Chapter 10: Homeward Bound

By the time Uncas and Wolf had been released from the hospital and they'd all made the long ride back to the camp, it was late afternoon of the following day. Once they arrived at the camp, Dave Yazzie took everyone's official statements down for the record, which took several more hours.

By the time he left it was early evening and both couples were exhausted and hungry from the long ordeal they'd been through. Alice and Cora insisted their husbands get some rest and neither Wolf nor Uncas argued as both were only too happy to climb into bed. Fixing a light supper from the leftovers in the refrigerator, the sisters brought the food into the bedrooms and joined their husbands for an early night.

Although a cool breeze from an approaching thunderstorm blew in through the open window, the bedroom was still warm and Alice put on a light cotton nightgown. Uncas wore only his briefs. Lying on top of the sheets, they settled in for the night.

As they enjoyed eating dinner in bed, Alice prattled on to Uncas about the book she was reading. It was a very suspenseful mystery and when she asked him if he thought he might enjoy reading it next, she received no reply from him. Glancing over at Uncas, she saw he had fallen asleep. Being careful not to wake him, she slipped the fork out of his hand and removed the plate from his lap, then brought the dishes out into the kitchen. When she returned to the bedroom, she saw he had slid down the pillows propped up behind him and was curled up on his side.

Climbing back into bed, Alice removed his extra pillow before lying down. Although very tired, she curled her arm under her head and watched him sleep for a while. This was the first quiet time she'd had alone with him since they'd been reunited and she was savoring every moment of it. Gently brushing a finger over one of his dark eyebrows, she then listened to his breathing as she watched the even rise and fall of his chest.

How close she had come to losing him forever. The very thought of never seeing this beautiful man ever again made her throat tighten up and her eyes fill with tears and she could not help but put her arm around him as she pressed her forehead to his. Giving a big sigh, Uncas opened his eyes and smiled at his wife.

"I thought I was eating? Did I fall asleep?" he asked groggily as he looked on the bed for the plate he suddenly remembered holding.

"Yes, you did. I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep baby." she said as she brushed his hair with her fingers, hoping he wouldn't see her tears.

"Mmmmm, later." he murmured. "I want to enjoy you for a while first." Rolling onto his back, he pulled her close to him and she rested her head on his chest while she caressed it slowly.

"I thought I'd lost you last night. It was the worst night of my life. I couldn't bear the thought of never seeing you again." she told him.

"I know, babe. I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

"I almost jumped."

"Jumped? What are you talking about? Jumped where?"

"Into that big hole behind the rock in the cavern. I thought you'd fallen in there after you'd been shot and all I wanted was to be with you."

Uncas sat up, unable to believe what he was hearing. Pulling Alice up with him, he held the sides of her shoulders as he looked at her for a moment in stunned silence.

"What are you saying? Are you telling me you were going to kill yourself because you thought I was dead?" he asked.

"Yes, I was. And I would have, too, if Cora hadn't been there to stop me. Uncas, I love you! You're my whole world, you're my life. Without you there is nothing. Without you I have nothing."

Uncas leaned back on the headboard as the magnitude of what she told him sunk in. Taking both of her hands in his, he looked into her tear filled eyes.

"Alice, listen to me. I want you to promise you will never do anything like that again. I don't ever want you to even think about doing anything like that, do you hear me? Geez! Babe, you would have killed yourself for nothing! I wasn't dead! I know you didn't know that at the time, but….Oh God….you didn't know. I was so wrapped up in catching those guys, it didn't occur to me that you didn't see Wolf and I behind them. If you had jumped it would have been my fault!" he said. Looking down, he closed his eyes while shaking his head. "What the fuck was I thinking? Baby I am so sorry! I just didn't want those bastards to get away after what they were going to do to you and Cora." Looking at Alice, he wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks and pulled her into his arms.

"I'm sorry too, Uncas." she whispered onto his chest. "I just don't know how I could ever go on living without you." Uncas took a deep breath and slowly let it out before gently moving Alice away from him and putting both of his hands on either side of her face.

Baby look at me. I know you don't like to talk about this, but we both know how dangerous my job is. I'm a deputy with the Sheriff's Department and even though I'm assigned to the Search and Rescue division, it doesn't mean I only go out looking for lost hikers. Sometimes I'm looking for criminals on the run who feel they have nothing to lose by killing a cop. And even when I am rescuing civilians, there are any number of ways I could get killed. All it takes is a loose anchor pin while climbing, a rattlesnake I don't see in time, a loose rock, an avalanche, hell even the helicopter I sometimes ride in could crash in bad weather conditions. It could even be the result of something happening to Wolf. He and I don't tell you and Cora even half of the things we've experienced on the job because we don't want either of you to worry about us any more than you already do. The point I'm trying to make is that I don't want you doing anything stupid because you think something happened to me. I know it's your worst nightmare that someday while I'm on duty there's going to be a knock at the door and someone from the department is going to be standing there telling you I'm never coming home. God forbid that happens but if it does, I need you to be strong, not only for yourself but for our children. I need to know that I can depend on you to take care of Lila and Robbie if I'm not there anymore. Will you promise me that? Please?"

Alice nodded her head as she fought to control the tears that flowed down her cheeks. It took a moment before she could speak.

"I promise." she said.

Lying on his back, Wolf rolled over onto his right side. A searing pain woke him from a sound sleep and he immediately rolled onto his back again as he put his hand over the bandage that was just above his bicep. Tired of lying on his back, he rolled onto his left side, but no matter how many times he tossed and turned, the pain in his arm would not allow him to get comfortable. Trying to decide if he hurt bad enough to take one of the painkillers the doctor had prescribed, he heard someone begin singing out in the livingroom. Turning his head so that he could hear better, Wolf could clearly make out a woman's voice singing a traditional Navajo lullaby. Sitting up, he reached over and gently shook Cora's shoulder to wake her up.

"Wha..? Wolf? Are you alright? Is something wrong?" said Cora, instantly awake and full of concern for her husband.

"Shhh! Listen!" he whispered, holding his finger to his lips and nodding his head toward the bedroom door. Listening to the darkness, Cora also heard the singing.

"Is that 'Blanket Woman?" she whispered back.

"Yeah, it must be."

"She sounds very happy."

"Yeah, she does. She's got a pretty nice voice too, very soothing." whispered Wolf as he and Cora settled back down again. Listening to the lullaby, they both fell asleep in each others arms.

Sitting in the kitchen early the next morning, Wolf sipped his coffee while Cora prepared breakfast. The smell of bacon cooking filled the small home and Wolf was just about to see if it was cooked enough for him to sneak a piece, when the other bedroom door opened and Alice walked across the livingroom with her head down and her eyes to the floor as she headed to the bathroom. When Cora smiled and greeted her sister with a cheery 'good morning', Alice replied with a short and barely audible 'morning' without even raising her head.

Just as Alice closed the bathroom door behind her, Uncas walked out of the bedroom. He, too, responded to Wolf and Cora's greeting in much the same manner as his wife as he poured himself some coffee and went out the back door.

"What was that all about?" Cora asked Wolf.

"I don't know." he said as he got up from the table and followed his brother outside.

He found Uncas sitting at the picnic table under the ramada, staring at his coffee with a very somber look on his face. Walking over to the ramada, Wolf stood beside his brother and set his mug down on the table before swishing his hands back and forth over the top of his brother's head.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Uncas as he looked up at Wolf.

"There's a big storm cloud floating over your head with lightening bolts shooting out of it. I'm trying to clear it away so I can sit down next to you without getting wet or zapped."

"Very funny." said Uncas dryly as he turned back to stare at his coffee again.

"Sheesh! Somebody sure woke up on the wrong side of the bed! And Alice too for that matter. What's going on with you two?" said Wolf as he sat down next to Uncas.

"We had a talk last night. It was pretty interesting." said Uncas, still staring at his coffee.

"Interesting how?"

"I learned about a side of Alice I didn't know existed and it scares the shit out of me."

"What do you mean?" asked Wolf who was now very serious and concerned.

"Do you remember when we dove for cover behind that big rock in the cavern?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Alice thought you and I had fallen into that hole after we'd been shot…..and she was going to jump into it to be with me!"

"What?" asked Wolf, not quite sure he had heard correctly.

"Yeah. She thought I was dead and she was going to kill herself so that we could be together again. Ahh God, Wolf, I don't know what to do or what to think! If Cora hadn't been there to stop her, she….I would have lost her. And it would have been my fault, just as much as if I had pushed her in myself. I should have gone over to her before we ran out of that cavern. But no, not me. I was too busy being a cop instead of being a husband."

"Hey, I wasn't any better you know." said Wolf. "I ran after those guys right along with you. And we were going to go over to them, remember? But 'Blanket Woman' stopped us. I just took it for granted that the girls saw us and it was ok to leave them." said Wolf.

"Yeah, so did I." Uncas paused for a moment. Slamming his fist down on the table, he continued. "She wanted to die, Wolf! Without me she didn't want to live anymore!"

"She loves you, Fox, more than you ever knew. You're a bigger part of her life than you ever realized and it scares you. And the fact that you could have lost her has made you realize just how much you love her and that scares you too."

"Yeah. It does. I don't know what I'd do without her. What we do for a living is dangerous and I'm afraid that if something like this ever happens again she'll do something stupid and there won't be anyone to stop her next time. Damn it, Wolf, I can't lose her!" said Uncas as he rubbed his eyes. Looking closely, Wolf could see his brother was very tired.

"You didn't sleep last night, did you?" he asked.

"No, not really. I don't think she did either. After Alice and I talked we just laid there. I wanted to hold her but she wouldn't let me, she just pushed me away. Then she rolled over with her back to me and I know she was crying most of the night. I don't know where to go from here."

"Well I do. You go to your wife and you hold her and tell her how much you love her. She's hurting right now just as much as you are. She probably feels humiliated and confused and thinks you're either angry or disgusted with her because she let you down. That's probably why she pushed you away last night, because she's afraid you love her less now. She needs to know how deep your love for her is."

As Uncas and Wolf stepped through the backdoor into the kitchen, they were met by a perplexed Cora. When Uncas asked her where Alice was, she told him her sister finally came out of the bathroom and quickly went back into the bedroom without saying a word. As Wolf took Cora by the arm and led her outside saying their siblings needed some privacy, Uncas knocked on the bedroom door before entering. He found Alice lying on the bed curled up in the fetal position, her eyes red and swollen. Sitting on the bed in front of her, he gently rubbed her back.

"Don't cry anymore, please?" he said softly.

"I sorry I made you angry and I'm sorry I'm so weak." she whispered without looking at him.

"You didn't make me angry and you're not weak. Your one of the strongest people I've ever known. When I think about all that you went through and all that you did back in the old days, between the Hurons and the fort and how you saved my life twice! And now putting up with me being a cop and with everything you went through at the ruins. You are far from being weak, Pretty One. In some ways I think you're stronger than I am. And I am so proud that you're my wife."

"You are?" she asked as she turned toward him.

"Yeah! I just got so scared last night when you told me about what you almost did. It scared me because I can't bear the thought of losing you either. I love you, Alice, and in case you didn't know, you're my whole world too!"

It was nearly noon when Uncas and Alice finally joined Wolf and Cora outside under the ramada. Both looked much happier than they had earlier that morning and Wolf took the opportunity to give them some good natured teasing.

"Well, look who finally decided to join us! It's about time you two came up for air. By the way, Fox, you might want to take that oil can in the shed and squirt it on those bedsprings. We could hear them squeaking like crazy all the way out here!" he said with a mischievous grin.

Cora laughed at her husband's joke as Wolf tried unsuccessfully to dodge a punch from his grinning brother. Alice also laughed, her cheeks turning a shade of pink. Touching her sister's arm, Cora mouthed the words 'are you ok?' as she looked from Alice to Uncas. Alice gave a beautiful smile and nodded.

"Hey Fox, Cora and I are planning to hike over to the ruins today and thank the Ancient Ones for helping us. If you still have any strength left in your legs after your workout this morning, do you and Alice want to join us?" Wolf asked, still with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"You're absolutely terrible! Promise me you'll never change!" said Alice as she sat next to Wolf and gave him a big hug. "And yes, we'd like to thank them too."

At the ruins, Uncas and Wolf each said a prayer of thanks in Navajo to the spirits of the Ancient Ones for their assistance in saving the lives of their wives down in the caverns. Both twins held up a bundle of sage to the four sacred directions and to the earth and the sky before setting them down next to one of the outer walls of the ruins. They then stepped back so that Alice and Cora could each give their thanks as well.

After taking one last look at the ruins, the four were just about to start on their way back to the camp when they heard the cry of an eagle. Looking up they saw the majestic bird take off from the top of the cliff where it had been watching them and as it flew over their heads, they saw two feathers drop down. As the feathers floated down within reach, Uncas and Wolf each moved quickly to catch them before they touched the ground.

"I guess they Ancient Ones heard us. I think this is their way of saying 'your welcome'." said Wolf quietly.

"Wow!" said Uncas, deeply moved by the gift they'd just received. "It's no small thing when an eagle drops a feather directly to you. It means they are blessing you with this special gift."

With the exception of a couple of trips to Tuba City for water and supplies, the two couples spent the next few days relaxing at the camp and exploring some of the surrounding land, including an area where the ground was littered with pieces of petrified wood which dated back to a prehistoric forest that had once grown in the area.

The events in the cavern had a major impact not only on Uncas and Alice, but on Wolf and Cora as well and each couple frequently slipped off to various secluded spots to spend intimate private time together. None of them would ever forget how close they came to losing the love of their life and every moment they could spend together was precious and treasured.

All too soon it was time to head back home and, with the SUV loaded up, they said goodbye to 'Blanket Woman' and started out early that morning for the long ride back. The thought of home reminded them of how much they missed their children and it was decided that with the exception of the occasional stop to eat, stretch and refuel the SUV, that they would head straight home and forego any additional sightseeing.

Stopping at a small convenience store to get gas and snacks for the road, Alice and Uncas wandered into a small room that served as a mini museum, housing various antiquities and photographs from the area dating around the mid to late 1800's. Gazing at the sepia colored photographs displayed on the wall, Uncas's attention was drawn to one photo in particular.

"Oh my god, it's her!" said Uncas half out loud and half under his breath.

"Who?" asked Alice as she came over to see what he was looking at. Hearing them, Wolf and Cora came over to see as well.

"Her!" said Uncas as he pointed to a young woman in one of the photographs. "Remember when we were driving out here and I almost hit that girl walking down the road? The one we couldn't find afterwards? That's her!"

"Are you sure?" asked Cora.

"Believe me, that's a face I'll never forget!" he said.

"Excuse me!" Wolf said to the middle aged couple who ran the store. "Could you tell us about these photos in here?"

"Certainly!" the wife replied cheerfully. "My husband and I are amateur historians. This room contains some of the 19th century memorabilia we've collected over the years pertaining to this area. The photos you folks are looking at are of some of the missionaries who came out to this area to convert the Hopi people back in the mid 1800's."

"This woman looks familiar, do you by chance know who she is?" asked Uncas.

"Ha! I most certainly do! That there is Emily Sanders, the young wife of Isaiah Sanders. She was part of a huge scandal and, until recently, an unsolved mystery in these parts."

"Please tell us about it?" asked Alice.

Well, young Emily there was only sixteen years old when her father married her off to Isaiah, who was about 40 years her senior if my memory serves me. Anyway, Emily was in love with a boy her own age and the two conducted a secret love affair for several years after her marriage. Then one day, ol' Isaiah found out about his wife's infidelity and the two of them had a huge argument that half the town overheard. Emily stood firm and declared her love for the young fella and announced she was going to leave her husband and run away with her lover. Needless to say, Isaiah was livid and forbid his wife to leave. Story has it things got a little violent between them and Emily stormed out of the house after she whacked Isaiah upside the head with a skillet when he tried to choke her. Folks said they saw her stalking off into the desert and that was the last anyone ever saw of her."

Opening up one of the display cases, the woman removed a small leather bound journal before she continued.

"A lot of theories popped up about what might have happened to her. Some folks said she had been abducted by Indians…uh….no disrespect intended." she said to Uncas and Wolf.

"None taken." Wolf smiled back.

"Anyway, others said she got lost out there in the desert and died of the elements. What happened to her remained a mystery until about ten years ago when we bought an old trunk that had belonged to Isaiah. Everett and I were sorting through the contents when we noticed something funny about the bottom of the trunk. After poking at it a bit, we discovered it had a false bottom and after removing it, we found this old journal had been hidden there. Reading through it, we found it contained the usual entries one would expect to find, but then we got a big surprise! About three quarters of the way through there was an entry in which Isaiah confessed to murdering Emily! Apparently, after she stormed out of the house, Isaiah snuck out after her and caught up to her somewhere around what's now the road leading to Window Rock. They got into another big fight and this time when he choked her, he finished the job! Then he buried her body out there somewhere and snuck back into town where he played the 'grieving widow' for the rest of his days."

"Some people have said they still see Emily storming her way down that road, angry as all get up, trying to get away from her husband." said Everett as he joined his wife, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"We've never seen her, but we've heard from enough credible people who have to believe it's true!"

It was late afternoon when the two couples finally arrived home. Pulling into the driveway, they were greeted by their children, who came running out of the house as they screamed 'Mommy, Daddy!'. After much hugs and kisses, the little ones went into the house with their parents and little Lila and Maggie announced they were going to have a tea party in the backyard with grandpa.

All of the adults were as overjoyed as the children to have the two couples home again and, as any mother would, Grandma Lila immediately noticed the bandages on Uncas and Wolf's arms. Having decided not to mention the incident in the caverns, the twins brushed it off as nothing more than a slight injury received while hiking as they helped themselves to some ice tea in the kitchen.

Nathanial and Sofia greeted the returning travelers from where they sat side by side on the sofa in the connecting family room. Both looked exhausted and it was revealed they had just returned from having taken the children on an outing to the zoo and aquarium in Albuquerque.

"Did you have fun?" asked Alice.

"Yeah….yeah, we, we had a great time!" said Sofia, as she smiled a little too much.

"It was great!" said Nathanial, who Uncas noticed looked a bit 'shell shocked'.

"Oh, thank God your home!" was the enthusiastic greeting given by Ian as he entered the room. "You four are a sight for sore eyes!"

"How were the kids?" asked Wolf.

"Oh fine! Good as gold! They were great! Everything was fine! Wonderful!" was the collected reply of all of the adults present. Looking pointedly at all of them, the two couples finally got a straight answer from them.

"I love my nephews and nieces with all my heart." said Duncan. "But I would rather face an entire Huron war party with nothing more than a toothbrush to defend myself with, than endure another week of entertaining four little ones who are missing their mommies and daddies."

"Aye!" agreed Ian. "If I had a dollar for every time they asked 'Are they coming home yet?', I could take the money and buy my own private island in the Caribbean! Which actually sounds pretty good about now!"

"They're great kids and it was a good experience for Sofia and I to spend time with them. It helped us to decide to wait awhile after we get married before we start having any of our own…wait a long while!" said Nathanial.

"Don't listen to any of them!" said Lila. "They were perfect angels. The four of you are doing a wonderful job raising them. The little ones just missed you is all. And, yes Alice, we did spoil them rotten! Now, tell us all about the trip!"

As Cora and Alice began filling everyone in on their vacation, Wolf looked out the kitchen window and gave a laugh as he nudged Uncas with his elbow and motioned for him to look too.

"There's a sight you don't see every day!" said Wolf. Glancing out the window, Uncas nearly spit out his mouthful of ice tea when he saw what his brother was looking at.

Sitting at the patio table, little Lila and Maggie were having a tea party with grandpa Chingachgook, who was wearing a sparkly tiara on his head and a neon pink feather boa around his neck while holding out a little toy tea cup which Maggie pretended to fill. Clamping a hand over their mouths, the brothers shook with laughter at the sight.

"Didn't anyone warn him about the required dress code for tea parties?" asked Uncas when he was finally able to speak.

"If not, he knows now!" said Wolf. As Robbie and little Ian ran through the kitchen playing superhero with bath towels tucked into their collars for capes, Wolf put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Be it ever so humble, it's good to be home!"

Author's note: Thus we reach the end of another story about our favorite twins as some of you have affectionately named them. I, too, am sad this adventure has come to an end. I enjoy writing about Uncas and Wolf. I would like to thank all of you who took the time to write reviews, especially Eilan21, DearestAmy and Zihuatanejo. Your thoughts and comments are much appreciated, my friends.

I have several ideas for a new story that I am considering and I would appreciate your input. One would be a period piece set in 1757 and loosely involving the characters from the movie in a love triangle. The other would be a modern version of the movie set in the present, but more of a romance/relationship/drama theme than action and bad guys and possibly containing the same love triangle from the period piece.

Please let me know what you would like to read. I would LOVE to write another Uncas/Wolf story too and I have an idea about that as well if I can make it work. The thing I like about Uncas and Wolf is the unique bond they share as twins and the close relationship they have. I also love Wolf's fun loving and mischievous personality and the serious side that comes out of him as well.

Thank you all, again!