It was just a bit past eight in the morning when Chris pulled up outside of Ezra's townhouse. The windows he could see from the front were all dark, but that didn't surprise him. When healthy, Ezra wasn't one to be up early on a weekend, so he didn't expect it now.

Before opening the door, he gathered the small pharmacy bag and pile of papers that were on the passenger seat. Before he'd left the office yesterday, he'd gotten all the forms Ezra would have to fill out for short term disability since it was doubtful his accumulated PTO would cover the time he'd be out of work.

When he got out of the pickup, he unthinkingly slammed the door closed then winced at the sound it made. He sheepishly looked around but didn't see any faces at windows wondering who was daring to disturb the peaceful Saturday morning.

He was just raising his hand to the doorbell when the door opened. "Thought it might be you," Josiah said as he held the door open for Chris.

Chris shrugged slightly as he walked past Josiah into Ezra's home. "How was last night?"

"It was a bit rocky," Josiah said as he closed the door and followed Chris into the kitchen. "He had a couple of unsettling dreams last night."

"Anything I should know about?" Chris asked as he put the papers and bag on the kitchen table. If Ezra had more than one unsettling dream, it was more than likely there'd be others. As the saying went, forewarned was forearmed. Chris wanted as much information as possible up front. Talking through what bothered someone had never been one of his strengths. Since it was one of Josiah's, he'd like all the advice and help he could get.

Josiah poured a mug of coffee from the pot, handed it to Chris, then leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. "He thinks he's letting us down and it's playing out in his dreams. I've tried to reassure him, but you know how he can be."

"Stubborn," Chris said on a sigh and shook his head slightly. Yet again he found himself wishing for the chance to set straight everyone who'd put in Ezra's mind that his worth was based solely on what others could get out of him.

"And sensitive...although we know he'd deny that until his dying breath."

Chris huffed out a light laugh and shook his head. "More like the dying breath of whoever accused him of it." He gave a little nod. "If it comes up, I'll talk with him about it...make sure he knows he isn't letting us down." Seeing Josiah's raised eyebrows, he let out a breath. "Ok. I'll find a way to bring it up even if he doesn't."

"Just make sure you don't mention my name," Josiah joked. "I don't want to be the one he shoots."

"I'll keep it in mind. I'm assuming he's still sleeping."

"Was last time I checked. Oh, you might want to be careful around Kenny. I think she's figured out something's up and she's being a bit protective."

"Great. So, the little princess has more of an attitude than usual," Chris groused. Since the little, orange tabby had adopted Ezra and they'd begun to "cohabitate," it was a toss-up who disliked the other more. For Ezra's sake, Chris pretended to at least tolerate the cat. Kenny, however, wasn't held up to the same expectations by virtue of being a cat. Her usual greeting to Chris had become a hiss with the occasional swipe of her paw. Every time it happened, Chris would roll his eyes as Ezra chastised the cat that that was not how a proper lady should behave.

"Maybe if you tried to get along with her," Josiah started to suggest only to quickly close his mouth and hold up his hands in innocence when Chris glared at him. "It's just an idea." He finished his cup of coffee and put the mug in the dishwasher. "There's half a can of Fancy Feast in the fridge. She'll probably want it soon. Just make sure to put in the microwave for a few seconds since she doesn't like it cold…and her dish is on the counter."

"Princess," Chris muttered again before nodding. "I'll make sure her royal highness is fed."

"I can see you two will get along great," Josiah said with a laugh.

"Just great." Chris also finished his coffee and put the mug in the dishwasher. "Anything else I need to know…about Ezra, not the cat?"

"I left the information the doctor gave him on the coffee table. There's not much though. Main thing is for him not to take Tylenol. Since you brought the Ibuprofen," Josiah said as he nodded in the direction of the bag Chris has brought in, that's not an issue." He briefly looked at his watch. "Last time he took any was about six hours ago." He tried to hold back a yawn but was unsuccessful.

"Head home, Josiah. You probably stayed awake most of the night listening for any trouble. I've got it covered here."

"OK," Josiah agreed as he started walking to the living room. He grabbed his coat and pulled it on. "If either of you need anything, you know how to get me."

"We'll be fine," Chris assured. He walked Josiah to the door. "Really he assured, when the other man hesitated before leaving."

With a quick nod, Josiah was out the door.

Chris watched as he got into his car and started the engine before closing the door. He found the papers on the coffee table Josiah had told him about and picked them up and quickly scanned through them. There was nothing in them he hadn't expected. That done, he decided to check on his charge.

He walked softly through the townhouse to Ezra's bedroom. The door was partially ajar, and he pushed it open enough to slip in.

Ezra lay in a sprawl on his stomach in the middle of the king-sized, antique, four-poster bed. The blue-on-blue patterned comforter was pulled up over his shoulders. His right arm cradled the pillow, and his left hand was loosely fisted in front of his face.

Chris crept quietly to the side of bed. When he was beside it, he noticed Kenny lying curled up by Ezra's left hip. She raised her head to give Chris a green-eyed glare and hissed at him in her usual greeting. "Quit it you little princess," he admonished in a whisper. "Don't you wake him up with your antics." Completely disregarding him, the cat got up and walked across Ezra's back to settle on the other side of him. She gave Chris one more glare before putting her head down.

Chris waited a few seconds to see if Kenny's movements would wake Ezra, but other than letting out a grunt when she walked over him, he slept on. "Can sleep through anything," Chris whispered. Taking a chance, he lay his hand gently on his sleeping friend's cheek to gauge his temperature. It didn't feel like it was too warm.

"I hope I meet with your inspection," Ezra mumbled then rolled onto his back. He cracked one eye open to look briefly at Chris then closed it and settled down with a sigh.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't," Ezra reassured. "The 'princess'," he began as he looked at Chris with an arched brow, "did that when she decided to rather vocally inform me she wanted her breakfast. She then proceeded to put her paw in my ear and walk over me several times." As he spoke, his hand drifted to the 'princess' in question and scratched between her ears earning a loud purr. "And really, Mr. Larabee, perhaps if you addressed her by name and offered an olive branch, Kenny might be more disposed to greet you with something other than a hiss. She gets along perfectly well with the others."

Chris shook his head slightly and huffed out a laugh. "She's a cat, Ezra, and me and the princess get along just fine. She tolerates me and I tolerate her. It's a balance. Now if you want your breakfast," he continued addressing the feline, "you best get your butt in the kitchen. I hear there's a can of Fancy Feast waiting for you."

Ezra hitched himself up in the bed and smirked at Chris. "Personally, I'd prefer some oatmeal."

"Well, if you get your butt in the kitchen as well, I'd be happy to make you some," Chris said as he rolled his eyes at Ezra's deliberate misunderstanding. "I'll meet you there," he added as he started to walk out of the room being careful not to trip over Kenny who'd jumped from the bed and twined herself between his feet.

"You're going to force and invalid from his sickbed," Ezra asked as his eyes widened in faux shock. "Really, Chris, I thought you were more of a gentleman than that."

Chris stopped when he heard Ezra's words and mentally kicked himself. He was supposed to be here to help his friend, not order him out of bed while he wasn't feeling well. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'll bring it…" he began to say as he turned around. One look at the smirk on Ezra's face, he stopped, and shook his head. "Not too much of an invalid to be up to your old tricks," he joked.

"I had you for a moment." Ezra pushed the covers aside and started to get out of bed only for Chris to hurry over and stop him, pulling the covers back up.

"You may have been kidding, but I'll bring it in to you."

Letting out a huff of breath, Ezra pushed the covers back down again. "I assure you, I'm more than fit to make my way to the kitchen." He swung his legs around until he was sitting on the side of the bed and waved toward the door. "Go on. I'll be along in a moment." When Chris stubbornly stood at the side of the bed, he shook his head and let out a chuckle at the other man's solicitousness. "I promise, I won't trip, stub my toe, or stumble between here and the kitchen. Now, please, go and get Kenny her breakfast before you give her one more reason to simply tolerate you."

"Like she needs one," Chris grumbled, but did as Ezra asked. When he got to the kitchen doorway, he let out a chuckle. Kenny sat there, here head cocked to one side looking at him impatiently. "Ok, Princess. Give me a minute."

As he walked around the kitchen pulling the opened can of cat food from the fridge, putting in the bowl he knew the cat used, and warming it up in the microwave, Kenny kept twining herself around his legs and letting out little meows. "You keep doing that," he grumbled at her as he walked over to the mat where her dry food and water bowl were, "and I trip and fall, that means no breakfast." He bent to put the bowl down and patted the cat on the head as she came over. "Eat up."

"I knew you were softie," Chris heard from behind startling him to stand up straight and whirl around to see Ezra standing in the kitchen doorway. He had one hand pressed against the doorframe as if to keep his balance.

"Yeah…well," Chris harrumphed. "Sit down before you fall down," he ordered.

"I'd say you were overreacting about falling," Ezra said as he shuffled over to the kitchen table and nearly collapsed onto one of the chairs. "I believe the floorplan was enlarged in the night and bedroom was moved several miles from the kitchen."

"I know the feeling. When I had mono in college, it was about a month before it didn't feel like a marathon to go from one room the other. That's why I was going to bring your breakfast in to you."

"Perhaps next time I'll heed your counsel." Ezra rested a hand on the pile of papers Chris had left on the kitchen table. "Brought work with you."

"Nope." As he spoke, Chris moved around the kitchen putting Ezra's breakfast together. Neither commented on how he was comfortable opening and closing cabinets until he found what he was looking for. "You need to fill those out to qualify for short term disability. Your PTO's not going to last until you're back on your feet even if you did carry over from last year."

Paging through the small stack, Ezra frowned. "All of them?"

"If you want to get paid." The microwave beeped and Chris pulled the bowl of oatmeal out and set it in front of his friend. "Don't worry. I'll give you a hand with it."

Ezra gave the stack one more doubtful look then glanced at Chris. "I appreciate it. It would be a daunting task for someone who's healthy." He put a mouthful of the oatmeal in his mouth and grimaced slightly. "If you don't mind," he said when his mouth was empty. "There's a bottle of maple syrup in the cupboard to the right of the refrigerator."

"Anything else," Chris said as he put the bottle down. "Besides coffee

A quick half-smile quirked Ezra's lips at Chris's add on. "You know me so well."

"Anyone who's spent all of ten minutes with you would know it's impossible for you to function without coffee." Chris brought two steaming mugs over to the table, putting one in front of Ezra and sitting down and drinking from the other. He pulled the stack of papers over to him and flipped through them. "You got a pen somewhere and I can start this for you?"

"I appreciate that. There should be some in the basket on the island."

Chris grabbed one of the pens in the basket then came back to the table. He started filling in the forms, occasionally asking Ezra to verify something if he was unsure. By the time he'd finished his coffee and Ezra had finished his breakfast, the forms were completed except for Ezra's signature. "I'll make sure these go through on Monday," Chris assured once the forms were signed and dated.

"I appreciate that, Chris. I'm not sure I would have completed them quite as expeditiously as you did if I'd done them on my own."

Chris waved off the thanks and started to grab the used dishes to take to the sink. "What are friends for? Now...back to bed or the couch."

"I believe I'll take the couch for a while," Ezra answered as he slowly made his way from the kitchen. "Change of scenery and all that."

By the time Chris finished cleaning up in the kitchen and went to check Ezra, he found that he'd already fallen asleep. He straightened out the throw that was only half over his friend then settled in the chair across from the TV. Grabbing the remote from end table, he flipped through the channels until he found a replay of last night's game that he'd missed. He made sure to keep the volume low, but he doubted it would take anything short of an explosion to wake the sleeping man.

M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7

The smell of something cooking finally woke Ezra up. He wasn't sure what it was, but it smelled delicious. He also wasn't sure how long he'd been sleeping. Glancing at the windows, he could see the angle of the sun had changed quite a bit. It had to have been at least several hours since he'd lain down on the couch.

"Hey, you're awake," a voice called out. It was too boisterous to be Chris's. It seemed while he slept, Buck had arrived.

Ezra pushed up to sit against the arm of the couch. "Your powers of observation have never failed to astound me, Mr. Wilmington." He looked around wondering where Chris was.

"Chris got a call a couple of hours ago...had to go into the office for some emergency budget thing or whatever." As he spoke, Buck sat on the coffee table. Not for the first time, Ezra was thankful he'd purchased a sturdy one since so many of his friends chose to use it as a seat.

"Couple of hours?" Ezra echoed in surprise. "What time is it?"

"Just a little after one."

"I slept that long?" He'd been sleeping for nearly four hours, yet he still didn't feel very rested.

"This is gonna take a lot out of you, Hoss. It's the perfect excuse for you to just lie around and sleep...and we know you love to do that."

"I may enjoy sleeping in on occasion, but I don't make it a habit of spending my days sleeping," Ezra quickly corrected.

"You know I'm just joking with you." Buck reached over to slap his friend lightly on the knee. "You feel up to eating a little something for lunch. I made Mom's famous chicken stew. It's good for whatever ails you...or so she used to say."

"Is that the aroma I've been detecting. It smells quite delectable." He tried to keep the surprise out of his voice. Buck's culinary skills generally extended to putting a frozen pizza in the oven or popcorn in the microwave...and he frequently managed to burn both.

"Mom made the best chicken stew. It's the only thing she made that I know how...and I don't make it too often or just for anyone."

"Well, if it tastes as good as it smells, I look forward to eating it."

Buck nodded slightly and got up. "I'll go get you a bowl."

As his friend started to leave the room, Ezra called him back. "Thank you," he said sincerely, knowing that Buck hadn't just made lunch for him but had also shared a bit of himself as well.

"What are friends for," Buck answered with a slight shrug.

"Yes. What?" Ezra said softly. It was the second time today one of his friends had said those words. Perhaps his concerns that he was letting his friends down was for naught. He should really know better by now. He'd been part of Team Seven and had known these men for nearly four years. In that time, they'd never treated him the way he had been in Atlanta. Still, sometimes it was hard to let old habits die. In his most vulnerable moments, they'd come creeping back. He was pulled from his thoughts with a start when a steaming bowl appeared in front him.

"Didn't mean to startle you," Buck apologized as he handed him the bowl of stew. "Looks like you're having some deep thoughts."

A weak smile came and went on Ezra's face almost before it was noticeable. "Just…remembering something." He stirred the bowl of stew then cautiously brought a spoonful to his mouth. He blew on it a couple of times before eating it. "This really is delicious, Buck. You've been hiding your culinary abilities."

Buck preened under the praise. "Mom was a good cook. Wish I knew how to make more of the things she did. I'm happy I can make this, though."

Before Ezra could encourage Buck to try to recreate more of his mother's dishes, he was surprised when JD came into the room.

"I cleaned out the litter boxes for Kenny. It looks like you're running low on litter and her dry food. You want me to pick up some for you?"

"Um…yes. If it's not too much trouble."

"Nah. No problem. I can take care of that stuff for you until you're on your feet again."

Ezra blinked, touched by his friend's generosity. Litter box duty had never been one of his favorite household chores. "I'd appreciate that very much…and I'm sure Kenny does as well."

"Gotta keep things tidy for her…and you. Oh…and I was talking to Vin earlier. He said to tell you he'll take care of any shopping or errands you have 'til you're able to do it yourself."

Again, Ezra was struck dumb by the generosity of his friends. "Please convey my thanks to him," he eventually said.

JD nodded. "What are…" he began to say only for Ezra to finish the statement for him.

"…Friends for? I'm beginning to become intimately acquainted with just what friends do for each other. I'm indebted to all you men."

Buck slapped Ezra on the knee again, almost knocking the bowl of stew out of his hands. "Don't even think about it. All you need to worry about is getting better. We all know if the shoe were on the other foot, you'd be doing what you can to help us."

"Yes," Ezra said sincerely. "Yes. I would." He began eating again but it was almost unconsciously as he was pulled into his thoughts. He'd thought he was letting his friends down because he'd be sidelined for so long. Despite that, each of his friends was taking the time to keep him company and do the most mundane chores in his life.

Not only had Nathan accompanied him to the doctor's yesterday, but he'd also reassured him that if he had any questions about his diagnosis or treatment, he'd be there to answer questions for him – day or night.

Josiah had sat with him last night; listened to his anxieties and done what he could to reassure him with the promise that he'd always be willing to listen.

Now, today, Chris had helped him get through the forms for short term disability, Buck had cooked a meal for him that he knew was special because it had come from his mother, JD had taken on one of his most dreaded chores with the offer to continue doing it, and Vin had offered to run all of his errands. Not one of them had complained about helping him or how his illness was affecting their work. He truly was blessed to have found these men.

He was so deep in thought; he wasn't aware the bowl was empty until Buck was taking it from his hands. "Want to lie down again?"

"I think I've been doing quite a bit of that today." He pointed to a book on the coffee table. "If you'll hand me my book, I think I'll spend some time reading. That shouldn't be too strenuous."

"Sure thing. Me and JD'll go clean up the kitchen. Just holler if you need anything."

"I will." Ezra accepted the book and opened it to the page he'd been on. Once more he silently sent up thanks for his friends, then turned his attention to the book. He had no doubt he'd fall asleep while reading, but it was something to occupy his mind. As he began reading, he wondered who he'd next wake up to find in his home keeping him company.