I'm sorry that this is so many months late but I've had lots going on but now I'm trying to find time to write again. I'm gonna be rather busy though since i joined a band and have to practice and write songs for that. But i do hope that i can continue to write a chapter or so every couple of weeks from now on.

Night had fallen upon the Mojave, and James, Ashlyn, Veronica, and Rufus settled down to sleep inside of the tent within The Old Mormon Fort. James was lying on the cot on the one side of the tent opposite both Ashlyn and Veronica. Rufus was underneath the cot, his body lightly pressing up on the underside of the cot. James was still awake the whole two hours after his companions had went to sleep; he was thinking to himself about his current situation.
He thought about how ridiculous it was that he himself had so quickly began to love a woman he had taken in after her injuries were treated.
"What am I thinking?" he thought.
"Maybe this was supposed to happen." he thought answering himself.
"Someone like me isn't that normal by wasteland standards though, being a Christian after the world has been blown all to hell." James slowly began to edge closer to his emotional abyss.
James began to think of the roots of his faith, his father.
"Why did my father do what he did?" James asked himself how floating over the emotional abyss about to swallow him again.
James' eyes began to tear up.
"All of those people." he whispered.
James closed his eyes to try to get his mind away from the thoughts of his home and what his father did. He slowly began to regain his composure as he felt a light hand on his chest. Before James was able to open his eyes he felt the hand move away, but felt a weight upon his waist.
Without opening his eyes he asked "Ashlyn?"
"It's me." Ashlyn said with the slightest purr coming from off with her words.
Finally opening his eyes he asked "What are you doing?"
"Trying something." She stated the purr still in her voice.
"Trying what?" James asked as his eyes began to adjust to the darkened tent.
"You'll see." Ashlyn said back with a slight grin on her face.
"But." James said but what hushed by Ashlyn laying a finger on his lips.
Ashlyn lowered her face down to James', keeping her lips only an inch from his. James felt an urge to move his head to the point that their lips would meet, but let Ashlyn make the moves. Ashlyn moved closer to James until their lips met. The kiss was long; seconds again seemed like hours for the two. Ashlyn pulled away moving her mouth to James' neck and started to lightly bite it.
James slowly moved his hands to Ashlyn's sides. Ashlyn made no attempts to resist the action as she continued to nip at his neck. James began to move his hands slowly at Ashlyn's sides and was rewarded with a cease fire of nipping at his neck, and Ashlyn letting out a small breath of air.
"I'm the one doing things, not you okay?" Ashlyn said trying to keep from giving in to what she really wanted.
"Fine." James said somewhat enthusiastically.
James lowered his arms back to his sides as Ashlyn began to nip at his neck more. Without warning Ashlyn kissed James again. The kisses were short but in rapid succession. During the barrage of quick kisses James found his hand being moved by Ashlyn. He felt his hand pushed against something soft.
"Squeeze if you want." Ashlyn whispered into James' ear.
James lightly squeezed what he was made to grasp.
Ashlyn let out a half-breath, half-moan.
James now certain of what he had his hand on squeezed a couple more times lightly. Ashlyn began to kiss James again as to keep from letting her weak moans from get louder. James stopped squeezing.
"Is something wrong?" Ashlyn asked.
"Why?" James questioned.
"What do you mean?" Ashlyn asked back.
"Why are you doing this? I don't get it." James said.
"Isn't it obvious? I just figured you'd be happy if I did something like this." Ashlyn said trailing off towards the end of her words.
"I can't deny that I enjoy this, but I don't think you should do this just to make me happy." James said with a sympathetic tone.
"You're not like anyone else out here in the wastes are you?" Ashlyn asked even though she had already known this for the longest of time.
"No, I'm just like everyone else, I killed, I steal; I do what ever it takes to survive, and most of all, I hide the truth about my past." James said.
"What do you mean your past?" Ashlyn asked as she laid her head on James' chest her head rising as James took his breaths.
"Where I came from, what I'm apart of not by choice." James said putting his hand on Ashlyn's shoulder slowly rubbing it absent mindedly.
"I'm not allowed to know am I?" Ashlyn asked.
"One day I'll have the courage to risk losing you and tell you, I'll have to." James said.
Ashlyn stayed silent.
"I love you." James said.
Ashlyn reached her arms around James' torso and hugged him; she started to cry.
James held her putting one hand behind her head holding her tight while his other hand held her close on her back. James took a deep breath as he began to feel Ashlyn's tears wet his shirt.
"I'm sorry." James said with a strange lack of his regular composure in his voice.
"Don't be….please don't…"Ashlyn said with a barely audible voice.
James craned his neck and kissed the top of Ashlyn's head.
Slowly Ashlyn stopped crying. James found relief in this, he had already begun to hate seeing or hearing Ashlyn cry; it hurt him too much. James stayed still as Ashlyn fell asleep on his chest. He thought about moving her back to her cot, but decided against it. He enjoyed this feeling anyway; having another's warmth on his body, a nice change of pace to him.
"I really do love her don't I?" James asked himself.
"No doubt about it, not a snowball's chance in hell I don't." He thought once again answering himself.
James closed his eyes again. He felt at peace and fell asleep with his love in his arms lying on top of his chest. The rest of the night was bliss for both James and Ashlyn.

James awoke as Ashlyn began to wake up. Surprised by how energized and happy he was he couldn't help but smile as Ashlyn looked at him in a slightly sleepy haze. Ashlyn's eyes were still slightly swollen from the crying hours prior and the tears that had dried on her face were still visible. Ashlyn looked at James with a tired grin.
"I forgot to say something before I fell asleep." Ashlyn said tiredness in her voice.
"And that would be?" James asked raising an eyebrow.
"I love you too." Ashlyn said just before she kissed James.
The two both smiled at each other after they broke the kiss.
"I'm still kinda tired, how about you?" Ashlyn asked.
"I'm actually wide awake, but you can go back to sleep. If you want I can carry you to your cot." James said.
"No, I wanna stay here…." Ashlyn said with a yawn as she fell back asleep.
James lightly chuckled as he embraced Ashlyn as she slept.
James craned his neck to the right to see that it was just about dawn. He knew he would have a couple of hours left before Ashlyn truly rose for the day. James decided to close his eyes and attempt to sleep. His simple attempt failed, yet he didn't mind; he really did love anything that had to do with this girl, he was just too comfortable now.
James found himself looking at Ashlyn as she slept and fell deep into thought. He remembered the first time he met his faithful companion, Rufus. He had first found Rufus on a routine scouting mission. James had found a burned out shack in which he heard yelping sounds and whining. James being his curious self decided to investigate taking all precautions as he did so, after all, it could have been a trap.
As James opened the door to the shack he quickly surveyed the dimly lit room. He looked to the corner of the room where a Sunset Sarsaparilla crate with a blanket inside was located. James knew the sounds were coming from the crate. He had slowly edged closer only to find a small puppy, seemingly only just prior having been weaned from its mother. James carefully picked up the puppy. With his right hand, after holstering Hail Storm, he took off his helmet to get a clearer look at the tiny canine.
The puppy simply stared back at him innocently causing James to smile and feel like a young child again. In his childhood he had always found escape from his harsh surroundings by playing with the puppies at the various forts he stayed at with his father. He knew that this puppy would have a much brighter future that the others he had played with, for he was going to take this puppy in as his own. James pulled out a black bandanna from his belt and lightly wrapped it around the puppy and emptied out a messenger bag he spotted within the shack and put the puppy inside. He quickly left the shack and returned to his scouting mission.
James fell out of his deep thought when Ashlyn finally woke for the day. He had been lost in thought for hours, for the sun had now risen and shown into the tent. Ashlyn unsteadily stood up after she slid off of James. James was quick to stand and support her. While he supported Ashlyn he noticed that Veronica was still somehow asleep.
Turning his attention back to Ashlyn, James asked a question "Your legs steady enough to hold you now?"
"Yea, I think so, they just fell asleep." Ashlyn said still clinging to James despite the fact she could now stand on her own.
"You hungry?" James asked.
"Kinda…" Ashlyn said.
"Well it won't be much but here." James said as he pulled out his meat jerky pouch.
"Thank you." Ashlyn said with a smile as she happily took one of the dried meat strips, a rather large strip at that.
James leaned down to kiss Ashlyn's forehead as she lightly chewed on the strip of meat. As he finished with the quick kiss Ashlyn looked up and stuck her tongue out at James. He laughed.
"You're just like a kid sometimes." James said still chuckling.
"I know, but that makes me just so adorable doesn't it?" Ashlyn said as she poked at James' left pectoral using her right hand.
"Yeah, yeah. Should we wake her up?" James asked pointing towards Veronica.
"Care to make it funny?" Ashlyn asked.
"Why not." James said then made a hand motion which the silent Rufus quickly noticed and shot out from under the cot then proceeded to pounced on Veronica and started to lick her without mercy.
"Gahh! Get it off me! Help!" Veronica screamed as both James and Ashlyn burst into laughter.
"This is priceless!" Ashlyn said laughing.
"I hate all of you!" Veronica sarcastically screamed as she tried to fight back Rufus' barrage.
"Rufus down boy, that's enough." James said as he motioned towards his leg.
Rufus followed his command and quickly moved to sit at James' feet where he was soon petted for his good behavior.
Julie stepped into the tent.
"I see all of you are awake. James you still gonna go with the caravan today?" She asked.
"Yeah, and I'm guessing I should get ready now?" James said assumingly.
"You've still got an hour, but yes. I appreciate that the three of you plan to help out around here." Julie said with a smile.
Rufus walked to her and nudged her leg.
"My apologies, the four of you." She said as she petted Rufus.
"It's no problem." Ashlyn said "Right everyone?"
"Yeppers!" Veronica said finally having wiped away all of the dog saliva.
James nodded.
"That's good, well James get ready and make sure to take everything you'll need. See you again in about and hour." Julie said.
"Understood." James said.