Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, the last week was a little bit stressful- it was a good week though. I hope you are all great and are looking forward to reading the last chapter.

Cupcake01

Ezekiel was lying in his bed which wasn't a big surprise. He looked so small and was nearly as pale as the bed sheet that was covering him except of his face. Jake gulped; this wasn't how their thief should be like; he was young and his spirit always seems to consist of endless energy. He sighed. Actually, this was why he was always a little bit jealous of him. Everything Ezekiel did seemed to be working easily. For this reason, Jake was so furious earlier – he wasn't used to Ezekiel being clumsy or even helpless. Until now, Ezekiel actually had hardly made any mistakes. Maybe Eve was right and he had really exaggerated earlier.

"Are you standing there for forever or do you want to come in?" He suddenly heard a rough voice, followed by a harsh cough. Jake startled. He hadn't noticed that the younger man had woken up. Indeed, he now saw him with his eyes barely open looking at him expectantly as the cough finally faded.

"You are awake!" Jake thought that this was probably the most stupid phrase he could have started the conversation with. However, he was really surprised – in a positive way though. After Jenkins examination, he thought that Ezekiel was in a worse state.

"Yep… seems like…. " Ezekiel said but was interrupted by another wave of cough. He got even paler as he had been earlier. Jake reached for the glass of water standing on the small table next to his bed and gave it to him. Ezekiel tried a sip and thankfully, the dryness in his mouth was leaving.

Exhausted, he let himself fall onto the pillow. "It's been a rough day" Ezekiel explained, grinning.

Jake smiled back. This was the old Ezekiel he knew.

"What are you doing here?" Ezekiel suddenly asked after nobody said a word for some seconds. "I mean, after today I'm wondering that you want to be in the same room with me."

Jake sighed. This wasn't how the conversation should have started. However, Ezekiel had every right to be that suspicious after Jake had been that mean to him.

"I wanted to make sure that you are okay…." Jake tried, but Ezekiel interrupted him. "Come on, even if we would be friends, you wouldn't do that." Jake looked up. "And I thought about what you said earlier. Maybe you are right – after today, I should probably just leave the library. It's the best for everybody here."

God, this was all his fault. Now Ezekiel even thought that he wasn't wanted here anymore! Jake really didn't think that this would escalate that quickly.

"No!" exclaimed, a bit too loud. "Sorry… I mean, yeah, we aren't best friends, and I was really a bit furious of how you had acted. But we all didn't know that you were sick. And, you could have said something."

That was true. Why hadn't Ezekiel told the others that he was sick?

Now Ezekiel looked ashamed; Jake was maybe right. He should have told them, then they could have done the mission alone. "Actually, I thought that it would go away. I was never really sick like that before and I thought you wouldn't care anyway."

Ah, that was why. Jake looked at their thief. It was rare that he would admit something about his feelings; nobody of their team liked to talk about such things. Eve was too much of a soldier and he tried to be the 'tough' guy. Even Cassandra wasn't really like an open book to them.

"Look, I… I'm really sorry for what I said earlier" Jake said. "I was… stressed and exaggerated a bit. I think we all could try to take care for each other a bit more." He paused, trying to find good words. "You know, we all were sort of loners before we came into the team. It's difficult to get used that there are others we should care about. And I knew we never got well before… maybe it's because I'm a bit jealous of you."

Ezekiel laughed out. "You? I mean, I know I'm great and all, but I never imagined that you would be jealous of a…. thief like I am."

"It's just… I sometimes wish that I could act as easy as you do. And seeing you in the state like you have been earlier made me… I don't know, maybe I was glad that there was somebody who makes mistakes. We have to do a perfect job, otherwise this whole magic will get us. I just… sometimes it's not easy to look how you do your job without even thinking about consequences."

"I think I know what you mean." Ezekiel felt his headache coming back. Maybe he should go sleeping soon. "This was why I didn't tell you about me being sick. I never had anybody who would care about me, and I thought if I tell you, you wouldn't need me because you'd think I was weak. I would never admit it, but being with you guys is the best job I ever had and I really don't want to leave… but if I'm not wanted, I don't want to be in the way of anybody." He yawned and felt his eyes becoming heavier.

"I think you are still a bit sick." Jake joked. "No, seriously. I would never want you to leave. Sure, we annoy each other like hell sometimes, but this is also why this team is the best one. We are different, and that's good." He stopped. Ezekiel seemed to be more tired, his eyes more glassy. Maybe he should go back to sleep and when he waked up, he would be fit and annoying again.

"I'll go and ask Jenkins for some medicine. We can talk when you are better." Jake felt the thief's forehead. It was still hot, but much better than before.

Ezekiel smiled and opened his eyes once again. "Thanks, Jake. And… I'm really sorry for ruining our mission."

"Come on, forget about it. Everybody has a sick day from time to time" Jake said and went to the door. He turned around once again, but Ezekiel was already sleeping. He smiled as well.

"Get better soon" he whispered and left the room leave him recovering. He would make sure personally that Ezekiel was taking his medicine after waking up.

Their jobs were difficult, but this new friendship will make it definitely easier.

The end

Oh well, the ending always gets me. I never know if I find them like really good or the worst paragraph I ever created. So, it's your decision.

Anyways…. I hope that you all liked the story. I just wanted to thank you for reading and reviewing, and if you would leave a review for this last chapter, that would be great.

Also, if you have an idea for a new idea for an Ezekiel story, just let me know by PM or review.

Thanks for reading!

Cupcake01