![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azombiewritesTitle: Nightmares
Sixteenth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: When Ezra mistakenly drinks something meant for JD his normal world is turned into a violent nightmare for both him and the other hired gunmen.
Main Characters: Ezra, and the rest of the seven + OC's.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Beta: Not betaed – written in the early days when I didn’t know what the words grammar and edit meant. *is ashamed but no longer care*
Notes: Sixteenth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Total Word Count: 40,665
WARNING! Please note that this story contains disturbing images.
Part Three
"I hope so Casey but I don't know if this is going to leave any permanent damage on his mind or body." He looked sideways at JD and saw the emotion that filled his eyes as his words reached him. "JD see if you can get a buck board, I don't want her on a horse and then take her home, I'm sure Nettie can look after her, then come back here, we might need your help." Nathan smiled at Casey. "I'll come by in a couple of days to make sure your okay."
"Could you tell Ezra that I don't blame him, that it wasn't his fault." Casey asked him. "I don't want him feeling guilty about something that he couldn't control."
"If he's feeling better I'll bring him with me so you will be able to tell him yourself." He couldn't help but smile at Casey's wisdom, she was young like JD and they had proven it many times but they had also shown that they could be wise beyond their years. "You want to wait outside?" JD helped her up when she nodded and then led her outside so she could wait for him to come back and then take her home.
Nathan went back to the cot where Ezra continued to sleep while Josiah and Chris held his hands. He felt his forehead to see if a fever had begun at all, there was none. He pulled Ezra's shirt open again and noticed that the swelling had started to lower, he gently pressed against his stomach. Ezra didn't react to the touch and this told Nathan that he was no longer feeling any pain.
"The swelling is coming down and the pain is gone, I'll see how he is when he wakes up, if he's okay then you can take him to his room." Nathan informed Josiah.
Josiah only nodded as he listened, he kept his eyes on Ezra, the emotions and thoughts were out of control in his own mind. He had heard what Nathan told Casey. If this did leave him permanently effected he knew that Ezra wouldn't be able to cope, he had depended on his own sharp mind and quick reflexes to survive all his life as there had been no one else to back him up and if he couldn't do it anymore then he would have to depend on others. Ezra had accepted their friendship and concern but Josiah didn't think that he would allow himself to depend on them to survive everyday life.
Nathan kept himself busy around the clinic while he waited for Ezra to wake up, he kept going back to him regularly just to make sure that he was still okay. The swelling had gone and he was sleeping peacefully on his right side, facing Chris who was still sitting on the cot. Nathan hadn't argued with them when they wanted to lengthen the ropes so Ezra could be more comfortable. Josiah was still holding his hand and JD, who had returned an hour after taking Casey home, was sitting on the bed watching him from a distance.
He stopped what he was doing and moved quickly to the cot when he heard a soft moan come from Ezra as he rolled onto his back. He sat down and leaned over him once he made sure that Chris and Josiah had a strong hold on his arms.
"Ezra?"
"Nathan . . . what's happening to me . . . am I going crazy . . . or something." Ezra asked him as he opened his eyes and focused on him.
"No Ezra, it's something you drank." Nathan smiled at him.
"Something I drank?" The confusion was evident on his handsome features but it turned to one of shock as his head spun around to take in the empty bed across the room. "Casey, where's Casey? Is she dead?" Ezra gasped out, the fear of what he had done causing him to shake again.
"No Ezra, she's fine, I sent her home." Ezra didn't calm down. "It was just a scratch Ezra, she's fine." Nathan continued to try to convince him but he couldn't. "Josiah . . . "
"Ezra look at me." Josiah told him, he saw the emotion in the dull green eyes as they turned to him. "She's fine, the bullet grazed her arm, that's all." Josiah watched as his words finally sunk in and Ezra began to calm down. "Can you remember why you did it? Did you see your Uncle again?"
"No, it was that woman," Ezra couldn't think of her name, his mind felt numb, he couldn't think. "the one that took Jean, she wanted Chris."
"Christy." Chris reminded him, he understood now why he had shot at Casey. Ezra had taken two bullets himself when he tried to protect him from Christy, he was just doing the same for JD, he must have thought his life was in danger.
"You thought that she was going to kill JD." Ezra nodded.
"Casey doesn't blame you Ezra, she doesn't want you to feel guilty about what happened." Josiah repeated Casey's words but could see that they did not make him feel any better about what he did.
"You want to tell me how your feeling Ezra?" Nathan changed the subject hoping to take Ezra's mind off what happened.
"I just feel tired Nathan and my stomach's sore." Ezra tried to lift his arm to show Nathan where it hurt but he couldn't, he looked down to see the rope that was tied around his wrists.
"I'm sorry Ezra but we didn't know what condition you were going to be in when you woke up." Nathan waited for him to erupt, they were all ready for the reaction that they had expected from him.
"That's okay, I've hurt enough people already." Ezra told him, the guilt was heavy in his voice. He had beaten Nathan and shot Casey, when he woke up he was surprised to find himself in the clinic and not a jail cell.
"You said your stomach hurts? Is it like before?" Nathan asked him trying to keep his mind occupied with something else.
"No, it's like when you have thrown up too many times and your muscles hurt afterwards." Ezra explained to him.
"But apart from that your okay?" Nathan got up and walked across the room and then back again, he watched Ezra to see if his eyes followed his footsteps but they didn't.
"Yeah just tired." He repeated.
"I know you don't want to stay here Ezra so I'll get Josiah and JD to take you back to your room. Okay?" He hadn't seen any fear in Ezra's eyes since he woke up but he didn't want to give it any reason to show itself.
"I don't have to stay?" Ezra's eyes widened, he thought that he wasn't going to able to leave.
"No you don't but I would like you to stay in your room for a couple of days at least. Think you can do that?" Ezra nodded. "Good. Chris, Josiah you want to untie him."
They released Ezra from his ropes slowly and carefully just in case he was not what he seemed to be. Once his hands and legs were free Ezra tried to sit up but needed help to do so, Josiah's strong hands then helped him to stand up
"Think you can walk Ezra?" Josiah asked him
"Yeah, there's no way you’re going to carry me there." Ezra smiled at him but the humour didn't show in his dull eyes.
With Josiah and JD on the either side of him, he left the clinic to begin what seemed like to be a long walk back to his own room.
"You think he's okay now Nathan?" Chris asked him as they watched Ezra and the others walk slowly out of the clinic.
"He seems alright but we thought that before didn't we." Chris nodded in silence. "You want to help me get some things together and then we'll follow them. It will save me coming back just in case something does happen."
***
Ezra walked slowly between his two friends, the saloon was only around the corner and past the alley but it was already beginning to feel like it was a mile away. His head was up and he was watching the townsfolk as they walked passed them, he wanted to tip his hat as he always did but couldn't find the strength to lift his arm, the short walk seemed to be sapping all his energy. He could hear JD chattering away in his ear, he wanted to shut him up but didn't think that he would even be able to clench his fist let alone hit him. They were crossing the entrance to the alley when he glanced sideways and saw two strangers walking towards them. He stopped as someone bumped into him, the anger suddenly took control of his mind and he was about to lash out when he heard a young voice.
"Sorry Mr Standish, I was in a hurry. I was supposed to be home already, mama's gonna yell at me when I do get there." Ricky Blair had run into Ezra as he tried to enter the alley that would give him a shortcut home but stopped to apologise as he was always taught to do.
"That's okay Ricky, you hurry up and tell your mother you were helping me with a chore and that I send my apologies for keeping you so late." Ezra felt as though his mind was beginning to drift away, he had looked down into the child's face and saw his own, he saw the bruises that lined his features, the drawn and pale complexion. The voice broke into his thoughts and brought him back to reality.
"Thanks Mr Standish." Ricky ran off towards the two men that were still coming down the alley.
"Ezra are you teaching that young boy to lie." Josiah smiled at him.
"Of course not, I just don't want him to get into trouble that's all." His head quickly turned to the alley when he heard a cry of pain, the voice sounding so much like his own when he cried out after his Uncle had hit him. Ezra could see the two men standing over of the young boy, he could see the tears that were falling from the child's eyes, the boy was terrified.
"That will teach you to run into me." One of the men growled down at Ricky.
Ezra heard the words as they echoed in his now empty mind, he instantly reacted to them and his reaction was violent. He no longer felt drained of energy as he began to walk towards the man who had hit the frightened child still lying on the ground. The anger burned in his mind and soul giving him the strength that he needed to do what he wanted to do and that was to kill the man who had hit Ricky. He felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him back. He wasn't going to allow anyone to stop him. Ezra spun around and drove his left fist into the stomach of the man who had tried to stop him and as the person doubled over, his right hand grabbed the man's jaw and he pushed the head up and back with such force that it hit the wooden pole that was behind him. He heard the sickening sound as the skull connected with the obstruction and he smiled. Ezra then turned back to what he was doing, he walked slowly towards the man that he intended to kill.
JD had seen the blank expression as it overcame Ezra's face when they heard Ricky cry out, he then watched in slow motion as Ezra started to walk towards the men but Josiah then tried to stop him. JD stood in shock as Ezra turned around and hit Josiah. He yelled out at Ezra when he saw what he was about to do but his voice did nothing to stop him, he heard the sound as Josiah's head hit the pole, he then fell into a heap at Ezra's feet. JD felt sick to the stomach as he saw the smile form on Ezra's face.
Ezra stopped in front of the two men and then reached down to help Ricky stand up, he could see the thin trail of blood that ran from the boy's cut lip. "Go home Ricky." Ezra pushed the boy into the direction of his home making sure that he gave him a reassuring pat on the back as he did so, he then turned to the man who's thin frame stood at least an two inches over him. Ezra didn't notice that Ricky moved to the side instead of going home.
JD momentarily forgot about Ezra as he knelt down to help Josiah. He turned him onto his side and looked at the back of his head, he could see the large gash that was already beginning to swell. The blood was dripping from the wound and was forming a pool beneath Josiah's head and what didn't stay on the boardwalk escaped through the wooden planks to the dirt below. He tore off a large piece of his shirt and pressed it against the wound to try and stopped the bleeding.
The ranch hand who had ridden into town a couple of days before smiled down at the shorter man, he could tell that he was a fancy gambler who probably couldn't fight to save his life - he hadn't seen what Ezra had just done to Josiah. He tried to push him out of his way but Ezra didn't move.
"What do you want Mister?" The man growled down into Ezra's face, he was too stupid to see the anger that was in the southerner's eyes.
"I want you." Ezra's voice was cold and flat, he was now calm but the anger still boiled within him.
The man laughed at him and then turned sideways to his companion, he saw the nervous look in his eyes as he stepped away from them. He turned back to Ezra and finally saw what his friend had seen, the man standing before him was crazy. "Listen Mister, I didn't do anything to you so why don't you just let me be on my way."
"You hit Ricky." Ezra nodded in the direction that he thought the young boy had gone. "No one hits a child and gets away it." Ezra took a step back.
The man closed the gap that Ezra had just created and as he did so, Ezra turned sideways and with all the strength that he could gather, he slammed his right fist into the man's stomach. Once he was doubled over like the man that he had hit before, Ezra placed both hands on the man's shoulders and pushed down as he brought his own knee up to connect with the unprotected face, he then let go as the larger man fell onto his back.
The man's friend stepped forward to try to help him up but Ezra's stare stopped him, he moved away and looked around for someone to end the fight before it got out of hand, he knew he couldn't do it on his own. He ran to towards the group that had gathered to watch the fight.
"Someone's got to stop him." He yelled at them, he watched as they shook their heads, they weren't going to go up against the gambler as they knew what he was capable of doing. He turned back to watch, feeling helpless to stop what was going to happen.
Ezra looked down at the cowering figure before him. "Get up!" The man didn't move so Ezra kicked him in the side and heard him yelp in pain, he kicked him again and felt his ribs crack beneath his foot, he kicked him a third time. When the man curled up into a ball Ezra bent down and pulled him to his feet.
"Don't hit me please." The man had lost all his courage.
Ezra hesitated for a moment as a memory tried to force itself into his empty mind but it was pushed away. His fist suddenly connected with the man's nose, breaking it on impact. He hit him again feeling the blood that was beginning to soak into his own knuckles. He subconsciously wiped the blood on the man's jacket and then hit him in the already injured side and smiled at his cry of pain.
JD heard someone scream out in pain, he looked back at Josiah's slack face and knew it wasn't him. He looked around for Ezra and saw the group of people who were gathering in front of the alley. He pushed his way through them and stopped at the sight before him.
"Ezra!" JD ran to him and tried to pull him away from the man but found himself becoming the target for Ezra's anger. He felt Ezra's fist connect with his jaw, knocking him to the ground. He looked back up and watched as Ezra continued to beat the other man. "Ezra stop, you’re going to kill him!"
"That's exactly what I intend to do." Ezra quietly answered him before his fist hit his weakened victim once more.
JD looked to the side when he heard someone crying, he could see Ricky Blair sitting against one of the buildings that lined the alley. He ran to him, he needed to get him away from what he was seeing. "Ricky go and get Chris and Nathan." The boy could only stare past him as he watched Ezra hitting the man who had hit him. "Ricky! Do as I say! They’re at the clinic." He pulled the fragile child to his feet. "Go and get them, hurry!" He watched as Ricky ran from the alley and as he did, he saw the ranch hand's friend draw his gun. "NO!"
He couldn't stand by and allow the gambler to kill his friend and if no one else was going to stop him then he was. He knew he wouldn't be able to do it physically so he pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it at the man in the green jacket. He winced as he heard his friend cry out in pain once more when the man hit him again. His friend fell to the ground and the man began kicking him in the back. He couldn't let this go on, he was killing him, he hesitated for a moment trying to decide if he was doing the right thing but he heard his friend's anguish cry and pulled the trigger. He watched in satisfaction as the bullet found it's mark, the force of it entering the man's back slammed him up against the wall and he smiled as he then fell back to the ground. The dust settled around the unmoving body of the man who had beaten his friend.
***
It only took Ricky a couple of minutes to reach the stairs that lead up to the clinic, he had heard the gunshot and it had nearly caused his young heart to stop as he knew that it wasn't Mr Standish who had fired the gun, he hadn't been wearing one. He was also terrified of what he had seen, he liked Ezra and knew that he would never do anything to hurt him but he had never seen him that angry before.
He looked up as he heard footsteps running down towards him. "Mr Larabee . . . you gotta stop him . . . he's killing him!"
Chris had heard the gunshot and dropped everything that Nathan had placed in his hands as he ran to the door with Nathan right behind him, their first thought had been Ezra. He reached the top of stairs and looked down at the young boy who was running towards him, he could see the frightened look in his tear filled eyes. Chris reached him and knelt down on the step below him so his eyes would be level with the boys.
"Who Ricky?" Chris asked him in a calm voice as he wiped the tears from his face.
"Mr Standish." Ricky whispered.
"Someone's killing Ezra?" Nathan moved down past both figures and looked up into Ricky's eyes.
"No. Ezra's killing him. " It was a simple statement that caused both of their hearts to become heavy.
"Where is he?" Chris's voice was firm but he showed no anger as he knew the boy was scared enough as it was.
"In the alley next to the saloon." Ricky pointed in the direction that he had just come from. "JD told me to come and get you."
Chris picked Ricky up and ran towards the alley, as they rounded the corner he saw Mrs Potter sitting on the boardwalk as she leant over someone. Chris stopped behind her and looked over her shoulder making sure that Ricky wouldn't be able to see what he was looking at. What he saw broke his already heavy heart as he knew that Ezra had done it. He could see all the blood that had come from Josiah's head wound.
Nathan quickly knelt down next to Josiah and felt for a pulse, after finding one, he checked the wound on the back of his head. "The wounds deep and he's lost a lot of blood. We have to get him back to the clinic Chris." He then began to look for the bullet wound as he thought that it was Josiah who had been shot.
"Mrs Potter, could you take care of Ricky for me please while we fix Josiah up." Chris went to hand Ricky over to the older woman.
"Ezra's in the alley, you gotta stop him before he kills that man." Ricky repeated what he had told him on the steps to the clinic.
Chris frowned, he thought that Ricky was talking about Josiah. "You're not talking about Josiah are you Ricky?" The boy shook his head. The tears began to fall from his eyes again as he pointed to the alley.
"Nathan, get someone to help you with Josiah, I'll go look for Ezra and JD." He pushed Ricky into Mrs Potter's arms and ran through the crowd that he had neglected to see earlier. He could hear Nathan yelling at someone to help him carry Josiah back to his room. He silently hoped that Josiah was going to be okay, if he died Ezra would never be able to live with the guilt, he wouldn't allow his own grief at the thought of Josiah dying to enter his mind, if he did that he wouldn't be able to help either Josiah or Ezra.
He broke through the thick crowd to find a terrifying sight before him. Chris ignored the man who was a bloody mess as there was someone already helping him, he ran to JD who was leaning against the wall that housed the saloon with Ezra's upper body held in his arms, he could see Ezra's head hanging limply from JD's grip, his already damp hair scraping the dirt floor beneath it. He knelt down beside Ezra and looked up into JD's eyes and saw the tears, he then looked down at Ezra's deathly pale complexion before examining him for any wounds, he found none.
"JD is he hurt." Chris waited for an answer but JD just removed his hand from under Ezra's back and showed him the blood that covered it. He pulled Ezra from JD's hold and turned him over, he saw the blood that covered the lower half of Ezra's back. His own tears joined JD's as he picked Ezra up and started towards the clinic with JD following him.
"Get out of the way!" He yelled to the crowd as he pushed his way through them a second time. He could feel Ezra's head and legs being pushed and pulled as he tried to get through the crowd, he pulled him closer to his own body and yelled at them again to let him through. Chris couldn't see Nathan or Josiah as he ran along the boardwalk. 'They must be back at the clinic.' he thought to himself. He didn't see Mrs Potter as she stood with Ricky watching as he rushed by with Ezra hanging limply from his arms, he didn't hear the child as he began to cry again. All he could see was Ezra's pale face, the only sound he heard was Ezra's ragged breathing, the only thing he felt was the blood that was soaking into his own clothing.
Chris struggled up the stairs to the clinic and didn't wait for JD to open the door, he kicked it open and then walked in sideways so no part of Ezra would hit the doorframe, he didn't want his friend to suffer even the slightest bruise or scratch. He took one quick look at the still unconscious Josiah and walked to the small cot and with JD's help, he gently laid Ezra down onto his stomach.
Nathan could hear the pounding footsteps on the stairs and stood up turning his back to Josiah because he didn't know who was going to come running through the door. He stood staring in horror as the door was kicked in and Chris entered the room with Ezra in his arms, he could see the blood that was soaking into Chris's trouser legs. He watched as he placed Ezra onto the cot and saw the blood that covered Ezra's back.
"JD come here." Nathan called to him. "JD!" When JD finally tore his eyes from Ezra, he came over and stared down at Josiah who was also lying on his stomach. "Press this against the wound, the bleeding hasn't stopped, I'll check Ezra and then come back." He grabbed JD's hand and placed it against the cloth that was trying to stop any more blood escaping from the head wound.
Chris had already begun to take Ezra's jacket off but he was having difficulty removing it from his arms, he looked up at Nathan as he joined him, pulling Ezra onto his side in one quick motion so he could take the jacket off, once they had done that Nathan pulled the back of Ezra's shirt up. He fingers efficiently prodded the bullet wound that was in Ezra's lower back close to his left kidney. "This isn't good Chris."
"What about Josiah?" Chris asked him, he knew things didn't look good for Ezra, he didn't need Nathan to tell him that but he did need to keep control of himself.
"The bleeding still hasn't stopped, I was just about to stitch the wound closed when you came in." He looked sideways at Chris. "He'll have a severe concussion. Ezra hit his head against something with a lot of force."
"We have to make sure that Ezra did do it." Chris told him, when he had seen the aftermath in the alley he had hoped that the stranger had hit Josiah and Ezra had then retaliated.
"Ezra did it." JD told them from Josiah's bedside.
"Chris I'll need you to help me, I have to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding." Nathan grabbed a knife from the table and used it rip Ezra's vest and shirt in half, he then pulled them from his arms, neither of them noticed Ezra's left forearm as it was now face down on the bed, his hand lying on the pillow next to his face.
"Will Josiah be okay while you fix Ezra up?" JD asked.
"He'll be fine JD, just let me know when the bleeding stops." Nathan didn't look at JD, he kept his eyes on Ezra as he placed his hand against his already warm face. He then got ready to do what had to be done.
Nathan quickly washed his hands and took what he needed from the table to remove the bullet, he then moved back to the cot and began to wipe the blood from around the wound so he could see what he was doing. Nathan then began what he thought was a hopeless task of removing the bullet from Ezra's back as he thought that it had done irreversible damage to vital organs. He knew that the wound may not kill Ezra but he was sure that it was going to leave permanent damage just as he thought the potion would.
Nathan used a small sharp knife to cut into the wound, making it wider so it would be easier to find the bullet, he quickly glanced up at Ezra's face to see if there was any sort of response but there wasn't, his eyes turned back to the wound. He used a damp cloth to wipe away the blood that had begun to pour from the wound after he had made it larger. Nathan then used a sterilised clamp to probe the wound looking for the bullet, it took him a few minutes before he found it.
"Thank God." He whispered.
"What is it Nathan?" Chris asked him as he looked away from Ezra, he had been wiping the sweat from Ezra's pale face when he heard Nathan's quiet voice.
"The bullet passed between his lower two ribs and is now lodged in some muscle, if it had gone through any further it would have done some permanent damage to his organs. This man has the luck of the devil Chris." Nathan gently pressed further into the wound to get to the bullet. "Damn."
"Now what?" Chris growled at him.
"I can't get to it." Nathan put the clamp down and used his fingers to try to reach the bullet, he heard Ezra moan as he tried to shift away from him. He withdrew his blood soaked fingers when he couldn't get to the bullet. "I'm going to have to try and spread his ribs so I can get to it."
"And how are you going to do that?" Chris asked him. He couldn't hide the fear that he was feeling from his voice.
"Just give me a minute to think." Nathan stood up and bent back down, he took Chris's hand off Ezra's face and put in on the cloth against the wound in Ezra's back. "Press down on it." Nathan used the short reprieve to check on Josiah, he found that his head wound had stopped bleeding. "JD use some of the water that I put on to boil to clean it for me please, make sure you wash your hands first." JD did as he was told.
Nathan went back to the table and looked for something that he could use to spread Ezra's ribs, all he could see was a larger version of the clamp that wasn't able to reach the bullet. He picked it up and went back to Ezra. "Chris your fingers are thinner than mine so I'm going to spread his ribs and then I want you to get the bullet." Nathan looked into his eyes. "Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah." Chris answered him.
"Good, go wash your hands first." Chris only took a few minutes to sterilise his hands, he then returned to the cot. "Put your knee on his upper back, I don't want him moving." Chris placed his left leg on the cot and his right knee on Ezra's back. Nathan nodded and then pushed the larger clamp sideways between the ribs. "I just hope this works, if I pull to hard I might break them."
"You can do it Nathan." Chris assured him.
He began to pull the handles of the clamp apart and felt the ribs resistance. Ezra groaned louder and as he tried to move, Chris put more of his weight on Ezra's back. Nathan waited until Ezra settled down and then pulled harder as he began to feel the ribs move under the pressure.
"Get ready Chris, the bullet is just above the clamp on Ezra's left side." He watched as the ribs begin to spread and then stopped when he knew they wouldn't give anymore without breaking. "Now Chris."
Chris first looked into the wound and saw the glint of metal, he held his breath as his fingers pushed into Ezra's damaged flesh, he felt them scrap against the ribs and then close on the cold metal. He gripped the bullet firmly and then removed his fingers.
"Got it." He held it up to Nathan and then looked up as he heard the door slam open. He saw one man literally carrying another. It was the man that Ezra had beaten.
"My friend needs a Doctor, they said that I could find one here." He dragged his friend into the room.
"He's the one that shot Ezra." JD nodded his head towards the uninjured man.
Nathan quickly used his eyes and looked the man over, he could see no life threatening injuries. "Wait outside." He told him.
"Now hang on my . . . " He stopped as Chris stood up and came towards him.
"Wait outside." The man had thought that the gambler's voice was cold but this man's voice held a stronger threat. He nodded and then left the clinic.
Chris went back to Ezra and sat on the cot, he began to wipe the sweat from Ezra's face again as Nathan cleaned and stitched the wound. When he had bandaged it, Nathan pulled Ezra's boots off and then pulled the blanket up over his body. "I won't be able to give him anything for the pain or fever that the wound may cause, not until Buck gets back and lets me know what I can do to help him."
"That's going to make it hard for him." Chris spoke more to Ezra than to Nathan.
"I know Chris, I know." Nathan moved back to Josiah's bedside and once he was satisfied that JD had done a good job he began to stitch the wound. He bandaged it and then made him comfortable. He felt Josiah's forehead and found that he was beginning to become warm. "Fever's starting."
"Ezra's never going to forgive himself." Chris knew the guilt that his friend was going to feel, it was going to be very much like the guilt that he had felt himself after his family had died, he had blamed himself for their deaths just as Ezra was going to blame himself for everything that the potion had caused him to do.
"Where just going to have to do our best to prove him wrong." Nathan silently agreed with Chris and knew that there were not going to be enough words to convince Ezra that it wasn't his fault. He got up from Josiah's bed and walked quietly to the corner to pick up an empty bucket, he knew that Josiah was going to need it, the concussion would cause him to be ill, he placed it next to his bed. "Guess I'll go see to the man outside."
"In a minute Nathan. JD tell us what happened."
JD looked up from Josiah's pale face and looked over at Ezra who's complexion was even paler. "Ricky Blair bumped into Ezra, he apologised and Ezra then sent him on his way, told him to tell his mother that it was Ezra's fault that he was late. Everything that he's going through and he still doesn't think of himself. We heard Ricky cry out and saw him on the ground at that guy's feet," he nodded to the door, "I think he hit him. Ezra lost it, Josiah tried to stop him but Ezra attacked him then he went after the guy that hit Ricky. I tried to stop him but I couldn't so I sent Ricky to get you, that's when the man's friend pulled a gun and shot Ezra in the back." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "He shot him in the back Chris, I know he was trying to save his friend's life but he shouldn't have shot him in the back."
"Was Ezra trying to kill him?" Chris asked him.
"I told him to stop, that he was going to kill him." He looked up into Chris's eyes. "He said that it was what he was intending to do. He was going to kill him Chris, that's the only reason why I didn't shoot the other guy, he was protecting his friend."
"Damn." Chris muttered as he looked down into Ezra's face.
Nathan didn't say anything as he quietly gathered some things and then left to take care of the other man's injuries.
"I couldn't stop him Chris." JD repeated.
"You couldn't have JD, none of us would have been able to stop him." Chris reassured him.
***
Buck and Vin rode through the darkness into the railway camp as it was now late at night, they had ridden in silence most of the day, as they hadn't spoken a word since Buck told Vin what he had done. Both were feeling guilty and angry but for different reasons. Buck felt this way because he had given Ezra the potion by mistake and Vin because of the way he had treated Ezra after he had shot Casey.
They stopped and asked someone where they could find Chow Chee and then followed the directions that they were given. They didn't take in any of the scenery or the people around them as the only thought in their minds was Ezra. Nothing else seemed to matter. It took them ten minutes to find the old man and then another five before Buck could get the courage up to tell him what happened. Vin tried to wait patiently by Buck's side because he was not going to do the talking and make it easier for him but he couldn't wait any longer and neither could Ezra.
"Tell him Buck." Vin elbowed him in the side.
"Yes please tell me. I am waiting." Chow Chee told Buck, he had been standing there looking at the man as he shuffled his feet in the dirt and he was becoming tired of it, if he didn't say something soon he was going to walk away.
Buck finally got up the nerve. "That potion you gave me . . . someone else drank it by mistake . . . and they drank half a bottle of whiskey as well . . . now he's gone all crazy on us . . . doing weird things . . . he's been violent as well."
Buck's eyes stayed focused on something that he had found interesting on the ground.
"I told you not let person do that." Chow Chee's voice was very calm even though he was very angry at the stupid man standing in front of him. "Who drank it?"
"Does that really matter?" Vin asked him.
"No but would like to know who suffering because of this man stupidity." Chow Chee told him.
"You were the one who gave it to Buck in the first place." Vin reminded him.
"Yes, I too am stupid." He hung his head in shame. "It something that I never do again."
"Ezra Standish." Buck told him, his eyes were still watching the interesting dirt at his feet.
"Umm?" Chow Chee asked him.
"It was Ezra Standish who drank it. It was one in a million, Ezra never drinks milk, he won . . . " Buck stopped when he heard the moan come from the small man in front of him. "What's wrong?" Buck finally looked up at him.
"Your friend in serious trouble, what he gone through already is nothing compared to what he going to go through." Chow Chee informed them.
"Can't you give us something that will help him?" Vin asked him but all hope left as he saw the old man shake his head.
"No. The herbs I gave Mr Jackson, potion and whiskey is already dangerous mixture, if I give something else it could kill him." He waved his hand at the two men. "He have to wait until it out of his system."
"How long will that take?" Buck felt even sicker than he had been, he was never going to forgive himself for this.
"When did he drink it?"
"Day before yesterday." Vin informed him.
"At least 'nother five day." Chow Chee looked into the worried eyes.
"That long?' Vin was shocked.
"And even then, can't drink whiskey or take herbs for one week." Chow Chee moved forward and placed his hand on Vin's shoulder, he wasn't going to go near the stupid man. "Go back to your friend, he going to get very sick."
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
Master Fan Fiction List
Sixteenth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: When Ezra mistakenly drinks something meant for JD his normal world is turned into a violent nightmare for both him and the other hired gunmen.
Main Characters: Ezra, and the rest of the seven + OC's.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Beta: Not betaed – written in the early days when I didn’t know what the words grammar and edit meant. *is ashamed but no longer care*
Notes: Sixteenth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Total Word Count: 40,665
WARNING! Please note that this story contains disturbing images.
Part Three
"I hope so Casey but I don't know if this is going to leave any permanent damage on his mind or body." He looked sideways at JD and saw the emotion that filled his eyes as his words reached him. "JD see if you can get a buck board, I don't want her on a horse and then take her home, I'm sure Nettie can look after her, then come back here, we might need your help." Nathan smiled at Casey. "I'll come by in a couple of days to make sure your okay."
"Could you tell Ezra that I don't blame him, that it wasn't his fault." Casey asked him. "I don't want him feeling guilty about something that he couldn't control."
"If he's feeling better I'll bring him with me so you will be able to tell him yourself." He couldn't help but smile at Casey's wisdom, she was young like JD and they had proven it many times but they had also shown that they could be wise beyond their years. "You want to wait outside?" JD helped her up when she nodded and then led her outside so she could wait for him to come back and then take her home.
Nathan went back to the cot where Ezra continued to sleep while Josiah and Chris held his hands. He felt his forehead to see if a fever had begun at all, there was none. He pulled Ezra's shirt open again and noticed that the swelling had started to lower, he gently pressed against his stomach. Ezra didn't react to the touch and this told Nathan that he was no longer feeling any pain.
"The swelling is coming down and the pain is gone, I'll see how he is when he wakes up, if he's okay then you can take him to his room." Nathan informed Josiah.
Josiah only nodded as he listened, he kept his eyes on Ezra, the emotions and thoughts were out of control in his own mind. He had heard what Nathan told Casey. If this did leave him permanently effected he knew that Ezra wouldn't be able to cope, he had depended on his own sharp mind and quick reflexes to survive all his life as there had been no one else to back him up and if he couldn't do it anymore then he would have to depend on others. Ezra had accepted their friendship and concern but Josiah didn't think that he would allow himself to depend on them to survive everyday life.
Nathan kept himself busy around the clinic while he waited for Ezra to wake up, he kept going back to him regularly just to make sure that he was still okay. The swelling had gone and he was sleeping peacefully on his right side, facing Chris who was still sitting on the cot. Nathan hadn't argued with them when they wanted to lengthen the ropes so Ezra could be more comfortable. Josiah was still holding his hand and JD, who had returned an hour after taking Casey home, was sitting on the bed watching him from a distance.
He stopped what he was doing and moved quickly to the cot when he heard a soft moan come from Ezra as he rolled onto his back. He sat down and leaned over him once he made sure that Chris and Josiah had a strong hold on his arms.
"Ezra?"
"Nathan . . . what's happening to me . . . am I going crazy . . . or something." Ezra asked him as he opened his eyes and focused on him.
"No Ezra, it's something you drank." Nathan smiled at him.
"Something I drank?" The confusion was evident on his handsome features but it turned to one of shock as his head spun around to take in the empty bed across the room. "Casey, where's Casey? Is she dead?" Ezra gasped out, the fear of what he had done causing him to shake again.
"No Ezra, she's fine, I sent her home." Ezra didn't calm down. "It was just a scratch Ezra, she's fine." Nathan continued to try to convince him but he couldn't. "Josiah . . . "
"Ezra look at me." Josiah told him, he saw the emotion in the dull green eyes as they turned to him. "She's fine, the bullet grazed her arm, that's all." Josiah watched as his words finally sunk in and Ezra began to calm down. "Can you remember why you did it? Did you see your Uncle again?"
"No, it was that woman," Ezra couldn't think of her name, his mind felt numb, he couldn't think. "the one that took Jean, she wanted Chris."
"Christy." Chris reminded him, he understood now why he had shot at Casey. Ezra had taken two bullets himself when he tried to protect him from Christy, he was just doing the same for JD, he must have thought his life was in danger.
"You thought that she was going to kill JD." Ezra nodded.
"Casey doesn't blame you Ezra, she doesn't want you to feel guilty about what happened." Josiah repeated Casey's words but could see that they did not make him feel any better about what he did.
"You want to tell me how your feeling Ezra?" Nathan changed the subject hoping to take Ezra's mind off what happened.
"I just feel tired Nathan and my stomach's sore." Ezra tried to lift his arm to show Nathan where it hurt but he couldn't, he looked down to see the rope that was tied around his wrists.
"I'm sorry Ezra but we didn't know what condition you were going to be in when you woke up." Nathan waited for him to erupt, they were all ready for the reaction that they had expected from him.
"That's okay, I've hurt enough people already." Ezra told him, the guilt was heavy in his voice. He had beaten Nathan and shot Casey, when he woke up he was surprised to find himself in the clinic and not a jail cell.
"You said your stomach hurts? Is it like before?" Nathan asked him trying to keep his mind occupied with something else.
"No, it's like when you have thrown up too many times and your muscles hurt afterwards." Ezra explained to him.
"But apart from that your okay?" Nathan got up and walked across the room and then back again, he watched Ezra to see if his eyes followed his footsteps but they didn't.
"Yeah just tired." He repeated.
"I know you don't want to stay here Ezra so I'll get Josiah and JD to take you back to your room. Okay?" He hadn't seen any fear in Ezra's eyes since he woke up but he didn't want to give it any reason to show itself.
"I don't have to stay?" Ezra's eyes widened, he thought that he wasn't going to able to leave.
"No you don't but I would like you to stay in your room for a couple of days at least. Think you can do that?" Ezra nodded. "Good. Chris, Josiah you want to untie him."
They released Ezra from his ropes slowly and carefully just in case he was not what he seemed to be. Once his hands and legs were free Ezra tried to sit up but needed help to do so, Josiah's strong hands then helped him to stand up
"Think you can walk Ezra?" Josiah asked him
"Yeah, there's no way you’re going to carry me there." Ezra smiled at him but the humour didn't show in his dull eyes.
With Josiah and JD on the either side of him, he left the clinic to begin what seemed like to be a long walk back to his own room.
"You think he's okay now Nathan?" Chris asked him as they watched Ezra and the others walk slowly out of the clinic.
"He seems alright but we thought that before didn't we." Chris nodded in silence. "You want to help me get some things together and then we'll follow them. It will save me coming back just in case something does happen."
***
Ezra walked slowly between his two friends, the saloon was only around the corner and past the alley but it was already beginning to feel like it was a mile away. His head was up and he was watching the townsfolk as they walked passed them, he wanted to tip his hat as he always did but couldn't find the strength to lift his arm, the short walk seemed to be sapping all his energy. He could hear JD chattering away in his ear, he wanted to shut him up but didn't think that he would even be able to clench his fist let alone hit him. They were crossing the entrance to the alley when he glanced sideways and saw two strangers walking towards them. He stopped as someone bumped into him, the anger suddenly took control of his mind and he was about to lash out when he heard a young voice.
"Sorry Mr Standish, I was in a hurry. I was supposed to be home already, mama's gonna yell at me when I do get there." Ricky Blair had run into Ezra as he tried to enter the alley that would give him a shortcut home but stopped to apologise as he was always taught to do.
"That's okay Ricky, you hurry up and tell your mother you were helping me with a chore and that I send my apologies for keeping you so late." Ezra felt as though his mind was beginning to drift away, he had looked down into the child's face and saw his own, he saw the bruises that lined his features, the drawn and pale complexion. The voice broke into his thoughts and brought him back to reality.
"Thanks Mr Standish." Ricky ran off towards the two men that were still coming down the alley.
"Ezra are you teaching that young boy to lie." Josiah smiled at him.
"Of course not, I just don't want him to get into trouble that's all." His head quickly turned to the alley when he heard a cry of pain, the voice sounding so much like his own when he cried out after his Uncle had hit him. Ezra could see the two men standing over of the young boy, he could see the tears that were falling from the child's eyes, the boy was terrified.
"That will teach you to run into me." One of the men growled down at Ricky.
Ezra heard the words as they echoed in his now empty mind, he instantly reacted to them and his reaction was violent. He no longer felt drained of energy as he began to walk towards the man who had hit the frightened child still lying on the ground. The anger burned in his mind and soul giving him the strength that he needed to do what he wanted to do and that was to kill the man who had hit Ricky. He felt someone grab his shoulder and pull him back. He wasn't going to allow anyone to stop him. Ezra spun around and drove his left fist into the stomach of the man who had tried to stop him and as the person doubled over, his right hand grabbed the man's jaw and he pushed the head up and back with such force that it hit the wooden pole that was behind him. He heard the sickening sound as the skull connected with the obstruction and he smiled. Ezra then turned back to what he was doing, he walked slowly towards the man that he intended to kill.
JD had seen the blank expression as it overcame Ezra's face when they heard Ricky cry out, he then watched in slow motion as Ezra started to walk towards the men but Josiah then tried to stop him. JD stood in shock as Ezra turned around and hit Josiah. He yelled out at Ezra when he saw what he was about to do but his voice did nothing to stop him, he heard the sound as Josiah's head hit the pole, he then fell into a heap at Ezra's feet. JD felt sick to the stomach as he saw the smile form on Ezra's face.
Ezra stopped in front of the two men and then reached down to help Ricky stand up, he could see the thin trail of blood that ran from the boy's cut lip. "Go home Ricky." Ezra pushed the boy into the direction of his home making sure that he gave him a reassuring pat on the back as he did so, he then turned to the man who's thin frame stood at least an two inches over him. Ezra didn't notice that Ricky moved to the side instead of going home.
JD momentarily forgot about Ezra as he knelt down to help Josiah. He turned him onto his side and looked at the back of his head, he could see the large gash that was already beginning to swell. The blood was dripping from the wound and was forming a pool beneath Josiah's head and what didn't stay on the boardwalk escaped through the wooden planks to the dirt below. He tore off a large piece of his shirt and pressed it against the wound to try and stopped the bleeding.
The ranch hand who had ridden into town a couple of days before smiled down at the shorter man, he could tell that he was a fancy gambler who probably couldn't fight to save his life - he hadn't seen what Ezra had just done to Josiah. He tried to push him out of his way but Ezra didn't move.
"What do you want Mister?" The man growled down into Ezra's face, he was too stupid to see the anger that was in the southerner's eyes.
"I want you." Ezra's voice was cold and flat, he was now calm but the anger still boiled within him.
The man laughed at him and then turned sideways to his companion, he saw the nervous look in his eyes as he stepped away from them. He turned back to Ezra and finally saw what his friend had seen, the man standing before him was crazy. "Listen Mister, I didn't do anything to you so why don't you just let me be on my way."
"You hit Ricky." Ezra nodded in the direction that he thought the young boy had gone. "No one hits a child and gets away it." Ezra took a step back.
The man closed the gap that Ezra had just created and as he did so, Ezra turned sideways and with all the strength that he could gather, he slammed his right fist into the man's stomach. Once he was doubled over like the man that he had hit before, Ezra placed both hands on the man's shoulders and pushed down as he brought his own knee up to connect with the unprotected face, he then let go as the larger man fell onto his back.
The man's friend stepped forward to try to help him up but Ezra's stare stopped him, he moved away and looked around for someone to end the fight before it got out of hand, he knew he couldn't do it on his own. He ran to towards the group that had gathered to watch the fight.
"Someone's got to stop him." He yelled at them, he watched as they shook their heads, they weren't going to go up against the gambler as they knew what he was capable of doing. He turned back to watch, feeling helpless to stop what was going to happen.
Ezra looked down at the cowering figure before him. "Get up!" The man didn't move so Ezra kicked him in the side and heard him yelp in pain, he kicked him again and felt his ribs crack beneath his foot, he kicked him a third time. When the man curled up into a ball Ezra bent down and pulled him to his feet.
"Don't hit me please." The man had lost all his courage.
Ezra hesitated for a moment as a memory tried to force itself into his empty mind but it was pushed away. His fist suddenly connected with the man's nose, breaking it on impact. He hit him again feeling the blood that was beginning to soak into his own knuckles. He subconsciously wiped the blood on the man's jacket and then hit him in the already injured side and smiled at his cry of pain.
JD heard someone scream out in pain, he looked back at Josiah's slack face and knew it wasn't him. He looked around for Ezra and saw the group of people who were gathering in front of the alley. He pushed his way through them and stopped at the sight before him.
"Ezra!" JD ran to him and tried to pull him away from the man but found himself becoming the target for Ezra's anger. He felt Ezra's fist connect with his jaw, knocking him to the ground. He looked back up and watched as Ezra continued to beat the other man. "Ezra stop, you’re going to kill him!"
"That's exactly what I intend to do." Ezra quietly answered him before his fist hit his weakened victim once more.
JD looked to the side when he heard someone crying, he could see Ricky Blair sitting against one of the buildings that lined the alley. He ran to him, he needed to get him away from what he was seeing. "Ricky go and get Chris and Nathan." The boy could only stare past him as he watched Ezra hitting the man who had hit him. "Ricky! Do as I say! They’re at the clinic." He pulled the fragile child to his feet. "Go and get them, hurry!" He watched as Ricky ran from the alley and as he did, he saw the ranch hand's friend draw his gun. "NO!"
He couldn't stand by and allow the gambler to kill his friend and if no one else was going to stop him then he was. He knew he wouldn't be able to do it physically so he pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it at the man in the green jacket. He winced as he heard his friend cry out in pain once more when the man hit him again. His friend fell to the ground and the man began kicking him in the back. He couldn't let this go on, he was killing him, he hesitated for a moment trying to decide if he was doing the right thing but he heard his friend's anguish cry and pulled the trigger. He watched in satisfaction as the bullet found it's mark, the force of it entering the man's back slammed him up against the wall and he smiled as he then fell back to the ground. The dust settled around the unmoving body of the man who had beaten his friend.
***
It only took Ricky a couple of minutes to reach the stairs that lead up to the clinic, he had heard the gunshot and it had nearly caused his young heart to stop as he knew that it wasn't Mr Standish who had fired the gun, he hadn't been wearing one. He was also terrified of what he had seen, he liked Ezra and knew that he would never do anything to hurt him but he had never seen him that angry before.
He looked up as he heard footsteps running down towards him. "Mr Larabee . . . you gotta stop him . . . he's killing him!"
Chris had heard the gunshot and dropped everything that Nathan had placed in his hands as he ran to the door with Nathan right behind him, their first thought had been Ezra. He reached the top of stairs and looked down at the young boy who was running towards him, he could see the frightened look in his tear filled eyes. Chris reached him and knelt down on the step below him so his eyes would be level with the boys.
"Who Ricky?" Chris asked him in a calm voice as he wiped the tears from his face.
"Mr Standish." Ricky whispered.
"Someone's killing Ezra?" Nathan moved down past both figures and looked up into Ricky's eyes.
"No. Ezra's killing him. " It was a simple statement that caused both of their hearts to become heavy.
"Where is he?" Chris's voice was firm but he showed no anger as he knew the boy was scared enough as it was.
"In the alley next to the saloon." Ricky pointed in the direction that he had just come from. "JD told me to come and get you."
Chris picked Ricky up and ran towards the alley, as they rounded the corner he saw Mrs Potter sitting on the boardwalk as she leant over someone. Chris stopped behind her and looked over her shoulder making sure that Ricky wouldn't be able to see what he was looking at. What he saw broke his already heavy heart as he knew that Ezra had done it. He could see all the blood that had come from Josiah's head wound.
Nathan quickly knelt down next to Josiah and felt for a pulse, after finding one, he checked the wound on the back of his head. "The wounds deep and he's lost a lot of blood. We have to get him back to the clinic Chris." He then began to look for the bullet wound as he thought that it was Josiah who had been shot.
"Mrs Potter, could you take care of Ricky for me please while we fix Josiah up." Chris went to hand Ricky over to the older woman.
"Ezra's in the alley, you gotta stop him before he kills that man." Ricky repeated what he had told him on the steps to the clinic.
Chris frowned, he thought that Ricky was talking about Josiah. "You're not talking about Josiah are you Ricky?" The boy shook his head. The tears began to fall from his eyes again as he pointed to the alley.
"Nathan, get someone to help you with Josiah, I'll go look for Ezra and JD." He pushed Ricky into Mrs Potter's arms and ran through the crowd that he had neglected to see earlier. He could hear Nathan yelling at someone to help him carry Josiah back to his room. He silently hoped that Josiah was going to be okay, if he died Ezra would never be able to live with the guilt, he wouldn't allow his own grief at the thought of Josiah dying to enter his mind, if he did that he wouldn't be able to help either Josiah or Ezra.
He broke through the thick crowd to find a terrifying sight before him. Chris ignored the man who was a bloody mess as there was someone already helping him, he ran to JD who was leaning against the wall that housed the saloon with Ezra's upper body held in his arms, he could see Ezra's head hanging limply from JD's grip, his already damp hair scraping the dirt floor beneath it. He knelt down beside Ezra and looked up into JD's eyes and saw the tears, he then looked down at Ezra's deathly pale complexion before examining him for any wounds, he found none.
"JD is he hurt." Chris waited for an answer but JD just removed his hand from under Ezra's back and showed him the blood that covered it. He pulled Ezra from JD's hold and turned him over, he saw the blood that covered the lower half of Ezra's back. His own tears joined JD's as he picked Ezra up and started towards the clinic with JD following him.
"Get out of the way!" He yelled to the crowd as he pushed his way through them a second time. He could feel Ezra's head and legs being pushed and pulled as he tried to get through the crowd, he pulled him closer to his own body and yelled at them again to let him through. Chris couldn't see Nathan or Josiah as he ran along the boardwalk. 'They must be back at the clinic.' he thought to himself. He didn't see Mrs Potter as she stood with Ricky watching as he rushed by with Ezra hanging limply from his arms, he didn't hear the child as he began to cry again. All he could see was Ezra's pale face, the only sound he heard was Ezra's ragged breathing, the only thing he felt was the blood that was soaking into his own clothing.
Chris struggled up the stairs to the clinic and didn't wait for JD to open the door, he kicked it open and then walked in sideways so no part of Ezra would hit the doorframe, he didn't want his friend to suffer even the slightest bruise or scratch. He took one quick look at the still unconscious Josiah and walked to the small cot and with JD's help, he gently laid Ezra down onto his stomach.
Nathan could hear the pounding footsteps on the stairs and stood up turning his back to Josiah because he didn't know who was going to come running through the door. He stood staring in horror as the door was kicked in and Chris entered the room with Ezra in his arms, he could see the blood that was soaking into Chris's trouser legs. He watched as he placed Ezra onto the cot and saw the blood that covered Ezra's back.
"JD come here." Nathan called to him. "JD!" When JD finally tore his eyes from Ezra, he came over and stared down at Josiah who was also lying on his stomach. "Press this against the wound, the bleeding hasn't stopped, I'll check Ezra and then come back." He grabbed JD's hand and placed it against the cloth that was trying to stop any more blood escaping from the head wound.
Chris had already begun to take Ezra's jacket off but he was having difficulty removing it from his arms, he looked up at Nathan as he joined him, pulling Ezra onto his side in one quick motion so he could take the jacket off, once they had done that Nathan pulled the back of Ezra's shirt up. He fingers efficiently prodded the bullet wound that was in Ezra's lower back close to his left kidney. "This isn't good Chris."
"What about Josiah?" Chris asked him, he knew things didn't look good for Ezra, he didn't need Nathan to tell him that but he did need to keep control of himself.
"The bleeding still hasn't stopped, I was just about to stitch the wound closed when you came in." He looked sideways at Chris. "He'll have a severe concussion. Ezra hit his head against something with a lot of force."
"We have to make sure that Ezra did do it." Chris told him, when he had seen the aftermath in the alley he had hoped that the stranger had hit Josiah and Ezra had then retaliated.
"Ezra did it." JD told them from Josiah's bedside.
"Chris I'll need you to help me, I have to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding." Nathan grabbed a knife from the table and used it rip Ezra's vest and shirt in half, he then pulled them from his arms, neither of them noticed Ezra's left forearm as it was now face down on the bed, his hand lying on the pillow next to his face.
"Will Josiah be okay while you fix Ezra up?" JD asked.
"He'll be fine JD, just let me know when the bleeding stops." Nathan didn't look at JD, he kept his eyes on Ezra as he placed his hand against his already warm face. He then got ready to do what had to be done.
Nathan quickly washed his hands and took what he needed from the table to remove the bullet, he then moved back to the cot and began to wipe the blood from around the wound so he could see what he was doing. Nathan then began what he thought was a hopeless task of removing the bullet from Ezra's back as he thought that it had done irreversible damage to vital organs. He knew that the wound may not kill Ezra but he was sure that it was going to leave permanent damage just as he thought the potion would.
Nathan used a small sharp knife to cut into the wound, making it wider so it would be easier to find the bullet, he quickly glanced up at Ezra's face to see if there was any sort of response but there wasn't, his eyes turned back to the wound. He used a damp cloth to wipe away the blood that had begun to pour from the wound after he had made it larger. Nathan then used a sterilised clamp to probe the wound looking for the bullet, it took him a few minutes before he found it.
"Thank God." He whispered.
"What is it Nathan?" Chris asked him as he looked away from Ezra, he had been wiping the sweat from Ezra's pale face when he heard Nathan's quiet voice.
"The bullet passed between his lower two ribs and is now lodged in some muscle, if it had gone through any further it would have done some permanent damage to his organs. This man has the luck of the devil Chris." Nathan gently pressed further into the wound to get to the bullet. "Damn."
"Now what?" Chris growled at him.
"I can't get to it." Nathan put the clamp down and used his fingers to try to reach the bullet, he heard Ezra moan as he tried to shift away from him. He withdrew his blood soaked fingers when he couldn't get to the bullet. "I'm going to have to try and spread his ribs so I can get to it."
"And how are you going to do that?" Chris asked him. He couldn't hide the fear that he was feeling from his voice.
"Just give me a minute to think." Nathan stood up and bent back down, he took Chris's hand off Ezra's face and put in on the cloth against the wound in Ezra's back. "Press down on it." Nathan used the short reprieve to check on Josiah, he found that his head wound had stopped bleeding. "JD use some of the water that I put on to boil to clean it for me please, make sure you wash your hands first." JD did as he was told.
Nathan went back to the table and looked for something that he could use to spread Ezra's ribs, all he could see was a larger version of the clamp that wasn't able to reach the bullet. He picked it up and went back to Ezra. "Chris your fingers are thinner than mine so I'm going to spread his ribs and then I want you to get the bullet." Nathan looked into his eyes. "Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah." Chris answered him.
"Good, go wash your hands first." Chris only took a few minutes to sterilise his hands, he then returned to the cot. "Put your knee on his upper back, I don't want him moving." Chris placed his left leg on the cot and his right knee on Ezra's back. Nathan nodded and then pushed the larger clamp sideways between the ribs. "I just hope this works, if I pull to hard I might break them."
"You can do it Nathan." Chris assured him.
He began to pull the handles of the clamp apart and felt the ribs resistance. Ezra groaned louder and as he tried to move, Chris put more of his weight on Ezra's back. Nathan waited until Ezra settled down and then pulled harder as he began to feel the ribs move under the pressure.
"Get ready Chris, the bullet is just above the clamp on Ezra's left side." He watched as the ribs begin to spread and then stopped when he knew they wouldn't give anymore without breaking. "Now Chris."
Chris first looked into the wound and saw the glint of metal, he held his breath as his fingers pushed into Ezra's damaged flesh, he felt them scrap against the ribs and then close on the cold metal. He gripped the bullet firmly and then removed his fingers.
"Got it." He held it up to Nathan and then looked up as he heard the door slam open. He saw one man literally carrying another. It was the man that Ezra had beaten.
"My friend needs a Doctor, they said that I could find one here." He dragged his friend into the room.
"He's the one that shot Ezra." JD nodded his head towards the uninjured man.
Nathan quickly used his eyes and looked the man over, he could see no life threatening injuries. "Wait outside." He told him.
"Now hang on my . . . " He stopped as Chris stood up and came towards him.
"Wait outside." The man had thought that the gambler's voice was cold but this man's voice held a stronger threat. He nodded and then left the clinic.
Chris went back to Ezra and sat on the cot, he began to wipe the sweat from Ezra's face again as Nathan cleaned and stitched the wound. When he had bandaged it, Nathan pulled Ezra's boots off and then pulled the blanket up over his body. "I won't be able to give him anything for the pain or fever that the wound may cause, not until Buck gets back and lets me know what I can do to help him."
"That's going to make it hard for him." Chris spoke more to Ezra than to Nathan.
"I know Chris, I know." Nathan moved back to Josiah's bedside and once he was satisfied that JD had done a good job he began to stitch the wound. He bandaged it and then made him comfortable. He felt Josiah's forehead and found that he was beginning to become warm. "Fever's starting."
"Ezra's never going to forgive himself." Chris knew the guilt that his friend was going to feel, it was going to be very much like the guilt that he had felt himself after his family had died, he had blamed himself for their deaths just as Ezra was going to blame himself for everything that the potion had caused him to do.
"Where just going to have to do our best to prove him wrong." Nathan silently agreed with Chris and knew that there were not going to be enough words to convince Ezra that it wasn't his fault. He got up from Josiah's bed and walked quietly to the corner to pick up an empty bucket, he knew that Josiah was going to need it, the concussion would cause him to be ill, he placed it next to his bed. "Guess I'll go see to the man outside."
"In a minute Nathan. JD tell us what happened."
JD looked up from Josiah's pale face and looked over at Ezra who's complexion was even paler. "Ricky Blair bumped into Ezra, he apologised and Ezra then sent him on his way, told him to tell his mother that it was Ezra's fault that he was late. Everything that he's going through and he still doesn't think of himself. We heard Ricky cry out and saw him on the ground at that guy's feet," he nodded to the door, "I think he hit him. Ezra lost it, Josiah tried to stop him but Ezra attacked him then he went after the guy that hit Ricky. I tried to stop him but I couldn't so I sent Ricky to get you, that's when the man's friend pulled a gun and shot Ezra in the back." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "He shot him in the back Chris, I know he was trying to save his friend's life but he shouldn't have shot him in the back."
"Was Ezra trying to kill him?" Chris asked him.
"I told him to stop, that he was going to kill him." He looked up into Chris's eyes. "He said that it was what he was intending to do. He was going to kill him Chris, that's the only reason why I didn't shoot the other guy, he was protecting his friend."
"Damn." Chris muttered as he looked down into Ezra's face.
Nathan didn't say anything as he quietly gathered some things and then left to take care of the other man's injuries.
"I couldn't stop him Chris." JD repeated.
"You couldn't have JD, none of us would have been able to stop him." Chris reassured him.
***
Buck and Vin rode through the darkness into the railway camp as it was now late at night, they had ridden in silence most of the day, as they hadn't spoken a word since Buck told Vin what he had done. Both were feeling guilty and angry but for different reasons. Buck felt this way because he had given Ezra the potion by mistake and Vin because of the way he had treated Ezra after he had shot Casey.
They stopped and asked someone where they could find Chow Chee and then followed the directions that they were given. They didn't take in any of the scenery or the people around them as the only thought in their minds was Ezra. Nothing else seemed to matter. It took them ten minutes to find the old man and then another five before Buck could get the courage up to tell him what happened. Vin tried to wait patiently by Buck's side because he was not going to do the talking and make it easier for him but he couldn't wait any longer and neither could Ezra.
"Tell him Buck." Vin elbowed him in the side.
"Yes please tell me. I am waiting." Chow Chee told Buck, he had been standing there looking at the man as he shuffled his feet in the dirt and he was becoming tired of it, if he didn't say something soon he was going to walk away.
Buck finally got up the nerve. "That potion you gave me . . . someone else drank it by mistake . . . and they drank half a bottle of whiskey as well . . . now he's gone all crazy on us . . . doing weird things . . . he's been violent as well."
Buck's eyes stayed focused on something that he had found interesting on the ground.
"I told you not let person do that." Chow Chee's voice was very calm even though he was very angry at the stupid man standing in front of him. "Who drank it?"
"Does that really matter?" Vin asked him.
"No but would like to know who suffering because of this man stupidity." Chow Chee told him.
"You were the one who gave it to Buck in the first place." Vin reminded him.
"Yes, I too am stupid." He hung his head in shame. "It something that I never do again."
"Ezra Standish." Buck told him, his eyes were still watching the interesting dirt at his feet.
"Umm?" Chow Chee asked him.
"It was Ezra Standish who drank it. It was one in a million, Ezra never drinks milk, he won . . . " Buck stopped when he heard the moan come from the small man in front of him. "What's wrong?" Buck finally looked up at him.
"Your friend in serious trouble, what he gone through already is nothing compared to what he going to go through." Chow Chee informed them.
"Can't you give us something that will help him?" Vin asked him but all hope left as he saw the old man shake his head.
"No. The herbs I gave Mr Jackson, potion and whiskey is already dangerous mixture, if I give something else it could kill him." He waved his hand at the two men. "He have to wait until it out of his system."
"How long will that take?" Buck felt even sicker than he had been, he was never going to forgive himself for this.
"When did he drink it?"
"Day before yesterday." Vin informed him.
"At least 'nother five day." Chow Chee looked into the worried eyes.
"That long?' Vin was shocked.
"And even then, can't drink whiskey or take herbs for one week." Chow Chee moved forward and placed his hand on Vin's shoulder, he wasn't going to go near the stupid man. "Go back to your friend, he going to get very sick."
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
Master Fan Fiction List