Healing
As Vin lay on the ground, blood pouring from his thigh, Chris wondered how something as simple as escorting a young woman could have ended up as such as mess.
The two of them had volunteered to ride with Casey Wells to Mrs Brodie over in Louisville. The older woman had contacted Nettie and offered to spend some time with Casey, teaching her how to be more like a young lady. Casey hated the idea, of course, and while Nettie agreed that it was probably a waste of time, she also believed in providing her niece with as many opportunities as possible in life.
Neither Chris nor Vin were anticipating that the two-day ride to Louisville would hold any surprises and more than 2/3 of the way in, nothing unusual had occurred. Casey enjoyed her time with the two men. Although Chris didn't say too much to her, Vin was happy to show her different plants and animal tracks as they went, helping to pass the time. She was particularly interested in the various plants that Vin said could help with healing and he suggested to her that she discuss it with Nathan when she returned to Four Corners. For the first time, Casey started to wonder if perhaps there might be more in her future than marriage.
They were less than three hours from Louisville when the weather changed abruptly. Had Josiah been with them, he would have compared the sudden darkness and wind as apocalyptal. Chris and Vin, however, were slightly less dramatic. They realized that attempting to finish the journey when the horses could barely fight against the wind would be futile, so they agreed to find somewhere to hole up until the storm had passed.
As usual, it was Vin who spotted the cave - small, dark and miserable but dry and sheltered - and the three, now walking alongside the horses rather than riding them, headed up the small trail to the entrance. Chris led them with Pony, both of them sure and steady in their footing, with Vin bringing up the rear. Peso was as ornery as ever and it took a great deal of persuasion to get him to even move. Casey stumbled a few times, clinging to the reins of her horse as tight as she could. The men had both offered to help her, but she was stubborn, insisting she could manage it as well as they could.
She was wrong though, and, after the first few minor stumbles, she completely lost her balance, tripping and landing on the ground. Vin was the first to notice and rushed forward to help her. A chain reaction of coincidences led to Vin ending up back down the trail, one leg ripped to shreds from the rock he landed on, Casey crouched on the ground beside him sobbing and Chris dashing back towards them both.
"What the hell happened?" Chris demanded. For Vin to trip was one thing, for him to end up with this many injuries was something else.
"Musta got distracted, Cowboy," Vin replied through gritted teeth. He knew Chris well enough to know exactly what was going through his mind at that moment. Firstly, he would be blaming himself. Everyone involved knew that there was nothing Chris could have to done to change the situation, but Chris always blamed himself when one of the boys got hurt. Secondly, he would start blaming Casey. Not consciously, but the part of him that knew it wasn't his fault needed to find someone to blame. And there was no way Vin was going to allow Casey to take the brunt of Chris's temper.
"Casey," Vin interrupted before Chris could say anything more. "I need you to go find me some of that plant, the one I pointed out to you earlier."
"The one to help stop bleeding?"
He nodded, feeling the blood loss starting to make him feel rather light-headed.
"She can't go," said Chris suddenly. "The weather's too bad."
For a moment, Chris and Casey looked at each other, each daring the other to back down.
"I can, and I am," she said with a determination that shocked both men. Pulling her long coat tighter around herself, she set off, her head bent down, searching along the path for the distinctive shaped leaves.
Chris watched her go and then turned to face Vin. "What was that about?" he demanded to know.
Vin tried to answer, but it was clear to them both that the pain was getting too bad.
"Shit, Vin, I need to get you under cover." As gently as he could, Chris lifted the injured man up, cradling him as though he was a babe in arms. Vin, exhausted by the blood loss and the sudden movement, lay his head against Chris's shoulder as he allowed himself to be carried up the path into the cave. The horses, obviously deciding that the shelter from the outside wall of the cave was better than the open air, decided to follow, Pony and Peso leading Casey's borrowed horse.
The cave was a dark and damp as it had looked from the outside, but it was out of the rain and wind, which made it a clear improvement. Chris placed Vin carefully on the ground and looked around for some twigs that may be dry enough to make a small fire. Nothing. He cursed quietly to himself and headed back to the dry-ish spot where he'd left Vin.
"You gonna talk to me now?" he asked, more to keep Vin awake than out of any need for his question to be answered.
Taking a deep ragged breath, Vin spoke softly. "You were about to blame her for me falling," he said in no more than a whisper.
"Wasn't," Chris responded automatically.
Vin shook his head, a small sad smile on his face. "You were, Cowboy. You always have to blame someone when one of us makes a mistake." He stopped at this point as a coughing fit overtook him. Chris held out the water bottle to his lips and Vin managed to take a few sips. "You can never just accept that we screwed up."
Chris stopped to think. Vin never made statements like that unless there was some truth in them. And he trusted the tracker enough to realize that perhaps he was right.
"Am I that transparent?" Chris asked, growing more concerned about the sudden lack of color in Vin's face.
"Only to me," came the reply, hushed and pained.
"You hold on now, you hear me?" Chris demanded, anger replacing fear. He tugged Vin towards him so that other man's face was rested in his lap. He brushed the hair out of his face and resisted the urge to kiss his forehead, the same way he used to do to Adam. "Hold on, Vin."
With another hitched breath, Vin fell asleep, although Chris suspected it was deeper than a normal sleep, he also knew, from many a discussion with Nathan, that sometimes sleep could heal even the most major injury. With his back against the wall of the cave, Chris rested his own head and soon fell asleep. Perhaps the sleep could heal the injuries in his heart.
+ + + + + + +
Chris had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but when he opened his eyes, he could see that the rain had mostly stopped. He looked down at Vin and saw, with relief, that he was still breathing, slightly easier than before.
He heard voices coming along the path towards the cave and automatically reached for his gun. He wouldn't be much use in protecting Vin, not with the other man still asleep on his lap, but he would give it everything he had.
With a start, he realized that he recognized one of the voices. Casey.
"Casey?" he called out. The young woman came running in.
"Oh, thank god you're still alive," she said, dropping to her knees next to them. "I came back a while ago and you were asleep, so asleep that I couldn't wake you." Chris looked shocked by this revelation, but she continued. "So I crushed the leaves and put them on Vin's leg and didn't know what to do."
Chris could tell that she was nervous, which accounted for the rambling, something he was pretty used to having dealt with JD for so long.
"So I borrowed Pony, 'cos I knew he was faster, and rode to the small town we passed a few hours ago. They have a doc, so I brought him here."
She'd ridden Pony? Chris was astonished. That ornery mule usually never allowed anyone else to ride him. For the first time, he noticed the man standing behind Casey.
"Hey Doc," he said. The man stepped forward, bringing a lamp close to Vin so he could see the damage to his leg.
"Doesn't look too bad," came the prognosis. "He's sleeping now, which is the best thing for him. Let's get him back to my place and get him patched up properly." The man lifted Vin up with ease, carrying him out to the wagon that stood outside.
Casey turned to follow, but Chris caught her arm and held her back.
"Just wanted to say thanks," he said as he stood up. For a long time he had only ever trusted the other six men in his life. For the first time in a long time he had to trust in someone else. And a female. And his trust was rewarded. She'd probably saved Vin's life. Perhaps, he thought, they had both done some healing in that cave.
"Let's get Vin back to town," Casey replied with a smile and reached out a hand to Chris.
The End