Vigil
Six men sat in various positions around the hospital room, lost in their thoughts. Thoughts that centered on their seventh, who was currently lying motionless on the bed in the center of the room hooked up to enough monitors and machinery to launch a mission to the moon.
Ten days ago, they had all been looking forward to being all together for Chris’ annual Fourth of July picnic/cookout at the ranch. Buck and JD had been joking around as usual. Nathan and Josiah had been discussing what they wanted to bring to the get together the following weekend. Chris and Vin hadn’t been saying much of anything as the group of men walked down the hall toward the elevators to leave. Ezra had tossed a word in on Buck and JD conversation, made a few suggestions to Nathan and Josiah, but for the most part joined Chris and Vin in watching.
But when they arrived in the underground basement, Ezra had been the first one out. He had been the first to see the ambush, spinning around and pushing the others back into the elevator and slapping the controls to close the door. They had quickly pulled the man the rest of the way into the elevator, but the damage had already been done. Three bullets had found their marks in their friend’s body.
The first had punctured a lung, the second slammed into his right shoulder shattering the socket. It was debatable whether he would regain complete use of his arm or not., but right now that wasn’t what weighed on their minds. It was the last that concerned them more. The last had skimmed the right side of his head, cracking his skull and sending him into a coma.
Now they sat, and waited---hoping for recovery, as Ezra lay still, seemingly locked in eternal sleep.
The doctor had warned them that the longer he remained in the coma, the more likelihood that he would not recover. Nathan had reiterated the warning several times in the last two days, but they weren't listening. None of them would accept that they could loose their seventh in such a senseless manner.
<<<~M7~>>>
Chris sat nearest the undercover man, at the head of the bed. “Come on, Ezra. Don’t give up on us now.” His undercover man might be an irritating pain in the ass, but he was a good man.
“Yeah, Pard. We still gotta’ teach the kid here how to get a girl,” Buck threw in, though Ezra tried hard to stay out of the on going squabble between the two roommates. JD glared at the older dark-haired man, but there was really no ire in it.
“Ez,” JD tried, wanting to say something to the friend that had helped him so much in the last few years, but found he couldn’t for the lump in his throat. Buck smiled sadly as he gathered JD into a one-armed hug, pretending not to notice the tears that slid silently down the young man’s face.
Josiah stepped closer, laying a slightly trembling hand on the shoulder nearest to him. “We still need you here, son. We still have a long way to go on your lessons on family.” They had finally realized last year that the reason Ezra didn’t let them near was fear. Fear of losing anyone that got near him. Since then, they had all been working hard to convince him that they would turn against him or leave him. They were making progress, but it was slow going.
Nathan looked up from his seat near Ezra’s feet, his hand rested on his lower leg. “We never did finish that discussion about the benefits of vitamin E. I’ve got some new points that you can’t argue with.” It seemed like a strange under the circumstances, but one of the things the two men had come to enjoy was their discussions. They could become quite heated at times, but why should they ruin a perfectly good relationship, but actually admitting they liked each other? But then, Nathan mused, it would spare a lot of hurt feelings, mostly Ezra’s. He was still unsure of Nathan sometimes, and Nathan frequently crossed some unseen line with his sharp comments. It frustrated Nathan no end, but he couldn’t seem to figure out exactly where that line was.
Vin didn’t say a word as he sat on the opposite side of the bed from Nathan, his had holding onto Ezra’s. The two of them had become quite close over the years. If one of them was having trouble, he would without thinking head for the other for help. With the instant connection Vin had felt with Chris, you’d think they would have been closer, but they weren't. He understood how Chris thought, but for emotional stuff, he and Ezra were closer. It didn’t really make any sense, but that’s the way it was.
Six men, trying to encourage their seventh, the one that made them whole.
A family of brothers trying desperately to keep death from claiming one of their own.
<<<~M7~>>>
The nurse looked up and stared at the heart monitor. After checking quickly to make sure the machine was functioning properly, she headed for the cubical to check on her patient.
Walking in she found herself pinned by six pairs of eyes, but she ignored them as she bustled over to her patient’s side. Having learned not to even bother, she did not tried to get Vin to release his hold on the sick man’s hand. Even resorting to threats of security wouldn’t work. Working around his grip was awkward, but a lot less stressful than the glare she would get if she asked.
All six ATF agents watched anxiously as the nurse checked Ezra out. It was almost never a good thing when nurses showed up outside of their scheduled rotation and the nurse hadn’t been due for another eleven minutes and thirty seconds.
Chris gritted his teeth to keep from demanding to know what was wrong. He didn’t want to distract her while she was working, but he was worried and this fussing wasn’t helping his nerves at all.
Buck and JD stepped closer to the bed on the opposite side as the nurse, hoping that they were about to get some good news. JD didn’t know what he would do if they didn’t get some good news soon. Ten days of waiting and worrying was taking a lot out of all of them.
Nathan and Josiah backed away from the bed, giving her more room to work as she check vital signs and monitors. They both didn’t want to know, but still did. Logically, they knew that if it were bad, it was better to know right away, but that did mean their hearts were listening to logic
Vin bowed his head and prayed as the nurse bustled about, never losing his grip on Ezra hand. Good news he prayed, he refused to believe that his friend wasn’t going to recover. It just wasn’t possible.
The nurse methodically check all of her patient’s vital signs and reactions. The heart monitor read the same as the one at her station, but she wanted to be sure before she said anything.
Finally satisfied that she was correct, she looked up at the gathered men and smiled. “His heart rate is coming up. He’s waking up.”
