The three peacekeepers and Wiles were packing up their horses just as Vin and JD rode in. Chris could see Tanner's blue eyes scanning back and forth from Wiles to his friends. Vin dismounted and approached Larabee. "What the hell's goin' on, Chris?" Vin continued to look over his friend: Larabee was covered in bruises, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked as tired as Vin had ever seen a man look. "What happened to you boys?"

"I'm afraid it is a very long story, Mr. Tanner," Ezra limped over to greet the tracker and JD.

"I got time," he looked again at Wiles.

"Why don't we follow you boys back to town," Buck suggested, "We need to get these two to Nathan, and we can fill you in on the way."

Once Vin heard the entire story and witnessed coughing fits from both Ezra and Chris, he turned to Wiles and said, "you better be glad you had a change of heart…'cause I woulda hunted you to the ends of the earth if you had let them burn up in that barn."

Wiles just dipped his head in understanding and slowed to hang back behind the other men.

After riding for another hour, Chris called out, "we need to stop."

Vin and Buck both immediately pulled up their mounts, and Buck asked, "you ok? What's up?"

"I'm fine," Larabee coughed, "but we need to think this through." He paused and turned to look at Wiles, "if he's tellin' the truth, then we gotta come up with a plan."

"It's the truth," Wiles said quietly," I swear to it."

"Alright, if that's the case," Chris began, "then I'm afraid we're gonna have to play this whole mess out."

"I'm not followin' Chris," JD said as he sat on his horse next to Buck.

"Your wife's captors want us dead, right? At least me, Buck…"

"….and me," Vin interrupted.

Chris threw a surprised glance as Vin said, "sorry, we read your letter." The Texan then handed it over to George Wiles.

"What about you Ezra?" the leader looked at the gambler. "You wanna be dead or alive?"

"Well, as difficult of a decision as that is, I think I will have to go with alive."

"OK, once you boys get to the next town…George, you wire the captors and say that Buck, Vin, and I were killed. JD and Ezra, you will have the unenviable task of playing this out back in Four Corners. It will likely be best to let the town folks think it is true, in case someone comes checkin' up on the story. The four of us were sleepin' in the barn, and a fire broke out just before Vin and JD arrived. Ezra escaped with smoke inhalation, Vin ran in to try to save me and Buck, and the fire got him too. Tell them that you already took care of the bodies."

"Do we tell Nathan and Josiah that you're dead?" JD asked with a horrified look on his face.

Chris, Buck, and Vin looked at each other, and finally Larabee decided, "no – you can tell them the truth. We may need their help."

"So, are us three dead fellers goin' back to Illinois with Wiley then?" Buck asked. "Somebody's gonna have to help him get his wife back."

"We'll figure that out later," Chris continued, "while these boys travel back to Four Corners and get word up to Illinois."

Wiles finally broke his silence, "where are you boys gonna hole up?"

"I know a place," Vin reluctantly volunteered. There was still something about Wiles that made him unsure whether he should share the location with the man. He knew he had to let Ezra and JD know where they were going to be though. "About a day's ride north of here, along the Ute Creek. There's a rocky area on one side, with a nice, big cave. On the other side is a shady, wooded area that is full of deer and other critters. Plenty of food and water to hide out there for as long as we need ta."

"I think I remember that place," JD said, "didn't we stop there on the way back from roundin' up those horse thieves a few months ago?"

Vin shook his head and smiled, "that's right JD. That's the place."

"I suppose this is as good a place as any to split ways then," Chris approached Wiles and stuck out his hand. George accepted it in a handshake and Larabee said, "good luck Wiley, we'll meet back up in a few days. Chris paused then very quietly finished with, "don't make me and Buck wrong about you Wiles. If you got anything else to tell us, you do it right now."

Wiles looked into Larabee's green eyes and said, "you know everything that I do. Thank you all for your help….despite everything I've done to you. I'll be back in a couple of days to finish the plan."

George Wiles, Ezra, and JD rode off to the east towards Four Corners and Vin led Chris and Buck on a wooded shortcut to the north towards the agreed-upon hideout.

After another two hours on the trail, the eastbound travelers came upon a small town. They tied up the horses, and Wiles said he would send the wire and meet Standish and Dunne in the local restaurant for lunch. George's heart was beating wildly as he dictated the message to the telegraph operator.

"Ezra?" JD asked for the third time, while the waitress stood staring at the two men. Standish's tired mind finally realized that someone was speaking to him.

"I'm sorry?" he managed before coughing.

"Whatta ya want to eat?" JD tried again.

"Whatever you're having is fine."

The waitress left, and JD was shocked. He and Ezra did not normally share much in the way of cuisine preferences. He knew the gambler really must be exhausted.

"You know we could get a room here in town for the night, Ezra," JD suggested, "so you could get some rest. Buck said that you all hadn't slept much in the last few days, and you still look and sound awful."

"Yes, thank you for pointing that out JD," Ezra's bloodshot green eyes looked up at the seven's youngest member. Standish was about as tired as he ever remembered being, but he also had an overwhelming desire to get back to town and back to his own, comfortable bed. And as much as he hated to admit it, he realized he was likely going to need some of Nathan's awful-tasting concoctions to be able to make good use of his featherbed. Otherwise, he would just lie awake and cough all night, like he had done the previous night.

The southerner felt bad for his three friends, having to sleep outside on the hard ground once again, especially Larabee who had clearly been as exhausted as he was. He would make sure Wiles took some of Nathan's cough remedies for Chris when he went to meet up with them in a day or two. Hopefully the soot and smoke would clear itself out by then anyway.

Ezra had just finished a coughing fit when Wiles entered the restaurant. "You ok, Ezra?" JD asked and scowled at Wiles.

"Fine, thank you."

George flagged down the waitress and ordered soup and a sandwich for himself. The food came quickly, and the men ate in silence for the first 5 minutes. Although he could not quite recognize the meal that JD had ordered for him by its appearance on his plate, Ezra was so hungry that he ate it anyway. Wiles said that the wire had been sent, so after eating and drinking a beer, the three somewhat-revived men headed back on the trail.

"Shit," Chris exclaimed as he grabbed quickly at his horse's reins. Pony had stepped into a hole, and it surprised his rider who had been dozing in the saddle. The quick jerk of the horse had just about sent Larabee flying to the dirt below.

Buck turned to see what was going on, and Vin simply said, "think it's a good time to take a break." The tracker had quickly deduced what had happened with Larabee. He had noticed the man's posture starting to slump over the last mile or two.

Larabee gave Tanner a look that said, "keep your mouth shut."

Vin glared right back as if to say, "I'll keep my mouth shut if you don't argue about takin' a break."

Agreed.

Chris found a shady spot amongst the trees and dismounted his horse.

Buck dismounted, looked at Larabee over his horse and asked, "what was all the commotion about a few minutes ago?"

"Pony stepped in a hole," was all Chris said. He walked away and found a spot to sit. He tossed his hat on the ground, as he leaned his head back against a tree trunk.

Vin was looking through his saddle bag for some food, when Buck approached and quietly said, "dang cuss fell asleep in the saddle, didn't he?"

Blue eyes locked with blue, but Vin didn't say a word.

"He ain't slept in three nights."

Vin had no idea why Buck thought he needed to defend Chris. The Texan had ridden with Larabee enough to know that the man didn't make a habit of falling asleep in the saddle. If the gunslinger was out on his horse, then Vin knew that he was past exhaustion. Hell Tanner had felt sorry for Larabee since he first laid eyes on him this morning: dead tired, covered in bruises, coughing his head off, and still trying to come up with a plan to help the bastard that caused it all. Damn if it made any sense to Vin right now. He himself was not going through with this to help George Wiles in any way; he was just trying to make sure no more harm came to any of his friends.

Buck and Vin sat on the ground close to Chris. "It's only about four hours to the cave, so I'm hopin' we can make it tonight….was thinkin' we stay here for an hour or so and then get back on the trail."

Chris opened his eyes, cleared his throat, and said, "sounds fine to me."

Vin sat the meager food supplies down and everybody grabbed what they wanted. When Buck went to grab his canteen from his saddlebag, Vin asked, "you think you can ride another four hours today, Chris?"

"Yeah," Larabee insisted, "don't worry about me." He then broke into a coughing fit.

"Easier said than done, Cowboy," Vin said so quietly that he knew no one, including Chris, would hear him and handed the tired blond his canteen.

Chris took the canteen and got up and walked around until his coughing finally subsided. His ribs and chest were sore as hell, even his head hurt from coughing so much. Buck and Vin felt completely helpless; both men had to stand and watch until Chris got his breathing back under control. Larabee noticed the two sets of worried blue eyes staring at him, smiled a crooked grin, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to eating his jerky.

JD, Ezra, and George Wiles arrived in Four Corners at dusk that evening. Although Ezra could walk on his ankle now, stairs were still tricky. So Wiles helped him up the stairs to Nathan's clinic, and JD went to find Josiah. All 5 men were in Nathan's room within 10 minutes of arriving in town.

Ezra had begun telling the story but was coughing and growing hoarser by the minute. Nathan began to examine the gambler's lungs and throat while JD and Wiles took over the tale. When it came to the part about Wiles setting the barn on fire with Buck, Chris, and Ezra in it, Nathan's mouth dropped open and he said, "you did what?" Nathan immediately stopped his ministrations, approached the ex-soldier and stood face-to-face. Wiles was a large man, but so was Nathan Jackson.

JD was trying to explain about Wiles' wife and that he had no choice, but Nathan didn't care.

"Man's always got a choice. That would be a downright awful way to kill even your worst enemy….much less men who were supposedly your friends. Ezra's lungs still sound terrible and may be scarred for the rest of his life because of you. Buck and Chris too maybe? Wish they were here, so I could take a look at them."

"Buck was doin' pretty good," JD tried to make the healer worry a little less. "Chris was about like Ezra I suppose."

Nathan looked at Wiles and said, "just get out of my sight." Wiles stood there, not knowing what to say. "I said get the hell out of my clinic." Josiah opened the door and gently escorted the man outside.

Sanchez followed and quietly said, "I think it's best if you just head back to your room at the boarding house for tonight. I know I'm supposed to forgive, but I'm havin' a real hard time with what you did as well. I think you and I both need to do some prayin' tonight."

Wiles shook his head in agreement and headed down the steps and out of sight.

Nathan worked for hours to find a combination of breathing treatments and teas that helped calm Ezra's cough enough for the exhausted southerner to get some rest. JD stayed in the clinic. He told himself it was to see how Ezra was doing and make sure Nathan didn't need any help, but it was really to avoid having to encounter anyone in town who might ask about Buck, Chris, or Vin. He just didn't know if he could lie to Ms. Nettie or Inez or Mary Travis and tell them his friends were dead. It would break their hearts and for what? To help George Wiles? JD, like Vin and Nathan, was on the fence about whether any of this mess was worth it.

Finally, Nathan shooed him out of the clinic, insisting he get some sleep. JD managed it to make it to his room without bumping into anyone, but he couldn't stay hidden all day tomorrow.

Vin, Buck, and Chris made it to the Ute Creek cave just after dark. Buck and Chris unpacked the horses while Vin went to find supper. Just as Buck got a nice campfire going, Vin returned with two, fat rabbits. While their meal was cooking, Chris brought up Wiles' situation.

"So whatta you boys think," Larabee's voice was hoarse from coughing all day, "do you believe Wiles' story?"

Buck dipped his head, "I do, Chris. I saw his eyes when he talked about his wife."

"Vin?"

"Don't know," the tracker took a drink from his canteen, "I still got a funny feelin' about this Wiles character."

"Then what are you doin' here?" Buck asked.

"Makin' supper for two ungrateful bastards I suppose." Chris snorted and Buck smiled.

After the meal, the three men set up camp for the night inside the large cave. Despite all of the water and one of Nathan's teas that Vin had in his bag that they pushed on Larabee, the blond gunslinger could not lie down without coughing uncontrollably.

"Alright," Chris stood and went outside to the horses. He returned with a full bottle of redeye from his saddlebag. "It looks like I'll be takin' first watch….'cause I ain't gonna be a bit of any use here in another few hours."

"Larabee, I ain't sure that's the best idea," Vin shook his head, "but I wasn't expectin' ya to stand watch tonight anyway. I'll take first watch, and I'll wake Buck when I get tired."

"Neither you or Buck will agree to knock me out, and I ain't kiddin' Vin – I gotta get a few hours of sleep or I'm gonna start to go loco." Chris took a long swig and drank about a quarter of the bottle of whiskey.

"Damn," Vin did not know how the man could do that.

Buck had already been dozing for the last couple of hours, but he was aware enough to say, "leave him be, Vin. I think he's right this time. Sweet dreams, boys." The tall, ladies' man was sawing logs again within a minute.

Chris sat up with Vin for another hour near the mouth of the cave: watching, listening, and drinking. He managed to finish off the bottle, and no doubt about it – Larabee was drunk. His speech was slow and slurred, but he wasn't coughing. Once Vin coaxed him into drinking some water, he all but carried Chris to his bedroll, and the exhausted and inebriated man finally fell into a deep sleep. The tracker knew Larabee was going to be a bear to deal with in the morning.

The next morning in Four Corners found a lot of sad faces gathered around JD, Josiah, and Ezra in the saloon. Once JD told Inez about the fire, word spread quickly about the death of the three peacekeepers. Ezra physically felt better than he had in a long time: his cough was improved and he had slept over eight hours, but mentally this was much more difficult than he ever imagined. Standish had lied to a lot of people about any number of things in his lifetime, but watching the townsfolks tear-up and hug himself and JD….well, this just felt awful. When the women began planning an elaborate memorial service, Ezra had to excuse himself.

Standish found George Wiles at the livery readying a horse to ride out. He was supposedly riding to catch a train back home to Illinois, but Ezra knew he was really going to meet back up with the three "dead" peacekeepers. He did not know what the four men were going to do then. Would all four of them go to Illinois? Somehow Standish couldn't imagine Vin agreeing to go along, but he also knew that the tracker would have a hard time trusting Wiles with his two friends.

Just as Wiles rode out of town, Standish noticed a young man across the road. It wasn't a person Ezra had ever seen before, but there was something vaguely familiar about him. The man soon disappeared into the hotel, and Ezra instructed Yosemite to come fetch him if the boy rode out of town.

Vin woke to a commotion in the cave at about 7AM the following morning. He heard someone moving around and heard Buck say, "Wo there stud, let me get out of the way." He then heard the unmistakable sound of someone retching outside. Larabee was awake…and sick as a dog, just as Tanner knew he would be. Hopefully the sleep was worth it. Tanner crawled out of his warm bedroll and cringed as he heard Chris get sick once again. Vin slipped on his boots, walked past a grinning Wilmington, and stepped out into the morning sunlight.

Chris was hatless and splashing water on his face from the creek when Vin approached and asked, "how you doin', Cowboy?"

Larabee shakily sat back on the dirt and ran a hand through his dark blond hair. Chris' pallor was decidedly greenish, but he looked up at Vin and smiled, "hell, I think I'm still drunk."

"Wouldn't be surprised after all you had last night." Vin held out his hand. "Come on you old drunk, I'll help you back to the cave." He pulled Larabee to his feet. "Don't imagine that sun's makin' yer head feel too good neither."

It had been less than an hour since George Wiles had ridden out of town when Yosemite knocked on Standish's door at the boarding house. "Mr. Standish?"

Ezra opened the door. "Yes?"

"The boy just took off on his horse."

"Heading west?"

"Heading west."

"Thank you very much sir." Ezra turned and grabbed a few belongings and followed Yosemite to the livery. Why he didn't stop in and tell the others what was going on? He didn't know. Part of him thought it would take too long to explain and part of him thought they wouldn't believe this boy had anything to do with Wiles. Standish would just go for a leisurely ride and see where this boy was going. He could always come back tonight once the fellow had made camp and obtain reinforcements, if necessary…right?

Ezra and Chaucer followed closely, but not too closely, just as the tall young man seemed to be doing to Mr. Wiles.

Wiles pulled up to the campsite just after noon. Buck Wilmington stepped out from behind a rock with a rifle in hand. "Howdy there, Wiley."

"Buck," George acknowledged while looking around for Vin and Chris, "everything ok here."

"Everything's fine."

Tanner and Larabee exited the cave and Wiles simply said, "Chris. Vin."

"Got some beans warmin' up on the fire over there if yer interested," Vin said. Chris still wasn't feeling too talkative. His head and stomach continued to bother him, although not as badly as this morning.

Ezra had crossed Ute creek a few miles back and had been riding in the trees, watching what the young man and Wiles were up to. The boy had only gone far enough to see where the camp was, and then he had taken a sharp turn up north…to get the rest of his gang, Ezra feared.

Standish waited and watched for the boy and/or more men to return, but there had been no signs of riders for over an hour now. Just before he approached the camp to inform his friends of his suspicions, a group of 10 men and 1 woman appeared on the rocks above Chris, Buck, Vin, and Wiles. They were armed and in an elevated position. His friends had no choice but to put up their hands and surrender immediately.