Josiah hurried to the waiting room and opened the door. Nathan and JD were both sleeping on the small couches. JD’s hands were under his head and Josiah was reminded of just how young the Bostonian was. His eyes turned to the medic and he could see the fatigue in spite of the relaxed features. He took a deep breath and stepped inside, smiling as Nathan opened his eyes, but didn’t get up.
“Chris was awake for a few minutes,” Sanchez told him, not surprised when JD’s eyes opened and he sat up sleepily.
“How did he seem?” Jackson asked as he sat up.
“Tired, but he seemed to know who I was and Anne told him where he was. Dr. Barrett is in with him now and he said he’ll probably be able to take him off the ventilator tomorrow.”
“That’s great,” Dunne said excitedly.
“It is good news, JD, but Chris is not out of the woods yet. Taking him off the ventilator is just the first step in his recovery.”
“I know that, Nate,” JD told him. “But you know he hates that tube stuck down his throat. Hell who wouldn’t hate it?”
“You two go on back to sleep. I’m going up to let Ezra know Chris was awake.”
“Alright, Josiah,” Nathan agreed as he and JD settled back down to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra sat in the uncomfortable chair, his legs propped up on the windowsill as he looked out at the parking lot below. Vin was sleeping soundly with the lights turned out, but Ezra continued to wonder what happened to the ace of spades. He’d searched his small carry on earlier in the day in case the card had fallen from his pocket during the travel, but it wasn’t there. He tried to think of when he could’ve lost it, but couldn’t think of anywhere he hadn’t already looked. A soft sound alerted him to the door opening and he turned to see Josiah framed in the night lights from the hallway. He looked at the bed and wasn’t all that surprised to see Vin’s eyes open and watching the ex-preacher as he came into the room.
“Josiah,” the sharpshooter’s voice was low, but Sanchez heard the slight tremor in it.
“Chris was awake for a few minutes, Vin.”
“How was our illustrious leader?” Standish asked, a small smile of relief on his face.
“He was tired and in a bit of pain. Dr. Barrett ordered morphine for him and he went back to sleep.”
“What about the ventilator?” Tanner asked.
“Probably come off of it sometime tomorrow.”
“Any idea when tomorrow?” Vin asked.
“No,” the ex-preacher answered.
“Josiah, if you find out I want to be there.”
“I figured as much, Vin, but that’s up to Dr, Milano. When she comes in to do rounds ask her, and if she okays it with the desk I’ll make sure you’re there, Son.”
“She’ll okay it,” Tanner told him.
“I wouldn’t be so sure, Mr. Tanner. At least not until you indulge in a real night’s sleep. Not just lie there with your eyes closed.”
“Hell, Ez...”
“Vin, Ezra’s right. You need to sleep or Dr. Milano will turn you down flat.”
“I will, Josiah,” Tanner assured the older man.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better. Head still hurts, but not the explodin’ kind of pain it was earlier.”
“Stomach?”
“Also better,” he smiled thinly at the two men. “At least I kept down the shimmering shit and the broth they gave me.”
Josiah couldn’t help but smile at the pale young man. He knew what the hospital Jell-O was like, the same as it was in every hospital the world over. Something you could bounce off the floors and walls. Shimmering shit was now a running joke with all of them.
“Go to sleep, Vin,” he ordered. He smiled as the blue eyes closed and turned to leave. He looked at the quiet gambler, nodded slightly and left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris fought his way back to the surface once more and again fought the tube running down his throat. He started to choke and panicked green eyes shot open and looked for whatever was causing the pain. He felt something clasp the fingers of his left hand and held tightly to the lifeline.
“Chris, you’re in the hospital. Try not to fight the ventilator,” Anne explained as she moved in over the bed so he could see her when he opened his eyes.
“Come on, Chris, it’s okay. Just let the machine do what it’s supposed to do.”
‘Buck!’ He thought he cried out the name as he recognized the voice, but realized he couldn’t have, as something obstructed not only his breathing but his voice box as well. ‘Buck, help me! Shit!’ he thought as he struggled against the intrusion in his body.
Wilmington continued to watch his friend’s face, hoping the flickering lids would finally open.
“Chris you need to relax,” Anne warned as the blond continued to fight what was happening to him. “Listen to me. The tube is there to help you, but it won’t be there much longer.” She watched the green eyes open, close, clench tightly and open once more. She smiled at her patient as she reached for a cloth and patted the sweat from his forehead. She smiled as he turned towards Buck Wilmington and then returned his gaze to her once more.
“Dr. Barrett will be here in an hour and we’ll probably turn off the ventilator for a trial run. Okay?” She smiled once more as he nodded his head slightly before turning back to the ladies man.
“Hey, Stud,” the ladies’ man smiled as he felt Larabee’s fingers tighten around his hand. He knew why the blond did it and he smiled. His friend was letting him know through physical contact that he was okay.
Chris hated the tube leading into his throat and yet he understood why it was needed. He closed his eyes as memories of the mine chamber came flooding back like the waves of a giant Tsunami. The white-hot pain as the crowbar struck against his hip returned and he tried to move on the bed in order to escape it. Instead new pains awakened, his shoulder, his ribs, his back, even his face ached with a life of their own.
Anne watched as her patient’s eyes clenched tightly and she looked at the clock. She could tell he was in pain and once more delivered the prescribed medication. She knew Barrett would probably order a morphine infusion pump hooked up the next day, but until then she would continue to watch his face for signs he was in trouble.
“Chris, I just gave you some morphine. It’ll probably make you sleepy so don’t fight it.”
Buck watched his friend and saw the slight movement of Larabee’s head when the nurse told him not to fight the medication.
Anne knew it was time to suction the endotracheal tube and she looked at the moustached man on the opposite side of the bed. “Buck, why don’t you go get a coffee?”
“Ah, Hell, Anne is it that time again?”
“I’m afraid so,” the nurse answered.
“Chris, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Wilmington assured the blond and was surprised to see the green eyes open and focus on him. He felt the fingers release his hand and he smiled before turning away.
“Chris.”
Larabee turned his head towards her and knew from previous experience on a ventilator what she was about to do. He nodded slowly as she began to suction the tube down his throat.
Anne watched the panic in the green eyes and smiled in sympathy. “I know this feels very uncomfortable, Chris, but it’s necessary.”
Larabee let his eyes close and knew there were tears slipping from under the lids. He didn’t bother to hold them back, there was no point, this was a hospital and he was sure the nurse understood just what he was feeling. He had no idea how long the suctioning lasted, but by the time it finished he was exhausted once more. He felt a warm cloth eased across his face and was thankful to the nurse for washing away the sign of his weakness before Buck Wilmington returned to the room. He opened his eyes and looked at the pretty nurse looking after him.
Anne watched as the wonderful green beacons sent a message of gratitude that nearly took her breath away. She wondered what his eyes would be like when he smiled and vowed that was something she’d have to see before he left. “You’re welcome, Chris. Has the medication helped with the pain?” She knew it wasn’t all gone, but the blond nodded slightly as his eyes closed.
Chris nodded slightly as he tried to ignore what was happening to him. He lay on the bed, his eyes closed, his breathing beyond his own control and drifted towards sleep. By the time Buck Wilmington returned, his long time friend was back in the realm between sleep and a deeper unconsciousness. Chris didn’t want to be fully asleep because he knew who was waiting for him in that world between light and dark. His hands fisted at his sides as Robert Maguire’s hauntingly soft voice invaded his mind. ‘No!’ he thought as the crowbar was lifted once more.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chris had no idea how long he’d been asleep, but he remembered every dream, every nightmare, all reminders of what Maguire put him through. He didn’t want anyone to know he was awake, didn’t want to see the sympathy in their eyes as they looked down on him. He knew he was hurt, could feel it with every breath, but he’d lived with pain before. He’d lived through hell before, but the things he’d seen during the LSD trips were more than he wanted to remember.
“Chris?”
He heard the voice and knew who it belonged to. The young easterner sounded desperate and Chris knew if he opened his eyes he’d see worry etched on the kid’s face. He didn’t think he could face that right now. He felt the ventilator supplying his lungs with air and refused to open his eyes.
JD watched the older man’s face and frowned. He could tell Chris was awake, yet he wondered why Larabee wouldn’t acknowledge he was there. The doctor had been in earlier and the ventilator was slowly being turned off to allow Chris to breath on his own. It wouldn’t be done all at once and the doctor also ordered that his blood gases be monitored to make sure he was taking in enough oxygen to satisfy his body’s needs. Caitlin, the nurse who’d replaced Anne for the day shift was changing the IV bag on the pole over the injured man’s head. JD turned at the sound outside the door and smiled when he saw a pale form in a wheelchair being pushed towards the room by Nathan Jackson.
“Hey, Chris, you got company.”
The blond sighed and finally opened his eyes. He could see JD standing beside the bed, but couldn’t see what he was looking at. The kid moved back from the bed and was soon replaced with the man who always acted as a buffer whenever he felt sorry for himself.
“Hey, Cowboy,” the sharpshooter said as Jackson put the brakes on the chair. He could hear the medic talking to JD, but didn’t hear what he said. His eyes drank in the fact that Larabee really was awake and aware of his surroundings. He could tell there was a lot of pain, but also saw his friend was trying to hold it in.
“Vin, we’ll be right outside the door if you need us,” Jackson explained as he turned to follow the young easterner out the door.
“Thanks, Nate,” Tanner smiled at Larabee and began to talk to him. “I know ya can’t talk right now, but from what I hear that won’t last much longer. You’re gonna be just fine, Chris. We both are. The guys are here and it feels like they always have been. Hell, we got some things to talk about when you’re feeling better.”
Chris could listen to the soft Texan drawl forever. The words he spoke were as much a soothing balm on his soul as any of the medications they were giving him. He felt Tanner slip his hand over the railing and place it on his shoulder. Blue eyes met green and both men sent their strength to each other. No matter what happened, no matter where they were, no matter what hell they were put through, they’d be fine. As long as they had each other and the other five men who made up their brotherhood their strength was complete. Somehow Chris knew they’d been destined to meet the same way as their ancestors had in the tiny town of Four Corners over a hundred years before. He didn’t understand why this was, but there was no question in his mind that it was so.
Vin watched his friend’s sea-green eyes and knew he was trying to keep the pain at bay, but it wasn’t working. He watched as the eyelids dropped over the orbs and clenched tightly. He looked up at the nurse and knew she’d been watching Larabee as well.
Chris tried to lie still and keep the pain he felt building in his body at bay, but it wasn’t working. He tried to ignore the intrusion down his throat as he continued to breath on his own. A stab of pain in his left side made him move which set off new waves in his body. His eyes clenched tight and his hands fisted at his side. His eyes opened as a soft, cool hand touched his shoulder.
“Chris, are you in pain?” Caitlin asked.
He looked up into a set of warm, sympathetic, blue grey eyes and nodded once, setting off fireworks in his skull as he did so.
“I’m going to give you a shot to help with the pain,” she assured him as the young man opposite her looked on worriedly. She turned towards the door as Derrick Barrett entered the room.
Barrett nodded to the nurse as she readied an injection for the injured man. His shift was nearly over, but he wanted to check Larabee’s latest tests first to see if they could take him off the ventilator. He walked to the side of the bed and knew his patient was in pain. He studied the pale young man on the opposite side of the bed for a few seconds before returning his attention to the test results he held in his hands.
“Doc?” Tanner asked.
“Well, I think we can get rid of the ventilator,” Barrett said and watched as his patient opened his eyes. “I take it you like that idea, Chris?” he said as the nurse injected the pain medication into Larabee’s IV. “Your blood gases look okay over the trial period so there’s no reason to keep you uncomfortable. Caitlin, we can dispense with the tube, but put him on a full face mask.”
“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse agreed.
“Chris, your throat is gonna feel sore so try to keep talking to a minimum for a while, okay?” Larabee nodded.
Chris felt the pain medication enter his system and was grateful when it eased his discomfort. He watched the doctor and nurse get ready to take out the tube and turned to the sharpshooter. He saw the thin smile on Tanner’s face and was grateful he’d be there.
“Vin, I need to move you out of the way for a few minutes,” Caitlin explained.
Vin patted Chris’ shoulder as he was moved away from the bed. He could see Larabee’s eyes tracking him and smiled reassuringly. He knew this would be an uncomfortable experience, but worth it once the machine was out of the way.
“Okay, Chris, let’s do this,” Barrett explained as Caitlin gently pulled the tape from around the tube. He could see the tender skin was swollen and red, a result of both the tape and the beating he’d taken at the hands of the madman. “Chris.” The tape was eased away and he waited for Larabee to look at him. “We’re ready to take out the tube. I want you to breath out or cough if you can. Understand?” The green eyes blinked and came to rest on the doctor. “Ready?” the eyes blinked once more. “Breath out!”
Chris did as the doctor asked and coughed as the offending tube was pulled from his throat. As it came up so did everything that was in his stomach. He coughed and groaned, his eyes watered and his stomach continued to churn as he tried to turn on his side. He felt strong hands holding him and forced his eyes open. He was grateful for the supporting arms and tried to speak. “Bu...ck,” he gasped, his voice scratchy from the tube.
“Hey, Stud, I must say you look a lot better without that accessory.”
Larabee couldn’t help but laugh, but regretted it almost instantly as pain erupted through his left side and right hip. He felt himself eased back on the pillows, a warm cloth was washed over his face, and finally something was placed over his mouth and nose. Almost instantly the cool mist of oxygen entered his lungs.
“Keep
your visit short, Mr. Wilmington. Mr. Tanner you look like you should go back
to your room and lie down. Chris needs to rest and sleep right now. As I said
his throat’s probably gonna feel...”
“We know what this feels like, Doc,” Tanner said as he eased in beside Wilmington.
“Caitlin, he can have ice chips, but nothing else right now. I’ve also left orders to have a morphine infusion pump connected,” he saw Larabee’s eyes open and the head turned towards him. “I don’t want you in any pain right now, Chris. Have you been on an infusion pump before?”
“Yeah,” the raspy whisper was barely audible.
“All right. The pump will automatically inject the required dosage of morphine. Caitlin, I’ve written up the new orders. Chris, I’m going off shift now, but Dr. Carter will be in to see you. Get plenty of rest...”
“How long w...will I be h...here?” Larabee asked, his words muffled by the oxygen mask.
Barrett smiled as he looked at the pale face. “Chris, we just took the ventilator away. It’ll be a while before we let you out of ICU. Ask me again when I come back tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have an answer for you then. Right now, sleep and do as the nurses tell you.”
“T...try,” Larabee told him.
“Chris, let the nurses know if you need anything.”
“I w...will,” Larabee told him as he left.
“Chris would you like some ice chips,” Caitlin asked.
“Pl...ease,” Larabee answered.
“I’ll be right back,” she told him as she left to get the ice.
Chris turned his eyes on the two men, one standing, and one sitting in a wheelchair and sighed as his eyes slid closed. The morphine and his weary body pulling him towards sleep, a sleep he really didn’t want to face.
Buck watched as Larabee slipped towards sleep and turned to the sharpshooter. He could tell the younger man was at the end of his rope as well. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he realized how close he’d come to losing their friendship. How close Maguire had come to taking Chris and Vin from them, from him. He looked towards the door and saw Jackson standing there watching them and he smiled in spite of his worries. Somehow, they’d make it through, they always did and he was confident they would do so again. No madman would dampen the spirit of the seven as long as they kept the heart and soul where it belonged. He smiled as he realized that was how he viewed these two friends. The heart and soul of the team.
Nathan entered the room and put his hands on the handles of the wheelchair. “Vin it’s time to get you back to your room.”
“I’m all right, Nathan.”
“I know you are, Vin, but you really need to rest. Chris is probably gonna sleep for the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon.”
“You’ll bring me back down...”
“I’ll bring you back down after you’ve had a nap, ate something and the doctor okays it,” Jackson told him. “Buck, Ezra will be here in a couple of minutes. He’s gonna stay with Chris while the rest of us go grab something to eat.”
“All right, Nate,” Wilmington said as the nurse returned. “He’s asleep,” he told her.
“That’s good,” she said as she placed the cup and spoon on the table. “He’ll be doing a lot of that, Buck. His body is going to demand sleep and it may seem like he falls asleep at the drop of a hat.”
“Yeah, he just did that,” Wilmington said as he sat in the chair by the bed. ‘Heart and soul,’ he thought and placed his hand on Chris Larabee’s shoulder. The strength was there, just below the surface, but it was a reminder of how many times Chris fought his way back from the misery and pain inflicted on him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Josiah heard the familiar ringing of his cell phone. He picked it up and pressed the button to answer it. “Sanchez,” he said.
“Mr. Sanchez, it’s Barry Lawrence.”
“Captain, is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure. You know we couldn’t find the weapon that was used to kill Robert Maguire.”
“I know,” Sanchez’ mind replayed the scene at the mine when Chris passed his ancestor the pearl handled Colt.
“Well, the autopsy has uncovered something very interesting...”
“Interesting, how so?”
“Well, it’s like this...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Josiah walked into the small waiting room they were spending so much time in and sat on one of the empty chairs.
Nathan watched the older man and frowned at the tired edges cropping up on the ex-preacher. He’d known the man for a long time and could sometimes read him as easily as he could read a medical book. Josiah was one of the most spiritual men he’d ever known and that there was something bothering him was obvious.
“Problem, Josiah?”
Sanchez rubbed his forehead and leaned back in the chair.
JD, who was sleeping when he walked in, opened his eyes and sat up He rubbed his fingers against his eyelids and looked at the two men. “What’s going on?”
“I just got a call from Captain Lawrence...”
“Is something wrong?”
“Besides the missing gun, you mean?” Sanchez asked, and shook his head at the hint of sarcasm he heard. “Sorry, Nathan.”
“It’s all right, Josiah. What else did Captain Lawrence have to say?”
“They completed the autopsy on Maguire. It seems that the bullet,” he pictured the two men and their ancestors holding the weapon and aiming it at the madman. “C....Chris and Vin fired the gun and their aim was perfect. The bullet entered Maguire’s heart and killed him instantly whether he realized it at the time or not.”
“He should’ve suffered more than that for what he did to Chris,” Dunne said softly.
“I think we all agree with you there, Son,” Josiah said.
“That’s not all is it, Josiah?” Jackson asked.
Sanchez shook his head as he remembered the startling news Lawrence had told him. “No it’s not.” He rubbed his hands together and stood up. “There was no bullet in Maguire’s body.”
“So it went right through,” Jackson asked.
“No. The entry wound was there and so was the damage caused by the bullet, but there was no exit wound.”
“How can that be?” Dunne asked.
“It’s another mystery we simply have to chalk up to everything that’s happened. The only thing I can think of is that the bullet returned with our ancestors the same way the gun did. Chris’ great, great grandfather took that gun back with him and somehow the bullet was also meant to go back. It’s something we’ll never be able to explain, we just have to believe it happened. Trust in our eyes and in our hearts that it was meant to be.” The three men grew silent as they thought about the truth of Josiah’s words. Some things were destined to be and this was one of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orrin Travis stepped off the elevator and walked to the nursing station. Anyone who saw his face would’ve seen a man with a tough exterior, while inside he seethed at what had been done to his men. He knew most of the details and understood that Vin Tanner would probably be released in a few days, but Chris Larabee was looking at an extended stay in the hospital.
“Orrin?” He turned to see Buck Wilmington standing across the hall.
“Buck, how are they?” he asked as he hurried towards the ladies’ man.
“Vin’s doing well, but he still gets those damn headaches. Dr. Milano says he’ll have those for a while.”
“That’s to be expected with a concussion of this magnitude. Chris?”
“They took him off the ventilator earlier, but he’s not out of the woods, Orrin. Maguire did a hell of a job on him.”
Travis could tell the man was hurting inside. He knew Wilmington had a heart of gold and how much these men, especially Chris Larabee meant to him. He remembered how devastated Buck was when Sarah and Adam were murdered and Chris pushed him away as if that friendship meant nothing. They all realized this was not true, but it was Chris’ way of pushing away those who cared about him. It didn’t work, but Buck was hurt by the words Larabee used. He remembered how hard it was for all of them to see Chris drinking as if nothing else mattered. The one man who could’ve helped was deep undercover in a foreign country and they had no way of contacting him. Vin’s horror at what happened to his best friend’s family was written on his face when he returned home. The thought that he wasn’t there when Larabee needed him had plagued his mind for months until the blond finally came full circle and dealt with his loss. It took the six men to hold things together and bring Chris back into the fold. Now it appeared the same thing would have to be done, only this time they were all here and could help Chris and Vin deal with the aftermath of Robert Maguire’s appearance in their lives.
“Has Chris been awake?”
“He wakes up for short periods, but he’s weak and falls back to sleep after only a couple of minutes. He seems like he’s always in pain, but hopefully what they’re doing now will help that.”
“What are thy doing?”
“Hooking him up to a morphine infusion pump so he won’t have to ask for anything. Dr. Barrett doesn’t want him in pain when it’s not necessary.”
“Buck, tell me how badly he’s hurt?”
Wilmington ran down the list of injuries to Larabee’s body and included the fact that Maguire forced Chris to ingest LSD as well. They all knew what the drug did to a man’s mind and the possibility of after effects. That was one of the things that had them all worried. The two men looked towards the door to Larabee’s room as it opened and the nurse smiled at them.
“Looks like they’re done,” the ladies man observed as a second nurse left the room. The two men walked towards the open door and Buck stayed in the doorframe as Orrin Travis got his first look at the injured man. He knew Travis sometimes appeared to be a hard ass, but when it came to the men of The Firm, he had a tough time keeping his feelings in check.
Orrin walked into the room just as the nurse finished making notes on her patient’s chart. He stepped up to the bed and looked down at the pale, bruised features, before lifting his head and meeting the eyes of the nurse. “How is he?”
Chris heard the familiar voice and peeled his eyes open. He forced a thin smile to his face at the sight of the older man. “O...Orrin.” His voice came out garbled through the oxygen mask still covering his face, but his boss heard him.
“Hello, Chris, how are you?” Travis asked. He could see the deep bruising covering Larabee’s chest and running below the stark white sheet that covered his lower body. The white bandage covering his shoulder and part of his upper arm. There were also bandages covering both wrists and the older man knew this was from Larabee’s being chained to a beam in the mine.
“I’m fine,” the injured man said and smiled as the judge’s rich laughter floated around him.
“Sure you are, Son, when are you gonna come up with a new line?” Larabee grinned sheepishly at the judge’s question. Travis grew serious as he looked into the glazed green eyes and saw the evidence of both physical and mental pain. What he saw was a living hell in a pair of deep pools of sea green.
“You’re far from fine, Chris, but you will be. We’re all here and we’re gonna make damn sure you and Vin take the time to heal...”
“Thanks, Orrin,” Larabee whispered tiredly. The drugs being fed into his body were making it hard for him to stay awake for long periods of time and he sighed as his eyes slid closed.
Travis sat for a few minutes watching as the injured man seemed to drop off to a restful sleep.
Chris’ sleep was far from restful as nightmares invaded the rest his mind and body craved. He lay quietly on the bed while his mind was in turmoil. His arms were once more tied over his head and his ankles were similarly held in a tight grip. He recognized the chamber of horror he’d been held captive in and choked back the scream threatening to escape his arid throat. He swallowed painfully as Robert Maguire walked towards him holding something in his hands. At first it was unclear, but as the man came closer Chris had little doubt as to what he saw. Long brown hair was held tightly in the madman’s grip. Soft brown eyes stared back at him from a familiar face, a face he knew and loved beyond life. The mouth that was once vibrant and warm beckoned to him with screams of rage and pain.
‘You did this to me, Chris. You said you’d be there and would always protect us, but you ran out. We’re dead because of what you did.’
‘No! Sarah, please, I didn’t...’
‘You may not have lit the fire but you brought her into our lives.’
Maguire’s dead eyes laughed mockingly at the look of horror on his victim’s face. ‘See Christopher, you kill everything you touch. You should’ve been honoured that I was willing to end your suffering and save the lives of your future victims. Now you’ll have to stand there and know you’re the cause of their deaths. Everyone you’re close to will die and you will watch them. Shall we start with...”
Chris watched as the madman tossed the lifeless head aside and picked up another. The sight was too much for him and he screamed, screamed loud and long as the head was tossed before his feet. ‘No! God, no!’ he cried.
Orrin watched as the blond head began to toss on the white pillow. He saw the nurse look up at the monitor and knew something was wrong. “What’s going on?” Travis asked as she saw the concern on the woman’s face.
“He’s dreaming,” she explained as she placed her hand on the bare left shoulder.
‘No!’ Chris cried as the madman continued to taunt him with reminders of the people he loved, but was destined to lose. Small grunts of pain escaped the injured man as he fought the nightmares. He twisted his body on the bed and ignored the agony he was causing himself as he tried to escape his own personal demon.
“Chris, it’s just a dream. You’re safe,” she looked up as Wilmington entered the room and Travis moved out of the way.
“Hey, Pard, what’s going on?”
Chris fought to close his eyes, to wipe out the evidence of the horror being displayed before him. Each time they closed a scream would erupt and his eyes would open, he’d gasp and fight to breathe as Maguire reached for something else to torture him with. ‘No!’ he gasped as Robert Maguire threw the final offering before him and started towards him. The closer the man got the more difficult it became for Chris to draw a breath. He began to thrash on the bed in his efforts to escape the nightmare world infringing on reality.
Caitlin knew they needed to calm her patient, but nothing was getting through to him. Even the dark haired man standing on the opposite side of the bed was unable to break through whatever nightmare held Chris Larabee in its grip. She reached for the button on his bed and told the nurse to have the doctor paged. She knew Barrett had left for the day, but there would be someone on call.
Chris continued to fight for air, but to no avail. ‘B...bas...tard!’ he cried breathlessly as Maguire’s icy fingers reached out and touched his cheek. As soon as the contact was made something burned into him and he cried out. “NO!”
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