ROCK A BYE BABY Chapter 13
Disclaimer: nope, don't own.
Chapter thirteen in which Ezra gets physical (no not like that you degenerates!) and hosts a dinner party…but should he risk the best china with Buck at the event - it's a dilemma.
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He was up to something! They all knew it, they just didn't know what IT was. Well if truth be told they knew it because Vin knew it but then nobody knew their sneaky southerner like Vin Tanner. Even before their friendship had escalated into something more Vin had always been able to read Ezra better than anyone…except Maude of course.
Vin snuck another quick peek at his Ezra; the man was definitely up to something. Not that he needed an excuse to ogle his lover, Ezra was undoubtedly the prettiest man he'd ever seen and he was so lucky that the southern gentleman wasn't a mind reader because 'pretty' was a description that would earn him a few choice but definitely unattractive words.
Ezra looked up from his monitor and smirked before re-focusing his attention on his report. Vin gulped. No, not a mind reader…hopefully!
One thing was for certain, even if Ezra could read minds he himself could not. He had disappointed the others by not being an all knowing, walking, talking Ezra oracle. All he knew for sure was that Ezra was excited and slightly nervous. He had something planned and it didn't involve any of the team. That meant that at some point he would be trying to sneak away from them. Not easy to do with twin babies to care for.
As if a light bulb had lit up inside his head Vin saw a way to discover, if not what Ezra was up to, then at least when he planned on being up to it. He sent a private internal email to Chris who replied a few minutes later.
'Gloria has the twins booked for 4pm. Good work. Now we need to find out what the hell he's playing at. We need to keep an eye on him.'
And so it went for the rest of the day. Ezra was unobtrusively tailed from place to place as he went about his business. He remained watched at all times especially in between reports and research and the all important baby activities which were made all the more fractious for Vin and Ezra because they both swore that their infants were teething. Which led to a lecture from JD on the limitations of simulacrum development and light hearted offerings of tried and tested cures and soothing remedies from an amused Nathan and Josiah. Neither Vin nor Ezra were amused though. Something was changing in their babies behaviour, they were sure of it. But babies were the last thing on most of the men's minds as they kept up their surveillance. They had to be subtle, it wouldn't do for Ezra to find out.
Ezra sighed as Buck followed him from the men's room. Honestly, it was just too much! Was nowhere sacred? Still, he supposed it was good practice for them and on the whole they were doing quite well considering that the only one with a true talent for sneaking and subterfuge was Vin. Buck's speciality was electronic surveillance. He wasn't built for shadowing and tailing someone in a building was an entirely different kettle of fish from tailing on a street. 'That reminds me' he thought 'I need to pick up some shrimp for the jambalaya tomorrow'
Ezra glanced at his watch and noted in passing that JD had taken over watcher duties. 3.45pm - nearly time for his meeting with MacNally. He had managed, with very little effort, to get the big oaf to 'call him out' and think that the whole thing was his own idea.
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After JD's innocent revelation that Ezra had collected the overnight bag he kept his change of clothes in Nathan drew Chris to one side, a look of deep concern on his face. In hushed tones he put his worries to his leader and Vin's best friends.
"Chris….you don't think it's possible that Ezra is seeing someone else do you? That he's chea…."
The medic got no further and his only warning was a raised Larabee eyebrow as he found himself spun round to meet a closed fist. All conversation stalled as JD, Buck and Chris waited for Nathan to get back to his feet and face a very angry sharpshooter.
Nathan rubbed his aching jaw as he levered himself upright. He received unexpected aid from the same hand that had landed him on his ass. He didn't hesitate to accept. If Vin had meant him any real harm he wouldn't have pulled the punch the way he did. He was far more hesitant in facing the man he had just hurt with his ill thought out words though.
"Vin I'm sorry. I didn't mean any harm. I was just concerned about y…"
"Only thing you need to be concerned about Nate is how easy you find it to judge Ez. You should know him better than that by now, and if'n I hear one more word about him cheating you'll be drinking your own horse piss remedies through a straw…understood?"
Nathan was humbled by the total faith that Vin had in Ezra. He knew deep down that the Texan was right, and he did trust Ezra where it counted, out in the field; he had even grown to like the man and worried about him just as much, if not more than, he did the others. He also knew that for some reason he couldn't explain a part of him insisted on judging the black sheep of the team more harshly than the others. As much as he hated himself for it he always seemed to assume the worst where the undercover agent was concerned. He looked into the blue eyes that held as much hurt as they did anger. He realized that with Vin words weren't enough and apologies mattered less than action. He had seen the adoration in Ezra's eyes every time he looked at Vin this past week and vowed to do better. He owed it to his friends.
"Understood" was all he said and as Vin's slight smile and nod indicated his forgiveness the cold gleam that remained in his eyes indicated that the same attitude wouldn't be tolerated again.
As Vin ambled off to the coffee machine flanked by JD and Buck who had gifted the medic with twin glares of disappointment, Nathan cast a woebegone look at his leader and asked in a quiet voice
"Chris! Why didn't you warn me?"
"Because you deserved everything you got Nathan. You were out of order and an idiot. If there's one thing you can count on with Ezra it's his loyalty."
Nathan frowned. "But he ran out on us during our first bust together!"
Chris sighed inwardly. It had been HIS attitude toward Ezra that fateful day that had coloured the other's initial views towards their seventh, but although he had long since figured out Ezra's motivation it seemed that not everybody else had.
"He had been shown no loyalty in his time with the FBI. In fact their neglect nearly got him killed, so he was just doing what he'd learned to do to survive. He covered his back because he didn't think we would. The fact that he turned back and saved all our asses should tell you more about the man than that one slip up Nate. Or are you so perfect that you've never made a mistake?"
Nathan found himself unable to answer but that fact alone seemed to satisfy Chris who smiled and patted his shoulder before going over to brave the experience that was Vin's coffee. Nathan sighed - sometimes he wondered if the world was actually supposed to make any sense!
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"I lost him." Josiah shuffled his feet as he braved the massed glares. Well it was hardly his fault, he mused. He was hardly built for stealth and with half the building's office staff getting last minute errands run before quitting time he had just disappeared into the crowd.
"Well that's that then!" Buck dropped down into his chair with an audible thwump. He rested his chin on his hands as he stared at his own reflection in the blank monitor. It summed up the mood of the others. They had come so far!
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Heads shot up at JD's ouburst but he was on the move before anyone could ask a question. They waited with as much patience as they could muster as JD frenetically clicked his mouse until with a cry of triumph and a punch to the air he twirled to face them.
"Well!?" growled Chris but for once JD wasn't intimidated, he was too excited.
"He had his overnight bag!"
The general expression asked the question 'SO?' JD huffed and blew his black bangs out of his eyes.
"So" he replied with what Vin noted was practically an Ezraish smirk, "It's the bag he carries on assignments. The one that never leaves his side and therefore the one we put…"
"The tracking device in!" finished Buck with a whoop.
Suddenly re-energized the team gathered round JD's desk to peer at the result on the screen.
"And?" asked Josiah as he couldn't make head nor tail of the lines and flashing dot.
"And…." JD consulted a sidebar & then huffed in surprise. "Um, he's in the alley on the east side of this building!"
It didn't take long for the team to get to their team mate's last location, it wasn't as though anyone had the guts to stop and ask what they were doing or get in their way after all.
Ezra sighed in resignation. He always hated when an issue came down to physical violence, he much preferred to fight his battles with words; words were cleaner than blood and sweat and sharper than any knife; on top of which the wounds they inflicted lasted a lot longer than bruises or broken bones. The old saying that sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you had obviously not been coined by an individual who had been the victim of ridicule. Yet with some people words couldn't either hurt or deter, for the simple reason that the person concerned was too stupid! "Hence my current position" Ezra muttered.
He had contemplated involving the rest of the team, or just Vin but if he got into trouble for this he did not want to drag them down with him. He also knew that they could be extremely over-protective. He wanted to teach this cretin a lesson not kill him! And if he were honest with himself he had to admit to a desire to prove to the others and the world at large that he could take care of himself. Of course the fact that they weren't there negated that possibility but it didn't alter the need. The others knew that he could talk a good game but he was hardly ever called upon to actually fight. He had back-up and at least one gun hidden about his person, what need had he of fists. But his life had been hard and so had it's lessons and he had been an apt pupil!
"You gonna stand there all day nancy boy? Or are you gonna put your fist where your mouth is?"
Ezra's eyebrows rose, he couldn't resist. "And why, Mister MacNally, would I want to suck mah thumb at this most inopportune of times?"
"Huh!?"
"Mister MacNally, Ah thought we came here to settle matters between us? Ah have gone to great lengths to arrange this meeting" he indicated his casual dress of jeans trainers and white wife beater , "Ah have even dressed for the occasion, now are you going to step up to the plate as they say or have Ah wasted mah time. My colleagues will wonder where I have disappeared to."
MacNally didn't answer. He just looked over Ezra's shoulder like a startled rabbit. Ezra hung his head in resignation. Only one thing could cause that look.
"Gentlemen." He greeted his team mates without turning round and wasn't surprised to find them surrounding him within seconds. MacNally's fear filled expression had vanished as he decided that the snivelling southerner was probably in more trouble from his so-called friends than from him. He leaned back against the wall to watch the fun.
"Ezra?"
"Mr Larabee?"
"Ez!"
"Vin."
Chris bit his lip to stop the smile that was threatening to form; they were beginning to sound like a twisted version of The Waltons. He tried again.
"Ezra, what are you doing? And why are you doing it with MacNally?"
"And why are you dressed like that?" added a curious Buck. Who would have thought that the Armani had hidden those muscles!
Vin had a fair idea what was going on and it would explain a few things like some unexplained bruises that their lovemaking hadn't caused. He blushed at the thought and ran a covertly lustful gaze over his rarely seen casual Ezra.
"Ah am afraid that Mister MacNally has been annoying me with some unwanted and unpleasantly rude attentions of late. Being as his IQ is far too low to appreciate any kind of verbal riposte I have had to resort to the not so noble art of fisticuffs."
MacNally was suddenly at attention as he watched the meaning of Ezra's words sink in….their seventh was being bullied! MacNally paled. He could take the little southern brat without even breaking into a sweat and would put money on himself to best most of the others except perhaps Josiah…who was looking like he had just insulted the virtue of his virgin daughter….and Larabee himself who he knew would just shoot him where he stood and so guarantee that he wouldn't ever have any virgin daughters of his own. He was screwed!
And then Standish stepped in and he relaxed again. Not only would he get to beat this rodent to a pulp but he would humiliate him in front of his friends.
"No Chris!" Chris looked down curiously at the small long fingered and exquisitely manicured hand that pressed into his chest. He quirked an eyebrow in question. How could such delicate hands beat that ugly mound of flesh that called itself an agent?
"Ah have to do this mahself otherwise I will lose all respect…and ah don't have much to lose" he added with a smile.
Chris looked deep into the clear pale jade eyes and saw what he was looking for. He exchanged a glance with Vin who nodded and then he indicated to the rest to back off. A glare stilled the inevitable protests.
"So that pansy little ass has an actual backbone attached to it does it?" MacNally sneered, his steps as he moved forward emulating the menace of a wild west gunslinger about to draw down. Ezra wasn't impressed.
"Mister MacNally, first you want to watch me suck on mah own digit and now you comment on the appearance of mah posterior…is there something you wish to tell me….?"
The men behind him sniggered as MacNally turned beet red and made inarticulate noises of protest. They stopped laughing as, with a roar, MacNally charged the smaller man and let fly with a roundhouse punch that found…..nothing!
MacNally screeched to a halt and turned to find Ezra standing behind him contemplating his manicure.
'If the little bastard thinks he can just dance his way out of trouble he can think again' was the last coherent thought that the Neanderthal agent would be able to construct for some time.
The rest of team seven watched with a mixture of awe and pride. Some of them felt an urge to buy popcorn as they watched the show and Vin felt a different kind of urge all together which he could do nothing about…yet!
"It's like that end scene from Lethal Weapon" JD pointed out as he watched Ezra's leg drop and swing round to cut his opponents legs from under him "All we're missing is the rain."
"Doubt whether Ez would have fought in the rain JD" replied Buck, wincing as the undercover agent's knee jacknifed up into MacNally's groin. Nathan noted with clinical interest that a man's eyes really did cross when his privates were mangled.
Josiah shuffled and bopped his head up and down in tandem with the rabbit punches that Ezra was applying to the man he was having to practically support in order to do it. MacNally was probably unaware by this time which way was actually up but Ezra was on a roll and nobody felt inclined to stop him.
"An explanation please gentlemen?"
The six suddenly felt how Ezra must have felt when they'd snuck up on him.
"Ahh, Judge…" Chris broke off to watch a particularly well applied strangle hold and backward flip that he thought might be judo. "Um, well…"
Travis took pity on his team leader. "Has MacNally been misbehaving again?"
"Was bullying Ez" Vin confirmed.
Orrin Travis's mouth formed a hard line. He hated bullies. He particularly hated bullying within his jurisdiction. The others settled as they realised that the Judge was on their side. Travis was impressed. It might not be Queensbury rules but it was a very effective fighting style. He wondered if he could get the southerner to teach a class.
It had only been minutes, though it may have seemed longer for the defeated agent; since he was unconscious it was impossible to know. Ezra stepped away from the collapsed heap and brushed down his hair which had resorted to it's natural curls. He didn't seem surprised to see Travis who had just gotten off the phone to MacNally's leader to come pick up his trash.
Ezra hadn't felt quite so exhilarated for some time - events with Vin excluded! And he bore the attentions of Nathan with equanimity. He noted that Nathan seemed surprised at his lack of injuries. To placate him he pointed out a small bruise and received an exasperated glare in return.
"Judge Travis. I trust that any punishment handed out for this contretemps will not impact on my fellow team members. I…"
Travis waved his hand "I didn't see anything Mr Standish. Just happened to be going in this general direction."
With Ezra's acknowledgement and the others thanks ringing in his ear Travis left wondering if he could get MacNally transferred somewhere a little more challenging….Alaska perhaps.
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Ezra was glad that he had taken the day off. Not so much for preparing for the evenings repast but to rest the innumerable muscles that hadn't been exercised so thoroughly in some time. He had been glad, also, to hear that none of MacNally's injuries were too severe. The broken ribs and dislocated elbow would heal in time though he would have to have a tetanus shot for the bite wound. Who would have thought the man would be stupid enough to bite himself! Still he had been upside down at the time so his orientation wouldn't have been up to par.
Ezra pulled out the tub of shrimp he had purchased the day before. He had spent most of the hours since dawn baking various pies and cakes and was now embarking on the savoury dishes. He hoped that Vin had been right when he had reassured him before he left for work that the others would enjoy a southern theme. He knew that Nathan often extolled the southern cuisine of his youth and that Buck would eat just about anything but just to make sure that there was enough choice for those unfamiliar with the regional delicacies that his grandmother and various aunts had taught him to prepare he had decided on a hot buffet style. The only problem there would be getting Vin to eat anything savoury before pigging out on the cakes and pies!
Vin watched as his lover changed clothes yet again. Not that he minded; watching Ezra undress was fast becoming his favourite spectator sport. Still, at this rate the guys would have come and gone before his little peacock had selected which colour socks to wear. He moved over to the walk-in closet and plucked several items from the rack, placing them on the bed. Ezra stopped his dithering to inspect the selection.
"Really?"
Vin nodded.
"Not too casual?"
Vin thought back to the wife beater and jeans of yesterday and felt his blood rush south. He stalked toward Ezra like a big cat …a hungry big cat.
Ezra's eyes widened. "What did Ah say?….Vin?….Mr Tanner!…Oh my!"
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"Mr Tanner if my Acadian rolls are not cooked in time I will hold you solely responsible!"
"Ain't what you were holdin' a few minutes ago Ez" Vin smirked as he performed the twins diaper duties. Ezra didn't reply but Vin thought he heard a slight whimper. And at least it had left less time to fuss over clothes.
"VIN!" Ezra's yell came hot on the heels of the knock at the door.
"GOT IT" Vin yelled back and said a little prayer as he went to let the boys in. He swore that if Nathan lectured them on how unhealthy fried chicken and hush puppies were he would throttle him. Same would go for anyone who trespassed on his territory…that peach cobbler was his!
Ezra couldn't believe it. They were enjoying themselves. The compliments on his cooking had made him blush and Nathan in particular had seemed quite impressed by his bourbon pecan cake. Chris had almost polished off the jambalaya single handed and JD and Buck had actually eaten the rolls instead of throwing them at each other as was their normal routine. In fact he doubted whether he would ever be able to get out of cooking duties at their gatherings again.
His favourite moment, however, as it had been when he was a child, was the serving of the king cake. He had explained the tradition of secreting a token or coin within the cake but he didn't tell them that he had already decided who would receive it. It was his party after all! He was impressed at the speed with which JD had picked up on his warning signal not to reveal the special quality of the silver quarter he had held aloft. JD would never lose another coin toss again…as long as he always called heads!
After the meal was cleared away, with everyone claiming something to take home with them, and Vin drinking a dose of pepto bismol - well he had been warned…a whole peach cobbler! They turned their thoughts to their upcoming talk at the ladies circle. Deciding who would talk about what was tricky since every time they mentioned the babies JD would start to stammer and Josiah and Nathan kept correcting the others name choice. By this time the babies were settled and asleep, except for Ethan who wouldn't rest. With apologies that he didn't really mean since time was running out and he was grasping at any chance to be with his infants Ezra picked up the little boy and began to rock him.
That's when it happened.
The conversation going on around him stopped dead and all eyes went in shock to the small bundle. Then up to an equally stunned Ezra and back once again to Ethan.
"Da -da….da - da"
"Oh My!"
TBC
A/N Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter may be the last, or if not then definitely the penultimate. To any southerners out there I got the dishes off of a website for southern cooking so apologies for any errors or if the health & safety police have done away with the coin in the cake thing.