A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews. I'm glad to see that my story telling is doing justice to these boys.

Appearances Darlin', are Everything

Part III

Alright, that's enough of this, iffen I don't get him talking we'll be here forever. "So are ya gonna talk about it or are we goin' to just ride around in circles all afternoon?" Vin asked after about two hours of silent riding with his fellow regulator. Continuous silence was something the ex-bounty hunter had come to live with; truth was Tanner felt more at home in the silence of nature one would find out in the wilderness than the noises of civilization that come with living in a town. The problem Vin had with it today was that it was not normal for his riding companion, usually when he rode with the gambler they would talk the whole time about all sorts of stuff, books that Ezra had read, places he had visited, or Vin would tell him about the various tribes he had meet in his travels.

Vin glanced to the side, finally catching the emerald green eyes of his friend, eyes that usually were full of mischief, humor, or some other unexplainable emotion. Sure it was not uncommon to see those eyes twinkle with amusement from time to time, like during a poker game or while the two of them planned a prank on one the others or they could hold a glint of anger and fear when caught in a fight, but the tracker had never seen them hold the sorrow or pain he was looking into now. People in town, the ones who really did not know the conman, said he was an emotionless, heartless man, but the other six lawmen had realized long ago that to see what was truly troubling their friend all one had to do was search his eyes, Ezra maybe able to keep emotions from showing on his face, but he could not control those eyes. Right now, looking in those eyes, it was as if Vin was watching the soul of his friend suffer through those green orbs, it was something he prayed he could help his friend with and never see again.

So far it had been an easy ride, once Ezra had reached one of the Seven's usual patrol routes he had let Chaucer slow to a steady walk which allowed Vin to catch up and fall in step beside him with no real work on Peso's part. Since then the gambler had said nothing and had avoided all attempts by the Texan at eye contact, Ezra simply kept staring off into the horizon letting Chaucer find his own way along the trail. Vin was starting to wonder about his friend due to the gambler's actions, he began to think that things weren't as bad as they had seemed in the street out front of the saloon. Maybe we just over reacted; the man could simply want some time to himself. The tracker had started to contemplate heading back in allowing the gambler his privacy but after seeing the raw emotion in those usually calm eyes Vin realized he wasn't over reacting, something was truly wrong with his comrade.

"Come on Ez, let's head back to town. I'll buy ya a drink, and then you can win my week's wages from me." The last part was said in jest, Vin knew the rouge liked to win, but Ezra would never leave a friend without some money when they left his table. Vin began turning Peso back towards Four Corners, hoping that Chaucer would soon follow. I just need to get him back to town, and then I'll have the boys to back me up. "I heard JD say that Buck's got a little cash saved away, maybe we can get him in the game, get him ta finish his story 'bout yer trip, that's iffen you don't want to finish it"

After a few moments of silence Vin realized that Ezra had not turned to follow, in fact the gambler wasn't moving at all. Chaucer stood frozen where Vin had first mentioned heading back, it never ceased to amaze the Texan how well that horse could read his man's emotional state, like right now, Chaucer was sensing his rider's fear and was reacting to it in the same manner Ezra was. In the saddle Ezra was sitting as still as a statue looking towards town, the only visible movement was a shaken of his head, and the movement of his mouth as he spoke a jumble of barley audible words, in a hushed voice. "No . . . I c-can't go back . . . not y-yet . . . mother . . . mother will still be up . . . I'm s-sorry Vin . . . I . . . I just can't."

The half sobbed whisper tore at Vin's heart, what had that woman had done in those few minutes to do this to Ezra. The man had faced down a tank, been shot twice protecting people and had worn a dress for God Sakes, all without even a flicker of fear, what could make him show such fear now. What in the hell did she say to him? Oh, Ezra why can't you have been gifted with an easier mother to deal with?

"Ezra . . ." Vin slowly brought Peso up besides Chaucer so that he was facing the fear struck conman, the entire time keeping his hands up and moving slowly. I can't be spookin' him; if I do then I'll never get Ezra back to town. "Ezra, you can't stay out here forever, we need to get you back to town to get something to eat, we both know that you didn't eat breakfast and then ya barely touched your lunch. Now why don't ya come back to town-"

The slow movement of the gambler's head suddenly became a panicked shaking, emerald eyes growing wider then Vin thought was physically possible. "Vin . . . I can't . . . p-please . . . I-I can't face h-her . . . . N-not yet." As this jumble of words finished flowing out the gambler, it became apparent to the tracker that Ezra was making ready to bolt; his attempt was stopped by Vin's strong grip on his hands and reins.

"Ezra! Calm Down! Ezra, please look at me." Slowly tear filled, sea green eyes meet sky blue, seeing he had his friend's full attention the tracker continued. "Come back to town, you won't have ta face her. Ez, I'll make sure of it. Me and the boys, al'right? Ezra, don't ya trust us?" Please let me get through, I need to get him home.

There was a pause, for a second Vin was afraid he had pushed the gambler too far. Every member of the Seven knew that Ezra was a private man, hell they all were, Ezra just seemed to be the worst, he was the one that had taken the longest to start opening up and relaxing around the others. This fact about Ezra's character had lead to the task that Vin and JD seemed share, getting the southern card sharp to learn to trust them, to see the six other men as family. There had been a few set backs, but the two lawmen had pushed onward, not backing down no matter how hard Ezra made it for them, they keep working on him till they got the idea through his thick southern skull. This gave the two of them an advantage in talking to the rogue that the others did not have, they knew all of the tricks to get him to talk. Vin just hoped he had choose the right one this time, forcing the man to reveal more than he was ready happened to be the quickest way you could start a fight, to get him to start talking or to get those green eyes go blank with his rock hard poker face, if you needed Ezra to be quiet.

The ex-bounty hunter wasn't sure what reaction he was going to receive but at this point anything other than the emotional wreck his friend was now was an improvement . . . and probably easier to deal with. So they waited, Vin allowing Ezra to calm down and quail whatever demons he was facing, while Vin planned his next move if this one didn't work. Then Vin heard it, the barest of whispers, a reply that both warmed and broke the heart of the gentle tracker.

"I do trust you Vin, all of you. I just fear the conclusion of this matter if my mother should set her sights on going forward. You gentlemen are the closest thing I have ever had to true friends . . . to a home . . . a place where I can belong, and I do not wish to see that destroyed or hurt on my account. Lord knows I am not worth that," as Ezra had spoke his voice had gotten softer, forcing Vin to strain his hearing to pick-up the last few words, when he did his heart went out to the flashy dressed, fast talking fool. These words again reminding Vin of a promise he had made months ago after that whole case with Stutz's ten thousand dollars, making him recommit to it now. When I find the scum that made you see so little in yourself, I promise me and the boys are gonna have some fun with them.

"Come on Ez, we'll head in, I'll buy you a drink and reckon we'll go from there," Vin was happy to see a small nod of agreement as they turned their mounts towards town. And I swear if that woman hurts you again . . . it's the last thing she'll ever do.

A/N: Well, it would seem that Vin doesn't care much for Maude? What about all of you? Should we see what is waiting for our pair back in town? Hope the other five are doing okay with Mother. :-)