Three big black dogs came charging down the beach. Their target? Me.

Mila and Kordi had apparently missed me and Brin was just joining in the fun. I rolled around a while in a big pile of doggy kisses and furriness, before I grabbed control and told them to behave.

I got to my feet in time to be hit by a little black girl in full flight, receiving a massive wrap-around hug. Michelle was right behind her. Esther was talking non-stop and Michelle was kissing me and I was definitely reeling.

I managed to move not-so-little Esther to one hip and pull Michelle around to the other side for a side hug when the next wave came in. I guess I had been missed. Even Matilda walked right up to me and scowled directly at me. She then winked and gently rubbed her tummy. Damn that woman was an enigma.

So I was home and I had an entire flock of people and geese with me. The first task was to get everyone up to the camp, then we’d organize work parties to bring the gear in. We wouldn’t have the tipis until the men arrived with the livestock in a few days. That meant some people might be sleeping rough. We did have the tents half of the families had been using back in Camp Town. We’d set those up and pack them with people as needed.

We organized everyone in a column and started the walk to the camp. Patrick and the boat crew stayed behind; they’d be setting up a small camp down there and had everything they needed for the night. Timmons had that under control.

Arrival at our actual campsite was a different story altogether. Complete mayhem, is what I’d call it, and there was no helping it. There would be a lot of confusion, probably for quite a while, until I got to talk to the adults directly. The children, on the other hand, had been cooped up in the boat too long and they basically ran wild. There were women chasing children, who were chasing chickens, who were fleeing for their lives.

The discovery of the chicks brought everything to the point that I thundered “Stop!”

Everyone froze, even Matilda.

“Ladies, please gather your children.” I instructed, “Do that now.”

It worked.

“Sonya, please show the children the chicks, a family at a time.” She moved to round the chicks up.

“Matilda, please get a few ladies to help prepare supper for the group.” She looked around and a few childless ladies stepped forward.

“Holder, Amos, please take the mules and the llama and head down to the landing to gather our gear.” The fellas got in motion.

Now the hard part.

“Michelle, Mouse, Banshee, Mary, come with me.” And I walked off towards the stream.

I didn’t say a word until we got to the bridge and then I simply said, “Michelle first.”

I sat down and lit a cigarette and waited for Michelle to settle next to me. There was a lot to explain, but this first pass was going to have to be quick. I needed her to flex a little here.

“Michelle, some crazy shit happened on my trip.”

“Well, that much is obvious,” she snarkily replied.

“Look, I was grievously injured and not aware of the customs of the Pawnee. Things happened that I didn’t even know were happening. The infection was pretty severe and I was really out of it.”

“OK, you were out of it. But what’s that got to do with those three?” she angrily responded.

“Well, the two Pawnee I kinda traded for. They’re my wives.”

I thought she was going to explode.

“And the white girl?” she asked with a bite.

“Well, I sort of bought her so I could have some coffee.” I meekly offered.

With that she got up and stomped away. She could stomp pretty well, I decided.

I followed her.

“Michelle, I’ve not had intercourse with any of them!” I exclaimed.

“And what the hell does that mean, you bastard?”

“Well, it does mean that it’s been a long time for me and it also means I need your help to sort this mess out. There is a survival need for the two Pawnee and Mary. Well, Mary is another problem. Please just stop and listen before you make any decisions.” I pleaded.

“Ok, Zach, I’ve stopped and I’m listening. You'd better make it good.”

“Our situation here is tenuous, at best. Right now, the Pawnee and the Army are allies, but we can’t really trust either.”

“So what? One of them might just come and wipe us out?” she snapped, sarcastically.

“This is 1822 in the unclaimed territory, so the answer to that is yes. Leavenworth is a greedy prick and the Pawnee are just flat temperamental,” I explained.

“I’m ‘married’ to the daughter of the big Chief in the area even if she is a half-breed, and the other is the sister of a sub-chief who is supposed to be my friend. Even he is a bit tricky and pawned his widowed sister off on me,” I tried to explain.

She was still fuming.

“Michelle, it’s a much longer conversation. But we don’t have time today and there is still a lot to do. However, we do need to do one thing if we can. There is something we have to do for Mary.”

“The slave?” she asked.

So I gave her a very quick rundown on the situation.

“OK,” she said, "I’ll play along, but I want the full story.”

“Story time scheduled, ma’am!” and I gave her a crisp salute.

I called Mouse and Banshee over. They gathered around Michelle and me; it wasn’t exactly a comfortable situation, by any means.

I pulled the cloth bag from the gunsmith out of my pocket and revealed its contents: a pure gold heart-shaped pendant on a very pretty pink ribbon. The pendant had two words inscribed on it: they were ‘Ruth Ann.’ It was highly polished and absolutely fucking beautiful.

Mouse actually jumped up and down and clapped. Michelle said “Oh my god, you are a marvelous man!” Banshee smiled brightly but didn’t say a word.

“Ready?” I asked. They all nodded.

“Mary, come here, please.” I said and pointed at the ground in front of me. Mary came over in a rush as usual, and I asked her to kneel. Michelle looked at me quizzically, but Mouse and Banshee knelt on each side of her, facing her. Mary looked concerned.

I took a knee in front of her and said, “Welcome home, Mary. You belong here now. Since you are home now, I have brought you Ruth Ann’s marker, so you can wear it over your heart and always know where she is.”

I gently handed her the pendant. Mary took it in both hands and stared at it, she looked up at me and asked. “This is Ruth Ann’s marker?”

“Yes,” I said, “We all love you and want you to have it. You don’t have to look for her any more. She’s always with you now.”

Still holding it in both hands, she crushed it to her heart and promptly collapsed into the girls’ arms.

She was sobbing, “I have my baby back…” over and over again.