Series/Universe: Family Business
Disclaimers: M7 characters belong to Trilogy, et al. Original characters are all mine ... don't mind if you borrow them, just ask first, give them back intact and give credit where credit is due.
Warnings:Language, references to violence and other unpleasantness. Original characters abound (if you've read SG-7 series, the character of Dawn Jackson has been translated into Aurora Hutchins). Also, Buck and Nathan are very, very bad boys. You have been warned. Special thanks to Cin, and she knows why.
These stories are set after Serpents, so you'll probably find references to all of the episodes, at one time or another.
Continues: Road to Hell : Reunion.
Author's Note: This is the final story in the trilogy, but not the end of the storyline. It picks up in the first story of the Family Business series, tentatively titled 'Paying the Piper.' At some point, you'll meet the puppet master behind all this (nope, he's not anyone we met in the series ... someone I've totally made up), as well as witness Gideon's reckoning. Keep hands and feet inside the wagon at all times, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Thanks to everyone who emailed me while I was writing this, to let me know you were enjoying it. I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks as ever to Elizabeth, for her archiving and coding, to Cin, for her support and encouragement.
Nettie Welles watched with a fond smile from the window of the kitchen. Two weeks she had been here ... two weeks of watching Vin slowly heal. His body, at least. His soul remained another question, but she had been delighted to see the smile which they all loved so much returning. Steps were being taken toward reconciliation, toward making the Seven a team again. It would be a long time before his soul healed, but he was heading in that direction.
It began two weeks earlier, the day after they arrived at Aurora's cabin. Adriana Wilmington awakened only an hour after Chris Larabee and the others went out to the barn, to deal with that ... now how did Fancy-man put it? That miscreant who had beaten her Vin so badly. The girl slept nearly twenty-four hours ... sleep which she desperately needed.
She went into the barn, to find little Miss Laura ... and almost lost her life. JD told Nettie about it later ... how she remained in the shadows during the fight between Neely and Chris Larabee. Not distracting the man from what had to be done ... just simply watching. And how she almost lost her life, because JD wasn't paying close enough attention to his prisoner. Buck scooped his sister into a protective embrace, turning his back to the bullet intended for the girl.
But it was Chris Larabee's bullet which removed the threat altogether. The second time in two days Chris had saved her life. And just as the first had, the second rescue had healed more of the rift between Chris and Vin. That night, after dinner, Chris had gone to Vin's room. Nettie peeked in a few times, for a few minutes at a time. They weren't talking ... Chris just sat beside Vin's bed, while Vin slept.
That was what he needed, more than anything else. Sleep. Every day, he grew a little stronger. With the reinforcements found in Laertes and Julian Poplar, he had started sitting outside for a few hours a day, and that aided in his healing. He watched, laughing, as Billy and Laura chased each other about the yard. And when he went inside to rest, the two children went with him, each cuddling with him on either side.
Then there were the bridges being built back to the others. Chris was the most obvious, but not the only one.
In addition to sitting beside Vin while the tracker slept at night, Chris could often be found sitting beside the young man during the day, while Vin was on the porch. When Chris wasn't playing with the children ... Nettie included her niece in that category ... he was sitting beside Vin. The previous day, Chris had put his hand on Vin's shoulder, and Vin didn't move away from the show of affection. As Mary had said, baby steps.
Any awkwardness with Josiah, JD, and Ezra had completely disappeared. Vin often laughed when JD joined in the games with Casey, Billy, and Laura. When Chris wasn't sitting with Vin, Ezra was. And when Vin was simply too exhausted to move from his perch on the front porch the day before, Josiah swung him into his arms as if Vin was just a child, laughing when Vin protested, "Brother, let me take care of you ... we'll consider this my penance."
Vin fell silent, then said very quietly, "J'siah, ya got nothin' to atone for." Everyone fell silent, understanding that Vin had, in his own way, told Josiah that he was forgiven. Josiah just stared into the young man's face, and smiled, then quietly carried him into the house. The silence on the porch remained for a few minutes more, then JD gave a whoop of joy. Perhaps he was seeing what Nettie did ... a slow healing of the Seven.
JD and Ezra made Vin laugh. Chris and Josiah supported him when he became wobbly, giving their strength freely and without question. Vin was starting to accept shows of affection from them all again. Even Buck was being allowed to help him, in small ways. As Mary said recently, Buck was being so quiet, it was scaring her. But he was always there when they needed him, always without fanfare.
Nathan continued to be a sticking point. Nettie had learned there was a confrontation between the pair before the fire, before Nathan and Buck rode to the asylum to get answers. By this time, each of the remaining men had reached out to Vin, had apologized to him for their part in this mess. And until this morning, when Nettie overheard a conversation between Nathan and Josiah, she didn't understand why Nathan was still being pushed to the outside.
She was checking on the still-sleeping Adriana, who was still recovering her own strength from the weeks she and Laertes nursed Vin back to health. The girl had sacrificed a great deal of herself for Vin. She ripped open old wounds to end his time in hell. And, while she would never say so, Nettie also heard the details of the first time she sacrificed a piece of her soul to protect Vin. Nor did she speak of what came next. Buck and Adriana had to work this out on their own.
Much as she wanted to, she couldn't interfere. Because if she did ... if she did ... Buck would never truly understand what his sister's love was worth. Vin had learned that lesson, years ago. And Adriana would never be able to accept just how much Buck loved her. And so, Nettie kept her silence. But she quickly learned she wasn't the only one who knew about that sacrifice, five years earlier.
She learned that this morning, as she left Adriana's room. Nathan was lamenting being shut out, though Josiah had finally started talking to him the week before. It sort of became necessary, when you were working to repair the homestead where you were staying.
Josiah asked quietly, "Let me ask you this, brother. Why haven't you done anything to atone? That's why you've been shut out. Yes, you've had your conversation with Vin, but it ain't the same thing. What have you done to atone for what you done to him?" Nettie paused, waiting to hear Nathan's answer. There was silence and Josiah added with a sigh, "You haven't done anything. Just apologized, and expected that to be enough."
"And it ain't?" Nathan asked, his voice strained. Nettie thought about what she had seen over the last few weeks. Buck Wilmington ... Chris Larabee ... Ezra Standish ... Josiah Sanchez. JD Dunne ... all men who had made mistakes. Terrible, terrible mistakes. Nathan Jackson was the same age as Ezra, but had he ever made a mistake of this magnitude? Nettie felt the answer in her bones. No, he hadn't. He didn't know what to do to make it right.
"No, Nathan. It ain't even close to bein' enough. You still don't understand, do you? You don't understand that we violated that boy ... every one of us ... just as sure as that girl who rescued him was violated. Don't you see? We took everythin' from him. Just as sure as your owners took what they could from you, while you were a slave. You ... became ... what ... you ... hate ... most," Josiah replied, spacing out his words for emphasis.
He paused, then continued, "Would it be enough, Nathan, if your former owner apologized for what was done to you? For the separation from your family, for the manacles, for the floggings, for being treated as less than human?" Nettie barely heard Nathan's whispered, 'no,' and Josiah continued, "No, it wouldn't. Just like a simple apology isn't enough now. My God, Nathan. We've made the progress we have because we were willing to humble ourselves, and admit just how badly we hurt him."
"Never ... again. I ain't bowin' down to no man ever again," Nathan hissed, and Nettie could almost see the fury in the dark eyes. Nettie didn't speak, though she wanted to. She understood what Josiah meant, even if the healer did not. Nathan shook his head, adding, "Ain't no way I'm gonna bow down to no man, like I'm some damn dog." The words were almost spat out and Nettie heard Josiah sighing deeply.
"I see. So, your pride won't let you atone for inflicting a terrible harm on a friend? On the man who saved your life, who risked his own life, before he even knew you? You're too proud to say, Vin, I was wrong. And I'll do whatever it takes to make things right again. Are you really that arrogant, Nathan?" Josiah asked in a low voice. Ouch. That had to hurt. Nathan was silent and Josiah asked, "Are you so arrogant that you can't put your pride away and admit exactly what you did wrong? No excuses. No patronizing or condescending behavior toward someone whom you wronged? Just ... you were wrong."
"I don't know how, Josiah," Nathan admitted in a hoarse voice, "I don't know how." And Nettie knew she was right. Nathan hissed, raising his head to look at Josiah full in the face, "All my life ... I done that for white folks. My betters. My masters. Yes, massa ... no, massa, whatever you say, massa." He spat the words out. Again, Nettie heard a deep sigh from the man sitting next to the healer. Nettie listened intently, wondering how Josiah would answer this. At the same time, she saw Ezra moving toward the pair, listening as intently as Nettie herself.
"That's not what I'm asking you to do. I'm asking you to do no less for Vin, than what he's done for us. All of us. Why is that asking so much? Do you think you're more important, more worthy to live, than he is? Is that it, Nathan?" Josiah demanded, his voice now sounding angry. Nathan didn't answer, and Josiah growled, "How dare you? After everything he's done, after everything we've gone through, you don't have the courage to admit you were wrong? You have the gall to think you're better than the rest of us somehow?"
"Well, Mr. Sanchez, you must admit, after having the high moral ground for so long, Mr. Jackson is reluctant to give it up," Ezra said. He settled himself beside Josiah, adding, "Vin is still asleep. He had a bad night last night. One of his worst nightmares yet." Nettie flinched. That had been one of the continuing problems in the mending of fences. The nightmares which continued to torment Vin each and every night.
"I heard him crying out ... did Miss Casey stay with him for the rest of the night? No? Oh, Chris was still in there, that's right. Good. Good, I didn't want anyone to wake Miss Adriana. She did that far too many times. She's lucky she isn't sick herself," Josiah said with a deep sigh. There was a long silence, then Josiah finally asked, "Did you know, Ezra? About the first time the young lady sacrificed a piece of her soul, to save our brother?"
Ezra sighed heavily, answering, "Indeed. Has Mr. Jackson been told of that terrible travesty committed against Miss Adriana?" Without waiting for an answer, Ezra launched into a retelling of that night, five years earlier, when Vin Tanner found out first hand just what friendship was. When he finished, Ezra said softly, "The young lady has been trying to atone for her wrongdoings, imagined, I might add. By rescuing people from those hellholes where she and Vin were incarcerated. She went into the circles of her own hell for Vin. The question which remains, then, is ... how far would you go for him?"
That was the final question, wasn't it? How far were they willing to go for Vin, how far were they willing to go to atone for failing one of their own? Nettie moved on, to check on first, her niece, then on Vin. She would see to it that no one would ever know about Casey running into Vin's room the previous night, during his nightmare. Nettie Welles was a tough old lady, but she was also smart, and she knew what would happen if it was discovered her young niece went into Vin's room while he was asleep, even for such a short time.
Casey was awake, dark circles under her eyes. She lifted those eyes to Nettie as the old lady came into her room. Casey said softly, "I couldn't go back to sleep. Think ya can spare me this mornin,' Aunt Nettie?" Nettie could indeed spare her, and glanced quickly at her niece's roommate, Adriana. Nettie had a room to herself, while Casey and Adriana shared a room, as did Mary and her son.
That had been several hours earlier. Casey was still sleeping. Billy and Laura were playing with JD. Adriana was sitting on the porch with Vin, both young people on the steps. It wasn't proper, the way they were sitting, but Nettie held her tongue. They behaved almost like lovers. Vin leaning back into Adriana's arms, her cheek resting against his hair. And they were laughing, like a pair of children themselves as the three youngsters played.
"Do you think she'll ever trust us, the way she trusts him?" Mary asked softly at her elbow. Nettie didn't know the answer to that. While bridges had been built among the Seven, the bridges to Adriana were slower to mend. Chris had made considerable headway, though she still was a little jumpy around him. Buck was another matter. Nettie had witnessed several tentative overtures on the part of both siblings over the last two weeks.
But it was very clear Adriana was not yet ready to trust her elder brother. Buck accepted this, and in the meantime, showed his love for her in small ways. Making sure she always had plenty of firewood in her room ... spreading a blanket over her at night, when she was curled up too tight in bed. He was on the right track, Nettie thought. Like Vin himself, grand gestures only made the girl wary. Small gestures meant everything.
But she was aware that this quiet time would soon be over. They would have to be ready, because Nettie had the unnerving sense that once Browner threw down the gauntlet, things would happen very rapidly. Vin wasn't ready for this final confrontation. He was still recovering, still healing. The Seven were still splintered. But they could not finish this battle splintered, they could only beat Browner, once and for all, if they stood together.
Nettie Welles wasn't the only one thinking of the last two weeks. Nathan Jackson had been searching his memory, trying to figure out how he had failed to show Vin just how sorry he was. Josiah had explained that what they had done was nothing less than a violation of their friend, and explained that Vin didn't want him to bow down to him. He just wanted an acknowledgment of what was wrong.
Buck provided additional information, when he told Nathan about his own confrontation with Vin. But it still seemed like Nathan was missing something, something important. He had told Vin he was sorry, acknowledged that he was wrong. Why wasn't that enough? Why was Vin still shutting him out? It wasn't just Vin, either. Josiah and Buck ... and, to a degree, Ezra...were the only ones speaking to him at the moment.
As for that little hellcat who had appointed herself Vin's guardian angel ... Nathan knew better than to approach her. The one time he did, trying to find out what he could do, he got a tongue-lashing almost as bad as the one he got from Laertes, a few weeks earlier, when he tried to help bring down Vin's fever. It had been one thing to be hated and feared because of the color of his skin. But her reaction was far more potent, because she wasn't just reacting to the color of his skin, but to his very face and to his betrayal of Vin.
She made it abundantly clear that she considered him lower than even the one called 'Gideon,' the one who turned her over to the white slavers. He, at least, was honest about what he was. While she hated the man, and would never forgive him for what he had done to her, she could respect his honesty. Nathan was still making excuses, was still hiding behind his job as a peacekeeper. But that wasn't true. Nathan knew he had been hiding behind the town, because he couldn't accept just how badly he betrayed one of his dearest friends.
Unfortunately, as he so often did when he was angry, Nathan put his foot in his mouth. All the way up to his hip, as Josiah said when he found out about it later. Infuriated by the girl's contempt and unwillingness to help him with Vin, Nathan lashed out and said that it was a pity she hadn't stayed in the asylum. It was an amazingly stupid thing to say, and as soon as the words were out, he wished he had taken them back.
Even before her face turned ashen ... even before her eyes widened, as if he had physically struck her. She stared at him for several moments, before slapping him hard across the face, then spat at his feet. After glaring at him one more time, she had stormed off. Luckily for him, no one else but Josiah knew about the confrontation ... and Nathan knew, if Buck found out he had insulted his little sister like that, Buck would have stopped speaking to him as well.
He didn't want to think about what Laertes and Vin would do to him. Laertes had made it equally clear that Nathan would answer to him, the next time he crossed any lines with Adriana. Oddly enough, it seemed she hadn't told the man. Nor had she told Vin, who was far less helpless than he had been two weeks earlier. He still tired easily ... still slept for several hours during the day, but he was building up his strength daily. The fever hadn't come back, either.
Vin. The healer's mind turned to his former friend ... for Vin made it very clear that while he was on the road to forgiving Buck, Nathan was another matter entirely. If only Nathan could make Vin understand, if only he could get through to him that Nathan never wanted to hurt him. Lord Almighty, he would have cut off his right hand before he hurt Vin! But the tracker was dying, he was sure Vin was dying, and how could he sacrifice an entire town for a dying man?
If only he could make Vin understand that ... if only he could get him to see things Nathan's way. Why, a little voice inside his head whispered, when ya won't look at things from his point of view? Why should he see things yer way, when ya won't give him that same respect? Would ya? Would ya ever try to look at things the way yer masters did when ya was a slave? Ya accused Ezra a' bein' bold with them workin' girls ... hell, ya ain't got no room to talk! Not when yer still thinkin' that Vin should be forgivin' ya on yer terms, 'stead a' his!
Horrified, Nathan realized that was exactly what he was still doing. He was expecting Vin to forgive him on Nathan's terms, instead of Vin's ... and Vin was the one who was hurt. Each apology Nathan had made during the last few weeks was a 'I'm sorry, but ... ' And there could be no qualifications, no excuses, otherwise, Vin never had any reason to trust him. Now he understood what Josiah meant about humbling himself.
This wasn't about bowing down to Vin. The tracker would never ask that of anyone, he wasn't that kind of a man. It was about Nathan deciding what was more important to him. His pride or his friend. That was what Ezra meant as well, about Nathan giving up the high moral ground. Nathan was still stuck on being right, on doing the right thing for the town. Hell, even before they left, he saw it was the wrong thing to do.
Which still left the question open ... what could he do, to make amends, to make things right with his friend? No more excuses, no more conditions, no more qualifications.
No more nonverbal "I'm sorry, but ... " There was no room for that. Nathan was still lost, because in all of his thirty-four years, he had never made a mistake of this magnitude. He had no idea how to make things right. But, at least he had a direction now, at least he had a heading. And he made himself a promise. No matter what it took ... he would make things right with Vin. One way or another.
It was good to see his easy smile again ... good to see him outside, even if it was on the front porch. Chris Larabee smiled faintly, watching over his best friend and his little sister as they watched the antics of the youngsters on the lawn. Adriana's arms were wrapped fiercely around Vin's body, shielding him and warming him at the same time, just as she had always done. And God, it was good to hear them both call him 'cowboy' again. He had missed that.
Most of the awkwardness was gone between them, between Vin and himself. Most of it. There were times when Chris sensed the tracker pulling back from him, when a memory resurfaced of his time in hell. But those times were growing fewer and fewer as the days passed. They had talked ... and argued. Usually because Vin was pushing himself, and Chris would get worried. He wasn't ordinarily this overprotective of Vin, but the last month had been far from ordinary, for both of them.
Vin was still regaining his strength ... it would be another week or two before he could resume duties as a peacekeeper, if he chose to do so. They hadn't talked about that yet. Since the confrontation between Vin and Buck, two weeks earlier, the only holdout remaining was Nathan. Buck quietly supported Vin ... spent as much time at the cabin as he could, before retreating to Pordios for female companionship.
Vin had called him on it one day, wanting to know why Buck spent so little time with the ladies in Pordios. The rogue's answer sounded suspiciously familiar, as he explained that he was taking care of Vin in his own way. Not because Vin wasn't strong enough to take care of these things himself ... like, adding another blanket when Vin was reading with Mary, or putting his portions for dinner on his plate.
No, Vin could do all that, without tiring ... but it was Buck's way of atoning. He had failed Vin once, and while he couldn't take that back ... he would take care of his friend to the best of his ability. And as much as Vin would allow. Vin had cocked his head at that last statement, forcing Buck to explain, "I done took enough from you, son ... I aim on givin' as much as I can back, within my power." Chris had hid a smile at that explanation ... as well as at Vin's short, quick nod of acknowledgment.
Buck had, it seemed, learned that rationale from Josiah. Let me make it up to you. Things were a little more awkward between Buck and his sister, though Adriana was thawing. Buck's instinctive reaction, shielding her when Neely got loose, had knocked a few dents into the wall around her heart. Like Vin, Adriana allowed Buck to do for her. Small things, which made all the difference in the world.
While they were helping the Chinese railroad workers, during their first go-round with Rupert Browner, Chris had learned a new word. Kowtow. It meant bowing at the feet of a superior, usually a member of the Celestial (read: imperial) family. But, it was a gesture of submission. Buck hadn't been kowtowing to his sister or to Vin, but he had been making it known that he would do whatever he could for both of them.
And Chris knew his best friend well enough to know Vin didn't want anyone kowtowing. He just needed to know that he could trust him ... trust all of them. And until Adriana called him on it, Chris didn't even realize what he had done. They were sitting on the porch, watching with contented smiles as Vin sat out on the grass, Billy and Laura a pair of tiny sentinels watching over him. Adriana said slowly, "There are times when I don't recognize you, Chris, even from the man I knew ten years ago."
Chris had looked at his young sister in surprise ... what brought that on? Adriana continued, frowning thoughtfully, "Even ten years ago, you would have never allowed Vin to call the shots, the way you have this time. What's different?" Chris hadn't even thought of it in those terms. He had simply been aware that in some ways, dealing with both Vin and Adriana was like dealing with a wounded animal. You proceeded with caution.
Aware that his surrogate sister might take offense at this description of her, and knowing no other way to explain himself, Chris replied, "When you're a hunter, you learn to be wary of animals that have been wounded. They're even more dangerous. So, you approach them with care ... with respect. You back off when they want you to back off. You only move forward when they want you to move forward. You approach on their terms."
Adriana stared at him with those hazel eyes, which were dark with puzzlement now. Chris continued, "You, and Vin, are wounded animals. I'll rephrase that. Vin is a wounded animal. You're a wounded lioness protecting her wounded cub. Pride doesn't do you a whole lot of good, if you get your hand taken off. I like my hand where it is."
Adriana was silent for a few more minutes, then said, "You know, Christopher, that's the first time someone has compared me to a lioness, wounded or healthy. That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me." It was strange ... the way bridges were built. Without even meaning to, another part of that bridge was restored. Chris had smiled at her, drawing a shy smile in return, and Adriana added, "You're right, you know. About being a hunter. One of the first things I learned from Vin when we started riding together was to be much more cautious when the fugitive was wounded." Chris nodded, pleased with her understanding. The young woman observed, "Of course, I think I'm as pleased that you view me as dangerous."
Chris laughed outright at that, drawing the attention of both children, along with Vin. Adriana simply smiled wickedly, the hazel eyes now turning green with delight. It had been so long since he saw her that relaxed, Chris had almost forgotten her eyes turned green when she was happy or relaxed. He smiled again, remembering the glow from that sunny afternoon. Yes, things were progressing, both with Adriana and with Vin.
Chris looked again at the pair, feeling a wistfulness steal over him as he watched Adriana rest her cheek against Vin's hair. It reminded him of Sarah. He remembered his wife doing the same thing. If Vin was stronger, Chris had no problem envisioning him putting a hand under each of Adriana's knees for a piggyback ride. The black-clad gunslinger found himself chortling at that image ... as well as Buck's expression when he saw that.
"Somethin' funny there, cowboy?" Vin asked, drawing Larabee's attention back to him. Chris just grinned, not answering. Vin turned his eyes to Adriana, asking, "Whaddaya think, Drina? Should we make him tell us what's so all-fired funny?" Adriana looked from Vin to Chris, and back again ... then a devilish smile lit her face. Chris looked from one to the other uneasily, wondering what he had just gotten himself into.
"You got a plan, Tanner?" Adriana asked, that devilish smile firmly in place. Vin simply cocked his head to one side, studying Chris intently, his eyes twinkling with laughter. Adriana continued, "Because if you don't, I happen to know all of his ticklish areas ... think we could get the young 'uns to help us hold him down?" As she spoke, she looked back at Chris, her own eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Think? Hell, girl! If we did that, be no way we could keep them young 'uns out of it!" Vin snorted. Adriana just laughed aloud with delight, and looking at the pair of them, it was almost easy for Chris to forget that the last month had happened. That he was still repairing his own friendship with Vin. That Vin himself was still healing from being so ill and from his ordeal at the prison camp.
But he could never quite forget, because the divisions within the Seven remained. Josiah, Buck, and Ezra were the only ones who would speak to Nathan. JD continued to freeze the healer out. For his own part, Chris still didn't know if he could trust Buck or Nathan again, but he couldn't deny that Buck was trying. But he didn't want to think about this right now, so he said, laughing lightly, "No great secret, Vin. Was just thinkin' about if you were strong enough to give Adriana there a piggyback ride."
Uh-oh. Now he had gone and done it. Vin, perceiving a challenge, sat straight up in Adriana's arms, his blue eyes twinkling. His dark-haired companion lightly smacked him in the back of his head, saying, "If you're even thinking about it, Tanner ... don't! Chris is right, you're not strong enough to be giving Billy or Laura piggyback rides, much less me! And I have no desire to fall on my face, into the grass or not!"
"Aw hell, Drina, ya spoil all m' fun!" Vin retorted in a mock-whine. Chris just started laughing all over again, causing his best friend to glare at him.
It felt good to laugh again. Even with the tentative building of bridges, things had been so tense lately, with very little to alleviate that tension. And knowing this world as he did, knowing how brief these respites were, Chris Larabee vowed to enjoy this moment, this afternoon, for as long as he could. Because in those respites, one also found healing. Rupert Browner had been quiet for two weeks. That wouldn't last much longer.
Vin couldn't pinpoint exactly when he felt the walls between himself and Chris start to fall. It was a slow process, over the last two weeks. A part of him suspected that Chris tried to engineer some of the moments they spent together ... reminders of the early days, when things were far more simple. An evening on the front porch, watching the sunset, to remind Vin of their battle against the Ghosts of the Confederacy ... and telling Chris about the price on his head.
Then there was the night when Vin expressed his frustration at remaining at the cabin. He knew he was still wobbly, but he still got frustrated. Mary finally asked, "Fine ... if you could go anywhere right now, where would it be?" Chris and Vin had replied, in unison, as they had the first day they met more than a year ago, "Saloon!" Mary had stared at them ... then threw back her head and laughed, remembering as well.
Billy had reminded him of helping to catch the murderers of Stephen Travis, the little boy curled up beside him one rainy Sunday afternoon. Billy was almost ashamed to admit that at first, he had been afraid of Vin, until he realized Chris was with him. And if Chris was with Vin, that must mean Vin wouldn't hurt him either. Vin had just held the child tighter against his side, ignoring the lingering pain in his ribs, and told him that he would have been scared, too.
Laura, when Buck had displeased her about something, reminded him of Olivia Greer, and that little girl stealing Buck's pocket watch as she and her mother were leaving town. Odd. Vin couldn't remember now why Laura had been angry with Bucklin, but it was probably something to do with Adriana. That little gal was powerful protective of Drina ... would go toe to toe with Buck or anyone else she thought was hurting her new mama.
A quiet conversation between Adriana and Josiah, on that same Sunday as his own conversation with Billy, reminded him anew of Cyrus Poplar. They thought Vin was asleep. He was dozing, not asleep. Adriana asking Josiah about his own bond to Vin, since she observed that bond, and JD's. Josiah telling her about his sister in Vista City ... about the murders ... about Vin simply knowing that Josiah hadn't killed those women. No rhyme or reason to it, no logical explanation for it at all. Vin had just known. It wasn't anything quite that mystical, too many things just didn't fit.
Still, if nothing else, that conversation served to lower Adriana's wall where the preacher was concerned. Vin was glad of that. He believed Josiah could help to heal some of Drina's wounds. She needed to understand that not all preachers were like the ones she knew when she was a girl. Not like Owen Moseley. Although, Reverend Hurst in town was helping with that. Vin hadn't met the man, but he heard about him ... and heard about the man's part in his rescue, so many weeks earlier.
JD told Adriana and Laura the story of fooling Lucas James and his cronies into believing that Judge Travis was dead. Told them about filling the casket with rocks and the squabbling between himself and Vin as they lowered the casket into the whole. Mary dressed entirely in black, Chris seeming to pay his respects as he kept his eye on those who watched the 'mourners.' JD made the pair laugh, using exaggerated hand motions and physically demonstrating what they were doing. And it made Vin laugh, too.
Casey even shyly admitted that she had tried to seduce Vin after she caught JD with Maddy Stokes. Her shyness melted away as she told the entire story, until Adriana was practically rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically at Casey's imitation of Vin. Made the tracker blush, remembering both the first time through, and Casey's rendition of that day. But it made him smile as well.
Until little by little, the dents in the wall around his heart became holes. Ezra contributed by adding his own story to Casey's, about his own encounter with the highly agitated young girl, complete with Casey throwing the water in his face, and Vin teasing him. Which was, of course, Vin's retribution for hitting his wounded arm. Upon hearing this, Adriana had smacked Ezra in retribution, drawing an indignant yelp from the Southerner.
The broken circle was slowly closing, but Vin knew the people of Four Corners. It wasn't Gloria Potter or her two children who worried him. He wasn't even worried about Conklin. But he knew people, and he knew how they would react to his return. The pseudo-bounty hunters had threatened to burn down the town, in order to get him. Those in town who didn't know him wouldn't be able to see past that.
Drina never mentioned Tascosa ... nor did Chris. But it was there, almost a living thing. Something which Vin could touch. But Tascosa wasn't the issue at all, it was an option. Four Corners was the real issue. It wasn't just whether he could trust Chris, Ezra, Josiah, and JD. Could he trust the people in town? True, he was starting to let down his guard with Buck, but only so far. He wasn't ready to trust Buck with his life again, much less Nathan.
Still, there was a part of Vin which wondered if he was being too hard on Nathan. He probably could have forgiven Nathan for turning him over to the pseudo-bounty hunters (though he really thought Nathan learned a few things about bounty hunters in the year they had been riding together, enough to realize when he was being set up). But it was the lie which tripped him up every time. Nathan had lied to him, told him that Chris agreed. That was the hardest to forgive. It was as if Nathan was trying to shift responsibility for his decision to Chris, when the latter didn't even know about the situation in town.
Mary and Nettie had both told him since that more people were willing to fight for him than he guessed, something he heard from Buck as well. But until the ladies told him, he hadn't really believed it. And Vin didn't want anyone getting hurt ... but damn. Couldn't they have found another way to deal with the mercenaries? He heard several plausible ideas from Mary and Nettie, from Casey and Billy, even from Laura, who wasn't there.
Vin sighed quietly, leaning back into Adriana's relaxed embrace. He was just as concerned about Drina's relationship with Bucklin. He was furious with the big man for leaving his own flesh and blood in that place. Adriana shared a little of what she experienced there, and it made Vin's blood boil, to hear what she had gone through. Things that no person should ever have to live through, much less someone Vin cared about.
Buck had criticized Chris for being unwilling to fight for Hank Connelly when his father-in-law was in town, since the man was his kin. But Buck had done the same thing to his sister. So he believed she was dead ... he should have asked to take her body home with him. It was the proper thing to do, when you had kin. That didn't lessen his own disgust with himself for failing to protect her in the first place. But one thing Vin did know ... he would have died himself before he allowed her to remain there, even if she was dead.
Still, it wasn't right, being separated from your family. And Drina was still Bucklin's family, whether she was willing to accept that or not. Chris told him that Drina told Buck a few weeks earlier that his sister was dead, that she died in the asylum when he left her there. That weren't true. She was still in there. The question was, did she want to find that part of her which she thought was dead?
Vin couldn't answer that. He just knew that as angry as he still was with Buck, the schism with her brother was hurting Drina. And that couldn't be allowed. He wouldn't let anyone hurt his longtime friend, not even Drina herself. But until he could figure out a way to help, without getting decked by either sibling, he had to let them find their way back to each other, alone. Until then ... what the hell?
He wasn't the only one who noticed it. A single rider, a single man on horseback, riding hell-bent for leather toward the house. Barely staying in the saddle. Like he had been shot. Or otherwise injured. Vin leaned forward, feeling Adriana tense as well. The two children saw the rider, and quickly ran up onto the porch, gathering around Vin and Adriana as if seeking to shelter from, or seeking to shelter, the pair.
Chris was racing lightly down the steps of the porch, his hand on his pistol. Buck and Josiah were running for the horse, as the door behind Vin and Adriana exploded practically off its hinges. Julian Poplar, who had been gathering intelligence in the town when Ezra became too well known, ran out of the house and down the steps to stand at Larabee's side. Adriana immediately removed herself from Vin's back, rising to her feet.
"Reverend Hurst ... what happened, Reverend?" Josiah asked urgently, easing the man from the saddle, with help from JD. A light scampering of feet told Vin that Billy and Laura had gone inside.
Doubtless, they would be fetching Miss Nettie and Mary. Josiah was supporting the preacher from town on one side, with Julian Poplar taking the other side from JD. Adriana helped Vin to his feet, Vin knowing better than to argue with his friend. Besides, the truth was, he still needed her support. Still needed her strength. And he needed that strength more than ever when Reverend Hurst rasped out, "My son ... that bastard has my son. I can't lose another son, I can't!" An icy hand gripped Vin's stomach. The respite was finally over. Browner had struck.
Upon hearing Hurst's announcement, Chris began issuing orders. Ezra was to go into town and retrieve both Mrs. Hurst and Aurora Hutchins. He wanted them both safe, and he had feeling Pordios was the last place either should be. Ezra immediately agreed and ran to the wagon. At the same time, Nathan began looking over the preacher. The damage was superficial, and the group learned that two of Browner's men had invaded the parsonage, attacking the preacher and taking his twelve year old son.
He knew it was Browner, because one of the men mentioned him by name. Besides, Hurst had heard the name before, had met the former railroad boss when he was in the prison camp. Browner had Joel, and he planned to kill him if the Seven didn't surrender themselves by sunset of the following day. All Seven of them. Surrender themselves, and the boy would live. The trouble was, everyone knew that the boy would die anyhow.
Neither option was viable. So Chris created a third. Two men would go to Browner's compound and rescue the boy. Nathan asked, "Ain't that gonna draw Browner back here? I thought the plan was to take the fight to him, not bring it here." Chris grimaced, but he could see the others were thinking in similar lines. And it was then that Vin Tanner reminded everyone in the room that he was still the second in command of the Seven, and for good reason.
"We kin still take the fight to Browner, even if he does come back here. We make him fight us on our terms ... we lay a trap for him," Vin said softly. Chris looked at his best friend, who went on, "A good bit of fightin,' for any reason, is usin' yer head. Reverend Hurst, does yer boy know how to shoot?" The preacher nodded quickly, and Vin continued, "Ya willin' to have him fight, if need be?"
"You're thinking of putting Browner's men in a crossfire ... with my son and one of these men on one side, and everyone else on the other," the preacher said. Vin nodded, and the preacher swallowed hard, saying, "I lost my son in the War, Mr. Tanner. I've taught Joel to shoot, to defend himself. And ... sometimes, it's necessary to kill. If we don't stop Browner ... he'll keep killing. Yes, Mr. Tanner. I'm willing."
"All right. So, I'll send two men into Browner's compound to rescue the boy. One will carry two rifles, one for himself and one for the boy. That man will start to head toward town, then double back to the ranch, after Browner and his men give chase. Now, the other man, the one who will lead Browner's men into our trap ... he has to ride fast. He has to outrun Browner's men," Chris said.
"I'm in. I'm the only one who knows where Browner's compound is," Julian Poplar said. All eyes turned toward the man, who said, "It's the least I owe him." This was said with a malevolent smile. Chris looked at the detective for a long moment, then nodded. Julian nodded, "It's a pity you can't ride yet, Vin ... you'd be the perfect choice. One helluva sharpshooter, one helluva tracker ... 'scuse my language, ladies."
Over the last two weeks, that was another thing which had changed ... Julian Poplar himself. He had relaxed his guard when he was at the cabin, and Chris found him to be a calm, steady, intelligent man. He liked him. So did Vin. While the pair weren't exactly friends, Chris did know that Vin trusted Julian, as much as he could trust someone he met under those circumstances. The tracker nodded, looking displeased that he couldn't help this time around.
"I can do that ... I'll ride with you. Vin came up with the plan. I need to do my part, too," Laertes said. Chris looked at the man, frowning. Laertes wasn't young any longer. He had already done his part, and more, by rescuing Vin all those weeks ago. The man looked back at him, saying, "Reverend Hurst helped us when we rescued Vin. It's my turn to help him. I'll lead Browner's men back here. I ride back toward town with a white boy, and I'll be one dead darkie."
Unfortunately, Chris couldn't argue with that. Adriana took a deep breath, her dark eyes troubled, and Laertes put his hand on her shoulder. He said softly, "I need to do this, little lady. I'll be fine. You just take care of that stubborn tracker. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he decided to start totin' that rifle of his during the gunbattle." Everyone laughed, because that was exactly the sort of thing Vin would do.
"I want a piece of that sumbitch, too. I may not be strong enough to ride," Vin began. Chris cocked a brow at his friend, smirking a little. May? There was no may about it, he wasn't strong enough to ride yet. Period. Vin glared right back at him in annoyance, which fazed Chris not at all. However, the tracker was determined to have the last word this time around, adding, "Like I said, I cain't ride, but I can shoot."
JD snickered, asking, "Yeah, Vin, but can you swim and fly?" It took a minute for the boy's words to sink in, then everyone started laughing. Especially Vin. His face and ears were bright red with embarrassment, but he was laughing. Adriana was looking from one to the other, one dark brow cocked as she tried to figure out exactly what had just been said, and if there was something she could tease Vin about.
The tracker immediately shot that all to hell, firing back, "Reckon I'd leave the flyin' and swimmin' to ya, JD, seein' how good ya are at both of them." JD threw back his head and laughed, his hazel eyes sparkling with amusement.
Now the confusion on Adriana's face was giving way to amusement, and Buck said, still laughing, "Okay, so, the plan is to rescue Joel, and lead Browner's men into a trap here. Now. What kinda traps are we talkin' about here?" It seemed JD's gentle teasing of Vin had lowered more than one guard, because Adriana lifted her head until Chris could see her eyes. And what Chris saw there ... was sheer devilry.
With a psuedo-innocent expression, the young woman replied, "Well, I'm rather fond of the traps we used when we were growing up, Bucklin. When someone unwanted showed up." She smirked, her eyes glittering. It took Buck all of two minutes to figure out exactly what she meant ... and when he did, his face turned bright red with embarrassment. Unbelievable. Even Chris, who had known the pair a long time, couldn't believe she made Buck blush.
"Not ... that ... kind ... of trap!" Buck growled, the tips of his ears now scarlet with embarrassment. Chris exchanged a glance with Vin, whose face was returning to its normal color. The sharpshooter was grinning impishly. Neither man had any idea of what Adriana was talking about, but it was obvious that Buck did know. It was just as obvious that he didn't want to elaborate. The only question was, would Chris intervene?
This time, he would. He said, "As interesting as I know that story has to be ... we'll keep it simple. Anything which will slow them down, stop them, whatever. Vin, you are not getting up on that roof, for any reason." The tracker just shrugged with an impish grin, which relieved Chris not at all. The leader glared at his friend, continuing, "Buck, I want you on the roof for as long as possible, acting as our sniper. Take out as many as you can, then get back onto the ground once we've thinned out their numbers. Julian, how many can we expect?"
"At least forty, maybe more. When I've been in town, I've been hearing about more and more miners joining up with him. Didn't get a solid count, but I'd plan for forty, at the very least. Speaking of traps, what about stringing ropes between trees, and then alerting Laertes to their location, so he knows to avoid them?" Julian suggested. Chris nodded. That was actually along the lines of what he was thinking. One of the traps, at least. It was very simple, but very, very effective. He had seen it used during the war.
"Might wanna use some of them traps we used at the Seminole village, 'gainst Colonel Anderson. Gopher holes disguised, anythin' like that," Vin suggested. Chris again nodded, his eyes flickering to the two children. Billy and Laura became aware of his eyes on them, and looked at each other worriedly, as if trying to figure out what they had done wrong. Which made Chris worry in turn. However, Vin alleviated their minds by saying, "Think ya can make us holes in the grass, and mark 'em somehow, so's Laertes won't get hurt?"
Playing in the dirt was something no child ever argued with, be they boy or girl. Twin expressions of delight crossed the two young faces, and both youngsters nodded happily. Vin continued, "Mind ya tell Laertes where them holes are. Don't want him gettin' hurt." Two heads bobbed determinedly, and Vin turned his attention back to Chris, asking, "So, when we gonna do this, cowboy? If Browner plans to kill the boy by sunset tomorrow night, reckon we should do somethin' he ain't gonna expect."
Once more, the leader nodded to his second for bringing up a good point. And once again, Chris looked to Julian for answers, asking, "You know better than anyone. When would the best time for you to go in? Early morning or in the dead of night?" Julian frowned thoughtfully, bowing his head to think that through. Chris had his own ideas, but Julian had worked with Browner. He knew him better.
"Very early morning. Say around four or five in the morning. Reverend Hurst, your son is up early most mornings to start his work at the livery, isn't he? Around that time of the day?" Julian asked, and the minister nodded. Julian continued, "Thought as much. All right. If Browner follows the same pattern he did at the prison camp, he'll keep Joel nearby. Fortunately, he's a heavy sleeper. Joel will be awake, so that will help," Julian replied.
"All right. Then I want you and Laertes to leave tonight. That should get you back here when the sun rises. Laertes, who do you think Joel will know better, you or Julian? That's what I thought. Then, you get Joel, while Julian creates a few distractions to buy you two some time. Joel will ride back with Julian. You get here as fast as you can ... no heroics," Chris said. The man nodded with a faint smile.
"I'm an old man, Chris, but I got a few surprises left in me," Laertes replied. Chris just smiled. Old, hell! Chris frowned when he saw Adriana's worried expression. He wasn't the only one who saw it. Laertes put his hands on the girl's shoulders, ignoring the way both Hurst and Julian tensed, and said, "This needs doin,' Adriana. Just as rescuing Vin needed to be done. Browner has caused enough damage ... and it ends here."
He very gently kissed her forehead, whispering, "I love you, Adriana Wilmington, and you will always be my daughter." Chris didn't know about the others, but that sounded like a good-bye to him. Laertes looked at Chris over Adriana's head, and the gunslinger realized that was exactly what it was. Laertes didn't believe he would see another sunrise. But it was his choice, and Chris wouldn't take that from him. He locked eyes with each of his men inside the house at the moment. Seeing their acceptance, Chris began deciding who would be positioned where.
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