When you're feeling lost in the night
When you feel your world just ain't right
Angie tossed and turned in her bed, the sheets tangled around her tiny body and the pillow was slightly damp from her perspiration. She unconsciously shook her head back and forth, trying desperately to dispel the horrid images that plagued her thoughts. In the dark depths of her mind, she was seeing the bloodied corpse of her mother again, the twisted and disfigured body of the woman she had loved all of her short life, and whose essence was taken away to save her own. She could hear the gun shots again, the shouts, and curses, and it was breaking her heart. Angie could feel the monsters closing in on her and she wasn't sure if she could push them away this time.
Call on me, I will be waiting
Count on me, I will be there
"Angie? Angie? Come on Angel, come back to me." She could hear the soft voice calling her, the familiar, soothing voice, the one that calmed her erratic heart and set her world right again. She could almost see the glowing sword descend upon those horrible monsters, slaying them, and ensuring they could do no more harm. As those terrible nightmares were chased away, Angie could feel herself rousing slightly, could feel the warm hand that held her own. Opening her dark eyes, she could see the moonlight reflected in the emerald orbs of her saviour, her best friend and the closest thing to a father she had ever known. Angie beheld her home.
Anytime the times get too tough
Anytime your best ain't enough
Ezra Standish stood to the side, unable to move. He watched, heart sinking, as his fellow ATF agent, Nathan Jackson helped to staunch the flow of blood to Vin Tanner's left shoulder. The sharpshooter had taken a bullet when all hell had broken loose the moment Ezra's cover had been blown. Standish saw Jackson gaze up at team leader Chris Larabee and nod his head, indicating that Vin would be fine. Standish turned, unable to face Larabee, knowing that it was his fault that Tanner had taken lead in the first place. Before realizing what he was doing, Ezra had pulled his arm back and brought it with such force against the building, that his now-bleeding knuckles went through the new hole in the stone.
I'll be the one to make it better
I'll be there to protect you, see you through
I'll be there, and there is nothing, I won't do
Angie watched Ezra stare out of the living room window, his gaze completely locked onto the evening lights of Denver. She slowly swung her legs back and forth from her perch on the leather sofa, chewing softly on her bottom lip. Mister Larabee had told her a little about what had happened to Mister Tanner this morning. He had said that Vin got hurt, but that he would be okay as soon as he stopped grumbling about the hospital. Mister Larabee had also said that Ezra would probably blame himself, even though it wasn't his fault.
One of the bad guys had recognized Ezra when he used to work in Atlanta, and no one could have known that, so it was all just a big mistake. Angie knew it was her job to make sure Ezra realized that, else he would hate himself for hurting Vin. Angie jumped off of the sofa and walked over to Ezra. She didn't say anything, but reached up to hold his bandaged hand, tugging gently on it so that he would look at her. Ezra sighed and slowly dropped to one knee, his gaze almost level with hers. He tried to school his features so that she wouldn't be subjected to his self-depreciating thoughts, but noting the look of disapproval on her young face, realized that it was in vain. Angie always had been able to read him better than anyone else, and at the moment she was looking slightly insulted that he would even think otherwise. Before he could even say anything, her soft, but authoritative, no-nonsense voice broke through his thoughts,
"You did good Ezra. And it wasn't your fault."
How could one argue with determination like that? Ezra didn't even bother, because he could see in her eyes that any other conclusion was completely foolish. Standish couldn't help but smile slightly and bring the young girl towards him in a tight embrace. She was his rock, his confidence, his everything.
I will cross the ocean for you
I will go and bring you the moon
I will be your hero your strength, anything you need
I will be the sun in your sky
I will light your way for all time, promise you
For you I will, yes yeah, yeah
I will shield your heart from the rain
I won't let no harm come your way
Ezra smiled as he watched Angie push herself higher on the swings. Her brown hair whipped back in the wind and she laughed as she reached out to touch the clouds. Ezra's grin vanished though, as his thoughts took on a dark turn, and his mind played out the events of almost four months back. He had been unable to protect Angie from the actions of Tom Lane, but the young girl had found the strength to get away from the boy and to safety until Ezra and the others could help her. Ezra clenched his jaw as he once again made a silent promise to Angie; never again would she have to fear the dark as long as it was in his power to stop it, Ezra would move hell and high water to keep his little girl safe and happy.
Oh, these arms will be your shelter
No, these arms won't let you down
Angie jumped off of the swing and hurled herself at Ezra, the young man having already crouched down in readiness for the onslaught. Ezra stood up and spun her around, his own laughter mingling with hers. As he stopped before they both got dizzy, Angie threw her arms around his neck and giggled into his shoulder. Stroking her hair, Ezra murmured his oath into the dark locks.
"I'll always protect you Angel…always."
If there is a mountain to move
I will move that mountain for you
Ezra watched as the poor pencil was subjected to more nibbling. He rolled his eyes and hid a grin at the display of total concentration, as if by staring hard enough at the problem, the solution would magically appear. Putting aside his own paperwork, Ezra shifted closer to Angie and peered just over her shoulder, noting the addition and subtraction symbols decorating the page. She finally sighed in defeat and put the pencil down gently, frustration evident in her voice,
"I don't get it Ezra."
Not bothering to look at the notebook, Ezra turned Angie's chair so that she was facing him, and pulled out a deck of cards from his shirt pocket. Ignoring her quizzical look, Ezra showed off some of his newest tricks, delighted in seeing Angie's pleased reaction. Fifteen minutes passed, and Ezra noticed the tension leave the young girl's face, as she laughed and attempted to reciprocate the same tricks, her hands deftly handling the cards. Allowing her one more shuffle, Ezra gently reached over and plucked the cards from her small hands and pointed towards the recovered pencil and paper. He leaned forward to peck Angie on the forehead and stood up to set the table for dinner. Smiling, Angie turned back to her homework, and was surprised to see that the numbers began to make more sense, they appeared clearer somehow. She looked up to study Ezra as he gathered the plates and remembered something he had told her a few weeks ago,
"Distractions, my dear girl, can make all the difference."
I'm here for you, I'm here forever
I will be your fortress tall and strong
I'll keep you safe, I'll stand beside you right or wrong
"Angie this isn't a good idea, we shouldn't be here." JD Dunne tried to steer the young girl out of AD Travis' office, but Angie merely dug in her heels and refused to budge. JD sighed and wiped a hand across his brow, how had he managed to let Angie con him into taking her to Travis' office? He was going to have to talk to Ezra about his influence on the little girl.
"I don't care JD, I've got somethin' to say to this Mister Travis." Ignoring JD's mutters of protest, Angie walked confidently to the office door, knocked once, and without waiting for a reply, let herself in.
AD Travis looked up from his paperwork startled to see a young girl staring daggers at him. Clearing his throat to cover up his earlier shock, Travis inquired, "Yes? What can I help you with, er, Miss…?"
"Angie. Angie Velasquez. And you can help me by telling me why you put Ezra on sus…sus…" Looking over her shoulder at the dark-haired man who had finally followed her in, "what was that word again, JD?" she asked.
"Suspension," was the meek reply. JD shrugged apologetically towards Travis for the intrusion.
"That's it, suspension. So why is Ezra on suspension?"
Travis wasn't sure whether to laugh or be intimidated by the determined tone of the young girl. He realized that this was the famous Angie, adopted niece to his Team Seven, and a daughter for all intents and purposes to the undercover agent in question. Deciding to play it safe, Travis chose to answer her truthfully,
"He broke the rules Angie. When that happens, people have to be disciplined." Travis could swear the room got colder as the dark eyes that stared defiantly at him, narrowed.
"That's baloney, and you know it. It's those dumb feds that told you to do this, they just want to keep hurting Ezra, and as soon as Chris and the others show that what the FBI said was totally wrong, I'll make sure it'll never happen again."
Despite her size and age, Travis had the distinct feeling the little girl would keep her word, and he had to hide a grin at that. He actually liked the intelligent southerner, Standish brought more character to the already distinct Team Seven. Travis had wanted to ignore the new accusations made by the FBI, but the law was the law, and this time it was forcing him to ask Ezra to lay low for a while, as his teammates poked and prodded to show the accusations for what they truly were, just more fabricated and distorted versions of the truth.
Getting up from his chair, and walking around the large oak desk, Travis crouched down and spoke quietly, "I'll tell you what Miss Valesquez, I'd be more than happy to help you." Surprised brown eyes stared suspiciously at him for a moment, before widening in excitement. Suddenly, Travis found himself in a tight embrace and listening to whispered words,
"Ezra never gave up on me Mister Travis, and I promised myself and my Mama that I'd never give up on him, neither."
I will cross the ocean for you
I will go and bring you the moon
I will be your hero your strength, anything you need
I will be the sun in your sky
I will light your way for all time, promise you
For you I will, yes yeah, yeah
For You I will
Lay my life on the line, for you I will fight, oh
For you I will die,
The Seven were just leaving Inez's "Saloon" after a late lunch. Ezra turned to face the other side of the street, eyes rolling at some inane joke JD had attempted to crack, when his gaze fell upon a young mother calling out for her daughter who had wandered away. Ezra's eyes fell upon the young child, no more than three years at the most, slowly making her away across the road. His gaze wandered from her, to the large van that was racing, far above the speed limit and the driver of which had no way of seeing the child. Not stopping to think, Ezra ran towards the street, unable to hear the surprised voices of his friends, unable to hear the mother's frantic cries and unable to see anything but his little girl.
With every breath, with all my soul
I'll give my word, I'll give it all
Josiah watched as she tried, for the hundredth time in less than twenty minutes, to make herself more comfortable in the bedside chair. He saw her finger another one of the books she had brought with her, but thought better of it, instead reaching out to brush aside the chestnut locks of the sleeping figure and stare longingly at the heart monitor. Her hand lingered on the gash on his forehead and before she could even wonder what she was saying, the words tumbled out of her mouth,
"Why'd he do it?"
Josiah straightened himself and tried to think of an answer that would placate the child, but knowing her as well as he did, that was far from what she wanted, or deserved. So he just shrugged his shoulders and pressed his large fingers together.
"Well, I do believe Angie, that Brother Ezra was seeing you instead of that young girl for a moment, and we all know that he would rather perish than let any harm befall you."
"But I'd rather get hurt than let anything happen to him."
Josiah leaned back in his chair and let out a breath, his voice barely above a whisper, "Therein, Child, lays the irony."
Put your faith in me, put your faith in me
And I'll do anything...oh...
Angie knelt down and placed the bouquet of white roses at the foot of the small gravestone. The marking was simple, yet elegant, true to the nature of the body that slumbered beneath.
Teresa Velasquez
Aged 24
Beautiful, Courageous, Devoted,
and the truest of Guardian Angels
She spoke softly, knowing that wherever she was, her mother could hear her clearly.
"Mama, I'm doing well in school, well math is still icky, but history is so much fun, we learn about the coolest people, and Ezra's been a big help, even if he does make me do my homework before dinner." Angie made a slight face but continued, "Oh Mama, I know he feels a little weird when I say it, but he's the greatest Daddy I could've asked for. And he's kept his promise to you, you know. He takes real good care of me, and I make sure to do the same for him. Don't worry about us, we'll be okay. As long as we've got each other, nothing can stop us."
Angie felt a hand on a shoulder and a southern voice speak softly, "You bring her up to speed on all the news?"
Angie stood and nodded, wiping away at the grass on her knees. "Yup, but I didn't tell her that name Chris called you the other day."
Ezra groaned, and rubbed his eyes gently, "I have asked Mister Larabee on numerous occasions to be cautious about his language when young minds are in his presence."
"That throbbing vein in his forehead sure is funny"
Ezra grinned and ruffled her hair a little, "It sure is." He bent over and lay a single red rose amongst the white, and pressed a finger to his lips before touching the top of the gravestone. "Never fear Teresa, We'll watch over her together." His whisper was lost in the wind, but he swore he could hear the young mother voice her approval.
"Come on Angel girl, we don't want to keep the others waiting."
I will cross the ocean for you
I will go and bring you the moon
I will be your hero your strength, anything you need
I will be the sun in your sky
I will light your way for all time, promise you
For you I will, yes yeah, yeah
I will...oh....
The End
