Title: Old Ghosts and New Friends

Chapter Title: Authors Notes

Characters:

Genres: Slash

Rating: FRAO

Warnings: Angst, Child abuse, Established couple, Hurt/Comfort, Incest, slash, violence

Summary: What happens when the Duke boys meet the guys from the Magnificent Seven. This is a part of my Secrets universe and comes after Fleeting Touch. Mentions of rape and child molestation.

Old Ghosts and New Friends

Part 0

This story is a crossover story between Dukes of Hazzard and the Magnificent Seven set in my Secrets universe. I am posting this portion for the benefit of those not familiar with the Magnificent Seven. In 1960 a western movie appeared that was destined to become a classic, The Magnificent Seven. In the late 1990's a television series began airing based on that movie, it starred:

Michael Biehn as gunslinger Chris Larabee a man grieving the loss of his wife and son in a fire several years earlier ordered by a former lover still in mourning Chris wears mostly black.

Eric Close as sharpshooter and former bounty hunter Vin Tanner who now has a price on his own head after being set up for a murder he didn't commit. Chris and Vin met when they joined forces to save Nathan Jackson from being lynched and share a unique connection described by Josiah Sanchez as being two halves of the same soul.(only in fanon, not in canon)

Dale Midkiff as ladies man and Chris' longtime friend Buck Wilmington,Buck was raised in a whorehouse by his mother which left him with a unique and respectful view of women. He is a former lawman.

Ron Pearlman as son of a missionary, Josiah Sanchez who may have left his faith, but whose faith hasn't left him.

Rick Worthy as former slave Nathan Jackson, who learned the healing arts as a stretcher bearer in the Civil War.

Anthony Starke as gambler/conman Ezra Standish. Ezra was raised by his mother Maude though raised is perhaps too generous. Maude seems to have pawned Ezra off on various relatives and friends throughout his childhood unless she needed him for a con.

Andrew Kavovit as JD Dunne a former stable boy from back east he came west looking for adventure after the death of his mother.

Although the series was short-lived it gained a faithful fan following with a large amount of fanfiction being written based on the series. After it left the air a new alternate universe was created by Mog; Magnificent Seven ATF, in this universe the seven are now ATF agents living in Denver, Colorado the characters are essentially the same.

Chris is still leader of the seven, his wife and son were killed several years ago in a car bomb meant for him.

Vin is the team sharpshooter/weapons expert

Josiah is the team profiler

Nathan is the team medic

Buck is the team explosives expert

JD is the team electronics/computer expert

Ezra is the team undercover agent

I will try to incorporate descriptions into the story but since I don't want it to read like a police report I will give descriptions here.

Chris is 6' tall, blond hair, hazel eyes and trim build

Vin is 5'11" long curly brown hair, dark blue eyes, killer smile and trim build

Ezra is 5'8" wavy brown hair, emerald green eyes and a trim, compact build

Josiah is 6'1" gray hair, blue eyes and stocky build, usually has a mustache

Nathan is 6'5" black hair and brown eyes trim build

Buck is 6'3" black hair and dark blue eyes and stocky build, also usually has a mustache

JD is 5'8" brown hair and hazel eyes with a compact slightly stocky build.

In my Secrets universe Bo and Luke are not just cousins, they are lovers. At this point they have been lovers for several years and everybody in Hazzard recently became aware of that fact.

I hope this information will be helpful in reading the story.

Old Ghosts and New Friends

Chapter 1

Lying in bed next to his lover Vin Tanner couldn't help thinking about their trip tomorrow. Not sure who was more nervous, him or Ezra Vin instinctively tightened his hold on his lover as he thought about what had brought them to this trip. Five years ago Vin and Ezra had been only friends and co-workers, neither of them willing to risk the loss of that friendship for a roll in the hay. Luckily their friends and teammates had more sense than they did, setting them up on a blind date and letting nature take it's course. Knowing they had the backing of their friends Vin and Ezra finally gave each other a chance, only to break up six months later when things began to get too serious.

At the time he had thought he would never be happy again, the thought of never again holding Ezra in his arms had hurt more than he could say. That was when he met Charlotte Richmond, but after a short affair he'd found out she was married and ended it. The one good thing, he'd thought then it was the only good thing, to come out of the ill-fated affair was his realizing just how important Ezra was to him. Though Charlotte like Ezra stood just three inches shorter than his own 5'11" she had never fit into his arms as well as Ezra, and no matter how deep he looked, her eyes had never held the warmth he found in Ezra's beautiful green eyes.

Returning to his lover's side Vin had finally convinced Ezra that they owed it to themselves to try and make this work. It hadn't been easy, Ezra had pointed out that neither of them had any real experience at relationships, Vin had countered that nobody else did either until they started one. Ezra then argued that neither man had any decent role models when it came to relationships, Vin stopped that argument with the assertion that in that case they'd just have to be their own role models.

Eight months after he and Ezra got back together he'd found out about the other good thing to come out of his relationship with Charlotte, his son Michael. When Charlotte died giving birth, her husband Will contacted Vin and told him to come get Michael because he wasn't raising another man's bastard. Vin had worried that Ezra wouldn't be able to accept Michael, that he would be a reminder of Vin's affair, but there was no way he would abandon his son, so he'd have to take the chance. He needn't have worried, Ezra took one look at Michael and fell in love, and just like that Michael Tanner gained two fathers who loved him more than life itself. The only black mark on that happy time was Ezra's mother Maude. Unable to accept that Ezra was making a life with a nobody like Vin Tanner she had stopped speaking to her son, had never even met her grandson. But all of that would be changing tomorrow, Maude had written Ezra a month ago asking forgiveness. After several letters and phone calls, finding out that Maude had been given a scare a couple of months back, a lump in her breast that luckily turned out benign, Ezra finally agreed to meet her in Atlanta along with his family.

Lying in his lover's arms Ezra Standish could feel the tension flowing through Vin. He knew Vin wasn't nervous for himself, it would take more than Maude Standish to scare Vin Tanner, crack sharpshooter for the ATF. No, Vin was nervous for Ezra, scared that Maude was scheming again and that her scheme would cause Ezra pain. As he felt Vin's arms tighten around him again Ezra turned so that he was facing his lover. Looking into Vin's deep blue eyes, eyes that had seen entirely too much ugliness, Ezra began to comb his fingers gently through Vin's curls, knowing this always relaxed him.

"Vin darlin, you must calm down and get some rest. I know you're worried about me and I love you for that, but I promise you I am beyond Maude's ability to injure me, thanks to your love. Believe me darlin, no matter what machinations Maude may attempt I will not allow her to cause me any harm, though frankly I do believe this time she is sincere in her desire fo a reconciliation."

"I hope yer right Ez, cause if she hurts ya I'm tellin ya now I won't let her get away with it. Guess yer right though, if I'm gonna protect ya from yer ma I'd better get some sleep, you too."

"Never fear Vin, I will be only too happy to seek the arms of Morpheus, just as soon as you do likewise." replied Ezra as he snuggled into Vin's embrace.

THREE DAYS LATER Atlanta Zoo 10:00 a.m.

Vin and Ezra walked around the Atlanta zoo thoroughly enjoying their four year old son's delight at the various animals he saw. But what they were enjoying even more was Maude Standish and the changes they had seen in her. From the first it was obvious that her story about the cancer scare having made her realize what was important was true. For perhaps the first time in her life Maude honestly wanted nothing more from Ezra than his love and to be a part of his life. Of course it helped that they'd brought Michael with them, within an hour of meeting him Maude Standish was just as enchanted with the boy as all who knew him were.

While Vin and Ezra stood in line waiting to get drinks, their world shattered when they heard a scream.

"Maude" they said as one and took off in the direction of the scream. Fighting their way through the crowd they reached Maude's side only to be faced with every parent's worst nightmare.

"Oh Ezra darlin, I'm so sorry I tried to stop him."

"Stop who mother? Mother calm down and tell me what happened and where Michael is?"

"That awful man took him, he just snatched him away from me and ran off in that direction." Maude told them pointing in the direction of the monkey house.

Telling Maude to wait for security and have them call the police, Vin and Ezra took off in search of their son. Reaching the monkey house they saw a sight which chilled them to the bone. On the ground next to a small exit gate lay the Curious George doll Maude had bought for Michael yesterday, the one he hadn't let go of since. It didn't take them long to realize that Michael and his kidnapper were out of sight.

Returning to Maude they were relieved to see that the police had already arrived, they listened as Maude gave a description of the kidnapper. After giving statements of their own, including a description of what Michael was wearing and a recent picture, they all returned to the hotel.

Once at the the hotel Ezra called Chris Larabee their friend and boss, back in Denver. As soon as Chris heard what was happening he assured Ezra that he and the rest of the team would be in Atlanta in a few hours, just as soon as they could make arrangements with Orrin for the use of his plane. Reminding Ezra that neither he or Vin could help Michael from jail, Chris told him to wait for the rest of the team before they did anything. Assuring Chris that they would do so, Ezra hung up and joined Vin on the balcony as they began the difficult task of waiting.

HAZZARD COUNTY 3:00 p.m.

Bo and Luke Duke had been enjoying an afternoon off, swimming and having a picnic, but mostly just enjoying the time together. As they were gathering their things together they were startled by the scream of a child. Without a thought to their own safety the two young men took off in the direction of the scream. Coming up to the old Webster place, they peeked through the window and were sickened by what they saw. Inside the cabin was a man holding a little boy who looked to be about four years old. The boy was fighting and screaming as the man attempted to remove his clothes. Seeing this Bo and Luke rushed through the door, Bo grabbing the boy as Luke attacked the man. Getting the boy into a safe corner of the room Bo turned to see if Luke needed help, "NO!" he screamed as the man stabbed Luke and took off running.

Falling to his knees beside his lover, Bo looked in shock at the blood soaking Luke's shirt. "Bo, BO!" Snap out of it!" Luke said, his voiced laced with pain.

"Sorry love, here let me see how bad it is." Lifting Luke's shirt Bo gave a sigh of relief, it wasn't as bad as he'd feared. The knife had just cut into Luke's side, it looked like he'd just need some stitches and he'd be fine. Stripping off his t-shirt he used it as a temporary bandage, hating the pain he saw in Luke's blue eyes but knowing it was necessary. Turning to the boy, Bo jumped in surprise to find him standing beside him. "Hey little one, you okay?" At a nod from the boy Bo went on, "Can you tell me your name?" After looking at him for a minute, during which Bo couldn't help feeling as though the boy were sizing him up, he gave his answer.

"My name's Michael Tanner and I want my papa."

"Well Michael my name's Bo Duke and this here fella's my cousin Luke. If you can follow me to our car, we'll get Luke to a doctor and then we can call the sheriff and see about finding your papa, okay?"

Picking Luke up off the floor Bo headed to the General, Michael trailing behind. As soon as he had Luke and Michael situated, Bo headed for Doctor Appleby's office.

Arriving at the doctor's office, Bo got Luke and Michael out of the car, surprised to find the boy holding a camera. After the doctor took Luke into the back, Bo went to call Rosco. While they waited for Rosco, Bo asked Michael about the camera. Learning that it had belonged to the kidnapper he took it from Michael and set it on a nearby table. Just as Luke came out of the back Rosco arrived, after hearing that Michael had been kidnapped and getting the camera from Bo, Rosco arrested the Duke boys for kidnapping.

TBC

Please review and tell me what you think.