Hello All! Sorry for the delay! I mean really, really sorry because well….it was a really, really long delay. Life got in the way of writing once again but here is the next chapter and I've already got part of the next one written so I'm hoping to actually finish this one soon. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, I'm very happy that so many of you like this story.

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With speed born from years of practice Mal quickly saddled up the first horse. Handing the reins to Wash, he practically jogged to the next stall and began the same process on a second mount.

Wash stood holding the first horse and noted that Mal seemed to be planning for a long trip. Two full water canteens were strapped to the front of the saddle and a peek inside each of his saddle bags showed protein blocks enough to last for a couple days at least. There was also a blanket roll and as Wash walked his mount closer to the other stall he saw that Mal's animal was similarly stocked. As soon as he thought they couldn't carry anything else, Mal went into the tackroom one more time and returned with a few more items. He had found two pistols and gave one to Wash, he also found a couple rifles and bullets for all of the weapons.

"How long do you expect us to be riding?" Wash asked as Mal was finishing up with his mount.

"Two, maybe three days max," Came a reply from somewhere underneath the horse's belly. Mal's head popped into view again as he tightened the cinch on his horse's saddle.

"Two or three days? Where are we going?" Wash asked a little loudly, causing his mount to snort in surprise.

"Easy now, Wash," Mal admonished. "Don't be yelling and carrying on around horses now. These here are flight animals; which means that if they get scared they run. Now near as I can tell the town we just came from is on the other side of some hills I spotted when I poked my head out." He was finished now and started walking his horse out into the aisle, Wash following behind.

"Those hills ain't near as close as they look so I'm thinking we have a bit of a ride ahead of us. But don't you worry none," he said as Wash's face began to show signs of concern again. "If we get ahead of these boys, they won't be able to catch us. I've got me some learnin' on tracking and I know how to fool one if I have to."

Stopping at the end of the aisle, Mal checked the gear on both horses and then opened the door quietly. Looking around he saw exactly what he'd hope to see. The sun had set by now and no movement seemed to be coming from the house. Their captors had really put a lot of stock in that stall (and the blindfolds) keeping their prisoners from escaping. Mal was sure they would be furious with themselves in the morning when they saw the folly of such a plan. Not to mention what the real bounty hunters were apt to do to them when they saw that they'd allowed the quarry to escape.

Mal stopped and made to mount up when he noticed that Wash was just standing in silence next to his horse.

"You ready?" he asked his pilot. "We've got to get going if we're gonna have any chance of beating these guys. I'm thinking they won't notice us missing till morning but I don't want to take any chances."

Wash didn't reply right away so Mal lead his horse back and stopped in front of the other man.

"What's wrong?" Mal asked.

"I don't know how to ride," Wash finally admitted with a tad of embarrassment.

"Really?" Mal asked in genuine surprise. Seemed like he couldn't remember a time when he didn't know how to ride and it just hadn't even occurred to him that Wash wouldn't know how as well. He'd figured the other man had protested riding the horses simply because he'd wanted to get away faster. This made things a little more interesting.

"Alright then, let me give you the fastest riding lesson in history," Mal said. He kept the reins of his own horse over his arm and then reached for those on Wash's animal. He quickly showed Wash how to mount up and once the other man was aboard, mounted his own.

"Those things in your hands are called the reins. They're the way you control the direction and also how you slow down," Mal instructed, holding up his own reins as a demonstration. "When you want to go left, you guide the horse's head to the left and the same thing when you want to go to the right."

"Now," Mal was quick to point out. "Don't be yanking on the reins; jerking on your horse's mouth. There ain't no need for that as most of the time they'll be waiting for you to tell them what to do anyway. "

Wash watched attentively and picked up the reins as he was told. He did as Mal instructed and saw that his horse did indeed follow the direction asked for with them.

"When you want to go faster," Mal continued. "You use your legs; they're in charge of the impulsion. Kinda like the engines on Serenity. Just give'em a little squeeze or maybe a kick if necessary and they'll move for you. Then to slow down you just pull back on the reins, nice and gentle."

Wash nodded and asked his horse to move forward with a squeeze of both legs. He was rewarded with a few steps and smiled happily as he got the result he wanted. Mal looked on and nodded approvingly, happy to see his pilot catching on so fast. The learning curve was going to have to be really steep since Mal didn't have time to ease the other man into the art of riding. It was going to have to be a "learn as you go" kind of ride.

"Alright then, let's git on outta here," Mal said and started heading in the direction of the next town. He kept to a walk at first, not wanting to risk their captors hearing the pounding of galloping hooves. Once they had walked a few minutes and appeared to be safely out of earshot, he asked his horse for a gentle trot. He knew that at that gait, the animals could go for hours. Other people might have just galloped off but they wouldn't get as far and not even get there as fast as a horse would need to be rested much more often after galloping.

Wash was caught a little off guard as his horse lurched into a trot behind Mal's mount. He grabbed the horn and held on for all his might, trying his best to find his balance as he was bounced around in the saddle.

Mal finally noticed Wash's discomfort after a minute or so. He hadn't meant to drive the other man so hard his first time in the saddle but the possibility of them both getting themselves dead by Niska had been distracting him just a bit.

"Wash, lean back a bit and sit your rear on that saddle," Mal instructed, indicating his own relaxed seat.

"You know, my rear really isn't in the mood to make any more contact with that saddle," Wash replied through clenched teeth. What was Mal thinking?

"Yeah well if'n you're gonna be all tense like that and leaning forward all that's gonna happen is your gonna bounce harder. Now listen to what I'm tellin' ya son. First off; sit down and sit up straight."

Wash did as he was asked and was immediately sorry as he bounced straight onto an area that really, really didn't enjoy being bounced on like that. Just when he thought that his and Zoe's discussions of becoming parents were about to become moot, Mal spoke up again.

"No, not like that. On your ASS son!" Mal ordered and Wash tipped his hips back so his "front end" wasn't so much on the saddle as his "back end". He noticed the difference right away, though he still was being jarred so hard he thought his teeth were going to rattle straight out of his head any second.

"Alright now try and relax a bit, the stiffer you are the more you're just gonna keep on bouncing. Try and move with the horse, not against him."

Wash was trying really hard not to tell his captain precisely where he could stick his advice and instead just attempted to do what he'd been told. Finally he found a rhythm and was able to follow along with the motions a little bit. It helped and he smiled at the new-found skill.

Mal kept them at a steady pace for over an hour and then stopped to rest the horses, and his pilot as well. He didn't want them to pause too long as he knew it was just a matter of time before their escape was discovered and a posse was on their tail.

The sun rose as they rode down into a small valley and Mal stopped them once again as they crossed a stream. Both men got down and drank as thirstily as their mounts. Wash wasn't sure how much longer he could keep going but he figured that being lame for a while was a damn sight better than being dead for longer so he chose to just ignore the pain in his aching muscles for the moment.

Once the horses had drunk their fill and had some time to rest their backs, they were off again. Though he was sore as all get-out, Wash was actually almost enjoying the ride and had nearly forgotten why they were doing it in the first place. Mal watched out of the corner of his eye as Wash looked around appreciatively at their surroundings, taking in the views and clean air. He knew that Wash had come from a planet where the air was hardly breathable and to be out in the wilderness like they were, was a whole new experience for him.

That's why it really pained Mal to have to tell him that they were being followed. He'd noticed the cloud of dust a while back but hadn't said anything at first. He chose to keep riding forward and kept a look out for any sort of shelter they could use to hole up for a while. Once he spotted a likely place he decided that he was going to have to ruin Wash's morning.

"Wash," he said and watched as Wash reluctantly stopped watching some birds fly by to look at him. "Let's head over to those big rocks, we're gonna need to stop and tie up the horses for a bit."

"Why?" Wash asked.

"Cuz we've got company and we need to greet them appropriately," Mal replied, tipping his head over his shoulder.

Wash looked where Mal indicated and caught sight of the cloud of dust following them.

"That's not good, is it?"

"Nope"

Mal and Wash headed for the outcropping and tied their horses on the side facing away from where their enemy would enter the somewhat sheltered area. They took positions behind the biggest boulders and waited, guns held ready. There was really nothing to say as they both knew what another capture would mean. There would be easy getaway this time if they were caught.

"Shoot whatever moves, got it?" Mal asked and Wash nodded.

As the dust cloud came closer Mal could see that it was just three men, the two men from the barn plus an extra hand, on their trail. That should make things a little easier but he wasn't going to count on anything just yet. The men tracked them easily and rode cautiously towards the outcropping of rocks, rifles held ready.

Mal waited until the men were almost right below them, just before Wash and he would become visible and yelled "Fire!"

The men dove off their horses and headed for cover in the rocks below. Then began a slow game as each group tried to pick off the other, shooting into the rocks and ducking from shots alternately. Mal knew that something like this could go on for days and decided to see if he could get closer.

He never got the chance though as at that moment one of their adversaries had wisely snuck up on them. While his partners had kept Mal and Wash busy firing in the opposite direction, he had made his move. Wash heard the step and turned quickly, firing as he did so.

The gunshots rang out simultaneously and both men fell. Wash had managed to shoot the other man but not before the enemy had gotten off one shot as he fell to the ground. As the man had been sneaking up on them, both shots took place at point-blank range. Wash's shot hit the man in the chest while the other man's shot had gone straight passed Wash's face, the bullet hitting the rocks behind them.

Mal heard the scream behind him at almost the same moment he heard the shots and turned to find Wash bent over with both hands at his face. He was tearing at his eyes and flailing around so fiercely that Mal had to restrain the pilot to keep him from putting himself in the line of fire once again.

"Easy, Wash! Easy now, I got ya" Mal said taking the other man firmly by the shoulders and quickly forcing him down behind a boulder.

"I'm blind, I'm blind!" Wash cried and if Mal could have seen his eyes through the bloody marks from the gun blast he probably would have seen anguish there. Flying was all Wash ever wanted to do and if his eyes were gone then it was pretty much a given that that would be a distant memory.

"No friend you're not blind, you've just been grazed and burned is all," Mal reassured him as he pulled Wash's hands away to get a closer look at the other man's eyes. "Now you just sit here awhile and stay out of the way."

Mal looked around and found Wash's gun on the ground where he'd fallen and quickly went to retrieve it. A few bullets ricocheted off the small canyon at his movement but he was too quick for them. Back at Wash's side he checked the gun and then took one of Wash's hands.

"Here's your gun. It's still loaded and you got four shots left. I've set you up behind a big boulder facing east and I'm gonna be taking cover about eight meters to your right. The bad guys are settin' up to come at us from the west I reckon. So you sit here and if anyone comes a'knockin' you just aim for the noise, ya hear?" Mal said as he put the gun in Wash's hand and watched as the pilot held it correctly there, ready to fire. He was just about to get back to his own cover when Wash grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" Wash said. "What if it's you coming back? I know we've had our differences Mal but Zoe'd kill me if I shot you," Mal caught a wry grin and gave one in return before he realized that Wash couldn't see it.

"I'll call your name before I get anywhere near you. Don't you worry none. I ain't gonna come up on a blinded man with a gun and not let him know it's me. So if someone does come by and is real quiet-like well then you'll know to shoot first and ask questions later, got it?" Mal replied and made ready to get going.

"Okay" Wash said and with his eyes still burning so bad he felt like they were going to drop right out of his head, he waited. He heard Mal scuttle away, a few more shots, then silence.

Feeling utterly alone now Wash strained to hear any noises. Unable to see anything he was stuck in his own blackness and felt like the world had disappeared around him. He touched the ground he sat on and then slid his had onto the boulder he was leaning against and was momentarily reassured by the mere touch of something solid. Being blindfolded was a completely different experience from this and not nearly as frightening. Knowing that the cover would come off his eyes and he'd be able to see was nothing. Sitting here not knowing if he'd ever see again was causing a trembling fear in his gut that wouldn't quit.

Suddenly shots rang out and Wash knew that those were closer than the last. The momentary lull he'd felt was gone and now he was petrified by something new. He wasn't the best shot in a gunfight as it was but without any eyes, he was a sitting duck and he knew it. Mal was busy firing away and Wash fervently hoped that Mal could handle it because he didn't think he'd be much use. Gun or no gun.

That's when he heard something. Straining with all his might and holding his breath Wash struggled to figure out what he'd heard. It was rustling, that much he knew, but from where and from who? These were questions he was afraid to find the answers to but he knew he had to try.

Wash cocked his head towards the sound and concentrated. After a few moments he could pick out individual sounds and knew that what he was hearing were footsteps. Soft ones, to be sure, but still footsteps. He winced when more shots went off as Mal and their attackers continued their fight. He'd been straining to hear so hard that they'd caught him off guard and it had actually hurt his ears.

But silence reigned again and Wash was able to listen for the other sound. The one that no one else seemed to have noticed yet. Again the rustle and again the footstep. Yep, Wash thought, there's no doubt that someone is coming up our left flank. Either someone was taking a chance or maybe they saw Wash was wounded and was hoping to get the better of both he and Mal.

Wash almost cried out for help from Mal. But a few more exchanged shots quickly disabused him of that idea. Mal had his own hands full and Wash knew that if he anyone was going to stop the intruder it would have to be him. Subterfuge was going to be his best defense so Wash quickly put on a dumb (well "dumb-ER" anyway) face and started acting like he didn't hear anything. Truth was that he was scared but not near as much as he was making out to be so he hoped it worked. He made a great show of trembling and looking fearful, rocking back and forth dejectedly and holding his hands to his face in a show of more pain than he actually felt.

It worked. As Wash sat there pretending not to know which end of his gun was up and who to shoot he heard the footsteps come closer. The feet sounded like they were more sure of themselves and he heard them coming faster and not nearly as quietly as before. Still keeping his head turned the opposite direction to the sounds, Wash gently pulled his gun hand behind him. Holding the gun behind him facing the boulder like that, he was sure meant that his movements couldn't be seen. Silently he cocked the hammer and continued to wait.

When he was positive that the footsteps were within just a few feet, he pulled the gun and opened fire on what he hoped was the body belonging to those feet. No shots were returned and once he stopped firing he heard a low moan and the unmistakable thud as a body hit the ground.

He waited anxiously for anything else to happen but after a few moments it was obvious that he had succeeded.