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.
After another cold and wet night in the woods, Vin and Adam began walking again shortly after dawn. They'd finally found a road. It wasn't much of a road, just dirt. But Tanner figured it would lead, eventually, to a main road.
And a couple of hours later he finally put his feet on asphalt again. He stopped, debating which direction to walk. He still had no clue where they were, although he didn't think Fowler had taken them out of Texas. He figured they were probably within a few hours of the Larabee house where the kidnapping had taken place. At least he hoped so.
Adam stood beside him, leaning against Vin's left leg. He knew the young boy was still in some pain from his ankle and his arm. He'd been carrying him most of the time. But the boy hadn't complained. Vin gazed down at the child and smiled. Adam had been fairly quiet. Vin knew he was tired. They both were.
Vin's own arm was hurting, where Fowler's bullet had grazed it. And it was hot and red, indicating infection had set in. But he knew there was nothing he could do about it until he found some place with clean water and bandages, preferably a hospital or doctor's office.
"Which way, Vin?" the quiet voice asked.
"Well, Adam, I reckon we need to decide that," he said looking up at the sky, "Now, I'm not exactly sure where we are, but this road has to lead somewhere, so I don't suppose it really matters. Judging by the sun," he looked at the sky, "that way is west." He pointed in one direction. "But east is down hill, which would be easier on my tired bones. What do say?"
"East. My bones are tired too," the young boy said, wrapping his arms around Vin's leg.
Tanner smiled. "Well, then, what would you say to a piggy-back ride?"
Adam nodded. Vin knelt down and Adam climbed onto his back, wrapping his arm loosely around Vin's neck.
"Hang tight now." Adam just nodded again as the pair started off again.
Back at the Larabee ranch, things had finally settled down. They had gone back up to the main house just after dawn. Chris was sitting on the couch, with Sarah lying next to him, her head on his thigh, sound asleep. A cleaning crew, hired by Ezra Standish of all people, was in the bedroom trying to see if they could remove the bloodstains from the carpet or if it would need to be replaced. They specialized in clean-ups like this and would do a thorough job, Chris was assured. Not that it mattered at the moment.
They crew had already cleaned up the living room. Except for a few darkened spots on the wood floor and several holes in the walls and furniture, it almost looked like the shooting and deaths hadn't occurred. But all the cleaning in the world wouldn't erase the visions from their memories.
Or the words of Cletus Fowler telling Chris that his son was dead.
Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He shook his head, trying to deny the kidnappers words. He would never believe that Adam was dead, not until they showed him a body.
But, God forgive him, he'd rather his son be dead than...the other alternative. New owner. That's what Fowler had said. And Chris knew the implications of that. His mind tried not to envision what could be happening to his small, defenseless child. But his years in law enforcement gave him all too vivid images of what could, and had, happened to children in cases he'd handled. The idea that the same could be happening to Adam...it was just too much.
He reached for his cup of strong coffee and took a large gulp trying to overcome the taste of bile on his tongue. He could taste the large dose of whiskey that Nettie had added to the brew. Luckily, the cup had been sitting there a while and had cooled off, saving him from burning his mouth.
"Chris?" He turned to find Buck standing next to the sofa. "They're gonna have to rip up the carpet. It's just not coming clean," the big man said quietly.
Chris nodded. He was grateful to his friend for supervising the clean-up crew. It was not something he could have handled right then. And there was no way he would allow Sarah to deal with it. "Whatever they need to do, Buck."
Wilmington nodded and went back down the hall. Sarah began to moan in her sleep. Chris placed his hand on her head and softly stroked her hair, until she calmed down.
He closed his eyes and laid his head on the back of the sofa. He could hear the crew beginning to rip up the carpet. Other noises filtered in from the kitchen, where Nettie had taken over, ready to make sure the couple kept up their strength. And he could hear the hands outside, making sure the animals were being cared for.
Nathan had headed back to his office to begin the autopsies on the men who had died. Even though cause of death was pretty obvious, an official report still had to be written. Sarah and Chris had completed their statements, as had Buck, so all they could do now was wait. And pray.
Pray that Fowler had lied. Pray that Tanner had been able to get away with Adam. Pray that their son would be returned.
Chris never felt the tears that rolled down his face as his exhaustion finally overtook his body and allowed him to sleep.
Vin and Adam trudged along the little-used road. They hadn't seen any vehicles on the road in the last thirty minutes. It was approaching noon and Vin hoped the lack of traffic wouldn't mean another night in the cold woods on the side of the road.
Ten more minutes went by. Adam was once again riding piggyback, but Vin's arm was beginning to hurt and he knew he would eventually have to adjust his hold or force the boy to walk for a bit.
Vin turned at the sound of a vehicle coming up behind them. He stepped closer to the trees, wanting to be able to lose himself and Adam in the trees if it turned out to be Fowler or any of his men.
He watched as the vehicle got closer. Seeing that a woman was driving, he stepped closer to the road once again, and tried to flag her down. She drove right past them. But on a good note, he noticed her put a cellphone to her ear. He only hoped she was calling 911.
He hitched Adam higher on his back and continued their trek.
"Vin?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"How come the lady didn't stop?"
"She was probably just scared to stop for a stranger."
"Oh." Adam lay his head down on Vin's shoulder.
"You okay, Adam?"
"Yeah, just tired."
"Me too. But somebody will stop. Even if they don't, they might call some help. That lady had a cellphone. I'll bet she was calling 911 and the police will be here real soon. Your dad probably has your picture plastered everywhere in the state. I'll be he's been showing it on TV and putting it up on telephone poles."
"You mean I'm famous?" Adam asked, perking up at the thought.
Vin chuckled. "Yeah, sorta."
"Maybe Daddy and Uncle Buck are out looking for us?"
"You bet they are."
"Walk faster, Vin!"
The young boy was bouncing now, causing Tanner's arm to hurt even more. He reached back and pulled Adam around to his chest, then lifted him onto his shoulders so that his legs hung down over Vin's chest. Tanner grabbed hold of the boy's legs.
"There, now you can see better," he said. "You keep a closer eye out for your Pa and Buck."
"Okay," the boy replied, bouncing again.
Vin found himself bouncing along as well, the thought of help coming from the lady's call giving him a little bit of energy. "Ride 'em cowboy," he called out.
"Giddyup!" Adam cried, his hands softly grabbing handfuls of Vin's hair.
Half a dozen more vehicles drove past them during the next hour, but none of them stopped. Vin was getting frustrated and Adam was asleep again, draped over Vin's head. A few minutes later he heard another vehicle approached them, but he didn't turn around, figuring this one would drive by as well.
"Put the boy down and step away."
Vin jumped at the voice. He turned around to find a police car parked about fifty feet behind them. Two officers were out of the car, standing behind their open doors. He could see that both had a hand on their holstered weapons. The officer standing in the passenger door held a microphone, which he was using to talk over the vehicle loudspeaker system.
"Put the boy down and step away," he repeated.
Vin reached up and lifted a now-awake Adam from his shoulders and set him on the ground, then took two steps back. Adam looked at him, confused. Tanner winked at the young boy to let him know everything was okay.
"Son, what's your name?"
"Adam Larabee." The two officers exchanged looks of relief. Then the officers who had been talking began issuing more instructions. "Mister, keep your hands where we can see them. Adam, walk over to the police car."
Again the boy checked with Tanner. Receiving a nod he walked over to the car. The officer told him to sit in the front seat and wait. He then directed Vin to approach the car and put his hands on the hood.
"I have a gun at my waist at the small of my back," he told them, not wanting them to be surprised. The driver, who was the older of the two officers, pulled his own weapon and pointed it at Vin before gesturing for him to continue toward the patrol car.
Tanner did as instructed patiently allowing the officers to conduct a pat down search. The younger officer, covered by his partner, removed the gun from Vin's waistband and placed it in his own. He then completed the search.
Once they determined he had no further weapons, the officer pulled out a set of handcuffs.
When Adam saw Vin being cuffed he jumped out of the car.
"NO!" he yelled, running up to the officer and kicking him in the shins. He swung his small fists, connecting with the officer's leg. "You can't arrest him! He didn't do anything wrong!"
"Whoa, kid, take it easy," the officer said, trying to grab the whirlwind that was attacking him but not having much success.
"Adam! Stop!" The young boy froze and looked up at his new friend. "It's okay, Adam. They have to do this." Vin dropped down to one knee, awkward with his hands cuffed behind him. "Adam, listen to me. It's okay. They have to do this until they can be sure who I am and that I didn't hurt you. All they know is that you got kidnapped and they have to be sure that I'm not the one who took you."
Adam calmed down and pulled away from the officer, then put his hands on his hips and glared defiantly at the officer.
"Vin didn't take me! He saved me from the bad man. You let him go!" he demanded.
Vin couldn't help but smile and could hear the older officer chuckling. The officer who had been the victim of Adam's attack stared dumbfounded at the tiny Larabee heir apparent.
"Uh, look son..." he began.
Adam continued to glare. "I'm not your son. My daddy is Chris Larabee. He's a Texas Ranger and he's gonna beat you up for arresting Vin. You better call him. He'll tell you Vin is his friend."
Vin couldn't stop the laugh that erupted. "Well, boys, I guess you got your orders," he remarked.
The young officer scowled at him, but his partner just chuckled as he slid his weapon back into the holster. "I guess we do. Sorry about the cuffs, but without identification.." he began as he took hold of Vin's elbow and led him to the other side of the patrol unit.
"No problem. I understand, " he told the officer, who's name tag read Sandoval. "Fowler took my ID. He's the one who kidnapped Adam. Look, can we just get out of here? We've been walking all morning and I'd really like to sit down."
"Sure. As soon as we get back to our headquarters, we'll make a few calls and get your identity verified."
"No hurry. Just get Adam back to his folks. And maybe we could hit a hospital or something on the way. Adam needs to have his leg and his arm looked at."
"We'll go by the hospital first, then. It looks like you could use a little doctoring yourself," he said, noticing the bloodstain on Vin's arm.
"Minor graze," Tanner assured him. "But I think it's gotten infected. Kinda hard to keep it clean running around the woods."
"Watch your head," Sandoval said, as he placed his hand on the top of Tanner's head and guided him into the back seat.
Adam pushed past the other officer, Percy according to his nametag, and slid onto the seat beside Vin. When Percy tried to convince him to sit in the front seat, Adam glared at him and refused.
"Leave it, Roger," Sandoval said.
"But regulations..."
"...are meant as guidelines, not written in stone," Sandoval finished as he pulled the seat belt down and snapped it in place around Vin. Percy did the same for Adam although he was not happy about it. Both officers then climbed into the front seat.
Sandoval picked up the microphone and advised they were transporting an adult and child to the local hospital and requesting a supervisor to meet them there.
"I don't suppose you could have someone get some food for the boy. We haven't had anything but berries in over a day."
"I think we can come up with something," Sandoval assured him. "What's your name?"
"Vin Tanner."
Sandoval nodded, expecting the name. The Amber Alert bulletin that they'd gotten had indicated that a man had been taken when he tried to prevent the kidnapping.
"You fit the description on the bulletin, but you have to understand we still need to be careful."
"Yeah, I know. Fowler did have accomplices. At least six of them that I knew of. Hell, I'm just grateful not to be running from him anymore. I don't suppose you could tell me if they found him or not."
Percy turned an angry glare toward the back seat. "We aren't allowed to give out that information, sir."
Sandoval glanced at his partner, then met Vin's eyes in the rear view mirror. "He's right, sorry. Until we know for sure who you are, we can't disclose any information."
Vin nodded, not really expecting that they would tell him anything. He felt Adam lean against him, finally lying down with his head in Vin's lap, quickly falling asleep as Sandoval started the patrol car and pulled back onto the road.
A few minutes later, the driver checked the rear view mirror again. He smiled. Tanner had joined his young friend in sleep.
Josiah Sanchez was making his rounds. His job as a youth counselor kept him busy. Tonight he was at Baxter Medical Center checking up on a juvenile who had been shot by police while committing an armed robbery. The boy had been one of his and had asked for Josiah when the police tried to get information from him about his parents.
Josiah had spoken to both the boy and the police and was now waiting for his parents to arrive. The shooting had scared the youth and Josiah thought he might finally be able to make some progress with the family. So he settled into the waiting room in the Emergency Room.
As he sat in the uncomfortable chair, sipping a cup of stale, vending-machine coffee, he thumbed through an out-of-date magazine. He looked up when the automatic doors swished open.
A police officer walked in, carrying a small child, who was looking around anxiously.
"Is my Daddy here? Where's Mama?"
"We're going to call them right now," the officer assured him.
Directly behind the pair came another officer, this one leading a man in handcuffs.
"Vin Tanner?" Josiah stood, surprised that he recognized the man in cuffs.
Vin looked up and smiled. "Hey, Preacher. Haven't seen you in years."
The group stopped near the big man.
"Is he your daddy, Vin?"
"No, Adam, just an old friend."
"But he called you son," the boy insisted.
"He calls everybody son," Vin said with a smile.
"Even the girls?" Adam asked in shock.
"No, son, not the girls," Josiah assured him before looking back at Vin.
"You know this man, sir?" Percy asked from next to Vin.
"Yes, although it's been a few years since I've seen him. His name is Vin Tanner."
"Told ya so," Adam said, still a bit peeved at Percy for putting Vin in cuffs.
"Haven't I see your name on the news lately, Vin?"
"Quite possibly, Preacher. But since when do you own a TV?"
"I don't," Josiah laughed. "But I watched the news on the TV at the shelter. Are you in trouble son?" he asked, tilting his head and looking down at Vin's arms pulled behind his back.
"No, Preacher. I got caught up in a kidnapping and found myself getting kidnapped too. The officers here just need to call Adam's Dad and get things cleared up."
Josiah smiled in relief. "That's good to know. Hate to think I was wrong about you."
"Nope. I should be outta these bracelets soon."
"Can we go call my Daddy now," Adam asked.
"Sure, Adam, let's do that," Sandoval said. He hitched the boy further up on his hip and walked away, followed by Vin and Percy.
"Vin, you let me know if you need anything," Josiah called after him as he was led away.
"I will, Preacher, and thanks," Tanner called back over shoulder.
Josiah sat down, tossing his now cold coffee into the trashcan. He'd seen the news reports about the kidnapping and heard the Amber Alert warning over the radio during the last couple of days. He had hoped that it might be a different Vin Tanner, although he knew that the name was pretty unique. He was glad to see Vin was alive and well, along with the child.
His thoughts were again interrupted, this time by the arrival of the parents he'd been waiting on. He greeted them, letting his thoughts about Vin Tanner be forgotten for the moment.
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