Magnificent Seven
"Lil' Ones"
Summary: In this Old West Alternate Universe: JD Dunne is seven, Vin Tanner is eight, and Ezra Standish is nine. All three wind up in Four Corners and all three end up in the care of Chris Larabee, who is the town's sheriff. Buck Wilmington is his deputy, Josiah Sanchez is the town's preacher, and Nathan Jackson is the town's doctor.
Author's Note: I have recently found the M7 "little" universe and absolutely loved it, for the most part. I especially loved the "little" Ezra stories. I must admit I have not actually seen the show, but seeing as how this is an AU story that wouldn't (or shouldn't, anyway) matter. I know enough about the characters to make it work–I hope… This will be a sort of blending of the "Little Britches" universe and the "Little Ezra" universe—with my own twist, of course ;) If you like "kid fics" I'd suggest reading these. They are great.
Warning: Spanking of minors. (Naturally, since this is the Old West.)
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I just wrote this story for fun. Enjoy.
Chapter 4: Getting Attached
It was the sensation of warmth that pulled JD from the drowsy half-slumber he'd been in.
Opening his eyes, he found himself in a large bed. The bed was in a room of a house, it appeared, and a nice warm house at that.
Getting up, he strolled to the door and stepped out into the outer room. He found Sheriff Chris Larabee pouring a bucket of steaming hot water into a metal tub sitting in the middle of a sitting room beside a roaring fire place. Despite the fact Winter had past, the nights were still downright cold and so the heat of the fire felt wonderful.
"Well now," Chris said, smiling at the little boy, "I was just about to come get'cha. The bath is good and hot, so go ahead and hop on in while I finish supper."
JD was confused. "Where are we, mister?" he asked, curiously. "I thought you were taking me back to town."
"You'll be going back in the mornin'," Chris assured him, "but for tonight we're stayin' at my ranch."
"You have a ranch?" JD asked, his eyes wide. "Do ya have horses?"
Chris smiled. "Yep," he said, "I sure do. Maybe in the mornin' I'll introduce ya to a couple of 'em. Now, you go ahead and hop on in the tub and I'll get us some grub."
JD eyed the tub of hot water dubiously. He looked down at his dirt stained hands. They didn't look that bad to him. "I ain't really that dirty, Mister," he said, "so we can just skip the bath and get to supper. Okay?"
Chris smirked, raising an eyebrow at him. He seemed to remember pulling this same ploy with his mother once, when he'd been seven. He didn't think he had the heart to just dump the kid into the tub the way his mother had him, or take a switch to his naked behind the way Sarah used to do Adam when he was being stubborn, so he would try a different ploy.
"That's fine," he said, grinning. "You don't have to take a bath…"
JD smiled brightly at the sound of that.
"…but if you don't there won't be any supper," Chris finished, biting the inside of his cheek as the boy's smile dropped into a frown. Got'cha!
JD crossed his arms. "That ain't fair, Mister," he grumbled. "I'm a growin' boy and my mama always said a growin' boy needs to eat."
"She did, did she?" Chris asked, smiling. "Did your mama ever let you at the table covered in dirt from head to toe?"
JD sighed. "No, sir," he said, knowing he had to be honest, "she didn't."
Chris nodded. "Well then," he said, "neither will I. You want to eat, you'll hop in the tub and scrub 'til you shine."
JD sighed, but then smiled. "Can't I jus wash my hands?" he asked, holding up the grubby looking appendages. "I mean, ya don't eat with the rest of your body—just yer hands. I'll make sure my hands are real clean. I promise."
Chris chuckled. He had the give the boy credit, he was pretty good. This was exactly why he'd brought the boy here and not Buck. At that pleading look, his deputy would have melted like heated butter and the boy wouldn't have even washed his hands before getting to eat.
"Nope," he said, firmly. "You either wash all of you or you don't eat. So, what's it going to be, Lil' Britches?"
JD sighed, knowing he'd been beat. "All right," he said, "I'll take the dang bath."
"I thought you would," Chris told him. "You want some help?"
JD blushed and shook his head, firmly. "No, Sir," he said, "I'm a big boy. I can do it myself."
Chris nodded, not wanting to upset the boy. "All right," he said, "go ahead." He gestured to the tub.
"You just gonna stand there and watch?" JD asked, blushing.
"Yep," Chris told him. "Least 'til you get in the tub, and then I'm gonna see about supper."
"Don't you trust me?" JD asked, smiling his most innocent smile.
Chris resisted smiling. "Nope," he told him, bluntly. "Go on."
Scowling, JD began taking off his dirty clothes. Grumbling the entire time, he finally finished stripping and hopped in the tub. As he sank in to sit down, he had to admit the warm water felt really nice. They'd only be allowed cold showers along with way of the journey.
Chris nodded, satisfied the boy would stay put, he headed into the kitchen to rustle them up some supper. It had been awhile since he or Buck had stayed at the ranch—their duties in town usually kept both of them away—so there wasn't too much to choose from that he could cook decently.
He finally settled on scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. He had just finished scrambling the eggs, when he heard JD shout from the living room.
"Mister Sheriff," the boy called, "I'm ready to get out now!"
Dishing the eggs onto plates that already contained bacon and toast, he plopped the plates onto the table and hurried back out to the sittin' room. He found JD already standing up in the tub.
"Hold up there, lil'Britches," he told the boy, grabbing a towel he'd sat on a chair earlier.
The boy crossed his arms. "I ain't wearing britches," he reminded him, grinning.
Chris chuckled. "Would you prefer "Scrawny Tail"? he asked, wrapping the boy up and lifting him out of the tub to dry off.
JD shook his head. "No," he said, wrinkling his nose.
"Then 'Lil'Britches' it is then," the sheriff said, reaching for the night shirt he'd pulled from a trunk with Adam's things in it. It would be a little short on the seven year old, as it was made for a five year old, but it would do for one night at least.
He pulled the nightshirt over the boy's head and examined him closely. He turned his head this way and that to make sure he'd cleaned behind his ears. "You'll do," he said, approvingly.
"Does that mean I can have supper now, Mister?" JD asked, hopefully.
"It sure does, Lil'Britches," Chris said, picking the boy up, "and you don't have to keep callin' me "Mister" or "Mister Sheriff". You can just call me Chris, if you want as long as yer being respectful."
JD nodded. "Okay, Mister Chris," he said.
Chris sighed, and carried the boy into the kitchen. "I hope you like eggs, bacon, and toast," he said, "because that was the only thing I could find for supper."
The moment he'd smelled the food, JD's mouth began to water. "May I go head and start eating?" he asked, licking his lips.
Chris chuckled. He had forgotten how hungry young boys could be. "Yeah," he said, "dig in."
So, the boy did and he followed soon afterward.
Once they were finished, his belly now wonderfully full, JD let out an all mighty yawn that had Chris smiling. "Now that you've had your bath and we've seen to yer belly," he said, "I think it's time for bed."
JD normally would have fought to stay up, but he was just too tired tonight. "All right," he said, getting out of his chair. "Am I gonna have to sleep in the barn?"
Chris chuckled at that. "No, Lil'Britches," he told him, "yer gonna sleep in the house—in that bedroom you were in earlier. C'mon."
JD allowed the sheriff to guide him back into the bedroom he'd first found himself in and pulled the covers back. He then let himself be lifted and put into the bed, the covers pulled tightly up to his chin.
Despite the warmth and comfort of the house and the room, a momentary childish bout of fear descended over the young boy. "Will you be close by?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound like some kind of scare-baby or something.
Chris nodded. "I'm gonna stay right here 'til yer fast asleep, JD," he promised the boy. "How about I read you a story, huh?"
"Can it be about horses?" JD asked, hopefully.
"Sure," Chris said, going over to the small book case and pulling the exact book he'd had in mind to read to the boy. "This here book is called Black Beauty and it's about a horse over there in England. Want to hear about it?"
JD nodded. "Yes, Mister Chris," he said, "please?"
Chris chuckled, and then began to read. He had just finished the first chapter when he glanced up and saw that the little boy was fast asleep. Putting the book on the bedside table, he blew out the lamp and then bent forward to give the boy a kiss on the forehead.
What are you going? He asked himself, realizing what he was doing.
The boy's going back to town in the morning. Don't get attached!
The this troubling thought didn't keep him from finishing the familiar nightly ritual that he'd done with his son countless times in the past. The little boy laying there just wanted to be loved and kept safe. He could provide the second, but he wasn't too sure about the first.
Making his way to his own room, he prepared for bed.
Don't get attached, he told himself as he blew out his lamp and laid back.
As he began to drift off to sleep, he knew it would do no good.
He was already attached…
The next morning, after eating a breakfast of warm oatmeal with some milk and cinnamon, Chris decided to keep JD occupied while they were waiting for Josiah and Nathan to arrive by showing him around the ranch. The boy loved it all, but Chris thought he was going to literally fly away with excitement when they finally got around to the horses.
"They're great, Mister Chris," the horse-crazed seven year exclaimed, "and look, they've got babies!" He pointed to where several colts were nursing from their mothers.
Chris chuckled, feeling the shadow of his long held grief drift further away from him. It had been too long since he just enjoyed hearing the sound of a child's excitement or laughter. JD had plenty of both in spades.
"Yep, they do," he said, "and lookee over there." He pointed to the small black colt that had a perfect white patch like a star in the center of his forehead and four white "socks" on his lower legs.
JD gasped at the sight of him. "It's him," he said, "it's the horse I've always wanted!"
Chris smiled even more and he bent down. "Would you really like to have him?" he asked the boy, gently.
JD nodded, his head going up and down so hard that it was a wonder he didn't hurt himself. "Oh yes, Mister Chris," he said, "may I, please!? I'll pay you…somehow!"
Chris patted his shoulder. "I'll tell you what," he said, "why don't I show you how to muck out the barn. You can do that for me and the colt is yours. Does that sound fair?"
JD nodded enthusiastically again. "Oh, yes Sir," he said, "more-n-fair!"
Chris chuckled. "Great," he said, nodding his head toward the barn, "c'mon."
After showing the lad what to do, he stepped back and watched him get to it. Given the kid's small size, he would more than likely miss some rather large piles of manure, but that was all right. He (Chris) could come back tonight after the boy was asleep and finish it up.
He's going back to town soon, he reminded himself.
No, he's not.
With those three words, he realized what he intended to do. Whether he had wanted this before last night or not, he was determined to give this little boy a home and family. He had no one, the kid had no one, so they would be something to each other.
The sound of horses alerted him to the fact that Josiah and Nathan must have arrived. "You keep workin', Lil'Britches," he told JD, "I'll be right back."
He went out to greet his friends. "Mornin'," he greeted the pastor and the doctor.
"Good morning, Brother Chris," Josiah said. "I do hope little Mister Dunne didn't run you ragged last night?"
Chris smiled. "Nope," he said, "me and Lil'Britches got on just fine."
"Where is the lad?" Nathan asked. "Any ouches need tending?"
"He might have a few after mucking out the barn," he told them, smiling, "which is what he's doing."
"Put him to work already, have you?" Josiah said, smirking.
Chris shrugged. "It won't hurt him none," he said, "and he's doin' it for a reason. I've promised him one of my colts for doing it."
"A chore for a colt?" Josiah asked, grinning. "Which one?"
Chris pointed out the little one JD had his heart on. "Have you told him that he is too small to leave his mother yet?" he asked, knowingly.
Chris shook his head. "Nope," he said, "no reason to."
"Oh," Josiah said, "then what will you do?"
"I reckon," Chris said, "that the two of them will just have to grow up side by side."
Josiah and Nathan grinned at each other.
"Does this mean," the pastor asked, "that Mary and I can stop looking for a home for young JD?"
Chris looked back toward the barn, and smiled. "Yep, Brother Jo," he said, "I reckon it does 'cuz Lil'Britches already has one. Right here."
Josiah smiled. Lord, you do work in mysterious ways!
"Somehow," the pastor said, his eyes twinkling. "I knew you were going to say that."
TBC…