Archive of Our Own

_________________________________________________________________________________

All you can do, all you can do, is support him. The refrain played itself over and over in Joe LaFiamma's mind as he followed his fast-walking lover through the Denver airport, glad that he'd kept his packing down to the carry-on backpack-rolling bag that he was now wearing on his back. Levon was in no mood to wait while he chased bags around a luggage carousel.

His lover of more than a dozen years, Levon Lundy, strode ahead of him. The cowboy forged a path through the airport crowd with the same single-minded determination that had led to innumerable touchdowns, when he was a quarterback on the football team at Texas A&M. Levon's one and only bag was a battered old gym bag that he carried tucked under one arm as he plowed ahead. The heels of his cowboy boots clicked sharply on the stone floor of the airport, his cowboy hat was set just so on his head and the sinfully tight jeans hugged a trim figure that belied the fact that Lundy had passed the half a century mark.

Joe sighed, again. Levon hadn't slowed down in over two months, not since the day that he'd run into an old acquaintance from his college days and gotten the news that had ultimately brought them here.

Lundy strode purposefully up to the rental car counter and plunked his bag down on it. "Levon Lundy. I got a Jeep Grand Cherokee four-wheel drive reserved."

The tone of his voice and the look in his eyes said it damn well better be waiting.

Joe stopped a step behind and to the side, giving the woman behind the counter a sympathetic smile and a shrug, letting her know that while he sympathized, she wouldn't be getting any help from him.

After all, he had to live with the man.

Fortunately there was a Cherokee available. Joe would have hated for there not to have been. It could have gotten real nasty. Levon could be as laid back as a sleepy old cat until he got focused on something, like he was focused right now, then he could turn into an unholy terror.

Once, when they were still street cops, Levon had accused Joe of being the pushiest thing he'd ever seen in a pair of pants. Joe figured Levon had just never taken the time to look in a mirror when he was on a tear himself. When he was like this, the man gave new meaning to the word 'pushy'.

Joe reached up and laid his hand over the St. Christopher medal that he always wore on the chain around his neck under his shirt, and said a silent thank you to the patron saint of travelers for the Jeep being ready for them.

They didn't talk much in the Jeep, but then they hadn't talked much lately at all. Levon had been so focused on what he was after and Joe had been so determined to be supportive that words had sort of fallen by the way.

There had never been any doubt about what Levon would do, once he knew what the old acquaintance had told him. It had taken them two months and a whole heap of favors to find the man they were looking for but they had the address now and Joe had printed out the directions and a map showing the way from the airport to the man's apartment.

Three hours later, they pulled into a parking spot across from the apartment building that they were looking for, after having gotten lost no less than four times. Apparently the operators of the website that Joe had used to print his map and directions were not aware that the Denver infrastructure was undergoing renovations resulting in various streets being blocked off and numerous detours being set up.

Levon held out his hand and Joe handed over the file folder he had been using to keep the map and directions in. Levon flipped it open and looked down at the black-and-white photo of a handsome young man. His fingers ghosted over the picture tracing the jaw line, touching a cheek, tracing a shoulder length curl.

Joe settled back in the seat to wait, reminded of dozens of stakeouts that they had shared through their years as cops in Houston.

Levon looked up from the photo and around at the area they were in. After a long moment of silence, he said, "Lousy neighborhood. Kid's an ATF agent. You'd think he could afford better."

"According to his financial records, he can," Joe told him.

Levon gave him a look, "You checked his financial records?"

"You wanted a thorough background check. Finances are a big part of that."

"Then he lives here by choice. Why'd anybody *want* to live here?"

"I plotted his past addresses on the Denver map. He lived in this same neighborhood when he was growing up. Came back after he got out of the army. Moved down to Austin, when he was with the US Marshals then back here when he took to bounty hunting. When he's living in Denver, he's always lived in this neighborhood. I suppose it's home."

"Shouldn't have had to be."

"It's *not* your fault. You didn't know he existed." Joe hesitated, unsure if he should voice what he was thinking, then shrugged. It wouldn't be the first time they had had a "difference of opinion" and he doubted that it would be the last.

"You know," he said carefully, "he might not be what you're hoping he is."

"Timing's right."

"Still, you can't be sure...."

"I know that!" Levon snapped. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, an old habit that he had when he was nervous. "... and even if he is, I reckon that I'll be lucky if he don't spit in my face, showing up now, after all this time... when he don't need me no more." After a minute he repeated the words softly, all the determination that had kept him going for the last two months fading away, as he looked down at the picture, touching it again. "He don't need me anymore."

He looked up at Joe then, his eyes troubled. "Am I doing the right thing, Joe, or am I just being selfish, wanting to meet him, get to know him...?"

Joe reached out and laid a hand on Levon's arm. "You're doing the right thing. You've got a right to know. So has he... and yeah, he may be mad, he may not want anything to do with you, at least to start with, but I think that it's worth the risk to know the truth."

He paused, looking into Levon's eyes. "If this Vin Tanner is your son, you have the right to have a chance to tell him that you didn't just abandon him, that you never knew he existed. You've got the right to tell him that when you learned that he might, just might, be yours, you came looking for him... and you know, he might just need to hear that."

Levon sighed and nodded, laying his hand over Joe's on his arm, he squeezed it gently. "Thanks, Joe. You always know what to say to make me feel better... and thanks for putting up with me the last couple of months."

Joe grinned, that wicked grin that always set Levon's heart to pounding, and gave him a wink as he said in an exaggerated Texas accent, "Aw, shucks, Cowboy, Ah've put up with ya fer nigh on ta fifteen years, what's a couple of rough months between friends?"

Levon laughed, all the fear and tension draining out of him at Joe's teasing. God but he loved the man.

Which was just one more thing to worry about. If Tanner was his son, how would he take the fact that his father was in a long-term relationship with another man?

He sighed again and went back to scanning the street, waiting for the man, who just might be his son, to get home.

________________________________________

The sun was setting when a dark green Jaguar slid smooth as silk into a parking space in front of Tanner's building and two men stepped out.

Tanner, in dress jeans and a western shirt with a fringed leather jacket over it, well-worn cowboy boots on his feet and an equally well-worn Stetson on his head, got out of the passenger side.

A well-dressed man in a thousand-dollar suit, emerged from the driver's side and rounded the car to stand beside Tanner as a group of neighborhood teens who had been keeping an eye on the rented Jeep and its occupants all afternoon surrounded the two men. From the gestures the teen made towards the vehicle it appeared that they were telling Tanner and his companion about the two men who had been watching the building all afternoon.

Tanner turned and looked towards the Jeep but his companion laid a hand on his arm and nodded towards the building and they moved off along the broken up sidewalk to the entrance-way, disappearing inside.

The teens surrounded the Jag, clearly in protective mode.

Joe reached over and tugged a second photo out from under the one of Tanner in the folder. It was a group shot of seven men. Glancing at it he nodded,

"Other one's Standish, another member of the ATF team that Tanner's on."

Levon took the picture back and looked at it a minute before nodding and closing the folder, dropping it on the seat beside him, then reaching over the back of the seat to pick up his hat from the back seat.

They exited the vehicle and Joe stood waiting for Levon to join him before crossing the street to where the Jag was parked. "So, how you wanna play this, Cowboy?"

Levon set his hat on his head and grinned at Joe, "Never hurts to be polite."

He sauntered across the street, a smiling Joe trailing behind him and walked up to the obvious leader of the teens surrounding the fancy car.

"Howdy," he said, reaching up to touch a finger to his hat brim, "Ya'll reckon Mister Tanner might be receiving visitors this evening?"

The teens looked more than a bit taken back by the easy, drawled question, then the leader said, "Senor Vin has company."

"I saw that, but maybe you could just ask him if he might be willing to spare a minute for a couple of fellow officers from down Texas way?" He held out his business card to the kid.

The kid took it and glanced down at the name: Levon E. Lundy, Chief of Detectives, Houston Police Department, Houston Texas.

Ramon Delgaro frowned at the card then looked back up at Lundy, "Official business?" he asked

Lundy shook his head, "Nope, just need a word with him."

The teen studied them for a long moment then gave a sharp nod, "Carlos!" he commanded.

A younger teen stepped up beside the leader, "Si, Ramon."

"Take this up to Senor Vin. Tell him that the gentleman asked to see him in an unofficial capacity."

The younger teen grabbed the card and hurried away.

Levon turned to watch him go.

Joe stepped closer to Ramon, "Nice colors. Your gang got a name?"

Ramon's head came up, proud and defiant. "We are not a gang. We are a club. Senor Vin organized us at the youth center to keep us *out* of the gangs. We carry no weapons. He teaches us martial arts for self- defense only. We patrol these streets, help him keep them safe for our families."

"Band of the Hand," Levon murmured just loud enough for Joe to hear.

Joe gave Ramon a nod. "So, this club got a name?"

"The Guardians."

Joe nodded again, "Good name."

It was also a good indication that Tanner still lived here because he wanted to give back to the community where he grew up. The more he found out about Tanner the more he hoped that he would be the son that Levon wanted him to be.

He went to stand beside Levon watching the building.

A few minutes later Carlos returned and hurried up to Ramon.

"Well," Ramon demanded.

"Senor Vin said to send them up," Carlos reported.

Ramon gave a sharp nod and turned to Joe and Levon. Now that the messenger boy bit was done he would escort the strangers to his hero himself.

"Follow me."

He led off, not looking back.

His second-in-command, Juan, immediately took his place in the honor guard surrounding the Jag.

Joe laid a hand on Levon's shoulder and squeezed slightly as Levon muttered, "Here we go."

________________________________________

Ezra Standish leaned against the breakfast bar that separated the living area of Vin's apartment from the kitchen and ran the business card, that Carlos had brought up, across his knuckles in much the same way that he frequently ran his calling card, the ace of spades, across them. A slight frown marred his handsome face. He couldn't think of any reason why the Chief of Detectives from Houston, Texas might want to meet with his partner, either officially or unofficially.

Vin paced back and forth in front of the couch obviously not knowing any reason for the visit either and just as obviously nervous about it. After a moment, Ezra slapped the card down on the bar with enough force to get Vin's attention. "Sit down, Mister Tanner. You should at least appear relaxed in your own home."

"I ain't relaxed," Vin snapped.

Ezra shrugged and said, "I know that... but there is no reason why they should." He moved to the refrigerator and took out two beers, sighing at the fact that Vin only had Bud Lights. Would it kill the man to get some decent beer? Considering how much time he had been spending with the sharpshooter, Vin had to know that he preferred imported.

He handed Vin a beer and motioned for him to sit on the couch as he moved to a nearby armchair and seated himself. "The first rule of undercover work, Mister Tanner, is 'never let them see you sweat'," He said as he twisted the cap off his beer and lay it on the end table beside his chair before taking a sip.

Vin sighed, nodding, and reached up to run a hand through his hair before twisting the cap off the beer and tossing it towards the trash can that stood behind the counter in the kitchen.

Ezra didn't have to see the cap go in the can to know it had. Vin had an uncanny ability to ring the damn thing even though he couldn't actually see it from the couch. Ezra hadn't tried to toss his cap in the can even though he could see it from where he sat because he knew he'd miss.

A couple of minutes later, Ramon tapped on the door and called out, "Senor Vin?"

"Come on in," Vin replied.

Ezra studied the two men that followed the teenager into the room.

The shorter of the two men had collar-length blond hair which was streaked with silver and slightly curly. He was dressed in what Ezra thought of as country casual; jeans, boots, western shirt and jacket topped off with a Stetson. He was also long and lean, almost the exact same height as Vin. As he reached up to remove his hat, he ran a hand through his hair, suddenly reminding Ezra of the way that Vin had done the same thing just moments before.

The other man was taller and broader with dark- brown hair just beginning to show silver at the temples and sideburns. He was dressed in an expensive suit, but not as expensive as the ones that Ezra normally wore. It had probably cost at most five hundred dollars, but it was still definitely a cut above usual office attire. He had startling blue eyes that again reminded Ezra of Vin.

Ramon stopped in front of Vin and said, "Senor Vin, this is Senor Lundy," he gestured towards the blond, "and Senor..." he trailed off realizing that the other man had never supplied his name.

"LaFiamma," the dark-haired man supplied in a vibrant baritone.

Ezra felt the sensuality in the voice and knew that a few months before, before he had met Vin Tanner, that voice would have had him as hard as a rock and ready for anything the man might suggest. Now though, he just catalogued the fact that LaFiamma was a strikingly handsome man, who most likely had no trouble at all getting women, or men for that matter.

Vin stood and shook hands with the two men. Then there was a moment of awkward silence before Lundy spoke.

Sighing and turning his hat around in his hands, another nervous gesture that reminded Ezra of Vin, Lundy finally said, "So, you're Emma Lynn's boy...."

LaFiamma rolled his eyes behind Lundy's back.

Why the stranger would do that Ezra couldn't be sure, then suddenly his quick mind jumped to the most outrageous conclusion and he sat up, startled by the thought.

Vin's attention was suddenly completely on Lundy.

"You knew my ma?" he asked eagerly.

Lundy continued to roll his hat in his hands as he answered. "Yes, yes I did. Didn't know she had a son until just recently. Couple of months ago in fact. Took me a while to find you...."

Ezra couldn't keep his mouth shut. "And you wanted to find Mister Tanner because...."

Lundy took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking at Vin and saying, "Because, I reckon I could be... I mean it's possible that," he hesitated obviously nervous, then finished in a rush, "that I could be your father."

Vin stepped back and sat down on the couch, stunned.

"And you are here now because...?" Ezra demanded, when Vin seemed unable to speak. He rose sitting his beer aside and coming to take up a protective stance near where Vin sat on the couch.

"Because I'd like to know for sure. I thought if Vin was willin' we might have a DNA test run."

He turned back to look at Vin, "I wanted you to know that if you are my son, I'm real sorry that I never knew about you, sorry I wasn't there for you when you were growing up. And I wanted you to know, that if I had known about you, I'd have been there for you."

"You're here now, Cowboy," LaFiamma said quietly, into the silence that followed that.

"Somehow *now* seems a little late to me," Lundy replied, equally quietly.

Vin looked up at the man that might just be his father, seeing the genuine regret in his face and hearing it in the quietly spoken words.

He turned to look at Ezra, his expression questioning. He wasn't really sure why he turned to his friend for guidance in this, but when he saw the slight nod Ezra gave him, he felt relieved that Ezra agreed that he should at least find out if the man was his father.

He stood and after taking a deep breath said, "Don't reckon it'd hurt to know for sure." He glanced at Ezra again, "I think we know somebody that can draw the blood and get the test done with no questions asked."

Ezra nodded. "I do believe that you can trust to Mister Jackson's discretion in this matter."

Lundy looked at LaFiamma and the dark-haired man supplied, "Team medic, forensics expert."

Ezra cocked an eyebrow, "It would seem you did more than simply locate, Mister Tanner...." he let it trail off into a question.

"I did a thorough background check." LaFiamma stated unrepentantly.

"Might I inquire, exactly what is your position in all this?" Ezra challenged.

Lundy answered, "Officially, Joe's my Assistant Chief of Detectives. Unofficially, he's my bodyguard, the inter-departmental liaison, inter-agency liaison and departmental multi-lingual translator."

"Seems like you wear a lot of hats," Vin observed.

Lundy chuckled suddenly, cutting his eyes at LaFiamma.

"This is funny?" Ezra inquired.

"Given that Joe plumb refuses to wear a hat, any kinda hat, yeah," Lundy said with a grin.

Then he sobered and turned back to Vin, "I reckon that you gotta right to know, in case it makes a difference to ya in whether you want to know if I'm your father or not, that on the personal side of things, Joe's my life partner. We're coming up on our twelfth anniversary."

Joe stepped closer obviously in protective mode.

Vin cocked an eyebrow, then said, "Then I reckon you got a right to know, just in case it makes a difference to whether you want to know if I'm your son or not that I'm bi-sexual."

Ezra let out a sigh of relief, not only at the way LaFiamma relaxed his defensive stance, but also at the discovery that his dreams of being more than friends with Vin might not be as impossible as he had thought.

"Shall I call Mister Jackson?" he asked casually.

"Yeah," Vin said.

Lundy nodded, "Please do."

"It'll take him a bit to get here, ya'll might as well have a seat. Ya want something to drink?" Vin asked.

Lundy accepted a beer and LaFiamma asked if they had bottled water.

With only the couch and one chair in the living room they settled on sitting down at Vin's small kitchen table.

After another awkward silence Vin looked up and grinned before saying, "So, I reckon ya *did* know my ma."

Lundy laughed, his brown eyes sparkling suddenly, "Oh, yeah! Your ma was a hella'va woman. Strong willed, independent, stubborn, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Knocked me for a loop I can tell you."

For the next hour or so, until Nathan's arrival, Lundy regaled them with stories about Vin's mother. It was clear from his enthusiasm that he had truly cared for the woman, possibly even been in love with her.

Ezra watched LaFiamma as he listened to Lundy's stories. He was a little surprised that the other man showed no signs of jealousy. The dark-haired man smiled indulgently at Lundy, apparently completely unperturbed by the fact that his lover was reminiscing about an old lover with obvious affection for her.

When Ezra rose to make coffee after a bit, LaFiamma rose as well and came to lean against the kitchen counter while Ezra filled the coffee maker.

"You got something that you want to ask me?" Joe ventured quietly, pitching his voice so as not to intrude on the conversation still going on at the table a few feet away.

"You don't have a problem with Mister Lundy...." Ezra trailed off gesturing towards the table uncertain of just how to ask what he wanted to ask.

"With Lundy remembering Vin's mother?"

"Not exactly... but something like that."

Joe thought a minute before saying, "When I met Lundy, he was not only still carrying a torch for his dead wife, but also a lotta guilt about her death. She was killed in a car bomb meant for him," he explained in an aside.

"Later I found out that his mom died when he was young and that his dad was an alcoholic. Because of that he didn't have the greatest childhood. He went to college on a football scholarship, only to hurt his shoulder in the last season of play and lose his dream of playing pro-ball. He married his childhood sweetheart, only to have her turn into an alcoholic and then, like I said, be killed by a bomb meant for him. He's got a lot of bad memories. I love him too much to be jealous of the few good memories he has. Besides it would be petty to be jealous of a woman that was out of his life a long time before I met him, especially when I know that he's happy with me."

Ezra turned to lean against the counter as he waited for the coffee to make, studying the two men at the table with a pensive expression. A hand falling on his shoulder startled him out of his reverie and he flinched away before he could catch himself.

Joe murmured an apology, the hand stroking his shoulder soothingly before he said, softly, "You should tell him."

"Tell him what?" Ezra croaked, shrugging out from under the hand.

LaFiamma shook his head, giving a long suffering sigh, "That you love him," he explained patiently.

When Ezra opened his mouth to protest, LaFiamma raised a hand to stop him, "Takes one to know one," he informed the undercover agent. "You've got it so bad you could die of it. I know that feeling."

He looked over at Lundy, his expression sad. "When I first realized how I felt about him, I thought I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell. He was so obviously carrying a torch for his dead wife and so obviously a macho heterosexual male that I couldn't believe he'd even consider me."

"What happened to change that?"

"We spent a couple of years fighting like cats and dogs then one night in the middle of a screaming match he grabbed me and started trying to remove my tonsils with his tongue. I don't recall how we ended up in his bed but we did and somehow I never made it back to sleeping in mine. Oh, we have our differences but I can count on my fingers the times we've slept apart since then that wasn't purely due to the job or our need to keep our relationship a secret."

"You think that I have a chance?"

"I think that you at least know that he likes guys... beyond that, you can figure the odds for yourself. Think about who he spends time with. Does he seek out your company? Does he seem glad when you seek out his? Notice the little things. Like does he seem to notice what you like and dislike? If you go to lunch together, does he always want to go to a place he likes or does he make an effort to go somewhere you like? If he brings in snacks, does he bring something specifically for you, something that he knows you're fond of? Stuff like that can tell you a lot."

Ezra smiled suddenly, a sly secretive smile.

LaFiamma raised an eyebrow at him.

"Bagels," Ezra said, "whole wheat bagels. Only two people in the office eat them, Mister Jackson and myself. Normally Vin wouldn't touch a whole wheat anything with a ten-foot pole but lately whenever it is his turn to bring in the snacks as you put it, he brings two whole-wheat bagels. And while he often forgets Mister Jackson's cream cheese, he recently brought in a small jar of Smucker's Pure Fruit in strawberry flavor, which is my favorite." His smile widened as he leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "It may interest you to know that Mister Tanner is allergic to strawberries."

"Now that does sound interesting," Joe smiled back at him. "Good luck," he added just as someone knocked on the apartment door.

Ezra called to Vin, "I'll get it," waving his partner back into his seat, where Vin returned to eagerly listening to Levon talk about Emma Lynn Tanner.

Joe turned back to the counter as the coffeemaker dinged. He opened a cabinet, looking for cups and things. In just a few minutes, he had found what he needed. He set up a serving tray with five cups, saucers and spoons, all mismatched but serviceable, a jar of sugar, (it was an old instant tea jar, with a green screw on lid) and two plastic half-pints of coffee creamer from the fridge. He noted with a grin that Tanner had both plain creamer and hazelnut flavored. He'd be willing to bet that hazelnut was Standish's favorite flavor. He added the pot of coffee and moved to the table.

He set the tray down, earning an embarrassed look from Vin just as Ezra escorted a tall, colored man into the kitchen.

Introductions were made while the men helped themselves to coffee.

Joe smiled when Standish was the only one that used the hazelnut-flavored creamer.

Silence fell after a moment then Jackson said, "Now, ya'll want to tell me why you asked me to come over and bring the equipment to draw blood?"

Vin and Ezra exchanged looks then Ezra said to Vin, "I believe you should be the one to tell him... and it would most likely be best to ensure that he knows you wish this to remain confidential for the time being."

Nathan cocked his head at that and gave Standish a scowl, "If this is some scheme of yours, Ezra..." he started only to be interrupted by Vin.

"Ez ain't got a thing to do with this, he was just here when Joe and Levon showed up," Vin snapped.

Jackson looked a bit abashed but didn't make any attempt to apologize to Ezra for his insinuation.

Vin went on, "but he is right. I do want this kept just between us for now. As to what 'xactly I want. I want you to take blood from me and Lundy, run a DNA test to see if we might be... related."

"Related how?" Jackson asked. Some quick math told him that it most likely that the test was to see if Lundy was Vin's father, but he wanted to hear it.

"There's a possibility that I'm his father," Lundy said quietly.

"And you're just showing up now?" Jackson demanded.

Ezra dropped his head staring down at his coffee cup to hide his amusement, as he saw LaFiamma's hackles start to rise. He'd give odds that, although Nathan was both taller and broader than LaFiamma, in a fight LaFiamma would cream Nathan.

Lundy lay a restraining hand on LaFiamma's arm and said quietly, "Just found out a couple of months ago that his ma had a kid. Took me a while to track him down."

"Joe and Levon are cops. Chief and assistant chief of detectives in Houston," Vin supplied.

Nathan nodded, "All right. I'll draw the blood and take it into the lab. It might take some time to get the results. It not being official business the lab won't make it a priority, especially if I can't tell them what it's for."

"We got some time. Officially me'n Joe are on vacation," Levon said.

Jackson nodded and began to prepare to take the blood.

When he was finished he didn't linger long, just said his good-byes and left.

Awkward silence fell again, until Ezra asked, "Do you gentlemen have someplace to stay?"

"Yeah," Joe replied, "We've got reservations at the Rocky Mountain Resort. Figured if we were supposed to be on vacation we might as well make the most of it."

"It is a nice place," Ezra informed them, "but not easily found by out-of-towners, especially after dark. Perhaps I should show you the way?"

Levon chuckled, "Well, considering that we only got lost four times trying to find this place, we'd appreciate it."

"Hey, Lundy, it ain't no fun if you don't get lost!" Joe teased his lover.

"Well, it's been a long day so I'd rather not get lost trying to find our bed." Levon responded.

"Then allow me to get my jacket and I'll escort you to your accommodations," Ezra smiled.

As they headed for the door, Vin grabbed up his jacket. "How about I ride along?" he asked

Ezra looked back at him a bit surprised, "Certainly, if you wish."

As Vin and Levon headed for the stairs, chatting animatedly, Ezra made sure the apartment door was locked. He looked askance at Joe, thinking that most likely Vin would ride with them to continue his conversation with Levon about his mother.

Joe shrugged, but he wasn't really surprised when Vin stopped beside the Jag, waiting for Ezra to open the doors rather than head across the street to the rental Jeep.

________________________________________

The Rocky Mountain Resort and Spa was nearly an hour's drive out of Denver proper. By the time that Vin and Ezra escorted the two Texas cops to the resort and got back into Denver it was close to midnight.

Vin glanced over at Ezra, "Know you don't wanna take the Jag into Purgatorio at this time of night an' your place is closer anyhow, so how about I stay over in your guest room?"

He hesitated, knowing that Ezra wouldn't want to get up as early as he would to be in to work and that he would need to get up even earlier than usual to get back to his place to bath and change clothes. He added, "I could grab a cab back to my place in the morning."

Ezra smiled at him, "That would be acceptable," he said casually, his heart secretly soaring.

He continued to smile to himself as he drove them to his condo. If LaFiamma was right about the little things having big meanings then Vin's suggesting that he stay over at Ezra went a long way to encouraging the Southerner that his feelings might well be returned. None-the-less, he would take it slow. He would wait for more indications before making a move on his handsome co-worker.

________________________________________

Back at the resort, Joe and Levon were settling into their quarters.

Levon had been expecting a room, what he got was a suite, a big suite. There was a living room, a separate dining room and kitchen, (completely outfitted except for groceries) a laundry room complete with washer and dryer and two bedrooms with baths. The master bedroom had a California king-size bed and the master bath boasted a Jacuzzi. French doors opened off the master bedroom to a balcony with a spectacular view of the lake that the resort sat on and the towering mountains beyond.

When they had unpacked what little they had brought, Levon stepped over to the French doors and stood looking out.

"Wanna sit out on the balcony a while?" Joe asked coming up behind him and resting his hands on his partner's shoulders, beginning to massage them.

"Naw. Too cool. Be nice tomorrow when it warms up a bit, though." He sighed, "Thought we's just getting a room...." he let it trail off into a question.

"We've got the travel club membership, Cowboy. Might as well use it. This whole suite is costing less per night than a double room at the Uptown Holiday Inn would. Not only do we have our own Jacuzzi, but there's a full spa and a gym downstairs, to boot. There's even an indoor heated pool."

"You're spoilin' me."

"Figure that's part of my job. You sure don't spoil yourself."

After a moment Levon sighed then asked, "What do ya think of him?"

"Seems like a good guy," Joe said quietly, slipping his arms around Levon and hugging him gently.

"Glad he don't seem to have a problem with us."

"Uh-huh," Joe murmured nuzzling Levon's hair. "Speaking of us, how about I go fire up that Jacuzzi and we have a little soak?"

"Sounds like a plan," Levon agreed. Turning in Joe's arms, he slipped his arms around Joe's neck. "Maybe we could do more'n have a soak. Seems to me that I've been neglecting a real important part of my life lately."

"It's all right," Joe smiled at him.

"No. It ain't. No matter what happens here, how this turns out, me'n you, us bein' together, that's the most important part of my life. I'll be right happy to find out that that boy is my son and I'll make time for him and love him and be proud of him but you will always be the most important person in my life. Understand me?"

"Yeah, Cowboy. I understand perfectly. You love me, just as much as I love you," Joe smiled, his eyes soft as he looked into his lover's. "You will always be the most important person in my life, too."

He leaned in for a long gentle kiss, a sweet affirmation of their love, his mind was already planning just how he'd show Levon how much he still loved him after all the years they had been together.

The Jacuzzi was the perfect place to start, then a long, slow, full-body massage followed by equally long, slow, tender loving.

________________________________________

Vin awoke to the smell of bacon cooking.

He rolled over and blinked as he looked around the room he lay in. He *was* in Ezra's guestroom.

Surely Ezra wasn't up already? Unless *he* was late?

He blinked the bedside clock into focus. Six-twenty-seven. Three minutes until his alarm went off. He wasn't late. So, why was Ezra up? It had to be Ezra. Who else would be cooking bacon in the condo?

Hell, for that matter why would Ezra be cooking bacon? He didn't eat it. He said it was unhealthy. As far as Vin knew he didn't even have bacon in the place.

Deciding that he might as well get up and find out what was going on, he threw back the covers and sat up on the side of the bed. Reaching for his clothes, which were thrown over the back of a nearby chair, he dressed.

A few minutes later he wandered into Ezra's well-appointed kitchen to be greeted by a smiling undercover agent.

"Good morning, Mister Tanner," Ezra said cheerfully as he sat a plate of bacon, sunny-side-up eggs and grits on the table. "Please sit down, breakfast is almost done. I'm only waiting for the toast to pop up."

Vin stared at him, then at the plate of bacon, eggs and grits. The bacon was fried crispy just the way he liked it. The eggs were fried so that the edges of the whites were crinkled and brown, but the yolks were barely cooked and would run, when he stuck his fork into them, just the way he liked them. Just the way Ezra always said made him nauseous to look at.

He looked back up at Ezra. "Who are you... and what have you done with Ezra?"

Ezra grinned at him. "What ever do you mean, Mister Tanner?"

"My Ezra wouldn't be awake this early! Let alone alert enough ta cook!"

Ezra's grin widened.

"Your Ezra?" he purred, sidling closer.

"What?" Vin sputtered, backing up slightly.

Ezra pursued him, "You said, *my* Ezra. I simply asked if you meant that as possessively as it sounded."

Vin backed into the breakfast bar.

Ezra moved in close, leaning against Vin, pinning him to breakfast bar. To hell with taking it slow. The man had stated a claim. "Am I? Your Ezra?" he purred.

Vin gulped and looked down into the gleaming, green eyes. He could see desire in them, a hunger that matched his own. He could feel Ezra's erection pressing into his thigh.

Suddenly certain of his welcome, his eyes took on a predatory gleam of their own. "Damn right, you're mine!" he growled. His hands came up, tangling in Ezra's hair as he leaned in to claim that smiling mouth in a passionate kiss.

He tripped Ezra backwards, lowering him to the kitchen floor.

They'd just have'ta be late for work.

________________________________________

Levon awoke slowly, snuggled in Joe's arms. He smiled as he stretched slightly, not wanting to pull out of the warm embrace. He had the most delicious ache in his backside.

Joe didn't often take the lead in their lovemaking, was more inclined to prefer the bottom than the top but when he did top it was always wonderful. He was a gentle and thoughtful lover, never rough or harsh in his demands.

He'd begun his seduction in the Jacuzzi with lingering kisses and gentle caresses, continued it by carrying Levon to the bed and taking his time giving him a thorough and sensuous full-body massage. By the time Joe had entered him, Levon had been reduced to mindless begging.

It had always been that way. While Joe liked to be taken hard and fast, when the tables were turned he was the most gentle and tender lover Levon had ever known. Joe knew that the only other relatively long-term, same-sex relationship that Levon had been involved in, had turned abusive. Perhaps that was why he was so gentle.

Bobby Wilton. Maybe it was a good thing that the man had been killed by the mob he had worked for. Joe had never liked him. When he'd found out that Levon and Bobby had been lovers once and just how badly Bobby had hurt Levon, he'd been furious. If the man hadn't already been dead, Levon was sure that Joe would have killed Wilton himself.

His sweet, gentle, tender lover was a dangerous man.

"You all right, babe?"

The soft question jolted him out of his thoughts and he realized that thinking about Bobby had made him tense up. Joe had felt the tension in his body, even while asleep, and had awakened to check on him.

He twisted around to face Joe, snuggling in closer, letting the tension drain out of his body. "I'm fine. Just thinkin' 'bout things I don't need ta."

"The kid?" Joe asked, knowing Levon would know that he meant Vin Tanner.

"Naw. Bobby." He saw the slight reproach in Joe's eyes and sighed, "Told ya it was things I didn't need to be thinkin' about. Forget it, okay?"

"Done," Joe said, kissing him softly.

"So, what'cha want ta do today?" Levon asked.

"Thought we might do some shopping. I was thinking about inviting Vin and Ezra over for supper."

Levon raised an eyebrow at him in question.

Joe chuckled. "I think you better get used to the phrase, 'Vin and Ezra'," he said. "You were kind of preoccupied with Tanner, but I'm telling you, those two are together. They just don't know it yet."

Levon snorted. "I'll trust your instincts, especially about that. Never seen anybody with a better nose for sniffing out gay couples."

"I've been wrong."

"Not often. So, what are ya gonna feed our kids?"

"*Our* kids?"

Uh-huh. Don't go tryin' to tell me, you ain't adopted them. I know you better than that. Hell! Even if the test is negative, you'll be naggin' at them to give us a call, have them comin' down to visit.... "

"I'm not that bad!"

"Ha! Words 'extended family' mean anything to you? How many godchildren have we got, courtesy of your cousins, ex-girlfriends and old friends? How many people come to our Sunday afternoon cookouts? Why do we have eight bedrooms in our house? Whose family waltzes through there like it's got a revolving door? Why do JD and Ryan call our place the 'Lundy-LaFiamma home for wayward teens, old spook retirement farm and daycare center'?"

"All right, all right, so, I am that bad. Can't help it. I come from this huge family..."

"I know... and we ain't ever gonna have kids of our own."

"Well, I didn't think we would, but now...."

"But now, if Vin is mine, you're hoping he won't mind being yours, too."

"Well, yeah."

"It'll be okay, you know. I got this feeling deep down that he is my son... and I think that he'd appreciate knowing he's got family. It might take some getting used to. I figure he's been on his own most all his life. It won't be easy to suddenly find himself surrounded by folks. Especially your folks. Really think we should hold off on telling him that ya got a hundred and fifty-seven cousins. I can just see him headin' for the hills when he hears that."

Joe laughed. "Takes after you then. I thought I was gonna have to call out the bloodhounds to find you the first time great-aunt Rosa and her brood showed up, all eight kids, their wives and husbands and twenty-three grand kids."

Levon chuckled, "Was a heck of a shock." He snuggled a bit longer then asked, "So, where you want to start your shopping?"

"Phone-book. I think I'll make my lasagna, with salad and fresh fruit for dessert. I'll look up a farmer's market for the fresh veggies, and a specialty shop for the pasta. I want fresh made."

"You think you'll find a shop that makes fresh pasta in Denver?"

"There should be one. Denver's a big, cosmopolitan city... and if there's not, well, I can always make my own."

Levon grinned as they got up and dressed, only Joe would consider making his own pasta for a simple meal.

________________________________________

Josiah Sanchez looked up as Vin sauntered into Team Seven's bullpen, then did a double take as Ezra Standish strolled in behind him.

Vin looked unusually well put together. He wore dress jeans with a crease down the legs and a western style shirt in a turquoise blue that complimented his eyes. His tie was a bolo, with a turquoise stone the size of a half-a-dollar. The stone was unusual in that it was half blue turquoise and half green, the colors blending together along the middle.

He also wore a very self-satisfied smile.

He shrugged out of the fringed, suede-leather jacket he always wore hanging it on the coat rack near his and Ezra's desks. He hung his hat there too.

Ezra practically floated past Josiah, smiling as he greeted him cheerfully, "Good morning, Mister Sanchez."

Josiah turned completely around in his chair to look at the clock on the wall behind Buck and JD's desk.

Eight o'clock. Late for Vin. Early for Ezra, very early for Ezra and the man was smiling.

He turned back to stare at Vin and Ezra in time to see Vin help Ezra out of his jacket and hang it up for the undercover agent.

Well, hell's bells! Well-fucked. That's what they looked like. Both of them. And it was about damned time! Anybody with half a brain and a pair of eyes could see that the two of them were crazy about each other.

He turned back to his desk and hid a grin. It might be just as well that Nathan could be blind as a bat sometimes. Somehow, Josiah didn't think he'd be as happy for them as Josiah was.

________________________________________

It only took three phone calls for Joe to locate a farmer's market that he thought would be acceptable. Still he marked the other two on the map as well. It took longer to find a specialty shop that sold fresh made pasta, but when he did he was pleased to learn that they also sold fresh made Italian bread and the ingredients to make your own.

Levon rolled his eyes, knowing full well that when they returned to the suite it would soon be filled with the smell of baking bread. Joe loved to bake his own bread, even though most of the time Levon couldn't tell the difference between his and the fresh baked bread that Joe occasionally bought at the specialty bakery back in Houston. Not that he would ever tell Joe that and there was something to be said for having the opportunity to savor the smell of the bread baking.

This time before they left Joe tuned the clock-radio beside the bed to the commuter's advisory station and marked off the detours and blocked roads on his map.

Levon found it surprisingly easy to navigate the unfamiliar streets with Joe handling the map and locating their turns. Only once did they end up in a turn lane that forced them to circle the block to get back to where they needed to be.

They headed for the farmer's market first and Levon couldn't help grinning at the way Joe fit in there as easily as he did at the one back home. He conversed with each stand owner in his or her own language, not once encountering a language that he didn't understand. The small farmers that didn't speak much English were mostly Vietnamese, Thai or Mexican; all languages that Joe was fluent in.

Levon wasn't certain why Joe was so happy to find fresh strawberries or why he bought enough of them and of peaches to make two separate desserts, but he figured Joe would tell him soon enough.

When they left the market they went directly to the specialty shop where, as Levon had expected, Joe bought the ready-made pasta after questioning the owner extensively about the ingredients he used, but bought the ingredients for the bread so he could bake it himself.

As they were leaving, Joe remembered he hadn't bought wine to go with the meal and asked the owner to recommend a shop, which he gladly did.

Levon knew that with his lover focused on cooking they wouldn't be doing any sightseeing at least not that day so, when Joe was through shopping he headed back towards the resort.

When they reached the suite Joe headed for the kitchen to put up the supplies.

Levon stopped in the living room. "I'm gonna call Vin. Reckon if you want them here for supper, we ought to let them know."

He dropped down on the couch and dialed the Federal Building number that Ezra had given Joe the night before.

________________________________________

Josiah didn't pay much attention when Vin's phone rang, but when he heard the sharpshooter say, "Just a minute, I'll ask him," his ears perked up.

Vin leaned forwards, across his desk to the one facing him as he called softly, "Ez?"

When Ezra looked up, Vin continued, "Levon wants to know if we'll come up to the Resort an' have supper with him and Joe?"

"I am amenable, if you are," Ezra replied.

Vin grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Sure, Levon. We'll be there. Ya'll need us to bring anything?" He chuckled at something that Levon said then said, "Okay. You tell Joe not to put himself out. Ya'll are supposed to be on vacation." He chuckled again then, said, "Okay. See ya'll about seven-thirty."

Ezra had listened to the conversation with interest.

When Vin hung up he asked, "What should we bring?"

"'Cording to Levon, nothing. Apparently Joe spent all morning draggin' him all over Denver shopping. Seems Joe likes ta cook and is real particular about his ingredients."

"I can understand that. A meal is only as good as the ingredients," Ezra said.

Vin regarded him a moment before asking, "You cook?"

Ezra smiled, "Well, yes, actually. I am quite a good cook. And yourself?"

"I can make a double Dutch chocolate cake with butter creme chocolate icing to die for. Unfortunately that's the only thing that I'm really good at making, 'sides barbecue and grilled stuff, of course."

"Well, if we are to return Joe and Levon's hospitality, we'll just have to work together on it."

"Sounds like a plan," Vin said with a grin.

He couldn't help thinking that it would be nice if Levon was his father but even if he wasn't, there was no reason that they couldn't be friends. It would be nice to have someone that he could talk to about his new relationship with Ezra without having to worry about censure or disapproval.

He found it encouraging that the invitation had included Ezra.

________________________________________

The first thing that Vin noticed when they arrived at Joe and Levon's suite at the resort was the smell of fresh baked bread. It filled the large airy condo and made it seem more like a home than a vacation rental.

Joe had made himself at home in the kitchen, expressing an appreciation that the resort manager hadn't skimped when it came to outfitting the kitchen.

A gourmet chef would have been completely at home in it. A fact that Levon was grateful for since Joe was a certified chef having graduated from the Chicago Culinary Institute and wouldn't have had the least bit of a problem with telling the resort association exactly what he thought had he not been pleased with the cookware available.

In fact Joe would be writing the association when they returned home in any event. He made a point of always sending a letter of comment to the management of any place that they stayed. Most of the time the letters were complimentary but on occasion they had been scathing reviews of what Joe considered the shortcomings of the accommodations.

"Ah, fresh baked bread!" Ezra commented as Joe took their coats. "A man after my own heart, I see. Italian or French?" he asked with a teasing light in his eyes.

"Italian of course!" Joe answered with mock shock. Ezra laughed and followed him towards the kitchen while Vin and Levon stopped off in the living room, Levon sprawling on the couch and Vin taking the nearby, overstuffed chair in a similar sprawl.

In the kitchen Joe raised an eyebrow at Ezra and looked back towards the living room his eyes indicating Vin as he said, "You look like a happy man."

Ezra's smile widened, showing his dimples. "Vin invited himself to stay over at my place last night."

"Ah. A good indication that he's interested."

Ezra's chuckled. "Oh, yes, indeed. He most certainly is interested."

"He made a pass?"

Ezra blushed, "More like a home run."

"You didn't!"

"What can I say? When it comes to Mister Tanner, I'm easy."

Joe shook his head, but he was smiling. "Well, just remember you don't want to take it too fast. Even if you've already slept together you still need time to get to know each other and adjust to being a couple. My advice: Keep it to yourselves at least for a while. Enjoy just being a couple, settle into it before letting anybody else know."

Ezra inclined his head in a slight nod. "Both Vin and I are private people. We are not inclined to discuss our personal lives with anyone. Our colleagues are accustomed to being ignored or put off when they inquire into our personal lives."

Joe nodded, "That's good. But somebody's bound to notice that you're in love. You're positively glowing and Vin looks like the cat that ate the canary."

Ezra blushed again. "Hopefully it will take our friends some time to connect the dots so to speak. We shall have to be a bit more careful. I will speak to Vin about it."

Joe gave him another nod. "Good enough. Now, you want to take the salad to the table?"

________________________________________

Over supper, Levon told more stories about Emma Lynn and promised that he'd send Vin copies of some pictures that he had of her.

Joe and Ezra stayed mostly in the background letting the two men get acquainted, but Joe couldn't help smiling when a couple of times Vin reached for Ezra's hand, holding it. He had deliberately put Vin between Levon and Ezra instead of directly across the table from each other so that he could watch their interaction.

Joe received many compliments on his lasagna, with Ezra asking for the recipe. Both men were impressed when Joe brought out two separate desserts.

As he sat the desserts on the table he commented. "Ezra happened to mention that strawberries were his favorite fruit, but that Vin is allergic to them, like you are, Levon. So I made Strawberries Bellarosa, my grandmother Bellarosa's recipe, for him and me, cause I love strawberries, too. Then I made great-grandmother DeMira's Peaches DeMira for you and Vin. I thought since peaches are your favorite fruit that he might like them as well."

"Oh, yeah!" Vin grinned. "I love peaches... this looks great."

"It's a real simple recipe. I poached the peaches in brandy and sugar, then chilled them and added whipped creme just before serving, topping them with some of the brandy and sugar that I reserved as a sauce. The strawberries are simply chilled in a wine and sugar marinade."

Vin got a blissful look on his face as he took his first bite of the peaches. "Hummmm. This is good. You gotta get this recipe, Ez."

"I believe, if Joe is willing, I would like to have all the recipes for this meal. It has been exceptional."

"Well, they are all old family recipes. The lasagna was my Aunt Teresa's recipe, and the others like I said were grandmother Bellarosa's and great-grandmother DeMira's but I suppose that since you two are sort of family now I can let you have them."

Levon chuckled. "I knew it. Even if the test is negative, you've done been adopted."

Joe just shrugged. "What's a couple more younguns?"

"Just how many "younguns" do you two have?" Ezra asked, his curiosity piqued.

Levon laughed, "Ain't got none that's rightly ours, but Joe comes from a big family and all the kids think our ranch is their second home. Heck, when we left to come up here we left about fifteen, twenty people camped at the ranch."

"Aunt Olivia and her boys live there so you can't exactly call them camped... and JD and Ryan are investors so they've got owner's rights to be there."

"JD's one of Joe's cousins," Levon clarified. "Ryan's his partner, in life and work."

"Tokyo and Miguel are our housekeeper and hired hand so they live on the ranch with their two kids. That's eleven that's there most all the time. It's just Maria and the twins and your cousin that are just there temporarily."

"Well, if the custody papers go through on Rickerman, he'll be a permanent fixture as well," Levon said.

"Rickerman is Levon's cousin. His folks were killed in a car wreck about three months ago. He's been staying with us. Levon's the closest kin he's got left."

"Sounds like you've got a full house without adding me to the mix," Vin said, a note of sadness in his voice.

"Hey," Joe said, smiling at him, "there's always room for one more."

"And I'd be real proud to have you come to visit even if you turn out not to be any blood relation," Levon assured him.

Reaching out, he lay a hand on Vin's arm, looking him in the eyes as he said, sincerely, "Just what I've seen of you so far, I'm real proud to think that you *might* be my son. And if you are mine, well, there's just no substitute for your own flesh and blood. I love Joe's folks, and Rickerman is a fine young man but he's not my son. If you are, and I've got to say that I'm really hoping that you are, then you're special to me just because of that."

Vin nodded, tears welling in his eyes. He fought them back and gave a nod, "I gotta admit that I'm hoping for you to be my... my... dad. I never had anyone that I really wished was my dad before, but I really hope you are."

Levon squeezed his arm gently. "You know, if you want, we can just forget the test and say it was positive. I'd be happy with that."

"I would be, too, but I think that we ought to know the truth. We've already set it in motion and if it's negative we can still choose to be family," Vin said.

Levon nodded. "All right but no matter how the test comes out, if you ever need us for anything, you call, or come to us. You hear me?"

"I hear you," Vin sniffed then looked up at Levon and smiled, "Dad."

The grin that blossomed across Levon's face made Vin's heart fill with happiness.

Ezra and Joe exchanged smiles as they watched the two men.

Ezra stood up and lay a hand on Vin's shoulder. "On this happy note, we should, perhaps, call it a night. We still need to stop by your place and pick up a change of clothes for you, if you are staying at my place tonight."

"Yeah, we do... and I am," Vin smiled up at him. As they were slipping into their coats, Vin turned to Ezra. "Could we... you know... what you were saying about returning the favor?"

Levon raised an eyebrow at the stammered question.

Joe just shrugged at him to say he didn't know what they were talking about.

Ezra apparently did, "Of course."

He turned back to Joe and Levon, "Gentlemen, it would be a great pleasure if you would have supper with us, say Sunday evening, at my place. Vin could meet you here and show you the way?"

"That sounds good," Joe said.

"Be a pleasure," Levon assured them.

"Very well then. We'll see you Sunday afternoon. Until then, enjoy yourselves."

________________________________________

Saturday afternoon Nathan brought the test results by. He noted that Ezra's Jag was parked on the street directly in front of the walkway to the building.

Members of the club that Vin had started to keep the local teens out of the neighborhood gangs were arrayed around it like royal guards around a king's chariot.

He couldn't help a twinge of jealousy, touched with anger that not one of them even acknowledged his arrival, let alone moved to stand guard over his Jeep Cherokee where it was parked halfway down the block from the walkway.

He didn't know what a fine man like Vin Tanner saw in the arrogant, deceitful undercover agent. The damned man made his living lying to people. It never occurred to him to realize that without Ezra's skill at deception Team Seven would not be able to run the stings that they did to recover stolen weapons and keep them off of the streets of Denver.

He trudged up the four flights of stairs to Vin's apartment, cursing the ancient and frequently out-of-order elevator as he did so. The man needed to find a better place to live.

He knocked on the door and again Ezra answered it, as he had the last time that Nathan was there. Man acted like the place was his.

"Come in, Mister Jackson," Ezra greeted, ignoring Nathan's irritated look. "Mister Tanner is on the fire escape. We are grilling this evening."

Nathan shook his head. Ezra made it sound like he was actually doing something other than sitting around and watching while Vin cooked, but Nathan knew better than to think that the man would lift a finger to help. He followed Ezra through the living room to the window that led to the fire escape and ducked through it to stand on what Vin referred to as his balcony. It was barely big enough for the three of them. A small table and two chairs took up most of the space.

A small tabletop grill sat in the middle of the wrought-iron table and Vin was turning what looked like chicken breasts over on it. A small bowl with some kind of sauce in it sat beside the grill and when he finished turning the meat, Vin brushed some on it. Two foil-wrapped packets, with holes poked in them, lay on the back of the grill, giving off the scent of onions and peppers.

"Hey, Nate," Vin greeted. He nodded towards the envelope in Nathan's hand. "That what I think it is?"

"Yes," Nathan said and held it out to Vin.

Vin took it and passed it to Ezra. "Hang on to this until tomorrow, Ez."

"Vin," Nathan began then hesitated. He knew what the report said, "Maybe you should--"

"Nate, don't tell me what it says. I want to wait and open it with Levon."

Nathan sighed, but nodded. Finally he said, "Ya'll coming out to Chris' tomorrow for the cookout?"

He frowned when Vin looked at Ezra before answering.

"We could call Mister Lundy and ask if they would mind coming for lunch instead of supper. Then we would be free to spend the afternoon at the ranch as usual," Ezra suggested.

"You think Chris'd mind if we brought them along. I'd kinda like the fellas to meet them."

"You could call and ask. If he would rather that you not, you can always invite them to drop by the office one day next week. They still have a week of vacation time left."

Vin grinned. "Sounds like a plan." He turned to Nathan. "We'll be out to the ranch sometime tomorrow afternoon."

Nathan nodded. "Good. Well, I gotta go. Rain's expecting me. We're going out tonight."

"Sure. Ya'll have a good time," Vin said and turned back to the grill.

Ezra rose to see Nathan to the door. As he stepped through the window, Vin called after him. "Grab the salads and the wine, Ez, chicken's about done."

As Nathan headed back down the stairs, he couldn't help thinking how domestic the scene upstairs had seemed.

________________________________________

Vin awoke early the next morning, even earlier than was usual for him. It wasn't even first light yet, not that he would have been able to see the dawn what with the heavy light-blocking curtains that Ezra favored for his bedroom windows. Still he knew even before he looked at the clock that it was too early to get up.

He wasn't certain at first what had awakened him then in the darkness he felt something nuzzle against his chest and realized that Ezra's head was resting there and his lover was moving his head slightly in his sleep, rubbing his nose across Vin's left nipple. A tingle of arousal surged through him followed almost instantly by an overwhelming sense of tenderness and gratitude.

He rolled to his side, his arms clamping tightly around Ezra, holding him close.

Ezra came awake instantly. "Vin? What's wrong?"

"Nothing... nothing. I just... I woke up and just for a minute I thought it was all a dream. I thought that none of it was real. Being here with you... Levon and Joe coming looking for me.... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I just needed to feel you in my arms. Know you're real...."

Ezra squirmed upward to kiss him softly on the lips. "Don't apologize, darling. Waking up in your arms is a dream come true for me, as well, and I also sometimes have a fleeting moment when I think that perhaps I am still dreaming."

He snuggled back down, resting his head on Vin's shoulder, "Are you worried about the test results?"

"Naw, not really. We done decided that no matter what, me'n Levon are gonna consider ourselves family. Been thinkin' about that. Think maybe family that you choose is better or at least as good as what you're born to. When I joined team seven I got six brothers," he paused and bent to kiss the top of Ezra's head, "well, five brothers and a lover now, and there ain't a drop of blood between us."

"I know what you mean," Ezra said. "If I had been able to choose a mother, I don't know if I would have chosen Maude. She isn't the kind of mother that I've always wanted and yet..." he let it trail off with a sigh.

"She *is* your ma and you love her," Vin finished the thought for him.

Ezra nodded against his chest. "Yes. Exactly." He sighed again, "I do love her although I sometimes don't like her much... and I've never been quite sure that she loves me."

"She does," Vin assured him."

"How can you be sure of that when I am not?" Ezra asked.

"Cause I know how lovable you are... and you musta been even more lovable as a baby so how can she not love you?"

"You think I'm lovable?" Ezra teased.

"Yep." Vin rolled them over grinning down at Ezra before leaning in for a long deep kiss.

He glanced at the clock. It was hours yet before they had to get up. Plenty of time to show Ezra just how lovable he thought that Ezra was.

________________________________________

Since they were having the lunch with Levon and Joe at Ezra's and the men from Texas had not been there before, Ezra drove out to the resort to bring them back while Vin fired up the grill and began the cooking.

They had decided on a buffet style meal. Ezra had prepared salad fixings and a vegetable tray with dip before leaving. A large crystal salad bowl, filled with torn greens, dominated the center of the table, surrounded by smaller matching bowls containing chopped eggs, bell peppers and onions, two different kinds of shredded cheese, sliced radishes, mushrooms and tomatoes and cauliflower and broccoli heads. Each bowl from the largest to the smallest had it's own plastic lid. The vegetable tray was also crystal, matching the salad set with a built in bowl in the center for the dip and it's own domed plastic lid.

Corn on the cob sat ready to start in a steamer sitting on the counter just inside the kitchen door. All Vin had to do was turn it on when Ezra had told him to and set the timer. The corn would be ready just before time for the others to arrive. He'd take it out of the steamer and drop it on the grill for a few minutes just before they got there to flavor it.

Vin hummed to himself as he prepared what Ezra had informed him was a London Grill, several types of meat, all cooked on the grill. They had selected two six-ounce, peppercorn-seasoned rib eye steaks, two boneless, skinless chicken breasts marinated in teriyaki sauce, two pork chops with garlic-herb seasoning and two skewers of jumbo shrimp marinated in Ezra's own Diablo sauce.

Vin smiled at the memory of how Ezra had come to concoct the sauce. Shortly after Ezra had joined the team he had ordered the Shrimp Diablo at The Saloon, where team seven gathered after work. He had said something about it not being as hot as he liked and Vin had agreed, saying he always said it wasn't as hot as something with a name like that should be.

An insulted Inez had told them if they though that they could do better they were welcome to try. Ezra had taken the challenge. He had gotten the basic recipe from her then embellished it with his own additions.

Vin had been his taste tester. When Vin had first tasted the current recipe he'd fallen in love with it, whooping and grabbing for a tortilla to cool off his mouth.

Inez now had a new item on her menu, Extreme Diablo Shrimp. She had wanted to call it Ezra's Extreme Diablo Shrimp but Ezra had asked her not to do so. It came with a warning that it was only for the most daring. Vin ordered it at least once every couple of weeks but it was never as good at Inez's as it was when cooked on Ezra's grill.

Joe had mentioned that Levon loved hot, spicy food so Vin was hoping that he'd love the shrimp as much as he did.

When the timer dinged on the steamer he had just taken up the steaks, chicken and pork chops, placing them on a platter with a domed metal cover to keep them hot. Ezra had told him when to put each type of meat on the grill so that it would all be done at the same time. The steaks had gone on first then the pork chops and the chicken. The corn and shrimp would go on the grill together and everything would be ready and piping hot when his lover returned with their guests.

He was removing the shrimp from the grill when he heard the front door open and voices in the entryway.

"Nice," Joe complimented as he surveyed the townhouse foyer.

"Very," Levon agreed. In contrast to Vin's rundown apartment the townhouse was sleek and modern. The entryway floor was a dark green, marbleized ceramic tile that their boot and shoe heels echoed on. The walls were a creamy off-white. A simple but elegant table stood just inside the door with two shallow Indian-style bowls, done in pinks, grays and greens sitting on it.

Ezra dropped his keys into one. The other held several pieces of mail. Between the bowls and directly in front of a mirror stood a matching vase with a single spray of what looked like cherry blossoms.

To the left was the living room, the tile giving way to a plush dark green carpet at the arched doorway. Joe could see the long sweep of a curved sectional sofa in soft cream-colored leather with a matching loveseat and two reclining chairs, all set to take advantage of the wall of windows looking out over a view of the mountains. To the right was the stairs to the upper floor. The stairs were uncarpeted, gleaming hardwood.

The hallway continued past the living room to another arched doorway into the dining room and a third into the kitchen. Both rooms were floored with the same green marbleized tile as the entry hall. There was a closed door to the right under the stairs that Joe figured most likely led to a bathroom and/or laundry room.

Ezra led them past it and turned into the kitchen, leading the way through it to the patio beyond.

Vin greeted them with a smile. Gesturing to the chairs scattered around the patio he said, "Make yourselves at home. Everything's ready. We're doing this real informal. Just grab a plate and set to."

While Ezra removed the plastic lids from the salad fixings and vegetable tray, Vin ducked into the kitchen, returning with tall glasses filled with ice and two pitchers on a tray. One pitcher held tea, the other lemonade.

Levon and Joe exchanged approving looks at how comfortable Vin seemed in the plush surroundings and how easily Ezra seemed to accept Vin's plundering around in his kitchen. If the two men were going to be together, it was good for them to be comfortable in each other's homes.

While Ezra had seemed right at home in Vin's apartment from the first time they had met, it would have been easy for Vin to have been intimidated by the luxurious townhouse, afraid of breaking something or messing something up.

Vin held up one of the skewers of shrimp. "Ya gotta try this, Levon. Joe told Ez that ya like stuff hot and spicy? You oughta love this!"

Levon took the skewer and popped the end in his mouth pulling one of the shrimp off. As soon as he could chew and swallow he whooped, "Whooeee! That is spicy!" He followed up with bite of his dinner roll and a long draught of the ice tea then turned to Joe. "When you an' Ezra exchange recipes, get this one!"

Joe promised he would, then mentioned that he liked the tile in the entryway, hall, dining room and kitchen.

Ezra chuckled. "When I bought this place, it was carpeted throughout in beige carpet. After the first time that my team mates dropped by and tracked dirt, mud, grease and god-only-knows what else through it, I had the entire place redone. Now the only rooms with carpet are the living room and the two bedrooms upstairs. Everything else, including the upstairs hall and bathroom has the tile you so admire. It has reduced my maid service bill considerably, although, I still have to have the living room carpet cleaned every time that it's my turn to host poker night."

"And he wins enough off'a us to pay for that," Vin put in, an admiring note in his voice.

At Levon's raised eyebrow Vin added, "Ez plays a mean game of poker." He chuckled, "Nate swears he cheats, but Ez don't need to."

"Mister Jackson is an abysmal poker player," Ezra added, "but he thinks he's good."

It was Levon's turn to chuckle. "Met a few of them myself. Just don't seem to understand that they aren't as good as they think they are."

When they had finished eating, Ezra waved off Joe's offer of help to clean up and suggested that he and Levon have a seat in the living room while Vin helped him put the leftovers away and fill the dishwasher.

When Joe and Levon entered the living room they saw that the seating arrangement not only took in the view of the mountains through the picture window but a fireplace built into the wall between the living room and dining room.

They settled on the long curving sofa and talked quietly for the few minutes it took the other two men to clear away the remains of the meal.

When Vin and Ezra came into the living room Vin was carrying an envelope.

Levon leaned forwards, "Is that the test results."

"Yeah. I ain't looked at them yet. Wanted to wait until we were all together," Vin told him. He sat down in one of the reclining chairs but didn't let it back.

Ezra perched on the arm beside him.

Vin swallowed hard then ripped the envelope open.

He unfolded the single sheet of paper, looked at it, then leaned back with a soft curse.

Ezra reached out to take it from him, looked at it and sighed, "Indeed," he seconded Vin's curse.

Rising, he moved to the couch and handed the paper to Levon.

Levon handed it off to Joe without looking at it, "It's negative, ain't it?"

Joe looked at the paper and sighed, "Yeah, Cowboy," he said, "less than two percent possibility. Sorry."

"Me too. I's so sure. Felt so right. Like I'd finally found a part of me that'd been missing."

Ezra had returned to Vin's side and Vin reached up to take his hand.

"Ya know," Vin said, "we sorta agreed that the test results didn't really matter. Me'n Ez have been talking about what family is and we figure that feeling like family is more important than actual blood. I'd be real proud to think of you as my dad... that is if it's okay with you."

Levon grinned. "Hell, yes! I be honored! You're a fine young man, Vin. Anybody'd be proud to have you for a son."

Vin stood up and moved to stand in front of Levon, his hand extended, "Then it's settled. Glad to meet you, Dad."

Levon stood, but ignored the extended hand pulling him into a hug instead. "Proud to know you, son."

________________________________________

The four of them lazed around for a couple of hours after lunch. Vin and Levon talked mostly about Vin's mother and Levon's college days. Joe and Ezra amused themselves in the kitchen, talking about cooking and clothes.

It was mid-afternoon when they headed out to Chris' ranch.

Vin had always wanted to drive Ezra's Jag and Ezra, still basking in the glow of their new relationship, couldn't deny him. So Vin drove Ezra's Jag with Levon riding shotgun, while Joe followed in the rental car with Ezra riding along. That way if they got separated there was someone in each car that knew the way to the ranch.

Ezra wasn't really surprised when they hit the open road outside Denver on the way to the ranch and Vin couldn't resist opening the Jag up and leaving the rental car in the dust.

He just laughed when Joe asked if he wanted to catch up. "This car could never catch the Jag. Mah car has a racing engine in it."

"You're not worried that he'll wreck it?"

"No. Vin has remarkable reflexes and the Jag has a full roll cage frame. When Mother bought it for me she ordered it with every factory option known to man including bulletproof glass in all the windows, bulletproof panels in the doors, engine compartment and trunk as well as a full roll cage frame and run-flat tires."

At the look Joe gave him, he laughed. "I'm the team's undercover agent. I often drive the Jag when I go under. Of course, when Mother gave it to me I was with the FBI and she chose a most inopportune moment to present it. The case I had just finished had gone down the toilet and when I suddenly showed up with a hundred thousand dollar car...." he let it trail off.

"They thought that you were dirty," Joe said it grimly remembering all the crap he had had to take about certain members of his family being connected to the Mafia when he was first transferred to Texas.

"It didn't help that I've always been a closed-mouth bastard about my personal life. I suppose if I had let people know that Mother was married to one of the richest men on the planet, they might not have jumped to the wrong conclusion quite so quickly."

He paused, then went on, "I just never wanted to trade on the fact that I have money. Then there was the fact that for some reason most of my co-workers at the FBI seemed to regard someone working in law enforcement when they had no financial need to work at all, with suspicion."

"Why did you choose police work?"

Ezra hesitated then sighed, "I come from a long line of professional gamblers, con artists, liars and thieves.... I just felt the need to... I don't know... pay back some of what they cheated the world out of."

"I get where you're coming from. My Uncle Mikey, he's connected, if you know what I mean."

Ezra blinked then one eyebrow rose. "You're originally from Chicago?"

"Yeah."

"The Chicago LaFiammas," Ezra chuckled, "and you're a cop. That must have gone over really well with your family."

"They weren't happy but they learned to live with it. It was the people that I worked with that had a problem with it and some of the other families in the Mob."

"Is that how you ended up in Texas?"

"Yeah," Joe sighed, "A bust went bad. My partner was killed and I shot a guy that was under the protection of a big time mobster. He put a hit out on me. The department transferred me to Houston. Uncle Mikey managed to call in some favors and got the hit suspended for as long as I stayed in Texas."

"So, you can't go home again."

"It was a long time ago and the guy is dead so, yeah I can go back to Chicago now."

"But you won't," Ezra said positively.

"No. It's not home anymore. Levon is home, wherever he is."

"I understand. I've lived all over the world but there was only one other place that I called home before I came here. Team seven became my home and now, Vin is home. Wherever he goes, I will go."

"Where-so-ever he dwells, so shall you dwell, to paraphrase the book of Ruth."

"Exactly," Ezra smiled at Joe then looked back out at the road, "We're nearly there. Take the next left then it's only a mile or so to the turn in for Mister Larabee's ranch."

________________________________________

Chris was coming around the side of the house when he saw Ezra's Jag coming up the private road to the house. He stopped and waited, expecting Ezra to get out.

He raised on eyebrow when it was Vin and a stranger that emerged.

"Hey, cowboy," he greeted Vin, "where's Ezra?"

Vin gave him a cheerful grin, "Reckon I left him in the dust."

He waved a hand at Levon. "This is one of the fellas that I told you about, Levon Lundy. His partner's in their rental with Ez. Reckon they'll be here in a bit."

After Chris and Levon exchanged greetings and shook hands, they all headed around back to where Josiah had the grill going. As they walked, Chris asked, "So, how'd you get Ezra to let you drive the Jag?"

"Just asked'm if I could. She sure is a smooth ride. Quick and easy on the turns."

By the time that they had reached the back yard and were introducing Levon around, Joe and Ezra arrived in the rental car and parked next to Ezra's Jag.

Vin introduced Levon and Joe without making any comment except that they were friends of his. He ignored Nathan's frown.

It was Josiah that finally asked, "So, Mr. Lundy, are you an old friend of Vin's?"

Levon turned to Vin raising an eyebrow in question.

At Vin's nod, he said, "Nope. Met him for the first time last week."

Vin chuckled at the surprised expressions on everyone's faces. "Levon knew my mom," he supplied, "before I was born...." he let it trail off suggestively.

"Is he your dad?" JD burst out, as usual blurting out the first thing that popped into his mind.

It was Levon that answered, "When I found out about him, I thought I might be, but the DNA test says no."

"Still, it's real nice to find somebody that knew my mom," Vin said. "Reckon I've learned more about her in the last week than in my whole life before I met Levon."

The rest of the afternoon went well. Levon got into a long discussion with Chris about horse breeding and invited Chris and Buck down to take a look at some of Levon's mares should he decide to start breeding horses on his ranch.

Joe moved easily between the others, getting into a lengthy discussion with JD about computers and another with Josiah about the psychology of repeat offenders.

Before any one realized it, the sun was setting and the party started breaking up.

________________________________________

Chris stood on the porch, watching as the last car pulled out of the driveway. Surprisingly it wasn't Vin that has been the last to go but Nathan.

Buck came out of the door behind him as Nathan's taillights turned onto the highway. His oldest friend came up behind him and put both hands on his shoulders rubbing out the tension there. "What's got you all worked up, Old Dog?" Buck asked.

Chris just shook his head and grunted.

"Hummm, let me guess. Yer jealous of Levon. You know, you ain't old enough to be Vin's daddy, right?"

Chris snorted, "I know."

"Well then, maybe it's *Ezra* yer jealous of...." Buck suggested with a grin.

Chris shook his head again, turning into Buck's arms, "You know damned well I'm not interested in Vin like that!"

"Then what's got you so wound up?"

Chris sighed, "I don't know." After minute he said, "Maybe... it was just that Vin seemed so *disappointed* that Levon wasn't his daddy."

"Seemed alright with it to me. Looked like they were gonna be good friends. Least he won't have to worry about Joe and Levon minding his and Ez being together."

"You picked up on that, did you?"

"Oh, yeah. Vin seemed a mite distracted by the stuff with Levon, but Ez sure has got it bad. From the indulgent looks that Joe and Levon were giving them, they know what's what and don't have a problem with it."

"Josiah knows, for sure."

"Yep. Acting like a proud papa, practically crowing."

"Nate wasn't crowing."

"Nope, but he was paying attention and he relaxed some before the day was over. I think maybe he'll come around."

"Hope so. Cause if he's homophobic...." Chris's eyes narrowed dangerously before he leaned in to kiss Buck gently.

Buck let the kiss go on until Chris drew back then said, "I reckon it's more his issues with Ezra. They ain't gotten along real well from the beginning."

He grinned down at Chris, "Now, how about we go warm up that big ole bed of yours?"

"Sounds like a plan."

________________________________________

Nathan drove slowly along the long road from Chris' ranch back into town. He was grateful for the quiet of the evening and the sparse traffic.

He'd watched Vin and Ezra a lot at the gathering and had noticed something.

Ezra was never far from Vin.

He hadn't been pushy or clingy but he'd always been right there whenever Vin turned to him or looked for him.

It kind of reminded Nathan of the way that Rain always knew where he needed her to be when they were at some gathering. He never had to go looking for her, she was just there and he *knew* that she would be there.

Vin had confidence in Ezra. He trusted him and that was remarkable because Vin Tanner trusted very few people. The man had an uncanny ability to see through people. If he trusted Ezra then he saw something in Ezra that made him feel that Ezra was trustworthy.

He sighed. He would have had to be blind not to see the way the two of them were looking at each other.

Not to mention, Josiah's proud papa look and the indulgent glances from Vin's new friends.

He should have seen it coming. The way Ezra had acted at Vin's, answering the door, acting like he was at home in the tiny apartment.

Nathan frowned. Just about every member of the team had had something negative to say about Vin's apartment, except Ezra.

Ezra had refused to comment, saying that it was ill mannered to insult another's home.

He hadn't even added, 'even when it's a hovel like this,' as everyone had expected him to, thereby getting the insult in while saying that he wouldn't insult Vin's home.

Then there was the fact that, at least from what Joe and Levon had said, Ezra had left Vin alone at his place, while he went to get Joe and Levon.

Which meant that Ezra *trusted* Vin.

And Ezra Standish trusted no one, not even the members of the team, or at least he hadn't. But that had started to change before this, hadn't it?

Ezra had started letting them in. He'd slowly accepted Josiah's paternal posturing, becoming more amused by it than annoyed. He'd started being more careful undercover, starting to recognize that Chris' yelling when he did something reckless was concern more than anger. He had started to spend more time with Vin and JD, becoming friends with them. The only two that he hadn't gotten closer to were Buck and himself.

And that was their own faults, wasn't it? Buck was so jealous of his friendship with his 'little brother' that he saw Ezra and Vin's friendship with JD as a threat to his relationship to the kid.

As for his own problem with Ezra it was exactly that: his problem. It didn't even have anything to do with Ezra. It was about his past, his memories and insecurities. Ezra hadn't done anything to make him feel the way that he did. It was all him, projecting his feelings about someone else onto Ezra.

Maybe it was time to take the bull by the horns and clear the air with Ezra, because if Vin and Ezra were going to make this work, they were going to need the support of the entire team. They were going to need to know that no one on the team would betray them, that no one would let their secret out.

Being gay in law enforcement was a hard row to hoe, difficult and dangerous.

There were more than enough homophobic people in the ATF. He wasn't homophobic and he wasn't going to let Vin and Ezra think that he was just because Ezra reminded him of someone from his past.

He needed to talk to Ezra, explain about how much he reminded him of someone else and promise to try not to let his past stand in the way of them becoming friends. He needed to make sure that Ezra knew that the problem was his and that he was trying to deal with it.

Decision made he turned his car towards Ezra's townhouse.

________________________________________

JD waited until he turned onto the highway from Chris' access road before letting out a whoop and popping a wheelie on his bike. As the front tire reconnected with the pavement he laughed out loud.

He had *told* Casey that Vin and Ezra would make it to bed together before they did!

She had laughed at him and swore that the two men were so deep into denial that they might not ever make it to bed together.

He couldn't wait to tell her! He crowed to himself then shook his head. Damn! He couldn't tell her.

Vin and Ezra hadn't actually come out to the team. Granted almost everyone could tell that they were together or at least that something was going on between them, but they hadn't *said* anything.

He sighed and slowed down. He'd just have to wait until Vin or Ezra one told him that they were a couple and that he could tell Casey.

He and Casey had spent too much time trying to make friends with the two most private and mistrustful of the seven and he wouldn't ruin all their hard work by talking out of turn.

He bypassed the turn off to the Wells' ranch and headed on into Denver.

It was up to Vin and Ezra to decide when and if they wanted to tell Casey and her aunt, Nettie Wells.

________________________________________

Josiah grinned all the way home.

His boys had finally decided to do something about their mutual attraction.

He couldn't help but wonder which one of them had made the first move.

It was a hard call to make, even as a profiler he couldn't be absolutely sure. Both men were wary of emotional entanglements, both were fiercely private and unfailingly independent not to mention downright suspicious and paranoid.

He frowned. That didn't sound much like a couple with a good chance of making it.

On the other hand they were both stubborn to the point of obstinacy... and loyal. Once they committed to something they were completely committed to it.

Therefore, if they were committed to the relationship, and it looked like they were, then they weren't likely to breakup. In fact you'd probably need a good bit of C- 4 to break them up.

He whistled as he trotted up the steps of the old Victorian house he lived in.

Yep. It had been a good day, a very good day.

________________________________________

Joe followed the Jag back towards town. Ezra had let Vin drive it home but apparently he wasn't going to let him wind it out again, at least not now, in the dark with it starting to rain.

Levon leaned back in the passenger seat, smiling to himself.

Joe glanced over at him. "What's got you looking like the cat that ate the cream?"

Levon chuckled. "What'd you think of Larabee?"

"Good guy. Seemed real close with Vin. Didn't seem to have a problem with the boys new found closeness."

"Uh-huh. Anything else?"

"You mean did my gaydar go ping, ping, ping?"

Levon chuckled, deep and warm, "Yep."

"You know damned well it did. Him and Wilmington."

"Oldest friend. Best friend for years. Knowed each other since high school."

"And they made a real point of making sure that we knew that."

"Heading off any thoughts about how close they seemed?"

"Uh-huh. Lifelong best friends is a real good cover for spending lots of time together without people getting the idea that they are boffing like bunnies."

"You think they are?"

"Oh, please! Wilmington acts like he owns the place. He spends almost every weekend out there. He's got his own room which I'll bet he only uses when the rest of the guys are there."

"Do you think the others know?"

"I'd bet our boys do. They sure didn't seem worried about Larabee finding out about them. The profiler, Sanchez, he probably knows. The others, I can't be sure about. Maybe Dunne. He's Wilmington's roommate."

"I don't think that Dunne knows," Levon said, "Wilmington apparently has a pretty big rep as a 'ladies man'. He probably lets Dunne think that he's out with a woman when he's actually with Larabee."

"And Larabee, apparently doesn't date much just taking someone with him when he needs a date for some event or other, continuing to play the grieving widower card even though he's quietly moving on."

"I doubt that he's consciously playing the grieving widower card, as you put it. From what little I was able to pick up, he truly loved his wife and son. The pictures and keepsakes of his wife and child that fill that house show a happy, loving family. He'll never completely get over their loss. He's lucky to have someone that knew and loved them, too, to help him get on with his life."

"I didn't mean that he was faking his grief, only that he's letting people think what they want to think, letting them assign his lack of dating to his continued grief."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you did mean that. Guess I'm just a mite sensitive on the subject," Levon said with a sigh.

"I know," Joe sighed then looked over at Levon, "and I know that there are still days when you miss Caroline and the pain of losing her comes back sharp and clear. I'm sorry that I can't be there for you the way someone who had known her could be."

"I don't need that from you. You give me exactly what I need when the memories get to be too much. You give me yourself. You remind me that life may suck from time to time but it can get better. And what we have, is good, real good. In a lot of ways it's better than what I had with Caroline. Me'n you, we've been together now longer than Caro and I were married, almost as long as I had known her. Caro and I only had a few good years before things started falling apart. I've been happier with you for a lot longer than I was happy with her."

"And I'm happier with you than I ever was with anyone else."

Levon smiled again and reached across to take Joe's hand.

Lacing their finger together, they held hands all the way back to the resort.

________________________________________

Nathan sat for a long moment, staring out his car window at Ezra's townhouse. The lights were still on downstairs, even the front porch light.

He wondered vaguely if Ezra left it on all the time or if he had somehow known that someone would be coming by tonight.

The garage doors where closed, the security lights shining down on them, making puddles of light on the rain-wet concrete drive way.

He wondered if Vin was in there with Ezra, and found that he was suddenly hoping that Vin was. Maybe if the two of them stayed together Vin would finally move out of the dangerous neighborhood he lived in. After another long moment of contemplating what he was going to say to Ezra, he opened the car door and made a dash for the townhouse porch.

He rang the bell and listened to the soft, elegant chime ring inside the townhouse.

Vin opened the door and Nathan had a moment of deja vu, remembering Ezra opening the door to Vin's apartment.

"Nate," Vin said quietly, then turned to call over his shoulder, "It's Nate, Ez!"

"Well, invite him in," Ezra called back, his voice coming closer as Vin stepped back and waved Nathan in the door, closing it behind him.

Ezra was coming down the hall from the kitchen, a smile on his face. "Good evening, Mister Jackson. We were just about to have a nightcap. Would you care for one?"

He turned into the living room and moved towards the bar as Nathan followed him in with Vin bringing up the rear.

"Thanks," Nathan said, "But I'm driving and the rain is getting worse."

"Yes, of course." Ezra moved behind the bar and continued with fixing his and Vin's drinks. Getting out two glasses he opened a decanter and splashed a small amount of brandy in each glass. He swirled the brandy before handing Vin his glass.

He swept his free hand to indicate the couch and said, "Please sit down, Mister Jackson."

Nathan nodded his thanks and sat. then after a brief and awkward silence he said, "I reckon that you're wondering why I'm here."

"I was a bit curious," Ezra said with a smile that crinkled the skin around his eyes and brought up the dimple in his cheek.

"I thought it was time that I tried to clear the air with you. I know that the problem is with me, but I think that you deserve to know why I have such a problem with you when you haven't done anything for me to have a problem with."

"I have always wondered exactly what your problem with me was," Ezra admitted. "I have never been able to think of anything that I have said or done that would justify your hostility."

"That's because it's not something that *you* said or did. The problem is that you look like someone else, you sound like someone else, someone that I used to know, someone that cost me my dream of being a doctor."

"Damn!" Vin's quiet exclamation pretty much said it all.

"Yeah," Nathan said grimly. "He pretended to be my friend, pretended to like me, pretended to want to help me. Then when he got caught cheating he told the ethics board that I had stolen the answer booklet and sold him the answers."

"When, of course, you had not." Ezra said quietly.

"Yeah," Nathan said, "but he had planted the booklet in my dorm room, so the board believed him and I was expelled and barred from ever getting my medical degree."

"And I look like him...." Ezra said quietly.

"There's a basic physical resemblance, You're the same height, have the same hair and eye color, but it's more the way that you talk, the accent, the precise speech patterns, the words that you use."

"I see."

Nathan winced and Ezra raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"That... phrase, 'I see'. He used to say that, in just that tone and inflection."

Ezra tilted his head and regarded Nathan for a long moment. Then very quietly he asked, "What was his name?"

Nathan frowned, "I doubt that you know him."

"I know an awful lot of people and I particularly know someone who bares a faint family resemblance and who copied that particular phrase from me."

Nathan blinked, "You don't think that...."

"It's possible, he did take premed and he was expelled for cheating."

"Shit," Nathan stood and began to pace. "Eric. His name was Eric Bo—

Ezra interrupted with, "Bodine," his voice was hard and grim. "That son of a bitch!" he added with a snarl.

"You know him! How do you know him?" Nathan demanded.

"The miserable miscreant is a cousin, on my mother's side, second cousin twice removed, I believe. The little shit has been causing me trouble since we first met as children. On at least three occasions he has impersonated me, he has stolen from me, taken my credit cards and used them without my knowledge. He once stole my badge and impersonated me on the job!"

"And now!" Ezra sprang to his feet and began pacing even faster than Nathan had been. "Now he's fucked up my life here before I even got here!"

He spun to face Nathan. "I am going to hunt that little bastard down and make him wish he'd never been born. He is not messing this up for me! I will kick his ass from here to China then dump him in an oil drum, ship it to Afghanistan and boot it out of an airplane at fifty thousand feet!"

"Want some help?" two voices asked in stereo.

Ezra turned to look at his lover who was now standing beside their friend. "Well now," he said in a dangerous purr, "I don't really intend to kill him... dying is easy after all, far too good for my despicable cousin. I think that making the rest of his life a living hell would be far preferable."

Vin grinned, "We're all LEOs. I've hunted bounty and you're almost as good a hacker as JD. We shouldn't have any problem finding him. I'm sure Nate here can help us come up with something non-fatal to do to him when we do."

Nathan's grin turned feral, "I've got a sister-in-law that works for the IRS... as an auditor."

Ezra grinned wolfishly, "You do know how to torture a man, Mister Jackson."

"If we're gonna be partners in crime you should call me Nate, and yeah I do. You know that if they find one error on this year's tax return, they can pull your tax returns for the last ten years and if they find errors on those they can go back to the first time that you filed?" Nathan asked with a smug smile.

Ezra nodded, "They can levy fines all the way back and with interest and penalties that can run to millions of dollars."

Vin added, "If you can't pay the fines they can confiscate all your property and send you to prison for tax evasion."

"So, where do we start looking for him?" Nathan asked.

"I know his full name, his place and date of birth and no less than three social security numbers that he has used. I have a number of addresses as well, the last just over two years old."

"Good start," Vin said. "How about we start looking in the morning." He gave Ezra a soft look, "Had some plans for tonight."

Ezra smiled back at him then seemed to realize that Nathan was still standing right there and turned giving Nathan a nervous look.

Nathan smiled, "It's alright. Reckon you two are still in the honeymoon stage. I'll be going. See you at work tomorrow."

Ezra blinked several times, his mouth slightly open then he smiled at Nathan, "Thank you, Mist-" he caught himself and changed it to, "Nate. We'll see you there."

The three of them walked to the front door and Nathan opened it, looking out at the rain, which was coming down in sheets now.

Ezra reached over and plucked a large umbrella out of the stand next to the coat rack beside the door.

"Here, take this. There's no sense in you getting soaked. You can return it whenever you get the chance."

"Thanks," Nathan smiled at them as he opened the umbrella, "Ya'll have a good night." He winked at them then jumped off the porch and ran for his car, grinning.

They stood in the doorway watching until he was safely in the car and had pulled away before stepping back and closing the door.

Vin pulled Ezra into his arms, and kissed him softly. "You heard the man, Ace, we're supposed to have us a good night. What say we head up to bed and get on with it?"

Ezra grinned at him, "I say, yes, dear."

They laughed quietly as they headed up the stairs, then Ezra asked, "So when did I become 'Ace' to you? And which Ace am I?"

"You've always been my Ace and you're the Ace of Spades of course."

"Because that is my calling card."

"Nope. 'Cause it's the highest rankin' card in the deck and you're the most important person in my life."

Ezra smiled, "I'll have to think of something that tells you that you are the most important person in my life as well."

"I already know. You tell me every time you look at me and smile that little smile that no body else ever sees."

"What smile?" Ezra asked, green eyes shining at Vin.

Vin smiled back at him and reached up to trace a finger along Ezra's lips, "That smile, right there."

He leaned in and kissed Ezra's smiling lips.

The End