A/N I do not Natty Gann or any other characters from The Journey Of Natty Gann, including, but not limited to Harry and Sol.

The flap flung aside to admit a small boyishly dressed girl with black hair that only came to her earlobes. The 15 year old girl is known as Natty Gann. Natty strolled across the scarcley populated dining tent and plopped down at an empty table. She looked around her with a sigh. Where was her father? He had promised to meet her here after he cleared some things up with his foreman. After weeks of traveling across the country, Natty had finally made it to Washington state, and her father. Sol Gann had left her in Chicago for a job working in the lumbermills. He left her in the care of their landlady, Connie, until he could send for her. Natty though, couldn't wait, Connie ended up trying to turn Natty in as an abandoned child.

"Natty girl!"

Natty spun around grinning, "Dad!"

Tall, with closely cropped brown hair, Sol sat down across from his daughter, "We're done here, Natty. Next week, we move out."

"That's great Dad, where to?"

Sol looked excited, "Alaska, Natty! Alaska! can you believe it? Wide open spaces...more work."

Alaska, the words slowly sunk in. Natty gaped at her dad, "ALASKA?"

"I knew you'd be excited."

She stared at him. Excited wasn't quite the word she'd use. Shocked, yes, happy, no. Alaska was so far away...

"B-b-but Dad, Alaska's no where near California!" Oh, shit, not what she meant to say.

Sol's grin dropped, "Well, no. Wait, California. What do you care about California?"

Natty slowly traced the grain of the table, not meeting her father's eyes. "I don't care about California." she muttered. but I do care about who's in California...Harry. Thinking about him brought a small smile to her lips. Harry, the hardened, but sweet boy who saved her on the rails the very first day of her travels. Who she met again later and dragged her along with him even though he claimed he traveled alone. Harry, who found work in California, and turned back from getting on the bus to kiss her good-bye. Harry.

"Natty?" Soll pushed his daughter's chin up with his fingers, "what's wrong?"

"I don't want to go to Alaska."

"Run that by me again?"

"I do not want to go to Alaska. It's to far away, and It's freezing up there!"

The hurt in Sol's eyes stung Natty, but even if there was no Harry, she'd never be willing to go to Alaska. She wanted to be with her Dad, but not in some totally secluded place. In Chicago, she'd had a whole city to wander. What was there in Alaska?

Sol stood up glancing at the girl still tracing the wood grains, lost in her own mind, "Well." He chocked out, "you got no where else to go. Get used to the idea. I'm not losing you again."

As he walked out, Natty looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. She did have somewhere else, California, and Harry. He'd wanted her to come with him. She'd wanted to stay with him, but the need to find her dad had overwhelmed that. Now she'd found Sol, now how to tell him she could go to meet Harry. Natty lifted her head off her hand, staring at a man sitting at a nearby table with a stack of paper.

"Hey Mista!" she called, "Can I have a sheet of that paper?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "what you want it for kid?"
"To write a letter to a friend."

He shrugged and pulling out a piece slid it down her table to her.

"Thanks."

Natty pulled a beaten up pencil out of her jacket pocket and began to write.

Harry,

I should've waited to send that letter I guess. I found my dad, can you believe it? I also let Wolf go. He heard the cry of a female wolf and getting restless, looked at me in this way that said, "if you want I'll stay" but he deserves to be free. we all do. I loved him. it's better though, it's where he belongs. My dad and his company aren't staying in Washington. They are moving to Alaska. That's so far away. Anyway, it's freezing up there. I don't know what to do. I want to stay with my dad. but I don't want to go to Alaska. I did, do, want to come with you to California Harry. Really. Well, I've found my dad. now what? do I go to Alaska? or do I find you?

Natty sighed and putting the pencil down went to get a drink of water, she'd take the letter and finish it when she talked to Sol about Harry, something she was not looking forward to.