In this AU, the boys are in modern day Texas. Sarah and Adam are still alive. We hope that we've set down a good foundation for others to build on.
We began this AU to explore the relationship between Chris and his family, in an effort to see Chris Larabee as the loving father and husband we believe the series was trying to portray him as. And to see how the boys would interact with Sarah and Adam. We welcome other writers who can share that vision and invite you to build on what we've started. We hope you can respect the premise of the AU.
The boys don't belong to us, dangnabit! Thanks to Mirisch, Trilogy, MGM, TNN, CBS, Hallmark Channel for bringing them to us. And many thanks to those seven wonderful actors for giving them life.
And eternal thanks to Rowan for her beta and her suggestions and remarks. (but we will continue to spelled it 'alright'!!). And thanks to Setcheti for giving the story a read and giving us her opinion before we posted it.
Vin was helping Adam over a downed tree when he heard a shout.
"Over here! I just saw them go this way!"
Quick looking around, he spotted a man through the trees. He quickly picked Adam up and darted in the opposite direction. A shot ricocheted off a tree to his right sending bits of tree bark against his face. He pulled Adam closer, shielding the boy against his body.
"Tanner! You can't get away from us!" Fowler yelled. My men will catch up to you and I will kill you! Slowly! Then that boy is mine!"
Adam tightened his grip around Vin's neck. His fear was obvious. Vin paused long enough to get his bearings, hearing Fowler's men tearing through the woods behind them. He didn't hear anything in front of him, but that didn't mean no one was there. Ducking under a low hanging branch, Vin tried to keep from leaving too much of a trail. He couldn't be sure Fowler hadn't employed someone with a modicum of tracking skills.
He also didn't know how determined Fowler was to re-capture them. It had been several hours since they'd escaped and Fowler was still looking so he wasn't taking any chances. His own determination to get Adam back to his family was strong. He was not going to allow Fowler to get his hands on the kid again. Especially considering what the man and his 'boss' had in mind for the boy's future.
Another shot burned through the air above their heads. He needed to lose his hunters and find a place to hide until they gave up. He headed for the river, hoping to lose them there. Unfortunately he wasn't familiar with the area. And Fowler, or one of his men, might be. He couldn't afford to be caught again. Not at the expense of the young boy trembling in his arms.
Three hours later, Vin was still looking for a place to hole up. He was beginning to tire. He'd managed to lose Fowler and his men, at least for now, but he knew that they were still searching the woods for them. Periodically he heard a distant shout. He needed to find some place they could get some rest and keep hidden from the searchers.
Twenty minutes later, he found a cave, half hidden by dead trees and bushes. He slipped inside and checked out the inside as best he could with no light. He didn't see any signs of wild animal habitation.
"Adam, I'm gonna put you down now. I need to go outside and cover up our tracks. I need you to stay here and stay real quiet, okay?"
Adam looked around. He was scared, that much was obvious. "It's dark," he said softly.
Vin knelt down next to him. "I know. I won't be gone long. I promise. But I have to make sure the bad men can't find us."
Adam nodded, even though tears were rolling down his face. "I'll be brave," he whispered.
Tanner had to force himself to leave the young boy. He vowed to finish his task quickly.
Chris Larabee paced. He was angry and he was frustrated. But mostly, he was scared. He desperately needed to be doing something...anything...to help find his son.
But Buck had convinced him, rightly so, that his place was with Sarah. But for every minute that passed, his fear increased and his hope faded.
His saving grace was Sarah. Her strength continued to bolster him. Her faith surrounded him. And her courage sustained him.
But she wasn't in the room now. It was one-thirty in the morning and she was sleeping. At least, he'd thought she was. Until he felt her arms slip around his waist from behind.
"My love, you need to rest," she scolded him softly.
He grabbed her hands and brought them up to his face, kissing the palm of first her right hand, then her left. He intertwined his fingers in hers and pressed them against his chest. She laid her cheek against his back, feeling the warmth of his body through his t-shirt.
He'd only slept in short naps since Adam had been taken. She hadn't gotten much more rest herself. But she knew that he was fighting guilt as well as impatience and frustration. Even using the vast resources of the State of Texas, he had been unable to locate one five-year-old boy. Hell, the resources of the country, now that the FBI was involved.
Chris had almost come to blows with one of the FBI agents who had made remarks in his hearing. Remarks about the chances of Adam being found alive. Only Buck's presence had prevented the fisticuffs. That and the man's departure from the house.
Sarah knew that her husband wanted to be involved in the search, but she was selfishly grateful that he was at home with her now. She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that seemed perpetually on the brink of falling.
Chris felt her start to tremble. He turned around and wrapped his arms around her, both in comfort and support. As her legs buckled, he lifted her into his arms and carried her down the hall. He gently laid her on the bed, then without releasing her, he kicked off his shoes and settled his body down next to her.
Lying on his back, he pulled her close, nestling her head against his chest. It wasn't until he felt the tears sliding down into his ear that he realized he was crying too.
They clung to each other for a long time, until both were too exhausted to remain awake and they finally succumbed to sleep.
Man and child huddled together in the cold, damp, dark and tiny cave. When Vin had returned from covering their tracks, Adam had latched onto him and hadn't let go. And Vin didn't blame him one bit. He hated small dark places himself, so he'd allowed the boy to take whatever comfort he could find by keeping close. And in the process, found a tiny bit of comfort himself.
For several hours after they'd holed up, they could hear Fowler and his men in the woods. Twice they had passed within mere feet of the cave opening, but each time had continued on. Vin and Adam had lain quietly, unmoving, afraid of making any sound that would have been heard outside their small enclosure. Adam had buried his face against Vin's neck, his tiny body trembling in fear.
At one point, Fowler had stopped nearby and began to yell.
"Tanner! I'll kill you when I find you! I'll kill you and mutilate your body and leave you out here for the animals! The boy can watch. Then he'll know what will happen to him if he disobeys me!"
Adam whimpered and tightened his hold on Vin. His protector rubbed a hand along his back, quietly reassuring him that he wasn't alone.
Nothing had been heard for over an hour now and it had grown dark outside. He hoped that meant that Fowler had given up. He would try to walk out the next morning and find a road or a phone. Adam was sleeping now, spent from the fear and exhausted from the chase. Vin closed his eyes, exhaustion finally overcoming his own desire to stay alert.
"Damn it! It's one man and child! How did they get away from all of you?" Fowler yelled at the six men standing in front of him.
"Sorry, boss. We just can't find hide nor hair of either of 'em," said one man, nervously chewing on a toothpick. "And it's getting too dark now to continue to look."
"Well, we'll start looking again at first light."
"Mr. Fowler, we looked all day. They've gone to ground. We ain't gonna find 'em."
"My client wants them found!"
"Well, then tell your client to come look himself," another man spoke up. "Whoever that guy Tanner is, he knows how to disappear. We ain't seen any sign of them two for hours. Hell, he's probably half way to Kansas by now."
Fowler's response was halted by the ringing of his cellphone. Pulling it from his pocket, he flipped it open and put it to his ear. "Yes?...no...I understand, but we have not been able to locate them....yes...of course...that will be more difficult, she's not alone there....my rates will double....I'll take care of it...yes, I'll let you know when I have her." He hung up the phone then looked back at the men around him. "Your fees will be paid in the usual manner. I have no further use for your services."
Fowler walked to his vehicle and reached under the hood. He'd removed the distributor cap when he realized that Tanner had taken his keys, not wanting to give the other man a means of escape. He now replaced them. He then removed the spare keys from the magnetic holder in the tire well. Ignoring the men still standing around, he started up his vehicle and drove away.
Chris came awake slowly, still cocooned under his blankets. He pulled the blanket down just far enough to look at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed. Eight o'clock. He rolled onto his back and brought his hands up to rub his face. Sarah was already up but Chris remembered falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms.
As he was debating whether to shower first or grab some breakfast, he heard the phone ring from the living room. Quickly pushing the blanket down, he climbed out of bed and grabbed the sweatpants from the chair by the bed. Slipping them on, he hurried down the hall.
"He's right here, Buck. Hold on." She handed the phone to Chris and leaned against him wrapping her arms around his waist. Chris pulled her closer as he put the phone to his ear.
"Buck! Talk to me!"
"We got a lead. A small one."
"What?"
"We got a report of someone fitting Fowler's description renting a place in McCulloch County. The owner has had it up for sale for quite a while. He told the Sheriff's Deputy that the guy refused to tell him why he wanted the place, but did warn him to keep everyone away. He hinted that a movie was going to be filmed there and that if the owner kept quiet he would be invited to meet the stars."
"Shit. It'll take us three hours to get up to McCulloch County!"
"I got the locals checking it out already. They have the coordinates and plan on making a fly-by to see if there is any activity in the area. The Sheriff up there said there is a small airport in the area, so it won't be unusual for small planes to be flying overhead. One of their deputies has his own plane. It's unmarked, so they'll use it for the flyover."
"I want to head up there."
"Chris, it could be nothing."
Larabee closed his eyes. He wanted to be on that plane. Or in a car heading that way at mach ten. Anything but sitting at home doing nothing.
"Chris, I know you're frustrated, but let them check it out. If there is any evidence that Adam was there, I'll get you up there in the fastest chopper I can find."
"Yeah, okay," Chris sighed. "Let me know as soon as you hear anything, Buck."
"You know it, pard."
Chris hung up the phone. He kissed Sarah on the forehead. "They have a lead to a place where Fowler might have taken Adam. It's in McCulloch County. The Sheriff's Department is going to check it out and see if they can find any evidence that Adam is there now, or was there at some time. If they do find anything, Buck and I will fly up there."
"Chris...?"
He looked down, catching the fear in her eyes. "Think positive, isn't that what Nettie is always saying?"
"Oh, how I wish she was here right now."
"Were you able to get a hold of her?"
"Yes. Michael finally found her. I talked to her this morning. She's heading back. I couldn't talk her out of it."
"I'm glad. I sure could use her stubborn optimism right about now."
Sarah nodded. Nettie Wells was an old friend of her mother's. When Elizabeth Connelly, Sarah's mom, had died just before Sarah's sixteenth birthday, Nettie had stepped into the role of surrogate mother for the grief-stricken young woman. When Sarah met Chris, it was Nettie who intervened with Sarah's father, Hank, to allow the marriage to happen. She'd been able to convince Hank that Sarah would just elope if he didn't give his permission for the union. And that would only cause a rift in his relationship with his only child.
Nettie was so much a part of the family, that Adam called her Grandma. Even Buck called her Aunt Nettie. She was a feisty woman who never backed down from a fight and was well known for toting around a shotgun when she made the rounds of her modest ranch, which was only five miles from the Larabee ranch by horseback. The Wells and Larabee ranches shared a boundary line that neither really paid much attention to.
Nettie was known around town as someone who could hold her own with anyone. She had even been known to give a public tongue-lashing to anyone she felt needed it. And that had included both Buck and Chris on more than one occasion. Nettie's husband had died working his ranch, breaking his neck in a fall. And her brother-in-law, William, had died in the line of duty, as a Texas Ranger. After his death, Nettie had taken in William's young daughter, Casey, who now worked in the office with Chris and Buck. Nettie was someone they could all depend on for loving support when it was needed.
"Did Nettie say when she'd get in?"
"No. She was going to try to get the first plane out. I told her to call when she got her flight time and someone would meet her at the airport. I think she's in Colorado this time."
"One of her favorite getaways. Maybe, after this is all over, we can take some time off and take Adam out there for a week or so."
"That would be nice." The couple grew silent, moving to sit on the sofa, each drawing comfort from the other's presence.
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