Summary: Dorothy and Cloud Dancing meet when they were teens. Well you can guess what is going to happen. They fall in love and then get separated and then have a happy ending.

Rating: M to be on the safe side.

Pairing: Dorothy and Cloud Dancing.

THREE WEEKS LATER:

CHEYENNE CAMP

Dorothy sat on the bank of the creek and watched the water flowing against the rocks. Her shoulder had gotten better in the short time she had been among the Indians and slowly her fears of the towns people finding her diminished. Being here with them had given her a feeling of contentment and peace she had never felt before. Cloud Dancing had told her that she was free to come and goes as she pleased just as long as she stuck close to the camp incase she needed her injuries tended to. For his part the Cheyenne Indian who had saved her treated her with respect and kindness. Allowing her mind to wander Dorothy reclined along the bank so she could absorb the sounds of nature. She didn't notice Cloud Dancing entering the water and quietly walk towards her from the other side of the creek. Dorothy was so distracted by the sounds of nature that she jumped when water droplets rained down on her. Rising to her feet Dorothy shook her head and playfully glared at Cloud Dancing. There he stood in the middle of the creek in nothing but buckskin leggings; his hair falling over his shoulders and the sun streaming down over his lean body. Out here she could openly notice him and it wouldn't be rude. Dorothy slowly walked into the chilly water with a devilish grin on her face. If he wanted to play then she would play. Dorothy kicked water up into his face and laughed when he fell back into the water. She didn't expect for him to pull her down with him. Dorothy expected pain but there was none. All the laughing and splashing was making her feel better.

Dorothy pulled back and tried to get up but Cloud Dancing wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back down into the water with him. Her good arm went immediately around his neck to keep from going under the water. Everything in the instant froze. He held her close and with every breath she could feel his chest rise and fall against hers. It was a nice feeling. Her left hand fisted in his hair and her lips were resting against his. Dorothy cringed as the pain started in her shoulder making her pull back. Cloud Dancing looked at her injured shoulder and saw the blood seeping through. Standing up he offered her his hand and helped her out of the water and back to the bank where he could treat her shoulder and stop the blood.

"I should not have..." Cloud Dancing started to say and Dorothy covered his mouth with her left hand.

"It was wonderful." Dorothy whispered and waited until he was done. The bleeding from her shoulder wasn't as bad as he thought; it was the water that only made it look worse. Keeping in mind her still recovering body Cloud Dancing watched as she once again settled down to rest on the ground. Her body relaxed and her breathing evened out. Cloud Dancing thought she had descended into sleep. He took a moment to watch her in the sun light. The golden rays highlighted the fire in her hair and the paleness in her skin. It amazed him how a white woman could fascinate him so. His people were at war with the white man. Why would he want to stay close to her?

"Can I ask the name of the Cheyenne who injured me?" Dorothy asked looking at her Indian captor. People would view her as a captive if they saw her here, but Dorothy saw it as her way to freedom. With everyday that passed her fear grew less that she would be found.

"Why do you wish to know?"

"I want to thank him." Dorothy stated and Cloud Dancing just stared at her like she had grown another head. It was unheard of for someone to thank the person that caused them harm, but Dorothy was no ordinary white woman.

"Why do you want to thank him?"

"I feel happy and safe here. It doesn't matter that I was injured, all that matters is that I am here."

"His name is Kicking Bear." Cloud Dancing replied and watched when Dorothy's hand came up and covered his as he placed the poultice on the wound and tied a piece of cloth to hold the medicine in place. In the few weeks she had been with the Cheyenne her wound had healed well. The new skin would break if she flexed her shoulder the wrong way or if she over used it. Today playing in the water had been the most she had used her arm without screaming. Some blood would seep out of the wound but it was no where near as much as when she had first come to him.

LATER THAT NIGHT:

The Cheyenne had gathered together for a night of stories and food. The Elders of the tribe were sitting around the bon fire beginning the stories of their people. Cloud Dancing sat next to Dorothy translating for her and watching as she became in tune with the words being spoken. It wasn't so much her understanding but it was the tone of which the words were being spoken to the others. While they had been listening Cloud Dancing took the time to show her who Kicking Bear was. He was more muscled than Cloud Dancing but he wasn't as tall.

"He seems like a good person." Dorothy whispered to Cloud Dancing.

"Shadow Under the Moon seems much improved this night!"

Dorothy and Cloud Dancing looked over at an older man who was smiling at them and leaning over to an equally graying woman who was laughing. Dorothy felt confused while Cloud Dancing smiled in return and replied, "The heart of this white woman is strong. She is as strong as a Cheyenne." Cloud Dancing had heard a few of the Cheyenne braves calling Dorothy Shadow Under the Moon and the name seemed to fit for her. But he did not know how she would react to be given a Cheyenne name.

"Her spirit is strong as well." The man replied as he walked over. Taking the seat next to Dorothy the Chief of the Cheyenne Tribe took the white woman's hands in his and locked eyes with her. Black Kettle could see the goodness in her soul and the need to be somewhere safe. A storm was coming and a terrible thing would happen to her before she found where she belonged.

"Shadow Under the Moon is who you are. This can be your home should you wish it." The Indian Chief offered.

"He has given you a Cheyenne name and welcomed you into our tribe." Cloud Dancing informed and watched the expression on Dorothy's face go from shock to joy. She had never felt like she belonged in her world and now they were offering her a place here. Dorothy couldn't speak; all she could do was nod. This was happening so fast. There were stories about the Cheyenne and how they treated their prisoners so well the prisoners never wanted to leave and became members of the tribe. Dorothy hadn't felt like a prisoner while she had been here. She had felt more like an invalid because her body was weak from the injury she had sustained a few weeks before.

Black Kettle stood and walked away from Cloud Dancing and the newest Daughter of the Cheyenne Tribe. He thought it was the right thing for him to do. The great chief had seen the way Cloud Dancing had tended to the young girl it made him wonder what had happened to the child to make her want to leave her home. Cloud Dancing told him about the scars but in the intervening weeks no more information had come to light about the nature of her scars.

"What was the name he gave me?" Dorothy asked when Black Kettle went back to sit with his wife.

"Shadow Under the Moon."

"What?" Dorothy smiled when Cloud Dancing glared at her.

"Shadow Under the Moon." He repeated only in her tongue this time.

"Why Shadow Under the Moon? I like it a lot, but why call me that?"

"It was for when you were injured. You were in the shadow of the moon when Kicking Bear saw you and thought you were a man." Cloud Dancing clarified.

"I'm honored." Dorothy whispered and looked up to the moon. Her hair was down and pulled over one shoulder covering the arrow wound. The night was warm but the heat from the bon fire made the air stifling. Dorothy wore a simple vest buttoned up all the way and let the night air whisper over her exposed arms. As she watched the people and just enjoyed the feeling being here and knowing she now had a place in this community. The sense of family was overwhelming that it made Dorothy feel content and she wanted to stay with him, and the rest of the Cheyenne. If she truly allowed herself this freedom then she could have a new family here with them, she could have a new life.

"Are you tired?"

"No, I just want to sit out here and watch the stars... and the moon." Dorothy smiled. She did that a lot in the last few weeks since she had come to the Cheyenne.

"Then come with me." Cloud Dancing pulled her to her feet and guided her to a clearing where blankets waited and small fire burned for light more than heat. Cloud Dancing settled down and held out his hand for her to join him. She snuggled closer and looked up into the heavens where the stars had come out to dance around the full moon.

"It's strange to think that I have been here for a month." Dorothy whispered and she contemplated her new name; Shadow Under the Moon. It was the name the Cheyenne had started to call her. When she had seen Cloud Dancing use her new name there was pride in his voice when he said it and happiness in his eyes as he watched her except Black Kettle's offer. She wanted to stay here and she was going to stay. Hopefully she could stay with Cloud Dancing. There was something about him that drew her.

Dorothy lay with Cloud Dancing and gazed at the stars seeing everything through his eyes and it made her feel connected to what the Cheyenne stood for. She wanted to tell him how happy she was to be here but she didn't have the words.

"I want to learn how to speak Cheyenne." Dorothy whispered.

"You really wish to learn?" He asked turning his head to look at her.

"Yes, I wish to thank Kicking Bear. Without him I never would have come here." Dorothy replied still looking up at the stars. Cloud Dancing only smiled.

Dorothy watched the sun come up as Cloud Dancing slumbered beside her. They had been up all night watching the sky and he told her stories of the tribe. Just before Dawn Cloud Dancing had fallen asleep and Dorothy had never felt tired. So here she stood watching the rising sun crest over the hills to herald a new day. The landscape was peaceful and gave no hint to the slow encroachment of the white men. She now could see why the Cheyenne fought so hard for the land on which they lived; it was truly heaven on Earth. The breeze was light and whispered through the tree's causing the branches to sway in a lazy dance in tune to the wind. Deer grazed in the clearing near by and seemed to pass over the fact that Dorothy and Cloud Dancing was there. The sun cast its golden rays over the land and cast out the last shards of night. She looked over to her companion and saw he was finally awake.

"You are awake?" Cloud Dancing spoke lightly touching her shoulder.

"I never went to sleep." Dorothy smiled and reclined back on the blanket. Cloud Dancing leaned over her and moved the fabric of her vest aside to check her wound. The bandage showed no blood. He kept coming back to the fact that she was a strong white woman to bare such pain. Then flashes of the whip marks marring her back radiated in his mind. Who could have done this to such a gentle woman? He thought. In the month she had been with him and the Cheyenne she had not said anything more about her father or the life she left behind.

"Why did you not sleep?"

"The night seemed to call me. I could not succumb to sleep with such a beautiful scene before me." She smiled and looked past him to the sky. Everything seemed better when she was with him, like she was only seeing things in a pale shadow before coming to the Cheyenne.

"Then you are truly at peace here among me, and my people?" Cloud Dancing asked. His heart seemed to beat faster as her silence stretched. The look in her eyes said it all but he needed, wanted to hear the words fall from her lips.

"Yes, I am. Being here with you has... renewed my soul. I was a pale shadow who wasn't really alive before you."

"What do you mean by this?"

"I can not find the words to tell you what I mean because I do not have them. Everything about my life has changed and I feel it is for the better that I am here with you." Dorothy replied and turned her head to the side closing her eyes. The contentment that flooded her body seemed to fill her heart and radiate through her blood. In this clearing she felt the need to have Cloud Dancing claim her as his so she could truly be Shadow Under the Moon... a Cheyenne.

"You have a home, and soon you will have a Cheyenne Family who would make you their own."

Dorothy looked at him, eyes wide. "A Cheyenne family?"

"Yes."

"Why would they do that?"

"Black Kettle will ask if a Cheyenne family will take you in. It is a way to make you feel a part of the tribe and give you a better sense of a home."

"Can't I stay with you?" Dorothy asked. She had grown accustomed to staying with Cloud Dancing, and not just because he was changing the bandages on her shoulder

"It would not be proper."

"Then why have I stayed with you this past month?" Dorothy surged to her feet and strode to the nearest tree where she kicked the base out of frustration and futility. She kept her back to him but knew that he had followed her. Placing her hands on the base of the tree Dorothy forced herself not to turn around. One look from him and she would go all soft. "I know kissing you yesterday seemed like a bold move and..." Dorothy started to say but Cloud Dancing spun her around and pinned her to the tree trunk ever mindful of her wounds while being careful not to inflict more pain. Putting his thigh between her slightly parted legs Cloud Dancing kissed her like he had wanted to yesterday when they were playing in the water, but he had been surprised at her bold move. All the passion he felt flowed from his heart to his lips and into her. He wanted to claim her and make her his but he would have to do it the right way, the Cheyenne way. Reluctantly pulling back Cloud Dancing stared at Dorothy. She was flushed and her breath was short.

"I am sorry."

"No, I liked it." Dorothy replied offering up a smile. Here was where she wanted to be. She wanted to be Shadow Under the Moon, and she wanted to be a member of the Cheyenne Tribe. Cloud Dancing offered his hand to Dorothy and together they walked back to the camp. He paid no attention to everyone who stopped to stare at them. Before they got to his lodge Black Kettle stopped them. Dorothy saw an older woman and man standing behind him.

"These two will take the white woman into their home and raise her as their own." Black Kettle spoke to Cloud Dancing.

"They will do this?" Cloud Dancing asked.

"They will." Black Kettle replied and stepped aside so the two people stepped forward.

"What's going on?" Dorothy asked.

"They will take you in and be your Cheyenne parents if you agree."

"I… I'm honored and stunned he found someone so fast."

"This is Red Hawk and Morning Dove. They are the parents of Snow Bird."

"Can you tell them that I accept?" Dorothy said and smiled at the people who had graciously decided to take her into their home and make her apart of their family. This was her chance to have a different life away from everything that had happened to her. She wanted to forget the beatings and being tied in the barn like an animal. Just because she was a free spirit and a little wild her father felt the need to beat her into submission. Dorothy felt her features fall into a look of sadness at the memory of her parents and sister. Her mother had done nothing to help her and neither had her sister.

"There is nothing to be sad about."

Dorothy looked up to see Morning Dove standing in front of her. The Cheyenne woman lifted her right hand to Dorothy's face and cupped her cheek rubbing her thumb over the tear tracks that had appeared. Dorothy smiled and tilted her head into Morning Dove's hand. She only smiled and the backed away to stand next to Red Hawk. Dorothy knew that she would be ok.

"When do I…?" Dorothy started to say but Cloud Dancing cut her off.

"In a few days you will receive your new name, Shadow Under the Moon and then you will go with your new family."