On The Spinner's Wheel chp3 - SN/Mag7 crossover fic - PG13
Title: On The Spinner's Wheel
Fandom: “Supernatural”/ “The Magnificent Seven” modern-day AU crossover
Chapter: III. Atropos' Cut
Disclaimer: the ones you recognize are not my creations
Warnings: spoilers for season two of “Supernatural”; AU for “The Magnificent Seven”
Pairings: mentions of Ellen/Bill
Rating: PG13
Wordcount: 2300
Point of view: third
Notes: “Atropos” is the Greek Fate who cuts the thread of life. (Originally, in this little trilogy thing, “Lachesis” should have been in the middle, as she’s the middle sister, but Chris and Buck wanted their story first, even though they didn’t start speaking to me ‘til after Vin did. So. *shrugs*)
Chapter one: " Lachesis' Measure"
Chapter two: "Clotho's Thread"
He bounces into the Roadhouse chatterin’ a mile a minute, eager and wriggly like a puppy. Behind him stride two large, long-suffering men exchangin’ looks of patience.
Ellen watches as the pup tries out tables and the men stand back, waitin’ for his choice. Two guardians, she decides, one pale and one dark, both about John Winchester’s size.
Well, what had been John Winchester’s size. Ellen still can’t believe he’s gone, even if his boys told her all those months ago. Been almost a year she’s known, and still… doesn’t seem real.
Finally, the pup settles. Both men sink down at his chosen table.
“Git us some water,” the taller, darker man tells the pup. And he leaps back up, rushes to the bar. Reminds Ellen of her oldest younger brother, Jeffy. Had enough energy to power New York City, that one. Until that drunk bastard hopped the median and stole Jeffy’s life.
Ellen still wishes David, her older brother, had let her go after that sum’bitch.
Pup’s bright brown eyes shine on her, and he’s so different from everyone she’s used to. Reminds her of Jo, back before Bill died, truth be told.
“May I have a pitcher’a water, ma’am?” he asks politely with an accent she isn’t familiar with. Somewhere on the East Coast, she reckons. Boston, maybe. And he’s still bouncin’.
“Shore thing, sugar,” she drawls. “Some glasses, too?”
He blushes. “Yes, ma’am. Please.”
She grins and fills a large pitcher with ice and water, hands him three glasses. His eyes dart to her face and away as he takes all four items. He’s such a cute lil’thing, so young and happy it makes her teeth hurt. He walks back to the table carefully and she looks from him to his friends-guardians-both handsome. No Bill, or even John-and definitely not John’s sons, though that’s not a fair comparison. Even Bill could scarcely compare to those two boys.
“He makes me feel old,” Vin murmurs, ghostin’ up beside her in that cat-way of his.
She softly chuckles. “If either’a us is old, honey, it’d be me.”
A pack of hunters troop in, callin’ for beer and burgers, takin’ over half a dozen tables.
“I’ll get it for ‘em,” Vin tells her. “Old folk should rest.”
He snickers as he ducks her playful swipe and Ellen is glad to see he’s feelin’ comfortable enough to joke.
Pup is whisperin’ like crazy to his white friend-she’ll call him “Amigo,” Ellen decides, since he’s wearin’ a serape. The other one, she’ll call “Doc” ‘cause he carried in some sorta bag with him.
Amigo shushes Pup kindly and begins tellin’ some story. Ellen can barely hear his deep, soothin’ voice over the rumble of the hunters.
Vin comes back from the kitchen with six plates of burgers, then makes a second trip. Ellen busies herself by tossin' bottles of beer-the best she has-to men she’s known for years. With one glance she sees that she has a name and story for all twelve of the hunters chowin’ down.
“Good hunt?” she asks Eddie Myles, the oldest, the leader.
He grins up at her. “We got an entire nest of succubi,” he says softly, aware of the three strangers. “And Bobby gave us a head’s up to some possessions in the Carolinas, so we’re headin’ out in the mornin’.”
Pup’s gaze keeps comin’ back to the hunters. A dreamer, she decides the boy must be. A romantic.
Doc asks a question and Amigo responds with what seems to be another story.
The door opens on a fancy man, well dressed and smooth. Ellen’s seen his kind before-hustler. He takes in the room with a glance and moves for the corner, within easy reach of both groups and an exit. A player, but no fool.
She walks over to the table and asks, “What can I get you?”
He smiles up at her like a snake, gold tooth twinklin’ in the light. “Scotch, if you have it.”
“That we do. Any food for you?”
“No, ma’am, and thank you kindly.” His exaggerated southern accent gets on her nerves. He wears his act like a pro but he also seems to be tryin’ too hard.
Reminds her of Dean Winchester, really, though she isn’t sure why.
-
Pup, Amigo, and Doc leave ‘bout an hour after they arrive. Player convinces a handful of hunters into a game of poker, and he’s good. So good, in fact, that Eddie gestures for his pack to let Player keep the money he thinks he won.
“Let’s head out,” Eddie calls, leavin’ a nice tip. “We got a long day tomorrow.”
They tramp out, tossin’ goodbye’s over their shoulders until only Eddie remains.
“How’s Gordon Walker?” Ellen asks him when he pauses at the bar.
“Gunnin’ for John’s boys,” Eddie answers with a shake of his head. “Stubborn fool. Gonna git himself killed, goin’ up against Dean.” Eddie sighs. “There’s a war on the horizon, Ellen. Next time you talk to that boy, tell ‘im he’s got me and mine at his back.”
Ellen smiles. “Thank you, Eddie. That’s a mighty good thing.”
“Tell your shadow there,” he chuckles, purposefully breakin’ the moment, “that it ain’t polite, listenin’ in on other people’s conversations.”
Vin pads over silently and Eddie’s out the door.
Player stands and walks over, bringin’ his empty glass. “May I request a refill?” he asks, grinnin’ again. Ellen pours him some more scotch and he turns his attention to Vin. “Might I interest you in a game of cards?”
Vin studies him for a brief moment then says, “Thank you, but no. I don’t play with cheaters.”
Ellen bites back a laugh at the look of shock on Player’s face while Vin starts clearin’ the tables. Player’s eyes track Vin’s movements but Ellen’s certain he won’t try anythin’.
“If I promise not to cheat,” Player tries again, “will you perhaps reconsider?” he tones down the accent a bit.
“Help me with these tables,” Vin challenges, and Ellen is ecstatic he’s actually talkin’ to this fellow, much less reachin’ out, “I’ll think about playin’ a hand’a cards.”
Ellen expects Player to turn him down, to flounce out. But instead he holds out his hand and says, “Ezra Standish.” He looks young as he waits for Vin’s reaction, young like Sam Winchester.
Vin reaches out and takes his hand. “Vin Tanner.”
Player-Ezra-delivers plates and glasses to the kitchen, tosses bottles into the recyclin’ bin and trash into the garbage. He and Vin keep up a steady stream of chatter, though Ellen can’t make out what they’re sayin’. Some male code she’ll never be able to break, since she’s missin’ a few key parts.
Ellen loads the dishwasher, trustin’ Vin can take care of himself-and trustin’ that this Ezra-boy won’t make trouble.
Ash stumbles into the kitchen. “Ellen,” he says, disbelief in his voice, “did you know Vin’s playin’ slapjack with some fancy man?”
Ellen laughs, droppin’ a plate back into the sink. “Slapjack? I thought they were plannin’ on playin’ poker.”
Ash just stares at her so Ellen shrugs. “Cain’t explain it, Ash. But I’m glad for it.”
Ash shakes his head and disappears back into his room. Ellen finishes in the kitchen and locks the back door. She steps into the main room and asks, “Ezra? You stayin’ the night?”
He looks young again. She knows he’s lowered his act, is just a boy. “If you’d let me, ma’am.”
“That work you did with Vin,” she says, meanin’ more than just clearin’ tables, “covered the price of a room.” She gives him a gentle smile and strides to the entrance, lockin’ the door. “I’m turnin’ in, boys.”
“Night, Ellen,” Vin calls with a soft smile.
The wraith that first slipped into her saloon is almost gone from his eyes. Ellen nods goodnight to Vin, delighted.
-
Ezra’s in the kitchen when she gets up in the mornin’, fixin’ eggs, toast, and bacon.
He stares at her and asks quietly, “Do you mind?”
She shakes her head. “Go on. I’m glad to turn over the cookin’ to someone else.”
Ellen pours herself a mug of coffee and sips it black. “What are your plans for the day, Ezra?”
He pokes at the bacon with a spatula, then scoops it out of the pan, pouring in the eggs. “I had intended, Ms. Harvelle, to step into your Roadhouse and win some money, then swiftly be on my way. However, I find myself captivated by our young Mr. Tanner.”
Ellen meets his gaze. “And what do you plan to do?” She lets a bit of the hunter in her peer at him out of her eyes.
“I have not yet decided.” He swallows and stirs the eggs, focuses on cookin’.
Vin and Ash stumble in, greeting breakfast with glee. Ash talks at length about some new program he invented and Ezra listens politely, asks in-depth questions. He clearly understands what Ash is goin’ on about and Ellen reevaluates him again.
Jo calls half an hour after breakfast, seekin’ help in her newest hunt. Ezra and Vin are out back; Ellen can hear gunfire. She smirks, answerin’ Jo’s questions. Vin’s showin’ off. Boy’s amazin’ with guns.
She talks with Jo for close to two hours, catchin’ up with her baby girl. Vin and Ezra come back in and she follows them with her eyes, tellin’ Jo to be careful.
“I miss you, sweetie,” she says softly and Jo responds, “Me, too, Mama. But I’ll come back, I promise. I just…”
Ellen laughs sadly. “You’re your daddy’s daughter, Joanna Beth. Always have been.”
She gently hangs up the phone a full minute after Jo says goodbye and sits. Then she stands and goes to her room, crawls beneath the covers, curls in on herself and silently sobs.
-
She doesn’t leave her room until a while after sundown. Vin and Ash have opened the Roadhouse, have taken care of everythin’ for her. They’re good boys, her strays.
And soon one of ‘em will be leavin’ her. From the moment that young blond boy walked into her saloon, Ellen knew it’d be a matter’a time ‘fore he moved on. Vin’s not built to stay in place; he’s a creature of the wild. Ellen saw his kind as a girl, when Daddy would take her and her brothers to reservations, introduce them to America’s first people. Vin reminds her of them, those proud descendants.
And he’ll leave soon. She’s been noticing his wanderlust more and more lately, the way he stares down the road.
He’s healed. The broken boy that slipped in is gone. A year with her, with someone who cares-of all the things she’s ever done, takin’ in that bedraggled boy is one of the best.
She walks into the main room. Ash is tendin’ bar and Vin’s waitin’ tables. Ezra holds court in the corner, a pile of money beside him.
Vin sees her and darts over, pulls her back into the hall. She knows what’s comin’ as he stutters and pauses, and finally a torrent of words spill forth.
She reaches out, touches a finger to his lips. “You come back, boy. You hear?”
His smile trembles. “I will.”
-
It’s a couple’a weeks before Vin is ready to go. He can’t quite meet Ellen’s eyes those last few days and she knows he feels guilty for “abandonin’” her.
Ezra holds court every night 'til they leave. He makes a tidy sum and squirrels it away, spread out amongst his various pockets.
Ellen still isn’t sure what their relationship is, her boy and the player. But Ezra will take care of her Vin, that she knows. He seems the sort to connect with very few and those he claims as his… well, now she understands why she thought of Dean, that first time they met.
-
The day dawns beautiful. Vin hugs Ellen for a long time, face buried in her shoulder, arms tight around her.
“Take care of yourself, sweetie,” Ellen whispers. “And come home some day.”
“I swear, Ellen,” he promises.
As he says goodbye to Ash, Ellen turns to Ezra. “Be careful with my boy, Standish,” she says softly, dangerously.
“I swear, Ms. Harvelle,” he murmurs solemnly. She claps his shoulder with a strained smile.
-
“Bill told me,” Ellen says to Ash the night Vin and Ezra take off down the road for parts unknown. She’s on her fifth glass of whiskey. “He told me, ‘Ellen, takin’ in strays is hard on your heart.’” She shakes her head and looks at Ash, seekin’… somethin’.
“He was right,” Ash says, nudgin’ her shoulder. “Ellen, he was. But, just think-if you never took in strays, how empty would your life be?”
“I just want him safe, Ash.” She fiddles with her glass. “And I want Jo home. I want Bill back-God, I miss him, Ash. I just..”
Ash leans into her. “I know, Ellen. I do know.”
She sighs, thinkin’ back to the boy who first slipped into her Roadhouse, more a ghost than a livin’ thing. “He was happy. Talkin’ with Ezra-I’d never seen him so happy.”
Ellen stands, pushin’ away her chair. “I’m goin’ to bed.”
Her stray’ll be back some day. That she knows. She’s let him go; she’s lettin’ him spread his wings-so he’ll return. He gave his word and Vin Tanner doesn’t have it in him to break his oath.
-
At noon the day after Vin leaves, Jo steps into the Roadhouse for the first time in over a year. Ellen looks up and lunges to her daughter, pulls Jo into her arms.
“Mama,” Jo cries, face buried in Ellen’s chest. “Mama.”
“I got you, honey,” Ellen whispers. “You’re home now.”