A/N: So sorry about the delay in this one. It stopped speaking to me for a little while. So here's a shorter chapter to get us back on track. I think I have a handle on what I'm doing now. Thanks for your patience, and have a happy, non-denominational, wintertime, gift-giving season!

"I was beginning to think we'd never get here."

Edward chuckled and looked at Bella out of the corner of his eye. "I told you it'd be through the end of today. Chimney Rock can be seen from further out than most landmarks on the trail."'

Bella yawned and stretched. "It's quite pretty."

"Yes," Edward said, but he wasn't looking at the rock. Picturesque though it was, the land lost some splendor when it marked only a fraction of their journey. He liked seeing the wonder in her eyes though. Sometimes Edward thought he had seen too much of the violence of the land to appreciate its beauty anymore.

Bella glanced at him, her expression contemplative, but before she could speak again, a flurry of activity broke out around them. Bella gave him a sheepish smile when Alice came to lead her away.

Everyone had something to do when the wagons circled for the night. Peter and Henry chased each other out onto the prairie, tailing after the other children in search of dry buffalo chips. When wood was scarce, the chips were a valuable source of fuel. They'd burn, thankfully odorless, all night if enough were gathered.

Edward helped Carlisle and Alistair get the wagons unpacked for the evening. Tents-the weather could get rainy these Spring days-were arranged around the firepit Jasper and Emmett were building.

The women set about figuring dinner. There were a variety of dried vegetables, and the men had brought down a buffalo the day before. Some of the meat was being dried into jerky, but the rest was prime for eating.

"Emmett," Edward called out to the younger man. "You're a carpenter, right?"

"That's right."

"Good. It's a good idea to check the wagon and wheels for damage. The countryside is set to get mighty rocky, and a broken part could leave us stranded. I know what I'm looking for, but it's always a good idea to have an expert's eye."

"I've been keeping an eye out for wear, but it's a good idea. The wagon nearly got stuck in the mud at our last crossing. We might have jerked something or another out of place." Emmett set about checking the wagon over carefully then.

Before Edward could join him, Carlisle called his name. "I suppose I'm recalling the old tales of tipped over wagons and smashed parts," he said with a grimace. "There are safer ways, aren't there, to navigate the steeper hills?"

"Sure. Ropes and chains. We might have to anchor the wagon to keep it steady on the steepest hill."

"I'm not sure we have enough rope. I've used some of ours to set up traction for the little girl with the broken leg, and I think Jasper might have taken some to keep the cargo tied. Is there a fort coming up soon where I might purchase what supplies we need?"

"Robidoux Pass has a trading post. It's just another day's walk from here." Edward paused and looked over his shoulder as casually as he was able. When he didn't see James about, he continued. "But if you don't mind me saying so, I reckon we have enough rope to do us fine for the journey. Prices only get higher the closer we get to the west."

"Desperation pays."

"It does at that."

Edward froze when he heard a familiar voice clear his throat. James stepped over to them and patted Edward on the back. Hard. "You'll have to excuse Edward, Doc. He's the optimistic sort- doesn't believe in being prepared like you and me. Better safe than sorry when it comes to your family, right? Anyhow, he's right about one thing. The trading post isn't reliable, though not for the reason Edward would have you believe." Another harsh back slap before James moved to Carlisle's side. He took the older man by the shoulder. "There's another Fort coming up within the week. Better we restock there."

Edward bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his cool. It wasn't anything new. James had a philosophy and a point. Their clients had never been the poorest of people. The reason people like the Cullens and their ilk hired people like James was for their peace of mind. If they could afford it, and it made them feel better, what harm was there in letting them have what they wanted. And so what if James took a little off the top for the crew? It wasn't so much more than they would have paid on their own.

All the other times they'd done this, Edward had told himself it wasn't his place to question James's way of doing things. That day, he couldn't seem to hold his tongue. "If you're set on it, there's no harm trying your luck at the trading post first. You're more like to make a decent trade than to get a fair price at the shop at the Fort."

James flashed a tight smile at Carlisle before he turned his head, masking the nasty glare he gave Edward. "Anyhow," he said, turning back to Carlisle. "There's plenty of time to decide what you need. We can talk about it tomorrow when we're on our way." He grabbed Edward by the arm, his grip punishing though his voice was as even as ever. "If you'll excuse us, I need Edward's attention elsewhere."

Edward kept his irritation in check as James dragged him away. When they were out of sight and hearing of their clients, he wrested his arm out of James's grip. "Get off me."

"Are you out of your damn mind?" James shoved him. "What do you think you're doing? You know how this works."

"Yeah, I know how it works. You get a fee when they need something, but you know damn well they got what supplies they need. We're in good shape. You got no cause-"

"I don't need no cause 'cept what the man himself wants. It makes him feel better to have more rope, what's matter to me or you?"

"You said before, I know how this works. I know how this game is played. You buy his rope and talk him into whatever else you can so you can skim even more off the top. You took both those men for more than our usual due in Independence."

"What are you worried about anyhow? The good doctor's mighty easy with his money. He shelled out seven dollars for each wagon at the last ferry."

"The river was rushing. That was as near to necessity as it gets. As it is, ferrying doesn't add that much more stability."

James waved a dismissive hand. "We could have gotten 'em all across." He jabbed Edward in the chest. "It's no matter. Bottom line here is you work for me. You got a better way to do it, you go on and do it, but not here. Not with my team, not with my clients. Do we understand each other?"

Edward narrowed his eyes. "Yeah."

"I mean it, Masen. This is how we eat. That might not concern you, but the others-"

"I said I got it. Carlisle thinks he needs more rope, I'm not gonna try to dissuade him again."

"Good. I'd hate to have to leave you behind. You're a good hand, but not so good I'd hesitate if you make my job harder."

~0~

"Hey."

Edward looked up to see Bella illuminated in the light of the moon. "What are you doing out here in the dark?"

"I could ask you the same question. In fact, that's what I had in mind to ask." She sat at his side without asking his leave and handed him a tin plate laden with food. "Didn't see you at dinner with the others."

Edward sighed and decided he'd save himself the trouble in arguing. She always won. "You sure Carlisle doesn't mind you giving away his family's food? Feeding one more mouth can make a huge difference if things get down to it."

"There was meat enough on that buffalo to feed us all for days and then some. Besides, Carlisle has a theory that some of the stomach upsets he's seen come from keeping meat too long. If he's right, it's best we use what we can as soon as we can."

"You have an answer for everything."

She fixed him with a look. "Eat your dinner, Edward. You have to keep your strength up same as the rest of us."

He tipped his hat. "Yes, miss. If it pleases you." The meat was hearty and tasty, served with a side of limp but seasoned celery. "Speaking of things your guardian disapproves of, I don't suppose you asked to come out here."

She was silent for a beat before she spoke with a defensive tone. "Carlisle is exhausted. He's been running himself ragged going between the wagons with all the fevers sprung up the last few days. And he's about worried himself sick over Rosalie. There's no reason to bother him for this. We're not doing anything wrong, after all. He always taught us to look out for our neighbors. That's all I'm doing here."

"I reckon he won't see it that way when being neighborly includes sitting out here in the dark alone with me."

"If you want me to leave…"

She stood, but Edward reached out and grabbed her wrist without thinking. She fell back down to her knees closer than she had been and slightly off balance. Edward steadied her, and his breath caught as the moonlight lit her finer features. Her brown eyes were wide with surprise, and his heart skipped a beat as he looked on her. He swallowed hard. It took him a few seconds too long to let her go. "I didn't say I wanted you to leave. Just that there could be talk if we're always alone together. That's what Carlisle worries about."

Her expression was sheepish but frustrated as she sat back down at his side. "It all seems silly to me. So what if there's talk? Can't we just talk right back? Set everyone straight if they think something's going on? You and I are only chatting, is all. There's no harm in that."

He chuckled and put his empty plate to the side. Full of good hot food and warm from her company, he lay back in the tall grass, staring up at the moon. "It doesn't work that way, but you're old enough to know it. Stay, if it pleases you. I'm in a rebellious mood tonight anyhow. I suspect I'll feel differently about it when Carlisle asks James to leave me behind."

"Carlisle wouldn't. Even at his angriest, he has too much compassion to do something so cruel."

Edward turned his head to regard her. "Since I'm not returning you to him promptly, I suppose I'm depending on that."

She scowled but didn't comment. Instead, she drew her legs up so she might rest her chin on her knees. "You never did tell me what you were doing sulking alone out here."

"I wasn't sulking. Well. Perhaps I was." Edward pursed his lips as he considered the answer to her question. He couldn't tell her the whole truth, but he found he wanted to talk to her, wanted to share some of his thoughts with her specifically. "I was thinking is all. In the years I've been in James's employ, there are many things I never stopped long to consider. I guess you could say I'm considering them now." Why now? What had changed, he wondered.

"What kinds of things?"

"For a long time now, I've had to live with the idea of what is and what can't be changed, only dealt with. There's an inevitability to nature and the wild land. We might prepare as much as is reasonable, but nature will do as intended. Storms will hit us no matter how hard we try to outrun them." He gestured out at the open prairie. "The buffalo all around us could decide to stampede.

"I suppose I got in the mode of accepting life as is but tonight… Tonight, I'm wondering just how much I should accept."

"Something happened with your boss then?"

"You are perceptive, aren't you."

"It's the process of elimination, is all. You said yourself it can't have been something about the trail itself. There are things you can change and things you can't. We've all got no choice but to travel this trail to get where we're going. It's people you decide whether or not to follow. I suppose you could be talking about your charges. Perhaps I'm biased, but I can't imagine Carlisle is a problem for you, and I know Mr. Hale lets him do most of the talking.

"That leaves your crew. I hope you'll pardon my saying so, but it seems to me, the grumbling of men consists mostly of politicians and superiors."

Edward burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry," Bella said. "That was out of turn."

"Perhaps by conventional society's terms, but don't apologize." He chuckled again. "Even out here, people rarely speak their minds. I welcome it, and you aren't wrong. Yes, it's James I'm grumbling about, but don't worry your head none. It's not the kind of problem that concerns the safety of you and yours."

"I know that. I hardly think you would willingly endanger anyone, even if the president himself told you to."

Edward stared for a heartbeat longer than was polite. How had he won the admiration of this girl? She did, too-admire him, that was. He could see it in the steady way she looked at him, with such trust. He wondered then just how true Carlisle's words from some nights before rang. Could it be Bella looked at him with more than admiration? Would he even be able to tell? He knew what flirtation looked like when it was a simpering, lilting, empty-headed girl batting her eyelashes at him. He couldn't imagine Bella acting as such.

More to fill the space in his head with anything besides those thoughts, Edward began talking about the stars. He told her a few tales he'd learned along the way about what the Ancient Greeks supposed the stars were, and he taught her how to find her bearings by the North Star. It was better, he thought, to be out here in the darkness if there was something to talk about, something Bella gained by being alone with him. He enjoyed her company more than he'd enjoyed anyone's company in years. More than he had ever enjoyed Maggie's company even.

Maggie had been attentive but not nearly as whip-smart as Bella was. He thought she had enjoyed hearing him speak, enjoyed the idea there was so much to know outside her little life, but she hadn't cared much to learn it. Bella, on the other hand, was always full of questions. She cottoned on to ideas quickly and pushed for more knowledge when she didn't fully understand.

It wasn't a fair comparison, and Edward told himself later he only made it because Maggie was the last person, the last woman, who'd paid him such mind. It was only natural Bella caught his attention. She was the same age as Maggie, and alone, though not as alone as Maggie had been. She was sweet and pretty and every urge Edward had was to protect her. If any of the other of his charges fell on the trail, Edward would feel responsibility, but if Bella was harmed…

He wouldn't think of it. He couldn't.

The hour grew later, and Edward's sense of duty came back to him. He climbed to his feet and offered his arm. It had been so long since he'd had to think of the rules of decorum, but he knew how to treat a lady. "Come, Miss Swan. It's late, and it's been a very long day."

"With another one promised tomorrow," she said as she threaded her arm through his.

"And the next one and the next." Edward stooped to retrieve the tin plate that had held his dinner. They walked arm in arm in silence until they got near enough to the wagons that Edward had to drop his hands back to his sides. He gestured that she should go into camp first, and he watched her as she returned to her family's side. When she was safe in the warm glow of the fire, he turned to his tent and his crew.

For the first time in a long time, since Maggie's death, he wondered what it would be like for the thing he looked after, the person, the people, to be truly his. The foolish boy he'd been hadn't deserved a family to care for. Would the more knowledgeable man he'd become be able to keep his own family alive?

Edward watched across the way as Carlisle moved among his brood. He kissed his wife's cheek when she came from her lessons with the children. He caressed Bella's hair as he passed her washing the dishes from dinner. He handed Rosalie a mug of something doubtlessly intended to manage the more uncomfortable aspects of her pregnancy. He waved Emmett over and spoke to him, their heads tilted together.

Would Edward's father have been able to advise him how to be a better husband, Edward wondered. If his family had lived, would his wife had lived?

For the first time, Edward wondered what it would be like to be in Carlisle's shoes instead of his own.

A/N: Many thanks to jfka06, barburella, and songster.

A bit more excitement to come. Thanks so much for waiting.