A late afternoon run to the grocery store meant it wasn't crowded. Josiah was in and out getting everything on the list plus a few other things and was driving up to Ezra's townhouse about ninety minutes after he left. As he pulled into the driveway, he saw JD coming out of the garage where he'd parked the Jag and looking around, he saw Buck parked on the street. Pulling into the driveway, he waved JD over to him.

JD walked up to the passenger side of the Suburban and peered into it. "Geez, did Ezra get admitted to the hospital?" he asked as Josiah got out.

"What? No," Josiah quickly answered. He waved to Buck who'd gotten out of his pickup and was walking over to them. "I dropped him off here a bit ago. I had to run out and do some grocery shopping for him." He opened the back of the Suburban and started pulling out bags that he handed to both Buck and JD. "You two are just in time to help me get all this inside and put away...but be quiet," he cautioned them. "Ezra was sleeping when I left, and he probably still is. He needs rest, so let's not wake him up."

"Sure thing," Buck said taking some of the bags from Josiah.

Once the three men had all the bags of groceries out of the Suburban, they walked to the townhouse. Josiah pulled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. "Remember, be quiet," he cautioned the others then pushed the door open.

While JD and Buck took their bags directly to the kitchen, Josiah stopped in the living room to check on Ezra. He was surprised to see the couch empty and the blanket in a tangle on the floor. "Where'd he go?" he muttered.

He handed the bags he still carried to JD. "Start putting this stuff away," he said then set out to find where Ezra had gone.

As he passed the hall bathroom, he saw the light on, and the door opened. Although Ezra wasn't in there, Josiah saw his bathrobe and shirt balled up in the corner and there was the slight odor of sickness. He nudged the balled-up clothes with his foot and quickly found where the odor was coming from.

Leaving the bathroom, he continued to Ezra's bedroom. The door there was partially closed, and the room was in darkness. He gave a perfunctory tap on the door before pushing it open and stepping inside.

There was a human-sized lump in the middle of the bed that could only be Ezra. The top of his head was the only part of him visible.

Josiah quietly crept to the bed and slid the comforter and sheet down, so it wasn't over his friend's face. He gently lay his hand on first Ezra's cheek and then the back of his neck. Although not high, he could feel the unmistakable heat of fever.

Ezra stirred at the touch and his eyelids cracked open revealing glassy green eyes. "Josiah," he croaked after a moment. "You're back."

"I am. Looks like you didn't do so well while I was out. I guess the eggs were a bad idea."

"No," Ezra responded as he slowly rolled over to his back. "They failed to sit well." He pulled his arm out from under the covers to rub his eyes then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I left a bit of a mess in the bathroom. Could I impose on you to..."

Josiah cut him off before he could finish his request. "Consider it taken care of." When Ezra dropped his arm back to the bed, he pulled the covers up to cover the bare appendage. "Where do you keep your pajamas. You need a shirt."

Ezra listlessly pointed to the chest on chest across the room. "There should be an MIT sweatshirt in the third drawer down. I didn't have the energy."

"Not to worry," Josiah said as he patted a blanket covered shoulder. He found the sweatshirt Ezra had asked for and brought it back to him. It was worn and looked like he'd had it since he was enrolled at the school. "Let's get you in this," Josiah said as he started to help Ezra sit.

"I assure you, I can dress myself," Ezra said as he slowly sat up. "I've been doing it for quite a number of years." He smiled to take any sting out of his words then accepted the sweatshirt and started to slowly pull it on.

"Hang on a second." Josiah grabbed Ezra's hand to stop him from pulling down the shirt. "What's this?" he asked as he looked carefully at his friend's chest. It was covered in small reddish pink spots, some of which were raised. "Is this new?"

Ezra looked down at his chest seeing the rash as well. "I don't..." he let out a sigh. "I don't know."

Josiah pulled his friend forward a bit so he could see his back. "It's on your back, too. Where'd you put the papers the doctor gave you? I think I remember reading something about a rash."

"I think they're still be in the kitchen," Ezra answered as he finished putting on the shirt.

"Ok. I'll check there and give your doctor a call and see if a rash is significant." As Ezra dressed, Josiah started to pile the pillows behind him so that when he was done and laid back, he was partially sitting up.

"It's well after office hours." Ezra slumped back against the pile of pillows, tired just from putting on a shirt.

"There should be someone on-call I can leave a message for. Now, water or juice," Josiah asked once Ezra was leaning back against the pillows with the covers pulled up. "And don't say neither. You need to keep up your fluid intake."

"I realize that." Ezra let out a little sigh. "Can we compromise on tea?"

"How about you drink some water and I'll make you another mug of tea," Josiah countered.

Again, Ezra let out a sigh then nodded. He just didn't have it in him to play at this game.

"Ok." On the one hand, Josiah was happy that his friend wasn't putting up a fight. On the other hand, he wished that Ezra were feeling well enough to do so. "I'll get them for you, then I'll put that stuff in the bathroom in the wash. Do you have anything else you want me to toss in?"

"Fortunately, I was able to do laundry the day before yesterday. There should be very little in the hamper."

"Well, whatever's in there, I'll grab and add it in."

Ezra could feel his cheeks color at the thought of his friend having to do his laundry for him. Unfortunately, he knew it was a choice of that or it would have to sit for quite a while until he felt up to it. "Thank you," he said softly not meeting Josiah's eyes. "And if it's not too much of an imposition, I was wondering if you'd mind staying with me tonight," he forced out in a rush.

"Be happy to." Josiah kept his response simple and to the point not wanting to prolong or heighten Ezra's obvious embarrassment. He patted Ezra's knee lightly then left the bedroom. He met JD coming down the hallway.

"Everything's all put away," the younger man said. "I just wanted to see if anything else needed to be done before Buck and me head out." He gestured toward Ezra's room with his chin. "He ok? Need anything?"

Josiah put his arm around JD's shoulders and led him away from Ezra's room. He was tempted to enlist his and Buck's help with the laundry, but that would necessitate them knowing about Ezra's earlier difficulty. He knew that Ezra thought it was bad enough that he knew. If JD and Buck also did, that would cause even more embarrassment for him. Even though he could have them help without Ezra's knowledge, it would still feel like a betrayal of his trust. "I can handle things from here. You and Buck should head out. It's Friday so I'm sure you've both got plans."

"Ok," JD reluctantly agreed.

As they passed the hall bathroom, Buck stepped out with the bundle of Ezra's soiled robe and shirt. "He tell you about this? I was going to toss it in the wash."

Inwardly, Josiah groaned. So much for keeping the secret. "I told him I'd take care of it." He took the bundle from Buck. "I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you just forgot about it. You know how he can be."

"Consider it forgotten," Buck said with a nod.

When they reached the living room, and the two men grabbed their coats from where they'd left them on the couch. They said their goodbyes and were heading out the door when JD stopped short. "I almost forgot." He pulled keys out of his coat pocket and handed them to Josiah. "Ezra's car keys."

"I'll make sure he gets them," Josiah said as he accepted the keys.

"Oh, and Chris said to tell you he'd be by tomorrow morning around 8:00 for the morning shift," Buck added. "Uh, have you told Ezra that we'll all be spending a lot of time here until he's on his feet again."

Josiah dropped the car keys in the basket on the table by the door where he knew Ezra usually kept his car and house keys. "I think he's got a good idea he's not going to be able to make it on his own until this has run its course. He even asked me if I could stay with him tonight."

"He really must be sick," JD said in surprise.

"That, and I think over the last year he's learned to place a lot of his trust in us and that it's ok if he lets us see what he thinks is weakness." Before anyone could say anything else, the phone rang.

"You get that before it wakes him up," Buck said as he pulled open the front door. "We can see ourselves out."

Josiah nodded and rushed over to the phone in the living room before it could ring again and disturb Ezra. He was surprised when the caller identified himself as Dr. Putnam and was immediately on edge that there was some mistake in his diagnosis. "Is there a problem?" he asked warily.

"No. No. Not at all," Dr. Putnam quickly reassure. "I was just going over notes from today and realized I'd neglected to caution Ezra against using Tylenol until I got his liver panel results back. Mono can cause hepatitis and Tylenol can adversely impact the liver. It's best not to add that additional strain for now."

"He took some earlier. Is that going to cause a problem?"

"It's very unlikely," Dr. Putnam assured. "Just have him avoid taking anymore. I should have the test results back some time Monday. In the meantime, he can take ibuprofen."

"I'll make sure he knows. It's good timing that you've called. When Ezra was getting changed earlier, he noticed a rash on his chest and it's on his back as well. I told him I'd call and make sure that wasn't anything to worry about."

"That's perfectly normal. About half of people with mono will get a rash. Is it causing him any discomfort or itchiness?"

Josiah thought for a moment before answering. "I don't think so. He didn't seem to be aware of it until he saw it."

"That's good. If it does, he can try an OTC antihistamine like Benadryl. The paperwork I gave him also has a few other things he can try. Otherwise, it's just one more symptom of the virus and will resolve with time."

After thanking Dr. Putnam for the information and assuring him he had no other questions, Josiah hung up. He went into the kitchen to put the tea kettle on to boil to make Ezra a cup of tea, then brought a bottle of water back to him.

"Who called?" Ezra asked as he opened the bottle of water.

"Your doctor. He forgot to mention you shouldn't take any Tylenol until after he gets your blood tests back…something about your liver." Seeing worry come to Ezra's eyes, Josiah held up his hand. "I told him you took some earlier and he said not to worry about that, just to avoid any more for now. I also asked him about that rash. He said about half the people who get mono will get it."

"How delightful." Ezra took a few sips of water then put the bottle on the bedside table. "I think there's some ibuprofen in the bathroom, although I'm not sure how much. Did Dr. Putnam prohibit that?"

"He didn't. Josiah nudged the bottle towards Ezra. "I'll check how much you have and ask Chris to bring some tomorrow when he comes." He waited to see how Ezra would take that news. He wondered if his friend would be accepting of that since he had asked earlier for him to stay, but that didn't mean he'd want anyone else to also stay.

"I'm going to assume Mr. Larabee has organized the others to take turns playing nursemaid." Ezra's voice was level giving away nothing of how he was feeling.

"We all just want to help you. You heard what the doctor said. This is going to have you really fatigued and you're going to need some help."

A small smile quirked Ezra's lips. He picked up the bottle of water and took another small sip as he composed his thoughts. As he capped the bottle and deliberately returned it to the bedside table, he spoke. "Based on the past, I'm sure you and the others expect me to refuse any assistance. I can assure you, Mr. Sanchez, as much as it may pain me to admit I need any help, I'm not fool enough to refuse to admit I will need it. I can dislike the situation while still being accepting of it."

"That's very pragmatic of you. If it helps you any, we all dislike the situation as well...but we're all happy to help you."

"I just don't want to be a burden to anyone," Ezra murmured softly as he looked anywhere but at the other man.

Josiah was just able to make out what his friend had said. He sat on the side of the bed and rested his hand on Ezra's blanketed leg. "Listen to me. You are not a burden. Helping each other out is what friends do and whoever let you think in the past that being sick is a burden was just plain wrong."

Ezra nodded slightly, still not able to meet Josiah's eyes. Faintly, he could make out the sound of the tea kettle whistling. "Water's boiling," he said just to say something.

"So it is. I'll get your tea." Josiah got up from the bed and started to walk to the bedroom door. Before leaving the room, he turned back to Ezra. "Think about what I said and let yourself believe it's the truth." He didn't wait for an acknowledgement before leaving the room.

When Josiah got to the kitchen, he turned off the stove and moved the kettle so it would stop whistling. As he put Ezra's tea together, he did his best not to slam anything despite being frustrated and angry. He knew if he did, Ezra would most likely interpret it to mean he was angry with him even if he wasn't. He was angry with whoever it was that had put it into his friend's head that being sick and needing help was a burden. He was frustrated that his experience in his final months with the FBI had left him gun shy of trusting that his teammates would be there for him when he needed them. Mostly, though, he was sad that Ezra thought so little of his self-worth, that it would surprise him that anyone would want to help and support him.

Pulling in a deep breath, Josiah leaned against the counter, closed his eyes, and slowly let the breath out as he composed himself. He would not do anything to continue Ezra's feeling that he was a burden on anyone.

Picking up the mug of tea, he put a smile on his face and took it back to his friend. "I made some peppermint tea, I thought it might help settle..." His words died off as he walked in the bedroom and saw that Ezra had fallen back to sleep.

He was still propped up by the pile of pillows and was holding the uncapped bottle of water. The way it had started to tip, it was a good thing it was no longer full.

Setting the tea down on the nightstand, Josiah rescued the bottle of water and put it by the mug. Carefully, he maneuvered Ezra so he could take some of the pillows out of the pile and settled him back against them. Once he was in a more comfortable position, Josiah pulled the covers up, tucking them around Ezra's slumbering form.

Through all the moving, Ezra hadn't wakened and only made a tiny moaning sound. Once the covers were pulled over him, he rolled over to face Josiah and curled up slightly with one hand balled up under his chin.

Josiah took a moment to just look at the ill man. He noticed how pale his face was and how the dark shadows under his eyes stood out so dramatically. He looked sick and fragile right now. Josiah knew Ezra had been working nose to the grindstone in order for them to close their most recent case. He wondered if he'd be as sick as he appeared if he weren't so exhausted.

He brushed the hair back from Ezra's forehead, allowing his hand to rest on his head for a moment. "Rest easy, son," he whispered. He gave the covers one more twitch, then turned off all but one small light and left the room.