Authors Note: This was born of a rather depressed me. Enough said. I don't think it's tissue-worthy, but you never know.
Disclaimer: I don't own the boys, but I own Kim, her sister Charity, her mom, her brother Victor, and her dad (his name was Keith, before he went and died on me). Don't touch them- Kim'll shoot you, Victor'll crush you, their mom will feed you to death and not one of them is worthy of stealing. So don't touch them!
The woman walked up to the grave with a rose held loosely in one hand and placed it at the base of the simple stone marker.
Hi again, Dad. It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm doing OK. None of the boys have gotten themselves killed yet. They will before long, though, at the rate they're going. I honestly don't get how seven men can cheat death so many times, and I haven't figured out if the devil will dance or break down in tears the day they do die.
I haven't really told told you about the guys, have I? Chris' had a rough time of it, lost his wife and son before he met the rest of the guys, except Buck. They've been friends for forever. He's still getting over it, but he's coming along pretty well. Buck's a lady's man, no doubt about that, but he finally figured out I wasn't game after a few weeks, and he's loyal to a fault. JD's the kid- him'n Buck are the best of friends, and I swear, the kid never stops moving! Josiah's the calming influence, and ex-preacher who seems to have dedicated his life to his penance. His sister's in an institution, and he visits her as often as he can. Nathan just wants to keep us all alive and relatively healthy, him being the doctor, and his wife, Rain, is really nice. Ezra's our gambler and undercover agent. Sometimes I worry about him. After all, you can only wear a mask so long before you start to forget who you were behind the mask in the first place, plus, Ezra's the one getting shot when it isn't Vin. Vin...
Kim smiled at the gravestone
You would've liked Vin. He's Chris' best friend, and they're more like brothers, really, and he's our rock. He can turn any situation, no matter how bad, into something laughable with just a few words. He's the sharpshooter and tracker, and he's the best there is at both, better than Kat and anyone else you can name. He's a million other things too. He's quiet, shy, even, and'd die for any of the guys without a second thought, just as they'd do for them. But, regardless of that, he's perfectly willing to stand up to Chris, which most people wouldn't dare to do, and disobey orders, which nobody would do if it was Chris giving the orders. See, Chris is famous for the 'Larabee Glare', which is known to make known outlaws wet themselves. Vin's a lot of things, he's wild and free as Sanchia was when you first tried to break her, and just as stubborn and untamed. You know when I was a teenager, and I had just started dating, and you told me to never let a guy treat me like rotten? Well, I don't think Vin's capable of treating like I'm anything but perfect. Ezra's a perfect gentleman, and Buck considers women the combination of all things good, and JD's still trying to figure out how to talk to a girl and look at her at the same time, and they all treat any woman like a lady, but Vin... gets me. He understands me. I'm glad. I need someone who can understand me.
Kim didn't move from the graveside as it started to rain, soon drenching her.
Victor's doing fine, but you probably know that. Mama's still overfeeding us, and Charity's still helping her. She doesn't have a boyfriend, but knowing Mama, she'll find one for her youngest soon enough. I'm lucky, I've got Vin for my cover story.
She didn't flinch as she heard someone come up behind her. Before he sat down, he took off his coat and put it around her shoulders. When he had sat down, she leaned against him, resting her head on his chest as one of his arms went around her shoulders.
"I miss him," she said quietly.
"I don't remember a time when he wasn't there for me, and then he was gone, just like that." She didn't say anything more, but when he helped her up, she didn't resist. When she was on her feet, she almost seemed to wake up, looking at his face for the first time since he had walked up. A flash of lightening lit up his face, blue eyes bright with the light. She smiled then, a real grin. "When was the last time you danced in the rain?" He cocked his head to one side, as if she was crazy, and shook it. She took his hand, still grinning, and ran towards the open field they usually kept the horses in, jumping the fence with only a little trouble. They laughed in the rain, and after a little persuasion, Kim got Vin to join her in madly running, leaping and spinning in the rain.
It was about then that her brother Victor looked out the window at the two figures in the field and shook his head.
"Another victim of my sisters madness," he muttered. "Better put the kettle on and stoke up the fire." Sure enough, a few minutes later, a pair of drenched, cold figures stumbled through the door and, sighing, he wrapped them up in warm blankets and gave them mugs of hot chocolate with more marshmallows than any man should see at one time. When they were beginning to thaw out by the fire, Vin looked at Kim, who was smiling contentedly.
"Better?"
"Much."
He's mine, dad. He's mine. Love you.
Kim.
You like? You hate? Tell me! It's the only way I'm gonna get better!
