Chris languished in the dream, holding onto the warmth that emanated from the fireplace. He sat on the rug, sipping at the champagne as his wife slid seductively down beside him. Tonight was for them, there would be no lovemaking, just talk and a private renewal of their vow of everlasting love. Chris pulled her close to him and held the glass for her. He laughed as her right hand reached down and tickled the bottom of his right foot. Her soft giggle soothed away the tremble he’d felt building inside of him and he pulled her up tight against his body. He knew this was a dream, and yet it was so real that he could smell the lilac scent he always associated with her. ‘Don’t go, Sarah...’***
“Don’t go, Sarah!”
“It’s okay, Chris, you’re going to be fine,” Jackson soothed as he heard the cry of pain and sorrow.
Chris sobbed as he felt her leave his arms and his eyes fluttered open. ‘No!’ he screamed in silent rage as he recognized the man standing before him. He struggled against the ropes holding him tight to the beam of the cave, gasping for breath as Robert Maguire lifted the branding iron from the coals.
‘Yes, Christopher, you will wear my brand of ownership. I am your natural Lord and Master!’
‘Never own me!’
‘That’s right, Son, he doesn’t own you. He never owned either of us!’ Larabee said as he stood in front of the bound man.
‘Listen to him, Chris. You’re the only one who can free yourself from this bastard,’ Wilmington hissed savagely and stood beside his long time friend..
‘His miserable hands cannot harm you, Mr. Larabee,’ Standish said as he joined Larabee and Wilmington in front of the injured man.
‘Yea though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil...That’s what you are Robert Maguire, EVIL, and as such I don’t fear you and neither do my friends.’ Sanchez quoted and stepped up beside Wilmington.
‘He’s not as strong as you are, Chris, we proved that before and we’ll prove that again,’ Dunne joined the others and stood tall and proud beside his friends.
‘Chris Larabee and all his kin are beyond your evil Maguire. We sent yer ancestor ta hell long ago and we’ve come ta see that ya join ‘im. Ya see Destiny brought us tagether in Four Corners long ago and kept us together in order ta defeat yer evil.” Vin moved in and took his place in front of the bound man.
Robert Maguire watched as seven men moved in to protect his intended victim. ‘You can’t take what is mine!’
‘That’s where you’re wrong, Maguire. You see we were never your destiny, but you were part of ours. We were meant to defeat you long ago and to continue doing so until the last of you are dead. You have no sons, no one to carry on with your evil. It ends here! It ends now! Join that bastard of an ancestor of yours in hell!’ Chris Larabee hissed as he drew his white handled colt revolver.
Chris watched transfixed as the seven men from his past pulled their weapons and pointed them at Robert Maguire. He heard the distinct sound of six gunshots and watched as a knife flew from Nathan Jackson’s hands. His body trembled as he watched his captor shimmer and fade before his eyes.
‘You’re safe now, Son. It may take some time for you to heal, but you will. When the nightmares come back we’ll be there, but I don’t think they will.’
His eyes filled with tears as the seven shadows shimmered before his eyes and he whispered softly. ‘Thank you, Grandfather..’***
“Thank you, Grandfather!”
“Hey, Chris, you okay?” Dunne asked when he saw the green eyes open and tears slide free.
Larabee smiled at the young kid, so much like his ancestor and spoke softly. “Yeah, Kid, I think I’m gonna be just fine. We all are!”
“Ya saw ‘em again, didn’t ya?”
“Yeah, JD, I did. Got rid of that other bastard once and for all. I’m not gonna dream about him any more.”
“Glad to hear that, Cowboy,” Tanner said as he slipped into the room.
JD stood up and turned the chair over to the sharpshooter.
“The others are waiting for you so they can go eat, Kid.”
“You sure you’re okay here?”
“I’m fine, JD. Go, before they leave without you.” He waited until JD was out of the room and Betsy was busy with the IVs and dialysis machine. “You sure you’re okay, Chris?”
“I’m fine, Vin. I really am,” Larabee closed his eyes and envisioned the seven men standing in front of him, protecting him from the madman and his branding iron. Vin Tanner, Nathan Jackson, JD Dunne, Chris Larabee, Buck Wilmington, Ezra Standish, and Josiah Sanchez, standing tall, as tall as the six men he now called family. “Yep, everything’s gonna be just fine, Vin. I’ve got my family here with me just as he had his with him.”
“Your great, great grandfather?”
“Yeah,” Larabee shifted as far as the restraints would allow and smiled at the younger man. “How did you know?”
“Been dreaming about them myself.
I think we all have. That’s how you knew where the Ace of Spades went isn’t
it?”
“Yeah,” Larabee yawned tiredly and closed his eyes. “How’s the shoulder?”
“Better.”
“Good. Headaches?”
“Still get ‘em, but not so bad now.”
“Nathan making you take pain pills?”
“Yeah, wish he’d stop.”
“Be glad we don’t have to take what his ancestor forced on ours.”
“Horse...”
“Piss,” Larabee finished and the two men broke into laughter. A sound they hadn’t made since the day Vin had been shot and Chris kidnapped. Both men felt a weight lift from their shoulders and the nurse looked at them strangely.
Betsy listened to the two men talk quietly and knew when Larabee began to tire. She checked the IV and dialysis machine and knew it would soon be time to unhook her patient from it. She moved about the room, trying to make herself unobtrusive in order to leave the men some semblance of privacy. She listened as they talked about the strange things that happened to them from the beginning of their vacation and knew her date with Wilmington would be a strange one. She looked towards the two men and watched as the younger one used his good hand to reach over the railing. She didn’t know how they managed it, but they clasped arms in one of the strangest symbols of friendship she’d ever seen and she knew there was something special about their relationship. She could see it in both sets of eyes. There was more of a sense of family between them than friendship and she wondered if that’s how they felt. She listened as the soft Texas drawl told the injured man to sleep and that he had his back. Again there was a feeling of brotherhood, and she felt like an intruder as she witnessed the emotional exchange.
“You rest easy, Cowboy, I’m gonna be right here.”
“You need to rest, Vin!”
“Hell, Chris, that’s all Nathan and the others will let me do. Just wait until they let you out of here! You’re gonna wish they’d kept ya in here. Even JD’s gettin’ to be downright bossy!”
“The kid?”
“That kid can blackmail with the best of ‘em, Chris. You’d best be warned that these guys are in full mother hen mode and I only got a broken wing. Hell, when they get their hands on you Mother hen will have a whole new meaning!”
“Any way we can head ‘em off before I get out of here?”
“I doubt it. I’ve been puttin’ up with them, and you’ll have to, when you get outta here.”
“Damn!” Larabee swore, as he tried to get comfortable. The pain was quickly becoming apparent again as he lay heavily against the pillows. Truth was, at least right now, he didn’t mind the idea of the others hovering around him. The memory of his dream of the seven protectors reminded him just how much their friendship meant. Between them they could and would defeat anyone and anything. He sighed as he felt the morphine enter his system and knew it would soon take care of the growing pain in his body.
Vin didn’t miss the grimace that Larabee tried to conceal and he knew the blond was in pain. The sound of the morphine infusion pump kicking in was welcome to his ears and he knew the other man would soon be drifting off to sleep. He smiled as his friend fought against his own body and tried to stay awake.
“Go to sleep, Chris. I got your back!”
Larabee smiled as for an instant he heard those words echoed by another raspier voice and knew the ghosts of the past were still around and probably always would be. “Always have,” he mumbled as his eyes slid closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Her four day rotation was over and Anne Sheridan was never so glad to be back at her work. There was no more doubt that she was harboring feelings for this man, but she vowed not to do anything until Larabee was no longer under her care. Until that time she would be the perfect professional and do whatever she could to ensure his recovery. She walked into the room to find a lab technician taking blood from the A-line in Larabee’s wrist.
“Good morning, Chris,” she greeted with a smile as she noted the lack of restraints and NG tube. When she’d visited him two days before they’d replaced them and explained that he’d suffered more flashbacks. She hoped and prayed the restraints were gone for good, yet she knew they could be needed again. LSD was an unpredictable drug and they had no idea how often or in what dosage Larabee was fed the mind-altering substance.
Chris felt the lab tech taking blood and opened his eyes as a familiar voice sounded next to the bed. He couldn’t help smiling at the auburn haired woman beside him. “Hi, Anne,” he rasped as the tech finished up and left the room.
“How are you feeling today?”
“Better, not great, but definitely better.”
“That’s great, Chris. Now why don’t I check and make sure everything’s running correctly and we’ll see about making you presentable for your friends to visit.”
“I look that bad do I?” He watched as a blush came to her cheeks and realized that was not at all what she meant.
“N...no. You look just fine...’
“Sure I do,” he laughed and was glad when she joined him.
“They’ve decided you’re ready to start eating...”
“Ah, hell!”
Auburn eyebrows rose as she heard his soft expletive. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Not for Jell-O and broth.”
Anne laughed at the look of distaste on the battered face. “I can’t say that I blame you there, but they won’t give you anything solid until they know your stomach can handle soft foods.”
“Yeah, but Jell-O as a meal? Nothing can make my stomach handle that.”
“Hopefully it’ll only be another day or so. Has Dr. Barrett been in this morning?”
“Not yet. Dr. Mullen and he are supposed to come in and tell me whether or not I need more dialysis.”
She heard the pain in his voice and knew how tired he was of everything he was going through. “It won’t be much longer, Chris,” she assured him. The test results would probably show that he needed at least one more treatment as she’d seen the results of the last ones.
“I hope you’re right, Anne, cause I’m getting mighty tired of lying here.”
“Chris, you won’t be up and around for some time yet. That broken hip needs time to mend as do the ribs, the shoulder and all the other bruises and lacerations. That’s not gonna happen until you get some strength back and I’m afraid that does mean the Jell-o and broth.”
“You sound like Nathan,” Larabee said with a grin.
“I don’t know him very well, but Nathan does seem to understand all of you.” As she talked she grabbed a basin and filled it with warm soapy water and a cloth. She walked back to the bed to see a pair of wonderful deep, sea green pools looking at her. “Now why don’t we just give you a wash.”
“I can do it,” Chris told her, feeling the heat return to his cheeks as he thought of the last bath.
“It’s okay, Chris, we’ll just do your face and arms today. I don’t want you moving around too much.”
“O...kay,” he wheezed and knew it would soon be time for the medications to ease his breathing. By the time Anne finished washing his face and exposed arm and chest, Barrett and Mullen came into the room.
“Good morning, Chris, how are you feeling?” Barrett asked.
“Better, doc.”
“You know I believe you are feeling better,” the doctor agreed.
“You do look a little better, Chris,” Mullen told him.
“So no more dialysis?”
“I never said that, Chris,” Mullen said seriously. “The test results are not as good as I want them to be and we do need to continue with the dialysis...”
“Doc...”
“I’m sorry, Chris, I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but we need to make sure your kidneys are strong enough to do what they’re supposed to do.”
“Shit!” the expletive showed just how much the news affected the injured man. He knew as long as his kidneys were still causing problems he wouldn’t get out of ICU. He let his head drop back to the pillow and closed his eyes so the others wouldn’t see the disappointment he knew was there.
“Chris, I need to take a look at you...”
“Later,” Larabee hissed in frustration.
“Chris...”
“Doc, just give me some time alone!” the injured man snapped.
Anne noted the quick change in her patient’s mood and looked at Barrett. She knew he was worried about PTSD and this was the first real sign Chris Larabee was suffering from just that. She knew they’d have to watch for other signs and vowed she’d keep alert for anything. She also knew that he’d already talked to Dr. Lee Carlyle, a man well known in the psychiatric field and head of that department at Washoe Medical.
“I can’t do that, Chris. I need to make sure the infection in your wounds is clearing up. It won’t take long, and we’ll leave you alone for a little while.”
The patient knew they’d do what they wanted no matter how much he protested. He kept his eyes closed as they shifted him onto his back and slowly examined his injuries. He lost track of how many time a hand touched against him and made him gasp as pain spread throughout his body.
“Just relax, Chris, we’re almost done,” Barrett explained as he checked the tube running into Larabee’s chest.
“Shit!” the blond wheezed as he tried unsuccessfully to control his breathing. He clenched his eyes tight as the first of many tortured coughs erupted from his throat. Over and over until it felt as if his chest was being torn apart. The mask was quickly replaced and he knew the bronchodilators were being delivered to his constricted lungs. In spite of the pain it caused he sucked the medication deep into his lungs and felt a lessening of the band pressing across his chest. By the time the medication completed its job, his eyes were filled with tears and the excess moisture ran down his cheeks. He knew the others could see his weakness and he kept his eyes closed.
“Better, Chris?” Anne asked softly.
“Yeah...tha...nks,” was the answer that slipped from the sick man’s mouth.
“Get some sleep, Chris. Your friends can come back later,” Barrett told him.
Larabee’s eyes opened and he shook his head. Chris knew he was doing exactly the opposite of what he wanted earlier, but right now the thought of being alone sent chills down his spine. “No...I’m o...kay. Let them co...come in,” he rasped.
“Are you sure?” Mullen asked.
“Yeah.”
“All right.” Barrett agreed and turned to the nurse. “Anne, make sure he doesn’t overdo things.”
“I will, Doctor.”
“Chris, we’ll know by tomorrow morning if you need to undergo more dialysis,” Mullen explained before leaving the room.
“It looks like your breakfast is here, Chris. Eat what you can and let Anne know if anything upsets your stomach.”
“Hmm,” Larabee said as the head of his bed rose slightly. He bit back a moan as muscles pulled in his lower back, but it eased as soon as Anne stopped the upward movement.
“Hey, Stud.”
Larabee forced one eye open and spotted Wilmington and Standish coming into the room. “Hi, Buck, Ez. How’s Vin?”
“He’s better this morning, Chris, but he was sleeping when we left so JD, Nathan and Josiah are staying at the hotel until he wakes up,” the ladies’ man explained.
“Needs to sleep,” Larabee told him.
“Yeah, he does,” the rogue answered.
“Looks like you get to eat today.”
“Eat?” Larabee asked
“Okay, so drink might be a better description, but at least the Jell-O’s not green,” he said as he lifted the cover off the tray.
“It’s not?” Larabee and Standish asked in shocked voices.
“Nope, looks like it’s red...”
“Probably still tastes the same,” the blond insisted.
“Indubitably, Mr. Larabee,” Standish kept a stern look on his face as he watched the blond’s face.
“Oh, Hell! Sherlock Holmes festival is on again isn’t it?”
“You got that right, Chris. He made me watch the damn Hounds of the Baketcases last night.”
“Leave it to you to barbarize a wonderful classic. It was The Hounds Of The Baskevilles, Mr. Larabee, not basketcases, although sometimes I believe Mr. Wilmington is a bit of a basketcase.”
“Takes one to know one, Ezra,” Wilmington smiled and winked at the conman as they listened to Larabee’s soft laughter at their banter.
“You two never quit,” Larabee observed as the two men continued to glare at each other. He knew it was something they’d probably rehearsed in order to make him laugh and it worked. Wilmington and Standish didn’t always see eye to eye, but they were part of the family and would do anything for each other.
“Never!” the rogue stated as he lifted a spoon and dipped it into the watery broth. “Now, Chris are you ready to taste this wonderful, wet, whatever it is?”
“Not really,” Larabee answered as Anne took the mask off his face and he accepted the offering. He finished the broth and most of the Jell-O before turning away. “Thanks, Buck, Ezra.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Larabee. Now why don’t we make you comfortable and let you sleep?” Standish asked.
“Yeah, Chris, you’re looking kind’ve tired.”
“Hmm, hmm, you guys don’t have to stay. Anne can take care of me,” Larabee said and felt someone’s breath next to his left ear.
“I bet she can, Stud!” Wilmington whispered and heard the soft chuckle from his long time friend.
Larabee opened his eyes and looked at the gambler. “Ez, get him out of here!” he pleaded.
“I shall endeavor to do so directly, Mr. Larabee. After you, Mr. Wilmington,” Standish bowed slightly to the door and laughed as Wilmington winked at the petite nurse.
Anne stood beside the bed and smiled at the injured man. “Are all your friends so easy going?” she asked.
“Most of the time,” Larabee said. “It helps in our line of work.”
“Somehow I don’t think you guys are clowns. So what is it about your line of work that makes being easy going a plus?”
“Let’s just say sometimes we get into dangerous situations and...”
“And this is not the first time you’ve been in the hospital.”
“Try a dozen or more.”
“My goodness, you do live dangerously. What about the others?”
“They’ve all been in the hospital at some point in time, but it’s usually me or Vin ends up in the hospital. Don’t understand why...maybe we’re just careless or...”
“Something tells me there’s nothing careless about you or any of your friends, Chris. I’d say you’ve just been very unlucky.”
Larabee yawned tiredly as the nurse placed the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose once more. “Not with my choice of friends...luckiest sonofabitch ever born when I met them.”
Anne saw that he’d finally given into his body’s need for sleep and she whispered softly. “They’re lucky too, Chris, very lucky.”
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