Mag 7: Creekwood AU

AUTHORS NOTE: This is a new AU that just came to mind one day. Now I know you are all thinking I have enough half written fics out there but this wouldn't leave me alone...and it's actually complete! Well, for now anyway. I might write more in the AU eventually...you never know where my muses will take me!

Story info: basically this is set in modern times. Chris is the chief of police in a small town called Creekwood. Buck and JD are his deputy's, Vin is ex-special forces and currently a bounty hunter/rancher living at Chris ranch, Nathan is the local doctor, Josiah is the local preacher as well as the owner of the local bookstore, and Ezra owns the bank and local tavern.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone except Andie, Cade and the principal.

M7M7M7M7M7
"Dude, where did you get those?"

"Found them with Vin's stuff. He was going to throw them out, so I thought we could have a little fun with them."

"Man, I don't know. Our dads will kill us if we get caught!"

Andie Larabee smiled. "They we don't get caught." The ten year old placed one of the smoke canisters in her backpack and the other one in Cade's. "Besides, even if we do, Uncle Buck wont actually kill you."

"Maybe not, but my Mom will."

"Ah, you worry too much." She slapped him on the back. "C'mon, lets go play before the bell rings." The two children dropped their bookbags by the nearest tree and hurried to the playset.

M7M7M7M7

Robert Carter sighed as he stared at the two children standing in front of his desk, both so different yet so close. He noted that Andie stood with her hands behind her back in military fashion, eyes forward and staring at something over his shoulder, while Caden's hand worried the hem of his shirt and kept taking quick glances at his best friend.

He'd been the principal at this school for more years than he cared to count and in all of that time, he had never had two kids cause as much trouble as these two have. Over the span of their short school career, the two fourth graders had been in his office a multitude of times for mostly minor offenses that could be handled with a stern word, detention or note sent home. Unfortunately, this current situation did not fit the bill.

"You two have outdone yourselves. Do you realize how badly your planned prank could have turned out? If those smoke bombs had gone off while your bookbags were still on your backs, you could be in the hospital right now!"

"We're sorry Sir." Cade said quietly.

"Sorry will not be enough this time. Both of you please have a seat outside my office. Once your fathers arrive, we will continue this discussion."

Andie paled and broke her stance to grab Cade's hand. Her father had only been called to the school once before and his reaction to it had not been pleasant, nor had the warning of what would happen should he be called there again been forgotten. "Yes Sir."

Mr. Carter watched the two leave and couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic. He knew both Andie's and Cade's fathers well. Creekwood is the type of small town where everyone knows everybody and those that are born there either never leave or always return if they do. Bucks bark was normally much worse than his bite, though he didn't think would be the case this time. Chris, on the other hand, was like a coiled snake just waiting for the right moment to strike. You knew trouble was coming, you just werent sure when. Quite frankly, he would be shaking in his boots if he were Andie's shoes. With another sigh, he picked up the phone and dialed.

M7M7M7M7M7M7

Andie sat watching the doorway, nervously twirling her shoulder length blond hair around her finger. Any minute her father or Uncle Buck would walk in and all hell was going to break loose. She glanced at Cade. "Who do you think is coming?"

"I hope my Dad. Uncle Chris scares the crap out…."Cade stopped speaking when his father and Uncle Chris walked into the office together. He'd been expecting only one of them to show up. "We are sooo dead."

Andie gulped as they stood before the two miscreants. "Hi Daddy. Hi Uncle Buck." Neither replied as the each grabbed their child by the back of their shirts, yanked them out of their seats, and pulled them into Mr. Carters office.

M7M7M7M7M7M7

Once again the children found themselves in front of Mr. Carter's desk. They both cringed as the principal explained what happened and ran down the list of misdeeds. Cade risked glancing up at his father.

"You have something to say?"

"No Sir."

"Too bad." Buck glared at both children. "Who took the canisters?"

"I did." Andie whispered.

"I didn't hear you." Chris growled.

"I said I did Sir."

"Where did you get them?"

"W-where did I get them?" She repeated, desperate to buy some time to come up with an answer that wouldn't completely seal the coffin she was already one foot in.

"ANDREA!"

Andie jumped. Her father didn't raise his voice often, opting for a low growl and steel laced tone to get his meaning across. Adding the use of her full name scared her even more and she struggled to keep her voice steady. "U-Uncle Vin's b-bag. He said he was going to th-throw them out."

"And you didn't think there was a reason they were going to be thrown out?"

"Well I do now." She replied before she could stop herself. She gulped as her father stood so close to her she had to look almost straight up to see his face.

"If I were you young lady, I would control those smart ass comments."

"Yes Sir."

"What were you planning to do with the canisters?" Buck asked.

Cade glanced at Andie. He didn't have a clue what her plans were but he also didn't want to make up a story and have it backfire. He saw the small nod she gave him and relaxed as much as he could in his current situation.

"I was going to set them off in the hallways so we would get out of class. I figured we would get at least a couple hours before it was figured out."

"Didn't you think about what would happen when the flash went off before the smoke?"

"I didn't know it was a flash! Its not like its labled!"

"Considering you shouldn't have had them in the first place, I don't think that is really a good argument, do you?"

Andie didn't want to reply to that since she knew he was right, so she settled for looking at the ground.

Mr Carter was beginning to feel slightly bad for the two children now that he was bearing witness to their father's interrogation and decided he had heard enough. "Due to the nature of this potential prank and ensuing complications it would have caused with the local fire department and your police department Chief Larabee , I have no choice but to suspend you both for three days, followed by two weeks of detention."

"That's sounds fair." Chris replied and gave Andie and Cade a pointed look.

"Um, we are sorry Mr Carter. "

"Yeah, we wont do nothing like it again."

No, I'm sure you wont, Mr Carter thought to himself. "Thank you. I will see you in three days."

M7M7M7M7M7M7

Andie watched as her Uncle and Cade drove off, desperately wishing she was going with them. Sure, Uncle Buck was mad, but he was more tolerant of the things Cade and she did. Her father, on the other hand, was going to kill her.

Andie started for her fathers truck but a hand on her shoulder stopped her and she looked up questioningly at her dad. "I have an appointment with the Mayor and the Fire Chief in 15 minutes, so I cant take you home."

Andie felt hope swell into her heart, only to have it crash and burn with her fathers next sentence.

"Your Uncle Vin will be here any minute to get you." Chris had to force back a smile when he saw the look on his daughters face.

"Oh no. No Dad! Oh God please do not make me go home with him. He is going to go ballistic!"

"Should have thought of that before you took the smoke bombs."

"Don't you realize you might not have a daughter alive when you get home? Please let me stay with you! I'll be as quite as a church mouse on Sunday while you have you Chief's meeting thingy with the Mayor!"

"Too late."

Andie slowly turned and saw her Uncle Vin's jeep park next to her dads truck. She quickly slipped behind her dad as Vin stormed over to them. Chris took her arm and easily pulled her to stand in front of him.

"Get in the Jeep Andie." Vin growled. Andie gave one last pleading look to her father and quickly hurried over to the Jeep and slid into the passengers seat.

"She thinks you are going to kill her." Chris stated with a smirk.

"She'll be lucky if I don't. What the hell was she thinking?"

"No idea. Planned to find out once I got her home. " Chris checked his watch. "I have to get to the meeting."

"Go. I'll take good of her. Cant say anything for her hide though." He added with a crooked grin.

"Just leave enough for me."

M7M7M7M7M7M7

Andie gave Vin a quick apprehensive glance before quickly looking at her lap. She could tell he was really angry by how he kept clenching his jaw and the fact he hadnt said anything yet. As she watched the scenery go by, she wondered what he planned to do to punish her. He'd become like a second father to her when he moved in with her dad six years ago, just after her mother died. He was pretty lax about most things, but if she did anything dangerous to her health and wellbeing or something that could injure others, his temper and reaction could rival her fathers.

"Uncle Vin?"

"Yeah?" Vin ground out.

"I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking about anything going wrong."

"You could have been really hurt." Vin's eyes flashed with anger. "And you stole from me!"

"You were going to throw them out. I didn't think anyone would say I was stealing!"

"That's right Andie, you didn't think."

They rode the rest of the way home in silence. After they parked, Vin turned to her. "Go to your room and wait for me."

"Yes sir."

Vin watched her hurry into the house, wondering just what he was going to do. He knew Chris promised her a whipping with his belt if he had to ever go to the school and get her again, hell he wanted to do the same. He loved that little girl like she was his own though, and didn't have it in his heart to give her such a harsh punishment when she was going to get it again later. "Doesn't mean I cant make one hell of an impression though." He muttered to himself and climbed out of the Jeep.

M7M7M7M7M7M7

Andie sat on her bed and flopped onto her back. She knew she was in big trouble and was not looking forward to the next few hours. She looked forlornly at her favorite place to sit, her beanbag chair, and sighs knowing she wouldn't want to go anywhere near it for a few days. She had little time to lament the loss as her door was opened and Vin stepped inside. She quickly sat up and got to her feet knowing her uncle expected it. She figured that was due to his military background and the fact her father expected the same so Vin would follow his lead. She held her head up and since she couldn't look him in the eye, looked at his forehead so it appeared she was.

"Do we even need to discuss this?"

"No sir. I know what I did wrong."

Vin took her desk chair and placed it in the middle of the room. Andie breathed a small sigh of relief when he didn't take his belt off. It was bad enough her dad was going to whip her, she didn't want it from Vin too. She moved to his side and was surprised when he pulled her over his lap without telling her to lower her pants.

Vin sensed her confusion. "I know your Daddy is going to take the hide right off of you. While you deserve it and you deserve to feel my belt as well, I just can't bring myself to do it." He pulled her close into his body to hold her steady. "That don't mean I'm not about to set your tail on fire though!" At that, Vin laid down the first of many swats on the backside before him. When he was sure Andie got message he stopped and pulled her up onto his lap. He allowed her to cry out her pain while rubbing her back to calm her down. When she had finally settled, he laid her on her bed and kissed the back of her head. "You stay here until Chris gets home."

"Yes sir. "

Andie must have fallen asleep because the next thing she hears is her fathers truck rumbling up the drive. She quickly sat up, surprised that while her backside hurt, it wasn't nearly as bad as she expected. She ran a brush through her hair and straightened her T-shirt before hurrying down the steps and into the kitchen. She headed over to Vin, who was at the stove, and put her arms around him, resting her cheek on his back. "I'm sorry Uncle Vin." She said quietly and gives him a little squeeze.

Vin stirred the pasta sauce once and spun around to return the hug. "I know." He kissed the top of her head and patted her backside. "Go set the table. Your dad will be done with the horses in a minute."

"Yes sir."

M7MM7M7M7

Dinner was a quiet affair. Chris was still angry over Andie's actions but had calmed down considerably. After watching her absentmindedly push her food around, Chris cleared his throat to gain her attention. "Put your plate in the sink and head out to the barn. We have some talking to do."

Andie wanted to point out that there wasn't going to be much talking, but figured that wouldn't be very good idea. She could feel how angry her dad was and the last thing she wanted was to piss him by letting her smart mouth have free reign. She quietly did as told and headed outside.

When Chris heard the screen door shut, he addressed Vin. "Looks like she was sitting ok."

"I didn't have the heart to go too hard on her. I figure you will make sure she understands that her behavior is not acceptable." He gave a half smile. "Mine was just a token punishment."

Chris wasn't surprised the bounty hunter went easy. Despite Vins initial reaction, he was quite the softy when it came to Andie. Not that he wouldn't punish her, but in situations like this where his daughter was in trouble with both of them, he tended to let Chris deal out the real consequences. Andie had yet to pick up on that fact. "Well I better go put her out of her misery." He steeled his resolve and headed out to the barn.

Andie took a step back when her father entered the barn and shut the door. He walked over to an old crate just the right height for his daughter and laid a blanket over it. "Over here young lady. Take your pants and underwear down and bend over. "

Andie slowly walked over to him and did as she was bid, her heart pounding in anticipation. She heard him take his belt off and gripped the blanket so she wouldn't put her hands back. The first lick was much harder than she'd ever felt before. "You put yourself in danger. You could have died Andie. I will never be okay with that. I will not lose you. " Chris said, being sure to place two licks on the waiting backside at the end of each sentence. "Do you understand me?"

It took all Andie had to reply. "Yes sir." She managed to blubber out as she sobbed.

Chris laid down 10 more licks, all much lighter than the original swats, before stopping. He helped his daughter fix her clothing before pulling up into his arms and taking a seat on a haybale. "Never again Andie. Never again."

"I won't. I'm sorry dad, I just wasn't thinking."

They sat there for a few minutes before Chris stood her up. "Since you have a few days off from school you will clean this barn and all of the tack. When you finish that, you will start on the house and clean it until it sparkles. If Vin tells you to do anything else, I expect it to be done without hesitation. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Andie replied, not entirely surprised by the additional punishment. "Do I have to go to bed early too?"

"No. As long as you do as I said and stay out of trouble, you can go to bed at your normal time." He started walking her back to the house. "Now go on and get your bath. By now I'm sure Vin has the popcorn ready and a movie queued up. God only knows what were are stuck watching tonight!"

Andie grinned. Uncle Vins movie tastes left much to be desired but she wouldn't trade this post punishment tradition for anything. "Yes sir!"