DISCLAIMERS: Don't own them; don't make any profit off of them. All of the Magnificent Seven characters belong to MGM, Mirisch, Trilogy, and CBS. The original characters belong to me. Please do not use them unless you ask. All original characters portrayed in every fan fiction on this website, including characters' names, are fictitious and have no relation to nor reflection upon anyone living or dead.
Josiah literally lifted Ezra off of his feet and hip checked Buck out of his way. The remaining debris was instantly swept off of Chris as the big preacher lifted him by the shoulders to clear a pathway for the younger man to breathe. Nathan was already on the move as Buck and Ezra moved out of his way. Larabee was tangled with Mace, knee to elbow. Both men were face down, and their faces were coated in dirt and little rocks. Larabee had a bruise already forming on the left side of his face, while Mace had blood running profusely down his face marking little trails in the dirt from the open wound on his left temple where Larabee's spur had gouged a deep cut. Nathan did a quick check on both men's pulses.
"They're alive. Ezra, come hold this here cloth on this wound while we untangle these two." Chris alternately moaned and coughed as Nathan directed Josiah and Buck as to how to remove Mace's broken arm from under Larabee's twisted knee without doing too much additional damage. Mace didn't make a sound, and Nathan suspected Mace was suffering from a concussion. Mace's arm was clearly a clean break. How the man had avoided the rocks cutting open the skin to allow the bones to jut out, Nathan wasn't even going to contemplate Mace's luck. And Chris, he had a long scratch on his left leg from knee to right above where his boot started that looked more painful than anything. He would not be happy that his pant leg had ventilation from knee to boot, but at least the material had kept him from getting anything more dangerous than a raw, scraped leg. The leg was not broken, but his left knee was twisted and would hurt like hell for at least a couple of weeks, depending on how long Nathan could keep him still. Nathan decided after his cursory exam to leave it to Ezra to figure at the odds why both men weren't dead, suffocated by the dirt and sand or killed by the impacting rocks. Working quickly with Josiah supporting Chris and Buck supporting Mace, Nathan directed John Terrell, JD, and Sheriff Johnson in uncovering and untangling both men until he could wave several other men forward in order for them to help carry both men back around to Nathan's make-shift clinic. Vin had already gotten someone to help him back over; and he was sitting by the fire, leaning more on his good hip than sitting. He was directing the twins into fetching more canteens full of water. His wounded leg was stretched out in front of him, and Nathan took a quick look to see if it was bleeding again. Since there was no evidence of that, he turned his full attention to the best way to settle the two men.
The fire was stoked and water was already heating as Nathan got both of his charges settled. In fact, Nathan looked up just in time to see Lison shove Guy Royal out of her way and then turn to pick up her end of the rather larger stick she and her sister were carrying to Vin. The healer nearly laughed aloud at the look of indignation on Royal's face; but when John Terrell took an interest in what his twins were doing, Royal stepped back in caution and moved to put a passive look on his face. He wasn't very successful, but Terrell was no longer interested in the rancher. John watched in fascination as his two little girls allowed their cousin to cut their pinafores off of them with his knife and wrap the cloth tightly around one end of the stick. The little girls obediently accepted Vin's jacket and sat huddled beneath it beside him while he worked.
"Ours is fixin' Our Nathan a torque." Lisha was quickly corrected by her twin and her cousin as she tried to explain to her daddy what was going on.
"A torch, Sissy."
"Torch, Trouble."
"You callin' me, 'Trouble'?" Lison grinned adoringly at her older cousin.
"Well, your twin is 'Double', so you must be 'Trouble'." Both girls giggled in delight. John rolled his eyes, and Sheriff Johnson just shook his head. Their two prisoners had called the little girls 'mean' and 'nothing but trouble' earlier that day, and the twins had demanded that their Daddy shoot them for calling them names. Fortunately, their daddy had been able to convince the twins that what the prisoners had meant was that they admired the girls' grit and spirit. John was right when he had muttered under his breath that their cousin called them that and more, and they never once took umbrage to it. Once again Sheriff Johnson thanked God that he only had one daughter, and she was already fully grown and happily married.
Thinking about the prisoners, Johnson looked over to where Iza and Tug had been deposited by his men. Both were gone. He noticed their horses were also gone; but with all the tracks leading in and out of this particular canyon, he had no idea in which direction the two men had gone. His fierce frown drew the attention of his son, and the sheriff began to tell his son to send several men after them when he noticed Vin Tanner looking up at him. Without even giving his work a glance, Tanner's nimble fingers expertly worked the cloth around the stick into a usable torch. The younger man had a poker face as good as Standish when he wanted to, but there was just the hint of a twinkle in his eyes that made Johnson wonder if the escape attempt had been witnessed, if not aided and abetted by three individuals. Tanner was just enough of a rebel that he might consider allowing the two inept outlaws to escape as fair repayment for protecting the twins. Johnson frowned at Tanner, but after the Larabee glare, Tanner was not about to let on if the sheriff's suspicions were correct. It was then that Nathan began issuing orders. Johnson decided that Tug and Iza could not get that far. No matter whether they went north or south, they had to end up close to Brecken or Four Corners. They would be easy to recapture.
Vin turned his attention from Frank and Dave Johnson and quickly handed the torch to Buck and pointed to a small hole in the ground to the far left where there oozed a black, sticky substance. Wilmington dipped the makeshift torch into the tar, turned it once, held the torch over the hole for a few seconds, and then walked over to the fire to light it. The burning tar made the twins' noses twitch, but they watched silently as Buck moved to hold it over Nathan's head, ready to direct the light wherever the healer needed it. The twins, true to form, looked longingly over Vin's shoulders at the tar bubbling and oozing in the small opening in the ground. The "NO!" looks stamped across Vin's and their father's faces put to rest any fascination the small hole was holding for them. Nathan was checking out Our Chris anyway, and the twins wanted to know how he was for Aunt Mary wouldn't like it if Our Chris was hurt too badly.
"I need some wood, any kind of sturdy branches you can find, cut into lengths, 'bout this long for splints. I'll use whatever you can find until I can get the sizes I need cut proper in town. Chris's knee looks like it's gone hurt something fierce, so I need some cool, wet rags. If we had any snow around, I could use it to help the swellin'. As it is we need more water. If one of you fellas would go back to that spring yonder, the water just might be cool enough to wrap his knee in for a while." Nathan missed the two men waved off by Sheriff Johnson to their horses. They paused only long enough to collect all the canteens they could carry. Meanwhile, Nathan was showing JD the approximate lengths he needed before he turned around to start working. Vin motioned JD to come to him; and, after a few seconds of fast words and pointing, JD took off to what appeared to be nothing but scrub brush growing on the outside of the cliff wall. Josiah shrugged his shoulders at Ezra and turned to watch as Nathan poured a generous amount of carbolic on a clean bandage and started to clean the cut on Mace's forehead. Josiah took the cloth from him and indicated with a nod that he would take care of cleaning the wound until Nathan was ready to sew it closed. Nathan then turned his attention to the break that he needed to set. He was double checking his first diagnosis and was satisfied that it was definitely a clean break that would heal very well. Next, he moved over to check on Chris for thee was nothing he could do until JD returned with suitable splints.
"Buck, you hand that torch to Sheriff Johnson, there an' keep talkin' to Chris, keep him still. I want to see if that knee is worse off than being twisted. Buck, clean the scraped leg with some carbolic acid. We don't need that gettin' infected. Mace's got a clean break, won't take long to set at all. Then, I'll wrap that knee, might give Chris some relief. I'll stitch that head wound closed while we're waitin' on those splints. I want it cleaned real good. Josiah, you finished with cleaning that head wound? Then, give the brewin' of that tea to Ezra to do. I want you to help hold this boy down while I stitch this head wound closed." Nathan looked over at Chris who was conscious and lucid by now. "Buck, give Chris some whiskey to drink. I ain't got no morphine with me, so get him as comfortable as you can until I get some. That herbal brew'll help with the pain and stop infection settin' in."
"Oh good, Chris'll like that ditch water of yours. Course, it'd be faster if ya'd just let Josiah knock Chris out." Nathan snorted at Vin's suggestion while Larabee rasied his head long enough to glare at his so-called friend. Tanner just nodded amiably to the older man and; grinning, stated, "Aw hell, Chris, we ain't got enough whiskey to get you drunk enough you don't care what Nathan does to ya." Despite the pain, Larabee's lip twitched up at the corners. Still, the stony glare remained where it was.
"Crawl over here, and I'll give you somethin' else to think about other than my pain." Buck ducked his head, so Chris couldn't see the big grin that appeared on his face. The threat did not bother Vin in the slightest.
"You'd best watch who you tell to go crawlin', Cowboy. Least ways in a week or two I'll be back in the saddle. Looks like that knee's gonna keep you gimpin' around for longer than that."
Buck snorted this time and could not stop himself from joining in on the fun. "Now, I can just picture some wannabe gun fighter challengin' Chris to a fast draw while he's hobblin' 'round on crutches." Buck was warming to his topic, and Vin's grin got wider encouraging the ladies' man to continue. "Come on, you boys know it'll happen. Ezra'll probably take bets on whether Chris'll even bother to move or just rig his gun to shoot the damn idiot with his crutch. Hell, he won't even have to get up from his chair."
"Now, Bucklin, you're probably right. Josiah will say a few words over the corpse right after Nathan has pronounced the jackass dead, an' Ezra'll collect all his money from the folks he's managed to fleece."
Chris rolled his eyes at his two friends, and then looked to make sure that the twins were occupied by their father before giving Buck and Vin a salute that left no doubt at all as to what he thought about their comments. He knew Vin and Buck were trying to keep him distracted, and he had to admit that it was working. When he had first come to, the side of his face that had been scraped on the ground burned like wildfire, and his knee. He couldn't find the words to describe how much his knee hurt; well, words that would be appropriate in front of the twins that is. He still hurt like hell; but, what with listening to Buck go on about him doing anything as ludicrously stupid as hopping around on crutches during a shootout, he was at least concentrating on something other than the pain. However, he gladly ignored the two and took a long swig of the whiskey that Ezra handed him in his flask.
"You're just jealous cause Ezra is sharin' his good stuff with me an' Nathan won't let you two have any of it."
"You keep tellin' yourself that when you're tryin' to sneak outa Nathan's clinic real quiet like on those crutches."
"Vin, can't you just picture him crutchin' around with one boot with that fancy spur on it an' his other leg with that knee as big as a ripe pumpkin?"
"Hell, Bucklin, Chris won't even be able to get that giant knee out the door till the rest of him gets through it. He'll probably shoot his way out." Buck snorted at this as Chris once more snaked his head around his old friend to check on the location of the twins in order to say what he wanted to his two, loyal and sympathetic friends. The twins were looking right at him, their eyes wide and waiting. Chris bit his lip now that Buck had added injury to insult by liberally applying carbolic to the scratch that ran half the length of his leg. It was then he noticed that his pant leg was in shreds. It had been close this time, and he saw that reflected in not only Vin's eyes, but Buck's, Nathan's, and everyone else's eyes for that matter. He hissed again as the carbolic dripped into the tender area right where the top of his boot had gouged out a chunk of skin. He was amazed that the boot was intact considering the shape his pants were in. He looked over as Nathan fussed over Mace prior to setting the break.
Josiah was just going to join the dueling word game on Chris's side when he spotted JD running back with two, perfectly sized boards. Where in the name of all that was holy had JD found wooden boards just the right size for splints way out here in this hellhole of rocks? Ezra, however, happened to look up at the same time and voiced almost word for word what Josiah had been thinking.
"Mr. Dunne, where in this godforsaken hellhole did you find planks of wood in such superior condition and so suitable to our needs?"
"Huh?"
"He wants to know where you got the wood for splints." Chris spit out the question through gritted teeth. His knee was beginning to hurt worse than a bullet hole. He listened to JD's explanation as he dug his hands into the sandy dirt beneath him. Buck handed him Ezra's flask, and he took another swig. He needed to remember to thank Ezra for always carrying a flask of the good stuff.
"Vin said there was an old abandoned mine back over there beyond the cliff. All's you have to do is follow the scrub brush for about a hundred yards, and there it is as plain as the nose on your face."
"It's getting rather dark, Mr. Dunne. However did you see it in this failing light?"
"I just told you. Vin said to go straight over to the rock wall, put my hand on it chest high, and follow it a hundred yards until I fell in the opening. So, I did. It was right where he said it would be. Those planks were just inside; looked like they were going to be shoring the opening up, but something stopped them. There was a whole stack of planks cut in different sizes just beggin' for someone to come and take them."
Ezra looked first at Josiah, then Buck, and finally Chris. "Does it appear to any of you that Mr. Tanner has entirely too much time to himself if he can find the remotest of ramshackle buildings and other shelter of that ilk?"
JD and Vin exchanged looks with the twins trying to decide if Vin should take offense at this. Vin decided he should when he saw Chris grit his teeth despite the grin that sprang to his face as he listened to Ezra malign his tracker.
"Yeah, I bet you'll sing a different song after I let the four of you get rained on or sleep out in the freezin' cold instead shelterin' in one of my ramshackle finds." The twins frowned at Ezra to show their disapproval.
"Vin, I was not complaining about your ability to find the necessary survival accoutrements, just pondering your marvelous ability to procure whatever your friends need whenever they need it. I for one am truly grateful to name you a comrade in arms." The twins smiled in approval at him. Vin just grinned.
Chris rolled his eyes at the four of them. That made his face throb, and he flinched in response. That movement caused the accumulation of dust and debris still clinging to his clothes to shift. Since he had just inhaled, the dust and debris was sucked right up his nose, causing a succession of sneezes. His eyes were watering furiously when he stopped, but most of all the jerking of his body just to sneeze sent spasms of sharp pains throughout his knee. He gritted his teeth as Buck patted him on the back. He felt two hands gently straighten his knee out and a cool, wet cloth settle to soak his knee is some relief. Chris didn't know whether to sigh in pleasure or shoot someone just to make them suffer with him. Since one of the two who were at the top of his list of "men to shoot today" was already sporting a bullet hole, his list was down to one. That combined with the twins' presence nearby would mean shooting someone the little girls believed walked on water. So, shooting someone was definitely out. Chris settled back allowing the cool water to soothe his knee. He was just about to drift off when he heard Nathan set Mace's arm. The placement caused the unconscious man to groan in pain, but Nathan was as swift and efficient at splinting the arm carefully. Mace would recover without incident if Chris knew his conscientious healer. He felt rather than heard Nathan checking him over.
"Get him to drink some more water and that tea I been givin' Vin and the other wounded. Should help keep down infection and help him sleep some. I'll wrap his knee as soon as I stitch Mace's head wound closed. I'll be needin' more water, supplies, you know. Broth, bandages, morphine, and most of all, a couple of wagons. Vin can't ride and neither can Chris or Mace. Sy shouldn't set a horse either, an' that boy over there with the shoulder wound needs rest, and the Sheriff's son needs some time off a horse, too. JD, why don't you an' Josiah go see if Vin knows a short cut outa here, go to the closest town, and get what I need."
Sheriff Johnson was listening intently. "I'll send some of my boys with them. Mr. Royal and his boys can leave, too. They can take the bodies with 'em to the undertaker. Brecken's closer an' easier to get to right now." Guy Royal started to speak up, but he shut his mouth as Terrell and Johnson both glared at him. "Don't worry, Royal. I'll write a note real quick for my Deputy Watson to telegraph the territorial office that you brought them killers in." Frank Johnson looked at Chris. Larabee had perked up as soon as Royal had stepped into his line of sight. Chris nodded to Johnson indicating that he agreed with Johnson's intention to rid them all of Royal's untrustworthy presence. Johnson continued talking to Royal as if he had never had any eye contact with Larabee. "Reward on those two is yours."
Royal didn't look too happy, but he knew he wouldn't get a dime if he refused to leave now. John Terrell was a man who was neither impressed nor scared of Guy Royal, and he had moved to stand beside Chris Larabee to show his support of Johnson's plan. Frank Johnson smiled, a little smug, at being able to dismiss Guy Royal like some errand boy. "I'll have one of the boys alert Doc Travern to get your supplies together an' send a telegram lettin' Mrs. Terrell know her little girls are safe and sound.
"Don't be tellin' her I got shot, else she'll be here quicker than you can blink." Vin gave everyone a start as he had gotten JD to help him over to where the others were. John had been about to say the same thing, but instead he nodded his agreement to Johnson and went over to help settle his wife's nephew, no his nephew, down on his previous spot. The younger man was looking a little peaked, and Vin knew when it was time to give in and rest. He let John and JD lead him over to his blanket and gratefully sank down to lean back against his saddle. He took the 'ditch water' Josiah handed him without comment and shared a look over Mace with Chris who was drinking his own cup of the medicinal tea. Getting rid of all those other folks would go a long way to making everyone feel better, especially getting rid of those dead bodies. Vin sighed and closed his eyes. Two warm little bodies snuggled up on his good side pulling his arm around them. The twins were using his stomach as their pillow, but Vin only smiled without even opening his eyes. Sleep took him before he knew it. Chris soon followed.
It was not until an hour or so later that Mace came to, but the others slept straight through until dawn. Nathan was even dozing next to Mace, and Buck had chosen his spot about three feet to Ezra's left on the opposite side of the fire. John Terrell was opposite his twins on the other side of Vin, and Sheriff Johnson was next to his son to the right of Ezra. Lison and Lisha shifted as Vin slid out from under the girls. Without waking, they rolled over to huddle against their daddy. John, who had been sleeping lightly, pulled his little girls closer and held them, smiling at his nephew. Tanner gave him a lopsided grin. He then turned to Larabee who had raised himself up on sore elbows. His knee still hurt like a bitch, and his left side of his face and his leg still burned, but somehow he felt better than he did. Larabee looked at Mace and then at Terrell with a question in his eyes. Terrell nodded that the man was going to be fine when Larabee felt a shadow tower over him. Frank Johnson held out two cups of coffee, one for Chris and one for Vin. He nodded to Terrell that he would return with his when the man gave him a grateful nod of acknowledgement. John shifted the twins until he held them against his chest with one arm as he gratefully took the coffee cup Vin handed him and took a big sip. Vin grinned and reached out to take the one that Johnson had returned with. He touched his forefinger to his hat in imitation of Ezra's two fingered salute and then took a drink of the hot coffee. It went a long way to warming him up. Today would see the beginning of their journey home, and it would be one that Vin Tanner would personally take time out to thank the deity who had saved his little cousins from harm. Whether it was the Great Spirit his Comanche family had prayed to or God as Josiah called him, Vin didn't really care. His family was safe, the twins and his brothers; and for that, Vin would say a very heartfelt prayer of gratitude. It was time they went home and shared their joy with everyone they had left behind.
This hellacious wagon ride would kill him before he could have the satisfaction of shooting Buck Wilmington right between the eyes for finding every damn, son-of-a-bitching rut, hole, and boulder to be found on the giant piece of rock the devil himself had to have created just to make Chris Larabee miserable. How on earth Vin could sleep through all the rocking and bumping and pounding frontward, backward, from one side of the wagon to the other; Chris could not begin to fathom how Vin did it. Hell, Tanner had even refused to take any morphine, or laudanum for that matter; and Nathan had gotten a large supply of both from the doctor in Brecken before that august gentleman had indicated that his driver could proceed on to Brecken with their wounded. Chris had also refused any morphine, but had been persuaded to take a small bit of laudanum to dull the pain after the first boulder and rut had bounced the wagon back and forth. That had been five hours ago, and they were half way home, having started out at sun up the day after the wagons had arrived. Yet, the tracker was still snoring softly; not loud enough to wake anyone like Buck did when he snored loud enough to sound like a dozen loggers sawing at work on that many trees. No, his best friend was only snoring loud enough to rub in the fact that he was asleep and Chris was awake and in severe discomfort. He looked over at Tanner, his eyes nothing more than slits. It was then he noticed a slight upwards tilt to Tanner's lips. For his friend's sake, Larabee hoped Vin was having a really good dream rather than a grin at Larabee's slow burn. That case might be cause for putting a bullet in Tanner's other leg. Chris looked surreptitiously around at his men and the Terrell group before whispering only loud enough for Tanner to hear.
"You playin' possum?"
The grin got wider. "Hell, yes! Who could sleep with all that fumin' yer doin'?" Tanner's voice was no more than a whisper on the wind, but his uncanny sense of whatever Larabee was thinking put the gunfighter in a considerably better mood. It was hard to stay angry at one of the few people who wasn't in the least bit afraid of you.
"Yeah, well if you're so damned good at readin' my mind, then I guess you already know it's a damned good time to wipe that grin off your face. Or, do you want me to tell Nathan you finally need some morphine?"
Chris's voice had gotten just loud enough to garner Nathan's attention. Since the other wounded had been taken back to their homes in Brecken, Nathan could turn all his attention to Chris and Vin's comfort. "Who needs morphine? Your knee hurtin' that bad, Chris? Let me get Buck to stop so's I can give you a shot. You shoulda've taken one this mornin' when I wanted you to."
Nathan had already opened his medical bag and was reaching for the syringe just as Chris tried to reassure Nathan. "No, not me, Nathan. I'm fine, really. I was just askin' Vin if he needed a shot, since he's been groanin' in his sleep." An elbow from the 'possum-playing' Tanner jabbed into his ribs just as one of the wheels hit another deep rut. Larabee yelped in pain.
Nathan turned his head to chastise Buck's driving just as Larabee tried to smother his chuckling friend with his own blanket.
"Buck! You got to hit every obstruction on the trail?"
"Well, lookee who's been listenin' to Ezra's five dollar words, again." Buck was doing his best, but the trail must have had its own rock slide as everywhere along it were littered rocks and debris that must have pitted the ground with ruts that were impossible to miss no matter how good you were at handling a team of horses. Nathan's words just added to his frustration, causing Buck to snap back at the worried healer. "You want to try and miss all these rocks and ruts, be my guest." Buck had pulled the horses to a stop and tried to force Nathan to take the reins. Nathan, however, was having none of that. However, a voice from the wagon spoke first.
"Our Buck? Why are you whinin'?" Lisha nearly poked Buck's left eye out as she whipped her little pony tails around like lethal weapons when she turned around on his lap to find out why he was so put out with Our Nathan. She had been napping on his lap as the wagon had trudged along, missing most of the exchange in the wagon behind them.
Lison, who had been sitting in front of Our Ezra on his horse, nearly injured Ezra in a similar manner as she whipped her head around to see what the ruckus was all about. It had come from Ours's wagon, and she wanted to know what was going on. "Our Buck, are you hurtin' Ours and Our Chris?" Ezra was leaning as far back in his saddle as humanly possible, trying to avoid the whipping, golden hair as her pony tails hit him in the face again and again as she turned her head this way and that trying to see why Buck and Nathan were at odds with one another.
Her father came to Ezra's rescue before the gambler said something his young daughter might take umbrage to. He, too, had been on the end of those wickedly fast and menacing pony tails. Holding his daughter with his arm around her waist, he gently deposited her into the wagon with Vin and Chris. She immediately frowned at Chris, who had been caught red-handed trying to smother her cousin. She firmly planted her hands on her hips. Chris stopped his actions, grinning at her despite the pain he was in. She reminded him of her mother with that frown on her face. Hell, give her chestnut colored hair, and he could almost envision what Vin Tanner must have looked like when he was the twins' age. Her little blue eyes silently ordered him to let her cousin come up for air, and he willingly obliged. It wouldn't do to put himself on the twins' list of folks to torture when he couldn't ride or run out of town. She smiled benevolently upon him as he held his hands out in an offering of peace.
Vin was still laughing when he pulled the blanket from his face. He saw Lison and reckoned she had rescued him from his best friend. His grin got even bigger when he saw Chris with his hands in a position of surrender. Between Nathan and Buck bickering over Buck's driving, and Chris trying to get out of a shot morphine that he had been planned for Vin, the tracker was beginning to enjoy the ride home. First, he had to make certain that he was not the recipient of any morphine. He hated that stuff with such a passion that he would lie through his teeth in front of a whole war party of angry Comanches to avoid it. His attention turned to Nathan as his friend began to check his bandages.
"It don't hurt that much, Nathan. Long as I relax an' move with it, I can even stand bein' bounced around in this wagon." He paused to look right at Nathan, his most sincere look plastered onto his face. When a look of practiced disbelief glared back at him, he redoubled his efforts. "Really, course, I could get jostled less if I was ridin' my horse."
"You ain't getting' on no horse till I say so, Vin. I'll set the twins and their momma on you, if I have to." Vin nodded dejectedly in surrender, while smiling inside, satisfied that he had successfully turned Nathan from any thoughts of giving him a shot of morphine to his 'not riding' a horse. Nathan turned to Chris, who was slightly speechless at the way Tanner had easily turned Nathan's attention from giving Vin a shot to him.
He was tempted to point out how easily Vin had maneuvered Nathan when the healer gently touched the dried bandages that had been draped over his knee in an effort to keep the swelling in check. The hiss of pain that simple touch had elicited caused Nathan to begin measuring out a dose of morphine for him.
"This ought to help you get some rest. You're as tense as a virgin on her weddin' night, Chris. That's makin' you put pressure on that knee, keepin' it from relaxin' and healin'. Now, I need you to let me inject this into your hip." Nathan was reaching to help Chris turn, so he could give him the shot when he noticed how interested his audience had become. Nathan waited until Buck grabbed Lisha and put his hands over her eyes. Then, he glared Tanner into doing the same to Lison. Both little girls snorted in disgust. They wanted to see what Nathan was doing to Our Chris. Obviously, Our Chris was not a man to share with the twins like their beloved Ours was.
"Why can't I see Our Chris get shotted?"
"Yeah, I wanna see how Our Nathan shots Our Chris. Our Buck said before that he'd be surprised that Our Chris could even get shotted without havin' his pants cut off him, so's we want to see if Our Buck's right."
"Oooo yeah, you gonna cut Our Chris's pants off? Mommy did that to Daddy once."
"Yeah, we saw her with the scissors right before Nanny closed the door on us and drugged us to our room."
Vin Tanner snorted as everyone's attention swiveled from a reddening Chris Larabee to a beat red John Terrell.
"Now, this is a story I got to hear. Had to have yer pants cut off ya, eh, John?" Buck was waggling his eyebrows at John. Terrell shared a look with Larabee, and both men stared at Buck. Unfortunately, neither man was at a point where they could glare Buck into silence. Not with all the interested looks they were both garnering as a direct result of the twins lack of subtlety. Even Vin Tanner had pulled himself up further in order to direct a very big, but silent look at his uncle that spoke volumes. Even Nathan had stopped trying to give Chris an injection of morphine to turn and look with interested eyes upon John. Terrell sighed loudly.
"It was nothing really. I had taken a tumble from a rather pig-headed horse, and my wife was determined to see if I had done more than just bruise my hip." Seeing the doubting looks upon all the faces before him, Terrell tried one more time. "Really, it was nothing more than that."
Even Chris Larabee snorted in laughter at Terrell's less than sterling attempt to put all those speculative thoughts of the seven and his trusted men to an early grave. John just shook his head in disgust and turned his horse back in the direction of Four Corners. However, his muttered words were loud enough for all to hear.
"You men just wish you had a woman like mine to cut your pants off of you."
Snickers answered him as he rode ahead. He was just thankful that the men from Brecken had decided to return to their town instead of giving escort to Four Corners. No one else needed to hear the major faux pas his daughter had just uttered. John decided that he was not going to ride next to anyone while he still had that big grin on his face. There was nothing that would make him tell any of these men riding with him why his wife had decided to use scissors on his pants. That was something that should remain private between a man and his wife. He had not forgotten Chris's predicament, yet.
"Chris still need a shot of morphine, Nathan?"
Chris would have replied with just what John Terrell could do with his reminder, but Lison and Lisha were staring right at him with their little ears turned right towards him. His opened mouth shut as his agile mind searched for a way out. Desperate, he finally decided to try to be as sneaky as Tanner or Standish.
"I don't need a shot of morphine, Nathan. My knee is real uncomfortable, but just rewet those rags and put them back on my knee. This isn't country we need anyone out from morphine or laudanum."
Nathan looked at him trying to gauge his sincerity. After a minute or so, he was satisfied with Larabee's choice to bear the ride without the aid of any painkillers. "All right. This time I'll let you decide. It gets to hurtin' worse, or I see you tense up more than you are now, I'm gonna give you a shot whether you want one or not. I'll get Buck and Josiah to hold you down." Nathan shot a frown at Vin. "Don't think you got past me without me noticin' what you were doin'. Same thing goes for you. Both of you need to relax as much as you can. Understand?"
"Course they understand you, Our Nathan." Lison smiled brightly at Nathan.
"They ain't no dummies, Our Nathan. They knowed you is the doctor. Right?" Lisha looked a lot like her mother at that moment as she looked with firm lips right at two of the most stubborn men in the Territory. Her hands were resting on both hips just like her mommy did when she wanted everyone in her family to know she meant business. Nathan's face split open into a huge grin. Any two little girls who could get Vin Tanner and Chris Larabee to shake their heads meekly in agreement were girls who Nathan wanted on his side.
"I'm gonna hold you to that, little darlin'. I 'xpect you and your sissy to let me know if either your Chris or Vin is hurtin' too bad."
"You can count on us!" Lison wanted Nathan to know she could be trusted as his nurse.
"Yes! Our Nathan. We're the bestest nurses around! You just ask Uncle Doc!" Lisha was sure her Uncle Neil would give her and Sissy good reports for their nursing skills. "Me an' Sissy'll holler loud if they twitch funny."
"An' if they are frownin' lots, we'll know they're tryin' to pull the cotton over our ears."
"Wool over your eyes." Vin barely got his correction out before the Larabee glare hit him full force. Not that it mattered as his eyes were nearly blinded from the unshed tears from repressed laughter. The twins gave him a benevolent smile for only someone who loved them as much as Ours would want them to speak correctly in front of others. He and Our Ezra always made sure the twins had their clichŧs correct for the best effect. The twins settled down between Buck, who was driving, and Chris and Vin. Each twin picked one of the injured men to watch for any sign of discomfort, for Nathan was depending upon them, and they took their roles as nurses very seriously. Silently, Vin and Chris agreed to make certain someone was paid back for this forced scrutiny. Ezra, Josiah, and JD had wisely stayed out of the battle, so that left Buck, John, and Nathan as fair game. Well, Nathan couldn't help himself, and John had the twins on a daily basis, so that left buck as the only one deserving of paybacks. Unaware of his future danger, Buck put the horses to a slow walk. An hour or two more, and then they would camp for the night. Tomorrow, noon, would see them home, finally. Buck could not wait. Neither could Chris and Vin.
Buck was correct, and they arrived exactly at noon the following day. It was like winning a big race for the townsfolk had lined up on the boardwalk to cheer their entrance, having already heard the good news that the twins were safe and unharmed. Few could withstand the charm of the little girls, although some like Conklin only showed favoritism because of their parentsĖ wealth. No matter what the reasons, folks seemed genuinely glad that the Ghost Riders were dead and the twins safe. John Terrell had taken both girls and personally handed them to their mother. Alexandra spent a few moments hugging her wayward daughters to her tightly, all the while alternating between kissing them and fussing at them for being taken in the first place. Both little girls were genuinely contrite once they saw how much their mother appeared to have suffered worrying over their absence.
"Sissy and me are fine, Mommy. Daddy and Ours seen to that. We even brought Daddy and Ours back to you, and Daddy donĖt even have one bullet hole in him." Lison patted her motherĖs face gently wiping away her tears. Two big tears leaked from LisonĖs big, blue eyes.
"And Ours only got shotted a little, an' Our Chris didn't even get hurt that much when the rocks fell on him. We even promised never to get near no felons ever again, Mommy." Lisha was equally upset at the agony her mother had experienced ever since their kidnapping, so she prattled on unaware of the growing concern she had engendered in the hearts of her mother and Mary Travis.
Knowing she was being watched by more than just interested family members, Alexandra tried to pull herself together. It was the 'got shotted a little' and the promise to never get near any felons that had Alexandra releasing the twins from her crushing grip and looking in alarm at the wagon where the men were helping Vin and Chris from the wagon. Two strong arms surrounded her as she stood. A voice spoke, calming her immediate concern as only her husband could.
"Vin took one in the leg, and Chris is bruised and scraped. Both will be giving anyone trying to keep them still a whole lot of hell just inside a week." Mary Travis shot John a grateful smile as she grabbed the girls to her in welcome. Her eyes were on the wagon as she saw Chris Larabee grimace in pain as he was lifted by Josiah and Buck. Alexandra briefly relaxed against her husband before straightening. She gave a watery grin to her nephew as he was helped from the wagon by Nathan and Ezra. She saw the evidence of just how close she had come to losing him. In that moment she came to realize that she loved that young man as fiercely as she loved any of her children. She looked down at her daughters and raised an eyebrow. The twins knew they had better listen carefully.
"I thank God that you are safe and unharmed, but if you ever scare me or your father like that again, or put your cousin and his friends in such danger again, I will personally tan your hides and lock you in a snooty girls' academy until you are both twenty-one. Do you understand me?"
Two sets of blue eyes widened in horror at the prospect, but both young girls knew when their mother meant to carry out her promise.
"Yes ma'am, Mommy."
"Yes ma'am, Mommy."
A snort came from a source limping past her, and Alexandra slapped her nephew on the back of his head, whacked was the word Vin would have used to describe it.
"Ow! What'd I do?" came the indignant cry.
"You've frightened Miz Nettie with all that blood."
"He shore has, Alexandra. I swear that boy takes sinful delight in upsetting old ladies like me what with getting' shot and all."
Nettie's lips were pressed tightly together as she tried valiantly not to laugh at the look of surprised outrage on Vin's face. Expecting his aunt to hug the stuffing out of him in public, no less, he had been unprepared for the less than loving greeting. She had seen the fierce look of maternal love that had suffused Alexandra's face as she looked at Vin and was hard pressed to keep her delight in having yet another woman determined to make up for all the time Vin Tanner had missed out on having a mother to fuss over him.
"I didn't get shot on purpose. I was bushwhacked. Now, Chris, he went and let a mountain come down on him on purpose."
Alexandra took both of her girls by the hand and followed Vin into the hotel. Her grinning husband followed. So did everyone else who wanted to hear the fireworks as they went off. "You should have ducked instead of getting shot. I thought you could sense trouble from a mile off?"
"You and your twins are trouble with a capital C, but I don't seem to be able to shake any of ya for the tryin' I do."
Both girls looked behind in astonishment at their father as their mother and beloved cousin exchanged barbed comments all the way up to his room. John Terrell winked at them both, which did wonders in calming both girls' fears that aunt and nephew would have a falling out that would forever part them.
"That is no way to talk to your beloved aunt in front of my impressionable daughters."
"You shoulda thought of that before you started barkin' at me for getting' shot. I risk my life to save them, and what do I get? I get slapped upside the head for all my trouble."
"That puny, little slap would not have killed a fly, so stop whining. You probably threatened to shoot someone right in front of my daughters. I bet you even told them that 'I got no problem killin' you!' line you use to scare folks with."
"And what if I wasn't tryin' to scare them but meant I was gonna kill anyone who hurt what's mine?"
"It's a damned good thing you meant it. No nephew of mine is going to let anyone hurt his family. Do you understand me, Vin Tanner?"
"Yeah, I understand you're naggin' me for something you just ordered me to do!"
"And?"
"And, nothin'! I'll shoot any man who even thinks on hurtin' someone I love, and you'll thank me for it!"
"Yes, I will! Now, stop yelling and let Ezra and Nathan get you to your room, so Nathan can look at your leg!"
"I am not yelling, an' Nathan's been pokin' and proddin' at my leg ever since he used a dull knife to cut the bullet out with! So, I think I'm gonna yell real loud until he decides to leave me be!"
Vin let go of Ezra's shoulder just long enough to try and shut the door in Alexandra's face. He had to twist and turn to do it, and that is when he saw the silly grins plastered all over everyone's faces who had managed to follow them into the hotel. Chris had made Josiah and Buck wait by the door to his room. All he had to do was tap his grinning friends on their shoulders. They weren't going to move until they had seen and heard it all. Mary Travis, Nettie Wells, JD, and the rest of Four Corners were lined up in the hallway and the stairs just to witness the event.
"Aw, hell!" was all Vin managed as his aunt took the doorknob out of his hand.
Turning her vent upon the onlookers, Alexandra spoke for both her embarrassed nephew and herself. "What are you looking at?" With that she slammed the door upon the curious and entertained crowd. Looking at Vin, she began to give orders regarding his comfort.
"Girls, go move those pillows, so Vin can rest sitting up. John, you pull down the spread. Ezra, hold onto him so he doesn't lose his balance and hurt himself any more. Nathan, do you want to look in on Chris while I have them bring some hot water up? Vin, don't sit on that chair, not the bed. You ought to have a bath before you get those sheets filthy. I'll get John and Ezra to help you." Vin shook his head in denial, shocked at the very thought.
"I can bathe myself, thank you." His indignant words didn't bother her in the slightest.
Taking his chin in hand she looked right into his eyes, "Of course you can bathe yourself. You're a grown man. But if you haven't noticed, you have a big hole in your leg. I don't think you'll be dancing any time soon. Besides, John wants to help you. So does Ezra." She turned her potent blue eyes upon her hapless husband and Ezra who looked like a deer caught in Vin's rifle scope.
"Of course I want to help Vin. He did rescue our girls, but darling, I think Vin would rather have some privacy," John tried to disregard the glare thrown at him by the younger man from behind his wife. However, he caught the look of outrage forming in his wife's eyes, and that sealed Vin's fate. Not a coward by far, but a man who knew when it was time to fight and time to retreat, John finished with a lame, "or not."
Ezra was wise enough o keep his mouth shut. At Vin's indignant look, he held his hands out in surrender and mouthed, "What?"
Nathan snorted and headed for the door, completely seeking the safety of the hallway before he lost his composure completely. He could not wait to tell the others how Alexandra had managed to render three men speechless. Even the twins were silent looking back and forth between their mother and cousin. They merely thought Ours was unused to their mother's propensity to turn into a grizzly protecting her cubs when someone she loved was hurt or ill. They sought to help him out with some wee deserved advice.
"Just say yes, Ours, else Mommy gets mean when you don't let her fuss over you."
Lisha nodded wisely as she agreed with her sister. "She'll just keep at you until you give in anyways, Ours, so you just might as well take a bath."
"I want to take a bath! I just don't want no help!"
"Well, you don't have to shout at my babies. Come along, girls. John? Ezra? I will send a tub and hot water up. I expect Vin to be bathed and in the bed within the hour." With that, she regally exited the room with her daughters.
Ezra collapsed into laughter on the chair next to Vin's. John sat on the foot of the bed, his head down but his shoulders shaking with laughter. Pillows hit both men in their faces. Unrepentant, they looked at Vin and started laughing again. Finally, Tanner, seeing it was futile to fight the force of nature that was his aunt, relaxed and started laughing as well.
"You two had better stay quiet and on the other side of the room from me and my bath."
"Trust us, my friend, we shall. Neither John nor I have any desire to interfere with your ablutions."
"You had better tell Alexandra that I was real thankful for yer help."
"I shall, since I do not believe that our dear friend is capable of being mendacious to his lovely spouse."
"Well, now that that is settled, help me get this damned boot off my other foot. I got so much sand inside my clothes, you'd think I was thrown nekkid into a mountain of sand. I'd have bathed out in that stream we crossed getting' home if I thought Nathan would've let me."
Before either man could reply the door opened, and Buck Wilmington entered. "Say, boys. Chris wants to know if Vin needs me to scrub his back for him?"
Tanner was not a sharp shooter for nothing. The throw rug that had been draped across the chair went flying across the room and hit Buck squarely across the face. The big man just grinned as he pulled the rug off and dropped it on the floor. "Geez, Tanner, a man tries to help you," his voice trailed off as he closed the door on his laughing countenance. Vin just sagged onto the cushions of the chair and allowed Ezra to help him prop his leg up on the footstool. He closed his eyes waiting for the tub and the hot water. Once he was clean and lying undisturbed in bed, he would plot his revenge on Wilmington. The others he would let sweat wondering when he would get them for laughing at him. As for his aunt, he never thought someone could come to mean as much to him as his own mother had, but he felt the same for Alexandra as he had felt with his mother, and to a large degree, Nettie Wells. It was a feeling of unconditional love, of belonging, that he had not felt since he had been as little as the twins. He dozed with a smile on his face.
The End
Feedback to Author