A/N

Song, Hurt by Meg Myers

/

Erin sat in the gleaming clean hospital room, listening as the doctor spoke and explained that this would take time, it was a slow process waking someone from an induced sleep. Uncas could come around in a matter of minutes or it may take much longer, they'd just have to be prepared to wait. The doctor had also warned her that Uncas may be confused and upset as well as disorientated, again patience was advised.

She sat down beside the bed while her parents went to fetch coffee, as well as give her a moment alone to prepare for what came next, and Erin did the only thing she could do, she waited.

She wasn't sure how long it took for him to begin to stir, she knew her parents weren't back from their errand yet, but she had no time to dwell on anything else as his eyes flickered, brown depths unfocused for what felt far too long as she held his hand and waited. For what she wasn't sure, a smile or a look of panic, both felt equally welcome if it meant he was back in the world of the living. Then he'd been there, he'd seen her, eyes chestnut warmth, smiling, although his face remained expressionless. He knew her, and in that moment it seemed like it was the only fact in the entire world that mattered. His fingers had tightened on hers and a dry breathless sound had tried to push past his lips. He'd frowned, confused as to why he could not express himself vocally, and Erin hushed him gently, eyes soothingly hooded in contained joy as she pushed her own words out, words she hadn't been aware she could still even speak in his own tongue.

"All is well, you are here, all is well."

He hadn't looked around at his surroundings, eyes not darting to all the strange people and brightness of a hospital room; his gaze had remained solely on her, wholly upon her, and his lips had curved in a hint of a smile, the warmth of it and his fingers, more than Erin could have hoped.

/

Erin's story had seemed to stand the weight of examination, or at least her parents didn't want to prod too much at a sore spot having only just got her back.

It all clicked in to place more after Uncas woke up, whether it was his personality or the way they saw how close he and Erin were, how bonded they seemed in a deep and close friendship; they'd accepted him with open arms.

By the time Uncas was sat up in bed and being ferried to the cafeteria in his wheelchair, Erin's father had insisted when he was well enough to leave the hospital, Uncas should return with them, back to the ranch and heal up without any worries, and so that was exactly what had happened. They'd all returned back to Erin's childhood home and Uncas had slowly made progress each month, then each week. By early spring he was up and about doing light chores, helping her father out with the horses, eager to learn and more than ready to be doing something outside that took physical effort.

It had all seemed to move so fast, time, events, the days never feeling long enough to talk to him in a way Erin wanted, for her to impart every complex emotion and thought. Time had its own rhythm, and it pushed forward whether she willed it to or not.

Sometimes she would watch him fetching horse feed or mending a fence while she went about her own daily chores. She felt a confusing mixture of happiness that he was here and sorrow that he still walked with a noticeable stoop, the injuries to the muscles in his lower torso would need more time to heal. He went for physical therapy once a week now and it was slowly improving, the doctors didn't think he would have any lasting complications, apart from the scar.

He'd been so very lucky that the knife had only penetrated the fleshy part just above the iliac crest of his pelvis. If Magua had aimed a few inches to the right it may have punctured his gut, and there would have been no salvation at all, Uncas would have died within hours of his injury. It hadn't felt very lucky at the time as the wound had still become infected from the dirty knife, the blood poisoning would have taken his life in only days, but with strong antibiotics and surgery, he had been able to pull through. He would surely have perished in his own time, of that there was no doubt.

Erin now watched from her porch seat, mug of steaming tea in hand, drawing in her notepad as Uncas tended to the horses' needs. Her family dog Burrito Bandit nestled against her side in a needy act of anxious insecurity, one the animal only ever abandoned when Uncas took the time to play with him. Erin noticed an old mare snorting happily at the sight of Uncas putting out fresh hay and trotting over with an eager shake of its head, before it nuzzled enthusiastically into his shoulder, the force of the action causing Uncas to stumble just a little. He was still unsteady, not nearly at his full strength, but he smiled and scratched the horse between the ears, speaking to it softly.

Erin thought he'd taken to working with horses rather well and he loved going out hunting with her father and his friends. He always excelled at it, her father coming home brimming with stories of stealth and expert tracking through the forest, even though Uncas could not yet move as he once had.

One thing Erin hadn't thought of was just how Uncas was going to get by with having no official records at all. That had been quite the issue when the police had come to interview him at the hospital too, and Erin found she was disturbingly surprised by just how well he could lie. Well, perhaps 'lie' was a harsh word to use, 'evade' suited him so much more, as if he were a master of loopholes, too cunning to ever be cornered, saying only what was strictly necessary, neither confirming anything or denying it. She had briefly told him of her makeshift story to protect them both, and despite him only just coming out of what had been essentially a coma, he took everything on board and never slipped up once, never became flustered, as if he knew the limits of these officials' powers.

Erin supposed that was how life had always been for him, skirting around rules and boundaries, just to exist.

The police hadn't seemed all that keen in pursuing it any further after that. They had hardly anything to go on to start with, and the matter had been dropped with only a veiled threat of checking up on the matter at a later date. If there had indeed been a man going about stabbing people in the woods, Erin thought she'd feel rather disgruntled at their lack of enthusiasm, but as it stood, she was only glad of it.

Once they were on the ranch, it felt safe, like they were living in their own little bubble, and once again time slipped by, weeks becoming months.

She had looked into how to prove citizenship without a birth certificate and although not impossible, it was a long exhausting road, time that felt better spent on tending to his needs in the moment, not a future that Erin knew may never be. So, with this all in mind, Erin had found herself unexpectedly acquainted with the black web, sourcing a few forged documents that would get Uncas by in any further medical needs or police interviews, without too many questions being asked.

Erin had not renewed the upcoming lease on her apartment in the city, deciding to move back temporarily with her parents, not only for Uncas' sake, but for her own too, to rebuild her relationship with both her mother and father.

She'd travelled out to the city to pack away her clothing and belongings with Ada, and Uncas had tagged along, curious to see just exactly what a 'big city' was like in this time.

He'd seemingly taken every peculiar thing he saw in his stride, only ever slightly bemused by the strange new things that came across his path, accepting and calm, allowing the knowledge to silently trickle through and filter into something he could understand in his own way.

The only day that Erin had ever seen him show true emotion and nearly lose his cool was that day when they'd first arrived in the city. Ada had parked up on a rather quiet street and they'd had to walk across the very busy and bustling city square, at lunch time, on a weekday. As they made their way through the crowd Erin noticed he was walking just a little closer, his hand coming to hold the cuff of her coat. When she glanced up at his features she could see the tiniest hint of a wrinkle of a frown between his brows, then a single bead of sweat had trickled down his cheek, and Erin had suddenly understood, he felt completely overwhelmed.

From the sheer amount of bustling people, to the noise of chattering into phones, the constant movement, and everywhere around them tall buildings, skyscrapers, glass and stone - surrounded by an unending clamour where no easy escape could be found. Erin thought if she had just been thrown into this place without warning, she might have thought it to be a kind of hell too.

She'd reached out and taken his hand in hers, which drew his gaze to her face. She'd smiled, her eyes speaking silently that she was there, right there, for him. It was her turn to protect him from her world.

"Nearly there," she'd said in his own tongue, "hold onto me."

His grip had tightened upon hers, and when he returned his eyes to their surroundings he seemed calmer, as if he had somehow been able to detach himself from the situation with the contact and reassurance. Erin had promised herself that she would be more mindful as to just how distressing this time could be to someone so unused to it.

She'd selfishly taken his stoicism for granted, assuming just because he didn't freak out completely over a car, or a TV, that he would somehow be able to deal with everything here. She'd tried to be more understanding from that point. Reassuring him whenever they would do something new and giving him the choice to not partake, or have a moment to himself. Now, she always tried to explain just what to expect. It gave him knowledge that he could then process and digest before they had even taken two steps into an uncomfortable situation.

She thought, that day, that she had done a pretty good job of explaining where their next stop was to be on the way back to her parents, a food market. But once they stepped into the cavernous building he'd seemed to lose all rhyme and reason, eyes becoming wide as saucers.

He'd piled the cart up excitedly with various food items, and almost began to hyperventilate at the array of fresh meat already prepared on offer.

Ada had watched them both silently from the side-lines giving them evaluating glances. Erin knew Ada didn't really believe the story she'd told about where she had been and who exactly Uncas was, but Ada remained restrained and ever watchful, gathering up her evidence for a later date. A date that Erin didn't have time to dwell on as Uncas piled more fresh food stuff into the cart.

She'd calmly made him put most of the panic buys back, but together they had picked out several fresh fruits he was very curious about, a few tantalizing desserts, and six of the biggest rib eye steaks she'd ever seen. Once the packing was finished, they'd taken all their goodies back to the ranch where her father had cooked up the steaks on their outside grill, serving them with fluffy buttered baked potatoes and a large heaping of salad to go along with the main event.

Ada had waved her farewell and left them to it after they'd eaten, Erin's parents happy to clear up after such a labour intensive day of moving back home. Erin and Uncas had sat out on the porch, and taste tested every fruit and dessert until they both felt sick from over indulgence. His favourites seemed to waver between angel cake with fresh cream and strawberries, or baked cheesecake. His favourite fruit was ripe juicy cherries, which he'd fully known the existence of in his time, but they were always far too expensive to selfishly spend much needed money upon.

By late spring he was getting payment and lodging for his work, a fully fledged employee of her father. Erin had never thought of Uncas as a horse man, but he'd proved over and over again he was. He had a way with the animals, calming even the most skittish colt. He seemed to enjoy it too, it kept him fit and moving, which was a good thing, since Erin's mother appeared intent on feeding him fit to burst, taking every opportunity to invite him over to the house for dinner when he got his own place in the bunkhouse. Erin detected her mother had another motive than just plain liking his company. Janine sensed there was something between this man and her daughter, something that needed a push to become more, and Erin's mother happily pushed, putting them both in situations that were embarrassingly awkward but always left them laughing.

From those early days, after he had awoken in the hospital, there was always an understanding between them, that this wasn't going to last, he wouldn't stay forever. He had to go home. Erin had told him everything as soon as he was able to comprehend her words, of her promise to Nathaniel, and he'd seemed to understand and agree that his brother was right. So they kept each other at a distance, friendship happily given to the extent that Erin wasn't sure what she'd do when he wasn't around to talk to and share all their ups and downs at the end of each day.

Sometimes, when their eyes met, when they were alone, or they'd both had a little too much wine, she felt that pull back to him, the want to be in his arms, to press her lips to his and tell him she wanted him. And then she remembered her promise to Nathaniel and the guilt came. If she did say those words, maybe Uncas would indeed pull her to him, and kiss her, and tell her he would stay for her sake, bound by another obligation, weighted with never knowing his family again, never knowing his true path. Erin had secretly vowed that she would never be his only reason, because she knew he may stay only for the sake of her, as she may have once done in his time. Reality didn't have any kindness for feelings, and his rehabilitation became the most important thing over any would be emotions.

When things felt too hard, when she wanted to reach for him, Erin reminded herself that she had forced him into her world, she would never force him to stay in it. He didn't belong with her, he belonged where he truly wanted to be, home, with his family. Erin wasn't his home. He deserved the time to work out his own future. She thought they'd both accepted this silent decision, but sometimes, when he looked at her with that secret smile, eyes glinting, she felt perhaps she saw her own heart echoed in longing.

There was one night in early summer, after choices had been made of when he would go home, that he had asked about her feelings for him. A little too much cherry wine imbibed had emboldened his stance, and Erin knew in that moment if she told him to stay, he would. She wanted to, to reach out a hand and press it to his chest, she wanted those words to spill from her in selfish Shakespearian declarations. Instead she'd gone into a half incoherent ramble about how she didn't honestly know what love was, and maybe there was a lot of truth to that statement. Her feelings of 'what love was' had been distorted through her bad experiences, and she was unsure what it exactly meant, to truly love someone. She was too afraid to put his future on the line for her own experimentations. Once again time denied her the ability to sift through all the complications.

The one thing she did know, she certainly never wanted anyone to give up their life or loved ones for her, she had done that once and regretted it. She wasn't sure if she could say she loved Uncas, but she cared for him enough to never want him to experience that pain. That very beginning would start any relationship off at an imbalance of power, one of them having to sacrifice their whole life for the other, nothing about that ever felt right. She'd continued, in her rambles, to explain to him that just as she had thought he'd had a destiny once, she had too, only her own had been picked out by a manipulative person in her past, Uncas' by a book. Neither should have any bearing on reality. Their choices should be their own and only their own.

Now, Erin didn't really believe in destiny or fate, only actions and consequences. She'd tried to explain how she supposed they had been thrown together in a heated and dangerous situation, feelings did appear, but were those feelings strong enough to see them through five years, or even another year? Could he accept never seeing his family again? Would he ask the same of her, to leave her life?

She didn't think any of what she said had made much sense, but he'd become very silent, taking in all her words, processing them, and then returned his eyes to her and nodded solemnly that he understood. The silence continued until he'd reached out a consoling hand and smiled with a wistful air.

Erin felt a pang of selfish absurdity as she realized he would not argue back, he would not contradict her or tell her he thought she was wrong, because he did agree. He had just smiled that enigmatic smile and gone back to what he was doing. His silence spoke so loudly that it was the last time they really talked of it. An easy acceptance settling over them like an old, well loved cloak. Without him even having to say one single word, Erin understood, Uncas did want to go home, and she would not stand in his way.

They had so much more to talk about that it didn't seem like a topic that was really missed, or so Erin told herself. The subject of time travel always led them down hours of conversation and speculation, ideas and theories. Uncas had seen bits and pieces in movies, TV, and read about it in a few books in her time. He barely remembered coming through the falls, only the sound, 'terrible ringing' he called it, like his whole head was filled with constant vibrating, pounding bells.

After many late nights of talking they had both come to the same strange conclusion. A conclusion that they were both surprised to feel so similarly that it felt like it must be the truth. The times they could pass through the triple falls were limited. It was hard to explain something neither had been outright told, but just as Erin had known she could return home in her bones, they both knew they only had so many rides on this time travel roller coaster. Since Erin had used it twice, they knew Uncas could at least return, after that, it was guess work, but there would be a limit. So they had nixed the whole idea of making little flippant visits to each other's time when they felt like it, lest they end up trapped.

It had taken Erin a long time to bring up the book, the novel that based itself on part of his life, in conversation. That day she'd found it in the café close to the hospital while Uncas still slept, she had been so excited and fearful as to what she would find concealed within the pages, wondering what they had changed, but had been baffled to find nothing whatsoever had changed.

Uncas followed Alice up the cliffs, Magua killed him, and Alice still jumped. It was the exact same story. She'd been fearful to delve into the historical side of things, and feeling a little cowardly, had only glanced at Nathaniel and Cora's future very briefly, seeing they did still go on to live in Kentucky. Anything else, she had waited until she could bring up the notion with Uncas. It was, after all, his family history, he may not want to know what happened to any of them.

At the ranch she'd brought out the book and handed it to him, telling him it was his choice if he wanted to read it. If he did, they could then do any research about what became of his family, if he wanted to.

He'd devoured the book in a day and came away calling it 'amusingly dramatic', but when he looked at her, his dark eyes glimmered with a new comprehension, he could now see what Erin had been fighting so hard for all that time back in 1757.

He'd declined knowing what had become of his family, he only needed Erin's knowledge that his brother and Cora had indeed settled in Kentucky. He had a destination and knew Nathaniel would be waiting for him at the triple falls, he needed nothing more. He did not want to bear the weight of knowing the future, and Erin could wholeheartedly understand that.

She had asked if he'd mind her looking up his history, when he was gone, and he'd smiled that secret smile and nodded that he agreed.

"I'll try and get myself in some history book somewhere, use an alias, get a record related to the book maybe. The stories must have come from somewhere. You can look out for my name, it'll tell you I'm fine."

"That's a great idea!" Erin had clapped at his genius. "I mean if you step forward as 'Uncas' it might change everything, the story, the history, and then I might not come back to warn you." She paused, biting her bottom lip. "Not sure if that's a good or bad thing... good I guess since you are still alive." Erin had continued to worry at her lip. "Unless it was always like this and you didn't really ever die on the cliffs and the book just made it all up, so it won't matter if I go back in time or not?" She groaned.

Uncas had snorted out a dismissive laugh. "This talk is making my head hurt, you and I both know," he gave her a knowing look, "you can never explain time travel." They both said the words in unison and laughed a little.

"Trying to make sense of it will get you nowhere." He'd grasped her hand in his large grip and smiled. "We both know you did come back, and I was saved, as was Miss Munro, and that's all that matters."

Erin nodded and tactfully pulled her hand from his, before clearing her throat through her embarrassment. "So, names then? We need to think of a good alias."

He'd let out a low noise of agreement.

They'd bandied about names for a few hours, some hilarious and some outrageously bland, but finally Erin had a thought that wasn't pushed aside outright.

"Okay, so Uncas means 'Fox' right?" Erin said, feeling very pleased with herself.

"Yes."

"What about Todd?"

"Todd?" He'd raised a sceptical eyebrow.

Erin laughed. "It means 'Fox' in old English, you could be Todd Poe... or Todd Copper, if you want to be on the nose, since foxes are... you know, red? It's kind of normal sounding and shouldn't raise any flags."

He'd reached out a hand, studying her own red hair with a deft twirl of his finger, and then he had nodded, pleased with this idea.

/

A/N

Another Friday, hello all.

This is what I like to call my exposition dump chapter. If I had tried to write in any detail about the passing months Uncas and Erin spent together, I think this story would never end :))) So forgive me if this at all felt rushed or glanced over, or a bit of an information dump. I tried to touch on different aspects of their lives in modern times to give a brief over view, and hopefully like Erin, you will feel time is in ever motion, never giving you the time you need, until there is no more time...

We are drawing ever closer to the end of this story, but we are not quite done yet. Things look bittersweet from this chapter, but many things can happen. Will Uncas return to his own time and both he and Erin go about their lives only with memories of each other? Will Uncas decide he wants to stay? Will Erin decide she wants to go with him?

It feels a little like, neither is ready for that in this moment as sometimes sadly happens in life, a love passes us by because life got in the way. Sometimes it's impractical to drop your whole life for a relationship, no matter how much you want someone. But I may be toying with my readers here. Let's just see what comes next.

Enjoy and a big thank you to anyone stopping by. Your thoughts are most welcome.