Josiah allowed his horse to have it's head knowing it would follow behind the horse in front of him. He removed the hat that was fitted firmly to his head and raised his face up towards the warm sunlight that had been unable to reach his already tanned face. The morning had been cool, the last days of winter finally passing and the ex-preacher took a moment to allow the strengthening sun to warm his face. The warmth reached into his bones removing the long winter's chill. He smiled and looked towards the dark green back in front of him, he knew Ezra wouldn't be enjoying the weather in the same way he was, the young man wasn't one for the outdoors, that was everyone else's job as far as the gambler was concerned.

He watched as the handsome profile occasionally showed itself as the southerner looked sideways at the scenery, the face was relaxed, there was no sign of the inner tormoil that he had spent the last few months going through on his countenance, the painful opened wounds had finally healed but Josiah knew that scars marked his soul.

The older man smiled at the thought of the gambler being back to his old improved self, he had been sent on this trip with Josiah because Chris had reached near breaking point. Ezra seemed to be taking even more enjoyment from aggravating the darkly dressed gunslinger, especially now that they were family and he knew there was nothing that would destroy that.

Josiah frowned, the wrinkles in his forehead deepening when he watched Ezra remove his thicker beige coat from his saddle bag, he laid it over the saddle's pommel and slowly pulled his dark green coat off, the colourful waist coat followed it. Josiah thought that this itself was very unusual, his fatherly instincts had come to the surface. The sight of Ezra's toned back caused him to take comfort in the sight of Ezra's body, it was also returning back to it's proper health, he had put the lost weight back on and managed to tone his muscles back to what they once were. But how they didn't know, Ezra was not one to partake in manual labour.

"You okay Ezra? are you cold?" Josiah called out to him.

"It's the middle of winter Josiah, of course I'm cold. Only a miscreant who lives outdoors wouldn't be cold!" Ezra retorted over his shoulder. "Vin would be a perfect example of a miscreant who's hide is thicker than his brain."

"It's not the middle of winter Ezra." Josiah reminded him again. "Maybe you should get outside more often." He suggested as he gathered up the loose reins and nudge the horse into a trot with his booted heels.

"What I need to do, is not aggravate Chris just before he needs someone to take a long tedious journey out into the middle of nowhere to pick up a prisoner who had already escaped from imbecile lawmen who refused to inform us of this flaw in an otherwise stupid plan until we got there!" Ezra growled, he turned away from Josiah to hide the grimace of pain that showed on his face, his headache was getting worse.

"Are you saying I'm tedious?" Josiah smiled at him.

"No what I'm saying is that I shouldn't piss Chris off when he needs a job done!" The only thing Ezra wanted was a drink, a hot bath and his bed, he wasn't feeling at all well but he wasn't going to tell Josiah. They were still three days from Four Corners and the last thing he wanted was his friend to fuss over him.

Ezra returned to his task and carefully folded his jacket and waist coat then tucked them into his saddle bag. He continued to ignore Josiah's laughter as he pulled his thicker coat on, a chill had settled into his bones on the first day of winter and it wasn't going to leave until summer began, not even spring was going to remove this chill. He shivered against the cold.

Josiah's brow furrowed again. "You sure your okay?" He leaned over sideways and reached across with his arm, he managed to place his hand against Ezra's forehead. "Your a bit warm Ezra."

"I'm sick of being outdoors Josiah, I want my warm bed to sleep in not a cold rocky ground." Ezra muttered then stiffled a wide stretching yawn.

"Are you feeling okay Ezra?" Josiah asked with concern.

"Is your name Nathan?" Ezra answered.

"I'm serious Ezra!" Josiah chastised him.

"I'm fine." Ezra told him even though he knew it was a lie. He pulled his coat closer to ward off the cold that was making him shiver.

"I don't believe you." Josiah's tone had become calm.

"Are you calling me a liar Mr Sanchez." Ezra silently cursed his choice of words.

"I think we should try and find somewhere warm to stay tonight, I don't want you sleeping out in the cold." Josiah chose to ignore the words Ezra spoke, he knew there was no malice behind them, he also refused to acknowledge the foul look that was aimed in his direction.

Even after everything the gambler had gone through and accepted, he still didn't like to be told what to do or be taken care of when he was injured. When they had returned from Eagle Bend, Ezra's stubborness had forced Nathan to take drastic actions, the healer had tied him to his bed so he could continue to recover from his injuries. The gambler had been healthy enough when he returned but Nathan had wanted to make sure that he continued to get the rest he needed to heal but Ezra was not the type to rest when he was required to do so. Nathan had caught him outside of his room one too many times and the gambler had paid for it dearly.

"Your sick aren't you?" Josiah growled.

"I'm not sick." Ezra argued.

"How long have you been feeling like this?" Josiah asked him.

"Like what?" Ezra looked away from Josiah's angry expression.

"Sometimes Ezra I could just . . . " He couldn't hide the frustration that he was feeling.

"What?" Ezra raised his eyebrows at him, he ducked the swinging arm that didn't intend to hit him.

"I could beat some sense into you." Josiah swung his arm at him but kept it at a distance from Ezra's body, the slow reflex's told him that Ezra was feeling poorly.

"Are you trying to make me ill?" Ezra smiled then began to cough.

Josiah pulled his canteen from behind him and handed it to Ezra but the southerner already had his flask to his lips. He waited while he took a long sip from the small flask. He noticed that the southerner's face had paled during the coughing fit.

"You are sick!" This time it was a statement that Josiah made. "We're going to find somewhere to stay and I don't want an argument from you!"

"As long as it's a bed, you won't receive an argument." Ezra berated himself for not being able to hide his worsening illness, he had known for two days now that he was coming down with something. He just hoped that things didn't get any worse.

The darkness began to hide the path they were following in much the same way it hid the concerned features of the ex-preacher's face. He constantly glanced to his right but Ezra's own visage was becoming difficult to see. He grimaced when he heard and felt the gambler begin to cough again. He couldn't understand why Ezra wouldn't admit to being ill, everything that his body did indicated an illness. His temperature had risen during the afternoon, the coughing had become more frequent and he had began to shiver uncontrollably when the chills racked his body.

Josiah looked back towards the darkened distance that was before them, he eyes caught a welcomed site. He could see a light that would have to be coming from within a building, hopefully a home.

"Ezra." Josiah turned when he didn't receive an answer. He used his hand to gently shake his young friend. "Ezra?"

"What?" Ezra was fighting to keep his eyes open, his was tired and his body ached in a way that made him feel miserable.

"Looks like there's a cabin up ahead." He watched the drooping eyelids and knew that Ezra couldn't go much further. "Give me the reins and I'll lead your horse for you."

"I'm quite capable of guiding my own horse thankyou very much." Ezra's throat began to protest against it's overuse, the opened airways were being subjected to the dry air that made it's way into his lungs. He began to cough, the force of it almost caused him to fall off his horse, the only thing that stopped him was Josiah's strong hands.

Ezra handed him the reins of his horse without voicing another argument but his expression told Josiah what his body wouldn't allow him to. He didn't like being treated like a child who was incapable of looking after himself.

It took another fifteen minutes before they reached what looked like a small cabin. Josiah took in the area that surrounded it, towards the back stood an even smaller barn, a lantern showed the entrance to a small mine shaft that was located to the right of the building. He could also hear running water, there was a stream nearby. His observations were disrupted by another bout of coughing by the smaller man who was struggling to stay in the saddle.

"I'll be back in a minute Ezra." He got off his horse and moved closer to him, he laid his hand on his thigh and could feel the heat of his temperature. "Will you be alright until I get back?" He saw the slight nod in the brightened darkness that the light from the cabin had caused.

Josiah patted the leg and walked to the porch of the house. The door opened before he could knock on it. A short man stepped out onto the porch. He was old, the growing beard was pure grey, it matched what remained on his head. The wrinkles that lined his face also covered the hands that held a shotgun which was now pointed in Josiah's direction.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone," Josiah lifted his hands carefully, "my friend is sick and I was hoping for somewhere warm to spend the next couple of nights."

"What's wrong with him?" The man asked as he looked over Josiah's shoulder at Ezra's slumped form.

"He's got a fever and he's coughing quite a bit." Josiah looked back when he heard Ezra begin to cough, it was as though he was confirming what Josiah had said.

The man seemed to think about it for a moment. "You can sleep in the barn, it's warmer in there than it is outside." He began to walk down the steps, his suspicious eyes watching the gambler carfully. "Get him off his horse."

Josiah walked passed the older man. "Ezra?" He nudged him and got his attention. "Come on, let's get you off your horse." Josiah took the smaller man's weight so he wouldn't fall to the ground when his feet lost their support of the stirrups.

Ezra managed to gain control of his trembling limbs and stood beside Josiah, he felt like he was being scrutinised and looked around for the culprit. He felt his hand before he saw the stranger's form before him. He instinctively shied away from the touch.

"Your right. He's sick." He stepped away from them. "Get him settled, I'll bring out some of the stew that I have cooking on the stove."

"Thankyou." Josiah smiled, the warmth of it showing the stranger that they didn't mean any harm. "My name is Josiah Sanchez and my friend is Ezra Standish." He put his hand out to shake the man who stood two inches shorter than Ezra.

"Bert Young." He shook the offered hand then walked away.

Josiah left the horses where they were for a moment and after taking Ezra's weight he began to lead him towards the barn. He pushed opened the door and looked around the darkened area for somewhere comfortable for Ezra. He saw a pile of loose clean hay in the corner and headed towards it. He carefully lowered Ezra to the floor, he pushed until the stubborn man laid down. He pulled the black hat from his sweat dampened head and knelt down next to him.

"I'll just go and get the horses Ezra then we'll get you settled in for the night." Josiah informed him.

Ezra's only answer was to roll onto his left side, the shoulder holster made the position uncomfortable so he fell onto his back once more. He tried to sit up so he could remove the offending piece of hardware but strong hands pushed him back down.

"Stay put Ezra!" Josiah growled down at him. "I'll only be a minute then I'll help you."

Ezra didn't have the strength to answer so he nodded instead. The movement made him grimace against the continuous ache that had taken up residence in his skull.

It only took Josiah a few minutes to bring the two horses into the barn, there was plenty of room because there were no other animals in there. After putting each horse into a stall, he grabbed the bed rolls from each saddle and took one of the canteens then turned his attention back to his ailing friend. He knelt down beside Ezra and the steady but ragged breathing told him that he had fallen asleep. He didn't want to wake him but knew any movement would. Josiah pulled Ezra into a sitting position, he worried when the only reply was a muted groan against his shoulder then a violent coughing fit that caused the form in his arms to shudder.

The ex-preacher first removed the gunbelt around Ezra's waist, then the thick coat so he could get access to the shoulder holster, he also took the opportunity to remove the derringer that Ezra always kept up the sleeve of his right arm. The small gun had saved the gambler's life on many occasions. Once he was free of his life saving protection Josiah pulled his coat back on. He laid Ezra back down then placed the two blankets over him. Josiah put his palm against Ezra's heated brow and frowned. As long as he had known Ezra, the man had never gotten sick, he had been injured quite often due to the fact that trouble seemed to follow him everywhere and Lady luck always saved him from death. But never sick, he wasn't sure what to do to help him.

He watched as Ezra rolled onto his side. The larger man felt some sort of relief, the position that Ezra now lay in seemed to cause his breathing to become easier for him. He tucked the blankets back around him and felt another shiver wrack the inert form. Josiah let out deep sigh. He got up and went to take care of the horses but his eyes continued to glance towards the sleeping form.

His blue grey eyes turned to the barn's door when it opened, the darkness tried to follow the old man in but the lantern he carried forced it back outside. He pushed the door closed with his booted heel and walked towards the stall where Josiah was taking care of Ezra's horse.

"How's your friend?" The old man looked at the blanketed form then at Josiah.

"He's sleeping." Josiah shrugged.

"How sick is he?"

"He wasn't to bad this morning but his fever's high now and his cough has gotten worse, it's causing his breathing to become difficult."

"It sounds like you should be spending more than a couple of days here Mr Sanchez."

"I'd be grateful Mr Young." Josiah smiled at him.

Josiah came out of the stall and took the tray that the man was struggling to carry in one hand. The tray held two bowls of hot steaming stew.

"If I was you I'd wake him and make him eat that, then make sure he get's plenty of rest and fluids. There's a well behind this barn." He saw Josiah's questioning expression. "I have boys of my own, had to nurse them back to health on plenty of occassions. They've gone to town, they'll be back in a couple of days."

Josiah thanked the man again and when he left he walked to Ezra's side and sat down on the floor beside him. He placed the tray down next to him, his hands then moved to Ezra's shoulder. Josiah shook him gently at first then with more force.

"Ezra?" He watched as the green eyes fluttered open, he could see the fever burning within them making his eyes seemingly even more green. "Ezra!"

"Gawd Josiah, my head is killing me." It was the first time the gambler had voiced any sort of admittance to the illness that was raging through his body.

"I need you to eat something. Think you can do that for me?"

"If it's beef jerky . . . no." Ezra tried to sit up but had to rely on Josiah's strong hands. The new position caused another expulsion of violent coughs.

Josiah wrapped his arm around him until the coughing stopped. "Drink some of this." He held the cool water to Ezra's open lips and allowed him to drink as much as he needed. "Now some food."

"What is it?" Ezra eyed the bowl in front of him.

"Beef stew."

"Where did you get that?" Ezra croaked and nodded to the canteen. He drank a few more mouthfuls then pulled his head away.

"Bert Young. He's allowing us to stay in his barn until your well enough to travel."

"That might be a while."

"So your admitting that your sick?"

"Josiah, I haven't felt this bad since I was a kid." Ezra leaned against him, he was struggling to hold himself upright.

"Stay awake Ezra, you need to eat something." He felt the nod against his shoulder but Ezra didn't raise his head. "Come on Ezra." Josiah used his large hand to lift the warm face off his shoulder. "Looks like I'm going to have to spoon feed you."

"No I can manage." Ezra took the bowl and spoon from Josiah's hand and held it on his knees.

Ezra got through half of the stew and gave up, he returned the bowl to the floor then collapsed back onto the hay, he was alseep on his side within seconds. Josiah covered Ezra with the blankets then settled himself in for the night. He fell asleep with the sounds of Ezra's ragged breathing echoing in his mind.

Josiah woke again to the sound of Ezra's coughing, it had been this way all night, each time the gambler had settled another bout of coughing would wake him. He opened his eyes and saw the beginning of a new day and hoped it would also mean an improvement in Ezra's health but it wasn't to be the case. He moved to Ezra's side and felt his forehead, he hung his head when he felt the fever had grown in intensity. He remembered something that Nathan usually did, he pulled the blankets back and unbuttoned the few buttons on Ezra's shirt, he put his ear against the hot flesh and listened to his breathing. It sounded fine to him, Ezra didn't seem to be struggling for breath. He took comfort in that discovery.

"Josiah?" Ezra opened his eyes and looked up into Josiah concerned features.

"You want some water Ezra?"

"Please."

After he forced Ezra to drink as much of the water as he could he laid him back down. "How are you feeling Ezra? And tell me the truth."

Ezra hesitated and decided he couldn't be bothered to argue with him, he felt terrible and he was willing to admit it.

"Terrible."

"Terrible how?" Josiah pulled and tugged at the blankets trying to make Ezra as comfortable as he could be under the circumstances.

"I feel sick Josiah, how terrible do you want me to be!" Ezra angrily stated.

"Calm down Ezra and tell me what's wrong with you." Josiah lay a comforting hand on Ezra's fevered brow and the eyes underneath closed.

"Isn't it enough that you got what you wanted." Ezra's voice was becoming slurred.

"And what was that?" Josiah had to lean closer to hear Ezra's whispered words.

"That I finally admitted I'm sick." Ezra coughed then settled back down onto his right side and drifted off to sleep while Josiah's concerned features scrutinised the man who he considered to be like a son as well as a good friend.

Josiah brushed the damp hair from Ezra's forehead and waited until he was sure Ezra was asleep. He stood up and stretched his back then after grabbing a bucket he left the barn to get some water from the well. He looked up at the sun that was rising into a clear blue sky and knew it was going to be a warm day. He pulled his hat down further onto his face and took a better look around Bert Young's home. The cabin looked bigger under the scrutiny of daylight. He got a better look at the mine shaft, the wooden beams that supported the opening didn't look to be very old. He strained his ears and heard a digging noise coming from within the dark opening. He decided not to disturb the old man and walked around the barn pass the water trough until he found the well that he was told was behind the barn. He also found the cause of the running water he had heard last night. The creek lay at the base of the hill the cabin was positioned on. Josiah looked to his left and saw an even smaller building that was hidden in the trees, he turned away from it and used the bucket in the well to fill the one he had brought with him and went back into the barn.

Josiah spent the rest of the day administering to Ezra's needs, he got him to drink more water each time his coughing brought him roughly awake. The southerner refused to eat, stating that he felt nauseas. He wiped his sweating brow with a cool cloth and rubbed his temple when his sleep was restless. It wasn't until the darkness began to drive away the daylight that Ezra's fever finally broke. It flowed from his body as the daylight slowly retreated from the barn.

Josiah wiped the last of the sweat away from Ezra's face, the touch on the pale flesh causing the gambler to wake.

"Ezra?" He watched as the eyes focused on the direction of his voice and then as recognition filled the green eyes.

"Josiah." Ezra's voice was hoarse, the frequent bouts of coughing over the two days had done it's damage.

"Feeling better?" Josiah asked him.

"What makes you think I'm feeling better?" Ezra didn't feel any better, his head still ached with a passion, his chest was sore and every muscle in his body felt as though he had overexerted himself with manual labour.

"Your fever finally broke." Josiah informed him.

"Then why didn't it take everything else with it." Ezra wanted to roll over onto his left side, the arm he was lying on was numb but he knew the pain caused by the movement would be worse.

"You still feel sick? you want something to eat Ezra?" Josiah wasn't going to take no for an answer so he didn't wait for a response. "I'll go and get something."

Josiah listened as the protests weakened, he shut the gambler's ramblings off by closing the door of the barn. He stepped out into the darkness and headed to the back door of the house. He knocked on the door, Bert had told him to come up and get something for dinner when Ezra was ready to eat. A tired man opened the door, his back stooped over.

"You okay Bert." Josiah was sincere in the concern he showed towards the old man. He had gone out of his way to help and asked for nothing in return.

"I'm fine, just over did it in the mine." He opened the door so Josiah could step into the small kitchen. "My sons usually do the work but I try and do something when there not here. I get bored on my own." Bert explained.

"Is it working for you?" Josiah asked.

"Yeah, we've got a small amount of gold at the moment, Guy, my oldest is waiting till the end of the month to see if we can add to it before he takes it to Eagle Bend and cash it in." He smiled, the wrinkles on his face making him look even older than he was, which Josiah had guessed to be about fifty five. "Guy thinks that we're going to retire on this lot. I shouldn't even be telling you, he's pretty touchy when it comes to his gold."

Josiah nodded, he had no interest in gold but he knew Ezra would, he was glad the gambler wasn't here to listen to the conversation, he would no doubt try to con the old man out of it. The ex-preacher suddenly felt guilty, he chastised himself for even thinking that Ezra would still do something like that. The man had changed for the better since arriving in Four Corners, it had taken time and a lot of hard work by the other six members of the group to help the him realise that there were better things in life, such as friendship and family, something the southerner had never had before. Ezra now accepted what they had given him and Josiah knew he would do nothing to risk what he had become a part of and that was a family that cared about him. No one, not even his mother had given him that.

"Is Mr Standish any better?" Bert carried two bowls to the table, both filled with the stew that he had made earlier.

"His fever broke but he's still feeling poorly." Josiah smiled in relief, he would wait another couple of days then continue their journey onto Four Corners. The fact that they had to stop was going to make them arrive two days late. He wouldn't be surprised if they met the other five men on the trail on the way back home.

"Make sure he eats all of it this time, or he won't have the strength to ride back." Bert ordered him.

"Thanks Bert." Josiah left the old man after making sure once more that he was alright.

Josiah enjoyed the noises of the night as he made his way back to the barn, he quietly pushed the door open but failed in his attempt to not wake Ezra. The southerner jerked awake, the movement eliciting a groan before he fell back onto the hay. Josiah rushed forward and fell to his knees next to Ezra, he ignored the hot stew that spilt onto his legs.

"Ezra!" Josiah could see the pain etched onto his face.

"What?!" The southerner retorted.

"You okay?" Josiah calmed down and got some control over his fatherly emotions.

"I'm fine!" Ezra growled. 'What a stupid question.' he thought to himself, he had wanted to say it out loud but knew that Josiah was only concerned, he didn't want to hurt the feelings of the man who was taking care of him. Josiah wasn't like Nathan, the healer was used to his protests but Josiah thought about him in a different way and would take the verbal abuse to heart.

"Liar." Josiah smiled down into the painfilled eyes.

"This is worse than the worse hangover I've ever had." Ezra stated simply.

"Your head?" Josiah wiped at the loose hair off his forehead.

"Yes."

"Think you could eat something?" Josiah gently pulled him into a sitting position and allowed Ezra to use his shoulder for support.

"Do I have to." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

Josiah awoke to sound of an argument, he turned towards Ezra to find him still sleeping heavily on his right side, his back to the ex-preacher. He carefully placed his hand against the cool forehead and was grateful that Ezra's fever hadn't returned. He stood up and strapped the hanging gun to his waist in case it was needed then walked out of the barn right into the middle of a heated argument between father and son.

"Why did you let them stay?" The larger man yelled down to his father, he only stood an inch taller but his broad shoulders made him look even bigger as he stood in front of the frail man.

"Because one of them is sick, that's why and I'm not sending them on their way until he's better." Bert yelled back.

Josiah stepped closer to the two men, his eye glancing over the son. He could tell by the profile that they were father and son but they didn't treat each other as such. He saw the dark hair that Bert must have had when he was younger, and the strong jaw line and clear blue eyes that matched his fathers.

"Your a stupid old man. Did you tell them about it?" He threw his hands up in the air showing the frustration he felt when he saw the guilty expression cross his father's face. "What if they steal our gold?"

"We won't." Josiah answered him. "I only came here so my friend didn't have to be out in the cold during the night."

Guy Young turned towards the sound of the voice, he hadn't notice Josiah come out of the barn. He stepped closer to Josiah and three men stepped up behind him, they were ready to follow his lead. Two of the men carried the same features as their brother and father but the third was the opposite. The eyes were narrow and brown to match the hair that was long and tied back.

"Guy, this is Josiah Sanchez." Bert introduced him.

"As soon as your friend is up to it I want both of you gone!" Guy didn't bother with any pleasentries, his expression showed the disgust that he felt.

Josiah nodded and watched the angry man walk away, his two brothers and the third man following him. He looked towards Bert who was also watching his son's retreating back. The old man turned towards him, the smile on his face was forced but Josiah returned it trying to make the man feel more comfortable about what had happened.

"I'm sorry Josiah. He's been angry ever since his mother died a couple of years back. Thinks it was his fault." Bert explained.

"It's alright Bert." Josiah turned towards the barn. "As soon as Ezra's up to it we'll be on our way. I don't want to cause any more trouble for you.

Josiah could see the sadness in the old man's eyes, he didn't know if it was the mention of his dead wife or the way his son reacted to the two strangers being here. He moved closer to him hoping to give some sort of comfort or get him to talk but the old man turned away and headed back to the cabin. Josiah looked up towards the mine shaft were the four men had gone, he shook his head in sympathy and returned to the barn.

Josiah looked up when the barn doors slammed opened, he felt Ezra jerk awake beside him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the four men who entered the barn. Guy stood in front of them, his face full of anger. The ex-preacher's grey blue eyes took in the guns that were aimed at his direction. Something was wrong. He looked behind them searching for Bert and his heart leap into his throat when he didn't find him. He hoped that whatever was wrong didn't involve the man's father.

"Where is it?" Guy growled at Josiah, pure venom dripped from his tone.

"Where's what?" Josiah asked, he had no idea what Bert's eldest son was talking about.

"Take his gun then tie their hands behind their backs." Guy ordered his two brothers.

Josiah moved closer to Ezra hoping to protect him but he was pushed aside. His own hands were roughly pulled behind him and tied, the ropes that bound him were rough and the tightness of the knots caused them to cut into his skin immeadiately. He struggled against his captures when he heard Ezra's cry of pain. He managed to turn his head to see his friend roughly pulled to his feet, the blankets fell to the floor. Ezra now only wore his thin shirt with his trousers because Josiah had taken the warm jacket off him.

Ezra had no idea what was going on or who these men were. One minute he was sleeping, the next he was woken by a loud noise and these men were tying his hands behind his back not caring if they were hurting him or not. He looked around trying to find Josiah and saw that he was in the same predicament.

"Take them outside." Guy nodded towards the open doorway.

Ezra closed his eyes against the invading sun that he hadn't seen for nearly two days, the brightness caused bolts of pain to tear through his skull, he was roughly pushed around to the side of the barn. His pain filled eyes made out a long water trough that was filled with water. He grimaced in pain when his back was slammed against the barn wall. His painfilled eyes turned to the right to find Josiah standing next to him. Ezra struggled to stand upright, his body was still weak, the pain that still flowed through him wasn't helping him at all.

"Where's our gold?" Guy demanded once more.

"I didn't take your gold." Josiah answered him. He knew they were in trouble but he wasn't about to risk Ezra's life or his own while four guns were aimed at them.

Guy looked at the man who didn't belong to his family and nodded at Josiah. His own eyes watched Ezra for his reaction. The fourth man stepped close to Josiah and slammed his fist into his stomach, he waited until the large man doubled over then hit his jaw with a powerful uppercut. Josiah's head hit the barn wall behind him and his legs buckled. He fell to his knees, he struggled to replace the air that had been forced from his lungs.

The smaller man hadn't reacted at all, there was no emotion. "Bill, the other one."

Ezra didn't react to Josiah's punishment, if he did then the man would use that reaction against them but now it was his turn, he just hoped that Josiah knew what was happening and kept his emotions to himself. He looked into the brown eyes that were full of amusement, the man was enjoying himself. He felt the air rush out of his lungs as the fist hit him with a force that caused him to double over, the pain in his chest made it even harder for him to get the air back. Each breath was an effort, the hot burning pain was giving him the impression that his chest was going to break open.

"Leave him alone, he's sick!" Josiah yelled out then regretted his words when the wicked smile appeared on Guy's and Bill's faces.

"That one." Guy nodded towards Ezra.

Bill pulled Ezra towards the water trough and forced him down onto his already trembling knees. He smiled when he realised Ezra was still struggling for breath. He pressed his left hand against the back of Ezra's head and the other on his neck then forced Ezra's head into the water trough, he could feel his victims struggles beneath him as the seconds continued to pass. He pulled his head up and heard the gasps for air as Ezra tried to fill his lungs with the air he so desperately required.

"Where is our gold?!" Guy yelled into Josiah's face.

Ezra turned his head to the side as far as he could, the strong hand still gripped his neck. His chest heaved as he struggled to breath, causing the burning pain to increase. The cold water that ran from his water logged hair down onto his back caused him to shiver.

"I'm telling you the truth, we didn't take it!" Josiah yelled in frustration.

Ezra saw the water coming towards him again, he felt the chill of the water as it covered his face and head once more. His lungs burned with even more intensity, they hadn't had a chance to recover from the torture that had already been inflicted upon them. He fought against the hands that held him down but the position that he was in made if difficult, the fact that he was still weak didn't help either. He could feel the darkness coming for him when he was pulled from the water again. He pulled in as much air as he could in the few seconds that he had a reprieve from the cold water. He was forced into it once again.

"Where is it?" Guy's tone was calm as he watched the fear spread across Josiah's face.

"I don't know." Josiah whispered.

Josiah watched Ezra's struggles weaken then stop all together, he slumped further into the trough. The man called Bill pulled him out and allowed the southerner to collapse to the floor in a wet unmoving heap.

"Where's our gold?" Guy Young growled into Josiah's shocked features. When he didn't recieve an answer he slapped him across the face. "Where is it!?"

Josiah's moist eyes stared at Ezra's unmoving form, he watched the damp dirt drink the water that dripped from his upper body. He saw no movement to indicate that he was breathing, his lips had turned a purplish colour, his face was paler than his shirt. He pulled his eyes from Ezra and looked at the man who had ordered his death.

"You expect me to give you an answer! You killed him, we didn't take your gold." Josiah lunged for him but Guy's brothers restrained him.

Guy smiled and turned back to Bill, he gestured to him again with his head, they seemed to have an unnecessary need to speak, much in the same way as Chris and Vin.

Bill kicked Ezra's unprotected side, when there was no movement he kicked him again. Josiah's knees buckled when he heard Ezra cough and throw up the clear liquid that had begun to fill his lungs, once they were clear he rolled off his stomach onto his right side and drew his knees up to his chest, he then began his struggle to breath as he continued to cough. It was all give and take, his lungs would give him the air he required then the coughing would take control forcing his lungs to wait their turn.

Guy stepped closer to Josiah. "I'm going to give you some time to think about it. If you don't tell me where the gold is then your friend here will die." He moved away from him and walked to Ezra who was still trying to replace his air. He pushed him on to his knees then grabbed a handful of hair. Guy pulled him into an upright position. "It would be such a shame to kill him." His eyes turned to Josiah and he watched his reaction as he slammed the side of Ezra's head against the edge of the wooden trough, he let him slump to the ground once more. "And you obviously wouldn't be able to cope with his death."

"Like you didn't cope with your mother's." Josiah was surprised by the calm tone he was able to use. He wanted to rip his heart out. He had been devestated by the thought of Ezra's death. Then he had to control his emotions while he watched the man he thought of as a son struggle to breath, his handsome face had been contorted by the pain but now the features were slack, his head leaning against his shoulder, the blood that flowed from the cut above his right temple soaked into his white shirt.

Josiah regretted his words instantly.

"You've just made it harder for your friend." Guy announced as he stood up. He used his boot to nudge Ezra's head off his shoulder. "Ben, Robbie help Bill take them to the shed." He walked away and left his brothers and friend to follow his instructions.

Josiah was pushed forward, he kept trying to look over his shoulder to see what was happening to Ezra. He could see the gambler's form being held between the two brothers, each of them holding an arm. Ezra's head was hanging close to the ground, the water was still dripping from his hair and his feet were dragging behind him, the toes of his boots left a trail in the dirt. Josiah was shoved up against the smaller building that he had seen the day before. He waited while the door was unlocked. They threw Ezra in first then he followed. The door was shut behind them. There were no windows in the small shack, the lack of sunlight caused the darkness to surround them. Josiah's first thought was the time that Ezra had spent in his Uncle's basement and he hoped that he could help the southerner keep that fear at bay.

He could make out Ezra's white shirt and he could hear the sound of his ragged breathing, he made his way over to him but because his hands were tied behind his back he couldn't lift Ezra into his embrace. He would have to wait until he woke up, Ezra would then have to do most of the work when he did. Josiah would have to convince him to get as close to him as possible so the ex-preacher's body heat could help keep him warm.

Josiah sat down and waited, he also wondered what Guy Young was going to do to Ezra when they came back, he had made the mistake of speaking before thinking. Josiah couldn't help but smile at the thought of Ezra's ways rubbing off on him, Chris would be furious if he thought that Ezra was beginning to change the others instead of the other way around. They were supposed to be an influence on him. Ezra's sarcastic comments always got him into a world of trouble and for some reason his mouth worked overtime when he was in physical danger, it was as though he was tempting fate, he seemed to challenge it. But Josiah knew there was another reason to his madness, it was a way to hide his fear and emotions, especially when someone else's words or fists hurt him. He had learned to use his words to show his relatives that he wouldn't fear them. But most of all his sharp tongue along with his anger stopped people from getting close to him.

Ezra had been to ill to retaliate when his fists couldn't do his talking. Josiah did it for him and now Ezra was going to pay for Josiah's comment in the same way he always did when he voiced the words himself. Josiah said a silent prayer and hoped the others had already begun to look for them. While his hands were tied behind his back and Ezra was in this condition he wouldn't be able to get them to safety. The only other thing he could do is try to convince Bert's eldest son that they didn't take his gold. Someone else did and it had to be one of the brothers or the friend. His other hope was Bert but he hadn't seen him during the incident, he didn't know if something had also happened to him.

Bert Young stood at the kitchen window and watched his son threaten the two men, he had tried to talk him out of it, he told his son that they wouldn't have taken the gold. Sanchez didn't seem the type and Standish was too sick. He couldn't take his eyes off the slumped form of the sick man as he was dragged to the water trough. He closed his eyes when his head was forced under the water. He'd always disliked and mistrusted Bill Hollow but his son had never seen those things in him, he trusted him. Bert forced his eyes open, he saw Standish lying on the ground and then Hollow kicked him twice. The old man couldn't take anymore, he turned away from the window, he would have to talk to his son again, if he couldn't convince him then he would have to help Josiah and his friend escape.

Chris sat in one of the few chairs that took up a permanent residence on the boardwalk outside of the saloon, the chair was positioned close enough to the rail so he could sit his left ankle on it while it supported his right leg. His black hat lay on the floor beside him so his face could get the full impact of the Spring sun, the warmth flowed through him, starting on his face and working it's way down to his toes. He was relishing the peace and quiet that Ezra's absence gave him. A smile crossed his rugged features at the rememberance of the expression Ezra's face held when he told him that he was going with Josiah. The man was shocked to say the least. A slight chuckle escaped his throat.

"What's so funny?" Buck asked him as he pulled one of the other chairs closer to his friend.

Chris put his forefinger to his ear and listened for a few seconds, his smile grew even more. He leaned back and crossed his hands behind his head.

"I'm sure Ezra will make up for lost time when he gets back." Buck watched the smile drop from Chris' face. "I mean he's going to be pretty angry that you sent him to that town for nothing."

"He wouldn't, would he?" He looked at Buck and saw the seriousness on his moustached face.

"You should know by now that if you push Ezra he'll push back, you'll never win Chris. The man is just as stubborn as you if not more, besides he has reason to be, he doesn't like being forced into doing anything that he doesn't want to do." Buck shrugged. "He's probably been thinking of ways to get you back when they get home, which would be when?" he leaned closer to Chris. "Today!"

The change of volume in his voice caused Chris to sit upright so fast he nearly fell from his chair. His cold glare stopped the laughter that was eminating from Buck.

"I need a drink." Chris got out of his chair and walked into the saloon.

The first thing Ezra's mind registered was the pain in his chest, then the one in his side followed by the continuous ache in his head. He was confused, he couldn't remember what had happened so he had no idea why he was in so much pain. He wanted to open his eyes but feared what he would find. He shivered and realised that he also felt cold. The movement caused the pain that his body was feeling to erupt and he let a cry of pain. He tried to stay still when he heard the movement beside him then relief flooded through him when he heard Josiah's voice.

Josiah felt Ezra's movement before he heard his exclamation of pain, he shuffled even closer to him. "Ezra, it's Josiah. Can you hear me?"

Ezra nodded then stopped due to the pain.

"Ezra?"

Ezra frowned and wondered why his friend hadn't heard him the first time. "Yes." His throat felt sore, he needed a drink. "Water?"

"I'm sorry Ezra, I don't have any." Josiah pushed himself up against the wall. "Ezra, I need to help you stay warm, do you think you can sit up and lean against me."

"No." Ezra didn't want to move at all, everything hurt and the last thing he wanted was to make the pain worse.

"Ezra! Get up!" Josiah knew he wouldn't get anywhere with him if he continued to ask him nicely. There was no movement. "EZRA!"

Ezra first tried to move his arms but found them to be tied behind his back, he slowly rolled onto them, he gritted his teeth against the pain and waited.

"Ezra!"

"I'm coming." he gasped out through ragged breaths.

"There's a wall behind you, push yourself backwards until you reach it then try and sit up." Josiah could see him lying on his back but it was his breathing that concerned him.

Ezra forced his eyes opened so he could see what he was doing but all he saw was darkness. "Where are we?"

"I'll tell you when you get up here Ezra. Now move!" Josiah growled at him.

Ezra pushed himself backwards, every second was agony to the ribs on his left side but then his head hit the wall that Josiah was talking about. The pain wasn't as bad as what he was feeling in his ribs or chest.

"Now push yourself up Ezra. Use the wall for support."

Ezra pushed with his hands, it took him a few minutes but he was finally in a sitting position, he turned towards Josiah's voice and could make out his face in the darkness. "Now what?"

"I want you to lean against me, it's going to be a cold night Ezra, and you need to stay as warm as you can." Josiah moved sideways until he was flushed up against the gambler. "I want you to sit on my legs Ezra."

"You what?"

"I don't want any arguments Ezra, your sick and if I don't help you you'll get worse." Josiah felt a shiver wrack Ezra's body. "Do it Ezra! Now!"

Ezra was too tired to argue, he moved sideways then used his hands to push upwards, on the second try he landed on Josiah's warm legs.

"Now lie your chest against me." Josiah ordered him.

Ezra slumped against him, his head lying on Josiah's right shoulder, he could feel the warmth radiating off him and took comfort from it. He felt uncomfortable in this position but the warmth he now felt told him that Josiah was right.

"Better?"

"Yes." Ezra shuddered as a voilent cough erupted from him, he grimaced against the pain it caused in his chest. "Where are we?"

"Try not to talk Ezra. Bert Young, he's the man that let us stay in his barn, his sons came back, they think we stole their gold and they want to know where it is and they're going to use you to try and get me to talk." Josiah didn't want to lie to him.

"Great." muttered Ezra. He pressed himself closer to Josiah, the warmth of his body eased some of the pain in his chest.

Nathan, who was also enjoying the peace and quite without the southerner, walked along side the ex-bounty hunter as they headed towards the saloon. They both had the intention of enjoying a drink without being accosted by a certain unnamed gambler who only wanted to win any money that was still residing in their pockets. Vin pushed the saloon's swinging doors open and stepped into the near empty room. He easily spotted Chris and Buck sitting silently in a corner to the right of the doors.

"I'll get the drinks." Vin informed Nathan.

Nathan nodded in agreement and stepped towards the table that his friends occupied. He sat down in the chair and took in Buck's humerous expression and Chris' solemn features.

"Any minute now Chris." Buck winked at Nathan with his right eye and leaned over to nudge Chris with his left elbow.

"Expecting something?" Nathan smiled at Buck.

"Ezra." Buck didn't say anymore, he thought the mere mention of Ezra's name would explain everything.

"Uh huh." Nathan winked back in understanding.

Josiah and Ezra were due back at lunch time, that's why they were here now, to get some peace and quite before the southerner returned to continue his complaints regarding a trip that turned out to be unnecessary. Chris had recieved a telegram three days after they left town to inform him that the prisoner he'd sent the men to pick had managed to escape, there had been no way to get the news to Josiah and Ezra so it was decided that they would have to find out for themselves when they got there.

"Yep Ezra's gonna be real mad." Nathan witnessed the grimace as it crossed Chris' face. "You know how much he hate's spending time outdoors, especially when it takes him away from the gambling tables."

"He's going to complain about it until someone physically shuts him up." Buck continued as he ignored the look that Chris shot at him. Buck knew that he was exagerating, Ezra of course will make some nasty comments but they will be backed up with humour, but he would know that it wasn't Chris' fault. But like the rest of them, they were going to have some fun at Chris' expense.

"What if someone physically shuts you up now Buck!" Chris threatened him.

"He's just having some fun Chris." Nathan enlightened him.

"I know Nathan, it's just that he's right . . . I mean . . . Buck being right, hell that's not right." Chris watched as Buck's mouth fell open.

"I'm always right!" Buck protested.

"I just wish you weren't this time." Chris grimaced. "Ezra's going to enjoy himself isn't he. Do you think he'll try and get retribution through a game of poker?"

"Depends on how much money you've got and Ezra will know exactly what's lining your pockets." Nathan told him.

"I hope he uses those fancy words of his, that look you get on your face when you have no idea what he's saying . . . " Buck smiled at the image.

"Yeah, it's the same one we all get." Nathan chuckled.

"Any minute now Chris, Ezra will walk through those doors and he'll have that smug look on his face and then all hell will break loose." Buck settled back down into his chair so he could see every expression and hear every word.

Bert watched as his eldest son stepped into the cabin, even though Guy had his features he still reminded him so much of his dead wife. His heart saddened when Guy turned to face him and he saw the anger in his eyes, it had never been there before Martha had died but he had blamed himself for her death, the bitterness filled his eyes and settled in to stay. He hoped that his son hadn't changed as much as he feared.

"Guy, I don't believe they took the gold." He stated firmly.

"And what makes you think that?" Guy poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down in the chair next to his father, he wouldn't sit opposite him, if he did he would only see the dissapointment in his eyes. It had been there ever since his mother died, or so he kept telling himself.

"Mr Standish was, is too sick to even look after himself and Josiah didn't even know where it was hidden."

"Then he must have followed you and you led him right to it." Guy decided it must have been the only way.

"Son, please believe me when I tell you that they didn't take it." Bert placed his hand on his son's arm then hung his head when he pulled his arm away from him.

"If they didn't then who did? There's no one else out here pop! No one else could have taken it." Guy growled at him.

"What about Bill? You know I've never trusted him."

"But I do." Guy got up from his chair and moved back to the door.

"Where are you going?" Bert followed him.

"I'm going to find out once and for all, where that gold is." Guy pushed his father's arm away.

"If you kill him, I'll never forgive you." Bert told him.

"Then that will be two deaths that you won't forgive me for." Guy turned back to his father, the sadness was evident in his eyes.

"I don't blame you for your mother's death, you do and that's making you angry." Bert made his way towards him. "You have to forgive yourself Guy, I can't do it for you." For a moment Bert saw the man that he once was but it was gone before he could continue the converstation. "Guy!"

"I'm going to talk to Bill." Guy walked away with his father's words staying in his mind, he tried to push them away but they kept coming back.

Josiah tried to shift his legs without waking Ezra, but he couldn't move them under the southerner's weight, he tried to wiggle his toes to try and get the blood flowing, they had become numb like the rest of his legs. But he wasn't going to tell Ezra to get off, he needed his body heat to keep him warm, the temperature in the small shed had dropped, this told Josiah the sun had passed over the shed and it was now in it's shadow, the direct sunlight no longer keeping it warm for it's occupants.

He tensed up when he felt and heard Ezra cough against his shoulder, he could also feel his fever returning, the heat of his body flowed into his own. He wanted to put his arms around him to comfort and hold him until the coughing fit subsided but he couldn't. Josiah leaned his head back and closed his eyes but the sight of Ezra lying on the ground with his upper body drenched with water caused them to snap open. His heart had broken at the sight, he thought that Ezra was dead, there had been no movement, nothing to tell him that he still lived. At that moment Josiah had felt as though a father would at the death of his only son.

Josiah's eyes moved down to look at Ezra's head but he couldn't see it in the complete darkness that now surrounded them, so he allowed his head to fall until his chin touch the sweat soaked head. He left it where it was and listened to Ezra's breathing and his heart as it beat against his own chest, he didn't fail to notice that it was beating faster than it should be. Ezra was getting sicker by the minute and there was nothing he could do to help.

Ezra coughed again and this time his body shifted, his head lifted up then settled back down again.

"Ezra?" Josiah spoke softly, he wasn't sure if he was still asleep.

"Umm." It was a weak answer but Josiah was grateful to hear something.

"I'll get you out of this Ezra, you just hang on, you hear me." Josiah whispered to him. "Stay with me son."

"I'm here." Ezra shifted again and pulled himself off Josiah's lap.

"Ezra what are you doing!?" Josiah growled at him.

"I'm hot, too hot." Ezra allowed himself to lie down on the cold floor but kept his head on resting on Joisah's thigh.

"Don't lie on the floor Ezra, get up!"

"No, too hot."

Josiah didn't like hearing the simple words that Ezra was using, it meant that he was a lot worse than he would ever let on, he was to weak and sick to use his extensive volcabulary. He became angry and pulled at the ropes that bound his hands but he could feel the rope tearing into his flesh, he gave up as the despair took over.

As the darkness began to settle over Four Corners and drive the light away causing the townsfolk to light their lamps and street fires to guide their way around the growing town, five men sat around a table in the corner of the town's only saloon. Their eyes moved from one another to the doors hoping to see their two friends enter and relieve them of their worry and concern.

"Are we going or waiting until the morning." Buck asked Chris, he knew something was wrong, Ezra would never stay out there any longer than was necessary.

"If anything has happened to him I'm going to lock him up and not allow him to step out of his room again." Nathan muttered.

"What is it with him that he has to keep getting himself into trouble?" Vin asked, he was stunned, that man couldn't go a month without either getting into some sort of trouble or getting himself hurt.

"He's been that way since the day he was born, he's like a magnet, trouble finds him where ever he goes, even in his room." Chris looked over at Nathan and smiled weakly at him, his troubled blue eyes then turned to Buck. "We go now, I don't want to take any chances."

Everyone began to stand up to follow their leader out into the darkness to search for their friends.

"Vin, JD, you stay here in case we miss them on the way." Chris' expression told them that he didn't want to waste time arguing with them.

They sat back down and watched them leave.

"Do you think Ezra's okay Vin?" JD asked him when the others had disappeared through the swinging doors.

"I don't know JD, they're only half a day late, it might be nothing." Vin gave him a reassuring smile but knew that JD saw straight through it but he didn't say anything more.

"Guy! You can't do it, you'll kill him!" Bert yelled at his son as he struggled towards the shed after him, he couldn't keep up with him. "Ben! Robbie! You have to stop him!" Bert glared at the twins, he couldn't understand why they were following their brother's anger instead of their father's truth.

"I'm sorry pop but Guy knows what he's doing." Ben argued with him.

"He knows nothing! They didn't take the gold. Do you want to be responsible for an innocent man's life." He growled at them. If ony he was a few years younger, he'd turn all three of them over his knee and give them the belting of their lives.

"Guy isn't gonna kill him." Robbie laughed, he thought the whole thing was a joke.

"Not outright, the man's sick, he needs to looked after not beaten. You have to stop him!" Bert tried again but knew he was getting no where with them. He turned on his heel and headed back to the cabin to get his shotgun, he was going to have to stop them himself.

Josiah could feel the damp sweat as it began to soak into his trouser leg, he knew it wasn't his own, it was Ezra's, his fever was causing him to loose a lot of fluids and at the moment there was no way to get those fluids back into him. He was no longer sure if Ezra was asleep or unconscious, he felt the occassional movement that caused him to groan and the violent coughing that use to cause him to wake. He had called his name and shifted his leg to try and wake him but had failed each time.

He heard Ezra take in a gasp of air and then felt his body shift, he gently lifted his leg so he could entise the younger man to wake up. The slow movements continued as Ezra slowly pulled himself from the deep sleep he had been in, his rhythm of breathing also continued to change.

"Ezra?"

"Aw hell." Ezra muttered as the aches and pain registered in his sleep dulled mind. He'd had some sort of relief from it but now it was back with a vengence.

"Ezra!" Josiah called him.

"Don't yell." Ezra grimaced and even that small movement cause the pain in his skull to strengthen for a few seconds.

"How are you feeling Ezra?" Josiah asked him but he knew how he was doing, he just hoped that Ezra could give him some sort of hope that he was recovering.

"Like hell." Ezra replied. "How long have we been in here?"

"I'm not sure but I know it'll be dark shortly." Josiah told him.

"Dark? It's dark now or haven't you noticed." Ezra thought he should enlighten Josiah to something that he didn't seem to realise.

Josiah felt the relief that Ezra's sarcasm gave him, if he could be bothered to do that then he must have felt a bit better. "Are you okay being in here like this Ezra?" He waited for the answer that was interrupted by a bout of coughing.

"Yeah." Ezra felt fine with it, he was with someone, a person that would protect him, or try to do the best he could without allowing himself to get killed, if Josiah died then Ezra knew he would also. "Don't die defending me Josiah."

Josiah hesitated before answering him, he like the others knew how Ezra felt about that, if one of them died to allow him to live Ezra would feel responsible for their deaths and the guilt that he'd feel would be overwhelming, for some reason he still didn't think that his life was of equal importance as any other member of the group, he now knew how everyone felt about him but he thought that they were more important than he was and their lives should be saved before his own.

"I'll do what I'll have to Ezra and I won't die doing it, don't worry about me." Josiah would to do it whether he wanted him to or not, the others would help him deal with the aftermath of emotions. He felt Ezra's head nod in agreement but the southerner didn't say anymore. "The others should be looking for us by now."

"They're three days away Josiah." Ezra reminded him.

Josiah was about to answer when he heard voices coming towards the shed, he knew what was about to happen and he was willing to defend Ezra with his life.

"Ezra, they're coming." Josiah warned him.

Both men turned from the light that poured into the small shed, it wasn't bright but after spending so many hours in the darkened confined space their eyes protested as though it was a blinding light instead of the weakening sunlight that it was. Josiah forced his head back towards the light and saw two men cause it to weaken even more as their bodies blocked it's attempts to get into the shed. He felt the weight of Ezra's body lift from his leg as the southerner was pulled to his feet then out of the shed. Josiah pushed himself into a standing position so he could go after him, he got through the door then felt a force hit the side of his head, he collapsed to the ground but managed to stay conscious. Whoever had hit him didn't use enough force to knock him out. Josiah knew there was a reason for that and he struggled even more to rid his mind of the momentary confusion.

But before he could, two pairs of arms grabbed him and dragged him to a tree, he struggled against them. When one of them moved close enough to him to be within reach, he headbutted him against the side of the head. The man let go of him as he cried out in pain. Josiah turned towards the second man but before he could do anything he felt someone's hands push him from behind against the tree. His own forehead slammed against it, he blinked and tried to get rid of the sparkles of light that now flashed behind his eyelids. He felt himself being turned around and forced to the ground, his hands were tied to a piece of rope that was already around the tree.

Josiah looked up when the man stepped away from him, it was the one who had tried to drown Ezra.

"This is so you can't try and stop me." The man smiled down at him and Josiah saw the evil that was in his eyes.

Josiah pulled at the ropes that bounded him to the tree but he couldn't move. His eyes frantically searched the small area for Ezra and he saw him standing in front of Guy Young. The man who must of been at least Ezra's age was untying his hands. Josiah could see that Ezra was using what remaining strength he had to left to keep himself from falling down.

But he failed due to the fact that Guy Young push him to the ground, Ezra put his hands out in front of him to protect himself. Josiah could see the pain that was etched onto his face and he knew that there was going to be a lot more pain and there was nothing he could do but sit here and watch.

"My turn!" Hollow called out to Guy.

Ezra lifted his head from the ground, he first looked for Josiah and saw him sitting against the tree next to the shed, he seemed to be fine expect for the cut about his right eyebrow, a small trail of blood and pooled around the top of the small line of hair then followed it until it found it's escape down his cheek. He could see the fear in Josiah's eyes but knew that fear wasn't for himself. He gave him a weakened smile to try and reassure him that he was alright but the smile dropped when a pair of black boots blocked his line of sight. His eyes lifted up to see the manical smile on the man that stood above him.

Guy moved around Josiah to stay out of reach of his legs, he then sat down on the ground next to him, he knew what Bill was about to do and he didn't really like the idea but at the moment the gold was more important than the man who lay at Bill's feet.

"Where's the gold?" Guy asked Josiah without looking at him.

"We didn't take it, someone else did." Josiah couldn't look away from the scene before him.

"Bill is going to hurt him, you can stop him by telling me where the gold is."

"Where's your father?" Josiah asked his own question, he felt the man stiffen next to him.

"He'll do as I tell him." Guy told him. "Why don't you just watch the show and when you've seen enough you can tell me where the gold is."

"Get up!" Hollow yelled down at Ezra.

Ezra pushed himself into a kneeling position and then onto his feet, he knew what this man wanted to do but while he had some strength left in him he was going to return the favour.

Ezra's dulled reactions allowed the fist to slam against his jaw, he was flung sideways but managed to stay on his feet. The man followed him and when he did Ezra threw his own punch, he swung his left arm up and towards Hollow, the back of his fist connected with the man's nose.

"That won't last." Guy muttered to Josiah.

Ezra prepared himself for the onslaught that his actions would bring. He blocked the first blow and landed another punch to the man's jaw.

Josiah couldn't help but smile, even in his weakened state Ezra was going to defend himself for as long as he could but he knew that Guy was right, Ezra wouldn't last and when he could no longer defend himself the other guy would move in for the kill.

Hollow was furious, the man was supposed to be sick and therefore not be able to fight back. He moved forward quickly hoping to catch him offguard, the man had already managed to strike him twice but he won't do it a third time. But Ezra did, the man got to close to him, Ezra reached out and grabbed his shoulders and at the same time he moved his head back then brought it forward, his head slammed against Hollow's nose. The man screamed in pain when the cartilage broke under Ezra's forehead.

"Hold him!" Hollow yelled at Guy's brothers, he used his sleeve to wipe the blood from his nose.

"We didn't take your gold!" Josiah growled to the man beside him but his eyes stayed on Ezra's weakening form.

Ezra was slow to react, his strength had been sapped from his body. Arms grabbed his own and pulled them behind him. He tried to free himself but he couldn't even manage to stay upright, his legs began to buckle but the hands that held him kept him upright.

Ezra knew there was nothing more he could do, the man was now going to add to the pain he was already feeling. He smiled as the bloody face approached him, at least he managed to cause the man some of his own pain. He felt the fist hit him, the guy had aimed for his nose, probably hoping to break it but Ezra turned his head to the side just in time, the closed fist hit his cheek instead. He heard a muttered curse, the man wasn't as good as he thought he was. This time his fist slammed into Ezra's stomach, there wasn't much he could have done to stop that, if the man moved back just a little bit he would be able to use his feet, but he thought his lack of strength would prevent that.

Hollow hit Ezra in his injured side and enjoyed the groan of pain that escaped from his lips, he hit the side again but this time there was no response. Ezra clenched his teeth against the cry that wanted to be voiced, he allowed it to happen once, not again. A fist hit his face again, he could feel his legs collapsing beneath him.

"Let him go." Hollow spoke quietly.

Now that Standish couldn't defend himself he was going to inflict the pain that he wanted to from the start but now he was going to do more damage than he had agreed to do, the man had broken his nose and he was going to pay for it. He waited until he fell to the ground. He watched as Ezra struggled to get back onto his feet. He kicked him in the side, the force of the kick threw him onto his back.

"We didn't take your gold!"

Ezra started to struggle for air, he rolled onto his side as a coughing fit began to tear through him, the pain in his chest was excruciating. He felt the boot connect with his side again, the continuos pain in his side and chest was making it even more difficult for him to breath. He looked up at the man as he closed in on him again and pushed himself onto his hands and knees, he used his hands to support himself and dug deep down to his need to survive and kicked out with his foot. His heel connected with the man's knee, he heard more cartilage snap.

"Bastard!" Hollow screamed out as he fell to the ground.

Ezra collasped to the ground, his chest was heaving as his lungs fought for breath. He looked up to see Hollow leaning over him. But he couldn't fight anymore, he could hardly breath. He waited for the fists to connect with his body and he wasn't dissapointed. Hollow's fists rained down on him, they hit his face, his injured side and his stomach.

"Stop it!" Josiah yelled out.

"He will if you tell me where the gold is." Guy winced at the sight of Bill continuosly hitting the man that lay unmoving before him.

"Alright I'll tell you, just stop him." Josiah told him.

Guy was about to call out to Hollow to stop him but a shotgun blast stopped everyone.

"Move away from him Hollow!" Bert Young growled at the man.

"Pop what the hell are you doing?" Guy jumped to his feet.

"I told you they didn't take the gold." Bert repeated himself. "Untie him Guy."

"No."

"Do as I tell you, your my son and I won't allow you to kill this man!" Bert raised his voice.

"No." Guy stood defiantely in front of Josiah, he was blocking the larger man's view of his friend.

"Robbie, untie him so he can help his friend." Bert ordered him.

Robbie looked from his father to his older brother.

"Do it!"

Robbie moved towards the tree and Josiah. He wouldn't look his brother in the eye, he knelt down beside Sanchez and released him from his bounds.

As soon as he felt the ropes loosen Josiah freed himself and ran to Ezra, he grabbed Hollow, who was still sitting next to Ezra's side, by his shirt collar and threw him away from Ezra, he heard him cry out as he hit the ground a few feet away. Josiah then ignored him as he knew that Bert would have him covered with his shotgun. He knelt down beside his injured friend.

"Ezra?" He took the bloodied face in his hands and wiped the hair from his forehead, he could feel a mixture of blood and sweat under his hand, he placed another hand against his chest, even through the material he could feel the heat enimating from his body, he could also feel his chest heaving for breath, although he was in an unconscious state he was still struggling for each breath. "Ezra?"

"Bring him to the house Josiah." Bert called to him.

Josiah gently lifted Ezra up into his arms and pulled him close to him, making sure that his head rested against his shoulder and began to walk towards Bert while making sure that he stayed out of his line of fire.

"Guy, you know that I have never lied to you and I never will, these men didn't take the gold, someone else did." He looked at Hollow when he spoke the last words. When Josiah reached his side he glanced down at the unconscious man in his arms.

Hollow saw his chance when the old man's eyes moved away from him, he pulled his gun and fired.

Bert turned back when he heard his son cry out to him. He heard the sound of a gun going off and knew it wasn't his own, he felt the bullet tear through his shoulder, he dropped the shotgun and fell to the ground.

"POP!" Guy ran towards him but stopped when Hollow aimed his gun at him.

"Leave him!" Hollow stood up and supported his weight on his left leg, his right knee was useless.

"What the hell did you do that for!" Robbie yelled at him.

"Because he's trying to stop us from getting our gold back, they took it, he just won't admit it." Hollow explained.

"You didn't have to shoot him." Ben moved towards his father.

"He was going to let them get away, we worked too hard and too long for that gold to let it slip through our fingers." Hollow looked back at Guy. "Listen to me Guy, they had to have taken the gold, who else could have done it."

"You." Guy stepped towards him.

Josiah was standing sideways and when Hollow looked away from him, he chanced a glance down at Bert to see if he was still alive, he saw him looking back up at him, the old man nodded towards the gun that lay at his side. Josiah nodded back and although he knew he was being watched by the two younger sons he began to kneel down, he laid Ezra on the ground and picked up the shotgun, he stood up and turned towards Hollow.

"Put the gun down or I'll shoot you where you stand." Josiah's voice was calm but it also held a menacing tone.

"You can't shoot all of us, and it will be your friend that one of us shoots first." Hollow smiled.

"He doesn't have to shoot all of us." Guy growled at him. "Ben, Robbie take pop up to the house, you," he nodded towards Josiah, "take your friend as well, I'll deal with Bill."

"Only after he puts his gun down." Josiah warned him. "He'll shoot you otherwise."

"He won't shoot me." Guy assured him.

"He had no trouble shooting your father." Josiah watched out of the corner of his eye as the two brothers picked their father up.

"Take his friend." Bert's voice reached Josiah's ears.

"I'll bring Ezra, you go and take care of your father."

"Put your gun down Bill." Guy told him.

"He'll shoot me."

"If he shoots you then I'll know that he took the gold, if he doesn't then I'll know that you did." Guy smiled at him.

Hollow couldn't take the risk, he turned towards Josiah and raised his gun at the same time, but he wasn't quick enough, Josiah pulled the trigger, but he didn't aim to kill, these people were relying on that gold. The shutgun pellets tore through his legs and he fell to the ground screaming in agony.

"Take care of your friend." Guy told Josiah once more.

This time Josiah nodded and dropped the gun, he bent down again to pick up Ezra. When he had him in his arms he headed up towards the cabin, he had no idea what Guy was going to do with Hollow, he didn't care. He looked down into Ezra's face, his features were still slack and his breathing was also still difficult. He had more important things to take care of.

Chris pulled on his reins to halt his horse's continuous movement forward. He waited patiently for Buck and Nathan to do the same.

"We'll have to make camp, we can't go any further until day light." Chris told them. They had been riding for six hours and it was now near midnight, he knew that it would be difficult to find them, for all he knew they could have passed them already, he'd made a mistake, they should have waited until dawn. "We'll head out again at dawn."

"I thought you didn't want to take any chances." Buck growled at him. The longer he had to think about it, his feeling that something was wrong grew stronger.

"I know, but it's dark, what if we ride pass them without knowing it?" Chris asked him, he understood Buck's anxious fear, he was feeling the same thing and he let that feeling control his decision but not now.

"I'm sorry, your right." Buck acknowledge.

"We'll find them and I'm sure Ezra will be fine, and Josiah, they're probably doing this just to get back at Chris." Nathan told him but he knew it wasn't true, they wouldn't put them through this sort of worry.

"I wish that were true Nathan." Chris told him as he dismounted from his horse.

Josiah moved as fast as his concern would allow him to, he didn't want to cause Ezra any pain, he knew he was unconscious and would no doubt feel nothing but his heart was still able to imagine the pain that each unnecessary movement would cause him. When he finally reached the cabin he found the door open, he barged in and was directed to one of the doors that led to another room. He didn't hesitate, he made his way to it and Ben opened the door for him. Josiah walked to the bed that was closest to him.

He laid Ezra down on the bed and straightened his legs out, he tore open his shirt and clenched his jaw in anger at the sight of the bruise on his side and the large red areas that covered his stomach and chest that would soon begin to bruise also.

"I'll get you something so you can clean him up."

"How's your father?" Josiah asked him before he left the room.

"The bullet went straight through, Robbie is taking care of him."

Josiah could hear the sympathy in his voice, he couldn't stay angry at him, but he did keep the anger that he felt towards his older brother and Hollow. He turned back to Ezra. He gently pressed against his side, he thought that there was at least two ribs broken and another one cracked. He bent over and pressed his ear against his fever soaked chest and listened to his breathing, there wasn't a rattling noise that Nathan usually spoke of but he could tell that each breath was still a struggle for him, he had no idea why.

"Here." Ben joined Josiah at Ezra's bedside but he wouldn't look him in the eye but his eyes did travel over Ezra's battered upper body. He put the bowl of water on the floor and handed the pieces of material to him, he also gave him a half bottle of whisky.

"Thankyou." Josiah watched as he walked out of the room.

He soaked a cloth in the water and gently washed the dirt and blood from Ezra's face, he then soaked part of another cloth with the whisky and used it clean the cuts more thoroughly. The cut on his right forehead was deeper but he didn't think that it would need stitches. Once he had seen to the injuries on his face he moved to one of the other beds in the room, he pulled one of the sheets from it and began to tear it into strips. When he had enough makeshift bandages he carefully removed Ezra's shirt then wrapped his ribs with the strips of material. After he had done that he removed Ezra's boots and covered him with a blanket.

"I'll be back in a minute Ezra." He wiped the damp hair from his forehead then left to check on Bert.

Josiah followed the noises that would lead him to Bert Young, he pushed the door open and stepped into the room. He stood by the door, he didn't want to disturb them, he just needed to know that Bert was okay. The old man lay on a bed that sat facing the open doorway, each son stood by his side. Josiah could see the pale colour of his skin and he felt his heart go out to him and his family. A pair of painfilled eyes made their way to his direction.

"Josiah, come here." Bert's voice was hoarse.

Josiah did as he was told and he moved closer to the bed, he sat down when a frail arm motioned him to.

"How's your friend?" Bert looked up at him and could see the worry in the larger man's eyes.

"Ezra's got some broken ribs and he's real sick again, I don't know Bert." Josiah's head hung low. "What about you?"

"He should be okay." Robbie told him.

"I'm fine Joisah, you go and take care of your friend." Bert pushed him away with his arm.

Josiah nodded and got up off the bed, he used his head to ask Robbie to follow him outside.

"Is he going to be alright." Josiah had come to like the old man, he had a caring soul.

"Yeah, the bullet went clean through, I managed to stop the bleeding before he lost too much blood." Robbie confirmed for him. "I'm sorry about your friend."

"His name is Ezra." Joisah spoke harshly.

"I'm sorry about Ezra." Robbie repeated and used the name that Sanchez had given him.

"Why don't you go and see what your older brother is doing?" Josiah told him.

Robbie looked away from him and left the cabin, Josiah watched him go then went back to the room Ezra was in.

There wasn't a chair in the room so he settled for sitting on the bed with Ezra. He looked down at the pale face and wondered what the seven's lives would be like without the gambler, they had become whole once Ezra allowed himself to become part of the small family. He had fought them all the way and at times he had fought dirty by using his hurtful words but that only strengthened their resolve to pull him into the group. He finally surrended and allowed them to lead him by his arms to what he had never known before.

Josiah dampened one of the cloths and began to wipe away the sweat that had built up on Ezra's face and chest, his hands were gentle as though he feared he would break the fragile form before him. He saw Ezra grimace in pain then begin to cough, his arm lifted up to grip his chest as he rolled over onto his side. Josiah put his hand on his back and began to rub it, he could feel and hear the violent coughs that plagued his friend. He also knew that the pain in his side would be agonising, the ribs would be rubbing against each other. It was a few minutes before Ezra's coughing subsided.

"Ezra?" Josiah leant over him, he didn't want to roll him back over.

"Josiah it hurts." Ezra gasped out through the pain.

"Where Ezra?" He wiped his face with the damp cloth.

"My chest . . . side." Ezra spoke through gritted teeth, he eyes were closed so tightly he wasn't able to see his surroundings.

"You've got some broken ribs Ezra." Josiah told him. "And your chest probably hurts from all the coughing that you've been doing. Your still sick."

Josiah heard a noise behind him and he spun around to see Guy Young standing in the doorway, he wanted to get up and beat him the same way he had Hollow beat Ezra but he couldn't get past the guilt and sorrow that were in the now dull blue eyes.

"Could you get some water for me please, I have to replace the fluids he lost." He didn't receive an answer but Guy turned away and left the room.

"Ezra. Ezra!" Josiah got up and moved around the bed. He knelt down in front of Ezra, he could see that he was even paler than he was before. "Ezra open your eyes and look at me." Josiah controlled his emotions when he looked into Ezra's green eyes, they were glassy with pain. "I want you to drink some water for me, okay."

"As long . . . as you don't . . . ask me to . . . eat." Ezra agreed. His eyes finally focused on the room that he was in. "Where are . . . we?"

"In Bert's cabin, it's over Ezra so I want you to rest and get better for me okay." Josiah looked up when Guy came back into the room. He took the water that he handed to him. "Move onto your back Ezra."

Josiah waited until he did as he was told then lifted his head with one hand while the other held the cup to his lips. Ezra began to cough again after the first mouthfull. Josiah was beginning to find it hard to look at the face that was so full of pain. He did what he wanted to do before, he put the cup down and sat on the bed, he pulled Ezra up into his arms and supported his pain wracked body until the coughing eased once again.

"Can you drink some more water Ezra?"

"Yeah."

Ezra drank the cool water and felt it ease the dryness of his throat. When Josiah removed the cup and eased his head back down onto the pillow that lay beneath him he rolled onto his side. He could feel Josiah's hand wiping his face.

"Go back to sleep Ezra." He didn't need to encourage him, he was asleep again within minutes.

Josiah pulled the blanket up around his chin and made him comfortable. He didn't move from his bedside even though he knew Guy was still in the room.

"What did you do to your friend?" Josiah asked him.

"I gave him a taste of his own medicine." Guy told him as he moved closer to the bed. He didn't want to look at the face of the man who lay in it, he was lying on his right side with his back to him.

"Don't you mean your medicine, it was your idea to beat Ezra to try and get me to talk wasn't it." Josiah didn't stop the disgust from sounding in his voice.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I know that's not enough, I've known Bill for five years, I didn't think he would steal from us." Guy explained.

"Where is he now?"

"I'm going to take him to town, hand him over to the sheriff and hand myself in as well."

Josiah looked up when he heard those words. "You don't have to go to jail."

"What if your friend dies?"

"Which town are you going to?" Josiah asked him.

"I was going to Junction City, they know us there." Guy made himself walk around the bed, he looked at the face of the man's friend. He was pale and the bruises and cuts stood out on his flesh. His skin was also flushed. "He looks pretty sick."

"He is." Josiah stood up so he could face the younger man. "If you do something for me, we'll help you."

"There's nothing you can do for me."

"Get your brothers to take him to Four Corners, we are the law there along with five other men." he saw the shock register on Guy's face. "They have a thing about Ezra getting hurt, we all do actually, so I believe they are already on the trail looking for us. Your brother's should meet them on the way, when they do, they can give them directions to come here. One of our friends is a healer, Nathan Jackson, he'll be able to look after Ezra and your father."

Guy watched Josiah for a moment then looked back down at Ezra. "Okay, I'll get them to leave straight away."

"You do that." Josiah turned away from him and sat back down on the bed.

Joisah listened as Guy repeated his instructions to his brothers, they argued with him at first because they didn't want to leave their father but when their elder brother told them that one of the lawmen was a healer they gave in to his request that they take Bill Hollow to Four Corners. Josiah just hoped that they would meet Chris and the others on the trail, he feared that they had already passed them on their search for their missing friends.

He looked down at Ezra's profile, an occassional grimace appeared on his face. He placed his hand against his left cheek then his forehead, the fever was raging within him. His hope that they would meet their friends on the trail now turned to silent prayers.

Josiah stepped quietly into the kitchen, he watched as Guy worked over a large pot on the stove. Josiah felt his anger leave his own troubled heart at the sight of the slumped shoulders, the young man was carrying a heavy burden on his own shoulders and Guy didn't need him adding to it, even after what he had done to Ezra. He moved forward and sat down on one of the chairs at the table, Guy either didn't hear him or ignored his presence.

"How's your father?" Joisah asked him to start up a conversation, he knew how Bert was, he had checked in on him on his way to the kitchen.

"He's sleeping." Guy didn't turn around. "Ezra?"

"He's seems to be worse." Josiah sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry, I wish there was something I could do to help him . . . "

"I think you've done enough!" Josiah growled at him.

"I'm sorry." Guy repeated when he turned to face him.

Josiah could see the honesty on his face, he was about to apologise himself when he heard a shuffling noise heading towards the kitchen. Thinking that it was Ezra he turned around, he was ready to give him a mouthful but smiled slightly to see Bert making his way towards them.

"Pop! What are you doing? You should be in bed!" Guy closed the space between them quickly and grabbed his arm. "Come on, I'm taking you back to bed."

"I'm fine Guy." He pushed his son away from him and looked up into eyes that would have mirrored his own except for the guilt that they held. "We need to talk Guy, to sort this out once and for all."

"There is nothing to sort out pop, this is my fault, everything is my fault." Guy turned away from him and walked back to the kitchen.

Josiah wanted to give them some privacy so he pushed himself away from the table and stood.

"Josiah, stay, you might be able to help." Bert motioned for him to sit back down.

Josiah forced a smile to his face and did as he was told.

"None of this is your fault, you can't blame yourself for your mother's death and as for Ezra, you were thinking about our welfare even if you went about it the wrong way." Bert sat down at the table and grimaced at the pain in his shoulder.

Josiah's admiration for the man was growing by the minute. "How did she die?"

"I shot her." Guy said bluntly.

"There's more to it than that Guy!" Bert began to relay the story of what happened to his wife and his three son's mother. "A group of men showed up here two years ago, they heard about the gold that we had found here, it wasn't much but these men were greedy. They didn't ask questions or threaten us. They shot Ben, then took his mother. Robbie and I tried to stop them, we all knew what they were going to do to her. The man that had Martha turned his gun on Robbie . . . "

"I thought he was going to kill him like I thought he had killed Ben, I aimed for him and pulled the trigger but mother kicked his shin, their positions changed and the bullet struck her instead." Guy finished for his father. "There was nothing I could do, she died in pop's arms."

"The men that did it rode off with the gold. Ben was okay with time, Guy saved Robbie's life but he won't realise it." Bert looked at his son.

"But I killed her, I didn't save her!" Guy retorted.

"But you had all intentions of saving her." Josiah told him. "It wasn't your fault, you couldn't have known what your mother was going to do, the only thing that must have been on your mind was to save your brother. If you didn't pull that trigger, you all could have died, and they would have succeeded in doing to your mother what they wanted to do."

Guy shook his head in denial.

"Ezra's like that." Josiah told Bert. "Blames himself for everything, even if he had nothing to do with it."

"But he didn't kill his own mother." Guy moved to the table and sat down between the larger man and his father.

Josiah couldn't stop the laughter, he put his hand up when he recieved confused expressions from the other two men. "I'm sorry but if you knew Ezra's mother . . . we all wanted to shoot her and if Ezra did it, no one would blame him."

"Doesn't sound like he had a good family life." Bert commented.

"He had a mother but never a family, not until he met us." Josiah told him then turned to Guy. "You've always had a family Guy, what you did that day, any man would have done the same thing to save their family. What happened was an accident, you didn't do it intentially. That's what you need to tell yourself. Your mother would not have blamed you."

"That's what I told him." Bert put his hand on his son's arm and was grateful when his son put his own hand on top of it. "None of us blame you for it and I know your mother wouldn't either."

Guy nodded towards his father, he lifted his head and looked into his eyes, he longer saw the dissapointed that he thought he always saw.

Joisah smiled when he saw the understanding and acceptance pass between the two men.

"Did Hollow tell you where the gold is." Josiah changed the subject, the two men can continue the conversation when they were on their own, that way they could say the things they weren't saying now in front of him.

"Yeah, not that it's going to mean much to us if your friend dies." Guy answered.

"He'll make it, Ezra's a fighter." But Josiah wasn't sure, he had never seen Ezra so sick before, hell, he'd never seen him sick.

"I noticed, he puts up a pretty good fight even when he's sick." Guy smiled at him.

"He's had the sort of life style where he had to learn to survive, always depends on himself, even now that he has six friends to help him. He doesn't seem to be able to shake this independence that he has, but then he wouldn't be Ezra if he did." Josiah chuckled. "Stubborn as a two headed mule."

"He means a lot to you doesn't he?" Bert noticed the emotion that passed through Josiah's eyes everytime he mentioned his friend.

"Ezra's a good friend." Josiah looked towards the open doorway of the room Ezra was in, he could see the foot of the bed but not Ezra, he had curled up into a ball and continued to sleep. "To all of us."

"But he's more than that to you isn't he?" Bert knew how he felt, it was the same way he felt about his own sons.

"I think of him as a son as well as a friend." Josiah admitted to him.

"And Ezra, what does he think?"

"His father died when he was five and from recent events I don't think he got on very well with him, something happened, he won't talk about it to any of us. He wouldn't let me be a father figure to him but he's come round, as long as I don't lay it on to thick he's okay with it."

"He's lucky to have someone like you Josiah, I'm sure he's grateful even if he doesn't tell you." Bert assured him.

"I know he is, he has his own way of telling me that." Josiah looked over his shoulder when the sound of coughing reached his ears. He stood up without saying another word and went back into the bedroom.

Josiah rushed to Ezra's side, he had curled himself up even further into a smaller ball, a grimace covered his own face when he saw the pain that Ezra was in. He gently rubbed his back through the blanket even though he knew it wouldn't ease the pain that the coughing brought to him. When the coughing fit ended he lifted his head and forced him to drink more water.

"Ezra?" He hoped for a response but he didn't get one.

Josiah laid his head back down onto the damp pillow, he felt Ezra's forehead to find that his temperature hadn't improved at all, it actually seemed to be worse. He realised how hot he must be feeling so he pulled the blanket down to his waist. His fingers gently ran across some of the developing bruises on his chest. He thought about what Bert had said, the way that he felt about Ezra, he was right, he did care for him more than the others did, he didn't know why he thought of him like a wayward son, the feeling had developed over the months, he had wanted to take Ezra under his wing and protect him like a father should.

Ezra had never had anyone that he could be close to, he had never been given a reason to allow people to get close enough to see the real man, he'd always been hurt in some form or another and it had caused him to keep people at arms length, but that had changed with the small group of friends that he was now a part of. Josiah wondered if he would ever allow someone else to get close like they had at any other point in his future life. He didn't think that they had managed to change that part of Ezra, they had to earn his trust and friendship, it had taken a long time and a lot of patience, he didn't think that anyone else would go to that sort of trouble over him, Ezra made it too difficult for people.

But they had seen something in him that no one else ever had, and that was the real Ezra Standish, the man that had stayed hidden underneath an uncaring false charade that his mother had nurtured and encouraged. Josiah had noticed that he cared about others in a way that he wanted to be cared about, this had shown itself in the way he cared about children, he also proved to be very loyal and trustworthy, he just never had a reason to allow these attributes to come to the surface before but the other five men and himself and shown Ezra what he was capable of.

Josiah smiled down at the young man, he had a face that was so full of innocence when he slept but when he was awake he was unreadable. You never knew what he was thinking unless he wanted you to know, everything was always hidden behind his poker face, the only time he was unable to hide the way he felt was when he was in this condition, being ill from a fever that he'd develop from an injury would allow them to see the real man, his emotions were visible for everyone to see. He'd have no control over them, but once his body began to heal the mask would be put back into place.

The ex-preacher wiped the loose hair from Ezra's forehead then moved to the chair that Guy had brought in earlier, he settled into it, it was going to be a long night, especially for Ezra.

Chris and the others rode in silence, words weren't needed to convey how they were feeling. They had ridden out of their makeshift camp as the sun rose from behind the distant mountians, it was now setting. They were yet to find any trace of Josiah and Ezra and their hopes were sinking as low as the setting sun. They didn't stop for meals, each man ate while they sat in the saddle, they only stopped occasionally to give the horses a rest.

Chris couldn't understand why this always happened, why couldn't Ezra have an easy life, spend his days in health instead of recovering from an injury. The man had caused him to loose years off his own life through the worry that he had caused him through no fault of his own. He didn't everything right, he protected himself, he carried more guns than the rest of them, he had a quick mind that usually got him out of trouble before he was required to defend himself with his weapons. But fate always interfered and before anyone could do anything to stop it, an injury was inflicted on the usually jovial gambler.

"Chris." Buck pulled his friend from his thoughts.

"What?" Chris didn't look at him, he continued using his eyes to scan the area to his right.

"There's riders up ahead." Buck told him.

Chris turned his head to look in the direction Buck was pointing, he could see three riders, one was slumped in his saddle and for a moment his heart felt a cold grip squeeze it but then he realised that it wasn't Ezra, the other two riders weren't familiar either but maybe they had seen Josiah and Ezra. He pulled his horse to a stop and waited for the three men to reach them.

Robbie saw the men that had come to a stop before them, he knew who they were. Sanchez hadn't told his brother what these men looked like but even at this distance he could see the concern and fear that lined their faces. As they got closer their expressions change, they turned into cold stares.

"Nathan Jackson?" Robbie spoke the name he had been given.

Each of the lawmen hid the dread that filled them.

"That's me." Nathan nudged his horse closer to the front.

"Josiah told us you'd be looking for him and Ezra." Robbie told him.

"Where are they? Are they all right?" Chris stared at Robbie, he was ignoring the injured man who was only just managing to stay on his horse.

"Josiah's fine . . . " Ben began.

"What happened to Ezra!" Chris growled at him.

"He's sick . . . " Ben was interrupted a second time.

"Ezra doesn't get sick." Nathan eyed him suspiciously.

"He's sick now, very sick." Ben continued.

"What's wrong with him?" Nathan asked him.

"He's got a very high fever and a bad cough." Robbie explained, he didn't mention the beating that he had taken, the look on these men's faces told him that they wouldn't be happy about that piece of information.

"Where are they?" Chris demanded.

"Keep going along this trail, it's just over a days ride, you'll see a burnt out tree, turn left and keep going until you get to the base of the hill. If it's night time, you'll see the light from the cabin." Robbie told him.

Chris nudged his horse forward and rode past them, he didn't ask anymore questions, Josiah can tell him about the injured man.

"Chris, what about this guy, he's hurt." Nathan called to his back.

"This guy is fine." Robbie did the same as Chris, he rode on without saying anything else.

"He needs some help!" Nathan snapped at him.

Robbie reached Nathan's horse. "Your friend needs help, this man beat him so I suggest you get going and let us take care of this one."

"I thought you said Ezra was sick!" Buck growled at him.

"He is, but it didn't stop Bill here from beating him." Robbie eyed Buck and Nathan.

They didn't need to be told anything else, they rode off and caught up with Chris, they would wait until they had ridden a few miles then tell him what the young man had said. If they told him sooner he might turn around and try inflict a beating himself.

Josiah hadn't slept for the last twenty four hours, he couldn't, it wasn't just the sound of Ezra's coughing that kept him from the rest that he needed, it was also the worry and concern that he was feeling. Ezra didn't improve as the hours passed. His fever was still high, his breathing was still a struggle and the coughing bouts were still frequent, his sleep was restless but he wasn't lucid when he was awake. He continued to get him to drink whenever he could but he hadn't been able to get him to eat anything solid.

"How is he?" Bert asked as he entered the room. "Josiah?"

Josiah had heard him but he couldn't pull his eyes from Ezra's flushed features. "No better."

"Why don't you get some rest, I'll watch him for a while." Bert knew he wouldn't be able to convince him to leave Ezra's bedside. "Or at least go and eat something, your not looking very well yourself."

"I'm fine Bert, your the one who should be getting some rest." Josiah finally looked up at him.

"Don't worry about me." Bert sat down on the bed next to Ezra's side. He leant over and felt his forehead with his free arm, the right one was still in a sling. "Your friends should be here soon."

"That's if your sons met them on the trail." Josiah reminded him.

"I'm sure they did."

"Bert, I . . . " Josiah looked at him then back at Ezra.

"I'm sure he'll be fine Josiah, why don't you get some more water, see if we can bring his fever down some." Bert suggested. He knew how Josiah was feeling.

Josiah nodded and left Bert alone with Ezra. Bert moved to the chair and sat facing the young man. He listened to his ragged breathing.

"Ezra Standish, can you hear me, even if you can't I'm going to tell you something and you better listen. You mean a lot to Josiah and I don't want you to hurt him like this anymore, you have to start fighting whatever it is that's wrong with you. Josiah told me that you can be stubborn, so where is that stubborn streak now, prove to me that he wasn't lying." He put his hand back onto Ezra's face. "He needs you, don't leave him or your friends, not now that you've found them." Bert hoped that by some miracle his words would bring him back but they didn't, nothing changed.

"Trying to appeal to his guilty side Bert." Josiah smiled from his position in the doorway, he held a large bowl of cool water in his hands. Guy had just refilled the large bucket with water from the well.

"Something like that Josiah." Bert smiled at him. "Bring that over here." Bert pulled the blanket down to Ezra's hips and tried to push the sleeping form onto his back but he lacked the strength to do so.

Josiah saw what Bert was trying to do. He put the bowl on the floor and pushed Ezra onto his back, Ezra struggled to roll back over but soon settled again when he realised he wasn't able to move. Josiah held him down with his hands.

"Now, soak the material and wash him down. It won't get rid of his fever but the coolness of the water might help him in some way." Bert instructed him but it was also a lie. "I know it helped Ben that time when he got shot. But do it carefully, the cool water against his hot skin won't be good, you have start slowly."

Josiah did as he was told, he pushed the large cloth into the bowl of water and waited until it had soaked up as much water as it could. He then lifted it quickly and laid it onto Ezra's arm first then made his way across to his chest, he ignored the dripping water that had fallen onto the floor and sheet. He begun to rub Ezra down, the heat from his body drew the coolness from the water, but Josiah continued to wash the sweat from his upper body. He soaked the cloth again and repeated the process with Ezra's face, he made sure that he took care when he ran the cloth over the cuts and bruises that adorned his face.

"Keep going Joisah." Bert knew it wouldn't make any difference, cold water did nothing to help a fever, but he knew that Josiah needed to do something, he wanted to feel as though he was helping Ezra in some way instead of sitting and watching him slip slowly away from him.

Guy stepped into the falsely lit room, he could see Josiah sitting in the chair, but he was bent over, his arms were crossed and lying on the bed, his head rested on top of them. He moved closer to the bed and looked down at Ezra, he was still the same. He didn't want to disturb either of them so he made his way to his own bed in the corner of the room, he lay down but couldn't sleep. He rolled onto his side and continued to watch the two men in front of him. He'd only been there for a few minutes when Ezra began to cough, he rushed to his side to try and help him before he woke Joisah but he didn't succeed. Joisah jerked awake before he even reached the bed. He stood back and watched as the older man comforted his friend. Ezra soon became quite and Joisah laid him back down.

"Josiah why don't you get some sleep, I can take care of him." Guy spoke from behind.

Joisah didn't realise there was someone else in the room with them, he turned in his seat to look at Guy.

"It's okay, I can do that." He saw the dejected look on Guy's and knew that he needed to do something. He was about to give in to him when he heard noises from outside the cabin. Footsteps bounded onto the porch and a fist was slammed against the door continuously. "Sounds like Chris." Josiah smiled. "Why don't you go and let them in."

Chris could see the light from the cabin just like the young man had told him, he could tell the area was clear of any mishaps, such as trees, so he urged his horse into a gallop, he heard the others follow his lead. He didn't slow down until he reached the cabin. He ran up the stairs and pounded on the door. He wanted to walk straight in and find Ezra but he waited, more out of fear than anything else. The door opened to reveal a man who looked like the two they had met on the way here but he was older.

"He's in there." The man pointed to an open doorway.

Chris promptly forgot about him and ran to the room, he entered to find Josiah looking at him with a weak smile on his face, he looked fine except for the small cut above his right eyebrow. He looked down at the form in the bed, Ezra's back was to him but even the limited view told him that Ezra wasn't fine. He moved forward and around the bed.

"Aw hell Josiah, what's wrong with him?" Chris bent down in front of Ezra, he didn't have to touch him to know a fever was flowing through him. He also saw the cuts and bruises that stood out on his pale skin.

"I'll tell you later Chris, in the meantime let Nathan have a look at him please." Josiah pulled Chris up to his feet and away from the bed.

Nathan sat on the bed and pushed Ezra onto his back, the blanket was still pulled down to his waist so he was able to see the damage that had been done to his ribs and chest. He put his hand against his forehead, the fever was at a dangerous level.

"Buck, get me some water and a cup." He began to undo the bandage that was wrapped around Ezra's ribs. "From the beginning Josiah."

"He didn't tell me he was sick, it started out as a slight fever and he had a cough, I looked for a place for him to spend the night, both got worse as the day went on. We finally found this cabin, Bert lets us stay in the barn, the fever got even worse, he had a bad headache and he felt sick, the fever broke by the next day but then things happened and the fever came back, the cough got worse, he's got some broken ribs too, which don't help when he coughs. He's been like this for about a day and a half."

"What things?" Chris demanded as he watched Nathan press against Ezra's ribs.

"Me for one thing." Guy spoke up, he had entered the room behind the three men, he was going to take responsibility for what he had done.

"What did you do?" Chris turned on him, his eyes were cold and he was ready to kill.

"I thought they stole our gold." Guy looked at Josiah who was shaking his head, he ignored him. "You met my brothers and the man that was with them." He didn't wait for Chris to agree with him. "I had that man nearly drown your friend to get Josiah to talk, he wouldn't so later he beat him."

Chris pulled his gun and walked towards the man who had hurt his friend, even if hadn't done it by his own hands.

"Chris!" Josiah called out to him and when he didn't answer him he moved forward and pulled his gun arm down. "Leave him alone!"

"What?!" Chris was shocked.

"You don't know the whole story, he had his reasons for what he did, you'll understand when I tell you, but not now, leave him and we'll talk later." Josiah pushed him away from Guy. "Guy go and make sure your father's okay and don't come back in here until I call you. Okay."

"You'll let us know how Ezra is?" Guy asked him.

"Yes I will." He pushed him towards the door. "Go on."

"He's got two broken and two cracked ribs." Nathan informed them. "The cut on his head isn't bad, but he may have had a slight concussion. Did he sleep alot afterwards Josiah?"

"Yeah but he didn't complain about being sick after it." Josiah answered him.

"Did he throw up at any time?"

"No."

"What about his breathing?" Nathan asked him but he didn't recieve an answer. "Josiah?"

"I'm sorry Nathan, I should have remembered all of this."

"It's okay Josiah." Chris told him as he moved closer.

"He's had trouble breathing, especially after he drowned, I think he actually stopped breathing. That guy kicked him a couple of times, got him going again, he coughed up water then." Josiah shivered when he remembered the site of Ezra struggling for breath. "And then after he kicked him when he tried to beat him."

"Tried?" Chris raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Josiah smiled. "Ezra was sick but he still managed to break the guy's knee."

Nathan leant over and placed his ear against Ezra's chest. "He's not congested which is a good sign, I think he's just picked up a sickness from somewhere, probably that town you went to, and these injuries have just made everything worse. I think it's the broken ribs that are causing his breathing problems, they're restricting the movement of his left lung. The coughing wouldn't help, if it's been as severe as you say Josiah then it would only be causing him more problems."

"Is he going to be okay?" Josiah asked him.

"If I can get the fever down, he should be."

He pulled some pouches out of his saddle bags and began to mix some herbs with the water in the cup that he had taken from Buck. He lifted Ezra's head and put the cup to his lips, he poured a small amount in at first to see if he was going to swallow it. He did but he also began to cough. Nathan allowed Ezra to roll onto his side, he could see how much pain he was in. When the coughing stopped he rolled him back over and managed to get him to drink the rest of the liquid without any more bouts of coughing. He then rewrapped his ribs, he used a bandage from his saddle bag to strap his left arm to his chest to help support the damaged ribs.

"Have you been getting him to drink water Josiah?" Nathan gently rolled Ezra onto his side and pulled the blanket up to his chin. He wiped his forehead then stood up.

"Yes, everytime his coughing woke him I made him drink some."

"Good, I'll keep giving him something for his fever and the pain. Apart from that we'll just have to wait."

Josiah nodded and went and sat back down in the chair that faced Ezra's sleeping form. "Nathan." He looked up at him. "Can you go and check on Bert, he's the boys father, he was shot, he seems okay but if you could make sure. He's in the other room."

"Sure Josiah, I'll come back when I'm done and then your going to get some rest, you look like you haven't slept in days."

"He's going to get some rest now." Chris headed straight for the larger man. "Buck."

Each of them grabbed an arm and they pulled him from the chair and pushed him towards one of the other beds. Josiah protested but they wouldn't listen to him. His body was also sucumbing to the exhaustion that he felt, now that his mind knew that Nathan and the others were here to help Ezra he could no longer fight the sleep that wanted to take him. He allowed them to push him onto the bed and he was asleep minutes after his head hit the pillow.

Chris pulled a blanket up over him then moved to the empty chair and took up his vigil of Ezra's sick form. Buck sat on the corner of the bed at Ezra's feet.

Nathan returned to the room to find Chris supporting Ezra while he coughed violently into his shoulder, he quickly moved forward and sat down on the bed next to them, he looked into Ezra's face to find his eyes open and looking back at him.

"Ezra?" He put his hand on his cheek. "Ezra, it's Nathan."

Ezra didn't respond to him, he continued to look through him. He waved his hand in front of his face but still didn't get a response.

"Lie him down Chris." Nathan ordered him.

Chris did as he was told and watched as Nathan checked Ezra's temperature and breathing, he then forced the gambler to drink more of the herbal fluids to help with his fever.

"How sick is he Nathan?" Buck asked him.

"He's very sick Buck." Nathan told him.

"Is there anything you can do for him." Chris changed his direction of sight to take in Ezra's inert form.

"Nothing more than I'm doing now." Nathan sighed and followed Chris' gaze down to Ezra, his eyes were now closed.

They waited and watched through the late hours of the night and into the early hours of the day, Nathan continued to force Ezra to drink the herbal mixture each time he woke to a bout of coughing. His fever had stayed at a dangerous level during those hours and was yet to come down. Josiah continued to sleep undisturbed in the other bed, he was oblivious to the sounds of Ezra's illness. Chris and Buck took turns sitting in the chair next Ezra, each of them lost in their own thoughts but both men had the same fear, that Ezra wasn't going to pull through. After everything that had happened it seemed strange that they may loose him to an illness and not an injury inflicted by a bullet.

Nathan was sitting on the bed at Ezra's side when he saw the green eyes reveal themselves to him, he stopped wiping his face with the damp cloth and leaned down closer to his face.

"Ezra, it's Nathan." He waited a few minutes and just when he thought that Ezra wasn't going to reply to him he spoke.

"Josiah?" Ezra's voice was weak, it was barely a whisper. "Josiah?"

"He's sleeping Ezra. But we're here, me, Chris and Buck." He wiped his face with the cloth but Ezra didn't look at him.

"Josiah, where's Josiah?" Ezra's eyes began a frantic search.

"Chris wake Josiah up." Nathan urged him. "He's coming Ezra, Josiah will be here in a minute."

"Josiah?" Ezra continued as though he hadn't heard Nathan. "Josiah . . . " he began to cough.

Chris moved to the other bed and roughly shook Josiah awake.

"What . . . , is it Ezra?" Josiah asked as he tried to pull himself from his deep slumber.

"He's asking for you, he's not responding to us so Nathan wants you." Chris explained.

Josiah didn't need anymore encouragement, he got off the bed and moved to Ezra's side, he sat on the bed after Nathan made room for him.

"Ezra, it's Josiah, I'm here. Ezra, you still with me son." Josiah rubbed Ezra's temple to try and get his attention.

"I'm here." Ezra grimaced.

"You make sure you stay here Ezra, I don't want you going anywhere." Josiah told him.

Ezra nodded and closed his eyes.

Nathan sat on the other side of the bed and felt Ezra's forehead. "His fever has come down a bit, not much but it's a start."

"Good." Chris felt some sort of relief. But he knew Josiah would be feeling more, he'd spent nearly a week with Ezra while he was ill. "Josiah, maybe you can tell us what happened and why you don't blame that man for what he did."

Josiah tore his eyes from Ezra's face and looked at Chris, he began to tell him what happened over the last four days, he made sure that he included what had nearly torn the family apart two years ago.

"I can't hold him responsible Chris, Guy's been angry for a long time, when he thought we took his gold his mind probably went back to that time, he's only just beginning to forgive himself."

"It would be a hard thing to live with." Nathan agreed.

"He was going to take Hollow to town and turn himself him but I stopped him, he's suffered enough as it is."

"If that's what you want Josiah." Chris did understand, he knew what it was like to feel responsible for someone's death, especially when they were family.

"Josiah!" Ezra called out to him.

Everyone turned to Ezra.

"I'm here Ezra, I'm here."

Ezra reached out with his hand when another bout of coughing took control of him. Josiah grabbed the hand that moved frantically around the air in front him.

"Josiah." Ezra called again when the coughing stopped.

"I'm here Ezra, look at me." He wiped Ezra's forehead until he opened his eyes. "See, I'm here with you."

Ezra gripped his hand tighter.

"Go back to sleep Ezra."

"Hurts."

"I know it does Ezra but it'll ease, Nathan's here to help you."

"Nathan?" Ezra's brow frowned in confusion.

"Yeah, Chris and Buck too." Josiah told him.

"Nathan?" Ezra repeated.

"Yeah, now do as your told and go back to sleep." Josiah said more firmly, he waited until Ezra closed his eyes and began to rub his temple, his breathing eventually evened out as he went back to sleep.

Josiah turned away from him to look at three very amused faces.

"What?" He was confused himself.

"So what were you two up to when we weren't around?" Buck winked at him.

"Let's just say that I think the father figure bond got a bit stronger." He smiled back at them.

"And Ezra allowed that?" Chris asked him seriously.

"I don't think he's even aware that it happened." Josiah told them then turned back to Ezra.

Ezra had never felt such pain before, it wrapped itself around his chest and travelled down his left side, it had taken a strong hold of him and he didn't think that it was ever going to let go. His mind was confused and each thought that tried to surface within the thick cloud that surrounded it was pulled back down without revealing itself to him. He was totally unaware of what was happening around him. He felt something brush against his face and he instinctively moved away from it, this movement caused a sound to escape from his lips, he knew it was his own voice, the southern accent echoed in his mind.

He felt a hand against the back of his head as it lifted him up, he struggled against it, but the hand held him firmly in it's grip. He heard another voice speak to him and he found it to be calming, he listened and did as it told him. He first tasted the foul liquid that was poured into his mouth but the relief that he felt as it ran down his sore throat stopped him from refusing it. He felt his chest tighten and then he began to cough, he could feel the pain in his chest and side as he did so. Hands lifted him again then wrapped around him, the grip was comforting but it did nothing to ease his pain. When the coughing finally stopped, whoever held him laid him back down.

He pulled his eyes open and looked up into the face of the man who had held him.

"Josiah?"

"How you feeling Ezra?"

"What a stupid question." He tried to smile but couldn't manage it.

"Sorry." Josiah smiled back at him. "Your fever finally came down, it hasn't left you yet though."

"Fever?"

"You've been sick Ezra." Nathan explained as he came forward.

"Where did you come . . . from?" Ezra asked him, the surprise he felt showed on his pale sickly features.

"Been here a couple of days Ezra, you gave us a scare, didn't think you were going to make it there for a while." Nathan sat on the bed. "I know it's a stupid question Ezra but I need you to tell me how your feeling."

"Long version . . . or short?" Ezra shifted his body to try and make himself more comfortable.

"Short." Nathan agreed.

"Terrible."

"That's too short. Have you got a headache?"

"Yes."

"Your chest still hurt?"

Ezra raised his eyebrows at him.

"Okay. Do you feel nauseas"?"

Ezra shook his head no.

"Are you hungry?"

Ezra gave him a look of disgust.

"That's not going to work. Josiah, keep him awake, I'll go and get some of that broth that Guy made."

Ezra watched Nathan disappear through the open door, he turned his aching head back towards Josiah.

"What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember Ezra?" Josiah pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down in it.

"We were in the shed, then that . . . " Ezra's eyes opened wide.

"It's okay Ezra, Bert stopped him, your okay now, but you did get pretty sick there for a while."

"Bert? Aw hell, I have no . . . idea do I." Ezra coughed and covered his mouth, it eased quickly.

"I'll go over everything with you later Ezra, you just need to eat then get some more rest."

Ezra nodded and closed his eyes but he felt a hand on his face, he opened his eyes once more.

"Eat first Ezra, then sleep, you have to do it in the right order." Josiah smiled down at him.

Ezra could hear the voices that tried to speak quietly, they weren't succeeding, the sounds reverberated within his skull, his headache made the sounds seem louder than they were. There was that movement against his face again, he moved away from it but the hand followed him, he tried to lift his arm to push it away but he couldn't move it. He frowned and regretted it, someone called to him. He tried to ignore the voice but the hand that was on his face slapped him, it wasn't hard but it was enough to try and force him to wake up fully. He used his other hand to push the offending force away but someone grabbed his hand. The hand began to tap against his check, he had no other choice but to open his eyes so the hand would leave him alone.

"Ezra? Come on, wake up." Nathan spoke to him as he used his hand against his cheek. "Wake up Ezra."

A pair of green eyes opened and looked up at him, they were confused at first but then they focused on him.

"Nathan, leave me alone." Ezra turned his head away from him.

"Come on Ezra, I want you to eat something." Nathan explained to him.

"Not now!" Ezra growled at him.

"Ezra!" Nathan turned his head back to look at him. "Your going to eat now!"

"It's too early." Ezra had no idea what time it was, he didn't even know what day it was.

"He sounds like he's as stubborn as a three headed mule Josiah." Bert looked over at the larger man.

"I think your right there." Josiah motioned to Nathan to let him have a go. "Ezra!"

"Go away." Ezra muttered as he tried to roll over and go back to sleep.

"Ezra Standish! You look at me now!" Josiah growled at him.

"Aw hell." Ezra gave up and looked over his shoulder at Josiah.

"You do as your told, you hear me?"

"I hear you, will you go away if I do."

"No but your going to eat anyway." Josiah motioned to Nathan who brought a bowl of broth to him.

"We're going to sit you up Ezra, it'll hurt but only for a minute." Nathan told him.

"A minute's too long." Ezra gave him a foul look.

"Ezra." Chris called to him from the doorway. "Are you giving them any trouble?"

"Mr Larabee, have you come to accompany us on our tedious expedition back to our humble abode?"

"I asked first." Chris retorted but winced at the painfull expression on Ezra's face when Nathan and Josiah sat him up.

"I consider myself to be a person of a pleasant nature who is always willing to lend a hand to his fellow associates." Ezra defended himself.

"So in other words yes, your giving them trouble." Chris came forward. "Just like always."

"Nathan, I've got that rope you wanted!" Guy called out as he entered the cabin.

"Rope?" Ezra looked at Nathan.

"Your fever broke yesterday Ezra but your still sick, you need a lot of rest until your better and I'm not going to let you get up when we're not looking so you can wonder around outside in the cold and get that fever back." Nathan's tone him that he wasn't going to listen to any arguments.

"But I'm not sick." Ezra innocently told him.

He couldn't help but smile at the groans that sounded from his friends.

"You've got your hands full with this one Josiah." Bert laughed.

"Ezra, this is Bert, it's his cabin that you've been spending so much time in."

"Thankyou for your hospitality."

"Your welcome. And I'm sorry about what my son's did." Bert apologised.

Ezra looked across at Josiah, confusion covered his handsome face.

"I'll tell you later. Right now your going to eat."

"How much time?" Ezra asked.

"Nearly two weeks." Josiah told him as he took the warm bowl from Nathan.

"How much longer?"

"If you eat like your told to, I'd say another week, if you don't eat, it'll be at least two." Nathan warned him.

"What about the others, they'd be worried about me?" Ezra tried to get out of it. "I have to get back so they'll know I'm alright."

"I sent Buck back, they know what's going on." Chris told him.

"But there isn't a saloon near here." Ezra protested.

"I believe Chris has some money that he's willing to depart with." Nathan smiled at Chris but got a cold stare in return.

Ezra quickly looked Chris over from his head to his boots. "He hasn't got any money."

"Enough!" Josiah was beginning to think that he was trying to force feed a twelve year old. "Your going to eat this then your going to sleep."

"Josiah, has anyone told you that you'd make a lousy parent?" Ezra looked serious for a moment but then smiled at him.

"Probably the same people who'd claim that you would make a lousy son." Josiah retaliated.

"Um, guys, I think we better leave them to it." Nathan began to push everyone out of the room.

"Is he always like that." Bert was amused at the sight before him, he thought his sons were bad.

"Always." Chris answered. "But at least now there's humour behind his words and not the malice that he use to use to keep us away."

"Well I for one can understand where he's coming from." Guy spoke up in Ezra's defense.

"What are you talking about, Josiah's just trying to help him." Bert argued with his son.

"Push him more like it, if Ezra doesn't want to eat then he shouldn't force him." Guy told him.

"Ezra's sick, he needs to eat, you don't know what your talking about . . . "

"Chris." Nathan nudged his side. "I think outside would be safer." He looked over his shoulder at the closed door then to the two men in front of him.

"I think your right." Chris followed him out of the cabin into the quiet freedom of nature.

The End

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Page Four Fan Fiction