Josiah entered Chris's room quietly. The last four days had seen a rapid improvement in his teams leader. Every day he healed, he grew more determined to get to Vin. Josiah knew that it was what drove him with his exercises, pushing himself to heal. He frowned as he approached the bed and realised that Chris was dreaming again. Several times over the last days he had seen him fall into the clutches of restless nightmares.
Chris wanted to shout to Vin to move, wanted to hurl himself forward as he watched the dark haired woman approach his bed, a pillow in her hands. She was going to smother him, right in front of him she was going to suffocate him. Desperate now he tried to get up off his chair, but his body would not move. He tried to shout a warning as the pillow was placed over his face, tried to scream for Vin to wake up, but no sound would leave his throat. Vin's body did not move under the force of her grip, did not protest as she cut off his air. Finally his panic burst forth and he opened his mouth "VIN!"
"Easy there! Chris, easy, relax now... relax, you're awake, just another dream."
Slowly Chris made sense of the voice above him, felt the reassuring rub on his arm, the squeeze of his hand then the pushing back of his sweat soaked hair. He panted, drawing ragged breaths into his healing lung.
"I'm going, Josiah. Either help me organise it or I'll get out of here on my own. Either way I'm leaving. Vin's in danger."
"Chris, it's only been five days, they said you can go in a few more if you keep progressing like you have been, but that means home, bed rest, do you know what that means?"
"I spoke to the Judge earlier today. They have every man out there looking for her, but she's going to go after him, Josiah." His eyes pleaded with him. "I know it."
Josiah looked at the urgency in the green eyes, the determined set to Chris's jaw. "Two more days, brother and maybe we can get you transported, but just give it that long."
"He hasn't got a few more days."
Josiah continued to look at him.
"Just trust me," Chris said, closing his eyes and trying to shake the last remnants of his nightmare from his mind.
..
Claudia Paolino was ready. It had been too easy to hide in the hidden floor beneath her cabin on the boat until the police had finished checking it and pulling it apart. She had woken to the noise of a gunshot and had looked out to see her brother getting away. The bastard had tried to kill her and she intended to make him pay for that.
The police had provided her with an unwitting escort back to the town, driving the boat back up the river to the dock that led to the main street. She'd left her hiding place only once the last man had exited and had moved about freely on board, until they returned again to go over the boat once more. She'd heard them above her, finally removing the body of her nanny and had listened as they had talked amongst themselves, telling her everything she needed to know to get to Tanner.
Her brother had been shot dead, that she now knew. She was not saddened by that fact, disappointed that her plans had fallen apart to run the business and angry that she would have no revenge against him for trying to strangle her, but not saddened. She wondered who had shot him, knowing it was a professional hit from what she could hear and knowing that it had left all of the agents and police stumped.
The most interesting news was that Vin Tanner was in the nearby hospital fighting for his life, now providing a focus for her revenge and anger. She would make sure that he did not live this time.
..
"Chris is coming here."
"What?" Nathan said, turning to Buck.
"They're moving him, Josiah couldn't hold him back one more day."
"I am surprised he did not manage to flee before now," Ezra said, not shocked by the news.
"He's in no condition to travel," Nathan objected.
"The judge has helped organise it. Chris gave him a hiding apparently about everything that Vin has endured and all of the fuck ups the FBI has done to cause this happening. He's being transported with a medical crew."
Nathan sighed a little in relief and even grinned then. "Now that I can picture."
"When is our esteemed leader due to descend on this institution?" Ezra asked. He had been released two days ago and had joined Nathan, Buck and JD over at the towns only hotel, more of a boarding house up the main street. They were meant to take turns sitting with Vin and travelling over to the hospital, but more often than not, they were all there together, waiting for their turn to sit by his side.
"They are going to drive him out tomorrow, he should be hear by late morning. He wants extra security on Vin's room."
"I believe I am up," Ezra said, standing and moving towards JD as he left the quiet room that Vin had been moved to.
..
Chris dozed lightly in the ambulance they were using to transport him. He would have preferred to travel in a less conspicuous vehicle, but knew that he had no choice. In the end he really didn't care how he got there, just so long as he did. He was still tiring easily but felt no pain, due to the medication he was still being given. The medical staff had quickly learnt to leave him alone as he had glared at their initial fussing. Now he drifted and after a while he once more saw Vin in his dreams.
It was her, Claudia. She was standing above Vin's bed with a massive knife held in her hand, glinting in the bright sunlight that basked the room as it poised above Vin's body, preparing for a downward slash that would slam into his chest.
Again he could not move, seated in a chair watching in horror, unable to get up and stop her, as he so desperately wanted to. The knife began to move, descending down towards the white sheet that covered him, plummeting faster in a deadly arc.
"No!" he screamed, once more leaping from the chair, hurling across the short distance and leaping for her arm. He was too late, the knife slammed into Vin's chest. Chris grabbed her arm and held her, not looking away from the blood that began to soak through the pristine whiteness of the sheet, pooling over the still body.
'Vin, no! God, no!'
Vin's eye's were open, looking at him calmly, there was a slight quirk to his pale lips, the blood draining from them as his chest pumped his life out of him in a shocking red torrent of pain.
'Reckon I'll catch you in the next life, Cowboy.'
'No!'
"Chris! Damn it, help me here! Chris! It's a dream!"
Chris opened his eyes, saw Josiah's worried face, heard the panicked words again telling him it was a dream even as he felt a light prick to his arm, the sedative creeping into him and relaxing his body immediately.
"She's going to get to him first, Josiah. We wont get there in time."
..
Claudia knew it was time. She was leaving this country today and she was going to make sure that Vin Tanner never opened his eyes again in this world. She only wished that he could be awake to know that it was her that had ended his life.
She knew the town was small and knew that she had to go carefully to avoid being seen. They were all looking for her, but she was too smart for them. She slipped off the boat, wearing one of her brother's big coats over her slight frame and shoving her hair up into a cap. She knew where he was, it was just a matter of getting there.
..
Ezra stood and massaged his neck wearily. The headaches still pained him constantly but were lessening in their intensity each day. Buck was getting his cast checked, feeling that it was becoming a bit loose and JD had decided to go along to keep him company. Nathan was talking with the medical staff, finalising the details of Chris's arrival, which could be any minute now.
They had prepared the vacant bed in Vin's room. Ezra wondered why they would put a coma patient in a room so quiet. It seemed to him, if he were in that position, he would want all of the stimulus and noises of the world that he could get. The walls were bare, the roof was bare, when Vin did decide to wake up, it wasn't going to be to a sensory feast, of that he was certain.
He needed to go to the bathroom, but hesitated to leave Vin alone, even for that short space of time. Taking another look at the now familiar sight of Vin's pale face, he eyed the guards outside the door and turned to the doorway leading to the small en-suite in the room.
..
Claudia approached the nurse's desk slowly, unhurried but with purpose. She could see the hive of activity concentrated to this area and hoped to use the distraction to her advantage. It had not been hard to steal an orderlies uniform and then tuck her hair up again under a short cap. The occupants of this sleepy town were not on the lookout for people stealing clothing from unguarded rooms, much to her advantage. Even if they were, she knew she was too clever to be caught by them. She had always gotten herself out of any situation she chose to, always gotten her way, she didn't plan on that changing now. She'd read the name Vin Tanner on a chart downstairs, sitting at a vacant reception desk. She'd just managed to slip off when the receptionist had returned.
She saw the police guarding a doorway like a big finish line, knowing without a doubt that that was the room she was after.
"Boys," she said, moving directly past them, looking them both straight in the eye.
They did not reply, one just nodded slightly and continued to watch the hallway.
Claudia had long ago learnt that arrogance could get you far. If you walked with purpose, never hesitant and confident, people rarely questioned you.
She had been prepared to use the gun tucked into her pants if need be. She hadn't been sure what she would find when she had entered the room, but finding it empty was a welcome surprise.
"Well, well," she said, eyeing the still form on the bed, "Look who's all alone, my precious fighter man…"
..
Chris was getting more and more pissed off by the second. The long drive had drained him despite lying down, more than he would ever admit. The sedative they had given him earlier had left him gritty, but he was thinking clear enough. As they wheeled him through the doors that led inside the hospital he was greeted almost instantly by Nathan.
"Nathan," Chris grinned slightly.
Nathan patted his good shoulder gently, "It's good to see you, Chris," he said, smiling. He looked at Josiah. "And you, Josiah, how was the drive?"
"Long."
Nathan's grin widened. "Let's get you settled then," he said to Chris.
As they began to move, Chris asked, "How is he, Nathan?"
Nathan looked down at him as they walked to the elevator. "The same. His condition hasn't changed over the past few days." He pressed the button on the elevator. "The specialist will be here tonight, he got delayed."
..
Claudia approached the bed quietly, not looking behind her, not worried that someone might come in, so confident was she in her own abilities. She reached out a hand and touched it to Vin's cool cheek, feeling the stubble on his skin against her smooth, flawless palm, untainted as it was by a single day's work in it's lifetime.
"My brother is dead now, did you know that?" She dragged her nails down his cheek, down to the soft, warm hair at the back of his neck, lingering there a moment. "You have left me with no one." Slowly she undid the cord of her loose pants, working to pull the long rope free of the band at her waist until she had a make-shift weapon in her hands. She lifted his head and looped it under his neck, crossing it over under his chin and wrapping an end around each of her slim hands. "Now I will make sure that you are alone. Forever." She pulled the ropes in opposite directions, letting the crossed over cord do it's work. As she pulled harder she leant forward, pressing her breasts into his chest, mindless of his healing wounds, to place a kiss on his pale, slack lips.
..
As Chris waited for the lift to stop and the doors to open, he became restless. The longer it took in the slow moving carriage, the more agitated he became so that by the time the doors opened, he was ready to launch himself out.
"Easy Chris, one more minute won't make any difference," Nathan said, prying Chris's fingers off of the wheels and taking over.
"Something's wrong, Nathan. Hurry."
..
Vin knew she was there, had felt her touching his skin, had heard her talking to him in her low, feminine voice. She was going to kill him. He'd felt his head move, felt the tug of a cord beneath his neck. Just as she had tightened it, he'd felt her lips touch his.. and had tasted the sickly taste of what he knew was her red lipstick on his mouth.
..
"We'll just stop for a second at the station there, the orderlies will – Chris!" Nathan ran after the blonde man as he took off, headless of his wounded shoulder, propelling himself through the doors to Vin's room, straight past the confused guards.
"Back away from him you bitch!" Chris growled, not stopping until he was behind her. He pushed himself up shakily from his chair, his movements causing him sharp pain as the healing tissue of his chest protested.
She didn't let go, not even as she felt somebody grab her from behind and try to pry her fingers loose.
Ezra exited the bathroom and reacted instantly, rushing forward to Chris's side and wrestling the slight figure back away from the bed.
Chris staggered back, his legs buckling as he sat back hard into the chair still behind him. Ezra had her pinned to the ground by the time he saw Nathan and Josiah rushing through the door. He pushed forward, taking in the deathly silent man on the bed for the first time since he'd rushed in and pushed himself up again. He couldn't see Vin completely from the chair. Taking his limp hand he squeezed it, feeling his eyes well slightly at the shock of seeing him laid out like that. He reached forward and tugged the cord from behind his neck, seeing the red line across his pale throat. "Vin…" he whispered, his voice broken.
Ezra held the small woman pinned beneath him, keeping a forearm across her throat and pressing whenever she dared to move.
"OK Ezra, get her up, let's get her out of here," Nathan said.
Buck and JD entered the room, looking flustered, their weapons drawn.
"It's OK, boys, we've got her," Josiah said as he helped drag her up.
Ezra thrust her forward none too gently towards the police guards. "I suggest you search her carefully, she is likely to have a broomstick concealed somewhere."
Vin had felt the pressure go from around his neck and a moment later had felt his hand taken in a strong, hard grip. He had heard his name, but it wasn't necessary to identify the man beside him now.
Chris.
Chris felt his eyes threatening to spill over and smiled slightly. He squeezed Vin's hand again in reassurance and then noticed the tear that slid out from the corner of Vin's eye. Just one small tear of protest against the body that refused to obey him.
"It's ok," Chris said aloud, "Just give it time, you're almost there."
Chris smiled slightly as he thought of what Vin would say to that and then felt his chest tighten even more as Vin's fingers moved ever so slightly within his own.
"That's it, you can do it. Get the hell out of there."
The five agents in the room all held their breath as they heard Chris's voice. Was Vin really waking up now that Chris was here? Although not completely surprised, it was awe inspiring to them all the same.
Vin listened to the words, felt his fingers move and realised he could do it. He could command his body to move, it wasn't that hard, he didn't need to try so hard was all.
His eyelids fluttered, a faint movement against his too pale skin.
"That's it, Cowboy, look at me. You can do it, Vin, relax, it's not that hard."
Vin tried to relax, let the tension ease from his body. He couldn't seem to get his eyes to obey him fully, no matter how he tried. Then he felt it, something dark, terrifying.
'CHRIS!'
Whether Chris heard the silent shout or Vin's body altered him as his hand suddenly clenched on his sleeve, Chris reacted at the same moment that Vin's eyes opened and he turned to look for the danger behind him. A gunshot hammered across the room, deafeningly loud in the small space and flying into the wall above the bed, the exact spot that Chris's head had just been before he had turned out of it's path.
Buck didn't hesitate, he decked the woman holding the still smoking gun with one punch, snatching the heated weapon as she dropped it. His next punch crashed into the first guard and was stopped only by Josiah's tug on his arm from flooring the second guard.
"You useless motherfuckers!" he yelled at them, needing to let his anger out, knowing that they had failed to guard the room, failed to restrain the woman from nearly killing his friend and feeling guilty that he had not noticed her actions, so caught up in seeing Vin awaken as they had been.
"Easy, Brother," Josiah said, pulling him back. Buck blinked as Josiah's arm then shot out and his own fist connected with the second police officer.
Nathan groaned, moving forward and steadying Chris, trying to guide him back to his chair. "Boys, you certainly know how to get the locals on our side."
"I believe they had it coming," Ezra said, turning back to the bed, shocked to the core by the events he had just seen.
Chris resisted Nathan's pushing towards the chair and leant over Vin, having no words to describe his joy and relief at seeing two unclear blue eyes blinking at him in return.
"Welcome back, Cowboy."
Vin smiled slightly, confused and disoriented, but recognising the man before him. His arm lifted slightly, held in the air for less than a second before it was grasped in a subdued version of their familiar lock. 'Glad to be back.'
..
It took several days before Vin was able to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. During those days Chris had watched over him quietly, feeling whole again, catching himself looking towards Vin's bed in fear every so often, afraid that he would be gone again if he looked away. The rest of the team rallied around them, the circle complete again with all of them together.
The coma specialist had arrived to see Vin that same night and was told of the patient's rapid ascent into the living. He had not been surprised that Vin had woken up so suddenly, but was shocked that he had woken up to apparently prevent his Captain from harm. To him, that sounded miraculous, even given everything he had seen over his long years working with coma patients. To the five men who had all witnessed Vin wake just in time to alert Chris of the danger, it was not miraculous, neither was Chris tearing into the room to stop Claudia. It was just another affirmation of the amazing bond between their two friends that they no longer questioned.
The specialist had stayed a few days, finally confirming that there was no permanent damage, alleviating the fear of brain damage that could result from the lack of oxygen that had sent him into the unconscious state in the first place.
Chris was sitting up more than not now, Nathan helping him with his therapy to encourage faster healing and make sure the wound was mending as it should. There would be months of therapy ahead, but no more than Vin was going to have to endure.
The pain medication and exhaustion kept Vin in a cocooned haze and prevented him from thinking clearly for the first week, although the doctor assured them that he was healing remarkably well. He'd become ill the next time he had woken up, reacting finally to the drugs in his system. Chris had sat by his side, quietly reassuring him through the ordeal. There was nothing in Vin to throw up, but the initial heaving was painful. His digestive system was doing it's best to recover, and finally they had removed the tube from his stomach, an uncomfortable procedure that had left him pale and sweating despite the sedative they had given him.
Chris had sat through it with him, the rest of the boys leaving only to return later and gather in the room to offer whatever support they could to their friend. The saw his pain clearly, in the tightness of his mouth and the strain around his eyes. Each of them wished they could get both of the Paolino's back and take out their anger on them like they deserved, all agreeing that the brother had died too quick and that Buck should have used more force when he'd knocked Claudia out. The FBI had picked her up and taken her into their custody. She had many long days of interrogation ahead of her now that they finally had someone who may just prove willing to sell out on her family's operations, for the sake of her own hide.
While the Police captain had been shocked over the news that the ATF had decked two of his officers, he had not reacted officially. He had defended his men to the angry agents, but they had later been told that both men had received a sound dressing down for their lack of attention.
Chris and Vin had yet to exchange many words, even as Vin became more alert with each passing day, but the fact that they were both there, in the same room and alive, was enough for both of them. The doctors had decided to fly in a specialist to operate on Vin's ankle the following week, should his health continue to improve at the rate it was.
They were staying in the town for the next week, looking into Paolino's holdings in the area and tidying up the events of the past week with the local police. They hoped that Vin would recover well enough to be released to home care soon, Chris wanting them all to take some time off, offering the ranch as a retreat if they wanted to stay out there. He hadn't asked Vin if he would be going out to the ranch, it was an unspoken certainty.
The day after the operation to repair the damage to his ankle, his leg now cast and his tendon rejoined, Vin was lying in his bed, his back raised slightly as he watched the small television above him with little interest, when he looked up to the doorway and saw Becky appear, holding Jordan's hand in her own. He smiled at her, letting her know it was ok to come in as she hesitated at the door. Each day he felt better, more alive and now began to see life beyond the four walls he was trapped in.
"It's ok boys, she `aint goin' anywhere," he told the two FBI agents escorting her softly. Becky was now a prime witness to Paolino's affairs, they weren't letting her out of their sight. They moved back to stand outside the doorway.
"Hey tiger," Vin said to the little boy who approached him with wide eyes.
Sitting across the room, JD exchanged a look with Buck who cleared his throat in a completely obvious way.
"Let's get something to eat, kid. You want us to take your boy for a walk ma'am to the cafeteria?"
Becky smiled her thanks to the tall man, "I would appreciate that. You go with the policemen now, honey," she said to him. Jordan refused to let go of her hand, holding on for dear life.
"Hey, pal, why don't you come check out what's on this TV over here then, your mom's right there," Chris said from the other bed.
Jordan looked from the man talking on Vin's tv, to the cartoon on the other screen and then looked at his mum.
"It's ok, I'm right here," she said, urging him gently.
"Take a seat," Vin urged her to sit on the side of the bed as Buck and JD left, moving over slightly, careful not to pull anything he was still attached to.
"No, I-"
"Sit," He said firmly. They had made love, for Christ sakes, there was no use pretending they weren't familiar enough with each other that she couldn't sit on his bed in a hospital. The damn chairs were always too low anyway.
"How are you?" Vin asked her softly once they were alone, his voice raw.
"We're doing ok, we're gonna get by just fine now that it's finally over."
Vin reached a hand up and grasped her chin lightly, forcing her skittish eyes to look at him. "How are you?" he repeated again.
"I'm ok." She said softly, feeling her eyes tear up. She'd thought she could handle seeing him like this, had called daily for information but had hesitated to see him, feeling guilty that she had brought him this harm.
"It's not your fault," he said gently, seeing the doubt and guilt in her eyes easily.
"I know."
"I mean it. That family was gunnin' for me a long time before I met you."
Claudia looked at him, she had not been told any details.
Vin sighed, a weary sound even to himself. "I got mixed up with them months ago on a case. It's a long story, but I ended up out stuck on an island near Queensland before I met you."
"The training camp," Becky said.
Vin nodded. They were silent for a moment, just looking at each other.
"I'm so sorry," she said again, her eyes filling again.
"It's not your fault," he said again.
"If I'd stopped him sooner, maybe there was a way. Told you everything-"
"You had your son to think about. You did what you thought was right."
She looked at him a moment, her chest tight, feeling tears trickling in her throat. 'What you thought was right.' She should have trusted them at the airport, should have trusted him, that's what he was really telling her.
He sighed and took her hand. "I know what it's like not to trust people. I understand what you did. It's easy for me to sit here and tell you should have put your faith in us, but I wasn't in your position, scared, alone, a young boy dependin' on me." He squeezed her hand. "You gotta move on, let it go. If you keep questionin' things you'll always be trapped… and he'll have won."
Her eyes widened slightly at that, not wanting to give Paolino that satisfaction. "When it's over.. when they let me go… I'm going to go back to Australia, back home to my family where I belong. It's so far from any of this, so… grounded over there. So normal. That's where I want to raise Jordan."
Vin nodded, it was the sensible thing to do. She was studying him, searching his face and he knew then what she wanted to ask.
"This is my home, darlin'. This is where I feel grounded, normal.." he smiled, "almost."
She stared at him a moment, disappointed despite knowing that he would not go with her, that he didn't love her. She wasn't even sure if she loved him either, but he was the best thing that had come along in her life in a long, long time and she had still held out a hope.
"Hey..." he said softly, this time moving his hand up to her cheek. She looked at him and gave him a small smile. "You're gonna do just fine, you and Jordan." He flicked a glance at the boy, happily lying next to Chris on his bed watching the TV. "He's a good kid," he said almost wistfully. He looked back at her. "He's been through a lot… did he tell you he came out when…" he stopped, remembering the look on the child's face as he'd called to him desperately on the boat.
"He told me." She said softly. "It'll take a lot of time, I'm going to get him some help to get through it."
Vin nodded.
"I'm so sorry, Vin." She said once more.
"It's ok. You can't control all the bad men on this earth." He smiled again, "and remember what I do for a living, I don't exactly run away from them, it's part'a the job."
"A wild one," she said, smiling at him then.
He smiled back, his face softening into a grin that could melt the hardest of hearts. "To the bone," he said in his soft drawl and she smiled all the more.
"We have to go, ma'am," an agent called from the door.
"I'm coming." She turned back to Vin. "I guess this is it."
Vin heard the screen slide across, dividing the room and giving them privacy as he smiled at her again.
'Very subtle, Larabee.'
She leant forward, mindful not to disturb the needle still in his arm. His free arm came up to pull her head closer and their lips touched gently, a soft, tender kiss that neither was in a hurry to stop. They were saying goodbye, both questioning a little the what ifs, as they pulled away and looked at each other tenderly.
"I am so glad I met you," she said.
"Same here, darlin'."
Vin watched her leave, Jordan looking back and waving at them one last time before they disappeared out into the corridor.
"You're about as subtle as a jackhammer, Larabee." He didn't need to look at Chris to know he was smiling. He turned to him anyway and Chris saw the question in his eyes.
"She'll be ok, Vin. With her help, hopefully they'll put a stop to everything her husband had going on."
Vin nodded.
"You ok?"
Vin looked away. "Yeah.."
"Vin."
Vin looked up.
"It wasn't your fault either, you did nothing to bring any of this down."
Vin looked down again. "Yeah I know."
"Do you?"
Vin grinned. "Yeah, Ezra told me."
"Ezra?" Chris looked confused.
"Yeah, when I was sleepin', he talked up a storm about how it wasn't my fault," Vin said, knowing Chris would never say anything.
Chris smiled at Vin's description but wondered at the southerner's words. He saw a lot of similarities between he and Vin, wondered if maybe Ezra knew that too. "You heard him while you were asleep?" he asked, shocked at that.
"Yeah… heard all of `em."
Chris's grin widened. "Now that might be an interesting conversation to have."
They were both smiling when Buck and JD entered again, carrying boxes of pizza from the only place in town that had take-away food. Buck looked wary as he took in their grins and placed the food on the small table, stopping still. "What?"
"Nothin'. Vin was just saying how he could hear you guys while he was asleep."
Buck looked at Vin sharply. "No way!"
JD too was shocked. "Are you serious?" he asked him.
Vin nodded, his grin still in place.
"Now, Junior, don't you be makin' light of stuff like that.. and anything said during a time of stress is.."
"S'allright, Bucklin. It stays there."
Buck looked relieved as he gave Vin one last look and moved to a vacant chair.
"Still, maybe stickin' an umbrella up yer ass `aint such a good thing to do to yerself."
Buck froze. JD was giggling instantly, he didn't know how it was possible that Vin had heard, but he knew he hadn't said anything that he could be blackmailed with so felt pretty safe in laughing at Buck.
Buck turned on Vin, "That's right out of context! I was –" he stopped, "Shut up, JD!" JD closed his mouth and still there was chuckling. He looked over to Chris, "Dammit Chris, that's not what I said!" He took a threatening step towards Vin.
"Hey now, don't go threatenin' a man in his sick bed." Vin grabbed his side and pretended to wince in pain.
Buck scowled at him but stopped as Josiah and Nathan entered, Ezra right behind them.
"What's going on, brothers?" Josiah asked, seeing the smirks on their faces and the scowl on Bucks.
"Vin heard what we all said when he was out of it." Buck announced.
The three newcomers looked at Vin.
"Is that true?" Nathan asked, his curiosity peaked.
Vin nodded.
Ezra looked slightly pale. Would Vin make light of what he had said?
Seeing Ezra was about to take flight Vin spoke quietly to them all. "Boys, I wanna thank y'all while we're all together again, Ii haven't had the chance until now... it's been a long time comin'."
"There's no need to thank us Vin, you would have done the same for any of us," JD said.
"Still… I am. I appreciate everything you did for me.." he looked at Buck and Ezra in turn, "and everything you said, it means a lot to me…"
For a moment none of them spoke as he looked at each of them in turn, thanking them with the intensity of his startling eyes. It was an emotional moment, each man in the room feeling the bond of brotherhood that united them powerfully as the moment dragged out. They had come to mean so much to each other. Having Vin missing had been like having a part of themselves missing. It was a moment of closure and promise that they would never forget.
"It's good to have you back, brother," Josiah said, moving forward and ruffling Vin's hair before taking a seat by his bed.
"Good to be back."
As each settled in to devour the food, there was a quiet sense of peace in the room. Vin wasn't allowed pizza even if he felt he could stomach it, which he didn't despite it's tantalising smell, but he enjoyed the banter and conversation around him, let it flow over him like a warm, soothing balm to his soul as he closed his eyes for a moment, relaxing finally and completely for the first time in many long months.
Each man saw Vin's half smile and drank it in, happy beyond words that Vin was with them again and finally looking at peace.
..
6 weeks later
Ezra sat at his desk, going through the mail that had for some reason been left to him to distribute. Not happy with the task, he flipped them into piles negligently, stopping as he came across one for Vin that was marked private and confidential. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about what was inside and it did not sit well with him.
That night there was not even a sliver of moon to shed light across the expanse of land where Chris's ranch nested. Chris hadn't slept well in the humidity of his room upstairs at his ranch. He'd come downstairs in his bare feet, seeking a respite from the warm air, hoping for even a whisper of breeze as he went out to his porch.
He sensed another presence with him and saw Vin's outline, seated on one of the low chairs overlooking the property, now dark, blanketed by the night sky.
"A mite warm up there."
Chris nodded, taking the other chair with a sigh. "You feelin' ok?" he asked him. Both of them were taking time healing, the scars left by their encounter with the Paolino family ran deep. Only now were they starting to relax a little, getting over the fear that something could again happen to shatter their lives, take one of them away abruptly and without warning.
Vin would be walking with a limp for some time, even after his cast was removed, still a few weeks off yet and Chris still caught him wincing in pain from the wounds he had sustained to his chest. He had to hold back whenever he saw him doing too much, but smiled whenever Vin yelled at him for taking on things he shouldn't himself.
They were a sorry pair, Chris thought then. He'd caught Vin eyeing his bike a few times too, seeing how much he longed to go for a ride, knowing that it would be a long time before the tendon in his foot was healed enough to allow him to brake with his right foot. He didn't think that would stop him though and had hidden the keys long ago, just in case.
"I'm fine, you?"
"Fine enough."
They were silent a long while, comfortable in its fold, each prizing moments like this even more than they had before. Chris finally spoke into the silence.
"There was a package today delivered for you to the office."
Vin didn't speak, he knew Chris would talk in his own time.
"Ezra opened it, said he couldn't explain why, just that he had a bad feeling…"
"I trust him," was Vin's reaction to that invasion of his privacy.
Chris nodded. "It was from Michael Sciorelli, there were no identifying marks of where it came from."
This had Vin's attention. "What was in it?"
"Money."
"What?"
"There were details of a European bank account, in your name. Five hundred thousand."
Vin closed his eyes. His winnings. "Why?" he said softly.
"Who knows, attack of conscience?"
"Bastards like that don't have a conscience. Men that can do what they do, fuck around with peoples lives… they don't have a conscience. More like a pay-off. He knows I'll look for him."
"Maybe. Still, that's a lot of money."
"I'm not touchin' it." Vin said adamantly.
"In a twisted sort of way, you earned it."
Vin knew what Chris was doing, trying to draw him out. He knew he wouldn't touch that money. All the same, it worked. He stood up gingerly, still sore from his wounds and looked out into the night.
"I didn't fucking earn that! I didn't ask for that! Those bastards made me fight for them, like their fucking puppet. I won't take blood money like that, not from anyone. I'll give it to a women's hostel, for abused wives or something, Paolino would have loved his money going to a cause like that."
Chris remained silent, he sensed Vin wasn't finished. When the soft voice finally came, Chris knew what was coming. His anger had quickly fled and now he was finally facing what was truly bothering him. He hadn't spoken about what had happened to him yet, had filled in reports and answered questions, giving all of the details of the months he had been forced to endure Paolino's control, but not once had he spoken of his feelings, what it had done to him inside to be held captive like that against his will, tortured beyond a man's endurance.
"Did I bring this on myself?" he said softly into the quiet night.
Chris looked at him through the darkness, knowing he could not see his face but hearing the despair in his voice.
"Why would you think that?" he asked him carefully, knowing how deeply Vin had been dwelling on it.
"Reckon I must'a done some pretty bad things in this life to be gettin' this kind'a payback."
"You've done nothing wrong Vin. We've been here before. Why is it you can convince other people of that, but you can't convince yourself?"
Vin looked back at Chris, making out his dark form. There was no hint of moonlight to shed light on them. "I know. Ezra made a lotta sense when he was talking to me, he said the same things."
"I'm glad he was there." Chris thought about Ezra and the things he must have said and silently thanked the southerner. Whatever he'd said had made a big difference to Vin.
Vin was thinking aloud. "The seven of us... To have people put you first, above everything, no matter the consequences…" He didn't have to go on, Chris understood.
"I never thanked you either for what you did in that room, when that bitch was havin' another try at me." There was still anger in his voice.
"You know there's no need for that." Vin heard the smile in his voice then. "… and I think we're pretty much even." He laughed then, "Jesus I thought the boys were going to have heart attacks when you woke up like that."
Vin laughed then, a soft sound that came from his chest. "Reckon' you're right."
Chris got up to head inside, "It's gonna take a while Vin, but I once heard someone say that if you keep dwelling on it and not getting on with your life, then the bad guy's win."
Vin looked up again, smiling. "Reckon that was a wise man said that. It'll be good to get back to work," he added.
Chris looked forward to getting back to work too, knew there were a million cases that vied for their attention. He'd said it before but needed to say it again. "It's good to have you back where you belong, Vin."
Chris left him on the porch, knowing he was going to be all right, it would just take time and he himself wasn't going anywhere. He smiled as he went to the fridge, eyeing the cold beers staring back at him. His hand reached out and he suddenly pictured Nathan scowling at him and pulled his hand back as if burnt, opting for the water instead.
He was just taking his first gulp straight from the bottle when he heard a motorbike roar to life in the deep quiet of the night, setting off the horses as they protested the disturbance of their peace. The water half sprayed from his mouth and the rest tried to find another entry to his body rather than his throat, causing him to cough violently, holding his side in pain as he moved to the door. He caught the faint red of the tail light as it faded down the long driveway.
"Crazy bastard," he mumbled to himself, wondering how he was controlling the bike with his injured ankle and wrist as he headed back out to the porch to retake his seat. When he leant back and closed his eyes, he could still hear the loud roar of the bike up the road, his frown falling gradually to be replaced by a growing smile. 'Wild one huh..?'
'Wild to the bone.'
Fini