Vin sat in the chair next to Larabee’s room, studying the sleeping face, and seeing something he didn’t like. The others had left for the movie, but he declined the invitation to go with them, stating tiredness as his reason. Jackson’s quick perusal of him set their minds at ease that it wasn’t anything more serious. The tracker simply lay on his bed in the hotel room until the others were gone. As soon as he was sure they would not return he climbed off the bed and grabbed his Nike runners and eased them on with his left hand. He’d quickly left for the hospital, feeling the quicksilver resonance flowing, knowing something happened to his friend to cause the ripple to course through the bond they shared.
He’d been sitting in the chair for nearly an hour now, watching the different emotions flit across the pale face. He knew he’d been right to come down here as a grimace formed on Larabee’s face and was quickly replaced by a look that bordered on loss. He needed to know what was going on, and how he could help his best friend.
Chris felt someone watching him and sighed as he felt the familiar tingling in his mind. He knew Vin Tanner was there and he slowly opened his eyes, knowing this was one man he couldn’t hide from.
“Hey, Cowboy, wanna tell me what’s going on?” Tanner asked worriedly.
“V...Vin,” he coughed as he tried to speak through a dry throat. He felt a straw placed to his lips and gratefully drank the cold water. He finally lifted his eyes to meet the worried ones of the other man. Chris knew Tanner was ready and willing to listen to him, but was he willing to tell the younger man what was happening. To explain the feelings running through him, the warmth Anne Sheridan instilled in him. He reached for the button and pressed it, instantly raising his head so he could be level with his friend.
“Well?” Tanner asked, placing the glass back on the table.
“What makes you think anything’s going on?”
“Chris, it’s me, Vin Tanner, you know the guy whose head is sometimes tied to yours whether we want that to happen or not. I know something’s wrong...and maybe I can help...”
“Nothing to help with, Vin.,” Larabee said sadly.
“Bullshit, something’s bothering you and I don’t plan on letting you deal with it alone.”
Larabee remained silent for a few minutes, before meeting the tracker’s eyes once more.
“It’s personal, Vin.”
Tanner met the steady gaze and knew why Larabee looked so miserable.
“Anne?”
“Yeah...she’s...” He swallowed before continuing. “She left.”
“What do you mean she left?”
“Just that, she’s gone...said she couldn’t do this,” Larabee laughed harshly. “Guess I can’t really blame her.”
“What the hell’s that mean?” Tanner hissed.
“Well, hell, Vin, look at me? I’m a mess...toting a load of baggage right now and none of it’s for first class. I’m a fucking mess...c...can’t do fuck all for myself....”
“Bullshit! You can do anything...”
“Yeah right, Tanner! It took you guys and A...Anne to catch Milliard. You didn’t need my help...Hell, I didn’t even know what was go...going...o...on,” He winced as his verbal tirade grew in volume, slamming pain through his skull as he moved on the bed.
“Chris, you’re hurt...you couldn’t...”
“Damn right I couldn’t!” Larabee’s head came off the pillow and he tried to sit up. “I couldn’t stop the bitch from poisoning me and Josiah...I couldn’t help you guys catch her...and I can’t...” He grew silent, not wanting to talk about how he felt anymore.
“Chris...”
“Just leave it, Vin. It’s okay...”
“No it’s not, Larabee. I don’t remember you being a quitter...”
“Not a quitter, Tanner, just facing facts. Anne’s better off without the baggage that comes with knowing me!”
“That baggage is what makes you who you are, Chris.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I can get rid of it...”
“Does that include us?” the tracker asked, worried about his friend’s seeming lack of fight, something he was well known for.
“N...no...don’t think so,” Larabee said tiredly, his eyes misting over in sadness. “Not unless you boys want to get rid of me.”
“Ain’t gonna happen, Pard,” Tanner said, looking up as Josiah Sanchez walked towards the room. “Looks like another one of your friends coming to see you. Hi, Josiah.”
“Hello, Vin, thought you were going to the movies?”
“Was, but something more important came up.”
“Chris, something wrong?” the ex-preacher asked as he pulled a second chair towards the bed and sat down.
“Wish you guys would stop asking me that,” the blond said, but his eyes betrayed his words.
“Sorry, but that’ll never happen. Now what’s wrong?” Sanchez asked, knowing he’d probably interrupted a talk between the two men.
“I just...I don’t know, Josiah. Maybe I’m just tired,” Larabee answered, hoping to deflect the questions.
“I don’t think so. Sounds to me like self pity and that just isn’t the Chris Larabee we all know and love,” the ex-preacher observed.
“Self pity, yeah it probably is, but right now I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Then I will,” Tanner said. “Chris you’re a good man, one I’m proud to call friend, but right now you’re being a pain in the ass...”
“What the hell do you know, Tanner?” Larabee snarled. “You don’t have any idea what I’m feeling...”
“Don’t I?” the tracker asked softly. “Do you think you’re the first man to have feelings for someone, but not be able to act on them?”
Larabee saw the sorrow in the deep blue eyes and knew the tracker had just revealed another small part of what made him who he was. He glanced from one set of blue orbs to the other and realized these two men understood him more than he’d ever know. He sucked air deeply into his lungs, ignoring the protest of sore ribs and healing wounds, and spoke softly.
“No, Vin, I don’t...it’s just...Well, I haven’t felt like this since....since...”
“Sarah?” the ex-preacher supplied.
“Yeah...See Sarah was someone special...someone who saw past who I wanted to be to who I was. She loved me for me...not for any of the things I tried to be. Anne...well she’s special too, and I’d like to know if there’s anything between us worth building on. I don’t want to move to quickly...I just.” Larabee didn’t speak for a few minutes, but when he did, his voice was laced with sadness. “It doesn’t make any difference now...she said she couldn’t do this and left.”
“Are you just going to leave it at that?” Sanchez asked.
“What else is there to do? I’m stuck in here...can’t chase her...wish the hell I could though,” the blond said.
“Then why don’t you let us be your legs, Chris?” Tanner asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I think what Vin is trying to tell you is that we can deliver any message you’d like to give to Anne Sheridan. You can either write it down or tell us what to say, and there’s always chocolate or Roses.”
“Don’t mention flowers, Josiah,” Larabee groaned.
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” the older man said sheepishly. “So we have chocolates...anything else?”
“Wine?” Tanner asked.
“Hmm, maybe a good Sangria?” Sanchez asked.
“Sangria is good,” the sharpshooter said. “Dinner?”
“Oh, there’s an idea...maybe we could reserve a table at a fancy restaurant...”
“Excuse me...I am here...”
“Quiet, Larabee, we’re makin’ plans to woo a beautiful lady,” the tracker said, before turning back to Sanchez. “Okay, so we reserve a table...Do we order the meal ahead of time...ya know Larabee has a love of ribs and he’d be eatin’ and slurpin’ his fingers. Gets kinda embarassin’, ‘specially if he tries to kiss her...”
“Vin!” Larabee hissed, laughing as the two men discussed making plans for a date between him and Anne.
“What?” Tanner asked, turning an impatient gaze at his friend.
“If I want a date with Anne I’ll make one. I don’t need your help.”
“That’s fine, Brother. Should I go find the lovely lady and bring her here?” Sanchez asked with a knowing smile.
“Not right now, Josiah. Wait until I get out of here.”
“But...”
“Come on, Vin, give me a break,” Larabee pleaded of the devilment he saw in the blue eyes.
“Josiah, what do you think?” Tanner asked.
“Hmm, well absence makes the heart grow fonder...so we let Anne think about what she’s missing and then we set the trap for her. What do we use for bait?”
“Josiah!” Larabee warned.
“We’re just looking at things from all angles,” the ex-preacher explained, glad to see the sadness gone from Larabee’s eyes.
“Hey, Josiah, Buck’s the expert...”
“No!”
“What?” Tanner asked innocently.
“I’m warning you, Vin, don’t go bringing Buck into this,” Larabee hissed.
“Well, you need all the help you can get, Pard,” the tracker drawled.
“Not Buck’s kind of help,” the blond said.
“Would you rather we brought in JD? Maybe he could woo her with the tale of the three legged dawg.”
“Vin, even I wouldn’t allow you to do that,” Sanchez warned.
“Ah, hell, you guys are no fun,” the tracker hissed and smiled at the laughter bubbling from his friend. The sound soothed his own ragged nerves and he soon joined in. Sanchez’s laughter was soon drowning out theirs as the three men relaxed and let the events of the last few weeks slide from their shoulders.
Chris held his left hand tight against his chest as the laughter put pressure on his ribs. He coughed harshly, but tried to tell the other two he was fine. He frowned at the younger man as he hit the button and called for the nurse.
“Sh...shit!” he wheezed as tears ran from his eyes.
“Easy, Chris, help’s on the way!” Sanchez assured him.
“D...don’t need h...help...I’m o...kay.” The harsh cough continued to rob him of air and he closed his eyes to concentrate on breathing.
“Chris.”
Larabee recognized Barrett’s voice, but didn’t have the strength to acknowledge it. He could hear the others talking and soon felt his head lifted forward and the familiar mask put in place. He heard the doctor asking Tanner and Sanchez what happened to bring on the attack and he tried to explain.
“D...don’t bl...ame them...g...good to la...augh,” he said weakly and felt a stethoscope pressed to his chest. He forced heavy lids upwards and glared at the doctor.
“Said...I’m o...kay...” he hissed.
“No, you’re not, but you will be if you relax and let the medication work the way it should,” Barrett explained.
“Try...ing to...”
“I know you are, Chris,” the doctor said and looked at the two men in the room. “He really needs to rest right now,” he told them.
“Chris, we’ll be back later, okay?” Tanner asked.
“O...kay, Vin...thanks...you and J’siah...good fr...friends...all of y...you...friends...tired...
now...go...gonna sleep for...week...Don’t tell B...Buck a...bout Anne.”
“We won’t, Chris,” Sanchez said softly. “Doc?”
“He should be fine, Josiah. In his case laughter was not the right medicine,” the doctor said sternly.
“With Chris Larabee, laughter is sometimes the only medicine,” the ex-preacher said as they listened to the heavy breathing from the patient.
“Well, he’s sleeping now, so if you gentlemen would come back later,” Barrett said, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep them away.
“Alright, Doc,” Tanner said. ‘Sleep easy, Chris, we got your back,’he thought as they left the blond in the care of his nurse. He knew Larabee would be okay, it was only a matter of time.
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