Rock A Bye Baby chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own them and that's probably a good thing because I have nowhere to put their horses or Ezra's Jag and Vin's jeep would probably be towed to the nearest junk yard.

A/N A big apology if you didn't receive a reply to your review but I saved all my reviews in this and other fandoms to the wrong place (PC instead of AOL) and then wiped them. But I did read them and thank you for your support.

Warning: there is talk of the remembrance of the death of a child in this chapter (not a simulacrum) Just so you know.

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Hey Mrs …Maude."

"Luncheon is ready Vin. I am sure that Ezra will sleep a while yet. Come and eat."

Maude left the room, not having spared her son a glance. It gave Vin a flush of anger. She had been the same while he and Ez were in the hospital; a burst of caring followed by a period of avoidance. He didn't understand it and Ezra had never offered an explanation. If it had been him you wouldn't have been able to prise him away from the southerner's side with a crowbar. With a sigh he switched on the baby monitor that Ezra had purchased when they had realised that for the sake of authenticity the babies were programmed to seek attention at night as well as during the day; straightening the covers and giving the sleeping man a gentle kiss on the soft and slightly parted lips he went to get his lunch.

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"Ezra was a twin." Maude winced as Vin choked on his omelette, which he'd proclaimed as excellent, as she dropped her little bombshell. She had seen the rebuke in his eyes at her seeming hot and cold approach she had to caring. She found it quite unsettling that this rather uncouth man's opinion of her mattered, but it did so she offered up a little piece of herself that she normally kept buried deep where it couldn't haunt her. Not that that was true any longer; she had been thinking of nothing else since she had set eyes on the 'baby' Victoria. She had no qualms about confiding in the Texan without consulting her son. She knew that he would talk of his lost sibling more if it weren't for the fact that he was aware of the hurt it caused her. The decision was therefore always hers to make. And Ezra would never enter into a relationship with a man he did not trust implicitly.

Vin hastily swallowed the mouthful of egg mushrooms and peppers but didn't speak. For one thing he was too shocked at her revelation and for another he could see that this was difficult for her.

"Her name was Lauren and she was older than Ezra by a few minutes. She was bigger too. Were you aware that Ezra was a premature birth?"

Vin shook his head and wondered if the woman realised just how little Ezra gave away of his childhood.

"Indeed" she continued, a wistful smile sketching her lips, "He was the smallest thing you ever saw, just 2lbs 9oz. But he was a fighter and he was strong. Lauren was a fighter too and at 3lb 2oz she should have been the stronger one but her lungs hadn't formed properly and I only got to hold her for a little while before she lost her fight. I had them both in my arms for mere moments and then it was just Ezra and I."

Vin could see the renewed grief in the normally unreadable eyes but he also sensed that she needed to say these things and felt privileged that she had chosen him.

Maude hadn't thought that she would have the courage to say those words and to an almost stranger too…yet in truth someone who had instantly felt like family; this trusting was an odd sensation…no wonder it terrified and fascinated her boy so. She could see that he had questions and she hadn't finished either. Her need to make him understand why she seemed so cool in the face of her son's suffering still hadn't been adequately explained.

"What about their father?"

Maude took a deep breath. If talking about Lauren was difficult then talking about the only man she had ever really loved still hurt like hell.

"Sorry I…"

"No, please Vin, that is quite alright. I wanted you to understand some things, some things that when seen out of context can be misunderstood by those unaware of the situation….My Patrick died two weeks before Lauren and Ezra were born. In fact the doctors thought that the grief probably shocked me into premature labour." Maude was surprised to see the young man's eyes glisten; he must really love Ezra, she thought, to be so affected by the memories of people he had never met. She didn't wait for him to ask the next question, it was obvious what it would be.

"He was attacked on his regular patrol" she smiled at the widening eyes. "Yes, believe it or not the greatest and only love of my life was a police officer."

"Explains why you hate Ez being in Law enforcement."

Maude nodded. "I still live in hope of him seeing sense, but I would rather see him with your team than the FBI - even if it is controlled by that Neanderthal you call a leader."

Vin grinned. As far as feelings were concerned hers and Chris's feelings ran along the same tracks, though with different rolling stock. The grin, and Maude's smile at the mental image of caveman Larabee soon faded as she continued her tale.

"He was an honest cop, Mr Tanner and he would have been a wonderful father but it was that honesty that got him killed, just as it was my son's honesty that nearly cost him his life at the Bureau. No Mob leader tolerates a cop that knows too much and can't be bought . I sat by Patrick's bedside for three days while he slowly drifted away from me and I watched my baby take her last breath while in my arms."

She was done. She could say no more without breaking and a Standish did not break down, whether in front of foe or family. Thankfully she didn't need to say any more.

"I understand Maude." And Vin did. He understood pretty much everything and while grief affected everyone differently he could see why it had frozen the heart of a woman who had long before learned not to let people in.

Didn't mean that a part of him wouldn't keep some anger in his heart for the way his love had suffered because of her inability to come to terms with her losses. He also knew that she would expect nothing less from the man who loved her son.

As Maude began to remove the lunch plates from the table a quiet whimpering could be heard from the monitor and it wasn't the babies. Ezra needed him more than Maude did at the moment. Maude handed him two little yellow pills and a glass of water.

"He should be able to keep these down now and they will dispel the last of the pain. Expect him to be a little out of sorts for a day or so though, it's always the way. I will be leaving in an hour or so…a previous engagement with an old school friend who seems to have done rather well for himself. Give my regards to Ezra and tell him that I shall see him soon."

Vin nodded his understanding. She was giving them the time they needed to be alone and also avoiding having to see her son suffer any more. He doubted that there was any friend, although if there was he'd better keep a tight grip on his wallet. Vin put her out of his head as soon as he re-entered the bedroom. Ezra was all that mattered now.

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"JD! Slow down, sit down, put that screwdriver down and tell me what the hell happened….in plain English not that techno babble you've been spouting since we took delivery of junior."

JD winced, "Please don't call him…it….junior, it makes me feel like a murderer."

"You sure it's dead…I mean bust?"

"Well it's stopped moving, and breathing and it hasn't uttered a sound in the last half hour, so yeah, pretty sure. And I don't know what I did wrong. I was only trying to adjust the timer control for the feeding setting, so it wouldn't take so long, but then there was a beeping sound and the whole system shut down. Oh God Chris'll kill me! Travis will have me paying for it till I retire and I'll be the laughing stock of the whole building.

Buck couldn't really argue with his young protégé's assessment of his predicament. His Mama had told him that cheaters never win and it looked like she was right. But he couldn't let the kid take the fall all by himself, especially since he'd egged him on in the first place. He watched as, far from sitting down, the normally hyperactive Agent had gone into overdrive, pacing the room like a caged tiger. Unfortunately as much as his body couldn't keep still his brain seemed to have seized up completely - unless the occasional "Oh God!" counted as brain function.

Buck closed his eyes to shut out the nausea inducing constant movement and put his own brain to work - he could almost hear Chris laugh at his claim to have grey matter upstairs since he seemed to do most of his thinking with his 'downstairs brain' but juggling three girlfriends at once without them finding out about each other took a certain level of smarts and he had gotten it down to a fine art…wasn't his fault that Shelly had been transferred onto the same route as Felicity.

After a few moments intense thought and one stray daydream about Julia Roberts Buck opened his eyes to find that JD had finally given up on his on the spot marathon and was sitting on a recliner with his head thrown back as though looking upward for divine intervention.

"Can you hack into the company and get the plans or schematics or whatever and fix him yourself?"

JD brightened for a second but then with a fresh look of misery hung his head.

"Could get the schematics but I think I've already proved that I've flunked the practical. I'm a computer programmer not a robotics expert."

As Buck deflated a little at the shooting down of his one and only idea he noticed that JD seemed to be deep in thought and he had that getting ready to be excited look on his face. The exclamation when it came was not what he had expected of a 'Eureka' moment.

"Bobby Pickles."

"He does?" Buck's response was automatic but he was glad that it had raised a smile on his formerly panicking roomie.

"Bobby Pickles. We were at MIT together and while I was the typical computer geek he was heavily into robotics. If anyone could help me fix things it's him." His face fell. "But we didn't keep in touch. Last I heard was he was planning on touring Asia after graduation, maybe staying a while in Japan."

Buck felt the worry slide off like grease on a burger. Finding people was his territory, and with a name like 'Pickles' it shouldn't prove too hard.

"Don't worry kid, we'll track him down first thing tomorrow back at the office. Now get on the phone to Casey…if I remember right you wanted to go see that new movie."

"That's great Buck" he said in response to the first part of Buck's statement but then frowned. "But I thought that you were the one with the hot date tonight?"

"Heck kid, the off switch is the best babysitter you can get; we might as well make the most of the free time before junior is fixed."

"Cool!"

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"Hey baby." Vin watched as pain filled green eyes squinted open; the dim light being almost too much for them.

Now that they were on their own Vin had relaxed and shucked off his shoes and outer shirt leaving just his tee and jeans. He sat at the side of the bed with glass in hand. Ezra hadn't been awake when he'd entered the room but Vin could tell from the little sounds of distress that he was near the surface. It hurt him to see the lines of pain appear on the normally flawless face; it hurt him even more to know that he usually went through this alone. That he had never been able to bring himself to ask any of them for their help or even just their company. Vin had no doubt that it was simply that having never had comfort during illness it never occurred to him that anyone would say yes if he asked. Ezra always feared being a burden. That was one of the many things they had in common.

Just as the southerner's eyes flickered open Vin heard one of the babies begin to cry. For the first time since the project had started he ignored it. He would enter the reason later in the log book but as much as he loved the little things a real life Ezra won hands down every time.

"You with me Ez? Got some pills for ya baby."

Vin's eyes misted up as he saw the sheer disbelief, bordering on awe, in his lover's eyes. And he knew that it was because he had not been left to suffer alone. This was soon confirmed by his whispered comment.

"You stayed." Through his haze of discomfort Ezra realised how the comment might have sounded. "I…I didn't mean…"

Vin smiled gently

"I know Ez. Maude had to go but I guess she felt that she'd left you in good hands."

Before Ezra could form a reply from the confused mess that his brain seemed to always become during a migraine a glass of water was held to his mouth and his painkillers were proffered. He took the tablets and a small sip of water and made sure to keep silent as Vin lay down beside him and gathered him up into his arms. Dreams like this were so easily shattered and this was a dream he never wanted to wake up from. He felt lips pressing into his temple. He'd never had a dream that was real before.

"Go to sleep Ez. You'll feel better when you wake up."

Ezra was asleep before he could tell Vin that even through the pain he had never felt better in his life than in the Texan's embrace.

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Nettie Wells wasn't the sort of woman to waste her time on fruitless emotions like guilt. Yet she had to admit to a certain amount of unease at her attitude to these fake babies. She really hadn't expected the hardened individuals that made up Team 7 to take so enthusiastically to pseudo parenthood. To see Chris Larabee treating a lump of plastic and circuits like a piece of porcelain, however, had quite shocked her. She had heard of Vin's obsession with 'Alice' but had put it down to his innate sense of perfectionism. Just wanting to do the job to the best of his ability as always. Now she wondered if it was the lack of a family upbringing that was driving him. She had a funny feeling that he might be a tad miffed with her and if she'd truly hurt his feelings then he had every right to be. It wasn't as though he was from the same stable as that Fanceyman. It was obvious why he was displaying feminine qualities. His kind did things like that. Still with Chris taking more of an interest in the project that should mean Vin spending more time at the ranch and less time at that high price 'abode'. It should but it obviously wasn't. She had just come off the phone to the ranch to invite Vin and Chris over for dinner and low and behold Vin was over at Ezra's leaving Chris quite literally holding the baby. Course Chris being Chris didn't mind and his claim that Ezra had a migraine was something that was bound to draw the Texan boy's protectiveness out. Damn con-artist was probably milking it for all he was worth.

It was about time somebody fetched Vin home so's he could rest instead of expecting him to play nursemaid. Standish was old enough to look after himself. Since there wasn't anybody else willing to call the man's bluff she guessed that it was down to her, but first she had to make a stop at the ranch. Chris had something she needed.

Nettie pulled up outside Ezra's and pulled the doorkey from the glove box. She knew that the leader of Team 7 kept spare keys for all his men's homes in case of emergencies and she didn't want to wake Vin if'n he'd fallen asleep, so she thought it best to keep it quiet.

Opening the door she was ready to enter the alarm deactivation code but found that it hadn't been turned on. She checked each room quickly but with a critical eye over the obviously expensive décor and furnishings, She could think of better things to spend money on than fripperies and fancies. She hesitated before entering what she presumed was the bedroom. Perhaps Vin had already left? Of course it would be just like that Diva to keep the soft hearted sharpshooter waiting on him hand and foot.. Well! She would soon put an end to that!

Opening the door quietly she stepped inside.

"Lord protect us! Get your perverted hands off that boy now you disgusting animal!"

TBC

A/N Bit shorter than normal but I just had to leave it there, I'm a drama queen at heart. Lol. Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter Vin & Ez need to do some damage control. Will their relationship be accepted and will Bobby Pickles get JD out of the pickle he got himself in? Oh and happy 4th July to our American cousins.