Johnny called a beautiful brown and white pinto over to the fence. He talked softly to the horse, then he invited Roy's son to pat the horse. He carefully instructed him where to put his hands. Two young men in traditional dress approached John. "We need to change the schedule Johnny. White Eagle is late."

"You sure he's comin'..." John asked frowning. He kept his eye on Roy's son who was trying to feed the pinto some grass. "Watch your fingers….always lay your hand flat...that's it. She likes you." He scuffed the top of the boy's head. "Ok I'll get Snowbird to make the announcement. We'll reschedule you for after lunch. That should give White Eagle plenty of time."

"Thanks Johnny." The men went to leave. "You know...I know it's been a while but you could fill in...you know the dance backwards." Red Cloud wiggled his eyebrows. "Star Dancer will be joining us this year."

Gage smiled at Red Cloud. "In that case I'll make a point to watch...but no I'll have to decline your offer...I have to save my strength for the horse riding." The men laughed and walked back to their tent. John turned to Roy's son, "Come on we have some work to do." After speaking to Snowbird they caught up with Hank and his family.

"This is great John." He exclaimed.

"Yeah we've had a good turnout this year." John looked around approvingly.

"That's because of your good organising." Roy injected. "Jay said you organised most of this."

"Who's Jay?" asked Stanley.

"Lt Blackcrow," answered Roy. "He said Johnny started organising this six months ago."

Hank was impressed. "How about I show you around….There's some great things on display to buy." John said winking at Mrs Stanley. His Captain shook his head.

They watched as two women demonstrated blanket making. Mrs Stanley purchased a blue blanket with a half moon. "I have a similar one at home," Johnny said as he admired the blanket.

They walked around and tried different dishes, John explained what was in each dish and how it was prepared. All the time the paramedic was approached by different people asking for help with various things. He took care of all the problems with ease. Stanley was truly impressed. Roy was very proud of his partner. Lt Blackcrow watched with pride. He followed John into a tent, where he was going to change before doing some trick riding.

"You have done well John. Everyone is very happy and many items have been sold this year." John smiled.

"I had a good teacher." John looked at his mentor. "What's wrong chief? You've had a look of sadness all day."

"It's nothing John, be careful. Your hip has not been healed all that long." His chief said seriously.

"I will. I've asked Lean Bear to do more tricks. I'm only going to do a couple this year." He smiled and finished getting dressed. They heard Snowbird announce his name.

John left the tent to perform his tricks. Lt Blackcrow watched him from the doorway of the tent. When he had finished Lt Blackcrow walked over to a tup and got a bottle of water out to give to him. When Johnny entered the tent, Lt Blackcrow stopped and watched Lean Bear perform, he smiled. He walked back to the tent and entered.

John was on the ground, blood was running down the left side of his face. A man was standing over him. He had a piece of wood in his hand. Lt Blackcrow threw the bottle at the man's head. It gave LT Blackcrow the upper hand; he pushed the man away from the paramedic. LT Blackcrow looked down at John. The man rolled onto his stomach and pulled a knife he had hidden in his shirt. When Lt Blackcrow approached him, he lashed out catching Lt Blackcrow's thigh with the knife.

John started to come round, he opened his eyes to see his chief throw his body between himself and a man with a knife. He cried out "NO!"

Roy and Hank were approaching the tent. They heard their friend cry out and ran into the tent. Roy tackled the man with the knife before he could stab Lt Blackcrow again. He punched the man several times, who finally dropped the knife and passed out.

Roy crawled over to Cap who was crouching next to Lt Blackcrow. "Keep pressure on the wound." He then crawled over to his partner. He was very still, and the head wound was still bleeding. He had a small wound on his shoulder. "I'll get some help." Roy raced out of the tent and called out to Mrs Stanley. "We need Dr Brackett and Dixie." He ran back into the tent.

Hank was talking to Lt Blackcrow "You need to lie still and not move."

"John...Is John alright?" Lt Blackcrow whispered.

"John is going to be fine. You need to stay still." Hank tried to reassure the Lieutenant.

"I was...very...proud of ...him...today. He ...has ...come a ...long way. He hardly spoke...when I first ...met him. He's life has been...hard." Lt Blackcrow grimaced. "He has an inner...strength...that goes...beyond his ...years." Lt Blackcrow reached up to Stanley. "He will...need you...to help...him...through this. He will...survive...and ...make us...all proud. Help him...believe in...himself. I need ...you...to...promise...you'll help him."

"I promise. I'll help him and so will all his friends." Hank smiled at LT Blackcrow.

"Earn his trust...he's worthy...you'll see...a proud man...help him...and guide him...as I have done." Lt Blackcrow's grip loosened. He closed his eyes and slipped away.

Dr Brackett entered the tent; he checked Lt Blackcrow and shook his head. Hank bowed his head. Brackett then checked Johnny. He was pale and in shock. "We need an ambulance."

"And the police," injected Roy. He nodded over to the man lying on the ground. Hank regarded at him.

"That's my neighbour Matt...What the..." He looked at Roy in disbelief. Mrs Stanley stepped into the tent with a policeman. Roy quickly told him what happened. The neighbour was handcuffed and taken to the officer's car, who promptly called in, officer down.

Several Native Americans gathered around their chief and started chanting. No one moved. Everyone was mesmerised, sirens were heard in the background. Station 10's paramedics entered the tent and helped Dr Brackett prepare John for transport. Hank rode in the front of the ambulance while Roy drove Dixie in John's car to the hospital. Joanne and Mrs Stanley followed in their respective cars.

The emergency waiting room was quickly filled up with concerned friends of Johnny. Native Americans, some still dressed in their traditional clothes, sat between the De Soto's and the Stanley's. They were mourning the loss of their chief but were also worried for their friend, brother who lay unconscious in treatment room 4.

When my husband and I travelled around America we went to a Native American show. They are great horseman, we were amazed at the things they were able to do on their horses and they didn't have saddles. I bought some jewellery, a dream catcher and a rug. It was fun getting it all back on the plane undamaged. Sadly in some of the more remote areas, like Monument Valley we came across some Native Americans who sent their children to beg us for some food. We gave them what we had, but it truly was sad because the children were lovely. They told us all about the rock formations and what they represented in their culture.