[Mag 7 Fic] The Path Less Traveled- PG-13- 11/12
Title: The Path Less Traveled
Author: Jourdana Standish
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven- for the Mag7BigBang
Summary: A young man is desperate to uncover the mystery of his past, sometimes intruded by dreams that he thinks are memories and flashbacks, but none enough to fully remember. His quest to discover who he really is brings him to Four Corners after persuading a woman he has befriended to come with him. What he doesn’t know is that his presence, along with hers, is going to flip the lives of the Seven upside down and nothing will ever be the same again.
Author’s Note: The events in this story take place about six years after the episode “Lady Killers”. There is also a minor link to a previous story I wrote, “Lies Become Unraveled” but you do not need to read that story to read or understand this one. They are separate entities.
I’d like to think my beta reader, masteralida for her services and encouragement while I wrote this. Also thank you so much to my artist, nomooreroo, not only for the great artwork, but for showing so much enthusiasm over the story that it helped motivate me even further to make sure I got it done. It meant a lot to me.
~~
Vin pushed the spy glass back to its smaller position before putting it in his saddlebag. “Yep, she’s down there,” he said.
“Kate with her?” Buck asked.
“Someone is, I suspect whoever they are is Kate,” Vin said. “Saw someone tied up but couldn’t make out exactly.”
“So sending a canon into the dilapidated building is out of the question,” Ezra drawled.
“This is personal,” Chris said, his eyes intent on the small, rundown shack. “No long distance anything for this one.”
“What about Kate?” Adam had to ask. “What if she’s not in there with her?”
“We’ll find out, son,” Josiah said. “Another reason not to do anything at a distance. We don’t want Ella dead if she’s got Kate hidden somewhere.”
“What if we’re too late to save her?” JD asked. He still wasn’t overly fond of the idea of the woman being around, but she wasn’t her sister. And Chris seemed taken with her. His demons needed to be settled because he couldn’t hold her to blame for what her sister did.
Chris didn’t answer JD, but Buck saw the tell-tale sign of his jaw clenching at the very idea. Adam started to vocalize his protest, but Buck shook his head. Finally, he looked at his young friend.
“Can’t think like that, JD,” Buck said. “Until we see her as...” He couldn’t bring himself to say corpse or anything about a dead body. “Until we see otherwise, we need to think she’s alive and act like she is.”
“We can’t really go in guns blazin’,” Vin said. “Ella’s likely to use Kate as some sort of shield, or kill her before we can get to her.”
“That’s exactly what we’ll do,” Chris said.
“Pa?!” Adam said, frowning at his father.
“Ella knows that we would never risk Kate,” Chris said. “So we’d find a way to sneak in. I’m sure she’s done something to expect that.”
“So risking the fair Miss Stokes is the answer?” Ezra asked, a confused frown puckering his forehead.
“She’s at risk regardless,” Chris pointed out. “So we do the unexpected.” He pulled out his gun, grinning grimly at them. “Let’s ride.”
They rode in, guns blazing, doing their best to keep an eye out for Kate. They pulled up quickly, eight hell-raisers whose horses reared up as they pulled them to a stop. All the men stared at the sight they were met with. There stood Ella, dragging Kate in front of her. The other woman was tethered, a blade pressed to her throat. She had blood on her face and she was covered in dirt, a bruise forming near her temple.
“Come closer and I will kill her,” Ella said. Her gaze shifted to Chris. “My love.”
Chris’ lips turned up in a sneer. “I am no love to you,” he growled. “Let her go, Ella.”
“She’s standing in my way,” Ella said. “They all are! They are standing in *our* way!”
“Our way of what?” Chris demanded. “Of being together? You had my wife killed! How could--.”
“She did it,” Kate said, cutting off Chris. “She killed her.”
“What?” Buck asked when Chris stared at Kate silently.
“She killed Sarah,” Kate said. A gurgle sound slipped from her lips as Ella pressed the knife closer to her throat.
“She’s lying,” Ella said.
“Ma was shot,” Adam said. “I heard the shot go off.”
“You remember...” Kate whispered.
“Who the hell is this? Who the he...” Ella demanded before trailing off. As she studied Adam, everything that the others saw was apparent. She screamed and grew tense and agitated behind Kate. “You’re dead!”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Adam sneered.
“Someone might have shot at her or the little boy they thought was you,” Kate said. “But Ella killed Sarah. She slit her throat. She told me she did.”
“She’s lying!” Ella screamed. “You lying whore!” She grabbed for Kate’s hair, yanking her head back.
“If you kill her, I will kill you,” Chris said, his voice hard and cold. “If you think I’ll let you kill someone else I care about, you better think again.”
“She’s just a whore, Chris,” Ella said. “How could you love a whore? How could you have loved two of them?”
“Sarah was my angel,” Chris said plainly. “She was heaven sent to lead me out of the dark path you started leading me down. You were poison to me, Ella. She was the healing balm I needed to get rid of that poison. And she gave me Adam. You took them both from me. Kate may be no saint, but she’s not a whore either.”
“You rolled around with her like she was one, I saw you!” Kate paled at the idea that this woman had watched her and Chris together.
“What Kate and I did privately is none of your concern,” Chris said harshly. “Even if Kate and I hadn’t been together and I took up with some working girl who’s name I didn’t know, I’d rather be with her than with you. I despise you, Ella Gaines. You stole my world from me and thought I’d just accept it.”
“No,” Ella said. “No, you love me. You always have. You just needed the obstacles gone to realize it.”
“I may have thought I loved you at one time, but you weren’t good for me. And even if I thought of giving us a second chance years ago, that was destroyed when I found out you were the reason my life was ripped in two!” Chris’ anger had snapped, screaming at Ella.
“No!” Ella yelled. “You love me. You love--.”
Kate could feel Ella’s fingers loosening in her hair was she raged at Chris, but the blade was cutting closer to her throat as well. Throwing caution to the wind, Kate leaned forward, pressing the blade even more into her throat before quickly slamming her head backwards. She felt her skull connect with Ella’s face and heard a sickening crunch just as she threw herself to the side as she felt her hair released as the other woman screamed.
Two gunshots broke whatever silence surrounded them, then a gurgling sound before two thuds came as two bodies hit the wooden porch. Kate didn’t dare open her eyes, pain assaulting her again as she had felt shift in her shoulder when she fell, her hands still tethered behind her. She couldn’t tell if it was blood or sweat sliding down her neck until she felt the sting of sweat in the slice at her throat.
“Kate!” She finally managed to open her eyes, staring up into two pairs of concerned green eyes as Chris and Adam knelt over her. Adam shifted and moved behind her, beginning to work at the ropes around her wrist as Chris helped her sit up. She cried out softly when he came into contact with her injured shoulder.
“Nath--,” Chris started to yell.
“Right here,” Nathan said. “Looks like her shoulder’s dislocated from that fall. Suspect she might have a bit of a concussion from slamming her head into Ella’s face.”
“What the hell were you thinking risking your life like that?” Chris demanded.
“Needed to break her hold,” Kate said. “Need--.” Her words were cut off as she screamed when Nathan easily slipped her shoulder back into the joint.
“What the hell?” Adam demanded.
“Dislocated shoulders ain’t easy to get back into place,” Nathan explained to him. “And it’s mighty painful, but better than not taking care of it and the arm being useless.”
Kate slumped against Chris, letting her eyes adjust. The pain from her shoulder had created spots and she almost thought she was going to pass out. As she shifted, that’s when she saw Ella’s body. Only two shots had rung out, she did distinctly remember that before hitting the ground. Both shots found their marks- one through Ella’s throat, the other right between her eyes.
“He’s a good shot,” Chris said quietly, seeing where Kate was looking.
“What?” she asked.
“Adam,” Chris said. “He’s the one that got her between the eyes.”
“Need to get her back to town,” Nathan said. “I can clean that cut up, but may need a couple stitches and I want to make sure it don’t get infected. Need to keep an eye on her for the next day or so from the hit to the head.”
“Ankle,” Kate said against Chris. “Feels swollen in my boot.”
Nathan nodded. “Will take a look at that too once we get you back to town,” he said.
“I got her,” Chris said. With his son’s help, he rose to his feet and lifted Kate into his arms.
“What about her body?” Buck asked, his voice hard as he tilted his head to where Ella lay.
“Leave it as far as I’m concerned,” Chris said. “Ain’t my call.”
“We’ll handle it, Chris,” Ezra said. “Get Kate back to town, let the ladies know we’re right behind?”
“Will,” Chris said. Adam took Kate from Chris’ arms so he could mount his horse before lowering himself to take Kate and settle her in front of him. It worried him slightly when she laid her head against his chest, not even stirring up a fuss. He only hoped that it was because she had no other real choice and that she realized he needed to hold her and ensure she was okay. Now that he and Adam had their vengeance, the fact that he almost lost Kate was chilling Chris to the bone. Which told more of his emotions than he realized. That was all he thought of as he, Nathan and Adam turned their horses back to town.
Author: Jourdana Standish
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven- for the Mag7BigBang
Summary: A young man is desperate to uncover the mystery of his past, sometimes intruded by dreams that he thinks are memories and flashbacks, but none enough to fully remember. His quest to discover who he really is brings him to Four Corners after persuading a woman he has befriended to come with him. What he doesn’t know is that his presence, along with hers, is going to flip the lives of the Seven upside down and nothing will ever be the same again.
Author’s Note: The events in this story take place about six years after the episode “Lady Killers”. There is also a minor link to a previous story I wrote, “Lies Become Unraveled” but you do not need to read that story to read or understand this one. They are separate entities.
I’d like to think my beta reader, masteralida for her services and encouragement while I wrote this. Also thank you so much to my artist, nomooreroo, not only for the great artwork, but for showing so much enthusiasm over the story that it helped motivate me even further to make sure I got it done. It meant a lot to me.
~~
Vin pushed the spy glass back to its smaller position before putting it in his saddlebag. “Yep, she’s down there,” he said.
“Kate with her?” Buck asked.
“Someone is, I suspect whoever they are is Kate,” Vin said. “Saw someone tied up but couldn’t make out exactly.”
“So sending a canon into the dilapidated building is out of the question,” Ezra drawled.
“This is personal,” Chris said, his eyes intent on the small, rundown shack. “No long distance anything for this one.”
“What about Kate?” Adam had to ask. “What if she’s not in there with her?”
“We’ll find out, son,” Josiah said. “Another reason not to do anything at a distance. We don’t want Ella dead if she’s got Kate hidden somewhere.”
“What if we’re too late to save her?” JD asked. He still wasn’t overly fond of the idea of the woman being around, but she wasn’t her sister. And Chris seemed taken with her. His demons needed to be settled because he couldn’t hold her to blame for what her sister did.
Chris didn’t answer JD, but Buck saw the tell-tale sign of his jaw clenching at the very idea. Adam started to vocalize his protest, but Buck shook his head. Finally, he looked at his young friend.
“Can’t think like that, JD,” Buck said. “Until we see her as...” He couldn’t bring himself to say corpse or anything about a dead body. “Until we see otherwise, we need to think she’s alive and act like she is.”
“We can’t really go in guns blazin’,” Vin said. “Ella’s likely to use Kate as some sort of shield, or kill her before we can get to her.”
“That’s exactly what we’ll do,” Chris said.
“Pa?!” Adam said, frowning at his father.
“Ella knows that we would never risk Kate,” Chris said. “So we’d find a way to sneak in. I’m sure she’s done something to expect that.”
“So risking the fair Miss Stokes is the answer?” Ezra asked, a confused frown puckering his forehead.
“She’s at risk regardless,” Chris pointed out. “So we do the unexpected.” He pulled out his gun, grinning grimly at them. “Let’s ride.”
They rode in, guns blazing, doing their best to keep an eye out for Kate. They pulled up quickly, eight hell-raisers whose horses reared up as they pulled them to a stop. All the men stared at the sight they were met with. There stood Ella, dragging Kate in front of her. The other woman was tethered, a blade pressed to her throat. She had blood on her face and she was covered in dirt, a bruise forming near her temple.
“Come closer and I will kill her,” Ella said. Her gaze shifted to Chris. “My love.”
Chris’ lips turned up in a sneer. “I am no love to you,” he growled. “Let her go, Ella.”
“She’s standing in my way,” Ella said. “They all are! They are standing in *our* way!”
“Our way of what?” Chris demanded. “Of being together? You had my wife killed! How could--.”
“She did it,” Kate said, cutting off Chris. “She killed her.”
“What?” Buck asked when Chris stared at Kate silently.
“She killed Sarah,” Kate said. A gurgle sound slipped from her lips as Ella pressed the knife closer to her throat.
“She’s lying,” Ella said.
“Ma was shot,” Adam said. “I heard the shot go off.”
“You remember...” Kate whispered.
“Who the hell is this? Who the he...” Ella demanded before trailing off. As she studied Adam, everything that the others saw was apparent. She screamed and grew tense and agitated behind Kate. “You’re dead!”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Adam sneered.
“Someone might have shot at her or the little boy they thought was you,” Kate said. “But Ella killed Sarah. She slit her throat. She told me she did.”
“She’s lying!” Ella screamed. “You lying whore!” She grabbed for Kate’s hair, yanking her head back.
“If you kill her, I will kill you,” Chris said, his voice hard and cold. “If you think I’ll let you kill someone else I care about, you better think again.”
“She’s just a whore, Chris,” Ella said. “How could you love a whore? How could you have loved two of them?”
“Sarah was my angel,” Chris said plainly. “She was heaven sent to lead me out of the dark path you started leading me down. You were poison to me, Ella. She was the healing balm I needed to get rid of that poison. And she gave me Adam. You took them both from me. Kate may be no saint, but she’s not a whore either.”
“You rolled around with her like she was one, I saw you!” Kate paled at the idea that this woman had watched her and Chris together.
“What Kate and I did privately is none of your concern,” Chris said harshly. “Even if Kate and I hadn’t been together and I took up with some working girl who’s name I didn’t know, I’d rather be with her than with you. I despise you, Ella Gaines. You stole my world from me and thought I’d just accept it.”
“No,” Ella said. “No, you love me. You always have. You just needed the obstacles gone to realize it.”
“I may have thought I loved you at one time, but you weren’t good for me. And even if I thought of giving us a second chance years ago, that was destroyed when I found out you were the reason my life was ripped in two!” Chris’ anger had snapped, screaming at Ella.
“No!” Ella yelled. “You love me. You love--.”
Kate could feel Ella’s fingers loosening in her hair was she raged at Chris, but the blade was cutting closer to her throat as well. Throwing caution to the wind, Kate leaned forward, pressing the blade even more into her throat before quickly slamming her head backwards. She felt her skull connect with Ella’s face and heard a sickening crunch just as she threw herself to the side as she felt her hair released as the other woman screamed.
Two gunshots broke whatever silence surrounded them, then a gurgling sound before two thuds came as two bodies hit the wooden porch. Kate didn’t dare open her eyes, pain assaulting her again as she had felt shift in her shoulder when she fell, her hands still tethered behind her. She couldn’t tell if it was blood or sweat sliding down her neck until she felt the sting of sweat in the slice at her throat.
“Kate!” She finally managed to open her eyes, staring up into two pairs of concerned green eyes as Chris and Adam knelt over her. Adam shifted and moved behind her, beginning to work at the ropes around her wrist as Chris helped her sit up. She cried out softly when he came into contact with her injured shoulder.
“Nath--,” Chris started to yell.
“Right here,” Nathan said. “Looks like her shoulder’s dislocated from that fall. Suspect she might have a bit of a concussion from slamming her head into Ella’s face.”
“What the hell were you thinking risking your life like that?” Chris demanded.
“Needed to break her hold,” Kate said. “Need--.” Her words were cut off as she screamed when Nathan easily slipped her shoulder back into the joint.
“What the hell?” Adam demanded.
“Dislocated shoulders ain’t easy to get back into place,” Nathan explained to him. “And it’s mighty painful, but better than not taking care of it and the arm being useless.”
Kate slumped against Chris, letting her eyes adjust. The pain from her shoulder had created spots and she almost thought she was going to pass out. As she shifted, that’s when she saw Ella’s body. Only two shots had rung out, she did distinctly remember that before hitting the ground. Both shots found their marks- one through Ella’s throat, the other right between her eyes.
“He’s a good shot,” Chris said quietly, seeing where Kate was looking.
“What?” she asked.
“Adam,” Chris said. “He’s the one that got her between the eyes.”
“Need to get her back to town,” Nathan said. “I can clean that cut up, but may need a couple stitches and I want to make sure it don’t get infected. Need to keep an eye on her for the next day or so from the hit to the head.”
“Ankle,” Kate said against Chris. “Feels swollen in my boot.”
Nathan nodded. “Will take a look at that too once we get you back to town,” he said.
“I got her,” Chris said. With his son’s help, he rose to his feet and lifted Kate into his arms.
“What about her body?” Buck asked, his voice hard as he tilted his head to where Ella lay.
“Leave it as far as I’m concerned,” Chris said. “Ain’t my call.”
“We’ll handle it, Chris,” Ezra said. “Get Kate back to town, let the ladies know we’re right behind?”
“Will,” Chris said. Adam took Kate from Chris’ arms so he could mount his horse before lowering himself to take Kate and settle her in front of him. It worried him slightly when she laid her head against his chest, not even stirring up a fuss. He only hoped that it was because she had no other real choice and that she realized he needed to hold her and ensure she was okay. Now that he and Adam had their vengeance, the fact that he almost lost Kate was chilling Chris to the bone. Which told more of his emotions than he realized. That was all he thought of as he, Nathan and Adam turned their horses back to town.