Ben Wade

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[ an out-of-body experience ]


Dan had been damn good to Ben's body; Ben's clean, his stomach is full, and his head feels clearer than it has in a while.

The Lieutenant's presence in the bar makes it all that much sweeter.

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Ben's settled in the armchair in his room, head bent over his sketchbook.

This is a little harder without a certain Russian pilot in the room for comparison, but so far, he's making do.

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[ "ready to go visit your big hole in the desert?" ]


They spend a long damn time looking at Esfir's crater -- not that Ben minds. He doesn't know if he's ever seen her this still.

It's well past mid-afternoon when they clamber down and return to the horses.

"Y'know, you handled yourself awful well in town, Lieutenant," he says once they're in the saddle and heading southwest with no real destination in mind. "Diablo's meaner'n Dodge City and Tombstone put together."

A beat.

"Sometimes."

Another beat.

"Reckon it depends on my whereabouts at the time."

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[ ride a horse, save a cowboy ]


Just outside Curtiss, it's cold.

(Hell, it's cold in Curtiss.)

Which is why Ben's got a good-looking fire and a good-looking woman to keep him warm.

This beats the hell out of that ride to Contention; the only time he got near anybody in that camp was when he forked Tucker to death.