The saloon was bustling with people, in the corner sat Vin, Ezra, Josiah, JD and Nathan. The five seemed to be the only silent ones in the room. JD looked at the four older men, before leaning forward on the table with a dopey grin spreading on his face,
"Anyone wanna hear a joke?"
The other men all exchanged looks,
"If it is as first-rate as your joke regarding the dog and his 'pa' I think I will have to decline your generous offer Mr. Dunne" Ezra quickly replied. The others all chuckled to themselves as JD beamed at Ezra before realizing his true meaning about his joke telling skills.
"Hey! I'm only trying ta lighten the mood guys! Seems like Chris' mood is rubbin' off on all of ya…" he muttered the end of the sentence as four glares turned his way.
"You think that you'd be in a better mood if you were in Chris' shoes JD?" Josiah asked in a curious tone.
"Well, I dunno…"
"JD do me a favour, don't just listen to Buck about this one" a look of concern spread across Nathan's face as he spoke to the younger man. JD looked confused at Nathan's words,
"But surely, I mean you're a doctor Nathan, and Chris did hurt that girl didn't he? I ain't no sheep, but Buck kinda has a point with this one" he paused when he gained no answer from any of the men, "…don't he?"
Josiah leaned closer to JD,
"Do you really think that Chris knew the Duke girl was a woman? And after all as Nathan said, she was injured and we would never have known if Chris hadn't have, ahem, stumbled upon the young lady, the lord works in mysterious ways."
"But Josiah, surely tha' don't excuse it?"
This time is was Vin who spoke. He had been quietly watching the conversation unfold, but now he leaned forwards,
"Listen JD, Buck's view of the situation is a little one-sided. It could have happened to any of us."
Vin's words made JD think of the incident not so long ago when he had accidentally shot and killed a woman whilst trying to stop a robbery. Vin waited for a moment, unsure as to whether JD would reply. When no response came, he leaned back into his seat, tilting his hat back down, until it almost covered his eyes. Just as silence fell over the table again, Buck entered the saloon. He noticed his friends sitting at the table instantly, but hesitated before walking over towards them. After searching the room, he finally made his way over and took one of the empty seats.
"How's she doing?" Nathan enquired to his friend.
"She's alright. Didn't talk much. Left her sleeping, but she was complain' bout a bit of pain in her arm earlier"
"I'll see what I can do, but it's probably just part of the healin' process. Thanks for watchin' her for a while Buck"
"Not a problem Doc," Buck grinned as Nathan rolled his eyes. Nathan stood up and grabbed his hat from its position on the table,
"Evening fellas. Anyone needs me you know where ta' find me," and with a nod in the general direction of the men, he turned and walked out.
Buck poured himself a shot from the open bottle of tequila on the table, before releasing a long sigh.
"You okay Buck?" JD asked.
"Ahhh kid," a whistful smile appeared on Buck's face, "I'm just thinking about that girl."
"The Duke girl?"
"She's something else JD. Not like the women round here."
"I thought you said that she didn't really speak to you?" Josiah smiled
"She don't have to. I can appreciate her from just lookin' if you get my drift" Buck winked at JD, who grinned back. Again a dreamy look filled Buck's face,
"I mean…she has these big blue eyes, a rosebud mouth just made for kissin', paired with ivory skin and golden hair. It ain't the hardest job I've had to look after a pretty little thing like that" he chuckled.
"Pardon my brashness, but from the way that Mr. Jackson was talking about Miss Duke, I feel it would be safe to assume that she does not requite your feelings of admiration" Ezra smiled, not looking up from the deck he was shuffling.
A smug look fanned out across Buck's face, "I wouldn' go as far as that Ez, 'playing hard' ta' get is all"
"Being injured I suspect she's not 'playing' with you Buck, just not interested" Josiah grinned at his moustached friend, as a look of dissatisfaction grew over his features.
"All she needs is a lil' more time to come ta' her senses" Buck winked at JD, concealing his annoyance at the truth in Josiah's comment.
"Would you care to partake in a wager on that basis Mr. Wilmington?" Ezra piped in, seizing any opportunity to gamble.
At that moment the saloon doors burst open as a rowdy crowd of men entered. At the sound Buck whipped his head round to see who was walking into the room, and after inspecting the individuals he turned back to his friends. Vin lifted his hat up from it's position covering his face, and leaned forward in one swift irritated movement.
"Checking for Chris?" he asked a little more angrily than he had anticipated, and Buck had picked up on the tone.
"You gotta' problem Vin?" Buck growled at the tracker.
The other three men turned to look at Vin, a mixture of concern and shock spread amongst them. He began to feel that it would be wise to back-track his words, considering the showdown between Buck and Chris earlier it seemed a better idea not to aggravate Buck any further.
"It don't matter…" he mumbled, but Buck interrupted him
"Come on Vin, I'm sure everyone wants ta know what you have ta say. You got somethin' on ya chest, just get it off!" Buck was practically snarling at Vin now.
"You keep checkin' over ya shoulder, worryin' that Chris is gonna come in here and ruin the nice evenin' tha' you're havin', but ya needn't worry Buck, don't think he wants ta come near any place your gonna be! Not after all tha' hassle you've been givin' him!"
Before the others could say anything, Vin had grabbed his buckskin jacket from the back of his chair and stormed out of the saloon. A silence fell over the group, before Ezra cleared his throat,
"So about my previous enquiry as to your stance on that wager Mr. Wilmington?"
Nathan Jackson was sat in the corner of his healing clinic, leaning back in his chair and sharpening his throwing knives whilst Amy slept. The candle light was flickering, forcing him to concentrate harder on his knives, which in turn was causing tiredness to draw over him more. He glanced over at his sleeping patient, even though it was not directly her fault, he couldn't help but wonder to himself just how this one young woman had managed to cause such trouble during her time in Four Corners already. A loud knock at the door caused Nathan to jump from his thoughts, almost nipping his finger with a blade. He stole a quick glance at his watch, and noticed the late hour. Who would be visiting him or Miss Duke at this time in the night? Instantly his thoughts ran worriedly to Chris or Buck, either of whom he would be sending away at this hour. As he pulled the door open, preparing himself to tell the men that they needed to leave, he was pleasantly surprised, but also more confused by what he saw. In place of the two that he had been expecting, Nathan found Mary Travis stood in front of him.
"Why, good evening Ms. Travis. I must say this is a pleasant surprise" Nathan smiled at his female companion.
"Good evening Nathan" she smiled back at him, before noticing the knives still in his hands, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" she lifted her eyebrows in a questioning manner as the words left her lips. Nathan followed her gaze to the knives, and shook his head laughing softly.
"Not at all ma'am, but I have to ask what you're doing here so late?"
Mary drew the shawl she was wearing tighter across her shoulders before answering,
"I couldn't sleep very well Nathan, I hope I'm not being an inconvenience, to tell you the truth I hadn't actually noticed how late it had gotten?"
A silent shake of Nathan's head encouraged her to continue, "I was thinking about Miss Duke, and I was wondering if there was any way I could help?" She paused as she bent down to pick up the basket that was resting next to her feet, "I brought a few pairs of clothes that I thought might be useful, they're nothing special, but I thought that she might need a change of clothes…?"
Nathan's smile grew wider at the woman. Mary was always so kind and charitable to those who she could help, and even though this girl was causing a little bit of strain upon the happenings of the village of late, she was still extending an olive branch.
"That's most generous of ya' Mary. I warn you that you're style might not exactly be to this girl's taste though…" Nathan grinned, moving aside so that Mary could enter the room. She walked over to the table and placed the basket down, as she turned back to face Nathan a look of worry appeared in her eyes.
"It's a good job I showed up here Nathan. You look exhausted. Why don't you go have a sleep and I'll keep watch over her?"
As Nathan opened his mouth to speak, Mary cut him off before he could start,
"I will let you know if there are any problems with Miss Drake, I promise" she smiled at her medic friend.
"Well, I am quite tired, but I woudn' wanna feel like I'm putting you out Ms, Travis."
"Nonsense Nathan, it gives me something to do"
Nathan gave Mary a look filled with gratitude, and started walking over towards the door,
"Thank you Mary, I'll be back in a little while" he smiled before exiting the room, leaving the two women alone.