryn's gaze never moved from ahead of her as she squinted against the sunlight.

Carlos smirked. "You want to drive the rest of the way?"

"Yep."

"But would you prefer me to drive?"

"Yep." Katheryn tried not smiling. As much as she wanted to let her true emotions show, she couldn't allow herself to be entirely predictable.

"You're something else," Carlos asserted between smiles, casting a gaze over the still vacant two-lane road before he rotated himself to face Katheryn. "I'm sorry."

Katheryn wrinkled her forehead. "For what?"

"You and I both know this is my fault for not checking the tank before we left."

"That may be true," Kath smiled, "but you know how I love a little adventure."

"Sitting stranded on the side of the road is no adventure," Carlos scoffed.

Katheryn uncrossed her arms, inserting one into her jeans' pocket as she rose to her full height off of the SUV to face Carlos. "But it can be…when I'm with you."

With only a faint smile on his lips, Carlos ambled over to the side of the road and picked one of the rather pathetic roadside wildflowers and returned to Kath, extending the little beauty to her. Smiling and accepting it, Katheryn turned to see Trent and Molly headed back towards them. She quickly stole a kiss from Carlos, taking advantage of the brief moment alone before it was gone.

"Well," Trent sighed, approaching Kath and Carlos. "I finally got through to Walker for all of three seconds."

"This would be a good time for the Cherokee of his to kick in," Katheryn affirmed with a grin.

Trent chuckled. "Yeah. It would. I think he heard me say one or two words before it signaled out."

Molly looked to Trent in earnest. "What should we do?"

Carlos nodded towards behind Trent and Molly. "How about we flag down that car that's coming?"

Trent grinned, turning to look at what Carlos was talking about. "Sounds good to me."

But thankfully they didn't have to lift a finger. The car slowly came to a stop, the window whirring down to reveal a woman's smile. "Somebody call a cab?"

"Alex," Katheryn recognized the woman first and called out jovially.

All four of them crossed the road to greet their saving grace and to explain the situation to Alex.

"Well, lucky for you all, Walker insisted I take along a gas can for myself just in case." Alex turned to Trent. "It's in the back."

Trent hurried to the trunk as Alex popped it open. He quickly took hold of their ticket to safety and returned to the Durango as quickly as possible with Carlos close behind.

"I'll see you all back in Dallas," Alex grinned.

"What?" Katheryn frowned. "You're not going back with us?"

"I wish I could," Alex's lip sagged a bit. "But I've got a hearing on Monday. If that goes smoothly, I may come back after then. I'm not sure. But you guys have fun!"

"We will!" Molly assured, glancing back at the SUV as they heard Carlos crank the engine with a broad grin spreading across his face. "Looks like the guys have the car ready."

"Alright. Bye!" Alex waved goodbye before she put her car in drive, accelerating away from Katheryn and Molly as they too waved before hurrying back to Carlos' Durango.

They arrived at the Cherokee Reservation about thirty minutes later once Carlos finally gave in to letting Trent direct him according to the map and not his intuition. Which would have been great had he been at least on the right road that he had remembered from some excursion in his past and not missed the turn where the entrance sign was clearly situated.

Upon reaching a cluster of buildings in the center of town, Carlos spotted Walker standing on the boardwalk of the general store and parked right beside his Dodge RAM before turning the engine off and exiting the vehicle. He slipped on his shades and neared Walker with a smile. "Well, we finally made it."

Walker grinned as he watched Trent come up next to Carlos followed by Katheryn and Molly. "Took you guys long enough."

Snickers drifted throughout the little group before Walker stepped aside, a hand on his shoulder getting his attention.

"Washo, aren't you going to introduce me?"

Walker's laugh died away giving way to his realization that his Uncle Ray had never met these young folks. "Sorry, Uncle Ray. This here is Carlos Sandoval. He works with the Dallas police. And this is Trent Malloy, private investigator. And with them is Katheryn Beaumont and Molly Mason. Katheryn works with Trent as a partner. And we also steal her away from him for a few cases of our own." He smiled at Kath with a twinkle in his eye, drawing a grin from the young woman.

"I suspect a bit more to this picture, Washo," Uncle Ray reasoned as he noticed the fondness in the young men's eyes.

"True," Walker agreed, shifting his gaze. "But you'll have to ask them about that, Uncle Ray."

"I will," Uncle Ray shook his finger towards the young folks. "Believe me. I will."

Katheryn eased through Trent and Carlos, her face brightly beaming as she extended her hand. "It's a great honor to meet you, Uncle Ray. Walker talks about you often. And I oftentimes feel so close to Cherokee."

Uncle Ray accepted Katheryn's hand and nodded. "Do you have tribal blood, young lady?"

Katheryn nodded. "That I do, sir. Although I'm afraid I don't look like it though."

Uncle Ray leaned his head back gently, surveying Katheryn's facial features with narrowed eyes. "Hmm…I can see some likeness in your face, Katheryn Beaumont."

"That's good to know. I really wish I looked the part more."

"Oh, nonsense," Uncle Ray assured. "You are who the Great Spirit made you to be. Don't wish anything else. But be proud of your heritage also." The sage man lowered his hand upon emphasizing his words.

"Well," Walker stepped forward off of the wooden sidewalk onto the dirt path. "What do you say we head on over to the Falcons' home?"

"That would be great, Walker," Trent chimed in. "Are you sure it's no imposition for us to stay with them?"

Walker shook his head as they walked side by side over to the other side of Carlos' Durango. "Not at all. Brian and Rachel insisted when I told them I had invited some close friends. And they have two bedrooms to spare."

"We'll see you there then." Trent parted ways to climb back into the passenger side of the SUV just before Walker pulled out ahead of them to lead the way to the Falcons' home.

Along the road, Katheryn noticed many different establishments throughout the Reservation. Most notable was the school. It was smaller than what she had envisioned. Somehow she picture it as a large public school she was accustomed to seeing elsewhere. Instead, it was more like a large meeting hall that she imagined was separated into several smaller rooms inside for each grade. Still, she secretly wondered why such conditions existed on the Cherokee Reservation.

Katheryn finally found her voice to speak and asked, "Why is it like this?"

"What's that?" Trent replied.

"The Reservation. Why is it so…torn apart?"

"Poverty," Trent stated evenly, leaving the atmosphere quiet as he gathered his thoughts before speaking again. "Apparently history hasn't changed much when it comes to how the outside world treats those different from them."

Katheryn sighed. "I wish I could do something about it. I hate that we're coming here like tourists or something."

Carlos tried making eye contact with Katheryn through the rear-view mirror. "Why don't you ask Walker about it? Maybe he can give you some ideas."

"That's a great idea." Katheryn smiled her thanks as she returned Carlos' gaze through the mirror just as he had to look away and follow Walker into the driveway of the home right beside them.

The driveway could easily fit four vehicles nose-to-tail as it led up next to a large shop on the left and a cottage-like home on the right. A man emerged from the house as both Walker and Carlos turned off their vehicle's respective engines. He had a welcoming smile on his face as he descending the steps and greeted Walker with a warm handshake and hug.

"It's good to see you again, Walker."

"Same to you, Brian," Walker beamed. "Now where's that beautiful wife of yours?"

Brian sighed. "She's inside making sure everything is clean and dust-free for our guests. Speaking of which…" Brian paused and lifted his gaze beyond Walker to the four young people emerging from the SUV in his driveway.

"Let me introduce you," Walker insisted and led the way to meet the foursome half-way. "Brian, this is Carlos Sandoval. He works with the Dallas police."

"It's great to meet you," Brian greeted Carlos with a firm handshake.

"Likewise," Carlos smiled.

"And this is Trent Malloy who works as a private investigator although he seems to need our help a lot."

Trent grinned, shaking Brian's hand. "He's only kidding, Brian."

"I'm sure," Brian chuckled.

"And these two pretty gals are Katheryn Beaumont and Molly Mason."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Brian took turns shaking each young woman's hand before motioned towards the house. "Won't you all come in? I'm sure the house is more than ready for your arrival."

As all of them filed into the house, Katheryn remained on the porch, turning back to glance over the other homes and the prairies beyond.

Carlos took notice and double-backed, laying a hand on Kath's shoulder. "You alright?"

"Oh, yeah," Katheryn smiled to reassure him. "Just appreciating finally getting to be here. But promise me something."

"Shoot."

"Don't let me forget to speak with Walker. I need to ask him that before we leave."

"Ask me what?" Walker stepped out of the house with a smile.

"I, um, wanted to ask if there was anything we could do here—that I could do while we're here to help these folks. I don't know," Katheryn sighed. "I love the Cherokee as if they were family. Yet I've never met one of them in my life. I just want to pay it forward and not simply be another tourist."

"I see," Walker nodded before sinking into his thoughts for a moment. "You know, there may be something you could do. Let me make a phone call, and I'll let you know by in the morning."

"Alright," Katheryn grinned. The least she could do was ask. Perhaps now she could rightly enjoy her time with friends knowing that a chance to make a difference lay in her future. Something about that always seemed to brighten her outlook on things.

##

Not even a creak in the Falcons' home could be heard as echoes of Lonesome Dove drifted through their empty home. Well, it was mostly empty. Brian was out in his shop working on a race car with two very curious onlookers in tow by the name of Malloy and Sandoval. Kath would have been right on their heels had it not been for Rachel's generous invitation to borrow their television set for a quick movie night. Lonesome Dove wasn't exactly ideal for a "quick" movie night. But it was well worth it. And least for one or two parts anyways. Sadly, Rachel was called away to help a neighbor with some emergency that had come up with a birthday party they were currently planning for one of the neighborhood children. That left Katheryn and Molly all alone for their cinematic adventure in the West. Not that they complained any.

Yet as gentle, wispy sounds of orchestral suspense countered the darkness of the living room, Kath and Molly huddled close, munching on popcorn while fully engaged in the drama before their eyes. Little did they know the side door to the house in the kitchen had slowly eased open, two curious onlookers stifling snickers as they quietly tiptoed through the house.

Trent and Carlos had smiles as wide as their faces as they tried not to make a single noise. They slowly took each step carefully, timing each creak of the floor with a sound coming from the movie before they were about a yard directly behind the sofa the girls were occupying. Then they stood there, watching the movie with the girls unable to wipe the smiles off their faces and quell what silent laughter they could manage. Then the scene switched to a rather emotional one.

"Oh, I like this scene," Katheryn whispered to Molly. "Although it makes me want to cry every time."

"Would you hush?" Molly teased. "You've said that twice already."

Katheryn grinned. "What can I say? I love good movies."

Carlos took a step forward and gently leaned in next to Katheryn at eye level from behind. "And I bet you'd love some company."

Katheryn gasped, closing her eyes tightly as she caught her breath while feeling her heart rate settle. "Carlos Sandoval! Why did you go and do that?"

"Do what?" Carlos shrugged and plopped down on the sofa next to her.

Trent did the same, taking the empty spot on the other side next to Molly while the movie kept on playing. "It's been such a long time since I saw this one."

Molly took a deep breath, rolling her eyes to Trent. "If you wanted to watch with us, there's other ways to ask than by scaring the daylights out of us."

"Where's the fun in that?" Carlos smiled just before cringing at the feeling of Katheryn's elbow ramming in his torso.

Then the credits began to roll.

"Well," Katheryn sighed, reaching to take Carlos' hand in hers. "I'd love to stick around. But I need to get to bed. Walker's calling me first thing in the morning."

Trent wrinkled his forehead. "What for?"

"Kath's going to start volunteering around the Reservation." Carlos smiled, increasingly proud of his better half.

"Oh, well I don't know for sure. Walker just said he had to make a call."

Molly smiled. "Yeah, but you know Walker. He always finds a way."

"True enough," Katheryn chimed in as she drove herself to her feet.

Carlos joined her quickly, groaning a bit himself as he stifled a yawn. "I think I'll hit the sack too."

"Me too," Trent chimed in as he stood with Molly.

"Well, see you guys in the morning."

"You too, Kath," Trent offered, pecking a quick kiss on Molly's cheek before joining Carlos for their trek to their guest bedroom while the girls headed for theirs.

Night and came and went with little regard for sleep to the eager Katheryn Beaumont who couldn't stop thinking about what Walker could have in store for her today. Whatever it was, she was eager to get going. Her heart was full of love for the Cherokee. And bettering their lives in whatever way possible was the closest thing to her heart, she thought, climbing from bed and dressing with scents of tantalizing breakfast foods drawing her out of the bedroom.

As Katheryn arrived to the kitchen, she found Rachel was already dishing breakfast up and setting the table. "Would you like a hand?"

Rachel grinned. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in. No, I've got it. Just sit down and enjoy."

"Alright!" Katheryn did as bid just as the guys and Molly emerged from the hall to take their place at the table also.

"Mmm!" Trent exclaimed. "Something sure smells good!"

"That it does!" Carlos agreed with a wink to Katheryn just before the phone rang from the kitchen wall.

Rachel quickly hurried over to the device and put the receiver to her ear. "Rachel Falcon speaking. Oh, hi Ranger Walker. Yeah, she's right here." Rachel lowered the phone, turning towards the kitchen table. "Katheryn, it's for you. Ranger Walker."

Kath eagerly took the phone off of Rachel's hands. "Walker?"

"Katheryn, I spoke to David Little Eagle Jackson last evening. He just recently opened up a medical practice on the Reservation. He also helps with charity work alongside various organizations in the community. He said he would be glad to meet with you to talk. I can pick you up within the hour if you'd like."

Katheryn smiled. "That sounds great, Walker. Within the hour is fine."

"Alright. I'll see you soon."

"Thanks! Bye." Katheryn retook her seat at the dining table jovially.

"Well, somebody's in a good mood," Trent remarked. "What did Walker say?"

"He said that David Little Eagle Jackson would love to speak. Walker's picking me up within the hour."

Molly pointed to the food before them. "Well then you'd best eat up. You want to have all the energy for whatever you'll have to do today."

"Thanks, Molly. So, what are you guys going to do today?"

Trent sighed. "I'm planning to stick around here and help Brian with his car. He says he may take it out to a local field to test drive it."

Katheryn frowned. "I wish I could come."

"Well I can go in your place." Carlos had a twinkle in his eye, quickly suppressed by a glare from Miss Beaumont. "Just helping," he shrugged before Katheryn hurried from the table after shoving in one last bite of food. Carlos raised a brow as he turned to watch her. "What's the hurry?"

"I don't want to miss Walker. Besides," Katheryn smiled mischievously. "I want to get a peek at Brian's race car before I leave."

"I should have know," Carlos chuckled, turning back to his breakfast while denying the smirks that floated across the room before he heard the door shut firmly behind Katheryn in the distance.