What if Buck Wilmington and JD Dunne had been born...

Brothers

(Variation One)

an M7 AU

by Sevenstars

DISCLAIMER: This is an original amateur story based upon the characters and situations put forth in the TV series, The Magnificent Seven. No profit is derived from it and no infringements upon any copyrights held by any individual or organization are intended.

RATING: PG-13, chiefly for language.

WRITTEN: Begun August 19, 2000; finished August 28.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Many M7 fan authors (myself included) have characterized the Buck/JD relationship as "brotherly," but few of us have taken a hand at speculating on the possibility of an actual blood link between the kid and the scoundrel. I certainly didn't realize anyone had until after I had begun plotting this story, and even after I found out, I was soon appraised of the fact that both the existing speculations were (a) unfinished and (b) set in modern variations of the M7 reality rather than the Old West version. (You can find them at:

http://www.angelfire.com/ms/mcfanfic/familys.html
and
http://www.chrisandmary.hispeed.com/modernmag7/firstmissionassembling.html) Link innactive

My own take on the possibility probably had its roots in Nettie Roe's D&D M7 story, The Magnificent Quest, an enjoyable story which I recommend , in which her version of Buck has a line: "...I still had a mother telling me what an idiot I was every time I went home for a visit." In addition, given the effect I had previously written the death of Buck's mother as having had on him, I found myself wondering how different his life, and therefore his character, would have been had he not lost her at that time and in that fashion. I think, too, that JD's closing line to him in my story Transgressions "...thank [your mother] for havin' a big brother for me..." may have had something to do with the idea.

It's not necessary to have read my previous tales in the mainline M7 mythos, Redemption and Transgressions, in order to appreciate this one, but doing so will give you a picture of what I've established Buck's and JD's roots as being like and allow you to see the contrasts between that version and this.

The poem JD quotes in the third chapter was actually printed as Lesson LXXVIII in at least one edition of McGuffey's Fourth Reader, though without author credit. It's also known as "The Arab to His Favorite Steed," "The Arab's Farewell to His Horse," and "The Arab's Farewell to His Steed," and was written by Caroline Norton. A complete version of it (McGuffey deleted Verses Three through Eight) can be found at:

http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Farm/8300/arab.htm

(Thanks to all the members of the Fiction-L and ChildLit listservs (some of whom do confess to reading fanlit!) who helped me find this out.)

Size: Approx. 214K

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Comments to: sevenstars39@hotmail.com