Part 4

The silence didn't last long.

"You're the one keeping me from seeing my son?!" She shouted in rage as she bolted upright from her chair, her eyes snapping fire. Most men would have been taken aback by her display of maternal outrage, but Chris Larabee didn't even blink.

He didn't give any reaction for over a minute, then he started clapping very slowly, a mocking smile forming on his face. "Very well done, ma'am," he drawled, enjoying the look of surprise on her face. "I might even have bought it if I hadn't been caring for Ezra for over a year and a half." Chris stressed the name Ezra, not giving and inch. "I have a reliable witness that puts Ezra on the streets for a lot longer than the six months you're claiming, Maude." Again Chris stressed the name, making sure she knew that he was well aware of who she was. "Add that to the medical evidence that Ezra has been abused for years…"

"I don't know anything about that," Maude cut him off, hoping to regain control of the situation. She couldn't believe how difficult this had been. She had expected to just slip into the school, grab the boy, and be gone before they could do anything about it. She hadn't counted on meeting up with an all too helpful teacher's assistant just inside the door. The girl had insisted on escorting her to the principal's office, "so she wouldn't get lost in this old rabbit's warren" as she put it.

What Maude didn't know was that there had been someone posted at all of the entrances watching for her.

Chris snorted in derision and overrode her continued protests. "Lady, I don't care what you say, both I and my team know the truth. I'm giving you fair warning right now, stay the hell away from my son!" Chris shouted the last sentence at her, not caring if the whole world heard him. Only Josiah's hand kept him from going over there and giving her a more precise description of his opinion of her parenting skills.

"Your son!" Maude shrieked. "He's my son! I'm his mother! I have a right to my own child! I'll take you to court if I have to…"

"You want to bet?" Chris said silkily, again cutting her off. Slipping form Josiah's grip, Chris stepped forward until he loomed over the slight built blonde woman. Finally he allowed the disgust he had been suppressing show in his eyes and gave her his best venomous glare. "I have doctor's reports. I have photographs of Ezra scars. I even have recordings of Ezra sobbing his heart out after waking up from a nightmare. All them tell me quite eloquently all about what you did to that innocent little boy," Chris hissed at her.

"You're not a mother; you just happened to have a baby," Buck said, giving her his own version of the Larabee glare. It wasn't as good as Chris's, but it got the point across.

Maude looked from Chris to Buck, then tried to back away from them, but bumped into something. Looking up she saw the big man with silvering dark hair.

Josiah had stepped up behind Maude as he noticed she looked like she was about to run. Over the last year, Chris had become like a father to the three waifs they had found, but Josiah had found himself in the enviable position of favored uncle, a role that he had come to love. He, Nathan, and Buck got to spoil the boys, while Chris had to deal with any discipline problems, of which, granted, there weren't many. He wasn't about to let this woman take one for their boys away. It would destroy them all.

"Children are a gift from God, ma'am," Josiah rumbled deep in his chest when Maude looked up at him after backing into him. "I believe you gave up the right to that gift when you left him on the streets of Denver to fend for himself."

"And I'm sure family services is more likely to see things my way than yours," Chris continued, drawing her attention back to him.

"I'm sure I could always get Raine to talk to them," Nathan volunteered. He and Ezra might not have gotten along to well at first, but after that first camping trip, he had come to love the quiet little southern boy as much as the rest of the team. Seeing the confused glance Maude cast his way, he smiled, but it was in no way a friendly smile. "Raine is my wife; she's a psychologist that specializes in child abuse victims. Children's Services has never turned down one of her recommendations for placement." The threat was clear that Raine would not be recommending Maude.

Maude looked around the room at the five men, all of who were glaring at her as if wishing she would just drop dead on the spot. There was no way she was going to convince them all that this was all a mistake. Damnit. She couldn't leave the brat here, since she needed him for her next job, but it was going to be such an inconvenience to have to come back for him. Mentally she swore that the boy was going to pay for causing her all this trouble when she got him back.

Plastering a defeated, yet concerned expression on her face, she decided to bow out for now, but this was far from over. "All right, Mr. Larabee, if you feel this strongly about it, I shall leave Ethan in your care for now."

"There's no 'for now' about this, Maude," Chris shot back. "Ezra is my son, and he isn't going anywhere ever. I've initiated proceedings to formally adopt him. As long as Ezra has no objections, I expect that to go forward without a hitch, since it is easily proven that he was abandoned." There was more than a note of warning in his voice. He wouldn't have her messing anything up for Ezra.

Maude mentally swore. This complicated things. She would have to work fast. If the man was already that attached to the brat, he would definitely start looking for him if he disappeared. She would have to rethink her strategy careful. But for now it was time for a graceful retreat.

"Of course. Now I believe that I should be leaving," she said smoothly as she picked up her purse from the place where it had fallen on the floor when she had stood so abruptly at Chris's announcement of his identity.

Chris narrowed his eyes at her, but nodded in agreement, "Nathan, walk her to her car." Chris met Nathan's dark eyes, and saw the understanding there. They weren't about to give her the chance to snatch Ezra on her way out.

Those left behind in the principal's office were silent for a few minutes, thinking over the confrontation they had just been a part of, until Buck chuffed a small, nervous laugh and commented, "At least that's over." Josiah was about to agree when Chris cut him off.

"No," Chris said sharply, never taking his gaze from the door, as if by the force of his will he could see her leave. "Did you see the look in her eyes? This is only the beginning."

Buck, Josiah, and Mr. Ellis all looked at Chris in concern, but none of them tried to argue with him. It was only another minute before Nathan rejoined them and nodded to Chris that she had left without any more problems.

Turning to the principal, Chris started making plans. "We're taking the boys with us today. We'll have to set up some sort of rotation to keep an eye on Ezra. Mr. Ellis, I don't want Ezra to be alone here at anytime. Can you arrange for one of us to be able to sit in on his class each day?"

Ellis looked thoughtful as he said, "That's highly irregular, Mr. Larabee."

Chris sat down tiredly. "I'll get a court order if I have to, but I want someone with him at all times. And with all due respect to your teachers, I think my men would be a little more capable of handling what that woman might come up with."

Seeing that Chris and the principal would have to iron out the details, Buck said, "How 'bout we go get the boys, while you talk?" Receiving an affirmative nod, Buck, Josiah, and Nathan slipped out to go get Vin, Ezra, and JD.

Ten minutes later, Buck and his teammates walked back into the principal's office with the three boys, all of which looked worried. The ATF agents had decided to hold off telling them exactly what was going on, but the boys were still conscious of what Ezra had found out three weeks before.

Chris had convinced Mr. Ellis to allow one of them to be their as long as Ezra had officially been placed into protective custody. A quick call to the judge had confirmed that the protective custody would be legal, since Chris and Buck had been witnesses to Ezra's confessions of Maude's abuses. They wouldn't be able to keep it up indefinitely, but it would hold for a few weeks. Chris looked up at the knock at the door, and even smiled a little at the sight of the three boys that slipped in with his men.

"Papa!" JD exclaimed in surprise, before running over to give his father a hug.

Chris slipped from his chair to pick up and hug the enthusiastic boy. He never grew tired of the warm feeling he got from JD's honest pleasure at seeing him every day. It had only been within the last two months he had convinced JD and Vin that they could call him 'Dad' or something similar. Even after Ezra had been won over last Christmas, they had held reservations.

Setting the dark haired seven year old down, he gathered the silently waiting Vin and Ezra for hugs. He didn't hold them for as long as JD since he knew they would start getting uncomfortable with the contact quickly.

"What's wrong, Pa?" Vin asked quietly. Vin's expression might have looked calm to most people, but to the members of ATF Team 7, it screamed his worry and unease. Chris was about to answer when Ezra spoke up.

"She has come for me, has she not?" Ezra said in a flat voice. "When must I be prepared to accompany her?" Ezra was trying so hard to be brave, yet it wasn't that difficult to see that he was scared to death. If one watched him closely, you could see just the slightest tremor in his hands.

Chris immediately knelt down and put his hands on Ezra arms, ignoring the small flinch Ezra gave at the contact. "You are not going anywhere, Ezra Standish. Yes, she showed up here at the school this afternoon, but I am not going to let that woman take you anywhere. You're my son now."

Ezra looked at Chris with old eyes. While his heart was warmed by the love in Chris's eyes, he couldn't see how Chris would be able to fight her. He knew how ruthless she had been in the past when she was denied something she wanted.

Seeing the tired acceptance on his middle son's face, Chris shook his head, then pulled him unresisting into another hug. "We'll find away, Ezra. I give you my word, you will never be going back to her, as long as I live. And you know I keep my word."

Ezra was still for another second, but then cautiously nodded, a kernel hope taking root in his still scarred heart for the first time since he had seen the picture in the newspaper three weeks ago.