|
The
man who says that he's never done a 'dumb' thing, is the man who
didn't have any witnesses around when he did the 'dumb' thing
~GC
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"JD?"
Vin chuckled. "What are you doin'?"
JD
walked out of the breakroom door, dragging a chair behind him.
Glancing over at the sharpshooter, he grinned, looking sheepish.
Rolling his eyes, he pulled the chair over to his desk. "Chris
told me not to goof off while he and the guys were in the meeting,
and he said that the next time he saw a pencil stuck in the ceiling
tiles, he and I were gonna have a 'talk.' "
Vin
raised his eyebrows, grinning. "A talk? Well, hell, JD, you
get plenty of talks from Chris."
"Yeah,"
JD blushed, looking down at the ground, "but I've only had a
few 'talks' from Mr. Larabee."
Vin
pursed his lips, watching his young friend intently
"Well,
anyway." JD smiled, glancing back up. "I've gotta get this
stupid pencil out of the ceiling 'fore the guys get back." He
lifted the chair without wheels up onto his desk
Vin's
eyebrows rose higher on his forehead. "Ahh, JD, what are you doing?"
"I'm..."
JD grunted out, stepping up on his computer chair and then up onto
his desk, "I'm getting my pencil back." He looked over at
Vin. "I'd go down to maintenance and get a ladder," he said
with a shrug, "but that would take too long." Gingerly, he
stepped up onto the chair that was perched precariously on top of his desk
"JD?"
Vin stood up, smiling. "Ahh," he chuckled under his
breath, "you might want to think about this."
"What?"
JD asked, standing on his toes, trying to reach the pencil
Vin
walked over, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked up at JD.
"Um, kid, you do realize that this is the beginning of every 911
episode?" he chuckled. Rubbing his chin with his forefinger, he
looked up, a wry grin on his face. His face scrunched up with concern
when he saw the kid standing on his toes, reaching up, trying to
grasp the pencil. The chair moved slightly and Vin stepped forward. "JD."
Vin
glanced over when he heard the elevator chime. Chris, Ezra, Nathan,
Buck and Josiah walked into the office
Vin
and Chris made eye contact. Vin saw his best friend's tired face
turn concerned when he spied JD up on his desk
Vin
didn't think that JD had heard the arrival of his teammates. The kid
was totally engrossed in capturing his lost writing utensil
The
sharpshooter cringed when he saw Buck's eyes widen. The tall agent
stepped forward. "JD!" Buck yelled. "What in the HELL
are you doing?"
Glancing
back up at the kid, Vin saw JD's body jerk when Wilmington bellowed
"Buck!"
JD yelped, spinning around, losing his balance
All
of the men watched in horror as JD tumbled backwards off the chair.
Vin was the closest, but even he couldn't reach the kid in time
The
sound JD's body made as it came into contact with the floor was sickening
"JD!"
Nathan yelled, running over to the youngest ATF agent
Dunne's
eyes were squeezed tightly shut. His face lined with pain. Gasping
for breath, his chest heaved
"JD.
JD, just calm down, now," Jackson admonished
JD's
eyes opened, looking wildly about, frightened. He still hadn't
pulled a breath into his heaving chest. He reached out a shaking hand
which Buck instantly grabbed a hold of
"Easy,
kid. I gotcha," Wilmington soothed
"Nathan?"
Chris hissed
Suddenly,
JD pulled a deep breath in, a sob coming back out. His hand squeezed
Buck's tightly, making the older man wince
"JD,
just breath easy. Easy, now," Nathan cautioned
Nodding,
JD closed his eyes. "K," he breathed out
Buck
patted JD on the chest
"I'm...
fine," the kid wheezed out
Buck
grinned wryly, shaking his head
"Let
me up," JD asked. Using Buck's hand, he tried to pull himself up
"Aggghh!"
he yelled out
Nathan
eased JD back to the floor. "Take it easy, JD."
"Nathan,
my back!" The kid grunted out. Tears welled at the corners of
his eyes. "It," he said as he took a breath, coughing,
"it hurts."
"Okay,
JD, okay," Nathan laid his hand on JD's forehead. "Don't
move now. Just lie still!" He looked up into the concerned faces
of the rest of team seven. He noticed Josiah talking on the phone, to
the paramedics, he hoped. Nathan swallowed, glancing back down at the kid
"Jesus,
that hurts," JD hissed out, his face paling. "Sorry,
Ma," he gulped, "didn't mean to say that." Frowning,
he coughed again
Chris
sat silently, his face lined with worry, his lips pursed. Vin stood
beside him, watching everything
Ten
minutes later, the elevator chimed again, spilling out two
paramedics, a gurney and equipment
The
two young medics quickly got JD ready for transport, having to work
around an agitated Wilmington. It only took a few minutes to get the
stretcher downstairs and outside
Buck
was allowed to ride in the ambulance with the kid, the rest of the
men following close behind
+ + + + + + +
"Nate?"
Buck asked, quickly walking over to the worried-looking medic
"He's
sedated." Jackson stopped Buck with an outstretched hand.
"He's in a lot of pain. They're looking at his back right now,
trying to see exactly what he's done to it."
Wilmington's
face was pale. "Can he..." he swallowed, "can he
move? I mean," he said as he looked down, then back up, his head
cocked to the side, "is he paralyzed?"
Nathan
allowed a slight smile to cross his face. "No, Buck. No, he's
just in a lot of pain. He's wrenched, or sprained something and
they've got him in X-Ray right now."
+ + + + + + +
The
next day, JD lay sprawled on his and Buck's couch, a pillow propping
up his right side while also holding ice on his hip. His face was
pale, small beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. His eyes were
glassy from the pain medication. The trashcan from the bathroom sat
in front of him on the floor; the pain medication also made him very
nauseous. He watched the TV without much interest
Buck,
Nathan and Chris spoke quietly in the kitchen. Vin stood, leaning
against the stove, arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face
"Well,
he's going to be out of action for a while." Nathan glanced
over at Vin, then back at Buck and Chris. "He won't have any
lasting damage, just lots and lots of pain right now."
"Damn
stupid kid," Buck cursed. "What do I need to do?" He
ran his hand through his dark hair while pacing. "Do I need to
get a leash? One of those harnesses that they put on little kids now?
Do I need to lock him in his room? Or hell, I could just stay with
him every second of every day so I can keep him from pulling these
dumb-ass stunts." He ended the phrase by sending a dirty look in
Tanner's direction. Shaking his head, he turned to start pacing
again. "I swear, you think the little genius would be smarter
than this. Really! I mean, what the hell was he thinking?"
Tanner
took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He slowly pulled
himself from his position. Taking a few steps, he came to stand in
front of Wilmington. "Buck." he uncrossed his arms, putting
his hands in his pockets. He looked down, then glanced back up,
looking at the tall ATF agent sideways. "Buck, the kid ain't
stupid. You know that. Yeah, he did somethin' dumb." Vin grinned
looking back down. "Hell, ain't we all?" He didn't move his
head back up, but his eyes caught Wilmington's, "you might wanna
lay off a him right now. The kid's hurtin' and probably feelin' a
might stupid himself, but you in here beratin' him ain't gonna do
anyone any good, 'specially since he probably heard everything you
just said."
Buck
took a step towards the young sharpshooter, his face hard.
"Listen here, Tanner, you're the one who just stood there,
letting the kid make a pyramid out of the furniture, then climb up on
it, so don't be spoutin' off to me about what's best for 'im."
Vin
slowly, deliberately took his hands out of his pockets.
Straightening up to his full height, he took another step towards Wilmington
"Okay.
Alright." Chris shook his head, stepping in between his two
agents. "That's enough. You tw-"
The
unfortunate sound of retching interrupted the team leader. Nathan
was gone in an instant, with Buck close behind
"JD?"
Nathan squatted next to the young man. Twisted towards the
wastebasket, JD's body was convulsing, his back muscles rippling with
the effort of throwing up. Nate could hear sobs coming from the kid.
The medic rubbed JD's back, trying to soothe him. Finally, JD
straightened back out, lying flat on the couch again. His right arm
came up to cover his eyes and he wiped the tears off his face with
the inside of his elbow
"JD?"
Nate asked again. The kid was breathing hard, his chest heaving.
"It's okay, JD, just calm down." Nathan glanced up to see
three worried ATF agents watching the kid intently. He brought his
attention back to the youngest. "You hurtin' bad, kid?" he
asked quietly while wiping the kid's mouth off with the warm, wet rag
that was handed to him. He was rewarded with a frown and a slight
movement from the kid's elbow showing him a glimpse of the patented
Larabee glare
Nathan
grinned, "Okay, you're hurtin'." He patted the kid on the
arm. "It's just a short while 'fore you can take a couple more
painpills. Think you can handle it?"
JD
licked his dry lips while still glaring at the tall, black medic.
"I feel... like I just got beat... by a baseball bat. My back
hurts, my ribs hurt, hell, even my hair hurts." He paused, then
glanced over at the medic, "Nate?" he asked sincerely
"Yeah,
JD?" Nathan answered, leaning towards the kid
JD
swallowed, sniffing, then the corner of his mouth turned up.
"Can you get my gun?"
"JD!"
Nate reprimanded
"Oh,"
JD moved his hand to stop the medic's lecture. "It's not for
me." The kid glanced at his roommate. "It's for Buck."
He grinned
Buck's
mouth fell open; just as quickly he closed it, pursing his lips.
"Now listen here you little shi-"
JD
glanced over at Buck, inadvertently twisting his back and sending a
jolt of pain down his side. Letting out a groan, he covered his eyes
again. "Shut up, Buck." His voice was hard, filled with
pain. The vein stood out on his neck, his face was suddenly red, his
breaths coming in huffs
Nate
watched him closely. JD pulled his left hand up, pointing to his
head with his index finger. "On second thought," he hissed
out, "you can just put me out of my misery, Nathan." He
tapped his temple with the finger. "Right here; something bigger
than a twenty-two."
Nate
grabbed the kid's hand, pulling it away from his head. "JD, you
want to go back to the hospital? You think you need to?"
"Nah,"
JD whispered. Glancing over at his friends from under his arm, he
frowned when he saw their pale faces. "I'm just kiddin' guys.
Sorry. I just... I'm really hurtin'."
The
four men looked at each other, trading concerned looks. If the kid
was admitting that he hurt, then it wasn't good
Nathan
pulled the warm ice bag from under the kid, then propped him back up
with the pillow. "Okay, JD, I've got another pill here."
Lifting the kid's head, he gave him the painkiller then held the
glass of water to his lips
"Thanks,"
JD whispered. Sniffing, he wiped his eyes with his arm before
pulling it away. "Next time, I think I'll just let Chris lecture
me. By the way." He glanced at his friends. "Anyone get the
pencil out of the ceiling yet?" he asked
"Nah,
kid," Chris answered, "we decided to leave it there."
The lean blond grinned, "It's just too damn dangerous."
The
men laughed. JD's breathing evened out and his eyes drifted slowly closed
Buck,
Vin and Chris slowly backed away, leaving the medic next to the kid
Walking
into the kitchen, Buck slapped the young sharpshooter on the back.
No words were uttered, but both Tanner and Larabee noted the tacit
communication. Buck was silently apologizing
+ + + + + + +
"Buck?"
JD yelled
"Yeah,
kid?" Buck stood in the kitchen doorway, a towel tossed over
his shoulder
"Can
I get a glass of water?"
"Sure
thing, kid." Buck turned to do as he was asked
It
had been weeks since JD had taken the fall. Vin sat in the recliner.
He saw the kid look over at him, an evil grin on his face. He
couldn't help but smile at the young agent. "JD, when you gonna
tell him that you're feeling good enough to get your own water?"
he asked sardonically. Vin knew that Buck was feeling guilty about
the things that he'd said, the things that JD had heard him say
JD
looked innocent, but Vin caught the wink the kid threw him when
Wilmington brought him a glass of water and asked if he could get him
anything else
Vin
couldn't hide the laugh that escaped when he heard the kid's next request
"A
blackberry cobbler sure sounds good, Buck," he asked sweetly.
The End
