Day One

Chris Larabee pulled up outside the townhouse, he allowed the engine to keep running while he stared at the road ahead of him. If the engine is still going then he would have to come out. If he stopped the engine then 'he' would have to go in after him and he didn't want to do that. Not today and not for the rest of the week. He glanced sideways at his passenger.

Vin Tanner was smiling, he knew Chris was going to have to go in there, because he wasn't. There were two reasons for his decision. One; it was cooler in the car than it was outside. Two; there was no way in hell he was going in there to wake him up. He watched as Chris glanced over his shoulder as the second car pulled up behind them. The engine was turned off. Vin looked out the side window when his smile grew larger. The men in the second car had no intention of going into the townhouse to wake up it's occupant. It was left to the leader of the group to do a task that each of them dreaded when it was their turn. Today they were lucky but Chris wasn't, it was his turn.

Chris growled, then spun to face Tanner when he snorted in laughter. "I could order you to go in there!" he snapped.

"We're on holidays and that wouldn't be fair cowboy. Besides, it's your turn." Vin continued to hide his face from his friend.

"Who said life was fair?"

Chris turned the engine off, opened the door and stood in the unbearable heat. It was only seven in the morning and the day was already a scorcher. A heat wave the weather people had informed the population of Denver. They were smart those weather people. He slammed the door shut. Chris adjusted his jeans then stormed up to the front door that was hidden by large growing vines. His fist banged on the door five times then hung in mid-air as it waited for an answer. It was about to begin the process again when the door was pulled open.

"I'm awake already." Ezra muttered as he dragged his backpack out through the doorway.

Ezra Standish wasn't in a good mood. He had been hating himself from the moment he had said yes to going on this outlandish hiking trip. He liked spending his days indoors, especially when he didn't have to go to work. They now had a week off and for some reason Chris and Vin and suggested the idea. He hadn't said yes straight away, it had taken a few days of continuous whining from the men before he agreed and now it was going to be the death of him.

"Thought I was going to have to drag your skinny ass out of bed Standish."

"Well, you know what thought did."

"What did it do Ezra?" Chris moved to stand in front of him to stop him from going any further.

"It got me out of bed at six AM! That's what it did. It also got me into this fucking mess!" he wasn't happy at all.

"You don't want to go?" an eyebrow was raised.

"Are you saying that I don't have to?"

"No."

"I don't want to go."

"Your going and I don't want to hear anymore of it." Chris turned away from him and began the short trek back to the car.

"If I have to endure this torture Mr Larabee then I'm going to make the next week hell for all of you!" Ezra yelled after him.

"Comin' Ezra, we're kinda in a hurry?" Chris asked him.

"In a hurry to make my life miserable more like it." Ezra followed him down the path and stopped at the back passenger door. He didn't bother to acknowledge the men in the second car. Instead he opened the door, threw his back pack into the car, followed it, then used all of his wakening strength to slam the door shut.

"Don't start Ezra." Chris warned him.

"I haven't even begun to start Mr Larabee." the early morning and lack of enough coffee had soured his mood to the point of being very distasteful.

"You get out on the wrong side of the bed Ezra?" Vin twisted in his seat so he could see his friends face.

"Getting out of bed is only the beginning of my problems Mr Tanner."

"He doesn't want to go?" Vin asked Chris.

"NO!" Chris' voice was joined by an angry Southern accent.

"Then why make him go?"

"Because he's one of us and he's going. I'm not going to let him stay at home and end up thinking that he didn't go because we didn't want him there."

"You got a point there Chris."

"Can we go now." Chris didn't wait for an answer, he started the car and drove off to start what he hoped was going to be at least a pleasant one week vacation.

Ezra was sick, actually, he had motion sickness, his stomach rolled and his head ached. This always happened to him when he wasn't driving, and it didn't help that he hadn't had time for breakfast. If he stopped to think about it, it was their fault. He glared at the two men sitting in the front seat. He didn't want to throw up, he wanted to say something but his anger had caused him to say 'to hell with it, if I'm going to throw up, then I'll throw up in Larabee's car'. The time had come, he was going to vomit but at the last minute he spoke up. He couldn't be sick in the car, Chris Larabee would only make him clean it up.

"Stop the car."

"What the hell for?" Chris glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw the pallor of Ezra's skin. "Aw shit! Not in my car Standish. You'll die if you do."

Chris swung the car to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. All three occupants were thrown forward. Vin swore. Ezra groaned. Chris got out of his car and pulled the back door open, he grabbed the ailing Southerner's arm and pulled him from the car, he dragged him around the dodge and pushed him ahead of him.

Ezra was grateful they were feeling so sympathetic towards him. He stepped towards the tree and pressed against it in a use of support. First his shoulders heaved as he drew in gulps of fresh air, he hoped that it would stop what was about to happen. It didn't. His stomach then began to convulse as he threw up what was in his stomach. He'd only had a light dinner the night before so there wasn't much for his stomach to get rid of.

"Ahhh shit Ezra." Chris had been angry at first. But now that anger was aimed at himself. This wasn't Ezra's fault. "Vin, grab some water will you." he walked to Ezra and placed a hand on his shoulder. Of course Ezra had to throw it off but Chris put it back immediately. "Sorry about that Ezra."

Ezra could feel himself trembling, god he hated this shit. Why did he come? Why didn't he just say no, I'm not going. Because he didn't want to disappoint his friends. It didn't matter to them that this was going to be hell for him, but it did matter to him that they were unhappy because he didn't go. A bottle of water appeared in front of him. He grabbed it and took a mouthful. After washing his mouth he spit the water out. It hit Chris' boot. His aim was still good.

"Sorry about that Chris." Ezra gave Vin the water back and started back to the car. Nathan Jackson's larger form stopped him.

"You okay?"

"Do I look okay to you?"

"No." Nathan turned to speak to the men in the car he was travelling in. "JD, Buck, why don't you ride with Chris, Ezra's going to come with me."

"I'm not going to feel any different in you car Nathan." Ezra tried to assure him.

"I'll give you something to make you feel better Ezra." Nathan put an arm around the smaller man's shoulders and lead him to the second car.

"Would that be a taxi to take me home?" Ezra asked hopefully.

"You don't want to come?" Josiah asked him. He had heard what Ezra said as the younger man got into the car.

"No. Chris is making me and I feel obliged to come." Ezra muttered as he made himself more comfortable, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He felt Nathan put a small pillow behind his head.

"Here drink this, it'll settle your stomach."

Ezra opened his eyes to see a glass of liquid being offered to him. He didn't like the look of it and knew he would like the taste even less. He refused to ask what it was, instead he took his courage in his hands and drank the entire contents without saying a word.

"Thank you."

"Why don't you see if you can get some sleep Ezra." Nathan suggested then got back into the car himself. From his position in the car he saw Chris watching him, he nodded that Ezra would be okay. Chris nodded back then got into his car and drove off.

Josiah waited for a while. Ezra needed time for his stomach to settle. It wasn't long before Ezra's head fell onto his shoulder, his forehead resting against the window. The ex-preacher smiled. Ezra always looked so young and innocent when he slept, and they all knew that it was a different story when he was awake. He drove off, making sure that he was careful not to bounce their back seat passenger around.

Josiah had to stop four more times before they reached their destination. Ezra's stomach had decided that it didn't want to settle down. The Southerner hadn't been able to sleep for a period longer than forty minutes and the constant interruptions had caused his mood to worsen. Nathan and Josiah were silently glad that Ezra was no longer travelling with Chris, their leader would have lost his patience a long time ago. Nathan had constantly checked Ezra for a fever while he was sleeping. None had surfaced until the fourth time he vomited.

The ex-medic wasn't too concerned, it was only motion sickness, a good nights sleep and a decent breakfast was what Ezra needed. Nathan had made sure that Ezra had drunk plenty of water during the trip so he didn't become dehydrated.

When Josiah brought the car to a stop along side the dodge in the parking area, Ezra was fast asleep in the back. He was lying on his right side, a pillow under his head and a thin blanket over his body. His knees were bent, the bare feet were hanging out from beneath the blanket. A slight sheen of sweat covered his forehead.

The two men in the front seat exited from the car as quietly as they could and made their way over to the group of men who had been waiting for them. Josiah couldn't help but notice the impatient tapping of feet when he looked at Chris and Buck. Those two were eager to get started.

"You didn't take him home did you?" Chris demanded to know.

"He's sleeping on the back seat," Nathan informed him. "and that's where he's going to stay until he wakes up. Then he's going to lie down on the bedding that I'm going to set up for him, eat a light dinner then sleep again until morning. Now, do you have a problem with that?"

Nathan didn't usually talk to Chris in that manner so each man looked from Nathan to Chris.

"He that bad?" Chris asked him. Nathan wouldn't speak to him like that unless Ezra was in a bad way.

"Threw up four more times on the way up here."

"I didn't know he got that bad." JD commented from the sideline.

"He doesn't."

"You don't think he's sick do you Nathan?" Vin stepped closer to the group.

"No, just a mixture of an early morning, no food and a bad mood." Nathan shrugged.

"So he'll be okay for the hike?" Chris asked him. He didn't want Ezra walking for the next six days if he wasn't up to it.

"Yeah, I'll just make sure in the morning before we head off." Nathan nodded.

"Let's set up camp then and stay here the night." Chris spoke with his leadership qualities. "Josiah, Vin, set up a couple of tents in the camping area. JD, Buck, collect some firewood. Nathan, take care of Ezra." he waited but the others wouldn't move.

"And what are you going to do?" Buck crossed his arms.

"I'm the boss, I don't have to do anything." Chris smiled. "It's as simple as that. If you want to argue about it just remember that we'll back at the office in a weeks time."

"No arguments here." JD and Buck left quickly to gather wood.

"You could at least make the coffee when the fire's going." Vin grumbled.

"I can do that." Chris grinned.

"Who's going to unpack the cars?" Nathan asked. "I can, Ezra's sleeping, he's not going to wake up for a while."

"We'll do it in the morning Nathan, " Chris winked at Vin, "while I'm informing the park ranger of what we're doing for the next six days."

"We're on a weeks vacation," Vin growled as he began to follow Josiah, "you would think he'd take a break from that leadership bullshit and give us a hand, take a turn at doing things, some of the hard work, instead of sitting on his fat ass letting us do it."

"Did you say something Vin?" Chris called out after him.

"I said you’re a asshole who's lazy, stupid, and . . . and,"

"We'll maybe you should have volunteered to wake Ezra this morning."

"I knew it, that man holds a grudge almost as badly as Ezra does."

"You've got all week to get him back Vin, bide your time." Josiah nudged him with an elbow.

"Got any ideas?"

"Nope, but then again I'm not the one seeking revenge."

"Thanks." Vin was on his own. "Maybe Ezra will be able to come up with something."

"Might cheer him up, it's a way of making the trip worthwhile for him." Josiah agreed.

Vin looked over his shoulder and smiled at Chris, he winked then turned back to Josiah.

"Ah shit." Chris muttered. "He's gonna do something."

Ezra opened his left eye, in front of him was a car seat. The eye roamed the interior searching for a clue that would reveal the car owner's identity. He finally gazed upon a cigarette burn. He grimaced, that was his cigarette burn. The occasional cigarette was required after he'd had a bad day. He wasn't the only that had a smoke every now and then but he'd been the only one that had smoked in the back of Josiah's car while he was drunk. The ex-preacher had stopped suddenly for a red light and he had fallen forward onto the floor, the cigarette butt burnt a hole in the carpet. Ezra had never told Josiah about it and as far as he knew Josiah didn't know.

The undercover agent turned his head slightly and opened the other eye, he looked out the window of the vehicle to see the approaching darkness. Had he been asleep all day? His stomach growled, it was hungry. Ezra thought about refusing the food it was asking for as a punishment for throwing up so often. The stomach rumbled again. Lord, why did it always have to win? Because it wasn't his stomach that was doing the talking, it was his brain and it was demanding the nourishment that it needed to replace what the body had lost when the stupid stomach decided that it had wanted to throw up so many times.

Ezra threw the blanket off and sat up. The windows had been left down allowing the cool breeze to flow through the car. The wind carried in a noise that told him Buck and JD were playing football, no doubt with themselves. Ezra decided that it was time to show himself, he got out of the car and searched the area for his friends. He found them about two hundred metres away. After closing the windows and locking the door he made his way over to them. As he walked he prepared himself for the snide remarks that he knew would be coming. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Nathan approaching him.

"Hey Ezra, how you feelin'?" Nathan thought it would be best to ask about his health before the others caused Ezra to shut him out.

"Still feel a bit sick but I'm hungry as well. Stomach muscles hurt though." Ezra admitted to him.

Nathan reached out and put a hand against Ezra's forehead. His hand was quickly pushed away but he got the information that he needed. "You still got a fever Ezra."

"I'll be fine by the morning Nathan. Thanks."

"Sure Ezra. Why don't you come and get some soup, your stomach should be able to handle that."

Ezra nodded and followed him to the camp. He sat down next to Josiah and accepted the bowl of soup, they must have known he was waking up. Nathan had a way in that regard, he was always able to tell when one of them was returning to the living world.

"Thanks."

"It's not hot, Nathan didn't want it hot." Josiah smiled at him.

Ezra looked around the small camp fire at the others, they were looking at him in a strange way. He frowned, they weren't making fun of him, he was sure that it was going to happen.

"Feeling better Ezra?" Chris asked from the opposite side of the fire.

"Yeah."

"You up to this or do you want to go home?"

"Mr Larabee, I don't believe that I, or my stomach, could handle another six hour drive home. If you had allowed me to stay at home when I asked you this morning, I wouldn't be going through this shit. And to answer your question, yes, I am up to this."

"Good." Chris returned to his dinner. But his eyes kept turning upwards to watch his undercover agent. Ezra wasn't a happy man and he knew it. Maybe he shouldn't have dragged him out here. It was too late now, they would just have to make the best of it.

Day Two

The first day of the hike started without any incidents, the sun's strength had weakened, the heat wave was finally over. Seven men walked in procession along the man made trail with Chris Larabee taking the lead and Vin Tanner in the rear. They were four hours into the hike and Chris was beginning to think that Ezra had settled and was beginning to enjoy himself. It looked like he was enjoying himself but you could never tell with Ezra, if there was something wrong with him, you wouldn't know it until he collapsed into a heap or threw up. The man never discussed how he felt emotionally or physically.

Nathan had told him that Ezra still had a slight fever, it was something he couldn't understand why. Ezra had insisted on going on the hike, he'd said that he felt fine. The ex-medic couldn't argue with the Southerner about it, he didn't have enough patience for it.

Nathan walked behind the undercover agent, he wanted to keep an eye on him, to watch for any signs of physical ailments. He was worried because the fever that had attached itself to the Southerner’s body hadn’t let go yet. He was hoping that it didn’t grow into anything worse or even life threatening. They were in a position where medical attention was hours away.

The dark man turned when he heard someone ask for permission to walk behind Ezra. Nathan turned and looked into Buck’s smiling features. The man was up to something. JD, who stood behind Buck was also smiling.

“If you do anything stupid to him, you’ll have me to answer to.” Nathan warned him. “You know he’s not feeling the best.”

“What are you? His mother?” Buck joked as he pushed Jackson out of the way.

Buck fell into step behind Ezra and patiently bided his time for the right moment. He wasn’t going to do anything nasty, he just wanted to have some fun. Four hours of just walking, he was beginning to get bored. He had discussed practical jokes with JD and who to pull them on. It was decided that Ezra was going to be the first one. Nathan and Josiah were too big, Chris was the boss and he easily got into a bad mood. They would wait until at least the fourth day before they pulled a joke on him. Vin, well, he would only return the favour and they weren’t ready for that. So Ezra was the one. He would retaliate with embarrassment, dwell on it for a while and either do nothing or something. Either way he was the better choice for the first practical joke.

JD had moved up behind Buck and was nudging him in the back. “Do it!”

“Give me a minute.” the ladies man growled back at him.

“If you don’t, I will.” JD warned him.

“Okay!”

“Something wrong Buck?” Ezra had heard the argument and turned around to find out what was going on.

“No,” Buck stammered, “nothing.”

“You're not thinking of pulling a practical joke on me are you?” Ezra stopped walking and didn’t allow himself to step back when Buck walked into him.

“No, why would I do that?” Shit, the man had an uncanny knack of reading people’s minds. He’d have to work on keeping his nasty little ideas for pranks behind an unreadable wall.

“I’m not in a good mood Buck, I don’t want to be here, I don’t feel that great and if you pull any sort of joke on me I will respond with physical violence. I don’t care if I hurt you. Do you understand me?”

Buck nodded, he understood perfectly. The threat in the green eyes was easily read. Well, that idea just went down the toilet.

“You don’t feel well?” Nathan had heard the comment and made his way closer to Ezra.

“It was an statement of untruth.” Ezra shrugged. “I needed something to convince him not to do anything stupid.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes I’m sure!” Ezra growled and turned around to continue only to find Chris and the others staring at him. “I’m fine!”

“Maybe we should stop for lunch.” Chris suggested.

“You don’t think it’s a bit early for lunch?” Vin asked from the sidelines.

“Nope.” Chris answered. “Besides, I’m hungry.”

“Don’t know why,” Vin stepped back, “it’s not like you did any hard work this morning or yesterday for that matter.”

Chris looked at his friend, his eyes narrowed then he smiled. “Vin just volunteered to collect firewood and make the camp fire.”

“Did not!” Vin protested. “I’m not doing it.”

“I’ll do it.” Ezra began to take off his backpack.

Nathan quickly took the opportunity and placed a hand against Ezra’s forehead. The smaller man wasn’t able to stop him while his own arms were entangled within the straps of the backpack.

“You sit on your butt and do nothing!” Nathan ordered him.

“Does he still have a fever?” Chris frowned at Ezra.

“Yeah, and it’s higher than it was.”

“I’m just hot.” Ezra retorted as he allowed the pack to drop to the ground. “Now, I’m going to collect some firewood and make a fire. If anyone wants to try and stop me, they can, but they have to be willing to fight me.”

“Do you even know how to make a fire?” Chris’ frown turned into a playful smile.

“Of course I can?”

“When did you ever make a fire?” Vin joined in on the fun.

“When I was a kid.”

“You were once a kid?” Chris nudged Vin with his elbow.

“Bastard.” Ezra turned his back on them and walked away.

Of course he’d made a fire before, it was twenty years ago but he was sure he could remember what needed to be done. He wasn’t stupid. He could do it. Ezra began to gather twigs and thicker branches. They were watching him, he knew it. What were they waiting for, for him to fall over. Then they were going to have a long wait. He had no intention of falling over, or failing in his attempt to start a fire. Ezra continued to walk away from his friends, his eyes took in the beauty of the surrounding wilderness and he wondered why he had never enjoyed the outdoors.

Something moved near him, he spun around quickly expecting a bear to be staring at him as though he was dinner. There was nothing there but the sound continued. This was a reminder as to why he didn’t like the outdoors. He began to step backwards, afraid that if he turned his back to the noise that something would jump out at him.

“SNAKE!” A voice yelled at him.

Ezra jumped, literally, his feet left the ground and the wood that he’d been carrying fell to the ground in a scattered heap. A scream leapt from his mouth as he turned and ran away from the danger. He stopped when he heard someone laughing. Bastards!

“Should have seen your face Ezra.” JD was doubled over.

Buck and Vin stood beside him, their own faces showing the enjoyment they had gotten out of the practical joke they had pulled.

“What did I tell you Buck!” Ezra yelled at him.

“I didn’t do it Ezra, JD here did.” Buck protested.

“But you put him up to it didn’t you?”

“No.” Buck smiled.

Ezra smiled back but it wasn’t a friendly smile. He walked up to Buck and with a clenched fist he hit him in the face. His aim was true and the fist landed against Buck’s nose. Ezra had held back, he didn’t want to break it, just cause it to bleed and be sore for a few days. Once he was sure he had inflicted the physical pain that he had threatened earlier, he went back to the pile of firewood he had lost. He picked up what he could and moved away.

Buck held his nose, he could feel the blood building up behind his hand. He was going to have to let go and use something else to stop the flow. Nathan, he had to find Nathan. The ex-medic would fix it, then he would take care of Ezra. The idiot had actually hit him. He and the others followed Ezra back to the camp.

“He hit me.”

“Yeah he did.” Vin was still smiling.

“He actually hit me.” Buck repeated.

“You said that already.”

“Why’d he hit me?”

“Now that is a stupid question Buck.” JD told him as he walked beside him.

Buck was still holding his nose when he made it back to the camp, he glared at Ezra who was ignoring him and trying to make the fire.

“Why are you holding your nose?” Chris glared at him. “If you need to blow it, use a tissue.”

“Ezra hit me.” Buck explained to his friend.

“You hit him?” Chris hid the smile his features wanted to wear very well, even Ezra couldn’t see the amusement his leader was hiding.

“No.” Ezra replied.

“What do you call this then.” Buck growled when he revealed his bloodied nose.

“I call it carrying out a threat.” Ezra raised an eyebrow in defiance.

“He did warn you Buck.” Chris allowed his smile to be seen by all, especially Ezra so he would know he wasn’t angry at him and wasn’t going to side with Buck.

“Oh, so you think this is funny do you.” he couldn’t believe Chris’ reaction to his nearly broken nose.

“You obviously thought the prank was.” the Southerner retorted.

“It was!”

“So is the sight of that nose!”

“This hurts, anything that hurts isn’t funny.”

“If I fell over and cracked my head open on a rock would that be funny?”

“That wouldn’t be funny.” of course it wouldn’t. Why would Ezra think he would laugh if something like that had happened.

“No it wouldn’t,” Ezra stood up and moved closer so he was standing in front of Buck, “but you still pulled a prank that could have caused me serious bodily harm after I asked you not to. I even threatened you.”

“We wanted to have some fun, we were getting bored.”

“You were getting bored,” Ezra’s tone was full of sarcasm, “Is that why I’m here? To use so you can amuse yourself?”

“You know you’re not.” Buck said guiltily. “It was just, well, you were the easiest to start with, we were going to move on to the others later.”

“Oh, were you now.” Chris smiled at him.

“I was the easiest?” Ezra was stunned.

“Well, I thought you wouldn’t react straight away, that you’d think about it, and then forget when we did something to one of the others.” Buck shrugged. “I didn’t expect this.”

“But I wasn’t the easiest was I?”

“No.” Buck looked down at the ground and kicked at the dirt with his boot.

“Ezra! Haven’t you built that fire yet?!” Chris bellowed at him from his position beneath the large shady tree.

“WHAT!” Ezra turned to face him. “I’ve been busy arguing with this imbecile.”

“You mean when you should have been building that fire?” Chris was beginning to enjoy himself. He could have as much fun aggravating Ezra as the Southerner did from driving him crazy. “You’re not just using the argument as an excuse are you?”

“Of course not! I am very capable of building a fire.”

“Better hurry up then, cause it’ll be nightfall before you finally get it lit.”

“Fuck you!”

“I’m starving Ezra,” Vin yelled out, “when are you going to get that fire going?”

“Did you not hear the profanity that just came from my normally composed mouth when Mr Larabee decided to try and be funny?”

“No, I was too busy wondering if you were going to make that fire or talk all day.”

“Fuck you!”

Ezra made the fire, it took him thirty five minutes but he made it, lit it and now it was burning with a frenzy. He suffered the insults, the laughter, the sympathy and offers of help. Ezra ignored all of them. He wanted to do it and do it on his own without their help. His hands were now covered in dirt and a small number of splinters had embedded themselves into the flesh of his fingers. He decided that he didn’t mind looking at the outdoors but he hated being in it.

Chris and the others had watched Ezra as his determination and stubbornness got him into an embarrassing and painful predicament. He was covered in dirt and his t-shirt was soaked through to the skin. Ezra Standish was a stubborn bastard that didn’t know when to give in, he would die before he allowed or asked for help.

Chris had thought about forcing the undercover agent to accept their help but it would’ve made Ezra angry and resentful. So they had watched, firstly with amusement and prodding remarks, then with sympathy and then finally anger. But now it was over, Ezra could sit down and enjoy his achievement while someone else cooked the hot lunch.

Ezra wiped his hands on his trousers as he made his way to a tree a short distance from the camp and grimaced as the splinters were pushed further into his flesh. What he’d done had been stupid, his pride had gotten in his way and now he was hot, sore and feeling like he was going to throw up again. It was the last thing he wanted. He sat down and was grateful for the sudden drop in temperature, the breeze was cool and it chilled his heated flesh.

He heard someone walking towards him, their boots snapping the twigs that lay on the ground. A canteen full of water was handed to him. He didn’t know whether he wanted to drink first or wash his hands or face. The decision was made for him.

“Drink,” Nathan ordered him, “then you can wash your hands and face.”

“I don’t suppose there is a stream nearby?” Ezra hoped.

“We should be passing one tomorrow.” Nathan smiled. “So your going to have to settle for this.”

“Great! Why the hell did I come.”

“So you wouldn’t disappoint us remember.” Nathan reminded him.

“You would be though, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course we would Ezra, but we’d be more disappointed by forcing you to do something you don’t want to do. Besides you make it miserable for the rest of us when you’re in a bad mood.”

“I do?”

“Yeah you do.”

Ezra took a drink and the cool water washed the dirt from his throat.

“Take what you just did as a perfect example. You were in such a bad mood that you had to be stupid and do all of that yourself.”

“I had a point to prove.”

“Just so you know,” Nathan stood up, “we’re all in a bad mood now because of what you did.”

“For what I did? What has that got to do with you guys?”

“We’re pissed off at you for being so bloody stubborn.”

“For me being stubborn, who was it that forced me to come here. Chris wouldn’t take no for an answer, that’s what I call stubborn.”

“That’s what’s called making you a part of this team, getting you to join us in out of work activities, getting you to relax and have some fun for a change.”

“Do I look like I’m having fun?”

“No you don’t.” Nathan glared at him. “Do I look like I’m having fun?”

“No.”

“And why aren’t I having any fun?”

“Because I’m pissing you off.”

“Yes, because you’re pissing me off. Now why don’t you stop with the self pity and start enjoying yourself because I’m getting pretty sick of your attitude. Chris and the rest of us are trying to include you in this, instead of allowing you to sit in a chair in the corner of your living room alone for the rest of the week. Clean yourself up and come back to the camp.”

“Okay.” Ezra didn’t know what else to say.

Darkness was looming in the distance, it was closing in on them and was threatening to suffocate them within it’s total blackness. Ezra was not looking forward to it. The night brought out all sorts of creatures, the small bug like kind that crawled all over your body. Insects that stuck a needle like appendage into your flesh and drank your blood without you even knowing it. It was one of the things he hated about nature.

He walked behind the others who were, believe it or not, singing. Of all the embarrassing things they could do, they had to sing. There was no way he was joining in. It had been Buck’s idea to sing the stupid song; something to do with an original prankster. It was JD’s favourite CD of the moment.

Ezra placed his forefingers into his ears, it helped but he could still hear the attempts of singing coming from his friends. Sometimes he wondered if they were friends. Shouldn’t he enjoy the company of these friends, usually he did but not in situations like this. Was that wrong of him, did that mean that he wasn’t a friend to these men. If he were a true friend he should enjoy their companionship wherever they were. Maybe he was fooling himself thinking that these men were his friends; not through any fault of theirs but because of some fault he possessed in his personality. He wasn’t making an effort to enjoy the situation. Nathan was right, he was feeling sorry for himself and taking it out on the men around him.

His stare caught the back of Vin’s feet, if he concentrated on those shoes he might forget the tone-deaf voices surrounding him. Then again, President Bartlett (a character from his favourite show ‘The West Wing’) claims that you’re supposed to sing when you’re walking down the trail to keep the grizzly bears away. That didn’t surprise Ezra, any bear with brains would stay away from this awful racket.

The Southerner fell flat on his butt when he ran into the back of Vin who was now standing still. He hadn’t even had time to remove his fingers from his ears. Dust from the trial settled around his slumped form.

“You okay there Ezra?” Vin reached down and hauled the undercover agent to his feet.

“Wasn’t watching where I was going.” Ezra muttered as he dusted himself off.

“We’ll camp here tonight!”

“Want to make the campfire Ezra?” Vin smiled at him.

“No thank you, think I’ll just watch.”

Ezra removed his arms from the backpack and it collapsed on the ground much like he had done moments earlier. He sat next to it and stretched his arms above his head. The back bone cracked, giving him some relief against the back pain he was feeling.

“Vin!”

“Yo!” Vin turned to face Chris.

“What do you think?” Chris looked up at the darkening sky, it was clear, allowing the millions of stars to watch over them.

“Think we should sleep under the stars.” Vin grinned.

“Excuse me.” Ezra tugged at Vin’s jeans.

“What’cha want Ezra?” the sharp shooter frowned down at him.

“Do you mean no tents?”

“Yep, just us, our sleeping bags . . . “

“And the bugs.” Ezra interrupted him.

“The bugs won’t hurt you Ezra.”

“No they just eat you.” Buck warned him when he passed by on his way to collect firewood.

“We’ve got bug spray Ezra, you can spray some of that on before you go to bed.” Nathan called out to him.

“Like that would help.”

“Ezra!” Nathan’s tone held a warning.

“Thanks Nathan, that’ll be great.” the false smile eased the anger that the ex-medic was feeling.

“Wonder if Chris is going to do anything or sit on his large butt all evening.”

Ezra didn’t realise that Vin was talking to him.

“You listening Ezra?”

“To what Vin?” the Southerner lay back and pushed the backpack into a better position so he could use it as a pillow.

“To me.”

“Obviously not or I would have heard what you said.”

“I said! Do you think Chris is going to do anything or just sit on his butt all evening.”

“When does Chris ‘ever’ do anything.”

“He does boss us around.” Vin made one suggestion.

“He does at that.” Ezra agreed. “He also glares very well, he’s even doing it now.”

Vin looked over his shoulder to see Chris’ cold glare.

“We do a really fine job of ignoring that glare.” Vin dropped his own backpack and sat down next to Ezra.

“Took a bit of practice though.” the Southerner admitted.

“You too?”

Ezra nodded.

“Scared the shit out of me for a few weeks.”

“He wouldn’t fire us for ignoring him.” Ezra spoke with confidence.

“Another thing he can do well is make us suffer.”

Vin and Ezra looked at each other, both men were wearing expressions full of fear.

“You think . . . ?” Vin mumbled.

Ezra replaced his look with a poker face. “Who cares, we have the rest of the week to enjoy ourselves. We can deal with our misery later, when it happens.”

“You’re enjoying yourself?” Vin lay down on his side and nudged the other man with his arm.

“I didn’t say that.” Ezra assured him.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Vin ignored Chris when he yelled out to him.

“No.”

Vin didn’t say anything but instead rolled onto his back. He knew Ezra didn’t like the outdoors, so why did he assume that his friend would enjoy this hiking trip. He shouldn’t have allowed Chris to force the Southerner to come with them.

“Vin.”

“Yeah Ezra.”

Chris yelled out a warning, both men ignored him.

“I should be enjoying myself, shouldn’t I?”

“Why should you?” Vin asked carefully.

“What I mean is . . . ,” he took a deep breath, “you’re my friends, aren’t I supposed to enjoy myself around my friends.”

Vin smiled, Ezra was finally learning what friendship was about. “Just because we’re friends, it doesn’t mean that you have to enjoy what we do. You’re going to hate some of the things we do, just like we hate doing some of the things you do. There are some things that we all enjoy doing.”

“So it’s okay for me not to enjoy myself.”

“Sure it is.” Vin turned his head to find Ezra staring at him.

“You should’ve stayed at home Ezra. You didn’t have to come.”

“I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. Mr Larabee would have handcuffed me and thrown me in the boot.”

“Next time you don’t want to do something like this, tell me and I’ll make sure Chris doesn’t force you to do it. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Both men looked skyward when someone coughed above them.

“Sounds like a nasty cough Chris.” Vin warned him.

“Some hard work in the fresh air will shift that irritating frog in your throat Mr Larabee.” Ezra said as he closed his eyes and shifted his body into a better position.

“It’s time you did some work.”

Because neither man knew who Chris was talking to, they ignored him.

“Vin, Ezra . . . “

“I, Mr Larabee, have already done my share for today, and I even have the splinters to pro . . . “ Ezra sat up and shut his mouth a few words too late.

“NATHAN!” Chris’ scowl grew into a smile that ran from ear to ear.

“You’ve done it now Ezra.” Vin chuckled.

“They’re only small ones,” Ezra stuttered, “ they’ll come out when I wash my hands, they’re not causing me any pain, my hands are fine. Nothing to worry about, see.” he raised his hands in the air only to have Nathan Jackson grab them and begin to inspect them.

“Going to have to clean these Ezra, ain’t going to be pretty. Maybe you guys should make yourselves busy, don’t want you to have to see this.”

“He going to be okay Nathan.” Chris asked him. His face was serious, his tone held a hint of fear.

“Not sure Chris, if they get infected,” he shrugged, “may have to take them off.”

“I’ll get the First Aid kit.” Chris walked away from the shocked expression worn by his undercover agent. Teach him to ignore me like that; Tanner’s next.

“Nathan they’re fine.” Ezra finally managed to pull his hands out of Nathan’s tight hold.

“You’ve got a few in there Ezra, they need to come out.” Nathan was serious.

“I can take them out.”

“No you can’t.” the ex-medic growled at him.

“I’m quite capable of doing it Nathan, I’m not stupid!”

“Didn’t say you were Ezra. Just want to do it for you that’s all.”

“Aw hell Nathan, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you. Go ahead and enjoy yourself.” Ezra offered his hands.

“You think I enjoy causing you pain?” Nathan was surprised by the words that had come from his friends mouth.

“You’re going to cause me pain?” this time it was Ezra’s turn to be shocked.

“No!” Nathan stopped himself. “Well, a little bit . . . not much . . . just a bit.”

“A bit.”

“Yeah, a bit. A pair of tweezers, pull out the splinter, cleanse and bandage.”

“Vin, you said that if I didn’t like something that you would convince Chris not to make me do it.” Ezra turned to his knight-in-shining-armour.

“Not helping you on this one Ezra, I’m with them.”

Ezra suddenly felt like slaying the knight who was no longer his hero. A sudden thought occurred to him. “Fine, do it. As long as you realise that I will be incapable of doing any work for the next few days.”

“Why’s that?” Nathan frowned.

“My hands are damaged, splinters, I can’t work when my hands have holes in them.”

Nathan rolled his eyes.

“You know Ezra,” Vin smiled at him, “I’ll help you out on that one. I think Chris can take on your share of work.”

“I believe you’re right Vin.”

“What about you Nathan?” Vin winked at him.

“You should take care of these hands for the next few days Ezra, don’t want you doing any work. They need to stay clean.”

“I owe you one Nathan.”

“Enjoying yourself now Ezra?”

“A bit Vin, a bit.”

After seven ‘ouches’, nine ‘ows’, and twelve muttered ‘bastards’, - Vin had been counting - most of which were just for show, Nathan had finally finished. He looked at his work and was happy with the result. The fingers and palms of the Southerner were covered with band aids of all shapes and sizes, which were also for show.

Ezra feigned hurt and grimaced at Chris Larabee. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be working with my hands for a while Chris.”

“Bullshit!” Chris couldn’t believe it, a few splinters he’d said.

“I’m afraid he’s right Chris.” Nathan crossed his arms and stared at Chris while trying very hard to look serious.

“Why is he right?”

“There were more than just a few,” he lied, “we’ll take the bandaids off tomorrow but his hands are going to have to stay clean. Some of them were in pretty deep.”

“You’re having me on aren’t you?”

“No.”

“Are you calling Nathan a liar?” Ezra frowned at his leader.

“Ah . . . no.”

“You’re going to have to do Ezra’s share of the work Chris.” Vin placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder in a show of sympathy.

“What!”

“You were the one who informed Nathan of the splinters, when you think about it, it’s your fault.” the sharp shooter shrugged.

“Now hold on a minute . . . “ Chris threw the arm off and turned to face Vin.

“If you hadn’t said anything . . . “ Vin let the sentence hang so Chris could get the idea on his own.

“You’re lying, all of you are.”

“I am most certainly not!” Ezra protested.

“How dare you accuse me of such a heinous crime.” Vin retorted.

“I don’t have it in me, what with me being such a nice person and all.” Nathan smiled.

Ezra was proud, they were learning well.

“You’ve been taking lessons.” Chris accused the two men but his stare was aimed at Ezra.

“And I believe they both pass with flying colours.” Ezra continued to feel the pride that was causing his heart to swell. These men were truly friends. He was actually beginning to enjoy himself.

The fire burned with the same intensity as the good mood that burned within the seven men that sat around it. A good meal had been eaten and now a bottle of ten year old scotch malt was pass around while someone told a ghost story.

“That was a true story.” JD insisted.

“True story my ass.” Buck slapped him on the back of the head and as always, knocked his baseball cap off.

“It is, it happened to a friend of a friend of mine.”

“Crap.”

“JD,” Ezra swung at the mosquito that was trying to eat him, “remind me to teach you how to tell a ghost story.”

“Think you can do better.”

“Of course I can.”

“Not that yours wasn’t good JD.” Buck growled at Ezra.

“Well, yes it was good, you just need to learn how to tell them.” Ezra quickly added.

“I’ll wait until you’ve finished yours then Ezra.” JD crossed his arms and waited.

“You want me to tell one now?”

“You were the one that opened his big mouth.” Chris shot at him.

“I can’t think of any at the moment.” Ezra shrugged.

“You don’t want to tell one because you know it won’t be better than mine.” JD grinned and slapped Buck on the arm.

“That and I don’t feel like telling a story.” Ezra shrugged.

“Thought you said you couldn’t think of one.” Chris eyed him suspicously.

Ezra didn’t give a response.

“Maybe tomorrow Ezra?” JD asked.

“Maybe.”

“Is it time for the marshmellows then?” JD grabbed the large bag that had been sitting next to him all evening.

“Go ahead JD, as long as you do all the roasting.” Chris smiled at him.

Chris enjoyed watching the others have fun, it made him realise what life would have been like if his son and wife were still alive. They would have spent many weekends camping just like this. Ghost stories, marsh mellows, fishing, hiking, all the things that normal happy families would do. He grimaced in irritation when Ezra squashed another mosquito, his aim was getting pretty good.

“Use this Ezra!” Nathan threw a can of bug spray at him.

“Ow!” Ezra yelled when the can hit his knee.

“You should have caught it Ezra.”

Ezra muttered a few very unpleasant curses at the ex-medic who was grinning widely in return. He removed the lid and began to spray the surface of his body.

“Just a small amount Ezra, you don’t need a lot.” Nathan explained. “Ezra, that’s enough you don’t . . . Ezra, that’s too much . . . Ezra! stop spraying . . . ” That was it, Nathan quickly stood up and stormed over to the smaller man and pulled the can from his grip. Nathan glared at Vin who wasn’t being any help. He shook the can and found it to be nearly empty. “Ezra, you’ll be that sticky, you’re going to attract ants.”

“Ants?” the undercover agent’s mouth fell open. “Ants?”

“Relax Ezra, it’s bug repellent remember, it stops them from coming near you.” Vin rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah.”

"Marsh mellow anyone?” JD called out to them.

“Thank you JD.” Ezra whispered when he was saved from any more embarrassment.

Day Three

The next day started out early; to early as far as Ezra was concerned. They had forced him to rise at the same time as the sun. He now sat huddled against a tree, his knees were pulled up beneath his chin and a blanket did it’s best to keep out the chill of the early morning. Ezra was freezing. Vin had started making the fire but it would still be a while before it would be able to warm him. So he was stuck with what body heat he had left and a blanket that was more than useless. His stuff had already been packed away by the others, not because of his hands but because he won’t be able to sneak back into bed.

He was miserable. There was no way in hell he was going to do this again. Another itch began so he scratched. His green eyes looked for Nathan, if the dark man saw what he was doing, he would yell at him. ‘Keep the bugs away’ they had said, that was a joke. He’d never had so many mosquito bites in his life. Ezra hadn’t failed to notice that none of the others were scratching. They obviously gave him the wrong stuff, probably just water. Maybe it was Chris’ idea, but how did you put water into a spray can. No, it was his luck, things like this always happened to him.

“Hey Ezra,” he was grateful for the distraction and searched for the owner of the voice, “you cold or something.”

“Of course I’m cold JD,” Ezra replied, “why else would I be sitting here like this wrapped in a blanket that’s too thin for it’s own good.”

“You bought it Ezra.”

Chris had to remind him of that.

“It’s not cold Ezra.” Vin glanced at Ezra over his shoulder.

“You’re not cold, I am.”

“If you got out of that blanket and walked around for a while, you’ll warm up like the rest of us.”

“I’d rather have a hot cup of coffee laced with scotch.”

“Give me a few minutes.”

“Thank you Vin.” He glared at Chris. “At least someone is looking after me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with your hands.” Chris muttered.

“Not according to Nathan.” Ezra smirked.

“Bastard.”

“No need to bring my father into this conversation Mr Larabee.”

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

“Something bite you on the ass?” the Southerner asked innocently.

“If you’re trying to aggravate me to the point where I won’t bring you again, you’re mistaken.”

“I’ve already been assured that I won’t have to come again.”

“By who?” Chris stood up and looked around at his friends, none of them would look him in the eye. “Which one of you told him that?”

There was no answer.

“You’re coming again.” Chris threatened him.

“No, I’m not.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t like the outdoors.” Ezra shrugged.

“That’s it, you don’t like the outdoors.”

“That’s it.”

“You’re coming again.”

“ No I’m . . . “

“I’m not going to argue with you about this Ezra. Not now anyway, it’ll only ruin the trip if we walk around mad at each other.”

“Okay by me.” Ezra glanced quickly at Vin who winked at him in return.

“Coffee’s ready.” Vin informed them. “Someone else can make the breakfast.”

“I’ll do it.” Josiah volunteered.

The seven men stood on the bank of the river that was inviting them to swim in it’s cold waters. Only six of them were willing to take it up on it’s invitation. T-shirts were removed, shoes and socks were thrown onto the ground. Jeans and shorts were also stripped from the body, leaving the men to swim in their underwear.

“Good Lord,” Ezra moaned. He hung his head and covered his eyes. “Why don’t you just go all the way and skinny dip.”

The six men looked at each other, shrugged then removed their underwear.

“You coming in Ezra?” Buck asked him.

Ezra looked up and saw six naked men standing before him. His eyes rolled towards the heavens.

“I was kidding.”

“Good idea though Ezra,” Vin put his hands on his hips. “The great outdoors, warm weather, cold water . . . “

“Just make sure that nothing bites it off Vin.” Ezra smiled and gave him the two finger salute.

“I ain’t got nothing to worry about Ezra.” Buck was full of pride. “Even if something takes a bite out of me, there’s still plenty left to please the ladies.”

“Not from what I can see.”

“No need to be like that Ezra.”

“Thought you were going swimming.”

“We are.” Buck nodded.

“Then you better hurry up because you’re shrinking with each passing minute.” Ezra lowered his eyes.

Buck blushed with embarrassment.

“He’s right Buck.” Chris slapped him on the shoulder. “You better get in the water, hide what’s not really there.”

“Chris!” Buck ran after him into the water.

The others followed and a water fight soon erupted. Ezra watched for a few minutes then decided that it was a good time to catch up on some sleep. He was already sitting beneath a shady tree so all he had to do was lie down and make himself comfortable.

He was beginning to drift into the world of dreams when he felt himself being lifted from the ground. Ezra automatically began to sing (according to the useless information given by President Jed Bartlett) to scare away what he thought was a bear. His eyes flew open in fear when he heard the laughter.

The Southerner began to fight but his efforts were useless against the six men. They carried him to the edge of the river bank and after the count of three, threw him in. Ezra forced himself to the surface of the freezing water and he searched frantically for the men.

“What the hell did you do that for?” he began to walk back to the river bank.

“You looked bored.” Chris told him.

“Had to let you have some of the fun.” Buck added.

“You needed a bath.” Josiah smiled at him as he stormed past.

“Where you goin’?” Chris frowned at him.

“I’m going to change into some dry clothes, then I’m going for a walk. I need some me time.” Ezra picked up his back pack and walked away from them.

Chris shrugged. “Last one to the other side makes the fire and cooks tonight.”

"Imbeciles, oh the indignity of it all.” Ezra had finally managed to remove his wet clothing and now stood naked amongst the trees. He hoped that there were no other hikers in the area, especially the female variety.

In his mind a voice yelled ‘snake’, he quickly turned around, his eyes were expecting to find the others watching him, his clothes in their hands. It would leave him with nothing to wear. That sort of thing happened in the movies, it could easily happen to him. He would do it himself if he’d thought about. Six angry men, all of whom would be naked, searching for their clothes and the man who had stolen them. No he couldn’t, they would seek payback for the rest of his life. There was no one there.

He dressed as fast as he could, just in case. Khakis and a loose fitting t-shirt, the wet shoes stayed off. Once he was dry, he slapped his backpack over his shoulders and began to enjoy his time alone. He would enjoy it even more if he was sitting on the couch at home in front of the television which would be showing an extremely good program. The malt scotch would taste like perfection as it flowed down his throat. Ezra didn’t have that sort of luck though, he was stuck here for at least another four days.

Ezra could hear the river in the distance and the laughter that told him his friends were enjoying themselves. The water he’d been thrown into was refreshingly cold. He regretted not spending an extra few minutes getting out of the water. The thought of emerging his entire body didn’t sit well with him but he could walk through the river’s shallow shore.

Ezra made his way to the river and left his back pack on the shore. He put his right foot into the water first then his left. The cuffs of his trousers began to soak up the water. Ezra bent over and folded the legs of his trousers up to his knees. The cold water felt good and he wiggled his toes feeling the sand and small stones move between them. He looked around at his surroundings, the large trees provided plenty of shade but the sun was still able to break through and shine down onto the floor beneath it. The light glinted off areas of the water making it look crystal like in it’s appearance.

He moved deeper into the river until the water sat just beneath his knees. Ezra used the rocks to find a path through the water without having to go to deep. His intention was to walk as far as he could without falling in. The sounds of nature flowed around him much like the water around his feet. Ezra was enjoying the lack of noise that was being made by his friends, the occasional scream of fun still echoed in the air though.

A foot slipped and landed between two rocks. Just great. He lifted the leg but it seemed to be caught on something. Ezra grabbed his knee and pulled his leg out from the rocks. It came free and he moved forward again. He had to be more careful.

His left leg gave out beneath him and he fell forward into the freezing water. The knee deep water saved him from any more injuries. Ezra wasn’t sure what was wrong with his leg, there seemed to be no pain or any other sign that something was wrong. He turned himself over and lifted his leg so he could see it.

“Fuck!”

Something had embedded itself into his calf halfway between the knee and the ankle on the outer side of his leg. It was curved with a sharp point at the end, it was much like a fishing hook, only larger and thicker. The piece of metal was at least five inches long with a hook on the end and as thick as his fore finger. He wasn’t going to be able to pull it out, the thing was going to have to be cut out. Nathan. Aw hell!

The agile fingers on his left hand carefully touched the object that had entered his body without his permission. His handsome countenance grimaced at the resulting pain; it was beginning to hurt. The area was also beginning to swell with a reddish tinge.

He couldn’t sit here like this, he had to get up and make his way back to the group. Nathan was going to enjoy taking this thing out, but Ezra wasn’t going to enjoy the pain that he would cause. Ezra stood up and gently put some weight on his left leg, the pain started at the ankle and worked it’s way up to his thigh. He took a step to test his leg, it took his weight so he continued. It took him at least fifteen minutes to find his way back, by then the pain had become excruciating. He could barely walk on the limb now.

Ezra fell to the ground in a sitting position, his arms were held downwards to ease his fall. The left leg didn’t touch the ground. He watched as the others continued to play like children in the water. He felt guilty by interrupting their social activity, they were enjoying themselves.

“Nathan!” Ezra called out to him.

The men turned around at the sound of the Southern accent.

“What do you want now Ezra?” the ex-medic began to wade back to the shore.

“I seemed to have stood on something.”

As Nathan got closer he could see the pain etched on Ezra’s features. His dark eyes drifted to the leg that was hovering above the ground. The piece of metal that had pierced the limb caught his attention. His movements became faster as he struggled to move through the deep water.

Ezra could no longer hold the leg up, it was causing more pain. He lowered the leg until his heel touched the ground. The movement forced a shot of pain through his leg but eased after a matter of seconds. The new position was making the pain more bearable.

“How’d this happen Ezra?” Nathan crouched before the Southerner and examined the wound with his brown eyes.

“Nathan,” Ezra calmly made a suggestion to the ex-medic, “could you get dressed please. That really isn’t a sight I’d like to look upon while your cutting open my leg.”

“Uh, sure Ezra, just give me a sec to put some trousers on.” he looked at Chris when he stood up, his leader had put on his tight black jeans before checking on Ezra (how he could put on something so tight when he was wet, Nathan didn’t know). “Don’t let him touch it.”

“You don’t have to worry about that Nathan.” Ezra assured him.

Nathan took the opportunity to grab his first aid kit from his back pack.

“Can you guys get a fire started,” Nathan didn’t look at anyone in particular, he knew someone would do it, “then boil some water for me.”

Nathan prodded the injury, he did his best to ignore the intake of breath that came from his patient’s form.

“I’m going to have to cut it out Ezra.”

“Why?”

“I can pull it out but I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to clean it properly. It could get infected.”

“Fine, whatever, do what you have to do.” Ezra glared at him.

“How’d it happen Ezra?” Chris asked him.

“I went for a walk in the water, my leg slipped in between a couple of rocks and came out with that thing in my leg.”

“You went paddling in the water?” Vin would have found it funny if it wasn’t for the piece of metal in his friend’s leg.”

“Tell anyone and I’ll will have to kill you, all of you.” His glare turned on Chris and Vin who sat on either side of him. Buck, JD and Josiah and taken control of the fire.

The scalpel (Nathan always packed the extra things that he was sure he would need when on an outing with these men, something always went wrong) was sterilised in boiling water then held over the wound. Ezra clenched his teeth, it couldn’t hurt any more than it already did. But it did. Ezra cried out in pain when Nathan cut along the wound. He reached out for the nearest thing and grabbed onto Chris’ forearm with a death grip.

It only took Nathan a couple of minutes to cut and remove the offending piece of material but Ezra’s body was left shaking, his breathing was short and ragged. Shit that hurt! His green eyes watered and his teeth bit into his bottom lip. The knuckles on his hands turned white and he closed his eyes to concentrate on stopping the blackness that was close at hand from taking him. When it passed he opened his eyes and slowly turned his eyes to his leg. There was blood everywhere, he’d never seen so much blood before.

Nathan applied pressure to wound causing Ezra to attempt an escape. He failed, but of course he would. Two men were there to hold him down. It was another five minutes before the flow of blood eased to a trickle. Ezra’s eyes shifted to the ground beneath his feet, a pool of blood was only just beginning to soak into the Earth.

“Nathan, is that a lot of blood?” Ezra looked up at Nathan then back down at the large puddle.

“You’ve got plenty left Ezra.” Nathan assured him.

“It looks like a lot of blood.”

“I’m going to stitch this now Ezra.”

“You didn’t say anything about a needle and thread Nathan.”

“Look at it Ezra, it needs to be stitched.”

Ezra looked away, he wasn’t going to watch. He realised that he was still holding Chris’ arm but decided it was best not to let go, he was going to need to hold onto something.

Five minutes later Nathan was wrapping a bandage around the limb.

“We need to get you out of those wet clothes Ezra.”

“Where’s your back pack Ezra.” Buck asked him.

“Down the river with my other wet clothes and boots.”

“You changed before you went for another swim.” Buck smiled down at him.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Buck shrugged and grabbed JD by the shirt and dragged him along behind him. “We’ll go and get them for you.”

“Could you tie yourself to a tree and allow the ants to eat you while you’re there.” Ezra asked him politely.

“Sure Ezra, anything for you.” JD winked at him.

Vin pulled the wet t-shirt off Ezra before the undercover agent could protest verbally or resist physically. Chris reached towards the band of his trousers. Ezra yelped and slapped the hand that was trying to undo the button and zip.

“Ezra! There is no need to be modest.” Chris growled at him and reached for the trousers again.

“That has nothing to do with it.” Ezra pushed Chris’ hand away a second time. “I don’t like having another man undress me.”

“Ezra!” Chris’ tone held a warning.

“I can take my own pants off thank you.”

“Go on then.” Chris folded his arms and waited.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll wait until my dry clothes are delivered.”

“Take them off, or we’ll do it for you.”

Ezra’s green eyes stared at Chris, he quickly glanced to Nathan then Vin. They were prepared to do what Chris had threatened.

“You want me to sit here in the clothes I was born in? I’ll freeze.”

“No you won’t, it’s a warm day.” Nathan nodded towards the sun.

“What I do for you guys, and what do I get in return,” Ezra undid his trousers and slipped them down to his hips, then he was stuck, “nothing, absolutely nothing,” he looked to his left side then his right side, he needed to lift his butt off the ground. It was going to be difficult with only the use of one leg. The pain from putting the injured leg on the ground was something he didn’t want.

“Use me.” Chris moved closer.

Ezra leaned on him and used his left hand to pull the trousers and boxer shorts down. Nathan grabbed them and pulled them from the Southerner’s legs.

“Nathan!” Ezra scolded him.

“Sorry Ezra but I’m not waiting all day.”

“I wasn’t going to take all day.”

“Here you go.” Buck dropped the back pack on the ground and lay the boots and clothes in the sun to dry.

Chris opened the pack and pulled out a dark pair of khakis. “These are almost black Ezra.”

“I was hoping to ruin them on this fun filled trip.”

“You’re having fun?” Chris asked sarcastically.

Ezra didn’t have a comeback for that one.

“Chris,” Nathan got everyone’s attention with his serious tone, “I don’t want him walking on this, we should camp here then leave in the morning.”

“We could be at the cabin tonight Nathan.” Josiah reminded him.

“I know, but I don’t want Ezra walking on it yet. Knowing him,” Nathan nodded towards the Southerner, ”he’ll open it up and I’ll have to listen to him complaining again when I have to stitch it up a second time.”

“You heard the man.”

“Do you think one of us should go ahead and call the ranger, get someone in here to take Ezra out.” JD asked.

“Certainly not!” Ezra growled. “It’s simply a cut, that’s all.”

“Simply or not Ezra,” the ex-medic smiled, “when did you have your last technes shot?”

“Last year, remember. Vin pushed me over when I made that remark about his hair, and I still say I was correct on that particular subject. I landed on a heap of rubbish and cut myself on a rusty tin. Nathan, that needle hurt like hell and I don’t want to have another one.”

“You won’t have to Ezra, you’re up to date.”

“Good, can I get dressed now.”

“Sure, but you may require some help when it comes to your pants.” Nathan smiled.

“I can handle my pants on my own!” Ezra was starting to get embarrassed.

“You want to use me again?” Chris leaned towards him.

Ezra thought about and decided it would be quicker if he allowed them to help him dress the lower half of his body, rather than spend endless minutes trying to do it himself. He would only embarrass himself further. He’d no doubt fall on his naked butt and have his friends laugh at him. Hell, Vin probably had a camera with him.

“Okay! You can help me but I don’t want to hear anymore about it, especially from other agents or secretaries, receptionists, Judges, cleaners, or anyone else that works in the ATF building.” he lowered his voice. “Do you understand me?”

“Quit talking Ezra, you’re going to shrink so much you won’t recover, then we’ll really have something to tell people.” Buck slapped him on the shoulder.

“You’re a dead man if you do!” Ezra snapped at him.

“He’s right in a way Ezra.” Nathan told him. “You keep sitting there and talking all the time, you will get cold.”

“Then you better hurry up and help me.” Ezra grimaced.

Once his boxers were on, he felt more comfortable. The trousers were next and they were followed by a thick pair of socks. Now he just needed a shirt, he began to rummage through the back pack for one.

“How about this one Ezra?” Buck held up one of his own t-shirts for him.

Ezra looked up at the shirt and frowned at the man who held it. “You want me to wear a t-shirt that says ‘I’m gay and proud of it.”

“It’s your birthday present, just thought you might want it now rather than later.” Buck winked at him.

“You’re not trying to tell us something are you Buck?” Chris stood up and took a step closer to his friend.

“What?” he noticed the way the others were looking at him. “NO! A young lady gave it to me.”

“The ladies name wasn’t John was it?” Vin nudged Ezra with his elbow.

“No, . . . I’m not . . . it was a joke . . . ,” his gaze turned back to Chris. “I’m not gay, you should know that.”

“So the young lady was gay.” Nathan nodded.

“She wanted to sleep with you to prove that she really did prefer women over men.” Chris suggested.

“You talk alot about women but how often do we actually see you with one?” JD frowned at him.

“But I’m always bringing women home, you’ve seen them JD.”

“Yeah I have and I always thought that they looked more like men than women.” the young man shrugged.

“Transvestites Buck? Is that what you’re into now?” Chris placed his hands on his hips.

“I am not gay, I do not . . . “

“Your t-shirt says you’re gay.” Ezra nodded to it.

“I am not gay! I do not fancy transvestites and I don’t go out with them. I go out with women. WOMEN! I’m a ladies man remember!”

“So you keep trying to tell us.” Chris argued.

“You’re jealous, that’s what it is. I get more women than any of you and you’re jealous.” Buck wore a winning smile. “Jealous.”

“So you wear a t-shirt that says you’re gay so women won’t come near you?” Josiah asked him.

“Wouldn’t that make the men approach you?” JD wanted to know.

“You’re all jealous. The women love me and you know it.”

“We only know it because you keep telling us.” Chris told him. “I haven’t met a woman that agrees with what you say.”

“Women love me, you’re jealous and I hate all of you.” Buck glared at them. “That is the end of the subject!”

“You brought it up.” Ezra reminded him.

“You, I hate most of all.” the ladies man pointed at the undercover agent.

“The subject is dropped if you cook for the rest of the day.” the leader of the team offered.

“I can’t cook, you know that.”

“We’ll, there are some things that even you can cook. Hot dogs, with ketchup, mustard and onions.”

“That I can cook.” Buck growled and walked away.

“Why not start on it now Buck, I’d say that we’re all pretty hungry.” Chris yelled after him.

“I’m not that hungry,” Ezra spoke up, “and I still don’t have a t-shirt on.”

Nathan grabbed the back pack and pulled a long sleeved t-shirt out. “Here.”

Ezra reluctantly took it, the shirt wasn’t the one he had been looking for but he wasn’t ready for an argument with Chris or Nathan. He pulled it over his head then put his arms through the sleeves.

Nathan moved forward and placed a palm on Ezra’s forehead. “At least the fever you had has gone. You might get another one with this leg though. Will have to keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

“It’s going to get infected?”

“I didn’t say that, I said I have to check it to make sure it doesn’t.”

“And if it does . . . ?

“They’ll take your leg off.” Nathan told him.

“What!”

“They’ll take your leg off.” he calmly repeated.

“They’ll take my leg off . . .”

“He’s pulling your leg Ezra.” Vin slapped him across the back of the head.

“Oh and ow.”

It was official, Buck couldn’t cook, not even hotdogs. All he had to do was warm the hot dogs, and fry some onions. He wasn’t even capable of doing that. Chris suspected that Buck had done it on purpose so they wouldn’t make him cook again. It wasn’t going to work. Josiah had taken over and saved what was left of the meal. The rest of the group had been grateful.

Now they sat around the campfire like they had the night before. Well sort of like they had. JD lay on his side, he was fast asleep. Buck was complaining about the afternoon he’d had, his voice was a whisper, he’d been threatened three times already and he finally got the point. Chris lay against a fallen tree, his ankles crossed and a cup of coffee resting in his hands. Vin was flat on his back, he was watching the stars, a very stupid smile lined his face. Ezra was also sleeping, he had laid down half way through his meal and fallen asleep. Nathan had checked him to find that a fever had returned. He knew it would happen and he was going to have to keep a close eye on the Southerner. The ex-medic was sitting next to the sleeping man. Josiah was with him. Both men sat in a comfortable silence.

An animal cried out in the darkness causing Ezra to jerk awake and sit up suddenly in fear for his life.

“What was that?”

“Owl.” Josiah told him.

“You sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“It wasn’t a bear?”

“There aren’t any bears around here Ezra.” Nathan felt like he was trying to comfort a child.”

“You sure?”

“Jesus Ezra, go back to sleep.” Nathan growled at him.

“How am I supposed to sleep knowing that there may be an animal out there that wants to kill me.”

“An owl won’t kill you Ezra.”

“It will if it wanted to.”

“Don’t act like an idiot Ezra.” Josiah hit the back of Ezra’s head.

“Ouch . . . was that the owl?”

“You are such a pain in the ass.” Nathan pushed the Southerner down onto his back. “Go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to go back to sleep.”

“Shut up then.”

“Okay.”

Nathan began to enjoy the silence once more.

“My leg hurts.” Ezra decided to inform them.

“I gave you something for the pain an hour ago.” Nathan growled.

“Still hurts.”

“Shut up Ezra.” This time it was Josiah who wanted to go back to the silence

“Sure.”

Josiah looked up when he noticed Chris heading towards them. He sat down cross legged next to the larger man. He didn’t talk, the silence of the group was comforting. Buck was no longer complaining, JD was asleep, and Vin was busy doing other things.

“Chris.”

“What Ezra?”

“Leg hurts.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, hurts quite a bit actually.”

“And what did Nathan do about it?”

“Told me to shut up.”

“Then do as you’re told.”

“Tell him I don’t want to shut up.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I too want you to shut up.”

“No wonder I’m not having any fun.”

Chris hung his head and shook it in frustration. He was beginning to regret bringing the sometimes irritating asshole with them. Maybe Ezra was right, he should have left him at home where he could sit alone for a week. No. It wasn’t right for Ezra to be alone like that. It had been that way all his life, now that he had a family it wasn’t going to happen again. Not if he had anything to do with it.

“You’re still coming next time.”

“Next time I’ll break a leg, that way I’ll have to stay at home.”

“If you break a leg Ezra, it’ll be because I broke it.” Chris smiled.

“Aw hell, I should have stayed in Atlanta.” Ezra mumbled.

The three men were shocked by the statement. They also hoped that he was joking.

“Why?” Josiah asked.

“No reason really,” Ezra replied, “I’m going back to sleep.”

“Ezra,” Josiah tried again.

“I’m tired Josiah, I want to go to sleep.”

“What did you mean by ‘should have stayed in Atlanta’?” Chris reached across Josiah to nudge Ezra’s shoulder.

“I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“You meant something.”

“Nathan,”

“Yeah.”

“My leg does hurt.”

“I know Ezra but I can’t give you anything now.”

“Okay.”

“Later.”

“Okay.”

Day Four Ezra knew he had to wake up, he just didn’t want to. His leg hurt, his head hurt and he wasn’t a very happy man. He could usually cope with their sense of humour, the threats that were never carried out, the name calling, the exchange of sarcastic comments but last night was different. He understood Chris’ reason for forcing him to come but now . . . now he thought that Chris was regretting it.

Nathan was right, he was ruining the vacation for everyone else. He should have stayed at home, they would be having more fun without him. He would make more of an effort if he wasn’t hating the situation so much.

“Want some coffee Ezra?” Chris crouched down next to the waking man.

“Hmmmm?”

“Coffee, you want some.”

“Thanks.” Ezra rolled over to face the other side, he was still tired.

“What about breakfast?”

“Sorry.”

“What about breakfast.”

“Not hungry.”

“You okay Ezra?” Chris didn’t like what he had heard the night before. It gave him the impression that not only wasn’t his undercover agent enjoying himself, he was taking what they were saying to heart. That was unusual for Ezra, like the rest of them his back was covered in oil, sarcastic comments slid off his back. The last few days it was as if the oil had been replaced by velcro, everything stuck and it was beginning to effect him. And it had everything to do with forcing him to come on the hiking trip. It was a mistake, he knew it now. He should have waited until Ezra was ready to come of his own free will.

“Yeah.”

“Coffee will be ready in about ten minutes, I’ll bring you some over.”

“Thanks.”

Chris made his way back to the camp fire. He was no longer a happy man. He wanted to enjoy this trip, use the opportunity to spend time with Ezra on a social level. Ezra joined them at the bar for a drink, they had their poker nights, days of watching the superbowl or baseball but nothing like this.

“How is he?” Josiah asked him when he sat down next to the fire.

“Don’t know Josiah.”

“He’ll be alright.” Nathan assured him. “His leg was sore, he was tired and he didn’t want to be here. It was something he said on the spur of the moment.”

“Who said what?” Vin asked the three men.

“Last night Ezra said that he should have stayed in Atlanta.” Chris said.

“You shouldn’t have made him come Chris.” Vin decided to say what he’d been thinking since they left Ezra’s place.

“I thought it would do him good, that he’d get over it when he started to enjoy himself.”

“It’s been three days Chris and he’s not enjoying himself.” Vin told him. “Thinks he’s not being a friend because he isn’t.”

“What do you mean by that?” Buck joined the conversation.

“Just what I said, he thinks that because we’re friends he should be enjoying being with us and because he isn’t, he thinks he’s not a friend.”

“Did you explain it to him.” Chris looked at Vin.

“Yeah I did.”

“I won’t make him come next time.”

“I wasn’t going to let you.” Vin smiled at him.

“You’re the one that assured him that?”

Vin nodded then stood up. He walked over to where Ezra was and sat down beside him. He nudged the man in the chest to let him know he was there.

“What?”

“You okay Ezra?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t really want to be back in Atlanta, do you?”

Ezra sighed but kept his eyes closed. Vin would be sitting in front of him but he didn’t want to look at him. He just wanted to stay where he was for the rest of his life. Hidden under a blanket.

“No, of course not, don’t know why I said it.”

“Yes you do.”

“I don’t want to talk about it Vin.”

“Chris knows he shouldn’t have made you come.”

Ezra knew it, Chris was regretting bringing him along.

“I can go home now.”

“Not yet, we have to get you back to the car first.”

“Go away then and let me get some sleep.”

“No.”

“Vin.”

“No.”

“Fine, but I’m not talking anymore.”

“That’s okay, but I’m still not going anywhere.”

“Whatever.” Ezra muttered and pulled the blanket even further over his head.

Ezra had insisted on walking on his own, he’d claimed the pain wasn’t too bad. An hour later, a permanent grimace of pain was fixed on his countenance. The back of his shirt was soaked with sweat from the effort of walking on an injured limb. He now walked with the aid of a makeshift cane.

They were only thirty minutes from the cabin where they could use the radio to notify the ranger of the injury suffered by a hiker in their group. Ezra was having as much trouble walking with a tree branch than without one. The fact that they were walking up hill wasn’t helping him at all. He also refused any help that was offered to him. He knew he was being stubborn but he was angry, this wouldn’t be happening to him if Chris allowed him to stay at home where he wanted to be.

Chris and Vin were getting away with walking on either side of him. An attempt of trying to hit Vin with the wooden leg almost caused the undercover agent to fall; he didn’t try doing it again.

“Are we there yet?” JD asked the group in front of him.

“No we’re not!” Buck yelled over his shoulder.

The ladies man was leading the group of seven men. Nathan was staying as close as he could to Ezra. Josiah walked with JD.

“Are we there yet?” Vin called out.

“NO!”

“Just asking.” Vin muttered.

“This isn’t the Simpson’s Vin.” Chris told him. “JD isn’t Bart and you’re not Lisa.”

“Fine!” Vin sulked.

“Are we there yet?” Chris growled at Buck.

“Go to hell!” Buck ordered them.

“Are we in hell yet?” Vin smiled.

“I’m going to kill you!” Buck stopped and spun around. He was glaring at Ezra.

“What did I do?” Ezra asked him.

“Nothing, that’s what’s tellin’ me that you put them up to it.” Buck took a step forward. “Getting me back for the snake thing are we?”

“I got you back for that already,” Ezra couldn’t help smiling, “your nose remember.”

“Why you little . . . “

Ezra took a step back as Buck moved towards him. The only thing he was able to do was to trip over his makeshift crutch and begin to fall. Ezra reached out for something that would keep him upright, that something was Chris Larabee. If he was going to go down then so was the man who had forced him to come on this hurrendous hiking trip.

Chris knew what was going to happen as soon as he felt Ezra’s grip on his arm. A part of him wanted to push the Southerner away but that wasn’t the right thing to do; not to a friend, especially a friend who was hurt. He would do what he could to stop Ezra from being injured anymore than he already was.

He reached out with his other arm to get a better grip so he could stop Ezra from falling. But luck wasn’t in the mood to be nice to either man. They fell and both men hit the ground hard. The steep angle of the ground caused them to begin an unstoppable spiral down the hill.

Chris could hear Ezra’s sharp gasps of pain as they rolled down the hill. The injured leg must be taking a beating. He could feel his own pain as his body continued to hit the ground as it rolled. His arms tried to hold Ezra as long as he could to protect him from the injuries he was capable of receiving from the fall.

Ezra could feel the pain as it shot up his leg to the rest of his body. This was going to hurt when he came to a stop, he knew it, it was the way his luck was going. He would never go on a trip like this again. Even if he had to stand in a corner with a loaded gun in his hand, and threaten Larabee with death if he tried to force him to go with them.

Chris’ painful grip held him and protected him for only a few seconds longer. Their tangled bodies soon seperated as they went their own way. It seemed like he was rolling at a high speed for ever. His pain finally stopped when his head struck a rock but his body continued to roll. He didn’t feel his arm break when the large tree trunk stopped his fall.

Chris on the other hand felt everything. He stopped counting the amount of bruises he knew he would have in the morning. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ezra hit a tree. Ouch! That had to hurt. He hoped that all it did was hurt, that he didn’t receive another painful injury. Chris’ mind stopped thinking about Ezra when he also hit a tree. The bone in his left calf snapped in two. He cried out in pain and cursed the man who had caused him to fall.

Nathan and Vin were already side stepping down the hill. They had tried to grab the falling men but weren’t successful in their attempt. The only thing left to do was to follow them and hope they didn’t get hurt. Each man groaned inwardly when they saw Ezra and Chris slam into the trees at the bottom of the hill.

Josiah, Buck and JD soon followed them. Nathan moved quickly towards Ezra when he saw that he wasn’t moving. Vin went to Chris, he could see his friend clutching his leg, his face was covered with an expression of pain. This wasn’t good.

“Don’t move around Chris!” Vin told him when he reached him. “Nathan will be right with you.”

“Ezra?” Chris tried to look over Vin’s shoulder.

“Nathan’s checking him.” Vin shifted his position so Chris could see.

“Oh Jesus, he’s not moving. Vin, he’s not moving!”

Vin stayed silent when he realised what Chris’ words meant. Ezra couldn’t be dead. But how many people broke their neck during a simple fall; it was something that happened all the time.

“NATHAN!” Chris yelled as he ignored his own pain.

“He’s breathing Chris!” Nathan called back. “You stay put, I’ll be right with you.”

“Take your time Nathan.” Chris muttered. “I’ve only broken my leg.”

“That’s gonna hurt.” Vin informed him.

“You think!” Chris spat at him.

Chris didn’t dare straighten his leg out, he was already in too much pain. His body felt like it was broken all over. This was supposed to be a pleasant trip, one where they would enjoy themselves. He shouldn’t have forced Ezra to come. The man had a way of ruining everything. No that wasn’t right, Ezra hadn’t wanted to come. He couldn’t blame Ezra, he had been forced to come.

“Someone get my First Aid kit.” Nathan was pressing his t-shirt against the back of Ezra’s head in an attempt to stop the bleeding but he required a pressure bandage.

“I’ll get it.” JD turned to make his way back up the hill. He used it as an excuse so he didn’t have to look at the wound on Ezra’s skull or the obvious broken arm. The bone was attempting to puncture through the skin so it could reach the outside world.

“Use your shirt or something and press against this. I’m going to check on Chris.” Nathan told Josiah.

“He’ll be okay Nathan.” Josiah assured him.

Nathan nodded and made his way over to Chris. He pushed Vin aside and looked into Chris’ green eyes. “Tell me to save me looking.”

“I hurt all over but I think I’ve broken my leg.”

“Is your head okay, you didn’t hit it?” Nathan asked him.

“No.”

Nathan felt the leg through the jeans pants leg. Chris cried out in pain and tried to pull his leg away.

“Sorry Chris.” Nathan hated doing this to his friends. He always seemed to be causing them more pain.

“That’s okay Nathan.” Chris grimaced. Gawd that hurt.

“Vin, find me some thick branches that I can use as splints. I’m going to need four. Ezra’s broken his arm as well.”

“He okay?” Vin looked over his shoulder a second time. Ezra was still lying on his stomach. He couldn’t see the Southerner’s face.

“Not sure, I’ll have to wait until he regains consciousness.” Nathan let out a deep breath. “I want to stop the bleeding first,” he saw the confused expressions, “he has a laceration on the back of his head. Once I’ve done that, I’ll come and set your leg.”

“I’m not in a hurry Nathan,” Chris stared at his leg, “not in a hurry at all. Take your time.”

“I’ve got pain killers in my kit, you’ll be okay Chris.”

“As long as you’ve got plenty, you know what Ezra’s like when it comes to pain.”

“Yeah and we also know what you’re like.” Vin smiled at him.

“I have no problem handling pain . . . “

“The splints Vin.” the ex-medic reminded him.

Nathan left them to it and went back to Ezra. JD had returned to the tree that Ezra was lying against. He sat Nathan’s bag on the ground next to Ezra and stepped back.

“JD, why don’t you help Vin to find some splints for me.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll go sit with Chris.” it was the first time that Buck had spoken.

“It was an accident Buck.” Josiah could see the guilt on his face.

“He stepped away from me Josiah, that’s why he fell.”

“It was an accident.”

“Whatever.” Buck turned away and went to sit with Chris. He couldn’t look at either man but he couldn’t stay away either.

Nathan used a bandage to press against the still bleeding wound. It was almost ten minutes before the bleeding stopped. He hadn’t realised so much time had passed. He could have given Chris something for the pain while he waited. He quickly wrapped the wound. With Josiah’s help they turned Ezra over onto his back. Nathan laid the broken arm down in a comfortable position. He then lifted the eyelids to find both pupils equal. That ruled out the possibility of a concussion but he still had to watch Ezra for a delayed reaction. Nathan decided that the broken arm could wait. Ezra still hadn’t regained consciousness, he wasn’t feeling anything. Chris was. That leg needed to be set. He left Ezra in Josiah’s capable hands.

“You ready?” Nathan asked Chris when he returned to his side.

“No.” there was actually a touch of fear in Chris’ eyes.

“I’ll give you something first, it won’t be as bad.”

“Oh great.” Chris muttered.

Nathan pulled a syringe and a vial of clear liquid from his bag.

“How did you get that stuff?” Vin asked in surprise.

“I have friends.” the ex-medic winked at him.

“You can’t just hit me over the head with a hammer.” Chris grimaced.

“Don’t have a hammer.” Nathan shrugged.

“A rock?”

“Not one here that’s big enough, besides, your head is too thick.”

“I don’t like needles Nathan.”

“Who does.”

“Ow!”

“You didn’t even feel anything.” Nathan growled at him.

“You could have warned me first!” Chris rubbed his upper arm

“And have you act like a baby.”

Nathan took a pair of large scissors from his bag and began to cut through the thick denim material. The bone hadn’t pierced the skin, that was good. He placed two long branches on both sides of the leg. They ran from the ankle to the mid-thigh. It was best if the entire leg was imobolised.

“On the count of three.”

“That won’t work with me Nathan, you’ll pull it on the count of two.” Chris grab two handfuls of Earth and tensed up.

“Relax Chris, it’ll be easier for both of us.” Nathan warned him.

“How can I relax when . . . FUCK!” Chris’ sentence ended with a scream of profanity.

“That was a bit unfair Nathan.” Vin knew how badly that would have hurt.

“Maybe next time you can do it!” Nathan growled at him.

“Sorry.” Vin nodded at him.

“So you should be.” the ex-medic didn’t look at him, he was too busy splinting the broken leg. “Hold this.” he waited until Vin did as he was told. “I don’t do this because I enjoy causing pain, if it wasn’t for me, you people would have been dead six months after you joined the team.”

“I know Nathan, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not!” Chris growled. “At the moment I’m hurting and I don’t like it.”

“You can apologise later.” Nathan told him.

“Now that depends on how long I hurt for.”

“If it has anything to do with me, it’s going to hurt for quite a while.”

Chris didn’t like the sound of that, he didn’t like it one little bit.

“Buck,” Nathan called out to him, “can you help Vin carry Chris back up to the top.”

“Sure Nathan.”

“I’m going to take care of Ezra, then we’ll bring him up.”

“You need any help?” Vin asked him.

“No, Josiah and I can take care of him. You stay with Chris. Give me a yell if he needs anything.” the ex-medic stood up and walked away without looking at the three men.

“Think he’s mad?” Vin looked at Chris and saw the pain etched on his features.

“Yeah I do, but at the moment I don’t care.”

“Still hurts?”

“What do you think!”

“I think it still hurts.”

“Why couldn’t he have waited until the pain killer kicked in.” Chris growled as he tried to shift himself into a better position.

“It still would have hurt either way Chris.”

“I know.” Chris sighed.

“Come on, let’s get you up that hill.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“Carry you.”

“Damn it! Ezra’s going to pay for this.”

“It was my fault Chris,” Buck told him, “not Ezra’s.”

“I don’t care who’s fault it was, someone is going to pay for it!”

Josiah had watched as Nathan set Chris’ leg, a part of him was grateful that Ezra wasn’t going to be awake to feel it when it was his turn. He turned to look at, the face he was staring into was becoming pale, too pale.

“He show any signs of waking up yet?” Nathan asked Josiah.

“No.”

“I’ll set his arm and check his leg.” Nathan nodded. “At least this one isn’t going to complain.”

“Something wrong Nathan?” JD asked him.

“No, I’m going to be calm about it, the man is in pain. As long as he apologises later it’ll be okay.”

“I’m sorry.” JD frowned.

“Not you, him.” Nathan nodded towards Chris.

“Oh.”

“JD, can you help me splint this arm.”

“As long as I don’t have to look.”

“You won’t have to look.” Nathan assured him.

Nathan easily pulled the bones back into place then placed the splints on either side. He used more bandages to hold the splints in position. Another bandage strapped the broken arm to Ezra’s chest. The wound on the undercover agent’s leg had been torn open. Nathan took the opportunity to thoroughly clean it before he stitched it again. He knew the wound to the back of Ezra’s skull was also going to require stitching. It took him fifteen minutes to take care of Ezra’s injuries.

“Think you can carry him up the hill Josiah.”

“Be my pleasure Nathan.”

Josiah wasn’t able to sling Ezra over his back, he had to carry him in his arms like a child. It made it a little awkward for him to move back up the hill. He was worried that he would fall and take Ezra with him. Nathan and JD walked behind him to help his forward movement. It was slow going but they finally made it. Josiah walked towards Chris and lay Ezra down beside his leader and friend.

“How is he?” Vin gripped Ezra’s shoulder and squeezed it.

“I don’t think there’s a concussion, won’t be sure until he wakes up. Had to stitch the head wound and re-stitch his leg.”

“Are we going to head to the cabin or wait a while?”

“Think we should go now, it’s only thirty minutes away, a bit longer with these two injured.” Nathan explained. “I don’t want them spending the night out here. Ezra’s already getting a fever from the leg, I don’t want that to get any worse.”

Vin moved his hand to feel Ezra’s forehead. Nathan was right, there was a new fever starting.

“I’ll take Ezra, he’s not that heavy.” Josiah picked Ezra up a second time and began to walk in the direction of the cabin.

Buck and JD picked up the backpacks they had been carrying for Chris and Ezra and followed Josiah, that left Chris to Vin and Nathan.

Vin and Nathan replaced their packs onto their backs and helped Chris to his feet. It was going to be a long thirty minutes for all of them. At least they weren’t going to have to listen to Ezra complaining. No, just Chris.

But Chris didn’t say a word during his ordeal. His eyes were glued to the form in Josiah’s arms. He couldn’t see the Southerner’s face but he could see his legs moving in time with Josiah’s steps. It wasn’t until they finally reached the cabin forty five minutes later that he did say something.

“This vacation sucks!” Chris informed everyone as he was helped through the door and into the cabin.

“It wouldn’t suck if you left Ezra at home.” Vin told him.

“Who the hell asked you!”

“No one, just thought I’d remind you that none of this is Ezra’s fault.”

“Did I say it was his fault! When did I say it was Ezra’s fault.” Chris growled. “I know it’s not his fault.”

“Chris,” Nathan helped him to sit down next to Ezra’s prone form, “you need to rest. Try to stay calm, it won’t take the medics long to get here.”

“I AM CALM!” Chris yelled at him.

“As long as your calm.” Nathan smiled at him. “Just give us a few minutes to get these bunks comfortable then you can lie down.”

“Nathan.” JD called to him and waved him over to the radio that sat close to the door. He had used the headphones so he would be able to hear what they were saying on the other end. Chris had started yelling as soon as he stepped through the door.

“What?”

“They can’t get here until the morning.” JD whispered.

“Who can’t?”

“The medics.”

“Why can’t they be here until the morning?” Vin heard what JD had said and joined the conversation.

“The helicoptor is down, won’t be able to get it up in the air until tomorrow.” JD explained.

“It’s not the only helicopter in the area.” Nathan stated.

“There are two more, they’re both on loan, no way they’d be here before tomorrow night.”

“Did someone inform God that Ezra was going on a vacation?” Vin asked seriously.

“Josiah!” Nathan growled at him and used his finger to indicate that he should join them immeadiately.

“What’s up?” Josiah looked at each of them.

“Did you tell God that Ezra was going with us on a vacation?” Nathan stared at Josiah, he was very serious about the question.

“I did mention it in passing.” Josiah frowned at Nathan. “Why?”

“They can’t get here until the morning!”

“And you think God has something to do with that?”

“Who else would do this too him. An imbedded object in his leg, a broken arm, a head injury and almost every one of us is pissed off at him, and now he has to suffer through the night until they get here.”

“Not to mention Chris.” Vin added.

“You have a point there.” Josiah nodded. “I’ll go have another word with him.”

“Vin, you want to help me with those two.” Nathan nodded towards Chris and Ezra.

“I’m not tellin’ him.” Vin shook his head.

“Coward.”

“Sure am.” Vin smiled.

“I’ll remember that the next time we make a bust.” the ex-medic growled.

“I’m just a coward when it comes to Chris.”

“Really.”

“Yes.”

Nathan shook his head and walked across the room to the three bunks that were lined side by side against the wall. He checked to make sure they weren’t damp and that they were clean. His next step was to gather some blankets, he was going to make sure that Ezra and Chris were kept warm. Some of them were thrown roughly towards Vin.

“You can make that one for Chris, that way if it isn’t comfortable, you’re the one he can complain to.” Nathan said smugly.

“Gee, thanks Nathan.”

“You’re welcome Vin.”

“It’s getting a bit sore down here Nathan.” Chris informed him.

“Give us another minute Chris.” Nathan smiled at Vin.

Josiah came back over to Nathan. “Okay, I had a word with God . . . “

“What’d he say?” Vin asked knowing that there wasn’t going to be a truthful answer.

“I’m waiting on an answer.”

“Oh.” Vin rolled his eyes. That was a truthful answer.

“Josiah, can you put Ezra on here for me.” Nathan patted the bed then stepped out of the way. “Then Chris.”

“I can get myself on the bed.” Chris told them.

“No you can’t!” Nathan leaned over him. “I’m not in a pleasant mood Chris so do as you’re told.”

“Or?” Chris pushed him.

“You won’t get another pain killer until the medics get here.”

“Like that’s going to worry me, they’ll be here soon.”

“They won’t be here until the morning, JD called them already.”

“WHAT!”

“So settle down and do as you’re told.” Nathan warned him.

“Damn!” Chris slapped his good leg then glared at Josiah when the larger man bent down to pick him up.

“Cause me any pain Josiah and I will kill you!” Chris promised him.

“You won’t kill me Chris.”

“Why not?”

“I have God on my side.”

“Not after I’ve finished with him.” the blond growled.

Josiah hesitated, Chris would do it to. He carefully lifted him and laid him on the small bed next to Ezra’s.

“That hurt?”

“No, now piss off and leave us alone.”

Josiah looked at Chris with a strange expression on his face.

“I’m not impressed Josiah, my leg is broken, it hurts and I am no longer enjoying myself. Go away and leave Ezra and me alone. All of you!”

“I’m not leaving Ezra until I’m sure he’s okay.” Nathan sat at the end of the bed that Ezra lay in.

“As long as you don’t talk to me or Ezra.”

“Whatever you want Chris.”

“I don’t want to bring him on another trip.” Chris nodded towards Ezra.

“We decided that it was God’s fault that all of this happened.” Nathan sort of smiled at Ezra.

“Why’s that?”

“Because Josiah told God that Ezra was going on vacation.”

“That’ll be right, ruin it for Ezra and the rest of us. Sometimes I wish Josiah would tell that man to mind his own damn business.”

“You don’t complain when he save’s Ezra or one of the other’s lives.” Josiah argued with them.

“He was the one responsible for injurying them in the first place.” Chris retorted.

“God’s an alien.” Ezra muttered through the throbbing pain in his skull.

“Ezra?” Nathan shifted further up the bed.

“No God, just an alien race that left us here.” Ezra continued.

“Ezra, can you open your eyes for me?”

“No, don’t want to.”

“Then I’ll do it for you.” Nathan lifted the right then left eyelid. The pupils were still normal.

Ezra swiped at him with his good arm. “Why can’t I move my right arm and why does it hurt so much?”

“You broke it when you fell.”

“I fell?” Ezra frowned and turned his head away from Nathan’s voice.

“Yes and you took me with you!” Chris informed him.

“Chris?”

“Broke my leg.”

“Well, that teaches you for bringing me along.”

“Fuck you Ezra Standish!”

“Only if you allow me to sleep first.” Ezra took a deep breath and let it out with a loud sounding sigh.

“Does that mean he’s okay?” Chris asked Nathan.

“Might, not sure yet.”

“Does it at least mean that you can go away for a while.”

Nathan growled at him and stood up. With a final glare at his leader he turned away and walked back to the others.

“He’s in a foul mood,” Nathan told the others, “I wouldn’t go near him.”

“Ezra?” Buck asked.

“Woke up but he’s out again. I think he should be okay.”

“How are they going to cope until the morning, that’s at least fourteen hours away?” Vin looked at Chris and received a cold glare for his trouble.

“I’ve got enough pain killers to see Chris through until the morning.” Nathan answered. “Ezra should sleep through the night, he’s not going to really feel anything for a while.”

“You think it’s okay to leave them alone?” Buck questioned him again.

“It’s either that or death . . . our deaths that is.”

“I’m not going near Chris.” Vin shook his head.

“Me neither.” JD agreed

“So we just leave them like that.” Buck growled.

“Chris will call me if he needs anything.” Nathan shrugged.

“Great, just great.” Buck moved away and sat on the floor and leaned his back against the wall.

Ezra woke up to a room full of filtered light. He frowned and rolled his head to his right. Chris Larabee was staring at him. Ezra returned the glare then faced the other wall. There was silence in the rest of the room. He searched for the others and found them lying on the floor in various positions.

“Nathan.” Ezra could see him leaning against the wall, the ex-medic’s head rested against an upright knee. “Nathan.”

Nathan lifted his head quickly, he was sure it was Ezra’s voice he heard. “That you Ezra?”

“Yeah Nathan.” Ezra whispered and rubbed his aching head with his free hand.

Nathan stood up and tip toed over to Ezra, he sat on the bed and looked into Ezra’s eyes. “How you feelin’?”

“I hurt all over, but my head is killing me.” Nathan pulled Ezra’s hand away. “It hurts Nathan.”

“I know Ezra.” Nathan gently rubbed the Southerner’s forehead, his temperature was rising. “Think you can go back to sleep?”

“No . . . “ Ezra shook his head slowly.

“Want me to give you something for the pain?”

Ezra raised an eyebrow in Nathan’s direction.

“Stupid question.” Nathan smiled. “I’ll be back in a minute. What about you Chris? You need something?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Chris was still watching Ezra. “Hey Ezra.” he waited but Ezra didn’t look at him.

“Not now Chris, I hurt too much.”

“In the morning then Ezra, we need to talk.”

“Fine.”

Nathan went to Ezra first. “How many fingers do you see Ezra?”

“Do we have to do this now Nathan?”

“Yes!”

Ezra looked at the hand. “Three.”

“Good, doesn’t look like you have a concussion.”

“No, just feels like someone took to my head with a sledgehammer.”

“You have a laceration on the back of your head Ezra, I had to stitch it.”

“And that explains it?” Ezra grimaced.

“Should.” Nathan prepared the syringe. “I’m going to roll you onto your side. This’ll ease your headache, you should be able to get some more sleep then.”

Ezra tensed himself up in preperation for the quick sharp pain he knew was coming. He hardly felt the needle as it entered his buttock.

“It’ll take a few minutes Ezra.”

“Thanks Nathan.”

“You’re welcome Ezra.”

Nathan rolled Ezra onto his back and sat with him until he fell back to sleep. It took approximately eight minutes. He moved to his next patient and did the same for Chris.

“Don’t fight this Chris, you need to sleep.”

“Ezra’s okay then.”

“Yeah, he should be. I’ll give him a bit longer, then I’ll change the bandage on his leg.”

Chris nodded in satisfaction and closed his eyes. It was also only a matter of minutes until he was also asleep.

Day Five Ezra frowned, didn’t he just go to sleep, or was it morning already. If it was morning then why was he still on this stupid vacation instead of lying in a dreaded hospital bed. There must be something wrong.

“Why are we still here?” he knew someone would answer him.

“Helicopter was down, couldn’t get here last night. They’ll be here in about an hour.” Vin explained to him.

Ezra opened his eyes and looked at Vin. “Truthfully, am I in hell?”

“It’s starting to look like that Ezra.” Vin nodded.

“Aw hell, why did I have to come.” he wiped his eyes with his hand then hit the side of the bed in a fit of frustration.

“You’ll be out of here soon Ezra.” he was assured.

“Yeah, only to spend how many days in a fucking hospital, then be cared for like a baby for who knows how long.” Ezra growled. “This fucking sucks!”

“I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your vacation.” Chris spoke from the other bed.

“Enjoy it! You’ve got to be kidding. I hated every fucking minute of it!”

“As long as we understand how you feel about it.” Chris shrugged.

Vin knew he wasn’t going to be able to calm Ezra down. The Southerner was too angry to take part in a calm conversation.

“Vin, you want to leave us alone please.” Chris asked him.

The sharp shooter only frowned at Chris then Ezra.

“Leave, if you don’t then I will break one of your bones when I’m healthy. If I don’t want to wait that long I will make sure that you are on foot patrol with the local police department for the next year.”

“Sure, anything you want Chris.” Vin quickly stood up.

“That goes for the others to.” Chris growled. “Give them the warning will you.”

Chris pushed himself up into a sitting position. He gritted his teeth against the pain. “Ezra, I know . . . ”

“Not now Chris!”

“Ezra . . . “

“No!”

Chris stayed silent for a few minutes. He needed another tactic, something that would get Ezra to talk. He smiled when he thought of one.

“You know this is your fault, don’t you.” Chris growled at the man who sat on the cot next to him.

“How is this my fault?” Ezra asked him.

“If you hadn’t taken me with you when you fell, I wouldn’t be sitting here with a broken leg.”

Ezra shook his head in disbelief and he found Vin Tanner’s pale blue eyes staring at him. The sharpshooter - he understood what Chris was going to try and do with Ezra - winked at him and nodded towards Chris. He was telling Ezra to give back as much as he was getting.

“Chris . . . can I ask you a serious question?”

“Of course you can Ezra.”

“Did I want to come on this camping trip?”

Chris looked sideways at Ezra.

“No,”

“Was I forced to come on this trip against my will.”

“Yes,” Chris mumbled. This was going the wrong way fast.

“Who was it that forced me to come?”

“Me,”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

“Me!” Chris raised his voice so everyone could hear him.

“So, as I see it, if I stayed at home like I wanted to, I wouldn’t have hurt my leg, therefore, you would never have fallen because I wasn’t here.”

Chris didn’t say anything.

“Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“So who’s fault was it Mr Larabee?”

“Mine.”

“Who’s?”

“Mine!”

“So all this,” Ezra pointed out their injuries, “is your fault.”

“Yes!”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ezra smiled at Vin who nodded in return. He had done well as far as he and Vin were concerned. The others were also smiling but it wasn’t going to last. The two most stubborn men of the group were injured and in a lot of pain. It wasn’t going to be easy for the others.

Ten minutes passed without anyone speaking. No one dared to check on the injured, not after being threatened with physical violence and foot patrol duty for the next year. The two men were in a bad mood and willing and ready to take it out on anyone.

“My leg hurts.” Chris informed Ezra.

“I know.”

“And how do you know my leg hurts?”

“Because you just told me.”

“I told you because it hurts.”

“My leg also hurts and so does my arm.” Ezra told him.

“My leg hurts more than yours.” Chris argued.

“Prove it.”

“What?”

“I said . . . prove it.” Ezra repeated.

“How am I supposed to prove it? It’s a broken leg, so it has to hurt like hell.”

“You said that it hurts more than my leg. Prove it!”

“I can’t prove it.”

This was supposed to get Ezra to talk? What the hell was he thinking when he came up with this idea. It wasn’t working at all. They weren’t talking, they were complaining and trying to out do each other.

“Then shut up before I break the other leg!” Ezra growled at him.

Everyone else looked up in shock. Ezra had just told ‘the’ Chris Larabee to shut up in a very unpleasant tone. This wasn’t good. Ezra was going to pay dearly for that, if not now then later.

“Okay,” Chris shrugged, he wasn’t going to allow himself to get angry, “still hurts more than yours though.”

Okay? That was it? This meant that Ezra was going to pay for it later. Ezra growled in response and was a little relieved that he was going to pay later, he would be in better shape to defend himself.

There was another five minutes of silence.

“You know I’m going to have to spend the next eight weeks behind a desk don’t you.” Chris started again.

Isn’t this supposed to be the other way around. Aren’t I supposed to be pissing him off. “It only takes six weeks for a broken bone to heal.” Ezra informed him.

“It’s a bad break, it’s going to take longer than usual to heal.”

“How would you know it’s a bad break?”

“Because it hurts like one.” Chris said.

“Of course.” The Southerner rolled his green eyes skyward.

Nathan was becoming more angry with each word he could hear. Were these men really that stupid. He wasn’t too happy with Chris to start with. He had woken up a few times during the night and while he had been awake he’d made plenty of demands. Now he had to sit here and listen to this shit.

Ezra looked at Chris’ leg then at his face. A slight sheen of sweat covered his skin. He wiped his own forehead with the palm of his left hand and it came away wet. They were both in a lot of pain. His leg and arm. There was also the cut on the back of his head, it also hurt like hell. He pushed himself up into the same type of position Chris was sitting in. It was hard with one arm strapped to his chest. Shit! At the moment his life was a fucking mess.

“You already sit behind a desk.” Ezra tried to ignore the combined pain of his own injuries and Chris’ one injury.

“But this will be different.” Chris tried to make it sound worse than it was going to be. “Things are going to be more difficult to do.”

“Such as?” Ezra really wanted to know how a broken leg was going to make it more difficult to sit behind a desk all day.

“Have you ever tried to sit in my chair with a broken leg?” Chris asked him seriously.

“Yes,” Ezra waited for a response but he didn’t receive one, so he continued, “and it was very comfortable.”

“Really.”

“Yes, really. It was Buck’s idea actually. He thought that we should have stolen it, then wait until you bought a new one. When the old one showed up, it would have been suggested that I got it. Of course I talked him out of it.”

“Of course you did.” Chris glared at Buck, but the ladies man refused to meet his eyes.

“Such as . . . ?” Ezra repeated.

“Such as what?”

“You were going to tell me why it was more difficult for you to sit in your chair behind your desk all day.”

“Well, for a start, I don’t sit in it all day.” Chris said harshly. “Apart from that, it would be much harder to jump out of my chair, run out of my office and yell at one or all of you when you’re pissing me off. Which, I remind you, is all the time.”

“That it?”

“No, that’s not it. I can’t put both of my legs up on my desk.” Chris frowned at the thought. He liked to sit with his feet resting on the corner of his desk.

“That it?”

“I can’t pace the room.”

“We’re talking about sitting in your chair, not walking around your office.” Ezra reminded him.

“I’m thinking.” Chris crossed his arms over his chest.

“So you’ve only got two.”

“For now.”

“I don’t see what the difference is going to be.” Ezra shrugged.

“What do you mean? ” he frowned at Ezra.

“You sat before you broke your leg, you’re going to sit after you broke it. Most of the time you yell from your chair instead of getting up. You make us come to you, you don’t come to us. It’s just going to be the same for you as far as I can see.”

“Is that what you think? That I just sit on my ass all day?”

“Most of the time yes, unless you’re out on a bust.”

The conversation was beginning to worry the others. Someone was going to say something that they were going to regret. That is if Ezra hasn’t said it already.

“I’m going to forget you said that!”

“Why? You didn’t hit your head!” Ezra stabbed his skull with his forefinger and winced at the pain it caused; which was mostly to his finger.

“Ezra . . . be careful of what you’re saying.” Chris warned him.

“Why? You going to fire me? Send me back to Atlanta? You don’t want me here so why not!”

Chris decided not to say anything. He was angry and he might say the wrong thing.

Another ten minutes of silence followed.

“My leg and arm are going to make it difficult for me to do my job.”

Here we go, now I’m going to hear his story. But Ezra’s got a point. It’s going to be harder for him than it is for me. Chris turned to him. “Pray tell, how is that?”

Ezra ignored him. “I’m usually out on the street doing undercover work, risking my life, getting shot, almost dying at times and then suffering the humilaty of staying at your place. It’s what I enjoy, not the staying at your place part, and now I have to sit behind a desk for the next three months.”

“Three months, you’ve got to be kidding.”

“It’s a bad break, I can tell by how bad it hurts.” Ezra smiled and winked at JD who was listening to every word of their conversation, he also seemed to be worried about something.

“Uh huh.” Chris nodded.

“Have you ever tried sitting in my cramped office in my very uncomfortable chair behind that small desk with a broken arm and an infected leg.”

“No and it’s not infected.”

“It could be.” Ezra stated simply.

“It isn’t.”

“How would you know?”

“NATHAN!” Chris yelled.

“WHAT! What the hell do you want now?” Nathan glared over his shoulder at the two men. It was bad enough that he had to listen to them arguing, now they were going to make him a part of it. No way in hell!

“Is Ezra’s leg infected?”

“NO!”

“Are you a doctor Mr Jackson?” Ezra mistankenly asked him.

Moans sounded around the room. Four men couldn’t look, they had to turn away. Chris tried to shuffle himself further away from Ezra but he couldn’t manage it. Too much pain.

Nathan stood up to his full height and walked slowly to the two men. He put his hands on his hips and leaned over Ezra. The expression that his face held told Ezra that he was about to die.

“Excuse me?”

“Um . . . ah . . . he said it.” Ezra pointed at Chris.

“Since when did he gain a Southern accent?” Nathan didn’t even look at Chris.

“He . . . well . . . I . . . “ Ezra hung his head. “Sorry Nathan.”

“I don’t want anymore shit from either of you!” Chris’ head moved into the same position as Ezra’s. “Not a word until the medics get here. Do you understand me?”

There was absolute silence.

“Well!”

“Okayyyyyy.” Ezra groaned.

“Chris!”

“Got it already.”

Nathan nodded and moved away. Chris and Ezra looked at each other and shrugged. They couldn’t understand why Nathan was so pissed off at them. It wasn’t like they had done anything to cause his anger. The other five men sighed in relief when the room filled with silence.

Five minutes of silence passed.

“Ezra, . . . what you said about . . . “

“CHRIS!” Nathan yelled without looking at him, “what did I say?”

“You said you didn’t want anymore shit from us,” Chris yelled back. “this isn’t shit so mind your own damn business!”

“That’s going to cost you.” Nathan whispered so Chris couldn’t hear him.

“Ezra, what you said about staying in Atlanta and that I didn’t want you here. What did you mean by that.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it Chris.” Ezra told him.

“Then why did you say it? Don’t you feel welcome here?”

“I’m fine here.”

“Ezra!”

“I’m not fine here. I didn’t want to come, I don’t want to be here, and I don’t want to come here again.”

“Okay, I can understand that after the couple of days you’ve had.” Chris sympathised with him.

“If you didn’t force me to come, I wouldn’t have had a ‘bad’ couple of days. I would be enjoying myself right now instead of hating every minute of my passing life!” Ezra retorted.

“It’s not that bad is it? You don’t hate being with us that much do you?”

Ezra turned his head away, the silence became awkward.

“Ezra, would you please talk to me about this.”

“You don’t enjoy being around me, neither do the others.”

“That’s not true Ezra, we wanted you to come.”

“Remember what you said in the car before we left?” Ezra still wouldn’t look at him.

“What did I say?” Chris couldn’t remember.

“You said that you weren’t going to let me stay at home and end up thinking that I didn't go because you didn't want me there.” Ezra paused. “Is that really why you made me come?”

“I wanted you to come so you wouldn’t stay at home alone. You always seem to be alone Ezra.”

Ahhh shit! “The thing is this . . . you were right.”

“I was?”

“Yeah, I would have been fine the first couple of days, then I would start to think that you didn’t want me to come. That if you did, you would have forced me to go with you.”

JD leaned towards Buck and whispered in his ear, “I’m getting confused.”

“Ezra said that Chris was right.” Buck answered.

“So Ezra did say it.” JD smiled.

“So I was right,” Chris’ face held a smug expression, “you were wrong.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.”

“I said yes!”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So we’re okay?” Chris looked into Ezra’s green eyes.

“Only if you don’t make me go places.“

“But you just said . . . “

“I know, but I’m not enjoying myself Chris and that’s making it hard for you guys. You’re not really enjoying yourself either are you?” Ezra didn’t wait for an answer. “I’m in a bad mood and I’m taking it out on you guys. That’s putting you in a bad mood and you’re taking it out on me. It’s been getting worse with each passing day.”

“I noticed that.” Chris admitted to him.

“I stay at home, if I begin to think that you didn’t want me to go, I’ll have to deal with that myself.”

“Sure Ezra, I understand that. Next time we’ll ask once and once only. Then it’ll be up to you.”

“Thanks.”

“My leg still hurts more than yours though.”

“CHRIS!” Nathan yelled a second time.

Two medics stepped into the cabin to find four men pacing, one younger man sleeping on the floor and two injured men arguing with each other. Maybe they should turn around and go back. It didn’t look like the two men were dying, if anything they looked like they were about to be shot by one of the four pacing men. One of them even began to turn around.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to take care of those two assholes.” Nathan stopped his movements and put his hands on his hips. “Well?”

“Sure, sorry.” the medic who stood closer to the two men made his way over to them.

Nathan followed them. “This one,” he pointed a finger at Chris, “ is going to need a rectal examination.”

Chris’ mouth dropped open in shock. Ezra stared at Nathan and made the best decision he could at the time. He shut his mouth and said absolutely nothing.

“Why?” the medic asked in a serious tone.

“Because he’s full of shit.” Nathan growled.

The fear left Chris’ face and a smile replaced it. The medic would be on his side.

“What about a suppository?” the medic suggested. “We can let the doctor know when we take him in. That would get rid of all the shit.”

Chris’ face dropped again, while Ezra continued to stay silent.

“Traitor.” Chris growled out of the corner of his mouth at the coward who sat beside him. Ezra didn’t even blink. He wasn’t going to get anything shoved up his ass.

“Sounds fine to me.” Nathan smiled down at Chris who stared back with an expression of fear.

“What about this one?” the medic looked at Ezra.

“He’s actually suffering, I won’t worry about him until he’s feeling better.”

Ezra turned to Chris and winked at him. “Told you mine hurts more. Nathan likes me, he doesn’t like you.”

“Nathan likes me.” Chris insisted.

“Then why is he suggesting that they stick something up your butt and not mine.”

“Nathan!” Chris growled at him. “Why are you doing this to me? I haven’t done anything to you. Have I?”

“We’ll discuss this later Chris, you need to rest, you have a long afternoon ahead of you.” Nathan smiled and walked away.

The medic’s decided that one would work on Chris while the other worked on Ezra. Neither wanted Chris so they had to do ‘Rocks, Scissors, Paper’ to decided who got Chris.

James Peterson, a veteran medic of fifteen years sat beside Ezra. His blue eyes searched the patient for any visible injuries. The only ones he could find were on the left calf and right forearm. He needed to know of any injuries that weren’t available for him to see.

“You want to tell me where it hurts?”

Ezra rolled his eyes. Some people could be really stupid. Wasn’t it obvious to this trained person that his injuries were there for him to see. Was he blind as well as stupid. Probably. Wasn’t everyone in the medical profession that way. As far as Ezra Standish was concerned, yes they were.

“You see that bandaged area on my left calf, and the blood that’s soaked through it?” Peterson nodded as though he were talking to a child. “It hurts there.”

Chris nudged Ezra’s knee but the Southerner ignored him, he was on a roll and nothing, not even Chris Larabee, was going to stop him.

“I assume that you can also see the splint on my right arm,” the medic nodded again and recieved a sympathetic look from his partner. A look that didn’t help him. “That hurts more than his leg.” Ezra pointed at Chris’ leg.

“Really,” Peterson was still nodding, “more than his.”

“Yes really.” Ezra leaned forward and bent his head. “All that blood would tell you that I have an open head wound. That also hurts.”

“Anywhere else?” Peterson asked him patiently.

“No. Not unless they have another trip planned.”

“The only thing left to do is to make you more comfortable for the ride back to the hospital,” he looked at Ezra, “and to ask you not to say another word.”

“Why?”

“Just thought it would be easier for you.” the medic lied to him.

“Why would it be easier for me?”

Peterson hung his head. “We’ll fix your arm for travel then strap you to the board . . . “

“What do you mean me? And I’m not going on that thing.” Ezra retorted.

“It would make the flight more comfortable for you.”

“Flight?”

“Ezra! Just do as you’re told.” Chris told him.

“I’m not doing it!” Ezra would have crossed his arms if he could.

“You want to walk back to the Ranger’s Station and go by car?” Peterson expected the answer to his question to be no.

“Yes. I’d rather walk for three days than . . . “

“Try six or even eight,” Peterson interrupted him, “you’ve got an injured leg, a broken arm and a head injury. It’s going to take you a lot longer. May even kill you.”

“So you’ve noticed my injuries then.”

“How could I not, you told me about them.”

“I’m still not going on that thing.”

“He’s not arguing.” Peterson nodded to Chris.

“That’s because he’s been threatened with a rectal examination.” Ezra smiled.

“I can change my mind Ezra.” Nathan called to him.

“You wouldn’t dare. I’d sue the hospital for an unnessary examination.”

“It doesn’t have to be put in your records.” Peterson smile at the expression Ezra was now wearing. “No one will know.”

“You wouldn’t.” Ezra groaned.

“We would.” Nathan and Peterson spoke together.

“You couldn’t.”

“We could.” the two men again, spoke as one.

“Bastard!”

“Him or me?” Nathan chuckled.

“Chris! I’m going to fucking kill him for this!” Ezra growled.

Day Six

Chris lay in his hospital bed with his leg elevated. He’d never been in such a humilating position in his life. The fingers of both hands figited with his bed sheet. His eyes drifted to Ezra’s sleeping form. A drip was filling him antibiotics, the leg had become invected, if only slightly. He wasn’t looking forward to Ezra waking up. The Southerner was going to be in a very bad mood.

The medics had to sedate him to get him to co-operate back at the cabin. They hadn’t been in the mood to argue or to try and convince him that the best way to transport him was to strap him to a board and fly him back in a helicopter. The only way it was going to be done peacefully was to knock him out. He’d come to in the emergency room but that didn’t last long. He’d been sedated a second time so he would stop struggling and fighting the nursing staff. X-rays had to be done, a cat scan also. His leg had to be unstitched and re-cleaned and the arm had to be re-set and plastered.

Chris had also been sedated so his leg could be set. It wasn’t a bad break like he had first thought. He knew Ezra was going to say ‘I told you so’. He’d sent the others home earlier in the evening. Everyone had been in a bad mood and they all needed time to relax and calm down. Their orders were not to come back until the morning. They were also told to bring some hot coffee and sugar coated donuts, he wasn’t going to eat hospital food, neither was Ezra.

He watched as the clear fluid dripped into the thin tube that ran to and entered Ezra’s arm. Chris sighed, all he had wanted to do was to include Ezra and show the stubborn man what kind of fun they had when they went camping together. He wanted Ezra to be a part of that. It had turned into a disaster. Ezra probably wouldn’t want to do anything with them again, but maybe he would allow them to do something with him.

Movement from the bed next to him caused him to search for another indication that Ezra was waking up. Couldn’t he sleep for a bit longer, like another eight hours. That way the others would be there to protect him from the undercover agent. Ezra could be very mean physically and verbally when he was in an extremely bad mood. Chris had witnessed it for himself when Ezra took that anger out on a persecutor of violence.

Chris watched as Ezra tried to roll over onto his right side. The broken arm stopped him from completing the movement. A curse was muttered in a Southern accent before Ezra rolled back over onto his left side. Chris relaxed as Ezra settled back down.

There was more movement. Shit! He was waking up, he knew it. There was only one thing that could save him from this mess. Chris grabbed his buzzer and called for the duty nurse. It was only a matter of seconds before she showed her homely face in the open doorway.

“What can I do for you . . . Mr Larabee?” she had to read his name off the board above the patients head. She tapped her fingers calmly on the door frame.

“Ezra here isn’t sleeping too well, and he seems to be in a lot of pain. Perhaps you can give him something to help him sleep, you know, until at least lunch time tomorrow.”

It should be safe then, he should be on his way home while Ezra still slept.

“Are you a doctor Mr Larabee?” the nurse asked him.

“Yes.” Chris lied.

“That’s funny, your records say that you’re an ATF agent.” she smiled knowlingly at him.

“Can’t I be both.” he growled back.

The nurse shook her head.

“So, it’s okay for Dana Scully to be both an FBI agent and a doctor but I can’t be.”

“I didn’t say you can’t.” the nurse shrugged. “Okay, I’ll get him something to help him sleep better.”

“Thank you.” Chris reached up towards the ceiling with his arms then crossed them behind his head. No one could ever say he was stupid. Nope, not him, he was the smart on.

The nurse came back a few minutes later, she carried a tray which held a syringe. The smile fell off Chris’ face when she made her way to his bed instead of Ezra’s. She was making a mistake, she had to be. He would calmly point the mistake out to her.

“Ezra’s over there.” Chris told her.

“I know, but you see, he’s already been given something. Mr Standish will sleep through until the morning.”

“Oh.” was all Chris could say.

“You on the other hand, should be asleep.”

“Oh.” he repeated.

“It’ll work quickly Mr Larabee.” she smiled as she injected the needle into his thigh.

He hadn’t even realised that she had pulled the covers from his body. Stupid! He slapped his forehead with an open palm. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Day Seven

He wanted out and he wanted out now. They weren’t willing to allow him to leave though. The only alternative that was left available to him, was to escape. If only he could get rid of his bodyguard. That wasn’t going to be easy, his last four attempts of escape had failed, now they were ready for anything.

Why did he have to stay longer than that so-called son-of-a-bitch he didn’t know. Nathan! That . . . that . . . bastard that takes care of me so often probably told them something to keep me in longer. Were they afraid that I was going to attempt to kill Chris Larabee. Ezra had a plan to get his revenge, but it didn’t involve physical violence, he wasn’t capable of doing that. No, his revenge was going to be dealt out by a guilty ladies man. He still needed to escape.

“Wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee.” Ezra smiled sweetly at Vin.

“You just had one,” Vin growled, “and don’t smile at me like that, it makes me feel ill.”

“I’d like another one thank you, and the women will do anything for this smile.”

“No, and you sound like Buck.”

“Why can’t I have a cup of coffee?” Ezra asked him.

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“You’re not a child Ezra so stop acting like one!”

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

“No you don’t.” Vin argued.

“I want to go home Vin.”

“I know, but the doctor’s want to keep you here until that infection clears up.”

“How come Chris got to go home this morning?” Ezra questioned him.

“You know why.”

“I didn’t think I was right.” Ezra looked down at his leg.

“ You’re usually always right.” Vin shrugged.

“But why did I have to be right this time.”

Vin didn’t answer him.

“Someone hates me.” Ezra grimaced.

“No one hates you Ezra.”

“Then why was I forced to go on a hiking trip that I wanted no part of, where I received three nasty injuries and a very bad mood.”

“It could have been worse.”

“How much worse could it have been Vin!”

“You could have enjoyed yourself.” Vin smiled at him.

“Good Lord! You’re right.”

“Maybe there’s something we can do to make it up to you.” Vin suggested.

“There is nothing you can do,” Ezra smiled wickedly, “but there is something Buck can do.”

“Buck?” Vin frowned. “He’s feeling pretty guilty right now Ezra, I don’t think you should take advantage of that.”

“I won’t be taking advantage of him.”

Vin didn’t like what he was hearing.” What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business Vin. This is between Chris Larabee and myself.”

“Maybe I can help.”

Ezra looked closely at Vin. “You can tell Buck that I would like to see him, then you both can get me out of here.”

“I can do the first but we’re not doing the second. You’re in here for a reason Ezra. That leg is infected and you’re not going anywhere until the doc says you can.”

“I’ll remember that the next time you’re stuck in one of these damn beds.”

Buck stepped into the private hospital room to find Ezra sleeping heavily and Vin sprawled out on a large comfortable chair. He had no idea why Ezra wanted to see him and he really didn’t want to find out. He was having a bad enough time dealing with Chris and now Ezra was going to confront him about what had happened. He could easily turn around and walk out of the door but one look at Ezra’s sleeping face kept him from running away. It was best to face this now rather than later. He moved quietly into the room and sat in the only available chair.

It had turned out that the broken arm and open head wound had been nothing to worry about, they hadn’t been serious. It was the piece of metal that had found it’s way into Ezra’s that had been causing a serious problem. It had become infected without anyone knowing it, not even Nathan. The Southerner was now stuck in a hospital bed until the infection cleared. Buck knew Ezra wasn’t happy about that and he now expected the younger man to take his anger out on him; Chris was no longer available. The cowared wouldn’t come in and see how Ezra was doing. It was being left to the others, himself included.

“About time you got here.” Vin stretched and raised his hands above his head. “This chair may look comfortable but it’s like sleeping on a piece of wood.”

“Why does he want to see me?” Buck whispered.

There was no way he was going to wake Ezra, the longer this took to happen the better.

“Seems that you’re going to help him get back at Chris, return the favour . . . “

“Like hell!” Buck raised his voice and his eyes shot towards Ezra. “I’m not doing anything of the sort, Chris already hates me, don’t know why.”

“Perhaps it’s because you broke his leg.” Ezra told him.

“Shit.” Buck’s head fell into his hands.

“You feeling guilty at all Buck?” Ezra’s head was still hidden by the thick blanket.

“No.”

“You’re lying Mr Wilmington.”

Mr Wilmington? Ezra was serious.

“I’m not doing it Ezra. Whatever it is I’m not doing it.” Buck tried to sound convincing but he knew Ezra was going to talk him into it.

“Why don’t you listen to what I have to say. Maybe Vin might even decide to help you.”

“Why don’t you do it?” Buck stared at the blanket that stopped him from seeing Ezra’s face.

“I’m stuck here . . . remember!”

“How can I forget.” Buck mumbled.

Ezra threw the blankets off and pushed himself upwards. “This is what I want you to do . . . “

Five minutes later . . .

“I ain’t doing that!” the ladies man protested.

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Vin chuckled.

“You don’t have a choice Buck, if you don’t then you may find it happening to you.” Ezra smiled.

“Fuck you Ezra Standish.”

“Chris already offered.”

One Week Later

Chris Larabee who now walked with the aid of crutches stepped into the elevator that would take him to the seventh floor of the ATF building. It was his first day back. As far as he was concerned he was fit enough to return to work the day he got out of that damn hospital. The reason for his good health was that he hadn’t seen Ezra since he left the prison they all hated. He closed his eyes and thanked whoever it was that had saved him from retaliation.

Vin had assured him that Ezra wasn’t planning on doing anything. He couldn’t blame anyone for what had happened. Vin continued on to say that Ezra was now grateful that they had included him, even if the week had gone badly. It was the thought that counted was how he put it.

A smile crept onto Chris’ face, he had gotten away with it. The smile disappeared when a young woman that he recognised as one of the clerks from the file room stepped in beside him. She stared at him with a look of dissapointment. What the hell was going on with her, he didn’t know her personally so he couldn’t have done anything to her.

The elevator stopped on the sixth floor and the woman got out. A man that Chris didn’t even recognise joined him in the confined area and stood close to him, too close. Chris yelped when the man in question pinched his buttock. He didn’t ask any questions, instead he used a closed fist to do his talking. Chris would have asked what the hell he was doing but he was worried that he would hit him again instead.

He got off on the seventh floor and walked down the hallway to his office. He hated these crutches and when he was able to walk without them he would break them into a dozen pieces. Chris walked passed the bulletin board then stopped. His features turned up into a frown. He didn’t turn his head to look at what he thought he saw. Two steps backwards, just two and it would be revealed to him. That’s what he did, he stepped back two paces and his head turned towards the board.

There he was, his face was easily recognisable and so was the t-shirt he was wearing. It was Buck’s gay t-shirt. Someone had taken a photo of him and stuck it on the board. He remembered the two people in the elevator, they obviously thought he was gay. The photo had been put on every notice board in the building. Ezra! No, he’d only gotten out of the hospital yesterday It had to be someone else that did this to him.

“VIN!”

~~The End~~