Confusion washed over Ezra as he clawed his way to consciousness. 'Where was he?' 'Nathan's? How . . .?' Ezra bit back a moan as he struggled to sit up. The pain reminded him of the events of the past few days. The last thing he could remember was walking towards his friends and then being shot by one of his captors. Foremost in his mind was the fate of the young woman imprisoned with him. Where was she?
Anxiously, Ezra's gaze swept the room seeking the sight of a familiar face. Finally, he gasped in relief as he saw Josiah Sanchez fast asleep in the small chair next to his bed. Ezra tried to speak, but his dry throat would not cooperate. He needed to ask him if they knew about the girl. Despairingly, Ezra tried once again to gain Josiah's attention. He tried to force a yell out of his body but the effort resulted only in a soft whisper that had no effect on the slumbering giant.
Ezra, tired out by this small exertion on his broken body, passed out into a deep slumber.
Chris looked at the still body of his associate with guilt. Ezra's face and body were covered with cuts and bruises. The broken hand and cracked ribs testimony of the brutal handling he had survived during his captivity. This was not to mention that he'd been beaten, shot and starved. The list went on and on, always ending at the same spot. It was Chris's fault that Ezra ended up this was because it was Chris who thought that the gambler had run out on them. While Ezra was bleeding and broken in the middle of the desert, Chris was cursing his very existence. The gunslinger could not for the life of him figure out a way he could make this horrible transgression up to his hurt friend.
Larabee had been in and out of the room at various times since they had brought the man back home. His visits were more frequent now ever since Josiah had informed him that Ezra's fever had broken. He was driven by the need to keep an eye out for his fallen man, need to apologize for doubting his loyalty, need to make it up him for not searching for him when he was missing. Most importantly, he needed Ezra to wake up so that he could tell him what he remembered that could help Chris find his sister. He clung to the small hope that when Ezra awoke, he would be able to tell them where he was imprisoned; where Julian was imprisoned.
Chris flopped down in the old rocker causing the ancient timbers to creak under his weight. He wearily put his head between his hands in an effort to relieve some of the stress that was building up behind his eyes. "Dammit, Ezra." he muttered.
"It seems I have done something once again that I am unaware of." came the weak reply.
Chris looked up. "Ezra! You're awake!" Larabee found himself holding back from apologizing for the last comment. He was embarrassed that Ezra chose to wake up at that particular moment, but he still happy to see the man awake.
"How do you feel Ezra?"
"Like I've been shot." Ezra smiled ruefully.
Larabee knew that he should go get Nathan first but could not stop himself from asking the questions that had been haunting him every waking moment during these past days. Hesitating slightly before continuing, Chris plunged ahead. "What do you remember from your time there? Do you have any idea where you were? Was there anyone else with you?"
Even though he was a bit overwhelmed with the barrage of questions, Ezra took a moment to collected his thoughts and his strength before answering them. "I can't say much for the first, save that it was dark and small in the room where we were held." Chris mind eagerly picked up the reference to 'we', but did not press the man. He knew, based on past experience, Ezra would get all the details out as soon as he could.
"As to the second question, I believe we were in an old jail. Perhaps the ghost town located about ten miles from here," Ezra rasped. After a brief coughing spell, he waved his hand towards the glass on the table to indicate that he needed water. Ezra sighed as the coolness of the water flowed over his parched throat. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity to Chris, he added softly, "And, yes. Your sister was with me." With that statement, Ezra closed his eyes and drifted back off.
Dammit! Chris had clung desperately to the slight hope that it wasn't Julian that had been snatched from the stage. Up until this moment, he was able to calmly go about and continue the search for his missing sibling. But, with Ezra's halting statement, his worst fears were confirmed. There was no way Ezra could have known Chris even had a sister unless he met her.
That was a part of Chris' past that no one, save Buck, knew about. "Thanks, Ez. Get some sleep now, we need you healthy." Chris stood and left the small room and headed straight for the saloon, where he knew that Vin and the others were waiting.