Coming to Terms Chapter ten

Disclaimer: We love the Seven but we don't love the corporations that abandoned them - unfortunately they do own the seven and there is nothing we can do about it except hope they don't sue!

A/N Okay so I think I've proved that I'm not the most efficient or regular up-dater in the fandom but I DO get there in the end so here is the next instalment. Also apologies if you didn't get a reply to your review. After a previous disaster with saving my reply addresses I switched to a simpler non electronic method….unfortunately I lost the piece of paper I scribbled them down on! Also * * indicates cat thoughts.

Chris 'bad element' Larabee could feel the beads of sweat pop up on his brow. 'This is ridiculous' he thought with a mixture of obstinacy and humiliation. He could hear bets being made around him and then promptly cancelled as the gamblers realised that no-one was prepared to bet against the monstrous creature attached to his body. A creature that - and here he was convinced that his senses must be fooling him - appeared to be smirking! Could cats smirk he asked himself and received a prompt and unassailable reply that 'if it belongs to Standish then hell yes!' He was just glad that the cat had blue eyes and not green otherwise he might wonder….

Fly liked this human. It had guts and the patience of a predator. Unfortunately for him, she mused in her own feline way, the predator concerned must be a mere canine

*because he….*

She began to purr quietly, the rumbles vibrating through her toes into the flesh beyond.

*Was sooo easily….*

She twitched her whiskers mischievously and watched as the surprise triggered his automatic reflexes. His ears straining to catch the sound and his eyes reacting to the whiskers sudden movement.

*Distracted*

Chris blinked….'Damn'

"And the little lady wins!" cried Buck with glee as Chris's eyelids flickered in response to the twin stimuli.

Fly's eyes glittered as she gave her opponent an ultra slow blink and then, jamming her claws into his already abused thigh, leapt gracefully to the floor and ran back to her daddy for praise, which was duly given.

Introductions over Ezra and Fly escaped to the attic which Fly, after a thorough inspection, deemed to be satisfactory. Chris meanwhile poured himself a large scotch and silently if not entirely seriously bemoaned animal protection laws. He accepted the first aid kit from Nathan with a growl and a blush.

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The next few days passed quite smoothly, mainly because Chris and Ezra kept out of each others way and Fly spent most hours doing what cats do best, sleeping. The meet and greet of Vin's gelding, Peso, wasn't quite as event filled as Fly's had been but Chris was beginning to think that his new brothers animals were as crazy as their owners; he knew how to handle horses dammit! There had been no reason for the cantankerous beast to sink his teeth into his….well, just no reason at all! And Vin had simply laughed and called it a love bite! "Crazy, the lot of 'em" he muttered to himself as he readied his own horse for the days work ahead. He winced as Peso's jaws snapped ominously as he passed his stall. Still, despite the meanness of his mount Vin was proving to be an asset to the business. After only a minimal brushing up on his skills the Texan was working like he had been there all his life. As he led his mount out of the stable he glanced across at JD who was receiving a riding lesson from Buck. The kid looked to be a natural and was doing pretty well. For all his fooling around and juvenile humor Buck was a good teacher. It wouldn't be long before he, too, was a productive member of the team. Nathan had taken Josiah under his wing at the hospital and seemed to think that he was fitting in well.

Which just left Standish. Who had hardly left his room since his cat and his belongings had arrived. Which was also exactly how Chris preferred it to be - out of sight, out of mind.

Except that he wasn't out of mind. In fact not seeing what the man was getting up to was making things worse. He could be doing anything up there! His curiosity had already gotten the better of him and his visit to the attic room had resulted in a polite but definite refusal of entry. It had left the older brother fuming. It was HIS home dammit! What right did the little weasel have to put some sort of imaginary barbed wire around his bunker…er, room!

Ezra lay in his bed contemplating the ceiling with what appeared to be the greatest diligence. In reality he was doing the only thing he could do at that moment in time.

In short, he was stuck.

It had been a week since he had first set foot in the Larabee household and the hectic pace had finally taken it's toll. As had the stairs. And the fact that he was laying here at, he glanced at the clock on his bedside table, 6am - early by his own standards although most of the household were no doubt in the process of rising in a quite unnaturally cheerful fashion. The fact that he was fully awake and had been for some time, yet unable to rise, whether cheerfully or no was, he hated to admit, his own stupid fault. Honestly, he could kick himself! Well, actually he couldn't which was rather the whole point. It was his habit to place his anti-inflammatory medication by his bedside for exactly this sort of occasion, likewise his painkillers; so the fact that they were on the desk by the window on the other side of the room spoke of his level of distraction these past days. It was nothing short of plain stupidity in his book. He glanced back to the bedside table; sharing space with the clock were a glass of water and a catnip mouse - very useful! He lay perfectly still and concentrated on relaxing each muscle group, joint and tendon in turn but, although it was a process that worked on occasion, this time he was not so lucky and a bolt of pain seared it's way up his leg from knee to hip the moment he tried to sit himself upright. He clamped his mouth shut and gripped the bedcovers as he rode out the spasm. It looked like it was going to be one of those days.

Fly sat on the window sill and watched her human. They had worked out a very successful routine between them. When her Daddy awoke it was his first duty of the day to feed her. If, however, the eyes closed again and the words 'too early' were mumbled then it was her self initiated duty to gently remind him that she awaited his attendance. This was usually accomplished by the delivery of a gentle paw tap to the nose - though sometimes a little nip or nibble to said feature was necessary to get the message across. But situations like this were different. She could easily sense her human's distress and she would normally wait patiently by his side until he felt able to see to her needs.

Usually.

But today she had a better idea. Better for her Daddy and much better for her rumbling stomach!

Ezra watched with mild curiosity as Fly stretched to her full length, yawned and jumped to the floor. He frowned slightly as she ambled into the bathroom; she would normally curl up beside him until his mobility returned; in answer to his curiosity he heard the cat door snap shut and presumed that she had gone into the roofspace where her litter tray was located. He paid her no more attention as he once again tried to relax his uncooperative body.

Vin Tanner was about as early a riser as nature had ever produced but there were the odd occasions, like today, when he enjoyed just taking a few minutes to lie in his bed and enjoy the early morning sunshine streaming through the windows and the sounds of birdsong.

'Scritchh…..scritchhtchh…' Vin frowned at the sound coming from the far side of the door to the roof space. He was pretty sure that the attic was free of vermin and he hadn't heard anything before now, though he hadn't left the bathroom door open before either. He stretched and yawned and moved to the door, prepared to leap to the nearby chair if necessary - he may be a country boy but no-one wanted rodents running over their bare toes first thing in the morning. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and…

"Mmreow" Vin relaxed and raised an eyebrow as Fly sauntered into his bathroom and dropped a black sock at his feet. Vin picked it up between finger and thumb and thanked her politely for the gift; he supposed it was traditional to bring a gift on a first visit to a new friend's home. Vin felt a little silly making small talk with a cat but the Siamese seemed to expect it, and given that Ezra could talk the whole day long he wasn't surprised that his pet would share the trait.. Vin led the curious feline on a tour of his room and was rewarded with the occasional meow and a twirling rub round his ankles. Once she had been satisfied that all the proprieties had been met she led Vin to the attic space and stood waiting, casting the occasional glance back to her own domicile without actually departing.

Vin had the sudden feeling that he'd watched one too many Lassie movies as a kid.

"Don't tell me girl, Ez is trapped in the old mine shaft which is slowly filling with water."

Fly seemed to glare and Vin managed to turn his look of amusement into one of contrition. He indicated with a sweep of his hand for her to lead the way and hoped that his brother wasn't in the habit of reacting violently to early morning visitors.

Vin's surprise that his Lassie analogy was closer than he would ever have guessed was equalled by Ezra's surprise at not only his new brother's appearance but his cat's ingenuity….or her love of food since she demanded that the first thing the Texan did was to take care of her empty food bowl…. After brushing off yet another apology from Ezra Vin managed to get his medication down the briefly silent throat along with some fruit and crackers to line his stomach. Vin had had anti-inflammatories himself, for his bad back, and knew of their effects on an empty stomach. He had sat with the southerner for a while just making small talk to distract him from the pain until the pills began to kick in and then left him to get himself up and dressed. He wouldn't have hesitated to offer his help but he was quickly coming to realise that he and Ezra were cut from the same cloth and if he would hate for someone to see him in less than perfect condition then so would Ez. By the same token he also knew that he would have no luck in trying to persuade the man to spill his secret to the others or ask for a room on a lower floor, however once he got back to his own room he left the door open on purpose, at least until he could get a cat door installed.

Ezra listened and smiled as he listened to Vin politely thank Fly for being a wonderful host before leaving. He brushed a lone tear from his cheek. He had never had anyone besides his honorary aunt and uncle care enough to stay by his side like that. It should make him happy but it brought home just how much it was going to hurt when everything fell apart as it invariably would.

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"Who the hell are they?" Chris's voice held as much bewilderment as it did anger and Buck had to force back a smile at the slight mellowing of the almost permanent rage that had haunted the elder Larabee these past couple or so years. He figured that Ezra had driven him to aggravation overload and he was levelling out into a general state of peeved.

"Um, they're from the college" he supplied with a twinkle in his eye and, Chris noted, a nervous twitch to go with it. So, this was probably something he wasn't going to like he surmised.

"And?" he prompted the normally effusive cowboy.

"And…. They'reheretopreparethegarden…. Ezrahiredthem."

Chris wondered if Buck thought that by saying it quickly enough the impact would somehow be lessened. It hadn't. But before he could make clear to Buck, and then even more clear to Ezra, once the lazy creature had decided to get up, and preferably with violent force involving his bare hands and the southerner's neck, just how much he didn't appreciate this turn of events Buck was speaking again - a little slower this time.

"You can't stop him from hiring people to work for him."

"I can't?" Buck almost shivered at the cold tone but knew from experience that Chris was more exasperated than anything. "Why can't I?"

"Because you agreed that he could do his chores HIS way… and this seems to be his way. I already checked with Josh and he's paying them upfront and out of his own pocket."

Josh Potter - Chris had thought he'd recognised one of the young men. Good kid, and the Potters weren't rich by any means; probably needed all the extra cash he could get. Damn! Forbidding Ezra from hiring out may give him satisfaction but he didn't want that feeling at the expense of others.

"I expected him to do the work himself." Buck relaxed as the belligerent tone became a slightly petulant whine - not that he would ever tell Chris so.

"So what have they been hired to do?" Chris couldn't help but be curious, after all just because the garden had been allowed to fall into disuse didn't mean the memories weren't still strong… and maybe now they weren't quite so painful either. It would be nice to see it restored but perhaps giving it over to the city boy wasn't such a good idea.

"Just weeding, digging, y'know generally tidying. Ezra said he wants to discuss what we want before he takes it any further."

Chris had to admit to a grudging respect for the southerner's consideration but he didn't think he could stay in the same room with the man long enough to discuss it without at least contemplating physical violence, although the urge to actually kill had faded!

"You talk to him Buck. It was you who spent most time helping Mom with the garden anyway."

Buck simply nodded. It was a better reaction than he had expected and he didn't want to do anything to upset it. Then he had to bite down on his laughter as Chris, having realised just how close he'd come to being mellow added with a bark,

"Keep an eye on him. Any funny business and I want to know about it right away."

Buck had a sudden mental picture of a serial killing Ezra burying bodies under the vegetable patch or a prohibition style Ez setting up an illegal still behind the gooseberry bushes. 'God love him' Buck thought 'The best big brother a guy could have, providing he didn't kill you over the little things in life first'

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"No, no, no kid! You can't wear that."

JD looked down at his outfit and frowned. He couldn't see what had triggered Buck's disapproval. A plain black T Shirt and dark blue overshirt; his good jeans, and newly polished boots. Simple and clean.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Hell kid, that's no way to wine and dine a young lady…."

"I'm taking Casey to the cinema and dinner at McDonalds not a night at the opera!" JD interrupted and was rewarded with a sad shake of the head and a disapproving tut tutting noise. "What?"

Buck draped a long arm over the shorter man's shoulder and patted him sympathetically on the back before imparting his pearls of wisdom, at which point JD wished he were anywhere else but standing in the living room surrounded by highly amused brothers. He just hoped that his face hadn't gone as red as it felt!

"Now you listen to ol' Buck son. Seduction is an art and you are your own canvas. Now how are ya gonna sell yourself to your honey if'n you look more like a doodle than a masterpiece."

"Huh?" JD tried to ignore the sniggers at his total lack of understanding, or at Buck's flowery speech, he wasn't sure which… probably both. In truth he was still stuck on the word seduction.

Buck sighed…kids today.

"I mean you ain't never going to get her into bed without doing more to impress her than a movie and a burger."

"Bed! I…I…who said anything about…we're just, I mean she's…we…"

"Did JD just eep?" an enthralled Vin whispered into an equally entertained Ezra's ear.

"Uh huh" came the delighted drawl.

"Now JD" continued Buck, seemingly oblivious to his audience or his less than willing pupil's reaction as he drew something from his pocket and proffered it to the squirming youth. "Have you got enough condoms?"

The phrase 'saved by the bell' had never been so aptly demonstrated as the doorbell rang at the exact moment of JD's total humiliation. He didn't hesitate to take advantage of it especially as his brothers were too incapacitated with their laughter to answer it.

"T…That'll be Casey…G…Gotta go."

Buck looked at the pack of condoms that remained in his hand and then at his laughing brothers, his moustache quivering in delight.

"Was it something I said?"

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TBC

A/N Not a long chapter but it is Christmas. Hope you enjoyed.