By Bernadette
Ezra favoured his left leg as he made his way down the stairs to the busy saloon. It had been two weeks since Nathan had finally removed the splints from his arm and leg but both limbs were still tender. The ache in his leg became bad enough at times to cause him to limp and he was doing this now. Even his ribs gave him trouble and he winced at the pain when he breathed in to hard or laughed to much at Buck's antics. Nathan was not sure why Ezra's healed bones continued to give him trouble, he had even suggested that they may have been what he called phantom pains. That it was all in Ezra's mind although Nathan was not sure but by saying this he had put negative thoughts into Ezra's mind without realising it.
Ezra though had thought that Nathan and the others used this as an excuse to stop worrying about him, to stop showing him what they called concern. This had helped convince him that it was pity that they were showing him and that they had now tired of it and were trying to find an excuse to stop showing any sort of emotion at all towards him. He knew that this would eventually happen, he expected it but he thought that it would just stop. But they made an excuse thinking that he would accept the fact that it was all his doing. That he was getting use to the attention and wanted more so he continued to feel the pain.
All of this brought home what his mother had told him. That he did all this to seek attention but got pity in return. His mind told him that this is what his friends were thinking as well. Ezra had convinced himself of all this but it was not true, they were still concerned about him, even more now that he still continued to feel pain in his healed injuries. But every time they showed this concern Ezra thought they were teasing him because he did not think they believed the pain that he was feeling was real.
Ezra looked around the crowded room and saw his associates watching him as he made his way down the stairs. He moved towards the table and carefully sat down in the empty chair. He waited for them to start their usual comments and he didn't have to wait long.
"The leg giving you trouble Ezra?" Nathan asked with concern.
"No." Ezra replied while pouring himself a shot of whiskey.
"Then why are you limping?" Chris asked him.
"Because I am seeking attention remember." Ezra growled at him without glancing up from his glass.
"And who told you that? Your mother?" Chris retorted. He thought that Ezra had made his wall even thicker after Nathan suggested that the pain he was feeling may not have been real and he now thought that any sort of concern that they showed towards him was pity. Chris had argued with him about it but had not been able to convince him otherwise. And now they all seemed to go through this argument each time they showed him concern. They wanted to give up but that would only confirm what Ezra was thinking so they kept at him and put up with the arguments.
Ezra did not answer him but instead drank the glass full of whiskey and winced at the taste. He did not return the stare that Chris was giving him but turned to look around the saloon. He watched as two men argued at the end of the bar. One was younger and stood over the man that he was arguing with. Ezra could see the anger on the young face and the fear in the older person's face. The older man looked unkept and dirty while the other looked cleaned and well dressed. The argument seemed to end abruptly and the younger man left leaving the other to finish the drink that had been sitting on the bar. Ezra could see his hand shaking, the young man must have scared him.
Ezra quickly forgot about it and returned to his own argument. "It is something that I have come to learn over the years." The sarcasm was evident in Ezra's tone.
"Only after Maude put it in your head." Josiah joined the argument.
"You gentlemen must really stop ganging up on me like this." Ezra shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Only when you start telling us the truth. Is your leg giving you trouble?" Chris asked again.
Ezra finally looked up at Chris and saw the determination there. He wasn't going to stop arguing with him until he told him what Chris wanted to hear. "Yes it is. Happy now?"
"No I'm not happy about it." Chris sat back and left the discussion at that for the moment.
"You want me to get you something for the pain Ezra?" Nathan asked as he watched the smile come over Ezra's face.
"Don't you mean the phantom pain Mr Jackson?" Nathan winced at the question. He regretted putting the idea in Ezra's mind as it was this thought that was causing most of the trouble.
"Quit it Ezra. Do you want something or not?" Chris growled at him across the table.
"No." Ezra muttered in defeat. He hadn't wanted to start his morning like this but it seemed to be the way they all started now. It was no longer a greeting that he received in the mornings but a question as to how he was feeling, was his leg giving him trouble, was his arm sore, what about his ribs and he was tired of them so he started an argument hoping that they would not ask again the next day but they did and it had been like this for two weeks now. Ezra moaned as Buck and JD sat down at the table.
"Leg hurting Ezra?" asked JD mistaking the moan as pain instead of the arrival of himself and Buck.
"What do you think Mr Dunne?" Ezra said harshly.
"Just asking is all." JD protested.
"You ask to much, all of you do." Ezra growled.
"Take it easy Ezra, JD is only concerned." Buck felt that he needed to defend JD.
"It's not concern, it's pity and I'm tired of it." Ezra was angry and before anyone could say anything in return he got up quickly knocking his chair over. They did not see the grimace of pain as he walked away from the table and out of the saloon.
Chris got up to follow him but Josiah's voice stopped him. "Leave him be for now Chris. Let him calm down." Josiah was watching the swinging saloon doors.
"I was actually thinking of going to the telegraph office." He smiled coldly.
"What for?" Asked JD not knowing what Chris was thinking.
"I was going to send Maude a telegram asking her to visit." His smile did not leave his face as he sat back down at the table. He heard the others mutter in agreement.
Ezra did not stop outside of the saloon he kept walking down the main street hoping that it would help the pain in his leg. As he walked passed the mouth of the alley he glanced in and saw the same two men that were arguing in the saloon. He didn't like the scared look on the older man's face so he thought that he would interrupt the argument. He walked into the alley and stopped close to the two men.
"Anything I can help you gentlemen with?" As he did this he saw the older man fall to the ground the blood quickly soaking his shirt and the younger man turned on him with the bloody knife still in his hand. Ezra's natural instincts took over and he drew his arms up to protect himself. He felt the pain as the knife slashed through his clothing and the flesh of his right forearm. The young man then drew the knife back intending to cause more damage to the person who had witnessed his crime but instead he felt Ezra's fist slam into his jaw knocking him backwards but he managed to keep his balance and come back at him. He lunged forward but Ezra side stepped him and hit the young man on the side of the head this time knocking him to the ground. He then placed his right foot on the man's wrist and pulled the knife from his hand.
Ezra waited a moment but the man did not move so he went to the older man who was still lying in a heap against the wall. He saw the blood that had pooled around the body. He felt for a pulse but did not find one, the man was dead. Ezra looked up towards the alley opening and saw one of the townsfolk walking past.
"Mr Simpson!" Ezra called to him. The man turned when he heard his name and saw the gambler Standish in the alley leaning over a man. "Could you please tell Mr Larabee and the others that I need their help." Ezra only had to wait a few minutes before he saw Chris and the others run into the alley. They stopped and looked at the two men lying on the ground and then at Ezra.
"What happened?" Asked Chris.
Ezra nodded towards the young man. "He killed the older man." He held up the knife for them to see. "They were having an argument and I intervened but I was to late. He then came at me with the knife but was not successfull in his endeavor."
"You saw the whole thing?" Asked Buck.
"Didn't I just say that." Ezra retorted.
"Take it easy Ezra." Chris walked up to him to take the knife from his hand. "Did you hear what they were arguing about?"
"No. But I did see them in the saloon earlier and they were also arguing then. I guess this one," he nudged the unconscious man with his foot, "wanted to take it a bit further."
Chris leant down and took the knife from Ezra's left hand and saw the blood dripping from his right. He saw the cut in Ezra's jacket and the blood that also had begun to soak it. "Buck, JD take this guy to the jail. Josiah arrange for the other one to be taken to the undertakers and Nathan you can take care of Ezra's arm." He lifted it to show Nathan but Ezra pulled his arm away.
"It's just a scratch, it doesn't need to be taken care of." Ezra growled.
"Yes it does Ezra and if you don't let Nathan take care of it then we will hold you down until he does." He stood face to face with Ezra. "Got it."
"Got it." Ezra replied sarcastically. He walked off to Nathan's clinic with Nathan and Chris following after him.
Ezra's day was just getting worse and his mood was doing the same thing. He felt bad about the man who had been killed, he thought that if he had been there a few minutes sooner he would still be alive. He stormed up the stairs to Nathan's room and pushed the door open and then paced the room - the pain in his leg forgotten - until Nathan came in. He grimaced as he saw Chris follow Nathan into the room.
"Take your jacket off Ezra and sit down on the bed." Nathan kept his voice calm. He could see the mood that Ezra was now in and it was going to take a lot to stop him from loosing his temper completely.
Ezra took his jacket off and threw it on the bed and then sat down next to it. Nathan came to the bed with a tray of medical supplies and placed them on the bed next to him. Once he had unbuttoned Ezra's shirt sleeve and rolled it up he used a cloth to gently wipe the blood away and heard Ezra's quick intake of breath.
"It's deep Ezra. I'm going to have to stitch it." Nathan told him.
"And the day just keeps getting better." Ezra moaned.
"Your not going to fight me are you Ezra?" Nathan asked him. He knew that if he did it was going to make the job a lot harder for both of them.
Ezra turned and looked at Chris. "I believe that I do not have a choice."
"Good." Nathan went and cleaned his hands and then returned to Ezra. He first cleaned the wound and then stitched it. He did this as quickly as he could knowing that Ezra did not enjoy the pain as he'd had too much of it lately. He could feel Ezra shaking as he continued to stitch the knife wound. Nathan kept looking at him but his face was turned away. When he had finished he put some balm on it to help stop any infection and then bandage the wound. "All done Ezra."
Ezra turned to look at him and Nathan could see the pain in his eyes and the sweat that had formed on his forehead. "Can I go now?" The pain also sounded in his voice.
"Sure but I am going to need to check your arm on occassions to make sure an infection doesn't set in. The stitches will also have to stay in for at least two weeks." Nathan watched as Ezra stood up and grab his jacket, he then walked out of the clinic without another word. Chris and Nathan followed him.
Chris didn't say anything as they followed Ezra back to the saloon and the table that they had all been sitting at half an hour ago. He sat silently as Ezra drank three straight shots of whiskey. He wanted to say something to him but he thought that it was best to wait for him to calm down. It wasn't long before Buck and JD joined them.
"How's the arm Ezra?" Asked Buck. Ezra didn't answer him.
"A had to put some stitches in his arm but it should be fine." Nathan answered for him. He noticed Ezra's look out of the corner of his eye.
Buck nodded. "That guy we just threw in the cell hasn't come to yet so we just left him in there. We'll go back later and find out who he is."
"He didn't have anything on him to tell you who he was?" Chris asked him.
"No." JD answered. "We checked him but there was nothing in any of his pockets. He didn't even have a gun."
The table became quiet then as they sat in silence trying not to watch Ezra as he continued to drink the bottle of whiskey that had been left on the table.
Josiah came out of the undertaker's to see four strangers riding into town. He did not see any hardware on them so he ignored them as he thought that they would not be any trouble. But he was wrong, they were killers, they just didn't use a gun to kill people. These men preferred to kill their prey up close with a knife and this was something that Ezra and the other men were going to find out the hard way.
Josiah walked into the silence that surrounded the table where the other five hired gunmen were sitting. As he sat down he looked at Chris and gave him questioning look but Chris shook his head at him at looked at Ezra. Josiah followed his gaze and saw Ezra staring at an empty glass that he was holding in his hand. He nodded at Chris to indicate that he understood what he was trying to say.
"Were going to have to inform the Judge of what happened." Buck couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"He'll be back in town this afternoon, we can tell him then." Chris told him but he hadn't taken his eyes off Ezra.
"So when is Vin due back?" Asked JD.
"Tomorrow." Nathan answered him. He to was watching Ezra.
"Will you please stop staring at me." Ezra asked them quietly.
"Nothing else to look at." Chris commented. "Your the only pretty face here at the moment."
Ezra groaned and lowered himself further into the chair while the others laughed. Their laughter stopped as four strangers walked into the saloon and headed to the bar. The six hired lawmen took in their appearence, they saw the rough look and the clean well cut clothing. The fact that they carried no guns did not go unnoticed either. The four looked like each other so it was decided that they were family. One was a lot older than the others which probably meant that he was the father of the three younger men with him.
"Saw them ride into town on my way back here from the undertakers." Josiah told them. They watched as the older man talked to the bartender who nodded towards the six men who were watching them. The older man turned around and walked towards them.
"I understand that you are the lawmen of this town." He waited for an answer but did not receive one so he continued. "My name is Fred Morrow and I am looking for my other son, he ran away from home and we found out at the last town that he was headed here." This was the story that they always used when a job was being carried out.
"What does he look like?" Asked Chris.
"Like my other boys there. Short brown hair, blue eyes, dressed like us and he also doesn't carry a gun." He saw the lawmen look at each other. "You've seen him?"
"We have someone who looks like that in our jail." Chris told him. "You might want to go and see if it's him."
"What's he doing in jail?" He frowned at Chris. He kept the anger that he felt inside. Joseph must have been sloppy to get caught. This would mean more work for the rest of them, they would have to get him out of jail but that would be difficult with seven lawmen in the town.
"Murder." Chris growled.
"Are you saying my son killed someone?" Very sloppy and he was going to be punished when they did get him out.
"If he is your son then yes, he killed someone." Chris looked at Buck. "Buck, JD why don't you take Mr Morrow here to see his son."
"Sure." Buck and JD got up and were followed out of the saloon by a man who was willing to kill anyone to protect his sons and that included lawmen.
When they arrived at the jail they found that the young man had regained consciousness. Buck and JD stood back while Morrow talked with his son. They could hear what the conversation was about and the man sounded quite upset that his son was in this situation. The man asked them if he could be alone with his son for a few minutes and after agreeing to one of them checking him for any weapons they left and stood outside. They had thought the man was genuine.
"You want to tell me what went wrong?" He asked Joseph.
"I got caught, someone was walking pass the alley and he saw me. I tried to take care of him but he got the better of me." He hung his head in shame and would not look into his fathers eyes.
"It was supposed to be a simple job and you messed up." He growled at him. "You know that this is going to mean extra work for us don't you." He didn't want an answer. "This man who stopped you, he was the only witness. No one else saw you kill Hanks?"
"No one else saw me." He kept his head down as he knew his father was dissapointed in him.
"All we have to do then is take care of this one witness so he won't testify in court. Do you remember what he looked like?" He expected the description to be vague and that they would have to wait for the actual trial to find him.
"He looks like a gambler, fancy dressed with a red coat, white shirt and black string tie. I managed to cut his arm though."
Morrow remembered one of the lawmen sitting at the table in the saloon who fitted that description. "Which arm?"
"His right." He finally looked into his father's eyes. "I am sorry father."
"Don't worry Joseph we will get you out of this. When they come to question you don't tell them anything." He left his son in the jail cell and left. He found Buck and JD waiting for him. He tipped his hat in acknowdgement and walked back to the saloon. Buck and JD went back into the jail intending to question the prisoner.
Morrow returned to the saloon and the table that the remaining lawmen were sitting at. He didn't look directly at Ezra but he did see the blood that was on the jacket of his right sleeve. He was right, this was the man who had caught his son and this was the man that they were going to deal with. He looked a Chris as he put an expression of concern on his face.
"The man in the jail is my son Joseph but he tells me that he didn't kill anyone. He said that the man was dead when he found him and that he pulled the knife out of him."
"Is that so?" Chris asked him knowing that Ezra had told him the truth about what he had seen.
"Is there going to be any sort of investigation into this crime?" He asked Chris.
"No there isn't. There is a witness that saw your son murder a man." Chris could tell the man was upset by what he was telling him but he wasn't going to give him any false hope.
"So in other words I will have to wait for the trial and hope that this witness was perhaps lying." Morrow did not receive an answer but he notice Ezra tense up at the words. "I am going to inform my other sons of the situation so if you will excuse me." He tipped his hat to them and joined his sons at the bar.
"Joseph got caught." He simply stated to them. They acted shocked for the watching lawmen. "Did you see the lawman in the red jacket. He's the only witness to the crime so we are going to have to take care of him." They nodded, finished their drinks and walked out of the saloon behind their father, neither looking at the man who was responsible for putting their brother behind bars.
Ezra watched as they left the saloon, he was glad to see the back of them. Something about that man did not sit right with him. He turned back to the bottle of whiskey that was still not empty and poured himself another shot.
"Your not going to drink all of that are you Ezra?" Chris asked him.
Ezra answered him by drinking the glass of whiskey and then reaching for the bottle again. Chris grabbed the bottle before he did. "You have had enough already Ezra."
"If you will excuse me gentlemen this concern thing that you are showing is getting a bit suffocating so I am going to get some fresh air." Ezra stood up and left them sitting at the table to watch his back as he left the saloon.
"You think he's feeling guilty about not stopping that guy from killing that man?" Nathan asked Chris.
"Yeah and that's the last thing that he needs now and it is going to make his mood even worse."
Ezra walked out of the saloon and into the street. He needed to get away from the others before they started asking him more questions about how he was feeling. Once he got enough fresh air he would go back to the saloon, get another bottle and go to his room. As he walked he held his arm across his stomach as it seemed to ease the pain that he was feeling. He was walking pass another alley when he felt the hands grab him and drag him deep into the alley. He was about to cry out at the pain that erupted in his arm as someone grabbed it but another was quickly placed over his mouth. He tried to fight them off him but there were to many hands. He felt the pain in his back as he was slammed up against the wall and then he saw the knife that was placed in front of his face and he looked up into the eyes of Fred Morrow.
Ezra's own eyes switched from the eyes of the man who stood before him back to the knife. It was a large hunting knife and he knew that if they used it on him it would cause a lot of damage and if placed in the right area it would kill him. He struggled to get away but three sets of hands held him hard against the wall. His arms were held by his sides while another covered his mouth to stop the cry of help that they expected from him. Ezra finally stood still and watched as the knife moved closer to his face. He felt the cold hard touch of steel against his cheek but did not feel it piercing his flesh.
"I understand that you are the man who arrested my son." It was a statement that was spoken in a cold and threatening tone.
Ezra did not say anything, he couldn't as the hand was still covering his mouth. He felt the knife as it slid down his cheek towards his exposed neck. The hand that was stopping any sound from being made forced his head to the side. Ezra winced as the knife finally pierced his skin allowing a small trickle of blood to flow into his shirt collar changing the whiteness of it to red. Ezra was able to see the entrance to the alley and wondered why no one seemed to be passing it, he realised though that even if someone did they would not see him this far into the alley as the full sun did not reach this far and he was mostly hidden in the shadows. His head was turned back towards Morrow.
"I am going to take my hand away and if you make a sound then this knife will slit your throat in a second." He gave Ezra a moment to think. "Do we have an understanding?"
Ezra nodded but it was only slight as he his head was pressed against the wall. He had looked into the man's eyes and knew that he would do it. He had the eyes of a killer. He took in a deep breath when the hand was removed and kept silent. The knife was still against his throat.
"I also understand that you are the only witness." His tone was still threatening. "I am here to make a deal with you." He watched as a confused expression overcame Ezra's face. But what he did not see was fear, he had thought that this gambler would be begging for his life by now but he had surprised him. He had killed a few gamblers and deep down they were all weak, they were cheaters and liers and would do anything to save their own necks. But this one was different. It was going to take more than a threat on his life to scare him.
"Here's the deal, you testify against my son and someone will die." He smiled coldly at Ezra.
"Someone?" Ezra couldn't stop himself from asking. He felt the fist slam into his still tender ribs and before he could voice his pain the hand covered his mouth forcing his head back against the wall. He tried to replace the air that had been forced out of his lungs but the hand only allowed a small amount to enter his airways. It wasn't enough, he was gasping for air and the hand was removed for a moment so he could get the air that he required to stop him from blacking out. Once his breathing steadied the hand was put back into position.
"Alexander, show him what we mean." He forced Ezra's head to the side again so he could watch what his son was going to do.
Ezra felt two hands let go of him and he began to struggle again as he had an idea of what was going to happen. The hands that were still holding him strengthened their grip and pressed him harder into the wall. Ezra was held that way for a few minutes and then he began to struggle harder as he watched Casey walk past the alley. He tried to use his voice to warn her but the cry was not heard due to the hand that still covered his mouth. He watched as the son called Alexander stopped Casey at the mouth of the alley and drew his knife from his belt. Ezra saw the knife go close to Casey's back and move around in the air as though he was about to plunge it into her back at any moment.
He felt the fear for Casey's life squeeze his heart and just when he thought the knife was going to strike it was placed back into the belt's sheath. The man then tipped his hat to Casey and watched her walk away. He then made his way back into the alley. Ezra's face was brought back to face Morrow who finally saw the fear in his eyes but it was a fear for someone else's life and not his own.
"Do you see how easy it is to kill someone." He waited for Ezra to acknowledge him but he didn't. "Lift his right arm." He told one of his other sons.
Ezra groaned as he felt the deep cut in his flesh cry out as it was pushed against the wall. Another knife was brought up to his face and the first one removed. Alexander's hand also replaced the one that covered his mouth. Ezra's eyes followed Morrow as he moved towards his injured arm. Hollow place his hand over the cut in Ezra's jacket and then squeezed. Ezra's scream was held in by the hand that was over his mouth. His legs buckled but the strong hands held him up. He felt the pain as it tore up his arm into his mind, he could feel the stitches that Nathan had only put in that morning tear allowing the cut to reopen and he could feel the warm blood as it began to flow and soak into the bandage. The pain finally eased as Hollow removed his hand from Ezra's arm.
"I said do you understand how easy it is to kill someone." Morrow growled into Ezra's face and he watched him nod his head in a guesture that told him yes. "If you testify against my son then we will kill one of the townsfolk, maybe that young woman that Alexander just spoke to. Could you imagine the pain that she would feel as the knife entered her stomach, we would leave her somewhere so she wouldn't be found straight away, that way she would die a slow agonising death." He watched as the fear strengthened in Ezra's eyes. He knew he hit the right mark, this man would feel a lot of guilt if someone died because of him. "Good we have an understanding then. You testify and she dies."
He brought his knife back to Ezra's face and ran it along his jawline. The hand was removed from his mouth. "Are you going to testify?" Morrow asked him.
Ezra hesitated for a moment. "No." He lied. Ezra allowed the fear that he had felt for Casey to continue to show so this man would accept his lie. He needed to buy himself some time so he could work out what he was going to do. He would have to tell the others but he had plenty of time for that.
"Lift his other arm up." Morrow ordered his sons. Ezra's left arm was also lifted up and placed against the wall which caused his red jacket to fall open. Morrow used his left arm to undo the buttons of Ezra's waist coat and then used his knife to pull his shirt up exposing the flat tonned stomach.
Ezra was becoming worried, he thought that he was going to get out of this encounter without another injury to his person but he was obviously wrong. Maybe they were going to kill him anyway. Well at least he didn't have to worry about Casey. He felt the chill of the air as his shirt was lifted from his side and he then watched as the knife was lowered. He felt the agonising pain as the knife sliced through his left side. His legs began to buckle again and this time he was allowed to fall to the alley floor. Ezra curled up and clutched his side hoping to stop the blood that was pouring from the wound. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth clenched against the pain so he did not see Morrow crouch down next to him.
"We did that for the enjoyment. Remember if you put my son in the hangman's noose people will die, and then you. Got it?" He didn't wait for an answer but got up and walked out of the alley with his sons walking behind him. Neither of them looked back at Ezra who was still lying in a fetal position with the blood flowing from the deep wound in his side.
Ezra lay where he was curled up in a ball, his hand clutching his bleeding side, there was to much pain for him to want to move. The pain was excruciating and he could also feel the nausea already building within his stomach but he knew that he had to get up, if he stayed where he was he would only end up bleeding to death and then he would become the second man to die in an alley on the same day. He gritted his teeth and raised himself to his knees, waiting a moment for the spinning ground to a stop. Ezra then used the wall of the building to help himself stand up, then leaning against it as he had been forced to do before, he waited again hoping that he was not going to blackout.
He glanced down at his blood soaked shirt and grimaced as he lifted it up away from the wound. All he could see was the blood that continued to flow from the deep cut in his side. He pulled his jacket closed and pushed himself off the wall, he swayed for a moment feeling the dizziness as it swept through him but he managed to keep his balance so he started to walk towards the opening of the alley. He made it to the alleyway's exit and looked around for some sort of help but there was no one close enough to help him. As usual he would have to help himself but this was something that he'd had to do all his life.
He walked slowly and carefully towards the saloon and was grateful when he reached the swinging doors. Ezra was about to enter when he saw Nathan and the other lawmen sitting at the table in the corner and his mother's voice reached his ears. 'If you tell them all you will get is pity.' He quickly stepped back and leaned against the wall as the darkness threatened to take control of his body again. Ezra remembered all the pity that he had been recieving over the last eight weeks, pity that he had never wanted and did not want and he'd had enough of it. He knew that if he walked in there and allowed them to see the wound they would fuss over him, they would show him pity and then babysit him until he was well again. Not to mention all the pain that Nathan would cause him by stitching the wound. He didn't want that, he didn't want to be smothered any more or receive the pity that they claimed to be concern. He would tell them that he had been threatened but not now, they would see the wound. Ezra's insecurities had done what the darkness could not do, it took control of his mind.
He took a deep breath, clutched his jacket across his stomach and walked into the saloon making sure that the limp was obvious. As he limped through the saloon he saw the lawmen looking at him out of the corner of his eye, he could see the pity that lined their faces. Ezra made sure that he did not look at them as they would see the pain that he was not able to hide from his own expression. He heard Nathan's voice and stopped in his tracks.
"You okay Ezra?" He heard the pity in Nathan's voice.
"My leg is causing me some pain so I am going to my room to rest." Ezra growled at him.
"Do you want me to look at it?" Nathan asked again.
"If I want you to look at it Mr Jackson I will ask you." Ezra walked to the bar hoping that he would not end up finding Chris Larabee in his face as it seemed to happen when he refused Nathan's care lately.
After making it to the bar, Ezra leaned against it and closed his eyes against the dizzness that again threatened him. When it left him he lifted his head and asked the bartender for a bottle of whiskey. His hands were covered in blood so he did not pick the bottle up while the bartender was watching him, he waited for him to move away. He grabbed the whiskey and headed towards the stairs which he had to climb carefully because of his leg and the new wound in his side. He couldn't use his hands to grab the rail as the others would see the blood. He began to sweat as he knew the longer he took the more likely it was that one of the others would come and offer their help which was the last thing he wanted. He finally reached the top and then moved towards his room grateful that he was able to make it without the others realising that something was wrong.
Ezra closed the door behind him, waited a moment and then carefully made his way to the dresser where he removed one of his older shirts. He then slowly walked to the bed and sat down heavily, groaning against the pain that he felt in his side. He put both the bottle and shirt on the bed beside him and carefully removed his upper clothing clenching his teeth against the pain and the neausea. He tore up the white ruffled shirt that had once been his favourite and then pulled the cork out of the bottle using his teeth. He soaked one of the strips of shirt with the whiskey. He took a long drink of the alcohol and then pressed the cloth against the still bleeding wound.
Ezra felt the pain as it exploded in his side and his left hand grabbed the bedpost, his knuckles turning white, his teeth were clenched so tight against the scream that his jaw began to ache. He held on as long as he could before he pulled the cloth away. He wiped away the sweat that was falling into his eyes and waited for the white spots to clear from his vision. Once he was able to focus again he placed the blood soaked cloth against his side again feeling the pain once more as it tore through him. Ezra quickly removed it as he felt the darkness coming for him. The last thing he wanted was to black out and then have one of his associates walk in and find him lying here with a wound in his side. If that was to happen the pity would begin.
Ezra decided to bandage the wound tightly which he thought would eventually stop the bleeding. He again soaked one of the clean strips of material and put it gently on the wound. The pain was bad but not bad enough to cause him to black out. He wrapped another few of the strips around his waist to hold the material in place but the cloth was quickly soaked with the blood that was still leaking from the wound. Ezra then took another drink from the bottle and as he tilted his head back he felt a wave of dizziness overtake him. He dropped the bottle and it hit the floor the whiskey pouring out and soaking the carpet as the blood soaked his makeshift bandage. He left the bottle where it was and managed to pull back the bed covers, he lifted his still booted feet onto the bed and then covered both himself and the two bleeding wounds so that if anyone came in they would think that he was sleeping. He blacked out as soon as his head hit the pillow, the blood loss finally taking it's toll on his body.
"You think he's okay?" Chris asked Nathan as he watched Ezra slowly walk up the stairs. He wanted to go and help him but knew that Ezra's stubborn pride would only push him away.
"Yeah, rest is the best thing for him now. I'll go up later and check him. Hopefully he'll be in a better mood as well." Like Chris, Nathan wanted to follow Ezra up the stairs but he kept himself from doing so.
Buck and JD entered the saloon and headed straight for the table and sat down in two of the empty chairs. "That guy in the jail won't say anything." Buck told Chris.
"He doesn't have to. Ezra saw the whole thing and that is going to be enough for the Judge." Chris informed him.
"Where is Ezra anyway?" Asked JD as he looked around the saloon.
"Up in his room resting." JD and Buck heard the concern in Nathan's voice. "He was limping pretty badly so he went up to get some rest. More likely though that he wanted to just get away from us." They all nodded knowing that what Nathan said was probably true.
The rest of the afternoon passed by quietly. Ezra had still not come down and they hadn't seen Morrow and his boys since they left the saloon. They were expecting the Judge to arrive within the next five minutes and Josiah was waiting for the stage coach so he could inform him of what had transpired that morning. They heard the horses and the stage as it went past the saloon and watched the saloon doors waiting for the Judge to storm through them which he did ten minutes later.
Josiah walked quickly trying to keep up with the Judge as he walked towards the waiting gunmen. "I understand that Mr Standish had some trouble this morning." The Judge commented as he sat down at the table.
"Yeah he did but it's all under control now, the murderer is in the jail." Chris told him.
"And Mr Standish?" The Judge raised his eyebrows at Chris.
"He's up in his room." Chris knew what he wanted and he was not going to volunteer for the job. He looked at the others and they looked away from him.
"I would like to see him. I want to know what happened."
"We can tell you that Judge." Buck said a little hastily.
"I want to hear it from Mr Standish." He glowered at Buck. "So who is going to go and get him?"
They all looked at Josiah. "What are you looking at me for?"
"Because he doesn't seem to shoot at you." Buck told him.
"Fine but if he's sleeping I am going to leave him be." He saw the Judge give him a stern look. "I'm sorry Judge but he needs it."
"What do you mean by that Mr Sanchez?"
"Nathan will explain while I go upstairs." Josiah left the table as Nathan began telling the Judge what had been happening over the last couple of weeks. He told him how Ezra's injuries were still giving him trouble and then about the knife wound that he had recieved that morning and the loss of blood that had resulted from it. All of this meant that he did need to rest.
Josiah quietly knocked on Ezra's door and when he did not recieve an answer he opened it and stepped into the darkened room. He could see Ezra lying on his stomach, the bed sheets covering him. He seemed to be sleeping deeply so Josiah did not disturb him. He left closing the door behind him and made his way back down to the others. They all looked up as he came down the stairs.
"He's sleeping like a baby." He smiled at them.
"We best leave him be then until the morning." Nathan told the Judge who nodded in agreement. He wanted to talk to Standish but after what Nathan had just told him he agreed to wait.
Ezra had woken up to find himself in a lot of pain, he tried to focus on what had happened but he wasn't sure. He had rolled over onto his stomach, a cry escaping from his lips as he felt the pain erupt in his side. They cry ended abruptly as he fell into unconsciousness. The blood continued to flow from his wound and the fever started to take control of his body and mind.
Ezra felt his face being forced towards the direction of the alley. He watched as the man walked towards Casey as she crossed his path. Ezra tried to call out but all he could manage was a muffled scream against the hand that was pressed heavily against his mouth. He saw the sun as it shone off the large hunting knife before it plunged into Casey's back. He heard her scream and his own joined her as he struggled to get away from the hands that held him against the wall. Ezra was not able to wake up so the dream continued. He could see the blood as it flowed from Casey's mouth as she had turned towards him with a questioning look on her face. Ezra was able to read the expression.
'Why did you do it Ezra, you knew they would kill me. Why Ezra, why?'
He struggled harder to get out of the darkness as he watched Casey fall to the ground, the blood pooling around her young lifeless body. Ezra knew that she was dead and that the blood should no longer be pumping through her veins but it did. It continued to flow out of her body and soak into the ground around her. Ezra screamed himself awake but there was no one to hear him in the early hours of the morning. He opened his eyes and tried to lift his head but the dizziness he felt caused him to lower it quickly. He managed to open his eyes again and saw his mother looking down at him.
'What are you doing still in bed Ezra.' She asked him.
'I'm sick mother.' He answered her.
'No your not, you just want attention but your not going to get it. The only thing that you will get is pity.' Her tone was degrading. 'Now get up.'
Ezra tried but he couldn't move and as he lay there he could hear his mother's voice, the words hurting him all over again. He wanted to stop her but for some reason he was not able to speak and he couldn't shut out her voice either. He continued to listen as the words tore through his heart as the pain had tore through his side. Ezra continued to dream of his mother and of Casey's death and after a while he was not able to seperate his dreams from reality
As the sun came up the darkness began to recede from the room but Ezra stayed in his dark world where his dreams continued to haunt him. He had tried again and again to save Casey but each time it ended the same way with her lying on the ground, her life leaving her body. His mother also continued to taunt him with her negative comments which continued to confirm everything that he already knew. That she had never wanted him and that no one would ever care for him, he had to look after number one as nobody else would and if he allowed people to know that he was ill then they would only show him pity as they did not care for him. It was because of these memories that Ezra now lay in his bed with a dangerous fever and a wound that had already started to become infected with no one knowing about it.
The Judge walked down the main street tipping his hat to the people that had also risen early that morning. He knew that Ezra would not be one of them but he intended to have one of the other hired men wake him up. He always enjoyed this time of the day and could not understand why the gambler never seemed to get himself out of bed before ten. He felt the warmth of the early sun on his face as he made his way across the street to the saloon. He did not expect all of the gunmen to be there but that was okay as he only needed one to wake him.
He walked in and was suprised to find the five of them there. He walked over to the table and sat down as he accepted the coffee that Josiah passed to him. 'Must be a bribe he thought to himself, they know what I want.' He nodded his thanks and drank the warm liquid.
"Beautiful day isn't it Judge?" Buck asked him hoping that if he was nice to him the Judge would not ask him to wake Ezra up.
"Yes it is Mr Wilmington and thank you for volunteering to wake up Mr Standish." The Judge smiled at him.
Buck's mouth fell open. "Now hold on Judge, all I said was . . . "
"I am waiting Mr Wilmington." He thought that if he did not interrupt him there then he would be making excuses all morning. He listened as the others laughed openly at their friend and considered getting someone else to do it but changed his mind. He was sure there would be other occasions when it would be their turn. Buck stood up from his chair as the jibes were thrown at him. He ignored them as he made his way to the stairs.
"Don't forget to duck." JD laughed at him.
"Perhaps one of you would like to help him." Judge Travis suggested. He smiled again as the laughter stopped.
Buck couldn't help but smile himself but it was quickly removed from his face as he looked towards Ezra's door. He hated doing this, they all did but for some reason he was the only one that Ezra had actually shot at. He made his way to the door and listened for a moment hoping to hear Ezra moving about but he sighed when he didn't. He stepped to the side and knocked on the door. Nothing. He knocked harder but still heard no sounds from the room. He opened the door and swung it open while keeping his body out of the doorway. He still heared nothing. He carefully glanced around the door jam and saw Ezra sleeping on his stomach with his face turned away from him.
He stepped into the room and quietly tip toed to the bed. He looked down at Ezra's face and frowned as he saw the pasty colour of his skin. He stepped closer still and heard the sound of his boot kicking the empty bottle on the floor. He froze forgetting Ezra's appearance for a moment and waited for the sound of the small derringer being activated. It wasn't. He looked down again and noticed the wet hair that was framing Ezra's face.
"Ezra?" Buck now knew that something was wrong. He pulled the blanket off Ezra's shoulder, he was going to shake him awake but as soon as he touched Ezra's shoulder he felt the heat that was burning within his body. He quickly removed his hand and placed it on his forehead. Ezra felt hot and clammy. Buck pulled Ezra's right arm out from under the blanket and saw the blood soaked bandage. He placed it back on the bed and ran out of the room heading straight for the stairs.
"Nathan get up here quick!" Buck yelled over the balcony to the men below. He didn't wait for him, he turned and went back to Ezra.
The four hired gunmen sat around the table waiting to hear either a gunshot or Bucks boots running back down the stairs but what they didn't expect to hear was Buck yelling out to Nathan to get up to Ezra's room. Worried glances were given to each other before they rose from their chairs and ran up the stairs to find out what was going on. They crowded in through the doorway to find Buck sitting on the bed next to Ezra who was sprawled across the bed on his stomach. Buck was trying to wake him up without any success.
"He's got a bad fever and his arm's been bleeding." Buck told Nathan as he got up off the bed.
Nathan sat down on the bed and saw what Buck was talking about. He saw the bloodied arm that was now lying on the pillow. He looked down into his pale face and placed his hand on Ezra's forehead as Buck had done earlier and also felt the fever. He carefully removed the bandages and saw the torn stitches. He frowned and looked up at Chris.
"The stitches have been torn."
"How?" Chris didn't think that Ezra would have been angry enough to have done this himself.
"I don't know, maybe he fell." Nathan shrugged. "I am going to have to restitch it. I'll go and get my things." He got up from the bed and left the others as they wondered how he managed to tear the stitches in his arm.
They had not noticed the new infected wound in his side as they were to concerned with the old one. If they had glanced down at the floor they would have seen the bloodied clothes or if they pulled the blankets back further they would see the bandaged wrapped around his waist that was soaked with his blood. But they didn't look.
When Nathan left Chris moved forward and sat on the other side of the bed so he could face Ezra. He used his hand to wipe the damp hair away from his forehead. He took in the paleness of Ezra's handsome face, the slack features, the open mouth as he breathed steadily. He watched as the slack expression grew into a grimace. His used his voice to try and settle him, it also gave him something to do until Nathan came back.
"Ezra, your going to be okay now. Nathan is going to fix you up." Chris continued to wipe away the hair that was no longer on Ezra's forehead.
"Chris?" Ezra mumbled in his sleep.
"Yeah Ezra, I'm here." He leaned forward so he could hear him better.
Ezra took in a quick breath as he watched the knife plunge into Casey's back again. "Casey I'm sorry." Ezra sobbed.
JD stepped forward hoping to find out why Ezra was talking about Casey. "What's he saying about Casey Chris?"
Chris ignored him. "Ezra?" Chris didn't realise that he was only semi-conscious and that he was rambling. "Ezra can you hear me?"
"I killed her. I killed Casey." Ezra tried to turn his head but couldn't the hand was still forcing him to look at Casey. "Let me go!" He suddenly yelled out.
"I'm going to look for Casey." JD said as he ran out the door.
"Ezra what are you talking about?" Chris asked him. Ezra didn't answer, his face went slack again as the darkness took complete control.
Buck stepped forward again and kicked the bottle a second time. He looked down and saw the bottle next to Ezra's jacket. He bent down to pick it up knowing that Ezra would not like it if he's jacket became crumpled. And when he did he saw the bloodied shirt underneath.
"Chris." Buck lifted the shirt for everyone's inspection.
Chris looked at the shirt and knew that the amount of blood on it would not have come from his arm. He quickly pulled the blanket off Ezra's back and saw the blood soaked bandaged around his waist. He looked from the bandage to Ezra's face and back again. He then carefully untied the knott that held the bandage in place and tried to removed it from his side gently but some of the blood had dried so he had to use more force. Ezra moaned as the bandage came away from the wound. Chris could tell that it was a knife wound even through the dry blood that now filled the wound, it was a clean deep cut across his side. It was also red and swollen.
"He must have had this when he came up to his room yesterday." Chris told the others.
"Well why the hell didn't he tell us about it." Buck pratically yelled as he ran his hand through his hair in an agitated manner. "Why did he just come up here and allow himself to nearly bleed to death."
"I've got a pretty good idea." Chris muttered knowing that it was Ezra's foolish pride and the thought of the concern he would recieve, concern that he had mistaken for pity.
Judge Travis had been standing at the back of the room watching as Ezra's wounds were revealed to him. "Gentlemen do you have any idea who might have done this?" He asked the room. They all turned to him.
"Morrow." Josiah answered.
"Who's Morrow?" The Judge asked.
"He's the father of the guy Ezra arrested." Buck explained.
Nathan quickly walked into the room, his hands full of medical supplies. He looked down at Ezra and stopped as he saw the second wound on his side. He pushed the momentary shock aside and moved to bed. He put his supplies on the bed and leaned over Ezra's back to get a better look at the wound.
"I am going to need some boiling water." He turned to Josiah who nodded and left the room. "Chris help me turn him over." Nathan took Ezra's left shoulder and pulled it towards him. Chris pushed Ezra's hip so his lower body would turn over with his upper body. Nathan untwisted Ezra's right arm as his head rolled over it. Buck moved forward to pull the blanket off as it began to become tangled in his legs. He saw that Ezra still had his boots on and quickly pulled them off.
Nathan quickly examined the wound then stepped back. "What was he thinking?" He didn't recieve an answer.
When Josiah came back he poured some of the water into the basin that Ezra kept on his dresser, he then cleaned his hands. He went back to Ezra's side and began to clean the wound revealing the extent of the damage. Ezra groaned and his head rolled to face Chris who then placed his hand on Ezra's forehead but Ezra moved away again. Once he finished cleaning it he began to stitch it closed, when that was done he put some balm on it and then had Chris sit Ezra up so he could then bandage it.
Chris could feel Ezra's body heat through his own clothing. He looked up as JD came back into the room. "Did you find Casey?" He asked him.
"Yeah she's fine, hasn't seen Ezra for a couple of days." JD didn't look at Chris as he was staring at the bandage that Nathan was wrapping around Ezra's waist. "What's that for?"
"Somebody had another go at him with a knife." Buck told him.
Chris laid Ezra back down on the bed and Nathan repeated the same process with his right forearm. He then pulled the blanket back up over Ezra's already warm body and sat down on the bed next to him. He soaked one of the bandages in the cooling water and wiped the sweat from Ezra's face.
"Josiah, Buck why don't you go and see if Morrow is still in town." Chris watched as they left and then turned to Nathan. "He going to be okay?"
"There's a slight infection but it should clear up. Once it does that his fever should break." Nathan told him while the others listened.
"Good. I want him to be healthy when I hit him." Chris smiled.
"Bags the second punch." Nathan said.
"Casey." Ezra called as he tossed his head to the side. "Casey."
"Ezra, it's Chris. Casey's fine, she's okay."
Ezra had finally managed to get away, the hand was no longer covering his mouth and the hands were not holding him against the wall. He ran to Casey and fell to his knees beside her. He lifted her into his arms and hug her lifeless body to his chest. "Casey." She wouldn't answer him. "Casey." he shook her hoping to wake her up. "NO!" He yelled as he sat up in his bed finally breaking free of the dream or so he thought. He felt the hands grab him again and try to push him back down.
"Ezra. It's Chris. Your okay. Ezra." Chris shook him and as he did this Ezra cried out and sat up. Chris and Nathan tried to push him back down but he struggled in their grip. "Ezra!" Chris slapped him and Ezra stopped pushing them away. He opened his eyes and looked at Chris but his eyes were glassy. "Ezra?"
Ezra had felt the slap across his face. He opened his eyes to see who had done it but he was unable to focus. He blinked his eyes and waited for his vision to clear. "Chris."
"Yeah." Chris helped him lay back down on the bed.
"They killed her Chris." Ezra's eyes filled with tears. "They killed Casey."
"No Ezra. Casey's fine, JD just went and checked on her, didn't you JD." Chris turned to him.
"Chris is right Ezra. Casey's not dead." JD confirmed.
"Yes she is, I saw them kill her. They stabbed her and left her to bleed to death. I couldn't get to her, they wouldn't let me go." Eza believed that she had died.
"JD go and get Casey." Chris told him.
"Sure." JD left to find Casey again.
Chris turned back to Ezra. "Your gonna be okay Ezra, Nathan took care of the wound in your side."
"I'm not sick mother so there is no need to pity me." Ezra muttered as he fell back to sleep.
"Why would he think that Casey was dead?" Nathan asked Chris. He finished wiping Ezra's face and left the cool cloth on his forehead.
"I don't know but I'm going to find out when he wakes up." Chris growled. He was angry, at Maude because she was the real reason why Ezra had hidden this from them, at himself for thinking that Morrow was genuine and now Ezra was lying here with a second knife wound. There was even some part of him that wanted to be angry at Ezra but he knew that he would not become angry at him. He had come to know the gambler a lot better over the last few months, they all had and they knew that he had reasons for what he did and most of those reasons stemmed from his childhood and his mother. They had learnt to be more patient with him but at times it was hard because they got angry when they couldn't break through the wall that he constantly rebuilt around himself. Each time they thought they had started to break it down he would put it up again for another reason, another feeling, another memory of his life with his mother or lack of one. Once Ezra dealt with one problem something would happen to cause another one to come to the surface. Chris looked up at the sound of the Judge's voice.
"Chris when your ready I will talk to you downstairs about this situation." The Judge stepped towards the bed and nodded at Ezra.
"Sure, I'll come down when Buck and Josiah get back." Chris answered him knowing what it was he wanted.
"Ezra's not going to like it." Nathan stated, he also knew what the Judge was going to get them to do.
"He's not going to have a choice in the matter." Chris knew that Ezra was going to need protection and if that meant locking him up in a room then that's what they will do.
"Well you can tell him the good news then." Nathan told him.
"Casey is going to need protection too." Chris rubbbed his eyes as he wondered how Casey had become involved in this.
"Why would I need protection?" Casey asked as she stood in the doorway to Ezra's room. JD came up behind her and gently pushed her into the room. She stopped at the foot of the bed and looked at Ezra's pale sleeping form. "What's wrong with Ezra?"
"Casey come and sit down." Nathan motioned to the rocking chair that was in the corner of the room.
"What's going on?" She demanded.
"Sit down Casey and Nathan will explain it to you." Chris told her.
Nathan knelt down in front of Casey and decided to just come out with it as there was no easy way to put it. "Casey, Ezra thinks that you have been killed." He saw the shocked expression that came over her young face.
"Why would he think that?" She looked over at Ezra who had started to become restless, she watched as he tossed his head from side to side and then heard him call her name.
"Casey we brought you here for two reasons. The first one is so that Ezra can see that your alright." Nathan explained to her as she continued to watch Ezra. "The second is that we think that your life may be in danger."
"Nathan." Chris called as he tried to hold Ezra down. He had begun to struggle in his sleep as though he was trying to get away from something but before Nathan could get to him Ezra was brought violently out of his nightmare.
"Casey!" He cried out as he tried to sit up, the cloth that Nathan had placed on his forehead fell into his lap. He was gasping for breath, his eyes open but unseeing when Nathan got to his side.
"Ezra it's okay, your in your room. Ezra can you hear me?" Nathan gently shook him and watched as Ezra finally focused on him.
"Nathan?" Ezra whispered.
"Yeah it's me. Casey is here as well Ezra." Nathan turned to Casey. "Come and show him your okay."
"Casey's dead Nathan." Ezra turned his head to the side and closed his eyes against the tears that he felt each time he had to relive Casey's death.
"No I'm not Ezra." Casey came to the bed and sat down but Ezra didn't acknowledge her. Casey put her hand against Ezra's warm face. "Ezra look at me." He slowly open his eyes as he turned his head towards her, the tears beginning to fall. Casey was stunned that the thought of her death would bring the con man to tears. She knew that he was changing for the better but did not think that he would react this way.
"Casey?" Ezra inspected her carefully to make sure that it was her. He could feel her hand on his face as she wiped his tears away. He quickly became embarrassed and used his own hands to stop any more tears from falling.
"Casey's alive Ezra." Chris told him as he came forward. "Now do you want to tell us why you thought she wasn't."
Ezra closed his eyes as they were becoming heavy with sleep. He was happy that Casey was alive, he hadn't let her die. But why did he think that she had died, he tried to remember. Morrow, that was it, he had had his son show him how easy it was to kill someone. "Morrow threatened to kill her." He heard Casey gasp. "But not just Casey, anyone, he said he would kill anyone if I testified against his son." Ezra's words were becoming slurred. "Casey was just an example of how easy it would be."
"How Ezra?" Chris needed to know before Ezra fell asleep.
"He stopped her in the alley, had his knife out . . ." Ezra head rolled onto his shoulder as he slipped back into the comfort of slumber. Nathan quickly examined Ezra's side to make sure that he hadn't done any damage to it during his struggle. Once he confirmed that the stitches were still in place he pulled the blanket back up over Ezra and watched him sleep as Chris took over the converstation with Casey.
"Someone tried to kill me." Casey whispered through her hand.
"I'm sorry Casey." Chris put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you remember anyone talking to you yesterday?"
Casey had to think for a few minutes as she went through want she had done the day before. "I do remember talking to a stranger next to the general store. He seemed like a nice guy, he wanted to know if we had a Doctor in town." She was shocked. "He was going to kill me."
"I don't believe he had any intentions of killing you Casey, not then anyway. They were trying to scare Ezra, make him believe that they would kill you if he testified." Chris thought that this would make her feel better. He then looked down at Ezra. "And they did a good job of convincing him."
"And that's why you think that my life is in danger, because they might carry out their threat?" Casey looked into Chris's eyes as she knew that he would tell her the truth.
"Yes. We are going to hide you somewhere with Ezra until he testifies and we find Morrow and his family." Chris explained to her. "We'll wait for the others to come back and then we will take you to Nathan's room until Ezra is feeling better and then we will find somewhere safer for you."
"I think I will be safer out there." Casey muttered to herself but Chris had heard her.
"What do you mean by that?" He smiled at her as he had an idea.
"JD told me what Ezra was like when he has to stay in Nathan's room."
"Morrow and his boys are not in town any more." Buck announced as he came through the door with Josiah behind him, he stopped dead in his tracks though as Chris's icy glare met his. "Sorry."
The disturbance that had intruded Ezra's calm sleep caused him to wake up abruptly. He groaned at the pain that went through his side and blinked his eyes open. He looked around his room to find it crowded and wondered why they were there. "Would someone mind explaining why you are in my room."
"Only when you explain why you didn't tell us what happened." Chris retorted.
A frown overcame Ezra's handsome features. "I don't know what your talking about." Ezra retaliated.
"Your side. The knife wound that you hid from us." Chris glared at him.
"Knife wound?" Ezra questioned him.
Chris realised that Ezra had either forgotten what happened to him or he refused to remember it for some reason. He moved forward and carefully lifted the blanket from Ezra's side and pointed to the bandage that Nathan had wrapped around his waist.
"Oh that." Ezra moaned as he remembered the knife wound and then the attack on his person. He also remembered the threat on Casey's life and looked at her with fear in his eyes.
"Casey's fine Ezra. Were going to take her to my room so we can protect her, make sure the Morrow's don't get anywhere near her." Nathan explained to him as he saw the fear that overcame him when he looked at Casey.
"Your room," Ezra tried to sit up as the fear became stronger, "is Casey hurt?" He looked at her again this time trying to see if there were any injuries.
"No but you are and that is where we are taking you." Chris saw the confusion on Ezra's face. "You need protection too Ezra and we may as well keep you both together that way we save on man power."
"Me? Why me? I don't need protection, they didn't threaten me." Ezra protested, but his protests were weak as he was becoming tired again.
"You can argue about it later Ezra." Chris waited a few minutes and watched as Ezra fell asleep again. "Josiah, can you carry Ezra to Nathan's clinic. Buck, JD you go with them and take Casey with you. Make sure they don't go anywhere and keep an eye out for Morrow or his boys. Ezra and Casey are now under our protection so it is our job that nothing happens to them."
Joisah came forward and with Nathan's help wrapped Ezra up in his blanket and then gently lifted him into his arms, making sure that his head fell against his chest. They then left Ezra's room behind them and made their way through the crowded saloon. They recieved curious glances from everyone who was in the room at the time. They also heard the questions that were quietly spoken in regards to what had happened to the gambler of the group. Chris stopped at the table that Judge Travis was sitting. Nathan glanced around at him.
"Go on Nathan, I'll join you in a minute." Chris nodded towards door and watched as Nathan followed the others out into the street.
"Is he alright?" The Judge asked.
"Nathan said he should be with some rest." Chris poured himself a cup of coffee and refilled the Judge's empty cup. "There taking him and Casey to Nathan's room and once Ezra's better we will find somewhere better to keep them."
"I have arranged for the trial to take place day after tomorrow. Do you think you can him under protection for that long?" The Judge asked knowing that it would be difficult for them to do so. He had been told how hard it was on them all when they had to guard Ezra during the three week house arrest that he had put him under.
"There will be no problem as we will tie him down if we have to." Chris smiled although it was forced. "I mean a couple of days would have to be a lot easier than three weeks. Wouldn't it?"
"Your guess is as good as mine Chris." The Judge smiled back and it was full of humour.
Josiah ignored the looks that were shot his way as he carried the injured gambler towards the stairs of Nathan's clinic but he didn't ignore the call that was yelled at him from across the street.
"Josiah what is going on?" Vin called. He had ridden into town and saw how quiet it was so he made his way to the saloon and as he tethered his horse to the rail he looked up to see Josiah exit the saloon with Ezra in his arms. He ran across the street calling him as he ran.
"He's okay Vin. Come up to Nathan's room and well explain it all to you there." Josiah kept walking as he did not want to stay out in the open where it was easy to take a shot at Ezra or one of the others.
Vin saw the expressions on the faces of the others which confirmed what Josiah had just told him so he quickly followed them up the stairs and into Nathan's room. He watched as Nathan and Josiah made Ezra comfortable in the bed and he saw the two wounds that Nathan revealed as he rebandaged them.
"Okay, does someone want to explain to me what happened?" Vin asked as he looked at each person in the now crowded room.
"Nathan why don't you explain." Buck told him. "JD and I will go outside keep an eye out for any trouble." Buck had done this as he didn't want to see Vin's reaction to the fact that they were going to have to babysit Ezra again even if it was for a good reason. He rushed out the door with a grateful JD right behind him.
Fred Morrow stopped his family two hours outside of town in an area where they could be hidden but would also be able to see anybody riding towards them. He pulled his saddle bag off his horse and walked towards his eldest son and removed the dirty clothes from the bag. "Alex put these on." He then revealed the hoslter and gun that had also been hidden in the bag. "And this. The won't look at you twice in this outfit as they will be looking for someone well dressed without a gun slung to their hip." He watched as his son changed the way he looked. "I want you to keep your eyes and ears open. If you think that the trial is going to go ahead and that gambler is going to testify then come straight back here. If he decides to continue with the idea of putting my youngest son in a noose then we will go back and kill him. Understand?" Alex nodded his head in understanding and rode off back to Four Corners.
"That won't work Vin." Josiah argued with him even though he could not blame him for trying to get out of it.
"What if we disguise someone as Ezra to draw them out." Vin suggested.
"We don't have anyone that looks like Ezra let alone act like him. Haven't you ever noticed that he has a way of standing out in a crowd." Nathan was also arguing, hoping that Vin would come up with something that they could all agree on.
"What about me." Casey spoke up. "I have to stay here all the time with him. What is going to be like for me?"
"I am sure that Ezra would stay a gentlemen when it comes to spending time with you." Josiah assured her.
"Not from what JD told me." She complained.
"If anyone could make it easy for us it would be you." Nathan told her.
"What makes you think that he is going to be any different just because I am here." Casey wanted to know.
"He has to be, how else are going to be able to spend time with him. It was bad enough doing that for three weeks." Vin was becoming frustrated and didn't realise that he had raised his voice.
Ezra lay silently in bed watching their backs and listening to the conversation or argument as it had become. He wasn't impressed. If they were concerned about him they would not be complaining about spending time with him. This only proved his impression of them. It was pity and not concern. He didn't say anything as he wanted to see how far they would go.
"The worse thing though is that we don't know how long we have to babysit him for." Nathan commented.
"Oh great." Vin muttered.
That was far enough. Ezra closed his eyes and groaned. He listened as one of them came to the side of the bed and place their hand on his forehead. He moved his head away but the hand stayed there. He tried again as the last thing he wanted was to feel someone's hand on his face but the person wouldn't take the hint.
"Ezra can you hear me?" Nathan's voice asked him. Ezra used his left hand to roughly push Nathan's hand away. "It's okay Ezra, it's Nathan." Ezra opened his eyes and stared at Nathan, he saw the pity there so he turned away only to look straight into Josiah's pitying gaze.
"You okay Ezra?" Josiah frowned.
"I'm fine so there is no need for you to stay." Ezra growled at him.
Josiah looked up at Nathan who tried to place his hand on Ezra's forehead again so he could check his fever. Ezra again pushed it away. "Don't touch me Nathan!" Ezra spat at him.
"I think I'll wait outside." Vin said as he observed the mood that Ezra was in.
"You do that Mr Tanner." The sarcasm was evident in Ezra's voice. He also gave Vin a look of disdain.
Vin looked at Nathan and then Josiah who only shrugged in ignorance. He stepped out of the room to meet Chris coming up the stairs. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you Chris." Vin warned him.
"Why not?" He asked him.
"Ezra is in a lousy mood."
"What's new." Chris smiled as he continued into the room. He instantly knew what Vin meant by the angry expression on Ezra's face as he was made to drink one of Nathan's concoctions. "I take it you have given Ezra the good news."
"No we haven't." Josiah corrected him as he sat next to Ezra in case he was needed to hold him down while Nathan had him drink something for his fever.
"What news is that?" Ezra glared at Chris.
When Vin had told him that Ezra was in a lousy mood he didn't realise how bad a mood he was in. He would have to be careful in regards to what he was about to say. If Ezra stayed in this mood then the next couple of days were going to be really bad. He would end up having to protect him from his friends as well as Morrow.
"The Judge wants us to keep you and Casey under protective custody." Chris began hoping that if he put all the blame on the Judge it would make it easier for the rest of them.
"What for?" Ezra didn't want this anymore than they did.
"In case Morrow comes after you again. He has already threatened you once and . . . "
"He didn't threaten me." Ezra told him.
"What about the knife wound in your side?" Chris asked.
"Apparently that was just for the fun of it." Ezra grimaced at the memory.
Chris worried about that but continued anyway. "And they also threatened Casey from what you told us. "
"He threatened everyone not just Casey. Does that mean the whole town is under protective custody?" Ezra asked not hiding the anger in his voice. "He just used Casey as an example to show how easy it would be to stop someone in the street and plunge a knife into their back without them knowing it." Ezra noticed as Casey shivered at his words. "Sorry Casey."
"Either way Ezra, the Judge wants you protected so you are going to have to stay put for a couple of days. Casey too." Chris told him.
"I don't need protection." Ezra told him.
"Yes you do Ezra." Chris argued back.
"I can take care of myself, I don't need babysitters." Nathan and Josiah looked at each other when they heard Ezra refer to them babysitting him.
"We saw how you can take care of yourself. What did you think you were doing? If the Judge didn't want to see you this morning you could have bled to death. It was a stupid thing to do Ezra." Chris retaliated.
"Death would be alot easier to deal with than all this pity everyone keeps giving me." Ezra was seething.
Chris observed Ezra seeing the anger that was building in his green eyes. "I think we should continue this when you calm down."
"That may be a while Mr Larabee." Ezra growled.
"Nathan, Josiah why don't you take the first watch, make sure that Ezra doesn't go anywhere. Buck and JD will stay outside. Vin and I will get some rest and then we'll rotate." Chris moved towards Ezra. "Get some rest Ezra."
Ezra watched as Chris left the room and as Nathan and Josiah found a place to sit. He had to think of a way to get out of here. He wasn't going to stay in a situation where neither he nor the others wanted to be in. He continued to think about it as he feel back to sleep. Nathan had been silently watching him and once Ezra was asleep he went to the bed and placed his hand back on his forehead. He could feel the heat of the fever that still ran through Ezra's body. Nathan made the mistake of thinking that it was the fever that was causing Ezra's bad mood.
Ezra dreamt again while he slept. His mother's words continued to hurt him as they had done when they were originally spoken to him all those years ago. It was as though he was reliving his entire childhood all over again. Her words were re-opening wounds in his soul that he thought he had healed. But they hadn't healed, he had just pushed them aside and forgot about them. And now they had been violently brought to the surface for him to deal with but it was difficult for him to do this so he subconsciously did what he always did. He denied that anything was wrong and he hid behind his wall and used his anger to push people away except these people would not go away. They kept pushing him and it had made him even more angry.
Anger and denial had always gotten rid of people who were being to nosey, who showed to much pity, they had always left him alone which only confirmed what his mother had always told him. It had worked when he was a child - although the anger usually resulted in some sort of physical abuse before they left him alone - and it had continued to work into his adulthood. It had continued to work for the first six months that he had spent in Four Corners but things happened that allowed the others to start breaking down his wall. The feelings of friendship had become too much for him to deal with until he finally broke and he allowed that part of himself to heal. But then he started to feel suffocated by the pity that they had all shown him when he was injured and it had brought back some bad memories that he did not want to deal with.
He had accepted the other six members of the group as friends but was yet to accept the fact that they cared for him in their own way and that it was concern that they showed him. They had tried to convince him of this but his mother's words were stronger, they took control again as soon as he had any doubt in his mind about what they did show towards him. And it was his mother's voice that was talking to him now. He wanted to tell her she was wrong but he couldn't because he was not fully convinced that she was wrong.
Josiah watched as Ezra tossed and turned in his sleep, he listened as he talked but he couldn't make out the words as he was mumbling. He wanted to wake him but Nathan had told him to leave him be as he needed the rest. Josiah couldn't understand how Nathan thought that Ezra was getting any rest. He watched as Nathan went to the bed and placed his hand carefully on Ezra's forehead.
"His fever has come down but it but it still has a ways to go." Nathan informed him.
"Does that mean he's going to wake up soon?" Casey asked from across the room.
Nobody answered her though as they were distracted by Ezra jerking awake at the touch on his forehead. "Nathan would you please stop doing that." Ezra grumbled as he tried to push Nathan's hand away.
"Just checking your temperature Ezra." Nathan explained in what he hoped was a calm tone.
"Don't." Ezra replied in what was definitely not a calm tone. He was already angry.
"You want some water Ezra?" Nathan thought that it would be best to change the subject. He walked over to the jug of water and was about to place something in it when he heard Ezra's voice.
"Please do not put anything in it that will put me back to sleep." Ezra did not allow any anger to show in his voice as it was more of a plea than a threat. He didn't want to go back to the dreams.
"Sure Ezra." Nathan agreed as Ezra had seemed to calm down. "But I will have to give you something for your fever."
"It won't make me sleep will it?" Ezra asked him.
"No." Nathan came back to the bed and went to help him sit up but Ezra brushed him away and took the cup from Nathan's hand. Ezra's hand shook slightly but he was able to drink the water without spilling it. He then laid back down as Nathan took the cup from his hand.
Josiah came over to the bed and sat down. Ezra didn't look at him but instead noticed Casey sitting in the corner. He returned the smile that she gave him but it was forced, she did not realise it though. He hated the thought of Casey being involved in this, her life should never have been threatened. He saw Casey shift uncomfortably under his gaze and he turned his eyes towards Josiah. He saw the pity there and immediately turned his eyes in another direction, straight into Chris's eyes as he entered the room.
"Have you calmed down yet Ezra?" Chris asked as he walked into the clinic. He had entered the room to find Ezra staring at him as though he knew he was coming. Ezra seemed to be relaxed and he did not feel any tension in the room. But he knew it was still early and there was plenty of time for the tension to build.
"It depends on what you wish to talk about Mr Larabee." Ezra answered.
Over the last couple of months Chris had come to realise that Ezra used a person's last name when he was hiding behind his wall. It was as though the use of the last name implied that the person was not a friend and therefore gave him permission to treat them as such. It seemed to make it easier for Ezra to push that person away from him.
"At the moment Ezra I only want to know what happened yesterday with Morrow. We'll leave the rest till later." Chris informed him as he sat down on the other side of the bed as Josiah had not gotten up.
"There's not really a lot to say." Ezra stopped there as he didn't really want to go into because he knew that it was not all Chris wanted to talk about. But the stare that Chris gave him told him to continue. "They pulled me into the alley and told me not to testify and if I did they would kill someone."
"You?" Josiah asked him.
"No, they didn't threaten to hurt me." Ezra lied. If they knew that he was threatened they wouldn't leave him alone. He was stuck here for the moment because of his side but he intended to get away as soon as possible. "They told me that they would kill someone else, anybody else. He seemed to think that I would not feel to good about someone else being killed." Ezra looked down at his hands and wished that he had his cards or better still a drink.
"Then why did he cut you?" Chris demanded to know. He tried to keep calm but sometimes Ezra just pushed him to far.
"He said that it was just for the fun of it." Ezra muttered. He didn't look at Chris.
"What about Casey, you said that she was an example of how easy it would be to kill someone." Chris kept pushing him.
"It could have been anyone, Casey was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The threat was not intended directly at Casey."
"That's going to make it hard Chris, if they are willing to grab the first person to walk past and kill them just to threaten Ezra into not testifying. We can't watch everyone." Josiah told him.
"You have to allow me to show myself around town." Ezra saw their questioning gazes. "If they don't see me they are going to know you have me shut away somewhere and that will cause them to think that I am going to testify."
"Sorry Ezra, can't do that. Besides they are not in town at the moment so you are staying put." Chris smiled at him.
"And if someone does die?" Ezra argued.
"People are keeping an eye out for them Ezra, we'll know as soon as they come into town and we will take care of them." Chris assured him.
"How come that answer does not give me any comfort." He said more to himself than the others.
"Well because you changed the subject Ezra, you want to tell me why you didn't tell us what happened?" Chris pushed him just a little bit harder. Ezra stayed silent. "Maybe I can answer that question for you." Chris added. Ezra frowned at him. "Your mother?" Chris knew he hit the mark with Ezra's reaction, he had tried to hide it behind his poker face but Chris saw the emotion flash through his eyes. He also saw the anger and wondered if had pushed him a little to far.
"What the hell does my mother have to do with any of this!" Ezra had tried to keep his poker face up but it had faltered and he knew that Chris saw what was underneath it.
"She was the one who told you it was pity that people showed you and not concern wasn't it?" Chris waited for an answer but it was a long time coming. He waited.
"She didn't need to tell me as it was what people showed me that convinced me of this."
"Perhaps we should ask Maude." Chris enjoyed the reaction that he recieved.
"Is she here?" Ezra was stunned, what was she doing here, that was all he needed.
"No but I wish she was." Chris muttered before he continued. "I want you to promise me that you won't do anything that stupid again Ezra."
"Only if you promise me not to smother me with your pity if anything did happen again." Ezra retaliated.
"Agreed." Chris knew that Ezra's own stubborness lost that one as it was not pity that he was smothered with, it was concern.
"That was a little to easy Mr Larabee." Ezra stated. He knew that he had just been tricked. He should have used the word that they used. Concern. Not that it really bothered him as he had broken promises before.
"I have learnt from you Ezra." Chris got up and went to the door. "Buck and JD will be here in a minute so you can go and get some rest, Vin and I are going to take a quick walk around town then we will be outside." He told Nathan and Josiah. "Well bring some food back to." He smiled at Casey.
Ezra smiled to himself as it would be easier to get out of here with Buck and JD watching him.
Alexander rode into town under the cover of the oncoming darkness. He noticed that the townsfolk were watching people more closely but like his father had said, they did not give him a second glance. As he rode up to the saloon he saw two of the town's lawmen in front of a room that had a sign over the door indicating that it was the place to go when you needed your injuries fixed and he wondered if that was where the gambler was there. He tied his horse and made his way into the saloon quickly looking around for the other lawmen but he did not see them. He walked up to the bar and ordered himself a whiskey and then waited as he listened for converstations that involved the gambler. By the end of an hour passing Alex had learned that the gambler was indeed in the room that the two lawmen were guarding. It seemed as though he was under some sort of protective custody and this told Alex what he needed to know. He left the saloon making sure that he was not noticed and then quietly rode out of town to inform his father that the gambler was still going to testify. He had to be otherwise they would not have been watching him so carefully.
Buck made himself comfortable in a chair while JD went and sat with Casey and started a coverstation. They were soon laughing even though the situation was serious. Ezra scowled at them hoping that he would be able to quiet them down with just a look. He gave up and looked at Buck who just shrugged back at him. Ezra sighed and sat back. He thought for a moment and then sat back up and eased his legs off the bed. He grimaced at the pain that tore through his side.
"Ezra get back into bed." Buck ordered him as he got out of his chair.
"No." Ezra continued to get up until he noticed he didn't have any trousers on.
"That stopped you." Buck smirked.
"Buck I do not intend on going anywhere, I just want to get out of this bed and stretch my legs." Ezra looked up at him but not before he placed a look of frustration on his face. "You know I hate staying in a bed."
"Could have fooled me." JD commented from across the room. This won a laugh from Casey.
Ezra ignored them. "Could you please get me some clothes Buck so I could at least walk around this room if not outside."
"I think we should wait for Nathan to decide if you can get up." Buck told him, he wasn't going to take the blame for him being out of bed.
"Nathan does not have to know." Ezra expected this.
Buck took a moment to decide and then went to the drawers on the other side of the room that were next to JD. He pulled out one of Nathan's shirts and went back to the bed. He tossed the shirt to Ezra and then nodded to the floor. "Your trousers are there on the floor and you can wear one of Nathan's shirts." Buck leaned over him. "Five minutes then you get back into bed."
Ezra nodded and then leaned over, his teeth clenched against the pain. He could see his trousers on the floor but he couldn't reach them, he looked up at Buck. "I'll get them." Buck leaned down and picked them up and handed them to him. "Nathan had them cleaned for you. There was plenty of blood on them." Buck nodded to Casey to turn around which she did.
Ezra managed to hide the dizzeness that he felt when he pulled his trousers on but he couldn't hide the pain that he felt when he tried to put the shirt on and had to accept Buck's help. He then got up carefully and started to walk around the room. He hoped that the nausea he felt would pass because if Buck saw it he would never be able to get out of here. He saw his boots that had been placed against the wall near the door. He stopped at the foot of the bed and leaned back against it. He grimaced and made sure that Buck saw it.
"What's wrong Ezra?" The concerned sounded in his voice but Ezra mistook it as pity and the grimace became genuine.
"I need to go to the bathroom." was the simple reply.
Buck quickly looked around the room and saw the bucket that was beside the bed, Ezra followed his gaze. "I do not intend to use that when there is a lady present." He growled at Buck.
"That's okay, I'm sure Casey won't mind leaving the room for a few minutes." Buck couldn't stop the smile that grew on his face from what he thought was Ezra's embarrassment.
"You want to send Casey out there in the open. What if Morrow and his boys are around?" Ezra asked him as he hid his own smile.
"He's got a point there Buck." JD looked at Casey. "Besides Chris would kill us if he saw Casey out there."
"He'll kill us if he saw Ezra out there" Buck retorted.
'This is going to be harder than I thought.' Ezra told himself. "I will take full blame if he were to see me." Ezra assured him hoping that it would be enough. "I can easily get him to turn all his anger on me, he'll forget that you were even here."
"That wouldn't be hard as he is already angry at you." JD threw in. Buck glared at him and JD flinched back. Ezra ignored the comment for the moment.
"Straight there and back Ezra." Buck ordered him.
"Can we not partake in a little libation on the way?" Ezra asked.
"No you can't." Buck turned to JD. "If were not back in five minutes fire your gun."
"I think that it is going to take me five minutes just to walk there Buck." Ezra knew that he would get around him eventually. He knew that Buck trusted him with his life but he should have known better in when it came to something like this.
"Fifteen minutes JD and no more." Buck opened the door and looked out. Chris and Vin had not returned. He stepped out onto the porch and looked back at Ezra. "Are you coming or not?"
"Would you mind helping me with my boots first." Ezra smiled at him.
Buck walked back in and helped Ezra with his shoes and enjoyed every groan of pain that came out of the gambler when he was to rough with the boots. Once he had his shoes on Ezra walked out of the room with the intention of not coming back. He would sneak away when Buck wasn't looking and then make his way back to his room. He eased his way down the stairs and headed towards the bathhouse.
"Your going to owe me big time for this Ezra." Buck grumbled.
"Quit complaining Buck." Ezra was walking in front of him so Buck was not able to see the smile that was on Ezra's face. The smile was replaced by a frown though as he started to think that he was not going to be able to make it. He could feel his legs becoming heavier with each step that he took.
Ezra was beginning to feel weaker and it was because of this that he was not able to fight back when the arms grabbed him and dragged him into the alley. He was again slammed up against the wall and this time he nearly blacked out as the pain exploded in his side. He tried to warn Buck but felt the hand close over his mouth. He didn't bother to look at the person who had grabbed him but turned his head to the side to look for Buck. The hand allowed his head to move to the side and he saw Buck standing in front of Alexander. Buck was looking at Ezra though as he had seen him being dragged into the alley and the knife that was place against Ezra's throat so Buck did not pull his gun as he feared for Ezra's life if he did. Ezra saw the knife appear in Alex's hand but lost sight of it as he lunged forward. Ezra tried to scream out to Buck as he saw him double over and collapse to the dirt floor of the alley. That was all Ezra saw as he felt himself being pulled forward and then the darkness as his head was slammed against the wall, he then collapsed into his own heap.
Morrow looked down at Ezra's still form. "Get him out of here." He told his son.
Buck was walking behind Ezra and he noticed how his shoulders had slumped and his step had slowed. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let him out of Nathan's room. Ezra had lost a lot of blood and his fever hadn't improved. He was also beginning to worry about what Chris would say if he found out. Buck was seriously regretting his decision to allow Ezra to leave, even if it was only for a short period of time. He was about to quicken his step to catch up to Ezra when someone grabbed Ezra and dragged him into the alley. Buck ran in after them but was stopped by a man who was blocking the entrance. He instantly recognised him as one of the Morrow boys and he held a large hunting knife in his right hand.
"Make a move and he's a dead man." Alex warned Buck.
Buck looked over his shoulder to see Ezra being slammed against the wall and a knife placed against his throat. He could see the pain that was etched on Ezra's face turning his handsome features into a mask of pain. He felt his own stomach turn at thought of what they might do to Ezra, he wanted to pull his own gun but knew that the knife that was pressed against Ezra's throat would be quicker. He turned to the man in front of him as he saw him move towards him. Buck expected to feel the pain of the knife as it cut into his flesh but he only felt the air being forced from his lungs as the man's fist slammed into his stomach. Buck collapsed to the ground and watched as Ezra's skull hit the wall with a sickening force and as he then fell to the ground in a heap. Buck could see Ezra's face which was now slack and his body unmoving.
Buck watched helplessly as they dragged Ezra's unconscious form away and then looked up into the eyes of the man who stood over him with the large knife still in his hand. "If you hurt Ezra again you and the rest of your family are dead. Starting with the one in the jail." Buck growled up at him but he knew that the one watching over him had the upper hand.
"And if you harm my brother your friend will be delivered back to you in a worse condition than he is in now. We want to see Joseph tomorrow at ten o'clock, one hour west of town. Got it!" and with that Alex hit Buck again this time knocking him unconscious, he then left to follow his father.
Buck woke up a short time later to the sound of someone's voice calling him. He groaned as he realised it was Chris's voice. He then felt hands grab him and he shook them off in anger.
"Buck you okay?" Vin asked.
"What happened Buck, what are you doing out here." Chris wanted to know but quickly forgot about Buck when he heard the gunshot that came from Nathan's room. He made to get up and leave Buck where he was but he felt himself being pulled back down.
"Chris that's just JD doing what I asked him to do." Buck muttered as he waited for the anger to explode from Chris.
"What do you mean told him to do?" Chris held back until Buck confirmed what he was now afraid of.
"I told him if we weren't back in fifteen minutes to fire his gun."
"And when you say we you mean Ezra?" Vin asked. He couldn't believe Buck had been so stupid as to allow Ezra to leave Nathan's room.
"He wanted to go to the bathroom." Buck would not look at either of them. He would see the anger in their faces but they would not be anywhere near as angry as he was at himself for what he did.
"What the hell do you think you were doing!" Chris yelled at him.
Buck didn't answer him, the guilt was becoming overwhelming. He felt himself being dragged up and pushed towards Nathan's room. All Buck could think of was what they might be doing to Ezra right now. He had seen the pain on his face as he was thrown against the wall and wished to God that it was all he was going to feel. He would do anything at that moment to change places with him. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard JD's voice.
"Where's Ezra? What happened? Buck are you okay?" JD knew that when the fifteen minutes were up and they hadn't returned something had happened. He had hoped that Ezra had only gotten away from Buck but he couldn't take the chance that it was something else that went wrong.
"Buck's fine but they got Ezra." Chris explained as they entered the clinic.
"They got Ezra. Then let's get after them." JD picked his hat up off the small table near the door and turned to the others when he realised they were not following him.
"Did they have anything to say Buck?" Chris asked him. The anger was still showing in both his voice and body language. He kept himself at a distance from Buck.
"They want an exchange. The one in the jail for Ezra. Ten o'clock tomorrow morning, west of town."
"And how did they manage to get him?" Chris wanted to stay angry, he didn't want the fear that he felt for Ezra to take control.
"He was walking in front of me, I went after them but one of them was blocking the alley. They already had a knife against Ezra's throat, there was nothing I could do." Chris could hear the guilt in Buck's voice.
"It could have happened to any of us Buck." Vin told him.
"It didn't, it happened to me and why?" Buck answered his own question before they could. "Because I trust him more than any of you would, that's why he was able to trick me into letting him out."
"That's not true Buck and you know it." Chris growled at him.
"Yes it is Chris. You would trust him with your life but that's all." Buck accused him. "None of you would trust him with anything else."
Before Chris could continue the argument Josiah and Nathan ran into the room with their guns drawn. Nathan saw the empty bed while Josiah noticed the worry and anger on the faces of the others. "Where's Ezra?" Nathan wanted to know.
"Morrow's got him. They want an exchange." Vin informed him.
Nathan quickly looked JD, Buck and Casey over. "You guys okay? Were any of you hurt? Did they hurt Ezra when they took him?"
Casey listened as they asked their questions. She could tell that they were worried and concerned for Ezra. She just didn't realise that they felt this strongly about him.
"Buck allowed Ezra to leave the room. That's when they got him." Chris answered him.
"Did they hurt him at all Buck?" Nathan was not concerned about how they got him at this moment, he was more worried about Ezra. The two wounds that he had recieved the day before had not even begun to heal and his fever was still bad. Nathan knew that if he was hurt any further and they did not get to him in time then Ezra was going to be in serious trouble.
"They knocked him out by hitting his head against the wall." Buck muttered as he remebered the pain on Ezra's face.
The room was silent for a few minutes, each man with his own thoughts until it was broken by Chris. "There's nothing we can do until tomorrow." The others nodded as they knew that they would not be able find which way they headed in the dark.
"Why can't we look for him?" JD wanted to know. "If they want to meet us at the west side of town why don't we look there?"
"They may not have gone that way JD. We will just have to wait until morning and hope that Ezra is going to be okay." Chris didn't sound confident though. If Morrow and cut Ezra just for the fun of it then there was no guarantee that he wouldn't do it again.
The first thing that Ezra felt was the stabbing pain in his side and in the back of his head but he immediately forgot about that though when he remembered what happened to Buck. All he could think of was what he was told when they threatened Casey. 'We will leave them somewhere where they won't be found straight away, that they way they would die a slow agonising death.' Ezra began to struggle against what ever it was that was holding him. He felt a fist slam into his kidney and he grunted in pain.
"Stay still or next time it won't be my fist." Someone warned him.
Ezra waited a moment for the new pain to ease. He opened his eyes but all he could see was the ground moving beneath him. He realised that he was on a horse. Ezra tried to use his voice but found that he couldn't even breath through is mouth. They had put a gag in his mouth. He tried to move first his hands then his feet without the person who was riding in the saddle seeing him. The ropes were tight so he would not be able to get himself free before they stopped.
As Ezra became more alert the pain became worse. He could feel it with each step that the horse took, the pain ripping through his side each time the horse moved. He knew that the stitches had been torn again as he could feel Nathan's shirt pulling against his side causing him even more pain. He was grateful at least that it was a warm night or he would be freezing by now. He felt a shiver go through him which made him eat his words.
Ezra had lost track of time due to the pain and the memory of Buck clouding his mind. He finally felt the horse stop beneath him and then the hands as they untied him from the horse. He was then pulled off and he prepared himself for the pain as he knew they would not stop him from falling to the ground. His landed on his back, the air being forced from his lungs and he started to struggle for breath but it was limited due to the gag in his mouth. Hands quickly removed the gag and he lay there gasping for breath. But he wasn't given the chance to recover as hands pulled him to his feet, he felt the dizziness that threatened to take him. He was then half dragged to a tree where he was thrown down against it. His hands were then tied behind his back and before the person left him alone they kicked him in the ribs and he fell to his side, his teeth clenched against the cry of pain that wanted to escape from his mouth. He heard the laughter as the man walked away.
After what seemed like an eternity Ezra was able to find his voice. "What did you do to my friend?" He yelled at them. He needed to know if Buck was alive or dead. He didn't care if it caused him more pain as the physical pain would be nowhere near as bad as the emotional pain that he was feeling. He was terrified that Buck was dead.
Ezra couldn't make out the man in the darkness that surrounded the area they were in but he could hear the footsteps as they came towards. He saw the figure lean down before him and felt the man's hand as he grabbed him roughly by the jaw and turned his face towards him. Ezra tried to get away from the man's grip but he couldn't.
"You seem to have a fever." Morrow commented. "Your hot and sweating." Morrow let go of Ezra's face and wiped his hand against Ezra's shirt making sure that he rubbed against the knife wound in his side. He felt Ezra tense up and heard the groan that he voiced. He knew that Ezra was trying hard not to show the pain that he felt.
"Your friend is dead." He said simply and waited for Ezra's reaction.
Ezra had heard the words but he refused to believe him but he there was no reason for the man to lie. He saw Morrow's son stab Buck, he had seen him go down but that was all. If they found him quickly then he might still be alive, he had to hope. That was what his mind was telling him but his heart made him think other wise. His heart knew that Buck was dead. The knife was large, there was no way he could survive if that knife was plunge into his stomach and it had been. Ezra had seen it happen.
Ezra suddenly became angry and lashed out with his feet. He kicked Morrow squarely in the side, cracking one of his ribs. Morrow cried out in surprise but quickly recovered and slammed his fist against Ezra's jaw. After Ezra fell unconscious to the ground Morrow kicked him in his injured side. He then brought the heel of his boot down with all his weight behind it and broke two of Ezra's ribs. Once the anger had left him he walked away from Ezra. He wasn't going to underestimate the gambler again.
"Alex!" Morrow came back to the camp. "That gambler kicked me. Think he broke one of my ribs." Morrow felt his sons hands help him sit down and then felt the pain as he examined his side.
"He cracked one." Alex informed him. "How come he was able to do that to you?"
"I underestimated him. Don't worry I won't do it again." Morrow growled.
"You want me to go and take care of him?" Alex wanted to kill Ezra there and then.
"Already did." Morrow smiled at the enjoyment he had taken when he hurt the gambler. "We'll kill him tomorrow when we are getting Joseph back."
With the morning sunrise there came a lot of pain for Ezra. He tried to lift his arm over his eyes to protect them from the light that caused flashes of pain to tear through his skull but he quickly dropped his arm as the pain erupted in his side. He opened his eyes and quickly closed them again. After a few minutes he tried again, the pain easing as the sun shone down on him. He realised how cold he felt even in it's warmth. He lifted his head and fought against the neausea that he felt. He looked around him and saw Morrow watching him. Ezra's eyes did not stay on him though as they continued to take in his surroundings. He saw the other three Morrow boys still sleeping. He recognised the area that he was in and knew that they were only an hour from town.
He saw Morrow rise and walk towards him. Ezra smiled at the grimace on Morrow's face as he bent down towards Ezra but the smile was taken from his face when Morrow slapped him with an open palm. The smile returned to Ezra's face. Morrow began to think that he was crazy. "That smile won't last long. Your friends will be here soon with my son. Well except for the one that Alex killed."
"There not going to let you get away, you know that don't you." Ezra growled through clenched teeth.
"They are not going to have much of a chance as they will be to busy saving your life to worry about us." It was Morrow's turn to smile at Ezra's confusion. "Were going to kill you so you can join your friend in the hereafter."
Ezra did not say anything as Morrow got up and went to wake up his sons. He was confused as to what the last statement meant. But it did tell him one thing though and that was that they were not going to kill anyone else. But Buck's death was enough. If he hadn't conned Buck into letting him leave he wouldn't have died. Ezra hoped that his death would come quick as he knew he wouldn't be able to live with another death on his conscious, especially Buck's. If he had to do something to make them kill him then that's what he would do.
The six hired lawmen did not need to wake up as none of them had slept as they were to concerned about Ezra. They each worried about if he was still alive or not. They had also noticed how quiet Nathan was and this seemed to confirm their fears. Buck was full of guilt and no one was able to convince him that he shouldn't be blaming himself for what happened. But he wasn't buying any of it. They were all now gathered within the saloon watching the time as if passed slowly. Inez had brought them breakfast and coffee but no one ate. They sat in silence as the minutes ticked past. They planned on leaving town within the hour so they would be at the meeting place on time. JD and Josiah had made sure that the horses were saddled and waiting for them.
"Time to go." Chris announced as he rose from his chair.
"We'll go and get the prisoner." Vin said as he tugged Josiah's shirt. Chris nodded in acknowledgement.
They waited outside of the saloon for Vin and Josiah to bring the prisoner. Chris could see the smug smile on the man's as he crossed the main street with the two lawmen on either side of him. Chris wanted to wipe that smile off his face with his fist but he used words instead.
"I wouldn't be so happy about it if I was you as you will be coming back and so will your family. And if we have to bring them back slung over a horse we will." Chris smiled coldly at the look of fear on the man's face. "Every single one of them are dead if they have hurt our friend. Do you understand that?" The man nodded.
They got on their horses and rode out of town headed west. They were dreading seeing Ezra and the condition that he may be in. They hoped against hope that he was alright.
"Hey get up." Morrow nudged Ezra in the side and heard him groan. "I said get up!" He kicked him harder and Ezra's eyes flew open as his left arm wrapped itself around his waist. "Your friends are going to be here soon with my son and we have to be ready." He lifted Ezra up and had to call one of his son's to help him as he struggled to keep Ezra on his feet. They dragged him out into the open and allowed him to fall back to the ground. They then waited for the lawmen to arrive.
"Here they come." Alex informed his father.
Morrow looked into the distance and saw the lawmen that his son had already noticed. He nodded to Alex who then lifted Ezra and held him against his chest. He took the knife that his father gave him and pressed it against Ezra's throat and waited as the figures grew larger. They would be here within minutes.
Ezra could feel himself being held up, the arm wrapped around his chest. He could feel the pain as it grew in his side both from the knife wound and the broken ribs. He could also feel the knife as it was pressed into his throat and knew that if he struggled the knife would cut into him. He watched to as the riders drew closer and became confused as he saw seven horses. After a few minutes he was able to make out the figures and saw that one of them was Buck. A wave of relief washed over him and he couldn't help but smile.
"Seems that your friend isn't dead after all." Commented Morrow. He turned to look at Ezra and saw the smile on his face. His fist impacted against Ezra's uninjured side and it caused Ezra's knees to buckle. He let out a small cry of pain as he felt the knife cut into his throat. Alex realised what happened and quickly withdrew the knife before it did anymore damage.
"Hold him up." His father told him.
Alex did as he was told and lifted Ezra again. He placed the knife back against his throat and heard his prisoner's quick intake of breath. Alex looked towards the riders and he could see that his brother Joseph was one of them. He could also see the looks on the faces of the others and knew that if his father's plan did not work then they were all dead men. Well if that was the case then the man he was holding would also die.
The seven horses came to a stop in front of them. Morrow stepped forward. "Drop your guns on the ground and then get off your horses." He told the lawmen.
No one moved for a moment. They saw the condition that Ezra was in and they knew that it was not good. Each one of them took in the pained expression on Ezra's face, the sweat soaked hair that clung to his scalp, the blood that now covered most of the left side of Nathan's shirt. They could see Alex struggling to hold Ezra up which meant that he was not able to stand on his own.
"I said drop your guns." He waited as the lawmen still hesitated. He stepped back to stand next to Ezra and with a quick flick of his wrist he cut deeply into Ezra's right upper arm. "Drop your guns!" He demanded again.
Ezra had felt the pain flash in his arm and struggled to stop the pain from showing. He didn't want his friends to do what this man demanded of them.
"Alright, just leave him alone." Chris yelled at him. Chris could see that Ezra was in pain but was trying not to show it.
They had no choice but to do what they were told. They would not sit here and watch as this man used his knife on Ezra. Each man dropped their guns onto the ground and then dismounted from their horses. Chris moved to Joseph and dragged him off the horse. He stepped forward with him.
"You may as well give yourselves up now as we will not let you go." Chris warned him.
"Yes you will, you see if you don't your friend here will bleed to death." Morrow smiled.
"If you harm Ezra again I will break your son's neck." Chris confirmed his intentions by forcing Joseph in front of him and he wrapped one arm around his throat and placed his other arm around his head.
"Are you willing to carry out your threat as I am willing to carry out mine." Morrow stepped in front of Ezra and looked him in the eyes. "Are you ready to die gambler as it seems your friends are not going to do what we asked." Morrow placed his knife against Ezra's chest and he turned to face Chris. "Well." But he didn't wait for an answer, he plunged the knife into Ezra's chest and then withdrew it quickly.
Ezra's knees buckled as the pain exploded in his chest. Alex had removed the knife from his throat so he was able to look down in disbelief and saw the blood as it flowed from the knife wound in his chest. He looked up at his friends believing that it would be the last time he would see them. They also had a look of disbelief on their faces. He heard Chris call his name before the darkness took him.
Chris was not sure if he would carry out his threat, not while Ezra was still alive so he waited. He heard Morrow ask Ezra if he was ready to die and was about to say something to him but he froze when he saw the knife enter Ezra's chest.
"EZRA!" Chris screamed. He heard the others mutter curses and they began to go for their guns. None of these men were going to live now that Ezra was dead. He saw the blood flowing from Ezra's chest. He was about to carry out his own threat when Morrow's voice stopped him.
"He's not dead yet." He stepped forward and placed the bloodied knife in front of his eyes and then looked at Chris. "You see with my experience I know where to use the knife so the victim is not killed instantly. I know where the vital organs are and I know how deep to go." He smiled at the hope that came over Chris and the other lawmen's faces. "I didn't hit anything vital but if the bleeding is not stopped he will bleed to death." He then took on a serious tone. "Now hand over my son."
"Chris do it please." Nathan told him. He could see the amount of blood that now covered his shirt that Ezra was wearing and knew that if they didn't help him quickly he would die in front of them.
Chris looked again at Ezra, he was still being held up but his head was hanging against his chest so he was not able to see his face but he could see the blood that had dried on the back of his head. He made a decision and hoped that he wasn't going to regret it. He pushed his prisoner towards the man that had stabbed Ezra.
Morrow took hold of his son and stepped backwards. "Now get on your horses and ride back the way you came for ten minutes and then you can come back for your friend."
"No." Chris told him.
"If you don't go then we will take him with us and then he will die." Morrow retorted.
Chris moved his hand around his back feeling the gun that was tucked into the back of his pants. The others took note of this and prepared themselves. Chris could see that the man was struggling to hold Ezra up. They all took a step towards the Morrows.
"Then leave because if you don't we will kill all of you." Chris smiled coldy. "And leave Ezra behind."
Chris waited for his opportunity as did the others. Morrow began to walk backwards and so did Alex but he struggled to take Ezra with him which was exactly what Chris wanted. Alex had only taken three steps when Ezra fell from his grip and before he could react Chris's bullet hit him between the eyes. As he did this the others bent down and pick up their guns. Morrow was about to throw his knife at Ezra when Buck's bullet hit him in the shoulder knocking him to the ground.
Joseph fell to his knees next to his father. He struggled to get his hands free so he could help him. He turned to his two remaining brothers but they had given up. "Don't just stand there, kill them." He yelled at them. Buck ran towards him and used the butt of his gun to shut him up. He watched as Josiah and Vin ran passed him to take care of the other two. Buck then took the knife from Morrow and joined the others at Ezra's still form.
As soon as Chris had fired his gun Nathan pulled his bag from his horse and ran straight to Ezra's side. He used his knife to cut the rope from Ezra's hands and then rolled him onto his back and felt for a pulse. It was there but it was also weak. He tore the shirt open and saw the knife wound. Morrow had done what he said. Nathan knew that it was not a serious injury if he could stop the blood flow. He pulled the shirt off Ezra, rolled it up and pressed it against the wound in Ezra's chest. He put all his weight onto it, the pain causing Ezra to moan but he stayed unconscious.
"Chris, get some bandages out of my bag and do the same with his side. It's still bleeding. Buck you take care of the one on his arm." He watched as they both applied pressure to Ezra's wounds and they stayed that way hoping that the bleeding would stop.
Buck removed his bandage first and then wrapped another one tightly around the wound. He then placed his hand on Ezra's forehead feeling the heat that his fever continued to generate and he waited for Nathan and Chris. His heart had turned to ice when he realised that Morrow had stabbed Ezra in the chest, he couldn't believe. He had gone for his gun but then heard Morrow's words and hoped that he had spoken the truth. He now knew that he did but he was still worried that Ezra was still going to die. He looked down as Chris removed the pressure from Ezra's side. The blood flow hadn't completey stopped so he applied more pressure. Nathan lifted his shirt, the flow had slowed but it hadn't stopped either. He leant back down on the wound. It was another ten minutes before blood finally stopped flowing from his chest wound.
"Okay, lets wrap these wounds up tightly and get him back to town." Nathan told them.
Once they had done that it was decided that it would again be Josiah who would carry Ezra. Once they had placed Ezra against Josiah Nathan told him to place his hand against Ezra's chest wound and apply as much pressure as he could on the way back to town so the wound would not start bleeding again.
Vin and JD tied the prisoners to their horses and headed back to town. Once the others made sure that Ezra was comfortable they followed them. They rode as quickly as they could but it still took them more than an hour to get there. Once they arrived back they quickly took Ezra up to Nathan's room. Nathan took care of the wound in Ezra's chest first and after he had cleaned and stitched it he then turned to the one in his side. As he cleaned it Ezra moaned and moved away from his touch. Nathan then felt the ribs move under his touch and informed the other members of the group who had stayed that two of his ribs were broken. Once he took care of the remaining knife wounds he wrapped his ribs and then looked at the head wound that he had recieved. The wound looked more serious than it was but he knew that Ezra would have a slight concussion. When he had finished he placed a blanket over Ezra and then felt his forehead. His fever was still high.
"He's lost a lot of blood, his fever is still high and he will have a slight concussion. He's going to need plenty of rest so I suggest that you all leave and come back later." Nathan knew that they would ingnore that last command but he had to try anyway. "Well at least find yourself a spot and stay quiet."
Vin and JD joined them a short time later and also found themselves somewhere to wait. "We told the Judge what happened, he's going to stop by later and see how Ezra's doing." Vin informed Chris.
Ezra had a bad night. His fever raged through his body and it caused violent tremors to pull at his stitches but they managed to stay in place. Each member of the group took turns to sit close to him and wipe the sweat from his face and hold him down until the tremors subsided. He mumbled in his delirous state but they couldn't understand what he was saying but Chris was sure that he heard the word mother mentioned quite a few times. By the morning they were all exhausted as they hadn't slept the night before either. Ezra had finally calmed down and Nathan checked his fever and informed then that it had broken but he still did not wake up. Ezra slept for another three days.
They continued to take turns staying with him, each showing there concern as he was not able to refuse it in the state that he was in. They worried as he hardly moved in his sleep but Nathan told them that it was a heavy sleep in which his body was healing and they would just have to wait until he woke up. The Judge had also visited to make sure that Ezra was okay and he was glad to hear that he was. He asked Nathan when he would be able to testify in court as he would wait until that time to hold the trial. He agreed to the two weeks.
Ezra woke on the fourth day and was totally confused as to what happened. Nathan and Chris were sitting with him at the time and they explained what had happened over the last four days. They talked to him for a while and when Nathan used his hand to make sure that the fever had not returned his pushed his hand away from him.
"Ezra I just need to check you to make sure that your fever hasn't returned."
"You can't fool me Nathan. It's just another way for you to show your concern." The word concern held a lot of sarcasm.
"It's not pity Ezra." Nathan said angrily.
Ezra just nodded his head. He watched as Chris got up and came towards the bed. "Ezra were not going to go through this again, not now anyway. When you are better and back on your feet then we will argue with you." Chris smiled at him so Ezra would not see what he was feeling inside. Things hadn't changed at all. Ezra still considered it to be pity that they were showing him. If only he knew what they had all been feeling over the last four days but as he just told Ezra he wasn't going to go into it now. "I am going to go and ask Inez to make you something to eat." He tipped his hat to Ezra and left the room.
"What's the message that you want to send?" The man asked him.
"Ezra needs you urgently. Please hurry. Regards Chris Larabee." Chris told him.
"Is Mr Standish alright. I thought that he was going to be okay?" The man asked.
"Ezra is fine but he's mother is going to be in a lot of trouble when she gets here." Chris growled and then left the telegraph office.
The End