The faint sounds of daily activities wafted up from the street below, muffled considerably by the closed window and drawn drapes in Ezra's room. Chris wasn't surprised by how dark the space was, even as the sun shone brightly outside. Morning and Ezra weren't exactly on the best of terms, and anything that could be done to ensure his sleep remained undisturbed was well worth the effort. In this case, that meant a room facing west, a double layer of curtains and keeping the window closed.

Despite the valiant effort, enough light came in that Chris could see his way around, even if he couldn't get a good look at Ezra. After a brief internal debate, he decided against opening the curtains, choosing instead to light the oil lamp and turn it up. The reaction from Ezra was little more than a turn of the head and a soft grunt of frustration, but he didn't voice his objection. Taking that as a small victory, Chris shifted the chair toward the bed, but kept a respectful distance.

"How you feeling this morning?"

"As to be expected given the situation. If that was the intention of your invasion of my privacy, you may depart and leave me to my slumber."

Well, he was back in fine form. This wasn't starting well.

"Little more to it than that Ezra, and before you try to find another excuse, Nathan did say you doing well enough for us to have a talk. Or at least for me to talk and you to listen."

"Far be it from be to question Mr. Jackson's assessment of my capability. Lord knows, the man has always had my best interests at heart."

Fighting the almost overwhelming temptation to defend Nathan, Chris instead chose to sit quietly until Ezra was ready to speak again. He should have known better. He was good at waiting, but he was the amateur in the room. One of the first skills a decent gambler develops is patience, and Ezra had long ago risen miles beyond the level of being merely decent. When the need was there, he could wait indefinitely for the right opening, because he knew from experience it would eventually appear.

Exactly how much time had passed was impossible to judge. Chris had almost decided Ezra was sleeping again, or at the very least pretending to. This kind of crazy was outside his range of experience and he was quickly reaching his breaking point. Losing his temper was bound to backfire, so he took a calming breath that only marginally achieved its goal and leaned forward.

"Things went bad Ezra. 'Bout as bad as anything I've seen in a while. Question is now, how do we fix them?"

"There are some mistakes, Mr. Larabee, that can never be fixed. Some things that, when broken, are shattered beyond restoration."

Yeah, this was definitely not going the way he had hoped. Expected – yes, but not hoped.

"And you figure that's where we stand now? Shattered?"

Ezra closed his eyes, willing this to be over. Why would Larabee be putting him through this? A simple 'get out as soon as you're ready to travel' was all he needed to say. The message had already been made clear to him the day he'd come back to town and saw his world collapse around him. Everything since then had merely reinforced that. Was that the point of this? To make sure he knew he was only here by their forbearance, and that his reprieve was fleeting?

"I can assure you Mr. Larabee that when I am able to travel again I shall leave Four Corners with nothing more than I brought in, and with no intention of darkening it's streets again. Does that satisfy your requirements? Are we quite done?"

"Hold up. You think we still want you gone?"

"Your opinions on the question were made abundantly clear."

Son of a bitch. "Damn it Ezra, that ain't it at all. When I said things went bad, I didn't mean it was something you did."

"It is always something I did Mr. Larabee. I am painfully cognisant of that truth."

Chris needed to start this whole conversation over. He could only hope Ezra would listen.

"I read your letter." Maybe that would be the gambit needed to turn things around. "Wish I'd read it before you left. Or better yet, listened when you tried to tell me."

Cautiously, Ezra opened one eye and risked a glance in Chris's direction. He looked and sounded sincere, but the words didn't match the reality that he was feeling.

"And you no doubt found cause to question every aspect of the contents."

"If I had, we wouldn't have caught the bastards who did this to you when they tried to pull their little game."

"Caught? They are incarcerated?"

"Misspoke there. No, not caught. They didn't exactly survive their attempt. Vin and Josiah saw to that."

So he hadn't imagined it. He had a dim recollection of being told his attackers had been dealt with but assumed that was little more than an hallucination sparked by wishful thinking on his part. Knowing now that it was true sent a wave of relief through him, followed by an unexpected pang of concern that he didn't fully understand himself.

"All of them?"

Chris wasn't sure how Ezra was going to react to his answer. "No. Not all of them. She wasn't with them when they tried to take the stage and was gone when we got back to town. No idea where she's ended up."

Of course. Annabella was far to wily to let herself get involved in anything as mess as a stage robbery. In fact, that sort of activity wasn't what he would have expected of her at all. She generally preferred a more circumspect effort, with less flash to its final step. On the other hand, it was now painfully obvious – literally – that she wasn't the partner in crime he had known and cared about in his younger days.

"Has Mr. Wilmington gone after her?"

"Wanted to, but we managed to keep him from riding out."

Yes, of course he would want to. Her gift for manipulation, for ensuring the men she used continued to have protective and even romantic feelings after was a large part of her success. "She has that effect on men. Once under her spell, they are ensnared like the fly in the web."

Clearly, Chris was going to have to be more direct when he spoke. Ezra was either still not up to par, or he was being deliberately obtuse about the way things were playing out. Either way, matters were not getting resolved.

"No. He wanted to go after her and, I hope, bring her back here to stand trial. That's the best case. More likely he would have shot her on the spot for what she did."

That did make more sense. Men like Buck Wilmington took a great deal of pride in their handling of the fairer sex. Being humiliated by a woman would definitely have been a blow to his ego, and vengeance was not an unexpected reaction. Although such a severe response was a bit much.

"I doubt even Mr. Wilmington would kill a woman for embarrassing him."

"Damn it Ezra, those blows to your head musta done more harm than Nathan thought. He was going after her because of what she did to you. The lies, the getting you kicked outta town. The beating. That was what riled him. That and his part in it."

"Ludicrous."

"Ludicrous? Ezra, what the hell is the matter with you?"

He'd had enough of this game. "I am not a fool Mr. Larabee. I know what you think of me, what this town thinks of me. And you expect me to believe for a moment that despite that, Mr. Wilmington would seek retribution on my behalf? That any of you would?" His chest tightened but he ignored it as he strained to continue. "You all desire nothing more than to have me gone from your presence. Gone from this town. I'm sure you profoundly and genuinely regret the day you walked into that saloon and ever saw me. I know I do."

He was gasping as he finished and sending Chris into a mild panic. Nathan was going to kill him if he'd caused Ezra to take a turn for the worse. "Steady Ezra. Here, drink this."

Ezra swung out, sending the water glass flying from Chris's hand. "Go. Leave me." He turned as much onto his side as he could, refusing to acknowledge the pain that shot through him as a result.

"I'm just going to get Nathan. We ain't done here Ezra, and I don't care how long it takes me, I am going to get the truth through that thick skull of yours."

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"How riled up is he?" Nathan was reaching for his bag of herbs, along with a suture set. If Ezra had been moving around he might well have pulled things open again.

"You won't need that. He's pissed more than anything, but I'm not entirely sure if he's madder at us or himself. Seems he still figures we figure he's the one to blame and I didn't do much of a job convincing him otherwise."

"Told you not to mess this up Chris." Vin stood in the doorway, with Buck a few feet behind. They had seen the speed with which Chris headed up the stairs to the clinic and knew things hadn't gone exactly to plan.

"Wasn't like I was trying to. Honest to God, I don't know anyone as stubborn as that man is."

"You never looked in a mirror?" Nathan headed towards the door. "I'm gonna try to get some tea into him so he can get more rest. From what you just said though, I doubt he'll be too cooperative."

Vin took the herb mix from him. "I got this. I shoulda gone over in the first place." He turned and headed out before anyone could voice any further opinions on the matter. Not that it would have stopped him.

He knocked lightly on the door to Ezra's room. "Mind if I come in Pard."

"What I do or do not wish seems to be of no consequence therefore you may as well act as you please."

Vin closed the door behind him. "Well, I think that was a yes, come in, so I'll take it that way." He set the cup down on the small bedside table. "That's a might hot right now. Kettle was boiling away downstairs, so you best let it sit for a few minutes."

"It can sit there until sunset; I have no intention of partaking of any further potions of Mr. Jackson's creation.

"Can't say as I blame you on that. They are a might nasty tasting. Even when they've been laced with some decent whiskey."

Ezra hazarded a glance at the mug, now slightly tempted to consider a sip. "No, thank you. The heat would have had a devastating affect."

"Why do you think I suggested you wait to let it cool some." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small waterskin. "Probably not up to your usual standards, but it'll do in a pinch."

It was assuredly not going to be up to his criteria, and he was about to suggest using some of his personal stash when he released his belongings were long gone, either stolen or lost. At that moment another thought struck him for the first time and he abruptly tried to sit up. He cried out at the sudden pain but didn't let it stop his effort.

"Ez, what the hell do you think you're doing? For God's sake, lie back."

"Chaucer! What became of Chaucer?" How could he have gone this long without asking?

"He's fine Ezra. Just fine. He's out at the Friesen place. Long story for another time. We didn't want to bring him back till we were sure things were alright here."

Ezra studied Vin's face, looking for a sign of deception. Seeing none, he surrendered to the suffering he had brought on himself and fell back again. Vin reached for the tea, but Ezra shook his head.

"No. Spiked or not, I have no desire to partake of that substance."

"It'd make you feel better but suit yourself."

"It would make me feel nothing, and that is not a state I am comfortable with. Since I have made it impossible for you to complete your mission you might as well divest yourself of the responsibility of caregiver and leave me in peace."

"Nah. I kinda like it in here. Quiet. And this chair is a lot more comfortable than sitting on that stool at the church, or them pews."

"How would you know?" Ezra snapped the question out, immediately regretting the fact. He had no desire to carry on a lengthy conversation.

The reaction left Vin at a loss. "What do you mean? Parked myself on that stool long enough I'm surprised I could get up."

He supposed that made some sense. Nathan couldn't have been the only one watching over him throughout the early days of his recovery, so the others must have had rotating duty.

"Well, you are relieved on any such responsibilities now, so please, feel free to depart and leave me to my solitude."

"Wasn't there because it was a responsibility Ezra. I was there 'cause I was worried about you."

"Evidence to the contrary."

Apparently this was at least a part of what was bothering Ezra, although for the life of him, Vin couldn't begin to understand the problem.

"Just what kind of evidence are you talkin' about?"

Ezra huffed softly. He should never have allowed himself to be led into this discussion. This entire ordeal had severely weakened not only his body, but his defenses as well. Otherwise he would not be finding it so challenging to keep control of the conversation.

He didn't bother to hide the fatigue when he spoke. "None of this matters Mr. Tanner. Please, go about your regular business. You have made your perfunctory appearance and can go back to excluding me from your routine."

"Well, perfunctory I don't get, but I haven't been excluding you from anything. Damn it Ezra, I haven't been ignoring you – I've been outta town. Been taking care of a debt we owed and before you ask, yes it was that important."

It was an illogical and incomplete explanation. "And one presumes the others were all with you in this endeavour?"

Now he understood, and quietly cursed out Chris under his breath for not explaining things to Ezra. Not that all the blame was there. He should have let Ezra know he was leaving and made sure that was the first stop he made on getting back. It was time for a full explanation, and it would have to be quick and to the point.

"You need your rest, but you need this more. Me and Buck were out helping out the man you found you hurt and brought you back to town. Chris and JD and Josiah have been trying to keep the peace here, which I'm guessing is why they weren't as focused on you as they should have been. As for what's been happening while you been getting better – well, it's a mess, but starting to work out. Anybody tell you about the robbery?"

Ezra nodded distractedly. He was trying to remember who had come to his rescue but had no recollection of the event. Between the time he was beaten and when he woke up in the church his mind was a complete blank. Vin waited patiently until he had Ezra's attention again.

"You don't need to fuss on the details now. We'll fill you in when you're stronger. There are a couple things for you to think on though. First, whatever idea you have in your head about not being wanted here is wrong."

"On the contrary, I heard it clearly and from multiple sources on a number of occasions. It is why I left, and why I shall do so again."

"Not denying you were run out, and like I said, that's a talk for another time. But nobody's been saying it since you came back."

"Everyone has. I lost count of the number of times all of you gentlemen expressed your desire that I would heal sufficiently that you could get me out of town. You deny it?"

Under other circumstance, Vin might have laughed. It was truly astonishing how Ezra take concerned comments and turn them into venomous attacks. That said a great deal about the life he had lead.

"I don't deny it, but I sure as hell am going to correct it. We didn't want you out of town Ezra, just out of the church. We all wanted you to be well enough that we could get you somewhere proper to finish healing up."

It was like watching Ezra checking his hand when he first picked up the cards. You knew there were a million thoughts running through his head – what angles to play, what bluffs to run, how much he should bet, and how soon. But none of that played on his face. Only the concentration of an expert at work. That was the same face Vin saw now as Ezra examined what had been said with that same intensity, looking for a weakness he could exploit to his advantage. Vin knew there was none to be found, but that wouldn't stop Ezra from creating one.

"I said there were a couple of things, so here's the second. There are a whole lot of folks here in town who feel mighty shitty about the way they treated you, and it's been all Chris can do to keep them from coming in to tell you. I won't insult you by saying everyone is feeling that way, but a lot are. So right now, you need to work at getting rest and getting better. I don't think we're gonna be able to keep some of them away much longer."

Vin stood without giving Ezra a chance to respond, which was a good thing, since he had no idea how to respond. Had he really misinterpreted everything? Had he been that wrong about all of this? No. He shook his head without being aware of the action. Not everything. He was certain about how it started. What was left now was to figure out how it would end.

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tbc