The Magnificent Seven Fic - 'Retribution' - 2/3

[azombiewrites]

Title: Retribution
Rating: PG
Warnings: Strong Language.
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: ATF
Main Characters: Ezra, Chris and the rest of the guys.
Summary: Chris is seriously injured when he saves Ezra. This results in an extremely pissed off Ezra Standish, an angry and hurting Chris Larabee and a very irritating Buck Wilmington.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Notes: This story was written for Robin from the Chris Larabee Fan Fiction site. She asked me to write a story for a challenge, which is CHALLENGE #1: LARABEE LASHINGS. Robin wanted me to hurt Chris in much the same way that I do Ezra and because she is also a fan of Ezra, I was encouraged to include and hurt Ezra Standish as well. I thank her for the challenge and I enjoyed writing it. It has also caused me to include Chris more in future stories.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 31,360



Ezra rolled over onto his left side as the dream began to fade away. He’d had the same dream every night since it happened. He tried to sit up but the dizziness he felt caused him to fall back down to the floor. The pain brought back the reality of what had happened. He rolled gingerly back onto his side and searched the darkness for the man who had tried to kill him but had only succeeded in injuring Chris so badly. He was alone. If he had allowed one of the others to bring him home then the culprit would be in jail by now, or his associate would be on his way to the hospital or morgue. No, he couldn't involve the others in helping him, they had to stay with Chris. He was going to need protection.

He crawled to the phone and dialled in Vin's mobile number. Ezra wiped some of the blood off his face with the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing. It was only a matter of seconds before the mobile was answered.

"Vin, it's Ezra." he was surprised by the sound of his own voice. It was husky, he wasn’t surprised, speaking caused him to feel the pain that was growing within his throat. Blood and bile rose into his mouth and he had to swallow.

"Ezra, you okay, you don't sound too good." Vin was concerned, Ezra could hear it in his voice.

"I'm not the problem." Ezra informed him. "Someone's trying to kill Chris."

"What are you talking about Ezra. Why would someone want to kill Chris?"

Ezra heard the other voices asking Vin what he was talking about. "I don't want to go into now Vin, I don't have time. You have to trust me on this. You have to stay with Chris and protect him."

"You know we will Ezra. What about you? How did you know someone wants him dead?"

It was hard to hear the question over the background noise, someone was even trying to take the phone from Vin. "Let's just say that I got a personal message in regards to Chris' life."

"When?"

"A few minutes ago." Ezra wasn’t sure how long he’d been out for.

"I'll send someone over . . . "

Ezra didn't let him finish. He hung up the phone and struggled to get up. His hands grabbed the arm of the lounge chair to stop him from falling over. He didn’t feel very well at all. It was a few minutes before he was confident enough to let go and move towards the bathroom. He had to clean himself up, change then leave before someone else arrived. He was going to find the man who did this. He just had to remember who he was first.

________________________________________

"Ezra says that someone is trying to kill Chris." Vin informed them. "We're going to have to stay close to him, meanwhile I want someone to go and check up on Ezra."

"Why didn't he tell us this before!?" Buck growled at the phone then lifted his eyes to take in Vin's concerned expression.

"Seems he only just found out, someone paid him a personal visit to inform him of the situation."

"Why?" Buck stood up from his seated position and moved towards the group of men.

"I'm sure we're going to find out." Josiah turned and moved towards the door. "I'll go and check on Ezra."

"Bring Ezra back with you Josiah." Nathan ordered him.

“I was planning on it Nathan." Josiah nodded and left the ICU cubicle. He knew Chris was in good hands but what about Ezra. He was on his own out there and he needed help. If the person had approached him once, he may do it again. And what if he realised that he couldn't get to Chris, would he use Ezra to help him complete what he had started. The hit and run obviously wasn't an accident. It had been intentional, the reason for it was Chris' death. The attempt had failed, the person would try again.

________________________________________

The darkness faded and the light began to invade his mind again. He was becoming aware of the voices around him. They weren't talking to him but they were talking about him. What was going on? He had to wake up so he could tell them about Ezra, they needed to help Ezra. The Southerner's life had been ruined by what had happened in the last case but he had ripped it open and jumped on it. His job was the only thing that Ezra had left, it was his job that was keeping him from breaking and he had taken it away from him.
He forced himself to go further into the brightness of the room. He blinked then forced his eyes to open. The eyes searched the room and rested on Josiah, he was leaving. He saw everyone but Ezra. Where was Ezra? He had to find out.

"Ezra?" Chris' voice was barely a whisper but it was loud enough for the others to hear.

"Hey Chris. How're you feeling?" Vin moved back to the chair that had been placed closer to the bed that Chris lay in.

"Where's Ezra?" Chris growled but his voice didn't hold its usual threatening tone.

"He's gone home for some rest. Don't worry about him Chris, he's doing okay." Vin assured him.

"I want . . . him here." if his voice wasn't going to work for him then he would use his eyes. It mustn't have worked because Vin didn't flinch back from him. Just great.

"Josiah's gone to check on him."

"I don't give . . . a shit what Josiah's . . . doing . . . Get . . . Ezra!" Chris could feel the little strength he had leaving him already. Speaking can do that to a sick or injured person.

"What's goin' on Chris?" Vin became serious.

"Ezra needs . . . help, wasn't a . . . accident, trying to . . . kill Ezra . . . help him Vin." Chris muttered.

"Gotta help him." he told them, he'd done his best. Now he was going to rest and let them do their job. "Get him . . . back here . . . now!

"I'll go." Buck told him. "You call Josiah and let him know what's going on."

"Sure." Vin didn't know what the hell was going on. Ezra had said that Chris was the intended victim, now Chris was saying that the car that had hit him was trying to kill Ezra. What the doctor had said now made more sense. Maybe he was afraid that Chris had seen something. And if it was Ezra did the undercover agent know? Probably not. He wouldn't have gone home if he did. But someone had gone to Ezra to inform him of Chris’ impending death. If Ezra was the true victim why hadn’t they killed him, the opportunity was there. Too many questions that were unanswered. Vin was going to find out what was going on when Josiah and Buck returned with Ezra.

________________________________________

Josiah knocked on the door of Ezra's apartment, he hadn't even considered the fact they Ezra may have phoned him from another location. He waited then knocked again. There was no answer, Ezra was probably sleeping, which was a good thing. The Southerner needed it, life hadn't been good to Ezra lately. He bent down and removed the spare key from underneath heavy green frog that sat in the garden. Ezra thought that only Chris knew about this key, he was wrong, they all knew about it. He opened the door and allowed himself in, Ezra wouldn't mind the intrusion. The hallway was in darkness, he turned the light switch to the on position then frowned in concern. Ezra wouldn't leave all the lights off, he never did. They had taken turns to stay with him after the last undercover operation and Ezra had insisted that at least one light stayed on, whether it be the hall, living room or kitchen light. He entered the living room and after turning the light on, he discovered the splatters of blood on the beige carpet. Josiah rushed into the bedroom, the light revealed an empty bed and a set of bloodied clothes on the floor. The same clothes that he had brought to the hospital for Ezra to change into.

"Ezra!" There was no answer, only silence.

He searched the bathroom first and groaned at the sight before him. The sink was covered with blood soaked cloths. An empty antiseptic bottle lay on its side on the basin. Torn packages that once held bandages covered the tiled floor. Something had happened to Ezra, the visit hadn't just been verbal. A physical confrontation had taken place and Ezra had been hurt. And there was no way for him to find out how badly Ezra had been hurt. A noise alerted him to an intruder, or was it Ezra. Josiah didn't use his voice to find out, he would follow procedure until he knew who it was. He stepped out of the bathroom and drew his revolver.

"Josiah? Ezra?"

"Buck, that you?" Josiah left the bedroom and saw someone kneeling on the floor. It was Buck, he was examining the fresh bloodstains. "Ezra's not here, there's plenty of blood in the bathroom as well."

"Shit!" Buck stood up and faced Josiah, the worry was etched into his features. "Chris woke up again, he said that the car was aiming for Ezra, not him, that someone was trying to kill Ezra."

"But Ezra said it was Chris."

"Ezra didn't say anything about the car though did he. Maybe the guy who did it thinks Chris can ID him." Buck began to walk quickly to the exit with Josiah right behind him. "Chris ain't going to like this."

"We can check a few places, see if we can find him."

"What if the person responsible for all of this has him, we might never find him." Buck growled as he closed and locked the door behind him.

"He hasn't. Ezra phoned us after it happened."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"I don't know Buck but we'll find him." Josiah assured him. They had to find him, there wasn't any other choice.

________________________________________

Chris slept restlessly through most of the night. Vin was there to calm him but his attempts weren't enough. A sedative was then used to do what a close friend couldn't do. It helped Chris to sleep more peacefully during the last few hours of the night. The men that stayed with him did not look forward to telling him the bad news; Ezra had disappeared. Josiah and Buck had spent hours searching for him without any luck. Nathan and JD had then tried a few places that the two older men hadn't checked. They also came back empty handed. They had continued to phone Ezra's mobile every thirty minutes. Each time they were told that it had been turned off.

Vin had become angry during the night. Why hadn't Ezra told them what had really happened. Josiah had argued that Ezra may not have known. Vin kept his response to himself, he thought that Ezra had looked guilty, as though he knew something but was refusing to tell them. If the person responsible for this didn't have the undercover agent, it meant that he was trying to solve the problem on his own. He either didn't want or didn't expect any help from his friends. But he was also worried about the undercover agent, they all were.

The morning sun came up slowly, it felt as though the day didn't want to begin, it was an eerie feeling that filled the room. The light filtered across the bed, leaving the sleeping form's face in the shadows. Chris looked peaceful, it was a change to the restlessness that covered his physical features through most of the night. The calm look didn't last long, a grimace caused Vin to rush to Chris' side. Pain now covered the handsome countenance. Vin felt the anger fill him once more. He wanted the person who did this, the man who was now threatening his friend's life. He felt helpless, there was nothing they could do now but protect him.

Pain filled blue eyes opened to the new dawn's light. They were confused until the orbs focused on Vin Tanner. Chris smiled lightly the then pain took over. His shifted his body and the pain flared through his hip and side. He realised that it was going to be a while before he was able to get out of this damn hospital bed. He turned his head and searched the room for the person that needed more help than he did. Ezra wasn't there. Before he could ask his question, someone held a cup of water to his lips. He took a few needful sips then found he was thirsty enough to drink the cups entire contents.

"Where's Ezra?" A headache was already pounding within his skull. It felt like it had been cracked open, he lifted a hand to find that his head was intact. It hurt like hell but it was all there. he wondered if that was a good thing.

"Mornin' to you too Chris." Vin told him with a hint of anger. He knew he shouldn't be showing the anger he was feeling but Chris only seemed to be concerned for Ezra and not himself. He hadn't even asked about himself, wasn't he curious about his own injuries.

Chris wasn't impressed with the answer he received. "Where's Ezra?"

"We can't find him." Josiah told him.

He wished he had better news but they hadn't been able to find their lost friend. Josiah knew he wasn't physically lost, Ezra was hiding from them. Why? He didn't know. But he did know that Ezra was lost emotionally, he thought he was able to do it on his own, to sort out his problems but the Southerner had failed miserably. He had gotten worse as each day had passed. Cutting himself off from his friends, the people who had been and still were worried about him. They couldn't get to him, he wouldn't allow it. Josiah was now afraid that it had gotten to the point where Ezra wasn't going to be able to find his way back to them.

"Excuse me?" Chris ignored the pain he was feeling. He wasn't concerned about his own health, he was alive, and he would heal. His physical condition wasn't important to him right now. Ezra was. The injuries that he suffered would be dealt with later. As an afterthought he wiggled his toes, they worked, he was going to be fine, he was sure of it.

"Try and keep calm Chris, you’re not going to do yourself any good if you get angry." Vin attempted to stop the argument he somehow knew was going to start.

"What do you . . . mean if? I'm already . . . angry."

"Why?" Vin snapped. "You’re the one that's lying here in a hospital bed. Jesus Chris, you could have died. Don't you even care about that?"

"No I don't!" God that hurt, have to remember not to shout. "All I care about . . . is Ezra, he's in a pile of shit that he . . . can't get out . . . of and I could only make it . . . worse for him. All you can do . . . is sit . . . here and feel sorry for me."

"I do care about him." Vin retorted.

"Sure as hell doesn't look . . . like it to me."

"Chris," Josiah moved closer to the bed, "there's something else."

"What?" Chris couldn't stop the fear from showing in his eyes.

"Ezra phoned to tell us that someone was trying to kill you . . . "

"Why? Ezra . . . I tried to get him out of the . . . way."

"You did Chris, Ezra's fine, was fine, just some scratches and bruises." Buck told him.

"What do you mean . . . ‘was'." Chris now questioned Buck.

Shit! Buck looked away when he realised what he'd done. Chris was going to worry himself even more now. He needed to understand that they could take care of Ezra. What he needed to do, was to rest and get better. Chris was going to have to trust them to take care of things for a change.

"Ezra said that he had been paid a visit, was told that the person who hit you was trying to kill you." Josiah answered for Buck.

"What do you . . . mean 'was' fine?" Chris repeated.

"Chris, you’re talking too much," Nathan warned him, "you have to keep your strength up."

"There was blood on the carpet in the living room and more blood in the bathroom. I think the guy did more than talk to him."

"And . . . you’re all sitting here . . . because?!" Nathan was right, he was getting really tired, and the breaths he was taking were becoming shorter and more rapid.

"We looked everywhere Chris. He doesn't want to be found." Buck sat down heavily into one of the chairs.

"We don't know where else to look."

"You checked the hospitals?" If he was able to, he would get out of this bed and hit someone.

"We checked all the obvious places and the ones that weren't so obvious. You know Ezra, if he doesn't want us to find him."

"Have to . . . ," he couldn’t do it anymore, he was too tired, and he fell asleep before he could finish what he was saying.

"You guys go, I’ll stay here with Chris" Buck ordered them, "there's something I want to talk to him about."

Vin hesitated when it came to leaving. "I’ll stay outside for a while, back you up, just in case."
Buck nodded and sat down in the seat that Vin had vacated. The others had either missed what Chris had said or they didn't want to bring it up. He did. Buck knew his friend, through the pain he could see the guilt that Chris was feeling, there was also fear. No doubt, the fear was for Ezra. Something was going on that he didn't know about. It was probably the answer to the entire situation. The answer to why Ezra was in the middle of the road, why he hadn’t seen the car coming.
The answers wouldn’t come from Ezra so they were going to have to come from Chris.

________________________________________

Three hours had passed since the others had left. His phone rang every thirty minutes to inform him that they still hadn’t found Ezra. It had gotten to the point that when he heard the shrill of the mobile that he knew he was only going to receive bad news. Ezra didn’t want to be found, he knew how to lose himself in a crowd, it was his job, they wouldn’t find him if he didn’t want to be found.

"Buck." Chris blinked his eyes open and squinted at the bright light that filled the room. "He here . . . yet?"

"No." Buck pulled his chair closer to the bed. [What happened out there Chris?"

"What?" Chris turned his frown towards Buck and could see that he was in a serious mood."

"What did you do that made things worse for Ezra?"

"What?"

"Earlier you said you could only make it worse for him. What did you do?"

"I don’t remember say . . . "

"Don’t give me any of that shit Chris! You said you made it worse for him, which means you remember what happened before the accident."

"I don’t . . . " Chris grimaced as he tried to remember what happened. "I have a feeling that I did something . . . but I . . . just can’t remember it."

"You have no idea what you did to make things worse for him?"

"No."

"You need to remember Chris, you know Ezra won’t tell us and we can’t help him if we don’t know what you did."

"I know Buck . . . I know."

Buck hung his head and allowed a few seconds of silence to pass.

"What’s the damage Buck?"

"You or Ezra?"

"Both." Chris smiled slightly.

"Doctor should be here later. There was nothing serious. Badly bruised hip that he says you won't be able to use for a while. Nasty head wound, you were in a coma for three days, they don’t know why. Oh, and they took your left kidney."

"Who gave . . . them permission to do that?"

"Well, they don't really need permission Chris." Buck smiled at him.

"Just wish someone . . . had asked me first."

"You weren't awake to ask."

"Uh huh." Chris wasn’t impressed. A kidney. "I’m going to be okay though?"

"Yeah, Doc said you’ll fine. The kidney couldn’t be repaired Chris, they had to take it."

"And Ezra?"

"Some abrasions on his forearms and hands, nothing serious, a couple of bruises and . . . Chris . . . he had a split lip. We don’t think he would have gotten that when you tried to get him out of the way."

"You think someone hit him?"

"Did you hit him?"

"Buck, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did, but I don’t remember."

Buck nodded. It wouldn’t surprise him either. "Did you argue?"

"I don’t know Buck!"

"Okay."

"What about the car and driver?"

"Nothing. Ezra didn't see anything." Buck informed him. "All he saw was you. Shock Nathan said. He didn't do too well afterwards. Nathan had to get the doctor to give him a sedative just so they could look him over. Didn't want to come near us or you for that matter. He’s pretty angry about something."

"You know what?"

"No."

This time Chris nodded. "We need to find him Buck."

"Chris . . . how come you can remember that the car was aiming for Ezra and not what happened before that."

"Don’t know."

"Think maybe you don’t want to remember it?"

"Why wouldn’t I want to remember. You don’t think I did something that I’m going to regret do you Buck."

"Did you notice that you said all of that without pausing."

"I did?"

"Yeah and I sure as hell hope you didn’t do anything stupid to Ezra, you’re not going to be too popular if you did."

"Tell me about it."

________________________________________

Ezra sat in the darkened corner of the bar, the place was unfamiliar to him but he needed somewhere quiet to think. A place where his former associates would not look for him. He had spent the last four hours drinking and thinking. He knew he should be trying to remember who the man was but instead he couldn’t stop thinking about Chris. The thoughts that filled his head cause his anger to grow and was still growing, that anger was now being aimed towards at Chris Larabee. While he was unaware of Chris’ condition and if he was going to be okay, he took all the blame himself. Now that he knew Chris was going to be fine, the anger changed direction. This was Chris’ fault. If the man hadn’t kept pushing him, hadn’t gone jogging with him. They all pushed him, every single one of them. He’d told them that he could handle his own emotions and he was. If they, if Chris had left him alone, it wouldn’t have happened. Chris wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed and he wouldn’t have gone through the sudden fear that Chris was dead and feel the agonising guilt that it was his fault. That guilt and fear was now replaced with anger.

Ezra forced the anger aside. He had to think, he needed to remember the voice then put a face and name to it. Chris wasn't safe until the man was found, and when he did find him, he was a dead man.

He took another drink, it was only a diet soda, he couldn't afford to get drunk, not now, but later he would. Certainly later. He grimaced and touched his bruised jaw. At first, he had thought that it had been broken, then dislocated but then realised that it was only badly bruised. There was a ringing in his left ear that made it difficult to concentrate. The man had hit him hard but not hard enough to do serious damage. The thought rang a bell, he concentrated on it but it disappeared from his grasp. Maybe he should take the risk and go to the office. They might not look there at two am but then again they would be least likely to look for him there at two pm. They may not expect him to go there during the day. He had to try it.
Ezra didn't think he had a choice about the office and now he thought about it he didn't really have any choices. If he wanted to find out who was doing this he would have to check his files. He was going to have to take the risk. His memory wasn't doing the job it was usually capable of doing. When he wasn't at his best, he felt useless and now was one of those times. Pity was something he couldn't afford right now, somebody else's life was in his hands.

After paying the small account, Ezra left the bar. The man that followed him wasn't noticed. Ezra hailed a taxi, the first three passed him. He wasn't surprised, he must look a mess. Bruises marked his face, his lip was split and swollen, making speech difficult, another bruise made its way around his neck, this made it painful to swallow. At least the clothes he wore were neat, even if it was only a pair of jeans and a sweater. The pain-filled body that was his, hadn't been able to get warm since he witnessed Chris Larabee dying.
Ezra got into the fourth taxi. He gave the driver the address and they pulled away from the curb. Green eyes kept looking back, the fear that he was being followed was evident in those intense eyes. Five blocks later and two away from the ATF building, Ezra noticed that he was being followed. It wasn't a car that he recognised. The man behind the wheel wasn't one of his associates, it was probably the man that was causing all of this mess. The undercover agent thought about stopping the cab and going after him, he didn't. The man he wanted wasn't that stupid, he would only turn a corner or speed up and pass him.
The taxi stopped out front of the ATF building. Ezra paid him off then made his way to the garage beneath the building. He needed to see if any familiar cars were parked there. At the moment there wasn't. He walked to the elevator and rode it to the seventh floor. The most recent files would be checked first, if nothing was found he would head to the records room on the second floor.

________________________________________

Buck's mind drifted between the man sleeping in the bed and the man that was in a hell of a lot of trouble, both emotionally and physically. Chris had backup; five men to be exact. Ezra had no one. If he got into trouble, he would be on his own. Then again how often had Ezra have to deal with such things on his own. All his life as far as Buck knew. They had tried to bring him into the group and had finally begun to succeed, he learnt to trust them with his life but not his emotions. It was something they hadn't been able to change.

And now he was on his own again, unwilling to trust them to help him. Why? He didn’t know. But he did know that it went further back than his days with the FBI.

The form in the bed stirred. Chris had slept most of the morning. Buck wished he would continue to sleep, the doctor was due any minute now and Chris would no doubt give him hell. They had to take his kidney, they had no choice; try convincing Chris of that. Buck smiled, his friend was a stubborn bastard but like Ezra, he wouldn't have him any other way.

"Buck?" Chris blinked his eyes and focused on the man sitting next to him. "You find him yet?"

"No, they're still looking." Buck bowed his head.

"How hard can it be." Chris wanted to get angry but he was too tired. He'd had enough anger to almost be his normal self, but not now. Too tired and too sore. Everything hurt. His head, his side, and his hip.

"They're doin' the best they can Chris. Ezra knows what his doin', he knows how to hide."

"How come he’s never understood that we only want to help him?"

"Maybe it’s the way we go about it." Buck suggested.

"We tried everything Buck, nothing seems to work with him."

"Well there's nothing you can do about it Chris, you'll just have to make him see sense when we find him." Buck assured him.

Chris' head turned to the sound of the door opening, he grimaced and growled at the man in the white coat. This was all he needed. Some stupid ass that was going to tell him how he was feeling, like he would know. Idiot.

"Mr Larabee, so nice to see you finally awake." the doctor smiled at him and moved forward.

"I've been awake plenty of times, you just haven't been here." Chris snarled.

"I've been busy." he raised his eyebrows then lowered them when he saw how well the man in the bed did it. This was going to be a challenge, but then again, he always won these types of confrontations.

"Jerking off?" Chris asked.

"Chris!" Buck growled at him.

"Are you the one that took my kidney?"

"No, that was Doctor Haroldson, he . . . "

"When can I get out of here?" Chris was fully awake now, he wasn't in the mood for any shit, not from anyone.

"It would be at least another five days . . . "

"Give me another offer."

"Chris." Buck warned him again.

"You had a kidney removed Mr Larabee, you have severe bruising on your left hip which was also dislocated. You’re going to need physiotherapy . . . "

"When does that start?"

"Mr Larabee, are you going to allow me to finish a sentence?"

"No, now answer mine."

"Day after tomorrow." there he did finish a sentence, it was a short one but he still managed to finish it.

"I want out of here as soon as I can get out."

The doctor didn't know if it was a threat or a demand. Either way he didn't like it.

"Are you feeling okay Mr Larabee, perhaps you need a sedative, your colour isn't looking too good," so far so good, the man on the bed was looking at him with confusion. And he wasn't interrupting him, "maybe it's best if we keep you in for a week instead of five days."

"Don't pull that shit with me, I'll leave as soon as I can walk and you better hope that you’re not in my path when I do!"

Okay, that didn't go the way he had planned. It had worked with other patients. Why not this one? Shit! Why in the hell did he become a doctor anyway. He had wanted to help people but some people just didn't want help. Some people were just plain stupid, and this man was one of them.

"If that's what you want Mr Larabee, then you do that. But if your hip falls out of its socket then you'll be back in here for a longer period and that's not pulling any shit with you. The hip has to stay immobilised for a few days then gradually worked so the muscles don't become weak. You have to do as your told or the hip will be in serious trouble."

Chris looked away, damn it, he wished he could stand up, if he could do that then he could walk out of here; after hitting the doctor of course. The one that hadn't even bothered to introduce himself. Bastard, they all were. Now he knew why Ezra hated them so much.

"He'll do as his told." Buck stood up and stepped between the doctor and Chris' chart that was hanging on the end of the bed. "Why don't you come back later and do that, he'll be in a better mood then.

"You think so?"

"Yeah I think so." Buck nodded and pushed the man towards the door.

"Asshole." Chris muttered.

"You or him?" Buck asked him seriously.

"I just want out of here Buck."

"The more you fight them and your body, the longer you'll be here." Buck sat back down in the chair. "It's as simple as that Chris."

"Asshole." this time the slight curse was aimed at his know-it-all friend.

________________________________________


Ezra threw the last folder down in frustration. Nothing, there was nothing that told him who the stranger was. He was now going to have to spend endless hours on the computer, searching for what he knew wasn't going to be there.

"Thought you'd be here." Josiah leaned against the doorframe and smiled at the Southerner that was leaning over his desk.

"Shit!" Ezra cried out in surprise. Unable to control his reaction, his body jerked up in surprise and he fell to the floor instead of back into his chair.

Ezra stayed where he was. Not only because of the pain but in the hope that if the owner of the voice didn't see him, that he might just go away and leave him alone. It didn't happen. How could Josiah not see him.

"You going to stay there all day Ezra." Josiah stepped into the room.

He held his breath and closed his eyes. Go away Josiah! He could feel him close by, so close that if he reached out he would be able to touch him. Ezra opened his eyes and saw the boots that covered the overly large feet. Aw hell. How did they find him? They didn't think like he did. Maybe they had gotten to know him more than he should have allowed.

"I'm going to stay here if you don't mind." he nodded without looking up.

"Can't do that Ezra, Chris wants to see you." Josiah was shocked by the appearance of Ezra's face when it shot up to look at him.

"Why?" he forgot that he didn't want these men to find him, forgot who he was searching for.

"Didn't say but he was pretty adamant that we find you and bring you back."

"Does he want to hit me again." the words were muttered and not clearly heard by the ex-preacher.

"Come on Ezra, we won't find out staying here." Josiah leaned forward and grabbed the right arm that was tucked towards the stomach.

Ezra pulled it out of his grip. "I'm not going anywhere. There's something I have to do."

"You're not going to try and find the man that attempted to kill you on your own Ezra. We'll see what Chris wants and then we'll start looking."

Kill me? These men were full of surprises. "I'm still not going, you don't know what happened on that road."

"Did something happen that we don’t know about?"

"No."

"Maybe you should tell me what it was."

"Nothing happened and I’m not going with you."

"You’re coming Ezra, even if I have to knock you out then carry you there." Josiah growled and grabbed the arm again, this time more roughly. He felt Ezra try to get away from him so he tightened his grip. The sneaky little bastard wasn't going to get away from him. He wasn't going to face Chris' anger.



Ezra fought against the big man, but the pain and exhaustion that he felt made it difficult. The thought of seeing Chris made him fight harder but his left arm was grabbed violently and his body was pulled to face Josiah.

"If I wasn’t so tired and sore right now Josiah, I would beat the crap out of you. Let me go!"

"Listen you little shit!" Josiah growled into his face. "There are people who care about you, including me, I don't know why because you don't appreciate it, or deserve it right now. We'd do anything for you Ezra, anything and it's about time you realise that. You can talk to us, we won't think any different of you." he let go and but his eyes held the tormented green eyes in a locked stare. "Stop being such a selfish bastard and do something for us for a change!"

"Do something for you.” Ezra laughed then turned serious. “Do you know what he did to me?" Ezra growled up at Josiah.

"Chris?"

"Yeah Chris, the almighty asshole, who thinks he can control anyone’s life. He went too far this time, it’s his own fault that he’s lying in that hospital bed, not mine. He’s the selfish bastard, all he wants, is to be in control of my emotions and when he isn’t, he takes it out on me!"

"What the hell are you talking about Ezra?" Josiah decided to ask him before he hit him for talking that way about Chris.

"He hit me, pushed me against a wall and hit me. That’s where these came from." he pointed to his lip then the small bandage on his forehead. "Then he fired me. Did you understand that Josiah, he FIRED me. I don’t work here anymore. I’m no longer one of you, not that I ever was . . ."

"Ezra . . . "

"You want to know how I ended up in the middle of the road? DO YOU?" Ezra yelled into Josiah’s face.

"He grabbed me and threw me onto it, I have the bruises to prove it. He doesn’t care, if he did, he wouldn’t have done that to me. I know I’ve been a bastard about what happened but I can’t talk about how I feel, he should understand that, all of you should. Why don’t any of you understand that?" where did that come from. The mouth that allowed those words to escape closed, his teeth bit into the lower lip to prevent it from happening again.

"Shit Ezra, I didn’t know."

"No, none of you ever do." Ezra realised that Josiah had released him so he began to walk away. He didn’t get far. Josiah had grabbed his arm a third time.

"You’re still coming with me Ezra."

"I’m not going anywhere with you."

"Yes you are." Josiah began to drag Ezra towards the elevator. it wasn’t going to be easy but he was going to get him to Chris’ hospital room and then he was going to have a few words with Chris.

________________________________________

Chris tried to shift himself into a better position. He lifted his hips and moved them more to the left, then right, then back again while muttering obscene curses. He stopped to think about it then moved them to the right and allowed them to fall back onto the bed. It wasn't so bad, the pain kept his mind alert. His shoulders were next. His upper body moved towards the ceiling and to the right. He cursed again. He may have moved but he ended up in the same position. This wasn't good. He was better than this. He ran one of the top ATF teams in the country. He should be able to get himself into a better position. Maybe his side. One of them didn't hurt. Chris took his time as he forced his aching body over, it was slow going and the man who was supposed to be his friend made no attempt to help him. The hips had to be lifted again but this time the pain wasn't so bad because the injured hip wasn't taking any weight. Chris sighed in gratitude when he finally lay down on his right side. Lord that felt good.

"Better?" Buck had fought not to laugh at his friend as he tried to move his body around in the bed. He wanted to help but knew that his friend would only lash out at him; physically that was. Buck knew he was going to get plenty of abuse later because no doubt he would be the one allocated to take care of Chris. Not Vin who was also a close friend. Not Ezra, who was the one on the road on the first place; not that it was the Southerner's fault. And not Nathan, mainly because he wasn't that stupid.

"No thanks to you." Chris smiled at him.

"And what would you have done if I tried to help?"

"I would have allowed you to help."

"Liar."

"I'm still your boss Buck." Chris warned him.

"You’re a son-of-a-bitch, that’s what you are."

"My mother was a saint." Chris shot back.

"And my mother was a whore." Buck retorted.

"I thought we were talking about my heritage."

"Oh yeah, I called you the SOB didn't I." Buck laughed.

The door opened and Chris was about to tell the doctor to go to hell and back but shut his mouth when Josiah poked his head around the door. A question was placed on his handsome features and Josiah nodded back.

"Take it easy on him Chris." Josiah warned. "Hurt him again and you’ll have me to answer to. I don’t care if you’re my boss, do it again and you’ll be the one that gets hurt."

"What did I do?"

"You don’t remember?"

"No."

"Let me put it this way then Chris, Ezra is a bit angry, well actually, he’s pretty pissed off at you. Just be careful.” Josiah opened the door further but the man with him wouldn't come easily. "Just a minute." he disappeared behind the door again.

A few heated words were spoken then Ezra came through the opening in a violent manner. The smaller man quickly stepped back from Chris' stare but a large hand gripped the back of his neck and pushed him forward towards the bed. Ezra pushed back with his feet.

"Ezra! What the hell is the matter with you." Chris asked him.

"Excuse me?” Ezra growled at Chris.

"Sit down Ezra, you don’t look too good."

"No, I don’t intend to stay here."

"It was an order Ezra."

"I don't work for you anymore Mr Larabee." Ezra replied. "Ow! What the hell did you do that for?" he grabbed the back of his head and glared over his shoulder at Josiah.

Josiah shrugged, he'd slapped him across the head. "Thought you deserved it, especially after what I told you back at the office."

"Do it again Josiah and I’ll hit you back, I swear to God. It’s not as though my head doesn’t hurt enough as it is!"

Josiah managed to keep the guilt off his features, he hadn't thought about that. "Sit down Ezra." the larger man didn’t wait for an answer, he forced Ezra towards one of the chairs and pushed him down into it. He then stood over him to stop him from attempting to escape.

"What do you mean you don’t work for me anymore?" Chris asked him.

"You fired me." Ezra stood up only to be pushed down again. "You fucking bastard, you fired me. You took away the only thing I had in this pathetic life and now I have nothing."

"You have friends Ezra." Josiah looked down at him.

"Yeah and what wonderful friends I have." the sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"Ezra," Buck moved closer to Ezra, "what are you talking about?"

"Why don’t you ask your friend, he’s the one that’s responsible for all of this."

"Chris doesn’t remember so why don’t you tell me."

"Now that’s handy, you do that so they would take your side. I don’t think you have to worry about that."

"Damn it Ezra!" Buck pushed Josiah to the side and grabbed Ezra by his jumper and pulled him to his feet.
"Tell me what the hell happened."

"And if I don’t, are you going to hit me as well."

"What?"

Ezra pushed Buck away in disgust and fell back into the chair. He had enough of talking. He really wasn’t feeling very well.

“Chris hit him, fired him and threw him onto the road,” Josiah explained, "and Ezra isn’t too happy about it.”

“You did all that?” Buck asked Chris.

“I don’t remember doing that.” Chris was watching Ezra but the Southerner was refusing to look at him.

“Now isn’t that convenient for you!”

“Shut up Ezra.” Buck warned him.

“I’m leaving . . . “ Ezra knew Josiah would try and stop him but he was ready for him. He pushed as he stood up and used his shoulder to move Josiah away from him. But that was all his body was capable of doing. He was struck by a sudden bout of nausea and a feeling of dizziness that threatened to consume him. Ezra felt someone grab his arm and he was pulled around in a half circle then everything went black.
Josiah quickly reached out and grabbed Ezra, he spun him around and looked into green eyes that quickly disappeared as they rolled back into their sockets.

“Shit.” Josiah changed his position so he could take Ezra’s weight before he hit the floor. “Buck.”

“I’m going.” Buck took one look at the unconscious Southerner and ran out of the room in search of a doctor.

Josiah lowered Ezra to the floor, he felt something soft hit his back and turned to find that Chris had thrown a pillow at him. He carefully lifted Ezra’s head and placed the pillow under him. Once he’d done that, he loosened Ezra’s trousers then rolled him onto his side. All he could do now was wait.
The door burst open. Buck ran back in and was followed by a doctor in scrubs and a male nurse. The doctor knelt down beside the man on the floor and began to examine him.

“What happened?”

“He hasn’t eaten much or slept much in the last few days and he got beaten up this morning.” Josiah answered.

“That all?”

“As far as I know.”

“Jack, go get a gurney.” the doctor waited until the nurse left the room. “We’ll take him down to emergency and check him out. If he’s okay physically then well put him a room for the night, put him on a drip and give him something that’ll help him sleep.”

“And if he’s not okay physically?”

“Then he might need to stay for a few days.”

“Jesus, I could have told you that!” Buck rolled his eyes.

“Can you put him in here with me?” Chris asked.

“This is ICU, he can’t stay here.”

“Then move me to his room.”

“That’s up to your doctor, not me.”

“Then I want to see my doctor.” Chris demanded.


________________________________________


"Ezra . . . Ezra, wake up . . . come on Ezra, it’s just a dream." Josiah shook Ezra’s shoulder a little harder. "You’re having a dream Ezra, it’s not real . . . Ezra!"

Ezra jerked upwards and lashed out at anything. His fist struck Josiah’s cheek, causing him to step back away from the bed. Shit! The larger man quickly moved back and grabbed Ezra’s arms and pulled them back down onto the bed.

"Ezra!"

Eyelids opened to reveal the confusion that Ezra was feeling. "Wha . . . ?"

"You were dreaming." Josiah explained.

"I was dreaming . . . " Ezra blinked a few times then focused on Josiah’s face.

"Yeah."

"What was I dreaming about?" Ezra knew he was dreaming about Susan Summers but he didn’t know if he gave anything away.

"The young lady that died." Josiah watched as all the muscles in the Southerner’s face fell, the confusion was suddenly replaced with guilt and a little fear.

"Want to talk about it?"

Ezra glanced down and saw that Josiah was holding his arms, he looked back up into the larger man’s eyes.

"Do you mind." When the strong grip was removed, he looked around the room. "What the hell am I doing in a hospital bed and who is that?"

Josiah looked over his shoulder at the occupant of the other bed in the private room. "You’re here because you’re sick . . . "

"I’m not sick, I just hurt all over." Ezra growled.

"Doctor said you were dehydrated and malnourished. When was the last time you had a decent meal Ezra?" he didn’t receive an answer, only a look that told him to drop the subject. "You also got a fever that they want to keep an eye on. And that person is Chris."

"I’m in ICU? I’m not that sick am I?"

"No, Chris demanded that he be put in the same room as you, his doctor said tomorrow but you know Chris." Josiah shrugged.

"Yeah I know him, he gets whatever he wants." Ezra fell back against the pillows and gritted his teeth against the pain.

"You also have some badly bruised ribs. Surprised you didn’t notice that yourself."

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"Couple of days, doc said it depends on the fever, it’s pretty high."

Ezra pressed a palm against his forehead and felt the heat there. He was sick and he hadn’t even known it. No wonder everyone was able to beat the crap out of him lately.

"Is there a guard outside of that door?"

"No."

Ezra raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You mean if I tried to leave, no one would stop me?"

"Of course we’ll stop you. That guy is after you Ezra, you think we’re going to let you go out there on your own. You’re part of the family now Ezra, we have no intention of letting anything happen to you."

"Then where were you when Chris did this to me." Ezra pointed to his lip.

"Chris shouldn’t have done what he did. That was a bad mistake on his part." Josiah agreed with Ezra’s anger toward Chris. "Was he trying to get you to talk about it?"

"Yeah."

"He pushed just a little too hard?"

"More than a little Josiah."

"Ezra, how come you didn’t see the car?"

"I did see it." Ezra let the words sink in. Sometimes he really hated Josiah Sanchez, the man had a way of getting things out of him without even trying.

"Then how come you didn’t . . . aw hell Ezra, what were you thinking?"

"I just lost my job Josiah, my job is my life, I don’t have anything else, and I can’t cope with this guilt."

"And I told you that you had friends, if you let us we can help you deal with the guilt that you shouldn’t be feeling."

"Friends I sometimes wonder if I actually want."

"What the hell do you mean by that Ezra?"

"You push me, you all push me too hard, you expect too much and sometimes I end up thinking if the friendship is worth it."

"A good friendship is always worth it."

"This is a good friendship?"

"Yes."

"I’d hate to know what a bad one is like."

The door burst open before Josiah could say anything. The four remaining members of the team came crashing through the door carrying pizzas and cold soft drinks. They all first looked at Chris who was sleeping on his good side then at Ezra.

"Looking better than you did yesterday Ezra." Buck smiled at him and offered him a diet coke.

"See Ezra, this is friendship." Josiah told him then got up, he moved pass Buck and whispered in his ear.

"Don’t push him on anything."

"Yesterday?"

"Doctor gave you something that knocked you out for about . . . oh . . . what was it Vin?"

"About eighteen hours I think." Vin nodded and sat on the end of Ezra’s bed.

The Southerner had to move his feet out of the way because JD also sat on his bed. "I’ve been sleeping for eighteen hours? Why?"

"Doctor said you needed it." Buck threw a pizza onto Ezra’s lap. "Thought you might be hungry."

"You thought wrong Buck." Ezra pushed the pizza box away. "I’m not hungry."

"If you eat, they’ll take that drip off." Josiah pointed to the needle that was in Ezra’s hand. The area around the strap that held it in was bruised.

"I don’t need them to take it off."

"You going to drink that?" Vin nodded towards the soda.

"I’d prefer something a little bit stronger at the moment." Ezra raised an eyebrow at Vin, in the hope that he had sneaked something in for him.

"Sorry, you’re on antibiotics for your fever, can’t drink when you’re taking those." Vin smiled at him.

"Shit." Ezra muttered.

Vin stole a glance at Josiah while Ezra opened his can of drink. Josiah shrugged. Vin nodded in return then glanced back at Ezra. "So, Ezra, what are we going to do about this guy who tried to run you down?"

"How’d you find out?"

"Chris told us, he must have know that the car was aiming for you."

"How did he know?"

"Don’t know, you’ll have to ask him that yourself." Vin looked over his shoulder at Chris.

"I’m not talking to Chris Larabee." Ezra took a sip of the diet soda to make sure it would stay down, when it did, he took three long swallows.

"What are you? Seven years old?" Vin grunted.

"Did Josiah tell you what he did?"

"Uh . . . yeah . . . he did." Vin looked down at the piece of pizza that Buck had just given him.

"And you’re going to sit there and tell me that you wouldn’t be pissed off at him, if he had done that to you."

"I wouldn’t have been in that predicament in the first place Ezra, I would have talked to him sooner about what happened with Susan Summers."

"Vin . . . " Josiah warned him.

Ezra sat up and threw the can he was holding at Vin, who only just managed to duck out of its way. "What the hell would you know about it? You weren’t there, you’re never there, and none of you are. I’m always on my own, I have to make the split second decisions, take the risks of being killed, and you don’t. I should have been able to save that girl’s life. She shouldn’t have died like that, she didn’t deserve to!"

"What, and you think that you did. That it should have been you." Vin didn’t lose his temper, it wouldn’t help.

"She shouldn’t have died Vin."

"Neither should you Ezra." Josiah handed him a piece of the pizza. "Here, eat something, it may mean the difference of you getting out a day early."

Ezra reluctantly took the small meal offered to him and began to eat it slowly, he took small bites.

"You haven’t answered my question Ezra. What are we going to do about this guy."

"I don’t know who he is." Ezra shrugged.

"You didn’t recognise him when he was at your place?"

"It was dark, I didn’t get a chance to turn the lights on."

"What about his voice, height, weight, anything like that?" Buck mumbled through a mouth full of pizza.

"His voice was familiar. About six foot one, hundred and eighty pounds. That’s all."

"Have you recognised the voice yet?"

"No, I went through my private files and there wasn’t anything. I was going to go on the computer but Josiah walked in on me."

“JD,” Vin turned to him, “when you’re finished eating, go get your laptop and everything else you need and bring it back here.”

“Sure,” nodded JD, “Ezra, is there anything you want while I’m out.”

“No.” Ezra lay back down and closed his eyes. Eighteen hours and he felt like he hadn’t slept at all.

“Sleep if you need to Ezra,” Josiah told him, “we’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Do you have to be.” Ezra mumbled to himself but the others heard him.

Ezra shifted his shoulders and pushed his head further into the pillow. Exhaustion suddenly filled him and he felt his body getting heavier. He took a deep breath and didn’t realise that he sighed aloud when he let it out. The blankets that someone was tucking in around his shoulders made him feel protected, he wanted to pull them over his head but he couldn’t be bothered to change his position. But someone sensed what he wanted and the top blanket soon covered half of his face. Ezra rolled onto his side and used his shoulder to push the blanket up to completely hide his face from the others. Sleep quickly claimed him.

________________________________________


“Ezra . . . “

“He’s asleep Chris,” Buck informed him, “and you should be too.”

“I don’t want to sleep.” Chris opened his eyes and searched the filtered darkness for his long time friend.

“How’s Ezra?”

“Sick, doctor says he should be okay though, they want to keep him here until his fever goes down. It hasn’t yet.”

“He still mad at me?”

“You could say that, he’s not talking to you.”

Chris heard the snicker that Buck couldn’t keep in. “I don’t remember doing any of that . . . what he said I did.”

“Ezra wouldn’t lie about something like that Chris.”

“I didn’t say he did Buck! I said that I don’t remember doing it.”

“It doesn’t matter either way Chris, you’re going to have to do a lot to make up for it. I don’t think he has any intentions of hanging around.”

“Have we got anything on this guy that tried to kill him?”

“No, Ezra’s been through his files, on and off the computer, nothing.”

“What are we going to do then?”

“We?”

“Yes Buck, we.” Chris growled at him. “I’m not going to just lie here and let you guys do all the work.”

“There’s not much you can do.”

“They’re letting me out of this bed tomorrow.” Chris smiled in the darkness.

“Only for physio.”

“If I can walk, I’m outta here.” he pointed to the door knowing that Buck probably wouldn’t see it.

“Get out of here . . .”

“Was that Ezra?” Chris tried to sit up so he could see the southerner.

“Yeah,” Buck stood up and walked to Ezra’s bed, “he’s been having some nightmares, I’d say he’s been having them since it happened.”

“Me or Susan Summers?”

“Nooo . . . “

“Susan Summers.” Buck leant over and whispered in Ezra’s ear. His hand stroked the back of Ezra’s head as he spoke to him. After a few minutes, the southerner calmed down and returned to a dream world free of nightmares.

“Shit.”

“Yeah, he’s angry, he’s scared, and he’s feeling a lot of guilt about what happened to her.”

“And all I could was fire him.”

“Yep, you were pretty stupid throwing a stunt like that.”

“Thanks for your support Buck.”

“Don’t expect to get any from me Chris, or anyone else.” Buck moved away from Ezra’s bed and back to the chair. “You were an idiot to do that to him, I don’t care that you don’t remember, it’s what you did at the time. You hit him Chris, and not only that, you literally threw him onto the road. What the hell were you thinking?”

“I don’t know, I was probably angry.”

“You always get angry with him.” Buck decided to turn a light on, he needed to see Chris’ face. “Did you get angry when Adam refused to talk about his problems?”

“That was a low blow Buck.”

“I don’t care, answer my question.”

“No, of course I wouldn’t, I gave him the time he needed, when he was ready, he would come to me and talk about it.”

“Ezra may be an adult Chris, but he’s not use to talking about his problems, I would have thought you’d know that by now. You have to be patient with him, treat him like you would Adam.”

“You want me to treat him as though his was my son?”

“No, I want you to treat him like you would treat Adam when he wouldn’t talk about what was troubling him.”

“Oh.” Chris understood what Buck was telling him. “Is there any pizza left.”

“No, and how do you . . . “

“I can smell it.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t keep me any?”

“No.”

“Bastard.”





Part One | Part Two | Part Three


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