Dropping down into the courtyard moments after the blast, J.D. quickly entered the door to the east hallway. He couldn't see anyone in either direction and he took up a position near the main entrance to the house. Despite the absence of an enemy presence, J.D. found himself hoping that Buck and Ezra would make their way to him soon. The hair on his neck was standing on end.

Entering the northern end of the home, Molly let loose a load of buckshot at the two men standing guard in the hall ahead of her. One of the men collapsed with four wounds to shooting arm and chest, the other man caught a piece of shot in his shoulder. He tried to raise his gun to return fire and stopped as Larabee's shot caught him in the stomach. Slumping to the ground he tried to bring the gun up once more. Molly knocked him senseless with the butt of her shotgun as she followed Chris past the dying men and toward the door they had been guarding.

Trying the doorknob, Molly was surprised to find the door unlocked. She backed up and replaced the spent shell in her shotgun, giving Chris a worried look.

Josiah had lost sight of Nathan as the two men had entered the building and begun fighting their way toward the north end of the house. He heard shots from directly behind and assumed Jackson was keeping pace with him. Most of the resistance seemed to be along their path. Josiah smiled grimly as he fired at yet another defender.

A noise from behind caught his attention. He turned to find Nathan standing within arm's reach, gun dangling loosely from his hand before dropping to the ground and discharging--the bullet crashing into the wall next to Josiah's knee. With horror he watched as the former slave crumpled to the ground.

The sound of gunfire from ahead meant Nathan would have to wait. Josiah could only hope that Jackson was still alive and would stay that way long enough to get him medical attention. Kicking in the door to his left, Josiah continued checking the rooms for occupants.

J.D. listened to the sound of gunfire that came from everywhere but his own position. He wanted to join in the action but Chris had been very clear on where he wanted the young Easterner to be during the fight. The days when he second-guessed the older gunman were behind him now. No matter what he saw or heard, he would stay at his post.

He nearly missed the movement in the hall as a man began to move quickly in his direction. Raising his twin Colts, Dunne blinked in surprise as he felt a bullet bury itself in his chest. In the dim light, he hadn't seen a gun. By the time it occurred to him to return fire, the man had passed by on his way out of the house. J.D. recognized him from the picture--it was Richard Arlington. Sitting down heavily, J.D. realized that his chest didn't hurt. He wondered if that meant he was dying.

Once inside the house Buck and Ezra could here the sound of gunfire coming from the area that Josiah and Nathan were clearing and also from the north end, where Chris and Molly were searching for the Judge.

Without a word Ezra headed off to help Josiah and Nathan while Buck went to meet up with J.D.. Buck found himself worrying more about Chris Larabee than he was about the kid. At least there wasn't any gunfire coming from J.D.'s location.

Ezra hoped he could avoid getting shot by his friends as he came up on them from behind. He could hear shots up ahead but the gunsmoke made visibility difficult. At best he could make out vague movement near the end of the hall.

Groans came from some of the bodies that lay strewn along the passage. Ezra raised a foot to step over one such body before recoiling in shock. It was Jackson. Gently checking for signs of life in his friend, Ezra didn't hear anyone approaching from behind until it was too late.

Moving cautiously down the empty hallway, Buck looked for a sign of his friend. There was a figure slumped against the wall about halfway along its length. Buck's gut tightened with fear as he called out Dunne's name and received no response. As he neared the crumpled form his fears were realized. J.D. Dunne looked dead.

Buck knelt down next to the boy and put his hand in front of Dunne's open mouth. When he felt J.D.'s hot breath against his skin he was dizzy with relief. The gunfire was dying down and Buck fought the temptation to find Nathan and bring him back to care for J.D. He would have to wait just a little while longer.

"Easy now, J.D. Ol' Nathan'll have you fixed up in no time. Yessiree. No time at all. You just wait and see." Buck took his coat off and draped it over the injured man. "An' don't you be worrying none about no scar. Ladies like a scar or two. Shows you’re a man." He lowered himself down to sit next to his friend, patting the leg nearest his own. "Hell, I ever tell you about Lucille and how I got that scar on my…."

Chris held Molly's eyes as they bracketed the unlocked door. As she her signaled readiness, he pushed open the door and peered inside. Judge Travis sat bound to a chair near the far wall. He wasn't alone. A man stood next to the chair and was in the act of drawing a large knife out of his belt sheath.

Unwilling to risk shooting the Judge, Chris holstered his gun and charged into the man, going down in a heap and grabbing the assailant's knife arm with both of his hands. He heard the air being forced out as he drove his knee into the man's belly and, as the knife clattered to the floor, he drove a fist into a face already distorted by pain.

Dazed when a return punch loosened several teeth and bloodied his lower lip, Chris clawed for his gun, only to have it knocked away. He caught hold of the fallen knife, driving it toward the man's belly. Two strong hands gripped his wrist as he put all of his weight behind the blade. The knife began to inch forward and Chris stared at its point, willing it to move.

"Chris…" The voice was raspy and filled with pain.

With the knife a half-inch from its destination, Larabee slowly raised his eyes to find Vin Tanner's familiar blue ones staring back.

For one shocked moment, Chris continued to press the knife home. His mind refused to believe what he had heard and seen. As the truth dawned, he slowly eased back away from Tanner. "Vin?" The whispered name was as much a prayer as a question.

"Nice to see you too, pard." Vin wiped a trickle of blood from his nose.

"But…" Chris watched Tanner climb to his feet and reach out for the knife. He watched as Vin cut through the ropes holding the Judge before sheathing the blade. In stunned silence he watched Judge Travis rubbing his wrists and sharing words with an apparition. It wasn't until Vin reached down his hand to help Chris to his feet that the truth took hold. The moment their hands touched Larabee felt a surge of relief so strong it was painful.

He kept hold of Tanner's hand a moment after standing, looking his friend up and down to reassure himself that Vin was all right. Finally releasing his grip, Chris grinned from ear to ear. "You look like shit, Vin."

The sound of approaching footsteps alerted Molly to the fact that someone was in the hall behind her. She swung around, her gun lining up on Josiah Sanchez. Molly had come within a hair's breadth of killing the former priest. Coloring slightly, she grinned up at the big man. "Sorry Josiah." She jerked her head toward the inside of the room. "But you're going to love this."

She had been watching the corridor, her father, and the fight, unwilling to leave the doorway unguarded. The room looked to be a parlor and had an inner door leading to an adjoining room. That door was open and Molly had kept a close eye on it, as well.

Molly didn't know how Vin had ended up at the ranch, but as she and Josiah went into the room she felt happy for the first time in months. Her father was alive, Mary and Billy were safe, and Vin Tanner was back from the grave. She couldn't have asked for more than that. She stopped in front of the Judge.

"I'm alright." Oren Travis answered the question in his daughter's eyes before focusing on Larabee. "Although somewhat confused."

Chris looked the tracker over once again, trying to understand how it was that Tanner still drew breath. "You ain't alone there, Judge"

"Reckon y'all thought I was dead. Bullet went along here, under the scalp." Vin supplied as he traced the bullet's path with his finger. "Never went in."

Inspecting Vin's savaged hair, cut short and uneven, Molly offered, "I'll pay for the barber."

Josiah said a short, but heartfelt, prayer of thanks. Vin and Judge Travis were both still among the living. He caught Chris' eye. "Nathan's been hurt. I'm going back to check on him." Receiving a nod in return, Sanchez turned and quickly retraced his steps. His pace slowed as he realized there were more bodies in the hall then there had been previously, and one of them was wearing a bloodstained red jacket. Standish sat propped up against the wall, a gun in each hand.

Blood masked Ezra's face and hands and soaked his white shirt. The gambler slowly turned his head to watch Josiah's advance. "I had begun to wonder…."

"Ezra?" Josiah couldn't see any obvious wound other than a few cuts on the man's face. "You been shot?" He knelt down in front of his friend.

"Not that I recall. I believe I was cut on the shoulder, however." Ezra winced and leaned forward to allow Josiah to glimpse the wound. "I was trying to aid Nathan when this…miscreant…attempted to murder me. As you can see," Ezra carefully holstered his guns, "he failed." He kicked the body of his assailant, lying on the floor in front of him.

"Your face?"

"My first shot merely annoyed him." Ezra dabbed at the blood flowing from his split lips with a handkerchief. "He nearly succeeded in beating me to death before I could fire the second. How fare's Mr. Jackson?"

Josiah turned his attention to Nathan. Blood pooled beneath the healer's head and a large swelling showed where he had been struck by something hard and heavy. Josiah could find no other sign of an injury. "I wish I knew."

The house had grown quiet. Even Rafe's rifles had fallen silent. Buck and J.D. sat in the hall and waited for help to arrive. J.D. had regained consciousness almost as soon as Buck had sat down next to him, but hadn't spoken up until the story of Lucille had given way to the seduction of Hannah.

The bullet had struck J.D. high on the left side of his chest and Buck could feel air escaping from the lung with each exhaled breath. He had seen his share of men lung-shot, but he had never seen one survive. J.D. would have to change that.

"Guess it's over, huh Buck? No more shootin'." J.D. shifted slightly. "Think Chris found his uncle?"

"I imagine so."

Buck thought about Chris facing down his uncle, about Sarah and Adam, about the others who had died because of Carl Larabee. Most of all he though about the boy who might yet die.

"Don't you worry none. Nathan'll be here real soon." Looking toward the north end of the hall, Buck added, "An' if he ain't, we'll just have to go find him."