Setting: Old West
Rating: PF — Profanity and AC — Adult Content
This fic is written and dedicated for my dear friend Winnie. When I first discovered the realm of Mag7 fanfic, about 9 years ago, she was one of the first friends I made. She has been a wonderful friend over the years and I cherish our friendship. Winnie did a very brave thing this year and I decided to write this fic for her cause I am so proud of her.
As many of you know (if you know Winnie) She loves Chris Larabee and loves to have him maimed, bruised, battered, bloodied, bashed, broken, tortured, agonized, anguished, fevered and and the like as much as possible. So I have tried to inflict as much pain on her beloved blond Adonis as possible.
The title comes from an old Bon Jovi song, Blood on Blood. I have been a huge fan of him since a thousand years ago when I first saw him at the Trenton War Memorial singing Shes' a Little Runaway, In an age where far too many rock stars and movie stars are jaded, conceited, strung out and phony, he's a gem. He married his high school sweetheart and is still head over heels in love with her. He does a ton of community work in the inner cities, building houses and such. He's just a really decent human being.
I heard him talk about this song once, commenting that it was written for his high school buddies, some of which he's still very tight with. The kind of friendship that no matter what, where, when , how, you are there for them. He then made a fist, tapped his chest and said you know 'blood on blood'. That's how I see Vin and Chris and that's where the title comes from.
This is the second story set in the Hope Ranch AU (the first is A Shining Place Called Hope) Winnie, dear, I hope you salivate...
IMPORTANT AUTHOR"S NOTE: This was written in a bit of a hurry for a specific reason, no time for beta work or many edits, so read with kind eyes!.
Blood on Blood
by Bon Jovi
Blood on blood One on one
We'd still be standing
When all is said and done
Blood on blood One on one
And I'll be here for you
Till Kingdom come
Blood on blood
The sun was just beginning to set when Chris Larabee rode into town. He had been delayed coming from the ranch. It was hard to believe it had been a year already since he, Buck and Vin had bought the spacious but run down spread. With a lot of sweat and a little luck, they'd refurbished it and built a barn and broadened the corral. Ezra invested in their enterprise and Josiah and J.D. helped out when they could. Vin named it Hope Ranch, for it was the essence of what they gave the abused horses they rescued — hope for a new life.
He, Buck and Vin were spending increasingly more time out there working with abandoned and abused horses. Vin had a real gift that way, the animals trusted him and whether it was the soft Indian dialect he used or his touch, it worked. Buck and Vin had taken three of the horses they just finished healing to Grovers Pass. There was a horse auction there over the weekend and they would get top dollar for the trio. Chris remained at the ranch waiting on Tom Davis, a nearby rancher who was interesting in buying the remaining two horses that were ready for market.
Chris paused outside the saloon and observed the busy drinkery. Tessie, their local nightingale, was perched on top of the loud piano singing a raunchy song. Peanut shells were strewn on the floor and the scent of beer, smoke and male sweat permeated the place. Most of the tables were full and he noticed that Ezra Standish was already busy fleecing some poor trio of unsuspecting strangers out of their money. He caught the gambler's eye and got a nod and hint of a gold tooth in the sly grin that came back. Josiah was huddled under a curtain of cigar smoke winking and gesturing boldly at Tessie. He didn't see J.D. and suspected maybe the young sheriff was on rounds or possibly visiting Casey. He heard Buck before he saw him, a ghost of a smile appeared when he followed his ears to where the town's resident ladies man was already waist deep in females.
"Aw, come on, darlin, didn't you miss Old Buck?" Wilmington oozed, pausing to kiss the pretty redhead perched his left leg. On the other leg was a very busty blonde who already had one hand snaking inside Buck's newly unbuttoned shirt. "I know you missed me, didn't you Sadie?" He asked the 'shy' blonde who replied with a rather messy kiss. He kissed back hard, using his talented tongue like a weapon. Breathless, they finally parted and with a sly wink to his oldest friend, and one arm around each comely maiden, he walked towards the batwing doors, seeking the girl's rooms across the street.
"God love Buck," Chris mumbled, stepping inside.
"She sure as hell does!" Buck called back with a laugh.
Chris wrinkled his nose when the stench of an extremely large man facing the bar wafted over. He was dirty and appeared as if living in the wild for awhile. Needing to get away from the smell, he turned left.
His eyes went around the crowded, smokey room until they found Vin Tanner. The lanky Texan was at a small table in the back nursing a beer. The infamous slouch hat was pulled down over his face. It didn't obscure the sky eyes, which were trained on Inez Recillos. The manager of the prosperous tavern was on a stepstool, reaching for an overhead shelf. The motion of her body caused her firm breasts to strain against the low white cotton peasant blouse. Larabee didn't miss the heat in Tanner's gaze. It was just another of the many clues the former bounty hunter had left in the last few weeks since Don Paulo's arrival and subsequent death.
The cruel and spoiled son of a wealthy Mexican family had sought out the pretty bartender for immoral purposes. Buck had dueled with a sword to defend her honor, but Vin had taken it upon himself to become her bodyguard. As grateful as Inez was for Buck shedding blood on her behalf, she kindly made it known to him that she had no feelings for him. But Chris didn't miss the stolen glances that Inez gave Vin when he wasn't looking. It was clear to him that each of the attractive pair had feelings for each other that needed to be explored. Apparently, someone had to point one of them in the right direction first.
Vin heard the batwing doors hit each other and glanced over when the familiar footsteps of his best friend sounded. He allowed himself a few extra moments to paint a picture of Inez before averting his eyes. It was becoming difficult to be around her without his body heat rising and his pants shrinking. When she talked to him or one of the others close by, he couldn't always hear what she was saying because he wanted to taste those inviting lips and plunder her mouth. He sighed hard, shook his head and reached for his beer.
Chris took the empty seat next to Vin who nodded at him. Chris caught Inez's eye and held one finger up than pointed to Vin's beer. He inquired on the trip to Grovers Pass. "How'd it go?"
"Good," Vin replied, sitting up and shoving his hat back. "They're expectin' a crowd. After the feller in charge takes his cut, he reckons we can git over five hunert fer 'em."
"That's good, we can use it. We need to put a new roof on and maybe expand a bit." Chris pulled a paper from his pocket. "With the wire we got yesterday and the two tips that JD brought in, we have seven horses to check out. They're in three different areas. We can't be everywhere."
"Well," Vin thought aloud, "I guess we could put up a bunkhouse o'sorts. Maybe hire on a few men to work with the horses. But one o'us should be there."
Chris turned a bit when Vin because silent when Inez approached with his beer. He saw the lean body shift twice in his chair and crease his brow in discomfort. That brought a grin and soft chuckle.
"Thanks Inez," he slipped a piece of silver into her hand.
"You are welcome," she answered, her eyes riveted to Vin Tanner's handsome face. "Senor Vin? Is there anything I can do for you?"
Vin had the misfortune of having a mouthful of beer at the time and nearly choked. This caused a great deal of sputtering and his face turned red. If he wasn't trying so hard to regain his breath and composure, he'd have shot Larabee who laughed outright. He glared at Chris and shook his head.
"I will be close by, if you need anything," she offered huskily, casting a sly smile.
Chris sat forward, took a sip of beer and shook his blond head in confusion. "Why don't you just tell her?"
"Tell 'er what?" Vin rasped, finally getting his breath back. He swiped the foam from his lip and tried to study the grain in the wood on the table. He was still thinking of her tanned curves when he stroked the glass mug.
"I'm not that blind, Vin," Chris offered, "She's a fine woman; she's smart, pretty and she can handle herself." He saw Vin shift again and tug his hat down. "That damn hat of yours isn't gonna fix that fire."
"'m'fine."
"Yeah," Chris scoffed, taking a long sip and watching Vin's eyes fighting hard not to follow Inez's swaying hips as they moved towards the kitchen. "That's why are you've been jumpier than a frog in a fryin' pan. She likes you Vin, she's givin' you the same hot stares when you're not looking. Monday when you were fixing the sign over the Post and Telegraph, she had her eyes all over your ass."
That got the tracker's attention. He sat up and stared at Chris as if he'd sprung a second head. For a moment, he looked like a sixteen year old kid with his first crush. The eyes went wide with hope and wonder, then just as quickly, it was gone. Vin shook his head and studied the table again.
"What are you so afraid of? Ask her to have dinner, or just go for a walk. Hell, she's a great cook, she'd probably make a basket full of shit just to fatten you up some." Larabee drank in the silent contemplation he got for a reply and fed on it. "You can take it slow, Vin, it's not a race. But it might lead to something."
"Yeah, like that could happen," Vin mumbled.
"Why not?" Chris pressed, studying the handsome profile next to him. Vin's fair good looks complimented Inez's olive complexion and dark eyes perfectly. Her fiery outgoing personality was a good match for Vin's more introspective one.
"Someone as fine as her," Vin answered, his heart skipping a beat when she re-entered the room and tossed her dark head back, sending that silky hair over her shoulder, "with the likes o'me, ain't likely."
"Don't sell yourself short,Vin. Why not you?" Chris was adament now, using a strong tone. He hated it when Vin underestimated himself like this. There was no finer man wearing boots, not in Chris Larabee's book.
"Well, aside from the price on m'head," Vin began only to be interrupted by a loud voice that shook the rafters.
"YA AIN'T GONNA HIDE FROM ME NOW YA YELLA-BELLIED, SON-OF-A-BITCH. I'M GONNA CLEAN YER PLOW!"
The huge man at the bar finally looked up from his meal and saw who was in the room. Fate sent him into this town and he wouldn't waste her gift.
"Friend o'yers?" Vin drawled, put his beer down and eased his body forward. It took Chris a few moments until he recognized the huge, hulking man. Close to seven inches above six feet and about three hundred pounds, with shoulder length dark hair and black eyes, he wasn't someone you easily forgot.
"Shit," Chris swore when the manbeast plowed through the room, scattering the men Ezra was playing cards with and tossing the scrambling Southerner over the bar as if he was an annoying fly.
"Who the hell is he?" Vin asked, ducking when a chair was thrown their way.
"Gideon Hawkes," Chris answered, picking up a broken chair leg and and readying his stance . "I tangled with him a couple years ago. Him and his brother raped a prostitute and carved her up, she bled to death in my arms. I hunted them down."
"Ya took care o'the brother?" Vin guessed and the blond head bobbed once as the hulking body loomed over them.
"YA KILLED MY BROTHER AND I AIM CUT CUT YER HIDE OPEN AND EAT YER KIDNEYS."
"White wine or red?" Josiah asked, hitting the huge man with a chair.
"That's not good," Chris said when with a single fist, Josiah was felled like a log. Hawkes had his back turned, so Chris tried to tackle the brute from behind with Vin providing a frontal assualt, but their teamwork was short lived.
Hawkes turned and grabbed Larabee with his left arm and swung around using him like a club to hit the long-haired young man in buckskins. Both went crashing to the floor.
"He's fixin' on fightin' a rattler and givin' the first bite," Vin touted of the enraged bear. He and Chris untangled their limbs and split up.
Chris hit Hawkes with the chair leg, splitting the wood over his head and sending a shower of splinters raining down. His reply was a animalistic snarl and a fist to the face. He saw stars as he flew backwards and hit the wall hard. The brutal force shook his whole body; he felt as if he'd been hit by a train. Larabee shook his head and tried to stand up but his legs weren't working right. His vision seemed distorted and he saw Vin pick up a spitoon and nail Hawke's head. With a growl, the mountain man turned and backhanded Vin to the face visciously. The tracker seemed stunned for a moment but hit back, getting two punches to the barrelesque gut. Chris found his legs and staggered badly, not quite sure of how to get across the room.
Vin was still reeling from the harsh blow when Hawkes punched him in the stomach. It took all his air away and he panicked momentarily, unable to breathe. Open-mouthed, he sucked hard but no air entered his lungs. He was doubled over and never saw the mighty upward blow that sent him flying backwards. He landed in a small corner between a short wall and the potbellied stove.
Chris's hand went to his hip but his gun wasn't there. He eyed the floor in slow motion, annoyed that his brain was so foggy. The colt must have come loose when hit the wall. He saw Josiah struggling to stay on his hands and knees, shaking his graying head and trying to rise. Most of the other patrons had scattered, leaving the saloon as fast as they could. Hoping to catch him off guard and knock him down, he used his head and rammed into Hawke's side. Hitting in the area between the ribs and hip did stagger the lout. Just the effort of that sent Chris to his knees.
Hawkes grunted and swung around, finding his dazed and bleeding target kneeling before him like a trophy. He used his fists like twin clubs, driving into the blond man's face and gut. Larabee fell forward like a ragdoll and the beast grabbed him by the back of his collar and belt and lifted him overhead. He growled and roared, spinning around and throwing the prey over the bar and into the mirror. It shattered on him as he fell.
The assassin grabbed an almost empty bottle of whiskey and drained it, then broke the neck off. With the jagged edges glistening, he walked around the bar and saw the unconcscious Larabee. He used his free hand to rip the gunslinger's shirt open exposing his chest. He tipped the slack jaw and wondered whether to slash his throat first or gut him from the navel up. He put the jagged bottle down and got his trapper's knife from the hilt on his massive waist. He slipped it under the lean prisoner's waist, popping three of the buttons over Larabee's manhood. That brought an evil leer. Maybe he should cut his balls off and dangle them in front of him. He ran the flat edge of the knife from Larabee's groin up his chest and towards his left nipple. He could pop it off like a cherry. But, he wanted the bastard who killed his brother to look at him when he took his life. He spotted a pot which he thought was water and grabbed it, pouring if on the victim's chest.
The hot coffee hitting his skin roused Chris from his stuperous state. His whole body was radiating pain, his skull was screaming, his ribs were throbbing and his chest burned like the devil. He knew the wetness covering his face was blood from that stinging place on his scalp. He was in too much pain to move, just breathing nearly had him passing out. He saw a large knife appear before his eyes and the tip was used to turn his face. On the other end of the massive arm that held the knife was the ugliest face he'd ever seen.
"Ya ain't the hero now, are ya?" Hawkes tossed back along with a large wad of spit. He laughed when the greenish much ran down Larabee's cheek. "Ya ain't even squirmin'. That whore fought back, even after I cut the little nibs of her titties off..." He decided he would cut Larabee's balls first and moved, ripping the rest of the fabric that separated him from what he sought. Chris Larabee knew by the life he led, he might die early. He could accept being on the wrong side of a bullet or knife, but he'd be damned if he was going to be carved up on a barroom floor. His vision was blurred badly but he felt Hawkes move off him and one hand snake down between his legs. Chris moved his hand on the floor, his fingers felt like sausages and he had a hard time feeling anything. The first thing he groped was something metallic. He didn't know what it was, but curled his fingers around it.
Hawkes had what he needed in one hand and the large knife in the other. Larabee wasn't looking at him, that had to be fixed. So he leaned over to address his bloodied offering, pushing the tip of the knife into the hollow area under the right collarbone to get the blond's attention.
"HEY!"
Chris gasped in pain when blade pierced his skin, then he used what strength he had left to jam the metal thing in his hand into the blurry face above him.
With a fierce growl, Hawkes sat up and pulled a corkscrew out of his eye. His body didn't react right away and he stared in amazement at his eyeball, speared on the end. Blood ran freely down his ugly face and with a scream of rage, he yanked Larabee's head back by the hair and exposed the buldging veins in his neck. He arced the knife back, intending on hacking off the semi-conscious man's head.
"YER GOIN' T"HELL NOW!"
"I do not think so!"
Those were the last words Gideon Hawkes heard. Standing behind Larabee holding a shotgun was a very pretty Mexican woman. He heard the shot but never felt the bullet that took most of his face off.
"I need some help!" Inez screamed, eyeing the empty room. "Josiah! Ezra!" She called to the first two bodies she saw nearby. She'd been downstairs getting some whiskey from the cellar when she heard the commotion. She saw the huge man beating Chris and ran to the kitchen to get her shotgun. She was glad it was loaded, the extra time it would have taken to put bullets in it would have been too late to save her friend.
"Good Lord!" Ezra gasped, swiping blood absentmindedly from a cut on his eyebrow.
With great difficulty and help from Inez, he shoved the corpse away and knelt on the other side of their leader. His hand slipped on the bloody chest exposed but he found a good pulse.
"Is he alive?" Inez fretted, "Please, I was not too late?"
"He's alive," Ezra answered, eyeing the carnage. Chris was bleeding from two cuts on his head and one under his collarbone. He was burned on the left side and the ragged breathing told him ribs were injured. What other damage had the beast done? "We need to get him to Nathan's."
"Hold on, brother," Josiah croaked, taking a moment to douse his face with ice water from a pitcher on the bar before going behind it. "You get his legs. Easy now, his back might be hurt."
"Perhaps then we shouldn't move him. Maybe Nathan should examine him here," the conman suggested.
"How about a board?" Inez asked. "In Mexico, the army use boards with handles to carry the wounded."
"A capital idea, my dear," Standish noted and stood, eyeing the new delivery outside the Merchantile. "I'll get what we require, you might want to compress those wounds."
"Si... si..." she answered, not sure where to start. "So much blood..."
"That's a nasty one." The preacher nodded to the area on Chris's hairline on the right. He handed her a cloth. "Press hard. I'll clean his face up and see what else there is."
"What happened, Josiah?" She asked, worried when the blood seeped through the cloth. She grabbed another one and used it to press against the cut on his collarbone.
"Not sure. Somethin' set that animal off." The large man gently wiped Chris's face with a wet cloth. "He sure is gonna look pretty." The left eye was swelling and his face was bruising. "Brother Chris does have his share of enemies. "
They both turned when Ezra's voice was heard.
"Over here," Ezra commanded of two clerks from the merchantile. They'd taken a a long shutter that was to be installed in the hotel an carried it over. "Be careful, his back may be damaged. How is he?"
"Bleedin' like a stuck pig," Josiah commented, moving so the small Standish could get by. Carefully they lifted the bloodied body onto the makeshift stretcher. "Aaron, you run ahead and get Nathan updated. Teddy, you find JD and get the body to the undertaker."
They had Chris loaded and were carrying him through the room when Standish halted, nearly toppling their victim.
"Ezra!" Josiah growled, watching the Southerner's eyes roaming around the room. "What?"
"Where is Mister Tanner?"
"Oh no!" Inez moaned, her hand going to her throat. Her frantic eyes went all over the room. "Vin! Vin!" Then she saw some uncurled fingers showing from behind the wall across the room. "No... no..."
"Take it easy, Inez," Josiah called out and he and Ezra put the stretcher down on top of one of the few tables that remained upright. They both followed her to the small corner. It was a very tight area and they stared amazed that Vin could fit in it along with the stove.
"How on earth did he fall like that?" Ezra asked, bending down and gently moving Vin's legs until they were turned and flat on the floor. He then pulled Vin up by the collar and tugged. With three careful efforts, the pinned body was eased out of the tiny area. The long-haired man's head lolled against his chest.
"You two make a real pretty couple," Josiah teased of the intimate way in which Ezra now held Vin.
"You left your humor on the floor," Standish drolled, easing Vin down "It's a miracle he wasn't burned. Aside from a swelling jaw and a few cuts, he is unmarred."
"Looks like Nathan will have a full house," Josiah asked as a semi-naked body ran into the room. "Evenin' Buck." He cast a wary eye at the hastily pulled on long johns. The semi-open front panel of which revealed that their resident womanizer had heeded the call to arms while in action.
"As usual, Buck, your timing is impeccable." Ezra just shook his head at the handsome man whose neck and check were already bearing the marks of his trade.
"What the hell happened?" Buck asked, buttoning his longjohns and halting his wayward journey next to Chris. He tapped the bloody face and his heart sank. "Chris? Come on buddy, open your eyes."
"Not likely," Ezra commented, rising and walking over. "He suffered a beating, stabbing, was burned and nearly castrated. He will require much of Nathan's evening."
"You two take Chris, I'll bring Vin," Josiah offered.
"You can't!" Buck answered, eyeing the Texan's limp body. "How bad?"
"No holes, just a few cuts and a sore jaw. He got in the way of that monster's fist." Josiah answered.
"I heard a gunshot..." Buck asked, "Who..."
"Behind the bar," Sanchez replied. "Somebody looking for Chris. He was ready to cut Chris's head off and Inez shot him."
"Why can't we take Vin to Nathan?" Inez asked Buck who was peering over the bar.
"Nice shot!"" Buck praised, turning back to the others. "Because Jake Hamilton is up there. He might be dyin', Nathan's not sure what's wrong. Could be his heart. Poor old guy collapsed this morning in the street. He's been with him all day."
"Well, I suppose we could put Mister Tanner in his room. " Ezra thought on the boarding house down the street. "It would be nice for it to get some use."
"No, he is hurt and we cannot lose any more time. Chris needs help," Inez answered, her heart beating a bit more when she looked at him lying helpless on the floor. "Josiah, put Vin in my room in the back. I will tend to him."
"Sounds like a plan," the preacher agreed. "You two get Chris to Nathan. After I take care of Vin, I'll get some help and get the body down the street."
Inez moved ahead of Josiah towards her room. She pulled the quilt back and stood back when Josiah placed Vin on the bed.
Josiah sat Vin up and supported him, frowning at the sweaty body. "He's burning up. He was too close to that fire. Get his coat off, Inez. We have to cool him down a little."
"Alright," she agreed, getting his left arm out first and then the right. She folded the coat and put in on the bench at the foot of the bed. "He's soaked..."
"Shirt too," Josiah said and noticed her fingers trembling as they fumbled with the buttons.
He hid a smile then. He knew that Inez was sweet on Vin and that the tracker was also smitten. Finally, she got the last button undone and peeled his shirt off. He gently laid Vin back and got his boots off. He pulled the quilt up to his waist and then examined the small cut on the top of Vin's cheek. It wasn't serious. But his eye was swelling and his entire jaw was bruised and swelling. He ran his expert hands over the ribs and Vin cried out, his face distressed.
"Bruised... not broken. He'll be sore." He rose then, leaving his young charge in the care of a tender nurse. She had filled a basin with water, placed it on the bedstand and was sitting on the bed next to him. Her hand was shaking a bit when it used the soft, wet cloth to wipe his face. "You okay?"
"Si... go and check on Senor Chris, I am fine, " she lied, her insides turning to jelly.
It wasn't until Josiah left that she exhaled sharply and dropped the rag. Her heart was pounding so hard she felt sure it was going to pop through her chest. She brushed the stray locks of wavy brown hair from his face and rested her palm against his bruised cheek. Her heart fluttered and she gasped as if she touched a flame. Seeking comfort in his unconscious state, he moaned and turned his face, pressing it into her palm. Her eyes drank in every feature on his face greedily, she nearly drowned in the rapture of it.
He was beautiful.
She moved her finger over his jaw and across his lips. That caused her to shudder and gasp. She ran her hand down the hot bronzed flesh on his chest and felt her own body heat up. She shook her head to clear it and thought on the job she had to do. She wrung out the cloth and wiped his face, then moved the cotton down his neck and chest. Her fingers massaged the cold cloth into the firm skin, causing him to moan . Whether it was in pleasure or pain, she couldn't tell. Finally, satisfied that his body was cooling down, she pulled the quilt up. His face was still flushed. Was it a fever? Was he sick?
"There is one way best to check for fever," she rasped huskily and bent down, brusing her lips to his forehead. The warmth that met her lips caused a spark inside to flare up. She trace her finger on those sensual lips again and they parted. There it was, right before her, an open invite. Not able to help herself, she bent down and kissed him softly. She pulled back when he moaned and then grinned in guilt when he smiled in his sleep. She needed more and kissed him again, getting another sigh of contenment from her patient. She sat up then, pulling the quilt up and brushing her hands through his hair. She leaned close to his ear, laying her face against his.
"Sleep... my sweet Vin... I am here..."
Nathan was on the landing when they appeared at the foot of the stairs. The sound of the gunshot splitting the early twilight air brought him from the back of the clinic. By the time he got his boots on and checked on Jake, he saw a flash of Standish's telltale red jacket crossing below from his window.
"I heard the shot," he stated eyeing Buck's odd state of dress. He was concerned for the unmoving form of Chris Larabee on a wooden door but relieved to see no visible bullet wounds. "Who got hit?"
"...nobody... important..." Buck groaned. "Jesus, he's heavier than he looks."
"I didn't see much of cretin responsible," Ezra grunted, grateful when they reached the landing. "But whatever sired him had to have been a bear."
"...a rabid one..." Buck added, leaning against the post at the top while Nathan opened the door.
"Nathan... next... town... hall... we... bring... up... that... old... store... next... to... billiard... hall."
"I'll drink to that," Standish agreed of the vacant property at street level.
"Easy now," Jackson warned, skirting past the stretcher bearers.
He slipped towards the broad opening in the room and pulled the blanket down from the vacant bed by the window. He was glad Jake was on the smaller cot, Chris wouldn't have fit on it. "Why yuh totin' him on that thing?"
"We weren't sure if his back was hurt," Buck answered. "Okay, Nate, we'll tilt a bit and you slide him off.
"What happened?" Nathan asked, easing Larabee's limp body from the wood board. Once the bruised and battered body was on the bed, Buck tipped it sideways and took it outside. "Why ain't Buck dressed?" The gambler snorted, then smirked and a single chestnut brow arch at him in reply. "Oh... damn that hurts..."
"Whoever he was, he rode in about an hour ago, bearing a large varietiy of body vermin. He was standing by the bar amidst a horde of flies." Ezra moved to the foot of the bed to get Chris's boots off. Nathan had already unbuttoned the shirt and eased it out of the opened pants. The buttons on his pants were gone, so slipping them off was easy. "Then Chris arrived and he recognized him. He roared and charged across the room. We all attempted to assist Mister Larabee. " He paused when Buck reappeared and boldly raked him over, lingering on the soggy groin. "Well, almost all of us..."
"It ain't my fault I was otherwise occupied," Buck defended, eyeing his bloodied friend on the bed. "If he wasn't a good friend, I've have to shoot him. There I was halfway to heaven, all oiled up and drownin' in the finest four breasts you've ever tasted."
'Buck, don't make me lose m'supper," Nathan warned, satisfied that their leader's bones hadn't been broken. "Get his shirt off," he directed, easing Chris up and supporting him while Buck got the shirt off. "Buck..."
"Yeah." The other man moved in to take the ex-slave's place while he examined Chris's back. "Well?"
"No swellin' or breaks'," Nathan gently ran his skilled fingers over the tanned back. "Course until he wakes up and says how it feels, I won't know fuhr sure."
"That's a miracle," Ezra replied. "That monstrosity pummeled Mister Larabee and then threw him over the bar. Having been sent there previously by his hand, I had a front row seat. He seemed agitated that his victim was not aware of the grisley fate that awaited him." He watched as Nathan nodded to Buck and they eased him back down. He saw the skilled fingers lift each of Chris's eyelids, then rest against his crimson throat. "He threw the pot of coffee on him to rouse him. Then decided to castrate him. Ever the marksman, our fearless blond hero grabbed a corkscrew and jammed it in his eye. Then the beast decided to behead him, but Fate intervened."
"How's that?" Nathan asked, nodding gratefully to Buck who'd gotten a large pitcher of water and also a bowl full. He began to wipe the crimson tide from Larabee's now bloodied scalp and directed Buck on where to find the Carbolic and brown jar ointment for the burns.
"Inez blew his head off," Buck answered proudly, setting the items on a table in back of Chris's head. "He's gonna need stitches."
"Yuh think so?" Nathan said sarcastically. After wiping the blood from the gunslinger's face, neck, collarbone and scalp, he rang the cloth out twice and then set the icy wet cloth on the reddened area between Larabee's right shoulder, neck and breast. It was a nasty burn and was beginning to blister. He washed the cuts and then applied carbolic. Chris flinched, moaned and hissed, but didn't rouse. Nathan grabbed the silk and needle and began to sew up the cut under the left collarbone. "Buck, make yuhrself useful. Wash yuhr hands good and then open that brown jar. Dry that burn off real easy and rub some salve on it."
"Ezra rubs better, he's got hands softer than a woman," Buck commented and saw Standish's head fly up.
"Really?" Nathan eyed the pair and noted Buck's state of undress. "Ezra, where were yuh when Buck was runnin' around nekkid?"
"Not in the gutter with your mind," the Southerner snapped. "It so happens that our notorius rogue had a malady of sorts in a rather delicate area and I was called upon to assist."
"Is that what they call it now?" Nate chuckled, tying off the last stitch and threading the needle again. He gently tipped Chris's head to the side and back. "Buck, hold it steady for me. Where I come from, all yuh had to do was jump in a cold creek."
"Ha ha!" Buck mocked. "It wasn't like that. I had this... uh... well... situation and you weren't around. "
"Situation?" Jackson frowned, carefully sewing the cut over Chris's right eye. His entire face was bruised and the eye under the cut was swollen shut. The ribs were starting to color and his back would be bruised as well. He would be in a lot of pain for the next few days.
"Brother Buck had a big, old, festering boil on his ass and Ezra lanced it," Josiah said, entering the crowded room. "Then he used some kind of fancy lotion on it."
"Alright, that's enough," Buck intercepted, eyeing the preacher with a warning glance. "Leave my ass alone."
"...for days..." Sanchez grinned, winking at Ezra behind Buck's back. "Even when the boil was healed. Every afternoon they'd disappear up to Ezra's room and all you heard was Buck moaning. Now I couldn't hear it all but I did hear the words "God... dyin'... goin' t'heaven..."
"Very funny," Buck sassed, turning around to face Ezra. He was about to ask why the gambler wasn't challenging Sanchez when he saw the jade eyes leering at him and then a slip of pink tongue roll across the gambler's lips. "What the hell's wrong with you?"
"Just the memory of those lust-filled afternoons dancing in the sheets had rendered my groin into an exagerated state." He stepped closer and ran his hand up Buck's exposed chest. "I never realized the full potential of the word virile until that fateful day."
"Get away from me!" Buck shoved the roaming hand aside. "Fine friend you are, exposin' my ass like that."
"And what an ass it is," Ezra sent back, pulling the back door of the rosy longjohns open. "I see my mark is still there."
"I'm warnin' you Ezra," Buck threatened, then his face went ashen went he stumbled into the other cot. He slumped a bit when he saw the awful pallor and heard the raspy breathing. "He's not gonna see another sunrise."
"No," Nate said, "I'm surprised he lasted this long."
"Nathan, when you catch your breath, Vin's over at Inez's. Nothin' bleedin' or broken, but he's banged up a bit and he's not stirred yet." The preacher updated.
"I was wonderin' where he was," Nathan answered. "This ain't a train station, all o'yuh clear out. Josiah'll stay with Chris and Jake."
"Come along my moist love muffin," Ezra oozed, tapping Buck's backside.
"You ain't a damn bit funny, Ezra," Buck growled, skirting past the bed and heading for the door.
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