Notes:
This is a work of fanfiction, not intended to infringe upon the rights of Trilogy, MGM, or the Mirish Corporation.
The title is from "Don Quixote," by Miguel de Cervantes as are several passages read by Josiah. Commentary and interpretation is, however, mine.

The passage read by JD is from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," by Douglas Adams.

JD was monitoring Ezra's conversation with the suspected arms dealer when he heard it. He dropped his bagel; it landed on the edge of his carton of milk. For a moment, the carton wobbled, then it tipped over, spilling the milk over his pants. Had the milk not splashed on him, JD would not have noticed. He barely noticed anyway.

JD turned to his partner, his face whiter than the spilt milk. "Buck, we got a problem."

Buck looked at him for a moment. JD pointed to the radio. It only took him a second to catch on to Dunne's meaning.

"Shit." Buck picked up the phone and dialed. As soon as the other man answered, Buck spoke up. "Chris, we gotta bring him out. Now."

"Oh god, too late," JD whispered, and began dialing for the medics.

"What the hell happened, Buck?" Chris demanded into the phone. He could hear the scurry of activity as his agents prepared to go in after Ezra. He slammed down the phone and headed down the hall.

"Vin, Josiah, Nathan. Let's go!" Chris shouted on his way to the elevator. The other agents were close behind him. Larabee could see the questions in their eyes. He had no answers for them.

The four men piled into Chris's truck. Nathan's cell phone rang. The senior agent cursed under his breath; he'd forgotten his on the desk.

"Sure he's right here," Nathan answered, before handing over the phone.

"Buck." Chris stated. It was not just an acknowledgement of the man. It was a question and a command. Tell me what the hell happened. Tell me nothing happened. Tell me that everything is all right.

"Chris, it's bad. The paramedics just arrived. Ezra…"

"We'll meet you at the hospital. I'll want a full report then. Why aren't you with him?"

Silence answered him. "Buck?"

Buck and JD paced in the waiting area. As soon as Chris walked in, the air seemed to crackle.

"All right, boys. I want to know. Now."

JD looked over to a chair in the corner of the waiting area. Chris couldn't help himself; his eyes followed the young agent's gaze. Suddenly, it all made sense. Maude.

"She walked into the jewelry store, Chris. We weren't watching the store, too far away. Just listening. I heard her voice. Then Ezra started yelling at her. Said some things I've never heard him say before. She told him she was sorry he'd ever been born. They both said a lot of really awful things. Then he told her to leave him alone. She said fine, if that was what he wanted. A door slammed. That's when the gunshots started." JD was babbling.

Chris saw that Maude was glaring at the team. He looked at JD, but Buck continued for him. "I ain't never heard Ezra talk that way to anyone. I think he did it to make her leave. She blew his cover, Chris. He knew it, and.…"

If he dies…"

"If he dies, Mr. Larabee, you will rue the day you ever met me," a cold voice finished for him.

"I already do." He wanted to see worry or fear or regret…anything…on the face of Ezra's mother. But she merely fixed him with an angry gaze.

Maude approached him. "I've informed the staff of this hospital that Ezra is to have no visitors other than family."

"You can't do that…" JD started.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "We are family."

"You are most certainly not family. You are the reason he is here." With that, she stormed over to the nurse's station, hissing something to the nurse on duty, then she headed to another part of the hospital.

Chris made his way to the desk. "Have you any word on Ezra Standish?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid his mother has requested that that information not be released."

Six sets of eyes regarded the nurse with outright hostility. She buckled. "All right. He's still in surgery. I'll keep you apprised of his condition."

Chris relaxed imperceptibly, then the nurse continued. "But you're not going to be able to visit him."

He glared at her. He knew it was not her fault, but still he was angry, upset, concerned, and frustrated. Someone was bound to be on the receiving end of all that. And this nurse had just been nominated.

"I'm sorry sir. I don't like it either," she whispered. "He needs his friends right now."

Chris nodded.

Maude sat next to Ezra. She hated seeing the tubes and wires coming from her son's body. The doctor had told her that Ezra was in a coma. A bullet had fractured his skull, not just grazed it. A fraction of an inch to the left, and her boy would not be alive. Then there were the three bullets that had entered his chest. He was very lucky that nothing vital had been hit. Maude looked over at the bandages on his left arm where yet another bullet had entered.

"Ezra, I told you this was a ridiculous occupation. You're gonna get yourself killed, I said. But would you listen? No, you're nearly as stubborn as your father. Curse the man."

She was angry with him. The last words he'd spoken to her had been harsh, and no doubt they were so in order to save her life.

"Damn you, Ezra. I taught you better than this. I taught you how to protect yourself, keep yourself alive. What do you do? You walk into stupid situations for men who don't even care enough about you to visit you in the hospital." Maude knew she was lying to him. But it was for his own good. If she could make him believe that those men didn't care what happened to him, he would leave the unit.

"Now, if you'd have listened to me, dear boy, you'd not be lying here now. You'd have met Elizabeth. Have I told you about Elizabeth?"

As Ezra didn't respond, Maude continued. "Charming girl. Enchanting. Quite lovely too. Her father is quite an influential businessman in Switzerland. She's an heiress, my dear. You'd be quite comfortably placed if you were to…. Ah well, I'm afraid that won't be possible now, my boy. You'll have scars from this encounter. Elizabeth would not want a marked man. Such a pity.

"Just like your father you are. More than I wanted you to be. Never could learn how to watch for himself and his family. Damn him too. Had to sit by his bedside when he was dying. Course, this was before you were born. He left me alone with an unborn child, all because of this grandiose notion of honor. Well, I'll have none of that from you. Do you hear me? You're going to survive this. And when you do, you're going to quit this stupid job and come back to New York with me. I'm not taking no.

"Besides, if these men were really your friends, they'd be here for you. Look around you, son. Do you see them here? No one cares about you like your mother, Ezra. No one ever has; no one ever will. It's about time you accepted that and stopped with this game you're playing. I'll not tolerate it any longer.

"Just who the hell do you think you're fooling? Certainly not me. Must be yourself…thinking you can save the world. Or are you trying to irritate me? You're doing a damn fine job of it, I'll tell you that."

Maude kept up this litany for several hours before the nurse came in and told her that visiting hours were over. Maude protested. However, the nurse was adamant and insisted that she leave.

Buck went to the nurse's station. This was an all out covert operation being executed by one of the best teams in the business. They each had their assignments. Buck's was the most important. He was responsible for distracting the nurses. Vin was there to be backup. Buck had resented the implication that he would not be able to sway the nurses, but nonetheless, it was important.

Nathan was posing as an orderly. He would be the one who stayed behind after the rest of the group left, or the one who tried to talk the real medical staff into allowing them to stay if they got caught.

Chris was going to try to make Maude reconsider.

JD and Josiah were to prevent Chris from killing Maude.

It was six against one. Unfortunately, that one thought much like Ezra. And Ezra was one of the most stubborn men the others had ever run up against.

He was vaguely aware that he hurt. But for some reason, he couldn't make himself care or focus on that pain. His friends weren't there. They didn't want to come visit him; they didn't care enough to visit him. He'd screwed up, allowed his cover to be blown by his mother of all people. And lost not only his informant but the opportunity to catch the arms dealer. And his friends were disappointed in him.

He saw Chris hovering over him. "You messed up, Ezra. And it's gonna cost you." Chris turned his back on Ezra.

"You let the team down, Ezra." Nathan's statement was an accusation.

Vin turned away from him.

JD didn't say anything; he just looked at him with a hurt hangdog expression. Buck glared at him. Josiah shook his head.

They were all angry with him for blowing the operation. He'd screwed up.

He heard his mother say, "You walk into stupid situations for men who don't even care enough about you to visit you in the hospital." He was alone. The men who'd breathed judgement down on him disappeared.

Alone. Without recriminations. Without consolation. He was alone. No one cared.

For years, he'd gone without friends. He hadn't needed them or wanted them. Now he found out that he had needed friends. He had wanted friendship. A lifetime of pushing people away didn't teach him how to let them close. These men, his teammates, co-workers, associates, these men were his friends.

But now they were gone. They wanted nothing more to do with him. They were turning him away…cutting him loose…cutting their losses.

Ezra couldn't breathe. His lungs were filled with fire and grief. Ezra fought for a minute. It didn't matter. He couldn't bring himself to care. He'd trusted these men, thought of them as family. Now he regretted not letting them know that. It didn't matter anymore. He couldn't breathe, and he didn't care. He couldn't face going back to the nothingness that would now exist. His life was empty.

JD was watching Ezra's chest. He watched his friend seemingly fight for each breath. "Nathan," the young agent whispered urgently.

Nathan looked at JD.

"He can't breathe."

Suddenly, their covert operation lost its secrecy. They needed to get help. Josiah opened the door and called to the nurses. The room became a flurry of activity as medical personnel came in with equipment.

In a few moments, the crisis was averted. But the equipment stayed as a testament to the fact that Ezra had given up and stopped fighting for a few moments. Chris looked at the others. He could see it in their eyes. No one was leaving until Ezra recovered. Hospital rules, and Maude's wishes, be damned.

Chris was glad that no one had questioned why they were there. He knew that the nurses knew them, as did the doctors. They also knew that the team was not pleased with Maude's dictates concerning this patient. Several of the nurses had taken the time to talk to them, seeming to know of the bond between these men; however, they were bound to respect the wishes of the family…of Maude. At least until Ezra woke up and told them otherwise. No, the nurses had not allowed them to visit with Standish, but they had not kept the team in the dark either.

Sophia, the night nurse, turned to the men standing beside Ezra's bedside. "You shouldn't be here. I'm gonna let you stay, but if anyone says anything, you threatened me. Got that? You better back me up on this."

Buck smiled. "You got it, Sophie. Thanks Darlin'."

Chris nodded. Her statement was true, she just didn't realize it.

Each man settled in. Vin lay out on the floor beside the window; JD sat on the windowsill. Buck sat with his back against the wall. Josiah sat in the chair beside Ezra, holding the injured agent's hand and occasionally touching his forehead. Nathan sat on the foot of the bed.

Josiah put a hand on Ezra's head. "Stay with us, brother." The words were spoken softly, so as not to disturb the injured member of their group. "We're here. We're not leaving."

Chris walked over to the southerner's side. He looked over at Nathan. "Can you tell us how it is?"

Nathan reached over and picked up the medical chart. He read over it and shook his head. "It's bad Chris. Five bullet wounds. One to the skull. That much you can see. Lost a lot of blood. They had to transfuse three pints, that's a hell of a lot."

Chris nodded.

"He's in a coma."

They all had known that. But it had not been said amongst them. Saying it meant that it was so.

They all knew the risks that Ezra took every time he went undercover. The risk that his cover might be blown and he wouldn't be able to get out. They'd all gone in undercover before, but this was Ezra's specialty. He did it far more often, and he'd often been injured. But his cover had never been so thoroughly blown before.

Never in their wildest plans could they have anticipated Maude spotting Ezra and revealing his true identity.

Yet that was what happened.

And Ezra had risked his own life to ensure her safety. He'd made her angry enough that she would leave and not get hurt.

Chris paced the length of the room. The situation was frustrating. Maude had nearly gotten Ezra killed. Now she was dictating to him….to THEM. That woman was a menace.

Ezra was the only member of their group whose mother yet lived. When Chris had first met Maude, he was momentarily envious that Ezra still had that relationship. But then he got to know Maude, and he was no longer certain that Ezra was fortunate that he still had his mother's "love."

Unlike the rest of the men, Ezra had never spoken about his mother, not until she arrived. Then he seemed to spend most of his time doing damage control.

JD constantly talked about his mother; Vin had mentioned how much his mother meant to him. Buck's mother was, in Buck's mind, a saint. Nathan had spoken of how courageous he thought his mother was. Josiah had spoken lovingly of his mother. Chris's own mother had been wonderful. All of them had mothers who had cared for them. And they had all known that their mothers had cared.

But every time Maude came into town, Ezra went on a bender; it usually took all of the undercover agent's considerable skills to deal with the situation. The relationship could be considered "strained" at the best of times. And this was not the best of times. Ezra didn't have the strength to deal with the force that was his mother now.

So this time, the team would have to do it for him.

Sophia opened the door and looked at the men surrounding the ICU's newest patient. She wanted to speak to the leader of the group. When she caught his attention, she motioned for him to join her outside.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"You need to know something. She told him you wouldn't come visit him. I don't know if he heard her or not. It's hard to tell."

"That…." Chris bit off his statement before he finished it.

"He may not have heard her, but she said it several times. I kicked her out because I couldn't stand how she was talking to him any longer."

Chris raised an eyebrow and Sophia continued. "She berated him and blamed him. Cursed him. What kind of a mother curses her son while he's in a coma?"

He shook his head. "When Maude comes back, let me know. I got some words for that woman."

Sophia nodded. "I'm glad he has someone here now who cares."

Chris went back into the room. Josiah was reading to Ezra. The others were sprawled out in the room.

"At last, when his wits were gone beyond repair, he came to conceive the strangest idea that ever occurred to any madman in this world. It now appeared to him fitting and necessary, in order to win a greater amount of honour for himself and serve his country at the same time, to become a knight-errant and roam the world on horseback, in a suit of armour; he would go in quest of adventures, by way of putting into practice all that he had read in his books; he would right every manner of wrong, placing himself in situations of the greatest peril such as would redound to the eternal glory of his name. As a reward for his valour and the might of his arm, the poor fellow could already see himself crowned Emperor of Trebizond at the very least; and so, carried away by the strange pleasure that he found in such thoughts as these, he at once set about putting his plan into effect."

Chris took Ezra's other hand and squeezed it a moment. "What are you reading, Josiah?"

Josiah paused and looked up at him, "Um… oh 'Don Quixote,' by Miguel de Cervantes. A tale of a man who takes it upon himself to right the wrongs of the world. His family thought him insane."

"Was he?"

"Hard to say there, Chris. Depends on the perspective you've got. Is it insane to help the oppressed?"

Larabee shook his head.

"Course, Don Quixote did have a way of seeing his world which could be considered different. Ever heard of 'Tilting at Windmills'?" When Chris nodded, Josiah continued. "Don Quixote saw a windmill as a giant and attacked it. He perceived the danger and did his utmost to quell it. But there was no threat from a windmill. It was all in his mind. He was an idealist, seeing the best in people and taking people at their word. And because of that, he was considered a madman."

"What happened to him?" Chris asked.

Josiah flashed him a big smile, then started reading again from the book.

Josiah read for a while, then woke Nathan up to sit with Ezra. Nathan continued reading where Josiah had left off. So it went for the whole night. Someone staying awake and reading to Ezra the entire night. When Nathan could no longer keep awake, he woke up JD.

So it went throughout the night.