Ezra was only vaguely aware of the activity that buzzed around him. He felt unbelievably tired and was hotter that he should be. He tried to take his jacket off but was stopped in is actions.

"Hang on a second Ezra. I'll get that off for you. Just stay as still as you can." He had no idea why Buck would ask that of him, but he didn't feel he had the energy to argue. He could feel a tightness on his arm loosen for a moment, followed by his jacket being pulled away. The tightness was back immediately.

"Damn it Ezra. Look at me. Stay focused here Ezra." He tried to response to Buck's demands but was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

Buck settled him to the ground before ordering JD to get Ezra's bag down. "Get his flask from it." A few seconds later JD was passing it over to him. He shook his head, reaching down to his boot and pulled his knife from the sheath hidden there. "No, keep it. Pour some over the blade, and onto the wound. Not all of it. He's gonna need a few swigs in a couple of minutes."

Taking a deep breath, Buck wasted no time getting to the unpleasant task. Telling Jeremy and JD to hold Ezra a still as they could, he sliced into the bite and began sucking the poison out. Ezra screamed at the pain, too weakened and confused to have the presence of mind for any other reaction. Buck wondered as he worked if any of this was going to do any good. His gut, and experience, told him too much time had passed since the bite. He had no way of knowing how much venom had worked its way into the gambler's system. The fact he was already this feverish and disoriented wasn't a good sign. None of that stopped him from trying to draw out more of the toxins.

Time ticked by with no movement beyond the rescue effort. JD mumbled quietly, trying to offer reassurances and keep both himself and Ezra calm. He didn't know if it was helpful to Ezra, but it was doing him no good whatsoever. "OK Ezra, stay focused on me here. Ez. Stay awake."

The response was weak and slurred. "Difficult to sleep when someone slices you open."

Buck was relieved to hear that southern accent once again. "Yeah, sorry about that. You need a shot of whiskey?" Ezra shook his head. "Ez, do you know what happened?"

"Something about snake?"

Buck nodded slowly, not registering that Ezra probably wasn't able to focus too well. "We're gonna have to get you back to Four Corners Ez, and it's gonna be a rough ride. You up to it?"

"What choice?"

It was a bad sign when Ezra abandoned his elaborate answers. Buck looked to JD and tilted his head to lead him away from scene. The young man stared at the shrub where the snake's nest must be.

"Why didn't he hear the rattler JD?" It took him a moment to know that was a real question.

"Was too busy diving for his gun. He'd had to toss it to the ground. I was no help. I was damned useless to him Buck, and now…"

"Now nothing. We are going to get him home. And if you're looking for someone to blame, I'm the one that was supposed to be backing you two up."

"But you couldn't because of my horse."

Buck signed deeply. This wasn't what they needed to be worrying about right now. "The bastards to blame are dead, and Ezra is alive. And is going to stay that way."

JD wanted to believe his mentor but looking back at the pale and trembling body on the ground, he was finding it difficult. "A rattler? You sure?"

"Most likely in these parts. I'm not about to go charging into the brush to find out. Can you handle the coach?" He was focusing on the wound to JD's arm. It didn't look to be bleeding badly, but still should be wrapped better than it was, especially if he was going to be exposed to the dust and dirt of a hard, fast ride.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Henry's OK too. 'tween the two of us, we can handle it."

Henry had come over to join them. He was clearly in pain but wasn't saying anything about that. "The coach station is 'bout an hour from here. Your friend could rest there while you go for help."

"Don't suppose the station is on a telegraph line? No, didn't think we'd get that lucky."

"Ezra could rest there, Buck. You could go get help."

He hated the response he was going to have to give the kid. "I leave him there and ride for help, I'm betting he won't still be with us by the time we'd get back. Poison is already in his system kid. Ain't helping that he's hardly eaten in the last couple days. Needs his strength."

Henry disagreed. "Taking that ride fast is gonna bounce him around something fierce. That'll move the poison through him too."

Buck scrubbed at his face, already feeling drained and lost. With a deep sigh, he made his way back to Ezra. Emily moved back from where she had taken over keeping him calm to allow Buck to squat down close.

"You hear me Ezra? We gotta make a decision, and I think you have the right to have a say. Need to get you home, but it's about another 4 hours, and gonna be a rough ride. We could leave you with JD and these nice folks at the coach rest station while I go for help."

"Home."

"No way you could ride Chaucer, and it's gonna be a long, hard ride in the coach." Buck needed to be sure Ezra knew what he was getting himself into.

"Need to be home. Need to see the others again." The unspoken message was clear. If I am going to die, I want it to be with my friends.

"OK then. JD and Henry are gonna drive the team, and Miss Emily and her beau are gonna take care of you."

"Husband." Ezra corrected automatically.

Buck just shook his head. "I'm riding ahead. I'll leave Milagro and Chaucer-"

"NO!"

"Easy Ez. Relax. Gonna leave them at the coach station so I can ride back to Four Corners faster. Get Nathan and come back to meet you with some medicine."

"Don't you worry there, Mister." Henry smiled down. "Sam runs that station, and he knows how to take care of horses better than anyone I know. Your critter will be just fine."

While thinking that if Ezra had been in better shape, Henry would not have gotten away with calling Chaucer a 'critter', Buck poured some water onto his bandana and used it to wipe down Ezra's face. "Gonna get you into the coach, then I'm taking off. You need to promise me you'll rest up and do what these folks tell you to."

It took far more effort than it should have for him to form the words to answer. "I shall endeavor. Mr. Wilmington – Buck. Thank you."

The tone in his voice conveyed a message Buck was not ready to hear. "Don't you go getting all sentimental on me Ez. You're gonna be just fine. Chris was here, he'd call that an order." He watched for a response, but the gambler didn't have the energy to focus on anything more than dealing with the pain at this point. As gently as possible, he reached down and scooped up his barely conscious friend. Even that much movement was clearly painful, but Ezra struggled to control his reaction. It took just moments for the others to get him settled onto the floor of the coach, the seats being to narrow for comfort or safety. Buck used the time to toss the bodies of the thieves over the backs of their horses. They didn't deserve the time or effort involved, but he couldn't bring himself to just leave them to rot. He led the horses over to where he'd left his own, walking past the coach on the way.

"Not going to be to comfortable for you folks to be in there with him." He nodded at the horses. "If you'd rather ride?"

Jeremy shook his head. "Don't worry about us. We can handle it, and he needs someone with him."

Buck nodded, grateful the man had easily come around to recognizing the sacrifice Ezra had made to protect his young bride. "He's going to be in a lot of pain, and you may hear a few things out of him that aren't exactly proper."

Emily smiled. "I have four brothers Mr. Wilmington. I doubt your friend can come up with anything I haven't heard at some point. Besides, he strikes me as too much of a gentleman to have access to that kind of language."

JD looked down for the position in the driver's seat he was settling into. "You might be surprised by how colourful and creative he can be." He doubted this time there was going to be much talking at all coming from his usually verbose friend.

Buck frowned at him. "Get your ass down from there and get a proper bandage on that arm. You can't help if you pass out or get sick."

"I can take care of that Mr. Wilmington. You go ahead and I'll have these two ready in no time."

Jeremy walked over with Buck to where Lady was waiting for him to mount up again. "Is there anything we should know about taking care of him?"

"Hard to say. He got weak fast, but he hasn't eaten much, so that may be a part of it all. Without knowing how much venom he got in him, it's tough to judge. It's making his nerves feel like they are on fire. Everything is gonna hurt more than it should. Might start being nauseous or having trouble breathin'. Keep him as still as you can, and cool. Some water to drink, not a lot, and nothing but water unless it gets to be too much to handle." He handed over the flask. "That's when you use this. I'll meet you on the road as soon as I can."

"We'll do our best for him."

Buck nodded. "That's all a man can ask." He rode out, pausing at the coach again. "You two go easy. He needs a fast, but smooth ride. Two of you need to take it easy as well."

JD replied with a confidence that he didn't really feel. "We're gonna be fine. All of us. See you in a few hours."

"Listen to me kid, this isn't your fault. Bastards to blame are the one's lyin' over these horses."

"They gonna slow you down?"

"Nah. Not like I have to be gentle with them. I'll leave the bodies with the horses at the station. You folks just head straight to Four Corners." He rode out ahead of them, not looking back, and trying to fight the feeling he was never going to see Ezra alive again.

M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7-M7

TBC