Nathan’s Box 1

Ezra closed JD’s box and moved on to the next.

“While Jackson carried a gun and was quite proficient with it, these were actually his preferred weapons,” Ezra informed them as he pulled a leather harness and knives out of the box. Carefully he unwrapped them and handed them to Nathan.

Buck gave a low whistle of admiration as he carefully pulled one of the knives from its sheath and tested it edge. It easily cut through the hair on his forearm, giving testimony of the finely honed blade.

Nathan slipped one of the others out and examined it as Buck passed his around for the others to look at. “You’ve kept these in great condition, Ezra.”

Ezra shook his head as he corrected, “My father actually did all the work. I’ll be keeping them in order, but he was the one that got them working. He insisted that all weapons should be properly cared for and in working order.”

Only Chris and Vin seemed to realize what Ezra had just said. While the others went on examining the knives, they both looked at all the boxes; then over at Ezra. Ezra caught the look and nodded at them, confirming what he had just said. All of the weapons he had shown them were in working order. And he had ammunition for them all somewhere, too. Dear God, Chris thought, He’s practically got an armory here!

After the knives had made their way around, Ezra pulled out Nathan’s sidearm and sketches of Nathan with Josiah and various other people.

One noteworthy one made them all snicker. It was a picture of a much begrimed Nathan up on the roof of an old church apparently helping Josiah fix the shingles. They all thought of the times Josiah had roped one or the other of them into helping out on some project at his house or at one of the shelters he volunteered at. While they were always grumbling about it, they never refused to help either. Nathan particularly liked the sketches that showed Jackson in his role as a healer.

After the sketches were collected back together, Ezra pulled a bulky leather case from the bottom of the box. Opening it, he revealed an antique surgeon’s case, which he offered to Nathan. Nathan held the case reverently, pulling one instrument after another out to inspect momentarily, before replacing it and pulling out the next one.

“Jackson never had any formal training, but he was a better doctor than many licensed physicians of the time. He took meticulous care of his instruments, and thanks to the efforts of his comrades, he received this kit about three years after they first came together,” Ezra narrated.

Nathan carefully closed the kit after making sure nothing was out of place, and handed it back to Ezra who smiled as he replaced it back in the box and pulled the last item out.

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