Ezra Standish FanFic
By : Enid Addictions
It was a sweltering summer day in Four Corners. There was a broken cloud cover and strands of sun ran through the openings in the clouds and streaked the landscape with their light! Ezra Standish was seated in a chair with his legs stretched out in front of him, his hat was hanging in the back of the chair. He was seated out in front of the saloon , for it was far too hot inside. He had just refilled his flask with Brandy and was downing a large swig, he told himself that it was to quench his thirst, but deep down he knew that he "needed" it to forget, forget the pain and loneliness of his life to this point. Things were slow in town and that made it more difficult, because then he had nothing to do but think. Think about his past and all the grief it had caused him.
Ezra took out his monogrammed handkerchief, wiped the perspiration from his brow, and took another
swig from his engraved silver flask. "My that was tasty" he said to himself. As he relaxed there in the chair,
the stagecoach rolled into town, dust flying from the horses hooves and the big wheels that carried it along.
As he watched the stage arrive, he reached into his vest pocket and withdrew his deck of cards and started
shuffling them back and forth between his ambidextrous hands. Every now and then he would pull out the ace
of spades and look at it, a little flash of pain crossing through his beautiful green eyes.
Ezra was the only one of the men, hired to protect the town, that was actually in town right now.
Chris and Vin were out helping Nettie Wells with some repairs to her farm, Nathan and Josiah were out at
the reservation to give medicine to the Indians., they had all been from the flu, and JD and Buck were out
gallivanting around somewhere. Buck was always looking for action these days, his addiction to women
seemed to be getting worse. Ezra stood up to go into the saloon, to refill his flask, when he glanced up, he saw a vision of beauty like he had never seen, step off of the stage. His thoughts of refilling his flask were
temporarily forgotten. He was now too curious as to who this incredible vision stepping off the stage and into this dirty little backwater could be. He decided to find out.
He got his hat and put it on, but was not about to put the green jacket on, that he had been wearing
this morning before it got so hot. He strode over to where the stage had stopped to greet and welcome the new
visitors to Four Corners. As he walked up, the most beautiful, deep blue eyes he had ever seen, met his with
wonder in them. As he took the young lady's hand to kiss the back of it and introduce himself, she started to
speak "greetings, my name is Elizabeth Marsh, and you are?" Ezra was momentarily speechless, her voice
sounded like a soft breeze blowing through the tree's. He stammered "my..my name is Ezra, Ezra Standish,
at your service, my dear", then kissed the back of her hand and said "welcome to Four Corners, may I assist
you with taking your luggage to the hotel?" It was Elizabeth's turn to be speechless, his soft southern drawl
and emerald green eyes were intoxicating. Finally she said "why yes, thank you Mr. Standish" she then turned
to introduce the mousy older woman that was with her "this is my assistant, Ms. Connor" she said. Ezra took
the woman's hand and kissed the back of it and said "how do you do, Ms. Connor? It is a pleasure to make
your acquaintance". Ezra then turned and picked up their luggage and started toward the hotel. As they walked
Ezra asked "so Miss Marsh, what is it that brings you to Four Corners?" as Elizabeth spoke, she could not
stop looking into those incredible green eyes "I am a singer and I have come to perform at your Opera House".
Ezra responded with "that is delightful, I will have to partake in one of your performances". He smiled a big
smile, with the biggest dimples Elizabeth had ever seen. She could not help smiling in return. "I would be
most honored if you would attend to a performance, and please call me Elizabeth". They reached the front
desk and Ezra bid the ladies a good afternoon.
Elisabeth and her assistant went to their rooms and settled in. Elizabeth was grateful that she would
not have to perform for a couple of days, she was very tired from the long coach ride and wanted to relax.
She would go and meet wit Mrs. Travis in the morning, she had been very grateful to Mrs. Travis for hiring
her and would be sure to let her know that tomorrow.
As Elizabeth and Ms. Connor were turning in for the evening, Ezra was just getting started over at
the saloon. He was getting started on a game of poker with Chris, Vin, Buck, and JD, who had all returned
from their days task's. Nathan and Josiah were still at the reservation and not due back until tomorrow. They
were not playing for money tonight, it had been too hot and most of them had worked too hard that day. It
was just for fun and drinking, of course. Ezra had already polished off one bottle of whiskey and was starting
on another. Chris and Vin had both wondered, to each other, how Ezra could put so much whiskey away and
still seem to keep his wits about him. Tonight was different though, Ezra was drinking even more than usual
and it was showing, he was losing every hand. It was a good thing they weren't playing for money tonight or
Ezra would be broke. All the others at the table were becoming very concerned about Ezra, they continued to
play and drink for a few more hours, but Chris decided that he and Vin should get Ezra to his room, for he
was about to pass out at any moment. Ezra did not fight them when they lifted him out of his chair and took
him to his room upstairs. They got his boots and guns off and laid him on his bed, he was asleep by the time
his head hit the pillow.
The next morning, Elizabeth awoke feeling refreshed and wanted to explore the town that she was
going to be living in for the next few months. Deep down she was also hoping to see the so very handsome
Ezra Standish again too. She thought she would drown in those green eyes of his, which by far, were the
most incredible eyes she had ever seen. She went downstairs to the lobby, where she was meeting Mrs. Travis
for breakfast. Mrs. Travis was waiting for her at one of the tables, she had already had a pot of coffee brought
to the table. Mrs. Travis stood as she saw Elizabeth approach, and said "Good morning, you must be Ms.
Marsh?", Elizabeth relied "yes, and you must be Mrs. Travis?". "Yes, but please call me Mary", Mary said.
"please call me Elizabeth" she returned. They both sat down and had a wonderful breakfast. They discussed
the terms of their arrangement for Elizabeth to sing at the music hall for 3 month's, during the summer.
Elizabeth made it clear what kind of singer she was and Mary was relieved that she was not a floozy, but that
was rather obvious by the way Elizabeth dressed. She was wearing a beautiful royal blue dress made of lace
and velvet. Mary said "can I give you a piece of advice, Elizabeth?" Elizabeth said "sure, Mary". "get
yourself some less fancy clothes, those that you have on will get ruined in this town" Mary told her. "that
would be a shame" she added. Elizabeth agreed, but she loved wearing these kind of clothes, they made her
feel elegant. "I will definitely do that" she said to Mary. "I will save these dresses for my performances", she
added. Elizabeth then excused herself, she wanted to explore town and get some less formal attire.
Elizabeth was casually stolling down the boardwalk, looking at her surroundings and taking it all
in. She was headed for the General Store, but she stopped in front of the saloon. If she remembered correctly,
that was the direction in which Mr. Standish had come when he greeted her the day before. She decided to
go in and see if he was there. She wasn't sure why she was so drawn to him, she had known many men, but
never was she so drawn to any of them as she was to the incredibly handsome Mr. Standish! As she walked
into the saloon, she glanced around to see if he was there anywhere, nothing, no sign of him. She felt her
heart drop, with that she realized she had it bad for him. That scared her. for she hardly even knew him.
All she knew was how handsome he was, that he had the most incredible green eyes, and he was an absolute
southern gentleman! In her mind, that was not enough for her to be feeling the way she was.
She continued to look around, as she did a very young looking man approached, he was wearing a
sheriff's star and a bowler. She had to smile, you don't find too many men wearing bowlers out here, she
thought. The young man spoke to her, "is there something I can help you with, ma'am?, My name is JD
and I am the sheriff", "perhaps you can" she said. "I am looking for Mr. Standish, do you know where I can
find him?" she added. A worried look came over JD's face, as he said "Ezra has not come down from his
room yet this morning, he had a rough night last night." Elizabeth asked, with a puzzled look on her face
"a rough night, how do you mean?" "he had a lot too much to drink, he had to practically be carried to his
room by Chris and Vin", he pointed to two men sitting at a table. "I'm sorry to hear that" she said "yes", JD
said, "we are becoming very concerned about Ezra, he has been drinking a lot more than usual lately, it
seemed to start after he got a letter from him mother, but he won't talk about it." "we all know he had a
painful and lonely childhood and that his mother had a great deal to do with it." Elizabeth felt her heart
breaking for Mr. Standish, as this young man, JD? she thought he said, told her this. "do you think he is
all right, has someone checked on him?" she asked, "I believe Nathan, he is what passes for a doctor here,
went up earlier, he said that Ezra had a heck of a hangover and was just sleeping it off." JD said. "well, I'm
glad that he is not ill, I will check back later today, thank you , JD did you say?" she asked ""yes, ma'am" he
acknowledged. "is there a message that I can give him for you?" he asked, "I just wanted to thank him for welcoming me to town yesterday and helping me with my luggage" she told him. "when he comes down, I
will let him know you came by, Miss?" JD asked, 'Marsh, Elizabeth Marsh" she said. "all right, Miss Marsh,
I will let him know." JD said. "thank you very much, JD and good day" she said as she turned to leave, "good
day Miss Marsh." JD added as she walked out of the saloon.
Elizabeth left and headed to the General Store. The entire time she was walking, she was thinking about what JD had told her about Mr. Standish's past, she felt very sad that he had grown up so unhappy and alone. She also wondered what kind of mother he could have, to treat her own child like that. She was so deep in thought that she ran right into a gentleman. "oh, I am so sorry sir, I was not paying attention to where I was going." she gasped, "that is quite all right, little lady." was the response from the tall, mustached man "it was a pleasure having such a vision run into me." he added. Elizabeth just rolled her eyes and thought, I hope he doesn't think he's charming.
"thank you sir, now I must be going." she said, as she turned to leave. Buck stood there stunned for a moment, but he could not leave it at that, so he caught up to her and asked "is there something I can help you with?" "no
thank you, I'm on my way to the General Store to make some purchases." she said, Buck responded with, "you
must be new in town, I have never seen you before", "yes, I arrived yesterday and received a very warm welcome
from Mr. Standish." she replied. "Ah, Ezra. He is very good at welcoming beautiful women to town." Buck
smirked. Elizabeth was becoming irritated with this man, "would you be so kind as to excuse me, I would like
to be alone with my thought's right now." she asked. "sure ma'am, excuse me for intruding, Miss?" Buck asked
Elizabeth sighed "Marsh, Elizabeth Marsh." " a pleasure to meet you Miss Marsh, my name is Buck Wilmington,
if you ever need anything, good day Miss Marsh" Buck said. "good day, Mr. Wilmington" she said, she was
glad he was gone. she had met a lot of men like him and they always irritated her. She went into the store and
began browsing, they did have some very pretty dresses that would stand up to this harsh climate much better
than what she had on! She spent several hours looking at everything the store had.
It was close to noon before Ezra felt good enough to get dressed and go downstairs. He didn't feel like
eating and it was another sweltering day, so he had left his blue jacket, that he usually wore with the rest of
what he had on, in his room, it was just too hot for that. The saloon was empty, so with nothing to do at the
moment, he sat down in a chair, stretched his legs out, and took a long swig from his flask. The brandy in the
flask was cool and tasty. He enjoyed every swallow. It was times like this he hated most, there was nothing
to do but think. He didn't like to think right now, that letter from Maude had really hurt him and brought back
all the memories of his past. He didn't think Maude had meant to hurt him, but she did all the same. He took
another swig, it seemed lately, since that letter anyway, that he could not get enough booze. It scared him, but
he could not help it, it was one of the few times in his life that he was not in control, but he didn't care, and
that scared him most of all.
He watched as a group of riders came into town, Rico Chavez's gang, he sighed, there was always
trouble when they came around. Maybe that was good, it would give him something to do. He looked around
and saw that the other's had seen then ride in as well. Chris and Vin were walking toward him on the
boardwalk, and had looked in their direction when they rode in, JD and Buck came out of the Jail and also
started walking in his direction, Josiah and Nathan looked at the gang from up on the roof of the church, where
they were doing repairs. He could not understand how they could do all that "menial labor" in this heat.
They all reached Ezra about the same time. Buck said "looks like trouble has arrived" Chris said "lets hope they
behave this time, it's too hot for a fight." Vin added "I could use some excitement though." then they all sat in
chairs and watched what Rico's gang was doing, which wasn't much right now. JD finally said, with a look on
his face like he just remembered something "oh, by the way Ezra, a beautiful young woman was looking for you
this morning" he paused, then added " I believe her name was Ms. Marsh." Ezra brightened considerably "What
prey tell was she inquiring about?" he asked. "she wanted to thank you for welcoming her to town and helping
her with her bags, she's a real beauty Ezra." JD added. "yes she is" he mumbled as his mind wandered back
to their meeting yesterday. The sound of Buck's voice saying "Yeah, I met that beautiful young lady earlier"
was what brought Ezra back, "we literally ran into one another, I didn't know you had already met her, until she
mentioned it." Buck added. "what is such a sweet, sophisticated woman like her doing in Four Corners Ezra?"
JD asked. Ezra sighed and a small smile appeared on his face, "she is a singer and will be performing at the
music hall for a while." he said. The others all noticed how Ezra said that, they realized that he was very
taken with Ms. Marsh. It was at that moment that Buck decided, despite how much he wanted to pursue Ms.
Marsh, that he would not. Ezra has had too many problems lately, to have a friend trying to get the girl, he
was obviously interested in, would not help the situation.
It was at that moment that Elizabeth appeared on the boardwalk, headed in their direction. JD found
himself hoping that she would not blurt out what he had told her this morning, about why Ezra hadn't been
available. He knew that Ezra would be angry if she knew why he was still in his room at that hour. They all
stood up as she reached them and stopped in front of Ezra. He gazed into her beautiful blue eyes again, he
could drown in those eyes. At the same time Elizabeth was gazing into Ezra's incredible green eyes and
thinking the same thing. They stood like that for a moment, forgetting the others were all standing there. JD
broke the moment by saying "Ms. Marsh? these are our friends, Chris, Vin, Nathan, Josiah, and Buck you have
already met." She nodded to each one and they tipped their hats in return. They all looked at each other and
then everyone, except Ezra and Elizabeth went into the saloon.
Ezra sat back down in his chair, his head suddenly became lite and he was dizzy. Elizabeth saw
this and became very concerned. She sat in the chair beside him and put her hand on his. She was amazed
at how soft and tender his hand felt under hers. She looked at his face and smiled at how incredibly handsome
he is. "are you all right, Mr. Standish?" she asked, "I am quite all right, my dear, and please call me Ezra."
he relied. "I am sorry, I forgot you told me that yesterday, Ezra, are you sure your all right?"she asked again.
"yes, it's just the combination of this heat and not feeling well this morning." he replied. She knew why he
didn't "feel well" this morning, but she would never dream of embarrassing him by saying so. "would you like
me to get you some water,Ezra?" she asked. He smiled lightly, but pain showed in those green eyes, "thank
you, my dear, but I'm just going to have some of this." he said as he pulled out his flask and took a long, deep
swig. Elizabeth felt herself become very sad to see him so dependent on the booze, She was worried. They sat and talked a while, which was nice, because they got to know each other better. Elizabeth decided that she
liked what she learned. Ezra was an amazing man, the most incredible one she had ever met. He was so smart,
he had a wonderful sense of humor, he was so kind and caring, but he also had a dark side and that intrigued
her. She was definitely falling in love with Ezra Standish, she smiled as she thought his name, because she
found that she even loved his name!
It had grown late and Ezra wanted to play some poker and have a "few" drinks. To him, Elizabeth
looked as though she were tired. "may I escort you to the hotel, my dear, you are looking a little tired." he asked.
He loved looking at her, with her beautiful blue eyes and hair of spun gold. Her skin was the slightest bit
golden, not the usual powdery white that most women's skin were. He tucked her arm around his and escorted
her to the hotel. He took her as far as the bottom of the stairs, but he could no longer resist his desire to kiss
her soft, full lips. He put his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers, they drank deeply of each other's
lips for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes. Neither one of them wanted to stop, but Ezra
finally pulled away. He smiled that beautiful smile with the huge dimples and said, "good night, my dear, I
hope I will see you tomorrow." Elizabeth's knees were still weak from that incredible kiss, "good night Ezra,
I am sure I will see you tomorrow." she said. She was thinking , I will make sure I see you tomorrow, off to
bed she went, and she was certain that she would dream of that kiss.
Ezra had gone from the hotel in a bit of a daze and headed for the saloon. He got a game of poker
going and was working on a bottle of whiskey. Two of the men playing poker were with Rico Chavez's gang,
but they seemed civil enough for now. Ezra had not been drinking as much as the night before, so he was
winning every hand. He felt good tonight, something he hadn't felt in a long time, he knew he had Elizabeth
to thank for that. Suddenly things changed, one of Rico's men decided to accuse Ezra of cheating. Luckily
Ezra had not been drinking as much, he was still one of the fastest draws around, especially with the Derringer.
He had it out before the other man could move, but Ezra was not aware of one of the other gang members over
by the bar. The one at the bar pulled his gun and it at Ezra's head, Ezra became aware of it with just enough
time to move, but the bullet still struck him in the left arm. He was knocked to the floor, where he lay
unconscious, after striking his head on a chair. Luckily Chris and Vin heard the gunshot and ran to the saloon,
they entered with guns drawn, just in time to prevent one of Rico's men from putting a bullet in Ezra's head.
Rico's men ran out the back of the saloon, Chris and Vin rushed over to Ezra's side. He was unconscious and
bleeding from a bullet wound in his left arm and a nasty gash on his forehead. As Chris worked to stop the
bleeding from Ezra's arm, Vin ran to get Nathan. Vin ran into Elizabeth outside, she had heard the gunshot
and was worried that someone, mainly Ezra, had been hurt. She asked Vin, "I heard a gunshot, what happened?"
Vin replied, out of breath, "Ezra's been shot, I have to get Nathan." Then he ran off. Elizabeth felt sheer
terror mount up inside her. She had just met the most incredible man she had ever known and now she might
lose him already. She found herself running to the saloon, she ran in, shoved her way past the crowd that had
gathered, and knelt down beside Chris. She wanted to cry when she saw Ezra's motionless form lying on the
floor, and the blood, so much blood. Chris looked over at her and said. "don't worry Ms. Marsh, he will be
all right, it' just his arm and a knock on the head." Thank you , Chris" she said. "are you sure he's all right?
he looks pretty bad to me." she added " I've seen a whole lot worse." Chris said, "he'll be sore for a while, but
he'll be just fine." he added. "don't you worry about Ezra, he is one tough gambler." Chris said with a
reassuring smile that he didn't really feel himself.
A moment later Nathan arrived and assessed the situation. He did look a little concerned, Chris
whispered to him "don't let on your worried, Ms. Marsh is quite concerned." Nathan nodded his head and
continued to work, he looked at Ms. Marsh and smiled, "he will be just fine" he told her. He wasn't sure he
believed it himself. It was not the gunshot wound that he was worried about, it was not that severe. It was the
blow to the head that had him worried. It appeared to be very serious indeed. Nathan bandaged Ezra's arm
and the gash on his head, being very careful not to push too hard on the wound. He motioned for Chris and
Vin to help him carry Ezra's still motionless form up to his room.
Nathan mentioned that someone would have to stay with Ezra around the clock until he woke up.
Nathan was not looking forward to a sleepless night. Then Elizabeth spoke up, "I will stay with him
through the night." "I don't know, that might not look good for you. " he advised. "I am not concerned with
my reputation, he is unconscious after all." Nathan agreed and left.
Elizabeth pulled a chair from the corner, she noticed how nicely appointed Ezra's room was. It
shouldn't have surprised her after the way he dresses. She sat watching his beautiful face, which right now
was completely expressionless. She was so in love with him, there, she had finally admitted it. She had fallen
in love with him almost at first sight, but after that kiss. which was just earlier that evening, she was hopelessly
in love with him. She couldn't believe that kiss was just a few hours ago. Right now, sitting next to his
motionless form, it seemed like a lifetime ago. She reached out and took his incredibly soft hand, he didn't
respond to her touch at all and that terrified her. He was so still, if she didn't know better, she would have
thought he was dead. She could see his well sculpted chest rise and fall as he breathed lightly.
At some point Elizabeth had fallen asleep, when she woke it was starting to get light out. She looked
at Ezra, he didn't appear to have moved an inch during the night and his hand still lay limp in hers. She was
now very concerned, she wanted to go and get Nathan, but she didn't dare leave Ezra alone. She was really
getting scared now, his chest seemed to be rising and falling at a slower rate as well. She decided to take the
risk of leaving him alone, she had to find Nathan! She got up and reluctantly let go of Ezra's hand. She
went out and down the hall, she was frantic now and was trying to remember where Nathan had said he could
be found. She reached the saloon and it hit her where Nathan said he could be found! She headed there as fast
as she could.
As she ran out of the saloon, she nearly knocked the man she thought was named Vin, on his butt. He
said, in a startled voice,"what's wrong, Ms. Marsh?" "it's Ezra, he has not moved all night and he is breathing
very slowly." she said. "go back and stay with Ezra, I will get Nathan." Vin said. "thank you so much Vin, I
was afraid to leave him alone." she replied. She turned, went back in the saloon, and up to Ezra's room. She
sat back down in the chair, watching Ezra for any sign of movement, tears began to appear in her eyes at the
thought of this incredible man lying before her, dying. She wanted to bawl, but she knew she had to keep her
composure. She could not resist the urge to kiss him any longer, plus she hoped it might bring him out of it, so
before Nathan and Vin could arrive she leaned over and gave him a very gentle kiss on the mouth, it was so
sweet, even though he did not respond, just being that close to him made her so happy usually, but this time it
made her sad to think she might not get another chance to share another incredible kiss, like they shared the
evening before!
Nathan and Vin arrived a moment later. Nathan immediately went to Ezra, Elizabeth got up and moved
the chair to give Nathan room. Vin could see the worry and tears in her eyes. He took her aside and gave her
a hug and told her "Nathan will fix him up right, he is the best doctor around and hasn't lost anyone yet, he will
not lose a friend." That only served to make her start sobbing into Vin's chest. He held her tightly and stroked
her hair. He figured that she needed to cry, so he let her.
After about 10 minutes, Nathan turned to Vin and Elizabeth and said "Ezra has some swelling in his
head, we saw this a lot in the war with head injuries. All we can do we can do is wait for the swelling to go
down." The sound of that terrified Elizabeth, she said "is that all, isn't there anything you can do?" "I'm
afraid that waiting is all we can do, I'm sorry Ms. Marsh." Nathan said regretfully. She began to cry again.
Vin put his arm around her and comforted her. Nathan then said "why don't you go get some rest Ms. Marsh,
there's nothing more you can do right now." she shook her head "no, I don't want to leave him, I don't think
I could sleep anyway."she sobbed. Nathan decided not to argue with her, he was sure he would not win. "at
least let me have someone bring you some food." he said. Elizabeth agreed to that, so Nathan and Vin left, both
with very worried looks on their faces.
Elizabeth settled back into the chair and took Ezra's hand again, still no response, she felt tears well
up again as she looked at his gorgeous, peaceful, face. She leaned forward, laid her head on his chest, and
cried. She fell asleep like that. Several hours passed and there was a knock on the door. Elizabeth slowly
opened her eyes, a little confused at where she was at first, then it all came back to her and she gazed at Ezra's
still motionless form. She got up and went to the door, it was Mary with a tray of food. "hello Elizabeth, I
brought you something to eat, I can see you got some sleep, how is Ezra doing?" she asked. "he is still the same,
he hasn't at all and his breathing is so slow." she whispered. Mary looked at Ezra, he had a bandage on his
head and arm and looked paler than she had ever seen him. She started to get very worried and Elizabeth
noticed this, she said "you care for him very much, don't you?" that startled Mary a little, "I care about all
seven of the men that protect this town, Ezra is a very good friend." Mary replied. "it is apparent that you care,
so I will keep you posted on his condition" she said. Mary nodded then told Elizabeth "I know you were
supposed to start performing tonight, but I think we can put that off for a few days" Elizabeth replied
gratefully "thank you so much Mary, don't think I could have done it." Mary smiled softly and said "I will
check on you later/" then she turned and left.
Elizabeth moved the chair over to the table and ate what Mary had brought. She was hungrier than
she thought. When she finished, she moved back over by Ezra, she had the desire to kiss him again, so she
did, again hoping for a response, again nothing. His lips were so soft and warm. She loved the way kissing
him made her feel. Her heart just felt so full and her soul felt like it could soar through the sky. She had never
had feelings for a man like the ones she had for Ezra and certainly not so quickly. They had only met less than
48 hours ago, but it seemed like years to her. She finally pulled away from Ezra, very reluctantly. She
thought she could kiss him forever.
She was afraid that she was becoming addicted to him, she never wanted to be out of his presence.
This scared her, because she knew she could be hurt very badly if anything went wrong. To her, it was worth
the risk, she loved Ezra with every fiber of her soul. She prayed now, that she didn't lose him before she
could express this to him. She looked at him again and wished she could look in those beautiful green eyes
again. She laid her head back down on his chest and fell asleep.
Sometime later, she wasn't sure how long, but the shadows were growing long, so it had to be at least
5 or 6 hours, she woke up. It was because she felt Ezra squeeze her hand. She sat up straight and looked at
Ezra's handsome face, he was still unconscious, but he was showing a great deal of pain on his face now,
which, in a way, was good. She decided to go get Nathan. Luckily she didn't have to go far, she ran into him
on the stairs. He was on his way to check on Ezra. He said 'I checked a few hours ago, but you were asleep and
Ezra didn't look any worse, so I didn't disturb you." "thank you Nathan, I was coming to look for you. Ezra
seems more aware now, he has a lot of pain showing on his face now." she said. They went up to Ezra's room.
Nathan checked Ezra over and when he turned around he had a look of relief on his face "he appears
to be improving, the swelling has gone down a lot and he is becoming responsive to pain." Nathan advised
her. Elizabeth breathed a deep sigh of relief "that's wonderful Nathan, then he will be all right?" she pleaded.
"I think so, but until he wakes up, I am not going to stop worrying." he admitted. Elizabeth frowned at this,
"so he is still in danger?" she gasped. Nathan just nodded, he told her "I will come back and check on him
every few hours, you come and get me if he wakes up, please?" he asked. "I will, you can count on it" she
promised. Nathan nodded and the left her alone with Ezra once again. She went back to her bedside vigil.
This time however, when she took his hand , he wrapped his beautiful fingers around hers. She smiled and
knew in her heart that he would be OK. She leaned over and kissed him again, this time he returned the
kiss and that made it sweeter than ever.
Several hours passed, Nathan had been by once. Elizabeth was holding Ezra's hand and staring out
the window. Suddenly, she felt like she was being watched, she turned to look at Ezra and was met by his
incredible green eyes looking back at her. They were only about half way open, but that was enough for her.
She got a huge smile on her face and reached over to caress Ezra's cheek and said in a soft voice "welcome
back Ezra' he choked out I a low whisper "what happened?" "you struck your head very hard when you
fell, after that man shot you in the arm, we thought you were going to die." she whispered with a tear in her
eye. The look on her face surprised Ezra, it looked like she would have died too, if he had. He tried to smile
for reassurance, but he was barely able to stay awake, so it was a very small smile. Elizabeth's face lightened
after the smile just the same. She told Ezra "I am going to get Nathan, he wanted to know when you woke
up." He made a very small nod as she left.
She found Nathan, but by the time they got back to Ezra's room, Ezra was asleep again, but Nathan
could tell that it was a deep sleep and not unconsciousness. He said "I think it's safe to say he will be fine"
Elizabeth smiled a big, bright smile. Nathan checked Ezra once more, trying not to wake him, he failed. Ezra
opened his eyes again, to see a smiling Nathan looking down at him. "glad to see your back with us Ezra, we
were getting worried.' he said. Ezra gave him a small smile. Nathan turned and spoke to Elizabeth "I will go
now, he needs all the rest he can get." " I will make sure he gets it Nathan, thank you." she responded. Nathan
nodded and left. Elizabeth went to Ezra and said "you need to sleep now Ezra, so I am going to leave for just
a few minutes to freshen up, then I will be back." she smiled as she said it. Ezra grabbed her hand and pulled
her close, his strength after all this amazed her. They kissed deeply, feeling warmth wash over both of them.
Neither wanted to break the kiss, but Elizabeth knew he needed sleep, so she pulled away and smiled "I will
be back shortly, my love." she whispered. That statement shocked Ezra, "my love", he thought, wow, this
beautiful lady had it bad for him, him, he was speechless. She left him alone and he was quickly asleep.
Elizabeth went to the hotel and got a fresh outfit, Ms. Connor was there and she asked "how is Mr.
Standish? he must be better or you wouldn't be here." "he woke up finally, but he's still pretty out of it, I'm
just getting some fresh clothes and a hot bath." she replied as she gathered her clothes. "Please give Mr.
Standish my best and I hope he is well soon," said Ms. Connor. "I will let him know, thank you/" she said as
she went out the door. She headed straight for the bath house, for she was in desperate need for a bath. She ran
across Buck coming out, "how is Ezra Ms. Marsh?"he said with concern. "he is finally awake, but he is still
pretty out of it, he is sleeping now." she replied. "that's great" Buck said with a big smile "I will let the others
know, they have all been very worried." he added and then went on his way. Elizabeth went in for her hot
bath.
Later that evening, Ezra woke up again, this time he seemed much more alert. His eyes sparkled
in the low light put off by the oil lamp on the table. Ezra glanced around, but couldn't move his head, the
pain was intense when he tried to move his head. He was able to see that Elizabeth was seated in the chair with
her head on the bed, sound asleep. He laid there looking at her for a time, thinking how beautiful she looked,
especially in the soft light. He reached down with his hand and stroked her beautiful, golden hair. She
stirred slightly at his touch, but did not wake. He wondered how long she had been here with him. He decided
to ask Nathan when he saw him again. He lay there stroking her hair for a little while longer, then drifted off
to sleep.
The next morning Ezra awoke to find Elizabeth standing by the window and staring out , "good
morning Elizabeth." he whispered. The sound of his voice gave her a start and she turned quickly. She saw
him trying to sit up, but it caused too much pain and dizziness in his head, so he lay back down. Elizabeth
walked over to the table and picked up a tray of food and brought it over to him. Now that he thought about
it, he was hungry. "good morning Ezra, how are you feeling this morning?' she inquired. "much better my dear"
was his response, but Elizabeth didn't believe it for a minute. She could see the pain etched on his so very
handsome face. It hurt her heart to see that much pain in those green eyes. She fed him and he ate it all, which
was a good sign, but all that pain on his face was difficult to look at. She knew she probably shouldn't do
this, but she knew if she gave him some Brandy, it would ease his pain and she could not bear to see him in
pain like that any longer. She picked up the silver flask that was on the dresser and took it over to him. She
sat so she could prop his head up for him and put the flask to his lips. Ezra took several gulps and stopped,
then took several more. He said "thank you my dear, I feel much better now." She could see that he did and
was glad she had given it to him. While she had him where she wanted him, she bent over and gave him a
long, deep kiss that they both became lost in. Elizabeth could not believe how wonderful a kisser Ezra was, she
lost her senses when she kissed him. The kiss lasted a few long, wonderful minutes, then she broke off and told Ezra, "you need to get some rest." she could see that he was tired, his eyes were starting to fall shut.
When Nathan came by later that morning, Ezra asked "how long has Elizabeth been here with me?"
"from the moment you were injured" Nathan responded. Ezra was stunned "Every moment?" he gasped.
Nathan just shook his head. Ezra could not believe she had spent all that time there with him. She must have
it bad for me he thought, unbelievable. Elizabeth was not there at the moment, she had gone down to get
breakfast and find Mary, to let her know that she would perform tonight.
Nathan told Ezra that he could get up and get dressed if he wanted to, but to take it very easy. "if you
want to go downstairs, have someone help you, the last thing I need is to have you fall down the stairs." Nathan
lectured. "I will be sure to do that, my good man." Ezra replied. Nathan then left. Ezra carefully got out of
bed and dressed in his blue haberdashery. The heat of a few days ago had dropped dramatically, so he definitely
needed his jacket now. He could not wear his hat though, but he didn't care.
Elizabeth had found Mary and they are breakfast together. "I wanted to tell you that I will be able to
perform tonight." she told Mary. "are you sure your up to it? I know Ezra is much better now, but you haven't
had much rest." Mary said. "actually, I have gotten quite a bit over the last day and a half." she sighed "Ok, if
that's what you want, I will distribute a flyer." Mary said. "thank you so much Mary, I think I need something
to do." Elizabeth said. She noticed the look on Mary's face and realized she was looking toward the top of the
stairs. Elizabeth turned around to see Ezra, standing there, her mouth dropped open in surprise, she could not
believe he was up and about. "could one of you lovely ladies please help me down the stairs?" he asked, in that
southern drawl she loved so much. Both women rose to help him, they went up the and got on either side of
him and carefully guided him down the stairs. They brought him over to where they were sitting and he sat
down there, "barkeep, A bottle of whiskey please?" he said. Both women looked at him with surprise, the
first thing he wants when he's up and about is whiskey! Unbelievable. " do you think that's a good idea
Ezra?" Mary asked. "it's the only thing that eases the pain, my dear Mrs. Travis."he responded. Mary just let
it go. "well I must go and prepare some fliers for your performance tonight, good day, you two" Mary said as
she got up. Ezra and Elizabeth both said "good day, Mary" at the same time, they looked at each other and
laughed. Ezra decided that she had a beautiful laugh. He enjoyed looking at her. If only he knew how addicted
to him, Elizabeth was. They finished breakfast and Ezra wanted to sit outside for a while. Elizabeth took
Ezra's hand and they walked out front and found a bench to sit on. They sat, not speaking, for quite some time.
Ezra saw JD coming down the boardwalk toward them, Ezra hadn't seen JD since the day he introduced
Elizabeth to him. JD, on the other hand, had seen Ezra several times, all while Ezra was in the coma. JD had
a huge grin on his face as he saw Ezra sitting there, "hey Ezra, glad to see your up and around, I was real
worried about ya for a while." JD blurted. Ezra could not help smiling at the young man's enthusiasm. "thank
you Mr. Dunn for your concern, but I am quite fine now, I assure you." Ezra said. JD replied "Nathan came and
told all of us last night that you had finally woke up, we were all real glad to hear it, Ezra." Ezra just smiled.
Ezra and Elizabeth sat there for a while, just watching the activity in town. Ezra noticed that Rico
Chavez's gang was still in town. He'd like to get his hands on cretin who had done this to him, but he was
feeling too tired now, so he turned to Elizabeth and said, " would you be so kind as to help me back to my
room my dear? I am feeling rather tired." She replied with concern "certainly, are you all right?" "yes, just
tired and hurting a little." Ezra sighed. As they started to get up to go in, they ran across Vin. He looked
happy it see Ezra up and about, but it didn't last long, because when Ezra stood up, he became light headed and
lost his balance. Vin was there to grab him and steady him. "thank you for your assistance Mr. Tanner" Vin
nodded and asked "do you need help getting to your room?" "thank you again Mr. Tanner, but I have the
lovely Elizabeth here to help me." Ezra responded. Vin nodded again, let go of Ezra, and continued walking
down the boardwalk.
Elizabeth got Ezra to his room, he sat rather heavily on the bed, quite obviously tired. Elizabeth
knelt down and pulled each of Ezra's boots off, at the same time Ezra was removing his tie. Elizabeth put
his boots at the end of the bed, then she helped Ezra remove his jacket, being very careful of the wound on
his arm. She then removed his vest, she took the tie, jacket, and vest and lay them neatly over the back of
the chair. When she turned back around Ezra was already lying down, but not yet asleep. "are you sure your
all right?" she asked, as she came over and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached over and took her hand, "yes
my dear, just tired" he said. The feel of his touch sent shivers up her spine. She leaned over and kissed him
passionately, his soft, warm lips felt so wonderful, she couldn't think of anything that made her feel as good
as she did when he kissed her. She then kissed his cheek, then found herself moving down to his neck. He
tasted so sweet, but he didn't wear cologne, so that really amazed her. She continued to kiss his neck and then
moved back up to his mouth, they held that deep kiss for what seemed like forever. Ezra finally pulled back
and said "you best be going so you can prepare for your performance this evening, my dear." She sighed, his
kiss always made her feel weak "you are right of course, but I still hate to leave you alone." she said. "I will
be just fine my dear, I will be asleep in no time." Ezra whispered. She nodded and moved to get up, Ezra
reached out and put his hand to the side of her face, then cupped her chin in it and drew her in for one last
goodnight kiss. He kissed her so warm and tenderly that she thought she would melt into a big puddle on the
floor. He released her and she got up shakily and left him alone.
After Elizabeth left, Ezra started to drift off, but his mind kept returning to Elizabeth and how good
she made him feel. He had not felt good or happy in a long time, not since Maude's infernal letter. Elizabeth
had managed to make him forget all of that for a while. "god I need a drink" he said to himself and sat up
slowly. He got up and walked to the dresser, where his flask was sitting, he picked it up, opened the lid, and
took a big swig. "much better" he said out loud. Then went back to bed, he was asleep in minutes and dreamed
of the kisses he had shared with the beautiful Elizabeth. A smile crossing over his handsome sleeping face.
Elizabeth went back to her hotel room to get ready for tonight's performance, she was having
difficulty though, for she could not stop thinking about Ezra. That last kiss had gone all the way to her soul.
She managed to get dressed, but she did not know how she was going to get through tonight if her mind didn't
stop going where it wasn't supposed to. She went downstairs and across the street to the music hall. She
went back to where the stage was and began to warm up. She was very nervous and she found that she just
wanted to be back with Ezra. It was strange that she was nervous, she usually loved to perform and loved
singing.
About twenty minutes passed and people started to arrive. Mary was the first and she could see how
nervous Elizabeth was. "Elizabeth? are you all right?" she inquired. "yes, thank you Mary, I don't know why
I am so nervous, I love to perform." she said. "it's probably just a result of all you've been through the last
few days." Mary replied. Elizabeth sighed and said, "your probably right, I am still worried about Ezra, he
seemed so weak and tired when I left him." Mary responded with "he is probably sound asleep right now, so
don't worry ,OK?" "OK" was all Elizabeth said. She performed flawlessly that night, once she got started
the nervousness disappeared, but her thought's of Ezra did not, but that only seemed to inspire her. He was
good at that, as far as she was concerned. She slept in her hotel room that night, it was the first time since
the first night she was in town. She dreamed of Ezra,of course, and could not get his gorgeous face out of
her mind, not that she really wanted to.
Ezra awoke in the morning and felt incredibly good for the first time in days. He had slept very
deeply that night, a healing sleep. He got dressed, putting on his purple haberdashery, and went downstairs.
He went to the bar so he could fill his flask, he also got a shot of whiskey while he was there. He left the
saloon and headed for the hotel to get breakfast. As soon as he walked in, he saw Elizabeth at a table in the
corner, she saw him and waved him over. He joined her at the table and said "good morning my dear Elizabeth,
how are you this morning?" "just fine thank you, you are looking quite wonderful this morning, you must
have had a good nights sleep." she said with a smile. He smiled in return, which just melted her heart, those
dimples were amazing. "indeed I did, I'm looking forward to the day. It feels like forever since I played poker
with the men and just enjoyed myself." he paused, then added "I look forward to partaking in your performance
tonight as well, my dear."she blushed a little and said "I am pleased that you are planning to attend, but I don't
want you over doing it." "I plan to take a little nap later." he said softly. She just loved it when he spoke softly
in that southern drawl of his. Someone came over to see what they wanted for breakfast, Elizabeth just had some
toast, but Ezra ordered quite a bit, including a bottle of whiskey. Elizabeth was not pleased about that and she
said so"Ezra? Isn't it a little early for that?" "it's never too early" was all he said. "JD told me that you have
been drinking more ever since you got a letter from your mother." she inquired. "that was not his business to
tell." Ezra said angrily. "please tell me about it, it will help you feel better, I promise" she whispered. Ezra
sighed and nodded his head, she was the only one that he felt comfortable enough with to tell. "She just had to
tell me how disappointed she was in the way my life was going, that I had become too soft, that I started to
care about people too much, and that I should be ashamed to call myself a Standish." She could see incredible
pain in his eyes as he said all this and it broke her heart. Since the hotel lobby was empty she didn't hesitate
to lean over to him, take his face in her hands, and kiss him deeply. When she pulled away she said, "Oh,Ezra
your mother sounds like a cold and heartless woman, you are a wonderful man, I am very proud of the type
of person you are. What amazes me is how you are so wonderful when you were raised by someone like her."
He looked at her with those beautiful green eyes, which actually had a tear in them and said "thank you my dear,
but I really wasn't raised by her, she dumped me at any relatives doorstep and only came for me when she needed
me for one of her cons." He said this with a great deal of bitterness. This information about his past only made
her love him more, if that was possible. "Oh, Ezra, I am so sorry that you had such a painful childhood, you
didn't deserve that." she paused a moment, then said "I would like to get my hands on your mother for what
she's doing to you. I know you probably love her, but it is inexcusable for her to treat her own son like that."
Ezra looked positively sorrowful. She had not seen him that sad before, but then she hadn't known him long
either. She reached out and put her hand's around his neck and kissed him deeply again, running her fingers
through his velvety hair as she kissed him deeper. Then she just put her arms around him and held him tight.
Her thought's turned to how wonderful she thought it would be to make love to him. She wanted that badly, but
she was not going to push him into it. She only wanted it if he did, but she wasn't sure if he did. She continued
to hold him until he pulled away. He seemed distant for a moment, then his eyes focused on her with such
intensity, she thought she would faint. "will you come to my room after your performance tonight?" he
whispered. "if you want me too, I will." she replied. She was stunned, he wanted her too, she was very happy
about that. He nodded and then said "if you will excuse me, I would like to go play some poker" "certainly
Ezra, I will see you later."she said. "I await this evening with much anticipation." he replied. Then he leaned
over and gave her a deep good bye kiss, then got up and headed to the saloon.
When Ezra arrived at the saloon it was fairly empty, but Buck, JD, and Vin were all sitting at a table
talking. As soon as Buck saw him, he smiled a big smile and hollered, "Hey Ezra, over here, we are so glad to
up and around." "How's your head and arm, pard?" Vin asked. Ezra smiled a little at Buck and thought, that
man has no dignity, hollering like that. he responded to Vin's question "they are doing quite well, thank you."
as he sat down he asked "A friendly game of poker, gentlemen?" Vin smiled and said,"I guess you are feeling
better, deal the cards Ezra." Ezra took the deck of cards out of his vest pocket and shuffled, which did cause
some pain in his arm. JD noticed this and asked "would you like me to deal, Ezra?" Ezra shrugged "why not"
was all he said and handed the cards to JD. He got up , went to the bar, and got a couple of bottles of whiskey,
he brought them back to the table and while JD dealt the cards, Ezra said "help yourselves gentlemen, it's
my thanks for your concern and support." They passed the bottles around and began playing poker. It was
several hours, and a large pile of cash in front of Ezra, when they finished playing. Ezra had again had too
much to drink, but was still polishing off another bottle of whiskey. The others looked at each other and
thought, nothing had changed, he was still drinking too much.
Ezra excused himself to go take a nap, so he could be alert to Elizabeth's performance tonight
, The others tipped their hats in return. Ezra went up stairs to his room, he got his boots off and removed
his jacket, then lay down to sleep. He slept for several hours and awoke with a headache, especially where
his injury was. He looked at his gold watch, that was attached to his vest and saw he had just enough time
to freshen up before Elizabeth's performance. He brushed off the clothes he was wearing, he didn't want to
change, he loved his purple haberdashery. He poured some water into a basin and put shaving cream on his
face. He shaved his face so that it was baby smooth, he took a comb and ran it through his hair, so that it was
neat, he put his boots and jacket back on, and headed downstairs. Other than the headache, he was feeling
very good and was looking forward to tonight, after the performance, he found he really wanted to make love
to Elizabeth and could not forget how incredible her kisses were.
Ezra arrived at the music hall before anyone else. He found Elizabeth at the back, were the stage was.
She was wearing a beautiful burgundy, velvet and lace gown, she looked like and angel. He smiled a very
broad smile, just as Elizabeth looked up. She smiled back, she couldn't help it, his smile was so contagious.
He walked back to her, put his arms around her, and kissed her neck, then slowly worked his way up to her
mouth and kissed her deeply, she started to swoon, but Ezra held her tightly. He finally released her, but she
did not want him to stop, before he could let go of her, she took his gorgeous face in her hand's, being careful
of his head wound, and returned the kiss he had just given her, it was so tender and the taste of his lips was so
sweet. She then kissed his cheek, then down to his neck. The taste of his skin was like honey, she then let him
go. He went and took a seat in the front row. Both of them were thinking the same thing, they could not wait
until the performance was over.
A short time later people started to arrive, Elizabeth was more nervous than ever, because Ezra was
there, but she tried to ignore that. It was time to start, she began with a song called "Hard Times, Come Again
No More", she was finding that she loved to sing to Ezra, everyone else disappeared from her mind. Ezra was
amazed, she had a voice like and angel from heaven, it was beautiful. She then sang "Home, Sweet, Home", the
performance lasted another hour, then she finished with "My Old Kentucky Home", she received shouts of
encore, so she sang one last song "Beautiful Dreamer", she sang it more beautifully than Ezra had ever heard it
sung. She received a standing ovation, while she took her boughs and thanked people for coming, Ezra left for
his room. Ten minutes after Ezra had gotten to his room, there was a knock on the door, Ezra opened it and
Elizabeth flung herself into his arms, they kissed deeply for a moment, then Ezra pulled away and closed the door.
They spent some time just enjoying each others company, Ezra held her tight and they just kissed passionately,
then they began the process of making love, they were both so into each other that the world around them
could have ended and they would not have noticed.. They made love several times, reveling in how it felt for
them to become one , in both body and soul, it was the most incredible time of either of their lives. Elizabeth
knew she never wanted it to end, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Ezra. She was just afraid he did
not feel the same way, he had not told her that he loved her, so maybe he didn't, maybe this was just another
fling for him. She prayed that wasn't so, she so wanted him to feel the same for her. Eventually they fell
asleep in each others arms, feeling completely one.
They woke in the morning, still in each others arms, and made love again. Ezra really knew how to
make her feel alive, as they finished, Ezra whispered, in that southern drawl that just melted her, "I love you ,
Elizabeth and I think I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but right now I am just too confused about
some things to make that decision now." she looked up into those unbelievable green eyes, and could see that
he meant what he said, she said "I love you too Ezra and I can wait for you to be sure." He kissed her so deeply
that she thought she would just die, he was so wonderful and gentle. He then got up and got dressed, he wanted
some breakfast, he was particularly hungry this morning. Elizabeth watched him as he got up out of bed, god
he had an incredible body to go with those incredible looks. He told her, as he got dressed "You can take your
time and get up and dressed, whenever your ready, I will see you in the hotel for breakfast." she smiled and said
"I will join you shortly, my love." she loved the way that sounded. He had put on his glorious red jacket today,
he looked so handsome in that jacket. Before he went out the door, he went over to her, still in the bed, and
gave her another passionate and so gentle kiss. Then he left, she suddenly felt very alone and empty, god she
was addicted to him. He unfortunately was more addicted to booze than he was to her, but he did love her and
wanted to be with her, so that was all that mattered to her, except she did worry that one of these days his
drinking was going to get him killed, and that terrified her. She got dressed and got ready to join Ezra for
breakfast at he hotel.
Ezra was at the hotel, he had not ordered breakfast yet, he was waiting for Elizabeth. When he walked
in Chris and Mary were sitting at a table having breakfast, they had invited him to join them, but he had said
he was meeting someone. Chris and Mary both had a pretty good idea who that was, they didn't think Ezra
knew how obvious it was between them. Ezra had ordered a bottle of whiskey however and was knocking back
shots of it when Elizabeth walked in. She saw him and was saddened to see him drinking already. She waved
to Chris and Mary and went over to Ezra, he greeted her with a very deep kiss, that Chris and Mary saw, they
both smiled, they were happy that Ezra had found such a special lady. Elizabeth sat down and they had
breakfast. It was a wonderful day, she felt so alive after last night, and this morning, she thought with a smile.
After breakfast they just sat talking and kissing for a while, they could not seem to get enough of one anothers
kisses. She told Ezra that she was going to go see about preparing a picnic lunch, so they could go for a
horseback ride later and have a picnic lunch. He thought that was a wonderful idea. She got up and gave him
one last, long kiss before she left. Buck came over to him after she left, he had been watching from across the
room, "may I sit down Ezra?" he asked. Ezra nodded at the chair, but said nothing, he was deep in thought,
remembering the events of last night and how incredible it had been. Buck said to him"I am real happy to see
you have found such a special lady Ezra, are you going to marry her?" that made Ezra look up at him, "I want to,
I really want to, but I'm just too confused about things right now, to make that decision." he signed and knocked
back another shot. Buck said "don't wait too long Ezra, she is to special to let slip away, she may say she will
wait, but she won't wait forever." "I know that Buck, I mean thank you for your concern, but I am well aware
of what I could lose, believe me." Ezra stated. Buck shook his head and got up and left, he could see Ezra
wanted to be alone with his thoughts right now. Ezra continued to knock back the shots, but was not appearing
to becoming drunk.
Elizabeth met Ezra outside the hotel for their horseback ride, they walked to the stables, where Ezra
had already arranged for the horses to be saddled. He knew the perfect spot for a picnic, it was beautiful and
isolated. They could be alone, and Ezra wanted Elizabeth alone for more than one reason. They rode for about
half an hour before they came to the spot Ezra was looking for, he had found the spot while looking for a
private place, that he could come to think when he needed to. They got off their horses, Ezra put a big blanket
on the ground to sit on, they got the picnic lunch out and sat down. It was a wonderful lunch, and he enjoyed
sharing this moment with her. He pulled her close and kissed her, he kissed her gently and passionately. Then
he pulled back and said "I do want to marry you, but for now, will you consider this a promise that, as soon as
I work through these issues of mine, that I will propose to you?" She smiled and responded with "I will and
I love you so much Ezra, I will wait as long as you need." then he kissed him very deeply. They wound up
making love there in the shade of a willow tree. As they rode back to town, Ezra kept taking swigs from his
flask, Elizabeth had to say something, she loved him too much not to,"Ezra, I wish you wouldn't drink so much,
it worries me." she said sadly, He hated to see her sad, but said "have no fear my dear, it is not a problem, I am
just very thirsty today." not a very good excuse she thought, but she did not know what to do.
When they got back to town, Elizabeth went to have a hot bath and get ready for the night's performance.
Ezra went to the saloon, to play some poker, he was not aware that someone was watching him. He played for
hours, drinking all the while, he was pretty well drunk by the time he went to meet Elizabeth after her show. He
actually stumbled out of the saloon and started staggering across the street to the music hall, the show had
actually been over for a little while so all the people had already gone. Ezra was being watched again, but this
time it was down the barrel of a gun. The guy from Rico's gang that had accused him of cheating was getting
ready to seek his revenge. Ezra was completely unaware of his presence in the upstairs window behind him.
Elizabeth came out of the hall to meet Ezra, she could see he was very drunk, she started walking towards him,
when she saw the man in the window pointing the gun at Ezra, she yelled to Ezra to look out and she started
running toward him. Ezra's reflexes were too slow , because he was drunk, the first shot hit Ezra in the right
shoulder and he dropped to his knee's, suddenly very sober now, but it was too late. The next shot hit Elizabeth
right in the chest and she fell to the ground just inches from Ezra. Luckily Chris and Vin heard the shots
and came running from the saloon, guns drawn and Vin shot the man in the window, it was too late though, the
damage had been done.
Ezra worked his way to Elizabeth and brought her up into his arms "Elizabeth?" he said "Ezra, I'm sorry
I didn't see him sooner," she closed her eyes as she bit back pain, Ezra was watching the woman he loved more
than any woman he had ever met, die in his arms, "Elizabeth, don't talk, this is my fault, I drank too much
tonight." he pleaded "No.....No Ezra, you can't blame yourself, please? I could not bare to know that you blamed
yourself." she whispered. She was slipping away, by this time the others had gathered all around, "someone get
Nathan." he yelled to the others. Josiah came over to Ezra and said "Nathan is on his was Ezra, but you have to
face the fact that there is nothing he can do either." and put his hand on Ezra's shoulder, "NO, I don't believe
that." he hollered. He then looked down at Elizabeth's beautiful face, that was streaked with pain now, and
started to cry. She looked up into those beautiful, tear filled, green eyes and thought I can die happy knowing
this most amazing man loved her. She tried to speak, but it was difficult now, she gasped out "Ezra, please kiss
me one last time." Ezra pulled her close and kissed her so deeply he thought he would become part of her, she
died during that kiss. Ezra looked at her now blank eyes and shut them for her, he then buried his face in her
hair and cried very hard, he had never cried this hard in all his life. He had never loved anyone like he had
loved Elizabeth , not even Maude. The fact that he had been shot, was not acknowledged by him, but Nathan
was aware and Ezra was turning very pale from the blood loss. Nathan asked Chris "would you please take
Elizabeth's body to the undertaker, so I can get Ezra's bullet wound taken care of ?" Chris acknowledged with
a nod and Nathan and Josiah got down on the ground to try and get Ezra to come with them. Josiah said a little
prayer and softly coaxed Ezra into going with them. After Ezra was gone, Chris took Elizabeth to the undertaker,
he asked the undertaker to make some nice arrangements for her funeral, that Chris would take care of the cost.
Nathan and Josiah had to actually carry Ezra part of the way to Nathan's, he had passed out, partly from
blood loss and partly from another kind of loss. Nathan had never felt so bad for Ezra as he did right now. He
was finally going to do something about Ezra's drinking. He was going to make him go cold turkey, he was
keeping him here until he was well and dried out. The only time he let Ezra leave was to go to Elizabeth's
funeral. Ezra had cried very hard at her funeral and he had seen Ms. Connor there and apologized to her for
getting Elizabeth killed. Ms. Connor said that she did not blame him. Ezra has been completely withdrawn
since she died and that worried him. He decided to have Josiah talk with him.
Josiah spent many a day with Ezra and he did seem to be getting better, as time passed Ezra started to
become more himself and was completely dried out now. Things had gotten back to normal in Four Corners, but
the incredible gift they had been given, by the name of Elizabeth, would never be forgotten,
THE END
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