Author: Cha-Cha

Disclaimer: I do not own the show nor the characters so please do not sue.

A/N: This story was written for Millie2077 who wanted a long friendship story between Buck and Chris. I hope this is what you were hoping for! It is a WIP, so it may take a while for this to be finished. This story is also a future fic and Vin, Josiah and Ezra are married to OC's, however, they are more mentioned rather than participating in the story. Enjoy!

'Ezra's going to be a daddy.' Those were the first words out of Bucks mouth as he entered the shed where Chris was working.

After Casey and JD had tied the knot, and Nathan and Rain had also married, Chris had offered the other men of the Magnificent Seven to come and build houses on his stretch of land so they could expand their families. It would allow them to still protect the town as they were not far away, and yet allow them the freedom to be themselves away from the scrutiny of the town.

While the townsfolk had come to accept the Seven over the years, they were still regarded as dangerous and Gunslingers. None of them wanted their children to grow up in the kind of environment. At Chris' offer, Ezra had immediately bought up several tracts of land around Chris' property, as had Buck, allowing them to build a successful ranch that Chris, Buck, JD, Casey and Vin ran, while Ezra and Nathan made frequent trips to the town so Ezra could run his saloon and Nathan his practice.

Slowly over the years, some of the other men had married and their wives had moved onto the land. Vin had been first with a very quiet school lady followed soon after by Josiah who married a widow with three of her own children. The children had soon followed three of the couple and the ranch thrived even more as they became one very close knit family with plenty of extended parents.

Their houses were all clustered together on the land and it wasn't unusual for the children to run between them all. Dinners were normally held by one of the women in the evenings or if was a special Sunday Chris would cook them some of Sarah's old recipes.

Buck had a permanent ban on cooking, so he provided breakfast every morning in his house. It was an event no one missed unless Nathan had been visiting a patient or Ezra had a very late night, which was becoming rarer and rarer. He'd begun to join them for breakfast more regularly after the men had begun to send the children after him until he conceded. He now found it easier just to turn up.

Ezra had been the last to marry; only the year before to a woman his mother would have been horrified at if he had 'remembered' to tell her. She was a strict tomboy, even more so than Casey who had mostly started to become more ladylike, and far worse than that, she had no money; however it was a happy marriage.

Chris and Buck were the only two unmarried, a situation the other wives tried to change their minds on from time to time but Chris always maintained with an air of sadness he was still married while Buck just grinned slightly too much and claimed there were still too many women for him to see before he could settle on one. The two men always shared a look after those conversations, but no more was ever said.

'I heard. Nate suspects twins.' Chris didn't look up from where he was inspecting a large lump of wood.

'That crib we made for JD and Casey's little 'un won't be able to hold both,' Buck sat down beside his friend and picked up one of the knives. The crib the two men had made those years ago had held every child born on the ranch, JD and Casey's three, Nathan and Rains' two and Vin and Hannah's two children as a sign of good luck. However, these were the first twins to be born as well as the first time there would be two infants who needed a crib at the same time. While there had been a few close calls, they had always managed to pass the crib on in time for the next child. The only thing that changed was the blankets as the women always made a personalised one for each child.

'I was thinking, instead of animals for this one, maybe we put a deck of cards around it in honour of the saloon and Ezra's card games.' Chris suggested. There was no question they were going to make another one. These children were family. The first crib they had made together was a plain wood crib until you got to the middle on the outside where animals were holding tails as it went around the outside. It had taken them weeks to complete, but the finished product was stunning.

'Sounds good pard.'

'You going to tell anyone you were part of this gift this time?' Chris finally asked as they began work on the wood, plotting where they would carve.

'Why? Not as though they need to know I can work with wood, that's your skill pard. I just work with ladies!' Buck waggled his eyebrows causing Chris to very uncharacteristically roll his eyes. Age had mellowed him. Slightly.

'No, it's a skill you taught me. Just think they'd like to know.'

'Maybe,' Buck shrugged but Chris could tell he was thinking about it. There wasn't a reason they hadn't told anyone everyone had just assumed Chris had made it. The subject had been quickly changed as JD and Casey had thanked Chris and then the moment had been gone. The subject hadn't come up again. 'Besides, then we'd have to tell everyone how we met!' Buck paused dramatically before adding 'Pig.'

'Is that going to be a horse?' Buck spun at the sound of the young voice behind him, pausing in his carving. He had only just started this piece but the shape was already starting to show. The voice belonged to one of the new hands, he was pretty sure the boys name was Chris but he wasn't completely sure.

'Yeah. Good inspiration 'round here.' Buck gave a careless shrug and restarted his carving, he wasn't particularly interested in small talk at that moment, it had been a long week on the ranch and this was the first moment he'd had to himself for quite a while. While he was normally a people person, even he needed some time alone sometimes.

Instead of taking the rebuff as it was intended, the boy took it all in stride and instead of interrupting anymore, walked in front of him, and sat the ground, just watching him.

Without looking up, he took in the features of the boy in front of him; he looked as though he'd had a hard life, but then which one of them hadn't? His eyes seemed older than his body, which looked at possibly 15 if you were pushing it, though unlike many others, they still seemed to sparkle with life. His blonde hair was dusty and shaggy, mostly covered by a hat which had seen better days as had most of his clothes. Probably a drifter until now Buck decided. It was the usual case of leaving home to make something of himself, and never knowing where you'd end up.

'Buck Wilmington.' He finally decided to introduce himself. A smile lit up the boys face.

'Chris Larabee.'

'You ever tried to carve kid?'

'Nah, Papa never had time for things like that, said it was a waste of our time.' Chris didn't expand any more than that on his family, and Buck didn't ask. If someone didn't volunteer the information then you mostly left it alone or else your own past was fair game. 'Ain't a kid neither,' Chris added almost as an afterthought, causing Buck to laugh loudly.

'Course you ain't kid,' Buck retorted patronisingly and Chris snorted, rolling his eyes. Guess he'd gotten his measure of Buck already! 'D'you want to learn?' Chris' eyes lit up.

'Sure.'

'Okay, so first things, you got a knife?'

'I don't think anyone would ever believe you were the unfriendly one when we met either!' The other man gave a chuckle and grinned. 'I know I shouldn't be, god knows how patient you've always been with me, but your patience with me then still amazes me I was practically a stranger and I was awful at carving.' Chris reminisced with a rueful shake of his head.

'Just took practice, but please don't carve any more pigs.' Buck shuddered dramatically before gasping for breath as Chris elbowed him. Hard.

'It was a sheep.'

'Pig' Buck instantly argued.

'Sheep!'

'So who are we carving these for?' Chris broke the silence between them as they sat in the bunkhouse with a few farm animals already carved around them.

'Few for the orphanages and the rest probably for the kids of the whorehouses,' Buck replied after a moment's pause; wondering how much to say on the subject. Feeling the other mans questioning gaze, he continued. 'The kids in the whorehouses don't get much, most of those good Christian women of towns avoid them and all the charity goes to the orphanages, so I try and give them, I don't know, the acceptance maybe others won't.'

'A more Christian attitude than most of those so called people,' Chris gave a nod of approval, and a glance that suggested he knew more about Bucks past than Buck had told him, and yet he didn't say a word. Buck gave him a nod in thank; both for his approval of his plans and not speaking about Bucks origins.

'That's looking like it'll be a fine pig soon,' the older man compliments Chris, changing the subject to the toys they were carving. Chris' head shot up, looking insulted.

'It's a sheep!' Buck looked at the shape dubiously.

'It's a pig!'

'It's obviously a sheep! Are you blind!' Chris began to lose his temper.

'I think you've been out in the sun too long, that is a pig!' Buck snorted, not caring one bit about Chris' temper. Of course the first thing that was thrown at him was the aforementioned sheep/pig, followed quickly by Chris lunging at him. Buck laughed as they began to brawl. It wasn't as serious as when they were at the saloon, but enough that they would feel the bruises the next day.

'Remember I whooped your ass then, and I'll whoop you again now about my poor little sheep!' Chris mock threatened, age had slowed his temper a little and more of his and Bucks fights were verbal now rather than when they were 18 and 15.

'I think you're beginning to have memory problems as well as sight problems cause I whooped your scrawny little ass back then and it was still a pig!'

'Fine then, let's have a rematch!'

'Fine!' Buck rose to his feet slower than he would have done when he was younger, and grinned ruefully as he watched Chris do the same. They really were getting old!

'Uncle Chris! Uncle Buck! Mama says you need to get ready for dinner!' A child's voice yelled through the house through to the shed.

'Coming Rachel!' Buck called back and a second later there was the sound of the door slamming as the child ran for her food. 'She gets more and more like JD and Casey everyday!'

'Tell me about it. She's making me greyer every day.' Chris agreed. 'Don't think this is doing to get you out that rematch though.'

'I will make you regret that challenge kid.'

'I think I outgrew that nickname a long time ago,' Chris snorted as they made their way over to Casey and JD's house.

'Nah, you're still that scrawny kid that sat and watched me carving all those years ago, just a bit more experience now.' Buck disagreed mildly. Chris didn't reply, only placing a hand on Bucks shoulder as they walked. What else needed to be said? 'Still a pig,' Buck muttered earning himself a thump from the other man.

'Sheep.'

'Pig.'