Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
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"So how are my patients doing today?" Alexandra Styles inquired walking into the saloon. It was a week since the Emporium had burned down and she had been such a frequent visitor in the establishment that no one even bothered pointing out that it was inappropriate for a woman to be there.
It was the first time that either Nathan or Vin was allowed out of their rooms since sustaining their injuries. Once their strength had return, both men had used the energy to make themselves the most troublesome patients it had been Alex's displeasure to treat. It was impossible to make them sit still for one moment and while Nathan understood the importance of staying put to keep stitches intact, Alex had actually considered tying Vin Tanner to his bed at one point and keeping a guard on him.
"Fine now that we're out of bed." Vin smiled at the pretty doctor.
"I see." Alex said noting the bottle of whisky on the table and more particularly, the shot glass in front of Vin. Without saying another word, she took the glass away and set it down on someone else's table. "Enjoy." She said briefly as Vin broke into protest.
"I was drinking that." He complained.
"I told you." Nathan laughed as he studied the cards dealt in his game with Josiah and Ezra. Vin gave Nathan a dirty look while Josiah chuckled and Ezra revealed his amusement in a smile.
"And I told you," she looked hard at Vin, "no drinking, no smoking, nothing for the next three to four weeks. You have a chest injury and I did not put you back together so you can wreck it all by polluting your system will all these...."
"Libations?" Ezra offered helpfully.
"That." Alex retorted. "Mr. Tanner, don't force me to get ugly with you. If I have to, I will keep sedating you every six hours for the next month if that's what it will take for you to obey doctor's orders."
"Ouch." Nathan winced at the thought. "I think she means it Vin" the black man said, unable to suppress his amusement. "By the way ma'am, could you please check on Mrs. Lawson? Her baby is due in a few weeks and she was worried the birth might be a breach."
"Okay," Alex nodded. "I'll go see her later today. Anything more I need to know about?" she inquired. Alex and Nathan had come to an understanding regarding their shared responsibility of Four Corner's medical health. For his own sake, Alex had barred him from attempting any surgery. She knew he was forced to perform it on occasion but the truth of the matter was, should anyone choose to take it up with the law, Nathan Jackson could find himself in serious trouble if he was found practicing surgery without a qualifying license. She respected his ability because there was no doubt in her mind that he was extremely suited for medicine and made a mental note to see if there was anything she could do to getting him partially recognized by the medical community for his efforts to date.
"Not that I can think of." He answered as he discarded some unwanted cards from his hand. "Things can get slow when someone doesn't come gunning for us. It just gets routine."
"How dull," she sighed checking Vin's bandages much to the mountain man's chagrin. "After my first two days here, I don't think I can handle the boredom."
"It doesn't last that long." Josiah replied. "Something odd always happens around here. At least, we get a rest in between."
"I have no trouble in believing that vile creature was a sister to a scoundrel like Damien Westbrook." Ezra remarked, still unable to forget her scathing words about Alex. Her body had been sent back to Crest Falls at the request of her sister Rebecca who lived in the east. As Buck had discovered in the cemetery when he inadvertently stumbled upon that headstone, Victoria Kendall was no fabrication of Lucy's vengeance. Victoria was merely her middle name and Kendall was her married name. Buck had learnt this when he had come across David Kendall's headstone that was mourned by his wife Lucy Victoria Kendall.
"Well revenge is a double edge sword." Josiah remarked. "When you carry that much hatred around for so long, it is only a matter of time before it taints the soul."
"Hers was a soul very tainted." Alex retorted as she moved to inspect Nathan. Having first hand knowledge of the woman's rage, Alex could attest to that fact with complete conviction. "She was nearly driven insane from it." She could not forget that deranged gleam of malevolence in her eyes as she casually condemned Mary and Alex to death that terrible morning.
JD Dunne walked into the saloon, his eyes moving automatically in their direction as he approached their table. The young sheriff had been at the jailhouse most of the morning, taking care of some loose ends to this whole Kendall affair since Mary Travis was at home recuperating. He never knew how much he hated the paperwork of his profession or just how much of it the widow took off his shoulders. He made a note that when she was ready to return to the Clarion and work, he was going to buy her some flowers in appreciation of the things she spared him from doing.
That is, if Chris did not mind.
"Hey JD," a chorus of voices greeted the young man as he approached.
"About time," Ezra rose to his feet after folding his hand. "I require you to take my place young man." The con man stepped away from the chair as JD slipped into it, momentarily distracted from his current line of thought.
"Sure," JD responded and then tried to remember what he was going to say as he sat down and watched Josiah began dealing the cards around the table. His eyes moved across the friends at the table and only when it came to Vin, did the memory returned to him sharply. "Vin, I got good news."
"Just don't say it's anything to do with cigars and whisky, I might start to cry." He retorted, giving Alex a dark look as he said those words. The adversarial nature of his relationship with the doctor was all in good fun. He liked her spirit and wished with some disappointment that Ezra did not have some claim on her affections already.
"No." JD said wondering what that was all about. "Actually I just got a wire from Judge Travis." He replied, remembering the contents of the telegram he received not more than an hour ago. "Chris was right, the money for the reward on your head did come from Mrs. Kendall."
"Nothing new there." Ezra replied. "The lady was determined to cause as much grief as humanly possible."
"Anyway, Judge Travis had talked to the sheriff's office in Tascosa and requested that they send out telegrams everywhere saying that the $2000 reward has been rescinded. The price on your head is back to $500." JD announced happily and wondered why Vin had not greeted the news with more enthusiasm.
"Well that's something anyway." Vin sighed. "I can live with a $500 bounty. I prefer not to but I ain't going to complain."
"That will be a first." Alex quipped before turning to Ezra once she was satisfied at the progress of the two men. Considering her plans for the day, she wanted to ensure that they were in satisfactory condition to be left without her ministrations for a few hours. "Are we ready to go?" She looked at Ezra who was straightening his hat in readiness to depart.
"Where are you two going?" Nathan asked, marveling in the strange relationship that had developed between Alexandra Styles and Ezra Standish. There was a time when Ezra did not even consider a friendship with Nathan worth having because of color. Now it was difficult to imagine that prejudice had ever existed in Ezra. Nathan supposed it was a sign of growth, although Miss Styles was very beautiful and that was incentive enough to overcome any hurdle.
"I need to buy myself a house." Alex announced. "I can't stay in a hotel forever, so Ezra and I are going to look at a few places around town." With everything else that had transpired lately, Alex had little time to unpack, let alone set up a practice.
"Buying a house takes money." Josiah pointed out. "You haven't even sent out a bill yet." The preacher joked.
"That's okay," Alex replied as she turned to leave. "My father left me quite a bit."
Letting the lady walk out first, Ezra turned to his friends and smiled with a wistful sigh. "Be still my beating heart, she's rich too." With that, the gambler hurried after the object of his affections before she put too much distance between them.
"I don't know what she sees in him." Vin retorted after they had gone.
"Whatever it is," JD said with typical youthful tact. "I hope it ain't catching."
Inez never thought she would say this but Buck Wilmington was starting to frighten her.
She could not understand why this was so, considering that during the past week he had been attentive and polite. His conversations were utterly devoid of any kind of sexual innuendo and he had been more or less hovering around her to ensure that she did not aggravate her injuries in any shape or form. His sensitivity to her situation had her seeing him in a new light, far removed from the notorious womanizer she had come to know.
At this moment, he was actually helping her in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables and kneading dough, while eliminating any of the strenuous work involved in catering for the saloon crowd. He did so without complaint, in a manner so utterly unlike Buck Wilmington that Inez, to her eternal surprise, discovered she utterly and without any doubt at all, hated what he had transformed into for her.
She wanted the old Buck. The Buck who used follow her around the saloon, trying to convince her that he was the one for her and that they should seal this discovery with a night time dalliance. She missed the overt flirting, the brash pick up lines and the forward manner bordering on scandalous. Inez did not know why she missed it, and had since realized that it would be one of life's mysteries, sort of like the shroud of Turin.
She knew the story about Alice Sullivan. Ezra had related the unfortunate past Buck had with the Westbrooks that had precipitated the events that had caused her brutal attack and left very few of them unscathed. Inez could not associate the Buck she knew with the younger man who had been devastated by the loss of his would be bride in such a horrific manner. Although she did not blame him in any way for what had happened to her, Inez could see that he was trying desperately to make it up to her. It was to her amazement that Inez realized that he need not make such reparations because she wanted him back the way he was.
She would never admit it to anyone, but Inez loved their fiery confrontations. It fired her blood with a passion that would override all good sense when she finally succumbed to it. They had both enjoyed the chase and Inez would be sad to see it disappear for what existed now. A part of her would always have nightmares, and the wounds of her assault were still fresh in her mind. However, when she had gone into the Emporium to help Mary and Alex, Inez had realized that she was not broken or defeated, she still had friends and a place in the world.
With their support, she was going to be all right. Now, if she could just get Buck back to normal, things would be just peachy.
"Buck." She was seated on the kitchen chair, watching Buck slicing some carrots with difficulty. He was making an admirable attempt at trying to slice them evenly but as she watched him handle the knife, Inez knew it would not be long before someone found a finger in their stew.
"Yeah?" He looked up at her.
"I'm going to be okay." She said meeting his gaze.
Buck stopped what he was doing immediately and looked up at her. His face betrayed his feelings and Inez knew that he was relieved to hear that even though he would not say it out loud. "Are you trying to tell me nicely that my carrot slicing is bad?" He joked even though the humor did not reach his eyes.
"No," she shook her head laughing. "I know what you are afraid of and it is not going to happen to me. I promise you."
Buck's gaze dropped to the floor and he swallowed hard. He cared for Inez a great deal but there was a well of pain left behind by Alice's death that had not ever gone away. Part of the reason why he moved from woman to woman was the fear of coming to love one and then losing her as he lost Alice. He could not bear going through that agony again. "I just never had a chance to talk to her, you know." He finally spoke after an eternity of silence trying to decide if he wanted to discuss Alice in her presence. "It all happened while I was out on the trail and I didn't know anything until it was too late."
Inez climbed of her chair and slipped her good arm around his neck. "It was not your fault Buck." She said tenderly, resting her head against his. "I can't explain to you what this pains feels like and even if I could, you wouldn't understand, but what happened to her was not your fault. I have the benefit of age to help me through this, but your Alice did not. She was young and afraid and I'm sad for you that you could not help her, but you are helping me."
"Really?" he said, taking comfort in knowing that his efforts this past week were noticed and appreciated.
"Yes you have," she nodded. "But I think I miss the old Buck." She allowed a faint smile to steal across her face.
Buck's expression widened in surprise. "You're kidding me."
"No," she shook her head. "I truly miss the old you."
"Well," he grinned sliding an arm around her waist before pulling her closer. The smell of her was intoxicating and even briefly, Buck relished each moment. " I'm never one to disappoint a lady."
Inez took note of where his hands were going before she remarked sweetly. "Buck?"
"Yeah?" he responded silkily, his hands feeling the softness of her skin beneath his palm.
"I do not miss the old you that much." She said staring at him hard.
"Right." Buck took that as his cue and withdrew his hand. "I just thought...." He decided against finishing that sentence. Meeting her gaze, he let out a sigh of defeat and glanced at the vegetables waiting for his attention.
"Carrots?" He asked, looking forlornly at the pile.
"Carrots, Buck." Inez smiled and wondered what other chore she could think of to torture him with. After all, it was not often she had help and it would be wrong of her not to take advantage of the situations.
Besides some day soon, she would make it up him.
It was almost evening and the sun had begun to set on the horizon of Four Corners. Chris Larabee stared at the retreating sunshine and wondered if the world was always this beautiful or if he had only now started to notice it. It had been a long time since the sunset had any power over him and he found himself gazing into the world trailing into night with unspoken appreciation. Next to him on the swing, Mary Travis was dozing lightly against his shoulder.
Since the truth about Victoria Kendall became public knowledge, the rumor mongering about their relationship had ceased. Buck had been correct in assuming that people would think that salacious bit of news to have been the product of Victoria's revenge and had more or less discarded it. Of course, the town gossips would always be whispering something or other about them both, but eventually it would be forgotten like all the rumors before it.
However, Chris had taken Buck's advice in there being some formal understanding about his attentions towards Mary. Although he did not want to bring up the question of marriage, Chris had begun openly courting Mary so that the town would have some idea of their relationship, without escalating it into anything it was not. For some reason, Mary had found the whole idea somewhat amusing.
She uttered a soft sigh that moved across his cheeks in a light flutter, engendering a smile as she shifted position in the seat and caused them to sway forward gently. Mary opened her eyes and saw Chris looking at her. She tried to smile but her face ached too much. As it was, she was very unhappy to wear the thick bandages around her head that Alex had insisted upon to heal her fractured jaw.
"Sleep well?" Chris asked as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.
Mary nodded since she was under strict instructions not to move her jaw muscles more than she had to.
"You know," he said with a devilish smile. "Its different you not being able to say anything. I can finally get a word in edge wise."
That remark was met with a sharp slap across his uninjured arm as Mary glowered at him. It was not lost upon her that he was taking advantage of her inability to speak. Chris found himself laughing at the scowl across her face.
"Now you're going to feel really bad when I give you this." He reached into his pocket and produced the same box he had bought at the ill-fated Emporium. Chris had replaced the box and colored wrapping paper since the previous ones had been crushed during his fight with Saul Willis. He presented the box to her and delighted in the surprise reflected in her blue grey eyes.
"Consider it a late birthday present." He smiled.
Mary unwrapped the delicate wrapping and gasped at the trinket within. She kissed him tenderly after running her fingers over the delicate engraving of a rose on the cameo. It was truly one of the loveliest things she now owned. It surprised her that he was capable of buying such a thing for her, and was even more impressed by the fact that he had remembered her birthday, even after everything that happened the past week.
"Now," he said with a more serious note to his voice. "Let's talk about getting married."
Mary stared at him in surprise. How could he expect her to talk about such an important subject when she could barely articulate a word without wincing in agony? Did the man have no sense whatsoever?
"You see," Chris continued. "This is the perfect time to talk it about since you can't say a word. So if I say, let's get married tomorrow. You can't say anything to disagree. I could even say let's do it in the saloon and all you could do was nod."
"Like hell I will!" Mary boomed and swore loudly at the pain it caused. She held her face in pain before slapping him across the shoulder again.
"Or I could just tell you that I was joking." He grinned.
Mary narrowed her eyes and steeled herself to endure momentary discomfort for the chance to mess with his head. He certainly had it coming for his obvious enjoyment of her situation. "Yes." She said carefully, not aggravating her injury any more than necessary. "I think you're right, we should get married."
Chris stared at her. "Really?"
However, she did not respond and instead rose to her feet, wearing a smile while sauntering towards the house. The look in her eyes was one he knew well but surely she would not toy with him on such a crucial question?
"Mary, what did you mean? Were you serious about getting married?" He demanded, impatient for an answer.
She replied with a satisfied smirk and a similarly triumphant gleam in her eyes that told him nothing and was meant to keep him baffled.
"Mary," Chris jumped off the swing and started following her into the house. "This isn't funny. What did you mean...?"
THE END
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