“Chris, you got a message.”
Ezra pointed toward the answering machine in Chris’s quarters which indicated with a blinking red light that somebody had tried to reach him. Chris sighed at this and let go of his lover.
“So much for a nice relaxing evening, “ he complained and pushed the button.
Ezra heard a sharp intake of breath, and felt surprise flickering  over the Bond. “Something bad?”
“Nope, not at all. That was my father. He invited the team over for Thanksgiving.”
Ezra swallowed. Of course he had thought about Chris’s family, had seen photographs of an older, tall man with gray eyes and the well-known Larabee features, holding the reins of a horse on which a much younger, happily grinning version of his lover sat. Or the one that had obviously been taken on a Christmas holiday, with a huge tree and two women, one he had recognized as Sarah, smiling warmly at Chris. Yes, he had thought about them, had wondered about the life Chris had lived before they had met, had asked himself occasionally what had made Chris Larabee the man he was today. A part of him had even hoped he would get the chance to see a glimpse of that life, to get to know his lover a little better.
But only a part of him, the rest had protested and pushed it away, burying it deep inside him, among other things he didn’t really want to think about. Obviously fate had decided to dig it out again and slap it into his face.
Family.
Chris’s family.
At Thanksgiving.
Oh boy …
“What are we going to do?” he asked calmly.
“Go, of course. You don’t know my father. That was an invitation, yes, but it really wasn’t, if you understand what I mean. No one refuses an invitation from the General. Not even me.”
“General?”
“Yep. Major General, to be precise. Dad was a soldier as long as I can remember. Marines, elite unit, you know.”
No, Ezra mused inwardly, he didn’t know that. He had been born on the wrong side of the tracks.
“I’ll tell the others. We missed the Thanksgiving get-together the last years. Man, Buck will be excited to see the old ranch again.” Chris grabbed the intercom.
Ezra felt his stomach twist a little, both with curiosity and uneasiness. He had a bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling. But this was about Chris’s family, for goodness sake, and his lover appeared to be in a good mood. He was excited to see them again after how many years? Two? Ezra had no idea if he had kept in contact with them, but he didn’t think so.
They probably wouldn’t know.
About the last two years.
About the events on BP-379.
About him.
Ah crap!

* * *

Three days later the feeling hadn’t eased. On the contrary. They had packed up some things and headed for the ranch of Chris and Buck’s childhood. Everybody except Ezra appeared to be totally at ease with the thought of spending an entire week with the Larabee family.  Standish had kept silent about his discomfort, seeing how happy and excited Chris was to see them again, to spend time with them.
A week, Ezra, he kept telling himself. He could do this, for Chris. He had done something like this before. Well, not exactly like this, but he had been able to keep up with cons and schemes for a longer time before. Though this wasn’t exactly comparable.
The moment Ezra saw Daniel Larabee approach them as they reached the horse ranch, he skipped every thought of keeping his mask. The man was pure authority, plain and simple, radiating power and charisma. Ezra had to swallow hard and felt thankful he had never met someone like him in his former career as thief. He wouldn’t have been able to stand against him for more than ten seconds.
The General, indeed.
And Chris was his son, all right.
Ezra sighed inwardly.
One week, Ezra.
One goddamn long week.
“I think we haven’t met yet.”
Daniel Larabee reached out and shook Ezra’s hand, his grip strong, as was the whole man.
“The new addition to the team, son?”
“Ezra Standish, sir,” Ezra introduced himself, seeing only too clearly that Chris was too occupied at the moment, bending down to a smaller woman with laughing hazel eyes. His mother, no doubt.
“Mr. Larabee recruited me two years ago, sir.”
“I see.”
General Larabee wasn’t a man of many words. In contradiction to his wife, who kept hugging her wayward son with increasing enthusiasm, and even Buck received and accepted his share, watched with amusement by the rest of the team, especially Vin. Obviously the Chimera team was privy to this. Ezra sighed, only too thankful Mrs. Larabee limited her greeting toward him to a short handshake.
“Guestrooms are ready, boys,” she announced. “You know your way around.”
Four guests without a room, two guest rooms. Ezra clamped down on the tinge of sadness. Buck would sleep in his old room and Ezra had heard him tell Vin on the flight here that the bed was large enough for two. Chris had his own room as well, but he would be in his bed alone. Yes, the parents didn’t know. He smiled a little. He had the odd feeling of being watched and turned around only to meet the General’s thoughtful gaze.
Ezra nodded once and then followed the others to their rooms.
Like father like son, oh yes.
Just seven days, Ezra, he sighed..
Only one week.

* * *

Ezra looked around the large ranch house, impressed by the sheer size and the general outfit. The Larabee ranch consisted of the main house, a small barn, which had apparently converted into a multi-functional area, large stables, and endless land stretching around them. Driving here from the space port had shown Ezra the size already, but he hadn’t been able to appreciate it until he had seen the map in the living room. General Larabee had turned from military service to horse breeding, as it seemed. There were trophies above the open fireplace, walls full of photos from his prized horses, and from the snippets Ezra had caught already, the herds were sizeable.
He understood horses and ranches to a degree. Two years on that god-forsaken dirtball called BP-379 had taught him a lot. Kiowata weren’t all that different when it came to general care and ranching. Looking at the pictures, he found himself smiling as he discovered a much younger version of Chris, sitting proudly on a gray horse, smiling into the camera. A mantlepiece held more family moments, and the thief had to chuckle as he looked at the academy graduation pictures of Buck and Chris.
Ezra had never known until the older man had told him on the flight, but Buck had grown up on the Larabee farm in foster care after his mother had died. He had been eleven and it had been only a matter of time for his mother, who had come down with an incurable disease. He didn’t know his father, who had left them while Buck’s mother was still pregnant, and the rest of the family consisted of two elderly aunts who couldn’t take care of a small boy. Mrs. Wilmington had known the Larabees and Chris and Buck had been friends since elementary school. Matters had been arranged to take over foster care for Buck early on and when his mother had died, there was no legal hustle.
Buck and JD noisily entered from the outside, carrying bags of groceries, bickering about something or other. Ezra melted into the background. He had declined the invitation to come along to the nearest town to shop. It would have meant leaving in the wee hours of morning and while not on duty, Ezra wasn’t a morning person. He liked to stay in bed and wake on his own when he didn’t have a schedule to keep.
“Hey, Ezra!” Buck called, grinning.
“Morning, Ez!” JD piped. “Hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No, don’t worry,” he replied, smiling.
Ezra and JD shared a room. Before Ezra had joined the team and before Buck had come together with Vin, it had always been JD and Buck sharing Buck’s old room, but now things had changed. Whether the Larabees had noticed that subtle difference, Standish wasn’t sure. Everyone had just migrated to their rooms, JD coming with him as if it was a natural choice.
“The others are still outside,” Buck told him as he came out of the kitchen. “Chris and his dad want to check on the mares and their newborns. I think Nathan’s coming along. Josiah just wanted to read some in quiet.” Wilmington grimaced at the thought. “Vin and I are having a look around. Wanna come?” he offered.
Ezra shook his head, smiling slightly. “No, thank you. I think I’ll follow Josiah’s example and use the time for some leisure.”
Buck shrugged. “Okay. See ya!”
And with that he was gone. Ezra cast a last look at the pictures, then walked up to his room. He had brought reading material along and enjoying a few rays of sunshine sounded just like a plan.

*

JD was busy helping Mrs. Larabee in the kitchen, stacking the fridge with the food the others had come back with from Riverbend Circle this afternoon, the nearest town. Looking at the amount of groceries, he suspected that this could feed twice the number of people present.
“Thank you, JD,” the older woman said as he carried the two bags of vegetables to the large counter.
“No problem, Ma’am.”
“It’s nice to have a full house for Thanksgiving again. It was rather… calm the last two holidays, with none of you boys around.”
The pilot grinned. “Yeah, I can believe that. We were really busy, with cases and all. I missed your pumpkin pie.”
She laughed. “I made three this year.”
JD’s eyes lit up. “Cool!”
“With another addition to the team, I had to compensate.”
“Chris didn’t tell you guys?”
“Oh, he wrote to his father about having a new Agent on the team,” Sharron answered. “Looks like Mr. Standish fits in, though he is rather quiet.”
JD shrugged. They had arrived yesterday, had had dinner and a quiet evening that had been filled with catching up on family news, ranch details, and more. Everyone had laughed and joked, told stories and spread news. Except Ezra. He had sat silently with them, drinking his beer. Just watching and occasionally smiling.
“Ez’s just a bit overwhelmed, I guess. He told me he never went to a family holiday or such.”
“He doesn’t have a family?”
Another shrug and JD squeezed the carrots in with the salad. “No idea. Don’t know much about his background. He isn’t very talkative when it comes to that, but I bet Chris knows some, them being partners and all.”
Sharron frowned. “My son and he work as a team? I thought you were all a team.”
“No, I mean them being connected. You know, the Bond.” JD eyed the cucumbers and decided to try the smaller fridge. The large one was full. He turned and gave Mrs. Larabee a quizzical look. “The Bond that connects them. Soul partners.”
JD hadn’t thought that Chris wouldn’t tell his parents about this big change in his life. Now, looking at the older woman, he was suddenly not so sure. There was a confused expression in her eyes and she stared at JD as if he was trying to pull her leg.
“I see,” was all she said. “Ah, thank you for your help, JD. I can take it from here.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. “If you’re sure….”
Sharron gave him a smile. “Yes. Thank you, dear.”
JD thoughtfully left the kitchen.

* * *

“Who is that man, Daniel?”
Daniel Larabee looked up from his work. “An Agent of the Chimera team, Sharron.”
She shook her head. “No. I mean who is he really? Chris didn’t tell us anything about him and what JD said this morning…” She stopped, still not sure she had understood the young man correctly. “He mentioned something about a connection between them,” Sharron explained as her husband silently asked for an explanation.
“A connection?”
“He called it a soul bond.”
The gray eyes never changed expressions.
“Maybe they are really good friends,” she tried, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “But he never told us about him, Daniel. Never.”
“I know.” Larabee studied the papers in front of him. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

*

Major General Daniel Larabee had retired and was a horse breeder now, but he still knew a lot of people, who, if asked, could get him the right information. So contacting one of them inside the Agency was no great problem. He asked for the file of Ezra Standish, Chimera, and since he was the father of the team commander, few questions were asked. Daniel Larabee was a well-known name among the ranks of the older Agents, even though he had never worked for law enforcement.
Daniel had a strange feeling about Standish. Had had from the beginning. He had kept a close eye on the man throughout the last evening. He had been quiet, granted, but he had been keenly aware of the General’s observation, no doubt about that. He was a man who was quickly on his toes, who understood how to ward off the curious with masks, but Daniel Larabee knew a thing or two about masks.
Still, there had been no awkwardness around the team. The new man belonged and was completely accepted, especially with his son. Despite the physical distance between them, the General had felt that something connected them. His wife’s remark about the soul bond JD had mentioned had sparked something inside him. Chris had high standards when it came to his men, so Standish must have fit his requirements. But even if he was more than met the eye, Orrin Travis had the last word in any decision concerning new men. For Standish to have passed, he had to be good.
Leaning back, his eyes on the computer screen, the General decided to wait for the file. Until then, he would only observe.

* * *

“Josiah?”
The engineer turned away from where he was trying to fix the small fence around the vegetable garden the Larabees kept. Helping out around the ranch was something everyone did. While the General had a staff of people to take care of the horses, the whole team was always happy to lend a hand. Josiah liked to work on mechanical problems or test his repair skills when it came to simple fences. Buck and Vin had gone out to check some of the fences on the southern pasture-grounds.
“Yes, Ma’am?”
“Could I ask you a question?”
He wiped his hands and gave his attention to the older woman. “Sure.”
“Josiah, what is a soul bond?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You know about it then?”
Sharron nodded. “Yes, but I don’t understand the word.”
“Chris didn’t explain?” Josiah was a bit confused. If Chris had told his mother, why hadn’t he explained it all?
“We didn’t get that far.”
“I see,” he answered slowly, not really seeing it, though. “Well, I’m not the expert to ask. That would be Nathan. Or Vin.”
Mrs. Larabee nodded. “I’ll ask, but Vin and Buck have gone riding, and Nathan is out with my husband, my son and Mr. Standish.”
“All right, but this is the crude version. A soul bond is a connection between two people who are on the same wavelength, if you will. In Chris’s case, it connects him to Ezra. They have a kind of silent way of communication, too.”
“Since when?”
Josiah had a nagging feeling that something was wrong, but this was Chris’s mother. He had told her about Ezra, right?
“Since he went missing on BP-379. Can’t tell you details because it’s a case and you know how that’s handled. He met Ezra, they connected, and now they are together.”
“Because of the soul bond.”
“Yep.”
“But how did it happen?” she queried.
Josiah sighed. “You’d better ask Nathan about that. He thinks it was initiated by Ezra.”
“I see. Thank you, Josiah.”
“Ma’am.” He turned back to his work, but the doubt grew. Something didn’t sit right. He’d have to talk to Chris when he came back.

* * *

Together.
‘Now they are together’
The words wouldn’t leave her and Sharron found herself absent-mindedly preparing sandwiches for the men. What had Josiah meant with them?
Together.
Some unwanted thoughts came into her head and she stopped, shocked. No, not her son. It wasn’t that. Surely Josiah meant working together, being friends.
But the doubt remained.
Ezra Standish was the newcomer, the unknown factor, someone her son hadn’t lost more than a few general words about since he had joined the team. He was connected to Chris in a mysterious way and from the others’ words, they were really more than friends working together in the same team.
Sharron inhaled deeply. She heard voices and discovered Buck, talking animatedly with Vin, walking toward the kitchen. Vin didn’t come in with him, walking on to the stables instead to take care of the horses.
“Hi Mrs. L!” Wilmington greeted her jovially. He was bright-eyed and in a very good mood.
“Hello, Buck.”
He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a lemonade can.
“Can I ask you something, Buck?”
“Sure.”
“It’s about my son and Mr. Standish. Being together.”
 

Buck had spent a pleasurable morning with Vin, both of them using the time alone on horseback to seek out one of Buck’s favorite places to spend some quality time. Returning to the ranch, Buck had felt on top of the world, happy and elated, and he hadn’t seen the first warning signs as Sharron Larabee broached the subject of Chris and Ezra being together. Buck was pretty sure his oldest friend hadn’t told his parents about the deeper relationship, if he had told them more about Ezra at all. In a way, it was like with Sarah, he mused. Chris hadn’t told his parents about his girl-friend for quite a while.
But Ezra wasn’t a girl-friend. Ezra was his soul partner, his lover, a vital part of Chris who he couldn’t lose.
Hearing Sharron’s words, he felt a smile blossom on his face. So Chris had finally told her. Good for him!
“So Chris talked to you?” he asked, opening the can.
“Tell me about them,” Mrs. Larabee said instead of answering.
Buck shrugged, still ignoring the alarm signals.
“They are good for each other. Haven’t seen Chris that much alive and happy since… well, Sarah. I mean, have you seen him laugh? Man, haven’t seen that smile for ages.”
“They have been together long?”
“Oh, I think it all started on BP-379, but back then it was just the bond.” Buck shrugged. “Wasn’t serious until after Ez became an Agent with the team. I guess they were just as surprised. I can tell you, I had a hard time at first, knowing Ezra’s background and all.”
Buck finally took in the expression in the older woman’s face. “Uh, he didn’t tell you about that?”
“About which part exactly?”
The alarms became louder. “Ezra being Borderline? About their connection? That Chris became… Borderline?” he finished weakly. Buck saw the dawning fury. Oh hell…. “He didn’t tell you… about Ezra at all,” he breathed.
Shit!
“No, he didn’t! He didn’t tell me he was seeing a man! Or that it is this new Agent.” Hazel eyes bore into him, making him cringe even more. While Daniel Larabee was the General and had an aura of command honed by years of military service, Sharron had the aura of a mother and the wife of a high-ranking officer. She was intimidating all by herself. “And what is this about Chris being Borderline?” she demanded.
“It’s restricted data, Ma’am,” he tried.
“Buck Wilmington, don’t give me that bureaucratic bull! You just told me that my son has been genetically changed! I want to know why!”
Ah hell, Buck thought desperately, recognizing the look in the woman’s eyes. Not many people he knew were prejudiced when it came to Borderlines. Ezra had grown up among those who hated what was different, what might be dangerous to them because of new abilities. It had made him skittish and ready to bolt the moment anyone discovered what his genes were.
“Maybe you should ask Chris?”
“I’m asking you!”
He winced. “It was because of the machine on BP-379. It changed him, misinterpreting a few things because of the soul bond, you see,” Buck rallied to explain without giving information he wasn’t entiteled to use away.
“Because of the soul bond,” she echoed, anger rising more.
Damn, this wasn’t going well. Her voice had dropped to a much colder level and the way she had said ‘soul bond’…. Buck winced.
“This soul bond turned my son into a mutation,” Sharron Larabee stated icily. “An abomination!”
Buck flinched, then anger rose. “Mrs. Larabee, with all due to respect, neither Ezra nor Chris are abominations. They are damn fine Agents, excuse my language! And they are my friends!”
With that he whirled around and stalked out of the kitchen. As he passed by the living room he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Ezra? Shit! No, wait!”
But the door had already closed after the younger man. Buck swallowed. Hard. He had heard them, no doubt about it. And looking into the pasty white face, the wide green eyes, just before shutters had dropped, it had hit him deeply.
 

Ezra stood behind the stables, shaking. Tremors raced through his body and he tried to maintain his shields, not to let anything leak. Sharron Larabee’s words echoed in his mind and he screwed his eyes shut. He couldn’t let anything get through the link to Chris; anything at all. His partner had been so happy to see his parents again. He had spent the last two days riding with his father and inspected the new herd. He was enjoying himself and Ezra had no right to destroy this. But the words hurt. Chris was no abomination, and he was Borderline because of Ezra.
He swallowed hard, pulling his emotions, the sheer desolation he experienced, back behind his professional walls, erasing the past few moments. He had a role to play.
And it wasn’t the role of Chris Larabee’s soul partner – or even lover.

* * *

Buck sat on his bed in the room he shared with Vin, staring at the wooden floor. How could he have been so blind? It had been all there, all the alarm signs, but he had been too cooped up in his pleasant memories from the morning with Vin. He had run straight into a trap.
“Buck? Hey, there you are.”
Vin’s voice startled him and he looked up as if caught. “Oh, hey, Vin.”
At his dejected tone of voice, Vin closed the door. “Something wrong?”
“I made a mistake.”
Vin frowned. “What did you do this time?”
“I thought Chris had told them,” Wilmington murmured.
He didn’t really have to tell his lover what Chris should have told whom. There was only one big change in Chris Larabee’s life, and that was Ezra Standish.
“He didn’t?”

Vin was too startled to say anything else. He had thought his friend had introduced Ezra in more ways than just ‘he’s the new team member’.
“No.”
Not good. Vin knew the reaction of parents to the revelation of their sons being gay. Or turning gay. Whatever Chris said, the term for the relationship he had with Ezra was ‘gay’. Both might be bi, but now they lived with a partner of the same sex.
“We can prepare for a thunderstorm,” he said softly, sitting down next to Buck.
His lover nodded.
“I’ve never heard about parents reacting positively to that kind of news,” Vin sighed. “It’s always a shock.”
“I don’t know how the General is going to react,” Buck confessed. “I mean, I know the man. I’ve known him for quite a while now, but he’s one hard character to figure out. If he accepts Ezra, everything will be okay. If he doesn’t… man, there’s no place Ezra can hide.”
Vin nodded. He didn’t even want to think about Mrs. Larabee. Damn, they really didn’t need this!
“We have to inform the others,” he decided and rose.
Buck had to agree. They all had to know and maybe there was a way they could help.

* * *

“You didn’t tell them about us?”
Chris looked at his lover, shaking his head. “No.”
“Why?”
A sigh. “Actually, I forgot. I didn’t think anything of it, Ezra. Us being together, it feels so natural that I didn’t think of calling my parents to let them know.”
Ezra gave him a thoughtful look. “Would you have called to tell them about a new woman at your side?”
Chris felt a stab of pain at the silent implication. “No,” he answered truthfully. “I’m grown up. I make my own decisions about life. I don’t call my mother or father to have them approve my lovers.” He stepped up to the smaller man, trying to make him understand.
Chris had never really given his relationship with Ezra and the possible acceptance problems with his parents any thought. It was natural for him to be with Ezra, as an Agent and as a lover. Now it had come up and his mother was less than discreet about it.
“She needs time, Ezra,” he murmured, cupping the handsome face.
“Yeah,” was all the thief answered.
Someone stepped out onto the porch and Ezra drew away as if Chris’s touch stung him. His eyes, momentarily unmasked, grew blank, as did his expression.
“Mrs. Larabee,” he only said, then turned and walked into the house.
Chris looked at his mother, seeing the critical frown, but not the much deeper animosity.
“Dinner is ready,” she only said.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Chris tried to reach his lover over the Bond, but he encountered a shield. With a sigh, he walked back into the house.

* * *

The house was quiet. Dinner had been two hours ago and while some of his guests had decided to sit down in the TV room for a movie, others were either taking a walk or in their rooms already. Daniel Larabee sat in his study, the soft light of the computer screen reflecting off his features.
Ezra P. Standish.
The name was on the file he had just received and as he continued to read over the entries, part of him started to wonder what his son had tried to do when he had insisted of having the man on his team. He had truly fought for Standish. Orrin Travis’s private notes lay open for him to read.
Standish was a criminal, pure and simple. There was little he apparently hadn’t tried in his career as a thief, down to industrial espionage and white collar crime. He was a con man, a cheat, a liar… and now an Agent, working for Section 7. Daniel Larabee knew his son and he trusted his judgment. There either was more than met the eye to Ezra Standish, or the man had conned his son into making him a team member. That would make him one hell of a good cheat. He was also more than just a colleague. Sharron had shared her newly acquired knowledge and while it had been a shocking revelation, Daniel refused to judge right now. He had settled back to observe more. Like throughout dinner.
There had been tension. Mostly between his wife and Ezra, but Buck seemed to feel less at ease, too. Chris hadn’t reacted to any of it and Daniel hadn’t seen any signs of Standish and his son being a couple. What he saw was someone who acted like a cornered animal, bravely fighting for composure, acting like everything was okay, and his son didn’t react to the obvious signals of distress.
Things had just turned interesting and before he didn’t have all the facts, the General refused to act. He had time.

* * *

The fourth day on the Larabee ranch started as always with a large breakfast. Since they all had different sleeping patterns, breakfast consisted of a coming and going in the kitchen, which served Ezra’s purpose of not staying too long too close to either parent. He grabbed a slice of toast and some coffee, fleeing to the relative safety of the yard. There was a small bench that was warmed by the morning sun, and it was where Ezra liked to sit.
Afterwards, he wordlessly returned the mug, glad that Mrs. Larabee wasn’t around, and spent the remainder of the morning looking after the animals. Two sick horses were currently in the stables and he checked on them several times a day. One had been injured tripping in a gopher hole, the other had been bitten by an older stallion in a fight. Since lunch consisted of sandwiches everyone could make himself, Ezra wasn’t really missed. He didn’t feel very hungry either, so he skipped it.
Now he stood outside the barn, wondering if he should just use the time till dinner for a really long walk.
“Ezra?”
Gawd, no… please… He couldn’t do this right now. But part of him yearned for his lover, who he had last seen yesterday. Who he hadn’t touched for a lot longer. Ezra turned and looked at Chris, blond hair highlighted by the sun.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine. I just needed a bit of air,” Ezra answered. While he couldn’t lie to his partner, he could circumvent the truth. And he felt the need for air, to be out of the house. The stifling hostility radiating from Chris’s mother was unbearable by now.
“Me, too.”
Chris slipped his arms around the slender waist and Ezra found himself falling back against the taller man, sinking into the warmth. He touched the hands clasped over his stomach, running his fingers over the tanned skin.
“If you want to, we can go for a ride tomorrow,” Chris murmured, nuzzling him.
“Sounds nice.”
Just away from here. For a few hours. Just be with his lover, not trying to pretend he was someone he wasn’t. Chris kissed his temple, tightening the hold.
“Sorry I wasn’t able to spend more time with you. Dad and I…”
Ezra summoned up a smile and turned to him. “Quality time, I know,” he interrupted. “It’s okay, Chris. I have you all year.”
Chris smiled, happiness radiating off him. Ezra bathed in it, happy just because Chris was. His lover bent forward and kissed him.
There was a sharp intake of breath and Ezra pushed away, startled. He took his hands off Chris’s hips as if he had been burned. Sharron Larabee stood in the yard, her eyes drilling holes into the thief. Her husband was at her side, his expression unreadable, but Ezra didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that the General wouldn’t approve of this either. Not of Ezra together with his son. Not of his son’s choice in lovers.
“I’ve got stuff to do,” he murmured and walked away.
<Ezra!>
He didn’t answer the silent call. His shields deflected the touch and he felt Chris wince, then he had rounded the corner and was out of sight.
 

Chris stared after his lover, anger warring with desolation as he felt the shield. How long had that been there? He had been too involved with his parents, getting all the news and updates, simply enjoying the familiar atmosphere. He turned to glare at his mother.
“Happy now?” he snapped.
She didn’t even flinch back and that made the anger even greater.
“Christopher.”
Chris winced inside as he heard his father’s voice. He knew what was coming and he didn’t look forward to it.
“Let’s go for a ride, son.”
Surprise registered in him. Then suspicion. Then dread. There had been few occasions in his life when his father had made a casual invite for a ride into an order. Actually, he remembered only two: when he had enrolled in the Academy and when he had announced he was going to marry Sarah.
With a sigh, Chris followed his father into the stables to saddle his horse. Part of him wanted to run after Ezra, but he knew that the state his lover was in right now, he’d better let him work some steam off.
 

They rode for an hour in complete silence. Chris recognized the way they were headed and it confirmed that this was going to be one of those father-son talks. They arrived at the small lake half an hour later and General Larabee dismounted, tying his horse to a fallen tree. Chris followed his example and they stood silently side by side, eyes on the calm body of water.
“Tell me about BP-379,” the older Larabee finally broke the silence.
Chris shoved his hands into his pockets, letting his head sink onto his chest. Where should he start? Finally he made up his mind, beginning right when all had gone to hell, when he had been captured. He continued with how he had come back to his senses, finding himself trapped in a Kiowata body, and with Ezra Standish as the only person he could talk to. That Ezra had more or less stolen him while running from some people who were after his hide. How they had grudgingly formed a partnership; how Ezra had saved his life, nearly starved himself on one occasion, how he had revealed what he was; Borderline.
The General nodded slowly, no judgment on his features as he listened to the tale.
“The soul bond?” he prompted when Chris fell silent.
“No one really knows how it’s formed, dad. Nathan tried to find an explanation. The closest he came to was that several factors played into it. Ezra’s abilities, the way I latched onto him because he was the only one I could communicate with, the machine that changed me back into my old self.”
“With some differences,” was the neutral addition.
Chris sighed. “Yes.” He picked up a stone and tossed it into the lake.
“And then you fell in love with the man.”
“Not really, no.”
Gray eyes turned to look at him, still no judgment. His father had always been a hard man to read and he wasn’t making it any easier now.
“We discovered a physical attraction to each other. It was the Bond… in a way… but…” Chris ran a hand through his hair, exhaling explosively. “Soul bonds don’t mean a physical attraction, Dad,” he finally said. “What happened between Ezra and me was something we had no control over, which might have happened without the Bond as well. There’s no way of knowing. What I do know is that it isn’t just a physical necessity…. Dad, I’m not gay. Yes, I love Ezra, but I didn’t turn gay. This isn’t a matter of what gender he is.” Chris stopped, aware he was babbling and not really making much sense. “It’s hard to explain.”
“What is hard to explain, son? You like men.”
“No, I love Ezra,” Chris contradicted. “I’m not and never was attracted to men.”
“Ezra is a man,” the older Larabee pointed out.
“Of course he is.”
“Would you love him if he was a woman?”
“Then it wouldn’t be Ezra,” Chris argued.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Chris growled in frustration. “Okay, so I’m bi! Satisfied?”
“As I said, you like men,” his father stated.
“No, I don’t! Aw, forget it!”
His father grinned and Chris shook his head. Damnit! He had done it again. Ever since he could think, Daniel Larabee had been able to catch him completely off center with a few simple words.
Silence fell. Chris continued to toss stones into the lake, wondering what else to say and failing.
“What is he to you?” the General suddenly asked.
Chris turned to look at him. “My life, my love and part of my soul,” he answered without hesitation.
Gray eyes bore into his, then his father nodded briskly.
“What’s a Kiowata, son?”
The question startled Chris and he rallied to catch up to his father’s sudden change of topic. The old man loved these games and had caught his son unawares countless times in the past.
“It’s an equine life form mainly found on Prima 2,” he answered. “Think of them as very large horses with two horns over the eyes.”
“Show me.”
“Dad?” Confusion crossed his features.
“You said it was your ability. Show me.” The lined face was unreadable.
Chris hesitated, then shrugged. “All right.”
With that he started to undress. Initiating the change wasn’t difficult. It came easily. As he turned his head, looking at his father, he saw surprise and amazement, the appraising eyes running over his black horse form.
“Impressive,” the General murmured.
Chris snorted a warning, flicking his ears. His father bred horses and right now Chris had the nagging suspicion that part of the breeder had just surfaced and was assessing a new stallion. He also knew that the man recognized a horse’s warning, the way it looked and acted before doing something aggressive. The General smiled at the large equine.
“And your partner has the same ability?”
Chris nodded, then changed back. “Yes, and more. Ezra’s Borderline. He has some additional abilities.”
“As are you now.”
Is that a problem? Chris’s eyes challenged his father.
The silent ‘no’ made him relax. Unlike Sharron Larabee, his father took a lot of things in a stride, accepting the news about Chris’s difference. He couldn’t change it anyway.
“What additional abilities?” the General inquired.
“Huh?”
“What additional abilities, son?”
Chris sighed. “Ezra’s a latent empath, was born with the abilitiy. He can’t really read emotions or thoughts, except when it comes to me and the Bond, but he has this knack at reading people. It’s instinct.” He allowed a smile to show. “He’d make a great counselor. He knows how people work.”
“What else?”
“He heals pretty quickly. He was beaten up on BP-379 when some low-lives tried to grab me. He was okay the next morning, except for the visible bruises.”
“And you?” his father wanted to know.
“Except for the shape shifting, I’m still me.”
More or less, Chris thought. The ability to influence the other partner over the Bond, to feel each others’ pain, was something he didn’t want to discuss yet.
The General just gave him one of his patented looks, then nodded and mounted his horse again. Chris did the same.

They returned to the ranch a few hours later and Chris volunteered to rub down the horses. His father simply nodded and walked back into the house to shower and change. Dinner would be on in an hour.

* * *

“Mom?”
Sharron Larabee looked up from where she was putting the finishing touches to dinner and a smile crossed her features. It was a polite smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “Chris,” she greeted her son.
“We need to talk.”
Chris had made up his mind while rubbing down the horses. He had to talk to his mother about Ezra and himself, about everything that had happened, and to clear the air.
“About what?” she inquired.
“Ezra and me.”
Shutters dropped.
“Mom….”
“There is nothing to talk about,” she said coolly.
“Yes, there is,” Chris argued.
His mother looked at the potato salad, then raised her eyes again. “How could you?” she asked quietly, the accusation clear in her eyes.
Chris blinked.
“How could you get together with a man? With this man!”
“I’m not sure I can explain it to your satisfaction, but I love him,” Chris said calmly.
Anger flashed in her eyes. “My son is not gay!”
He felt the same anger rise inside him. “Mom!”
“What would Sarah say? You and a man!”
Something inside Chris shattered at the harsh words. He had been looking for a quiet conversation with his mother, her acceptance of his relationship with Ezra, her understanding. What he had was a replay of the confrontation he had had with Buck such a long time ago. He hadn’t expected this. Not from his mother!
“Damnit, leave Sarah out of this!” he snarled.
“Watch your tongue, Christopher! This isn’t natural! My son isn’t some kind of freak!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“What this… man did to you! This unnatural connection. The bond. That he is Borderline. What did he do to get you into his bed? Blackmail you?”
“What?” Chris yelled furiously. “He didn’t do any such thing! And Ezra is a human being just like you and Dad!”
“He is not natural!” Sharron snapped back. “He influenced you because he is different! I cannot accept it and I never will. He made you into something you are not and never were. My son is not homosexual!”
Chris was fast losing track whether this was about Ezra being Borderline or him in love with a man. It was all blurring into one hot outbreak of anger and pain.
“The hell I am!” he exploded. “I loved Sarah and Adam, but I also love Ezra!”
She rose from her chair, anger and fury in her every movement. “Because he conned you into it!”
Chris inhaled sharply.
“Not only did you have to choose a man, you also chose a criminal!”
“Mother!” he hissed.
“How can you stoop so low?” she whispered, infuriated. “How can you bring this man along to a family holiday? In my house!”
“He is my partner! He is the person that makes me happy!”
“He is a man, Chris!”
“So what?!” he yelled. “Are you afraid of what your friends say?”
“I’m afraid of what will happen to this family!” she snapped. “You were happy with Sarah, you had a child…!”
“So that’s what’s it all about, right?” he interrupted heatedly. “A grandkid! Well, I’m sorry, but there won’t be one, mother! Adam is dead! He and Sarah have been for ten years!”
Pain, disappointment, disillusionment, fury and a soul deep agony coalesced into one. Chris whirled around and left the room, slamming the door shut.
He blindly left the house, inhaling deeply as he finally stopped near the corrals, collecting his thoughts. He would never have expected this; never. He had hoped to introduce Ezra to his parents, had hoped for acceptance, even if it would have been hesitant, but not for… for outright rejection. His mother’s words had hurt.
Chris trembled slightly and he instinctively sought out the only person he could think of. Ezra. Following the soft echoes from the Bond, he found his partner in the stables. Ezra was with one of the horses, talking softly to the big animal as he brushed the dusty brown coat. He looked up as Chris entered, his eyes guarded.
 

Ezra had ‘heard’ some of what had happened. Chris hadn’t been able to shield against the anger he had felt, the disappointment and pain, and the thief knew that his lover had just left the confrontation with his mother. Not with any kind of solution for the problem.
“Hey, Ez.”
“Chris.”
“I… guess you heard,” the blond sighed as he leaned against the wooden stable door.
Ezra nodded. “Leakage.” He patted the horse and walked out of the box.
“I’m sorry.”
“What did you expect, Chris?”
A frown crossed the tired features. “Come again?”
Ezra put away the brush. Exhaustion from the wordless battles against the Larabee family made him light-headed and a part of him realized that this wasn’t the best of times to bring it up, but the wounded part of him was a lot bigger. And louder. Chris had come to him for comfort; Ezra had no comfort to give.
“They can’t understand it. This is the normal reaction… the prejudice when meeting a Borderline, Chris.”
Chris’s defenses flared. “What do you mean, prejudice? My parents aren’t prejudiced!” he said sharply.
“And what do you call what just happened? Welcome to my life!” Ezra snapped back, his barriers breaking.
“My mother is just confused.”
Chris was hurt, vulnerable, like a wounded animal. He had lashed out at his mother and received emotional injuries. Now Ezra, instead of soothing the pain, added to it.
“I’ve heard that excuse often enough in my time, Chris! Oh, people just need time to adjust. To accept I’m different. Do I look different? Do you have to adjust to green skin? A third eye? No ears? I’m normal, damnit!”
Fury rose in the hazel eyes at each word. Chris’s anger had just found a new target. He was too confused to react logically. He had expected his mother to be happy, not to be so hateful.
“But Borderlines are different, right? We are dangerous?” Ezra went on, all his frustration turning into bitter anger, masking the real emotion behind the harsh words. Chris had never felt what it was like to be Borderline, to be different, to be feared and hated. To fear for your life.
“You don’t understand!” Chris made a last attempt to staunch the flow of heated words and painful remarks. “They just need time…”
“I don’t understand? Your parents’ behavior, you mean?” Ezra advanced on him, green eyes flashing. “We’ve been here for three days. For three days I’ve been treated like dirt by your mother – if she even looked at me! For three days I’ve been under scrutiny from your father. He probably looked into my files already! Yes, of course they’ll accept me!”
If Chris had listened to the clear echoes from the Bond, he would have understood. He would have seen and felt his lover’s pain and desperation, the frustration of running against walls of rejection. But not the rejection of a Borderline; the rejection of Ezra as Chris’s lover. Still, the hurt of thirty years poured into it as well, mixing together.
“Oh, I understand their behavior, Chris!” Ezra went on. “I have seen it all my life! I know how Borderlines are treated and now you know as well! I thought you had told them about me! The person! But you haven’t! Agent Standish, the new guy. That’s it! Not your soul partner, not your lover. The new guy on the team!”
Chris only heard the words, and they hurt. The only way to fight the tormenting accusations was to lash out as well, to hurt back.
“I’m the damn leader of this team!” he roared. “I decide who to tell what about whom!”
“So you decided to omit that little fact from your letters home!” Ezra yelled.
“Yes, damnit! It was none of their business!” came the equally loud reply.
“And then you’re surprised about your parents?”
“Surprised about my parents? I’m surprised about you, Ezra!”
Ezra’s eyes darkened. The Bond was a whirlpool of emotions, indecipherable, indistinguishable, a turbulent sea that fed both men in their rage.
“Me? Of course! It all comes back to me, right? I’m the cause for all of this! Right! Well, Commander Larabee, then I better remove myself!” he barked.
Ezra pushed past Chris, but Larabee wouldn’t give up. He grabbed the smaller man’s arm as he passed. Deadly green eyes looked at him, the warning clear.
“Take your hands off me, Mr. Larabee,” he whispered.
And then the walls went up, literally slamming into Chris’s face, and he flinched back. He refused to show the pain the swift move on his lover’s part had inflicted.
“Okay, if you want to have it like that!” he snarled and dropped his hand.
Ezra disappeared and Chris stood lost and alone in the stable. Adrenaline raged through his body, and he lashed out at the bale of straw next to him. He kicked it. Hard.
The need to get away from here grew until he simply walked over to one of the jeeps and drove off.

* * *

JD had gone up to his room to read. The others were either in bed as well, downstairs, or somewhere around. Dinner had been rather awkward. Ezra hadn’t been there and Chris had arrived halfway through, not even bothering with a greeting as he went upstairs to his room.
Buck had told them what had occurred the day before. All of them had been surprised, as well as shocked, that Chris hadn’t told his parents a thing about Ezra. JD understood that a sexual relationship wasn’t well explained by a letter, but Chris hadn’t even told them that Ezra was Borderline. Now he understood the tension, and he had realized how often Ezra had been alone throughout the last few days. He had spent his time away from the family instead of with them, and he had become rather quiet.
Buck had excused himself quickly after Chris had passed through. Vin had finished dinner and had left through the kitchen, a six-pack in one hand. Everyone knew he was going after Buck. General Larabee had eaten his dinner as if nothing of what was going on around him interested him the least. But JD knew differently. The man was quite aware of the declining family atmosphere.
The door opened and JD looked over the edges of his novel, smiling as he discovered Ezra.
“Hey, Ez!” he greeted him.
Damn, the man looked bad. Pale, haggard, as if he hadn’t eaten since the day they had arrived. Actually, he had eaten little, JD reminded himself.
Ezra just nodded at him, a painful sadness in his eyes, and grabbed his pajamas, then walked over to the tiny bathroom.  He reappeared after a shower and wordlessly went to bed. JD sighed to himself and finally switched off the light after another fifteen minutes.
 

He woke at night. For a brief moment, he was confused as to where he was, then he remembered the holiday. He was at the Larabee ranch. Right. Okay, what had woken him? Staring into the darkness, JD became aware of an irregular hitching sound from Ezra’s general direction and he turned. In the faint twilight, he made out a figure sitting on the bed, legs drawn up, arms around the knees.
“Ezra?”
There was a sudden change in the breathing pattern. “I’m sorry I woke you JD,” Ezra answered, his voice shaky at best.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Sure. Right. JD didn’t believe it for a moment. Ezra’s standard answer to any question concerning an injury or a problem was ‘I’m fine’ when he tried to push help away. Watching the silent figure, listening to the harsh breathing, seeing the tremors, he finally got up and walked over to Ezra’s bed.
Ezra’s head snapped up and the meager light reflected off the watery eyes. Something inside JD twisted in pain. They were a team, for god’s sake! They were supposed to know each other, trust each other, protect each other. But since they had come here, Chris had spent all his time with his parents, which was understandable since he hadn’t seen them in the last two years. Buck and Vin were off on their own, Josiah and Nathan helped Mrs. Larabee, or rode out with the General and Chris, just like JD had done. Everyone had expected Ezra to fall into the pattern; no one had really seen the growing problems.
JD became aware of Ezra trying to fight for composure. His breathing was way too fast and harsh. He was fighting back the pain and devastation.
 “Ezra, I know,” JD stated quietly as he sat down, the mattress dipping under his weight.
The thief winced, turning away.
“He didn’t tell them,” the pilot went on softly.
“No, he didn’t,” Ezra whispered, sounding broken.
Damn, for him to even confess to it, he had gone way beyond devastated. He was about to hit rock bottom with the speed of light.
“Damn.”
JD acted out of instinct, the need to help, as he gently placed his hand onto Ezra’s neck and tugged. There was a moment of hesitant fighting, then Ezra let himself fall against him, his head buried into JD’s shoulder. Barriers broke at the wordless gesture and JD felt the sobs more than he heard them. The tremors increased and a hand clawed into his t-shirt. JD just rubbed his thumb over the nape of Ezra’s neck, his other hand holding the man to him as he vented his pain.
Damn, he thought. Damn, I’m glad Nettie likes me.

* * *

Ezra sat with his back against the support post of the porch, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. The early morning air was chilly and fog still hung over the grassland, but the sun was already rising, promising another warm, fine day. Wrapping his arms around himself, Ezra shivered. Not from the cold outside, but from the cold inside him. The Bond was an empty place, walled off and locked away. There wasn’t even a whiff of Chris, no trickle of his presence, and while Ezra’s emotional side screamed to tear down the walls, touch his lover, the logical side refused.
The fight last night had been bad. He didn’t even really know why they had fought, just that something had triggered his explosion, had launched a temperamental outbreak. It seemed so unimportant now. But in the end he had slammed up the walls. Not just simple shields; a full-scale blockade.
He was embarrassed by his break-down in JD’s presence, about the way he had clung to the younger man, silently crying out his pain. But JD was his friend and he knew he wouldn’t use it against him. Ezra hadn’t slept much for the rest of the night and finally, he had quietly made his way outside. To clear his head. He hadn’t had any success.
The four days had been hell. Well, the first day had been fine, but after Chris’s mother had found out who Ezra was, what he was, and especially what relationship he had with Chris, everything had pretty quickly declined. Now Ezra simply wished for this holiday to end. Maybe it would be better if he just left.
Stubbornness raised its head. No. He wouldn’t give in. He wouldn’t cower and run away. He would see this through, for Chris, and for the whole team.
Resting his head against the post, he sighed softly. Family visits. It made him glad he had no family.
“Mr. Standish.”
The voice startled him and he jumped to his feet, turning to face the older Larabee. Something inside of him cringed. What next?
“General Larabee,” he greeted him, noting with pride that his voice was completely stable and he knew he had his mask in place.
“Come with me, son.”
It was an order. Voiced deceptively calm and level, but Ezra knew he was expected to follow. And he did.
They rounded the house and went over to the corral where the horses were grazing.
“I take it you can ride.”
He nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Pick one.”
Something inside Ezra started to fight, yelled at him to get the hell out of here, but he couldn’t act on the instincts. He reminded himself that this would be over one way or another in two days. Two more days of keeping his mouth shut, of playing along. He could do it.
Letting his eyes wander over the horses, he finally picked one. The General had simply walked off, getting his own horse, leaving Ezra to saddle his choice. The bay regarded him critically as he saddled her. Ezra found himself talking softly to the horse, smiling briefly as he was nuzzled.
“Ready?”
He looked around and found the General already on his horse, ready to go. Schooling his features, he nodded and got up.
 

They rode for quite a while. Ezra was silent. There was nothing he wanted to talk about and it seemed that the older Larabee was equally at ease with the silence between them. Ezra knew he was under scrutiny, but he refused to show any of the turmoil inside him. The Bond was a painful presence, reminding him that something crucial was missing, and it hurt him.
Finally, when he couldn’t stand it any longer, Ezra reigned in the little bay, facing the older man.
“As fascinating as this morning ride is, what is the higher purpose, General Larabee?”
Larabee regarded him with a neutral expression. “I wanted to get to know you.”
Ezra blinked. “Why?”
“I want to know what my son sees in you.”
Ezra gave him a humorless smile. “I thought we had already discovered what I am, General.”
“And what are you?”
He sighed. Not that game again. He had suffered through it with Mrs. Larabee, listening to her stabbing words. “You heard. According to your wife, I’m a thief, liar, cheat, con, and generally the criminal who has ensnared your son for some lower purpose. Oh, not to forget a Borderline human. Dangerous, genetically defective, bottom rung of the evolutinary ladder!”
Ezra knew he sounded bitter; he knew he was insulting the man, but right now, he couldn’t care less. He hurt too damn much. The Bond was a cold hole inside him, taunting him with what could be there instead, reminding him of the scathing words last night. He got off the horse, rubbing the white blaze on its forehead.
“And I’m well aware that you had a look into my file.” At the raised eyebrow Ezra gave him a humorless smile. “In your place, I would have done so. I’m quite sure you used your influence to get my profile.”
Larabee smiled faintly, a smile that reminded Ezra a lot of Chris. It also proved his suspicions. He hadn’t had any physical proof, but Larabee’s expression said it all.
“What I heard are rumors, Mr. Standish. One doesn’t get very far in my line of work by listening to rumors only. One needs to know the facts. As interesting as your file is, it doesn’t answer the important questions. I want to know about you.”
“And why, pray tell me?” Ezra demanded angrily.
“Because, Mr. Standish, you brought back my son. You gave him life.”
Ezra blinked at the older man. He was quite aware that he had given Chris more than simply a second chance at happiness or life. He had helped defeat a demon that had held his lover in its grasp for a very long time.
“Now, are you going to tell me or are you retreating?”
Ezra was silent, not looking at the older man with his sharp eyes and quiet voice.
“What exactly do you want to know?” he finally asked quietly.
Larabee walked up to him, holding his eyes, intimidating by his sheer presence, not allowing him to lower his gaze. Ezra felt like a bug under a microscope.
“What I want to know is, what is he to you,” the General said, voice calm and even.
Ezra held those gray eyes, fighting down his instinctive reaction to draw his masks up around him, to lie and con his way out of this threatening confrontation. Complete honesty, he decided.
“My life,” he answered truthfully.
Larabee gave him a scrutinizing look, eyes thoughtful. Ezra left his face open, letting the man read him, despite the alarms shrilling inside his head, despite the pain from the Bond.
The General nodded briskly, then he got back onto his horse. Ezra swallowed hard, feeling himself tremble. He briefly closed his eyes, then mounted the bay. They turned around, riding back to the ranch in silence.
As the ranch house drew into sight, the older man broke the silence.
“Why did you choose that horse?”
Ezra was perplexed. What’s that got to do with anything? he thought.
“Pardon?”
“You heard me, Mr. Standish.”
Ezra shook his head. “It fit, somehow,” he answered. “I’m not sure why.”
“It is Sarah’s.”
And with that, the General guided his own horse toward the stables.
Ezra stared after him in complete shock. It leaked through the wall and he felt a brief twitch from Chris, then he re-enforced the walls.

* * *

Chris was in a dark mood throughout breakfast. As the others came from their rooms, following the tantalizing smell of coffee, eggs and bacon, toast and fresh bread, each noticed the black cloud hovering over their team leader’s head. Buck exchanged a meaningful look with Vin as they sat down, which became even more meaningful when one chair remained empty. Ezra’s. JD had shuffled in last, looking tired and as if he hadn’t slept at all. He had just sat down and downed his a whole mug of coffee before even touching a bite of food.
General Larabee walked in from the outside, dressed in riding gear, and he shed his heavy jacket and hat, placing them on the usual chair. He briefly looked at his son, then at the empty chair, but he didn’t say anything. His wife didn’t deign the empty chair with a single look and she effectively removed the mug and plate, making more room for the rolls. Everyone saw the dark cloud blacken even more at the silent affront.
Buck decided to venture forth. He knew Chris, he had survived worse. Seeing his oldest friend pick at his eggs, drowning himself in black coffee, was a reminder of other times, though this display was comparatively tame.
“Chris, you okay?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Ouch, that had to hurt. It sounded like Chris’s teeth were grating.
“Uh, ‘kay. Chris?”
“What?” Dark eyes dared him to go any further.
Buck ignored the warning – as he had done numerous times in the past. He hoped he had drawn the wrong conclusion, but seeing Ezra’s absence, remembering the outburst from Chris’s mother after lunch yesterday in the kitchen, he knew something had happened.
“Did you and Ezra have a fight?”
The expression in the hazel eyes turned outright lethal.
Double-ouch! Buck thought, cringing. Shit!
“I thought that wouldn’t happen with soul partners,” JD remarked.
Oh, kid! Buck groaned. Wrong thing to say! He saw the tenuous control inside Chris snap, could almost hear the roar of the demon inside him, and he prayed his friend wouldn’t do something foolish.
“Since when are you the fucking expert?” Chris snapped, exploding from his chair.
He left, face a mask of fury. Mrs. Larabee looked like she had swallowed a lemon and the General regarded them silently. The team’s eyes turned to Buck.
“Oh no!” he exclaimed, holding up his hands. “Don’t look at me. That’s one minefield I’m not touching right now!”
The collective eyes turned to Vin. The second-in-command gave a heartfelt sigh, threw his napkin onto the plate, and rose. He grabbed their two mugs with coffee and walked after Chris.
Mrs. Larabee suddenly rose and grabbed an empty plate, murmuring something about the kitchen.
JD closed his eyes as he laid down his fork. “Something has to happen. Soon,” he said, his voice level and decisive.
Buck gave his younger friend an intense look. “What happened last night, kid?”
“You don’t wanna know.”
“Ezra?” Josiah asked.
JD nodded tiredly.
“What did he say?” the engineer prodded carefully.
“Not much, but he didn’t have to. And I’m only telling you this one thing, he didn’t sleep much.”
A worried expression crossed Nathan’s features and it was reflected in the others’ eyes. “He didn’t look very good lately, but I thought it was just his unease with family holidays” he confessed. “He’s been out a lot, too.”
“Can you blame him?” JD argued, voice slightly heated.
“JD….” Buck warned.
JD shot him an angry look. “What? Ezra’s our friend! And he’s Chris’s soul partner! He came here for a family week, but people treat him like shit and he swallows it!”
Buck looked meaningfully at the quietly eating General Larabee. JD followed his gaze and swallowed had. He had just vented his anger in front of Chris’s father.
“Sorry, sir,” he murmured.
“Nothing to apologize for,” was the calm reply.
“I just feel we have to do something,” JD argued.
“Indeed.”
Buck shot the older man a questioning look. He received a typical Larabee half smile in return. It took him a moment, but then a weight dropped off his shoulders and his heart lightened. He read something in that weathered face and those clear gray eyes. Chris’s father had accepted Ezra. The General got up and carried his plate into the kitchen.
“Buck?” JD asked. “What we gonna do?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
Josiah and Nathan shot him a questioning look.
“Things are already in motion.”

* * *

Vin saw all the dangers signs, he took in the tense stance, the deadly expression in the hazel eyes, but he knew he had to do something. Now. He held out a mug of coffee and after a brief glance, it was taken by the other man. Chris was leaning against the corral, watching the horses. Vin did the same, just remaining with his friend. They had an easy-going friendship, a silent understanding when needed, and Vin was prepared to wait as long as it took.
“I don’t even know why we fought.”
It was uttered softly, thoughtfully, as if Chris wasn’t even sure the fight had happened.
“I only know I hurt. I let go at Ezra. He fought back.”
Silence again.
“It’s more than mere pain, Vin. A lot more. He… erected walls.”
Vin winced. Damn, that was bad. Walls were the equivalent of a re-enforced door slammed into your face.
“He was a mite troubled lately,” Vin said, carefully taking his first step into the minefield Buck had been so reluctant to enter.
Chris snorted. “Troubled isn’t what launched that explosion last night.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And I just added to it. Mom and I had a fight.”
“About Ezra?”
“Yeah.”
“You wanted his comfort?”
Chris nodded silently.
“And he just fought back.”
Another nod. “Mom’s been less than hospitable.”
Vin swirled the coffee in his mug. “I noticed. She knows about Ezra.”
“Yeah.”
“I take it you didn’t tell your parents about his past… his background?”
Chris shook his head.
“Why?”
“None of their business.”
“Now it is.”
Chris’s eyes sparked with emotions and he suddenly lashed out against a fence post.
“Goddamnit!” he exploded.
“Chris.”
“What!” he snapped, facing Vin, daring him to say something stupid so he had an excuse to lash out again.
“Don’t.”
It was all Vin said, all he needed to say.
“How could she!” Chris raged.
“She is your mother. She is protective, pard.”
“But she isn’t prejudiced! How can she view Borderlines as….” He faltered.
“Abominations?” Vin supplied carefully, voice level.
A hiss. “Ezra is my partner. He is my lover. He is not a monster!”
“We all know that, Chris. You know that. Your mother has been presented with a lot lately. I doubt your mom is prejudiced per se. It was something of a final straw.”
He picked up the second mug.
“Think about it.”
Then he walked back to the ranch, leaving a fuming and confused Chris Larabee behind.

* * *

Ezra hadn’t had breakfast. He didn’t come for lunch either. All that didn’t help Chris the least and his behavior was declining. He knew it, but currently he didn’t care. He fled to the small barn his parents had converted into a work out area back when he had been a teenager. Picking up a pair of gloves, stripping down to his pants and shirt, Chris started to attack the punching ball. All his anger and fury poured into the kicks and blows.
After a while he became aware of a spectator. His father was leaning against a support beam, watching him quietly. Chris stripped off the gloves and picked up the towel.
“You asked for Ezra’s files, Dad. Why?” he demanded without preamble.
“Simple. You told me all about your other men. I didn’t hear anything about Ezra. I was curious as to why,” the older Larabee answered matter-of-factly. “You had to have had a reason.”
Chris gave him a glare, which glanced harmlessly off his father.
“Now you know.”
“Yep.”
“And? What are you going to do now?” he wanted to know, throwing the gloves onto the small table and wiping sweat off his face and neck.
“That’s something you should ask yourself,” was the calm answer.
“Why?”
The General gave him a pointed look. “I noticed Mr. Standish was absent from lunch as well.”
Chris was silent, finger-combing his sweaty hair. He didn’t look at the older man.
“So, did you have a fight?” his father simply asked.
He winced.
“What did you do?”
Chris’s head snapped up and he glared again. Again with no visible success. “What makes you think it was me?”
The General gave him a meaningful look.
Chris hung his head, sighing. His father simply knew him too well.
“I overreacted,” he confessed softly.
For the first time he really realized what kind of shit he had been throwing at Ezra. He had taken his anger from his mother and transferred it onto Ezra. He had thrown all his disappointment into the fire, like so much oil, and he had ignored the signals from the Bond.
Looking back at what they had said, really listening to the words, a lot of things suddenly sounded quite different. Ezra’s anger and pain had stemmed from Chris omitting their relationship from his letters home. He hadn’t told his parents anything about Ezra P. Standish, aside from ‘he’s my new agent’. Great. In Ezra’s shoes, Chris would have been pissed as well. Add to that Sharron Larabee’s reaction and it was more fuel to the fire. In their fight, Ezra had poured all his disappointment, all the pain he had bottled up within the last few days, as well as the torment of being an outsider because he was Borderline, into one big explosion. He had had to hide his origin since he was a child, and now Chris hadn’t even told his parents about their relationship. It had run together and he had simply lost it.
Chris ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He hadn’t listened to the Bond or he would have been able to tell where it all came from. But he had been too riled up, too furious, from the fight with his mother to listen. They hadn’t even fought about the same topic. Each had lashed out. Neither had taken the time to analyze the signals.
Chris was supposed to be the leader of his team. As such, he was supposed to see when one of his men was troubled. He was supposed to talk to the person. He sighed. ‘That person’ was his soul partner, the person closest to him. No one could get closer. And he, Chris Larabee, Commander, head of the Chimera team, had ignored all the signs.
Damn, it really was my fault.
“I said a few things I shouldn’t have,” he finally sighed.
“Settle it.”
Two words. They said it all. Daniel Larabee wasn’t a man of many words, but what he said held weight and power. And it had been an order.
“I’d love to, but he has walls up!” Chris defended himself.
It earned him a quizzical look. “Walls?”
Right. His father knew little about the soul bond. He knew even less about Ezra. Damn, he had had all the time in the world to prepare his parents, take it one step at a time. He hadn’t. Now all of it came back and bit him in the ass.
“Think of them as ‘do not disturb’ signs,” he tried to put into words what he felt inside. “On a re-enforced door. Impenetrable. With automatic guns.”
It earned him another meaningful look from those clear gray eyes. “Since when does that stop you?”
“Dad, it’s different!”
“In what way?”
Chris exhaled explosively. “I can’t reach him, I can’t touch him!”
And it hurt so much. Their Bond had long since passed the normal boundaries of a connection between two souls. It had become physical in more ways than one. They experienced each other’s pain, but could also physically influence the other partner. Now, with the walls, the influence was decidedly negative. Chris was suffering from a constant, low throbbing headache behind the eyes. Sometimes it eased up, just to hit him full force again.
 “Ever thought about talking?” the General asked, unruffled.
Chris winced.
“Christopher. Son. You’re a Larabee. Act like one.”
With that final piece of advice, Daniel Larabee turned and left the small barn. Chris only stood there, feeling like a scolded kid. He was a 42 year old man, for crying out loud, and still his father managed to turn him into a ten year old with a few words and looks!
Damnit! But the man was right! That was the worst of it all. He was right!
“He gotcha there, pard.”
The voice made him turn around and he discovered Buck, who had come into the barn from the other side. There was a twinkle in the dark eyes that stoked a new fire.
“Buck?”
“Yes?”
“Shut up!” he snapped.
Buck laughed. “Yes, sir.” He saluted him and made a quick exit.
Chris sighed and sank back against the table. Go and talk to Ezra. Easier said than done. Nothing like this had ever happened between them and he had thought it never could. Now it had and he had to deal with the consequences, as well as with his mother.
Oh hell.

* * *

Ezra had spent his day with the horses again. He had started out in the stable, first taking care of the small bay and the General’s horse after they had come back from the ride. Then he had turned his attention to the others. It was a rewarding work of sorts, as he wasn’t judged or stared at by the tame animals. He brushed them down, checked their feed, the boxes, even started to clean out hooves when he discovered it might be necessary. He didn’t want to go back into the house. When it had become apparent that there was nothing more to do, he had ventured out onto the pastures. Distance to the ranch house was good.
In the end he had even undressed and changed, enjoying the sun on his coat, the way his muscles stretched and contracted as he ran, loving the wind in his mane.
And he kept up the walls. The physical pain at the separation continued to grow. In his case, it centered around his stomach. He was way beyond feeling hungry now. Not even the Kiowata wanted to graze. His stomach was a leaden ball.
He had returned to the ranch way after lunch time. He didn’t care anymore whether he missed any family get togethers. It was clear that he didn’t belong here and wasn’t wanted. He had had the same problems in the past. Whenever it had somehow slipped that he was Borderline, he had been cast away or used. Sharron Larabee was just protecting her son and Ezra understood that instinct.
He splashed water into his face, then sat down on a bale of hay. One of the older horses nuzzled his hair and Ezra smiled, reaching up to pet the velvety muzzle. Tonight was Thanksgiving. He wouldn’t go. They couldn’t make him. If he had to, he’d change and just run as far as he could, until he was too tired to move any more.
Something inside of him had broken, shattered into pieces, last night when Chris had lashed out. Now he fed all his energy into the tight walls that separated them, praying he could hold on for the few more days they were here.
 

Daniel Larabee had watched the atmosphere in his house decline further and further. While everyone was trying to maintain a friendly façade, things had rapidly gone downhill. Everyone was walking around like on egg shells, and his wife wasn’t helping. She evaded him as well, but Daniel knew there had been a confrontation with Chris. It hadn’t exactly resolved peacefully. He also knew that all Sharron needed was time and the chance to clear her head, to put everything into order and view events from a different perspective. Sadly, time was not something they had. Chris was breaking apart, as was Ezra, and his son was apparently unable to face his partner and talk to him.
With the need to understand more about this phenomenon called a soul bond, the General had approached Chris’s second-in-command. While Buck was Chris’s best and oldest friend, Vin Tanner held something of a similar position as a silent counselor when it came to clearing Chris’s head the moment his temper took over. It had been Vin who had gone after Chris this morning, not Buck. It spoke more than words.
So when he asked him, Vin just nodded and silently gestured at him to seek out the privacy of the study.
“A soul bond is complete openness,” Vin had told him calmly. “No lies, no hidden truths. Chris and Ezra know and trust each other implicitly. Never mind their different personalities, their backgrounds. Soul bonds don’t occur at random. Each joining is perfect, whatever the outside appearance is.”
“Ezra initiated this bond,” he stated.
“Yes and no. No one can force it. Ezra couldn’t have conned his way into it, and frankly, sir, he didn’t want it. He tried to break it. Chris was the one who told him they wouldn’t survive on their own.”
Larabee nodded, filing that piece of information away with the others.
“I have to add,” Vin said calmly, “that the bond isn’t solely responsible for the later physical aspect of their relationship.”
“Vin, I see no problem with my son’s choice of partners,” the General answered, unruffled. “What I want to understand is this connection between them and why a fight resulted in this skirmish.”
Vin smiled and nodded. “For a fight between soul partners to last that long, it was very bad. Ezra has raised walls, blocking the bond, and it affects both of them. Think of it as suddenly losing one of your senses, sir.”
“My son mentioned the walls.”
“They hurt. Everywhere.”
He nodded. Understanding had started to dawn.

Now Larabee stood in the stable, watching Ezra Standish pet one of the older mares, talking softly to the gray horse. There was a faraway expression in his dull eyes, his masks were down, and the pain was there for everyone to see. His clothes seemed to hang on his compact frame. The boy was suffering, just like his son.
He announced his presence by making some noise as he crossed through the stables. Immediately, walls flew up and the blank expression was back. His eyes were hard, unyielding, flat.
“General,” Ezra greeted him warily, but there was also a lot of weariness in his whole demeanor.
Larabee held out a steaming mug. Ezra regarded is suspiciously. “With compliments from Dr. Jackson. He said your stomach might need it.”
Ezra took it carefully. “Thanks,” he mumbled.
“Dinner is at seven, son,” the General only remarked, then turned and left.
 

Ezra winced at the clear order of his lover’s father. Dinner was at seven and he was expected to be there. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay here, hide, remain with the horses. Or better, change and just run. But he couldn’t disobey. He would be there, he would see this through with his shields gathered around him, his masks in place, and his walls fortified.
Two more days, he reminded himself as he sipped at the herbal tea.

* * *

Chris walked into the living room, approaching the table that was laden with food. It was an enticing smell, but he didn’t feel hungry at all. The emptiness inside him wasn’t hunger; it was need and longing, and he wished Ezra would just give him a chance. He knew he had hurt his lover, quite severely, and ever since that fight, the thief had evaded him, as well as his family.
Now Standish sat at the table, his face expressionless, his eyes masked, and he appeared pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and he was skittish. Despite the neat, clean clothes, Ezra had an unkempt, disheveled aura around him.
God, the Bond hurt. The headache had increased, spreading down his neck and shoulders, making him woozy and nauseous.
“Chris, sit down,” his father ordered without raising his voice. He didn’t need to. General Daniel Larabee had a natural authority, groomed and shaped with age and experience. No one would ever think of disobeying the man.
Chris briefly looked at the empty place next to Ezra, the distress rising to an unbearable level. Approaching the chair next to Josiah, he was stopped by his father’s voice.
“Not there. You came here with a partner.”
He stopped dead in is tracks at the calm words, panic flaring. Everyone stared at the General and Mrs. Larabee opened her mouth to protest. One sharp look told her to shut up. She clenched her jaw.
Buck winced, ducking. He knew that tone of voice, that look. Things were going to get very ugly very soon. Vin and JD looked questioningly at him, but he refused to say a word. Josiah was suddenly engrossed in the pattern of the table cover. Nathan had found a quiet fascination with the silverware.
Chris slowly walked over to the chair next to Ezra and sat down. His lover didn’t so much as look at him, let alone touch him. The silent agony increased.
“It is a family tradition,” the quiet voice of Daniel Larabee broke the silence, “for me to say the thanksgiving prayer.” His sharp eyes roamed over the assembled friends, coming to rest on his son. “I know what I’m thankful for. So is god.”
A brief smiled flashed over Josiah’s face, mirrored by Nathan.
“So today, I will give this honor to one of our guest. Mr. Standish, if you please.”
Ezra’s head came up, the expression quite similar to a deer caught in the headlights. Green eyes widened briefly, then control was back.
“General, I don’t think that is appropriate,” he answered coolly.
The General’s eyes rested on his son again as he smiled to himself. Chris didn’t look any better than Ezra.
“Ezra, I think there are a lot of things this family should be thankful for,” he addressed the younger man. “It is quite appropriate for you to say the prayer, son.” His words were slow, almost gentle, but each carried a hidden power.
Ezra looked at Chris, who returned the gaze, equally confused. The thief turned a helpless look at Josiah, who gave him a ‘Don’t  look at me’ shrug. He was on his own.
Panic spread.
<Chris?> he reached out for his soul partner.
The walls went down for the first time since the fight and Chris felt his lover’s helplessness, his need for reassurance, the confusion and the pain. He welcomed the dearly missed presence, felt Ezra touch him tentatively, and he allowed himself a slow smile.
Before either could say a word, Mrs. Larabee finally voiced her outrage. “I won’t have this.. this…criminal speak the family prayer!” she snapped. “It’s bad enough as it is already!”
There was a collective ducking of heads from the team as the fury raged across the room, homing in on the green-eyed Agent. Ezra’s walls went up with a snap, making Chris wince,  and there was a pained expression in his eyes.
No, don’t do this again! he exclaimed silently.
The General turned to look at his wife. “Sharron, sit down,” he said slowly, calmly, each word carrying power.
“But…!”
“I said, sit down.” The power increased.
Ezra swallowed, the fervent wish to sink into the floor on his mind.
“You will accept it. Please, Ezra, continue.”
Ezra was even paler than before, flailing for words, fighting to keep his barriers intact. His voice was measured, calmer than he felt, and it carried softly across the room.
“Lord, we thank you for the meal you have provided us with, for the house and the home it is served in. We thank you for the plenty and ask you to bless it, as we share among us.”
He fell silent, gazing at the table.
“Ezra, is that all?” Daniel Larabee asked silently.
Ezra bit his lower lip as the deceptively gentle voice broke the silence. He fought the need to flee the room. He would see this through; to the end.
“Chris, son, you want to add something?” the General turned his attention on his son.
Ezra glanced at his lover. Green eyes met hazel and he saw the same emotions he felt reflected in them. Both knew what this was. Chris’s father was giving them a unique chance to get it all out in the open, in front of all of them; friends and family.
Chris cleared his throat. “I’m thankful for the second chance I was given, the love I found,” he said, voice clear and without hesitation. He reached for Ezra’s hand and gently intertwined their fingers, squeezing the cold hand. “For someone who gave me my future back. As well as for the unwavering friendship I found in the people I trust, who came through for us numerous times.”
The walls went down and Ezra felt Chris surround him with his presence, hugging him tightly, kissing him. He relaxed into that invisible hold, aware of their still joined hands. Chris reveled in the presence that was Ezra, unwilling to let go.
The older Larabee’s gaze wandered from Ezra, over the clasped hands, to Chris, then to his wife. She still looked sour, a hard expression in her eyes. But her gaze followed the same route, finally looking at her husband. Sharron Larabee said nothing.
The General raised his glass in a silent toast, breaking the tension as he sipped at the wine.
 

The evening passed in a much better mood than the entire day. Conversations were loud, with nine people at the table, and JD and Buck were at their best. General Larabee told a few tales, bringing amusement into everyone’s eyes, and when desserts came out, Buck and Vin were fighting over the largest slice of chocolate cake. Sharron was silent for most of the evening, accepting compliments from Josiah for the food, but she evaded talking to Ezra directly.
While the thief was putting up a good front, Chris felt the occasional shield twitch up, until he realized what he was doing and valiantly fought to bring it down. Ezra was trying hard and for the first time in the four days they had been here, Chris was aware what his partner had done, what he had gone through. The shields had been up for so long, they were so sensitized that they reacted to a simple touch and rose unbidden. Ezra was jumpy to the point of paranoia. Chris was aware how much the animosity hurt his lover. The thief only ate sparsely, picking at his food, and no amount of gentle coaxing could get him to eat more. Shields required energy. Ezra’s different metabolism required energy. Ezra didn’t eat.
Larabee senior rose after dessert, stepping out onto the porch, and Chris knew it was the unspoken invitation to come along. The others started to help clear the table and carry leftovers into the kitchen.
“Nice evening,” the older man remarked as they stood on the porch, looking out over the quiet ranch. It was a cloudy evening, but still warm, and the air was filled with the soft chirping and buzzing of the local grasshoppers.
Chris was silent, leaning against the porch rail, studying his father’s profile.
“I thought you had cleared your differences,” Daniel Larabee finally said.
“We have.”
“I saw no change, except that Ezra was present for dinner.” The General turned to look at him.
Chris was confused, then he laughed softly, understanding.
“I told you about the Bond, Dad. Ezra and I, we don’t need to touch. I know you and Mom expected it. I know she was waiting for me to kiss him. But we don’t have to. We can touch each other through the Bond.”
“No alternative, if you ask me. He is your partner, son.”
“Yes, he is, and our relationship is different.”
“You hide.”
“No.” It was a quiet, but intense contradiction.
His father was quiet for a while. “While you are here, you don’t have to, and you know it.”
“Thanks, Dad, but Ezra and I are comfortable as it is.”
“Good.”
And with that, the topic had been cleared.

*

Sharron was busy directing her helpers around the kitchen. Now and then she caught a flash of Ezra Standish, as he quietly carried in dishes or stacked containers of leftovers, but he was never around long enough, or alone, to initiate any kind of conversation. She started to shoo the Chimera team out of her kitchen, and luck would have it that Ezra was the one to bring in the used napkins to throw away.
He didn’t look at her and she noticed a tension in the compact frame that threatened to break him. For the first time tonight, she had really watched him. Not with the deep disdain, the suspicion, the ill ease she had felt for the last three days. She had left her feelings under a tight lid and had simply watched. Daniel’s quiet command to sit down and accept what was happening had shocked her. Her husband had rarely used that voice at home before. It had made her stop and finally think.
So Sharron had seen the controlled distress, the pale features, and she had seen her son’s expression that mirrored Ezra’s. Something inside of her had flared in outrage when the two men, her son and that criminal, had held hands, but the outrage had diminished. Over dinner, it had turned into curious observation.
She had seen Chris’s relieved smile, the life returning into his eyes, the way he seemed to touch Ezra without physically reaching out. But she had also seen the hesitation in the younger man’s every move, had noticed how sparsely he ate, if at all. The bit of soup and later some green salad couldn’t sustain him. He evaded her eyes throughout the evening. Something inside Sharron Larabee had started to hurt. She had done a lot of damage with her thoughtless words, with her emotional explosions, and her apparently prejudiced behavior. She was far from prejudiced.
While she had never met a Borderline human, she had heard about them. Ezra wasn’t different from any of the others. He wasn’t disfigured or displayed strange powers. All he was…. was her son’s partner.
What if Sarah had been Borderline?
Sharron sighed softly to herself. It would have been different, she realized. She would have treated her just like any other girl, and she would have made an effort to get to know her, understand the Borderline. She didn’t even know why Ezra’s genetic background had been so important in that fight. Now it seemed so… inconsequential.
“Mrs. Larabee, I’m sorry.”
The quietly mumbled words drew her out of her reverie and she became aware of Ezra’s skittish retreat out of the otherwise now empty kitchen.
“No,” she said.
He stopped, his face unreadable. “Pardon?”
“Don’t.”
She knew he was staring at her, but Sharron refused to look at him as she busied herself with the food containers.
“I have to be.”
She turned and took in the quizzical, almost confused expression. Deciding to meet this head on, Sharron exhaled slowly.
“You know my son. Maybe you noticed that he can be a quite stubborn individual at times. He gets that from his mother. Sometimes, he has to be kicked into seeing the truth, accepting that something is right. That runs in my family as well. In the forty-five years we have been married now, my husband helped me see what is right whenever I was too stubborn to accept it. Especially when I really step in it, like today. I love my son, Mr. Standish. And I hated to see what had become of him after Sarah and Adam died, but I couldn’t protect him from that. Looking at what I saw today, I think you understand my feelings.”
Ezra’s expression had slowly changed and there was something in those green eyes that gave Sharron the hope that she was explaining this to his understanding. He nodded.
“I hope you accept my apology,” she went on. “I had always hoped to see the love and the life he had had before return into his eyes. It was a shock for me to realize that it was a man who made that happen.”
He lowered his eyes.
“Will you promise me something?”
The head came up again. “What, Mrs. Larabee?” he asked softly.
“Promise me to make him happy. That is all I ask of you.”
Ezra nodded. “I can safely promise that,” he answered.
She smiled. “That’s all I want. I’ll need some time to adjust to this. But you’ll always be welcome here …. Ezra.”
He answered her smile and for a brief moment, it touched his eyes. “Thank you,” he replied quietly, then slipped out of the kitchen.
Sharron turned back to her work. She knew she would need a while to accept her son’s choice and she would have to invest time into getting to know not only Ezra Standish, but also her son again.

* * *

The evening had passed rather peacefully. After dinner, the family and friends had sat together, but Chris had pulled Ezra into the small study, needing some privacy. Looking at his lover in the soft light of the lamps, he bit his lower lips, trying to find the right words. He had never been good at this and he might never be. The walls were down, the shields barely existent, but Chris refused to take the easy way out of this and use the Bond.
“Chris?” Ezra questioned.
“I’m an insensitive bastard,” he said softly, not meeting Ezra’s eyes. “I’m sorry for what I did. And didn’t. For what I said….” Chris stopped, unsure. “The fight... Ezra, I didn’t even realize what you were going through. I was so angry. At my mother, myself, everyone…. and then you.”
Ezra gave him a wry smile, but his eyes were unguarded. “This is your family, Chris,” he answered calmly. “Your view of them is as a son, not as a stranger. You couldn’t have seen it even if you had known.”
Chris shook his head in frustration. “Doesn’t excuse it. Ezra, why didn’t you say anything?”
Ezra lowered his eyes. “They are your family,” he repeated.
The blond walked over to him, taking one hand into his, entwining their fingers. “You are my soul partner…. the man I love,” he added softly. “My family, too. I hurt you. Soul partners shouldn’t be able to, but I did.”
Yes, it shouldn’t have happened. But Ezra had been under a lot of emotional pressure, bottling up his feelings because he hadn’t wanted to interfere with Chris’s family holiday. Chris had been happy and to destroy that happiness would have meant even more distress. He had simply kept it all under a tight lid, using his ingrained control not to let anything leak.
Ezra was used to keep his shields up because of his job. On a case, he had to make sure Chris remained shielded from him. But -- on a case, Chris was his back-up. On a case, he could lower the shields for a while.
On the ranch, he had had the shields up the whole time, making damn sure there was no leak. On the ranch, Chris hadn’t been his back-up. On the ranch, he had been alone. He hadn’t wanted to talk to the team, make it even worse for them. All his energy had gone into the shields, and with his different metabolism, he had burned up a lot of energy. Energy he hadn’t been able to replenish.
Chris had been way too involved with his family to notice the changes in his lover until everything had hit the fan. His own anger had made him blind to the pain and he had lashed out. Under normal circumstances, the explosion would have gone a different way, clearing the air and shown both what had happened. Circumstances hadn’t been normal.
All that suddenly ran across the Bond and Chris inhaled sharply, guilt mounting in his eyes. JD had been the one to calm down and soothe his partner when Ezra had been unable to take it anymore. Not Chris, who it should have been. JD. He was more than an insensitive bastard…. he was the worst kind of soul partner Ezra could have gotten.
<Stop that!> the thief suddenly snapped. <I have what I want, which is you. No one is to singularly blame for this. I carry just as much guilt. I wanted this to be good for you…. so I kept my mouth shut> “It’s over,” Ezra murmured out loud.
 “I’m glad. Those walls… were painful.”
“I know. For me, too,” he confessed, shivering at the remembered anguish.
<It’s over> Chris insisted, nuzzling his neck, his presence a warm blanket around Ezra’s slightly trembling one. <I promise it wont’t happen again. And I want your promise to tell me the next time>
The thief leaned against the familiar body he hadn’t been able to embrace at night for nearly a week now. <Okay>
<Missed you> Chris murmured. <I’m glad all’s cleared with my parents.”
“Your father is a very… impressive man. He has a kind of authority that won’t let you pull any evasive maneuvers,” Ezra confessed softly. “Now I know where you get it from.”
“What? Authority?” Chris asked with a light smile.
His lover smiled as well. “The stubbornness….. that look in your eyes sometimes. When he talked to me this morning…”
“You and Dad talked?” Chris asked, rather sharply, pulling away. His eyes bore into Ezra’s.
Ezra nodded. “We went for a ride.”
The expression was priceless. “You went for a ride,” he echoed.
“Didn’t have a choice.”
“You rarely have with my father. What did you talk about?”
“He asked me a question.” Ezra stopped, hesitating. “He wanted to know what you are to me.”
The green eyes met Chris’s head on and the blond Agent saw the answer in there. He smiled, pulling Ezra closer, kissing him.
“He asked me the same,” he murmured as they parted.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Dad’s… kinda observative. He’s also good at kicking you into the right direction.”
“Uh-huh.”
Another kiss.
“Don’t you think we should rejoin the others?”
“Do you want to?” Chris teased.
“It would help with the new understanding, don’t you think?” Ezra murmured, sighing as Chris let his tongue play around his throat. “You’re not making this easy!”
“Wasn’t my intention.” But Chris stepped back, laughter in his eyes.
The rejoined the others, getting raised eyebrows from Buck, which Chris pointedly ignored, and a smile from Sharron, which he returned.
 

It was close to midnight when Chris walked up the stairs to his room, aware of Ezra following him. His lover walked on, heading for the guest room he had shared with JD for the past days, but Chris stopped him, curling strong fingers around one wrist. He wordlessly tugged and Ezra swallowed.
“Chris….” he protested.
“Please?”
Ezra inhaled shakily, then followed wordlessly. Chris closed the door after them, turning to his lover, and before Ezra could even move, he pulled him in a desperate, needy kiss. The thief moaned into his lover’s mouth, their tongues fighting their own little war as Chris pressed himself against the smaller body in his arms.
They separated and Chris pulled Ezra over to the bed. They sank on it, kissing, losing themselves in the other. Chris ran gentle fingers over his lover’s face, turning the fevered kisses into deliriously slow and delicious ones. Chris slipped his free hand under Ezra’s shirt, eliciting a little grunt of approval. He freed his other hand and proceeded to pull the shirt off, kissing the exposed chest.
<Chris> Ezra sighed.
<Hm?>
<Do you really think it’s such a good idea to…>
<Have sex at my parents’ ranch?> Sparkling eyes caught Ezra’s. <Hell, I’ve had had sex here before. It’s not like my parents are in the room next door>
Ezra winced.
Chris ran soothing hands over the smooth skin, tracing a faint scar he encountered. <Shy?>
<No!>
<Well, sounds like it. A shy Ezra Standish> He grinned. <That’s something new>
<I’m not shy! It’s just… awkward….> the thief argued.
<Because they know what we might be doing here?>
Ezra sighed. In a way, that was his problem. In his current emotional state, after the verbal lashings and the fight with Chris, he was rather reluctant. Any other time, with a different setting, he wouldn’t mind at all.
Chris got up, pulling the smaller man with him.
“Chris?” he asked, startled.
“Leave the shirt. You won’t need it,” Chris said, pulling him along.
Ezra still made a grab for his shirt, stumbling after his lover. <Chris?>
Chris led him downstairs, out of the house and over to the stables.
<Chris!>
<Yes?>
“Where are we going?”
“Out.” He met the confused green eyes. “For a ride.” And with that he started to undress, folding his clothes and placing them into a small locker.
Ezra caught the image in his mind and felt a rush of heat. Aw hell…. And then he shed his clothes as well.

* * *

Ezra pressed a kiss onto the sweaty, flushed skin underneath his hands, listening to the moan of his lover as Chris tried to push back onto the hardness inside him. Ezra nibbled along the spine, eliciting little growls, and he felt the pressure on the Bond increase.
<Ezzzzra!> Chris hissed.
<Yes?> he purred huskily.
<Move!> Larabee demanded.
The thief moved his hips slowly, sensually. <Like that?>
<Yes!>
He came to a stop, hearing the whimper escape his lover’s lips.
<Ezra!>
Ezra ran his hands over the slender sides, felt muscles move underneath the slick skin, and he slipped his arms around the lean waist, pulling Chris up. The blond inhaled sharply as the angle of entry changed and Ezra twitched his hips again. Pure torture. And then he finally began to move, slowly, rhythmically, and he felt each thrust over the Bond, felt Chris’s raw lust.
He began to drive deeper into Chris, who was past words. Ezra himself knew his limits  were sorely tested. He wanted this to last, he wanted to end it, he wanted to have Chris for the night, he wanted to feel them climax together. He never became rough as he thrust, only intense
Chris screamed when he came, his own hardness untouched. Ezra couldn’t hold back any longer and gave a harsh sob, muffled as he buried his head in Chris’s shoulder. They collapsed onto the grass, breathing hard, arms around each other. Chris turned to kiss him gently, and Ezra smiled.
 

Ezra was on his back, Chris in his arms, watching the night sky. It was pleasantly warm, despite their nude state, and he felt a soul deep ease; as if he could lay here forever. All he needed was here. Chris’s presence was a warm blanket around his mind.
“You okay?” his lover mumbled sleepily.
“Perfectly,” Ezra whispered, caressing the blond strands.
“Cold?”
“Not any more.”
They lay on the thick blanket Ezra had tied to Chris after his lover had changed into his Kiowata form. It was warm and comfy, and they were covered by another one.
Chris pushed himself up on one elbow, smiling at the thief. “Want to head back?”
“No.”
Ezra wanted to remain here as long as possible. Just the two of them, pretending there was no one else. They would have to go back to the ranch some time, but not now. Chris kissed him, then draped himself half over Ezra again. Both fell asleep and for the first time in three days, Ezra slept for more than a few hours.
They woke way after sunrise, staying together for another half hour. Finally, neither could evade the inevitable. Both men changed and Chris briefly nuzzled the sleek neck of his lover. Ezra snorted softly, then he headed into the direction of the Larabee ranch.
<It’ll be okay> Chris sent.
One could only hope so.

* * *

Sharron Larabee was busy clearing away the leftover breakfast food when she heard the distinctive sound of horses nearby. She peered out of the kitchen window and the margarine tub fell out of her hands, bouncing into the sink.
“Oh my god!” she exclaimed. “Daniel!”
Her husband strode into the kitchen, looking less alarmed than she felt.
“Yes?”
She gestured at the outside. “What are those?”
He opened the door that led from the kitchen into the wide yard and a smile crossed the weathered features. “Those, my dear, are Kiowata.”
Sharron stared at the two large equines, noting the sharp horns, the size, the general difference to a normal horse. One was completely black, larger than the other one, with dark eyes. The smaller was a sorrel, with a dark mane and tail, and very lively green eyes. Both were racing across the meadow that bordered to the yard, the black chasing the sorrel. The smaller Kiowata suddenly turned sharply, gathered speed and jumped the fence easily. There was a loud whinny from the black and it followed.
“Aw man!” Buck hollered over the yard, reaching the two animals first. “You should have told us you were going for a ride!” he complained. “We would have come along!”
Tanner was trailing behind, grinning. “I doubt this was intended to be a group moment, pard.”
Buck glowered at him. The big black snorted, shooting Wilmington a dark look. It looked slightly out of breath, but there weren’t any signs of exhaustion and it wasn’t sweating too badly.
“Christopher,” Daniel Larabee greeted the black, stepping out into the yard.
The elegant head turned, the sun catching the sharp horns and Sharron shivered slightly. Those looked like dangerous weapons. The black flicked an ear. The sorrel radiated an air of amusement and the black snapped at him, missing. It danced away, whinnying a challenge.
“Ezra,” the General stated, bringing a stop to the smaller Kiowata’s movement.
Daniel Larabee looked at the reddish brown Kiowata, taking in the slightly underweighed appearance. What Ezra Standish had been able to hide with clothes, the Kiowata was unable to. He had lost weight. Not enough to be worrying, but enough to show. The General gave the black a pointed look. Chris looked chastised enough, snorting uncomfortably.
“You missed breakfast, son,” Daniel only said, looking straight into the intelligent green eyes. “Looks like you can’t afford too miss many more.” With a last look he returned to the house.
The sound the Kiowata made was almost a sigh.
“Chris?” Sharron breathed, looking at her husband for confirmation.
He simply nodded.
She watched the two Kiowata walk over to the stables. The big black one, Chris, made another attempt to bite the sorrel, which danced out of the way, mischief in its eyes. She had to smile involuntarily.
Both men walked back toward the house about fifteen minutes later, fully dressed, looking bright-eyed and a bit out of breath, but the general atmosphere was one of relaxation and joy. As they entered the kitchen, Sharron steeled herself.
“Chris?” she asked quietly, to her dismay noting how Ezra mumbled an excuse and left the kitchen.
Chris looked pained for a moment, then turned to his mother, visibly trying to fight down on a remark.
“Would you do me a favor?” she asked.
He looked uneasy. “What kind of favor?” Chris wanted to know carefully.
“Just listen to me.”
“I think I can do that,” he agreed, sitting down on one of the chairs.
“Chris, I talked to Ezra yesterday,” Sharron told him.
Her son stiffened and there was a wary expression in his eyes.
“It’s not what you think. I apologized.”
“You what?” he blurted.
She smiled. “It would do you good to listen,” Sharron chastised him gently. “I explained to him that my approach to the… situation was far from acceptable. I didn’t know him, and acted rashly.”
She watched the emotions playing over those lively hazel eyes. Chris might have a good blank expression, but his eyes gave him away.
“Now that I allowed myself to see, I discovered what he is to you. He makes you happy, Chris, and that makes me happy.”
He smiled carefully.
“What hurt me the most was that you didn’t trust me, your mother, with the news about the man in your life, about the changes you went through.”
“Mom, I….”
She held up a hand. “I know you weren’t any better with your lady friends. I should have expected it. All we knew was his name, that he was a new man in your team.”
“I’m sorry,” Chris mumbled. “But… I didn’t even think about it. Well, maybe I did, but I wanted to tell you in person. Being with him is so natural for me…”
Sharron smiled. “I know. I can see it. Still, I’ll need time, Chris. This is new and I have to get used to it.”
Her son nodded. “I understand.”
“I don’t care what Ezra was, what he did in his past life,” she added, voice intense, trying to get it through to him. “I don’t care that he is Borderline. It never mattered. He is your partner.” Sharron walked over to him and hugged him gently. “I love you, Chris. You are my son. I accept your decision, even if it was a shock. I just want you to be happy.”
“I am.”
Sharron nodded. “And I think you should be with Ezra now. You should enjoy the last few days here.”
A smile blossomed on the tanned features. “We will. Thanks.” He kissed her on the cheek and then left the kitchen.
Mrs. Larabee went back to her work, smiling to herself.
 

Chris sought out Ezra, who had waited discreetly outside the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around the smaller man.
<You okay?> he murmured.
<Yeah. You?>
<Mom and I talked. We settled things>
<Good>
Chris pressed a small kiss onto Ezra’s lips. <Yep>
“So, Commander,” Ezra said out loud, “what are your plans?”
Chris tightened his hold. “I wanted to drive out to check some fences. Do some work,” he answered. “You?”
“I was thinking about finishing my book,” Ezra murmured.
“You could do that out on the northern paddocks,” Chris replied.
His lover made a show out of turning that thought over in his head. “Well, I don’t know… we just came back…”
“Could use some company.”
“There’s this nice and sunny spot just by the vegetable garden….”
Chris nipped at Ezra’s lips. “I could really use some company,” he breathed, using the Bond for some clear images.
“I see,” Ezra answered slowly. “Now that you put it like that…” He grinned.
They left the house together, smiling at Buck and Vin, who were preparing to go to town with Josiah and Nathan.
“Hey, guys! Wanna come along?” Buck hollered.
“Nope. Work,” Chris replied.
There was a sparkle in Buck’s dark eyes and he winked. “Okay.”
Chris and Ezra took the second jeep and set out toward the northern paddock.

* * *

A thunderstorm raged throughout the night, rain beating down on the land and turning the ground into mud. Stepping out of the ranch house, Chris smiled as he drew in the fresh air, felt the drizzle on his face, and the Kiowata inside him demanded to be freed.
“What do you think?” he asked casually.
Ezra yawned. “Too damn early,” he muttered.
Chris grinned. “Nothing better to wake you up than a good run.”
The thief grimaced. “You throw me out of bed at an ungodly hour, everyone’s still asleep, I don’t get to have coffee, and now you want me to play chase in this mud bowl?”
“Yep!”
He rolled his eyes. “And you’re too damn cheerful, too!”
But he followed and there was an unholy glint in his eyes.
 

General Larabee had been up at the crack of dawn, checking on any possible storm damage, but there had been none. It was how he came to witness both men’s conversation, saw the happy grin in Chris’s face, the mischief in Ezra’s reply, and he watched as two Kiowata skidded across the paddock, mud flying in all directions, splattering across the formerly clean coats. There was sheer joy of life in the movement and the horse breeder surfaced, a critical mind analyzing both animals. They were behaving like the young stallions in his herds, mock-fighting, training their bodies for later, more serious fights, biting, nipping, kicking, rearing and pushing at each other.
“Beautiful sight.”
He turned to look at Josiah, who had just stepped out of the house, smiling as he watched the two Kiowata chase each other, slipping and sliding, whinnying. They had a lot of behavioral patterns of horses. Ezra trotted on, head held high, a challenge in his whole body language. Chris darted off toward him, nipping at his legs, taking care not to injure the other Kiowata with his horns. Ezra snorted and retorted.
“Indeed,” Daniel agreed.
“They don’t get to do this a lot on the station, if at all,” the engineer went on, waiting for his coffee to cool down a little. “Good to see Ezra’s so easy about changing now, too.”
“He had problems?” the General inquired.
Josiah shrugged. “Not with the change as such. He was just rather reluctant. That boy had to accept what he is, that we don’t see him differently, and that he should listen to his instincts. One of those instincts if letting the Kiowata run when it needs to.”
Daniel nodded, watching as the two stallions raced each other. While Chris was stronger and faster, Ezra was more agile and able to maneuver quickly in a tight spot. Both were by now completely covered in mud. Chris trotted over to where a panting Ezra stood, ears pricked, head held high. He nudged him gently, receiving a little head-butting in return, then they were off again.
“Enduring,” the General noted.
“Yep. Quite. And he hasn’t even had his coffee yet.” Josiah chuckled. “Ezra before coffee is not a pretty sight.”
The Kiowata finally stopped their play, both trotting over the paddock toward the yard. Ezra was no longer recognizable as a sorrel, his mane sticking together, just like his tail, but he looked content and happy. Chris was a brownish black, streaks of mud dripping down his sides and belly.
“Boys,” the general only said as the two approached.
“Don’t even think about it,” Josiah warned as he interpreted the glint in the emerald eyes.
A spray of water hit the two equines and Chris whirled around, mud splattering everywhere. Laughter rang out over the yard. Buck was bearing down on the two, a hose in his hands, liberally dousing them in water.
The General flicked some mud off his shirt and Josiah gazed at the bits floating in his coffee.
“I’ll get some fresh coffee,” he only said.
Daniel remained where he was, smiling as he watched the two Kiowata mock-attacking the hose-bearing Buck. A second spray of water joined the first. Vin grinned like a child at Christmas as he targeted Ezra, while Chris was still after Buck.
There was a clicking noise and Larabee had to grin as he discovered JD, barely containing his laughter, shooting pictures of the mud and water fight. “Gotta have some proof!” the young man declared, snickering. “No one’s ever going to believe this!”
“Children.”
He looked at his wife as she snaked an arm around his waist.
“All four of them,” she added.
The General chuckled and started to laugh as Buck slipped on the ground while backing away from Chris. His backside was now just as muddy as the Kiowata. The black stallion stopped over him and shook his coat vigorously.
“Yah!” Buck hollered. “Chris!”
Chris looked at his handiwork with a pleased expression, snorted, then trotted off. Ezra had backed Vin toward the horse trough and Tanner fell in just as Buck managed to get to his feet, looking no better than the two Kiowata. Daniel shook his head in amusement.
“I guess I’ll start laying out the newspapers,” Sharron commented dryly and went back into the house.
The General stayed a while longer, until two rather wet Agents left the stables, dressed in old clothes, hair muddy, grinning from ear to ear. Vin was still trying to wring water out of his clothes, but he was smiling as Ezra made mock attempts to throw him into the trough again. Buck just flicked mud at them.
“Morning, Dad!” Chris greeted his father.
A chorus of ‘Morning, General’ followed as the other three filed past him.
“Stop it right there, boys!” Sharron Larabee’s voice rang out. “Not one step further!”
“But, Mom!” Chris could be heard.
“You’re not going to carry that mud into my house!”
“But…”
“Christopher Larabee, you heard me! There is a perfectly good shower unit over in the barn.”
Grumbles could be heard, then the four men walked past the General again. JD was still taking pictures. Daniel Larabee smiled to himself. Yes, things had leveled out.

* * *

“Quite a remarkable holiday, don’t you think, son?”
A hand landed on Buck’s shoulder and squeezed it. Buck winced. Ouch, he had called him son. Not good. Not good at all!
“Yes, sir.”
“So I heard you finally made your choice,” Larabee senior went on conversationally.
Buck cringed. There was never anything conversational about those talks, especially the ones that started or ended with ‘son’.
“Sir?”
Clear gray eyes looked at him, daring him to lie.  “I might be old, but I’m not deaf.”
Buck felt confused, but a little nagging voice wormed its way into his mind. Oh please… no…. no, no, no!
“Sir?” he stammered.
“Buck, you never were the most silent person in bed.”
He winced.
“Or the barn,” the General added as if in an afterthought.
Ah hell!
The hand on his shoulder squeezed again and there was the typical Larabee twinkle in the General’s eyes. Then he patted Buck’s shoulder once and left the younger man alone. As he passed Vin and JD, both valiantly trying to look like they weren’t laughing, he nodded at Tanner. Vin smiled and returned the nod, then sauntered over to his lover, placing a hand on one shoulder and squeezing it. Buck jumped.
“Vin!” he hissed. “Damnit, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Vin grinned widely. “I must be losing my touch.”
Buck glowered at him, then shook his head. “He heard us.”
“Yep.”
“In the barn!”
“Yep.” Vin grinned, not the least bit mortified by the knowledge that General Daniel Larabee had been, even if only briefly, about in the barn as he and Buck had had a roll in the hay.
“Man!” Buck groaned.
“Get used to it.“
Another groan. “You don’t know what he’ll do!”
“What will he do?” Vin questioned.
“I don’t know!” Buck wailed.
His lover gave him a queer look. “I think you’ve been out in the sun too long, Buck, my friend. You need to cool off that lonely braincell of yours.” He gave him a friendly push. “C’mon, let’s get some lemonade.”
Buck sighed deeply and followed. He didn’t know why it bothered him that the General had found out. Well, not that he had found out, but how he had discovered the truth. That was it. The old man was taking it in his usual, quiet and calm manner, and Buck doubted there would be any of the ruckus Chris’s revelation had caused. Still…. the General had heard them! In the barn!
Would the embarrassment ever stop?

* * *

It was the last evening at the ranch. It was a relaxed atmosphere, quite the contrast to the tension from the last few days, and Chris had volunteered to search for some TV food in the kitchen, as well as whatever drinks they still had left. His mother smiled at him as he walked in, already filling bowls with chips and waiting for the microwave popcorn.
“Chris?”
“Yes?”
“I really appreciate it.”
He gave her a confused look. “Huh?”
Sharron Larabee concentrated on the microwave. “You both know I need time and I appreciate your restraint.”
“Restraint?”
“Well, I mean, both of you…. in front of me…” She sighed. It was still a topic she wasn’t comfortable with.
Chris suddenly realized what his mother was trying to say and he smiled. “Mom, Ezra and I aren’t restraining ourselves. We do touch. Even in front of you.” He smiled more at her obvious confusion. “You’re just not seeing it. It’s over the Bond.”
She gave him a critical look, expecting a joke, but finally just shrugged.
“I really don’t want to know, do I?” she asked rhetorically.
He grinned.
“But everything is okay between the two of you. Really okay?”
The worry touched something inside Chris and he hugged her. “Yes, Mom, everything.”
A relieved smile was the answer. Chris took the bowls and headed back to the others.

*

“He fits in well,” the General remarked casually.
Chris smiled as he watched his men, Ezra fighting over the last pretzel with JD, who finally won.
“You seem to collect them.”
“Huh?”
His father smiled. “Looking at your team, I see a definite trend here.”
Chris grinned. “They are all good men.”
“And you gave them a second chance.”
“They deserved it. All of them. I gambled, but the gamble paid off.”
The General nodded slowly.
“Ezra kinda followed me home anyway,” Chris added with a smirk.
“I beg your pardon?” Ezra protested. He had given up finding food on the table and had gone to get himself some lemonade. “You chased me across half that damned planet to find me and drag me to that god-forsaken space station.” He grabbed a can.
Chris smiled. “All for your own good.”
“Oh, now it’s for my own good? You threatened to lock me up to keep me aboard the Chimera.”
“Good thing I did,” Chris replied lightly.
Ezra snorted.
The General followed the light banter with a smile of his own. “As I said, you collect them,” he remarked and then walked over to his wife.
“I’m not a collectible,” Ezra muttered.
“Well, I think you are. You’re one of a kind,” Chris replied softly. <And you’re mine>
Ezra’s smile lit up his eyes.

* * *

Chris sighed and shook his head as he left the hangar bay, heading for his quarters. Ezra followed him, chuckling. The flight back had been filled with laughter and humor, all of them in very good moods at the end of their vacation. Nathan had loudly complained about needing a new uniform since he thought he had gained weight. Buck had teased him mercilessly about it, too. Now the Chimera team made its way loudly down the corridors. They separated on the level their quarters were all located. While Chris and Ezra walked in their respective quarters, Ezra simply opened the connecting door and passed into his lover’s rooms.
“They’ll be insufferable the next few days,” Chris sighed as he threw his bag onto the bed. “Thanksgiving holidays always spoil them. Somehow, my authority goes down the drain.”
Ezra chuckled. “Is it any wonder? Your father overshadows everything. He doesn’t even have to say something.”
Chris grimaced. “Don’t remind me. The man is… a mystery to me.”
“And one day, you’ll be just like him.”
“What?” Chris exclaimed.
Ezra shrugged, still smiling. “I looked at the General and saw what you are going to be like in another twenty years.”
“Ezra!”
“It’s a compliment,” his lover added mischievously.
“I’m not going to be like my father!” Chris argued. “No way! He’s a… well, he’s… you saw him, Ezra! The man’s just…. he wouldn’t… and then… he’s the General!” he finally finished.
“Yep, he is. He’s intimidating, an authority figure, charismatic…”
Chris raised his eyebrows. “And you think…”
“Nope, I know. You already are, Chris.”
“Huh?”
“You are intimidating,” Ezra counted off on his fingers. “You are an authority figure. And you are working on your charisma.” He grinned.
Chris walked over to him, each step measured. “Intimidating, hm?” he echoed.
“Yep.”
“Authority figure?”
A grin. “Kinda.”
“Kinda?” Chris exclaimed.
“Well, mostly. Unless the whole team just spent some time on your family’s ranch,” the thief teased.
“But lacking charisma?” Chris went on menacingly.
“Didn’t say lacking. Working on it,” Ezra corrected him with an almost silly grin.
Chris grabbed the smaller man and drew him close. “Maybe I have to work on all of it then,” he growled.
Ezra wrapped his arms around the slender waist, pulling his lover closer. “Yes,” he murmured. “You might.”
“Starting with you.”
“Volunteering,” Ezra breathed, nipping at his partner’s lips.
“You never volunteer,” Chris told him, his voice barely a whisper as he continued to track kisses over Ezra’s jaw line and down his neck where he lightly bit him.
Ezra shuddered. “Oh right,” he answered faintly.
The tidal wave of lust and need that hit him over the Bond was almost to much. His breathing hitched.
“Bed,” was all he managed.
The door closed after them, kicked shut by Chris as he pounced at his lover.