Vin had begun to stir when he heard footsteps going throughout the house. There was a light underneath their door and he heard the whispered voices of his uncles.

Eventually, the door opened and Josiah stepped in with a lit lantern.

"Boys, it's time to wake up."

Nathan sat up in bed with JD sluggishly trying to obey. His head bobbed up in down in an effort to rise. Ezra was the only one still asleep. When Josiah sat down on the bed beside him and shook his shoulder, Ezra grumbled in his sleep.

"Ezra, buddy. It's time to wake up son." Josiah said softly.

The nine-year-old finally complied and sat up in bed.

"What time is it?" he yawned. His eyes refused to remain open.

"Almost five. I need you to get up and get dressed."

"Why?" asked JD, still sitting in bed. His hair was in different directions except for a clump that he would suck on in his sleep. Buck was still trying to get the five-year-old to break the habit.

"We're heading into town so take only what you need because we won't be coming back for a while."

He left the room only long enough to give the same instructions to the girls. Josiah helped the younger children in getting dressed while the older boys and Kate managed on their own.

The supervision of toys and favorite books were put into small suitcases before everyone was ready.

"What about our presents?" JD asked suddenly remembering, "We can't leave them. Christmas is in three days."

"They're already packed to come with us, but as long as we are all together, there is still Christmas." Josiah smiled reassuringly.

In over an hour's time, six children were gathered near the door. The younger ones were still yawning and rubbing their eyes, but were holding up admirably.

The door opened and a chilled Buck came in shivering. "They ready?"

"Yeah, brother." Josiah nodded.

Buck sniffed to keep his nose from running as he beckoned for the children to hand him their suitcases to load into the wagon. Once they were all loaded, he and Josiah carried the children to the wagon. The boys and girls crawled in under the preheated blankets and snuggled in.

Chris rode Pony up to the wagon and checked to see that everyone was accounted for.

"Ready?" he asked his friends.

"When you are," Buck grunted as he climbed on his horse. Josiah would be driving the wagon. His own horse was tied to trail behind the wagon. He took up his seat and clicked his tongue and flicked the reins. The horses complied and they began moving.

Chris only had the intent to stop into Four Corners before heading back out again. They would need supplies and get the children something to eat before setting on the trail. He also planned on asking a few questions while he was in town. Chris needed to make sure that Mary wasn't the one who let it slip that he was in town and that he was with six kids no less. Any mention of his name could risk exposure and Ella wouldn't have a problem honing down on his location. She also had six new possible targets to cause him pain.

Concentrating on the land around their little group, he kept his eyes open for any possible danger.

Ezra curled up in a tight ball under the blanket as he swayed from the wagon's movement. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about all the other times he had to remove from one house to another with his mother. After several months of pure joy; gaining brothers, sisters, a home with a father and uncles. He thought things would be different. That they'd be there forever.

"I still don't understand why we have to leave." JD murmured for the fifth time.

"Maybe we're going somewhere warmer so papa Josiah's joints don't hurt so bad." Nathan suggested, "His body doesn't seem to like the cold none too much."

"They would've said something ahead of time" Kate pointed out, "and we wouldn't be rushing out in the early morning."

Vin moved closer to his brother to try and get warmer but noticed how the other boy stiffened at the contact.

"You okay, Ezra?"

"Perfectly so, though my body does not appreciate being thrown into the elements and having you trying to steal what meager body heat I have." Ezra rattled off.

"You're colder than me!" Vin argued. He, however, didn't move closer to the other boy or press him to actually say what was on his mind. After living with Ezra for several months now, he was able to tell when something was troubling his brother. Ezra tended to become wordier when he was agitated.

Maddie pulled the blanket over herself more, which of course had pulled some of the warmth from JD. This caused the boy to pull in the opposite direction and the two began to bicker.

"Knock it off the both of you" Nathan warned, and the two youngest settled down, giving each other stink faces instead.

When they made it into town, it almost looked like the place was abandoned with no one outside. Josiah stopped the wagon in front of the local restaurant and Buck tied his horse to the hitching post before helping to set the children on the boardwalk. Josiah walked in with the children while the other two men saw to the horses.

"You go on ahead, I can take care of them," Chris said, taking the reins of the horses.

Buck gave his friend a grateful pat on the back before rushing to get indoors.

Wilmington gave a brief smile to the woman who took the children's orders. He only ordered a cup of hot coffee.

Josiah excused himself to use the privy so Buck was in charge of watching the children who wandered around the big room.

Ezra sat down on the piano bench and opened the cover. He played a few keys, not really focusing on them. There was only the slightest acknowledgment when Vin came to sit next to him.

"Do you feel it too?" Vin asked in a low whisper.

"I'm 'fraid I'm not in a way of understanding you, Vin," Ezra said coolly. He played the right-hand part of a song he learned a year ago. It reminded him of his mother and the urge to cry was becoming harder to resist.

"I think something's really wrong. Like something bad is about to happen."

Ezra frowned and finally turned to his brother. He wanted to ignore that even though he was two years older than the other boy, Vin was almost taller than him. "What do you mean, 'something bad'?"

"When my ma died, I lived with some Indians who took me in. The chief, my grandpa, he used to say I could sense when danger is coming." Vin said seriously.

Ezra looked into his brother's eyes, seeing no doubt to his belief. He looked back at the piano keys.

"I confess, I'm feeling wary about this sudden departure myself. Mother always had us do the same whenever we were running from something dangerous."

"Before Uncle Josiah came to wake us up. I had been up earlier. Something felt off and when I went into the kitchen, I could see someone in the distance. They looked like they were looking at the house. I got papa, but they were already gone when he arrived at the window."

The two sat in silence, both thinking the same thing.

"You don't think papa would leave us, do you?" asked Vin in concern.

Ezra flexed his hands, needing the comfort of his cards. He dug into his pocket and began shuffling them. They were all damaged, thanks to Maddie, but he still found the sound of the cards rustling as he shuffled them, soothing. He drew a shaky breath before offering his brother a smile. "I believe we should trust Chris to know what to do."

Vin couldn't help but feel that he was listening to a recording the way Ezra replied. Like the boy had said it over and over again like a mantra before this.