The remainder of the day went smoothly with no further emotional outbursts from Chris. He listened as his friends told him what was happening outside his four walls, or read to him from the newspapers. He’d laugh at their jokes, argue with them if he didn’t agree with what they said, yet his friends could tell he was doing it for them. Chris Larabee was depressed, but he was doing everything he could to hide that fact from the people who cared the most.
Vin sat beside the bed early the next afternoon and smiled at the new nurse. Anne Sheridan was finished her rotation and he knew Larabee missed her. Something was brewing between them and he wondered if it would continue once the injured man was released from the hospital. He hoped they would be given the chance to explore their growing feelings.
Chris opened his eyes and forced a smile to his face as he saw the tracker sitting beside the bed. He knew Vin was to see Milano at three to see how things were going with his own injuries and he prayed the news would be good. Tanner’s headaches seemed to be easing off, but Chris could tell the younger man’s shoulder still bothered him.
Vin felt his friend watching him and smiled as he looked into the green eyes. “Hey, Cowboy, you look better.”
“Better, Vin? Better than what?”
“Better than you did last night, Chris. Hell, Pard, ya know what I mean.”
“Yeah, Vin, I do. Sorry, just don’t feel like small talk today.”
“Small talk, Chris. You and Vin never do small talk,” Dunne exclaimed from the opposite side of the bed. “You two don’t hardly talk at all.”
“Not much point in talking if everything’s already been said, Kid,” the sharpshooter drawled softly.
“Mr. Larabee, I need to take some blood,” the three men turned to see an older woman with silver-blue hair, and a warm smile enter the room.
Dunne winced and turned away as his stomach fluttered angrily. He hated the sight of needles, but tended to hide it when Ezra was around because the older man also had the same weakness.
“Go get something to drink before you flake out, JD,” Larabee ordered as the lab tech gently grasped the A-line. He smiled as she placed several vials on the table and looked at him. “Where’s the bit...,” he stopped and forced himself to calm down. “What happened to the pariah?” he asked.
“The who?”
“The one who must’ve been asleep when they taught bedside manners.”
The woman’s eyebrows rose, and a knowing smile lit up her face. “You must mean Patrice.”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Larabee answered.
“I must say I’ve never heard her called a pariah, but it certainly does suit her,” she said as she opened the A-line and flushed it.
“I hope to hell she’s not picking on some other unsuspecting victim,” Larabee said.
“Was she really that bad?” the tech asked. “You don’t need to answer that, Mr. Larabee. I can tell you really didn’t like her. As for what happened to her, I really can’t go into it, but she won’t be bothering you anymore.” She finished drawing the blood and sealed the line again before walking to the door.
Barrett heard Larabee’s conversation with the lab tech and entered the room as the other woman left. “How are you doing, Chris?”
“I’m okay, Doc. Just glad the pariah didn’t come back.” Larabee knew he was overreacting, but it didn’t matter right now. He was sore and he was tired of people always asking how he was doing.
“Well, the pari,” Barrett shook his head and rephrased his words. “I mean Patrice Milliard is no longer with the hospital. She tendered her resignation after the board confronted her about her treatment of patients.”
“The woman shouldn’t have a license.” He knew he was probably being too hard on her, but hated the thought of her touching other patients, especially ones who couldn’t do anything about it.
“She probably won’t once she goes up before the board. Yours was not the first complaint, Chris. We’ve had a few of them and lately they’ve been coming closer together. Now that’s enough about Patrice Milliard. I’ve come with what I hope is more good news.”
“What?” Tanner asked as Dunne came back into the room.
“We’re going to remove the chest tube this afternoon and if all goes well tonight we’ll move you into a private room tomorrow morning.”
“Hey, that’s great!” Dunne said excitedly.
Vin saw the hint of a real smile on Larabee’s face and returned one of his own. “Hear that, Cowboy, you’re gettin’ out of here.”
“Yeah,” Larabee said as the doctor stood over him. “When do I get out of the hospital?” he asked.
“Well, now, Chris, that’s not gonna happen for a while yet. You’re gonna start physio as soon as possible and Dr. Jacobs is on his way down now.”
“Dr. Jacobs?” Larabee asked.
“Respiratory specialist. I want him to take a look at you and make sure things are healing properly.”
“Hell, Doc,” Larabee hissed.
“Chris, we really do need to make sure your lungs are okay.”
“Ain’t like you’ve never been through those tests before, Cowboy,” Tanner said.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I like them.”
“Just remember this time tomorrow you’ll be out from under constant surveillance,” the tracker told him.
“Yeah,” the blond smiled as he realized he wouldn’t have a stranger with him at all times. He frowned as a pretty face framed by auburn hair flashed in his mind.
“Chris, are you all right?” Tanner asked worriedly.
“Huh? Oh, sorry, was just thinking.”
“About?”
“Never mind, Vin.”
“Well, gentlemen, I’ve got other patients to see. Chris, I’ll be back tomorrow morning and we’ll see about getting you out of here.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“You’re welcome,” Barrett said as he left the room, knowing he needed to get Larabee to speak with Dr. Carlyle as soon as possible. He knew Larabee was far from over what he’d been through, but they couldn’t force him to talk of the torture and subsequent hospitalization.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris lay back against the pillows, his eyes closed, but he was not sleeping. Josiah Sanchez sat beside the bed and Chris understood that the older man knew he was awake, but was letting him make the decision as to whether to talk or not. The tube in his chest was gone now, but the pain was still there, not as strong, but annoying whenever he moved. Buck and JD had taken Vin Tanner home just after the respiratory specialist paid him a visit.
Jacobs took care in examining the patient and explained about Chris’ lungs and how they were weak because of the pleurisy and punctured lung. He told them that Chris would need to continue with the masks until he was stronger. Jacobs had left him with exercises, including a flexible tube attached to another tube which held a ball. The object of the exercise was for him to blow into the flexible tube and make the little ball rise up the second tube until it reached the top. So far Chris had only managed to get it halfway up the second tube.
“Josiah?”
“Can I get you something, Chris?”
“Yeah, water,” the blond answered. He accepted the glass from Sanchez and slowly sipped the cold water. The Zofran was doing the job of quelling his rebellious stomach and he’d been keeping the soft diet down. He passed the glass back to the older man and settled back on the bed. He looked at the book in Sanchez’ hand and smiled. It was a book of poetry given to the ex-preacher by a woman they’d helped rescue and the older man thoroughly enjoyed the woman’s poems.
Sanchez saw Larabee’s smile as he looked at the book. “Would you like to hear some poetry, Brother?” he asked.
“Yeah,” the injured man said as he let his eyes close. He relaxed as the ex-preacher’s voice read the wondrous words. Chris realized it wasn’t the words that were soothing his nerves, but the man’s voice. No matter how often he listened to Josiah Sanchez, Chris was always amazed at the unique gentleness that surrounded this man’s soul. He drifted off to sleep knowing the ex-preacher was there, and along with the others he always would be.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra sat in the chair beside Larabee’s bed and shuffled the familiar deck of cards in his hands. The cards had arrived the day before, an unexpected gift from his mother, and one he would share with his friends. He couldn’t understand what possessed his mother to part with them. He had a feeling it had to do with the lingering presence of the seven spectres who helped them find Chris Larabee and rid the world of the monster named Maguire.
The gambler placed the cards on the table and rubbed tired eyes. Chris had been moved into a private room earlier that morning, and had been sleeping ever since. Ezra knew it was probably due to the morphine feeding into his arm, yet there was still evidence of pain on the slack features. ‘Those lines will fade, Chris, but will the memories?’ he wondered as he stood up and walked to the window. He had no idea how long he looked out the window, but the opening of the door caught his attention and he turned to see Nathan and Vin enter the room.
“How’s he doing, Ez?” Tanner asked softly.
“He’s been sleeping since they moved him in here this morning. I’m afraid the move jarred everything and he felt pretty miserable by the time they finished the transfer.”
“Sleep is the best thing for him right now,” Jackson explained. “Ez, why don’t you go on back to the hotel and get some rest?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Jackson.”
“Ya look like crap, Ez,” Tanner observed as he stood beside the bed. He picked up the deck of cards and frowned at Standish. “Where’d these come from?”
“Mother sent them to me. Have a look at the Ace of Spades.”
The sharpshooter turned the deck over and spread them out on the table until he found the card in question. He showed it to the medic and smiled as he remembered the others telling him how he’d been gripping this particular card when he’d been taken to the hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“This is the card you... I mean your great, great grandfather put in my hand in Four Corners!”
“That’s correct, Mr. Tanner, I thought you and the others would like to see it. Mother seems to think they should belong to us now.”
“What be...longs to us?” Three sets of eyes turned to the bed as Larabee shifted uncomfortably.
“Mother sent me the deck of cards.”
“What deck of...” Larabee’s memory returned and he reached for the card in Vin’s hand. “That’s it! That’s the one he gave you in Four Corners.”
“Yeah, it is,” the tracker agreed.
“Mr. Tanner, I do believe you were meant to have that card...”
“I can’t take it, Ez. That would break up the...”
“The card was placed in your hand and it was done for a reason. Take it, Mr. Tanner, after all who am I to argue with my ancestor.”
“I...I don’t know.”
“He’s right, Vin, the card was given to you,” Jackson explained.
“That card was meant to complete the deck. I can’t break it up again.”
“You won’t be if you accept the deck as a gift,” Standish said as he walked to the table and picked up he cards. “Take them, Vin, somehow I think they were always meant to be yours.”
Tanner took the cards and looked into the green eyes of the gambler. He could see the deep emotions in them and nodded slightly. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to them Ez.”
“I know you will, Vin. I know those cards were never meant to be mine and they are now where they belong. Keep them safe, Vin, because I have a feeling they are a link to our past and maybe someday they will again help us through some trying times.”
“Thanks, Ez, I’ll protect them as best I can.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather trust them to, Mr. Tanner,” Standish said, once again hiding behind his formal facade. He turned back to the bed and smiled at his leader. “Mr. Larabee, I shall leave you in the capable hands of Mr. Tanner and Mr. Jackson.”
Larabee smiled back as he answered. “Thanks, Ez, I appreciate you being here. All of you!”
Standish nodded slightly and placed a hand on Larabee’s shoulder. “If there’s anything you need, Chris, anything at all, just ask.” Larabee simply returned the gesture as the gambler turned to the others. “Good day, Mr. Jackson. Mr. Tanner.”
“Make sure you get something to eat and rest, Ez,” Jackson warned.
“I assure you I will,” with a last nod the conman left the room. Ezra walked towards the elevator and smiled as a woman came to stand beside him. He admired the way the low cut powder blue dress seemed to enfold her body. Her long ash blond hair set off the deep blue of her eyes, but Ezra sensed something challenging in the way she held herself erect. The door opened and he held the it for her. “After you,” he said graciously.
“Thank you,” she said as she entered the elevator. “It’s nice to know there are still gentlemen in the world,” she told him as the door closed on them.
“My mother instilled the importance of being a gentleman at a very early age. Ezra Standish at your service, Ma’am.”
“My name would be difficult for you to pronounce, but you can call me Pat.”
“Pat,” Ezra smiled as the door opened and the two got off. “Would you like to join me for a light repast at the deli across the street.”
“I do have some rather pressing business, but I think I can spare enough time for coffee. My treat.”
“A gentlemen does not allow a lady to pay for anything...”
“Then I shall have to turn you down. You see I am a modern woman and do not believe...”
“Pat, my Dear, why don’t we compromise. I shall foot the bill for today’s repast and you, if you desire to see me again, may foot the next one.”
“How can I refuse such a gracious offer?” Pat asked as they walked across the street. ‘Especially when it gives me access to what I want!’ she thought.
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