Setting: OW
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fanfiction based on the CBS television series, The Magnificent Seven. It is in no way intended to infringe on the copyrights of CBS, MGM, The Trilogy Entertainment Group, The Mirisch Corp., or anyone else who may have legal rights to the characters, settings or song references. I don't own the characters. This story is strictly for entertainment. No monetary gain will be made from anything contained in this story.
"You okay?"
Chris eyed a very nervous Vin Tanner as the stage approached. The younger man didn't reply, but his head dipped once. The leader's eyes didn't miss the sharpshooter's slim fingers. They'd fretted and flitted for an hour, waiting for this moment. The keen blue eyes were wider than normal and the tension rode high into every muscle on the lean man. Chris rested a single hand on the new bright blue shirt the Texan wore. He wrinkled his nose at the calico scarf, also new.
"Do I have to check the hotel for missing curtains?"
Vin snorted and rolled his eyes, moving away. He knew what Chris was trying to do and appreciated the effort, but this moment was one he'd been awaiting for quite some time. Long before he came home, when he was still flat on his back, too weak to move. From the very start, one strong man had cradled him and tenderly cared for him. One voice, deep and true, singing sweet songs from his soul. They had penetrated the lost world he floated in and guided him through the darkness. Now, he was alive and healthy, thanks to that man.
It was time to give something back.
"It's here, Vin," Chris called out.
"I ain't blind!" Vin snapped, then winced, moving over closer to Larabee. "I'm sorry, Chris. I didn't mean to bite at ya."
"I know," Chris nodded, nudging the other man a bit. "Go on... you've been waiting for this..."
"Yeah... yeah..."
Vin moved outside, his hawk-like gaze sweeping around him. The street was quiet except for the jangling of harnesses and the air was sweet and cool. He nodded to Sam and Duke, the two drivers. Sam jumped down to catch the luggage that Duke was tossing from the top. The door opened and Vin sucked in his breath. His heart was hammering so hard it hurt. He felt sweat beading up and wiped his face.
"Christ, I'd hate to see you when your wife's in labor..." Chris whispered from the shadows.
Vin watched as a middle-aged couple came out and then a stout man. He waited but no one else came off the stage. It was then his heart sank, thinking on the passenger who'd caused the delay in Durning. The wire that arrived earlier only stated that the person died in Durning of a heart problem. He rocked back on his heels and gasped. It couldn't be... not after all he'd planned. It just couldn't be...
Chris saw the waves of despair rolling over Vin's features and winced. He felt a stab of pain in his own gut. Vin had busted his balls for weeks for this moment. Now, he was crushed; the bobbing Adam's apple told him just how hard Vin was working to hold his emotions in check. He moved forward as Vin staggered. Then Chris stopped in his tracks, a smile splitting his handsome face. He nodded once and stepped back, letting the play unfold.
"Easy there, boy... yuh ain't gonna faint on me are yuh?"
"Faint?" Vin hissed. "I ain't no damn woman..."
"I got eyes, boy, Old Mose can see dat..."
"Yer here!" Vin jumped back startled and then sighed hard, relief surging through him. "I thought ya was dead. Damn near died m'self... Shit... Aw, shit..."
"You okay, cowboy?" Chris moved forward. "You're shakin' worse than a virgin on her wedding night."
"Shut up, Lar'bee!" Vin snapped but welcomed the hand on the back of his neck.
"Good to see you, Moses!" Chris offered his right hand and gripped the older man's.
"Same here, Chris. How yuh be?"
"Been keepin' Tanner's ass in one piece," he quipped with eyes full of mirth. "Full time job..."
"Yup," Moses smiled, feeling the easy bond that flowed between the two. "I want t'thank yuh fuh invitin' me out here."
"Missed ya," Vin smiled shyly, "and I wanted ya t'meet the guys. We got us quite a supper planned."
Moses took his bag from the driver and was about to turn back to Chris and Vin when a small boy walked towards him. He was a handsome child of perhaps six with large dark eyes set in chocolate skin. His features were very familiar and Moses studied the small face. Then he saw something hanging on the boy's chest, a smooth round stone the color of light coffee with a hole in the center. It was suspended on a black leather cord. Every inch of him began to tingle and the air seemed to die inside.
"Where'd yuh get dat, boy?" he croaked, his limbs trembling. The child allowed him to lift the stone and when it touched his fingers, he gasped in shock. His eyes locked onto the boy's, searching and seeking. "Who yuh be?"
"My name is Lutalo," the boy replied, squaring his shoulders in pride. �It was the name of my grandfather's father. This was his." He fingered the amulet with great caution. "He came from Africa, from... from..."
"Kiswahili."
Moses gasped and fell back in shock when a deeper voice finished the little boy's sentence. From the shadows of the stage depot, a tall young man emerged. He was several inches over six feet and handsome. He was in his mid-twenties and dressed in a fine suit of clothes. He shared the same fine features as the boy... and someone else. Moses shook his head, denying what his heart sang to him in truth. It couldn't be... it wasn't possible.
"Lutalo, my father's father came from Africa. He was the king of his tribe, a strong man, a good man. His woman, Utiba, was the most beautiful woman but she was living in another village. When they met, she offered her heart to him. She said. . ." The young man paused to take a long breath and settle his own jangled nerves. "Wenda twas mona kona keamvo. That means..."
"Carry me across de river..." a stunned Moses completed. His wet eyes drank in every feature, his own staring right back at him fifty years past. One hand reached over and touched the young man's face. "Isaiah?"
"It's me, Daddy."
"Lawd... Oh Lawd..." Moses managed, embracing his youngest child, stolen from him some twenty years before. Tears ran freely down his face and he held on for all he was worth. Then a small hand tugged on his pants. He pulled away from Isaiah and knelt down before his grandchild. His grandson... his very own flesh and blood. Tenderly, he took the boy's face in his large hands and his breath quivered in awe.
"He's beautiful..."
"His mother and me think so," Isaiah smiled. "There's two more younger at home and Honore is expecting again."
"Three grandbabies..." he choked, then the small boy's hand came up holding a white kerchief.
"S'okay, Grandpa," Lutalo offered, �Sometimes my eyes need washin' too."
"I reckon dey do, boy!" He wiped his damp eyes and hugged the child. "I reckon dey do..." He stood, keeping his hand on the boy's neck and turned to his son. "How?"
"It's a long story," Isaiah replied, "and I think would be better told over dinner. But you can thank him." He nodded to the quiet man with long brown hair and compelling blue eyes who was trying to melt into the side of the building. "His name's Vin Tanner."
"Yuh done it again." Moses moved then, towering over the quiet tracker. He tapped his chest, his voice catching. "Yuh got dis old heart o'mine lurchin'." He offered his hand then and saw the rippling emotion in the blue eyes. "Thank yuh, Vin Tanner. Yuh give Old Mose his soul back. Dat's quite a gift..."
"Ya gave me m'life, Moses," Vin rasped, "and I had a lot o'help. We best git goin'. Folks is waitin'... friends I need ya t'meet. They all helped."
"You hungry, Grandpa?"
"I sure am, son!" Moses took the boy's hand and followed the others down the street towards the hotel.
"Hey, y'all..."
Vin ducked inside the dining room which had a section set up to the side for the occasion. One long table was set aside for the guests. It groaned with food. Fried chicken was piled high on a large platter. Several smaller platters held mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, string beans and biscuits. There was also chili in a large kettle prepared by Josiah and a large chocolate cake for dessert. The gathered guests all turned and stood as they entered.
"Most o' ya met Isaiah and his son yesterday when they got here." Vin moved aside to let the young man and his boy pass. "Sit right there on them two chairs." He pointed to the seats next to the head of the table.
"This here is Moses!" His voice rang with pride as he made the introductions. "M'very own guardian angel. He saved my life."
Moses just shook his head and grinned when they broke out into applause. He shifted and moved to sit down, but the slim tracker intercepted him.
"Not jest yet, some folks I need ya t'meet." He smiled when Buck approached, his hand extended. "Ya know Bucklin... hell, everybody knows Bucklin..."
"What wrong's with that?" Buck tossed back. "My mother always said to make yourself well known."
"She'd know," Chris quipped with short grin.
"Funny, Chris, very funny!" Wilmington extended his hand and took the old black man's. "Good to see you again Moses. You've got quite a family."
"Thanks, Buck," he nodded, eyeing the group gathered. "I'd say yuh got a quite a family yuhrself."
"This is..."
"Let me pick 'em out," Moses interrupted Vin and moved to the man who was next to Buck. He was almost as tall as Moses was with graying hair. He eyed the rough-hewn cross on the large man's chest and nodded, taking the hand and shaking it. "Yuh be de preacher, Josiah?"
"Sanchez." He shook hard. "And like your namesake, you delivered, Moses. On behalf of all of us, I can't thank you enough for saving Vin's life."
"Yuh could say we saved each other in a way," Moses deflected, taking the next man's hand. He was young, handsome and wearing a bright red coat. When he smiled, a gold tooth gleamed. "Yuhr the gambler, Ezra. Vin told me 'bout yuh."
"Don't believe everything you hear," Standish deferred, eyeing the grinning tracker. He couldn't recall the last time he saw Vin so enthused. The man was practically glowing, his eyes shining with pride. "It's a pleasure. May your journey home be a safe one."
"Thank yuh." Moses moved again, taking the hand of a short, slightly built young man with expressive dark eyes. "Yuh'd be the kid..."
"I'm the sheriff, John Dunne... J.D..." he corrected, making a face when his friends began catcalling that he was 'the kid.' "It's sure good to meet you, Moses. Vin talked an awful lot about you."
"And since Vin don't talk much, that's high praise," Chris teased.
"I'm Nathan Jackson..."
"The doctor." Moses took the offered hand.
"I ain't no doctor. I keep tellin' Vin that..." Nathan objected.
"Huh!" Vin snorted, waving his hand and dismissing Nathan's remark. "No damn paper on a wall from some fancy school don't mean a thing. I seen ya save lives. . .hold 'em in yer hands, keep 'em warm and safe 'til they's strong enuf t'do on their own. God don't waste his time, right, Moses?"
"Right, boy," Moses agreed, turning to greet a blond woman. "Yuh'd be Miz Travis, the writer lady?"
"I run the paper in town and welcome!" Mary shook his hand and then turned. "Josiah, would you like to say grace?"
"Mary, I'd like tah... if it's okay?" Vin eyed the rest and felt Josiah's warm smile rain down.
"Lead on, Brother Vin, lead on."
Vin waited until they were all seated before he began. He eyed each of his friends, then bowed his head.
"Lord, it's me, Vin Tanner..."
"As if He didn't know..." Ezra noted.
"Shut up, Ezra!" Vin snapped. "...anyhows, I ain't a regular in church'r nuthin', so ya might not see me right off. But I feel yuh everyday. When ya smile in the mornin' and the sun comes up, when ya cry and the rain falls, when a child laughs and ya sing..." He paused to collect his shaky breath. "I come awful close t'meetin' ya a couple months back. Not that I wouldn't wanna but mebbe not fer a few years yet."
He scowled and paused when he heard some soft chuckles in the group. He shifted his eyes to Josiah who nodded his encouragement.
"This ain't real fancy an'pretty like the words in J'siah's book, but it's from m'heart. I want t'thank ya fer lettin' me stand here t'day. I want t'thank ya fer puttin' Moses in that cave with me and fer bringin' his kin here safe. Man's got kin, he's richer than most."
He shifted again; this wasn't working. He'd practiced it alone and it came out fine. Now, he was rambling like an idiot. "I'm sorry... I'm runnin' m'mouth like a fool..."
"You're doing fine, Vin," Chris supported.
"Ya put us all here tonight t'share this meal. Breakin' bread t'gether with yer kin, sharin' and carin' and such, it's a real good feelin'. I want t'thank ya fer the grace ya showed by puttin' these good folks in my family."
"Well done, Mister Tanner," Ezra saluted with his glass and a warm smile. "Very well done."
"Good job, Vin," J.D. agreed.
"You done?" Buck eyed the nervous sharpshooter. "'Cause I'm starvin'. I don't want to get my fingers wrapped around a breast and have you start ramblin' again."
"Stairs is that way," Vin tossed back. "Don't let dinner stop ya. . ."
"Ha. . .ha. . ." Buck winked and the food began to flow.
"So how'd yuh get here, Isaiah?" Moses asked.
"Vin did it," Isaiah replied.
"I didn't do much," Vin mumbled over his chicken. "Everybody helped. Didn't even hafta pay 'em," he teased with a smile.
"Self preservation!" Ezra elbowed Buck.
"When our tracker ain't happy," the ladies' man began, nodding to Nathan who smiled and picked up his glass.
"Ain't nobody happy," Jackson laughed, tapping Buck's mug.
"When ya told me 'bout them animals stealin' yer little ones," Vin hesitated, looking over to Moses, "it gimme a good gut twist. Couldn't stop thinkin' on it... tore me up some."
"I know, boy, I seen dem eyes."
"Well, I got to thinkin'..."
"Lucky you didn't burn the house down," Chris teased, buttering a roll and winking at Vin.
"Anyhow, I figgered mebbe the Judge could track yer boy down," Vin noted.
"Judge?" Moses asked.
"Orrin Travis," Chris replied, taking a dollop of potatoes. "We work for him. Vin asked him to check your story. He managed to find records of the transaction that took Isaiah away. They found the son of the man who bought him."
"Andre Bauchet, a good friend," Isaiah recalled, putting some bread on his son's plate. "Etienne Bauchet was like a father to me. He had a large house in New Orleans. He treated me well, schooled me... I had a good life."
"New Orleans?" Moses marveled.
"The judge tracked him there and Ezra wired his cousin..." Chris nodded.
"Claude, a rather unsavory element," Standish took some green beans, "but he owed me a favor. He knew Mister Bauchet and his son. He was able to ascertain Isaiah's whereabouts."
"Mister Bauchet had a friend up north named Dupont. He owned a large estate in Delaware," Isaiah continued. "When I was eighteen, he sent me to live with the Duponts to train as a silversmith. Honore, my wife is Creole, from New Orleans. We got married before we left..." He paused then, putting his hand over his father's, still shaken by the wonderful reunion. "I have a good life, Daddy, a very good life. I got my own shop. A fine home, a beautiful woman to share it with me... and now... I can give my children the greatest gift of all... a grandfather. A living breathing heritage."
Moses took a few moments to let the information sink in. He thought hard on that night in the cave when he had wanted to flee. He lifted his right hand and studied the top of it. He shivered then, recalling the frail hand that had reached out to him in the dark. He heard that weak voice calling him 'angel.' Who'd have guessed it was he who had acquired an angel and a blue-eyed one at that? His emotions riding high, Moses stood and moved to where Vin Tanner sat. He waited until the young man turned to look up at him.
"In de home of my father," Moses voice was full of gratitude and pride when he took Vin's shoulders in both hands, "yuhr name'd be Nyack... a warrior with a strong heart... one who never gives up." He heard every word pouring silently from the blue eyes glimmering at him. "Dat be a name dey save for de son of de king."
Vin wanted to say thank you, but he was overcome with so many emotions he couldn't speak. He tried to talk; he even opened his mouth but no words would come. He swallowed hard, feeling his face flush with color and kept his pale eyes glued to Moses' dark ones.
"Yuhr welcome, boy," Moses smiled, tapping the side of the emotional young man's face.. "I hears yuh... dem eyes don't lie..."
"Don't they have a name for cranky orn'ry pain in the ass?" Chris teased, trying to help Vin get his composure back. The others laughed and he winked at the blushing Texan who was trying to regain control.
Dinner was easy. The kind of meal a man never forgot. Like Christmas or Thanksgiving when there was so much joy in one room that it glowed. The laughter flowed and a few tears as both Moses and Isaiah told of their lives. The little boy's eyes grew heavy and the new grandfather moved and lifted him. He settled in the rocking chair in the corner and held that precious treasure close to his heart. He rocked and sang in a voice cracked with emotion, one hand stroking the silken skin of his firstborn grandson.
Chris saw Vin duck outside and went to follow. Something told him the younger man's ragged emotions had him upset. It had been a long day following weeks of hard work on Vin's part to make this night special for Moses. He found the Texan sitting on the boardwalk a few yards away. Vin turned and rose when he approached.
"I've been a lot of places in my life, Vin. I've seen things... done things... met some men bigger than life. Rode under Grant in the war... saw Lincoln speak at Gettysburg..." He paused and waited for those struggling eyes to rise under the silver moon. When they locked on to his, Chris continued in a voice soft with admiration untold. "That," he nodded to the dining room, "was the finest thing I've ever been privileged to witness. You have any idea how proud I am for this?" He offered his arm and the other locked on to his forearm in a flash.
"Stomach's jumpin' 'round like fat bullfrogs in matin' season," Vin managed, getting a short laugh.
"You do have a way with words, cowboy." He elbowed the shaken tracker. "You done good!"
"Yeah, reckon I did," Vin smiled. "Did ya see the look on his face when he started singin' t'the little one? Chased me clear outside. . ."
"You're not gonna cry, are you?" Chris teased and got a snorted growl. "Come on, there's an empty spot at the bar and I'm buyin'."
"Ya go ahead. I'll catch up in a minute," Vin decided, needing some time alone to collect his scattered self.
He watched as one by one the others left and made their way to the saloon. The sound of their voices gave his heart a good tug. Josiah and Nathan teasing Ezra about his clothes and Buck tormenting J.D. about his love life. He walked to the window then, watching as Isaiah and Moses got ready to go to their rooms. The look of absolute joy radiating from the old man as that shaky hand held the small boy close was one that brought tears to his eyes. It wasn't often Vin felt so alive and that wonderful sensation inside was something he wished he could bottle up and save forever.
He ducked away, letting the small family get acquainted. There would be more time to share with Moses before he left for Delaware.
Vin made his way to the Saloon, not even bothering to curse at Buck when the mustached man ruffled his hair. He moved to a chair at the end of the bar and sat down, tugging his hat over his eyes. He shut them for a moment, letting the voices of the others blend and mix into an incredible sound. He pondered on this circle, this ring of brotherhood that bound them together. Forged in guts and sealed in blood, it had a few dents and was battered and scarred, but it remained the most solid thing he could hold onto. He sighed, laid his head back on the chair and let that music tickle his ears. He thought on Moses, whose long and painful journey he'd traveled had finally ended in a shining place ruled by hope and faith. A place he knew well, having found it only recently himself in the guise of green eyes.
He felt a shot glass nudge his fingers and pried an eye open. Buck was the one who'd handed him the drink. He was about to sip it when he caught hold of Chris's eyes at the other end of the bar. It came again silently but stronger than ever and he caught it, sending back his undying allegiance.
Word.
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