that was usually reserved for a Goddess, with her long, golden blonde hair, that was the texture of Angel Hair, her sapphire blue eyes, that sparkled, her soft, velvety, golden brown skin, and a body that rivaled that of the greatest of super models. Most of them could not believe a beauty like that worked for the FBI, they thought she should be a model and unlike most women that looked like she did, she was not conceeded. She was the smartest woman any of them knew and her sense of humor never failed to make them laugh, they loved everything about her and had a

great deal of respect for her, she had a strength and courage that a lot of men didn't have.

What the men didn't know, was that Deanna knew all about them, before she even met them, she was a courier for the FBI, delivering and handling sensitive and Top Secret documents, including personnel files, and she had read about all of them, especially Agent Standish, she was

head over heals for him, just from his file and the picture that accompanied it. She thought he was perfection, with such handsome features that she thought only belonged to a god, she was also impressed with his file, he was one of the most outstanding undercover agent the

ATF had. She knew everytime he went undercover, because it was her job to pull his file and put it in a safe place, when he did, so that no one could possibly find it and blow his cover. She had been praying for Ezra everyday, after he was shot in the Super Market and almost died,

she could not believe his girlfriend at the time, had left him, she would never do that to him. She fondly remembered the day that she finally got to meet the men that had been nicknamed, "The Magnificent Seven" she was nervous and excited, she couldn't wait to come face to face with the Emerald Green eyes of Agent Standish.

It was a summer day when she was given a briefcase of files to be delivered to Agent Larabee's team, she had never been to the ATF office before, but she knew all about them, from their files and had been anxiously waiting for this day, to meet those amazing men, one in

particular. She rode the elevator up to the floor their offices were on, then stepped off as the doors opened, she immediately saw Agent Tanner, he was talking to Agent Wilmington. They saw her and stared, smiles forming across their faces, she knew it was because of how she

looked, but she ignored them and moved towards Agent Larabee's office, hoping to see Agent Standish. She was not disappointed, he was standing just outside Agent Larabee's office, talking to Agent Sanchez. Her eyes lingered on him, she thought he was even more handsome in person and when she heard his voice, she nearly melted, she didn't know he had such an incredible Southern accent. She watched him smile at her and dimples formed on his cheeks, she felt suddenly very warm, she noticed that his eyes had a certain suspision to them and wondered why that was. She went into Larabee's office and introduced herself. "Agent Larabee, I am Deanna Cauflield, I have the papers you requested from the FBI." "Yes, thank you Miss Caufield, that was very prompt." "I do my best and please call me Deanna, I think we will be working together

alot." "Alright Deanna, let me introduce you to the rest of the unit." He escorted her out into the main office area, "Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Deanna Caufield, she is with the FBI and will be helping us out for a while." All the men introduced themselves, taking a long time to take in her appearance, it was somewhat embarrassing. She noticed however that Agent Standish did not do that to her and she appreciated that, when he took her hand and kissed it, she thought she would melt, his hand and lips were so soft.

As the days passed, Ezra began to open up to Deanna, he really liked her and was happy to have someone that he could have an intelligent conversation with, her beauty took his breath away and he found her to be one of the most amazing women he had ever met. They began going out on dates, their relationship developed quickly and they fell hard for each other, making love for the first time on only their third date, but it had been wonderful and magical and their feelings grew quickly into a deep and mutual love. It had only been a month since they had gotten involved, when Ezra discovered the lump on her left breast, while they were making love. It

worried him and Deanna seemed to be scared, which he could understand, that had to be the scariest thing that could happen to a woman, but he would be there for her, to help her through everything, today she was getting an biopsy done and he was worried, about the results and how she would react if it was cancer, he loved her and hated to think of that happening to her. All he could do now was wait and pray that she would be all right

While Ezra was waiting for Deanna to have her biopsy, the rest of his unit was going on a raid to bust a drug ring. The information had been gathered by Ezra on his most recent undercover assignment, it was going to be a major bust and Ezra wanted to be there, but being here for Deanna was more important, he loved her and wanted to help her through every moment of this nightmare. As he sat waiting, he thought back, he couldn't believe how easily he fell for Deanna, after Christy he was sure he would never love a woman again, but there was something so special about Deanna. She was so intelligent and sexy and beautiful, he couldn't believe she had fallen for him, a plain, simple, uninteresting ATF agent, but according to Deanna, he was far from plain and simple, he did not agree, but he would not argue with her, he usually lost those

arguements when they had them, which wasn't often.

A nurse came over and told him. "Agent Standish, you can see Miss Caufield now, she is going to be sore, but she's all right." "Thank you, where is she?" "Go down the hall and she's in the last room on the right." "Thank you again." He got up and walked down the hall, he hoped Deanna was all right, he knew she was scared He went into the room, Deanna was just finishing getting dressed, putting her blouse on, but could not wear her bra, me moved over and

helped her put the blouse on. She immediately turned around and hugged him hard, tears on her beautiful cheeks. "Darlin, I am so sorry, I can't even begin to imagine the fear you must have right now, but I will be here every step of the way." "Ezra, I don't know what I would do

without you here, I have never been so afraid in my life, I've prided myself on being strong and facing everything head on, but this is different."

Ezra gently pushed her back a little, looking into her beautiful blue eyes, seeing the fear in them. "My darlin Deanna, I hate that your going through this, I would give anything to change places with you." "Ezra......I.....Love you." Then he kissed her gently, letting it linger until the nurse came in, "Excuse me, I am sorry to interupt, you can go home now, it will take a few days to get the results of the biopsy back, we will let you know when they come in."

"Thank you nurse"

Deanna thought she was in a dream, how could she have found such a wonderful man as Ezra, he was there for her every step of the way and gave her so much comfort, she needed him and he was there, it was more than she ever hoped to have in a man. Ezra had brought her home, he offered to stay with her, but she just wanted to sleep and he needed to check in with the office, so she sent him home, promising that she would call him if she needed anything. She laid down on the bed, trying to sleep, but she was so afraid of what her test results would be, that she

couldn't sleep and didn't know if she would until she knew the results. She began to cry, thinking about what could happen if it was cancer, she could lose her breast, she was not stuck on her physical appearance, she kept in good shape, but it was to be healthy, not beautiful, but losing

a breast was a terrifying thing and she would have a hard time dealing with it.

Ezra had gone home, reluctantly, he didn't want to leave Deanna alone, not the way she was feeling, but she had insisted. He called the office and talked to Chris for a few minutes, the bust had not gone well, they had captured the leader of the ring, and a few others, but most of the men, including the leaders right hand man, had escaped. Ezra filled Chris in on how the biopsy went and that it would be a few days until they knew the results, Chris had told him to take those few days off and be with Deanna, but Ezra wanted to come in and get some paperwork done, he felt it would be most important to be there when the results came back. Before he hung up with Chris, Chris said, "Ezra, we are all praying for Deanna, you know she has a special place in all our

hearts." "Thanks Chris, I do know that and so does Deanna, I will tell her ya'all send your best." "See you tomorrow Ezra, take it easy." "Goodbye Chris." He hung up the phone, then sat down on the sofa and just thought about Deanna and what she was going through, he would never

walk out on her, no matter what, he knew how that felt and would never do it to anyone.

The men that escaped from the Bust met at their backup site, the one that only the leader and his right hand man, Carl knew about, until then. "Carl, what are we going to do now that the boss has been caught?" "I have a plan to get him back, I know who sold us out and he's going to pay and we can get the boss back at the same time." "Who sold us out Carl?" "You remember

that fella that was here a couple of days ago, Ezra something, said he was from the Birmingham Branch, had that southern accent?" "Yeah" "Well, he disappeared again awful quick, then right after he left the hammer fell." "So he was actually with the ATF or something?" "Yeah, he sure was damn convincing though." "Yeah, I sure thought he was who he said." "Well, we are going to stake out the ATF building until he appears, then he's going to pay." "I can't wait Carl, this should be fun." "Yeah, but we can't kill him until he helps us get the boss back." "Right."

Two days passed, Ezra visited the office once or twice to fill out some paperwork, but today he was with Deanna, she had not been able to sleep much, her worry over the test results making her unable to sleep. He couldn't help but be very worried about her, she needed to keep her strength up, just in case. The phone rang and he watched Deanna pick it up and listen to the

person on the other end, then heard her say. "Thank you, we will be right there." Then she hung up the phone, the look on her face scared him badly. "Darlin, what is it?" "The test results of the Biopsy are in, the nurse wouldn't say what they were, but she didn't sound good." "Well, lets get

over there and find out, this anticipation has taken a toll on you my dear." "I know Ezra, but I am so scared." He moved to her and took her in his arms, wanting to take her fear and worry away. "Just remember, I will always be here for you, no matter what the results are." "I know and I love you Ezra."

They arrived at the doctors office a half hour later, Deanna was shaking, she was so afraid of what she was about to hear. She took Ezra's hand as he reached out to her, then put his arm around her, she could feel the concern and love pouring out of him, it made her feel a little better. They walked into the office and the nurse at the desk took them back to Doctor Steven's office, "He will be right with you, try to relax a little." "Thank you, do you know what the results are?" "I am sorry Miss Caufield, I don't" She sat on the couch and Ezra sat next to her, taking her in his arms, the doctor came in a few minutes later. "Good afternoon Miss Caufield, Agent Standish, I

wish I had better news for you, but I am afraid the lump is cancerous."Deanna began to cry and shake, Ezra held her tighter, "Ezra, what am I going to do? I am so scared." "Take it easy darlin." "We need to schedule surgery as soon as possible, so that it doesn't spread any farther, right now it doesn't look like you will lose the whole breast, but we won't know until we operate." "When Doctor?" Ezra asked, Deanna was too much of a wreck to speak. "Tomorrow morning, if that's possible for you?' "Yes, the sooner the better, lets get this over with, so she doesn't have to suffer any more than she is." "All right, we will go ahead and check her into the hospital today,

then we can operate first thing." "All right, I can go home and get a few things for her."

Ezra was shocked, he had been so hoping that it would be nothing, but that hadn't happened. He gathered Deanna in his arms and escorted her to the admitting office, to help her with the paperwork. Once that was done, he walked her to her room and helped her into the hospital gown, then got her into the bed, she almost seemed to be in shock. "Darlin, are you all right? You haven't said a word." "Ezra, I don't know what to do, I don't want to have cancer and I don't want to lose my breast." She began crying and Ezra brushed her tears away, "Let's hope they don't have to take the whole breast, even if they do, it won't make me love you any less." "I don't know what I would do without you Ezra, please hold me?" Ezra took her in his arms and

held her tight, letting her cry on his shoulder, then kissed her gently, wanting her to know he loved her no matter what. "I am going to run to your place and pick up a few of your things, then I will be back, try and get some sleep darlin, everything will work out, I know it will." "I love you Ezra, please hurry back, I need you." "I will darlin"

Ezra went to Deanna's and pick up some personal items for her, so she would be more comfortable, then headed back to the hospital. He had the strongest feeling that he was being followed, but was not able to spot anyone, so he figured it was just his nerves over what Deanna was going through. When he got back to the hospital it was getting late and Deanna was asleep, so he put her belongings on the table next to the bed and then laid down on the bed next to her, taking her in his arms, she stirred slightly and returned the embrace, but did not wake. He was glad she was sleeping, it was the first she had slept in days and she needed it. He kissed her forehead, then her lips and then settled down to sleep there, he was not going to leave her.
In the morning Deanna woke to find Ezra sleeping next to her on the narrow hospital bed, he looked like an angel to her, sleeping soundly. She kissed his cheek and he woke. "Good morning Ezra" "Good morning Darlin, how did you sleep?" "Good actually, but I am scared to death about today." "I know darlin, I will be right here for the whole thing and I'll be waiting for you when you come out." "I know, you being here is making everything so much easier." "I'm glad darlin" She then kissed him deeply, wanting it to last forever, the feel of him gave her more strength than she thought she had on her own.
The doctor came in and asked Ezra to wait outside, while he prepared Deanna for surgery and gave her the medicine that would slowly put her under. Ezra paced the waiting room, becoming more worried as time passed and the operation grew closer. The doctor came out to speak to him. "We will be taking her down in a few minutes, she's becoming groggy but you can see her before we take her down," "Thank you Doctor Steven, tell me the truth, is she going to lose the whole breast?" "I can't tell that until I get in there and see how much tissue is cancerous, but I hope not Agent Standish." "Me too" "Now go see her before we take her." "Thank you." Ezra walked back into the room, Deanna was under a sheet and was no longer wearing the gown, she had an IV in the back of her hand and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. He stood next to her and took her hand, "Darlin, remember I am right here." "Ezra, I am so scared." Her words were slurred from her grogginess. "I know baby, try not to think about it." He reached up and brushed the tears from her cheeks, she was so beautiful and her incredible blue eyes held so much fear, it broke his heart to see. He bent and kissed her ever so gently, but let it linger until the orderly's came and took her.
Ezra's cell phone rang, it had been two hours since they took Deanna and he was a wreck, he answered the phone. "Hello?" "Ezra, it's Chris, how's Deanna?" "She's still in surgery Chris, I am so worried about her." "I know Ezra, we are all praying that everything goes well." "Thanks Chris, I will keep you posted." "Thanks Ezra, we would be there if we could, but we are interrogating the leader of the drug ring, trying to find the rest on his men." "How is that little endeavor going?" "Not good, he won't say a thing." "Ok, keep me posted." "Talk to you later Ezra." He turned the cell phone off and closed his eyes, the surgery seemed to be taking forever.
The men that had been following Ezra reported back to Carl. "We followed him like you said, he went to some woman's apartment, probably girlfriend, then went to the hospital, that's where he's been ever since." "The hospital huh? Well go back there and when he leaves again, grab him, but do it quietly." "Ok Carl, we should be able to grab him in the parking garage without too much trouble." "Good, just do it and then we will make him pay for tricking us, take 3 or 4 men with you, I understand he has a blackbelt in something, so he will put up a fight." "Ok, can we 'take care' of him if he fights?" "Do what you have to, just don't kill him." "Right, this is going to be fun." Pete gathered 4 men and they headed back to the hospital, camping out near Ezra's car, but staying hidden.
The surgery was finally over about another hour later, Ezra had paced the waiting room the entire time, praying everything went well. When he saw the doctor walk out, he quickly moved to meet him. "How is she doctor?" "The surgery went well, there were no complications, you can see her for a few minutes, but it will be a while before she is awake." "What about her breast? Did she lose the whole thing?" The anticipation of what the doctor was going to say, made his stomach burn. "No, we removed a portion of it and reconstructed it the best we could, but it is going to be smaller than the other one." "That's wonderful, at least she didn't lose the whole thing." "She is still going to have to undergo some Chemotherapy to make sure all of the cancer is out of her body, but it won't be a lot." "Thank you Doctor, I will go see her now," "All right, but remember, only a few minutes and she is still unconscious." Ezra nodded and headed for Deanna's room. Once in her room, he slowly moved beside her, she was sleeping deeply and she looked so beautiful. He saw the bandage over her left breast, as he took her hand and caressed it. "I love you Deanna, I am so relieved that everything went well." Then he kissed her softly, caressing her cheek with his hand, then brushing her blonde bangs off her forehead. He kissed her forehead and just looked at the beautiful woman that had captured his heart and soul, he really believed that after Christy, he would never love again, but Deanna had changed all that and he was grateful, for nothing made him happier than loving her and knowing that she loved him just as much. He was going to wait longer to ask her to marry him, to be certain that their love would withstand anything, so far it had, this had been a test, one they passed with flying colors, but there were still more tests and he was going to take it slow this time. He sat with her a few minutes, just holding her hand and watching her sleep, he had watched her sleep many times and enjoyed it every time, she truly looked like an angel from heaven. He decided to go home and grab a shower and change clothes before she woke, so he could be there for her when she did wake and let her know that she still had her breast, but he knew that she would still be upset about it and frightened about how it would look. He left word with the nurse that he was running home quickly to shower and change, then would be back. She made a note and let him know that she would let Deanna know where he was if she woke before he got back. He went down the elevator to the parking garage, removing the keys to the car from his pocket as he walked to it.
The men saw their target approach his car, keys in hand, Pete gave the signal and they stepped out and surrounded him, the shocked look on his face made Pete smile, then recognition crossed the southerner's face and suddenly the man was kicking out with his legs and punching. Pete and the others had been prepared, knowing he was a blackbelt, but the man still fought them off for a good 5 minutes before they got the better of him. Pete slammed his head against the side of his car, leaving a dent and blood, the others began kicking and punching him. By the time they were through, the southern agent was unconscious on the floor, bleeding from the head and mouth. Ezra became unaware of everything as soon as his head hit the side of his car, he had fought them off as long as he could, he knew who they were and knew he was in trouble. By the time the men had finished hitting him, he had a severe concussion, broken ribs, a bruised kidney, bruises over his entire body, his left eye was swollen shut, his lips were swollen and bleeding and he had a gash on his right cheek, from one of the men's rings. They grabbed Ezra by the arms and legs and tossed him in the back of a van, then drove away, leaving lots of evidence that something had happened to Ezra, with the dent and blood on the car and more blood on the ground, also Pete had left a note on Ezra's windshield, letting whoever read it know what they wanted to get Ezra back, their leader.
It was an hour later and Deanna was beginning to wake, she felt very groggy and there was pain in her left breast, she was confused at first, then began to remember everything, "Ezra?" She opened her eyes and tried to clear her vision, she didn't see Ezra anywhere, 'he promised to be here when I woke', she thought, 'so where is he?'. She became frightened and worried, he would not have broken his promise, not unless something had happened. She reached for the call button on the side of the bed and began pushing it. The nurse at the nurses station cringed inwardly, Deanna was awake and Ezra wasn't back, she was worried, he should have been back by now, he only lived 10 minutes away from the hospital. The nurse went in to check on her, "Are you all right Miss Caufield?" "Yes, where is Ezra?" "He went home to grab a shower and change clothes." Deanna could see the worry on the nurses face."What is it? what's wrong?" "Probably nothing, Ezra left over an hour ago and he's not back." "Ah hour? That's too long, would you call Agent Larabee and tell him what's going on please? I am worried about Ezra." "Certainly." The nurse left to go make the call, she was going to do it anyway.

Chris answered the phone, "Larabee" "Agent Larabee, this is nurse Marsh, from the hospital, we have some concerns about Agent Standish, he went home over an hour ago to shower and change clothes and was coming right back, but he has not returned." "That is longer than it should take, but perhaps he just lost track of time." "I don't think so, he was adamant about being here when Miss Caufield woke up, so he was hurrying." "All right, we will be

right over." Chris hung up the phone, he was now worried, Ezra would not have been away from Deanna for that long, not at a time like this. He gathered the others together and they headed for the hospital, as soon as they pulled into the hospital parking garage and saw Ezra's car there, they

felt relief, they headed up the elevator to check on him and Deanna, they wondered how the surgery had gone.

They stepped out of the elevator and were greeted by nurse Marsh, "I'm glad your all here, Miss Caufield has been so worried about Ezra, it's not good for her to be in this state." "What do you mean? Ezra's not here? we saw his car down in the parking garage." Chris asked. "No, he hasn't shown up, how could his car be in the garage?" A terror ran through Chris's veins at that moment, he saw a similar terror on the others faces. "Lets get down to the garage and check Ezra's car out, I don't like this one bit." "Me either Chris." Vin said. They hurried down to the garage, as soon as they approached the car, they saw the evidence that was left behind, "Oh God." JD said, "This is bad, look at this Chris, a dent in the side of the car, with blood and a few pieces of hair on it, and more blood on the ground, it looks like Ezra took a hell of a beating." "Chris, there's a note on the windshield." Buck said, "Don't touch it without gloves or something," "We

need to know what happened Chris." "I know Buck, but don't ruin any prints there might be on it." "Ok, I'll use my handkerchief."

Buck opened the note and read it, his face turning pale, "Chris, it's the men that got away from that drug bust, they want their leader back, in exchange for Ezra. They have given us instructions as to where and when to make the exchange." "I should have known Ezra would not be safe with those men on the loose, they knew what he looked like." "You can't blame yourself

Chris." "Chris, from the evidence here, I would say that Ezra was hurt very badly, he may not even be alive." Nathan said. "Damn, we have to go through the motions of this exchange, for Ezra and Deanna's sake, she may not be able to handle this, when is the exchange?" "Tomorrow afternoon," "Well, there is no way we can keep this from her for that long, we have to tell her."

"We better make sure the doctor knows what we are going to tell her, so he can give her a sedative if necessary." "Well, lets do it, no point in putting it off, I think we can leave out the part about him being beaten for now though." "Good idea Chris, no point in scaring her with that." Nathan said as they stepped onto the elevator.

Once they were back upstairs, Chris went and asked the nurse if she could get Deanna's doctor. "Is something wrong Chris?" "Yes Grace, Ezra has been kidnapped and we need to tell Deanna, we thought the doctor should know, in case she needs a sedative." "I'll get him right away Chris, I hope Ezra is alright." "Well, from the evidence left behind, he's not, but please don't say anything about that to Deanna." "No, of course not, I will be right back." "Thanks Grace, I'm going in to see her, please let him know what I told you and I will let you know if she needs the sedative, I think I should tell her this alone." "Of course". Grace quickly left to get doctor Steven."

Deanna was worried sick, she had forgotten everything she was going through, nothing mattered right now except Ezra, her lifeline, her rock. She needed him and wanted him here, she was afraid something had happened to him, she sensed that something was very wrong, it was almost as if she could feel his pain. She looked at Chris as he walked in and knew her feeling was right. "What happened to Ezra? Is he dead?" "No, no he's not dead Deanna, but he was grabbed by some of the men that escaped during our bust a couple of days ago. We captured their leader,

now they have Ezra and they want an exchange." "Are you going to do it?" "We are going to go along with their plan, so we can try and capture them, we will do whatever we have to, to get Ezra back Deanna, I promise." She began crying, to her the situation seemed helpless, as an

employee of the FBI, she knew that they did not negotiate with kidnappers and these situations usually ended badly. "Chris, please bring him back to me, I can't go on without him, you know what he means to me." she was shaking now, this feeling that Ezra was hurt badly and in terrible danger washed over her and she began crying harder. "Deanna, please try to stay calm, we will do everything we can to get him back." She watched Chris leave quickly, only to come back with the doctor. "Deanna, I am going to give you a sedative, you need to relax and get some sleep, you've just been through surgery, which was very successful and you only lost part of your breast." she heard his words and somewhere in the back of her mind, she was happy about what he said, but

right now all she could think of was Ezra, she just knew he was in terrible pain.

Ezra was drifting in and out of consciousness, he much preferred being unconscious, when he was conscious, the pain was excruciating and he only had use of one eye, the other was swollen shut. The vision in the eye that did work, was very fuzzy and he couldn't focus, his head

felt like it had exploded, or been ripped apart, and his stomach hurt so badly that he thought someone had torn his guts out, so he let himself fall back into unconsciousness. The next time he came to, he groaned, which was a mistake, because one of the men watching him, came over.

"Coming around are you?" "Well I can take care of that." He kicked Ezra in the head and stomach, cracking two more ribs and sending him spiraling back down into the deep, black pit of unconsciousness, his last thought was of Deanna and that he wasn't there for her, he was afraid he would never see her again.

The sedative that the doctor gave Deanna, let her sleep through the night, thankfully it was a dreamless sleep, for if she had dreamed, she knew it would have been nightmares about what was happening to Ezra and she couldn't bare to think about what those men might be doing to him, she prayed with all her might that Ezra would be all right and those men wouldn't kill him. She opened her eyes as she heard someone come into her room, it was Chris. "How are you feeling Deanna?" "I'm in some pain and I can't stop worrying about Ezra, do you know any more?" "No, we tried interrogating the leader again, but he wouldn't tell us anything, so we are going to have to play along with this and see if we can get Ezra back and catch the men that took him." "You know that they will kill him, once they have their leader back, they will try to kill all of you." "I know Deanna, but we have to do something." "Please be careful Chris and bring Ezra back to me alive." "I promise Deanna, I will NOT let Ezra be killed." "If he's not dead already, you mean?" "Don't think like that Deanna, he's not dead." She reached up and brushed the

tear that ran down her cheek, away, she was so afraid that she would never see Ezra again.

The "Exchange" was scheduled to happen at 3:00pm at the old abandoned, Elitch Gardens amusement park. They were to put the leader in a paddle boat and send him across the lake and the others would put Ezra in a boat and send him across at the same time. Chris hated the

idea, they could do anything to Ezra once they started him across, including having the boat rigged with a bomb, so he had sent the other men to cover the entire area and check out everything. Vin was set up on top of one of the old buildings, ready to start picking them off, if

need be. Buck and JD were camped out in the shadows of the old fun house and Nathan and Josiah were behind trees on either side of the paddle boat pond. Chris had the 'leader' with him at the other side of the pond, the 'leader' was actaully a look-a-like FBI agent, who was told to grab Ezra and pull him into his boat as soon as he was in reach, little did they know that Ezra would be unconscious.

The last kick to the head that had been dealt to Ezra, had caused him severe pain and his head injury was made worse by it, he was now on the verge of being in a coma, but was still clinging to unconsciousness with all his might, not wanting to fall into the deep, dark, bottomless

pit that was a coma, he knew what that was like and did not want it again. He floated in darkness, only small amounts of coherant thought would come to him now and again, all of them about Deanna, he had broken his promise to be there for her and he was angry with himself for it.

If his mind had been on what he was doing, instead of on Deanna, he would have been able to fend off the men that attacked him, he could have beaten them, but he was destracted. He just hoped all this ended soon and that he came out of it alive, which he had a bad feeling that

he wouldn't, these men would have killed him already if they didn't need him to get their leader back, he had heard them talking when he was drifting in and out of consciousness earlier, he knew they planned to kill him and try and take the others with them, that would be a coup, to kill the ATF unit known as "The Magnificent Seven" He just hoped that Chris knew they would try something, he was fairly sure that he would, but was afraid their emotions might get in the way, some of his compatriots got too emotional, they didn't know how to control it like he did, so he would have to hope.

As Deanna went in for her first of 6 chemotherapy treatments, Ezra was being put into a paddleboat at the amusement park, a paddleboat loaded with C4. The FBI agent, pretending to be the leader of the drug ring, began moving across the pond, at the same time, the remote

controlled paddleboat that Ezra was in, began to move across as well. Carl had the detonator in his hand and his thumb was on the button, just waiting for the right moment to apply the pressure that would cause the boat to explode. He had to be sure that their leader was safely out of

range first, which wouldn't happen, but he didn't know that yet. He watched as the two boats got closer together in the middle of the pond, he couldn't wait to blow up that bastard that had betrayed them. All of the 6 waited, watching every move that every person made, as soon as the FBI agent had Ezra safely aboard his boat, they would move in. Vin could see that Ezra looked unconscious and that the paddleboat must be remote controlled, which also told him it was probably booby trapped "Chris, Ezra appears to be unconscious, which means the boat is remote controlled, so it's probably booby trapped." "Ok Vin, Dan did you get that?" "Yeah I did Chris, I will get Ezra out of the boat as quick as I can, I am almost to him now." "How does he look?" "Damn Chris, they beat him pretty bad." "All right, be careful with him, we don't know what his injuries are." "Right" Vin watched as Dan reached Ezra's boat and grabbed him, then he looked at the man that was standing at the edge of the pond, he reached into his pocket for something and Vin knew what it was, "Warning, get Ezra out of there, he's going for the detonator." He took aim and fired at the man and he fell to the ground dead.

Carl had been shocked when he saw, who he thought was his boss, begin to pull the ATF agent out of the boat and into his, then he realized it was a trick and reached into his pocket for the detonator, just as he went to push the button, he felt the bullet hit him and everything went dark, but his thumb pressed on the button and it went down, as he breathed his last breath. Dan had just gotten Ezra out of the paddleboat, when it exploded, sending both men into the water. Dan moved to Ezra as quickly as he could, Ezra was face down in the water, not moving. He turned Ezra over, there was blood all over the side of his face, a piece of shrapnel had cut his right temple and it was bleeding heavily. Dan checked for a pulse, finding a faint one, he tried to get Ezra into his paddleboat, so he could get him to shore, it was a struggle because Ezra was dead

weight and wet, making him heavier, but he managed to get him onto the boat, then pulled himself in. He picked up the walkie talkie on the seat, "I have Ezra, he's in bad shape, his pulse is weak and his breathing is shallow, you might want to get an ambulence here ASAP, Chris" "Ok Dan, were on it, are you all right?" "Yea, I just have a few cuts, but otherwise all right, I'm just worried about Ezra." "Me too, get back here with him as quick as you can." "I'm on my way now." He was paddling the boat as fast as he could.

Chris was worried, it sounded like Ezra was close to death, but he refused to believe that Ezra would die from this, he had survived that serious gunshot wound, he would survive this, besides he had someone that needed him and he had promised to be there for Deanna, Ezra did not break promises. He watched as Dan paddled the boat back towards the shore, it seemed to be taking him forever and he was becoming anxious. "Vin, you and Josiah are in charge of finishing this up, Buck, JD, and Nathan, help clean up the mess here and start on the paperwork, I am

going with Ezra to the hospital." He could hear the siren in the distance and knew the ambulence would be here in a few moments. "All right Chris." came a chorus of replies.

As Dan was paddling the boat towards the shore, Deanna was finishing her Chemo treatment and being taken back to her room, she had hoped that Chris would be there, or better yet Ezra, but no one was there and she was feeling weak from the treatment. She didn't want to sleep, in case there was news about Ezra, but she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. Her thoughts were of Ezra and the dread she felt when she thought about him, she had a terrible feeling that he was either dead or dying and she couldn't shake that feeling, no matter how hard she tried. "God, please let Ezra be all right, I can't do this without him and I love him, I could not bare to lose him" the nurse walked in, the look on her face frightened Deanna. "What? Is there news of Ezra?" "Yes, but I don't know alot, just that he's being brought in and it's bad." "Oh

god, no." "Please try not to worry, Ezra has been through worse and survived, he's a survivor." "I know, but his luck is going to run out one day and I have had this feeling of dread all day." "Try to get some rest, I will let you know more, when I know." "Thank you, I will try to rest, but I don't think I can, I need to know how he is." "I understand, but try to rest, I'll be back soon." Then she turned and left, Deanna began to cry, she was so afraid Ezra was going to die.

The ambulence was rushing to the hospital, Chris was with Ezra in the ambulence and trying to say out of the way of the paramedics, it seemed like he had just done this a short time ago, when Ezra had been shot in the chest with the armor piercing bullet, but that had been a

year ago. Now Ezra was in serious condition again, no bullet wounds this time, but he had taken a severe beating and he had several severe head injuries. Chris watched as the paramedic worked on Ezra, trying to ascertain what the extent of his injuries were and bandaging the bleeding ones, he couldn't believe Ezra was so close to death again, he had gone all of his career with no injuries, now all of a sudden he seemed to be getting severe ones, he hoped Ezra's luck wasn't changing

for the worse, he had always had good luck in that department.

As the ambulence rushed to the hospital, Deanna drifted to sleep, not wanting to, but unable to prevent it, the Chemo treatment had taken all of her strength and energy. She had fought to stay awake as long as she could, she wanted to be awake when they brought Ezra in, she knew Chris would come and tell her how he was, but she could not fight the exhaustion that was trying to claim her, so she had to finally give in to it. Before she fell asleep, she gave another silent prayer that Ezra would be all right, the doctor had also come in to check on her, making

sure she was all right and checking the incision on her breast, to be sure there was no infection and that it was healing properly.

Vin and the others got the mess cleaned up, all of the men had surrendered as soon as Carl had been killed, so there wasn't much to do, but get them handcuffed and sent to jail, making sure they did everything by the book and reading them their rights, they did not want them getting out on a technicality. Once everything was taken care of, they all hopped in their vehicles and headed for the hospital, all of them praying that Ezra would be alive when they got there. Vin had kept

looking at the blown up boat out on the lake and thinking how close they had come to losing Ezra right then, if Dan hadn't gotten him out of the boat when he did, Ezra would be dead now, if he wasn't already. Both he and Buck had a hard time containing their anger, they had wanted to beat

the men they arrested, until they were in the same condition as Ezra, but they knew that would cause problems as far as getting them convicted, they didn't need any brutality charges over their heads, no matter how much those men deserved it for what they did to Ezra. They were silent in the car, no one said anything, it seemed like this was becoming a common occurance with Ezra, not that it was ever his fault, it seemed as if it was one of their fault every time, with his gunshot

wound, it had been Buck's fault, so he thought, now it was all their fault, they knew Ezra was distracted with Deanna and they should have known that he would be in danger from those drug runners that got away, but they didn't think about that until it was too late, now Ezra might

die because of it.

Ezra was struggling, he wanted to live, but he could feel himself drifting towards that bright light, the one that signified the end of life and the beginning of something new, the light was warm and inviting, but he tried to avoid it, tried to keep away and what was allowing him to do so was Deanna, he could not leave her at a time like this, she needed him and he would not break his promise. He could not feel the pain that was in his head and body, couldn't feel or hear

anything, but his thoughts still worked and he could not stop thinking of Deanna, he loved her so much and wanted to be with her and kiss her, but that would have to wait, unfortunately. At least his thoughts of Deanna were keeping him alive right now, that was the only thing he had to cling to.

The ambulence arrived at the hospital and the paramedics rushed Ezra into the ER, with Chris right on their heels. They took Ezra into an exam room and the nurse made Chris wait outside, he began to pace in the hall, wanting to know what was happening. He hated the waiting the most, he thought about going up to see Deanna while he waited, but was afraid he would miss something important if he left, so he just continued to pace. About 20 minutes later, the doctor came out to see him, "How is he doctor?" "You are?" "Agent Chris Larabee, I am the leader of our ATF unit, how is he?" "Well, agent Larabee, Agent Standish is in serious condition, he has several head injuries, one rather severe, a rather nasty gash on his temple, he's been badly beaten, he has bruises all over his body, with several broken ribs and a few cracked ones, he also

has a bruised kidney, which could be a problem." "A problem how?" "If it shuts down, we might have to remove it," "Can he live with out it?" "Yes, the human body can survive just fine with only one, but it's something we would rather not do." "I agree, so is he going to be all right?" "Barring any complications, I think so, our main concern right now is the head injuries, the one to the back of his head is rather severe and there is some swelling on the brain, if fluid starts

to build up, we might have to operate to remove it, or if the swelling gets worse, he could suffer permanent damage." "Can I see him?" "We are preparing to move him to a private room, once we've done that, then you can see him," "Thank you doctor," "Your welcome."

Deanna woke at the sound of someone in her room, she opened her eyes to find Chris standing next to the bed, looking at her, she couldn't quite tell what expression his eyes held, it was guarded. "How's Ezra, Chris? and please don't lie to me." "I would never do that Deanna, he is in serious condition, he has several severe head injuries, broken ribs and a bruised kidney, but the doctor is hopeful that he will be fine." "I want to see him Chris." "I will come and get you when the doctor tells me I can see him, they are moving him to a room right now." "The doctor really thinks he will be all right?" "Well, he has some concerns about the head injuries and the bruised kidney, but he seems very hopeful." "What concerns Chris?" "Well, if the swelling on

his brain gets worse, or fluid starts to build up, that could cause complications and if his kidney shuts down, they could have to remove it, but those are all pretty big if's Deanna." "Thanks Chris, I just wanted to know everything." "I understand, get some more rest and I will come back when Ezra is ready for visitors." "Thanks again Chris." Deanna closed her eyes and silently prayed that there would be no complications, she couldn't handle it if there were.

When Chirs got back downstairs, the others were waiting anxiously. "How's Ezra?" Buck asked. "He's in serious condition, they are moving him to a room and will let me know when I can see him, then I will take Deanna to see him." "What's his condition Chris?" Nathan asked,

"Several head injuries, broken ribs, bruised kidney, and bruises over his entire body." "That kidney could be a problem," Nathan said, "Yea, the doctor said if it shut down, they might have to remove it." Nathan shook his head. "Shit, Chris it sounds bad." Buck said, "It is, the swelling on his brain could cause problems too." "He has swelling on the brain?" Nathan asked. "Yes, the doctor is afraid that it could get worse or that fluid could start to build up." "Those things would not be good Chris." "I know Nathan, we just have to hope that none of that happens." The men all sat down and waited for the doctor to tell them that they could see Ezra.

Finally the doctor said they could see Ezra, but no more than 2 at a time and only for a few minutes, the doctor said that Ezra could not have any stress and even though he was unconscious, too many people for too long could cause him stress. Chris went first, he got a wheelchair and helped Deanna into it, she was still very weak and he didn't want her to overdo it. He could see how anxious she was to see him, so he moved quickly but carefully. Ezra was in room 307 and the nurse reminded them to stay for only a few minutes. Chris pushed the door

open, then pushed the wheelchair into the room, rolling it up beside Ezra's bed, then he moved away to give Deanna some privacy, so she could say anything she wanted to and not have him hear her.

Deanna reached out and took Ezra's hand, "Ezra? can you hear my sweetheart?" the tears began to fall down her cheeks at Ezra's appearance, his face was bruised and swollen, his amazing lips were all swollen and he seemed so motionless. "I don't want you to be worrying about me Ezra, I am fine, just worry about yourself, it's my turn to promise that I will be here for you, every step of the way, no matter what happens, I love you Ezra and I want you back." She stood up so she could reach his face and began to caress his cheek, she wanted him to feel her and know that she was there. She leaned over and gently kissed his swollen lips, then began to cry again as she took in his pale, slack features. She sat back down in the chair, feeling very tired, but not

wanting to leave him. "Deanna, we have to go, only a few minutes remember." "I don't want to go Chris, I want to be with him, what if he wakes up and I'm not here?" "He would understand, he know's what you've been through, besides, I don't think he's going to wake anytime soon."

"All right, take me back to my room." She sat in silence as Chris took her back to her room, then once she was back in bed, she closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep.

Deanna couldn't sleep, as tired as she was, she just couldn't. She was too worried about Ezra and the silence in the room was about to drive her crazy, so she reached over and picked up the portable radio, that Ezra had brought from her apartment, it had been sitting on the table next to the bed. She didn't listen to the radio very often, between work and the time she spent with Ezra, there wasn't much time for it, except occassionally when she and Ezra would spend a quiet

evening alone together, then they would turn the radio on to play softly. She turned the radio on and listened to the song that was playing, it went off a moment later, then the next song began, it was not one she had heard before, but she recognized the artist as Shania Twain. As she listened to the words of the song, she began to cry, the words reminded her perfectly of Ezra and how he felt about her, and she felt about him. When the song went off, the DJ said it was "You've Got

a Way" by Shania Twain, that was now going to be her song for Ezra. She finally drifted to sleep, remembering the perfect words of that song as they floated through her mind and into her memory.

After Chris took Deanna back to her room, he went and told the others they could all see Ezra now, but only for a few minutes. Buck and JD went in to see him, Buck could see that JD was upset and his eyes seemed to be avoiding Ezra. JD was so young and emotional, Buck felt

for the kid, knowing he felt the same, but doing better at controling it and hiding it. He put his hand on JD's shoulder and gave a squeeze. "He'll be all right JD, he's a survivor, remember?" "Yea, but how many times is something like this going to happen to him, before his luck

runs out?" "I don't know kid, but I hope I am not here to see it, I could not bare to see him die." "Me either Buck, but what do we do now?" "We wait, just like always, it's all in Ezra's hands now and he has plenty of reasons to want to live, of which Deanna is the biggest." "Yea, he sure does love her." They moved next to Ezra, JD taking his limp, pale hand and Buck putting his hand, gently on Ezra's leg, letting him know they were there.

Nathan and Josiah went in next, this seemed all to familiar to them, it seemed like they had just been through all this with Ezra, but that was a year ago and this was a different situation. Nathan took in Ezra's appearance, but it was as a man studied in medicine, then as a friend, he was concerned about Ezra, he looked very pale and was not making any kinds of movement, aside from his chest raising and lowering as he breathed, and even that was shallow. Josiah prayed as he took in Ezra's appearance, he did not like to see the young southerner looking so deathly. "What do you think Nathan? Will he make it through this?" "Well, I don't know everything about his condition, he should if there aren't any complications, but if there are, it could be touch and go." "I will pray for him, he needs all the help he can get." "Yes, he has quite a fight on his hands." They both also touched Ezra, Josiah stroking his forehead and brushing the strands of hair back, Nathan put his hand on Ezra's shoulder, giving a small squeeze, then they left, Nathan of all people knew what the doctor meant when he said Ezra couldn't have any stress.

Chris went back in with Vin, watching the quiet sharp shooter with Ezra, he had been the one to break through Ezra's wall and got him to let them in, so he was taking this the hardest. He watched Vin sit on the edge of the bed and take Ezra's hand, then he began to speak softly

to him. "Hey pard, it's time you woke up, we need to know that your all right." He then fingered the IV that was in Ezra's hand, the thoughts in his head showing in his eyes, he knew that the IV gave Ezra the medicine and nutrients that he needed to live, since he couldn't eat, "We are here for ya pard, come back to us soon, we will be waiting outside." Vin then stood and turned to leave, looking Chris in the eye, Chris could see the worry and fear in Vin's eyes, "He'll make it Vin." "I hope so Chris, I really do." They went back out to the waiting room, Chris went to check on Deanna, but she was asleep, so he joined the others in the waiting room.

Several days passed and Ezra had not responded at all, the doctor decided to send him down for another CAT scan, something had to be wrong for him not to have wakened yet. Chris and the others became worried, hoping nothing was seriously wrong and right now they were anxiously waiting for the results of the scan. The orderlys had brought Ezra back up about an hour ago and said he couldn't have any visitors right now, this made the men very worried, something must be wrong if they won't let them see him. Chris decided to go see Deanna, while they waited, she had been worried sick about Ezra and she would soon be released from

the hospital herself. "Deanna, how ya doing?" "Chris, I am so worried, what could be wrong with him?" "I don't know, but we should hear something soon, so try not to panic, hopefully it's nothing."

Deanna, was an emotional wreck, she was happy that her breast was healing well and that they had gotten all the cancer, also that she would be released tomorrow, but she could not stop worrying about Ezra and she wasn't looking forward to her remaining Chemo treatments, one a

week for the next 5 weeks, they made her tired and sick. She had protested when the doctor said she had to go home and stay in bed for the next few days, until she got all her strenght back, she didn't want to leave Ezra, but the doctor said if she didn't she would just be sicker and more tired, after her next Chemo treatment, so she had agreed. Now that there seemed to be complications with Ezra, she was going to break her promise to the doctor, she would not leave, not now.

She appreciated the support that the other men gave her, they had been wonderful, but she wanted and needed Ezra, she missed him terribly and wanted to just be with him, but right now he couldn't have any visitors.

The doctor came to talk to them, Deanna was there waiting, "The CAT scan has revealed a build up of fluids on his brain, we are going to have to go in and drain it, otherwise it could cause permanent damage, or he might never wake up." "Doctor, what are his chances?" Chris

asked, but his eyes were on Deanna, she had turned white and he could see the tears filling her eyes. "Once we drain the fluid, he should be all right, but we will have to wait and see if the fluid builds up again, if it does then we may have to do a more extensvie operation and see if there is damage that the CAT scan isn't finding." "Please keep us informed doctor." "I certainly will Agent Larabee, I know what he means to all of you." "Thank you doctor." He then left to make

preparations for Ezra's surgery.

Everyone was sitting in the waiting room, the surgery seemed to be lasting forever, it had been 2 hours, but it seemed more like 2 days, they were all fidgety and occasionally Chris saw a tear run down Deanna's cheek, he was worried about her, she was a strong woman, having

to deal with breast cancer and the surgery that goes with it, then to have the man she loves be on the verge of death, all at the same time, most people he knew wouldn't be able to handle all of that, but Deanna was, she cried, but who in their right mind wouldn't. Chris admired the

way she kept it together and stayed strong, he just wished she didn't have to go through this. He could see the distinct difference between Deanna and Christy, Christy hadn't kept it together at all and she was only dealing with Ezra's injury, she didn't have her own ordeal to deal with, unlike Deanna, who had both and had been strong, he knew Ezra had a woman that would not leave him, not for anything and he was glad, Ezra needed someone like that in his life, besides his co-workers. He hated waiting, but it was all they could do now, there was nothing else,

except praying.

The doctor finally came out to see them, he seemed confident, so that was a good sign, Deanna stood "How is he doctor?" "We got the fluid drained, but we still don't know if he will be all right yet, or if there was any brain damage from the injury and build up of fluid, so all we can do now is wait." "Can I please see him?" "Certainly, but only you and only for a few minutes." "Thank you doctor," Deanna moved down the hall to Ezra's room, slowly opening the door and stepped in. It was dark in the room, so she turned on one small light on the other side of the room, so it wouldn't disturb Ezra, even though in his current condition, nothing would probably disturb him. She walked over to him and took his limp hand, holding it in her hand and feeling the

softness and warmth of it, then she brushed the strands of hair off the bandage that went around his head. He looked so weak and vulnerable, she just wanted to take him in her arms and hold him. "Ezra, please come back to me, you have to be all right, I love you and couldn't bare

to lose you" She bent and kissed him on the lips, they were not swollen any longer, but there were still some cuts on them, his eye was also, no longer swollen, but he still didn't seem to respond to anything, which she hoped he would.

Chris and the others waited for Deanna to come back and tell them how Ezra was, they were anxious and wanted to know if he responded to her or not. A few moments later she came out and moved back down the hall, "How is he Deanna?" "He seems the same to me Chris, he still doesn't respond at all, he's completely motionless." "That could just be from the surgery, he hasn't come out of it yet." "Yes, I hope that's what it is." "Why don't you go and get some rest, we can't see him right now anyway and you look a little tired." "Thanks Chris, I think I will, don't know if I can sleep, but laying down might help." Chris watched her walk away, he had a great deal of admiration for Deanna, she was one strong lady, but she didn't prevent that from letting her soft side show.

Deanna layed down and actually fell asleep, but her dreams were of Ezra and some of them were bad, most were pleasant, but some were nightmares and she woke up with a small scream, her body covered with sweat and her breast hurting. She checked the bandage on her breast, there was no blood, so she hadn't torn the incision, but it sure did hurt. She got up and went out of the room to find that it was the middle of the night and Chris and the other had gone home for the night, the waiting room was empty. She walked down the hall to Ezra's room and

went inside. She was shocked to see his eyes open, "Ezra, your awake, oh thank god." "Excuse me, but who are you? for that matter who am I and where am I? I don't understand, I don't know who I am, please help me." Deanna began to cry, then she ran out of the room to get the doctor.

Ezra had opened his eyes to a world of confusion and fear, he couldn't remember anything, where he was, who he was, why he was apparently in the hospital, then when the beautiful blonde came in and spoke to him, he didn't know who she was either. She had called him Ezra, he didn't think that would be a name he would have, but she must know him, the way she began to cry when he asked who she was, then she ran out of the room. He reached up and felt the bandage that went around his head, he had suffered a head injury, but when and how? he could not remember anything. He let his eyes drift shut again, he felt so weak and tired and his head was killing him, he also wanted the darkness back, then he wouldn't have to think about his predicament and the fact that he didn't know who or what he was. He slowed drifted back into that darkness, letting it take him into it's peaceful embrace.
Deanna ran to the nurses station, "I need to see Ezra's doctor, I just went in to see him and he was awake, but he didn't know who I was, he didn't know who he was, please help me." "Calm down Deanna, I will page him and let him know it is an emergency involving Agent Standish. Go have a seat in the waiting room, before you fall down." The nurse told her. She plopped down in a chair and sat there with her head in her hands for a few moments, then decided she should call Chris and the others, they needed to know about this. She got up and went back to the nurses station. "Can I use the phone? I need to call Agent Larabee and let him know about this." "Certainly, dial 9 to get an outside line." "Thank you."
Chris groaned as the phone began to ring, 'who could be calling at this time of the night?' he wondered. He picked up the phone, "Hello?" "Chris, it's Deanna you have to get down here right away." "What's wrong Deanna? Is it Ezra?" "Yes, he apparently has amnesia, he didn't know who I was or even who he was." "I'm on my way, can you call the others too?" "Sure Chris, see you soon." He hung up the phone and plopped down on the bed, this was bad news, Ezra couldn't remember who he was, he prayed that it was just a temporary thing, if it was permanent, then they would lose him, as an agent and as a friend, unless they could make him their friend again, but if he didn't remember how to be an ATF agent, he would have to start over and perhaps now he wouldn't even want to be one, all the possibilities were enough to make his head spin, but he got up, grabbed a shower, dressed, and headed out the door.
Deanna called the other members of the unit, all of them were shocked at the news and were on their way to the hospital. Since the doctor was at home, it would take a little time for him to get there, but he was on his way. She prayed that Ezra's amnesia was only temporary and that he would eventually remember everything, she couldn't bare the thought of him not remembering their love, he had been there for most of her ordeal, so she would be there for his and do whatever she could to help him remember his life and her. She began to cry a little at the thought of Ezra not remembering anything or anyone, he would feel very alone and afraid if he didn't, she couldn't even imagine how it felt to not know who you are, your name, or career, or the life you've lived. Granted Ezra's past wasn't a very good one and if he never remembered his mother, that would probably be good, but not the rest, he needed to remember.
The doctor arrived first, he went straight into Ezra's room and examined him, at present, Ezra was in a deep sleep and the doctor's examination did not wake him. He made arrangements for another CAT scan, to see if there was something new, or if the apparent amnesia was a result of the fluid that had built up before. When the doctor came back out of Ezra's room, he had a look of concern on his face. He approached Deanna in the waiting room, "I don't know yet what's causing the amnesia, it could be from the fluid build up he had before, or if this is something new, I have arranged for another CAT scan, hopefully this will tell us something," "Do you know if it's going to be permanent?" "No, it's too soon to tell, I really want to speak to him and ask some questions, to determine the extent of the amnesia, but he was in a deep sleep, even my examination didn't wake him." "Please let me know when you know something, I want to see him again." "I will, but it will be a while, once he has the CAT scan, I want to talk to him, before anyone has a chance to tell him things, even accidentally." "I understand, thank you doctor." "Go back to your room and get some sleep, you look very tired." "I should be here when Agent Larabee and the others get here." "Don't worry, I will be here, I can let them know what's going on, you need your rest, you won't be helpful to Ezra if you get sick." "All right" He watched Deanna walk away toward her room.
Chris was the first to arrive at the hospital, but the others weren't far behind. He stepped out of the elevator on the 3rd floor and headed for Ezra's room, but he was intercepted by the doctor, "What's going on doctor, what's wrong with Ezra?" "He is down getting a CAT scan now, hopefully it will tell us something." "Is this permanent?" "It's too soon to say, I need to speak to him to tell better, but he was deeply asleep when I examined him, so I don't know the extent of the amnesia or if it will be permanent." "Ok, where's Deanna?" "I made her go get some sleep, she looked very tired and weak." "Ok, thanks" "I have to go check on Agent Standish's condition, I will be back shortly." Chris sat heavily into one of the chairs in the waiting room and put his head in his hands, he couldn't believe this was happening, worst of all, it shouldn't be happening, if he had used common sense, he would have realized that Ezra was in danger, but he hadn't, now Ezra and Deanna, were paying the price. He glanced up as the elevator dinged, he watched as the other 5 men in his unit stepped out, they all looked like he felt, so he knew they felt that way too.
The men all sat around Chris, none speaking at first, then finally Vin spoke. "Do they know anything about Ezra's amnesia?" "Not yet, he's having a CAT scan right now, they hope that will tell them something." "So they don't know if it's permanent?" Buck asked. "No, they don't." "How much has he forgotten?" JD asked. "They don't know that yet either, Ezra was in a deep sleep when the doctor examined him, so he was unable to ask him any questions." "God I hope he will be all right, he doesn't deserve to go through all this and neither does Deanna." Josiah said, "Amen brother." Chris added. They all sat in silence, waiting for the doctor to come and tell them something. At one point Chris got up and poked his head into Deanna's room, which was just down the hall, she was asleep, so he went back and sat down again. "How is Deanna?" Buck asked. "She was asleep, which I guess is a good thing." "I feel so bad for her, she has been through hell lately, but she doesn't let it keep her down." Buck added, "I agree, I have a great deal of admiration for her, she's one tough lady, but she still shows her tender side." "Yeah, Ezra found an incredible lady, I just hope he will remember her again." "Me too Buck, me too."
They brought Ezra back to his room, he was still in a deep sleep, which had the doctor a bit worried, he should not be sleeping that deeply for that long. He was anxious for the test results from the CAT scan, he was afraid there was going to be more fluid build up. He went out to talk to Agent Larabee and the others, they were waiting in the lounge. "Gentleman, Deanna, Ezra is back in his room, but he's still sleeping deeply, which has me worried, I should have the test results shortly and then I will know if there is something new wrong, or if this is a result of the previous fluid build up." "Can I please see him?" Deanna asked, "Yes, but only for a few minutes, I am hoping the deep sleep he is in is a healing sleep and not a new problem, so I don't want him disturbed." "All right, I will just go in for a few minutes." He watched Deanna walk towards Ezra's room.
Deanna couldn't believe everything that was happening, Ezra couldn't remember anything, the deep sleep he was in could be a sign of more problems, and she could only spend a few minutes with him. She wanted to be with him every minute of the day, she missed him terribly, his strong arms around her, his soft, tender lips on hers, she wanted to feel all of that again. She stepped into the room, it was dark, but she didn't turn on a light this time. She moved next to the bed and looked at the man she loved with all her heart and soul, he looked so pale and frail. She took his hand and held it, reveling in it's warmth and softness, then she bent and kissed him, intending for it to be brief, but his soft lips felt so good and she had missed kissing them so much, that she let the kiss linger on for a moment, then she pulled away, a tear running down her cheek. "God, please let him be all right and let him remember, I can't bare to lose him." Then she took his hand in both of hers and kissed the back of it, "Ezra, I love you, please come back to me." Then she left the room and walked straight into Chris's arms and cried. "Chris, what am I going to do?" "Wait and pray Deanna, I have faith that everything will work out." "I hope so Chris, I can't bare to lose him." "I know Deanna, I know"

Chris held Deanna and let her cry, he knew it was something she needed to do and he would help her any way he could. A few moments later, he saw the doctor coming in their direction, he looked concerned, which did nothing to help them feel encouraged. "Doctor, what is it?" "The CAT scan has revealed some additional fluid build up, but it is also showing some swelling on his brain that had been hidden by the fluid before, I am fairly certain it's what's causing the amnesia, but we have to wait until the swelling goes down to find out." "Once the swelling goes down, then will he remember?" "I can't say for sure Deanna, all we can do is wait, I will have another CAT scan done later today, to see if the fluid continues to build up, if not we shouldn't need to go in a drain it again, if it does, then we will have to do that again." "Why is he sleeping so much?" "Well, Chris the swelling is causing pressure on part of his brain, that is causing him to remain asleep, actually he's unconscious." "Please keep us informed." "I will Chris"
Deanna was supposed to be released today, but because of her mental state and lack of rest, they would not release her. She was due for another Chemo treatment tomorrow anyway, so now she would have a place to rest and feel comfortable afterward, without having to get home first. She was fine with it, she did not want to leave Ezra anyway. Right now Doctor Steven was examining her, he removed the big bandage, that covered her entire breast and replaced it with a smaller one, that just covered the incision. He had let Deanna look at them in the mirror before hand, so she could see how they looked, the left one was now smaller than the right, but not so much so that it was very obvious, so she was pleased with that, but her mind would not leave Ezra, she could not stop thinking about him. She wanted to see him again, but the doctor said no, they were about to take him for another CAT scan, so she would have to wait. Once Doctor Steven left, she began to cry again, she felt so alone and so afraid right now, she tried to be strong and take everything in stride, but it was getting harder, she cried herself to sleep.
The doctor had just finished looking over the results of the latest CAT scan. There was no additional fluid build up, but the swelling had not gone down and this was a cause of concern to him. He reached for the phone to call Agent Larabee, he had sent them all home and Deanna was sleeping after her second Chemo treatment. He wanted to give Larabee the latest results of Agent Standish's CAT scan, he had promised to keep him informed. He pulled his hand back from the phone, this could wait, Larabee and the others couldn't do anything and they needed their rest.
Deanna snuck into Ezra's room again, she needed to see him. As she stepped next to the bed and reached for his hand, she realized just how much he meant to her, she loved him more than anyone she had ever known. She took his hand and looked at his handsome face, she wondered how she got so lucky to have a man like him, fall in love with her. She ran her hand down his cheek, feeling the stubble that had accumulated over the time he had been here, it felt strange, because Ezra always kept himself clean shaven, but she could still feel the softness of his skin underneath. "Ezra, please wake up, you have to remember our love, it's a wonderful and special thing and I don't want to lose it." She began to smile as she felt Ezra's hand tighten around hers. "Ezra? Can you hear me?" His voice was barely a whisper. "Yes" "How do you feel?" "My head is pounding." "Do you remember anything?" "No" "Oh Ezra, I am sorry."
Ezra slowly opened his eyes, they hurt and he was grateful for the darkness in the room. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he took in the beautiful woman before him, he could tell that she was the same woman from before and that she had been recently sleeping. He silently wondered why she was in the hospital too, perhaps they had been in an accident together. "What is your name?" "Deanna, Deanna Caufield, I am your girlfriend." "Deanna" he said, straining to find his lost memories, looking for the ones of her, "I'm sorry, I don't remember you." "It's all right, they will come back to you, I know they will." "Well, I must be a decent enough man, to have an amazing woman like you, fall in love with me." "You are a wonderful, loving man Ezra and I love you very much." He squeezed her hand again, then drifted back to sleep.
As Deanna kissed Ezra gently on the lips and went back to her room, Ezra's mind was struggling. His face appeared calm and relaxed, but his mind was fighting to remember, searching for any little piece that would help him remember. He wanted to remember, needed to remember, all he knew was that his first name was Ezra, he had an incredible girlfriend, and that he had a head injury, but not how he got the head injury. Every now and then his brow would furrow as some vision would pass through his mind, he would try to take hold of it as it passed, but they were too fast and too small and he didn't have the strength to hold onto them. What he didn't realize then, was that this mind was registering those visions and trying to piece them together, to create a memory. All the effort and struggle was only making his head hurt more and he eventually opened his eyes again, the pain making it impossible to sleep.
Chris sat bolt upright in bed, he had been dreaming of the encounter at the amusement park and the horror of watching Ezra's paddleboat explode, that memory had brought him abruptly awake. He sat there breathing deep, a light sheen of sweat on his body, the concern he felt for Ezra almost shocked him, he hadn't thought the southerner meant that much to him. They had definitely had their share of confrontations, but Chris found himself wanting that, it helped him see things from a different perspective, he just hoped he didn't lose that now. He hoped Ezra would get his memory back, for his sake as well as the rest of the teams, and Deanna.
Chris looked at the clock, it was almost 6am, so he did get some sleep. He got up and headed for the bathroom, he needed a shower, the sun would be all the way up by the time he finished showering and dressing. A new day, but the same problems, it had begun to feel like they spent more time at the hospital, then at work. He knew he would have to go to the office sometime today, there was a lot of paperwork to be done, including the incident reports from this last job. He decided he would stop by the hospital briefly, to check on Ezra's condition, then go to the office.
Ezra was shifting around on the bed, he couldn't get comfortable, all of his body ached and his back hurt where his left kidney was. That worried him, what if there was something seriously wrong, he also had the feeling that he needed to relieve himself, but nothing happened when he tried, he really hated having a catheter in him, they were so uncomfortable. 'I've had a catheter in me before,' he thought, 'wait, how did he know that, was he remembering something?' All these questions ran through his mind, but he didn't have an answer for any of them. He wanted to go back to sleep, he didn't feel all the pain when he was asleep, but the pain was keeping him awake. He watched in silence as the room slowly brightened as the sun came up and a new day began. He wondered what the new day would bring, his memories he hoped, it was so frightening not to know anything about yourself or if you had any friends, so far Deanna was the only person he had seen.
As Chris stepped into Ezra's room, he saw Ezra's head turn in his direction and a questioning look come into his green eyes. "How are you feeling Ezra?" "I hurt all over and my left kidney really hurts, are you another doctor?" Chris shook his head, Ezra still didn't remember anything. "No Ezra, I am your co worker and friend, your kidney hurts because it is bruised." "What is your name?" "Oh sorry, I'm Chris Larabee." "Well Mr. Larabee, I am sorry I don't remember you and if you say we are friends, I believe you." "Good, because we are friends Ezra, all of the men in our unit are friends." "Unit?" "Yes, the ATF unit that you are a part of." "So I work for the ATF? Doing what?" "Well, you are the best undercover agent in the entire ATF." "Undercover, tell me what happened to me." "I'm not sure I should yet, I want to talk to your doctor first." "Please Mr. Larabee, I want to know, I also want to know why my girlfriend, Deanna is in the hospital too." "Take it easy Ezra, I will talk to your doctor, then I will tell you everything you need to know." "All right, but make it soon." Chris turned and went out the door, looking for Ezra's doctor.
Kyle Perkins was a hit man, he had been contacted by someone in prison, the man hadn't given him a name. He told him about an ATF agent that he needed to have killed, one Agent Ezra Standish, he had ruined his life and put him behind bars. Kyle was skeptical at first, how was he going to get his money? But the man in prison told him where he could find the first installment of the money, the rest he would get when the job was done. He had demanded extra money, because the agent was in the hospital, which would make the job more complicated, but he had a plan of just how to deal with the agent, one that would leave no one the wiser, he would seem to have just died. He got what he needed and found the money where it was supposed to be, he would make his move tomorrow, in the early morning, while the hospital was still relatively empty.
Chris found Ezra's doctor, "Doctor, can I please tell Ezra about himself? He's begging me to tell him." "Well, I wanted to talk to him first, to see the extent of his memory loss." "I think it's safe to say that he's forgotten everything, except the basics of life, how to breath, talk, read, stuff like that, but he's forgotten himself and everyone around him." "All right, I will let you tell him, maybe it will help him remember, I do need to do another CAT scan soon though, to see if the swelling has gone down any, I think once that happens, he will begin to remember, since the swelling is in that area of the brain." "Thank you Doctor, I will try not to tell him too much." The doctor nodded and Chris headed back to Ezra's room.
Ezra was dozing, it was the most he could hope for with the pain he was in. He had asked a nurse for something, but she had to check with the doctor first and had not yet returned. He heard the door to his room open and footsteps, he hoped it was the nurse with the pain killers, but when he opened his eyes he saw the man named Chris Larabee, "Mr. Larabee, have you come to tell me what I want to know?" "Yes, I spoke to your doctor and he gave the ok." "Great, please elaborate on my life." "Very well, I will start with why Deanna is in the hospital, actually she is being released today." "Wonderful, were we in an accident together?" "No Ezra, she had breast cancer, she was here to have it removed, what happened to you happened just after her surgery." "Did she lose her breast?" He was worried now, his girlfriend had gone through that and he hadn't been there? "No, just a small portion of the left one, they were able to reconstruct it pretty well, it only looks a little smaller than the right one." "That's a relief, so she is Ok then?" "Yes, she has to undergo a few more Chemo treatments, but otherwise she's fine." "I wasn't there for her, was I?" "Yes you were, you saw her after she came out of surgery, it was shortly after that when all this happened to you."
Chris couldn't help but notice the pain in Ezra's eyes, it made the green orbs look glassy, not to mention the grimace that came over his handsome face when he shifted positions, which was often. "Are you in pain Ezra?" "Yes, I asked the nurse for something, but she said she had to check with the doctor first, she has failed to return." "I'll be right back Ezra, perhaps I can get some action." "Thank you Mr. Larabee." "Would you please call me Chris?" "Very well, Chris I will try." Chris watched Ezra's pain filled eyes close, then he left to find the doctor again, it really did hurt him to see that pain in Ezra's eyes.
Deanna had spent the morning packing and filling out release forms, she wanted to see Ezra before she left, but had been told that he was going to be taken for another CAT scan shortly. She decided to run home and freshen up, then come back later, she also wanted to go to the music store, she had to have the CD with that song, "You've Got A Way", it was the perfect song to make her think of Ezra. On her way out she stuck her head into Ezra's room, but he appeared to be asleep, so she left, not wanting to disturb him. She ran into Chris outside his room. "Chris, I have been released, I wanted to see Ezra, but they said he was going for another CAT scan and when I stuck my head in it looked like he was asleep." "Good, I hope he is, he was in a lot of pain, but no one came to give him something for it, I just came from the nurses station and they will give him something right away." "Good Chris, I hate the thought of him being in pain." "So what are your plans Deanna?" "I'm going home to freshen up, then I will be back later." "Good, as soon as they take him for the CAT scan, I am going to the office, so you will be here for him later?" "Yes, I will" "I will see you later then, take care Deanna." "Thanks Chris" She turned and headed for the elevators, she really couldn't wait to be in her own apartment again, she just wished Ezra would be with her, she missed being in his arms and kissing his soft lips.
Kyle Perkins made himself as inconspicuous as possible as he sat watching and listening to the goings on outside Standish's room, he wanted to see if there was a pattern to his visitors, but there wasn't. It didn't matter, what he had just heard the man and woman talking about, made him change his plans. Standish would most likely be alone for a short time after they brought him back from the CAT scan, he would make his move then, instead of in the morning, it was the perfect opportunity. He had thought this would be a tough job and that Standish would be under guard, but they apparently didn't know he was in any danger, all the better for him, it would make it easier to do the job. He left the hospital to get his supplies, he knew he could get home and back in time and if Standish was indeed alone, it would be simple to do what he had planned.
Ezra opened his eyes again to find Chris standing next to the bed, looking at him with concern, "Don't fret Mr. Lar.....Chris, I am all right." "The nurse should be here any minute with something for the pain." "Thank you Chris, now tell me more, I want to know who I am." "Ok, your name is Ezra P. Standish, you never said what the P stood for, you were born in the South and raised by various relatives, as your mother left you with them so she could do her own thing, because of that you had to learn to take care of yourself and you became good at fooling people and conning them into believing what you wanted them to believe. That is what made you the best undercover agent in, not only the ATF, but the FBI as well," Ezra listened to what Chris told him, it almost seemed unbelievable, but he did believe what Chris told him, "Ok, I believe all of that, so now enlighten me as to why I am here, with all these injuries and no memory?"
Before Chris could continue, the nurse came into the room, "I am sorry we didn't get this to you sooner Mr. Standish." Chris watched her inject something into Ezra's IV tube and a strange feeling came over him, but he didn't know why. "Thank you nurse," He heard Ezra say, "Your welcome Mr. Standish, that will make you drowsy." "All right," "They will be here to take you for the CAT scan in a few minutes." "Thank you again." Chris heard a certain reluctance in Ezra's voice, he couldn't blame him, how many CAT scan's had he had now? Once the nurse left, Chris continued. "I am not sure I can tell you all of this before they come to take you, but I will try." "Please Chris, if I am going to remember, I need as many pieces as I can get." "Ok, well it started with the undercover assignment you had, it was to infiltrate a drug ring and help break it up. Your assignment was completely successful and we knew where they were going to be, so we set up a bust, you were not present at the bust because you were with Deanna for her biopsy, the bust didn't go well, we captured their leader, but quite a few of his men got away. A few days later, they jumped you in the hospital parking garage, they apparently beat you and slammed your head against the side of your car, causing your head injury." Chris paused a moment to let Ezra absorb what he had said so far.
Ezra closed his eyes for a moment, it amazed him that he had forgotten all of that, but some more of those little visions were flashing through his mind again, some of the visions he could make out and seemed familiar, but he still couldn't put them all together. He felt the pain medicine begin to kick in, his pain was subsiding and he was feeling very sleepy, which he was glad for, because he would rather sleep during the CAT scan, he had grown to hate them, he opened his eyes again, "Please continue Chris." "Ok, we don't know what they did to you while you were held captive, but when we attempted to make the exchange, you for their leader, you were unconscious and almost drown when the paddle boat you were in exploded. Luckily Dan, he's an FBI agent that looked like the leader of the drug ring, had you almost out of the boat when it blew, we got you to the hospital as quick as we could." Ezra was silent for a moment, thinking about what Chris said, "Thank you for telling me all of this, I think it will help me to remember." As he spoke the last few words, the orderly's came in to take him for the CAT scan. "All right Ezra, I'm going to the office now, take it easy and rest, Deanna will be here later." "Thank you Chris." Ezra then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
As Chris arrived at the office, Kyle Perkins was arriving back at the hospital. A short time after that, Ezra was brought back to his room, he was sleeping deeply. Kyle sat waiting for the orderly's to get Standish settled and leave, then he would move in. As Kyle entered Ezra's room, Buck and JD stepped off the elevator at the end of the hall, they were coming to visit Ezra. As Kyle was inserting the needle with the poison in it, into Ezra's IV tube and injecting the fluid, Buck and JD were coming into the room. Kyle looked up as the door opened and tried to work faster, hoping to get all the poison in before they could stop him, he pulled his revolver out of his waistband and pointed it at the two men, "Stay back or I will shoot." "What the hell are you doing? Leave Ezra alone." Buck said. The shouts caused Ezra to wake up and his instincts took over, he knocked the gun from Kyle's hand and Buck and JD moved forward.
Buck could not believe what was happening, this man was trying to kill Ezra. He knew what was in the needle must be deadly, but he couldn't move to do anything with the gun pointed at him. Luck was on their side, the shouting had made Ezra wake up and instinctively he knocked the gun from the man's hand, but now they needed to get that IV out of Ezra before the poison could get into his system. Buck quickly grabbed the killer and hollered to JD, "JD help Ezra get that IV out, before the poison can get in," "Ok Buck" Buck got the man restrained and watched as JD quickly, but gently, took the IV out of Ezra's arm, but he could see it was too late, some of the poison got into Ezra's blood stream. He watched in horror as Ezra's eyes closed and he began to convulse. "JD, go get some help, quick." "I'm on it Buck" Buck could see the horror and grief in JD's eyes, along with panic, as he ran out of the room, "You better pray he lives or your a dead man." The killer just shrugged, then Buck shoved him down into the chair and handcuffed him to the railing on the other bed in the room.
Ezra heard shouting and opened his eyes, he was shocked to see a man standing over him with a gun, but some instinct told him what to do and he knocked the gun from his hand, then he heard another man tell a third to help him get the IV out of his arm before the poison got in. He looked down at the IV, but couldn't seem to move. He watched a young man move over to him and quickly remove the IV, but at that point he began to feel strange, his eyes grew heavy and he felt the convulsions rock his body, then he was drifting towards darkness. He didn't want to die, but he felt like that's what was happening, he could feel his heartbeat slowing as he slipped deeper into the black void, until he could not feel anything anymore.
Buck moved beside Ezra and tried to hold him still, but the convulsions were severe. With one hand he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone, then pushed the auto dial for Chris's cell phone. It rang 3 times, then he heard "Larabee" "Chris, you gotta get over here to the hospital, NOW" "What's going on Buck?" "Someone tried to kill Ezra, and they may have succeeded." "What do you mean, may have?" "He injected some kind of poison into Ezra's IV, it got into his system before we could get the IV out, we don't know what it was or how much got into him, but right now he's having convulsions, JD has gone for the doctor." "Shit, I'm on my way, you better keep an eye out for Deanna, I don't want her seeing that." "Ok Chris." He flipped the phone closed and put it back in his pocket, then turned back to Ezra, "Hang in there pard, don't quit on us now." At that moment JD came running in with the doctor and several nurses.
JD and Buck stood back as the doctor and nurses worked on Ezra, the doctor sent one of the nurses to the lab with the IV, telling her that he needed the results STAT. He had placed an object between Ezra's teeth, so he wouldn't bite his tongue during the convulsions. About all the doctor could do , until he knew what the poison was, was to monitor Ezra's vitals and hold him as still as possible. Buck and JD had tried to get their prisoner to tell them what the poison was, none to gently either, but he wasn't talking. "JD, go outside the door and watch for Deanna, she was supposed to be coming to see Ezra any time, we can't let her see this." "Ok Buck, do you think Ezra's going to die?" "I hope not kid, I really hope not." "Me too, Deanna is going to be really upset." "I know, do everything you can to keep her calm when she arrives, maybe Chris will get here first." "Lets hope so, he seems to be able to comfort her better than the rest of us." JD turned and went out the door.
Deanna had gone home and freshened up, had something to eat, and cleaned house a little, it had gotten quite dusty while she was gone and the plants needed watering. She then took her portable CD player and headed for the music store, where she bought the Shania Twain CD that she wanted and now she was on her way back to the hospital. As she drove, she began to get a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, so she drove faster, she just knew something was wrong with Ezra. When she stepped out of the elevator, her fears were confirmed when she saw Chris, Buck, and JD standing in front of Ezra's room. They all looked extremely worried and upset, JD even looked ready to cry. She ran up to them, she could see them try to change the expressions on their faces, but knew it was too late. "Chris, what's going on? Is Ezra all right?" "Try to stay calm Deanna, maybe we should sit down." "Chris please, God he isn't dead is he?" "No, but it is touch and go at the moment." "What happened Chris?" "A hit man tried to kill him, if Buck and JD hadn't come by when they did, Ezra would be dead now." "How did he do it?" "He injected some kind of poison into Ezra's IV, JD pulled the IV out, but not before some of the poison got into his system." "What kind of poison?" "They don't know yet, the test results haven't come back from the lab yet." "So what's his condition?" "Just after the poison entered him, he went into convulsions, those have subsided, but his heart rate and breathing are alarmingly slow and he's in a coma, they have put him on a respirator." "Oh God Chris, he can't die, he's been through so much." She couldn't hold back the tears and she fell into Chris's arms, letting the tears flow, she felt Buck and JD's hands on her back, trying to provide her comfort and support.
Chris let Deanna cry in his arms, he was almost as upset as she was, he couldn't believe someone had sent a hit man after Ezra. He gently guided Deanna over to the couch in the waiting area and sat down with her, "Try to keep the faith Deanna, he's a fighter." "I know Chris, what is the doctor doing?" "Until they know what kind of poison it is and how much got into his system, they can't do much, except try and keep him alive until the results come back." "What will I do if he dies? I can't live without him Chris." "Shhhh......he's not going to die, he's too stubborn for that." "You don't know that Chris, there's only so much a person can take and so much fighting they can do." "I know, but we have to keep positive thoughts." "I'm trying Chris, but I don't know how much more I can take, I pride myself on being strong, but I don't want to be anymore." "Then don't, let go and have a good cry, you don't have to be strong for us." She did what he suggested and began to bawl into his shoulder, JD was sitting in a chair next to them and he let a few of his own tears fall, Buck went and got a box of tissues for Deanna, he barely held back his own tears. He then called the other members of the unit, Nathan, Josiah, and Vin were now on their way.
When Vin arrived, Chris asked him to take their prisoner back to the agency and put him in the lockup, they would deal with him later, when they knew how Ezra would be, one way or the other. Vin had been happy to oblige and Josiah accompanied him, to make sure there was no trouble. Chris still couldn't believe someone had hired a hit man, he let the possible suspects run through his mind, but since Ezra was an undercover agent, there were a lot of people he had been responsible for putting away. He had a strong feeling he knew who it was, the leader of the drug ring they had just busted. He was somehow sure though, that they could not trace it back to him, but he'd like to get his hands on him. If Ezra died, everything would change, the unit would never be the same and there was no way they ever could or would replace him, he had become an irreplaceable member of the unit.
The test results on the IV bottle, finally came back from the lab, the poison was Strychnine, now they just needed the results of the blood test, to see how much of it was in Mr. Standish's system. It was a strong poison and wouldn't take all that much to kill him, but there was still a lot of it in the tube, so that was encouraging, hopefully there was not enough in his system to kill him. He might be extremely ill for a while, but hopefully wouldn't die. Mr. Standish had begun to develop a fever and his comatose state had not changed at all. The doctor immediately began giving Mr. Standish Barbiturate Sedatives, it was a good thing they had put him on the respirator, or he might not still be alive. The doctor's biggest concern was how the Strychnine might affect the other injuries he had, especially the bruised kidney, it was already in a weakened state, he also hoped that the sedatives didn't do any more damage to his brain. He was giving him smaller doses of the Barbiturate Sedatives for two reasons, one, he didn't know how much Strychnine had gotten into his system, and two, because he didn't want to risk any further damage to his brain, the fact that he had slipped into a coma had him worried and he wasn't sure why he had developed a fever, hopefully the blood test would tell him more.
By this time Vin and Josiah had returned to the hospital and now all six men and Deanna sat waiting for news, none of them spoke, they were all too worried about Ezra. Chris was also worried about Deanna, she had cried long and hard, but since then, she hadn't spoken a word, she was just sitting and staring at her hands in her lap. They all looked up as the doctor approached, "How is he doctor?" Chris asked, "We know the poison was Strychnine and have begun appropriate measures to counteract it, once we have the results of the blood test, we will know more, the biggest concern right now is what effect the poison and treatment, will have on his injuries." "What do you mean doctor?" JD asked. "Well, the fact that Mr. Standish is in a coma and has a fever, has me worried, the treatment for Strychnine poisoning is artificial respiration, which we've had him on the respirator for a while, but the other treatment is Barbiturate Sedatives and I'm not sure what that will do to his brain injury." "So what now?" Chris asked, "We wait for the Barbiturates to do their job and hope no additional damage is done, I'm hoping the blood test will tell me why he has a fever." "Doctor, could you please let Deanna see him? I'm worried about her and I think seeing him would help." Chris whispered to the doctor, "Of course, I will take her to see him now."
Deanna looked up when she heard her name, her eyes were puffy and red from the crying she had done, "Yes?" "If you will come with me, you can see Mr. Standish for a few minutes." "Oh thank you doctor, I need to see him." She walked with the doctor to Ezra's room, he left her outside, "Not too long now." "I won't, thank you." She slowly opened the door and walked in, as she approached the bed, she saw Ezra's motionless form laying there, a large tube taped in his mouth, which was attached to the respirator. The tears began to fall as she picked up his limp hand and held it in hers, "Ezra, I don't know if you can hear me, but I am here for you, we are all here for you, I love you very much and so do the others." She bent and kissed his forehead, she could feel the heat of his fever, "I hope you can hear me my love, because I need you, you have to pull through this, you have to fight." She laid his hand back down on the bed, she desperately wanted to take him in her arms and hold him, but she knew she should leave now, "I am going now sweetheart, but I will still be here, I love you." She left the room and sat back down, she did feel a little better, "Thank you Chris." "Your welcome Deanna, how was he?" "Not good, he never moved a muscle and he felt so hot," "Try to think positive, now that they know what their dealing with, I am sure he will improve." "I hope so Chris, I really do." She laid down on the couch and closed her eyes, it had been another long day, she slowly drifted to sleep.
Everyone was sleeping in the waiting area, when five hours later, the doctor came and woke them, "What is it doctor? Is something wrong?" Deanna asked, "No, on the contrary, I thought you all would like to know that Mr. Standish has come out of the coma, he's still unconscious and very ill, but he's not in a coma, the blood test results came back several hours ago and they told me several things," "What doctor?" JD asked, all of them had new hope and a sparkle was in Deanna's eyes, that hadn't been there for a while,"Well, for one, the reason he has a fever is because he has developed a kidney infection in the bruised kidney, we are giving him antibiotics for that, and second, there was not enough Strychnine in his blood to kill him, it was touch and go for a while, but that was because of the injuries he already had," "That's great, does this mean he's out of danger?" Chris asked, "Not yet, once we know the infection is going to clear up and he wakes up, then he will be out of danger." "This is such encouraging news, thank you Doctor." Chris said, "Your welcome, now you should all get some rest." "We have been resting, but I am hungry." Buck said, "Well, the cafeteria is closed right now, but there is an International House of Pancakes across the street, it's open 24 hours," "Thank you doctor." They all went over to the "IHOP" for breakfast, they all felt a little of the weight lift off their shoulders.
As they continued to sit in the waiting area, waiting for any news, Deanna was playing her new CD on her portable CD player, with the headphones. She played the song over and over, Chris was becoming curious as to what she was listening to, so he got her attention and she stopped the CD and took the headphones off. "What are you listening to Deanna?" He saw her blush as she replied, "It's a song I heard on the radio several days ago, it makes me think of Ezra." "What is it?" "It's called, "You've Got A Way." "Oh yeah, I know that song, it's by Shania Twain." "Right, it perfectly describes the way Ezra is with me." "I would have to agree, I've seen the way you two are together," "I have never had a man treat me the way Ezra does, he's such a Southern Gentleman and I can feel the love he has for me." "You both are very lucky, it's not often that a love like yours comes along," "I know and I know that you know how it feels to lose that love." "Yes, I still love Sarah and Adam, it's made it hard for me to find love again, but I know that one day I will." "Yes you will, you are a special man Chris Larabee, a little intimidating sometimes, but special." "Thank you Deanna, you deserve a man like Ezra, I know he know how to treat a lady and he deserves an incredible woman like you." Deanna was really blushing now, but what he said did make her feel good, "You know Deanna, there wasn't one of us that didn't want you to fall in love with him, but we are happy that it was Ezra." "To be honest Chris, none of you stood a chance, I was in love with Ezra long before I ever actually met him." Chris smiled, somehow that didn't surprise him, he knew how Ezra's file looked and could imagine how a woman would fall in love with what she read, not to mention the picture in the file was quite good.
As the hours passed, Ezra slowly improved, even though he still had not regained consciousness and still had a fever, his vital signs were stronger and they had removed him from the respirator. All indications were that the Barbiturate Sedatives and Antibiotics were working, the doctor felt that the sedatives were what was keeping him unconscious, so once they felt safe to stop giving them to him, he would come around. They had all taken turns visiting Ezra and letting him know they were there for him, the doctor spent many hours closely monitoring his condition, even though he was improving, his body had been through a tremendous amount of trauma and was in a fragile condition, luckily Mr. Standish was healthy and in incredible physical shape.
Deanna was sitting beside Ezra's bed, her head was on the bed next to him as she slept, and she was holding his right hand. It was then that Ezra woke up, he still had a slight fever and was very groggy, not to mention his head was pounding. He slowly moved his head so he could look at Deanna, she looked so beautiful sleeping there and it made him feel good to have her be the first thing he saw when he woke. He moved his left hand and caressed her soft, blonde hair, he had missed her terribly.
His voice was little more than a whisper when he spoke, "My darlin Deanna, what would I do without you?" His words did not wake her, but that was all right, he enjoyed looking at her sleeping, angelic face. His heart swelled with the love he felt for her. The entire time he was unconscious, he had been remembering things, he didn't remember everything yet, but it was coming back in bits and pieces. Finally Deanna stirred and when she looked at him, he managed a small smile, but the smile that spread across her face was large and made him feel so warm inside, "I love you Deanna." He whispered, "Oh Ezra, I love you too,"
Deanna was so happy that Ezra was awake and felt so warm and full of love when he told her he loved her. 'Wait, if he said he loves me, then he must remember', she thought. "Ezra? Have you gotten your memory back?" "Yes, at least some of it, it's still coming back to me in bits and pieces, but I definitely remember you darlin." "Oh Ezra, that's wonderful." She leaned over him and kissed him, it felt so good, especially when he put his arms around her and held her. She kissed him long and deep, reveling in the joy of kissing him, a joy she had missed terribly lately. The kiss lasted for many moments, then she pulled away, she could tell he was getting tired, "I should go tell the others, you get some more rest." "Deanna? Thank you." "For what?" "Being here." "You were there for me Ezra, I will always be here for you, I love you." "I love you too Deanna, very much." She watched his eyelids drift shut, blocking out the beautiful green gems that lay beneath, then she kissed him gently again, a tear of joy and relief, rolled down her cheek, she then went to tell the others.
Chris had brought some paperwork to the hospital, the others were reading various things. He jumped a little at the sound of Deanna's excited, emotion filled voice, "Guys, he woke up and he remembers." "What? He remembers everything?" Chris asked as he jumped up, the others all got up as well and gathered around her, the excitement they felt was as powerful as the sun and filled the entire waiting area, "Tell us more Deanna, what did he say?" JD said, he seemed the most excited of all and Chris couldn't help but smile. "He doesn't remember everything, it's coming back to him in pieces, but he remembers me and the love he has for me, it felt so good to kiss him and have his arms around me." "That's wonderful Deanna, you both deserve to be happy, did he say if he remembers us?" Josiah asked, "No, he was not awake that long, but thank you for the kind words Josiah, I am just so relieved that he's going to be all right." "Can we see him?" Buck asked, "Well, I guess so, but he had gone back to sleep when I was leaving." "We'll let him sleep then, we can see him later." Chris said, He sat back down, as did the others, Deanna sat down next to him, "Chris, I want to thank you for all the comfort and support you have given me, I wouldn't have made it without that." "Well, your welcome Deanna, but somehow I think you would have, your a very strong woman." "I have to confess Chris, that all the grief and worry was worth it, just to see those beautiful green eyes open again, and be filled with recognition and love." "I can believe that Deanna, there were many times when all I prayed for was to see those green eyes again, so I do understand." "Thank you again, I'm going to go back in now." "All right, let us know when he wakes again, so we can see him." "I will Chris." He watched her walk away, it was obvious that she was happy.
It was another two weeks before Ezra was allowed to go home, but he was told by the doctor that he couldn't go back to work for another month. Most of his memories had returned, Deanna had finished her Chemo treatments and was given a clean bill of health, so she took Ezra to her apartment, so she could take care of him. She went to his townhouse and picked up some things and made sure the house was secure, then went back to her apartment. When she walked in, she heard "You've Got a Way," playing, Ezra had found her CD and was listening to it, "Ezra?" "Hello darlin, this is a beautiful song." "Yes it is Ezra, I got it because it makes me think of you." He held his hand out to her and she took it, moving forward into his warm embrace, "It feels so good to be held by you again Ezra." "Yes darlin, it feels wonderful to hold you in my arms and I want to make love to you." She gazed into his eyes and the love that she saw there overwhelmed her, "Me too my love." Then they kissed deeply, sharing their tongues and probing each other, reveling in the feel and taste of each other. The kiss slowly turned into love making and when they finished, they just held each other and kissed, then Ezra said something that made Deanna's heart skip a beat, "Deanna? Will you marry me? I don't have a ring right now, but I will get one." "Oh Ezra, yes, yes, I love you so much and I want to be your wife more than anything." "You have made me so happy Deanna, for a while I thought I could never love again, but you changed all of that and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and make a family." "So do I Ezra, very much." They kissed and made love again. They would live a long and happy life together, having four children, two boys and two girls.

THE END!!!