DISCLAIMER: The characters from the television program The Magnificent Seven are the property of Trilogy and The Mirisch Co. I am making no money from their use. This Story is created for entertainment purposes only, no infringement intended. Not to be copied without permission from the author. Thanks to Mog for creating the ATF sandbox for us to play in.

RATINGS: PG - violence

NOTES: Thanks to my wonderful beta readers Lyn, Karen, Kat, and Kris. Thanks for putting up with me.

Buck lay on his belly in the thin crusting of snow that covered the landscape as far as he could see. Casting a glance skyward he realized that night was quickly approaching. Hunching his shoulders a little higher in the heavy woolen vest and shell jacket, one gloved hand reaching up to push his Kefi cap tighter onto his head, he cursed at the moisture seeping into the heavy wool clothing.  It wouldn’t be long before the moisture reached the long johns that nestled against his once warm skin. Didn’t matter what he did, the cold still seeped into his bones.

Turning his attention back to the landscape in front of him, he used the barrel of the rifle he held in numb fingers to push aside the shrubbery that almost hid him from view, to check the horizon for any signs of activity.  He shook his head, thinking of the warm motel room and even warmer women that waited for him back in civilization, back where electricity and indoor plumbing were a part of his life, not shivering out in the cold pretending he was a Union soldier during the Civil War.

His thoughts turned unbidden back to his flat mate and pseudo kid brother. The last time he had seen the Kid had been hard on both of them.  Buck knew better than to go undercover angry at JD.  Especially since he had no control over him.  Usually he could at least keep an eye on him but this time they were on opposite sides of the war.  All he could do was trust that Ezra would look after JD as he had promised.  It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Ezra to look after their youngest, it was just that no one could look after JD quite the way Buck did.  None of the others could anticipate what JD would do with just a glance.  No one knew what to expect from the stubborn tilt of his chin or the defiant gleam in his eye.  No one but good Ol’ Buck could read him like a book.

This whole case had been trouble from day one.  Three months of working on it and no results.  There was no other explanation for it.  The team had no choice but to be divided in order to conquer.  A drug running, cocaine dealing, consortium was moving their merchandise under cover of a civil war re-enactment group.  For a short time the team had been content to work swing shifts keeping the hierarchy of the enactment teams under surveillance, but for the past month members of both military forces were turning up dead. Reluctantly the team had been designated roles to play and they had fallen into these roles.  Right from the start Buck had been resistant to JD taking part in any of it. Buck had been willing to bend his intuition whilst he knew he would have JD by his side where he belonged and where he could keep an eye on him. But by necessity, if nothing else, JD had found himself needing
to fill the role of a southern soldier.

They all had their parts to play and JD had been needed to accompany Ezra as a southern soldier.  The case for JD accompanying him was sound.  A loud and heated argument behind the closed doors of Chris’ office had shown his head that, even if his heart wouldn’t believe it.  Josiah, by necessity, had taken on the role of a member of the Union Brigade Staff.  Nathan had quite logically fallen into the role of stretcher bearer.  Chris and Vin had infiltrated the consortium.  That left Ezra who was a natural to become a southern soldier.  Short of making Ezra more vulnerable than he needed to be and sending him in alone, their only option was to send JD with him.  The only other option they had for JD was to send him with Chris and Vin with
Ezra.  They all knew that to send him with Ezra was the safest alternative.

None of them had been prepared for the hurt and betrayal in the eyes of
their youngest member.  Buck knew that in hindsight he should have taken his argument to Chris is private.  He knew how much JD hated being spoken about like he wasn’t in the room.  The silence that fell over the room as JD stood quickly, upending his chair in his haste to get away from them was deafening.

“I get it now Buck,” JD had spoken quickly his voice tight as he squeezed the words past the lump in his throat. “You don’t think I’m good enough to work undercover.” JD's liquid hazel eyes filled with the pain of his best friends betrayal, as he looked Buck square in the eye.

“That’s not what I meant at all Kid,” Buck spoke as JD grabbed his notes and stalked from the room. “Dammit.  You know damn well what I meant!”

The whole team listened as JD threw his notebook on his desk, the glass doors of their main office rattling on their hinges as he stalked out of the office.  Five pairs of accusatory eyes had turned on Buck, until Chris growled at him that he wanted to see him in his office immediately.  He knew he was wrong but he couldn’t help himself. He knew that something was not right in this case and unless he could look out for JD on his own he was going to worry.

He wouldn't worry about JD, per se.  Buck and the whole team knew better than most that no-one could ever fault the Kid for his capabilities or enthusiasm.  He had the energy of two agents and abilities that far surpassed far more mature and seasoned agents.  So he was young.  That didn’t mean squat when he was in the field doing things that someone his age should never have to, but he never ever complained and always approached whatever task he was given with equal fervor.  It always rankled him, and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, whenever it was necessary for JD to go under.  He never wanted to see JD lose that fresh-faced innocence he still had even after all he had seen.  JD was too trusting, too innocent, too young to be used that way.

Buck pulled himself from his thoughts and tipped his head back, squinting deep blue eyes tightly to pick out the fires on the distant horizon.  Fires built in the enemy camps, fires that hopefully warmed the hands of the Kid. Buck worried about him keeping warm. He knew JD’s penchant for history and knew that even within the case he would be losing himself in it, immersing himself in the world that he had become a part of.  All of which could only mean that he would forget to take care of himself.  He could only hope that Ezra would look after him the same way he would have.

Movement beside him drew his attention back from the fires on the horizon. Glancing to his left he saw Nathan’s smiling face.
“Stop worrying about him Buck,” Nathan spoke.

“I’m not worrying,” Buck spluttered, “I’m laying here freezing parts of my person that should never get that cold.”

“Captain sent me forward to call you back in for the night,” Nathan stated.

“Why? Are we not playing after dark?” Buck frowned. “Is this a daytime war?”

“No he’s just tightening the perimeter.” Nathan nodded. “He’s serious about his war play.”

“Think he’s a suspect?” Buck lifted an eyebrow.

“I doubt it.” Nathan shrugged but didn’t look convinced. “C’mon or he’ll have us both on sentry duty.”

Captain Aaron Winters, the commanding officer of the 72nd New York
Voluntary Infantry, was a hard man very serious about his hobby of Civil War re-enactments.  In the real world he was the managing director of a computer software company that, while not in the multi million dollar status of others, it quite happily funded his often expensive hobby.

~~~~~~~

Ezra shrugged deeper into his heavy greatcoat, trying to cover as much of his flesh with the damp wool as he could.  The biting wind already flushed his cheeks with cold and he sighed with ill concealed longing as he watched the officers sipping warming brandy in a nearby tent as he and JD stood sentry duty.    He wasn’t quite sure how or why it had happened but somehow he had found himself assigned to the rank and file.  An non-commissioned run of the mill everyday soldier.  Sighing deeply he turned his eye from the officers tent to the man who sat by his side, his toe dejectedly kicking at the thin, crusty snow that lay around them.  Equally chilled, he shivered right along with him but as usual JD’s enthusiasm for his surroundings knew no bounds.

Even with the temperature falling rapidly towards freezing and a light but annoying snow fall, JD’s eyes still gleamed with excitement and anticipation of what he was experiencing.  Not even the disappointment he felt at the betrayal of his best friend could dampen his enthusiasm of the experience.

“Mr Dunne, do you think that you may settle down anytime soon?” Ezra asked wryly.

“Doesn’t this excite you even a little Ez?” JD stilled his constant movement long enough to move a little closer.

“Which part JD?” Ezra answered sardonically. “The sub zero temperatures or the damp woolen garments?”

“The chance to recreate a piece of history, no matter how tiny,” JD spoke, almost awestruck. “To understand how people lived, fought and survived.”

“Now that you put it that way,” Ezra spoke calmly, “I believe I have been remiss in my appreciation of our surroundings.”

JD heard the hint of sarcasm in Ezra’s answer and instead of adding to his answers he remained silent.

“I meant no discourtesy JD,” Ezra spoke softly. “Just don’t forget the job we are here to do.”

“Don’t you trust me to do my job either?” JD stiffened and moved away from Ezra’s side.

“Simmer down Mr Dunne.” Ezra placed a gloved hand on JD’s shoulder. “If I didn’t implicitly trust your professional capabilities you would not be here with me now.”

“But?” JD glared at him, his annoyance tempered by Ezra’s placating tone.

“But you occasionally get lost in your enthusiasm.” Ezra sighed

“I can’t help that I enjoy my work.” JD muttered.

“And I for one wish that I possessed even a modicum of the enjoyment you derive from your endeavors Mr. Dunne,” Ezra spoke gently. “Please don’t be disheartened by our more jaded souls.”

“How else am I supposed to feel Ezra?” JD looked into the cool green eyes of his companion.

“Don’t change,” Ezra stated, “But allow me if you will to teach you a few tricks.”
 

JD sat silently for a few moments then slowly extended one gloved hand to Ezra. “It’s a deal,” he smiled.

~~~~~~~

Chris stood calmly, his mouth a grim determined line as his body was
electronically swept for tracking or listening devices.  His inner turmoil was barely suppressed as he watched impatiently while Vin was subjected to a similar search.

“You almost done?” He almost spat at the slight figure of the man they had been summoned to meet.

“Never hurts to be too cautious MR Leyland,” Maximillian Delaney stated as he addressed Chris by his assumed name.

“If this weren’t such a lucrative deal for both of us I wouldn’t put up with your childish lack of trust,” Chris spat back.

“Indeed it will be a lucrative transaction,” Delaney nodded.

“Perhaps now that your goons are finished we can get down to business,”
Chris snarled, watching as the two heavily muscled men stepped back behind their employer.

Delaney spent the next 30 minutes demonstrating the variety of weapons that Chris and Vin would be taking delivery of within the next two days.  Weapons that they would pay for with high grade cocaine.  After weeks of investigation and often pointless surveillance Team 7 had been given no choice but to divide their resources in an attempt to crack the arms dealers that shamelessly used the re-enactments as their cover.  The decision wasn’t made any easier for Chris when members of both the confederate and union teams turned up dead. Something was going on here that he wanted his team to have no part of.  However, the sudden loss of players in the re-enactment circles had made their infiltration easier.  Chris had never planned to send the whole team in but they had no choice.  The initial plan had been to send Ezra and Vin in as part of the drug cartel, but by necessity it had been altered.  Now Buck, Josiah and Nathan were Union soldiers and Ezra and JD were confederate.  Even with himself and Vin firmly entrenched as part of the drug cartel, there wasn’t much any of them could do except wait for the re-enactors to tip their hands.

~~~~~~~

Buck had been sleeping peacefully in a cot far too small for his large frame when he was shaken awake by Josiah’s large hand.

“Less’n you’re a beautiful lady I don’t wanna know,” Buck smiled without opening his eyes.

“Good fortune is smiling upon us, Brother Buck,” Josiah spoke softly as he knelt by Buck’s side. “Seems I have been deemed worthy to the powers that be.”

Buck almost capsized the small folding cot in his haste to sit upright and pay attention to Josiah’s words. “What?”

“Captain Winters wants me to pick one of the unit and accompany him to a secret rendezvous,” Josiah said as he stood and lifted Buck’s greatcoat off the chair beside the cot. “Consider yourself picked.”

“Any idea what he wants?” Buck was already slipping his pink socked feet into his heavy boots.

“Nope.” Josiah shook his head. “But he’s as skittish as a long tail cat in a room chock full o rockers.”

“Maybe we’ll get to go home and enjoy a warm bed sooner than we hoped!” Buck smiled as he shrugged into his greatcoat.

“I’d be happy with all of us home in one piece,” Josiah nodded.

“That’s a given.” Buck’s voice turned serious. “You had any contact?”

Josiah nodded. “Chris left me an email,” Josiah nodded. “The deal goes down tomorrow night.”

“He heard from the Kid?” Buck asked gruffly.

“Didn’t mention it,” Josiah said quietly. “He’s fine Buck. Ezra won’t let anything happen to him.”

“I know that,” Buck sighed deeply. “I’ve got such a bad feeling about this.”

“C’mon or we’ll be late,” Josiah cut the conversation off by ducking through the heavy open flap of the tent.

Buck sighed as he pulled his coat on and followed the ex-anthropologist
through the rows of pale tents.  Not many of the chilled inhabitants were stirring.  He grinned to himself wryly at their commitment to their hobby. These people were bankers, businessmen, teachers, housewives, normal 20th Century folk who were exhausted by the harsh reality of the lives forebears had been forced to endure by inevitability, and by a common desire to build the country that they now lived in.  His mind was inexplicably drawn back to JD.  The kid’s enthusiasm for detail and history should be driving Ezra insane by now.

They walked wordlessly toward their destination, both men knowing each other well enough to be comfortable with the possibility of the others reactions. The thing that puzzled them both was anticipating exactly what they were walking into.  They had barely been in place long enough to insinuate themselves into the confidence of any of their marks, so this sudden meeting was unexpected, to say the least.  Aside from the anticipated arms deal, neither had heard anything about any other illicit activities.

Josiah paused in his tracks, stopping Buck with an upheld hand.  His eyes took in the ramshackle barn that Winters had chosen as their rendezvous point.  Warning bells sounded in his head at the assemblage of vehicles that were partially obscured behind the tumbledown building.  Something told him that this was not a 19th century military matter that was going down.

“I don’t like this Josiah,” Buck spoke softly, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

“Not at all,” Josiah stated sagely his mind carefully cataloging the license plates of the vehicles he could see.

“We can’t bale now,” Buck shrugged fatalistically as he pushed forward.

Josiah stepped reticently forward, taking a deep breath , his shoulders
squared, his face set and determined.  He was determined to see this meeting through to its conclusion no matter what the consequences.

“Aaah,” Captain Winters spoke. “Sgt Simpson, you’re late,” he spoke calmly, but his eyes burned with disapproval.

“Sorry Sir,” Josiah saluted him respectfully as he entered, then removed his cap and waited for his instructions.

“What was the delay?” Winters raised his eyebrows.

“Had trouble raising a volunteer sir,” Josiah spoke promptly as he watched Winters walk slowly around a scowling Buck.

“And this is the best you could do?” he spoke sarcastically causing Buck’s spine to stiffen in indignation.

“Yes sir,” Josiah nodded quickly, casting his eyes over the men who stood behind his commanding officer.  Three men dressed in nearly identical black suits stood calmly, their hands pushed deep into their trouser pockets as they watched the exchange.

“Dammit Winters,” one of the men spoke lazily. “This is only a dress up game.”
He paused, looking Buck and Josiah up and down. “Get on with it.”

“Shut Up Jacobs,” Winters spoke shortly. “Can you shoot?” he turned his
attention back to Buck sharply.

“Better’n most, Sir,” Buck stated, his distaste for his commanding officer evident in his tone.

“You’ll do,”  Winters answered as he turned away from both Josiah and Buck.

“What for Sir?” Buck asked frowning.

“Target practice,” his commanding officer said as he leaned into a
crate and lifted out a weapon that was obviously a high powered snipers
rifle. Buck knew that it would have had Vin practically salivating.

“I need you to test this weapon Private,” he stated.

“Sir,” Buck began as the weapon was thrust into his hands. “This is hardly Civil War equipment.”

“I am aware of that Wilson,” he murmured. “If you refuse to do this for me you will be dismissed from the re-enactment. I will find someone else to perform the test with me and you won’t be happy with the outcome of this little meeting at all.”

“I'll do it,” Buck spoke with a grimace of displeasure. “I just wanted to be sure.” he added as he closed his hands around the rifle that a good sharpshooter would give his eye teeth for.

“What’s my target?” he spoke calmly as he looked up into the hard eyes of his captain.

“Gino here will take you to your testing ground.” Winters indicated one of the men that stood behind him.  Buck cast an appraising gaze over the henchman he knew was going to become the bane of his existence.  A huge bear of a man, bigger than Josiah, but where Josiah was most times a gentle giant this man exuded an aura of cruelness.  Thick dark hair cut military short and hard dark eyes that made Buck’s skin crawl.

Buck spared one last glance at Josiah before he placidly followed Gino from the barn, the rifle cradled in his arms.

~~~~~~~

“So, Gino,” Buck spoke almost cheekily.  “Where we off to?”

“You’ll know when we get there,” Gino stated.

“You’re no fun,” Buck smiled at him.

“Never claimed to be,” Gino growled.

“Just thought that we could be more friendly since we’re obviously gonna be spending time together,” Buck cajoled.

“Wilson,” Gino spoke annoyed. “Shut the fuck up.
”
“Hey no sweat,” Buck backed off calmly.

He meekly followed Gino to the 4x4 truck that Gino indicated and jumped into the passenger seat.  He watched Gino’s efficient handling of the  truck as it was driven away from their encampment.  His mind filled with pictures of a target range but as Gino’s truck began to climb he knew that something was wrong.  As Gino stopped the vehicle at the edge of a large bluff, overlooking the entire battlefield below them, any hope of this being a simple target practice faded from Buck’s mind.

Stepping up beside the taciturn man, Buck scowled at the sight that lay
before him.  His field of vision encompassed both his own army and the
opposing force, all beginning to stir as the sun began to peek out from
behind the horizon.  Almost without volition his mind grasped what was about to happen.  He closed his eyes and tried not to picture what he knew he was about to do.  He watched Gino lift binoculars to his eyes and pick a target. An innocent victim in a game that could not be won.

“The sentry to the right of the large elm,” Gino spoke calmly,
dispassionately.  Almost as if the taking of an innocent life was an
everyday occurrence to him.

“What about him?” Buck spoke calmly, his own emotions in turmoil at the
thought of harming an innocent person.

“Just shoot him.” Gino spoke with finality, stepping back to sit against the hood of the truck.

Buck stood for a long minute, the rifle settled uncomfortably in his hands. Unable to, in clear conscience, lift the rifle to his shoulder.  But also unable to throw the case into disarray and possibly throw any or all of his teammates into danger by declaring his inability to shoot an innocent man. He knew he had no choice but to go along with the plan and pray that he could live with his conscience later.

Drawing a deep cleansing breath, Buck lifted the rifle into position.
Scanning the horizon he lifted the sight to his eye.  Nestling the rifle against his shoulder he stared down the sight of the barrel.  The view that met his eye took his breath away.  JD stood, his back to an elm tree, proudly clothed in confederate grey, quite obviously on sentry duty.

“The sentry?” Buck asked, his voice deceptively calm, his mind a whirl with the possibilities.  Desperately trying to save his best friends life in any way that he could.

“You shoot him or I do,” Gino spoke as he lifted his own pistol from his shoulder holster and pointed it at Buck. “Either way we find out if the rifle is a viable weapon.”

“Why?” Buck spoke turning to look closely at his new nemesis.

“Because we need a target,” Gino stated and shrugged. “And he is expendable.”

“But he’s a person!” Buck tried to explain.

“No, he’s the enemy.”  Gino smiled.

“He’s just a kid,” Buck tried again.

“Stop your whining,” Gino spoke. “Either you shoot now or I will godamm shoot you and then shoot him.” he cursed.

Buck turned back to the rifle, his thougts reeling.  He couldn’t actually keep up with the questions that his mind was throwing up for him.  Had they discovered their real identities and this was some sort of elaborate plot to get even?  He couldn’t be sure and by refusing to shoot JD he was jeopardizing their whole case, not to mention the very lives of each of his friends.  Buck’s eyes glazed with tears that he couldn’t afford to shed as he watched his young
housemate through the rifle sight.  His finger trembled on the trigger as he took aim.  He realized that he couldn’t miss and let Gino think that the rifle sight was defective. Gino was professional enough to try the shot himself.  Buck knew in his own mind that he was perhaps JD’s only real chance at survival.  That thought did not even begin to ease the pain that shooting his best friend would cause.

His mouth suddenly went dry and felt as if it were filled with cotton wool. His hands trembling as he took aim, Buck prayed that the wind didn’t carry the shot off course.  Wishing that it were Vin here instead of him would not do JD any good at all.  He drew upon all his years of shooting skill to try to make the shot as painless as he could.  One thought could not be dislodged. Things would never be exactly the same between him and his young friend ever again.

Taking a deep breath he adjusted his aim and squeezed the trigger, refusing to take his eye from the sight, letting the seconds tick by before he watched the force of the unexpected blow carry JD backwards.  Watching JD stumble backwards against the elm, Buck’s heart constricted as the plume of blood spread across JD’s shoulder,  marring the pale grey woolen uniform that he so proudly wore.

One lone tear trickled down Buck’s pale cheek as he spoke in a voice that didn’t sound his own to his own ears.  “It’s done.”

Gino lifted the binoculars that sat beside him on the hood of the truck. His shrewd eyes picked out the still form of JD slumped against the tree, checking the veracity of Buck’s statement. Finally lowering the binoculars he looked assessingly at Buck before lifting them back up.

“How did it feel?” he asked as he took in the sight of JD lying still on the ground.

“How do you think it felt you heartless bastard?” Buck began to lose
patience and turned angrily on his companion.

“Shit happens,” Gino stated calmly. “How did the gun feel?” he prodded.

“Like a gun,” Buck answered, his mind already filled with the worry of what his actions were doing to JD.  He turned and stalked back towards the truck, flinging open the truck door and climbing inside.  He slammed the door after himself and waited for his companion to join him.

“I don’t know what your problem is,” Gino spoke as he climbed back into the truck. “He’s a kid, a stranger, you don’t know him, he’s expendable.”

“He’s a human being” Buck growled. “Somebody knows him, somebody loves him,” he replied flatly. “How many have you done the same thing to?”

“A few,” Gino shrugged. “They’re expendable.”

Buck had no choice but to remain silent. He knew that if he were to speak again he would blow his own cover and effectively that of the team and quite possibly willingly kill the man who sat beside him.  His eyes focused on a spot of dirt on the windscreen. He fell silent, his mind tormented by what he had just had to do.  If only his life had hung in the balance he would gladly have given himself up to whatever the fates may hold, but the entire team depended on his actions to maintain their respective covers. All he could do was pray that Ezra was close enough to take care of JD.  So deeply engrossed was he in his thoughts he never even noticed Gino’s disgusted snort as he started the truck for the return to their encampment.

~~~~~~~

Ezra walked near noiselessly back towards his young sentry partner,
beginning to appreciate why some of his compatriots so enjoyed the time just before sunrise.  Besides, with the chill that had settled into his bones, he would appreciate the meager warmth that Mother Nature could provide for the day.  Smiling as he approached the figure seated against the tree, where he had left him standing before, Ezra reached down to gently shake the shoulder of his sleeping cohort.

“Mr. Dunne,” he murmured. “An excellent tip for surviving sentry duty is to actually stay awake.” As his fingers touched JD’s shoulder he felt the warm sticky blood that was flowing freely from the wound his fingers had encountered.
“Get behind the tree Ezra” JD moaned, Ezra’s fingers renewing the sharp insistant pain in his shoulder.
“What the hell happened JD?”  Ezra ignored his words and pulled JD around until the tree was providing cover for them both before turning JD’s face to his, the fingers of his other hand probing the wound trying to gauge the extent of the younger man’s injuries.

“Ow!” JD exclaimed trying to wriggle away from Ezra’s fingers.

“Who shot you?” Ezra questioned him.

“I was just standing here,” JD spoke quietly. “It’s gotta be long range.” JD hissed, “I never even heard it.”

“Can you walk?” Ezra’s green eyes were filled with concern as they scanned the horizon looking for something, anything, that might provide a clue.  A flash of reflected light on a large bluff overlooking the entire battlefield caught his eye, his mind trying to gauge the probability of a shot being able to travel the distance.

JD’s head bobbed up and down in affirmation.  Careful not to pull on the wound, Ezra assisted JD to his feet.  Quickly shedding his own greatcoat, he draped it over JD’s shoulders, trying to give him back a little of the warmth his blood loss was causing him to lose.  It was a slow halting walk back through the waking encampment to the field hospital, Ezra pausing in the end to swing JD into his arms, trying to speed the journey.

Walking briskly through the flap of the field hospital tent he deposited JD gently on the hard wooden table set up in the middle of the structure and turned to kick at the cot of the man who was groggily trying to get his bearings.

“He needs your help!” Ezra commanded the man before he turned back to the trembling JD, trying to offer him a little comfort.

“What happened?” the young doctor asked as he scrambled from the cot to
check his newly acquired patient.

“Somebody shot him.” Ezra spoke calmly as he pressed JD back onto the table, the younger man struggling to move away from the Doctor's probing fingers. After a short examination the doctor looked up into Ezra’s face. “He needs a hospital,” he stated flatly.

“I am well aware of that,” Ezra almost growled. “How the hell are you going to achieve it?”

“We need to get permission from the Captain before anyone can leave the
encampment,” he stated “Captain has the only transport back to town, otherwise it’s a 20 mile hike”.

“Leave that to me,” Ezra spoke, a determined tilt to his chin, his eyes
softening as he turned his attention back to JD. “I’ll be right back JD,” he spoke calmly. “Don’t you go anywhere without me,” he joked.

“Not a chance Ez,” JD murmured his eyes closing.

Ezra stalked from the tent, his normally calm posture stiff and ready for battle.  Flicking the tent flap open he entered the tent and kicked the center leg of his commanding officer's cot.

“I need permission to escort an injured man to hospital,” he almost growled at him.

“Denied,” Captain Endicott spoke as he swung his legs from the cot.

“I’m afraid you didn’t quite obtain the necessary level of understanding,” Ezra spoke quietly, the calm tone to his voice deceptive. “I wasn’t asking.”

“I understand perfectly and the answer is still no”

“Don’t play with me Endicott.” Ezra lost his temper and grabbed him by the neck of the undershirt he wore. “This,” he waved one arm around him, “Is your only power.” He paused, trying to pull his anger back under control. “Back in the real world I could crush you like an ant.  Do not toy with me.”

“That’s where the beauty of this whole situation lies Standish,” Enidcott spoke firmly. “I know who you are in the real world too.”

Ezra’s carefully schooled features gave away none of his surprise at the use of his real name. “It appears we are at an impasse then.”

“Indeed it does,” Endicott spoke as he batted Ezra’s hands away. “Do you think I’m stupid?” he asked rhetorically. “I research all new recruits,” he laughed.
“I knew who you were before you even arrived.  You think that it’s just dumb luck the two of you were on sentry duty this morning?”

“For your sake I hope the answer is yes,” Ezra growled.

“No you were chosen for a purpose,” he cackled. “Just as the shooter was chosen for a purpose.”

“What are you talking about?” Ezra frowned confused by the statements
Endicott was making.

“One of your friends volunteered to shoot the sentry,” he shrugged, “and lets face it, either of you could have been the target.”

“Which one?” Ezra spoke his voice flat and expressionless.

“I believe his name was Wilmington,” Endicott stated. “I’m told he
 volunteered”

Ezra growled deep in his throat and launched himself at the man who spoke to him so casually, his weight pushing them both back onto the cot. Ezra’s hands tightened around Endicott’s neck. “If JD dies,” he spoke flatly and calmly, “They won’t be able to find enough of you to throw in prison.”

“Guards!” Endicott yelled and almost instantly two men entered the tent and pulled a furious Ezra off of Endicott.  As he moved to stand Endicott spoke to the two men who held Ezra by the arms.

“This man is a spy,” he spoke calmly. “Secure him and his friend in the field hospital.” He looked into Ezra’s angry green eyes. “Both men will be taken behind the lines and secured in the barn we reserved for that use.”

“Yes sir,” one spoke as he pulled the struggling Ezra out of the tent, and pushed him, laughing as Ezra stumbled towards the field hospital.  Ezra’s mind worked frantically over the new information he had been given. As he was thrust through the open flap of the field hospital, he was gratified to see that the young doctor had at least managed to start patching up his young friend.  Wide hazel eyes glazed with pain opened and watched Ezra blearily.

“We leaving Ez?” he spoke gently, his eyes travelling to the two men at Ezra’s back.

“I’m afraid not Mr Dunne,” Ezra stated regretfully as his hands were pulled roughly forward and restrained in old style handcuffs.

JD gasped in pain as he was dragged from the table and pulled to his feet, the sudden accession causing him to sway on his feet.
“That man is injured” The young doctor protested only to be shoved out of the way, and hit across the back of the head with a rifle butt rendering any further objections mute.

“Leave him alone!” Ezra shoved his captor out of his way and moved to hold JD on his feet.

JD’s arms were pulled painfully in front of him and he was cuffed in a
similar fashion to Ezra.  Both of them were marched out of the
tent, JD’s steps faltering before he had even made it out of the
tent.  With his hands cuffed in front of him there wasn’t much that Ezra could do for his young friend apart from try to keep him on his feet and moving before their captors lost patience with them.  Some distance from the tents a Jeep was obscured from view by a stand of trees.  The two guards pushed their captives into the back of the vehicle as they climbed into the front.  Ezra did what he could for the semi conscious JD, but the only thing that was available to him bring him closer, circling JD with his handcuffed arms and pulling JD's quivering form against his warm chest, trying to give him some of the warmth that his body held.

His practiced eye watched the ramshackle building they stopped in front of, realising that this could become their tomb.  With an ease that should have scared him, he quickly catalogued the strengths and weaknesses of the building.  As they would have been ejected from the back of the jeep, Ezra pushed their captor away with his feet and disentangled his arms from around JD, gently trying to rouse his companion before their guards did him more bodily harm.

“JD,” Ezra shook him gently all the while murmuring to him. “I need you to stay with me for just a little bit longer,” he spoke holding JD’s face between his hands.

JD turned fevered eyes on Ezra. “I’ll try,” he nodded.

“That’s all I can ask,” Ezra nodded as he maneuvered himself out of the back of the jeep and then tried to assist JD out without jostling him too much.
He watched with more than a little pride in his young compatriot as he
struggled to walk in front of Ezra on his way into the barn, prompted by the 20th century weapons that were poked at their backs.

As they were forced into the shadowed interior of the barn, Ezra forced
himself to tear his eyes away from the hesitant progress of the smaller man and scan the building.  What he saw caused his eyes to fill with fury and a level of rage that ate at his soul, begging him to take action against the man he watched.

~~~~~~~

Buck watched as his friends were led into the barn.  He himself had been herded back into the barn to find Josiah already handcuffed to a beam high above his head.  He had been similarly bound on the opposite side of the building, and despite Josiah’s numerous attempts to pry conversation out of him, he had as yet been unable to bring himself to tell Josiah what he had done.

His heart had lifted as he watched JD stumble weakly into the barn,
heartened that he hadn’t killed him outright.  He prayed that one day JD would grant him forgiveness for the pain he had caused him.  His mind wouldn’t completely believe that his friend was still alive and longed to touch him to confirm for his mind what his eyes had seen.  Letting his eyes drift from JD’s struggles he encountered green eyes filled with fury.  In an instant of blinding clarity he knew that Ezra knew what he had done.

Josiah watched the delivery of his teammates with curious speculation.  His eyes quickly categorized JD’s condition, trying to gauge how long the young man could last without medical attention.  Wishing for the first time that day that Nathan had been discovered along with himself and Buck.  Turning his attention to Ezra, he was a little surprised by the protective way that Ezra put himself between JD and their captors in whatever way he could.
What surprised him was the unveiled animosity that arced between Buck and Ezra like electrical current.  Any speculation over their behaviour was forgotten as the larger of the two men who escorted them pushed JD roughly to the ground, an action which had Ezra attacking him.  It didn’t take much to subdue Ezra’s fight.  A single gunshot halted all activity. Ezra, his mouth bloodied by the ham sized fist of the goon who was taking far too much pleasure from inflicting pain on them, turned his face to find a pistol pressed against JD’s temple.

“Once more and he’ll die,” he spoke calmly, his eyes meeting Ezra’s
meaningfully.

Ezra was immediately subdued. His eyes watched JD carefully as they were both handcuffed to a overhead beam, JD’s upstretched arms pulling painfully on the bullet wound in his shoulder.  As soon as their prisoners were secure the two men walked out of the barn, one of them hitting Ezra sharply in the face with an elbow as he checked his bonds.

Three men listened to the jeep’s engine being gunned, the fourth succumbing to the pain he was suffering and the loss of blood he had endured, his head falling lax against his chest as he lost consciousness.  Ezra watched him for long moments before he turned angry eyes filled with fury at the taller man who stood silently across the barn.

“Don’t you ever give me that sanctimonious crap again,” Ezra spoke through gritted teeth.

“I had no choice Ezra”

“Everybody has a choice,” Ezra growled. “You made him doubt himself and his work and then you do that to him.”

“Please don’t tell me you did what I think you did?” Josiah looked at Buck his face filled with shock.

“He can’t,” Ezra spoke. “He was the one who did this,” he paused before turning his attention back to Buck. “You could have killed him.”

“Don’t you think I don’t know that?” Buck lifted his head to reveal the
trail of tears down his cheeks. “I had no choice, it was do that or let him be killed.”

“And you don’t think that it will kill him from the inside out when he finds out it was you who did this” Ezra hissed.

“It’s gotta be better than seeing him in a coffin,” Buck stated flatly. “I can live with losing his friendship if that’s what keeping him alive will mean.”
Buck looked up into Ezra’s eyes. “I couldn’t stand by and let Gino kill him.”

“Dammit Buck you must have had other options,” Ezra relented.

“Like what?” Buck asked. “Don’t you think that I would have done anything in my power not to shoot the Kid?” Buck struggled furiously against his bonds. “I had no choice, I couldn’t do anything else without giving away our cover.  I couldn’t win Ezra.” Buck spoke quietly. “I would have gladly let him shoot me if it meant that JD was safe but that wasn’t an option.”

“They already knew,” Ezra shrugged. “They’ve known since before we went under.”

~~~~~~~

Nathan realised something was wrong soon after he emerged from his tent, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  Puzzled by his feelings of unease he made his regular morning walk around their encampment.  Nodding in friendly acknowledgement to the greetings from familiar faces, he paused in his travels only when propriety decreed it necessary.  Concern began to niggle at his mind when Josiah wasn’t outside his tent, but he tried to push it from his thoughts.  He knew that morning was when Josiah liked to make contact with Chris and Vin.  However, as he stopped at Buck’s tent and poked his head through the flap he really began to grow concerned.  Just at a glance he could see that Buck had left his tent in a hurry, but was it against his will or not?

Questions plagued Nathan’s mind as he walked back to his own tent. He
slipped his mobile phone from the hidden pocket in his pack and slipped it into his coat.  As soon as the opportunity arose he would phone Chris and appraise him of the situation, and just maybe get some answers of his own. Josiah had told him when they spoke yesterday of the completion of the transaction that Chris anticipated sometime this evening.  With any sort of luck at all the team would be able to pull the ends of the case together and get out of this surreal second life.  It had been a culture shock for all of them, stepping back to a time when each and every one of them was completely out of their league.  He ached to get back to a time when he knew what was going on around him, when he was in some sort of control of his life, when the team could work as a team again and present a unified front.  He couldn’t help but imagine how his life would have been.  Just the color of his skin would have set him apart and even restricted him from carrying a weapon or performing many of the duties he took for granted in his present life.  Casting a grateful eye heavenward he thanked the God’s for allowing him to be born in a time when the color of his skin was not the barrier that it once was.

The opportunity to call Chris did not arise until the sun was beginning it’s descent to night.  Wandering off with seemingly no purpose, Nathan stepped into the cover of a copse of trees and pressed the button that would call his telephone to life.  Quickly pressing the numbers that completed Chris’s cell number he waited patiently for an answer.  Any hopes of talking to his team leader were dashed when the call went straight to his message bank. Disconnecting the call he quickly punched in the numbers for Vin’s phone. The outcome was the same.  Cursing under his breath he was about to push the power button to once again disconnect himself from the modern world when his phone beeped with an incoming message.  The beep shrilled loudly about him in the still quiet of the small area of bushland.  His gaze darted back and forth around him trying to gauge how far the noise had travelled before he allowed himself to once
again relax.

Lifting the cell phone to his ear his carefully listened to the message
spoken by Chris’s terse harried voice.  The message confirmed for him what he already knew.  Josiah had not checked in that day.  Chris was just assuming that meant that he hadn’t had the opportunity but in case something was wrong he was leaving the same message with all of them.  Part of the message was a cryptic description of where the deal would be going down. The final part of the message included a solemn urging for them all to take care of themselves.  Nathan sighed deeply, wondering if the others were still able to take care of themselves before he turned his attention back to the matters at hand.  If he didn’t keep his attention on what he had to do and spent his time worrying about what could be happening he wouldn’t get anything
done to help them.

Nathan knew that most of the team had disregarded Winters as a suspect, as he himself had, but there was something about the man that didn’t sit quite right with him.  Add to that the fact that his commanding officer had been skittish for the last two days and he knew that there was something not quite right with the ineffectual man.  With insight he seldom called on, he followed his instincts and made it his business to know exactly what his commanding officer was doing for the remainder of the day.

It didn’t take long for the man’s true colors to emerge.  Shortly before sunset he set off for parts unknown, accompanied by two of his most trusted men, with Nathan in hot pursuit.  He knew that this man was behind his friends' disappearances and he wasn’t going to let him get away with it.  A disturbing thought had lodged itself in his mind.  Somewhere deep in his psyche he knew that Buck and Josiah could already be dead. He had heard the single gunshot earlier that morning and ever since he had discovered their disappearances, he had been praying that it hadn’t been the sound of his friends demise.

He followed near silently, watching patiently as the three men entered the barn. He then took a post hidden in dense scrub across from the entrance to the barn waiting for the fall of complete darkness so that he could get closer and find out what was inside the building.  As the sky began to darken to a star free indigo, Nathan was about to leave his hiding place but was halted by the approach of a vehicle.  Waiting patiently he watched as four men dressed in confederate grey climbed from the jeep and walk into the barn.  Any hope that Nathan had held for his friends was dashed as he watched the laughing men enter the barn.  The fourth man remained at the outer door, his eyes scanning the surroundings for intruders.

Within minutes of the Jeep’s arrival a very familiar black truck stopped between Nathan’s hiding place and the barn. Nathan glanced rapidly between  his friends and the guard who was watching them intently. Seeing no hope of  warning them without having himself captured and losing all hope of saving his friends, he pulled back into the heavy cover that surrounded him and ran silently through the bushland to the camp.

Rifling through his gear he lifted out the two modern handguns he had
secreted there. Moving through the tents he checked both Josiah’s and Buck’s tents, pulling their weapons out of their belongings and then without pausing ran back to the barn.  The only time he stopped for breath was to place a call to Judge Travis, requesting back up and appraising him of the situation.

~~~~~~~

Chris and Vin stepped into the barn through the small door that led to the drafty  tack room.  Something wasn’t sitting right with either of them. The hairs on the back of their necks were standing on end in warning.

"Leyland,” Winters spoke calmly. “Or should I say Larabee,” he continued. “I have something you might like to see.”

“What the hell would that be?” Chris growled almost unable to hide his
surprise at the acknowledgement of his real identity.

“I’m sure it will be very interesting for you,” Endicott spoke as he stepped into the small room through the interior tack room door.  “Mr Larabee,” he  nodded. “Mr Tanner,” he acknowledged Vin as well. “Please give your weapons to Gino and walk this way.”

“Why the hell would I want to do that?” Chris' voice was filled with deadly intent.

“The reasons for that will become apparent shortly,” Endicott laughed as he watched Vin extract his weapon and hand it to Gino. “Now be a good boy and play nice or I’m afraid you’ll be looking for a new team member."

At his words both men knew that at least one of their friends and team mates had been caught.  With a weary sigh Chris extracted his gun from the shoulder holster and grudgingly handed it to Gino.  He didn’t know which of his men they had but he sure as hell wasn’t going to risk any one of them to these maniacal bastards.  Giving up his weapon was not a good thing but they had gotten themselves out of tight spots without weapons before and they would again. However, as he entered the main part of the barn courtesy of a not so gentle shove in the small of his back by Gino, the scene that unfolded before his eyes brought a sharply indrawn gasp of surprise from his lips.

“I see you are less then pleased with the effectiveness of our campaign,” Endicott spoke with a chuckle.

“Get a lot more years for killing a federal agent than you do for gun
running,” Vin spoke sharply, his eyes transfixed on JD’s still form.

“He’s not dead,” Endicott spoke, nodding to one of his goons, who moved quickly to JD’s side. He landed a solid meaty fist in JD’s midsection drawing a weak cry of pain from JD.

“Play your cards right and none of you will die,” Winters spoke from the tack room.

“At least not by our hands!” Endicott laughed.

“You touch him again,” Ezra growled from his position hanging beside JD, “and handcuffs won’t stop me from nailing your damn ass to the wall.” He flicked his legs up while clasping the chain between his wrists with his fingers, kicking out with his legs.

Chris risked a glance at the rest of his agents. What he saw did not please him.  Josiah looked discouraged but not beaten. In fact he looked almost hopeful.  JD, wounded, but apparently still managing to hang on to some sort of consciousness.  The ones that worried him were Buck and Ezra. Something had happened here that Chris knew, without asking, that he wanted no part of.  Ezra appeared to be filled with savage fury, a depth of anger that he himself had never seen from the urbane southerner.  Buck, however, worried him the most. His shoulders were slumped, his head bowed, he was the picture of desolation.  The others at least had met his eyes, a regretful grimace from Josiah, a determined glare of defiance from Ezra, a weak half grin from JD, but Buck refused to lift his head and look him in the eyes.  He would get to the bottom of this but now was not the time.   Now was the time
to find a way out of the predicament they found themselves in.

“Cut to the chase,” Chris growled. “What the hell do you want?”

“It’s easy Agent Larabee,” Winters spoke calmly. “You and your team have managed to aggravate a good number of underworld figures.” He looked up, meeting Chris’s angry eyes. “You are all worth  a considerable amount on the black market,” he paused. “Far more than the drugs or the guns”

“Well if they’re paying you for a full team,” Chris paused, a satisfied smirk on his face. “You are shit out of luck.”

“We are aware one of you are missing,” Winters murmured.

“With the right co-operation,” Endicott spoke as he lifted a handgun from the holster he wore at his hip, “I’m sure you will give us his whereabouts.” He paused, casting his eye around the barn. “The question is which of you is more valuable than the others.”  He paced around the room finally coming to a halt directly behind Ezra, grabbing him by the hair and pressing the gun to his temple.

“You’ll do,” he cackled.

~~~~~~~

Nathan managed to circle around behind the building and crept along the
side wall. The rotting wood and weather beaten gaps in the wood allowed the words being spoken inside to float out to him.  Listening to the desperate words of his team mates, he knew that he needed to act now or perhaps lose one of his friends.  With Buck’s and Josiah’s guns tucked into the back of his jeans and both of his guns in his hands, Nathan took a deep breath and crept around the side of the barn, snapping the guard on the side of the head with the butt of his gun.  Watching him fall bonelessly to the ground, Nathan stepped over him and into the doorway that the guard had been protecting.

“You can all drop your weapons right now,” Nathan spoke calmly, one arm
extended to his left to cover Winters and two of the goons and the other aimed directly in front of him to cover Endicott.

“I don’t think so,” Endicott laughed cocking his weapon as it rested against Ezra’s temple.

Within the space of a heartbeat all hell broke loose within the barn.  Ezra’s  right arm suddenly came loose of the handcuffs and he ducked his body away from Endicott, swinging wildly around in an arc with his left arm, the handcuff trailing his wrist and connecting with Endicott’s temple and dazing him slightly.  Leaping forward Ezra closed his right hand into a fist and caught Endicott’s chin with a swift uppercut.  Lifting the gun from the man's suddenly lax fingers Ezra turned to check on the others.  Chris and Vin were covering the still cuffed Buck and Josiah while they tried to unlock the cuffs that held their arms up.  Two of the three remaining henchman had taken flight.  A quick bullet from Nathan’s gun had taken care of the third as he drew a gun on Chris, and Winters was apparently giving himself up peacefully.  Standing, he cradled his right hand against his chest as he advanced to JD.

Buck watched until Ezra advanced towards JD, then turned and set off after Gino and his companion, pausing only long enough to catch his gun as Nathan threw it to him.  Green eyes watched him filled with worry but turned back to their original objective.

“JD?” he murmured as he lifted his good hand to push JD’s hair back from the sweat covered face. “JD,” he spoke again, “talk to me JD.” He turned his head to look at the others. “Vin help me get him down.”

“Whatcha want me to say?” JD spoke slowly not opening his eyes.

“Anything you want JD,” Ezra smiled.

“We get em?” JD asked tiredly as Vin unlocked the cuffs and caught the smaller man as his knees buckled and threatened to drop him unceremoniously to the floor.

“We sure did JD,” Ezra spoke, watching as Vin laid JD on the ground.

“Good.” JD closed his eyes and obviously fell back into nconsciousness.

“Look after him Vin,” Ezra patted his friend on the shoulder.

“Wouldn’t do anything else,” Vin said. “Where you going?”

“Someone has to save Buck from himself,” Ezra muttered as he moved quickly out of the barn.

He paused briefly outside the barn to try to decipher what direction Buck had departed in, but it didn’t take a genius to follow the sounds that issued forth from the copse of trees to the left of the barn.  It didn’t take him long to find the unconscious body of one of the goons.  The sound of flesh hitting flesh and the pained grunts of two men facing each other in combat was what led him to his real quarry.  Ezra moved quickly into a small clearing to find Buck straddling the larger man, pounding his head against the ground.

“You cruel bastard,” he spoke as he held Gino’s head between both hands and banged it harshly against the ground. “How many have you killed?” He paused.
“You’re not going to do it anymore,” he finished and continued to pound Gino's head against the unforgiving ground.

Ezra was momentarily taken aback by the vehemence in Buck’s voice and the tears on his cheeks.  Finally, he completely understood just how much pain Buck was in.  There was no way he could let him do what his heart longed for him to do.  There was no redemption in revenge.

“Buck,” Ezra grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him off of the prone, unconscious man. “Buck, he’s out.  Let him be.”

“I can’t Ezra,” Buck stated. “He has to pay.”

“And he will Buck,” Ezra answered him. “But not at your hands.”

“He’s evil Ezra.” Buck fell off the prone body.

“I’m sure he is Buck,” Ezra nodded as he put a hand on Buck’s forearm and sat beside his friend. “But I can’t let you do it.”

“He made me shoot JD,” Buck stated flatly.

Silence shrouded them at Buck’s statement. The only sounds in the clearing were the stifled sound of Buck’s tears and the harsh breathing from their captive.

“I’ve been thinking Buck,” Ezra spoke again. “There’s no need for JD to find out you did it.”

“What the hell are you talking about Ezra?” Buck growled. “It’ll come out in the report.”

“Not in mine.” Ezra shrugged.

“That’s withholding evidence,” Buck turned his face back to their captive.

“I don’t think so,” Ezra shook his head. “It’s not going to change the outcome
of the case.” He shrugged. “Besides I think it would be poetic justice for our friend here to be charged with attempted murder of a federal agent.”

“You know Ezra,” Buck spoke, turning to face him and drawing him into a tight bear hug. “Sometimes I like the way you think.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Ezra nodded at the prone man. “JD needs you.”

“I’m sorry,” Buck extended a hand to Ezra. “Thanks for looking after him.”

“He didn’t need me,” Ezra shrugged nonchalantly.

“Yes he did.” Buck nodded “and you were there for him, which is more than I can say.”

“Well you are now,” Ezra replied. “Go Buck.” Ezra pushed him away and watched as he rose and began to jog back the way they had come.

~~~~~~~

Hours later, Ezra walked out of the ER to find his family, all of which
except, for JD, were lounging around the small waiting room.   Buck’s bruised face was adorned with the signs of a nurses gentle ministrations. Ezra looked at him and realised belatedly that his own face probably looked no better. Cradling his freshly bandaged hand in the sling against his chest he moved to the far side of the room to sit with his usually jovial friend.

“Go Away Ezra,” Buck murmured his head resting back against the wall behind him.

“I don’t think I can do that,” Ezra murmured under his breath.

“It’s my fault he’s in there,” Buck hissed at Ezra, falling forward and
resting his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands.

“Instead of a body bag?” Ezra spoke softly, his green eyes flicking quickly around the room, uncomfortable with the possibility of their friends overhearing the conversation.  As it was Chris sat watching the pair of them shrewdly, almost as if he knew that they were plotting.

“Hell, he wouldn’t be here at all if I had realised what was going on,” Buck smacked himself on the forehead.

“If any of us realised Buck.” Ezra shook his head. “We all did what we had to do, you included,” he paused briefly. “Although you had a far more difficult perspective then most of us.” Leaning closer his voice lowered to almost to a whisper. “But the hard part is behind you.  Things will get better.”

“You two got any secrets you’d like to share with the rest of us?” Chris spoke from across the room.

“We have no secrets Mr Larabee,” Ezra spoke with a quick grin. “None at all.”

“You may as well get started on your reports then,” Chris smirked.

“Mr Larabee,” Ezra leaned back in the hard plastic chair he sat on, lifting his hand into Chris’ range of vision. “Surely you don’t expect me to write with my injuries?”

“I happen to know you are ambidextrous Ezra,” Chris smirked back. “Deal with it.”

“Gentlemen,” a young nurse spoke as she walked into the room that the six men occupied. “Mr Dunne is being transferred to his room now. If you’d like to follow me I’ll take you there.”

All six of them were on their feet almost instantly, their presence alone intimidating the young nurse as she walked briskly to the door of the room JD had been assigned to. She indicated that they had reached their destination and then retreated to the safety of the nurses station so quickly it was almost as if she evaporated.

Team 7 filed slowly into JD’s room, each man carefully cataloguing for his own mind their youngest’s condition.  They all knew that he wasn’t in any immediate danger any longer, which had taken the edge from the near obsessive concern they had all shared when they had arrived.  Truthfully looking at him now he looked almost himself.  A little pale and exhausted, his thick black lashes resting on dark circles under his closed eyes, his ebony hair making his skin seem even paler, but for the most part he looked fine.

“Hey,”  JD murmured softly as he opened weary eyes, the presence of his
‘pseudo’ family jarring him briefly from his slumber.

“You did good JD,” Chris spoke from the side of the bed.

“Everyone ‘kay?” he swallowed tightly, prompting Nathan to reach for the glass of water beside the bed, aiding JD to take a few small swallows.

“Certainly are,” Ezra stated. “The criminal elements have all been
 incarcerated,” he finished.

“Huh?” JD tried to keep up with Ezra’s conversation but lost the thread of what he was saying.

“We got em,” Vin explained.

“Good.” JD rested his head back against the pillow. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

Relieved chuckles sounded from all but one of the men that surrounded the bed. “So when you gonna break me out of here Buck?” JD turned his head to talk to his flat mate.

“Not for a while yet,” Buck replied quickly, his eyes downcast, not meeting  JD’s.

“C’mon Buck!” JD laughed, wincing at the pain it caused. “You know I hate hospitals.”

“And occasionally they are good for you,” Buck nodded sagely. He turned away from JD before he couldn’t keep himself from looking into the hazel eyes that he knew were filled with confusion at his actions.  Actions that he couldn’t explain without telling JD the truth, and that was something he didn’t want to do to.  It would kill him to see the hate that he so richly deserved from JD.

~~~~~~~
 

Two weeks later
 

Chris stood just inside the door of his office silently watching the
interaction of his team.  Something had changed between them all during the course of their last case.  He wasn’t sure what it was that happened but he was determined to get to the bottom of it.  The dynamics of the team had been thrown out of kilter. In fact it was almost as if their personalities had been swapped.

JD had been back at work for two days now, and had yet to move back to his own home.  Since his release from the hospital he had been staying at Ezra’s townhouse, his usual vibrant exuberant personality somehow subdued.  Josiah had been a frequent visitor. Whenever Chris arrived to check on his youngest member it was to find the ex anthropologist there.  He still wasn’t quite sure why Ezra had volunteered to take custody of JD for his convalescence, and even stranger why Buck hadn’t even put up a fight.  In fact, to his knowledge, aside from regular phone calls Buck hadn’t visited Ezra’s place once since JD had been released from the hospital.

He let his gaze pass between the three agents that were troubling him most.
JD sat at his desk enduring the mother hen mode that Ezra had fallen into, all the while casting curious glances at the man who usually filled that role.  If Chris didn’t know better he would have sworn that JD was missing the smothering attention that Buck would be covering him with.  Ezra was trying but it wasn’t the same, everyone in the office could see that.  All the while Buck sat at his desk, seemingly oblivious to JD’s glances, but Chris knew better.  He could tell by the stiff set of the normally jovial man’s shoulders, the tight set of his lips and the way he continually kept his gaze lowered and closed to anyone who dared to look closer.

Chris straightened from the wall and, jamming his hands in his pockets, moved to the doorway.

“Standish, Wilmington!” he barked at them. “My office now.” He turned and walked back into the small room that he hoped would hold the revelation of their problem.

Ezra and Buck’s eyes met, a strange combination of guilt and fear flickering unguarded across their features.  The glance had only taken a moment, but everyone in the office had seen it.  The strange behaviour had been weighing heavily on the rest of the team and they were waiting patiently for something to happen to clarify the problem.

“Close the door behind you Buck,” Chris spoke, not looking up as he listened for the two summoned agents to enter.

“Is there a problem?” Ezra asked urbanely.

“You tell me?” Chris questioned in reply.

“I have no problems,” Ezra answered quickly. “Buck?”

“Nope,” Buck answered, giving his oldest friend a quick glance before looking back at the scuffed toes of his cowboy boots.

“Cut the crap,” Chris stated. “The both of you.” He pinned them both with a steely glare before he spoke again. “Neither of you leaves this office before you tell me what the hell happened on the last case.”

“You’ve read our reports.” Ezra shrugged nonchalantly.

“Both of which were carefully worded to tell me and the bureau exactly what they needed to know, nothing more, nothing less,”  Chris replied. “I want to know what it is that’s tearing him apart and why you are hiding it for him.”

“I assure you sir,” Ezra spoke haughtily, “I am hiding nothing.”

“I know,” a quiet voice spoke from the doorway.

“What the hell do you know boy?” Buck’s voice grew gruff as he turned on JD, looking at him directly for the first time in two weeks.

“I know what you are trying to hide Buck,” JD spoke calmly. “It’s alright.  It took me a couple of days to work it out but I know.”

“Nobody is hiding anything JD,” Ezra murmured as he watched the scene
unfolding before him, grimly trying to hold on to the rapidly unraveling plot.

JD ignored Ezra’s words and stepped forward until he was standing beside Buck, facing Chris’s desk

"It's easy to understand.  Buck was forced to shoot me and they're both
trying to cover it up so it doesn’t hurt me as much as its hurting the two of them." JD answered with a bit of a shrug.

“Where the hell did you get a damn fool idea like that boy?” Buck’s mock outrage was hollow even to his own ears.

“I’m not stupid Buck,” he spoke calmly. “Anyone else would have killed me just like the others.” JD shrugged fatalistically. “Thanks.” He extended a hand to Buck for shaking.

Buck looked at JD’s hand for a long moment before he reached out his own hand and engulfed the smaller one in his, before pulling JD into a tight bearhug, tears glazing his deep blue eyes.  Chris sat at his desk and watched the exchange, realising for the first time the torment that Buck had endured over the past weeks.  Wondering not for the first time what had transpired between Buck and Ezra to mould them into the alliance that they had been sharing, and if he should be scared by this new alliance.  He could see that the rift that had grown in his team had begun the healing process. Hopefully it would continue on in the same vein.

“All of you get out,” Chris dismissed them.

“Thanks Pard,” Buck extended a hand to Chris over the desk.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Chris growled. “You two still have to clear up the little matter of falsifying a report.” He pinned them both with a glance.

“Well technically it wasn’t falsification,” Ezra began to try and talk their way out of it. “Gino did technically shoot our companion.”

“Don’t start Ezra,” Chris almost smiled. “Just get out.”  He laughed as the three agents made their way out of the room, listening to them plotting their excuses before they were even out of his earshot.
 

Fini