Casey Wells rode back from Four Corners just as twilight was taking over the land. She’d gone into town in hopes of seeing JD Dunne, but had found out the young man left just before noon. She’d picked up the few things her Aunt asked her to and left for the ride back. She’d stopped off for a short time by the river before returning home in time to help her aunt with supper. As she turned into the yard she spotted something black lying in the field a short distance from the barn. She hopped off her horse and hurried up to the house.
“Aunt Nettie! Aunt Nettie!” she called as she shoved the door open
Nettie Wells stepped out of her bedroom and smiled at the lively young girl before her. “Land sakes, Child, what’s gotten into ya?”
“Aunt Nettie, I think there’s someone lying out by the barn!”
Suddenly serious the older woman walked to the porch and looked around. “Where?” she asked.
“He’s over there on the other side of the barn. He’s all dressed in black an’ I think it could be Mr. Larabee,” Casey explained as she ran across the dust covered front yard.
Nettie Wells followed her niece and bit back a gasp as she recognized the blond haired man on the ground. He was lying on his stomach, his left arm tucked under him, blood congealed in a small pool next to his body. His black duster and wide brimmed hat were missing and the sun had done a major job on his bare face and neck. She hurriedly knelt beside her niece and touched his neck. The skin was dry and heated, but she felt a soft flutter just below the skin.
“Is he...d...dead?” Casey stammered.
“No, he’s alive, but he’s hurtin’. Run on up to the house and get one of the blankets off my bed.”
“Blanket?”
“Yes, Casey. We’ll need it to carry him on. Now Git!” She heard her niece hurry away and gently touched Larabee’s forehead.
Chris felt a rough hand on his face and forced his eyes open. It took a few minutes for his eyes to focus and he smiled in spite of the burnt skin on his face. “M...Mrs...W...Wells... help...Vin...Buck!”
“Now you just be still, Mr. Larabee. It’s too late for Casey to go into town, but don’t you fret none. She’ll go into town first thing in the morning and bring back your men. All of ‘em.”
“T...tell Na...than B...Buck... V...Vin hu..rt!”
Nettie could see the confusion in the glazed green eyes as she heard Casey returning. “She’ll tell ‘em all, Mr. Larabee. Now me and Casey are gonna get you inside. Can you tell me where you’re hurt?”
Chris thought for a minute, trying to figure out where exactly most of the pain was. He clenched his eyes and concentrated as every part of his body ached. “C...chest...shot...” he mumbled.
“Shot!” Casey gasped as she spread the blanket beside the injured man.
“Mr. Larabee, we’re gonna roll you onto the blanket and get you into the house...”
Larabee’s right hand reached out and touched her wrist. “Too heavy,” he groaned. “Help...up.”
“Mr. Larabee...”
“N...no, won’t...can’t h...hurt y...you. H...help me up. L...lean on y...you,” he assured her.
“Alright, we’ll try it your way,” Nettie said, knowing to argue with this man was a lost cause. “Casey, you help him on that side. Let’s turn him on his back. Mr. Larabee, it’ll be easier if we turn ya over.”
“O...kay,” he mumbled as she reached for his shoulder and slowly turned him.
Nettie and Casey knew he was holding back the pain, not wanting either of them to see just how much this was costing him.
Chris called upon everything he had left to get to his feet without putting too much of his weight on the two women. Once they had him standing they each pulled an arm around their shoulder and started towards the house. He lost track of how many times he miss stepped and nearly pulled them all to the ground. He gritted his teeth and fought to stay conscious as the house finally loomed directly in front of his blurry vision.
“Almost there, Mr. Larabee,” Nettie said as they stopped in front of the step. She saw that Casey had left the door open and she smiled at her niece as they struggled to get the injured man into the house. She headed for her bedroom but the gunslinger stopped next to the well-worn couch.
“H...here,” the blond mumbled.
“No, Mr. Larabee, we need to get you in the bedroom and look after things until Casey can ride for Mr. Jackson tomorrow morning.”
For once Chris Larabee didn’t argue, not because he didn’t want to, but because it would do him no good. This was a woman who stood up to Guy Royal and she was showing the same feistiness she’d shown at that time. His shoulders slumped as they pulled him towards the bedroom. They turned sideways to get through the door. The two women eased the injured man to the bed and Nettie told Casey to get him a glass of water. Nettie sat beside the barely conscious peacekeeper and talked softly to him.
“Mr. Larabee, we’re gonna have to get that shirt off you and take a look at the wound!” she ordered as Casey returned and handed her the glass. She held it to the fevered lips and watched as he slowly sipped at the water.
To Chris it tasted like the sweetest wine. It flowed down his parched throat, reawakening his senses and lending a little more strength to his voice as he looked into her aged eyes, “Thanks, Mrs. W...Wells.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Larabee, now let’s get those dirty clothes off you, shall we?”
Chris sighed and lifted his right hand to the buttons on his shirt. He fumbled tiredly until, his energy spent, his arm dropped down by his side. “S...sorry,” he whispered as his eyes closed and he slid back to the bed.
“It’s about time,” the older woman smiled as she stood up. “Casey, fer now I need ya ta put aside your shyness and help me get his shirt off ‘im!” she ordered. She stood over the injured man and unbuttoned the few remaining buttons on his shirt. She saw the dirty bandage covering the wound and bit her lip. The bandage didn’t cover the reddened area and she felt Casey’s eyes on her. “Pull his right arm outta his sleeve,” she told the younger woman, hoping to keep her mind on the task before them.
“I put some water on to heat,” Casey told her aunt as the older woman partially lifted the blond and they pulled the dirty tattered shirt from his lean body.
“That’s good, Casey. Can you fill the basin with water and bring me some clean towels?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” she said and hurried from the room once more.
Nettie tried to remove the dirt-encrusted bandage, but the dried blood held it fast to the wound. She wondered, not for the first time how people could hurt each other so savagely. She looked up, fighting the moisture from her eyes as her niece placed the water on the table beside the bed.
“Casey, when the water is boiled steep some of that willow bark tea for me and warm up the leftover soup from lunch.” Again her niece left to do her bidding and she turned back to removing the bandage. “I’m sorry, Mr. Larabee, this is gonna hurt a bit,” she soaked the bandage until she could pry it from the cruel wound. Larabee groaned and moved slightly but his eyes remained closed.
Nettie knew the bullet was still inside Larabee’s chest and she also knew it needed to come out as soon as possible. The edges around the wound were ragged and ugly and a mixture of blood and pus oozed from inside. She hated the smell of infection, having seen too much of it during the war. She took one of the clean cloths and slowly bathed the area, washing away the dried blood and dirt. She didn’t know how long she worked cleaning the area and the numerous scratches and bruises covering his upper torso, neck and face, but she knew she’d gone through four basins of water and several cloths. Casey returned to the room just as she placed a fresh bandage over the bullet wound.
“How is he, Aunt Nettie?” she asked as she passed the older woman a cup of tea.
“He’s not doing very well, Casey. He needs Nathan Jackson. First light I want ya to ride into Four Corners to get him and the others. They need to find out who did this to Mr. Larabee.”
“But Mr. Jackson’s not there. Him and the others rode out this morning.”
“Do you know where they went?”
“N...no. Mrs. Potter didn’t know.”
“Well, there’s not much we can do tonight except try and make him comfortable. I still want ya to go to town tomorrow. Maybe the others will have returned by then.” She looked down at the pale blond as he moved on the bed.
“Vin....Buck...Shot...get him o...out of h...here...No....c...choice...I...I’m c...counting on you...B...bastards...” his blond head tossed as he went from one fevered nightmare to another. “S...Sarah, Adam...Oh God...n...no...c...can’t...Buck let me GO!”
Nettie didn’t know much about the gunslinger’s past, but she knew he’d lost his wife and son in a tragic fire. She changed the cloth on his forehead and continued to speak soothingly to him. “Mr. Larabee, you’re okay. You need ta lie still or you’re gonna start bleeding again. I got something here I want ya ta drink.” She slid her hand under his head and lifted him carefully.
Casey hurriedly passed her aunt the cup of willow bark tea and watched as her elderly aunt gently fed it to the injured man. She watched as the woman talked to him, holding him and making sure the fluid got into him. She watched as fever glazed eyes opened and looked at her before dropping and holding the gaze of Nettie Wells.
“T...thanks,” he gasped coming fully awake to the fever and pain spreading throughout his body. He felt her ease him back on the bed and again a weak thanks crossed his lips. He felt himself drifting along on lazy clouds in an azure blue sky, but fought to stay awake. There was something important he needed to tell them. A frown marred his handsome face as he struggled with his memories. His eyes opened wide and he tried to sit up as two faces swam before his eyes.
“Lie still, Mr. Larabee!” Nettie ordered as she forced the weak man back to the pillows.
“P...please. G...get Nathan...”
Nettie Wells mistook the blond’s plea as a cry for help for himself. “Casey’ll find him and bring him here tomorrow. Now you got a bullet in your chest and you need to be still.”
“N...no, please...d...don’t under...stand. N...not me...Buck and V...Vin h...hurt. Cave in!” the last was forced from a ravaged body as the man simply gave into the waiting darkness.
Nettie Wells shook her head and returned to bathing the fevered brow.
“Aunt Nettie,” the older woman looked up and met her nieces eyes. “Let me do that for a while. I made you something to eat.”
Nettie knew she’d need to conserve her own dwindling strength for the long night ahead. She now understood what Chris Larabee was trying to tell them. Buck Wilmington and Vin Tanner were hurt and trapped in a cave somewhere. Right now, the injured man was the only one who knew where. She nodded her head and stood up.
“Just keep trying to cool him down.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Casey quickly slid into the seat her aunt just vacated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standish sat beside the fire and looked at his soiled clothing. Once they’d taken care of the injured men and eaten supper they’d taken care of burying the two unknown men. Josiah had spoken a few words over the unmarked graves and they’d quickly come back to the creek. He was sitting beside Vin Tanner and looked up at the sound of approaching horses. He stood up and watched as JD returned with Yosemite and the wagon. He watched as the kid dismounted before his horse came to a complete stop. He smiled as the young easterner hurried past him and knelt beside Nathan Jackson.
“How are they, Nathan?” Dunne asked.
Jackson turned tired eyes on the newcomer as he answered, “Buck’s doing better. There was a good bit of infection in the wound and he’s totin’ a fever. Vin’s gonna have to stay off that leg for a couple of weeks. Had to dig around some to find the bullet, but it came out fairly clean. He’s got a fever too, it’s just not as high as Bucks. If they do as I say they should both be okay.”
“Yosemite’s here with the wagon. He’s got it packed with blankets and a couple of mattresses.”
“Good,” Jackson stood up and looked at the other men. In spite of the darkness he knew it would be best to get the wounded men into town as soon as possible. He spotted Yosemite and Standish talking beside the wagon. “Josiah, Ezra, we’re gonna need to get them into the wagon and back to town. Yosemite, think you can keep that wagon on the trail?”
“Sure can, Nathan. The moon’ll light the way almost as good as the sun does.”
“Alright, let’s get them loaded up. We’ll start with Buck. We need to keep him as still as possible. Josiah, you take his shoulders. Ezra, JD, you two get his legs. Yosemite, you get in the wagon and help them get him in there. Now go easy with him. He can’t afford to lose any more blood.”
The three men moved to carry out Jackson’s orders. They carefully lifted the ladies man and carried him towards the wagon. As gently as possible Wilmington was placed on the blankets, but the movement still elicited a small cry of pain from the injured man. Once he was settled in the wagon he slipped back to sleep and they moved to the second injured man.
Jackson knelt beside Tanner and checked the wound in his leg. “We’re gonna have to keep his leg from moving too much. We’ll do it the same’s we did Buck, but I’ll hold his leg. You guys ready?”
At the quick nod of heads they lifted Vin Tanner and carried him to the wagon. It took a little longer to get him inside as they maneuvred around the scoundrel. They finally had him settled and Nathan checked both men to make sure they weren’t bleeding. He looked up from his patients to see the others had already put out the fire and got everything ready to move out.
“I’m gonna ride back here with them. Yosemite take it easy going back. I don’t want them bounced around too much.” A soft moan brought his attention to the moonlit face of Vin Tanner. Blue eyes stared up at him from under half closed lids. “Easy, Vin, we got ya. Ezra, hand me one of the canteens.” He felt the item pressed into his hands and lifted the trackers head. He let him drink small sips until his thirst was satisfied.
“F...find Chris?” Tanner asked worriedly.
“No, Vin, we didn’t.” He remembered Standish and Sanchez returning from a search of the area to report there was no sign of the missing man. “We’re gonna get you and Buck back to town and then we’ll look for Chris.”
“Gotta go n...now, N...Nate...he’s h...hurt...”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Mr. Tanner so are you,” Standish informed the tracker.
“I’m...”
“Going to be quiet and lie there until we get back to town. Then you and Buck are gonna spend the next two weeks in my clinic. Do as I say and I might be willing to let ya go in a week.”
“D...do as he s...says, V...Vin...”
The healer turned to the second injured man and asked. “How do you feel, Buck?”
“B...better’n I did. T...thirsty...”
Nathan helped him drink from the canteen and soon settled the two men back onto the blankets. “All right, Yosemite, lets get moving,” he ordered as he watched the two injured men. ‘We’ll find him,’ he thought as the wagon lurched forward.
The sun was just coming over the horizon, casting her warm rays over the countryside as the wagon rolled into Four Corners. Shadows still shrouded the street as the small entourage pulled to a stop in front of Jackson’s clinic. The two injured men were quickly carried up the stairs and placed on the cots. The healer quickly cleaned and re-bandaged both wounds and sat back in his chair. He was worried about the fevers, but was glad to see the infection hadn’t returned.
“Nathan, we’re gonna grab something to eat before we head out in search of Chris.”
“Alright, Josiah. I gotta stay with these two or they’ll be up and outta here as soon’s they wake up.”
“Mr. Jackson, I shall return with whatever breakfast Inez has to offer,” Standish said as he followed Sanchez out the door.
“Ez, can you bring me something as well. I’m gonna stay and help Nathan with B...Buck and Vin.”
“All right, Mr. Dunne,” Standish closed the door as he left.
“What do you want me to do, Nate?” the Bostonian asked.
“As soon as you’ve eaten I want you to get some rest. Until then get a basin of water and start coolin’ Buck down.”
“O...okay,” the kid said as he picked up the bucket and hurried out of the clinic.
Nettie Wells dipped the cloth into the fresh basin of water and again used it to wash the injured gunslinger. She’d been sitting with him since Casey left for town just after dawn. She was exhausted, but the need to help a fellow human being, especially one she cared for made her strong. She continued to wet him down with water and rubbing alcohol, but it wasn’t helping. She knew the fever would continue unabated until the bullet was out of his body and the infection drained from the wound.
“Lie still, Mr. Larabee,” Nettie ordered as she ran the back of her hand across her sweat soaked forehead.
“T...thirsty,” the blond mumbled as he struggled to open his eyes.
“I got some water here,” She said and helped him drink from the cup. She pulled it away as he gulped down as much as he could get.
“M...more,” he pleaded.
“You can have as much as you want, but you have to go slow. Can’t have you getting sick like ya did the last time,” she warned. “Casey has gone to Four Corners to get Mr. Jackson and the others.”
Chris’s eyes widened at the mention of the healer. “Tell t...hem...h...have to find Buck and Vin.” He tried to sit up in the bed and gasped as pain lanced through his body.
“Mr. Larabee,” Nettie easily forced the blond back to the bed. “You’ve got to be still. Casey will let them know about Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Tanner.”
“T...they’re hurt...”
“And so are you. Now I’ve got some tea here I’d like you to drink. Think you can manage that for me?”
“T...think so,” the blond smiled at the older woman as she lifted his head forward again. He sipped at the bitter tasting brew until exhaustion once more forced his eyes closed and he slept. Nettie gently eased his head back to the bed and placed the cup on the table, praying the fluid would stay inside him this time. She sat in the chair, drifting towards sleep, but not quite letting go of consciousness as she listened to the labored breathing from the bed.
Casey rode into town and pulled to a stop as she noted the wagon outside the clinic. She headed towards it, pulled to a stop and quickly dismounted. She recognized JD’s and Nathan’s horse as she slipped her horse’s reins over the hitching post. She raced up the stairs calling Jackson’s name as she did.
“What the hell,” Jackson swore as he heard the pounding footsteps outside the clinic.
JD looked up from Wilmington and stood up. “That sounds like Casey,” he said as the door swung open and the young woman hurried inside.
“N...Nathan...” she stopped as she saw the two men on the cots. “You found them?”
“What are you talking about, Casey? Found who?” Dunne asked.
“Found Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Tanner. Mr. Larabee said they...”
“Mr. Larabee! Chris!” Jackson was immediately on his feet and standing before the young woman. “Did you see Chris?”
“Mr. Larabee’s at Aunt Nettie’s farm...”
“Is he alright?” Dunne asked.
“N...No! He’s shot, JD. Shot bad.”
“Where?” Jackson asked worriedly.
“At the farm,” Casey answered impatiently, giving Jackson a strange look.
“No, Casey, where’s he been shot?” the healer explained.
“Oh! Sorry, he’s been shot in the chest! Right here,” she answered, pointing to a spot on the left side of the chest. “Aunt Nettie says the bullet is still in there and it has to come out right away. He’s got a fever too.”
“JD, go over to the saloon and see if Josiah and Ezra are still there!” the kid bolted out the door before the words were completely out of the former slave’s mouth. “Casey, go ask Mrs. Travis if she can stay with Buck and Vin!”
“Right away,” the girl said as she hurried off.
“N...Nathan.”
Jackson turned in time to see Vin Tanner trying to sit up in the bed. “Where the hell do ya think your goin, Vin?”
“Out to M...Miss Nettie’s place. Gotta c...check on C...Chris,” the tracker explained.
“Like hell! Now you just get your ass back on that bed ‘fore I tie ya down,” Jackson snapped and then eased down beside the sharpshooter. “Look, Vin, I don’t know what I’ll have to do out there, but if I gotta be worried about you and Buck I’m not gonna be able to give my full attention to Chris. Now I need your word that you’ll stay put and stay off that leg. I’m also counting on ya to look after Buck while I’m gone.”
Tanner raised tired, glazed eyes and met equally tired brown ones. “Buck, okay?” he asked finally.
“He will be and so will you. Now do I have your word that you’ll stay here until I get back.”
It was a testament to how bad the tracker was feeling as he eased back down on the cot. “I’ll stay put. D...don’t seem ta ‘ave much c...choice.”
JD hurried into the saloon almost toppling Ezra Standish over in his haste. Standish jumped out of the way as the youth rushed through the swinging door.
“Where’s the fire my young friend?” the conman asked.
“Casey just rode in. Chris is at Nettie’s place.”
“Is he alright?” Sanchez asked.
“No. Casey said he’s been shot in the chest. Nathan told me to come get you before you rode out.”
“We were just about to do so, Mr. Dunne,” Standish said as the three men hurried towards the clinic. They spotted Mary Travis and Casey Wells running up the stairs.
“You wanted me, Nathan?” Mary asked as she hurried into the clinic.
“Mary, could you stay with these two while I go out to Mrs. Wells’ place ta check on Chris?”
“Of course, Nathan. Casey says Chris was shot as well.” Mary knew about Buck and Vin as she’d checked on the two men when Standish and Sanchez went into the saloon to eat.
“Yeah and it sounds bad.” The healer said as the three men joined them in the clinic. “JD, I want you to stay here and help Mary with these two. Josiah, Ezra, you two come with me. I don’t know how bad it is, but from what Casey says it’s not good.”
“I’ll have your horse saddled Mr. Jackson.”
“Thanks, Ezra, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Nathan quickly told JD and Mary Travis what needed to be done for the two men. He left them a small bottle of laudanum in case they needed something for pain. He also left bandages and herbs for the tea to help ease the fever they suffered from. He shook his head as he looked at the two injured men, both awake and staring at him.
“If either one of ‘im gives you any trouble tie them to the bed!” he ordered, the smile on his face not quite taking away the serious look in his eyes. “Buck, Vin, stay put!” he warned a final time as he grabbed his supplies and hurried out the door.
Josiah smiled at the injured peacekeepers. “My advice to both of you is do as he says,” he warned in his baritone voice.
“They’ll stay where they are. JD and I will see to that!” Mary assured the older man.
“Thank you, Mary, we’ll send word as soon as we know what’s going on.” The ex-preacher knew Chris Larabee and Mary Travis were developing feelings for one another and he hoped they’d be given the chance to see those feelings grow into a lasting relationship. He nodded to the four people and followed the healer out of the clinic.
Chris watched as the silver haired lady nodded off in the chair. He hated what his presence was doing to her. Even in sleep she looked exhausted and he knew she’d been tending to his needs all night. He wanted water, but didn’t have the strength to reach for the glass. He shifted slightly on the bed and set off the fireworks in his head. He knew the fever and blood loss were only partly to blame for the pounding headache. He’d been awake long enough for his thoughts to make sense. He knew Buck and Vin needed help and he was probably already too late to get it for them. His only hope was that the cave had another source of air, otherwise they’d be digging out a couple of bodies.
Chris closed his eyes and thought about Buck Wilmington and Vin Tanner. The young tracker had made an impression on him from the day they’d met. Without a word they’d walked into the street and followed a wagonload of men towards the cemetery. A man’s life hung in the balance and a gunslinger and a bounty hunter banded together to save a stranger. The friendship continued to grow and now encompassed five other men as well.
His mind turned to an older friendship, one that had helped him through some of the darkest times of his life. Buck Wilmington had always been a womanizer and Chris wouldn’t change anything about him. He’d been there when Sarah and Adam died and stayed in spite of Larabee doing his damndest to push him away. They’d separated when there came a point when Buck just couldn’t handle Larabee’s descent into hell. The rogue rode away hiding the pain of losing this friendship caused him. Chris knew his words at the cave were spoken in pain and worry and he knew in his heart the ladies man was not to blame for his being shot.
Thompson was a jealous man and his wife was a little loose. It was a combination of those things that brought them all to this point. He wished he could let Wilmington know, but the man had probably gone to his grave loaded with guilt.
He felt a tear slide from his eyes and blinked it away. “I’m sorry, Buck, n...not your f...fault,” he rasped.
Nettie Wells heard the pain in the voice and opened her eyes. She sat up further in the chair and looked into a pair of moisture-laden eyes. She reached for the cloth on his forehead, dipped it into the water and squeezed out the excess. She washed his face and looked into the sad green eyes.
“Are you alright, Mr. Larabee?” she asked.
“T...think so...” the sound of the door being slammed open interrupted his answer.
“Aunt Nettie, I’m back and I brought Mr. Jackson with me,” Casey said as she hurried into the bedroom.
“Thank God,” Nettie said as the dark skinned healer entered the room and hurried to the bed.
“Ma’am,” Jackson greeted as the woman moved so he could get to his patient. “How are you doing, Chris?” he asked, noting the half open pain filled eyes.
“I’m okay, Nathan, but y...you...”
Jackson placed his hand on Larabee’s forehead and spoke quickly. “Buck and Vin are back at the clinic.”
Larabee’s eyes opened to full circles and he reached for the healer’s arms. “What? How? T...they o...kay?”
“They’re hurtin’ but they’ll make it. Now you just lie still and let me see what kind’ve damage this bullet’s done to ya.” Nathan heard Sanchez and Standish bring in the remainder of his supplies and felt them watching him. “Mrs. Wells,” Jackson looked at the exhausted woman. “We’ll take care of him now. You need to get some rest.”
“Come on, Aunt Nettie, you can sleep in my room.”
Nettie Wells nodded and glanced at the man lying in her bed. “Mr. Larabee, you do as Mr. Jackson says!”
“I w...will. T...thank you, Mrs. Wells,” Larabee smiled as the woman turned and walked with her niece out the door. He watched her speak with Josiah Sanchez before she left and knew she was probably telling him to help himself to anything they needed.
“Now, Chris, I’m gonna take a look at that wound and see about getting the bullet out. Before you ask there’s no whiskey! Josiah, hand me the laudanum!” Jackson felt the bottle pressed into his hand and took off the cap. He lifted Larabee’s head and held the bottle in front of his lips.
Chris swallowed the noxious tasting medicine and gritted his teeth as the movement jarred the hole in his chest. He was grateful when his head was gently placed back on the soft pillow.
“Try and be still, Chris,” Jackson ordered as he replaced the cap and put the bottle on the dresser beside the bed. He lifted the bandage off the wound and frowned at the swollen, puffy, reddened hole just to the right of his patient’s left arm. The area around the wound was clean and he knew Nettie and Casey Wells were to thank for that.
“Hello, Mr. Larabee,” Standish said as he moved to the opposite side of the bed.
“Ez...J’siah,” the blond greeted his two friends.
“Chris, I’m gonna need ta get this bullet out and drain the infection. Josiah and Ezra are gonna help keep ya still while I do this.”
“O...kay,” the blond mumbled as the laudanum lowered the pain level in his body. He watched the healer place his instruments on the dresser and tried not to flinch as a probe appeared in his friend’s hand. He felt Standish grab his legs as Sanchez placed a restraining hand on each of his shoulders.
“Alright, Chris, you just hang on and Nathan’ll have that bullet out in no time.”
“Y...yeah, su...sure he w...will,” Larabee stammered.
“Bite down on this, Mr. Larabee,” Standish said as he handed the ex-preacher a knotted kerchief. Josiah held it before the slack lips and waited for the gunslinger to accept it.
“T...thanks,” Larabee said and took the cloth between his teeth.
“You two make sure he don’t move around. I’m sorry, Chris, I hate hurtin’ ya more’n ya already are, but I gotta do this,” he saw the slight nod from the injured man and hardened himself to the cries he knew would accompany his probing for the bullet. He had to move slowly and carefully because of the area the wound was in.
Chris felt the cold metal as it touched the ragged wound. He bit down on the cloth as the healer sank the instrument into the damage done by the bullet. He tried not to move and was very grateful to the two sets of hands holding him. Without that strength he would’ve been off the bed and out the door in spite of his weakened body. His eyes were tightly closed and he couldn’t see the look of pain on the former stretcher-bearer’s face.
“Almost there, Chris,” Jackson said reassuringly. He couldn’t see the blond’s face, but he knew by the weak sounds coming from his friend’s throat he was in agony.
The gunslinger heard the softly spoken words, but was too wrapped up in the shard of metal slicing into his body. As Jackson struck the small missile embedded in his body he cried out, the cloth slipping from his teeth as he lost the fight to stay conscious. His last thought was of his two friends and the fact that he could rest now that they were safe.
“”Shit, Chris, don’t you give up now,” Jackson snapped as he felt the tremble run through the lean form and the body suddenly went slack. He couldn’t stop what he was doing to check if the man was still breathing and was grateful for Sanchez’ words.
“He’s still with us, Brother!”
“Thanks, Josiah, just gotta get this out,” he said as he finally slipped the smashed bullet from Larabee’s sweat soaked, feverish body. “Got it,” he cried triumphantly. He watched as bloody pus oozed from the wound and knew he needed to make sure it was all out before he could close it up. He reached for the basin of water and carbolic and gently bathed the area, pressing down until the infection was cleared. He looked up and met both the gambler’s and the ex-preacher’s eyes. The worry he felt was evident on both faces as they continued to hold the blond in spite of his unconscious state.
“How is he, Mr. Jackson,” Nettie Wells asked from the door.
“I got the bullet out, but I just don’t know if he’s got the strength to pull through this, Mrs. Wells,” Jackson answered.
“Have faith, Mr. Jackson, he made it this far,” Nettie assured him. “I have some aloe here for that sunburn. I was putting it on his face and neck during the night.”
“Thank you, Ma’am, that’s the best thing ya could’ve done for him. You and Casey saved his life.” Jackson said as he stitched the wound closed.
“We only did what anyone would’ve done...”
“Not everyone, Ma’am. You gave up your bed and spent the night looking after him,” Sanchez observed. He saw the blush on the woman’s face and knew his words gave her a good feeling.
Jackson took the aloe and smoothed the lotion over Larabee’s face and neck. Finally satisfied he’d done all he could he sat back in the chair and let the fatigue and worry of the past two days wash over him.
“Mr. Jackson, you are exhausted and in need of sleep. I will stay with Mr. Larabee while you attend your own body’s needs.”
“Ezra’s right, Nathan. You need to get some rest. You’ve been pushing yourself to the limits since we found Buck and Vin and then we came straight out here. Ezra can take the first watch I’ll take the second.”
“I need to get back to town to check on Buck and Vin...”
“You need to sleep, Mr. Jackson,” Nettie told him.
The healer smiled at the people in the room, each wearing the same stern look. He shook his head as he stood up and stretched his aching body. “Guess I can’t fight all of ya!” he said.
“That’s right, Mr. Jackson,” the woman said. “Now, Casey’s put some blankets out for you to sleep on.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Wells,” Standish smiled as he watched her lead the healer from the room.
“Ezra, I’m gonna see about making something to eat. You call me if you need me,” Sanchez said as he left the conman to care for the gunslinger.
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