Stick to Your Guns

So you want to be a cowboy,
Well you know it's more than just a ride,
Guess you got to know the real thing,
If you want to know the other side,
Ain't nobody riding shotgun,
In this world tonight.

The shots rang out, no one suspected the outcome. None except for the one they were aimed at. JD tried to head for cover, but it never happened. He felt the bullet hit him, but he was able to fire off a couple shots. Why had he done it? Why did he brag to Javier? Why did he tell him he was as fast as Chris was? God, he'd done some stupid things in his life, but this was absolutely insane! As he lay in the middle of the street, blood causing a crimson puddle to form underneath him, he saw his friends emerge from the saloon.

Better late than never! he thought as he saw Buck's face.

"Kid, what the hell were you thinkin?" He shouted, then looked closer at JD's body. "Aw, hell, kid!"

"It ain't all that bad, Buck," JD tried to convince himself as well as his friend. "I seen you get worse!"

Buck looked around, and waved Nathan over. Their eyes met over JD's body and Buck knew it didn't look good for his friend.

"Help me get him to the clinic," Nathan said, his voice calm.

And when you spit, you better mean it,
You got to make em all believe it
If you're gonna be the one

Chris looked from face to face, knowing that the bonds of friendship that had formed were slowly being strained. JD was the kid, the one that kept them on their toes. Now, he'd gone and done something that none of them expected.

"What the hell was he doin?" Chris muttered, as he paced the floor. "He knows better!"

"Or so we thought," Ezra chimed in, shuffling his ever-present deck of cards. "We should have known that his youthful exuberance would get the better of him someday."

Vin listened to his friends. "Anyone notice that he got Javier, dead bang?"

"Let's hope he lives to tell about it," Josiah said, looking to the ground.

Buck looked to his friends. "Y'all are missin the point," he almost shouted. "He came here to do this. He came here to be a big ole gunslinger, and none of us had the right mind to make sure he left. Now, we got him almost dead!"

"You think he woulda listened?" Chris answered, ignoring Buck's ranting. "We tried to send him back on day one, and he proved he could be trusted. He's family, and that's not gonna change."

Stick to your guns,
Ain't nobody gonna hurt you, baby.
You can go for the trigger,
But only if you have to.

Nathan pulled out the bullet, and cursed under his breath. JD never flinched, not once, and he should've. His face was pale, almost too pale. His breathing was labored, and he didn't like any of it.

"Whad'dya got, Nathan?" Chris asked as the five filed into the small room.

"I ain't gonna lie t'ya," he said, shaking his head. "It don't look good. He ain't made a move since Buck brought him up here. Not even when I cleaned the wound."

Buck ran his hand through his hair. "So what you're sayin is that he may die?"

"I'm sayin that he may," Nathan confessed. "But he's a strong kid, there's a lot of fight left in him."

Ezra stood over the boy. In all the time, they'd known each other, he'd never thought badly of JD. He was everything Ezra had hoped to be when he was JD's age. If he'd had different parental influence, maybe he would have been. Now all the youthful vigor was being cut short, and it was breaking his heart. The kid had only wanted to be a cowboy, getting a taste of the West. Now, he was dying like all the rest, at the hands of another gunslinger.

"I'll take first watch," Ezra said, surprising the rest.

"Ya sure, Ez?" Vin asked, standing next to him.

Ezra sat down in the chair next to the bed. "I have never been more sure of anything, Mister Tanner."

Vin leaned against the wall. He knew none of them were going to leave. He saw how JD had looked up to Chris and Buck. How he felt he had to prove himself to them. He watched as Ezra tried to make it appear that he wasn't looking down at JD. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that he didn't care about the other six, Vin knew exactly how Ezra felt. He was glad to have him as a friend.

Aim from the heart,
Some will love and some will,
Curse you, baby.
And you can go to war,
But only if you have to,
It's only if you have to.

Two days had passed, and JD had developed a fever. He'd never regained consciousness, and that bothered not only Nathan, but the rest of them.

Josiah spent most of his time in the church, praying to who ever would listen. He'd seen it coming, but didn't do anything to stop it. He'd heard the rumors, and knew that Javier was coming to Four Corners, but he'd never thought Javier would call out JD. Not the young sheriff. Not his friend.

"Ya cant go beatin yourself up over it, Josiah," Buck said coming into the church. He sat in a pew in the front, as Josiah stood at the pulpit. "We all heard the rumors."

"Then why didn't we act on them?"

Buck shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe if we didn't do anything, then they'd go away."

"Buck, you know that's bull!" Came a shout from the back of the church.

He turned to see Chris. "Well hold up the roof!"

"The kid had to learn a lesson!"

"Now who's talkin bull?" Buck interrupted.

"Then why?" Josiah asked. "Now you see what happens when we leave things in God's hands!"

None of them had easy answers. "The kid didn't want us to stop it. He thought he could handle it."

"Guess he was wrong, huh, Buck?" Chris answered.

They were silent, each praying in their own way. Hoping against hope that their friend would be brought back to them.

"JD's awake!" Vin shouted into the church from the doorway.

"I'm gonna skin that boy alive!" Buck said, taking off for the clinic.

So you want to be the big time,
Some people have to drag you down.
There's no living in the backseat,
If you're gonna drive through this town.
And when you pray for independence,
Boy, you better stand your ground,
You got to give it all you got now,
Or you might get shot down.
Fight hard until the battle is won.

Ezra left the bed for only a moment while Nathan talked to JD. He'd never been so happy when he saw JD's eyes open, and he said his name.

"If there is a God, he's smilin down upon us today," Ezra muttered from the corner. He felt the tears that he'd been trying to hide slowly fall from his eyes.

"I'm fine!" JD said, as Nathan looked him over. "Tell em I'm okay, Ezra."

"Well now, JD," he began, glad to hear the fight in his voice. "You're not really in the best of health right now. I think it would be best if you let Nathan look you over."

"Oh! You're a lot of help!"

Before Ezra could reply, the door burst open. Buck, Chris, Josiah, Vin and Buck filed in, all trying to mask the relief they felt.

"Boy!" Buck started in. "What in the blue blazes were you thinkin?"

"Hi, Buck," JD replied, his voice sounding a little tired. "Did I get him?"

Buck threw his hands up in dismay. "He got you, kid!"

JD rolled his eyes. "I know that!"

Chris narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you'd better think on that a while."

His mouth opened, but JD never uttered a word.

"Nathan, you think he's up to a little talkin to?" Chris asked.

Nathan looked from JD to Chris. "Not for too long. He needs his rest."

Chris nodded. "Everyone out."

Well, you know that
I been through it,
I got the scars to prove it,
Fight hard and the,
Battle is yours.

"You gonna yell at me too?"

Chris put his hat on the bed, and sat down. "Nope."

"Gonna tell me I was wrong?"

"Nope."

"Gonna say I was stupid?"

"Nope."

JD looked at the gunslinger. "Then what?"

"I wanna ask you somethin."

"Fine."

"How do you feel?"

JD shrugged. "Tired, a little sore."

Chris shook his head. "No, in here?" He asked, pointing to his heart. "How do you feel in here?"

JD didn't answer.

"When you were starin down the barrel of his gun, were ya scared, kid?"

Still, he didn't answer.

"What was in your head as you felt the bullet hit ya?"

"ALRIGHT!" JD yelled. Tears sprang into his eyes. "Yeah, I was scared as hell, Chris! That man aimed to kill me, and when I hit the ground, I thought I was! What else ya wanna know? Did I like killin him? No! Hell, I shot plenty of men since I've been with you guys, but none were aimin to just kill me! I - I don't wanna die, Chris!"

Chris embraced the boy. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear, kid."

Stick to your guns,
Ain't nobody gonna hurt you, baby.
You can go for the trigger,
But only if you have to.
Aim from the heart,
Some will love and some,
Will curse you, baby.
And you can go to war,
But only if you have to.
It's only if you have to.

The sun was out on another Four Corners afternoon. The saloon was empty except for seven loyal patrons. JD had healed, physically. Mentally, the nightmares rocked his nights, and the first time he had a gun in his hand, he couldn't fire.

"JD DUNNE!" The voice came from outside. "I'M CALLIN YOU OUT, BOY!"

The seven looked at each other, ending the poker game they were playing.

"YOU CHICKEN, BOY?"

Chris watched the boy stand up. "JD."

The boy tipped his hat. "I know Chris."

The seven walked out onto the boardwalk, watching as JD stepped out onto the street.

"YOU KILLED MY BROTHER! NOW I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

JD narrowed his eyes, never taking them off the man's hands. He felt the sweat roll down his spine, and breathed in the Arizona air. If he'd learned one thing, it was patience, but most of the time, he found himself forgetting that. It seemed that no one breathed in the few seconds that had passed. To JD, it felt like hours. Then it happened, the man moved, and JD fired. The man fell, and JD walked over to him.

"You're gonna leave Four Corners now, and not come back," he said, looking down at the man who was holding his shoulder.

Behind him, six shots rang out. Six men fell from rooftops, and alleyways. JD turned, and saw his friends were safe. They'd saved him again.

"Take your friends and get outta town." JD repeated.

He walked back to where Chris was standing.

"You stuck to your guns kid," he complimented. "You did good."

JD tipped his hat. "Thanks to you guys!"

The End