A/N: This story takes place during the movie. It’s Dorcas’ point of view. Since nothing is spoken of Dorcas’ background (or any of the others, for that matter) I made up a background for her.

I’m hoping that this story will make sense to everyone, even if they haven’t seen the movie.

--7--

The Pontipees had a name around the town; we never spoke of them much if we could help it. All anyone ever knew was that there were seven of them and they hardly ever came to town. The only Pontipee that ever came to town was the oldest, Adam. I only met him once, the day he took Milly away from us...

--7--

"Girls, the quiltin' bee is in two days, and I hardly have enough fabric to make a blanket, let alone a quilt." Sarah said disappointedly as she looked into her bag of scrap fabric.

Sarah, Liza, Ruth and I were sitting in Ruth's parlour having tea when the subject was brought up. This immediately dampened the mood considerably. We had been looking forward to it, and had all been saving as much fabric as we could spare.

"Gee, I hate to tell all the girls it'll be cancelled." Ruth sighed, "It’d have been so much fun, too."

"Are you sure we don't have enough?" Martha asked. "I mean, surely we must have enough if we combine all of our material?"

"I know I don't have much to contribute. We only had enough fabric this season to make a new dress each, and even then we were pushing it." I sighed and folded my hands together. Sometimes I missed living in the city.

Pa had moved west a few months ago, bringing us all with him. I was torn: excited about settling a new territory and helping to create a new land. The other part of me was scared of what would happen. It was, after all, unsettled country, wild and had yet to be tamed. My fears were assured when I saw the town. It was quaint, and I fell in love with it.

My other fears, ones of not fitting in and not being welcomed by the other girls were assuaged as well. There were hardly any girls in the town, and they all welcomed me with open arms.

It's a hard life out here, but I'm finding that I enjoy it. There are some definite disadvantages, though. Why, in the city, all I'd have to do would be to go to the store and ask if they had any leftover material...

"Girls! Why don't we go ask Mrs. Bixby if she has any extra material that we could use?"

"Dorcas, that's a wonderful idea, why didn't we think of it before?" Sarah said excitedly. "Come on girls; let's get over there right away!"

--7--

We walked as fast as we could over to the Mercantile and entered the store, engulfing Mrs. Bixby.

"We're havin' a quiltin’ bee." Sarah started excitedly.

"We thought you might have some odds and ends," Martha finished quickly.

"I'll see," Mrs. Bixby smiled as she went behind the counted and started poking around under the counters.

We all watched her eagerly until our ears caught the sound of a man talking. I looked up and saw - why it must be Adam Pontipee. He was the only one I'd ever heard of that still dressed in buckskins. He walked over and I looked at him interestedly. He was tall and well-built: the very image of a backwoodsman. He had fiery red hair and a beard to match, his blue eyes piercing.

"Pay him no mind, girls." Mrs. Bixby said firmly as she laid some bolts of cloth on the counter. I looked down at the counter. I was still new enough in town that I didn't want to damage my reputation. Girls were scarce enough in these parts, but having a damaged reputation would kill my chances of getting married in an instant. "Fred, put his things in the wagon, don't keep him waiting."

"Oh I'm in no hurry," the large, powerful man said. "I got all afternoon."

"Well you're wasting your time," Mrs. Bixby said bluntly. "There's not a girl in this town to marry you."

At this I couldn't help looking up at the man. So that's why he's over here and acting so strangely. I must say this is a strange way to go about courting a girl. His eye caught mine and I quickly looked down again.

"I haven't set my mind to something yet, but what I got." He boasted and I raised my head, choosing to fix my eyes on Mrs Bixby's apron. The nerve of that man. I thought angrily as my eyes dropped again. To think that he can just show up and get what he wants. "Whether it's ploughin' twenty acres in a day or droppin' a tree within an inch of where I want it." Impressive, but a real man wouldn't boast about it so much. This man's too proud for me. I decided quickly. "I'm here today to get me a wife. I don't mean to go home empty-handed." I could feel him looking at me appraisingly. Like I was a hunk of meat! "You're all pretty and fresh and young." I couldn't help but smile at the compliment. Maybe he isn't half bad... "I'll keep ya in mind. But I aint deciding on nothing until I look 'em all over." With that he turned and walked out of the mercantile.

"The nerve of that man," Sarah huffed, her pride hurt.

"I've never met a more unpleasant man in my life." Ruth frowned and turned back to Mrs. Bixby. "Now about that material..."

--7--

A/N: The first few chapters will be short until all the action starts taking place.