Chapter 12

Buck did live, in fact he recovered quicker than anybody would have guessed and before long he along with Lou returned to the little one room cabin. Things had changed between the two, Buck could feel it in the way Lou moved around him, how her gazed lingered on him, how she constantly had to touch him. He knew she had been scared, and she had good reason to be, he had almost died. He still didn't know how he had survived such a grave wound. But he had and he had saved Lou.

The night they had returned to the cabin Lou finally found the courage to talk to Buck. After taking care of the barn animals Lou returned to the cabin to find Buck awake in bed, he had been sleeping a lot lately to regain his strength. "Hey." She whispered when she caught sight of his eyes on her.

"Hey yourself. How are you feeling?" Lou asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm still a little tender in the middle but I'll live." Buck said with a soft smile. "I thought ... I thought I was going to lose you again." He said brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"I'm not the one that got shot in the stomach...you could have ...without knowing..." Lou whispered, her eyes closing as she leaned into Buck's palm.

"Knowing what?" Buck asked.

Lou opened her eyes and focused on the handsome face in front of her and smiled, "I love you Buck. I thought I wouldn't get the chance to tell you."

The smile that took over Buck's face was breathtaking, his hand went behind Lou's head pulling her down so he could kiss her. As their lips touched for the first time, Buck was sure he had died and gone to heaven...well if he believed in heaven he would think that at least. Lou pulled away from Buck only long enough to climb into bed and on top of him, her legs straddling his waist. Lou reached down and pulled the hem of her dress up and over her head leaving herself bare before Buck. Buck tenderly reached out and touched her chest, his thumbs brushing her nipples teasing them into tight peaks. Lou let out a breathy moan at the contact. She reached down untied the laces of Buck's pants.

Buck's hands on hers stopped her causing Lou to look up in confusion, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Lou whispered as she freed him from the confines of his pants. Her fingers stroking him into life. When she felt he was ready she position herself over him and lowered herself onto his manhood, both moaning at the sensation. Buck's hands on her hips kept her steady as she set a slow teasing pace. It was like nothing Buck had ever experienced in his life and judging by the tears filling Lou's eyes she felt the same...at least he hoped those were good tears.

Buck could feel himself getting close, "Lou ... I'm not going to last." He whispered hoarsely.

"Let go Buck, I'm there with you." Lou replied as she shuddered around him, the tightening of her walls around him bringing him over the edge.

Lou collapsed beside Buck, breathing hard, holding his head against her chest. The tears flowing freely now. "I love you Buck. I love you." She whispered before drifting off in the arms of the man she loved.

Epilogue

Sam rode towards Buck's ranch. The wanted poster for Jeb or Jethro rather, tucked inside his vest pocket. When Sam had first rode into town nobody had seen or heard from Buck in months, but that wasn't uncommon for him, but Sam was worried. It had taken too long to get the information on Jeb rather Jethro, he just hoped that everything was fine back at the ranch.

The closer Sam got to the ranch the more the sick feeling in his stomach grew. And when the cabin finally came into view, the smell hit him. Sam gagged and covered his nose with his kerchief before he dismounted and drew his pistol before walking slowly to the cabin door. The door was cracked open, he pushed it open the rest of the way only to have to back up before he lost his lunch over the side of the porch.

Inside the one room cabin Sam found the decaying bodies of Buck and Lou. Buck laying on the floor, clearly having received a shot gun blast at close range. And sitting with her back to the bed and Buck's head in her lap sat Lou, a knife in her dead hand, her arms slit from wrist to elbow, puddles of old congealed blood under her arms. Lou's body was undressed and even in the decaying state he could tell that the moments leading up to her apparent suicide had not been pleasant. Sam cursed, tears streaming down his face. He had been too late to save them. But as Sam went to the barn to find a shovel so he could bury them, he found one more body, a large knife sticking out of his back, pants down around his ankles. Sam felt the anger bubble up.

He didn't know how it had all gone down. He didn't know what had been going through Lou's head during those final hours. He didn't know what the two of them had suffered. He only knew that the bastard that was responsible was dead. And that Emma was going to be heartbroken as he was. Several hours later, a heartbroken Sam rode away from two freshly dug graves. He just prayed that somehow Buck and Lou were together at last. He would never know that they had found each other in the end, that they were laying in each others arms without a care in the world. That they were happy. They didn't know they were dead of course or maybe they did and just didn't care, they were together.

A/N: well that took an unexpected turn ... wtf this was not how I had this story planned out. I mean what the hell Muse! This is not right! I'm crying. I hate my muse right now, I really do. I told her to never ever make me do this Buck ever again after that one time she made me kill him off. The horrid *itch! I need chocolate now.