"Give us a song Ezra," Buck called out from atop his horse.

Nathan grinned as the gambler strode past looking unamused but expertly trying to retain the graceful air of composure that clung to him the same way the ladies clung to Buck.

As Buck continued to chuckle, Nathan wheeled his horse around as the wagon of ex-working girls set off out of town with a low rumble. He and Buck sped to a steady trot, flanking either side of the cart.

Almost at once, Buck set about throwing sly gazes and cheeky smiles in the direction of the girls, who replied with flattered giggles and coy excitement, seemingly unable to break the habit of a lifetime. Nathan let his gaze linger instead on the horizon and the dusty road stretching out of the town, his mind wandering as a voice laden with forced charm rang out from behind them.

"Now, now, gentlemen…"

His face sat tight. As he listened to the con man struggling to simultaneously retrieve the situation he smirked inwardly. The man gets everything he deserves. No sooner had he thought the words than he regretted them. He'd hardly been Ezra's biggest supporter over the last few days, or months in fact, on the contrary, they'd formed a sort of love-hate relationship that usually culminated in serious head butting, but the gambler wasn't wholly bad…all the time.

His mind wandered back to their earlier clash and felt his anger growing again. But the man had been totally out of order this time. Selling women, it didn't get any worse. It was barbaric, monstrous, selfish…

"Poor Ezra," a woman commented sadly from the cart.

Nathan's head snapped round and he took her in with surprise. Poor Ezra? He hadn't expected that, not form one of the women he'd tried to take advantage of.

The other turned to look back at the gambler, by now a mere dot amongst the bustle of the town and one by one nodded and tried to comfort the first guilty-sounding woman.

Guilty-sounding?

Nathan couldn't help but shake his head. Whatever he did, Ezra seemed to come up smelling of roses. He just could not work the man out. He thought back to the first time Ezra had been hurt with them in the line of their assigned 'duty.' He'd been bringing in the wounded with a pathetic makeshift sling on, grimacing in pain, but refusing to let anyone see his perceived 'weakness.'

It was dislocated, Nathan had known that when he'd grabbed it. He remembered Ezra swinging back fist raised to strike him. It was then, as he remembered back, he realised something. He hadn't flinched. Not even a flicker. He frowned. Why had that been? He had no doubt Ezra could have struck him, knocked him out without much effort at all. So why had he not flinched? Trust? Had he trusted Ezra even back then?

Yes.

He'd never have admitted it then, but he did. Even after Ezra's betrayal, he still trusted him.

He frowned again, but trust and like were very different things.

A crooked smile slid across his face as he recalled himself and Rain watching Ezra with the children in the village, playing with them, spinning them around even though he lost his usual composure and air of grace when he did. That didn't bother him. Children loved him, without question, it was only adults he had a problem with.

And even in the village, when he had betrayed them. He'd come back. That had to have dented his pride, coming back to face the music. He'd saved them, no question, and received very little thanks for it.

Beside him, a woman giggled as Buck waggled his eyebrows at her.

Nathan threw his eyes to the heavens, and then frowned again. Then there were the women. The women he'd exploited tried to sell off to local men with no personality and only money to their names. Yet…the women weren't put out, they weren't offended, worried, upset, or even frightened. They'd taken to it like ducks to water. They hadn't complained, they'd lapped it up. He frowned harder, he'd never considered it from such an angle. If anything, it had helped them.

He glanced at the wagon. There sat ex-working girls, who could pass off as ladies with a bit of effort. If anything, they'd benefited. The only losers, besides Ezra if he lost the money he'd gained, were the men willing to buy wives in the first place – which Nathan thought even less of.

Then there was the dress incident. Had Vin and Chris approached him holding a handful of crushed velvet, he'd have been off before they could fit him for a wig. Ezra, though he'd been less than impressed by the idea, had gone all the way. All that he'd needed was Chris telling him Mary was in trouble, and he'd grabbed it with a sigh and disappeared into his room.

Nathan sighed as confusion took him. For a man whose pride was the most important component, he seemed more than willing to put himself on the line for others. A quirky smile covered the healer's face.

Buck, chuckling, wheeled closer.

"You alright there Nathan?"

He looked up quickly, the smile nod leaving his face. He shook his head,

"Just thinkin' bout Ezra," Buck grinned at this and Nathan continued thoughtfully, "Always surprises don't he?"

Buck laughed,

"Nathan. Nothing surprises me more 'an a man in a dress."

At Nathan's curious gaze, Buck smiled, deciding to be a little more thoughtful.

"Yeah, man's more slippy than a eel, but I ain't sure's anything he wouldn't do if it were needed."

Nathan smiled. Pretty good summary.

Would he trust Ezra to cover him in a shoot-out? Yes.

Would he rust Ezra with his money? Probably not. But that didn't matter, Ezra wasn't his banker, he was a lawman.

As the cart rumbled alongside them, and the sun started to dip behind the horizon, casting a golden glow across the dusty yellow ground, he let a contented smile cross his face as he started to feel at peace with himself.

So maybe his own prejudices got in the way of his acceptance of Ezra at times. But that could be worked on. Ezra was by no means an angel, but he was a pretty good guy.

He'd ease off on him for a while. He grinned. Yeah, maybe for a while at least.

000

Desperado by the Eagles – why? Because this song IS Ezra (and I've used it for my title!)

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow

Don' you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of heats is always your best bet

Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're loosin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late