I hadn't been this excited in a long time. Hell, maybe I'd never been this excited. Ezra was finally moving in with me and I could hardly wait. The business in the storefront beneath the clinic had gone belly-up and I'd petitioned the City Council to move the clinic down to the main floor. Some of the older citizens spoke up on my behalf and told the Council that it was hard for them to climb the stairs to get to me.

It was approved with a unanimous 'yes' vote and everybody pitched in to help us make the downstairs into a small waiting room; three rooms for patients; a workroom where I could make up my syrups, oils and liniments; and a storage room at the back where I could store supplies. The well that provided the upstairs water worked on the ground floor too so we had everything we needed. Josiah built shelves for the storage rooms both up and downstairs. I wanted to keep any drugs I had in a safer place than the room at the back even though Chris had helped us install iron bars over the windows.

Upstairs, we'd turned the old clinic into a common room with a table that held all of the seven, a wood stove so Ezra could cook and two comfortable chairs that Buck and JD had built for us. Ezra and I liked to read and it helped a lot to have someplace where the lamp between us was placed just right. My room had become our room and the back storage room we fitted up with a real porcelain tub. We still had to heat the water on the stoves but with a drainpipe down to the lower level, we didn't have to empty it by hand anymore.

Ezra had been slowly moving his things over to our place and today was the day he moved the very last items into our home. I looked around the space and wondered how I'd gotten so lucky. For a former slave, I'd come a very long way. I was a respected member of the community, I got to help people in their time of need, I had six of the best friends in the world and I had a lover who loved me with every fiber of his being.

Lucky didn't begin to cover it.

I'd taken to going to Josiah's church every evening to say a prayer of thanksgiving and like as not, I'd find Ezra there already praying. The townspeople had been a little wary when he started helping me but Mrs. Potter had staunchly supported us and even Nettie had come around when she saw how hard he worked during the influenza epidemic. I shivered whenever I thought of that dark time.

I hate it when I lose a patient. When Mr. Gray died, I felt like such a failure. I knew my silence was frightening Ezra but when he sat me down and held me, telling me that he loved me with all his heart, I finally broke down and spilled out all my fears to him. He listened gravely and when I was done ranting, he smiled and told me all the things that he loved about me.

He even wrote back to New York City and got a subscription under his name to the Journal of American Medical Association, JAMA for short. I'd wanted to know what doctors were writing about and that journal surely did have a lot of case studies and such telling me what worked and what didn't. Neither of us knew some of the big words that they used so he wrote off and got two books called Gray's Anatomy and Stedman's Dictionary of Medicine. They helped a lot although sometimes it felt like translating a foreign language.

Josiah had built a real pretty bookcase for the common room so's we'd have a place to put all the books that we were collecting. I walked out there and just looked around at the space that would be holding us safe through the winter, which was steadily approaching. Ezra and Vin had painted the room a creamy white, which made it look a whole lot bigger. The furniture must have been moved a hundred times until Ezra was satisfied that it looked just right.

Mrs. Potter had sewn up some real pretty curtains in white and green with green tiebacks that we only used on the side window. It seemed cozier when they were pulled across the glass, sealing out the gray skies outside. The chairs around the long table were all different since each of us had provided one for it. Ezra had just laughed and painted them all green. Inez had contributed some brightly painted tiles for the table top so hot dishes didn't blister the wood. It looked real festive even if none of the dishes but two matched each other.

Kind of like the Seven, they were all different. Shaking my head, I wondered back into our bedroom and made sure that everything was ready for him. He'd surprised me with a bath that night I was so weary and I wanted to surprise him too. I'd struck a deal with Mr. Brewster, the farrier to make us another stove with a wide top surface so we could get two three-gallon kettles on top right where we needed them, by the tub. They were steaming away along with the one in the bedroom.

It would be our first bath in the new claw foot bathtub and I wanted it to be just as nice as the one he'd given me. I even had some bath oil that he'd told me about. Mrs. Potter had ordered it for me and when it came she'd slipped it into my jacket pocket with a stern shake of her head when I wanted to pay her. Four Corners surely did have some good people living here.

The towels were warming and the spruce bath oil was in the half-full tub. I folded back the blankets on our new bed and looked at it with a big smile. We'd ordered two single mattresses and people just assumed that meant we had two beds but Josiah had built a platform for us where the mattresses lay side by side so the width almost filled the room with bed. In a pinch, the platform separated into two if say, Maude ever came through town again.

I shook my head. That woman had done more harm to Ezra that I liked but in her own way, I think she loved him. What she would think about the two of us didn't bear thinking about. We'd just have to deal with that if it ever happened. Right now, I didn't want to think about her but about my tardy lover. Going back to the front room, I looked at the chiming clock that Judge Travis had given me for my care of his grandson. It was after five and Ezra should have been here by now.

But before I could get too worried, the outer door opened and revealed him juggling two bags and a package. Hurrying to help, I pulled him in and shut the door behind him. I grabbed the heavy box and set it on the table before he could drop it. He let both bags drop with a sigh of relief and then I had him in my arms. Kissing him never gets boring and this one was no exception.

He tasted of whiskey and I could just guess who had delayed him. Buck liked to get in all the teasing he could and he'd probably grabbed the chance to make Ezra blush. But then he should have helped him with the heavy box, I frowned.

"What's wrong, Nathan?" The worried note reminded me that he could read my moods better and better lately.

"Nothing really. Why didn't Buck help you carry everything?"

Those dimples of his appeared and it was all I could do not to kiss him again. "I wouldn't let him. The box only appeared when Mrs. Potter hailed me outside the store and gave it to me. She wanted to help but I didn't want her to have to walk outside. It's starting to rain again."

I didn't care if it was snowing. Ezra was here and we weren't going out again until the next day. I had him all to myself tonight and if I had my way, we weren't going to get out of bed until we had to. "Then I think it's time for our bath. Your clothes are wet and I don't want you to catch a chill."

His eyes lit up and he hugged me tighter. "How wonderful that sounds."

"Then close your eyes, I have a surprise for you." I knelt and tugged off his boots first. "Your sock is wet. We'll have to see about getting that boot repaired." His toes were cold even through his socks and I stood to draw him into the bedroom.

"It's nice and toasty in here." He had closed his eyes and it struck me once again how much he trusted me.

"Only the best for my Ezra." I told him and watched that blush blossom on his cheeks. "Now, you just stand still while I undress you." He chuckled but let me peel off all those layers that hid his tempting body. Suddenly I needed to see his skin and I all but ripped his shirt off of him. His pants were next and those soft silk drawers that slid so easily off his slender hips. And there was his beautiful cock already lifting towards me. I kissed the crown and felt him jerk in my hands.

His hands came to my head and slid through my hair slowly. "You feel so good, Nathan. May we go to bed and not rise again until morning?"

I sucked him into my mouth and tickled the crown with my tongue while he swayed above me. Letting him go I kissed it again before rising to lift him in my arms. "We are not getting out of bed until we have to. But first we're going to take a bath."

Carrying him into the bathroom, I set him down by the tub and saw him cock his head to listen to what I was doing. The sound of the first kettle of hot water hitting the room temperature tub made him shiver with delight. The second kettle had him sniffing at the unfamiliar scent of bath oil released by the heat.

"What is that, Nathan?"

"It's part of your surprise, Ezra. Wait one more minute." I told him and hurried out to get the last kettle. With two of us in the six-foot tub, the water level should be just right. Coming back in I saw Ezra kneeling by the tub and swishing his hands through the faintly green water. He was taking deep breaths and smiling but his eyes were still closed.

I poured in the last three gallons and he shivered. "Ezra, are you cold?"

"No, Nathan, just really, really ready for this bath." He rose and hugged me close. "I love the way you take care of me."

"I love taking care of you, sweet Ezra. And it's no better than the way that you watch over me." I lifted him up and set him in the faintly steaming water. He groaned and sat down with a bit of a splash.

"Oh, this is heaven. But only if you come in too. May I open my eyes now?" He was looking up at me but they were still closed.

"Yes, open them and look at me." I commanded softly and his eyelids flew up. Slowly, I unbuttoned my shirt and let it fall to the floor, then I pushed my pants down over my hips and stepped out of them while those great big green eyes got that sultry look that hardens my cock faster than anything.

"You're so beautiful, Nathan. Sometimes I think that all that lovely dark brown skin glows brighter than the sun." He held out his hand and I took it while stepping into the tub. The oil made it a little slippery and I made a mental note for us to be more careful when we used it. I didn't want any accidents spoiling our time together.

"You're the beautiful one, Ezra. Your skin feels like satin under my fingers." I slid back against the sloping end and pulled him into my arms so he lay all along my front. Our cocks began that familiar slide against each other but it felt different some how and I realized that was the oil slicking us.

"Oh, Nathan, you feel so good. Hold me tight and don't ever let go." His eyes were tear-bright for some reason and I thought that maybe the weather had depressed him.

"Never letting you go, Ezra. Did I forget to tell you that I belong to you now and you just have to take care of me for always?" I kissed that dimple in his cheek then the one of the other side of his mouth before pressing my lips to his.

He parted for me at once and I surged inside of him just like I wanted to do a little lower down. My hands slid over his back and over those lily-white cheeks of his, the tips of my fingers skimming over the crevice that hid his entrance from me. His legs fell to either side of my hips exposing the little hole to me while he moaned into our kiss and slid his arms around my neck, trying to pull us closer together.

But we were just about as close as we could get already without me coming inside of him. I slid a single finger past that tight muscle that guarded his channel and he wiggled all over, turning my cock to an iron hardness that stabbed his stomach. Finally we had to breathe and the fire in his eyes should have warned me that he was going to take me in hand.

"Get me ready for you, Nathan. Fill the empty spot inside of me with all that lovely hot flesh."

Something in the way he said flesh made me want to take him right then. But pain wasn't an option for us so I slid in another finger and scissored them until the muscle loosened. He only waited a moment once I'd taken my fingers out before lifting up and settling on my cock with only a slightly pained look on his face. I held him steady above me for a moment, waiting for the look to disappear then slowly he sank down until his cheeks hit my hips.

That is always the moment when we look at each other as if to say 'how did we get so lucky to find each other'? His walls were tight around me and his heat seared me with a fire I know only with him. His fingers came down to play with my nipples and he got an odd look on his face.

"Did I ever tell you of my favorite fantasies, Nathan?" He said while he used those strong leg muscles to rise up before sliding down again.

"I'd love to hear them, Ezra." I added a little thrust up as he was coming down and watched his face break into his brightest smile. Several moments passed while we played but we kept it slow so we could enjoy it. There is nothing like being in him and some days I wish I could just stay inside of him.

"I have an ache deep inside of me that no doctor has ever been able to explain. While traveling west, I hear of a wonderful doctor who practices in a small town. So, I stop my travels and try to make an appointment to see him. But he is completely booked for two weeks so I have to wait." He lathered the soap in his hands and washed my chest slowly. "Everyone tells me that Doctor Jackson sometimes knows what is wrong with someone just by looking at them. I find myself thinking of the good doctor all day and all night. In fact I begin to dream about him and wake up with the ache that's growing worse and worse."

It was my turn to wash him and it felt distinctly odd to be inside of him while we were washing each other. With careful maneuvering, I laid him back while I washed his legs then wrapped them around my waist. I pulsed within him and fisted his cock while he moaned over and over. Then with a cry I'd never heard from him before, he came in my hand and slumped in my arms. I was worried for a moment but he was already stirring and shaking his head.

"Good heavens, Nathan, it felt like lightning struck me." He was still shaking but he cupped my chin in his hand and lightly kissed my lips. "You are so wonderful."

"If I am, it's because it's you in my arms." I told him and watched his eyes light up. "I think maybe this bath is over for now. I want to hear the rest of your fantasy someplace not so slippery."

He laughed and wiggled just enough to unseat me from his depths. We both moaned at that loss of connection. But then we were getting out of the tub cautiously and drying each other slowly while kissing each new bit of skin within range of our lips. While I was drying his back, he grabbed the bottle of liniment and cast a flirtatious look over his shoulder at me.

"We need to finish my fantasy in the front room. We've never made love there." He pulled out of my arms and started backing through the bedroom door while I followed him as if an invisible cord bound us together. "Finally, the day of my appointment arrives and I wash myself meticulously and wear my very best suit. It's late in the day and no one else is waiting but me. I'm too nervous to read and it feels as if the clock has stopped ticking completely when the door opens and a tall dark man looks down at me with the wisest eyes."

Ezra hopped up on the table and spread his legs wide, pulling me towards him and filling his hands with liniment so he could glove my cock with slippery fingers. I was mesmerized by his fantasy and I waited for him to tell me more.

"Well, I'd never seen such a beautiful man in my life and I didn't know what to say but you spoke first. 'Mr. Standish, I am Dr. Jackson. Please come with me.' I get up to follow you and you lead me to one of the examination rooms and ask me to take off all my clothes. I'm embarrassed but determined to do anything you say. When I'm fully naked, you help me up on the examination table and part my legs just like they are right now. 'I'm going to check certain parts of your body first, Mr. Standish. What does it feel like when I touch you here?' And you pinch my nipples gently then harder while I pant out something, I'm not sure what. 'Let me see if your testicles are the right size, Mr. Standish.' And you lift my cock out of the way while taking my balls gently in your warm fingers."

I followed his directions and pinched his nipples to lovely pink peaks before rolling those beautifully sized testicles between my fingers. His cock was already lifting towards me and I transferred some of the liniment to it while he gasped and wiggled just a little. And that's when I decided to take a more active part of this fantasy.

"Very good, Mr. Standish, they're just the right size. Now I see you have some swelling here. Has this happened before?" I slowly stroked his cock and he blushed shyly.

"No, Dr. Jackson, it's never done that before. Is it something serious?" He looked at me earnestly but his fingers were tweaking my nipples to hard peaks.

"It could be, Mr. Standish. Now I need to check something else so I need you to lay down on the table for me." I cushioned his back with my hands and stole a kiss from shy lips. Our tongues mated for a brief moment then I drew back a little. "Well, your temperature is normal."

He shot me a wicked look from such an innocent face. "I've never had my temperature taken that way before, Dr. Jackson. That was much nicer than a cold thermometer."

"Yes, I prefer that method with certain special patients. Now, I'm going to place your legs over my shoulders so I can check your pulse." I pulled him closer to the edge of the table and discovered that my cock would be perfectly placed to slide right inside of him. "That's better. Are you comfortable, Mr. Standish?"

"I'm fine, Dr. Jackson. The ache though is getting worse. It's deep inside of me." He slid his hands over mine and transferred more lotion to my fingers.

"I think I know what the ache is, Mr. Standish and I'm going to check for it now. Just hold still for me." I laid a hand flat on his taut stomach muscles and slowly slid my index finger through his entrance. "Your pulse is a little fast, Mr. Standish. Has no one ever told you that?"

"No one has ever touched me there, Doctor." His eyes were that sultry green that makes me want to bury myself inside of him and never come out again.

"Ah, well, let me just check something else before I give you my diagnosis." I slid two fingers in and hunted for the gland that gives such pleasure. His gasp told me that I'd found it and I rubbed it several times before coming out. "Well, I think you came to me just in time, Mr. Standish. I have a medicine that will cure the ache, if you will permit me give it to you?"

"Oh please, Dr. Jackson, anything to put out the fire inside of me." He wiggled closer to the edge of the table and I chuckled.

"Very well, open wide for me so I can deliver the medicine where it will do the most good." I spread his cheeks wide and nudged his small hole with the head of my cock. He whimpered when I just rubbed it there for a long moment but then I pushed hard and thrust inside with a single deep thrust that had my balls hitting the table edge. He moaned but when I checked I could see it was a good moan.

"Oh, Dr. Jackson, you're right where the ache is. How do you spread the medicine inside of me?" He smiled at me and flexed those inner muscles around me while I bit back a groan.

"It will take a few moments, Mr. Standish but then I promise that I'll deliver the medicine right where you need it." I steadied myself then began the volley of thrusts that would please both of us.

The table shook a little with the power of my thrusts but it was sturdily made and stayed put. Ezra was using his hands to hold onto the edge while my hands held his hips tight. I felt the little ripples along his channel walls that told me he was close and that was good news because I could feel my climax rising up ready to explode out of me.

He was chanting my name over and over while I thrust once more and released deep inside of him. He froze and released between us with long spurts of hot seed. I let his legs drop to my arms so I could lean in to kiss him. His arms came around my neck, pulling me closer and we kissed slowly while our bodies quieted. Finally we had to breathe and I rested on my arms while he began to laugh.

"I'll be blushing so hard the next time we have everyone over to eat that Buck will tease me unmercifully." Ezra chuckled. "But I must say, Dr. Jackson, that terrible ache is all gone. I guess I'll just have to stay with you so you can deliver your miracle medicine regularly."

"Damn right, Ezra P. Standish. A chronic conditions such as yours will need daily infusions." I kissed him again and he sucked my tongue into his mouth where it could entwine with his. But we were cooling down and I didn't want him to catch a cold. Besides his body was slowly pushing me out and we were going to make a mess when I did. "Ezra, we need to move or it's going to take more than bleach to clean this table."

He nodded but pointed to the chair where a towel was hanging. "I was hoping that you'd like this fantasy so I prepared just in case."

"I like the way you look ahead." I popped out and hurriedly caught the trickles before helping him to sit up. "How's your back?"

"I may need a massage." He leaned against me and looped his arms around my neck. "I have more fantasies."

"Does one of them have to do with a man with big hands and a bottle of liniment?" I teased him, picking him up and carrying him back to the bedroom.

"Why yes one does, how ever did you know?" He attacked my ear and bit the lobe gently. "But mostly I just like the story about two men who found each other against all the odds and built a wonderful life together."

I held him close and looked into those beautiful emerald eyes. "That's my favorite story too, Ezra. Let's retell it over and over."

He nodded and rested his head on my shoulder. "But the one where I get pregnant is kind of fun too."

"What?"

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The end for now