Summary: Skydiving plus four members of Team 7 equals a relaxing trip? Never!
Notes: Happy Birthday, Helen. Hope it's a Magnificent one! This story contains some language, violence, and implied sex between men.
Disclaimer: Own none of the characters, or anything having to do with the Magnificent 7. Thanks goes to MOG for letting us all play in the ATF sandbox!
"You want us to do what?," asked Buck Wilmington, sure that he had misheard."I want us to go skydiving with Vin and Chris," JD Dunne replied, almost bouncing with excitement.
Buck shook his head. "Oh, no. You are not going."
JD's eyebrows rose as the excited smile left his face. "Excuse me?"
"You are not going skydiving, JD. What the hell are you thinking?," demanded Buck.
"We're off for a week, for vacation. I thought we could go and experience something new!"
The whole team had received a week off for rest and relaxation. They had worked non-stop for eight months, to bring down Mark Wiltis, a powerful gunrunner. It had been hard on all of them, Ezra had been deep undercover for six months, with only Chris as his only only contact.
"The other's goin'?"
"Vin and Chris, of course. Ezra's going to Las Vegas, Nathan and Rain are going to visit her parents, and Josiah's volunteering at the Youth Home," answered JD.
"Well, why don't you volunteer at the Youth Home? Why do you wanna go skydiving?"
JD sighed, "Because it'll be fun. I've never been before, and I've always wanted to go. Why are you so against it?"
"Because, JD, you could get seriously hurt!," Buck exclaimed.
"But I'm not going to. Everything will be fine."
"Famous last words," Buck mumbled. They were both silent for a couple of minutes. Then, Buck said, "You're not going. That's final."
The minute the words left Buck's mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. As JD's angry dark eyes burned holes through him, Buck inwardly kicked himself.
"When exactly did you become my father instead of my lover? I'm not asking your permission. In fact, it might be better if you don't go with us. But, I am going!" With that said, JD walked out of the apartment, slamming the door. Hopping on to his black Ducati motorcycle, he rode off.
Buck sighed as he pushed his hands through his hair, and sat down on the couch. "Damn," he whispered.
After sitting on the couch for a few minutes; Buck stood up, grabbed his keys, and walked outside. Getting in to his truck, he started driving toward the house that Vin and Chris shared.
Arriving twenty minutes later, Buck knocked on the door. "Hey, Buck. Come on in," greeted Vin Tanner. Entering he followed Vin in to the living room.
"Hey, Buck. What'cha doing here?," asked Chris Larabee from where he was laying down on the black leather couch.
Vin tapped Chris' legs, in a signal for him to move them. Chris scooted up, with his back against the armrest, so he could face Buck. After Vin had sat down, Chris plopped his feet in Vin's lap. Chris just smiled unrepentently at the mock glare that Vin threw his way.
Sitting in a black plush chair, Buck sighed and remained silent for a few minutes. When he could finally take it no more, he burst out, "What were you two thinkin'?!"
"What? What are you talkin' about?," asked Vin.
Buck sighed, "Why is JD planning to go on vacation with you you two? Skydiving, no less!"
"Oh, that. JD had told me, a while back, that he had always wanted to try it. So, when we decided to go, we invited him and you. Told him to let you know," answered Chris.
"Oh, he did!" After a slight pause, Buck continued, "Hmph. You know what kind of trouble he finds. Especially when with that one," Buck said as he inclined his head in Vin's direction.
"Hey!," was Vin's indignant response.
"Well, Babe, you and JD do have a knack for getting in to some.....unique situations."
Vin crossed his arms and mumbled, "Yeah. Well...."
Chris couldn't help thinking how cute Vin looked when he wore a pout. But, he would never let Vin know that. 'He'd probably make me sleep on the couch for a week,' Chris thought with an inward shudder.
Pulling himself out of his musings, he turned his attention back to Buck. "Don't worry, Bucklin. You and I will be going with them," Chris soothed. After a slight pause, he asked, "By the way, where is JD?"
With a slightly shamed look on his face, Buck answered, "I don't really know. We got in to an argument, about the skydiving trip, and I kind of....forbid him from goin'. Then, he got on his motorcycle and rode off."
"What?! Why the hell would you do that?," questioned Vin.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because he'd be jumping out of airplane at ten-thousand feet!," Buck sarcastically exclaimed.
"I understand how you feel. But, you have to let JD live his own life. If you keep forbidding him from doing things, because you think he'll get hurt, you'll end up pushing him away. You need to go home, wait for him to show up, and talk to him," said Chris.
Buck sighed and nodded, "Yeah. You're right."
Chris and VIn walked Buck to the door. "We'll see you tomorrow at the barbecue?," Chris asked.
"Yeah. See ya," Buck replied. After exchanging good-byes, Buck walked to his truck.
After Chris shut the door, he turned around and was face to face with Vin. It never ceased to amaze Chris that he had Vin. Vin was his second chance. After the death of his wife Sarah and their son Adam, he had wanted to die. He had buried himself in the whiskey bottle, trying to forget. He would be the first to admit that he had been a Class-A bastard. Still could be.
But, then, he had met the other half of his soul. He had met Vin Tanner, Team Seven's sharpshooter. He didn't deserve it, but he had received a second chance at love and at life.
Vin wrapped his arms around Chris' trim waist, while nuzzling against his neck. "I love you, Cowboy," stated Vin, his lips against Chris' ear.
Chris smiled, "Love, you too." With that said, Chris captured Vin's lips in a passionate kiss. When the need for air forced them to break away, Chris smiled at the dazed look in Vin's eyes. "How about we take this to the bedroom?," Chris suggested with a smile.
Eyes darkening in arousal, Vin replied, "I like how you think, Cowboy."
Arriving back at the apartment, Buck sighed in disappointment at not seeing JD's motorcycle. After ten minutes of sitting on the couch, and wringing his hands in frustration and worry, he finally heard the front door open.
Jumping to his feet, he met JD as he started to enter the living room. "Where were you? Are you okay?"
JD nodded, "I'm fine, Buck. I was just riding around, thinking."
"Listen, JD, I've been thinking too. I shouldn't have over reacted like I did, and I definitely should not have forbid you from going skydiving. I'm just worried about you jumping out of airplane. I had to do it when Chris and I were in the Navy Seals, and it's not the easiest thing to do. Plus, there's always the danger that a parachute won't open."
JD nodded, and grabbed a hold of Buck's hands. "I understand. But, I have always wanted to try skydiving. But, if anything goes wrong, I'll allow you to say "Told ya so" as much as you want. Deal?"
Buck gave a small smile, "Deal. And, I am sorry about earlier."
JD nodded, giving Buck a sly smile. "How about you make it up to me?"
Buck smirked, "I am yours to command."
"Just what I like to hear," replied JD as they started toward their bedroom.
+ + + + + + +
The next afternoon, all seven guys from Denver's ATF Team Seven were together at Chris and Vin's. They were all lounging around the backyard, drinking beers, as Josiah Sanchez manned the grill.
"Where's Rain, Nate?," asked Buck.
"She had to work today, so we'd be ready to head out tomorrow."
"Did you and Vin ever figure out what you're going to do for vacation, Brother Chris?," asked Josiah as he turned the hamburgers.
"Yeah. We're gonna go skydiving with Buck and JD."
You could hear a pin drop in the silence that reined. "You are kidding, right?," questioned Nathan Jackson.
"No," replied Chris.
"Where do you plan to go skydiving at?," asked Ezra Standish.
"There's a place outside of Denver," said Vin.
Nathan pulled out his cellphone, getting ready to dial it. "Who ya callin', Nate?," asked JD.
"Just the the Denver hospital, and the hospitals in the surrounding counties."
"Uh, why?," asked a confused Buck.
"Oh, to let them know to be expecting y'all by the end of the week," Nathan seriously answered.
"Nathan, put the phone up. Nothing's going to happen," said a grinning Chris.
Nathan raised an eyebrow, and said, "Maybe I should go with you. You might need me."
"No way. Rain would never forgive us for taking you along. Plus, you'd be in the doghouse for missing the trip to see her parents," said Vin.
"Definitely," said a slightly cringing Nathan.
"Perhaps one of us should accompany y'all, Mister Tanner," Ezra said.
"Would you three quit worrying? We'll be fine!," said an exasperated Chris.
"Well, I will still pray for you, Brothers," replied Josiah.
While Chris felt that they were over reacting, there was a small part of him that welcomed Josiah's prayer.
Two Days Later
Chris, Buck, JD, and Vin were on the airplane that was owned by a small company called Extreme. They had their parachutes on and were anxiously awaiting their time to jump."Nervous?," Chris asked JD, who was bouncing his right leg up and down.
JD shrugged, "Well, yeah, a little." With a big grin, he added, "Mostly excited."
Chris looked at his watch, "Five more minutes. Then, we'll be over the drop zone."
"Deja vu. Flashing back to our Seal days," said Buck.
Before anyone could say anything else, the plane titled. Struggling to stand, they grabbed on to each other, trying to keep from falling down.
Suddenly, they could hear gunfire. They could hear the bullets hitting the plane.
"What the hell?!," Chris exclaimed.
The cockpit door opened and the co-pilot rushed over to them. "You're going to have to jump early. Make sure you're ready."
"What's goin' on?," asked Buck.
"All we know is, someone's shooting at the plane. We have no idea who." With that, the co-pilot headed back to his place in the cockpit.
"Holly Hannah! Look, guys!," exclaimed JD. Hearing the urgency in the young man's voice caused the other three to quickly look at where he was pointing.
"Please tell me that that isn't what I think it is," Vin dryly said.
"A fire-grenade. And, it's pointed right at us. We're gonna have to get off of here, ASAP!" Rushing over to the cockpit, Chris spoke to the pilots.
"There's a fire-grenade pointed right at us. We're all going to have to jump, now!"
"Go ahead. We'll be right behind you," the pilot said as he switched the Auto-Pilot on.
Chris nodded, hurrying back to his men. One by one, they jumped out of the plane. They had barely made it out when the plane exploded in to a large ball of fire. The explosion was making them fall faster, and they were trying to, unsuccessfully, keep from hit by the plane debris.
Managing to pull their parachute cords, they were able to slow their descent a little. Too late, they realized where they were going to land. Hitting a rapidly-flowing river, they all grunted in pain.
The last thought JD had, before the darkness overtook him was, 'Aw, crap!'
Even though the parachutes were keeping them afloat, Chris also knew that they were hindering them from trying to swim to shore. After a little wriggling, he was able to get the parachute straps off of his shoulders.
Fighting against the rapids, he was able to reach Vin, who was unconscious. After getting Vin's parachute off of him, he kept his head above water while he swam them both to the shore. Reaching dry land, he heaved first Vin, then himself, on to it. Then, putting his ear down near Vin's mouth and nose, he determined that he was breathing. He had a gash on his head. Whatever had hit him had probably knocked him out.
"CHRIS! CHRIS!"
Chris quickly looked back at the water, seeing that it was Buck yelling for him and he could see what the problem was. The river was carrying JD downstream, away from them. And, Buck couldn't catch up to him.
Chris jumped up, starting to run down the river bank. "BUCK, GO BE WITH VIN! I'LL GET JD!"
Chancing a look back, a minute later, Chris saw Buck work himself free of his parachute. Even though he didn't look happy about it, he did as Chris said, and went to be with Vin.
Turning back around, Chris saw something that made his breath catch and his heart jump in to his throat. JD was heading straight toward a waterfall! He knew that if JD went over the waterfall, they probably never find him. Alive, anyway.
He saw JD being pushed near the bank. If he could reach him, he'd be able to grab on to him. Letting adrenaline take over, he was able to put on a burst of speed. He knelt down on to the river bank, waiting for the water to push JD over to him. JD's parachute got snagged on a tree branch, and was ripped off of the young man.
As JD hit the river bank, he had nothing keeping him afloat. His head kept disappearing under the water, taking longer each time to re-emerge. Chris grabbed on to JD's right arm, holding on as tightly as he could. A minute later, he saw a second set of hands grab JD's other arm. Looking up, he saw that it was Buck.
"Vin's awake and he seems fine. And, I'm not going to lose JD," Buck said.
Chris nodded. Panting, they were able to heave JD's body out of the water and on to dry land. "Chris, he's not breathing!," exclaimed Buck.
"CPR," Chris said.
Tilting JD's head back, making sure that his airway was unblocked, and holding his nose, Buck blew a quick Breath into JD's open mouth. When he was done, Chris did five quick compressions on his chest. Buck breathed into JD again.
JD started coughing up water. Chris and Buck quickly turned him onto his side, so he wouldn't choke. "I can't...m-move my...f-foot," JD panted out in a stutter.
"Let me see," said Buck. Checking both feet, Buck realized that JD was talking about his right foot. It was definitely broken.
"It's broken," he said. "Don't guess we have a first-aid kit anymore?," he asked, clearly expecting the answer to be 'no'.
Chris opened his mouth to give Buck the expected answer, when he saw one of their backpacks floating in the water. "We might," he said. Getting onto his stomach, he got as close to the water as he could without falling in. Stretching, he was able to grab onto the straps of the pack.
Opening it, he looked in. "There are two bottles of water, six granola bars, a pocketknife, and a first-aid kit." Handing the first aid kit to Buck, he said, "I'm going to go get Vin. I don't like for him to be by himself." Buck just nodded as he started to carefully wrap an ace bandage around JD's foot. Hopefully, it would help some.
"You doing alright, Vin?," Chris asked after he had reached him.
Vin grimaced, "Yeah."
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
It took Vin a couple of slow blinks before he could bring the fingers into focus. "Th-three," he said in a raspy voice.
Chris just raised an eyebrow. "Why are you cradling your arm?"
Looking at the arm against his chest, Vin answered, "I think it's broken." Examining it, Chris found out that Vin was right.
"Let's get your shirt off, Babe. We'll make a sling for your arm."
Helping Vin to get his shirt off, Chris carefully wrapped it around Vin's arm, then tied it behind his neck. "Let's get over to Buck and JD, and I'll clean that gash on your head."
Within thirty minutes, Buck and Chris had cleaned and bandaged any cuts that could on Vin, JD, and themselves.
"Guess we ain't got any weapons," said Buck.
Chris reached behind him, pulling his service Glock out of his waistband. They all always took their guns and badges with them wherever they went. They never knew when they would need them. "Well, my gun's waterlogged," Chris said. He put it back in his waistband, at the small of his back. Never know when something could come in handy.
"I still have...my...k-knife," Vin said as he pointed at his left boot.
Chris carefully got the water-soaked boot off of Vin's foot, finding the Bowie knife. At least know they had a usable weapon.
"Alright, we've got to get back to the highway and try to get some help," Chris said. Helping JD and Vin to stand, they were getting ready to start walking when they heard a loud engine. Looking up, Chris saw a helicopter.
Taking a chance, he started waving his arms around. Suddenly, gunfire erupted around them, coming from the helicopter. Dirt kicking up at their feet, they hurried away as fast as they could. Entering a woodland area, they took refuge under a thick clump of tall trees. They were all deathly still as they heard the helicopter getting closer and closer.
After it passed over them, they waited for a few minutes. When it didn't return, they all let out a collective relieved breath, and stood up. With Buck helping a hopping JD, and Chris helping Vin, they started walking.
+ + + + + + +
Chris looked at his watch, thank God it was waterproof, and saw that they had been walking for six hours with only a few small breaks. It was now seven in the evening. It was getting dark and cooler. They were all shivering from being wet.
"We need to stop," said a tired Buck.
Chris knew he was right. Looking over to his right, he saw the outlines of something. "I'll be right back," he said.
A few minutes later, he found what he had seen. It was a building, nothing more than a shack really. But, it would be a shelter. A place to rest. "Guess Josiah's prayer is working," Chris mumbled gratefully.
He hurried back to the others. When he reached them, he saw JD on the ground, his head in a worried Buck's lap.
"What happened?"
"He passed out. He's burning up, Chris."
"I found a shack over there," Chris said pointing to where he had just come back from. "Let's go."
Buck heaved JD into a fireman's carry, then followed behind Vin and Chris.
The shack's door was unlocked, and squeaked open. Walking in, they saw nothing but a small wooden table, a couple of musty blankets on the wooden floor, and a lantern on the table. Buck gently laid JD down on to one of the blankets, hoping that it was sanitary enough.
Chris found three matches beside the lantern. Lighting it, he saw that it had a little oil left. 'Hope it's enough,' he thought.
JD started tossing his head back and forth, shivering. Chris walked over, seeing the young man pouring the sweat and mumbling something about pink elephants in tutus.
He had a raging fever. "We all need to get warm," he said. "Buck, strip JD and yourself. Cuddle up for body heat. Maybe we'll be able to sweat that fever out of him. Vin and I are going to do the same."
Walking to where Vin was sitting on the other blanket, Chris asked, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. M-my throat's...too s-sore to...t-talk," Vin rasped out.
Chris nodded, wincing in sympathy. "Let's strip. We need to cuddle together for warmth." Vin just nodded as Chris helped him strip. When they were done, they were completely naked, laying tightly together on the blanket. Usually they would be getting ready for some serious fooling around, but not this time.
The Next Morning - 7AM
"What do you mean you lost them?," asked an angry Jake Wiltis."They ran into a woodsy area and we couldn't see them anymore," said Bradley Franks.
With a look of disgust, Jake growled, "I guess what they say is true. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Come on." Jake walked out of his cabin, four of his henchmen behind him.
Getting in to a helicopter, they started toward the area where his men had lost the bastards. Jake's eyes narrowed. They were going to pay. After he took care of these four, the other rat-bastards were going to pay.
About an hour later, Jake spoke into his mic. "There's a shack. Land. I bet they went in there."
The pilot nodded, doing as he was told. Jake and his four men jumped out of the helicopter, armed with machine guns, nine-millimeters, and knifes.
Inside the Shack
Buck, Vin, and Chris had managed to fall into a restless sleep around dawn. JD had been tossing and turning, and crying out because of his fever-induced dreams all night long.Hearing a noise outside, Chris got off of the floor. Tugging on his jeans and shirt, he quietly told VIn and Buck to do the same. shack's only grimy window.
"YOU! AT THE WINDOW! I WANT YOU AND YOUR MEN TO COME OUT NOW!"
Chris used his shirt, wrapped around his hand, to break out the window glass payne. That way they'd be able to hear and see better. "WHY? WHO ARE YOU?"
"I'M JAKE WILTIS. THE BROTHER TO MARK WILTIS. REMEMBER HIM?"
"YEAH."
"YOU AND YOUR MEN KILLED HIM. MADE HIM BECOME SOMETHING HE SHOULDN'T HAVE!"
"WE DIDN'T KILL HIM," Buck yelled out the window.
"AS SOON AS YOU ARRESTED HIM AND THREW HIM IN PRISON, HE BECAME EVERYONE'S BITCH! BECAUSE OF HIS LOOKS I WOULD WAGER. THEN WHEN THEY BECAME TIRED OF HIM, THEY CUT OFF HIS GENITALS. LEFT HIM IN HIS CELL TO BLEED TO DEATH. HE WAS FOUND BUT KILLED HIMSELF IN THE PRISON INFIRMARY."
"HE MADE HIS OWN DECISIONS!," Buck called out, tired of all of the screaming.
They saw Wiltis saying something to his men, then the men started walking toward them. Wiltis had probably ordered them killed. Bullets started hitting the shack. Chris hit the floor, yanking Vin down with him. Buck laid over JD covering him. "Look at the elephants, in the pink dresses, do jujitsu, Buck," mumbled a laughing Buck. Buck was worried, he had never been so worried in his life. They had to get JD to a hospital. Seeing elephants in pink dresses, doing the jujitsu, could not be good. Not in Buck's opinion.
The shack door opened. When the man had stepped far enough in, Chris tripped him. Then, knocked him out with one punch to the side of the head. Grabbing the man's nine-millimeter and machine gun, he slid the nine-millimeter to Buck.
He and Buck started firing out of the broken window. Chris hit one guy, Buck hit another. Vin saw one of the men aiming for Chris. He threw the Bowie knife, hitting the man square in the middle of the chest. The man's arms flew upward, his gun falling to the ground, as he fell down dead. He couldn't help the small satisfaction he felt.
JD's eyes slowly opened, as he wondered what the hell was going on. He was lucid for the time being. He saw a man on the floor, rising to his knees, getting ready to attack Buck and Chris from the back. He grabbed the tin box, that held the first aid kit, and crawled on his belly over to the man. Summoning what little strength he could, he swung the tin box, connecting the base of the man's neck. As the man slumped forward, JD passed back out, lost once again to the fevered dreams.
Buck rushed over to him, gathering him up in his arms. Kissing JD's forehead, he whispered, "Thank you, Baby. I love you."
Chris saw Jake Wiltis trying to escape, and ran out the door. Managing to tackle him, Jack's head slammed in to a tree, knocking him out. After checking to see if he was still breathing, and determining that he was, he found a cellphone in the man's pants pocket. See a little bit of a signal, he hoped it was enough.
Dialing 911, he waited for someone to answer. On the second ring, a woman said, "911. What is...emergency?" Even though, she was breaking up, he could make out what she meant.
"We're...a shack...woods. Need help!"
"Alright. We know...that is. Be there....minutes." Then, the cellphone lost it's signal and went dead. A few minutes later, sirens and a helicopter could be heard.
JD was immediately MedEvac'd out, along with Buck who refused to leave his side even for a minute.
Chris and Vin rode in the ambulance to the local hospital. "Nathan's gonna love this," Chris dryly stated, causing Vin to chuckle.
A Week Later
JD slowly blinked his eyes open. After a few blinks, everything was in focus. "What...h-happened?," he asked."You've been out of it with a fever for a week," answered Buck as he held JD's hand.
"Everyone...okay?"
"Sure are," said Nathan.
"You're...not i-in..the do-doghouse with..Rain...a-are you?," asked JD.
"Nah. She's downstairs getting some coffee," said a smiling Nathan.
"Y'all can go get somethin' to eat. I'll stay with him," offered Vin.
"I don't know....," replied Buck.
"I'll be...f-fine," said JD.
"Alright. By the way, I told you so," said Buck.
JD gave a slight smile, and nodded, "So, you did."
Leaning over, Buck gave JD a loving and tender kiss.
Out in the Hall
"I believe that you owe me your chili recipe, MIster Sanchez," said Ezra.Josiah nodded in agreement.
"Why?," asked a suspicious Chris.
"I bet Mister Sanchez that you and your companions would be in the hospital before your trip was due to end. He thought it would at the end of the trip.
Nathan and Buck laughed as Chris glared.
Inside the Hospital Room
An hour later, everyone, including Rain, was back in JD's hospital room. You know, JD and I was thinkin'," started Vin."About what, Brother?," asked Josiah.
"Well, we was thinkin' that maybe we could try the skydiving trip again next year."
"HELL NO!," immediately rang out six voices.