Chris heard a soft knock on his door and glanced up from his paperwork. Standing in the doorway was a smiling southerner. �Morning, Ezra,� Chris greeted.
Ezra nodded. �Mr. Larabee,� he replied. �If you�ll pardon the intrusion, I had a question�� At Chris�s nod, he continued, �Is there an Agency policy on�Christmas decorations?�
Chris frowned. �Not that I can think of,� he answered. �As long as they aren�t disruptive or offensive to anyone, I�d say go ahead, Ezra.�
�Thank you, Mr. Larabee,� the undercover man said. Flashing his dimples momentarily, Ezra turned and re-entered the main office.
�It would seem Holiday d�cor is permissible in this institution, Mr. Dunne,� Ezra announced, as he headed for his own desk.
�Cool!� JD said excitedly.
Vin quickly stood and asked, �We�re good to go then?�
Ezra nodded. �Affirmative, Mr. Tanner,� he replied softly, opening a box that was sitting on his desk.
*****
JD opened the box that he had set on his own desk and peered inside excitedly. He hadn�t really decorated for Christmas for the past two years. After his mother�s death, he hadn�t really been in the mood to celebrate the holiday.
Part of him was still nervous that he wouldn�t be able to do it as well as his mother had. Another part of him was glad to be able to perform the task while surrounded by his friends and teammates, just as he always had with her.
Suddenly, it occurred to JD that he always been afraid that by making new Christmas memories, it would somehow diminish his memories of the holidays spent with his mother. Now he realized that this simply wasn�t true and his mother wouldn�t want him to stop celebrating the holiday she so enjoyed.
Instead, he�d be making new, special memories with people that were quickly becoming more than just teammates � they were practically a family and the holiday was bound to bring them closer. JD�s smile broadened and he nodded to himself as he removed the first decoration.
*****
As Vin finished unpacking the small artificial tree that would be set up in the corner of the main office, he glanced over at Ezra and noticed that the southerner was carefully unpacking his box and laying the decorations out on the desk.
Vin placed the top onto the tree and spread out the branches; then moved closer to look at Ezra�s contribution to the decorations that would be hung around the office. Vin was surprised to see small handmade ornaments. Beaded candy canes and wreaths, tissue paper angels, clothespin reindeer and the like littered the southerner�s desk, along with several paper cutouts of angels and sheep made with string or bits of felt.
�Cute,� Vin commented, picking up a small snowflake made of beads and pipe cleaners. �Amanda make it?�
Ezra smiled and blushed; then took the snowflake from Vin�s hand and shook his head. �No,� he answered softly. �I did.�
Vin scowled. �You?�
Ezra nodded and picked up a cloth covered sheep cutout. �I made a lot of these,� he said softly, brushing lint from the sheep�s side. �I had meant to give them to Mother as gifts.�
�Why didn�t you?� Vin asked, picking up one of the beaded wreaths.
Ezra scowled and shrugged. �She�didn�t seem to appreciate them, so I gave them to someone else. A few months ago, they were returned to me.�
Vin nodded and set the wreath down. �You gonna hang�em on the tree?�
�Perhaps,� Ezra replied, reaching into the box once more. This time, he removed a larger ornament wrapped in tissue paper. As he unwrapped it, Vin could see that it was a ceramic angel. It had been carefully hand-painted to match Ezra�s coloring and its flowing robes seemed to move in a breeze.
�Pretty,� Vin breathed. �D�you make that?�
Ezra shook his head. �This was made for me when I was about ten years old, by my great-aunt. She gave it to me for Christmas and I�ve put it up every year since.�
Vin nodded and said, �I got a little star that my ma gave me when I was about four. Figured I�d put it atop the tree.�
�I�m sure it�d be lovely,� Ezra said. �I planned on setting him out on my desk. I don�t want him to fall and break.�
Vin nodded and smiled.
�If I am to place the rest of these trinkets on the tree, you�d best hang the lights,� Ezra reminded him gently, pointing over to the still barren tree.
Vin nodded and bounded back over to where the artificial tree stood. A few moments later, Josiah joined him and helped him put on the lights. Ezra soon joined them. Almost timidly, the southerner asked them to help him trim the tree with the ornaments he was contributing.
While the three men worked on trimming the tree, JD and Buck had begun a fight with fake snowballs made of Styrofoam balls. Seeing the havoc that had begun in the main office, Chris called out to them, �You guys best settle down, before you break something.�
JD immediately complied with the order, but Buck had already launched one at the back of Nathan�s head. As if to prove Chris�s point, the projectile missed Nathan�s head to crash over Ezra�s desk. Seven heads turned toward the area when the thump of the ball hitting the desk was followed by a loud crash.
Ezra ran to his desk and gasped; then rounded on the offender and said, �Buck! Look what you did!!!�
Buck took a few steps closer and saw the small angel lying on the floor. One of its wings had been broken off in the fall. The ladies man frowned and said the only thing he could think of. �I�m sorry, Ezra. It was an accident.�
�I�ve had that angel for twenty years,� Ezra said softly. �It�s been all over the world, to countless boardin� schools and relative�s houses and I didn�t get so much as a scratch on it. I took it out here for less than ten minutes and you broke it!�
Buck looked down at his feet, unsure what else to say to the angry undercover expert. Ezra sighed and picked up the pieces of the angel. Shaking his head at the damage, he gently set them into his trashcan and walked out of the room without another word.
�Meant a lot to �im,� Vin said softly.
Buck locked eyes with the sharpshooter and said, �I didn�t mean to break it!�
Vin nodded. �I know,� he said. �But ya did. Think ya can fix it?�
Buck shook his head. �I�I don�t know.� The ladies man walked over and removed the angel and its wing from the garbage and held the two pieces together. �Looks do-able. Might need to touch-up the paint a little, though.�
�I can do that,� said a voice from behind them. The group turned away to find Chris standing nearby. �I told you to settle down,� he said softly.
Buck smirked and shrugged. �I�d already thrown the one that did the damage, pard.�
Chris nodded. �Glue its wing back on, then give it to me. I�ll paint over the crack to hide the break.�
�Never figured Ezra for havin� homemade Christmas gifts,� Vin commented softly.
Chris sighed and glanced around. �I could tell you things about him, Vin�but they�re really not for me to say.�
�Personal?�
Chris nodded at his brother and said, �He�ll tell us about them when he�s ready. We�ve all got our secrets.� Turning to Buck, he said, �Get to work!�
Buck nodded and quickly made his way to his desk. Josiah smiled slightly and said, �Let�s finish decorating.�
As the others moved to follow him, Vin touched Chris�s arm. �I�m gonna find Ezra,� he said softly.
Chris nodded and followed the others, as Vin headed in the direction that the southerner had departed in.
*****
As it turned out, Ezra wasn�t all that difficult to find. In spite of the chilly weather, the southerner had gone outside to the Memorial Garden. Vin found him staring up at the plaque that memorialized those agents that had died in service to the country.
�Hey,� he said, as he approached the silent man.
Ezra turned and said, �Mr. Tanner.� Turning back toward the plaque, he asked, �Chris send you to find me?�
�Nope,� Vin said softly. �Figured ya might wanna talk.� When Ezra didn�t respond, Vin asked, �She dead?�
�Who?� Ezra asked, turning to face the Texan, with wide eyes.
�Yer great-aunt,� Vin said. �I figure, when yer ma didn�t want them ornaments ya made, ya gave �em to her. You got �em back �cause she died, right?�
Ezra sighed and nodded. In a soft voice, he said, �Mother was very seldom around when I was small. She�d visit on some holidays, but she didn�t really know anything about raising children.�
�So she left ya with her aunt?� Vin asked.
Ezra nodded again. �I spent most of my childhood living on a small farm in the middle of Kentucky. We didn�t have a lot, but Aunt Ruby saw to it that we never had to go without the necessities.�
Vin nodded. �My ma was the same way.�
�I�ll bet she was,� Ezra said softly. �Anyway, one year mother called Aunt Ruby to say she wouldn�t be able to make it for Christmas. My aunt knew I�d be heartbroken, so she decided to give me something special for the holiday. She saved up spare coins and bought a ceramic angel at the department store � the kind you paint yourself.� At Vin�s nod, he went on, �She painted it to look something like me and said that it was my guardian angel. That it would always watch over me, even when my mother wasn�t there to do it.�
Ezra looked up and said, �I know it�s probably silly, Vin, but for some reason, I felt better. Any time I was lonely or scared, I�d look at that angel and I�d feel��
�Loved,� Vin supplied. �Ain�t silly. It was made outa love, so it reminded ya that someone loved ya enough to take the time to do somethin� special for ya.�
�I guess that�s it,� Ezra said softly.
�Let�s go back inside,� Vin suggested. �It�s a mite cold out here.�
Ezra nodded and followed the quiet Texan back inside. Neither man said a word as they boarded the elevator and went back up to where their office was.
As soon as the doors opened, Ezra sighed and stepped off. He hurried past Buck�s desk, not even glancing at the man as he went by him and made his way directly to his desk. Sitting in the center of the desk, Ezra saw a small box.
Frowning slightly, he stepped closer and picked up a small note that was near the box. In small, messy lettering the note said, �Ezra, I am really sorry I broke your angel. I didn�t mean to. I know words can�t fix what I�ve done, but I hope you will forgive me. Sincerely, Buck.�
Ezra smiled and shook his head. �Mr. Wilmington,� he started, locking eyes with the older man.
�Lift the box,� Buck interrupted.
Ezra�s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he carefully followed the order. As he set the box down, he noticed that it had been concealing something. Ezra�s eyes widened and he carefully lifted the small ceramic angel to examine it more closely. �You fixed it,� he breathed.
�Paint might still be wet,� Chris warned.
Ezra glanced up and nodded once; then set the ornament back on the corner of his desk. �You�you wouldn�t even know it had broken.�
�Crazy glue,� Buck explained. �It�ll fix just about anything and I�ve had lots of practice.�
�Yeah,� Ezra replied, chuckling. �I�ll just bet you have.� He glanced back at the angel, then looked back up at the ladies man. �Why, though?� he asked in confusion.
Chris smiled and answered, �Because, Ezra, we�re your friends! We knew the angel was special to you, so we fixed it.�
�Ya know something,� Ezra said softly.
�What�s that?� JD asked.
Ezra smiled and glanced around at his teammates � his friends. �It�s even more special now.�
End