Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
It was raining hard that day.
He remembered how quiet they all had been as they stood out in the open, rain drizzling down their hats as they watched the body being lowered into its final resting place in the earth, trying to decide why they were even here at all. The man who was being buried was nothing to them. Less than nothing actually, considering the turmoil he had left in his wake and the unpleasant ramifications his death had meant to one of them. It was days after the event and the frown that had been etched in Vin Tanner's face during that time had not faded away and seemed to deepen like the weight of the bounty that hanging over his head, like an axe ready to fall.
With the death of Ely Joe, Vin Tanner had lost any chance of proving his innocence and Buck could empathise with his unhappiness. Although he did not look it, Vin was a young man not much older than JD even though they were poles apart in wisdom. Chris had offered words of comfort to try and assuage Vin's depression that things were not as bad as they looked but Chris was never good at such things. Following the first clump of dirt that hit the pine box of Ely Joe's coffin, there seemed no further reason to remain although all were still at a loss to explain why they were here until Buck remembered that no one wanted Vin to be alone. The tracker had a strange sense of honour and had been insistent on being present when they lowered Ely Joe into the earth, perhaps needing the sense of closure that came with seeing the man buried. Whatever the reason, the rest of the seven had been unwilling to let him face the day alone. He was solitary enough as it was.
He could not recall who had made the suggestion that they get a drink but it was something they all agreed with. Four Corners was battening down the hatches for a hell of a thunderstorm and this teaming rain coming down around their ears was only the first act. They needed to get indoors anyway and it was JD who suggested going to the Standish Tavern. Predictably, Ezra Standish had groaned in distaste and disillusionment, having recently been engaged in a price war with the hotel during his brief ownership of the saloon in question. Maude Standish had not merely run him into the ground but to add insult to injury, she had bought out the mortgage on the place and wrestled ownership away from Ezra. The gambler was still stinging from the defeat and the fact that Maude did not even give him the dignity of leaving the management of the business in his stead, finding a complete stranger to hand that responsibility instead.
Somehow they had managed to convince Ezra to accompany them to the Standish Tavern, even though that wrought a series of erudite complaints from the man for most of the journey to the establishment. Buck had expected nothing out of the ordinary on this particular day, expecting to see the same dusty surroundings that reeked of liquor and smoke, filled with the lively noises of drunken patrons and lusty saloon girls working the room. It was a comfortable place of sights and sounds to which they had grown accustomed to over the years of living the lives they did. When Buck entered the Standish Tavern, there was no reason to think that today would be any different from any other visit to the saloon.
Until he saw her.
It was impossible not to have noticed the new bartender when they walked into the establishment. Men had come from all over town to have the chance to be served by the newest residence of Four Corners. Buck had recalled Ezra saying something about being usurped by a lady of Latin American extraction and had no given much else thought to the subject until he entered the place and saw her. She was holding court behind her bar that afternoon, working hard as always but brandishing a smile with as much lethal intensity as some man carried a gun.
Buck could not say that he knew what lay in store for him after that first glimpse of jet coloured hair bouncing off her dusky skin or the eyes that were full and warm, yet sharp and knowing. Everything about her had been so different from the women he had lusted after, the fact that she was not his for the taking and that her love had to be earned. Everything that came after that day had been done in his determination to be the man she wanted. Although it would take much resistance and a lot of soul searching to admit, Buck had fallen in love with Inez Rosillos from the first moment he first gazed upon her earthy smile.
He stood by her now, his eyes taking in the sight of her swollen body, filled with the child they had created in an expression of their love and knew that he would allow nothing to harm either of them. Even though both Alejandro Paulo and Ramirez had their guns upon him, Buck found he did not care and if they made one move towards his family and that included JD, he was going to kill them both with his bare hands or die trying. His hand slipped into Inez's and he took a step forward to ensure that any gunfire would have to come through him to reach her.
"Don't move," Ramirez ordered when he made the move.
"Then you're going to have to shoot me again." Buck said firmly, glaring at both men with a new hatred and fast reaching a point of no return within himself. He could not know that there instincts churning within him that were older than he that perhaps only Chris and this unfortunate creature would wish to take his world away in vengeance, could possibly understand. "You ain't taking my child."
"Kill him!" Alejandro ordered.
"No!" Inez cried out in despair, horrified by the possibility that Buck had only come back to her so that she could see him murdered.
Her outburst distracted Ramirez only momentarily but it was more than enough. Buck rushed forward, hoping the margin of time between his attention shifting from Inez to Buck's attack would be wide enough. At this point, he had nothing to lose. He slammed into Ramirez who was much smaller in stature than himself and practically bowled the man over, knocking his would be assassin off his feet and sending him into the dirt. He still managed to maintain his grip on the weapon he was carrying and as he and Buck wrestled on the ground, tried to take aim. Buck grabbed the wrist holding the gun and kept the man pinned under him precariously as they struggled.
"Buck!" Inez called out as her heart stopped beating in her chest at the sight of the two men fighting.
Paulo who had retrieved JD's weapon earlier was holding Inez and JD at bay even though they wanted to intervene and help Buck. Unwilling to wait to see who would emerge victorious, Paulo decided to take matters into his own hands. Clearly, things had not progressed as he anticipated but so long as he had Inez, there was still a chance to salvage his plan as well as have his revenge.
"You are coming with me!" He stepped forward and grabbed Inez by the arm, twisting her so hard that he could feel muscles aching with pain as she forced her back to him. She grunted in pain as he forced her to start walking, leaving Buck and Ramirez behind her. She tried to turn around and see Buck but Paulo only jabbed her gun deeper into skin until the metal met the obstruction of her ribs and had no choice but to comply with his demand to start walking.
"Leave her alone!" JD bellowed, taking only a few steps before he realised that he was unarmed and that Paulo had a gun on both of them. If he had not paused first, he would have been forced to do so any way because Paulo's order to him to stand aside was met with the warning that came with a gun cocking in his face. Swearing under his breath, he felt helpless watching Paulo take Inez and was almost willing to take his chances by rushing the man, until Paulo did the one thing that JD did not expect and did not dare act against.
"Interfere with me boy and I will kill them both." He made his threat all the more chilling by pressing the barrel of the gun against her swollen belly and saw the boy falter immediately at the very idea that he was willing to shoot the child inside her.
"You bastard." JD found himself declaring in a voice that sounded not all like HD. The disgust he felt by the tactics used by this man showed but JD could not do anything with him holding Inez under threat like this. What kind of a human being threatened a child while it still slumbered away in the womb. JD glanced at Buck who was still fighting Ramirez and could see why Don Paulo was leaving, it was obvious that in a few seconds the outcome would be decided and it would not be in the favour of his servant.
"Don Paulo," Inez implored as he pushed her forward to get her moving. "I cannot walk far." She confessed and did not lie when she said it. "My water has broken, the baby is coming now." She tried to look at him but was convinced other wise, when the cold steel jabbed deeper into the turgid side. "I'm going into labour." She groaned a little as she felt the first contractions making itself felt inside of her.
"Your inconveniences do not concern me," he said viciously. "What does is the baby that belong to me. Your survival is not important."
"Do not do this!" She begged once again, not only because she knew that this plan of his had no way of working now that the others were here but also there was a deep sadness that the man they had all looked up to in Val Verde had come to this. "Don Paulo, you were always a fair man and we respected you. You treated us well and there was not one person in Val Verde who ever had reason to think ill of you. I can never tell you how sorry I am that Stefano was taken from you because of me but you cannot let his death be the cause of yours. You know as well as I do, you will never leave this place with my child and if you kill me in the process, I cannot say that you will live to see the end of this day."
"Shut up!" He roared and made her face him because he would have her look at him when he told her what he thought of her words. How dare she presume to tell him how to feel.
Inez fell to her feet and glared at him when she felt fresh pain course her body. She could feel the contractions growing in intensity and knew that she could not keep this up much longer. She needed a doctor and she needed one now. However, it appeared her more immediate problem was becoming more unhinged with the growing awareness that his demand for vengeance was going to fail.
"Inez!" JD called out seeing the pain in her face and wishing to do something when saw something moving at the corner of the far wall and recognised the sawn off Winchester that was slowly moving into position. JD did not need to see who was wielding the weapon to know that he ought to hold his ground. Paulo was so lost in his tirade of anger at Inez that he had missed the barrel targeting him with expert skill. The youth dropped to his knees quietly because he was standing behind the Don and needed to place himself out of the line of fire. Somehow, he had to give the same instruction to Inez who was lying on her back, only a few feet away from him. Her gaze was fixed on the Don who was standing over her with nothing less than maniacal rage in his eyes.
"You do not know anything about what I am!" Paulo was raging. "He was a good boy. He tried to do the best he could!"
"He was a misery to everyone he met!" Inez shouted. "The only reason any of us tolerated him in the village was because he was your son!" Her own anger was starting to burn out of control. For three years, she had lived with the guilt that perhaps, she could have done something to keep things from turning out how they had with regards to Don Stefano Paulo. Now, she questioned why she should feel guilty about anything. She was the victim, not he! It was not her choice to become the object of his unwanted attentions, neither was it her fault that he break into her mother's house and tried to force her like some common thug.
"You want to feel anger Don Paulo?" She glowered at him, her rage stoked into an uncontrollable fury that matched his for intensity. "Feel anger for the one who allowed him to behave the way he had? Blame the person who cleaned the wounds of those he hurt but did nothing to prevent it from happening again and there were many before me, we both know that! How many daughters had he raped and degraded in the night? How many cries of mercy did he ignore and that you disregarded when he did his worst? I was lucky! I ran and I escaped that humiliation but your son spared me nothing else!"
"You are lying!" He returned. "Stefano was young and foolish! He did not mean anything that he did!"
"He was a sadistic murderer!" She screamed enraged.
Paulo pulled the trigger of his gun and the bullet smashed into the ground next to her. Inez flinched at the sound but did not move and saw him cock the gun again. This time he aimed it at her and Inez realised that he had reached a place where not even reason was going to help him or her if he fired. Behind him, JD's eyes were staring frantically at her and the youth was gesturing for her to remain where she was. Suddenly Inez realised the situation had changed even though she did not understand why.
However, understanding was not required and she remained frozen in place, praying that JD knew what he was doing or they would all have reason to regret it.
In the meantime, Buck had finally managed to tear the gun from Ramirez's fingers and toss it aside harmlessly. In the background, he had heard the gunfire and the shot had given him the extra edge he needed to put the man he was fighting down for good. Normally, Buck would have already dispatched him but the injury Ramirez had given him the day before had hindered his efforts. There was not as much power in his blows as he liked his movements was restricted by the pain. Hearing Inez's voice grow silent had filled Buck with such a dread that he was pounding at the man with nothing more than adrenalin coursing through his veins.
Ramirez was not yet beaten though and despite the severe pummelling he was receiving at the hands of the ghost he thought he had killed earlier, he launched a formidable counter attack by jamming his fingers into the bandaged area of his shoulder. Buck screamed in pain, feeling the sharp pressure against the tender and broken flesh left in wake of the bullet. He pushed himself off Ramirez to escape it and felt his entire body shuddering from the effects of the intense agony. However, Buck recovered when he saw the man scrambling towards the gun and launched himself after the Mexican without even thinking.
Wrapping his fist around the booted ankle of his enemy, Buck pulled back sharply with all the power he could muster and saw Ramirez's legs give way as he slammed hard into the dirt face first. As he tried to claw away from Buck, he kicked hard, trying to land his heel in the lawman's wounded shoulder once again. Buck avoided this best he could but Ramirez was strong and Buck was injured. When his free ankle struck Buck's fist, Buck was forced to release him and Ramirez wasted no time as he raced for the weapon. Buck in turn hurried after him in an effort to stop him. The two men's eyes were fixed on the same prize when suddenly a black boot came down on the weapon and ended any further competition.
"Its about time." Buck Wilmington looked up at Chris Larabee and complained as the gunslinger stood calmly before him, hand poised over the gun in his holster. Ramirez did not to be told to know that the match was over because this black garbed stranger had usurped them both.
"Sorry pard," Chris said with a faint smile, which was about as much emotion as he was going to show that he was glad to see Buck alive and well. "We were trying to find Inez and JD."
"Inez!" Buck immediately got to his feet and started towards the direction that Paulo had gone when he took Inez . Buck could not see JD but assumed the kid was close to the lady.
"Stand down Buck." Chris ordered immediately. "Vin's taking care of it but the man's armed and about to go over the edge." He and Vin had finally caught up to all three of their friends after Buck had rushed Ramirez. They had seen Inez being led away by Paulo with JD following closely even though he could do nothing to help the lady. Obviously, JD's sense of obligation would not allow him to abandon Inez which was just as well. Combined with his sense of survival and his need for vengeance, the man had not seen Vin Tanner taking up position with his Winchester, preparing to end this once and for all.
"Don't kill him!" Ramirez pleaded. "He's sick in the head." The henchman tried to do one final service for his patron. With the plan crumbling before him, Ramirez knew that it was time to clean up the mess and save Paulo if they could do. This whole idea of vengeance was ill conceived from the very beginning but if they could come away from this with the Don's life, then he was willing to concede defeat before there was any more bloodshed.
"That may be," Buck replied coldly. "But if we let him go, he ain't never gonna leave me and Inez alone. I ain't letting him come at us in a couple of years, I won't." He looked at Chris firmly.
"The Don is sick," Ramirez continued to implore. "He is not long for this world and if you leave here without his vengeance, his spirit will be broken. I swear to you on my word as a man of honour, I will not allow him to bring to you or Inez again."
"You were willing to kill me," Buck hissed as he walked up to the man and stared at him with unbridled disbelief. "You were willing to gut the woman that I love and take her baby from her dead body? What the hell use is your word?"
Ramirez swallowed hard, hating that he was in this position but he had crossed a line and he knew it. Since the very beginning he had reservations about what the Don was attempting to achieve and with the plan lying in ruins, it seemed even more fruitless to continue this destructive course that would only lead to more of his men dying as well as his patron. "Would you rather kill a sick old man when you could have the chance to let him live and still be rid of him?"
"Buck...." Chris started to say.
"Chris, you know as well as I do what kind of hate that anger can bring. He ain't gonna let this go." Buck said firmly. "Throw me the gun." He said firmly, with a tone of voice that Chris seldom heard from the happy go lucky rogue. Retrieving the gun from under his boot, he flung it at Buck who caught it with his good arm before the man strode away, every intention of stopping Paulo once and for all.
Chris did know what Paulo was feeling even though he was more justified in his need for vengeance than the old man. Sarah and Adam had not deserved what had happened to them, the younger Paolo did and had every chance to save his own skin but squandered it for revenge. While he empathised with the man's father for suffering the pain of losing a child, he could not blame Buck for wanting to protect his own family from the senior Don Paulo's wrath. Buck was right, if he left this undone now, there was no telling when Don Paulo might choose to exact his revenge and looking over one's shoulder was no way to live.
"It's his family," Chris looked at Ramirez as he motioned the man to starting walking. "It's his decision."
"He's a sick man," Ramirez continued to protest, unwilling to give up on trying to convince these men that his patron could be saved. "Why would you kill a sick old man when you could let him live?"
"Because he's a sick old man with a lot of power in this town." Chris retorted. "You telling me you know for sure that he ain't gonna turn around when you're not looking and have some hired gun go after Inez and the kid?"
Ramirez could not answer because he was unable to offer that guarantee.
When Buck found Inez and JD, he immediately sighted Vin Tanner behind the far corner of the house wall in the nearby distant, aiming directly at Paulo. The only reason he had not fired yet was because Inez was standing between him and the target and was presently staring down the barrel of the Don's gun aimed at her face.
"Buck!" JD sighed with gratitude as he saw his friend emerge.
Paulo immediately swung away from Inez and turned to her lover. He had been lingering for a moment, confused by Inez' incendiary words, wanting nothing more than to put a bullet through her body and silencing her once and for all. The more she had spoken, the more addled he became, trying to separate the fact from the fiction inside his mind. As angry as he was, he still remembered the unpleasant facts that she spoke off, in particular about his son's behaviour towards the girls in the village. Faces flashed before him as he thought about them, faces not of the girls themselves but of their families as he tried to make reparations for the crimes committed by his son so that he could escape punishment.
"You are killed him." Don accused Buck, his mind starting to shift from moment to moment. He was grasping at the straws in his head, unable to keep his focus on what he was doing a moment ago, as Inez became forgotten in his memory as he dealt with Buck's arrival. "You took my son from me."
"I did not want to." Buck replied. A second ago he had been all fired to kill this man and end the threat of him from Inez and his baby forever. Yet now, as Buck looked at this frail old man, diminished in more ways than anyone should be by grief, he could not bring himself to do put an end to Don Alejandro Paulo. If he were to take the life of this feeble old Mexican, he would be no better than the men who had gunned down Chris' father in law, Hank Connelly when he had come to Four Corners. "Mister, I can't bring your son back to you but I ain't gonna let you harm Inez or our baby. Don't make me kill you." Buck replied, brandishing the gun in a clear indication of what would happen if he made on threatening step towards Inez. Buck did not take his gaze of the Don even though he was very aware of Inez at the moment and was fighting to keep from running to her side.
"Listen to him Alejandro." Ramirez stepped forward, trying to be the voice of reason now that it looked as if Buck might spare the old man's life. "We both knew what Stefano was like and though we both loved him, you as his father and I as a man who watched him grow up, we both know that he brought his fate upon himself."
"No..." The Don started to weep, the gun in his hand shaking.
Chris saw Vin emerged from his place of concealment, trying to gauge whether or not the situation was diffused. He had lowered his gun and was staring at Chris across the space between them, hoping to get some idea of whether or not he ought to stand down from optimum firing range. Vin was of the firm belief that a man had right to see his killer and did not like firing unless he had to. If Chris and Buck had found a solution to avoid that, no one was more grateful than he was. However, Chris stared back at him with that imperceptible look in his ice-cold eyes and shook his head. Vin nodded slightly and even though he did not answer, had enough faith in Chris' judgement not to question the order. Once again, he withdrew back into his position, raising the Winchester to capture the man in his sights once again.
Chris did not leave anything to chance and the Don was just unstable enough to warrant the caution. As he started to weep, his mind descending deeper into the abyss of madness, Chris knew that until he was disarmed, there was no guarantee of anything. With Inez still close enough to bear the brunt of his insanity should he chose to attack, Chris was not gambling with the lives of his friends on the possibility of Ramirez convincing Paulo to stand down. They did not have much time but Chris would allow Ramirez his chance to resolve this amicably because Buck did not look as if he wanted to kill the man when his mind had become feeble.
However, as he inched closer to Inez, Chris realised that time was a factor here and quite a big one because she was no longer paying much attention to any of the proceedings taking place around her. Instead, Inez was struggling to contain the pain that was racking her body as her time drew closer and closer. Her attempts to hide her pain was becoming harder and harder to achieve and he saw how her fingers were starting to clench into fists, very soon the contractions would become unbearable. She needed help and she needed it now.
Suddenly, Paulo noticed that he was moving towards Inez and screeched like a man possessed. "Stay away from her!" He shouted, the gun lowered immediately move back into firing position and he swung it in Chris' direction.
"Alejandro, no!" Ramirez cried out, taking a step towards Paulo as he tried to keep him from doing anything foolish because Ramirez knew about Vin Tanner while the Don did not.
"You are now siding against me too!" Paulo turned an accusatory eye at the servant who had served him faithfully for two decades and then fired the gun in his hands. "Traitor!" He screamed as the bullet escaped his gun and slammed into Ramirez's chest.
In the background, Chris heard Inez as things slowed to a crawl as the events unfolded like they were mired in amber even though the time passed was only seconds long. Ramirez flew backwards from the force of the gunshot, his chest spilling open with red as he tumbled backwards. His eyes displayed shock at first and then as the realisation of the dying to come dawned on him, his expression disintegrated into one of sadness as he understood that it was too late to save Don Paulo, perhaps it had always been. The Don had been dead from the moment he embarked upon this destructive course, just as he himself soon would be. All that was he bled out of his wounded shell before his body even touched the ground.
"Buck get down!" Chris shouted a split second later as Don Paulo turned towards Inez and prepared to fire. Chris continued the advance that he had been making towards her and skidded to the ground beside her as Paulo took aim. He saw Buck drag JD to his knees, keeping the youth out of the range of any incidental fire. The last thing that Chris managed to do before the inevitable came to its conclusion was to cover Inez's body with his. Chris did not have to see but knew that somewhere not far from where they were, Vin Tanner was about to end this once and for all.
The sharpshooter had fired his weapon over far greater distances that what was now required of him and was poised to act, the moment he had seen the Don gun down on his own men and was preparing to do the same to Inez. The entire drama unfolded in seconds but Vin was patient and he had been ready for the possibility ever since Chris had signalled for him to hold position and Chris was seldom wrong about such things. He would have pulled the trigger already but chose to wait until his friends had taken cover. When he saw Buck pull JD down to safety, Vin fired.
The loud discharge sent a single bullet flying out of the barrel of his Winchester rifle, crossing the space between him and the target in a blink of an eye. He saw the man jerk back as the hot lead struck the Don n the centre of his forehead. It tore through the man's skin, creating a fissure of broken flesh before continuing on the journey that destroyed everything the man was or ever would be before the back of his skull was erupted outwards. Blood, bone and grey matter exploded in a gruesome ejecta of red that sprayed the radius of the immediate area and turned the ground crimson with colour.
Inez let out a horrified scream as she saw Don Paulo die as his life faded out in that one instant. There was not even enough time for him to register surprise or a scream and when he finally tumbled to the ground, his eyes were wide open for there had not been even time for that. The gun was still clutched in his lifeless hand in a deathly grip, without even the opportunity for his brain to send the message to his hand to shoot. She watched him in death, blood expanding from his shattered skull and creating a crimson crown around his head and felt the same remorse that most of Val Verde would feel when they learnt of his death. He had been a great man once upon a time and like all those who had grown up in this village, she had looked up to him. It did not sit well with her that she had been party to the death of the father as well as the son.
It took a few seconds for the shock to dissipate and the tension to ease from the moment as they realised that the danger was over for now. When it did, Buck immediately scrambled towards Inez and captured her in his arms as they engaged in a warm embrace that was part joy, part gratitude but mostly relief that they were still alive and had a good chance of coming out of this entire affair the same way.
"We got to get moving." Chris interrupted the tender exchange because they were not out of trouble yet. Predictably, it was the gunslinger that had taken stock of their situation in the past few seconds and decided that action was needed now. While she might be happy to see Buck, Chris knew that she would soon be in a very bad way and none of them here was equip to deal with her condition. Inez needed a doctor and she needed one right now. Besides, Chris wanted to be away from Val Verde as quickly as possible. Even though Inez needed a room to deliver her baby, Chris did not think that she was going to get that luxury. If the villagers held the Don in such high esteem, it was likely that they would take great exception to those who had been responsible for the man's death. They needed to leave Val Verde before the entire town came after them with pitchforks.
"JD," Chris glanced at the young man who was smiling happily that Buck and Inez were together. While Chris shared that sentiment, he needed JD focussed right now. "Go find us a wagon and bring here right now, we're moving out. Meet up with Vin and take him with you to cover your back."
"Sure Chris." JD answered purposefully, glad that they were finally getting out of this place. Less than a second later, JD was on his feet and was hurrying towards the tracker who had been approaching to join them. As he heard in the distance, JD relating to Vin what was happening, Chris turned to Buck and Inez who were still holding each other. Chris found a faint smile crossing his lips as he decided for the moment anyway, that there was no reason for him to interrupt them.
After everything they had both been through today, Chris figured they had earned a quiet moment.
The wagon rolled up to them a few minutes later with Vin at the reins and JD riding shotgun. The gun battle where Josiah, Nathan and Ezra were occupying the remainder of Don Paulo's men was starting to become sporadic and Chris knew that the time was not better for a hasty departure. They could get their horses as soon as the others were retrieved. By this time, Inez was well and truly into labour being unable to move with the fierce contractions that were forcing small cries of pain from her lips each time she exerted any physical action. Buck and Chris had to carry her into the back of the wagon before he could give Vin the signal to get them out away from here.
As the wagon thundered towards the main gate where the others were presently situated, Chris gave last instructions to everyone about what was to be done when they got there. Buck was in the back tray of the wagon next to Inez, who was struggling to control the contractions that were no longer allowing her a period of respite.
"Okay Buck, you let us take care of things." Chris instructed one last time as he saw the gates coming closer in front of the wagon. "You and Inez keep your heads down, its gonna get a little rough from here on."
"I hear you." Buck nodded in understanding and gave Chris a look that said without any doubt that he trusted Chris to handle things.
Chris nodded slightly and gave Inez a reassuring smile. "Hang on just a little longer," he said with more warmth that was customary for him. "We'll get you help."
"Thank you Chris." She replied her voice little more than a strained whisper. She tightened her hold of Buck and was glad that he was here with her because she was a little afraid of what was coming even though she told herself these past nine months that when the moment arrived, she would face it fearlessly. It was strange how the reality was nothing the good intentions preceding it.
Chris straightened himself onto his knees and caught sight of Josiah on the top of the stone gate, preparing to reload. Ezra and Nathan were still pinned behind the gate and it appeared that a stalemate was in order with no signs of either side being driven back or advancing. It suited Chris just fine; they were not here to win anything, to retrieve their lost friends. With that done, there was no reason to continue fighting and besides, there were more urgent issues pending at the moment. As the wagon rumbled towards the gate, he saw Josiah lower his gun long enough to see their approach.
"Ready, JD!" Chris yelled as he pulled out his gun and prepared to lay down a little suppressing fire while Josiah and the others climbed into the wagon.
"As I'll ever be!" JD responded, never more alive when he was standing up in a fight next to Chris Larabee whom he idolised. Steeling himself for what awaited, he raised his gun and prepared for the onslaught of gunfire that would come the moment they started drawing fire away from Ezra, Nathan and Josiah for the precious seconds it would take for them to climb aboard the wagon.
"Let's do it!" Chris said almost euphorically, as he tended to be when his adrenalin was pumping and he was ready to launch himself into another life threatening situation.
The wagon rumbled into the thick of fire and JD let loose a murderous hail of bullets to protect himself and Vin who was needed at the reins to make a hasty departure when the time was right. Chris did the same as Buck leaned over and shouted as loud as he could to the others, which was quite impressive considering all the gunshots that was exploding around him almost as deafeningly as artillery shells on a battle field. As they offered cover, Nathan and Ezra emerged from their vantagepoints and started running forward, hearing bullets rush past them when the shield of ammunition that Chris and JD were attempting to provide did not manage to quell all the gun fire coming in their direction.
"Come on!" Buck shouted as he saw Nathan and JD keeping their heads down as they ran straight for the wagon and dove in. Josiah who was still on top of the stone fence took a little longer, having to come down from his lofty position before he could reach them. The preacher hurried down the steps that lead from the walkway and jumped the rest of the way when he had half descended because the bulk of the gunfire was aimed at him. Keeping less than a hair's breadth from the reach of the murderous artillery, Josiah moved surprisingly quickly for a man of his bulk and soon jointed the others in the back tray of the wagon.
"Glad you could join us preacher." Buck grinned as he pulled Josiah into wagon. No sooner than the last of them were safely inside the wagon, the father to be turned to Vin at the reins. "Let's go!" He shouted.
Vin snapped the reins hard and the horses at the head of the wagon surged forward, happy to depart this place with its exploding noises and hot lead. The wagon thundered out of the perimeter of the estate and kept going, with JD and Chris covering their escape with more gunfire until they had let the stone fence and huge gates well behind them. They paused long enough to retrieve their horse before JD took the reins of the wagon when Vin climbed onto Peso. Behind them, there were no signs of pursuit as they left the town of Val Verde. Inez, who knew something of the terrain, had managed enough focus to direct them to an obscure route across the border that was seldom travelled. She had discovered it herself during the night she had fled from Val Verde when she had stolen a horse and Don Paulo had been riding hard in pursuit.
As the sun began to set into evening sky, there was still no signs of any of the Don's men behind them and for the moment, it appeared that perhaps Val Verde was finally in Inez Rosillos' past.
"It ain't wise to stop." Chris said looking at Nathan hard.
"I ain't asking Chris," the healer returned the gunslinger's gaze with as much intensity as Chris was giving him. Nathan rarely liked to impose himself upon anyone but when it came to the health of his friends, he would face down God himself if he thought it would make any difference. "I'm telling you, we need to stop this wagon now. We got away far enough and I can't do what I need to if we're tumbling about back here."
"Listen," Buck cut in. "If Nathan says we ain't gotta a choice, we ain't gotta a choice! I don't care how if it's dangerous. Hell I'll stand guard if I got to but we are stopping!" Buck was riding the raw edge of panic. For the last few hours they had been putting as much space between themselves and the town of Val Verde and each mile of the distance achieved had been one of pure agony for Inez. Her labour was progressing slowly; not aided by the fact hat the journey back to Four Corners was slow and arduous. No longer caring about restrain, she was openly gasping in pain, driving to distraction every man who was close enough to hear it, to say nothing about the father of her child.
Chris did not like the idea of stopping but he conceded that there was little choice in the matter. "All right," he surrendered the point and looked around the flat stretch of land they were presently traversing. The spot was good for them to make camp and get good warning if they had any company in the form of the Don's men seeking vengeance. "We'll camp here for now."
"You hear that honey?" Buck hurried back to Inez's side on the wagon to deliver the news. "We're stopping."
"Oh great," she said with a sarcastic smile, needing to bite down hard. "Do you think I can possibly have my drugs now!" She roared. Her skin was starting to glisten with sweat and her hair was sodden with perspiration as her body geared for release. The contractions were coming so rapidly that Inez could no longer distinguish where one began and one ended. All that made any sense to her was this overwhelming sensation of muscle spasming in readiness for the arrival of her child.
"Come on Miss Rosillos," Ezra said unable to stand her pain any more and joined them at the wagon, although the gambler was only brave enough to come no closer than the edge of the buckboard. Even though he wore a facade of utter calm as always and was a stark contrast to Buck's anxious manner, Ezra was just as panicked under the skin as the father to be. "You don't need to have noxious substances for the pain, I seemed to recall Alexandra having some useful breathing exercises that you needed to perform at moments like this. Remember?" He then went on to demonstrate.
"Ezra you sound like a wounded heifer." Buck retorted staring at him with distaste and unable to discern what the gambler was trying to do.
"I am merely trying to help," Ezra remarked somewhat offended by that comment, feeling ludicrous enough as it was at performing a birthing tool for a pregnant woman. "Its not as if you are being any great measure of assistance, telling the poor lady that you are going through this ordeal with her. I do not see you screaming in pain or spread out like a gourd about to erupt."
Between them, Inez winced at the visual imagery.
"Hey, it's just as hard for me to watch this you know!" Buck protested angrily, feeling inadequate and guilty at all the agony Inez was experiencing while he was forced to sit and watch helplessly, without having Ezra to point it out.
Inez stared at both men as she listened to them trading insults back and forth and wondered if she had enough strength in her body to borrow Vin's gun to shoot them. "HEY!" She fairly roared and stopped them speaking. "Will you two fucking morons knock it off! I don't need you to start with each other when I'm about this close to killing both of you!" She capped that sentence with another gasp of pain that descended into an icy glare at the duo that immediately silenced both.
For 3.2 seconds.
"Just try the breathing again," Ezra suggested.
"That's it! I'm going to kill him!" She tried to lunge at him to wrap her fingers around his throat but her condition made that impossible. Returning to her original position with a low snarl coming from her throat and wet strands of hair dangling in front of her eyes, it had the effect of making Inez look most fearsome indeed.
Ezra stepped back out of her reach and decided that assistance was probably best administered to her by Nathan. Glancing at the healer, Ezra cleared his throat and turned to Nathan who was trying to get the necessary instruments ready for the birth that was reaching climax shortly, especially in preparation of the syringe that was full of Inez's pain killers. "Nathan, perhaps you should give the lady a little something."
"I'm working on it." Nathan remarked, offering an obligatory answer to the gambler because he was more focussed on doing just that instead of carrying on a conversation.
"Now darlin, Ezra was only trying to help. Maybe you ought to try those exercises Alex told you to do." Buck said trying to calm her down because he had never seen her so enraged before despite being able to reach some spectacular heights when she was around him. He assumed that much of this had to do with the pain she was enduring and assumed that as long as he offered her support and a strong shoulder, he would be able to get her through this. "It could help." He added gently.
"How would you know?!" She turned on him. "Its all your lousy fault I'm in this stupid mess in the first place!" Then her mood shifted again as suddenly as the pain that was playing havoc with her body and she forgot that line of debate as another contraction arrived and tore her insides out. She groaned and suppressed it a moment later, her skin becoming slick with sweat each time she was force to exert that much restraint. Even though she sounded as if she was listening to nobody, she had heeded what Alex had told her about the need to push; knowing she could not do so until Nathan gave her permission. She had to concentrate that overwhelming need and continued to speak in hopes of doing just hat. "I mean I'm going to have a baby in the middle of... a... a....where the hell are we are, anyway?" She demanded angrily, grabbing Buck by the collar and pulling his face within inches of her.
"A prairie?" He managed to answer, not knowing what else to answer.
"A prairie!" She snorted in derision. "I am having my baby in a goddamn prairie and I'm not even married!" She started to sobs in frustration escalating Buck's stress levels through the roof and beyond.
"Aw come on now, that ain't gonna be for long," Buck tried to comfort her, wishing she would let go of his shirt because she was starting to unsettle him by the savage gleam in her eyes. "We'll do it as soon as we get back to Four Corners."
"NO!" She barked and pulled him even closer so she could see the whites of his eyes when she imparted to him his next words. "I want to get married right now! Immediately! JOSIAH!" Her voice flew over the top of Buck's head and was clearly heard over the entire prairie.
Josiah who had been trying to pacify JD who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown at being this close to woman about to deliver a baby, immediately followed the sound of his name and approached the wagon.
"Be on your guard Mr Sanchez," Ezra warned as Josiah went towards the wagon. "The lady is quite distressed and violent."
"You would be too if you had to pass a cannon ball through an opening a grape would trouble passing." The preacher said coolly and continued walking towards the wagon with no signs of apprehension and leaving Ezra behind to wince at the visual imagery.
"Do something for you ma'am?" Josiah asked gently, extending his hand towards her and was not surprised when Inez took it firmly in hers and squeezed it tighter when she felt pain.
"Oh Josiah," Inez said with a smile, finding his voice more comforting than anyone else's at the moment. She could understand why so many people found comfort in his church and were able to confide in this hulk of a man. "I want to get married right now." She replied sounding almost out of breath as she spoke through her teeth because the pain was threatening to make her scream and Inez was fighting that indignity for as long as she was able.
Even Josiah had to blink at that. "Right this moment?" He looked at Buck blankly and saw the groom shrugging helplessly.
"Well," she said with a neutral expression. "I was going to wait until the daisies were in bloom, you know with how they smell so good so I could have a nice garden wedding but then I thought what the hell, why don't I do it now since this kid is about to show up any minute!" She growled fiercely.
"Okay....." Josiah nodded, not foolish enough to argue with a lady in this state of mind. She may appear incapacitated but Josiah was taking no chances in finding out otherwise. "I've got a bible in my saddle bag, you think you can wait that long?"
"I'm not impatient." She smiled sweetly, though her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "My social calender is quite limited at the moment so I won't be going anywhere."
Josiah rolled his eyes and withdrew to go retrieve the required text from the saddle bag slung over his horse.
"We need a best man and a maid of honour." Inez whispered, trying to focus on this little detail so she would not be forced to push.
"I don't think we need to get that formal darlin....." Buck countered and then saw the look she was giving him and shut up immediately on that particular point. "JD," Buck shouted at the youth who was pacing some distance away from the wagon, trying not to glance this way. "Get over here, I need a best man!"
"Mary should be here." Inez mumbled as she squinted sweat out of her eyes and her voice had became a hoarse whisper. "I wanted her to be my maid of honour."
"I know but I guess we can do this right when we get back to town." Buck said sympathetically, brushing a strand of wet hair from her face and dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief he had soaked in water to cool her brow. Suddenly a thought came to him. "Hey Vin, you too."
Vin looked almost as apprehensive about approaching the wagon as JD but eventually another cry by Inez dragged them forward, compelled forward to spare her any further aggravation, despite the knots in their stomach every time they heard her strained cries. JD looked almost ashen when he finally reached them and Buck had never seen the boy so reluctant to be anywhere. He supposed it was to be expected. JD had no business being around a woman in Inez's condition and did not dare show fear even though it was quite apparent to anyone present. JD avoided looking any further below Inez's neck when he finally reached them and noticed much to his surprise though he did not voice it at the time, that Vin was doing the same.
"Inez and I are going to get married right now," Buck explained as Inez was gasping out even louder with pain. Her fingers were clenched white at her sides as she groaned softly. "Vin I need you to stand in for Mary as a bridesmaid."
The sharpshooter's eyes widened. "Why me? Ezra plays the girl better than I do."
From behind him, the gambler's voice retorted sharply. "Because I do not have your hair!" The sharpshooter looked over his shoulder to deliver Ezra a scathing glare through narrowed eyes.
Inez swore under her breath and put the matter to rest once and for all. "Because you're here!"
"Oh," Vin nodded in understanding.
"And your hair it is mighty purdy." Buck could not resist the adding with a grin.
Anything Vin was about to say was cut short abruptly by Inez flinging her head back and letting out a guttural scream as the latest contraction ripped through her. She dug her nails into Buck's hand so hard that for a minute it felt like blood was being drawn. Her other hand grabbed Vin's jacket as she used them both to brace herself as the agony shuddered through her.
"Nathan do something!" JD cried horrified by the absolute agony on Inez's face.
"All right Inez," Nathan responded as he flung a blanket over her legs and was the picture of calm while everyone else was wearing expression of near panic. "Move your legs into place like Alex showed you." He instructed.
"Oh God!" JD gasped as he saw her flopping her legs apart. While she was modestly covered by the blanket, just the idea of the what was transpiring beneath that layer of material was more than he could handle and he went down like a ton of bricks.
"JD!" Buck exclaimed aghast as the kid fainted next to him. "Christ!" JD was out cold and after a moment, Buck decided that was probably the best thing for him.
"Nathan," Inez looked at her doctor, who she wished more than anything was Alex but at this moment had little choice but to entrust herself to him, hissed loudly. "Do you think I could have those pain killers now?"
"Are you sure you want them?" Nathan looked at her concerned after making his brief examination. "You're almost fully dilated. You've only got a little ways to go."
"Nathan," she swallowed and exhaled loudly. "Give me my fucking drugs!!!"
"Goddamn it Nathan!" Buck added his voice to that demand. "Will you give her something before she kills us all!" Inez capped that request with another scream of pain, pulling Buck's shirt and Vin's coat and dragging forward the men wearing them against her as she tried to brace herself for the contraction.
Nathan shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay." He reached for the prepared syringe hoping that it could have been avoided and then admitted begrudgingly that he was probably knew nothing about what she was going through to advise her to endure it. Placing the needle against the damp crook of her forearm, the needle broke skin without her even being aware of it. He emptied the contents of the syringe into her veins, recalling what Alex had instructed about the dosage and how powerful a drug it was. The doctor had advised against using any painkillers until the very last moment when labour was at its worst, which was why Nathan had waited as long as he did to administer it.
"I got the bible!" Josiah said jogging back to the wagon and holding up the book for all to see.
"Thank god!" Buck sighed in relief. "Get on with it!" He ordered as he saw Inez's lips pull back and another scream of pain cut through the night air like a banshee wailing in the dark.
"And make it fast!" Vin barked, caught up in the moment as much as his other comrades.
Josiah nodded and quickly began reciting the words that he was not even sure Inez was aware of and wondered whether or not if this was the most insane duty he had ever been called on to perform since becoming a preacher. Well that was that time, Albee Gordon wanted to marry his horse but then the man had been living alone in the wilderness for a while.
"Wait!" Buck suddenly realised and stopped Josiah before the preacher could get any further. "I don't got a ring!"
"I believe the one who sounds like a wounded heifer may be able to assist in that regard." Ezra remarked smoothly and produced the jewelled ring that he held in keeping for the future Mrs Standish.
"Ain't you given that to Julia yet?" Vin found himself asking.
"Leave Ezra alone," Inez said with a whimsical smile. "It's a beautiful ring." She was no longer screaming and was instead wearing a look of serenity on her face that surprised them all except for Nathan. Considering what her demeanour had been like a short time ago, this was something of a radical change. "Ezra, I'd love to wear that ring." She flashed the gambler a smile of pure contentment.
"It's the drugs." Nathan explained for the benefit of those who were wearing expressions of astonishment on their faces around him.
"Inez, you feeling okay?" Buck asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to accustom himself to this sudden change in her mood. While he glad that she was no longer in pain, he was still somewhat dazed at how pleasant she now appeared to be.
"Oh I'm just fine thank you." She said dreamily. "We really should get on with the ceremony." She said looking at ease and completely relaxed as she smiled at Buck radiantly and only confused him even more.
"Whatever is in that syringe, I want a bottle of it for Julia." Ezra said to Nathan with a perfectly straight face.
"Yeah, save me a quart for Alex." The tracker added.
"Give me the ring," Buck said quickly, not wishing to waste the moment since Inez was so accommodating. He caught it with one hand as Ezra tossed it at him.
"Just remember that is a loan." Ezra reminded in typical Ezra pose, having plans of his own for that particular trinket, some day.
"Thanks Ez," the groom smiled and then returned his attention to Josiah. "Okay let's wrap this up."
"And quickly," Nathan retorted, disliking this farcical turn of events to a simple delivery. "Inez, you're fully dilated now. I want you to push."
Taking at that as a perfect cue to be conclude the ceremony, Josiah looked at Buck. "Buck, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" He decided to skip the rest of the words, deciding the specifics and fine print could be dealt with later and he was certain at this point, there was no need to be particular.
"I do," Buck said with a smile as Inez squeezed his hand and started pushing. Even through the drug that had dulled the searing pain in her abdomen, the effort of this oldest of rituals, was showing by the strained expression in her face.
"Inez, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Josiah asked, feeling incredibly ridiculous for asking the question, since the woman was about to deliver the man's child at any minute.
Inez let out a gasp as she took a moment to rest and answered in a ragged whisper. "Yes, I do." She replied as Ezra's ring was slipped over her fingers, which had unclenched long enough to allow the gesture, before resuming her labour once again. Inez started to cry from the sheer strain of what she was enduring and clutched Buck's hand even tighter and pulling harder on Vin's buckskins until the tracker was certain she had the strength to rip through the hide. "God it hurts!" She squealed.
"Just a little more!" Nathan prompted in that calm voice he used to administer so much aid to those in need and comforted Inez unknowingly by its soothing resonance.
"I do believe this would be a good time to make that pronouncement, Mr Sanchez." Ezra said dutifully, garnering a look of pure Josiah Sanchez reproach as the preacher bristled at being told the obvious.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Amen." Josiah said quickly and crossed them both before he and Ezra retreated to safe distance as Inez screamed out louder and louder. Her face had contorted into an unrecognisable grimace of pain and concentration as her muscles were forced to perform the miracle that was coming at them with the pace of a locomotive.
"I can see the head!" Nathan exclaimed with excitement and they all held their breaths collectively with that one statement. "Another push!" He insisted once again, his hands poised and ready to help the child complete its momentous journey.
"Come on darling," Buck said confidently. "You can do it."
She met his gaze and at that moment, Buck could see their entire lives together flash before his eyes. It started from this moment and would culminated in some distant future with the two of them growing old together and passing into history anonymously. Everything he had wanted, love, family and friendship twinkled in her eyes as she nodded and prepared herself to complete the last leg of this exhausting journey they had embarked upon since that first moment when he had seen her across the floor of a crowded bar room.
Without speaking, Inez turned towards Nathan and began pushing harder towards a singularity of focus, which eclipsed all others in her life until this point. Her body pulsed with tension and relaxation as instincts as old as time took hold of her body and the symphony of birth played once again. Nathan watched anxiously, feeling the familiar swell of pride that came when watching through blood and fluid, the first signs of new life struggling to enter the world. He had no idea he was holding his breath as the infant began to emerge. After all the death that he had seen in his life time, Nathan always felt renewed with hope and faith when he witnessed the simple beauty of a child arriving into the world, filled with limitless possibility.
"The head is out!" Nathan cried as the slick form of the child's head slipped past the walls of its mother's womb without any resistance before pausing when the force propelling it forward had exhausted itself. "One more, Miss Inez!" Nathan urged as he let out his held breath and took another deep one before he gave what was he was certain to be his final order in this delivery. "Push really hard! Give it all you got!"
Inez let out a frustrated groan of exhaustion and then bit down on her teeth so hard that the injury caused by Paulo earlier, started weeping and her teeth were soon stained with blood. She screamed as she launched herself into that final Herculean effort, her hands balling into fists in Buck's grip and around the skin of Vin's coat. She could not feel anything except this intense pain that was tearing her inside until her mind was filled with nothing else. There was only a haze of red that drove the sound from her ears and the sight from her eyes, making her oblivious to the pressure of the muscles pushing her child outward, allowing the whimpering babe to slid wetly into Nathan's waiting hands.
Inez let out an exhausted groan as all the strength left her body after that monumental effort and she went limp as if all the bones had disappeared from her body and she slumped into Buck's arms, covered in sweat while straining for breath. Buck immediately caught her body, supporting it with his own strength, unconcerned as to what came next as he wiped the moisture from her face. Vin stepped away as Inez's grip of his coat finally slackened and he went to join Ezra and Josiah, believing this moment should be shared between Buck and Inez only. The air was charged with expectation in the long seconds that followed until Nathan looked up Inez and announced with the widest grin they had ever seen him produce, "its a girl!"
"It's a girl!" Buck exploded with happiness as he turned to Inez again. "Did you hear that Inez! We made a girl!" In the distance he could hear Ezra and Vin making whooping sounds followed with hoots and whistles of congratulations.
"We?" She looked at him with a bemused but undoubtedly exhausted smile.
"Well I helped." He grinned sheepishly.
Suddenly, the soft plaintive cry of a baby sang through the air like a siren song that immediately captured the attention of all. Nathan approached them, still wearing that smile on his face as he carried the child forward and lowered it into Inez's waiting arms. The babe had made its initial protest as the cool night air chilled its newborn skin but had lapsed into silence once Nathan had wrapped a blanket around its tiny form.
Inez looked at her little daughter in her arms and saw a tuft of dark, mahogany hair still wet with moisture against her tiny scalp. It was Buck's colour; Inez realised with a slight gasp of emotion that moved through her like a shudder and threatened to spill out of her eyes like a deluge. Small and wrinkly, with perfect skin that looked a little tanned and eyes that were closed at the moment, possibly as because she was just as exhausted if not more than Inez, the baby was everything that Inez had imagined, perhaps even more. Inez did not realise she was crying until the tears ran down her cheek.
"She's beautiful." Inez heard Buck whisper as he looked upon the face of his daughter. He felt his entire world shift the moment he stared into that little face, full of unknowing innocence, relying upon him to protect her. At that instant, Buck realised with perfect clarity that there was nothing he would not do for this child or its mother.
"Hello." Inez cooed softly at the baby even though it appeared to be asleep. "Oh Buck," Inez swallowed as her voice quivered with emotion. "She's so small, so pretty."
Buck smiled as he drew Inez close enough to plant a small kiss in her hair as he held his wife and their new daughter in his arms. With a slight smile, Buck knew without doubt there was nothing finer than this moment when he knew that his world was at last complete.
Although the words spoken by her grateful and rather teary parents were meaningless to a mind minutes old from the womb, Baby Wilmington did react to the auditory stimuli and opened her new eyes to gaze upon her parents, much to their delight. She looked around her surroundings and took note of the world at large, which made no sense to her whatsoever before coming to the conclusion that it could wait until later to unravel.
For now, she would sleep.
For Chris Larabee who had been absent for most of this debacle, he was quite happy to remain a suitable distance from all the commotion, warming his hands around the campfire he had made. By the time that high pitch wail of Baby Wilmington had been heard across the empty plains and the prairie which they presently occupied, he had worked his way through half a flask of whiskey with no repentance whatsoever at staying out of the line of fire.
Besides, it had been too much fun listening to all of them and as he heard the shouting, the sarcasm and glib remarks, Chris was inordinately glad that he had chose to make that decision to stay right where he was. As far as pregnancy and labor was concerned, he had been there and done that and it was hard enough when he was pacing the floor outside the room, let alone imagine the horror of what it was like to be inside it.
As he took another swig of his whiskey, hearing the bickering that had been produced by his six friends as they had tried to deal with Inez's pregnancy, Chris had only one thing to say on the entire subject;
Bachelors.