Disclaimers: Ain't mine.
Rating: PG13, language and violence
Authors Note: Thanks to the wonderful encouragement from the Rowdy Bunch and betaing by
Leslie, Judy, and Diana. You guys are the best!! ;-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun had never seemed as hot to Buck Wilmington as it did today. He glanced around the slow moving
townsfolk and then to the batwing doors of the saloon. He couldn't help but keep looking toward it, like it
was some kind of beacon dogging him. He knew he needed to go in there, but he couldn't. Something told him
that the problem would soon come to him.

So, settling into the chair outside the jailhouse, he stared and waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JD knew his momma would roll over in her grave if she saw him now, standing in front of a bar, with a bottle
of whiskey. He shook his head hard, trying to jog some kind of common sense loose, but it wasn't working. As
hard as he tried to forget what today was, he couldn't.

One year.

It had been one year since that horrible incident. He thought he had it under control, but no. Once again
his youth and inexperience won out over his conscience. Annie. His friend Annie. A beautiful woman with two
kids and a husband, but not anymore. Not since he cut her down. It was an accident. The guys had convinced
him of that and the town had forgiven him, but he still couldn't forgive himself.

He downed the brown liquid, feeling the hot, burning sensation cut a ditch into his chest. He gasped, then
swallowed hard. This was only his second glass, but he could already feel the effect of the alcohol.

"Don't think you should be doing this JD." Nathan Jackson had been watching the youth drink his sorrow
away and finally decided he needed to stop it.

"Go away, Nate. I want to be alone." Dunne never looked toward the healer, knowing if he did, he would
lose his nerve.

"I ain't gonna do that, son. The bottle ain't what you need." Jackson paused then continued. "Trust me. It'll
just cause you more heartache."

The sheriff let the words roll over in his head, realizing Nathan was right. He had watched Chris
Larabee sulk at the back of the saloon many times trying to drown his grief in a bottle.

"I know, but I can't get her face out of my head..... seeing her lying there in that bed, all white and
...." JD's voice began to break, so the healer placed a callused hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Death is never an easy thing to swallow, JD, but it is a part of life. You're gonna have to accept that
and go on now." Jackson squeezed the shoulder slightly as he turned to leave. He knew the boy was finished
for the day and felt it was safe to go.

"Thanks, Nate." Dunne turned quickly to thank his retreating friend.

The healer stopped short. "No thanks needed, son. That's what friends are for." He smiled, then once
again headed back to his clinic.

JD also began to smile as he remembered his shadow that had been dogging him since he stepped out of his
room this morning.... Buck. The man hadn't once tried to approach the boy today but yet was never far away.
Dunne turned to the bottle then pushed it away. His memories would never be erased by getting drunk, so
the only thing to do would be to face them and move on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buck had been a little surprised when he saw Nathan exit the tavern, but quickly recovered as he realized
what that meant. JD was safe from himself for the time being. The object of his thoughts emerged before he
could contemplate what else the young man could be trying to do.

Dunne purposefully headed toward the jail, feeling somewhat off balance, but determined nevertheless. He
stopped in front of Wilmington's chair.

"Buck."

"JD."

"Mind if I sit down?" JD didn't know why, but he suddenly felt nervous.

The ladies man didn't answer as he used his foot to pull over another chair. The kid thankfully sank into
its security.

"Thanks."

The two sat in silence, not really knowing what to say.

"Kid.."

"Buck..."

They spoke simultaneously, then glanced at one another breaking into laughter.

"It's okay to feel, JD. No matter whether it's sad, mad, happy, or nothing. That's just the way things
are." Wilmington reached over and patted the boy's arm. "I know. It's....will the hurt ever go away?" Dunne
raised questioning eyebrows to his best friend.

"Yeah, kid, the hurt will go away, but the memory of what happened won't."

JD nodded, knowing Buck was being honest with him. "Then I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it,
huh?"

"I wish I could tell you different, but yeah, that's all you can do." The two men exchanged understanding
smiles and turned their gazes to the town they had been sworn to protect.

"When's Vin and Chris due back?" The sheriff was trying to find any way to curb his thoughts.

"They should be strolling in here anytime. Knowing those two, they'll probably have a band of outlaws
chasing 'em." Buck laughed.

They sat in a healing silence for a few minutes longer until Josiah Sanchez walked up. "Morning brothers."
The ex-preacher propped his large frame against one of the poles holding up the porch, covertly taking in the
condition of the youngest member. "You doing all right, JD?"

Dunne knew the rest of the seven had been worrying about this day for a week now and figured it was time
to put their worries to rest. "I'm fine, Josiah, really."

Sanchez visibly relaxed as he heard the conviction of JD's words. The boy could never hide anything from
them, even if he tried.

"Glad to hear it." Josiah exchanged a glance with Buck, noticing the relief in the gunman's eyes. *Truly
glad.* Before any of the three men had a chance to further their conversation, a shout from the east end
of town had them alert for action.

They all stood at the steps to the jail and stared intently toward the yell. It was Yosemite, the livery
handler. The three took off at a dead run. When they reached the stable, they realized two horses,
riderless, standing outside the livery were causing the commotion.

"I came out heading toward the general store when I spotted them. I tried to get near them, but they won't
let me." Yosemite stared at the peacekeepers, unsure of what to do.

"We'll take care of them, pard. You go on and head wherever you were going." Buck couldn't believe the
calmness in his voice as he stared at the black horses in front of him. He knew those two anywhere. They were
Chris and Vin's.

"I think that's blood on the saddle, Buck." JD was also surprised at the steadiness of his words.
Wilmington just nodded.

"Which one of us should try and approach them? Those two ain't exactly receptive to anybody other then
their owners." Josiah was talking more for himself than anyone.

"I think JD should do it." The three jumped as Nathan spoke, neither realizing the healer was there.

"Yeah, Nate's right. The kid is the best with horses." Buck turned to the boy. "You think you can get them
without spooking them into running?"

Dunne nodded as he started moving forward. The animals were lathered from a hard run and were still breathing
hard. As JD got closer, he could see his earlier assumption was right. Both saddles had dark splotches
of blood on them. The kid swallowed his growing fear and concentrated on the task.

"Easy fellas. Just take it easy." He had learned a long time ago that talking in a low, soothing tone
helped calm the beasts better than anything. He reached Chris's mount first and was able to grab the
dangling reins with ease. "Thats it. Nothing's gonna bother ya now." He slowly made his way to the other
side of the horse and reached out for the reins of Vin's mount. The animal sidestepped slightly but
allowed the boy near enough. "Gotcha." Dunne slowly began leading the two into the livery. Knowing that as
soon as they saw familiar surroundings, they would calm down.

"Good job, kid." Buck and the others were following them inside. As soon as the two mounts were settled in
a stall, Dunne began unsaddling them and handing the saddles to Wilmington.

"There ain't much blood here, so they must have went off the horses just after the injuries." Nathan could
feel the building tension around him.

"JD, Vin's been teaching you some tracking, ain't he?" Buck waited for the kid to join them outside the
stalls.

"Yeah."

"Think you can backtrack and find them?"

The sheriff knew what was being asked of him and was determined he wouldn't let them down. "Yeah."

"All right. Josiah, you help Nate gather all the supplies we'll need while me and the kid saddle the
horses." Wilmington watched the two protectors all but run out of the livery before turning to his task. He
didn't have to look to know JD was right beside him. "You okay, kid?" The meaning of today hit the ladies
man again and he could only imagine what the boy was going through right now.

"I will be, Buck." *As soon as we find Chris and Vin.*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The four had been traveling for over an hour with no luck. "I don't get it. I've followed the tracks
perfectly. The horses definitely came this way, but where are Chris and Vin?" JD felt himself getting
frustrated.

"Take it easy, kid. You're doing great, we'll find them." Wilmington could feel his own frustration, but
he needed to stay in control for Dunne's sake.

"What if they're not here to be found?" Josiah couldn't believe what he just said and apparently the
shocked looks from the other three meant they couldn't either.

"What if Josiah's right? What if whoever shot or did whatever to them, took them?" Nathan didn't know why
they hadn't thought of that before. Vin did have bounty hunters after him always.

"Then we better speed this up." The ladies man spurred his horse into a gallop, urging JD faster.

They had gone another half hour when they found their first clue, in the form of a bullet. Dunne felt the
air from it against his face, immediately crouching low over his saddle. He could hear Buck yelling to
take cover, but the kid had already got that message. He rolled to the ground, then quickly half-crawled
half-ran to a nearby boulder. The volley of gunfire had picked up from both sides.

"Damn." Wilmington was already pissed at being led into a trap, so the searing pain in his side only
added to his mood. He grabbed the bandanna around his neck and tried to staunch the free-flowing blood.

"Buck?" JD's holler made the gunman temporarily forget his trouble.

"JD, where are you?" The gunslinger eased himself up as best he could to try and locate the kid. As his
eyes topped the rock, he spotted the bowler hat bobbing up and down across from him. "Damnit to hell,
kid, get that stupid hat off your head!!" The hat immediately disappeared followed by an inaudible, "my
hat ain't stupid." Wilmington slid back down to the ground once he knew the boy was safe and returned to
his wound. He had heard Josiah and Nathan nearby and knew they were okay, but what about Vin and Chris?

The bullets stopped as suddenly as they had started.

"What the hell?" Sanchez glanced at the healer beside him.

"I think we're about to find out." Jackson had seen movement above them, but wasn't expecting the form of
Chris to appear.

"Listen up down there. We got your two pards here, and unless you want to meet them in the hereafter, I
suggest you go back to where you came from." The speaker made his point as he brought his gun up and
slammed it into their leader's forehead. Larabee slumped to the ground.

"NO! You listen up." Buck stood up, ignoring the agonizing feeling in his right side and the sudden
dizziness, to face the asshole on top of the ridge. "We're here to get our friends and the only way you're
gonna keep them is to kill us all. You understand me?" Wilmington watched the man's face turn from glee into
rage.

"Then you can burn in hell." The gunfire erupted once more as Buck ducked behind the rock once more.

"I don't think that worked Buck." JD's snide remark caused the gunslinger to laugh.

"Well hell, kid, why didn't you tell me beforehand?" Wilmington heard the boy mouth off another retort but
it was drowned by the bullets.

"How bad are you hurt, Buck?" Dunne hadn't missed the blood covering his friend's side when he had stood up
and was trying to keep himself from breaking cover to go to him.

"Don't you worry about me, alright! You just keep your fool head down and give them boys hell." Buck didn't
want the boy to be thinking about anything other than the gunfight.

"Buck, something's going on up top." Josiah had stopped firing to reload his pistol when he caught the
movements from above.

Wilmington also paused to take in the strange happenings. As the four men watched, the enemy seemed
to be dwindling. It was when the bullets stopped once more that they realized what had happened.

"I guess that guy didn't hit Chris hard enough." Buck couldn't suppress the giddiness in his words. "Nate.
You, Josiah, and the kid go check on Chris and Vin while I gather up the horses."

"You stay exactly where you're at Buck Wilmington until Nathan can check you out. I'll get the horses,
and Josiah and Nate can check on the guys." JD was leaving no room for argument.

"Too bad Ez ain't here, I would have just won me some money." Sanchez exchanged knowing smiles as they
headed to the top of the ridge.

"Damnit, JD. I don't need you...." Buck was cut off when Dunne appeared in front of him.

"Look, Buck, Nathan's gonna have enough problems with Chris and Vin, he don't need you adding to it.
Besides, you can't do nothing about it." JD dropped his head so the gunslinger couldn't catch the smirk on
his face. He crouched down to check the man's wound to make sure it wasn't too serious before he went to
gather the horses.

It was bloody, but luckily the bullet had went clean through and didn't look to have damaged anything.
"Looks okay, Buck. You just stay put and I'll be back in a minute." Dunne glanced up and was stunned at the
look radiating back at him. "What's wrong?" JD was sure he had missed something when he saw the sadness
in his best friend's gaze.

"Nothing, kid, just..." Wilmington paused to clear his throat. "You're growing into a fine, young man JD and
I'm proud to call you my friend."

Dunne had no idea what to say. So he just smiled and gripped Buck's hand in his, letting his actions speak
for him. As JD stood to go retrieve their mounts, he heard something else that made his heart happy.

"Damnit, Nathan, would you stop pushing so damn hard." Vin Tanner's grumbling was a sure sign that all was
well with both men.

"At least you can walk, cowboy." Chris's voice was raspy but strong.

"That's only because he was conscious and would have fought me." Jackson was used to the stubborn men and
felt it was his duty to gripe back at them.

They brought the two gunslingers' to sit with Buck so Josiah could go help JD. "Buck, how's the side?" Nate
glanced up at the man as he made a bandage for Larabee's head.

"JD said it ain't nothing bad Nate." The healer nodded and turned once more to his patient.

Vin had been placed next to the ladies man and was now staring at him. Wilmington couldn't take it any
longer. "What!?"

Tanner shook his head as much as his achy body would let him before answering. "Diplomacy against bad guys,
ain't your strong point, huh, Bucklin?" The blue eyes locked with his friend's and they began to laugh until
they both gasped in pain.