Nathan
found himself constantly checking his six teammates to make sure that none of
them were injured. After all, he could
not remember a time when the seven of them had gathered at Chris’ ranch for a
weekend without one of them being injured. But that was not the case this time. No, it
was just a break in the caseload that coincided with a beautiful summer
weekend.
Stretching
as he stood from the lawn chair, he grinned over at Buck. “You up for a little
B-ball?”
“If
that’s a challenge, I’m always up for it,” Buck laughed.
Before
Nathan could answer, the slim form of Vin stepped between the two. “Then
consider it a challenge. Me and Nate
‘gainst you and JD.”
Buck
sighed; he always got stuck with the kid.
Turning his head slightly, but keeping his eyes on Vin, he yelled, “Hey,
JD! We’re being challenged over here!”
“To
what?” JD asked as he jogged over from where he had been discussing the fine
nuances of barbecuing with Josiah.
“A game
of basketball,” Nathan answered.
Brown
eyes lit up in anticipation, but JD had no chance to respond as Chris walked
outside with a plate of fresh meat to throw on the grill. “Count me in,” he
said as he passed them. “I’m on Nate’s team,” he added with a smirk tossed to
Buck.
“Traitor!”
Buck yelled. Now he was gonna be stuck with the kid AND Ezra. They might
as well tie his hands behind his back and nail his shoes to the ground. “Ezra! Get your butt over here! You’re on my
team!”
Ezra
picked his head up from where he reclined in the hammock stretched perfectly
between two large trees so that they provided wonderful shade over the
occupant. The Southerner had the
suspicion that Chris had purchased and hung the hammock just for him and Ezra
deeply appreciated it. It reminded him
of those all too rare moments of happiness as a child when he had found a
hammock to relax and read in during long, warm days down south. Raising his sunglasses to peer at Buck, he
shook his head. “I think not,” was all he said before dropping the sunglasses
and his head back down.
Buck growled
low as his gaze shifted from Ezra to Josiah.
Sighing even more heavily, he then called, “Josiah! You wouldn’t let a
pal down, would you?”
The
older agent looked up from where he had just thrown the meat onto the grill.
“How could I?” he asked. “Seeing as I’m your last possible choice.”
Nathan
and Vin hid their grins as a chagrined Buck looked back at them for support.
“Ah hell, Josiah, I only called on Ezra first cause he ain’t doing nothing but
taking up space. It’s not like I need
a…” Buck actually managed to cut himself off before he added that he didn’t
need another short guy on his team. He did not need to alienate his entire
team. “Not like his sorry ass would be
any help here.”
Josiah
stepped away from the BBQ pit and shook his head. “Good save, Buck. Now let’s
see if you can do any saving on the court.”
The older man paused a minute. “Uh, Ezra?” he questioned as he stepped
over to him.
A
slender hand rose out of the hammock and gave a little wave. “Do not fear,
Josiah. I will poke at your chunks of flesh on the fire at appropriate
intervals so that they do not become more charred than even y’all’s
questionable tastes can bear. Go play
your little game.”
Josiah
laughed lightly as he gave the hammock a slight push so that it gently began to
sway in a soothing rhythm. This was what he enjoyed most about anytime they got
to spend together when they were not worried about a case or a hurt
teammate. This teasing and banter was
what this family of seven was all about. He paused as he was stepping away as
Ezra’s voice drifted to him. He had to
be still to even catch the soft voice buried under a contented thick and slow
drawl, “Ah, thank you, Josiah. I’ll try not to drift off to sleep.”
The
older agent smiled warmly as he moved to join the others on the concrete
driveway that would be their court. Nate
grinned at him, “You sure you up to this, old man?”
Josiah
eyed Nathan with mock anger, “It’s not age, it’s experience.”
The
medic choked out a laugh, “Never heard of experience causing all the aches and
pains I know you’ll be complaining of tonight.”
“Sometimes
experience comes only with a few hard knocks,” Josiah responded evenly.
Nate
shook his head, “Oh, you’re just as bad as Ezra! Always gotta have the last
word!”
The
profiler said nothing, but his wide grin spoke for him. It rubbed in the fact
that by not responding to Nathan’s comment he was having the last word by
proving Nate wrong.
Tossing
the basketball hard at Josiah, Nate got a bit of satisfaction at hearing the
loud “oof” the older man breathed out as he caught it. Grabbing the bottom of his shirt, Nathan
pulled it off over his head. “We’re
skins,” he said. Chris and Vin nodded as
they, too, pulled off their shirts.
Anyone
who had ever seen Nathan in the office would be surprised to see him now. The medic’s style of dress was always casual
and laid back. He was always well
dressed but it was obvious that he was not overly concerned with his appearance. But what that attire hid, was the fact that
Nathan was not only tall, but lean and well muscled. Hoping the others would follow his example,
Nate began a couple of stretching exercise, muscles rippling as he moved.
Buck
rolled his eyes, “There’s no ladies for you to try and impress, Nate. Can we just get on with it?”
“You in
that much of a hurry to lose, Bucklin?” Vin asked as he deliberately followed
Nate’s example.
“Only
losers I see, are you guys,” Buck responded.
“That’s
only because there’s no mirror in front of you,” Ezra called from where he sat
up in the hammock as he prepared to check on the BBQ. “But if you’re so
confident, perhaps you’d like to make a wager?”
Buck
dropped his head as he realized just how badly he had just walked into that
one. “No, Ezra, I ain’t making a bet
with you!”
The
undercover agent cocked an eyebrow at Buck, “Why? You can’t believe that I
would cheat, seeing as I am not in the game.
Or are you suggesting that you do not have faith in you and your
teammates?”
Buck
winced in defeat. He did not have to look around to see the expectant looks on
JD and Josiah’s faces or the smirks on the others. “No, cause I don’t have the
kind of money you’d be talking about,” he threw back hoping it did not actually
sound like the lame excuse he knew it was.
That
damning, crooked smile played across Ezra’s face before he replied, “I’m sure
we could make other arrangements.” He turned his attention to the meat on the
grill as he added, “But if you are too afraid of losing…”
Buck
refused to rise to the bait, doing his best to ignore the Southerner. “What?” he barked at his teammates. “He
didn’t want to play with us, so now he’s got to try and cause problems!”
Grabbing
the ball back from Josiah, Nathan began dribbling it easily in front of
Buck. “Well then how about if those of
us who are actually playing come up with a little side bet?”
“Now who
sounds like Ezra?” Josiah teased.
At the
BBQ pit, Ezra exhaled sharply with indignation. He could bear being left out of
the game, even preferred it. But to
leave him out of the wagering was just plain mean. He ought to burn their meat just for
that. But then he would have nothing to
eat either, and would have to listen to their complaints the rest of the
weekend.
“Can we
just play the game?” Buck demanded peevishly as he tried to grab the basketball
from Nate.
But the
other man smoothly shifted the ball to his other hand and slipped around Buck,
driving up the middle of the court where he leapt into the air and slam-dunked
the ball into the hoop. Landing back
gracefully, he swung a self-satisfied grinning face on Buck and lifted a raised
index finger in the air.
“Now
hold on, you can’t count that! We
haven’t even started!” Buck protested.
Shaking
his head, Vin moved past the mustached man. “You were the one who said that we
should just play the game. So Nathan did.”
Motioning for JD, who had retrieved the ball, to throw it in to his
teammates, Vin continued, “Are you going to whine the whole game?”
Shooting
a glare at the back of Vin’s head as the younger man was now attempting to
block him, Buck decided it was time to show them how the game was played. Waving to JD to get the ball to him, Buck
easily sidestepped Vin and created the opening that JD needed. Smug now that he had the ball in his
possession, Buck began his own drive toward the hoop. His way was blocked by both Chris and
Nathan. The smugness slowly began to
drip off him.
The game
was over almost as soon as it started.
Buck only gave up an inch or two to Nathan in height, but was no where
near as talented as the other man. In
all truth, Nathan could have played against him, JD, and Josiah on his own and
still would have overmatched them all. Hell, he could have played against all
six of his teammates, providing they could have gotten Ezra out of the hammock,
and still blown them all away.
The man
moved with a fluidity and grace that was inspiring to watch but near impossible
to match. Once the ball was in his
strong, firm hands there was no doubt that a point would be scored. Vin and
Chris worked mainly as guards for their lanky teammate and they were no
slackers when it came to basketball.
Like their counterparts, JD and Josiah, they realized that somehow this
had turned into a grudge match between Buck and Nathan and allowed them to go at
it. Nathan remained stoically calm through
all of Buck’s huge displays whenever he actually managed to score. It was not until after he scored the final
point that Nathan cut loose.
Retrieving
the ball from under the basket, Nathan dribbled down the center court, out to
where the imaginary three point line would be.
With practiced ease he jumped into the air, well-toned calf muscles
flexing as they lifted his tall frame off the ground. The ball cupped firmly in his large hand,
Nathan’s wrist snapped at the top of his jump, sending the ball right into the
basket. Landing just as easily, he
eagerly returned the high fives of his teammates. Buck remained standing in awe, his very
posture showing his disbelief.
Nathan
merely grinned at him, flashing even white teeth as he took one of the towels
that JD had ran inside to retrieve. Running the towel across his handsome face
to stop the sweat from running into deep brown eyes, Nate then looked over at
Buck who still remained rooted in place.
Scrubbing the towel over rippled abs and across strong arms, Nathan
tossed him a questioning look.
“Nobody
ever said you could play like that,” the other man finally stuttered out when
he reclaimed his voice.
It was
Ezra who responded as he settled back into the hammock, having turned the BBQ
back over to Josiah. “Just how many
championships did you lead your college team to, Mr. Jackson?” he drawled.
Nathan
ducked his head as he laughed, thankful for Ezra giving him the opportunity to
rub it in. “Two. Didn’t get a lot of
playing time in my sophomore year until too late in the season,” he shrugged.
Buck
turned his frustrations to his oldest friend, “You knew, didn’t you?”
Chris
smirked as he shrugged indifferently. “Why do you think I wanted to be on his
team?” He softened his words by throwing
a companionable arm over Buck’s shoulders. “Come on now, let’s get cleaned up
to eat.” Calling across to Josiah he asked, “It’s about done, ain’t it?”
Receiving
a confirming nod from the older man, Chris slapped Buck on the back as his old
friend still struggled to voice his complaints.
But by the time they settled down to eat, the easygoing Buck had settled
back down and was able to laugh at it himself. He comforted himself by dividing
his attention in teasing both JD and Ezra mercilessly, though both men gave
back as good as they got.
Nathan
sighed as he settled into the long, sectional couch in Chris’s den. It was another thing he loved about spending
the weekend at Chris’ ranch home; there was room for all of them in it. Buck and JD shared one room, Vin and Ezra
another and then him and Josiah shared the last. But tonight Nathan did not feel like going to
bed even after the others had all finally stumbled off. So he decided to watch a movie, one that he
had not seen in awhile but was still his all time favorite. Out of
consideration for the others, he tried to keep the volume low, but it was just
a movie that needed to be watched in the full glory of surround sound. He was not surprised then when JD wandered in
just as the opening words scrawled across the screen. Smiling happily as he recognized the movie,
JD plopped down into the couch and gave Nate a nod of approval. The opening salvo of laser fire brought Chris
out. He frowned at them as he rubbed at
the back of his head. But, without a word, he joined them in the den, claiming
the Lazy Boy that was rightfully his.
Buck and Vin both arrived just as Darth Vader made his grand entrance
into the rebel ship. As one, they both
moved to find spots on the couch. Later,
when Josiah stumbled in as Obi Wan strode across the desert to save Luke, they
all had to grin up at their worldly-wise profiler. Flashing them a grin, he
settled into one of the side chairs. No
one expected Ezra to make an appearance, but somehow the Southerner timed his
entrance to the introduction of Han Solo. Ezra blinked thoughtfully in the
doorway, obviously debating his options of returning to sleep or watching the
movie. With a lopsided grin, he threw himself into the other armchair,
indolently throwing his legs across the armrests.
“Now,
Han Solo, is a man after my own heart,” Buck said with a laugh. “Women just love a scoundrel.”
Rolled
eyes turned to him, but Chris spoke first, “Funny, I always see you more as a
Chewbacca type. Big, hulking thing, with a big ol’ soft heart and loyal to a
fault.”
Buck
smiled at him as he read the underlining message from his old friend and he
took it for the compliment that it was. Not wanting things to turn too serious
he laughed, “But that would make you Han. And sorry, hoss, but you’re more
Darth Vader than Han Solo.”
The rest
of them laughed as Chris shot Buck a mock glare and then threw in a pretty good
imitation of Vader’s breaths. Enjoying
where this conversation was going, Buck continued, “And if ever there was a
Luke Skywalker, it’s Vin.”
“How do
you figure that?” Vin asked.
“Well
one comes from a desert planet, Tatooine, the other from the plains of
Vin gave
him an answering smile, satisfied that he did not mind being compared to the
great Luke Skywalker.
“So who
does that make me?” JD dared ask.
Buck
laughed, “That’s easy! You’re Artoo! Pesky little thing, but comes through in
the clutch! And can damn near fix about anything!”
JD
frowned at Buck but did not protest. After all, he had to admit that when he
had first seen Star Wars as a kid, the little droid had been his favorite
character. If it had not been for Artoo,
then the whole story would never have happened.
Buck’s
grin widened as he turned his attention to Ezra, “Course if you’ve got Artoo
then you have to have…”
“Don’t
even think about finishing that thought,” Ezra stated threateningly, “if you
are even considering comparing me to Threepio.”
The
others doubled over with laughter. “Aw come on, Ez,” Buck finally managed to
get in, “I mean we’re always telling you to shut up and wishing that you had
one of those handy switch off buttons. And you are always going on about how
many languages you can speak.”
Pale
green eyes narrowed at him, but he took the teasing good-naturedly. He was surprised when Nathan came to his
defense, well sort of. “Actually I think Ez is more like Han Solo. After all, Han was in it just for the money.”
JD
picked up the teasing, “And he babies his ship just the way Ezra does his car.
In fact, didn’t he win the Millennium Falcon in a card game?”
“It’s
called sabaac,” Nathan corrected. “And yes he did. From Lando.”
“So is
Josiah Yoda or Obi Wan?” JD asked.
Josiah
himself answered, “Yoda.” And no one could really argue with him. They had all had to deal with some of the
profiler’s more cryptic pieces of advice at some point or other.
JD
suddenly turned to Nathan, “So who are you?”
Nathan
smiled as he saw the others trying to figure out who he could be. He let them
think about it for awhile before stating, “Wedge Antilles.”
Six men
blinked at him in surprise. “Who?” they all asked as one.
“Wedge
“Well
then, who is he?” Buck demanded.
“He’s
the other Rebel pilot that survives the Death Star run in Star Wars, the first
one to take down an AT-AT in Empire Strikes Back, and the one who lead the
second Death Star run in Return of the Jedi,” he answered.
“Okay, I
know who you’re talking about, kinda,” Buck said. “But I can’t put a face to
him.”
Nathan
smiled again. “Yeah, he’s kinda the little guy that’s always in the
background. He’s a little overshadowed
by the others, but he does what he has to do.
He’s okay with not being instantly recognized, cause he know what he
does is important and vital. He just
wants to do his part to end the tyranny of the Empire.”
Chris
met Nathan’s eyes briefly, thinking how true that was of their medic. When those in the ATF talked about Team Seven
they were often remarking on Vin’s sharpshooting, Ezra’s undercover work, JD’s
and Buck’s talent in surveillance, Josiah’s profiling work, or even his own
leadership. But Nathan was somehow often shortchanged in the recognition
department. And each of them owed their
life a couple of times over to him. Not
to mention the fact that Nate was often the one that they went to when
something was troubling them. Nate was
just naturally empathetic and they all relied so much on that.
“Sounds
like he’s the heart and soul of the Rebellion,” Chris said meaningfully.
Nathan
smiled again, his brown eyes filling with warmth. “He does try.”
The end.
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