Night descended on the small group of men camped under the summer moon. The temperature had finally started to drop and a cool breeze was beginning to blow from the south.

“I’m can’t wait to get to Winton so I can have a bath,” J.D. announced as he fanned out the cards that had just been dealt to him.

“I admit, I am looking forward to you taking a bath myself,” Ezra murmured, wrinkling his nose and shifting a few inches away from his young partner.

“In your ass, Ezra,” J.D. chuckled. “You aren’t exactly smelling of roses, you know.”

“Not exactly,” Josiah agreed, pointedly moving himself a foot away from the gambler.

“Touché,” Ezra stated, happily. The group was in good spirits. They had left Four Corners with two goals: To deliver the signed statement to Winton and to find Vin Tanner. The first goal would be achieved by noon the next day and the second had been realized when Vin had found them.

Nathan’s attention was drawn to the sound of his patient waking. Jackson rose to his feet and wandered across to Vin and his personal sentinel. “You ready for something to eat?” he heard Chris ask Vin.

Tanner eyed Larabee carefully, his vehement gaze refusing to allow Chris to look away. “I got some things that need sayin’,” the sharpshooter claimed, rising.

Chris nodded. It was time.

Jackson considered backing away, but Vin’s pallor changed his mind. “Whatever you’ve got to say, Vin, can wait a few more minutes. I want you to eat something for me. If you two want to slog it out, then you’re welcome to after I know you’ve got something in that empty belly of yours.”

Chris transferred his focus from Vin to Nathan. In his own way, Jackson was letting Larabee know that Tanner wasn’t up to this yet.

Vin started to protest, but Nathan silenced him with a pointing finger. “Doctor’s orders. You want to eat here, or over with the others?” Vin didn’t reply, his attention returning to Chris. “I think you could use some company. Chris, help me get him on his feet.”

Between them, they eased Vin upright and then waited to make sure he was able to support his own weight. Jackson assessed Vin's condition critically. His patient was grey and the considerable weight loss left him looking frail. However, more rest and some decent food should restore him back to full health.

“Come on,” Nathan urged with a gentle prod. Vin followed the healer across to where the others were seated near the small fire. While the heat was unwelcome, the light was important.

“Hey, Vin. How are you feeling?” Josiah asked.

“You look dreadful,” Ezra murmured, watching as his friend lowered himself to the ground next to Buck.

“Here,” Nathan stated, passing Vin some broth. “Chris, there are some beans left for you.”

Vin studied the contents of the mug and the frown on his face deepened. “Broth?”

“Broth,” Nathan stated with a smirk. “Let’s see if you can keep it down before you start shovelling anything else into your mouth.”

Vin gave the healer a half-hearted nod and then sipped from the mug. His face screwed up immediately. “It’s foul.”

“You’re welcome, Vin,” Jackson chuckled.

Tanner watched Larabee collect some beans and settle on the other side of the group, intent on avoiding eye contact with the sharpshooter.

For several minutes Buck and Josiah attempted to make polite conversation. Vin and Chris were silent, but then that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Finishing his beans, Larabee got to his feet. “I’m going to check the perimeter. Won’t be long.”

“Larabee,” Vin called. Once again, the two men’s intense eyes came together. A clash of wills.

“I won’t be long,” Chris repeated, turning and disappearing into the darkness.

“Son of a bitch,” Vin cursed. It was only then that Tanner truly became aware of the other men. He licked his lips self-consciously.

“We should get to Winton by noon tomorrow?” Buck asked, trying to relieve the tension.

“Yep, I’d say so,” Josiah confirmed. “Have any of you ever been there?”

“Yeah, once a few years ago,” Buck confirmed. “There was the little filly working in the saloon and man oh man she could do this thing with her hips that would make your eyes water just watchin’ her. Now, what was here name?”

Vin turned toward Standish. “Ezra, I’m sorry about the note,” he apologised in a hushed voice.

“Are you apologising for not carrying out your promise? If so, I assure you, Mr. Tanner, ...”

“No, I mean leavin’ it to you to tell everyone.”

Ezra forced a smile at his companion. Standish had never seen his young companion look and sound so ill and defeated. “I was honoured that you trusted me, my friend,” Standish stated, earnestly. “Do not let such thoughts burden you at the moment. I don’t know the details of what you have been through, but clearly it has been traumatic. I have learned through experience that worrying over the past is futile. You need to rest and you need to heal. Let me assure you, you need have no fear for your safely, for anyone who threatens you now will have to go through us.” The words were so sincere that Nathan found himself staring at Ezra in admiration.

Vin, however, grimaced at the sentiment and shook his head. “Ezra, I...” He couldn’t find the words. His emotions were scattered and his thoughts kept returning to one thing.

“Why didn’t you go to Toscosa?” J.D. asked, curiously.

Buck’s eyes widened and he shoved his elbow into the youth’s side. “Hell, J.D.” He couldn't believe that his naive friend had just come right out with it.

“What?” the younger man asked, confused by the glares he was receiving from all sides. “What?!”

Vin looked from J.D. to Buck and back again. Finally, he shrugged. “When I started seeing sense, I decided that getting the worry off my mind wasn’t half as important as…” He stopped and looked confused, unable to truly understand anything that had happened.

Buck patted the young man’s arm. “Reckon we understand Vin. You had some unfinished business.“

“With Chris?“ J.D. asked.

Buck rolled his eyes. “You just don’t get it, do you, J.D.? Subtle as a landside.“

“Huh? I was just askin’!“ the boy cried.

Wilmington turned back to Vin. “Excuse, J.D. He left his brain in Four Corners.“

“Reckon I did too,“ Tanner muttered.

“Forgiving someone for the trials they cause is the greatest thing we mortals can do,” Josiah preached. “You did a great thing accepting Chris’ apology, Vin. Forget the rest. In the larger scheme of things, it has no importance.”

Vin stared at Josiah and his obvious confusion grew. “Huh?”

Buck glanced at Ezra who nodded his support. Wilmington lowered his voice. “You don’t have to tell us, cuz I know it’s none of our business, but I reckon it’s important that we know. We may even be able to help. What was it Chris said that got you so riled up?”

Vin swallowed, his pale face blanketed with pain and he lowered his head to hide the emotion he could not contain.

An uncomfortable silence enveloped the camp.

“Vin, it doesn’t matter. We were just...”

Without looking up, Vin cut Buck off forcefully saying, “Chris didn’t say anything. I did.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“It was my fault. I attacked him.” All of the men were stunned. For the past fortnight they had been so sure that Larabee’s temper had been responsible for the fight between their partners.

“You?” Josiah asked, astounded.

Tanner nodded. He lifted his face slowly, revealing blue eyes so weighed down with guilt that the pain was felt by every one of his companions.

“I don’t understand,” Buck murmured.

Vin didn’t completely understand either. His memory of that night was patchy…a mixture of images and words. The only part he did recall fully was a short discussion between himself and Chris…

“So, what’s eatin’ you, Chris?”

Larabee continued to stare into his whiskey. His mood had been deteriorating all day.

“Don’t say ya don’t know what I’m talkin’ about,” Vin accused with annoyance.

“Wasn’t goin’ to.“

Tanner frowned. His head was still throbbing, though he hadn’t shared that with Chris. Every now then he felt dizzy and nauseas, another two things he had chosen to keep to himself. Now, however, the whiskey he was drinking was combining with the laudanum that Chris had swamped his system with and he was beginning to feel decidedly light headed. “Well?”

“Im not sure I’m ready to have a family again. Not sure that I want the responsibility.” Larabee’s voice was just a touch slurred. He had drunk a great deal in the last few hours. There was anger there too, just on the edge of each word.

Vin titled his head to the side. “Mary wants more than just friendship?”

“Mary?” Chris repeated, lifting his eyes to Vin. “I was talking about you,” he snarled.

Tanner frowned in confusion.

Chris shook his head. “I didn’t want to care, Vin. Not about you… or any of the others.” It had been eating at him all day. His relationship with the boys, Vin and Buck in particular, had long exceeded the boundaries of simple friendship. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but he wasn’t happy about it.

Vin drew in a deep breath and released it thoughtfully. “Look, Chris, I don’t want you to…”

“This hasn’t to do with you, Vin. It’s got to do with me. I’ve got to work it out.” He was trying to shut Vin out both for Vin’s and his own sake.

“Never meant for you to get caught up in it all. Ya did what you had to save my life. Eli Joe…”

Larabee glanced at his friend and smirked, realizing that Vin simply didn’t get it. “I care, Vin and it scares the living hell out of me because I don’t think I want to.“

Tanner swallowed. That, he understood better than Chris knew. Vin had been walking the same path for the past few months - finding himself caring and knowing he shouldn’t, or couldn’t. “I guess we both need to…“

“Need to what? A man doesn’t decide if he wants to care or not. I wish it worked that way.” Larabee studied Vin’s face and watched the shutters start to fall. Ironically, the gunfighter had been trying to do the same thing without success. He was too close to Vin these days to actually shut him out completely. Vin was attempting to withdraw in front of Larabee‘s eyes. Trying to shut down his emotions and shut Chris out in the process. “There is room in your life for people who care, isn’t there, Tanner?” Larabee growled.

Vin blinked. It was an accusation; one Vin hadn’t been expecting and he found himself floundering to get his mind around it. “I’ve never had to worry about that before.” He stared at his best friend puzzled as he tried to sort it all out in his foggy mind. Gradually, a smile formed on his still pale and badly bruised face as Larabee’s message finally settled in. Chris not only cared, he considered him family - that was the word Chris had used. Family. Family would rush out into a street filled with bullets to protect one of their own…stand over that person and be prepared to use their own body to protect those they loved. That was exactly what Chris had done. The actions of kin.

A lump formed in Vin’s throat. It had been so long since he had experienced the joy and heartache of real family. “Yeah, I guess there is room for a drunken cowboy willing to risk his life for me,” he whispered with great emotion.

“Cowboy?” Larabee asked with mock irritation, tipping the glass to his lips and draining it.

"Vin?" Buck asked after several moments. “You okay?”

“No,” Tanner growled. He attempted to get to his feet, but didn’t have the strength. A wave of hoarse curses followed. “I have to speak to him.”

“No,” Nathan argued. “You need to rest first. How about you go and get some sleep?”

“Chris never said anything. We all thought that he...” Buck was dumbfounded. All this time, he had been blaming Chris and all this time, Chris had been shielding Vin. “Why, Vin? What happened?”

“Leave it, Buck,” Chris growled, appearing out of the darkness. “What happened between us is our business.”

“I must disagree,” Ezra argued, in a muted tone. “What happened between the two of you affected all of us more than any of us are prepared to admit. And it almost got us killed. If Vin had been with us, he would have gone high and we would not have been surrounded. I think we have a right to know.”

“You don’t have a right to anything!” Larabee’s aggression was fuelled by his desire to spare his friend the pain of reliving the incident.

“Chris,” Vin appealed, softly. “It’s alright. I was gonna tell them anyway.” Everyone waited as Tanner gathered his thoughts. “I... I don’t rightly know why. Been asking myself why since it happened. I…“ He shook his head, his breathing becoming panted as he grew more distressed.

Chris walked across and sat down beside his struggling friend.

“You didn’t tell them that I... that it was my fault? Why?“ Vin asked.

“Who’s Ian?“ Larabee asked, ignoring the question.

Vin stared into Chris’ face for a long time before replying. “My brother. “

The other five regulators became quiet. Vin had never shared any of his past with them. He was incredibly private, but all had guessed that there was great pain in his background.

Tanner took his time as he attempted to explain, for he was actually reviewing what had happened himself in the hope of finding the answers he needed. “When we were in the saloon, I asked Chris if he wanted another drink and instead of saying Chris...I... ” His pale face flushed red.

“You don’t need to do this, Vin,” Chris whispered, reaching for his friend’s shoulder.

“Instead of saying Chris, I said Ian. I don’t know why... and then I snapped. I was so mad and I was fighting and I...” A sparse memory of the fight returned. He had been pounding Chris and Larabee had done nothing but try and defend himself from the frenzied blows. The older man had been stunned, but had refused to raise a finger against his enraged friend. Vin remembered Larabee pleading with him to stop. He remembered Chris tossing him onto a table and trying to hold him down.

Chris squeezed Vin’s shoulder.

“I don’t know why it happened,” Vin admitted in a strangled whisper.

“You had a brother?” J.D. asked.

Vin continued to look at Chris for several moments before dragging his gaze to J.D. “Still do, as far as I know. He’s 15 years older than me. We ain’t full brothers. Same father. After my Ma died, Ian raised me. We kept some horses and other animals.”

“So, why did you get so mad?” J.D. asked. “After calling Chris your brother’s name?”

“I don’t know, J.D. Chris ain’t nothin’ like Ian. Nothin’ like him.”

“He a mongrel?” Buck asked, trying to help Vin through. “Ooops. Chris is the mongrel, so this brother of yours is a saint?”

“He was good to me as I was grownin’ up, I guess. I thought we were close. He let me leave when I was ready.” Tanner’s breathing was coming easier as he calmed a little. “After Eli-Joe framed me up for murder, I needed some supplies before headin’ off on the run and so I went home and…”

“Oh, Vin,” Josiah murmured.

“Hell,” Chris cursed. Like Josiah, he could guess what was coming next.

“He sold me out. Handed me over to two bounty hunters for a lousy twenty bucks.” Vin lowered his face as memories of that day came flooding back. In a stilted and incredibly slow and emotional voice, Tanner shared the memory. For the first time, he wanted to disclose what he had kept buried... even from himself. “When I rode in, the bounty hunters were already there, hidden near the barn. Ian came to the door of the cabin and greeted me. He told me I had no right to be bringin' my troubles to his doorstep. I told him I had nowhere else to go. I’d been on the run for three weeks. Hadn’t slept for days. I told him I just needed to get a few hours sleep and I’d leave. He shook his head and slammed the door in my face. That’s when the bounty hunters...” Tanner’s voice faded. For several moments Vin sat silently. “They tied my hands and then one of them walked across to the cabin and said, ‘here’s the twenty dollars as promised.’”

“Oh, man,” J.D. whispered. “Your own brother.”

“I couldn’t believe it. He’d actually sold me out. They put me on Peso and tossed a rope over a branch of a tree in the yard. They were going to hang me right there. Dead men cause less trouble. I spotted Ian at the window. He was watchin’. I kept waitin’ for him to do somethin‘. There were only two of them. All he woulda had to do was pick up a rifle and... but he didn’t. He was gonna stand there and watch them string me up like an animal.”

Chris slid his arm across Vin’s shoulders to provide the support his friend needed to finish the recount.

“I couldn‘t think at first. Then I realized that if wanted to live, I had do something. I dug my heels into Peso and he reared knocking the bounty hunters to the ground. Then I bolted. Somehow I got my hands free and I rode for two days without stopping. Damn near fell out of the saddle. After that, I knew I couldn’t trust anyone while I had the bounty on my head.” Vin raised his emotional face, his tortured eyes settling on Chris. “Still don’t know why I trusted you. Any of you,” he added, his gaze sweeping the others.

“Oh, Vin,” Josiah murmured, unable to find any other way to express his sincere sympathy.

Tanner shook his head trying to rid himself of the memory. It was something he had tried so hard to forget.

“Maybe I should go and have a chat with Ian,” Buck growled.

For the first time since he had been reunited with his companions, Vin’s face relaxed, a half grin appeared and something fleeting crossed the young man's expressive eyes. Buck had had seen it once before, one night in the saloon. All of the barriers and walls Vin had built to protect himself tumbled down in that brief moment and the vulnerable part of himself he worked so hard to hide and protect was revealed.

Wilmington's desire to protect his young friend swelled.

“Thanks, Buck. I ‘preciate that, but he ain‘t worth it.“ The pain of the betrayal was deeply etched into Vin‘s ashen face, along with fatigue and anxiety. The incident had marked him for life. He had lost faith in humanity... until he had met these men. There was no way on God's earth any of them would betray him. He knew that as surely as the sun would rise the next morning.

The sharpshooter turned back to the man he felt he owed so much and yet had failed. “I can’t believe that... I just don’t know why I got so all fired angry with you, Chris.”

“Maybe I do,” Nathan offered. “You were drinking whiskey that night on top of laudanum. You also had a concussion. A man with a concussion can say and do things real out of character without any help from mixing alcohol and the likes of laudanum.”

“He means your brain was hurt,” J.D. explained helpfully, recognizing the confusion on Vin’s face.

“Something you will never have to worry about, J.D., ‘cause you don’t have a brain.” Dunne shoved Wilmington who retaliated and the pair broke into a mock wrestling match in a conscious effort to change Vin’s focus.

Vin eyed Nathan thoughtfully as he considered the healer’s explanation. “Maybe.”

“Perhaps I can offer an explanation as to why you called Chris your brother’s name, “ Josiah proposed

“If you can, I’d be obliged to you because it’s been eatin’ away at me,” Vin admitted. “Chris ain’t like Ian. He ain’t NOTHIN’ like him.”

“When we’re tired, drunk... drugged, we sometimes say things our minds hide. Things we normally would never share. But the Lord sees to it that a word or two slips out that betrays us. I’ve read some books on how the mind works - trying to understand my own,“ Josiah added with a wry grin. “Just my opinion of course, but you think of Chris as a brother and so, in a slip of the tongue you labelled him a word that has meant ‘brother’ to you all your life. Then again, perhaps Chris is everything you would have liked your brother to be.” Vin had been injured and it had been Chris who had protected him… Chris who had acted as his brother should have three years earlier. “Slips of the tongue are a fact of life, Vin. Happens to me all the time.”

Vin considered what Josiah was saying. He had spent the past three years of his life guarding his every word. A slip of the tongue could cost him his life.

“So, why did you decide to head for Tascosa?” Chris asked in a low voice. “I thought we had a deal.”

“Chris, I...“ Again, words failed the young man. Vin remembered the dreadful anger that had consumed him that night in the saloon. He had never felt anything like it and prayed he never would again. “I had no place to be askin' for your friendship after what I did.” He didn’t know how to face his best friend after the fight and so he had done what he felt was best for all.

“You had a concussion Vin. You were drinking and you were drugged. I may not be a doctor, but even I know that’s a lethal combination. From what Chris said and from the condition you’re in now, you were badly injured after being shot. May not have looked like it, but you were. You didn’t know what you were doing that night. You had a lot of anger welled up inside you over your brother‘s betrayal.”

“Which means that you were vulnerable to that part of yourself you kept hidden deep,” Josiah expounded. “Chris defended you on that street rather than handing you over to those bounty hunters. Ian didn’t. It was playing on your mind, even if you weren’t aware of it.”

“What happened after you left? Where did you go?” Nathan asked.

“I was headin’ for Tascosa, but passed out in the saddle. When I woke up, I realized I was in trouble and headed for some caves only a few miles out of Four Corners.” The week and a half that followed was a blur. He had drifted in and out of consciousness for days and would have died if not for his canteen of water and a few strips of beef jerky. Without laudanum, he had suffered cruelly with pain, but that paled in comparison to the ache in his soul.

“You were pretty sick,” Nathan confirmed. “You’re lucky you didn’t die in those caves.”

“I still don’t understand why I attacked Chris,” Tanner dismissed. It was the only thing that was important to him.

“You didn’t even know it was Chris at the time, did you?” Buck accused, softly. “When you were fighting, it wasn't Chris you were hittin'.” Larabee’s eyes met Buck’s and a moment was recalled by both.

Stunned, Tanner realized Buck was right. Some of the haze lifted and he remembered. He’d thought it was Ian... Ian he was yelling at…Ian’s name he had been roaring at Chris... Ian he was pounding with his fists. It was only when he had awoken the morning after the fight, that he recognized it had been Chris.

“I thought it was Ian I was pounding,” Vin whispered, amazed. “I... Chris...”

Larabee nodded thoughtfully, rose to his feet and set off to have a look around. Buck frowned. He had hoped that Chris may have said something to put Vin’s mind at ease. Tanner watched his friend disappear into the darkness, climbed unsteadily to his feet and followed him. This still wasn't finished, but he was beginning to have a sense of what had happened.

The rest of men sat in silence, all reeling after what they had been told. Vin’s past was not one they would wish upon their worst enemy. At least now, some of what had happened started to make sense. The fight between Vin and Chris had been a result of an inexplicable set of circumstances. Vin’s concussion coupled with the emotional recollection of his brother's betrayal after Larabee’s determination to protect him and prompted by a simple slip of the tongue on top of a dangerous mixture of alcohol and laudanum, had combined in Tanner’s fogged mind that night in the saloon and Vin had simply snapped. He’d had no idea of what he was doing.

Vin, not Chris, had been responsible for the fight.

When Chris had offered his arm a few hours earlier, Vin had been stunned, that was why he hadn’t taken it immediately. Larabee was in fact the one doing the forgiving, not Vin. Vin had come back without knowing if Chris would accept his apology. Vin’s need to speak to Chris was to apologise for his behaviour, not to ’set Larabee straight’ as the others had thought.

“We got it all around the wrong way,” J.D. murmured.

“Chris refused to tell us what happened because of his loyalty to Vin,” Buck muttered.

“Mr. Tanner’s brother is the lowest form of being,” Ezra snarled.

“His betrayal explains why Vin finds it so difficult to trust,” Nathan reflected.

Again, the group became quiet as they assimilated everything.

“Josiah, do you reckon I might make one of them slips?” J.D. asked.

“If I may, Mr. Sanchez?“ Ezra asked. “Mr. Dunne, I think that it would be true to say that in the fullness of time, with all attributes aligned in the appropriate manner and with due consideration for...“

J.D glanced at Buck in confusion.

Wilmington stared at Standish who was still providing his long winded ’answer’. “What the hell is all of the hogwash supposed to mean?” Buck demanded. “Just answer the question.”

“I assure you, Mr. Wilmington, that is exactly what I was attempting to do before you so rudely...”

“Man, your sentences are longer than most books I‘ve read.”

“I find it hard to believe that you have read any books, unless you are referring to...”

J.D. smiled and turned back to Nathan and Josiah, tuning out the argument. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”

Nathan glanced out into the darkness beyond the circle of light provided by the fire. He could just make out two outlines in the moonlight.

“I think they’ll be just fine… unless you’re talking about Buck and Ezra.“

“In which case, the jury’s still out on that one,“ Josiah chuckled, noting that Standish and Wilmington were now on their feet, their voices becoming louder.

J.D grinned and laid back against his saddle content. “I told you it would all work out, boys. It’s good to have everything back to normal.”

*********

The thin slip of a moon provided just enough light to see. Chris was seated on a rock, staring out into nothingness. His mind was churning and his emotions bubbling.

Vin had walked up and sat down beside him, but had said nothing. The pair remained silent for several minutes.

“I never meant to bring you no grief, Chris. The boys might be right about some of it, I guess, but I still don’t understand what really happened or why. I had no idea of what I was doing. That ain’t happened to me before.” Vin had always been fully in control of his own actions, but on that night at that particular moment, emotion and taken over and a spring of anger fuelled by deep feelings of hurt and betrayal had exploded inside of him without restraint. Alcohol and laudanum had combined to obliterate his self-control, his concussion had opened up his mind to emotions he had not allowed to surface for three years and had provided an image of Ian in Chris’ place. “I ain‘t never known such anger.”

“I have,” Chris stated, softly. He turned to his friend and Vin saw great understanding in Larabee’s eyes.

Larabee simply nodded and returned to staring out into the darkness.

Vin dropped his head, unsure if it had been enough. Silence rained over the pair for almost half an hour.

“Looks like we’ve ended up with watch. I’ll get us some coffee,” Chris murmured, standing up. He paused for a moment; looking down on the slumped man he knew was hurting after what had happened. Family was something a man needed to grab with both hands and cherish. Chris had learned that in the past three years... and he now understood that Vin was family. “I want you to know I’d be proud to have you as a brother, Vin Tanner. “

With those quiet, emotion charged words, he started toward the camp.

“Chris…”

“Unless of course you do anything else so damn stupid, like riding off to Tascosa on your own. Then I’ll disown you as soon as look at you,” Larabee called back.

Vin felt relief wash over him like a wave. He hadn’t been sure if Chris was going to be able to forget all that had happened, but he had. Tanner felt sick to the stomach. He had come so close to losing Larabee’s friendship... though, like Chris, he knew it was so much more than that.

Chris returned a few minutes later with the coffee.

“Here,” he offered, dropping back down onto the rock beside Vin. “Nathan said you shouldn’t be having it.“

Vin smirked. “Thanks.“

“He said if you drink it, he’ll wipe his hands of you and he doesn’t care if you spew your guts up.“

Vin sipped the coffee. “That right?“

“He’ll be over here any minute wanting to put you to bed.“

“Shut up, Chris.“

The banter between them was so easy.

Larabee inhaled and blew the breath out noisily. He had known Vin wasn’t himself that day when it had happened. His friend’s eyes had been glassy. He’d wanted Vin to rest but... He knew Tanner was blaming himself, but that was wrong.

“I'm sorry, Vin." From the moment he had realized that his companion had left, he had wanted to say that. Vin had needed him; probably more than he had ever needed anyone, but Chris had been too wound up in his own self-pity to provide the help required. "It was my fault.”

“How the hell do you figure that?” Vin demanded.

“I never should have let you out of that bed.“

“I don’t exactly remember askin' for your permission, Larabee. I made that decision myself.“

“A decision you were in no condition to make,“ the gunfighter pointed out.

“I ain’t gonna let you blame yourself for what happened, Chris.“

“I don’t. I blame both of us.“

Vin smirked. “Good.“

The other boys’ voices wafted across on the gentle breeze.

“He‘s psychic,” Chris explained to Vin.

“Oh?” Tanner asked, curiously. “Since when?”

“And that, Mr. Wilmington is why...”

“Man, you never shut up, do you, Ezra!”

“Buck and Ezra are in good voice tonight,” Vin commented.

“Nothing changes.”

The pair fell into a comfortable silence.

“About the fight. I understand,” Chris whispered. “Better than you could possibly know.“

Larabee had experienced an episode almost identical to what had happened to Vin. He had taken out his anger on someone who didn’t deserve it… replacing that person with the one he was angry at. In his mind, it had been those responsible for the death of his wife and child he had been trying to tear apart with his bear hands. It was only the next day he had realized what had happened. He didn’t have the luxury of blaming it on a concussion… only on the whiskey he had been drinking at the time. Buck had forgiven him without thought, but it had taken Chris a long time to forgive himself. A long time before he had tracked down the person responsible for his anger. He didn’t want that for Vin. Unresolved anger like that, even if buried deep, could destroy a man. Perhaps Buck had the right idea.

“So, do you have any idea of where your brother is now?” Chris asked.

Vin glanced at Chris and waited until Larabee turned and their eyes came together.

Chris smiled easily. That he is.

Vin and Chris grinned.

“He can’t help himself.“

“He’s a good man,“ Vin agreed. “We better head back before he has a cow.”

Larabee and Tanner rose to their feet, facing one another.

“To slips of the tongue,” Chris toasted. And to family.

Vin grinned. “I’ll drink to that.” Their mugs clanked, their arms came together and two souls touched… brothers not of blood, but by choice, actions and everything else that mattered.