Day 2

Larabee Ranch

5:45 a.m. MDT

Martin quietly eased out of his room—Buck's room, actually—and made his way to the kitchen, where the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee indicated Vin was awake. He accepted the offered cup, and took a large sip before speaking.

"I'm normally a morning person, but four hours of sleep will do just about anybody in," he muttered.

"Still on eastern time, huh?" Vin chuckled.

"Problem is, I'll finally get on mountain time just in time to leave," Martin complained.

"Ah, but tell me ya haven't been lookin' forward to this for months," challenged Vin.

Martin ceded this point, and they finished their coffee and headed out to the barn. Vin checked Peso's leg, and satisfied that it would be fine for a ride, pulled him out of the stall. Martin tied Jake in the hall and began brushing the cedar flakes off his coat. In short order, the horses were saddled and led out into the increasing daylight.

Vin lead Martin out through the south pasture, going at an easy pace so they could enjoy the rising sun. Though it was only August, a few of the trees were beginning to take on a golden hue; the orange glow of the sun rise made them look as if they were on fire.

As they rode, Martin noticed that though his brother seemed verbally silent, Vin was working on something in his mind.

"Penny for your thoughts," Martin offered.

"I been thinkin' there are questions we ain't even come close to answered, yet," Vin answered.

"I think I know what you mean," Martin replied. "The more I think about it, there are way more questions than answers."

"Not the least of which is, why did Victor go all the way to Texas to adopt a kid when he could have done that in DC?"

Martin cast a hesitant glance at his brother. "I have a theory about that, but I don't like it."

Martin didn't continue and Vin didn't push, knowing Martin would fill him in when he was ready. They continued on as the sun crept higher in the sky. Finally, they stopped by a small lake to give the horses a chance to take a breather. Ground tying the horses, the twins sat watching the horizon past the water as it faded from bright orange.

"I'm not blind to Victor's faults," Martin spoke up after several minutes. "You of all people should know that. I learned years ago that he didn't get where he is by being nice. I've seen his ruthless side more than once, and risked losing my job for standing up to him."

Vin let Martin vent, quietly listening. Victor was a touchy subject for Martin, who considered the older man separating the brothers as the straw that broke the camel's back. So the two never talked about it, but Vin realized that Martin needed to get this out.

"When I was eight, I remember a huge fight he and Mom had. I don't remember what all was said, but I know they were arguing about a person, a woman. At the time, I didn't know what was going on; I just wanted them to stop fighting. Once I was grown, I figured it out. Victor was having an affair, and I know it wasn't his only one. I just keep thinking, what if he had had an affair with our mother?"

Martin's question hit Vin like a punch to the gut. The thought had never even crossed his mind.

"No, there's no way," Vin denied. "There's no way Mamma woulda cheated on Dad."

"I'm not saying she did," Martin disclaimed. "It's just that, with Victor's track record, I couldn't help but wonder."

Vin sat and thought for a minute. He didn't believe Martin's theory to be true, but he wanted to be sure.

"I've got a couple of Mamma's journals from back then," he suggested. "There may be somethin' in 'em to shed some light on the situation."

"Maybe, but we can deal with that tomorrow," Martin decided. "Today's our birthday. Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say," Martin added, shaking his head. "Today we'll put up with whatever the boys have planned."

"I'm just gonna warn ya, I have no idea what the boys have planned, but they been plannin' it for over a month, since I told 'em ya were comin' out here."

"Bring it," Martin confidently declared. "I've worked with Danny for five years. I can handle anything."

Don' be so sure 'bout that, Vin thought with a smirk.

Martin sent his twin a surprised look, You don't agree?

You've never experienced JD on a sugar rush, Vin shot back. Survive that, then we'll talk.

Martin laughed outright at that. He'd been around the brothers long enough to bear witness to JD's momentary ADHD tendencies, but then again, the kid was usually sober.

"Well, the boys aren't the only ones excited about today," Martin admitted.

Vin took a moment to study Martin, and could easily see his eagerness. He felt a quick pang of sympathy for his brother. Martin's childhood had been spent with Victor grooming him for greatness, punctuated by all too brief visits with Bonnie Toland, the only person outside of Katherine who made Martin feel as if he really belonged to a family. Birthdays were nothing more than another engagement used to further your social standing. Vin, on the other hand, had spent ten birthdays in various foster homes where it was never something to celebrate. Now, both brothers had found their places, and family that genuinely cared about them.

"Hey, quit thinkin' like that," Martin admonished, having "heard" his brother's thoughts. "So what if our childhoods sucked? We're together and living our own lives now. That's all that matters."

By now, the horizon was a clear blue as the sun rose higher in the sky. The twins sat there for a moment longer before remounting and turning back to the ranch. Martin cast a look at Vin, and the latter read his thoughts easily. Adjusting his seat in the saddle, Vin gathered the reins.

Last one back does the dishes.

And with that, they spurred the horses into a gallop, racing neck and neck back to the barn.

10:00 a.m. MDT

Breakfast had been fairly quiet, made up of only the brothers, Chris, and Samantha. The rest of the seven would be back later in the day. Now, Martin found Samantha in the den, looking at all the pictures of the seven.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," he said, entering the room.

"These guys make it hard to be bored," she replied, sitting in one of the armchairs.

Martin laughed, taking a seat on the sofa, "They're certainly somethin' else."

"It's hard to believe you've only been around them once before. You fit right in with them."

"They make it easy," he shrugged. "When Chris first formed Team Seven, he pulled in guys from every walk of life. He and Buck had been Navy Seals before they joined Denver PD. Josiah had been in the Army and then Kansas City PD, where he met up with Nathan. Ezra was a Fed in Atlanta. JD actually came out here from Boston when he heard about a crack ATF team being formed."

"And what about Vin?" Samantha asked.

"Vin's record has more blacked out places than a JFK flight manifest on Christmas Eve. He was in the Army Rangers and was a bounty hunter for the Marshals before Chris got to him."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive," Samantha noted. She paused, cocking her head as she looked at Martin. "Although, if you two weren't identical, I wouldn't think you were related."

"Really?" Martin asked. This threw him off. The seven had pegged him for Vin's brother quickly, but not because of their appearance. "How so?"

"Well, you two are so different," she continued. "You were raised in completely different environments, and it shows. Vin's much more cautious, more rugged, less comfortable around crowds. You on the other hand tend to leap head first into things, are more refined, and are more suited to social situations."

Martin laughed. While Samantha was correct, to an extent, there were many more layers to Vin Tanner than she had thus far been able to pick up on. He was glad they were staying for a couple more days, if only for the chance for her to get to know Vin better.

"Remember that," he said, standing. "You may just change your mind."

7:00 p.m. MDT

Martin quickly realized that this would be unlike any birthday party he'd ever had. Aside from the seven, there were several more in attendance. Nathan's wife Rain, JD's girlfriend Casey Wells and her aunt Nettie, Mary Travis and her son Billy, and Inez Recillos made up the extra bodies. Martin had met all of them to some degree during his previous visit, and it was clear that even these were willing to accept him simply because Vin had.

Martin managed to slip back from the conversation and take in the new faces. Casey was obviously crazy about JD, and he reciprocated, but Martin was well aware of the young man's tendency to plant his foot squarely in his mouth. If JD could gather his wits long enough to propose, Martin did not doubt that she'd say yes. Nettie had her hands full with those two, but from what Vin had told him, the older woman could handle anything.

Inez playfully bantered with each of the guys, easily parrying verbal blows. She blew Buck off at every opportunity. But despite the big man's philandering ways, there was no doubt in Martin's mind that he genuinely cared about Inez. It would only be a matter of time.

Chris and Mary were a whole other animal. A blind man could see the feelings those two held for each other, but both were too proud to admit it. Martin had no idea if they would ever stop dancing around it. But it was plain to see how much little Billy adored the ATF team leader.

His gaze drifted over to Samantha. Martin couldn't help but smile at the sight. She was sandwiched between Rain and Inez, the other two undoubtedly picking her for details on Martin. Vin noticed this as well, and grinned.

Should I be worried? Martin asked, unsure what the two women could be asking his former beau.

Maybe, Vin shrugged. They know when to be discrete, but be glad you're goin' back to New York. I'm the one that's gonna have to put up with them after this.

"Hey, guys, conversation's back here," JD announced.

"How?" Martin asked, astounded. It continued to amaze him how the seven were able to tell when he and Vin were "talking".

"Chris an' Vin have been don' that since the day they met," Buck explained.

"It would have been a terrible lapse in observation had we been unable to detect their mode of silent communication," Ezra continued.

Of course. Martin had forgotten that Chris was able to "talk" to Vin the same way he could. He briefly wondered what it was like for his brother to have two completely different people's thoughts floating around in his mind.

"Must get crowded," Martin considered.

"Nah, it's just background noise," his twin replied. "It ain't as strong with Chris as it is with you, but I can tune you out easily enough."

"Okay, next question. How do you control it? I'm not hearin' everything you think, so how do you control who hears what?"

"That I can't say," Vin shrugged. "Never really had to worry 'bout it before. I had to think to talk to Chris, or to keep him out."

"Guess it's somethin' I'll just have to work at."

Nettie and Josiah announced dinner was ready, and the party moved in to the large dining room. While dinner the night before had been a rambunctious affair, it had by no means prepared Samantha for a full family dinner. Most notably, it was loud. Very loud. Multiple conversations going on at once, the ladies glad to have Martin and Vin together at once to pepper with questions.

Samantha watched with fascination as the brothers returned volleys with the ladies. Where before she had not believed the two anything alike, she now saw those differences fade and the line between Vin and Martin blurred. It startled her that she had not seen it before. With the two of them together, their voices blended together. They finished each other's sentences; one picked up where the other left off. Martin had been right, there was much more to Vin than what was on the surface.

After dinner, Nettie enlisted Buck and JD to help clear out what remained of dinner, banishing the rest to the den. Samantha's offers of help were not heeded, and she was directed out of the kitchen. Still not completely comfortable with inserting herself among the others, she hung back near the hallway.

"You finally see it, don't you?" came a voice from behind her, causing her to jump. She looked back to see Chris standing just behind her, and took a moment to wonder that she hadn't heard him.

"See what?" she asked, thoughts still scrambling from being startled.

"The similarity," he clarified, but not needing to say what similarity. "Took you a while to see it. I guess it's understandable for an outsider to take a bit longer. We were really the only family Vin's had since he and Martin were split up. We know Vin so well that the things we're used to seeing in him stood out clearly in Martin."

"I guess I just had this idea of Martin Fitzgerald, the Deputy Director's son who grew up in DC society, that I had a hard time seeing anything else, even though I know he rejected pretty much anything his father put in front of him. But I like the Martin I see here."

"We never had any expectations of him, so he's been able to be anything he wants to be. He could be the DC socialite, or he could be the man who's made his own way in life."

"I thought I'd gotten rid of the idea that he was his father's puppet, but I guess a few shreds of that were still hanging on."

"It's never too late to change that," Chris pointed out before walking past and leaving Samantha to her thoughts once more.