A More Permanent Hell

Too Young For Heaven ~ Part Three

Chris sat under the apple tree in the back garden, wrapped in a blanket, his feet propped up on a box with a cushion. The late afternoon sun had warmed him and he’d drifted to sleep not long after Ezra and Timothy, Charlotte’s oldest boy, had settled him there. This despite the nap Charlotte had insisted he take after he’d sat in the parlour, listening to Penny play the piano for an hour. Now he half dozed, watching Charlotte, who’d come out to join him a short time ago. Her lap was covered in lace, her head bent in deep concentration as she placed fine stitches across the fabric that would be Jemma’s bridal veil. ( Her oldest child’s wedding was in less than two weeks, and every time Charlotte was sitting, she was working on some sort of wedding finery. )


][ PART ONE ][ PART TWO ][ PART THREE ][ PART FOUR ][

Link on AO3

The beginning of this story may be familiar to some of you. I started posting this in 2009, and never finished it. I would add little bits here and there, but never really sat down to finish. Well, this weekend I did. The beginning has been rewritten somewhat, to better fit in with stories written since, so I'm starting fresh. Sorry you had to wait so long for me to complete this, grachonok.

Fandoms: Magnificent Seven, Highlander
Rating: PG15
Warnings/Notes: Complete, gen developing into het. This picks up after the final M7 episode, Obsession, and the Highlander episode, Comes a Horseman. This story has the concept of Highlander Immortality, no Highlander characters appear, but are mentioned. It is set after the flashbacks in my story, I Am Going To the West. The title is from the song ‘Where Shall I Go? (A Cowboy's Hard Times)’. You can find the lyrics here.
Character(s): Ezra Standish, Chris Larabee, Vin Tanner, Buck Wilmington, Josiah Sanchez, Nathan Jackson, JD Dunne, Original Characters.
Summary: Sometimes, the only way to escape the dark, and the demons that haunt you, is to have friends who refuse to let you fall.

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Too Young For Heaven

New Mexico Territory, Summer, 1867

“If you want me to come, then of course I shall. But I think you overestimate any influence I might have with Chris.”

“Thank you, Charlotte,” Ezra said. After discussing the situation with Vin and Buck, the three men had decided that Charlotte might be able to reach Chris in that dark place he'd fallen into after his grievous encounter with Ella Gaines. And Ezra privately hoped that it might prove to be a much needed distraction for Charlotte, who seemed to be trapped in a darkness of her own.

She nodded. “Let me change and tell Charles and the children I shall be away for the day.”

( Ezra Standish cast a critical eye over his cousin as she threw the last of the feed to the chickens. The morning sun washed over her, giving him a sharp reminder of just how much weight she’d lost in the weeks since Methos had left.  )
][ PART ONE ][ PART TWO ][ PART THREE ][ PART FOUR ][

Link on AO3

I wrote a comment fic last week in response to a meme, which was essentially the first section of this story. I fleshed it out a bit and added a second part, and now, have a complete story to present to you.

This takes place about ten days after ‘The Heart of a Friend’ and several weeks before strangevisitor7's story, ‘Hell Hath No Fury’.

Rating: PG13
Characters: Vin Tanner, Cecily Black Desjardins, Penny Black
Notes: Thanks to strangevisitor7 for the beta, a story in the Echoes the Sea/Aces Immortal series.
Summary: Cecily gives Vin a little something to think about.

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Neither Wind Nor Bird

Neither wind nor bird
That was my heart you heard
Last night by the River
Making thunder through the land,
Shaking earth where you did stand
That was my heart you heard

Rancho Caballo Rojo, New Mexico Territory, Autumn 1867

“Are you sweet on Cecily?” a young voice asked from behind him.

( Startled, Vin just about hit his thumb with the hammer he was using to fix the latch on the vegetable garden gate.  )

Rating: PG
Characters: Vin Tanner, Ezra Standish, Buck Wilmington, Charlotte Black Sparrow, Cecily Black Desjardins
Notes: Thanks to strangevisitor7 for the beta.
Summary: Vin looks toward the future and discovers that dreams can be reality.

__________________===__________________


The Heart of a Friend
Part Two

“Now that we’ve settled that,” Charlotte said dryly, “perhaps you’d care to know the actual reason I wished to speak with you?”

Vin nodded. “Reckon I would.”

( She picked up a small leather bound book from the low table in front of them and cradled it in her hands. )


PART ONE ][ PART TWO

Rating: PG
Characters: Vin Tanner, Ezra Standish, Buck Wilmington, Charlotte Black Sparrow, Cecily Black Desjardins
Notes: Thanks to strangevisitor7 for the beta.
Summary: Vin looks toward the future and discovers that dreams can be reality.

__________________===__________________


The Heart of a Friend
Part Two

“Now that we’ve settled that,” Charlotte said dryly, “perhaps you’d care to know the actual reason I wished to speak with you?”

Vin nodded. “Reckon I would.”

( She picked up a small leather bound book from the low table in front of them and cradled it in her hands. )


PART ONE ][ PART TWO

This is what I wrote on my hiatus. The story is set two days after Silk and Firecrackers, and wasn't supposed to be a Vin POV story, but the pesky devil managed to wrangle it somehow. He's been hanging around Ezra too much.

Rating: PG
Characters: Vin Tanner, Ezra Standish, Buck Wilmington, Charlotte Black Sparrow, Cecily Black Desjardins
Notes: Thanks to strangevisitor7 for the beta.
Summary: Vin looks toward the future and discovers that dreams can be reality.

__________________===__________________


The Heart of a Friend
Part One

New Mexico Territory, Autumn, 1867

The afternoon sun hung in the western sky, its golden light warming the cool wind blowing down from the Organ Mountains to the north. It had been a fine autumn so far, and Vin had every expectation that the weather two days hence would be perfect for Chris and Charlotte’s wedding. ( Pushing his hat farther back on his head, he surveyed the arch that they were constructing in the back garden for the ceremony. It would be finished by the end of the day; or it would if there were less chattering and bickering and more work getting done. )


PART ONE ][ PART TWO

So the fact that Anthony Starke's character on MIOBI has the last name of Tanner has created a great deal of amusement. So some of us have been trying to figure out how Vin, Steve, and Ezra are all related. As the result of an email on the subject I wrote this morning, I got the idea for 'The Parent Trap' - I'm scaring even myself now!

Maude Standish and Woodrow Tanner (I named him Woodrow, deal!) have twin boys. Maude takes Ezra and Woodrow takes Steve. Then, many years later, the boys meet at camp and Ezra discovers he has a half brother named Vin as well! Hilarity ensues. Vin and Ezra grow up to be ATF agents, and Steve, well, we don't know what Steve does. But he is rich, and his daughter, Lauren, is the pride of her grandma Maude.

The End

So the fact that Anthony Starke's character on MIOBI has the last name of Tanner has created a great deal of amusement. So some of us have been trying to figure out how Vin, Steve, and Ezra are all related. As the result of an email on the subject I wrote this morning, I got the idea for 'The Parent Trap' - I'm scaring even myself now!

Maude Standish and Woodrow Tanner (I named him Woodrow, deal!) have twin boys. Maude takes Ezra and Woodrow takes Steve. Then, many years later, the boys meet at camp and Ezra discovers he has a half brother named Vin as well! Hilarity ensues. Vin and Ezra grow up to be ATF agents, and Steve, well, we don't know what Steve does. But he is rich, and his daughter, Lauren, is the pride of her grandma Maude.

The End

Rating: PG13
Notes: A story in the 'Echoes the Sea/Aces Immortal' AU series. Set a week after strangevisitor7's story 'Each Must Know His Part', and many thanks to her as well for the beta.
Characters: Ezra Standish, Nathan Jackson, Vin Tanner, Cecily Black Desjardins
Summary: When Ezra yearns for a distraction, the unexpected arrival of his sister in Four Corners might be more than he bargained for.

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'Silk and Firecrackers' ~ Part Two

“Ya look like Santa left coal in yer stocking, Nathan,” Vin observed as he drew even with the healer.

“Tarnation, wish you wouldn’t always be sneaking up on a man!” he protested, startled at the tracker’s unexpected appearance at his side.

( Vin just chuckled, looking across the street to see what it was that had Nathan’s undivided attention. It appeared that the object of his scrutiny was a woman he’d never seen before in front of the hotel with Ezra )

I introduced Cecily last month in the story 'Five Memories Ezra Has of His Sister' and ever since then, she's been pestering me for more attention. She finally won!

Rating: PG13
Notes: A story in the 'Echoes the Sea/Aces Immortal' AU series. Set a week after strangevisitor7's story 'Each Must Know His Part', and many thanks to her as well for the beta.
Characters: Ezra Standish, Nathan Jackson, Vin Tanner, Cecily Black Desjardins
Summary: When Ezra yearns for a distraction, the unexpected arrival of his sister in Four Corners might be more than he bargained for.

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'Silk and Firecrackers' ~ Part One

( Ezra was in dire need of a distraction. Since winning his first challenge a week ago, he’d felt restless and at a loose end. It was as if there was something he should be doing, whatever it was, hanging there, just beyond the edge of his memory. )