"Honest to God Chris, I thought I was doing the right thing when I sent the telegraph. I figured it –"

"Easy kid. Your heart was in the right place." Josiah try to reassure JD.

"Yeah, but my head was up my –"

"Knock it off. Yeah, it turned out bad, but you couldn't have known that." Vin try to convince him.

"You all knew it. None of you were that stupid."

"None of us had the kind of relationship you had with your mother." Nathan reminded him. "It was a reasonable thing for you to do."

"Question is, what do we do now?" Buck asked.

"We talk to him. In the morning, after he can get some rest."

"Think it's a good idea to leave him alone for the night Chris?"

"He needs the space Vin. Said he'd stay put and get some rest, and when I went by his room a little while ago it was quiet, so I think it's best to let him sleep."

"I can't believe she talked to him that way." JD repeated. Chris had filled them in on some of what he had overheard. He spared Ezra the embarrassment of sharing all of the information, but he did decide the team needed an idea of what Ezra had been put through, given the way he was reacting to it. He also wanted to be sure they were all keeping an eye on things to make sure Maude didn't get a chance to have another go at him.

"I can. The woman has no heart." Buck's voice was tight with anger.

"No soul." Josiah added.

"He doesn't need to hear you saying that tomorrow. This is ripping him up." Chris cautioned. "We may want to kill the woman, but despite all this crap, he still gives a damn."

"Course he does. She's his mother. He can't help it." JD understood that, even if none of the rest of this made any sense.

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Vin tapped a second time on Ezra's door. He knew he was early but doubted there had been a lot of sleeping going on in there last night. He wanted to have a chance to talk to Ezra before he had to confront the whole team. He hoped the gambler would feel a bit more at ease knowing from the start that he wasn't in this alone.

He waited and was about to try again when he heard the footsteps behind him. He didn't need to turn around.

"You're earlier than I figured you to be Chris."

"Could say the same about you."

Vin shrugged. "I thought he might want to talk before, well, before he had to talk."

"Yeah, me too. Wasn't sure I was the best man for the job though."

"Not sure any of us is. Can't really imagine what this is like for him."

"She sure explains a lot, doesn't she?"

Vin nodded, knocking again. Chris reached for the door but paused at the sound of heavy footsteps.

"You too Josiah?" He turned smiling.

"Yup. Buck's downstairs. I passed JD on the way as well but sent him out to do a quick town patrol instead. He still feeling guilty about all this and I figure Ezra doesn't have the energy to deal with that as well."

"What about Nathan?"

"I hope he sleeping. Had a late medical call last night. Saw him ride out."

Chris had continued his move to open Ezra's door as he listened to Josiah. He turned back to speak to Ezra and froze at what he saw.

"Shit!"

"What's wrong?" Vinh pushed past him and had the identical reaction. The room was virtually empty, other than the furnishings it had come with and Ezra's own featherbed. Blankets had been neatly folded, curtains drawn, and everything tidy and sterile. The open wardrobe door showed the contents had been packed up, and neatly bundled together. An envelope sat on the dresser with Payment in full neatly written on it. The room had been vacated.

"No. I don't believe it." Josiah spoke passionately. "He wouldn't do this."

"He did. Damn. Should've seen this coming." Chris wasn't sure right this instant if he was angrier with Ezra or himself. It was too close to call.

Buck had bolted up the stairs at the sound of Chris's first curse, and now looked to Vin. "Can you track him?"

"Probably. Doubt he's gone too far yet."

"Nathan's gonna kill him. He's not supposed to be riding any distance yet." Josiah observed, realizing as he said it how foolish it sounded.

Chris stood looking around the room for a moment after the others had left. Something felt wrong. It felt off. "Dammit Ezra. What were you thinking? Why didn't you give us a chance?"

He caught up with the others as they neared the livery. "We can't all go after him. We have a stagecoach coming in today and –"

"We already figured that out Chris. You and Vin can start out. You need him to help you track. Josiah and I will be ready if you send word. That way –" Buck stopped midsentence not believing the site in front of him. Chaucer stood in his stall, calmly munching his breakfast, oblivious to the confusion his presence was causing. "What the hell?"

"How did he leave without taking Chaucer?" Vin asked. "He wouldn't do that."

"Guys." They all spun at the unexpected sound of JDs voice. "You need to see this."

"Not now kid..." Buck began but got no further.

"Yes. Now. I know where he is."

"How did you even know he was missing?" Chris asked.

"Because I found him." The discouraged tone had them all worried.

"He okay?"

"What do you think? Just follow me." JD lead them to the jail house and quietly open the door. Ezra had locked himself into a cell, where he now slept restlessly. Buck started to charge in, but Josiah pulled him back and close the door before turning to Chris.

"Okay, what's going on? This is obviously more than the usual embarrassment about his mother."

"Not my place to tell."

"I think he just made it your place." Vin gave him a long hard look. "She said a lot more to him than what you let on, didn't she?" Chris just nodded.

"And it was worse than what you told us?" JD couldn't imagine that. Couldn't imagine what that had done to Ezra.

"Let's just say he and Maude really had it out. And I really, really wish I hadn't been there to hear it."

"What could she have said that would make him do this?" JD wondered.

Chris ignored him for more pressing matter. "Buck, where do you think you're going?"

"To the hotel. I have a few things that need to be said."

"He said them."

"Yeah, but did she hear them?" Josiah planned on joining Buck if the answer wasn't satisfactory, and maybe even if it was.

"I think so. I checked, and she's changed her stage ticket to today. That'll have to do guys. He doesn't need us causing more trouble."

"A fight doesn't explain why he'd lock himself up."

"I guess he figures he's saving me the trouble." Chris replied softly. He didn't want to share anymore of the story but was beginning to understand there was no way around this.

"Seriously? You were going to arrest him?" Vin challenged.

"No. Probably not." Chris took a moment to sort his thought. "Look, what she said was that bad. That damning." He ran a tired hand through his hair. "I did say we needed to talk, and he jumped to this conclusion."

"You think he is doing this because you overheard it Chris?" He looked at Josiah, not sure what he meant. "No, this isn't because he got caught. I would guess he has been thinking for some time he needs to be held accountable for his past. This latest crisis of conscious, with the ten thousand dollars, just brought it all to a head."

"You figure he needs to prove to us that he's really done with that life?" Buck asked.

"Yes, but I think he needs to prove it to himself more."

This was all more that Chris knew how to handle. Give him a thief or killer and he was fine, but sorting out someone's personal guilt was outside of his expertise. He sighed yet again. "For now, we let him rest. He needs that at least, and while he's in there he can't do anything stupid. Make that anything else stupid."

"What are you going to do?"

"Send some telegrams. In the meantime, the rest of you have things to do. Vin, keep an eye out for Maude. Make sure she gets on the stage, and keep the rest of these guys away from her."

"You're assuming I won't have anything to say to her?"

"No, but I figure you're most likely to keep it civil."

"Don't be so sure."

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"How dare you suggest that you come into my room? Have you no sense of propriety?"

Chris entered and stepped aside to show Mary Travers was with him.

"That's one of the reasons I didn't come alone. We need to have a little chat Maude."

"That is Mrs. Haversham to you sir."

"Sorry, can't keep up with your name changes."

"I am preparing to leave Mr. Larabee. As was requested by both you and the ungrateful wretch that I so recently thought of as my darling boy."

"Your 'darling boy' is in jail. Thought you might want to know."

"He's what? You arrested him? I told him you people weren't really his friends. That you never had his best interests at heart."

"Unlike you?" Chris's sarcasm was evident. "We didn't arrest him. He locked himself up, and I am damn sure it is gonna take some kind of miracle to get him to leave. That's where you come in."

Maude gave a small snort of derision. "I seriously doubt I would be able to convince him of anything at this point."

"You're right. He might finally be past all of that. What I need from you is clarification on a few of the things you said to him yesterday."

Maude paled ever so slightly. Confessions were not something she was at all comfortable with.

"I have nothing further to say on that matter, and if I did, it certainly wouldn't be in front of the town's newspaper publisher."

"I'm not here as a newswoman Mrs. Haversham. I am here as a favour to Mr. Larabee. And to your son."

Maude laughed again. "You know him too well to be doing favours for him."

"Your son stepped in front of a bullet to save my life." Even though she had been aware of the fact, hearing it from the intended victim brought a reality to the moment that Maude had not expected. "There isn't too much I wouldn't be willing to do for him right now. And while I am not a proponent of violence of any kind, you should be aware of the fact that I do mean there is VERY little I would not do to help him. Do you understand me?" Maude suddenly had no doubt at all that the genteel sounding woman in front of her would in fact have few limits on the matter.

"This is all nonsense Mr. Larabee. What you overheard yesterday was nothing more than a simple mother-son squabble. We all have a few skeletons in our family closets. Why any of that would inspire my dear boy to lock himself up is a complete mystery to me. Of course, he always has had a bit of a dramatic side to him."

"Stow it Maude. I don't much care about your part in any of this. Much as I would enjoy locking you up and losing the key, that isn't why I'm here. I want the details on the wanted posters and any charges that might be pending on Ezra. All of them."

"You looking to provide nails for his coffin?" Maude smirked.

"I'm looking to get him out of this. Make it difficult for me, and you have no idea how much hell I can create in your life."

It was only years of experience dealing with angry marks that allowed Maude to keep up the act of not caring about any of this. Somehow, she was able to not back down from the glare, but she knew she had few options open to her. "And you can assure me nothing I tell you will be used to incarcerate me?"

"As long as you are on the next stage out of this town, I won't do anything at all with what you tell me. Cause him more trouble, and all bets are off."

Maude nodded. "You two might want to take a seat. This could take a while."

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tbc