Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em.

A/N: I wonder how Lou and Buck will feel after they wake up? I wonder if they had the same visions? Will Morning Star give birth while Lou and Buck are

there? Read on; I promise a gentler ride this time!

I opened my eyes and slowly sat up. The first thing I laid eyes on was a person close beside me, deeply asleep. It was too dark to see who the person was at first; I leaned down and took a closer look. It appeared to be a young man, and looking closer, I saw that it was Buck.

I looked all around me, not recognizing my surroundings. Then, I remembered - the Kiowa village. Red Bear and Morning Star. Eagle Who Flies Far. And, the vision quest. It must be over, I thought; Buck and I were no longer inside the ceremonial lodge. I was dressed in a simple buckskin dress, Buck in a loincloth. My eyes had adjusted to the gloom, and I saw that we were alone in a small tipi. I looked up and could see stars and the night sky through the smokehole. I wondered how much time had passed.

I carefully tried to stand. I was a little unsteady on my feet which, I saw, were now bare. I was both hungry and thirsty and wondered where I could find food and water. I also needed to take care of personal matters, and wondered where I should go. I heard a rustling sound and looked down to see Buck stirring. He rolled onto his back; his eyes slowly opened.

I lowered myself to the ground again and sat down beside Buck. He raised himself up onto an elbow and rubbed his eyes.

"Where are we, Buck?" I asked him. "This isn't the ceremonial lodge - it must be someone else's tipi."

"The warriors and Red Bear must have carried us here after the visions ended" Buck said. "It looks like they changed our clothing for us, too" he said, indicating the loincloth.

"I like it" I grinned, "it looks good on you. "But it's real late, I think, and I need a - um, I need a - uh, privy." I felt my face flush bright red and wondered why I was so embarrassed; I mean, Buck had seen me naked as the day I was born and right up close and personal, too. But I was embarrassed anyway.

"Come on" he smiled, slowly getting to his feet. He extended a hand to help me up. "I'll help you out. Maybe we can find something to eat, too. Are you hungry?"

"Starved" I said. "I didn't think I'd want to eat again until around Christmas after I drank that - stuff - from the bowl." I made a face.

Buck untied the tipi's flaps and stuck his head outside. "Someone left us food and water" he said, handing me a clay pot full of water and setting down a parfleche on the floor.

"Maybe it was Morning Star" I suggested. He looked at me and smiled.

"Do you like her?" he asked, helping me through the door.

"Yes. I do." I grinned as we walked along under the stars. "She's a seeress, and a healer. I've never met anyone like her before." I remembered what she had told me before we left for the ceremonial lodge, and looked up at Buck's handsome, noble face. "She told me a lot of things" I said thoughtfully.

Buck stopped walking and put his arms around my waist. He looked down at me, smoothing back my hair. "What did she tell you? or - can you tell me?" he asked quietly.

I swallowed. "She told me I might assist at the birth of her son" I began. "That - I may know, for the birth of my own son, when he comes." I took Buck's hand and began walking again. "I'm sorry, Buck, really - I just need to - "

"It's all right, Lou." Buck had led us to a slightly secluded area away from the tipis and the river. He pointed towards a dense thicket. "I'll wait for you here."

I quickly took care of my needs. I thought of Morning Star's words while I washed my hands in the river; she had said I would find my heart's desire, but he would both anger and disappoint me, and I would wonder if I had chosen rightly.

I wondered if Eagle Who Flies Far had said any similar thing to Buck. I wondered what Buck had seen, in his visions. Had they been the same as mine?

Once inside the tipi, Buck opened the parfleche and smiled. "We have fry bread, and bowls of buffalo stew." He handed me a clay bowl and a chunk of still-warm bread, and a utensil very similar to a spoon. He then handed me a ladle, and the pot of water. I drank thirstily, then passed the pot to him. The bread and the stew, though new to me, were delicious and I wished to thank whoever had left it for us.

Th servings were large, but we still managed to eat everything - breakfast had been a long time ago. I gathered the dishes together and put them back inside the parfleche; I wanted to wash them at the river but Buck stopped me.

"Set them just outside the tipi" he said.

"But shouldn't I - "

"Those who sent the food will come back for the parfleche" he explained. "My people show their hospitality this way."

I set the parfleche on the ground outside, then sat down beside Buck. I looked at him; he looked at me.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" I asked, feeling suddenly shy. "It really is a beautiful night."

Buck smiled over at me. "I was just going to ask you the same thing" he said with a touch of his old shyness.

"Come on" I said, getting to my feet. "We can walk down to the river."

We walked along the path down to the water. It must have been very late; the village was very quiet, save for a barking dog and the cries of a hungry baby. The first-quarter moon had risen and shone down on us, lighting the way. At length we came to a clearing, hidden from the village by a band of trees. We stopped walking and sat on a grassy area not far from the water.

"It's so beautiful here, Buck" I said softly. It was. The moon shone down from a cloudless, starry sky, reflecting like an only slightly rippled mirror in the water. Crickets chirped somewhere in the grass; night birds cried off in the distance. I snuggled up close to Buck. He put his arms around me and nuzzled my hair, kissed my neck.

"It is" he whispered in my ear. "I always wondered what it would be like to bring the woman I loved to a place like this."

"Now you know" I said simply. I turned in his arms and got up onto my knees; when I lifted my arms over my head, he drew off the buckskin dress. I held his face in my hands, and drew it down towards me. His lips latched onto a nipple and suckled there. I let my head fall back and moaned softly. His hands held my buttocks and squeezed; he began to kiss down my front.

A hand snaked down between my legs, and I spread my knees open wider. His fingers worked their sweet magic on my flesh, but I wanted more. I sat back on my heels then lay down on the soft meadow grass; I bent my knees, and let my legs fall open. Buck looked puzzled at first; then, a slow smile spread across his face. He lay on his stomach on the ground and grasped my hips with his hands. He bent his head down to kiss my stomach, nuzzled my navel and dipped his tongue inside, laughing when I giggled at that. But I soon discovered he meant business, as he spread me open gently and ran his tongue along my sensitive inner lips. I arched my back at that, my hands balling into fists. His tongue swirled around my desire, and I cried out his name softly. I felt his breath scorch the flesh of my inner thighs as he kissed and nipped there; I rose up onto my elbows and let my head fall back.

Buck held me firmly and kissed his way back to my center, his mouth settling down over the hard nub of flesh, lapping at it. He placed a warm, wet open-mouthed kiss there then suckled gently, and all sensible thought left me. A steady stream of gibberish flowed from my mouth in a babble until all the feelings swirled together and I bucked up hard against him, shuddering and contracting inside and out. He held me close until, sweaty and breathing hard, I was able to think and to speak again.

We lay back on the soft grass, a warm breeze cooling my damp skin. When I shivered, Buck wrapped his arms around me, warming me. He stroked the sweaty hair from my forehead and kissed me, letting me taste my sweet, tangy musk. I rested my head on his arm and sighed softly.

"Are you all right?" Buck whispered next to my ear.

"Yeah...I'm all right...just thinkin, is all" I answered. "It's going to be hard, being in Rock Creek again."

"How do you mean?"

"We've had so much freedom , the two of us, being away from there like we are now. For one thing, we've had lots of privacy, me and you."

"I haven't minded that at all" Buck admitted with a chuckle.

"Me neither" I laughed. "It's so nice to be able to make love wherever and whenever we want. And I like just being able to be me, Louise. It's nice to not have to pretend to be a boy, and to hide how I feel about you from everyone."

"It's got to have been so hard for you all this time" Buck said sympathetically. "Can I tell you something?"

"You can tell me anything, Buck, you know that" I said, smiling gently.

"When I learned for sure that you were a girl, I really admired that about you - that you'd be willing to give up so much to be able to ride for the Express" Buck said. "It doesn't seem right that there is so little work for a single woman - other than the saloon or the brothel. You gave up everything for your brother and sister."

"I know that the Express is going to end one day soon" I said glumly. "With the telegraph coming, and all. We won't be needed."

"Do you know what you're going to do then?" Buck asked, holding me close.

"No. I don't" I sighed. "I've been trying to figure that out lately, and I still don't know." I leaned up on an elbow. "What about you - do you have any idea what you'll do then?" I held my breath inwardly; I had been wondering if he had seen a marriage ceremony in his visions, if Eagle Who Flies Far had spoken to him of such a thing. I wanted so badly to know - but was for some reason afraid to come right out and ask.

Maybe he didn't want me. Maybe he didn't want to be with me, the way I wanted to be with him. I began to feel very afraid.

Buck hesitated before answering me. "I have thought about it" he said quietly. "For a long time, long before the Pony Express, I wanted to run a horse ranch. I've always wanted to breed my own horses. I was always on a horse, growing up with the Kiowa - and when Ike and I were in the mission school together and I saw how good he is with horses, I talked to him about it, too. We decided that if we ever left the Express, we would try to get enough money and horses together to start our own ranch."

"Oh." I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, fighting to keep back the hot tears that threatened to spill. I am not going to cry in front of Buck, I told myself sternly. I will not cry in front of Buck.

We lay, quiet, until finally Buck spoke again.

"But, I want other things, too" he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my heart suddenly beating very fast.

Buck drew me down on top of him. "The visions, Lou" he said. "I saw a wedding. Our wedding, you and I dressed in Kiowa ceremonial clothing. I saw you labouring to birth our son, I saw Evening Star draw him out of you."

"You saw that?" I breathed.

"I saw many things, Lou" he said, kissing the tip of my nose. "But I saw that. Did you?"

"I did see that, Buck, just the way you said" I said softly. "But Morning Star told me I would find my heart's desire."

"What else did she tell you?" Buck asked calmly.

"Wha-" I stammered. "I don't under-"

"Eagle Who Flies Far told me the same thing" Buck said, still calm. "But he didn't stop there. What else did Morning Star tell you?" He regarded me levelly.

"She told me that there would come a time when you would both anger and disappoint me, and that I would wonder if I had chosen rightly." I swallowed; my mouth was suddenly very dry. "That I would doubt your love for also told me that you love me with all your heart, and that all would be made right again, in time."

"Eagle Who Flies Far told me those things" Buck said. "He didn't say how I would hurt you, or when." Buck swallowed then, his throat making a clicking sound when he did. "I love you, Lou. I think I always have." His brown eyes were very dark, even in the moonlight. "I - want to be with you, always." I could feel his heart racing in his chest. "Thing is - could you be with a breed? Could you stand the prejudice that people have against me? Could you stand the stigma, stand being called a breed's whore?" He seemed to be holding his breath.

"Buck" I said in a very low voice, "are you asking me to - "

"Will you marry me, Lou?"

I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. "I love you, Running Buck Cross" I said, tears streaming from my eyes. "I never want to be parted from you. Ever." I laughed joyfully. "Yes. The answer is yes. I will marry you."

Buck closed his eyes. "Tday, naw tane doe aim own p'ayle doe day" he whispered. "I love you with all my heart."

His arms wrapped around my back, and he rolled so we lay beside each other. I reached a hand up to his face, stroked his long hair, put my hand behind his head and drew him to me. Our lips met, touching gently, and I looked up at him, into his face that was both joyful and at peace. We kissed, and it was like the first time we ever kissed, by a campfire on the prairie on the way to Fort Laramie. Buck was so gentle and loving; it always astounded me how a man who had had so little love in his life was capable of showing so much love. He deepened the kiss then and I opened my mouth to him. His lips were so soft, and I closed my eyes, just feeling him. His tongue slid inside my mouth, sweeping gently but thoroughly; I felt my body begin to respond to him. I reached down to his hips and pulled the ties keeping his loincloth in place. His manhood stood proud and tall and I wrapped my hand firmly around the tight shaft, moving slowly from base to tip.

"Not tonight, Lou" Buck whispered, rolling me onto my back. He moved on top of me, and we kissed long under the moon. When I bent my knees and let my legs fall open he rubbed his manhood along my slick center; we both moaned softly and I smiled up at him. He entered me then, and we made long, slow love on the soft meadow grass.

When the moon began to set, I pulled the buckskin dress back on; the dew was coming out on the grass and it began to get cold. Buck tied the loincloth back on around his narrow hips. Back at the camp all was quiet, save for a dog that barked briefly when we began walking along the path. Buck spoke sharply to it in Kiowa and it became quiet, laying down again. As we approached our tipi I could see Red Bear's tipi, a little further along. Buck was untying the flaps when I heard women's voices. Evening Star emerged from Red Bear's tipi and approached us. She greeted Buck in Kiowa, then turned to me.

"Welcome back, Heart of a Warrior!" she laughed, brown eyes dancing with mischief. "Once again you come to us fresh from Running Buck's love." I felt my face flush bright red; I looked to Buck and he, too, was blushing but chuckled at her directness.

"Do not worry" she said, "I am only - how do you say? - teasing you. But I am glad to see you both. Morning Star has begun labouring and you, Heart of a Warrior, shall help us to birth her son. You, Running Buck, shall stay with Red Bear as he waits for his son to be born. It will not be a long labour; she has drank partridgeberry leaf tea every day for two weeks now. Running Buck, go to your brother and tell him that the pains are coming close together - he will soon be able to hold his firstborn son. He is waiting down by the ceremonial fire ring."

Buck turned and gave me a quick kiss on the lips as he squeezed my hand. He then jogged quickly along the path back the way we had come. Evening Star turned to me and smiled.

"Running Buck is a good man, Heart of a Warrior. He loves you more than life itself, and he will be a good husband to you and father to your children." We began walking back to the large tipi.

"I love him too, Evening Star" I said softly as we entered the tipi. I closed the flaps behind us. "It's - well, it's just kind of scary, thinking of getting married and having babies. I don't know if I'm ready for all that."

"Do not fear" said Morning Star, who squatted on a low pile of animal skins. She was perspiring lightly and Evening Star wiped her brow with a soft-looking cloth. "You will be ready when the time is right." She took a deep breath then and panted, then let the breath out in a long sigh. I had always heard that the pain of childbirth was terrible, that it felt like being split in two from the inside out. I was amazed at how calm Morning Star was.

"Does it hurt real bad?" I asked timidly, afraid that I should not speak of such a thing. Evening Star laughed, and Morning Star's eyes widened.

"Of course there is pain" she said quietly, "the womb must work very hard to set the child free. But it is a very welcome pain - a new soul is coming to join us. It is not to be fought against, or feared." She took a deep breath again and panted, then let out a long sigh. Evening Star once again wiped her brow.

"Mother Earth tells us to welcome the pain and to embrace it, not fight against it" Evening Star said. "The Kiowa woman does not scream or cry out like a small child. It is our way. Every pain brings the baby closer to birth." Morning Star's eyes had opened wide, and she appeared startled. Evening Star asked her a question in Kiowa, then reached a hand up to search between her sister's legs. She withdrew it and washed her hands in a clay pot, drying them with a square of cloth. She smiled widely.

"The mouth of the womb has opened wide, and the baby's head will come through it. You may push when you feel the urge now, my sister."

Morning Star sighed, as if in relief. Evening Star produced a thick length of buckskin, and gave one end to her sister. She then knelt and sat back on her heels, holding the other end.

"Go and sit behind my sister, to help her balance when she pulls" Evening Star instructed me. "She will pull hard, to help push out her son!"

I scrambled around behind Morning Star, sitting on the ground and holding her waist lightly with my hands. Immediately she took a deep breath and pulled, hard, on the buckskin just as Evening Star had said she would. She did not cry out, but grunted and strained with the effort. It must have been a long pain; she pulled and pulled. When it was over she panted lightly. Evening Star reached for the cloth and wiped her face.

"I wish I could do this when I have monthly cramps" I remarked. "It might not cure them, but it would sure take my mind off them!"

Morning Star and Evening Star both pealed with laughter, Morning Star holding her belly. "You should try it, little one" she gasped. "Show Running Buck the great strength you have."

"Oh, he already knows" I laughed, thinking of how I had launched myself at him so hard I knocked him onto his back. "He makes me raspberry leaf and willow bark tea when I have cramps."

"I told you he is a good man" Evening Star laughed, pulling on her end as Morning Star pulled hard once again. "It is the smallest things that strengthen the bond between man and woman."

"He told me that Kiowa women believe that one who suffers every month as I do will someday bear many children" I said, remembering sitting by a prairie campfire with him. "Is that true?"

"It is true, Heart of a Warrior. It means that your womb is very healthy and capable of nurturing a child for nine moons. You are a tiny woman in stature, but you have space between your hips to carry children" Evening Star said calmly, relaxing her hold as Morning Star finally stopped pulling. "You must be getting close, my sister. Do you feel the child moving down?"

" I do" Morning Star panted. Evening Star got up and once again knelt before her sister, examining her. She got up and washed her hands, and sat again.

"You are very, very close" she said, her eyes bright. "Heart of a Warrior, you will listen as Morning Star and I pray to the Spirits now."

I nodded, and watched as Evening Star pulled on the buckskin and said prayers in Kiowa. Morning Star whispered in Kiowa and pulled with all her might; I could feel the muscles at the sides of her belly clench hard, hard, hard as she grunted and strained in a huge effort. Evening Star suddenly got up to her knees and said something sharply in Kiowa. Morning Star stopped pushing and panted lightly. And then -

- Evening Star had her hands below her sister; I could see her holding something with one hand, the other hand outstretched and then drawing forward. She held a tiny body, letting its head hang down low, and fluid flowed from its mouth and tiny nose. Holding it expertly with one hand and arm, she tickled the baby's lower back, legs, and finally its feet. And then -

- a loud, indignant gasp, and the lusty cries of a newborn with its first taste of the air he would forever breathe. I laughed out loud, Evening Star joining me, and Morning Star cried out in Kiowa and wept tears of joy. "Come here with me" Evening Star said, "you will hold the child as I cut the cord that nourished him." She handed me the baby, red-skinned and slimy with white gooey patches, wriggling in my arms like a wild thing and crying to beat the band. Evening Star tied a buckskin thong around the cord away from where it joined his body, then cut the cord with a sharp knife. She then took the baby from me and wiped him off with a soft cloth and cold water and handed him back to me.

She knelt once again before Morning Star, placing one hand on her belly. "Push" she said gently, pressing down with her hand, and the afterbirth was delivered. It was big and flat like a liver-coloured flapjack; looking at it, I wanted to throw up. Instead, I looked down at the newborn baby boy, his eyes scrunched closed and fists waving in the air. He had stopped crying and was making mewling noises like a newborn puppy. Evening Star took him and gently handed him to Morning Star, who cuddled him close before placing him at her breast. "Tickle his cheek with your nipple" Evening Star suggested: when she did, his head turned to her breast. His mouth opened wide, and she placed her nipple in his mouth. He started to suck vigorously, and she gasped a little.

"It will hurt in your womb a little" Evening Star said, "but his suckling will help lessen the bleeding you will have." Morning Star nodded; she knelt, and Evening Star slipped a large cloth between her legs to catch the trickle of blood coming from her. We helped her to her feet, and led her over to a pallet of soft furs. She lay down gratefully, lying on her side as her son suckled at her breast. We partly covered her with a calfskin robe.

"Heart of a Warrior" Evening Star whispered in my ear, "go and fetch the menfolk." I nodded and, taking one last look back, slipped out of the tipi. I followed the pathway as I had seen Buck do; just as the sky was beginning to lighten I saw Red Bear sitting with Buck beside a large circle ringed with rocks. When they saw me, they quickly got to their feet.

"Well?" Buck demanded. Ignoring him, I looked shyly up into Red Bear's noble face He seemed to hold his breath, waiting.

"He's beautiful, Red Bear" I said softly. "He's beautiful, and big and healthy and he's feeding - "

Red Bear gave a loud whoop of joy; next thing I knew I was swept off my feet and he had me tight in his arms, swinging me around and around. He set me down and I stumbled, dizzy, but he grabbed my arm to steady me. He laughed, regarding me.

"Thank you, Louise Heart of a Warrior" he whispered. "Thank you for helping to deliver my son." To my great surprise, he took my face in his large strong hands and kissed my forehead. "Running Buck!" he shouted. "You are an uncle!" Still laughing, he began to run towards his tipi. Buck and I stood and watched him, then Buck turned to me.

"Thank you for helping to deliver my nephew, Lou, Heart of a Warrior" he whispered, tears trickling down his face. "Was it all right? Are you all right?"

I put my arms around Buck and hugged him tight. "It was all right, Buck. It was beautiful. It was magnificent. I'll never ever be afraid of birth." I began to cry softly, tears of joy and of release. Buck kissed my head and stroked my hair, all the while holding me tight to him. At length, I stopped sniffling and looked up into his face.

"Why don't we join them so you can meet your nephew?" I said, wiping my eyes one last time. Buck laughed and nodded. We walked along the pathway, his arm about my waist; halfway there, he stopped and, wordlessly, kissed my lips. "You're very brave, Lou" he whispered, kissing my forehead.

"Evening Star and Morning Star showed me that there is nothing to be afraid of, Buck" I said softly. As we drew closer to Red Bear's tipi, I saw that Eagle Who Flies Far stood outside of the tipi; Red Bear had his tiny son, now swaddled, and held him firmly in his strong hands, lifting him high and offering him to the spirits in each of the six directions. Morning Star looked on, Evening Star at her side holding her arm. She beckoned to us.

"Come meet your nephew, Running Buck" she called happily. Buck, his arm still about my waist, drew close to Morning Star. He leaned close to her and kissed her forehead, speaking softly in Kiowa as he did so. She kissed his forehead then drew me close and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you, Louise Heart of a Warrior, for helping to safely deliver my son into the world. Your coming here with Running Buck has been both a joy and a blessing."

Her eyes glowed and her voice faltered as she spoke. I looked into her clear dark-brown eyes.

"Thank you for letting me be there, Morning Star" I whispered to her. "I will remember this at the birth of my own son."

Red Bear joined us, standing beside Buck. Eagle Who Flies Far came to stand beside Red Bear. "You have a fine, healthy son" he said to the proud parents. "He will fill your lives with joy and be a great warrior like his father and his uncle." He smiled at Red Bear and then at Buck. "Have you chosen a name for him to have for now?"

"He shall be called Running Bear" Red Bear said proudly.

A/N: Well, how's that for a warm fuzzy moment? I had no idea it was going to turn out like this. Honest! Wow, they've had quite a time at the Kiowa camp, haven't they? But it's been worth it, I'd say. And Buck must be just about bursting at the seams - it was so sweet to have Red Bear's son share his name!

sigh...Well, the kids still have some R and R time left...who knows what will happen before they get back to Rock Creek? Just an aside: the Kiowa Indians, I discovered, frequently named their children more than once over the course of childhood before settling on a permanent name. As always, please let me know what you think! I'm having so much fun with this story, and your reviews and comments are truly a source of inspiration and delight! Thanks for sticking with us, and stay tuned. ;)