Chris opened his eyes and looked around the room. He had no idea how long he’d been asleep, but he frowned when he realized he was alone in the room. He knew the nurse had other patients, but one of his friends was always there when he woke up. Again his eyes flicked around the room, coming to rest on an image he was getting used to seeing. Seven figures, dressed in the garb of the Old West came towards him and he smiled. He knew in his heart they’d come to say goodbye and he waited for one of them to speak.
‘You’re gonna be just fine now, Son,’his ancestor told him and smiled as the others moved to surround him.
‘Yeah, and yer gonna be just as much of a stud as ol’ Chris here,’the ladies man laughed and leaned over the pale form. ‘That Anne is one mighty fine...’
‘Mr. Wilmington, mind your manners,’Standish said. ‘Take care of yourself, Mr. Larabee.’
‘The lord works in mysterious ways, Brother, and in this case he gave us a glimpse of what our future has brought and I am proud of each and every one of you,’ the ex-preacher told him.
‘Hey, Chris, keep after my great, great, grandson, he looks up to each of you,’Dunne said and felt Wilmington’s hand ruffle his hair. ‘Just stop Buck from doing that to him...it’s embarrassing.’
Jackson came next and he smiled at the blond. ‘Chris, listen to the doctors and make sure you don’t overdo it or I’ll give my great, great grandson a real good recipe for...’
“Horse Piss,” Chris chuckled.
Tanner’s ancestor was last to step up to the bed and the others moved back, affording him the chance to speak with Chris Larabee himself. His shadowy arm snaked out and clasped Larabee’s in the unique forearm handclasp.
Chris found it strange to be sharing something with someone other than his own Vin Tanner, but this felt right, in spite of the fact that he couldn’t feel the other man’s hand.
‘Yer as strong as yer ancestor, Chris. Yer gonna be jest fine and ya’ll always be a Larabee...that name means somethin’, Chris, and I’m proud ta have been a friend ta yer kin.’
“Thanks, Vin,” Larabee said as tears came to his eyes. “My Vin has a proud name too even if we have to remind him of it sometimes...hell we have to remind all of us, whether your name is Tanner, Sanchez, Wilmington, Dunne, Jackson, Standish...”
‘Or Larabee,’ six of the men said at once and the two Chris’ smiled.
‘Chris,’ Tanner said and waited for the green eyes to turn his way again. ‘If you need us, we’ll be in here,’ he promised and pointed to Larabee’s heart as the seven spectres faded.
“Thanks, Boys,” the blond said as they disappeared.
Chris lay back against the pillows, thinking about how times had changed since the seven had been protecting the town of Four Corners. He’d always had a fascination with the Old West, ever since hearing the tales of his heroic ancestor. He smiled as he realized that since the first Larabee became a lawman back in the 1800s it had become a tradition in his family. Something told him his friends would find the same thing in their backgrounds if given the chance to explore the past. Destiny was the catalyst that brought them all together so long ago, but friendship seemed to be keeping them together down through the generations.
His eyes drifted closed and he was drifting towards sleep when something woke him. He opened his eyes and smiled at the woman who entered. He was tired, but he appreciated the way she looked in the knee length black skirt and white crew neck shirt. Her auburn hair hung over her shoulders, darker highlights shining in the bright lights.
“Hi, Anne.”
“Hi, Chris,” Sheridan greeted as she took a step towards his bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay, well not quite okay, but I’m getting there.” Chris smiled in spite of the exhaustion and pain ripping threw his body. He wanted to stay awake and talk to the woman who’d caught his attention, but felt the draw of sleep. He yawned as she sat on the edge of the bed, smiling sheepishly as she ran her fingers threw his blond hair.
“I’m glad, Chris,” the nurse said softly as she stared into his tired eyes. Again she was caught by the wondrous depths she saw in them. This man was special and she wanted to be with him, but she would not force anything on him. She would wait and see how far he wanted it to go.
Chris lifted his left hand and touched the silky strands of her hair, letting them slide through his fingers as he studied the serious face above him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
“Nothing...”
“Anne...”
“I was just worried about you. When Buck told me about the new toxin and that you’d been put back in ICU again it ter...worried me.”
He smiled at her and reached for her hand, holding it against his cheek.
“You were worried about me?”
“Well you are a patient here,” she said, trying to lighten the mood before things got too serious.
“Oh? I...thought...”
She placed a finger against his lips and spoke softly. “Not here...not now, Chris. We’ll talk about other things when you’re not under the influence of pain killers and other medications.”
Larabee yawned tiredly and knew she was right. He didn’t want to push things until he was sure what they felt was real, and not something else. He wanted things to be right, and he would wait to find out if this was. ‘Lord knows I’m gonna be here long enough to find out,’he thought as his eyes grew heavy.
“I’m going to let you sleep now, but...”
“You’ll come back?” Larabee asked, not caring how hopeful his voice sounded.
“Of course I will, Chris, but you need to sleep.”
“Am kinda tired...wonder
where the guys are.”
“They said something about eating and then coming back here,” she told him, knowing if she told him their plans, he wouldn’t lie still for them.
“Oh, okay...they all need to...rest...”
“They will, Chris, as soon as this is all over,” she whispered, knowing he’d finally surrendered to sleep. She bent down and kissed his forehead before checking the readout on the monitors. She frowned when she noted the heartbeat was still slightly irregular, but things were starting to improve. ‘How could you Patrice?’ she thought as she left the room, nodding to the police guard standing outside the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra lay back against the pillows, the blankets pulled up around him, hiding his face from anyone who entered the room. An IV line was taped to his arm and would fool whoever happened to glance towards the bed. He knew the police were watching for anything unusual, and that Buck, Nathan, and JD were also waiting to catch Patrice Milliard in the act.
Ezra smiled as he thought of the argument they’d had with Vin Tanner. The sharpshooter wanted to be in on the action, but lost the argument to Nathan Jackson. The medic insisted the younger man needed to stay with Chris in case the ‘Pariah’, as they called her now, found out about the ruse. Vin was now safe in Chris’ room and Anne, who was familiar with Milliard was watching from inside the bathroom. She would be able to warn them if the ‘Pariah’ showed up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Patrice watched the room from several vantage points. She’d seen Larabee’s friends come and go and each time her heart skipped a beat when one of them was replaced by another. She’d been watching for nearly ten minutes now. The last one to leave had been a man with a moustache and no one had taken his place. She wondered if Ezra bought her story about her friend’s death and her not being able to meet him at four. ‘Maybe I can convince him to see me again once this is all over,’she thought, but pushed it aside as she realized she needed to hurry if she was going to get her chance at the injured man in 324. He was alone, but for how long? The time had come to act, and she knew she was ready.
She looked down at herself and smiled. No one would recognize her the way she looked, not even those who knew her well. She’d cut her hair, a fake moustache now adorned her upper lip, wire rimmed glasses covered her eyes, and she wore pants and shirt belonging to one of the male cleaners who’d recently gone on vacation. It was a simple matter of going through the uniform delivery until she found one that was close to her size. She’d briefly thought about leaving Larabee alone and letting Anne Sheridan take the fall for what she’d done, but she wanted to see Larabee dead. She pushed the cart towards the room and rung out the mop. She placed the yellow sign warning of a wet floor outside the door before pushing it open. She looked up and down the hallway, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary. She glanced at the wall clock and saw the time was nearly eight thirty. She would have to hurry if she wanted to complete her task before the night shift nurses checked on their patients.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra heard the door open and kept still. He heard the soft brush of material on the floor and knew a cleaner had entered. His body tensed under the thin sheets at the thought that this could very well be Patrice Milliard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne looked through the crack in the door and relaxed as a male cleaner washed the floor around the door. The light from over the bed caught the cleaner’s face and she frowned as she saw something familiar in the features, something cold and deadly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patrice slowly moved the mop back and forth, slipping further into the room as she did so. The closer she got to the bed the faster her heart beat. Her right hand left the handle of the mop and reached into the breast pocket of her uniform. She eased the syringe from her pocket, knowing it contained a lethal dose of digitalis, and she quickly slipped the cap from the syringe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra heard the cleaner moving around, but remained still, knowing if it was Patrice, they needed to catch her in the act.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne saw the cleaner pull something from her pocket and recognized the instrument in her hand. She pulled the door open and raced out of her hiding place, just as the newcomer lifted the syringe over Standish’ body.
“NO!” She screamed, knowing the others would hear her cry through the mike attached to her pocket.
Patrice turned towards the screaming woman, the syringe held tightly in her grasp. “You!” she hissed, recognizing the nurse from the ICU. Seeing her chance of revenge slipping away, Patrice lifted the syringe and plunged it towards the nurse.
Ezra came upright on the bed and grabbed for the cleaner’s hand, squeezing tightly until a scream of rage left the woman and the syringe dropped to the floor. Spinning across the floor until it came to rest against the opposite wall.
Anne saw the syringe fall and heard the door open. Without thinking she grabbed the cleaner by the shirt with her left hand, knowing it was Patrice Milliard. Her mind raced to the man in the room in ICU and what this bitch had done to him and his friend. She was not a violent woman, but something snapped and her right hand drew back. Her eyes locked with the cold pair before her as she let fly with her fist. The blow came up under the woman’s chin and Anne released her grip on the woman. She smiled contentedly as Patrice Milliard flew over the bed and landed hard on the floor on the opposite side.
Two policemen rushed over and pulled the woman to her feet. One officer pulled her arms behind her back and placed cuffs on her wrists, while the other told her what her rights were.
Patrice blinked and moved her mouth as the throbbing pain hit her. She turned to see Ezra Standish standing with Anne Sheridan and anger glowed in her eyes.
“You set me up, you bastard!” She screamed and fought the arms that held her tight.
Ezra walked towards her and smiled, his eyes holding none of the warmth he’d earlier shown this woman.
“You don’t fuck with my family!” he stated and turned his back on the raging ball of fire held tightly between the two officers. He smiled as he saw the shocked look on the face of his three friends, knowing the cause was his use of the four letter word.
“You need to have the contents of this analyzed,” Anne said, kneeling on the floor and picking up the syringe. She handed it to one of the policeman and watched as he carefully recapped it.
“I’m betting it would have killed you if she’d managed to inject it into you,” Jackson said.
“That’s a bet even I won’t touch, Nathan,” Standish said as Patrice Milliard was led from the room.
Buck watched as Anne’s face paled and he grabbed her as she swayed. He knew the woman was probably feeling the shock of what she’d done, and he smiled as he led her to a chair and eased her onto it.
“Thanks, Kid,” he said when Dunne placed a warm cloth in his hand. He gently washed away the tears that now fell from the nurse’s eyes and smiled at her.
“I hit her!” she exclaimed.
“That you did, Darlin’, and I haven’t seen a right uppercut like that since,” he stopped and looked at the others. “Since, well, Hell, since Chris used it on Fowler!” he said.
“I...I can’t believe I did that,” she sobbed.
“Anne,” Standish said as he knelt in front of her. “You can’t blame yourself for what you did. That woman deserved what she got and a whole lot more.”
“But...”
“No buts. Now wipe the guilt off your face and let’s go tell Vin, Chris, and Josiah the news,” Wilmington said and smiled as she nodded slightly.
“She can’t hurt him anymore,” she said, sniffing back the tears as she stood. ‘Now, maybe you’ll be able to heal, Chris,’she thought as they left the room. She knew they’d have to give their statements before they’d be able to leave the floor, but she looked forward to seeing the blond man in ICU. He was no longer her patient, and she couldn’t fight her feelings anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The police had taken Patrice Milliard away and questioned every one involved in the ‘sting’ operation. The questioning took over two hours and finally all the statements were finished and four men and one woman sat in the lounge drinking coffee. Buck had gone up to let Vin know that everything went according to plan and Milliard was now in jail where she belonged. Chris remained asleep as the two men talked quietly.
Nathan visited with Josiah and explained everything to the older man. Sanchez was angered that he hadn’t been able to help or been informed of the plans. A cold glare from Jackson was all that was needed to remind the older man that he was also a patient at the hospital. The heart monitor showed that Sanchez was doing well and was in no danger. The medic explained that he needed to go back to the lounge to give his statement. He assured the ex-preacher that Larabee was doing well before leaving his friend alone with his thoughts.
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