Chapter Four: To Willow Creek

When Jimmy awoke the sun had yet to rise but the faint glow in the distance told him that the sun would soon be out. He quickly woke Lou and together they set to break camp grabbing a quick bite to eat before saddling the horses. It surprised the two riders when the sleeping red head didn't even stir as Jimmy laid her down on the cool ground to get to his saddle. With the sun slowly rising, it was easier to see the extent her time out in the grueling desert had done to the girl. Her lips chapped and skin horribly burnt from the sun; she looked like she'd been through hell fighting the entire way.

It was difficult for Jimmy to mount up with an extra person but with some help from Lou, the three were setting out towards Willow Creek. The jolting from the horses would no doubt wake up the exhausted girl but until that time came, Lou and Jimmy were content on riding in the silence enjoying the cool morning. With the sun shining down brightly now, Jimmy was able to finally get a good look at the girl sitting in front of him. Her red hair was tangled with pieces of brush sticking out of it. Her face was set in a frown, however he could tell that if she were to lose the burn and smile, she would be beautiful. Her clothing was odd and if anything, extremely revealing, her top hardly covered anything and her bottoms showed off most of her legs. Grinning to himself he looked up noticing Lou glaring at him. Letting out a sheepish laugh he nudged his horse forward picking up the pace.

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Willow groaned out in pain, everything was killing her and the jarring beneath her wasn't helping any. Squinting her eyes open, she followed the arm around her waist to the face of a very attractive man sitting behind her. Willow would have blushed if it wasn't for the fact that she was already redder than a lobster. She took a good look at him, his face was very attractive, though there was a little smudge of dirt here and there, it seemed to just add to his appeal. His brown hair was long and was pushed behind his ears, kept there by his snug fitting black cowboy hat. Grinning to herself, she knew that this kind of man was in Cornelia's words, "A major hottie."

"Hey, Lou!" The man behind her called out to the person ahead of them.

"What is it Jimmy?" She asked, slowing down her horse so she was riding next to the pair.

"Look who's finally decided to join us," Willow scrunched up as far back as she could, trying to hide herself from the new person, this earned a chuckle from Jimmy. "You're a shy one, aren't you?"

"Finally returned to the land of the living has she?" Lou asked reaching for her canteen and tossed it to Jimmy who gave it to Willow. "Just remember to take it easy with the water; we still have a while before we get into town to refill."

With shaky hands she accepted the canteen from Jimmy and nodded her thanks towards Lou. Closing her eyes she enjoyed the feeling of the cool water sliding down her throat. She just couldn't wait to get to this town and call Xander and Jesse to come and pick her up, wherever she was. Screwing the cap back on she held the canteen close to her, not knowing if she should give it back to Jimmy or Lou.

"I…" Willow choked out, clearing her throat she tried again, "I didn't know we had rangers in California. Why weren't you guys in a truck or something?" Willow rasped out, not really liking the feeling of being on a tall horse.

Jimmy and Lou shared a confused look before Jimmy spoke up, "What do you mean 'rangers in California?' And what's a truck?"

Willow looked shocked but tried to shake it off, "You know, California, the big state, Las Angeles, Hollywood. And everyone knows what a truck is. Vroom …Vroom, an automobile."

Again Jimmy and Lou looked confused. "We're not in California, we're in Nebraska Territory. And we're not rangers, we're riders for the Pony Express," Lou stated.

With bug eyes Willow stuttered, "Pony express? As in the Pony Express, started in April of 1880, founded by the team of William Hepburn Russell, William B. Waddell, and Alexander Majors? The Pony Express that connected east to west, the first postmen of America… Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds…" she babbled on as Lou and Jimmy shared a concerned look then a burst of laughter from the red head startled the two. However the laughter soon turned to tears the riders were forced to stop and see what was wrong with their charge.

Jimmy slid off his horse gently bringing the hysterical girl with him. Cradling the weeping red-head in his arms he looked to Lou for some sort of help. Shushing the girl he looked down and in his eyes he saw a girl who looked so lost and alone that it just pulled at his heart.

"Hey, what's your name?" Lou asked gently, kneeling next to Willow and Jimmy.

"W-W-Willow…" She managed to sob out.

"Willow, well, my name is Lou, and this here is Jimmy. We're heading to Willow Springs, do you know where that is?" The smaller girl tried to coax out information.

"N-No, I d-don't even know h-how I got h-h-here…I want t-t-to go home…" Willow hiccupped out trying to calm herself down.

"Listen to me Willow, we're not going to let anything bad happen to you, do you understand? We don't know what happened to you out there in the desert, but I promise you that from this point on are going to get better, okay?" Lou knew that she was coddling the girl, but it seemed to have a calming effect on her.

"Now before we set off are you hungry? Is there anything that you need?" Lou asked before standing up.

"Umm…well…I am a bit hungry, if it's not any trouble." Willow stammered.

Nodding her head Lou walked over to her pack and pulled out a piece of dried jerky and handed it to Willow. Gratefully accepting the meat she bit into it hoping to calm the gnawing hunger. Once she was finished she had calmed down drastically and apologized for slowing the two down even more than she already had. Before mounting up, Jimmy took of his jacket and helped Willow into it. Before she could ask why she was in a jacket when it was so hot out he told her, "It's to stop the sun from burning you any more than you already are." And with that they continued their trek to Willow Creek.

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