Disclaimer: The Magnificent Seven and characters are the property of MGM Television, The Mirsch Corporation, Trilogy Entertainment Group and CBS. No profit has been made off of this work and I unfortunately don't own them. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 8
Josiah awoke to the sun's rays slanting across his face. "Damn, oops Sorry." He sighed and started to reach to grab the blankets and pull them up over his head when his ribs protested the movement. "Okay fine there are two ways to skin a cat." With great care he reached up behind his head and pulled out the pillow which quickly found a new home; lying over his face. The pillow effectively blocked out the light and a few adjustments to its position ensured that he was still able to breathe. Just as he felt sleep beginning to overtake him again a pressing need in his bladder let itself be known. "I can't win." He moaned and began the arduous task of working his way out of the bed. First he slowly lifted his right foot to push the remaining blankets to the foot of the bed. "Don't want to get my feet tangled in the blankets." He thought to himself as he slowly rolled to his side which caused his ribs to sing out in pain and the opera to begin when he lowered his feet to the floor. He laughed out in pain and a few tears trickled down his face. "Now the hard part." He huffed out gritting his teeth and pushing himself to a sitting position and then to a standing position. He held on to the wall as stars danced in front of his eyes and the ringing in his ears increased to deafening proportions before settling down to a more manageable level. He took a deep breath and hobbled his way to the outhouse to take care of his call to nature.
Chris unfortunately had been awake since before sunrise; the pain from the headache driving him from his bed. He had tried to turn over and go back to sleep but the drums would not be silenced. He had then flopped onto his back and had beaten the mattress with his fists in frustration. Blowing out a breath, he sat up scrubbing his hands over his face, groaning through his hands, "No more sleep for me." Sighing he got up from the bed and pulled out a clean set of clothes. While dressing slowly he pondered what he was going to do during the day. He knew by the way that he was feeling that riding was out of the question and he was unsure how much help he would actually be in town if trouble was to break out. Moving too fast made him dizzy and it was difficult to think straight when he was hearing every thump of his heart. After finishing his morning ambulations he moved slowly down the stairs so as to not jolt his aching head. He thought a walk through the town in the early morning hours might help distract him from the pain. The cool breeze that had sprung up was welcoming and he soon found himself in front of the jailhouse. Looking through the windows confirmed that the jailhouse was currently unoccupied so he grabbed a chair from inside and set it up on the porch. He gratefully sank onto the chair; pushing back with his toes; the chair back was soon leaning against the outside of the jailhouse with only two feet resting in the wood deck. He kept watch as the sun rose and with it the early morning stirrings of a bustling town.
Vin ambled down the street from the general direction of the boarding house, waving to merchants that were preparing for the day. Chris chuckled as he watched Inez wave at Vin and Vin send a small wave back and speed his walk to the jailhouse. Vin stepped up onto the porch and grabbed a second chair from inside setting it up beside Chris's before mimicking his posture. "Mornin'. It's gonna be a beautiful day." He shot a sideways glance at Chris and watched how he gingerly rubbed at his forehead. "Still got the headache?"
Chris let out a breath and stated "Ain't gone away yet. You know how these things are. Probably gonna have it for a few more days." He let the chair fall forward but caught it before the legs hit the floor. He gingerly stood up and held out an arm when the world tilted on its axis. "Damn it!" he cursed as he stood still to wait for the feeling to pass. "You up for some breakfast?" He asked as he noticed Vin staring at him with a frown on his face.
"I guess so. You gonna be alright to walk all that way?" Vin asked standing up to join Chris.
Chris looked at the door to the restaurant and back at Vin and then back at the restaurant. "Uh Vin?"
Vin looked at Chris with a bland expression, "Yeah?"
"The door is five feet away. If I can't walk five feet you better call the undertaker cause I must be dead." And with that Chris Larabee turned his back on Vin Tanner and strode into the restaurant unassisted.
Several hours later Maude was awakened by the sounds of an active town. She could hear the wagons rambling up and down the main thoroughfare, people calling out to one another and children laughing and crying. "Should have asked for a room on the back; it'd be quieter." She thought to herself as she pushed up in the bed. Considering all she had been through yesterday she was feeling pretty good today. She had some tenderness in her shoulders and her palms were raw from holding on to the rope during the "rescue" but that seemed to be all of her maladies. She climbed from the bed and stretched all the kinks out before walking over to where her bags had been stacked. She opened the top bag and began rummaging through it to find something clean to wear. Most of the clothing inside was relatively unscathed but many were damp. She finally persevered when she found some under things toward the bottom that had somehow remained dry. She put those aside and moved the case over by the door. Checking through the next two bags she found that these had not fared as well. The clothes were wet and gritty. They would need to be cleaned before she could wear them again. "Well at least I can wear my own underthings." Thirty minutes later Maude was dressed and at the lobby front desk requesting that someone collect her clothing and take it to the laundry. Once the hotel manager assured her that all would be taken care of; she strolled down to the clinic.
Nathan looked up from re-wrapping Josiah's ribs when a knock sounded at the door. He was just about to tell the person on the other side that he'd be with them in a moment when the door opened and none other than Maude Standish walked into the room. "Oh my!" she quickly turned her back but did not leave the room.
"Ms. Standish if you'll step outside for a moment I can finish up with Josiah and see to you next." Nathan stuttered as Josiah blushed about five shades of red and grimaced fiercely while putting on his shirt with all due haste.
"I only need a moment of your time. Ezra had informed me that you had a wonderful salve to use on injuries. You see I seem to have some rope burns on my palms and since my hands are my livelihood I just wanted to tend them." She kept her back to the two men and thanked the heavens that they could not see her face. She was not a blushing virgin but she kept trying to control her devilish smirk with no luck at all. She had under estimated Josiah; he was in fact a very well built male specimen. "It's been too long" she thought to herself. If the man had any inkling what so ever to the thoughts running through her mind right now he might very well be set upon by a fit of apoplexy. She defiantly had some images burned into her mind that could keep her warm at night.
Nathan strode over to the cabinets and rummaged around inside. "That's all you need? Well heck let me get that for you real quick." He found the small jar and placed it in her outstretched hand. "Just put it on twice a day, morning and night, and you'll be right as rain in just a few days time." He smiled at her and walked her to the door. "Remember my door is always open if you should need anything."
"Why thank you Mr. Jackson that is just so sweet." She gave Nathan her most coy smile and peered back in the doorway at Josiah. "I hope you are feeling better soon Mr. Sanchez."
Josiah stood back a little and waved at her. "Thank you ma'am. I appreciate it."
Maude put the jar in her satchel, adjusted the jacket over her dress, walked down the stairs and headed over to the restaurant to get some lunch.
As she neared the restaurant she observed Chris Larabee sitting in front of the jailhouse. He seemed to be deeply in conversation with Buck Wilmington. She smiled as she thought to herself, "If I just walk by quietly and try not to draw attention to myself I may be able to pass without him questioning me about why I have come to town." She walked by the two and their conversation didn't even slow. She knew she was almost free; she reached for the handle and started to pull the door to the restaurant open when a quiet voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Afternoon Ms. Standish, do you have a moment to speak?" Chris Larabee said low and calm.
Maude took her hand from the door handle, slid her poker face into place and turned to look Chris Larabee in the eye. "Oh, please forgive me. I did not see you there. Good afternoon to you, Mr. Larabee and you, Mr. Wilmington."
"Thank ye ma'am. Afternoon to you." Buck grinned, waved to her and from a silent message from Chris went inside the jailhouse.
Chris levered a stare at her and cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't see me here? I find that hard to believe. You are a woman who notices everything. You'd have to be to have managed to move about unscathed." He crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to be contemplating a piece of mud marring the tow of his boot. He reached forward and flicked it off and dropped his foot to the plank.
Maude tried not to twitch but she felt like she was about to be scolded by a disappointed parent. She looked down for a quick moment, away from his gaze. After she collected herself and schooled her features she looked back up into his eyes. "Yes Mr. Larabee can I help you with something?"
He stared at her face for a long moment before asking, "Why have you come to Four Corners?"
