Chris groaned as he opened his eyes and tried to move. Something seemed to be stopping him from lifting his arms and he frowned. He tried to shift his left leg, but again it seemed weighted down. Voices nagged at his returning consciousness and his eyes flickered, once, twice, and finally opened on the third attempt. They focused on the worried faces above him and he wondered at the sorrow in the blue gaze.
“Vin? What hap...pened?” He tried to shift again and suddenly realized why he couldn’t move. “NO!” he cried weakly.
“It’s okay, Chris,” Jackson soothed.
“NO! Get them off!” Larabee struggled against the restraints, but his movement was limited by the Velcro straps.
Vin reached out and placed his hand on the still fevered forehead. “Easy, Cowboy.”
The blond’s eyes widened as he listened to his friend’s soft Texas drawl. “Take them off, Vin! Please!”
“Chris.” Larabee turned towards the nurse. “The restraints are there for your protection...”
“Why?” the blond asked sadly, tears shining in the troubled eyes.
“You had another flashback, Chris. The doctor’s didn’t want you to hurt yourself,” Jackson explained calmly.
“Flashback?” he asked and suddenly nightmare scenes swam before his suddenly unfocused eyes. Scenes in which he watched his friends being murdered over and over again at his own hands. Only the hands weren’t his, but were attached to his body. He had no control over them as he sliced into Wilmington’s exposed throat, or drove an ice pick into JD’s stomach. “God!” he hissed as the hands lifted a heavy rock and quickly smashed it on Ezra’s hands before completing the task of striking the gambler in the head, killing him instantly. Over and over the scenes replayed, going from one man to the other as the hands did what his unwilling body wouldn’t. He watched his friends, his family die, violently, painfully and felt the tears flow down his cheeks. His breath came in hitching gasps as he shuddered uncontrollably. He gave up the fight to remain conscious and once more entered the nightmare world where Maguire controlled everything. Somewhere in his fevered dreams he heard a soft voice telling him things would work out. ‘Sarah,’ he thought as her words chased away the fear and let him sleep.
“Jesus, Chris,” Tanner swore, feeling guilt rage in his gut. “I should’ve come in earlier.”
“Vin, there's no point in beating yourself up over this. Even if you’d been here you couldn’t have stopped the flashback from happening.”
“Listen to Nathan, Vin,” Anne explained as she finished taking her patient’s vitals. “Flashbacks are unpredictable and can happen at any time.”
“It just ain’t fair! He’s been through enough without having to deal with LSD flashbacks!”
“I agree, Vin, but Chris’ is strong and he’ll make it past all this.”
“I know he will, Nathan, but that doesn’t help him right now.”
“No, it doesn’t, but at least he’s not alone.”
“Never will be.”
“You guys are good for each other,” Anne said as she took a cloth and gently washed the evidence of tears from Larabee’s cheeks.
“We’re family, Anne,” Jackson told her. “Vin, why don’t you lie down in the waiting room for a while?”
“I’ll stay with him, Nate.”
“Vin!”
“I ain’t leaving him.”
“Stubborn, bull-headed.” Jackson smiled as he saw the twinkle in Vin’s eyes. “Never been two more pig-headed men born,” he stated as he watched the sharpshooter stand silent vigil over their unconscious friend.
Vin’s gaze strayed from the blond’s face down over the injured body, stopping for a few seconds on the familiar Velcro restraints over his wrist and ankles. He hated seeing them there, but understood the necessity. He prayed they wouldn’t be in place very long. “Maguire’s still hurting ya, Pard,” he whispered softly as he reached through the railing and touched Larabee’s right hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris slept through most of the next two days, but in spite of the sleep he still suffered from flashbacks. A couple were so violent and painful he’d fought against the restraints and no one could get through to him. His friends sat watching him, helpless to pull him from the hell he resided in. If Vin Tanner or Buck Wilmington were around the flashbacks were quelled, but if either man was not present it was hard pressed to get the injured man to realize where he was. The other four knew this was because of the closeness of the three men. Oh, they understood that Chris thought of them as family, but there was still a special bond between him and Buck. A bond that had its roots in their long time friendship. The bond with Vin Tanner was more recent, but it was stronger than anything they’d ever seen.
That bond was something that would help see Chris through this, but the fact that Vin Tanner was injured and still suffered concussion induced headaches made it impossible for him to be with Chris all the time. He had to be forced to leave the hospital and go back to the hotel in order to rest, yet sleep was elusive for him as his thoughts stayed where his body couldn’t. He couldn’t get past the picture of the pale blond strapped to the bed and unable to do anything for himself.
Vin lay awake in the bed, the drapes drawn, his eyes closed, but his body tense as he tried to relax. He knew he needed to sleep, yet the throbbing in his shoulder warned him he wouldn’t be able to do that for a while.
“Here, Vin.”
Tanner turned at the sound of the ex-preacher’s voice. He saw the tray in the man’s hand and shifted upwards in the bed. “What is it?”
Sanchez placed the tray on his lap and lifted the cover. “Lunchtime, my friend.”
Vin didn’t realize how long it was since he’d eaten and the aroma of the soup made his stomach grumble as he lifted the spoon.
Josiah stood back and watched as the younger man took his first taste of the flavourful beef vegetable soup. He saw a hint of a smile as Vin dipped the spoon again and again. He knew the sharpshooter hadn’t been eating properly and was glad when he finished the soup and made quick work of the fresh strawberries.
Vin sipped at the hot coffee and looked gratefully at the older man. “Thanks, Josiah.”
Sanchez didn’t miss the grimace on the injured man’s face as he shifted on the bed. “You’re welcome, Son,” he said as he reached for the bottle of pills on the nightstand. “Here!”
Vin knew it would do him no good to refuse and reached for the pills. He popped them into his mouth and lifted the glass of water from the tray.
Josiah picked up the empty tray and turned away from the bed. He turned back to the tracker and said softly as he turned out the light. “Try to get some sleep, Son.”
The ex-preacher closed the door on the softly muttered ‘I will’ and placed the tray on the room service cart. The others were at the hospital and he knew they’d call if he was needed. He picked up the dog-eared bible and opened it. He read a few passages and stood up to check on the younger man. He opened the door, smiled at the soft sound of snoring coming from the bed, closed the door and went back to his reading.
Inside the darkened room a darker shadow moved against the wall and a man’s silhouette knelt beside the bed. The black duster made no sound as its wearer bent over the still form. A whisper soft hand reached out and touched the long strands of soft hair. ‘He’s going to need you in the days ahead, Vin. Just stay strong and be there for him. Remember what your ma told you.’
Blue eyes opened and momentarily focused on the familiar, yet unfamiliar man looking at him. “I’m a Tanner,” he said as his eyes slipped shut once more.
‘Always be proud of that, Pard!’ The dark form slowly faded, but the smile on his face sent a warmth into the sleeping form.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Chris felt someone touching his neck and opened his eyes. The medications were keeping him dazed, but at least the pain wasn’t as bad when the morphine kicked in. His gaze fell on Joe Mullen and he realized what was about to happen as he spotted the dialysis machine behind him.
“Why?”
Mullen finished connecting the dialysis machine and looked at his patient. “Chris, remember me telling you that we would have to do this for a week or more?”
“Yeah,” Larabee tried to twist away, but his wrist were still restrained.
“Well the test results show your BUN, creatinine, and potassium levels are still elevated and we need to repeat the treatment.”
“Hate this shit!”
Mullen smiled as the softly uttered words were mumbled through the oxygen mask. “I know you do, Chris, but...”
“It has to be done. Know how sick I am of hearing that?”
“I think I do,” Mullen assured him as he turned to the equipment and made sure everything was running properly. Satisfied that it was doing what it was supposed to, he turned back to the injured man. “Everything is working properly and I think you’d rather be talking with your friends than with me.”
“Need to rest!”
“Who needs to rest? You or them?”
“They do. Always here...not sleeping.”
“They care about you, Chris. You’ve got some real good friends there...”
“Not friends...family....the best...”
“Yes, I can see that and they think the same thing about you.”
“Don’t know why...don’t deserve...”
“Oh, don’t try to tell me you don’t deserve it, Chris. Those friends...family of yours are a smart group of men and wouldn’t be here if you didn’t deserve them. Now you just lie there and I’ll send them in.”
“No choice, can’t do anything, but lie here.”
“It’s only for a little while, Chris,” the nurse said as the doctor left.
Chris looked at the tall, gangly blond and saw the sympathy in her eyes. He tried to recall her name, but it wouldn’t come to him.
“Hi, Betsy, is he awake?”
Chris couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Wilmington’s voice. He turned his gaze on the ladies’ man as he stepped up to the bed. “Hello, Buck.”
“See you got more accessories, Stud. Don’t you realize the ladies like you just the way you are?” Buck leaned close to his friend’s ear and whispered. “While you were sleeping Anne came to see how you were doing.”
“That’s because she works...here,” Larabee muttered softly as the nurse checked his vitals.
“This is her day off, Chris!”
“Visiting friends...”
“Then why did she ask me about you and come in here and talk with Melody yesterday?”
“Concerned n...nurse...doing job,” Larabee wheezed.
“Concerned about you. I saw how she looked at you, Chris. There’s more to it than a concerned nurse caring for her patient. Those brown eyes of hers just lit up when she asked about you yesterday. She’s a looker, Chris and if you don’t make a move on her I’m going to.”
Larabee lifted his head and looked at his hands and feet. “Don’t look like I’ll be making any moves any time soon,” he mumbled tiredly.
“Ah, hell, Chris, those are just temporary. All of this is. You’ll be on your feet in no time and that’s when you go after her,” He raised his voice so the nurse could hear him. “Oh, I can just see it when you get out of that bed, Stud. You’re gonna be on crutches or in a wheelchair and no lady can resist a man on crutches. Maybe I’ll just give you a few pointers on how to gain their sympathies.”
“Don’t need their sympathy, Buck,” Larabee yawned and closed his eyes. He listened as Buck talked about all the pointers he could give Chris, but soon found he was drifting into a deeper sleep. The soft voice of the nurse joined Wilmington’s as Larabee lay contentedly against his pillow.
“How is he really doing, Betsy?”
“He’s doing a little better than we expected, Mr. Wilmington. I mean the dialysis is scary...”
“You got that right, and please call me Buck,” the ladies’ man said as he sank into the chair beside the bed.
“Buck, the doctors are pretty certain he won’t need it past this week.”
“Wish he didn’t need it at all.”
“I know you do. He’s lucky to have all of you here with him.”
“Ain’t nowhere else any of us would be with him in here. If Vin hadn’t been hurt he’d be sitting in this chair 24 hours a day until the doctors released Chris.”
“I think he’d probably have a fight on his hands.”
Wilmington glanced up from the form on the bed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean he’d have to fight you and the others for the right to be in here. Chris was truly blessed with the six of you.”
“Thanks, Betsy, but I think we were all blessed. The seven of us were meant to meet and somehow I think that started over a hundred years ago.”
“Would you like to explain that one?” Betsy laughed as she saw the chagrined look on the handsome face.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Her eyebrows rose and she smiled as she answered. “Try me.”
“It’s a long story,” Buck said, “but if you want we could discuss it over dinner when Chris is better.”
“I’ll hold you to that, Buck,” she said as she finished changing the IV bag over Larabee’s head.
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