1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

set immediately after the clouds part eventually, practically a part two. standard disclaimers: don't own, don't profit, don't sue. no slash. thank you to everyone who's taken the time to post reviews on this series of stories. reviews make me almost as happy as the boys and my imagination.

having left josiah sleeping in nathan's room, vin and ezra had gathered in the little partitioned room that the healer sometimes used as a bedroom. looking around the tiny space curiously, as it was the first time he'd been in there, ezra remarked, "how can you sleep in here? there's no windows. or room to

eathe. or proper ventilation which means it must reek in summer. how on earth do you even fit on the cot?"

eyeing the way vin was fidgeting uncomfortably in the enclosed space and the look of horror on ezra's face, nathan looked at the sparse room with a fresh eye and muttered, "ain't no worse'n where i slept as a slave. at least it's clean and safe. 'sides, i only sleep in here when i got someone needing the bed out there."

absent-mindedly patting vin's hand as it clutched his sleeve, the gambler hummed thoughtfully, his mind plotting and fitting nathan into his current plans. suddenly his companions' silence registered and he snapped back to the present. looking at vin and seeing how uncomfortable the man was in the small room and then seeing the flush of embarrassment on nathan's face, he suggested, "why don't we head over to the saloon, vin? unless we get a couple of days off from chris, we won't be able to do anything. best we clear it with him before we get too deep in plans. plus, there's the coffee than we never got."

"and yer pie,"

eathed vin in utter relief at the thought of getting out of the room and into a more spacious place.

nathan's stomach rumbled loudly at the thought of pie, since he'd not eaten since just after dawn that day. further embarrassed, the tall man rubbed his stomach and smiled apologetically.

smiling back gently, ezra withdrew the pie from his pocket and proffered it to the healer, saying, "here, take it. vin and i will go down and see chris and then return with lunch for yourself and some

oth for josiah."

"you sure? mmmm, sho does smell good. mrs potter's fresh baked apple pie makes a life worth living," declared nathan, after peeling the paper back and taking a deep appreciative sniff, making his stomach rumble loudly again.

"yes, i'm sure and i agree that the dear woman is an exemplary baker. i've often wondered why josiah doesn't make an effort to court her. true, the only two women that i've seen him show an interest in were of a more... shall we say, glamorous kind. but judging by how well those romantic endeavours turned out, you'd think that he'd reassess his criteria for a wife. lord knows, he stands no chance with mother dear, given his penurious status," mused ezra, rubbing his thumb over his lower lip thoughtfully.

vin, who had been a bit sad to see the pie he'd been coveting being handed over to nathan, perked up at this new idea of matchmaking two of his favourite people. the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. there weren't that many eligible single women in four corners, especially ones of josiah's age. young women weren't generally looking to hitch up with men of josiah's age, unless they were well-heeled and josiah was many wonderful things but wealthy wasn't one of them. there was really only miz nettie, who vin acknowledged was too old for 'siah, and the widow perkins who ran the laundry. neither woman was the sort to take up with an ex-preacher turned peacekeeper.

mrs potter didn't need a man with money as she could continue to run the store, since she seemed to enjoy it. josiah wasn't suited to being a shopkeeper, but he could help her with the heavy loading and unloading, as he often did now. they'd both have companionship of an evening, which was important considering katie and josh were getting older and more independent every day. plus, the kids would have a strong male role model again and 'siah would have someone to mother hen other than poor ole ez.

grinning

ightly at ezra vin nodded his agreement to the sentiment, stating, "'reckon they'd make a good match, ez. gloria's an attractive woman in her own way. jist needs ta soften up her hair a mite 'n wear a bit o' colour."

eyes

ightening at the thought of drawing his two friends together, ezra suggested, "perhaps i could have a quiet word is mrs travis' ear. i'm sure things would flow more smoothly if there was a woman involved."

"are ya'll sho you want to be opening this particular can o' worms," queried nathan with a huge grin at the two aspiring matchmakers. "after all, if ya'll manage to get josiah's wagon hitched to missus potter, that only leaves the two of you as the town's most eligible bachelors. i've got rain, chris is sparking miz travis, jd and casey are doing whatever it is they're doing and buck... well, buck is the town hound. ain't no self-respecting woman gonna be trying to tie that man down."

smirking as he saw vin blush seven shades of red, ezra chuckled and tickled his younger

other teasingly.

"nate, i ain't lookin' ter git hitched anytime soon. not fair ter a woman when i's got this damn bounty on ma head. anyways, it ain't as though i got lines o' ladies wanting me ta be their beau. who'd want a scruffy, no-account tracker who can't read or write and don't have a pot ter piss in," object vin, smacking ezra's hand to stop him laughing and tickling.

the physical assault wasn't necessary though as the gambler ceased to be amused as soon as his

other started his self-deprecating response. grabbing the younger man by the shoulders, ezra gave him a gentle shake and growled, "what have i told you about saying things like that about yourself? you would make a fine catch for any discerning young woman. the things you have to offer are of far more value than mere superficial trappings. loyalty, intelligence, kindness, faithfulness and unselfish love are not things to be cast aside lightly, devin tanner. you are a good man and will make an excellent husband and father once you meet the right woman. said woman should count her lucky stars to have won your poetic heart and i will shoot anyone who says otherwise, including you. have i made myself clear?"

nathan watched with astonished interest as he witnessed the

otherly bond between his friends first hand. josiah had told him about what he'd overhead and seen, but the healer had scarcely believed that the self-absorbed gambler could show such concern for another's emotional well-being. oh sure, he had no doubt that the southerner would put his life in peril to save his friends' lives; he'd seen the fool do it and patched him up afterwards, but the gambler always seemed so cold and self-contained emotionally. not that he could blame the man after meeting the she-wolf who raised him. nathan was surprised the gambler had turned out to be as caring as he was, given the mother he'd had. despite having seen the way the southerner interacted with children and animals, he'd still thought the man to be superficial and manipulative. fascinated, he couldn't take his eyes off the pair as vin blushed a vivid red, grinned widely and nodded shyly in response to ezra's second light shake and final question.

a violent coughing spasm had all three hurrying back into the main room to lift the ill man up and force more of nathan's cough suppressing potion down his semi conscious throat. once he was settled again, vin and ezra left for the saloon.

chris was sitting in the back table that he favoured, nursing a cup of coffee and watching buck try to flirt with inez at the bar. shaking his head fondly, the blond could only smirk as the big man was once again shot down by the fiery bar manager. ezra had told him once that he predicted that they two would end up happily married someday. at the time, the dark clad man had smirked and refuted the claim but after carefully watching the two, chris could now see how they'd make a good match. there was an underlying affection to their sparring that reminded him of his courtship with sarah, not to mention the volatile nature of the relationship. chuckling to himself, he drifted into fond reminiscences of his wife's fiery irish temper. many a lonely night had been spent sleeping in the barn hayloft until he'd learned to bite his tongue.

it was by the unusual sight of a smiling larabee that vin and ezra were greeting on entering the saloon. vin was grinning happily as ezra had stopped by mrs potter's, whilst the tracker was in the restaurant ordering a dinner to be sent up to nathan and josiah, and was now carrying an entire peach cobbler that he'd bought, warm from the oven, from the kindly widow. bouncing in a manner more suited to jd than his usual quiet self, vin went over to beg for plates, spoons and coffee from inez.

"ez! watcha got there, pard? something you're willing to share with your pals, i hope," boomed buck, sidling up to ezra as the southerner put the cobbler on the table and sat down to await vin. yelping, he quickly withdrew his hand after the gambler slapped it smartly just before a finger was poked in the middle of the treat. "ow, no need to get nasty, ez! i just wanted a taste."

"bucklin, i do not want my cobbler to taste like your fingers. lord only knows where they've been. you may have some when it has been properly dished up," scolded ezra, scowling at the garrulous gunslinger and raising a hand threateningly in the direction of the slender hand creeping from his other side. "christopher, don't you dare, or you won't be getting any cobbler when it's cut."

"aw ez, you're as bad as my ma," grumbled chris, good-naturedly as he obediently withdrew his hand before it could be smacked. the smells wafting from the dessert were making his mouth water and he'd be damned if he was going without.

vin arrived with the plates and some cutlery, handing them out quickly before looking to the southerner expectantly. soon after he, chris and buck were contentedly humming over their unexpected largesse, totally focussed on consuming the warm, golden, flakey, peachy goodness. ezra shook his head fondly and took a generous portion over to inez behind the bar, collecting the mugs and coffee pot at the same time. returning to the table, he called sharply, "vin! leave some of that for jd, nathan and me."

"now ez, i's jist goin' ta eat 'siah's share, since he's too sick ta enjoy it," wheedled the sweet toothed tracker, hopefully. "'sides, i know y'all asked mrs potter to send up the rest o' the apple pie ta nathan so his share of cobbler is up fer grabs too."

a frown crossed chris' face as he looked up from scraping his plate and he growled, "josiah's sick? what with? when did this happen and why wasn't i told?"

"yes, josiah is sick. he seems to have contracted a nasty lung fever. he was unwell last night but has been incarcerated in the clinic by nathan this morning. to answer your final question, i had fully intended telling you after we'd finished our delectable cobbler," drawled ezra, delicately licking his spoon. huffing in response to the big sorrowful eyes that his younger

other was directing his way, he ladled out another generous portion into the hastily proffered bowl. rolling his eyes at the jubilant grin and eager response, he chided, "vin, slow down and actually taste what you're eating."

chuckling, buck leaned back and stated, "hell ez, now ya sounding like my ma."

"i commiserate with both of the poor women, having to deal with the uncivilised natures of yourself and chris," retorted the gambler, sniffing haughtily. the act was somewhat undermined by the refilling of the two empty bowls, before covering the remains. "that's the end of it as this is for young jd. he'll need sustenance when he returns from his rounds."

leaning back and rubbing his full stomach happily, vin drawled, "me n' ez need ta head out fer a bit, cowboy. shouldn't be more'n a couple o' days at the most. going over ta vista city ta deliver some goods ter the nuns fer 'siah, since he ain't well 'nough ta go."

remembering that josiah had asked to be scheduled off for a couple of days, chris nodded absently. whilst happy enough for the big preacher to make the journey alone, he was glad to know that vin was taking company. of course, he'd prefer it wasn't the young tracker's trouble twin, since the two of them together attracted more grief than a fresh cow pie collected flies. but he was confident that ezra would look after their

other, so he just swallowed the last of his treat and offered, "make sure you send a telegram from vista city when you get there and another before you leave."

"yer a worrywart, larabee. anybody ever tell ya that?"

"not if they've ever met you, no."

ezra actually snorted at chris' dry response, then looked dismayed that the ungentlemanly noise had come from him. shaking his head ruefully at the detrimental effect that his

others were having on the manners instilled by maude, he rose to his feet and took the remainder of the cobbler over to inez to keep safe for jd.

"well gentlemen, i must be going as i have errands to do before i have to go out on patrol this afternoon," announced ezra, tipping his hat to the men still at the table and heading for the door. neatly side-stepping jd as the exuberant youth barged in the door, he was gone.

"thanks for the eats, ez," bellowed buck, slapping jd's hat off his head as the youth sat beside him.

"dammit buck, when are ya gonna quit doin' that?"

watching the boy scramble to pick up his beloved bowler from the floor, buck chuckled and replied, "maybe when you get yourself a real man's hat."

diverted from his continued tirade against the boisterous older man by the sight of the empty bowls, jd sniffed the air and asked hopefully, "have you been eating mrs potter's cobbler? i just went in but she said that she'd sold the entire thing and all of the apple pie she made to ezra. there won't be anything fresh until tomorrow now. don't suppose there's any left?"