Note: No geezers were hurt in the making of this part... ok, maybe there were... it's like this, I have this problem... can't help myself - and Muse is not accountable for it, if she lets me put that bit in, she ain't aiding and abetting... she's just, sorry for me I guess...

"Come on, Buck, how long you gonna stay in there?"

JD stopped pacing and leant against the wall in the hallway outside the small room that Buck had been residing in for the last twenty minutes. Inside the closed door was a small bathroom, used by visitors waiting in the hospital lounge for news of loved ones and friends. JD knew that it was not the toilet that Buck was interested in, but rather the mirror.

"Is he gone?" came Buck's voice from inside, echoing slightly on the tiles.

JD sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. Sometimes Buck was worse than a kid - and he called him kid! "Yes, Buck, Josiah has gone home to get cleaned up," JD lied. The ex-preacher was still sitting by Chris's bed, as far as he knew.

"I ain't talkin' to him," Buck said, his voice suspiciously bordering on a sulk.

"You can't avoid him forever, Buck," JD reasoned. "Come on, let's go get some lunch, I'm starving."

The handle slowly began to turn and JD pushed off the wall, turning as Buck finally came out.

Buck stuck his head out first and looked into the hallway, as if making sure it was not a trap.

"Buck..." JD said impatiently.

Buck moved out into the full lighting of the hallway and JD winced slightly at the reason for Buck's petulance. His eye was half closed, the swelling seemingly not ready to reach its peak yet, even hours after Josiah's fist had connected with his face, shortly following Vin's collapse. The white of his eye was streaked with red and the tissue around the area had fast become a nasty shade of blue/black.

"Really, it's not that bad," JD lied for the second time in as many minutes. You could almost see the marks of Josiah's knuckles, he realised with a little awe.

Buck frowned slightly at his young friend. "Then why are you lookin' at it like that?"

Quickly JD averted his stare. "Like what?"

"Like you were just then!" Buck poked a finger accusingly. "And you're still lookin' at it!"

JD looked away, his eyes had somehow been drawn back to Buck's face of their own volition. "I'm not," he denied.

"Not now, but - again! You're lookin' at it!"

JD looked away and sighed as he began to walk off. "I'm not looking at it, see? Come on, Buck, I'm hungry. Food will make it heal faster." It wasn't his fault. That bruise was amazing, it had every colour imaginable and it was only a few hours old. He couldn't wait to see it tomorrow. Right now, though, it was safer to avoid facing in Buck's direction at all, his eyes simply couldn't be trusted.

Buck continued to look at JD walking away with much suspicion, before he followed slowly behind him, still scowling. JD waited for his friend to catch up and together they walked down the hallway towards the elevator.

"Don't let me catch you lookin' at it..." Buck mumbled.

"Buck! Far out, shut up!" JD cut him off and pressed the button for the elevator.

Buck continued to mutter in self-pity as they waited before the metal doors. With a beep of arrival the arrow lit above them and the doors opened. As they did, JD groaned and tilted his face upwards in defeat, giving a silent plea for help. He was never going to get to eat... He could feel Buck's eyes boring into him with accusation.

"Well howdy, brothers!"

"Buck, sheesh, that eye hasn't finished doin' it's thing yet, huh?" Nathan said, exiting the lift with Josiah by his side and pointing to Buck's eye.

Buck took a step behind JD as if to protect himself from further attack from Josiah, scowling at the large man who looked strangely as though he were about to laugh. "You ain't touchin' it again, Nathan," he complained, then looked at Josiah. "And you hit me," he said, waiting for the apology he had not yet received and moving with JD as he stepped toward the lift, using him as a barrier. "Thought you were supposed to find peaceful solutions, not resort to violence!" he said, trying to get away.

Josiah smiled then, reciting from the bible, "The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head."*

Buck scowled, "God wouldn't condone what you did, you didn't have to hit me!"

Josiah put his arm around Buck, who was not quick enough to dodge him. "My father told me this story once, about a thirsty pigeon who saw a glass of water painted on a sign."

"Ah, I'll see you there, Buck!" JD said, racing into the open elevator and pressing the doors quickly closed.

Buck looked longingly at the closing doors as Josiah led him towards Vin's room.

"Um, Josiah? Yeah, I deserved it, you're right, I'll just catch up with JD now -"

Josiah's grip tightened as he steered Buck down the hall, undeterred.

"Well, not thinking, the pigeon flew as fast as it could toward that sign, hell bent on getting to the water. What do you think happened?"

Buck sighed in resignation, his shoulders slumping, he was trapped. "It flew into it..."

Josiah squeezed Buck's shoulders, harder than he realised, causing Buck to wince. "That's right!" he grinned. "She slammed right into it, and she broke her wings as she fell. A passer-by picked her up and took her home for dinner."

Buck frowned as they reached Vin's room. "Hell, Josiah, you could have stopped at the broken wings, you didn't have to cook her as well."

"Maybe..." Josiah conceded, "but the point is the same. Act in haste, son and repent at leisure." He nodded at the open door to Vin's room, where the Texan was lying inside, recovering from what had turned out to be a serious concussion from a blow to the back of his head, amongst his multitude of other broken bones, lacerations and bruises. "You owe that boy an apology."

Buck sighed again, looking in. "I know..." he said softly, seeing the quiet form on the bed in the lowly lit room.

As Buck looked in the room, he finally admitted that it was his guilt that had kept him away for the last several hours. Even after the doctor had informed them that Chris would make it, that he was in a stable condition, even though his heart had stopped twice, he had still not been able to bring himself to go and sit with Vin.

The Texan had suffered several broken ribs and had had his arm set in plaster, but it was his head injury that had caused the most concern. He had hit his head as he'd landed solidly, thrown by the impact of the blast as both he and Chris had been showered with debris. Buck thought again of how Vin had lost consciousness, falling forward into Josiah's arms and frowned. He should have seen that Vin was hurt. It should not have taken Vin's own blood to soak into his shirtfront for him to see that. He also knew, without a doubt, that the Texan's pain at seeing Chris rushed away as he had been, was as real as the pain of his wounds. Vin had held on as long as he could, making sure that Chris was seen to first - and he had slammed him for it.

Josiah now gave Buck a slight shove forward and the ladies man turned and scowled back at him as he entered Vin's room, his legs carrying him toward the bed.

Standing outside the door as Buck moved inside, Nathan shook his head slightly and grinned at Josiah. "Subtle..." he said with a chuckle. He looked back at Buck, his eye really was a sight to behold. "Did you really have to hit him that hard?"

Josiah grinned back. "A head that thick can take some getting through to."

They watched a moment longer as Buck approached the bed.

"Vin would never do anything to harm Chris. God knows he'll shoulder enough guilt without Buck coming down on him like he did," Nathan said softly.

They left after another moment, going back to check on Chris, who had been left with Ezra.

Buck looked down at the sleeping figure on the bed and felt his guilt rise to the surface. He had acted rashly, and he would try and think next time before he did something like that again, if only to avoid a sermon from Josiah - and a punch from one of those mighty fists! He'd deserved that punch, for what he'd said to Vin. He'd been running on his emotions and the image of Chris being taken away, knowing that his friend's heart had stopped beating, had pushed him over the edge - and Vin had been the first target he had sighted.

He took the seat next to the bed, not wanting to disturb him. Softly he reached forward and moved Vin's hair away where it had fallen over his face, revealing the darkened skin around his eyes as a result of his concussion. As he did, he uncovered a large bruise and scratch on the Texan's cheek. "Hell, Junior," he whispered, "You didn't deserve that..."

*******

Ezra watched the steady beep of the heart monitor and straightened his spine. He had been close to sleep, lulled as he was by the repetitive noise that rang softly into the quiet room.

"Taking a nap, brother?"

Guiltily, he shot up out of his chair and instantly regretted it, putting a hand to his jarred, stiff neck.

"Not at all, Mr Sanchez, I was merely taking a moment to reflect on the Lord's good grace this day."

Josiah rose a brow at that lie. "Glad to see your faith is so strong, brother." He looked at Chris, seeing that he was still asleep.

"Any change?" Nathan asked.

"No, although the doctor checked a moment ago and believes he is recovering well."

Chris had suffered a cardiac contusion when the beam had fallen across his chest, stopping his heart and causing them all great fear when he had been taken away, the paramedic's words hanging in their ears. The metal's ragged end had also pierced through his chest wall, although it had not pierced his lung, a minor miracle, which they were all grateful for. Both he and Vin were covered in cuts and bruises from the ruined concrete and shards of metal and glass, which had showered and pelted into them. Both actually looked as though they had been blown to hell, which they very nearly had been.

All five members of the team had spent anxious hours waiting for news on both men after they had arrived. It had been tense, with Buck both worried and sulking and sitting well away from Josiah, both yet to speak to each other. When a doctor had finally come out, they'd sat for several long minutes soaking up the news that their friends would be all right, with time and proper rest. Shortly after that they had whooped loudly in celebration and Buck had unwittingly turned to Josiah, scowled and moved on to JD for a giant bear hug, when he had finally realised everything was going to be all right.

"I think I will take my leave and wash this filth from my skin," Ezra said now, eyeing his soiled and rumpled clothing. He looked at Chris for a moment before turning to Josiah and Nathan. "I shall return in a few hours to sit with Vin. Is Buck with him, now?"

Josiah's grin was wide. "I believe Brother Buck is doing a little repenting as we speak."

Ezra grinned in return, knowing Josiah had gone down to force Buck to sit with Vin. "And has Brother Buck lost the use of his remaining eye in the process?" he asked, wondering if it had taken another punch to get him to do it. Buck Wilmington was a one-tracked man, when he wanted to be.

Nathan frowned a little a Buck. "No, thank God." He turned to Chris and took the chair Ezra had left. "Honestly, Josiah, you did hit him a little hard." He was warring between knowing Buck had deserved it and wanting to stop any injuries that could be avoided.

"Perhaps so, but it seems God is seeing fit to grace Buck with a masterpiece of colour to be enjoyed by all."

Ezra laughed as he left. "Indeed he has, my friend. It shall be a delightful canvas for many a week to come, I should think."

The room was again silent as Ezra left and Josiah moved to take the remaining chair, looking again at Chris's pale face, so restful in repose. It had been another close call, of that there was no doubt. All too easily, this could have been a tragic day, one which none of them would ever have recovered from. He took a moment to give another silent thanks that his friends had been spared with their lives.

*******

Vin had been woken periodically, to ensure that his head wound did not develop into a more serious condition. Each time he awoke, he was groggy and confused and it was not until later in the evening that he finally opened his eyes without the feeling that elephants were tramping inside his skull. He lay for long minutes, letting his memory return, letting the thoughts surface, remembering... Then with the memories came the inevitable guilt, in fresh waves that coursed through him until finally he recalled the last time he had seen his best friend... being carried out by paramedics, unconscious... 'Pulse has stopped...' he heard the voice in his head; saw the door close; felt his panic surge...

In the next instant he was throwing the covers back and heading to find Chris - and in the next, he found himself flat on his back again.

"Going somewhere, Mr Tanner?"

Vin blinked up at an again impeccably dressed Ezra, who had pushed him back down on the bed with gentle hands on his shoulders. His ribs were screaming at him and he felt himself sweating again in his renewed pain.

"Ez... Chris... is he?"

Ezra's face softened. "No, he's fine. He's recovering, he's going to be fine."

Vin studied Ezra's face, the man was a master at masking his emotions. "Ez... Don't lie to me, I saw him... I saw..."

"I would not lie to you about such a thing."

"But he..." Vin closed his eyes, dizzy and assaulted with the vision of Chris once more being carried through the door. "He had no pulse... they lost him..."

"Twice, actually," Ezra said, thinking the truth would work. "His heart was bruised and his lung was damaged by that beam. Like you, he has several broken ribs, but he is going to recover in time, as are you, with rest." He emphasised his last words.

Vin looked at Ezra a moment more, then closed his eyes. When it appeared he was not going to open them again, Ezra became concerned. "Should I call a nurse? Are you in pain?"

Vin kept his eyes closed and said in a tired voice. "M'fine, Ez. Just gonna sleep s'more."

Ezra continued to study Vin's relaxed face, slightly suspicious, but not able to see what else he could do. If he knew Vin, and he did, beneath all of the bruises, scrapes and cuts, the Texan would be plotting how to get to Chris's room to see for himself that his friend really was all right...

Vin waited... biding his time. When Ezra sat back down he knew it would not take the southerner long to fall back asleep. Then he would be out of there.

*******

A few floors up, Chris was finally awakening from his earlier surgery to repair his lung. A smaller injury to his side had also needed closing, but there was no long-term damage suspected. Buck had relieved JD many hours before, sending the kid home to get some sleep. Josiah and Nathan had also returned home, leaving he and Ezra to watch over Chris and Vin.

Why the bomb had been planted on Martinez's car was still a mystery, but no longer a private one. The investigation into the threats had now jumped up in the ranking of priority with detectives now analysing every aspect of the case. That it had been detonated at close range, had been the only illuminating finding thus far. Although set on a timer, the device was actually activated by a remote unit, not far from the building, it was thought.

Like the other members of his team, Buck wanted answers from Martinez, as to why he had not led them to the right car park level in the first place. He was suspect, they all felt, yet unavailable to answer their questions throughout the entire afternoon.

Buck yawned as he stood up, stretching out his cramped muscles and heading for the adjoining bathroom, not realising that Chris was beginning to come around. He was thinking about Martinez and how it would be ironic, although not funny at all, if the little man was in fact evil after all, when he realised just how hungry he was. While JD had gone down to eat earlier, he had been waylaid by Josiah and not eaten.

He left the small room and checked Chris over again, studying his quiet breathing for a moment to reassure himself that his friend was all right.

"Be right back, Pard," he said, staying another moment before he quietly turned and left the room. He would grab something quick and return, not wanting Chris to wake up alone. He headed for the elevators, hoping the cafeteria would still be open.

Seeing Buck walking casually toward him, Vin panicked and dove for the nearest doorway, his free arm clutched to his ribs and trying to make as little noise as possible with his now laboured breathing. It had taken him nearly a half hour before he'd been able to get past Ezra and a lot longer to struggle his way through the hospital to find Chris and now he'd nearly been sprung by Buck. What the hell was Buck doing, scaring the hell out of him like that?

He felt ready to collapse, he just wanted to see for himself that Chris was all right and then head back down to his room. The thin material of the hospital-issued pyjamas did little to ward off the chill of the air as he'd escaped to the next floor and then began asking questions about Chris's whereabouts. Finally he'd located the room and now when he was so close, after such an effort, he'd nearly been discovered.

"Son? Son is that you...?"

Shocked to hear a voice behind him, Vin spun around, dizziness swirling with him as he moved and blinked several times, his skin becoming clammy from the exertion of his outing. He had not thought when he had sprung into the doorway and now realised he had entered blindly into a patient's room.

"Sorry... I... was just leavin'... Wrong room," he stumbled over his words, backing out of the door. As he reached the opening, Buck moved past him, without noticing him and again Vin threw himself back into the room, stepping back in the shadows quickly and nearly toppling himself over in his haste to avoid detection. To his dismay, the ladies man stopped right outside the room and began chatting with a nurse.

"Son...? You came... I knew you'd..." the man's words were bitten off by a harsh, wracking cough that caused Vin to wince in sympathy. He poked his head around the door frame and looked at Buck's profile in frustration, whispering distractedly over his shoulder.

"No, I'm just lost. I'll jist be headin' back now."

"Please!" The voice stopped him, "Please... just... hold my hand, let me feel your hand... son.." The voice was growing weaker by the second and finally Vin scowled again at Buck and turned toward the bed, his expression softening. The frail, old man in the lone bed did not look well at all. He heard Buck's voice outside.

"Yeah, my eye hurts real bad, darlin'... You think maybe you got somethin' that can help with the pain?"

Vin whispered to the patient. "I'll call a doctor." He hesitated, realising that to do that he would have to confront Buck. Still, he turned for the doorway to do just that but was again stopped.

"No! Please... I'm blind, son... I can't see you. Don't be afraid of me... I'm dyin'... They said -" Another fit of coughing took him and after a moment he wheezed his next words. "They said this was it... I thought, I's gonna die alone, but you... came..."

Vin's heart tightened at the words. The old man was dying, he didn't have to tell him that for him to work it out... and he had been about to die alone. His son, whoever he might be, hadn't made it, if he was coming at all. How the hell could he walk away? Holding his ribs, the bandage holding his broken arm in a sling bright white in the softly lit room, he turned and stepped closer toward the bed and saw that there were tears pouring from the mans eyes. He couldn't walk away.

"Please...?"

"I'm here," Vin said, stepping forward, Buck and his mission forgotten for the moment. The milky white of the man's eyes showed that he was, indeed, blind and Vin took his ancient hand in his and felt the already cold skin touch his own. He was definitely near death, that was true.

The old man's tears grew as he felt his hand taken in the warmth of Vin's and he sighed in deep contentment. He knew that it wasn't his son. His son had refused to speak to him for the last twenty years, for a reason he had never really been sure of... He just had not wanted to die alone.

"You here to... see a friend?" came the wheezing, soft question.

Vin frowned then, realising the old man had tricked him.

"Yeah, I am..." he drawled softly, a slight smile on his lips.

"Good to... have friends..."

Vin heard the soft sigh and heard the congested breathing quiet, the old man's face visibly relaxing despite his obviously rapidly failing condition.

"Thankyou... son..." came the last whispered words and Vin realised that he was dying faster than he had thought.

"I can call a nurse," he offered softly, to which there was no answer.

After another moment he realised the old man had fallen asleep, his breathing still laboured and wondered what he should do, then his hand felt a light squeeze and suddenly the man's breathing stopped. Complete silence filled the room and for a moment his own breath held, until he heard a noise outside the room and remembered what the hell he had been doing before he had stumbled in there. He thought of the old man's last words, 'It's good to have friends.' He had to find Chris.

"Rest in peace..." he looked above the bed, "Lester Williams," Vin said softly and released the cold hand, placing it back on the mattress gently.

Delaying no longer, for there was nothing he could do now for the old man, Vin peered out of the room and saw that Buck had managed to manoeuvre the nurse to the lift and was now stepping into the open doors with her. Another nurse spotted him as he stood in the doorway. She knew by his face what he was going to say.

"I had not meant to leave him alone, I got called away. Did you know him?" she asked, not aware that the man had any relatives. He had been moved there just the night before from a nursing home.

"No... I was just walking past."

She gave him a warm smile. "I'm glad he was not alone."

Vin nodded and suddenly glanced back at the elevator, seeing that Buck was gone. With a shake of his head, for the rogue would never change, he continued on the way he had been heading, towards Chris's room. He reached the doorway and found the door closed, pushing it open as silently as he could, in case one of the other guys were in there.

Not in a million years did he expect to find the scene he found before him.

"Martinez!"

Peter Martinez whirled around and it took Vin a moment to get past his crazed eyes to register the syringe in his hand. He held it out before him like a knife, not wanting Vin to advance and Vin saw that it was still full.

"What are you doing?" Vin asked him in alarm, or rather, wanted to know why he was trying to kill Chris, as he so obviously was.

He glanced at Chris then, wanting to make sure that his friend was ok and was greatly relieved to see for himself that Ezra had not lied to him. Chris was very much alive, he could see him stir slightly on the bed. All he wanted to do was sit down with him for a moment and let the relief course through him, instead of standing here and feeling as though he were about to drop his knees at any second. His strength was ebbing and yet here he was, facing off with a madman.

"Damn you, Tanner, why can't you stay the hell away?"

Vin took a step forward but was held back by a swipe of Martinez's arm.

"Stay back!"

There was a soft groan from the bed and Vin shot a glance at Chris once more and saw his arm move again on top of the covers. He reached a hand to the wall for support, hoping against hope that Chris would not wake up just yet.

"Why are ya tryin' ta kill Larabee?" He wanted to stall the man, even though he wasn't sure how long he could remain standing. He actually wanted Buck to return now.

"He's going to die to honour my father."

Vin's eyes narrowed. His father? He needed to sit down, but more than that, he needed to watch Chris's back. He could not count on Buck returning, not when he had found himself a woman. It was up to him. He gathered his voice, needing to keep his attention and the result was a low, rough drawl as he tried to get past his dry throat. "Yer father...?"

Chris stirred again on the bed and Vin prayed he would not make any sudden moves. He did not know what was in that needle, but knew it could not be anything good.

"Yes, my father!" Martinez practically shouted in his impatience. "He ruined him. Sent him to jail for the rest of his life and my father was forced to take his own life! How could he live that way?"

"Sounds right cowardly to me," Vin said slowly, sweat beginning to trickle down his spine.

Martinez was so outraged that he stepped toward Vin, the syringe still held out before him. "He was no coward!" he shouted and Vin put up his good arm to try and calm him down, finally realising how crazy the man was. His voice had lanced right through his head.

"Alright, he was no coward..." he said agreeably, keeping his voice low. "How the hell did you get to be a Superintendent without anyone knowin' bout yer old man bein' a criminal n' all?" he wondered aloud.

"He was not a criminal!" Martinez shouted again, his attention now focused on Vin who had nearly passed out from the loud voice. "He was a good man!"

Vin noticed Chris's head move on his pillow and gave a silent plea for him to stay still. He was starting to feel ill, queasiness was riding in his stomach and beginning to rise. He was doing everything he could to draw the man away from him and it was costing him every bit of strength that he had.

"Alright..." he said, his voice growing rough, "he wasn't a criminal... Why was he sent ta jail?" He avoided saying Chris's name, hoping he would forget about him until he could disarm him.

"He was set up," he screamed and pointed at the prone blond in the bed, "they set him up and he could not live with the shame..."

"So he killed himself...," Vin prompted.

"And now I will kill them."

"Them?"

"Larabee and all of the sons of bitches who brought him down."

Vin realised it must have been when Chris was a detective, before he had transferred to the ATF. He remembered then that Chris mentioned a friend from his old division had worked in the Sheldon building, that had been bombed the week before and made a connection.

"That was you... the car bomb last week..." he guessed, not entirely sure.

"Of course it was me!"

"But you didn't get anyone... Who were you aimin' for?" 'Keep him talking, keep him talking', Vin thought. Thank God for the man's ego that was causing him to ramble on. His head was beginning to swim from the effort of simply standing and he felt himself sweating harder through the light material. He shifted on his feet, feeling every cut, bruise and broken bone.

"The idiot detonated it too soon, but that's ok, it was a good message for Larabee."

"What idiot?"

Martinez ignored the question. "I even tampered with the photo's you requested from the security camera."

Vin frowned, remembering the photo's he had been looking at just that morning. He had wanted to know who the child was in the film. He looked closer at the small man. "That was you... in the photo's..." He'd thought it a child, judging wrongly by the figure's short height.

Martinez's grin was almost feral. "To show you how close I was, how I could get to any of you if I wanted to. To show you I've been right there, under your noses for a long, long time."

The guy was insane and Vin simply looked at him a moment, trying to get some foothold, anything, on how the hell his mind worked. Was he saying he was responsible for other bombings, too? Before he could say anything, the little man turned to Chris and desperate, he stepped forward, taking his hand from the wall and trying to keep his stance steady.

"Don't seem that car bombs are yer thing. Ya keep missin' everyone," he taunted.

Angry, Martinez turned again and scowled at Vin. "I will not pay someone else to mess this up again! That is why I will do this myself!"

As he turned toward Chris again, the needle ready to stab into his unassuming flesh, Vin's eyes darted from Larabee's awakening form, to the door, which had just begun to open. He had not staggered his way through the hospital, wounded and ready to keel over, just to arrive to see Chris killed after everything they had gone through. No way was he about to let that happen. As the door opened further he saw that it was Buck and stepped toward Martinez, saying loudly, "Look, Martinez it's Buck!"

Martinez turned, needle poised in the air, distracted by the shout. He saw Buck, standing in the doorway, rapidly trying to assess the scene he'd just walked in to.

Vin saw that Chris's eyes were open, although his best friend had yet to move.

"Buck, look, it's the Superintendent," Vin said, feeling his head growing light. His tone had been almost conversational, as if introducing two old friends. He was no longer trying to think, he was just trying to get Martinez away from Chris, any way he could, distracting him until he could get that weapon off of him.

"I see that..." Buck said, completely shocked and trying to bring calm to his voice, hoping it would filter through the room to the men standing within it. One look at Vin and he could see that his friend had reached his limit. He looked as though he were about to pass out and he sure as hell did not want that to happen, again. His mind was whirling, trying to understand what in the hell was going on. Martinez was holding a needle over Chris, he had known that the man was up to no good!

"So you did lead us to the wrong floor on purpose," he said then, wanting to play Vin's game and take the man's focus upon himself. He glanced at Chris and saw that his eyes were open before he saw Vin sway slightly and steady himself. The Texan's skin was pale and coated in a fine sheen of sweat, despite the thin material he was dressed in. How the hell he had gotten there was a mystery, although he was not in the least surprised. He realised, with a sense of dread, that this was his fault, although he could not indulge his need to dwell on that just yet.

Martinez scowled. Where the hell had Wilmington come from? He finally realised that the situation was getting out of his control and with that knowledge, came panic.

"You were all running around, not stopping to ask questions." He looked at Vin. "If they had just died like they were supposed to, I would not have to be here now!"

Martinez turned to Chris and this time he was going to plunge the needle down into his chest, Vin could see it in his eyes and so could Chris, who was trying his darndest to get his foggy head around what he had woken up to. He began to register words, to make sense of them even, as he studied the concealed fear on Vin's face only a few feet away from where he lay. The one clear vision in his mind was the pain that marred Tanner's eyes as he stood, facing off with... Martinez. Martinez was trying to kill him, and he did not have the control he needed to raise his arms up to stop the blow.

Vin knew he had to do something, or Chris was going to die. He looked at his best friend, saw that he understood what was happening, even though he could not defend himself, then he looked at Buck. Buck... what was it Buck had mumbled in his room earlier in the day, when Vin had not been able to open his eyes to tell him it was all right? Something about not thinking about the consequences, how he was sorry he had not stopped to let his emotions settle? That is what Buck was all about, acting on heart. He put his feelings first - and sometimes it landed him in trouble - and a lot of the time it involved women...

"BUCK SLEPT WITH YOUR DAUGHTER!!"

Vin closed his mouth into the ensuing silence... the complete, shocked and stunned silence. He could no longer hear past the pounding in his head. His own shout had nearly knocked him off his feet and now he could only blink in the aftermath of his loud admission.

"Oh... my... God..." Buck whispered, a barely audible sound as he looked at Vin with utter shock on his face. He swallowed. "I know I was wrong, Vin, how I treated you, but... you didn't have to do that..." he said, his face disbelieving.

Vin was watching Martinez and could see that Larabee had moved slightly on the bed. Chris, too was watching Martinez and was stunned by the raw fury that he could see gathering in the man's face and collecting within his small frame. It was like watching a tornado gather power from a dust ball. His skin had transcended form a pale sheen to something akin to a mottled red, rage tightening his lips, pulling them back so that he was almost snarling as he turned to Buck, Chris completely forgotten.

Buck turned his gaze and blinked. "Oh my God..." he said again, this time in concern for himself. "Vin..."

Vin could not speak. Something had a smile twitching at his lips as he stood shakily watching Martinez, knowing the man was about to launch himself at Buck, if he did not explode in a ball of awesome rage first.

Buck realised Vin was either going into shock, about to pass out, or had been possessed by the devil as he saw his friend's lip twitch. He tried stepping backwards, partly to escape the psychopathic father that was about to try and kill him and partly to try and draw the little man out of the room.

Just as he reached the exit, Martinez stepping with him, the door smacked into him from the other side and suddenly Ezra pushed his way through, causing Buck to stagger forward into Martinez.

"What the hell -" Ezra tried to take in what was happening as he saw a very much vertical and awake Vin Tanner launch himself across the room towards Buck and... Martinez?

Chris tried desperately to move, but could not get his arms to obey as he watched Vin hurl himself at the crazed Superintendent, unable to stop him.

Martinez brought the needle down, its path arcing through the air as it sailed towards Buck and the taller man tried desperately to stop his forward momentum, caused by Ezra, and to throw up a hand to ward off the attack. Suddenly Vin was there, pushing Martinez back and the two of them crashed into the wall by Chris's bed, knocking into the small bedside table with a loud crash as they fought over possession of the syringe.

Buck stepped forward, trying desperately to intervene, to get that needle off Martinez and get the recovering Texan out of harms way. Together, they wrestled the small man, who was driven by his palpable fury like a thundercloud of vengeance as he tried to get to Buck.

Ezra moved in then, trying to find an opening and suddenly all three struggling men lunged sideways and into the bed, Vin falling backwards on top of Chris who tried to protect himself from the crushing weight, all the while trying to will himself the power to find a way to reach Martinez.

"This is madness..." Ezra muttered, stepping towards Buck and the Superintendent who had taken their struggle back into the wall with a loud thud.

"Let go, dammit!" Buck yelled, amazed that he could not get the small man's grip to let go as he threw his arm into the wall.

"You touched my daughter?!" Martinez asked in rage.

"Oh God..." Ezra said, realising now what was driving the crazed man. He raised a brow quickly at Vin who was breathing hard, trying to get back off the bed. The Texan shrugged lightly.

"Couldn't think of nothin' else ta say." He panted, pushing himself up with effort and turning to see that Chris was struggling to sit up. He put a hand on his shoulder, "Stay put, Pard, you ain't s'posed ta be movin' round jist yet."

Chris ignored him, wanting to make sure Buck was winning in the corner, but just as he got one arm under himself, the struggling men came flying back across the room, knocking into both he and Vin and then falling across him. Ezra managed to pull the small man off of Buck and restrain him bodily from relaunching his attack and for a moment Buck and Vin simply lay motionless on top of Chris before the blond captains voice spoke in a strained pitch.

"You fella's... wanna take this little... encounter... somewhere else?"

Buck lifted his head and found his face was not far from Chris's. A grin split his face at the sound of his old friend's voice as he pushed back up, turning to help Vin up too.

"Hey there, Junior," he said, looking at Vin and knowing he had to get him back to his room as quickly as possible. "I've had less bony women cushionin' my weight, that's for damn sure." He held out a hand to him and then frowned, his eyes moving to the needle sticking in Vin's shoulder just as Martinez's laughter filled the room.

Chris frowned, his own breath strained and raised his head to see what Martinez was laughing about. He saw the needle and then his eyes found Vin's in the exact second that his hand latched onto the emergency call button, his heart in his throat.

Vin blinked up at Buck, frowning slightly and realising that perhaps maybe he had overdone things, that maybe he should not have snuck out of his room. He had not yet registered that Martinez's weapon had found a home in his shoulder, in pain as he was from his other wounds. He also did not know why Buck and Chris were both looking at him like they were. He pushed up, reaching out for Buck's hand and realised then that something was terribly wrong.

"Just sit still for a second, Vin..." Buck ordered, holding Vin back, his fear fighting to control his thoughts as he looked at his friend, knowing that he was in trouble and not wanting to alarm him.

Vin looked down, following Buck's gaze and finally saw the needle sticking in his shoulder. Slowly, with his free hand, he pulled it out, wincing at how deep it had gone and looked at it a moment in his hand before dropping it to the floor as if it were a useless thing.

"Jesus... Vin..." Chris said, his alarm and fear causing him to find the power to reach out a hand for Vin, wanting to give him strength. Where the hell were the hospital staff?

But it was JD that burst in first, having no idea what he was charging into and suddenly Martinez was free from Ezra's grip. Using the unexpected distraction, the Superintendent shoved Ezra backwards into the wall and lunged for JD, the knife that he had not been able to pull earlier, now in his hands and held to JD's throat in an instant.

JD blinked and struggled to look around the room, still not sure what the hell had just happened.

"What the hell's goin' on?" he said, unable to move for fear of having his throat slit. "I came back to bring you some food," JD told Buck, raising the bag of take away food in one of his hands.

"Well that was right nice of you, JD, but you might'a called first," Buck said, all the while keeping one eye on Vin and the other on Martinez, ready to take action, knowing how deadly the situation had become.

"Uh, Did someone press the alarm?"

Martinez whirled, quickly showing the medical staff waiting to enter that he was not about to let them in. "Back off!" he yelled.

"Put it down, Martinez, you don't want to add murder to your tally," Buck said, concerned by Vin's silence. "Vin? How you doin', buddy?" he shot him a quick glance, not wanting to miss an opportunity to strike by taking his eyes off of Martinez.

Vin reached up a hand towards his heart, feeling its strange and erratic beat as he turned his head and looked at Chris. His breathing was slowing down, everything seemed to be slowing down.

"Great..." he said, his throat tightening, finding it harder to breathe by the second.

"Call the police!" Ezra yelled out to the hospital staff through the door. "We have a hostage situation and we have a man poisoned in here!"

"Shut up!" Martinez ordered.

"You're not walking away from this, Martinez, don't make this worse. Let JD go and let us get Vin the help he needs." Buck said.

Martinez looked desperate, he was not in control at all.

Chris continued to watch Vin, wanting so desperately to move and help him, but unable to get himself up off the bed. He was starting to feel pain now, from the recently closed wounds in his chest and the cuts and bruises that marked his body from head to toe.

"I'm getting out of here," Martinez said.

"Ya wanna honour yer father...?"

They all looked toward the softly hissed voice that had come from Vin's lowered head. Martinez held tight to both JD and the knife, his only slim chance at getting out of this and not prepared to let either of them go.

"I said do ya want ta honour yer father?"

Each word was forced out on a breath of air, the rough voice low, yet strangely calm.

"What do you know about my father?! I am doing this for him! I AM honouring him!"

Martinez was coming undone, trying to watch his back from all angles, dragging JD with him as he turned from the door and back to face the ATF agents in the room.

Vin felt his chest constricting, his skin becoming cold and leant further forward. He raised his chin, peering through the hair that had fallen forward past his face as he levelled two intense blue eyes straight at Martinez.

"You dishonour him. Ya walk away now, and ya live on to honour his memory another day. Ya kill JD, and ya go ta jail fer a long, long time." His eyes told Martinez what he had to do. "Let him go."

Vin held the eye contact, not willing to look away as black shadows again chased into his vision. He sensed that Martinez did not know what to do, that perhaps, with enough strength in his tone and eyes, he could sway his decision while his resolve was weak.

"Listen to him, Martinez," Buck said, watching the indecision on the small man as he stared back at Vin as if seeking an answer.

Martinez looked at Vin, straight into the blue eyes that seemed to know what he should do, even if he himself did not... and let the knife fall from his hands.

"Move in!" Buck yelled to the waiting medical staff as Ezra quickly snatched up the knife and grabbed Martinez once more.

"Get a doctor in here! Now!" Buck shouted.

Ezra shoved Martinez out of the room and against the wall by the doorway. He raised the man's own knife back at his throat and pressed the cold blade to his skin. "What was it?" he asked in a deadly voice, his arm cutting off Martinez's air, fast. "What was in that needle?"

Martinez did not answer, shocked to find himself in the very position he had just been in control of moments before as medical staff rushed past them into the room.

Ezra leaned forward, his eyes promising a slow death as he spoke slowly and clearly to Martinez, his words chilling the older man to the bone. "You are going to jail, my friend. Not matter what happens, you will spend time behind bars. You tell me what was in that needle or I will make sure that every criminal and lowlife scum out on the streets has access to your daughter." An empty threat, but he hoped it would get through.

Martinez growled in rage and his struggle began again, only to have his head cracked into the wall smoothly by Ezra's solid arm.

"I am not bluffing."

Martinez believed him. "Codeine..." he spat. "It was codeine!"

Ezra yelled into the room, now flooded with medical staff. "He says it was Codeine!"

"You touch her, I swear to God..."

Ezra flashed a grin at the former Superintendent, purposely drawling his words in an exaggerated southern voice. "It's true, what they say... Little men are often exceedingly evil."

Buck and JD moved aside to let the doctor and nurses through, not able to do more than watch as Vin doubled over in pain, clutching his chest with his good arm and struggling to breathe.

"Easy, son," the doctor told Vin, quickly assessing his racing heart and shallow breathing and finding the tiny points of his pupils as he raised his chin in his hand.

Vin was beyond speech, his heart was squeezing into the tightest ball imaginable and he could not draw air through his lungs. He tried to double forward, unaware as they moved him toward the waiting gurney and then suddenly his chest squeezed in a mighty clench of a massive invisible fist around him, knocking the energy from his body and sending him falling into the arms of the emergency staff who quickly lifted him and laid him flat.

"He's going into respiratory arrest!"

In a flurry of movement Vin was taken from the room, with the doctor ordering the antidote drug be made ready for injection.

Another doctor came in with a nurse to see to Chris and Buck stayed to make sure that no further damage had been caused in the attack.

Chris waved Buck away, weak but knowing he would not rest until he knew if Vin would be all right.

"I'm ok, Buck. Go after... Vin..." he said, not able to say more as he lay his head back on the pillow. Could this day get any worse?

Buck looked at the plea in Chris's eyes and nodded, leaving him with the doctor.

"You take it easy, don't worry, he'll be fine. Vin's tough." He said with conviction as he left.

Chris closed his eyes, not caring about the pain that was now creeping through his body. He could not clear his mind of the site of Vin struggling to breathe, of the needle that stuck into him while Martinez laughed. Why the hell was Martinez doing this? He was unable to think more as the sedative they gave him wore through his line and the nurse set out straightening up the room as the doctor checked him over.

While Ezra took care of making sure Martinez was taken into custody, Buck and JD waited for news on Vin, calling Josiah and Nathan to let them know what had happened. It was twenty minutes later that a nurse came out to speak with them.

She looked at them both, trying to gauge how to tell them what she knew, depending on their reactions. "The drug that your friend was given is very dangerous, when administered intravenously. It's a narcotic, an opiate in fact and the amount was potentially lethal... He was very lucky he was so near immediate help."

Buck and JD waited as patiently as possible, holding on to her calm tone.

"It causes respiratory depression - slows the breathing down and in severe poisoning, can stop it all together. This is what happened to Mr Tanner. He went into respiratory arrest but the doctors have managed to return his breathing to normal by administering Naloxone and have established assisted ventilation. Naloxone reverses the effects of overdoses of this kind, but we still need to monitor him closely. We will keep an eye on his blood pressure, but he is responding well to stimuli at present."

Buck looked at her, waiting for what he really wanted to hear. "So he's going to be ok?"

"He's going to be a sick man, through the effects of the drugs, and Naloxone also reverses the effects of pain medication, which he was taking for the injuries he sustained earlier. So all in all, it's going to be a rough trip." She finally gave a slight smile, "But we are encouraged by his recovery so far. We got to him in good time."

Finally, Buck smiled too. "Thankyou," he said gratefully.

"Not at all. I will let you know when you can see him."

As she walked off, Buck looked at JD. "Kid, you have a hell of a sense of timing."

JD was still unsettled from his explosive entrance. "Tell me about it..."

The nurse had not exaggerated when she had said Vin would feel unwell. The rapid administration of the drugs in his system brought on severe sweating and caused his heart rate and breathing to increase for many hours following the ordeal. Tremors settled in to cause him further pain and finally his stomach began rebelling, although he had nothing to offer by way of consumed food. Every movement his body made screamed through his ribs and pain medication was rendered useless by the drug they continued to administer to combat the effects of the narcotic. All in all, it was the most miserable twenty-four hours of his life that he could ever physically remember enduring, made worse by the endotracheal tube that they had inserted in the emergency room and did not remove until they were sure his lungs were functioning normally and the constant headache which plagued him from his concussion.

Nathan and Josiah arrived and together, the five remaining team members took turns watching over their injured friends. Chris had slept a natural sleep after he had been told that Vin was going to make it and once he awoke, began demanding to be moved so that he could see him.

Finally, late the next day, both men were residing in the same room and Chris finally saw how devastating the effects of both the accident and the drug had been on Vin, who was still too ill to be able to analyse what had happened clearly. His body continued to fight the effects, trying to return to a state of normalcy through a still high temperature and heart rate and his breathing was still shallow, although they had finally removed the tube, for which he was nothing but grateful.

The following day, Chris awoke early and looked over to find Vin already awake. It was clear he had been awake for some time for there were already questions on his face.

"I know about as much as you," Chris told him before he could speak.

Vin looked over in shock. "Yer awake?

Chris nodded, trying and failing to rise further up on his pillow.

Vin was silent for a moment. He had been awake for some time, just as Chris had suspected, wanting to get what he had to say to Chris right, but now it just seemed impossible, to tell him how sorry he was for what happened.

Chris watched the play of emotions over the younger man's face and saw the guilt override all others. He frowned slightly. "Your not responsible for the actions of that lunatic."

Vin's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Chris, who flashed him a grin. "You didn't hold a gun to my head and tell me to look at that bomb. If we hadn't of tried, the bomb squad was never going to get there on time."

Vin shook his head. "It was a trap. If we hadn't of rushed down there, he wouldn't'a set it off like that."

Chris nodded. "That may be, but we didn't know that then. Hindsight's a wonderful thing to have."

"Still," Vin said, "I'm sorry I didn't stop and think before we ran down there."

Chris's smile grew, "What, and miss all the action?"

Vin studied Chris's face. He was making light of the situation and he knew why.

Chris sighed. "Then I'm as much responsible as you. I should have known that Travis's trusted friend was really a revenge-seeking nutbag who was out to kill me and I should have ignored my instincts to go and make sure his car was not about to kill who-knew how many innocent people..."

After a minute, Vin's own lip curled. "Well... if you put it like that..."

Chris grinned in return and both looked up as Nathan and Josiah entered with the ATF Director himself.

"Speak of the Devil," Vin said, "It's Martinez's good friend, Orin." He was pissed and not afraid to let the Director know it. He nodded to Nathan and Josiah, "Howdy boys."

"Vin, Chris, how you doin' today?" Nathan asked.

"Much better, Nate," Chris answered.

"Yeah, Chris's been snorin' all night, but 'sides that, I'm doin' good." He avoided Chris's returned glare as Travis spoke.

"You boys look like hell." The Director's expression was pained as he moved into the room and looked at both of them in turn.

"Happens when you get blown up and then attacked in your very hospital bed," Chris said.

Travis turned first to Chris. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for what happened, Chris. I had no idea what evil lay in Martinez's past when I brought him to you. He kept it so well hidden that his own wife and children did not know. It was as if he was leading a double life." He looked from one injured man to the other. "I'm truly sorry, boys, that this happened because I brought him to you for help. I had considered him a friend."

Vin looked at Travis a moment and nodded, the man had always been honest with them before. "How the hell did no-one know about him and who was his father?" Vin asked.

Travis stood facing them both. "Martinez's father was known by a different name. Martinez took his mother's name when his parents divorced and although he was reunited with his father some years later, he retained his mother's name."

"And his father's name was...?" Chris prompted.

Travis looked at him. "Rodriguez..."

Chris frowned slightly. "Carl Rodriguez...? The drug dealing Carl Rodriguez?"

Travis nodded. "The same."

"He killed himself before he went to trial."

"So they say," Travis said. "There was some talk that he had been framed, from someone within the FBI at the time. Internal investigations came up with nothing, but there were always suspicions."

Chris exchanged a look with Vin. "So Martinez may not have been lying..."

Vin shook his head. "Still don't explain why he came right after you after all these years."

"I was the first one on the scene," Chris said, "When they found him with enough evidence to put him away for life."

Vin looked at Travis. "But why now? After... how long?"

"Because recently, a former police detective died that had been associated with the case at the time and before he did, he bragged about setting Rodriguez up, he and his men."

Chris looked at Travis. "Winton..." He had heard of his illness and death through the grapevine, although the man had retired several years before and moved away to another state.

Travis nodded. "Our guess is he was going to come after you, then go after the rest of the men involved in the case back then."

Chris's expression turned thoughtful, "Any chance that an investigation is going to find his father innocent?"

Travis shook his head. "The case was closed years ago. It's not believed that there is enough evidence to reopen it at this time." At Chris and Vin's protest he raised a hand. "That's not to say I'm not working on it."

"Director, I don't think getting the man's name cleared is our primary concern, its ensuring his son doesn't get out and have another shot at Chris," Nathan said.

Travis nodded. "I can certainly understand your concern. You all have both been through a lot over this and again, I am sorry for the pain that I caused your team. I will do all I can to make sure Martinez is dealt with."

Not one to dwell on issues, Travis stood straight and fingered his keys in his pocket. "Now, I best be heading back. This whole affair has created more work than a national inquisition."

"Thanks for stopping by, Director," Chris said.

Travis smiled. "You just rest up now," he looked at Vin, "Both of you. The ATF won't be the same until it has its two danger-seekers back."

Vin shared a slightly embarrassed look with Chris. "Yeah, we been thinkin' maybe next time we'd hold off a bit on chargin' ahead like that."

Travis looked from one man to the other, paused in the doorway. "I know this might not have turned out the way you would have liked it, but in the end, you did what you thought was right, in order to try and prevent people from getting hurt."

Neither man answered, neither man completely convinced and Travis sighed. "You and your team might cause me migraines and sleepless nights, the way you ignore protocol and get yourself into the thick of things and you two sure as hell ain't a pair of angels, but without men willing to tread into danger, to put themselves at risk in order to protect innocent lives, where would the world be?" Seeing he had their attention, Travis gave a slight smile to them all before he left with an imagined tip of his hat. "You done good, boys. All of you."

A few minutes later, the four agents were still grinning at each other as the door again opened.

"What are you four all smilin' about? Makes a man feel downright uneasy," Buck said as he walked in, JD behind him.

"I's jist askin' the boys what happened to yer eye there, Bucklin."

JD laughed, hitting Buck in the arm and the taller man's smile turned into an instant scowl. "You don't remember anything? About... you know..." He looked wonderfully uncomfortable to Vin.

"'Bout you gettin' punched out by Josiah, here?" Vin asked with much mischief in his eyes. "Heck no, but I wish I could'a seen it. I hear tell it was a thing of beauty."

Buck moved further into the room, darting a glance at Josiah before he ducked his head slightly. "Yeah, well, I kinda deserved it." He looked at Vin, "Vin, I..."

Vin nodded. "I heard ya the first time ya's jawin' in m'ear."

Buck's eyes widened and Vin's smile grew, but he said sincerely. "I understand, Buck."

Buck shook his head. "That may be, Vin, but it still don't excuse what I done. I'm real sorry about it."

Vin's smile fell and again he nodded. "Seem's everyone's fit to offer up apologies today..." he looked up at Josiah then back at Buck. "You two kissed an' made up yet?"

Josiah grinned as he stepped forward and placed a large arm around Buck's shoulders. "I didn't know a kiss would do it, Buck..."

Buck slithered out of Josiah's grip and stepped back, "Don't even think about it, Preacher."

Josiah laughed and Buck's lips found a smile as the two men shared a look. It was done.

Vin, however, was not quite finished. He looked over at Chris, "You reckon we should send Buck over to apologise to Martinez fer sleepin' with his daughter?"

Ezra walked in just as Chris groaned and Buck launched into a fresh tirade about how in hell Vin could have done that to him in turning Martinez onto him like that. A grin lit the southerner's face as he moved further into the room. Things were back to normal... and there's no other way he would want it to be.

The End.

* Psalm 7: (NIV)