Chris Larabee entered the saloon to find Ezra in his usual place and in his usual state. Ezra did not seem to be coping to well after the incident with the bankrobbers that he had been involved with - which was because he had lost his memory - but Ezra blamed himself for the death of the bank teller as though he had pulled the trigger himself. Chris went over to him.

"Ezra don't you think that you have had enough to drink?" he asked.

"If I am still standing Mr Larabee then I have not had enough libations." spat Ezra. He was very angry and he had been for a while and he was also using that anger to keep his friends away.

"You know I am starting to get a bit sick of your self pity." growled Chris.

"Oh really." smiled Ezra not caring what Chris thought.

"It wasn't your fault Ezra and it's about time you realised that."

"So you and everybody else keep telling me and I am getting quite sick of it myself."

Chris gave up as he always did and went to join Vin and Josiah at the table that they were occupying. "We really need to do something about Ezra," Chris stated, "there is going to come a time when we are going to need him and he is going to be too drunk to help."

"What can we do? We have tried talking to him but he won't listen." said Vin as he watched Ezra try and make his way to his room. He watched Ezra nearly fall but he was able to pick himself up and keep going.

"I think that it is going to come to the point where we are going to have to lock him in a room and make him listen." growled Chris.

"Chris you can't make him listen to something that he does not want to hear or believe." said Josiah. "The best thing would be to try and get him to accept what happened." Josiah began to get up. "I am going to try and talk to him again."

Josiah followed Ezra up to his room, he didn't knock and when he entered he found Ezra sitting on the floor leaning against the wall. Ezra looked up at him as he came in and a scowl crossed his handsome features. "What do you want, oh don't tell me, your going to say how it was not my fault and that I should not feel sorry for myself. Well you have said it now so get out."

Instead of leaving Josiah went over and sat down next to Ezra. "I want you to tell me it was not your fault." Josiah looked at him and he could see the self hatred that had grown in Ezra over the last week. "And if you won't do that can't you at least accept what happened and get on with your life."

"Just get out Josiah." muttered Ezra.

"You need to move on Ezra, this is eating away at you. Look at yourself, your a mess. Your loosing weight again because you won't eat anything. All you do is drink until you pass out."

"Get out of my room Josiah." growled Ezra.

"Talk to me Ezra."

Ezra managed to get up and he walked over to the door of his room. "Get the hell out!" he yelled at Josiah.

But he stayed sitting on the floor. Ezra through the bottle of whiskey that he still had in his hand at Josiah. The bottle missed him by two inches but the bottle shattered spraying Josiah with glass and whiskey. Josiah got off the floor and walked over to Ezra. He looked at him but Ezra could not return the gaze, instead he looked down at the floor. Josiah did not say anything to him. After he left Ezra slammed the door shut and went and sat back down on the floor. He didn't want to sleep, he had to many nightmares these days. He had not told anyone about them as it was bad enough as it was. He was full on anger and selfhatred over what happened. He tried to get away from it by getting drunk but it didn't help, he still felt the same way drunk as he did when he was sober.

He eventually fell asleep on the floor. He was to tired to stay awake to long and after only a few minutes the nightmares began. He dreamt of being in the bank, he could see George behind the counter, he could see his gun arm come up and point in the direction of the person in front of him. He watched as he pulled the trigger. He tried to stop himself but he couldn't do it. He saw George go down, the blood ozzing from the wound in his chest. He was then in the street with Sam to one side of him and Chris in front. When it actually happened it was Ezra who was shot, but every time in his dream it was Chris that was gunned down and it was by Ezra's gun. And each time it happened Ezra woke with a jerk, the scream still in his throat.

The following day four men entered Four Corners. They were bounty hunters looking for two wanted men. They headed to the saloon. Most bounty hunters went to see the Sheriff first but not these four as they were not your normal bounty collectors. They did not always work for the law and in this case they were working for two different men each with their own reasons for wanting the lawmen. There was a bounty on their heads and as it was Dead or Alive they were going to collect two rewards. One from the men who wanted them and then one from the law after they were handed in dead.

They entered the saloon and headed towards a table in the corner. As they sat down they saw one of the bounties that they were after.

Halen smiled. "There's one of them." he nodded towards the table that Vin Tanner was sitting at. He recognised Vin from the wanted poster that he was given. He had a description of the other one but it would not be to hard to spot a gambler. "Jerry why don't you go and get us a drink and we will wait for the other one to show up and then we will figure out how we are going to get them out of town without their friends knowing about it.

It wasn't until late afternoon that Ezra showed his face. He had managed to shave and make himself presentable but that was all. You could tell that he had not had much sleep and he was also pale. And his clothes were becoming baggy again. The others were beginning to think that they would never see him in a healthy state again. As usual he did not join his friends at their table. He had seen Chris, Vin and Buck watching him as he came down the stairs but he ignored them. He went straight out the front door of the saloon. He didn't feel like a drink, it didn't help him but he did feel like a strong cup of coffee.

Halen had also seen Ezra come down the stairs and he told his commrades that he was the second man that they were hired to collect. And from the look of him he decided that they were not going to have much trouble with him. They sat there for a while longer deciding what their plan was going to be.

Ezra had nearly reached the restaurant when he bumped into Mary Travis. He hadn't really been looking where he was going. He found it hard to look the townspeople in the eye as every time he did all he saw was disgust, he knew they blamed him to.

"Mr Standish how are you doing this morning." asked Mary trying to hide the concern that she felt as she knew that it would just make him angry.

"I am fine thank you Mrs Travis, now if you will excuse me I have somewhere to go." he tipped his hat and continued on before she could say anything else. Once Ezra had gotten himself some coffee he sat on the porch of the local store watching people as they went by seeing what he wanted to see on their faces - dissaproval.

The four men in the saloon had decided on a plan. First they would take the gambler and while the others were distracted looking for him they would then take Tanner.

Mary was returning to the Clarion when she saw Ezra sitting outside the general store. Stopped and sat down beside him. He did not look at her. She did not say anything when she first saw him because he would have been angry but she could not just walk past him and leave him the way he was. She could see the expression on his pale face and she also saw that his clothes no longer really fitted him, he must not have eaten all week she thought to herself. The others had tried to help him but he would not accept their help. They had told her what happened, she had not been in town at the time as she had been visiting Judge Travis.

"Ezra." she used his first name thinking that under the circumstances it would be better.

"Yes Mrs Travis." he looked up at her.

She caught her breath at the sight of the pain that his eyes held. "Is there anything that I could do for you? I know that you don't want to talk about it but if there was anything else." she put her hand on his.

Ezra withdraw his hand away from Mary's. "No Mrs Travis there is nothing you can do for me. Thankyou for the kind offer though." he forced a smile to his lips but it did not reach his eyes.

Mary was saddened by what he was going through. "Well, if there is anything just let me know." She smiled back at him and then got up. She walked away looking back over her shoulder at him.

Ezra sat for a moment longer and the decided that he could do with a drink after all. He was passing by an alley way when two men stepped in front of him. One of them holding a gun. "Mr Standish would you please step this was and if you pull that derringer from your sleeve I will shoot you here and now."

"And what do you intend to do once we are in there?" he asked. He didn't really care and he was to down within himself to want to put up much up a fight either.

"You have a bounty on your head and we intend to collect it." the man with the gun answered. "Now do as you are told or we will have to do it the hard way."

"There is no longer a bounty on me for bail jumping as Judge Travis gave me a pardon." explained Ezra.

"It's not that bounty we are after." the man smiled an evil grin as he followed Ezra into the alley.

As they removed his guns from his person Ezra tried to think of what other bounty was on his head. As far as he knew there was only the one. "What bounty are you after then?" he had given up trying to remember so he asked the question instead.

"It's a suprise." he smile at Ezra. "One that you are going to enjoy nearly as much as the man who wants you. Now we don't want any trouble from you as the bounty is dead or alive and we can collect just as easy if we killed you."

He tied Ezra's hands together and under gun point he was directed to the stable. Once there they saddled their horses and rode out of town with no one the wiser as to where Ezra was or what had just happened to him. When they had ridden for an hour they stopped and got off their horses. The man that had pulled his gun on Ezra went over to him and dragged him off the horse.

"So what are you going to do, hang me here." asked Ezra.

"No we are actually going to wait for some friends of ours and a friend of yours." he took enjoyment from the confused expression on Ezra's face. "They should not be too long and then you will know what I am talking about." He walked away then and left Ezra to wonder who it was they were talking about. He suddenly realised that the only other person that they would be after was Vin Tanner as he had a bounty on his head.

Halen and Jerry waited in town for an opportuity to grab Tanner. He knew that his other two men would have Standish by now and they were just waiting for his friends to notice that he was missing. Tanner was sitting with three other lawmen and they needed to get him alone or at least lower the number of people with him.

Mary came into the saloon then carrying a tray of food. She went over to the table that Chris, Vin, Buck and Josiah were sitting at. "Gentlemen." she smiled. "Is Mr Standish up in his room?"

"No, he left this afternoon and we haven't seen him since." answered Chris.

"I brought him some food. I saw him earlier and he looks like he has not been eating at all. I'm am getting very worried about him."

"We all are Mrs Travis." said Josiah. "Where did you see him anyway?"

"Outside the general store. But that was an hour ago." she looked down as a sadness came over her face. "He should not be going through this."

"That we also agree with. Do you think that we should go and look for him Chris, just to make sure that he is alright?" asked Buck.

"He is probably drunk somewhere anyway so what does it matter. If you want to look for him go right ahead." he grimaced. He was tired of the whole situation. The next time he saw Ezra he was not going to leave him alone until he admitted that what happened was not his fault.

"Fine. I am going to look for him." Buck got up and looked first at Josiah and then Vin. They both sighed and got up and left the saloon with him.

Halen was watching the situtation unfold and knew that this was their chance to grab Tanner. They also got up and followed the three lawmen out of the saloon. Once they reached the footpath they saw that they had split up and gone in different directions. They also saw that Tanner was headed for the livery. "He is making it easy for us." smiled Jerry.

Vin had decided to check to see if Ezra's horse was still in the stable. When he found that it wasn't he turned around to go back and tell Chris that Ezra had gone - again. He saw two men standing in the doorway.

"Your coming with us Vin Tanner. You have a bounty on your head and we intend to collect it. Now drop your gun on the ground before we shoot you."

Vin was tempted to do something, he was not willing to go freely but there were two guns pointed in his direction and by the looks on their faces they would shoot so he decided to go with them at the moment but as soon as an opportunity came up he would take it. He pulled his gun out of it's holster and place it on the ground. One of the men then came up to him and tied his hands in front of him.

'That was your first mistake.' thought Vin.

"Which one is your horse?" the man asked.

Vin nodded towards his horse and watched as they saddled his horse. They then told him to get on and they headed out of town to join their friends who they were sure would also have Ezra Standish.

Ezra was sitting quietly watching the two men who sat near their horses. They were also watching him. But they had smiles on their faces as though they knew what he would be in for. They all heard riders coming towards them. The two men hoping that it was their companions and Ezra knowing that it would be them as he did not expect anyone to be coming after him to help. He looked up and saw the two men on their horses and he also saw Vin Tanner. He was correct when he thought that it would be Vin that they were after.

Vin arrived into the camp to see someone that he did not expect to see. He saw Ezra sitting with his back against a tree and his hands were in his lap. Anger grew on his features. "Have you got something do with this Ezra?" he said angrily.

"Now how did I know that you would assume something like that." Ezra smiled but it was not a friendly one. He held his hands up so Vin could see that they were also tied. "As you can see I am a prisoner just like you."

Vin could have kicked himself if he was able. That was the last thing that Ezra needed. He didn't think, after being grabbed and dragged out here only to see Ezra. The thought just jumped out of his mouth without him thinking about it first. He felt arms grab him and drag him off the horse. He was then thrown on the ground next to Ezra who scowled at him.

"I'm sorry Ezra, I didn't think." muttered Vin.

"No you didn't, none of you do." Ezra was looking away from him so Vin could not see the hurt that Ezra felt at the accusation. After everything they had been through he still thought him capable of doing something like that.

After a fifteen minute rest the men came and got Vin and Ezra and moved them towards their horses. They then rode out to a destination unknown to the Vin and Ezra. Halen did not allow them to ride together, they were kept seperate. They continued to ride until darkness started to settle over the land.

"Well make camp here." called Halen.

Vin and Ezra were told to get off their horses and were motioned to sit in front of the large rock that was to their left. Guns followed them as they moved. Once they were settled Vin began to discuss a plan of escape with Ezra.

"It is foolhardy and it will only get either one or both of us hurt or killed." stated Ezra.

"Not if you do what I just told you to do Ezra." Vin said back to him. "Listen, I am not going to let these guys take me in and hang me for a crime that I did not commit so we are going to escape. You got it!"

"I noticed that you forgot to state my innocence as well Mr Tanner, therefore I assume that you think that I am guilty of what they claim the bounty is for." muttered Ezra. He was becoming very tired of these men believing everything they are told about him.

"I don't know what they grabbed you for Ezra so I can't judge you."

"Well then that makes two of us who don't know why I am here." growled Ezra.

"You don't know why your here?" questioned Vin.

"Did I not just say that Mr Tanner." sighed Ezra.

Vin Ignored him. "When they bring over some food or water and there is two of them then we deal with them and then make a run for it behind this rock." Ezra did not say anything. "Okay Ezra?"

"I will do it but please make a note that I disagree with your plan."

"Great! You can complain about it all you want when we get back to town." smiled Vin not knowing that Ezra was correct in his statement that someone was going to be hurt.

They only had to wait half an hour before two of the men came over with a plate in each hand. One of them actually had the plate in his gunhand. As they came closer Vin got ready to jump at them. He looked across at Ezra seeing that he was also prepared, he was glad of that because if he did not help him then he would pay for it once they did get out of this situation.

When they were close enough Vin and Ezra jumped up and rushed the two men. Ezra ran straight into the man in front of him slamming his shoulder into his stomach, the man dropped the plate and doubled over gasping for breath. He then brought his foot up and kicked the man in the jaw knocking him backwards. He looked towards Vin and saw that he had also taken care of the man he went for. They were both about to run when they heard a gunshot.

They both stood still and turned back around to find Halen standing in front of them with his gun pointed in Vin's direction. He walked towards them slowly with his righthand man coming up behind him. "Now where do you think you two are going?" he smiled but it was a bitter smile.

"We thought we would go back to town where the food would be better." Ezra smiled back at him.

Halen nodded to Jerry who then went and picked up a thick branch that was lying nearby. He returned to stand next to Halen. He asked another question while looking at the branch that Jerry held as if to say that any more smart mouth comments would result in pain being inflicted upon that person with the use of the branch.

He looked at Vin. "I want to know who's idea the escape attempt was." He expected it would be Tanner.

"It was my idea." said Vin tensing himself for the blow that was going to come from the man holding the branch

But instead Jerry moved straight to Ezra. He swung the branch and it hit Ezra in the side cracking two of the ribs in his right side. Vin watched as the punshiment was inflicted on Ezra and not him. Jerry brought the branch up again and this time it hit Ezra squarely on the side of his right temple. He grunted and then collapsed in a heap at Jerry's feet. Halen then moved next to him and kicked Ezra in the side causing the cracked ribs to break under the weight of his foot. He then turned to Vin.

"That should stop you trying to make any more plans for an escape." he laughed and walked back to the camp fire that they had made earlier.

Vin went to Ezra and knelt down beside him. He turned him over onto his back and saw the blood that was flowing from the wound on the side of his head. Vin pulled his own shirt out and tore a strip off and pressed it against the wound to try and stop the bleeding.

"I'm sorry Ezra, it should have been me. I should have listened to you." muttered Vin. He looked down at Ezra watching as his face became paler with each second. He did not know what to do now. He could not escape and leave him here. He would have to go along with them now and wait till they got to a town so a Doctor could look at Ezra. But what Vin did not know was that they were not headed for a town. They were headed for a place where a man would not care if Ezra lived or died, in fact he would prefer that he died.

Josiah and Buck had returned to the saloon stating that they had not found Ezra anywhere. They also noted that Vin had not returned.

"Where do you think he is?" asked JD, he had joined Chris in the saloon not long after they had left to look for Ezra and he had explained to JD what was going on.

"Probably done his usual thing of running off and expecting us to look for him." growled Chris.

"It's different this time Chris." Josiah looked up at him. "The way he is feeling about himself at the moment he could and might do something stupid."

"What do you mean something stupid?" enquired JD not realising what Josiah was saying. Buck and Chris were also looking at him but they had an idea of what he was talking about and they didn't like it.

"He hates himself at the moment JD, and when you hate yourself as much as Ezra does you may begin to think that you should not be living. And Ezra could end up thinking that it should be him that is dead and not George. He may do something to rectify that situation. Even though it is not going to help himself or anyone else for that matter." he looked grim. He did not think that Ezra was capable of such a thing but with the state that he was in they could not take the chance.

"Maybe Vin has found him. He went to look in the stable for his horse, think that I will go and check there myself." Buck got up and walked out of the saloon.

He returned fifteen minutes later saying that both Ezra's and Vin's horses were gone. "Vin must of gone after him." stated Chris. "Because it is so late we will give them till morning and if they are not back we will split up and go after them."

'They better be back, if I have to ride all day tomorrow just to find him wallowing in his selfpity then he will end up having a lot more to be sorry about.' Chris kept this thought to himself.

Vin kept the makeshift bandaged pressed against Ezra's head wound but the blood flow had only slowed. He would check his ribs once the bleeding had stopped. He was afraid that if he took the pressure off it would begin to bleed heavily again. He felt the chill of the night begin to creep into his own bones and knew that it would not do Ezra any good. "Hey!" he called out to the men who were keeping themselves warm by the fire.

"What!" Halen called back.

"I want to move Ezra closer to the fire. He needs to be kept warm."

"No! You can both stay where you are."

Vin heard the laughter. "You can't leave him like this he could die."

"Well you should have thought of that before you tried to escape." Halen was still laughing and this time his men joined in.

After a while longer the bleeding finally stopped. Vin then opened Ezra's waist coat and lifted his shirt and began to feel his sides for any broken ribs. As well as feeling how cold Ezra was he also felt the two broken ribs move under his touch. He expected Ezra to make some sort of response to the pain that this would have caused him but he made none. He hadn't moved or made a sound since it happened. He needed to get Ezra warm but if he took off his own coat then he would only end up getting cold and if that caused him to get sick then he would be no help to Ezra. So he did Ezra's clothing up and then gently lifted him until his back was against Vin's chest. He then pulled his own coat around Ezra as much as it would go. And they stayed that way through the entire night. When morning came Ezra had still not moved or made a sound. Vin was becoming very worried. They had managed to keep warm enough through the night but he needed to see something from Ezra, anything.

Two of the men who had grabbed them came over with their horses. One of them leant down and grabbed Ezra's arms. "Your gonna help me throw him over his horse and then we can get going." he said to Vin.

"You can't do that he's got some broken ribs, they could press against his lungs and if it is punctured he could die." growled Vin moving up with Ezra still in his arms.

The other man pulled his gun. "We could just kill him now and save all the trouble or you can help Dylan put him on the horse."

Vin knew he had no choice. He helped put Ezra on the horse. The man called Dylan then tied Ezra's hands and feet to the saddle so he would not fall off. Vin then got on his own horse and this time he was allowed to ride along side of Ezra, not that he was able to do anything for him.

The other five hired lawmen had gathered in the saloon when they realised that niether Vin or Ezra had returned. "Where are we going to start looking." asked Buck.

"Before we ride out we are going to ask around town to see if somebody saw them ride out. We will have half an hour to do this and then we meet back here. If no one saw them then we will just have to split up and hope that we find some sign of them."

They all left heading in different directions and they each returned half an hour later with only one of them having good news. "Joe up at the meeting hall said that he saw Vin ride out with two strangers. Said that it seemed like he was going with them of his own choice. But he would have told us if he was leaving wouldn't he?" stated JD.

"Yeah he would have." agreed Chris. "Nothin on Ezra though?" They all shook their heads. "Okay which way were they headed JD?"

"North."

"This is what we are going to do. JD you are going to stay here in case Ezra shows up." he saw JD begin to protest but he cut him short. "When he does show I want the two of you to follow us." JD agreed knowing that arguing would not get him anywhere. "The rest of us will go after Vin. The only thing that I could think of is that the two men with him are bounty hunters." And it was because of this thought that Chris did not even consider the fact that Ezra might also be with Vin and the bounty hunters.

They had finally stopped for a break to rest themselves and their horses. Vin was dragged from his horse and he watched as one of them untied Ezra and let him slump to the ground. Vin went to move toward him. "You stay where you are." Dylan said to him.

"But you can't just leave him there."

"I can do what I want and as you were told we could kill him and if you keep arguing with me I may just kill him to shut you up." the man growled as he went away.

He then returned with some water and a small amount of food for Vin. But he could not eat anything. All he could do was sit there watching Ezra as he did not make any sign of life, and Vin could not check on him so he had to sit there and watch not knowing if Ezra was alive or dead.

Vin sat there for an hour watching Ezra. He thought that he had seen some movement from him but he thought that it must have been his imagination as there had been no sign of anything since. Nothing to show that he was coming round. After the men had finished eating he was told to help put Ezra on the horse again and Vin took the opportunity to quickly look him over. The wound on his head had not started bleeding again but it did need cleaning as it was on this side of his head that he lay on the ground and Vin could see the dirt that had gotten into the wound and if it was not cleaned it would become infected. He checked Ezra's breathing and noticed that it was steady and regular. He just wished that Ezra would wake up.

They rode all afternoon without stopping and again when they did make camp both Vin and Ezra were removed from their horses, Vin protesting and Ezra not making a sound. He watched as they made a campfire and just like the night before they would not allow him to move Ezra closer to the fire. He asked if they would at least give him some water. They allowed him a small amount, not enough to drink and to clean Ezra's wound so he went without. He tore another strip from his shirt and used it to clean the cut on the side of Ezra's head. He heard Ezra moan as he put the cloth against the wound.

"Ezra." Vin leaned forward hoping to hear him say something. But he did not make anymore noises. Ezra had finally regained consciousness but had gone straight into a deep sleep where he dreamed of Goerge Tascon. He dreamt the same dream as he always did and it ended the same way except this time a scream did erupt from his throat. He woke up as he always did after shooting Chris and sat up but he felt both the pain in his side and his head and this allowed the scream to involuntarily come out of his mouth. He fell back down to the ground gasping for breath, hoping that the pain would subside.

"Ezra, try not to move, okay." said a worried Vin.

Ezra opened his eyes and looked at Vin. "Do you think that I am stupid Mr Tanner, of course I am not going to move." he spat out. "Unless you want to try another escape attempt. Perhaps this time we could try and have me killed."

Vin was amazed that someone who was unconscious for so long could say so much when they first woke up. "Well I see that your mood has not changed any."

Ezra through him a look and if looks could kill Vin Tanner would have been a dead man right there and then.

"I believe that I have a good reason for being in a bad mood." growled Ezra wincing at the same time from the pain that was going through his body.

"I'm sorry Ezra. But we couldn't just sit back and let them take us. It is alright for you. They are going to hang me, you will probably just end up in jail."

"I suppose that it is to much to ask for some water?" he asked.

"Yes it is." answered Vin with a sigh. "They didn't give me enough and I used it to clean the cut on your head." Vin sat quietly for a moment. Ezra had closed his eyes again. Vin thought that he was asleep so he did not say anything else to him. He hoped that now he had regained consciousness that he would be okay.

Chris and the others had found the spot where the bounty hunters had made their camp. They noticed that there were more than three horses and decided that there must have been more waiting for the ones who took Vin. Nathan was looking around the ground for any other signs. He saw something near a large rock.

"Chris there is blood over here." Chris moved over to join him. He saw the blood that he was talking about and there was quite a bit of it. He also noticed a tree branch near by that also had a small amount of blood on it.

"If that is Vin's blood then these men are dead." growled Chris as he moved back to his horse. The others followed not looking at the amount of blood that was on the ground knowing that it meant that Vin could be badly hurt.

Ezra slept through the night again against Vin's chest. He moved around in his sleep. Vin thought that it was because of the pain but it was the pain and the dreams that caused Ezra to have a restless night. He was also shivering from the cold and this caused the pain in his side from the broken ribs to be worse. He woke the next morning to find Vin watching him.

"And what may I ask are you looking at Mr Tanner."

"Just making sure that your okay Ezra."

"Apart from the pain that I seem to be suffering from I think that I am fine."

"Do you think that you will be able to ride a horse because if you can't they will just tie you on." said Vin trying to make conversation with him. He felt guilt for the injuries that he had caused to Ezra.

"I'm sure that I can." Ezra looked back at Vin. "Are you feeling guilty Mr Tanner because if you are it was not your fault. You did not hit me with that stick. I was angry last night. I did not mean what I said." He watched as Vin turned to look at him. He saw the serious look on his face.

"I know now that it was not my fault Ezra, just like the death of George was not your fault." Vin still felt guilty but he was not about to let Ezra know. Ezra had just given Vin the opportunity to talk about what was going on with himself. Vin just hoped that he did not clam up straight away.

"That was different, that resulted in the death of an innocent man." muttered Ezra looking away.

Vin put his hand on Ezra's shoulder. "It was not your fault Ezra. We keep telling you that. The only person who blames you is you, no one else blames you."

Ezra shrugged Vin's hand off. "No one else has to." he said.

Before Vin could get anymore out of him Halen came over. "I see that your friend is awake. His friend should be happy about that. Now he can kill you himself. Now both of you get on your horses.

"What friend." asked Ezra.

"You will find out later today as were not far from where we are going to meet him and the man who wants Tanner here." he nodded towards the horses and ushered them on.

Vin helped Ezra up. He managed to walk to his horse on his own but needed help to get on it. Once he was on they headed out again. Ezra spent the day trying to figure out who it was that wanted him dead. He knew that there was a lot of people out there who wanted the same thing so he gave up and decided to wait to find out. They rode on with Chris and the others at least a day behind them and two men waiting ahead of them one of whom was looking forward to the expression that would be on Ezra Standish's face when they finally met again.

Vin continued to look around at Ezra to make sure that he was okay. He seemed to be managing to stay on his horse alright. He still looked very pale though. He would have to get some food in to him when they stopped and because they only seemed to give so little food he would have to make sure that Ezra ate all of it. He suddenly remembered what Mary Travis had said when she came into the saloon looking for him. She thought that he had not eaten all week. Vin was sure that if that was the case that Ezra would not be able to stand on his own two feet. But he was going to make him eat anyway.

Ezra could see that Vin kept looking at him so he put up a front so he would not worry about him. He side was causing him an extreme amount of pain and his head ached worse than it had in the last month. He was only managing to stay on his horse. All he wanted to do was allow himself to fall off so he could just lay down and go to sleep. But he kept himself going, if Vin saw how he was feeling he would not hear the end of it even in the situation that they were in. He also gave Vin a look each time he looked at him. For some reason when he acted this way people assumed that he was feeling better so he did what they wanted to see even if he did not feel better. Vin seemed to be convinced because when he did this Vin would just smile back at him.

Vin could see that Ezra was feeling better as he kept giving him filthy looks but he was going to keep an eye on him anyway just to make sure. The leader of the group said that they were going to meet the men who had hired these men, which meant that they would be getting to a town soon. Then he would be able to get them to have a Doctor look at Ezra. He hadn't been this far in this direction before so he was not sure of the town that was ahead. After a long morning they stopped the horses and made camp. Vin was again pulled from his horse and he tried to get to Ezra who was also dragged from his horse but he did not reach him in time. Ezra fell to the ground and grunted in pain as his side hit the ground beneath him. He lay there clutching his side when he felt Vin's arms lifting him up.

"Come on Ezra let's get you over here under the tree so you can get more comfortable." he heard Ezra grunt again in pain as he stood up. They walked over to the tree where Vin helped Ezra sit down. "They should bring over some food and water shortly, it won't be much so I want you to have both."

"I am not going to have your share of the food and water Mr Tanner. There is no need for you to be a hero." said Ezra.

"I'm not being a hero Ezra, you need it more than I do." argued Vin.

Ezra did not continue to argue. "Why don't you just wake me up when they do and we can argue some more then." Ezra closed his eyes and was soon asleep.

Vin sat next to him watching him sleep hoping that he would be able to wake him when they had to leave again.

Vin did have trouble waking Ezra. It took him ten minutes before he even go a response from him and another ten minutes before he was actually awake. He helped him sit up so he could eat the food easier. Ezra screwed his face up at the plate though and prefered to just drink some of the water but the look on Vin's face told him that he would be in for a long argument until he did eat it. So he compromised, he ate half of the food on the plate which he had to force to keep down. Vin was at least satisfied with that and he finished the food that was left on the plate. They then shared the water that they were also given. Five minutes later they were told to get on their horses again.

Ezra did not feel any better after the rest or the food. It had actually made him feel worse. Now apart from having a headache, a continuous sharp pain in his side, he felt sick after forcing the food down. He hoped that he did not bring it back up. They had been riding for a couple of hours - during which the whole time he struggled to stay on the horse - when they saw a ranch up ahead in the distance. The closer they got to the ranch the more they realised that they were not going to get any help here. This was obviously where they were meant to meet the two men.

Ezra began to feel worse the closer they got, he was not looking forward to meeting whoever it was that was waiting for him. What worried Vin was the fact that they might hang him here without a trial. He was going to have a bit of trouble trying to get himself and Ezra out of this situation. As they got closer to the ranch they could see that there was no one around.

"They must not be here yet." commented Halen.

"Are we going to wait then?" asked Jerry.

"Sure are. Jerry you and Dylan put those two in one of the rooms and tie them to something so they don't get away. Dave you take care of the horses.

Vin and Ezra both got off their horses before someone could get them off. Ezra made sure that he had a good grip on the saddle pommel so that he did not continue on to the ground once he was out of the saddle. He knew that if he fell down he would not be able to get back up again. Jerry and Dylan followed Vin and Ezra into the house. Jerry led them into one of the rooms. He then tied them up as Dylan watched making sure that none of them tried to do anything. They then left them in the room still not knowing who it is that wanted them.

"You still have no idea who it is that wants you?" Vin asked Ezra.

"No, you?"

"The only person I can think of would be a relation to the man that I was accused of killing. And if that is the case I am probably a dead man."

"Maybe not." suggested Ezra knowing that he was wrong.

Vin just laughed at that comment. "I guess all we can do is try and figure a way out of this."

"You may have to do that on your own Mr Tanner as I do not think that I will be up to it." muttered Ezra. He was feeling tired and he needed to sleep. He laid down as best that he could on the floor to get himself comfortable.

Vin looked over at him. "You okay Ezra."

"Not really Mr Tanner." he could not hide it any more, besides Vin would figure it out sooner or later. He was in agony from his ribs and his head and all he wanted to do was sleep. He closed his eyes and sleep claimed him immeadiately.

"Ezra, Ezra." Vin thought that he should have known better than to believe that Ezra was okay.

An hour later Vin heard voices outside the room that he and Ezra were in. He recognised the voices of the men who had brought them here and one other. It was the voice of the brother of the man that he was accused of killing. There was one other voice that he did not recognise. This must the man who had paid to have Ezra brought here. The door opened and the two men walked in. One man moved towards Ezra and nudged him in the side. Ezra did not respond to him. He left the room with a smile on his face. Gordon Kincaid smiled at Vin, who just grimaced back at him. He to left the room. Vin looked at Ezra, he wanted to know who that man was. He seemed to be very happy to see Ezra but Vin was sure that Ezra was not going to be happy to see him.

Now that Vin knew that it was kincaid's brother that wanted him he also knew that he was a dead man. He was not going to get a proper trial with that man. He still wanted to know who the other one was. He looked over at Ezra but he was still asleep, he had not even moved. He heard the door and looked around at Gordon Kincaid. He moved over to Vin and smiled down at him.

"Just thought that I would let you know that you are going to die tomorrow. I am going to hang you. It's what you deserve for killing my brother." he smiled enjoying himself.

"I didn't kill your brother." said Vin.

"Well I don't believe you."

Vin knew that there was no use in arguing with him. He would not be able to convince him of his innocence. He had to escape before the morning, he had no choice. He just had to figure out how he was going to do it and how he was going to get Ezra out as well. That was going to be the most difficult part. He looked over at Ezra.

"You had better worrry about your friend. This other guy has plans for him and they aren't very nice. He told me about them on the way here. His is going to have a very bad time before he dies. But you won't have to worry for long. Only till tomorrow.

The other man took that moment to enter the room. "He still not awake?" he asked.

"Nope." said Kincaid. "I was just telling Tanner here that you had plans for his friend."

The other man smiled. "Yes indeed." he turned around and walked out of the room. Vin thought that the man looked familiar but he couldn't place him.

Ezra finally woke a couple of hours later. He was confused for a moment as to where he was and then he realised that his hands were tied to the leg of a bed. He saw Vin looking him. He looked around the room. It took him another few moments to remember why he was here and why he was tied up.

"Hey Ezra, you finally woke up. You doing okay?" he asked because Ezra's eyes didn't seem to be focusing on anything. It took a few moments before Ezra answered him.

"I am not to sure about that Mr Tanner. Have we met our hosts as yet?" he asked as he tried to raise himself up off the floor. He winced at the pain in his side and he felt slightly dizzy for a moment.

"Yes we have, one of them is Kincaid's brother, he intends to hang me tomorrow. The other one, I don't know who he is but he seems familiar to me. We are going to have to get away from here Ezra or we are both dead."

"Do you have a plan?" Ezra thought that they had as much hope as they did the first time they tried to escape.

"No not yet. I can't even get out of these ropes." grimaced Vin.

Ezra looked at him and saw the blood and torn skin around his wrists. He looked down at his own and knew that they would end up the same if he also tried. The door opened again and both Ezra and Vin looked up. It was the other man again. Vin did not see Ezra's reaction, instead he heard it.

"Aw hell." he muttered.

Vin turned around to look at Ezra and saw him trying to move as far away as he possibly could. He saw the look of fear on his face at the sight of the man. Ezra's back was pressed against the bed but he still kept trying to move further back. His feet were still scraping on the floor but he was going nowhere. 'What the hell is going on here.' thought Vin. He watched as the man moved closer to Ezra. He bent down and looked him in the eye.

"Nice to see you again Ezra." he smiled then slapped Ezra across the face drawing a slight trial of blood from his mouth.

Ezra could not say anything, he was in shock. He just stared at the man. He could not believe that he was here. He knew what he wanted, there was only one reason that he could think of that this man wanted revenge and there was no way that he was going to be able to talk his way out of this one. He knew what type of man he was, what he was capable of doing. There was nothing that Ezra was going to be able to do.

"You don't have anything to say Ezra?" the man continued to stare at Ezra. "No?"

Ezra was clutching his side. He had forgotten about his ribs when he tried to move away. He had felt the pain and grabbed his side without thinking. The man saw this and smiled. "I heared about what you did to yourself Ezra." He moved Ezra's hands away which was not very far due to the short rope that tied his hands to the bed but it was enough for him to do what he wanted. In a way he was very similar to Marshall Hanley. He squeezed Ezra's side. He waited for Ezra to scream but he didn't. Ezra clenched his teeth so the scream would not come out.

"Hey you leave him alone!" yelled Vin. He did not understand what was going on, why this man treated Ezra this way. What had Ezra done to him to cause him to act this way towards him. "Can't you see that he is hurt."

The man looked over his shoulder at Vin. "Of course I do, Halen told me that you tried to escape and what he did to Ezra. I quite enjoyed the story, whish I was there to see it. I will just have to do it again for my own pleasure. He needs to be repaid for what he has done. He will be held responsible." He had finally let go of Ezra's side. He looked down at Ezra's pain filled eyes and saw determination there. Ezra finally got control of himself. He wanted to make the man think that he was not afraid of him. He gathered together what little spit there was in his mouth and spat it in the man's face. He heard Vin groan from across the room.

The man drew out a hankerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. He then used his fist to hit Ezra in the face the force of the blow causing the back of Ezra's head to hit the side of the bed. The man then stood up and walked out of the room with Ezra watching his back.

Vin watched him leave and then looked back at Ezra. He saw that his pale complexion had become even paler, as though he had seen a ghost. "Ezra who was that?" He waited for an answer but he did not get one. Ezra just continued to stare at the closed door.

Ezra looked away from the door and stared at the floor. Vin was watcing him. He could tell that Ezra had closed himself off. The poker face that he wore was not very good but it was enough to convince Vin that he was not going to get much information out of him, but he had to try anyway. "Ezra." he still stared at the floor. "Ezra answer me!" Vin growled at him.

"What." answered Ezra finally.

"Are you going to tell me who that was and what that was all about?" Vin already knew what the answer was going to be.

"No doubt you will soon find out." muttered Ezra.

"I want to find out now Ezra, don't you dare shut me out here. Were in this together." Vin tried to force him to talk.

Ezra brought his stare up to match Vin's. "If we are in this together then don't you think that we should work on a plan to get out of here." he continued to stare at Vin.

"As soon as we do Ezra you are going to tell me everything." Vin gave up. Ezra's reaction was exactly what he expected.

Chris and the other lawmen continued to follow the trail that was left by the men who had taken Vin. They were very careless and did not hide their tracks very well. They had found evidence of recent camp fires. They were grateful for the fact that they did not see anymore blood. This told Nathan that Vin was not seriously hurt because if he was they would have found more blood at each camp site. They camped for the night not realising that Vin and Ezra were only a few hours away.

Ezra had stayed quiet so it was up to Vin to figure a way out of here. He was having no success with the ropes on his wrists so unless someone actually untied him there was nothing that he could do. He would have to wait for that to happen and when it does he would then deal with that person. Hopefully both he and Ezra would be untied at the same time. He looked up as he heard the door open. He also noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ezra did not react at all to the noise. He decided then and there that Ezra was not going to be any help when it came to getting out of here. Jerry and Dylan came into the room and headed towards Ezra. Jerry drew his gun and pointed it at him while Dylan untied his hands. He then dragged Ezra to his feet and out the door.

"Where are you going with him, what are you going to do?" Vin yelled after them. He slumped back down on the floor hoping that that was not the last time that he was going to see Ezra alive. Vin noticed that it was getting dark outside and that his own death was due to happen tomorrow.

Ezra was dragged into another room and forced down onto a chair and then his hands were tied behind his back. He saw his Uncle standing in the middle of the room. The man moved over to Ezra. He knew that he was in deep trouble and unless someone came to his rescue he was going to die. The man leaned down into Ezra's face again.

"If you spit on me again I will kill you now." he stood up and stepped back. "I went and saw Jack in jail about a month ago. He is going through hell in there thanks to you."

"He deserves it." said Ezra defiantly.

Eric Standish stepped forward and hit Ezra across the face, the ring on his hand cutting his cheek. "No one deserves what my brother is going through." he grabbed Ezra's jaw and pulled him to face him. "I am going to make you go through the same things that he has and they are not going to be pleasant.

"You can do what you want, it couldn't be anywhere near as bad as what both you and he did to me as a child." Ezra growled at him.

He didn't hit Ezra again instead he nodded to the two men that were in the room with them. They moved forward and the one called Jerry hit Ezra in the side where his ribs were broken. Ezra couldn't keep the scream in this time. The pain was agony. He then hit Ezra in the face again. He continued to beat Ezra for another five minutes, most of the punches were aimed at his side. Ezra was doubled over with the pain that he felt. The sweat was running down his face mixing with the blood from his split lip and the cut on his cheek.

"That's all for now, we will continue later. Take him back to the room. And tie him back up, he can be very sneaky when he wants to be."

Vin had heard Ezra cry out in pain and it caused him to struggle even harder with the ropes that bound his wrists. He heard the door open again nearly ten minutes later and saw the same two men bring Ezra back in. They practically dragged him back into the room and then threw him down on the floor next to the bed and tied him to it again. Vin scowled at them as they left the room. He looked back over at Ezra who was slumped down on the floor. Vin could only see his back as he was lying mostly on his left side.

"Ezra are you okay?" Vin was not even sure if he was awake.

"Do I look okay to you Mr Tanner?" Ezra questioned back.

Vin could hear the pain in Ezra's voice. "What did they do to you. Did that guy do anything?"

Ezra tried to sit up more but it only caused him to cry out in pain. "He did the same thing that he always did to me."

Vin was confused. "He has done this to you before?"

"On numerous occasions."

"Who is he Ezra?" he did not get an answer though as Ezra had become quiet. Vin assumed that he had either fallen asleep or unconscious but Ezra had done neither, he just did not want to tell Vin that the man was the brother of Jack Standish wanting revenge for his brother being sent to jail. And that on occasions he also beat him as a child. He seemed to enjoy watching his brother do it more though and that would have been why he had the other man beat him, so he could watch. After a while he eventually did fall asleep but his sleep was plagued by dreams. Vin watched and listened as Ezra groaned in his sleep, he also tossed and turned. The rope stopped him from turning completely thus saving him the pain that it would cause if he was to roll onto his right side. But he did turn enough for Vin to see the damage down to his face. He saw the cut on his right cheek, the split lip and the bruises that were already beginning to form on other areas of his face. They needed to get out of here and it had to be soon. But he did not think that he was going to able to do it.

Vin had given up on his wrists as they were now causing him to much pain when he tried to loosen the ropes that tied them. He kept glancing at Ezra who was still tossing and groaning in his sleep. He tried to think of where he knew that man that had caused Ezra to react the way he did but he could not remember him. He realised that Ezra was afraid of the man but he did not know why, he would not tell him.

Ezra had slept for another couple of hours and then woke letting out a slight scream that was building in his throat. He jerked awake letting out a second cry as he felt the pain wrack through his body. He sat there gasping in what little breath he could get into his restricted chest. Restricted by from pain and fear. He looked around the room seeing Vin staring at him.

"Don't even ask me Mr Tanner." Ezra said this before Vin could say anything. Ezra held his gaze until Vin nodded at him. Vin did not want to push Ezra on the subject. He knew that he would only close up more and that would not help when they tried to escape.

It was not long after that Jerry and Dylan came for Ezra again. They moved over to him and went through the same process. But this time Ezra was not going to go easy. Once they had untied his hands and hauled him up off his feet he lunged at the man holding the gun. Ezra struggled to stay up as the pain tried to take him. He grabbed the gun and pointed it in the direction of Jerry, Dylan was so suprised by what Ezra had done that he did not react straight away and this gave Ezra time to aim and pull the trigger. Jerry was dead before he even hit the floor.

Vin was to far away to help Ezra as he watched what he had tried to do. He heard the gunshot and expected Ezra to fall to the floor but instead he saw the who had untied Ezra fall. He then heard Ezra grunt in pain and then collapsed to the floor clutching at his side.

Dylan had finally reacted but it was to late. He then used his free hand to hit Ezra in the side, Ezra then let go of the gun and fell to floor. He stood over the gambler and lifted his gun, he was about to pull the trigger when Eric Standish walked in.

"If you pull that trigger you are also a dead man." he growled at Dylan.

"But he killed Jerry." he spat back at him.

"I did tell you to be careful with him." he smiled down at Ezra.

Eric Standish walked over to Ezra who was on his knees and leaning on his right arm with his left one holding his right side. Eric saw the opening and took his chance. He was just like his brother, he would only hit someone when that person was unable to not react. He kicked Ezra hard in his left side, his boot cracking another rib. Ezra grunted and fell on his back. He was struggling for breath now clutching both sides.

"Put him back and tie him up." Standish said.

Halen ran into the room then. "I heard a gunshot, what happened?"

"He killed Jerry." said Dylan nudging Ezra in the side with his boot as if he needed to point out who it was he was talking about.

Ezra tried to move away from the boot but the pain held him where he was. His pain filled expression looked up at his Uncle. "I told your men to be careful but they would not listen to me."

"Jerry knew the risks, he should have been more careful. So should have you!" Halen said. He walked out of the room then. He was angry that one of his men was dead but it also meant that the bounty would now be split three ways instead of four.

Dylan grabbed the collar of Ezra's jacket and dragged him back to the bed. He made sure that he was not very careful in handling Ezra and enjoyed the groans of pain that came from his mouth. He tied his hands again. He then kicked him just for the fun of it. Ezra grunted at the pain that it caused. Dylan then dragged Jerry out of the room. Eric Standish just smiled at Ezra and then followed the others out.

Vin also just sat there looking at Ezra. He really did not understand him at times. One minute he was sitting there as though he would not react if a gun was fired in the room and the next he would be capable of killing someone. Ezra tried to sit up but it hurt to much so he just lay where he was and tried to make himself comfortable but that was also difficult.

"Mr Tanner would you please stop staring at me." groaned Ezra as he continued to try and get in a better position.

"Next time you do something like that Ezra make sure that I am able to help you first."

"There may not be a next time Vin." he groaned again at the pain so he gave up trying to get comfortable.

"There has to be a next time Ezra or were both are gonna be dead." grimaced Vin. He could see the pain that Ezra was going through and there was nothing that he could do to help him.

They were not interrupted during the night but they did come for Ezra again that morning. Kincaid also entered the room with them. Vin watched as they dragged Ezra out, he was unable to stand up straight. Vin wondered how much worse he was going to be when they brought him back - if they brought him back that was.

"Just wanted to let you know that they are getting the rope ready for you."

"You do realise that our friends will track you down and kill you for what you are to doing." said Vin.

"It won't matter as I would have gotten revenge for my brother's death." he smiled. "First we are going to let you watch your friend die and then you are going to die."

This told Vin and that they were not going to kill Ezra while they were seperated. It would give Vin a chance to get them out of there. He now just had to wait for their chance. Kincaid then left Vin alone with his own thoughts. It wasn't long before they brought Ezra back, they did not even bother tying him up again as he was unconscious. Vin saw that there was another wound to his head and it was bleeding badly. He hung his head as he lost hope of being able to get Ezra out of here. When Kincaid had said that he was going to watch Ezra die he thought that it was going to be something quick but looking at Ezra now he knew that they were going to have him die slowly by beating him to death. And all Vin could do at the moment was watch him die. He lifted his head again as he heard familiar voices outside.

Chris and the others had broken camp early that morning had headed out towards the ranch that was a few hours away. When they had begun to see it in the distance they slowed down being careful just it case Vin was there. They had followed the trail to this house so they would have to suspect that Vin was there. As they got closer they could see some horses tied to a rail in front of the house. Chris told the others to get ready. They saw someone come out onto the porch as they pulled their horses to a halt.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" asked Halen.

Chris smiled at him. "Looking for a friend of ours. He dissapeared from Four Corners a few days ago and we think that some bounty hunters took him."

"Ain't nobody here like that, just ranch hands." he answered back.

"Then you won't mind if we have a look around do you then." Chris got off his horse and the others followed.

"Actually I do." growled Halen as he placed his hand on his gun.

Chris was about to move towards the man when he heard Vin's voice.

Vin had thougth that it was Chris's voice that he had heard so he called out to him not sure if he would hear him or not. The gunshots that he heard told him that Chris had heard him. He heard the door open and thought that it was Chris coming in but he saw both Kincaid and the man had caused Ezra so much injury. The man held a gun on Vin while Kincaid cut the ropes from his wrists. Vin made to move towards him but the man cocked the gun, Vin stopped in his tracks.

"Get up." Kincaid said.

Vin stood up and he pushed him towards the door. They then went out to the porch where Vin saw that Chris and the others had already taken care of the men that had brough him and Ezra here.

Chris had heard Vin's voice call him from inside the house. He pulled his gun and shot the man on the porch. Buck had also gotten off his horse and as he did so he saw two men coming from around the corner of the house. He shot one of them while Josiah had shot the other. They were about to go into the house when they saw two more men come out using Vin as cover.

"You are going to let us go or he is a dead man." growled Kincaid.

"Either way both of you are dead men." Chris gave him a cold smile.

The second man that was with them moved back into the house. Vin saw him out of the corner of his eye and he knew what he was going back in there for. He had to do something. "Chris you have to stop him!" yelled Vin as he struggled to get away from Kincaid.

Chris did not question Vin. He raised his and shot the man. He did not aim to kill as he did not shoot people in the back. He shot him in the leg and the man fell to the floor sreaming in pain. Kincaid was distracted by the shot and Vin finally had his chance. He used his elbow to push Kincaid away from him, Chris fired again this time with deadly accuracy. Kincaid fell to the ground. Nathan went up to make sure that Vin was alright but he had ran back into the house. Chris and Nathan exchange confused glances and followed him in. Buck and Josiah stayed to check if anyone was alive. They found that all but the man in the doorway of the house was dead. They saw that Chris had already taken his gun and they followed to others in to find Vin.

Vin had rushed back into the room that he and Ezra were held in. He had to make sure that he was not dead. He saw that Ezra was still lying where they left him. He gently turned him over being careful of his ribs. He still looked the same, the only other difference was the wound that he had seen earlier and that he was even paler. He heard the others come in after him.

"Vin what are you doing?" asked Chris. He saw Vin leaning over someone. He saw that the someone had a red jacket just like Ezra. Chris held his breath and moved over to Vin hoping that he was wrong and knowing that he would not be. The others all had the same thought.

"Nathan you have to help him." said Vin.

"Buck go and get my bag." Nathan knelt down next to Ezra. "What is Ezra doing here Vin? What happened to him?"

"We haven't got time to go into that now Nathan. I know he's got two broken ribs on his right side. He was kicked in the left side as well so I don't know if there are any broken ribs there or not. He received a blow to the head two days ago and another one earlier." Vin stopped for a breath. "They kept beating him Nathan and I don't know why." Chris walked out of the room, he decided that he was going to talk to the man that was still alive.

"Vin why don't you go and sit on the bed and I will look after him. Okay?" Nathan helped him up and moved him towards the bed where he sat down and watched Ezra again.

Nathan and Josiah gently lifted Ezra up and placed him the bed. They heard him moan as they took his jacket and shirt off. They both stepped back as they saw the amount of bruises that crossed his stomach, sides and chest. Nathan then moved back and felt his sides. He felt his right side first feeling the broken ribs that Vin had told him about. Ezra moved under the pressure that he had placed on his side. He then moved his hands to the left. The ribs were not broken on that side but there were at least three that were cracked. He checked the old wound on the side of Ezra's head first. The cut was not deep but it must have bleed a lot and he realised that it was Ezra's blood that they had seen at the first camp site. He then saw to the fresher wound. The bleeding had slowed but it still needed some pressure to stop it completely.

Buck returned then as though he had hear Nathan's thought. He took one of the bandages out of the bag and put it in Buck's hand and then placed his hand against the wound. "Keep the pressure on it Buck. We need to stop the bleeding." With Josiah's help he then began to bandaged Ezra's ribs, pulling the bandage as tight as he dared. Once he had done that he looked at his head wound again to find that the bleeding had stopped. He then sent Buck back out to find some water to clean the wounds.

While he was waiting for the water Nathan went over and checked on Vin. He had seen the blood on his wrists and he wanted to make sure that he was okay. "Let me have a look at those hands Vin."

"Look after Ezra."

"Just let me look at them while I am waiting for Buck to come back with the water." Vin gave in and put his hands out in front of him. Nathan turned them over seeing the broken skin and the blood. "I will have to clean these and bandaged them." said Nathan.

"After you have finished with Ezra." Vin looked over at Ezra.

Buck came back with the water and Nathan began to clean Ezra's wounds. He then bandaged the wounds as best he could. Nathan then stepped back and looked at Ezra. He looked at his pale complexion, the bruises all over his chest, the bandaged around his waist. He wondered why Ezra had always had to go through so much. It was as though somebody was doing this to him on purpuse, as though they were controlling his life. No one should go through this much physical trauma but for some reason Ezra did.

He went back to Vin. "That's all I can do for him for now Vin so let me take care of your wrists." He took his time cleaning them and then bandaged them for him. Vin then drank what was left of the water.

When Nathan had finished Josiah sat down next to Vin. "So you wanna tell me what happened here Vin?"

"The man on the porch was Kincaid's brother, wanted to hang me today. You guys got here just in time." he looked over to Ezra. "The other man, I don't know who he was and Ezra wouldn't tell me." he then returned his gaze to Josiah. "But he was scared of him when he first saw him, he then became his usual self and pushed the man to far. They took him away twice and beat him."

"How did he get the first wound on his head?" asked Nathan who was sitting on the bed with Ezra. He was checking his pulse to find it steady but weak.

"That was my fault." he saw the others look at him. "I talked him in to trying to escape, he told me that it was the wrong thing to do at the time but I thought that they were taking me to hang and I had to get away. But they stopped us before we got anywhere, the leader asked us who's idea it was. I said it was mine thinking that they were going to do something to me but they did it to Ezra instead. That was in the evening and he did not wake up until the next night.

Nathan frowned at that. "When was the last time either of you ate something Vin?"

"Day before yesterday. I forced Ezra to eat something, it seemed to make him feel better."

"Did he sleep alot?"

"Yeah he seemed to." Vin looked at Nathan. "Is he going to be all right Nathan."

"I will have to wait for him to wake up Vin. I can't give you an answer yet." Nathan looked down at Ezra, at that moment he had no idea how he was going to be.

Chris watched as Vin had rolled Ezra over, he saw the wounds on his head and the bruises on his face. He was shocked to see him here and what they had done to him. They had only expected to find Vin but to come in here and find Ezra and the state that he was in. Chris was angry, he thought that Ezra had left town again. He heard Vin tell them what happened and the man that was in the hallway was responsible for it. He turned around and left the room. He wanted to know who the man was and why he had treated Ezra the way that he did. Then he was going to return the favour.

Chris knelt down next to the man and placed his gun against his head. "Who are you and why did you do that Ezra?"

The man just looked at him, he was not going to talk. If he did then he knew that this man would kill him. He could see it in his eyes. He returned the glare.

"If you don't tell me I am going to kill you." growled Chris.

"You are going to kill me anyway." he smiled back at Chris.

Chris stood up and kicked the man in his wounded leg. The man grabbed his leg but he did not cry out. He may have preferred that someone else did his dirty work but he was not a coward like his brother. He was not going to give into this man.

Chris kicked him again. "Tell me who you are." Chris watched as the man gritted his teeth. He did not say anything to him. He did not think that he was going to talk. He kicked the man again just for the fun of it and he finally passed out from the pain. Chris left the house and tooke some rope from his saddle bag and went back in. He dragged the man outside and tied him to one of the railings and left him there. He then went back to see how Ezra was doing.

When he entered the room he stood back against the wall, he saw Buck leaning over Ezra pressing a cloth against his head. He had seen Buck go out and get Nathan's bag but Buck had ignored what he was doing. He watched as Buck left the room again this time to get water. As Nathan took care of Vin's hands he watched Ezra as he lay on the bed. He watched as Nathan returned to Ezra and then cleaned the wounds after Buck had returned with the water, he watched as he bandaged Ezra's ribs and then his head. He then watched as he cleaned and bandaged Vin's wrists. He heard Vin explain what happened and heard Nathan tell him that he did not know if Ezra was going to be okay.

It had been four hours since they had found Vin and Ezra, Vin had since fallen asleep on the bed and Ezra had not regained consciousness. Nathan had not moved from his bedside. Buck and gone out and tried to get information out of the man that Chris had tied to the railing outside but he had no luck either.

Two more hours had passed. Vin had woken up and looked over at Ezra. "Has he woken up yet?"

Nathan looked over at him. "No not yet." he turned back to Ezra. He had not moved at all since they had walked into the room.

"It's going to be dark soon so I think that Buck and I will look after the horses and then make us something to eat." said Josiah as he walked out of the room. Buck nodded and followed him out. Chris, Vin and Nathan stayed with Ezra.

Ezra had remained unconscious for the entire night and most of the next day. The men had taken turns sitting with him and had also taken turns trying to make the man outside talk but they could never get anything out of him. They had even thought at one time that the man was as stubborn as Ezra was. Vin had been sitting with Ezra when Nathan came into the room. He went over and checked his breathing to find that it was steady and that his pulse was becoming stronger, he could not understand why he had not woken up as yet, it was midafternoon the following day so it made it more than twenty four hours that he had been unconscious.

Ezra had woken up an hour earlier, he had heard Vin talking to him telling him that he was going to be alright, that the others had found them. When he heard this he had decided to allow them to think that he was still asleep. He knew that if he let them know that he was awake that all they would do is ask him questions, they would want to know who that man was and he did not want to tell them. So he pretended that he was asleep. He heard someone else come into the room and felt a hand on his chest feeling a slight pain at the pressure on the bruises that he knew was there. He then felt a hand on his forehead, he knew that it would be Nathan. He hoped that he did not put his hand anywhere else that was going to cause pain because he did not think that he could hide it anymore. Nathan though tested the bandage that was wrapped around his waist, Ezra could not help himself, an involuntary cry of pain escaped from his lips.

"Ezra?" Nathan said.

Ezra could no longer pretend, Nathan knew that he was awake now. "What?" he whispered. He did not open his eyes, he didn't want to look at anyone. He was still feeling the same emotions before all of this had happened and now feeling more since it happened. He was not in a good mood, he was feeling guilty still, anger and self disgust at what had happened in Four Corners. He was angry at what had happened here but at least the fear he felt did not last long and he was able to kill one of them.

Nathan looked at him. "How are you feeling, are you dizzy, feeling sick or anything like that, have you got a headache?"

"No, no and yes."

"Think that you could drink something, I can put something together that will help the headache."

"Thankyou." muttered Ezra. He still had not opened his eyes. He heard Nathan leave the room but knew that Vin was still there.

"Hey Ezra, want to open your eyes and look at me for a moment?" asked Vin as he leaned closer to Ezra.

"No." Ezra answered.

Vin sighed. "You have to open them sometime, may as well be now."

Ezra knew that this was true. He opened them squinting at the light that caused a pain to shoot through them. "Just don't expect me to turn my head, it hurts to much."

"Fair enough." said Vin. "You want to tell me who that guy is?"

Ezra did turn his head at that. "Is, he's still alive?"

Vin saw him grimace as he turned his head. "Yes, he is the only one though, but he won't talk. Everyone has tried but he won't say anything." Vin looked him in the eye but Ezra turned away grimacing again at the pain that it caused.

"Please do no ask me Vin as I will not tell you now or in the furture." Ezra closed his eyes again.

Before Vin could say anything else Nathan came into the room with a cup for Ezra. He moved to the bed. "Vin you are going to have to help lift Ezra up a bit so he can drink this without choking on it."

"Sure, you ready Ezra?" asked Vin.

He nodded and felt arms lift him from underneath, he gave out a small cry at the pain that came from his ribs. He quickly drank what was in the cup and coughed at the taste of it. This caused more pain to go through his body. They helped him lay back down on the bed.

"That should make you feel a bit bitter Ezra." Nathan sat on the bed.

"Nathan, Vin could you please leave me alone for a while." said Ezra.

"I don't really think that I should do that Ezra." Nathan looked at Vin with a questioning look on his face.

"Nathan please." Ezra opened his eyes and looked at him.

Nathan could see all the emotions that were in his eyes, he could also see the pain. Nathan gave in. "Only for a while then." he got up and motioned for Vin to follow him out.

They left the room leaving Ezra alone. Nathan did not want to do it but when he saw the look in Ezra's eyes he knew that he needed to be alone, but he wasn't going to leave him alone to long.

Ezra lay alone for an hour before he tried to sit up, he had been thinking about a lot of things, about George Lascon, about his Uncle Jack and his brother Eric and what they use to do, this also made him think about all the times that his mother had left him with family. And the longer he lay there the angrier he got about everything. He wanted to be rid of the anger. He tried to sit himself up and felt the pain that caused him to collapse back onto the bed. He lay there for a few minutes more and tried again. He managed to stay upright this time holding onto the edge of the bed while the dizziness passed and the pain eased. He then grabbed hold of the bed pole and pulled himself up. He had to steady himself again to wait for the nausea to ease. He actually thought that he was going to throw up. When he thought that he could do it he began to walk to the door. He had his left arm wrapped around his waist to try and help the pain but it didn't. He was able to get to the door and found that he was more steady on his feet than he thought he would be.

He walked through the door only to hear Nathan telling him to go back to bed but he just pushed Nathan's arms off. Someone else tried to grab him, he didn't know who it was though. He just pushed them away. He was suprised that he managed to do anything. It was amazing what you could do when you were releasing so much anger and hatred that had built up over such a long period of time.

Ezra looked around but could not see the person that he was after. "Where is he?" he asked no one in particular.

Nathan had looked up when he heard the door open and saw Ezra walking out clutching his side with his arm. He could see the pain on his face and couldn't understand how he was managing to stay on his feet. Even though it was only a short distance between them he ran to Ezra and grabbed his free arm.

"Ezra what are you doing up, you should be in bed." Ezra just pushed him away.

Vin moved over to help Nathan but he pushed him away as well. The others were watching not knowing what Ezra was doing. Then they heard him ask where that man was - that was the only person that he could be speaking about.

"He's out front still." Nathan answered him. "Why?"

Ezra heard the answer but did not acknowledge the person who gave it. He walked to the front door. He didn't see anybody else all he saw was the anger that had taken control of him. But he did see that his guns were lying on a table near the front door. The anger had allowed him to see them as they were what he needed to release the anger that had built up in him. He picked up one of his guns and walked out the front door still holding his side. The others followed him beginning to understand what he was going to do. Chris had decided that he would let Ezra only go so far and then he would stop him.

Ezra walked out to the porch and saw his Uncle sitting on the porch with a bandage wrapped around his leg. Ezra moved up to him. He pointed the gun at him. Vin went to stop Ezra but Chris held him back. "Just wait a sec Vin, we might find out what this is about."

"And if he kills him." said Vin suprised that Chris stopped him.

"I don't think he will." Chris watched Ezra carefully though just in case. He waited for Ezra to say something but he didn't instead he pulled the trigger.

Ezra was going to say something but he couldn't so he aimed the gun at the already bandaged leg and pulled the trigger. Eric Standish screamed when the bullet entered close to the other wound. "Hey will somebody stop him before he kills me!" he screamed.

Chris moved closer and smiled. "What makes you think that he is going to kill you?"

"Because he . . . " but he saw the look on Ezra's face. A look that said if you say anything I will kill you.

Ezra then aimed at the other leg and pulled the trigger again. The man on th porch screamed again. "Stop him will you!" he was holding both wounds trying to stop the blood from flowing.

Ezra was beginning to become unsteady on his feet. He aimed again and this time Standish felt the wood splinters hit his face and the bullet lodged in the railing next to his face. Ezra aimed again but he was beginning to sway. "That's enough." said Chris. He stepped next to Ezra and tried to take the gun out of his hand but he held on it not wanting to let it go. Chris grabbed hold of Ezra's wrist and moved it away from the man on the porch and forcefully pulled it from Ezra's hand. Ezra turned and looked at him. Chris saw a haunted look that he had not seen since the incident with Jack Standish. Ezra walked away still managing to stay on his feet and made his way back to the room.

Chris followed him in and sat on the bed that was on the other side of the room. He watched again as Ezra sat himself down on the bed and then lay down. "Do you wan't to tell me what that was all about, who that guy is?" Ezra did not answer him. "Ezra?" Chris got up and went over to him, Ezra did not look at him. Chris saw a glassy expression that seem to hold no emotions. Ezra had completely closed himself off this time. It wasn't just the wall that he usually put around himself.

"Nathan!" he called.

Nathan came into the room followed by everybody else. Chris looked down at Ezra. Nathan moved to the bed and saw what Chris called him for. He could see the look in Ezra's eyes. He waved his hand in front of them but Ezra did not react. "He's in shock." Nathan said to the others. "Buck could you pass me those blankets on that bed. We need to keep him warm. Nathan made him as comfortable as he could and then left the room. He made the others leave also.

"Why is he like that Nathan?" asked Buck.

"He's been through a lot lately Buck and not just this. His mind has shut down, he can't take anymore. The only thing we can do is make sure that he gets plenty of fluids and food and wait until he deals with it in his own way." he was looking down. He did not want to see the expressions on their faces. They had seen Ezra do a lot of things. He was very capable of looking after himself and other people when needs be but he had trouble looking after the emotional things when it came to life. And because he did not know how to deal with the emotions that he was going through his mind did what it thought would be best for him. It had shut down. He knew he would not be able to get through to Ezra, they would just have to wait until he came out of it. If he did that was.

"Josiah could you go and sit with him, I don't want to leave him alone for a minute any more? I am going to fix up that guy outside and then I suggest that someone take him to the nearest town and put him in jail." he walked out then leaving the others in their own state of shock. They could not understand why someone who was so strong physically could not deal with his emotions. But they also knew that it had a lot to do with his mother. Josiah went into the room while the others sat down knowing that whoever stayed would be taking turns again to sit with him.

When Josiah went in Ezra was still lying on the bed with his eyes open. He was just looking sideways at the wall. "Ezra can you hear me?" Josiah did not think that he would talk but he had to try anyway.

After Nathan had taken care of the man on the porch it was decided that Buck and Chris would take him to a town and then go back to Four Corners. Nathan said that they would wait a couple of days to see how Ezra would go and then see if they could get him back home. Once Chris and Buck had left Nathan went back to check on Ezra. He had fallen asleep and stayed that way for two days. Nathan worried the whole time as they were not able to get any fluids into him.

They had taken turns sitting with him and talking to him hoping to wake him up but it didn't work. It was Nathan who was sitting with him when he did finally wake up. He didn't make any noise, he just opened his eyes and looked at Nathan.

"Ezra?" hoping that he would answer him. But he didn't. Nathan saw the the glassy look was gone though.

"Glad to have you back. I'm going to go and get you some water and something to eat. And I don't want to hear any arguments from you okay."

Ezra nodded and forced a smile onto his face.

It was another day before they left for Four Corners. They each tried to get Ezra into conversation but he had not said a word since he woke up. The glassy look was gone from his eyes but he was just not talking which was something that they could not handle because usually they found it hard to shut him up.

When they got back home Chris and Buck were standing on the porch of the saloon with JD. They had told him everything that happened. All three were glad to see Ezra riding in with the others but when they stopped he got off his horse and walked straight into the saloon without saying a word.

"He okay?" asked Chris.

"Not sure, he hasn't said a word since he woke up yesterday. Can't get anything out of him." Nathan looked at him. "I haven't seen him this bad before. I know he has been through a lot but this, I just don't know."

They went inside and found Ezra sitting at one of the tables, they went over and sat down with him. Ezra did not look up when they did. They sat with him until he got up and made his way to his room. Josiah went to get up but looked back at Nathan when he held his arm.

"Leave him be Josiah, he has to work this out himself. We just have to wait for him to come back."

Josiah nodded and sat back down again. They all sat there quietly wishing that they could help their friend knowing that they could not. It was up to Ezra now, all they could do was wait.

The End