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Part of the Reunion Series

by Rebel Yell

Disclaimer: I own very little. My lap-top, myself, and the original characters/places mentioned herein are all mine. Chances are, everything else belongs to someone else.

Pairing: C/E

Rating: NC-17 for one part, the rest is probably PG-13/R at the most

Feedback: Addictive and productive.

Warning: This is tied in to nearly every one of my stories on one way or another; but mostly to Life Out There. If you haven’t read that, you should do so before reading this.

Acknowledgements: Amethyst, who found time during finals to give large hunks of this a beta-read. All my lovely reviewers over this series, there’s far too many to mention you all by name, but I must give credit (or perhaps blame?) to Mac for converting me to C/E in the first place, as well as being my most loyal reviewer. I hope this one is happy enough for you, after that last one, Mac. And I also can’t NOT acknowledge Nightwing, who has been continuously lovely while I’ve been England; with the sincere hope that we can keep in touch even after I’ve left in several weeks.

Author’s Notes: This IS the FINAL Reunion story. It’s sort of the uber-Reunion after ‘Life Out There’, and a nice cap (I think) to my series. This is my longest piece by far (double the length of my longest previous story), and I hope everyone enjoys it.

Part One

Chris sighed to himself, staring out the window as he heard the rest of his team (what remained of it anyway) getting ready for bed. Buck and JD, despite living in the same apartment, never could seem to share a bathroom quietly. The blonde remembered when his team first began to spend so much time at his home, before Ezra was even in Denver. Buck had started it really, when he ‘temporarily’ lent his second bedroom out to the young computer expert just off a plane from Boston and living out of a hotel room. JD had looked for an apartment for a couple weeks, before the two of them just fell into an agreement that he’d be staying on at Buck’s. Buck had always spent weekends with Chris, and he’d brought the kid with him. JD had proceeded to tell Vin about the horses, and the Texan had somehow, without actually asking, got himself an invitation to the ranch. A few weeks later, Josiah had tagged along with Vin, and another couple weeks and Nathan was coming as well. By the time Ezra came along that July, it was a team ‘tradition’ he gradually included himself in. Hell, the team had been ‘founded’ over four years ago now. Back then, he’d first seen it as a bit of an imposition, losing his privacy like that. Quickly, he found himself looking forward to the company in the empty house. Bedrooms were aired out, one finished in Ezra’s case, and the house didn’t seem so empty anymore.

For the last 81 days, the house had been damn empty again. Oh, the guys still appeared on the Saturdays, sometimes on Friday nights if they all skipped out on the Saloon, and didn’t leave until Sunday evening. But Ezra had left 81 days ago. And yes, damn it, he WAS keeping an exact count. The southerner had kept his promise, and called when he arrived in New York. It wasn’t a long conversation, and Chris had waited impatiently for each and every call since. Maybe there was some symbolism in the fact that Ezra had left on Ash Wednesday. Chris wasn’t Catholic, hell he wasn‘t really much on organized religion, but he’d noticed the date on the calendar. Easter, unfortunately, hadn’t seen the younger man back in Denver.

After a week in New York, Chris had gotten a call from Boston, which resulted in a slightly longer conversation with his lover that was still far too short for Chris’ taste. Another week later, and Ezra had called from London. He was staying at his step-father’s flat there for awhile. Evidently, yet another college friend was living in London now, and Ezra wanted to catch up with him. Once a week, it seemed, Ezra had moved on to another place, and Chris had gotten a phone call, each one slightly longer than the last but never long enough, and never saying what the older man wanted to hear. New York. Boston. London. A week in Gloucestershire at Edward’s ‘country home’ meeting his step-family for the first time since the two days he’d barely managed to get off to attend the wedding. Paris for a few days with Maude, then to Greece to enjoy the islands there. Rome for Easter. Westchester, New York, to see David and his family. And then the first call from South Carolina. Chris had been both happy and horribly unhappy to hear Ezra was at his family’s ‘ancestral’ home. At least he was back on the same continent as Denver. But he hadn’t seemed in much of a hurry to come back to Colorado either. In fact, he’d sounded happier there than Chris had heard ever heard him. Laughter tinged every word, and more could be heard in the background. That was two weeks ago, on the first of May. Since then, the calls had been more often, but less regular. Instead of counting on a call every Thursday, usually about noon, at work, sometimes Ezra would call two or three days in a row, and then not call for three more.

It was frustrating at the best, torture at the worst. Some of the calls were short, as if Ezra just wanted to hear his voice (a sentiment Chris well understood, often finding himself craving those southern-inflected tones). Others were an hour long, talking about daily life in Denver, what the rest of the team was up to, and Chris hearing quite a bit about his lover’s extended family. His cousin Catherine was expecting her fourth child pretty much any day. Becky’s and Jesse’s families both lived on Palmetto lands, as did his Uncle John and Aunt Amanda. The whole family would be down when Catherine had her baby. The weather was beautiful, and Ezra had spent much of his time riding one of the many horses the family kept there. Chris had filled his lover in on Denver news. Nathan and Rain were having a small party to celebrate their engagement Memorial Day weekend. According to Buck, JD was thinking about asking Casey to get married as well. Vin was actually dating, and she wasn’t already married which was a relief. Hannah Sanchez’s health had begun to deteriorate, which was worrying Josiah. The team was doing little constructive work, except backing up the other teams at busts when necessary.

It had only been three hours since Ezra’s last call. He’d purposefully called on Saturday evening, and the phone had made the rounds of the living room so he could talk to each of his friends for at least a few minutes. Chris hadn’t talked to him very long, but he’d gotten the distinct impression that Ezra was thinking hard about something. He would have felt better about that, if Ezra hadn’t all but stated that he wasn’t coming back to Denver any time soon. It had been nice, though, to listen to his lover ramble on excitedly for several minutes about absolutely nothing at all of interest happening in his part of Carolina. He sounded…relaxed, comfortable in the role of a small-town boy reporting the latest and greatest news from a basically farming community. His accent was deeper, and a smile was actually audible in it. Chris had hung up feeling a rapidly becoming familiar mixture of elation and depression tangled together.

It was nearly midnight, and the yard he was staring out at was completely blanketed by darkness. The house was silent, which meant that everyone was in bed, but Josiah and Buck weren’t yet snoring. Chris nearly jumped, as he was brought out of his rather depressing thoughts by the ringing of the phone. Midnight phone calls tended not to be good news. Good news could usually wait until morning. Oh, hell. It was probably work. If it wasn’t, it was seriously bad news, because it was 2 am in Indiana, and if it wasn’t work, it was probably his mother. Despite that train of thought, Chris stifled a chuckle when he heard Buck swearing from across the hall, and JD hit the floor coming out of the top bunk.

“Larabee.”

“ Chris?”

“ Ezra? It’s 2 am there.”

“ Can you get some time off?”

“ Well, like I said earlier, we aren’t doing much. I can probably pull in some personal days. Why?”

“ I wanted to…can you come out here?”

Part Two

“ To South Carolina?”

“ Yes.”

“ When?”

“ Monday morning.”

“ Ezra that’s like…thirty hours from now.” Chris looked up to see Buck in the doorway to his room, with the rest of the guys behind him. Every single one of them was looking at him like he’d just lost any sense he might have had.

“ I know. Just…can you come? Please?”

“ Ezra-” Chris suddenly found the phone out of his hand, and in Vin’s.

“ Ez?”

“ Vin?!”

“ You want him there Monday?”

“ Um…yes?”

“ He’ll be on a plane Monday morning. We’ll make sure of it.”

“ Thanks, Vin. Can you…put Chris back on please?”

“ Sure thing.” Chris smiled tightly at his sharpshooter, and took the extended phone.

“ Baby? Are you sure about this?”

“ No. And yet, yes. Completely.”

“ I’ll be there. Now, get some sleep, so I can too.”

“ All right. Call me tomorrow with flight details to Charleston. I love you, Chris.”

“ Will do. Love you too.”

“ And tell the rest of our compatriots to mind their own damn business, they’ll find out what all this is about when we come back to Denver. ‘Bye.” Ezra hung up, leaving Chris gaping for just a second before he felt a smile spread across his face big enough to rival any in his life.

“ Ol’ dog? What’d he say?” Buck asked, as Chris found the base for the phone blindly.

“ He said to tell you lot to mind your own damn business, and he’ll tell you what this is all about when we come back to Denver.”

“ We?” Unsurprisingly, it was Vin who caught it first. “He’s coming back with you?”

“ I reckon so. Not sure when that is…I should’ve asked how long a vacation I need to take.” The phone rang again, and Chris laughed as he picked it up.

“ Larabee.”

“ I know Jesse, really, I’m not twelve…Chris?”

“ Ezra? Did you mean you’re coming back to Denver with me?”

“ I did. And I forgot to tell you to take two weeks off. We’ll be back in time for Nathan and Rain’s party at the latest. Jesse! I’m going to have to go, Chris. I feel like a teenager caught talking to her boyfriend here-Jesse Peyton Standish, just because you’re older than I am…” Ezra’s voice sounded suddenly further away from the phone.

“ This Larabee?”

“ Yeah.”

“ I’m sorry, but it’s past Peyton’s bedtime. You’ll have to call back tomorrow afternoon.” Laughter broke out on the other end, and Chris chuckled as well, hearing Ezra’s indignant protests in the background. A woman’s voice was suddenly heard, and Chris’ laughter increased.

“ You two little boys be QUIET before you wake the house. You aren‘t yet too old for me to take a switch to you both!”

“ Give me…Chris?”

“ Ezra?”

“ I’ve really got to go this time. Cora is threatening new and interesting methods of murder if we wake Sophie. ‘Bye.”

“ ‘Bye.” The other end went dead, and Chris shook his head, still smiling.

“ How long?”

“ Two weeks at the most. Promised to be back for Nathan and Rain’s party at the latest.”

“ YES!” JD actually jumped into the air, and claimed a quick high-five from Vin and a bear-hug from Buck.

“ We’d best hit the hay.” Nathan was still the voice of reason. “I think Chris has a lot to do tomorrow.”

“ Yeah, I do.”

“ Give the boy hell for us.” Buck joked, shoving the others before him into the hall.

“ I think others are well ahead of us there.” Chris laughed again, oddly eager to meet the people who owned the voices from that second phone call. If nothing else, he had the notion that the week would be anything but dull.

Part Three

It had been a crazy day and a half since that call, Chris reflected. He’d called Travis early Sunday morning, and arranged time off. Travis had agreed, reluctantly, to take over the remaining five men for two weeks. No one else in the building was going to be willing, that was certain. Team 7 was notorious for being difficult to handle at the best of times, and Chris’ absence was certainly not the best of times. Chris had gotten plane tickets, packed enough for two weeks, and scrambled to make provision for the stock. The first week, Tiny was coming over from his place to take care of things, but he was taking a bit of a vacation himself the second week, and so Vin had agreed to actually live at the ranch for the second week and see to the necessities. Chris had apologized to both Mary and Billy for canceling on a fishing trip with the boy, and both had been understanding. Nothing had really gone wrong, but it had been intense just getting everything done. He’d left his team with strict orders not to make Travis’ life too difficult, and had gotten onto the plane.

Charleston Airport was not really that large, and it would have been hard to miss the man standing with a large ‘LARABEE’ sign anyway. A little disappointed that Ezra hadn’t met him at the airport, Chris walked over to the well-dressed man and extended his hand.

“ I’m Chris Larabee.”

“ Kent Olsen, Standish family attorney.”

“ Not sure I like being met by the lawyer.”

“ I’m also part of the Standish family.” Olsen laughed. “I married Peyton’s cousin Rebecca. I sort of inherited the position from my father-in-law. If you’ll follow me, George is waiting with the limo.”

“ Limo?” Chris picked up his bags, and followed as Olsen weaved his way expertly towards the appropriate exit.

“ Overkill, I know, but I only just dropped off some business associates an hour ago.”

“ Where’s Ezra?”

“ That’s right, you call him Ezra. He’s back at the Landing. I think he’s been tapped as babysitter. Cate’s been really tired lately, and Cora’s not a spring chicken herself anymore. Don’t tell her I said that, or she’ll prove me wrong by taking a switch to me.”

“ Sounds like a person I need to meet.”

“ Oh you will.” They stepped out into the sunlight, and Chris noticed the temperature change from Denver. It had to be at least 10 degrees warmer, and the sun shone intensely in the early afternoon. A black man stepped towards Chris, and took the bags before he could so much as protest. Olsen held open the door to the limo, and Chris slid inside and across, as he was followed by Ezra’s cousin.

“ It’s about forty-five minutes to the Landing from here.” Olsen informed him, and paused to look him over carefully. Forcing himself not to glare in return, Chris underwent the scrutiny silently. “Do you realize how important this is?”

“ Ezra invited me here rather suddenly, so he didn’t have time to tell me much of anything.”

“ As one of the out-laws, I’ll do you a favor I wish someone had done for me when I sat in your place more than fifteen years ago. You’ll be meeting the family today, and over the course of your stay. Considering that Cate’s due any day, you may well meet nearly all of the family. That’s seventy-one people, not including Cate’s baby or Peyton…Ezra.”

“ Shit. I’ll never remember that many.”

“ Yeah. About half are kids, so don’t worry about keeping them too straight.”

“ Who’s the most important?”

“ You certainly are in law enforcement aren’t you?” Olsen laughed, “Don’t worry, it may be good for you to approach this as an operation. I understand you’ve met David already, so that’s one done. The most important person to simply not piss off, which is harder than it sounds, particularly considering your gender, is going to be Uncle John. He’s the only surviving male of the older generation. He’s tough, but he’ll be fair. And if he doesn’t like you, you’ll know it.”

“ Next?”

“ Peyton’s probably closest to Jesse and his family, but Jesse won’t be hard to win over. Be honest with him, and he’ll return the favor. As long as you treat Peyton well, you won’t have a minutes problem with Jesse, or most all of the cousins really. The biggest one you want to charm is Aunt Ruth. She was really close to Uncle Caleb, I’ve been told, and spent years working with Uncle Jay to find Peyton. She’s a bit…over-protective.”

“ Aunt Ruth, got it.”

“ The most challenging will be Aunt Anne. She’s the oldest, sort of the matriarch whereas Uncle John is the patriarch, I suppose. Aunt Anne won’t like you. It doesn’t matter how wonderful you are, or how much Peyton loves you. She won’t like you, or even much resemble civility, until about the fifth time you meet her. If you’re very lucky, by the time you’ve been around about a decade, she’ll have moved beyond civility to actually liking you. And that’s the large-picture run-down.”

“ Okay, so Uncle John, Aunt Ruth, Jesse, and Aunt Anne.”

“ I suspect you’ll be joining Uncle John in his study at least once over the time you’re at the Landing.”

“ I’ll bite. Just what is the Landing?” Olsen started laughing, and Chris once again checked his temper. He was having a harder time of it lately, since Ezra left. Hopefully, despite the stresses of meeting this family, Ezra’s presence would improve his mood, or he’d make one hell of an impression.

“Peyton didn’t tell you anything did he?”

“ Not really.”

Part Four

“ The Landing is short-hand for Palmetto Landing, the home of the Standish family since they came to South Carolina not long after the colony was settled, and moved inland to claim as much property as they could hold. They own property around the country now, but the family seat is still here on the Landing. It’s been passed from father to son in unbroken succession since 1688, a fact of which they are inordinately proud, and will probably mention at least once to you. Daniel Standish, Peyton’s grandfather, altered things somewhat by leaving all of his sons a more or less equal share in the family businesses. Being old-fashioned however, if one of his sons died without male heir, his inheritance would be re-distributed amongst the surviving sons. So, when my father-in-law thirteen years ago died leaving only two daughters, most of his money reverted to the family estate. His daughters inherited only what he had earned on his own initiative.”

“ Do I need to know all this?” Chris asked, wondering if there was a point to the long information session.

“ If you want to survive that talk with Uncle John, probably. He’ll be harder on you than on the rest. I had my father-in-law and Uncle Jay to soften him up. And, you’re well…not what the family was hoping for for Peyton. The most important part of what I was saying, however, is that Peyton inherited, as the only male heir of his father, a not inconsiderable share of the family businesses. In fact, his shares come to nearly one third of the family’s holdings. He’s also the SOLE heir to the entirety of the Peyton inheritance, which his grandmother inherited from her father.”

“ Is that why you all call him Peyton?”

“ His father called him Peyton. Grandmother insisted on a Biblical name for each of the grandchildren who bore the name Standish, it’s a family tradition you know, but I gather Uncle Caleb preferred to call his son by the middle name. Grandmother did as well, and…well what Sadie Standish decreed might as well have been written on those stone tablets Moses brought down from Sinai for all this family thinks of her.”

“ I’m not going to call him Peyton, you know.”

“ We’ll adjust. Back to your crash course in the family workings. Now, when Peyton was a minor, and cut off from the family by his mother’s actions, his shares were voted by Uncle Jay as had been set forth in Uncle Caleb’s will. My father-in-law died in 1991, and the shares were re-distributed. Uncle Jay then held two-thirds of the voting shares in practice if not in name, although since he and Uncle John rarely had a serious disagreement there weren’t any problems. When Uncle Jay died in 1997, his shares passed to his son, Jesse, and Peyton was in something of a fix. He was living in New York then, just out of Quantico, and had made it clear that he planned to allow Uncle Jay to continue to vote for him despite having achieved his twenty-first birthday almost two years earlier. He decided to give his proxy to David, until such time as he either took up a place in the family businesses, or Uncle John dies or retires and passes his shares on to David. So, as of now, Uncle John still votes one-third of the shares, and Jesse and David the other two shares. If Peyton returns to the family fold, he will reclaim his voting rights as well as take up the reins of the Peyton inheritance that the family has been taking care of since Grandmother died, and THAT will be Uncle John‘s concern. Basically, he‘ll tell you to keep your nose out of our business, and that he doesn‘t want you involved in what‘s a completely family run venture.”

“ Hell, I don’t care if Ezra has more money than God. I have more than enough on my own income. And Ezra’s got an independent streak a mile wide. He wouldn’t listen to me even if I was interested enough to risk pissing him off.”

“ Now, on to brighter topics. If you’re going to neutralize Aunt Anne, Aunt Ruth and Uncle John, you’ll need to have advocates within the family.”

“ Ezra?”

“ He won’t count. His brain may or may not be north of his belt when it comes to you.” Olsen laughed, shaking his head. Chris got the distinct impression that the man was going to enjoy having him around. It wasn’t entirely an encouraging thought.

“ So, who do I need to get on my side?”

“ Well, you’ve got me already, and that will count. Don’t get me wrong, Chris…do you mind if I call you Chris?”

“ No.”

“ Don’t get me wrong, the family isn’t harsh. Just protective. And you picked the most sensitive spot in the family to try to live an…unorthodox lifestyle. Nearly all will be indifferent at first, they’ll judge you on your actions, not any pre-conceived ideas.”

“ Sounds good.” Chris nodded in agreement. He had been expecting worse news.

“ And then there’s those who have definite ideas about you. We’ve gone over the hard cases. You need to utilize your opportunities, and that means playing on the sympathies of those who already like you.”

“ They haven’t met me yet.” Chris knew he tended to intimidate or put-off people. He’d learned long ago that he wasn’t going to win many friends by the sunny nature of his personality. Didn’t much care anymore really. He had the friends he needed.

“ Peyton’s made it clear he loves you. That’s enough for some of the more romantic in the family. So, you my friend, need to ingratiate yourself particularly with Cate, Anna, and Aunt Amanda. Cate and Anna are only a few months apart in age, and the closest cousins to Ezra’s age. More importantly, Cate is Ruth’s daughter, so she’ll help you win over her mother. Aunt Amanda is Uncle John’s wife.”

“ Okay.”

“ You can still go back to Denver.” Olsen was smiling, but Chris scowled determinedly. If Ezra could meet his family (even if it was blessedly smaller), and put up with Richard, he’d manage this.

“ I love him.”

“ You better.” Olsen sighed, looking out the tinted window as they drove further out of Charleston.

Part Five

Conversation had turned to far lighter subjects, and half an hour later, Chris actually liked Kent. Even if he was an even stauncher Cardinals fan than Ezra, which boggled Chris’ mind. The limo pulled off the paved highway onto a dirt road, and Chris cringed at the thought of washing this thing every day to keep it clean. A moment later, a wrought iron fence appeared between the trees, stretching as far as easily visible in both directions. It stretched across the road, with a large elaborate gate standing open to allow them entrance.

“ The gate is locked at dusk every day.” Kent commented, seeing the attention Chris had given the fencing. “We’ve just come onto the Landing proper, as we call it. It’s a nationally recognized historical site, and the family added some security since there were some problems sometime in the late seventies. It used to be chained shut, and the family all had keys in case we had to come and go at night. There’s a punch code now, remote controlled. A bit like a garage door opener.”

“ How much further?” Chris asked, looking out the windows and not caring that he probably looked like a school-boy, gawking. This had to be out of some sort of ‘Gone With the Wind’-like film. It was a stereo-typical southern estate, complete with the tree-lined drive.

“ Not much. That little road leads to my home. It was built for a mother-in-law in 1880. Uncle John lives in the old vicar’s house, coming up on my side of the car. And THAT is the ’big house’, so to speak.” Kent gestured out the window, as they started to make a turn in front of the huge Georgian-style home, and Chris nodded. THIS was Ezra’s family home? He expected to see some Civil War general step out the door any minute. The limo pulled to a stop, and Chris gratefully stepped out to stretch his legs. Limos were roomy, but after the flight he was still happy to move about once more. He moved towards the trunk to retrieve his things, but saw that the driver was already doing so. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to get used to that sort of thing. Chris turned to his right, hearing what sounded like an entire pack of dogs barking loudly in approach. He wasn’t far wrong in his guess. There had to be at least six of the rapidly moving dogs…beagles Chris realized as they got closer.

“ Whose dogs?”

“ Those are mostly Jesse’s and his family. Mine tend to roam closer to my house. And Uncle John has rottweilers.”

“ Nice.”

“ You’ll get used to them.”

“ How many dogs do you people have?” Chris asked, seeing a few more approach at a run from the other side. None of them were growling or acting aggressive, but they were darting about their feet crazily.

“ Jesse breeds the beagles. We have twelve beagles, plus the litter of puppies, and four rottweilers on the property.”

“ That’s a helluva lot of dogs.”

“ Like I said, you’ll get used to it. I can’t imagine where everyone has disappeared to. Usually any new arrival gets met by the whole clan within minutes.” Kent had only just finished saying that when the sound of a little girl’s scream preceded her arrival around the corner of the house. She was soaking wet, but laughing and screaming at the same time, which was something it seemed only children were capable of. She was followed by a boy about the same age, Chris estimated they were six, who had a very small water pistol. Clearly, he’d not soaked her with that, but he was giving pursuit quite well. He even held the small pistol correctly, the ATF agent and former Navy man couldn’t help but notice. Another little boy, a couple years younger, was doing his best to keep up with the older kids, not succeeding very well.

“ Hi, Uncle Kent!” All three called out, stopping in their tracks as they saw the visitor. The older boy stepped forward and extended his hand to Chris, who remembered enough about his own little boy to take it as solemnly as he would a grown man’s.

“ I’m Jeremiah Standish. You can call me Jace, if you like.” The accent was undoubtedly far stronger than Ezra’s, undiluted with expensive education and years away from the deep south.

“ Chris Larabee.”

“ Are you my cousin Peyton’s Chris?” Chris smiled and nodded, pleased to be identified so clearly with Ezra.

“ Where is Peyton?” Kent asked, expecting to see the younger man round the corner behind the children.

Part Six

“ Miss Sophia and I required a change of clothing, did we not?” Ezra appeared on the porch from the front door, smiling at Chris for a moment before directing his attention to the little girl in his arms. Chris’ heart ached for a minute, seeing Ezra surrounded by kids that held at least a passing resemblance to him. Ezra could have been an incredible father.

“ We got you wet!” The youngest boy laughed, nodding.

“ So you did William. Rather with your mother’s help, I must say.” Ezra shifted the girl in his arms to rest on his side, and fondly tousled the boys’ hair as he walked towards Chris. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Chris.”

“ You look amazing.” Chris wasn’t lying. Ezra was rather deeply tan, he looked like he’d gained a healthy amount of weight, and his green eyes were alive with laughter and love. At that moment, Chris would have sold the ranch and moved to Carolina without a second thought if it meant that those beautiful eyes would always look like that. The blond leaned forward, and placed a fond kiss on Ezra’s cheek, earning an even broader smile. At least from HIS southerner.

“MINE!” The little girl cried, pushing at Chris with her small hands. Ezra laughed, and kissed the tiny nose lightly.

“ Miss Sophia Bettany, may I present Christopher Larabee. Chris, this is Sophie. My cousin Cate’s youngest, for the moment.”

“ I am pleased to make your acquaintance, my lady.” Chris replied, inclining his head to the curly-headed tot. She looked at him carefully for a minute, and then nodded rather reluctantly, Chris thought.

“ Thank you, Kent.” Ezra smiled at his cousin, and the man reached out to take Sophie.

“ Not a problem, Peyton. I can take these little demons for a bit.”

“ Are you sure? You have work, I’m sure-”

“ I don’t have anything scheduled until after lunch. And I think you need to…show Chris around.”

“ MY PEYTON!” Sophie cried again, as she was shifted to Kent’s arms. Ezra stepped back away from her, and she started crying pitifully.

“ Now, Sophie, we have to share Peyton now. Chris came an awful long way to see him, and maybe meet your new little brother or sister.”

“ Don’t wanna.”

“ Peyton?” Jace piped up, tugging on Ezra’s hand lightly and thus earning his attention away from his lover.

“ Yes, Jace?”

“ You haven’t introduced Chloe and Will, yet.”

“ Thank you, Jace, you are correct. I have been most remiss, haven’t I? Chris Larabee, this is Master William Bettany and Miss Chloe Bettany. Chloe, Will, this is Chris.”

“ Nice to meet you.” Chloe managed, not sounding very sincere, before grabbing her brother’s hand. “Come on guys. We can go play with the puppies.”

“ BYE!” Will called over his shoulder, waving as best he could as he was tugged along by his sister. Jace trotted after them, and Kent carried Sophie off in the same direction. Chris didn’t notice much after that, as he found himself suddenly with his arms full of his firecracker. Lips were pressed to his hungrily, and he responded happily. Opening his mouth to a long-missed invader, he relished the taste of Ezra’s mouth. The younger man was pressing their bodies together so tightly that Chris nearly stumbled backwards, but didn’t allow that to distract him from the heavy kiss that currently demanded his attention. Hands re-explored familiar paths recently unknown, and soon Chris had one hand full of Ezra’s ass while the other wove through the neatly styled hair. Feeling Ezra’s hands roaming to more…intimate regions, Chris groaned in the back of his throat. God, he’d missed this.

“ This could only be the long-awaited Chris.” The woman’s voice startled both men, and they pulled apart, slightly flushed. Chris tore his attention from Ezra’s lips to meet the green gaze of a VERY pregnant woman. “I’m Cate Bettany.”

“ Chris Larabee.”

“ Yes, we’ve heard quite a bit about you. I do hate to interrupt what appeared to be the beginnings of amazing reunion sex, but I’m looking for my children. Lunch is ready.”

“ They said they were going to play with the puppies. Kent went with them.”

“ Ah. Uncle John and Aunt Amanda are already inside. You should probably get introductions in before you attempt to climb his frame, Peyton.”

Part Seven

“ Of course, Cate.” Ezra blushed at her comment, but nodded nonetheless. Chris smiled at her, as he followed Ezra past and inside the house. He’d paid no attention to where his bags had been taken, he’d probably be told later. The interior of the house looked nearly as old as the exterior, and just as immaculately kept. The furnishings appeared to be all antiques, and if the large foyer was impressive the sitting room Ezra led him into was beyond that. If there was anything in there, besides the people, younger than a hundred Chris would be shocked. Two people awaited them, and the leader assumed this to be Uncle John and Aunt Amanda.

“ Ah, so he has arrived. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Mr. Larabee.”

“ Chris, please, ma’am.”

“ Chris. You must call me Aunt Amanda then, as Peyton, or rather Ezra, does.”

“ I’ll try to remember that.”

“ I’m John Standish.” The man was taller than Ezra, about the same height as Chris, but far broader. Facially, he was vaguely reminiscent of his lover though, if you aged Ezra forty years. Chris took the extended hand, noting the strong grip.

“ Chris Larabee.”

“ We know.” John replied, looking over Chris critically, and then looking heavily at his nephew. “EZRA has told us quite a bit about you. The rest I’ve learned through my own sources.”

“ Uncle John!” Ezra protested automatically. “You needn’t have done that. I’m not a foolish child to be-”

“ Your level of foolishness remains to be seen. And you’ve done a good job of acting like a child, considering your display out front a moment ago.”

“ You were skulking at the curtains, weren’t you?”

“ Skulking? This is MY home, child.”

“ It’s Jesse’s home, actually.” Ezra returned, and Chris cringed inwardly. Oh yes, this was starting out wonderfully. “And you have no right to poke into my PERSONAL affairs. My life with Chris is entirely outside your realm of purview, Uncle. You are going to have to trust my judgment in this. I love him.”

“ Your judgment is usually unquestionably sound. Except when it comes to your…shall we term them proclivities?”

“ I can NOT believe this. You’ve known I was bisexual for nearly TEN YEARS! You’ve known I’ve been living with Chris for TWO of those, and NOW you do this.”

“ This has very little to do with his gender, or yours.” John insisted, and Chris raised his eyebrows in minor disbelief. He idly wondered if Kent had gone through something similar. “This is about your remarkably poor history in choice of lovers. I have little reason to doubt this one will eventually fall into the same pattern. You deserve better.”

“ Oh, damn it all to Hell! You’re about fourteen years too late to worry about any virtue I might need protecting! And I can take care of myself, Uncle John.” Ezra managed to keep from shouting, barely. Chris was perversely pleased to see someone else on the opposite side of an upset Ezra. It could be amusing, when he wasn’t pissed at you. “And don’t look so shocked, either of you. Yes, I said FOURTEEN years. I was fifteen when I lost my virginity, so you can-”

“ EZRA PEYTON STANDISH!” John reached out and grabbed his nephew’s arm, causing Chris to bristle as Ezra fell silent. “This is not the conversation for the sitting room, nor for your aunt’s ears-”

“ Lord Almighty, John. You’d think I wasn’t a mother and grandmother. I’m not going to go into a faint at the mere mention of sex. Although I agree that this is not the best time for this conversation. I believe Amy would like to tell us lunch is ready.” Amanda nodded to her niece, who stood in the entrance to the room. She nodded silently, and Amanda rose, raking her husband’s arm. “We can continue this after lunch, in the study.”

“ Of course.” John walked past them, and Ezra met his gaze solidly. The two left the room, and Ezra started swearing in French. Chris smiled briefly, then pulled him into a hug.

“ I love you.”

“ You know, those words are very nearly a cure-all. You should patent it.” Ezra sighed, kissing his neck fondly before pulling away just enough to drop a chaste kiss on his lips.

“ Feel better?”

“ He just…gets on every one of my nerves. He treats me like I’m still nineteen. Sometimes like I’m still the six year old I was at my father’s funeral. I can’t believe he’s acting like this now. He’s never said a word about my orientation.”

“ You’ve never brought home a man before.”

“ I’ve never brought home anyone before.”

“ What?” Chris pulled back then, surprised written on his face.

“ I’ve never introduced anyone to my family. It’s too…complicated. I never loved anyone before like I love you.”

“While that is wonderful news, I have to repress my urge to throttle you. You should have told me. Families are always a bit harder on the first person you bring home. It’s that big glaring sign in the sky they can’t ignore that you’re growing up.”

“ I grew up a long time ago.”

“ Maybe not in their eyes, baby. Come on, I’m hungry.” Chris tugged him into the hall, only to stop, realizing he had no idea which direction to go to find the dining room. Soft laughter sounded behind him, and Ezra took up the lead.

“This way. Be prepared to be stuffed with food for the next two weeks, love. I’m afraid Cora seems to be insistent on fattening me up with all my favorite foods!”

Part Eight

Lunch had been slightly tense, mostly because John Standish had made it rather clear that he was not finished with his discussion with his nephew and his lover. The women did their best to make polite conversation, and the children seemed oblivious to it all. Except Chloe, Chris had noted her hard stares in his direction all through the meal. He was completely clueless as to what he had already done to incur her ire, but she was clearly mad at him. After the meal, Ezra had excused them both from the table, and led him out the back, evidently intent to avoid the conversation with his uncle for a while longer. The large porch gave an astounding view of the land beyond, as the house was situated atop the crest of a hill, and Ezra pulled to a stop.

“ What do you think, beloved?”

“ It’s…amazing. I feel like Rhett Butler or something.”

“ I always hated that film. Mother adored it but…” Ezra sighed for a moment, and then brightened once more. “Those are our cotton fields. Well, a small portion of them really. And we have an orchard just beyond there, just out of sight. We also grow some corn, and rice in the bottom lands. But, I think you might be most interested in the stables. Come, this way.” Chris laughed as Ezra tugged him from the porch like a little boy excited to show off his latest discovery. He was quickly led past a few small out houses, probably old kitchens he thought randomly, and then he came to a stop as he recognized what was laid out before him, just on the far side of a copse of trees from the main house, unseen from the magnificent home.

“ Ezra, these are…”

“ Slave quarters. Quite well preserved actually. Would you like to go inside one? It’s part of the history of the Landing, Chris. We can’t escape it, and we can’t change it. My ancestors had more than a hundred slaves on this property alone. I would…appreciate it if this wasn’t mentioned to Mr. Jackson. I fear he might be uncomfortable around me if he knew. I can’t help what the Standish family did more than a hundred years before my birth. I don’t want it to ruin our friendship.”

“ You know I wouldn’t say anything. It doesn’t really bother me, just…I never expected to see something like this.”

“ Slavery was never pretty, Chris. But if one must be a slave, I suppose Palmetto was one of the better places to be bound. Come inside one.” Ezra pulled him into the nearest small cabin, and quickly expounded on the welfare of the slaves on Palmetto. Wooden floors were a luxury that came in all the slave cabins on Palmetto, after the wife of Jericho Standish had insisted in 1800. Evidently the woman was convinced that dirt and disease were literally kith and kin. It was more economically sound to keep one’s slaves as healthy as possible. The cabins each had two rooms, one main room and small sleeping room on the side. The cabins were well sealed, and snug, if far from luxurious. Chris nodded at the influx of information, knowing he’d never remember it, but happy to see Ezra clearly interested in something that wasn’t work.

“ Most of the slaves stayed on after the war, working for wages. Pitifully low wages but…I suppose the ills of the past must be understood in their own contexts. As farming became more mechanized, most of our laborers moved on, over the years. We still have descendants of slaves working our lands. I don’t think Nathan would appreciate that either, but they are very well paid. Better than most independent farmers live, certainly. Cora is the great-granddaughter of the last slave born on the Landing. They didn’t know anything else, I suppose.”

“ Good God, Ezra. My family’s only been in America since the 1880s. I can’t believe yours owned all this before that. It’s amazing. But why is it, I mean why are these still here? Surely you would have gotten rid of these cabins years ago?”

“ It’s part of the historic site, Chris. We’re due for one last field trip visit tomorrow, from a school in Charleston.”

“ You have field trips here?”

“ Indeed. If you’d like, we can give the tour. I’ve done several over the years. Two this month already. It’s quite a fun way to spend the day.”

“ I’ll think about it.”

“ Now, we were originally off to see the horses. You must meet Phoenix. He’s to be mine…well ours, actually, once he’s ready to travel to Colorado. I do hope you don’t mind. He’s a birthday present from Uncle John and Aunt Amanda.”

“ They’re giving you a horse?”

“ Of course. They gave me Chaucer, ten years ago when I first visited the Landing. And he’s not just any horse. He’s a thoroughbred stallion, Chris. He’s absolutely beautiful, perfect conformation. It’ll be a shame to geld him, I suppose. He’d make a fine stud. His sire is Battlecry and his dam is Red Wind.” Chris listened to his lover go on at great length about the horse’s genealogy, and decided to discuss with Ezra NOT gelding the animal. If he was all Ezra made him out to be, it might just be time to invest in horse breeding at the ranch.

Part Nine

They had spent the entire afternoon riding about the Landing, Chris enjoying seeing Ezra again at all, let alone looking as GOOD as he did. It was nearly six before they were back in the stables, and brushing down their horses. Chris had borrowed one of the ‘rentals’ as Ezra called them, because the family often rented them out to tourists for an afternoon of ‘country’ riding. Her name was Lady Jane, and although Chris usually preferred geldings, he’d found her to be a fine mount. Yes, the Standish family was breeding some very fine animals here. He’d have to ask who did their breeding.

“ We need to hurry if we’re going to make dinner. We smell like horse.” Ezra complained, as they headed back into the house. The kitchen smelled amazing, and both men ducked inside. Ezra did something absolutely forbidden in his own kitchen, and dipped a spoon into a pot, before tasting the soup.

“ Out!” Cora’s annoyed voice sounded from the other door. “You know better, Peyton. I can still take a switch to you, young man. Out! Out of my kitchen. And stay out-” She reached out and slapped his hand as he went for another spoonful of the soup, “-of that soup! Get cleaned up. You’re eating in the large dining room tonight. Adam and his family come in this afternoon, and so did Anna.”

“ Ow! Cora that hurt.” Ezra pouted, then kissed her cheek. “We’ll hurry. The soup’s wonderful.”

“ Out! Out of my kitchen, boy!”

“ Yes, ma’am.” Ezra laughed, pulling his lover with him. Chris was still adjusting to this new side of his lover. He seemed so…young. And it wasn’t completely a good change. Chris was feeling the age gap between them more strongly than he ever had before. He followed silently up a back staircase, and down a hall until he was pushed into the third room on the left. He immediately looked out the window, overlooking the front lawn and driveway. Not as impressive as the back view, but somehow more ‘home-like’. If you forgave the fact that it was on the second floor, it was similar to the view out the master bedroom windows at the ranch.

“ We have thirty minutes, Chris. Out of those clothes.”

“ Demanding, aren’t you? I’m not sure thirty minutes is long enough to even start to catch up on 83 days of abstinence.” Chris teased, pulling their bodies together and pressing his lips to those of his lover. Ezra allowed the kiss for a moment, before pulling back.

“ We desperately need a shower.” He reminded, unbuttoning Chris’ shirt rapidly. Despite his good intentions, the southerner was distracted from those intentions by the sight and feel of his lover’s lean chest. He leaned forward and obeyed his sudden NEED to kiss from the base of Chris neck due south along a straight line towards the navel. He’d only lavished a few moments of attention on that most bewitching indentation when he was pulled back up for a passionate kiss. His own shirt was quickly dropped to the floor with Chris’, as four hands worked feverishly at belts and buttons and zippers. Ezra’s hands dropped to his side limply as Chris’ mouth found that sensitive spot behind his ear, which seemed all the more sensitive now for the prolonged absence of stimulation.

“ God, Chris. Ah…don’t stop. That’s…so good.”

“ Shhhh.” Chris whispered against the damp skin, which sent shivers down Ezra’s spine. Calloused hands slipped down inside his jeans and boxers, squeezing possessively at his ass. It was beyond words, feeling this again after so long apart. Ezra pulled Chris’ mouth back to his own, gratified when the familiar cavern opened immediately to his tongue.

“ Peyton, dinner’s in fifteen min-sorry to interrupt.” The man did not leave the room though, much to Chris’ annoyance. Feeling perversely demonstrative, he didn’t remove his hands from Ezra’s pants until he was forced to because Ezra turned in his arms. Instead, the blond wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist, and pulled his back to meet his chest.

“ Jesse, you could knock you know.”

“ I could, but I’m not used to knocking in my own house.” The man stepped forward, further into the room, shutting the door behind him. “Jesse Standish.”

“ Chris Larabee.”

“ So I gathered from your…activity. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I wouldn’t skip dinner tonight Peyton. Uncle John is…less than content with the state of things as it is. Avoiding him won’t help.”

“ I know. I’m not a child, Jesse. I don’t need his approval.”

“ But you want it.” Jesse sighed, and shook his head. “Just…let him see that you’re not doing something stupid. Now hustle with a shower, kiddo. You’ve got fourteen minutes before Cora puts it on the table. Go.”

“ Out. I’m not stripping off with you here!”

“ Not intentionally anyway.” Jesse laughed, pointing at the clothes on the floor. He left the room though, and Chris was only slightly disappointed when he was summarily stripped and pushed into the shower, followed immediately by his lover. The shower wasn’t really made for two, but neither one minded the constant bodily contact. Ten minutes later, they were drying themselves rapidly and picking out clean clothes for dinner. Chris struggled into his pants somewhat, left slightly uncomfortable by the shared shower. It really had been too long since he’d touched his firecracker. Ezra seemed un-phased, although Chris could see he was physically in the same predicament. The southerner hustled them both downstairs as soon as they were dressed decently, and Chris took a deep breath before they stepped into the parlor, steadying his nerves.

Part Ten

Chris hadn’t been expecting the number of people that had been at dinner. Nor had he expected to be shown into a grand dining room with a table that could seat thirty people. Fourteen seats on a side, and one at each end. No wonder they’d eaten in the smaller room for lunch. The room was impressive when full, but empty it would probably just feel cavernous. Chris had done his best to keep up with the introductions, as Ezra went around the table. He of course knew John and Amanda, at the ends, and equally familiar were Cate, Amy, and the youngest children. Jesse was fresh in his mind (it wasn’t everyday he was walked in on after all), but the others had been more confusing. Kent’s wife Becky was there, and Cate’s brother Adam (Chris was pleased he’d not flinched at the name) and his wife Amber, and Becky’s sister Sarah and her husband Greg. And of course, everyone’s children. Aside from the four he’d met earlier, there were ten more kids around the table, and he’d not remembered most of their names.

Dinner had been entertaining though. Despite eating in a very formal space, and with the finest table settings Chris had ever seen outside a museum, the atmosphere had been blessedly informal. Children chattered about the end of school, parents chastised children to eat their vegetables, and there was very nearly a food fight started when one of the two year olds had flung a bit of their dinner at one of the five year olds, who retaliated in kind. A stern, quick reminder from Amanda that the table had survived the burning of Atlanta and should not be so abused calmed everyone.

Now, the blond man thought, came the hard part. He’d been ‘invited’ into the study with John, Jesse, and Kent, while Ezra had been ‘distracted’ by his remaining cousins into telling the smallest children a story. After shooting a sympathetic and apologetic look towards his lover, the southerner had acquiesced to the request. And so Chris followed his new family into another new room, idly wondering just how large this house was. It seemed to grow with every hour he was here.

“ Cigar?” Jesse offered, as the men all took various seats around the room. Chris nodded, and took one of the proffered items.

“ Thank you.”

“ Welcome to the family.” Jesse smiled, and winked at him.

“ Yes. Welcome.” John made it sound far less sincere. “Do you know anything about this family, Chris?”

“ Not much. Ezra doesn’t talk about his family much. He’s talked about his Uncle Jay and Aunt Meg, but that’s about it.”

“ They were my parents.” Jesse volunteered, and Chris nodded, despite already knowing that from Kent’s little information session in the limo.

“ Do you have ANY idea how much money my nephew is worth?” John asked, his voice even more pointed.

“ Do YOU have any idea how much I don’t care?” Chris hadn’t figured on winning any popularity contests with that attitude, but he was surprised when Jesse and Kent both started laughing. John smiled, and extended his hand.

“ You’ll do.”

“ That’s it?” Chris had been expecting some sort of Spanish Inquisition. Anything but those two questions and a seemingly warm reception following.

“ You just said exactly what I expected a man Peyton loves would say. He’s probably avoided telling you just so you could say those exact words to me when I asked.”

“ I thought he was just paranoid after the mess in Atlanta.”

“ Yes, there is that.” Jesse admitted, his smile disappearing. “ If the idiots there had bothered to look at his bank accounts OUTSIDE Atlanta, they might have known exactly where the money came from. It’s not exactly hidden.”

“ Do you mind if I ask, now that I’ve passed your test, just how much are we talking about here? He dropped thousands of dollars on a Christmas gift for my family last year without blinking.” Chris politely (and where had THAT come from he wondered) pretended not to notice the quick, silent conversation that passed between the three men.

Part Eleven

“ We really should let Peyton inform you.” John spoke, sitting behind the simple, but probably ancient, desk.

“ But, since HE probably never will, I will.” Jesse continued, leaning back into his chair. “Last year, Peyton’s pre-tax income was approximately 50 million dollars.”

Chris sunk into his chair, trying to come to terms with that high of a number. He’d imagined high, particularly after Derek’s comments about April’s father’s reaction to Ezra’s full name, but NOT that high. That was a small country’s GNP.

“ How the hell does he make that much money?”

“ His share of the Palmetto holdings entitle him to about $18 million dollars a year. His status as the Peyton heir entitles him to another $10 million. His father made some…lucrative investments which paid off rather largely while the fund was in trust, and it stands currently at just over 42 million, which brings in over $1.5 million dollars a year in interest alone. Of course, there is his salary from the ATF, but the vast majority of the rest is from real estate around the country that either the family has purchased as collective investments, or he and any one of his cousins have purchased together.” Kent read the numbers from memory, and Chris shook his head.

“ Well, that’s nice to know. At least if the ranch bombs out I won’t lose it.”

“ Ranch?” John’s interest was suddenly piqued, and Chris thought he might know who was breeding the horses here. It would be a great way to get on the man’s good side, if he was right.

“ My house in Colorado is a horse ranch. Or could become one, anyway. Ezra’s leaving the ATF and I may join him.”

“ We know he’s leaving. My son encouraged him highly to do so.” John replied, happiness with the decision clear in his voice and his body language. “We all have. I’ve buried enough family, Chris. I‘m an old man, or so these pups like to tell me, and I‘d be more than content to be the next funeral.”

“ I understand that. I’ve done my share of burying myself.”

“ Yes, my sympathies on that.” John nodded. “It was in the file I had done.”

“ What’s this?” Jesse asked, and Kent shook his head.

“ I thought you were going to share that with everyone, Uncle John.”

“ That part didn’t seem important.”

“ Pardon?”

“ My wife and son.” Chris answered, seeing the other two men were going to leave it up to him. He continued, seeing the rather murderous look suddenly on the previously genial face. “Sarah and Adam were killed in a car bomb on August 30, 1998. Adam was five. He’d just started kindergarten. Our second baby was due the following January.”

“ I didn’t mean to bring up a bad topic.” Jesse apologized, but Chris surprised himself and waved it off.

“ It’s not…gone really, but it doesn’t consume me anymore. I have Ezra, and that’s helped more than you can imagine. He’s amazingly…alive. It seems to be contagious.” Chris smiled, thinking about his lover.

“ My son…he and my wife got me through it when I buried my little girl.” John admitted, picking up a picture from the desk. “ She was fourteen.”

“ Judith. Ezra mentioned her. My nephew, Nick, had leukemia. He’s in remission, has been for years. But he mentioned the fund to my sister, in case she knew anyone…”

“ Good for him.” John set the picture down, coming out of his mood. “He’s a good boy, Chris. Just like his father. You take care of him right, and I suspect he’ll bring new meaning to lifelong love.”

“ You haven’t murdered him, have you?” Ezra’s head peeked into the study, smiling as he saw Chris not only healthy and whole, but smiling at him.

“ We were just talking about you, baby.”

“ Baby?” Kent and Jesse looked at each other, plotting obvious in their eyes.

“ Oh, bugger off.” Ezra shot back, seating himself on the arm of Chris’ chair. “I see you survived the Inquisition.”

“ We weren’t even hard on him. After all, if we chased this one off, it might take another thirty years for you to find someone crazy enough to deal with you!”

“ Keep that up and I’ll think you don’t love me, Jesse.”

“ I don’t!”

“ Ouch. Oh, that hurts. It truly hurts.” Ezra pouted, and Chris found himself laughing at the interplay. “I think I need it kissed better, Chris.”

“ I can manage that.” He met the descending lips eagerly, but they were interrupted by loud coughs before the kiss became too deep.

“ Take it to your room, please. It’s like having newlyweds in the house again.” John complained good-naturedly. “Chris, there’s no ceremony for two men, so I’ll say this now. I’m giving you a precious gift here. Damage it, and you’ll think hell sounds like a nice vacation. Clear?”

“ Perfectly.”

“ Uncle John! Really, I must protest being treated like some virginal twenty-year-old who-”

“ He’s not a virgin?!” Jesse pretended to be shocked. “Oh, I’m shocked. Appalled. I mean, he’s not even married yet!”

“ Shut UP!” Ezra sighed, looking at Chris. “Do you see why I don’t visit very often? And they think undercover work is hard on my nerves. Nothing compared to this family.”

“ I think I can cure that too.” Chris whispered in his ear.

“ Time for bed.” Ezra stood up, extending his hand to his lover.

“ It’s eight o’clock.” Kent checked his watch quickly. “It’s not even dark outside yet.”

“ Close enough.” Chris smiled as he let himself be led from the room towards the stairs, ignoring the chuckles he could hear behind him. Ezra was leading him about a lot, but it would be worth it, he imagined. Just being around the southerner again was more than worth it, really, and Chris had no doubt that his firecracker had far more than sleep planned once they reached the bedroom.

Part Twelve

He wasn’t wrong. Ezra had pushed him into the room and hastily thrown the key in the lock before claiming a kiss that left no doubt as to what he had intended for the evening. Chris was far from objecting. Hands twisted and pulled at buttons, shirts somehow finding their way to the floor, although neither man would later be able to recall how, as their concentration centered on the juncture of lips and tongues. Finally, Chris pulled away from the addictive mouth beneath his, and began to kiss a path down the younger man’s throat. How had he ever lived without this taste for so long, without hearing the soft moans he elicited from Ezra?

“Chris. Oh…I…” Ezra gasped, as his lover left a trail of light bites down his neck to the hollow of his throat. He felt the teeth nearly puncture his skin, and knew that there would be a livid mark there tomorrow. “Yes. I’m yours, beloved.”

“ Damn right.” Chris continued down the broad chest, his tongue leaving a wet path behind him. He smiled tightly, catching sight of Ezra’s souvenir of his shopping trip with Worthington. He latched onto it, teeth and tongue playing with the small silver ring.

“Chris, oh there. That is…amazing.” Ezra felt his knees beginning to betray him, as the blond played with his piercing. Derek had been right. The damn ring was directly attached to his cock, somehow. He was getting very uncomfortably hard, very fast. Throwing his head back slightly, he allowed the sensations to flow through him completely, while still attempting to keep himself upright.

“ Bed. Or floor. But if you keep that-God yes that-up, I won’t be standing.”

“ Bed.” Chris agreed, shedding his belt on the way, grateful that Ezra wasn’t wearing one. Shoes were kicked off quickly, as both men dropped onto the bed. The leader resumed his attentions to that most fascinating little ring, while his hands busied themselves with helping Ezra remove his pants as rapidly as humanly possible. Finally deciding to abandon the nipple in favor of attractions further south, Chris took a moment to leave another possessive mark just below his firecracker’s navel, slightly to the right.

“Chris!” Ezra bucked up into the bite, reveling in Chris’ possession of him. He wound his hands into short blond hair, urging his lover to his preferred location. Thankfully, Chris was evidently as anxious as he was, for he skipped any form of teasing, and engulfed his hard arousal in a deliciously damp heat right away. Forcing himself not to buck, or as much as he could physically restrain himself anyway, the younger man retained just enough of his thinking mind to realize they needed to be rather quiet. It was early enough that the children weren’t even asleep yet. If the walls were blessedly thick enough to silence normal voice levels, his usual screams would need to be stifled.

“ Ahhhhh. Oh, there yes, hell Chris-” Ezra moaned in disappointment as that astonishingly talented mouth abandoned him with a soft popping noise.

“ My turn.”

“ Oh, definitely.” Any disappointment was erased immediately, as Ezra pulled off his lover’s pants almost roughly, removing the boxers simultaneously to reveal the object of his attentions. He dove happily onto the blonde’s erection, only now realizing how very much he had missed this taste, and smell. He lost himself in the giving of pleasure, and the receiving of such incredible moans of ecstasy from his love. He groaned loudly when he was rather roughly pulled from his treat, looking up at Chris with pleading eyes. It had been far too long since he tasted the older man’s release. God, he might come himself at that, Ezra thought, rubbing himself lightly into the blanket on the bed.

“ Almost…” Chris explained in a voice that was mostly an extenuated sound of pleasure. “ I want you tonight.”

“ Then take me.” Ezra replied, rolling over to the center of the bed, and spreading his legs in invitation. Not one to need a second invitation, particularly towards his beautiful firebrand, Chris followed the lithe man into the center of the large bed, and laid his body over his.

“ Lube?”

“ Drawer, your side of the bed.” Chris had to roll off the man beneath him for a moment to retrieve the necessary tube from the bedside table, but was back quickly. He wasted little time while preparing Ezra, who was writhing wantonly against him, bringing their erections into welcome contact. Short minutes later, the blond was sliding into a shockingly tight, hot body and he knew he wouldn’t last long. It needn’t have concerned him, because just as he began to inform Ezra of that fact, he hit his prostate with his thrusts. Ezra’s body arched off the bed as much as he could beneath the taller man, and white fluid shot onto their stomachs and chests. Only several thrusts later, Chris found his own release, and managed to collapse to the side of the southerner, a feat of which the blond was immensely proud, considering his sudden exhaustion.

“ That was breath-taking. Short, but amazing.” Ezra sighed, snuggling into his side despite the heat. Chris suddenly noticed how very warm the room was, and was infinitely grateful they were on top of the bedding, not underneath. Speaking of, there was a rather tell-tale stain rapidly appearing where fluids leaked from Ezra.

“ I hope this bedspread isn’t an antique too, baby. You’re staining it.”

“ Not an antique.” Ezra assured, brushing his hand across a beautifully sculpted chest he’d only been able to imagine for months. “It was a present my first summer here. Grandmother wanted to make the room feel more like my own.”

“ So, this is your room, huh?”

“ Mm-hmm. It was my father’s when he was a child, and his and Mother’s when we visited. I stayed in the room down the hall that is Ben’s now.”

“ Who has the room next door?”

“ Why do you ask?” Ezra laid a loving kiss on the skin in front of his mouth, looking up to catch a light green gaze.

“ That door doesn’t lock. Are we going to have an audience some time?”

“ Not until Cate has the baby. It’s not generally used, just a guestroom. It’s locked usually.”

“ So, it doesn’t bother you that we’ve just had sex in the same bed your parents use to share?” Chris teased, rubbing his love’s back soothingly.

“ Only the frame is still the same, beloved.” Ezra smiled lightly. “It’s been more than twenty years.”

“ Is it always this hot in here?”

“ I would open a window, but I’m not sure we’re done being obscene for the night, and since the front porch is directly beneath my window…”

“ Speaking of obscene, I’m still surprised you actually did this.” Chris reached out and gently flicked the nipple piercing.

“ Momentary insanity. It has its good points. If you keep doing that, I’m going to be hard in a few minutes.”

“ Sounds like a plan.” Chris smiled, his fingers ‘idly’ playing with the ring.

“I’m definitely going to have to go to Confession again.” Ezra sighed, but didn’t sound very upset about the idea. In fact, he was smiling as he leaned up for another heavy kiss that would undoubtedly lead to better things.

Part Thirteen

The next morning, Chris would have been perfectly content to spend the entire day in bed with his arms around his lover once more. He’d missed having the other man manage to take up the entire bed around and over him. It had taken days to sleep even close to right after Ezra left. He was used to that, for Ezra’s absences undercover, but his mind had convinced him this was different. The older man checked the clock as his eyes opened, and smiled to himself. He could hear children on the front lawn, not necessarily loud, but just enough to be heard if one was already awake. It was mid-morning already, almost 9 o’clock. It was the latest Chris had slept in years, if you didn’t count the times when alcohol played its part. Intending to indulge himself thoroughly in the sight, smell and feel of his lover, Chris settled back into the bed, wrapping his arms a little tighter around his firecracker. He smiled wider when Ezra mumbled something into his chest, and cracked bleary green eyes.

“ ’loved?”

“ Go back to sleep, baby. It’s early yet.”

“ Mm-hmm.” Ezra accepted his kiss contentedly, and then shifted about to find a more comfortable position. Snuggling into the familiar chest beneath him, Ezra was soon sleeping again, and Chris watched him happily. It wasn’t that Ezra was MORE beautiful while asleep, he was just…a different beautiful. And it was a blessedly welcome sight.

Chris’ attention didn’t leave Ezra’s face until he heard a solid knocking at the bedroom door. He had been relieved last night to find that the rooms in this house all were outfitted with locks, even if they were the ancient kind that required a key from both sides. The knocking came again, and Ezra tried to burrow deeper into the covers as if to avoid the noise. Kissing his forehead lightly, the older man extricated himself carefully and slid from the bed, slipping his jeans on as he did so. He crossed the room, and managed to figure out the lock on the first try.

“ Yeah?”

“ Good morning.” It was Cora, who didn’t seem the least phased at his half-naked appearance at the door. Then again, she’d probably had a lot of couples in this house at various times, Chris reasoned. She came into the room, laundry basket on her hip, and moved about efficiently, picking up the discarded articles on the floor before going into the attached bathroom which connected Ezra’s room with the neighboring room.

“ Rise and shine, Peyton!” She called as she returned to the room, sounding just like she’d been doing this exact thing every morning for years. “ Day’s wasting. Far too late to be lazing about abed.”

“ Mmm. Cora. ’Way.” Ezra buried his face in the pillow, and Chris sat back to watch. He might learn something about waking the man when necessary.

“ Don’t you tell me to go away, boy. Time to get up.” Setting the half-full laundry basket on the floor, she swatted the conveniently displayed ass a bit harder than Chris would have. Of course, he usually had other things in mind when touching Ezra’s ass than getting him OUT of bed. “You gettin’ up?”

“ Unnh.”

“ I said up, child.” Cora grasped at the covers, and pulled them back away from the young man’s body. Ezra was upright in an instant, grabbing the comforter and re-covering himself, looking scandalized.

“ Cora, I’m naked!” Chris stifled his chuckle as the old woman put her hands on her hips and glared down at his flustered lover.

“ I saw you naked the day you were born, and many times thereafter. Ain’t gonna surprise me none. Now, I said up.”

“ Yes, ma’am.” Ezra stayed beneath the covers though, earning a hard, questioning look from the servant woman. He nodded towards the door, and she sighed.

“ I’ll be back in ten minutes, and if you ain’t up and decent I’m gonna drag you from that bed and dress you myself like I done when you was waist-high.”

“ Good morning to you too, Cora.” Ezra retorted, but humor was in his voice. He rubbed at his eyes as he slid from the bed as soon as the door shut behind the woman. He looked at Chris, and smiled.

“ You might have helped.”

“ Oh no. I wasn’t interfering in that. It looked like something of a morning ritual.”

“ It is. Cora is religiously opposed to sleeping in, I think. I keep trying to tell her this is my vacation but she’s convinced that lying about is unhealthy.”

“ You look amazing.” Chris stepped closer, and pulled the younger man into his arms for a good morning kiss. Ezra pulled himself closer, and eagerly scoured Chris’ mouth with his tongue.

“ Bullshit, but thank you anyway.” Ezra managed to reply once they’d parted. “I must look an absolute state.”

“ No bruises, no scrapes, no holes, no clothes…just the way I like you.”

“ Keep talking like that and I’ll be back in that bed with you, despite Cora’s dire warnings.”

“ You two get dressed in there now!” As if on cue, the woman’s voice echoed from somewhere further down the hall.

“ Yes Cora!” Ezra called back, laughing. “I think I should have insisted we stay at the hotel in town. I’d much rather spend today inside this room with just you and no one to interrupt us.”

“ I’m glad you didn’t. It’s good to see you happy, baby.”

“ I’m always happy with you, Chris. It’s just easier here. It’s vacation, and I don’t have to be anything but Peyton. But I think I might be ready to be Ezra again. I miss it. I miss you. Denver. Our friends. Our bed.”

“ You have a one-track mind.”

“ Only with you.” Ezra confirmed, placing another kiss on his lips. Tearing himself away, the southerner darted for his pants. Chris raised his eyebrows, and earned a swift nod towards the door in answer. Sure enough, a moment later, Cora was back inside the room, looking critical of their progress.

“ At least you’re upright. You missed breakfast already. There’s some raisin bread on the table in the kitchen, but don’t you go making anything else. I don’t want you making a disaster of my kitchen.”

“ Yes, ma’am.” Ezra replied, tossing Chris a shirt from the drawer. Chris raised his eyebrows as he noticed it was one of his own. Somebody had unpacked for him. That was convenient, but a bit odd. “Where is everyone else?”

“ Up and gone for hours.” Cora sniffed, but didn’t seem honestly upset. “Mister John is in town with Mister Kent and Mister Jesse. Mrs. Amanda is in her room, working on a present for the baby. Miss Amy and Miss Cate are with the children. Miss Becky hasn’t been around yet this morning. Adam, Amber, Anna and Scott went riding just after breakfast. Lunch’ll be at noon sharp.”

“ Yes, ma’am.” Ezra smiled again as Cora once more left the room.

“ She’s amazing. Knows everything about everyone all the time in this house. I’m beginning to think she must have hidden cameras or something.”

“ How long has she worked here?”

“ Forever.” Ezra shrugged, “She grew up here. Her mother had her job for years, and Cora started helping when she was quite young. I’m not sure exactly, but I think maybe fifty/fifty-five years. She used to baby-sit my father when he was a boy.”

“ You ready yet?” Chris asked, having finished dressing rapidly. He ran his fingers through his hair, glad it was short enough it needed little attention.

“ Almost. My hair hates me.” Ezra complained, running a comb through his only minutely unruly hair.

“ Your hair is fine.” Chris chuckled, wrapping his arms around him from behind. He was particularly touchy today, just because it felt like a lifetime since they’d been able to touch. “What’s the plan for today?”

“ I…there’s someone I want to introduce you to.” Ezra answered, leading the way out of the room.

Part Fourteen

They stopped by the kitchen to grab a couple pieces of raisin bread apiece, and then Ezra led the way outside and down a well-worn one-car-wide path through densely growing trees and bushes. A few minutes down the path, Chris looked down as he felt his lover’s hand find his and clasp it tightly. A silent five minutes longer, and Chris sucked in a quiet but deep breath. Wrought iron gates crossed the path, with the words Palmetto Cemetery clearly written in the arch above. He was led soundlessly through some truly old looking headstones that he could barely read towards the obviously newer section. They stopped first at a beautifully carved angel statue, and Ezra stooped to wipe away a small leaf from the base. Beautiful and varied flowers were spread in front of the marker, decorating the grave.

“ Good morning, Grandmother.” Ezra spoke, and Chris quickly read the tombstone. Ezra’s grandmother, Sarah Anne Peyton Standish; born 1908 died in 2001. The woman was ancient when she died. “I brought Chris to meet you. It’s a bit late…but I thought you’d want to see him. You were right, Denver was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I love him more than I can even really understand myself. Uhm, Chris, I want you to meet my grandmother, Sadie Standish.”

“ You must have loved her quite a lot.”

“ She was wonderful. A true matriarch, without being directly controlling. She loved us into submission.”

“ I remember…when she died. You didn’t come back for the funeral.”

“ No.” Ezra shook his head. “I was working on the Hampstead case. I got the call the day before I was due to go under. I couldn’t sacrifice all that work. I’m sure she understood. She always did.”

“ She must have been truly amazing. After all, she was related to you.”

“ Your mother reminds me of her, a little. Amazingly strong. Loving. And accepting. She was the first family member I told about being bisexual. That first summer I came home, with Uncle Jay. She hardly blinked, Chris. I mean, she hadn’t seen me since I was six, and here I drop that on her. She just shrugged, said she wanted me to be happy and preferably so here on Palmetto. I guess I wasn’t too good at that. I’ve never been able to stay here for more than a month at a time. I love my family, I love it here, but it just never…felt like home either. You know what I regret more than missing her funeral?”

“ What, baby?” Chris took his love in his arms, knowing Ezra needed to talk this out.

“ That I didn’t see her enough. She was always so HAPPY to see me. I guess because Mother and I disappeared for so long. But she…this ninety year old woman would just come alive around me. I came back here that first Christmas in Denver, you know. Her last Christmas. She didn’t look as well as she had. Hell, she was ninety-two. I hope I look that good at ninety, but I should have known. I should have come back again. She deserved so much more of my time. I just wish I could talk to her one more time.”

“ Baby, we all feel like that when someone dies. It doesn’t matter how much we talked before their death. I felt the same way with my father. He was sick for months. We all talked with him, at him at the end, for hours. Put a lot of things to rest. It still felt, when he was gone, that SOMETHING was left undone, unsaid. You loved her. She knew that. That’s what’s important.”

“ You’re right, but I still wish I’d seen her again. She was beautiful. I’ll show you pictures later. She was the most beautiful girl in Carolina society, or so the society sheets read from back then. Come on, there’s more.” Ezra pulled from his arms gently, and led him by the hand towards another marker not far away. Chris could see some flowers here too, on one half of the double plot.

“ Uncle Jay and Aunt Meg. I never thanked him, you know. For looking for me, for finding me, for bringing me here. For taking care of my interests all those years, even when I was technically old enough to do it myself. But, we did have one last conversation. Not long before he died, we went out dinner, Uncle Jay, Aunt Meg, Jesse, Liz, Anna, the in-laws and the kids and I. It was…busy. After dinner, we had coffee, and I told him how much having family meant to me. He used to tell the best stories about my father. They were only three years apart, and evidently my father was quite the tag-along as a child. Jesse’s a lot like his father.” Then Chris was following his firecracker towards the back of the cemetery, where there was still plenty of empty ground. Off by itself, only feet from the stone fence that marked the boundary of the cemetery, and overlooking what was clearly a swimming hole, they came to a stop once more.

“This is my plot.” Ezra stated as if such was perfectly ordinary conversation.

“You’re going to be buried here? What about Denver?” Chris couldn’t help but ask.

“ It’s in my will, and all my final papers, beloved. I made the decision years ago, when I was in Atlanta, but I’m not planning to change it. You’ll be buried next to Sarah and Adam, as you should be.” Ezra shrugged, but there was little lightness to the gesture. “And I want to be buried with my family. One more person to meet here, Chris.”

Following Ezra’s soft hand motion towards the marker to direct right of what he’d indicated was his place, Chris read the stone, and froze for just an instant. In all his imaginings, this had never occurred.

“ Hey, Daddy.”

Part Fifteen

Ezra stooped down, tracing the engraved name lightly. “I’ve already seen Grandmother, so don’t start scolding me about that. You always did tell me to introduce ladies first. I’ve brought Chris, Daddy. I bet you thought your little Peyton was never going to bring anybody home for you to meet, did you? I certainly shocked Mother with the announcement. Fifteen months worth, which I count as a truly amazing feat. Maude Standish is nearly impossible to shock.”

There was silence for a moment, and Ezra stood. “ Daddy, this is Chris. Chris, my father.”

“ Caleb Standish; Dec. 22, 1942 to July 18, 1980. The Lord Giveth, and the Lord Hath Taken Away, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.” Chris read aloud, not sure what to say when he was being introduced to a dead man. It seemed to be enough for Ezra though, who tucked into his side as if looking for warmth despite the gorgeous weather.

“ I remember him, Chris. He was always so tall…or maybe I was just very short. But he was always laughing, always warm and welcoming. He chased monsters, carried me on his shoulders absolutely everywhere, and I was never once turned away from his company because he was too busy. He adored me, Chris. I wish…Damn it I wish he’d lived. I wish he’d just given up, let it go. It was just a case, it wasn’t worth dying for. He had too much to live for. Sometimes I hate him for being so damn selfish, Chris. He just walked out the front door and ‘bang’. They shot him on our front porch in Columbia. Over a damn property case!”

“ Shhhh, baby.” Chris pulled him into a hug, letting the younger man sob into his chest. Ezra was shaking, tiny tremors wracking him as he cried. “I understand. Shhhh.”

“ I was there, Chris.” Ezra managed when he’d calmed somewhat. “If they’d waited a minute longer, they’d have shot me too. Daddy was going to work early, it must have been seven in the morning. I tore out of the house behind him, wanting one more hug before he left. What sort of men shoot a man like that? In front of his little boy? I was barely six.”

“ They weren’t men, Ezra. Not like we know it.”

“ I’ve never talked about it to anyone, Chris. Not Grandmother, Uncle Jay, not the shrinks, and certainly not Mother. One of the neighbors had been watering her flowers, and testified against the two men. But I remember it. Daddy must have seen them, because he turned to me, and he looked scared. I’d never seen him scared. He was invincible, or so I thought. My Daddy could beat anything.” Chris nearly sobbed himself, remembering that sort of devotion from a young son. It was a heady feeling, seeing those little eyes that always seemed so big staring up at you and firmly believing you were the strongest, best and bravest man in the world.

“ He threw his briefcase at me, of all things. Took out my legs and I fell, broke my arm. Then there was blood all over the sidewalk, and he was…was just lying there, face down in it. They shot him in the back in front of me. I’ve never forgotten it. Mother always wanted to know why law-enforcement. Because I’ve gotten men like that off the street. I’ve gotten guns like that out of their hands. Maybe I’ve saved some other little boy watching his Daddy die in front of him for some STUPID CASE!”

“ That’s why you’re leaving now.”

“ Part of it. I can’t…I WON’T do that to you, Chris. I won’t leave you to mourn me like you mourn Sarah and Adam. Like my family still mourns my father. Do you know, of all the people buried here, my father’s the only one that people still cry over? I’ve seen them do it, Chris. Aunt Ruth, Aunt Rachel, Grandmother, Uncle John, even Aunt Anne when she thinks no one’s watching her out here. Even Judith doesn’t get a reaction like that when she’s mentioned.”

“ If he was anything like you, baby, I completely understand it.” Chris kissed him soundly, but without heat. It was just the best affirmation of his love that he could think of. “I can’t leave the Agency just yet, baby-”

“ I know, beloved. I understand that. I made this decision for myself, as much as for you.”

“ -But,” Chris continued, “ I wanted you to think about an idea I had. I’ve always wanted to breed horses. What if we started with Phoenix? I’ve got a couple neighbors who have mares, either for sale or to be bred with a fine stallion like him.”

“ You mean…actually make the ranch working?”

“ Yeah. I’m getting too old for some of that shit, you know. And Nathan’s looking for new work, safer work. You’re leaving. JD’s had an obscene offer from some computer security firm, and with Casey…well I think he’ll take it. Josiah’ll be up for retirement in a couple years. And the Judge has already talked about having Buck do the tours, you know, seminars on explosives.”

“ What about Vin? He doesn’t know anything but his rifle, Chris.”

“ I was hoping you might not mind another business partner?”

“ It’s a wonderful idea!” Ezra hugged him, and Chris laughed just at the relief. Suddenly, Ezra turned back around, and was crouched in front of the marker once more.

“ You hear that Daddy? I’m going home to Denver soon, but I’ll be fine now. You’ll have to wait awhile longer to see me, Daddy, but then I don’t think you’ll mind much.”

“ He won’t.” Chris agreed, imagining somehow if he was in Caleb’s spot, and this was Adam.

“ Bye, Daddy. I’ll come see you again before I leave.”

“ We’ll be back, sir.” Chris said, earning a broad smile from his lover, which made his self-consciousness at speaking to a tombstone more than bearable.

Part Sixteen

“ How do you feel about a swim?” Ezra asked, as he easily climbed the small stone fence. Chris followed him, shaking his head.

“ Ezra, we don’t have any suits. And it’s not THAT warm.”

“ We can swim au natural.” The younger man replied, pulling him towards the swimming hole. “And its warm enough.”

“ We shouldn’t. We’re about ten minutes from the house.”

“ Less from Kent’s.”

“ You’re not winning me over here.” Chris looked about, half expecting kids to pour from the trees suddenly as he realized Ezra was already taking off his shirt.

“ Ezra, what are you-”

“ It’s all right. Come on, Chris. I feel like celebrating something.”

“ Really?”

“ Mm-hmm. And my main idea of celebration needs you to have a lot less clothing between me and you.” Ezra’s lips met his, and Chris’ objections leeched from him rapidly. Completely involved in the deepening kiss, Chris was pleasantly surprised when his shirt fell from his shoulders and two bare chests were pressed together. Fingers tangled in the younger man’s hair, Chris somehow found the strength of will to pull away from the kiss.

“ Unless the euphemisms have changed, this isn’t what I’d call swimming.”

“ Pleasant alternative.” Ezra shrugged, and kissed him again. When biology demanded greater air intake, Ezra trailed his kisses down his lover’s neck, nibbling on the juncture of shoulder and throat. Tugging insistently on the taller man’s hips, Ezra managed to convey his desire for them to no longer be standing, and with what was probably a less than graceful descent, the two men were soon on the ground. Shifting so his knees rested on either side of Chris’ thighs, the southerner returned to his lover’s mouth for a greedy kiss. He groaned as he felt one hand slide into his jeans, caressing his ass through the simple cotton boxers, and the other wander around to undo the buttons of his jeans.

“ Mmmm. Chris, oh damn that’s…” The rest of his sentence, whatever it might have been, was cut off when Chris’ tongue appeared inside his mouth once more.

“ Children present.”

“ Oh shit!” Ezra jumped at the voice, and Chris would have blushed, if he hadn’t sworn off doing so years ago. As it was, Ezra was blushing enough for three people.

“Peyton?! No one told me you were here!” The girl could have been twenty at the most, Chris noted, but what he noticed the most was Ezra standing to embrace her. It was probably fortunate then that he’d not gotten all the buttons undone on the younger man’s jeans.

“ Katie. When did you get in?”

“ Just now. Finals got over last week, and I wanted to see everyone.”

“ Are your parents here?”

“ No. Dad has to work, and Tom’s still got finals this week. I think he and Mom’ll be out next week sometime.”

“ It’s wonderful to see you.”

“ I could say the same. You look amazing.” Katie smiled, and pulled away from a second hug. “We’re being horribly rude to your…friend?”

“ Chris, meet my second cousin, Katie. Katie, this is my lover, Chris.”

“ So the family rumor mill was true. Damn it.”

“ What?” Ezra asked, extending a hand to pull Chris from the ground.

“ I owe Tom ten dollars. I didn’t want to believe that all the good men really are married or gay.”

“ The family’s known I was…flexible, for years Katie.”

“ Mom never mentioned it.” The girl shrugged, but her smile never wavered. “Not like it matters. It’s good to meet you Chris.”

“ You too.”

“ Um, you two might want to get a room though. Or more accurately, you should use the one you’ve been given.”

“ That is a wonderful idea.” Ezra commented, looking up at Chris.

“ Um, not right now. There’s a field trip here, Peyton. You’ll have to wait until this afternoon before you know…letting Chris earn his title.” Katie wandered away from them a bit, before peeling her clothing to reveal swimsuit and wading into the water.

“ Title?” Chris asked, and Ezra smiled widely.

“ Lover.”

“ Right. Is there any place we can go for some privacy then?”

“ Until Cate has her baby? No.” Ezra sighed, reluctant to admit the truth. “I’m rather afraid more of my family shall begin to pour in every hour. Her due date is Friday. Until the baptism, we’re about to be bombarded with company.”

“Well, at least the bedrooms have locks.” Chris commented, earning light laughter from his firecracker.

Part Seventeen

Chris jerked from well-earned deep sleep at the loud knocking on his door. By the light in the room, it was barely past sunrise. A glance at the clock confirmed that it was just past 5:30. Shit, they’d only been asleep for four hours. Of course, they’d gone to bed about eight hours ago, so whoever was knocking had no idea of that but still…realizing that the knocking wasn’t going to go away, Chris tiredly pulled from the bed and grabbed his jeans.

“ Chris?” Ezra, having slept through the knocking, was awake the minute his human pillow shifted beneath him to leave the bed. “Whose knocking at…good lord is THAT the time?”

Chris ignored him momentarily, and opened the door.

“ Yeah?” For the life of him, Chris could not remember which kid this was. It was too early to even try to sort through the incredible number of kids he’d met over the last two days.

“ Dad said to wake up Peyton. It’s time.”

“ Connor?” Ezra’s voice came from the bed, and the little boy darted into the room beneath Chris’ arm.

“ It’s time! Aunt Cate’s having the baby!”

“ Lord, can she not have just one of her children at a decent time of day?” Ezra complained lightly, but sat up straighter. “You’d best go tell your father I’m awake. I’ll be downstairs in ten minutes.”

“ Sure!” The boy was gone again, out the door and by the sounds of it tumbling down the main stairs. Ezra slid from the bed, and quickly dressed while Chris did the same. True to the younger man’s word, they were walking down the stairs towards a crowded foyer less than ten minutes later. Chris took a moment to try and find everyone’s name in his head, and realized he could only come up with half of them. Most of those he couldn’t remember were kids, and even if he could come up with their names, he couldn’t recall whose kid was whose.

“ Peyton!” Three little kids flew at them; well two flew and one toddled, but all three were quickly in various contact with the young agent. These kids Chris recognized. Sophie was in her favorite place, tucked against Ezra’s left side her legs resting around his waist. Will was in his other arm, rubbing his eyes sleepily, and Chloe had her hand latched onto the hand that wasn’t really needed to support Will as the boy expertly clung around Ezra’s neck and shoulder, his legs wrapped beneath Sophie’s around Ezra’s waist.

“ Good morning to you as well.”

“ Momma’s having my brother! We gotta hurry.” Will piped up, suddenly awake and excited again.

“ Yes, I agree. However, we must first see to logistics, William.”

“ Already taken care of.” Amy appeared then, smiling at the two men warmly. “You, Chris, and these three are coming with me. Jesse’s already at the hospital with Cate. Becky’s staying here to get the kids off to school, before she joins us. The rest are coming in various cars. Ready?”

“ Of course. Lead onward, dear lady.”

Part Eighteen

As was common, Chris knew from experience, the wait at the hospital was not particularly short. Hours were spent entertaining the children who were either not yet old enough, or finished with school for the year. Ezra excelled at it, but even his seemingly tireless lover was looking a bit overwhelmed with thirteen kids in the waiting room. Three of those were Ezra’s complete responsibility, as their parents were rather indisposed. Chris had briefly glimpsed Cate’s husband, who’d flown in from some business conference in New York (where he’d evidently been for several days) with David and his family. The man had disappeared towards the OB unit immediately, leaving his children with Ezra.

“ God, I’m tired.” Chris chuckled at Ezra’s announcement as the younger man plopped down next to him with little of his usual grace. It was nearly four in the afternoon. The school-age kids would be here soon.

“ Why is everyone waiting here? The house would have been more comfortable.” Chris asked, looking at the large crowd. He figured the nurses were wondering the same thing. They looked a bit overwhelmed at the numbers of people in the OB waiting room.

“ No idea. Cate asked me to be here last week, and watch the kids.”

“ Peyton, when’s my brother going to be born? He’s sure taking a long time.” Will appeared at their side, looking bored once more. Ezra sighed, but summoned a smile. He hadn’t had nearly enough sleep to keep up with children for so long.

“ Babies tend to take some time, or so I’ve been told. And you know, you could have a new sister.”

“ But I’ve got TWO sisters already.” Will’s pout increased. “I don’t WANT another one.” He wandered away again though, back towards a game of ‘go fish’ currently entertaining the young ones.

“You know, for a four year old, he’s quite well-spoken.” Chris commented, and Ezra grinned.

“ Our family is just verbally gifted, beloved.”

“ That I’ll believe.” Chris nearly jumped as a vaguely familiar man stepped into the room, wearing hospital scrubs and smiling widely.

“ DADDY!” Chloe’s voice called out, as she raced towards her father, with Will a few steps behind. Sophie toddled instead straight to Ezra, who lifted her into his arms automatically.

“ It’s a boy. 7 pounds, 8 ounces with definite Standish lungs.”

“ Brother!” Will shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. “ Can we see him?”

“ Not just yet, son. You must be Chris. I’m Josh Bettany, Cate’s long-lost husband.”

“ Pleasure.” Chris shook the man’s hand, before Bettany turned his attention to Ezra.

“ Peyton, Cate wants to see you and Chris.”

“ Us? Why?”

“ She’ll kill me if she doesn‘t get to be the one to explain.”

“ Okay, I guess. Amy, could you…?”

“ Sure. Come here, Sophie.” Amy stepped forward, and took the toddler, who seemed reluctant to be transferred. Short moments later, Chris and Ezra were following Bettany into a private maternity suite. Cate looked exhausted, but happy. She had a tiny bundle in her arms, and while the father stepped to the side, Ezra proceeded straight to her bedside.

“ Have a seat, Peyton. You too, Chris. Josh and I would like to ask you something.”

“ When you tell me to take a seat, I get nervous.” Ezra admitted, but sat down in a conveniently placed chair nonetheless.

“ You’re probably wondering why you’re here first.” Cate continued without acknowledging that Ezra had spoken. “ Josh and I decided something a few months ago, and seeing you with Chloe, Will and Sophie these last weeks just made me all the more certain. And, well, to be honest I was a bit nervous about this, since I hadn’t met Chris yet, but now I have, and Josh says he trusts me and-”

“ Cate, you’re babbling.” Ezra cut in, earning an affronted look from his cousin.

“ I think I’m entitled. YOU have a kid and see if you don’t lose some of that silver on your tongue, Peyton.”

“ Honey? Your point.”

“ Of course, Josh, I was getting there.” Cate was interrupted once more, this time by a short yawn. “ We want you to be our son’s godfather, Ezra Peyton Standish.”

Part Nineteen

“ Me? Why? I mean, I’m flattered, but I’m…not a very good Catholic. Or the best example for a boy, I mean I’m…with Chris.”

“ Yes, and while we’d normally ask your partner to be godmother as well, we rather thought that one, the priest would be a bit surprised at the baptism, and two, Chris would be a bit offended by the appellation.”

“ I probably would.” Chris agreed, grinning at Josh. He was beginning to like the man already. If some of Ezra’s cousins rubbed him slightly the wrong way (he was reminded every other minute that these were ‘society’ people), there were a couple he genuinely liked.

“ My husband’s point, Peyton, is that all that doesn’t matter. Or, rather it does, but we don’t agree with you. You’re not a BAD Catholic either, and more than that, I trust you to be a wonderful godfather. And just because you’re gay, or bisexual and living with a man, doesn’t mean that you can’t be a wonderful example for our son. You’re a good man, Peyton.”

“ Peyton, I think you should know this was MY idea.” Josh admitted quietly. “I want you to be in my kids’ lives. I don’t have any brothers and although Cate does, Adam has four kids of his own. I really don’t care if you’re gay. If I could pick a man for my son to take after, it’d be you.”

“ Damn it, I may cry.” Ezra’s tone made it clear he wasn’t lying with that statement. “And I do NOT cry. I just…I’m speechless.”

“ You’re talking. You can’t be too speechless, baby.”

“ I’d love to.” Ezra grinned suddenly, looking at the small bundle, sleeping silently in Cate’s arms.

“ Well, then, mister godfather, we need your help. We need a name.”

“ You didn’t pick out a name yet? You’ve had nine months to decide.”

“ Well, his first name is James. He needs a middle name, and we thought it appropriate to let you decide.” Cate proclaimed regally.

“ I voted for Ezra, in your honor, but Cate’s not all that fond of your first name.”

“ I rather like it.” Chris replied, smiling at his southerner. “ It’s as unique as you are, baby.”

“ So, before they come to harass us about the birth certificate again, this little boy needs a middle name.”

“ I think…” Ezra paused and looked at his lover. An idea blossomed in his mind, and he bit his lip worryingly. It seemed a wonderful idea to him, but he hoped Chris wouldn’t be upset. “ If it’s all right with Chris, I’d like it to be Ethan.”

Chris sat back in the chair, shocked at that statement. For just an instant, he could hear Sarah in his head once more, insisting that it was perfect. The room was silent, as both Josh and Cate looked to him for final approval. While he’d expected the reminder of his losses to hurt like hell, Chris was surprised to find something like contentment in its place.

“ If you’re sure Ezra, it’s fine with me. It’s a strong name, for a strong boy.”

“ Well then, James Ethan Bettany it is. What do you think, little man? You want to meet your godfather? Yes, you do.” Cate smiled up at Ezra again. “You want to hold him?”

“ Of course.” The baby was carefully transferred from mother to godfather, and Chris grinned madly at Ezra’s expression. He looked about as awestruck as Chris had felt when he first held Adam.

“ There’s more.” Josh continued, and Ezra glanced up in surprise.

“You’re not about to tell me I’m really his father or anything are you? Because I think I might drop him.”

“ Well, no, at least to my knowledge he’s mine.” The other man grinned at his wife, who tried to pretend to be offended, but was too tired to really put much effort into the act. “But we do want to ask both you and Chris something. We’re drawing up our will, just in case you know, and well, we realized we don’t have legal guardians for our children. We want to name you, Peyton.”

Part Twenty

“ You what?” Chris instinctively put out a hand to support the infant, as Ezra quite literally looked like he was going to drop him. Or drop himself, had he not been sitting already. “You want me to what?”

“ We want you to be the person to care for our children, if something happens to us.” Cate repeated for her husband.

“ But…what about your parents Cate? Or yours, Josh? Or Adam or any other of our cousins? They’re all married, family environments, I mean I don’t have anything to offer. No court in their right mind will award custody of four minor children to a gay man in another state. There has to be a better choice.”

“ Our parents aren’t getting any younger, Peyton. Josh’s parents’ health is fading. Mom and Dad agree with me that they wouldn’t be the best placement for active children either. Adam, dear as my brother is, has four children of his own about the same age as mine. As for our other cousins…I want you. You’d be a wonderful father figure, and if you love him, Chris must be an amazing man himself. I have no doubt you’d be the best choice. And, Chloe, Will and Sophie already adore you.”

“ You really want this? Cate, it’s one thing for me to play with your children when visiting, but to be their legal guardian…I don’t know a thing about being a parent.”

“ Neither did we when we started with Chloe.”

“ Yes, well, I might argue that you had better examples than I did. I mean, what if I…I could be exactly like my mother.”

“ You WON’T be. I know that. But this is why we asked you to be here as well, Chris. Well, actually, I was going to demand to meet you before we made anything official, but Peyton took care of that already. This is a decision you both need to think about, and get back to us. Take some time. Think about your lives, and if they could survive four children, if the worst did happen. But we’re very serious about this Peyton.”

“ You hardly know me.” Ezra argued suddenly. “You were nine when Mother…”

“Abducted you?”

“ She had custody, Catherine.” Ezra’s sharp tone told Chris this was an oft-argued point in the family. “When we left. You were already dating Josh when I came back to Palmetto. You’ve only seen me a couple times a year since then, at most. I could be horribly unsuited for this.”

“ I know enough.” Cate shrugged. “We’ve thought over this a lot, and we want you to give it serious thought as well. Don’t say yes, or no, today. Go back to Denver, discuss it, think on it, pray on it, and let us know. Okay?”

“ I agree to consider the idea.”

“ Chris?” Josh prodded, and the older man smiled tightly.

“ I think Ezra’d be an amazing father. But, yes, I’ll think about it as well. It’s really up to him.”

“ No, it’s not, Chris. It’s up to us. If something did happen, it’d be both of us taking care of them.”

“ All right, then, WE’ll make our decision by…the end of June at the latest?”

“ That sounds agreeable. Now, I think we need to let my lovely wife and son sleep.” Josh recommended, and the other two men agreed. Returning James to his mother’s arms, Ezra kissed Cate’s cheek before following his lover into the hall and towards the waiting room.

Part Twenty-One

The baptism had come and gone, and Chris thought he’d met every living Standish who was within three or four degrees of separation from Ezra over the last two weeks. James was thriving, Cate and her family were heading back to their home in Columbia tomorrow. Many of the other guests had already returned to the their various home cities and states, and now it was Chris and Ezra’s turn to take their leave of Palmetto Landing. The two lovers seemed to be the only people in the house entirely happy with that idea, but the set day had come, and if they were to arrive in time for Nathan and Rain’s engagement party, it couldn’t wait.

“ Do you have to go, Peyton?” Chloe asked plaintively. Her relationship with Chris had not improved, although Chris had quickly realized she was merely upset because she and the other children could no longer monopolize Ezra’s time. Chris couldn’t be sorry for that at all, considering it certainly seemed like they continued to monopolize his time. Everywhere they’d gone over the last week and a half there had been small children. Except for two brief trips to the cemetery, including one this morning already, and their bedroom at night, the two men had not been free of their unwitting chaperones for more than a half an hour at best. Chris was just selfish enough to be anxious to return to the ranch, where for most of their time, they could be entirely uninterrupted in their activities. Or perhaps he was still feeling deprived from his 83 days of chastity.

“ Yes, my dear, I’m afraid I must. Chris has to return to work, and we have a very good friend who is throwing a party tomorrow to celebrate his upcoming nuptials.”

“ He’s getting married, munchkin.” Josh explained to his daughter, who looked confused at the unfamiliar words.

“ But…will you come visit us?”

“ As often as I can manage.” Ezra agreed.

“ Cross your heart?”

“ Cross my heart.” The promise was sealed with the traditional gestures, and Chloe smiled again.

“ Can we come to Denver?”

“ That is up to your mother and father.”

“ We’ll discuss it, Chloe.” Cate appeared on the porch, holding the newly awakened James. Ezra stepped forward and kissed his godson’s forehead, and his cousin’s cheek, before picking up little Sophie who was following him about like a puppy.

“ My darling Miss Sophia, I’m afraid I simply won’t know what to do with myself without your glowing presence ever at my side.”

“ Or heels.” Chris commented, earning a bark of laughter from most of the adults.

“ Bye-bye, Peyton.” Sophie gave him a big wet kiss, and Ezra laughed.

“ Good bye, Sophie.”

“ Can I come?” Will asked, echoed by several other little boys. It seemed all of them wanted to be an ‘AFT’ agent and arrest ‘bad guys’.

“ Not for several years yet, I’m afraid.” Ezra crouched in front of the boys, none of them more than 10 years old. “You must be very old to be an ATF agent. You have to be twenty-one, at least. If you’re still interested then, we’ll discuss the matter, okay?”

“ Peyton, you need to go. You’re already pushing it, if traffic is heavy.”

“ It’s Memorial Day Weekend. Traffic is going to be insane.” Ezra sighed, looking at the car, and Chris standing beside it before looking back to his family, gathered on the front porch of the large plantation house. “I will visit when I can. Jesse, Kent, Uncle John, I’ll see you in New York in a month.”

“ Get going, boy.” John gave his nephew one last hug, feeling the same unreasonable fear he always felt when this boy left Palmetto. It seemed like yesterday his mother had walked out that front door with a six year old boy, and simply disappeared. Now, here was that same little boy, entirely grown up, and continually leaving them, it seemed. At least now, there was a far lesser chance that he’d be getting the phone call he’d been dreading for years now that told him he’d lost his brother’s son the same way he’d lost his youngest brother. He watched as Peyton, no Ezra, slid into car behind the driver’s seat, and his lover got in the opposite side. The car drove down the dirt track towards the main road, and the masses of family moved back inside the house. John remained, with his wife at his side until the cloud of dust disappeared amongst the trees and the horizon.

“ I love you, son.”

“ He knows, John. Even if you do frustrate him mightily.” Amanda reassured from beside him.

“ Well, he returns THAT sentiment equally, I assure you.”

Part Twenty-Two

Chris groaned as he turned up the drive towards the ranch and saw familiar cars parked along the private road. He had somehow been deluding himself into hoping that the team would decide that Nathan’s party tomorrow would suffice to welcome them home. He really should have known better. The truck pulled to a stop, and before they were even out of the car, five men were all-but barreling out of the front door.

“ Ezra!”

“You’re back!”

“ How are you?”

“ You look great, Boy!”

“ Welcome Home!” The greetings all bled together into a mass of voices and words, until they were all drawn up short at the sound of barking coming from WITHIN the black truck. Five sets of eyes looked at Ezra, obviously curious.

“ That would be my birthday present, a day early, from some of my young cousins. We’d best let him out of his carrier, Chris.”

“ It’s your dog, Ezra.”

“ Dog? You got a dog? What kind? I’ve always wanted a dog!” JD looked about as excited as the children who’d given the puppy had been.

“ He’s an eight week old beagle puppy JD.” Ezra answered, as he reached into the back seat and retrieved the puppy carrier. Setting it on the ground, he opened the gate and was promptly ‘mauled’ by a bouncy, yipping little puppy. Bending to pick it up, he waited for the inevitable excited-puppy-accident to occur before actually lifting the animal from the ground. He’d learned that trick years ago back on Palmetto, and it had saved many favorite pairs of pants from being ‘decorated’ by puppies.

“His name is Nemo, currently.”

“ Nemo?”

“ The favorite film on the Landing currently is Finding Nemo, and the latest litter of puppies were named after characters. I’m quite relieved I did not receive Crush or Squirt, honestly. At least Nemo is…almost endearing.”

“ We’ve also got ANOTHER birthday present on the way.” Chris added, grinning at his lover. “HIS name is Phoenix, and he’s a rather young stallion to start a breeding line here on the ranch.”

“ You mean you’re really leaving the ATF?” JD asked, looking a bit disappointed.

“ I am, JD. I can’t risk all this any more. I won’t lose my life when I’ve just found it.”

“ Well, I don’t feel so bad now.” Nathan admitted, looking sheepish. “I’ve found a position at a clinic downtown. It pays almost as well already, and since I’m going to continue my education…I could do really well in a few years.”

“ I’ve been considering that early retirement the Judge mentioned.” Josiah commented, earning an odd look from JD and Vin. “I’m not a young man any more, brothers.”

“ I’m sure we’ll all find new work.” Chris shrugged, looking at Ezra for a moment. “I’m also sure we won’t be finding anything like we’ve had here.”

“ Chris is right. We won’t find another family like this one. Whether or not we work together is not the real point, JD. As long as we still care about each other, we’re not really losing anything, except the risk of getting perforated.”

“ I guess.”

“ Unless you gentlemen plan to abandon me to just Mr. Larabee for company? I daresay our relationship might not survive the stress of such an occurrence.”

“ We’d never do that, Ez.” Vin laughed, slapping the southerner on the shoulder.

“ I wouldn’t mind you lot abandoning us for tonight, though.” Chris commented truthfully.

“ Hell, Ol’ Dog, you’ve had the boy to yourself for two weeks. Ain’t you got that out of your system yet?”

“ Ezra to myself? Buck, his family makes mine look small, quiet and tame.”

“ You’re shittin’ me.”

“ Nope.”

“ Ezra, he’s kidding, right?” Buck actually looked a bit scared by the very idea.

“ He kids not. That house, large as it is, was not intended to have seventy people in it.”

“ Seventy? I thought you’re family was small, Ez.”

“ No, JD. My family gets bigger every time I turn around. I just couldn’t always see it.”

“ Huh?”

“ Never mind, kid. I’ll explain later.” Buck pulled him towards his truck. “We’d best leave these two alone, or we’re going to get an eyeful.”

“ But Ezra just-”

“ I agree, Brother Buck. We’ll see you two tomorrow.”

“ Wouldn’t miss it.” Chris nodded, watching their five friends make hasty exits from the property. Finally. Just he, Ezra, and…a small yippy puppy. He really wished Ezra could have turned those kids down. It wasn’t that he didn’t like puppies, just…he really wanted to go to bed for the rest of the day.

“ Uhm, Ezra?”

“ Yes, Mr. Dunne?”

“ Want me to take Nemo with me? I’m going out to Casey’s and…puppies can be uh, distracting you know.”

“ That is the best idea I’ve heard all day, JD. Here. Bye.”

“ Chris Larabee. You just gave away my puppy.”

“ Yeah, and we’ll get it back tomorrow. For now, I want you completely to myself. It’s been too long since we’ve shared our bed.”

“ Far too long.” Ezra agreed, pulling him into the house quickly. Oh yes, it would be a most amazing reunion, between the two men and their quiet, empty home. Well, it was neither empty, considering they were there, nor quiet considering the noises Chris knew would soon be emanating from their bedroom, but it was definitely going to be an amazing reunion. Any concern for coherent thought fled him as he was tugged into their bedroom. There were more enjoyable things to concern him.

The End
of the Reunion Series

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