Chapter 1
Contrary to popular opinion, Ezra really didn't work to perpetuate the notion that he was always late. He simply was not a morning person, regardless of what hour the morning started. Certainly, work days were even more of a challenge, but leisure days presented their own unique issues. When it was essential, like court appearances or when undercover, time never seemed to be an issue. But on his own, especially on a day off, getting it in gear was always a problem.
Today had been no different. The snooze alarm was almost worn out from repeated battering. Even when he was finally forced to arise to answer nature's call, he had to fight every instinct to refrain from crawling back under the covers. He pushed the button on the coffee maker as he passed by on his way to retrieve the morning paper. A quick glance at the headlines left him uninterested and he tossed it to the table to peruse with his breakfast.
Next stop was the shower, after a longing look at the inviting pillows and blankets. He reluctantly grabbed clean towels and his robe and spent the next 15 minutes under the pulsating showerhead trying to wash the stress of the past week away. His shiver as he stepped from the shower was only partially due to the damp chill. Memories of Christmas Eve flooded over him again, and all the feelings threatened to overwhelm him. He couldn't swear it was the worst day of his life, but he was hard-pressed to find one to top it. He didn't imagine the day would ever come that he could forget the deep-seated dread he felt believing the others of his team his family had died. Even now, a week later, he still had moments when he had to check to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
He wrapped the robe tightly around himself, toweling his hair dry as he headed back to the kitchen, pulling a mug from the shelf along the way. The coffee aroma soothed him a little, but the unsettled feeling wouldn't go away this morning. He set the paper aside, choosing instead to look online for the day's headlines. He generally preferred the more traditional and tactile experience of turning pages but since he needed to check emails anyway, he chose the easier option.
He felt somewhat reassured to see Vin's name on an early-morning email, along with a late-night one from Buck. Both were just reminders that they were meeting at the ranch today to finish up year-end paperwork in advance of a quiet New Year's Eve celebration. Still, it was a comfort to see the names. He knew the celebrations had been pared down in deference to their recent shared experience, and particularly his reaction to it. He should have argued more vociferously about keeping the festivities as planned. But he had to admit he wanted to be selfish about this. About enjoying a quiet evening he thought would never come to pass. One that for a short time he didn't expect to live to see himself. He really should tell Chris that damned promise was the reason he was still around. That need to not fail the team had been the one thing that kept him from ending everything that night. But that would mean letting Chris know he had wanted to leave, to run out. He wasn't certain he could handle the disappointed look that would result from such a revelation.
The buzzing of his cell awoke him from his contemplations. A quick look at the time as he answered startled him. "Yes Vin, I know what time it is, and yes, I shall shortly be en route to the ranch. I have a couple of brief errands for supplies for this evening's festivities, but I shall arrive as soon as is possible."
"Okay Pard. Just called to say there's no big rush. JD was fixing something or another on the computer here and it looks like there's some kind of virus going on, so we won't be getting a lot of work done. But you still should head out since Chris wants to do some brainstorming, as well as debrief on the job we were doing in Seattle last week."
Ezra felt that now all too familiar pit in his stomach at the reference. "I wasn't a part of that, so I really don't need to attend. You can commence that discussion without my presence."
"No such luck Ezra. Chris wants us all brought up-to-date. Apparently, this some new wrinkle. Nice try though."
"I should be there within " he hesitated a moment, calculating his time, "about 90 minutes."
"Just in time for lunch. Sounds good."
Ezra smiled as he hung up and made his move to get dressed. The idea that he was being checked up on at one time would have been cause for him to lash out. Now, it made him feel a part of something bigger, and it never ceased to amaze him just how good that felt.
Twenty minutes later, record time for him, he was exiting the elevator to the garage of his condo complex. Fishing for his keys, he was only vaguely aware of the movement behind him and had no time to react to the blow to the back of his head. He had the fleeting thought that there was simply no way he would be on time for lunch before he lost consciousness.
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"You sure he said 90 minutes?" Chris growled again, looking at his watch for what felt like the 100th time.
"Said he had some errands, but yeah, 90 minutes.
"Only Ezra could turn 90 minutes into three hours." Buck smiled as he made the comment. "It's a gift."
"Yeah, well it's a gift he should return."
"Okay Chris, what's wrong? This is more than just the usual 'where the hell is he' crap." Josiah could tell there was something far more substantial bothering the man.
"The Brodsky case. From last week. Judge got a tip from Seattle that the bastard is looking for payback. He's making threats."
"Well that's nothing new." JD spoke up from the computer desk.
"Yeah, but according to reports, he sent some enforcers. I want to make sure we all know what's going on before they get here."
"I take at the Judge is taking this seriously?" Josiah asked with concern. Chris just nodded.
"I'll call Ezra again." A moment later Vin looked up. "It's going straight to voicemail."
"There could be a million reasons for that guys. Let's not assume the worst," Josiah cautioned, wishing he had more faith in the comment.
"It's Ezra. Pretty safe to assume something's gone wrong." Nathan began pacing. "Did he say what errands Vin?"
"Just supplies for tonight."
"Donovan's Liquor Store and that fancy deli he likes so much then." Chris grabbed for her phone. "You call the deli, I'll call Donovan's." He looked at his phone. "What do you mean no signal?"
"Mine too," Vin added. The others reached for theirs as well, with the same result. All eyes went to JD.
"Don't look at me. Computer virus shouldn't be affecting the phones." He had barely finished speaking when the ranch is landline rang, causing them all to jump. Chris grabbed the receiver. "Larabee."
"Present for you Larabee. In the driveway. The price you pay for messing with us." The call disconnected and an instant later with there was nothing but static. Chris dropped the receiver and ran toward the front, stopping only to retrieve his weapon from the front hall desk. Seeing that, most of the others went for theirs as well, with only Josiah not bothering to stop. Chris got to the door, looking out cautiously, fighting the impulse to run out, letting his instinct for trouble guide him.
"God damn!" He choked out. He could see the 'gift' in the driveway. Ezra's jacket alone was a dead giveaway. Chris immediately regretted the choice of words. Josiah moved to head out.
"It could be a trap." Chris stopped him from advancing.
"Not likely. I'm betting they're responsible for screwing up the phones, so they likely want us to see exactly what's going on."
"Maybe, but give me 30 seconds." Chris reached into the storage locker in the hall cupboard and pulled out two bullet proof vests. Josiah looked at them, knowing he should be more surprised than he was.
"I was a Boy Scout," was Chris's only explanation.
The others were all at the door as well by now.
"Stay put," Chris ordered. "If this is a trap, we aren't all gonna march into it."
They opened the door slowly. The men forced themselves to focus on the area, watching for signs of an ambush or other trouble. Chris and Josiah wasted no time in getting to their downed colleague. Chris rolled him slowly.
"Holy mother of God." His stomach lurched when he looked in an almost unrecognizable Ezra. Josiah said nothing, but the tension in his body spoke volumes. "Can you lift him Josiah?"
"Not without it hurting him, but I'm guessing that's the point. Get the door. I'll be as gentle as I can. Ezra, this is probably going to hurt some. I'm sorry son, there's no other way."
He gently but quickly scooped Ezra up. The fact there was no reaction chilled him to his core. They were in the house a moment later with no action taken to stop them even though they had no doubt they were being watched.
"Where should I put him down? We aren't moving him twice. Nathan!" The shout brought the healer back to the moment. He, like the others, had been left speechless by Ezra's appearance.
"Which is the firmest bed here Chris? He needs support, but I don't want to rest him on anything too hard."
"Mine." He led the way to his room, throwing a few things off the bed, clearing it before pulling back the covering. Josiah lay Ezra down as carefully as possible and reached his hand out to check for breathing. He let out his own unconsciously held breath when he felt the movement.
"I need everything you can think of for bandages and antiseptic. Any pain meds you have too Chris. And ice. Gotta control the swelling." The men scattered getting Nathan his supplies, while Josiah remained at Ezra's side his hand resting gently on the unconscious agent's head.
"You hang tough Ezra. Nathan's going to patch you up. We're all right here for you Ezra."
Nathan said nothing as he slowly began to peel the bloodied clothing from Ezra's battered body. The jacket and shirt were going to have to be cut off. He could see Ezra's left hand had been mangled. The bruising was already showing and looked like a shoe print as if the hand had been stomped on. His shoulder was dislocated, either in the beating or by being dumped. When it happened really didn't matter. Blood around his mouth made Nathan check for internal injuries. The chest and stomach were bruised, and Nathan was sure he could see the colour darkening before his eyes. He prodded gently, relieved to feel only slight swelling and rigidity. Maybe they were lucky. Maybe it wasn't internal bleeding. He didn't realize Chris was back at his side until he felt the damp warm cloth being pressed into his hand.
"Buck's getting ice, but I figure you need to clean him up some before you can see just how bad this really is."
"It's bad Chris. Real bad. I haven't been able to check his pupils."
One look told him why. Ezra's face was a mass of bruising. His eyes were forced shut by the swelling and sealed by dried blood. He reached out with his own cloth, checking for Nathan's reaction.
"Yeah, go ahead and try cleaning him up some, but no pressure. There could be damage to the eyes and the bones around the socket. Last thing he needs is us making it worse."
Chris couldn't imagine this being worse. He didn't take his eyes off the job as he slowly worked on cleaning Ezra. He heard the others bringing in supplies, but the overall silence was ominous.
"JD, don't just stand there, figure out how to contact somebody. Anybody!"
"He's already on it Chris." Buck answered. "I'm going to get some more ice from the spare fridge."
"No! Nobody goes outside."
"Easy Chris. If you can't be gentle, let someone else do this." Chris waved off Vin's offer to take over, focusing again on the task. "Nobody's going out until we know what's waiting for us. Set up vantage point and scope things out. Keep me informed."
"Already checking. There's a car at the end of the drive. Watching. They have a camera, likely to share the play-by-play with Brodsky."
Chris spoke before anyone could move. "Sit tight. All of you. Not going to risk anybody else getting hurt. Nathan needs to be able to focus on Ezra, and he can't do that if he's digging bullets out of you all."
"If they wanted us dead, they had a clean shot at the two of us out there." Josiah didn't take his eyes off Ezra as he spoke.
"Brodsky doesn't want us dead. He wants us hurting. All of us. And this," he nodded towards their battered friend, "is one hell of a smart way to do it."
"Dumb way. Because he's gonna pay for it." Buck promised, his voice tight with rage.
"Okay Chris, let me take a look. I think I can check his eyes now." Nathan gently pulled an eyelid, and they were all both relieved and disturbed to hear a moan. "Easy Ezra. Don't doubt this hurts like hell. I just need a minute." Nathan was answered by another moan and a feeble effort to pull away. Josiah gently gripped Ezra keeping him still.
"Try to stay calm Ezra. We're going to get you fixed up. Just stay calm son."
"No."
"Yes Ezra. It's all right. I'm done." Nathan turned to Chris. "Reactions are a bit slow, but overall good. There isnt a lot of bleeding either. I think what you cleaned up was from cuts and surface damage."
"What about the rest of this?"
"Too early to answer that Chris. Best thing is to just let me get him looked over. You can do more good out there right now. He doesn't need to be crowded. I'll call for you if I need you."
"Let me know when he's awake."
"He can't handle being question Chris."
"Not gonna question him. I know what happened. Just want to talk to him is all."
"Of course. Sorry. I'll call you in."
"Thanks. Take care of him."
As difficult as it was sitting with Ezra, sitting around and waiting for news was worse. They'd spent the time watching for Nathan or Josiah to emerge and discussing what they could do about the situation. Every logical option had been considered and rejected. They'd moved onto illogical ones.
"Do you think we're still being watched?"
Buck shrugged his answer to Chris. "Who knows? Car's gone. We can't see anything else, but short of stepping out the side to see if anyone takes pot-shots at us, there's no way of knowing."
"What about the computer? Or the phones?" Chris asked again.
"I'm working on it. They've got an expert on their team Chris. They've got it really jammed up."
"I thought we had an expert." Chris snapped back. JD said nothing. Chris held up his hand before the others could speak.
"Sorry JD. I know you doing your best and there's nobody I'd rather have working on this."
"I'll figure something out."
"I know you will. No doubt. Until he does, what else of we got? No idea is too stupid."
"Smoke signals." Buck offered.
"I take it back. That's stupid Buck." Chris grinned when he said it, taking away the sting.
"No. Not if we can get someone to call 911 it isn't."
"Too risky. We have no way of warning them they could be driving into a gun fight. Or the neighbours might come to check first. Same problem."
"I see your point. I guess riding out isn't an option either."
"Maybe later, after dark. But that's going to be risky too."
"I'd bet these guys have night vision goggles. They're too well-prepared." Vin added
"Anybody else? There's got to be "
The ringing of the phone once again caused everyone to jump. Chris grabbed at it like a drowning man for a life preserver.
"Hello. Yes. Hello?"
"How's your boy Larabee?"
"You're gonna pay for this you son of a bitch."
"Already did. You took one of ours. We took one of yours. Simply balancing the scales. You think this is bad, wait and see what happen if Brodsky goes to jail." There was once again nothing on the line but static.
"What?" Vin asked.
"Payback. One of ours for one of theirs."
"What? The guy we shot taking Brodsky down?"
"The guy I shot," Chris corrected. "Ezra wasn't even there."
"That's likely why they picked him. The idea was to make you hurt Chris. Send you off your game," Vin suggested.
"Not gonna work."
"Good."
"I mean to kill the son of a bitch."
"No arguments here," Buck agreed.
"Chris?" Nathan's voice quietly interrupted the discussion. "He's asking for you." Chris charged over but stopped when Nathan blocked his path.
"Hold up. You need to know what's going on. His left hand is busted up. Got cracked and broken bones. Same for his ribs and collarbone. He's having trouble breathing, but I don't think his lungs are damaged directly." He paused, gathering himself together.
"Can you tell if there's internal damage?" Vin asked.
"Not showing signs, but there is heavy bruising around his stomach and kidney. We'll have to watch for blood, not that we could do much about it."
"What aren't you saying Nathan?" Buck could see there was something worrying him.
"His pupils are reactive, but not to the extent they should be. Unfocused. They really pounded on him guys. Just beat him mercilessly. Jawbone is at least cracked. Compression cheek fractures, noses broken. Missing teeth. That's where the bleeding has been coming from that made me think he was coughing it up. Certainly, there is a severe concussion. I can't tell if there's a skull fracture, but I'd bet on it. He's been drifting in and out a bit, but not really making much sense when he talks. He seems a bit clearer now, but his speech is slurring, and he loses focus fast.
"You said he was asking for me. That's a good sign, right?"
Nathan shrugged slightly. "It's not bad. But go slow with them Chris. He's confused and in a hell of a lot of pain."
"Can't you give him something?"
"What? We've got basic over-the-counter stuff. And putting anything in his stomach right now could just make things worse if there is bleeding."
Chris nodded his understanding, hating every minute of this.
"He can't take any stress, you understand?" Another curt nod was the only answer. He moved to let Chris pass.
"Can we see him Nathan?"
"Give them a few minutes JD. If he's still awake, I think it might help to hear your voices."
Josiah still sat at the top of the bed, quietly reassuring Ezra he was not alone. The only reply came as soft moans and whimpers. Chris asked with a look to be left alone and the big man reluctantly stood. "I'll be right back Ezra. Chris's gonna sit with you for a couple of minutes." There was no reply and Josiah bit his lip as he left to keep himself quiet. God, he needed a drink.
"Nathan says you were asking for me Ezra."
"Need " he gasped in pain at the effort of speaking and again at the pain the gasp caused.
"You don't need to do anything but rest Ezra. We know what happened. You don't have to tell us anything."
"You saved me." The voice was weak and strained.
Chris felt tears coming and fought them off. "No Ezra. I wish I did. This is well it doesn't matter."
"Not this. Christmas Eve." Chris figured Ezra must be confused, because that made no sense. "The damn " he gasped again, "promise."
"Ezra, you need to rest. Whenever you're getting at will keep."
"No. Need to tell was going to leave. Quit. You were all I was alone. Jump. Oh damn." Ezra spasmed as another stabbing pain took his breath away. Chris was finding it almost as hard to catch his own breath.
"You were going to dear God Ezra. Why?" He hoped this was just the confusion Nathan had warned him about, but he knew better.
"Alone. Again. Couldn't. Heard your voice. I had to rep-" he groaned loudly. "Oh God. Couldn't let you will down."
Chris stopped fighting the tears. "It's been a long time since that was an issue Ezra. But I'm glad it still worries you if it keeps you from doing something stupid."
Ezra was quiet again, aside from the soft moans. They sat for several minutes before he whispered again. "Lying to me?"
"Is who lying to you? Nathan?"
"Can't see thing."
"Your eyes are swollen shut Ezra. That's why we're putting ice on your face."
"That's why I'm cold?"
Chris smiled, pulling another blanket from the foot of his bed and covering him. "Yeah, sorry about that. You took a hell of a beating Ezra. Do you remember?"
No" the slurring speech worried Chris.
"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine if you just do what you're told for a change. You rest. Well take care of everything."
"Time?"
"What Ezra?"
"Time?" He gasped out softly.
Chris looked at his watch. "Just after 6 o'clock." He couldn't believe it as he said it. It had barely been three hours.
"December."
"Yes Ezra, you didn't miss New Year's Eve." Chris smiled. "I know how much you like a good reason to party. Ezra?"
"It's okay Chris." Nathan spoke from the door. "He needs to rest. Next time he wakes up I'll let the others in for a bit." Chris didn't move from his seat. "Don't go there Chris. This isn't your fault. Brodsky's bat shit crazy and "
"Relax Nathan. I know. He's not the one messing with my head right now."
"What did Ezra say?"
"Nothing I care to repeat." He watched Ezra sleep.
"About Christmas Eve?"
Chris turned quickly. "He say something to you?"
"No, not directly. But I know it's been bothering him. It scared him bad, and I don't think he's over it."
"Scared doesn't seem to cover it." Chris was mostly speaking to himself.
Nathan nodded. "I get the feeling we could've lost him that night?"
"You read him well."
"Actually, Josiah saw it first. And then Vin."
"Did everybody but me pick up on this?"
"You're the one he's trying to hide it from him."
"For God's sake, why?"
"Because you're the one he's most afraid of disappointing. Of letting down."
Chris shook his head in wonderment and confusion. "Doesn't make sense."
"Sure it does. In the first place, you're the boss. Not that authority figures mean all that much to him, but in this case, he respects you, so he wants to make things work."
"He could try showing up on time." Chris joked weakly.
"Nah, that wouldn't prove anything." Josiah entered the room quietly. "He can play by the rules anytime he wants to needs to. He needs you to know he won't let you down."
"Won't let the team down. That's what he said kept him going last week. How come I never saw this?"
"Because he fights like hell to make sure you won't. He needs to feel he earned it, not that it was given to him.
"It?"
"Your respect."
"Damn fool. He got that a long time ago."
"We know that. He can't quite accept it."
"Well," Chris sighed, "guess I just figured out my New Year's resolution."
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"Chris, you need to eat something."
"Not hungry."
"None of us are, but we need clear heads and that means taking care of ourselves. It ain't much but there are sandwiches on the counter."
Chris knew Vin was right, so he stood up and slowly walked over. "What's here?"
"All the leftovers. Turkey, ham, bologna."
"Bologna? A Christmas left over?"
"Yeah JD, I always keep some around for Buck. Calls it his brain food." Chris grinned.
"Well that explains a lot," Vin replied.
"What do you want kid. Turkey or ham?" JD stopped pacing. Chris repeated himself "JD turkey or ham?"
"Ham!" He shouted.
"Fine, relax." Chris reached for a sandwich.
"No, Chris. Ham!" They all looked at him, convinced the pressure had finally made him snap.
"You showed me a shortwave radio before. In the basement. A 'ham' radio. You still have it?"
"It's in pieces JD."
"Pieces can be put back together."
Buck tossed a sandwich on the table. "Let's go kid. Time to Humpty Dumpty this thing."
"They couldn't put him back together," JD countered.
"They didn't have you."
Chapter 2
"Don't care how dark it is. Nobody's going out. You heard Vin. They probably have goggles."
"If they're still out there." Buck challenged.
"They aren't leaving. They're enjoying the show too much."
"JD, you think they can hear us?".
"Doubt it. They'd have to be much closer for a parabolic mic to work, and with the electronics jammed they'd have the same issues we do. Course Ive been keeping the music going and running white noise generator just in case." Chris smiled. The kid was always ahead of them.
"That's my roomie! Taught them everything I know." Buck bragged.
"Yeah, took him 10 minutes." JD answered without looking up from his project.
"So, what are they waiting for?"
"Our reaction." Vin said quietly. "I guess they'd have a good idea of what we do if " he couldn't finish the sentence, but his gaze went to the room where Ezra lay sleeping.
"They want to see us hurt." Chris was interrupted by a cackle of static and a "whoop" from JD.
"Got it! We have a working radio."
"So, call someone."
"Doesn't work like that Buck. What I can do is put out a broadcast and hope someone gets it. Not sure how strong or continuous it will be, but I'm going to try to get someone to call the judge, the cops, anyone they can." He hunched down over the microphone and started his broadcast.
"We still have the problem of our friends out there."
For the next half-hour the only sound was the drone of JD seeking help. He had no idea if the message was getting through since the receiver had been sacrificed to get the parts needed to transmit. So, he just kept talking. Buck had brought him a drink at one point, but that was the only activity in the room. Just as Buck, always restless, was about to speak, Chris grinned broadly.
"Damn! It's obvious."
"Glad you think so."
"We give them what we want they want."
"They want you us to suffer. How do you propose Chris what are you doing?" Vin called to the back of their leader as Chris bolted from the room and out the front door.
"Hours of telling us to stay put and he charges outside. That stupid son of a bitch."
"Hey, he's your friend." Vin grinned at Buck's rant.
"Yeah, we're two of a kind." They stood at the porch door watching and listening as Chris began shouting.
"Where are you, you bastards? You had no right. He wasn't part of this. This ain't over."
Buck fought the urge to smile, just in case they could see him. "You bastards ain't going down for murdering an ATF agent," he shouted, catching on and getting into the act. "You won't live long enough."
"Show yourselves!" Chris played it out for all he was worth.
"Enough." Vin called. "Get back in here. Ezra wouldn't have wanted you getting stupid. Or getting shot."
Dragging their feet, the two men walked back, looking as dejected as they could manage. Once inside, they all struggled to control their nervous laughter.
"You two may be the biggest over-actors I have ever seen." Vin finally gasped out.
"Maybe, but they bought it. Headlights on the road, moving away."
"What the hell " Josiah was charging down the hall. "Who got killed?" His voice was panicked.
"Ezra. At least as far as his attackers are concerned."
"One of you better get in there and explain that to him. He heard the shouts and is freaking out." Chris bolted down the hall, the others close behind.
"Easy Ezra. They're here. All here." Nathan glared at the new arrivals. "Stay still Ezra, you can't move."
"I'm sorry Ezra. Never occurred to us you'd hear that."
"Chris? You're alright?"
"Everybody is Ezra. It was a con. You love a good con, right?" Ezra was slowly settling back. Despite the exertion, he looked a little better than the last time they'd been in the room.
"Yes, good con." He spoke weakly. It took him a few minutes to begin breathing normally, or what passed for normally, again.
"Just chasing off the bad guys. We can get you some help now Ezra."
"It's already on the way." JD entered. "Hey Ezra. Sorry I haven't been in to see you, but I've been kinda busy."
"On the way?" Chris needed further details.
"Yeah. Cell phones just started working again, but it might be a while to fix the computer. I called the judge and apparently ATF and 911 have been flooded with calls the last half hour about a shortwave call." Even as he spoke, Chris could hear the ambulance and police sirens in the distance. "I told the judge it was safe to send them in."
"We'll have you at a hospital in no time Ezra." Josiah took his place beside the head of the bed again. "You'll be good as new."
The quiet was disrupted by the sound of JD's phone vibrating. A moment later he stepped up beside Chris. "That was the judge. He let me know they stopped four cars leaving the area with suspicious looking dudes in them."
"Travis called them dudes?" Buck asked.
"No, I did."
"Going to be hard to pin any of this on them. "
"Nah, I recorded the calls they made to you, so that should be enough to get the ball rolling. I'm gonna let the medics in." He was out the door before anyone could speak.
"We need to find a way to bottle that energy," Josiah observed. "We would all be rich."
The mood was quiet again as the medics entered, the anxious communications with the hospital making it clear this evening was far from over.
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For the second time in a week, Travis found himself spending a holiday evening waiting for word on his team. He wasted no time getting to the hospital, knowing a trip to the ranch would be a wasted effort. Somewhat sketchy details he got from JD (that boy needed to learn how to report to his supervisors "the shit hit the fan" was not protocol) told him Standish was in bad shape. The rest of the team was safe, but how sound they were remained to be seen.
The ER receptionist kept her promise and notified him as the ambulance arrived. He could hear Nathan answering questions the doctors threw at him. By the time he got to the ambulance bay, Ezra was already out of sight, with Nathan staring down the corridor after him. Travis took him by the elbow and guided him to the waiting room. In less than five minutes the others were occupying the rest of the seats in the room, all staring numbly down the hallway.
"You do know you seven find more ways to get into trouble than the rest of the division combined? You trying to push me into early retirement?"
"You're not going anywhere Oren; you'd miss us too much." Chris gave him a weak grin. "We keep your life interesting."
"How about giving me a bit of boredom, just to see what it feels like. Make it your New Year's resolution. Just two hours till I could have some peace of mind."
"No promises" Nathan replied. "Chris already has a resolution in mind."
"It's still December 31?" Chris couldn't believe it. It felt like days, not hours since this it all started.
"Yep. Like I said, two hours. So, since you don't want to make a pledge to make my life any easier just what resolutions do you have in mind?" He knew it was a feeble attempt at distracting them but, under the circumstances, it was the best he had.
Chris recalled his earlier conversation with Nathan. "I've got mine set." He didn't elaborate, and given the determination in his tone, no one asked.
"Well, not really sure what I could pick out. Kinda hard to improve on perfection." Buck smiled broadly, waiting for the inevitable responses.
"I suppose you could try working on your modesty just a bit."
"Or getting some treatment for your delusional status." Nathan added to JD's observation.
"I haven't heard any complaints from the ladies."
"So, add getting your hearing checked." Vin suggested.
"Funny man. Maybe you should work on your humour."
"No. I'm in a work on my reading." They went quiet, not expecting that from him. "Ezra's been helping me some, and I'd like to see just how much better I can get. Maybe take a class. "
"Self-improvement of any type is always a worthwhile goal Vin," Josiah encouraged. "And I'm sure Ezra would be more than happy to keep helping."
"Yeah, but it's going to take him a while before he recovers from all of this. Be kind of nice to surprise him when he's ready."
The judge smiled supportively, knowing how hard it must've been must have been for Vin to admit that in front of him. "You let me know if there's any way I can help with any of that. I like having my agents trying to better themselves."
"Did you hear that Buck?" JD prodded.
"Did you?" Before any further comments were made, they were interrupted.
"You gentlemen are here with Mr. Standish?" the resident asked. "Okay, figured you'd want to know sooner rather than later. His pressure's good, respiration a bit strained but overall, good, and he appears quite responsive. Well be a while patching him up, but it doesn't look like there's anything critical to worry about."
"His vision was blurry, and his speech was slow." Nathan questioned.
"To be expected. We won't have a full rundown for a while. He'll likely need surgery for the hand and we'll get him a meeting with our resident plastic surgeon to fix up the cheek and nose when he's a bit stronger. Bottom line, it's will be some time before he's feeling like himself, but he will be okay. Hard to believe there wasn't a lot more to deal with when you look at him. He should be in ICU at the very least, but instead, we'll be settling him into a private room shortly."
"What's the matter doctor?" Josiah asked with a smile. "You don't believe in miracles? At this time of the year?"
He shrugged. "Guess that's as good an explanation as any. You might as well head home to get some rest." They all returned to their seats. "Or, you could just wait here for the next few hours and I'll send someone out when you can see him."
"That works." Josiah replied.
7-7-7-7-7-7-7
Vin closed the curtains as the sun reached the point it would be in Ezra's face when he woke up. They'd all been sitting with him for several hours now, taking turns stretching out on the empty bed in the room, or finding what passed for a comfortable seat. Ezra had drifted in and out of sleep, but not yet really waking up. Each visit from the nurse to check on him resulted in another round of reassurances that they were all working very hard to actually believe.
Travis had come back at first light to let them know one of the suspects had caved in, accepting a deal to turn on the others, including Brodsky. He'd been nothing more than a driver for the crew and hadn't been in any way involved in the beating. That had been the first criteria for any plea bargain offers. Chris was hoping that meant this was done, but as he looked at Ezra and thought about was ahead he realized this wouldn't be over for some time.
The soft request for water was quiet enough Vin wouldn't have heard it if he hadn't been right beside the bed. "You awake there Pard? Hang on. Nathan, get me some of those ice chips for him."
A few moments later Ezra cleared his throat carefully and spoke again.
"Is it still December?"
"Nope. Sorry Ezra. You missed the champagne." Buck replied.
"Good. Dreadful beverage, terrible waste of alcohol. Prefer a brandy."
"Yeah, well you missed that too." Nathan informed him.
"I'll get you some later," Buck promised.
"No you won't." Five voices answered, and Buck merely winked.
"You need to lie still Ezra."
"I have no plans to do otherwise Nathan. I rarely attempt the impossible."
"I know its hard to accept it right now son, but you're going to be just fine." Ezra nodded slightly, looking down at the IV in his arm and following the tube to the bag hanging beside his bed. "Painkillers?" He asked in a slightly disoriented voice. Josiah nodded. "They are very, very good," he offered with a silly smile.
"Yes Ezra, they are," Nathan agreed. "You get to enjoy that for a couple more days."
"Why?"
"Because you need rest."
"Why?"
Chris couldn't hide the grin. This was like dealing with a child who would just learned the wonder of that word.
"Because you were hurt Ezra."
"Why?"
"We'll explain that part later Ezra, when you aren't quite so loopy." JD answered.
"I'm loopy? That doesn't sound like me."
"No, it most certainly doesn't," Josiah agreed.
Buck reached for his phone. "Is anybody recording this? He won't believe us later."
"Don't even think about it Buck, unless you want me pulling out that video of you a few New Year's Eves ago." Chris warned. Buck quickly slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"Chris?"
"Yes Ezra?"
"Everyone is alright?"
"We're all just fine."
"You wouldn't lie?"
"Not on this Ezra."
"Good. May I go back to sleep then?"
"That sounds like a very good idea."
The team came and went throughout the day, taking time to get clean clothes, food, and the occasional glance at a football game. "Ezra will want to know the scores." Buck rationalized.
"Ezra won't even know who's playing, or care." JD had challenged lightly.
The next time he was awake enough to speak the sun had set. "So, it is your turn on babysitting duty now?" he asked when he saw Chris sitting beside him.
"Hi Ezra, welcome back. And I'm not alone; the gang's all here."
"Why?"
"Don't start that again." Ezra's mildly frustrated, and slightly confused, look was the first sign of normalcy from the injured man and proved to be the catalyst for the release of built up tension. Chris did bother to fight his relief, or his laughter. "Sorry Ezra. It's just well it's good to see you getting back to normal."
"I would like to think that I am not normally this befuddled."
"That's not what you called this morning." Vin kidded him gently. Ezra's brow wrinkled slightly, though it was still hard to really notice the difference. He winced at the pressure and winced again as the vague memory surfaced.
"Loopy? Oh, dear Lord. Did I say anything else?"
"You mean aside from declaring your undying love for Judge Travis? No, nothing much." JD teased.
"Oh, dear Lord" he repeated.
"Relax Ezra. I'm just kidding." Ezra tried to fix them with an appropriate glare, but even that simple effort required movement that made his face ache again. Chris tried to hide his sympathetic wince, with no success.
"Clearly it is difficult to look at me."
"Not that bad Ezra all things considered. But you might try avoiding mirrors for a couple of days."
"Too late. Buck had his mirrored sunglasses on when he visited earlier."
"Idiot." Chris glared at Buck, knowing he would have a few stronger words for him later.
"It is really no worse than I imagined." Ezra strained voice betrayed the lie.
"It will heal Ezra. Doctor told you that." Nathan reminded him.
"Yes. I believe he did. I admit I have difficulty accepting that at this time."
"If you need to talk about any of this "
"There is no need, Josiah," Ezra interrupted, knowing where that thought was headed. "I honestly cannot remember the details of the experience. My last recollection was departing the elevator and approaching my vehicle. Beyond that, there is nothing."
Chris wasn't completely convinced, and he had little doubt that if there were missing parts of the memory, they would return. But, if Ezra wanted to avoid that for the moment they'd give him that option. He watched as Ezra tried to get more comfortable, with minimal success.
"Want the nurse to increase your meds?"
"No. Thank you. This will do. I have had enough 'loopiness' for the day. For a lifetime."
"On the subject of lifetimes, I think I have a better idea of what you went through last week. At the airport." Ezra looked at him but didn't speak. Underneath all the bruising, Chris could see he blanched at the memory. "When I saw you lying in the driveway, well, we all thought you were dead. Even when we knew you weren't, but saw how bad this was
Well it scared the shit out of us Ezra. All of us." Ezra remained silent. "Can't imagine what it must've been like for you dealing with it on your own.
Ezra lay quietly for a few minutes, trying to find a way to express himself. "As I said to you, I recall very little of this experience after getting out of the elevator. But strangely, I have no sensation of being afraid. I think I knew they didn't intend to kill me. Perhaps they even told me that. But I believe at some level I knew I was to be returned to you, and that meant things would be alright."
"Damn near wasn't Ezra." Vin commented. "We got lucky. Incredibly lucky this worked out. Nothing short of a miracle really."
"My second one in a week. Who would have guessed?" Ezra spoke mostly to himself. He cleared his throat, then added in a louder voice, "I had no doubt. I knew you were there for me."
"Wish we had been Ez." Buck replied. "You know if we'd known you were in trouble "
"You were there Buck. All of you were." He saw the concerned looks passed between the men. "Relax gentlemen. I was not hallucinating. I simply mean I was aware of your, shall we call it presence. That you were and would continue to be there for me.
"Well, as long as it helped, I don't care how it sounds," JD offered. "You may not have been scared, but we sure were."
"Chris was right," Josiah added. "When we saw you well I thought ".
"That I was dead. Yes, I can well imagine how that felt."
"Reckon you can. If it felt that bad for us, I can't begin to guess how it was for you last week." Vin shuddered unconsciously at the thought. "Thinking you'd lost all of us. Alone like that."
"Not alone Vin. I wasn't alone."
"Well, yeah, Travis was with you. But still."
"No. Not that. I wasn't alone because, just as with this, you were with me. You were in my head. In
" His voice faded off.
"What Ezra?"
He looked away as he added quietly, "in my heart."
Chris glanced around, ready to dress down the first person he saw snickering, and relaxed as he noticed they were too busy trying to maintain their composure enough to even speak.
Ezra found himself speaking again to fill the, for him, uncomfortable silence. "Twice now that presence has saved my life."
Vin took it upon himself to us the question they were all thinking. "Okay, during the beating I get, but ". The solution dawned on him at the same moment Josiah and Nathan figured out they were having their worst fears confirmed. "Ezra. No."
He didn't answer. "When you thought we were dead ?" Josiah began.
"Shit Ezra what were you thinking?" Vin asked fearfully.
"It doesn't matter. You talked me out of it." He looked at Chris as he spoke.
"I wasn't there."
"You aren't listening. You all were there. You kept me, quite literally, grounded." He turned away again, closing his eyes, hoping they would accept his indication of the total exhaustion he was feeling and let this go. He wasn't that lucky.
Chris took a moment to get himself under control. "I get that you're tired, and done in. We all are. We all need to get some rest and regroup a little bit. But, this isn't over Ezra. Later, we should all talk a bit about well about everything."
"Everything sounds like it would be more than a little chat."
"Okay," Chris smiled slightly, "maybe not everything. But the important stuff."
Vin hitched his chair a little closer to the bed. "Get some rest Ezra. One of us will be here if you need anything."
"Anything at all son."
Ezra nodded, slowly beginning to drift off.
Chris turned to leave, directing the others out at the same time. When he reached the door, he looked back. "We'll be close by Ezra."
"Yes," he mumbled in reply, a smile teasing at his mouth. "Always."
The End
