Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide.
Chris Larabee woke up when he felt a slight shift in the sheets next to him.
While he could be forgiven if he thought it was his wife Mary next to him, the powerful glare of sunshine through the bedroom window told him that it was well past the time that Mary would find acceptable to remain in bed. Although his wife slept in with him on most weekdays, such an indulgence did not lend itself well when the day in question was a Saturday. With two boys who were almost always ravenous, thundering through the house as they prepared to launch themselves into the enjoyment of a day where they were not required anywhere except home at supper, Mary preferred to get an early start preparing breakfast and see them on their way.
As Chris blinked the sleep out of his eyes, he could hear the voices downstairs in the kitchen. Mary was issuing orders to a trio since Billy was home too and Chris could just picture the scene as Mike and Kyle set the table while Billy chopped wood and kept Mary's stove burning. His wife would love every minute of it as she cooked the meal as she watched her sons bantering with each other. Billy would be Mike by calling him Mikey, Mike would be pulling down that little cap that Kyle was never without around his ears before the youngest would cry out at Mary, asking her to make Mike stop it. It was chaos of the best kind and Chris suddenly felt the urge to be apart of all of it.
He had started to climb out of bed when he remembered the slight sounds of movement he had felt earlier that had woken him up to begin with. There was no mystery as to who it could be for he had only to look up and see her sitting cross-legged, staring at him in her night dress, while clutching that faded rag doll he had bought her the day she was born. Sarah looked at him and smiled blond strands over much of her face as she looked at her father with her mother's eyes.
While most women might have some objection to their daughter being named after her predecessor, Mary was nowhere that insecure and neither was he. Naming their daughter Sarah was a way to honor someone who had passed from this world that was deeply loved and mourned still to some extent. It was the same courtesy that Chris had allowed Mary previously when they had named their youngest boy, Kyle Stephen Larabee.
"Morning Sarah." He greeted the sight that always had the power to melt his heart whenever he gazed upon his small daughter. What was it with daughters that brought out the very best of sentimentality in some men? While he loved all his children equally, Chris often found the need to protect Sarah just a little more than the others. Was it because she was the youngest or because at this moment, she seemed so beautifully fragile that delicate handling was required at all times. Perhaps it was because when he looked at his little Sarah, he saw Mary in every strand of gold hair and in every speck of those dove like eyes.
"Good morning daddy." She answered in her small voice, being careful to pronounce each word carefully because speech was just as new to her as everything else in world was to a three-year-old.
"Why aren't you downstairs with your mother?" Chris asked as he propped his head on his arm and took a moment with his youngest who was still staring at him as if he were the most mesmerizing thing in the world.
"Cause I'm here." She answered firmly with a definite nod.
Well you can't argue with that, Chris thought inwardly.
"How about we go get some breakfast?" He asked and saw her nod again, tossing blond strands as she did so. Sarah did not speak much even though every now and then a full sentence would emerge and then she would rabbit on about things that made sense to anyone but another child. When Nathan brought little Rebecca to the house, the two little girls who were roughly the same age would sit on the porch with their dolls and communicate in a language that was utterly endearing to anyone watching it even if they had no idea what was being said.
Chris reached for his pants on the chair and pulled them on under the covers where he got discreetly dressed as Sarah continued to watch him with fascination. She had taken up this habit for some weeks now and like all other phases his children seemed to go through, Chris knew this one would pass in time. With a little smile, Chris remembered both Mike and Kyle going through this stage in their toddler years and with a little sliver of pain that still felt as fresh as the day it had been first inflicted upon his heart, Chris recalled the same behavior from Adam.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs after he had climbed out of bed and slipped on his boots. Once he had pulled them on, Chris stood up and offered little Sarah a smile before reaching down to pick her up. She immediately wrapped one arm around his neck and rested her blond head against his shoulder. Chris could smell the faint hint of talcum powder and always seemed to associate its lavender scent with his young daughter and once again felt the heart in his chest turned to warm goo.
What was it with daughters?
"Hey pa!" Mike called out, pausing at the top of the stairs when he did so. "Breakfast is ready."
"I'm coming." Chris announced himself by stepping out of the bedroom and approaching his son who had lingered behind to join his father on the journey down to breakfast. Chris could hear the cackling of fresh eggs cooking and the thick aroma of bacon sizzling above a pan that immediately caused his stomach leap up in anticipation of the meal.
"Hey Sarah." Mike greeted his sister in his father's arm. Like his father, Mike had a small spot for his baby sister who was never as much trouble as Kyle.
"Good morning Mikey." She responded with the same radiant smile.
Chris bit his lip seeing the chagrin on his son's face at the mention of that name. "Its Mike, Sarah." Mike said carefully, hoping it would sink in.
"Mikey!" She repeated with a grin and brought an involuntary smile to Chris' face.
"Give it up." Chris instructed. "Think of this way, you could be called Christopher Junior."
Mike winced in disgust at that possibility. "Oh that is bad." He agreed. "You're lucky grandpa just decided to call you Christopher."
"Yeah," Chris frowned. "Real lucky."
The nature of horse ranching made it impossible for Vin Tanner to sleep in. He was always the first one up in the mornings, tending to the horses during the small hours of dawn while his wife and daughter slept. Later that morning, Chris and Buck would turn up and the three would begin the business of running the ranch as they had done for more than a decade. It was hard for Vin to imagine that so much time had passed since they had first arrived in Four Corners. All of them, seven misfits with no real place to go and then view this world that had been created through that friendship.
As he made his way to the house he and the seven had built shortly after his marriage to Alex, he could smell breakfast in the air and immediately hasten his pace to the back door. The house that remained in place of the shack Chris Larabee had once called home was a far cry from that small dwelling. With Josiah's help, Vin had built a pretty decent house with enough rooms to accommodate himself and Alex, not to mention Sam when she was born and the child that was now slumbering in Alex's womb waiting to emerge any time during the next month.
There was a slight breeze in the air as he approached the house and he could see the little sign that read 'doctor' above one of the doors at the far end of the house swinging lightly. While Alex still had her clinic in town, she still saw a few patients who chose to come in to see her after hours while she was at home. Upon moving into the tertiary stages of pregnancy, Alex was spending more and more time utilizing the office here and upon the birth of new baby, would probably consult from this location as she had done when Samantha was born.
Vin had thought the birth of a daughter would be a complete mystery to him since it was easy to know what to do with a boy. You taught a son to hunt and track and all those things that you had inside your head but a girl? A girl was something unknown. Fortunately, Sam had never been that. She hunted with him and tracked with him and every bit of knowledge he had accumulated over his life was something she eagerly absorbed. He realised that perhaps she was not as lady like as she ought to have been but then Alex said that there would be a time when she would start paying attention to that sort of thing and now was not the time to worry about it.
Vin stepped into the backdoor and saw Alex by the stove, lifting a pot of hot coffee off the burner only to be intercepted by Sam who took it from her.
"I'll get it mom." Sam replied, aware that her mother's delicate condition needed her to be on her toes and offering help when it was needed. Of course, you couldn't get too pushy with mom about taking care of her health. For a doctor, Sam had decided that her mother was decidedly headstrong and had she made mention of it to her father, would have been surprised when he agreed with her on that assertion.
"Thanks sweetheart." Alex smiled at her daughter and the exchange made Vin let out a soft sigh of affection.
"How are my girls this morning?" Vin called out, announcing his arrival.
"Hey cowboy." Alex gave him a little smile as they met half way across the room in a gentle kiss before Vin looked down at Alex's swollen belly and patted it gently. "How's the baby doing?"
"We're both fine for the moment." Alex replied glancing at stomach and wishing it would be over tomorrow because pregnancy was just so exhausting. Not that she was anything but delighted at the new arrival to her family. She remember what a joy Sam had been and still was for that matter, to know that she would like to enjoy that experience again. Seeing how close Sam and Vin were convinced Alex that it was time to expand their family.
"Want some coffee daddy?" Sam asked as she prepared to set the coffeepot down on the table, smiling happily because seeing the affection between her parents always made the young girl feel warm inside.
"Sure darling," Vin replied as he sat at the head of the table and watched his wife and daughter settle down to join him in the meal soon after. They engaged in the idle talk that was always spoken around the table because Vin had always wanted to be apart of a family and when he finally had one of his own was determined that they shared occasions like this. No matter where he was whenever he was in town, Vin always made sure that he ended up at the head of this table at some point during the day. It was an action that was shared by Alex who could be just as preoccupied with her work although with Sam's arrival, she had managed to divide her time equally between her role as doctor and mother.
"Mom." Sam spoke. "Did you know you always wanted to be a doctor?"
The question took both parents by surprise.
Alex and Vin instinctively exchanged glances, which inquired of each other what had brought this on. Vin gave Alex a smug look, which said without a word having to be uttered, that this one was all hers. Alex frowned remembering that same expression on his face when the subject regarding the birds and the bees had come up. It was an expression that lasted about as long as it took for him to bolt out the door and head for the town and the saloon.
"Well yes," Alex answered honestly because there was no shame in it. She had wanted to be a doctor like her father as long as she could remember. The power to heal had been a gift that Alex had wanted all her life and because she adored William Styles so much that she wanted to be apart of his world. A little pang of sorrow surfaced as she looked at Sam and wished her father had known his grand daughter. They were so much alike.
"Why you asking Sammie?" Vin asked. He was the only one who called her that.
"Well Penny wants to be an actress, Adam wants to write, Peter wants to build things and Tommy just wants to blow them up, I don't what I want to do." She shrugged her shoulders as if this was a very serious subject. "I mean I know I want to learn stuff but I don't want be inside all the time. I want to be like Columbus and see the world."
Now it was Alex's turn to look at Vin.
"Sammie," Vin cleared his throat, wondering what to say to a child. In truth, most girls just grew up and got married but Sam was too much like her mother to settle for just that. "You got a couple of years before you need to decide what you want to be when you grow up."
Thank God, Vin thought to himself.
"If you say so," Sam didn't seem very convinced and quickly finished her breakfast before announcing to her parents. "Me and the others are going up to the creek today." She volunteered as she collected her things that were waiting for her on the wooden chair. Within seconds she had kissed them both on the cheek and was heading out the door.
There was a length of silence following her departure between husband and wife when they both looked at each other and declared at the same time. "What the hell was that about?"
"Columbus?" Alex groaned. "My daughter wants to be Columbus."
"How come you're surprised?" Vin stared at her. "You went roaming around the world with your dad. She gets it from you." He pointed out with a little grin.
"Me?" Alex exclaimed in protest. "She doesn't get it from me! She gets it from you! You're the one who takes her camping and fishing and god knows only what else. I mean the child went to find coyotes yesterday! I sure as hell know she doesn't get it from me. I don't go looking for trouble." Alex said with a hint of haughtiness to her voice.
"I only got one thing to say." Vin looked at her with a knowing smirk, folding his arms as he prepared to deliver his masterstroke in this little discussion.
"What?" Alex retorted, defying him to say anything to prove otherwise.
"Been to Denver lately?" He asked, wearing a smug grin as he did so.
Alex narrowed her eyes and glared him. "Oh shut up."
"Come on Penny!" Peter hollered after his sister as he hurried to the dining room to get breakfast. "We're gonna be late!"
Peter frowned as Penny yelled back that she was going to be just a few more minutes. He wanted to get going soon. Sometimes, he wondered how she could be his twin when she was so preoccupied with clothes and stuff. Sam was a girl too and she wasn't like that but then Peter thought with a little smile as he reached the dining room, Sam wasn't like most girls. She was beautiful and brave and she didn't care if her clothes got dirty or minded having to climb up that tree. Peter was too young to understand the feelings inside himself when he saw Sam Tanner but he did know that she was everything his sister was not and this was good thing.
He reached the dining table and saw his father at the head of the table, scouring through the paper as his mother greeted him with a little kiss to the forehead upon reaching them. Peter smiled with a hint of crimson on his cheeks because even though he was too big to be kissed by his mom, he still liked having her do it. He liked the smell of her perfume; unaware at this stage in life it would follow him forever as the definitive memory of his mother. That faint whiff of lilac would always bring back images of Julia Standish until the day he died.
"Good morning darling," Julia said smoothly. "You're smelling a bit better today."
"It wasn't my fault!" Peter started to protest, feeling more than a little defensive about yesterday's goings on.
"I believe your mother was simply making a comment Peter," Ezra commented. "Besides, you must admit you are less ripe this morning." The gambler gave his son the same smirk he often saw staring back at himself when he looked into the mirror.
"I know," he returned Ezra's smile, telling himself he should have known that it was just his father's way of having a little fun at his expense. Peter loved his father who did not seem like other fathers. Ezra was rarely authoritarian, preferring to let his children find their own way but giving a gentle nudge when it was required.
Just don't tell him you want to build things with your hands, he thought. Peter's disclosure that he wanted to be an inventor had just about given both his father and Grandma Maude a stroke.
"I take it by your less than quiet hollering at your sister, that you both have plans to which Penelope's attention to detail is making you tardy?" Ezra asked as he returned his gaze back to his paper once again.
"We're only going to the creek." Peter replied. "Why she gotta be dressed so nice to go the creek?"
"Because she is a woman." Ezra answered automatically and then lowered his paper enough to give Julia a playful grin.
"Says the man who takes longer than I do to get dressed for any occasion." Julia deadpanned.
"A gentlemen must comport himself with dignity my dear Julia," Ezra said with great dignity. "We must be an example to our children."
Peter started to chuckle, aware that his father was on the defensive even though there was no indication of it. Ezra always seemed to remain cool under any occasion. The only persons who seemed capable of making his father flinch was his mother and Uncle Chris. However, Peter did notice that his father never seemed very comfortable whenever Grandma Maude came to visit either. However, both Peter and Penny adored Maude because if their parents were wonderful than Made was pure fun. Maude was always teaching them all these neat things that she made them promise not to tell anyone. He was not good at the card tricks she taught them but Penny seemed to have a real knack for it and often played with Ezra. But then nothing about Peter was stock standard Standish.
"Its about time!" Peter grumbled upon seeing Penny arrive into the room.
She made a face at him and declared. "You're just mad because you want to see Sam."
"I do not!" Peter protested hotly, his cheeks flaring in red at that revelation. "I just want to get going. We're gonna be late."
"Now Penny," Julia interjected, seeing the embarrassment on her son's face at that disclosure which had also managed to shake Ezra's poker face with surprise. "You know that it's rude to keep people waiting if you're supposed to be there."
"I'm sorry mama." Penny said apologetically and gave Peter a dark look when she sat down to breakfast.
"Uh Peter," Ezra cleared his throat, anticipating the talk about the birds and the bees was a few years away and then realised his son was ten years old and that time was catching up with him. "Just do me a little courtesy where the young Miss Tanner is concerned should Penelope's assertions regarding your affections towards her be correct."
"It isn't..." he started to protest but Ezra silence him with a look the gambler seldom used on his children but had the power to tell his son that listening was required now, not a response.
"In case it does develop that way, do remember that her father is a crack shot and it will not be you Vin chooses to use for target practice if any improper behavior is made towards young Samantha."
"Okay," Peter responded but did not quite understand the sudden lines of concern on his father's face or the sniggers his mother was trying so hard to stifle.
Grown ups were so weird.
Annette Dunne sat at the kitchen table mesmerised as her brother continued to read the last part of the story he had scribed while he had been in his room the night before when mommy had put him to bed straight away after his return home soaking wet. She was not quite five years old years old and yet she knew that unlike most little sisters that had awful brothers, hers was the greatest in the world. When he told her his stories, she was taken away to a world with fairies and princesses, where there was magic and flying horses.
"And they lived happily ever after." Adam looked up from the pencilled writings on the papers before him and smiled as he came to the end of his tale.
"That was so good Adam." Annette exclaimed, gushing as only a barely five year old could. "Do you think Princess Anna will really live happily ever after?"
"I said so didn't I?" Adam nodded resolutely, having written that particular tale for his younger sibling, aware that stories about castles and princesses were her favorite. In fact, they seemed to be the favorite of most girls, even Sam though Adam doubted the girl would ever admit it. Penny liked it very much though, she often said so when Adam made up such tales. When his mother had banished him to bed last night after he had returned soaking wet from his expedition with Sam and Penny for fear of his catching a cold, Adam had spent the time conjuring this little flight of fancy, knowing that it would delight his sister no end.
"That was wonderful Adam," Casey Dunne replied as she looked over her shoulder at her son from the stove where she was retrieving the aromatic bread that had been rising most of the morning. Casey was not certain where Adam had inherited his vast imagination but she was glad that he did. His stories though childlike in their substance had a quality about it that captured almost everyone who heard them. Even though she had been busily readying breakfast this morning, she could not help listening to Adam's story as he related it to Annette who listened carefully with nothing less than delight.
"Wasn't that wonderful JD?" Casey asked as her husband walked out into the kitchen.
"It sure was." JD answered somewhat pleased at the boy's ability. He did not say it to Casey or even to his son but the inheritance of literary ability that Casey had wondered about a moment ago had come from his mother. She had been able to put him to sleep as a child with the same stories full of wonder and imagination. When he heard Adam tell his tales to his delighted sister, it felt like he had his ma back in his family again.
There was a time when JD would have wanted a child of his to become a lawman just as he was. However, time had left indelible impressions upon his psyche because he had seen enough death and bloodshed to know that he wanted something better for his son. If Adam's calling was to entertain people with stories such as he had once been entertained in his youth and so inspired to leave the city to find his destiny in the town of Four Corners, then JD could imagine no better future for Adam.
"So what are you kids up to today?" JD asked as he sat down.
"We're going to the creek." Adam answered. "I'm gonna take Nettie if it's okay." He glanced at his little sister and then at his parents, hoping they would consent
Casey stiffened at the suggestion, still rather cautious about letting her little girl to venture out on her own even with her brother keeping a close eye upon her. Adam was just a baby himself and although Casey had to remind herself he was almost nine, she also still remembered the babe that had been placed in her arms years ago the night he had been born. She could not help feeling the same trepidation the first time Adam had ventured out on his own and supposed that it was the same feeling for Annette that caused her to worry so. Suddenly, she had an idea of what Aunt Nettie must have gone through when she was a girl and felt little bit of sadness knowing that Nettie was no longer with them, having passed two summers ago.
"Please mommy," Annette implored, wanting so much to go. "I promise I'll be good."
"It should be okay," JD glanced at Casey trying to convince his wife. He was aware that trips to the creek usually meant that Adam would be joined by a larger group of children which included Elena Rose Wilmington and Mike Larabee, who were at the best of times, responsible kids who would keep an eye on Annette as well.
Just don't let them anywhere near Nathan's lab, JD had to stifle a smile as he heard about the adventures of Mike, Elena Rose, Tommy and Peter of yesterday. While Nathan had been furious at the time, JD who had chanced to see him in the saloon later that evening was laughing openly about the subject in retrospect.
"Okay," Casey said uncertainly. "Adam, you promise me you take good care of your sister."
"Yay!" Annette was jumping up and down with joy at being allowed to accompany her brother.
"I promise." Adam said confidently, able to see for himself that her mother was a little nervous about Annette's first outing without one of her parents.
"Hey," JD beckoned his son over. Adam slipped out of his chair and approached JD. When he was close enough, JD leaned over and looked Adam straight in the eye. "Keep a close eye would you?" He asked. "You know your ma worries."
Adam nodded in understanding, always feeling some measure of pride at his father's confidence in him by this private little chats. They were what JD called talks man to man. Adam had been familiar enough with them over the years to know that JD did not make such request lightly. "I will pa."
"Thank you Adam," JD said with a smile and leaned forward to plant a little kiss on the boy's forehead. Adam flinched a little but JD did not care because his son could be fifty years old and as his father, JD would still see him as this little boy in his glasses, making a man's promise to guard his sister.
"I don't know whether I ought to let you," Nathan Jackson looked at his son critically, the memory of his laboratory, in its more than disheveled state still fresh in his mind. In truth, the doctor knew he should not be so hard on the child. Just because being a slave did not allow him to get into all kinds of trouble as a youth, did not relieve his son from doing so either. Nathan could not deny that once his anger had calmed and he had recovered from getting the hell scared out of his following the hearing of that explosion and the realisation that his child was in the room from which it originated, he had found the whole thing quite funny.
Tommy said nothing, his lip hanging down in an expression of remorse guaranteed to shake even the most resolved of heart. Rain was sitting at the table attempting to make Rebecca eat even though the little girl was being none too cooperative. She glanced at Nathan and gave him a little look, which was almost as far as she would go to expressing her thoughts on the matter. It was agreed that such disagreements of opinion should never been made in front of Tommy and usually took place after the boy was excused from their presence. However, on this occasion there was no time for such deliberation.
"You did wreck my lab." Nathan pointed out.
"I promise I'll fix everything." Tommy quickly said, trying to show his father he did not mean to do what he had. Actually he did mean to make the potion required by Mike Larabee, he just did not intend to destroy the lab in the process. "I'll clean it up and I got allowance saved so I can put back what I broke."
Nathan felt his insides melt and knew that he was close to capitulating. He glanced at Rain and saw no help there. She was just as touched by Tommy's attempt to make good on the damage as he was and shrugged her shoulders, a clear indication that whatever he decided would be supported by her.
"Alright," Nathan conceded. "You can go to the creek with the others." The doctor replied, giving his permission for the boy to go on his outing with the children of his best friends.
"Thanks pa!" Tommy brightened up immediately, a smile stealing across his face. He had his mother's looks and when he beamed, his face lit up.
"But," Nathan spoke up, just to ensure that his son did know that he had done a bad thing and Nathan's concession was not license for him to do it again. "You will stay home tomorrow after church and help me clean that mess."
"I will Sir," Tommy answered eagerly. "It was a stupid idea anyway. I knew I shouldn't have used gunpowder."
"No you probably shouldn't have." Nathan agreed on that point and wondered if Chris and Ezra had the same type of trouble. Of course they did, the healer told himself because their children were usually with Tommy when these things happened. They were as thick as thieves, the children who were spawned from the men known as Magnificent Seven. Hadn't the seven been known to have their fair share of trouble in the early days of their friendship and hadn't they always survived those ordeals because of that same friendship? Why should Nathan expect Tommy to be any other way?
"Still, you do have an eye for chemicals." Nathan found himself admitting after a few minutes of quiet reflection as he watched his son wolf down breakfast with more enthusiasm now that he was allowed to go join his friends. "So," Nathan gave Rain another one of those silent looks hoping she would go along with him on this suggestion as she had done on so many others in the past. "If you want, you can start helping me in the lab."
Tommy stopped eating and stared at his father. "With you?" The boy was almost stunned at the possibility.
"Don't see anybody else fool enough to let you near their lab." Nathan said with a smile, pleased at the reaction he was getting. "Of course I don't make things that are supposed to stink up a school or blow up but you might get some idea on how it should be done properly. Instead of just watching me, you can learn something."
Tommy was still saying nothing, wearing that same astonished expression in muted silence. His father had never invited him to work with him in the lab! It always seemed like such important work that Nathan did not trust Tommy with, that was why Tommy had resorted to sneaking in there on his own. Of course, after what happened yesterday, it appeared his father might have had valid reason for restricting him from the premises. However, to hear that after all that, his father wanted to teach him, was beyond his ability to process for a few seconds.
"Well say something Thomas Josiah Jackson," Rain teased with a little smile, never loving Nathan more than at that moment. "I think your father's waiting for an answer."
"I don't care!" Tommy exclaimed. "Even if we were making boring old cough syrup, I don't care as long as you showed me."
"I think we can manage a little better than cough syrup." Nathan replied. "Now you best get going if you're gonna meet your friends."
Tommy nodded dumbfounded and got to his feet, eager to run off and tell Mike and Peter the good news. He hugged his father and then his mother before disappearing out of the kitchen. Once he had gone, Rain walked over to her husband and leaned over to kiss him tenderly on the mouth.
"What's that for?" Nathan asked, pulling her to his lap before she could return to Rebecca again
"No reason," Rain answered. "Just wanted you to know that I love you Nathan Jackson and you are wonderful father." She paused a moment and then added. "However, if he hurts himself I blame you."
Buck Wilmington looked at Elena Rose and wondered once again how quickly the years had passed. As he drove the family into town where Inez was required to open the Standish Tavern while he had some errands to run before heading out to the ranch, he found himself reflecting upon his life the past twelve years since he had married and become a father. So much had changed in that decade and a bit, so much had happened since he had been ushered out abruptly from the bed of yet another lovely acquaintance by Vin Tanner's deception and cast his eyes upon Chris Larabee again for the first time in years. He did not know it then but it was a turning point for all of them, not just Chris.
Four Corners had changed too. There was a moment back in the past when they had thought it would disappear like so many small towns in the Territory but with the sands of time quickly dwindling upon the old century, Four Corners was still standing. While it was still too small to warrant the railroad coming through here, it had become a large town, almost as big as Eagle Bend had been when they first arrived here. Law and order had brought businesses and the establishment of the railroad not too far from this area had brought new settlers and new opportunities. The Lucky 7-horse ranch had also benefited from the influx of settlers and truth be known was on a well enough paying basis to warrant all their wives to quit working should they so desire.
The usual bickering that occurred between Elena Rose and her younger brother whenever they were confined in any place together for a time captured his attention. He would have been alarmed at the volatile nature of their relationship if he did not know for a fact that almost all brothers and sisters behaved this way. James Darien Wilmington was not quite six yet and Buck knew that it was a little bit of the devil that made him name his son after JD, not only in the name James but also with the combination of the letter in his middle name. Still, the boy was never referred to as JD and everyone knew him as Jimmy, which suited both JD and his namesake quite fine.
"Quit it!" Elena Rose retorted. "I swear I'll drown you when I get to the creek James!"
"Come on now," Buck intervened, realising that parental obligation required his interference even though he was trying not to smile at his children's antics. "Play nice or you can both come to work on the ranch with me."
Both children immediately fell silent, not at all liking the idea of doing chores when the sunshine was so tantalizing and swimming in the creek with the rest of their friends even more so.
"Sorry dad." Elena Rose said apologetically and then gave her brother a dark look who promptly stuck his tongue out at her. Elena rolled her eyes and looked at Buck. "You know I was happy being an only child."
"Take it up with your mother," Buck said with a mischievous grin. "She's the one who can't keep her hands off me."
"I don't want to know dad." Elena frowned. "Please, I'm still a child."
Buck grinned but he she was not that. She was edging towards womanhood and he knew that when that happened he would have to buy a shotgun because there would be more suitors than he liked, paying to call on her.
Over his dead body.
"I forgot," Buck replied. "So where do you want to get dropped off?"
"At the playground." Elena answered breezily. "He has some strange idea that it's safer if we all went to the creek together."
"He did huh?" Buck frowned, aware that it nothing to do with protection but more about how Mike felt for his daughter. Buck was not certain how he felt about that except that Elena was too young for anything romantic. However, he supposed somewhat reluctantly that if his daughter was going to give her affections to anyone, he could stand it being the son of his oldest friend. Besides, it was apparent to all and had been since the very beginning, that Mike Larabee adored her.
In that anyway, he had something in common with her father.
"Well he can't help it if he feels for you." Buck remarked.
"Feels for me?" Elena Rose stared back at her father as if he was mad. "I wouldn't have Mike Larabee even if he was the last boy on Earth!"
For some unknown reason, Buck was suddenly struck with a sense of deja vu.
"Ellie and Mikey sitting in a tree." Jimmy started to chant. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
Elena nudged her brother in the ribs as her father started to laugh that deep throaty laugh that brought a smile to her face no matter, how annoying both men were being. At this moment, Elena understood why her mother liked to use those Mexican expletives so often, just before she kissed her husband. The mental picture made Elena Rose wince.
Oh... too gross!
Mike had not meant to eavesdrop, honest.
He had been minding his own business waiting near the school house playground for the others to arrive when he had wandered off a little, always keeping an eye on Kyle who was at the swings, pushing himself to dizzying heights like a pendulum gaining momentum. Mike knew his brother well enough to know the endeavor would continue until it was time to go to the creek or until Kyle got sick, which ever came first. He rounded the school house in order to see if anyone else he knew was making their way to the meeting place designated to be the starting point for their day's activities when suddenly, he had voices emanating from inside the building. For a moment, he wondered who would be there on a Saturday and soon realised that the voices did not belong to Audrey King.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Mike proceeded up the stairs and listened quietly at the door for a moment, wondering if the reason they had chosen this place to hold their discussion was because they were up to no good. He was after all a Larabee and like his father, he had a strong sense of moral sensibility, not to mention a nose for trouble that often landed him in the same more times than he could think. Mike made sure he was carefully hidden because he did not want to be discovered, all the while ensuring his hiding place still allowed him to keep an eye on Kyle.
"I'm telling you this map is junk!" One voice declared and it a voice full of anger and impatience so it was difficult to recognise.
"But I was sure..." the second voice, which sounded younger implored in response. "He said there is a mine out here. The old Indian gave me a map!"
"Look," the first speaker declared, obviously not about to entertain this notion any longer, whatever it might be. "You got the thing from an old Indian in Vesta City who was probably a drunk anyway. He saw you coming Jesse and he played you like a damn fiddle!"
"He didn't!" Jesse retorted, incensed by the accusation. He knew what he had paid for and it was no illusion! Unfortunately, he could find no way to prove it to his skeptical companion. "He said that there was a gold mine out here and if we could just find it, Hank we'd be rich!"
"I'm done Jesse!" Hank, whoever he was barked so loudly that Mike flinched at the sharpness of the response and was certain that Jesse did too.
"We've gone through all the books in this place, talked to more people then I care too and I think that nosy reporter from the local paper knows we ain't no prospectors. Besides, there ain't nothing out there but dust and more dust! I say we got taken and its time to cut our losses and go."
"Not while I got the map!" Jesse shouted defiantly. "I'll find it with or without ya!"
"You're coming home with me now Jesse!" Hank returned just as defiantly and with enough force behind his voice to sound the more convincing of the two. Mike did not have to see Hank to know that he was huge. His booming voice was evidence enough and immediately, Mike envisioned someone like Josiah who looked like he could break you in half if he was in the mind to do it.
"No!" Jesse declared and the outburst was followed by a shuffle of feet, the sound of knuckle meeting flesh and a crisp rumble of sound that resembled paper being crushed. A second later, Mike heard footsteps coming towards the door and immediately withdrew further into his hiding place in order to keep from being seen. He had never met either Jesse or Hank but he had more or less decided that he did not want to after the violence of their discussion.
The doors burst open and Mike saw the backs of two men walking past him. Well one was walking, the other was being dragged with a large hand on his shoulder to ensure that there was no further resistant to the idea of leaving. They did not see him in his departure and Mike was glad for the bulk of Hank was confirmed upon their emergence into the daylight. Mike watched them continue up the walk that led out of the school and waited until they were completely out of sight before he emerged into the open.
Gold mine?
The adventurer in Mike could not help but be inspired by that snippet of news. He knew the history of the area fairly well thanks to his mother and did not recollect there being mention of gold in this locality. However, as he glanced into the empty room where the men had obviously put to use some of the books that Audrey had kept in the place, he noticed something under one of the desks. The ball of paper had come to rest at the foot of the seat that was normally taken by one of Jo Potter and instinct told Mike that it was not scrap left over from the school year.
Looking about furtively and ensuring that neither Hank or Jesse were coming back while at the same time, seeing Kyle was still on the swing, Mike stepped inside the empty school house. Once he had taken that first step, he hastened his pace across the rough floor boards and dropped to his knees when he reached the seat in question and saw his prize. Whatever the scroll of paper had been, it was too old and too stiff to really scrunch up into a ball. It sort of folded in where fingers had pressed against it but it was not too damaged when Mike retrieved it.
Pulling the folds apart and stretching the browned paper so that he could make a better observation of it, he noticed landmarks almost immediately. This was mostly because he had been a resident of these parts all his life and also because he happened to be friends with the daughter of a tracker, whose talents appeared to be quite hereditary when it came to finding obscure trails in the wilderness.
It was a map! Mike thought excitedly as he followed the landmarks and some rather fanciful words he could not make out but did not at all look like English. He had a feeling it was what Penny called Latin that for some unfathomable reason Ezra Standish had made her learn. Suddenly a flash of inspiration came to him as the possibilities of this map started to imprint itself upon his brain. Penny could read some of this and Sam could probably find her way there because if he could recognise some of the features in the terrain, then he knew for certain that Vin Tanner's daughter would be able to do better.
He thought about finding a real life gold mine and not just finding it but going in search of it! The very notion was so exciting that Mike's heart almost skipped a beat thinking about the possibilities. They could all go! He did however felt a momentary pang of guilt knowing that despite the fact that this map had been carelessly thrown away, it still belonged to somebody. Unfortunately, youthful enthusiasm seemed to neutralize that notion with all its good intentions. After all, Hank and Jesse had abandoned the idea of finding it themselves so it would not be wrong if Mike were to take it now, since they obviously no use for it as evidence by its careless discard. Quickly folding the map, Mike tucked it into the folds of his shirt and exited the schoolhouse, suddenly deciding that his summer was about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Mike did not present his idea until all of their number had appeared which in its complete accounting amounted to ten when they had all arrived. Although Mike did not wish to speak in front of the younger children, it would be unlikely that they would be able to do so otherwise since Kyle, Annette and Jimmy would become even more curious if they were excluded from the discussions. Since the group was scattered from all different parts of town and some out of it, the schoolyard seemed a perfect place for their rendezvous when embarking on one expedition or another.
Mike said nothing to his companions until after they had left the schoolyard far behind them and were at the creek which was often the venue for much of the childhood years. He did not want to risk anyone overhearing them or running into Jesse or Hank in the instance they came back for their map, which as far as Mike was concerned had forfeited any right to the minute they had tossed it away. Of course, such points of law could be obscured when one of the two men in question was as large as a house and the fact that Mike would rather this be kept from his parents or any other adult for that matter.
The creek to which they had made countless visits in the past was one of those places that quickly get forgotten as soon as adolescence thinned into adulthood but was nevertheless remembered fondly until the day one passed the realms of mortal living. It was a playground of clear running water, of large boulders that made perfect platforms for diving, of bulrushes where frogs could be found in abundance and all the things that made innocence delight it in it so. In a time of peace they would never know again once adulthood and all things that came with time set upon them, this was their favorite place.
He presented his prize to his companions shortly after they had arrived there and paused to indulge in the assortment of lunches and treats mothers always made them take, whenever they went on any excursion.
"What is it?" Kyle asked eagerly.
"Well if what those two men in the school house was saying was right," Mike rolled out the parchment like paper flat on the grass for all the others to see. The rest of the group crowded in around him to get a closer viewing for themselves. "Its a treasure map."
"A treasure map?" Elena Rose said skeptically. "To what?"
"A gold mine." He said proudly and felt a thrill of pride hearing the soft oohs and ahhs that followed that disclosure.
"Are you sure?" Elena Rose continued. "I never knew there was a gold mine around here."
"Neither did I." Sam responded, although she was less likely to discount the possibility than Elena Rose because she knew from what her father had said that the Territory was largely unsettled even with the railroad. It would be another good ten years before people filled up the place so much that nothing could remain hidden. As unlikely as it might be, a gold mine hidden in the hill was not so much out of the realm of possibility. "Hey," she noticed something else as she studied his map however. "I know this place."
"I thought you might," Mike offered her a smile and for some reason, Elena Rose suddenly felt her annoyance piqued at that action, although she dismissed it a second later as being Mike's foolishness in yet another wild goose chase.
"Where is it Sam?" Peter asked, not happy that Mike had smiled at Sam either.
"Well by the looks of this." She pointed to a crudely draw formation of rather sharp peaked ridge. "I think that Cullens Ridge."
"Is it far?" Tommy asked.
"No," she shook her head. "We could probably walk it."
"I say we follow this map." Mike announced, doing what Uncle Ezra would call 'laying all his cards on the table. "I say we follow it and find the gold."
"Are you insane?" Elena exclaimed. She did not mean to be a pessimist but being Inez's daughter had allowed her to be in possession of more common sense than most children her age. "We can't go after the gold! We don't even know it exists."
"But it would be so much fun Ellie." Jimmy spoke up, imploring his sister not to be such a stick in the mud. Jimmy's whose adventurous spirit took after his father. "Please, can't we go?"
"Its foolishness." Elena grumbled. Most of the time, her brother annoyed her to no end but when he used that whining voice, she found that she could not resist it. "Oh alright." She groaned in defeat.
"I want to go too!" Kyle declared, deciding that if Jimmy could go then he was going as well and if Mike didn't let him, he was going to make his older brother sorry by throwing an inspired tantrum.
Not wishing to waste time and wanting to get started as soon as possible, Mike nodded in agreement just so that he could avoid an argument. Besides, he doubted if he could keep Kyle quiet about their quest if he did not allow his little brother to participate. "Okay you can come."
"So when do we go?" Penny asked, having been more than accustomed to accompanying Sam on all manner of insanity that this hardly phased her.
"I thought now." Mike said looking around the eager faces before him to see if they agreed with his decision. "We'll have a little lunch," he suggested. "But not all of it. Its gonna have to last us awhile and then get going. Sam, do you know the way to Cullen's Ridge?"
Sam was still studying the map but she recognized many of the landmarks and had to agree that they were obscure. Unless someone was born around here with a deep knowledge of local terrain, the landmarks that were figured so prominently in the scroll would have meant nothing to them. However, she also noticed the strange words that did not seemed to be English and looked up at Mike in inquiry.
"Say, what are all these words next to it?" She asked.
"I don't know," Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I thought Penny might be able to read it. I think its Latin."
Penny who was the closest thing they had to a linguist in the group mostly because Ezra Standish believed that no young lady or gentlemen for that matter could truly be considered educated without an understanding of languages other than the mother tongue. While Peter had soon proved impatient with most of Ezra's suggestions since his mind found more interest in visualizing what he could build rather than read, Penny had excelled.
"It's not Latin, its Italian." The redhead said after coming along side Sam and examining the words she was discussing.
"Italian?" Tommy asked. "Is that like Mexican?"
"Its what they used to speak in Italy, stupid." Adam retorted and garnered a sharp jab in his ribs from the would be chemist.
"Wait a minute." Peter looked at Mike. "I thought you said those two got this thing from an old Indian?"
"That's what I heard." Mike replied, recalling what he had overheard in the schoolhouse when Jesse and Hank were discussing the map and its origins. "Hank said that Jesse probably got taken by that old Indian who was probably a drunk."
"That's crazy." Elena had to agree with Peter on this observation. "Why would a scroll coming from an Indian have Italian writing on it?"
Mike could not understand but he could see the illumination in all their eyes as they stumbled upon the same enigma that he had when he first saw the parchment with its foreign words. Perhaps this was more than a gold mine, Mike thought. "So what does it say Penny?" Mike asked a moment later, noticing that Penny was reading the thing very carefully and her eyes had not moved from the strange lettering.
"I'm not very sure but it is strange." Penny responded, capturing all their attention with the concentration in her face and the determination upon which she was striving to translate the text before them. "Its like Italian but not quite. I'm not so sure if this is the same kind of Italian that I'm learning and its not Latin."
"How can it be so different?" Sam asked.
"Well," Penny paused a moment, trying to find the words to best describe what she was seeing before her. "Its like reading the bible you know, the words are English and we understand them but its not the same as when we talk."
Her face wrinkled up in distaste because she did not believe she put across her meaning very clearly. However, Adam suddenly exclaimed. "I know what you're talking about. It's like old Italian!"
"Old Italian?" Peter looked at the younger boy.
"Yeah," Adam answered enthusiastically because if there was one thing he knew with any clarity, it was books and the way they were written, having devoured pages after pages of fiction from the day he was able to read. "Words change as time goes by. People in the bible don't talk like they sound any more because it was so long ago. Maybe, that's the same with this map too."
"You think it was written a long time ago." Mike responded and agreed that it Adam's deductions made sense.
"I can't think of anything else." Adam replied.
"Then how did the Indian get hold of it?" Elena inquired, realizing to her horror that she was getting swept away by the momentum of her friends' enthusiasm and wondered why not? After all, she was not adverse to the idea of embarking on an adventurous crusade, now that she had become more accustomed to the idea. Besides, the way it was looking, it did not matter what her objections were, they would still go and she rather be with them when that happened, rather than left behind.
"Who knows how long it could have been lying around for someone to find?" Mike glanced at her, pleased that she was showing more inclination to join them. Elena Rose could be terribly serious sometimes but at the heart of her, he knew that there was a lively spirit waiting expression and required only the right catalyst to let it speak its mind. "If its been here for all that time, only make sense that an Indian would find it."
"And why he couldn't read it." Sam added.
"Yeah," Mike agreed. "Not many Indians know how to speak Italian."
"Not many white men either." Peter commented as well.
"So what does it say Penny?" Tommy turned his attention to Penny once again. His inquiry was followed by other such questions from the others.
"To find the spoils of a thousand journeys
By those who had crossed the endless sea,
Come into the bosom of the earth.
Come to me."
"That's what it says to do when we get to Cullens Ridge." Penny answered, finishing her recital.
"That's the way to find a gold mine?" Peter looked at her skeptically. "Are you sure you're reading it right Penny?"
"I'm sure," Penny bristled in annoyance at being questioned. "You want to read it Peter?'
"You know I can't." He hissed back.
"Hey," Mike spoke up. "Knock it off you two." He gave them both a look unaware that it was a patented Larabee glare, allowed its use on by means of genetic inheritance. Despite his ignorance to this fact, the action worked and the two sparring siblings stopped bickering immediately.
"I don't think its meant to be easy to find," Mike pointed out when things had settled down again. "I think its supposed to be a test."
"But we're just little." Annette spoke. "Can we find it all by ourselves?"
"Sure we can," he gave the little girl a smile, suddenly reminded of Sarah and wished she were old enough to join them on the amazing trip they were about to take. "We'll just be extra careful that's all. Besides," he said brightly. "How much trouble could all this be?"
It was at this point that Elena Rose knew this was a really bad idea.