Title: When Rivers Rise Author: Tipper

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Magnificent Seven, as MGM and others hold the copyright. I'll make no money from this, and never intend to. No harm, no foul, right? I also hope Spirit of the West doesn't mind me using their song for my title. As for the great Wordsworth, well, that's all public domain now, I believe. Besides, I don't think he'd mind.

Description: Chris and Buck are fighting, Vin's getting a cold, and Ezra's…well, being Ezra. Then it starts to rain.

When Rivers Rise

Part one

"Four to one odds that Wilmington gets up before Larabee," Ezra murmured quietly, laying out cash on the top of the empty beer barrel with a hurried air. Quickly more handfuls of cash were laid out to join his, just seconds before Buck lurched to his feet from off the dusty street. Irritated mutterings met the movement, and Ezra collected the cash quickly into his hands with a dimpled grin. He glanced over to see Chris get to his feet as well, wiping off the blood spittle from his lip with the back of his hand.

"Five to one Wilmington goes down under the next punch," Ezra tossed out to his fellow spectators, his smile infectious. Once again, cash was quickly placed down just as Buck threw himself once more at the man in black.

Ezra had no idea what had precipitated the fight, only that it was no mere barroom brawl and was steadily becoming more deadly with each punch. Chris and Buck were already bloody by the time he had joined the mob outside the saloon to watch. Buck's rage was so deep as to be almost frightening, but no where near as terrible as the icy fury that had attached itself to the ladies man's oldest friend. They were viciously beating each other up in the middle of street, and quite a large crowd had gathered in awe to see the battle wage.

The gambler had immediately started laying odds.

He looked up as a heart wrenching yell split the air, immediately recognizing the voice as Mary's.

"STOP THIS!" She screamed desperately, trying to get herself between them. "Chris, Buck, please! This is insane!" As was typical in these sort of situations, the two men ignored her, choosing instead to fight around her body as if she were no more than a pebble in a stream. Her eyes flitted along the crowd, and focused on Ezra.

"Stop them!" She called across, her clear blue eyes bright with worry. "They'll kill each other!"

In response, the red coated gambler simply shrugged as if to say, what can I do? Mary's mouth dropped open slightly in disappointment. She turned back to the fighters, and once more tried to intercede.

"Ten to one Chris knocks her on her rear when pushing her out of the way," Ezra suggested, relishing a little in the crudeness of the statement. The others laughed and money flowed anew. Then, as one, all eyes turned to the battlefield, just in time to see Mary grab onto one of Chris's arms as he made to deliver a rib cracking kick to the downed Wilmington. Without conscious thought, Chris threw her off, and she fell backwards into the dirt, her blond hair spilling out of the tight bun holding it in place. Ezra grinned, and collected more cash.

The newswoman's intervention, however, had given Buck the time he needed to roll away, and stagger back to his feet using a water trough for balance. As Chris advanced on him, the dark haired gunslinger dipped his hand in the murky water and splashed the man in black. With Chris distracted trying to get the filthy liquid out of his eyes, Buck slammed his fist into the man's midsection, and followed it with one to the side of Chris's head. The man in black collapsed to the ground, and rolled away from further onslaught.

Hooves interrupted the tense moment, and an ear splitting aerial gunshot from a Mare's Leg shattered the momentum of Buck's next attack. Peso forced his way through the circle of townsfolk, coming to a stop between the two men, Vin pulling hard on the reins to bring the black stallion to a halt. Leaping from his back, Vin had his gun out and raised, switching its aim between Buck and Chris.

"What the hell is going on here!" He demanded. When Buck made to get around him, he shoved the sawed off Winchester roughly into his face. "I said, what is going on?" He repeated more quietly.

Buck backed off without a word, his dark blue eyes shooting daggers at where Chris stood a few feet away. The man in black curled his lip impassively, shaking the dirt and mud from his clothes.

Vin searched the crowd until his eyes rested on Ezra, who was nonchalantly tucking cash into his waistcoat as he leaned against a nearby post. The gambler raised his eyebrows, and a small smile lit upon his features. The tracker's eyes narrowed in disgust, but he didn't say anything. Eventually, he looked at Chris, who looked as if he were waiting for something.

"Alright," Vin said, "both of you to the jail, now!" He used his gun for emphasis, indicating the wooden structure behind the man in black. When neither man seemed willing to move, Vin raised the gun and leveled it at Chris. "That was not a request, Larabee."

For a moment, neither man moved. Ezra stood a little straighter, his left fingers lightly brushing his waistcoat near his Colt. Sensing the mood change, the spectators that had been gleefully betting with him a minute before stepped away to give the gambler room. Catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, Buck glanced at the gambler with a strange expression. Ezra's face never changed expression, though he had no idea what the look meant. The ladies man looked away.

Finally, Chris grunted and turned to the jail. Vin swiveled around to look at Buck, and the ladies man scowled. Nevertheless, he too limped over to the jail. Moments later, Vin had them both locked in separate cells, their guns locked in the cabinet to one side. He dropped the keys in the desk and locked it.

"I'll have someone bring you boys a first aid kit. With Nathan out of town, looks like you'll have to patch yourselves up." He said quietly. "I suggest that you to talk while you're waitin'." He glanced at them once, to see that they had both turned to face the wall away from him and each other. With a heavy sigh, he turned away himself and moved to the doors.

Vin looked up at the darkening clouds as he pushed back through the heavy doors to the outside, measuring the time to be about mid-afternoon. He took in a deep breath, and coughed slightly as something tickled the back of his throat. The crowd was gone, drifted off to find better entertainment. Mary stood by the door to the Clarion, pushing some of her mussed hair from her face. She smiled thankfully at the tracker, then disappeared inside.

Vin eyed the saloon, noting that Ezra had probably gone inside. With a grimace, he walked over to find him.

Ezra was shuffling quietly at his table, his feet propped up on a chair. He looked up only briefly as Vin pushed through the batwing doors and moved over to join him. With a rough shove, the tracker pushed Ezra's boots off the chair and sat down opposite him.

"What happened?" He asked seriously.

Ezra shrugged, not looking up. "I am afraid that I could not even begin to hazard a response to that question, Mr. Tanner. Our fellow peacekeepers were already deeply immersed in their altercation when I arrived upon the scene." He cut the cards expertly with one hand, and tilted his head as he flipped the top card over to reveal the king of hearts – the suicide king.

Vin's jaw tensed, as he watched the movement. "Well, then, any idea what they were doing before they got into the fight, or where they were?"

Ezra simply shook his head, and flipped the king back into the deck. "I was otherwise occupied, Mr. Tanner."

Vin gritted his teeth, and looked away, his gray eyes drifting over the various clientele in the saloon. The usual rabble were assembled, including some fairly well dressed businessmen types in one corner. Considering the rather acid looks they were shooting at the gambler's table, it was fairly evident what it was Ezra had been "otherwise occupied" with.

"Ezra," Vin said, forming his words slowly, turning his gaze back to his friend, "tell me something. Were you just going to stand there while Chris and Buck beat each other to death?"

The gambler frowned and looked up, as if puzzled by the question. "I'm sorry?"

"Josiah, Nathan and JD are out of town, Ez. I was on patrol. Iffin I hadn't come back early, those two might still be at it." He stared at Ezra, his eyes searching the gambler's unconcerned face.

"Mr. Tanner, I think that you severely underestimate me. Had the fight escalated beyond what I would consider an acceptable level, I would likely have intervened at that point." He said this simply, once more cutting the cards with one hand.

Vin's eyes shone, "acceptable level?"

Ezra just smiled, and his hands flipped over the new top card in the deck, revealing the jack of hearts. He swore slightly under his breath, so quietly as to be almost imperceptible. Vin's brow furrowed, even more confused. Ezra looked up, and an abashed looked crossed his face.

"I apologize, Mr. Tanner. I was intending that card to be the queen of hearts, not the jack, but somehow I stacked the deck incorrectly. My incivility in using such base speech to verbalize my irritation was crude and unnecessary. Now, what were you saying?"

"You are a piece of work, Ezra."

"Mr. Tanner…"

"You should have tried to stop 'em. That's your job. Hell, its more n' that. Buck n' Chris are your friends!"

Ezra looked surprised, then amused at the younger man's statement. "Mr. Tanner, I think you may have me confused with someone else. I do not break up fights. I may be being paid to protect this town, but that does not mean that I must intervene in every disagreement that occurs, especially those between my so-called friends. I am certain that, given time, Mr. Larabee and Mr. Wilmington would have ended their conflagration amicably. Indeed, I would have laid odds on such an outcome."

Vin sneered, "didn't you?"

Ezra's eyes narrowed, then opened again as wide and clear as ever. "Mr. Tanner, is there something about my chosen profession that has eluded you?"

"You're a lawman, Ez. As a lawman…"

"I am a professional gambler, Mr. Tanner." Ezra interrupted quickly, cutting the younger man off. "I lay bets, create odds, play the game. When that is done, then, and only then, am I a lawman." He returned his eyes to the cards in his hands, cutting the deck once more. This time, when the top card was revealed, it was the ace of spades. Lazily, green eyes looked up to meet upset gray ones.

Vin drew in an exasperated breath as he eyed the card, and shook his head. "Sure, whatever, Ez. If that's what helps you sleep at night."

He drew himself up out of his chair with a grunt, and stretched his back. "You will have to take next patrol. I made the rounds through the west and southern territories, and checked the ranches. That leaves you the north and east. Watch the bridge at Breaker's Pass. With all the rain we've been having lately, the river's been swelling – might have weakened the wooden supports."

Ezra didn't respond, just nodded.

"I'm going to go see if those two have cooled off enough to tell me what the hell they were thinking. Wish Josiah was here to talk to 'em, though. Or JD. Buck can't keep anything from the kid for too long."

"Or Nathan." Ezra smiled, "in the event that they find themselves averse to your clearly unwelcome kibitzing."

Vin didn't comment, getting the gist of Ezra's last words even if he didn't understand the words themselves. He simply left the table. Ezra returned to his cards, spinning the Ace around until he eventually deposited it back into the deck. For interests sake, he cut the cards one more time, without attempting any sleight of hand. When he flipped the top card, he was surprised to see the queen of hearts looking back at him. With a pensive air, he tucked the cards away, then went up to his room to change for the evening patrol and to stash his money away.

________________________

The next morning was cool and wet, and Vin woke up sneezing.

"Keep it down out there, will ya? Some of us are trying to sleep." Buck yawned from where he lay on his cot. Chris grunted from his own cell, and rolled over to face the wall.

Stretching, Vin blinked and looked around, surprised to see that he had fallen asleep and that it was the next day already. He'd been sitting in the jail in the uncomfortable wooden chair behind the desk all night. He wiped his nose on his sleeve, annoyed that Ezra hadn't been in to relieve him.

When he looked across at his friends, he was not surprised to see that Buck had some nasty bruises purpling on his face beneath the arm that he had draped across his eyes.

"You guys want out?" He croaked, rubbing his throat. The nasty weather was really getting to him, he thought.

Buck lifted the arm and looked back at Vin through blood shot eyes. Chris rolled up to a sitting position, obviously deciding that he was not going to get anymore sleep this morning. Both men shot Vin angry glances.

"Hey don't look at me like that. I wasn't the one trying to kill my best friend yesterday." The tracker placated, opening the drawer in the desk that hid the keys. His head felt like it was full of cotton, and he sniffed a few times as he sorted through the iron keys for the two cells. The last sniff sent a jolt of pain through his sinuses, and he moaned as he brought his hand to his head.

"You alright?" Chris asked, standing.

"I think I'm getting a damned cold." Vin replied in an irritated tone as he sorted through the keys.

"You?" Buck laughed. "I thought you were impervious to colds!"

Vin smiled in return. "Impervious, Buck? Nice word. Reckon you're hangin' round Ez too much these days."

This earned a growl from the man in black, and Buck shot Chris an angry look. Vin frowned, and let the keys fall loose by his side.

"Ezra have something to do with your fight yesterday?" He asked pointedly. Neither man answered.

"Oh come on, Chris! This is getting real tiresome. You boys want out…you'll have to give me something that'll tell me you won't be at each others throats the minute I do!" Crossing his arms, Vin leant back against the desk and waited, the keys jangling between his fingers. Buck looked over at his old friend, then back at the smaller buckskin clad one. Chris had his face to the ground, refusing to look at either one of them.

"T'weren't Ez," Buck whispered. "He was just where it all started, is all." He looked at Chris and frowned. "Look Chris, I'm sorry. But it wasn't me who told that damn gambler about Antonito."

"Antonito?" Vin asked.

"Border town in the Colorado territories. Chris had some run-ins with the law there a few years back."

"Buck," Chris warned, causing the ladies man to wipe a hand across his face.

"Its okay, Chris." Vin interceded. "I don't care what you did. Just tell me what started all this. If Ez has a part, I don't mind sticking him in here with you." He rubbed his aching neck where it had been unnaturally cramped while sleeping. Then he sneezed, sending another jolt of pain through his head.

Chris frowned, and sighed. "Ezra asked me if any of my friends in Antonito could take care of his mother for a few days. She is, as usual, on the run from something."

Vin looked at Chris for a couple of minutes, absorbing this seemingly innocuous fact before speaking. When he realized Chris was not going to say more, he frowned.

"That's it?" He said finally.

Chris looked up sharply, enflamed red eyes catching Vin's puzzled ones. An ugly red and blue bruise covered half his face, forcing one blue eye almost closed. "Now how exactly would he know I had friends there, Vin? And how would he know that the sort of friends I might have there would be the type willing to hide someone." His bruised mug turned to Buck. "Unless someone told him."

"I told you I don't know! I didn't tell him!" Buck nearly shouted, his hands balling into fists as he stared back.

"I warned you before about talking about my past, Buck."

"I didn't tell him! I didn't fucking tell him, you fat-headed lunatic!" Buck's raised his hands above his head, like a great ape establishing its dominance. Chris leapt forward, slamming into the bars that joined his cell to Buck's.

"Don't lie to me, Buck! There's no other way he could have known!"

"SHUT UP!" Vin yelled, throwing the desk chair at the bars. It slammed into the iron with a loud clang that rang inside the small office. Both gunslingers jumped back, and stared at him wide-eyed.

"There's only one man who can answer that question." The tracker stated fiercely. Chris crossed his arms, and Buck put a hand to his head, rubbing his forehead roughly. Vin continued to watch them both. "Shall I go get him, or do you to want to keep beating your heads against a brick wall?"

Chris simply shrugged, and Buck scowled, still angry that Chris wouldn't trust him. Taking their silence as a yes, Vin grabbed his hat from off the desk and put it on his head. He dropped the keys back in the desk, and looked over at his prisoners.

"I'll be right back. Try not to kill each other, and I might bring you some breakfast when I come back." With a finger to his hat, he left them alone.

Buck sighed, and moved back to sit down on the cot. It sank a few inches under his weight, and dust puffed up around him. He sneezed slightly, and leaned his head back against the wall, shutting his eyes.

Chris watched his movements from out of the corner of his good eye. His head was pounding from the beating it received yesterday, and he guessed that Buck didn't feel much better. Tentatively, he felt along his ribs under the duster, amazed that the bigger man hadn't broken every one. He looked out the door to the cold April world beyond. It was unseasonably cold, and, including the rains, everyone had felt a little on edge. He wondered if he might've been a little hasty accusing Buck. Not that he would ever admit as much – not until he was proven wrong. He narrowed his eyes, a small seed of worry gnawing at his chest as he wondered what Ezra would say.

"Chris?"

The man in black didn't move for a moment, then he tilted his head in Buck's direction, indicating he was ready to listen.

"I don't want to fight with you anymore." Buck said quietly. He was fingering the bruises on his face with a light touch, wondering what they looked like.

Chris smiled crookedly, and turned to look directly at his old friend. Buck's lips were grossly swollen under his dirty moustache, and his noise was red and shiny. He watched as the ladies man tested his bruises, his eyes crossed in concentration, and knew instinctively what the man was wondering.

"You look like a clown," Chris chuckled. Buck uncrossed his blue eyes, neither of which were blackened like Chris's, and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, and you're looking so much better. Though, considering those eyes of yours, I'm surprised you're looking at anything at all." He smiled, and moaned as his lips protested the movement. He put the back of his hand to them, to cool them off.

Chris shook his head, the smile still on his lips, and looked towards the doors again. It was still too early for anyone to be up and about. The smile slipped and he returned to his usual taciturn countenance.

"I wouldn't have killed you, you know." He acknowledged complacently.

Buck drew his hand away from his mouth, not looking at Chris. "I know."

Silence coated the two men, the only noise being Chris as he approached the cell doors to hang his arms through them. After about ten minutes, Buck mimicked him inside his own cell. Both men were thinking the same thing – it shouldn't have taken Vin this long to wake Ezra.

"Think Ez shot our boy?" Buck asked, emitting a short laugh.

Chris smiled. "Maybe."

A few more minutes passed, until finally a shadow appeared at the door. Both men straightened as Vin pushed his way in – alone. He went directly to the desk, and pulled out the cell door keys again from where he had stashed them when he left to find the gambler. Chris frowned, and Buck stood up as Vin approached his door.

"Vin?" Chris asked, noting the younger man's stern expression.

Vin's eyes glanced up before returning to the task of unlocking Buck's door. The worry in them was clear.

"Ez didn't come back from patrol last night." He said matter-of-factly. "No one has seen him since he left over 16 hours ago."

Continued in Part Two