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azombiewritesTitle: A Rescue Gone Wrong
Third story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Ezra, Buck and JD rescue a woman from eight men who she says are chasing her. Ezra is injured during the resuce and they are three days away from Four Corners. But the woman has not told them the real reason for being hunted by the group of men.
Main Characters: Ezra, Buck and JD and yes, and a couple of OFC's *shudder*
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. *shamed*
Notes: Third story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 18,211
Part Three
JJ Jackson had called his men to a halt at the base of the hill where Buck and JD had stayed to take care of Ezra's wound before moving on. He sent some men to the top of the hill to make sure that they were not hiding there. He then decided that they could stop for the night, as the men that they were chasing would also do this, as they would not travel at night time with a wounded man. He also preferred to catch up with them at daytime.
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JD stopped his horse and went to help Buck with Ezra; they had to stop, as he couldn’t travel any longer because his condition was getting worse. There wasn’t a lot of cover to protect them but now they had no choice. Jane put some blankets down on the ground and they made Ezra as comfortable as they could get him. He was still shivering in spite of the fever that was raging through his body. They couldn’t make a fire, as it would only alert anyone to their position. Buck could do nothing for his fever except wipe his face and chest down with a cool cloth because it was Ezra who had to fight it off. Buck opened his shirt and pulled the bandaged away to check the wound, Ezra groaned aloud at the touch to his shoulder. It was still closed and it hadn't started bleeding again, which was a good sign and he could also see no sign of an infection - there was no redness or swelling so he couldn’t understand what was causing such a bad fever - Jane knew though but she did not intend to tell him. If only Nathan was here, he thought to himself. He would know what to do.
"Is the wound infected Buck?" JD had moved next to Ezra's side. He could feel the heat without even touching his skin.
"No"
"Then why is his fever so bad?"
"I don't know JD." Buck really had no idea what was wrong with him. All he could hope for was that the fever would go down on its own because he had no idea how to get rid of it. Ezra had this type of fever after the wound that he received from Hanley had become infected but this wound was clean. He continued to use the damp cloth to wipe his face. He was becoming very worried.
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Ezra woke up a short time later. He wasn’t feeling well at all and he knew that it wasn’t the bullet wound that was in his shoulder. He had a terrible headache and he was feeling pain throughout his body. Even if the wound had become infected, it would not make him feel like this. He knew this because of the last time he had a wound that had become infected. He didn’t feel anything like this. The pain that he was feeling was a sharp pain and it was beginning to cause him to grimace.
"Ezra, what's wrong?" asked JD who could see the pain showing on his face.
Ezra looked up at JD, he tried to focus but his vision was blurry. He tried to speak but found it difficult. The pain was becoming worse. He could feel it everywhere. He suddenly groaned aloud as the pain became even worse. He tried to roll over so he could curl himself up against it thinking that it might help him but he felt another pain tear through his right shoulder and he voiced his agony once again.
"Ezra?" What is wrong he thought? "Buck! Something is wrong with Ezra."
Buck had been keeping watch making sure that no one was coming after them. He asked Jane to take over as he went to JD to find out what was wrong. Jane though preferred to watch what was going on with Ezra. He was in the first stage of the poison and that was the pain that he was now feeling. It would last most of the night and she didn’t want to miss any of it.
Buck could see what was wrong before he even reached Ezra. He seemed to be in a lot of pain. He was also fully awake.
"He was okay a minute ago but then he woke up like this." JD was scared. He saw the confused look on Buck's face and that scared him even more. If Buck didn't know, what was wrong then how could they help Ezra.
Ezra had begun to try to roll on his side again, he was gasping for breath as the pain was making it hard for him to breath.
"Ezra, you have to keep still or you’ll open up the wound," said Buck as he tried to ease Ezra back down.
"It hurts," Ezra grimaced through clenched teeth. "It hurts all over."
"Let me check your shoulder again just to make sure it isn't infected?" It was all Buck could think of. The wound was fine. There was no infection, no redness and no swelling just like before.
Jane was watching. If only they knew, she smiled to herself. She had done this plenty of times before, most of the men surviving, some dying. She wondered if this one will die.
Buck looked up at JD with a hopeless expression on his face. He was no doctor, he didn't know what was wrong with Ezra and he didn't know how to help him. There wasn’t a thing he could do. JD understood the look.
"In the morning we’re going to head for home. His shoulder seems to be fine; it doesn't look like any infection is going to start but whatever this is. . ." Buck shook his head. "We can't leave him out here like this; we have to get him to Nathan. He'll know what to do," he didn't sound very sure though.
They took turns watching over Ezra and keeping lookout for the gang that may have been chasing them. They watched him suffer the pain that they could do nothing to ease. His fever didn’t get any worse but it didn’t improve either. He was unable to lie still and Buck had to keep checking his shoulder to make sure that he didn’t open the wound. They couldn't get him to drink any water so they also began to worry about dehydration.
"This is all my fault Ezra," muttered Buck thinking that he would not hear him. "It was me who got you shot and now for some reason you’re going through something we can't do anything about."
Ezra did hear him. He would have said something if he could manage it but he was in too much pain. He didn't know if he could go on like this, he just wanted the pain to go away. The pain was constant; it didn't seem to ease at all. He felt the cold damp cloth being placed on his forehead, it seemed to help the headache he had but that was all it did. He could feel the fever going through his body, he felt hot and yet cold at the same time. The shivering that wracked his body at times made the pain that he was feeling even worse. After a while, he started to shake again but this time the shaking didn’t stop. He couldn't stop it. He began to moan aloud at the pain as it was becoming so sever, he felt like he was dying.
Buck had tried to help Ezra by wiping his forehead with the damp cloth but he didn’t know if it was doing any good. Ezra had started to shake again as he had done on the horse. He was also moaning in pain. He had practically crawled up into a ball. Buck had tried to ease him back onto his back but Ezra wouldn't move. Buck was scared; he thought that Ezra was dying.
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Four hours later the pain had finally stopped but it had left Ezra extremely weak. Although the pain had stopped his fever hadn’t gone down at all. When Buck had finally gotten him to drink some water Ezra fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t move which was a complete contrast to how he had been for the last six hours. Buck also noticed that his breathing had become shallow. He didn’t tell any of this to JD, as the boy was worried enough as it was.
It was still dark and daylight was two hours away but Buck made a decision. They were going to head towards town. If they stayed here with Ezra in the condition that he was in he might die. They had to get him home and he would just have to try to keep Ezra on the horse with him, as there was no other way to get him there.
"JD, we're leaving," there was no need to wake JD or Jane, as they were not able to sleep either. JD because he was worried, Jane because she was too excited at the thought of what was happening. It was better than she expected it to be. To watch these other two worry so much about him. She was really enjoying herself. She usually watched the people she gave the poison to suffer on their own. She made sure that there was no one else around to help them because if they were to get them to a doctor they would figure out what was wrong with them. She didn't have to worry about that here. They were nearly two days away from town and by the time they got there, he would probably be dead.
JD didn’t argue he went to get the horses. It took and them a while to get Ezra on to the horse with Buck as he was still unconscious, they weren't able to wake him. After two hours, the sun had begun to rise in the distance. They were not making a lot of distance because they had to move slowly. Ezra had still not woken up and Buck noticed that his fever was beginning to rise. He was sweating even more and because they hadn’t been able to get any fluids back into his system, he would be suffering from dehydration as well by now.
They had now been travelling for five hours and the pace was steady. Buck had actually found it easier to keep Ezra upright without him moving about. It was this lack of movement that had him scared. It was only the rise and fall of Ezra's chest that gave him any comfort. It was only this that told him that he wasn’t dead.
"Anything?" JD asked, looking at Ezra. He didn't want to look at Buck because he would see how worried he was and
that scared JD. He knew there was nothing they could do for him but Buck being this worried made JD think that maybe Ezra was going to die. He didn't want that. He thought of Ezra as a very good friend, something that he hadn’t told Ezra. Even amongst the seven of them Ezra still didn’t have many friends. They had come to trust him with their lives; they worried about him when he was hurt but would they actually call him a friend. JD didn't think so. When this was over, he was going to tell Ezra how he felt.
"No, nothing, not a movement and not a sound."
"Do you think that he's in one of those coma things that Nathan talks about?"
Buck hadn't thought of this."Could be JD, and if he is, then the question would be, why is he in one. Nothing else has happened to him." He was totally confused and scared all because there was nothing that he could do for Ezra except to get him back to Four Corners where Nathan could help him.
Jane was riding behind them. She had been up level with Buck but nothing was happening now she would have to wait until later when he woke up. She smiled at the thought but that smile dropped off her face when she saw the wagon heading towards them.
Buck and JD saw it too. "There’s that luck of the devil that Ezra has," said Buck as he remembered the thought that he had about that earlier. He looked sideways at JD and saw the relief on his face.
As the wagon drew closer, he could see that there was a woman driving the horses. He couldn't see that there was anyone with her. Why would a woman be out here on her own and then he thought about Jane. She had been on her own. Didn't they realise that it could be dangerous out here for a woman on her own. The woman on the wagon could see the four people on three horses coming towards her. One of them was carrying a man on the horse with him and who looked as though he was unconscious. They didn’t look dangerous, they actually looked scared. The woman wondered if this had something to do with the man that wasn’t moving. He actually looked like he was dead. There seemed to be no sign of life. She pulled the horses to a stop and waited for them to reach her. She was going to let them make the first move.
Buck moved his horse on and struggled more to keep Ezra from falling. This was exactly what they needed to get him back to town a lot quicker than they would be able to if they kept going like they were. He just needed to convince the woman to go back the way she had come. When they closed the distance between themselves and the wagon Buck showed the relief that he was feeling.
"We sure are glad that you came along. We need to get Ezra back to Four Corners and we could do this with your wagon if you’d allow us to use it that is." Buck smiled hoping that the woman will realise that he wasn't dangerous.
"You seem to be doing alright on your own with him." She could see that they weren't but she had to be sure about them before she made any decision to help them.
"Only just. We really need to get there in a hurry and I’m finding it hard to keep him on this horse with me."
She looked at JD and saw the pleading in his eyes, and then she looked at the woman that was riding with them. She took an instant dislike to her. "There’s something wrong with that one," she thought.
"What's wrong with him anyway?"
"He was shot and . . ." said JD but before he could go any further Jane butted in.
"And the men that shot him are still after us." She said this hoping that it would scare the woman who would then say no and continue on her way. She somehow knew that she wasn’t going to be able to enjoy herself as much with this woman around.
"We have a bit of distance between us and them though and they won't be able to catch us if we could use your wagon. We’ll be able to go a lot faster. He needs a doctor, we patched him up but there’s something else wrong with him and we don't know what it is," said Buck quietly hoping that the woman would still help them.
The lady didn’t say anything for a few minutes. It was as though she was thinking if it was worth the effort to help them. She took one look at the man that was resting against the man's chest not moving. She could see the sweat that was on his face and knew that he had a fever. The wound must be infected she thought.
"You know that it would mean that I’ve to turn around and go back again. I just spent two days on the road and I was hoping to get to Hampton Creek by day after tomorrow."
"Please! He might die," pleaded JD.
Buck thought that she was going to say no. He was willing to force her by the use of his gun. But she didn't.
"Alright." she finally agreed. Put him in the back of the wagon.
Both Buck and JD were relieved hoping that Ezra now had a chance. Jane though had a look of disgust on her face as she watched the back of the woman as she made her into the back of the wagon. Buck and JD went around to the back. JD got off his horse and again helped Buck get Ezra off the horse. They both carried him to the wagon feeling the heat burning from his skin. The lady that agreed to help them opened the cloth that covered the wagon.
"Bring him in here," she gestured inside the wagon. "I’ve moved some things so you can lie him down in here. Then one of you tie your horse to the back because you’re going to drive the wagon while I check on your friend."
"Thanks, we really are grateful to you for doing this, Miss . . .? questioned Buck.
"Just call me Jean," she answered with a smile on her face.
They managed to get Ezra into the wagon and laid him down on the blanket that Jean had supplied. Buck decided that it was he who was going to drive the wagon leaving JD free to continue onto town if he needed to. Jane for some reason had decided to stay on Ezra's horse and not in the wagon. Buck noticed that her mood seemed to have changed. Once they got Ezra as comfortable as they could he turned the wagon around and headed for Four Corners.
Buck kept looking back into the wagon at Jean who was checking on Ezra's condition. She seemed to know what she was doing and what she should be looking for. Ezra still hadn't woken or moved since they put him into the wagon. Jean placed her hand on Ezra's forehead and felt the fever burning underneath her hand.
"How long has he had this fever?" she asked Buck.
"He got it more or less soon after he got shot, it got worse yesterday but it stayed steady and has gotten even worse in the last few hours."
Jean rummaged through the things in the wagon until she found some material that she could tear up. She then soaked it in water and placed it on Ezra's forehead. She looked at his face and could see that beneath the sweat of the fever that he was a very handsome man. "Where was he wounded?" she asked again.
"In his right shoulder, I had to get the bullet out as it didn't go through. There's no infection if that's what you’re thinking." he turned around to watch again and saw her open Ezra's shirt and loosen the bandage so she could have a look.
"You’re right, there’s no infection." She was curious as to what was wrong with him. Therefore, she continued the questions while she kept her eyes on Ezra's face. "Are there any other symptoms that he has had?"
Buck was very relieved; Jean might be able to help Ezra. "Last night he suffered very bad pains through his body. He seemed to be in agony. It lasted about six hours and then he went to sleep and his fever got worse. He hasn't changed since then."
"Has he had any type of sickness recently?"
"Are you a doctor or something? You seem to know what you’re doing." Buck was feeling more relief with each question she asked.
"No," she didn't say any more.
"Do you think that Ezra's sick?"
"I'm not sure. I bullet wound would not usually do this to someone unless it was infected. Now answer my question please."
"Well I wouldn't really call it a sickness but he has had some injuries in the last couple of months." Buck began to tell
Jean what had happened to Ezra from the infection that he had due to the beating that he received from his Uncle.
"My God." She placed her hand against Ezra's cheek and wondered why a man would have to go through something like that. "I don't think that would do it. Has he been anywhere near a sickness, like someone else?"
"No he hasn't," Buck became very serious. "Jean, do you think he’s going to die?"
"I don't know, Buck." Jean looked up at him. She had asked whom they were when they had headed back towards Four Corners. "But I can tell you that he seems to be in some sort of coma. His fever is high but not dangerous now. We’ll have to keep a close eye on him until you get him home."
JD rode with Jane but he wasn’t able to get her into a conversation. He thought that she was worried about Ezra and the men that are probably still chasing them. That wasn’t the reason, she was angry, her plans were going wrong. He would be waking up soon and going into the next stage and she was going to miss it because this other woman had decided to help. If they got Ezra to the town they were headed for quickly enough then he was going to survive. JD gave up and headed up to the wagon to see how Ezra was doing. Buck told him there was no change but he did seem more confident as he said that Jean seemed to know what she was doing.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
Master Fan Fiction List
Third story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Ezra, Buck and JD rescue a woman from eight men who she says are chasing her. Ezra is injured during the resuce and they are three days away from Four Corners. But the woman has not told them the real reason for being hunted by the group of men.
Main Characters: Ezra, Buck and JD and yes, and a couple of OFC's *shudder*
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. *shamed*
Notes: Third story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 18,211
Part Three
JJ Jackson had called his men to a halt at the base of the hill where Buck and JD had stayed to take care of Ezra's wound before moving on. He sent some men to the top of the hill to make sure that they were not hiding there. He then decided that they could stop for the night, as the men that they were chasing would also do this, as they would not travel at night time with a wounded man. He also preferred to catch up with them at daytime.
JD stopped his horse and went to help Buck with Ezra; they had to stop, as he couldn’t travel any longer because his condition was getting worse. There wasn’t a lot of cover to protect them but now they had no choice. Jane put some blankets down on the ground and they made Ezra as comfortable as they could get him. He was still shivering in spite of the fever that was raging through his body. They couldn’t make a fire, as it would only alert anyone to their position. Buck could do nothing for his fever except wipe his face and chest down with a cool cloth because it was Ezra who had to fight it off. Buck opened his shirt and pulled the bandaged away to check the wound, Ezra groaned aloud at the touch to his shoulder. It was still closed and it hadn't started bleeding again, which was a good sign and he could also see no sign of an infection - there was no redness or swelling so he couldn’t understand what was causing such a bad fever - Jane knew though but she did not intend to tell him. If only Nathan was here, he thought to himself. He would know what to do.
"Is the wound infected Buck?" JD had moved next to Ezra's side. He could feel the heat without even touching his skin.
"No"
"Then why is his fever so bad?"
"I don't know JD." Buck really had no idea what was wrong with him. All he could hope for was that the fever would go down on its own because he had no idea how to get rid of it. Ezra had this type of fever after the wound that he received from Hanley had become infected but this wound was clean. He continued to use the damp cloth to wipe his face. He was becoming very worried.
Ezra woke up a short time later. He wasn’t feeling well at all and he knew that it wasn’t the bullet wound that was in his shoulder. He had a terrible headache and he was feeling pain throughout his body. Even if the wound had become infected, it would not make him feel like this. He knew this because of the last time he had a wound that had become infected. He didn’t feel anything like this. The pain that he was feeling was a sharp pain and it was beginning to cause him to grimace.
"Ezra, what's wrong?" asked JD who could see the pain showing on his face.
Ezra looked up at JD, he tried to focus but his vision was blurry. He tried to speak but found it difficult. The pain was becoming worse. He could feel it everywhere. He suddenly groaned aloud as the pain became even worse. He tried to roll over so he could curl himself up against it thinking that it might help him but he felt another pain tear through his right shoulder and he voiced his agony once again.
"Ezra?" What is wrong he thought? "Buck! Something is wrong with Ezra."
Buck had been keeping watch making sure that no one was coming after them. He asked Jane to take over as he went to JD to find out what was wrong. Jane though preferred to watch what was going on with Ezra. He was in the first stage of the poison and that was the pain that he was now feeling. It would last most of the night and she didn’t want to miss any of it.
Buck could see what was wrong before he even reached Ezra. He seemed to be in a lot of pain. He was also fully awake.
"He was okay a minute ago but then he woke up like this." JD was scared. He saw the confused look on Buck's face and that scared him even more. If Buck didn't know, what was wrong then how could they help Ezra.
Ezra had begun to try to roll on his side again, he was gasping for breath as the pain was making it hard for him to breath.
"Ezra, you have to keep still or you’ll open up the wound," said Buck as he tried to ease Ezra back down.
"It hurts," Ezra grimaced through clenched teeth. "It hurts all over."
"Let me check your shoulder again just to make sure it isn't infected?" It was all Buck could think of. The wound was fine. There was no infection, no redness and no swelling just like before.
Jane was watching. If only they knew, she smiled to herself. She had done this plenty of times before, most of the men surviving, some dying. She wondered if this one will die.
Buck looked up at JD with a hopeless expression on his face. He was no doctor, he didn't know what was wrong with Ezra and he didn't know how to help him. There wasn’t a thing he could do. JD understood the look.
"In the morning we’re going to head for home. His shoulder seems to be fine; it doesn't look like any infection is going to start but whatever this is. . ." Buck shook his head. "We can't leave him out here like this; we have to get him to Nathan. He'll know what to do," he didn't sound very sure though.
They took turns watching over Ezra and keeping lookout for the gang that may have been chasing them. They watched him suffer the pain that they could do nothing to ease. His fever didn’t get any worse but it didn’t improve either. He was unable to lie still and Buck had to keep checking his shoulder to make sure that he didn’t open the wound. They couldn't get him to drink any water so they also began to worry about dehydration.
"This is all my fault Ezra," muttered Buck thinking that he would not hear him. "It was me who got you shot and now for some reason you’re going through something we can't do anything about."
Ezra did hear him. He would have said something if he could manage it but he was in too much pain. He didn't know if he could go on like this, he just wanted the pain to go away. The pain was constant; it didn't seem to ease at all. He felt the cold damp cloth being placed on his forehead, it seemed to help the headache he had but that was all it did. He could feel the fever going through his body, he felt hot and yet cold at the same time. The shivering that wracked his body at times made the pain that he was feeling even worse. After a while, he started to shake again but this time the shaking didn’t stop. He couldn't stop it. He began to moan aloud at the pain as it was becoming so sever, he felt like he was dying.
Buck had tried to help Ezra by wiping his forehead with the damp cloth but he didn’t know if it was doing any good. Ezra had started to shake again as he had done on the horse. He was also moaning in pain. He had practically crawled up into a ball. Buck had tried to ease him back onto his back but Ezra wouldn't move. Buck was scared; he thought that Ezra was dying.
Four hours later the pain had finally stopped but it had left Ezra extremely weak. Although the pain had stopped his fever hadn’t gone down at all. When Buck had finally gotten him to drink some water Ezra fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t move which was a complete contrast to how he had been for the last six hours. Buck also noticed that his breathing had become shallow. He didn’t tell any of this to JD, as the boy was worried enough as it was.
It was still dark and daylight was two hours away but Buck made a decision. They were going to head towards town. If they stayed here with Ezra in the condition that he was in he might die. They had to get him home and he would just have to try to keep Ezra on the horse with him, as there was no other way to get him there.
"JD, we're leaving," there was no need to wake JD or Jane, as they were not able to sleep either. JD because he was worried, Jane because she was too excited at the thought of what was happening. It was better than she expected it to be. To watch these other two worry so much about him. She was really enjoying herself. She usually watched the people she gave the poison to suffer on their own. She made sure that there was no one else around to help them because if they were to get them to a doctor they would figure out what was wrong with them. She didn't have to worry about that here. They were nearly two days away from town and by the time they got there, he would probably be dead.
JD didn’t argue he went to get the horses. It took and them a while to get Ezra on to the horse with Buck as he was still unconscious, they weren't able to wake him. After two hours, the sun had begun to rise in the distance. They were not making a lot of distance because they had to move slowly. Ezra had still not woken up and Buck noticed that his fever was beginning to rise. He was sweating even more and because they hadn’t been able to get any fluids back into his system, he would be suffering from dehydration as well by now.
They had now been travelling for five hours and the pace was steady. Buck had actually found it easier to keep Ezra upright without him moving about. It was this lack of movement that had him scared. It was only the rise and fall of Ezra's chest that gave him any comfort. It was only this that told him that he wasn’t dead.
"Anything?" JD asked, looking at Ezra. He didn't want to look at Buck because he would see how worried he was and
that scared JD. He knew there was nothing they could do for him but Buck being this worried made JD think that maybe Ezra was going to die. He didn't want that. He thought of Ezra as a very good friend, something that he hadn’t told Ezra. Even amongst the seven of them Ezra still didn’t have many friends. They had come to trust him with their lives; they worried about him when he was hurt but would they actually call him a friend. JD didn't think so. When this was over, he was going to tell Ezra how he felt.
"No, nothing, not a movement and not a sound."
"Do you think that he's in one of those coma things that Nathan talks about?"
Buck hadn't thought of this."Could be JD, and if he is, then the question would be, why is he in one. Nothing else has happened to him." He was totally confused and scared all because there was nothing that he could do for Ezra except to get him back to Four Corners where Nathan could help him.
Jane was riding behind them. She had been up level with Buck but nothing was happening now she would have to wait until later when he woke up. She smiled at the thought but that smile dropped off her face when she saw the wagon heading towards them.
Buck and JD saw it too. "There’s that luck of the devil that Ezra has," said Buck as he remembered the thought that he had about that earlier. He looked sideways at JD and saw the relief on his face.
As the wagon drew closer, he could see that there was a woman driving the horses. He couldn't see that there was anyone with her. Why would a woman be out here on her own and then he thought about Jane. She had been on her own. Didn't they realise that it could be dangerous out here for a woman on her own. The woman on the wagon could see the four people on three horses coming towards her. One of them was carrying a man on the horse with him and who looked as though he was unconscious. They didn’t look dangerous, they actually looked scared. The woman wondered if this had something to do with the man that wasn’t moving. He actually looked like he was dead. There seemed to be no sign of life. She pulled the horses to a stop and waited for them to reach her. She was going to let them make the first move.
Buck moved his horse on and struggled more to keep Ezra from falling. This was exactly what they needed to get him back to town a lot quicker than they would be able to if they kept going like they were. He just needed to convince the woman to go back the way she had come. When they closed the distance between themselves and the wagon Buck showed the relief that he was feeling.
"We sure are glad that you came along. We need to get Ezra back to Four Corners and we could do this with your wagon if you’d allow us to use it that is." Buck smiled hoping that the woman will realise that he wasn't dangerous.
"You seem to be doing alright on your own with him." She could see that they weren't but she had to be sure about them before she made any decision to help them.
"Only just. We really need to get there in a hurry and I’m finding it hard to keep him on this horse with me."
She looked at JD and saw the pleading in his eyes, and then she looked at the woman that was riding with them. She took an instant dislike to her. "There’s something wrong with that one," she thought.
"What's wrong with him anyway?"
"He was shot and . . ." said JD but before he could go any further Jane butted in.
"And the men that shot him are still after us." She said this hoping that it would scare the woman who would then say no and continue on her way. She somehow knew that she wasn’t going to be able to enjoy herself as much with this woman around.
"We have a bit of distance between us and them though and they won't be able to catch us if we could use your wagon. We’ll be able to go a lot faster. He needs a doctor, we patched him up but there’s something else wrong with him and we don't know what it is," said Buck quietly hoping that the woman would still help them.
The lady didn’t say anything for a few minutes. It was as though she was thinking if it was worth the effort to help them. She took one look at the man that was resting against the man's chest not moving. She could see the sweat that was on his face and knew that he had a fever. The wound must be infected she thought.
"You know that it would mean that I’ve to turn around and go back again. I just spent two days on the road and I was hoping to get to Hampton Creek by day after tomorrow."
"Please! He might die," pleaded JD.
Buck thought that she was going to say no. He was willing to force her by the use of his gun. But she didn't.
"Alright." she finally agreed. Put him in the back of the wagon.
Both Buck and JD were relieved hoping that Ezra now had a chance. Jane though had a look of disgust on her face as she watched the back of the woman as she made her into the back of the wagon. Buck and JD went around to the back. JD got off his horse and again helped Buck get Ezra off the horse. They both carried him to the wagon feeling the heat burning from his skin. The lady that agreed to help them opened the cloth that covered the wagon.
"Bring him in here," she gestured inside the wagon. "I’ve moved some things so you can lie him down in here. Then one of you tie your horse to the back because you’re going to drive the wagon while I check on your friend."
"Thanks, we really are grateful to you for doing this, Miss . . .? questioned Buck.
"Just call me Jean," she answered with a smile on her face.
They managed to get Ezra into the wagon and laid him down on the blanket that Jean had supplied. Buck decided that it was he who was going to drive the wagon leaving JD free to continue onto town if he needed to. Jane for some reason had decided to stay on Ezra's horse and not in the wagon. Buck noticed that her mood seemed to have changed. Once they got Ezra as comfortable as they could he turned the wagon around and headed for Four Corners.
Buck kept looking back into the wagon at Jean who was checking on Ezra's condition. She seemed to know what she was doing and what she should be looking for. Ezra still hadn't woken or moved since they put him into the wagon. Jean placed her hand on Ezra's forehead and felt the fever burning underneath her hand.
"How long has he had this fever?" she asked Buck.
"He got it more or less soon after he got shot, it got worse yesterday but it stayed steady and has gotten even worse in the last few hours."
Jean rummaged through the things in the wagon until she found some material that she could tear up. She then soaked it in water and placed it on Ezra's forehead. She looked at his face and could see that beneath the sweat of the fever that he was a very handsome man. "Where was he wounded?" she asked again.
"In his right shoulder, I had to get the bullet out as it didn't go through. There's no infection if that's what you’re thinking." he turned around to watch again and saw her open Ezra's shirt and loosen the bandage so she could have a look.
"You’re right, there’s no infection." She was curious as to what was wrong with him. Therefore, she continued the questions while she kept her eyes on Ezra's face. "Are there any other symptoms that he has had?"
Buck was very relieved; Jean might be able to help Ezra. "Last night he suffered very bad pains through his body. He seemed to be in agony. It lasted about six hours and then he went to sleep and his fever got worse. He hasn't changed since then."
"Has he had any type of sickness recently?"
"Are you a doctor or something? You seem to know what you’re doing." Buck was feeling more relief with each question she asked.
"No," she didn't say any more.
"Do you think that Ezra's sick?"
"I'm not sure. I bullet wound would not usually do this to someone unless it was infected. Now answer my question please."
"Well I wouldn't really call it a sickness but he has had some injuries in the last couple of months." Buck began to tell
Jean what had happened to Ezra from the infection that he had due to the beating that he received from his Uncle.
"My God." She placed her hand against Ezra's cheek and wondered why a man would have to go through something like that. "I don't think that would do it. Has he been anywhere near a sickness, like someone else?"
"No he hasn't," Buck became very serious. "Jean, do you think he’s going to die?"
"I don't know, Buck." Jean looked up at him. She had asked whom they were when they had headed back towards Four Corners. "But I can tell you that he seems to be in some sort of coma. His fever is high but not dangerous now. We’ll have to keep a close eye on him until you get him home."
JD rode with Jane but he wasn’t able to get her into a conversation. He thought that she was worried about Ezra and the men that are probably still chasing them. That wasn’t the reason, she was angry, her plans were going wrong. He would be waking up soon and going into the next stage and she was going to miss it because this other woman had decided to help. If they got Ezra to the town they were headed for quickly enough then he was going to survive. JD gave up and headed up to the wagon to see how Ezra was doing. Buck told him there was no change but he did seem more confident as he said that Jean seemed to know what she was doing.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
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