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Magnificent... 8?	By : SisterWine Category: M through R > Magnificent Seven Views: 1621 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: MGM Home Entertainment and Mirisch Corp. own the Magnificent Seven. I make no claim to the series or characters. The other characters in the story, are mine.

Chapter List
- 1-Magnificent... 8?
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Part Four
- 5-Part Five
- 6-Part Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Chapter 8
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 3
- 4
- 5
The next afternoon, the posse rode back into town with Jesse and Lyla in tow.
Vin and Sheriff Drake accompanied Jesse to the jail while Nathan, Chris and Mary escorted Lyla up to an empty room, in the hotel.
Lyla held on to the railing with her right hand and Chris's crooked arm, with her left. Step by step, he led her up the stairs and down the hall to the fourth door on the right, across from Ezra's but next to Vin's room. He told her that if she needed anything, during the night, to go to the wall, on her right, and knock three times. Lyla had become acustomed to the smell of Vin's leather clothing and the sound of his footsteps on the boards, from the walkways along the street. Lyla nodded. She also recognised Chris' scent; he smelled like sweat and rose scented soap that was fading from the last hotel he had stayed in.
"Thank you. I would just like to have a bath and then talk to Jesse." Lyla sat on one side of the full-sized bed. Nathan had finished giving her a checkup and checking her ankle and now stood at the wash basin and washed his hands while Mary and Chris asked her questions.
Mary sat to the left of Lyla and tried to comfort the young woman from the busying 10 days. "Lyla, Jesse is in jail, awaiting trial. He has no control over you, now."
Lyla closed her eyes and shook her head. "Why won't people stop saying that? Jesse would never hurt me."
Sitting in the wooden chair, next to the closet door, Chris leaned forward, his fingers rubbed the brim of his black hat, brushing the dust off of it. "Lyla, do you remember how your dress got ripped? Did Jesse do that?"
Turning her head slightly to hear Chris better, Lyla's hands felt along the material of her skirt. "My dress? No,"
"No, you don't remember or no, he didn't rip it?"
She thought for a moment. Her head hurt from the long ride and lack of rest. "No, Jesse didn't rip my dress. We came across these men. Before we stopped in that town. They were dirty and mean. One of them, I think he was called Simms. He threatened Jesse. The others were so loud and scary. They pulled on my dress and lifted it up and then, I heard it. One of them tried to-- he was saying such terrible things to me." Her hands flew to her ears as tears rolled down her ashen cheeks. "Jesse warned them." She nodded. "He was protecting me. They pulled my hair and grabbed me. They ripped my dress. But the last man. I heard him shout terrible things to Jesse, as he took me back to the wagon. He was still alive when we rode off. It was self-defense. Why is he in jail, if it was self-defense? The man was alive."
Sighing and trying to find the words to tell her discreetly, Chris could only put the truth as nicely as possible without sounding too harsh. "Well, that last man died, not too long after we came across your trail. He claimed Jesse robbed them and then killed his two companions."
A look of confusion swept across her face, as if she wasn't believing what Chris was telling her. Lyla shook her head.
Nathan had watched the conversation but remained silent. Straightening from leaning against the wash counter, he cleared his throat. "Speakin of Jesse. I spose I'll go check on him."
"Thank you, Nathan." Mary's voice was soft and sweet and pleasant to Lyla's ears.
Chris waited until Nathan left the room and guestimated how much time he had before Sheriff Drake would want to see his sister. "Lyla, that morning we found you, in the schoolhouse," Chris shifted uneasily, "did Jesse force himself on you?" He watched her expression as she understood the question and formulated her answer.
Lyla took took a deep breath and let it out, slightly annoyed. "No. Jesse would never-!"
"Alright." Remembering what the sheriff had told the seven, in the saloon, Chris treaded lightly. "How much did you know about Sheriff McCall? Did you ever have any interaction with him?"
Mary rested a gentle hand on Lyla's own hand, that rested in her lap. "Take your time, Lyla. We could even talk about this a little later, when you're feeling up to it?" Glancing at Chris, Mary nodded in silent asking. She knew Lyla was tired and hurt from the long, hectic journey and was not about to let even Chris Larabee overexert her.
Smiling lightly at Mary's suggestion, Lyla shook her head. "I didn't really know him. We spoke a few times but, that was it. Jesse didn't want me around him. Especially, when he was drunk."
Chris's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? How often was he drunk?"
"More than he was sober."
Chris's mind began to put a few pieces of the puzzle together. "Do you know what happened between Jesse and the sheriff, the day he died?" He knew he was pushing her and could see her expressions confirming that Jesse's past was not a happy one, with his father.
Shaking her head, this time more slowly, Lyla thought back to an argument between father and son that worried her. "No. But, I did hear them argue."
"Do you know what about?"
Lyla nodded. "Me."
Mary grew concerned. "Did they argue alot?"
Lyla nodded, again. "Not too long before he was killed, Jesse and I were sitting on the porch, of his father's ranch. We were talking about books and I was listening to him read me a dime novel about Davy Crockett." She smiled as she remembered that hot afternoon. From one moment to the other, her expressions changed from happy to frightened. "The sheriff came home and told Jesse he neglected his chores to fool around with me. Jesse disagreed but Mr. McCall told him to fetch my wagon and take me home. Jesse told me he'd be right back so, I waited and listened. I heard just awful screaming. They were shouting from far away, it seemed. Jesse was screaming for him to stop." Trying not to sob, Lyla fisted her hands in to her skirt, determined to finish the story before someone else walked in and stopped her. "I heard this sound, like a whip to a horse. Jesse was screaming!" Her hands flew to her ears again, as if trying to stop the sound from memory, this time her soft sobs burst into painful tears. She hadn't realised that Chris and Mary saw her tears roll down her cheeks and fall onto her dusty, ripped dress she had wanted to get out of. Calming herself down, she finished. "It seemed like hours but, when it stopped, Mr. McCall put me in the wagon and took me back to town." She felt gentle, feminine hands holding her and caressing her soft brown hair as her head rest on Mary's shoulder.
"Alright, Lyla. Thank you. I'll let you rest, now. I'll check on you, later. Alright?" Chris's anger boiled. He grit his teeth and stared at a spot on the floor, choking on the sobs he and Mary listened to. How could a sheriff beat his own son like that, and be so bold to do it in daylight, with company present? He thought it was time to talk to Vin and the others, perhaps have a conversation with Jesse, providing the young outlaw would open up about a past event.
A knock on the door before the door opened, revealing Sheriff Drake, his hat in his hands. He saw that Lyla had stopped her crying, as soon as she heard the door open, and wiped at her tears before he could see. "Lyla, you alright?"
Clearing her throat, hushing the sobs, Lyla nodded and sat up, leaning away from Mary's shoulder. "I'm fine. Just a little tired, is all." Lyla hadn't let go of Mary's hand and squeezed it, indicating that she was scared. "I'd like a bath, now. And then, a rest. Please."
Mary spoke, reassuringly. "Of course. Gentlemen, would you excuse us? It's been a long day, for her." Looking from Chris, who now stood and replaced his hat on his head, to Sheriff Drake, still standing in the doorway. Placing her hands on Lyla's shoulders, Mary helped the fragile young woman to stand. As the door shut behind Chris, she had been ready to catch Lyla from another breakdown, and she had been glad she was. Holding Lyla, in her arms, as the sobs came. Shushing the woman, Mary was beside herself. She had felt sorry for Lyla and all she had been through but felt even more sorry for the man she hadn't met.
~~~~
Chris walked up to the jail and stopped in the doorway. "What happened here?" His eye caught sight of a banged up Jesse, in his cell, with Nathan helping him with a bloody nose.
Vin sat on the edge of the desk, closest to the door and cradled his rifle in his arms. "Seems Jesse wasn't wantin' to go in the cell, willingly, so..."
"Drake helped him."
Vin nodded. Standing up and turning his back to Nathan and Jesse, he lowered his voice as he told Chris about the bruise he saw. "Last night, after we caught him, again, I thought I saw some marks on his back. Drake has a temper for the boy, it seems."
Chris shook his head. "It wasn't Drake that did those." Walking over to the cell and standing in front of Jesse, Chris looked down at him. "Mind if we talk about your pa?"
Jesse took the handkerchief away from his nose, looking at it to make sure the blood had stopped. "Nothin' to say."
Lowering himself to balance on the balls of his feet, Chris smiled knowingly. "I don't believe that. Just had a talk with Lyla."
Breaking eye contact, Jesse looked away and started at the bars, leading to the next cell. "Leave her outta this."
"She told me about the fight you had with him, not too long before you shot him."
Jesse shifted, uneasily.
Chris dared to ask but with Nathan and Vin with him, Jesse wouldn't have much of a choice. "She said she heard him beatin' on you, that day. Maybe you deserved it and she's coverin' up for you. Or, she's tellin' the truth. Mind raisin' yer shirt, for me?"
Glaring at Chris, Jesse started to lunge at Chris, ready to fight him, when Nathan caught him by the arm.
"Wait, now." Nathan caught Jesse's eye and shook his head, indicating that would have been a bad idea.
Teeth clenched, Jesse slowly stood up and moved to the bars that separated the two cells, facing them. Placing his hands on them, he waited for one of the three to look at his back. He flinched as he heard Chris's boots stepping behind him and shivered as he felt the back of his shirt being raised. Jesse offered no excuse to what they saw.
Chris raised the back of Jesse's blue shirt and swallowed, hard. Deep welts and fading bruises from the few brawls with Sheriff Drake riddled his back. Some had been new but the welts remained clear and present.
Nathan stepped closer to examine Jesse. His tongue darted out to lick his dry lips, as if hoping to have something to say. He found himself at a loss. His eyes stared at the deepest of the welts. Jesse's back had resembled what his own must have looked like, to other people. For the first time in a long while, the shame and horror hit Nathan as he stared at Jesse's back. He had been thinking of asking the question that came to mind but paused when Chris spoke up.
"These deep scars, yer pa do that the day Lyla was with you?" Chris's finger traced the longest and deepest scar across Jesse's back, causing Jesse to flinch, again. He waited for Jesse to confirm or deny the question.
Jesse swallowed and nodded. "We were in the barn. He was drunk. He yelled at me for not bein' fast enough with gettin' the riggin'. Shoved me against the wagon." Jesse paused. The bad taste in his mouth choked him. He hadn't told anyone, not even Lyla, about what happened that day. "He grabbed the reins and just started hittin' me. I begged him to stop. They just kept gettin' harder and harder, couldn't move away from them." He closed his eyes as Chris lowered the material. "I came to and he had already taken the wagon. Slept out in the barn for a few days."
Chris took a deep breath and let it go. "The judge that presided, do you remember his name? Where he came from?"
Jesse thought. He had wanted to put Echo and the events of what happened behind him. "Judge..... Carson. Don't remember where he came from."
"You show him your back?" Vin stood at the cell door and leaned against it.
Shaking his head, Jesse didn't bother turning around. "He wasn't interested."
Chris turned and walked out of the jail, stopping on the walk, to cool down. He had hoped it was just a ploy to get more people on Jesse's behalf, only to find out that it wasn't just a ploy but a plea. For help. He leaned against the post that held the awning up and stared out at the street. Vin came to stand beside him. "I'll have Mary wire Judge Carson and see if he's willing to make a trip down here."
"Double jeopardy?"
"Think he might've gotten an unfair trial. If he wasn't heard at the first trial, I'd think he deserves an appeal. Don't you?"
Vin shifted. "You think you can get him acquitted?"
Chris shrugged. "At the very least, take the price off his head. Perhaps keep him from swingin'." Chris smirked as he thought about presenting the new evidence and the change of judges. He was thankful that he didn't have to add the charge of raping a blind woman, to the bill. "Jesse didn't rape Lyla. It was consensual."
"Could be bad news for Jesse if the Sheriff finds out. Consensual or not. He ain't the sheriff's favourite, right about now."
Chris sighed. He spotted Mary walking back to her office, from the hotel. Pushing off of the post, he caught up to her and held the door to the paper open for her, before joining her inside.
~~~~
Closing the door behind him, Chris turned and removed his hat, letting it dangle on his back. "How's she doin?"
Mary turned around to see the man who followed her in. "She's fine. Resting. It took awhile to calm her down but, once she had a hot bath and something to eat, she managed to fall asleep, just fine. She wanted me to ask how Jesse is."
"A few scrapes but, he's fine." Chris answered. "I need you to wire a circuit judge, for Echo. Name's Carson. He tried Jesse for the murder of his father, three years ago and sentenced him to hang. Jesse says the judge wasn't interested in his side of the story. Sounds like a rushed job, to me. Maybe Judge Travis can get the first trial thrown out."
Mary sighed but understood his point. "It'll be hard to do but, I'll wire both, tonight. You aren't giving Jesse to the Sheriff?"
Chris looked stone-faced. "He's too eager to lynch Jesse for the murder of his friend. Regardless of the outcome here, I don't think Jesse would make it to Echo, alive."
"Do you think Lyla might be able to help?"
Chris wasn't worried about Lyla's testimony but that coupled with what he, Vin and Nathan saw, might change Judge Carson's mind. "Lyla could give an alibi to Jesse but, that'd probably be it. I'd hate to put her in that position, if she got that upset with just answering my questions."
Mary nodded. "I see." Folding her arms in attempt to comfort herself, she felt uneasy. "She is obviously beside herself in grief over him. And the sheriff doesn't seem to help matters. We started talking, after you left, and she told me that Jesse has never been anything other than a gentleman to her. For being blind, she was very self-assured. Jesse was helping her to be independent and that was probably why the sheriff didn't want Jesse around her. What do you think it is, Chris?"
"Lyla is a strong young woman. Jesse seems to want to protect her but, at the same time, let her do things for herself. She asked him to take her away from Echo and her brother, even though she knew Sheriff Drake would chase them to Hell and back. Jesse did it without a second thought." Chris wasn't one to get involved in anyone else's troubles so easily. He was only willing to go as far as helping get a blind woman away from a kidnapper and outlaw. However, he hadn't counted on the sheriff having an alternate motive, in the retrieval of his sister. One thing was for sure, he didn't enjoy being in the middle of a situation that didn't involve him.
Mary shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts that had befallen the young couple. Her brow furrowed. "Love shouldn't be this unsettling."
"It shouldn't, but it is."
With a sigh, Mary gathered her thoughts and took two steps towards the door. "I'll go wire the judge." In coming closer to him, she was halted and gently pulled into an embrace with the man in black. Wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his tough chest, she held onto him for as long as she could. She could hear his heartbeat and feel the calmness of his even breathing. She stayed there, too comfortable to move. It had been a long time since she held someone like that. Equally long since someone held her.
"Thank you, Mary." Chris whispered. The smell of her hair was sweet and soft and clean. He closed his eyes and for a moment, he wanted to call her "Sarah." He liked the way she felt against him. Not many women were able to sate his feeling of comfort, but Mary had managed. He had come to have feelings for Mary and she him but neither had voiced their feelings nor made any attempt to suggest they had any feeling of love for the other. He could feel her fingers in his hair as his arms wrapped around her slender waist. Before he pulled away, he was surprised to find that she had shifted upward to kiss him. She couldn't deny it any longer, the feeling that she wanted him.
Mary was equally surprised when he kissed her back, neglecting the awkward setting between the two.
~~~~
JD sat at the desk, next to the door, and read the daily paper, yawning. He had been waiting to be relieved by Josiah and Buck. They had been late.
Jesse sat in the corner, on his bunk, and watched JD, out of the corner of his eye. He had been just as bored, sitting in the cell all day with nothing to do. With his legs bent and arms resting on his knees, he sighed and closed his eyes to rest. He opened them again as JD had yawned audibly. "I don't spose I could get somethin' to read? A book or somethin'?"
"I didn't think an outlaw knew how to read." JD snorted back.
"Don't you know how?" Jesse spoke casually.
JD stood up, the remark catching his attention. "I heard you were supposed to be faster than Mr. Larabee." JD rested his hands on the two pistols on either side of his hips. Striding over to where Jesse's cell was, he stopped at the outer cell door, keeping his distance. "Yet, here you are. Guess you were just talkin' big, sonny."
Smirking, Jesse turned his head to look at JD. "Fast enough for you to hold on to your toys, boy."
"Yea," JD took the remaining two steps in, to stand at the cell door, "then how come I'm the one lookin' into the cell?"
Jesse shrugged. "Wanna rematch?"
JD puffed up. "I ain't the one who's gonna swing for kidnappin'." JD smirked as Jesse had nothing more to say. As he turned around to see the jail door open and Vin step in, followed by Josiah, his smirk was erased as Jesse retorted.
"Saved by the relief."
Turning back to say something to Jesse, Vin cleared his throat and acknowledged JD for shift change. He turned back as Vin removed his hat. "Buck comin'?"
Vin shook his head. "We switched. He and the sheriff were escortin' Lyla to supper." As he said the words, he watched Jesse's reaction and expression to hearing Lyla's name mentioned with the sheriff. "Casey was lookin' for ya."
JD shrugged and glanced back at an unamused Jesse, still sitting in the corner of his cell. "He's got a smart mouth on him, tonight."
Josiah sauntered over to the empty chair at the second desk, across from where JD usually sat. "I'm sure we can find somethin' positive to fill the time with, JD." He nodded over to Jesse, who watched him sit down.
Closing the door behind JD, Vin laid his sawed-off Winchester on the sheriff's desk. "Doin' alright, Jesse?"
"Nothin' a certain key and a look in the other way, won't fix."
Josiah smiled at the suggestion. "Even the biggest lion in the jungle can't wish he were a tiny mouse, some days."
Jesse raised an eyebrow at Josiah's reference. "What does that mean?"
"To be a man, sometimes, you need to stand up and face the fire you've started for yourself." Josiah nodded and winked at Jesse, who sighed and looked away as if being slapped in the face.
Shaking his head, Jesse scoffed, again, at what Josiah had told him. "I didn't kidnap Lyla."
Vin poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot, on the stove. "Where were you two gonna go? If we hadn'ta caught up to you?" Silently, he held up the cup in asking if Josiah wanted a cup and was politely turned down. Blowing on the hot liquid, he glanced up at Jesse who was still eyeing Josiah.
Biting his lower lip, Jesse debated telling the tracker anything. "Why? So you'll know where to look, iffin' we disappear, again?"
Josiah looked up from reading his bible and took note of just how smart-mouthed Jesse was, for being a self-proclaimed "fast" outlaw. "Makes no difference to Vin, son. It seems he could find you in a hornet's nest." Making eye contact with the modest tracker, he glanced back at Jesse who glared at him through iron bars.
"My uncle has a place out in Nebraska. Figured we'd head there, first." Jesse debated for several quiet minutes about telling the men where he would have taken Lyla. Vin had already seen and heard his deepest secret so, there wasn't much stopping him from learning the answer to his question. "Don't matter now. I'm goin' to Hell. Ain't I?" Nodding to the Preacher, Jesse eyed the man's rosary around his neck and wondered if there was such thing as salvation.
Vin stepped forward and leaned against the outer cell door. "Perhaps Judge Travis could get you a reprieve." He tried to sound positive and nodded in hopeful affirmation when Jesse looked up at him.
"Travis?"
"You know him?" Vin raised his cup for a sip.
Jesse shook his head and looked away in embarrassment. "It ain't important."
Vin swallowed another sip of his hot coffee and pushed off of the bars. "He might be able to help."
"Lyla deserves better than me. It don't matter who the judge is. That damn sheriff's no better'n pa. He'd never let us go." Jesse hushed before he said anymore. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes, Jesse sighed to himself and thought about seeing Lyla in the dress he had bought for her, before he was hung for murder.
"What d'ya mean? You know Travis, don't ya?"
"I know him. Met him the other night in Willow Ridge. He uh-, forget it. If I tell you, you tell the sheriff, he takes it out on Lyla. She don't need that." Jesse didn't move or open his eyes to see Vin staring at him, trying to figure out what he was saying.
Taking another sip, Vin shook his head. "There's no love between me and the sheriff. You sayin' you and Lyla are--?"
Jesse opened his eyes and tilted his head to glance over at the smart tracker. "That mornin' you found us, was our first time. Didn't even get to consumate. For the best, I spose."
"Got proof?"
"In my saddlebag."
Vin turned to set his cup down, on the sheriff's desk and then moved over to where Jesse's belongings were kept, next to the gun case. Grabbing the saddlebag and placing it on the desk Josiah still sat at, he opened the first side and dug through it. Down at the bottom, had been a folded piece of paper that, when unfolded, held legal writing and three signatures. Vin glanced at it and handed it to Josiah for confirmation that it was legal.
Josiah read the document completely. "Married, huh? I don't suppose Sheriff Drake would like this one bit."
"My ma made me promise to keep a lady in tact. So, we found the judge, in town. I paid the five dollars and made it legal. I love Lyla. I wouldn't ever hurt her, soul or otherwise." Lowering his head, Jesse felt ashamed at what he had done.
Vin felt sick for knowing the secret Jesse kept. His mouth went dry as he thought of a way to tell Chris about it, without involving the sheriff or harming Lyla, any further.

Continued.
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Magnificent... 8?