DISCLAIMER: I do not own or profit in any way from the characters of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. They belong to MGM, Mirisch, Trilogy, CBS, and TNN. However, I do not want my original characters borrowed or used without my knowledge or consent. If you are unsure if a character is canon or an original, please click on original characters for an extensive list of my characters and when they were first introduced in my fan fiction.
SPECIAL NOTE: I'd like to dedicate this fan fic in memory of my aunt who passed away this last week. At eighty-one she was one feisty lady, and the one person who always reminded me of my dad not only for the sound of her laugh and the close resemblance to him, but by her wicked sense of humor. She will be sorely missed by my family.
The night passed peacefully enough as the patients slept uninterrupted. Josiah sent Mary and Alexandra off to bed around one in the morning, and he stretched out on the floor with a blanket and a pillow he had stolen from Ezra. He had assured both women that he would awake easily if anyone needed him, but from the looks of it all were sleeping peacefully. Vin coughed periodically but it was no longer the hacking cough that would disturb anyone. Josiah slept quite well considering he was using the floor as his bed, but around six he awoke. Something had alerted him. It was Vin having a rather prolonged coughing spell that he was trying to cover up by using a pillow to cough in. Josiah measured out the potion Nathan had been dosing Vin with and walked over to the bed. A scowling face met him, but Vin took it without complaint when he could breathe without his ribs protesting the abuse. His scowl deepened making Josiah grin in response to the face he made over the taste. The big man just shook his head in sympathy wondering why medicine always had to come in one of two ways; either so bitter it made you want to gag right out or so sweet you wondered if it was worth the effort to keep it down.
"Must feel pretty damn bad to take that stuff without a word of complaint."
"Ever feel like someone worked ya over in your sleep with the butt of a rifle?" His voice was hoarse from sleep and coughing, but the Tanner sense of humor had returned. Josiah sat down gently on the bed beside Vin. He purposely kept his voice low in response to Vin's indication that there was no need to wake the others.
'Judging from the way you look, brother, I'd say getting' worked over by a rifle butt just went to the top of my list of things not to do." Josiah's grin grew as Vin snorted in response.
"Chris okay?" Josiah nodded yes, and Vin saw Ezra in the other bed. "That Ezra over there? He okay?"
"He'll be fine. Have a problem sittin' and ridin' a horse for a bit, but he'll be fine." Vin pondered the look of unholy glee on Josiah's face, and then it registered what Josiah had said.
"He didn't, did he?"
"Right in the ass, but he insists it's in the lower back part of his hip." Vin's quick laugh turned into a coughing spell as he held his protesting ribs.
Chris stirred in the next bed, and Vin and Josiah saw young Josh's eyes pop open. As the boy carefully got down off the bed and walked over to Josiah in his bare feet, Vin took stock of all his aches and pains. He hurt from the top of his head to his feet. He had meant it when he told Josiah he felt like someone had worked him over with a rifle butt. When he found those responsible, he was going to shoot someone. Josiah lifted Josh up onto his lap as the boy yawned and curled up. He was grinning at Vin obviously glad to see one of his heroes had finally returned to the land of the living.
"We been awful worried 'bout you, Mr. Vin."
Vin raised his good arm and tweaked the end of Josh's nose. The little boy giggled softly.
"Y'all gonna tell me how long I was out or you just gonna let me guess."
"It's been almost five days since you got shot, Mr. Vin. Mr. Ezra went with Mr. Buck an' JD an' Uncle Big Foot an' they shot them fellas that shot you full a holes."
"Now, they didn't shoot them fellas full a holes. Big Foot shot one of 'em an' the other broke his neck falling off his horse. Buck must have been telling the ladies how he saved everyone, or Ezra's been spinnin' yarns. Which one told you that?"
"John Henry told me, Mr. Josiah." The look on Josh's face said that John Henry would never lie to Josh.
Vin looked at the little boy and grinned. "I think we'd best ask Big Foot what happened then, just so we get his side of it." Turning his attention to Josiah, Vin raised one eyebrow in question. Josiah saw the look and lifted Josh to eye level.
"You think you can go across the hall and get Nathan without getting lost or hurtin' that arm?"
"I can do it real quick, Mr. Josiah, an' it won't hurt my arm none at all." The big man winked at Vin and walked Josh to the door.
Leaving it open so Nathan didn't have to knock or make any noise turning the doorknob, Josiah made his way back to Vin. This time he picked up a chair and moved it close to the bed, so he and Vin could talk quietly. He spent the time it took for Nathan to dress and check out Josh telling Vin what had occurred while he had been unconscious. Nathan got there as Vin shook his head in disgust.
"I ain't never got no abscesses in my life until I met you boys. I think one of ya is bad luck."
Nathan snorted as he came to the bed stethoscope in hand. "Don't go blamin' us just cause you got to stop bullets with your body. Maybe iffen you were more agreeable, folks wouldn't go 'round shootin' and blowin' you up." The grin on his face belied any sting the words had to them and Vin let a long-suffering sigh loose as Nathan checked his breathing. He hissed as the cold stethoscope touched his warm back.
"You tryin' to give me another case of pneumonia?"
"Hush up, or I'll tell Miz Nettie you're being ornery."
"Nettie's here?"
"Hell yes, you don't remember askin' her to cut your hair cause you were hot?"
"I didn't ask her to cut my hair, did I?" Vin looked at both of the men and saw that they were serious despite their smiling faces. "Aw hell, what else did I say?"
"Well, you called your aunt, Zan." Nathan was happy to supply the information.
"And you asked Mary to cut your hair, too." Josiah supplied that tidbit of information deciding Nathan didn't have to have all the fun. "You were real persuasive and convinced only Mary would help you."
"Aw hell, Chris and the others here when I carried on like that?"
"Chris was here, but the others were out with the posse."
Vin shook his head and sighed again. All three women were here and from the sound of it Vin had really put on a show for them. "It didn't occur to any of ya to not let me talk crazy like in front of 'em?" He was a tad put out by his friends' lack of concern for his dignity. Then, he noticed all he had on were the bandages around his wound and rib cage and the bottom of his long johns. A dull red crept up his face, and he shook his head in disgust. Nathan and Josiah both knew what had caused the blush, and they both laughed softly at the dirty look Vin gave both of them.
"I swear, Nathan, Josiah, y'all best not ever get shot or sick when I'm around," he stopped abruptly. He was in no position to threaten anyone and besides he wanted them both to sweat out the possibilities of just what his revenge would be. He turned a passive face to his two grinning friends and smiled at them. It was a predatory smile that caused a little nervous flicker go right across each man's face. That was exactly what Vin was going for. Nathan wisely decided it might be time to quit teasing his friend and give him a small reward for the ordeal he had been through.
"Well, what say me and Josiah help you get cleaned up an' I'll even let you put on a shirt, a pair of pants an' let ya sit in a chair an' eat some breakfast while we get ya some fresh sheets."
"Can I have a real bath?"
"Yeah, you just gotta be careful you don't pull them stitches an' ya keep your foot dry."
"Can I have breakfast with real food an' none of that broth crap after my bath?"
Josiah turned to look out the window to hide his grin. Vin sounded like a kid negotiating with his parent.
"I'll even let ya have a cup a coffee if ya do just what I say."
Vin looked Nathan in the eye and decided this was something he could live with. "All right, but do they got decent food here?" He didn't know if anyone made biscuits as good as Mrs. B's an' he just knew her peach preserves would make him feel a whole lot better.
Nathan didn't answer as he was already concentrating on Vin's foot looking for any sign that the abscess had returned. Finding the wound clean, he decided he would close it with a few stitches after removing the carbolic soaked gauze he had packed it with. The bullet wound under Vin's arm looked really good, and Nathan decided a little bit of soapy water would not harm his patient at all. Josiah had returned to the bed and saw the calculating look in Vin's eyes as well as heard the question despite the hoarseness of Vin's voice. He grinned at the man when he looked up at him.
"I understand Mrs. B sent some of them peach preserves you like so much an' the cook at this hotel makes biscuits that'll melt in your mouth."
"C'mon, Nathan. You gonna spend all day messin' with this stuff while I starve to death? Nettie and Alexandra ain't gonna like it if I die from lack of real food." Nathan looked up from taking the rest of the bandages off to the mischievous eyes watching him so intently.
"Don't try that on me. I'll wrap your foot to your head and leave ya outside Miz Nettie's door." Vin and Josiah snorted as they both tried not to laugh and wake the others. All three knew the threats were all hollow ones, but it was sure good to be alive in order to make your friends' lives miserable. Nathan grinned even bigger at Vin when he heard the muffled sound of Josiah's laughter from the hallway. The big man had given in to his mirth as he left to order a tub of hot water to be brought to the room. Josiah saw Josh peaking from the room Nathan had left him in with Buck and JD and motioned him to join him. He picked the little boy up and carried him down the steps all the while asking Josh if he liked hot biscuits with peach preserves or hot cakes for breakfast. Josh said he liked both and giggled when Josiah laughed out loud in response. That reminded Josiah that they did not want to wake the others, so he told Josh they had best be quiet. They did not want to wake up anyone else because Vin wanted to have his bath in privacy. If the others woke to find out he was awake and on the mend, they would all be in there wanting to talk to him.
"You got to preserve a man's dignity, Josh. Don't ever forget that." Josh promised he wouldn't even if he did not have a clue what the preacher man was talking about. Still he was hungry, and since Mr. Vin was a whole lot better this morning than he had been since they had brought him in all bloody and shot, Josh decided being quiet would not be a problem.
Mr. Nathan and Mr. Josiah were acting really pleased with themselves, and Josh was enjoying their good moods. It wasn't every day he got promised hot cakes and biscuits for breakfast, but Josiah had promised him both. He sat on the big man's shoulders and wondered if they would get honey and butter for the biscuits and syrup for the hot cakes. Life sure had been good to Josh since that fateful day he and the boys had met Vin Tanner. It almost made him think that maybe Mr. Josiah and Bull were both right when they said that Josh had his own guardian angel watching over him. He decided then and there that if he did, he was going to ask if that angel would mind watching over the seven men who had helped him and his new family out just like they did countless others. They sure needed all the help they could get what with getting shot and blown up every time one of them turned around.
Two weeks later saw Vin Tanner sitting just inside the big opened window in the hotel dining room. His head was leaning against a pillow, and he appeared to be looking down at the young lady sitting on his lap looking intently at the cards she had been dealt. If someone had leaned inside the open window and raised the hat off of his head they would have seen that his sleeping chin was resting quite comfortably on his chest. Ezra Standish was sitting to the left of him studying his hand of cards while balancing a sleeping child draped across his chest with her short arms wrapped round his neck. Chris Larabee was sitting on Tanner's right with his foot propped up on a nearby chair and his head leaning back with his hat pulled down to cover his eyes. The even-tempered rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was fast asleep. It did not, however deter the young lady who had taken up residence on his lap across from her twin sister. There was an empty plate pushed over to the side that once held nearly a dozen, large and succulent roast beef sandwiches. Two pitchers one half-empty of lemonade flanked yet another plate that now only held crumbs from assorted cakes and cookies. There was a bowl of fruit that was now short several peaches and one apple. The carpet around the table was littered with children in different states of repose.
"I'll see your peach and raise you an oatmeal cookie." Ezra Standish let not one look of triumph display the presence of the three queenly ladies who had chosen to visit him in the last hand that was dealt.
Lisha Terrell looked at her stash of sugar cookies and then over at her sister who was counting her lemon snaps that she had rescued from Our Chris just moments before he would have dropped the plate with the cookies to the floor. 'Men! They were so hard to take care of sometimes!' A quick nod from her sister and she was ready to place her bet.
"I'll see your peach an' your oatmeal cookie an' raise you two sugar cookies." She didn't have any decent cards at all, but Our Ezra had said that every once in a while the worse your hand was sometimes was the best time to risk it all and think big and bluff. Lisha was thinking big and bluffing.
Lison frowned at her cards. She couldn't remember if having three kings was a good thing or a bad thing, but she knew her sister had a losing hand. Well, if she could bluff Our Ezra it would mean they would share the peaches and the cookies. It would not matter then which cards made a winning hand.
"Here's my peach and my cookies, an' I yell."
"No, my lovely young gamester, you call."
"Oh yeah, I call."
Ezra indicated that Lisha display her cards first, then Lison, and then he would show his. He shifted Belle just a little in order to manipulate the cards better. The baby buried her head into his neck and gurgled. He absent-mindedly patted her on the back as Josh came to support the woman of his dreams. Since having met young Lisha Terrell three days ago when everyone had arrived back from Garrison, he had been her devoted admirer, man of the hour, and her lap dog as Dal had snidely commented. Billy had just patted Josh on the back having himself been smitten with Lison. Jamie wisely stayed out of it. His new friends had so far shown themselves to be worthy of his sisters' affections, and he therefore saw little harm in allowing Josh and John Henry to be included in the twins' machinations. It took some of the burden off of him, and it was far more enjoyable to watch the twins work their wiles on the unsuspecting populace. He knew for certain that the one of the adults would stop the twins should their mischief get out of hand. As it was Jamie was fascinated with the way Vin Tanner could point the girls in one direction and have them do his bidding without saying much of anything. Poor Mr. Buck still had a hard time telling the 'darlin's' apart, and JD had taken to holding his hat tightly in his hands whenever the twins were near. Jamie knew who exactly who had instigated this slow torture of his friends.
John Henry was just as enamored of the twins since they were as devious a duo as he had had the privilege to meet in a long time. It had taken the twins exactly one minute before Bull had succumbed and had allowed them to ride his beloved Dewdrop. Dal had shaken his head when the mighty Big Foot took one look at the twins, snorted, and asked the twins if they had been fishin' since the last time he had seen them. Their easy manner with him told Dal that they had already reduced Big Foot to one of their devoted followers. Dal had decided Jamie was a great guy, but he knew the twins could attract trouble better and faster than Josh or John Henry ever did without even trying. He learned to appreciate that they could get mighty mean when they felt one of their friends was being treated unfairly, and he liked their spirit. He watched as Lisha prepared to show her cards. He could tell the hand was a real loser by the way Josh was acting.
Lisha and Josh sighed simultaneously as she laid her cards down. Ezra made the appropriate sounds of remorse as she flung herself back against Ours' chest. Her head knocked against his chin jarring him awake. The movement caused him to wince slightly and drew an immediate response of remorse from his young cousin. Josh patted him on his good arm offering his sympathy. Vin frowned when he saw her cards.
"I hope you didn't bet any of my peaches on that hand."
"I was bluffin'. Our Ezra was supposed to fold." Lisha gave Ezra a glare Larabee would have been proud of. It certainly impressed the boys. "You mad?"
"Nope. I'll just have ta shoot Ezra if he's gamblin' with my future peach cobbler." Vin grinned as he hugged her with his good arm. Ezra snorted his opinion at his friend. Vin's ribs were still a bit sore, but otherwise he was healing nicely. Now, if Alexandra would call off his watchdogs he could go for a ride or just enjoy the peace and quiet of some deserted place anywhere away from these closed in spaces. He had a feeling that if Nathan didn't take the stitches out of Chris's leg soon and let him throw that 'damned crutch' away, the man in black was going to explode.
It had been awfully entertaining, though, watching Chris bite his tongue in a effort to show everyone that he could follow Nathan's instructions without all the bitchin' the boys did every time one of them was hurt. Vin looked over at Chris and noticed Ezra doing the same. They had figured out the first day after Vin's fever had broken what Larabee was up to. They grinned at each other as Lison started to place her cards one by one on the table.
Vin had a good idea that they had placed some bets on him when he saw several of his friends, Nettie included, slipping money to Ezra at different intervals. He wondered what date Chris had chosen as the day Vin would rebel against doctor's orders, but he decided two could play the silent waiting game. Nathan had no idea that Vin and Chris were playing a game of one-upmanship. All he knew was that he was thankful that Chris and Vin were being model patients. In fact he had only scowled twice, once when he caught Ezra trying to sneak a bottle of brandy to his room and the second time when Josh tried to take his splint off early because his arm itched.
Josh absently scratched the splint on his arm as he watched the final hand being played. Billy was standing between Chris and Vin, and his mouth fell open as Lison placed one king down on top of another until all three were lying on the table. The pair of jacks she had weren't too shabby either. Vin sat forward with Lisha and Josh both leaning over to get a better look. John Henry got up, looked at the table, and clapped his hands in delight. The noise was enough to wake the baby and Chris and make Chris push his hat up and stare at the table. A grin began to form as he looked at Ezra and indicated it was time for the gambler to show what he had.
Shaking his head in dismay and looking over his shoulder lest Maude should materialize on her trusty broom, Ezra laid out his losing hand. He could have sworn he had seen those kings earlier. However, since these children knew nothing about cheating with the exception of what he had shown them himself, he chalked the experience up to luck. With a flourish that made the baby giggle, he pushed the fruit and cookies towards the winner. Lison smiled as she shared her winnings with everyone at the table. Ezra looked ruefully at his little friend.
"Why does this feeling persist that you, my lovely young cardsharp, have no idea what has just unfolded here."
Lison wrinkled her nose in a perfect imitation of JD when Ezra's vocabulary gave him pause. She looked at her twin and then at the other people at the table. Finally, Ezra shook his head in defeat and grinned.
Chris whispered loud enough in Lison's ear for everyone to hear. "He wants to know if you know why you won." Lison grinned up at him and patted him on the face.
"Nope." Ezra groaned and Vin laughed. Belle merely picked up one of the cards and proceeded to chew on it. Ezra grabbed the card before the baby could bite off the corner.
"I heard of markin' cards, Ezra but ain't she a might young yet?"
Ezra threw Chris a disgruntled look but his comment was cut off as Lisha offered another victim at whom they could all laugh.
"Belle did that with a letter from Mommy and Daddy had to pry her mouth open to make her let it go."
"That's how we found out Belle has five teeth." Lison added her part of the story. Jamie started laughing knowing what was coming next.
"Yeah, Daddy counted all five when Belle bit his finger."
"He yelled real loud and said words we can't say till we're fiftyish."
"Who yelled real loud?" Buck drew everyone's attention as he reached down and grabbed both girls and swung them around. When he was through with them he swung all the other children around. Dal sat in the chair where Chris had his leg propped and grinned as Josh squealed as loud as the twins. He nodded to Big Foot and Bull as they came through the doors followed by Josiah and the rest of the seven.
JD tipped his hat to the twins and grabbed Belle who had decided she liked his hat. "Everything's real quiet, Chris. Mary said she'd bring those books over you asked for last night at dinner." Larabee relaxed in the chair. Truth be told, he was beginning to like this lazy life he was leading. He could get real used to the peace and quiet. He saw Vin grinning at him knowing exactly what he was thinking but this time the man in black refused to let his friend tease him. If he made any cracks again about old men needing to take it easier and taking longer to heal, he would just ask the twins if their cousin could come and live with them. Vin raised an eyebrow at the look of calculation on Chris's face.
'If he's thinkin' on givin' me to the twins, I'll have to shoot him.' The look Larabee shot him was full of mischief.
"Hey twins, why don't you," he never got the last of the question out. John and Alexandra Terrell's entrance had the twins running over to tell their parents how Lison had won the game of poker. Chris smiled smugly at his best friend. 'Next time, my friend.'
Vin snorted as the baby put JD's hat on her head and yelled hi to her parents. He could wait for his time. He would just innocently mention that bottle of whiskey Buck forgot and left in Chris's room last night. Nathan might have something interesting to say about that stash. Vin would hate to rat out a friend, but if Larabee thought the twins could keep a Tanner in line, he was in need of a good lesson. His answering grin actually made Chris a little nervous. What did Tanner have on him? Then, it hit him. Leaning over as the others visited and Alexandra thanked Ezra for his attention to her children's education in the vices of gambling, Chris offered a truce.
"No twins, share, no Nathan."
Grinning at his friend, Vin put out his hand. "Done, cowboy. Now, while we're layin' our cards on the table, you want to tell me about the bet y'all made while I was out of it?" Larabee started grinning.
"That aunt of yours is as devious as you are Tanner. You sure she didn't live with the Comanches, too?" Their laughter got Buck's attention and he demanded to know what was so funny. The only answer they gave him was more laughter.
Fini
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