Pairing: Chris Larabee/Vin Tanner (implied)
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Ghosts of the Confederacy

*****

The sound of gunshots brought the blonde, middle-aged man out of his own thoughts. He had thought, even hoped, that today he would not have to hear that sound. It made him think, just like the intoxication of whiskey helped him not to think. He'd already downed some despite the early hour of the day, but with no regrets. What would be the use of regrets, anyway, at this point in his life? He had one thing to live for, and one thing only. After that, anything could happen as far as he was concerned. To himself, and in general.

Still, curiosity took over, and the man slowly walked out of the saloon. Outside, the gunshots were still heard, implicating that something was obviously going on. Nonchalantly, he asked an old man who sat outside the saloon if the town was always this lively, but he barely took notice of the old man's reply. Whatever was going on, it was bound not to be anything that he hadn't been through already. With one exception. Most commotions didn't have a beautiful, blonde woman interfering. The blonde man watched her, somewhat impressed, but not quite sure whether to find her brave or stupid. Whichever, vigorous though her attempt was, she failed, one of the riders kicking her rifle from her hands.

A black man, accused of having murdered someone, was taken away by force, with no chance to prove his innocence, or his guilt. It happened all the time, in all towns, but for God knew what reason, the blonde man had thought maybe this place would be just a bit different. Looking around at the people in the street, their ignorant attitudes, he could see it was no different at all here, one woman interfering or not.

Across the street, a young man with curly hair walked inside the hardware store and came out a few seconds later, a rifle in his hands. The blonde man watched him, realising that the two of them seemed to have the same idea. When the young man caught his eye, he nodded, waiting to get an affirmative nod in return, then began walking after the posse heading for the outskirts of town. Stealing a quick glance at the young man, the blonde man soon looked away. There was something special about him, something that he could not define. He was pretty, but at the same time rough looking, a combination not too common among the men around here. The blonde man suspected that the rough looking part was mostly for show, and he understood it. With a shave, he'd look too young, too pretty, and he'd get in trouble, more trouble than the blonde man assumed he already got himself into.

He didn't know why he even bothered to think about things like that, though. If this town didn't find him the answers he was looking for, at least some of them, he'd leave just as soon as he'd come, so there was no use in making friends. He kept thinking though, walking alongside the young man. Before long, they had reached the place of the hanging. The hanging that wouldn't be, if things went the way they were supposed to. They did, but not without blood shed and lives lost. Not his life, though, not the young man's, and not the black man's, which was what counted. Then from out of nowhere, another young man, even younger than the one by his side, came riding, yelling something, trying to shoot one of the fleeing men in the back. The one thing that you don't do. The blonde man told him this, then turned his attention back to his newly found partner. Partner for the day, if nothing else. They had worked together well, something that had been a while since he had experienced. He hesitated just a second, then introduced himself.

"My name is Chris."

"Vin Tanner. New in town?"

"Yesterday. You?"

"Last week."

"Buffalo hunter?"

"Among other things. Not many left to hunt."

Chris was just about to ask what other things he meant, when the black man asked them to help him loose. Just then, the blonde woman turned up, looking agitated. Why, he had no idea. She wasn't the one who had just risked her life in a storm of lead. He and Vin had, not to mention their black friend who had almost lost his life when he'd had to hang from the rope till Vin had shot it broke. Whatever she wanted, she could come find him at a better time.

*

Just as Buck Wilmington was about to ask his old friend Chris how he knew about him being in town, he saw a young man approaching them. Approaching Chris. He kept talking to his old partner, out of the corner of his eye seeing how the young man didn't stop at what would be considered safe distance from a man like Larabee. Buck had been friends with Chris long enough that he dared hug him the way he just had, a simple show of affection for a friend he hadn't seen in a long time. But hell, if he'd invaded Chris's personal space in their early days of acquaintance the way this kid did now, he'd probably got a severe beating. Him throwing himself in Chris's arms today was apparently bad enough, considering Chris's reaction. Buck figured Chris and the kid must have obviously met somewhere quite a while back and ridden together since. Just then, the kid spoke, asking him if he's with them, his husky voice betraying his appearance of youth. He looked like a kid, but was a young man. This wasn't less puzzling for Buck, though. Chris usually, if not always, rode exclusively with men his own age, or just a bit younger.

"He with you?" Buck asked Chris, rather unnecessarily.

His friend nodded, and Buck noticed that there was something in his eyes, some glint that he hadn't seen there in a while. He looked content, somehow. Trying to regain control over his thoughts, Buck asked if there would be ladies where they were going. It was just a question, one whose answer was not of importance, he was just interested in seeing Chris's reaction. Not much of a reaction, though, just a quick answer, then he turned to his younger companion. Buck watched them smile at each other for a while, then spoke.

"Chris, can I talk to you?" He looked down on the ground for a moment, then nodded his head towards the young man. "Privately?"

Chris looked at him, something impenetrable in his eyes, then turned to his younger friend, "Could you wait here a while, Vin?"

They walked away, leaving enough distance between themselves and Vin that he wouldn't be able to hear. Buck turned around once, looking at Vin. He was standing where they had left him, looking around the streets, his hands on his narrow hips. Before Buck turned around again, he realised that his mind unconsciously had registered Vin's looks, which were too good. Too good for a man. Closing his eyes briefly, he tried to think of what to say, and how to say it. He also wondered why he should say anything, ask anything, at all. It wasn't any of his business, and he'd probably find out sooner or later anyway. This was sooner, and just when he realised that he probably didn't want to know anyway, Chris's voice was heard.

"So, Buck, what did you want to talk about?" Chris looked at Vin, meeting his eyes for just a second before the young man lowered them, looking somewhere else. Wondering briefly why Vin did that, he quickly kept talking to Buck instead. "It must be something secret, I guess, since you didn't want Vin to hear."

"Not secret, really, just..." Buck's voice trailed off, and he tried to think of some other topic of conversation that he could use for this situation that he had put himself in, but no such came to him. Sure, he could keep asking Chris how he'd been since they last saw each other and all that, but why couldn't he have done that with Vin listening? The only option he had was to just ask what he'd intended from the start. "Well, I know I already asked you this, but..." He took a deep breath, then went on, "Is he with you?"

Chris looked at him questioningly. "Yeah. Or, with us now, I guess."

Buck looked at his boots, not quite wanting to meet Chris's eyes. "No, I mean, is he with you?"

"Buck, honestly, I don't quite get what you're saying," Chris said, truthfully. Buck had never been one to talk in circles, so what he was on about now, Chris had no idea.

"Forget it, Chris." Buck looked up at Chris, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. "It ain't none of my business anyway."

"Probably ain't, but I still don't..." Chris felt a surge of anger, and something more, something that he'd rather not define, when it dawned on him what Buck was trying to ask. "Buck, what the fuck... what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, Chris," he said. "My eyes in particular are working just fine," he added, a bit defensively.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, trying to rein his anger.

"Chris, when he walked up behind you, the way he stood beside you..." Buck saw that Chris didn't quite understand what he meant. "Oh, fuck, Chris, all that was missing was that he'd taken hold of your hand, and I'd have had the perfect couple standing in front of me. Perfect, in all aspects but one..." he finished, prepared for any reaction. But Chris just stared at him.

"Buck, first of all, I'm not like that, which you know," Chris said. He was ready to throw himself over Buck and beat him senseless for what he'd just implied, but Vin was still waiting for him, and was likely to have questions anyway. He had no intention of adding to it. "Secondly, I've just met Vin, and you're going on as if I've known him for ages."

Buck looked honestly surprised at this. "You just met him?"

"Yeah. I met him today."

"You sure could have fooled me," Buck said. "You did fool me," he corrected himself.

"It seems I did, Buck," Chris said simply. He was prepared to forget this conversation if Buck would just let go of it. "Why don't you go get your horse ready, and we'll meet back here in ten, okay?"

"Sure." Buck began walking towards where he'd tied his horse. Willing himself to shut up, just for once, he lost, and as he turned around again it slipped out, "He's cute as hell, though..."

Chris stopped, but didn't turn around. He looked at Vin instead, his small yet strong looking body, his long hair, his sweet face crowned with blue eyes and a beautiful, slightly arcane smile. "Interesting that you've noticed, Buck," he said, then kept walking. "Because I haven't," he lied.

"Problem?" Vin asked.

"No," Chris said, walking past him, barely acknowledging him.

A bit puzzled, Vin turned around and followed him. "Good. It looked like you were a bit upset there for a while, though," he said, watching Larabee's black clad figure walk towards their horses.

"I wasn't. Everything's fine."

*

Chris Larabee couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Buck come riding with the young dark-haired kid from the day before. What was he doing here, and what was Buck doing with him? If Buck had caught sight of the youngster, which it was quite obvious that he had, couldn't he just have told him to ride back where he came from? It would have saved Chris the trouble from having to do it. There was something about Buck with the kid around though, Chris noticed. He figured that his old friend wanted a young protégé, but he wished he could choose them a bit more carefully. This boy wasn't someone who Chris wanted to have around, he was way too jumpy and trigger happy. Only a bit younger than Vin, Chris thought, but much more inexperienced, and most likely much less reliable. Chris glanced at Vin, trying to see what his reaction to the kid was, but more than anything Vin seemed amused. Chris had to admit that Buck's and the kid's, JD was it?, performance a few seconds ago was indeed quite funny, but in life or death situations, funny didn't cut it.

"Go home, you're not the type," Chris said, displaying no emotion whatsoever. Kids like this one popped up from time to time, but he'd never really had to deal with any of them before. He wanted to get it over and done with quickly.

"A man comes to you because he respects you, 'cause he'd be proud to work with you. This is how you treat him?" the kid said, his voice and posture a mix of defiance and devastation. He looked like someone who had been insulted but wasn't sure if he really had a right to remonstrate.

"Go home, kid," Chris said, hoping that the young man would get it this time. He thought he was making himself perfectly clear, but it seemed his language was hard to understand. And then their indian friend started talking about the kid being young and proud, a cliché whose signification could kill. He was trying to save a young man's life here, but no one noticed. Leaving the others to themselves, Chris began walking away, wanting some time for himself. He'd been sitting on a rock just outside the indian village for a few minutes when he heard someone behind him. He turned his head around briefly, not surprised to see that it was Vin. "Something wrong?" he asked in a tone that he knew was unnecessarily harsh.

Vin looked at him, trying not to smile. Chris did work hard at pushing people away. They had something in common that way, except Vin usually didn't push people away, he just stayed away from them, period. He had done up until now, anyway, and it hadn't been his intention to stay in the town and hook up with a bunch of men and do a job with them. He'd only intended to work in the hardware store till he had enough money to last him for a while, then move on. And the only reason he'd agreed at all was because he'd have some more time with Chris, whatever it would lead to. Probably nothing, he thought sadly, then said, "No, nothing's wrong. I was just gonna check if you're all right..."

Chris looked at Vin, noticed his sudden shyness. They hadn't known each other for more than a day, and Chris had learned that Vin was the silent type. But shy? His voice a little softer, he said, "I'm fine, Vin." He got up from the rock, and began walking towards Vin, whose eyes were still downcast. When he reached him, he put his hand briefly on his shoulder, and they began walking back into the village. "We're gonna have to discuss how we're gonna go about things when Anderson and his gang arrives," he said, by way of conversation.

"Yeah, we don't wanna be unprepared for that..."

"You nervous about it?" Chris asked him. He usually never asked any men he worked with whether they were nervous or not. He usually didn't care, and if he did, it was mostly because he wanted to know how much backup he could expect, and how much on his own he was. But there was just something about Vin that made him ask that question, and he really cared about the answer.

Vin glanced at him sideways. "Not really. I've been through worse."

Chris wanted to ask him about it, but he knew it was probably a bit too early for them to share their lives' stories. "Yeah..." he said, simply. "After we've done discussing, do you think you can try and teach some of the people in the village how to handle a gun?"

"A shooting lesson?" Vin said, smiling. "I think that could be arranged."

"Good." Chris smiled back. They walked in silence for a while, but Chris could sense that there was something on Vin's mind. "Something you wanna ask me, Vin?" When he saw Vin's surprised look, he added jokingly, "I know you want to, I can feel it in the air."

Vin looked at him and smiled. "I'm impressed."

"I'm glad," Chris said, hoping the conversation would soon take a safer and more neutral turn. He wasn't ready yet to admit out loud that there was a bond between them that made him feel when there was something unsaid. "So, what is it?"

Vin looked straight forward again, shrugging his shoulders. "I just thought... you were a bit hard on the kid, weren't you?"

Chris studied Vin's profile, attempting to tell by his expression, what little he saw of it, if he was really serious. "Are you saying that he's someone you'd feel safe around? You think he'd watch your back?"

Vin shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think he would actually. He's on the right side anyway."

"I know he'd be on our side, Vin, that's not the point."

"No?"

"Look, Vin, if you wanna tell me I did the wrong thing not letting him join us, just tell me straight out, okay?" Chris said, a bit testily.

"Hey, don't get upset with me," Vin said, a trifle hurt. "All I'm saying is, you don't see that kind of enthusiasm often."

They were in the middle of the indian village by now, and Chris saw Buck and some of the rest watching them. He didn't care about the rest, but he could live without any more comments from Buck, so he figured he'd just let Vin win this argument, to avoid a scene for Buck to interpret in his own way. Chris had a hard time picturing Vin causing a scene, but he wanted to be on the safe side. And maybe Vin had a point, anyway. "I guess he was pretty enthusiastic," he admitted. "But he's gone now, so it doesn't matter, does it?"

"I guess not..."

"Let it go, Vin. We have work to concentrate on," Chris said, beginning to walk towards the others. He sat down, and together with Josiah and the indian chief, they began planning.

*

Larabee walked up behind Buck, having heard his little tirade. They were there to do a job, not mess around with the women of the village. "No harm will come to your women," he said to the elders. He watched Vin who was standing in front of them some distance away. As far as Chris was aware, Vin hadn't flirted with any of the women here, which he'd seen some of the others do. In particular Buck. He asked Buck to follow him, then walked away.

"What is it, Chris? What did I do now?" Buck said, feigning innocence.

"How hard can it be to leave the ladies alone, Buck? Just for once?" Chris said.

"Well, I will, Chris, didn't I just say that?"

"No you didn't, Buck. I had to tell them that their women are safe," Chris corrected him.

Buck snorted. "For God's sake, Chris. You make it sound as if I'd do something to them against their will."

"I know you wouldn't, Buck, it's not that. You just gotta realise that the women here aren't like the women you usually socialize with."

"'The women I usually socialize with'," Buck mimicked. "What's that supposed to mean? You saying I'm not a gentleman?"

Chris rolled his eyes. Buck had always been a bit over sensitive when it concerned him and his interaction with women, and it seemed he still was. "I do know you can be when you want to, Buck, but that's not the point. These women don't want anything from you, and you can't give them anything they want. Just face it, Buck. Besides, most of them are a bit young, aren't they?"

Buck looked at him, then rather meaningly looked towards Vin, who stood talking to Nathan. "Well, you know, some of us like 'em young. Don't we, Chris?" he finished, trying to look nonchalant.

"We back to that again, are we?" Chris said, managing to control his temper. If he'd lose it with Buck, he'd do it somewhere else. Not here, with half the village around.

"Hmm?" Buck said, knowing he was pushing Chris too far. He couldn't say he wasn't having fun, though. He believed Chris when he said he and Vin had just met, but he couldn't believe that there was nothing between them. Maybe nothing right now, but something was definitely happening, whether Chris and Vin themselves realised it or not. Repulsive as the thought was, when Buck didn't think of what two men actually did with each other in private it was really quite amusing. "He's awfully pretty," he said, once more looking at Vin.

Chris looked at Vin too, his anger rising. "You've already commented on Vin's looks, Buck," he said.

"Oh, but it's so hard not to comment on it. Not many men as cute as that have crossed my path. And you know how much fun you can have with longhaired women. I just assumed the same goes for longhaired men," Buck said.

Chris took a deep breath, then released it slowly. "Well, I wouldn't know," he said. "Just drop it, Buck. Leave the women here alone, and leave Vin alone, okay?" Chris began walking away from Buck, hoping this was the last they would have of this conversation, but knowing it wasn't.

"Not that I'd want to, but I wouldn't dare touch Vin," Buck said, then walked away smiling before Chris could reply, content that he'd got the last word. That didn't happen a lot with Chris.

Chris stopped and turned around slowly, but Buck was already so far away from him that he'd have to yell for him to hear anything, and then everyone would hear. Vin and Nathan were still talking, and Chris could feel Vin's eyes on him when he walked past. He heard Vin ask him if he was all right, but he didn't turn around to reply, just raised a hand in what he hoped was a silent, reassurring answer, and kept walking.

*

They had been sitting in silence for a while when Vin began telling Chris some about himself. Chris had come up here solely because he wanted some time alone with Vin, silent or talking, but there was something ominous about the way Vin spoke, and Chris knew he wasn't about to hear some nice childhood story. When Vin told him he'd get five hundred dollars if he took his dead body to Tascosa, Chris felt as if his heart had got stuck in his throat, but he did his best not to show any reaction. "How come you're so valuable?" he asked, not realising himself the tenderness his voice held.

Vin turned his attention from his spyglass and looked at Chris. Valuable. It had been quite some time since someone referred to him as valuable. Loner though he was, not wanting to have any bonds to other people, he got all warm inside. Not just from what Chris had said, but from the way he'd said it. Had he meant to sound so caring? Vin wasn't sure and he quickly kept talking. Before long, he'd told Chris all about the Eli Joe business, something that he'd never told anyone before. It would be too much of a risk, considering most people would do just about anything for five hundred dollars. "So I figured, if a friend collects, I get the last laugh," he finished.

Chris smiled, the warmth of hearing Vin call him a friend spreading throughout his body. And still, it felt so wrong. He looked at Vin who was sitting watching the surroundings with his spyglass. He had a knot in his stomach from what he'd just been told. The younger man had a bounty on his head, for something he hadn't even done. If things went wrong, and so many things could, the younger man would be hanged for something he wasn't guilty of. Chris felt sick, but tried to keep his voice steady. "Well, let's make sure that day never comes."

Vin put his spyglass down on the ground beside him. "Yeah. But I wanted you to know. I don't want just anyone collecting money for my body."

"I'm glad you think I'm not just anyone," Chris ventured saying, looking at Vin. When their eyes met, Chris could see that shyness again before Vin looked down. He reluctantly had to admit that Buck was right, Vin was awfully pretty. For a man, Chris told himself. For a man. A man that he had no business sitting here letting his guard down with. Especially not when these thoughts kept popping up in his head.

"I don't," Vin said in a low voice. He hadn't quite meant it that way, but it had still come out so right. He glanced at Chris and saw that he seemed about to get up and leave. "So, you still worried about JD?" he said quickly, changing the subject and at the same time keeping Chris around for a while longer. He already knew that this was a bond he wouldn't want to leave, and solitude would never be quite the same again. He could only hope that Chris felt the same, felt the connection between them.

"JD?" Chris said, thankful that Vin had kept the conversation going. He himself hadn't known what more to say. "I guess he might not be so bad. We'll see. And like I told him, if he wants to die young..."

"I think he'll do fine," Vin said.

"Let's hope. You usually a good judge of character?" Chris asked.

Vin looked down on his hands, twisting them around. "Quite often," he said eventually. "I usually know what people I should stay away from."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But then, I usually stay away from everyone." Vin laughed a little. "So maybe I'm not a good judge of character at all. Everyone can't be that bad."

Chris smiled. "No, but you're right not taking any risks. Especially now. We don't want anything happening to you, do we?"

"Guess not," Vin said, wondering who 'we' were. He? He and Chris? He, Chris and the rest? He hoped 'we' was Chris.

They stopped talking for a while. Vin tried to think of something more to say. He didn't want Chris to get up and leave just yet. It was getting dark, and he liked the older man's company, liked having him near. He thought back to when he'd first seen Chris, when their eyes had met, a street and lots of people between them but none of them had seen anyting but the other man. The agreement they had made by just nodding at each other, it had been close to unreal. Vin shook his head almost imperceptibly, trying not to think too much of that. They were gonna do this job, it could be over within days, then they'd probably go their separate ways. Vin had taken a liking to the other five men as well, even though he'd noticed that Buck seemed to have something against him, but right now it felt as if it wouldn't care much if he ever saw them again or not. But Chris. Chris was someone he wanted to stay with. He didn't know how that would happen though, or what would happen if they did stay together. All he knew was that he didn't want to say goodbye.

Chris looked at Vin, seeing that he was deeply immersed in his own thoughts. He got up and stretched a little. He'd been sitting still for over half an hour now, and one of his legs had decided to fall asleep on him during that time.

Vin looked up at Chris, a rush of sadness washing over him. He guessed their time together was over for today then. "You leaving?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"No. I just needed to move my body a bit. But I can go, if you'd rather be alone."

"No," Vin said, a bit too quickly, then calmed his feelings down. "No," he repeated, "Stay if you want to." He picked up his spyglass, and scanned the surroundings for a moment before putting it down on the ground beside him.

"You don't have to sit here all night, you know," Chris said gently.

"I'm not tired," Vin said.

"Maybe you're not tired now, but you'll probably be tomorrow if you don't get any sleep tonight."

"Don't worry. I'm used to not sleeping much."

"Was it always like that, or is that since you got that bounty on your head?" Chris asked.

"Always," Vin said, "But even more since the bounty thing, I guess."

Chris sat down again, deliberately closer to Vin. "Well, why don't you try and doze off some while I'm here then? I'll keep watch."

Vin looked at Chris, wondering if the tender side of this man was shown to all of his new acquaintances, or if he was special that way. He smiled, a bit sadly. It would be nice to be special to someone, to Chris, but he doubted it would happen. Still, the thought was appealing.

"Did I say something funny?" Chris asked, seeing Vin smile.

"No, I... I just thought of something," Vin said.

"Well, if it's something funny and you don't mind sharing, please do. I can always use a good laugh."

"It wasn't funny," Vin said. Not funny at all. "But I'll remember that."

Silence once more settled between them. Chris realised that this silence between him and Vin was one that he could handle. It wasn't uncomfortable at all, not the way it more often than not were with other people. He looked at Vin who sat watching the horizon, occasionally picking up his spyglass, but apparently not seeing anything worth reporting. "You still not tired?" he asked.

"Not really," Vin said. "Are you?"

"No. I don't sleep that much either."

Vin looked at him, but decided not to ask. If Chris wanted to tell him something about himself, he was likely to do that when he felt ready. "Do you think the others have gone to sleep?" he asked, mostly to have something to say.

"I think so. Except for Ezra, maybe. He's probably luring some of the indians into gambling of some sort," Chris said, smiling.

Vin laughed. "Good thing they don't have any money to gamble with then."

"Yeah," Chris said, then sunk into his own thoughts for a while. There was something that had been on his mind since the first time he'd seen Vin. It was probably nothing, and he was probably wrong, but he had to ask. "You know, Vin," he began, "There's something I've been wondering about..."

"Yeah?" Vin looked at him curiously. "What's that?"

"I have this feeling that you and I've met..."

"We have met, Chris," Vin said, smiling.

Chris smiled back. "I know we've met now, Vin. I meant, you seem familiar somehow. You sure we haven't bumped into each other in some town somewhere?"

Vin thought about this, then said, "No, we haven't."

"I get a bit drunk sometimes," Chris said, a touch of guilt in his voice. "It feels like I've talked to you before, but I'm thinking maybe it happened during one of my less sober periods." Chris shrugged. "I guess I'm wrong."

It was rather dark now, and Vin could only see the older man's profile, but that was enough for him to notice the troubled expression on his face. This was a man with a lot on his mind, that became more and more obvious. And Vin wanted to know it all. It was disquieting to hear about Chris's drinking problems, but it only strengthened Vin's affection for him, his will to stick by him. "No, I know for sure we've never met, Chris," he said. "I would've remembered if we had," he added softly, still watching Chris.

Chris looked up, meeting Vin's eyes. The younger man didn't look away this time, and they looked into each other's eyes for a moment that seemed to go on forever. Chris nodded, but didn't speak, afraid his voice wouldn't carry. If they really had met, he would have remembered too.

*

The old indian's words hit Chris right in the middle of his soul. Home and family. Worth fighting for he'd said, and meant it. Only, he himself didn't have a family of his own to fight for anymore. Sarah and Adam were gone forever, and the only thing he was fighting for concerning them now was to find out who killed them, then kill that person. He knew it would make him feel better. He didn't care what other people said about revenge not being the right way to go about things, to get justice. What justice had his wife and son had, what chance had they had? Not one. They'd never hurt a living soul, but had paid with their lives as if they'd taken someone else's. No, someone would pay. It wouldn't bring Sarah and Adam back, but not taking revenge wouldn't bring them back either.

Chris excused himself and walked away, wanting to be on his own for a while. He wondered about whether he'd ever have a family again or not. He wasn't sure he'd even want one. It probably wasn't a good idea, he'd most likely just compare them to his old one, and that wouldn't be fair. He stopped and looked around. He couldn't see any of his partners, but some of the indians were busy preparing the village for Anderson and his army. It was late, and he knew he should go to sleep instead of walking around thinking about things that he couldn't do anything about right now anyway. But he wasn't tired tonight either. And he missed Vin.

Lighting a cheroot, Chris sat down on a rock, vowing to go lay down somewhere once he'd finished smoking it. He'd rather go and talk to Vin though, he realised as a rush of longing washed over him when he thought about the younger man. He closed his eyes, trying to make the feeling go away. It didn't.

*

Vin Tanner sat looking for any strangers that might show up where they shouldn't show up, and when they shouldn't show up. Assuming Anderson would act predictable and show up during daylight could be a fatal mistake, one that Vin didn't want to make. He thought about Chris, wondered where he was. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone behind him. He knew before he turned around to look that it wasn't Chris. He didn't think the older man would make that much noise coming up behind someone. When he saw who it was, he smiled. "Hello, JD," he said, knowing from the look on JD's face and the bottle in his hand that the day had probably been a bit too much for him.

"Vin..." JD began, then dropped down on the ground beside Vin without much grace.

"Hard day?" Vin said.

JD looked at him, then away, shaking his head. "Buck was right," he said.

"About what?" Vin asked, sensing that the younger man needed to talk. To him, for some reason. Vin figured it might be because they were the closest in age. He didn't mind, as he felt JD was someone he could grow fond of. Assuming they stayed together, of course, all of them or some of them.

"Everything, I guess..."

"You been talking to him?"

"Sort of," JD said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

JD shrugged, then without answering said, "You know he treats me like a child?"

Vin tried hard not to laugh. "Well, you know, JD, there might be a reason for that."

JD looked at him. "Oh, come on, Vin, I'm not that much younger than you are," he said.

"Yes you are," Vin said. Before JD could start a long discussion about that, Vin kept talking. He wasn't much older than JD, but that was something he wanted to keep to himself for the time being. "And you're a bit drunk, aren't you?" he said.

"I guess," JD admitted reluctantly. "But I'm not the only one who's drunk right now, you know," he added quickly.

Vin looked at him. Surely he didn't mean to say that Chris had got drunk? Vin doubted Chris wanted to be intoxicated now, considering Anderson and his gang could show up at any time. It would be bad enough if JD and... "Who else is drunk?" he asked.

"Josiah," JD said, amazement in his voice. "Would you believe that? Josiah. He's supposed to be a preacher man and all."

Vin laughed. "Things are seldom what they seem, are they?"

"It's not funny, Vin."

"Well, you came along because you wanted a change, right?" Vin said. "Your whole world's been turned upside down the last few days, hasn't it? You've shot people, you've been shot at, and Josiah drinks. I'd think you were having the time of your life, and here you are complaining about it." Vin smiled at JD to take the edge off his words.

JD looked at him without saying anything at first, then in a low voice he admitted, "I suppose you're right." He stayed silent for a long moment, and so did Vin. JD thought maybe he should get up and leave, but he had more to get off his chest. He just didn't know how to bring it up, he felt stupid enough already. After some time contemplating, he decided to just get it over with. "Vin, did you know about Chris's family?"

Vin looked at him, frowning. "Chris's family? I didn't even know he had one," he said, feeling something hurt inside his chest.

"He doesn't," JD said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Buck told me about it. He had a wife and son. They were killed in a fire."

Vin felt a chill down his spine hearing what JD said. "No, I didn't know about that," he said slowly. "Why did Buck tell you that?"

"I upset Chris," JD said, twisting the bottle around in his hands.

"You upset Chris?" Vin asked, still trying to come to terms with the fact that Chris had had a family. And that he hadn't told him about it. Not that they'd known each other for very long, but still. "Why? And how?"

"I knew you'd get angry," JD said.

"What? I'm not angry, JD," he said. "I'm just asking you how you upset him, that's all."

"I don't think I did anything, really," JD began, defending himself. "I was drinking, and Chris told me to slow down, and I... I just asked him what right he had to tell me what to do." JD looked pleadingly at Vin. "I swear I didn't know he'd get angry and walk away."

Vin looked at the ground. "I don't think he got angry, JD. If he'd got angry, he'd probably have smashed your face in."

"Maybe," JD said. "But he walked away, and next thing I know, Buck is telling me about Chris's wife and son. I was sorry to hear that, but I don't see what that's got to do with my drinking."

"We all see you as a very young man, JD. Chris too," Vin said thoughtfully. "Maybe he just reacted to you the way he might've done if his son had done what you did."

"I don't think his son was as old as I am," JD said, unnecessarily.

"Of course he wasn't," Vin said. "That's not the point, is it?"

"I guess not," JD said, then after some silence added, "And I'm not that young, I already told you. I want to be treated like a grown man, like the rest of you."

"Then start acting like one," Vin said.

JD looked at him, stunned. "That's a bit harsh, Vin."

"That's life," Vin said, patting JD's shoulder comfortingly, then picked up his spyglass and had a look around.

*

Chris studied Vin who was sitting beside him. It seemed they somehow always ended up close to each other, he thought. He looked around at their camp. Josiah and Ezra sat talking to each other, Nathan had gone away, checking on the horses Chris assumed, and Buck and JD sat beside each other right by the fire. It didn't look like they were talking, but Chris could see that Buck didn't mind the younger man's company. He figured Buck had taken an honest liking to JD after all. Vin's soft voice woke him from his thoughts.

"You all right, Chris?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Quite a fight we had with Anderson," Vin said.

Chris looked at him, smiling at the understatement. Lots of people had died, including Anderson, and it was only luck and skill that had kept the seven of them alive. "Yeah. You did well, Vin," he said, but that was also a bit of an understatement. The fact was that he'd never worked so well with anyone the way he'd done with Vin.

"Thanks. You too," Vin said, smiling. Then, hesitantly, "Chris, I... I talked to JD. Or actually, he talked to me."

"Anything special?" Chris asked.

"Well... you know that night when you told him to go easy on the drinking?" Vin said.

Chris looked at Vin, slightly surprised. "He told you about that?"

"Yeah. He was a bit concerned that he'd yelled at you, and you'd walked away." Vin looked at Chris but couldn't meet his eyes, as the older man was staring at the ground. "Buck told him about your family..."

"And JD told you?" Chris said.

"Yeah," Vin said quietly.

"Well, now you know then," Chris said.

Vin was still looking at Chris, trying to see if he was angry that JD had told him about it, but he only seemed sad. "I'm sorry, Chris," he said.

Chris nodded slowly. "Thanks..."

"If you wanna talk about it..." Vin began, not knowing what more to say, as long as Chris himself didn't say anything more about it.

"I might just wanna do that some day," Chris said, then reached out his hand, gently caressing Vin's arm, withdrawing it before anyone else would notice. "Thanks, Vin."

"Why don't you go get some sleep, Chris?" Vin said after a while.

Chris glanced at him. "No, I think I'll stay here for a while, if you don't mind?" he said.

Vin looked at him, beginning to feel all warm inside, despite all the sadness that surrounded them now, and had done for days. "I don't mind," he said. They had all stayed together. He and Chris had stayed together. He couldn't think of anywhere he'd rather be than here beside Chris, and he didn't mind at all.

*****

End, part I. On to Part II