Chapter Text
Blue Moon
By Marcaich
Ezra Standish sat on the chair on the balcony, contemplating the universe in general. Five years ago he had said his farewells to six men who were dearer to him than his own life. He hadn't had a choice at the time, and the parting had been hurried and uncomfortable
A last gun battle erupted three days before the Federal Marshals took up permanent residence in the growing township of Four Corners. It had been fast and furious, and they had all been taken by surprise
Ezra had been walking across the street, idly smiling as Billy Travis played with Seth Potter in the street. Sudden gunfire caused him to look around, and seeing the gunmen on the rooftops, he had sprinted towards the children, trying to get to them in time
He had grabbed Seth's hand and Billy around the waist, just as shots peppered the ground around him. Josiah was closest, running to his aid as Chris and the others ran out of the saloon, guns drawn, oblivious to what had already happened. Ezra had literally thrown Seth to his mother and as he was tossing Billy into Josiah's arms, who was on the boardwalk, he felt the impact of a bullet into his left hip
A screaming pain slammed him into the dirt of the street before he could even understand what was happening. He was stuck there, lying on the ground out in the open. With no cover in sight and Josiah busy with getting the children and Ms. Potter to safety, no one had seen Ezra fall. So there he lay, unable to move, grimacing in pain and wondering how in the Hell he was going to get himself out of this
So he had played dead, and lay unmoving until the gunfight had ended a few minutes later. As he lay there, he tried to gather his thoughts, tried to find a way to help the others without getting caught in the crossfire. JD had screamed his name as soon as he had been spotted, but Ezra didn't answer for fear they would shoot at him again. As long as he was "dead", he wasn't a target
When the battle was over, he had heard JD call out to him again, and heard footsteps running in his direction. And a gentle hand turned him over carefully, avoiding the injured hip. Ezra had groaned then, but he was weak from blood loss, and couldn't seem to open his eyes
"Hang on there pard." Vin's quiet voice penetrated Ezra's pain-filled brain. "Nathan's comin",
"Children..." Ezra whispered, the throbbing of the wound getting the best of him. He was cold, so cold now. He remembered thinking 'Wasn't it summer? Where was the sun?'
"They're fine." Josiah's steady rumble of a voice soothed his fears unquestionably and Ezra just nodded, relieved they were safe
He had given himself up to the darkness circling him then and when he had woken up next he was in Nathan's clinic with the Healer looking worriedly down at him
In the days that followed, Ezra had gone through Hell. The bullet had lodged into his hip and Nathan had been unable to extract it from it's sensitive location. Infection had then set in and Ezra battled fever for days, emerging gaunt and weak, but alive. A surgeon had been looked for but the nearest one who thought they could help was in Denver
So Ezra was packed up and transported to Colorado, leaving behind Four Corners and his friends. That had been five years ago
As a result of his injury, Ezra was forced to use a cane to walk but he had regained use of his left leg. Something the doctors thought impossible. But then, Ezra had always excelled at the impossible
He had stayed in Denver after becoming business partners in a failing saloon. He had turned it around and now he and his partner owned two saloons, a hotel, and various buildings in the rapidly expanding city. But Ezra missed the dusty little backwater town he had called home. Not a day went by that he didn't think on those months and his friends. At least he had been able to keep tabs on them all secretly and he had helped them out anonymously when he could
"Ezra?" A female voice intruded on his musings
"Yes Victoria?" Ezra turned and greeted his partner
He never tired of looking on her. She was his age, widowed tragically when a thief in their house killed her husband right in front of her. He auburn hair glinted in the light, and her large brown eyes captivated your soul. She was thin and graceful, intelligent and also educated. Ezra liked her immensely. But both had their scars and had remained nothing more than friends and partners
"Leanna is missing again. Has she spoken with you this morning?" Victoria was half-worried, and half-exasperated
"NO." Ezra frowned. "Any of Turners scoundrels about?"
"Not that anyone has seen, it's been very quiet these last couple of days...." Victoria wrung her hands worriedly,
"Too quiet." Ezra mumbled her thought aloud
Jacob Turner had his eye on Victoria's business. He hadn't been able to win her to marriage, so he had systematically tried to ruin her. Ezra had stepped in and saved her, earning the undying malice of the man. The two years of maneuverings and wholesale war had taken their tool on Ezra, he was weary, ready to end the long siege one way or another
Especially after Turner had upped the ante, torching one of the newly renovated rooming houses Ezra had recently purchased as housing for his employees. Ten people had died and Ezra had been devastated by both the loss of life and the destruction. It was time to end it, but he didn't know he would win this one. He found his thoughts turning to his six comrades in arms and wishing they were with him
"We need to find her." Ezra reached a conclusion he didn't like. "Before Turner does
Victoria turned frightened eyes to her partner. She knew he was capable of defending himself, but the coldness of understanding she saw in his expression chilled her. He was an engaging man, often smiling and witty. He was very smart, she realized soon after she met him, smarter than most gave him credit for. And he had the most gorgeous eyes.... But there was a dark side to him as well, one she couldn't ignore
"You think he might go after her?" Victoria didn't like the thought of her only daughter in the hands of the enemy
"He's getting desperate, and that makes him very dangerous." Ezra got up out of his chair with a grimace, damned hip was getting to be a nuisance, weather must be changing
"Your thinking about your friends again, aren't you?" Victoria sighed. She knew about his past in Four Corners. One drunken night he had told her everything, as had she told him all of her secrets and fears. "Maybe you could ask them to help us
"No." Ezra sighed and shook his head. It had been too long. They probably had forgotten all about him. Not one of them had tried to contact him after he had left Four Corners, and it gnawed at him
"Well," Victoria sat on the divan. "We had best come up with a plan for Turners next possible move
Ezra nodded and looked out the window at the snow-covered mountains. Yes, if would be nice if they were here, but he doubted they even cared about him one little bit. He was a convenient partner, and when his usefulness had ended, he had been cast aside. Ezra swallowed his bitterness and turned his mind to the task at hand.
Leanna sighed and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She had come a long way in the two days she had traveled, and she knew she was close to her goal. Her mother and Ezra needed help, she had seen their faces grow lined with worry and tension in the last year and she knew it was almost time for it all to blow up. She wanted Ezra and her mother to come out on top, not that blackgard Turner.
She had listened to Ezra tell his stories about his time as a peacekeeper in the town of Four Corners, and the six men he rode with, surely one or more of them would help her.
Ahead lay the town she was looking for. In Ezra's records were the locations of each of the other six men and Leanna needed to find the leader. Chris Larabee was her first target. He and Vin Tanner had started a guide outfit, leading people through the mountains to settle in the rough land of Arizona. Most settlers looking for land were headed that way now, and business had been good for them.
Leanna should know, her mother was their backer, anonymously, of course. Most of the rest of the seven had moved West along with them. Buck Wilmington and JD Dunne and moved into the new town of Tucson, JD as a US Marshall and Buck just to tag along and tease his young friend. JD had also married Casey Wells in the last year.
Nathan Jackson and Josiah Sanchez had stuck together as well, Nathan helping any Indian tribe that needed his skills as a healer, and Josiah learning as he traveled and helped Nathan.
It was funny, Leanna mused. They had all paired up where had that left Ezra in the scheme of things? Considering they never came around or tried to contact him, Leanna wondered if their parting hadn't been good. But it was too late for that now, Leanna mused, the stage was pulling into town. Hopefully her information was correct and the men she sought were in town between trips.
She exited the stage with a smile to her companions and began to look around. Now, where WAS the saloon? Surely they would be there this time in the late afternoon. Suddenly, she tripped over a loose board in the walkway and started to fall, she uttered small squeak of surprise. And just as suddenly, a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her and prevented her from falling.
"Careful, Miss." A soft , somewhat amused drawl came from behind her.
She was gently set on her feet, and she turned to look into the most vivid blue eyes she had ever seen. Oh Lord, she had run right into Vin Tanner!
"Oh. Pardon me." Leanna stammered, caught off guard. "I didn't mean to inconvenience you."
"No trouble at all miss." He smiled and she suddenly saw a keen intelligence and lively humor. He tipped his hat to her and prepared to leave.
"If I could trouble you for just one more minute" Leanna stammered, suddenly not knowing hoe to approach this. "Might I ask if your Vin Tanner."
He looked at her intently, and she shivered as he seemed to look right through her. "Yeah, I'm Vin Tanner."
"Umm." Leanna stammered, this was NOT going well at all! "I need your help."
"My help?" He was now puzzled.
"My mother is one of your backers." Leanna explained, hoping to allay his concerns and get him to let her tell her story. "I REALLY need to talk with you. Please?"
"Trouble Vin?" Came a quiet, steely voice from behind her, and Leanna jumped, startled. "Excuse me Miss, I didn't mean to scare you."
"She says she the daughter of our backer." Vin informed Chris. "Needs some kind of help from me."
"From you both actually." Leanna was suddenly timid. Both men exuded such force of personality, she felt dwarfed in its presence. Only Ezra had ever made her feel this way, and now she knew why. There was something about these people, something rare. "Please, I've come a long way and I really need to just speak with you for a few minutes. It's very important."
Chris looked over at Vin and the two communicated silently. Curiosity won out in the end and Chris nodded. "Alright. Where do you want to talk?"
"Anywhere private." Leanna sighed, at least they would listen to her.
"We could use Ridleys office." Vin smiled. "He's never in there this late anyhow."
"Good idea, it'll be private and no one will think it's odd that we are in there." Chris said, his gaze piercingly direct.
"I thank both of you. This really means a lot to me." Leanna walked with Vin who offered his arm to her.
"Where did you travel from." Chris asked, wondering what he might be getting himself into. The girl was no more than sixteen, what was she doing away from her folks?
"Denver." Leanna didn't miss the slight wince the name of the city caused in both men. "You ever been there?"
"No." Chris said shortly, a foreboding feeling washing over him. They were at a doorway and Vin ushered her inside.
It was a Lawyers office, books lining the shelves that ran across three walls. Vin ushered her to a seat and Chris settled across from her. Vin took up a chair between the two, slouching in it. In contrast, Chris Larabee sat strait up in his, tense and curious at the same time.
"Now suppose you tell us what this is all about." Chris offered, trying to curb his usual pessimism. But alarm bells were sounding in his head. Something was about to happen.
"Well. As I said, my mother is your backer. She owns a couple saloons, a Hotel and a few other buildings in Denver, she also backs business she feels are promising, like yours. She and her partner that is." Leanna gulped, now for the hard part. "In the last two years a man named Turner has been trying to marry my mom for her money and when she wouldn't he tried to kill her partner instead. Since then it's been almost a war. People are getting hurt and it just keeps going on and on. We've been trying to get him to stop it, but he won't."
Leanna didn't know just where to go from here. How does one ask another to come into a dangerous situation for a friend they hadn't seen or been in contact with in five years?
"What do you want from us?" Vin asked, puzzled as to where this was going, he had a sneaking suspicion, but didn't want to jump the gun.
"We need help." Leanna looked into Chris's eyes unflinchingly. 'Without it, Mother will surely be at his mercy and her partner dead. He just can't keep fending this madman off by himself, he's getting tired."
"I sympathize with your problem, Lady." Chris's tone was cold. "But other than the fact that your mother is our backer, why should we get involved in this?"
"Because her partner was a friend of yours." Leanna bit the bullet, it was now or never. Now she would find out if the trip all the way out here was for nothing.
"What?" Chris said, startled. "Who is her partner?"
Vin tensed up, and Chris looked his way. Who did they know in Denver?
"His names Ezra Standish." Leanna whispered.
She wasn't prepared for the outburst that followed her words.
Chris leapt to his feet, cold anger in his eyes. "I don't know what your game is, but I'm not interested anymore. Tell whomever put you up to this sick joke that it wasn't funny."
"But, I'm telling the truth!" Leanna shrank against the back of her chair, looking over to Vin who hadn't moved.
"Lady." Chris shouted at her. "Ezra Standish is dead. He died five years ago!"
"Died?" Leanna was confused, then it all hit her at once. "So that's why he never heard from you. You think he's dead."
"Lady." Chris began, only to be stopped by a soft drawl.
"Chris." Vin looked at his friend. "What if she's telling the truth."
Chris paused to consider this, then he turned to her once again. "Describe him."
Leanna described him, also telling them of the injury and the recovery from his hip surgery. Of how he spent three months in a chair and his determination to get himself walking again. She also told them how he bought into her mothers failing saloon and helped turn it around. Soon she had them up to the present, just as the sun was setting. Neither man had uttered a word the entire time she spoke.
"It can only be him, Chris." Vin said, wonder in his tone. Ezra wasn't dead. It was a concept that would have to sink in.
Chris just nodded. "You say he's in trouble?"
Leanna nodded, hope finally starting to build in her.
"Vin, telegraph JD and Buck they should be in River Run tonight. Nathan and Josiah are still in town, I'll go get them." Chris looked at her. "You couldn't have picked a better time young Lady. We were all planning on meeting here tomorrow anyway."
Leanna nodded, "Same as every year, I know."
"How do you know?" Vin asked, pausing at the door.
"He kept an eye on you all. If you need anything, he tries to help you out.. He never said why he never tried to contact you, he just keeps it to himself." Leanna yawned, the trip finally taking it's toll on her.
"Why don't you go to the hotel and get some rest." Chris said kindly. "We'll come get you when everyone's here."
Leanna nodded, feeling good about the future for the first time in what seemed like forever.