Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters of The Magnificent Seven.
Ally, however, is mine.
Category: AU
Spoilers: Some for Working Girls, One Day Out West, The Pilot. Early eps of
Season 1
Out Of The Past
by M
------
Josiah Sanchez sat on the roof of the church and worked away on the chimney. It wasn't quite in shape.
Well that was being optimistic. To quote Ezra 'it was in a sorry and absolute state of degradation and was
deteriorating with a most prolific haste'. Translation it was falling apart and fast.
His only option was to take it apart brick by brick and rebuild it.
He was in the middle of this task when he looked up and several horses riding towards town. They were
still a distance off and only visible from his lofty perch so he stopped his work to watch them.
He couldn't tell if they were dangerous or not at that point but he wasn't going to ignore them and go back
to work, lest they turn out to actually be dangerous.
"Hey Josiah, Whatcha'll looking at up there?" Nathan Jackson's voice called out from below.
"I'm not sure." He replied absently.
Nathan's head popped up over the the edge of the roof where Josiah had left his ladder. "What'd ya
mean?" He questioned climbing up to sit next to him. "Your birds trying to tell you something?"
The older man half-smiled. "No my friend, not yet. But there is a sign on the horizon." He said and
pointed at the group of riders.
"Hmm, now who do you s'pose that is?" Nathan questioned squinting, trying to discern any of the riders
features.
"I don't know as of yet." Josiah said calmly. "But I expect we'll find out shortly."
---
Vin Tanner leaned against the wall of the sheriff's office and watched the town. He almost laughed aloud
when he saw some of the townsfolk shoot him suspicious looks. The Seven had been in Four Corners for
over a month now but the residents of the town were still wary of them. Well, some of them, he amended.
There were no shortage of suckers for Ezra to swindle, and definitely no shortage of women for Buck to
seduce. But for the majority of the group were still considered outsiders and treated like it.
Not that Vin especially cared. He had all the friends he needed in the men he rode with. Which were more
friends then he'd had in a while. Bounty hunters weren't exactly the buddy-buddy type. That meant more
ways to split the bounty and that wasn't good. Which was probably why none of the bounty hunters Vin
had known in his career as one, had tried to help him clear his name. None had even offered. Although he
hadn't stuck around long enough for them to.
Not like Chris. Of the seven Chris was probably Vin's best friend. They had a natural rapport. Most folks
would think that they'd been friends for years like Chris and Buck, than only for a little over a month. Or
really just shy of two months. They just blended naturally. There was no hesitation in Chris' acceptance
of Vin and there was no hesitation in Vin's acceptance of Chris. What was the past was the past and
neither one would dredge up the other's past. They waited until the other did. It was their way. The silence
that sometimes existed betwen them wasn't strained. It was companionable. They trusted each other. And
trust didn't need words.
"Hey VIN!" JD Dunne yelled walking up.
Tanner winced slightly. JD was an enthusiastic young man. To say the least, but he was also a capable
young man. He'd proved that more than once. He didn't hesitate in a gunfight. Not when one of his friends
was in danger. And that loyalty was something that made Vin respect the younger man. And Vin didn't give
his respect easily. It had to be earned. "Mornin' JD." He drawled adjusting his stance slightly.
"Josiah said there's some riders headed this way." The young man reported gesturing to where Josiah
and Nathan were perched atop of the church roof.
"That so?" Buck Wilmington spoke walking up to claim the chair next to the door.
"Mornin' Buck. Didn't expect you up so early." Vin commented to their resident ladies man. "Blossom's
fella show up?"
Buck grinned." He does tend to pop in during the most inopportune times."
Bin nodded. Blossom was a lady of who's company Buck was a frequent partaker. Problem was she not
a single lady and the other man in her life had the, in Buck's mind, most irritating habit of showing up just
when things were starting to get interesting.
"Should we go tell Chris about the riders?" JD asked twirling a gun.
"STOP THAT!" Buck snapped irritably. "One of these days you're gonna drop that gun and shoot your foot
off! Or worse!"
Tanenr shook his head. It seemed was the other man forever yelling at JD for something. Josiah had
once likened it to a mother hen and an errant member of her brood. And he had to admit, the analogy
was pretty much right on.
"Yeah JD, go ahead." He spoke softly, not bothering to raise his tone. He knew JD would understand what
he'd said.
He nodded and, putting his gun away under Buck's watchful glare, stepped down into the street and walked
towards the hotel where Chris was staying.
Josiah climbed down the ladder to go inside the church. He'd been mixing some mortar inside and he
needed it.
When he walked inside the church he bent over the mortar to pour some into a small bucket so that he
could take it up onto the roof. As he did so he heard the almost imperceptable sound of a shoe scraping
the wooden floor.
Instantly he spun, gun coming out of it's holster, pointing in the direction of the sound.
"Easy Josiah, it's me." A soft husky voice. A familiar voice.
"Al??" He questioned head tilting to oneside.
"Yeah."
When the group of riders rode into town they headed immediately for the sheriff's office where they were
greeted by six of the seven.
"Gentlemen," Chris Larabee the leader of the group, stepped forward and looked up at the lead rider. "Is
there something we can do for you?"
"You Larabee?" The leader demanded.
Chris sized up the man before answering. He was as tall as Buck but built like Josiah. Not good. "Yeah,"
"We hear you and your boys are the law herebouts."
He nodded. "I suppose we are."
"Well we're looking for a murderer. A woman. You seen her?"
"Ain't that many women around here to see." Vin commented casually from where he leaned against a
post.
"Yeah well this one is hard to miss. A breed. Dresses like a man. Calls herself a doctor."
Nathan and Chris shared a look. Somehow this story was starting to sound familiar.
"What'd she do?" Chris asked casually.
"Kilt m'brother," One of the other riders spoke up. He was a scrawny thing. With unkempt hair and, by the
expression on Vin's face, breath bad enough to kill a man.
"How?" Josiah spoke from behind them. His face unreadable, the preacher turned gunslinger walked over
to stand next to Chris.
"She let him die." The leader spoke again.
Nathan frowned. Yep, this story was definetly starting to sound familiar.
By the look in Larabee's eyes he thought the same thing. "Well I haven't seen any woman like that. How
'bout you Josiah?"
"Nope." Was all the man said.
"Well we're gonna head out to the next town. We'll check back in a couple of days."
The men turned their horses away and rode out of town at a full gallop.
Chris looked over at Josiah. "You know who they were talking about don't you?" He said, it was a question
but it was a question he already knew the answer to.
"Yep." Josiah said calmly and started walking towards the church.
Without hesitation the others followed.
He opened the door to the church. "Al?" He called stepping inside. The rest of the men crowded in
behind him and shut the door.
At first the church appeared empty but then there was a noise towards the front and someone stood up
from behind the pulpit.
Behind him Vin heard Buck sigh with pleasure and at that moment Vin had to agree with his friend.
A slender young woman walked down to meet them.
Long black hair hung down over her shoulders reaching nearly to her waist, wide dark brown eyes flicked
warily over the men. Her elegant features were drawn and pinched as if she were very worried.
Her form was slender and covered by a deerskin jacket and matching pants, around her waist was a
gunbelt and her hand rested on the gun in the holster.
"Relax Ally, they're my friends." Josiah said calmly and glanced over his shoulder to make sure none of
the men looked in anyway threatening. "The gang's gone."
She relaxed slightly and moved her hand away from her gun.
"Gentlemen this is an old friend of mine. Ally Dusalle. Ally, this is Chris Larabee, JD Dunne, Ezra
Standish, Nathan Jackson, Vin Tanner and Buck Wilmington."
Buck stepped forward. "Ma'am, might I say that it is a honor for a woman of your exquisite beauty to
grace our sorry excuse for a town."
She shot him an amused look then looked over at Josiah. "Are you sure he's a friend of yours?"
Josiah nodded.
"Ma'am..." Chris began only to be cut off.
"Ally." She said firmly.
He nodded. "Ally...you mind explaining to us what those men were doing, looking for you?"
"I suppose it wouldn't be possible for us to discuss this over a drink?"
Chris grinned. He liked this woman. She didn't hide behind pretentions. She was honest and up front. "I
think we could arrange something."
Ally, however, is mine.
Category: AU
Spoilers: Some for Working Girls, One Day Out West, The Pilot. Early eps of
Season 1
Out Of The Past
by M
------
Josiah Sanchez sat on the roof of the church and worked away on the chimney. It wasn't quite in shape.
Well that was being optimistic. To quote Ezra 'it was in a sorry and absolute state of degradation and was
deteriorating with a most prolific haste'. Translation it was falling apart and fast.
His only option was to take it apart brick by brick and rebuild it.
He was in the middle of this task when he looked up and several horses riding towards town. They were
still a distance off and only visible from his lofty perch so he stopped his work to watch them.
He couldn't tell if they were dangerous or not at that point but he wasn't going to ignore them and go back
to work, lest they turn out to actually be dangerous.
"Hey Josiah, Whatcha'll looking at up there?" Nathan Jackson's voice called out from below.
"I'm not sure." He replied absently.
Nathan's head popped up over the the edge of the roof where Josiah had left his ladder. "What'd ya
mean?" He questioned climbing up to sit next to him. "Your birds trying to tell you something?"
The older man half-smiled. "No my friend, not yet. But there is a sign on the horizon." He said and
pointed at the group of riders.
"Hmm, now who do you s'pose that is?" Nathan questioned squinting, trying to discern any of the riders
features.
"I don't know as of yet." Josiah said calmly. "But I expect we'll find out shortly."
---
Vin Tanner leaned against the wall of the sheriff's office and watched the town. He almost laughed aloud
when he saw some of the townsfolk shoot him suspicious looks. The Seven had been in Four Corners for
over a month now but the residents of the town were still wary of them. Well, some of them, he amended.
There were no shortage of suckers for Ezra to swindle, and definitely no shortage of women for Buck to
seduce. But for the majority of the group were still considered outsiders and treated like it.
Not that Vin especially cared. He had all the friends he needed in the men he rode with. Which were more
friends then he'd had in a while. Bounty hunters weren't exactly the buddy-buddy type. That meant more
ways to split the bounty and that wasn't good. Which was probably why none of the bounty hunters Vin
had known in his career as one, had tried to help him clear his name. None had even offered. Although he
hadn't stuck around long enough for them to.
Not like Chris. Of the seven Chris was probably Vin's best friend. They had a natural rapport. Most folks
would think that they'd been friends for years like Chris and Buck, than only for a little over a month. Or
really just shy of two months. They just blended naturally. There was no hesitation in Chris' acceptance
of Vin and there was no hesitation in Vin's acceptance of Chris. What was the past was the past and
neither one would dredge up the other's past. They waited until the other did. It was their way. The silence
that sometimes existed betwen them wasn't strained. It was companionable. They trusted each other. And
trust didn't need words.
"Hey VIN!" JD Dunne yelled walking up.
Tanner winced slightly. JD was an enthusiastic young man. To say the least, but he was also a capable
young man. He'd proved that more than once. He didn't hesitate in a gunfight. Not when one of his friends
was in danger. And that loyalty was something that made Vin respect the younger man. And Vin didn't give
his respect easily. It had to be earned. "Mornin' JD." He drawled adjusting his stance slightly.
"Josiah said there's some riders headed this way." The young man reported gesturing to where Josiah
and Nathan were perched atop of the church roof.
"That so?" Buck Wilmington spoke walking up to claim the chair next to the door.
"Mornin' Buck. Didn't expect you up so early." Vin commented to their resident ladies man. "Blossom's
fella show up?"
Buck grinned." He does tend to pop in during the most inopportune times."
Bin nodded. Blossom was a lady of who's company Buck was a frequent partaker. Problem was she not
a single lady and the other man in her life had the, in Buck's mind, most irritating habit of showing up just
when things were starting to get interesting.
"Should we go tell Chris about the riders?" JD asked twirling a gun.
"STOP THAT!" Buck snapped irritably. "One of these days you're gonna drop that gun and shoot your foot
off! Or worse!"
Tanenr shook his head. It seemed was the other man forever yelling at JD for something. Josiah had
once likened it to a mother hen and an errant member of her brood. And he had to admit, the analogy
was pretty much right on.
"Yeah JD, go ahead." He spoke softly, not bothering to raise his tone. He knew JD would understand what
he'd said.
He nodded and, putting his gun away under Buck's watchful glare, stepped down into the street and walked
towards the hotel where Chris was staying.
Josiah climbed down the ladder to go inside the church. He'd been mixing some mortar inside and he
needed it.
When he walked inside the church he bent over the mortar to pour some into a small bucket so that he
could take it up onto the roof. As he did so he heard the almost imperceptable sound of a shoe scraping
the wooden floor.
Instantly he spun, gun coming out of it's holster, pointing in the direction of the sound.
"Easy Josiah, it's me." A soft husky voice. A familiar voice.
"Al??" He questioned head tilting to oneside.
"Yeah."
When the group of riders rode into town they headed immediately for the sheriff's office where they were
greeted by six of the seven.
"Gentlemen," Chris Larabee the leader of the group, stepped forward and looked up at the lead rider. "Is
there something we can do for you?"
"You Larabee?" The leader demanded.
Chris sized up the man before answering. He was as tall as Buck but built like Josiah. Not good. "Yeah,"
"We hear you and your boys are the law herebouts."
He nodded. "I suppose we are."
"Well we're looking for a murderer. A woman. You seen her?"
"Ain't that many women around here to see." Vin commented casually from where he leaned against a
post.
"Yeah well this one is hard to miss. A breed. Dresses like a man. Calls herself a doctor."
Nathan and Chris shared a look. Somehow this story was starting to sound familiar.
"What'd she do?" Chris asked casually.
"Kilt m'brother," One of the other riders spoke up. He was a scrawny thing. With unkempt hair and, by the
expression on Vin's face, breath bad enough to kill a man.
"How?" Josiah spoke from behind them. His face unreadable, the preacher turned gunslinger walked over
to stand next to Chris.
"She let him die." The leader spoke again.
Nathan frowned. Yep, this story was definetly starting to sound familiar.
By the look in Larabee's eyes he thought the same thing. "Well I haven't seen any woman like that. How
'bout you Josiah?"
"Nope." Was all the man said.
"Well we're gonna head out to the next town. We'll check back in a couple of days."
The men turned their horses away and rode out of town at a full gallop.
Chris looked over at Josiah. "You know who they were talking about don't you?" He said, it was a question
but it was a question he already knew the answer to.
"Yep." Josiah said calmly and started walking towards the church.
Without hesitation the others followed.
He opened the door to the church. "Al?" He called stepping inside. The rest of the men crowded in
behind him and shut the door.
At first the church appeared empty but then there was a noise towards the front and someone stood up
from behind the pulpit.
Behind him Vin heard Buck sigh with pleasure and at that moment Vin had to agree with his friend.
A slender young woman walked down to meet them.
Long black hair hung down over her shoulders reaching nearly to her waist, wide dark brown eyes flicked
warily over the men. Her elegant features were drawn and pinched as if she were very worried.
Her form was slender and covered by a deerskin jacket and matching pants, around her waist was a
gunbelt and her hand rested on the gun in the holster.
"Relax Ally, they're my friends." Josiah said calmly and glanced over his shoulder to make sure none of
the men looked in anyway threatening. "The gang's gone."
She relaxed slightly and moved her hand away from her gun.
"Gentlemen this is an old friend of mine. Ally Dusalle. Ally, this is Chris Larabee, JD Dunne, Ezra
Standish, Nathan Jackson, Vin Tanner and Buck Wilmington."
Buck stepped forward. "Ma'am, might I say that it is a honor for a woman of your exquisite beauty to
grace our sorry excuse for a town."
She shot him an amused look then looked over at Josiah. "Are you sure he's a friend of yours?"
Josiah nodded.
"Ma'am..." Chris began only to be cut off.
"Ally." She said firmly.
He nodded. "Ally...you mind explaining to us what those men were doing, looking for you?"
"I suppose it wouldn't be possible for us to discuss this over a drink?"
Chris grinned. He liked this woman. She didn't hide behind pretentions. She was honest and up front. "I
think we could arrange something."