"JD will be glad to hear the Cortez bust went well," Nathan said, as he and the others strolled up the long walkway to Orin Travis' beautiful mansion.
"Yeah, thanks for helping me with the report, Ez," Vin added, happy he was able to finish at the same time the others did.
For the first time in days, the five were smiling. The long breaths they had been holding until after Cortez and his men were in custody were expelled.
"Bet JD didn't sleep worrying about us," Josiah replied. "Nathan, you should have given JD some sleeping pills."
"Poor kid," Chris offered. "Not sure who this has been harder on – JD or Buck." Then he grinned. "Just like Buck not to wait for us for 10 minutes so he can get to the kid."
"Well, at least we can be glad that he's safe here with Travis' men," Nathan sighed.
An ear-splitting scream shattered the calm. The five men ran like the wind through the gate and burst through the door leading to the pool.
Buck was still screaming as he stared at the scene before him. As Chris grabbed Buck, calling his name, Vin and Nathan jumped in the pool and towed JD and the raft to the side of the pool, Josiah easily lifting him out of the pool and laying him down gently.
Buck, stopped screaming long enough to drop by JD, snatching him up in his arms, crying, "JD! JD! No!"
Nathan quickly removed JD's shirt, checking the fair skin for injuries while Vin and Ezra checked his legs.
Chris was still holding onto to Buck as both stared in shock as a pair of dark eyelashes fluttered open and sleepy hazel eyes opened into slits.
"Gee, Buck, wake the dead," the boy murmured, with a wide yawn and drowsy voice.
"JD?" Relief was instantaneous on the other's faces as they stared at the boy. Buck did not notice as he continued to rock the boy gently.
"It's not blood," Nathan said sharply in relief as he was able to examine JD closer. "It's ketchup."
"Buck! Did you hear that?" Chris was shaking Buck as Vin and Ezra tried to extract JD from Buck's iron grip. "JD is okay. Let him go, Buck! Let Nathan examine him!" Chris commanded.
It took Josiah, Nathan, Vin and Ezra to break the grip Buck had on JD. The boy appeared out of it, blinking in puzzlement at the activity. Vin held up a couple of soggy fries that were in JD's shirt pocket and some packets of ketchup.
"Have to have lots of ketchup with fries . . . and salt," JD murmured.
"Sorry, guys," a man standing near them said. "Kid was down so I brought him out the fries with a burger. Didn't know it would cause such a ruckus," and he tapered off, standing back as the others didn't even seem to notice him, intent on the action in front of them.
Vin had handed the packets to Buck and gently eased JD away.
Buck was now staring at the packets as if they were poison. "Ketchup?" Buck said in disbelief. "This was only ketchup?" His voice rose sharply and he turned a hard glance on the boy, who visibly winched and moved closer to Vin.
Almost to himself, Buck muttered, "I come in here to tell you the bust was fine, expecting to see you safe, then see the blood and come charging over like a bull after a cow and you've been eating fries with KETCHUP!" He thundered.
As JD's eyes grew impossibly wide and before anyone could stop him, Buck jerked JD from Vin's arms, pulling him over his knees and – to everyone's shock – spanked him several hard blows on his backside. If JD's swimming trucks had not been green, Chris thought they would have been able to see Buck's handprints as the blows were that hard.
JD could only cry out, and after what seemed like a stunned moment. the rest of the team hurried to pull JD away from Buck, stand Buck up and try to comprehend what had just happened.
"Buck!" Chris yelled, pushing his oldest friend back. "Buck, what the Hell do you mean hitting JD! He didn't do anything wrong . . ."
"He's a boy eating fries and ketchup," Buck spat the word out like it was a curse, "with all of us worrying about him and likely to get killed . . ."
Josiah was holding on to a trembling JD, who stared at his big brother as if he were a stranger. "So sorry to not realize that eating fries was against ATF rules," the boy spat. "It's like you think I sat the scene up to make you think I had been shot . . . I didn't . . . I was worrying about YOU . . . and you hit me . . . you SPANKED me like a little kid in front of them," his arm swept over the group, "and I'll never forgive you for this and . . ." and slight as he was, JD jerked out of Josiah's grip, sobbing and then running like the wind away from his team.
"JD!" Vin became tangled with one of the guards, Buck stumbled into Chris and Ezra was pushed over one of the lounge chairs as Chris tried to regain his balance.
The nearest guard lay still and Nathan, after watching the sprinting JD, reluctantly knelt by his patient.
Josiah had given chase, as had Vin, after getting untangled, but JD could run like the wind and he disappeared down the long driveway.
TBC