Universe: ATF LB
"Uncle Ezra, what's a saint?"
Ezra Standish looked down at the small child seated beside him. If he was at all surprised by the question, his face didn't show it. "A saint, Master Tanner, is someone with a great deal of patience, who does good things because they want to not because they have to, who is generous and caring, and who expects nothing in return."
"Somebody perfect?" the child asked, small face turned up to the undercover agent trustingly.
Ezra grinned. "It is not in human nature to be perfect. No, Vin, all that someone needs to have is a big heart and a generous soul."
Vin's lips drew down a little into a frown, and his eyes scrunched up in thought. "Oh," he said softly, neither conveying pleasure nor disappointment with this definition. Ezra had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.
"Why, may I ask, do you wish to know?" Ezra inquired when he had regained control of his face.
The little boy shrugged. "J'st heard it somewhere."
"Ah. Well Mr Tanner, if that is all, I suggest that we take advantage of what little of this fortuitous Indian summer we find ourselves enjoying is left. I do believe we should locate JD, then perhaps the three of us could abscond to the zoo."
Vin's face lit up in a brilliant smile and he shot off to find the younger boy.
"We gotta get her help, JD," Vin whispered in a voice that could be heard throughout the house.
"But Vin, then we can't — "
"I know JD, but we cain't do it without help."
Nettie smiled as she listened to the two boys argue quietly — well, they thought it was quietly.
"Miz Nettie," a quiet voice put said tentatively from behind her. Nettie turned around to find Vin standing in the door to the kitchen, JD peeking out from behind him.
"Yes boys?"
"Um, well, we wanted ta ask ya somethin'," Vin mumbled, shifting nervously from foot to foot.
"You're going to have to speak up then, son. These old ears 'a mine aren't what they used to be." Nettie wiped the suds and dishwater off her hands and sat down at the kitchen table.
"You aren't old," JD put in boldly, coming further out from behind Vin, who obviously agreed.
"I'm a whole lot older than you two young'uns."
"Don't make ya old," Vin defended.
Nettie smiled. "Thank you young man, both of you. Now — you two were going to ask me something?"
"Yes ma'am," Vin took the lead with a glance at JD. "We were hopin' that you'd help us put on a party."
Looking at the two hopeful faces, Nettie knew that there was no way that she wouldn't be involved with the party, whatever it was for. "I would be happy to help, but why don't you ask Chris or Buck?"
"Cause the party's for them," JD piped up.
"I see," Nettie nodded. "And why are you giving them a party?" She couldn't recall it being anyone's birthday.
"Not just them, Uncle Nate and Uncle 'Siah and Uncle Ezra too," Vin explained.
"And you," JD added, "'cept we need help."
"Is that so? And what is the party for?"
"'Cause it's All Saints' Day," JD said, sounding for all the as if Nettie should have known.
"And y'all are our saints," Vin elaborated quietly.
Nettie struggled for something to say, inexplicably struck for words by the heartfelt sentiment these boys who'd become so important to her displayed. "I expect, then," she finally managed to say, somewhat brusquely to cover up the tears of love and joy that threatened to fall, "that you'll want to have it the day after Halloween."
The two boys nodded. "So you'll help us?" JD asked.
"Of course. Come here." She held out her arms, and the two boys rushed into them. "You give an old woman hope," she whispered as she hugged them.
"Do you ever remember being this excited for Halloween?" Chris asked Buck in an undertone as the two men watched their sons run around the house in their costumes, swords waving madly as the two pirates dueled around the house.
"Hell yeah, Chris," Buck exclaimed, wincing at the cries of 'that's a dollar Buck!'. "I always got dressed up, decorated the apartment up right nice."
"But Halloween's still almost a week away!"
Buck chuckled. "That's nothing, Stud. I started celebrating October first and didn't stop 'til about halfway through November. Drove my ma nuts," he grinned.
Chris couldn't help but laugh. "Thank god Nettie's taking them after they're done trick-or-treating. Let her deal with the sugar high."
"But Chris, that's half the fun!"
Chris cast a sidelong glance at the overgrown boy sitting next to him. "Maybe I should send you with them."
"Well he — heck Ebenezer, why don't you try to loosen up a little. Next thing you know, you'll be out stealing all the who-pudding."
"I'm not the Grinch, Buck, or Scrooge."
"Then stop acting like it."
Chris glared at the gregarious ladies' man.
"Point those things somewhere else, Pard, I'm immune."
Chris hmphed and sat back on the couch, but as he watched the two little boys run around, a small smile grew on his lips.
Buck observed his friend's change of heart with a grin. Chris wasn't as much of a bastard as he liked to pretend.
"I'll expect you over for dinner at five sharp," Nettie said brusquely as Buck and Chris got Vin and JD settled into her car. The sugar-saturated boys were literally bouncing off the walls. Vin was talking a mile a minute, and JD, who normally talked that fast was going on at the speed of light. They had lost their fathers along the way several hours ago, but seemed to understand each other perfectly. It was exhausting just to hear them talking, let alone wrestle with the constant movement that went along with it.
"Yes ma'am," Chris sighed wearily, finally getting Vin strapped in. He couldn't believe what had happened to his shy, quiet son when he'd overdosed on candy.
"I'll be expecting you. Five precisely, understand?" Nettie drilled.
"Yes ma'am, we'll be there," Buck chimed in, finally having gotten JD into his seat.
Nettie nodded decisively, got in the car and drove away, leaving the two men standing staring after the car.
"I have never seen anyone eat that much candy," Buck said quietly.
"They're going to be sick," Chris said, equally soft.
"Least they'll be at Nettie's."
"That might not be the best thing."
"We won't have to clean it up."
"We won't be there to hold them when they need us."
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea."
"Maybe not."
"Maybe we should go get them."
"If Nettie needs us to, she'll call."
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
"No, but just think what you're going to feel when they go off to college."
"Now Chris, that's just nasty."
"That's just life, Buck."
Josiah and Nathan were standing in Nettie's driveway when Chris and Buck pulled up.
"Hey guys," Buck drawled as he got out of Chris's Ram. "What'cha doin'?"
"We — " Nathan looked back at Josiah, both men were acting uncharacteristically nervous and jumpy, "we're waiting 'til five. Last time Nettie invited us to dinner, I was early. Nettie just about ripped me a new one, said it wasn't polite to show up early." By this time Chris and Buck were both grinning. "Then Josiah showed up." Nathan's audience winced, properly sympathetic. Of course, they were also grinning from ear to ear.
"It wasn't funny," Josiah grumbled.
"Oh course not," Buck chuckled. Chris smirked.
"So, this dinner, it's going to be a big deal?" Chris asked, still grinning.
"Guess," Nathan shrugged. "Nettie didn't tell you?"
"Nope," Buck grinned. "Then again..."
"It is Nettie," Josiah grinned.
"So, shall we go in," Buck suggested.
Nathan and Josiah shook their heads vehemently. "We've still got three minutes," Nathan denied. "I'm not going in yet."
The crunch of gravel on the driveway heralded the approach of another car. "Holy shit," Buck breathed, "Nettie can even get Ezra to show up on time."
"Not just on time, Mr Wilmington," Ezra corrected as he climbed out of his car, "early."
"I am impressed, Fancy Man," Nettie drawled from the porch. "What I ain't too keen on is the lot of you standing out here in the cold making the rest of us wait on dinner. It isn't polite."
Buck grinned and headed for the door; Chris smirked and followed. Ezra put on his poker face and headed into the lion's den as well. Josiah and Nathan gaped, but had no choice but to tag along as well.
"SURPRISE!" Two young voices assaulted them as they entered the living room.
The men stopped and stared. Nettie's living room was filled with pictures, banners and other decorations. All of them laboriously crafted out of love. The banner read 'HAPPY ALL SAINTS DAY', and there was a picture of each of the five men on it, each bearing a caption. Nathan was the saint of 'fixes us up', Josiah was of 'good voice for stories', Ezra was the saint of 'takes us to fun places', Chris and Buck shared the 'best dads in the world' sainthood. The walls were covered with photos and hand-drawn pictures of each of the men with the boys. Streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling, and were draped over the furniture.
"Do ya like it Dad?" a quiet, unsure voice asked from next to Chris. He looked down to see Vin's worried face staring up at him.
"Of course I like it," he reassured with a smile, bending down to scoop his son up into his arms. "I think we're all just a little surprised." Chris looked around to see all of the other men nodding.
"How come?" JD asked, holding his arms out for Buck to pick him up.
"Well, Little Bit," Buck explained, "people don't usually celebrate All Saints' Day anymore."
"How come?" JD asked. "Don't they have saints?"
"I don't know, Li'l Bit. How'd you two know about it?"
"Was on the calendar," JD informed them. "And Uncle Ezra told Vin about it. Then Miz Nettie agreed ta help us."
Four sets of eyes turned to stare at Ezra. "Well, Brother Ezra," Josiah rumbled, "seems you're full of surprises."
"I — I — don't — "
"He didn't know we was gonna do this," Vin defended. "'s I asked him what a saint was, an' he said it was some'un with a big heart an' a givin' soul. Me 'n JD decided y'all were our saints." He turned to his father, "We didn't do anythin' wrong, did we?" he asked uncertainly.
"No, Vin, not at all. It's just — I don't think any of us really ever thought of ourselves as saints." Chris reassured, wondering how they were going to tell the two little boys that this wasn't what All Saints' Day was supposed to be celebrating.
Buck caught Chris's eyes. We'll let Josiah explain it, he mouthed. Chris grinned and nodded, this kind of thing was right up the profiler's alley.
"So, if y'all are done gaping," Nettie's voice broke in, "we should eat before the food gets too cold."
In the general movement to the table, Vin leaned in and whispered in Chris's ear, "We were gonna jest have a cake an' ice cream, but Miz Nettie made us have a dinner too."
Chris held back his laugh, but whispered back, "Well, sometimes you have to compromise a little. And Ms Nettie's something of a saint too, so I'm glad you let her have her way."
Vin nodded. "She's one a' our saints too, but we needed her help."
Chris smiled. Somewhere along the way, he must have done something really well to deserve the little boy he now held in his arms.
"We got somethin' special here, Chris," Buck said softly as the two fathers stood in the doorway of their sleeping sons' room.
"Yep."
"Reckon we're two a' the luckiest bastards this side a' the Mississippi."
"Both sides."
Buck grinned. "Both sides," he agreed, "and just about everywhere else." He turned away. "Don't stay there too long," he teased, "tomorrow's a big day."
Chris nodded. They were going to show Vin and JD how much they loved and appreciated. The five of them might have been saints to the little orphans, but they were angels to those same five men.
"I love you two," he whispered, before quietly closing the door and heading to his room. Yes, somewhere along the way, they'd gotten very, very lucky.
Finis
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