Author's Note: This is a one shot with the Magnificent Seven. Why is Casey mad at JD, the question was raised by several readers after my last story, and this is the explanation. Follows behind Ya Never Know Until Ya Check.
Warning: The warning is placed here for vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Magnificent Seven, I do not make any money on this. If I did, I would be working my way towards owning them… No harm will ever come to them in my care, that not some of Nathan's skunk juice can't fix….
The Things That Connects
Mary Travis had brought the notice to the office, in favour of charity the ATF would be holding a 'garage sale'. A park nearby would officially host the event, but it was advertised as a garage sale. The leaflet that Mary handed them instructed them to bring anything at all that they no longer had any use for and it would be put up for sale. Mary had arranged it so that several local newspapers would advertise it and all the profit would be donated to charity.
Once she had left the members of team seven ignored their paper work in order to discuss the event.
"It would appear as if this is all for a just cause," decided Ezra. "I am certain that I could find something suitable to donate."
"Shouldn't be hard," Buck smiled. "I've got plenty of junk. Just need to sort out what to get rid off."
"How 'bout ya cowboy, could donate some of them black shirts," Vin teased.
"One of those days you'll call me cowboy one time too many, and I will be forced to shoot you," he growled in a threatening manner, fixing Vin with his most menacing glare.
Tanner of course was completely unfazed and only smiled softly. "Ain't worried, ya'd need me ta help ya, don't reckon ya could pull it off on yer own, getting a bit long in the tooth an' all," he drawled. Holding the paper in his hands he turned around and gave Chris a challenging grin.
Christ considered intensifying the glare, but decided it wasn't worth the effort, try as he might he never could inspire the fear of his wrath into his friend. The more he attempted it, the more amusing Vin seemed to find it. It was better to just let it be and he'd get bored. After all, the younger man often seemed to have the attention span of a goldfish on a sugar rush….
True enough, the team sniper had his focus on the paper again, and looked deep in thought.
"I think I'll bring my old game boy," decided JD. "I haven't played it in years, but it works good. And I got some other stuff, clothes and sports equipment and things. It isn't anything great but it's good enough for kids to play with. What are you gonna bring Vin?"
"Don't know," he shrugged. "I don't have much I'm not still using, an' the only clothes I have I don't use anymore I don't reckon anyone else wants to buy."
"Nothing wrong with that, just means you're not wasteful," Josiah decided. "I don't think I'll be able to put together much either, but it's the thought that counts, and being willing to make an effort."
"I think I'll ask Rain," decided Nathan. "She's been talking about cleaning out her closet. And I could do with cleaning out mine too. I think there's some stuff there that doesn't fit anymore."
"Since we should bring it in on Monday, why don't you all bring it out to the ranch?" Chris suggested. "We could sort through it and pack it up so it'll be more convenient for them, and you can help me look through the attic," he turned to Vin. That would help ensure that he felt as if he fully contributed as much as the others. Having spent a good deal of time in Vin's apartment he knew that Vin didn't really have any junk laying around. Vin only had what he needed and used, he didn't collect things like the rest of them tended to do.
By the time the others gathered at his ranch on that Friday he and Vin were still busy. Vin had brought with him a paper sack with some t-shirts and jeans, but that was about all save for a few wood carvings Chris guessed Vin had made himself. He and Vin were still sorting through the hallway closet while the others spread everything out on the floor, putting it all in different piles while mocking and teasing each others for the donations. Nathan had brought what seemed to the others to be Rain's whole closet, but Nathan assured them there were still plenty left.
Buck and JD had a small sports equipment store with them, including a cricket ball that no one could remember having ever owned. Chris simply assumed that it had been brought in with something else at one point, but Vin voiced his opinion that the clutter in their apartment were now so plentiful that it had started breeding. He warned them that unless they cleaned up they'd soon have pink flamingos growing in the living room.
This was instantly adopted as the most likely theory, or at least as the most amusing one.
That was when Chris tipped the contents of a box out onto the floor, and JD who leaned in closer fished out a well worn brown leather jacket. The jacket appeared to be very worn, the leather stained in places but it was obvious it had been a very fine jacket. It was made in Native American style with fringes and even some beadwork. Just under the shoulders at an angle a leather braid was sewn on, and hanging from it were fringes with beads on them. On the left side several fringes had been torn lose and a gap showed. Along the right side was a crudely stitched tear, there was a dark stain on the left sleeve and the lining was torn in places.
It was clear to everyone at first glance that it was a jacket that had been dearly loved and worn to within an inch of its life. It looked somewhat small for Chris though, JD doubted he could still wear it.
"Hey, this is awesome," he declared. "Don't think I've ever seen a jacket like it, looks like you wore it all the time huh?"
"No, it's not mine JD," Chris stated softly, his eyes on the jacket. He had forgotten about it. It was strange to imagine, but he had forgotten he had it.
"I think I've seen it before," Buck mused. "Can't say I know why though, I know you never wore it." He was certain he recognized it, it triggered some memory but at the moment nothing clear.
"It ain't mine Buck," Chris sighed. "It's the one that kid left, you know, the one after I got shot."
"Oh," Buck's voice faded away as he recalled the event. Suddenly he remembered the entire incident, and the aftermath of it.
"What?" JD pressed, curious at their strange behaviour. "What are you talking about?" he pressed. He never could stand not knowing what was happening.
"You know we worked as police officers," Buck told him with an apologetic look towards Chris. There had been times when his friend reacted badly to him sharing information with someone else, but Chris had mellowed out since then and he knew that JD would never be satisfied unless he knew. It was best to just simply get it over with. "We responded to a call, a robbery of a liquor store, the arrest went sour, we got split up. I chased after one suspect when I heard gunshots, when I got back I found Chris on the ground and a kid running hell bent for leather away from there."
"He shot Chris?" their youngest team member demanded.
"That kid didn't," Christ stated firmly. "The one I was chasing did, never saw he had a gun, but when we got into the alley he turned around and shot me, met up with two others, they had guns too and aimed them at me while I was on the ground. Knew I had had it then, thought I was dead for sure, but some scrawny street kid came out from behind some crates, picked my gun up and fired at them. Didn't see it clear, but I swear he ran all three of them off, heard one of them yell so I reckon he hit at least one," he paused shaking his head, running a hand over the jacket on the floor. "I was nearly out of it by then, but the kid took off his jacket and puts it under my head, pulls off his shirt and puts it to the wound to stop the bleeding, I'm lying there bleeding to death and all I can think about is that the kid's so scrawny you could knock him over if you blew at him. Ribs standing out, looks like he's not eaten in a month of Sundays and all the while cursing up a storm. Hell, he knew words that made me blush, cursing them punks pulled off the robbery."
"Kid with an attitude," Buck grinned.
"Next I know I hear the kid shouting into my radio, yelled I was down and then I realized Buck was coming back, kid takes on a look like a deer in headlights, jumps up and mumbles something about being sorry," Chris shook his head. "Can't figure what he was sorry for, but he lit out of there, ran like a rabbit. Saved my life there, and he went on about being sorry."
"Damn it," JD gave a low whistle. "Why'd he run if he had saved you?"
"It was just a kid JD," Buck stated softly. "And not a kid like you are a kid, a real kid, but he was living on the streets. If he had stayed we would have been forced to take him in and return him to the system, the system he had likely run away from. Kid didn't cotton to the idea so he lit out. Even worse, he might actually have been brought on charge, he did take Chris' service weapon and he did fire it. We're pretty sure he injured a man, even if it was to help Chris, he might have been in trouble."
"So what did you do then?" asked Josiah softly, understanding the turmoil it would cause in the two police officer.
"The only thing we could," Chris sighed. "We didn't include that part in the report. Kept looking for the kid though, wanted to see if I could do something for him but I never found him. I kept the jacket, couldn't get rid of it. I guess I needed it to remember the kid."
Nathan reached out a hand for it, fingered it, shaking his head he tried to picture the kid wearing it.
"Damn it!" he suddenly burst out. "Chris, that tear in the side there, that look like it was made by a knife to you?"
"Yes," Chris looked at it closely. It would take something sharp like a knife to cut the leather in that way. "Lining is torn too, and stained, could have been blood. Why? What do you know about it?" he demanded. It didn't make sense that Nathan would know something about a jacket that had been in a box in his closet for years.
"I saw the kid, long haired, skinny," Nathan shook his head in disbelief. "I worked at a charity ward for credits during school. Kid came in all cut up, he kept swearing he wasn't a member of some gang, but he'd crossed paths with one of them. Got cut up, by the time he showed up it was infected. Damn it all Chris! It must have been the same kid."
"Yes," he nodded. "Gangs don't leave street kids alone, they either recruit them or go after them." It made him mad to think that a kid that was obviously a decent one would have such a hard time just trying to survive in the world.
"I remember the fuss he made about the jacket," Nathan went on while JD's eyes were as large as saucers. "He wouldn't put it down, wouldn't let me take it. Started fighting me when I tried to take it and tried to leave. Clutched it the whole time I worked on him. We had to keep him a couple of days because the infection. Was half starved then too, no matter how much food we gave him it never seemed to be enough. Some of the nurses thought he was sweet though and kept bringing him things, found out later he had been stashing it. As soon as he was better he snuck out before the authority could come to collect him. I had just checked him over, then ten minutes later when they came for him he was gone. Couldn't find a trace of him."
"It was fate," Josiah stated. "Fate that you should both encounter the same young boy, faith that we should all encounter the same young boy."
"We?" Chris frowned turning towards him. "Don't tell me you did too Josiah?"
"I think I did brother," he nodded. "Like Nathan I recognize it. I worked at the shelters remember, I remember the kid that wore that jacket. He came one day, got lucky and got a ticket for a bed. I gave him his supper and he thanked me, not many do that, but he was very polite, very respectful."
"Sounds like the same kid," Nathan agreed.
"I liked him," Josiah nodded. "There was something about him, then a young mother came, one child by the hand and one on the way by the looks of it, scared half out of her mind. Told me how they had just lost it all, said she had some family would help but until then she had nothing, no place to go, no money and no place to stay. We were full, no free beds so I asked if anyone would give up their bed for her. I didn't expect anyone to. It's the way it is there, you don't give up what's yours, what you have the right to, you just don't."
"But the kid did," Buck smiled. "I bet he did. The kind he was he would."
"He did," Josiah nodded. "Came over so quietly I nearly didn't notice he was standing there, but suddenly he tugged at my sleeve and gave over his ticket, gave up his bed. The mother was crying trying to thank him, and he was blushing, looked about ready to panic. Told him if he'd just wait until I had her settled I'd give him a little extra food. Told him that so he'd wait. I couldn't let him get away, it was against the rule, but I had to get him someplace to sleep. I had my old van out in the back, figured that I could trust him enough to let him sleep in the back. I would stay the night anyway."
Chris listened, remembering the kid he had met. Long haired, dirty and half starved but still different than the other kids on the street. They wouldn't give up their chance of a bed, they certainly wouldn't take a risk to help a cop. Conditions were harsh on the streets, every day a fight for survival, literally. He had lost count of how many bodies they had found, how many bodies that still lived but were nothing more than wrecks of the persons they had once been. He knew Vin had lived on the streets for some time after he had run away from the foster care program. He didn't know any details, just that he had been on the streets, and he couldn't help but wonder what he had been like then.
That was when it struck him.
Vin…
So far Vin hadn't said a word, not a single word the whole time.
Vin was always quiet, never said much, didn't speak unless he had something to say but he was more than quiet now.
He looked at him, and he knew then why the young man had been so silent. He could see on his face, Vin never could hide anything from him.
Their eyes met for just a second, and Chris silently wished that he wouldn't shut himself away. They all knew his life had been hard, they all knew he had been alone and it was about time Vin realized he shouldn't be ashamed for that. Vin paled slightly as he met Chris eye, saw the urging in them and swallowed hard. He knew what Chris wanted, but that was not what swayed him. It was the memory that did it, the memory of standing in the alley and seeing a police officer down, a decent man, a good police officer. He hadn't stayed then but had run, it was time to stop running.
"Ya gave me a blanket ya had in the back an' told me I could sleep there," he stated softly, so quietly the others barely heard it. "Always figured it was damn decent of ya, didn't have ta take the trouble, hell, for all ya know I could'a stolen ya blind an' took off."
Josiah looked up startled, looked at his friend who sat in front of him at the same time as he pulled the memory to mind. Long hair in dirty locks, clear blue eyes and a slight frame. The faintest hint of freckles under the dirt. A quiet boy, shy and polite with a soft voice and a slow drawl. Just a boy really, but still already so wise in matters of the world.
He would never have guessed it, he would never have realized that the boy back in the shelter, the one who gave up his bed was the young man who would watch them from above with his rifle.
'But you're still watching out for everyone, you're still looking to keep everyone safe from the cruelty of the world,' he mused slowly.
He should have known, he really should have known.
"I knew you wouldn't," he stated slowly. "There were never any doubt about it."
"That woman?" Vin asked slowly. He had left early in the morning as he knew that Josiah could get in trouble for letting him sleep in his car.
"She was fine Vin, it all worked out for her," he smiled. "She came back a few days later, telling me about it and thanking me. She brought a bag with her, some clothes for the boy who gave her his bed, I kept it for a long time but you never came back, so eventually I gave it to another kid, figured it was better it was put to use."
Vin nodded slowly, he had been embarrassed by the attention the man had given him for just having done the decent thing and so he had kept away for some time.
"Vin!" JD burst out as it all suddenly struck home. "It was Vin?"
"Looks like it kid," Buck smiled, but he was also watchful of the situation.
"But, damn," JD was confused and found it hard to grasp the situation fully, Vin was quiet and hesitant, ready for flight Chris realized when he noticed the younger man tense up. He was ashamed about having lived on the streets, he never said much about it but they all knew it and therefore no one brought it up. It was just that the proverbial cat was out of the bag now, and Vin had no choice but to accept it. He would have to trust them and trust that it did not make a difference for them. If anything he thought it gave a sense of closure to know that they had something of a history.
He looked the jacket over again, noted the small tag sown into the side, the one with the name 'Vin Tanner' on it in letters so faded it was hard to make out. It was obvious that it wasn't Vin who had done it, it looked like a female hand and must have been from whoever gave him the jacket.
JD looked like he wanted to ask a million questions, and Vin still looked like he would bolt if the kid even opened his mouth. Chris had tried to send him a look of assurance but he wasn't certain if it was really working.
"You did good kid," Buck stated, trying to calm the stormy waters and Chris was grateful. "And I don't mean just for sticking up for Chris there, though you probably damn well saved his life doing it. Hell kid, do you have any idea what would have happened if them guys had turned and realized the only thing stopping them was a half grown weed of a scrawny kid?" he suddenly burst out as the memory played itself out in his head. "You could've gotten yourself killed Junior, what the hell were ya thinking?"
"That someone needed to do something, an' I was the only one there, ya got a problem with that Bucklin?" he challenged, a wry grin on his face.
"Hell yes I do, Damn it, I didn't want to see a kid like you wind up dead." he growled.
His anger was from concern over a friend's safety, but also over the cruel way life had treated him.
"Reckon I owe ya thanks," Vin decided. "Fer not letting on what I had done back then, cops would've been after me an' I'd be going to Juvie…."
"Reckon it was the least we could do after what you did pard," Chris passed the jacket to him. "Reckon it's about time you got this back too pard."
"Always missed it," Vin breathed quietly as he ran a hand over the worn leather. "Meant a lot to me, more than ya'll ever known."
"Oh, you managed to let me know it had some sentimental value," Nathan chuckled.
"Got it at a foster home," Vin shrugged. "Probably the only place where they really truly wanted me. Even though they knew I was 'high maintains.'"
"High maintains?" JD frowned. "What does that mean?"
"That most people wouldn't even touch me with a ten foot pole," Vin shrugged. "Look JD, when someone decides to take a foster child it's kinda like when a kid wants a cat or a dog, they want the kittens and the puppies, the cute ones. They don't want no old tom cat that runs out all night. They don't want a dog full of bad habits, they want a cute easy one. An' I wasn't. Hell, I had a bad back, dyslexia, always said I never did fit in nowhere, socially challenged or something they called it. Didn't take no crap from no one, didn't see the point in bending to their will. I was high maintains, an' that meant that most folks wouldn't have nothing to do with me."
"But that's so wrong?" JD was outraged. How could anyone decided that a man like Vin was too much trouble, just because he wasn't that good at reading or his back hurt him. If anything that should make them want to help him. What the hell was wrong with the world?
"It's the way it is JD," the older man sighed softly. "Ain't nothing ya can do about it, cept be better yerself. I reckon that was their view, the family I mean. They weren't supposed to take me, I mostly went to folks trained to deal with the likes of me, but there'd been trouble at the place I was," he swallowed and looked around. Should he tell just what kind of trouble, what would they say if they knew?
Looking at their faces he knew that even if he admitted they wouldn't judge him, they would try to understand and they might be angry, but they wouldn't judge him.
"I broke the arm of a kid in a fight, place was overcrowded, there weren't enough room an' I got thrown in with a rough lot. Turned into a fight or die kinda situation an' I wasn't about to bow to them. Things got out of hand an' there was a pretty bad fight. Since they were a gang all sticking up for each other the whole lot went after me, an' they had to get me outta there fast," he admitted. "Went to this family close by an' I never knew foster parents could be so decent. Didn't get at me for my school work, hell, she just sat down with me an' wouldn't quit until she had helped me with whatever the problem was. Always making snacks for me, didn't care I was eating too much. Treated me just like I's their own," he finished with a wishful look on his face.
"What happened?" Chris asked.
"Since they weren't really supposed to keep someone like me I got moved, taken to a place where they were. They tried to fight it, first time anyone did fight for me," he mumbled. "But you can't fight them damn rules, but before they could haul me away she came running to the car with a box, said it was a birthday present an' my birthday was a good two months away then. Social worker told her it was no matter, she shouldn't bother and she near blew up saying that they'd gotten it for me and I damn well was going to have it. Told me she'd gotten it for me to grow in. Ya see, they knew about me an' the reservation, but it didn't bother them. Ya don't meat many folks like that in the foster system."
"It's a shame understanding is so rare," Josiah sighed and Vin nodded.
"Opened the box and found this, they'd got it for me to grow in alright, I was swimming in it back then," he smiled as the fond memory came back. The pride he had felt wearing the jacket, the love he recognized in the gift and the way they had wanted him for who he was, not for the idea they had had of what he would be like.
"Looks like it would still fit you pard," decided Chris. Perhaps just a little short in the sleeves, but he believed it would fit well enough. "And I bet we could have it fixed up too, expertly I mean."
"It would be quiet easy I believe," put in Ezra. "Why, I have contacts that could repair it so that you would never know what it has been through."
"Don't know Ez," Vin fingered the broken fringes on the sleeve. "Can't exactly replace those, there were beads on the fringes here, but they broke off. Some damn school teacher grabbed me once, was pissed at me for bothering her students, but I weren't."
"I wouldn't think you were," Chris mused, then frowned as JD suddenly went pale.
"But then, damn it, wait!" he leapt to his feet and ran towards the hall where they had all removed their coats. He returned with his jacket clutched in one hand, still pale looking and nearly shaking.
"What's the matter with you?" Buck demanded, wondering if he should be worried as pale as JD was.
"Sit down JD," Nathan urged. He appeared worried, but Buck couldn't quite take his line on it, Nathan always worried about all of them. Before he could make up his mind JD dropped back down and held out a shaking hand, clutched hard in the white knuckled grip was a handful of leather fringes with pale blue beads on them.
"What the hell!" Vin demanded, too stunned at the moment to even reach out after them.
"I don't believe this, it can't be happening," Nathan shook his head.
"Certain things are destined to be brother," Josiah mused softly. "If we don't understand it, then sometimes we are offered with a clear sign of it. I would say this is one such sign. This was destined to be, I would still like to hear your story JD."
"I was on a school trip," JD blurted out. "I mean, when I was still in school, we went here, there was a museum near Purgatory and we went there, then they allowed us to walk around a little. Told us not to go far and told us never to go into the bad part of town but I got lost and found myself there. Some boys approached me, hell, there were three of them and they were all older and bigger than me, looked like they were a part of some gang. I thought I was dead, that they would kill me for sure."
"They were a bad bunch," Vin stated, an almost angry tone in his voice. "Ya can't go wandering around like that, ya could've gotten yerself killed. Those gangs aren't to play with. Do you have any idea what happens to kids stupid enough to get caught by them?"
"Nearly did," he swallowed. "I really thought I was dead when they set on me, didn't think anyone would care, but then, well, I hardly realized what was happening. They were just about to punch me when someone else came. Kid wasn't even bigger than me," he broke off realizing that he suddenly knew who he was talking about and he blushed. "Sorry Vin, I, uh, I didn't know then, I mean,"
"S' okay kid," Vin cut him off with a sigh. "Wasn't 'sactly big for my age back then. An' I know ya didn't mean ta get tangled up in there, easy ta get lost when ya don't know the streets."
JD smiled, more secure now. "You should have seen it Buck, he took them on, all three off them. Fought like a wild cat or something, hell, I was too scared to even move, but he ran them off and then started dragging me away from there."
"Didn't want ta hang around when they came back with the rest of the gang," Vin shrugged. "Didn't seem like a healthy idea."
"So where does the school teacher come in?" Chris pressed. He wasn't about to pass on a chance to learn more about JD and Vin.
"Well, I tried to thank him, offered him money I mean, I could see, uh that is," JD broke off with a flush again, realizing he had nearly told them he could see Vin had lived on the streets. Again Vin sighed.
"I think everyone knows where I lived at the time by now JD," he pointed out. "Ain't proud of it, but didn't have many options back then. Ya don't have to keep looking so scared for it."
Swallowing hard JD nodded before he continued. "We were supposed to meet up at McDonalds and eat before we went back home, I figured the least I could do was to buy him a burger. Didn't want to come along so I told him I didn't know the way, thought maybe he'd come if he thought I'd get lost again."
"You tricked me!" Vin gave him an accusing glare, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that let JD know he wasn't upset about it.
"Well, not really," JD defended himself. "I thought you knew, but I had to do something, so we went there." He remembered how Vin had hesitated before giving his order, the challenging look he had given the young man behind the counter and he knew that his saviour had silently been defending his right to be there. He had noticed how some in the staff looked at him. It was after all easy to see that he hadn't just stepped out of a well-to-do family home. He was dirty if not filthy, a little ragged and bruised and bloodied from the fight. It was also the way he clutched the food to his chest, Vin didn't carry his tray to the table like the other customers, he clutched it to his chest and sent menacing stares towards anyone who might be a potential threat to his food.
Sitting down at the table he pocket the ketchup packages, salt and pepper and then opened the lid of his burger container. JD had watched as he poured the fries into the top, he hadn't understood then why. They spoke a few words, but it was clear the young man was focused on his food and he ate hurriedly.
"Didn't talk much there," JD admitted. "Then the teacher came, damn, she was, Buck, she didn't care what Vin had done, how he'd helped me, she started yelling from across the room that he should get away from me." His voice was choked and his eyes were round, astonished that someone could judge someone so poorly due to circumstances out of their control. How someone could have been so cruel to the one that had saved him.
"Damn fool," Buck growled.
"I was sure mad at her for it, turned around to tell her to leave him be, and by then he was halfway to the door," he went on. That was why Vin had poured his fries with the burger. He had just closed the lid back, snatched up his soda and started for the door. JD hadn't realized he knew to keep his food close or risk losing it, but he had realized then and he had quickly done the same with his fries, stuffed them in with the burger and ran after the boy catching up to him just by the door and pressing the burger and fries into his hands.
"Thanks kid," the other young man drawled softly, a look of gratitude in his eyes that stunned JD so that he didn't notice that his teacher had caught up with them. The woman shot out her hand and grabbed a handful of the fringes on the jacket and a look of panic had crossed the young face.
"She tried to stop him, yelling at the staff to help, accused him of stealing my food," he spat angrily. "And she ruined his jacket, tore the fringes clean off, and the burger I gave him fell. How can anyone do that?" he demanded looking around but no one had any answer for him. Vin who at the time had been mourning the loss of the food, and then been furious of the damage done to his prized jacket merely shrugged. JD had learned some about street life then, but there was still a lot he did not know and he hoped he never had to find out. He prayed to God the boy wouldn't have to lose all his innocence that way.
"I picked up the fringes after he got away," JD mumbled. "Wanted to go after him, but I couldn't, but I picked them up when she wasn't watching. Damn, she was yelling at me a long time, said she'd tell my mother."
"You didn't get in trouble did you?" Vin asked worriedly and JD thought it was ironic that he should worry about that. He was the one who had been accused of theft, of who knew what filthy lies and only because he saved a stupid kid from a beating. Yet he was the one concerned.
"No, I didn't," he assured him. "I told mother I had gotten lost and what you did. She wasn't happy with me for getting lost, but she was really mad at the teacher. She said I had done the right thing and that she would have wanted to meet you to thank you. I remember she started donating some money to the shelters too after. She used to warn me about, uh, homeless before, but I think she realized that some were just people who really needed help," he decided.
"That's true JD," Josiah agreed. "That is why I helped out at the shelter. There are some bad, but there are a lot of good."
"Why'd you keep those?" Vin asked as he took the fringes from JD.
"Sort of to remember," he decided after a moment to think. "Didn't want to forget what you did for me, and how badly some people treated you. Wanted to make certain I never did anything like that. It made me mad what they did, and I didn't think I could like myself if I started thinking that way too."
Vin had never been one for physical affection, the occasional slap on the back was as far as it went. He was more comfortable with Chris, but he would never be the kind of guy who hugged another guy, never.
He reached out and clasped a hand to JD's shoulder, squeezing gently but firmly. "Ya never could kid," he drawled softly. "Didn't need no reminder, ya proved it once an' for all when ya not only stuck around ta thank me, but took the trouble ta trick me into coming for the burger. Ya could never be like them."
JD blushed, but it was with pride this time, and with gratitude that his friends thought so highly off them.
"It would appear that we have all we need to get this properly repaired then," Ezra decided as he took in the jacket and the once missing but now found fringes.
"Don't know Ez," Vin shook his head. "Has ta be done right ya know."
"And I have the contacts to ascertain that it would be," Ezra smiled, flashing his gold tooth. "Or do you not have enough faith in me Mr Tanner?" he added teasingly.
"Got the faith in ya, but I ain't got the cash in my wallet," he pointed out. "It'll cost Ez, an' I don't have that much right now. Damn Jeep broke down again, set me back a bit."
"Did I make any mentioning of any monetary need?" Ezra raised his eyebrows. "My offer was to see to it being done, and done properly. I don't believe I voiced any need for such drastic measures as you're suggesting."
"Hell Ezra, I can't even follow half of them fancy words, but I know I don't like what I'm hearing," Vin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I believe that in spite of my mother's many faults and flaws, she did raise me to make amends when needed," Ezra went on, never losing his calm. "Since part of the reason why this jacket is in such a miserable shape is this here stain," he indicated the greasy looking stain on the left sleeve, careful not to touch it. "It did after all appear there after you so graciously changed the tire on my car after I found myself stranded."
"You changed his tire?" Chris asked bemused.
"He was standing with a flat tire in the middle of the night, didn't look like he even knew what a spare tire looked like with them fancy clothes he had on," Vin shrugged. "Was just as bad back then as he is now ya know. All that menial labour crap an' a gentleman can't break out into an honest sweat."
"So you let some kid do the dirty work for you, huh Ez?" Chris levelled him with a half teasing glare.
"He offered, and I offered to compensate him duly for it," Ezra shrugged. "Though I found it strange when he turned down my offer of monetary compensation. As I was here on a mission from Atlanta, and under pressure to return urgently I would have been more than willing to pay him for the service."
"Didn't think it right ta take money just because someone was down in the shit with me," Vin shrugged. "Sides, ya did pay me."
"I paid you the measly sum of a few dollars in change, not even enough for a decent meal," Ezra pointed out. "It was nothing but the change from my pocket. At that time given my need for haste I would gladly have paid a larger sum."
"Reckon so," Vin smiled lightly. "But I didn't need more, t'was enough fer a good mealfer me an' I only did what any decent human being ought ta have done."
"You did more than so my friend, though it appears you're not aware of it," as much as he despised sharing personal information he was aware of how vulnerable Vin had just shown himself. The least he could do was to offer up some of himself. "You are all aware of my misfortune in Atlanta, I was never trusted there and it was growing on me how I was always treated. I had arrived to the conclusion that there were no 'decent human beings' left in the world, and I found the burden quite heavy. I never expected anyone to come to my aid, not even for something as simple as changing a tire. To have someone offer, simply because that person though I should not soil my suit… Mr Tanner, you showed me more decency there than my so called colleagues did in a year of time. It was most invigorating and I was truly grateful for it. The gesture meant a lot more to me than the simple task you performed. You never allowed me to repay you then, please give me the privilege now."
"Couldn't deny ya when ya put it so fancy," Vin mused. "Hell, I don't know any words fancy enough fer ya to understand my meaning even if I tried."
"Thank you, you will not have to regret it," Ezra gave him a pleasant smile as he took the jacket as well as the broken fringes and placed them in the pocket before he folded the jacket over.
Vin never felt any apprehension over it, not after he saw the careful and gentle, almost loving way that Ezra folded up the jacket and put it aside. When he lived on the streets that jacket had been his most prized possession, his connection that allowed him to remember that there were persons who made it worth struggling on. That if you were lucky enough to find them you would be glad that you stuck it out.
"I always thought it was the coolest jacket I ever saw," JD spoke up again. "I always read the wild west stories and when you saved me from that gang, at first I thought you was a real Indian…"
His innocent remark made Vin smile longingly. "Yeah, I know what ya mean JD. Some of the people in them foster homes figured I's an Indian lover an' didn't like it none. Hell, prejudice is still a bitch, an' a long haired kid that ran off to the reservation has to have the devil in him…" he sighed tiredly. "Don't matter none to them that at the reservation they accepted me. Treated me decent, least most of them did. Some kids are always trying to prey on the weaker ones, but it wasn't bad. Never regretted running off an' making my way there."
"How old were you then?" JD wanted to know.
"Reckon I's eight or nine," he shrugged. "Stayed at the reservation for about four months before the authorities found out about it. Took me out of there right quick an' moved me as far away as they could. Damn, I hated them fer it. Took my clothes away from me, a knife one of the Indians gave me, anything that had connections to the Indians, jest to sever the ties they said, because they couldn't let me turn into a savage," his voice was full of anger and disgust at the thought. "Never let them tell ya that JD. Never let them tell ya that the Indians, the Native Americans are savages. They're not, they's just mostly decent folks trying to make a living same as us."
"I always thought so, but they always told me the reservations could get kinda bad these days," JD admit. "I mean, that they're not living too good, that they don't have a lot and such."
"True in a way I suppose," Vin shrugged again. "White man kinda stripped them off all they have, living conditions ain't the best, but it ain't too bad either. Most of them are decent but there's a few that turns to drink, just like everywhere else. Reckon a reservation these days can be a bit like a trailer park without the tornados."
"One day I'd like to go to one," JD admitted and Vin smiled. There was nothing wrong with the kid, he was good hearted.
"One day, I'll take ya," he decided. "I still got a friend or two there, I'll make sure none of them scalps ya."
"You had better Junior," Buck stated firmly. "The kid needs a haircut, but not that way."
"Hell, don't have ta worry Bucklin," Vin chuckled. "Ain't no brave wants a scalp as scrawny as that, an' even if they did, they couldn't shut him up long enough ta take it…"
"Reckon you're right about that," Buck laughed as he reached over so he could ruffle both their hairs.
"But don't you all find it kinda strange?" JD frowned. "That we all kinda met before I mean?"
"What is meant to be is meant to be JD," Josiah shrugged. "Certain paths are made to cross."
"And Mr Tanner always had impeccable timing," Ezra decided. "I do not find it surprising that such was the case at an earlier occasion."
"But you never really met him, did you Buck?" JD pressed. "I mean, you said you just saw him run away from there."
"Might as well tell him Bucklin, looks like I ain't gonna have many secrets after today," Vin shrugged.
"Come on Buck, what happened?" JD demanded to know impatiently while Chris levelled his oldest friend with that half amused slightly loopy smile he had at times.
"Is there something I ought to know Buck?" he asked in a velvet smooth voice that nearly made Buck shudder.
"Well, the kid did kinda save your butt," he pointed out. "And I guess I saw enough of him, I caught sight of him a few weeks after that, getting beat up by some street scum so I put a stop to it, but you know, I couldn't call it in, it would've come out about that other stuff…" he trailed off. Chris still had that half grin on his face, but Buck wasn't fooled. Chris could be at his most dangerous when he smiled.
Never trust a smiling Larabee….
"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.
"I made him promise, I didn't want no cops butting into my life and screwing it all up," Vin decided it was time to bail Buck out. "Wasn't as bad as that either, jest kinda upset the wrong guy an' he gave me a gentle warning…"
"Gentle warning, hell junior," Buck shook his head. "I'd hate to see a serious one if that was what you called a gentle."
"I wish you had told me, but knowing that sorry-assed Texan now," Chris shrugged. "He's a sneaky bastard when it comes to getting his way."
"Was there too," Buck agreed. "Nearly got away from me before I swore I wouldn't tell anyone, was only after I had he stayed put. Before then he got up an' nearly got away from me, oh, must have been a half dozen times. So I gave in, he told me a bit about some of the foster homes he'd been too, and well, I guess I kinda figured it wasn't much worse for him to be where he was then."
"Hell of a choice to make," Nathan sighed. He knew, as did Buck and Chris, that their duty would have been to get the young boy back into the system, but would it have been the right thing to do?
"Wasn't easy," Buck shrugged as if he had come to terms with it long ago, perhaps he had, he really wasn't sure. "But it was the only thing I could do, hell, either I did what the little blackmailer wanted, or I couldn't do anything at all. Kid was a bit beat up and didn't look too good, so I took him to a place I knew where he could stay a bit and rest up, figured a few days with a dry place to stay an' some good food would be better for him. Kept thinking that if he stayed put I could talk him into giving us a chance to help him, but the damn brat pulled another Houdini on me," he mock glared towards Vin who shrugged amusedly.
"Didn't trust you huh Buck?" JD teased. "Can't say I blame him."
"He dumped me in a bloody whore house," Vin muttered under his breath. So quietly that the others barely heard him, the room fell in silence for a moment while they tried to determine if they had indeed heard it right, the laughter exploded amongst the group.
"Damn it Buck!" Chris finally stopped laughing with tears streaming down his face.
"Best place I could think off," Buck tried to look offended. "Seemed like a damn good idea at the time. I knew them ladies, they took good care out of him, out of sight from the cops, I mean the other cops," he added with a wink. "There was plenty of food, a soft bed and company plenty if he wanted it. What was wrong with that?"
"What was wrong?" Vin burst out. "Do you have any idea what them girls did? They kept coming into the room, and giggling, wouldn't leave me alone." His voice rose into a pitch without him realizing it. "Hell, I heard them talking about 'keeping me', like I was some damn stray dog. They said I was 'cute,' cute, can you believe that!"
The laughter that had not yet fully died down broke out fresh again while Vin glared at them. He did not have the Larabee glare, but he could usually make people back off and think twice about what they were doing. It had however no affect at all on his friends. They only continued laughing, and laughing, and laughing…
"Oh, I can believe it, easily," Chris laughed. "Didn't get a too good look at ya back then cowboy, but from what I remember, cute pretty much nailed it…"
Vin attempted to swat at him, but it had no effect on the laughing men.
"The way I hear it, you broke their hearts when you left," Buck teased mercilessly. "They really wanted to keep you Junior."
"Aw hell Buck," he blushed embarrassed. He was a very private person, and it was not easy to share so much of his past but he could do it. He could allow them to see what it had been like, but he would not be tortured like this. If Buck persisted he would just have to hurt him…
"Oh come now Junior," Buck laughed. "No need to look so scared, scrawny half grown thing like ya were, weren't nothing they could do with ya. But you know, I really ought to take you back there, they'd love to get their hands on you again, I just know it."
"No!" the high pitch objection and panicked look took them all by surprise, including Vin it seemed. He quickly turned it into a glare as threat full as the Larabee glare, daring them to comment on it.
Of course they dared.
Of course they not only dared, but delighted in it.
"Come now Mr Tanner, I'm quite certain their company would be delightful."
"Might find some comfort brother."
"They really do love ya Junior, now, it'd be a damn shame to waste an opportunity like that."
"Yeah, come on Vin, could be fun, huh?"
"They might enjoy seeing you again, as I believe Buck is right and they really cared for you."
"Sounds like you might as well give up cowboy," Chris laughed as the others had made their statements. "Why fight it?"
"Aw hell Chris," Vin sighed. It was getting a little too much for the man, and Chris picking up on it gave Buck a warning look.
"Don't worry now Vin, I'd never be that big a fool," Buck laughed. "Hell, if I took you back there with me again they'd all be over you and I wouldn't get a single one of them. Now, I'm hardly that stupid am I?"
That seemed to comfort Vin Chris mused. Oh, Vin wasn't a man who didn't know how to appreciate a fine woman. The problem was he was too shy and too hesitant, and for some reason he never seemed to pick a woman that would be good for him. His protectors instincts tended to muddle his senses when it came to women. It was a shame, and it usually caused the young man to be hurt instead of happy.
Right now he was bristling from the teasing, glaring at Buck and Chris had to bite his lip not to say that he could understand the ladies wanting to keep him, since the rest of them rather felt the same way. Oh, Vin would be all spit and vinegar if he said that. He was rather predictable when he was riled up, and nothing would rile Vin up like having a flock of ladies, of any kind, saying they wanted to keep him because he was cute.
He had a feeling the others would tease him for it again at some other time, right now it was getting late and they still had a job to do. Ezra would see to the jacket, and Chris had no doubt that no expense would be spared when it came to restoring it. Ezra had contacts, and he knew how to use them. He had no doubt the jacket would be fully restored to what it had once been, and he was right.
By the time they attended the 'garage sale' Vin wore it again, and it looked near brand new from what Chris could tell. Only the faintest trace remained of the stain, the tear in the side was invisible and the fringes were all in place where they should be.
The jacket fit Vin perfectly, and Chris smiled softly as he once more saw the young kid he had spotted on the streets. The wild one that couldn't be tamed, the one with a gentle caring heart in spite of the harshness and cruelty that surrounded him all the time.
It was amazing really to know how things played out. It was strange to know they had all been drawn to each others long before Team 7 had been formed, long before any of them even considered working for the agency. Yet Josiah was right and it was also oddly comforting. As if there had been a purpose to everything that had seemed so pointless at the time. When you knew how a street kid had saved a school boy it was easier to see past the unfairness.
He nearly burst out laughing when he spotted Mary peering at Vin with a calculating look, as if the jacket reminded her of something and she couldn't remember what. It wouldn't surprise him, it wouldn't surprise him at all.
He had learned not to be surprised by the things that connected them…
The End
Please review, the Cricket is hungry….
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