azombiewrites (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azombiewrites) wrote2009-05-17 12:59 pm
azombiewrites) wrote2009-05-17 12:59 pm
The Magnificent Seven Fic - 'Payback' - 2/4
Title: Payback
Fourth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Ezra is still recovering when Maude arrives in Four Corners and as she struggles to find out what happened to her son a group of men also arrive in town looking for a high stakes game of poker with Ezra Standish but they loose heavily and they want pay back.
Main Characters: Ezra, the rest of the seven, Maude Standish
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*
Notes: Fourth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 20,471
Part Two
Ezra could feel his headache getting worse and he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him again. He sat down on his bed until it passed. He saw the tray of food that Mary had left there the night before; he decided to have something to eat even though he was not hungry. Once he had eaten some of the food, he lay down on the bed and was asleep within minutes and as he slept, he dreamt of the times that his mother had left him alone with relatives, he dreamt of the time that he had spent with his Uncle Jack.
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"He won't talk to me," Maude spoke to the group.
"What did you expect?" Chris mouthed what he thought the whole group was feeling. They got frustrated with Ezra when he would not talk to them but they didn’t totally blame him for this. They knew it was something that his mother had taught him to do, not talk about how he felt, to hide his emotions and not let anyone see them because if they did he would not be able to con them.
"What do you mean?"
"That's how you brought him up isn't it, not to talk about things or show his emotions. He does not tell us anything either, he will not admit to anything, whether it be his mood or if something was physically wrong with him. The only reason we know that something is wrong now is because we see the symptoms not because he told us. You have taught him to build a wall around himself and I must say that you did a very good job because we have not been able to break it down yet. Ezra is our friend and we don't like to see him hurt, and not being able to talk about things seems to hurt him more than anything else does.”
"I see." She looked around at the rest of the group seeing that they all silently agreed with what Chris had said. "If he won't tell me it means that one of you will have to."
"Sorry, Maude, but we just told Ezra before you came in that we would not tell but he did say that he would but in his own time."
"I can't convince you."
"No," said Chris as he watched her poker face reveal nothing of the emotions that were hidden under it.
"Very well then," said Maude. She got up and headed out of the saloon, she still had one more person that she could speak to and that was Mary Travis.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Mary was working in the Clarion when Maude walked in. She looked up to see a look of concern on her face. Maude had decided that she was not going to ask Mary outright, that she would try and trick Mary into telling her what happened and she started by putting a concerned expression on her face.
"Mary, I just wanted to come by and thank you for what you have been doing for Ezra." Smiled Maude.
"It's the least that I could for him," Mary smiled back not realising what Maude was up to. "It was terrible what that woman did to him."
"Yes it was," Maude was finding it easy to hide the emotion that she felt at that remark as it was something that she had been doing all her life. "He finally told me what happened; I was shocked to say the least."
"Yes. The bullet wound healed but . . ." She grimaced at the thought of what the poison had done to him.
Maude's expression almost faltered. "I don't understand why she shot him"
"She didn't shoot . . ." Mary realised what was happening. "He didn't tell you anything did he?" She accused Maude.
"No, he didn't, but I think that you should tell me the rest now that you have started."
Mary gave in knowing that Maude would not leave her alone now, she would have to explain to Ezra how stupid she was to allow Maude to trick her. Maude stood in stunned silence as she listened to how her son was shot protecting some woman who had then poisoned him and that he almost lost his life.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Chris and the others were sitting in the saloon silently worrying about Ezra. Why he didn’t want them to tell his mother about what happened. They knew that he found it hard to talk to them but they couldn't understand why he wouldn't talk to his mother. Chris had told the others that Ezra had asked them not to tell her, that he wanted to do it himself but when he was ready. Josiah found this difficult to understand, he thought that Ezra should tell his mother. He had told Maude the night before that he would not tell her, that she would have to talk to Ezra herself thinking that her son would tell her what was going on. He got up and moved towards the stairs.
"Where are you going, Josiah?" asked Chris knowing what the answer would be but still asking anyway.
"I’m going to check on, Ezra."
"He does not want to tell her yet."
"I know. I'm just going to check on him."
Chris knew what he was going to do and it was not to check on Ezra. "He’s not in a good mood Josiah, so be careful."
Josiah looked towards Nathan and saw the purple bruise that was already forming on his jaw. He nodded and head towards Ezra's room.
Josiah knocked on the door and didn’t wait for an answer; he entered the room to find Ezra sleeping on his side. All he seemed to do lately was sleep and they were all worried about this. He went over to the bed and looked down at him seeing him grimace at something that must have been part of a dream he was having. He saw the tray of food and noticed that Ezra must have eaten something. He picked the tray up intending to return it to Mrs. Travis but in doing so, he dropped the plate that was on the tray, the slight noise jerking Ezra awake.
"Mr. Sanchez, may I ask what it’s that you are doing?" Ezra grimaced at the pain in his head as he opened his eyes. His headache was getting worse. He sat up and placed his head in his hands.
Josiah sat down on the bed next to him. "Your headache still bad?"
Ezra just nodded.
"I know that this is not the right time, Ezra, but I want to talk to you about your mother." When Ezra didn’t say anything he continued hoping that the silent reply meant that he was willing to talk about it. "She’s worried about you."
"My mother is not worried, she just does not like the idea that she’s the only one who does not know what happened," muttered Ezra. His headache was getting worse as he sat there; he was also too tired to argue with Josiah.
"Would you mind if I tell her?" Josiah asked. Ezra looked up at him and he could see the pain in his eyes, his headache must be bad, he will have to tell Nathan when he went back downstairs.
"Josiah, do what you want, I'm too tired to argue with you or anyone else for that matter." Ezra lay back down. "Just make sure that you keep her away from me after you tell her."
"I’ll leave you to rest but I'm going to send Nathan. Okay."
"I told you, Josiah, do what you want, I don't want to argue anymore, I'm too tired."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Maude stormed into the saloon and went straight to the table where the five lawmen were sitting.
"I understand that my son was shot and then poisoned."
"And who told you that?" asked Chris
"Mrs. Travis," she saw the look that crossed Chris's face. "Don’t blame her as I tricked her into telling me what happened. Why would you not tell me this? My son almost died and you couldn't tell me. Why?" She was very angry now. "I’m his mother you should have told me."
"I’m sorry Maude; Ezra didn’t want you to know." Chris really didn’t know what to say, he knew that she should have been told but Ezra didn’t want her to know and he wanted to do what he had asked of them.
"You say that you are his friends, the first thing that a friend would do would be to inform his mother what happened, you should have sent me a telegram, what if he had died, would you have informed me then." she looked at each one and saw the guilt beginning to form on their faces. "It’s you that I blame, you and this pitiful town, he should not be here, risking his life for people that he does not even know and when I leave he will be coming with me. I’ll make sure of that if it’s the last thing that I do."
They all looked up at her then but she had turned on her heel and headed towards Ezra's room. She saw
Josiah coming down the stairs.
"Where are you going Maude?" he asked her as he blocked her way up the stairs.
"I’m going to see my son, now that I know what happened I need to talk to him."
"Maude you are best to leave him alone at the moment." Josiah had stopped Maude not knowing that it was the wrong thing to do. If he had let her go then things may have turned out better. What she was feeling now was actually a mother's concern for her child even though she was also angry. Now he stopped her from seeing Ezra she was going to calm down. That concern was going to change to disappointment that her son was working as a lawman instead of using the trade that she had taught him.
"I need to speak to him."
"Later Maude, please, he’s not well and I would like Nathan to check on him."
"If he’s not well then I should see him, why won't you let me see him."
"He does not want to see you at the moment. I'm sorry."
"Fine, if that's what he wants." She turned away and went to a table, she was not going to leave, if Nathan was going to see her son then she was going to wait here until he came back and then she was going to talk to Ezra.
"Nathan, can you come and have a look at Ezra please," asked Josiah seeing everyone look at him at once.
"What's wrong?" Nathan got up and started to follow Josiah back to Ezra's room.
"His headache’s bad, I think that he’s in a lot of pain."
The others watched as they went up the stairs knowing that they would have to wait until they came back to find out what was wrong. Maude was also watching from the other side of the saloon.
When they entered Ezra's room, they found him asleep again. Nathan frowned; he went to the side of the bed and looked down at Ezra seeing the grimace of pain that occasionally crept across his face. He placed his hand on his forehead feeling the slight temperature that was there.
"Ezra," said Nathan as he gently nudged his shoulder hoping to wake him so he can ask him a few questions regarding how he was feeling. "Ezra." He shook him a bit harder this time.
"Would you please let me sleep," he groaned.
"I just want to ask you how you are feeling, is there anything I can get you."
"My head hurts, I'm tired and you can get yourself out of here."
"Are you still feeling any nausea?" Nathan continued to watch him as he asked the questions. He had an idea what was wrong and thought that he should have realised it sooner.
"A bit, I tried to eat something earlier but it just made me sick."
"Are you feeling any pain anywhere else?"
"No."
"Okay, I’m going to make you something to drink so stay awake for at least another ten minutes, think you could do that?"
"No," he repeated.
Nathan got up and moved over to where Josiah was standing in the corner of the room. Nathan glanced back at Ezra. "I think that the poison is starting to take control again. I'm going to give him some of that powder that Jane gave us and see if it makes any difference in how he’s feeling. Can you stay with him until I get back?"
"Of course." Josiah walked over to the chair that was near Ezra's bed and sat down. He sat there and watched Ezra; he didn’t intend to move until Nathan came back.
While Nathan was gone, Josiah tried to get Ezra to talk to keep him awake but he was not in the mood for conversation. "I saw Maude downstairs, she was coming up to see you." He saw Ezra grimace at that and took it as an answer. "I asked her to wait until you were feeling better. She also said something about knowing what happened."
"Oh great," muttered Ezra.
Nathan returned a few minutes later. He had the small package of powder and a canteen. "Still awake is he." He saw Josiah nod. He quickly mixed a small amount of the powder into the water thinking that if he needed more later he would mix again. He handed the cup to Ezra.
"Ezra, I want you to drink all of this and then you can sleep all you want."
Ezra opened his eyes and looked at the cup. "What is it?"
"It should make you feel better," answered Nathan.
Ezra frowned at the thought of drinking something that Nathan had put together, it usually tasted terrible but then he thought anything had to be better than this headache. He took the cup from Nathan and sat himself up. He dropped the cup and quickly placed both hands against the sides of his head moaning in pain at the same time.
"Ezra?" Nathan and Josiah grabbed him before he fell from the bed and placed him back down against his pillows. "Easy now. I'll make some more." Nathan looked at Josiah, bent down, picked up the cup, and made another drink for Ezra. "Here you go Ezra, don't get up this time." He held the cup for Ezra who drank most of the liquid before he started coughing.
"Nathan that stuff is terrible." He then turned his head to the side and promptly fell asleep.
"What just happened then?" asked Josiah.
"His headache must really be bad, I just hope that powder will make him better, I should have given him more as soon as I knew that he kept suffering from headaches and dizziness."
"It's not your fault, Nathan. Why don't you go downstairs and tell everyone what's happening, I'll stay with Ezra for a while." Josiah returned to the chair next to Ezra's bed.
Nathan looked back at Ezra then left the room, he went down to the saloon to let the others know about him. He found them still at the same table where he left them. Chris saw Nathan coming back down the stairs, he had come down earlier and left the saloon then returned to Ezra's room without even glancing at them. Nathan sat down at the table.
"Well?" Chris asked for them all.
"I'm sure that it’s the poison again," he saw the expressions on their faces. "I've given him some more of that powder, hoping that it’ll get rid of what’s left of it. He's sleeping now and Josiah is going to stay with him for a while. I'll know more when he wakes up which will probably be the morning."
"We’ll take turns sitting with him then." Chris didn't have to say anything else, they all agreed with him.
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Ezra slept through the night and woke the next morning feeling better than he had in the last few days. He still had a headache but it was not anywhere near as bad as it had been. He lay there quietly for a few minutes before moving.
"Feeling better Ezra?" asked Nathan.
Ezra opened his eyes and turned towards Nathan. "How long have you been sitting there?" He asked back.
"Only a couple of hours, we've been taking turns through the night, just to make sure that you were alright."
"I do feel better. Thank you."
"Feel up to eating something?"
"Not really. Maybe I'll try something later."
Nathan watched him, he did look better, he was not as pale as he had been and he had checked his fever earlier to find that it had gone down. "Sure. I'll leave you be then, and I’ll check on you again later, see if you want something to eat or not." He didn't wait for an answer. He left Ezra to go down stairs and get something to eat himself. He saw that the others were all still waiting in the saloon. Maude was no longer there. She must have given up and gone to bed.
"He awake then?" enquired Buck. They had all stayed in the saloon during the night refusing to go when the owner wanted to close up for the night, neither of them sleeping.
"Yeah and he's feeling a lot better, I'll give him some more of that stuff tonight and keep giving it to him until he’s back to his old self."
"Just great," muttered Chris but with a smile on his face.
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Ezra came down to the saloon an hour later, he more or less looked his normal self, the only thing showing that he was ill was the still slightly pale complexion that he had. Compared to the others though who had a sleepless night he looked very healthy.
"Gentlemen you all look as though you could use some of that concoction that Mr. Jackson made me drink yesterday." he smiled at them. It was the first time that they had seen him in days and they returned it with a feeling of relief.
"That's okay, Ezra, I'm sure Nathan would like you to have some more of it tonight." Buck laughed at the look of disgust that came over Ezra's face.
"Want something to eat yet Ezra?" asked Nathan.
"No not yet, I'm still not hungry." He saw the frown on Nathan's face. "Don’t worry yourself, Mr. Jackson, as soon as I do feel the need for nourishment I’ll have something."
"Just make sure that you do."
"There were four guys who came to town looking for you yesterday Ezra," said JD changing the subject knowing that the last thing Ezra wanted to talk about was how he was feeling. He then saw the worry on Ezra's face, which was due to the things that happened each time someone came to town looking for him so he quickly added. "There gamblers, said they wanted to play poker with you."
"Really, Mr. Dunne," his interest picking up, he hadn't had a good card game in months.
"Yeah they said they would come by today, see if you were interested."
As Maude entered the saloon, the expression on Ezra's face changed completely. She walked over to the table.
"Ezra, may I have a word with you please?" She waited for an answer but instead he just got up and moved to another table so they could talk alone. He couldn’t put it off any longer, he knew that Josiah was going to talk to her but now that she was here, he decided to do it himself.
"What is it that you wish to talk about, mother?"
"I want to talk about you and what you are doing here in this town. Mary told me what happened with that woman. If you didn’t become a lawman that would have never happened."
"Are you saying that it was my fault, mother?"
"What I’m saying is that if you didn’t accept employment in this town it would not have happened."
Ezra nodded, she was blaming him. "If you will excuse me mother I need a drink." Ezra got up and headed towards the bar, he got a bottle of whiskey and a glass and proceeded to pour himself a drink.
Maude waited a moment for him to come back but he didn’t return so she stood up and joined him at the bar and during all this time, the other hired gunmen were watching Ezra very carefully.
"Ezra, you should not be staying in this town, you should be out there using the God given talents that you were given, not staying here protecting people against outlaws. I have taught you to protect number one and that's you Ezra, not these people. You disappoint me Ezra; this is not how I brought you up."
"You seem to have forgotten that you didn’t raise me mother." Ezra was starting to get angry, any other mother would be proud that their son was protecting innocent people like he was but not his mother.
"Don't start with that, Ezra, you know why I left you with relatives, you were too young to travel around with me."
"You didn’t seem to think that I was to young when you needed me for a con."
"It was not that I needed you, Ezra, it was an opportunity to teach you a trade." Maude couldn’t understand why he was always angry about that. The families that she left him took care of him.
Ezra had finally had enough. "Did I ever tell you about the time that you left me with Uncle Jack?" He asked knowing very well that he hadn't.
"Your father's brother?"
"He showed up here in town a couple of months ago. He's in jail now for trying to take my life." He saw the shocked look on his mother's face but he didn't know if was because he had tried to kill him or if it was because he was in jail. "During the time that I stayed with him he beat me, badly, almost killed me once. That's the type of people you kept leaving me with."
"Ezra, I didn't know, why did you never tell me?"
"Because just like now you would blame me for it." The anger that he was feeling was beginning to show in his voice.
"Ezra, I don’t blame you, if you told me this when it happened I could have done something about it." She was getting more angry herself.
"No, mother, you would not have and do you know why, because if you did then you would have not been able to leave me there with him again."
Ezra was not shocked by the slap that his mother gave him. "How dare you even say such a thing, you talk as though I don’t care about you."
He rubbed the side of his face and nodded towards the six hired gunmen who were still sitting at the table now with shocked looks on their faces after they watched Maude slap her son. "They care more about me than you ever did or ever will. Did you not notice that through this entire conversation that you have not even asked how I’m feeling, I'm sure you would have known that I have not been well over the last few days and yet you have not shown any desire to know how I am."
"Ezra, that’s not true, I do care." She put her hand on the side of his face that she just slapped.
He removed her hand. "You only care that I keep up the trade that you taught me, you care that I keep conning people, trying to get their money, you don’t care when I protect this town and the people in it."
"Ezra, that is not true."
"Oh I think it’s mother, you were quite happy with me when I was a liar and a cheat but I disappoint you when I’m a lawman. Now mother I tire of this conversation, perhaps we can continue this time." He walked away before she could answer. She watched him go back to the table with the other men who protected the town with him.
Ezra sat down at the table and he spoke first before someone else could. "And gentlemen that is why I didn’t want to tell my mother. She blames me. That it was my fault because I’m a lawman. That she's also very disappointed in me. Thinks I should still be out there conning people instead of protecting them." He kept his eyes down not wanting to look at the other men. They all sat there silently. Maude didn’t know what to do or say. She had to get him to leave town so he can become his old self again. These men had changed him.
It was after lunch when the four gamblers who had arrived in town the day before came into the saloon looking for Ezra. They spotted him easily at a table with a group of men, including the ones that had confronted them when they arrived. Three of them went to their own table while George Davis went to invite Ezra to a game of chance.
"Mr. Standish." Ezra looked up at the man. "My name is George Davis and my friends and I," he looked over to the table that his friends were sitting at, "would like to invite you to play a game of poker with us this evening."
Ezra looked at the man then at his friends and made quick but hasty decision. "I would be delighted to," he smiled thinking that he would be glad of the distraction from what was going on around him. Little did he know that it might just cost him his life?
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Ezra jumped when he heard the knock at his door. He quickly ejected his derringer into his hand. "Who is it?"
"It's Nathan can I come in." Nathan opened the door and looked into the room before entering, they all knew what he was like with that derringer, and he wanted to make sure that Ezra didn’t have it pointed at him, but he did. "You want to put that away, Ezra."
Ezra did as he was told. “What can I do for you, Mr. Jackson?"
Nathan told him straight as he didn't know any other way to put things with Ezra. "It's this poker game that you’re going to play tonight."
"And what about it?" Ezra knew what he was going to say, that he should not be doing it, that he should be resting.
"I know that I can't talk you out of it but I do want you to try and not let it go on through the night, you need your rest." Nathan knew what Ezra was going to say, that he was fine, and that he need not worry about him.
"I assure you, Nathan that when I feel too tired I’ll end the game, we can always continue tomorrow night." Ezra smiled at the expression on Nathan's face. "You expected me to say something else perhaps."
"Uh, yeah I did," he started to leave. "Oh, Ezra I left some of that powder there next to your bed and I want you to mix a small amount with some water and drink it before you go to bed."
Ezra grimaced at the thought of that. "Of course, Mr. Jackson. Now if you will excuse me I have four gentlemen waiting for me."
Nathan followed Ezra down into the saloon and while he joined the other gamblers Nathan joined the other hired gunmen, they intended to stay there as long as the game lasted to make sure that Ezra was alright, they were not sure if he would have the strength to protect himself if something happened.
When Ezra joined the other gamblers introductions were made, none of the names were familiar to him so he assumed that they were just four men interested in a game of chance.
"So what will it be gentlemen, five card stud aces high."
"Of course, what else would a decent gambling man play?" laughed Peter Tombs.
Ezra began to deal the cards allowing each man with the highest card to bet, he won the first hand easily with a 'straight flush'. As the game continued on Ezra could see that of the four men Mr. Tombs, Mr. Newman and Mr. Shelby were the easiest to read, he could also see that they were becoming frustrated that they were losing nearly every hand they played. The real player was obviously Mr. Davis, he was harder to read, he did let his face slip on occasion and it was at this time that Ezra either won the hand by bluffing or by just outplaying the man. The game had been going for two hours when Mr. Shelby threw his hand into the middle of the table in disgust and stated that he was finished for the night. An hour later Mr. Tombs and Mr. Newman followed him. It was now just Ezra and George Davis.
A small crowd had begun to gather around the table blocking the view of the men who were trying to keep an eye on Ezra in case anything happened. They got up from their table and moved to better vantage points around the saloon. They had seen two of the men leave the table and Chris motioned to Buck and JD to watch them. Only Josiah saw Maude enter the saloon and take a position at the bar to watch her son do the thing that made her most proud and that was gambling, taking money from someone else and not risking his life for other people.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
Master Fan Fiction List
Fourth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Ezra is still recovering when Maude arrives in Four Corners and as she struggles to find out what happened to her son a group of men also arrive in town looking for a high stakes game of poker with Ezra Standish but they loose heavily and they want pay back.
Main Characters: Ezra, the rest of the seven, Maude Standish
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*
Notes: Fourth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Word Count: 20,471
Part Two
Ezra could feel his headache getting worse and he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him again. He sat down on his bed until it passed. He saw the tray of food that Mary had left there the night before; he decided to have something to eat even though he was not hungry. Once he had eaten some of the food, he lay down on the bed and was asleep within minutes and as he slept, he dreamt of the times that his mother had left him alone with relatives, he dreamt of the time that he had spent with his Uncle Jack.
"He won't talk to me," Maude spoke to the group.
"What did you expect?" Chris mouthed what he thought the whole group was feeling. They got frustrated with Ezra when he would not talk to them but they didn’t totally blame him for this. They knew it was something that his mother had taught him to do, not talk about how he felt, to hide his emotions and not let anyone see them because if they did he would not be able to con them.
"What do you mean?"
"That's how you brought him up isn't it, not to talk about things or show his emotions. He does not tell us anything either, he will not admit to anything, whether it be his mood or if something was physically wrong with him. The only reason we know that something is wrong now is because we see the symptoms not because he told us. You have taught him to build a wall around himself and I must say that you did a very good job because we have not been able to break it down yet. Ezra is our friend and we don't like to see him hurt, and not being able to talk about things seems to hurt him more than anything else does.”
"I see." She looked around at the rest of the group seeing that they all silently agreed with what Chris had said. "If he won't tell me it means that one of you will have to."
"Sorry, Maude, but we just told Ezra before you came in that we would not tell but he did say that he would but in his own time."
"I can't convince you."
"No," said Chris as he watched her poker face reveal nothing of the emotions that were hidden under it.
"Very well then," said Maude. She got up and headed out of the saloon, she still had one more person that she could speak to and that was Mary Travis.
Mary was working in the Clarion when Maude walked in. She looked up to see a look of concern on her face. Maude had decided that she was not going to ask Mary outright, that she would try and trick Mary into telling her what happened and she started by putting a concerned expression on her face.
"Mary, I just wanted to come by and thank you for what you have been doing for Ezra." Smiled Maude.
"It's the least that I could for him," Mary smiled back not realising what Maude was up to. "It was terrible what that woman did to him."
"Yes it was," Maude was finding it easy to hide the emotion that she felt at that remark as it was something that she had been doing all her life. "He finally told me what happened; I was shocked to say the least."
"Yes. The bullet wound healed but . . ." She grimaced at the thought of what the poison had done to him.
Maude's expression almost faltered. "I don't understand why she shot him"
"She didn't shoot . . ." Mary realised what was happening. "He didn't tell you anything did he?" She accused Maude.
"No, he didn't, but I think that you should tell me the rest now that you have started."
Mary gave in knowing that Maude would not leave her alone now, she would have to explain to Ezra how stupid she was to allow Maude to trick her. Maude stood in stunned silence as she listened to how her son was shot protecting some woman who had then poisoned him and that he almost lost his life.
Chris and the others were sitting in the saloon silently worrying about Ezra. Why he didn’t want them to tell his mother about what happened. They knew that he found it hard to talk to them but they couldn't understand why he wouldn't talk to his mother. Chris had told the others that Ezra had asked them not to tell her, that he wanted to do it himself but when he was ready. Josiah found this difficult to understand, he thought that Ezra should tell his mother. He had told Maude the night before that he would not tell her, that she would have to talk to Ezra herself thinking that her son would tell her what was going on. He got up and moved towards the stairs.
"Where are you going, Josiah?" asked Chris knowing what the answer would be but still asking anyway.
"I’m going to check on, Ezra."
"He does not want to tell her yet."
"I know. I'm just going to check on him."
Chris knew what he was going to do and it was not to check on Ezra. "He’s not in a good mood Josiah, so be careful."
Josiah looked towards Nathan and saw the purple bruise that was already forming on his jaw. He nodded and head towards Ezra's room.
Josiah knocked on the door and didn’t wait for an answer; he entered the room to find Ezra sleeping on his side. All he seemed to do lately was sleep and they were all worried about this. He went over to the bed and looked down at him seeing him grimace at something that must have been part of a dream he was having. He saw the tray of food and noticed that Ezra must have eaten something. He picked the tray up intending to return it to Mrs. Travis but in doing so, he dropped the plate that was on the tray, the slight noise jerking Ezra awake.
"Mr. Sanchez, may I ask what it’s that you are doing?" Ezra grimaced at the pain in his head as he opened his eyes. His headache was getting worse. He sat up and placed his head in his hands.
Josiah sat down on the bed next to him. "Your headache still bad?"
Ezra just nodded.
"I know that this is not the right time, Ezra, but I want to talk to you about your mother." When Ezra didn’t say anything he continued hoping that the silent reply meant that he was willing to talk about it. "She’s worried about you."
"My mother is not worried, she just does not like the idea that she’s the only one who does not know what happened," muttered Ezra. His headache was getting worse as he sat there; he was also too tired to argue with Josiah.
"Would you mind if I tell her?" Josiah asked. Ezra looked up at him and he could see the pain in his eyes, his headache must be bad, he will have to tell Nathan when he went back downstairs.
"Josiah, do what you want, I'm too tired to argue with you or anyone else for that matter." Ezra lay back down. "Just make sure that you keep her away from me after you tell her."
"I’ll leave you to rest but I'm going to send Nathan. Okay."
"I told you, Josiah, do what you want, I don't want to argue anymore, I'm too tired."
Maude stormed into the saloon and went straight to the table where the five lawmen were sitting.
"I understand that my son was shot and then poisoned."
"And who told you that?" asked Chris
"Mrs. Travis," she saw the look that crossed Chris's face. "Don’t blame her as I tricked her into telling me what happened. Why would you not tell me this? My son almost died and you couldn't tell me. Why?" She was very angry now. "I’m his mother you should have told me."
"I’m sorry Maude; Ezra didn’t want you to know." Chris really didn’t know what to say, he knew that she should have been told but Ezra didn’t want her to know and he wanted to do what he had asked of them.
"You say that you are his friends, the first thing that a friend would do would be to inform his mother what happened, you should have sent me a telegram, what if he had died, would you have informed me then." she looked at each one and saw the guilt beginning to form on their faces. "It’s you that I blame, you and this pitiful town, he should not be here, risking his life for people that he does not even know and when I leave he will be coming with me. I’ll make sure of that if it’s the last thing that I do."
They all looked up at her then but she had turned on her heel and headed towards Ezra's room. She saw
Josiah coming down the stairs.
"Where are you going Maude?" he asked her as he blocked her way up the stairs.
"I’m going to see my son, now that I know what happened I need to talk to him."
"Maude you are best to leave him alone at the moment." Josiah had stopped Maude not knowing that it was the wrong thing to do. If he had let her go then things may have turned out better. What she was feeling now was actually a mother's concern for her child even though she was also angry. Now he stopped her from seeing Ezra she was going to calm down. That concern was going to change to disappointment that her son was working as a lawman instead of using the trade that she had taught him.
"I need to speak to him."
"Later Maude, please, he’s not well and I would like Nathan to check on him."
"If he’s not well then I should see him, why won't you let me see him."
"He does not want to see you at the moment. I'm sorry."
"Fine, if that's what he wants." She turned away and went to a table, she was not going to leave, if Nathan was going to see her son then she was going to wait here until he came back and then she was going to talk to Ezra.
"Nathan, can you come and have a look at Ezra please," asked Josiah seeing everyone look at him at once.
"What's wrong?" Nathan got up and started to follow Josiah back to Ezra's room.
"His headache’s bad, I think that he’s in a lot of pain."
The others watched as they went up the stairs knowing that they would have to wait until they came back to find out what was wrong. Maude was also watching from the other side of the saloon.
When they entered Ezra's room, they found him asleep again. Nathan frowned; he went to the side of the bed and looked down at Ezra seeing the grimace of pain that occasionally crept across his face. He placed his hand on his forehead feeling the slight temperature that was there.
"Ezra," said Nathan as he gently nudged his shoulder hoping to wake him so he can ask him a few questions regarding how he was feeling. "Ezra." He shook him a bit harder this time.
"Would you please let me sleep," he groaned.
"I just want to ask you how you are feeling, is there anything I can get you."
"My head hurts, I'm tired and you can get yourself out of here."
"Are you still feeling any nausea?" Nathan continued to watch him as he asked the questions. He had an idea what was wrong and thought that he should have realised it sooner.
"A bit, I tried to eat something earlier but it just made me sick."
"Are you feeling any pain anywhere else?"
"No."
"Okay, I’m going to make you something to drink so stay awake for at least another ten minutes, think you could do that?"
"No," he repeated.
Nathan got up and moved over to where Josiah was standing in the corner of the room. Nathan glanced back at Ezra. "I think that the poison is starting to take control again. I'm going to give him some of that powder that Jane gave us and see if it makes any difference in how he’s feeling. Can you stay with him until I get back?"
"Of course." Josiah walked over to the chair that was near Ezra's bed and sat down. He sat there and watched Ezra; he didn’t intend to move until Nathan came back.
While Nathan was gone, Josiah tried to get Ezra to talk to keep him awake but he was not in the mood for conversation. "I saw Maude downstairs, she was coming up to see you." He saw Ezra grimace at that and took it as an answer. "I asked her to wait until you were feeling better. She also said something about knowing what happened."
"Oh great," muttered Ezra.
Nathan returned a few minutes later. He had the small package of powder and a canteen. "Still awake is he." He saw Josiah nod. He quickly mixed a small amount of the powder into the water thinking that if he needed more later he would mix again. He handed the cup to Ezra.
"Ezra, I want you to drink all of this and then you can sleep all you want."
Ezra opened his eyes and looked at the cup. "What is it?"
"It should make you feel better," answered Nathan.
Ezra frowned at the thought of drinking something that Nathan had put together, it usually tasted terrible but then he thought anything had to be better than this headache. He took the cup from Nathan and sat himself up. He dropped the cup and quickly placed both hands against the sides of his head moaning in pain at the same time.
"Ezra?" Nathan and Josiah grabbed him before he fell from the bed and placed him back down against his pillows. "Easy now. I'll make some more." Nathan looked at Josiah, bent down, picked up the cup, and made another drink for Ezra. "Here you go Ezra, don't get up this time." He held the cup for Ezra who drank most of the liquid before he started coughing.
"Nathan that stuff is terrible." He then turned his head to the side and promptly fell asleep.
"What just happened then?" asked Josiah.
"His headache must really be bad, I just hope that powder will make him better, I should have given him more as soon as I knew that he kept suffering from headaches and dizziness."
"It's not your fault, Nathan. Why don't you go downstairs and tell everyone what's happening, I'll stay with Ezra for a while." Josiah returned to the chair next to Ezra's bed.
Nathan looked back at Ezra then left the room, he went down to the saloon to let the others know about him. He found them still at the same table where he left them. Chris saw Nathan coming back down the stairs, he had come down earlier and left the saloon then returned to Ezra's room without even glancing at them. Nathan sat down at the table.
"Well?" Chris asked for them all.
"I'm sure that it’s the poison again," he saw the expressions on their faces. "I've given him some more of that powder, hoping that it’ll get rid of what’s left of it. He's sleeping now and Josiah is going to stay with him for a while. I'll know more when he wakes up which will probably be the morning."
"We’ll take turns sitting with him then." Chris didn't have to say anything else, they all agreed with him.
Ezra slept through the night and woke the next morning feeling better than he had in the last few days. He still had a headache but it was not anywhere near as bad as it had been. He lay there quietly for a few minutes before moving.
"Feeling better Ezra?" asked Nathan.
Ezra opened his eyes and turned towards Nathan. "How long have you been sitting there?" He asked back.
"Only a couple of hours, we've been taking turns through the night, just to make sure that you were alright."
"I do feel better. Thank you."
"Feel up to eating something?"
"Not really. Maybe I'll try something later."
Nathan watched him, he did look better, he was not as pale as he had been and he had checked his fever earlier to find that it had gone down. "Sure. I'll leave you be then, and I’ll check on you again later, see if you want something to eat or not." He didn't wait for an answer. He left Ezra to go down stairs and get something to eat himself. He saw that the others were all still waiting in the saloon. Maude was no longer there. She must have given up and gone to bed.
"He awake then?" enquired Buck. They had all stayed in the saloon during the night refusing to go when the owner wanted to close up for the night, neither of them sleeping.
"Yeah and he's feeling a lot better, I'll give him some more of that stuff tonight and keep giving it to him until he’s back to his old self."
"Just great," muttered Chris but with a smile on his face.
Ezra came down to the saloon an hour later, he more or less looked his normal self, the only thing showing that he was ill was the still slightly pale complexion that he had. Compared to the others though who had a sleepless night he looked very healthy.
"Gentlemen you all look as though you could use some of that concoction that Mr. Jackson made me drink yesterday." he smiled at them. It was the first time that they had seen him in days and they returned it with a feeling of relief.
"That's okay, Ezra, I'm sure Nathan would like you to have some more of it tonight." Buck laughed at the look of disgust that came over Ezra's face.
"Want something to eat yet Ezra?" asked Nathan.
"No not yet, I'm still not hungry." He saw the frown on Nathan's face. "Don’t worry yourself, Mr. Jackson, as soon as I do feel the need for nourishment I’ll have something."
"Just make sure that you do."
"There were four guys who came to town looking for you yesterday Ezra," said JD changing the subject knowing that the last thing Ezra wanted to talk about was how he was feeling. He then saw the worry on Ezra's face, which was due to the things that happened each time someone came to town looking for him so he quickly added. "There gamblers, said they wanted to play poker with you."
"Really, Mr. Dunne," his interest picking up, he hadn't had a good card game in months.
"Yeah they said they would come by today, see if you were interested."
As Maude entered the saloon, the expression on Ezra's face changed completely. She walked over to the table.
"Ezra, may I have a word with you please?" She waited for an answer but instead he just got up and moved to another table so they could talk alone. He couldn’t put it off any longer, he knew that Josiah was going to talk to her but now that she was here, he decided to do it himself.
"What is it that you wish to talk about, mother?"
"I want to talk about you and what you are doing here in this town. Mary told me what happened with that woman. If you didn’t become a lawman that would have never happened."
"Are you saying that it was my fault, mother?"
"What I’m saying is that if you didn’t accept employment in this town it would not have happened."
Ezra nodded, she was blaming him. "If you will excuse me mother I need a drink." Ezra got up and headed towards the bar, he got a bottle of whiskey and a glass and proceeded to pour himself a drink.
Maude waited a moment for him to come back but he didn’t return so she stood up and joined him at the bar and during all this time, the other hired gunmen were watching Ezra very carefully.
"Ezra, you should not be staying in this town, you should be out there using the God given talents that you were given, not staying here protecting people against outlaws. I have taught you to protect number one and that's you Ezra, not these people. You disappoint me Ezra; this is not how I brought you up."
"You seem to have forgotten that you didn’t raise me mother." Ezra was starting to get angry, any other mother would be proud that their son was protecting innocent people like he was but not his mother.
"Don't start with that, Ezra, you know why I left you with relatives, you were too young to travel around with me."
"You didn’t seem to think that I was to young when you needed me for a con."
"It was not that I needed you, Ezra, it was an opportunity to teach you a trade." Maude couldn’t understand why he was always angry about that. The families that she left him took care of him.
Ezra had finally had enough. "Did I ever tell you about the time that you left me with Uncle Jack?" He asked knowing very well that he hadn't.
"Your father's brother?"
"He showed up here in town a couple of months ago. He's in jail now for trying to take my life." He saw the shocked look on his mother's face but he didn't know if was because he had tried to kill him or if it was because he was in jail. "During the time that I stayed with him he beat me, badly, almost killed me once. That's the type of people you kept leaving me with."
"Ezra, I didn't know, why did you never tell me?"
"Because just like now you would blame me for it." The anger that he was feeling was beginning to show in his voice.
"Ezra, I don’t blame you, if you told me this when it happened I could have done something about it." She was getting more angry herself.
"No, mother, you would not have and do you know why, because if you did then you would have not been able to leave me there with him again."
Ezra was not shocked by the slap that his mother gave him. "How dare you even say such a thing, you talk as though I don’t care about you."
He rubbed the side of his face and nodded towards the six hired gunmen who were still sitting at the table now with shocked looks on their faces after they watched Maude slap her son. "They care more about me than you ever did or ever will. Did you not notice that through this entire conversation that you have not even asked how I’m feeling, I'm sure you would have known that I have not been well over the last few days and yet you have not shown any desire to know how I am."
"Ezra, that’s not true, I do care." She put her hand on the side of his face that she just slapped.
He removed her hand. "You only care that I keep up the trade that you taught me, you care that I keep conning people, trying to get their money, you don’t care when I protect this town and the people in it."
"Ezra, that is not true."
"Oh I think it’s mother, you were quite happy with me when I was a liar and a cheat but I disappoint you when I’m a lawman. Now mother I tire of this conversation, perhaps we can continue this time." He walked away before she could answer. She watched him go back to the table with the other men who protected the town with him.
Ezra sat down at the table and he spoke first before someone else could. "And gentlemen that is why I didn’t want to tell my mother. She blames me. That it was my fault because I’m a lawman. That she's also very disappointed in me. Thinks I should still be out there conning people instead of protecting them." He kept his eyes down not wanting to look at the other men. They all sat there silently. Maude didn’t know what to do or say. She had to get him to leave town so he can become his old self again. These men had changed him.
It was after lunch when the four gamblers who had arrived in town the day before came into the saloon looking for Ezra. They spotted him easily at a table with a group of men, including the ones that had confronted them when they arrived. Three of them went to their own table while George Davis went to invite Ezra to a game of chance.
"Mr. Standish." Ezra looked up at the man. "My name is George Davis and my friends and I," he looked over to the table that his friends were sitting at, "would like to invite you to play a game of poker with us this evening."
Ezra looked at the man then at his friends and made quick but hasty decision. "I would be delighted to," he smiled thinking that he would be glad of the distraction from what was going on around him. Little did he know that it might just cost him his life?
Ezra jumped when he heard the knock at his door. He quickly ejected his derringer into his hand. "Who is it?"
"It's Nathan can I come in." Nathan opened the door and looked into the room before entering, they all knew what he was like with that derringer, and he wanted to make sure that Ezra didn’t have it pointed at him, but he did. "You want to put that away, Ezra."
Ezra did as he was told. “What can I do for you, Mr. Jackson?"
Nathan told him straight as he didn't know any other way to put things with Ezra. "It's this poker game that you’re going to play tonight."
"And what about it?" Ezra knew what he was going to say, that he should not be doing it, that he should be resting.
"I know that I can't talk you out of it but I do want you to try and not let it go on through the night, you need your rest." Nathan knew what Ezra was going to say, that he was fine, and that he need not worry about him.
"I assure you, Nathan that when I feel too tired I’ll end the game, we can always continue tomorrow night." Ezra smiled at the expression on Nathan's face. "You expected me to say something else perhaps."
"Uh, yeah I did," he started to leave. "Oh, Ezra I left some of that powder there next to your bed and I want you to mix a small amount with some water and drink it before you go to bed."
Ezra grimaced at the thought of that. "Of course, Mr. Jackson. Now if you will excuse me I have four gentlemen waiting for me."
Nathan followed Ezra down into the saloon and while he joined the other gamblers Nathan joined the other hired gunmen, they intended to stay there as long as the game lasted to make sure that Ezra was alright, they were not sure if he would have the strength to protect himself if something happened.
When Ezra joined the other gamblers introductions were made, none of the names were familiar to him so he assumed that they were just four men interested in a game of chance.
"So what will it be gentlemen, five card stud aces high."
"Of course, what else would a decent gambling man play?" laughed Peter Tombs.
Ezra began to deal the cards allowing each man with the highest card to bet, he won the first hand easily with a 'straight flush'. As the game continued on Ezra could see that of the four men Mr. Tombs, Mr. Newman and Mr. Shelby were the easiest to read, he could also see that they were becoming frustrated that they were losing nearly every hand they played. The real player was obviously Mr. Davis, he was harder to read, he did let his face slip on occasion and it was at this time that Ezra either won the hand by bluffing or by just outplaying the man. The game had been going for two hours when Mr. Shelby threw his hand into the middle of the table in disgust and stated that he was finished for the night. An hour later Mr. Tombs and Mr. Newman followed him. It was now just Ezra and George Davis.
A small crowd had begun to gather around the table blocking the view of the men who were trying to keep an eye on Ezra in case anything happened. They got up from their table and moved to better vantage points around the saloon. They had seen two of the men leave the table and Chris motioned to Buck and JD to watch them. Only Josiah saw Maude enter the saloon and take a position at the bar to watch her son do the thing that made her most proud and that was gambling, taking money from someone else and not risking his life for other people.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
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