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, for betaing for me and for her unflagging support.
"No change."
Those were the first words Vin Tanner could remember understanding. He had been passing in and out of consciousness up until that time ... hearing a soft, reassuring voice. A voice that belonged to a woman, and sounded vaguely familiar. What was the last thing he remembered, before hearing those words 'no change,' then? Fire. Manacles on his wrists being released. Being scooped into the arms of someone strong and powerful. Someone who swore that no one would hurt him ever again.
Screaming, cries of rage and terror. Fire. The person cradling him running. Cool night air. That same, tender voice whispering that he was safe now. Then darkness. Of the time before, he remembered too much, but Vin forced the memory back. The female voice said softly, "He seems to be resting easier now. You may not have to go into town, Laertes ... he seems to be cooler." He knew that voice. He knew he knew it.
Vin groaned softly, forcing his eyes open with an effort. His head pounded, and he found himself shivering. Things were blurry for several moments. When was the last time his eyes were open, how long had he been out? Slowly, too slowly, the world came into focus. The first thing he saw was a big colored man. Bald, but with a mustache. Maybe fifty, sixty years old. He looked like ... no, don't think about them.
With a tremendous force of will, Vin forced those memories back. He wanted to live. He was alive. He was free. More or less. And he knew if he allowed those memories back into his soul, then he would have to shut down. Just to survive. And he wasn't ready or willing to shut down yet. Wasn't willing to give them that power.
The second thing he saw was the back of a dress. Curly dark hair reaching to the shoulders of the dress. And a memory awakened. Dark brown hair pulled back and hidden under a cavalry hat like his own. Hiding feminine features, the way trousers and a buckskin coat hid the body of a young girl becoming a woman. He licked his lips with a dry tongue and managed to rasp out, "Drina?"
It wasn't even the name. Just a breath, because he could barely speak. But she heard. The shoulders went up and she turned very slowly. It was nearly four years since he saw her last, but it was still his Drina. Her hair was loose, falling gently to her thin shoulders, and starting to show some gray. Her body more womanly than he remembered. But she was only twenty-one the last time they saw each other ... barely a woman.
And then there was that smile. She moved swiftly to his side, sinking into the chair placed by his bed, and took his hand. She whispered, "It's good to see those eyes open, Vin Tanner. I was starting to worry." He gave her a weak smile, and she smiled again in return, whispering, "It's good to see that smile again, too. I've missed you, Vin." He closed his fingers around hers, communicating the only way he knew how at the moment.
She appeared to understand this, for she said softly, "Good, don't try to talk. I'm afraid the smoke hurt your lungs and your voice ... and you were already battling pneumonia. I'm sorry about the smoke ... a fire broke out while we were getting you out of there." Her eyes darkened and she looked away. There was more to this fire than what she was telling him. Vin just tightened his fingers around hers, cursing his weakness.
She turned her attention back to him and smiled again. She said, "You've been here for a week. I'm gonna tell you how badly you were hurt, so you don't try to do something your body can't handle. Okay?" Vin nodded ... first mistake. A crack of pain threatened to explode his head. He felt Drina's hand on his forehead, and she said softly, "Sorry, that was my fault. I figured you would have a headache, and forgot to warn you."
As the pain receded, he managed a weak smile, and Drina continued, "Like I said, you were battling pneumonia when we got to ... got there. I'm so sorry we didn't get you out as soon as we found out you were there." Her voice broke and Vin finally opened his eyes. Tears were glistening in Drina's dark eyes, but she went on, "Laertes convinced me that we needed a plan, that if we went in there with guns blazing, we might end up killing you. So ... we waited a few days. Got the layout of the place. We still almost killed you."
Vin just watched her, and she took a deep breath, continuing, "They had beaten you. Laura, the little girl who helped us with the layout, told us that you were beaten. That's why your chest hurts ... the coughing from the pneumonia aggravates your injured ribs." Vin noted the soreness in his chest, and nodded. Much more gently, this time. Drina went on, "As for the ones who beat you ... suffice it to say, I've dealt with them."
Remembering their two years on the trail together, and remembering the last time someone had harmed him, Vin could just imagine.
Especially given the cold look in her eyes now. He saw that look in her eyes once before, after she killed the men who tried to kill him and raped her. He was unconscious during the rape, and the killing of the three men ... but he saw that look in her eyes when she recounted what had happened. Drina was small, but capable of terrible savagery. She learned some of her methods from him ... and some from the years before they met.
He tried to tell her that it would be all right, but he realized he was starting to get tired. Drina must have realized this, for she said softly, "Sleep now. Answers can wait until later, when you're stronger. But you're safe now ... I've got your back." He could trust Drina. In the two years they rode together, she never let him down. Never abandoned him. Trusting in that memory, he closed his eyes, falling into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
How could things have gone so terribly wrong? Buck knew part of the answer, of course. He had been had. They all had. Everyone except maybe Ezra, who tried to tell them. But they wouldn't listen. Well, they were paying the price for it now. He lost almost all of his friends. But while ... someone ... poisoned Vin, adding peyote to his medicine, that someone wasn't the one who made the decision to abandon a friend.
Nope, that had been partially his own doing. And yes, he abandoned Vin. He didn't even bothered to take his friend to that damn place ... let strangers take his friend. Everything was so muddled at the time ... Nathan was working himself to death, Buck was trying to keep things under control in the town. Mary offered several times to help take care of Vin, as had Miss Nettie. Nathan didn't want either woman hearing some of the things he was saying in his delirium. The memories which had to be nightmares, because no one was capable of inflicting the pain which that child endured.
Not even Buck's father, a man whom Buck hated his entire life. They had to be hallucinations, things which Vin was making up. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the fever returned ... and it was killing Vin. He was dying, and there wasn't a damn thing any of them could do. It was hell on Nathan, any time he lost a patient. But losing Vin, while under Nathan's care? That would have killed Nathan.
And then the bounty hunters came. They would burn the town to the ground, if they didn't turn Vin over to them. There were only three members of the Seven. There was an entire posse of bounty hunters, against three men, and a town full of cowards. Nathan was exhausted. Buck was exhausted. The walls were closing in on them. Buck Wilmington had that feeling once before, when he learned his young sister Adriana was in a ... hospital.
When he learned that she died, before he reached his destination, he found himself unable to look at her body. He wanted to remember her as she was ... a shy fifteen year old girl with a brilliant smile. Not as she was at the end. So he didn't ask to see her body, never even asked to take it home with him to bury. He no longer knew where her home was. She simply disappeared when she was fifteen, from the brothel where they both grew up in Ohio. None of her clothes went with her. No one knew what happened.
Now he was hearing that Chris and Josiah didn't accept that Vin was gone. Buck didn't know what he wanted to believe. If Vin was dead, then Buck was responsible, because he helped to put him in that prison. If he was alive ... if he was alive, he would never trust Buck again. Ezra, Josiah, Chris, and JD would never trust him again ... that hurt bad enough. That he lost JD's friendship, and that Chris no longer trusted him.
Up until this happened, JD was Buck's best friend. But Vin was important to JD. And JD was still too young to understand about the shades of gray. Unfortunately, the more he thought about it, the harder it was for Buck to blame him. They hadn't exhausted all possibilities. They simply gave up on Vin, because it was more convenient. They could have stopped the bounty hunters. But they weren't willing to trust anyone else.
Nathan still couldn't bring himself to believe what Chanu told them. It was bad enough that Vin might have died in a fire, that the two of them might have sent him to his death. It was bad enough that Nathan's future as a healer turned to ash. But to find that they were tricked? Buck didn't think Nathan could accept that. Because that meant he failed Vin even worse than any of them thought.
Ezra was sent ahead to find out more about the fire. Buck was left with his own guilt, and with trying to keep Nathan alive. It wasn't just Chris who was looking to kill him, but Nathan himself. He was just staring into the fire now, as if it would give him some sort of insight. Several feet away was the fire which warmed JD, Chris, and Josiah. Buck chose this space deliberately, to keep their distance from the other three ... but close enough so that Buck could still keep an eye on Chris.
Chris would never forgive him, regardless of whether Vin was alive or dead. He forgave him for Sarah and Adam's deaths, for talking him into staying one more night. If he ever really blamed Buck at all, after the initial rage and horror passed. Was it possible that he blamed himself, thinking Chris blamed him as well? Well, that wouldn't be the case this time. Buck knew that. But he couldn't just ride away from Chris now. That would be a second betrayal of Vin, and the first one still hurt too much.
Ezra apologized twice, he heard. Buck kept trying to apologize, but somehow, 'I'm sorry' seemed entirely too small for this. Even his repeated, 'I never meant to hurt him' seemed hollow to his own ears. Buck's mind returned once more to the possibility that Vin was alive. Could it be? That somehow, he survived the fire? But how? The wire said everyone died. How was it possible for Vin to have escaped, when he was probably still so weak? The trouble was, Buck couldn't bring himself not to listen to Josiah.
Buck's mind drifted to those last few days, before the decision was made. Ezra didn't know about the fever returning. Buck hadn't told him, because he knew that if Ezra realized that Vin was sick again, he would have ridden out of town with Vin, and to hell with the bounty hunters. Never mind that Buck and Nathan were both bigger than he was, Ezra would have found a way to protect their sick friend.
Watching Vin die was killing Nathan slowly. It was always hard for him, losing a patient, but when he realized he was losing Vin ... who was always special to Nathan ... that knowledge tore out Nathan's soul. Buck tried to save a town, ended up killing a friend and destroying his future in Four Corners. If Vin died in that fire. He didn't know how long Ezra would be gone, but until the gambler returned with news of one kind or another, Buck knew he couldn't leave.
Ezra expressed his intention to leave, once they claimed Vin's body. Back before the talk started about Vin surviving. And Buck was worried ... regardless of whether Vin was alive or dead, would the Seven remain intact? He knew he had a reputation for being easygoing around town, but he wasn't stupid. With the bad call they made, Buck and Nathan quite possibly shattered the Seven.
He destroyed his friendships with JD and Chris. Josiah, he was still a mystery. Ezra planned to leave, though Buck didn't know if he would if Vin was still alive. He only spoke once to Buck and Nathan since they left the town that morning. The Southerner heard from one of the children in town that Josiah, JD, and Chris planned to bring Vin's body back for a proper burial. The only reason Buck knew about their plans was because he saw Ezra heading to the livery, to saddle his horse ... and then Buck told Nathan.
Nathan murmured that after they gave Vin a proper Christian burial, he would probably be moving on. Folks in town didn't trust him no more. Sure, there was Conklin, but he was more happy about Vin finally being gone, since 'his kind' wasn't welcome there. Ezra was less than sympathetic. What did he expect? People expected one thing from Nathan Jackson, only to get something else. At least Ezra was always honest about what he was. He never pretended to be better than he was. And the greatest irony was, Vin Tanner would have been better served to put his trust in a conman than a healer.
It was then that Buck realized just terribly Nathan was hurting. The healer never even tried to argue with Ezra. Never tried to defend himself. He just sat on his horse, and took the venomous words. Ezra hadn't had a pleasant thing to say to either of them since Vin had been taken. As far as he was concerned, they were mere savages. Who would have thought it? Ezra Standish, champion of the defenseless.
And yet, Buck knew he was being unfair. Ezra was always like that. He always reacted the same way Buck did to a harm being inflicted on women and children. Claire Moseley. Irene the seamstress. Li Pong. Any child within Four Corners. He supposed a desperately ill tracker who was abandoned also now qualified as defenseless. And over the months, Buck learned more about Ezra's early life. He wouldn't take kindly to Vin being abandoned.
So, how else, then, would Ezra have reacted? Perhaps that was why he was being given a second chance. Because long after Buck and Nathan gave up, Ezra was still fighting for Vin. He was being given a chance to rectify his mistakes. In Ezra's mind, he should have wired Chris, as soon as the bounty hunters arrived. Buck knew this, because under different circumstances, that was what Buck would have done.
Which left Buck to heal Nathan ... or, at the very least, take care of him. Make sure he ate and rested. Keep him away from Chris. Then again, Buck didn't see that as a problem, since Chris ignored them since his last outburst. With a deep sigh, Buck Wilmington lay back and stared at the stars. Wondering if he could ever find things which he gave away so easily.
Vin was taken to the small town of Pordios, which developed around a mission some hundred years earlier. Ezra arrived in town about four days after they had learned about the fire. The remains of the prison camp was actually outside of town. Couldn't have the inmates near decent folk, after all. Pordios was no bigger than Four Corners, but they had a saloon ... and you could almost always find a game of some kind in a saloon.
Chris cautioned him, telling him the bounty hunters might still be in town. They had to be careful. If the bounty hunters were still around, Chris didn't want them to know about the presence of what remained of the Seven. And if Josiah was right, Chris didn't want them tipping off the bounty hunters that Vin was still alive. That met with the agreement of JD and Josiah. If Vin was alive, they wouldn't lose him again.
Ezra still couldn't believe it. Chris gave him a second chance. Again. He admitted, he didn't fully trust Ezra, but Ezra could live with that. He could live with that, because Ezra didn't trust himself. He had failed someone who needed him. Once upon a time, Buck Wilmington was really his closest friend among the Seven, but over the months they worked together, Ezra found himself growing rather attached to the former bounty hunter as well.
Which was how Ezra came to find himself in this miserable little dust bowl. Four Corners was a miserable little dust bowl, but it was his miserable little dust bowl. On the other hand, Ezra decided that this town's name was prophetic. It was claimed 'por Dios,' for God. It turned into a prayer ... as in, 'for God's sake, get me out of this hellhole.' Hellhole. He had called Four Corners a hellhole, more than once.
And then there was the prison camp. Ezra thought back to rescuing Chris from Jericho, and quailed. They had barely survived themselves.
God forgive him, he saw what was left of the prison camp, riding into town. Ezra remembered what Chanu said, about the members of the tribe dying ... all because of the hallucinations in the peyote. One was a little girl, who walked to a cliff and jumped, believing she could fly. Another was an old man, who took his own life rather than be captured by a demon. What terrors did Vin see in his dreams, that Ezra hadn't known about?
He spent that first night simply wandering around the town and getting settled in. As a confidence man, it was highly desirable to know how, as well as when, to leave town quickly. Not surprisingly, his dreams were filled with fire and death. When he finally awoke, at five am, he realized he couldn't go back to sleep. Instead, he prepared himself for the day. Rather than spend his time in a poker game ... it would be too early for that ... Ezra went instead to the local general store. Another parallel to his own miserable little dust bowl cropped up ... the store was run by a woman. Several years younger than Mrs. Potter ... and dark-skinned.
Ezra wasn't noticed by her immediately, giving him time to bring his shock under control. Then he approached the young woman with a dazzling smile and said, "Good morning to you, my dear lady ... the denizens of this town are indeed fortunate to have such a lovely young woman gracing their town." The young woman looked up, smiling faintly at his flattery. She was about Ezra's own age, and as he had already noted, quite lovely.
"Why thank you, sir ... it's always lovely to hear such things," the young woman replied. There was only a hint of a Southern accent. She hadn't been raised in the South, obviously. And she most assuredly did not have an English accent. So ... where was she from? Never mind that now. The woman continued, "I'm Aurora ... I'm told because I was born at dawn. And are you here for supplies, or information?"
"My dear lady, I am shocked and appalled that you would think a man would pay you a compliment for the purpose of receiving information," Ezra said, clapping a hand over his heart as if wounded. The young woman ... Aurora ... just smiled, and Ezra continued, "Although, if you wouldn't mind answerin' a few of my questions, I would be greatly indebted to you?" He raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"About the prison camp?" Aurora asked. Ezra blinked, both at the accuracy of her guess, and at her boldness. Most young ladies weren't supposed to know about the existence of such places. Then again, Ezra was already starting to realize that Aurora was hardly most young ladies. The shopkeeper continued, "I can tell you that it burned down under mysterious circumstances ... and that at least half the prisoners escaped."
"At least half? And how do you know this?" Ezra asked, so stunned by this information, he forgot to use his standard grammar. Aurora simply smiled, and Ezra dropped all pretense. He looked around the shop. He and Aurora were the only ones in the store at this time of the day. Everyone else was just getting up, and he had a sense that Aurora's store was the last one visited, due to her colored status. He was ashamed to say that once upon a time, he would have been among those who would not have frequented the young lady's place of business. But ... people changed? Didn't they?
"Because, I'm good friends with the pair who helped engineer the escape which led to the fire. You know about the ones they call the Magnificent Seven, over in Four Corners? Well, it seems that they aren't so magnificent any more. About two weeks ago, they just turned one of their men over to some bounty hunters, who stayed at the prison camp. They were supposed to meet someone there, and then the fire broke out," the young woman answered.
Not so magnificent anymore, Ezra thought, that's true. I'm somewhere between, between JD, Josiah, and Chris, and Buck and Nathan. Not fully trusted, but not totally shut out, either. He could live with that. For now. Aurora paused, then continued, "Now, this friend I told you about ... she knew the man. They rode together for a time. She and her companion, another colored like myself, rescued him. Bounty hunter named Vin Tanner, from what I remember hearing."
Ezra felt his heart leap in his chest, but he stilled his excitement. That meant Vin had escaped, he still didn't know about the condition of his friend. Was he still ill, had he died since? He asked curiously, "Does anyone else know about this?" Aurora looked at him as if he had lost all semblance of intelligence, and Ezra continued, "I would think not, based on what I saw. The prison told the townspeople that everyone died, so they wouldn't have a panic." Now he was starting to understand. That was why Chris received the wire ... the townspeople thought everyone had died in the fire. Aurora nodded with a smile.
"Exactly. I know the truth, because Laertes and I go way back. I was with him when he found Adriana, and I helped him to take care of her. She's another one who was abandoned. Although, she was abandoned in an asylum, just west of town. When Laertes started planning the rescue, he came to me for help and supplies. Now. I've answered your questions. Who are you, and why do you want to know all this?" Aurora asked, her dark eyes burning a hole into Ezra.
He could have lied. He knew that. He could have easily lied, and told her that he was investigating the fire, on behalf of a client whose brother had supposedly died. That wasn't entirely a lie. He was investigating the fire, on the behalf of Chris Larabee, and the man who was like the leader's brother had supposedly died in that fire. But he didn't lie. He answered quietly, "My name does not matter. The young man rescued by your friends is important to me, and to others. He's my friend, has saved my life countless times."
Aurora rocked back on her heels, eyeing him intently. She said, "There were seven, before Vin Tanner was taken by the bounty hunters. Him ... the leader, Chris Larabee. I've heard talk of the other five. Including a Southerner who talked fancy, and dressed even fancier. Ezra Standish, isn't it?" Ezra stared at the young woman in shock. Oh, he knew the 'Magnificent Seven' created quite a reputation for themselves in the Territory. But this?
"I am impressed. I am Ezra Standish, yes. Would you know where I can find my good friend, Mr. Tanner? You spoke of Adriana and Laertes ... do they have a ranch, or something nearby? How can I reach it?" Ezra asked. Aurora regarded him with those intense brown eyes, as if she was trying to see into his very soul. Again, Ezra looked around. Appearances be damned. Vin Tanner was his friend, and Chris Larabee had given him a second chance. Twice.
"Miss Aurora. I will beg you on bended knee, if I must. Vin Tanner is my friend. I have already failed him once, when I failed to keep him safe. I failed to protect him from those damnable bounty hunters, I failed to protect him from the men who were supposed to watch his back. Now, it's time to make amends. We must find him, we must ... we are selfish, Miss Aurora. But we want a second chance, to do the right thing," Ezra said quietly.
He couldn't see his own expression. He could only hope that his face reflected his emotions. Appearances be damned. His mother be damned. He needed this woman to believe him, to believe they wanted to make things right with Vin. He needed her to believe the truth. He drilled his green eyes into her, willing her to believe him. Willing her to accept that he would no more harm Vin than Chris would.
Aurora was silent for a long time, then she said softly, "Laertes told me that the symptoms he was seeing reminded him very heavily of peyote. I can give you directions to the ranch, but I have to warn you right now. Adriana is ... not insane. But she was abandoned in that insane asylum I told you about, and it took half a year before she finally escaped. She's very bitter and very angry. If she realizes you've come for Tanner ... she'll meet you with a loaded weapon."
Abandoned ... took six months to escape. How could anyone survive such an event, and not be bitter? Ezra closed his eyes, feeling the fury build up inside of him once more. Vin was in that prison camp for a matter of weeks. How badly had he fared, in that time? Ezra swallowed hard, and whispered once more, "Forgive me, my friend. Please forgive me for not fighting for you."
He opened his eyes and stared determinedly at Aurora. He said with no pretensions or affectations, "I will take that under advisement. But you must understand something. From the moment they met, Vin Tanner has been Mr. Larabee's best friend, second in command, and surrogate brother. He will not give up on him. Nor ... shall ... I."
He saw the fancy man come into the store. He sometimes helped Aurora in the mornings, before everyone else was up. Aurora came to the West some twenty years earlier, when she was a small girl. The man who raised Aurora was white ... and she most assuredly was not. But she was his daughter, and he would have raised his cane to anyone who treated her badly.
Old man Hutchins died ten years earlier, leaving his profitable store to his daughter. Not everyone accepted this situation ... she was, after all, both woman and colored. Bad combination. But there were some in town who remembered her father kindly, and it was that respect for him which kept them returning to her store. Laertes also helped keep her in business, with the supplies he bought for himself, Adriana, and Laura.
Laura. Laertes shook his head, unable to understand how anyone could abandon their own child, much less at a prison camp, of all places! But that was where she spent the last three years of her life, from the time she was about three. It broke his heart, to think about what she must have seen. It wasn't hard to understand why she was so quiet ... eerily quiet. Adriana insisted that they take her when they rescued Vin, and Laertes agreed.
This wasn't the first rescue mission they conducted. They freed patients from the asylum where Adriana was imprisoned, and started conducting raids on the prison camp at night. That was how they met Laura. Always, it was the same thing ... a distraction caused by Laertes, while Adriana slipped in and freed someone wrongly imprisoned. But it was the first time, in the time they had been conducting those raids, that force was necessary. It was the first time Adriana ... No. They got through that, they got out.
Instead, Laertes turned his mind back to the living, rather than the dead. Vin's fever broke the previous night, and he regained consciousness for a few minutes. Long enough for Adriana to reassure him that everything was fine, then he went back to sleep. He would be hungry the next time he woke up. He lost weight, between his illness and his stay in that place, weight he couldn't afford to lose.
With Vin slowly healing, Adriana finally got a little sleep. She put down a bedroll in his room and slept on the floor. With anyone else but Aurora and Adriana, Laertes would have protested. It wasn't fit for a lady to do that. He knew better with those two. Aurora was a lady for all outward appearances. But like Adriana, when it came to taking care of someone she loved, to hell with being a lady.
When Laertes left the house this morning, Adriana was still asleep ... probably the first decent night sleep she had in a few days. As the fancy man left the store, Laertes slipped quietly from his hiding place and Aurora said quietly, "You knew it was just a matter of time, Laertes, that the other six would come looking for him." Laertes nodded. It was her helping them that he couldn't believe. Aurora looked straight at him, saying softly, "I intended to lie to him. To tell him that the bounty hunter died in that fire. But you didn't hear him ... didn't see his expression. I couldn't lie to him."
Laertes nodded. He understood. He even thought Adriana would understand. But what worried him was Vin himself. Was the boy ready to deal with this confrontation? He had just regained consciousness! He was still incredibly weak, and if those six men were determined to take the boy from them, what could one old man, an exhausted young woman, and one little girl do to stop them?
They needed a plan. A way to find out if the remaining six were sincere in their desire to make amends with their friend. Laertes said, "Well, he has to ride back to his friends. That'll give me time to get back to the ranch, and warn Adriana. Aurora, I'm about to ask you to take a huge risk. If those men ride here ... I want you to watch them. Let me know what you think of them. Adriana trusts your judgment, as do I." A sad smile appeared on Aurora's face when he spoke of the young white woman.
"Adriana trusts my judgment. It's just my color which bothers her," Aurora said quietly. Laertes started to speak, but Aurora held up her hand, saying, "I don't blame her. We have no idea what happened on the way to the market, and she may have been ... brutalized. But the fact remains, a man of color took her from her family and delivered her to the slavers. That scar will never go away. And she will fight it for the rest of her life, but every time she looks at us, we will be a reminder of that violation."
"That's no longer a problem. Adriana has gotten past it, she sees you now, Aurora. Just as she sees me. But ... she will always be ill-at-ease with people of color. She won't deny that, she won't try to deny it. Just ... have some patience with her? She's trying," Laertes replied. That was true, and he knew it to be true. She would always have scars on her soul from her father's betrayal, from the journey to the market where the first owner bought her. Just as Laertes would always have his own scars.
Aurora smiled and said softly, "I know she is, Laertes. And you know I appreciate how much you both have supported me. But what worries me is what happens when the other six get into town. You do know their healer is colored? Nathan Jackson?" Laertes gritted his teeth. He and Adriana had heard the name 'Nathan' during Vin's ravings. Nathan was one of the men who gave up Vin to the bounty hunters.
"There is no way I will allow that bastard anywhere near that boy," Laertes hissed. Aurora looked at him, startled, and Laertes continued, "He's the one responsible for Vin's condition. Adriana has already said if he shows up, she'll blow him in half. You know how bad that girl shoots." Aurora nodded with a shudder. She had seen Adriana firing a rifle. It was not a pretty sight.
"I know. Laertes, there's one other thing. Some of the townspeople, they don't like the way you talk. They don't like that you're educated, that you speak better than most white people. I've heard them calling you 'uppity.' And they really don't like that you're looking out for a white woman and child. Just ... be careful. Most of 'em keep their mouths shut because you're big, and because they know how ugly Adriana can get if she's angry. But ... it won't go away," Aurora warned, and Laertes nodded. He was coming to town less and less for that reason.
Adriana didn't know about it yet ... once she looked past his color, he became one of hers. And as Aurora just said, she could get ugly when she was angry ... she usually became angry when one of hers was bothered. He replied, "Thanks for letting me know. And, uhm, watch your own back, Aurora." She nodded and with a glance around, Laertes slipped out the back door. His wagon was loaded, and he was pleased to see nothing was out of place. That was why he liked being out in the morning. No one to bother him.
By the time the town truly woke up, Laertes was halfway back to the ranch, and trying to figure out how he would tell Adriana what he learned in town. It would probably be best to tell her outside, while she was hanging up clothes. Less chance that she would frightened Laura or awaken Vin when she lost her temper. It was midmorning by the time he reached the ranch, and he could see Laura chasing butterflies.
He smiled as she ran toward the wagon and drew the horses to a halt. She scrambled up the wheels of the wagon, taking his proffered hand and squealing as he lifted her into the seat beside him. She didn't talk ... she would smile, or laugh, or squeal with delight. But she didn't talk. He had hopes that she would eventually, when she was ready. She communicated with Adriana about the layout by using drawings, and about the beatings with hand gestures. It was crude, but effective. Laertes sure as hell couldn't argue with effective.
He asked now, "Adriana awake?" The little dark head bobbed until Laertes thought it would come off her shoulders, and the man continued, "I got bad news, honey, so I want you to look out for Vin. I need to talk to Adriana while she's outside. You know what she's like when she loses her temper." Laura nodded even more vehemently this time. She didn't seem afraid. More like ... resigned. Laertes patted her shoulder, then asked, "Has Vin woke up again?"
Again, Laura nodded, though far more gently this time. Well, that was good news. Laura put her hands over her throat, then over her mouth, and shook her head this time. Which meant that he couldn't talk especially well. They expected that, but it still made it difficult for him to communicate with them. Adriana mentioned that when she knew him, he couldn't read or write. She never brought it to his attention that she knew, Adriana explained. Young males were notoriously sensitive about their pride, and Vin Tanner was no exception.
Still, she hadn't seen him in four years and things changed. People changed. Laertes drew the horses to a halt in front of the house, then jumped down from the wagon and helped Laura down as well. Once the little girl scampered into the house, Laertes began unloading the wagon. As he pulled the first sack from the back, Adriana appeared in the doorway and lightly bounced down the steps to join him.
She looked a little less tired. There were still dark circles under her eyes, but she looked better than she had. She was still entirely too pale, especially with her dark brown hair falling loosely to her shoulders. And Laertes was dismayed to find a new strand of silver among the brown curls, but he should have expected that. Still, he chastised lightly, "You should still be sleeping, girl!"
"Oh, hush, Laertes ... the sooner we get started, the sooner we'll be done. Laura told me that you had something to tell me outside. She made an angry face, then pointed outside, so I'm guessing you found out something in town that you think I won't like," Adriana observed as she took a smaller sack. Laertes sighed and put down his sack. Adriana asked very quietly, "They're coming, aren't they?" He nodded, not looking at her, and she said, her voice barely audible, "I knew they would. We'll be ready for them."
The third time Vin awakened, it was to the smell of food. And for the first time, he realized he was utterly starved. When was the last time he ate? Never mind that now. The door was lightly kicked open and Adriana came into the room, bearing a tray in her arms. She smiled at his expression, saying, "I know you're hungry, but we gotta start out slow. I don't want you getting sick again."
Vin carefully nodded, remembering the pain the last time he hadn't been more careful, and Adriana eased the tray over his legs. She collapsed into the seat beside him, taking several deep breaths. She looked exhausted ... when was the last time she slept? Knowing Drina, she spent the last however many days taking care of him, instead of taking care of herself. That sounded like something she would do.
After a moment, she swung her body onto the bed beside him to help him eat. It was oatmeal, nothing grand, but it was food. Vin could have eaten anything at that point. Adriana said quietly as she poured tea into a cup, "There's something you need to know before you eat. Laertes just got back from town. One of the others was there, asking questions about you. An Ezra Standish. It's only a matter of time before they come for you." Ezra. A door in Vin's mind opened up and he shuddered, closing it hard. Adriana put her hand on his forearm.
She said softly, "They will have to come through me, Vin. I've got your back." That had meant something once to Vin and to Chris Larabee. Chris. Again, Vin slammed the door in his memory. He couldn't deal with that right now. Adriana continued softly, a teasing note in her voice, "And just how many times did I let you down while we were riding together, Vin Tanner? Not that many at all."
"Nev ... er," Vin rasped out. In the two years they rode together, she had never let him down. She was always there, guarding his back ... taking care of him when he was sick or hurt. He repaid her for driving her away after Tascosa. Thinking of that, he whispered, "Sorry." Drina frowned, not understanding, and Vin managed two more words, "Eli Joe." Now Drina's hazel eyes darkened.
"No reason for you to be sorry, Vin. You were right. I would have gotten you killed. I'm sorry I was too selfish to see that at the time. But you gotta understand something, Vin. Until you're strong enough, I'm not leaving you. Although ... I was just thinking. That bounty still on your head?" Drina asked. Vin nodded carefully, though he thought that was a silly question. Drina went on, "I was just thinking. It'll be time for us to move on soon ... Laertes, Laura and me ... maybe it's time we cleared your name." The same promise from Chris.
But while Chris gave his permission for Nathan to put him in that godawful prison, Adriana and this Laertes rescued him. Vin wondered briefly if that was Chris' way of making him pay for Charlotte, then pushed it out of his mind. Wasn't important no more. Drina was offering to watch his back, to go with him to Tascosa and clear his name. She could do it, too, since she was with him the night Jess Kincaid was killed. And this time, he would be going to Tascosa with friends, instead of bounty hunters.
All he said was, "Like that." Drina's face lit up with a smile. She turned her attention back to the oatmeal and spooning it into his mouth. Vin ate obediently. They were coming for him, she said, Chris and the others. Why? He learned the second time he woke up that he and the other prisoners were presumed dead in the fire. Did Chris and the others know he wasn't dead? Why were they coming for him? To put him in another place like that one, since they didn't want him 'round no more?
Never happen, cowboy, Vin told the image of Chris in his mind, I'll find a place ya cain't never find me. Ain't no way I'm ever trustin' ya again. He wasn't sure whose betrayal hurt him more. Nathan or Chris. Buck's betrayal hurt, too, but not as bad as the other two. And again, he heard the whisper in the back of his mind that somehow, he deserved this. Done something, or maybe said something while he was sick? Something that made Nathan turn against him? They could have taken those bounty hunters, if they wanted to.
Lord, it was making his head hurt! He knew he wasn't a good man, but he tried to be a good friend. Didn't always succeed, and it took him a long time to forgive himself after the disastrous wagon train. But hadn't he made up for it? What would it take before they finally forgave him? He wasn't aware that he had spoken aloud, until Adriana asked almost harshly, "Forgive you? You got that backward, Tanner ... they're the ones who should be begging your forgiveness, not the other way around!"
Vin closed his eyes. Damn, this was making his head hurt worse. Adriana said more gently, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. This isn't your fault, Vin, not any of it. Are you ... is there any more you can eat?" Vin shook his head. He had been so hungry, but now he was just so tired. Adriana gently caressed his hair, her eyes reflecting none of the anger of only a moment before. She wasn't a temperamental woman. She did have a temper, yes, but unless she was really and truly pissed, it was rare for her to stay angry long.
"Okay. Then enough of this. Why don't you get some sleep? We don't know when they're coming, just that they are. Laertes will be going back into town, to see if Standish is still there, or if he headed out to tell the others. We may have some time ... and we definitely have the element of surprise," Adriana said softly. Vin frowned at her, and she added with a twisted, bitter smile, "Let's just say that I'm known to two of your former friends."
Which two? Not Ezra, he was sure. And then it hit him. He never put two and two together, as the saying went, because he hadn't allowed himself to think about her in so long. He looked at her, startled, and asked, "Buck? Chris?" Adriana nodded, her face solemn. He always knew Adriana's last name was Wilmington ... while they were traveling together, she went by Andrew Wilkins, or Drew, when they were in town, to avoid even more trouble.
"Buck is ... was ... my elder brother. I disowned him eighteen months ago, after he left me in an asylum, outside town in the other direction. He and Chris Larabee both left me. I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything better from Larabee ... he had been drowning in a bottle ever since his wife and son were killed. But I always thought my brother loved me. I was wrong," came the bitter response. Vin squeezed her hand slightly. It beat saying anything.
Especially when there was nothing to say. He knew very little about Adriana's early life. He was, in fact, tracking her, to return her to people he thought were her parents, when he had rescued her six years earlier. He found, however, that the people who hired him were slavers. And that she was their property. Not their child. Vin didn't hold well with slavery, with owning another human being. Another living being. Much less an angry, frightened nineteen year old wildcat of a girl. That was the beginning.
The beginning of the best two years of his life. Vin was always something of a loner, up until he met that young wildcat. True, he was also nineteen at the time of their meeting, but at the beginning, he felt much older. It took him only a few weeks to see the truth. Adriana carried scars on her own soul. He never asked, and she never told him, but it was clear she was no longer an innocent child.
That became clear after he was almost killed, and Adriana was raped. Neither of them enjoyed killing ... but Drina didn't shrink from it, when it needed doin.' And after the deed was done, she would carry on for a time, as if nothin' had happened. Until something happened. Somethin' small, most of the time. And then, the wildcat would give way to the child she was once, and Vin would hold her in his arms as she wept. It always broke his heart, seeing her cry, but it was something she needed. Taking a life took a slice outta yer soul, and she needed to cry to heal.
Adriana closed her eyes and sighed, drawing the former bounty hunter back to the present. Vin saw for the first time just how exhausted she was, and a pang of guilt ripped through him. After a moment, she raised her head and opened her eyes, a faint smile appearing on her face. She said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload that on you. I just get tired sometimes. And it's just so good to see your eyes open again. I know, I said that earlier ... but I've missed you. So much."
He missed her, too. She smiled at him again and leaned forward, lightly kissing his forehead, murmuring, "Get some sleep. I've got your back." Vin nodded lightly, drifting slowly into the darkness. And for the first time in what seemed to be forever, no dreams haunted him. No memories of massacres he had witnessed, or remembrances of the years after his ma died. Just blessed ... darkness.
That morning, five weary men cantered toward Pordios. That was a lousy name for a town, as far as Chris was concerned. There was nothing resembling God in the burned out skeleton of the prison camp. Further, it brought back memories of his own time in the camp at Jericho. God, how could Nathan and Buck have done that, after what happened there?
Chris tried to keep his eyes from the burned wreckage, trying not to imagine Vin in that place as it burned to the ground. It was a struggle. The previous night, he dreamed about the fire which had killed Sarah and Adam. And the nightmare intensified when Vin joined his family, his blue eyes damning Chris for leaving him in the care of traitors. That was fine, though ... Chris hadn't stopped kicking himself for trusting Buck and Nathan.
But ... the closer they got to town, the strong his feeling grew that Vin was still alive. It made no real sense. Chris Larabee didn't believe in clairovoyance, or any such thing. He was a gunfighter, he didn't have time for that nonsense. But where Vin was concerned, things never really made sense. They just were, and there was no way around it. Maybe that was what was fueling his certainty that Vin was alive. Not all right. He was quite possibly hurt, could even be ill. That was all very likely ... but Chris could feel that he was alive.
Josiah and JD hadn't spoken for the last several moments. Chris glanced at JD, and saw the young man fighting back tears. He saw the wreckage of the prison camp as well. The gunslinger moved his horse closer to JD's, murmuring, "He wasn't in there, JD. Vin got out. I don't know how, but he got out." JD looked up at him, his hazel eyes showing grief and anger. Chris nodded once, firmly, and the boy shuddered.
"I want to believe you, Chris. I do. But every time I close my eyes, I see him. I want to believe that he's alive, that he didn't die hating us. But how could he have escaped? I remember Jericho, Chris! How could he have escaped, if he was still weak from being sick?" JD asked. Chris would have answered, but Ezra was cantering toward them as they reached the city limits of Pordios. JD looked up, wiping away his tears as Chris looked to Ezra. It didn't matter, Chris had seen him out of the corner of his eye. It didn't matter.
Buck and Nathan were behind them. Chris hadn't spoken to either of them all day. He couldn't bear to look at either of them. Ezra approached the front trio, his green eyes flickering from one man to another. Then a smile appeared on his face, and he said very quietly, "He's alive." He's alive. Chris looked down at his hands in annoyance. His hands were shaking, dammit! Vin was alive.
"Are you sure, Ezra? Did you see him? How did he escape?" JD asked in a low voice. Ezra didn't answer immediately. Instead, he lifted his eyes to glare past the trio. Chris glanced over his shoulder. Buck and Nathan started forward, when Ezra approached them. They stopped their forward movement. Ezra turned his attention back to JD, who was now fidgeting in his saddle, almost wriggling.
"I did not see him. However, I discovered that there is one in this town, an ally of those whom procured Mr. Tanner's release from that odious establishment. I received the bulk of my information from her, and then corroborated what she told me from other sources. On the night of the fire, Mr. Tanner was emancipated by two persons ... a young woman in her middle twenties, about the same age as Mr. Tanner himself, and a dark-skinned gentleman by the name of Laertes," Ezra explained. Chris listened intently.
Ezra took a deep breath, continuing, "It would seem, from what Miss Aurora told me, that Laertes informed his young companion of Mr. Tanner's whereabouts. This young lady, Adriana by name, was a friend of our Mr. Tanner's for a number of years. She was abandoned in a nearby asylum, and escaped about a year ago, after six months. She and Laertes have a ranch outside town. I was warned that she knows of us, and will likely greet us with a loaded weapon." Chris, however, found himself losing focus after the name. Adriana.
Abandoned in an asylum. In her mid-twenties, about the same age as Vin. The timing was right. The name was right. Could it be? Chris looked back at Ezra, and asked softly, "You happen to get a description from this Aurora of this girl Adriana?" Ezra shook his head, and Chris swore under his breath. Well, maybe it didn't matter. He hadn't seen her since she was fifteen, and people did change in ten years.
"No, Mr. Larabee. However, I did learn from one of the ladies in town more information about Miss Adriana. She's the one who informed me that the young lady is in her middle twenties. The lady who gave me this information is something of a gossip, but I rather liked her. She was one of the few ladies in town who spoke kindly of ... different people," Ezra replied. He frowned, looking curious, but continued, "She's a small, slender woman. Shoulder-length, curly brown hair. Eyes the same color as Mr. Dunne's. She often wears a cameo necklace, a gift from her aunt Dulcie."
The description fit. But it was the cameo which clinched it. Adriana wore a cameo necklace given to her by Buck's mother on her fifteenth birthday. And Buck's mother had been named 'Dulcie.' Chris closed his eyes, and Josiah asked softly, "Chris? Is this Adriana ... ?" Chris opened his eyes and nodded at the big preacher. Josiah whistled softly and asked, "Are you plannin' on tellin' him that?"
"Nope. Let it be a surprise," Chris answered with a malevolent smile. Both Ezra and JD were frowning, and Chris explained, "Ezra, I know the young woman who helped to rescue Vin. I didn't know Vin knew her, but that's not the point. Her full name is Adriana Kathleen Wilmington, and she's Buck's younger sister. Like I thought. The asylum lied to Buck about her death." Ezra's mouth fell open.
"Good Lord! You mean to tell me that our betrayed compatriot was rescued by a woman who already has reason to hate Mr. Wilmington?" he blurted out. Chris nodded. Ezra just shook his head, utterly speechless. Chris was having a hard time with the revelation himself. She had reason to hate Buck, and she had reason to hate Chris himself. People grew and changed in ten years, and after two betrayals from those she trusted, Adriana wasn't likely to be reasonable.
"Did you find out anything else, Ezra? How we can find this place? I can tell you one thing right now, she ain't gonna make it easy on us. Even when she was a kid, she didn't forgive real easily, and especially not when you hurt one of hers. Far as Adriana is concerned, we done that, and worse," Chris explained. He looked up at the sky, and said, "It's gonna rain. This is what we're gonna do. Ez, you got rooms?"
"I do. There's one other thing you need to know. Miss Aurora didn't tell me how he would know this, but she did say Laertes was reminded very strongly of peyote, from Mr. Tanner's symptoms," the gambler replied. Well, they had known that ... but maybe hearing it from someone else would finally force Nathan to admit he was wrong. Chris decided in the hours he couldn't sleep the previous night that he wanted the final two to either apologize or admit they were wrong.
Chris explained, "This is the plan. We tell Buck and Nathan only that Vin's alive. Nothin' else. They ain't ridin' with us, they're just here so Vin can decide what to do about 'em. He's the one they hurt, he's the one who makes the decision. Understood?" The others all nodded, and Chris continued, "All right, we're headin' into town. I want more information on this Laertes, and more about this ranch where Vin is."
"What's the plan, Chris? Ez said that she'll meet us at the door with a loaded weapon. She saved Vin's life, we can't hurt her," JD said as Chris began turning his horse toward Buck and Nathan. Chris just rolled his eyes. He had no intention of hurting Adriana, or anyone else. But they needed more information, a lot more information, before he could figure out a plan. And as he cantered back to the two traitors, that was exactly what Josiah told the boy. They couldn't just blindly ride into a situation ... especially not a situation this volatile.
Chris looked first at Buck, then at Nathan, and said very quietly, "Vin is alive. Ezra has spoken with a few people, one of whom knows the pair who rescued him from that place. He has also received information, backing what Chanu told us." Nathan blanched and Chris continued, "You no longer ride with us. But you're coming with us when we got to the ranch, so Vin can decide what should be done with the two of you. He's the one who was wronged, it's only just. You two do still know what justice is, don't you?" He watched with a grim satisfaction as the barb hit the target in both men.
"We made a bad call, Chris. Reckon we both know that by now. And if I could turn back the clock, and make a different decision, I would. Whatever Vin wants, I'll live by," Buck replied. Nathan nodded. For a brief moment, Chris thought about warning Buck that his younger sister was still alive. That Adriana was alive, and that she helped to rescue Vin. But only for a moment. Then he remembered what both of those two had been through. No. No, he wouldn't make it any easier on Buck.
The big man whispered, "He's alive. That's all that matters to me. He's alive." Chris nodded brusquely, then turned his horse back to Pordios, and the answers which awaited within the town. A part of him longed to ride to the ranch, and get Vin back. But before they did that, they needed still more answers. They would get those answers. Hang on, cowboy, Chris thought.
Continued in Road to Hell : Reunion
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