Peace on Earth
WARNING: Death of major canon character.
It was a beautiful, clear night. The air was crisp, the stars shone bright and the faint pleasant aroma of woodsmoke and gingerbread seemed to linger in the atmosphere. Evoking sweet memories of childhood and Santa Claus. Of a time when anything seemed possible and the world was still a magical place. When there was still room for belief. For wonder. And that was as it should be. For tonight was Christmas Eve.
Except, not all children had the luxury of believing. For some, the world was a dark, scary place from the time they were born. A place that contained no wonder. Only pain and fear. And eventually hate and anger. A never ending circle of destruction in which the lines between victim and perpetrator became increasingly unclear. Christmas meant nothing to lost souls such as these. There was no room for peace on earth in their lives. And, all too often, this was borne out in the blood of others.
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Vin Tanner strode happily through the mall. This was the first Christmas he could ever remember enjoying. But then, it was the first Christmas he could ever remember having anyone to share the holiday with. Anyone he cared about, that is. And who cared about him, in return. Most years, he went camping or hiking by himself til it was over. Because being alone out in the wilderness made him feel less lonely than being alone in the city surrounded by people.
But this year would be different. He was going out to spend Christmas Eve with Chris and the others at Chris' ranch. JD would make them all watch It's A Wonderful Life. And they would moan and groan about it and then secretly enjoy every minute of it. Buck would drive everyone crazy trying to guess what his presents were. Chris wouldn't say much, but he wouldn't have to. Just the fact that he'd invited them all there to celebrate spoke volumes. Yep. Vin Tanner was definitely looking forward to this Christmas.
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Vin remained blissfully unaware of the smiles he garnered from fellow shoppers as they noted the Santa hat perched at a jaunty angle on his head, the cheeks red from the cold and the twinkle in the vivid blue eyes. More than one person thought he looked rather like an elf. Or perhaps like a young Kris Kringle before all the Mrs.' home cooking took its toll.
"Excuse me, Miss. Do you think you could help me find something?"
The tired, harried salesgirl had sworn she would scream bloody murder if one more customer asked her that today. But the words were spoken in a soft, slow drawl that soothed frayed nerves. And its owner sounded nice. Polite. So instead of screaming, she merely sighed and turned around. And was very glad she hadn't screamed when she saw the engaging young man with the long hair and the shy grin standing before her.
"What are you looking for?" She smiled for the first time in hours.
In answer, he handed her the piece of paper he held. It was covered front and back with writing.
"Well, your kids are going to have a Merry Christmas." That was not a way to ascertain his marital status. It was merely a friendly remark. Well ok, she admitted to herself, it was to find out if there was a wife in the picture. But there was no harm in that.
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Vin glanced down at the floor, flushing slightly. "Ain't for my kids.
"I mean I don't have any." he clarified, seeing her raise an eyebrow at the emphasis he'd put on the word "my".
"They're for the kids down at the Shelter on Fourth Street." Vin felt he had to explain further, seeing her slightly puzzled expression. He was never at his best when dealing with the fairer sex.
"You're buying these gifts for them? That's so sweet." The girl gazed at him, admiration apparent in both face and voice.
"Uh... Thank you Miss. I mean it ain't a big thing. I just... It's just... every kid should have something to open on Christmas." he finished softly, feeling his flush deepen with every word. He hated being caught out like this. Hated having people think he was doing something noble and special. It was the social workers and the teachers and the volunteers who worked with the kids on a daily basis that were the true heroes. Not him.
The girl said nothing more. Just smiled gently at him and then began walking briskly towards the back of the store where she proceeded to find everything on his list, plus a few items he hadn't thought of.
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"Thank you." Vin's smile was sincere. The salesgirl had been more than helpful. It would have taken him three times as long to get everything by himself. And she was cute, too. Briefly he wondered if there was a significant other in the picture. But there would be plenty of time to find out later. He didn't want anything distracting him from this first Christmas with his friends. More than friends. Chris and the others were family. Not by blood, but by choice.
"You're welcome. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. As good as the one you're going to give all those kids at the shelter."
"I will. I'm countin' on it." Vin gathered up the numerous bags spread across the counter and gave the girl one last smile before leaving. He had just enough time to run home and pick up his presents for Chris and the others before dropping these ones off at the shelter. Then he could head straight to the ranch. Where Christmas awaited him.
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"Where is our esteemed colleague, Mr. Tanner?" Ezra sat on a stool in the breakfast nook and watched as Chris stirred the potatoes and checked on the contents of the oven. All without the slightest trace of awkwardness. It seemed their leader had hidden talents.
As he continued to watch their leader, Ezra began absently nibbling on one of the imported Belgian chocolates that Maude had sent him. Along with her regrets. It seemed that her latest quarry had invited her home to his castle in... Belgium. Literally. The man was some sort of aristocrat. But then, weren't they all? His Mother certainly never seemed to fall for anything less. Making a face, he set the chocolate down on the counter. It was one of those horrid cherry filled types. He seemed to have an unerring knack for picking those every time.
"He just called. Said he had to run an errand and he'd be here in a bit." Chris set down the spoon he'd been using to stir the potatoes and walked over to lean across the counter and inspect the box of chocolates. Selecting one, he bit into it and smiled in pure satisfaction. It had the buttercreme filling. Ezra's favorite kind.
"Well, then. Perhaps we should save some of these for his arrival. It wouldn't do to be greedy. It being Christmas and all." Ezra snatched the box of chocolates just as Chris was reaching for another. Sliding off the stool, he began walking rapidly towards the kitchen door.
"I believe I shall just go and see what sort of havoc my fellow agents have wrought in your living room." Ezra frowned at the box he held as he made his way into the other room. Now if only he could ascertain which candy Chris had been reaching for.
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"Hey Ezra, you know when Vin's getting here? I want to watch It's A Wonderful Life before it gets too late. I don't want Buck falling asleep and snoring through the whole thing again." JD looked up from where he was sitting on the floor, inspecting Chris' collection of CD's.
"Geez, JD. How many times I gotta tell ya. I don't snore." Buck didn't even open his eyes. He was sprawled comfortably on the floor in front of the fireplace and Ezra judged it would only be a matter of a few hours before he was indeed snoring.
"How would you know? You're asleep when you do it, Buck." JD rolled his eyes.
"Well, I've never had any complaints from the ladies. Of course, they ain't in a condition to notice anything after getting a bit of lovin' from Ol' Buck." Buck opened his eyes and grinned, catching the pillow JD threw in his direction. The one from Nathan caught him by surprise, though.
"Vin should be here shortly. Our illustrious leader has just informed me that Mr. Tanner called a few minutes ago and spoke words to that effect." Ezra walked over to sit in the chair closest to the fire, still clutching the box of chocolates.
"Good. It won't really be Christmas til we're all here." JD looked slightly embarrassed at having voiced this sentiment.
"Amen to that." Josiah glanced up from the chessboard where he'd been contemplating his next move. Nathan was a tricky opponent. He gave JD a reassuring smile, seeing the slight flush of color that darkened the young man's fair skin.
"As soon as Vin gets here, we can eat. It shouldn't be too much longer, JD. There ain't much that would keep Vin away from one of Nathan's peach pies." Chris had finished up in the kitchen and walked out in time to hear JD's last words. He let a bit of amusement creep into his expression as he addressed the young man. It was getting easier to do things like that now. Things like smile. And celebrate. Count his blessings. Because he did have a few of those. And all but one of them were sitting in this room.
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Vin hurried out of his jeep, arms laden with bags. He started up the street towards the shelter, boots crunching the snow. Man, he was starving. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch. He'd wanted to have lots of room for that peach pie Nathan had promised him. Anticipation curved his lips into a smile. He could almost taste it now.
He was still smiling as the car came screeching around the corner. He barely had time to look up before it was level with him.
"Merry Christmas motherfucker!" , a voice screamed. Then there was the sound of gunfire. And the pain of bullets ripping through fragile flesh. And then there was blood everywhere, coloring the snow crimson. It stained the children's toys, now lying scattered on the ground. The surrounding air stank of hate and violence. Christmas had fled this place. This street. Leaving only the flashing of lights and the sound of angry, frightened voices in its wake.
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"What have we got here?"
"DOA. Male. Caucasian. Twenty-six to twenty-eight I'd say. Victim of a random drive-by."
"Damn shame. Especially on Christmas."
"Yeah. You want to make the call or should I?"
"I'll do it." The man sighed and glanced at his partner. Sometimes he really hated this job.
"Says here his next of kin is a Chris Larabee."
His partner picked up the phone and began dialing.
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"Shouldn't Vin be here by now?" JD was getting hungry.
"Yeah. I say let's start without him. More pie for the rest of us." Buck grinned at the look JD threw in his direction.
"That's the Christmas spirit, Buck." Chris said teasingly as he glanced at the clock. Hmmmm... He hadn't realized it was so late. He was gonna make Vin wash all the dishes when the sharpshooter finally arrived. A fitting punishment for making them all wait. Cause, dammit. He was hungry, too.
The sudden ringing of the phone startled him a bit. That had to be Vin. Likely with some excuse for being late that would involve dragging them all out into the cold.
"That's probably him now." he said aloud, shaking his head and smiling. "Calling to say that damn jeep of his stranded him on the highway somewhere." Chris was still smiling as he went to answer the phone.
END