It was beginning to get dark outside, that's all Colleen could think as she and Andrew sat near their patient waiting for him to wake up. They had been out here for a while now, she didn't know long, but it had been quite a while, that much she knew. Their patient seemed to be doing okay, but he did have a bit of a fever, and he hadn't woken up yet for them to check if he had any further injuries.

She looked at Andrew, who sat on the other side of the injured man. He looked back at her, giving her a small, reassuring smile. He was doing his best to remain optimistic, but unfortunately, he didn't have much experience in situations like this. Colorado Springs was different than Boston in every way imaginable. He didn't know what to do in dangerous situations like these.

The other men sat a little ways away in front of a small fire. They were drinking and talking, passing around a bottle of whiskey. Colleen and Andrew hadn't tried to talk to them since they arrived and the men made it clear that they wouldn't be going anywhere. Anywhere that is, until they could at least check on their injured friend.

A breeze ran through the trees, making Colleen shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the ground, lost in thought.

"Here," Andrew said quietly, seeing the shiver run through her. He removed his jacket and held it out to her, waiting for her to take it. "Please," he said, noticing her hesitation.

"Andrew, I'll be fine. You keep it."

He gave her a knowing look. "Trust me, I'm alright. But, it's going to get colder tonight. I'll feel better if you take it. Please," he echoed.

She thought about it for a moment, but finally, Colleen nodded and reached over the man's body to take the jacket. She wrapped it around her shoulders and adjusted it until it sat comfortably. She looked at him with a smile, "Thank you, I appreciate it. But if you get cold, please let me know and I'll give it back."

"Deal," he smiled, his grin growing even bigger at the smile she gave him in return. He was quiet for a minute before looking at her again more seriously. "How are you doing?"

She looked at him, unsure of how to answer. She didn't really know how she was doing. She was trying to block out her emotions as much as she could to avoid feeling overwhelmed. She gave a shrug and sighed. "How are you doing? she asked, both wanting to deflect the question and see where his head was at.

He looked down with a sigh. "I'm uh….trying to take it one moment at a time, I think. I'm trying to focus on what we have control over." He looked at her seriously again, "Colleen," he waited until she met his eyes, "Are you doing okay?" His eyes searched her face, waiting for a reply.

Finally, the woman answered. "I think so," she nodded slowly. "I mean… I don't know." She looked down with a sigh, playing with a stray thread on the cuff of her purple dress. "Honestly I don't know how I'm feeling right now."

"We're going to be okay," He said solemnly, in a voice just above a whisper. "I know we will, we'll get out of this."

Colleen nodded back, trying to believe his words.

Their moment was suddenly interrupted by a moaning sound coming from the man that laid between them. The man groaned and whined, turning his head back and forth before opening his eyes with a squint.

"Excuse me," Andrew called to the men at the fire, "He's waking up, what's his name?" They had yet to learn any of the men's names.

The men looked around at each other with raised brows, as if debating answering his question. "His name's Jeremiah, let's keep it at that," the curly-haired man said.

"Thank you," Andrew said with a nod, looking down at the man and gently touching his arm. "Jeremiah… Jeremiah, you're alright. You've been injured, but you're going to be okay."

The man whimpered in pain, pressing a hand to his side where his wound was.
"Careful," Colleen said as she moved to kneel in front of him, "just lie still, you don't want to break your stitches."

"Who are you?" he said gruffly, looking up at the two of them.

"My name is Dr. Andrew Cook, and this is Colleen." He introduced the two of them. "You were shot, but we've removed the bullet and you're going to be fine. However, we do need to do a couple of tests to check your head and internal organs.

"Ah, just do it and be done with it." He grumbled in pain. He looked up to the sky while groaning again.

Andrew and Colleen did a series of tests to check for further injuries, and luckily Jeremiah seemed to be okay. Aside from some bruising and cuts from falling off his horse, the only serious injury he sustained was the healing bullet wound.

As they finished their exam and the man closed his eyes again to rest, Andrew and Colleen shared a smile over their patient, feeling hopeful that they would be out of here soon.

Colleen picked up a few tools and walked around to Andrew who was putting the rest of his instruments back into his medical bag. They kneeled side-by-side as they made sure everything was accounted for. "What do we do now?" Colleen whispered.

Andrew whispered back, "We've done all we can do for him, aside from monitoring his fever. His wound is clean and looks good, as long as he has time to rest it should heal just fine." Colleen nodded as he continued, "I think we should monitor him until the morning, but if things are looking good then maybe we can ask if we can go back to town."

She nodded, "Okay, sounds like a plan." They both stood and turned toward the men around the fire.

"Wait here," Andrew said softly as he walked over to them. He cleared his throat, "Excuse me," he waited as the men paused their conversation to look up at him. "We've assessed Jeremiah and he seems to be healing nicely. He's showing no signs of internal bleeding or head trauma. I've given him some quinine for his fever and would like to continue monitoring him till the morning. If he shows signs of improvement, Colleen and I would then like to make our way back to town."

The men looked at each other, the curly-haired man nodding to the other brunette in some sort of unspoken conversation. The tallest of the men stood up, looking down at Andrew. "Remember our deal? You go back to town when we say so, not before. What are we supposed to do if he gets worse?"

"We have no reason to believe that he will. He's already showing signs of improvement. His pulse is strong and his blood pressure has stabilized-"

"I don't care about all that." He interrupted angrily. "We ain't staying here, and we need to make sure that he makes the trip. You two are gon' keep an eye on him."

Colleen stepped forward, just behind Andrew's shoulder. "What trip?" she asked nervously.

"You think this patch in the woods is where we're staying? We're going down to Santa Fe, sweetheart, and you two are going to make sure he gets there alive," he said, looking back and forth between the two.

"This man is in no condition to travel all the way to Santa Fe!" Andrew argued.

"Well then it's a good thing that we have a doctor and his little nurse, ain't it?"

Andrew drew a breath, trying to stand his ground. As calmly as he could he asked, "When are you planning on leaving?"

"How's bout now? Let's pack up men," he called over his shoulder while holding eye contact with the two. "Night is upon us," he smirked at Colleen, making her shudder, "It's the perfect time to travel."

"If you want Jeremiah to heal properly, you need to give him more time to rest."

"Keep your voice down," the brunette stepped forward, inches away from Andrew's face. "If he's really in as good of shape as you say, then you should have no problem keeping him alive. If you're not up for it, we can always pick up another doctor in Pueblo. It wouldn't be the first time we've… lost someone along the way. And just think, then we'd get your lady all to ourselves…"

A shiver ran through Colleen as Andrew clenched his fists and stammered between clenched teeth. "You stay away from her."

"Or what?"

Andrew paused, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I'll do what you want. Just leave her alone."

The two men stared each other down for another moment before the brunette took a small step back, suppressing a chuckle. " Well see about that, boy." He turned to help pack up their things.

"No-" Colleen stepped forward and put a hand on Andrew's shoulder as he began to take a step forward. She could feel the anger radiating off him and knew she had to stop him before he said something they would both regret. "Andrew stop," she whispered.

The curly-haired man walked up to them, holding a pot while some utensils clanged inside, "I wouldn't argue with him young man," he said with a dark expression. "Do as he says," and then he walked away.

Andrew turned around to face Colleen, an unreadable expression on his face. "Colleen I'm so sorry I got you into this mess."

She gave him a serious look, "Andrew, this isn't your fault. You let me help you in your clinic, you were being kind and generous." She looked up into his eyes. "This has nothing to do with you."

He nodded slowly. He knew she was right but couldn't help but feel that it was his fault she was involved in all of this. "Colleen, if any of those men lay a hand on you-"

"Hey," she said seriously. "Nothing's going to happen," She tried to say it confidently, but it came out as more as a question. The truth was that she couldn't let herself think about that. She shivered again, replaying the man's face looking her up and down. "Remember what you said before, when you said you were focusing on what you can control? Let's focus on that. All we have to do right now is focus on Jeremiah and make sure he's okay."

After a moment, Andrew met her eyes as his anger cooled down. "You're right." He took a step closer to her, grabbing one of her hands. "Thank you." Colleen gave him a tiny smile. "We'll figure a way out of this," he whispered quietly, "until we do, we'll go along with their plan." She nodded silently as they walked back to make sure all of Andrew's medical supplies were packed up. Time to prepare their patient for travel.

A little while later, Colleen and Andrew found themselves back in the wagon, Jeremiah carefully stretched out in front of them, fast asleep. He had a worn jacket bundled under his head as a makeshift pillow as the wagon bounced through the woods. They soon came to a clearing, revealing an open field that was lit up by the almost full moon above. Neither Colleen nor Andrew knew what time it was, but based on how long ago the sun had gone down, they guessed it to be around 9:00.

They sat side-by-side, Andrew's jacket now resting over their legs like a blanket. They had been traveling for about an hour. Unlike before, the blonde man now rode his own horse, keeping an eye on the two in the wagon but trusting they wouldn't try to escape. Not that they would get very far. Even if Colleen and Andrew could escape, they only had a slight guess as to where they were. South of Colorado Springs, they knew that much, but they weren't traveling on the road. They were going their own way down to Santa Fe.

Colleen shivered as a gust of wind blew the cool night air their way. She scooted closer to Andrew, their arms and legs touching. She wanted to ask him how much further he thought they were going to travel tonight, but with the brunette sitting in the driver's seat just above them, she thought better of it. She just watched Jeremiah breathing deeply, glad that he seemed to be resting comfortably.

The evening was starting to get even colder, and Andrew felt Colleen shiver again next to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, rubbing his hand up and down her arm to try and warm her up. He ignored the rumblings of his stomach as it growled, not wanting to think about when they might have their next meal, or how each mile they traveled put them that much farther away from their home.

Even more time passed as the men tried to put as much distance between themselves and Colorado Springs as they could. Eventually, they came to a stop, finding a somewhat secluded resting place near the woods. The creek could be heard not far away. "Alright," the curly-haired man said, who had been leading the way for the past hour or so. "Let's set up here for the night."

Andrew and Colleen were both exhausted and were also grateful that they were finally stopping for the night. It couldn't be too late, but the stress of the past several hours had worn them out. They also were worried about how far away from town they had gone. The further out they got, the harder it would be for anyone to find them. Colleen knew that her Ma and Sully would have expected her home by now and that there was a chance they were looking for her. At least, she hoped they were. It was getting late, and it was dark out as well. How late into the night would they look? Even if they were looking, how would they know where…She shook her head, trying to block out any negative thoughts and stay in the present.

The blonde man opened the back hatch of the wagon, pausing before allowing them to step out. "Don't go off getting any ideas," he said in a low voice, "we're still in charge here."

"We won't. We all need to rest." Andrew said assuredly. "I'd like to quickly check on Jeremiah's vitals and then we should all get some sleep. It's for the best if he stays in the wagon, he shouldn't be moved any more than he needs to be," he said, reaching for his bag.

"Easier for us," the man said with a grunt. He and the other men got to work quickly building a fire and collecting some wood. Andrew and Colleen did a quick check-up on Jeremiah, pleased to see that his vitals were strong and steady.

"At least he's already asleep, he needs the rest. He seems to be comfortable enough," Colleen said, adjusting his coat pillow and gently pulling the collar of his shirt away from his face.

"He should sleep through the night," Andrew said, looking over at her. "We should try and get some sleep, too." Colleen nodded tiredly.

Andrew stepped down from the wagon and then reached out to help Colleen. He grabbed her forearms as she stepped down before reaching back to grab his jacket. They walked closer to the fire where two of the men were tending to it while the third retrieved water from the creek. A minute later he returned, setting a filled pot over the open flame to boil it.

Slightly unsure of what to do, Andrew looked around before nodding to a spot about 8 feet away from the fire that had a nice patch of grass. He put his hand on Colleen's back and led her to the spot. It was close enough to the fire that they should get a little heat, but far enough that they were hopefully out of the men's way. They sat down and faced the fire, processing the events of the day.

"Here," the blonde suddenly thrust a canteen at them, filled with some of the water from the pot. "We got a long day tomorrow, drink up."

"Thank you," Colleen reached forward to grab the canteen that had landed by her feet. She took a long drink, suddenly realizing just how thirsty she was, before handing it off to Andrew.

"Thank you," he said, looking back at them. He took a nice long drink as well, knowing he needed it. "Here," he handed it back to Colleen. "You should have some more."

She gave him a small smile as she took the canteen, taking another drink. She handed it back off to Andrew where he took another mouthful before catching a drop of water with his sleeve. He held out the canteen again, but Colleen shook her head, satisfied for now. Andrew put the cap back on and set it down beside them.

"How's he doing?" the brunette asked suddenly, nodding in the direction of the wagon.

"He's stable," Andrew answered. "Still weak, but his vitals are good, even stronger than before. He could use some water though. We should have some ready for him when he wakes up next."

The man nodded and poured some water from the pot into his own canteen, tossing it to the side. "Well, when the sun rises we hit the road. You two get some shut-eye." He looked their way. "When I say we're leaving in the mornin', we're leaving."

Andrew and Colleen just nodded, doing as the men said. They watched as the blonde lay down on his back directly next to the fire, crossing his arms. The curly-haired man found a spot a little farther away, grabbing an extra piece of clothing from the wagon and laying it over himself. The brunette chose to sleep sitting up, he sat with his back against the wheel of the wagon and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes.

Andrew looked over at Colleen, and they shared an awkward smile, trying to figure out their own sleeping arrangements. "Here," he said, handing her his jacket again.

She smiled at him, "No, you keep it," she handed it back. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure you won't be cold?"

"The fire helps. You keep it."

"Well in that case," Andrew laid down his jacket, folding it in half as a thin layer for them both to rest their heads on instead.

"Cozy," Colleen teased quietly, trying to lighten the mood, "it's almost as nice as home." She sent him a smile before turning more serious, "Thank you."

Andrew chuckled softly, feeling the tiniest bit of tension leave his body. It felt good to laugh. "Almost," he said with a lighthearted smile. "And you're welcome," he said more seriously. They laid down facing each other, no more than a few inches between them. It felt intimate, being so close to each other in this way, after all, they had never even shared a kiss, yet they both felt comfortable, and safer being together in this moment. "If you need anything, I'm here," he whispered, his eyes locked with hers.

"I'm here too," she said, looking into his eyes. "Goodnight Andrew."

"Good night Colleen."

They shared one more caring look before closing their eyes, hoping for some sleep after this long, unexpected day.

A few hours later, Colleen awoke with a start, looking around in confusion. As she slowly sat up, she suddenly remembered where she was, and the reality of her and Andrew's situation hit her like a brick. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. It couldn't have been more than a few hours since she fell asleep, but quite frankly, she was amazed she had been able to fall asleep at all, considering. She looked down at Andrew, happy to see that he looked to be sleeping peacefully. She didn't know what she would do without him. Looking around, she saw all of the other men fast asleep as well.

A fresh wave of fear ran through her as she really processed what was happening. The day had been such a blur. When the men were awake, she had done her best to remain calm. But now, sitting here in the woods, everyone else asleep around her, all of the fear from the day came back to her. She felt tears in her eyes and she tried desperately to stop them from falling. The last thing she needed was for one of the men to wake up and see her so emotional. She took a deep, shaky breath as she wiped a tear that unwillingly fell. What were they going to do? They were taken by dangerous criminals, outnumbered, and were already miles and miles away from home. Even if she woke up Andrew right now and they tried to make their way back, they were on foot and had no idea which way to go. The men would find them and do… Collen shivered. She didn't want to think about it. She felt a few more tears fall and she quickly wiped them away.

It then occurred to her that she had to use the bathroom, and she figured that she might as well take care of that now while she was up. She doubted she would get the privacy she needed in the morning. Carefully, she got up and walked a little way into the woods, taking a moment behind a tree to relieve herself. When she was finished, she took a few deep breaths before walking back to the site, the glowing embers of the fire showing her the way. Hopefully, she would be able to get a few more hours of sleep before the sun came up-"Ah!" Colleen gasped, jumping back in surprise. She held her breath as she saw a tall figure of a man standing just inside the line of trees. She took a small step backward before stopping, frozen in fear.

The brunette, Colleen could just make out that it was him due to his height and build, took a step toward her silently, giving her a look that made her blood run cold. He took another step closer, leaving just a few feet of space between them.

What should she do? Colleen took a small step back, staring at the man looming over her. "Wh- what" she stammered, voice barely audible, "what do you want?"

He held out his hand, "Life gets lonely on the road. It's been a while since I had the… company of a lady, 'specially one as pretty as you." He took a step closer as Colleen jumped back a few feet.

"Stay away," she said, trying to find her voice. This isn't happening, she thought. "Please."

"Aw, c'mon now. Play nice… Colleen," he whispered her name icily.

"No," Colleen said forcefully as she tried to run around him back to their camp. She only made it a few feet before her dress caught on a tree root. She tripped and fell to the ground, frantically tugging on the skirt of her dress to get it free.

Within a matter of a second, the man was upon her, pinning her down by her shoulders. "You don't run when I'm speaking to you," He said with a growl. He leaned down, his face just above hers.

Colleen was nearly hyperventilating. "Let me go." She whimpered.

"Not until I get what I want," he moved so that he was straddling her, one leg on either side of her waist. He leaned down, moving his face towards hers while she squirmed and thrashed beneath him. She was no match for him. She could hardly move. Finally, while he removed his hands from her shoulders to undo his belt, Colleen found her voice.

"No! Stop!" she screamed, her high wail giving her a few seconds of leverage as it caught him off guard. "Stop!"

"Hush up!" he hissed back. "You give me five minutes and you can go back to your fella over there. Right now, you give me what I want or else-"

"Help!" Colleen screamed again. "Please h-!" she cried, gasping when her face was met with a hard blow. The man had punched her in the face near her eye to stop her screaming. Colleen was stunned, breathing heavily.

"That's better," he said. "Let's try this again, and don't play games now, you hear?" he yelled in a harsh whisper. He pressed his lips to hers as he reached down for the bottom of her skirt.

She whimpered and whined, "No, no stop." She cried, her speech mumbled as her lips were crushed against his. "Stop!" she finally had the power to scream again. Someone had to hear her. "Help!" she pleaded.

"Shut up!" the man screamed now, fury behind his eyes. Colleen had never seen a look like the one he was giving her. "Shut your damn mouth or I'll shut it up for ya!"

"Please," Colleen said desperately, "Hel-!" she started to yell again, only to be caught off when the man's hands wrapped around her throat.

"Uh," she exhaled, all of her oxygen gone in an instant. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. All she could do was try to stay conscious as the man pushed his thumbs harder on her windpipe. "S.." she only got out the sound. Her vision became spotty, black dots filling her vision. She felt herself beginning to lose consciousness…

Out of nowhere, the man weight of the man was gone, and a rush of air came back to her. "Uh!" she breathed in, gasping for air in tiny pants. She heard voices around her, but she couldn't make out what was happening. All she knew was that the man was gone. Her hand went to her throat as she continued to try and breathe, wheezing in and out. As things slowly became clearer, she heard a grunt and a scream to her left. She turned her head to see someone lying down on the forest floor a little way from her. As more oxygen made its way to her brain, it clicked. Andrew. "And-" she gasped, she couldn't speak. "Andr-" she tried again, wheezing more as she breathed. She could hear men arguing and yelling, one man's voice carrying louder than the rest. Finally, her mind cleared enough to make out what he was saying.

"And unless you want to attract the attention of every man passing through this part of Colorado then you better stop messing around." He was furious, Colleen turned her head and saw that it was the blonde talking. "I don't care what you want or think you need. You could have blown all this up with her screaming. We got one… one shot to get away with all this. Now you go back out there and be quiet. Leonard, you keep watch. Make sure they don't go nowhere and keep an eye on the road, just cause we don't see no one don't mean they didn't hear us." He stormed back out towards the camp.

Colleen tried to take a deep breath, but couldn't. She was met with a terrible stinging pain in her throat. She tried again, taking in as much air as she could. She whimpered in pain as she breathed.

"Colleen!," a voice that Colleen recognized to be Andrew's called out. A second later, she saw his face above her, eyes filled with worry. "Colleen?" he repeated, eyes running across her face and down her neck. "Are you alright? Did he…?" he swallowed dryly, unable to say it.

She shook her head. "No," she croaked, her voice raspy. "He tried..." she coughed, "he didn't."

Andrew had been fast asleep when some commotion woke him up. He noticed immediately that Colleen wasn't beside him. He sat up quickly, eyes trying to adjust to the darkness as he looked all around for her. It was then that he heard a scream, a woman's scream, and his heart began to race. "Colleen!" he called into the night air. He heard her scream again. Andrew ran into the woods following the sound of it as quickly as he could, finally able to see a little way ahead through the darkness. It didn't take long for him to see a sight that made his stomach drop. The tall man was on his knees, on top of Colleen. Fury rose within him and he ran forward, charging at the man with everything he had. He barreled into him, knocking him off his knees and rolling across the ground. "Don't touch her!" he growled, trying to push the man down.

Unfortunately, the brunette was much bigger than he was. He swung and landed a punch square across Andrew's jaw. Andrew tumbled to the forest floor, trying to get up and face the man again. He stood and was able to send a quick punch to the brunette's gut, but just a moment later he received another blow, this one hitting him in the eye. He was knocked straight to the ground, lying in the dirt and leaves. He was trying to get up again when the brunette was yanked away by the two uninjured men in their party.

"Damnit, Clyde," the blonde started, going on and on. It was clear that he was furious at the man. Though it was clear to Andrew that he was angrier about 'Clyde' causing a loud scene than at what he had done to Colleen to cause the scene. Colleen! He thought. Where was she?

Wincing as a burst of pain ran through his face, particularly his right eye and his jaw, he stood up, looking around as he tried to locate her. He heard a whimper and then saw the young woman to his right a short distance away. "Colleen!" He ran over to her quickly, kneeling down as he touched her shoulder with one hand and gently cupped her cheek with the other.

"Colleen?" he said, eyes running across her face and down her neck. "Are you alright? Did he…?" he swallowed dryly, hoping with everything he had that he had gotten to her in time.

She shook her head. "No," she croaked, her voice raspy. "He tried..." she coughed, "he didn't."

A huge wave of relief ran through his body. He was furious, but at least he had been able to stop the man before he could get what he wanted. He gently touched her face, thumb resting on her cheek, being mindful of the swelling that was already beginning to appear around her right eye, just like his. "Colleen," he said gently. "are you okay?"

Colleen nodded with a grimace as she took a deep breath. It was then that Andrew really took notice of the marks on her neck. Marks that could only have appeared from Clyde pressing down on it and cutting off her airway. He was filled with anger again. He took a breath to calm himself, Colleen was his priority right now, it wouldn't help her if he was angry.

Colleen gasped suddenly, taking in the marks on Andrew's face. "What happened?" She whispered as she moved to sit up. Andrew placed a hand behind her back to help her. She touched his face gently.

"I uh… I pushed him off of you," he admitted. "We got into a fight."

Tears filled Colleen's eyes. She looked down as her body started to tremble. "Thank you," she got out, looking back up at him as tears started to fall.

Andrew pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him in return, the two of them holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it. Maybe they did. Colleen continued to cry, allowing herself to feel the full weight of what had just happened. "What are we going to do?" she just barely got out. It hurt her throat to talk, her voice coming out low and raspy.

Andrew pulled her back gently, holding her by the arms and looking deep into her eyes. "I'm going to try and find us a way out of this."

"How?"

He shook his head in despair. "I don't know yet. But I'll think of something. We're going to go back home. But for now," he lifted a hand and used his thumb to wipe a tear falling down her cheek, "we need to rest. Try not to talk too much, your windpipe is probably swollen and it will take a little while for it to come down."

She nodded, looking again at his injuries. She brushed her thumb over the side of his lip which was beginning to swell. "Are you in pain?"

"A little," he admitted. "Are you?"

"A little." she echoed.

He looked over her face one more time, seeing if she looked okay enough to go back to the fire. He could see from here that they had restoked it and it was burning brightly again. "I don't think they're going to bother us again tonight. We should go back and get some rest." He would have suggested they stay further away but it was a chilly night and they needed the heat from the fire.

She simply nodded in return. He was right.

Andrew stood and helped her up, putting an arm around her as they walked back toward the fire. They returned to their spot, where Andrew's jacket still lay flattened on the ground. He moved it back a couple of feet, wanting even the tiniest bit more separation from the other men. They took a seat and looked around. The blonde, who remained the only man whose name they didn't know, took back his spot near the fire, lying with his eyes closed. Clyde, the tall brunette, also went back to his spot near the wagon, though now he lay sprawled out on the ground. Leonard, the curly-haired man, however, now stood guard. When Andrew and Colleen had walked back from the woods he moved to the far side of the wagon, watching for passersby.

Colleen lay down on her back, looking up at the stars. She didn't think she would be able to fall back asleep tonight, she was terrified of any of the men trying to touch her again. Andrew laid down next to her, their arms touching. He could feel the nerves coming off her, and he grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Colleen squeezed his hand in return, not letting go. Though they were scared and hurt, they soon fell asleep hand-in-hand, waiting and unsure of what would come tomorrow.