Will was sitting in the back of the car that his parents were driving. The snow was falling lightly outside the car and the seven year old boy was watching it, quite happy to be heading with his parents and little sister to Horseland for the Christmas holidays. Jimber was already headed in the trailer to Horseland.

The thing about Horseland was that it was like a second home, a home away from home and he liked the fact that he would get to hang out with his younger cousin rather then his four year old sister who could be quite annoying at times, but then Kimmy was still four years old.

"Jingle bell, jingle bell rock, dancing and prancing…" the radio blared and Kimmy sang along. Kimmy seemed more interested in music and singing then she ever did in horses. His parents said that she would come around and begin to like horses too, but for the boy it was to far off to think about.

"Momma… when are we going to get there?" Will muttered. "I mean… I want to ride with Bailey."

"Did you know that Bailey is riding on his own now, and has his own horse?" his father commented.

"So… I was riding then too… this means that we both can ride the horses instead of Bailey riding up with me." Will commented. "That will be fun."

"Maybe you could take Kimmy up on the horse with you then?" his father laughed.

"Kimmy screams whenever she goes near a horse in fright!" Will commented, sinking back into his seat, not happy about the idea of taking his little sister for a ride.

"Oh… maybe this time will be different," his mother smiled.

"That's what you said two weeks ago," the boy muttered. He leaned over to the left and suddenly saw the car coming straight at them, causing him to cover his little sister with his body as it slammed into them and then everything went black.

M

Bailey saw the trailer for his uncle and aunts horses and ran into the barn to tell Alma, her father and his father that the trailer was there. He grabbed his father's arm and dragged him out to the place. "Where are they? Just the trailer's here… I wanted to show Will that I can ride on my own!'

"Now, I am sure that they'll be right along,"

"Can I ride out to meet them?! I can saddle up the horse myself!" the six year old grinned at his father.

"Alright… so long as I double check your work young man, I don't see a problem with it," the man smiled and patted the boy on the head. He watched as the child hurried off and tried to haul the heavy saddle out. "And so long as someone helps you lift that… your still not quite there yet."

Bailey just grinned at his father as he was helped to lift it. Alma's father went and got the horse and brought it out. Both men watched as, after Bailey's father put the saddle on, the boy went about tightening the straps and double checking afterwards. His father then cupped his hands down so that Bailey could step up with his right foot so that he had enough height to reach the stirrup with his left.

"I'm off!" Bailey chirped at them and then rode up the rode towards the entrance to Horseland. He had gotten a ways out when suddenly there was a loud noise. It sounded like wheels trying to get their grip on the ground and then something else. He had no time to contemplate as suddenly, the horse he was on reared. "Stop!"

But Bailey couldn't stop the horse from throwing him to the ground. Bailey's shoulder hurt from the fall and he sat up, his whole left side was numb from the impact with the ground. He glanced up and was trying to figure out how to get back up on the horse as his father always said to do, but the horse was speeding back to Horseland, terrified of what it had heard.

That then gave Bailey the idea that he needed to go and see what was it that had happened and hurried through the tree line. What he saw caused him to choke out a sob as he saw a tangled mess of two cars, one of which looked like his aunt and uncle's car. As he got closer, he saw that it was indeed their car.

He went and looked in and saw that his aunt, uncle and cousin Will were not moving. He couldn't see little Kimmy anywhere. He tried opening the door, but found that it was locked. The windows were smashed in on the front doors, so he reached in and pressed the unlock button. He reached in and shook his uncle, only to find no motion coming from the man, nor his wife.

Bailey bit his lip and hurried back towards Will, not happy about the amount of blood he was seeing, but he had to stomach it to help his family. He shook Will and didn't get a response. He then heard Kimmy crying from her seat and hurried to the other side and opened the door. He unbuckled her from her car seat and helped her out.

She, unlike the others seemed fine, though she seemed to be staggering around, so he held her hand as she cried for her mother and father. He tried to lift his other hand to try to signal for help, but found it was still numb from the fall, so he shifted her tiny hand to his pocket and began to wave, hoping that someone would come by.

A man saw the accident and pulled over. "Are you all right… you two were in an accident?"

"No… my cousin and his family were… Kimmy's the only one awake,"

"If you weren't in there, then what about your arm?"

"I fell of my horse when it reared from hearing the accident," the boy stammered out, trying not to cry. "Please help."

"I know you… your father owns Horseland," the man said, moving first from one person to another feeling their necks for some reason. He started with Bailey's aunt and shook his head sadly and then his uncle, then moved to Will. A smile sprung for a few seconds onto his face, which Bailey took to mean that something was very wrong with his aunt and uncle, but not so much so with Will."

The man got onto his phone and dialed out and checked the driver of the other vehicle, who was starting to come too. "Hi… I am in need of medical assistance over by Horseland… there has been a car accident. I have three injured, no make that four. I need one of them life lined out of here ASAP. I also need the mortician out here… I would rather not say why as I have young ears here."

"So… does aunt or uncle need the life line?" Bailey asked as the man walked up. The man raised his eyebrow. "I mean… there are four in the cars, right… and you said four injured."

"The four injured are your cousin in the car, Kimmy here… because she is so young she needs to be checked out, the driver of the other car and you from your fall of your horse."

"I'm fine…" Bailey muttered. "What about Will's mom and dad!"

"Child… I think your father will need to explain it to you when he gets here. I am going to call him now, alright?"

Bailey bit his lip and tried to keep the tears from falling.

M

Alma was waiting impatiently for Bailey to come back from going out to meet Will and the others. He was lucky to be allowed to ride horses so soon, but then again, the boy spent even more time with them then she did. He also had a bunch of cousin's riding horses on their own before even he could do this.

It was then that she saw the horse that Bailey had ridden out on come tearing back and her eyes went wide. "Papa! Papa! Bailey's horse came back and he isn't on it! Something's wrong!"

This frantic call in Spanish caused both her dad and Mr. Handler to come running out. It was Mr. Handler who grabbed the reigns of the horse first and worked to calm it down. Mr. Rodriquez had a worried look on his face too. "Bailey is a good rider…"

"He's also rather new," Mr. Handler muttered under his breath, but Alma heard him. "I shouldn't have let him go… his mother is going to kill me."

"From the way the horse is spooked… I think you are I would have had a problem staying on," the other man muttered. "Something bad must have happened."

"I'm going to go get my gun… if it's a wild animal…" this caused Alma to gasp, as she knew that it was serious if one got the guns out. "Please get two horses ready to go."

"I'm going too!" Alma commented, wanting to be helpful.

"Not this time Alma," her father said, hurrying off. The two horses were there ready when Mr. Handler came back. It was then that his cell phone rang. Her father raised his eyebrow. "Bailey doesn't have one of the phones on him, does he?"

"No… and the walkie-talkies wouldn't patch through to a regular phone," he clicked the phone on. "Hello?"

Alma and her father watched as Bailey's father suddenly turned pale. When he hung up, Alma tugged his sleeve. "News about Bailey Mr. Handler?"

"Yes… he's alright, other then possibly his shoulder…" Mr. Handler muttered slowly.

"But…"

"My sister and her husband were in a car wreck. She and he are dead… the kids… Kimmy is being taken in a regular ambulance, but Will… their calling in the life line for him… and Bailey was the one who found them. The horse spooked because it heard the car wreck…"

"Can I go now that it isn't a wild animal?" Alma asked, only to have both men shake their heads at her.

~H~

The first thing that Bailey heard was the helicopter coming through the sky. His eyes went wide as he saw it land in the road near where they were. People who lived near by were coming out to see what was going on too. He continued to bite his lip as he saw Will be placed onto the gurney and be put onto the helicopter. Kimmy cried seeing her brother leave.

The next thing he new was that a black car drove up, followed by a couple of ambulances. A man got out of the car and went to feel the necks of his aunt and uncle and scribble down some notes. He saw then that his aunt and uncle were also placed on gurneys, but this time there were black bags. They were zipped up and Kimmy began to scream her head off.

"Aunt and uncle need to breathe, don't they?" Bailey commented, causing the man to look up at him.

"Didn't anyone explain this to him?" the man asked.

"I'm leaving it to his father to tell him," the man who found them sighed.

"Tell me what!" Bailey snapped, becoming angry. He crossed both arms, finding that the numbness was gone and replaced with a pain. It was then that his father rode up with Alma's father.

"Bailey!" the man called, and Bailey spun around, his eyes wide. He and Kimmy found themselves scooped in a hug.

"Dad… they won't tell me why they are putting Aunt Jenny and Uncle Daris into the black bags… they said you would have to explain it to me…"

Bailey's father brushed the boy's hair out of his eyes. "Bailey… your aunt and uncle didn't make it through the crash… they died."

"No… but that means that Kimmy and Will don't have a mommy and daddy any more," the boy suddenly sobbed. A thought accrued to him and he sobbed harder. "Is Will going to die?"

His father's only answer was to hug him tighter.

M

Bailey sat in the waiting room of the hospital with his father. Mr. Rodriquez was back at Horseland running things and letting the other family members that were coming in for the holidays know what was going on. The little boy's arm was in a sling and he was told not to move or aggravate it for a couple of days, whatever that meant.

It wasn't a bad injury, defiantly not anywhere near as bad as what Will had sustained. Kimmy was also being looked over and he was worried that something very bad was likely wrong with her too. His arm hurt, but his chest hurt too… not from falling from the horse, but from the tears he was trying to hold back.

His head startled up as he saw his grandmother and one of his Aunt's hurry in. His grandmother cupped his father's face in her hands. "Tell me it isn't so!"

"Both are dead… Kimmy needs a place to stay now…" the man sighed. "She will be fine, but they want to keep her over night…"

"What about Will!" Bailey commented, panic in his voice.

"There is also the fact that Will might not make it…" the man mumbled. "I'm sorry kiddo, but I can't change it… all we can do is hope."

"How did you hurt your arm Bailey dear…" his Aunt asked.

"I… fell of a horse…" Bailey choose not to look in his grandmother's eyes.

"And… you didn't get back on?" his grandmother asked.

"Well… he ran off… and…" the boy stopped.

"He found the accident mother…" causing both women to pause for awhile.

"No… a child shouldn't witness that…" his Aunt muttered.

"And they say the driver of the truck was driving drunk…"

"We haven't been approached by lawyers yet…" his grandmother asked.

"Why would lawyers approach us… we haven't done anything wrong… aren't they supposed to get criminals off?" Bailey asked.

This brought a chuckle from his Aunt. "Bailey, sweetheart… lawyers also put those people away… there are always two lawyers… on each side."

"Well… the people down at the general store don't like lawyers… why would they approach us?"

"Because if that man was drunk Bailey…" his father stopped.

"This was an accident… right…" Bailey asked.

"Not if he was drunk…" his grandmother commented. "Driving drunk is against the law because it makes it so that you can hurt people… it becomes…"

"Bailey… we'll talk about this when you get older… just know things are going to be different," the man commented.

"So… what does this nephew of mine want for Christmas?"

"I want Will… I was going to play with him… and give him his Christmas present…" the boy said.

"Didn't you ask for anything for Christmas…" his Aunt continued, only to be pulled aside, his grandmother following behind them.

"Bailey asked for his own horse for Christmas," his father whispered.

"I hope this is only because he's bumped Will's importance up," his Aunt commented.

"No…" his Grandmother commented. "He should have been able to get right back up on that horse… but he wasn't… and considering that this situation isn't normal…"

"I hope that Bailey hasn't lost confidence in himself…" his father commented. "He's never had a lack of confidence in himself… nor has he been afraid of the horses… I hope that this doesn't end up being a problem."

"What are you guys talking about?" Bailey asked in his seat.

His Aunt went over to talk to Bailey. "Aunt Irim and Uncle Carm want to take Kimmy to live with them."

"What?" Bailey's father commented.

"It would be a good home for a little girl," the older lady said.

"But what about Will!" Bailey started. "You can't separate Will and Kimmy…"

"If Will gets better… he'll need therapy for awhile… horses are good therapy… Kimmy on the other hand… has a fear of horses and won't go near them."

"You aren't afraid of horses are you?" his Aunt asked.

"No… I don't think so… I don't think I could be… could I… I don't get why you are asking… Will is going to get better, right?" the boy said.

"Bailey… you want to go home with me and help Mr. Rodriquez with the horses?" his father asked.

Bailey's eyes went wide. "I want to be here when Will wakes up!"

The three adults could only look at themselves and shake their heads.

M

When no one was looking, Bailey snuck out to see Jimber, Will's horse. He went and touched the horse's soft nose. "Sorry that I don't have anything for you boy. You probably miss Will right about now… I do too."

"I am worried that he won't come back," the horse whinnied.

"Everyone is worried that he won't make it… you, Bailey and me," said a very young border collie.

It was then that Bailey heard footsteps outside and stopped what he was doing. His father and Mr. Rodriquez were talking. "I am worried that my mother is right… that Bailey won't be able to ride because he's afraid to get back on a horse."

"Bailey is very strong willed… don't worry… and if need be, my Alma can talk to him," the other man laughed.

"I think Bailey would prefer a pep talk from Will right now," his father sighed. "He said that he wishes for Will to get better for Christmas, but the doctors say that is impossible."

"No problem with wishing for the impossible… so long as one isn't disappointed when it just doesn't happen."

"I get the feeling that Bailey is going to be very disappointed… and if Will dies on us too… good grief… losing my sister and her husband was bad enough, but if we lose Will… the family is already having arguments about all of this and one of my brother's is not on speaking terms."

"Not to mention your father is showing no emotion about all of this,"

It was then that they were gone. Bailey turned to the horse. "Am I afraid to get back on… maybe… maybe I am…"

M

Christmas came to quickly for Bailey. His arm was taken out of the sling and he was told he could ride again, but his mind was for once not on horses, but on whether or not his cousin was going to get better or not. His cousin was still in that deep sleep that they called a comma and it had lasted a couple of weeks already.

Christmas morning he got up and hurried to get dressed, pulling on his clothes. His child's mind was still set on one thing and he went and banged on the door to his parents room. "Wake up! Please!"

"Bailey… it's four o'clock in the morning," his mother sighed. "Can't you wait for the rest of the family to wake up to open your presents?"

"But… I want to go see Will…" the young boy commented.

"Bailey… Will is still in a comma," his father got up and was coming out to see his son.

"No… Will is not… remember… you asked… you asked…"

"I believe that your Aunt asked that. Bailey… sometimes Christmas wishes don't come true… you do know that, right?"

"But… Will has to get better… he's my best friend…" the younger boy commented. "Are you sure that he hasn't gotten better?"

"I am positive kiddo… the hospital would have called if he was,"

"Oh… I'm going back to bed," the boy muttered.

"That… was to easy…" his mother commented. It wasn't until later that she figured out how easy it really was. She went to go get him to open presents with the rest of the family, but found that he wouldn't open his door. So, she ended up opening the door herself. "Don't you want to see what you got for Christmas."

"No… I already know I didn't get what I really wanted. Why did this have to happen,"

"I don't know sweetie… you know… Kimmy is going to be going away to live with a new family… why don't you come down stairs and pretend that everything is going to be alright for her sake… that's one of the reasons why we held off on the funeral… so she might have a normal Christmas…"

"Or is it because you think Will is going to die to and that it would be best to bury all three of them at the same time…" the boy muttered.

"Bailey… how could you say such a thing… that isn't true… in case you want to know… Will has made improvements, though very small… but even if he does recover, there is the chance he might not be the same person due to the accident,"

M

Christmas came to quickly for Bailey. His arm was taken out of the sling and he was told he could ride again, but his mind was for once not on horses, but on whether or not his cousin was going to get better or not. His cousin was still in that deep sleep that they called a comma and it had lasted a couple of weeks already.

Christmas morning he got up and hurried to get dressed, pulling on his clothes. His child's mind was still set on one thing and he went and banged on the door to his parents room. "Wake up! Please!"

"Bailey… it's four o'clock in the morning," his mother sighed. "Can't you wait for the rest of the family to wake up to open your presents?"

"But… I want to go see Will…" the young boy commented.

"Bailey… Will is still in a comma," his father got up and was coming out to see his son.

"No… Will is not… remember… you asked… you asked…"

"I believe that your Aunt asked that. Bailey… sometimes Christmas wishes don't come true… you do know that, right?"

"But… Will has to get better… he's my best friend…" the younger boy commented. "Are you sure that he hasn't gotten better?"

"I am positive kiddo… the hospital would have called if he was,"

"Oh… I'm going back to bed," the boy muttered.

"That… was to easy…" his mother commented. It wasn't until later that she figured out how easy it really was. She went to go get him to open presents with the rest of the family, but found that he wouldn't open his door. So, she ended up opening the door herself. "Don't you want to see what you got for Christmas."

"No… I already know I didn't get what I really wanted. Why did this have to happen,"

"I don't know sweetie… you know… Kimmy is going to be going away to live with a new family… why don't you come down stairs and pretend that everything is going to be alright for her sake… that's one of the reasons why we held off on the funeral… so she might have a normal Christmas…"

"Or is it because you think Will is going to die to and that it would be best to bury all three of them at the same time…" the boy muttered.

"Bailey… how could you say such a thing… that isn't true… in case you want to know… Will has made improvements, though very small… but even if he does recover, there is the chance he might not be the same person due to the accident,"

"This is for Kimmy, right?" Bailey suddenly sat up. "And no one else?"

"Yes."

"I'll do it… I'll open my presents," the boy then got up and out of bed.

M

Bailey's suspicion that they were waiting for Will to die to hold the funeral was found to be wrong when a couple days after Christmas the funeral was held. He watched as they all walked through the snow and he hurried to keep up, as did Kimmy… they both were small and it was hard to keep up with the adults.

But then Alma was having an easier time keeping up with everyone, something he didn't quite understand until she dropped back to be with his and his little cousin, who was clutching his hand, oblivious still to the fact that her parents were dead and her big brother was in the hospital.

"I know that you don't want to go any where, but don't let grief get to you… that's what my grandmother once told me… at least a rough translation of it," the girl sighed.

"I miss them… and I miss Will,"

"If you missed him so much, then why haven't you been taking care of Jimber for him? I've been stuck helping dad with it and you should be doing it,"

"If I go out to the barn, they'll make me ride… I'm not quite ready to get back up on a horse," Bailey sighed, then gave Alma a shocked look as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"This is so not the Bailey I know," she commented.

"I don't feel good…" Bailey looked away from her. "I really don't feel good about this."

"Who doesn't…" the girl sighed. "Look at all these people dressed in black."

"Do you think Will will make it?" the boy asked suddenly. "I've heard adults talking, and they don't think so."

"It's not a matter of what I believe but what I hope will happen. It's only been a small amount of time. My father says that there was a small bit of recovery… even though it was his body and not his mind that did so."

"I see…" Bailey muttered.

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to," Alma commented. "But I am there for you… that is what best friends are for… and when ones best friend is a girl… they get to scrutinize your girlfriends and make sure they are right for you."

"Eww!" Bailey suddenly made a disgusted face. He then laughed. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Yes… you might think about letting your mom cut your hair back to being short…" Alma commented.

"I like it…" Bailey muttered. There then was pretty much silence, except for the preachers speaking over the grave site.

M

Will felt blackness around him and heard some people crying near him. He strained to hear who they were. He could make out his cousin Bailey's voice and Bailey's parents, not to mention numerous other family members, but he couldn't make out his own parents. Why were Bailey's parents here and not Will's. Something wasn't right.

That was what made Will begin to push to get out of the darkness and look for a way out. It wasn't easy, but he had to find out why everyone was so upset about everything that was going on with the whole darkness thing. He heard a beeping sound and his eyes, though heavy, slid open finally.

He found himself at the hospital with Mr. Rodriquez, one of the hands at Horseland sitting beside him and the nurses hurrying around. "Where…"

"Ssshh… your aunt and uncle… they needed some rest so I told them to go home. Many people have been keeping a constant vigil on you Will,"

"Mom… dad…" Will sputtered out, worry in his eyes.

"They were killed instantly in the crash. Kimmy was alright and went to stay with another one of your relatives,"

"I see…" Will found himself falling back to sleep. When he came to again, he found his uncle in the chair in the corner and Bailey asleep across him. He placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, accidently waking him.

"I was scared you would die too Will…" Bailey suddenly sobbed and hugged the older boy. "Why did that have to go happen!?"

"Because things do… I guess…" Will was wondering the same question.

"Mom and dad say… you can come live with us… that…" Bailey couldn't continue but continued to hold onto the older boy. He then sobbed out "It was horrible… I saw the accident… I… saw them and I didn't know they were dead… and they wouldn't tell me they were… and I got thrown off the horse when the cars collided… and then I found you… and only Kimmy woke up."

"You… saw… the accident," Will knew from what he still felt and what he remembered feeling that the accident had been very bad. It was likely that Bailey was going to be scared for life.

"But you're alright… that's what matters… we're still family,"

M

Will was out feeding Jimber some carrots when Bailey snuck into the barn to do the same thing. He glanced up at his young cousin. "Have you been taking care of Jimber for me? I'd like you to continue for awhile until I can ride and lift the shovel."

"I didn't take care of Jimber… I just fed him carrots and sugar cubes…" Bailey commented.

"Oh come on… I bet you've been aching to ride him, haven't you? The older boy teased. "I won't mind since you don't yet have your horse yet and Jimber needs his exercise. I remember that you've been wanting your own ever since I got him."

"Not anymore…" Bailey muttered trying to not look his cousin in the face.

Will turned and glared at his younger cousin. "I thought you liked riding."

"I don't ride anymore… I've been… I've been hiding in my room," Bailey commented. "I haven't ridden since I fell of the horse."

"You have to get back on when you fall off or this kind of thing happens… you become afraid…" Will muttered.

"But… there were no adults around… and…"

"And what other excuse do you have…"

"That sound the cars crashed when he threw me… it was horrible!" Bailey blurted out. "I never want to hear a sound like that ever again.

Will suddenly bit his lip. "Bailey… promise me something. If I can get into a motor vehicle without cowering, you'll get back up on a horse."

"Well…" Bailey had seen how his cousin had reacted to riding in the car since the accident and didn't think it possible. "Fine… I promise."

Will watched as the boy disappeared. "If I can face my fear… so can you."

M

Will had told his plan to his uncle and the man had thought it was a wonderful idea. He went and had Rodriquez pull out the horse trailer and began to put Jimber on it. Bailey came out, panic in his voice. "You aren't selling Will's horse are you?"

"No… just taking him to the Doc's for a checkup," his father commented. "Want to come?"

Bailey, not thinking anything of it climbed into the cab of the truck. As his father turned the keys, the door opened. Will stammered out nervously. "Scoot over Bailey… I'm going too."

"Why," the boy asked.

"Because Jimber's my horse and my responsibility," the boy snapped.

"I'm sorry I didn't take care of him for you!" Bailey snapped back.

"Knock it off you two… it is bad enough as it is already!" the man said pulling out of the drive.

Bailey noticed that Will wasn't cowering, even though he was still shaking. "We aren't going to go and take Jimber for a check up… are we?"

"No…" his father sighed. "And yes… it is just convenient that Jimber actually needs one."

They got out of the truck when they got to the place and while Jimber got his checkup. Bailey was now the one biting his lip. "I have to keep my end of the bargain… don't I?"

"Yes…" Will nodded his head. He held out a horse tether. "You didn't think I would force you to free range and free ride him though."

Bailey let out a weak smile. When Jimber was brought back out, he was saddled and Bailey was helped up into the saddled. At first, he felt like panicking, then the sensation of being somewhere he actually felt comfortable with allowed him to push Jimber forward. He was still nervous… but he and Will knew they were both going to make it and completely overcome their fears.