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Fields of Need: Building the Blind
By Starwinder
Part 3 (encompassing emailed parts 9-12)
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Nathan Jackson paced nervously. He wasn't sure he should be doing this, but his conscience just wouldn't leave him alone about it. It wasn't right. There had to be someone that was getting cheated in the deal Standish had made for that house. He had to say something to somebody. He hated going behind Vin's back, but the man was being blinded by his feelings for Ezra. He just couldn't see that there was something intrinsically wrong with what Ezra was doing in buying that house without telling the sellers that it was filled with antiques that were worth more than he was paying for the house.

He glanced up as the receptionist spoke.

"Mister Jackson? Mister Piedmont will see you now."

He swallowed hard and moved to the large, heavy wooden doors leading into the office where the attorney for the late Gaylene Stillwell waited.

Arthur Piedmont, attorney at law, was a tall, thin, white-haired man in his late fifties or early sixties. He rose from behind the wide expanse of his desk to shake Nathan's hand. "Mister Jackson, what may I do for you today?"

"Well, I thought I might be able to do something for you. You know that house of Miss Stillwell's that you have for sale?" Nathan offered as they sat down.

"Indeed, I do. Are you interested in buying it?" Piedmont leaned back in his chair and smiled.

"No! Uh, no... but I know the man that is trying to buy it and he's something of a shrewd operator, if you know what I mean. I think you ought to know that he's... well to be blunt, he's cheating you on that deal," Nathan blurted out and hurried on to say, "I heard him talking and the antiques in that house are worth a lot more than he's paying for the house."

"Really." The old man's voice was dry and he regarded Nathan with a slight smile. "Tell me, Mister Jackson, have you seen the house?"

"Well, uh, no," Nathan reluctantly admitted.

"Do you know about the restrictions that Gaylene Stillwell put on the sale?"

"Restrictions?"

"Restrictions. That house is a white elephant, Mister Jackson. It has been on the market for more than ten years. Gaylene specified that it could not be sold to a developer. The land can't be subdivided. The house can't be torn down. Neither can any of the out buildings. There cannot be any other buildings erected on the property. The person buying the house must agree to live in it for a minimum of five years and should they then sell it, they must place the same restrictions on its sale as were on it when it was bought. Frankly, Mister Jackson, I despaired of ever selling it. Mister Standish is the first person to show an interest in years. As for the antiques, I can't sell them separate from the house. Gaylene's will specified that the house must be sold "as is" with all contents. Hell! I tried to sell it to the city for a park. They turned it down, saying it would cost too much to restore the house and keep it up."

He rose from behind the desk and held out his hand to Nathan. "I appreciate your concern, Mister Jackson. However, I don't feel that I am being cheated. I feel sorry for the man that is buying the place. He may very well go broke trying to get it up to code."

Nathan stood, shaking his head as he reached for the lawyer's hand. "If it was anybody but Ezra Standish, I might agree with you, but that man could spin straw into gold. I'd bet twenty bucks that he not only won't go broke, he'll find a way to turn a profit on the place."

Piedmont grinned, "All I can say is more power to him. I'm just glad to get rid of the place."

***************************

The next morning at work, Nathan approached Ezra hesitantly. "Ezra... I... I'm sorry."

"For what, Mister Jackson?" Ezra asked, regarding him coolly.

"What I said yesterday, about the house. I went to see that Miss Stillwell's attorney--"

"You what?" Vin jumped up from his desk where it faced Ezra's, stepping around it to confront Nathan, moving between him and Ezra, backing Nathan away from Ezra. "What the hell did I tell you, Nate? If you've queered this deal, I'll---"

"Hold on, Vin! I didn't. I mean, the lawyer guy, Piedmont, he wasn't upset about the deal. Said he just wanted to get rid of the house. That it had been real hard to sell. So, I reckon that maybe..."

"*Maybe*? You reckon that maybe-- what? That *maybe* Ez wasn't cheating anybody after all? That *maybe* you were wrong, you sanctimonious son of a bitch!"

In the background, the others looked up at Vin's angry voice. JD stared, openmouthed. Buck stood up and moved closer, Josiah did the same. Chris' door opened but he stopped and stood in it, choosing to let them work it out for themselves if possible.

"Vin! Please!" Ezra pleaded catching Vin's arm. "It's all right."

"No! It ain't! I'm real tired of him jumping to conclusions about you. He's always whining about bigotry and prejudice. What the hell does he think the way he treats you is? He's a bigger bigot than you could ever be! And a hypocrite as well! Cause he can't even see what he's doing."

He turned to look into Ezra's eyes. "You bend over backwards to make things easy for him, not to offend his sensibilities, while he treats you like dirt. Well, I ain't gonna put up with it no more. It's past time somebody called him on it!"

"Vin," Ezra tried again. "Mister Jackson has had a hard life..."

"That don't give him the right to treat you like he does. You ain't never done nothing to him. If he can't look past your accent and where you were raised, what right has he got to ask you to look past the color of his skin? Huh? As for him having a hard life, I don't reckon it was any harder than some white folks have had. Least he had a loving family to raise him... not like me... or you...."

Nathan opened his mouth to make a retort to that when Vin turned back to him.

"Don't say it, Nate! You ain't got no idea what Ezra's childhood was like! Maybe his ma did have money but I never figured you for fool enough to think that money could make everything all right. Why don't you try using that brain of yours for a change? Ezra's got five stepfathers... and Maude's working on getting number six. Does that sound like a stable childhood to you? He's thirty years old, and his dad died when he was five, that means that, on an average, each stepfather lasted five years... or less, cause you got to figure the time it took Maude to reel them in and to get her divorces. Reckon the marriages actually averaged more like a year and half maybe two years each. Real *stable* environment. And that ain't counting the ones she didn't marry!" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"And I don't figure all them stepfathers was exactly great husbands and fathers either, else Ez and Maude wouldn't react the way they do to raised voices and angry tones. Ya know, the only time I ever got pissed enough at Maude to yell at her, she backed off and threw up an arm like she expected me to hit her... and Ez moved real fast to get between us. Reactions like that come from being hit, hit often enough to associate somebody raising their voice, with them raising their hand."

He shook his head and slumped back against the edge of the desk. "Hell, I'm upsetting him now. Cause I'm yelling at you. Ain't you ever noticed how he always tries to smooth things over, tries to be the peacemaker? Ain't you got sense enough to see that that's a standard coping mechanism for a child raised in an abusive environment? They try to make peace, keep things from escalating into violence. It's what they learn when they're little, cause it's all they can do to stop the violence. Distract, redirect and pray that nobody hits them."

"He don't look upset to me!" Nathan sneered and turned, moving towards Ezra only to freeze, when Ezra shied away before seeming to catch himself and turning to face Nathan, his chin coming up, his jawline hardening and his shoulders squaring as he drew himself up to his full height and shifted to balance on the balls of his feet, clearly ready to defend himself.

Nathan blinked. If it hadn't been for the reflexive flinch, he would have assumed that Ezra was preparing to attack, not defend. He swallowed hard. How many times had Ezra flinched when he'd reached out a hand towards him? How many times had the man pulled away from him? And how many of those times had Nathan responded with anger, assuming that it was because he was black.

Dear God! Ezra was afraid of him!

He felt sick. He'd always prided himself on being a kind and gentle person, a caring person, but one of his team mates, a man he called his friend was *afraid* of him.

Ezra hid it well. Nathan might not have ever realized what the reaction actually was, if Vin hadn't spelled it out for him.

He stepped back, spreading his hands in a placating gesture. "Ezra... I'm sorry. Truly sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to prejudge you. I don't know what else to say... Except that I *am* sorry."

He watched as Ezra visibly relaxed.

The smaller man sighed. "Apology accepted, Mister Jackson," Ezra said softly and held out his hand.

Nathan stepped forwards and reached to take Ezra's hand.

"Dammit, Ez!" Vin snapped, straightening from his slumped position against the desk and stepping forward. "How can you forgive him, just like that? After all the times he's shit on you?"

Ezra turned away from Nathan with a sigh, to regard Vin with a long-suffering expression. "Vin, what did you just say about coping mechanisms?"

Vin shook his head, "That you're a peacemaker. That that's your coping mechanism."

"Exactly... and this," he waved a hand to indicate the rest of the seven, "is my family. Forgiving him will keep peace in the family."

"But you shouldn't always be the one to make the sacrifices to keep the peace," Vin insisted.

"Oh, I doubt that I shall be. Mister Jackson takes great pride in being a fair man. Now that you have pointed out to him that he has treated me unfairly and he has truly realized it, and I believe he has, he will take great care to treat me fairly from now on. He's a good man, Vin, if a bit self-righteous. But we all have our faults."

He reached out to lay a hand on Vin's arm, leaning a bit closer to the other man. "Mine, I fear, is that I have hidden myself too well from my friends, out of fear that if they knew the real me that they would reject me. You have given me the confidence to believe that they might accept me as I truly am, but you can't fight my battles for me, or make friends for me. It doesn't work that way. At least, I don't think that it does. I'm just learning how this friendship thing works, but I believe you're going to have to let me struggle through it on my own."

Vin let out a long sigh, "All right... guess you're right about that. I can't make friends for you... but if he hurts you again, I'm kicking his ass."

Ezra laughed, "Oh, Vin, what am I going to do with you?" He flashed Vin a sly smile that said he had a very good idea of what to do with him, then turned back to Nathan.

"Mister Jackson?" He held out his hand again. "Friends?"

Nathan took the offered hand gratefully. "Friends.... And thank you Ezra... for still being willing to be my friend. I promise you, I'll do better."

"All I ask is that you try," Ezra said quietly.

With a sigh, Chris stepped back into his office, grateful that he hadn't had to intervene. Buck slapped Vin on the shoulder and Josiah guided Nathan away from Ezra. JD turned back to his computer.

Ezra turned to face Vin. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.

Vin shook his head. "I'm fine. I oughta be asking if you're all right."

Ezra smiled. "I'm more than just all right, Mister Tanner." He stepped closer, lowering his voice, "I have someone that loves me enough to stand up for me and defend me and I have now taken a step closer to turning a colleague into a real friend. Thank you."

Vin felt himself relaxing at the smile that touched Ezra's eyes, leaning closer he said. "You're welcome," then added, "reckon we might take a long lunch today?"

Ezra's smile widened, "We do have comp time coming for the three days we spent undercover twenty-four hours per day at Mister Thompson's estate week before last. I think we could arrange it."

"I'll tell Chris that we're taking the afternoon off."

"The whole afternoon?" Ezra grinned. "You are incorrigible, Mister Tanner."

***************************

Shortly before lunch, Vin stuck his head into Chris' office. "Chris? If it's okay with you, me'n Ez are going to use some of our comp time, take the afternoon off."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Been looking at a truck. Thought I might take Ez by to see it. We're going to need one. We close on the house Friday and I want to get started on the clean up right away."

Chris nodded, "Okay... but make sure Ezra's in here first thing in the morning. Thompson's rolled over on his supplier. Sounds like it might be the guys who pulled the armory heist. He's willing to introduce Ezra to them in exchange for a reduced sentence."

"Nine o'clock?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks, Cowboy. We'll be there."

Vin was grinning when he rejoined Ezra at their desks. "Get your stuff straightened up. We got the afternoon off."

Ezra cocked an eyebrow at him. "What did you tell Mister Larabee?"

"The truth... I'm going to take you to see a truck... course I didn't tell him that we were going straight there."

"It might be best to make that stop first." Ezra smiled at him, adding softly, "You know how we are when we get in bed together."

Vin grinned, leaning down to whisper, "Yeah. When I get you in the sack, I just can't seem to let you go." Straightening he spoke louder, "Let's grab lunch, then we can stop at the Chevy place and I'll show you the truck I've got my eye on."

***************************

Lunch was a leisurely affair. They ate at a Chinese buffet, Ezra sticking to steamed vegetables and seafood while Vin dug in, eating copious amounts of virtually everything on the buffet.

Ezra watched Vin with a smile as the other man ate with knife and fork. Ezra wielded his chopsticks with finesse, taking his time with the vegetables and salad that he had chosen.

He did consent to eat one of the biscuits coated with powdered sugar that Vin thrust at him, while Vin eagerly devoured several. "I truly do not see how you stay so slim, when you eat like you do," he chided gently.

Vin just shrugged. "I don't know either. Just always been skinny and how much I eat don't seem to make any difference."

Ezra smiled, "You work it off, I'm sure. Between the job, your helping out at the Youth Center, teaching self defense at the Rape Counseling Center, helping your neighbors, helping Chris at the ranch, and helping Mrs. Wells maintain her home, you are never truly still."

Vin grinned and leaned closer, taking one of Ezra's hands, "Left out one of the best ways I work off calories..." his voice went husky, "making love to you."

Ezra blushed and grinned back at him. "In that case, perhaps we should move on to looking at that truck, so that we can get finished and head home so that you may work off some calories."

Vin chuckled. "Let's go."

***************************

The truck Vin 'had his eye on' was a full-size Chevy with a long wheelbase and a bed that was wide enough to lay a four-by-eight foot sheet of plywood flat in. It had dual back wheels, a club cab with four doors and four-wheel drive. It also had air-conditioning, a CD player and booming stereo speakers. It was a deep ruby red in a metallic finish.

Ezra gawked. This was not the kind of truck he had expected Vin to want to show him. He never expected his practical lover to have been looking at something so new, shiny and expensive.

"Vin, are you sure this is the truck?"

"Oh, yeah!" Vin breathed obviously delighted with the vehicle. He walked around it and pointed to the bed liner. "It's got a sprayed on bed liner. Won't have to worry about it getting torn up or out. They're real durable. We'll need the big bed for hauling stuff. Lumber and such. Got four-wheel drive. That'll get us into those hard to reach places on the property. Got a club cab. We'll need the extra seating for hauling the guys around to help out."

He flashed Ezra a grin. "I'm counting on you to get the price down."

Ezra smiled back at him and walked round the truck to check the sticker price. His eyebrows rose. It was nearly forty-five thousand dollars. True, it was a nice truck, but that was ridiculous.

By the time the salesman had materialized at his elbow, Ezra had his game face on and an acceptable price range in mind.

The salesman, a short, balding man with faded blue eyes virtually ignored Vin, focusing on Ezra as the one with the money.

With a wicked grin, Vin sidled up to Ezra and turned pleading blue eyes on him. "Please, Ez," he pouted, "I really like it. I'll make it worth your while," he promised with a heated look, having apparently hit on playing the role of a poor boy begging his sugar daddy for the truck.

Ezra had to fight to keep a straight face. Forcing himself to frown he declared, "It's entirely too much."

"I'll do extra work around the ranch, I promise," Vin wheedled.

The salesman spoke up. "It is an excellent work truck. Has a half-ton payload, V-8 engine with overdrive and a towing package is included. A real workhorse of a truck... and it looks good, too."

Ezra kept walking, moving around the truck, "Should I decide to gift my... friend with a vehicle today, I'll be paying cash, perhaps a discount would be in order..."

The salesman brightened. He could do that. The markup on this particular truck was pretty high. "I might be able to work something out," he said. "How about five percent...."

Ezra gave him a withering look. "Twenty-two hundred and fifty dollars off of forty-five thousand? That wouldn't cover the taxes. Twenty-five percent."

The salesman balked, "I don't think that my boss would let me go that."

"Ask him." Ezra ordered, disdainfully.

The salesman hurried off returning shortly with a tall, heavy-set man with black hair and blue eyes. He swept a glance over Vin then turned to Ezra. "I'm Guy Falks. Henry tells me you'd like to buy this truck."

"My friend would like for me to buy it. I haven't decided." Ezra stated firmly.

"I see, well, I can't go twenty-five percent off. We have to make some money, you know."

"I know. I also know that the factory invoice on this vehicle is around twenty-five thousand dollars. You won't be losing money on the deal, just not getting the nearly fifty percent markup that you normally do."

The man shook his head, "I still can't go twenty-five percent. How about ten percent?"

Ezra walked around the truck again. Turning to Vin, he asked, "Have you driven it?"

Vin grinned happily, "Last week. Handles like a dream! Got power to spare."

Ezra shook his head, "You really want this?"

"Yeah... please, Ez..." Vin pleaded softly playing his role to perfection.

Ezra heaved a put-upon sigh. "Fifteen percent... and you fill the gas tank."

"It's got dual gas tanks," Vin supplied helpfully.

"Both tanks," Ezra specified.

The salesman and his boss exchanged looks. "If you'd care to come inside, we can do the paperwork while Henry gets it gassed up for you." The manager said.

Vin grinned, then frowned, "You know, I'd really like a light bar...."

Ezra turned to regard the manager with a calculating look.

The manager sighed, "A light bar."

"Installed... before we sign the papers," Ezra added, looking ready to walk away, if it wasn't forthcoming.

Vin put on his best stricken look, trying to appear afraid that Ezra *would* leave if the light bar wasn't included. "Ezzzzz..." he whined.

Ezra fixed him with a hard look. "Don't whine, Vin. You know I hate it when you whine."

"Yes, sir." Vin scuffed a toe against the lot's asphalt paving and pouted.

The manager hesitated, looking from one to the other then after a moment he said to Henry, "Take it around to the shop. Tell Mike to install a light bar... immediately. We'll be in the office."

Henry sighed but did as he was told, knowing full well that Guy was going to take the credit for the sale and the commission that went with it. Damn.

Vin and Ezra followed the manager into the office, exchanging looks and trying not to burst out laughing. They let the man fill out all the paperwork, making sure that he put the truck title in Vin's name. Just over an hour later, Henry returned with the keys and they went out to inspect the installation of the light bar and make sure that both fuel gauges read full before returning to sign the papers and close the deal.

When the manager pushed the papers over to Ezra to sign, he pushed them to Vin. "Mister Tanner will be paying for the truck," he said calmly.

Vin pulled out his wallet and handed the man his bank card, "That's a debit card, go ahead on and run it through. It'll cover the truck."

Falks sat back and regarded them for a moment, shaking his head. "Damn."

Ezra laughed. "You saw what we wanted you to see and you aren't completely wrong. We are a couple, just not the way you thought. While Mister Tanner does not have as much money as I do, he can certainly afford to buy himself a truck."

"Figured Ez would get me a better deal than I'd get by myself. He's real good at that sorta thing." Vin grinned, the look softening as he turned to look at his partner.

Falks shook his head again. "Well, as long as the card goes through."

"It will," Ezra assured him.

And it did.

Vin drove his shiny red truck home to the townhouse and Ezra followed him in the Jag.

***************************

"Ez. Come on, Ez, you gotta get up." Vin shook his lover again.

Vin was already dressed to go in to work.

Ezra lay curled in a ball wrapped around the pillow that Vin had substituted for himself when he got up. He mumbled something and snuggled down more.

"Ez! Come on! We got a meeting!"

"Meetin'?" Ezra rolled on his back and blinked up at him. "Since when?"

"Damn! I forgot to tell you. When I told Chris we were taking the afternoon, off he said to make sure you were in by nine. Thompson rolled on his supplier. We've got a meeting to plan what we're going to do."

"Aw, hell." Ezra swore softly without any real feeling to it. He knew that he couldn't miss the meeting and he really wasn't angry with Vin for forgetting to tell him. He knew how excited Vin had been about getting the truck and after they had gotten home neither of them had been thinking about work. "What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty." Vin said as Ezra threw back the covers and sat up on the edge of the bed. He handed Ezra a cup of coffee. "Yours," he said, letting Ezra know that it had come out of the pot he'd put on the night before, rather than the one that Vin habitually made in the mornings.

"Thanks."

"You got plenty of time yet. Didn't want you to have to rush." With a shy look at Ezra he added, "Thought we'd drive the truck...."

Ezra chuckled, "Planning to give Mister Larabee a heart attack first thing this morning, are you?"

Vin grinned wickedly. "Can't wait for the guys to see it!"

Ezra chuckled again and set his coffee cup down on the bedside table before rising to give Vin a hug and say, "Neither can I." He leaned against Vin for a long moment then sighed. Stepping back he looked Vin up and down, then pouted, "You've already showered."

"Yep. We'd never get to work if I'd waited to shower with you."

Ezra smiled, "You look good." He ran a hand down the red shirt that Vin wore. "Not quite the same color as the truck, but close."

Vin had on indigo jeans with the red shirt and his good black boots. A bolo tie with a large red stone banded with black completed the outfit. His new, black cowboy hat sat on the dresser, ready to be grabbed before they headed out.

Ezra showered quickly and dressed in a dove gray suit with a pale, jade-green silk shirt. As he adjusted his tie in the mirror, Vin came up behind him, slipping his arms around his waist and bending to nibble at one ear.

"You look good, too, Babe," he murmured.

Ezra turned in his arms to claim a gentle kiss. When they parted he said quietly, "I love you."

Vin smiled, "I know. Love you, too." He kissed Ezra again, gently then moved away to grab up his hat and head for the door.

[But not the way you love Chris.] Ezra sighed and followed him out to the truck.

***************************

He parked the shiny red truck in the underground garage and got out slowly, dragging his overnight bag with him. It seemed that he did everything slowly these days. He carefully locked the doors and checked them, running a hand lightly over the gleaming, freshly washed and buffed surface, before trudging across the garage to the elevator and pushing the button to call it.

Seventeen floors up and out into the cold, hollow hallway, then down it to the sterile room where his lover awaited him.

Stepping through the door, it only took a glance to show him that there had been no change.

Miss Nettie lifted her head from where she had been sitting, knitting, when she heard the door open. Tucking the half-finished sweater, a burgundy red one with heavy cabling, into the bag that sat beside her, she rose and came to greet him, giving him a hug.

He held on a long moment, soaking up the comfort of the touch. Finally he stepped back, "No change?" He had to ask, even though he already knew the answer.

She shook her head with a sigh. "No." She stepped close to the bed and smoothed back a strand of the long hair from Vin's face.

The doctors had wanted to cut it, saying a coma patient wouldn't know the difference and it would be easier to take care of, but Ezra had refused to allow it. They had shaved a portion of it, over the skull fracture, but even that was growing back now.

Ezra washed it himself every other day, using shampoo that he had brought from home. The shampoo along with Vin's favorite soap sat on the bedside table in the small plastic basin that was used to give Vin his sponge bath. Ezra's spare razor and shaving cream, toothbrush and toothpaste occupied the narrow shelf over the sink, which was in the main part of the room. His shampoo and soap were in the shower in the tiny bathroom as he often bathed and changed there.

Nettie moved to the other bed in the room, turning it down, getting it ready for Ezra.

He put his bag on the chair beside the bed and moved to Vin's side. Bending, he pressed a kiss to his lover's cheek, then straightened, gently fussing with the blankets and rearranging the IV and monitor leads.

He didn't know how long he stood there, before Nettie came to guide him away, quietly asking, "How are things going at the house?"

"Leonard called. The china sold today."

"He get you a good price?"

Ezra smiled wanly. "Good enough. Two hundred and fifty thousand... of course that was included the silverware and glassware."

She nodded. "He say who bought it?"

"Some Englishman, a Lord Hipplewaite, I believe."

She shook her head. If Vin didn't wake up soon they were going to lose them both. She pressed on. The house was the only thing that Ezra paid any attention to besides Vin. He had decided that he needed to have it ready for Vin to come home to and was single-mindedly pursuing that end. He spent every night at the hospital, camped in Vin's room, and everyday at the house, working on getting it ready for Vin's homecoming. He only stopped by his townhouse once or twice a week to get clean clothes or throw a load in the washer. "How's the clean up going?"

"Father Alfred and the boys from the Youth Center have cleared the underbrush from the trees near the road and the house. The younger children have cleaned up most of the aluminum cans and glass bottles. They have started some sort of fund with the recycling money. I'm not sure exactly what they plan to do with it. The pressure washing company finished the last of the outbuildings today. The inside clean up is going as well as can be expected. The paintings have been sent to the Gallery for cleaning and the ladies have cleaned the downstairs and are working on the second floor. Mister Hernandez and his sons are cataloguing the rest of the stuff in the basement. Miss Casey and Miss Raine came by and they are working in the attic. Josiah is stripping the wallpaper in the main downstairs hallway. The electricians are due in the morning to start rewiring. The plumbers are working in the kitchen."

He paused to rub his temples. "The downstairs bathroom has already been re-plumbed. The main sewer line and the incoming water lines have been replaced as well as a new gas water heater downstairs. We plan to add point-of-use water heaters in the upstairs bathrooms."

She stepped behind him and rubbed his shoulders. He still said 'we' whenever he spoke of the house, as if Vin were still helping him make the decisions.

"You need to get some rest," she said quietly.

"I'll lie down after I talk with Vin a while. I expect the others will be dropping by. Visiting hours don't end until nine."

She shook her head. [Talking *with* Vin. Like the boy can talk back.] She sighed. It was almost eight o'clock. Gloria Potter had said that he had been up and already dressed at six when she had arrived for the morning shift to sit with Vin. Ezra had no doubt been on the move ever since then.

Still, he was right. The others would be coming... at least, most of them.

She squeezed his shoulders, noting how thin they had grown, then leaned down and said, "All right, but soon as the last of them leaves, it's straight to bed with you. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said so quietly she had to strain to hear it.

"Okay, then. I'm going now. Inez called. She's bringing you supper when she comes. You eat it. You hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am," again the voice was very quiet and empty.

She gathered up her things and departed, shaking her head, quietly praying to herself. [Dear Lord, please let our Vin wake up soon. That man is gonna grieve himself to death if he don't.]

She had known for a long time that Vin was bisexual, leaning more to the gay side than the straight one. She's hoped he'd find someone, not caring if it were male or female, as long as they loved Vin. Still, she had been surprised that Ezra was Vin's choice. She hadn't thought that the apparently self-centered man was a good choice. Now, she had had to revise that opinion.

Ezra Standish had been a rock since Vin's injury. He'd stayed at Vin's side night and day in the beginning, before deciding that he needed to get the house ready for Vin to come home to. He was paying the hospital bills that went above what the ATF insurance covered. He was paying for the private room. She knew that that was so that he could stay with Vin, but he *was* paying for it and paying her and Gloria to sit with Vin during the day.

She'd protested in the beginning, saying she'd be there anyway, but he had insisted, saying that he knew that, but that she deserved to have some recompense since she had quit her part-time job at the library to stay with Vin. She hadn't argued too much since she had needed the money.

She had no idea how much money he was spending on the house. She knew it was a lot. While the others helped when they could, they were spread too thin right now to do as much as they would have liked and Ezra was a better supervisor and manager than a worker. Things that Vin would have done himself, Ezra had to hire done.

She needed to stop by and see Mary. She hoped the woman was in a better mood than she had been yesterday, but she wasn't expecting her to be.

***************************

After Nettie left, Ezra sank down in the chair beside the bed, pulling it closer and taking Vin's hand. He kissed the back of it gently.

"How did it all go so wrong in just over two months, Love?" He asked quietly, knowing that Vin could not answer.

Two and a half months ago they had been on top of the world. They had bought the truck that Vin wanted. They had closed the deal on the house. They had been closing in on the gang that had engineered the armory heist that had put rocket launchers on the streets of Denver.

Then disaster struck.

During the raid, when they had brought down the gang, Ezra had taken a hit, not a bad hit the vest had stopped the slug, but it had sent him sailing over the edge of the loading dock towards the concrete below. Vin, standing next to him, acting as his bodyguard during the sting, had reacted instantly, grabbing Ezra as the undercover agent went over and twisting so that Vin was on the bottom when they landed. Cushioning Ezra's fall, Vin had prevented any major injury to Ezra, but had fractured his skull when he hit the concrete. X-rays at the hospital had revealed broken ribs, a fractured collarbone and a fractured pelvis as well.

All of the fractures were healed now, even the skull fracture, but Vin remained comatose. The doctors said that he should wake up, but they couldn't tell him when. There didn't appear to be any brain damage, as the EEG showed brain activity, but he hadn't woken.

Ezra pressed the hand he held to his cheek and held it there, unaware of the silent tears siding down his face, "Oh, Vin. I miss you, Darling," he whispered.

In the beginning he had been eaten alive with guilt, blaming himself for Vin's injury, then he'd slowly come to realize that he would have done the same for Vin had the roles been reversed. Finally he had seen the truth behind it all. Vin loved him, truly loved him, just as he loved Vin.

With that realization all his doubts and worries about their future together had evaporated. Vin would get well. He *would* come home and he and Ezra would live happily ever after. Which meant that Ezra needed to get their fairy tale castle ready for that homecoming.

He had thrown himself into the project wholeheartedly. He'd organized the clean up, utilizing not only the seven and their many friends, but also the friends that Vin had in Purgatorio to help. They had all felt helpless, just as he had, and had been happy to have something to do to show how much they loved Vin.

"Leonard sends his regards. He's in England at the moment. That lump of cobwebs and dust from over the dining table was, indeed, a chandelier. He has set the opening bid at a quarter million. The base is solid silver and the crystals were imported from Italy, that island where they make the glass. Why can't I recall the name of the damned island? My mind is like a sieve these days."

He paused to kiss the back of Vin's hand. "He has two Tiffany lamps to sell as well. I kept the one in the bedroom, the one that you liked so much. It will be beside our bed when you come home. I'm having frames built for the three quilts that we are keeping. You remember the applique one of the mountains, don't you? Well, I found two more that I am sure you will love. One has a pair of eagles over the mountains, the other has wolves in a meadow with a rainbow in the background. Whoever made them was a true artist. They are exquisite."

He fell silent for a long moment, fiddling with the blanket that covered Vin then went on. "I can't decide whether I want the eagles or the wolves in the bedroom. What do you think? The eagles?"

He tilted his head as if listening to something, then went on. "They make my spirit soar, like they soar above the mountains, so wild and free, like you, My Love."

He paused again. "But the wolves are a family. The parents lie close together, the cubs, there are two of them, are climbing over them. That makes me think of us. You told me that wolves mate for life, as we have done."

In the doorway, Josiah gripped Inez' arm to hold her back and keep her quiet as they listened to Ezra talking to Vin as if his lover could respond.

Tears filled both their eyes.

After a moment Josiah moved quietly into the room, stopping several steps inside and clearing his throat to get Ezra's attention.

Ezra looked up and smiled through the wetness on his cheeks. "Josiah, Miss Rocillos, do come in. Vin welcomes your visit. I was just telling him about the quilts we found."

Josiah moved the rest of the way into the room to stand beside Vin's bed, looking down at the sharpshooter. "I'm sure he was pleased with the discovery," he said quietly.

Inez had moved to set the bag with Ezra's supper on the tray table. Opening it she removed, a plate, and silverware, then took out the food, removing it from the Styrofoam container and arranged it on the plate. "I have brought you fajitas," she said. "Your favorite, with the shrimp."

Josiah walked around the bed and slipped a hand under Ezra's arm, "How about you come eat the meal that Miss Inez had fixed you and let her visit with Vin for just a bit?" The big profiler phrased it as a question even as he gently, but firmly urged Ezra from his seat and guided him to the other bed where he urged Ezra to sit down on the side of the bed and pushed the tray table over in front of him.

Ezra blinked at the food as if he didn't know what it was.

"You have to eat, Ezra. Vin will be upset when he wakes up, if you are nothing but skin and bones." Josiah wasn't loath to use whatever it took to get Ezra to eat.

Ezra picked up his fork and began to methodically eat the food, giving no sign that he even tasted, it.

Josiah and Inez exchanged sad looks. Josiah sank into the chair nearest Ezra to insure that he did in fact eat the entire meal that Inez had brought, while Inez took the chair beside Vin's bed that Ezra had vacated.

Josiah sighed and began to speak quietly to Ezra. "I finished stripping the wallpaper along the hall. It's all down now. You were right, the wood will be beautiful once it's refinished. I think that Vin will love it. The entrance hall floor turned out to be blue granite. The mountain quilt will go well in there." He paused, but Ezra said nothing.

He went on, "Mister Hernandez and his boys found a doorway in the basement. Seems you've got a wine cellar. Some real old wines in it, too. You might want to check that out tomorrow. Some of them could be valuable." He tilted his head and sighed again at the lack of response.

"Ezra, son, help me out here. It's kind of hard to carry on a conversation when the other person doesn't say anything."

Ezra looked up at him and blinked then finally said, "I think... I think that I will hang the wolves in the bedroom and the eagles in the entry hall. They will compliment the mountains. The mountains on one side of the hall and the eagles, soaring over mountains on the other. The color schemes are very similar."

Josiah grinned, "Excellent choice." He waited. Ezra's mind would catch up to the conversation in a minute or so.

After another moment Ezra said. "I'll check the wine cellar tomorrow." He fell silent again and his gaze wandered back to Vin. He sat limp and still, reminding Josiah of the way the human-shaped droid in Star Wars slumped when turned off.

Josiah shook his head, sighing again. [Please, Lord.] He prayed silently. He didn't even think what he was asking for, figuring that the Lord knew after more than two months of his heartfelt prayers... and there were so many things he wanted... for Vin to wake up, for Vin to be all right and not brain damaged, for Ezra to come back to them, the old Ezra, bright, articulate, funny... and happy, so very, very happy, the way he had been for the three weeks between Chris' return from his honeymoon and Vin's injury.

After several moments of silence, Ezra slowly sat up, his head coming up and his back straightening. He lay his fork down and looked at Josiah. "You should get some rest, too, Josiah." He said softly. "You're working too hard between the office and the house."

Josiah smiled gently at him. "I'm fine, Ezra. Keeps my mind occupied." He paused, then with a slight nod to himself took a deep breath and added, "I put in my papers today. I'm retiring."

Ezra's eyes closed for an instant then he opened them and gave Josiah a sad look. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to retire just to help me. I hate to be the reason for the team to break up."

"That's not the only reason I'm retiring... and the team is already broken up." He watched Ezra as he carefully explained. "You've resigned. Vin is on Medical Leave. Chris has gone on Family Leave to take care of Mary, since the doctor ordered her to bed for the duration of her pregnancy. Buck, JD, Nathan and I have been reduced to paperwork and backup for other teams. Team Seven doesn't exist at the moment and I'd rather be with my family in this time of trial than sitting around the office doing make-work. I need to be needed, son, and you and Vin, Chris and Mary need me more than the ATF does."

He grinned suddenly. "Besides, I've fallen in love with that house of yours, too, now. You may have to throw me out, when it's complete enough for you and Vin to move in."

Ezra chuckled, the first time that Josiah had heard that dry, wry sound in a long time. "Never," he said softly. "I'm sure we can spare you a room. There are what? Six bedroom suites upstairs? Each with a sitting room and two with private baths. Not to mention that there are three rooms downstairs that could possibly be used as bedrooms if necessary... and of course the servant's quarters in the attic... not that we would ever consign you to the attic."

He paused, reaching out to take Josiah's hand, in a gesture that the big profiler knew he would have never made before all this had begun. "Besides," he said softly, "it might be nice to have you there." His voice broke as he added, "Especially, if the house should be ready before Vin awakens. I plan to take him home in that event. I'm interviewing nursing staff to that end."

Ezra blinked rapidly and Josiah knew he was fighting back tears. It was the first time since Vin had been injured that Ezra had admitted that Vin might not awaken before the house was done. He still hadn't faced up to the fact that Vin might remain comatose for as long as he lived, but it was a step towards that. Josiah didn't think, even for a minute, that Ezra wouldn't take Vin home or keep him there, for the rest of his life. He knew that no matter what happened, Ezra would never abandon his lover.

The moment was broken as the door opened again to admit Buck with Nathan and Raine on his heels and JD and Casey following after. Ezra quickly pulled his hand back, releasing Josiah's.

Buck, JD and Casey went straight to Vin's side, greeting Inez quietly. Nathan headed straight for Ezra with Raine just a step behind.

Dropping into a squat a step away from Ezra, careful to give Ezra space, he asked, "How are you doing, Ez."

Ezra gave him a wan smile. "As well as can be expected."

Nathan glanced at the nearly empty plate of food that sat in front of Ezra. "You done with that?"

Ezra nodded.

Nathan nodded quietly. "You ate most all of it?"

"Yes, Mister Jackson. Mister Sanchez knows how to guilt me into eating almost as well as you do." The smile was a bit stronger that time.

"Long as you eat." He reached out and squeezed Ezra's arm, then rose and turned towards Raine who reached into her handbag and handed him a small bottle. "I brought you some vitamins. I want you to take them now." He said beginning what had become a nightly ritual. "You still ain't eating like you should and they'll help."

Ezra sighed but held out his hand and Nathan shook the contents of the bottle into it. Ezra gazed down at the small array of pills and began turning them over in his hand, counting them.

"Same as always, Ez," Nathan assured him, as he did every night. "The big orange one is the multivitamin. The capsule is B-12. The white one is calcium. The brown one is Vitamin D. The dark red one is iron. The other four are Vitamin C. Now take them."

Ezra sighed but reached for his glass and downed the pills, carefully swallowing them in two batches.

"Good," Nathan smiled at him. "Now let's get you into bed."

"I can't possibly go to bed yet." Ezra protested.

"Yes, you can," Nathan said firmly.

"But everyone's still here."

"Just like last night and the night before that and the night before that." Nathan reminded him. "Now, get on in that bathroom and get changed into your pajamas."

Ezra pouted but pushed the tray table aside and rose. Picking up his overnight bag he crossed to the bathroom door, greeting the others as he went.

Once the door closed behind him, Nathan sighed. "He looks awful."

The others nodded their agreement. Nathan walked over and picked up the chart at the foot of Vin's bed and began to peruse it.

Buck slipped an arm around Inez and she leaned against him. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Thanks for bringing his supper, Darling."

"It is the least I could do. There is so little that anyone can do. I feel so helpless." She buried her face in his shoulder and he hugged her in silence. There was nothing to be said.

They stood there, surrounding the bed, the women standing close to their men, the men reaching out to put an arm around them. The men were all painfully aware that it could have so easily been any one of them in that bed and the women were equally aware that it could have been any one of the them in Ezra's place waiting and praying.

Josiah moved up quietly to join them, taking the place nearest Vin's head. He said, "Let us pray, brothers."

He reached for Raine's hand and she took Nathan's, each person reaching out to take the hand of the one next to them. Buck reached across the bed to take Josiah's other hand, closing the circle.

They bowed their heads and Josiah intoned quietly, "Dear Lord, we give thanks that we are all here and alive and well so that we may help our brothers through this time of trial. We thank you for the strength to get through this and we beseech you to look after our brothers, Vin and Ezra. Please, heal Vin's body and Ezra's heart. Bring them back to us, whole and happy. In Christ's name, Amen."

A quiet chorus of "Amens" answered him.

They visited quietly for a few more minutes until they heard the shower cut off in the bathroom, then Josiah and Nathan herded the others out. Raine promised to wait downstairs for Nathan and Nathan promised that he wouldn't be long.

Ezra emerged from the bathroom, his hair dark and damp, wearing sweats rather than the silk pajamas he would have worn at home. They hung loosely on him. He stopped beside Vin's bed, seeming to sort of get stuck there.

Josiah moved to put an arm around his shoulders and guide him to the other bed. "You just climb in here, now," he ordered gently, thinking as he did it that it was like putting a child to bed.

Nathan stepped up on the other side to pull up the blanket and tuck it in around the desolate figure. "I'll leave the light over Vin's bed on so you can see him when you wake up. Okay?"

It was the same offer he made every night and Ezra gave back the same answer.

"Thank you, Nathan."

"You're welcome. I'm going to turn the rest of the lights out. Okay?"

"Okay." Ezra said very softly.

Nathan only just resisted the urge to bend over and kiss his forehead. His heart broke at the devastation that Vin's injury had wrought on Ezra. He could barely believe that just three months ago he had thought that Ezra was like Teflon, that everything just slid off him. Watching him slowly disintegrate in the weeks following Vin's injury had been heart-wrenching, but painful as it was, it had shown Nathan how much Ezra loved Vin and how little he, Nathan, had known the man he had worked with for nearly five years.

Josiah couldn't resist the urge to reach down and smooth the damp curls back from Ezra's face. "Sleep well, son. I'll stop by in the morning."

Ezra looked up at him and murmured, "Good night, Josiah."

Nathan moved around the room, turning off the lights, making sure that the small fluorescent light at the head of Vin's bed remained on, then moving to the door and holding it open until Josiah joined him. He closed the door behind them and the two men walked slowly down the corridor to the elevator.

Once inside and riding down to the parking garage, Nathan said, "According to Vin's chart he's showing an increase in brain activity."

Josiah looked at him, "You think he's waking up?"

"Could be."

"Why didn't you say something," Josiah reached for the stop button, "Ezra would-"

"Josiah," Nate captured the hand, pulling it away from the stop button, "I can't be sure... and false hope is worse than no hope. How do you think Ezra would react, if I told him that I think Vin may start to wake up in a few days, then he doesn't wake up for say another week or two? God! Look at the shape he's in now. He can't take having his hopes gotten up just to see them dashed. Better to say nothing and let it come as a pleasant surprise. He still believes that Vin will wake up... but he doesn't need me to give him a timetable that could very well be wrong."

"He needs to know that Vin will wake up."

"He knows that... better than anyone. He's the one that has *always* known that." Nathan argued firmly.

Josiah rubbed his temples. "Then why tell me?"

"Because you can hear *everything* I'm saying. Ezra will lock on to the fact that Vin should wake up soon and never hear anything else. You can hear me when I say that I can't be sure *how* soon Vin will wake up. But if you know that it is going to happen you can give Ezra the support he needs to keep going until it does even if it turns out to be as much as another month."

Josiah raised his head and studied his old friend for a long moment. "You really believe that Vin will wake up soon?"

"Yes, but I can't give you a date."

"Why now? Why not a month ago or six weeks?"

"Maybe... maybe he needed to be comatose until now. Think about it, Josiah. They just took him out of a full-torso cast, from shoulders to mid-thigh. His pelvis was fractured. He had broken ribs, a fractured collarbone. He had to be immobilized to heal. You know how Vin hates being tied down. Since he was comatose he didn't fight having to be bedridden for eight weeks solid, unable to move. It would have made him crazy, if he'd been conscious for it."

Josiah blinked, "It would have..." he said thoughtfully. "So, now that he's out of the cast...."

"He needs to wake up, so that they can begin the physical therapy to get him back on his feet."

"And he is showing signs of waking up." Josiah took a deep breath and smiled. "Thank you, Nathan, for restoring my faith. The Lord does, indeed, move in mysterious ways. While this has been no less of a trial for it, it has done some good. Vin's action in saving Ezra at the warehouse convinced him, as nothing else could have, of Vin's love. Ezra's actions, his devotion, since then have proven his love for Vin to everyone who had doubts about it. And the coma spared Vin the nightmare of being in total confinement in the torso cast. Now we need only wait for Vin to wake up."

"Which is just what we have been doing, but now I'm pretty sure it won't be much longer."

"I'll add a few extra prayers in that direction." Josiah avowed.

The elevator reached the lobby and the two men stepped out to find Raine and head for the parking garage to get their cars.

***************************

"Chris! Chrrrrrrisssssssss!" Mary Travis Larabee's shrill voice cut through the otherwise quiet house.

Chris Larabee leaned over the sink where he had been washing up the supper dishes. They had eaten in Mary's room, on tray tables, so that she could join Billy and him.

He straightened and rubbed his temples.

"Chrrrriiissss!!!" She called again.

He sighed and yelled back, "I'm coming! Give me a damned minute!" Then he sighed. He hadn't meant to snap.

It wasn't her fault that the doctor had ordered her to bed. She was five months pregnant... with triplets. Three weeks ago they had had a scare. She had started bleeding and the doctor had been worried that she was going to miscarry. To prevent that he had given strict orders. She was to stay in bed, flat on her back until further notice, possibly for the duration of the pregnancy. She was allowed up only to go to the bathroom and then only if someone was there to escort her. For a woman like Mary, accustomed to going wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted and doing whatever she wanted, being confined to bed was hell. She was cranky, argumentative, demanding and in short being a real bitch about it.

It didn't help that her editor had put her on leave, saying that an investigative reporter couldn't do much investigating from her bed. That had really pissed her off... and she was taking it out on Chris.

Since she couldn't be going up and down stairs, they had fixed up the back den for her a bedroom. It was just off the kitchen and close to the downstairs bathroom, unfortunately it was also next to the small room that now housed her office, making it an ever-present reminder of what she wasn't allowed to do.

He rubbed his temples one more time, then plastered a smile on his face and walked into the room. "Yeah," he said, tiredly, "what do you need?"

She smiled up at him, resting a hand on her swollen belly, stretching the other one out towards him, "Come here."

She looked a lot more than five months pregnant. She was bigger than Sarah had been just before Adam was born. He pushed the unwanted thought away and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, letting her take his hand.

After a moment's silence she said, "I'm sorry. I just... I hate this... not being pregnant." She rushed to assure him, "I want this baby... these babies... our babies. I just hate having to stay in bed. I don't mean to take it out on you."

He nodded with a sigh, "It's okay." He paused, then asked, "You need anything else, Mare?" [Mare. Brood mare. Belly full of babies.]

He shook his head. Where had that come from? It was an awful thing to think about his wife... but how *had* she gotten pregnant in the first place? He knew he had been careful. He'd always used protection. Well, maybe the condom had broken a couple of times. He did like to be a bit rough... but even if the condom had broken, she had told him she was on birth control pills and she was thirty-six years old now, her reproductive processes should have been tapering off, her biological clock running down, so to speak. So, how did she get pregnant with triplets? Unless she had helped it along a little, quit taking her pills, maybe boosted her fertility? Taken fertility drugs? Counting on his being rough enough to break the condom and get her pregnant? So that he'd marry her. She had always been the one that wanted to get married. He had been satisfied with the way things had been. After all he had had the best of both worlds. He had had her when he wanted her and when he didn't he just didn't go.

"Lie down with me for a while?" She asked.

He drew back a little. "I need to finish the dishes... and lock up," he said, "then I'll come lie down for a while before I go upstairs, okay?"

She frowned then sighed and gave him a pout, "Okay."

He leaned over and brushed a light kiss to her cheek, then rose to go back to the kitchen. She wouldn't be happy with him laying with her for long. She would start wiggling and pushing at him, saying she wasn't comfortable, then he could go on upstairs to his own bed. They hadn't had sex since the doctor had ordered her to bed. It was against the doctor's orders.

He glanced towards the front den and the wet bar there. He needed a drink, but he'd better wait until after she kicked him out of bed. She'd really bitch if she smelled whiskey on him when he came to lay down with her.

***************************

Several Days Later

***************************

The old stone house was abuzz with activity. It was almost sundown and the clean-up crew had finished picking up for the day. They were in the backyard, near the back porch, using the water spigot there. The younger children were washing out the old bottles and cans that they had picked up, and some of the older ones were crushing the cans by stomping them on the concrete back steps, then bagging them to be taken to the recycling center. Others of the older children were sorting the bottles, separating them by color, clear glass, brown glass, green glass or other colored glass. The red, blue and yellow bottles they set aside for Ezra to go through. Some of them appeared really old and were oddly shaped.

The women were working in the kitchen and pantry. Sister Ernestine from the Sisters of Mercy had discovered that some of the canning jars in the pantry were from the nineteenth century and they were emptying them and washing them up. While not as valuable as some of the other antiques in the house, they would bring five to ten dollars each.

Casey and Raine were washing up the old stoneware dishes, the press glass glassware and the stainless steel flatware that had been found in the second pantry.

Ezra had just stepped out on the back porch, talking quietly with Josiah.

"Mister Ezra! Mister Ezra!" Little Rosa Garcia ran up the steps waving a small bottle in her hand. "Looky... looky... it's purple!"

Ezra dropped into a squat and caught the six-year-old, sitting her on his knee. "Indeed it is, Miss Rosa... and quite an unusual shape as well. Octagonal, I believe."

She looked at him with wide brown eyes, "Octa... Octa... what?"

"Octagonal, darling. It means having eight sides."

"Oh." She turned her wide eyes back to the bottle and began turning it in her hands counting the sides. "One... two... three... four... and five and six and seven and... eight!"

Ezra chuckled, softly. "Why don't you take that into the kitchen to your mother. I believe it would make a lovely vase and she has cut some wildflowers to take home with her."

"I... I can have it?" Rosa asked.

"Yes, darling. You may have it." He sat her back on her feet.

She squealed in delight and threw her arms around his neck giving him a hug before scampering away to show her mother the bottle.

Ezra stood up with a sigh and turned back to Josiah, "I have to stop at the townhouse for some clean clothes and I need to do a load of laundry before I go to the hospital."

"Why don't I stop and pick up some supper and meet you there? We can eat before you go to see Vin." Josiah suggested.

"That sounds good. Please don't get anything too spicy. I don't think that my stomach can handle it."

"Sweet and Sour Chicken?"

"That would be fine."

"Okay. I'll call ahead so that it'll be ready. See you in about an hour?"

Ezra gave him a small smile and a nod before he headed out to the red truck.

Josiah smiled as he watched Ezra climb into the cab and pull away. Ezra hadn't driven the Jag since he had started working on the house. Josiah believed that driving Vin's truck made Ezra feel closer to his injured lover. It was something of Vin's that Ezra could keep with him when he wasn't at the hospital with Vin. The big profiler had noticed that Ezra had left the radio set to Vin's favorite station and Vin's favorite CD was still in the player.

Josiah ambled down the walkway and climbed into his old suburban. Pulling out his cell phone, he called in his order to the closest Chinese Garden, getting Sweet and Sour Chicken for both Ezra and himself. He also ordered a large serving of steamed broccoli and a cup of plum sauce, which he knew was one of Ezra's secret vices. He'd never known anyone else that dipped broccoli in plum sauce, but if he could get Ezra to eat by indulging one of his little idiosyncrasies, he would.

He was in the drive through at the Chinese Garden when his cell phone rang.

He flipped it open. "Sanchez."

"Josiah? It's Buck." The big ladies man sounded upset. "Can you grab Nathan and help me look for Chris?"

"What's the matter, Brother Buck?"

"Him and Mary had a big fight. He's drunk and took off. Left her'n Billy at the ranch alone. He knows the Doc said Mary wasn't to be left alone! I figure he's making the rounds of the bars. Me'n JD are taking the east-side of town. Can you check the bars on the west-side?"

"I've got to stop at Ezra's for just a minute, then I can. I'll call Nate to meet me there."

Buck signed off and Josiah snapped the cell phone closed. Damn! He'd known trouble was brewing between Chris and Mary but he'd hoped it would hold off until Vin was better, at least.

***************************

Ezra toweled his hair, rubbing it vigorously to get as much water as possible out. He had just emerged from the shower and had one towel wrapped around his waist as he used the second one to dry his hair. He tossed the towel aside and grabbed a comb, smoothing his hair.

He let the other towel fall and stepped into a pair of blue silk boxers just as the doorbell rang.

With a smile he grabbed his bathrobe. Josiah had said an hour. He must have not had any trouble with the raggedy old vehicle for a change.

He hurried down the hall, calling, "Hold your horses, Josiah. I'm coming."

He quickly flicked the locks and swung the door open. "What did you---" he broke off abruptly as he saw that his visitor wasn't Josiah. "Mister Larabee? What are you doing here?"

The black clad leader took a couple of staggering steps into the room, making a grab for Ezra, catching his arms.

As the other man leaned into him, Ezra realized that he was drunk. He reeked of alcohol. As he swayed away from the taller man and tried to twist out of his grip, Chris yanked him close and bent his head to plant a slobbery kiss on his cheek, only Ezra's violent jerk away made it miss his mouth.

Ezra twisted, bringing his arms up and over Larabee's where they gripped his biceps and broke the grip, knocking Larabee's hands away and shoving the man back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He yelled, backing away.

Chris just grinned drunkenly at him. "Aw come on, Ez. You know you want it." He slurred and lunged towards the other man, grabbing him again. This time he wrapped both arms around Ezra's waist, trapping Ezra's arms against his body and turning them to slam Ezra into the wall behind him as he tried again to kiss the smaller man.

Trapped against the wall and held fast Ezra had no where to go. That didn't stop him from fighting. He hooked a heel behind Larabee, driving it into the back of the taller man's knee and bringing his head forward, slammed it into the leering man's face, smashing his nose.

With a yelp of pain, Larabee fell backwards but didn't release his hold. They landed in a heap on the entry way floor.

Ezra quickly squirmed out of Chris' grip but as he rolled away from the other man and tried to get to his feet, Larabee launched himself at him and landed on top, driving him into the floor and covering him.

"What are you fighting for? Huh?" Chris demanded. "You know you want it. Heard what you said in the office that day. You want me too... just like you said Vin did. Know you're doing without. Same as I am. Vin ain't in no shape to give you what you need."

"You son of a bitch! Get off me!" Ezra twisted and slammed an elbow into the side of Chris' head knocking him off balance.

Infuriated, Chris grabbed Ezra by the hair and slammed his forehead into the carpeted floor, temporarily stunning the other man. He rose up off the other man enough to grab the sash of the bathrobe, ripped it loose and started tying Ezra's hands behind his back.

***************************

Josiah swore as he pulled up in front of Ezra's townhouse. Chris' black Dodge Ram was parked across the driveway, blocking Vin's red truck. As he slammed to a stop and leaped out of his vehicle, he saw that the door to the townhouse was standing open.

He ran.

Charging across the small front lawn, he hit the front door with his shoulder, knocking it back against the wall as he desperately searched the entry hall and the livingroom beyond for his friends.

He was just in time to see Chris yank the sash of Ezra's bathrobe free and start to bind the stunned man's hands.

With a roar he lunged at his boss, grabbing him by the arm and his collar he hauled him up off of the barely conscious undercover agent and slung him across the room.

Chris hit the wall, hard, and slid down it.

Josiah turned away from him and bent to help Ezra to his feet. Ezra looked up at him, dazedly fumbling with his bathrobe, trying to get it wrapped back around him. He looked at the sash, which was looped around one wrist, with a puzzled expression.

Josiah carefully took the sash from Ezra's wrist and reached to slip it around the smaller man's waist but Ezra shied away from him.

Josiah backed off and held the sash out to Ezra, who took it and slipped it around his waist with trembling hands. Josiah could see the bruise starting to form where Ezra's forehead had been banged on the floor. He slowly raised a hand saying softly, "Ezra, look at me. I need to check your eyes. See if you've got a concussion."

Ezra raised his head and Josiah sighed in relief that his pupils looked even. Still he'd feel better when he could get Ezra to the hospital and get someone to check him over.

Chris groaned and sat up, staggering to his feet. He regarded the two men with a sneer. "Reckon maybe you ain't been doing without after all! He keeping you happy while Vin's in the hospital?"

Ezra flew at him, screaming, grabbing him and shaking him. "You bastard! Just because you don't know the meaning of fidelity, doesn't mean that I don't." He stepped back, shoving Chris against the wall, watching him crumble to the floor.

He shook his head, looking at his former boss. "God! I don't know what I ever saw in you! You're pathetic! A selfish, grasping little man with no concern for anyone else." He backed away from Larabee, "You don't deserve any of us. Not the team's loyalty, not Buck's devotion, not Vin's friendship, none of it... none of it... you bastard!"

Josiah stood frozen, so shocked by what Chris had implied that he hadn't been able to react. How in God's name could Chris think that *he* would do that? That he would betray his friendship with Vin and his paternal feelings for Ezra by... by... he couldn't even think what Chris had suggested.

As Ezra backed away from Chris, Josiah said, "I'll call DPD."

"No!" Ezra turned on him, "Absolutely not! Vin can't hear about this!"

Chris had staggered back to his feet. "Hell! Vin ain't gonna hear anything, you little fool. You think he's gonna come back to you? He's as good as dead!"

"Nooooooooo!" Ezra sprang forwards again, swinging a hard right that dropped Chris like a sack of potatoes. "You bastard. You bastard!" He screamed, kicking out at the unconscious man. "You take that back! You take it back! Vin's coming home! He's going to be fine! He is! He is...."

Josiah shook himself out of his shock and sprang forwards, dragging Ezra off Chris before he could do anymore damage. Ezra turned in his arms, crying hysterically, sobbing over and over, "He is... he is... he is...."

Josiah moved him to the couch and sat them down, rocking Ezra until he wound down some.

After a few minutes Ezra sat up, pulling away from Josiah, wiping his face with the back of his left hand.

Josiah noted that the right one was swelling. He reached for it but Ezra pulled it away, standing and moving away from him.

Still wiping at his face with the left hand he mumbled, "I have to get dressed. I have to go to the hospital. Vin's waiting for me." He stumbled away down the hall towards the bedroom.

Josiah debated going after him, then shook his head. Ezra would get dressed, then Josiah could drive the distraught man to the hospital. It might take some doing to get him to let the doctors tend his hand but Josiah would manage it, somehow.

Right now he had to do something about Chris. He stood and looked down at the battered and unconscious man. His first aid training took over and he bent down to make sure that Chris could breath and to check the extent of his injuries. It looked like his nose was broken and he had a bruised jaw from where Ezra had hit him. His ribs were probably just bruised. Ezra had been barefooted when he kicked him.

He caught the damaged nose between his fingers and gave a yank, straightening it.

He'd be fine to just be driven to the hospital, but there was no way that Josiah was going to take him in the same vehicle with Ezra. He reached for his cell phone. Let Buck deal with him. He'd been doing it for years. He paused before he hit the speed dial for Buck's cell phone, remembering what Ezra had said about Chris not deserving Buck's devotion. Did Ezra know something that the rest of them didn't?

He shook his head, time to think about that later. Now, he needed to get someone here to look after Chris.

Buck answered and Josiah said, "Buck. I found Chris. He's at Ezra's. You better get over here. It got pretty ugly."

"Shit!" Buck swore softly and tossed the phone to JD as whipped the truck into a U-turn and headed for Ezra's condo.

"Hello?" JD asked cautiously.

"JD. Josiah. I found Chris. He's at Ezra's. He jumped Ezra and it got pretty ugly. Ezra won't let me call the cops. We'll handle this in house. Understood?"

"Yeah," JD said, swallowing hard. It had to be bad, if Josiah was asking them to keep it quiet.

Josiah hung up and dialed Nathan, forgetting that the other man was already on his way to meet him at Ezra's.

A few minutes later, Ezra came back into the room. He was dressed but it was obvious that he had had trouble dressing himself. He wore sweatpants and a T-shirt with a matching sweatshirt jacket over the T-shirt. His shoes were loafers. He held his right hand cradled against his chest.

"I'm going to the hospital." He declared.

"Wait a minute and I'll drive you," Josiah told him.

"I have to go. I need to see Vin," Ezra insisted.

Josiah stepped in front of him. "You need to have that hand set, son," he said firmly. "It's broken. You know it is."

Ezra looked down at the swollen hand that was starting to turn black and blue. "I need to see Vin." He repeated.

"How about I drive you to the hospital and you go up and see Vin for a few minutes, then come back down to the ER and get that hand taken care of?"

Ezra stared at him a long moment then looked down at his hand. "It hurts," he said finally, as if he had just noticed the fact.

"I'm sure it does. Now, Buck and JD will be here in a few minutes to see about Chris, then we can go to the hospital. How about I go get our supper out of the car?"

"Not hungry. Sick." Ezra said softly.

Josiah nodded. That confirmed that Ezra's hand was hurting him badly. He always got nauseated when he was in a good deal of pain. It was one of the reasons he always lost weight when he was in the hospital.

***************************

Fifteen minutes later Buck pulled up out front. Nathan's SUV had just pulled up and Nathan was getting out. The two bigger men, moved towards the door shoulder to shoulder. JD tagged a bit behind, more than a bit anxious about what they would find inside.

What they found was a groggy Chris Larabee, an impatient Ezra Standish and a seething Josiah Sanchez. With a few well-chosen words, Josiah filled them in on the events of the evening. Buck swore fluently. Nathan tried to check Ezra's hand but gave up when Ezra just kept pulling away, demanding to be allowed to go see Vin.

"Check Larabee." Josiah ordered the team medic. The use of the team leader's last name told Nathan just how angry Josiah was with the man. "I promised Ezra that he could see Vin before I took him down to the ER. You guys take care of things here."

As Ezra hurried out the door and Josiah turned to follow him, Buck caught his arm. "You're sure that Chris... tried to... well, you know."

"Absolutely. I had to pull him off Ezra. Ezra had answered the door in his bathrobe, thinking it was me, I guess. Chris was tying Ezra's hands behind his back when I got here."

"God! I know he can be a bastard when he's drinking but... shit! How could he do this?"

"I don't know," Josiah said softly, "but we're going to have a long talk when he sobers up. This can't go on. He's hurting too many people. I don't want to report this to Travis, but if he doesn't agree to get help with his drinking... I may have to."

Buck sighed and closed his eyes, then he opened them and nodded. "Do what you have to Josiah. Lord knows, I can't take much more of dragging his sorry ass out of the trouble he gets into when he's drunk."

"And you shouldn't have to." Josiah patted his shoulder and followed Ezra out to the red truck where the other man was waiting impatiently. Josiah smiled. At least, Ezra hadn't taken off on his own. He went to the suburban and grabbed the take out sack with their supper. He'd try to get Ezra to eat after his hand was set and he'd been given something for the pain.

The ride to the hospital was made in silence. As a profiler, Josiah knew that Ezra wasn't dealing with the attack. He had simply pushed it aside, focusing on Vin again, but sooner or later the shock of being assaulted by a man he had once thought he loved would hit him.

He was hanging on by a thread. The stress of the last couple of months had already worn him down, now this had happened. Josiah felt a certain amount of pride swell inside him. His boy was a lot stronger than anyone had given him credit for.

There was steel under those silk suits and that fastidious manner.

Ezra would survive, even thrive. He was, after all, the consummate survivor. In the days following Vin's injury, Josiah had learned more about the man he thought of as a son than he had in the almost four and a half years since Ezra had joined the team.

Ezra Standish had survived five stepfathers, ranging from indifferent to abusive and five divorces. He'd survived being dumped in one boarding school after another, seldom spending more than one term at any of them. He had thrived in a lifestyle that would have sent another child to the bottom of his classes. He had gotten a superb education, despite never knowing when he would be snatched up and thrown back down somewhere else.

Josiah had to believe that it was that very lifestyle that had made Ezra so resilient, so versatile, so quick-witted and adaptable. True, he had started out ahead of the game, he had quick mind and a high IQ, but without his indomitable spirit those would not have done much good. Josiah had seen too many bright, articulate children fall by the way, to think that intelligence alone could have seen Ezra through his turbulent life.

Ezra and Vin were well matched. Both were survivors who hadn't let the hardships of their lives turn them bitter or angry. Josiah prayed that this wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Lord," he whispered softly, "Now would be a really good time to let Brother Vin wake up."

At the hospital, Ezra sat unmoving in the truck and Josiah knew he had finally succumbed to the shock of the night's events. He went around and opened the passenger's side door. "Come on, Ezra. Let's get you out of there, son."

He held the door and reached to help Ezra down. Ezra stared at him for a moment then, let him take his elbow and guide him out of the truck.

Deciding that with Ezra as shocky as he was that it might be best to take him into the ER first he asked gently, "Can we go to the ER now, Ezra? You really need to see the doctor. If you pass out they'll put you in a separate room from Vin."

Ezra stared at him with glazed eyes, "I want to see Vin."

"You will, in just a little bit. I bet Nurse Harrison will take you right in, when she sees who it is. You know she likes you and Vin. She'll understand that you have to get up to see Vin. Doctor Miller's on ER duty tonight, too, I think. They'll make sure you get up to see Vin really soon."

"Okay." Ezra whispered. His hand did hurt abominably and Doctor Miller was nice, at least as nice she could be and still be a doctor.

An hour later, Josiah guided a groggy Ezra down the hall to Vin's room. After X-raying and setting the hand, the doctor had given Ezra a shot for the pain and told Josiah to get him up to bed ASAP.

Miss Nettie was still sitting with Vin when they arrived but it was clear from her expression that someone had been by and given her at least a partial explanation of what had happened. She took one look at Ezra and sprang up from her chair, knowing that he would want to sit with Vin for a minute before he would allow Josiah to put him to bed.

As Ezra sank into the chair, reaching to take Vin's free hand with his good one, she turned to Josiah. "How'd he break that hand?" she demanded.

Josiah briefly considered lying then shrugged, "He punched Chris out."

"Good! Damn that man! What was he thinking?"

Her anger told Josiah who had been by to talk to her. JD could never stand up to her, he had undoubtedly told her everything he knew, including what Chris had tried to do to Ezra.

"He was drunk. I don't think he was thinking at all."

"No excuse. Man needs a good talking to."

"He's going to get one." Josiah said grimly. He looked over to where Ezra sat beside Vin's bed, clutching his lover's hand.

The broken hand, in its cast, lay on the edge of Vin's bed and Ezra had rested his forehead on it. He was mumbling something that they couldn't quite understand, then a soft sob escaped him and suddenly he was crying, heartbrokenly.

Josiah was not surprised that he had finally broken down. He had cried very little in the weeks since Vin had been injured and when he did, it was mostly silent tears that seeped out without any sobbing. Now, in the wake of the night's events, the shock of Chris' attack combined with the emotional upheaval during and following it, the pain of his broken hand and the painkillers that the doctor had given him, he had simply reached the end of his rope.

Josiah took a step towards the bed then froze, his eyes locked on the hand that Ezra held. The fingers twitched... flexed and tightened on Ezra's hand.

***************************

[Someone was crying, sobbing as if their heart was broken. He drifted up out of the darkness, trying to find whoever it was. He knew he should know the person, knew he needed to find him.

Him? How did he know it was a man crying? A man? His man. Ezra... Ezra was crying... but Ezra never cried. Never. He had to get to him. Something must be terribly wrong for Ezra to be crying.

He struggled to move. His fingers twitched... flexed then tightened around something. What? A hand. Ezra's hand.]

***************************

"Nettie? Did you see that?" Josiah breathed.

She moved up beside him, "What?"

"His hand. Vin's hand. He moved it!"

"Are you sure? It wasn't just Ezra's grip on him?"

***************************

[He tried to blink but couldn't make his eyes open. He tugged at his hand, trying to free it from the one holding it. He needed to get Ezra's attention.]

***************************

Ezra felt the tug on his hand and lifted his head, tears still streaming down his face, his face was puffy but his eyes widened, "Vin?" he gasped. "Vin?"

"Ez...." It was little more than a croak but Vin's head was turned towards him and the hand was still tugging at his, drawing it up towards Vin's face.

With a sob, Ezra clambered onto the bed, crying out his lover's name again. "Vin!" He released the hand, letting it fall onto his back as he burrowed into Vin's side, burying his face against Vin's shoulder, he wept uncontrollably as he wrapped his right arm around Vin's waist, the cast falling to the bed on the other side of his lover.

Josiah hurried to the bedside, grabbing up the water glass and guiding the straw into Vin's mouth. "Here, Vin take a small sip." He glanced back at Nettie. "Get the nurse!"

Nettie rushed from the room, grabbing the first nurse she saw she grinned, "He's awake! He's awake!"

***************************

Buck prowled the ER waiting room restlessly. Nathan was in the exam room with Chris. JD sat nearby, flipping blindly through an ancient magazine.

They both looked up as Nathan emerged from the room and headed towards them.

"Well?" Buck demanded. JD sprung to his feet and was right beside him.

"The doctor says it's a wonder he could still stand up and walk. He's damn near got alcohol poisoning." Nathan shook his head, "Buck... he needs rehab. The man has got a problem."

"He don't get drunk all that often...." Buck protested.

"I know that. He's a binge drinker, but a binge drinker is still an alcoholic, Buck."

Buck bowed his head and let out a deep sigh. In a way he blamed himself for this. He'd dragged Chris out of a lot of bars over the years, sobered him up and straightened him out, only to have to do it all over again a few days or weeks or months later. The frequency of the binges had decreased since Team Seven had formed and Buck had hoped that Chris might have gotten it under control but this evening had proven beyond any doubt that he hadn't.

He needed help and maybe if Buck hadn't been there for him to lean on all those years he would have gotten it sooner.

He straightened and looked at Nathan. "What do we do?"

"When he wakes up, we try to get him to check himself into the Substance Abuse Center. If he won't, we have to tell Travis what happened and get him to order Chris to get help, if he wants to keep his job."

"What if he decides to quit the job?" JD asked the question no one wanted to hear.

Nathan looked down at the floor. "Then we wait until he goes on another bender and have him committed to the psych ward."

Buck ran a hand through his hair. "Dammit Nate! He's not crazy!"

Nathan shook his head with a sigh. "Maybe not, but he *is* self-destructive... and he's hurting a lot of people, not just himself. We have to do something." He paused then went on, "What if he gets drunk and starts beating on Mary? How will you feel if he hurts her? She's already having problems with the pregnancy. It wouldn't take a lot to make her lose the babies. How do you think he would feel then? When he sobers up and realizes that he killed his babies."

Buck hung his head. "It'd kill him. He still feels guilty over Sarah and Adam...."

"Exactly... and that wasn't his fault. What he did tonight, *he* did. Drunk or sober, he's responsible for what happened tonight and all the ramifications of it."

"Ramifications?" JD asked with a puzzled frown.

"Ezra is in denial, at the moment, but sooner or later he's going to have to face up to the fact that his former boss, a man he admired, respected and looked up to, tried to rape him. And do you really think that Vin isn't going to find out about this, when he wakes up? Ezra can't keep anything from that man. He's going to be one pissed-off sharpshooter. And Mary... what about her and the babies? Chris may have just destroyed his marriage, his friendship with Vin and his relationship with Ezra. Not to mention destroying the team, as well. Josiah is really unhappy with him and I've got to tell you that the man I saw tonight is not the man I signed up to follow. I'm glad he's on leave right now, because there's no way I could walk into the office tomorrow and take orders from the man I saw tonight."

Buck looked at the floor. Hard truths, but truths none the less.

"They're going to admit him. Keep him overnight at least. We can talk to him tomorrow when he's a little more sober."

Buck raised his head. "Do you think he'll remember tonight?"

"I doubt it... but he'll have to be told. He has to be made to see what he's doing, to himself and to the people around him." Nathan's voice was firm. He sighed and gestured towards the exam room. "You want to stay with him? I need to go up and check on Ezra."

"Yeah," Buck said, "I'll stay." He turned to look at JD raising an eyebrow in question.

JD looked around avoiding Buck's gaze. "I need to go pick up Casey. She's at the house." He didn't need to specify that he meant Vin and Ezra's house. It had quickly become 'the house' to them all. "She'll want to stop by and check on Vin and Ezra and ride home with Nettie. I'll check in with you when I get back."

Buck nodded. He could see that JD wasn't ready to face being around Chris yet even if the other man was unconscious.

They split up, Buck going down the hall to the exam room where Chris was, Nathan heading for the elevator to go up to check on Vin and Ezra and JD heading out the ER door to the parking lot to go get Casey.

Buck shook his head sadly as he walked down the hall. It seemed here lately, they were all always going in different directions. It didn't seem right somehow. They needed to get back to being 'the seven'.

Maybe when Vin woke up.

***************************

Nathan stepped off the elevator and knew immediately that something had happened. It seemed every nurse and orderly on the floor was either in Vin's room or clustered around the doorway. With his heart suddenly in his throat, he rushed towards the room, shoving his way through the gathered crowd, afraid of what he'd find, then just before he broke through into the room he heard an annoyed Texas drawl.

"Dammit! Leave me alone! Josiah! Bring Ez back here! Shit! Why the hell am I so weak?"

Nathan chuckled with relief, blinking back tears. Vin was awake, awake and pissed off. He had never been so glad to hear that raspy voice.

Pushing his way between the last two nurses blocking his path he stepped up beside Vin's bed. Fixing the head nurse with a glare, he asked, "You called Doctor Sadler yet?"

"Yes, sir. She'll be here as soon as she can."

"Well, in the meantime get these people out of here." He jerked his head to indicate the other nurses and orderlies who still crowded around the open doorway. "They can't be any gladder than we are that he's awake, but they got work to do and Vin don't like being crowded. Ya'll are gonna upset him."

Vin glared at him. He was damn well already upset and every minute that they kept Ezra from him he was getting more so. He fixed on Nathan. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded.

"Vin, just calm down. You ain't gonna be able to do much for a while. You've been in a coma for a couple of months."

"Months! What happened? Where'd 'Siah take Ezra? Dammit Nate! Answer me."

"Give me a minute and I will!"

Vin gave his head an annoyed shake. "All right. All right. Just tell Josiah to bring Ez back over here... please?"

Nathan looked over to the other bed where Josiah sat beside a sleeping Ezra. "Vin, he's asleep and he really needs the rest."

"He can rest right here next to me... and I really need to know that he's all right." Vin insisted, trying to wiggle over to make room for his lover on his bed and cursing mentally at how little movement he actually achieved.

Nathan sighed and looked around. The nurse had cleared the room and there was only him, Josiah, Nettie, Vin and Ezra left in the room. The nurse had gone to see about getting Doctor Sadler. He nodded.

"Josiah, reckon it won't do any harm to let Ezra lay with him for a bit."

Josiah nodded and picked the limp form up, carrying the smaller man easily. He lay him down on the bed next to Vin.

Vin lifted one hand to caress the bruised forehead. "What happened to him?" he asked, noting the bruising and the cast on the right hand and wrist.

"He broke his hand."

"Can see that." Vin's annoyance was clear.

"It might be best, if you heard the story from Ezra." Nettie put in.

Vin looked from one to the other. "That bad?" he asked quietly, his voice much calmer than he felt. Everything felt disjointed, unreal. How could he have lost two whole months? What had happened during that time? How had he gotten hurt in the first place? And what had happened to Ezra?

He looked around again. Where was Chris? It was damned unusual for him not to be there when Vin woke up in the hospital. Had his relationship with Ezra changed things that much?

He was still running through questions in his mind, trying to find a place to start asking them when Doctor Sadler arrived.

The elderly woman doctor quickly took control. "It's so very good to see you awake, Mister Tanner," she said, using the formal address to inform him that they were on a doctor-patient footing at the moment and while she might be his friend, she wouldn't tolerate any foolishness. She made no comment on the fact that Ezra slept tucked tightly against his side.

"What's wrong with Ezra?" Vin demanded.

"Doctor Miller in ER gave him a sedative when she set his hand. He was quite upset and in a lot of pain. He should sleep through until morning. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"

Vin sighed and nodded, knowing that he was just going to have to wait for Ezra to wake up for details. Obviously whatever had happened was going to upset him badly and no one was going to tell him about it until Ezra was aware enough to keep him calmed down.

"First, do you know where you are?"

"Yeah, Denver Memorial, since you're here."

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Nope. Nate said I'd been in a coma for a couple of months so I know it ain't when I think it is."

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"We was on our way to bust the guys that pulled the armory heist. Ez was a buyer and I was his bodyguard."

"You don't remember the bust itself?"

"No, ma'am."

She nodded. "It's not unusual for someone with a head injury not to recall the events immediately before the injury." She paused, "Does your head hurt?"

"Yeah."

"How badly? On a scale of one to ten?"

"Eight," he tossed the number out without even thinking. Anything to shut her up so he could concentrate on Ezra.

She nodded again, making some notes on his chart. "You seem to be doing as well as can be expected. You will be weak for quite sometime. You had a fractured skull, broken collarbone, pelvis and several cracked ribs. You were in a body cast until last week. I'll set up sessions with a physical therapist to get you back up to speed. I can give you something for the headache, if you want."

"Don't want nothing that's gonna put me back to sleep."

"Extra strength Tylenol? It won't get rid of the headache but it will take the edge off."

"That'll do. I want to talk to Nate and 'Siah for a while."

"Very well... but don't wake Mister Standish up. He needs his rest."

Vin nodded impatiently. [Leave. Now!] He ordered mentally.

She shook her head and turned to Nathan. "I'll have the nurse bring the Tylenol. Don't talk too long."

Nathan nodded and she left.

[Finally!] Vin turned his attention to the people remaining in the room. After a moment's thought he decided to change directions with his questions, maybe that would get him some more information. "Where's Chris?"

All three of the remaining people exchanged glances, then Nettie spoke. "Maybe I should go let the others know that Vin's awake."

Nathan and Josiah nodded. Someone did need to do that and it might be best if she weren't here when Vin found out what had been going on with Chris and Ezra.

She brushed a kiss to Vin's forehead and smiled at him. "I'll be back in a bit. You take it easy... and remember there's nothing you can do about anything at the moment."

He sighed then nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

After she left, he turned his gaze to the two men. "Well?"

They exchanged looks then Nathan began. "You don't remember how you got hurt do you?"

"No. Wanna tell me?"

Again looks passed between the two older men.

"Dammit! Somebody tell me what the hell is going on!" Vin snarled.

Nathan held up his hands in a placating gesture. "All right. All right." He took a deep breath. "You were hurt at the bust. Ezra got shot. The vest stopped the bullet but the force knocked him off the loading dock. You were standing right next to him. When you realized he was going over, you grabbed him and both of you fell. You twisted to get on the bottom and hit the concrete hard with Ezra landing on top of you. Chris went ballistic when he saw how bad you were hurt. Lit into Ez something awful. Said some real nasty things... things Ezra didn't need to hear, with you lying there unconscious and all broke up. He was already scared half to death that you were going to die and feeling guilty because you were hurt protecting him."

Josiah's deep rumble cut in, "It got physical. Chris was pounding on Ezra. I had to drag him off."

"Then when we got to the hospital, Chris tried to say that they shouldn't honor the Medical Power of Attorney you had given Ezra because he said it was Ezra's fault that you were hurt. Doctor Miller finally ordered him out of the hospital. Threatened to have him arrested if he didn't leave. Josiah and I took him home."

"He came back the next day and started up again." Josiah growled. "Ezra was in a terrible state. Chris' badgering was making him feel even more guilty about your getting hurt. We got Chris out of here again and persuaded Ezra to use his authority as your legal next of kin to have Chris barred from coming back."

"So Chris started using *his* authority as Ezra's supervisor to try and keep him away from you. Ezra would put in for a day off, comp time, whatever he could get to stay at the hospital with you and Chris would deny it. Ezra would go over his head to Travis and Travis would grant it. Finally Ezra ran out of time off and put in for Family Leave. Travis denied it, saying that the ATF didn't recognize same sex relationships as a family unit."

"And that was when Ezra resigned," Josiah rumbled, anger apparent in his voice. "He gave Travis his badge and gun and walked out. He threw himself into getting the house ready for when you were able to come home and seeing to it that you had everything you needed here."

"And Chris?"

"Mary started bleeding about three weeks ago. The doctor ordered her to bed and Chris took Family Leave to stay with her."

"But he and Ez are still going at it, aren't they?" Vin stated, reaching up to touch the bruise on Ezra's forehead.

Nathan and Josiah exchanged looks again before, Josiah sighed and said, "Yes, son. They are still going at it. Mary's being a real bitch about having to stay in bed and Chris has gone back to drinking heavily."

"Chris did this?" Vin touched the bruise again.

Josiah nodded.

"And his hand?"

Josiah grinned suddenly, "That Ezra did himself... of course he broke it on Chris' jaw."

"Ez don't normally get physical. What'd Chris do?"

The men exchanged looks again, then Nathan said, "He was drunk, really, really drunk."

"You know how nasty he can get when he's drunk." Josiah put in.

"He said a lot of nasty things and he attacked Ezra. They struggled a bit." Nathan paused. "Then Chris said that you might as well be dead, that you weren't coming back to Ezra."

"And that's when Ezra punched him." Josiah said with satisfaction.

Vin studied the bruise, noting that it was recent. "Happened tonight?"

"Yeah." Nathan confirmed.

"So, where's Chris."

Nathan sighed. "Downstairs. ER. Doc says he's near to having alcohol poisoning. They're going to keep him at least tonight. We're going to try and get him to sign himself into the Substance Abuse Clinic tomorrow."

Vin scowled but then nodded. "He better be glad I can't get my hands on him. Didn't have no right to try and come between me'n Ez."

Nathan and Josiah exchanged looks again. They had expected this. Vin would only get more angry when he discovered what else Chris had tried to do. They were glad that Ezra had insisted that they not tell Vin. They didn't want to have to tie the sharpshooter down to keep him from killing his best friend.

***************************

Nettie had gone to the ER to find Buck and JD. The nurse at the desk directed her to the exam room that Chris was in and she stepped inside.

"He awake yet?" she demanded, nodding towards Chris.

"Nope. Doctor says he'll most likely sleep through until morning." Buck frowned, rising to regard her worriedly. "Something wrong."

"No," she said, then couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

His eyes widened suddenly, hope flaring at the sight of the smile.

"Vin's awake."

"Hallelujah!! Praise the Lord!" He couldn't help the exuberant exclamation. He grabbed her in an enthusiastic bear hug.

She reared back and slapped his arm. "Put me down this instant Buck Wilmington!"

He did but continued to grin and chuckle in delight that Vin was finally awake. "Jesus! That's the best news we've had in months. Hell! Best news we've had since Vin was hurt."

After a long moment he seemed to gather himself up and said, "Maybe now things can finally start getting back to normal."

Her face turned serious and she jerked her head towards the examining table where Chris lay unconscious. "That's going to depend a lot on what that man there decides to do when he wakes up." She couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice.

Buck turned to look at his oldest friend and sighed, nodding. "We're going to try to get him into rehab." He reached out to lay a hand on Chris' arm. "He never really got past Sarah and Adam's deaths...."

"Know it was hard on him, but he needs to deal with it and get on with his life. It's been near to ten years now."

"I know... but God! He loved her so... and that boy was the light of his life. When he lost them, he lost a big piece of himself. This..." he stroked the arm gently, "this ain't the Chris Larabee that was married to Sarah. Ain't even the Chris Larabee that was a Navy SEAL."

JD and Casey arrived just then, cutting off the conversation. "Aunt Nettie? What are you doing down here? I thought you were sitting with Vin."

Nettie turned to the two young people with a smile. "Vin woke up. I came down to tell you all but JD was gone when I got here."

"Awake? How? What happened?" JD asked.

"Ezra finally broke down and started crying. Vin must have realized on some level that Ezra needed him and woke up."

"Can we see him?" Casey asked.

"Of course, child." Nettie said, then fixed JD with a stern look. "We ain't told him any more than just that Chris and Ezra had a fight. You take care what you say up there."

"Yes, ma'am." JD looked chastised. He knew he had told her more than he was supposed to tell anyone.

Casey gave him a questioning look. All she knew was that Chris and Ezra had had a fight.

He shook his head, mouthing 'later' at her.

She nodded.

Nettie looked at Buck, "If you want to go up for a few minutes, I can stay with Mister Larabee until you get back or they move him to a room."

Buck hesitated then nodded, "Thanks Nettie. I won't be long. Just want to see for myself that Vin's okay."

She nodded and they departed. She moved to stand next to the bed, a frown on her face. "I know you've had a rough time of it, but you ain't the only one. Time you got yourself together and stopped taking your pain out on the people that care about you."

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[Chris Larabee floated in an alcoholic haze, not really aware of what was going on around him and not completely unconscious either, even though he couldn't open his eyes or seem to make his body work. He could feel the tone of the voices, floating past him. Some were angry and upset, others calm and professional.

Memories and imaginings floated by as well, fighting with Ezra, the feel of the firm body trapped under him. Vin's face, slack and unresponsive, blood matting the long honey blonde hair. Then the face changed, turned angry, blue eyes glaring at him, Ezra pushed protectively behind him.

The vision swirled away and another took its place. Sarah... his Sarah, standing looking at him, a sad expression on her face, Adam beside her.

He started towards her and her stance changed. She pushed Adam behind her and stepped towards him, arms folding across her chest, 'that' look settling on her face, the look that said, 'Now you've done it, Chris Larabee.'

But what had he done? How had he disappointed her now? He hated disappointing her.]

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Continued in Part 4 (encompassing emailed parts 13-14)