Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dukes of Hazzard Characters or any of the Magnificent Seven characters.

Warning: Again, this hasn't been beta-ed. I apologise in advance for all the grammatical and spelling errors.

Vin cut at the rope, tying Joe's wrists and ankles to the stakes, while Nathan was trying to get water down Joe's throat. "Come on, Joe. You need to wake up and drink some water." Vin removed the ropes, then sat behind Joe's head, propping it up. "Keep trying to get some water into him, Vin." Vin took the water skin and opened Joe's mouth, pouring a little in, he rubbed Joe's throat to coax him to swallow. He continued this as Nathan methodically checked Joe's injuries.

"Cuts were cauterized." Vin's jaw clenched when he heard this. He knew the pain of cauterization and Vin knew it was meant as torture and not to fight infection. "Burns," He felt his ribs and arms, "Broken ribs, wrist's swollen," He looked down to Joe's legs and saw what had caused the blood stain at the camp. He tore open the blood stained trousers, "Infected. I need to cut it open to let it drain, then draw out the infection with herbs."

Vin nodded, "Do what you have to, Nathan." Nathan nodded. "Start a fire. I need hot water." Vin took off his jacket and placed it under Joe's head, then went to start the fire.

Hangman's Rocks

Four men were lying on their stomach's over the edge of the slope that overlooked the rocks. "Vin's right. The view's beautiful." Buck smirked at the unsuspecting gang down below. "What's the plan, Pard? We don't shoot men in the back."

Chris thought about it. "We'll give them a chance to surrender. Cover me." Chris stood up. Hank followed. Chris looked at him.

"What?" He whispered, "This is personal!"

Chris shrugged, then turned to call out to the men. "Hello, below!" He called. All eight men, turned around and pointed their guns at them. They didn't fire because Chris and Hank didn't look armed. Cocky bastards! Chris thought, Let's see how long that will last.

"I told you to come alone!" Frank called back, not liking that he was surprised. "Your friend is as good as dead!"

"He's my cousin!" Hank called out, "And he's very much alive!" He saw that Frank's confidence faded.

"Your bluffing! You won't even recognise him if you ever find what's left of him." Frank continued.

"One of your men took him west of your camp!" Chris revealed. "We found him. Now, you surrender and you'll get a fair trial."

The men below laughed, "You two going to make us."

Hank looked at Chris and smiled. "You gave them the chance."

"I did. Buck, Ezra!" Chris and Hank ducked as arrows came flying high over them and exploded in the rocks down below. Chris peered over the edge and saw that the shots were good. The men were too disoriented to fight back. "Last chance," he called. A shot rang out causing him to hit the ground again. "Damn it. Why can't they make it easy?"

"Buck, Ezra! Again!" Buck and Ezra let fly another two more arrows each. Their aims were spot on and the explosion sent the men to the ground again. The gang had no chance. The sheer volume of the explosion has left them disoriented. After two more arrows, all eight men were down. The four men waited until the dust cleared before heading down and checking each man. All men were dead, all except one. Frank Audron, but he wasn't far behind. Hank knelt down next to him and looked him in the eye.

"You chose the wrong man to kidnap. You signed your death warrant the second you set out for him." Hank watched as the fear in Frank's eyes turned cold.

Chris gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Arrows were a good idea."

"Good idea! They were down right fun!" Buck laughed.

"I must say, I was sceptical of the effectiveness of such a primitive weapon, but as Mr Wilmington states; it was fun!" Ezra grinned. Hank nodded in agreement but was too worried about his cousin to celebrate.

Chris read his mind. "Ezra, Buck. Get their bodies together and burn them. There's too many to take back."

"Mr Larabee, I must object…"

"It wasn't a suggestion, Ezra." Larabee growled, "Come on, Hank. The shots came from that direction." He pointed out. They mounted their horses. "Meet you back in town." Chris called out to Ezra and Buck.

Vin got the water boiling and then went back over to Joe. Nathan scooped out a bit of hot water and poured it over the herbs he had brought with him. He grounded them up with a pestle. He took out a bottle and scalpel, pouring alcohol to sterilize it, Nathan brought it and the herbs over to Joe. "Hold him down, Vin." Nathan said. Vin placed both hands on Joe's shoulders and leaned on it. Nathan press down on Joe's knee with one hand and slowly cut into the dried wound. Joe screamed and bucked at the same time explosions could be heard in the distance.

Vin waited for Joe to relax again before speaking, "You hear that, Joe. That means your cousin got the men who did this. Hank's gonna be here soon. You hear me, Joe, so you hang in there." Nathan waited for the wound to bleed a little, to help flush out dirt before pressing the herbs onto the wound. He pressed against the wound, causing Joe to groan at the pain he caused. Nathan blocked out any screams or sounds and kept working. He grabbed a bandage and proceeded to wrap the leg wound. "That's all I can do for the leg. Sit him up, I need to wrap his ribs.." Vin lifted Joe into a sitting position. Nathan worked quickly and quietly. Treated what he could. "We're going to need a travois to get him back to town."

Vin nodded, "When Hank gets here I'll go and find some stuff ta build one." Nathan felt Joe's forehead. It was hot and yet he was shivering. He took off his jacket and draped it over Joe to protect him from the sun as well as keep him warm. They had moved under the one tree in the area but it provided little protection. Nathan picked up Joe's wrist and felt around the swollen area. "Not broken, just a bad sprain." However, his wrists were torn from his struggles against the ropes. Nathan soaked a clean cloth and cleaned the area before bandaging both wrists. He sat back on his heels and looked up at Vin. "I can't do anymore for him here."

"We'll get him back to town and you can patch him up some more there."

"If he makes it back to town." Nathan finally admitted. "It's bad, Vin."

Vin looked down at Joe, "If he's anythin' like his cousin, he'll make it. They're both fighters, Nathan."

"I hope so."

An hour later, Vin heard horses. He recognised one of the horses to be Pony. He didn't get up to greet them because Joe's head was resting on his leg. Hank got off his horse and ran the short distance to his cousin. Kneeling beside him, Hank put a gentle hand to Joe's face. "Joe."

"He's alive, in a lot of pain, but alive." Nathan told him. "If you can get him to wake up and take some more water, it'll do him a lot of good."

Hank looked at him, then back down at his cousin. He brushed aside Joe's hair. The bandage there was gone, must've fallen off. "Joe, can you hear me? It's Hank." Joe didn't respond. Hank picked up Joe's hand, noticing that his wrists were bandaged. "Joe, I need you to wake up and tell me you're okay." Vin smiled when that seemed to work. Joe stirred a little. Hank squeezed his hand and kept another one against his cheek. "Come on, Joe. You can do it."

Joe opened his eyes. The person above him was blurry. He closed his eyes tight, then opened them again, hoping to clear his vision. "Hank?" Joe whispered, then grimaced in pain.

"Don't talk, Joe. I'm going to give you some water." Nathan handed Hank the water skin, while Vin lifted Joe's head.

"Just a little at a time." Nathan cautioned. Joe managed to swallow a few sips before he choked and started coughing the water back up. "Sit him up!" Nathan ordered. Vin pushed him up. Hank put his arm behind his back and pulled him closed, letting Joe lean against his chest. Joe gripped Hank's arms, holding onto his cousin as the pain in his ribs and chest drew him towards the blackness again. Hank hugged his cousin to his chest as the coughing subsided and the body in his arm went limp.

"Joe?" Hank loosened his hold and looked down at Joe. "Nathan!"

Nathan checked Joe's breathing and pulse, "It's okay. He's still with us. The pain must've caused him to pass out again."

"Hank, why don't you sit here. Me and Cowboy need to build a travois." Vin got out from behind Joe, so Hank could sit down. He helped Hank lower Joe back down, so that his head rested on Hank's leg. Vin was about to get up when Hank grabbed his arm. "Thank you for finding him." Vin smiled and nodded, before leaving with Chris to collect the parts needed to build a travois.

Hank place one hand over Joe's heart, reassured by the heart beat. His other hand ran through Joe's curls. "This was supposed to be a simple trip to help out Uncle Jeremiah and then return home. Four Corners was just a rest stop. How did it come to this?"

"You two are really close." Nathan stated.

Hank nodded, "I have four cousins. I'm the oldest. Joe's the youngest but for some reason, I'm the closest to him."

"You've watched his back all his life." Nathan smiled knowingly.

"And ever since he could, he's been watching mine." Hank never took his eyes off Joe as he spoke. "When I was 10 and he was 5, we went down to the creek to fish. There were a coupl'a teenagers there who thought it would be fun to pick on us. Joe was little then," Hank chuckled, "Never thought he would out grow me. Anyway, he was the fastest little guy around. Ran full force into one of them. The boy didn't have a chance, fell straight into the creek. The other guy had me on the ground. Joe just jumped on his back, screaming in his ears and pulling at his hair." Hank and Nathan were laughing now, "After a minute I had to pull Joe off the guy and they ran off so fast."

"It sounds like you two had some adventures."

Hank shook his head, "Everyday's an adventure with Joe. I don't know what I'd do if he's not around." He looked up at Nathan, "Chris told me I'd have the best healer if I needed him."

Nathan smiled, "I don't know about the best, but I'd do every in my power to make sure he survives, but I'm going to be honest with you it doesn't look good."

Hank closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't going to give up on Joe. Not when he's still breathing. "Just do what you can, Nathan." Then opened his eyes and returned his attention to his cousin, placing a hand to his head, he said, unnecessarily, "He's hot."

"He's got an infection in the leg wound. In a sadistic way, he was lucky the cuts were cauterize…" Nathan stopped when Hank took a quick breath in shock, "I'm sorry, I should've told you about his injuries." Hank hasn't seen the extent of the torture because most of it was concentrated on his torso and he was covered with a jacket. "Do you want to know?"

Hank shook his head, "But I reckon I need to know."

Nathan knew it was true. Hank would be Joe's primary carer, he needed to know everything. He proceeded to tell Hank the list of injuries. The more he heard the more he wanted Frank to be alive so that he could make him die in pain. The same pain he caused Joe.

"Ahoy the camp!" Hank's hand went straight to his gun, but Nathan put a hand out to calm him. "It's Buck."

Buck appeared ten seconds later with Ezra. He looked down at Hank and Joe. "How is he?" He asked softly of the unconscious man.

"We need to get him back to the clinic." Nathan answered simply. "Chris and Vin went to make a travois so we can get him back to town."

"Mr Wilmington and I procured an additional equine from the varmints who conducted this repulsive act." Ezra didn't need to see the wounds to know Joe's been tortured and any form of torture is inexcusable. "We believe it will be of assistance in transporting Mr Duke back to our fair municipality."

"It would make the trip faster. It'll be too taxing for a horse to be carrying a rider as well as pull a travois. We would've had to make too many stops. This way we can make it in one trip as long as Joe's condition doesn't worsen." Nathan told them.

"I thought I told you two to get back to town." Chris called out as he and Vin carried a crude travois on their shoulders.

Buck shrugged, "We figured this way was on the way. Didn't hurt to come by and see if ya need help, did it, Pard?"

Chris shook his head, "Just wonderin' when y'all will start taking orders."

Vin smirked, "Cowboy, we follow your orders." Vin gave a cheeky smile, "when it suits us." He looked over at Hank and knew the man was starting to feel the weight of his cousin's condition. He walked over to Hank and knelt down. Hank looked up at him, "He's alive because he knew you'd come for him. And now, you're his hold to the living. Don't let him go." Hank found this man more and more intriguing as he spent more time with him. It's not possible, he thought to himself. "Time to get him back to town."

They had to tie Joe to the travois to ensure he wouldn't slip off while they moved. It was going to be an uncomfortable ride, but there was no other way. "Hank, I need him to drink some of this." Nathan poured out some laudanum into the lid of the bottle. "It'll ease the pain for the ride."

Hank knelt down beside his cousin. "Joe." He called softly, placing a hand on his cheek. Nathan knew Joe would wake up to Hank's voice. He's seen it before with Chris and Vin. It was the connection between them.

Joe slowly opened his eyes. He frowned and swallowed before asking, "Are we going home?" He croaked, his throat hurt from talking.

"Not yet. We're heading back to Four Corners." Hank lifted Joe's head, "Drink this." Joe did as he asked, drinking without question.

"Wished all my patients were so cooperative," he grumbled at Vin. Vin just grinned at him. Nathan handed Hank some water. "Get him to drink some water as well." He traded the water skin for the lid and watched to see how much water Joe was taking. "Okay, let's go." Nathan announced, beginning to think Joe had a good chance. Vin was right. Hank is Joe's lifeline.

Hank lowered Joe's head and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Sleep, I'll watch your back."

Joe closed his eyes, "I know."

Nathan and Hank rode behind so they could keep an eye on Joe. Vin rode on Peso and led the horse dragging the travois, Chris headed the group and Ezra and Buck brought up the end. Together they rode back to town, protecting the injured man from all directions.