"Man, this takes me back," Buck said, chewing vigorously.

JD frowned. "Gum?"

"Mmm," he agreed, the sound humming in his throat. "Tastes like springtime. Not just any gum, y’know. Can’t be mint or cinnamon flavored. Gotta be that sweet, pink, perfect bubblegum."

"What’s so special about bubblegum?"

"Memories, kid. Buy a pack of baseball cards, tear it open and pop that piece of brick-hard gum in your mouth. Gather your friends and see if you’d got your favorite player. Stick the card in your bike spokes and ride away to adventures unknown."

"Sounds like fun."

"It was, kid. It was."

"You aimin’ to take up ranchin’?"

Josiah looked to Vin in confusion. "What?"

"Every time we ride patrol past a herd of cows, you get a funny grin on your face."

He smiled. "They take me back to when I was young and my family traveled to India. Hindu’s consider cows sacred. Let ‘em walk right through the house whenever they please."

"Don’t that get a little messy?"

Josiah laughed. "Sometimes, but it’s considered a blessing. The good things in life are worth a little mess."

Recalling the complicated friendship he shared with six other men, Vin nodded.

"Reckon so."

The whip-crack sounded through the air as the stage-coach driver urged his team to greater speed. They had a deadline to make.

Inside the coach, Nathan Jackson flinched as the whip sounded, then sounded again. He hated that noise. It took him back to days he wanted only to forget, making the scars that covered his back itch and tingle with remembered pain. Ten years he’d carried those scars. Years since he’d angered the plantation master to the point of violence.

Still, the last laugh was his. Massah Jackson was dead and he was free. Nothing would ever change that.

The child sighed at the gentle touch of a hand stroking his hair.

"It’s late. You should be asleep," Chris whispered smiling at the nine year old boy he had recently adopted.

"Almost am," Ezra murmured. "Don’t stop."

Chris resumed petting the thick auburn curls. "Like that, do you?"

"Mother used to do it when she thought I wasn’t awake to know. I think it meant she loved me."

Sadness filled Chris’ eyes. What child could only guess about something like that? Leaning over, he kissed Ezra’s temple. "I know it did."

The boy smiled contentedly as he fell asleep.

As they exited the terminal doors at LAX and moved towards the taxi stand, Josiah took a deep breath. "Love that smell."

"Smog?" Ezra asked incredulously. "Surely you’re joking."

"Nope," he said. "I know it sounds funny, but I spent second through fifth grade here. Every time I get a whiff of that thick L.A. smog it takes me back. It’s a beautiful thing."

"I’ve heard of beauty being in the eye of the beholder, but never the nostrils!"

Josiah grinned. "We’re on vacation. What do you say we go make a few new sensory impressions?"

Ezra chuckled. "Lead on!