Author's note: I have taken a writer's liberty of shuffling the episodes of Vendetta and Wagon-train about slightly to allow the time line of this story to work. If this causes you any problems, then please consider this an AU story, but I know that Ezra and Vin were destined to be together :) Sequel to The Biggest Gamble: The Shirt

Charlotte Richmond sat back on the seat of the wagon and eagerly looked about the town of Four Corners. The town was alive with activity in the early afternoon light, and Charlotte was awash with emotions, suddenly she felt alive again, the last seven months with her husband Will had been nothing. She had felt like a flower dying under the winter's snow, but here, now with the anticipation of seeing Vin Tanner, her lover of only a few days, again she was growing once more. She tilted her head up to soak in the rays of the sun and let her mind play with the thought of how pleased her tracker lover would be to see that she had chosen him after all.

"I'll drop you at the local hotel if you don't mind Mrs Richmond." Jacob Pope spoke for the first time in hours. Charlotte smiled benignly at the elderly gentleman who moved his one wagon and two mules from town to town, picking up and trading supplies with the outlying settlements along the way and she nodded eagerly. She had a lot to thank Jacob for, as he was the only one who'd agreed to help her leave her husband and take her back to the town of Four Corners.

As Mr Pope pulled up outside the hotel, Charlotte eagerly clambered down and waited while he dug about in the back of the wagon and retrieved her small collection of bags. She stood up straighter and looked about again, impatient hoping to catch a glimpse of Vin Tanner, the man she had left her husband for and pinned her future happiness on.

Charlotte was very aware that her parting from Vin had not been on the best of terms, and he had indicated clearly that he didn't believe that their relationship would work, but during the long lonely winter, while she had tended to her wounded husband, she had convinced herself that she could soon use her womanly charms and sway Vin to her way of thinking and back into her bed.

Jacob tipped his hat and slowly climbed back onto his wagon. He was nearly sixty years old, and was wise enough to smell trouble on a woman, but when he had first been approached by Mrs Richmond he had felt obligated to offer her the escort that she requested, as he was too much of a gentleman to see a woman in such distress. It was not until they were a day out on the trial that he realised that the only distress the lady was in was of her own making. While she had prettily painted a picture of a poor woman being abused by her brutal husband, it had only take a few hours for him to realised that she had duped him. By then he was too far on his way to turn back. He was personally glad to see the back of her, and after picking up his supplies he planned to be out of town before the trouble he could see she was carrying caught up with her. As he geed his mules up, he shook his head and felt slightly sorry for the man who had fallen into Mrs Richmond's sights.

Ezra Standish was in foul mood, and it clearly showed as he stepped out of the jail and into the bright sunlight of the main street. He had just spent the night in the jail baby sitting a drunken cowboy who'd considered it great fun to shoot holes into the ceiling of the saloon. The gambler very rarely caught Jail duty, and did not normally mind his stint in that position, but last night had been particularly hard as the drunken cowpoke had decided to inform the gambler just why he loved his job of watching cows. It had taken the man over five, long noisy hours to explain the pleasure he got from his job.

"That man needs help... Serious help..." Standish muttered under his breath as he straighten his jacket and placed his hat firmly on his head. "Or at the very least he ought not to be allowed to work with cows...." He squinted up at the sun again and groaned out loud. He had planned to grab a quick breakfast and then retire, but remembered that Vin had somehow managed to talk him into going for a ride this morning. Now, normally Ezra would have made an excuse and arrange to meet the Tracker later on in the day, but the last week had been a bit hectic for all seven of the protectors of the town. Especially as cattle rustlers had sprung up, seemingly out of nowhere, and Chris and his team had narrowly adverted a range war. That being the case Ezra had only seen his lover in passing, sometimes as one was rolling out of their big double bed, the other was dropping into it. No, today Ezra and Vin had put aside several hours for their soul enjoyment of each other and the gambler was prepared to crawl over hot coals before he missed that.

Suddenly the day seemed a lot bright and Ezra smiled as he noted the spring that he slipped into his step. Vin would be waiting for him, and the Tracker had appeared in the night to promise a lazy ride followed by a lunch worth waiting for. Again Ezra grinned as he thought about the actual amount of food he might, in reality, get to eat. The smouldering look in Tanner's eyes when he spoke of the lunch had kept the gambler warm for several long hours.

Vin Tanner came out of the stable and smiled, it was going to be a beautiful day, he could just feel it in his bones, and if given half a chance he would also feel it in Ezra's bones. He had missed the gambler over the last week, and was surprised at how quickly he had grown use to having the other man sleeping beside him. The rustlers had kept the tracker pretty busy following their trial, and when he had managed to climb into bed it had been as Ezra was heading out to cover his share of watching the town. With Chris, Vin, Josiah and Buck out chasing the rustlers it had been up to Ezra, JD and Nathan to keep an eye on the town, which had also coincided with the winter thaw and an influx of people eager to escape their homesteads at the first sign of spring.

Vin moved down the main street, heading towards the jail, he knew from JD that Ezra had had the night watch over some drunken cowboy. He had to smile when he remembered his brief visit during he early hours before he retired, and was now eager to gather up his lover and head out of town for some well earned time together. He was just passing one of the small eating places that had sprung up in recent months, when he heard his name called. He titled his head, recalling the voice, but not quite and was totally surprised when his arms were suddenly filled with a woman, who grabbed tightly about his neck and then lips were pressed against his own, a tongue insistently demanding an entrance to his mouth.

He struggled for a few seconds, arms trying to unhitch the woman's from about his neck, but who ever it was, was persistent and it was several moments before he was able to force the woman back a few paces, and get a good look at her. "Charlotte!!" he gasped, recalling the married woman he had had a brief affair with many months before.

"Oh Vin darling, I just had to come and see you..." she was bubbling over with joy at seeing him, he was as handsome as ever and from that one kiss alone she knew that she could win him back. The fire of passion burned in her eyes.

"Charlotte," Vin began again, the stopped to swallow, he could taste her on his lips and he discovered that he didn't like it, it was not what he was now use to, then looking sharply about he demand, "Why are you here? Where's your husband?"

The woman stood back and titled her head to one side, a confused expression filtering across her pretty face, before she shrugged and with a winning smile she offered up, "Why Vin... he's not here... I've... I've left him... for you... my darling... now we can be together..."

"Left him... For me...." Vin asked his horror growing; his jaw also dropped opened in shock. It was all the invitation that Charlotte needed as she swooped back in and pressed her willing lips once more against the tracker's, who was too stunned this time to force her away.

"Why, Mr Tanner." Came the biting southern tone directly behind them, "I had thought that WE were going to take a ride this morning, but I can plainly see that you have your arms filled with other... pleasurable pursuits."

Vin roughly pushed Charlotte away as if she was a rattler about to strike, but the damage had been done. "Ezra..." he stuttered, "I can explain...." but stopped when a firm hand was held up and the gambler allowed his gaze to slowly travel up and down the woman's body. His lips twisting with disdain when he saw whom exactly it was his lover had been kissing.

"Please Mr Tanner, there is no need to explain." Came back the ice-cold retort, as angry green eyes met Vin's. "Your actions, I fear, explain far more effectively then any words you might chose to use."

By now Charlotte had gather herself and smiling broadly she held out her hand to the Gambler she remembered from the wagon trip. "Why Mr er....Standard? It's a pleasure to met you again." she stated warmly. Blushing sweetly, like a flustered schoolgirl caught in the act of romance after school.

Ezra's glacial gaze slipped from his loves eyes to the woman holding out her hand, he glared at it briefly, then titled his head he raised an eyebrow at her saying in his most Southern upper cut accent, "It's Mr Standish... and you are er... MRS Richmond... isn't it... Tell me my dear, how is your poor wounded husband?"

"Will..." she stammered, almost stumbling back under the burning rage she saw in the other man's eyes. "Why Will is fully recovered from his injuries..."

"And you are here because?" Ezra asked not allowing the woman to finish; suddenly his tone had gone from iced outrage and slippery intent.

Charlotte hearing only what she wanted to, nodded eagerly and offered, grabbing hold of Vin's arm and drawing closer to him she confided quite proudly, "I found that I could no longer live a lie and I've left my husband Mr Standish. I am now free to be with Vin."

Ezra smiled politely, his face frozen for a brief second, before casting a deathly look over towards his lover as he hissed, "Well from the greeting he just gave you, I can only assume that you will be warmly received. Good day to you both." With that he span about on his heels and all but flew across the road and into the saloon.

"Charlotte..." Vin began vainly trying to extract himself from the woman's clutches. He had seen the flare of broken agony in Ezra's eyes just before he had fled, and knew that he lover was deeply hurt by what he thought he had seen, and Vin needed to catch up with him and explain exactly what had happened.

"Vin honey... what's the matter...." Charlotte asked, her face crumpling into confusion, turning to fear as Vin, unable to remove the woman's clingy grasp easily, just grabbed her roughly and forcibly pushed her away, she stumbled backwards as he stated firmly, anger now colouring his tone.

"Charlotte... I'm truly sorry that you left your husband. Especially if you were thinking there was.... Was something between us, but I thought I'd made it clear that there wasn't... it's over... there is not and never can be anything between us..." The last ended as a shout, as she once again reached for him, he side stepped her and actually lightly slapped her hands away before he finished, "...there's someone else now. Someone who means a damn sight more to me then you ever did."" With that he spun about and sprinted across the road towards the saloon, narrowly missing being run over by a wagon in his haste to reach the bar.

Charlotte stood in shock for several long minutes, just looking across the street to where Vin had gone, her mind slowly going over what had just happened, her whole life had just fallen apart. She had left her husband; left him for the man who had just cruelly informed her they had no future together, who had roughly shoved her love aside and told her that there was another woman! Slowly her face-hardened, and her eyes flashed, recalling the anger in Standish's face, the words that the man had tossed at them both, how Vin had reacted to them. Then she recalled how the gambler had fled towards the saloon, and how Tanner had chased after him.

She stumbled back, and somehow managed to slip into a chair that was placed out in front of the boarding house. Was Standish going to tell the other woman about her? Was that why he had rushed into the saloon? Was the other woman a... a saloon girl... a cheap whore... somehow Charlotte didn't think so, there was something just off skitter... not right about Mr Standish's reaction to seeing them kissing, and then Vin's reaction... almost like he was chasing after... chasing after... Mr Standish... Charlotte's world suddenly narrowed to a pinpoint as the reality of what had just occurred slapped her in the face.

She gasped and bending over she hugged her middle, as if to prevent the pain from welling, a cousin back home had been a lover of men, she knew about such things from her father's angry, bitter words on the subject. Louis had been a shame to the family for his god forsaken, perverted way, and yet he showed no remorse for his perversion. Going so far as taking a local farmer's son as his lover, living like a married couple her father had said. Finally he and his male lover had moved away, sold the land that his father had left him and departed to live his life elsewhere.

Biting her lip she knew that Mr Standish was cut from the same cloth as her cousin and Vin! Her poor beloved Vin had obviously been lead astray by his vile perversion, more then likely on the rebound from his love from her, Charlotte, and Standish had taken advantage of her Vin's weakness.

Standing Charlotte pushed back her hair that had come lose and with a shaking hand she straightened her dress, she was a stronger woman then that, she would save Vin Tanner form that man if it was the last thing she did. With that thought in mind she headed back inside. She had plans to make.

Vin entered the saloon at a dead run, only to be brought up short by Buck who was standing looking up the staircase.

"Wooo there partner." Buck said, barely keeping a hold of his beer glass, "what's gotten into you two today?"

"Have you seen Ezra?"

In answer Buck just looked back towards the stairs. He then tilted his head and motioned towards them. Vin gave him a brief glare and hurried after his lover.

Vin opened the door and paused on the threshold. Ezra was frantically tossing items of clothing into a large carpetbag, shoving uncaringly them in, moving from the dresser to the bed, in fluid motion.

"Ezra..." Vin exclaimed, "You're leaving?" He could not hide the fear in his tone.

The man in question paused in his task, surprise falling across his face before it cleared and he snarled, "Not me, Mr Tanner... YOU." It was then that Vin realised that it was his clothes that Ezra was tossing into the bag. "I am merely assisting you in joining your lady love."

Tanner reached forward and snatching the bag from Ezra's grasp, he tipped it up, emptying the contents over the bed, and slung it behind him shouting forcibly, "I am not leaving you... and I especially am not going to join my.... my...." even to say it was distasteful to Vin, but he pushed on, "my lady love.... Charlotte and I are over Ezra... that woman means nothing to me... nothing... not like you do..."

The gambler paused as the bag was snatched from his grasp, and took a deep breath as he tried to steady his raging emotions. He could not believe how angry, how jealous he had been when he had looked up to see that... that woman kissing Vin. He had to fight to resist the urge to drag her away from his lover and slap her into the street. "Then I must caution you against greeting every woman in such a manner, as they will surely walk away with the wrong idea, Mr Tanner."

"Hell Ezra I didn't kiss her... she damn near raped me in the street... I was just coming to get you, when she leapt on me..."

"Really." Standish was unable to keep the incredulously tone out of his voice nor prevent the eyebrow from raising as the tracker's words. Yet, it was the totally devastated look on the Tracker's face that gave him pause. If Tanner was leaving him for the woman, why was he looking so pale and fearful? Letting out the breath he had not been aware that he was holding, he dropped the garment that he still held and sat slowly down on the bed. "Really." He repeated, but this time there was just sorrowfulness about the slummed shoulders and voice.

Tanner seeing that his lover was prepared to listen, sat on the bed beside him and reaching out he gently picked up the other man's hand and raising it to his lips he kissed the palm and offered, "really... Ez... you know what we've been through, what we now have... it's...." He paused at the lump in his throat threatened to overwhelm him, but he pushed it back down as he continued, "it's the best damn thing that's ever happened to me... you... you make me happy, far happier then I've ever been... in my whole life." He lifted his other hand and cupped the precious face of his lover as he finished, "I'm not going to blow this for anyone or anything.... You're it Ezra..."

Standish closed his eyes and lent into the hand, realising that he believed Tanner, that he really had no choice. He loved the man, and he also trusted him. "I'm sorry..." he began, but soft lips pressing against his own prevented him from finishing, and he surged forward into the embrace. Finally as they parted for air he hissed, his green eyes flashing, "damn it I can smell her on you!!"

Vin licked at his lips and sighed when he tasted just his lover. This was the only taste he wanted now. "Remove it from me Ez... take it away... I only want you Ezra. No-one else." He didn't get any further as Standish snarled and with a fierceness that sent Tanner's blood pounding in his veins, his lover proceeded to rip his cloths from his body and claim him once more as his lover, clearly wiping out any preconceived believe that Tanner belong to anyone else. The tracker harshly encouraged his lover as he staked his claim, for this was the only place where Vin wanted to be.

Charlotte looked about the small room that she had managed to rent. It was not what she wanted or had expected. Her thoughts had been that she would declare her love for Vin, and he would take care of her. That had not come about and she knew that Ezra Standish was the reason for this.

She placed her bag on the bed, and sat down. She had to get Vin back - she just had to. There was no way that she could return to her husband, he had made that very clear when she had left. She had no way to support herself and she was not going to become one of those women who ended up selling themselves just to survive. It was that damn fancy gambler's fault. She fumed; he had stolen her man, and like many women before Charlotte Richmond was prepared to fight to get him back, and she would fight dirty.

Standing, she began to empty her beg. First she had to gain employment, for that she would speak to Mary Travis, the woman had always lent her a friendly and understanding hand. From Mary, she could also learn just how many people were aware of Standish's influence over Tanner. Charlotte briefly considered making their affair public, but then she dismissed it, as it would have a detrimental affect on Vin. No, she wanted the gambler punished, but she did not want to lose Tanner's reputation once it was done. After all she planned on marrying the man, once the situation with her husband was sorted.

She changed into her Sunday best dress and after refreshing her face and hair, she made her way over to the local news office. She smiled at Mary as she opened the door and the other woman broke into a bright smile and moved swiftly to embrace her.

"Charlotte." Mary said, her expression warm. "How have you been... is Mr Richmond in town with you?"

Charlotte pulled away from Mary and quickly raised her hanky up to tab at her eyes, which had filled. "No... No.... He's not... he... he..." she burst into tears and Mary rushed to comfort her, wrapping an arm about the quivering shoulders and guiding Charlotte gently into the back room that served as her living room and kitchen area. Once she had settled the crying woman and placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, she also sat and asked gently.

"What happened Charlotte?"

"Oh Mary..." The crying woman began, "it was awful... just awful, Will... he changed... he changed so much," seeing that she had Mrs Travis full attention she began her story, gasping and crying in all the right places as she spoke. "He got nasty Mary... really mean and nasty... he said that he forgave me... but he didn't every day he threw it up in my face... but I tried to ignore it, after all I had done wrong... but then he started to get violent... he would hit me."

"Hit you!" Mary exclaimed as she sat back in her chair in shock.

"Yes, but oh Mary I tried to live with it, I truly did... but once he beat me so bad that I had to miss church and stay inside for over a week..."

"Oh Charlotte it must have been awful... just awful..."

"It was, but then one day." She paused for affect, swallowing hard, "one day he came in with a gun... started talking real crazy like, about how I'd ruined him, his reputation, and how the land was barren and nothing would grow, and it was all my fault."

"Did he threaten you?" Mrs Travis asked, titling her head with concern.

Charlotte know that she had to be careful here as she did not want Mary to speak to her friend Chris Larabee and have them ride out to arrest her husband, as her lies would be discovered. "No... not in so many words, but it was there and I knew that if I stayed he would kill me... so I wanted until Jacob Pope was passing by and begged him to give me a lift into town."

"Will he come after you... Will I mean?" Mary asked, her face now creased with worry for her friend.

"I don't think so," Charlotte explained, calming now that it appeared that Mary was going to believe her, "I left him a letter saying that I was going to return to my family back east." She really knew that she had left Will a broken man, who had literally flung her out of the house on learning that she still hungered after Vin Tanner. No Will Richmond wouldn't come looking for her. She doubted that he had even crawled out of the whiskey bottle.

"So what will you do now?" Mary asked, wondering how she could help the other woman.

"Well, because of the way I left, I er... didn't take much money with me... just the small amount that I had saved, so really I need to find employment, anything.... So that I can get back to my family back East."

"Employment...." Mary repeated slowly, considering the options of employment in the small town, they were very few. "Well, I know that Inez, she runs the Standish Tavern..."

"Standish Tavern... as in Mr Ezra Standish..." Charlotte stammered, unable to hide the flare of hate that washed over her. Luckily Mary missed it as she swiftly assured.

"No... no... Mrs Standish... Ezra's mother owns the tavern, but Inez is the Manger and I know that she had been looking for a cook, come helper in the bar.. now I know that it's not what you use to..."

"Oh Mary I'm not sure that I could work as a... as a saloon girl..." Charlotte blushed as she recalled some of those loose women that she had seen on her trip out west.

Mrs Travis smiled warmly and rested a hand reassuringly on Mrs Richmond arm as she reassured. "No, it's nothing like that Inez runs a very er... respectable bar, and if you work there, I can assure you that you will be treated with nothing but respect... Chris, Vin and the others will see to that."

Charlotte paused considering what Mary had just said, "is that where they er... they go?"

Mary smiled warmly, "yes, they do tend to go there rather a lot."

"Do you think this Inez will employ me?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure she will... I'll have a word with her, she really is a lovely person, and she has been through a similar situation as yourself, so I am sure that she will be very sympathetic." Mary's mine was already leaping ahead as she concerned the best way to help her friend, finally she said, "Now why don't you just drink your coffee and relax and after we'll go and have a word with Inez."

Charlotte did as advised, tossing grateful looks towards the other woman, and as she drunk Charlotte pulled the conversation round to the town and especially seven men who protected it. By the time they had finished talking, Charlotte had a pretty good picture of exactly what was gong on in the town. She noted with interested that Mary, made no mentioned of a particular close friendship between Vin and the gambler, even those Charlotte had expertly questioned her on it.

Within a few hours Charlotte found herself standing in the kitchen beside the lovely Mexican woman who managed the Standish Tavern.

"And this is where I cook most of the food... While I can cook all of the Mexican dishes, I have found that many of my customers really like to have a choice of foods, and I need someone who can cook what they like."

"I have been cooking since I was able to walk. I'm sure I'll be able to cope." Charlotte offered with a warm smile, while looking about the kitchen, it was small but clean and everything was neatly placed.

Inez looked at her for a second then smile broadly before she continued; "you will need to be here fairly early as I offer breakfasts and lunch. If needed, I will require you to work in the bar in the evening, just picking up the left glasses and any food that is ordered. I know the pay isn't very much, but Mary said that you want to head back East, so I can also let you have room and board, if it will help you save your money?"

Charlotte bit her top lip as she considered her options, Inez had already explained that she would not been needed to work behind the actual bar itself, not unless she wanted too. The room and board sounded very promising and it would put her in a position to keep contact with Vin, who she understood spent most evening in the bar with his friends when he was not on patrol. "I'll take it." She said with a bright smile.

Inez nodded her head with a smile and said, "That's good, now let me show you the room, and after you have settled in, you could start tomorrow if you want."

"I could start right now, if you want," Charlotte offered her face showing just the right amount of gratitude. Although she hated the thought of working for this Mexican woman, who was so obviously below her, she did need the money, and in a town the size of Four Corners there were not many opportunities of employment.

Inez smiled again, seeing only the image that Charlotte carefully reflected, and waved the woman ahead of her as she showed her to a small, clean tidy bedroom near the rear of the building.

Vin Tanner nearly bounced down the stairs towards the saloon below, he had spent a very pleasant morning with his lover in their warm bed, and he had only left after Ezra had fallen asleep from exhaustion. A fact he was mighty proud off. He chose to ignore the fact that Ezra had also been up all night. Nothing was going to wipe the grin of Vin's face in a hurry.

Chris looked up as he spied Vin and was unable to keep the smile off his lips, the man just looked so damn happy. "I thought you and Ezra were going for a ride cowboy." Larabee said, as Tanner bounced over towards him.

Vin slouched guiltily down in his chair and reaching over he stolen Chris's coffee, saying as he did so, "we did! Ride that is." There was no mistaking the gleam in his eye.

Larabee was unable to prevent the bark of laughter that burst from his being. He was amazed at how open Tanner now was about his relationship with Standish. Admittedly it was only with the other five peacekeepers of the town, but it still warmed the gunslinger to see his friend looking so happy. "Hear that you and Ezra had a bit of a storm this morning?"

Vin frowned at the words and taking a breath he set the cup down, and explained more calmly then he felt. "Charlotte Richmond's in town..."

"Ar hell." Chris said, his face twisting at the news, that was one woman he just didn't like. "What the hell does she want?" he muttered as he snatched back his cup from Vin's lax fingers.

"Me..." Vin stated, then seeing the look this earned him from his best friend, he held up his hands and hurried on, "but I set her straight... that is well over with.... Only problem was Ez came up and saw her... well her more the enthusiastic greeting and he was less the er... impressed."

"I can imagine." Larabee agreed dryly.

Silence settled between the two men, it was comfortable and lasted until Buck and JD burst into the room. JD was settling his hat on his head, and it was obvious that he had just picked it up from the ground where Buck had no doubt knocked it.

"Any problems?" Larabee asked, leaning forward and moving two spare cups in front of the men and then pouring the coffee. Vin snatched JD's before he could pick it up and the younger man frowned at Vin before he took another cup and poured his own coffee, he glared at Vin when only half a cup appeared before the pot was empty.

"Ah... patrol was pretty quite." JD offered before tossing a glare at Buck and continued, "except for this fool who keeps knocking my hat off."

"Hay, I just want you to understand how easy that hat falls of your head... you need to get a real hat... one that stays on, when a man puts it on his head." Buck stated firmly, before reaching over and attempting to knock the hat in question off again, but JD was too quick for him, and leaning back out of ranged he took a deep slurp of the warm liquid.

"More coffee Gentleman." A voice spoke behind Buck, and spinning about Buck and JD looked on in shock as Charlotte Richmond lent forward and removed the empty coffee pot.

"Mrs Richmond." JD stammered in total surprise, before he quickly removed his hat and stood up.

"Oh no JD... it is JD isn't it." Seeing the nod of agreement she continued, "you don't have to stand up..."

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked, his voice was hard and his manner unfriendly.

Charlotte swallowed hard and was unable to prevent the shiver that swept her body as she looked into the eyes of the man who questioned her. She forced a smile to her lips and answered as strongly as she could. "Miss Inez has been kind enough to offer me employment... I am attempting to gather enough money to return home to my family Mr Larabee."

"Your family." Vin said looking hopeful, then feeling ashamed when he saw the wounded look she threw his way.

"Yes," Charlotte continued, "I have family back east... now if you will excuse me, I will refresh your coffee." With that she picked up the pot, and turning she moved swiftly across the room towards the kitchen.

"Well would you believe that." Buck said, unable to keep the shock out of his tone, as he looked back in the direction that the woman had taken.

"That woman is nothing but trouble." Chris said, his eyes flashing as he contemplated the damage she could to do the small group he now considered family.

"Yeah." Vin agreed under his breath as he wondered what Ezra's reaction would be when he discovered that Charlotte was working under the room where they made love.

Ezra awoke slowly and stretched, he knew that Vin had left the bed, the cold spot behind him informed him of that. Yet, he could not suppress the warm smile that filtered across his face as he remembered the morning activities. Whatever concerns he had harboured about Charlotte Richmond's presence in Four Corners had been swiftly laid to rest by Vin's intense attentions.

Knowing that he must have slept well into the afternoon, he rose and quickly made himself presentable and making his way downstairs he was surprised to see Tanner waiting for him. "I thought you had jail duty this afternoon." He said as the tracker rose and walked swiftly towards him.

"We need to talk." Vin said nervously, reaching out and resting his hand lightly on Ezra's arm. The sound of glass smashing brought both of them about to look towards the bar, where Charlotte was just bending to pick up the tray and glasses that she had dropped. Inez was with her, telling her not to worry about it and to be careful. The two ladies swiftly cleared up the broken glass and continued with their quite discussion.

"What is she doing here?" Ezra demanded with a hiss, his anger building, but stopped when Vin said firmly.

"That's what we need to talk about. Now."

Ezra looked deep into Vin's eyes and saw the building fear there, a fear that he had placed there. "OK." He replied, this time his tone was gentle, as he didn't want his lover to think that it was him, he was angry with.

Tanner felt his fear ease slightly and he offered a grateful smile, which Standish returned and without a word, both men moved swiftly from the room.

Inez watched them go with a smile. Those two just looked right for each other. Then she turned and continued her conversation with Charlotte. The woman had expressed an interest in learning to serve behind the bar, and while Inez had been surprised at the offer, she was not going to turn the help down. "This is called Red Eye, and is a the most common Whiskey drunk in here..."

"Red Eye." Charlotte repeated as she took the bottle that was held up for her inspection. "and this goes in the small glasses?"

"Yes, those are called shots glasses," Inez went on to explain the cost and the amount, and then moved on to beers and the different drinks they severed, right down to the coffee and the price of the meals.

Charlotte spied an expensive looking bottle on the shelve at the back of the bar. Almost hidden from sight "What's this one?" she asked pointing towards it, as Inez had not mentioned it and there only seemed to be one.

Inez looked up and a warm smiled filtered across her face again as she carefully took the bottle and said, "Now that is Brandy... real French Brandy..." Inez smiled as she continued, "Mrs Standish sent it to Ezra for his birthday."

"Ezra... This is Ezra Standish's personal bottle?" Charlotte asked, struggling to keep her tone casual. Seeing the pretty Mexican woman nod she continued, "I suppose he share his drink with his friends?"

Inez laughed good-naturedly and offered, "rarely, he himself only ever drinks it on special occasions, or if he's had a particularly good evening gambling."

"Really." Charlotte said, slowly running her finger up the dark glass bottle, an idea starting to form. Then Inez was moving along the bar, and the older woman carefully replaced the bottle and followed after her, knowing that she had made the right decision to work in this saloon.

Ezra followed Vin into the livery stable and watched while he quickly and efficiently saddled both the horses. The gambler could see by his jerky movements that Tanner was upset, and he wanted to make this misunderstanding as easy as possible. But to do that he had to let Vin get his nervousness out of his system, and the best way to do that was either sex or riding the open range. Standish looked about the stable and knew that sex was out of the question in such a public place, hence he was allowing his lover to saddle the horses while he silence stood by and watched.

They rode out of town still shrouded in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. After several miles Vin pulled his horse up and reaching over he firmly clasped his lover's hand and began, "she says that she is only working at the Tavern until she has enough money to get back east to her family."

Ezra looked down at their joined hands and nodding he swallowed and said firmly, "I trust you Vin... you know that... I was being foolish this morning and it won't happen again..."

"And I love you, you know that don't you?"

Standish smiled warmly at Vin and offered with a slight tilt of his head, "Yes, every time you look at me, Vin, every time you look at me."

"Then you're alright with Charlotte working at the Tavern and being in town?"

Ezra took a deep breath and let it out slowly before he offered carefully wanting to be totally honest with Vin. "Alright might be too strong a word, but I think that I can now accept that she is not a threat to us." He stopped again before he added with a growing smile. "Exactly how much money do you think Mrs Richmond needs to reach her relatives."

"Ez." Vin groaned, but then laughed when he caught the twinkle in the other man's eyes.

"Race yeah." The gambler yelled in a totally unlike Ezra way, as he kicked his horse into a gallop and sped away from his lover. Vin gave a yell of pure pleasure and chased after Ezra, thinking about what he was going to do once he caught his errant lover.

Charlotte spent the next two weeks working diligently in the Standish Tavern. She cooked the food and when needed she worked behind the bar. She smiled and laughed with the customers and made sure she was always polite to the seven men who kept the law in the town, especially the gambler. She went out of her way to be particularly nice to him, and noted that he drunk from his bottle of brandy only twice during the two weeks, usually on Friday or Saturday night.

She also noted the closeness between the gambler and the tracker, and had to stop herself on several occasions from going over and brutally pulling the men apart. They never actually did anything in public that would highlight their relationship. Yet every glance they threw at each other, every smile that creased Tanner's face whenever Standish spoken or whispered to him, tore into her very soul. It was considerably worse at night when Standish and Tanner would retire for the night to play their private game of poker. Her anger grew and her hatred for the gambler bubbled, at night she would dream of hurting the man, of torturing the man the way that he was torturing her. Until finally she woke up and knew what she had to do.

Early the next morning, before anyone else was up she rose and went down to the kitchen, carefully opening a small cupboard at the very back of the store room. With a shaking hand she removed an unopened packet of poison, that Inez has placed there the week before, after rats had been discovered in saloon.

Moving as silently as death in the early dawn, she crept into behind the bar, and carefully slipped some grains of poison into the bottle of brandy that Ezra used. She made sure that she only put a slight amount into the bottle as she did not know if the poison would have a taste to it, and in her twisted way she also wanted him to suffer a slow death. She shook the bottle vigorously, before replacing it exactly in the same spot where she had found it. Then she carefully returned the poison to the kitchen cupboard. She then returned to her room and got ready to start a new day. That morning she walked with a bounce in her step, and a smile on her face, and was especially nice to Ezra Standish.

As she worked, she daydreamed of how Vin would turn to her in his hour of grief, and she would woo him back into her arms and bed, and her future would continue as she had originally planned it, when she first arrived in Four Corners.

The following Friday night the Saloon was crowed and noisy, and all seven of the peacekeepers were on duty. As yet there was no one in the jail, and the cowboys who where in town seemed quite happy to just enjoy themselves noisily without the use of their guns, or fighting.

Chris, Buck and JD where sitting at their usual table, watching Ezra and Vin as they sat at the table on the raised platform. An intense game of poker was taking place, but the gambler was ensuring that it was remaining friendly, and Chris knew that the money would be flowing about the table evenly and that all would leave with approximately the same amount of money that they brought with them.

Josiah and Nathan were taking a turn about the town to ensure that all the establishments were locked up for the night and that nothing suspicious was going on. They had only left a short while before, so Chris was not expecting them back for a while.

He tilted his head to see about the cowboy who stood in his way, and saw Vin disgustedly threw his card on the table a burst of good nature laughing burst from the table at his actions. Chris smiled when he saw Vin nod towards Ezra's empty glass, before he stood and made his way to the bar. Inez was there to serve him, and he ordered his usual beer, Chris smiled again when he saw the expensive bottle of brandy come out from behind the bar. That was usually a sign that Ezra was enjoying the evening.

Vin returned to the table with the drinks and made a big show of handing over the gamblers who, saluted with the glass and a broad smile before he took a sip. He frowned slightly looking down at the glass, but then his attention was pulled away as he tilted his head to listened to one of the other men who addressed him. He smiled briefly, in answered to what was said to him, before nodding his head in agreement before tossing back the rest of his drink, and then began to deal another round.

The evening continued much in the same vein, and by the time the saloon closed up for the night, all of the peacekeepers admitted that it had been a particularly good night. Everyone had had a good time, the town had made some money from the cowboys, and they had gone on their way, happy with the treatment they had received.

Vin lay in bed watching his lover sleep. They had returned to their room and began to make lover, but Ezra had reluctantly stopped it, turning away from Vin saying that he didn't feel well. The tracker had been concerned, and offered to go for Nathan, but the gambler had waved his words away saying that he didn't feel that ill, and that he would be fine by the morning.

Ezra suddenly started up, gasping and clutching at his stomach, swallowing hard he pushed Vin's concerned grasp aside and stumbled from the bed, grabbing the chamber pot under the bed he began to be violently sick. Vin was by his side in a second, gently rubbing his back in smoothing motions while he continued to retch into the bowl until Ezra had nothing left to offer the small pot.

Tanner then assisted the shaking Standish back into bed, they argued slightly about fetching the healer, but Ezra won the agreement by stating firmly that if he still felt bad in the morning then he would go and see him. Vin made sure he was warmly wrapped up before he left to empty the pot. When he returned Ezra had fallen into an uneasy sleep, and Vin spent the rest of the night sitting by the bed making sure that his lover rested as comfortably as he could. As the night wore on Ezra woke again and again to vomit into the pot; he fought any suggestion to get Nathan. Vin desperately wanted to run for the healer, but the gambler was insistent that it was nothing, just something that he'd eaten, and that he would be better in the morning.

Vin spent the worse night of his young life sitting with Ezra, and hated how helpless he felt as he watched his lover fight whatever it was that had caused his sickness.

The next morning Ezra awoke feeling like he been strapped out in the desert for the week, and beaten by a pack of savage beasts. He knew that his lover was worried and had spent the night tenderly caring for him, so he put on his best porker face and struggled from the bed. Tanner was not impressed, and caught Ezra as the world tilted and he slid towards the hard floor, the gambler soon found himself firmly planted back in the bed, and he finally had to admit defeat and agreed that maybe fetching Nathan might be a good idea. Vin was out of the room before he finished groaning his consent.

Vin hurried downstairs, and was pleased to note that Nathan was sitting at their usual place, along with Chris, Buck and JD. He quickly made his way over to them, "Nathan... could you come and have a look at Ezra?"

The darker man smiled and offered, "Did he enjoy himself too much last night?" The smile fell from his face when he saw the flash of real fear in Vin's eyes. "What's wrong?" He demanded standing up.

"He spent the night throwing, Nat, he looks really bad." he spun about and chased after the healer who took the stairs at a fast pace, as soon as he heard Vin's words, over his shoulder Nathan called.

"JD can you go to my room and fetch my bag." The younger man raced out of the room, while Buck and Chris followed the other two men up the stairs.

Nobody had noticed Charlotte, who came from the kitchen at the back to stand behind the bar, slowly she began cleaning some glasses, humming as she did so, her day had suddenly brightened.

Ezra winced as the door was flung open with a loud bang, and Nathan speed into the room closely followed Vin. He sighed when he saw Chris and Buck standing in the doorway. If he hadn't felt so ill, he would have been inclined to give them an earful before he tossed them all out of his room. He hated being ill. But luckily for them, at the moment he didn't think that he could actually move out of the bed, let alone force anyone from his room.

"Hay Ezra," Nathan began, "Vin said that you've been feeling a little under the weather."

"Mr Tanner has a tendency to say things that would be better off left unsaid." Ezra might look like he was deathly ill, but he still managed to put enough bite into his words that Vin winced and looked away guiltily. Seeing this Standish, felt his own guilt wash over him, as he knew that he would not have acted any differently if he had been in his lovers place. "Vin." He said, waiting until Tanner met his look before continuing, "I'm sorry..." He began, but whatever else he was about to say was cut short, as he scrambled to reach for the pot again.

Nathan firmly supported the shaking sick man while he weakly retched into the pot, nothing came up, but the healer could feel the heat rising from the other man. When Ezra finished Nathan laid him back on the bed.

JD appeared in the doorway and pushed pass Chris and Buck, holding out the bag that Nathan had requested. "Thanks JD." He slowly opened Ezra's night-shirt then paused when he felt the other man tense up, he noted that the gambler was staring at the men waiting by the door. "Er.. Chris, Buck could you and JD wait outside while I check Ezra over... I think he'll be more comfortable if you did."

The gunslinger nodded in understanding and firmly ushering the other two men out he quietly closed the door, leaving Nathan and Vin to tend to their sick friend.

Back in the room, Nathan had removed the night-shirt, and was gently feeling about Ezra abdomen. Closely watching the Gambler to gage his reaction. Finally after several long minutes of prodding and poking the sick man, Nathan finally stood up and said, "I think you might have a bit of food poising... I'll give you something to settle your stomach, and then I want you drinking nothing but boiled water that's cooled for the next two days." With that he took some items out of his bag, and using the water and glass on the dressing table he mixed up his herbs and then assisted the gambler to drink.

By the time the concoction was finished Ezra was sweating even harder and looking green about the edges. Nathan seeing this explained, "If you want to be sick, then do... this will either settle whatever it is or bring it up."

"That is very reassuring Mr Jackson." Standish gasped out, before closing his eyes and allowing his exhaustion to sweep over him. Seeing the man finally relax into sleep, Vin asked.

"How bad is he really, Nathan?"

The healer look over towards the Tracker and offered, "I'm not sure... get that boiled water sorted out and I'll come back later and give him some more of this potion... the local Indian's swear by it for their stomach aliments."

"Can you tell Chris that I won't be able to do the patrol today, I want to stay with Ez."

"Not a problem, I think it would be best if you did stay with him. I'll have a word with Inez and get some boiled water up to you." He paused and gave Vin a hard look before he added, "and I meant it about just the boiled water... anything else could set his stomach off again."

Vin swallowed and looking over towards the mumbling Ezra, who was once more tossing restlessly in his bed and offered, "I'll make sure he doesn't eat or drink anything other then what you've said."

In the hallway, the other's waited. When the door opened Chris stepped forward and demand his tone filled with his concern, "What is it Nathan?"

Nathan frowned before he answered, "It's defiantly a stomach upset... now whether it's from something that he ate or something else I can't say... but I will keep a close eye on him today and see how he is tomorrow."

"He'll be alright?" Larabee demanded and the healer was once again amazed to see how protective the gunslinger got whenever one of them was hurt or ill. The man almost oozed concern for his men at such times.

Never-the-less...maybe just the American way of saying that?)Nathan seriously considered the question before he answered, "it's hard to say Chris, without actually knowing what set this off... but if he does what I told him to do and sticks to boiled water only, then I think so, but." He added firmly, "I would like to know what he ate yesterday."

"He had breakfast with us downstairs yesterday," Chris offered, "I saw him at McCanny's lunchtime."

"We were there, " Buck put in waving a hand between JD and himself, "he had the same as you JD...." There was a brittle edge of fear in the older man's tone as he peered as the younger man. "Are you feeling sick JD?"

JD looked startled by the question before he shook his head and offered firmly, "No.... no... I feel fine, and it was only beef stew, and we have stew at McCanny's all the time."

"What about last night?" Nathan asked, "did anyone see what he had to eat last night?"

"He ate here last night Nathan," Chris stated, "had the same as Vin... and Vin looked alright to me just now."

"Yeah... yeah he is.. What about drink... did he have anything different to drink yesterday or last night."

Larabee thought about it before he said, "No... he had coffee with us..."

"And coffee at McCanny's." JD interrupted before Chris carried on.

"Then he was on the red eye, the cowboys got a bottle at the table and they all were drinking it... and he had a shot of his brandy, you know that one that his ma got him..."

Nathan frowned again before he asked, "Did Vin have any of that Red eye?"

"No." Chris said his voice firm, "he was drinking beer last night."

The healer sighed and said, "Well I think we should send someone out after those cowboys and see if any of them are feeling ill this morning... I er..." he paused looking back toward the closed bedroom door before he finished, "I don't really want to leave down, just in case Ezra takes a turn for the worse." The his face brightened as he went on, "we could send Josiah he knows how to mix up the herb drink that I've just given Ezra... as it's an old Indian recipe."

"I'll go with him." Buck said, but Chris interrupted him saying.

"No... let JD go, I want you to take over Vin's patrol today."

The scoundrel of the group slowly nodded, and smiling he said, "No problem."

"I'm going to ask Inez to boil some water and bring it up...." Seeing the looks this earned him from the other's Nathan explained, "It's all I want him to drink for the next couple of days, it will flush his stomach out, and hopefully get rid of whatever this is."

"OK." Larabee agreed, then turning he headed down the stairs. The other men, after casting one last look at the closed bedroom door, silently followed their leader.

Vin lay on the bed, his lover head resting on his lap, as he gently swept his hand over the sweating brow. He had been sitting holding Ezra for the last two hours now, as the other men fitfully slept. He moved his hand down to draw a gently circle over his back, again and again. The movement was desperately gently as he fought back his fear of losing his lover.

"Vin!" Ezra said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Shh.. Ez...it's alright, don't' worry... just rest."

"Vin." Ezra started again, this time he weakly waved his hand about, searching, Vin caught it and held it tightly before he brought it up to his lips and kissed it tenderly. "Vin.... Please."

"What?" the tracker finally asked when it became apparent that the gambler was desperately trying to say something.

"Love you..."

Vin felt his heart catch and his stomach clench and his jaw tighten as he slowly nodded his head, tears spring to his eyes he swallowed hard and replied in a choked voice. "I know babe.... I know.... 'cause I love you too."

The tone of the voice must have slipped passed Ezra suffering because he struggled to turn over on to his back and look up at his lover. Seeing the anguish etched on the beloved face, he gently pulled his hand from Vin's grasp and raised it up to rest on the tracker's cheek saying slowly.

"Mr Tanner... I do hope you... realise that... this is nothing... a mare aliment... of eating... the wrong thing... I shall endeavour... to be more... careful... on what...I ingest in future." Seeing the doubt in the other man's eyes he continued, "I assure you I will be fine by tomorrow."

"You promise?" Tanner asked quietly, a shaky smile now playing about his face.

Ezra looked deeply into his lover's face and answered with total honestly. "I give you my word Mr Tanner."

"Mr Tanner.... Oh Ez...." The tracker said remembering their old arguments of the past, "it's Vin... remember?"

Ezra smiled weakly and offered sincerely in return. "I give you my word Vin."

Leaning down Vin moved in to slowly kiss Ezra, but the gambler moved his head slightly saying with obvious distaste at himself, "I've not be able to rinse my mouth out properly..."

"I don't care." The other man insisted as he gently rested his lips against those of the man who had come to mean more to him, then his own life. He felt as slight resistance, which faded as the mouth under his slowly opened to admit him. He savoured the kiss and deepened it. To him it was a taste of heaven. To Ezra it was a re-affirmation of the tracker's love for him.

Ezra smiled, enjoying the loving attention of the man beside him, and slipped back into a deep healing sleep.

About an hour later there was a gently tap on the door, and it opened to reveal Charlotte standing hesitantly on the threshold.

"What?" Vin demanded his tone harsher then he intended, but he was embarrassed to see her standing there, while he was holding Ezra so intimately.

"Vin..." She began hesitatingly, than taking a breath to steady herself she hurried on, "Inez asked me to bring you up some food..." She indicated the tray she held and waited for him to give her direction as to where he wanted it.

"I'm not hungry." He answered grimly, although this time his tone was slightly softer.

"You have to eat Vin... you need to keep up your strength." She insisted, making as if to move into the room, but the tracker's harsh tone stopped her as he snapped, keeping his voice low so as not to wake the sick man.

"No! I will eat when Ezra does...."

"But you..." Charlotte would have argued, but she suddenly felt a presence behind her, twisting about she saw Chris Larabee standing there. She swallowed hard when she saw the frozen expression in his eyes. "If you're sure Vin." She said, determined not to allow Larabee to chase her away from this chance of seeing Vin, and offering her support. Seeing Tanner firmly shake his head she turned and brushed past Larabee to make her way down the stairs.

"What the hell was she doing here?" Larabee snarled as he entered the room and firmly closed the door behind him.

"Inez asked her to bring some food up." Tanner answered, looking down, as Standish to make sure that Charlotte's entrance had not disturbed him. He was still resting peacefully.

"I'll let Inez know that one of us, will bring the food up to you in future.." Larabee offered, knowing that Tanner was still uncomfortable about the Richmond woman, in fact the gunslinger was surprised that the beautiful Mexican woman had asked her. The tracker smiled his thanks.

"How's he been?" Chris asked, moving over to look down at the sleeping man.

"He was pretty sick after that first lot of medicine that Nathan gave him, but he managed to keep the second lot down, his been sleeping on and off ever since."

"He looks like shit." Chris commented looking down at the pasty white face of the gambler.

"Mr Larabee... I would prefer... it... if you would keep... your opinion... on my looks... to yourself." Came a weak voice from the bed as Ezra spoke up.

Vin broke into a wide smile and offered, "Don't worry Ez, as long as I think you're beautiful, that's all you've got to worry about."

"Talking like that Mr Tanner is only going to have me worshipping the chamber pot again." Ezra commented, blinking owlishly up at the two men. His voice was stronger then before and the fear that had been holding Vin's heart slowly began to release.

"Romance is dead." Vin bemoaned towards his darkly dressed friend, but he got no sympathy as Larabee answered.

"Hell Ezra, if Vin started spurting love poems, I think I might join you..." Chris smiled, before he said, "Joshua and JD just got back, none of the cowboys are ill."

"Cowboys?" Ezra asked, the hint of interest in his tone.

Larabee went on to explain Nathan's concerns about what could have made the gambler so sick, and his fear that other people might have either eaten or become ill from the thing. The conversation moved on to other subjects, with Ezra only showing a slight interest until he drifted back into sleep. Chris remained in the room, vigil over both his men as Vin also slipped into an exhausted sleep.

Charlotte carried the tray back to the kitchen, unable to hide the smile that resided on her face. The gambler had looked ghastly, almost near dead as he lay in Tanner's arms. She frowned pushing down the flare of jealously that swept over her, when she remembered the tender way her one time lover had been holding the sick man.

The gambler was nothing more than an abomination who had used his perverted wiles to win over the innocent tracker, and for that crime she was determined to make sure that Ezra suffered.

"Where were you?" Inez suddenly appeared by her side, looking at the tray with slight frown.

"Oh, someone ordered some food, but when I took it out, he'd left." Charlotte lied, plastering an innocent smile on her face.

"These gringos... they drive us nuts.... No?" Inez stormed throwing down the wet rag that she had been using, "I just caught Samuel sneaking behind the bar again... I had to chase him out into the street."

Charlotte let out a breath of relief. Inez must have been chasing Samuel, the local drunk, when she had come down the stairs. She would have to be careful in future, as she didn't want the Mexican woman to know that she had taken the tray up, as she had already been told that morning, by Inez to give anything requested by Vin or Nathan, to one of the other peacekeepers and they would take it up.

"That Samuel..." Mrs Richmond began with a slight smile. The man was always after just one more shot of whiskey.

"That Samuel indeed," Inez fumed, "if you see him behind the bar you take the broom to him, you hear... he got away with a whole bottle last week..."

"Why do you allow him to come in then?" Charlotte asked in some confusion.

Inez smiled, it was a sweet look as she confessed, "He's not really that bad, and he does do odd jobs about the Tavern when needed, and he cons someone into buy him a drink..." she sighed as she continued, "it's just that occasionally he gets sticky fingers... I'll have to find him another job to do, that way he can stay on the right side of the bar and pay for his drinks." Inez said, before she heard her name called from the bar and went to tend to a customer.

Later that evening Chris sat as his usual table listening to Buck and JD talk when he spied Inez coming towards their table, another bottle of red eye in her hand and a smile on her lips.

"Heard you had to chase Samuel out again." JD said, unable to prevent the wide smile on his lips.

"Oh that man... he can run faster then a jack rabbit when he wants too." The Mexican woman smiled, glancing over towards the man in question who had slipped back into the saloon with the coming of darkness. The man was standing by some local men who, from time to time, would include his glass in the fill ups they were ordering, so he was happy.

"Hay Inez, you know if you want to chase a man, I'll be glad to volunteer." Buck said, a bright smile on his lips and his eyes shining.

The beautiful woman looked at him for a long second before she snapped, "I fear that you will be too easy to catch... and where is the sport in that?"

Before they could get started in one of their famous arguments, Chris interrupted his face serious. "Inez... if you want anything taken up to Ezra's room... get me or one of the others to do it in future."

Inez gave him a funny look and said firmly, "But I usually do Chris."

Larabee shot a hard look across the room, to where Charlotte was working behind the bar, and commented, "Well could you pass that along to Mrs Richmond... she took a tray up to Vin earlier and he was a mite embarrassed about it."

Now the woman was frowning as she offered, "but I told her this morning, when Nathan asked for the boiled water... she knows that already Chris."

Larabee was now starting to look annoyed, "well, can you tell her again... just to make sure that she understood."

Now Inez was biting her top lip, not liking what she was hearing, "when was this... that she took the tray up to Vin." There was an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

"Late this afternoon.... You'd just took off after Samuel." Buck put in, remembering seeing Charlotte heading up the stairs with a tray. Seeing the annoyed look this earned him from Larabee he held up his hands and offered, "I thought she was going to one of the other rooms Chris."

"She had a tray, in the kitchen with her, when I got back." Inez replied, "but she said she had brought it out to the bar for someone, but they had left."

"Why would she lie about it?" JD asked in innocent confusion.

"Why indeed." Larabee repeated as he watched the woman laugh at something that locals had said. "I think we need to keep an eye on Mrs Richmond." The other's followed his gaze and slowly nodded in agreement.

Ezra felt well enough to leave his room the following Tuesday, he had been confined to his sick bed since Saturday and he felt glad to be able to sit outside the Tavern and have Inez bring him a weak cup of coffee. He had been eating Nathan's specially prepared broth for the last day and was getting tired of the water like substance, but he had not be in a position to argue too much as Vin ate a mouthful to each of his. The tracker had almost turned it into a game, supplementing at times a kiss as a prize for eating. Ezra had to smile, as he knew that he would never be able to get enough of his lover's kisses, and this was an excellent way to encourage him to eat.

"How are you feeling Ezra?" Nathan said coming up to sit beside the gambler.

"All the better for being allowed out in the sunshine."

"Well, you just make sure you don't tired yourself out too much." The healer said, not like how pale the man was.

"I'll make sure he doesn't Nathan." Vin said from Ezra's other side.

"When can I get back onto real food Nathan?" the gambler asked, ignoring the glare this earned him from his lover.

The darker man gave the question serious thought before he offered, "How about breakfast tomorrow?"

The gambler thought about it then nodded his head; if he was honest he was not keen to endure another bout of sickness.

"Good," Nathan smiled warmly before he added, "Vin, the moment he starts looking tired, take him in to rest."

"Gentlemen I am sitting right here." Ezra groused, looking from one man to the other.

"Don't worry I will, Nathan." Vin agreed, giving his lover a hard look, the gambler wilted under the determined expression, but as he looked away he was unable to hide the small smile of affection that crossed his face. He quite enjoyed seeing his lover this protective, he'd never really had anyone who cared for him, as much as Vin did, and it sent warm shivers down his body to know that Tanner cared for him enough to argue the point.

"Good." Nathan smiled again, before he stood up and nodding to each man he headed over towards the jail.

The next two weeks passed slowly for Ezra as he was slowly recovering from his bout of sickness. He was now able to eat what he wanted, but was still being cautious about the amount of liquor he drunk, as it still cause his stomach to flip threateningly.

Vin was keeping a watch on his lover, that would have made a mother hen proud, and Ezra allowed it for the most part, the only time he put his foot down was when Tanner had tried to ease up on their love making. The gambler didn't object to the ban while he was feeling so ill, but once he started getting his strength back, he objected strongly and had even resorted to seducing the tracker one evening when they had retired for the night.

While Tanner determination might have been strong. It was not strong enough once those hot lips began their track across his skin, leaving a searing heat along their path. It had been a gentle lovemaking that left both men greatly satisfied, and each fell asleep with a smile on their lips, and a slow rocking bout of sex the next morning on their waking. It was at that point that Vin actually realised that his lover had recovered, and slowly the knot of fear that had built up in his stomach began to relax.

Nathan still refused to allow Ezra to partake in the full duties of the peacekeepers, stating firmly that he was not strong enough to sit a horse for long periods of time. Although Ezra was allowed to sit in the jail and cover that shift of their work, but only during the day and if no one was in the cells. The gambler had accepted this with tight lips and a frown of displeasure, but his arguments stilled on his lips, when Chris told him to shut up and accept the fact that they were not going to allow him to do anything stressful until Nathan give him the go ahead.

Chris Larabee had taken to watching Charlotte Richmond closely. He did not like the way her eyes followed the handsome tracker as he walked across the room, nor the glint of irritation, that boarded on rage whenever Ezra appeared. The gunslinger had heard from Mary Travis, the reason why Charlotte had left her husband, and while he knew that Mr Richmond had a temper, he had also seen a lot of love for his wife in his eyes, and found it hard to believe that he would resort to beating the woman.

To this end he had asked Buck and JD to swing by the Richmond farmstead on their way to delivering some papers that Judge Travis had requested, and find out from Will Richmond exactly why his wife had left him. The two men were due back later that day and Chris would be interested to hear what they had to say.

JD rode quietly beside his friend, they were about an hour's ride from Four Corners and he was still trying to come to terms with what Mr Richmond had told them about his wife.

They had found the man working hard in his field near his cabin, as they had rode up. He had straighten, storm clouds of anger filling his face when he saw who his visitors where, and he reached for his rifle and held it casually in his arms as they approached.

Buck seeing this held out his hands to show that they didn't mean any trouble. Before he could speak Richmond snarled, "if you've come for Charlotte you'd best be looking towards that wife stealing bastard of a bounty hunter that rides with you."

Buck plastered a friendly smile on his face and moved his horse in front of JD's, effectively blocking Richmond's aim at the younger man. "No sir, Mr Richmond, we just want to ask you a few questions about your wife and why she left."

"Ain't none of your damn business." Will spat out as the rifle slow rose to point directly at the man sitting on the larger horse.

Buck still holding his hands out in plain sight offered, "well to be honest Mr Richmond, she has been saying some mighty damning things about you."

Richmond's face twisted into a grimace and he spat out, "no doubt saying that I beat her..." He saw the answer in the other men's eyes. The man before Buck and JD suddenly wilted, and lowering his rifle he offered, "You'd better come in then. I guess you guys deserve to know the truth about the real Mrs Richmond." The way he spoke caused a shiver of fear to trickle up JD's back. The man before them suddenly looked old, worn and broken.

After Will had poured out a cup of coffee for each of them, he settled down and looking at Buck he asked, "how is she?"

Buck gazed down at his drink, looking uncomfortable as he answered, "She doing well... talking about returning to relatives back east."

Richmond snorted and then holding up a hand, which prevented Buck from talking he said, "I seriously doubt that... they wouldn't allow her in, if she knocked on their door." Seeing the strange look this earned him he continued, "our leaving was not entirely on friendly terms." It was his turn to look decidedly uncomfortable as he continued, "your tracker isn't the first man to turn my Charlotte's head... there was a fancy dude back east... Mike Sutton... she played up to him... just like she did your friend."

"And you didn't do anything about it?" Buck asked, this time his voice was gentle, as he could see the pain; this telling was causing the other man.

"Yeah... we argued about it, but she just insisted that they were friends, and after a while I could see that... that he wasn't really interested... Charlotte was... Well... we had Alison back then... our daughter." He stopped, swallowing hard as his voice was catching as he spoke; he swallowed hard again and took a long drink of his coffee, before he continued. "He wasn't a bad man, I guess... he just didn't understand that she was already married, once he found out... he cooled towards her." Again he looked slightly ill at ease as he spoke. "She took to calling on him, in town... it was... not right... got a lot of people talking." He stopped again, lost in his memories.

"Then what happened?" Buck could tell from the way the man talked that there was more to the story and he felt sure that he didn't really want to hear it, but if he was going to get to the information that Chris required, then he needed to.

"Then what happened?" Will repeated tears filling his eyes, "then my beautiful, beautiful, precious Alison died." This time he was unable to stop the tears as they trickled down over his stubble shadowed cheeks.

"Mrs Richmond told Vin that she died of the fever." JD put in, trying to be helpful, but he wilted under the glare that Buck gave him. Will didn't seem to have noticed the mention of the tracker's name as he continued.

"Yes, a fever did strike our town... many died, but I made sure that we stayed clear of it, and it had pass according to the doctors, but I came home one day to find my baby girl ill... she was so sick... throwing up, fever... I got the doctor to her as soon as I could... Charlotte hadn't even fetched the doctor... she kept saying that it was only something she'd eaten... I took Alison into town to see the doctor..." he closed his eyes as the doctor's words came back to him. "There was nothing he could do... she just wasn't strong enough... I lost her that night..."

"We're mighty sorry for the lost of your daughter." Wilmington began, but Richmond waved his words aside, it was as if now that he had begun to talk about it, he was unable to stop himself.

"People began to talk... Alison's death was too sudden for the fever... she had been fine when I left that morning... and it was made worse when Charlotte began telling her friends, that now Alison was dead, Mike Sutton would come back to her... It started people talking, nasty rumours started... it... it became too much... Sutton never came back... he left town, when he stated to get pulled into the rumours... some saying that he might have had a hand in Alison's death... He was horrified... came and spoke to me... man to man... said he was leaving town... apologised for the misunderstanding... I knew what he was saying... could understand how he felt about my wife...I was glad he left town and then, well, we saw the advert for this land... and I persuaded Charlotte that it was what we needed. A fresh start, she agreed to it, as she was by then a virtual outcast, no one would talk to her... they had had enough of her and her lies."

"Her lies?" Buck asked, unable to suppress the uneasy feeling now churning in his gut.

Will shook his head and wiped his hands over his face, he was truly broken by what his love for Charlotte had done to him. He had turned a deaf ear to the warnings from his friends and family, he had finally left them all behind in the hope that he could recapture the love of his wife. Had even chosen to ignore, the implications that he's own child had not died from a natural illness. Bitterly he realised that he could deny it no longer.

"Yeah... she began to tell people that she thought I'd poisoned Alison, that I beat her... that I..." at this point he broke down, unable to say the words, and Buck didn't have the heart to push him any further.

"No more Mr Richmond... I think that you've told us enough." Buck reached out and rested a comforting hand on the distraught man's shoulder as Will began to cry uncontrollably into his hands repeating over and over again.

"I love her... god help me... I still love her..."

JD sat in stunned silence unable to believe the words that Mr Richmond has spoken, and yet they had held an undeniable truth about them. Was it possible that Charlotte Richmond had murdered her own child? Could she have killed the child, in the hopes of regaining the love of the man, who had left her when he realised that she was a married woman, with a family?

They spent the night with Mr Richmond, neither having the heart to leave him to his memories and nightmares. Buck had brought in the bottle of whiskey that he carried, and between them they finished it. In the morning they quietly shook hands and his parting words tore at their hearts. "Tell her... Tell her I still love, and she... she will... always have... a home here."

Buck took a deep breath, pushing his feelings of frustration aside. It was obvious that this man still deeply loved his wife, and nothing she did would ever change that. If only that love was return then their love would be the story of legends.

JD came back to himself and sighed deeply, drawing the worried attention of his friend.

"JD... are you alright boy?" Buck asked, drawing his horse closer to the younger man.

"Yeah." The youth lied, before he continued his tone unable to hide his confusion, "No... no... I'm not.... I mean how could any mother harm her child?"

Buck felt a tear at his own heart, JD had loved his own mother so much, and his feelings had been returned that he simply could not comprehend any mother not loving her own child, finally Buck answered. "I don't know JD... I just don't know... but JD... you need to remember that little Alison might have died from the fever... we only have Mr Richmond's word for what actually happened, and he was pretty distraught about it all... he could have read more into it then there actually was."

"Do you think he was lying?"

"Lying." Buck stated trying to sort out his own feelings with the matter, and finding it hard to do so, "No.... Maybe... it's just hard to say..."

"Don't you think it's strange though.... Mr Richmond said those rumours were about Alison dying because Mike Sutton wouldn't have anything do with Mrs Richmond because of her daughter, kinda like she stood in the way, and now Ezra been so sick and he kinda stands in the way of her and Vin."

Buck closed his eyes and wished that he could push away that same nagging thought that had been plaguing his ride back from the Richmond homestead. Was it just a coincidence? "Let's get back to town and tell the others... Check on Ezra." Buck was unable to stop himself from saying and he was not surprised when JD kicked in his heels and speed off in front of him at a full gallop. Their own fears giving the horses more speed then they thought possible.

Their overnight stay with Will Richmond had delayed their return to town, and it was late Saturday evening by the time they rode into the town of Four Corners.

The fires were lit in the main street and the Standish Tavern was bustling with life, in silent agreement, JD took Buck's horse and headed for the stable, he would unsaddle and settle the horses and then meet up with Buck in the saloon.

Buck found Chris, Vin, Nathan and Josiah sitting at the table near the back of the saloon, and glancing about urgently he saw Ezra quietly playing cards with a couple of gentleman Buck didn't recognise at his usual place on the raised platform. He walked up to the table occupied by Chris and the others and threw himself into the chair that Josiah drew out.

"You're late." Larabee stated his tone sharp and his eyes hard, a clear reflection of his concern.

"Yeah... stopped off at the Richmond place like you asked." Buck offered, accepting the drink that was passed to him.

"Richmond's place?" Vin questioned sitting up, he was not aware that Chris had asked them to do that.

"Yeah..." Chris said as his only explanation. He ignored Vin angry look and demanded, "what did he have to say?"

Buck looked decidedly uneasy and cast a look over towards the bar, only Inez was serving tonight, and then unwillingly his gaze slid across towards the gambler. "How's Ezra been?"

"He's doing fine." Nathan said just as eager to hear what Buck had learned from Richmond, but understanding the other man's concern for his friend. "Been as happy as a sand mite since those men arrived on the stage this afternoon... he's been winning straight up since they entered the place." He smiled and nodded over towards the gambler, noting that Ezra must be happy with his game, as he had his personal bottle of brandy on the table and was slowly sipping from the shot glass in front of him, as he keenly watched the other men's expression as they played.

"He's better... now what the hell did Richmond say?" Chris snarled his gut telling him that Buck was not happy with what he had learned and the fact that he was concerned about Ezra didn't bode well.

Wilmington was glad that JD had offered to see to the horses and knew that the boy had done it for precisely the reason that he didn't want to be there when the ladies man told the rest of them what Will Richmond had told them.

Taking another gulp of the drink before him, he started slowly to go over what he had been told, and as he spoke his words came faster, as he saw that he had their total attention. The other's listened in silence and growing horror. When Buck finally finished Vin gasped out his voice hushed as he denied Wilmington's words, "No... She wouldn't do that.... Not her own child... He's lying... the bastard." While he no longer had even the slightly interest in Charlotte Richmond, he still could not accept that the loving woman he had known was capable of such a cruel act.

"Buck?" Chris questioned the honesty of Will Richmond and Buck answered as he felt.

"I think he was telling the truth Chris... there was... there was just too much pain about the man."

"But why would he want her back if he honestly thought that she'd killed their child?" Nathan questioned his own tone low as if to speak too loud would make the horror seem realer some how.

"Love is a very powerful emotion brothers, it allows even the most horrendous crime to be acceptable if it's your heart that directed it." Those listening shifted uneasy as it sounded as if Josiah was speaking from experience.

"I know that we only have his word about what happened back east..." Buck went on, "but can we really take the risk? If he's right?" As he spoke he threw a telling glance over towards Ezra who was still playing, totally unaware of the conversation that was taking place at the table of his friends.

"I'll kill her with me bare hands, if she even looks in Ezra direction." Vin snarled, the sudden gleam in his eyes boarding on insanity. As the true implications of what was being discussed crashed down on him.

"I think it might be best if you take Ezra out to my place for a few days Vin. Give us sometime to contact the Judge, see if he can dig up any more information about all this." Larabee said, before he took a swallow of his own drink. "We might be seeing more in this then there actually is... after all Ezra's been fine the last two weeks, and we DO only have Will Richmond's word for what actually happened back East."

Just then JD strode into the saloon and moved swiftly over towards them, he sat down and with a shaky hand reached out and poured himself a shot of whisky into one of the spare glasses that Inez always left on their table.

Chris seeing how pale the lad looked said firmly, "Buck, JD get some rest tonight, we'll talk more about this in the morning..."

"Where is she?" Buck asked looking about the room for the woman in question.

"Mrs Johnson gave birth this morning and needed someone to help look after her other six children... what with her husband being out of town at the moment. Mrs Richmond offered to help her..." then said, a look of panic crossing his features Chris snapped.

"She's hardly likely to hurt them Nathan, there would be no benefit in it for her."

The other man relaxed slightly and smiled weakly, "yeah... you're right, and anyway, we don't even know if what Richmond said is the truth... do we?"

An uneasy silence settled across the table as no one answered his question.

Vin started awake with the knowledge that something was wrong, very wrong.

The evening had broken up a little while after Buck and JD return with their disturbing revelations about Mrs Richmond. Ezra had wandered over to their table and seeing their long faces had smiled brightly and offered, "well, while you gentleman where over here depressing yourself, I have been showing those gentleman from Kansas the fine art of poker."

"How much did you win?" JD asked, a flash of excitement in his eyes. Ezra had been taking the time to secretly teach him the finer art of the game. They had to do it in secret, as both knew that neither Chris nor Buck would be very impressed, and Nathan would more the likely chase the gambler out of town.

"Enough to ensure that I will be purchasing that new Jacket that Mrs Porter was telling me about." He answered rather smugly. Seeing the sour looks this earned him he frowned and asked, "is there something amiss?"

The other's looked towards Chris who slowly shook his head before saying; "we'll talk about it in the morning."

"What?" Ezra demanded, as the others began to stand. He looked over towards Vin who said quietly.

"I'll tell you later Ez."

The gambler looked at his friends, who were looking far too serious for him to feel settled, but seeing that real worry in Tanner's eyes he slowly nodded. He could see that the last thing Vin wanted at the moment was to go into whatever it was, in front of his friends.

"Well gentlemen." Ezra said before he grimaced and rubbed at his stomach, "I think that Mr Tanner and myself will adjourn for our own nightly game of poker." He looked towards his lover who smiled at his bad attempt at a joke.

"Ezra you feeling alright?" Nathan suddenly demanded not liking the way the gambler was holding himself, almost as if he was in pain.

The man in question straightened, and offered another bright smile, "I can assure you that I am feeling fine. Although I will admit that maybe I was too hasty in returning to my brandy bottle, I found I had no taste for it tonight."

The healer frowned again and wanted to say more, but he realised that he was more then likely over reacting to what he had just heard, and he knew that Ezra would only bulk if he tried to get him over to his clinic, and he knew that Vin would watch over his lover and call him if he was needed, so instead he warned them both. "You make sure you call me if you start to feel worse Ezra... maybe you should leave the brandy alone for a few more days."

"I believe you may be right Mr Jackson." Ezra said as he nodded his head, much like any man in history who wanted to express without words that he was being nagged too much, and giving them a small bow, both Ezra and Vin made their way towards the stairs after saying their goodnights.

That had been under an hour ago, and Vin had kept his promised and explained what Chris had asked Buck and JD to do, and exactly what Mr Richmond had said. The gambler had slowly undressed and settled into the bed, quietly, too quietly. Keeping his opinion to himself. Finally Tanner could stand it no more and demanded. "Well... what do you think?"

Ezra looked slightly green about the gills as he confessed in a quite tone, "having lived with my mother for a number of years I do not find it hard to realise the full potential of a woman, especially one who considers herself in love."

"So you'll go to Chris's cabin tomorrow?" The tracker was almost pleading, and the gambler smiled reassuringly.

"Vin." Lying down beside his lover he reached over and gently creased his face as he continued, "I would never endanger my life needlessly... and as you know, I abhor gambling against the odds, so yes, I will go to Chris' cabin, but only if you'll come with me?"

The ex-bounty hunter let out the breath that he had not been aware that he was holding and leaning into the hand he agreed firmly; "I wouldn't have it any other way." After several minutes of reaffirming their love, they settled down to sleep that claimed them quickly.

Now Vin snapped awake and felt the shivering of the man who lay beside him. He knew that they had only been sleeping a short while, and Ezra shaking was too reminiscent of his recent illness, for it not to scare the tracker. With growing fear he fumbled for the matches, and soon a feeble light splash across the room. Twisting about he looked down at Ezra who was trembling, and muttering in a fevered dream beside him.

"Ez...." not getting a response, he called his lover in a louder voice, his tone laced with fear. "Ezra," he shook the man for good measure. To his surprise the gambler surged up and coughed, as if gasping for breath, then he fell sideways and vomited over the side of the bed, before he slumped forward, semi-conscious. It was only Vin's quick action that saved the gambler from tipping head first over the side of the bed into his own vomit.

Carefully resting him back Vin heard Ezra begin to choke and recognising the signs he grabbed the chamber pot, turning back he swiftly tilted the sick man over it. The gambler was violently sick again, and after he had finished he weakly slummed back, totally spent. The man was so pale, eyes glassy and the heat raising from him informed Tanner that illness this was far worst than the last time.

Once he had settled Ezra up on their collective pillows, making sure that he would not choke, he rushed to the door, and leaning over the rail looking down into the darken saloon below, he bellowed. "Inez..... INEZ!!!" He kept ducking back into the bedroom to check on Ezra and then rushed to call for the woman again.

The Young Mexican finally appeared, in her nightdress with a large shawl wrapped about her, a lamp held firmly in her shaking hands, as she demanded. "Mr Tanner... What is the matter?"

"It's Ezra, his sick again... really sick." She heard the fear in his tone and rushed up the stairs as he continued, "I've gotta got get Nathan... Can you watch him while I go get Nathan?"

"Of course" she agreed moving swiftly pass him into the bedroom. Where she could hear Ezra groaning, as he feebly twisted from side to side, clutching at his middle.

Tanner took of like the devil himself was after him. Josiah, who was doing the night patrol saw him sprint across the road towards Nathan's clinic and rushed to catch up with him.

Vin was frantically pounding on Nathan's door, shouting as he did so. "Nathan... Ezra sick again... NATHAN!!!"

The healer swung open the door, already climbing into his clothes and snatching up his bag, thanking the lord that he had checked it before retiring that evening. Their earlier conversation had made him uneasy.

As they hurried down the steps they met Josiah rushing up. He didn't an explanation as to what was going on; Tanner's shouting must have awoken half the town.

"I'll get Chris and the others...." Josiah said, moving off towards the boarding house.

"Get Mrs Richmond as well" Nathan called out after the other man, "if she's poisoned Ezra in some way, the sooner we know what she used the better." He rushed after the tracker who was already disappearing into the Standish Tavern.

Nathan paused on the threshold of the bedroom as the smell and sight of the sickroom hit him. Ezra was again being sick into the chamber pot that poor Inez was trying to hold steady in one hand as she tried to support him with the other hand. Vin leapt onto the bed behind Ezra and was now holding him steady with his arms wrapped about his waist. The gambler was convulsing on the bed, the very force of his sickness causing him to suffer what appeared to be a fit, as he arms and legs jerked about without any coordination.

"Inez." Nathan cried, rushing over the taking control of the chamber pot, and releasing the woman for another task. "I need water... preferably warm, but cold if that's all you've got, and a bucket."

The Mexican woman rushed off to comply. Ezra finished convulsing and slumped back totally exhausted as he mumbled, "Oh god... oh god..." he was sweating, and shivering and already looked like death, his face was so pasty white, it looked almost grey. He was desperately gasping in breath.

Nathan quickly pulled out a cloth from his bag, and wiped about the sick man's face and neck. "Keep clam Ezra... it's alright... just breath easy... you're going to be alright."

"Breath..." Ezra gasped as his body spasmed and he groaned as he began to be violently ill again.

"Nathan?" Chris called rushing into the room, closely followed by JD.

"Chris pour me some water... quick... I need it now..." Nathan demanded, as he struggled to help hold the other man as he convulsive uncontrollably.

Larabee hearing the real fear in the healer's voice did as requested, and rushing to the sideboard he poured out the water from the pitcher that rested there, the water spilled over his hands as they shook. He pushed the filled glass towards the healer, who stood back saying, "Help Vin hold him..." he then handed over the sick man to Chris, who paled at the responsibility of holding the chamber pot in position while trying to steady the sick man. Larabee glanced up into Vin's face and saw tear tracks on the other's face and realised that Tanner believed that he was watching his lover die. That thought alone, caused him to realise that they very well could be.

Nathan searched in his bag and quickly pulled out two pots, he poured a thick black power, then a few drops of liquid from the other bottle, into the glass until the water overflowed, and he then used his finger to roughly stir the mixture together. Once he was satisfied with the concoction he pushed Chris side shouting at Ezra as he did so.

"Ezra... Ezra... drink this... you need to drink this..." but the other man was too far into his misery to hear. He had stopped throwing up, but was gasping and crying, desperately trying to get air into his tortured lungs. "Hold him..." Nathan ordered both Vin and Chris, who leapt to comply.

JD meanwhile was frozen in shock by the door. Unwilling to move, fearful that he might distracted his friends from their frantic fight to save Ezra life.

Nathan grabbed Ezra's face roughly in one hand and using pure force he opened the other man's mouth and poured the substance down. Ezra choked and coughed, but Nathan forced his mouth shut and held his hand over his mouth, tilting his head backwards as he did so, he then stroked Ezra's throat until he swallowed the black liquid. Ezra was panting in short gasps when Nathan refilled the glass, mixed the potion again and forced yet more of the concoction down his throat, while he shouted, "drink it damn you... swallow." He then slammed the mouth shut and held the nose. Ezra began to struggle in earnest but finally swallowed.

"Hold him." Nathan warned, "and be ready 'cause what he just threw up isn't going to be anything like..." he never got to finish as Ezra reared up and throwing himself forward he spewed over the man standing beside the bed. The black substance, purging the poison from his body with tremendous force.

Larabee froze for a spilt second, unable to believe that Standish had thrown up on him, before he pushed his thoughts aside. The chamber pot and his own clothes' condition were forgotten as they concentrated on just keeping Ezra over the side of the bed. The black liquid that Ezra had been forced to drink was coming back up with a vengeance.

As soon as Ezra paused, Nathan was back forcing more of the black liquid into his mouth and forcing him to swallow. Again and again he convulsive and threw up. Until those watching felt sure, that no man could survive such a vicious attack.

By this time Ezra was semiconscious, supported only by Vin's tight embrace about his middle and Chris holding his shoulders. JD finally moved towards the bed, as if to offer assistance. Then Inez was back, carrying the water and the bucket.

Ezra groaned loudly, before he slumped totally in the other's embrace, causing a cry of utter terror to leave Vin's throat.

"Nathan?" Vin demanded his voice shaking with fear as he felt his lover go limp.

The man in question quickly put the glass down and rested his fingers lightly on Ezra throat, and then he leant back and let out a breath before he said firmly. "He's exhausted... I think he's brought up as much as he can... we'd best let him rest now... Inez" he looked up at the woman in questions. "Can we use another room, while this one is cleaned up."

"Yes, certainly, the one next door is empty..." with that she moved out of the room taking her lamp with her, and when Chris and Vin carried the unconscious man in, she had pulled back the blankets. They carefully rested Ezra down. Nathan followed them and within a few minutes they had cleaned Ezra up and put him in a new nightshirt. Nathan gently pulled the covers up over his friend and rested a hand on his forehead wincing at the heat he felt radiating there.

Suddenly there was a commotion from down stairs and JD jumped in saying. "Buck and Josiah must be back with Mrs Richmond." Vin looked up, murder in his eyes, but Chris reached out and grabbed him before he could move.

"You're needed here Vin." There was no give in the voice, and glancing back at his lover Vin knew that he was right. As the gunslinger stormed towards the door, the tracker said, "Chris..." the man in black turned sharply back. "Do whatever you have to do." The other man smiled, and it caused the tracker to step back in shock, it was like looking the grim reaper in the face and seeing your name reflected in his eyes.

"Vin...Vin." Nathan suddenly called, pulling the tracker's attention back to his lover, "can you hold him while I see if I can get him to drink this."

"What was that stuff you gave him... that black stuff."

"It's a mixture of charcoal and gunpowder, with some herbs mixed in."

"What does that do Nathan?" Vin could hear the tremor in his tone, he felt as if he was recovering from a bout of fever himself. His body was screaming his exhaustion, but he knew it was only the reaction to the terror he had and was still feeling.

The healer seeing that the tracker needed something to take his mind of his fear explained. "They hopefully will soak up whatever is in the stomach, and then cause the person to throw up... if it was poison, I'm hoping that it's purged whatever was left in his stomach."

"Oh god Nathan..." Vin suddenly felt tears spill over his lashes, and Nathan was by his side in an instant reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder saying firmly.

"Vin, I know this is hard, but you've got to think of Ezra... he needs you strong..."

For some reason his mothers voice filtered into his mind and he remembered the last time he'd seen her, fighting the illness that was eating at her body. "Be strong little one." She had said, "we Tanner's are a strong breed.... be strong for me."

"I will." He answered both Nathan and his mother, as he wiped his hands over his face and pushed his hair back. This was not about him. Later, later he could collapse into the dark hole that beckoned him, but not yet. He took a steadying breath and then another. "What do you want me to do." he finally asked, once he had himself under control.

"Let him know that you're here... that he's not alone, if he wakes I need to get this into him." He held up the medicine that he'd mixed up from the warm water that Inez had brought up.

The Mexican women suddenly said, surprising the two men, who had forgotten that she was there, "I'll go and clear up the mess next door."

"You don't have to do that Inez... I will." Nathan offered, torn between remaining with his patient and allowing the woman to do such a distasteful task.

"No... No." she said, "it will give me something to do." The look she gave the healer informed him that she knew what Chris's mission was downstairs and she didn't want to interrupt the man by going down stairs, and yet, she felt so helpless watching the gambler, that she desperately needed something to do. With that she nodded towards Nathan and left.

Chris descended the stairs, his pace slow and his glare deadly and directed at the woman who was in a chair in the middle of the well-lit room. Larabee noted that JD was just finishing with the lamps.

"JD" Chris spoke both calmly and quietly, "I want you to go and check the town."

"What!" JD asked, surprise in his tone as he turned towards his dark clad friend. He stopped the wick he had been using still burning in his hand. "Why?" he began, but the words died out when he saw the look in Larabee's eyes. He shot a nervous look towards the woman who sat still as a statue; she had not a care in the world as she quietly hummed to herself, gently rising her hand to brush her hair back from her face. JD then shot a glance at Buck and Josiah. His eyes widened and he swallowed hard without saying another word he spun about and left the room, without looking back. He knew that the three men left in the room would do whatever they had to, to get the truth out of Mrs Richmond and he also knew that they did not want him to be there when they did.

"Mrs Richmond." Larabee began, moving so that he was almost leaning over the woman.

"Mr Larabee." She stammered, her fingers falling from her hair, as she fought to meet this man's intense gaze. "Why have you had me dragged here like this?"

"Mr Standish is sick again..."

"The poor man..." she said, but her voice lacked the warm note of concern. "I do hope it not fatal." She finished meeting Larabee's look head on. It was at that moment that Chris realised that this woman was not totally sane.

"If I was you." The glint in Chris's eyes suddenly flashed, informing the woman clearly that he too had walked on the path of insanity, and knew it's companionship well on occasion. "I'd be more concerned about how fatal it might be for you."

"Me? Mr Larabee." Charlotte stammered sitting up straighter, realising that this man would not be susceptible to her honeyed words and womanly charms. "I don't know what...."

Buck interrupted her, taking his cue from Chris who flashed a glance in his direction. "I spoke to Will yesterday... he told me about your daughter... Alison."

"Alison?" Charlotte questioned her face draining of colour before she dragged in a breath and screeched, "told you... told you... did he tell you about how he use to beat me when I was pregnant, how he would slap me... kick me, if I was late with his dinner... or the coffee was not to his liking... He made my life a living hell."

"He told us the truth about you and Mike Sutton, how your baby died after the fever had left the area. About how you didn't even bother to fetch a doctor although you said she been sick since morning, and about the rumours that caused you to leave your home back East, and how your lies became too much, and the people refused to talk to you."

"Oh he would tell you that... because he would never admit to being a useless father and husband, and he would always whine about how his farm was failing" she spat the words, and glared that the men who surrounded her, "and how he couldn't get any more credit became his crops failed. I hated that place and I hated him."

Chris suddenly swooped in snarling, "so you killed your daughter because she stood in the way of your affair with Mr Sutton, and now your trying to kill Ezra because in your sick twisted mind you think that Vin might come back to you.."

"Vin loves me..." she snarled attempting to spring up, but Chris's presence over her refused to allow her and she wilted back hissing, "he told me he loves me.... He left you... yes you," her eyes flashed at the darkly dressed gunslinger and laughing in his face she snarled, "Yes, he left the great Larabee to be with me... that's what this is about isn't it..." the gleam of madness entered her eyes again as she ranted, "he left you for me, and that's why you are doing this..."

"What did you use to poison Ezra?" Chris demanded, his voice suddenly as cold as a crypt.

"Poison..." she stopped, her eyes growing with her innocence, as she asked in a child like tone, "Why would I poison Ezra... he is nothing but a cheat and a liar... why would I poison such a person, I feel sure that someone will shoot him one day as soon when they discovered his cheating ways." She stopped breathing heavily and suddenly said, "you accuse me of this... this poisoning and yet you have no proof..." this time she smiled, it was cold and calculating, "stand me before you judge Travis and show him the evidence... see if he will convict me... I think not Mr Larabee, I think not... now if you have finished." She attempted to rise again, but the firm hand of Josiah forced her back into the chair. He had said nothing and yet he felt the woman's evil soul as an aural about her. He could not find it in his heart to forgive a woman who had killed her own baby, and from her reaction, her lack of denial he truly believed that she had. No sane mother would let an accusation like that go unchallenged, but instead she had accused her husband of being less of a man and a whiner, not one word about the loss of her child had passed her lips.

"Mrs Richmond, hear me and hear me good. If Ezra dies you won't go before Judge Travis, for I will drag you out to that tree in the grave yard and I will hang you myself."

"You can't do that." She spluttered her hand going to her neck as if she felt the noose tighten about it. "You can't... Vin wouldn't let you."

Suddenly a voice spoke up from the top of the stairs, it was cold, it was hard and it was deadly. "I'd pay for the rope you murdering bitch." Larabee spun about, his heart clenching at the sight of Vin Tanner clutching the railings as if to support himself. Slowly he began to descend the stairs.

"Vin?" he asked, unable to voice the question that sprung to his lips. The tracker slowly shook his head knowing what the gunslinger was asking he answered.

"He's still unconscious... Nathan asked me to fetch some more water... but I want this woman to fully understand that I will kill her myself... and Chris it won't be with no rope either... that's too fast... I will peel her skin from her body and leave her in the desert for the birds and insects to eat." As he spoke he finished descending the stairs and now stood at the bottom, his eyes hard and his face as stern as any expression that had crossed Larabee's face.

"Vin," Charlotte broke away from Josiah and Larabee and rushed towards him, throwing her at him, clinging desperately to him "you love me, you would never harm me... we are going to run away...go across the boarder... together... remember?" He just looked down at her and then dropping the water jugs, ignoring it's shattering on the floor he forced her hands off him and threw her roughly to the floor.

"If Ezra dies, I will kill you Charlotte... and feel no more remorse for it than I would about putting an mad dog out of it's misery."

"No Vin... No... you love me... you told me you did." She was not looking at him but thumping her clenched hands on the floor, heedless of the water or the broken jug. Then as if the truth finally sunk in, she pushed herself off the floor, onto her knees; tears streaming down her face she took a deep breath and snarled. "He won't live Vin... I might not get you, but neither will you have your bastard lover... He will suffer the torments of hell before he dies..."

Larabee was there and pulling her to her feet he began to shake her back and forth like a terrier with a rabbit. "What did you give him?" But she would only scream and cry, ranting about Vin's love for her, no further words concerning the poison that she had used.

"Vin." Josiah suddenly said, witnessing the look on the tracker's face at Charlotte words of doom. "You'd best get that water back up to Nathan and help with Ezra." The preacher's words seemed to shake the other man from his shock, and with a nod in Chris's direction he moved towards the back of the bar, to fetch the water that Nathan had requested.

Suddenly JD burst into the room, panting, out to breath, his eyes wide and fear rolling off him. Buck caught him when he would have tripped to the floor, and demanded, his own nerves frayed by recent events.

The boy swallowed hard and looked as if he was about to be sick as he stammered, "By... by the stable... Samuel... he's... he's dead... his face... it's... it's.... oh God..."

"Show me." Chris suddenly demanded, tossing the hysterical woman towards Buck who caught her "Buck, you stay here with her... Josiah come with me." Before the scoundrel could even protest they were gone.

There was just enough light from the moon to see the twisted, sprawled body of Samuel Lee. He lay all curled up on himself as if he had died in tremendous pain, his hands were clenched like claws, his knees draw up so tight to his bony body that he looked like a small child folded there.

As they reached him Chris asked, "Josiah?" the preacher bent to look at the body, after Nathan, the tall man was the next person they turned to for medical advice. Josiah knelt down and pulled the body over, gasping at the horrified expression that was frozen across the twisted face. The lips were drawn back in a grimace of snarling proportions, the eyes almost bugging out, like he had been hung, but it was the white stain, the bubbled and burned skin that rested about the man's mouth that caught and held his attention.

"Chris look at this!" He said, pointing to the flaky and bloodied lips, the poor man had obvious bitten through his tongue or cheeks during his struggle with death.

The gunslinger leant in close, and then drew back as the smell from the man's mouth hit him. "What the hell?" he questioned throwing Josiah a look of confusion.

JD suddenly bent and picked up a discarded bottle off the floor, raising it to his nose, Josiah looked up and yelled, "JD NO!!!" the young man froze at the cry and turned wide frightened eyes on the preacher as he leapt up and snatched the bottle from the young man. He held it just close enough to his nose to barely sniff, then he gasped, coughed and held the bottle way, he wiped at his suddenly watering eyes. Then slowly held the bottle upside down, over his open palm, glad for once that the weather was now cold enough for gloves. After a few hard shakes a soggy substance slipped out of the bottle, and Josiah brought it closer to look at it, making sure he held his breath as he did so.

"This is it Chris..." he finally said, holding out the bottle, "wherever is in here, is what she used to poison Ezra."

"That's Ezra brandy bottle." JD suddenly spoke up, but the other two men were already aware of it.

"The bitch." Larabee snarled, and spinning about he ordered, "Josiah can you go fetch that bottle of brandy that we got Ezra for his birthday... then get Mary and Mr Johnson up... we're gonna need witnesses..."

Josiah suddenly understanding what Chris was up to nodded and hastened to do as asked. "JD." Chris went on. "Get the undertaker to clear Samuel off the street... tonight. Then bring that bottle," he indicated the empty brandy bottle that Josiah had carefully placed back on the ground when he left, "over to the saloon and wait outside... until I call you... wear your gloves, and be careful with that..."

"I will Chris." JD stammered, putting his gloves on before he picked up the bottle, he stood holding the bottle like it was the snake from Eden itself.

Larabee satisfied that the younger man would do as he asked, nodded once and returned to the saloon, after watching JD make his way over to the undertakers.

Chris crashed back into the saloon and ignoring Buck and Charlotte he rushed up the stairs, bursting into the room where Ezra was treated, startling Vin, Nathan and Inez. Larabee ignored their startled look and panted out. "It was in the brandy... Ezra's brandy... I don't know what it was... but Samuel must have stolen the bottle sometime tonight and drunk it 'cause he's dead."

"Oh no..." Inez cried, her hand coming up to rest against her cheek in horror.

"What the hell could it have been?" Nathan asked looking at the man who was twisting and turning on he bed, a fever having over taken his weakened body.

"Inez, she must have poisoned the bottle after she started working here... before his first bout of sickness... did you... do you have anything here that should could have used?"

The pretty woman shook her head, before saying, "no, I don't think so.... She wasn't here that long... unless she had it with her!!" Suddenly she stopped, paling as a thought hit her. "My lord..." she prayed and pushing past Chris she hurried downstairs not even sparing a look for the woman being held in place by Wilmington. Inez hurried to the cupboard at the back of the kitchen and knelling down she asked, "Can you fetch me that light." Larabee, who had followed her down like a shadow, did as requested and she reached into the back of the cupboard and pulled out a small packet. "It's been opened." She said standing up and holding out the small packet of poison. "I got it for the rodents a few weeks ago.... But they disappeared so I never used it... never opened it... but now it's open..." she continued, as if she found it hard to believe that her poison had been used to kill someone. "Samuel is dead?" she questioned again unable to stop the tears that filled her eyes.

"It's not your fault Inez..." Chris rested a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder before he continued, "Charlotte put this poison into Ezra's drink... she wanted him dead, you had no way of knowing." With that he span about and rushed back to the sick room.

"Nathan... we think it was this." Chris said coming into the room and holding out the packet of poison. "She put it in his brandy..."

"How many glasses did he have last night?" Nathan demanded, Vin slumped back unable to believe that Charlotte, the woman he had thought he loved at one time had poisoned Ezra. It was just too much for him to take in.

"Vin?" Nathan demanded, throwing the tracker a concerned look, as the other man looked as if he was going into shock.

"I'm not sure, but he usually only had the one, maybe two shots..." Vin finally mumbled, reaching out a shaking hand and using the cloth he held to wipe the perspiration from his lover's brow.

The healer nodded and let out the breath he'd been holding, taking the packet from Larabee he shook out the small crystals out onto his hands. "I think we were lucky, the crystals must have settled at the bottom of the bottle... not dissolved totally, and that mixture I gave him earlier should have cleared any remaining out of his stomach... now we only have to worry about what got into his system."

"Lucky!" Vin suddenly snarled. "You call this lucky?" he pointed towards the sick man.

Nathan took a few seconds to rein in his own anger, and knew that Vin was snapping at him out of his own fear and anger. "Yes, lucky 'cause if he'd had a couple of glasses with this stirred up in the bottle he would have been dead by now... Poor Samuel must have drunk most of bottle in one swallow, poor bastard never stood a chance."

"Will he be alright?" Vin asked, hope flaring in his eyes.

Nathan looked at the tracker and gave the only honest answer he could. "Vin I'm sorry I don't know, the fact hat he's still breathing and no longer being sick... that has to be a good sign."

Chris wiped a hand over his lips and said, "Samuel must have drunk what was left in the bottle, it was empty when we found it... you're right Nathan the poor bastard never stood a chance."

"I reckon the poison was stronger the nearer to the bottom you got Chris... He more than likely didn't suffer too long."

"Hell Nathan, he might not have been sick like Ezra is... but that poor bastard suffered, take my word for it." He said remembering the tormented body and expression.

"What do we do now?" Vin asked looking towards the door.

"You and Nathan stay with Ezra... leave Mrs Richmond to us." Larabee spat the words but neither man felt any sorrow for the fate that was about to befall the murderess.

Chris gave Ezra one last, long look before he turned and made his way slowly down stairs. Mary and Mr Johnson had just entered the room, and were looking confused, Josiah closely followed them, but he had his body slightly turned away form the woman sitting calmly at the table with Buck. Josiah nodded towards Chris and walked over to the bar. Slipping the new bottle of brandy, out from under his coat and placed it behind the counter. He had opened it and emptied half of it out, wincing as the sweet liquid hit and drained into the dirt. He then made a show of picking up a couple of beer glasses and the brandy and carried it from behind the bar and placed it in front of Chris had now sat down opposite Charlotte. The woman paled when she saw the bottle.

"Chris... What is going on?" Mary asked, her face still showing the signs interrupted sleep. Mr Johnson didn't look any better.

"Ezra and Samuel have both been poisoned Mary... Samuel is dead." Chris stated coldly, ignoring the newspapers woman gasp of horror.

"And they think that I did it Mary..." Charlotte turned suddenly wet eyes on her friend, she gave the appearance of having been weeping for some time. "How could they think that..." she pleaded, her tone one of totally bewilderment and innocence.

"You're right... why do we think that... and you were right earlier... we have no proof... no evidence to put before the judge... so I'll tell you what we'll do..." he stopped and looked over towards Mary and Mr Johnson. The older man was frowning, but he knew Larabee well enough to know that he would not do this without a reason. Mary made to protest but Chris snapped, "Trust me Mary... just trust me..." The woman fell silent. Larabee gave her a thankful smile before he turned his full attention back to Mrs Richmond, he continued. "Mrs Richmond is going to drink this." He poured a health slop of the brandy into a beer glass and pushed it in front of the woman. "If she does, she gets to go free and I will personally apologise to her, and pay her enough money to get to her family back east."

"And if I don't?" she asked, her words almost stuttering her fear was so great, as she glanced from the glass in front of her to the man sitting calmly opposite her.

"Why wouldn't you?" he shot back.

She sniffed and pulling herself up she brushed back a stray ribbon of hair saying as calmly as she could. "I can't drink brandy it makes me sick."

"Well I can guarantee not drinking this will make you feel a lot worse then sick Mrs Richmond... now drink." He slammed the bottle down on the table and glared at the woman. Slowly, she reached out a hand and picked up the glass. She was trembling so much that she spilt some of the contents on her hand and she squealed and threw the glass away from her, smashing it on the floor, then she frantically wiped the brandy off her hand, her eyes wide and her face pale.

"Here Mrs Richmond, let me pour you another one... I've heard that the brandy had a stronger taste the near to the bottom of the bottle you get." He said casually, and pushed another half-filled beer glass towards the woman.

Mary and Mr Johnson were frozen in shock at the play that was being enacted before them. Neither was sure what too expect, to this clash of wills was not one of them.

"Drink it." Chris ordered his eyes as hard as flint. "Now." He snarled slamming his hand down on the table and making all in the room jump.

"You can't make me." Charlotte hissed her face twisting with pure rage at what this man was doing to her.

"The hell I can't." he snarled back and standing he made to grab up the bottle, but a voice behind them stopped him.

"I'll drink it Chris." Larabee turned to see Tanner steadily walking down the stairs, his expression hard, his eyes determined.

"Vin!" Chris warned, not sure if the tracker was aware that they had exchanged the brandy.

The other man said nothing as he reached for the beer glass of brandy. Without pausing he raised it to his lips, his eyes firmly resting on Charlotte Richmond. The woman was shaking as she stood there, her look flittering from one person to another. Then just as Vin was about to swallow, she let out a screech of pure terror and leaping forward she knocked the glass from his hand, with enough force to send it smashing to the ground.

"No..." she cried at the same the same time, "you can't die, you're mine." Then before anyone could react, she pushed at the table, roughly over turning it, causing the bottle to smash to the ground. Then she turned triumphant eyes towards Larabee and snarled, "Where is your evidence?"

Chris returned her smile with a cold flash of his own as he called out, "JD."

"Here?" JD said coming into the bar, carefully carrying the bottle that Samuel had taken his last drink from. He had been waiting as requested outside the saloon, listening to the drama unfold.

Chris turned towards Mary and Mr Johnson saying, "I wanted two independent witnesses to see that she wouldn't drink from that bottle... she knew it contained poison because she put it there... that's why she wouldn't drink it, and why she wouldn't let Vin drink it."

"You don't have proof." She screamed again, this time charging towards JD. Buck Wilmington caught her about her waist and threw her non-too gently back down, where she landed sprawled on the ground crying. "He loves me... me... he's mine... that pervert... has... has..." She stopped and threw a look of such hate at Larabee that the man almost stepped back as she snarled, "he's mine... Standish deserves to die for even thinking that he can take what's mine." Gone now was the weeping woman, who was proclaiming her innocence a few moments before, in her place stood a vengeful woman who was justifying her right to take another human life.

Larabee leant forward and hissed, "but it wasn't him who died Mrs Richmond, it was an innocent man. Samuel Lee had done nothing to harm you... nothing.... yet he lies dead out in the street." He pointed out the saloon doors as he continued; pushing home his words when he saw the woman wilt, "he drunk from the bottle that you poisoned and he died, and it wasn't a pretty death...." he finished almost spitting the words.

Charlotte swallowed convulsively before she confessed wildly, "No.... NO.... it wasn't him who was suppose to die... I wanted that bastard Standish to stay away from Vin... he's rotten with wicked ways, and he's trying to take my man away from me." Suddenly the desperation slipped from her once more as she drew a breath and snarled, looking towards the man in question "your mine.... Vin Tanner, you said you loved me... you promised to take me away, remember....by the river...you promised, and you," she glanced toward Larabee and the others, "you'll so jealous of our love, so twisted with bitter jealousy that you are trying to destroy it..." Her eyes flickered over towards Mary Travis and Hal Johnson; both were watching her with open-mouthed horror. She suddenly smiled sweetly as if a switch had been flicked and offered, "I'm going to invite you to the wedding... it's going to be the best this town has ever seen." She smiled over towards Vin, who was standing dead still, as if frozen to the spot. She reached out for his hand, but before she could touch him, Josiah was on her, pulling her away from Tanner as he snarled.

"Buck... help me get this... this woman to the jail..." The scoundrel nodded and Charlotte seeing no pity in the faces before her burst into tears again, holding the sobbing woman between them, Buck and Josiah supported her from the room, as she went all could here her still talking about her plans for the big wedding.

Mary looked at the others and asked, "you said she poisoned Ezra... is he... is he alive?"

"Yes... Nathan's with him, but he can't say if he's going to live or not."

"Why... why did she do it?" Mr Johnson asked, confusion clearly heard in his tone.

Larabee looked at him long and hard, before he answered carefully, "Vin wouldn't leave... the town or us for her... I guess she thought... thought Ezra was a good place to start."

"That woman is mad." Johnson stuttered recalling her confession, "totally insane."

"She was sane enough to plan Ezra's death." JD stated, sounded far older then his years before he offered quietly, "Mary, Mr Johnson... can I escort you back to your homes."

"I guess there isn't anything else to do here." The elderly man said, and after one long look at Chris, Mary nodded in agreement and left with the young sheriff.

When they were gone, Chris turned to look at Vin, who was still standing by the overturned table. "Vin?" The gunslinger questioned, not sure that the tracker was actually with him.

"My god she really did poison him." The bounty hunter stated before his legs gave out under him. Luckily Larabee had been watching him closely and he managed to catch the other man before he hit the floor. With sure support he guided him over towards a chair and sat him down. Then he crouched down in front of him and said firmly.

"This is not your fault Vin... Mrs Richmond put that poison in the bottle... not you... Ezra needs you... Ezra needs you strong... you have to pull yourself together... Nathan has his hands full at the moment just looking after Ezra." Chris then stood, moving behind the bar he pulled out a new bottle of whisky and preceded to pour Vin a healthy slug, which the tracker swallowed in one gulp. Larabee saw colour return to Tanner's features.

Finally after several long minutes Vin looked into Chris' eyes and smiling weakly he offered, "I'm fine now...", he made to stand, but Larabee rested a warm hand on his arm asking.

"You'll be alright?"

The tracker raised a hand and wiped at his eyes, it had been a long night and dawn was nearly on them. "Yeah... I'd better go and give Nathan a hand." He stood and moved towards the stairs, as he began to ascend them, he paused and looking back he said, "Thanks cowboy."

"Anytime." Larabee answered, with a slight smile, watching him disappear up the stairs. "Anytime."

Ezra awoke slowly, it was like clawing up from under the deepest of oceans and he wondered if he would have enough breath to make it. His body just felt so heavy, useless and he was fighting to understand what was happening. One part of his mind was telling him to just open his eyes, that Vin would be there waiting, while another part was saying that their affair, their love for each other had all been a dream, a wonderful, contented dream... but now it was time to awake and get on with his lonely life.

Ezra groaned. He decided in his half sleep state, liked the sound of it... it sounded so normal... so he groaned again, this time he allowed his body to react to it, and relaxed into it. It felt good to be able to issue a sound that encompassed his feelings.

"Ezra?" a voice spoke out of the void. "Ezra... you come on now... open yer eyes."

As usual he responded the Nathan's persistent orders, and slowly he fought to open his eyes. It was hard and he heard Nathan calling his name again and again.

Finally his lids slid open and the light hurt his eyes, he had to admit that he felt like death warmed over, but at least his eyes were open. He squinted, a face was floating above him, but as yet he could not make it out. Suddenly his eyes came into focus and he pulled his head back deeper into the pillow. Then relaxed when he realised that it was Vin. His lover looked worn and tired, his face etched with worry.

"Vin..." he tried to say, but his voice came out as a strangled croak.

"Oh Ezra." The other man gasped, it sounded suspiciously like a sob, his hands reaching out to cup his lover's face, he was unable to prevent the tears from dribbling over his lashes, as he closed his eyes and every so gently kissed the trembling lips under his. As he drew back he took a shaky breath and rested his forehead on Ezra's saying, "I thought I'd lost you."

The gambler was shocked, totally frozen by such an open display of affection from his usually shy lover. "Lose me..." He whispered harshly, his own throat closing with the strong emotion. "Never..."

"Here... Here..." Nathan suddenly butted in, his tone trying to sound harsher then it actually was, "let me have a look at him now..."

Vin smiled sweetly and reluctantly stepped back, allowing the healer to tend to his lover.

"So Ezra." Nathan began, resting his hand on the gambler's forehead, testing for fever. "How do you feel?"

The other man seriously considered the answer before he said, "hum... I've felt better." He finally admitted.

"Do you feel sick? Stomach cramps? Headache?" The healer demanded, resting his hand on Ezra's chest to check his heartbeat.

Again the man on the bed had to consider his answer as he felt really drained, and thinking seemed to be a big problem at the moment. He wondered what had happening, he didn't remember being shot, and felt not pain from a bullet wound. So what had happened to him to make him feel so weak. He had been shot in the past and this certainly didn't feel like this then.

"What happened?" he finally asked, then added as his parched throat refused to be ignored any further, "thirsty." He gasped.

Nathan frowned and looked over towards the door. The sick man glanced pass Vin and saw Chris, Buck, Josiah and JD crowding the threshold. A bite of real fear suddenly bit into his soul and his breathing sped up, as he demanded weakly, "What has happened?" He tried to rise from the bed, but Nathan and Vin leapt forward to prevent him, but they were not needed as he groaned, his stomach rebelling and he slumping weakly back onto the mound of soft pillows. The pounding in his head increased so that he was seeing spots in front of his eyes.

He vaguely heard Nathan through his pain and discomfort. "Ezra, it's alright... take shallow breaths.... Don't worry about it.... You've just been ill.... but your over the worse of it now..."

He lay there panting for a few seconds then realised that the others had moved into the room and were now standing clustered about the bed, "been ill?" he questioned, he was starting to feel decidedly uneasy with the way they were surrounding him.

The healer looked at the other men in the room, and unnoticed by Ezra, he quickly shook his head; he did not feel that the sick man was strong enough to hear the truth. Instead he said, "Ezra... you've been ill... very ill for the last five days..." he winced when he saw the look of disbelief that spread across the gambler's face, but he pushed that aside as he went on, his tone firm. "I really want you to concentrate on getting better, and to do that you need to drink this," he held up some of his home brew tea, "and then I want you to rest again."

The gambler looked at the cup that the other man was holding out to him, his face full of suspicion. Nathan seeing this said in a voice that clearly carried exasperation. "Ezra it will make you feel better... I guarantee it." He finished with a winning smile.

The sick man looked from the cup to Nathan and back again, until finally he accepted, with a slight nod of his head. "Here, I'll help him." Vin offered reaching a secure arm about his lover's shoulders and carefully lifting him higher, then taking the cup he made sure that Ezra was able to comfortably sip the contents.

Nathan moved away and watched with the others as the two lovers interacted. The tracker was determined that Ezra was going to drink every drop, and when the gambler started to bulk half way through, he started to whisper encouragement. Soon he was resting the sick man back on the pillows and handing the empty cup back to the healer. Vin then shifted his body so that he was lying beside Ezra; gently caressing his neck and face until his eyes closed and he slipped back into a healing sleep.

Chris silently watched the interaction and once more thanked the god that Josiah believed in that they had discovered Charlotte Richmond's plans before they had lost the gambler. Although it had been touch and go for quite a few days, as the gambler fought against the bouts of sickness, fever and diarrhoea. Nathan, Vin, Josiah and Inez had been instrumental in ensuring that the man survived and survived in a certain amount of comfort as they cleaned, wash and changed the sick man. They had moved him between the two rooms, ensuring that his bed and sheets were always clean and dry, even Mary and Mrs Porter had assisted by offering to loan items that were needed. A bath had been placed into the larger bedroom, and unbeknown to the sick man he had had more then one warm bath.

"How is he?" Larabee asked as he followed Nathan from the room. The others following and waiting by his shoulder as he asked the question, only Vin remained in the room with Ezra.

The healer looked tired, but pleased as he stated, "he'll be alright now... although that kind of poisoning takes a lot out of you, and it will be a few months before he's back to his old strength."

"But he will be alright?" JD asked, his face splitting open with pleasure.

"Yes, but knowing that man." Nathan went on, "he will want to run before he can walk, and we will all have to make sure that he doesn't overdo it, as he could have a relapse."

"But you said he was better?" Buck said, his eye flashing, and the healer held up his hands saying firmly.

"Yes he is, but those telegrams I got back from those doctors said that he will still be delicate...." He stumbled over the word, "and must rest, no excitement or upsetting him. His body had been under a lot of strain, and he might not be able to fight off a minor illness, a cold could easily turn into pneumonia...." He gave the others a hard look as he continued, "So we make damn sure he takes it easy..."

"Is that why you didn't mention that he was poisoned?" Josiah asked his face still showing that he was not happy with what he had just heard. While he was pleased that Ezra was better, he was very aware that ensuring the gambler rested was going to become a major headache for them all.

"Yes... I really don't want him to know until he has to." Nathan insisted, moving towards the stairs, wanting to take the conversation away from the sick room.

"Nathan." Chris offered, "the Judge is due in town any day now and he is going to want to start the trial as soon as he gets here... you know how uneasy the people are about having her in jail... they act like we are the ones who committed the crime... as soon as the truth is laid out in front of these people the better."

"I can't believe that Will Richmond is bringing that damn lawyer from Eagle Bend."

Will Richmond had arrived in town the day before, and after visiting his wife in the jail had sent a telegram to Eagle Bend.

"The evidence is too strong, that bitch isn't going anywhere expect to the gallows."

"I ain't ever seen a woman hung." JD offered into the silence that followed Chris words, and the gunslinger looked at him and said bitterly.

"She ain't a woman JD... she's a cold blooded killer... and if her husband is to be believed she killed her own baby."

"Any news come back on that Chris?" Buck asked, knowing that Larabee had spoken to Mary Travis and she was using her contacts back east to see what she could discover about the Richmond's family life before they had come out east.

"No, not yet... but she thinks she might be on to something."

They had reached the bottom of the stairs and with a nod they split up. Josiah to return to the jail and relive Reg Harmon, who had offered to sit in the jail, when word of Ezra's waking had reached the preacher. Nathan left to check his stock of medicine at his own humble abode. Buck and JD were due to ride the patrol outside of the town. They had taken to alternating with Ezra's and Vin horses to give them some excise, as Vin had refused to leave his lover's side, and no one had the heart to force him when Ezra had been so ill. Chris, he sat at his favourite table and after smiling at Inez who brought him a beer, he settled to brooding.

Judge Travis arrived in town the next day and his first visit was to Ezra in his sick room. He had been very disturbed when he had heard about the attack, and was surprised at how concerned he was for the younger man.

"So..." Orrin began, seeing Tanner was siting by the bed; he also noted the way the two men had separated hands and leant away from each other when he had entered. He had been in the West and seen life wasted for too many years to let something like affection between two men effect his judgement as to weather or not he liked someone. "Mr Standish, how do you feel?"

The gambler looked slightly surprised but answered well enough. "I'm feeling much better thank you, although Mr Jackson still refuses to allow me to raise from my bed."

"Well from what I understand you were fairly sick there Ezra." Travis said, waving Tanner out of his seat and taking it. "Had a long journey." He said as if by way of explanation to the tracker as he willing gave up his seat.

"And may I enquire as to why you are visiting our fair town again so soon?" Ezra asked, he looked pale and worn, and Orrin could see that the weight had just dropped off the younger man, making him look gaunt and tired.

Orrin raised an eyebrow when he realised that the gambler was not aware that he was in Four Corners to oversee the trial of Charlotte Richmond's for the death of Samuel Lee and the attempted murder of Ezra. He glanced at Vin and saw the flickering fearful look in his eyes, and knowing that the men would have only kept it from the gambler if it was of the utmost important, just smiled and answered, "I never pass up an opportunity to visit my lovely daughter-in-law and Billy had commissioned me to deliver his latest letter and picture to his mother in person."

"A most charming lad." Ezra smiled in return but the old judge could see that he was fighting back exhaustion and standing he said firmly.

"I will be by to see you later young man... now," he reached out and patted the pale wasted hand that lay listlessly on the bed. "You take care of yourself and do as Mr Jackson says."

"I will do my best Judge Travis... but sometimes it is hard." He offered with a gold tooth grin. The Judge let out a bark of laugher, seeing a flash of the old Ezra, and after nodding in a friendly manner towards Vin he left the room.

The Judge then made his way to the jailhouse. He paused just before he entered and gathered himself. He never found it easy to whenever he had to try a woman, and yet he knew that they were more then capable of committing the most horrendous crimes, sometimes with even more cold bloodiness then their male counterpart.

He entered and smiled when he saw the presently surprised look that cross Chris Larabee's face, he knew that he had made good time in reaching the town.

"Judge." Chris said, moving from behind the desk and holding out his hand. He firmly shook the older man's hand. Larabee had a lot of respect for the old Judge, and had always admired the man's ability to cut to the point and see the justice in any situation. Travis proved it with his next words.

"Just saw Ezra." The older man commented dryly, "Looks like hell."

Larabee tilted his head down and smile, "he sure does," He agreed, "but a hell of a lot better then yesterday and the day before."

"But getting better?" Travis queried, a frown marring his craggy features. He was surprised at how fond he had grown of all the peacekeepers he had hired to protect the town of Four Corners.

Chris looked up, directly into the other man's eyes and answered honestly, "we hope so although Nathan is still very concerned about how weak he is, how much weight his lost, and how much stress he can handle."

"Hence you've not told him about this." The judge waved his arm towards the cells.

"No." Was all that Larabee said suddenly looking down at an interesting spot of the floor. Finally he looked up and asked, "Do you want to talk to her?" It was now his turn to indicate the cells. Both men could see Charlotte Richmond sitting on the bunk in the cell. She wasn't paying any attention to the men, as she appeared to be lost in her own world.

"Yes, I understand Mr Richmond is standing by his wife." Seeing the hard look the gunslinger gave him he went on to explain. "He sent me a telegram to that effect... he says that his wife had been unstable since the death of their child... unstable but harmless . Chris?" There was a question in the name and Larabee heard it.

Chris smiled at the judge, it was the smile that froze men in their step, and he said, "The evidence is there judge... Samuel is dead and Ezra nearly died... she did it. She showed no sign of insanity while she was planning it, worked in the saloon as cool as you please, it was only after she was found out that she started to act like this." Again he pointed towards the woman sitting in the cell, before he continued, "she knew what she was doing Judge, and she is going to pay for it."

The older man saw the light of truth in his friend's face, and knew that the woman in the cell was dead either way. If she were not found guilty, she would not be walking free from her crimes. "Let the law will handle this Chris." He said firmly, making sure the gunslinger fully understood that he would not stand by and allow any form of vigilante activity.

Larabee smiled again and tilting his head offered cheerfully, "That's why we sent you the telegram Judge." He then opened the drawer in the desk and drew out the keys, moving towards the cell, he opened the door then moved aside so that Travis could have a quite word with the woman.

"Mrs Richmond." Travis said, wiping a rough hand across his face. The woman turned pale weeping eyes towards him. He remembered her from the courtroom, where the legality of the settlers' claim had been sorted. "How are you?"

"They say that I murdered a man." She spoke with a quivering voice and looked small and frail. Hardly the image of a cold-blooded murderess, as she wrapped her womanhood firmly about her frail shoulders.

"That is what the trial will determine." He stated firmly, before he continued, "I understand your husband has engaged the services of a lawyer from Eagle Bend?"

Mrs Richmond slowly shook her head saying, "No... That lawyer was not available... but I understand that Will had engaged a Mr Simpson from Pine Ridge... he should be here in a few days."

The judge absorbed this information before he said, "Then we will await the arrival of your lawyer before we begin the trial." He turned to go, but Charlotte jumped up and rushed to the bars pleading.

"How is he... have you seen him?"

The judge frowned in some confusion before he asked, "Ezra... are you talking about Mr Standish?"

"No." she snarled her face twisting with bitter hatred, "Vin... have you seen Mr Tanner... He hasn't come to see me..." she moved back, away from the bars, wringing her hands and allowing the tears to beginning to fall. "Why hasn't he come to see me?"

Orrin Travis stood up straighter and snapped, annoyed to have thought that this woman was actually feeling remorse for what she had done, "control yourself woman, you are going to go on trial for murder and your husband has come to support you... if I were you I could concentrate my energies onto that and not anything else." With that he spun about and stormed back towards Larabee.

"What is her interest in Tanner?" the Judge demanded once they were out of hearing of the cells.

Larabee looked slightly uneasy, but then straighten his shoulders said, "Buck is due to take over from me in about twenty minutes, I will met you in the saloon then, and explain it all to you."

The judge glared at the other man, but saw that he was not going to talk to him while in the jail, so he finally nodded saying, "Make it an hour, as I really do have to give my respects to Mary, otherwise I will be missing out on some of the best home cooked meals around while I'm here."

The gunslinger smiled and watched while the other man left. The smile slipped from his face as he returned to his desk. He had overheard Charlotte words to the judge, and her continued obsession with Vin was worrying. Very worrying.

Larabee had a bottle of whiskey waiting when the judge appeared, and he had also asked for Vin to join them. The tracker looked ill at ease, but determined to give the judge whatever information he needed to ensure Charlotte Richmond's conviction. He knew that his lover would never be safe unless that woman was either locked away for life or dead.

"So gentlemen," Orrin said, "what do you need to tell me." He accepted the shot glass that Larabee pushed towards him and poured himself a drink.

Chris looked towards Vin, who slowly nodded and began. "It really started about the second day out on the wagon trial...."

The judge listened, nodding and frowning in places, but he let Vin have his say without interrupting, and when Tanner had finished he asked, "and she returned to her husband when you left them there, at the settlement?"

"Yeah..." Vin sighed and looking suddenly tired he stated, "Mr Richmond had been injured and I just thought that it had made her realise that she wanted him more then me."

"And you had no idea that she was going to return to Four Corners to..." the judge paused as he considered his wording. "To continue your liaison?"

"No sir." Tanner insisted his indignation coming to the fore, "I had no idea that she was coming back..."

"And you are now in..." again the judge paused choosing his words with care, "in a stable relationship?"

Chris drew in his breath saying nothing, but Tanner met him look for look and said without any embarrassment. "Yes... with Ezra... Ezra Standish, that's why she tried to kill him... because of me..." his voice broke at that confession, the strain of guilt was still weighting heavily in his heart, and Larabee interrupted.

"Will this make a difference during the trial Judge Travis?" Chris paused then added, "I mean, will she get a fair trial if that becomes common knowledge?"

Orrin frowned and taking a sip from his glass he said, "Mr Simpson, Charlotte's lawyer is not a fool... he will try to bring it out during the trial, it is a very strong motive, and will increase her chances of pleading momentary insanity, when she learned about your relationship... and I have to be honest with you gentlemen, there will be some that will be shocked and disgusted by it."

"Are you?" Larabee was pushing hard now, leaning forward in his chair, his gaze intense. While he respected the Judge greatly, he wanted to firmly know where the man stood in this, as it was important to know if the judge was going to be bias.

"Chris, I have spent too many of my years seeing this hard country destroy love, I am now a firm believer in accepting it whenever and wherever you can find it... so no, I am neither shocked or disgusted by it." He shot Tanner a hard look, "But I can assume that you have not flaunted it in pubic?"

"No..." Vin answered the relief showing in his handsome face, before he said sharply, least the judge misinterpret his relief, "but nor will I deny it... if it comes out, I'll stand by Ezra and I think he would stand by me... and if this town doesn't like it then to hell with them." He suddenly stood, anger flashing in his eyes as he snarled, "I'm going back up to Ezra... if you need me that's where I'll be." With that he nodded towards both Chris and Orrin and left.

"This could turn very nasty Chris." The Judge advised seriously, watching the young man disappear up the stairs.

"It already has for Samuel Lee." The look in the gunslinger's eyes gave the judge pause and finishing his drink he sadly agreed.

"Yes... yes it has." The judge pressed his lips together for a few seconds before he went on, "That's why I'm going to engaged the services of Bradley Wayne."

"Who?" Chris asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"He's a lawyer out of Kansas City, I want him to prosecute the case... on behalf of the state... he's a good man... knows his job." The older man paused before he finished carefully, not sure how the gunfighter would take his next words, as he seemed very protective of the other two men, "he is also of the same persuasion as Mr Standish and Mr Tanner."

"Same persuasion as Ezra and Vin?" Chris was frowning at a lost now, not understanding what the judge was getting at.

Orrin leant forward across the table and whispered said just loud enough for Chris to hear. "He likes men too."

The gunslinger leant back and wasn't sure if he was supposed to take the judge seriously or not. Travis seeing this explained, "I want to make sure that Mrs Richmond has the fairest trial possible. I'm not sure she would get that if the prosecutor objected to the motive behind the poisoning," seeing Chris frown and realising that he didn't understand he explained, "the prosecutor might allow his own bias to interfere with his ability to present the case properly, and anyway we will need a professional lawyer to outsmart Mr Simpson, and Bradley seemed like our best option. I'll send him a telegram but he owes me a few favours from the past so I expect him to agree to come."

"Why?" Larabee asked, not sure if he was happy knowing that this man was coming to his town, not because of his preferences, but because he would be another stranger who would be taking the trial out of their hands.

"Like I said he owes me a few favours, and I know that he is free at the moment." Seeing Larabee raised brow at the word favour, he snapped, "He worked me with when he first passed the bar... a lot of people would not even open their doors to him."

"If you think it's for the best." Chris finally agreed.

"Yes... yes I do." the judge replied happy that Larabee had been agreeable to his suggestion, and with that he turned the conversation onto the town and daily life of the town of Four Corners.

Bradley Wayne stepped from the stagecoach and looked about with a critical eye. The town was small, and he knew that some people would consider it quaint. He reached up and wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow. He hated the town already. He closed his eyes and pushed his feelings aside. He was here to do a favour for his old friend Judge Travis, and while he did not necessary like the idea, he did owe the man.

"This your bag?" Called the driver as he pulled a large carpetbag across the roof of the stage and tossed it over the side before Bradley answered. Bradley glanced up and then winced as the bag landed heavily beside him.

"Thank you." He mumbled before he reached down and picked it up. Giving it a firm shake to remove some of the street dust that had immediately attached itself to his fairly new bag.

"Hotel's that way Mister." The driver shouted as he pointed down the road. Bradley raised his hand in thanks and walked away. All he wanted was to find a half decent room have a warm bath and then talk Orrin.

He entered the hotel and sighed in relief as the coolness of the interior washed over him. The clerk was looking at him expectantly as he walked up to the counter and he said.

"Mr name is Bradley Wayne.... I believe that Judge Travis has reserved a room form me?"

The clerk looked Bradley up and down slowly, noting his fancy clothes and smiling he twisted the large book on the counter about and said, "Yes, sir he sure has.... Sign here." He then turned and grabbed a key from the row of keys behind him. "Got you the best room in the hotel sir." He stated as he handed the key across. "Right at top of stairs.... looks out right over the main street."

"Thank you." Bradley said, signing the book and then picking both the key and his bag up, he made his way towards the stairs, pausing he asked, "Could you have a bath sent up please."

"Er..." came the unsure tone behind him. "Bathhouse is across the street mister... cost two bits... but the waters hot, and you get to use it first time if you pay for it."

Bradley stopped on the stairs at hearing the clerks words and felt his shoulders slump in defeat. He would have paid Travis back in full after this little trial. As he continued up the stairs he realised that he really hated the town of Four Corners.

After dropping off his bag and then taking full advantage of using the fresh bathwater, at the extra price of a cent, he felt more refreshed and Bradley made his way to the local newspaper office, as the judge had informed him that, he would be there waiting for him.

"Bradley." Judge Travis said, with a genuine smile on his face as he rose and held out his hand.

"Orrin." Bradley smiled back, no matter how he felt about the town; he really did like Judge Orrin Travis. "It's been a long time sir."

"Too long... too long... but I'm glad that you were able to come so quickly."

"Judge." Bradley replied with a wide knowing smile, "it's the least I can do, after all that you have done for me, and I was between trials anyway... as you must be aware, I am in the process of starting up my own law firm in Kansas city."

Orrin looked at the smiling young man before him, and saw that he was sincerer. "Yes, yes, so I had heard..." Then Travis's face fell grim and he said, motioning towards the back of the shop. "Come on through Bradley, my daughter-in-law has some coffee on... and I think that we will need it."

The young lawyer frowned at the judge's expression but followed without comment.

An hour later Bradley was leaning back in his chair, the coffee now cold in his grasp. "So she was attempting to kill this Ezra Standish because he is the lover of Vin Tanner, who was the one time lover of her?" the disbelief was clearly heard in his tone.

"Their affair is not really relevant in this case, as it was Samuel Lee who died."

"Because he stole and drunk the brandy that belonged to Mr Standish, who was the intended victim." Bradley continued making sure he fully understood the implications of the case.

"Yes." Orrin reluctantly admitted.

"The brandy that usually only Mr Standish drunk."

"I know this is going to be a difficult case Bradley, but as I said before, the real victim here was Samuel Lee, and he is dead and that woman did killed him, and it is only by the grace of god that Mr Standish isn't dead as well..."

"Judge... Orrin, if it comes out in court that Mr Standish has a male lover, and that that male lover once ran away with Mrs Richmond... her lawyer could plead insanity due to the ungodly act of a union between those two men, and more then likely get away with it..." Bradley wiped his hair from his eyes and offered dryly, "I guess it's pure luck that Samuel died..." Wayne threw the judge a dirty look and asked, "unless he was having an affair with either Standish or Richmond?"

Travis frowned; he was not pleased, "Samuel's Lee's death was not easy Bradley... rat poison is nothing to be glib about... and" he pushed on when he saw the look of contrition on the others face, "I will not allow my court room to become a forum for debate of man's supposedly ungodly acts with other men... do I make myself clear, and I would suggest that you talk to Mr Simpson.... If Mrs Richmond tried to use that as her defence, then it will also be a very strong motive for her attempting to kill Mr Standish, and will do her case more harm then good. While some people of this town might agree with her, there are others who will only see the tormented death of Samuel Lee, and will demand justice."

Bradley could see why the judge was concerned, he was a man who had a strong sense of justice, and this woman might use other people prejudice to escape the penalty for her crimes. He sighed and offered, "I will speak to Mr Simpson, if he thinks it's in his clients best interest, then he will bring it up."

"If he does, then you can also inform him that I will declare a mistrial and move the trial to another area." Seeing the surprised look this earned him, Orrin carried on, "There are seven men who risk their life every day to keep this town save. Ezra and Vin are two of them, they don't deserve to be run out of this town because of that woman..."

"Then I think we should have a meeting with Mr Simpson as soon as possible, then he can talked to his client and set out the ground rules..."

"That is what I was hoping you would say... I've arrange for a meeting first thing in the morning... and the trial will start the day after."

Bradley sat up sharply saying, "That isn't giving me a lot of time to prepare my case."

Orrin Travis smiled and offered, "you've got the rest of the day, and tomorrow to speak to your witnesses, and you can start right now by talking to Mr Larabee."

The young lawyer stood up and placing his untouched coffee on the table he asked, "Mr Larabee?"

"Yes, a very interesting man, who you do not want to get on the wrong side of."

Bradley sighed as he followed the judge out of the back room through the newspaper office to the main street beyond, "Orrin you always give me such interesting cases."

"Only as long as you keep winning them Bradley." Travis shot back with a wide smile as he ushered the other man out into the main street.