"Do you need help?" he asked her. Molly shook her head and forced herself to speak.

"No, I've got it." She turned to walk back toward the others when he spoke to her again.

"Molly, did someone hurt you?" Molly froze and turned back toward him. The way he asked was as if he already knew the answer to the question. He knew! Somehow he knew what happened to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked him almost in a whisper, trying to keep her breathing under control. 'He knew!' her mind kept screaming at her. He took a step toward her and she took a step back. 'How could he know? Unless he was there. Unless it was him' her mind was screaming questions and answers at her faster than she could think. 'Don't come near me,' she wanted to yell at him.

"Molly," Brenda's voice broke the spell that they seemed to have been under. At the sound of her voice, Molly jumped and walked as fast as she could toward Jamie, Kyle and Brenda. "What's wrong?" Brenda asked as she saw her best friend come into sight. Molly only shook her head. She handed Brenda the bandages, afraid that if she spoke she'd begin to cry. Molly helped Brenda move Kyle forward to get to the wound in his shoulder. 'Please let Uncle Colum be looking for us,' she prayed silently as she helped Brenda. What would be even better is if she just woke up. She hardly noticed it when Brenda was replaced by Nathan.

"Molly," he said to her. She was humming, seeming completely unaware of her surroundings. Strands of hair had fallen out of the French braid her long hair had been put up in. He could see in the now near darkness that her face was nearly white. Her brown eyes held extreme exhaustion and fear. "Molly," he said again. This time she looked at him although she seemed to be looking straight through him as if she were watching a memory. As fast as the far off gaze fell on her face, it was gone. Replaced instead by uncertainty and dread. He silently cursed Chris Larabee and the others. These four were just kids, not much older than JD Chris had insisted that they knew something about the fire that killed his wife and young son years before. Nathan had a feeling it was another memory that plagued these four. He let his thoughts drift away. He needed to give her something to do. Something to take her out of the shock that she seemed so near to fall into. He heard footsteps approach them and looked up to see JD carrying a blanket. He addressed him hoping that the young man would take his hint. "JD, take Molly over to the fire and get the water that I put on to heat up." JD nodded handing the blanket to him and reaching his hand out to Molly to help her up. Cautiously she reached out and took his hand, allowing him to help her up.

He smiled at her and said, "I'm JD," not really sure of himself. He could tell that she was scared out of her mind. It was then that she realized that Brenda and Jamie were no where in sight. She whirled around.

"Where are Brenda and Jamie?" she asked, panicked. JD reached out for her hand again.

"It's okay. They're by the fire," he said pointing with his other hand. Molly looked in the direction he was pointing to see Brenda huddled in a blanket with Jamie's arms around her holding her close. The other men seemed to be taking places around the fire. Molly squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before taking his hand again. He led her much like a child toward the fire. As they got nearer she seemed to slow, realizing all eyes were on her. JD squeezed her hand a little tighter as if to reassure her. "It's okay," he whispered to her. Molly looked back up at him and forced herself to smile and returned the squeeze. At least he was trying. Jamie didn't stand up as they got near and Molly saw why. Brenda had fallen asleep in his arms. They're eyes met and each of them tried to stifle a laugh. Brenda's mom had always said that she could fall asleep during a natural disaster and never know it. And she had. The summer before a tornado ripped through the part of town where her house was. The house had all but collapsed on top of her. She was found, asleep on the couch by rescue workers who thought she was dead. They never let her live it down. The fact that she had fallen asleep in this particular situation wasn't too hard to believe. JD let go of her hand and moved to the fire and the coffee pot that held the hot water. The man with the mustache got up and walked toward her. 'He must think that I'm completely nuts,' she thought, remembering the scene that she had caused earlier. She wasn't sure why she had let him get that close to her. Maybe it was because he just let her fall apart. He didn't try to make it better or tell her it was okay. He knew she was scared and there was nothing he could do about it. Molly needed that.

"I don't think that we ever really met," he said as he approached her.

"No, we didn't," Molly answered him.

"I'm Buck Wilmington," he said to her. Then, one by one he told her who the other men were. The man that reminded her of her uncle was Josiah Sanchez. The one that had run with Buck and Chris after Molly and Jamie was Vin Tanner. There was a rather distinguishing looking man sitting near Jamie and Brenda named Ezra Standish. She already knew who Chris, JD and Nathan were. JD seemed to sense her uneasiness and he approached her with the pot.

"We should get this to Nathan," he said to her. Molly nodded in agreement. Of all of the men she was least afraid of him. Maybe it was because he looked to be around her age. Jamie gave her a concerned look and moved to stand up. Molly didn't want Brenda to wake up. She took a step forward.

"I'll be okay," she said to him.

"Are you sure?" he asked. She wasn't but nodded her head anyway. It was now completely dark. The only light came from the fire and it was getting cold. The two of them walked back toward Nathan and Kyle. Molly knelt down along side of Kyle. His eyes were closed and instantly she feared the worst.

"Kyle," she whispered softly. He didn't respond. Molly looked up at Nathan.

"He's only sleeping," he reassured her. "We need to get him nearer to the fire," he said. Molly nodded in agreement even though she knew they shouldn't move him. She moved to help Nathan lift him but he shook his head at her.

"Let me do that," J.D.'s voice said beside her. He didn't give her a chance to argue, but gently moved her aside and helped Nathan lift Kyle to his feet.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked simply. Neither men knew how to answer her. Why were they helping someone that they had tried to kill or why were they seemingly holding the four of them hostage? Kyle was only half conscious as they slowly moved toward the group by the fire. Jamie, seeing them coming gently laid Brenda down on the ground and walked up to help them. He got on the side that JD was on. Gruffly, he shoved him aside and took Kyle's arm around his shoulders.

"I think you've done enough," he said to him. JD just stood there, not really sure of what he'd done wrong. Then it hit him. He'd been the one to shoot him. He had done this. Molly walked along side them and they got Kyle sitting up against an old log.

"That was rude," Molly said to him softly. She was suprized at the comment that came out of her mouth. Jamie gave her a look that suggested he thought she was nuts.

"He's the one that shot him, Molly. He's part of the group holding us hostage, remember? Or don't you care anymore?" his words caused her to flinch.

"You are a complete jerk, you know that," she said to him, standing up and walking back to where they had moved him from. She bent down to pick up the blanket and the pot. As she looked up she caught sight of the silhouette of the house in the distance. Chris's house. Colum's house. The house that had killed that little boy and his mother. The house she was attacked in. Was someone looking for them? Did anyone notice by now that the four of them were missing? Where exactly were they? What did these men want from them? A million thoughts flew through her mind. She threw the pot and blanket down in frustration and not even able to support her own weight she fell to her knees her face in her hands. She wanted to scream for help, to run as fast as she could to somewhere safe and to know that no one would ever hurt her again. But that knowledge had been taken from her; the knowledge that she could get through a day without something awful happening to her was all but gone and she could never get it back and what little of it that was left was slowly being eaten away by these men. Molly heard someone approach her but she didn't move until she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. She jumped up and saw the man Buck said was named Josiah.

"Kyle's asking for you," he said simply. Molly bent down again to gather the pot and blanket and turned to walk toward the group but he stepped out in front of her. "You're not planning on giving in too easily are you?" The words caused Molly to freeze. "Don't plan on giving in, sweetie?" were the words whispered harshly by her attacker after he'd slammed her head into the floor. This was the second time this man had said or done something that brought back an instant flashback of her attack.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You know what I mean," he answered her.

"No, I really don't," she said to him as she stepped around him and toward the fire. She could hear Brenda singing softly. Brenda stopped singing, a confused look on her face.

"You know, it's funny. I must have played that song a million times and now I can't even remember the first verse all the way through."

"I've never even heard it," JD commented. Molly knelt down beside Kyle and brushed his hair out of his face.

"No, you wouldn't know it would you," she said softly. Then she reached for Brenda's hand and picked up where she had left off. "Time grab's you by the wrist, directs you where to go. So make the most of this test and don't ask why. It's not a question but a lesson learned in time. It's something unpredictable but in the end is right…"she trailed off looking at Kyle's face afraid of hearing herself say the next line. She felt Brenda squeeze her hand and looked up at her. Together each friend gave the other the strength to finish and in perfect harmony they sang the final line of the verse…"I hope you had the time of your life."

Molly didn't remember falling asleep. She woke up startled, not remembering where she was. She was covered with a blanket and seemed to be sleeping on the ground and was still fully clothed. Panicking she sat straight up. As she looked around she started to remember the events from the hours before. Had it really only just been a few hours? She brushed the strands of hair that had fallen in her face away and pushed the blanket off. She turned to face Kyle who was sleeping next to her. She reached out to lightly touch his bandaged arm as if making sure he was real. Looking around her she saw Jamie and Brenda next to Kyle, both asleep. Several of the men were asleep as well. Kyle began to stir and try and sit up.

"No, no don't move," Molly whispered harshly to him, trying to keep him back down. If he moved he could open his wound again. He was shivering, but was sweating. Molly touched her hand to his forehead. It was hot. Great, now on top of everything else, he had a fever which was probably due to an infection because of the gun shot that she indirectly caused. What was she suppose to do? She saw that Nathan was one of the men that wasn't asleep. She stood and turned to walk to him. For the third time, the man called Josiah was standing right next to her.

"What's the matter?" he whispered to her. It took a second for Molly to find her voice.

"Kyle's sick, I think he has a fever," she answered him. Josiah knelt down next to him and placed the back of his hand on his forehead.

"Go get Nathan," he nodded toward the fire where the black man was sitting with a cup in his hand, staring into it. Molly turned and starting walking up to him.

"Nathan?" she said, he turned toward her.

"What is it, what's wrong?" he asked her standing up.

"Kyle's sick, he has a fever and I don't know what to do," Nathan heard the pleading in her voice. He was part of a group of people holding her hostage but she desperately needed to trust him and he got the feeling that was the hardest thing she'd ever had to say. He quickly walked over toward Josiah and Kyle. Molly followed right behind him. Kyle didn't move and he was breathing very shallowly. She debated waking Jamie and Brenda, but what good would it do? Finally after what seemed like hours, Nathan turned to Molly and spoke,

"We need to get this fever down. There's a cold spring not far from the house." He turned to Josiah. "Take her and a couple of canteens and fill them with water from it."

Molly froze. He could have asked the devil himself to go with her and it would not have evoked the fear that Molly felt at that suggestion. She watched as Josiah nodded to him and went to gather the canteens. Nathan gave Molly a look and asked, "Are you okay?" She turned to look at him, not sure how to answer him. What was she suppose to say, 'I think you're sending me off to a secluded area with a man who may have attacked me three months ago?' She managed to nod. Josiah came back with the canteens and a lantern. He handed her a canteen.

"We'd better hurry," he said to her. She nodded again and walked in front of him down the hill. She was completely aware of him behind her and it took all she had to fight the urge to run. He fell in step slightly ahead of her so he could lead the way toward the stream.

Brenda woke up with a start. She turned her head and saw Nathan kneeling over Kyle. She could feel Jamie's arm around her waist. Slowly, so as not to disturb him she moved his arm and stood up. It was then that she realized that Molly was no where in site. She walked up to Nathan.

"Where is Molly?" she asked. He answered without looking up at her.

"Kyle's got a fever, I think his wound is infected," he said to her.

"That's not what I asked," Brenda said, panic rising in her voice. Nathan looked up at her. He wondered for a moment if the two girls were sisters. Both had long, brown hair but where Molly's eyes were a dark brown, Brenda's were a dark shade of blue. He shook the thought from his mind realizing she wasn't backing down from her question.

"She's with Josiah. They went to a stream not far from here to get water…" but Brenda cut him off. She'd only heard the first part of what he had said and it sent her reeling.

"You sent her alone with him?" she yelled. Her voice rose all who were sleeping. Jamie bolted up right and in a second was at Brenda's side.

"Bren, what is it, what's wrong?" he asked her. She was still yelling at Nathan.

"How could you do that?" she demanded from him.

"Do what, what the hell is going on?" Jamie demanded. "Where is Molly?"

"She's with Josiah, alone," Brenda answered.

"What!" Jamie yelled. Everyone started to gather around the small group, trying to figure out what the commotion was about. Brenda didn't wait for a response but turned around and started to run toward where Nathan had said the two had gone. She got about five feet before a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. She tried to shake it off but was forced to turn around and meet the gaze of Chris Larabee.

"Let go," she yelled. He didn't comply.

"Let go of her," Jamie started to move toward the two but was pulled back by Vin.

"You're in no position to be telling anyone what to do," Chris said to him. He moved to pull Brenda behind him and she did what would have gotten most people shot, letting loose with her best dance-line kick she hit him square in the shin. The sudden move caught him off guard and she twisted her way out of his grip and started running down the hill as fast as she could.

Molly realized just how pitch black it was around her. The only light was coming from the lantern that Josiah had. Even if she had to run, how far could she get with out light? The thought made Molly's breath quicken. She couldn't run, not now. Kyle needed her. They walked past the back of the house and Molly shut her eyes against the memories that threatened to overtake her. She could hear the creek as they got closer to it. The ground suddenly got rocky and Molly had to completely concentrate on keeping her balance. They got to the creek and she suddenly felt just how cool the night had become. Josiah handed her the lantern and took the canteen she had been carrying. She watched him fill first one then the other. He turned to face her. Molly felt as though she'd stopped breathing.

"This isn't your fault you know," he said to her. "I know that's what you think and you're wrong."

"You have no idea what you are talking about," Molly snapped at him. She was angry now. How dare he think he could tell her something like that when he had no idea about what was going on.

"Do you think they blame you?" he asked her handing her back a canteen and once again taking the lantern.

"You have no right," Molly yelled at him. She was on the edge now. She knew that deep down Kyle thought she blamed him for what happened to her that night.

"Tell me what happened," he prompted her, taking a step toward her. "Tell me what happened to you." Before Molly could reply, she could hear faint shouting near the campsite. Josiah seemed to hear it too. He walked in front of her then turned back around and offered his hand. She knew if she didn't take is hand and she stumbled she'd be a whole lot worse off then she was now. Then she heard Brenda yelling her name.

"Something's wrong," she whispered. Josiah held up the lantern to get a better look out in front of them. Brenda was running down toward them with Chris right behind her. She got to her friend and threw her arms around her, relieved to see that she appeared alright. Josiah could tell that Chris was reeling and also appeared to be limping slightly. Molly pulled out of her friend's embrace.

"What's the matter, what's wrong?" Molly asked, worried that something had happened to Kyle while they'd been gone.

"Nothing, everything's fine," Brenda answered her.

"Why were you running?" Josiah answered her. Brenda ignored him. She hooked her arm into Molly's and began walking back to the campsite. Once they were out of ear shot of the two men, Molly asked Josiah's question.

"So, why were you running?"

"Maybe they'll find us in the morning. I'm sure that by now everyone is out looking," Brenda said, completely ignoring Molly's question. Molly stopped and turned to face her friend.

"Brenda," she said, exasperated. Brenda couldn't meet the gaze of her friend. How was she supposed to answer? 'I wasn't there for you that night. Every time I ever needed you, you were there and the one time you needed me I wasn't there for you.'

"I just...I wanted to know that you were okay." She sighed and turned to see the two men were now standing near them. She took Molly's arm again and led her back to the campsite. Nathan was near Kyle who looked like he was convulsing. Molly ran up to them and knelt near Kyle. Nathan took the water from Josiah and handed a canteen to Molly along with a rag.

"We need to get him cooled down, fast," he said to her. Molly nodded her understanding and started to unbutton his shirt. Her hands were shaking so badly that she could hardly manipulate them. Nathan's hands came down on top of hers. She looked at him.

"You need to be strong for him," he said to her. "Once we get him cooled down he'll be alright." Molly nodded once again and realized that his hands hadn't moved from the top of hers. He wanted more than a nod from her, he wanted to say something to let him know she truly understood. "Molly, do you understand?"

"Yes." It would have to do. He released her hands and she continued to unbutton his shirt. Jamie and Brenda moved to try and help them. Brenda could tell that this was almost too much for her friend.

"Molly let me," she said to her, reaching for the canteen. Molly pulled away.

"I'm fine," she said.

"No, you're not fine. You're not fine at all. Let me do this." She didn't give her a choice. Molly stood watching Nathan and Brenda try and cool Kyle down. Molly noticed that Chris was standing near by watching them. Molly hated him. He had done this. He was the one that wasn't letting them go. He terrified her and that made her even more angry. She imagined that the man who attacked her was much like him. The thought caused Molly to involuntarily shiver. Josiah stood near by watching her. She was trying so hard to just keep it all inside. She reminded him of his Cheyenne in that way and he knew that this girl had suffered a similar if not identical fate. He saw her shiver and for the first time noticed the light weight shirt that she wore. He bent down and picked up his blanket and walked toward her. He came up along side her and draped the blanket over her shoulders. She jumped, startled out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you." Molly realized that he still had his hands on her shoulders, wear he placed the blanket. She grabbed the ends of the blanket and backed away.

"Thank you," she said. A sudden noise caused all the men to draw their weapons and before Molly had time to react she was on the ground, a hand over her mouth and Josiah's voice in her ear to keep quiet. She was completely frozen, curled up in a ball underneath Josiah's weight. She heard the noise again, someone was walking toward them. What if it was her father or her uncle? These men were fully prepared to shoot now and discuss it later. She squirmed out of desperation, trying to get out of Josiah's grip. She could hear several guns cock at the same time. 'Oh God,' she thought, 'They're going to kill them.' "Molly, stop it," Josiah whispered harshly in her ear and he tightened his already iron like grip on her. Molly did the only thing she could, putting her free hand on top of the one that was on her mouth she dug her nails as hard and deep as she could. "Molly, damn it," Josiah yelled out in pain and pulled his hand off her mouth. He tried to replace it with his other hand but in doing so he had completely let go of her. She shoved away from him. He reached out to pull her back down but all he got was the blanket. Not thinking she ran toward the noise. She sudden appearance of a woman startled her into stopping dead in her tracks. The woman had a gun aimed right at her. Molly could do nothing but scream at the sound of it firing.