Chris Larabee stood in the doorway, looking into the dimly lit bedroom. The figure under the covers moved slightly, but didn’t wake. The blond smiled contentedly, for the first time in over two weeks. They were home. Quietly, he crept into the room, pulling off his clothes before he slipped beneath the fresh, cool sheets. His partner roused, coming half awake, and mumbled softly.

"Shh, it’s okay," he whispered. Chris watched as the other man settled back to sleep.

Two weeks. It barely seemed possible that the nightmare had begun such a short time ago. He felt as if he had aged a decade...

Vin had been undercover, working the inside of an operation along with Ezra Standish and JD Dunne. None of the older agents liked the idea of their three youngest being at high risk, but the others would not have been able to fit into the group of street kids that fronted the drug operation. Even Ezra had been a stretch, opting to play the role of a youth minister who prowled the streets, trying to bring the teens and young adults into his fold. It gave him the opportunity to keep on top of the action, while being able to slip in and out with the greater ease than the others. He became a liaison between the undercover agents and those ‘on the sidelines’ as it were. After nearly three weeks, they were all getting tired of the game; longing to return to what at least passed for normal in their lives.

Chris chuckled as he remembered on particular meeting with Standish. The Southerner slipped into the small suite the four team members were using as a temporary headquarters. He greeted Larabee and Wilmington with his usual flare, then informed the flint-edged leader that he had a special message for him.

"What is it?" Chris asked.

With a wry grin, the agent stepped up and kissed him full on the lips. Stepping back – indeed, he moved far enough to be out of immediate reach – he said, "Vin asked me to tell you, and I quote, ‘miss you old man’."

Neither Wilmington nor Standish could keep from howling with laughter at the shocked and embarrassed expression Chris wore for at least a full minute.

"May I convey a reply?" Standish asked when he could finally catch his breath enough to speak. Both he and Buck were rolling with laughter again at the expression Chris replied with.

As it turned out, the blond regretted not sending a reply; it had nearly been his last opportunity. Vin’s cover was blown the following day, and he spent almost 48 hours in the hands of the men they had been investigating. Ezra and JD’s cover remained intact, thanks in part to the strong loyalty of the sharpshooter. He had paid dearly for that loyalty, however, enduring a series of brutal beatings that left him near-death before his teammates were able to locate and rescue him. Team Seven, with the help of two other ATF teams, swooped in and shut down the operation. They sent the gang members to jail, the hospital, or hell.

JD had been the first to locate Vin, calling to Chris in the ‘phone that kept them all connected. Larabee had come very close to killing the two men he had just arrested, simply because of the sound of fear in Dunne’s voice. If he had seen his partner while they were in sight, he would never be certain that he wouldn’t have. Fate had intervened, however, in the form of Josiah Sanchez. The profiler had taken charge of the criminals allowing the blond to see to Tanner.

Chris knew that the scene that confronted him would haunt his nightmares for a long time to come, if not forever. Skidding to a stop in the room JD had guided him to, the blond cried out.

Dunne knelt in the middle of the room, trying desperately to untie the bloodied ropes that bound Tanner to a chair. With wooden movements, Larabee handed a knife to the young man. While JD worked to cut Vin free, Chris carefully took the brutalized man into his arms.

In truth, none of them thought that Vin would leave the room alive. That he managed to open one blue eye to a slit and give his lover’s hand a feeble squeeze amazed them. That he managed to croak out a faint, "bout...time," was miraculous.

It seemed time and again that the young sharpshooter had used up his allotment of miracles through the days that followed. He lay in a deep coma for two days, relying on technology to hold onto life. Even after he regained consciousness, he was only awake a few minutes at a time for another three days.

Chris prowled the ICU wing the entire five days, standing sentinel at his young partner’s bedside far more often than hospital rules allowed. The medical staff, far more used to the presence of some or all of Team Seven than seemed natural, turned a blind eye. Even those not privy to the true depth of their relationship knew that Chris and Vin were extremely close.

When Tanner had finally gained full consciousness, his first sight was the haggard, unshaven face of his lover. "Look like...I feel," he whispered through battered lips.

It took every ounce of strength the blond possessed not to break down then and there. A single tear of relief after days of worry and fear coursed down his handsome face as he replied, "hell, you can’t feel that bad, kid."

Tanner had made slow but steady improvement after that, surprising them all how quickly his health changed. After spending one coherent night with his hand intertwined with Chris’, he issued a single command to the blond. "Go home. Y’...look like sh...it, n’ y’ stink."

Nearly falling to the floor laughing, Larabee conceded the young man was right. Leaving Ezra to stay with Tanner, he allowed Josiah to take him home. The big man gently forced his own brand of TLC on his supervisor. Chris had been so drained that he hadn’t argued about it, letting the big man’s strength to sustain him. He was quickly dozing in the truck’s passenger seat, only vaguely aware of Sanchez stopping once for take out and a second time for a twelve pack of beer. He had managed to pull himself from the truck and shuffle into the house behind Sanchez.

A hot shower, a full stomach, and three beers had sent him to sleep, having to be helped to bed by the other man. Sixteen hours later, he awoke to aching arms, longing to feel Vin next to him. Josiah was still there, fixing him breakfast. A second shower and a shave later found him champing at the bit to return to the hospital.

Tanner’s returning health allowed Chris to draw a balance of sorts. He divided the remainder of Vin’s hospital stay between home, the hospital, and work. Despite the younger man’s protest, he wrapped up as much business as possible, preparing for the leave of absence he would take to care for his lover.

Finally the day had come; Chris moving through the hospital with a light step and a lighter heart. Vin was coming home.

Tanner was still terribly weak, needing to rely heavily on Chris to get around. His left arm was encased in a cast, his abdomen tightly bound. His right leg was immobilized in an air cast from thigh to shin and his left eye was covered with a patch. That had been the most difficult to deal with for Larabee. He felt a lump that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in his throat swell when he found himself looking into only a single blue eye. But at least Vin was looking at him, something he had come only too close to losing all together.

They had come home during the early hours of the afternoon. Pulling the Explorer up as close as he could to the house, he hurried around to help a groggy Tanner out. Vin had blinked owlishly at him, needing a few seconds to realize what was going on. When he did, he growled at the fact that he needed Larabee’s help to move. Chris wanted very much to sweep his lover into his arms and carry him inside. He reflected later that there were times when he wished Vin couldn’t read his mind. Tanner glared at him one-eyed and Chris knew in no uncertain terms just how far he could push the ‘concerned lover’ role. Slowly, Chris taking as much of Vin’s weight as he could, they made their way into the house.

By the time they reached the living room, Vin was shaking and out of breath. Chris made him comfortable on the couch, wrapping both an afghan and his arms around his younger lover. Finally, here away from the constant vigil of strangers, they could share a long moment renewing their love. Gently, fighting to restrain his passion and hunger, Larabee showered the finely chiseled face with kisses. Working his way along each bruise and abrasion, only now beginning to fade, he kissed away the long days and nights of pain and fear. He knew they weren’t banished, but at least he could hold them at bay for now.

Sitting back on his heels, Chris looked to see Vin’s face lit with a broad, easy smile that belied the tears that glistened in the uninjured eye. He said softly, "missed you too, ol’ man."

That was the final straw, and Larabee’s already wavering defenses crumbled. Without apology, not making a move to hide them, he allowed the tears to fall. Vin gently wrapped his fingers in the long blond hair and pulled Chris’ head to his chest. He stroked the back of the older man’s head, rubbed the broad shoulders, and did the thing he had longed to do for days. He comforted his lover, doing his best to banish the worry and fear he saw in the handsome face.

Finally, both men had collapsed into oblivion, passing the afternoon hours in one another’s embrace. Only the sound of several vehicles pulling up in front of the house brought Chris out of the darkness of pleasant dreams. Dreams that he found, to his chagrin, kept him kneeling on the floor for several minutes. Looking up, he caught the blissful expression on Vin’s face and knew that his partner had once again read his mind.

"Reckon y’ did miss me," Vin whispered just as the door flew open and the rest of the team came spilling in.

"Soon as you can manage it, I’m gonna show you just how much," he teased, brushing a kiss across the mottled forehead just before they were set upon by the others.

"Howdy boys, we interrupt anything?" Buck crowed when he took in their twin blushes.

"How gauche," Ezra mumbled behind him.

"We aren’t staying long Chris, I promise," Nathan stated firmly. "Both of you need your rest. We just wanted to check in and bring you some dinner."

"Yeah, and it’s real food, too," JD added emphatically. "Nettie and Inez made it all special. They said they’d come out to visit tomorrow if it’s okay. Figured you two didn’t need any more company tonight."

"We promise to let you two have as much time to yourselves as you need," Josiah added. "But of course you know that any or all of us are only as phone call away if you need anything."

Both men smiled, first at their friends and then at one another. They both spoke at once, "thanks, boys."

True to their words, the others had made their visit short, staying only long enough to share the meal they had delivered and clean up afterwards. Exhausted by the activity, Vin was soon dozing on the couch. With Nathan’s help, Chris had gotten his partner undressed and into bed, his medication grumbled about but taken in the process. Leaving Tanner alone and slumbering long enough to say good-night to their guests, Larabee had spared himself a few minutes alone to simply relax.

Now he lay beside the man who had become so much the focus of his world. Then he found himself afraid to move. Vin was so frail looking, almost fragile. He was afraid that he would hurt the injured man if he moved in his sleep. Chris cursed himself for his lack of thought and slid quietly back out of bed. He grabbed his clothes, heading for the door. He would sleep in the spare room across the hall, keeping an ear open for Vin, should he need him during the night.

"Where y’ go’n?" Came the mumbled question.

"Gonna sleep in the other bedroom. Sing out if you need me."

"No."

"Vin –"

"Said no," Chris could almost swear he was pouting.

"Vin, I’m afraid I’ll hurt you if I sleep in here."

"Can’t hurt me, they got me trussed up like...a turkey, " Tanner argued sleepily.

"Yeah I could," Larabee argued, coming to kneel next to the bed. "Can’t take a chance of having to put your skinny ass back in the hospital. Don’t want to risk it." His fingers reached out to push the unruly brown curls from Vin’s face.

Tanner caught his lovers hand and pressed it to his lips. Kissing the man’s palm, he said, "Wan’cha here, ol’ man."

"But Vin, I –"

"I gotta beg?" Tears shown in the dim light from the hall. "Don’t leave me, Chris, y’ won’t hurt me if y’ stay, but y’ will if y’ leave."

Sighing, Larabee walked back to his side of the bed, dropped the clothes, and slipped carefully back into the bed. Debating what he should do next, his decision was made for him. Vin’s right arm came up, reaching for him. Chris took the hand carefully, then gingerly curled up next to the slender body. Vin sighed contentedly and pulled the hand to rest on his chest. The blond watched as slowly the sharpshooter settled back to sleep. Finally he snuggled his head against the other man’s shoulder and followed him into a contented oblivion.

The End