Ch.1

Nathan Larabee entered the dimly lit train car, and closed the sliding door behind him. He waited for a moment to let his weary eyes adjust to the dimness, after having just come from the well lit dining car where he had warmed his baby brother's bottle. When he could see well enough to walk, Nathan started slowly down the narrow aisle of upholstered seats, filled with slumbering occupants.

It didn't take him long to reach the back of it. This was the section that the seven brothers had claimed as their for the duration of their trip west. They only had a few more days to go before they reached their final stop on the railroad line. He couldn't wait to get off the train, and knew his brothers felt the same way. It had been a hell of a week for all of them.

Their problems had begun the moment they boarded the train in Boston.

"Just where in the hell do you think you're going boy?"

A wool clad arm unexpectedly shot out across the narrow aisle,effectively blocking Nathan's way. His sudden stop caused a domino effect with his brothers, who were following closely behind him. He felt Vin bump into his back and let out a muffled 'ow'.

He gazed from the arm to the man it was attached to. The man had thinning dark hair, strong angular features, and mean eyes, His black wool suit was of fine quality, but rumpled.

"Please Sir, withdraw your arm so I may pass."

"Lookie there, Silas, the Nigra boy has some manners."

Nathan's eyes drifted onto the speaker who sat across from the first man. This man was dressed in a blue suit. He had salt and pepper hair, mustache, and a wore a patch over his left eye.

Silas snorted. "Don't mean nothing. Most Nig-"

Before Nathan could react, there was swift movement from somewhere behind him. He felt someone shove past him, and then Buck was suddenly crouched over Silas, his hand twisted in the man's shirt. The man's collar tightened under the pressure Buck was applying, and Silas's face turned a mottled shade of reddish-purple, and he let out a strangled gurgle. He clawed at Buck's hands to try and loosen the teenager's hold on his throat.

"Hey!" Patch tried to go to Silas's defense, but froze as he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan saw Chris leaning over the seat on his right, his Colt aimed at the man with the patch. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Nathan felt his upper lip curve momentarily into a smile at the scared look that settled over Patch's face.

"Buck ease up on his throat before you kill him." Nathan ordered his younger brother softly, aware that they were gaining the attention of the other passengers who were already seated or had boarded the car behind the brothers, and were waiting to find seats of their own.

Buck reluctantly released his hold on Silas's neck and straightened up. Silas glared up at him as he gasped for breath.

"Hey! What's going on here?"The train conductor pushed his way through the passengers behind the brothers.

Buck stepped back into the aisle, as Chris quickly holstered his gun. Nathan half-turned in the aisle, using his free arm to push Vin behind him, as Josiah handed JD's basket to Ezra, before turning to face the conductor.

"Only a misunderstanding." Josiah assured him in a calm manner. "Isn't that right, gentlemen?"

Patch started to say something, but paled under Buck's glare, and the remembrance of Chris's gun pointing at him only moments earlier.

"Well, go on about finding your seats, and be quick about it. Train will be leaving in five minutes." The conductor gave them all a lingering glance, before turning to assist other passengers with their seats.

Nathan smiled as he remembered what his brothers had done for him. Their quick defense of him reminded him again that he wasn't alone anymore. He truly had brothers who would do anything for him, as he would do for them.

He and his brothers had quickly 'claimed' their area at the back of the car. They established seating arrangements and sentry duty. No more were they settled, and the train had left the Boston station, than JD had awakened.

The sweet baby Chris had found in the trash, turned into a tiny terror. Every shuddering motion of the train, combined with the occasional shrieking whistle and screeching brakes as the train approached a depot, conspired to keep their baby brother on edge.

JD's distress was unsettling for his older brothers, and disturbing for the other passengers on the car. Nothing they did seemed to soothe JD's high pitched screams, hiccuping sobs, and fretful cries. For three days and nights, JD had carried on, until finally he had fallen into an exhaustive sleep, much to the relief of his older brothers and their fellow passengers.

He slept through the night, and much of the next he awoke after his restful sleep, JD's attitude turned into a more contented, congenial one. The brothers didn't care so much as to the why their baby brother had ceased his crying fit, only that he had.

Nathan smiled down into JD's cherubic features as he slept contentedly in his basket. He placed the bottle he had warmed at JD's feet, before adjusting JD's blanket around him. JD's arms flailed and a whimper escaped from his tiny lips.

Nathan froze, holding his breath, feeling a moment of panic seize him as he waited to see if JD would awaken. A moment passed, then two more,and JD didn't let out another sound. He let out the breath he was holding with a sigh of relief. He knew it was silly, but all of them were still fearful that JD would once again turn into the holy terror he had been only a short time earlier.

He grinned at his foolishness and stepped over to the seat opposite the one JD's basket rested on. His smile faded away as he pressed his hand to Ezra's forehead. He was relieved to find that it was still cool. It appeared that the third youngest Larabee brother was on the mend for good.

The second night into their trip, Ezra became seriously ill with a mysterious stomach malady. Even with his days spent helping his former master care for patients during the War Between the States, Nathan couldn't recall seeing someone vomit as much as Ezra had. For four days and nights, Ezra had been unable to keep anything down. His brother's temperature had spiked dangerously high as well.

JD had been given over to the care of the rest of the brothers, as he and Josiah worked around the clock to tend to Ezra. They bathed Ezra often with water they obtained from the dining car, spooned water, broth, and herbal concoctions into his mouth. With each moment that passed, with none of his concoctions working to break Ezra's fever or ease his stomach, Nathan's heart grew heavier, and Josiah's prayers more fervent.

Just when he felt as if they would need to bail off the train at the next city they came to, to find a doctor, Ezra's fever finally broke. That had only been yesterday morning. With his temperature returning to normal, Ezra's retching ceased. He was only now finally able to hold down some broth, water, and medicine, much to the relief of all his brothers.

Josiah had led them all in a thankful prayer, and Nathan truly believed that the Almighty had had a hand in turning Ezra on the mend. Ezra was still incredibly weak and didn't move off his seat unless it was to make the walk to the privy, with the assistance of one of his older brothers.

Now that Ezra was slowly recovering, and JD had settled down, all the brothers were catching up on missed sleep. As he settled on his pallet on the floor between JD and Ezra's seats, he pondered whether or not he should wake up Chris. It was his blond brother's turn for sentry duty. Except for an assortment of annoyed grumblings from the other passengers on their car over JD's fretful crying and Ezra's endless retching, the brothers hadn't encountered any problems since their first night on the train.

Thankfully, the two men who had raised a ruckus about his presence on the train, had moved to another car that same night. The brothers had periodically seen Patch and Silas in the dining car or elsewhere, until Buck had reported seeing them depart the train.

It was a relief to know the men were gone, but the brothers hadn't given up sentry duty. His healer's heart almost won over his practical mind, but in the end, it didn't. Nathan sighed. They had rules for a reason.