Ezra woke with a start. //Where am I?//

"Mr. Standish! Since you can not stay awake for the lesson, you can stay after school to get what you missed."

"Ma'am?" Ezra was hot and he felt awful.

"You heard me. You would think that you were in enough trouble already." Miss Jones walked back to the front of the class. Ezra just stared at her and tried to think straight, but the headache from this morning had become worse and he couldn't stay focused. Vin noticed Ezra didn't have any snappy comeback and actually looked pale. //Couldn't anyone see that Ez was sick?// He leaned over to his brother and whispered, "Ez? You okay?"

Ezra looked at Vin and nodded. He was afraid if he opened his mouth he would loose what little food he had eaten today.

"Ez. You don't look so good."

"Mr. Tanner! Do you have a problem?" Miss Jones asked with disgust.

"Ma'am, I think Ezra's sick. He don't look so good."

"Nonsense. He would be fine if he stayed awake. Maybe I will suggest to Chris that he needs an earlier bed time."

"We was to bed early last night." Vin said petulantly. "He's sick."

"I will not argue with you young man. I want you both to pay attention with no more sleeping or talking."

"But he's sick. I think he needs a doctor."

"I will not tell you again Kevin."

"Don't call me Kevin! My name's VIN!"

"Enough! You can go stand in the corner and when your brother gets here we will all sit down and discuss your attitude."

"But Ezra's sick." Vin whined.

Miss Jones took Vin by the arm and led him to the corner. "Stand there and I don't want to hear a word out of you until Chris gets here. Understood?"

Vin wiped away a stray tear as he looked at Ezra. "You okay Ez?"

Ezra tried to smile to reassure his brother but he only had the energy to nod.

"Turn around and face the wall Kevin."

Vin mumbled something against the wall. "What was that young man?"

"I said yes ma'am."

"Good. Not another peep out of you." Vin was tempted to make a chick noise just to prove his point, but decided he didn't need to be caned on top of last night's tanning. He put his head against the corner and tried to stop the tears from becoming sobs.

As Chris drove into the schoolyard he knew something was wrong. All of the other children were heading home and there was no sign of Ezra or Vin. Chris headed toward the schoolhouse and saw Nathan waiting on the steps. When he saw Chris he jumped up. "Chris."

"What's wrong Nate? Where are your brothers?"

"Inside. There was a little trouble about an hour ago. Ezra fell asleep and Miss Jones got mad. Then Vin told her that Ezra was sick and she wouldn't listen and they argued and now Vin is standing in the corner crying and Ezra looks terrible. I think he is sick."

"Trouble follows them every minute. Go get in the buck board and I will deal with your brothers."

"Should I go get the doc?"

"Let me see if Ezra really needs one or if he's just conning us." Chris entered the schoolroom and saw Ezra sitting at a desk with his head down resting on his arms, which were crossed on the desk. He looked asleep. Miss Jones saw him enter and motioned for him to come forward. Chris saw Vin standing in the corner near the front.

"Mr. Larabee. I'm sorry to say, we didn't have a good day."

"What happened? Nathan said Ezra looked sick?"

"I woke Ezra up during our last lesson today. When I turned my back, Vin started talking to him. When I asked him to stop talking, he insisted that Ezra was sick. Now Ezra looked tired, but I had just awakened him. Vin proceeded to yell at me and was quite rude. I finally sent him to the corner, but even then he kept up with the smart comments. I was real close to taking a ruler to his backside."

Chris looked at Vin and then at Ezra. Ezra didn't look good. He turned back to Miss Jones, "Is he asleep?" Motioning to Ezra.

"No. He's probably afraid to face you." Miss Jones looked smug.

"Hmm." Chris walked over to Vin and turned him around. He could see that Vin had been crying. "What do you have to say for your actions Vin?"

"I'm sorry I was rude, but Ez don't look good. He was sweatin' this morning and I could tell he had a headache. He ain't hardly ate no lunch." Vin wiped his eyes again. Chris smiled at his young brother. Vin was a quiet boy and hardly said two words together unless he was mad or defending his brothers.

"Let me go check Ezra. He could just be conning us."

"No he couldn't!" Vin said.

"Watch your tone young man. I won't put up with an attitude."

"Sorry. Chris Ezra ain't connin' us, he didn't tell no one about him feeling yucky. I jest can tell."

Chris walked over to Ezra and noticed he hadn't moved since he came in. Not even a nervous twitch. He placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder and gently shook.

"Ezra! Wake up boy." Chris shook a little harder and when he did Ezra's arm fell limply along side of his desk. "Ezra?" Chris started to become concerned. He gently took Ezra's face between his hands to bring his head up and noticed how hot he felt. "He's burning up."

Miss Jones looked shocked. "I thought he was just faking it."

"You didn't even check!" Vin yelled.

"Vin, don't be rude." Chris rebuked.

"Sorry ma'am. I'm jest worried about Ez."

"I'm sorry too Vin. I should have listened to you." Vin smiled at Miss Jones.

"Vin?"

"Yeah Chris?"

"Go tell Nathan to run for the doc."

"I can do it."

"No! Send Nathan."

Vin pouted. He was old enough to run for the doc. Chris saw the beginnings of a tantrum and decided to nip it immediately. "Vin. I need you to send Nathan and then I need your help here. Okay?"

"Okay." Vin reluctantly went to tell Nate to fetch the doc. After he left the room, Miss Jones asked, "Sometime you'll have to tell me the secret to head off one of his tantrums."

"No secret." Chris said as he helped lay Ezra on the floor. He appeared to be unconscious. "Vin and I have always had this unspoken connection. I seem to know what he's thinking before he says or does something."

They were interrupted by Vin returning. "I sent Nate. Now what?"

"Go find a bucket and fill it with water from the pump. Make sure it's cold."

"Okay." Vin ran out at Chris' command. As he was returning, Nate came running back.

"Chris. The doc is out at the James Ranch. I sent someone out after him and told them to meet us at home. It's closer."

"Good thinking Nate. Let's get Ezra home."

Chris reached to pick Ezra up and when he took his left arm, Ezra screamed. "Easy Ez." Chris calmed Ezra down and gently rolled up his sleeve to reveal a very red and angry looking scratch. "I wonder how he got this?"

Vin spoke up. "He scratched it yesterday when we were out..." he stopped and blushed.

"Skipping school? Why didn't he say anything?" Chris was angry.

"It was just a scratch. Didn't hardly bleed even."

"No, not even. Well it looks infected." Chris held back any further fears to keep from scaring Vin, but he had seen grown men die from 'just a scratch'. Chris carried Ezra to the buckboard and made him comfortable. Ezra was in and out of it and mumbling. Chris had Vin and Nathan use the water and rags to cool Ezra's face and chest while he drove as quickly as possible back to the ranch, hoping the doc wouldn't be too late.

Chris couldn't sit still. When he had returned to the ranch with Ezra, they made him comfortable in his room. When Miss Nettie saw how sick he was, she took control. She shooed Chris out and then took care of Ezra. At first Chris didn't leave the hallway, but he couldn't sit still so he went outside and sent a ranch hand out to bring Josiah back. He paced in front of the fireplace for what seemed like hours and was answering the door for the doctor even before the man had the chance to knock. Now he found himself waiting again for word about Ezra. He was lost in thought when the front door opened.

"How is he?" Josiah asked as he hung up his hat and gun belt.

"The doc's with him now. I haven't heard anything yet." Chris answered. Just then a bone-chilling scream was heard from upstairs. Chris and Josiah took the stairs two at a time and stopped at Ezra's bedroom door as the doctor came out, wiping his hands.

"Doc? Is he...?" Chris asked.

"I drained the infection. What ever he scratched it on was filthy. I gave him something to help him sleep and Miss Nettie is keeping cool compresses on him. We need to bring his fever down fast. It's dangerously high."

"Will he recover?" Josiah asked.

"The next 24 hours will be the key. If we can get the fever down and keep the scratch clean, he will be fine. If the fever burns to high for too long he could die. With a fever that high, if he did live, the chances of brain damage are high. But that's only if we can't get the fever down."

Chris squared his shoulders, "What do we need to do?"

"Miss Nettie is using cold compresses now. If that doesn't help, we will need to bring in some ice and pack him in it."

Josiah chuckled. "Ezra would love that. He can't stand the cold."

"He won't even notice." The doc handed Chris some medicine. "Because of his age, I don't want you to give him much of this, and only if he's so restless that he won't sleep. What he needs now is rest, plenty of fluids, and the comfort of his family."

"Count on it doc." Chris smiled for the first time since he walked into that schoolroom.

"Well," the doc stood, "I will check back tomorrow morning. If he gets worse, send for me."

"Thanks doc." Chris shook the man's hand and walked him out. Josiah went in to see Ezra.

When he entered the room, he saw Miss Nettie bathing Ezra with a cool cloth. She turned and smiled at Josiah.

"He's gonna be fine Josiah. This boy is too stubborn to die yet."

Josiah smiled and sat down next to Ezra on the bed. He noticed the sheets were a little damp and made a mental note to change them. He put his hand on Ezra's forehead and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Boy needs a haircut."

"He hasn't had a chance to get to town since he's been grounded for what seems like forever." Miss Nettie said.

"Well, he does know how to find trouble."

Miss Nettie noticed the single tear running down Josiah's cheek. She patted his shoulder and said, "He's tough Josiah. He'll be fine."

Josiah wiped his cheek and smiled. "What would we do without you Nettie? Thanks."

"I'm going to go make supper."

"Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere." After Nettie left, Josiah knelt by the bed and prayed. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep.

Chris entered the room to find Josiah sleeping with his head on the mattress and his hand holding onto Ezra's. He smiled despite the situation. Josiah had a special place for Ezra and although Ezra would deny it, he had a special place for Josiah too.

Ezra moaned and tried to move. The movement woke Josiah. Chris moved to the other side of the bed and noticed the sheets were wet. Josiah looked up and smiled at Chris.

"Guess I was tired."

"It's okay. It's gonna be a long night anyway." Chris put his hand on Ezra's forehead. "Seems a little better."

Josiah simply nodded. Chris noticed how upset Josiah was.

"He's gonna be fine Josiah."

"I know. I don't know what I would do if we lost him." Josiah put his head down to hide the tears.

Chris moved over to his big brother and put his arm around his broad shoulders. "Hey big brother. You ain't getting soft on me now are you? You of all people know that Ezra's a survivor. We all are."

Josiah managed a smile. "Ok 'little brother'." Josiah stood and stretched. "Help me change the sheets and then we can try to get some broth into him."

"Sounds like a plan. Then you can go downstairs and have some supper."

"What about you?"

"I'll sit with Ezra."

"Five bucks says Miss Nettie makes you eat."

Chris laughed. "You're starting to sound like Ezra. Besides, I never bet against Miss Nettie."

Chris and Josiah lifted Ezra and while Josiah held him, Chris changed the sheets. After the bed was dry, they dried Ezra and put him back to bed. As Josiah set him down and covered him up, they noticed Ezra's eyes were open.

"Hey there Ez. You decided to wake up." Chris smiled.

"Where...?" Ezra had a glass of water at his lips immediately and he drank eagerly.

"Slowly, Ezra. I don't want you throwing it up. You need all the fluids you can get to get better."

"What... hap...pened?"

"You passed out in school because of an infection in your arm." Josiah answered.

"Infection?" Ezra was confused.

"That little scratch you didn't tell us about became infected. The doctor drained it and wrapped it."

"I'm hot."

"That's the fever. Ezra?" Chris answered.

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell someone about scratching your arm."

"It didn't seem serious at the time." Ezra closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

Josiah stood. "Well, don't go to sleep yet. I want you to eat something. I'll go get it."

"Not hungry." Ezra tried to roll over but Chris stopped him. He tried to glare at his brother but it didn't come out too convincing.

"Glare at me all you want Ez, but you're gonna eat something. Then you can go back to sleep."

Chris laughed at the half-hearted attempt to scowl. His laughter was cut short by the arrival of Miss Nettie with some broth.

"What happened to Josiah?"

"He's eating. I'll feed Ezra and you can go eat."

"I can do it Nettie. I'm not very hungry anyway."

"I will not take no for an answer young man. You leave Ezra to me and you get downstairs and eat."

"But..." Chris turned at the laughter coming from the bed. "What is so funny?"

"You." Ezra said. Chris smiled at the joke. He could force Ezra to eat but Miss Nettie could get all of them to tow the line, including Chris.

"Fine. I'm going but Ezra you better eat all that broth."

"Yes dad."

Chris glared at Ezra and then left to the sound of more laughter. However it was cut short by Nettie's declaration to eat and Ezra moaning. Chris laughed and went downstairs to eat.

It was a long night for everyone, but in the early hours of the morning they all thanked God when Ezra's fever broke. Ezra was resting peacefully and everyone, except Josiah, slept through the morning.

"EZRA PATRICK STANDISH! Get back into that bed."

"Ah Chris. I'm not tired and I feel fine." Ezra had been gazing out the window trying to think of a way to get out of this room. He felt fine after his fever broke yesterday and he wanted out. He was a little weak but he would never admit it to anyone.

"The doctor wants you to rest for a few days." Chris took Ezra by the right arm and led him back to his bed. He covered him up and said, "I would think you would enjoy the extra sleep."

"I've been sleeping for almost three days now. I'm sick of these four walls. Can't I at least come downstairs and lay on the couch? Please?"

"No Ezra."

"Give me one good reason why."

"I'll give you more than one. Firstly, the doc wants you to get sleep and you can't do that downstairs. JD alone would keep you from getting any rest. Secondly, I know that the second I turned my back you would be outside. We don't need you catching a chill."

"I said one GOOD reason." Ezra mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I'm bored. There's nothing to do up here." Ezra pouted.

"Go back to sleep."

"Not tired."

"Fine." Chris stood up to leave. He looked down at his brother and could tell it was going to get harder to keep him resting as the day progressed. "Are you hungry? I could have Miss Nettie bring you a snack."

"No thanks." Ezra replied sarcastically. "She would bring some vile tasting concoction that is suppose to be good for me. Yuck."

Chris laughed at the face Ezra was making. "Suit yourself." Chris was almost to the door when Ezra called him back.

"Chris?"

"What?"

"Maybe you could let JD come up and keep me company."

"JD's taking a nap."

"A nap? How come?"

"It's been a long couple of days for all of us Ez. JD hasn't been sleeping well, so I put him down for a nap. It was either that or I was going to shoot him for whining me to death. Now if you don't want a snack, then I suggest you rest. If you behave yourself, I'll see about letting you rest downstairs tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Ezra whined.

"Tomorrow and not before. Understand?" Ezra nodded. "I mean it Ezra. Stay in bed."

Ezra just nodded again and rolled over with his back to Chris. Chris decided to go and check on JD and then he could finish working on the ranch paperwork. After he left, Ezra rolled back over and kicked off the blankets. He lay there with his arms crossed trying to think of something to do. Suddenly he remembered that his mother had given him a deck of cards on her last visit. She had said they weren't a present but 'tools for the trade'. He retrieved the cards and sat back on the bed. He pushed all the covers out of the way and began to shuffle the deck. After about fifteen minutes of shuffling he started to play solitaire.

JD woke from his nap feeling rested and ready to go. He put his boots on and headed out to find Chris or Buck. When he walked by Ezra's room he heard a funny sound. He opened the door and peeked in to see Ezra playing with cards on his bed. Ezra noticed JD and smiled at his baby brother.

"Come on in JD."

JD ran and bounced on the bed, messing up Ezra's current game of solitaire. JD stopped and looked at Ezra waiting to get yelled at and was surprised to see Ezra smiling.

"Don't worry about it JD. I wasn't going to win anyway."

"Okay. How ya fellin' Ez?"

"I'm fine JD. However, our over protective big brother won't let me up."

"Chris?"

"Chris." Ezra though maybe he could get JD to help him ease the boredom. "Hey JD?"

"Huh?"

"Could you do me a big favor?"

"What? I'm big I can help."

"I'm kind of hungry. Could you go downstairs and get us some cookies."

"Miss Nettie don't like us to eat cookies in bed."

"I can sit in the rocker. Chris won't let me go downstairs or I would do it. Please JD."

"Okay. I'll have Chris get them."

"No JD. I'm afraid if you tell Chris he won't let you eat any because it would spoil your dinner."

"Okay. I'll try." JD bounced off the bed and headed down the back stairs toward the kitchen.

JD managed to sneak into the kitchen and climb up to the cookie jar and got two cookies before he bumped into a plate on the counter and it crashed into the sink. JD stuffed the cookies into his pockets and started to climb down. He got back to the chair, when Chris entered the kitchen to see what the noise was.

"JD what are you doing?" He noticed the broken plate in the sink and the guilty look on JD's face.

"It was an accident." JD said as his bottom lip began to quiver.

"What were you doing climbing on the counter JD? You could have been hurt." Chris lifted JD off the chair and set him on his feet. "Well?"

JD shrugged his shoulders. Chris looked on the shelf where JD was and noticed the cookie jar.

"Were you trying to get a cookie JD?" JD just nodded. "If you had asked me, I would have gotten it for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really." Chris opened the cookie jar and handed JD two cookies and then grabbed one for him self. "How about some milk?"

JD nodded in between bites of cookie. Chris went into the pantry and brought out a glass of milk and set it on the table. He then lifted JD into a chair in front of the snack. "When you're done Sprout, just leave the glass on the table and come get me, okay?"

JD nodded. Chris ruffled his hair and went back to his paperwork. As soon as Chris left the room, JD guzzled his milk with the last cookie and headed upstairs. He entered Ezra's room and smiled.

"I done it." He pulled out both cookies and handed them to Ezra.

"I don't need both of them JD. You have one."

"It's okay. I had two downstairs. Chris caught me gettin' the cookies but he didn't see these two in my pocket so's he gave me two more and a glass of milk. I'm sorry 'bout the milk Ez."

"No problem JD, I don't like milk." Ezra moved to the rocker and ate his cookies while JD bounced on the bed.