See part 1 for disclaimer

Part 9

JD and Vin walked into the house and moved from room to room, looking for Karl. Spotting the shut door, the two men shared a glance.

Vin motioned JD towards the door. With a nod of understanding, JD moved to stand by the door. Once the younger man was set, Vin took a deep breath, then hit the door with his foot.

At the crashing of the door, JD dived into the room, his gun at the ready, yelling, "Drop it!"

Karl, though, was ready for the two men, "I think you should be the one to drop it."

JD stood up, with Vin coming to stand behind him. "No," JD said, "I don't think so. We have you outnumber. I would say you're the one who should drop it."

Karl laughed. "I think you're forgetting someone."

As he said that, he pulled Buck into view, making sure to place the boy in front of him.

JD and Vin shared a glance, "Let him go, Karl."

JD growled. Backing away from the two men, Karl shook his head. "No, You won't try to kill me. You don't want to hit this kid, here. So back off and let me go."

Vin shook his head, "That isn't going to happen. Your two lackeys are being arrested as we speak. How do you think you are going to get out of here with Buck?"

Karl frowned. "I'll get out of here fine. You aren't going to hurt him. Besides there is only two of you. I can sneak out of here without a problem."

A voice from behind the man startled all three. "Not if my bullet gets you first."

Moving quickly so his back was to a wall, Karl stared at the newcomers. "You two. Should have known you two would show up. Can't seem to separate you and the two brats. Though, I suggest you let me go if you want this one to live to see tomorrow."

As this was going on, Buck was staring at Chris.

Chris, ignoring what was going on, smiled at Buck and then quirk an eyebrow.

Buck frowned for a second, then smiled. Glancing at Karl for a second, then back at Chris, Buck nodded once.

Smiling, Chris turned to the Southern. Getting his attention, he motioned at Buck the mimed biting. Ezra frowned for a second, then nodded.

Holding up his hand, Chris slowly counted down from five. When his hand closed into a fist, Buck acted.

Opening his mouth, he clamped his teeth down on the closest piece of skin, which happened to be Karl's arm. At the same time, two gunshots were heard.

The scream of pain, and the jerk of his arms, allowed Buck to escape the man's grasp and run to Chris and Ezra.

Vin didn't take his eyes off Karl, who was rubbing his arm and glaring at the now safe Buck. JD glanced over at Buck to make sure he was fine, then turned back to Karl. "You have no one. Now surrender, or we will shoot."

Karl glanced around, looking for a way to escape. "How do you know those shots weren't from my men?"

A deep voice answered the questions. "Because we're still alive and your two thugs are dead."

Staring at Josiah and Nathan, Karl lowered his gun and raised his hands. "I'm unarmed. Don't shoot."

"You sure you don't want to pick up your gun?"

Staring at the growling tracker, Karl paled. "No... I'm good."

Shoving his gun in his holster, JD grabbed some rope and motion for Karl to turn around. Moving closer to the man, he growled. "Please, make a move."

Unfortunately, Karl seemed to realize that if he wanted to live a little longer, it was wiser not to try anything.

Once Karl's hands were tied behind him, JD turned him around and shoved him to the ground. "Stay there."

Karl said nothing. Glaring at the man, Josiah spoke. "I'll watch him."

Vin and JD nodded. Turning, they headed towards Chris and Buck. Reaching the boys, both men were almost bowled over when Chris and Buck tackled them.

Holding the boys close for several minutes, Vin moved slightly so he could look up at Ezra. "I thought we told you to stay back?"

Ezra shifted slightly. "Yes, but we felt we could do some help. And it was a good thing that we came along."

Vin glared at the gambler. Turning back to the kids, he had to ask. "How did you know when to bite the man, Buck?"

Pulling away from JD, Buck turned to look over at Vin. "Cause Chris told me to. He counted down."

Raising an eyebrow, Vin turned to Chris. The older boy smiled. "I counted down. Buck knew what to do. We figured out a system."

JD laughed slightly. "Well, it's a good system."

Nathan moved from hovering to crouching near the group. "Buck? You want to come over here? I need to check you out."

Buck turned in JD's arms and frowned. "But I'm not hurt."

"I just want to make sure you're okay. I'm sure you're fine, but it would make me feel better."

The four year-old, eyed the healer for a second, trying to figure out if there was a trick in there. Finally, he wiggled out of JD's arms and over to Nathan. "I'm fine, Uncle Nate."

Checking the young boy over, Nathan nodded. "I'm sure you are, but I just want to make sure you aren't suffering any ill effects from having to bite Karl."

Screw his face up in disgust, Buck nodded after a few minutes. "You think he gave me something?"

Nathan grinned slightly. "No, I don't think he gave you anything, but you seem okay. You aren't tired or have a headache?"

Buck shook his head. "Nope, I'm good. Can we go home now?"

Nathan nodded. "Soon, I just want to make sure you and Chris don't feel anything from being drugged."

Sighing, Chris spoke up. "But I'm fine."

Glaring at the four men for a moment, he finally turned back to Chris. "I'm sure you are, but I just want to make sure."

Chris nodded. "All right, but no tea?"

Nathan nodded. "No tea, but I reserve the right to give you honey water."

Both boys nodded. Ezra frowned, "Honey water?"

JD leaned over and whispered into Ezra's ear. "Its what Nate calls tea with honey in it. It seems the boys don't mind drinking that. Its just the Tea word they don't like."

Nodding in understanding. Vin broke up the conversation. "You think we can leave here today or should we stay overnight?"

Silent for a moment, Nathan finally sighed. "I don't want to stay here, but I would rather have the boys sleep in a bed tonight instead of outside."

Chris and Buck shared a look. "Uncle Nate, we don't mind camping out."

Looking down at Chris, Nathan nodded. "I know, but you two have been through a lot, and I want to make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight."

Chris shared a long look with Buck then nodded. "All right."

Vin grinned at the disappointment from Chris. "Don't worry, we'll all be here with you."

The two boys nodded, though they still didn't seem happy about staying at the house.

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Several hours later, Josiah walked up from the basement where they had put Karl for the night. "The boys asleep yet?"

Ezra, sipping on some coffee shook his head. "No. Every time we think they've fallen asleep, one of the two will still be awake and start to cry out for them."

Josiah settled down, grabbing a cup of coffee. "They've been through a lot in a short time. They're just a little shook up."

"They shouldn't have had to go through it. They've been through enough."

"I know. I agree this shouldn't have happen to them, but it did. We can only be there for them. And you did do good."

Taking a sip of the coffee, the Southern shook his head. "Lucky them. I couldn't do anything to stop what was happening. If I had been more alert, they would have never been taken in the first place."

The ex-preacher sighed. "It wasn't your fault either. In fact, it was lucky that the two idiots took you with them."

Snorting in disbelief, the gambler stared at Josiah. "How do you think that it is lucky? The boys were dragged out of Four Corners, taken here, then attacked again, when they thought themselves safe. How is it lucky?"

Taking a long drink of the coffee, Josiah finally answered. "You were there with them. They had you to lean on through the whole thing. They weren't alone. They could look to you when they were scared."

Staring down at the half empty coffee cup, Ezra nodded slightly. "I see your point, but it still shouldn't have happened. They shouldn't worry about being taken."

A grin graced Josiah's face. "That, I have agree with. They shouldn't have had to deal with any of it, but we're are here for them. They'll get through it."

With a sigh, Ezra finished his coffee. Staring at the empty mug, he turned to stare at the door that Karl was held behind. "At least they will never have to deal with that man and his plans again."

"That is very true brother. Very true."

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Vin and JD shared a look. They were scared to move. It seemed that when they thought the two boys were asleep, they would move, and one of them would wake up or cry out. After the fifth time it happened, they had decided not to move until the boys were both truly asleep. Though, now that it seemed that both boys were deep asleep, neither man wanted to move in fear that one of the boys would wake up.

After staring at each other for several long minutes, Vin sighed. "You comfortable, JD?"

With a slight groan, JD answered. "Barely, this bed wasn't made for this many people."

"I hear ya. But if we want to get some sleep tonight, I think we're stuck."

Chuckling softly, JD had to agree. "You think that they'll ever go to sleep again without one of us near them?"

Vin grinned slightly. "Someday."

"I'm glad they had Ezra with them. I would hate to think if they didn't have him with them."

"We were lucky he was with them. If he wasn't..."

JD shook his head. "I don't want to think about what ifs. Ezra was with them,and nothing happened."

Taking a moment to smooth down Chris's hair, Vin nodded to himself. "Yes, nothing happened that can't be fixed."

JD running a hand through Buck's hair in a mirror of Vin's action, JD nodded. "Right, nothing happened that can't be fixed."

With that the two men fell silent, each lost in thought.

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