“As a Christmas angel you’ve been given a wonderful chance to go back and relive a special time in your life. It is up to you which one. The time of crisis we spoke of has arrived and you will be allowed to spend some time with him but it has to be something you both shared in life. New memories are not allowed.”
She smiled as she thought of the man she loved and the child they’d produced. The first Christmas as a family. “I know where I want to go,” she whispered, her quicksilver voice soft and lilting as she basked in the idea of being with her husband one final time.
“Chris, why the hell didn’t you just stay home?”
“Nathan,” Larabee turned and grabbed for the box of tissues on his desk as a harsh cough tore from his lungs. “I’m fine. It’s just a cold,” he said as he turned back to the medic.
“Yeah, well, that cold’s not gonna get any better if you don’t start looking after it. Now why don’t you let Vin drive you home and you can stop spreading your germs all over the office?” Jackson ordered.
“I said I’m fine,” Larabee tried again, swallowing painfully against his sore throat.
“Chris?”
“Ah, hell, Nathan, I’m not in the mood to argue anymore. Vin!” he called.
“What?” Tanner asked as he stuck his head in the door. “Ya sound like shit, Cowboy,” he grinned as his best friend started coughing once more.
“Thanks, Vin, you’re all heart.”
“Vin, I want you to drive Chris home and make damn sure he stays there,” Jackson ordered.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Larabee’s scratchy voice mumbled.
“Come on, Chris, I’ll get ya home and tuck ya in bed before I come back and finish that paperwork.”
Larabee rubbed his aching head and nodded. “If it means you’ll get the paperwork done then I’ll go home to bed.”
“Chris, take some Aspirin and don’t come back until that cold is gone,” Jackson ordered.
Larabee turned from the medic and reached for his heavy black jacket. He looked towards the window where snow continued to fall covering the town of Billings in a blanket of white. The brightly colored Christmas lights adorning most of the buildings and homes reminded him that Christmas was just a short four days away. The sound of Jingle Bells emanated from a small radio on JD Dunne’s desk and Chris managed a small smile before once more breaking into a harsh bout of coughing.
“Aspirin and bed,” Jackson called after the retreating man. “And plenty of fluids.”
“Sure, Nathan,” Larabee called as he stopped by Wilmington’s desk and picked up the box of tissues, barely pulling two out in order to cover his nose as he sneezed four consecutive times.
“Damn, Stud, go home to bed.”
“Don’t you start, Buck,” Larabee ordered as he walked towards the elevators, Buck’s box of tissues still in his hands.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay, Chris?”
“Vin, I’m not a kid,” he said as he closed the door of Vin Tanner’s Jeep. “Look, I’m just gonna do as Nathan says and go to bed.”
“Alright, Cowboy,” Tanner grinned. “I’ll come back and check on you after work.”
Larabee nodded and wrapped his coat around his body, hitching up the collar in an effort to keep the thick flakes of snow from sliding down his neck. “Damn, it’s cold,” he shivered as he turned and hurried towards his house. He opened the door and walked inside, nodding to his friend that he could leave.
Chris watched the Jeep as it pulled out of his front yard and let the door close slowly behind him. He groaned as he pulled off his coat, his body a mass of aches and pains as he hung the jacket in the closet by the door. He held his chest as another bout of coughing struck him and swore loudly. He hurried to the kitchen fumbling for the bottle of Aspirin he kept there. He poured two into his hands and added another one for good measure. He grabbed a glass and poured water from the bottle in the fridge. He swallowed painfully and looked out his kitchen window.
Larabee smiled as he thought of the beautiful animal he kept there. He knew Pony was warm in the barn but he wanted to make sure. Grabbing his scarf he hurried out the door and pushed through the six inches of snow already on the ground. ‘Nathan’s gonna kill me,’ he thought as he made his way to the barn, coughing harshly.
He felt the snow entering his shoes as he shuffled through it. He grabbed the door leading into the barn and entered quickly, shivering against the chill seeping into his bones. ‘Damn, should’ve grabbed my coat,’ he thought as he rubbed his hands briskly over his arms. “Hey, Boy, how’re you doing?” he asked as he entered the clean, dry stall, smiling at the answering whinny from the beautiful horse. “Guess that means your alright,” Larabee coughed again and held his chest. “Guess I should’ve done as Nathan told me,” he smiled weakly as he brushed the shiny coat. “Sorry, Boy, I need to go lie down he rasped as he replaced the brush, made sure Pony had plenty of feed and patted the animal on the rump. “I’ll get Vin to check on you when he comes out here,” he explained as he turned to the door and hurried out into the cold morning snowstorm.
Once more he fought his way through the snow and made it into his house before his exhausted body gave out. He slid to the floor and waited for the room to stop spinning. Shivering and miserable he stood on shaky legs and stumbled towards his room.
He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his shoes and wet socks. He shivered and coughed as he pulled off his black turtleneck sweater and the black jeans he often wore. He stood up and pulled down the blankets, sliding his sick and feverish body into the warmth he knew he’d find there. He reached for the box of tissues on the night table and placed them on the bed within easy reach. He waited for the trembling to stop, coughing harshly as he tried to find a comfortable spot. Finally his body gave into the exhaustion and he slept, his raspy breathing the only sound in the quiet house.
Vin pulled into the yard, amazed at the amount of snow that continued to fall. So far they’d accumulated nearly a foot of the fluffy white stuff and the weather man promised more would fall overnight. Larabee paid a man to come plough the snow from his driveway and Tanner was glad to see the job was already done. He turned to the man beside him as he stopped the Jeep. “Ya know he’s gonna think you...”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” Jackson interrupted. “The stubborn fool is probably in the barn or shovelling snow or some other stupid thing he thinks needs to be done no matter what.”
Tanner smiled as the medic opened his door and climbed out. “I’ll go check on Pony,” he told the medic as they hurried towards the house.
“Alright, Vin,” Jackson agreed as Vin used his key to unlock Larabee’s home.
Nathan closed the door behind him and stepped into the darkened interior of the beautiful ranch house. He loved visiting Chris or Vin. The two men owned adjoining ranches and their friendship was an amazing thing to behold. There was no such thing as a property line between them, they did things together and now there was a tiny sapling growing between the two homes. A symbol of their friendship and a reminder that it could overcome anything. He shook the thoughts of the ordeal the two men had suffered the year before out of his head. “Chris,” he called as he removed his coat and hung it in the closet. Receiving no answer he moved towards Larabee’s living room only to find it deserted, a shiver of dread tingling down his spine.
He moved towards the bedroom he knew Chris occupied and looked into the room. The harsh breathing told him he’d been right to insist on checking on the older man himself. He hurried to the bed just as a series of hacking coughs issued from the blond.
“Chris,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and touched his boss’s forehead. “Dammit, you’re burning up,” he hissed as a pair of glazed green eyes slowly opened.
“Nate...” Larabee tried but his voice came out as a weak whisper. He grabbed for the tissues as he was again overcome with coughing.
“I knew I should’ve insisted you go to the hospital,” Jackson hissed as he stood to call Vin Tanner.
“It’s just a d...damned cold,” Larabee wheezed.
“Well we’re going to the hospital and we’ll let the doctors decide if it’s just a damned cold or not,” Jackson snapped as he brought the extra blanket up over the shivering man.
“Don’t n...need to go to the h...hospital,” Larabee insisted through another series of coughs.
“Chris.”
Larabee looked to the door as Vin Tanner entered the room. “Vin, Pony alright?” he asked knowing the sharpshooter would’ve checked on the animal while Nathan tended to him.
“Pony’s fine. How’re you feeling?”
Larabee tried to lift his head off the pillow and tried to sit up, groaning as the room once more did an impression of a merry-go-round. He felt strong hands push him back onto the bed.
“You just lie there. Vin, help me get him dressed,” Jackson ordered.
“What’s wrong, Nate?”
“I want to take him to Saint Vincents and get him checked out.”
“Dammit, N...Nathan, I said it’s j...just a cold,” Larabee wheezed.
“Why don’t you just humor me and I’ll apologize for dragging you out in the cold as soon as the doc tells me it’s just a damned cold,” Jackson said as he helped Tanner dress the older man. They placed him back on the bed and Jackson covered his shivering form with a blanket. “Vin, go warm up the Jeep while I get his coat on him,” Jackson ordered.
Tanner looked at the pale, coughing form on the bed and nodded to the medic as he hurried from the room.
Larabee couldn’t find the strength to argue anymore and just let the medic have his way. The pounding of his head made his stomach churn and he kept his eyes closed.
“Chris, we need to get your coat and shoes on,” Jackson said as Tanner came back into the room.
“The Jeep’s ready. Hey, Cowboy, how’re you doing?” he asked as they helped Larabee sit up and slid his boots on his feet.
“C...cold,” Larabee grinned weakly, and once more grabbed for the box of tissues.
“Let’s get your coat on, Chris,” Jackson said as they helped the sick man dress. Jackson wrapped the coat tightly around him and added a woolen scarf around his neck. “Alright, lets get you out of here,” he ordered and helped Larabee to his feet.
“Shit,” Larabee wheezed painfully.
“Easy, Cowboy, we got ya,” Tanner said worriedly as the blond’s legs buckled.
“T...thanks,” he whispered as the two men supported him to the door. By the time they reached the Jeep he was more than glad of their support on his arms.
Vin pulled the Jeep into the Emergency department of Saint Vincents and hurried to help Nathan get the sick man from the Jeep. The two men helped their friend into the hospital and over to the nurses desk.
The red haired nurse looked towards the three men coming towards her. She recognized them immediately and hurried to get a wheelchair for the pale blond.
“Thanks, Sandy,” Jackson said as they eased Larabee into the chair, passing him a box of tissues as the coughing began anew.
“You don’t look so good, Mr. Larabee,” she observed as she took the ear thermometer from the desk.
“I just have a cold,” he wheezed.
“A cold and a fever,” she told him as she took his pulse.
“I’ll take Aspirin,” he assured her.
“Why don’t we see what your the doctor has to say about that,” Sandy smiled. “Nathan, can you see Doreen and get his chart made up?”
“Sure, Sandy,” Jackson said as he watched her wheel Larabee towards a tiny cubicle.
“Alright, Chris, lets get you comfortable,” Sandy smiled as she took a blue hospital gown from the cupboard.
“I can do it,” Larabee hissed, reaching out and taking the gown from the nurse, dropping it as he coughed harshly. “Damn,” he swore as the bout subsided.
“That doesn’t sound good at all,” Sandy observed as she helped him remove his shirt.
“Doesn’t feel good either,” Larabee hissed. “I said I can do it myself.”
“Sick and grouchy. Dr. Turner’s in for a rough time,” Sandy smiled at the pale blond.
“Sorry,” Larabee apologized, knowing she was not responsible for his predicament.
“Are you ready to accept my help?” she waited for the newest round of coughing to end and passed him a box of tissues as his chest heaved.
He ignored the question and finally pulled the gown up over his shoulders. He didn’t have the energy needed to tie the gown around his back and he lifted pleading eyes to the nurse. “Help,” he said softly.
Sandy tied the string at the back of the gown and helped him lie down. She heard the heavy wheeze and raised the head of the bed.
“T...thanks,” he muttered, his voice scratchy from the heavy coughing.
“You’re welcome. Dr. Turner will be in to see you shortly,” she explained. “How are you feeling?”
“Cold,” he told her.
“I can tell. Chris, you have a fever and that’s why you feel cold. Just rest and I’ll send Vin and Nathan in to keep you company.”
“Alright,” he said, closing his eyes and fighting the next round of coughs he felt coming on.
“Vin, you can go in with him.”
“Thanks, Sandy, how’s he doing?”
“He’s grouchy, running a fever, chills, and has a bad cough. It could be a cold but we’ll wait for Dr. Turner to see him,” she explained. “I’ll send Nathan in as soon as he’s finished the paperwork.”
Vin moved to the tiny cubicle and opened the curtain just as the older man erupted in vicious coughs. “Shit, Cowboy, you gonna make it?” Tanner smiled as he received a glare from his best friend. “That glare lacks its usual fierceness, Chris. You won’t be scaring anyone with it so you might as well quit it right now.”
“Shut up, Vin,” Larabee rasped.
“She’s right.”
“Who’s right?”
“Sandy, she said you were grouchy.”
“What do you expect, Tanner? It’s damned cold in here.”
“Not that cold,” the sharpshooter informed him.
“Damn, I hate being sick.”
“You mean you hate admitting when you’re sick. Damn fool thing to do, Chris.”
“What was,” Larabee asked innocently.
“Going out to check on Pony when you were supposed to go right to bed. If Nathan finds out...”
“You’re not gonna tell him, are you?” Larabee interrupted between the coughs.
“I won’t if you agree to do as the doctor tells you.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“Yep.”
“You’re starting to get as bad as Dr. Midland with that.”
“Well?”
“You won’t say anything to anyone?”
“Not a word,” Tanner agreed.
“Alright.”
“One more condition.”
“We already had an agreement.”
“I’m making an am... an amen...”
“An amendment?”
“That’s the word Ezra uses for it,” Tanner smiled.
“Shoulda kept you two apart on that last case,” Larabee hissed. “What is it?”
“You agree to stay at my ranch until you’re better.”
“Damn, Vin,” Larabee coughed again, grabbing tissues in the process. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“You’re sick, Pard, and I have a feeling the doctor won’t want you at your ranch alone.”
“Mr. Larabee?”
“Yeah,” the blond answered weakly.
“I’m Dr. Turner. What seems to be the problem?”
Larabee coughed into the tissues and looked up at the doctor. “I have a cold,” he answered simply.
“I can see that,” Turner smiled, taking his stethoscope from around his neck. “Do you think you can sit forward for me?” he asked.
Larabee sat up straighter and soon felt the string on the gown being released and the cold stethoscope touched his back.
“Breath in,” Turner ordered and the blond did as he was told. “Again,”
This time Larabee couldn’t stop the cough from making itself known. “S...sorry,” he apologized.
Turner listened to the blond’s breathing, front and back, before feeling his neck and looking down his throat.
“A cold, right?” Larabee asked.
“Maybe, but you’ve got some heavy congestion on your chest. I’m going to have the nurse start an IV on you and then we’re going to run some tests.”
“Ah hell, Doc.”
“Chris,” Tanner warned.
“Alright,” Larabee hissed as he glared at his friend. “Do what you have to, Doc, so I can get the hell out of here.”
“I’m ordering blood work and X rays. If everything is alright I’ll send you home.”
“If?”
“Yes, if,” Turner told him. “Now just relax and I’ll send Sandy back in to get your IV started and take blood samples.”
Larabee let his head drop back on the pillows and closed his eyes. Truth was he really didn’t feel good but he didn’t want to stay in the hospital. The guys had plans to go Christmas shopping in two days and he was actually looking forward to it for a change. Since Sarah and Adam’s deaths three years ago he’d ignored holidays, especially Christmas, but his new family was slowly pulling him back into life and the joys of this celebration. He heard the curtains being drawn back but kept his eyes closed.
“Chris.”
“Nathan.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I wasn’t sleeping,” Larabee wheezed.
“Sandy is on her way in with the IV,” Jackson told him.
“Great,” Larabee said softly.
Sandy soon came into the room and expertly inserted the IV and drew four vials of blood. “Alright, Chris,” she said. “Let’s get you into a wheelchair and down to x-ray.”
“I can walk.”
“Sure you can but why don’t you humor me?” she smiled as she checked the IV flow.
Nathan and Sandy helped him into the chair and he realized just how tired he felt. His body ached in every muscle and joint. The room spun in concentric circles and he closed his eyes in an effort to stave off the mounting nausea.
“Hey, Cowboy, are you alright?”
Larabee opened his eyes and nodded slightly, afraid of losing his tenuous hold on his rebelling stomach. “I’m fine, Vin, just tired.”
“We’ll let you rest as soon as the X-rays are finished,” Sandy assured him.
“We’ll be here when you get back, Chris,” Jackson told him.
Larabee nodded as Sandy placed a blanket over his legs before moving out of the tiny cubicle. “Thanks,” he mumbled gratefully.
Tanner looked up as Chris was wheeled back into the room. In the twenty minutes since they’d left the blond’s face seemed to have paled considerably and Vin began to feel a niggling fear creep into his mind.
“Let’s get you back to bed, Chris,” Sandy suggested.
“K,” Larabee muttered as he braced his hands on the sides of the chair and tried to lever himself to his feet. “Damn,” he swore as his strength left him.
Sandy and Vin helped him from the chair and back into the bed.
“Thanks,” he mumbled tiredly, grabbing for the box of tissues as he erupted in another bout of harsh coughing. He felt his friend’s hands lift him forward and smiled weakly in spite of the painful coughs.
Tanner eased him back down and reached for the blankets at the end of the bed. he covered the shivering body up to the shoulder s and turned questioning eyes on the nurse.
“Chris,” Sandy said.
“Yeah,” the blond answered weakly.
“Dr. Turner will be in as soon as the results of the blood work and X-rays are in. For now I’d like you to try and sleep,” she told him.
“Hmm,” was the only reply as the sick man pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
“Press the button if he needs anything,” she told Vin as she left the cubicle.
“Where’s Nathan?” Larabee asked as he noticed the absence of the medic.
“He went to call the others and get us a coffee,” Tanner answered and pulled the blond upright as the green eyes watered with the onslaught of another attack. This one lasted considerably less but was just as violent as its predecessor. He eased him back on the bed and wasn’t surprised to see the green eyes slide closed.
“How’s he doing, Vin?” Jackson asked when he returned a few minutes later. He passed the younger man a cup of steaming coffee and waited for the answer. He could tell by the younger man’s eyes how worried he was.
“He seems so cold,” Tanner answered.
“That’s probably the fever,” Jackson explained.
“Nathan,” Tanner said softly.
“Yeah?”
“This is more than a damned cold isn’t it?”
“I don’t know, Vin, we just have to wait and see.”
Tanner nodded worriedly. “What did you tell Buck and the others?”
“I told them we were here with Chris and that I’d call them as soon as we knew anything. Buck wanted to come right down but I convinced him to wait.”
“How long before the doc gets the results of the tests?”
“It shouldn’t take too long, Vin,” Jackson sank into the chair by the bed and the two men lapsed into companionable silence. The medic listened intently to the raspy wheezing coming from the man in the bed and knew in his heart it was more than a cold.
Larabee groaned and opened his eyes as he felt the telltale signs of another couching spurt assault him. He struggled upwards in the bed and grinned weakly as two sets of hands helped him sit forward. “T...thanks,” he said breathlessly as they eased him back down.
“How are you feeling, Chris?” Jackson asked.
“Like shit,” Larabee answered honestly.
“I bet,” the medic smiled as he replaced the blankets once more.
“Guess the hospital forgot to pay their heating bill,” Larabee quipped, shivering in spite of the added blanket. He looked to the curtain as it was drawn back.
“Mr. Larabee, I have the results of your blood
work and X-rays.”
“A cold right?” Larabee asked hopefully.
“A little more than a cold. Your white blood cell count is elevated and there’s some consolidation in the lower lobe of your right lung.”
“What does that mean?” Tanner asked.
“It means Mr. Larabee has pneumonia. I’d like to keep you overnight for observation.”
“I’d rather go home,” Larabee wheezed. “I can rest better there, Doc.”
“I’d rather you weren’t alone,” Turner explained.
“He won’t be, Doc, he’s coming to my ranch,” Tanner insisted.
“Vin, I don’t...”
“Chris, we had a deal, remember?”
Larabee nodded slowly. “I’ll be staying at Vin’s, Doc,” he told him, barely able to grab the tissues as he coughed again, holding his left arm against his chest in an effort to stop some of the agonizing pain he felt there.
“Maybe you should reconsider and stay the night, Chris,” Jackson suggested.
The blond raised his eyebrows and glared at the medic. “All they’ll do is give me antibiotics and I can take them just as easily at home or at Vin’s home.”
“Alright,” Turner acquiesced. “You just make sure you bring him back if things get worse.”
“I will, Doc,” Tanner assured him.
“I’m going to write you out a prescription for Biaxin. Make sure you get it filled right away and start taking it immediately.”
“We’ll make sure he does as he’s told, Doc,” Jackson told him.
“Alright, I’ll send a nurse in to take out the IV and give you the prescription.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Larabee muttered.
“Don’t thank me, Mr. Larabee, if I had my way you’d be staying here. I know,” he said, holding up his hands as the blond showed signs of protest. “You’ll rest better at home. Make sure that he does, Gentlemen,” Turner said as he left them alone.
“Chris.”
“Come on, Nathan, you know I hate hospitals,” Larabee explained as Tanner helped him sit up in the bed.
“I know, Chris, but...”
“No buts. Besides I’m going to Vin’s house...”
“And going to bed,” Tanner interrupted.
“Vin, this is one time you won’t get any arguments from me. Besides we’ve got...”
“Chris, you won’t be shopping this week,” Jackson told him.
Larabee’s shoulders slumped and he looked at the medic guiltily. “What makes you think I was going to say anything about the shopping trip?”
“I know how much you were looking forward to this one, Chris, and I’m sorry. Look, I’ll talk to the guys and we’ll see if we can postpone it till you’re feeling better,” Jackson assured him.
“Shit, seem to be ruining Christmas for everyone,” the blond mumbled tiredly.
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean, Chris?” Tanner asked.
“Ruining...” he stopped, coughing into the tissues, groaning as his sore chest protested the abuse. “The plans we had.”
“No you’re not. Nathan just told you we’ll put it off until you’re feeling better.”
“Don’t leave much time to find the right things.”
“It’s time enough, Cowboy.”
“Mr. Larabee,” Sandy smiled and pulled the curtain closed behind her. “Lets get that IV out, shall we?” Larabee nodded and the pretty woman removed the IV from his arm. “Here’s your prescription...”
Tanner reached out and grabbed the paper. “I’ll look after that,” he grinned at the glaring blond. “Wouldn’t want it to get lost on the way to get it filled.”
“Vin,” Larabee rasped, his throat sore from the repeated abuse.
“Mr. Larabee, Doctor Turner wants you to make an appointment to see Dr. Midland in a couple of days.”
“I’ll make sure he does, Sandy,” Jackson assured her.
“Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Mr. Larabee you can get dressed.”
“Thanks,” he waited for her to leave and slid off the edge of the bed, reaching for the edge of the table as the room tilted at a strange angle. “Damn,” he gasped and sat back down.
“Let us help you, Chris,” Jackson suggested, surprised when Larabee just nodded his head and let them get the clothes on him. It wasn’t long before the two men had the blond ready to go.
Larabee stubbornly stood up and headed for the closed curtain. He could feel Vin Tanner and Nathan Jackson as they took a side each and walked in close proximity to him. “I’m ok,” he told them.
“Course you are,” Tanner said. “You just naturally sway side to side when you walk.”
“Shut up, Vin,” Larabee hissed. He eyed the falling snow and wondered how something so beautiful could cause so many problems.
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