Veils

October 31st

Chris woke suddenly, senses alert. He lay there trying to figure out what had disturbed him. He couldn't hear anything and didn't feel a presence. He opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of the clock - just after 2. He started to scan his bedroom and stopped at the end of his bed. Buck stood there.

But it was a Wilmington dressed differently than Larabee had ever seen. He looked like he had stepped out of a western from the hat hanging down his back to the gunbelt around his hips. His right arm was holding his ribs and blood ran down the side of his face.

Chris blinked. When his eyes reopened, Buck was gone. He quickly sat up, his heart racing in panic, and searched the room. Nothing. Telling himself it was just a dream; he tried to slow his heart rate. Lying down, he willed himself back to sleep. But the bed seemed larger and colder than before.

+ + + + + + +

Chris was taking care of the horses before he got ready to go to the office. He had managed to forget the incident from the night. That was, he had until the horses suddenly got agitated and he felt...something. He spun around.

The Buck from the night was back, leaning against a beam. Only now, Larabee could see pain in the dark blue eyes and blood on the hand supporting his ribs. "*Chris...*" he began in a pain-filled whisper, then he disappeared.

Chris was left to stare in dread at the now vacant spot.

+ + + + + + +

Larabee paced his office frantically, occasionally running his hand through his hair in frustration, while he waited for JD, or - better still - Buck, to show up. He wanted nothing more than for Buck to walk in and laugh at him for being worried. He had tried calling the condo and gotten the answering machine, but no one had called back. Buck's cellphone went to voice mail. And he was going crazy waiting.

Finally, long after the others had arrived, he heard JD come in. He came out, hoping to see Buck but knowing he wouldn't.

JD entered Team 7's offices, hoping his luck would hold. Buck wasn't spending many nights at the condo lately and was coming straight to the office from wherever he was staying. With no one to wake him, JD was oversleeping. So far, Chris had seemed to be in a good mood and was overlooking his tardiness (even though he was even later than Ezra).

One look at Larabee's face as he came out of his office and JD knew his luck had run out. Maybe if he talked fast enough, he could get out of it. "Sorry I'm late, Chris, I slept through the alarm." No need to mention he had forgot to set it. "And without Buck..."

"Where is Buck?" Chris interrupted in a menacing tone.

Dunne gave an internal sigh of relief; Buck was later than he was, he would have to deal with Chris' anger. "He isn't here?"

"Don't you check your machine?" More menacing.

The answering machine? What?...Oh, wait. "I think I threw a shirt on it last night."

"Stupid, useless little..." Chris began through clenched teeth, then broke off his words and stormed back into his office, not noticing JD's paling face behind him.

But Josiah and the others did. Sanchez waved them off and followed Larabee. Just because the man had some problem with Buck was no reason to take it out on JD. He got two steps into the office and had to stop or run the man over. He looked over Larabee's shoulder to see what he was staring at.

He almost couldn't process what he saw. A Buck was standing there, dressed from the old west. Blood was running down his face and the left side of his chest. A blood-covered right hand was outstretched towards them. "Chris..." The figure swayed and fell, disappearing before he hit the floor.

Josiah barely reacted in time to catch Chris before he fell over. He manhandled him into the chair in front of the desk then went back to the outer office.

The others looked up, wondering what was going on since almost no time had passed and they hadn't heard anything.

"Get on the phones and see if anyone's seen Buck or his truck."

"What's going on, Josiah?" Nathan asked, even as he moved to his phone to start checking hospitals.

"I'll explain after we find Buck but I can almost guarantee you won't believe it. I'm still not sure I do." He moved over to a still pale JD. "Son, do you know where Buck was going?"

JD shook his head. "Just said he had a date, didn't say with who."

"When did he leave?" A time frame might help.

JD shook his head again. "I don't know. I wasn't paying attention. I don't think he was home long - just changed clothes and grabbed some stuff then left."

"OK, JD." Not very helpful. He turned around to head back to Chris but first looked at Ezra, Vin, and Nathan - all on phones. They shook their heads at him when they noticed his glance to indicate nothing yet. He expected that since they had just started but you never knew.

Sanchez re-entered Larabee's office. Chris was still sitting where Josiah had put him, staring at the section of floor where the phantom Buck had been. He pulled up another chair and sat beside him. Before he could say anything, Chris started talking.

"We had a fight." There was no inflection in his voice.

"A fight?"

Chris laughed but there was no humor in it. "Fight's probably the wrong word. I yelled, he stood and listened, then walked away. When he didn't show last night, I wasn't worried. Just figured he was still pissed at me and we'd work it out today. But then..."

"Then..." Josiah prodded though he thought he knew.

"He showed up. I thought it was a dream the first time. The second time I knew it wasn't. I tried to get hold of Buck but couldn't. I even looked for signs of a wreck on my way in."

"JD said he had a date and left shortly after getting home."

Chris turned to look at him finally. "That doesn't make sense, there was no reason for him to leave that early...Oh, hell, the back roads. If he were really mad, he would take the back roads and not the highway. He always said the extra drive calms him down when he wants to kill me." He met Josiah's eyes. "He could be anywhere." Josiah could see the fear and desperation in Chris. "I gotta find him, Josiah."

"We will, Chris. The others are already..." He was interrupted by a knock on the doorframe.

Vin stood there. "Ezra might have something."

Chris practically ran to the other office, Josiah followed only slightly slower.

Ezra was still on the phone taking notes. "...Yes...Where?...Yes...Yes...Thank you and please pass on our profound gratitude to your colleagues. Good-bye." Ezra hung up the phone and stared at his notes for a moment.

When he looked up, he found the expectant gazes of the other five on him. "That was the sheriff's department. They received a call about an apparently abandoned truck. The caller thought it strange because it was jacked up to change a tire and there were remains of flares but he saw no signs of a driver. They dispatched an officer to investigate." Ezra paused to gather himself.

"The officer found Mr. Wilmington a short distance from the road, the victim of a hit and run. He is being life flighted to the trauma center now."

Chris was out the door almost before Ezra finished speaking.

+ + + + + + +

Josiah walked into the hospital room to find Chris in almost the exact same position as when he had left. The only difference was, with everyone gone, he was holding on to Buck's left hand, thumb unconsciously stroking the back of it.

He hated to disturb him but Josiah needed to tell him the others had left and he was going as well. They had been unnerved when he had told them what he saw in Chris' office and that Chris had seen it several times before.

So once the doctors had assured them Buck would be fine eventually and he had woken up for a few minutes, they decided to leave for now: Ezra and Vin to the sheriff's office to get a copy of their reports and find out what they did with Buck's truck, Nathan and JD (who was more than a little uncomfortable in Chris' presence) back to the office. He planned to join them there.

"What happened, Josiah?"

He started, he hadn't realized Chris knew he was there. Then, even though he didn't think Chris would appreciate the answer, he gave the only explanation he had. "It's All Hollow's, Brother...The day when the veils between the worlds is thinnest."

There was no reply; not that he had expected one. Chris Larabee was not a superstitious man; he wouldn't want to believe. Josiah didn't blame him; he was having more than a little trouble himself wrapping his mind around it.

"Do you think he found him?"

"What?" Josiah hadn't been expecting that question. Chris turned to face him and his thumb stopped its stroking. "The other Chris - did he find his Buck? Or, maybe it should be, did that Buck find his Chris?" His eyes took on a haunted look. "Or is that Buck still waiting for his Chris and that's why he appeared?"

"I...don't know, Chris, I'm sorry. I really wish I did. I might feel better about his appearance then. We can only pray they found each other."

"I hope they did." Chris turned back around to watch Buck and his thumb resumed stroking as he waited for him to wake up again.

The End