Author: Fastdancr
Archive: My website URL: www.geocities.com/fastdancer20022002/indexM7FanFic.html Anywhere else... email me
Universe: Old West
Characters: All seven
Warning(s): minor OFC
Disclaimer: Characters from the television show �The Magnificent Seven� do not belong to me and are being used here without permission. Original characters are products of my imagination and can be used in anyone�s story if they so choose (email me first though so I can read and review your story!). Story written for entertainment purposes only and no financial gain will ever be made from this publication.
Author�s Notes: This is a stand-alone story and the idea has been rolling around in my head for a few weeks now. Unfortunately college homework has gotten in the way until now! All feedback is welcomed and appreciated. Hope you enjoy!
Summary: A Fourth of July celebration in Four Corners through the eyes of a young girl!
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Seven-year-old Aubrey Thornton smiled excitedly, standing at the edge of the boardwalk. The sun was beginning to set in the late afternoon sky displaying an unusual deep shade of indigo blue that only seemed to exist at this time of the day. The sky was clear and cloudless with colors of deep orange, red, and pink mingled together in the sunset while a few stars subtlety twinkled waiting for the dark night.
However today wasn�t just any day, it was Fourth of July, the day of the country�s independence. Main Street was now covered with the explosives needed for a fireworks show and the boardwalk was decorated with streamers and banners of red, white and blue.
Aubrey smiled inwardly as she thought about the meaning of the day. Although she was grateful for her freedom, she figured this day meant much more to others. Her parents had told her a little about the Civil War but the only thing she could really remember was the northern soldiers were dressed in blue and referred to as �Yankees� and the southern soldiers were dressed in gray and were referred to as �Rebels�. She had also learned that slavery had been outlawed, however since the only town she knew was Four Corners, she didn�t really understand what the whole topic of slavery really was.
Her parents owned a small ranch a few miles out of town. Her whole life had been spent in the west and she had never saw a situation which in where one person was considered a slave to another.
Although she didn�t understand much about the conflict that separated the country, she was simply glad to possess the knowledge that the war was over.
Aubrey smiled, watching a few young men standing in the middle of Main Street as they helped with last minute preparations of the fireworks celebration show. Other townsfolk started to gather along both sides of the wooden walkways as the sun continued its descent until morning.
The little strawberry blonde headed girl knew she should probably find her parents before they got too angry with her. They had told her as they rode into town that she was not to leave their side. However, they had been caught up in conversation with Mary Travis, the editor of the Clarion News, and bored with all of the grown up talk, Aubrey quietly sneaked away.
The blonde haired girl didn�t want to leave yet as she tried to think of a believable excuse of skipping off and away from her parents. Her mind meanwhile quickly drifted from her brainstorming when her hazel eyes fell upon a handsome young man walking toward her. He was dressed in a white shirt with a dark brown vest and pants and a bowler hat. In his hand were two lit sparklers.
Aubrey smiled charmingly at the town sheriff walking toward her. She had a crush on him and unfortunately he had a girlfriend who lived on a ranch not far away from her own. Who was she kidding� she had a crush on all of the seven lawmen and she wasn�t the only girl to occasionally bat an eyelash when one of the peacekeepers tipped their hats.
�Hi Miss Aubrey� JD greeted with a smile and bent down in front of her �You wanna hold a sparkler?� he asked, holding out the skinny stick with silver sparks flying from it
The seven year old blushed and looked at the brightly lit sparkler as a few of the fallen sparks slowly faded as they hit the ground. She bit her lower lip tentatively; she had never held one of these before.
�Don�t they burn your hand?� the little girl asked as a few more sparks fell away and made their way to the dusty ground.
�Nope� JD grinned, shaking his head �All you gotta do is hold the stick near the bottom and keep it away from your face� he tapped his finger against the wooden stick and the girl smiled mischievously as she reached out a hand and held onto the sparkler just as the sheriff had shown her.
She then twirled it in the air, showing shimmering silver against a deep shade of the sky�s indigo blue and a faint gray trailing along behind the silver from where the sparkler had just been.
�Wow� she giggled, twirling the sparkler around �Thanks JD�
JD smiled enthusiastically and tipped his hat as he stood up. He could tell by the look on the little girl�s face that he had just made her night. She looked in awe at the sparkler that looked like a twinkling silver wand and wondered why she hadn�t been able to hold something like this before.
With this newfound invention, Aubrey wasn�t paying any attention to JD. He laughed and shook his head before disappearing into the crowd, looking for his girlfriend Casey Wells.
Aubrey was still twirling the sparkler a few minutes later when she spotted the sheriff walking down the boardwalk along the other side of the street. Alongside him was Casey and the seven year old smiled. Although Aubrey was often jealous of the dark haired tomboy, Casey did make JD happy and as long as the sheriff was happy, she was happy too!
Aubrey leaned against a post holding up the roof over the wooden walkway as her sparkler began to die out. She would definitely need to find out where they sold these kind of magic wands! As she now twirled the wooden stick in between her fingers, she looked across the street and laughed.
Across the street, Buck Wilmington had walked up behind the young sheriff and stole his bowler hat from atop his head. JD Dunne prided himself on that hat; it was just like the one the great Bat Masterson wore. Wilmington, on the other hand, had always hated it and told JD that it only made a good target for someone to shoot at. Regardless of argument and the ladies� man�s jibes, JD continued to wear his bowler hat, if for no other reason than to annoy Buck.
This time Buck had outsmarted the youngest of the peacekeepers by sneaking up from behind him. The ladies man knew JD would never hear him coming because he was too moon eyed over Casey and Buck was right. JD didn�t even know he was there until he felt his hat being taken off his head and the loud laughter and sound of mooing coming from the mustached gunslinger. Buck always did say that the young sheriff was a love struck calf when it came to Casey.
�Buck� JD yelled, running down the boardwalk after the mustached gunslinger. Casey followed along behind him chuckling �Just whose side are you on?� he demanded, stopping the chase as he looked at her. She shrugged her shoulders innocently
�The side that thinks you need a new hat� Buck called out quite amused. JD shook his head and ran after Buck who disappeared down an alleyway, waving JD�s hat in the air to annoy the young sheriff
Aubrey shook her head as she watched the scene across the street. At times she acted older than them! The blonde girl sighed and stepped to the middle of the boardwalk. Now that JD and Buck were out of sight and the fireworks show had yet to start, there was no more entertainment. Not really wanting to find her parents yet, she looked up the walkway in search of a friendly face.
She considered herself lucky; she had not only found one friendly face but two. The energetic seven year old skipped down the boardwalk to the front of the saloon where Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner were standing on the edge of the walkway, leaning on either side of a wooden post that held up the roof.
The longhaired tracker was standing the closest to the strawberry blonde girl as she walked toward them. These two men were who she thought to be the bravest. They could handle any bad guy and had this special way of communicating with their eyes rather than words. Aubrey tilted her head to the side wondering how someone could read words in another person�s eyes. Nonetheless, Chris and Vin seemed to be able to it and she wondered if she could do the same once she got a little older.
�Hey Vin� she greeted happily as she walked to the edge of the boardwalk. The longhaired tracker reflected her smile and ruffled her long strawberry blonde curls
�Hey kiddo� Vin replied chuckling when she swatted his hand away and scowled at him for messing up her hair �What you up to?�
�Causing trouble� the little girl answered, her scowl now turning into a mischievous yet innocent smirk
�Causing trouble huh?� Vin teased, nodding his head in the direction of his best friend �Must be all Chris� influence�
�Don�t make me shoot you Tanner� the man dressed in black warned, showing a small smile at the empty threat although sometimes Chris really did want to shoot him. Vin smirked, always finding amusement in irritating his friend
�Chris isn�t trouble� Aubrey giggled, walking in front of the man dressed in black. Chris winked at the blonde and smiled smugly at Vin
�I agree with you shorty� Chris said picking up the young girl �You�re a smart girl. Vin�ll have to take lessons�
�Whatever you say cowboy� the tracker answered �Some of us really know how much trouble you are�
Aubrey giggled at the glare Chris sent his friend. He absolutely hated the nickname �cowboy� and Vin used it to his advantage every time. The lanky tracker smirked, unfazed by the other gunslinger�s facial expression, and turned his attention to the final preparations for the fireworks show
Aubrey spent the next few minutes with her head lying on Chris� shoulder. The sun had almost set and most of the town was now gathered along the entire boardwalk on both sides of the street.
A bright flicker of sparklingly sliver soon caught the blonde�s eye and she turned her head to look a few feet further up the wooden creaky walkway. There standing was a group of children, all older than her, gathered around Josiah and Nathan. The ex preacher lit the sparklers and handed them to the youngsters while Nathan offered instructions of how to handle the sparklers without sustaining an injury.
�Are you going to be standing here for the show?� she asked, turning her attention to Chris and Vin. The two nodded their heads. They smirked as they looked at each other. They had both seen Aubrey�s eyes drifting to the sparklers being handed out.
The seven year old shook her head. They did it again! They barely looked at each other and already knew what the other was thinking. Aubrey let out a sigh as Chris put her back on her feet. Sometimes grown ups were way too confusing.
She waved goodbye to the two men and skipped further down the boardwalk. By the time she had reached Josiah and Nathan, most of the children had already run off with their sparklers.
�You do realize we�re handing out mini explosives� Nathan reminded. He was definitely the town�s healer and was good at his job
�Part of life is experimenting brother Nathan� Josiah, the ex preacher replied smiling broadly. Nathan shook his head with a grin. His friend did have a point
�Evening Josiah. Nathan.� Aubrey greeted brightly. She had always been taught to address her elders formally. The seven peacekeepers were the only ones that allowed her to break the rule �Sparklers aren�t that dangerous, are they?� she asked Nathan curiously �All you gotta do is hold it near the bottom and keep it away from your face� JD told me so� she beamed with her newly found knowledge. She firmly believed that someone learned something new every day.
�JD�s right� Nathan agreed �They start being dangerous when the person holding �em ain�t careful�
�I�ll be careful� the little girl grinned �I promise� she then showed the stick that was the only thing left of the burnt out sparkler JD had given her earlier �JD gave me one but it kinda died� she said bringing the skinny piece of wood to her eyes, examining it closely to determine why it was no longer a sparkling silvery wand
�Seems to be the natural order of things� Josiah assessed. The little girl ended her examination when the preacher lit a new sparkler �How �bout I trade ya� he suggested. She grinned and readily accepted the brightly glowing wand
�Thanks� she said, a gleam of wonder returned to her hazel eyes as she twirled the sparkler in the air. They nodded their heads and she skipped away as the sun had finally set.
She had just reached the boardwalk when she heard Judge Travis announce the festivities and then the fireworks show would begin. The judge had come into town a few days ago to spend Independence Day with his widowed daughter-in-law Mary and her young son Billy.
Aubrey jumped slightly as the fireworks thundered and the show started. She smiled sheepishly and headed on her way. She had planned to watch the show where Chris and Vin were standing. However, as she looked around, she noticed all of the peacekeepers were intermingled with the townspeople except one.
The blonde seven year old continued down the boardwalk and stopped in front of the batwing doors of the saloon. She bit her lip once again knowing she had never been allowed to enter the barroom. She didn�t plan to stay long and figured the rules could bend a little as she looked around to make sure no one had seen her. Luckily the fireworks had kept everyone�s attention and she quickly ducked under the swinging doors.
Aubrey soon found the peacekeeper she had been looking for. He was on the other side of the barroom, sitting at a table with three other men who had their backs turned to her. Their presence at the table didn�t last long when they had finally managed to lose the last of their money to the town�s resident gambler.
As the disgruntled players left, the green-eyed gambler gathered his winnings. Next to JD, he was the next favorite on the seven year old�s crush list. She liked the way Ezra dressed. He was definitely a man who took pride in his appearance and tonight he was wearing a dark green coattail jacket that matched his eyes. He wore a dark vest and pants and a gold pocket watch. What Aubrey loved most about him though was his gold tooth and his smooth southern drawl. She had never met anyone with a gold tooth before and spending all of her time growing up in the west, she had never really met a southerner either.
�Aren�t you going to watch the fireworks?� she asked, walking up next to him. Ezra smiled as he put his winnings in his coat pocket and gathered his cards
�Perhaps since most of the town�s patrons seem less likely to part with their money� Ezra grinned. Aubrey tilted her head slightly confused. �May I inquire as to why you are not partaking in the festivities?� he tilted his head in the direction of the window
�I am� the seven year old answered �But you�re the only one in here and I don�t want you to be lonely�
Ezra�s heart melted at the innocent face of the girl standing next to him. The gambler and ex conman was used to being on his own and used to the feeling of most people mistrusting him. Friendliness and complete trust were the only things now shining in the hazel eyes of the young girl and Standish was sure she would keep her promise to stay in the barroom with him
�Well we certainly can�t have you missing out on what is promised to be the biggest fireworks show of the year� Ezra said as he stood up from his chair and offered his hand since she was too short for him to offer his arm �Will you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to such an event?�
She blushed and took his hand before looking up at him �Does escorting mean the same thing as a date?� she inquired, biting her lower lip nervously
�If you wish� Ezra answered, raising an eyebrow
�I don�t� the little girl shook her head before quickly adding, �Daddy�s got a shotgun and he might shoot you� she hoped she didn�t hurt the gambler�s feelings. She would love to date the handsome southerner but her father had warned her about boys and she didn�t want the well dressed smooth talking man to get hurt
Ezra squeezed the little girl�s hand and sent her a reassuring smile �Perhaps we should consider it a night simply spent in the company of friends then�
�I like that idea� she smiled and began to walk to the batwing doors. Ezra opened them for her so she didn�t have to sneak underneath them again.
She held on tightly to the gambler�s hand as she led him to the edge of the boardwalk in front of the saloon where Chris and Vin were still standing
� �Bout time you got out here� the tracker teased. Ezra rolled his eyes subtly enough for Vin to notice without Aubrey seeing the reaction.
�A gentleman never refuses a lady�s request, Mr. Tanner� the southerner replied. Aubrey nearly fell over at Ezra�s words; he called her a lady! If she died tonight, she would definitely die happy.
The fireworks continued with thunderous explosions. Chris smiled as he looked around. Who would�ve ever thought that he would find a home and family again after his wife and son had been killed but he had managed to do just that and they were all here, intermingled with the people they lived to protect.
The black clad gunslinger smirked as he gazed across the street and saw Buck once again take JD�s hat off his head and dangle in just out of the shorter man�s reach with Casey standing on the other side of the sheriff trying not to laugh at the mustached gunslinger�s antics. Poor JD was standing in between Buck and Casey and the poor kid would never win!
Josiah and Nathan were standing on that side of the boardwalk as well and laughed as they caught sight of Buck and JD�s antics. The leader of the seven regulators then turned his gaze back to the men standing next to him, the men who made up the last of his team.
Although Tanner annoyed the hell out of him, he was a loyal and good friend till the end. The same could be said for Ezra even though the gambler argued otherwise. He had a softer unselfish side despite the southerner�s best attempts to hide it. Ezra just wasn�t one for letting his emotions show although he seemed to be relaxing more and more this evening and a big part of it was the short little strawberry blonde headed, hazel eyed girl that squeezed his hand as she stood happily between Vin and the gambler.
Chris shook his head with a contented smile as he turned his attention back to the fireworks. This was definitely a Fourth of July celebration to remember!
The End!