Endearment

This award is for the most endearing moment or scene in fanfiction. When did you sniffle slightly, wishing it was you in that story? Or smile that silly smile of a hopeless romantic? The story must be done, unfinished stories will be rewarded next year!

And the nominees are:

Author and story	Scene/moment	Nominator and motivation
Kirsten Shadow of Intrigue at The Young Riders Saddlin' Station	The epilogue	Aimee The epilogue of this story is probably one of the most endearing Kid and Lou scenes I've ever read. (I won't post it here, because I don't want to give away the ending if you haven't read the story, but if you haven't you really should!) It's sweet, a little humorous, and Kid and Lou's personalities are captured perfectly.
Raye Circle of Gold at Riders Ranch	"I bought it for me.” She didn’t meet his eyes and missed the questioning look on his face. “I saw it.. and I bought it... and kept it, in the bottom of my trunk.” Lou took a step closer, a foot or two from the head of his shadow. “There was a couple in the store. Young and so very in love. Her hand never left his arm and his eyes... they never left her face. I couldn’t help but stare through the window. I had stopped to look in at the dresses and... dream a bit. Instead, I found something even more out of my reach. Love, the kind of real love that can happen between a man and a woman.” The toe of one boot scuffed at the dirt and hay behind her, “I could see my reflection in the glass, fuzzy and out of focus but still there. I was dirty, caked in dust from a ride and still a ‘man’. I watched him pay for a ring and place it on her finger, kissing her in front of everyone.” Her mouth went dry as the emotions flooded back. “They left and still, there I was, standing there on the walk, staring at myself in the glass. I wondered why. Why had I taken on this life? Why I hid myself behind these grubby clothes and useless glasses? Why I’d ever talked myself into this .... make believe game.” Lou’s shoulders bobbed up and down with her uneven breathing. “Why I’ve let it go on so long?” She looked up again, a feral look receding from her eyes. “I took off my glasses and stood there, looking right into my own eyes. I took a deep breath and let myself see it.” She stepped onto his shadow and made it to the center of its chest before she continued. “I saw the person behind the act. I saw me.” “I am ... I am the oldest sister in a family of three orphans... I am a capable of making a life for us with ‘honest money’.” Her cheeks colored with some secret memory. “I am a Pony Express rider... and...I am a woman... always.” Some of the tears had dried high on her cheeks and had survived the cursory cleaning and now, as she stepped closer, the light from the door reached her face over his shoulder. “I can have that kind of love one day. I can have a man to love me for who I am... because now, I know just who that is.” Reaching into his pocket, he held the ring out, letting it flare with the sunlight. She took it, her hands steady and sure, “I am Louise McCloud.” Lou took in a deep breath and looked straight into his eyes.	Karen This is a tender story. It was a pleasant surprise.
Laney Broken Promises at PonnyExpressen	She stirred in his arms, and he shifted slightly trying to help her find a comfortable position. He didn't want her out of his arms and yet he had a momentary panic as his heart began to beat faster and his senses heightened. The feel of her against him and the memories of their lovemaking were enough to fill him with longing and need. If he were presented with her upturned face at that moment, her soft and inviting lips, he was fairly certain he wouldn't have the strength to resist. At last, he could hear her even breaths again, feel the rising of her chest and knew that she was once more asleep. He closed his eyes, attempting to block out all thoughts of her and when failing miserably at that he allowed himself one small gift. He rested his cheek in her hair, brushing his lips against her temple and whispered, "I could never forget you," knowing that only the cold of the night would hear.	Kim R Earlier in the story, Buck lied to Jane about why he didn't keep his promise to return for her. Their situation seemingly irreparable, making up an excuse must have been less painful for him that admitting the truth. But on a cold night, the two of them alone on the prairie after a near disaster, we see his true feelings. We don't often get to see this side of Buck and its just so darn well written that I can read this passage over and over again and it never looses that wonderful bittersweet feeling.
Nesciri Fragile Bonds at Vaya Con Dios, Ike! and Riders Ranch	`Buck suddenly felt tears forming in his eyes and he turned away. Years of longing and anger weren't so easily dismissed but something in Ike's gentle touch had reached out and touched his heart. He could not be angry with his friend, his brother. Carefully wiping away the wetness in his eyes, he closed them for a second before returning to Ike.` "I love you too, my brother," he whispered and held out his hand. A joyous smile spread in Ike's face as he cheerfully ignored the hand and instead reached up to embrace Buck in a warm hug. It would take time for things to be back to normal, or as normal they could be with his real brother by his side, but they were on the right way.	Charla This scene says it all:
Kim R Home Fires at PonnyExpressen	Kid reached into his breast pocket for Lou's photograph. In the darkness he could only fondle the worn frame, but that was all right. He didn't need to see her likeness to know she was still there. Kid closed his eyes and in the warm numbness he could see her face - the perfect bow of her lips and the soft pink color that rose to her cheeks when she smiled at him, the way she leaned into him when his hand cupped her face. He could almost feel the heat that sparked between her lithe little body and his in the dark hours. The thought warmed him even then. Kid wrapped himself a little tighter and tilted his head back. The night lay over him like a velvet comforter and it helped some to know that the same sky blanketed Lou, too . . . miles away where it was safe and warm and home fires were burning.	Jeanette Again Kim dazzles with this endearing scene of Kid reminiscing about his wife, Lou. He has been away at war for quite awhile and through all the killings and blooshed, and bouts of near insanity, this scene touched that sacred part of the human soul...
Lori Olsen Can't Be Really Gone at Ponnyexpressen , Writer's Ranch	His shirt was lying over the back of the chair. It was his shirt, but she always wore it to bed and he’d long since given up trying to reclaim it. From the start of their marriage, she’d always worn one of his shirts to bed. Her petite frame was always swallowed up in them, but she would roll up the sleeves and laugh at the silliness of it all. He would laugh and tease her, but he loved seeing her in his shirt. In the mornings when she would hang it over the back of the chair after she dressed, he would wait till she was gone and then pick it up and smell in her clean scent before following her out of the room. He ran his fingers lightly over the fabric, leaving it lie exactly as she’d placed it that last morning.	Jeanette The beautiful thing about this story is the way Lori reaches out to touch us and pull us in into a world where a love was lost and even how the simplest things make us value the relationships we hold so dear.