Prologue

Buck looked at the flames that licked at the sticks as he tried to burn off the chill that had surrounded him following his dream. It had begun simply enough, he'd known it was a dream all along; the ring of fire was burning bright even though it was a warm night.

He couldn't shake the chill; even after adding a few more sticks to the flames. The others were going to awaken and wonder what was wrong. Buck decided to try and walk off the feeling.

His dream began simply enough, everyone was in their bunks and talking a bit before finally drifting off to sleep. He heard the whispered caresses of Lou and Kid and felt a bit jealous, so he turned his head to find something to focus on. This is what finally showed him that this was a dream, as he looked off to the side he saw Ike in his bunk already asleep. He decided to go along with the dream and since Ike was asleep and not the main point of the dream he turned back towards Lou and Kid and watched them out of the corner of his eye. He let his mind wander around their sounds and his body began to respond to the stimuli.

If the dream had simply followed this line, things would have been fine - he wouldn't be sitting here chilled and confused. Instead, the dream took a strange turn.

Now, try as he might, Buck couldn't get rid of the feelings that the dream had left him with. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her, close enough for him to reach out and touch.

He didn't remember when in the dream he'd first noticed that she was watching him. He vividly remembered letting his body respond to the sounds of their "dancing" and closing his eyes as he listened. When he opened his eyes, she was still entwined with Kid, but she was watching him. Watching him and smiling...

"It was only a dream. What are you so upset about?" A voice in his head asked. "Just go back to sleep."

"Buck, what are you wanderin' around in the dark for?" Lou's voice behind him made him jump out of his skin.

Buck took a deep breath to steady his nerves before answering. "I couldn't sleep," he finally managed to say. As he took a seat near the fire, he watched the flames of the fire before him start to dwindle. He hoped Lou couldn't see him any better than he could her; his body still hadn't recovered from the dream.

Lou picked up a few twigs and threw them onto the fire as she settled in beside him. "Something I can help with?" she asked with a smile, as she placed her hand on his knee.

Buck stared at her small hand on his knee. He could feel the warmth of her touch through the fabric of his long johns. When he looked back into her eyes, she was still smiling.

"What's the matter?" she asked, her brow now knitting with concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost for heaven's sake...did you have a bad dream?" Lou raised her eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. Buck imagined that he could see her eyes twinkle in the dim light.

No longer trusting his voice, Buck simply nodded. He moved just enough to cause Lou's hand to drop from his knee.

"Want to talk about it?" Lou asked as she moved near the fire's dwindling flames - and Buck.

He shook his head, deciding that this was worse than the dream. As he looked into Lou's eyes, all the feelings that he had worked so hard to bury surfaced with a vengeance.

"Tell me Buck, what was the dream about?" Lou pressed.

Buck shook his head; he needed to get away from her before he did something he would regret. He stood abruptly and moved back toward his bedroll. As he took his first step, something caught his foot and he fell to the ground.

The next thing he knew, she was kneeling beside him stroking his face. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

Buck simply nodded as he glanced past Lou's shoulder to see the walls of the bunkhouse. "What happened?" he finally managed to ask.

"You fell out of bed," she replied, as she again stroked the side of his face. "Looks like you hit your head pretty hard," she whispered as she leaned forward and kissed a bump on his forehead.

When she moved to kiss him on the lips, Buck grabbed her by the shoulders. "STOP!" he yelled. He woke up with a start and found himself sitting straight up in bed.

"Geez Buck, keep it down would ya? I got a run first thing in the morning," Cody complained.

"You alright?" Lou asked sleepily from her bunk.

"Yeah. Sorry," Buck answered, still trying to get his breathing under control.

Unable to calm himself while lying in bed, Buck got up and quietly made his way outside. Once there he sat on the porch and studied the stars. He needed to figure out what was going on; this was the third time this week he'd woke from a dream that involved Lou. Each one had gotten progressively more suggestive, more intimate. He was beginning to be afraid of going to sleep because of what his dreams were doing.

He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You need to talk about something?" asked the concerned voice of Teaspoon.

"I just couldn't sleep," Buck mumbled.

"I noticed you been havin' trouble with that lately. Think a change of scenery would help?" Teaspoon asked.

Buck nodded. Maybe if he could just be alone for a few days...

"Well, I got a special run that just came up. Probably take you a week or so. Thought I'd send you and Lou."

Buck's head jerked up in surprise. "Lou?"

"That all right with you?" Teaspoon raised an eyebrow.

Buck hesitated. He couldn't very well tell Teaspoon that Lou was the reason he was having trouble sleeping; that would give away her secret, and they'd all promised not to tell anyone. Finally, he just nodded. "That would be fine," he said, with a sigh.

"Good," said Teaspoon. "You'd better try to get some shut-eye though; you'll be leaving right after breakfast." He stood and returned to his room.

Buck sat on the porch and stared at the sky. Maybe, he thought, if I have a chance to talk to her, it will help. He stood and made his way back to the bunkhouse. As he settled back into his bed, he offered up a quick prayer that there would be no more dreams this evening.