Best Laid Plans (9/11) - Mag 7/SPN/SV
This is the sequel to Ghost Town which should be read first.
Title: Best Laid Plans (9/11)
Author: strangevisitor7
Beta: Lyl_Devil and Pen37
Rated: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent 7, Smallville, Supernatural
Characters: Sam and Dean Winchester; Chloe Sullivan; The Seven: Chris Larabee, Buck Wilmington, Vin Tanner, Ezra Standish, Nathan Jackson, Josiah Sanchez, JD Dunne; OMC - Mathew Tanner; Eventually - Sam/Chloe
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators. Mathew Tanner is mine
Chapter Summary: Chris convinces Mathew that's it's time to let the ghosts move on. The box carved by Vin Tanner is destroyed but with unexpected consequences.
Chapter List:
Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11: Epilogue
JD, Josiah, Vin, Chris, Buck, Nathan & Ezra
banner by scrollgirl
Best Laid Plans: Chapter 9
Chris stood in the shadows between buildings, silently listening to the exchange taking place in the middle of the street. He watched as his friends led the blonde into the saloon; only then did he emerge from his hiding place to face the three left behind.
Dean saw his approach and quickly retrieved his shot gun from where it lay discarded on the ground. “That’s far enough Larabee,” the hunter said as he pointed the weapon at the ghost.
Chris threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m not looking for a fight,” he said. “I just want to talk.”
“So talk,” Dean snapped, his stance indicating that he was ready to fire at the first sign of trouble.
“I know what you’re here to do and I don’t plan on stopping you.” Chris had thought about apologizing to Dean for his earlier behavior but figured the gesture would be lost on the man. Besides he really wasn’t sorry that he’d beat the tar out of him; releasing all that pent up rage had felt good.
“What are you saying, Chris?” Mathew asked.
“It’s time,” he replied sympathetically, knowing how much the young lawyer would miss them. More than any other Tanner descendant, Mathew had ingratiated himself with the six. He visited often and thought of them as good friends. Sometimes when they were all gathered in the saloon swapping stories Chris thought it almost felt like they were seven again. Almost.
Dean’s eye narrowed with suspicion. “What angle are you playing?”
Chris shook his head. “I’m not Ezra. I don’t have any more tricks up my sleeve.”
“Yeah right. Not buying it,” Dean said as he hefted the shotgun for emphasis.
Ignoring Dean’s implied threat, he addressed Mathew. “Before we do this, I just wanted to know if you are going to be able to save the town.” Even though he’d resigned himself to his fate, Chris couldn’t stop himself from worrying about the resolution of the legal battles.
“Yes, thanks to Sam and Chloe,” he replied. “I couldn’t have done it without them. There’s no way a court would decide against us when they see the pile of evidence against Saunders.”
The ghost cocked his head toward the younger Winchester in a gesture of gratitude. Sam nodded in return.
“So, let’s do this,” Chris said as he indicated the box which still sat on the ground where Chloe had dropped it.
Mathew’s eyes went wide. “What? You mean now. Don’t you want to say goodbye.”
“I think it’s best we do this without warning,” Chris confirmed. “It will be easier on the others if they don’t see it coming.”
“Are you sure about that?” Dean questioned him. Chris couldn’t tell if he was still worried about being fooled or if he really was reluctant to see the others go.
“What about Chloe?” Sam reminded them. “We promised her some time with the guys.”
Dean fished his keys out of his pocket and handed them to his brother. “Why don’t you grab the axe and other supplies from the trunk while we figure it out.” He’d finally dropped his gun into an easy hold in the crook of his arm and Chris recognized it as a sign of their unspoken truce.
Sam took the keys and headed down the street to where the Impala was parked.
“Chris, I’m not ready to see you go,” Mathew said the sadness evident in his voice. Hanging his head he added, “The town may be safe but I’ve failed the six of you.”
“No you didn’t. It was bound to happen someday.” Chris wasn’t much for sentiment but he sensed that the young man needed to be reassured. “I know that Vin - well - he would have been proud of you. You did good; returning the town to the Tanners.”
A little overwhelmed by Chris’ words, Mathew bobbed his head acknowledging the compliment as he bit back tears. Chris grasped him gently on the shoulder. “You ready now?”
Sam returned with the axe and handed it over to Mathew. “I’m not cool with this,” he said. “I promised Chloe we’d wait.”
“Tell Chloe she can find anything she wants in the Clarion Newspaper office. Trust me those articles will be as good as anything those liars’ll tell her,” Chris assured him with a rare smile. The prospect of moving on seemed to lighten his spirit and he felt almost happy to be going.
“You saying Buck might tend toward exaggeration?” Dean asked with faux seriousness.
Chris chuckled openly now as he recognized that Dean had felt the mood shift as well. The two men who just hours before were literally at each others throats could now share a joke.
Mathew stared openly at this relaxed Chris Larabee. “You feeling okay, Chris?”
“Not so much okay but maybe, relieved. I know this is the right thing to do.”
Sam and Dean stood back as Mathew faced Chris, the box on the ground between them. Tanner hefted the axe and nodded goodbye to his friend before he swung the tool into the case that he’d protected for so long.
As metal contacted wood, the box shattered, literally exploding upon impact with the axe. Chris swore he saw electricity shoot out between the pieces and then it was a pile of toothpicks.
The three mortals stared at Chris waiting for some sign that the protections were gone but he didn’t feel any different.
“Chris?” Mathew asked. The ghost just shook his head indicating that nothing had changed. There was no white light or any indication that he was being draw into another dimension.
“I don’t think it worked,” Sam said as he crouched down to examine the remains of the container.
“Guess we still need to burn it and the pouch of hair,” Dean said as he and Mathew knelt next to Sam and sifted through the pile of wood slivers.
“But I thought the destruction of the protection spell was supposed to send them on their way or at least change something,” Mathew said.
“Maybe the box was just a box after all,” Sam replied. “I am getting tired of being wrong on this hunt.”
Dean snorted. “Tell me about it. We’re batting zero.”
“Does this mean you can’t send them on?” Mathew asked as he collected a handful of the wooden splinters. “The way it shattered - didn’t that seem odd to you?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, that was strange. Maybe we should hold off on the salt and burn until we know why that happened.”
Chris stood half listening to the debate between the men at his feet and wondered if the others had felt anything when the box exploded. He thought about heading to the saloon to check on them when his attention was caught by movement to his left. He turned and felt his world tilt. Speechless he continued to stare at the figure of a man he hadn’t seen for over one hundred years.
“What’s the matter, cowboy? Ain’t you happy to see me?”
********
Title: Best Laid Plans (9/11)
Author: strangevisitor7
Beta: Lyl_Devil and Pen37
Rated: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent 7, Smallville, Supernatural
Characters: Sam and Dean Winchester; Chloe Sullivan; The Seven: Chris Larabee, Buck Wilmington, Vin Tanner, Ezra Standish, Nathan Jackson, Josiah Sanchez, JD Dunne; OMC - Mathew Tanner; Eventually - Sam/Chloe
Disclaimer: The characters you know and love all belong to their respective creators. Mathew Tanner is mine
Chapter Summary: Chris convinces Mathew that's it's time to let the ghosts move on. The box carved by Vin Tanner is destroyed but with unexpected consequences.
Chapter List:
Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11: Epilogue
JD, Josiah, Vin, Chris, Buck, Nathan & Ezra
banner by scrollgirl
Best Laid Plans: Chapter 9
Chris stood in the shadows between buildings, silently listening to the exchange taking place in the middle of the street. He watched as his friends led the blonde into the saloon; only then did he emerge from his hiding place to face the three left behind.
Dean saw his approach and quickly retrieved his shot gun from where it lay discarded on the ground. “That’s far enough Larabee,” the hunter said as he pointed the weapon at the ghost.
Chris threw his hands up in surrender. “I’m not looking for a fight,” he said. “I just want to talk.”
“So talk,” Dean snapped, his stance indicating that he was ready to fire at the first sign of trouble.
“I know what you’re here to do and I don’t plan on stopping you.” Chris had thought about apologizing to Dean for his earlier behavior but figured the gesture would be lost on the man. Besides he really wasn’t sorry that he’d beat the tar out of him; releasing all that pent up rage had felt good.
“What are you saying, Chris?” Mathew asked.
“It’s time,” he replied sympathetically, knowing how much the young lawyer would miss them. More than any other Tanner descendant, Mathew had ingratiated himself with the six. He visited often and thought of them as good friends. Sometimes when they were all gathered in the saloon swapping stories Chris thought it almost felt like they were seven again. Almost.
Dean’s eye narrowed with suspicion. “What angle are you playing?”
Chris shook his head. “I’m not Ezra. I don’t have any more tricks up my sleeve.”
“Yeah right. Not buying it,” Dean said as he hefted the shotgun for emphasis.
Ignoring Dean’s implied threat, he addressed Mathew. “Before we do this, I just wanted to know if you are going to be able to save the town.” Even though he’d resigned himself to his fate, Chris couldn’t stop himself from worrying about the resolution of the legal battles.
“Yes, thanks to Sam and Chloe,” he replied. “I couldn’t have done it without them. There’s no way a court would decide against us when they see the pile of evidence against Saunders.”
The ghost cocked his head toward the younger Winchester in a gesture of gratitude. Sam nodded in return.
“So, let’s do this,” Chris said as he indicated the box which still sat on the ground where Chloe had dropped it.
Mathew’s eyes went wide. “What? You mean now. Don’t you want to say goodbye.”
“I think it’s best we do this without warning,” Chris confirmed. “It will be easier on the others if they don’t see it coming.”
“Are you sure about that?” Dean questioned him. Chris couldn’t tell if he was still worried about being fooled or if he really was reluctant to see the others go.
“What about Chloe?” Sam reminded them. “We promised her some time with the guys.”
Dean fished his keys out of his pocket and handed them to his brother. “Why don’t you grab the axe and other supplies from the trunk while we figure it out.” He’d finally dropped his gun into an easy hold in the crook of his arm and Chris recognized it as a sign of their unspoken truce.
Sam took the keys and headed down the street to where the Impala was parked.
“Chris, I’m not ready to see you go,” Mathew said the sadness evident in his voice. Hanging his head he added, “The town may be safe but I’ve failed the six of you.”
“No you didn’t. It was bound to happen someday.” Chris wasn’t much for sentiment but he sensed that the young man needed to be reassured. “I know that Vin - well - he would have been proud of you. You did good; returning the town to the Tanners.”
A little overwhelmed by Chris’ words, Mathew bobbed his head acknowledging the compliment as he bit back tears. Chris grasped him gently on the shoulder. “You ready now?”
Sam returned with the axe and handed it over to Mathew. “I’m not cool with this,” he said. “I promised Chloe we’d wait.”
“Tell Chloe she can find anything she wants in the Clarion Newspaper office. Trust me those articles will be as good as anything those liars’ll tell her,” Chris assured him with a rare smile. The prospect of moving on seemed to lighten his spirit and he felt almost happy to be going.
“You saying Buck might tend toward exaggeration?” Dean asked with faux seriousness.
Chris chuckled openly now as he recognized that Dean had felt the mood shift as well. The two men who just hours before were literally at each others throats could now share a joke.
Mathew stared openly at this relaxed Chris Larabee. “You feeling okay, Chris?”
“Not so much okay but maybe, relieved. I know this is the right thing to do.”
Sam and Dean stood back as Mathew faced Chris, the box on the ground between them. Tanner hefted the axe and nodded goodbye to his friend before he swung the tool into the case that he’d protected for so long.
As metal contacted wood, the box shattered, literally exploding upon impact with the axe. Chris swore he saw electricity shoot out between the pieces and then it was a pile of toothpicks.
The three mortals stared at Chris waiting for some sign that the protections were gone but he didn’t feel any different.
“Chris?” Mathew asked. The ghost just shook his head indicating that nothing had changed. There was no white light or any indication that he was being draw into another dimension.
“I don’t think it worked,” Sam said as he crouched down to examine the remains of the container.
“Guess we still need to burn it and the pouch of hair,” Dean said as he and Mathew knelt next to Sam and sifted through the pile of wood slivers.
“But I thought the destruction of the protection spell was supposed to send them on their way or at least change something,” Mathew said.
“Maybe the box was just a box after all,” Sam replied. “I am getting tired of being wrong on this hunt.”
Dean snorted. “Tell me about it. We’re batting zero.”
“Does this mean you can’t send them on?” Mathew asked as he collected a handful of the wooden splinters. “The way it shattered - didn’t that seem odd to you?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, that was strange. Maybe we should hold off on the salt and burn until we know why that happened.”
Chris stood half listening to the debate between the men at his feet and wondered if the others had felt anything when the box exploded. He thought about heading to the saloon to check on them when his attention was caught by movement to his left. He turned and felt his world tilt. Speechless he continued to stare at the figure of a man he hadn’t seen for over one hundred years.
“What’s the matter, cowboy? Ain’t you happy to see me?”
********