The sun, the moon, the sky, the clouds by Twyla Jane

Disclaimer: The Magnificent Seven belong to Mirisch, CBS, MGM and Trilogy and were used without prior permission. Disclaimer is and always has been I don't own `em wish I did. Haven't made a plug nickel off `em either. Thanks to Mog for creating and opening up the ATF AU. Companion piece to “Nothing, Nada, Jack, Zip, Zilch” started oh so long ago. 1/19/04

The off white ceiling tiles looked beige in the dim light, their dotted pattern swirled in and out of focus. Feeling oddly disconnected from the immediate surroundings, mental acuity effectively dulled thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, Buck’s sluggish brain struggled to determine the basic facts, who, what, where, when, how and why. Though as quickly as the thought came to him it slipped away. The mere act of holding on to the conscious realm was all he could manage as he slowly blinked blankly staring up at a curious design the stain made that discolored the tile directly over head.

What’s up?

A silly singsong phrase echoed in his ears.

The Sun

The moon

The sky and the clouds

Same old same old what’s up with you?

The more things changed the more they remained the same.

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Of course this wasn’t the same old same old, something wasn’t quite right, that niggling thought hovered in the forefront of his mind, as he tried to grasp the reason behind it a warm hand squeezed his own and a pale face floated into view.

“Mr. Wilmington? Buck, are you with me?” The deep southern twang and simply asked question bore testament the extent of Ezra’s exhaustion and pain. Even Buck could see that … and what… he had lost his train of thought and when he tried to rub hand across his face the curiously heavy appendage defied him by remaining motionless. Apparently Ezra misunderstood his confusion and quietly tried to explain. “Don’t worry JD’s fine, he’s right over there…” Ezra slowly pointed over to an area to the side of the bed Buck couldn’t quite see, no amount of turning seemed to help. Curiously he was held in place.  “Neck brace… and you should know before your wits kick in you have a breathing tube in. So don’t talk. Try and go back to sleep.” Buck no longer able to fight off the weariness gave in unable to hold on to the nagging thought that brought him back to the waking world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A blurry disjointed memory of hazy figures in white looming over him as he choked on something that slid up his throat. A pinprick after that had the world fading into gray. All the while a steady soothing voice spoke to him encouraging him to let go and succumb to sleep.

Ezra?

The name went unspoken as Buck slid away letting the dark oblivion encompass him.

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Time invariably passed by, exactly how much his weary cobwebbed mind couldn’t entirely grasp. Long enough for the colorful hues of the sun to dance across the horizon sending the sparkling rays of light filtering through the blinds. For a long second Buck mentally panicked until his roving eyes glimpsed a familiar silhouette standing by the window.  His body felt numb, a sharp growing pain deep inside his chest had his eyelids squeezed shut taking in a shallow wheezy breath as memories flooding back. His presence in the waking world didn’t go unnoticed for long. Buck could feel someone was nearby and heard a clicking sound before warm fingers tightly gripped his.        

“Buck… I buzzed the nurse, they’ll having you feeling better in a second.”

His mind was reeling from the burning pain as it radiated through his torso. He tried to verbalize a growing fear, his raw throat managed to rasp out. “Ez?” 

“No, it’s me Chris.” Larabee was so close that Buck could feel his breath on his ear as the man spoke.

“Where… Ez?” The harder he tried to force out the words the more it hurt. The squeak of rubber-soled feet as they trod over tile announced the arrival of the night nurse. The comforting grip was released and Buck’s query went unanswered as the male nurse gently launched a well-rehearsed list of questions, poking and prodding him before efficiently injecting a dose of painkiller into his intravenous line lightly patting his leg before he left. It was several minutes before the pain ebbed away enough for Buck to grasp back onto his previous thought. It was important that he have an answer so despite his discomfort and growing lethargy he rasped out. “Chris?”

He didn’t have to wait long for the response as Larabee quietly spoke once again grasping on his hand, and began lightly stroking his forehead with the other. “Yeah I’m here.”

“Ez… where… s’okay?” His words came out slurred and stilted as he tried to make Chris understand what he so desperately needed to know.

It seemed Chris didn’t quite understand when he answered. “Down two floors sleeping… Josiah is watching them.”

“Ez… okay?” Buck asked again, beginning to get agitated unable to make himself clear or able to speak above a whisper.

“Don’t you work yourself into a tizzy … he’s okay, busted a few of his ribs and got a mild case of smoke inhalation. Nathan gave him hell for not letting the Emergency room staff fully check him out and before you ask J.D. is all right, a bit concussed but he recover, so you rest easy and let those med’s kick in.”

 Larabee’s words there were meant to set his mind to rest only drove Buck further on because it seemed that the man didn’t understand what he was trying to say.

So Buck began again, “No… is Ez okay? Not… his fault…” he finally managed to open his eyes to look up at his long time friend and boss searching the concerned face for comprehension.

Chris nodded as he spoke squeezing his hand to re-enforce that he understood. “I know…”

“Give ‘im hell!” Buck hoarsely whispered as his eyelids slid shut listening to Chris quietly rant.

“Damn mule headed southerner idiot… He’s a good agent but he’s not God... and even if I have to pound it into his thick stubborn skull I’ll make sure he understands that…”

Knowing that the more things changed the more they remained the same. Buck Wilmington smiled as he drifted off reassured by Chris Larabee’s presence and accepting the man’s word that things would be set right.

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What’s up?
The Sun
The moon
The sky and the clouds
Same old same old what’s up with you?

 

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