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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 Five
Jane was still riding behind the wagon. The best part was over now. She thought that she heard noises behind her and she turned around to see a group of horses heading towards them. She was unable to make out any faces as it was too dark but she knew who they were. She pulled her horse around the side of the wagon and took off yelling at Buck on the way that Jackson was behind them and coming on fast.
Buck looked over his shoulder and saw the men heading towards them. They were still an hour away from town and he didn’t think that any of them had a chance unless JD and the others showed up shortly. He urged the horses on and as he did so, he told Jean to get down.
Jean didn't need to be told twice but what she did do was to place her body over Ezra's to protect him from any bullets that were going to be coming into the wagon. She could feel his light breath on her cheek and his weak heartbeat against her own. The heat coming off his body was starting to make her sweat. She looked behind her to see the men gaining on them.
"They're getting closer, Buck."
He turned around to see that what she said was true and he saw that she was protecting Ezra with her own body. He couldn't get the horses to go any faster. He could see Jane in the distance in front of them. He thought that she was going to do what he had JD to do and that was to go ahead of them to get help, maybe she will run into the others and tell them what was about to happen. He didn't realise that she was just protecting herself.
Jean heard the first bullet and expected it to enter her body at any second. She was relieved when it didn't. She saw that Buck was still urging the horses on which meant that he hadn’t been shot either. They were getting closer and it was only a matter of minutes before they caught up to them. She heard another gunshot followed by more. She felt the bullets hitting other parts of the wagon and then she heard Buck grunt in pain. She looked up to see him bent over. She saw the blood flowing from his upper arm. The horses began to slow, as Buck was unable to hold the reins in his right arm. The Jackson gang drew closer. As they caught up with them, they gathered round the wagon and told Buck to pull the horses to a stop, which he had to do with one arm. It took a few minutes but the horses eventually stopped. Dawson got off his horse, went over to the wagon, and dragged Buck off the wagon seat. She then saw some of the other men enter the back of the wagon. They looked at her then at Ezra.
When Buck felt the bullet enter his arm, he knew that it was over. He wasn't going to be able to keep the horses going now. He saw the men out of the corner of his eyes and heard them yell at him to stop the horses. Their only hope now was JD and the others. He felt the arms grab him and pull him from the wagon. He stood there holding his arm hoping to stop the blood that was flowing from the wound and as he did this, he watched as others went into the back of the wagon. He saw Jean being dragged out by the arms and then pushed into the direction of where Buck was standing. He then saw two men carry an unconscious Ezra out and throw him onto the ground in front of their leader. He remained there without a sound or a movement coming from his body.
The leader turned to him. "Where's Samantha?" He saw the confused look on Buck's face. "The other woman that was riding with you, the one that you protected from my men."
"Jane?" Questioned Buck, wondering why the man had called her by a different name.
"Whatever she called herself it doesn't matter, I just want to know where she is."
"She rode on ahead when you guys showed up," stated Jean. She was watching Ezra, she couldn't see his chest rising and that scared her. She couldn’t tell by looking at him if he was still alive.
Jackson saw her watching the man lying on the ground. He looked at the other man and smiled. He moved his gun towards Ezra. "Tell me or he dies."
"She rode off when she saw you coming." Buck growled at him. He was worried sick. He had stopped looking at Ezra because when he did so he thought that he was dead. He did see the man point his gun in Ezra's direction. Buck closed his eyes as he heard the gunshot.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Chris and the others had heard the gunshots and hurried the horses even more. When they saw a figure on a horse heading towards them, they drew their guns but JD stopped them. "It looks like Jane, the woman we saved."
Jane saw them and stopped. She had no other choice but to carry the game on. "Jackson and his men found us; I came to see if I could find you. There only just around the corner up there you have to hurry,” she turned and pointed in the direction that she just came from.
They rode up to the corner and then got off their horses. They went on foot from there so as not to alert anyone that they were coming. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what was ahead on them. They could see a group of men surrounding a wagon, Buck was standing amongst them holding his right arm and then two men had taken a woman from out of the back of the wagon. Then they saw Ezra being carried from the wagon and dropped on the ground and they had to take control of the emotions that they suddenly felt at the sight of him not moving, wondering if what JD had said happened - that he might be dead when they reached them. They could hear voices but couldn't make out the words. The one that looked like the leader pointed his gun towards Ezra. Vin's natural reactions took control of the emotions that he was feeling; he lifted his rifle, quickly took aim and fired his gun. The man who was about to shoot Ezra dropped to the ground.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Buck opened his eyes expecting Ezra to be dead, if he wasn't already that was. What he saw was the leader of the gang dropping to the ground himself. He quickly grabbed Jean and pulled her to the ground as the bullets started flying again, he knew that the others had found them. Jean shrugged off his hand and moved to Ezra intending to protect him again. She also needed to know if he was still alive. She reached his side and rolled him on to his back. She let out a sigh of relief when she could feel his weak heartbeat against the side of her face. Buck joined her, she saw the look on his face, and she smiled at him and nodded that Ezra was still alive. She knew that he was only just alive.
It didn’t take long for the other five men to deal with the Jackson gang. Because most of them were ranch hands, they just dropped their guns not wanting to die. Dawson though had other intentions but Chris stopped him with a bullet to his chest. As they rounded the rest of the gang up Nathan and JD ran to Buck and Ezra.
"Is he . . .?" JD couldn't finish the question.
"Not yet," answered Jean
JD felt relief and then dread as what she said made him realise that Ezra could still die.
"Are you Nathan?" she asked.
Nathan nodded.
Jean put it simply. "He's been poisoned."
JD and Buck looked shocked, she didn't tell them this.
Nathan though reacted as he usually did. "Do you know what it is?"
"I'm not sure, it could have been something he ate or drank."
"But we all ate the same thing, and we even had some of his whiskey so we would be sick as well if it was that wouldn't we?" said Buck. How could he have been poisoned he thought to himself.
Nathan started to examine Ezra. "I can save you the trouble and tell you what he has been through," said Jean as she looked down at Ezra. She placed her hand on his forehead feeling the fever that was still burning within his body. It only took her a few minutes to tell Nathan.
The others had finished tying the rest of the gang together against one of the trees. Nobody wanted to stand guard as they all needed to know how Ezra was. They gathered around the small group that was with Ezra. Jane stood to the side. She wanted to leave but that morbid enjoyment that she had at watching someone die kept her there.
"From what you have just told me I don't think that it’s a natural poison, I think that he has been given something."
"But who would do that?" JD was shocked.
Buck remembered that the leader of the gang had called Jane by a different name. He looked around for her and saw her standing nearby watching them. He got up to get her but he suddenly felt dizzy due to the wound to his arm. In all that had happened and his worry for Ezra he had actually forgotten.
"Take it easy there Buck," Josiah helped him back down. "Nathan I will take care of Buck's arm while you help Ezra."
"JD go and get Jane and don't let her get away, I think that she has something to do with this," grimaced Buck as Josiah started to help him get his jacket off.
JD went to question him about it but the look on Buck's face told him that he knew something that he didn't. He went over to Jane and asked her to join them. He took her by the arm and led her back to Buck and the others who were all watching her wondering who she was and why would she have something to do with Ezra being poisoned.
Buck spoke in a tone that told her that he was only going to ask her once and once only. "Did you do this to Ezra?"
She knew that the actual game was over but she could at least enjoy their reactions to what she had to say. "Yes," she smiled.
JD's mouth dropped. "Why? We helped you when those men were trying to kill you. Ezra was shot trying to help you. Why would you do this to him?"
She continued to smile seeing the reactions on their faces. "Because it's what I like to do to people. I get enjoyment out of watching people suffer and die which is what he’s going to do shortly."
Every single man there wanted to hit her but they wouldn't because she was a woman, but Jean would. She had felt the anger build up in her when she heard this. Why would anyone do this to a person? She looked down at Ezra and knew that he didn’t deserve this, no one would. She got up and closed her right fist making sure that her thumb was on the outside just as her brother had taught her and walked up to Jane and hit her as hard as she could. Jane screamed out in pain as Jean had actually broken her nose.
"How do we help him?" she looked down at her but Jane just smiled through the pain.
Jean turned to the nearest man and put her hand out. Vin knew exactly what she wanted and didn’t hesitate to give her his gun. Jean pointed it at her and put a smile on her own face.
"If you don't tell me I will kill you!
"If you kill me then you won't be able to help him," she was still smiling. Jean wanted to wipe that smile off her face.
The others were watching and waiting to see if this woman can convince her to tell them how to help Ezra.
"If he dies then I will kill you. Just because I’m a woman does not mean that I won't," To prove her point she pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into the ground less than an inch from Jane's face. She flinched but she still didn’t say anything.
"Tell me!"
"Jean."
They all turned at the sound of Nathan's voice.
"It's too late. Ezra's dead."
Nathan had said this hoping that the woman will tell Jean how to help him. If she thought that he was dead, she may say something. He saw everyone look at him, their faces full of shock. Jean looked back down at Jane and aimed for the middle of her forehead. Jane saw that this woman was now going to kill her because the man had finally died.
"Don't you want to know how you could have saved him?" smiled Jane.
"There’s no use now as you killed him and now I'm going to kill you," Jean hesitated waiting to see if she was going to say anything.
Jane removed a small pouch from her left sleeve. "This is what I gave him. And this is what could have saved him," she took out another pouch this time from her right sleeve and she began to laugh as she saw the look on Jean's face.
"All you had to do was mix a small amount of it with water and made him drink it. Simple as that and it was here all the time." She couldn't stop laughing now.
"Thank you. That's all I needed to know." Jean reached down and grabbed the pouch out of her hand. She knew that
Nathan had lied she could tell by the look on his face when he told her, he didn’t look as shocked as the rest.
Jane stopped laughing and started to get up but Vin pushed her down again. "Don't!"
"JD, get me a canteen and a cup please." Nathan thought that he was going to have to repeat himself but JD finally moved.
"Nathan," he looked up at Chris who a cold look on his face. "Don't ever do that again."
Nathan expected Chris to smile then but he didn't. What he had said must have really scared him. JD returned then with the water and a cup.
"How are you going to do this, Nathan?" asked Jean. "He probably won't be able to swallow it, he might choke."
"We have to do it this way we don't have any other choice," he answered. He watched as Jean mixed some of the powder in the water. She then handed him the cup. "Will some of you please sit him up?"
Josiah and Vin lifted Ezra up by the shoulders so he was in a sitting position. Josiah supported him against his own chest feeling the heat from Ezra's body through his own clothing. Nathan squeezed Ezra's nose between his fingers until he opened his mouth to breath, he then poured a small amount of the liquid into his mouth to see if he would swallow it or not. Ezra coughed and Nathan was worried that he was going to choke but he had also swallowed so
Nathan did it again until the mixture was gone.
"Is that it?" asked JD. "Is he going to be alright now?"
"I don't know, JD. We have to wait now."
Josiah picked Ezra up and carried him back to the wagon. He looked down onto Ezra's pale face. He now knew how he would feel if they lost him. He thought that they all would know now and he wondered if any of them felt as bad as he did at the thought. Jean followed him. After they had made Ezra comfortable Nathan, Buck and Jean headed towards town while the others untied the remaining Jackson gang and put them on their horses along with Jane. They then followed the wagon. Jane had played the waiting game to see Ezra die and now the others were going to play it to see if he lived.
Nathan kept glancing back making sure that Ezra was still with them. Both Buck and Jean were in the back of the wagon with Ezra, it was crowded but neither of them would leave him. Through the entire journey back to town Jean, her hand on Ezra's chest again to make sure that his heart continued to beat. His heartbeat was still very weak and his fever still high. When they finally reached Four Corners, it was early in the morning. Nathan had to carry Ezra this time as Buck wasn’t able to. They placed him on the bed in Nathan's room. Jean helped him remove Ezra's upper clothing; she had left his jacket on due to the cool night air. She turned her back though when Nathan had removed his pants. He then covered Ezra with a blanket. When she turned, again he was checking his shoulder. He then made sure that he was comfortable. After he was done, he turned to Buck.
"Buck, come over here and let me take care of that arm."
While Nathan did that Jean got a bowl and put some water in it. She found another cloth and went over to the bed. She pulled up a chair and began to wipe the dirt that was on his face away. Once she had gotten it all she placed the cloth on his forehead, sat back, and began to wait.
"Why don't you go and get some rest. You deserve it." Buck and Nathan had come over and joined her. She looked up
as she heard Buck's voice.
"If you don't mind I would like to stay here for a while."
"Sure. Just don't make yourself sick." said Nathan. He saw Buck nod towards the door. Nathan quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.
"Jean, I want to thank you for what you have done for Ezra."
"You're welcome, Buck. But so far I’ve not done enough for him," she smiled as she looked at Ezra.
"You don't have to stay. If you’re still in a hurry to get to Hampton Creek we can send you a telegraph and let you know how Ezra is."
"I couldn't leave now, Buck. I don't know Ezra but I do need to know that he's going to be okay. I don't want to stay in another town waiting for a telegraph to tell me if he lived or not. Does that sound weird to you?"
"No it doesn't." He pulled up another chair and sat down next to Jean. "You're a remarkable woman, Jean. Doing all of this for a complete stranger."
"From what you told me about when you first found that woman, you, JD and Ezra would have done exactly the same thing for anybody else."
Buck nodded in agreement. They then sat quietly and watched Ezra both with their own thoughts and worries.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
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 Five
Jane was still riding behind the wagon. The best part was over now. She thought that she heard noises behind her and she turned around to see a group of horses heading towards them. She was unable to make out any faces as it was too dark but she knew who they were. She pulled her horse around the side of the wagon and took off yelling at Buck on the way that Jackson was behind them and coming on fast.
Buck looked over his shoulder and saw the men heading towards them. They were still an hour away from town and he didn’t think that any of them had a chance unless JD and the others showed up shortly. He urged the horses on and as he did so, he told Jean to get down.
Jean didn't need to be told twice but what she did do was to place her body over Ezra's to protect him from any bullets that were going to be coming into the wagon. She could feel his light breath on her cheek and his weak heartbeat against her own. The heat coming off his body was starting to make her sweat. She looked behind her to see the men gaining on them.
"They're getting closer, Buck."
He turned around to see that what she said was true and he saw that she was protecting Ezra with her own body. He couldn't get the horses to go any faster. He could see Jane in the distance in front of them. He thought that she was going to do what he had JD to do and that was to go ahead of them to get help, maybe she will run into the others and tell them what was about to happen. He didn't realise that she was just protecting herself.
Jean heard the first bullet and expected it to enter her body at any second. She was relieved when it didn't. She saw that Buck was still urging the horses on which meant that he hadn’t been shot either. They were getting closer and it was only a matter of minutes before they caught up to them. She heard another gunshot followed by more. She felt the bullets hitting other parts of the wagon and then she heard Buck grunt in pain. She looked up to see him bent over. She saw the blood flowing from his upper arm. The horses began to slow, as Buck was unable to hold the reins in his right arm. The Jackson gang drew closer. As they caught up with them, they gathered round the wagon and told Buck to pull the horses to a stop, which he had to do with one arm. It took a few minutes but the horses eventually stopped. Dawson got off his horse, went over to the wagon, and dragged Buck off the wagon seat. She then saw some of the other men enter the back of the wagon. They looked at her then at Ezra.
When Buck felt the bullet enter his arm, he knew that it was over. He wasn't going to be able to keep the horses going now. He saw the men out of the corner of his eyes and heard them yell at him to stop the horses. Their only hope now was JD and the others. He felt the arms grab him and pull him from the wagon. He stood there holding his arm hoping to stop the blood that was flowing from the wound and as he did this, he watched as others went into the back of the wagon. He saw Jean being dragged out by the arms and then pushed into the direction of where Buck was standing. He then saw two men carry an unconscious Ezra out and throw him onto the ground in front of their leader. He remained there without a sound or a movement coming from his body.
The leader turned to him. "Where's Samantha?" He saw the confused look on Buck's face. "The other woman that was riding with you, the one that you protected from my men."
"Jane?" Questioned Buck, wondering why the man had called her by a different name.
"Whatever she called herself it doesn't matter, I just want to know where she is."
"She rode on ahead when you guys showed up," stated Jean. She was watching Ezra, she couldn't see his chest rising and that scared her. She couldn’t tell by looking at him if he was still alive.
Jackson saw her watching the man lying on the ground. He looked at the other man and smiled. He moved his gun towards Ezra. "Tell me or he dies."
"She rode off when she saw you coming." Buck growled at him. He was worried sick. He had stopped looking at Ezra because when he did so he thought that he was dead. He did see the man point his gun in Ezra's direction. Buck closed his eyes as he heard the gunshot.
Chris and the others had heard the gunshots and hurried the horses even more. When they saw a figure on a horse heading towards them, they drew their guns but JD stopped them. "It looks like Jane, the woman we saved."
Jane saw them and stopped. She had no other choice but to carry the game on. "Jackson and his men found us; I came to see if I could find you. There only just around the corner up there you have to hurry,” she turned and pointed in the direction that she just came from.
They rode up to the corner and then got off their horses. They went on foot from there so as not to alert anyone that they were coming. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what was ahead on them. They could see a group of men surrounding a wagon, Buck was standing amongst them holding his right arm and then two men had taken a woman from out of the back of the wagon. Then they saw Ezra being carried from the wagon and dropped on the ground and they had to take control of the emotions that they suddenly felt at the sight of him not moving, wondering if what JD had said happened - that he might be dead when they reached them. They could hear voices but couldn't make out the words. The one that looked like the leader pointed his gun towards Ezra. Vin's natural reactions took control of the emotions that he was feeling; he lifted his rifle, quickly took aim and fired his gun. The man who was about to shoot Ezra dropped to the ground.
Buck opened his eyes expecting Ezra to be dead, if he wasn't already that was. What he saw was the leader of the gang dropping to the ground himself. He quickly grabbed Jean and pulled her to the ground as the bullets started flying again, he knew that the others had found them. Jean shrugged off his hand and moved to Ezra intending to protect him again. She also needed to know if he was still alive. She reached his side and rolled him on to his back. She let out a sigh of relief when she could feel his weak heartbeat against the side of her face. Buck joined her, she saw the look on his face, and she smiled at him and nodded that Ezra was still alive. She knew that he was only just alive.
It didn’t take long for the other five men to deal with the Jackson gang. Because most of them were ranch hands, they just dropped their guns not wanting to die. Dawson though had other intentions but Chris stopped him with a bullet to his chest. As they rounded the rest of the gang up Nathan and JD ran to Buck and Ezra.
"Is he . . .?" JD couldn't finish the question.
"Not yet," answered Jean
JD felt relief and then dread as what she said made him realise that Ezra could still die.
"Are you Nathan?" she asked.
Nathan nodded.
Jean put it simply. "He's been poisoned."
JD and Buck looked shocked, she didn't tell them this.
Nathan though reacted as he usually did. "Do you know what it is?"
"I'm not sure, it could have been something he ate or drank."
"But we all ate the same thing, and we even had some of his whiskey so we would be sick as well if it was that wouldn't we?" said Buck. How could he have been poisoned he thought to himself.
Nathan started to examine Ezra. "I can save you the trouble and tell you what he has been through," said Jean as she looked down at Ezra. She placed her hand on his forehead feeling the fever that was still burning within his body. It only took her a few minutes to tell Nathan.
The others had finished tying the rest of the gang together against one of the trees. Nobody wanted to stand guard as they all needed to know how Ezra was. They gathered around the small group that was with Ezra. Jane stood to the side. She wanted to leave but that morbid enjoyment that she had at watching someone die kept her there.
"From what you have just told me I don't think that it’s a natural poison, I think that he has been given something."
"But who would do that?" JD was shocked.
Buck remembered that the leader of the gang had called Jane by a different name. He looked around for her and saw her standing nearby watching them. He got up to get her but he suddenly felt dizzy due to the wound to his arm. In all that had happened and his worry for Ezra he had actually forgotten.
"Take it easy there Buck," Josiah helped him back down. "Nathan I will take care of Buck's arm while you help Ezra."
"JD go and get Jane and don't let her get away, I think that she has something to do with this," grimaced Buck as Josiah started to help him get his jacket off.
JD went to question him about it but the look on Buck's face told him that he knew something that he didn't. He went over to Jane and asked her to join them. He took her by the arm and led her back to Buck and the others who were all watching her wondering who she was and why would she have something to do with Ezra being poisoned.
Buck spoke in a tone that told her that he was only going to ask her once and once only. "Did you do this to Ezra?"
She knew that the actual game was over but she could at least enjoy their reactions to what she had to say. "Yes," she smiled.
JD's mouth dropped. "Why? We helped you when those men were trying to kill you. Ezra was shot trying to help you. Why would you do this to him?"
She continued to smile seeing the reactions on their faces. "Because it's what I like to do to people. I get enjoyment out of watching people suffer and die which is what he’s going to do shortly."
Every single man there wanted to hit her but they wouldn't because she was a woman, but Jean would. She had felt the anger build up in her when she heard this. Why would anyone do this to a person? She looked down at Ezra and knew that he didn’t deserve this, no one would. She got up and closed her right fist making sure that her thumb was on the outside just as her brother had taught her and walked up to Jane and hit her as hard as she could. Jane screamed out in pain as Jean had actually broken her nose.
"How do we help him?" she looked down at her but Jane just smiled through the pain.
Jean turned to the nearest man and put her hand out. Vin knew exactly what she wanted and didn’t hesitate to give her his gun. Jean pointed it at her and put a smile on her own face.
"If you don't tell me I will kill you!
"If you kill me then you won't be able to help him," she was still smiling. Jean wanted to wipe that smile off her face.
The others were watching and waiting to see if this woman can convince her to tell them how to help Ezra.
"If he dies then I will kill you. Just because I’m a woman does not mean that I won't," To prove her point she pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into the ground less than an inch from Jane's face. She flinched but she still didn’t say anything.
"Tell me!"
"Jean."
They all turned at the sound of Nathan's voice.
"It's too late. Ezra's dead."
Nathan had said this hoping that the woman will tell Jean how to help him. If she thought that he was dead, she may say something. He saw everyone look at him, their faces full of shock. Jean looked back down at Jane and aimed for the middle of her forehead. Jane saw that this woman was now going to kill her because the man had finally died.
"Don't you want to know how you could have saved him?" smiled Jane.
"There’s no use now as you killed him and now I'm going to kill you," Jean hesitated waiting to see if she was going to say anything.
Jane removed a small pouch from her left sleeve. "This is what I gave him. And this is what could have saved him," she took out another pouch this time from her right sleeve and she began to laugh as she saw the look on Jean's face.
"All you had to do was mix a small amount of it with water and made him drink it. Simple as that and it was here all the time." She couldn't stop laughing now.
"Thank you. That's all I needed to know." Jean reached down and grabbed the pouch out of her hand. She knew that
Nathan had lied she could tell by the look on his face when he told her, he didn’t look as shocked as the rest.
Jane stopped laughing and started to get up but Vin pushed her down again. "Don't!"
"JD, get me a canteen and a cup please." Nathan thought that he was going to have to repeat himself but JD finally moved.
"Nathan," he looked up at Chris who a cold look on his face. "Don't ever do that again."
Nathan expected Chris to smile then but he didn't. What he had said must have really scared him. JD returned then with the water and a cup.
"How are you going to do this, Nathan?" asked Jean. "He probably won't be able to swallow it, he might choke."
"We have to do it this way we don't have any other choice," he answered. He watched as Jean mixed some of the powder in the water. She then handed him the cup. "Will some of you please sit him up?"
Josiah and Vin lifted Ezra up by the shoulders so he was in a sitting position. Josiah supported him against his own chest feeling the heat from Ezra's body through his own clothing. Nathan squeezed Ezra's nose between his fingers until he opened his mouth to breath, he then poured a small amount of the liquid into his mouth to see if he would swallow it or not. Ezra coughed and Nathan was worried that he was going to choke but he had also swallowed so
Nathan did it again until the mixture was gone.
"Is that it?" asked JD. "Is he going to be alright now?"
"I don't know, JD. We have to wait now."
Josiah picked Ezra up and carried him back to the wagon. He looked down onto Ezra's pale face. He now knew how he would feel if they lost him. He thought that they all would know now and he wondered if any of them felt as bad as he did at the thought. Jean followed him. After they had made Ezra comfortable Nathan, Buck and Jean headed towards town while the others untied the remaining Jackson gang and put them on their horses along with Jane. They then followed the wagon. Jane had played the waiting game to see Ezra die and now the others were going to play it to see if he lived.
Nathan kept glancing back making sure that Ezra was still with them. Both Buck and Jean were in the back of the wagon with Ezra, it was crowded but neither of them would leave him. Through the entire journey back to town Jean, her hand on Ezra's chest again to make sure that his heart continued to beat. His heartbeat was still very weak and his fever still high. When they finally reached Four Corners, it was early in the morning. Nathan had to carry Ezra this time as Buck wasn’t able to. They placed him on the bed in Nathan's room. Jean helped him remove Ezra's upper clothing; she had left his jacket on due to the cool night air. She turned her back though when Nathan had removed his pants. He then covered Ezra with a blanket. When she turned, again he was checking his shoulder. He then made sure that he was comfortable. After he was done, he turned to Buck.
"Buck, come over here and let me take care of that arm."
While Nathan did that Jean got a bowl and put some water in it. She found another cloth and went over to the bed. She pulled up a chair and began to wipe the dirt that was on his face away. Once she had gotten it all she placed the cloth on his forehead, sat back, and began to wait.
"Why don't you go and get some rest. You deserve it." Buck and Nathan had come over and joined her. She looked up
as she heard Buck's voice.
"If you don't mind I would like to stay here for a while."
"Sure. Just don't make yourself sick." said Nathan. He saw Buck nod towards the door. Nathan quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.
"Jean, I want to thank you for what you have done for Ezra."
"You're welcome, Buck. But so far I’ve not done enough for him," she smiled as she looked at Ezra.
"You don't have to stay. If you’re still in a hurry to get to Hampton Creek we can send you a telegraph and let you know how Ezra is."
"I couldn't leave now, Buck. I don't know Ezra but I do need to know that he's going to be okay. I don't want to stay in another town waiting for a telegraph to tell me if he lived or not. Does that sound weird to you?"
"No it doesn't." He pulled up another chair and sat down next to Jean. "You're a remarkable woman, Jean. Doing all of this for a complete stranger."
"From what you told me about when you first found that woman, you, JD and Ezra would have done exactly the same thing for anybody else."
Buck nodded in agreement. They then sat quietly and watched Ezra both with their own thoughts and worries.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six
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