The shootout was over when Vin came out of the bathhouse. He had been in the middle of his weekly bath and refused to go out on the street naked. By the time he got all his layers on, the fight was over. His squeaky-clean form found itself the recipient of hostile glares from six dirty, sweaty, and occasionally bloody men.
Chris and Buck turned away in disgust to survey the damage done to the town this time, deliberately overlooking Ezra lying bleeding in the street (seemed he was always lying bleeding in the street, he really should learn to duck). Nathan and Josiah could take care of him that was their lot in life.
Their inspection was cut short when JD screamed, in a panicked voice, "Vin!" They turned back to Vin in puzzlement. He was just in one piece, what could have happened?
Vin was examining himself in puzzlement as well. He looked up at them and shrugged, he wasn't in any danger and his squeaky-clean form was still intact.
They turned back around looking for JD and found him running to the other boardwalk. Towards what appeared to be a fuzzy, fluffy teddy bear with stuffing coming out of a seam.
"Vinnie-pooh," JD cried as he picked up the bear, "you're hurt. I have to get you to Nathan so he can heal you." He hugged the bear tightly forcing more stuffing out. "I love you. I can't lose you. What would I ever do without you?"
After witnessing this, Ezra decided it was way past time to lose consciousness. And promptly did so after deciding he would view that scene as a hallucination brought on by blood loss.
Chris and Buck looked at each other and decided to head for Chris' cabin. Once there, depending on the shape they were in, they would either get themselves blind, stinking drunk or fuck each other senseless (or maybe both). Either one should erase that image from their minds. They started to head for the livery when they caught sight of Vin. Without consultation, they both detoured to him and grabbed an arm, dragging him backward with them. They had had enough and were going to take this opportunity to, one way or another, finally find out what he was hiding under all those layers of clothes.
As they neared the livery, but mercifully fading as the distance increased, they could hear JD going on. "But Nathan, Ezra isn't important, he's always bleeding. Vin's hurt. You have to fix him. I love him. He's so fuzzy and cuddly. I don't know what I'd do without him."
The End
