Chapter 89
“Kristy, what’s wrong,” Wilmington asked as she frowned over the blood pressure reading.
The nurse looked at the ladies man knowing she couldn’t hide anything from him. “His blood pressure’s a little low,” she informed him.
“What does that mean?” Buck asked worriedly.
“It could be anything, Buck,” Kristy told him as she lifted the thin sheet exposing Larabee’s legs. Her hand clutched his right foot and she immediately depressed the
button for the desk. As soon as she heard the nurse’s voice answer she told her to page Dr. Silverman to ICU. The clear voice immediately paged the doctor over
the PA system.
“Kristy?”
“Mr. Wilmington, I don’t know anything yet. We’ll know more as soon as Dr Silverman arrives,” she said as she continued examining the foot, checking the pulse
before covering it again.
Nathan was standing outside Tanner’s room when the call came over the PA for Dr. Silverman. His heart skipped a beat as he hurried to the next room.
Wilmington heard footsteps and turned to the door. His worried gaze told Jackson something was definitely wrong.
“Mr. Wilmington, would you please wait outside,” Kristy told him.
“I...I...”
“Please, I’ll let you know when you can come back in,” she said as a second nurse entered the room.
Buck nodded and slowly left the room. He stood beside Jackson and waited for the doctor to arrive.
Sanchez poked his head around the corner and saw the two worried men. He looked back at the pale form on the bed and wondered if this ordeal would ever be
over for the two men. Nathan nodded to him and Sanchez went back inside to wait for the younger man to wake up.
Silverman hurried towards the room and nodded briefly to the two men standing on either side of the door. “What’s wrong, Kristy?”
“His blood pressure is low, ninety five over fifty and his foot is cool,” she told him and the doctor immediately checked the foot while she lifted the sheet and
checked the wound in his thigh. “There doesn’t appear to be any new bleeding,” she told him.
“Well at least that’s some good news. I want to get him started on Dopamine, five mcg and titrate. We need to get the mean arterial blood pressure above sixty-five.
Kristy I want you to perform a Hemocue immediately.”
Kristy took the tiny machine and performed the required test. “Hemoglobin is eight point five.”
Silverman let out a deep breath as he looked at the second nurse. “Sue, I want two more units of blood and a bolus of five hundred ml Hespan,” he said as the nurse
hurried to complete his orders. It wasn’t long before each of the doctor’s orders were completed and the new medication entered the pale form on the bed.
Buck was once more seated beside the bed watching as Kristy continued to monitor his friend. The nurse informed him that he could come back in soon after the
doctor left. Jackson entered at the same time and listened as the nurse told them the medication was helping and that the blond’s blood pressure was rising and that
his foot was no longer cool. Jackson patted Wilmington’s shoulder before leaving to tell the others what was happening.
“Chris, I gotta tell ya I can’t handle much more of these scares of yours. I’ve told you often enough that I can’t afford any extra years but you haven’t been listening.
If this keeps up I’m gonna be a decrepit old man before I’m past being a middle aged ladies man. What I’m saying, Pard is enough is enough. Now’s the time to let
yourself get better and come back to us. Vin is gonna need you if he’s ever going to get past all of this. Hell, I don’t think any of us will get past this if anything
happens to either of you. So what do ya say, Pard, you gonna fight this thing so we can all get back to kicking some bad guy’s ass. I told ya before there’s no one
that kicks ass like you and Vin when you’re together,” Wilmington lapsed into silence as the nurse watched him carefully, her eyes filled with admiration at the
friendship conveyed by the man’s words.
“Vin?”
Sanchez’s soothing voice penetrated the light sleep the sharpshooter was languishing in. He knew to open his eyes would bring real life crashing back and he wasn’t
sure if he could face that yet.
“Come on, Vin, you’ve been sleeping long enough.”
Tanner had no choice but to open his eyes. As before he had to concentrate to get them to focus. He looked into the face of a man he respected and tried to
remember what had brought him to this point.
“How’re you feeling, Son?” Sanchez asked, a thin smile on his face.
“Feel like crap, J...Josiah.”
“I bet,” Sanchez laughed as the nurse checked the younger man’s vitals.
“W...what happened?”
“What do you remember?”
“Remember something hitting me in the back,” he muttered as he tried to recapture the memories. All too soon it came slamming back and he knew beyond a doubt
that his best friend was dead and he was the cause of it. His soft blue eyes filled with unshed moisture at the thought of the senseless loss of life. All because of a
promise that he hadn’t been able to keep. A promise he knew was beyond his control to keep but that fact hadn’t mattered to Gary Wilcox. Now Chris Larabee
was dead, his body torn and broken because of an old friendship. Tears slowly flowed from his eyes as despair born of complete and utter loss threatened to throw
him back into the nightmares that would plague him forever.
“Vin, what’s wrong?” Sanchez asked worriedly.
“How can you ask me that, Josiah. You know as well as I do what’s wrong.”
“Maybe I do but why don’t you tell me anyway?”
Tanner stared at the warm, friendly eyes and wondered how the man could look at him in such a way. “I killed him, J...Josiah. I killed my best friend. Oh, Jesus,
Cowboy, I should’ve been able to stop them!” his shoulders trembled as he fought to control his emotions.
“Vin, listen to me!” Sanchez placed his hands on the trembling sharpshooter. “Chris is not dead, Vin. He’s in the next room.”
“I...I killed him...”
“Vin, look at me. Look at me now!” he order trying to get through the self imposed wall the younger man had placed around himself. “Chris is not dead! Do you hear
me? He’s not dead!”
Tanner heard the words and finally grasped the meaning and urgency in the older man’s voice. “N...not d...dead?”
“That’s right, Vin, he’s not dead. He’s right next door.”
“I n...need to see him,” Tanner gasped as he tried to sit up.
“Oh, no you don’t, Brother. You’re not going anywhere yet.”
“But...”
“No buts, Vin. Do you know where you are?” Sanchez asked.
“ICU?”
“That’s right and you and Chris are here because the doctor thinks you both need extra care and attention. Until he says other wise you’re staying where you are.”
“Is he going to be alright?” Tanner asked, suddenly feeling very tired.
“I think so, Vin,” the ex-preacher answered as he watched the young man go back to sleep.
‘Vin, you promised to watch my back,’ Larabee thought as awareness slowly returned once more. He fought his way to the surface and slowly opened his eye,
wondering why the left eye refused to obey his command. The bright overhead lights and the constant beeps of monitoring equipment told him he was back in ICU.
He let his eyes close once more and replayed the final few seconds of Vin Tanner’s life. He could hear the younger man calling to him as Sharpe enticed him to take
his own life. He felt the violent rush of wind as the sharpshooter managed to stop Sharpe and the man had fallen to his death. Vin’s words about keeping his promise
to watch his back came flooding back as did the warm touch of his hands. He heard and saw Gary Wilcox come out of hiding and saw the gun in his hand. Chris
Larabee was not afraid to die, sooner or later it happened to them all, but he couldn’t allow Wilcox to kill him knowing what it would do to his friend. A gasp of
mental anguish ripped from his throat as the sharpshooter turned to protect him and the force of the bullet slammed into the younger man’s back. He watched the
blue eyes slide closed and knew he’d lost the man he considered to be the other half of his soul. Silent tears flowed from his eyes and he knew he was once again
alone in a world of tragedy and loss.
Buck’s head snapped up as he heard the low moan emanating from the man on the bed. “Chris,” he said as he noticed the thin streak of tears running from the right
eye into the blond hair. “Are you awake?” he asked as the nurse stood next to the bed.
“L...leave me a...alone,” Larabee muttered, his tired voice filled with the despair Buck hadn’t heard since he’d lost his family.
“Why do you want to be left alone, Chris?” Wilmington asked worriedly.
“Just want to s...sleep...so tired...” the blond answered, keeping his eyes shut in spite of the chilling pictures he was seeing. Pictures of Vin Tanner’s pale face as he
slid to the roof, his eyes closing never to open again.
“I know you’re tired, Pard, but I can see there’s something wrong. Why don’t you tell me what it is?”
“No, Buck, j...just leave me alone. Please, j...just leave me a...alone.”
Wilmington’s heart ached as he listened to the saddened voice plead with him to be left alone. ‘What on earth’s wrong, Stud,’ he thought as he sat in the chair by
the bed. “Oh, hell, Chris,” he snapped as realization dawned on him. “Look at me!” he said firmly. The green eye remained closed as pain filled the pale features
once more. “Come on, Chris, open your eyes and look at me. There’s something I gotta tell you.”
Larabee knew his friend wouldn’t leave him alone until he did as he’d asked. Forcing his eye open he tried to stop the flow of tears that threatened to leave his eye.
“W...what,” he mumbled.
“Chris, Vin is gonna need you when he’s released from here,” Wilmington smiled as he saw the look of hope appear in the one green orb staring up at him.
“V...Vin’s...”
“Alive,” Wilmington interrupted.
The body on the bed, weakened by weeks of pain and torture suddenly found the strength it needed and Chris Larabee pulled himself up in the bed. Two sets of
hands reached out for him and he struggled to get away from them. “Let me go!” he snapped at the two people keeping him from the one thing he needed to see with
his own eyes.
“Mr. Larabee, lie still. You’re not going anywhere right now,” the nurse told him as between her and the ladies man they forced him back on the bed.
“You don’t understand. I need to see him. I need to know that I didn’t kill him. God, Buck, please help me.”
“Chris, you can’t right now. You’ve just had surgery and your leg’s in no shape to hold you up.”
“Then put me in a Godammed wheelchair, Buck. I have to see Vin.”
“Look, Mr. Larabee, the doctor will be here shortly and you can talk to him. For now you need to relax before you cause that leg to start bleeding again.”
The blond head rocked back and forth on the pillow, the pale green eye glancing from one person to the other in anger. “Let me out of here.”
“Chris.”
Larabee looked to the door to see Stacey Midland and Susan James entered. “Doc tell them to let me see Vin.”
“Chris, that’s impossible right now,” Midland explained.
“No it’s not. I’ll even get in a wheelchair if you want me to but I’m going.”
James signaled for the nurse to follow her out the door and gave orders for five milligrams of Haldol to be given if her patient didn’t calm down in the next few
minutes. The nurse nodded and prepared the medication.
“Please, Buck, tell them. Tell them I gotta go see him.”
“What you gotta do, Stud, is get better. Fuck, Chris, do you realize how close I came to losing you. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t sit here and watch as my best
friend puts his life in jeopardy again. Look Vin is going to be alright and so will you if you both listen to what the doctors have to say,” Wilmington snapped, angry at
the cavalier attitude Larabee continued to have when it came to his own health.
“Buck, I’m sorry for worrying all of you but...”
“No buts, Chris, you’re not going anywhere right now so you might as well relax and accept it.”
“No, dammit, I’m not gonna do that,” Larabee said as he sat forward once more.
At a signal from James the nurse slipped the medication into the blond’s IV.
“What the hell was that?” Larabee hissed.
“Chris, it’s just the medication you’ve been receiving since you were injured,” James told him.
“Jesus, you slipped me that sedative again didn’t you?” he snarled as a sudden lethargy came over him and he felt himself slipping towards sleep.
“Stubborn,” Wilmington said simply.
Midland looked at Shannon as she disposed of the syringe. “Has there been any change since Dr. Silverman ordered the new medications?” she asked as she
checked the bandages on Larabee’s thigh.
“His blood pressure is one thirty five over seventy five and his foot is warm again.”
Midland nodded as she felt the right foot, carefully pressing on the nail bed of the big toe. She looked at the nurse and took the chart noting a brisk capillary refill.
She checked the pedal pulses in his foot and once more felt relieved when the results showed they were strong and steady.
“I’ve already turned the medication down, Doctor, as per instructions.”
“Doc?” Wilmington asked hopefully.
“He’s doing better, Buck. The pulse in his foot is strong and it’s warm. The medications seem to be doing their jobs and now we’ll slowly wean him off them.”
“Will this happen again?”
“That’s hard to say, Buck, but this is a good sign. We’re pretty certain this was a result of the blood loss and we’ve given him a second transfusion.”
“So he’ll be alright?”
“He’s still listed as critical, Buck, but if things continue to improve he should be just fine.”
“Dr. James, what about his...” Wilmington couldn’t finish the question.
“Mental state?” James finished for him, noting the slight nod of the ladies man’s head. “Chris was just coming out of the depression he was in from the torture and
other things they did to him. Normally I wouldn’t have given him the sedative but right now he needs to rest and heal. I talked with Dr. Silverman and he wants Chris
kept off his leg until he’s sure the graft has taken. I know Chris wants to see Vin and I’ve already noted that Vin wants to see Chris but neither one of them is getting
out of bed for another ten to twelve hours. Dr. Marshall will probably let Vin out of ICU tomorrow morning.”
“That’s great,” Wilmington brightened up. “What about Chris?”
“That’ll be up to Dr. Silverman and he hasn’t said anything yet. Look, Buck, Chris was already weak before these new injuries. The half healed ribs were re-broken
in the fall so we’re back to square one with those,” Midland explained.
“What about his eye? Will he be able to see out of it?”
“Dr. Dalton irrigated it because of some glass particles. He’ll need to be seen by an ophthalmologist to be sure,” Midland answered.
“Buck, he needs to rest and he needs to let his body heal both in mind and spirit. He’s gonna need all of you around him and that includes Vin. He’s not in the best of
shape physically or mentally either. What I’d like to do is have a few sessions with all of you together once they’re released. Ezra and JD also have a lot of issues to
deal with. They are both carrying the guilt of letting Sharpe get to Chris and they both need to let it go and realize it was not their fault,” James explained.
“It’s gonna take a while before any of us lose the guilt but especially hard on Vin and Chris,” Wilmington told her.
“Yes it is but they have some damn good friends to help them through it,” James smiled as she said it, knowing she’d shocked him with her choice of words. “I’ve got
a meeting to attend. Stacey, I hope Carol is still available as primary care nurse.”
“She is, Susan, she’s already been in to see them both,” Midland answered before turning back to the nurse. “Shannon, page me if there’s any problem. Has Dr.
Parker been in to see Chris?”
“Yes, Doctor. He was here about an hour ago. He checked the wounds in his side, leg, arm and also his hands. He was concerned about the blood loss and the new