Rock a Bye Baby Chapter ten
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit, just playing.
A/N Oooh! Who'd 've thunk that a teeny weeny little cliffie could cause so much excitement :D Well beneficent author that I am I have decided to take pity and whip up the next chapter pretty sharpish….but I'm not feeling guilty…not at all…nope. (and if I get hexed by Supernatural readers because their update is late I'll set Maude on you all :D ) Oh and almost all of this chapter deals with the conference room scene.
A/N 2 I am considering putting up another fic that I've been working on soon but be assured that it won't be replacing this one it will just run concurrently until this finishes. The next fic will be a rambling bit of nothing but for some reason I'm very fond of it. However updates on rock a bye will always take precedence.
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The sight that greeted Buck as he charged into the conference room was everything that he had expected…yet somehow not. He froze in puzzlement, his sharp eyes running quickly over the scene, picking up the clues. Though the genial ladies man may have given the impression of being laid back to the point of being horizontal he was a highly trained investigator and it quickly became obvious that things weren't as they seemed.
Buck first noticed that the sound of breaking glass had been caused by the shattering of a drinking glass, the pieces of which lay beneath the far wall of the room, an empty space in the huddle of glasses in the centre of the long table pointing to the glass's starting point. The 'falling body' sound was explained by the two tangled agents who were frozen in position on the carpeted floor, eyes firmly and warily fixed on the man before them.
It was Buck's first sight of his oldest friend, Chris Larabee, sitting on the table's edge, feet balanced on the chair seat in front of him so that he could rest his elbows on his raised knees that gave him pause for thought. His left hand supporting his chin as his right swept through his blond hair indicated apparent frustration rather than anger. Yet his two friends were undeniably on the floor which spoke of some sort of violent act. Buck was confused, and what was most peculiar was that by the looks on their faces so were Ezra and Vin. And to be honest as much as he respected Chris's bad boy persona he knew without a doubt that either of the two younger men could have thrashed him given sufficient provocation. Very strange.
In the bare fifteen seconds that it took for Buck to absorb and fail dismally to understand the situation he realised that all eyes had been turned on him and to make matters worse the others had followed him, at first out of curiosity and then as he had broken into a run, out of concern. The result was a crowd of bemused and worried faces in the doorway and two embarrassed agents on the floor. The last participant in the farce looked around him from his position on the table top and began to chuckle.
Now the men were really worried. A laughing Larabee was not a thing to be taken lightly.
Chris looked at his friends in the doorway. He could see that Josiah, JD and Nathan were sporting looks of combined confusion and bemusement. They obviously didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Buck on the other hand was a different matter. It didn't take over twenty years of friendship to recognize the genuine worry and slight tinge of anger and warning in the glance sent his way. He looked back down to his boys on the floor. Neither had moved yet both were poised for fight or flight; he had to concede that since his first act on entering the room could be seen as a violent one, even though the only victim was a cheap drinking glass, he couldn't really blame them for their lack of trust. And with what they must have gone through….his eyes sparked fire as he thought once again of the tale he had been told but toned it down as soon as he saw the tense response in the pair on the floor and Buck's hesitant step forward ready to intervene. Time to get this mess sorted, he concluded.
He turned towards the group at the door.
"Can you give us a few minutes guys? Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
The latecomers nodded and wandered back to their desks, speculating just what sort of a mess their troublesome two had gotten themselves into this time, but Buck didn't move, his natural protective instinct coming to the fore.
"Guys?" He addressed his query to Vin and Ezra who were disentangling themselves and getting to their feet while still keeping a judicious distance from their leader. Both men were receiving mixed signals and while normally excellent readers of people were, for once, baffled as to their boss's motives. They turned as though one person to the lanky lothario, questioning looks on their faces.
"You want me to stay?"
"Buck I don't think…" Chris began but was interrupted by Ezra's uncharacteristically hesitant tone.
"A…Ah think, Mr Larabee, t…that Mr W…Wilmington has already g..guessed the nature of our s…situation." Ezra unobtrusively gripped Vin's jacket sleeve as he spoke in a non-verbal attempt to remind himself that this was not like Atlanta, that he was not alone any more. The reasons may be different but one thing that always ran true in the ex-cons life was that when his world was torn apart he always stood alone. But not this time. This time he had Vin.
Vin had felt the tug on his sleeve and understood immediately his partner's need to re-establish contact. He didn't know what was going on in Chris's head and suspected that their first assumption of imminent violence had been wrong, but still, Buck's expression had been nothing but supportive and if he was wrong in his reading of his leader then Buck was probably the only one that could control him.
"We'd like Buck to stay Chris, if'n that's okay?"
Chris nodded. In truth he was glad not to have to face this alone though he suspected that his friend was viewed more as back-up on his two younger friend's side. He felt a twinge of guilt that his reaction had caused them fear.
"Close the door Buck. We have a bit of a situation. It's complicated"
"Need to know one thing before we go any further Chris" Chris nodded, he wouldn't have expected anything else.
"I didn't attack them Buck. I was angry, can't deny that but it wasn't them I was angry at. Concerned for them and worried about them but hell, it's Vin and Ez…when don't I feel that way about them?"
The two immediate protests and Buck's responding chuckle seemed to diffuse the tension a little.
"I am afraid that the undignified position you found us in on your arrival, Buck, was entirely our own fault. We miscalculated Mr Larabee's response to news that we were aware that he would be receiving and upon his destruction of federal property each of us thought only to offer the other what limited protection we could given that neither of us wished to do any harm to Mr Larabee's person, his reaction being entirely understandable under the circumstances. Unfortunately in our haste to render each other rapid assistance we neglected to note our relevant positions and a slight accident occurred."
Buck looked at the southerner with glazed confusion and an inarticulate sound escaped from his slack jaw. Chris winced in sympathy while Vin just shook his head in fond exasperation before stepping in with the translation.
"Chris was told by Nettie that we was gay; he went ballistic and smashed the glass. We figured that one of us was next and tripped over ourselves trying to protect each other. Ended up in a heap."
"Okay, maybe not so complicated" muttered Chris.
"Ohhh. I get it now" admitted Buck, eyes twinkling and moustache twitching.
"That's what Ah said!" Nobody was quite sure whether Ezra's pout was real or fake but Vin thought it was absolutely adorable.
After taking a few moments to calm down and deal with the broken glass the four men sat down to deal with the issue that caused the trouble in the first place.
"How long have you known. Buck?" It was Chris who got the question in first but it was something that both Vin and Ezra wanted to know too since they had only been together a few days. Had they been that indiscreet?
"Only a few minutes. But there were little tells over the past day or so that suddenly came together. Nothing obvious to most if you're worried about this getting out."
"I am afraid that the cat is already out of the bag Buck" replied Ezra sadly "And the cat has claws and a very vocal meow."
At Buck's puzzled look Vin took over. His tone was a little defensive and he wore a slight blush but his words were unrepentant.
"Ez was in a lot of pain with his headache and we were in the privacy of his own home…weren't doing nothing wrong" He addressed the last comment to Chris and both he and Buck noticed that Ezra's hand gently clasped the slightly larger and rougher hand of his partner in unspoken support.
"Nobody's saying you were Vin" assured Chris, his temper having dissipated in the face of his friend's anxiety.
Vin nodded and resumed.
"Anyway Maude had left and Ez was asleep, the medication knocks him out; so I shucked off my jacket and shoes and …." Vin's reticence finally got the better of him and he faltered.
"And he held me, and comforted me like anyone who loved somebody would do. For the first time in my life I slept peacefully in the knowledge that I was loved and protected." Ezra voice was soft, barely above a whisper but his eyes held the echo of the awe he had felt at Vin's touch and a hint of challenge to anyone who wanted to belittle the experience.
Chris was suddenly reminded of his Sarah and the very beginning of their relationship when everything was new and scary yet held the certainty that things could only get even better. It cut him deep that Nettie Wells was trying to take that future away from his boys. He remembered just in time not to let his anger show….not until he was facing the right person anyway.
Buck saw the fear and the pride in the two pairs of eyes, one sky blue and the other jade green, and for the first time since he had seen the richness of Chris's relationship with Sarah he wondered if playing the field was worth the price. Maybe there was a lady out there for him; maybe if he dated a woman for more than a week he might find out. He tucked the idea away in the back of his mind for later consideration. Now wasn't the time for daydreaming. He listened with growing anger as Vin resumed the tale.
"Anyway I dozed off and all of a sudden Miz Nettie was standing there in Ezra's bedroom spouting off all manner of hurtful stuff, almost all of it at Ez" Vin gently caressed Ezra's hand reassuringly as it tightened around his with the remembrance of her vitriolic comments.
"Ah pointed out the illegality of her entry, though given that she had been provided with a key I have doubts as to whether that would stand up in court…"
All eyes turned to Chris who let out a sigh and immediately apologised for his actions.
"Sorry guys. Nettie came to me and told me that she was worried about you" he nodded to Vin "looking after Ez by yourself and offered to pop round and see if she could help. Asked for the key so that she didn't disturb anyone by knocking. I didn't see any harm in it…it was Nettie." Chris's last comment reflected the sadness they all felt at being betrayed by one of their own.
"We understand Chris. You were not to know that her motives may have been less than pure. In fact she may have been telling the truth at that point. It was her words and actions after she found us together that caused the grief and you were not responsible for that."
"Thanks Ez. Gotta say that I couldn't see myself being so forgiving if it were my home that was violated." Chris knew that despite Ezra's forgiveness he would not forgive himself so easily but he had to laugh at the response.
" I cannot afford to waste any of my anger on you Mr Larabee. Not when I am saving it all for that sanctimonious, close minded, mangy old crone."
"You will remember that she's a seventy year old woman won't ya Ez, and not one of your gun running marks?" Buck's voice was light but like the rest of them Ezra could be ruthless when one of the others had been hurt and he hoped that his gentle reminder would stop the man from doing anything too hasty.
"Oh don't worry Mr Wilmington, I wouldn't dream of laying a hand on the old….woman" he swallowed his intended insult at a cautioning mini glare from Chris, though he had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I plan to do something that will cause her far worse pain than any physical assault or even legal retribution." At the expectant and slightly nervous glances he offered up a punishment that was far worse than anything they could have come up with and one that would almost certainly guarantee her future silence on the matter.
"Ah'm going to tell mah Mother on her."
The other three men winced at the thought of letting loose the fifth horse-person of the apocalypse. To face Maude when she was being nice was scary enough but to even contemplate what that sharp tongue would do to anyone who upset her 'darlin' boy' was enough to give a person the shivers.
"Does Maude know?" Chris waved a hand between the two men indicating their relationship.
"Yep" answered Vin with a smug grin. "Think she likes me. Even made me lunch." His grin vanished as Buck laughed and pointed out a fact that Vin hadn't yet considered.
"You do realise that this in effect makes Maude your Mother-in-Law…only without the actual law bit."
"Hell!"
Ezra separated his hand from Vin's grip and slapped him lightly on the arm.
"You do realise that that is mah Mother you are insultin'?"
"And?" replied Vin with a smile
"Point taken."
Chris shook his head at the interaction. In one way their behaviour didn't seem any different yet there was now an undercurrent of, while not quite contentment, at least of harmony. But as much as he approved of his friends finding happiness, God knew they both deserved it, there were issues that still had to be dealt with.
"Guys, we need to decide what to do next. Do you want to keep this quiet? Just tell the rest of the team? Or go public? And you have to know that if you go public just because discrimination is illegal don't mean to say it doesn't happen. Plus Judge Travis might be forced to separate you under the rule of spouses not working on the same team…even though you aren't married legally. Me and Buck'll support you whatever you decide, you know that."
"Damn right!" added Buck emphatically, marvelling as Vin and Ezra did the silent communication thing that he had thought only existed between Vin and Chris.
"I think that for now at least we would like this information kept within the team. It would not be right to exclude them when ya'all know the status of our relationship but unless Nettie forces our hand we would rather not be separated. I for one would not be comfortable working on another team and would be forced to tend my resignation."
"Me too" added Vin, in complete agreement with his partner. "Same goes if'n any of the other guys can't handle us as a couple. Won't kick up a fuss but won't stay where one of us ain't wanted either."
Both Buck and Chris nodded with sombre expressions. They were more than a team they were a family and families stick together. It was almost certain that the two men would have the total support of the other three…almost. And if not then they wouldn't be a team any more because Chris and Buck would join the walkout.
Chris picked up the phone and punched in Gloria Potter's extension. He arranged for her to watch over the babies and for the other team members to be sent in.
M7M7M7M7M7M7M7
Josiah, JD and Nathan sat in stunned silence at the revelations of their two team members. Their expressions not giving away their thoughts, which Chris, for one, found disconcerting.
Nathan was surprised. He was surprised that he was not, in fact, particularly surprised. If he were to think about it he had always assumed that Ezra was gay, but since the undercover agent hadn't wanted to call attention to his orientation he hadn't mentioned it. Vin was a bit more of a shock but the two of them together somehow seemed natural. Vin & Ez were already a double act in his mind; it didn't take much of a push to think of them as a couple. Nettie Wells was a different matter altogether. While he lived in a time that had seen the first elected black president prejudice was still a war that had to be won. And the fact that this particular prejudice was against someone's sexuality rather than the colour of their skin didn't matter to him. Prejudice was prejudice. And he hated it.
JD was shocked. That Nettie could be so cruel! He knew for a fact that Casey, Nettie's niece, who she had raised from childhood, didn't have a prejudiced bone in her body and he thanked God that Nettie's disgusting hatred hadn't tainted the girl he loved and hoped to marry. They both had gay friends and he knew that Vin and Ez's relationship wouldn't affect Casey's attitude to them. But he couldn't help but worry what Nettie might have to say about a member of the team dating her niece without joining her in her twisted opinion. No! He had faith in his relationship. Casey would no more be dictated to by prejudice than would Vin, Ezra or any of the others on the team. They were solid.
Josiah sighed softly as he contemplated events. His only thought about Ezra and Vin's revelations was 'At last!' He had been waiting for the pair of them to wake up to what they were feeling for each other for months now. He was getting to the stage where he was considering locking them in a closet until they saw sense. Of course with Vin's claustrophobia and Ezra's fear of imprisonment they would probably been too busy panicking to realise their true feelings. Miss Nettie now, was a different matter. Being the eldest of the team he could understand that the older generations had a perception of things that while normal for their own time was incompatible with today's more enlightened society. But whatever her personal views her treatment of those she supposedly considered friends, and in Vin's case family, was intolerable. He felt both disappointed in her failings and a little pity for her, knowing that she had lost something very precious in pandering to her hatred. It was a mistake he was not going to make with Ezra.
Vin and Ezra watched as expressions played across their team mates faces. They didn't dare concentrate too hard on deciphering them since it was all too close to home. Their friend's next comments could decide their futures on the team and neither man wanted to leave, but they would not abandon each other. Not after it had taken their entire lives to find this happiness.
"Well?" Chris's patience would only stretch so far, and that was not far at all. He wanted to know if he still had a team.
Ezra and Vin tensed as Josiah stood up and came around to stand between them. He put a large hand on each man's shoulder and squeezed gently.
"Congratulations boys. I'm pleased that you have both finally found the other half of your soul. I wish you all the best." With a pat to each man's arm he moved back to his seat, acknowledging their grateful comments with a smile.
"Guess Josiah said it for me too fellas. Congratulations" Nathan reached across and shook each of their hands in turn. He felt quite emotional at the looks of gratitude on their faces and diverted any potential outburst in the best way he knew how.
"We'll need to have a talk later….about safe sex." He didn't know which was more rewarding, the twin beet red blushes of the lovers or Buck choking on his chewing gum.
JD slapped Buck enthusiastically on the back as he gushed his congratulations, adding that he was sure of Casey's support too. At the looks of concern as the others realised his awkward position he reassured them of his loyalty to the team and that he'd work 'stuff' out with Casey.
"Well now that we've gotten the important stuff out of the way we need to know if we're agreed that this is best kept within the team for now. We don't want to risk the boys being cut from the herd." Chris was relieved to see a unanimous show of support.
"Figure it's no-one's business but ours" added Buck "But what if Nettie goes above your head?"
"Ezra?" Chris did as he always did when confronted with a strategy problem, he went to the expert.
"I would just reiterate the facts as Mrs Wells actually saw them. She came upon one team member unwilling to leave a sick partner alone and who happened to fall asleep while keeping him company. That I embraced Mr Tanner is easily, and truthfully explained by the medication and since Vin was fully clothed at the time I do not see that the woman has a leg to stand on."
Nathan wasn't normally comfortable with Ezra's manipulation of truth and lies but he was even less comfortable with prejudice and home invasion so he added his agreement to the idea.
"Well if that's all we'd better get back; we've left Gloria long enough with the kids." Chris winced. He couldn't believe that he'd said that.
"Hang on" called Buck as they all got up to leave, Ezra and Vin practically supporting each other after the adrenaline rush of the last hour. "There's an important piece of information that we're missing" he pointed out with a sparkle in his eye.
"And what is that Mr Wilmington?" Ezra thought they'd covered it all.
"Most important question of all of course….Who's bottom?"
"Mr Wilmington!"
"Buck!"
"What?" claimed the ladies man with mock innocence at the embarrassed cries of his friends. Support proved….it was now open season on teasing.
7M7M7MM7M7M7M7
Things quickly got back to some semblance of normal and while the occasional glance was sent Vin and Ezra's way in the hope of catching them making eyes at each other, and receiving mild glares for their trouble, they were soon buried in paperwork.
"Hey Buck" JD's voice wasn't much above a whisper. "I've got a reply from Bobby. I sent an email just before the Ezra thing kicked off. He says he can come to Denver tomorrow on his way through to Boulder on business. Who'd have thought he only lived one State over. He seems to think the baby's fixable but the tricky part will be reprogramming to cover the time lapse. Still if anyone can do it, Bobby can….for a price."
"Ouch!"
"Yeah, best get ready to smash your piggy bank Buck."
"What do you mean 'my piggy bank' you were the one that broke him!"
"Well yeah, but you were the one that led me on."
"I did no…."
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
Josiah looked across at Chris who was clutching a piece of paper in a death grip. He smiled at Nathan.
"I think he got the memo."
Chris snatched up the phone and dialled Travis's office direct. Hadn't he suffered enough? Hadn't his men given more than their fair share to the citizens of this city? This was….this was a step too far. Who the hell's bright idea was it to organise for all of them, babies in tow, to give a talk to the Denver Women and Children's Circle
Whoever it was was dead.
People would finally find out whether his glare could kill. And if it couldn't, well he had a gun.
And if he couldn't find anybody else to shoot he could always put himself out of his misery.
TBC
A/N Hope that wasn't too long for you. Just a word about the Denver Women and Children's Circle. As far as I am aware I have made it up. If there is a real society with that name then it is purely coincidental. (But I bet they wouldn't mind a visit from the 7 :D )