Pavel whimpered and Bones clasped his hand over the young boy's mouth, hushing him. "Do you want to get caught?" Bones whispered harshly into Pavel's ear. For some odd reason, the situation at hand…the harsh whispers…it turned Pavel on…immensely. But he listened to Bones, knowing well that he could be killed. He could save his feelings for another time.

There was a shuffling of feet against the rocks, some pebbled falling down onto the cave. Pavel backed into Bones even more, afraid that the Indians would find them.

"Yo los vi. Subieron…su caballo esta muerto. No podian haber ido muy lejos." (I saw them. They went up…their horse is dead. They couldn't have gone far.) One of the Indians above began to speak in a foreign tongue. Spanish Indians. Bones had heard of them. They lived all over the place. Immigrated down from the south. The footsteps neared the entrance of the overhang. Bones and Pavel held each other out of pure fear as they saw fingers gripped the edge of the ledge. Pavel wanted to scream so badly and Bones could feel it. He kept his hand over the kid's mouth as tightly as he could. An arrow descended in a jabbing position, ready to strike at anything that moved. It entered the cave, feeling around the edges and the walls. As it came closer to Bones and Pavel, they tried to shrink back, but their backs were up against the wall. The tip of the arrow was just barely grazing Pavel's nose.

"Incluso si lo hicieron alejarse, nunca podrian hacerlo en el calor de vuelta a su ciudad. Los blancos nunca lo hacen." (Even if they did get away, they could never make it in the heat back to their town. White men never do.) Another responded. Bones tried to decipher what they were saying, but it was too difficult. All he heard was the word "white".

The hand and arrow disappeared and the footsteps moved farther away and then they turned into hooves, leaving the overhang. Bones waited until he couldn't hear anything at all. There was no taking chances or risks. He didn't want Pavel or himself to get shot in the chest with an arrow and die out in what seemed like hell.

Once he knew that the Indians were gone, he climbed out and helped Pavel out, stepping out into the sun.

"Zat vas close." Pavel breathed heavily.

"Yeah. Now we just have to get back to the rest of the group. Come on." Bones reached out his hand to Pavel who grasped it tightly. They climbed up the rocks, their fingernail full of brown and red dirt from clinging to weeds and loose branched that stuck out of the canyon walls. Bones had made the decision that they would attempt to climb up the canyon walls. It was easier on foot than on horseback and since they lost their horse, Bones didn't want to climb up the rest of the rocks, they went up the canyon wall.

Bones had Pavel climb up first so if he fell, Bones would be under him and hopefully would catch him if needed. But Pavel being so new at this and very naïve, he would accidently kick dirt into Bones' mouth and eyes. It stung his eyes, making them water and it nearly made him choke. But he didn't say a thing.

They were almost to the top when Pavel's footing went amiss and he accidently slipped and stepped on Bones' hand.

"Dammit!" Bones cursed outloud.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Pavel looked down at Bones, apologizing profusely.

"Just keep climbing." Bones urged him forward. They were reaching the top. Pavel could see the ledge and reached his hand out, grasping it and pulling himself up, rolling onto the ground as soon as he made it. Bones became relieved when he saw that Pavel made it up the wall. With all that stress removed, he was now able to climb the wall with ease, pushing himself up and onto flat ground.

"Ve made eet!" Pavel jumped up and exclaimed! "Zat vas so much fun!" Bones was laying on his back on the ground, still trying to catch his breath.

"Fun? You thought…that was fun? You almost died!" Bones looked at Pavel with a strange look on his face.

"I know zat…" Pavel sat on the ground next to Bones, criss-crossing his legs. "But I have never done somezing like zat before. Eet gave me a sense of life." Pavel explained to the confused Bones. Pavel's hand gently ran through Bones' hair. "My father vould neever let me do zat." Pavel spoke softly now, his sweet voice making Bones relax and slip into a state of mediation with an added fantasy dream.

"AYE! I FOUND THEM!" Scotty's voice, like usual, interrupted Bones and his fantasy. Pavel's hand left Bones' hair. He opened his eyes and found Pavel standing up, jumping around, waving his hands at Scotty. Bones sat up and rubbed his forehead. Scotty and the group had finally found Bones and Pavel.

"God dammit." Bones muttered to himself. Now he was starting to look forward to the time with Pavel tomorrow.

"We thought you had gotten lost! Dead maybe!" Scotty and his horse galloped to the two of them with a look of surprise on his face.

"We're alive." Bones stood up and announced, throwing out his arms.

"I can see that!" Scotty responded with sarcasm. "But we all also saw how you all nearly got caught! Oh man! Your horse fell…and…" Scotty shivered. Behind him, the rest of the group came riding up on their horses.

"Yeah. Now we're two horse short." Bones grumbled. Scotty smirked and rode up closer to Bones.

"Uhura gave up her horse for the two of you and is now riding on the back of Spocks." Scotty grinned wildly, trying to keep in a laugh. Bones' raised his eyebrow in wonder, looking past Scotty to see that what he had said was indeed true. Uhura was calmly seated behind Spock, who looked like he couldn't care less. Next to them was her horse, without a rider. Theirs. Jim rode ahead to meet up the Scotty.

"Oh god! You're both alive! That's good!" Jim looked surprised, but overwhelmingly happy that Bones and Pavel were still alive and well.

"Yeah…good." Bones nodded.

"Come on you two! We still have sights to see." Jim ordered Bones and Pavel. Bones had completely forgotten that they whole reason they were out in this god forsaken land was so they could see some damn piece of the world.

"Come on Leo! Let's go!" Pavel rushed ahead, running towards the horses, his blonde hair bouncing as he ran, nearly tripping over his too big boots. That put a smile on Bones' face as he walked forward.

"Remember when I told ya you were in love and you didn' believe me?" Scotty asked from high up on his horse.

"Yeah…" Bones laughed. "I thought you were crazy. Shit, I was way wrong."

"I told ya." Scotty teased and rode to the group. Bones jogged forward to meet up with them as well and get their show on the road.

When Bones reached the group, Pavel was holding the reigns of their horse, smiling giddily. Bones strode forward and took the reins from him, lifting himself high up on the saddle. Then he reached down and grabbed Pavel's hand, hoisting him up behind Bones. Pavel didn't take anytime latching onto Bones, wrapping his arms around his stomach, leaning his head against his back, calmly this time. Bones smiled to himself. Jim looked at the both of them and smiled smugly. Bones caught the glance and his face went red, removing the smile.

"Let's go." Bones clicked his heels against the horse and began to move. Jim laughed and took to the head of the group, resetting their course to the unknown location.

They rode farther and for a few more miles. Clouds would cover the sky from time to time which caused less complaining from the group...Everyone was pretty quiet, doing their own thing while still following Jim. Pavel was now resting his head on Bone's neck…or he was trying to. He was still shorter than Bones by a longshot.

"Leo?" Pavel asked drowsily.

"Yes?" Bones responed.

"Can I sleep in your bed again…tonight?" Pavel inquired. Bones shifted in the saddle.

"Uh…sure kid." Bones nodded.

"Zank you." Pavel smiled and leaned forward, kissing Bones on his stubbly cheek. Bones grinned to himself as his heart filled up with the light, fluffy feeling he had gotten before when he was with Pavel. He wanted no more than to smother him with kisses and hugs…

"Of course." Bones replied.

Pavel was quiet for the rest of the way there. Bones thought that maybe had had fallen asleep and just shut his eyes for a while. Last night during the storm, he had tossed and turned, unable to sleep, occasionally hitting Bones in the face a few times, but once the thunder died down, Pavel calmed down as well. He had literally curled up and into a niche that Bones' curved body had made. When Bones woke up he was delighted by the fact of how adorable Pavel could be sometimes. Spending another night with him sounded glorious despite the thrashing he did.

Everyone knew that they had arrived to the mystery location even thought Jim didn't tell them they were there. Everyone just already knew. Before them was a stretch of dark green, thin, soft grass. Different spots of color bloomed from place to place. A tall dark red and brown rock formation rose from the ground taller than anything that Bones had ever seen in his life. Vines climbed up the rock formation, giving it a hint of color. Plants that needed water grew plentifully. Bones was shocked that in the desert, something such as stunning as this could thrive.

"What is this?" Bones asked Jim who was also looking over the grand view.

"I don't know. I heard about it…I've seen it…It's shocking. Something as beautiful as this could grow in such a harsh environment." Jim said in awe. Bones turned his head to look at Pavel. His eyes were closed and mouth parted just barely, breathing in and out as he slept against Bones.

"Hey…wake up…we're here and you're gonna want to see this." Bones told Pavel. Pavel stirred from his sleep, opening his eyes slowly, but wider when he saw the scenery in front of him.

"Yo-moyo!" Pavel exclaimed, jumping off the horse, wobbling slightly. "Eet ees beautiful!"

"Some of the finest scenery that I have ever accounted in a desert…strange." Spock said, looking around.

Everyone dismounted and left their horses. They didn't need to be tied up. The group could see miles away, and if there was something coming towards them, they would spot it and be able to get away quickly.

The mystery location was such a beautiful sight up close. Pavel ran his hands through the dark grass and was surprised at how moist and thick it was. It felt like air, drifting through his hands. The ground squished beneath his feet as he walked.

"Eet looks like eet has just rained!" Pavel exclaimed.

"It did rain. Last night." Bones told the young kid.

"Yes! But…ze ground vasn't vet in ze canyon!" Pavel pointed out. Everyone took a second to notice that fact. Pavel was right…it had rained the night before and now it was like the location had been drenched by a freak rainstorm for seven days straight, while the canyon was untouched.

"That is they mysticality of the land." Spock told him. "No one knows where it came from and is stumped by what it does."

"It's like a separate atmosphere…" Uhura uttered as she walked around in awe.

Everyone was stunned by the sheer alteration in the weather and bewilded by the beauty of all of it. They each left each other one by one to go off and look at the patch of land that had profoundly stunned them so much. The silence was overwhelming and all anyone could hear was occasional breeze rustling in the grass.

Bones had wandered to the large rock formation, astounded that it could stand so precariously and not fall when moved by the wind. The reddish brown rock was the only thing that resembled the desert of Texas. He sat down on the base of the rock, adjusting and making himself comfortable. He took this moment to look back on his life. Think about what he had done wrong. Why he was still alive.

Up until he was old enough to think on his own and for himself, people had been telling him what to do and say. When he was old enough to do that, he ran away, cursing his family, thinking that they were the worst thing that had ever happened to him. That family wasn't important. He vowed that he would never go back to Georgia to see them ever again. Years later, when he had grown up, been divorced, killed, stole and destroyed, he regretted those words. He wanted family. So he left to go see them in Georgia. It took a hell of a lot of hiding and lying just to get into his hometown.

But when he finally showed up on the front steps of his old family home and knocked the door, his Uncle opened up. Not his mother…not his father…his uncle. He had asked what had happened to his parents and his Uncle had harshly told him that his mother was dead and his father was on the very line of death. Then, he promptly kicked Bones off the door step, leaving him outside and vulnerable.

Bones stayed in Georgia for three days, each time visiting his home, trying to convince his Uncle that he just wanted to see his father, the man that had practically raised him and taught him everything he knew. His Uncle once again would kick him off the porch, scolding him for what he had become.

On the last day, he tried one more time, except no one answered the door. Bones, being frantic, broke the door down, entering the house loudly. He ran through the rooms blindly, knowing them like the back of his hand. When he reached his father's room, there were two bodies instead of one. One was his fathers…one was his uncle's. A note lay on the ground with sprawling handwriting. Bones picked it up and read it.

To Family and friends,

I have sat by my brother's side, helping him, aiding him for the past month. He is my living breathing other half. I love him and I have lost all other family. So now that he is gone…I have gone with him.

It wasn't signed, but Bones knew his uncle's handwriting. He set the note down and ran over to his dad's bedside, feeling for a pulse, but there was none. For the first time in years, Bones began to cry, sobbing helplessly into his father's bed sheets. His whole childhood was spending time with his father. Now he truly had no one. He regretted running away. Bones stayed there in that room for another whole day, before anonymously telling the police that there were two dead bodies in the McCoy residence. Then, he left.

Sitting on the rock, Bones felt the same sadness and desperation as he did about three years ago. He tried to control himself, but couldn't. He felt his body break down and his façade of being mister tough guy…disappear. He began to cry into his hands, wondering why he had been chosen for this to happen to. Why did fate choose him? "Dammit…" Bones cursed to himself, crying even more.

"Leonard?" Bones heard Pavel's innocent voice call his name.

"Kid…go away." Bones snapped at him.

"Leonard. Vhat is wrong?" Pavel asked, moving around the rock towards Bones.

"Nothing. I said: Go. Away." Bones snapped again. Pavel ignored it and kept walking towards Bones.

"Zan vhy are you crying?!" Pavel rushed over to Bones' side the instant he saw that he was crying. "Vhat happened?" Pavel asked, grabbing Bones' arm.

"Nothing." Bones shook him off.

"Zere ees somezing. I vill not leave until you tell me." Pavel stood his ground, setting himself on the rock next to Bones.

"I don't want to talk about it." Bones refused to speak about his problems.

"Zen I vill talk for you. Ees eet…your life? Your past?" Pavel asked.

"Yeah. I let my dad die. I left him when I was young and never returned. No family…no life." Bones muttered.

"I told you zat you could vith us!" Pavel hesitated, lightly touching Bones' hand. "I could be your family. Leonard, zere eez nozing I love more zen spending time vith you. I love you, remember? I know I vill never replace your family though…"

As Bones listened to Pavel's speech, listening to him talk, a large storm cloud hovered. There was a flash of lighting and then a loud crack of thunder. Pavel, frightened, quickly leaned into Bones, looking for cover. Bones wrapped his arms around him, brushing his thumb against Pavel's cheek.

"It's alright." Bones muttered. He moved Pavel's head from his chest and looked at him. "It's okay. I want to be your family. Just…" Bones started to talk, but wasn't sure what to say. Luckily, the rain began to pour down onto both of them, heavily. Pavel laughed and squinted his eyes, smiling widely. In his moment of acceptance and love, Pavel grasped the back of Bones' neck and pulled him in for a huge, open mouthed kiss. Bones grabbed the young boy's shoulders, pulling him closer for a warmer, loving embrace.

Bones moved his mouth around Pavel's, kissing his upper lip while fingering Pavel's golden hair. Pavel eagerly gave way to Bones, sinking lower to the ground until he was laying flat on his back, hand wrapped around Bone's neck tightly, breathing heavily as he tasted the salty tears on Bones' lips.

"I love you kid…" Bones muttered as he tried hard not to smash Pavel with his large body.

"I vant to stay here forewever." Pavel whispered, craning his neck for another kiss.

"So do I…" Bones satisfied Pavel by leaning down, pressing a long, still kiss onto his lips, before kissing his nose and cheek. "You're like an angel…" Bones muttered.

"I know zat Leonard…" Pavel smiled up at Bones, who was looking at him with a loving expression. "I vill be your angel and yours only." Pavel swore as he reached up and grabbed Bones' vest, pulling him down closer. "Ty moya I ya tvoya." He whispered into Bones' ear. Bones nearly melted when he heard Pavel whisper Russian into his ear. "Eet means, you are mine and I eem yours."

"Dammit Pavel…You are…my little ball of Russian sunshine." Bones tried to come up with something as equally meaningful, but failed.

"Vonderful." Pavel smiled.

From off in the distance, Bones heard someone calling. Both him and Pavel at up, looking around, spotting Jim, striding towards them with a smug look on his face. Bones hopped off the rock, with Pavel following.

"Can we help you with anything?" Bones asked.

"Oh, no. Scotty was just looking for you. I found you two!" Jim tried to contain his smile and laughter.

"What is it Jim?" Bones asked, knowing well what it was.

"May I say that I have never seen a pair quite like you two? Adorable. Sophisticated…in some sort of way. The age gap…" Jim told the two. Bones' face went red.

"Yeah, well we were just going…" Bones started to walk away, but Jim kept talking.

"I support you guys…" Jim told them. Bones and Pavel stopped and turned around. "I do. I know most people don't. They think it's ridiculous or silly…well that's what they'd think if they found out. I support you two."

"Thank you…it ah…means a lot." Bones nodded. He was touched deeply by Jim's words. He knew that coming out as a man who preferred men over women would be tough and not many people would agree with it. Having someone…or even a couple people who agreed with the idea, made Bones feel even more accepted.

"Of course. Now come on before the storm gets any worse." Jim waved the two of them away from the rock and back down to the horses. Everyone had already gathered there, leaving Bones and Pavel as the last ones.

They mounted their horses and quickly left the strange land. As they neared the end of the location, they saw the desert with no rain and just a sunny hot sky. And soon, they burst out of the land into the heat. Though the heat didn't bother them since they were covered with rain water, soaked right down to the bone.

They made it through the desert without any interference from the Indians and made it safely back to Enterprise, where everything was holding together pretty well. The group dismounted at the stables. Pavel had once again fallen asleep on Bones and had not waken up, so Bones had lifted him off the horse and held him in his arms, close to his chest.

"How about we all meet up in the Saloon at dinner?" Bones suggested. He wanted so much to feel like a real family.

"That sounds good to me." Jim shrugged, throwing a glance at Spock and Sulu.

"I can do it." Sulu nodded.

"I will come." Spock agreed, looking sneakily at Uhura, who caught the look.

"I'll go too!" She said happily. That left Scotty, who was grinning madly at Bones and Pavel.

"I would love to!" He exclaimed.

"Good. I'll see you all tonight." Bones nodded and headed off to the Sheriff's house with Pavel in his arms.