Getting Away for a While
an answer to the October 02 M7
Challenge by Setcheti
October Challenge 02 by Jenifer: Every author has their
favorite character. But, on occasion some of the
less popular of the seven get
left behind. Hence, I challenge you to write a fic featuring one of the seven
that you do not normally write as the main character in your fiction.
Disclaimer: I don’t own the boys and Mog created
the ATF AU, nuff said. My apologies to
Buck for not usually writing him, and quite possibly for writing him this time.
;)
Buck sat on the wide –
safely, reassuringly wide – concrete ledge that ran around the hospital roof
and looked out over the city. He’d just
come to the conclusion that Denver was just plain ugly in spite of the majestic
backdrop of the mountains when movement seen out of the corner of his eye alerted
him that he wasn’t alone anymore. The
identity of his company surprised him, though.
“Ezra? What are you doin’ up
here?”
The undercover agent
shrugged. “The same thing you are, Mr.
Wilmington – escapin’ from the morbidly depressin’ atmosphere of the ICU in a
futile attempt to feel bettah about this situation. And if you’ll remember, ah’ve been frequentin’
this particular spot since long before you knew it existed.”
It was the thickened
accent that gave him away. Buck arched
an eyebrow, his expression sympathetic. “That
bad, huh?”
“Just more of the usual.” Ezra sighed and perched himself on the ledge
beside the surveillance expert. “Today
ah…ah just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Buck patted his shoulder. “Me either, I just needed to get out of there
for a while. Didn’t think you were in a
position to cut loose or I’d have waited for you, we could have come up here
together.”
“Ah didn’t think ah was
either.”
Something about his tone…Buck
didn’t raise an eyebrow this time, but he left his hand where it was and
squeezed comfortingly. “Chris or Nathan? Or both?”
“What Mr. Jackson
started, Mr. Larabee finished,” was the toneless answer. Ezra kicked at the concrete distractedly but
didn’t shake off Buck’s hand – and that worried the surveillance expert. “Ah couldn’t take it anymore, so ah…left.”
“Shit.” Buck could just imagine how that had gone
over. “You are plannin’ to go…um, back, right?”
Ezra didn’t look at
him. “Ah don’t believe mah absence would
be missed all that much – you, after all, are here with me, and Mr. Tanner is
insensate at the moment.”
Buck flinched. That was the main reason he’d come up here
himself, he’d known Vin was going to be all right and although he hated to
admit it he’d gotten tired of being ignored – but being ignored was better than
what he imagined had come down on Ezra and he hoped the Southerner’s no doubt
abrupt departure from the ICU had driven home a point with Chris and Nathan
about how far you could push someone. He
didn’t want the proving of the point to take Ezra away from them, though, and
right now he was the only person around who could reinforce the ties that would
keep the man bound to them, keep him from running off for good. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Ez. Sometimes things just go sour, you know that.”
Ezra nodded. “Ah do realize that, yes. Ah’ve gone ovah and ovah what happened tryin’
to see somethin’ ah might have missed…and found nothin’ a’tall. Even hindsight was unable to show me a way ah
might have failed. But our associates
are certain the fault must be mine somehow regardless.” He finally glanced at Buck, concern and a
touch of anger in his green eyes. “You know
ah would have been there for you had ah been able, correct? Ah wouldn’t have left you alone.”
The surveillance expert
smiled at him. “I know you wouldn’t
have, Ez – the kid wouldn’t have left if Chris hadn’t ordered him to go follow
up on those leads, I know that too. And
I wouldn’t have let Nate work Chris up if I’d been there to stop it, you know that, right?”
He relaxed a little when Ezra nodded again. “And when Vin wakes up he’s gonna tear Chris
a new one, you just see if he don’t.”
“Maybe we can both make
ourselves available to witness that confrontation.” Ezra smiled slightly. This time it was his turn to pat Buck’s
shoulder. “Thank you, Buck. Ah was…ah was tempted to just keep goin’.”
“I know, pard.” And Buck did, because he would’ve been
tempted too if it hadn’t been for JD coming back later that night. “You stickin’ around up here for a bit or
headin’ on back?”
Ezra opened his mouth…and
then he wavered noticeably, and then again.
He made a face. “It appears ah am
returnin’ to the ICU whether ah desire to or not.”
Buck laughed. “That ain’t a bad thing; you and me can
always talk later,” he scolded gently. “No
more takin’ off, okay? I can all but
guarantee you gave those two a scare they ain’t gonna forget for a while, it’ll
be a week at least before either of ‘em so much as gives you a dirty look.”
“One can only hope.” Ezra rolled his eyes, and then he faded out
and vanished. Buck returned his
attention to the skyline, shaking his head.
He’d go back down in a little while to see what was going on and to
gloat silently at Chris and Nathan in the waiting room – he had no doubt that
the two of them would have been evicted from the ICU for what they’d pulled on
Ezra and it served them right. And after
a while JD would be back to visit him, too; Buck didn’t want to be gone when
his roommate returned, the kid could sense somehow when he wasn’t, well, there, and Buck didn’t want to worry him any more than he
already had.
The mountains still didn’t
make up for how ugly